by G J Ogden
Ethan looked back at Summer. She was standing with her arms crossed and a broad smirk across her face, evidently enjoying herself too. Ethan threw a rock at her, and it hit her boot. “Hey!” she said, still smirking.
“I’m ready,” Ethan said, turning back to Dorman.
“No-one was ever more ready for a fool’s errand,” said Summer, beaming now. “You’re the biggest fool I know.”
“Knock it off you two,” said Dorman, in his best assertive voice. “Grab your gear. We’ll head out now and aim to make it to the hilltop clearing and make camp there.” Then Dorman marched off, looking purposeful. Ethan followed, punching Summer’s arm as he went past her, which knocked her slightly off balance. He laughed and smiled at her.
“Hey!” she said again, though this time unable to contain her laughter.
The clearing that Dorman had referred to was about two-thirds of the way towards the city, and about an hour’s travel from where they estimated the impact site to be. If they trekked at a fast pace, only stopping for two or three brief breaks, they could reach the clearing by dawn. It would be a tough slog for sure, but nothing they weren’t used to.
The gates were opened at Dorman’s request. As Ethan approached, he saw that a crowd had gathered, looking on anxiously. Then he saw his sister Katie rushing towards him with Elijah not far behind.
“Ethan, wait!” shouted Katie, rather embarrassingly. Suddenly Ethan felt like a child about to receive a public telling-off. Mercifully, Katie seemed mindful of the public setting and waited until she was close enough to speak at a normal, discrete volume. But she was clearly agitated. Elijah stood at her side, smiling at Summer. “Ethan, let someone else go this time,” said Katie in a hushed but urgent-sounding tone. “There are others who can take your place; I don’t want you on this one.”
Ethan reached out and held her shoulders, trying to offer some reassurance. “Don’t worry,” he said confidently. “I’ve been out a hundred times, this is no different.”
Katie pulled back. She did not want to be mollified. “You know very well this is different,” she scolded, in a very motherly way. Elijah’s attention was now focused on Ethan and Katie. He had recognized his mother’s ‘telling-off’ voice and had sidled away slightly, his eyes flicking between the two like a snake’s tongue tasting the air. “You always volunteer for the most dangerous expeditions,” Katie continued, looking and sounding fierce, “and you never consider how it makes me or Elijah feel when you disappear, sometimes for weeks on end.” Elijah’s eyes flicked back to Ethan. “But this…” Katie was struggling to contain her anger now, “this... light falling from the sky. This is dangerous, Ethan. Let someone else go.”
Ethan tried to fight back. “We don’t know it’s dangerous,” he said, “we’re just going to have a look.”
Katie ignored him. “Think of Elijah,” she said. Using Elijah to make him guilty was always her last resort. “You’re like a father to him, think of how he’d miss you if you got yourself…” she hesitated and glanced over at her son, whose eyes had now flicked back to her, “...if you got hurt,” she corrected.
“Hey, don’t bring me into this!” Elijah piped up, feeling brave. That was a mistake. Katie gave him a look that could turn milk sour.
“You’re in enough trouble as it is!” she scolded. “Sneaking off outside the wall at night!” Ethan shifted uncomfortably; he knew what was coming next. “And you!” she pointed at Ethan when she said this, her voice no longer discreetly muted. “You should know better, letting him hang around outside the walls. You’re reckless. You don’t care about us!” Then she started to cry. She pressed her hands to her face trying to hide it, from Ethan and the gaggle of onlookers.
Ethan put his arms around her and held her tightly. She had succeeded in making him feel guilty. He was being selfish by wanting to go, but despite this he was no less determined to do so, and that made him feel worse. “Katie, don’t worry,” he said, “and I’m sorry about Elijah, that won’t happen again.” He looked over at Elijah and winked. Elijah smiled. “I’m not reckless Katie, I’ll be safe, I promise,” he continued. “But this is something I have to do. I love you, both of you. You’re all I have, after all.”
Katie pushed back and looked into his eyes. “Then why go?” she pleaded, trying to understand. “You’re all we have too.”
