“You will soon enough.” He pointed to Vanya. “She looks nearly the same. Take her as well.” He turned and walked out as Edan and Ariocha were taken by black clad guards to some unknown area of the Crypt.
We all stood there staring at each other so finally I spoke up. “I guess we should head to the decontamination chamber.”
On our way there, Wes whispered in my ear. “Guess we didn’t have to worry about leaving her after all.”
I nodded. “I think we dodged a bullet.”
A short time later we were standing inside the decontamination chamber looking at the suits. The chamber itself was circular and metallic with a high ceiling. Lining the walls were helmets of all shapes and sizes that were made up of countless sliding pieces of transparent material with an iridescent sheen. We each found one that would fit our avatar and grabbed one. As soon as we placed the helmets on our heads, a liquid material flowed around our bodies and hardened into a protective covering composed of a myriad of sliding plates. Seconds later, the suits mimicked our skins and then shifted to the same color as the decontamination chamber making it the best camouflage imaginable.
We went outside by opening the bay doors and slid into the seats of the exploration pods. The pods were small and light and could only carry two people. Wes and I were together, but Mica had to be on his own since three of our party members were still in the Crypt leaving him the odd man out. I hopped inside and could see the horizon light up with scrolling stats on number of enemies, distance to them, life force info, and dozens of other items that could be used to target and destroy them. I hit the auto transport button and the four pods flew us past scenery that whizzed by like a blur. Up ahead were canyons surrounded by mazes of cracked plateaus and deep sable canyons. We followed the readouts on our helmets and soon came upon bubbling pits of tar surrounded by hazy clouds spewing from cracks in the ground. Peeking out from and hiding inside the shifting billows were yellow eyed creatures.
Our pods slowed, and we jumped out to investigate. I pulled out my gun and held it ready to fire at any moment. I walked to the left to avoid a sticky puddle of tar, and when my eyes lifted from the ground, I was face to face with one of the Oroans. He had a square jaw and a pale face. Glowing yellow eyes stared at me with tiny spines forming his hair and brows. The humanoid possessed a tail that ended in a menacing metal spike. Silvery plates of armor protected the vulnerable parts of his body and thick leather covered his arms and legs. I lifted my gun and waved it at him to indicate where I wanted him to move to. I didn’t want to kill him right away to allow me time to question him. The glowing eyes narrowed in response and he stepped back inside a cloud to conceal himself.
“Hey! Get back out here!”
A slithery vibrating sound escaped his throat. “Make me.”
I blasted several times into the cloud and stepped just outside it to look for signs of a body.
A heavy shock slammed me backwards and I fell to the ground as the Oroan jumped onto my chest. His evil grin widened as a forked tongue slid out and licked my helmet. Bright red blood splattered across my vision when Wes’s spear hurtled through his head. The heavy body slumped forward and hit the ground with a thud when I tossed him to the side.
Amber screamed.
Without warning my helmet sprayed chemicals that chewed up the drops of blood and immediately my vision was cleared. “What’s up with you?”
She ran up to the carcass as it disintegrated and left behind some crystals. “That couldn’t be…”
I stared at her with bewilderment. “Couldn’t be what?”
She frowned and crossed her arms. “Did he say his name?”
“His name? You’re joking, right?”
“Look out!” Wes’s curved knife whizzed past Amber’s face and sliced into the forehead of another yellow eyed creature that immediately dropped to the ground.
She stalked up to Wes and shoved him backwards. “Stop doing that!”
He raised his hands. “What did I do? We’re supposed to be killing the enemies.”
“No, no we’re not. Did you hear any change in the music?”
He listened for a second and then shook his head. “Sounds the same as always.”
I rubbed my eyes then looked at her. “Why would we get rewards for killing it if we’re not supposed to do that?”
She forced out a long huff. “Just don’t kill the next one. I think we need to find out where they are coming from, how they move, and what they’re doing here.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Wes, try to catch the next one.”
Second later, another creature stuck its head out of the fog.
“Grab it!”
We dove for the creature but only Wes was able to grasp the flicking tail. He hissed and turned back to slash at Wes with his pointed claws and spiky appendage. Blood dripped from open wounds, but Wes’s health remained high. Mica used his runes to surround the creature with bars of crystals and then blew a handful of slumber dust onto his face to force him to sleep.
Amber kneeled outside the cage and inspected the creature inside. “You look so much like the Commander.” Her head whipped to the side as if something caught her attention. “That’s not true, I never acted like the others.”
I knew she was seeing something I couldn’t once again and decided not to waste my time by asking her to explain it. I pitied her condition and wondered how Crispin could be attracted to someone like her. “Zuri, you should–”
“Way ahead of you. His signature has already been scanned into my matter alternator. While Crispin can mimic his background, the rest of us can’t. For some reason they can see us even in our suits. I need him to go with me into their habitation and determine the next objective.”
