Energize (From the Logs of Daniel Quinn Book 1)

by Thomas R. Manning

  “They’re awfully sure of themselves aren’t they?” I said to myself, trying to stay collected.

  The hands holding my arms finally released me, but another hand rested itself on my shoulders. Laraar stood behind me.

  “Chorta,” he sang to me, indicating my friend in the ring. I finally had a name for him. The other two, I learned, were named Horku and Grent. Laraar moved his arm around me, pointing to the three of them. “Choose . . . Horku . . . Grent . . . defend Daniel, and earn . . .”

  Um, what?

  Laraar squeezed my shoulder gently then stepped back. I turned to look at him, but he was lost in a crowd of Dawnians when they extended their company into a full circle surrounding the four of us. I was frozen, standing there without any weapon or understanding of what I had to do. I suppose Chorta grew sick and tired of waiting. After a couple minutes of me muttering ‘oh shit oh shit oh shit’ to myself, he touched his staff to the one on his left, Grent I think. Chorta and Horku stepped into the crowd.

  Grent did some kind of martial art exhibition which I have to admit was impressive. He shouted a long flat note that drew laughter from the crowd. I was shaking, nervous, and terrified.

  Don’t let that get to you and don’t let them get to you. You’re fighting for your freedom and possibly your life, I thought to myself.

  It wouldn’t be the first time I fought for my life. I stretched out my arms and stood in a fighting stance. It seemed that this was meant to be a duel, but to what end? I didn’t have any more time to think about it as Grent growled at me and charged, his hands clenched into tight fists. I didn’t know their fighting style and my eye couldn’t tell me much, except that there was a 75% chance he would charge me until I thrust at him only for it to be deflected by his left arm. No matter what kind of match this was I didn’t want to kill him, especially in front of all his brethren so I fell to my right and kept my left leg extended, hoping to trip him. He saw that coming and jumped over it turning his midsection quickly after and swinging his right fist at my head. I barely had enough time to raise my forearm to block. It wasn’t a good block and he managed to hit my jaw.

  I rolled out of the way of his large foot and jumped to my feet before he gained too much advantage. I tried alternating swings to his midsection and fortunately he moved to block my right swing which allowed my left to connect with his ribcage, or what I thought was his ribcage. The hit knocked the wind out of him momentarily and I used the opportunity to attack again. He held his hands out to block another attempt at his midsection, which I ignored. Instead I threw my leg up and around his defense, landing an agile kick across his face.

  Grent backed away as an abundance of sweat built on my face and underarms. As I stood there breathing heavily I realized I was smiling, enjoying this. Maybe it was because I forgot that I had some skill in fighting or maybe it was simply a matter of Chorta and his men underestimating me. In fact, there was a small part of me that was confident I could win. That is until Grent stood up straight, took a deep breath, and smiled. Either he healed astoundingly quickly or he had been feigning his injuries. He charged at me again, shocking me with the increased quickness in his steps.

  Round two was a joke. In the blink of an eye Grent threw his elbow into my leg, the pain caused me to drop to one knee. His arms were so quick they looked like a blur as he thrust his fist into my stomach and I fell to my knees and hands. I couldn’t see what he did next, but the impact felt like he clamped his hands together and threw them down on my back like a sledgehammer. I was now flat on the ground, the pain soaring through my limbs. I felt like such a fool. The entire time I thought I actually stood a chance.

  Despite the pain, Grent’s taunting, and the cheer of the crowd, I got to my feet and raised my hands again. The noise quieted as everyone looked at me. I tried to take a deep breath, but the previous hit to my stomach had knocked the wind out of me. Grent narrowed his large eyes and snarled as he came at me again.

  I tried depending solely on my bionic eye this time, letting it absorb his movements and giving me a counter move. He jumped at me with his foot in the air, but I sidestepped in time to avoid it. That’s when he compensated by swinging his left arm into mine. I moved to block, but in doing so I made the same mistake he made earlier, leaving my opposite side completely wide open. With amazing agility and flexibility he threw his leg into my side. The hit took me off my feet and I hoped the crack I heard was my imagination. In less than a minute I was on the ground again.

