The Prize: Book One

by Rob Buckman

  General Tandy, and probably the damn Director, had his hand in their connection, betting they'd done a genetic match to pair them together. If so, they'd made a terrible mistake. This was no longer about getting this Prize for the Empire. They could rot in hell before she'd turn it over to them. She wondered when she'd decided, but was unable to pinpoint the moment. Penn was a big part of it, but she she'd had doubts about her choice to join the Empire military, even before this mission. However this turned out, it was the here and now, she was more concerned with, staying alive, and what to do about Penn.

  Penn, meanwhile stripped, and moved under the waterfall, gasping for a moment as the icy water sluiced over him. It felt good just to stand there, skin tingling with life as the water washed away the dirt and worry, and worried he was. Even though he'd never admit it to Ellis, this place was beyond anything he’d experienced before. From the moment, the innocent looking mud hole sucked squad leader Sartac down, and eat him, he began to suspect what this place was all about. At least eight people had walked through the mud puddle before him, and should have trigger a reaction from whatever lurked down there, long before Sartac stepped into it. The nightmare monster that couldn't possibly exist in real life killing the second man confirmed it. Everything after that just reinforced his conclusion.

  From the Silurian's with the roadbed trap, to the one Ellis had almost walked into. The trooper that drowned in an empty fountain that somehow wasn't, to the roads that led nowhere, then did. The last straw was the way the female trooper died, raped to death by a damn plant in a sadomasochistic orgy of self destruction. All their deaths would have been impossible on a real world. Only once had he dared test the theory when he'd though about the fruit. The moment he bit into the soft interior he knew it was the same as pear he’d tasted on Earth, a thousand light years from here.

  The possibilities of that exact fruit existing here were astronomical. And yet, how had the building known how it tasted unless it pulled in from his mind. The trick here was not letting your desires, and especially your fears take form in your mind. That was the killer, literally. Even now, his fear could kill her, or him. Could he keep his mind clear, and not bring about their death? All his senses told him to run, to get as far away from this place as possible, but, for the first time in his life he really didn’t have any choice in the matter. Even with a death sentence for millions of human beings on Earth hanging in the balance of his complying with Director Markoff’s will, he still had a choice. Refuse, and let them die, or comply. Here he had one choice, and that was to go forward toward whatever was at the end of this road. He tensed for a moment as something moved into the falling water with him, and he turned to find Ellis standing there, naked. Their lips met, and their bodied entwined as they should, and they lost themselves in each other. At last, they parted.

  "I need to get clean. Go wait for me.” She whispered in his ear over the sound of falling water. He nodded and left the pool, only to stand on the bank for a moment, watching as her body peeked in and out through the falling water as she bathed. Pure poetry in motion.

  He'd had one wish, remembering how he'd wondered what Sub-Major Ellis looked like out of uniform. Now he knew, and this one had nothing to do with the pyramid. Well, not directly. Using his pack as a pillow, Penn placed their sleeping mats side-by-side on a large patch of velvety moss, and lay down to wait, in modesty placed a towel across his midsection. He didn't have to wait long before he saw her walk up from the waterfall, a towel wrapped around her waist in a short sarong. He drank in her beauty as she walked toward him, hips swinging from side to side in a very non-military walk. She stood for a moment looking down at him while his eyes traveled over her body.

  He looked into her eyes, then down at the towel and Ellis knew what he wanted. The towel fell away, and she stood proudly before him, wanting him to see all of her body. Penn let out a sound, half way between a sigh and a moan, his eyes alive with desire. Ellis stepped across him and slowly sank to her knees, straddling his mid section. She jerked his towel away, and threw it aside, lowering herself slowly onto to his waiting manhood, feeling his strong hands taking hold of her hips. Without them noticing it, the light dimmed, the warm night air filled with the scent of blooming flowers, with just the sound that of rustling water, and Ellis's sharp cries of pleasure as they made love. They reveled in the touch, taste, and feel of each other's bodies, souls entwining to become one, as time, space, and the mission forgotten for a few brief, glorious moments. Neither saw the hot lustful eyes watching them from behind the screen of hanging vines some distance away. Hate filled eyes, with a heart and soul to match.

  CHAPTER - TWENTY FIVE: Arachnophobia

  Dawn found them intertwined under the Thrakee thermal blanket, relaxed and contented, even after a night full of love making. Penn came awake first, his eyes moving to check his surrounding in pure reflex, but nothing had changed. He gently and very reluctantly disengaged himself from Elli's warm embrace, watching her sleepy reaction for a brief moment before she fell back asleep. Slipping his pants on he went for his morning ablution and gathered firewood to make Kaf. It was ready by the time Ellis stretched and came awake with a yawn, sniffing the air expectantly.

  "Good morning, Princess.”

