The Excisionists: Book 1

by Rebecca Jensen

  She nodded. “That’s okay. What I meant was that my instruments could find the doctor and it probably doesn’t matter if anyone goes with me.”

  I considered her suggestion but wanted to be sure she’d thought about the implications of going on her own. “What if there’s aliens you have to fight? Wouldn’t that be easier with more of us.”

  “Yes, but I don’t think everyone should go. I think we need some of us to stay on the ship in case something goes wrong or we have to restart.”

  I nodded. “Ah, that makes sense. Who do you want to go with you?”

  She looked around at everyone. “I’d like you to go, and Wes, and Phineas in case we need to portal out quick. That should be enough and then we don’t have to worry about keeping track of lots of people.”

  Mica flopped down on the chair next to me and frowned. “That’s not fair. I don’t want to stay here and do nothing.”

  I tilted my head and grasped his shoulder. “I get it, but this is not a punishment. I need someone like you here to watch over Edan and Vanya. Take notes on their condition and let me know immediately if something changes. Can you do that for me?”

  He gave me a cross look. “Stop talking to me like I’m a child.”

  Zuri picked up on the situation and added what she thought would help. “She’s not. This is a serious thing we need you to do. Any one of us could fall ill at any time. Especially those who have already started having problems. Here, Take this. It’s a scanner that will check vital signs. I want you to scan everyone with it every fifteen minutes while we’re gone. As long as everything on the display comes up green, you won’t have to contact us.”

  His face brightened. “Will it tell me if they’re sick?”

  Zuri nodded. “Yes. If you get a red reading, contact us immediately. If it’s just yellow, take a note and tell me when we get back, okay?”

  He fingered the keys and was fascinated by the display. “Okay.”

  I waited for a protest from Jinx but didn’t get one. She was still shaken by the close encounter with her brother and was preoccupied with whether or not to reveal herself to him. We went to the docking bay and found several exploration suits. Since we weren’t sure what the Eydis ship would contain, we put on the suits. They were made of moveable plates that slid across each other to give dexterity and protection. I tapped the controls on the left arm to engage the helmet and generate and recycle oxygen inside the suit. Once everyone was situated, we got on a small docking shuttle and set it to autopilot to transport us to the nearest ship. Zuri worked on codes to disable the security of the Eydis’ ship to make it easy for us to board. She broadcasted the code and we watched as the shields dropped and the docking bay opened. I felt nervous when we were entering the ship. Something made me uneasy and I couldn’t put my finger on what it was or why I felt this way. Zuri on the other hand wasn’t the least concerned about making the trip here and hopped out of the ship happily following the signal she’d locked on to.

  This ship was as alien as I could have ever imagined. The atmosphere was thick with water vapor emitted by long shreds of gray material that hung from the ceiling. The interior seemed to be a living organism that moved in response to our touch. A strange bouncy material was below my feet and the walls squirmed as if it were covered in maggots. Glassy orbs moved throughout the ship and indescribable sounds filled the air. When we entered the maze, it reminded me of fields of wheat. The grassy golden fronds were waist high and covered with tiny beads of what appeared to be water near the tips. As I walked, something wrapped around my ankle. I looked down and realized that it was one of the stalks. Others nearby also started sliding around my legs.

  I pulled my leg up, but the plants grew tighter. “Get away from the plants!”

  It was too late. They switched from silky stalks to razor sharp cords that were sickle shaped and had pointed tips. I tried to pull away but was sliced and stabbed instead. I tossed a bomb, but it was thrown back at me. I felt the searing heat from the blast and then rematerialized back in the docking bay of the Eydis’ ship. The others respawned only a few seconds later. I had to touch my face to be sure it hadn’t actually melted off.

  “Well, that didn’t work. Does anyone have suggestions on how to kill those things? I didn’t get to see if the bomb did any damage.”

  Wes shook his head. “I didn’t either. I was too busy trying to slice those things off of me.”

  Phineas stood there and didn’t say anything.

  Zuri was the only one who seemed to be forming a plan. “We could burn them. I’m not sure if they are part of the security system or just something we have to kill to get to the next part of the ship.”

  “I say torch ‘em. Any objections?”

  We neared the field and Zuri pulled a beaker and small bottles of chemicals from her pouch. She made a synthetic concoction that burned super-hot and placed it in a sprayer bottle. She squirted it on the field as far as she could and then Wes took a spear and lit the tip on fire just before tossing it into the chemical-soaked room. Phineas immediately shielded us from the explosion and we watched as the plants nearly uprooted themselves to get away from the heat while the others made high-pitched noises as they were consumed by the flames. The fire spread quickly across the room and turned everything to ash.

  I was impressed by the fastmoving chemical fire that cleared the way for us. “That was awesome.”

