The Puzzler's War

by Eyal Kless

  “Guys. I think it’s the wrong kind of cavalry,” I said, but the two were too busy getting free to be paying attention to me.

  Galinak was moving towards the cell door when the guard appeared on the other side of it. He pointed his rifle straight at Galinak, blinding him with the rifle’s scope light. “Stop right there,” he shouted, then his head jerked sideways as it exploded inside his helmet. He toppled to his side, the power rifle dropping under him.

  Galinak moved forward. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to go through the cell door first or reach out from between the bars and try and grab the power rifle first. Whatever his intention was, we all froze as a monster stepped in front of us. There wasn’t much light to see it properly, but what we saw was enough.

  I was the first to speak.

  “Galinak?”

  “Yeah, I see it,” Galinak answered, looking up at the hulking creature.

  Vincha articulated my thoughts: “Rust, that is one big rusting Lizard.”

  “Galinak?” I said.

  “Yeah, I can take it.” Galinak looked down at the claws dripping blood and gore, and added, “I think.”

  Another guard stepped between the Lizard and the cell door, dressed in full battle gear, a power sword strapped to its back. The guard hefted the power rifle and waved the key rod in front of the lock. It beeped and the door slid open. I never thought I’d feel regret at seeing a cell door open while I was inside it, but there it was, that moment. All three of us took a step back, slightly spreading out from each other as the guard stepped in. She unfastened and removed her battle helmet.

  “Oh,” I said weakly, “it’s you.”

  The woman threw the power rifle at Vincha, who caught it.

  “You’re the girl’s mother?” she asked.

  Vincha nodded, too shocked to speak.

  “You can call me Peach. Emilija is not here—I looked everywhere. There were only a few guards, and all the vehicles are gone. The base is practically deserted.”

  She turned and fished my peacemaker out from the back of her belt, handing it to me butt first. “Found this when I passed through the armoury, very distinct weapon. Thought you might want it back.”

  “Oooh, what did I get?” Galinak clapped his hands excitedly, his tone of voice a perfect imitation of a thrilled child.

  The woman turned her head. “You? I thought you just pick people up and use them as clubs, but there’s plenty of gear lying around. Better pick up some armour and ammo while you’re at it.”

  “I saw you die,” I said, the peacemaker firmly in my hand, pointed at the ground.

  “Yeah, that’s too long to explain right now.” The woman jerked her thumb at the creature behind her. “Same thing about Greenskin behind me, too long of a story. The short version: it saved my life and now it saved yours, so consider it to be on our side, and thank God for that.” She turned back to Vincha. “As I said, your daughter is not here. I don’t know what exactly Mannes was planning to do, but he told me she was the only Puzzler he needed.” She paused for breath, then said, “There’s only one logical place that he could have taken her.”

  “I’ll go to the end of the world to find my Emilija.” Vincha checked that the power rifle’s clip was in place.

  “Good.” The strange woman named Peach turned and refastened her battle helmet, raising her visor so we could hear her say, “Because they are no longer in this world. Mannes took her up the Star Pillar.”

  Chapter 71

  Twinkle Eyes

  There was no time to for a proper introduction, just first names and casual nods as we carefully walked out of the cell block. It was already dark, and the base was indeed deserted, and those who stayed behind were either dead or hiding among the bloody carnage the woman named Peach and the hulking monster had left behind.

  We gathered provisions and face masks from the fallen soldiers, and I even picked up a long-range sniper rifle and several clips. The infirmary proved to be a treasure trove, and besides a pocketful of nourishment pills I got enough medicine in me to make me forget about the pains my poor body had endured. Then we boarded the oil truck Peach had used to pass the guarded gates and gained access to the base. The gate was still whole, so I guessed Peach did not just ram through it but used subterfuge until her cover was blown. Despite her small size, she took the driver’s seat, and the rest of us sat too close for comfort in the small cabin. Thankfully, the giant Lizard stayed outside the vehicle, alternating between running on all fours alongside the slow-moving truck or taking rests on top of it. Every time I glimpsed the creature I felt myself tense up, and I saw the same reaction in the others, with Peach being a notable exception.

  I was settling into my seat and my own thoughts when Peach slowed to a stop and turned off the floodlights.

  Vincha broke the silence. “What are you doing? We ain’t there yet.”

  Peach opened the door and was climbing down as she answered, “I appreciate that time is of the essence, but charging into a bunch of enemy soldiers driving a truck full of petrol does not sound like a sound plan to me. We’ll walk the rest of the way and try to sneak in with minimum fuss.” She slammed the door and we all shuffled out through the passenger door.

  We walked and eventually crawled the rest of the way to the mountain, where a formidable army base marked the entrance. There was not much chance for us to use the cover of darkness. I couldn’t help but look up to the sky every so often. The Star Pillar’s surrounding aura, what Peach called a “protective field,” was continually changing colors. Occasionally it lit up the entire area with bright red, yellow, or white light. I did not know if this was an intentional effect or some kind of a phenomenon, but it made the whole experience seem like a nightmarish dream.

