by LM. Preston
“While you have been ill, Jantik and I have come up with a way to get into the Femoh compound. The suit Jantik gave you should get us through their barriers undetected. That’s as far as I can go with you, because I would be discovered. I have not figured out how their technology works yet. Getting close to their compound will allow me to do some analysis and to return undetected if we have to,” Ebu said.
“Fine. Map out the route so I can commit it to memory, just in case the locator device gets lost during our journey to save Eirena, because there is no doubt that I am going to do everything in my power to save her. They are hurting her beyond her adaptation. I felt it, and I must save her. If I do nothing else, I must save her,” Aadi said, lowering his voice at the heaviness of his task ahead.
“Great! I want to save her too! This is the plan,” Jantik said. Ebu then showed him the route they would travel. It was the best way to move undetected through the cold lands to get to the Femoh compound.
“There is one problem, though. We don’t know where they are holding her,” Ebu said, and he finished drawing out the map on the locator for Aadi to commit to memory.
“I do, since the Femoh enjoy pushing their subjects to the maximum point of pain. They put them in what they call ‘Pressure Chambers.’ They usually chain the subjects to the floor, withholding food or sustenance while they pour charges of power and fire blood into the being. Unfortunately, that’s just the beginning. Soon, the cutting will start, and we have to get to her before then, because if she is not strong, she won’t last beyond that,” Jantik said gravely.
“Well, tell me about these weapons you brought,” Aadi said, and he pointed to a hooked looking sword. Aadi didn’t want to ponder further on the pain that Eirena would have to suffer before he saved her. It just frustrated and angered him too much. Instead, he wanted to focus on saving her, and he needed a clear head for that. The other item fit in the hand like a gun, but it was smooth and rounded and had no trigger.
“You are holding a lavik, which shoots to stun the Femoh. They will stay down for days. However, it will not kill them. Killing them is messy, and our planet is tied to their survival. Whenever one of them dies, they blow up, and their blood will cut through anything - that is, anything except the Katek. Their blood also tears through the core of the planet and creates sinkholes that will suck you into outer space if you fall into them. The lavik, when used with the talin, will immobilize them forever, yet keep them alive. The talin, which is the bow-shaped weapon, must hit them in the neck to force the stun of the lavik completely through their bodies. The only way for them to be released from that hold is for someone to use the keyno. The keyno is only held by the Nutah in a secret place that not even I have found,” Jantik added, laughing.
“All right. Let’s go,” Aadi said, and they headed out. Ebu climbed up Aadi and got into his backpack. Aadi noticed that Ebu’s body had started to wear slightly from the extreme climate changes during the Shrenas nights and days. He hoped to be able to repair him when this was over.
Chapter 47
Aadi and Jantik walked watchfully over the hard-packed terrain, which was now starting to ice over in places because of the night chill. Yet, Aadi didn’t feel cold because his body adjusted to the change in temperature more effectively than his space suit had. He looked up into the mooned sky and hoped that Eirena was holding on. He had tried to touch her mind again, but all he felt was pain and shocks of light.
Jantik walked cautiously over the barren, frozen land and looked back to check on Aadi’s progress. Aadi caught up to Jantik, not wanting to be separated from the group. He had not anticipated Eirena or him being in grave danger until it was too late.
The land started becoming more interesting as they walked further into Penali, “a part of Shrenas that the Katek favored,” Jantik had told Aadi. He looked around and spied blue and gold plant life that sprouted out of the orange and green sands of the wild land of Penali.
“Aadi, be very alert here. The Katek patrol their perimeter very well. Although we don’t see them, they are indeed around,” Jantik warned quietly. Ebu tired of being in the backpack and climbed out to walk alongside Aadi.
Aadi realized that he could see pretty well at night, considering the planet’s two moons shined brightly. He looked ahead of their path to see a frozen mountain in the distance.
“Jantik, the route we planned has us going around the mountain. So, why are we heading toward it?” Aadi asked.
“I smell the Katek coming from the left. I figured we can outrun them from this side of the mountain, because if we don’t make it past this side without getting caught, we are in big trouble, my friend,” Jantik said as he walked hurriedly.
