by Rob Buckman
Ellis was too hot and tired to argue with him. She fell back with the others, and spent the rest of a frustrating day wandering between the buildings. As night began to fall, their confidence began to waver. They needed a place to rest, and they didn't seem any closer to the pyramid. Rounding a corner, Penn stopped in mid stride. The troopers nearest him saw what Penn had seen, and groaned. They were back in the same plaza with the same fountain, staring at Thrax's body wrapped in a poncho. Penn stood staring at the fountain, an inscrutable smile on his face. There was no way they could have walked around the entire circumference of the city in less than a day, so how could they wound up back up where they started?
"Shit! This Earthier is leading us around in fracking circles!” Breen yelled as he trained his weapon on Penn.
"Knock it off, Breen!” Sergeant Jaxx growled. I've been watching the sun and my compass. We've been walking in a relatively straight line all day.”
"So how come we're back here? Answer me that Sergeant!” Breen glared at Penn.
“Stand down, Trooper. That's an order!” Ellis snapped, getting in Breen's face.
With that he backed down, shooting Penn and Ellis dark looks. Penn looked at the other two he suspected were IMPSEC, seeing the way they were holding their weapon. Not exactly at him, but a twitch would. Trooper Breen and Covers were the two that stuck close to Dana at all time and probably took orders from him.
"This has nothing to do with Penn!” Ellis swept the group, her face hard. “We'll camp in one of these buildings tonight and move out in the morning. This time you lead, Breen!"
"Yes, Ma'am,” Breen answered with ill grace, eyeing Penn.
The troopers made camp for the night, using scrap wood from the broken furniture in the building for fuel. Although they found sufficient wood to keep the fire going through the night, they had just enough water to reconstitute their dehydrated food packs. There wasn't enough water for Kaf in the morning, or breakfast.
"I'll go look for some.” Penn offered as he picked up several camel packs.
“Good luck finding water in this hell-hole, Penn,” Dana sneered as Breen and Covers muttered in agreement. Ellis shot all three an icy look, sufficient to silence them.
Twenty minutes later Penn returned, packs sloshing with water. Without a word, he dropped them by the fire where the troops gathered. The water, cold and clear, tasted like sparkling wine to thirsty throats, yet not one of them said thanks. Penn went to sit in the corner with his back to a crumbling brick wall.
"Where did you find the water?” Ellis asked, sitting next to him.
"In the fountain where the trooper died.” Penn answered softly.
"What! I don't understand. Why didn't you say so?"
"I didn't want to start a panic and have the Girl Scouts rushing off in the darkness for no damn good reason. They're spooked enough as it is.”
"You know what's happening, don't you?"
"Not the why, or the how, but I have an idea.”
"You want to tell me about it?"
"No, it could make things worse than they are. Just concentrate on getting to the pyramid and nothing else. Understand? Nothing else." By his tone, Ellis could tell he was serious. “I'll go and fill the rest later, so everyone will have water tomorrow.
With their bellies full, and their water issues temporarily solved, the troopers relaxed, laughing as someone told a joke, or a funny story. For the moment all was right in their world. Ellis found she liked sitting close to Penn. She rarely felt comfortable around males, especially human males that is, and she liked the fact that he didn't feel the need to talk all the time. She got the impression that Penn was a pool of deep water, tranquil on the surface, but with dangerous, unplumbed depths.
“You said that first day that the jungle was your playground. Did you mean that literally, or you were jungle trained?” The corner of Penn's mouth pulled up in a slight smile as he considered her question.
“Before the invasion, when things such as countries had a meaning, I was born and grew up at a military training, and research center in a country called Ecuador.”
“I think I remember that name, something about the Inca?”
“Right. It was once part of the Inca Empire.”
“That's right, I remember now.”
“At that time the British government had an on-going agreement with Ecuador to lease part of the country for jungle warfare training, and research.” He stopped for a moment, wondering if the Ecuadorian government knew what kind of research went on there, betting they didn't. He saw Ellis looking at him strangely, and he raised an eyebrow in question.
“So you were born at this research station?”
“Yes, and grew up there in a village near the town of Porto Libra on the Rio Aguarico river. What about you?”
“Me?” she smiled slightly. ”I was born at a research station just outside of Tucson… she hesitated a moment, her brow darkening as if from bitter memories.” My parents were killed while shopping, when the Imperials dropped a thousand ton rock on the city.”
“Tough.” Penn murmured thinking of the death of his parents, “until mine were killed in an attack on the base, life was wonderful, or so I thought.”
“You played in the jungle?” Ellis asked, seeing Penn nod in reply.
“There were a bunch of Cofanie, and Alca Indians kids I hung around with. In fact my mother said it was hard to tell the difference between them and me after a while.”
“The skin color change?”
“Yes, that and the fact that I dressed like them, spoke the same language, eat the same food…” Penn smiled slightly. ”I even had colored feathers in my ear lobes the same as them.” He laughed. Ellis turned her head to look at him, trying to imagine what he must have looked like with his yellow hair, gold eyes, a loin cloth and colorful feathers in his ear lobes.
