by Lesa Corryn
“What are you talking about?” asked Gin. “You never told me...”
“She asked if he was okay, I told her, and she smiled. Her skin was flaking off, bleeding, her hair burnt from her head, and she smiled. She didn't care for her life either, it seems. I couldn't let her die like that. But I couldn't stop it. She passed on right after I told her Thurman was safe.”
The world stopped.
My arm fell limp to my side and I slid down against the wall. Flik said something, I didn't hear it. Footsteps ran up the stairs, I didn't see who. Allouette rose from the sofa and Gin crawled beneath the covers, but I didn't know why. Teshe saw me in the dart of light, I didn't feel his eyes on me. I didn't feel anything.
Chapter 18
Attack
“What's going on? What are they saying?” asked Teshe.
“Don't know. Never did well in linguistics,” replied Flik. An awkward silence fell between the two of them. It at least felt good to know Teshe and I could both bond over our feelings for Flik's linguistics.
“Where's Lieutenant Pierce? I got med tech general linguistics. We only learned enough to be able to treat patients. I can only pick up a word or two,” said Teshe. I assume the additional scuffing of feet was Flik and Teshe looking for Allouette in the mess. No one seemed to notice I was still laying out in the hallway. I deserved that I suppose.
“Jek, who are you?” She smiled at me from beneath the surf. Her face barely visible, fragmented by the waves curling to the sand. “Grab my hand, now's not the time.” Her hand appeared before me. Her fingers brushed my cheek and moved down my shoulder, grabbing my stiff right arm. The water rushed past my ears and my feet stood in the field again. The strawberries now large and plump. Bright red, the light shined off them like rubies. She stood before a stone beneath a willow. Her back to me, “Have faith, Jek. She needs you.”
I pulled myself from the dusty floor. Within the room the Bunchankar argued with two young male Bendalurians. Allouette stood to the side. She shouted in Bendalurian, but none of them took notice of her. Her face reddened and her eyes grew wide. So furious the words shot from her mouth, her lips could not keep up and they grew wet with spit. Teshe and Flik were not too far from the noisy, huddled group. Flik stood behind Teshe, looking up at him every once in a while. Teshe kept his eyes only on the Bunchankar. Gin was a shadow beneath the blankets.
“Lieutenant, what they saying?” cried Flik. Teshe still did not look away from the Bunchankar. Allouette's string of Bendalurian did not falter. Flik's eyes darted back and forth between the two, certain his words did not fall on anyone's ears. But then his eyes caught mine and he gave a wary sigh. I walked over to them, not certain if anyone but Flik noticed my presence.
I hadn't taken Bendalurian either. I chose to just take general linguistics and failed at that. So I wouldn't bring much comfort to Flik. All three of us stood there, hoping some word would catch our attention, some word we had a faint understanding of, a word that would shed a dim light on the dark figures before us. But the three of us stood in vain, not a single word breaking our ignorance. However, my ears did pick up a rustle of blankets from behind me and I remembered there was still one other.
“Teshe,” I said. My throat felt dry. The last time I spoke civilly to Teshe was shortly after the incident. But this was before he had called me a murderer. “What language did Gin learn? Did she take general or a language?”
Teshe would not look away from the dark eyes of the Bendalurian leader. The Bunchankar also turned his gaze on to Teshe. His eyes closed half way and his brow furrowed. Not a drop of sweat beaded along his thick mane, while the younger Bendalurian's hair laid flat with perspiration.
“She's always wanted to be Lieutenant Pierce's aide. She's admired her for as long as I've known her.”
“That's not an answer,” I stammered.
“She took Bendalurian.”
Flik was already over by Gin when I turned to join him. He fell to the side of her bed and planted his head in his hands.
“What is it Flik?” I asked.
“She said they come. They who shot us down come. They very advanced. Many soldiers. Many guns. They wipe out all they see,” he said. His eyes turned to the group, “that's what they say.”
“Well, we need to get ready then,” I shouted, grabbing for our supply kits.
“They speak of defense, she say. Not sure of what though. Very hidden words.”