As they walked, they came upon a small rock formation. It was quite a distance from the mountain that they had to walk around. Jantik gave Aadi the signal to stop.
“My friend, we are in grave danger. I smell the Katek, a small band, close by. Let’s put our bags here behind the boulder so we can retrieve them in case there is trouble. We don’t want them to see these weapons, or they will automatically think we mean them harm,” Jantik said. He hurriedly took off his weapon sack and placed it behind the boulder. Aadi quickly followed Jantik’s instruction and took off his backpack.
“Ebu, you go behind the boulder too. That way, if there is danger, you will be safe and can find the Nutah,” Aadi said, and for once, Ebu followed his directions without argument. Aadi let out a sigh of relief, but that sigh would die on his lips when he first saw the Katek warriors, running as fast as lightning in their direction.
The Katek looked similar to Jantik in that they were reptilian, but they were tall and stocky with large firmly packed muscle. They had red pupils and high cheekbones that were smooth and red as the sand. They had three fingers and a thumb, and the largest muscle swollen legs Aadi had ever seen on a creature walking upright. They wore no vests like the one Jantik gave him, but only some kind of pants that that touched their lower thighs. The strange fabric looked like laced metal that glowed in the night as they ran with grace and power toward Aadi and Jantik.
“Ebu, whatever happens, don’t let them see you!” Aadi yelled back at Ebu.
“We must stand ready to fight, my friend, for they expect it. If we don’t, they will kill us as we stand,” Jantik said and squatted in fighting fashion that reminded Aadi of a wrestler. Aadi followed Jantik’s lead and felt the adrenaline fill his body with such power that he felt high on it. He had never felt such a surge of power before. It was like the pain of the changing had given him a boost unlike anything he had ever experienced. He felt instantly awake and almost hungry for the attack. He felt a desire for the power coursing through his body, and without thought, he ran toward the lead Katek warrior, ready for battle.
The lead warrior smiled, and Aadi saw white teeth and felt a similar feeling of hunger for the attack. The lead warrior ran toward Aadi and smoothly crouched low enough, flipping Aadi over his head upon the impact of their collision. Aadi felt the frigid air as he sailed back over the Katek warrior’s head to land with ground-shaking power on the hard-packed sand. Aadi quickly recovered and stood up, feeling the pain. Pain, he welcomed, as he has experienced it so often these last few days that it became a hunger - an affirmation that he was still alive. Through pain, he could feel that he was able to continue to fight - fight to get home, and fight to save Eirena.
The other warriors circled around them. There were about ten of them, all at least two feet taller than Aadi and more than that with Jantik. They forced Aadi and Jantik into the middle of the circle. The lead warrior that had attacked Aadi turned toward him and then looked at Jantik.
“Hey, Jantik, come toward me. Put your back to my back,” Aadi said, gesturing to Jantik. Jantik quickly complied as the lead warrior stood there grinning.
“Why is he grinning at us?” Aadi whispered to Jantik.
“Because we have just been captured,” Jantik said, as he and Aadi turned back to back to face their capt
ors.
Chapter 48
Eirena was no longer in piercing, burning pain. Now she just ached everywhere. She opened her eyes to darkness and a hard, smooth floor. She looked at the black floor with the thin, curvy marbled white swirls since she was face-down on the floor. Chained to the floor with her legs straight and her arms outstretched, she looked at her arms. Her arms were constantly being filled with the pulsing glow of the power surges that had caused her such pain the first day they started their “research.” However, now it just ached. Soon, the blast of fire would come, forced into her muscles by the tight silver bracelets that held her to the ground, keeping her from moving so much as an inch.
Looking at her arms, she realized that they were coal black with the same thin marble lines in them that her Femoh captors had. Her hair was now unbound. It fell in gray and black stripes around her head. She was different than any of the Femoh she’d seen, but she had similar features. Maybe her body was rebelling in a way that caused her not to look entirely like them. Maybe it didn’t want to look like them, and neither did she. She hated them with every fiber of her being. She had dreamed through her pain of her brothers, tied down to their beds, crippled with the pain that she was experiencing. Her greatest fear was that they would feel this horrible pain. They had always felt dimly what the others had felt whenever one got sick. She missed them so much that she had to block out this pain so that they would not feel it. She tried to think of anything at all that could give her peace from the burning pain and the aching intensity of this power and fire torture the Femoh were inflicting on her.
