The Deadliest Earthling

by Gibson Morales

  “Manna,” the Ascendi said, relishing the word like a child who had stumbled onto a birthday present before the big day. It was the first time he’d shown any real emotion. It both troubled and intrigued her. “Humans have such interesting words for the sounds we make. Nebirian, of course, offers no direct translation into human words.” The Ascendi made a gruff cough. And Sarah understood he was saying “manna.” “That is our way of referring to this drink. But since it is not a word, humans derived their own words for the sound. Manna, ambrosia. I believe the people of this region called it soma. Funny how so many different words can be interpreted from a single sound.”

  Sarah couldn’t help but wonder if this was a purely coincidental topic or if somehow he knew she spoke Nebirian. Even if the Ascendi monitored the city with aerial drones, she didn’t see how, though. It occurred to her that this was the reason Samir asked her to join them at breakfast. If the Ascendi said one thing to Samir in English and something else to the Anunnaki in Nebirian, she could detect it.

  This was his plan, judging by the way Samir kept pressing down his suit. He must’ve worried that the Ascendi had figured out the reason he brought Sarah.

  “It is too bad none of us can speak your language,” he said. Sarah bit her lip. He was only drawing more attention to the possibility. If she didn’t cut him off, he might give it all away.

  “Could you imagine a human making all those noises?” she said, grinning to Samir and the advisors. She found her way to meeting the Ascendi’s gaze and forced herself to hold the insidious glare. “I’ve heard the human mind is too limited to speak Nebirian.”

  The Ascendi nodded. “Quite right.” He paused, studying her as if to rip apart her head and see inside. The seconds stretched to eons. “You have a very familiar face,” he noted. “It’s similar to a prisoner.”

  The rebuke shocked her. She suspected he meant like one of his prisoners, but he probably also intended the insult. Or a warning that he could arrest her if she annoyed him further. Maybe it was a subtle way of telling her to shut up.

  “How was your trip here?” one of Samir’s sidemen asked, apparently hoping to taper some of the tension. Because, really, what could the Ascendi say about snake-hole travel? Or aerial crafts if they’d used one of those.

  “Well enough that we made it,” the Ascendi said snidely. “Now I wish to share a story with you. Not so many humans know the Shroud War as we Anunnaki do. Forty years is hardly any time at all to us, given. So I can’t imagine you would recognize this story. But perhaps you do, given the relevance to Utbashi.”

  The Ascendi indulged in a long sip of his manna and cleared his throat. “During the Shroud War, we used instruments deemed as the Conifers by humans.” He grew suddenly animated. “Each provided a special technology to our fleets. But thanks to the efforts of the Eagle, we lost these Conifers. The humans then spread these Conifers to the furthest, harshest reaches of the globe. Now, according to a prisoner I recently probed, a human caravan carried one through this area after the war. They were unaccustomed to the humid air and, sadly, succumbed to a case of malaria in a swamp. The Conifer was never accounted for. Our surveillance drones noted a swamp less than ten miles from here, however, and I couldn’t help but wonder of the possibilities. You don’t know anything of any Conifer, do you?”

  The Ascendi could’ve been asking all of them at once. Everyone was visibly shaken. Fidgeting or averting their eyes. Every human at that table, anyway.

  Sarah wondered if Samir had expected the Ascendi’s story, because right at that moment two women entered with trays of plates. Similar to what she’d eaten earlier.

  The clangs of knives and forks against plates bought Samir a moment, but the Ascendi’s stare never wavered.

  “No, I don’t know anything of it,” Samir said before filling his mouth with a piece of flatbread. Sarah had to give him credit. If she were as nervous as him, she couldn’t manage to eat a thing.

  “My mistake,” the Ascendi said, dropping his chin. His head was elongated like all Anunnaki, but thinner too. She could see what Zatra meant about his different genetic features. And he wore an insignia of a triangle inside an eye on his shoulder. She’d seen that before, in fact. In her stepdad’s study as a drawing. Normally Anunnaki didn’t wear any symbols on their armor.

  The table lapsed into silence as Samir and the advisors ate, giving awkward smiles to the Anunnaki every few seconds, as if that made up for the lack of a conversation. The Ascendi used the lull to tell his soldiers, They’ve denied knowledge of the Conifer, but I can sense it. It’s near.

