by Elin Wyn
“Thank you,” I said with a smile. It felt good to know that the team was okay. I looked at Maki who was also smiling.
“I’m glad your friends are okay.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry all of this is happening.”
She shrugged. “Not like you made it happen. Did you?”
I cocked an eyebrow at her question.
“Didn’t think so,” she said. “What do we do now?”
“I don’t know. We need to get back to the others so we can make a plan.”
“How do we do that?”
I shrugged and moved my fingers to pantomime walking. She shook her head.
“I will help lead you to the surface and to your team.”
“Thank you,” Maki and I said in unison.
Maki
The relief on his face had been wonderful. In the brief time I’d been able to observe them together, I’d recognized the bond between Tyehn and his teammates, however this simply solidified it even more.
I felt privileged being able to witness his joy at learning his team were safe. Tyehn was a soldier, for all intent and purposes, yet the gentle nature behind his strength was what truly defined him. My admiration didn’t come cheap, but he’d earned it.
We’d been given a lot of information. Too much, some might say. But for us, me especially, it was the encouragement I needed to power forward; we knew what we were facing now.
There were still missing details, blanks to be filled in, but we knew the basics. The Ancient Enemies were formidable in spite of their true forms, and they didn’t suffer rejection lightly. It was conform or be controlled by force.
Neither option suited me.
I’d die first.
Keeping in step with Tyehn, I looked around the tunnel curiously. “Where does this come out again?” I couldn’t help but ask.
He should have been used to it by now, and if he wasn’t, it was tough shit.
“Always with the questions,” Tyehn chuckled. “It’ll bring us to Nyheim. We can regroup with the others there and share what we’ve learned from the Puppet Master.”
“Assuming we don’t get attacked again.” I quipped.
“I love the optimism you bring, Maki.” He looked to the side and winked at me, his eyes twinkling playfully.
Once again, I noticed how pearly his irises were, how the gray had depth even in spite of their lack of color.
They were beautiful. Mesmerizing. I could get lost in them if I looked deeply enough…
“You still with me?” He raised an eyebrow my way.
“Yeah, sorry, in a daze.” Then I awkwardly laughed, my trill turning into an awkward snort. “Not like the possessed, obviously.”
“Too soon, Maki, too soon.” Tyehn rolled his eyes, but I could tell that he wanted to laugh.
Given our recent brush with death, it was good that we could poke fun at nearly dying. It made our struggles seem less frightening and more worthwhile, more badass.
I grinned to myself.
We were badass. We couldn’t be anything else, we’d met the freakin’ Puppet Master!
After our back and forth, we fell into a contented silence, the two of us happy to be in the others’ company.
I appreciated being able to do that with someone, it wasn’t often I got the chance. Being as brazen as I could be had its drawbacks, chiefly people not liking me. I didn’t care most of the time.
However, every now and then, it was refreshing to find someone who took my hard edges with the smoother ones.
As we reached the end and entered the city, I couldn’t help but notice how different it was from other smaller towns or even the jungle.
It was chaotic, busy and bustling. Everywhere you looked a space was occupied by someone, everybody so consumed with their own lives that they didn’t stop to look. To them, this place was just another backdrop.
They’d seen it a dozen times over, it wasn’t new to them anymore. But for me? It was awe inspiring. It didn’t matter how many times I saw this place, it would never get old.
“Tyehn!” Before I even turned, I knew it was one of his teammates.
The two rushed to each other and embraced, the joy on both their faces palpable. Then his other teammates came in.
Each of them were glad to see the others were okay, that their trials hadn’t been for nothing. They’d made it. I gaily observed them, happy to see how they all banded together like family; they were part of one another.
“We wondered when you’d turn up!” Suddenly another voice came into play.
Turning, I saw two more groups coming towards us, my face dropping in awe as I watched them. They were massive.
Formidable. In seeing them, I could tell that Tyehn wasn’t the biggest of the teams. That was a bit shocking.
They were mixed in their species — Valorni, Skotan, Human — there was so much diversity surrounding me.
Having become so used to the hateful ire of anti-alien sentiment, it was heartwarming to be among so many different peoples; this was what it could be like if everyone got along. It was a nice daydream.
Nevertheless, I knew all too well that ignorance rarely changed. And if it did, it’d merely morph into something uglier over time.
We humans were bastards like that.
I assumed no more surprises were in store, but then I spotted Amira Calder.
Holy shit, it really was her.
Everyone knew who she was, and if they didn’t, they were an idiot.
Fools. This woman had made one of the biggest discoveries of our time, the temple to the east a treasure of history I was pleased had been found.
I couldn’t not say hello.
Pushing past Tyehn while he smiled and chatted with his friends, I barged my way towards her.
Deep brown eyes clocked me before I’d gotten close, yet they didn’t hold any reservations. In fact, they softened as I made my approach.
“Hey, wow, um, okay. So, you have no clue who I am, but I had to say hi, I mean, you’re Amira, there’s no way I couldn’t.” My cheeks flushed a little then. “I’m talking a lot, aren’t I? Yeah, yeah I am.”
