by Ron Schrader
“I’m trying,” she replied, as she tried to sit up again. The headache was still there, but she ignored it this time. “How long have I been gone?”
Jarek helped her until she was upright, sitting next to him. “I waited about a day for you to come back, and when you didn’t, I decided I’d better come looking.”
“What? I’ve already been gone a day?” Kalla asked with some surprise.
“No,” he said, “more like three. Took a bit longer to find you.”
Kalla ignored the headache now and jumped to her feet. “What do mean, more like three?”
“I mean it’s been about three days since you left. You really don’t remember what happened? Nothing?” he asked.
She closed her eyes and tried to relax and focus. “I remember needing some air. I left the med center, ran to the edge of the cliff, and jumped off. When I landed, I started running. I was hungry, so I went hunting.” She paused for a moment and pressed her hands against the sides of her head. “But I heard a ship.”
“Quinn?”
“That’s what I thought, so I ran toward the noise. It was him. He was flying the ship low enough for me to jump up and grab ahold of it, but he must’ve somehow figured out I was there, because the ship started to spin and go straight up. Couldn’t hold on and I fell. Then I woke up here.”
Jarek sat up with interest. “So, he’s still here, then?”
“Yes . . . well, maybe. I don’t know anymore. He might be long gone by now,” Kalla replied, trying to remember more.
“Must’ve hit your head pretty hard when you hit the ground.”
“I think I hit the water,” Kalla replied, rubbing her head. “I remember sand and water, but the rest is a blur, and my head’s still throbbing.”
“There’s something else you should know . . .” Jarek hesitated.
Looking into his eyes, Kalla knew what he was going to say. “Davis. He didn’t make it, did he,” she said softly, before Jarek could finish.
Jarek nodded.
“I need to see his body.”
“You need to rest first. Let’s just wait till morning.”
Still standing, Kalla said, “No, I’m fine. Let’s go now.”
Jarek slowly stood up. “You really should rest,” he insisted.
“I’m fine,” she replied, then started back toward the cliffs.
~
Davis sat on the steps outside the building whittling away at a piece of wood, when out of nowhere a loud sound began to ring in his ears. He dropped what he’d been holding and brought his hands to the sides of his head to block the deafening noise.
“What is that?” he called out to the nearby soldier.
“What?” the man questioned, shaking his head.
“You can’t hear that loud noise?” Davis asked again.
The soldier scratched his head and shot back a confused look. “I don’t hear anything,” he said. “The shield generator just came on, but it’s nothing you’d be able to hear.”
Davis looked up and could see the twinkling of the invisible shield that now surrounded the village. “Yeah, it’s pretty loud,” he yelled back.
The soldier shrugged his shoulders. “Sure,” he said, as he turned away laughing.
After several minutes of attempting to shield his ears from the uncomfortable sound, Davis noticed the noise began to fade. Davis slowly pulled his hands down from his ears, and after a few more minutes, it was all but gone. “That was weird,” he said, as he reached down and picked up his knife and the piece of wood he’d dropped.
He stared for a moment at the wood that was beginning to resemble a face, then began carving again.
More than an hour passed before he pulled the knife away and gently brushed off the excess shavings still clinging to the wood. When he held the finished piece up in front of him, the face of a young woman stared back. “It’s been a long time,” he said as he smiled at the object, wishing it was really her smiling back at him.
He held the work of art up close and studied the curves of the hair and face, the detail in the lips and nose. Memories of the past that he’d all but forgotten rushed back. He closed his eyes and wished he could go back for real, and not just in his mind.
“Davis?” interrupted a woman’s voice, calling from off in the distance.
His hands fumbled to conceal the carving, which quickly made its way inside a pants pocket as he jumped to his feet. “Kalla?” he replied, while his eyes adjusted to the two figures that approached.
“You’re alive!” she shouted as she ran toward him. “We thought you were dead!” Kalla said as the two embraced.
“You have no idea how glad I am to see you,” Davis said as he pulled out of the hug and looked her over.
“When I left, you were in pretty bad shape, then Jarek said . . .” Kalla paused and pulled Davis in for another hug. “I really thought you were dead.”
“Yeah, well, apparently so did the medical staff,” Davis replied, with some irritation in his voice.
“I’m just glad you’re alive,” she said with a big smile.
“About that,” Davis began as he broke the hug once more, “do you mind explaining?”
Kalla just laughed and turned toward Jarek, motioning him to come closer. “Davis, meet Jarek.”
The two exchanged courteous nods.
“Really,” Davis insisted, “everyone said I was dead. I wasn’t breathing and had no pulse. I’d really like to know what’s going on.”
“It’s kind of hard to explain,” Kalla replied, then paused and looked at Jarek.
“Don’t look at me,” he said. “I told you before, this is new to me too.”
She turned back toward Davis. “We . . . I . . .” She hesitated and appeared to be searching for words.
“What?” Davis blurted out. “Please, just tell me what is going on!”
“It’s complicated,” she continued, “and I don’t have all the answers, but I couldn’t let you die, so I bit you, made you like me and Jarek.”
“Wait, you bit me? With your teeth?” he said, taking a few steps backwards.