  Wes agreed with me and we all walked through the room easily this time. Swirls of dust floated upwards as our feet hit the thick layer of soot. Even the spongy supportive layer had been marred. The next room was filled with glassy orbs. I touched one and it lit up in response. A soothing warmth emanated from the sphere as my memories were brought to life before my eyes. Inside the sphere, I could see my first steps followed by my favorite stuffed bunny. It was the same tawny color as the bunny in The Velveteen Rabbit. My mother had found the book and stuffed rabbit in a second-hand store for fifty cents each. She’d wrapped it in old newspaper and gave it to me for Christmas when I was young. It was one of my few possessions and I’d held onto it for as long as possible. She’d spent countless hours reading that book to me every night and tucked me in with the bunny after the last page was turned.

  The next image showed the hours after the birth of my brother Mica. We sat around my mother’s bed and peered at the tiny bundle. I could see his tiny fingers perfectly formed on one hand while the other was malformed and mostly missing. The leg on the left side was smaller but was not shaped differently. I remember being proud to be his sister and I accepted him exactly as he was. It didn’t matter that he looked different than I did, this was my little brother and I’d do anything for him.

  Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder, but I didn’t want to look away. “Iolite look at me.”

  I watched the orb as the next pleasant memory formed. “Just a second.”

  The grip increased in intensity until pain shot through my shoulder. “Ow!” I looked down to see Wes’s charcoal talons ripping through my flesh. His face was filled with horror as something black pulled him away from me. I could see dozens of short black shadows that moved like smoke and materialized to pull us into pieces as soon as we lost our focus on the orbs. Darkness wrapped itself around my limbs and began pulling. Searing heat from the torn muscles and joints was so intense I nearly blacked out. Thankfully, I respawned back in the docking station of the Eydis’ ship.

  I laid back on the floor of the ship. “I don’t want to do that one again.”

  Fur from the spider-moth body tickled my arm. “That was intense. Those orbs and shadow aliens were insane.”

  I rolled to my side to face him and propped my head on my hand. “You think the shadows were aliens?”

  He nodded. “What did you think they were?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know, but I didn’t think they were aliens. Do you think they were the Eydis?”

  Zuri sat on the floor and joined the conversation. “Maybe. Or they could be some kin
d of security device or servant. Either way, we need to figure out how to get through this room.”

  Wes remained standing and leaned up against the wall. “What did you guys see in the orbs?”

  “I saw my childhood, favorite books, my kid brother as a baby. Stuff like that.”

  Zuri had a similar experience. “Me too. I was swimming in one of them, another one was when I was trick-or-treating and dressed up as a fairy. What about you?”

  Phineas shook his head. “Mine wasn’t that nice. I saw bad things I’d tried to forget. One was a dream I used to have that freaked me out as a kid where I couldn’t get away from the thing that was chasing me.”

  We looked at Wes to complete the experiences. “Uh, it was just stuff. Kind of like his.”

  I waited for more details, but they weren’t forthcoming. “Not something you want to share, huh?”

  He looked away. “It doesn’t matter what it was, what I’m trying to figure out is how do we get past them without looking into them?”

  “Yeah, I think that’s what made the aliens come too. I believe we can avoid the black shadows if we can turn off the orbs somehow.”

  Phineas spoke after a long pause in the conversation while everyone tried to come up with a solution. “I could make a blackhole and try to suck them all into it. I don’t know if it will do anything with the aliens though.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well, ‘cause I don’t think they have any weight. They’re like spirits or something. Blackholes only pull stuff in that’s heavy.”

  “I could shift to alien class and use a light bomb on them.”

  Zuri seemed happy with the plan. “Alright, let’s go.”

  We had to repeat the rooms in order again to progress through this level. It was frustrating to be required to repeat things because we knew that any of us could lose control over our bodies at any moment and every duplicated action was a waste of precious time. When we reached the room with the orbs, I was a little disappointed I couldn’t watch more of my past and wondered why some of the others had seen such unpleasantries. I was curious as to what they’d seen but neither of them seemed willing to discuss it further. Since we needed to pass this level we went ahead with our plan. Phineas tossed a blackhole generator into the center of the room and we watched as the mystical orbs were sucked into it.

  Soon after the orbs were gone the shadow aliens arrived and I tossed several light bombs throughout the room that made them evaporate into nothingness. As soon as the light disappeared, they returned which I wasn’t expecting. I continued tossing light bombs into the room as we jogged through it to keep the shadow aliens away from us. Finally, we reached the next area and I hoped we wouldn’t die and have to respawn but at the same time it was much easier on subsequent visits because we knew what to expect.

  This new room was riddled with dark twisting tunnels. Phineas pulled out the compass and we navigated them with care while Wes brightened the tunnels with his bioluminescent skin. At each turn we were faced with some small group of aliens, killer plants, or an electrified field that had to be disarmed before we could pass through it. Zuri’s complicated electronic devices were extremely helpful in completing the circuit so the energy would move from the walls and floor to a broken light fixture or security devices they had originated from. Wes’s curved knives quickly sliced through the small stone colored aliens that crept through the tunnels in groups of either three or five. We never saw what abilities the little aliens had because Wes made short work of the grays in the instant the small groups rounded the corners. I wondered why this particular area had been so seemingly easy to complete and was a little uneasy from it.

