by J. C. Diem
He glanced at me then away and squinted as a spattering of dirt hit us both. “Please do not give me the ‘it is not you, it is me’ speech.”
I squelched my snigger when the look he shot me wasn’t at all amused. “I should have said this isn’t about us.”
“Then what is it about? Why are you pulling away from the people who care about you?” His serenity was momentarily replaced by frustration.
“That’s just it,” I told him. He looked baffled and even to me it sounded cryptic. “I don’t think any of you really do care about me.”
Raising a hand to block the wind as it began to howl around us, Luc pulled me to a stop. “What are you saying?”
Gregor answered for me as he reached us. “Natalie has developed a theory and I believe I now understand it fully.”
Sullen and pouting, Geordie stayed back as my closest friends gathered around. Everyone else continued on, giving us some privacy to have this painful conversation.
“Please enlighten us about this hypothesis,” Ishida said.
I couldn’t bear to face them and turned my head to study the skyline as Gregor shared my idea with them. “Natalie has been ruled by fate from the moment Silvius stole her life and possibly even before then. Her choices have been made for her and she has been little more than a puppet.”
“That is a hard thing to bear,” Kokoro said quietly, “but I do not understand why this should impact on her friendships with us.” It must have been frustrating not to be able to pry into my mind any longer. She now had to rely on what people said rather than on what they thought.
“Natalie, would you explain your idea to us?” Gregor asked.
If I tell them what I’m thinking, I could lose them all. My thought was full of despair and I teetered on the edge of crushing loneliness. If you don’t tell them then you are as bad as fate itself, my inner voice argued. They should be able to make their own choices and not be controlled by you or anyone else.
Steeling myself, I turned to face the people I’d believed I’d come to love. “Fate didn’t just strip me of my choices, it stripped you of yours as well.”
Confused, Geordie pulled his bottom lip in long enough to query me. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying that none of you had a choice about being my friend and caring about me. Fate made the decision for you. Any feelings you have for me were forced on you. They’re false.”
For a few moments there was silence, apart from the now howling wind. “If this is the case,” Luc said at last, “does this also mean that your feelings for us are false?”
That was the question I had avoided asking myself but I had to face it now. “I don’t know.” Shocked by my answer, no one tried to stop me as I turned and continued my trek.
Not unexpectedly, I trudged through the storm alone. My friends kept their distance as they discussed the bombshell I’d just dropped on them. I didn’t turn to see their expressions, one; because the dust all but obscured them and two; I didn’t want to see their anger at being duped by the fate that had forced us all together. They would need to focus their annoyance on someone and that someone would undoubtedly be me.
Keeping track of the Kveet and the rest of our allies ahead, I didn’t realize Geordie was beside me until his hand slipped into mine. He gave me a look of profound sorrow. “I do not care if it was fate, our creator or even the Devil who threw us together. I do not care if my feelings for you are false. They feel real to me. I do not care if what you feel for us is false. I love you, Natalie Pierce and nothing will ever change that.” His lips quivered, which made mine tremble then he broke into dry sobs. I hugged him tightly, grateful to have at least one friend willing to love me despite being forced into it.
Another set of arms went around me, then another and another until I was surrounded by the family I’d never wanted but now couldn’t live without. When they pulled back at last, it took me a few moments to collect myself. “I guess this means we’re stuck with each other.”
“For better or worse,” Geordie joked but his eyes were shadowed.
It was only when I turned to apologize to Luc that I realized he wasn’t there. I caught a glimpse of his tall, dark form striding away and realized he wasn’t going to be as forgiving as the others.
.~.
Chapter Thirty-Four
High pitched screams from ahead had me breaking away from the group hug and moving into a sprint. Diffused by the dust storm, violet light fired from death rays intermittently lit up a scene from a nightmare. During my short mental crisis, a small army of murderbots had snuck up on our allies and were now attacking them. Three of my kin were hit and became dust motes swirling in the wind. M’narl’s people, long used to being targeted, reacted quickly and began firing at the droids.
By the time I was within firing range, most of the droids had been destroyed. Luc gave me a glance that was almost cold as he calmly sidestepped a ray of violet light and cut down the offending robot. My heart shrivelled at the evidence that my theory was correct. Now that Luc was aware he had been manipulated into loving me, the spell had been broken and he was free of his bondage at last.
The Kveet had suffered the brunt of the attack and their numbers had been whittled down by almost a third. There were still a couple of hundred of them left but I wondered how many more they would allow to die before they gave up and retreated back to their caves.
M’narl’s face was scrunched up in sorrow when I dropped to my knee beside him. I couldn’t fit my entire hand on his narrow shoulder so gently rested a couple of fingers there instead. Mastering his grief, he moved aside and gathered his shaken troops. “We have suffered a great loss,” he shouted over the wind. “I would not blame any of you if you wished to admit defeat and return to your homes.” From the shuffling feet and shamed glances, many of the aliens were contemplating doing just that. “I will not force anyone to stay who does not want to continue the fight.”