“Didn't they make fun of you?”
“At first, but my eyes reminded them of the jaguar. That was my nick name, 'El Tigre' the cat. The fact I see better than they could, just reinforced the impression.”
“How could your parents let you run around in the jungle like that?”
“From my point of view it was normal, and no more dangerous than running around any suburban neighborhood before the invasion.”
“You knew about the invasion?”
“Yeah, my Dad told me, but to me it was something far away… until the Imperials attacked the base and killed everyone.” Ellis didn't need to ask if anyone survived. One look at his face told her all she needed to know.
“Tell me about your eyes.” She asked in an attempt to change the subject. Penn looked at her for a moment, then at the trooper sitting a few feet away.
“Well, I have two of them, and the last time I looked they were bright yellow.”
“Penn…” She growled.
“I don't know for sure,” he laughed. ”I never got the whole story. Mom said my Dad would tell me when I was old enough.” His smile faded, and for a moment, he looked into his coffee mug, “they were killed before they got the chance.” No matter how much he tried not to let it, their death still hurt even after all this time.
“Penn… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry.”
“No problem, it was a long time ago,” he shrugged, blinking away the stinging sensation in his eyes.
“The one thing I know for sure, is that whatever was done to me, and I suspect you, were part of some secret 'super soldier' program.”
“Me?”
“Human skin color doesn't normally change from white to dark brown in bright sunlight as quick as ours. Nor do their eyes see into a broader spectrum as I do. What's happened to the two of us has to be manmade,” it explained a lot, and to Ellis filled in a few of the missing bits of the puzzle about her own peculiarities. The question was, what else, could she do that she didn’t know about, like adjusting her eyes, or that combat speed Penn had demonstrated.
“So, what happened to you?” Penn asked, keeping his voice lo
w, drawing her attention back to him.
“I… I enlisted just after the so-called cease-fire. I was fourteen at the time, but the Imperial Military recruiter didn't seem to care.”
“All they want to do was fill the ranks, and replace the troops they lost on Earth.”
“You could be right. I just didn't think about it back then. I was two jumps ahead of the slavers, and rape gangs in Tucson. The Empire gave me a way out of that hell-hole, and I took it.”
Penn tried to imagine the desperate struggle of a young girl, fighting for survival in the ruined city. Everyone knew what had happened in those cities when the bombs and rocks fell. His own childhood was relatively easy by comparison. He knew the jungle like the back of his hand, and with his training, it was easy for him to adapt the childish game of hide and go seek to the more deadly version he played with the Imperials.
“So you have no idea who played around in your genetic pool?”
“Just fragments of memories that I'd rather not think about.” Ellis sighed and stretched out her legs, wiggling her butt to move the sand into a more comfortable position. Her body felt itchy, but a bath would have to wait. Thankfully, Penn didn't press her for answers.
CHAPTER - EIGHTEEN: Ghost whisper
Ellis thought back to Penn in the thermal pool, naked to the waist, beckoning her toward him. She wondered for a moment if she could resist if something similar happened again. Penn was also starting to feel comfortable, partly due to the woman sitting beside him, and partly due to their surroundings. The firelight flickered and danced on the walls around them, lighting the faces of the troopers as they talked. It reminded him of home. Apart from the obvious facial and body differences, these troopers could be the SAS or Royal Marine Commandos who had come to train the succession of Earth troops at the jungle outpost. They spoke of the same things, of military matters, hairy stories of combat, barrack humor, sexual conquests. His father told him that soldiers had been doing much the same thing for as long as anyone could remember. The older soldiers taught the younger ones, it was a tradition. Penn's father told him, he would do well to listen to all the older men had to say. Penn, even at a young age, had received advice on just about everything. From how to cut an enemy's throat all the way to romancing a girl. Penn’s face pulled into a smile, remembering the old advice that a soldier's military objective was to get a girl's panties off as quick as possible. At twelve, he had no idea why he'd ever want to do that, and it was a long while before he understood their laughter. After the attack on their base, Penn and his young friends quickly put those lessons into action against Imperial troops. He was just as adept with a blowgun, bow, or spear as he was with modern combat weapons. After seeing what IMPSEC goons did to people in some of the Alca villages, he found something personally satisfying in creeping up on his enemy, and use a knife at close quarters.
"So, who IMPSEC?” Penn asked discretely, speaking into his coffee mug.
"Why would they be here?" she asked, copying him.
"They're here as a backup in case you screw the pooch, or get killed along the way."
He wasn't trying to insult her, it was a matter of practicality. If she died, she doubted the Captain could handle this bunch for long. The General would cover his butt three ways from Sunday. It hadn't occurred to her before that those stone killers would be here in her team. The thought sent a shiver up her spine. Maybe they weren't here just to make sure she did her job, but to eliminate Penn after he'd completed the mission. It was something an asshole like Tandy would think of.
"I honestly don't know,” she whispered.
"I'm betting those three over there. Dana is the leader," Penn pointed with his eyes for a moment, and then looked away. Ellis couldn't see anything that set them apart from the others and said so.