I put my hand on my hip. “So, what? You’re saying the rest of us just sit out here and do nothing?”
“I’m suggesting nothing of the sort. We still need protection and someone to find out what these things are susceptible to. Take him back to the ship and find out everything you can about him.”
Amber stood up. “I’ll take him.” Crispin opened his mouth, but Amber cut him off immediately. “Take care of Zuri. I’ll see you back on the ship soon.”
Chapter 13 – The Oroans
Crispin bent down to see the creature up close before he stood and rippled into an Oroan. Every last detail was mimicked and if I didn’t know better, I would swear he was one of them.
“I’m impressed. Just don’t touch anything or anyone as we travel. They might use tactile senses to identify their own.”
He nodded. Think we’re going to be noticed?”
“No.” I punched a few buttons on the slender hand-held device. I knew it would be easy to adjust the interface to interact properly with my sheath. “The females may have a different color, sound, or smell. That means I need you to get close to one of them so I can fully mimic her.
“Got it.”
We entered the closest billow of heated air and tried to identify where to go from there. After examining the area inside the cloud, I located a small vent on the ground that opened up into a long staircase. I slipped inside and tiptoed down the stairs to find myself inside a massive open chamber that had been laser cut to precision. Despite their appearance there was nothing primitive about this species. On the north side of the cave was a geothermally heated pool with the air above it being cooled by an alien device. It used the water vapor from the pool to generate the fog they’d been hiding in.
The chamber itself was not foggy however, it was as hot and humid as the Amazon forests. Pockets of rose-colored splintered barrel crystals protruded from the cave walls. I scanned one with my device which determined that the substance was poudretteite. Deeper inside the cavern was something vibrating and strobing. I knew this would likely be the source of their energy which would provide valuable information about their species. I listened for any movement or chatter that would indicate we had company, but we found ourselves alone.
As I stood t
here collecting data, I could feel Crispin’s breath on my neck. I turned my head to see his camouflaged face resembling an Oroan just above my shoulder. “Are you scared?”
He eyed me and then took a step back. “You wish.” He immediately changed the subject. “What’s that thing down there?”
“Probably some kind of energy generating device.” I handed him a collection container and a small laser drill. “Get a sample of that crystal. I’m going to find out what I can, but I think you’re too big to fit down these corridors. Tell me if anyone shows up, but don’t kill them yet.”
He nodded and headed to one of the largest crystals to sample from. I sneaked down the hallway and around every corner expecting someone to find me at any second. I knew the mater alternator would disguise my form, but I had no idea if their species possessed super hearing, super smell, or if they could sense tiny vibrations and would immediately identify me as an intruder. Something pulsated up ahead that I could feel through the floor of the cave. My heart reverberated with the thumping of the device as I closed in on it. I was dripping with sweat by the time I rounded the last corner and could finally see what had been making the lights and sounds.
A massive device encased inside a clear protective dome sat at the center of the room. The silvery gears were surrounded by clear fluid that had droplets of pale yellow dispersed throughout it. Deep inside was a brilliant sunny light that dropped and rose in intensity as the machine cycled and the fluid oscillated like blood through veins. I placed my hand on the bubble and my heart synced with the pounding vibration. I pulled out my analyzer and scanned the object. After several minutes of computation, a schematic popped up and I could see the true purpose for this machine.
It was being used for a terraforming experiment. The Oroans needed more heat and water vapor in the air than we did. They were trying to ensure their survival against all odds and rid the planet of any interferences. Their machine was turning the excessive water that had been drained into the interior of Zerkola to heat up and thicken the atmospheric conditions. Now I knew why they weren’t here. They were going to hijack ClokWorx to change the movement of the weather and spread the droplets of the yellow substance inside this machine across the entire planet. It was being used now as a pump to force the fluid into the water sources including the one that was generating clouds through the vents. Chills ran up my spine as I envisioned the ultimate fate of Zerkola.
I pulled back and ran back to Crispin calling out to him as soon as he was in earshot. “Let’s get out of here now!”
He bounded up the stairs and I followed as quickly as I could. Our pod was waiting in the spot nearby where we’d left it and we couldn’t get in it fast enough. As soon as we were on our way I explained what I’d found. We both changed back to our common form which made me comfortable and I took a deep breath to recompose myself after the big discovery.
I smoothed my hair back away from my face. “There’s probably a ton of them at ClokWorx right now. We’ve got to get to the ship and figure out how to get rid of all of them. If we don’t, the Crypt won’t survive. We can’t let that happen or we’re all going to end up like Edan, or worse.”
His tentacles twitched. “Amber’s not going to like that much.”
“Why not?”