“What?” I asked. What the hell was going on? Why were we just standing around if those bastards from the L-47 incident and our attack were coming to get us.
“Harkar vex din ricktick shan vendeerie,” roared one of the young men. Everyone grew silent. The other Bendalurian youth backed away, his eyes large and his hands shaking. He made for the hallway, not turning back. Allouette shook and reached for a chair behind her, steadying herself against the carved knob of the back rest.
“Jinvik bella rixventar?” she shouted at the Bunchankar. “What have you done?”
Outside the sound of screams and heavy footfalls began to rise from the silence of the night. But no one turned to look, the Bunchankar just stared at the young man before him. It was the desk attendant from earlier. He stood tall against the leader though his frame looked ready to collapse at a single breath of air. He looked at the Bunchankar, then turned his gaze to Allouette.
“I have a family, I must protect them, you understand?”
“He speaks Galactic,” I shouted. The Bunchankar didn't wait for a response. His hand swiped the attendant across the cheek, knocking him to the ground, his face bleeding on the floorboards.
Teshe ran to his side, ready with a bandage. The Bunchankar made at Teshe too. I ran, my feet scraping against the floor boards. I strained my arm, pulling at my muscles, curling my fingers into a tight fist. The tension ran through my arm and up my spine. My head pounded but I needed it to be numb for this.
The Bunchankar raised his hand to Teshe. Allouette sprung from her corner, being much closer to him than I. But he knocked her back with his other hand, sending her flying into a wall. Flik followed close behind me and Gin cried beneath the sheets. Her screams piercing the room, though I doubted any heard her outside. There was a roar out on the street that overcame the scuffle in the room. Many feet marched their way into the town. The cries of the village rose over the sounds of blasters and ray shields. In here though, my ears only heard Gin's cry, the scrap of the Bunchankar's claws against the floor, and the sound of Allouette's fragile breath.
I took one last lunge forward, swinging my stiff arm at the Bunchankar. Teshe made to pull the attendant from the attack, but the young man weighed heavy in his arms, unconscious from blood loss. My arm slammed against the rough palm of the attacker. His clawed fingers curled against my arm, piercing my skin. The blood dripped wet from my forearm, but I didn't feel a thing. He threw me against the wall adjacent to Allouette. His strength seemed inhuman, but I've never went against a Bendalurian. The blood of lions flowed through this man. It wasn't surprising that his throw left me breathless against the wall. He turned from the attendant and looked at me, deciding if I posed more of a threat. I rose to meet him. Breathless and bleeding, but he attacked Allouette, he attacked his own attendant, and he hid something that made Allouette shake with fear.
What would have happened between us I don't know. The next sound I heard was the scream of some alien gun. A cannon perhaps. Whatever it was, a ball of light hit our window and blinded us all. The floor crumbled beneath me and I fell flat on my chest, my body sliding down and into the gaping hole left by the cannon fire. I scraped for grip on the floor boards. Allouette, Flik, Gin, the Attendant, even Teshe. Where were they? Splinters ripped into my hands as I slid across the wood. Dust rose high and clouded my vision, choking my lungs. My right arm still stiff could not help me hold on and my body dragged me into the valley.
“Allouette, where are you?” I called. “Flik!”
I fell from the shattered floor boards and into the
floor below. My body smacked against the attendant's desk and rolled to the floor just before the entrance door. Were they here too? The room was filled with debris, wood chips, smoke, and dust. Heat rose and warmed my face. Fire. The ball, perhaps it was a Metrite stone, a form of artillery that is lit aflame and will not go out until the stone has burned away. The fire caught the rickety little tables and worn wooden chairs, turning them into dark clouds of ash. The splintered wood from the floor above fed it like kindling, engulfing everything it touched.
“Not again,” I mumbled. I lifted myself, pulling up from the desk using my left arm. My legs bent beneath me but outside was dirt road and I would not suffer another burn. I edged along the desk, balancing myself, my arm straining to keep me up. I reached the door when her voice called.
Allouette fought with a shadowed figure in the corner. The Bunchankar?
