Onio

by Jeppsen, Linell

  Mel followed the queen across the shoreline and behind a grouping of boulders. Squatting, the women emptied their bladders. Mel peeked over the top of the rocks and saw Onio conferring with Wolf. Sighing with relief, she started to stand and wobbled as her pants caught on the many furs she wore. Cursing under her breath, she caught her balance on the ground with one hand and gasped when the ground moved.

  What Mel thought was a dune or elevated mound of gravel behind her heaved itself up out of the ground with a spasmodic jerk. Tanah screamed and lifted her sword as the giant worm opened its fang-filled maw and roared. Mel clapped her hands over her ears; the sound of the beast’s scream rang like a million bells in her consciousness.

  The mammoth worm swayed this way and that, blindly seeking the thing that disturbed its rest. Its mouth was as large as a garage door and its fangs rotated like a jigsaw’s blade. Two slit-like nostrils trembled in its muzzle, sniffing the air for prey.

  Suddenly, Onio was standing before her. He shoved her back with one hand and yelled at the beast as loud as he could to divert its attention away from the women. The beast stopped roaring and focused its attention on the annoying but convenient target that stood directly in front of it. Then Onio began his dance of death.

  The worm writhed in mid-air, took in a great draught of breath, vibrated violently and then spewed gouts of flame at the young sasq warrior. Mel did not know if Onio possessed advanced training in war-craft or if it was instinct, but it was quickly apparent that he possessed the ability to anticipate an opponent’s moves. Just as the flames looked to cover his body, Onio sprang away and leapt in to stab the worm with his spear.

  Surprise and Onio’s physical skill had a devastating effect on the worm. It did not matter where it aimed its deadly fire, the sasq warrior was like quicksilver, impossible to pin down, never where his adversary expected, evasive and fluid, a ghost.

  Finally, with a roar of frustrated rage, the worm plunged back into the ground and disappeared.

  Chapter 19

  Mel stood still and tried to quiet her pounding heart. What the hell was that? She thought. She couldn’t help but wonder if everything that had happened since she drove off the road was some sort of hallucination; a fever dream in full techno-color, complete with advanced special effects and stereo surround-sound, while in all actuality, she lay in a hospital bed, hooked up to tubes and a watchful heart-monitor, entranced within a coma’s restful embrace.

  Until, that is, Onio ran up to her, picked her up in his arms and swung her around and around, laughing in triumph. The other sasq warriors gathered around them and clapped Onio on the back in gratitude and pride.

  “Did you see, Mel?” he asked, grinning. “Did you see me vanquish the beast?”

  Mel nodded and said, “You were really…you were great, Onio.” She paused for a second and took a deep, shuddering breath. “What the hell was that thing?” She almost screamed the question and the sasq guards gazed at her with surprise.

  Onio, however, seemed to understand her feelings of shock and anxiety. He placed a hand on her shoulder and started to speak, when Tanah answered. “It was a common worm, Melody, grown large and mutated almost beyond recognition. This place…this underworld land… is filled with strange things. Some of the creatures here are man-made and others are said to be from other worlds, other dimensions than our own.” She looked at Mel with kind eyes. “Please, try to stay calm. My guards will do their best to keep you from harm.”

  The sasq warriors were all looking at her now, which made Mel squirm anew. She had been trying so hard to put on a brave face…to no avail. She felt humiliated by feelings of inadequacy and fear. She tilted her chin up defiantly, and muttered, “Okay, no problem.”

  Onio grinned, chucked her chin gently and then turned back to the other guards, who asked him about some of the finer points of his battle strategy. Tanah grinned at her as well before turning to the guards, saying, “We leave shortly. Please gather your belongings together.”

  Mel pulled her furs tight and watched as the sasq warriors picked up their packs, food stores and weapons. She studied the tiny raft for a moment, and for no good reason, except perhaps residual humiliation at being proven such a coward, she picked a pebble up off the ground at her feet and tossed it at the wooden boat.

  Suddenly, a wash of green and blue lights painted the water and the stone walls of the tunnel. Some sort of membrane shimmered and rippled around the boat; a grid of lines, cross-angles and numbers glowed briefly, with almost blinding intensity, and then faded away into shadow. The boat bobbed harmlessly on the shallow water.