"If you notice, those three always sit just a little away from the other. Not out of the group, but not exactly part of it either. They also eat and sleep together.”
"No much to go by.”
"It's in their eyes. They watch too much, and aren't as quick to join in a firefight as the others. But I've seen these dickheads before, how they acted on Earth, and what they did to people.”
"I take it, you took a special interest in their well being when you met up with them.”
"Oh yes. I went out of my way to welcome them to Earth, on a personal basis you might say,” his soft laugh held little humor. She doubted their deaths were anything but clean and fast.
"I'll keep an eye on them from now on.”
"Won't do you much good until I've... until we've got this prize, whatever it is, or found how to turn off that gravity effect.”
Later, she unrolled her sleeping mat next to his. She was bone tired but didn't know why. Everyone except Penn looked exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to get this over with, and go home. But where was home now, Earth? Earth seemed just as alien and far away now as this place. Penn sat in his lotus position on his sleeping mat, meditating as she drifted off to sleep. Lulled by the soft ghostly sigh of the wind as it wandered between the buildings, like a lost soul looking for a home. He finally slept, close but not touching Ellis, and the moment she moved the next morning, he opened his eyes.
"Sleep well?” he asked as she sat up.
"Wonderful," she answered, sitting and stretching.
"Good. Remember what I said last night. Concentrate on getting to the base of the pyramid and nothing else got it?” Obviously, Penn knew something, but he wasn't saying what. ”Can you follow those instructions?”
“Yes.” She answered, her brow pulling into a frown. Even though she was in command, she didn’t hesitate to comply with his order, and that’s what it was, an order.
"Good. Your life may depend on it.” He said cryptically as he knelt and rolled his sleeping mat.
Ellis did the same, and within half an hour, they'd eaten breakfast, and outside, ready to march. Ellis performed the morning inspection, and they were off. Rounding a corner, and much to everyone's surprise, they found the road the trooper Thrax had described. It ran straight as an arrow for about a mile toward the base of the pyramid.
"Well what do you know? We caught a break at last!” Class yelled.
"No more running in circles around these frigging buildings.” Another trooper answered. None of them seemed to think it odd that the road wasn't here last night.
"Don't be too sure of that, trooper,” Penn put in. “roads don't just suddenly appear out of thin air.”
“Trust a human to look on the dark side.” Breen mumbled loudly.
Penn saw a couple of troopers spit on the ground. He was used to it, and it didn't affect him nearly as much as it did when he was younger, as when he had to step off the sidewalk into the gutter when Imperials walked by. He knew it revealed more about their fear of him, than hatred. The ones who'd spat were also the ones he suspected of being IMPSEC. They started at a brisk pace, the morning sun shining bright, the air fresh and clean without a trace of dust from the day before. The miles went quickly, and from their slightly higher elevation, they could see the road took a couple of jogs before another straight stretch to the pyramid. As they came to a T-junction and turned the corner, three Silurian soldiers came running toward them from between the next row of buildings. But they were gone before anyone could even bring a weapon up to fire.
"What the shit!” Class yelled as a giant slab of the road suddenly tilted down under the Silurian's and swung over them like a wave. With a tremendous thud, it came level again, swallowing all three. All heard the Silurian's last screams as they plunged to their death under the road.
"Oh God! What the fuck was that?” Carras moaned as he looked down at the slab he was standing on. His face white as he moved to the edge.
"Another trap! What the hell do you think it was?” Dana yelled.
Yet, somehow, Penn walked down the road and over the place where the three Silurian's had vanished, and the roadbed never moved. Ellis found her heart in her throat as she watched, e
xpecting to see him suffer the same fate as their enemies.
"Damn it Penn! What the hell do you think you're doing?” she snapped, wanting nothing more than to slap him. “That slab could have flipped over!”
"No it wouldn't.”
"Why not?"
“Because it wasn't my fear.” That stopped her.
"Come again.”
"I bet you the Silurian's was thinking about falling into a pit or something, and so he did.”
"That's crazy!"
"Maybe, but they're dead.”
The troopers were skeptical of Penn's reasoning, and they approached the road carefully, mostly walking along the edge, boot cautiously feeling the ground for any movement. It slowed their pace considerable for a while until they got their confidence back. As they walked, another disconcerting thought spread through the rank. From their previous higher position, they'd all seen the road take a right, then a left and go straight for another mile before it ran straight to the base of the pyramid. They'd turned right, but no left turn appeared. It was just block after block of crumbling buildings. They tried to turn around and walked back to the T-junction, but after three hours of wandering and retracing their steps, Ellis had to admit there might be something Penn's musings. Ellis was in the lead, and about to turn another unfamiliar corner when Penn suddenly exploded into a blur of motion. He dived between the troopers and grabbed Ellis around the waist just as she was about to step off into an open pit that had appeared under her feet. It happened so quickly that she had no time to react. If it weren't for Penn pulling her back, she would have fallen to her death several hundred feet below on the needle sharp stakes at the bottom. Several impaled Thrakee and Silurian's attested to the efficiency of the trap.