Ashlyn Chronicles 1: 2287 A.D.

by Glenn Van Dyke

  Hours later, the crew safely moved inside the cavern; dusk crept into night. As Steven and the crew prepared to settle in for some sleep, an out of breath sentry approached. “Admiral, the lookouts have spotted two enemy crafts.” He then added, “It’s too bad the radios don’t work in here.”

  Steven had to smile.

  Following the sentry to the northern watch, Steven found that Novacek was already there, binoculars in hand. Though the sky was dark, the silhouettes of the crafts could be seen hovering in the distance.

  “They haven’t m-moved in t-ten m-minutes,” said Novacek.

  “They’re scouts, probably waiting for reinforce—” said Steven as a shout from one of the higher watches interrupted him.

  “Sir, there’s four more approaching from the west.”

  “And there’s the cavalry. I’m surprised it took them so long to get here.”

  They watched the ships sweep over the area, lights shifting from pod to pod on the desert floor.

  “Wonder what their t-thinking?” said Novacek. “They’ve got to know we’re here at the m-mountain.”

  “They’ll wait for daylight. Too risky to approach at night,” answered Steven.

  “Guess you’re r-right, it looks like they are l-leaving,” said Novacek as the six fighters streaked away.

  Steven took note that they had departed to the southeast, the same direction that led to the planet’s primary city.

  “You should get some rest, Admiral. I’ve got this for tonight.”

  Steven nodded in agreement. “Wake me if they return.”

  “B-by the way,” Novacek said, “I was s-speaking to Mr. O’Brien earlier. His r-research revealed that there are t-times when this planet only has an hour of darkness, due to the orbital p-path around the binary suns. He says that we were lucky—that right now we are in a s-seven-hour s-solar cycle of darkness, which allows it to c-cool off at night. Also, the s-suns are low on the h-horizon. So, if you think it’s hot n-now—wait until s-summer.”

  “Thanks,” said Steven. “Keep me up to date on information like that.”

  Steven returned to the cave to get some much-needed rest. Snuggling up next to Phillip, who was fast asleep, lying beside Ashlyn—Steven’s eyes closed.

  Steven awoke late the next morning to the sound of Ashlyn singing and playing a rousing tune on her balalaika. Slipping his boots on, Steven headed toward the chorus of homegrown musicians who had joined her in accompaniment around a warm fire. It was as festive a gathering as he had seen in years. The entire crew was enjoying her rendition of one of Steven’s favorite songs. She sang, “In the midnight hour, she cried more, more, more.” Her eyes found Steven’s.

  Adding to Ashlyn’s joyous distraction, Phillip came exuberantly running up. “Dad, Dad, we caught a fish! Novacek says it is a trout fish. I don’t know what he meant, but he said something about it being a rainbow.”

  Phillip’s news spread through the crew, bringing the cheerful gathering to an abrupt halt. Scrambling feet motivated by empty stomachs carried everyone down to the river with eager anticipation.

  Steven was surprised to see that it really was a trout. The species had disappeared on Earth over a century before, and it was exciting to see the wriggling, flopping fish.

  Steven stood beside Novacek. “Beautiful—isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, it is. I saw one in a m-museum once, though this one is b-bigger and more c-colorful than the one I remember,” said Novacek.

  “It looks like we found a food source.” Steven smiled. “Any further update from the watches?”

  “No, sir. Nothing n-new outside. But, we d-did d-d-discover a map.” He looked at Steven with a twinkling gleam in his eyes. “It’s p-pretty simplistic. There isn’t all that much to it, but the fact that it exists at all—is interesting. T-to see it, though, you will have to s-swim to the other s-side of the river. It is in an alcove that b-bends round the corner. You’ll find it hidden b-behind a large b-boulder towards the back.”

  Steven was thankful for the distraction. The intensity of the fugue was painful, his mind barely able to focus.

  Stripping down to his boxers, flashlight strapped about his wrist, Steven swam to the other side of the river.

  At the back of the alcove, kneeling before the wall behind the boulder, Steven’s fingers slid down the smooth rock facing, following the beam of his flashlight. He found the small map near the bottom of the wall. It was little more than something that a child might have drawn. As Novacek had said, it was simplistic.