  As we exited the last tunnel a brilliant emerald light showered the room. Crystals of every size lined the walls and pointed to Dr. Sothy who was clamped onto an examination table surrounded by the Eydis. These creatures were tall and slender with mottled gray skin. Instead of the usual alien shape for a head they looked just like humans but with white hair and black eyes. Each had a short tail and their fingernails had been replaced by short sharpened claws. They were clad in rope-like material coiled around their humanlike forms. Each grasped a crystal as if they were holding a stick of chalk but none of them held the same color. They wrote characters in the air that turned white against the emerald light and swirled around the cranium of their captive. The doctor struggled against the metal clamps that held her in place and cried out with each new addition of characters. Suddenly, they stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to us.

  Chills of fear ran down my spine as the dark orb like eyes focused on us. A piercing high-pitched noise filled my head. I dropped to my knees and covered my ears, but the noise intensified. Wes ran past me and jumped into the air to slash them with his talons but was thrown back by an unseen force. Phineas and Zuri rushed in next. Phineas surrounded both our group members and the doctor with a sphere of protection while Zuri shot through it at the Eydis. Their skin blackened with each blast, but they didn’t go down.

  I stood up despite the painful noise in my head and tossed bombs at them. “Keep hitting them, don’t stop!”

  Knife after knife sailed through the air hitting their mark. Suddenly, the knives sailed back at us and through the shield.

  “Duck!” Phineas wasn’t fast enough to keep Wes from having to respawn.

  I dropped down to the floor and switched classes. My Eva form gave me more motility, better weapons, and a thicker shield. I blasted away as I moved closer to them. I could see the fear on the doctor’s face as she lay helplessly on the examining table. Finally, the first of them fell. Wes rejoined us and continued the fight. We banded together as we jumped and rolled to avoid their return fire. I found out the hard way that none of us could leave the protective bubble and not be flung against the wall. Seconds later I respawned and had to jump and roll to avoid being hit as I returned to my comrades’ sides. Minutes ticked by as they tried to prevent us from taking our prize. Eydis after Eydis dropped to the floor with soot covered skin and red blood dripping into ever growing puddles.

  While we fought, my thoughts turned to Opal’s fate. She’d never see the light of day again. Was she aware of her surroundings? Did she know about Vanya? Could she ever return to her former state? I was so distracted by my thoughts that I almost didn’t realize that the fight had ended. Something in my brain clicked and I just quit firing. I focused my attention back to the task at hand. It was strange how I was so easily sidetracked and wondered why I’d even begun to concentrate on Opal.

  Phineas dropped the shield and ran to Dr. Sothy. “Are you alright?”

  A slender aging female sat up with a smile. “Thank you all.”

  Her soft feminine voice completely snapped me out of my semi dazed state. I nodded and finally had a minute to really look at her. Her slate colored hair was wavy and streaked with gold. Pale gray eyes flecked with honey stared back at me with gratitude. Her skin was tanned and wrinkled as if she’d spent countless years working in the sun. When she hopped off the table, I finally realized how short she was. Even Amber would be able to look down at her.

  Zuri turned off her beacon tracker and took her hand. “Come with us. This is Phineas and he’ll be making a wormhole for us to get back to our transport ship. We’ll take you back to Dr. Elio Atlas.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to go back to Alchemist’s Crypt just yet. I came here to get our crystals back.”

  I looked around the room. “So let’s grab some and head back.”

  “I wish it were that easy. You see, ever since the Eydis stole our crystals, they’ve been using them as an energy source for their ship, to grow their abilities, and to develop their infants. All of the stolen crystals have been modified and integrated into this ship.”

  The scientist in Zuri spoke up like I hadn’t seen it before. “The lattice structure of the crystals must have been changed. That means we’ll have to find the controls for the ship and reverse the process. Once the
crystals are returned to their previous state, we can disengage them from the ship, but I suspect we’ll lose some of their structure at the base. How do you propose we repair the crystal gardens when we will have shards that don’t match?”

  “You are wise indeed, beyond your years in fact. I’m sure we can find a way to solve this problem when we return to Zerkola with the crystals. I believe the crystal gardens will restore the balance of the fluids on Zerkola once they are healed.”

  I was puzzled. “Healed?”

  “Yes, healed. We’ve had some changes that have caused the destruction of the energy force within these crystals. The Eydis spread something across our planet that is poisonous. We built the ClokWorx tower to remove the substance from our planet, but the crystal gardens were damaged, and we don’t have enough power to make the tower work. We need to heal the crystals to set everything in motion.”

  I scratched my nose. “Vanya might know how to heal them since she requires crystals to not lose health when she’s off her home planet.”