  When I was travelling with Vincha and Galinak I was excited just to see the wonder that is the Star Pillar from the outside. Even as I crawled through dirt, the thought that I would actually travel up to the top of it filled me with awe and excitement, but also trepidation. If my time in the shark had taught me something, it was that man was born to walk the Earth, not take to the skies.

  “This ain’t a sightseeing tour, Twinkle Eyes.” Vincha cuffed my head when I stalled again. “Stop looking up and use your twinkles to scout ahead.”

  “Yeah, sorry,” I said sheepishly, blushing, but I couldn’t help myself.

  We eventually reached a small rise and found ourselves a few hundred paces from the entrance to the mountain. The forces that secured the place had done everything right, with dug-in, fortified positions, two guard towers, several light machine guns, and a patrol. But they did not expect trouble, and certainly not the kind of trouble that was the five of us working in harmony.

  Vincha hacked through the gate controls and messed with the soldiers’ communications, confusing the guards with orders, so that the two machine gun positions actually shot at each other. I did my best at sniping with my new toy, although being constantly on the move meant I did not manage to hit much. Once we passed the entrance to the base, Galinak did what he did best, and that was kill efficiently. He was matched only by Peach, who shot with a power pistol in one hand and hacked with a power sword in the other. The Lizard, well, I will be trying to forget what that creature did for the rest of my life. Our foes fought bravely, but the poor bastards did not stand a chance.

  “That’s strange,” Peach said when it was over, casually wiping blood off her visor. “I saw the amount of guards he had with him in the base, and those trucks mean they are all supposed to be here. There should have been a lot more guards here, that’s for sure, and I was expecting an auxiliary force once we came in loud. Something’s not right about all of this.”

  “Maybe he took them all up to . . .” With the excitement of the moment I forgot the name of what was on top of the Star Pillar, so I just pointed up.

  “Doesn’t make sense to bring so many soldiers with whoever was working in the laboratory at the base up to the hub unless Mannes was planning something—” P
each hesitated again, as if a thought crossed her mind “—something very big.” She was already marching away by the time her words reached our ears.

  We hurried after Peach, weapons ready, through empty halls, narrow corridors, and deserted checkpoints. As we walked through a wider corridor I was startled to the point of shooting at the wall when the smiling face of a woman appeared on it.

  “Tarakan welcomes you to your new journey, the greatest adventure of your life.” She opened her arms wide and out of nowhere, beautiful music began to play. Her ever-smiling face followed us as we walked on. The view behind her changed constantly into different locations, each more breathtaking than the one before.

  “You might have visited many places on our beautiful planet,” the woman on the wall continued, “but we guarantee this will be a unique experience that you will cherish for the rest of your lives.”

  “You can say that again,” Galinak muttered under his breath.

  The smiling face disappeared and was replaced with an intense image of a large, round, blue disc partly covered in white and grey patches.

  “Our Earth,” the woman’s voice announced, “as seen from the viewing hall of the space hub.”

  “Bukra’s balls,” I heard myself swear, “and I just recently discovered I really don’t like heights.”

  The image of the woman kept on following us. “The Hub is connected to the top of the Star Pillar and was designed and built by the greatest minds of Tarakan. Through the Pillar and the Hub, people and materials can easily be transported from Earth to space without the need for expensive and environmentally polluting delivery systems.” An image of a large tube flying in the sky appeared on the wall beside me. There was a long, thick line of flame and black smoke coming out of its rear. “Both the Pillar and the Hub were built in less than a decade”—the woman’s smiling face appeared again—“using unique technologies, scientific breakthroughs, and more than three thousand new patents developed specifically for this project. The moon hotel and resort opened just five years later, and it attracts several thousand lucky visitors per year as well as scientists from every field of study. Conducting experiments in zero G helped many of our best minds reach breakthrough discoveries that will make our world a better place. If you want to know more about this new wonder of the world, please dial your comms to channel seven-seven-six-seven to receive our info bundle straight to your devices in the language of your choosing, free of charge.”

  “We’re almost there,” Peach said as we were reaching the end of the corridor, but the ever-smiling image of the woman was relentless.

  “Follow the path of the famous moon walkers of the past. Take one small step for man, and a giant leap for mankind. Experience the freedom of weightlessness and see for yourself what Tarakan has accomplished on our path to explore the rest of the universe. We wish you a safe and happy ascension.”

  The woman disappeared from the wall as we reached the end of the corridor but reappeared in front of us as we entered an impressively vast, round hall. There was an elevated dais in the middle of it and at least two dozen metal doors in the surrounding wall, each numbered.

  “Welcome to the ascension hall,” the woman said. “This is the last waiting area before you take the journey up to the Space Hub. Please wait here until the elevator number you’ve been assigned is called out. A message will also be sent to your personal communication receivers in the language of your choice. Please note that from this point onwards, food and drinks can be consumed only in pill form.” Peach simply passed through the woman’s image as it hovered above us, and we moved towards the central dais.

  We passed comfortable-looking chairs and tables cleverly spread around the hall and even a children’s playground section with strange, semitransparent bubbles of various shapes and sizes floating around it. The round dais had a glass wall around it, but the small side door slid open once Peach tapped something into the keypad next to it.