  My mouth tasted like blood and sand, my back throbbed, and my side hurt badly. There was nothing wrong with giving up at this point, at least in my opinion. But this wasn’t just any ordinary fight. These people had brought me to this ring to fight with one of Chorta’s associates only for him to feign most of my attacks. My blood boiled at the thought of being played with. I was tired of it. Once more, I stood up and faced my enemy ready for whatever he was going to throw at me, even if it was death.

  Just to irritate Grent one last time, I turned my mouth up in a devious smile and invited him to try again. He got the message loud and clear, and he clenched his fists so hard I expected to see blood running from his palms. He bent down, arms up and I spread my feet and straightened my back.

  “OOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”

  The booming sound came from the crowd, and I turned to see three Dawnians enter the ring. These three were dressed differently than the others. Two of them, smaller than the one in the middle, were females. Their sleeves were infused with gold rings, and they wore neck and ear jewelry. The male wore a golden belt and a crown-like head piece. The first thing that came to my mind was that they were the authority over these people. They stood in front of Grent and me with their hands up, indicating we were to stop the fight. I wasn’t about to argue.

  The three of them sang out to their people. The male’s hands pointed towards me, then spread out wide. The women followed him like a physical echo. Their movements, like their voices, were flawless and in a consistent rhythm.

  Someone stepped up behind me. I turned to see that it wasn’t Laraar as I had expected, but his companion I had met that first day, Idza I think her name was.

  “Masters sing your honor . . . Daniel,” she sang to me. The speech that her device translated was leaps and bounds over what Laraar could produce.

  “My honor?” I asked her, hoping she would explain.

  “Authority required . . . test . . . quality of your life force.”

  My ribs were aching and I was still trying to catch my breath so it was a little more frustrating to try and deduce the meaning of her translation. I deactivated my bionic eye to help me think more clearly. Somehow, just from watching me fight they were satisfied that I was a man of honor. I was confused more than anything, but if the fight put me in their good graces I wasn’t going to say anything else about it.

  “What did I do to gain honor?” I found myself asking before my brain could play catch up. I had to restrain myself from clamping my hand over my mouth.

  “You fought . . . courage . . . no fear,” she said quickly, as if she knew that was my question.

  She escorted me out of the ring and back into the forest, looking at me the whole time.

  “How is it you talk so well?” I asked her. She thought over her answer for a moment.

  “Studying. My job requires understanding you.”

  “What about Laraar?”

  “Laraar studies . . . all . . . everything. No time for specific.”

  So I wasn’t wrong about Laraar being some sort of scientist. Right now what I needed though was a medic. I was in pain from top to bottom thanks to Grent’s attacks. I wanted a shower, a change of clothes, and maybe a steak. I wondered what the chances were of the Dawnians allowing me access to my ship to grab some of the food stocked in the refrigerator.

  “Healer will treat wounds,” Idza said to me as I grunted in pain and limped along back towards my cell. Laraar was nowhere to be seen when we finally reac
h the holding area. I spotted Cessa sitting against the left wall from the opening in front. Her arms were around her knees and she was looking at me. There was no expression of anger on her face, but she didn’t care to show remorse for the way I looked or felt. In my cell, however, a new Dawnian waited.

  “Donos,” Idza said to me, pointing to him.

  She motioned me forward and I hopped and limped onto the cot. As I sat there Donos scanned me with some sort of medical device, trying to determine my injuries. He took out a bowl and mixed herbs in it, adding a touch of thick liquid along with it. He brought it to me and motioned for me to drink it. I did, but couldn’t hold back the gag reflex after I swallowed. Whatever it was, it tasted terrible.

  “Mixture will help immediately,” Idza said to me in an amused tone, but then her features changed to something more sincere.

