by Ralph Prince
“That storm must have been a warm front moving through,” Don speculated. “It pushed the cooler air and clouds ahead of it. It’ll probably be even hotter tomorrow before the temperature levels off.”
“We need to go,” Karen urged. “It will be dark before we reach the caves if we don’t.”
“Karen’s right,” Don agreed. “Will, do you feel up to pressing on? If you need a hand with your packs, just let me know. I can carry more than I’ve got.”
“No,” Will insisted. “I can carry them. You’ve already got more than anyone else. I’m ready to move on.”
“Okay then,” the captain said, glancing toward Jackie. The concern on her face conveyed the skepticism she felt about Will’s condition. He nodded in acknowledgment, shifting his gaze momentarily to the young lieutenant, silently indicating that she should keep a close eye on him. Then, gathering his packs, he turned toward their destination. “Let’s move out,” he said. “We still have a long way to go.”
The rest of the party began donning their packs as Don started forward. Karen, also carrying a share of the supplies, hastened to his side, with Will and Jackie following close behind.
The shadows crept ever longer as they marched, but even in the shade of the rocky slope, the overbearing heat continued to wear them down. As they rounded the ridge, several eroded towering structures came into view in the distance, rising toward the hazy sky. Though still kilometers away, it was obvious they were man-made.
They continued until the intervening gray wasteland offered no further protection from the sinking sun.
“Don,” Jackie said between labored breaths, “we have to stop soon. I don’t think Will can make it much farther.”
Brushing aside his sweat matted hair, Don turned to face the two lieutenants. The sight was not an encouraging one. Will stared blankly ahead, breathing fast shallow breaths through parched lips. Droplets of perspiration ran down his pale face and neck, soaking his flight suit. His entire body sagged unsteadily under the weight of the supplies he carried, and frequent, feeble coughs escaped his lungs.
“We’ll stop here for a bit before heading out into the sun,” Don decided, despite the sense of urgency on Karen’s face. “How soon before he’ll be able to continue?”
“I’m not sure he’ll be able to,” Jackie said, her attention fixed on the holographic screen of the medical scanner she wore on her forearm. “He’s suffering from heat exhaustion. Could you get me some water, Don?”
Relieving the system analyst of his packs and goggles, Jackie loosened the collar of his uniform and eased him to a sitting position on a smooth boulder. Drawing a piece of cloth from her med-pack and thoroughly wetting it with the water bottle Don handed her, she gently dampened Will’s forehead, cheeks, lips, and neck.
“I don’t understand why the heat’s affecting him so much more than the rest of us,” Jackie said.
“His uniform,” Don said, indicating the sweat-soaked flight suit. “It isn’t thermal weave. If it were, he wouldn’t be sweating like that. It’s not Space Force issue.”
“Designer clothing,” Jackie said, shaking her head. “What was he thinking?”
“Damn,” Don cursed. “We’re past the half-way point now. There’s no sense in turning back. Can you get him in any kind of condition to travel?”
“Will,” she said softly, grasping him firmly by the shoulders as he began to topple.
“I’m okay,” he insisted, slumping forward into her arms. “Just give me a minute to rest.”
“Here,” she said, restoring him to a sitting position and offering him the water bottle after dropping an electrolyte tablet into it. “Drink. Just rest; we have plenty of time.” Even as she spoke, she glanced over her shoulder at the growing shadows, which warned of the approaching night.
Digging through her medical kit, she withdrew several small packets and twisted them in her hands, until they made a popping sound. She felt them cool rapidly as the chemicals within mixed. Unfastening the front of Will’s flight suit, she placed one in each armpit.
“The cold packs will cool him off,” she said, hesitating with the third one. “Sorry about this,” she apologized, as she shoved it deep into the front of his flight suit, positioning it on his groin.
Will’s eyes widened as he tried to stand, but lost his balance.
“Easy,” Jackie said, once again steadying him. “I know it’s cold, but you have to keep them there to bring down your body temperature.”