“Because I have to know,” Ethan said calmly. “This life, this rotting planet we inherited, this is not our fault. Something happened, and I want to know what. And this falling light, it could help me understand. It could help us all understand.”
Katie composed herself and stepped back, away from Ethan’s hold. “There are no answers out there, Ethan,” she said, “only more questions. Whatever you find, it won’t change anything. We have to live as best we can, and work for something better; a better life for our children, Ethan,” she gestured imploringly towards her son. “For Elijah’s children,” and then grabbed Ethan’s jacket. “For your children, Ethan.”
Ethan took hold of Katie’s hands and gently removed her hold on him. “How can we have a future if we don’t understand and learn from our past?” he said. He glanced over to Summer and Dorman. They were waiting by the gate, patiently, but expectantly. “Look, I have to go, but I promise I’ll be back,” said Ethan. “I promise, Katie. I love you both.” And with that he let go of Katie’s hands and walked towards the gate to join Summer and Dorman. After a few quick paces, he glanced back at Elijah and gave him a ‘thumbs-up’ gesture and a smile. Elijah smiled and returned the signal. Katie walked up behind Elijah and put her hands on his shoulders. There was a deep sadness in her eyes that he hadn’t seen for a long time, not since Elijah’s father had left and perhaps not even since their parents had been killed. Ethan felt another intense stab of guilt, but pushed it deep inside him. Then he looked away and picked up the pace.
“Everything okay?” Dorman asked as Ethan drew level with them.
“Everything is fine, let’s go,” said Ethan, not stopping. Summer and Dorman followed him out and the gate was closed behind them. The party set off without another word between them, towards the clearing, low on the horizon. Ethan was out in front, and setting a furious pace.
Chapter 5
It took Maria and Kurren just under two hours to reach the house, far longer than either had expected. The meds had worked to repair their injuries, but after the excitement and adrenaline had worn off, weariness had set in so that each step felt that it required double the effort. It didn’t help that the gravity on the planet was six percent higher than on the moon base. The climb up the hill to the house was particularly exhausting, and when they reached the ramshackle building, which was larger than it looked from a distance, they were just about done in. But they knew they still had to be on their guard.
Out of breath, Kurren said quietly, “Drop the gear and draw your weapon. Let’s make sure no-one is at home first.”
Maria nodded, dropped her pack, and drew her sidearm. Swiftly, professionally, she loaded a clip and chambered a round; she may have disliked weapons, but she was still proficient with them. Without speaking again, Kurren signaled that he would take the side door, while Maria entered at the front. They moved quietly towards the house, using the trees as cover, until they reached the building. It was near derelict, with smashed windows and a section of broken wall, but the roof was still intact and it was more-or-less water-tight. Maria carefully looked through the window and saw furniture, broken plates, and other items that she couldn’t make out littering the floor. She couldn’t tell how recently any of it had been disturbed. She saw Kurren opening the side door, and took her cue to move inside, keeping to the walls and covering Kurren with her weapon. They moved swiftly, checking from room to room on the lower floor, finding no signs of current or recent lodgers. Then came a sound from upstairs, something moving. Perhaps a bird, Maria thought, though they hadn’t seen any of those, a fact that hadn’t occurred to her until that point.
“You hear t
hat?” whispered Kurren.
Maria nodded, and indicated in the direction of the stairs with the barrel of her weapon. Kurren took the lead, and Maria followed, covering his back. They climbed each step with the care and precision of a hunting cat, careful not to make a sound. Then, just over half-way up, Maria stepped and the stair creaked. They both froze, not in terror because their training kicked in to control fear, but in anticipation. Daring not to move any further, and barely twitching a muscle between them, they waited and listened. The sound came again, this time more distinct. Something was definitely moving. Their position was tactically poor and they both knew it. Kurren indicated for Maria to move back down the stairwell, and she did so as carefully as possible, her heart now thumping in her chest. Kurren followed, his weapon raised and pointing at the landing at the top of the stairs. Five steps from the bottom, Kurren stumbled and his foot smashed through a rotten panel. Without warning, a shape darted out from the top of the stairs and hurtled towards them. Kurren pulled his foot loose and tried to dodge, but he was too late; the shape hurtled past, crashing into his side and knocking him hard against the banister, before itself then falling heavily to the foot of the staircase. Maria was faster; she was already at the bottom and had trained her weapon on the attacker.
