by Dean Sault
The doctor stopped walking in order to respond face-to-face with the young scientist.
“I admire your passion,” he said. “And, I respect your idealism, but there is a good chance my effort will fail. When it is discovered how many rules I’ve breeched, I will be forced into retirement. I do not want it on my conscience that I destroyed your career too. So, really, it’s best if you—”
“I have no career!” Jix raised his voice. “If the humans are terminated, my so-called career is over. This is all I’ve wanted to do with my life since the first time I read about human gene regeneration problems. I know I can solve these DNA anomalies. I can succeed where . . .” He trailed off awkwardly.
“I know, I know. You’ve said it before. Let’s see, how did you put it? Oh yes, something about my ‘tired old theories,’ wasn’t it?” Dr. Hadje smiled. “Alright Dr. Lillip. It’s your career. I can certainly use your help, but when this is over, you have only yourself to blame for getting involved.”
Jix took over pushing the heavy cart. The two scientists loaded gear into Dr. Hadje’s personal science transport and left the lab. When they arrived at Quarry 33, it was the middle of the night. The surprised Head Tasker met them at the gate.
Chapter 12
Under the old man’s guidance, Simon entered a small room that reminded him of his worker’s quarters, although far more crude. It had a bed, a bathroom and a place where unfamiliar clothes hung. Not a single worker’s uniform was on any of the hangers.
Shilgar directed the new arrival to sit on the edge of the bed and offered the young man a piece of smoked meat. It smelled different from the food Simon knew, but it was delicious.
A young woman reached around Simon’s shoulders and began to remove the top of his work clothes. He leaned away from her unwanted attention, and she paused, looking at the bearded man for direction. The Elder made a simple nod at the doorway, and she left without hesitation.
“It’s okay, young man. Kayli was just trying to make you comfortable. You can sleep in your worker’s uniform, for now. Try to get some rest. You have a long journey in the morning.”
Simon did not know why, but he trusted this old man.
Shilgar removed the young boom operator’s work boots and lifted the young man’s legs up onto the bed. The pillow was soft but different, and the runner’s speech became unintelligible as he succumbed to exhaustion.
The senior scout did not leave until his new ward was fast asleep.
“Simon, it’s time to wake up. Simon?”
A soft, female voice brought him out of his slumber. He noticed weight along the edge of his bed and opened his eyes to see the same young woman from earlier sitting there.
“You’ve been asleep for nearly twelve hours. Shilgar asked me to wake you.”
“Where am I?” he asked, disoriented by his new environment.
“You’re in a scout camp. Tai found you and brought you here. Do you remember?”
“Hey there.” Tai burst into the room. “How ya doing, buddy? See ya met Kayli. She’s a cutie, huh?”
The young woman sitting on the bed shook her head, embarrassed by Tai’s remark.
“I apologize for him,” she said. “He can be a little rough at times, but somewhere deep down, very deep down, he’s a good guy.” The young woman tossed a contemptuous look at Tai and handed Simon a large towel. “By the way, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Kaylian, but most people call me Kayli. You can wash up in that room. I put some clothes on the chair over there. I think they’ll fit you.”
Simon sat up and lowered a blanket someone had placed over him. Cool air sent a chill across his bare chest. He lifted the covers and saw that he was naked.
“Where are my clothes?”
“I took them off while you slept so they can be cleaned. In the meantime, you need to get used to our clothes. Your bright worker uniform shows up too well against the mountain.”
She walked across the room and pulled back a curtain, revealing a crude shower.
“You don’t have much time. Shilgar’s coming soon. You have a long journey ahead.”
“What do you mean? Where’s he taking me?”
He sensed her urgency but was annoyed at being left out of decisions about his future.
“Please, trust us,” she said. “Shilgar will explain everything, I promise. Get in the shower, and I’ll be back shortly.”
As she left the room, Tai watched her every step, even leaning over to keep her in sight as she passed down the pathway outside the door.