Eirena heard them coming just like she always did, although they were light on their feet. Whatever they did to her made her sensitive to sound. She quickly closed her eyes and pretended to be knocked out, just as she always did when they came to increase the power of the surge to her body. They seemed to keep pushing it up higher, as though they were trying to see where her breaking or dying point was.
“Wonderful! She is changing. I believe we have found the one that we can use to start the shilmena, and if so, we can replicate them to regain our former power and ability to harvest other species to our purpose,” hissed Gitab. Eirena knew it was Gitab by his voice, as she had become familiar with all of their voices and names. They spoke freely around her, believing that the pain incapacitated her. She would play the submissive victim, but when she got the chance, she would kill them. She would destroy them all.
“Would you like me to start the cuttings now?” asked Triab a bit too excitedly for Eirena’s taste. He ran his hand through Eirena’s hair and then down her back to her waist.
“Of course. Yes, we shall. However, this time, put some limin on it. That way, it will burn the wound closed so that we can do this through the night. She will heal nicely for us to continue tomorrow with this form of torture. We will bring her to pain. I intend to hear her scream. Either she simply refuses to scream, or she is too weak at this point to let it out. I will hear it from her before we finish the inspection to see if she is from the ancients,” Gatib asked.
“If she is from the ancients who conquered our planet thousands of years ago, then she can be dangerous. I know they visited this planet long ago and brought the knowledge of navigating the universe, but no one knows where they came from or how they acquired their power to adapt or travel so fast. The only things they left behind were the scrolls and the shilmenas. The highly advanced shilmenas have allowed us to travel the galaxies as a supreme power. We used to have hundreds of these spacecrafts to travel and conquer, but now we have only one. If the Katek were to find out we have this one, we would have another major war with them,” Triab replied, while he started rubbing a cool clear cream over Eirena’s legs.
“Not to worry, Triab. We have now embedded the designs of the shilmena into the knowledge base. It will allow us to create many, many more of them. We just need this being to start it. We don’t have a power source great enough to start it on this planet. The shilmenas were left here with an unlimited power source until the vile Katek destroyed it all. They utterly destroyed that power source that was once connected to the shilmena. The Katek idiots were too stupid to know that blowing up ancient ruins caused them to lose the very thing they were fighting us for,” Gitab stated, angrily hitting his fist to the palm of his hand.
“May I begin, sir?” Triab asked when he finished rubbing Eirena’s arms and legs with the cool substance. Eirena mentally braced herself when Triab put his hand on her to smooth the clear cream over her, as she knew that with them, every act was followed by pain.
“You know, Triab, we need to meet with the council. I have something that may subdue this being and allow us to control it to our will. It is the batiluk, which was held in the ancient ruins with the shilmena. The scrolls noted its power to control these beings. I believe it was the source of their departure,” Gitab mentioned. Eirena heard him pick up something heavy and metallic, which he dragged across the floor.
Just as Eirena was getting used to the sensation of the pulsing electrical shocks with the burning fire to follow, the cutting started. She held back a scream of pain and anger as she felt a knife of fire rip her from her calf to her thigh. It was instantly followed by a scorching burn, which healed her skin, leaving the pain deep within the tissue of her muscle. Her leg didn’t throb, but it felt like it was still ripped apart with muscle and bone exposed.
“Oh, she is healing nicely. I will do the other leg while we start the nailing,” Triab said with a sick sound of glee. Before Eirena’s mind could adjust to the searing pain on her leg, she felt the floor give way as hundreds of cutting nails pierced her arms and the front of her legs to her toes, as Triab started cutting on the other leg. She bit down on her tongue, and tears fell unchecked from her eyes. She refused to speak, to yell, or to scream, because she felt it would give them pleasure. She pushed back the pain, breathed deeply, and thought of better days as the monster of her body’s misery taunted her.
