The Prize: Book One

by Rob Buckman

  "And what?” She demanded.

  "Nothing, just a thought,” he said over his shoulder, “but it might explain what the Silurian's were firing at. Let's move out.”

  Penn's instinct told him to run, to get as far away from here as possible. Nightmare monsters like that, don't just appear out of nowhere, without warning, and it scared the hell out of him. He pushed the feeling back into the recesses of his mind, ruthlessly forcing himself to think rationally instead of emotionally.

  "What about…” Ellis started to say. Penn cut her off with a chop of his hand.

  "He's dead, and passed caring, trust me. Unless you want to end up like him, I suggest we move!”

  "Major! We have to bury our dead,” Carras grumbled, giving Penn a nasty look.

  "You're right. Captain, get a burial detail together and see to it.” Captain Carras turned away, and ordered several troopers to break out their trenching tools and dig a grave in the clearing. Penn just shook his head in disgust.

  "Useless words over a dead man. I just hope that thing, whatever it was, doesn't come back while you're wasting time.”

  "Have some compassion, Penn,” she said, softly.

  "I do!” he growled. For the first time, in a long while, he let the situation, and his emotions get the better of him. ”I have compassion for the three billion dead humans beings the Empire slaughtered for no damn good reason! He got right up into her face.

  “Did they stop to bury our dead? Did they say kind words over our graves? No! They didn't. The fucking assholes left the corpse to rot where they fell. Men, woman, and children…” his voice choked for a moment, “…left to the fucking vultures, insects, and the wind.”

  Ellis took a step back in shock. For a brief moment she got a glimpse into Penn's soul. Now she knew what drove him, saw him standing over some unknown grave. It might have been his parents, a friend, or maybe a child. It was clear that whoever it was their death had seared his soul forever. Had he buried them? She knew it was an argument neither of them could win. Ellis turned to say the words over the fallen trooper as Penn walked away. Still, she wondered. If Penn hated the Empire so much, why was he here helping them?

  The troopers buried their comrade and moved on in silence, each deep in his or her own thoughts, clutching their weapons tighter, and paying more attention to their surroundings. At least they were almost out of the trees. A broad valley spread out before them as at last they broke out of the trees line. In the distance, the pyramid stretched upward, dominating the skyline, its tip lost somewhere above the high clouds. Ellis signaled for the troops to rest, and they eagerly dropped their pack. Someone immediately broke out a portable stove and started a brew-up. Ellis looked at Captain Carras, and with just a nod and look, he grabbed Sergeant Jaxx and formed the rest of the trooper into a protective circle. It didn't take long to get a brew-up going, and pass around the circle of squatting troops. Even sipping their Kaf they kept a watchful eye on the terrain around them, blast rifles resting across their knees, finger close to the safety catch. Ellis and Penn stood side-by-side, looking up at the pyramid, sipping their Kaf. Neither could quite believe what they were seeing. It appeared that the incredible weight of the towering structure had pushed the planet's crust down so it sat in the center of the enormous bowl-like depression. Her eye drifted from the pyramid to her companion, and to her surprise saw Penn's skin gradually changing color in the intense sunlight, from white to dark brown. It was something she thought was unique to her, but unable to understand why. Later she had to have a talk to Penn and see if he knew. Penn lifted his arm and pointed off to something just south of their position, and Ellis fished out her binoculars. A large group of Thrakee and Silurian's were shooting at each other in a running battle as they raced down the slope toward the pyramid.

  "Damn it. We're too late!” Ellis snapped, glaring at Penn.

  "Don't be too sure of that, Princess.”

  "It's Major to you, not Princess!" she growled, still irritated by his form of address.

  "Don't get your panties in a knot lady. I was just being polite.”

  Captain Carras was careful to hide his smile behind his hand, but Ellis caught it anyway, nailing him with a dark frown. The smile vanished. At last the two parties below disengaged, with little apparent damage, each looking for a separate way to get to the structure through the crumbling city around the base of the pyramid.

  "That's odd," Ellis muttered, "I don't remember seeing a city from those orbital pictures.” As she spoke she pulled a foot long tube out of a side pocket of her back pack. Gripping one side she pulled out a flex screen.

  “Here, see what I mean.” Touching the control surface a composite vid of the probe data as they crashed down from space.

  All showed a clear view of the pyramid sitting in the center of a huge valley surrounded by the low mountains they’d just spent ten days traversing. Around the pyramid was nothing but open grassland, except right at the base where some sort of giant white rectangular slabs covered the ground. Ellis ran the vid several time at different speed and closeness yet no building or any kind showed up.

  “I don’t get it. Where did the buildings come from.” She muttered, more to herself than anyone.

  "And the people.” Captain Carras added, looking at the distant builds through his binoculars. “Maybe they're survivors from earlier crash landings?"

  "If so, they'd been here long enough to have children, and grandchildren. There has to be thousands of them.” Ellis added.