“That’s one fine lil Doppley bear,” he said. “She can warm my bones any time.”
Tai turned to leave the room and shouted, “Don’t take long. We don’t have much light left.”
After bathing, Simon tried on the new clothes. All his life, he had worn synthetic Tanarac fabrics provided by Taskers. It took several attempts for him to figure out how to wear these new garments. Despite being cumbersome and a bit heavy, they were surprisingly comfortable.
“How do the clothes fit?” Shilgar walked into the room with Kayli following close behind. He didn’t wait for a reply to his rhetorical question.
“I’m sure you’ll get used to them. Kayli tells me you’re a bit upset. I understand. Let me try to set you at ease. You should know that you’re not alone.”
Shilgar crossed the room and turned one of the table chairs to face Simon before sitting.
“And, you’re not afflicted with some crazy disease called ‘runner madness.’ Over the past three centuries, many humans felt the urge to escape captivity. Our species naturally seeks freedom. Many ‘runners’ escaped into the only sanctuary available to them, the jungle.”
The human leader took a sip of something from a wooden cup.
“At first, most died of starvation or by hicay attacks. Even exposure to weather in winter months took some lives, but over many years, a few survived. Eventually, they found each other, and a hidden community of free humans evolved. Today, we number in the thousands. Some are even freeborn. We patrol the jungle looking for runners like you and save as many as we can.”
Shilgar responded to the confused look on the young man’s face.
“I know you are surprised by all of this, but I am certain you’ll come to treasure freedom, just as we do. Right now, we need to get you safely to Prime Six. That’s one of our deep-safe communities. Once we get you there, you will receive a proper orientation to your new society, and, if you’re lucky, you might even get to visit The Wall. For now, I must ask your trust.”
“Why can’t I just stay here?” Simon responded, a bit overwhelmed by things he just heard. “Why do I have to go to this ‘Prime’ whatever?”
“Unfortunately, your presence compromises the safety of everyone here. You’re not trained for a scout environment. If you’d like to return after completing your orientation at Prime Six, then you may begin training to become a Runner Scout.” Shilgar smiled. “Once training is complete, I would love for you to join us, but everything depends on getting you safely to Prime Six. We must leave now.”
Kayli tried to encourage Simon while she adjusted a crooked fastener on his shirt like a mother dressing a young child.
“You’ll be safe with him,” she said. “He’s a level-ten tracker. Nobody’s brought home more runners than him.” As an afterthought, she took his hand in hers and added, “After you get comfortable at Prime Six, maybe I can come visit you. Would that be alright?”
Tai entered the room just as Kayli began flirting. He frowned at her interest in this well-muscled young runner.
“The transport team’s ready,” Tai said while frowning at Kayli. “We gonna travel at night with him?”
“Yes. We can make Prime Six by morning if Sky Guard runs far enough to the north. If not, we’ll lay up at the holes.”
Shilgar headed out of the room.
“C’mon fella,” Tai called to Simon. “We gotta cover ground.”
As the three men left the room, Tai stopp
ed in the doorway and said, “You’n me, Kayli. We’re gonna talk about this when I get back.”
She pushed him out the door, laughing openly at his fragile male ego.
They followed the senior scout to a narrow slit on the opposite side of the cave from where Simon had entered. Two men waited by the opening and disappeared into the crevice in response to a hand signal from the older man.
“Those are forward scouts,” Shilgar explained. “They’ll keep the trail clear ahead of us.”
It was a little unnerving to leave the lighted sanctuary of the cavern and plunge back into complete darkness of a tunnel again. Simon would have preferred a few more days in comfort and security of the small cave community.
The tunnel narrowed and widened several times before light appeared in the distance. Upon exiting, it appeared to be late afternoon. He marveled at how well hidden the small exit hole was. It opened between two large boulders with thick shrubs all around. A well-worn trail wove past the boulders and vanished into a brushy thicket between two towering canyon walls.
