Long Paradise

by James Murdo

  What appeared to be a body began to emerge. It was shaped irregularly, and once pushed out completely, its overall volume appeared commensurate with Galphranx’s. The front part of its skin was darkened into a circular patch. Small flaps were scattered around the lighter skin area – some, Seremend noted with alarm, emitted faint red, misty wisps.

  She stumbled backwards, but it was too late. The creature emitted a strange warble, then hurtled towards them. Seremend screamed, raising her hands to protect her head. It stopped right in front of them. Galphranx’s mouths were exposed and moved about wildly, trying to scare the creature off, whose warbling continued, although at a lower volume. Finally, it stopped. The dark, circular patch moved across its skin, as though directed at and investigating them both in turn. She thought about reaching around for her pack.

  It raised one of its four thick arms, and the clawed appendage at the end unfurled to display a device.

  “A gift?” she said, uncertainly, feeling foolish at the silence that followed. Pushing herself to her feet, she stared at it, and took a step closer. Galphranx shifted to block her.

  Suddenly, one of the other claws clamped down on the device, and a faint cloud of red mist rushed to envelop them. Every inch of Seremend’s body was compelled to move forward. She could barely control the muscles in her face. With effort, she turned her eyes to Galphranx, who was managing to thrash about, but still appeared to be moving towards the creature.

  The red wisps from the flaps around the creature’s body streamed towards the red haze around them. The creature warbled and backed away from them, pulling them further forwards. It dropped into the hole, and they were dragged in after it.

  38

  CAVERNOUS REVELATION

  Upon falling through the hole, carried after the creature by the strange red mist, everything changed. An enormous space was revealed. Seremend was unable to do anything voluntarily aside from breathing and taking in the new surroundings. The creature forced protrusion after protrusion aside to allow them through. The atmosphere was uncomfortable – with the air thicker and hotter than on the surface, and the hum much louder, assaulting her with varying waves of intensity that would have made her wince, were she able.

  Seremend was forced to watch, unable to break free. Wherever her eyes landed, she saw a humdrum of activity that had been completely obfuscated by the ground above them. There were collections of denser and alternately more rarefied sections of the protrusions, the lights, and other confusing structures that she could not make sense of. There was movement too, but she could make even less sense of that. They were being carried too quickly for her eyes to properly focus. The constant sound of wind rushing past her ears was intermingled with scratching – from the creature clawing its way through the protrusions.

  The creature began warbling again, in a higher pitch than before, easy to distinguish despite the hum. As her body rotated, she saw the dark circular patch on its body moving between them. The red mist around them was becoming clearer.

  Galphranx continued to thrash. It had fully elongated its body, extended to many multiples of her own height. Its upper mouth stretched, close to the creature dragging them. The creature’s dark circle focused increasingly on Galphranx’s gnashing teeth, and, as though an alarm were triggered, the red mist dissipated completely. Seremend felt her body slacken as she fell.

  She screamed, terrified, reaching out to try to grab one of the protrusions. Something wrapped around her stomach and she looked around. It was one of Galphranx’s mouths, although its teeth were retracted. It held her tightly and they stopped falling. It was using its other mouths to hold onto the protrusions around them and manipulate their position. Soon, they were moving far more rapidly than even the creature had managed.

  Need the surface.

  They sped diagonally upwards through the protrusions, gaining height. Nearby, movement caught Seremend’s eye. A group of creatures was swinging around a brightly lit part of one particular protrusion and it looked like some were attacking it with various implements. They did not look the same as the creature that had dragged them down, or even the same as each other.

  The protrusions thickened near the surface, and Galphranx was forced to slow down as it attempted to work its way through, straining against them with its teeth. Warbling from behind made Seremend turn around. The creature was coming for them. Only two of its clawed arms were being used to navigate its way through the protrusions – it was holding devices in each of its remaining two.

  “Quick!” she yelled over the loud hum. “It wants to trap us again!”

  She lurched up. Galphranx burst through the protrusions, into the cooler, quieter air above. Seremend was flung away, rolling across the hexagonal tops. Coming to a stop and righting herself back to her feet, she looked for Galphranx. It was engaged in a stand-off with the creature that had followed them through the makeshift opening. The creature had half-emerged, although it was still. Seremend saw its devices were on the floor near the opening, but closer to Galphranx, who waited menacingly with its sharp teeth.

  The creature warbled and slowly moved one of its back arms down into the opening, keeping its dark patch fixated on Galphranx. Another arm moved down. Then, it dropped down completely and was gone. Galphranx waited a few moments more, before de-lengthening itself and sealing up its mouths. It wobbled over to Seremend and waited beside her.

  The extensions that Galphranx had part-uprooted and messily forced to the side suddenly righted themselves and re-rooted, and the creature’s two stranded devices seemed to sink into the ground. Galphranx appeared unperturbed.

  “Thank you,” Seremend said, patting its wobbling side. “I think we should leave this territory, as soon as possible. Now we know why we’ve not come across anyone else here.”

  39

  DANGEROUS TRAVELLING

  Seremend turned around, disturbed by rustling sounds beneath them. Galphranx settled over where the noise was coming from. Once the sounds ceased, they carried on.