  “Being caged . . . cruel, yet necessary. When sun greets us, you will be free to walk among us. Your friend too . . . should you choose.” The two of them gave me a low bow then Idza locked my cage and walked away, leaving Cessa and me alone once again.

  Neither of us talked that night. I found myself staring up at the stars trying to draw new constellations in my mind. I always made a habit of looking at the stars, whether on land or in space. Centuries ago men who sailed on Earth’s oceans used the stars to navigate. When flying in space among them, you could chart your own course. That led me to think of the Dawnians and the situation they put me in. I was going to be free and I was excited, don’t get me wrong, but they left Cessa’s fate in my hands as well. This was my biggest concern at the moment. Did it have to be a concern though? All I had to do was let her stay in her cell while I gained the respect of the natives, but what kind of person would that make me? Was it possible for her to remain calm and neutral once she was free among the people who imprisoned her and stole her precious weapon?

  By tomorrow morning there was a choice to make and I had a bad feeling that no matter how I decided, some part of me would regret it.

  ELEVEN

  The sky was still dark when I opened my eyes from a restless sleep. Something in the meadow had awoken me, a noise of some sort, but I was too groggy to pinpoint it. I rolled onto my back and pulled the blanket high to my neck, the night air colder than usual. I wish I knew what time it was or for that matter what day, but there was no way to tell.

  “Daniel,” a soft womanly voice whispered. I blinked. Cessa’s voice woke me up, her tone soft and sad out in the darkness.

  “What?” I grumbled, wincing at the dryness of my throat as I swallowed. I heard a deep breath and something else too. Was it crying? I leaned up and tried to concentrate on the sounds Cessa made, but if she was crying it was too hard to tell.

  “I just wanted to say . . . I’m sorry. I haven’t helped to make this mission any easier. My actions seem to get us into more trouble. I . . . I hope you realize that I am just doing my job, or t-t-trying to at least. Finding the empyreus for Mr. Erebos is all that matters to me, but I admit I could have done things differently.”

  At this point I sat up and leaned over to the opening next to my cot, the same one that faced her cell. She was standing, her hands placed on the borders of the gap. She shivered in the cold. Her mouth was parted and her eyebrows raised. She looked sad, but a couple of days in a jail cell could do that to you, I suppose. Still, this was the first time she had opened up to me.

  “Why do you work for him?” I asked her. I thought it was a personal enough question that, if she was remorseful, would be answered. She looked away from me, but I couldn’t tell if it was due to shame or deflection. I waited for her to say something, but it took a couple of minutes.

  “Working for a man like him wasn’t something that required a job application or a training operation. When you work for him, it’s because you owe it to him. He owns you and he doesn’t let you forget it.”

  “Can I ask what you owe him?” Her saddened face hardened.

  “No,” she said quickly, sounding more like the Cessa I thought I knew. I cursed at myself for losing what might have been a bonding moment with the Cessa underneath all the baggage. She took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, frozen air expanding from her lips into the wind. “Will you release me? I overheard the native talking to you, t-t-telling you that I could be free if you chose it. I c-c-can’t promise I won’t lash out, but I can promise I’ll try. Please don’t keep me locked up like an animal,” she pleaded.

  This was going to be the million dollar decision apparently, one that would refuse to let me get anymore sleep tonight. On the one hand, I could let her out and she could wreak havoc on anything she comes into contact with, but maybe there was a small chance she’d behave herself. Of course if I kept her locked up, I would be safe to explore the land and bond with the natives, but once the job was finished I would either have to face her wrath once we departed or leave without her and face the potential wrath of Raymond Erebos. No matter what direction I walked in, there was still a pile of shit for me to step in.

  I sat up and ran my hands through my hair. For a second I considered pulling a few out to distract myself from the problem.

  “If I let you out, I swear Cessa, no matter what our feelings for each other are, you have to keep your anger and frustration at bay. No harm can come to these people. They were simply protecting themselves. Anyone on Earth would do the same if aliens landed on our planet.”