“Donald,” Karen urged impatiently, “we must hurry. It will be dark soon.”
Nodding to her reassuringly, Don shifted his eyewear to his forehead and knelt next to Will, looking directly into his unfocused eyes. “If someone helps you,” he asked, uncertain whether he understood or not, “do you think you can make it a little farther?”
“I think I can make it,” he answered weakly, struggling to his feet with the captain’s aid. His eyes focused, and his breathing steadied.
“Jackie,” Don said, “help Will. I’ll carry his equipment.”
“You can’t carry his things and yours too,” she protested. “And I can’t carry mine and support him at the same time. We’ll all be in his condition, or worse, before long.”
“Karen,” the captain said, turning away from the lieutenant, “help Jackie with Will.”
Donning his own packs, as well as Will’s, Don gazed once more at the lengthening shadows, then trudged forward.
Shaking her head in disbelief at the commander’s stubbornness, Jackie loaded her packs onto her back. Then, with Karen’s aid, supported Will as they set out after the commander, across the wind-swept landscape.
They reached the outskirts of the city as dusk closed in around them and gazed, aghast, at the dozens of buildings, rising like skeletal claws from the lifeless ground. Most of the structures were crumbling under their own weight and untold years of exposure to the elements, until only a few retained any semblance of their former splendor. Many others had fallen, covering the streets in rubble, which had long since been blanketed in the gray dust that prevailed on the planet’s surface.
Something had shattered this world: a catastrophe of enormous proportions. Whether the destruction was natural or man-made could not be ascertained, but the result was a planet regressed through centuries of growth and evolution.
“It’s like walking through a giant graveyard,” Jackie observed, shuddering at the thought.
“Please hurry,” Karen pleaded, fear prevalent in her voice. “It’s getting dark, and the Tants will be out soon. If they catch us….” Her voice trailed off into terrified silence.
Still bearing the extra burden, Don gave his crew a quick visual inspection. The lower temperature of the coming night served to revive them slightly. Will, though still unsteady, managed to travel without support, but Jackie had been weakened by the extra effort. Karen, who still seemed virtually unaffected, fidgeted nervously.
“You live here?” Jackie asked, as they pressed onward.
“No,” Karen replied in a hushed tone. “The Tants live here. My people live below ground, in the caves beneath the city.”
“What was that noise?” Will asked as a howling shriek cut through the air.
“The Tants,” Karen replied fearfully as she quickened her pace. She wished she hadn’t lost her bow and knife in her initial encounter with Donald; there was comfort to be had in being armed. “Please hurry.”
As they moved through the debris-covered streets, feral howls and yips sounded from all around them, though nothing could be seen in the deep shadows. They halted, as the sounds seemed to be originating just meters away.
“We’re surrounded!” exclaimed Will in a fit of near panic. He drew his photon blaster from its holster, searching in vain for something to aim at.
“Easy lieutenant,” Don said. “I count two, maybe three. They move around and make a lot of noise to give the illusion of greater numbers. The tactic is meant to frighten us in the hopes we’ll flee, leaving
the slower and weaker members behind.”
“He’s right,” Karen confirmed, urging them on. “If they outnumbered us, they would attack from ambush. Come on, it’s this building.”
She led them up a weathered set of stairs, through the shattered panes of the dilapidated structure’s façade, into a large vestibule. Though it appeared to have once served as an office building, none of the original furnishings remained. She hastened into a darkened hallway and past several clutter-filled rooms, from which meager light seeped through broken windows. The visual enhancement feature of their goggles allowed them to travel unhindered by the poor illumination. Navigating through the twisting hallways, Karen directed them through a metal door to a stairwell leading downward into seemingly perpetual darkness.
Pausing to activate a portable chemical lamp, the crew began their descent. Don, laboring under the extra weight he carried, followed Karen down the crumbling stairs. Behind him, carrying the light, Will hugged the wall for support. At the rear, Jackie kept a vigilant eye out for any sign of pursuit. Though she saw nothing, she felt the menacing eyes of the predators watching them from the darkness.