  She pointed in the distance to where the sky appeared far brighter. “I’m sure that’s a boundary over there.”

  The journey took a long while. Initially, they stopped each time to investigate the rustling, but after a while they ignored it. The creature did not seem to want another confrontation with Galphranx.

  Drawing closer, it appeared as though the sky had been cut in two – from the twilight gloom currently cast over them, to a dazzling white across the boundary. The land on the other side took on a yellow hue, and there was what appeared to be a dark structure – possibly artificial – just past the border.

  “Not long now.”

  She took a device from her pack. Every now and then she looked at its small, colourful screen. When they were a few paces from the boundary, and close to the structure on the other side, she tapped carefully at the device’s controls, before walking the final paces and stopping where the land changed. Galphranx stopped behind her. She raised the device and waved it around, smiling nervously when it beeped three times. “Seems fine,” she said, biting her lip and stepping across.

  “Phew,” she said exaggeratedly, exhaling loudly and kicking investigatively at the sandy ground. “No more hum. Come on.” She gestured to Galphranx. “It’s okay.”

  Boundary?

  Galphranx rarely asked any questions. She beckoned to it. “You’ll get used to them. They separate different territories. We’ll cross them many times.”

  Without any further hesitation, Galphranx shifted forwards and crossed. She watched it shuffle around with amusement. It was clearly able to move less awkwardly and noisily than before, although its shifting circular base flicked up a small cloud of sediment wherever it went.

  “Gravity’s slightly weaker here,” she said, shrugging. “Nothing else too different though.”

  She looked up at the structure in front of them. It was very dark, almost black, with sharp shiny edges – strongly contrasting against the yellow landscape.


  She walked around it, with Galphranx behind her, followed by a micro-storm of sandy material. The structure appeared irregularly and haphazardly proportioned, like that of a giant food packet that had been crumpled into a rough ball and then frozen in shape. She tapped a knuckle against it and knocked. There was no hollow reverberation. Galphranx rubbed itself against the structure.

  A thunderous crackle boomed around them. She spun around and saw a dense, black cloud formation in the distance, casting a shadow on the land underneath.

  “That could be a problem.”

  They carried on moving around the structure. About two-thirds of the way around, there was a low opening at the base. Getting to her knees, she peered through. “One moment,” she said to Galphranx, leaning back to reach into her pack. “This’ll tell us a little about what we’ve got here.” Her hand emerged with a small bracelet and ball. She slapped the bracelet across her wrist and rolled the ball into the opening.

  A holo was projected around her, gently traced over reality. The inside of the structure appeared empty, with the same dark colouring as the outside. The floor comprised of the same material as that which she currently knelt on. That was it. Another thunderous crackle blasted in the distance.

  “We should both be able to fit through,” she said, taking the bracelet off and returning it to her pack while also setting the Lujmin device to automatically activate. Galphranx moved behind, ready to follow. She crawled through, making sure to pick up the ball that was waiting for her. A gentle hum sounded and the area was lit up. Galphranx shuffled through after her.

  Another crackle resounded, although fainter than the last, muffled by the solid walls of the structure. Galphranx settled next to her and stopped moving.

  Discharges.

  Seremend nodded. “Just electrical discharge, I assume. My shield can protect us,” she said, taking off her pack to delve inside. “Don’t worry.” She found what she was looking for. “There we go.”

  Another crackle – clearly much closer this time, despite the dampening effect of the structure. Seremend flinched. Galphranx began to wander around their small enclosure, touching its body along the walls. Once it was done, it returned to wait beside Seremend.

  “Don’t wander too far, the shield’ll expend its energy too thinly–”

  Another crackle.

  “Stay very close,” she said warily.

  Another crackle.

  Seremend shut her eyes and waited for more. When it came, it startled her. Although still standing, she had been half-asleep. She looked at Galphranx, who also appeared lethargic, barely moving. “Come on,” she said, patting it on the side. “It’ll be over soon enough.”

  Discharges.

  Galphranx shifted slightly, as though gesturing towards the entrance.

  “I know.” She yawned, looking around them.

  The features inside were harder to make out than before, despite her eyes having accustomed themselves to the gloom. A viciously loud crackle thundered all around them. Seremend dropped to her knees, and even Galphranx seemed to shudder.

  When the ringing in her ears finally subsided, she took stock of the darkening surroundings. She reached into her pack, found the luminary device, and studied it, cursing. The symbols were dimmer than they should have been. “Power’s going.”

  Discharges.

  Galphranx again moved as though to gesture towards the entrance.

  “Why’d you keep repeating that,” she asked in mild irritation. “I know about the discharges outside.”

  The luminary device failed completely. The only light came from the entrance, which appeared to be rising in the darkness, moving up and away from her.

  Discharges.

  She sank down, disoriented. Although her body felt heavier, gravity seemed to be weakening, as though she were falling despite being on the ground.

  Leave.

  She felt a push from behind her and sluggishly turned around. It was Galphranx. She had not noticed it moving, too preoccupied in her own thoughts. It wobbled slowly. It pushed her again. “Alright,” she said angrily, clumsily pushing herself up. “We’re leaving!” She looked at the entrance in confusion – it was now at waist height.