  “As I said, I promise to try.”

  “And one more thing,” I said. “I know you’re here to make sure I get the job done at any cost, but I’m confident if we play our cards right and earn their trust they’ll be willing to tell us about the empyreus. With that said, we do this my way. No rushing, no screaming, and no loss of patience from you. Agreed?”

  She took longer to answer this time, but after a couple of minutes she finally agreed to my terms.

  “Thank you Daniel,” was the last thing she said as she moved away from the opening and back to her cot. I lay back down too, but as expected my sleep fluctuated. For a while I would be awake, staring at the stars, but then at other times my eyelids would be too heavy to keep open. Every time I was awake, my mind talked to me saying only one thing.

  I hope you know what you’re doing . . .

  When the morning came, so did our hosts. If I had a watch or a way to tell the time I would guess they were consistently on the same schedule each day. I looked towards Cessa’s cell where she was standing and waiting too. She met my eyes and with a genuine smile, nodded to me, reaffirming her promise from the night before. Idza and Laraar both walked up to my cage and Laraar unlocked it for me.

  “Congratulations . . . honor . . . earned,” he said, and it felt like a huge compliment coming from him. Idza may have the job of being our main translator, but I felt like Laraar and I had developed a connection.

  I stepped out of the cell and was not only pleased there were no guards to drag me along, but I also felt fantastic physically. All the pain from the previous day was gone. There was no soreness or tenderness in my body. Not only that, but I thought about the fight itself, how my bionic eye was less painful than it normally was when activated. Their food and drink must have some kind of medicinal properties. Whatever I ate yesterday morning must have numbed the pain somehow and the medicine I took last night reacted in such a way that I felt like I could run a marathon.

  “Time has come to join us,” Idza said, zoning me back in from my inner monologue.

  “Will she be joining?”

  I allowed a few seconds of second guessing myself, but ultimately decided that Cessa didn’t technically do anything wrong to deserve rotting away in her cell. I just hope she didn’t have her fingers crossed when she told me she would do no harm.

  “She will be joining. Yes,” I said, less than sure of myself, but they nodded to me and Laraar walked over and unlocked her cage. Cessa slowly walked out and smelled the morning air as if it was different outside the cage than in. She stretched out her arms and
legs and I’ll admit I had my hands clenched, wondering what her next move would be. Surprisingly, she took her place at my side.

  “So, where are we going?” Cessa asked, simply curious, no form of malice or contempt in her voice. Maybe she would hold true to her promise after all.

  Idza smiled at both of us and summoned Laraar to her side. Both couples gave off very different dynamics. Laraar and Idza were very comfortable with each other. Both touched each other on their shoulders, smiling. Cessa and I stood apart. We didn’t touch nor did we make very much eye contact if any.

  “Friends, much you should see . . . come . . . see village,” Idza said to us, intertwining her arm with Laraar as they turned and led us into the forest. Cessa tried to be silent and still, but I noticed her eyes darting from tree to tree, from grass to plant. Every now and then her lips would part then close up again. She was amazed by the sights just as much as I was. She was just better at hiding it from everyone else.

  The four of us walked past the path that branched off to the sand ring and after about sixty meters I could see various structures hidden behind the tree line. Humanoid figures moved back and forth throughout them all. Even with the small preview from the forest, I was completely unprepared for the amazing sight that was the Dawnian’s village. I will admit now I can’t do the view justice. Houses and buildings were circular in design. The roofs were domed and the entire structure seemed to be built out of wood. Nothing was painted or covered so the walls looked completely natural to the environment. None of the openings had doors on them. People were free to come and go as they pleased. I couldn’t imagine what the winters here would be like, but then again maybe they didn’t have winter.

  The ironic thing was, for how pre-industrial the village looked it flourished with technology. Every five or six houses surrounded a main computer console, and even inside some of the openings I could see machinery of some sort. I saw no wires or connections, which meant it was either buried in the ground or this society was completely wireless.