One of the younger warriors stepped forward. He glared at his frightened comrades and shook his tiny fist. “For many thousands of years we have lived beneath the Viltaran’s oppression. Thanks to the vampires, there are only a small number of them left. To stop now would be foolish. We Kveet are many things but I do not believe that we are foolish!” If they’d been human, his speech would have inspired cheers and clapping. The Kveet were far more subdued and instead silently weighed their options.
“If I must die so that our families can live free, then so be it,” a petite female finally declared. Without waiting for anyone to agree with her, she put her head down against the wind and trudged onwards. Shamed into following her example, the rest of the Kveet fell in behind her.
The captive robot didn’t bother to translate for us since their short meeting had been private. I gave my kin a quick relay of what had just transpired and we also continued on through the storm.
I didn’t bother to pull Luc aside and speak to him since he was doing his best to avoid me. He had made his decision and I wasn’t going to humiliate myself by trying to force him to talk to me. Despite what I’d told them all, my feelings felt very real. I’d never been in love before and had nothing to compare it to but the feelings I had for Luc were unlike anything I’d experienced before. The pain I felt now that I had lost him was almost crippling and I didn’t think it was going to go away any time soon.
When our allies began to flag, Gregor fought his way through the storm to me. “Do you sense any Viltarans or imps nearby?”
With the wind blowing dust hard enough to strip my skin off, I was reluctant to open my mouth so just shook my head instead.
“I think it is high time we sought shelter again,” the once suave and now bedraggled vampire said. He hurried forward to inform our allies of the new plan. He’d discarded Robert’s arm at some stage since Ishida and the Kveet technician had worked out how to use their portable screens to open and close the subterranean doors. The pair spread out and started searching. At the Kveet’s shout, w
e hurried towards him and the shelter he’d found.
A sudden sense that danger waited below had me darting in front of the little brown aliens before they could start scrambling down the deep stairs. “You’d better let me check it out first,” I said then descended the steps alone.
The usual hush surrounded me when I reached the bottom of the staircase. As always, a long, dark hallway stretched out into the distance. There were no obvious signs of danger yet my instincts were telling me to flee. Following a hunch, I approached one of the all but invisible doors leading to a room that should have been empty. The door swished aside and I was confronted with dozens of pairs of glowing red droid eyes. With an electronic snarl, weapons were raised and I leaped aside as a wash of violet light bathed the hallway where I’d been standing.
Panicked screams came from the top of the stairs as the Kveet realized they had almost walked into an ambush. They fled into the dust storm and my kin followed them. The killbots weren’t far behind me when I darted back up the stairs. I kept my pace deliberately slower than usual so they could keep me in sight. I led them in the opposite direction to where my friends and allies were heading before putting on a burst of speed and doubling back.
The winds obscured my vision almost completely and I had to rely on my senses to zero in on the fleeing band of Kveet and vampires. Geordie stumbled a step when I suddenly appeared beside him. I grabbed his arm to right him and he gave me a worried smile. “Do you know where we’re going?” I asked him while shielding my face so I could speak without getting a mouthful of dust.
“M’narl has a plan,” the teen replied. “But he does not seem to be very confident about it.”
Increasing my pace, I caught up to Gregor and M’narl. “Where are we heading?” I asked Gregor. Even beneath a layer of dust and grime, he retained his dignity. I was pretty sure I looked like something the cat had dragged in, eaten then coughed up again.
“Into one of the devastated cities,” he replied. His expression didn’t fill me with reassurance since he looked even more worried than Geordie.
“Why don’t you look very happy about that?”
Gregor glanced down at the Kveet elder before replying. “Only dire need drives M’narl and his people into the cities now. The ruins have become unsafe over the millennia, which is why they now live in caverns beneath the surface.”
“What makes the cities unsafe? Is the air too toxic even for them to survive?”
Gregor shook his head. “M’narl believes creatures have taken up residence within the cities that prey on his kind. No one has survived to identify what these creatures are.”
Without needing to be asked, I scanned the approaching city with my senses. They came up blank. “I don’t sense anything alive in there,” I told him. “Maybe it’s more droids.”
Again, Gregor’s head moved from side to side in the negative. “That is doubtful. Apparently, the droids avoid the ruins as well. They also do not return if they enter.”
I was starting to be creeped out by the ruins that I could only just make out through the storm. Whatever it was that lurked inside sounded like it was even more dangerous than the droids. Speaking of which, a glance backward revealed dozens of pairs of glowing eyes approaching. Robert had been telling the truth for once when he’d said that they could only be out in the storm for three hours or so before the corrosive dust started making their joints freeze up. The droids would have to turn back soon or else follow us into the city. Somehow, I didn’t think their Viltaran masters would allow them to return empty handed.
The dry, cracked ground suddenly gave way to the Viltaran version of pavement and roads as we entered the city. Coated in dirt from the storms, it was hard to tell what colour they had originally been. The wind didn’t die down altogether once we entered the ruins but the buildings that were still standing shielded us from the worst of the barrage. Rubble from collapsed structures choked the wide streets. A crumpled pile of metal roughly the same size as a large van was half squashed beneath a fallen wall. It didn’t have wheels but it might have been the Viltaran version of an automobile. More of the vehicles were scattered up and down the street and were in various states of decay.