  Their mountain was clearly defined, as was the planet’s primary city, represented by a pyramid far to the southeast. A winding, crudely drawn, broken line connected the two points.

  Steven pondered the map’s simplicity and wondered what the motive might have been for drawing it. It seemed to serve no apparent purpose.

  Seeing that the green moss had grown right up to the eastern edge of the mountain, he thought to himself, Another hundred years and we might never have—I wonder. Reaching out, he ran his fingers over it. Tugging at the moss, he peeled it away, piece by piece. His mind raced with anticipation. When he actually saw the beginnings of a diverging path, the exhilaration of discovery rushed through him.

  The new trail, represented by a double wavy line, symbolized the river. As he pulled off the next piece of moss, Steven found the point where the river trail ended and the beginnings of an overland trail began. Yanking off the remaining moss, he saw that the trail continued in a southeasterly direction. There were varied landmarks along the way—leading to a biblical reference at the end of the trail—a flaming tree.

  Steven jumped as a hand gently touched his shoulder. Without needing to look, he knew from the sensual tingle that it was Ashlyn.

  In turning, Steven’s eyes fell upon her long, trim legs that led upwards to her wet, sheer, white lace panties. Time slowed to a standstill around Steven. Ashlyn stood before him, frozen, unmoving. He studied her unabashedly, unhindered. His mouth moistened, his tongue feigning a stab as if it were already between her soft folds. It was a sight of pure seduction. Droplets of glistening water adorned her goose-bumped skin. One droplet’s lingering trail led upwards over her flat belly until it disappeared beneath the loose, protruding edge of her wet midi t-shirt.

  The sight of her heavy breasts and the bump of her cold nipples beneath shattered the frozen moment in time. Looking into her eyes, he saw her acquiescent longing. Ashlyn’s erratic breathing showed she was waiting for his touch.

  “Am I interrupting you?” asked Ashlyn in apology.

  “No, I’m glad you came,” he said with a last glance at the plumped swells between her legs. Having her so close, the power of the fugue was beyond comprehension, impossible to resist, his passion extreme. “Ash—”

  “Shh—I know.” The fugue spiked, taking away their free will. They were out of time. Ash playfully pinched the lobe of his ear as she bent down and sat beside him. Her hand slide down his shoulder to his leg in a soft caress, her touch melting him. The tingle of her touch lowered the thin veil between them.

  Steven turned off his flashlight.

  Hidden from the sight of the crew, a soft orange reflection from the campfires across the river providing a comforting warmth, Ash slipped off her t-shirt and gently pushed him onto his back. Their lips met in a tender embrace.

  The fugue exploded, completing them, making them one.

  ***

  Forty-five minutes later, having returned across the river, they donned their dry clothes. With only an exchange of glances between them, Steven watched her walk away, prisoner to her every move.

  “Sir? Admiral?”

  “Yes?” said Steven absentmindedly.

  Novacek smiled as he glanced in Ashlyn’s direction. “So, what d-did you think about the m-map?”

  “They had goosebumps.”

  “Goosebumps?” Novacek chuckled. “S-she does have inc-c-c-credibly nice goosebumps.” His honesty returned Steven to reality. “Sir, if I m-ma
y be so b-bold, our r-ride home is g-gone. There is no reason to b-believe that we are ever g-g-going to leave this r-rock. Our lives here w-will b-be very tough, even with such—goosebumps. And t-they may be short lives at t-that. I don’t know Renee very well, but I k-know she’d w-want you to be h-happy.”

  “Those were Renee’s exact words to me.”

  “S-s-sir?”

  “She gave Phillip a recorded message. She had a vision. In it, she saw that Avenger was going to be destroyed and that I was not going to be returning to Earth. She knew that Ashlyn and I were genetically mated and that we were going to fall in love. She said it was our destiny and that I should not try to change it. She gave us her blessing.

  “Though she had seen all this in the vision—until now I wasn’t ready. Ren had the vision at the same moment when I was meeting Ashlyn for the very first time, at the Awards ceremony. So there was no way for her to even have begun to assume anything.”

  “Interes-s-sting.” Novacek’s brow raised. “Maybe Renee was r-right, maybe it is d-destiny.”