The senior scout led them toward the vegetation. Brush appearing impenetrable from the cave exit masked a well-maintained trail that allowed the travelers to cover enormous distance without slowing for usual obstacles found on jungle floors.
As dusk approached, they exited the far end of the canyon onto a rocky trail. The old man set a brutal pace. He was almost out of sight when he called for a water and rest period. During the break, he looked repeatedly at some kind of small device strapped on his wrist. Simon had seen wrist-worn timepieces before in relic pictures, but this obviously was not such an instrument. The leader pushed buttons on it, and listened to sequences of short beeps.
“We’re in luck,” Shilgar said. “Sky Guard is nowhere on the horizon. It must be tracking north. Are you okay, Simon?”
The young man was not okay. Leg muscles burned, but his youthful male pride would not allow him to ask for additional rest, especially when this old man did not seem to need a break.
“I’m fine. If an old guy like you can keep this pace,” Simon bristled, “I certainly can.”
The experienced scout raised an eyebrow and smiled. He liked this young man.
Tai knew better than to dare the most senior tracker. He shook his head, knowing the challenge was about to come home to haunt both younger men.
“Let’s go,” the head scout said as he launched into a brisk pace. The young men scrambled to catch up.
Hour after hour passed, as the three kept a torrid rhythm to their walk. Water was taken in small sips, often without pause or change of pace. They passed through several more plant-filled canyons before turning uphill into rocky terrain. Simon thought it must be close to midnight.
Shilgar stopped abruptly when the bracelet on his wrist emitted a repeated sequence.
“Quick. Follow me,” he spoke with urgency.
The old man led the group at a dead run for about three minutes before he grabbed a large bush next to the trail and hoisted it off the ground revealing a small cave.
“Twenty seconds. Get it,” the senior man ordered.
Tai vanished into the dark hole, followed immediately by their guest. To his surprise, Simon landed in Tai’s lap and Shilgar tumbled on top of both young men while pulling the bush to cover the opening behind him.
What appeared to be a cave entrance was little more than a shallow hole, carved at an angle into volcanic rock with a bush stuck in its entrance. At most, it was large enough for four men, and it stunk.
“That was close,” Shilgar said to himself as the three men adjusted their seating.
Moments later, the wrist device began a series of erratic sounds followed by a single, low-pitched tone lasting several minutes. All the while, the senior scout studied information scrolling across its face.
“I thought Sky Guard was running north.” Tai’s concern was not lost on Simon.
“That was not Sky Guard,” he said, as he studied the changing pattern of lights. “I’m not sure what it was, but it was definitely scanning for human life sign. I don’t think it picked us up. Prime Central warned us in time to make the safe hole. I hope others went to ground in time.”
“Don’t mind the smell, young man.” Shilgar noticed Simon rubbing his nose. “It keeps wild hicays from using our safe holes as nests. I’m sure you’d rather smell rotting balat fruit than to jump on a nursing mother hicay.”
The former boom operator needed no further explanation.
They remained in the safe hole until three short beeps emitted from the electronic device. Simon thought it must have been a safe-signal because the others simultaneously moved for the opening beneath the bush. When the pace was reestablished, it was considerably slower.
“I can travel faster,” Simon offered.
“You’re not the reason we slowed down. I’m timing our travel to coordinate with safe holes, in case this scan happens again. Safety first.”
The rest of the night, they traveled at the slower pace, and all of their rest stops took place inside safe holes. After one such rest period, Shilgar motioned for everyone to stop. He made a chirping sound, waited for a second and made two more similar sounds. The advance scouts appeared out of the blackness.
Simon noticed these men traveled without aid from lights. He thought they must have traveled this trail many times before.
“All clear to Prime Six, sir.” The first scout sounded like a military soldier, reporting to his superior. “We’re heading back now. Do you know where that scan came from? We made it to the five-hole, but it was close.”