  What about Zatra? Is she here? one Anunnaki asked.

  Patience. I will get to her.

  Sarah gripped her thumb in one hand and held her breath. Maybe Zatra really did have a way to expose the Ascendi’s plans. That would’ve explained the Anunnaki’s desire to find her. Finally she breathed out, keeping her hand wrapped tightly around her other thumb. How much more danger would Zatra be in now?

  As Samir dabbed his lips with a napkin, the Ascendi returned to English. “I also wanted to warn you…”

  Samir dropped the napkin. “Yes?”

  “We tracked an Anunnaki to this area. She is deranged, insane, a criminal of the worst caliber. She would no doubt lie to you if she had the chance. I wouldn’t wish her presence on my worst enemy, and I hope that you don’t have to deal with her.”

  Sarah looked to Samir. He was stuck in contemplation. Did he actually believe the Ascendi? He hadn’t spoken to Zatra, so maybe it wasn’t such a hard story to believe.

  She gave a slight shake of her head, willing him to figure it out. But he lowered his eyes in defeat. He was going to admit her presence.

  “That would be terrible,” Sarah exclaimed. “An evil Anunnaki loose in our streets. Your guards would’ve seen her if she was here, right, Uncle?”

  Such an obvious deception. For a moment, Sarah thought the Anunnaki soldier by the Ascendi was accusing her, but of course, it couldn’t know she spoke Nebirian. It was referring to Samir.

  Maybe so, but that makes it all the more enjoyable for us, the Ascendi said to his soldier. Then in English, “I bring it up because if we don’t find her soon, we will have to perform door-to-door searches. For your safety. And I wouldn’t want to disturb your town,” the Ascendi said with a frightening sincerity. “Just in case, I think it would be wise for us to return with a patrol in two hours.”

  He was telling, not asking, but he clearly wanted a response from Samir.

  He smiled. A more relaxed smile now. Sarah almost believed it. “Yes, that would be fine.”

  The Anunnaki finished off their glasses of manna and packed up the saucer.

  “May I walk you out?” Samir said.

  “Please,” the Ascendi said.

  The Anunnaki, Samir, and his advisors got out of their seats and headed for the door. She willed them to clear out quickly. She couldn’t bear another second of the Ascendi’s imposing presence. Or anyone’s presence, for that matter. Not with so much going on in her head. The bodies in the room smothered her even if they didn’t ever touch against her.

  Zatra, Krem, Hamiad, Skunk, and the other recruits. Her mother. They were all at risk now, weren’t they? Maybe not her mother, but the chances of reuniting with her. And the Anunnaki weren’t seeking just anything from the temple, but another Conifer. She knew the power of Johnny’s. Holograms, cloaking, bending the spectrum of light. It didn’t surprise her that Utbashi’s Conifer could inject powers of life and rejuvenation into the water around it. Probably resting directly beneath the fountain within the temple.

  She heard the muffled voice of Samir and his advisors. What if he had told the Ascendi about Zatra? How stupid of her to let him leave. She wanted to scream.

  She rushed out of the room and discovered Samir standing with his advisors outside. An Anunnaki aerial craft was vanishing into the distance.

  “Did you tell him?” she snapped, thinking about Zatra’s designator and the way
her oval face resembled her mom’s.

  He began walking up the stairs of the estate, barely giving her a saddened glance.

  “Did you?” she cried, running after him.

  “No,” he said, plopping onto a chair on the walkway surrounding the residence. A bottle of rum sat there with glasses. He poured himself one and drank. “I don’t know why. I really should have. But I’ve always been that way, haven’t I?”

  He barked something in Hindi to the advisors. They laughed uneasily.

  “I was telling them that once as a child, I was walking with my grandfather. He warned me that I was about to step on elephant crap. I knew it was there, I knew I should avoid it, but for some reason I didn’t. The same with this, I suppose. I should’ve told the Ascendi.”

  He nursed his glass and smacked his lips. “But I will. When he returns, I’ll let him know where she is. And where the Conifer is too.”

  “What about all life being sacred?” she asked.