Ignoring the questions, Kalla said, “You haven’t noticed anything different about yourself, then?”
Davis stood still, staring at the ground while he thought about everything he’d been told and the things he’d experienced. “I just remember fighting with the general, and I remember that he stabbed me in the chest. The knife went in deep, and I shouldn’t have come back from that. But there’s nothing there now. Not even a scar. I’m completely healed.”
“You feel stronger too, don’t you?”
Davis nodded. “I mean, I haven’t really done much yet, but I tried to open a locked door and the knob broke off like I was snapping a twig in half. And you’re right, I do feel a lot better than I used to, better than I have in a long time, actually. I’m not exactly a young man anymore, but I don’t feel old at all.” He continued to gather his thoughts, then finally asked the question he’d wondered about since waking up in the morgue. “So, what exactly am I? What are you?”
Jarek chuckled and nudged Kalla’s arm. “This sounds familiar,” he said.
“Yeah, same question I asked you.”
“So? What’s the answer then?” Davis asked intently.
“Not sure,” Jarek answered.
“It’s something in our DNA,” Kalla interjected. “Or at least that’s what I think. Jarek was infected with something before he was born, and a bite from the Vie activated it. He passed it on to me, and now I’ve passed it on to you. But we didn’t even know if it would work or not.”
“The Vie?” Davis asked. “Who are the Vie?”
“We’ll get into that later,” Jarek said. “For now, let’s just take it a step at a time.”
Davis nodded grudgingly. “Sure. So, what now?”
“Well, not to change the subject, but the general’s still out there. He might even still be here on Paradise,” Kalla said.
At hearing the name, D
avis felt a rush of emotion flood through his body. The muscles in his face tightened and he clenched his fists. “Where?” he said in a low, demanding tone. “Where is he?”
“I almost had him, but he’s gone now.”
“We need to go after him then. We need to find him!” Davis was all too familiar with the general. He knew the kind of man he was, and what he was capable of. Most of all, he knew that if General Quinn was allowed to regroup his army, Paradise wouldn’t be safe for anyone.
“We will, but—”
“Where’s your ship?” he demanded.
Kalla looked at Jarek and shrugged, then with a smile said, “Follow me.”
~
The ship glided above the fog at a slow and steady pace. Kalla piloted while Davis sat in the copilot’s seat and scanned the area for any sign of the general, though the fog made it nearly impossible to see much on the ground.
Jarek stood between them, looking out the cockpit window. “Maybe the Vie will get him?” he offered. “Make our job easy.”
“Speaking of the Vie, what exactly is it?” Davis asked.
“Not it, them,” Kalla answered. “The short story is that they used to be people. You ever hear of the planet Cremzen?”
“Yeah, I think so. Wasn’t that the planet that collided with its own sun?”
“Yep, that’s the one. Jarek’s parents were with the group of survivors that came here to Paradise.”
“I was pretty young when it happened, maybe five or six years old at the time,” Davis said. “I do still remember learning about it in school though. Scary thing for a kid to think too much about. Probably even caused a nightmare or two.”
“Yeah, well, when they came here, they managed to create a different kind of nightmare.”
“The kind that likes eating people,” Jarek interrupted. “And then there’s me,” he said with a grin.
Kalla let out a quiet laugh under her breath. “Yeah, you’re the real monster!” she teased.
“No, but seriously,” Jarek continued, “the Vie are definitely the stuff of nightmares. I’ve seen them up close enough to know you don’t want to mess with them unless . . .”
“Unless you’re like him,” Kalla said pointing back at Jarek. “Or us,” she added, looking at Davis.
“So where did they come from?” Davis asked.
“It was a meteor that started it,” Jarek answered. “Brought some kind of organism or bacteria to the planet. I never knew any of the science behind it, but my mother told me there used to be a big lake out in the valley somewhere, full of water that had some sort of special properties in it. Made people healthier, gave ’em energy to work longer. But when this meteor hit the atmosphere, it burned up and started raining dust everywhere. Whatever it was that’d hitched a ride on that meteor found its way to the water. Then later, when people went back to drinking out of the lake again, they eventually turned into Vie. My father was one of them.”
“Well, wait, that was a long time ago. You’d have to be closer to my age by now, in your mid-forties,” Davis said, turning to face Jarek.
Jarek nodded. “Yeah, sounds about right.”
Davis leaned back in the chair where he sat and rubbed his hands down the sides of his cheeks.
“Weird, isn’t it,” Kalla said. “He looks like he’s in his twenties, right?”
Davis shook his head. “It all sounds a bit far-fetched, and yet I feel great. In fact, I haven’t felt this good since . . . well, since never!”
Kalla smiled, knowing exactly how he felt. “Yeah, it is pretty awesome,” she added.
Silence filled the cockpit for several minutes before Davis spoke up again. “He’s not here anymore,” Davis said as he stared out the cockpit window.
“We’ll try a different part of the valley,” Kalla offered.
“No, I mean he’s already gone,” Davis clarified.
“How do you know?” Jarek asked.