Forgetting the door, I wobbled towards her, but my legs gave. I grabbed a window sill. A scream of pain, as broken glass pierced my palm. The figure heard me and his efforts doubled. He swung an arm up and belted Allouette across the head with the butt of a gun. The Bunchankar didn't have a gun.
He lifted her body up and climbed out of one of the broken windows. How? My mind fumbled. He moved so swiftly and carried Allouette the whole time with only two hands. No, he had to have more. This wasn't a Bendalurian.
Ignoring the pain I pressed my palm against the glass and swung my body through the broken window. Remaining shards in the frame scraped my face, slicing across my cheeks and arms. Tumbling to the ground, feet trampled before me.
Bendalurians everywhere scuffled with an army of four-armed creatures. Antenna peaked high on their heads. So many, the antennas formed a black wave, splashing and roaring along the road and into the distance, blacking out the horizon. So many fought in the dirt street, dust billowed beneath their feet. I could only see the antenna, the swiping swings of clawed hands. Cannon fire sounded from the distance. Houses lit bright in red flames. My eyes burned with ash. Where was Allouette?
Chapter 19
Blood
Left, right, forwards, backwards. Not a trace of Allouette or her captor. Dust clouded the distance and ash settled down upon the mass of blood and sweat. I didn't know who was winning, just that someone was. Stepping into the road, the ground was softer than I remembered. The dirt wet with blood, spread beneath my boot. I jumped back like the ground itself was the foreign enemy. A heavy footprint left in the remains of a life.
An inhuman scream, a sizzle and snap. A shot brushed my ear and blood trickled down my neck, soaking the collar of my tunic. From where? It hit my left ear so it had to come from somewhere to the left. But the clouds that hid me from Allouette kept me from my assailant as well. I reached at my belt. No gun. I honestly couldn't remember the last time I had one on me. No surprise, but still piss poor luck.
Another shot. I saw it this time. A green beam from my left. With no weapons to fight with, especially against some ray gun I have no knowledge of, my only choice was to run. I turned to the right and sprinted as well as my legs could carry. But after falling from the second story and leaping through broken glass, my legs weren't exactly willing. I stumbled along the porch ways, grabbing banisters and beams to propel myself and to stay upright.
Am I being followed, I wondered. Didn't care, couldn't turn back. Maybe Allouette went this way. Did she have a gun? If she did, she wouldn't have been caught in the first place.
Quick clicks of something hard against the boards sounded behind me. They weren't boots or claws, something else, something like stones being dropped from above. I couldn't look, but they were gaining.
Ahead was the tree line. Maybe I could escape in there. Climb the trees, get lost in the dark of night. No, perhaps I can lose him now. The thought hit and I veered into the mayhem on the street. The dust. Who could see through this dust? But the cloud was not as thick anymore. The dirt now saturated with blood. Was it the wrong choice?
Bendalurians grappled with the others. The enemy fired with guns and cannons from the opposite side of the village where they entered. Here their melee troops attacked with a metal rod. Sparks sizzled in the air and a sharp snap sounded. The rods seemed to generate electricity. An old Bendalurian struggled, holding the rod back with a piece of wood. Probably shrapnel from one of the explosions. Sweat streaked her mane and her muscles bulged beneath the pressure. The other anchored all four arms on the rod, the electric shock not even a tickle to the enemy. The wood snapped, the rod landing on the Bendalurian's skull. A blue light flashes and her eyes fade.
Must move faster. The thud of my pursuer's footfalls had not let up. Still he followed. His shots more conservative now that we danced through the brawl, but still shots grazed my arms.
Then a slam into my shoulder. A large body thrown against mine. My head struck the bloodied dirt, rocks stabbing into my back and elbows. The weight pressed down on my chest. My arm frozen, my other pinned beneath the body. Heavy footfalls came from behind my ear. Dirt clogged my mouth, coated my nostrils. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see.
A breath, slow and deep above me. Long thin legs to my side, sleek like metal, a dark metallic blue. His eyes so large and red. I saw them through the smoke, through the ash, through the dust. My eyes burned under his gaze and I couldn't breathe. With each gasping breath, I breathed in the remains of the village. My eyes watered and teared. He aimed a gun at my forehead. I had never seen the model. Long, thin, and pointed at the tip. If he didn't shoot to kill, he could have just stabbed me with it and ended it. Yanda, I'm glad you did not get to see this world.