  “Novacek, are you up for a night trek?”

  He nodded.

  “In four hours, it’ll be dark. I want you to take eighty men back to the pods, and if they are still intact, strip them of all the rafts you can carry. If the Grays or the Nephilim decide to engage us, we might need to move the crew out the back door.”

  “Speak-king of the Nephilim. That f-file you gave me to r-read had some rather rough c-concepts. Did you also get the feeling that s-something was missing from the President’s s-story?”

  “I did. I think President Tomlinson believed it, though. But, like you say, there was something missing,” said Steven.

  “And—by the b-back door. You mean go d-down that hole? D-down the river?”

  “I know—the idea makes me nervous too, but the map is bigger then what you saw. There’s a second trail,” said Steven.

  “Even so—a t-travel route d-drawn on a map that might be t-tens of thousands of years old doesn’t inspire much c-confidence for me, sir.”

  “Nor I, but we should be prepared, just in case. Novacek, when you head out to the landing site, be cautious. It’s just a feeling I have, but something doesn’t feel right. When you get there, rest the team. Use the time to observe the pods before you approach. Take both of the Titan rifles along.”

  “Aye, sir. We’ll take it s-slow.”

  ***

  Novacek addressed the team, “We will observe the pods for only—r-repeat—only t-thirty minutes b-before we move in. Use the t-time to rest. Y-you will n-need it for the return leg. T-team leaders, set up your s-spotters on whatever h-high g-ground you can find. Baker and Charlie t-team, split left. T-tango and Cash, split r-right. Mama Bear will follow P-Papa Bear up the center. Radios are for emergency use only. We don’t want any broadcasts. All right everyone, m-move out.”

  At their positions, around the landing area, they waited. Twenty minutes later, a runner from the Baker team reported to Novacek, “Sir, Ensign Vasquez said he saw movement inside one of the pods.”

  “Inside? D-did he see w-what it w-was?”

  “He’s not sure. It wasn’t much more than a shadow. The fact that he saw something move was all he could say for sure.”

  He thought of Steven’s warning. “Give word t-to our units to stay p-put an extra t-t-twenty minutes. If a grain of sand shifts, report back to me.”

  They waited patiently, watching. Novacek trusted his men, and if they thought they saw something then he accepted it as gospel.

  As the twenty minutes expired, the teams sent a runner requesting further instructions. Novacek moved up the dune to the sniper with the Titan rifle. “Hansen, have you s-s-seen anything t-through the scope?”

  “No, sir. It’s deserted. It’s easy for the eyes to play tricks, with all the shadows down there.”

  “I hope you’re r-right.” Novacek slid down to the waiting runners. “T-tell Vasquez to b-blow up the p-pod that he s-saw movement in. Let’s see w-what happens. Warn your units about w-what we are d-doing and that we will initiate t-the attack in three m-minutes. Tell t-them to be p-prepared for return f-fire.”

  On top of the hill, Vasquez took control of the second Titan rifle, setting it to full power. Targeting the pod, he pulled the trigger. In a flash, it exploded in a ball of flames. Amidst the explosion, a small, shrill scream could be heard coming from inside the flaming pod.

  Instantaneously, return laser fire erupted from a dozen or more pods. The heavy volley of return fire that pummeled Vasquez’s position surprised all of them.

  Knowing they did not have time to engage in a lengthy firefight, Novacek gave the order to destroy any pod in which the enemy was hiding. He was thankful Steven had ordered him to take the heavy assault rifles. With the briefest touch, the pods exploded in flame, and it wasn’t long before the Nephilim evacuated the pods in favor of natural cover, little as it was. Within minutes, the skirmish was over.

  The teams moved quickly, following their orders to strip the pods of their life rafts—and as they were able, Novacek ordered the team to gather any alien weapons they could carry. Overall, the mission was a huge success, some 94 rafts and 4 undamaged enemy weapons retrieved.

  An hour before sunrise when the detachment returned to the forest’s perimeter, a signal was sent, per Novacek’s security instructions, to the stationed sentries who were waiting for their return. When no reply came, Novacek picked five of his team to accompany him into the forest, leaving the others waiting behind. Beneath the shroud of trees, the darkness was intense. With little choice, they forged ahead, their flashlights illuminating the way. Twenty meters in, they found the first body—face down.