He let out a long sigh. “She’s been seeing the Oroans since she was a kid. One of them is called the Commander and she’s got some weird attachment to him even though he drives her crazy.”
I tried to come up with a logical explanation for the similarities. “Maybe the Excisionists used her description of her hallucinations to build this game.”
He shrugged. “Maybe, or maybe there’s more to it than that.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. But something’s off. I’ve had this weird feeling since I’ve been on this planet, especially after Edan and Jinx–”
“Ariocha.”
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I think people should just be themselves and stop making up some fake character they want people to think they are. Anyway, since they told us they were basically Excisionists in training, I’ve been watching them. Something’s not right. They’ve been holding back on what they know, and I can feel it.”
I looked out of the pod at the muddy ground. “I haven’t been completely honest either.”
“About what?”
I focused back on his dark fish eyes. “I wasn’t forced into the game either.”
His eyes narrowed, and he leaned back away from me. “Why not? The rest of us were.”
“I chose to be here because Phineas had to be here. Plus, I wanted to be part of an experiment that would change how humankind interacts with each other.”
A confused expression deeply creased his face. “Phineas? Why? Do you know him?”
She shrugged. “My boss works with him and his parents. They found out that he’s some kind of super genius that can use a region of his brain that no one else can, well at least not yet. Anyway, I’ve read his files and I want to be with him when they figure out what he’s capable of.”
“That’s weird. You followed a guy into a game just so you could study him?”
I nodded. “Well, yeah. What if he’s the next step in the evolutionary process?”
“And what if you’re just being screwed with? He doesn’t seem very smart to me.”
I crossed my arms. “He didn’t come from a very good background. And he’s the only one who isn’t susceptible to the problems that happen to the rest of us when we’re in the game. That can help us make huge strides in science and game development.”
“Aren’t you worried about the side effects? I mean, you saw what happened to Edan and Vanya.”
Excitement welled up inside my chest. “I did. And then I saw what the Excisionists did to fix it. We’re going to be a part of something big, and I mean something so big that no one can predict the unbelievable changes we’re about to experience.”
He was incredulous. “That’s so crazy! How could you possibly think they’re on our side? They’ve never once done anything to show us that they want to help us. Everything they do hurts someone…I…I just can’t believe you’re on their side.”
I tried to sway him to my way of thinking. “You know, I believe you’ll be surprised by their intentions. Sometimes science has to kill a few lab rats to figure it out, but the whole of society has always benefited from pioneers.”
He shook his head. “Right now, I don’t know what to think.”
The pod slowed and then stopped just outside the Vanya. We jumped out and got to the medical bay quickly to see what they’d found out about the captured Oroan. I was fascinated by this species and couldn’t keep myself from feeling giddy to see him. When we made it to the room he was being held in, I could see he was strapped to a table and had an I.V. of clear fluid dripping into a vein. The mottled yellow and white skin was exposed since the armor had been removed. I ran my finger across the skin on his arm and then tapped the screen of my scanner to read through the findings before they’d been able to explain everything to Crispin.
“Not to interrupt, but we need to get going soon.”
Iolite swiveled her head around and then looked directly at me. “I’m trying to tell you what you need to know about this creature–”
“I already got it here.” I pointed to my hand-held device. “What you need to know is that these creatures are taking over ClokWorx Tower right now. There’s some kind of clear substance full of yellow droplets that’s being dumped into the water and they’re going to use against us. I think this is the contamination we were supposed to find.”
“How do we stop it?”
My response was matter of fact. “First, we need to kill off all of the Oroans. Next–”
“No! We can’t!” Amber’s eyes were wild with panic.
Crispin put a hand on her shoulder. “They aren’t like the Commander, and besides, this is just a game.”
“No it’s not! That’s what you d
on’t seem to get. We’re being changed so we can be turned into soldiers or guards or something. If we kill them all, we’re getting closer to being okay with killing literally anything the Excisionists want us to kill outside the game. Don’t you get it? We’re being used. It’s as simple as that.”
I stepped closer to her and got in her face. “You’re a paranoid little kid. No one cares that your hallucination was put in this game. None of us are killers and playing a game doesn’t change that. We’re going to finish this thing either with, or without you.”
I turned and stalked out of the room not waiting for a response. I started jogging down the hallway to get to the weapons room to load up the land crawler myself. I was furious that they all seemed to be missing the real point of this game. It was so unfair that I had to be paired with a bunch of kids that didn’t seem to realize that their participation would be looked back upon with great esteem by those who were living freely in the future. Not a single one of them grasp the fragility of our current position. No only are we likely to be invaded by humans from another country, there was a real possibility that we will eventually make alien contact and the skills and technology we are being given the opportunity to gain from these interactions here within the confines of this game will save us. I can’t believe they don’t have the foresight to know the truth.
The Excisionists: Book 1 Page 27