The glow of his eyes lessened and he looked away. I didn't hear a sound. Is someone else coming? Perhaps he heard cannon fire.
No, he was just looking away.
He turned again, slow, his eyes small and lowered. He looked at me from the side. His head, did he shake it? I couldn't see, the dust grew whiter and whiter. It grew so bright my eyes couldn't hold. He swung around. A light came, fast and hot. A pinch on my wrist and the weight was thrown off my chest. Dirt was flying in the air, bodies and limbs floating like fallen angels caught in a demon's war.
My body thrown by some unseen force, slid across the ground, a rough surface grating against the nape of my neck as I fell into a valley. Heat rose, searing me. I crawled away, my left hand clawing through the heated dirt until I found a cooler slope. Smoke rose around me as planks from the shattered buildings and fallen trees burn with an unholy flame. I laid amongst the arms, legs, chests, and torsos of those who had fought beside me. Their skin burnt black, their teeth revealed white in their half screams. Their fur glowing with embers, slowly burning their way to the abandoned skull. Their blood cooled the dirt and I rest my head. The sky above turned a lavender glow. The sun rises in the pit of Hell.
Chapter 20
Etchings
“Can you trust me?” My neck was hot, my arms prickling, but the dew of the grass felt cool and soothing. Who was talking? I shouldn't be in the grass. I fell, I remembered falling in the street. Is she speaking, I wondered, who is she? I don't even know anymore. I tried to rise, but nothing desired to move. The burn was still there, just softer, licking at the edge of my skin.
“Can you trust him?” Who's him? I'm tired of this, I thought. No more illusions, no more daydreams. The light blue sky above me broke, a tear in the clouds. Dark smoke, a searing purple. The grass shook against my arms and something rough grated against my neck. I tried to pull myself up again. She stood before the cliff, shimmering. My eyes, were they unfocused, damaged? No, they felt fine. She flickered, double-vision, two stood before me, looking at the cracking sky.
“Who can you trust?” The sky exploded and she stood on the brink of a smoldering pit. Her back to me, she looked out over dark clouds and dust. Blood dripped from the rim, clotting with dirt and vanishing from view. I couldn't see beyond the rim of the pit. She stood faint before me. “Who can you trust?” A fiery shot screeched towards her.
“No,�
�� I shouted. Dirt erupted at impact and I raised my arm to guard my face. The Metrite ball bounced off the rim and skidded over the pit some place behind me. The vision gone.
Where was I? Around me were curved walls that shielded me from the battle above. The heat on my skin bit at me, along my bare arms and neck. This wasn’t from a Metrite blast. Metrite was only about a half foot in diameter and nothing more than a flaming cannonball. It was too hard to add explosive power in its core. This was from a bomb. But it was definitely Metrite that I had seen coming towards me. At least, I thought it was. Can’t say my vision is too accurate when I have a gun pointed at my head and a flaming piece of rock headed at me.
It was a fairly deep hole. Deep enough that my head would be just visible should I stand. But I had no desire to stand. My body ached and burned as if I were to ignite into bright red flames at any moment. But down here was considerably better than up there.
Allouette and Flik. Were they okay? And what of the others on the Hera. What of Queba? Ever since we found the Bendalurian village, I felt certain that all surviving crew would be safe. That we could find a way off this world. But now, I grew fearful. Were they also deep in battle with these creatures. Was Queba lost and discarded on some battlefield like I? We were engineers, not combatant soldiers. Could I believe that Queba's indomitable spirit or Allouette's fierce stubbornness was enough to keep them alive? I didn't know, I couldn't know. All I could do was lie there.
The sounds muffled as I rested the side of my head against the dirt, letting my neck cool. The dust collected high above me and blocked the sun. All for the best. I had lost my goggles at some point during the battle and with day approaching, the violet sun would make it difficult to see. The dust filtered it, giving everything a soft dull glow.