“Stop or I shoot!” she shouted.
But the figure did not stop. It got up and charged Maria. She could see it clearly now, and despite her training, she was afraid. It looked essentially human, but was clearly not. Its face was elongated, as if it had been stretched, and set deep into this mottled, gray face were deep, black eyes that shone like pools of ink. Two sharp sounds rang out cleanly in the night air as Maria released rounds into the attacker’s chest. It fell heavily to its knees, but other than the dull thuds of flesh on wood, it made no sound. Then it stood again and fixed its inky black eyes onto Maria. Dark red blood oozed from its chest, but it did not appear to be in pain.
Maria backed away. “What the hell are you?” she demanded, but the creature did not reply, it just stood, staring at her. Then it charged again, and Maria reacted instantly, firing twice more, the second round into its skull. It fell forward, heavily, its skull splitting apart as it smashed into the floor. Maria almost vomited, and turned away.
Kurren arrived at the bottom of the stairs moments later, clutching his right arm. Blood was soaking into his clothing. “Is it dead?” he asked, breathlessly, but surprisingly calmly.
“I think so...” said Maria, looking at the blood. Kurren flipped the body onto its back with his boot and covered it with his pistol, just to be sure. The figure lay motionless, its eyes open, still as inky black as when it was alive, if it were ever really alive. Maria noticed that Kurren’s left forearm was bleeding. “You’re hurt, let me take a look,” she said.
“Not now,” said Kurren, calmly. “We need to make sure there are no others.”
“I think if there were, we’d know about it by now,” said Maria. “What is it? It doesn’t look… human,” she added, unable to hide her disgust.
“That’s what they call one of the maddened,” said Kurren. “It was in the briefing.”
Maria’s face scrunched up even more tightly. “That’s what happens?”
“Yeah,” said Kurren flatly. “So we need to step up, and get this done before our meds run out.”
“Roger that,” said Maria, in hearty agreement.
Kurren crouched to inspect the creature more closely. It was wearing dark rags, mottled with dirt and substances that Kurren didn’t even want to identify. At one time, it looked like they would have been fairly normal-looking clothes, but judging by the wear and the grime, that was clearly many years ago. Its face was contorted and also filthy with grime; its teeth misshapen, broken and black; its skin gray. But it was the eyes that unsettled him the most. Black, cold, set back into its oddly-shaped and now broken skull. Despite his experience and training, they made him fearful. “Do you think there is anyone left down here, Sal?” Kurren said after a few moments. “I mean anyone that’s not like this?”
Maria sighed. “I hope so, or this has all been for nothing.”
She checked her PVSM. “Toxicity is a little higher here, but still okay. We have four hours before needing another hit of meds, though you’re going to need a healing accelerant and a broad-spectrum anti-con once I’ve patched that up.”
Kurren looked at his arm. “Great...” he said. “Those things always make me feel like shit.”
“Better than feeling like him,” Maria replied, and Kurren couldn’t argue with that. “Between the ship exploding and my four rounds into our friend here, I’d say that if there are any normal people still planetside, they will be well aware of us by now. Or at least they’ll have seen something strange going on, and be on their way to check it out.”
“Agreed,” Kurren said. “But I don’t see any choice other than to stay here for a while and get some rest. We’re both running on fumes.”
Maria took a closer look at Kurren’s arm. It looked angry. “Come on, let’s get our gear and get this taken care of. You take first watch. The upstairs should at least give us a vantage point and some warning if any more of these things come by.”
Kurren nodded. Then he looked down at the distorted mass of flesh on the floor. “What do we do with our friend here?”