  She looked at him shyly from under the blanket, blushing slightly as he handed her a cup of coffee, and a kiss. He smiled slightly as she pulled the blanket up a little to cover her breasts. Ellis took the offered cup, wondering why she should suddenly feel shy with Penn. This was the man who'd explored every inch of her body so wonderfully last night, leaving no part untouched or un-kissed. If she thought she'd been with a man before, she was mistaken. Despite Penn's claim not to know many woman, he was a consummate lover, and left nothing to the imagination, fulfilling her desires before his. He was even thoughtful enough to fold and place her clothes beside their makeshift bed. After a while, Penn strolled off with a cup of coffee, whistling softly to himself, he waited until after she was fully dressed, and making breakfast before he returned. They ate in silence, content with their own thoughts, and after one last cup of Kaf, they packed, and got ready to move.

  "Which way... lover?” Penn smiled, and pointed toward the opening in the rock formation near the waterfall.

  Neither wanted to leave this place, but both knew they had to. They say that duty is a harsh Mistress, but Ellis had never experienced it on this level. On the other hand, a different Mistress drove Penn, and for a different reason. There was no way he was going to let Ellis go after the Prize by herself. He'd found his Prize, and he wasn't about to let it go in harm's way without him. He knew it was useless to try to convince her to abandon the search, even if they could. If the truth be told, he was curious about the prize himself, but mostly to see if it was worth all this trouble. The day went by much as the days before had gone, with little progress. Penn and Ellis did see several groups of troopers but they were unable to link up. Ellis still held out hope they could link up again, but privately Penn was betting they never would. Unless you were lucky to be in a group, everyone was pretty much on their own in here. The passageway they were following emptied out onto a narrow ledge that spiraled up around the outside wall of a high gallery. From the look of it, they were now at the bottom and inside the first cavern they'd seen, with the strange transparent tunnels crisscrossing above them. The ledge was difficult to climb even with their backpacks in hand, and with their backs pressed against the rock wall. He and Ellis shuffled their way along to wherever it took them. Looking up, Penn spotted one of the female troopers, trooper Callis exiting a similar tunnel higher up the cavern. He pointed her out to Ellis, who started to call out. Callis managed to walk about half way across, looking down and waving to them. She took one more step and plunged through a floor that wasn't there.

  “Oh God!” Ellis's scream almost matching that of Callis as she hurtled pass them.

  "So it goes on.” Ellis sobbed, hearing the sickening thud as Callis hit bottom.

  Even t
hough they weren't his men, Penn understood Ellis's pain. He knew too well the sickening, helpless feeling of losing people in combat for no good reason. He gave Ellis a moment to calm down before gently urging her on again. The ledge ended halfway up the shaft at the entrance to one of the transparent passageways. As they stepped cautiously out, Captain Carras appeared at the other end.

  "Holy Mother, Major. Am I glad to see you." His grin matched his words.

  "Same here, Captain." Both stepped out onto the transparent floor, smiling in greeting before Penn could react.

  "Ellis! Stop." But it was too late. Both Captain Carras and Ellis began to sink through the floor, Carras faster than Ellis.

  "Shit! She yelled, lunging forward to grab Carras by the wrists.

  Ellis held on, even as the Major part of Captain Carras body slipped all the way through. To make matters worse, she couldn't hold on, no matter how hard she squeezed she couldn't get a grip. It felt as if his hands and forearm were covered in something slick. Dropping his pack, Penn lunged forward onto the floor to try and help, but it was useless.

  "Hold on!" Ellis yelled, tears of frustration ran down her face as she realization she couldn't hold him. Penn felt himself sinking into, and through the floor as he grabbed hold of Ellis, looking up just in time to see Captain Carras slip out of her grasp.

  "Oh God… no!" Ellis sobbed, clenching her empty fish in despair.

  "Got to get you out of here."

  Penn grunted as he squeezed his stomach muscles and drove his body into combat mode. With all his increased strength, he pulled Ellis back out of the floor, uncaring how much he sank himself.

  "PENN! NO!"

  Penn ignored her, lifting and throwing her as hard as he could back down the passageway to solid ground. Ellis skidded across the rock floor on her butt until she collided with the rock wall. For a moment, she was stunned at what he'd done, unable to think.

  "Fuck!" Was the most pointed word Penn could think to use. Just when something good was happening to him, now he was going to die. Just then, something smacked into his chest and face.

  "What the…" It was a rope.

  "Hold on!" Ellis yelled, and he did, immediately wrapping the cord around his wrist. It wasn't a moment too soon as he passed through the floor and dropped.

  He fell a few feet before he hit the end of the slack, and looking up, he could see the rope cut through the floor like a hot knife through soft butter. Thankfully, his systems was still in combat mode, and as soon as Ellis pulled him up high enough, he pulled out a knife and cut his way through the floor. Once he had a hole large enough, Ellis pulled him through. With a grunt of thanks, he sprawled beside her, panting for breath.

  "Jesus, that was close." He breathed.

  "You're not going to get out of making me an honest woman that easy." Ellis laughed nervously, even thought she felt like crying in sorrow and relief at the same time. Penn took her in his arms and hugged her, knowing there was nothing he could say to lessen the feeling of guilt over letting Captain Carras slip through her grasp.

  "I couldn't hold him… it was like he was covered in something slick.. I tried, I really did."

  "I know, but, I don't think that was Captain Carras."

  "What?"