  The sasq warriors stepped back, growling in alarm, weapons raised high against this new, perceived threat, and then stared at Mel as if she was the conductor of some bizarre concert. She gazed back at them and shrugged in confusion. Turning back to the little watercraft, she tossed another pebble and it changed again. This time, Mel could clearly see the outline of some sort of barge, or flat platform hovering above the water. It looked as if it was plenty big enough to carry all of them, a few horses, a semi-truck, a house…whatever size was needed, the ferry was designed to accommodate.

  Tanah stepped up next to her and murmured, “You have good instincts, girl. That is no ordinary boat.” Turning to her soldiers, she said, “I will climb aboard the thing and see if it supports my weight.” Black Pony stepped up and gasped, “My queen you mustn’t risk it…let me do it.”

  Tanah studied her guard coolly and said, “Oh…did you learn to swim when I wasn’t watching?” Mel could swear that she saw the big guard blush in embarrassment. Tanah continued with haughty contempt. “My husband, the king, has ordered all of you to try and learn to swim, but no…my warriors would rather fight a grizzly bear in its den than get their toes wet in the water! I WILL swim to that craft and see if it will carry us to an exit!”

  “Tanah, I can swim,” Onio exclaimed urgently. “I agree with your guard. You should not risk yourself while we are tasked with keeping you safe! Let me swim out there and see if it’s safe to board.”

  It was Tanah’s turn, now, to look away in shame. Biting her lip, she nodded in agreement, and watched as the young mixed-breed dove into the water and swam to the boat. He hesitated just outside the boat’s perimeter and reached a hand toward the flickering blue and green lights that surrounded the craft. The lights sizzled up and down Onio’s hand and arm like lightening, and Mel held her breath.

  Then he turned to face them and smiled. Plunging forward, he grabbed the low sides of the boat and pulled himself up out of the water. Walking up and down the platform he laughed as it grew longer or shorter with his every stride. He lifted his nose, sniffing, and even knelt down and, wetting a finger, tasted the craft’s surface.

  Finally, he called out to them, “I think it’s safe. Hold on, there’s a pole. Let me see….” Onio pushed the pole into the water and gave a tentative push. The whole boat rose out of the water and a steady hum filled the air as a mighty wind rose from the turbines that powered it. Onio’s eyes grew huge as the boat lifted completely out of the water and sailed the fifteen feet or so that separated it from the shoreline and the passengers that waited, open-mouthed, in awe.

  Laughing, Onio, called out, “Come mighty sasquatch, your steed awaits!”

  Tanah shook her head and waded into the water. Onio reached out his hand and helped the queen board, and then he helped Mel do the same. Within minutes, all of the sasq warriors stood on the boat as it hummed and hovered, inches above the water’s surface. Tanah stared about, perplexed, and whispered, “Now what do we do?”

  As if in answer, the boat moved forward and to the left around the stone wall. Mel could hear the sounds of rushing water and looking ahead, her heart stuttered in fear as she saw a vast crevasse and the waterfall that heaved and surged over the edge of a cliff. The cliff was at least seventy-five feet tall, and she understood that there was no way anyone could have survived the fall. The water thundered and hissed its way into a deep lake
below, and the sound was deafening, even to Mel, who heard the roar telepathically.

  Mel looked around for a hand-hold but there was nothing, so she grabbed Onio’s hand and watched, stunned, as the craft sailed blithely through the misty air as if set on a pre-determined course, and for all she knew, it was. The craft picked up speed as most of the sasquatches on board fell to their knees in fear and wonder. Tanah tried to remain standing but Mel saw Pony wrestle her to the floor.

  Mel, Onio and Wolf huddled on the floor as well as the craft soared over the lake’s surface and then into a long series of tunnels and passageways, while the lake, turning again into a river, surged and tumbled below them. Mel felt her ears pop and her stomach pressed into her spine as the strange boat began to nose down, and plummeted into a spinning vortex of darkness. Mel screamed in terror, as did the fierce sasq warriors, when their conveyance suddenly became weightless. The passengers on board felt their feet leave the craft’s surface and for a moment they all knew, with certainty, that they were about to die.