  "Tell you something even odder," Penn interjected, “how come neither the Thrakee nor the Silurian's are shooting at them?"

  Ellis focused the binoculars on the people, wondering how on Earth Penn could see anything at this distance without binoculars, but somehow he was right. Neither Thrakee, nor the Silurian's were firing at the people, and the people were ignoring them as if they didn't exist.

  "The Thrakee aren't known for their tolerance of other species, especially mammals. You'd think they'd shoot a few on principle." Ellis observed.

  "Yes, true, but why are the inhabitants of the city ignoring a well armed party running through their streets." Penn added.

  "The only way we are going to find out, is to go down there - Let's move people!” Ellis ordered.

  The troops quickly packed away their mugs and the portable stove, spreading back out into a skirmish line behind the two humans. As they moved down the slope, the tall grass gradually turned from a lush green, to brown dried out stalks, as though slowly dying of thirst. Finally, the grass ended altogether, giving way to bare, packed Earth for half a mile, then to cut stonework. The giant twenty-foot by ten-foot slabs of stone-like material apparently encircle the whole the city from what they could see. From their vantage point slightly higher up, the bowl-like depression was paved, including the city streets. Now they were close enough to see that the human-like inhabitants of this city wore colorful clothes, much as you would see in any human or Tellurian city as they went about their daily life. Their children playing around a fountain or ran back and forth between the market stall in some complicated game of tag, and by now the Thrakee and the Silurian's had disappeared between the buildings. As the troops moved down the slope they crossed some unseen borderline, and it felt as if they walked into an oven. By the position of the bright yellow sun, it was ten o’clock in the morning, yet within an hour, the air temperature had climbed to over 110 degrees. By now, the troops were panting for breath, and using up water fast, too fast. Penn stopped and held up a clenched fist. He motioned Ellis to come forward.

  "What now, Penn. Why stop?"

  "Because of that," he pointed toward the city. Ellis jerked the glasses up to her eyes, looking at the distant city and its people.

  "That can't be,” she said at last.

  "It explains why the Thrakee and the Silurian's didn't shoot anyone, and the citizens ignored them.”

  "It's not possible!”

  "You wouldn't think so, but what you see is what you g
et.”

  "Major?” Captain Carras called from behind them.

  "Captain, come here and tell me what you see.”

  "I see a bunch of civilians walking around.”

  "Take a look though your binocs, and then tell me what you see.” Carras quickly fished his glasses out and did as Ellis ordered. ”Well?" she asked.

  "Where did they go? I mean, where are they?"

  "Who?” Penn asked.

  "The people over there," Captain Carras said, waving his hand at the brightly clad people walking about in the distance, moving between the buildings and the plaza. He looked though his binoculars again and shook his head. The place was empty, deserted. ”I can see dust swirling through the empty street, and no water in the fountain… I don't understand.”

  "That's why the Thrakee didn't shoot anyone. There's no one there.”

  "But we can see them!" the Captain exclaimed, waving his hand at the distant city.

  "Can we? Or is it a mirage. Like water in the desert?"

  "That's not possible…”

  "We are dealing with unknown technology Captain. Who's to say what's possible, and what isn't?"

  Hour by hour they drew closer, and as they did, the people became less and less distinct. Within two hundred yards of the beginning of the city itself, the place was empty, the plaza deserted, the fountain dry, and full of dust. Penn stopped. Ellis moved up beside him, seeing his expression on his face, and asked what he was thinking.

  "I'm not sure yet. Something about this city. I have the feeling it's an illusion.”

  CHAPTER - SEVENTEEN: Desolation and despair.

  Like sightless eyes, the broken windows in the crumbling buildings looked out onto the desolate world without compassion. The two and three story building stood shoulder to shoulder with no discernible order, with narrow streets, or alleyways running haphazardly between them. It was as if the inhabitants had built their homes as they wished, without a second thought about the city's layout, or planning. To Ellis's eye, the place had a sort of southwest, or Middle Eastern look to it, as most of the building had flat roofs, except one or two that had domes. Penn thought it likely those buildings were used for different purposes, like government building, or storerooms. Flat roofs were indicative of desert area, that didn't get much rain, as did the adobe brick the buildings were constructed indicated. In hotter countries, people slept on the roof at night, making the most of the cool night air.

  "It looks solid enough to me," Ellis said, fingering the crumbling brickwork.

  "So did the people back there,” Penn countered.

  "What are you thinking?"

  "That this is nothing but a giant trap.” Ellis nodded. She couldn't shake the feeling of something threatening in the air as if this place itself didn't want them there.

  "A trap for what?"

  "That I can't say. To keep someone out… or something in. I'm not sure," Penn mused, rubbing his chin, "whatever it is, I suggest we take things slowly from here on.”