“I’ve worked with him for a long time. I just know he wouldn’t stay and fight a battle he couldn’t win.” There was a brief pause, then Davis said, “And I know where he probably went too. If I’m right, it’s not good. He’ll eventually come back here with an army.”
The very thought of General Quinn made Kalla want to punch something., but hearing Davis’ assumption brought on a feeling of rage that she had to fight hard to control. Quinn had gotten away with too much, and the thought of him doing harm to anyone else was almost more than she could handle.
Kalla took several deep breaths before she finally spoke again. “Alright, then, where is he?”
“My best guess is he’s headed to Svati Prime. He has a recruitment camp there.”
“Why are we still here then? Let’s go! Take us to his camp.”
Davis turned and looked at Jarek who only shrugged and offered no resistance. “Okay,” he said. He took over the ship’s controls and punched in the coordinates to their destination, Svati Prime. The cruiser accelerated in a steep climb, and soon the view from the cockpit window turned from blue sky to black space.
~
“I’d almost forgotten how peaceful it is to just fly through empty space like this.”
Davis swiveled the seat around to face Kalla. “You’re awake,” he said with a smile.
“Didn’t sleep, just been talking with Jarek.”
Davis’ grin widened. “Sure you were.”
Kalla ignored his comment and sat down beside him. “So where are we?”
“Still several hours from Svati Prime.”
She leaned back in the chair and tried to relax, but her mind wouldn’t allow it. She knew the decision to go after the general was rash, and she began questioning her own judgement, wondering if this was just a bad idea. “We really should come up with a plan,” she finally admitted.
“I was wondering when you were going to mention that,” he said. “I’ve been thinking the same thing.”
“I just don’t want a repeat of what happened before,” she added.
“Agreed,” Davis nodded.
“Any ideas then? You do know him better than we do.”
“Well, for starters, he thinks I’m dead, so we can definitely use that to our advantage. But it might be smart to hold onto that card a bit longer if we can. General Quinn always makes things harder than they should be.”
Kalla nodded. “And?”
“And as for you, it’s probably safe to say he’ll be watching his back, expecting you to come after him. So unless you plan to rush in guns a blazin’, without any concern for the innocent bystanders who cross your path, I’d recommend you stay on the ship until we figure out what’s up.”
Kalla scowled at Davis. Though she knew he was probably right, she didn’t like the idea of staying behind and doing nothing. “I guess so,” she said reluctantly.
“That leaves Jarek,” Davis said, with a sober look in his eyes. “He’s the only one the general doesn’t really know anything about.”
“But what about the firefight on Asherah?” Kalla asked. “Wouldn’t the general remember that, and possibly recognize him?” She was legitimately concerned for Jarek but still selfishly wanted to take the lead on this.
“He was too far away. We didn’t get a good look at him,” Davis replied.
“But when we first met with him, Jarek was there,” Kalla argued.
“Yeah, but the odds of him remembering that are pretty slim. He was focused on you the whole time. Jarek was just the guy they killed when they captured you. Nothing more than collateral damage.”
Kalla leaned back in the chair and considered everything. Although her own revenge was the driving force behind this trip to Svati Prime, she knew Davis was right on all counts. “I don’t like the idea of sending Jarek off to do this, but you’re probably right.”
Just then, Jarek walked into the cockpit. “Sending me off to do what?” he asked.
“Well, nothing just yet,” Kalla replied. “We’re just working out a plan, and it looks like we’ll need you
to do a little reconnaissance.”
“Yeah, but you’ll need to stay under the radar,” Davis added. “And if you find him, I get to settle up.”
Kalla could almost feel the tension in Davis’ voice, and she knew exactly how he felt. She wanted nothing more than to watch the general’s life slip away by her hand and had no intention of giving that pleasure to Davis. But for now, she would keep quiet and bide her time.
C
HAPTER 4
General Quinn stood on the bridge of his battleship, staring out into the dark of space. His eyes locked onto a planet off in the distance, and he watched anxiously as it began to grow larger. He squeezed the railing in front of him and his heartbeat increased with anticipation.
“Approaching Paradise, sir,” one of the copilots announced. “We should be in orbit within forty-five minutes or less.”
“Good,” the general replied. “Alert the squadron to prepare for drop.”
“Yes, sir,” came the copilot’s prompt reply.
As the large vessel made its approach, the general’s anticipation continued to build. The reason for coming back here, he believed, was of the utmost importance, and worth every risk. Though he didn’t yet know for certain, General Quinn believed the Vie were the answer to a question that had thus far eluded him. If he was right, and if his plans were a success, he would finally have what he needed to take control of the Directive, something he’d lusted after for a long time now.
His thoughts naturally turned to the late Dr. Carter, who had made one of the largest contributions to the general’s current course, and had ultimately given his life for the cause. And though he’d learned very little about the Vie from Kalla, he’d learned enough from her memories, and seen enough in person, to believe that the Vie were somehow connected to Kalla’s abilities. He was convinced of this and he had every intention of finding a way to use the Vie to further his own agenda.
“Sir,” a voice called out over the intercom.
The interruption of his thoughts brought on a brief sensation of anger, which he pushed aside once he realized it was the sergeant overseeing the mission about to take place.