  Oddly enough, although they had trouble keeping their feet under them, Mel and the others felt a subtle pressure press down on them from above. Mel reached up and felt a soft barrier give slightly against her hands. It was like shoving a marshmallow; the surface of the invisible shield was soft, squishy and completely unyielding. She realized that somehow, miraculously, they were encased within some sort of force field, like bits of cheese stuffed in a cannoli.

  This was a good thing…Mel’s stomach flipped as the craft spun completely around so that, for a moment, she found herself studying the guano-covered stalactites of the ceiling overhead. Then they were racing down one of Earth’s biggest, deepest, rabbit holes as the ceiling rushed by overhead and the river raged, fell, pooled into deep, black lakes and raged again beneath them. The sasq muttered and stared. Tanah, looking disgusted and fearful, puked in the far corner. Onio looked down at Mel, eyes wide, a half-smile on his lips reflecting the wonder of what they were experiencing.

  Then the craft began to slow and Mel’s belly lurched back into place. The water below disappeared into a tumble of boulders and the tunnel narrowed. The strange boat swept through a stone archway and into a vast cavern. The lights on the underside of the boat illuminated the walls, which glittered with quartz, mica and threads of silver and gold.

  The companions stared about in wonder. Rock monoliths rose up out of the ground and the walls were honey combed with door and window openings. A crumbling pyramid rose into the air. Mel saw that some sort of light source twinkled at its apex in pulsing flashes of red and orange, and she felt chills run up her spine as she realized she was looking at an ancient underground city.

  Giant pictographs etched arrows, parallel lines and spiraling circles into the ground, much like directional guidelines drawn on the tarmac of an airport. The boat slowed slightly and shot toward a monolith that stood next to the pyramid. The sasq warriors stirred with alarm and lifted their spears in readiness.

  The boat stopped finally, and hovered over what was once, obviously, a landing pad. The sasq warriors murmured nervously and did a double take at the wreckage of an alien spaceship that sat just outside the landing pad, swathed in shadow. Coming to a soft landing, the boat settled on the stone floor and powered down.

  Mel and the sasq hesitated for a moment and then climbed down off the boat. Falling Waters muttered under his breath and made his way to the ancient alien ship. Calling out, Tanah said, “Be careful, Waters. You don’t know what that thing is…it could be danger—”

  The queen’s words cut off abruptly as a tiny stone door at the bottom of the monolith screeched open. Light poured out of the structure and etched a strange and horrifying silhouette on the cave walls.

  A huge, spindly, winged bug emerged from the structure. Its antennae probed the air and clawed pincers lifted up like the clawed talons of the devil himself. Mel and the mighty sasq warriors screamed as one.

  Chapter 20

  Mel screamed and then saw that the shade was only a distorted reflection of the creature as it hobbled toward them on short, spindly legs. It was tiny, maybe three and a half feet tall and definitely insect-like, with long antennae and a hard, mottled carapace for a body. Dainty wings fluttered nervously above its pointed head. The look on its face was so intelligent…so human looking…she and the sasq warriors realized immediately that whatever the creature was, it posed no threat to them.

  Its little face was leathery and wrinkled like a raisin, and its mouth was more like a beak than anything human, but it grinned up at them just the same. Its huge, slanted eyes swirled with every color in the rainbow and some colors that Mel had never seen before. She swore that she could see star systems and galaxies swirl within those magical orbs and she looked down, shaking with primitive awe.

  The creature came to a stop in front of them and spoke telepathically. “Greetings, Star Brothers…long have I awaited your arrival!”

  The sasq stared at the little creature with astonishment. Mel and Tanah exchanged glances and watched, bemused, as the creature produced a tray from mid-air that held an assortment of small cups that steamed and bubbled with a foul smelling, smoking liquid. Falling Waters lifted his large nostrils, sniffing, and fell to his knees in shock. The other warriors, alarmed, lifted their spears but stopped when they heard the old sasq whisper, “Fire Root! That is the ancient elixir of power, my brothers!” Tears streamed from his eyes and he trembled where he knelt on the floor, like an oak tree in a tempest.