  Novacek turned the body of the young man over. A small white spider crawled out of his mouth. It was the size of a thumbnail, with two black eyes, that sat on the end of long, flexible, yellow stocks.

  “There’s a dead one on his shirt.” From the spider’s squished body, a clear fluid oozed. “It’s blood is dissolving his shirt, like acid.”

  “There’s another one!” said a scared voice in the darkness behind Novacek.

  All eyes shifted, following the path of the flashlight as it scanned the trunk of a nearby tree. A dozen or more scurried away from the flashlight’s beam, reacting to its brightness. No one took so much as a breath as the lights moved higher into the leafed branches above. “Everybody run!” screamed Novacek. Above them, thousands, tens of thousands of spiders were in the process of lowering themselves down on near invisible web strings.

  A pained scream like none Novacek had ever heard before came from Private Withers to his right. “It bit me!” He tried to swipe it away. The more he flailed, the more it seemed to excite the myriad of descending spiders.

  Novacek stopped to help. In the process, his swaying flashlight illuminated several that scurried up his pant legs at sprinter speed. The flashlight became a swatter, batting them away. A sudden tickle under his collar panicked him. He could feel the spider crawling. Slapping his neck several times and not forgetting that the spiders had an acidic poison, he expected to feel horrifying pain from the blotch of moisture he felt clinging to his skin.

  Running like a mad man, Novacek was a flurry of emotions and movement. He waited for the pain from the acid, searching frantically for other spiders that might be about to bite, when he was unexpectedly sent tumbling to the ground, tripping over the thrashing, collapsed body of the man in front of him.

  Breaking clear of the forest, Novacek ripped off his shirt and found at least four more clinging to the back of it. A quick wide blast from his hand laser, and the spiders and shirt burst into flames.

  When a winded Jenkins came running up to him from out of the darkness, Novacek damn near fired on the kid.

  The retrieval team waiting for Novacek’s return, having heard the screams, came running to their aid. By the time they arrived, there was nothing that could be done.

  Of the team of five that ventured into the forest,
only Novacek and Jenkins had survived. Two of them, Novacek had seen die. The fifth man he had never seen fall, but without a doubt, he knew that he was dead.

  Novacek thought it likely the spiders were nocturnal, so he decided to make the team wait until an hour after daybreak before again entering the forest.

  ***

  At first glance, Novacek’s bare-chested appearance seemed almost comical. Only the intensely sad and worn look on his face said differently. As Steven neared Novacek, he saw that Novacek wore a woman’s white gold solitaire diamond ring on a necklace around his neck. The fact that he had been married was something Steven had never known.

  “The watches reported seeing explosions. What happened?”

  Novacek related the story of the spiders’ attack and then lastly the ambush.

  “Stratton, have we heard from our lookouts recently?”

  Stratton was involved in his own discussion with the members of the returning team when Steven made the inquiry of him. “Yes, sir, I made the rounds with them just a few minutes ago.”

  “Okay. Stratt, send runners to tell the teams not to go into the forest. And, Stratt, get a team to prep four of the rafts, full provisions, ASAP.”

  “Aye aye, sir.”

  “The spiders are nocturnal, like the ones Enlil seeded back on Earth. They stay in the forest but don’t come up into the rocks. It’s a hatchery. That’s why the Nephilim stay away from here. We walked right into their nest.” Steven shuddered. “I sensed death down there. I didn’t pay attention to my instincts.”

  “It’s not your fault, sir. No one knew.” Novacek’s eyes glazed over in remembrance of what he had seen. “They are weaker than the adults on Earth. When it bit Private Withers, he didn’t get the Rage—instead, the venom attacked his lungs. I saw pink foam spewing from his mouth. There is also a difference in that, where the adults can excrete fluids that will burn through solid steel, the hatchling’s body fluid only burned a hole through my clothing, with no effect on my skin. I know—I squashed one on my neck. Your advice to observe the pods before approaching was rather amazing. Without it, a lot of us might have been killed. Overall, we accomplished what we set out to do. We recovered 94 rafts and a few enemy weapons.”