  He just cast his head from side to side.

  Sarah wondered if the alcohol could be blamed for his pathetic attitude. But she couldn’t stay here and listen to him. Her dark brown combat boots crunched along the grass, taking her far from the residence and fast. She didn’t know what to do about the Conifer, but she would save Zatra.

  Chapter 11

  She raced over to the hotel, passing under the lobby clock that read 10:17. Zatra lay on the bed, tapping fingers to her designator, the three guards still there.

  Will that designator really stop the Ascendi?

  It might, Zatra said, inspecting her. Is everything okay?

  You need to run. The Ascendi was here. And Samir, the man who was here yesterday, is going to give you up.

  Zatra’s mouth fell open. Where can I go? The Ascendi will be monitoring the town from above.

  I’ll find you a spot, Sarah said.

  She checked the halls. Surely the hotel couldn’t be full. An extra room would sit quietly somewhere. She walked to the end of the hall, thinking it would be too obvious on this floor. While she could hear voices, she saw no one.

  The stairwell revealed a new floor with rooms. Halfway into the hall, she tried opening a random door, but it was locked. She wondered how many guests stayed here? Surely there were enough free ones for Zatra to find. And an Anunnaki would have no problem forcing open these doors. The question was, could she escape the guards without a hitch?

  Sarah returned to Zatra and explained everything.

  Is there a way you can get upstairs and hide in one of the rooms before noon? That’s in less than two hours.

  If she tried to escape too soon, it would only take Samir an hour or so to find her in the hotel. But if she escaped just before the Ascendi’s arrival, she might have a chance.

  Zatra nodded and retrieved a metal orb from her pocket.

  Sarah’s eyes widened. She recognized these. Dolores’s dad owned a broken one. New Bagramites called them “wailers.” The Anunnaki used their high pitches as stunning devices.

  A wailer?

  The Anunnaki I escaped with was an engineer. Resentment flashed across Zatra’s face. The Ascendi ordered her to design many improved weapons, including a special wailer so effective that current combat technology would be unable to nullify it. He thought it might be a useful military tool against the Sinsers’ forces. That’s how we learned of the coup.

  So it works on humans and Anunnaki? Sarah confirmed. A wailer was the perfect way to escape the room.

  But they still needed to hide Zatra. And if Samir revealed Zatra’s location in the hotel, would changing rooms be enough to hide her from the Ascendi?

  Good. My friends and I will figure out the rest, okay? Somehow, we’ll hide you.

  Zatra faltered. Not that I’m not grateful, but why do you put so much faith in my plan?

  For a moment, Sarah could only think of her mom, her stepfather, and her place between the two. But if there was a reason there, it eluded her as soon as she tried to grasp it. Instead, she remembered the firestorm unleashing upon New Bagram and how the Ascendi wanted to start a new world order. Zatra could prevent that.

  I guess I know what it’s like to want to escape someone. I’ll return before the Ascendi and help you get somewhere safer, okay?

  She found Hamiad parked outside the infirmary, arms folded across his chest.

  “Why was there an Anunnaki ship flying away?” he barked as if it were her fault.

  “I’ll tell you inside,” she said, shaken by the way he’d greeted her. She figured all the recruits and Ibdan needed to hear this. Pretty soon Anunnaki would be filling up the city, and if the recruits weren’t prepped, they were bound to square off at some point.

  Everyone was awake, still engaged in quiet chatter, playing cards, or stacking them into pyramids. She walked directly to Ibdan.

  “I’ve got something you should hear.”

  He nodded, seeing the intent in her eyes, and shouted for everyone to listen. She explained about the fountain, the cow dying, their run-in with Zatra in the tiger ravine, her warning, and the Ascendi’s words at breakfast, including the story about the Conifer. She couldn’t bring herself to admit the little side conversation she’d had with Zatra. That wouldn’t mean anything to them. But the part about Zatra reporting the Ascendi’s intentions to the Sinsers might.

  They all listened respectfully, but as she finished, their silence seemed to be suppressing their own irritation. A few watched her with dull, ridiculing eyes.

  “The point is”—and she didn’t know if there was a point to this—“that we need to keep Zatra safe.”