At that moment, she heard Aadi. He was in her mind again, telling her he would save her. She tightened her eyes as the next wave of pain hit her when they left her legs to work on her arms. Her mind went black. She could fight no more.
Chapter 49
Aadi and Jantik were definitely captured. The Katek warriors had them chained together at the neck by gold collars. The collars emitted sharp pricks in the skin whenever Aadi or Jantik struggled to walk while being pulled by the leashes that were tied to these mammoth animals called catire that the Katek rode on. The catire looked like a cross between a horse and scorpion. It had legs like a horse and a face and nose like one, but the outer shell of a scorpion. The Katek warriors were speaking amongst themselves and looked back to check on Jantik and Aadi periodically.
“This will bring us a large prize. Capturing the son of the Nutah leader, life will be good. Listen, Petin, watch those prisoners closely. I want to know where the one with Jantik comes from. He is not of Shrenas, nor of our planet Tulinih. Although he looks like he is part of Shrenas and is surviving in the harsh climate changes, he looks otherworldly. We will get to the bottom of his mystery when we take him to Olinu. Since it was Olinu that told me to capture him, he must be important. Obviously, Olinu doesn’t know the Nutah is assisting the being, because he would have requested its capture also. This will be a great surprise,” said the lead warrior.
“Quetek, can we have some fun with them, go high speed and drag them along for fun? Olinu didn’t say we had to bring them back in one piece,” said Petin, the obvious second-in-command.
“Oh, yes. Let’s race!” Quetek said as he and Petin started to drag Aadi and Jantik by their collars by prodding the catire to gallop at a faster pace across the red sand.
Aadi felt the piercing sting of the painful collar and saw Jantik struggling to run, as they had shackled his feet. How they could treat one of their own kind with such cruelty, Aadi didn’t know, but he had no time to think as the pain of the tugging grew with Petin and Quetek pushing their an
imals to full speed. Aadi grabbed Jantik and pulled with him as he speed behind the Katek, keeping perfect time with the beasts. Jantik looked at him with surprise as Aadi concentrate on keeping up and staying on his feet. Aadi hadn’t realized that he was running easily behind the beasts.
“Aadi, how are you doing this? I am fast, but no one can keep up with a catire. They are some of the fastest animals on this planet,” Jantik announced while out of breath.
“I don’t know how I am doing it, and I don’t care. I have got to get free so I can save Eirena!” Aadi said. He forced the saliva carefully down his throat as even a swallow caused the collar to pierce his skin.
The Katek warriors stopped the race when they came upon a small grouping of hut-shaped buildings. There were only a few of them gathered in small clusters. The warriors took both Aadi and Jantik to a large pole. They were thrown toward the secured poles near the side of one of the huts that had a rounded globe for a roof. The warriors attached them to the pole by clamps that fit the chain leash on their collars. Then the Katek went inside the huts, leaving them as though they were dogs waiting outside for their masters.
Chapter 50
“Jantik, we have got to get free!” Aadi said. Frustrated, he kicked his feet to the ground.
“These binds are impossible to break. They will release sharp knives that will pierce our skin and inject a poison that will burn through our veins. We won’t die from it, but we will wish we had,” Jantik said with a shiver.
“I will rest a bit and take this off of us,” Aadi said, closing his eyes. He had to get to Eirena. He didn’t know how much longer she would last, but he had to get to her quickly. Shutting his mind, he pictured her and then touched her mind with his. Projecting to her, he saw darkness and then felt her pain. It was so deep and sharp on his arms and legs that the front of his body shivered and shook. He heard Jantik call out to him from a distance. He couldn’t bear to think she was feeling this. She had buried herself so deep within that the pain had her trapped in a cocoon in her mind. “Eirena, you need to help me, you need to fight. I will save you!” Aadi called out to her in his mind. Then he saw her with black marble skin, white curvy designs on her body, built with muscle, and gray hair with black streaks. She looked amazingly powerful and angry. Then the door to her pain, her anger, and her hate slammed on him, and he forced himself to stand.