Shilgar and the scouts talked briefly about the unusual event and wished each other safe travel. Then, as fast as they appeared, the scouts vanished back into the night.
Early morning light revealed a startling new scene. Rolling foothills observed at last light had now grown into a full-sized mountain. It was huge. At one turn, Simon looked down on the distant Central Jungle. Life-giving, morning fog obscured the jungle as it completely surrounded the mountain in a sea of gray. He carefully walked along the precarious ledge.
“We’re here,” Shilgar announced.
They followed the contour of the ledge as it merged into a descending crevice leading inside the mountain. As they got beyond sight of the outside world, the tunnel became a lighted corridor with low buildings, carved directly into rock on either side, with short streets between them.
Humans, by the hundreds, were everywhere. Some were so small that adults carried them. Simon took in unbelievable sights as they walked deeper into the hidden community. Residents seemed busy in routine daily activities. None of them wore quarry garb, and many called out personal greetings to the scout leader.
The three travelers entered a building at the far end of the big cave and passed through several halls before ending their trip in a large room. Small groups of people stood next to tables laden with food. An unusually tall, neatly groomed man with a gray beard broke away from his friends.
“Shilgar, it has been too long since we last shared the light.”
“Benjamin, my friend, you know better than anyone, I am more at home in the jungle than up here. But, I do treasure moments when we get to swap tales about past adventures,” Shilgar winked at Tai, “real or imagined.”
“Hello, Tai. What do you have here?” Benjamin asked and looked at Simon.
“A runner, Benjamin. Goes by Simon of Striker something or other. Brought em to you as soon as possible. Got delayed by some kinda Sky Guard scan.”
Benjamin frowned.
“That was not Sky Guard. We don’t know what it was. Sky Guard was scanning north and suddenly disappeared yesterday. Maybe the Tan’s have new technology. This one is certainly not operating with any typical Tanarac scan signatures. I’ll let you know as soon as we figure out what’s going on. Until then, we’ve ordered field scouts into deep cover.”
The human leader turned his attention back to Simon.
“Young man, it seems you’re a p
retty famous runner. We monitor Tanarac communications, and you really got those blue boys excited. In the past two centuries, they have never entered the Central Jungle to catch a runner. Military trackers went in looking for you. Very disturbing change in behavior. They said you attacked one of their Taskers. We need to know about that.”
Benjamin furrowed his brow for a moment as he tried to remember something. “Oh yes. Simon, I believe we have a surprise for you.”
He issued a brief instruction to one of his assistants who promptly left the room. Then, he turned back to Shilgar, and the two Elders began bantering about past adventures, each obviously embellishing deeds in an effort to best the other. Tai listened like a child at a storyteller’s campfire while Simon stood quietly to the side, not sure what to make of it all. When Benjamin’s assistant returned, three young women in hooded tunics followed. The last to enter the room rushed past the others.
“Simon!”
The young woman plunged into his arms. For a fleeting instant, he did not recognize Kelly dressed in free human clothes, but when her feelings exploded inside his mind, there was no question. He sensed everything—joy, fear, anger, relief. Her telepathic link flooded his thoughts with emotion. All he could do was hold her tightly and wait for her emotions to settle.
When Kelly finally leaned back to look at him, tears ran down both cheeks. He placed his hand on the back of her head and gently buried her face in his chest as he had done when Adam died. For the first time in days, everything seemed right. She was where she belonged.
Chapter 13
“Dr. Hadje,” the Quarry 33 Head Tasker said and extended his hand. “I didn’t know you were coming until we received your incoming transponder code. Is there a problem?”
“I’m sorry for this unannounced visit, Rase, but something important has come up. Please close the northeast quadrant of your quarry to all mining for the next five days. I need six field lights deployed immediately. Place them according to this diagram, and aim them straight up into the sky. Tell your staff we are searching for evidence related to the missing humans. Secrecy is of the utmost importance.”