  She pointed at me. “You, come with me. Cover my back. The rest of you stay alert just in case we have trouble.”

  If the others had a problem with that plan, or even taking orders from Peach, they did not voice it. I followed her past the door and climbed the few steps onto the dais. As soon as we walked in, our surroundings came into life and several screens appeared in midair. Peach tapped one of them and a keypad appeared in front of her. Her hands moved around the air, quickly touching the transparent keys. “I am going to bring down an elevator for us,” she said, anticipating my question. “All of the normal elevators are spread out around the shaft. Mannes had them locked in place, but there are emergency elevators positioned every few miles of the shaft. Those are not connected to the mainframe. We’ll have to change from one elevator to another, but that might not be a bad thing.”

  “How come you know, or can do”—I spread my hands wide—“all of this?”

  It was the first time she looked straight at me, before turning her attention back to the screens. “I used to be a high-ranking security officer in Tarakan. My personal code can unlock many doors.”

  “But Mannes found out about it when you captured us, wouldn’t he have changed the . . . oh.” I realised it as I was talking. “He thinks you’re dead.”

  “Exactly, and he has a lot on his mind right now, so I am hoping that he didn’t close that loophole.”

  “And if he did? This Mannes comes across as a thorough kind of guy.”

  “Then we take the stairs,” she said, then added, “That’s a joke.”

  There was a soft ping, and a green light began flashing above one of the surrounding doors. The woman from the wall appeared again. “This is an emergency elevator for Tarakan personnel only. Please do not attempt to board it. Boarding an emergency elevator without a permit is a serious, class C offence.” The woman repeated the sentence several times, even after we left the dais and approached the indicated door.

  I looked at all of them, thinking what a weird bunch of freaks we all were. The Salvo-novels of my youth never told stories such as these. They were mostly about duty and adventure, and getting the loot and sometimes, most of the time, a girl, too. The battles were always glorious, exciting, fun. I was about to take a lift off of this planet, an exciting, Salvo-novel-style adventure, but I knew that this was going to be anything but fun.

  The doors slid open to a small, rectangular room with a row of seats molded against the outer walls. Peach stepped in first, weapon drawn, then, satisfied, she turned around.

  “Get in, take a seat, and make sure your weapons are secured.” I walked into the elevator as Peach pointed downwards. “Underneath your seat you’ll find a pair of white boots. You have some time to change into them, but I suggest you do it by the time we leave the atmosphere. Don’t worry about the fit; the boots will mold themselves to you.” She glanced up as the Lizard passed her. “Well, most of you.”

  To my surprise and unease, the Lizard walked in and sat itself next to me. I looked up, my head barely reaching its shoulder. It looked down. Our eyes met. The last time I stared deeply into a Lizard’s eyes it launched itself at me and I shot it in the face. This time I just nodded. It nodded back and turned its head to look at Peach. And that simple gesture was all it took. It was not a mindless beast anymore—he was just another part of this very strange team.

  Vincha was still standing outside, and Peach turned to her. “What is it?”

  I saw the CommTroll hesitate for the first in a very long time. “It’s just . . . Emilija told me . . . she whispered in my ear . . . ‘Don’t come up, or you will never come down.’”

  “Sure, you’ll be coming back down, Vinch,” Galinak said, “both of you. Ain’t sure how yet, is all.”

  “She was just trying to protect you,” I reasoned.

  “Does it really matter what she told you?” Peach said. “I’ve known you only for a short time, but you don’t strike me as a woman who takes no for an answer. And besides”—she shook her head—“I am getting a bit tired of all of tho
se stupid premonitions, aren’t you?”

  For some reason we all turned and looked at the Lizard. It hissed and made a motion that could have been an attempt to shrug.

  “Rust, this is all just too weird.” Vincha stepped into the cabin and sat next to Galinak.

  As Peach began fiddling with the controls, Vincha leaned sideways and rested her head on the Troll’s shoulder.

  “Just like good old times, eh, G?” she mumbled, closing her eyes.

  Galinak patted her head gently, smiling to himself. “Yeah, V, just like the good old times.” He was smiling as the doors slid shut.

  Chapter 72

  Twinkle Eyes

  We were fighting waves of drones from the moment we stepped out of the emergency elevator into the Hub, so it was just a matter of time before one of us made a mistake.

  It goes without saying that this “one of us” was me.

  I did not see the last drone until it was too late.

  “Galinak, duck,” Vincha shouted. The Troll managed to roll, his body disappearing behind a bunch of instruments. Vincha and I shot at the drone, but the damned thing was incredibly fast. My ray gun did not connect to my retina. I dropped it, and it floated down gently as I raised my peacemaker and shot the drone, not thinking about Peach’s warning against using that type of firearm in space. The drone exploded above Galinak’s head, its pieces slowly spreading around the room, but not before it shot a load of rays downwards. I instinctively knew Galinak was hit and my eyes told me so, even as Vincha ran to where he lay. Peach grabbed me from behind as I passed her.

  “Fool,” she admonished me. “I told you to only use the ray gun. A bullet zipping through the Hub could kill us all.”