“The Tants don’t use this building,” Karen explained, her hushed voice echoing through the barren stairwell. “They took everything they wanted long ago, but didn’t find the entrance to the caves. We’ve managed to stay hidden, as we only come up to hunt during the day. The Tants don’t like the daytime heat, so they only come out at night.”
“What exactly are the Tants?” Don asked, wishing he knew what he was running from. “They seem animalistic, but you talk as though they are highly intelligent.”
“They are Tants,” she said, knowing no other words to describe them. “Come, the entrance is this way.”
They followed her through several large rooms of the sub-level, with networks of pipes and ducts forming an intricate maze. Stopping before a partially concealed opening, Karen turned to the Terrans. “The caves are through here,” she said.
Suddenly, a dark figure emerged from the shadows and grabbed Karen from behind, causing her to squeal. As Don rushed to her aid, he caught a glint of light out of the corner of his eye. Reflexively, he ducked as a thick makeshift club, with sharp metal protrusions, struck the wall where his head had been. Spinning swiftly, he swept the legs from beneath his attacker with his foot, and shook himself free of the cumbersome packs he carried.
Two more forms emerged from the shadows brandishing weapons at Will and Jackie. Will dropped the lantern as he backpedaled from his attacker, losing his balance and falling prone. Jackie blocked and sidestepped as the knife-wielding assailant swung at her, then brought her knee up into its groin, causing it to double over.
Don’s aggressor quickly regained his footing, and swung downward with the crude, but dangerous, weapon. Rolling to the side the captain avoided the blow and came to rest on one knee, his blaster leveled at the club wielder’s chest.
“Dillon, no!” Karen screamed, pulling free of her captor. “It’s me, Karen. These people are my friends.”
CHAPTER 2: Meet the Family
Don lowered his weapon as his assailant turned toward Karen. His club clattered noisily to the ground as he spread his arms to receive her embrace.
“Karen!” he said, his voice booming through the large room. “I was afraid you had been captured by the Tants. Put down your weapons,” he said, addressing the other guards. “It’s my sister.”
Hesitantly, the men who attacked Karen and Will lowered their weapons, while the one who attacked Jackie struggled to his feet.
Holstering his blaster and catching his breath, Don stepped to Karen’s side. “Were you hurt?” he asked, intently scrutinizing her brother.
He was slightly shorter than Don, and not as muscular; although still well-toned. His medium length hair was dirty and tangled, identical in color to Karen’s when they first met her. He wore patchwork leather pants, leather boots, and a sleeveless fur shirt.
“I’m okay,” Karen assured, setting down her pack. “Dillon, these are my new friends Donald, Jackie, and Will. This is my brother, Dillon, and those are Stanton, Ross, and Donovan.”
Stanton, the man who had grabbed Karen, nodded in acknowledgement. He was the eldest of the four by several decades. Lean in stature, with gray hair and a ragged beard, he wore a frayed cloth tunic tied with a length of rope, crudely sewn pants, and moccasin-like shoes. Ross and Donovan were similarly clad, dark-haired, and close enough in appearance to be brothers.
“I didn’t recognize you,” Dillon apologized. “I thought you were Tants.” He inspected Karen, taking a length of her hair in his hand. “You look so different; your hair, those strange clothes.”
Jackie assisted Will in regaining his feet, while warily watching the two men who had attacked them. They stood at the fringe of the light, poised and alert, but non-threatening.
“I was at Donald’s building,” Karen explained excitedly. “It can fly through the air, and even go to the stars. They have more water than I’ve ever seen, and a person named Iva who is real, but is only a head that your hand can pass through.”
Dillon’s response was an incredulous gaze cast toward Don, who knelt gathering his equipment. Drawing Karen off to the side, he quietly scolded her, “You shouldn’t have brought them here; they may be working with the Tants. If they find the caves—”
“They don’t work with the Tants,” Karen protested. “I was hurt and they took me to their ship. You should see it, Dillon; it’s unlike anything we’ve ever imagined. They might be able to take us all to a place where we’ll never have to worry about the Tants again.”