  “My gift to you, mighty sasq!” the alien whispered and its eyes swirled merrily as the warriors took the little cups in their hands and swallowed the brew down in one swallow. One by one, they lifted their faces and let out a roar of joy and approval. It seemed to Mel that, for a moment, something shifted; a subliminal veil shimmered and tore, giving her a glimpse into a reality that hovered just outside her comprehension.

  She saw a wide plain filled with legion after legion of sasq warriors. They lifted their faces to the purple sky and sang the song of devotion. The high priests on the rock podium incanted the sacred vow and the sasq warriors bowed their heads in submission.

  “Here is water for you, little human,” the bug said, handing her a mug of icy winter melt-off. Mel shook her head in wonderment and gazed at her friends in puzzlement. What have I just witnessed? She wondered and looked over at the queen, who looked dazed and pale.

  The sasquatches, at least, looked happy and energized. They slapped each other on the back and their eyes were bright. The little alien grinned and said, “Please forgive my intrusion in to your plans but I think you have something that belongs to me?”

  Tanah started and blushed. “Oh…,” she gasped. “Yes, I was supposed to give this to…you, I guess.” Handing the weapon over to the bug, she stepped back quickly and took Mel’s hand in hers. Although slightly shocked, Mel understood. They were in the presence of something so strange, so alien, it was almost God-like.

  The tiny creature accepted the weapon and, like the tray of drinks, it disappeared into thin air. Looking up at its visitors the bug said, ‘My name is Triku…guardian of the inner portal. I sealed the eastern tunnels because the humans are mustering forces against you. If permitted, they would have found their way here and that cannot happen.” It paused for a moment and smiled. “Also, I have longed to meet the guardian race.”

  It walked a little ways away and gestured for them to follow. When Mel and her companions gathered behind the alien, it spoke again. “Do you see this craft? It is a transport carrier that was lost many millennia ago. It carried a battalion of guardians who were assigned protection duty over the Ferenzili court. It crashed on this planet and for many centuries, it was thought that all on board perished. I am happy to see that is not true.

  It gazed at all of them in turn and said, “Many thousands of years ago our planets shared the same orbit. Did you know that?”

  The sasq warriors shuffled their feet and shook their heads doubtfully. Triku smi
led and said, “Oh it’s true. I was only a child when I last saw your kind. Many things have changed since then, but your ancestors are much beloved still. Their heroic feats and self-sacrifice are written in the ancient texts and are celebrated to this day.”

  The bug stared up at Onio. “Let me look at you, son of two worlds,” it whispered. Onio shuddered slightly and knelt down on his knees. The little alien traced the lines of his face and brow, wrapping long claws around the circumference of his skull, as if it was measuring him. “Oh…you are a fine example of what could be,” it muttered.

  Onio smiled at the little alien and its kaleidoscope eyes grew wide. “You are a smart one, I see. You will be a leader one day, I think, even though you carry the human gene within your blood.” The young sasq warrior looked away at its disapproving tone and it shook its head. “No…do not be ashamed of your heritage, brother.” It glanced up at Mel, who stood back, cheeks burning with humiliation.

  “Oh no,” Triku sighed. “I have given offence, when none was meant. Please, gather around me while I sit down and tell you an old, old story.” The little bug hopped up onto a boulder.

  “Hundreds of centuries ago we were sent to this planet to monitor the growth of the sentient beings that grew from the ashes of another planets destruction. The people of that world brought about their own doom, and many peoples celebrated the end of such a war-like civilization. Many others, though, thought that it was a pity and a terrible loss to the universe when that species perished.

  “Their planet, which was called Marinell, exploded like a dying sun and a million, billion pieces flew through space. Many of those pieces were shattered into dust, other pieces burned like dead leaves when they flew too close to a sun or crashed against a planet. One piece survived though, and that piece of rock was teeming with life. It was the only remaining remnant of a dying race. After much debate, it was decided that the new seed would be allowed to survive, despite the fact that it was proven a violent and war-like species. The inhabitants of Marinell were called human beings.”