  “This is BS,” a butter-blond-haired recruit she recognized as Levi said. She’d seen him in class before. “She’s obviously lying.”

  Whether he meant her or Zatra, it didn’t help her case.

  The others gave a collective murmur of agreement.

  “Zatra could be lying to save her own skin,” Katherine offered.

  Sarah’s heart sank. She felt sure that if they heard the story, they would agree with her.

  “Let them turn Zatra over and leave us in peace. Am I right?” Skunk said, nudging Hamiad in the side. Except he seemed stuck in contemplation.

  “What about the Conifer? Do we give that to them too? The Ascendi claimed he could sense it, didn’t he?”

  Sarah nodded as the recruits debated among themselves.

  “We could set a trap for them,” Krem said. “I mean, if we’re planning to fight them eventually, why not now?”

  “You hear what he said?” Ibdan shouted, pointing to Krem. “Finally an intelligent idea. We know what the Anunnaki seek, so we need to use it to our advantage. And let me be clear: They cannot obtain the Conifer. And since we’re going to protect that, it only makes sense to protect the female Anunnaki too.”

  The recruits exchanged confused looks, like they weren’t sure if they were supposed to disagree or accept that they’d been wrong.

  Ibdan rose and made for the door. “Two of you come with me.”

  At his gesture, two hopped off their beds and followed him.

  “I’m going to speak with Samir,” he announced. “Stay civil.”

  As soon as he started leaving, Skunk grinned to Krem. “We could set a trap for them,” he said, mimicking Krem’s idea.

  “Well, what was I supposed to say?”

  Skunk came over and clapped him on the shoulder. “What would Johnny do?”

  Krem blushed, sinking his head down. “That was a long time ago.”

  Sarah leaned against the wall, Hamiad sitting up stiffly in his bed.

  “Thank you,” she said, quietly enough that no one else would hear.

  Hamiad sighed. “We’d be a lot better off giving them the Conifer and Zatra.”

  “So why didn’t we?” She emphasized the “we” to underline that he’d been the one to agree with her.

  He shook his head, looking more embarrassed than Krem had a moment ago. He was hiding something.

 
Skunk’s grin was striking. “He won’t admit it, but it’s called honor.”

  Hamiad didn’t respond right away. He looked to the side, gnawing at the edge of his lip. Then with a shrug, “My stepdad was real big on honor, and I guess I picked it up. Some.”

  “Oh,” Sarah said. She sat against the floor, wondering what Hamiad’s stepdad thought of his pranks. But at least he had a nice attribute to adopt from his stepfather.

  There was a noticeable commotion when the door opened. She snapped to alertness and found Ibdan standing with Samir and a couple of advisors.

  “See? We have more than enough,” Ibdan said, gesturing to the recruits.

  “I don’t know,” Samir said. His words slurred a little, but he seemed to stand all right.

  “When the Ascendi returns, you can choose to appear weak or strong. Why not set the right tone? Show him you will not be bullied.”

  “You really think it will work?” Samir asked. It sounded less of a question and more of a request for confirmation.

  “You heard what the female Anunnaki said. The Ascendi cannot go completely rogue. The Sinsers are still monitoring his actions.”

  Samir nodded but still looked locked in an internal dispute.

  “And your Watcher recruits will follow orders to the letter?”

  “To the letter,” Ibdan said calmly.

  Chapter 12

  Sarah lay in the tub, the smell of roses, cream, and water nourishing her skin better than anything in New Bagram. Their showers simply lacked the antiquated grace of this town. She’d floated in there for fifteen minutes, the water warming her body like melted chocolate on an ice-cream sundae. She hadn’t enjoyed one in ages.

  She could almost disappear into the water, into thoughts of old delights, if not for the ticking of the clock in the hotel room. With Samir’s blessings, they’d moved Zatra up to a room on the second floor. They still had an hour left when she turned on the shower, surprised to find it delivered warm water.

  Five feet above her, steam drifted against a small glass panel overlooking Utbashi. They couldn’t open it. Naga drones might notice the steam emission. And then they’d undoubtedly check this room. They might regardless. It was Krem who convinced Samir that they should move Zatra just for security’s sake. The second floor provided more safety than the room downstairs, anyway.