“I don’t think I’ve met anyone as thrilled to meet me before. I like it.” Her grin was small compared to mine, but it wasn’t any less genuine.
Few people indulged me, mainly because they didn’t know how to. I was this excited ball of energy, hard to handle.
Amira, however, took that in her stride. She remained gracious the entire time, her face always creased into a warm smile.
“I have questions—”
“What she means is that she has loads of them, as in you’ll be here all day.” Tyehn smirked at me as he said this.
He knew me far too well by now, I was being predictable to him.
“Look, questions are necessary, you can’t keep quiet on things that make you curious. The world would be so dull if we did that.” Then I gave him a sassy wiggle of my head. “If you don’t like it, you know where to go.”
“Ohhhh, koso.” Jalok laughed, the rest of the teams enjoying the banter.
It was nice to be so immersed in their group dynamics, as if I was one of them, as if I belonged.
Before I’d met them, I’d been part of groups before, but none as eclectic as this. Nor had anyone ever understood my humor and its whims as well as Tyehn did.
We worked together well.
Not just running for our lives, and meeting Ancient Enemies, but in the humor we shared.
I wasn’t in a rush to tell him this, mind.
Mainly because I didn’t want to give him the smug satisfaction in knowing. As I thought on this, I grinned his way, both his eyebrows arching as he tried to guess my meaning.
Ignoring the little jibes being made, I returned my attention to Amira — there was so much to ask her, yet so little time.
Not only was she a name associated with discovery, but being the sister of Jeneva also made her a person of interest.
Being related to the first Skotan/
Human baby naturally got people talking about you. And while I didn’t want to gossip, I’d be lying if I pretended not to care.
“How’s the baby? What’s it like? Is Jeneva coping well since becoming a mom or is it tough work?”
Amira stifled her giggles with a hand, leading me to swiftly realize that I was doing it again. I was asking a thousand questions a minute.
I didn’t dare look Tyehn’s way.
“They’re doing well, thank you. Jeneva is a wonderful mom, and Vrehx a good father. As for the baby, he’s different, but he’s wonderfully unique in his own way.”
Then Amira shifted our topic to less interesting subjects: me. “What about you, you know so much about me but I know nothing about you.”
I was flattered that she wanted to know.
My intention was to keep my personal history light, nothing too in-depth. However, I soon became blindingly aware of how much I was sharing, or as Tyehn would say, oversharing.
Not wishing to bore anyone to death, I allowed my tales to peter out. Besides, I assumed they’d be sticking around for a while yet, so there’d be plenty of time to talk more. Hopefully about things other than myself.
Leaving Amira to integrate back into the main group, I shot Tyehn a sideways smile as he saddled up beside me.
“You just love talking, don’t you.” He wasn’t asking, he was telling.
“Well, if you don’t like it, you can always do something about it.”
“I intend to.” I was about to ask him what the hell he was on about, but before I could he leaned in and planted a kiss on my lips.
My eyes flashed with surprise, then softened into a hazy look of lust as I relaxed into him.
It was the briefest of kisses, more short-lived than I’d have liked.
But when Tyehn pulled away, grinning at me, I was certain it wouldn’t be our last.
Tyehn
“Hold still, you big baby.”
“Easy for you to say.”
The medic grinned as he finished redoing my stitches. Overhead lights cast an ugly yellow luminance over the procedure room.
A few sticky pads had been stuck all over my body, taking my vitals, but except for the gash in my belly I was just fine.
Better than fine.
The memory of Maki’s lips against my own lingered in my mind. It made dealing with the pain of the minor surgery much easier to bear.
A knock came at the door.
Due to the hectic couple days I’d had, I jumped and the medic bitched me out for not holding still.
Seconds later Dax came strolling in, still slinging that damn crossbow. I was starting to wonder if it shared a bed with him and his old lady.
“Tyehn, it seems you can’t not get hurt.”
“Not without disrupting my routine.”
“You should pick a different routine. Seriously.”
He slapped me on the shoulder, causing the medic to glare at him dangerously.
But Dax was the type who just didn’t care.
“How did that molecular sword work out?”
“Now that I had no complaints about. Worked like a charm. I felt like Gonnad the Barbarian with that thing in my hands.”
The medic rolled his eyes, but I couldn’t figure out why.
Maki had told me that she liked an old Earth holovid about a barbarian named Gonnad.
At least that's what I thought his name was.
Unless... Gonnad was a legendary hero from Earth so maybe I was being blasphemous.
“Well, I’m glad that you made it out in one piece.” He stared at the cut on my abdomen. “Or at least mostly in one piece.”
“Yeah, you should see the other guy.”
I cocked an eyebrow up at Dax and tried to sound as casual as possible.
“So how is Keith doing?”
Dax’s face scrunched up and he took a breath before answering.
“Today, he’s doing fine—mentally, at least. You banged him up pretty good.”