“How do you know they can be trusted?” Dillon asked.
“I just do,” she insisted. “They gave me food and shelter during the storm, and told me all about the place they came from. They brought me back here to make sure I made it safely, and they aren’t afraid of the Tants.”
“They’ve seen the Tants?” Stanton asked, joining the conversation.
“It was after dark when we reached the city,” Karen explained. “There were some Tants in the street, just a small hunting party. They didn’t attack us.”
“You weren’t followed, were you?” Dillon asked, his eyes wide with fear.
“I was careful,” Karen replied. “I didn’t take the direct route here. I’m sure we lost them in the hallways above.”
“I don’t like this,” Dillon said, shaking his head. “What do you think, Stanton?”
“They appear to mean us no harm,” the elder replied. “If they can aid us against the Tants, we cannot afford to turn them away. I say take them to the caves, but have them watched carefully until we’re sure of their intentions.”
“So be it,” Dillon agreed. “We will take them to the caves.”
“Come Donald,” Karen said, bounding back to the three Terrans, who patiently awaited the conclusion of their discussion. “We will take you to the caves where my people live.”
“Stanton and I will go as well,” Dillon said, “so the others don’t mistake you for Tants as we did. Ross and Donovan will stay here to keep watch.”
With Dillon and Stanton in the lead, Karen and the Terrans filed through the narrow opening to a three-meter square shaft descending into darkness. A series of metal rungs set into the wall was the only apparent way down.
“Are you sure you’re up for this, Will?” Don asked, not relishing the thought of the young lieutenant plummeting down the abysmal pit.
“I feel much better,” Will assured. “Thanks for the concern. In fact,” he continued, drawing the cold packs from his flight suit and discarding them, “I don’t think I need these anymore.”
“Karen,” Don said, “you follow Dillon and Stanton; I’ll be right behind you. Will, you follow me, and Jackie, take up the rear. I don’t want anyone getting careless; it could be a long way down.”
Except for the echo of their feet on the rungs and heavy breathing, it was a long silent descent. At several points, Don th
ought his arms, weary from carrying the extra packs, would give out under the strain, but the strength of his resolve kept him going. Finally, he reached the bottom and took a quick glance around. The shaft had but one opening at the bottom, leading to a gently sloping three-meter wide, three-meter high arched hallway, extending beyond the range of their light. The only feature of the concrete passageway was a series of translucent rectangular panels set high on either wall. Don guessed them to have been lighting of some sort, which had long since ceased functioning.
Will and Jackie joined them at the bottom of the shaft as Dillon and Stanton turned to face them.
“Come, the caves are down the tunnel,” Dillon said softly, as he and Stanton started toward the darkness.
None of the three natives seemed winded by the climb, their breathing remained slow and steady, while all three Terrans struggled to catch their breaths. Despite appearing slightly under-nourished, the planet’s inhabitants were a sturdy lot.
“This appears to be a shelter of some sort,” observed Will, his voice echoing loudly. He continued in a hushed tone, “We must be a hundred meters below the surface.”
“Deeper than that,” Don said, as Karen took his arm and they began following Dillon and Stanton. “Based on the number of rungs and the spacing, I would say we climbed down about a hundred and seventy meters, and the basement of the building adds about another ten meters.”
“You counted the rungs?” Jackie asked.
“It helped me concentrate on holding on,” Don explained. “Besides, I like to know as much as possible about what I’m getting myself into, in case I have to get myself out in a hurry.”
“I left my pack up above,” Karen suddenly realized, having been caught up in the excitement of her reunion with her brother. “I’ll go back and get it.”
“Wait,” Don said as she started back up the hallway. “I’ll go with you.”
“I’ll be alright,” Karen assured. “It’ll just take a few minutes, and you shouldn’t have to climb all the way back up because I forgot my pack.”