  No matter which way he looked at the city, Penn felt danger, but from where he could tell. For once his high tuned senses fail him. It was a feeling he didn’t like one bit. Before, he always had a feeling of control, of himself and his surroundings, and able to anticipate where an attack was coming from, or a danger that threatened him. For the first time since he was a child he felt uncertain, unsure of himself. Part of the reason stood beside him in the form of a certain Sub-Major with a cute tush and the feeling he wanted to stand between her and the unseen danger. With a soft groan he pushed the emotion aside, as getting laid was the least of his worries, beside which, he’d been down that road before and wasn’t about to make that mistake again. They reached the first row of adobe-like buildings, yet even there, the rough, crumbing brick felt solid to the touch, but when they looked inside it was clear this place had been abandoned for a very long time. Penn stamped his foot on the paving stones, testing them. The place smelled like a trap to him, but he couldn't see it.

  Ellis spoke up. “Thrax! See if you can get to the top of this building. If you can, have a look around and find a road to the pyramid we can use. But be careful!”

  “Yes, Ma'am,” Trooper Thrax answered, taking off at a trot. They heard him moving around inside the building, and he called out that he found a stairway to the roof. A few moments later, he called down.

  "Major. Just around the corner, there's a road that appears to lead all the way to the pyramid. Looks pretty straight to me. Oh, by the way, Major, the fountain behind this house is working.”

  "Good, come on down.” A moment later, they heard a scream, then a muffled thud.

  "What the hell!"

  Ellis and the Captain Carras rushed into the building, expecting to find the trooper at the foot of some sort of stairway, assuming the rotten wood had collapsed under his weight. In the dim light they saw the building was empty, and neither could see footprint in the thick dust to show Thrax had even been there. To top it off that there was no stairway to the roof.

  "What the hell is going on?” Captain Carras muttered, looking around, sounded nervous as he tightening his grip on his pulse rifle.

  With no way through the building they came back out, and everybody except Penn, rushed around the corner and found find their way blocked by a tall adobe wall. Cursing, they ran around to the other side, crashing into one another as they did. Penn followed slowly, surveying the area as he came up behind the others and looked over their shoulders. Thrax's lay half in, and half out the huge bowl of the cut stone fountain. His body armor, and helmet should have protected him against a fall of that distance, yet he was dead, as Sergeant Jaxx attested when he checked for a pulse. Carefully, two troopers lifted him out of the fountain, and rolled him over, seeing water dribbled from his mouth as they did.

  "Sainted Mother!” Someone muttered as more water poured out.

  "How the hell do you drown in an empty fountain?” Ellis cursed, also checking for signs of life. There weren't any.

  "Because when he fell, the fountain wasn't empty, or at least to him, it wasn't," Penn mused, "he said it was working when he was on the roof.”

  "But it's not. It's as dry as a bone, see!” Captain Carras walked over and lifted out a handful of powdery sand from the fountain, letting it dribble out of his clenched fist as proof, a look of bewilderment on his face. Penn just shrugged and walked away.

  "What in the name of the Sainted Mother is going on?” One trooper snapped, nervously fingering his weapon as he looked around.

  "We need to get out of here, now!” Ellis said, reasserting command. ”Spread out, and find that damn road people!” Wanting to get their mind off Thrax, and back on the mission.

  "What about the body, Major?"

  “What about it?”

  “We can't just leave him here.” Sergeant Jaxx complained.

  "And how the hell do you suppose we bury him, Sergeant?” Ellis snapped, eyeing the paving stones. ”Wrap him in his poncho, and we'll collect it on the way back.”

  'If we ever make our way back,' was her unspoken thought. “Penn, lead out!” This time, the troops didn't argue with her about burying the body.

  "Yes, Major." Penn answered, but Ellis was too distracted to notice, choosing too simply obey her command, than respond with a snappy comeback.

  Wrapping the body in a poncho, they placed it beside the fountain and followed Penn as he took off around the corner looking for the broad avenue trooper Thrax spoke of. He couldn't find it. The passageways twisted and turned at random, with no plan or layout he could discern. There wasn't even a road to speak of, just alleyway, smelling of rot and decaying that led to another plaza, and another empty fountain. It didn't seem possible that the alleyways could stink so terrible after all this time, but they did. No matter how far the troopers walked, none of the narrow passageways got them and inch closer to the pyramid.

  "Thrax said something about a road to the pyramid?” Ellis asked, wiping sweat off her face as she moved up beside hi
m. The air was hot, dry, and oppressive.

  "You've got me. I don't see any way out of here.”

  "At this rate, we won't be there by nightfall.”

  "I'm not sure that's actually a bad thing." Penn answered, looking up at the surrounding buildings, and the dark blue sky between them.

  "Oh, why not?"

  "If there are any traps out there waiting for us, it might be wise to let the Thrakee and the Silurian's trip them, don't you think?"

  "You still think this place is a trap?"

  "I do. I can't get over what happened to Thrax in that empty fountain.”

  "You have an idea what this place is?"

  "Maybe, but I'm not going to say just yet.”