Hurrying as fast as they could on their stumpy legs, the Kveet scrambled over the obstacles that lay in their path. I wished I could take the time to explore some of the buildings but couldn’t since we were fleeing for our lives. We were the first Earthlings to visit another planet that contained intelligent beings and we hadn’t had much of a chance to study it so far. Learning that there was something else out there that was potentially even more dangerous than the Viltarans and their droid armies effectively killed any urge I had to search for a souvenir.
Several streets behind us, the murderbots entered the city. The flying dirt had caused enough damage that they no longer ran smoothly or silently. Creaking and groaning, their joints gave away their positions as they spread out to search for us.
Exhausted, filthy and on the verge of collapse, M’narl eventually called a halt to our forced march. As the oldest Kveet in his group, he was holding up better than some who were probably less than half his age. Heaving for air, he waved us towards a huge archway that was miraculously still intact.
Tilting my head back, I took in a gigantic sand coloured wall that curved out of sight in both directions. Ishida paused beside me to examine the structure. “It reminds me of a sports arena,” he said.
Geordie came to a stop on my other side. “What kind of sports could a race as warlike and horrible as the Viltarans possibly be interested in?”
Igor answered that question. “Blood sport.” With a glance backward at the empty streets, he urged us to enter the archway. We’d left the droids far behind but they would catch up to us eventually. I hoped M’narl’s people would recover quickly. I had a feeling that the unknown threat that stalked the ruins would find us before too much longer.
.~.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Stepping beneath the archway, we entered a long, wide tunnel that opened up into a vast, circular space. Most of the ceiling was still intact but dust swirled through a large hole over to the left. The arena was even vaster than I’d expected and I couldn’t see the far side. We had entered at ground level to find we were actually at the top of a series of staircases that led down to what must be the killing ground far below.
Both teens huddled at my side, although Ishida was being more discreet about it. Geordie was shivering slightly. My eyesight was excellent but even I couldn’t see all the way to the bottom of the stairs. Morbid curiosity drove me to begin the descent. “I’m going to take a quick look around down there and make sure it’s safe,” I told the two teenagers.
“Hurry back,” Geordie urged me anxiously.
“We should move away from the entrance,” Gregor was saying to M’narl as I headed downwards. The droid dutifully translated but kept his eyes on me. I felt them boring into my back as I disappeared into the gloom.
My death ray was in my hand and I wasn’t sure when I’d reached for it. My senses were at high alert as I scanned the entire structure with my senses. Apart from the Kveet and my kin, I was coming up empty. Still, the hairs on the back of my neck started to rise as I continued moving downwards.
Rows of plain metal seats, far too large for the average human, sat in concentric rings around the arena. I lost count of how many levels I descended before finally reaching the bottom. When I did, a large, high metal gate attempted to bar my way. It hung slightly askew and I pushed it open just wide enough for me to squeeze through. A final set of steps took me to the bottom of the arena.
Dirt that had filtered through the hole in the ceiling coated the ground and the debris that had fallen from above. There were no bodies, skeletons or remains of any kind in sight yet Igor’s guess had to be correct. Whatever games had been played in this stadium had most likely been to the death.
Picking a direction at random, I jogged until I came to the wall. It reached
far above my head where a safety fence would presumably keep the spectators safe from the combatants.
Following the wall, I came to a ramp leading down into darkness. I knew the others would be waiting for me to return but again curiosity held me in its grip. My eyes quickly adjusted to the complete lack of light as I reached another gate. The lock was broken and the heavy metal door swung open when I gave it a shove. I winced at the screeching sound that accompanied it.
Another long, wide tunnel stretched out beneath the ground. Cells lined each side. Most of the doors were open and the rooms behind them were empty. Some doors were closed but I sensed and heard nothing dangerous on the other side of the thick metal obstructions. There were no windows for me to peek through so I left the cells alone.
I was beginning to think that my intuition that danger lurked below had been wrong when I heard a skittering sound ahead. Freezing for a few seconds, I was tempted to run but I still retained enough human inquisitiveness that I couldn’t resist the urge to see what was down here in the bowels of the arena. Whatever it was, it wasn’t showing up on my internal radar and I wanted to know why.
Sneaking over to an intersection, I cocked my head to the side to listen. The faint skittering noise came again, somewhere to the right if I wasn’t mistaken. Moving soundlessly down the passage, I spied movement. Whatever it was, it was low to the ground and moved very fast. It disappeared into one of the cells halfway down the tunnel.
Gripping my death ray tightly, I crept down the hallway. When I reached the cell, I slowly and carefully leaned sideways to look through the door. The carcass of a silver droid lay in the centre of the small room. Covered in clods of dark brown dirt, I saw only flashes of its body as the dirt seemed to move constantly. The skittering noise came again but from right beside me this time.