  Leave!

  Galphranx’s command snapped her mind out of its stupor. She forced her sluggish body forwards and stumbled towards the entrance. She crumpled to the floor. Galphranx pushed against her again, coaxing her up. She rose to her feet, and tried again. This time, Galphranx pressed against her, keeping her upright.

  Crawling out, into the daylight, she rolled over and sighed with relief. Galphranx came out after her. It had extended itself and its many mouths were exposed. Once fully out, it stopped near the entrance, slowly recombining.

  A loud crackle startled her, and she noticed the many black clouds dotting the white skies, despite the lack of wind. They moved about quickly, as though in a storm. The fog from her mind lifted and she became more alert. Getting to her feet, she looked back to the structure and squinted. Small, white cracks, which she had not noticed before entering, were laced all over it. She began to walk towards it, when Galphranx moved to stop her. Every time she tried to move around, it slid to the side, impeding her.

  “Oh, come on,” she said, exasperated. “I won’t touch–”

  A crackle of jagged energy burst down not that far in the distance and Seremend gasped. The storm of debris from where the burst hit took some time to settle, but when it did, she saw another dark structure, irregularly shaped, just like the one next to her.

  A shadow cast all around. An angry, menacing cloud was directly over them, that had not been there before.

  Move.

  “Where’s that come from?” she screamed.

  An energetic bolt struck from above.

  40

  BORDERED VERTEX

  Seremend wiped the sweat from her forehead and turned miserably to Galphranx, who appeared, for all intents and purposes, undisturbed. Her pack was singed from where her protective field had collapsed around them after the third bolt. Fortunately, the field had managed to funnel the bolt around them both before completely failing. Unfortunately, it had shot through her pack – many of the devices she had collected over her long travels were now damaged. The advanced capabilities of her hood were also gone. It now functioned as a simple hood, unlikely to provide sophisticated concealment. By looks, only the connection sphere was unaffected, although it was still as unusable as ever.

  “Not long to go now,” she said, pointing ahead of them, at the boundary. “We’re due some luck.”

  They picked up their pace. The clouds were no longer above them and there had been no bolts for some time, but Seremend was still nervous.

  *

  The boundary was close. On the other side, the skies were a vivid blue, while the land was harder to make out. As they neared it, Seremend began to panic.

  Solid.

  Seremend had a good idea what Galphranx was referring to. The blue skies appeared more solid than their own, more akin to a wall of dense matter. Coming even closer to the boundary, it began to look even more unsuitable. There was no obvious ground layer, just the solid blue towering up as high as she could see. It did not look frozen or like a liquid – more of a gel. Currents of different blue shades rippled elastically, moving slowly in one direction, oscillating to and fro as they went.

  Seremend swore quietly and pulled her pack around. Rummaging through it, she found the device that helped parameterise new territories. It was still lifeless. She hit it against the palm of her hand. “Useless.” She waved it at Galphranx before giving it one more perfunctory smack. “Anything you can do?” she asked sarcastically. “No, okay then.” She tossed the device across the boundary, where it immediately crumpled into a small ball the size of her nail while remaining more or less at the level she had thrown it. It oscillated gently, slowly moving along with whatever strange current had ensnared it.

  She turned back to look up at the skies. There was a dar
k cloud nearby. It did not appear to be approaching them, but as they knew by now, that could change within an instant.

  “We need to move,” she muttered.

  They travelled along the boundary, careful not to wander too close to the crushing pressures on the other side. Galphranx kept close behind her, as usual. Her stomach rumbled. She stopped and delved nervously inside her pack.

  “At least we won’t die of starvation,” she said, relieved and holding up a pristine food packet as evidence, one of several which had fortunately not been affected by the discharges from above. Although there were not many, there were still enough to last quite a while.

  She waited for Galphranx to open one of its strange mouths, and poured half the packet’s contents into it, finishing the rest herself. “Should have thrown an empty packet over,” she said, with irritation. “That broken device might’ve had some use. Thanks for the word of warning.” An energetic discharge in the distance snapped her back into action. She packed the empty packet away and they carried on.

  A collection of small specks across the boundary caught her eye. At first, they appeared to be a trick of the light, changing from oblong to thin-lined and then to circular, from moment to moment. The more Seremend looked at them, the more obvious it became that they were something substantial, tangibly there just across the other side of the boundary, and keeping pace with them.

  “What d’you think?” she asked a silent Galphranx, waiting for its response. “Nothing?”

  The specks stayed with them, even keeping up as Seremend tested increasing their pace. The cloud had begun to close in on them. Intermittent bursts of energy rumbled throughout the landscape. Seremend ignored them, entranced by the specks. “They come in clusters, don’t they?”

  Faster.

  She cast a curious glance at Galphranx, before a resounding crackle from nearby inclined her to agree. “Let’s go.”

  As she ran along the boundary, Galphranx matched her speed, staying just behind, and leaving the sandy dust-storm in its wake. The dangerous cloud above loomed closer. She swore.