“Today?”
“Yeah, the other day his brain scans came back all weird. But now he’s feeling like his old self again. He asked about you. Apparently, he has no memory of what happened after you guys started working out.”
“That could be the concussion I gave him, but I don’t think so.”
Dax arched an eyebrow in query, and I glanced over at the medic.
“If you’re all done, can you give us a minute?”
“Sure, you’re good to go, big guy. Just take it easy for a few days so you don’t bust your stitches.”
“I’d like nothing better than to take it easy. Thanks.”
The medic strolled out of the room and shut the door.
Once we were alone, I told Dax what the Puppet Master said about the Ancient Enemies.
“Non-corporeal beings? That’s a new one on me. How do you fight something you can’t see or touch?”
I shrugged, which sent pain shooting through my newly stitched wound.
“I’m sure the scientists are working on it.”
“Time was, you were a scientist.”
“I still am, really. I just kill on the side.”
Dax pursed his lips and leaned against the exam table.
“So, the Ancient Enemies, they can take over anyone?”
“Yeah, though some people seem to be more resistant than others. Jalok’s woman’s brother apparently could fight it off somewhat, but Keith couldn’t.”
“Well, we all know Keith is a meathead who smashes first and asks questions never.”
We both enjoyed a laugh at that, but soon enough we grew somber again.
“I wonder if maybe some sort of meditation would work.” Dax grasped at the air as if trying to pluck at the right words. “You know, some sort of transcendental mental state that would render you immune to their influence?”
“You’d know about that better than me. I’m just a hydrologist with a big gun.”
“There has to be some sort of counter measure we can come up with. It’s pretty scary that the Ancient Enemies could take over someone at any time.”
“Yeah. I was thinking that too.” I took a deep breath before I continued. “I mean, what if they took over someone higher up the chain of command and ordered us to open fire on civilians or some srell? We really need some sort of code word to prevent that.”
“Unless the Ancient Enemies are privy to the memories of their host.”
That notion made us both pretty tight lipped for a while. I poked at my stitches just to see what hurt the most while Dax fiddled with his crossbow.
“Would you like to get out of here?”
“Yes.” I rose up from the table, slid my uniform shirt back on, and made sure to pick up the molecular sword.
I’d been carrying it with me even when off duty. Command turns a blind eye to us grunts carrying a melee weapon.
Unless you were a hot head like Jalok.
They don’t trust that guy with tweezers when he’s off the clock.
The two of us headed into the hallway. A lot of folks were staring at me, and I could guess why. The story of my battle in the jungle had grown to epic proportions, as such things are wont to do.
“That’s him,” one nurse whispered to another. “That’s the guy I was telling you about.”
“The one who chopped a hundred possessed into pieces with that sword?”
Dax laughed and elbowed me in the bicep.
“Hear that, buddy? You’re famous.”
“Yeah, famously hurting and tired. Let’s go grab a brew. Or three. Or a dozen.”
“Sure thing, but wouldn’t you like to see Keith first?”
I brightened up immediately and nodded.
“Yeah, yeah I think I would. Will they let us in?”
“Let them try and stop us.” He clapped me on the shoulder. “Besides, who would deny entry to the hero of the Battle of the Jungle?”
“Oh crap, is that what they’re calling me?”
“Nah, I just made
it up, but it has a nice ring, doesn’t it?”
We trudged on up to Keith’s room. There was an armed guard standing outside.
The picky little bastard made me hand over my sword but didn’t say shit about Daxion’s crossbow. Double standards and all that.
The door popped open and there he was, laid up in a hospital bed with his left leg manacled to the frame.
Another guard stood by, watching warily, while a nurse took his vitals.
Keith’s face brightened up as soon as we walked in.
“Hey, Tyehn.”
“Keith.”
I strode over and we clasped hands. His grip was strong, so I guess he was feeling better. He looked at me abashedly.
“Hey, bro, I’m sorry about attacking you. I wasn’t in my right mind.”
“I know, Keith. You’re not the only one to get his body hijacked.”
Dax hissed, and elbowed me in the ribs, right next to my stitches.
“Shit. Sorry.”
Keith looked between us and seemed confused.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing, it’s just some classified stuff we can’t discuss with all these civvies around. Rest assured that no one thinks it was your fault, Keith.”
“I’m not so worried about that. I’m just glad I didn’t hurt you.”
“Fuck that, you smashed my nose pretty good and tried to take my head off with a dumbbell.”
Keith’s face was crossed by such a look of guilt that I regretted my words.
“I’m sorry. That was unkind. I don’t blame you. Not one bit.”
“Good.” We clasped hands again. “Because I’m still gonna catch up to you on the bench press someday.”
“Well, I’m not gonna bet against you. Be well.”
I clasped my other hand on top of both of ours and squeezed. Then Daxion and I took our leave.
We headed down to the local watering hole and knocked back a few too many.
We talked about a bunch of crap, but didn’t speak any more about the Ancient Enemies.