  "Did you notice that he didn't scream or yell when he fell?" Ellis drew back and looked at him a moment.

  "So? You think… wait. The building created him to…"

  "I'm just saying, that it's odd that he didn't scream, and didn't look particularly scared or concerned as he fell."

  "That's sick." Ellis snarled. "Why on Earth would this shithole of a building want to make you think you'd just dropped… killed someone you knew?"

  "You've got me, but nothing this place has done so far makes any sense." Ellis let out a long sigh.

  "So, where do we go from here?"

  "Across that bridge, where else. You know we can't go back."

  "But… but there's no floor…" Ellis stopped speaking and looked the same way as Penn. Now the floor was whole again.

  Even so, Penn went first this time with the rope wrapped around his waist as a precaution. Step by careful step, he made his way across and braced himself for Ellis to do the same. Now the floor was as solid as a rock, a transparent rock. After that, they entered a dark, gloomy tunnel, apparently hollowed out of what appeared to be solid rock, and a few feet in, the tunnel branched into three passageways. Penn opted for the middle one, but within a few feet, it branched again, this time into four tunnels. They stopped.

  “What the hell is this stuff, Penn?” Ellis asked, pulling a soft white fibrous substance off the wall.

  “Beats the hell out of me. It's sort of looks like…”

  “What?” Penn drew both his blades, hunching forward slightly into a fighting crouch. ”Penn?”

  “I hate to say it, but that stuff looks a lot like spider web.”

  “Spiders?” Ellis started to retreat. ”Penn, I hate spiders. Let's go back.”

  “It's okay, we can handle it.” His eyes flicked back and forth like a snake.

  “You don't understand. I fragging' hate spiders!”

  “Hey, what's the worst that could happen?” He laughed. ”I'll just take a rolled up newspaper and swat it.”

  “I think you are going to need a large newspaper.” She said, eyeing the webs.

  The webs mat covering the walls grew thicker and thicker the further they went into the tunnels, and soon the walls and floor were festooned to the point where they couldn't even see the rock. Penn developed a system for helping them navigate the branching pathways. If the path split three ways, he took the middle tunnel. If two, he alternated between left, and right. The passageways were relatively straight, but that didn't guarantee they'd travel in a straight line. Without any guideposts, or markers, it was the best he could do. At one point, they ran into a dead end that sent a chill up Penn's back. Several shrouded lumps that looked suspiciously like bodies lay cocooned on the floor. Two more hung from the ceiling by thin ropes of spider silk.

  “Oh shit!” Ellis muttered. ”Not good.”

  “I have to agree with you there.” Penn said, moving forward to examine the bodies closer. Not good.

  He knelt by the first shrouded body. Pulling the tough web-like fiber away from the face, he breathed a soft sigh of relief. Thrakee, and from the expression on his face, his death hadn't been easy. Whatever the spider had done to him, his body was already starting to turn to jelly inside the skin. Penn guessed the Thrakee's internal organs were starting to liquefy. Still kneeling, Penn did a quick scan of the chamber. There was a relativity clear spot where water trickled down the end wall of the chamber to gather in a deep pool at the base of the wall. Thick spider web matting, wallpapered the rest of the chamber, turning the place into a sort of nest. A slight scratching sound caught his attention.

  “Ellis! Get behind me. Up against the end wall on the far side of that pool.”

  Coming up behind them was something out of her worst nightmare, a glistening, horse-sized white spider. Several smaller spiders scurried around its legs. Ellis heard herself moan, unable to stop the sound escaping from her throat. Her knees went weak, thinking of the bodies around them. They were trapped, With Penn standing between her and the giant spider. Wonderful, beautiful Penn, willing to defend her with his life, with just a pair of knives. She forced her fear down, drawing her blade, and moved forward to stand beside her man. This is where she belonged. If he went down, she would do her best to defend him against that monstrosity.

  CHAPTER - TWENTY SIX: Leap of faith

  “Ellis, get a flare out! I think we're going to need it.”

  Ellis swung her pack off as the giant spider came toward them, frantically searched for a flare, her hands shaking. She found one, as the monster loomed closer, but her fingers trembled so badly she fumbled at the pull-tab. At last, she had it, jerking it free to igniting the flare. A moment later, the blinding white glare flooded the chamber and the creature hesitated and
pulled back. Ellis covered her eyes and tried to see around the light, but it was impossible. Penn moved back, bumping into Ellis. He pushed her back to the pool. They both stumbled in, and waded across until they were up to their waist with their backs to the wet wall.

  “What now?! This flare isn't going to last long.”

  “Throw the damn thing! I'll get another,” Penn yelled, jerking his pack off.

  Plunging his hand inside he frantically searched for a flare just as Ellis threw hers to where she thought the spider was. Something that sounded like a loud 'WOOF' slammed them both against the back wall. The cavern flared with yellow light. Instinctively, Penn grabbed Ellis and pulled her down into the pool, the shallow water just deep enough to cover them both. A surge of powerful light flickered above them as the spider web spontaneously ignited in a giant fireball. He held her underwater until the light above slowly faded before letting her free and standing up.