Maria holstered her weapon and then stood with her hands on her hips, thinking. “Normally, I’d say burn it,” she suggested, “but that would definitely come under the category of drawing attention to ourselves.” Then, looking around, she spotted a door that looked like it could lead down into a basement. “Let’s just sling it down there, so it’s at least out of the way.”
“Yeah, and then bolt the door and move something heavy in front of it, to be sure,” said Kurren, nodding in agreement.
“To be sure of what?” asked Maria, confused.
“To be sure the damn thing doesn’t get back up in the middle of the night and decide it wants to go a second round!” said Kurren.
Maria visibly recoiled as she considered this. “Dammit, Kurren, I hadn’t even thought of that. How the hell am I going to sleep now?”
Kurren smiled. “Well, then I suggest you take first watch instead.”
Chapter 6
Thanks to the clear, calm weather, Ethan, Summer and Dorman had made good time. They had reached the location to camp overnight on schedule, and had had an uneventful night. They had started out again early in the morning, and now they could see some smoke rising just over the horizon, so they knew they were close. Dorman suggested a quick rest-stop, so they would be fresh when they eventually encountered whatever it was they were about to encounter.
“Remind me again why I agreed to this?” Summer panted as they sat resting in a small cutting in the hillside.
“You’ll do anything to spend more time with Ethan, admit it,” Dorman teased, and Summer scowled back at him.
“I’d do anything to get out of washing duty,” Summer retorted, spikily. “And besides, we already spend plenty of time together in sparring practice, usually with me kicking his butt. I can give you a personal demonstration, if you like?” Dorman laughed, satisfied that he’d got a rise out of her.
“Hey, I am still here you know?” Ethan cut in, trying to break up the banter, which was making him feel uncomfortable.
Summer looked over at him and smiled, but Ethan was busy rifling through his backpack. It was difficult to tell since his cheeks were already flushed from the exertion of trekking across country at such a fast pace, but Summer was sure he was blushing.
Ethan began breaking out some supplies, throwing a linen-wrapped packet of dense bread towards Summer, which she caught without looking at him. He then looked at Dorman, who was smirking back at him with that ‘knowing’ look he remembered the rangers giving him during the brief time that Summer and Ethan’s flirtations were top of the gossip list. He threw a packet at Dorman too, a little more fiercely, forcing him to react quickly to catch it before it sm
acked into his nose. It did the job of wiping the smirk off his face. “Eat quickly people,” Ethan said, unwrapping his own piece of bread, “we haven’t got far to go now.”
“Let’s just hope that whatever it is over there lives up to your expectations,” said Dorman, seriously.
“He’s expecting to find a friendly group of ‘angels’ aren’t you Ethan?” Summer teased. “Ooh, hello there Ethan, glad you could visit and learn the meaning of life!”
“Shut up, Summer,” Ethan shot back, clearly agitated.
Dorman quietly regarded them both, took a bite of bread, and then shook his head. “Honestly, you two are this pathetic world’s worst kept secret,” he said blithely. “Just get on with it and allow yourself a bit of happiness. Because whatever is over that hill, I promise you, it won’t be as good as what you’re denying yourselves.”
Now Ethan was clearly blushing, but Summer was used to this sort of macho jostling.
“How would you know Dorman?” Summer said, feigning seriousness. “The most meaningful relationship you’ve ever had is with your right hand.” Dorman and Ethan burst out laughing, Dorman spitting his bread out uncontrollably.
“Hang on, I thought it was his left hand?” spluttered Ethan, grateful that the attention was now focused on Dorman, rather than himself, and they all burst out laughing again. He chanced a look at Summer, hoping she wasn’t looking back. She wasn’t. Summer was at her most beautiful when laughing and smiling, just like she was now. Maybe Dorman was right, he thought, maybe there was more to their relationship than mere friendship. But he valued that friendship too much to risk losing it.
An explosion in the distance made them all stop, and stand up in readiness, hands reaching for weapons. It wasn’t a big explosion, but it was clear it came from the direction of the crash site, because there was now a lot more smoke.