The Cosmolis

by REM

  “Well, that went well,” said Josh.

  “Maybe they act this way toward all new humans they meet. It’s not like our species have the greatest history between each other. Perhaps we just have to earn their trust,” said Jill.

  “I’d like to see how they act toward the other humans in this casino.”

  “Yes, that would be interesting to see.”

  “Sherzer! Nemchek! Ayee nershini!” someone called out from behind.

  Josh snapped his neck around and saw Lisk hurrying over to the Mercens who had stopped on the red carpet.

  I don’t speak Mercen, but I know for certain Lisk just said Nemchek, thought Josh. He eyed the fish-faced alien bowing to the Mercen on the left as if he were royalty. That’s Nemchek. Josh noted the long scar running down the left side of the Mercen’s face. And of course he’s a damn Mercen. It’s starting to make sense why I was never given a description of him. The fact that Clint wants him alive almost certainly means Nemchek is headed for the commander’s secret interrogation room. I wonder if his capture is even necessary, since Jill and I are investigating the planet anyway. Shit, what if the mission’s just a ruse to justify us being here.

  “What’s up?” asked Jill. She looked Josh’s face up and down, then glanced at the Mercens.

  “Nothing. Just wanted to see how the Mercens acted after we passed them. It felt as if they were suspicious of us.”

  “Yeah, I got that feeling too.”

  Josh twisted toward the exit and began walking. So I found Nemchek. But why is he so important? And how the hell am I going to capture him within the next twenty-four hours?

  Chapter 4

  Back inside their room, Jill turned to Josh and said, “It’s dark outside. Should we inspect the lots now?”

  “I think we should wait at least a couple more hours,” Josh responded.

  “All right, well, I’m starting to get hungry. Shall we order dinner?”

  “Definitely.”

  The pilots used the blue buzzer to order up food. When finished eating, each rested on their bed. Eventually, both dozed off.

  As the time got closer to midnight, Josh and Jill awoke from their naps, and started getting ready to search for the Mercens’ secret base.

  “This is crazy,” said Jill. “Not what I’m used to at all. We have no idea what things are like on this planet at night.”

  Josh nodded. “We’ll have to be extra careful,” he said, tying up his boots. “From the looks of it, though, I doubt there’s anything to fear in those lots.”

  “This is a big city. Most big cities have some sort of crime at night.”

  “True.”

  “I’m glad they gave us these flashlights,” she said, pulling one out from her suitcase.

  “I doubt we’ll even need them. Look.” Josh motioned his head toward the balcony. “There’s plenty of light out from the nearest moon. It’s dark, but we should have no problem seeing.”

  “God, that sky is beautiful,” said Jill. “Well, we should take them anyway.”

  Josh shrugged. “Doesn’t hurt. You ready?”

  “I am. Let’s go.”

  The pilots left the room and walked quietly through the corridors, and eventually downstairs. They didn’t see any Grusks until making it to the first floor, where the front desk was.

  “May I help you,” asked one of the Grusks.

  “We’re just exploring this magnificent castle. Is there anywhere we can get some fresh air?” asked Josh.

  The Grusk pointed toward a long corridor and said, “All the way down. Then go straight left.”

  “Thank you,” said Jill.

  Josh bowed his head.

  When they’d entered the long corridor, he said, “If I’m not mistaken, the directions he gave us should lead us near the gate to the lots.”

  “I was thinking that too,” said Jill.

  They traveled to the end of the hall, and went left. After walking down a couple of shorter corridors, the pilots walked out into a small sectioned-off area of the courtyard, where a few lounge tables were set up, as well as torches burning along the perimeter. Josh eyed patches of colorful flowers and tall grass near the far wall. Then he looked a ways off to the right, where two armed guards were standing at the end of a roofed walkway, directly in front of the gate leading to the lots. “The Grusks are still on guard at the gate.”

  Jill looked. “Why the hell is entering the lots prohibited anyway?”

  “Good question. What if they’re watching for something coming from outside the gate?”

  “Doubt it. If that were the case, the walls and gate would suffice. You think they’re there to open it for anyone wanting to cross out into the lots?”

  “Nope. And we don’t want to find out.” He turned toward the eastern wall at the far end of the area they were in, which was half the size, and about ten yards from the one separating the castle from the lots. “We’ll have to hop both of those walls.”

  Jill examined the barriers. “That should be doable.” She scanned the vicinity. “We have to hurry while there’s no one here. I don’t see anyone watching from above.”

  Josh headed for the far wall with Jill at his side. “Quick,” he said, locking his hands and holding them low to give her a boost. She stepped on his palms and climbed to the other side of the wall. Josh crawled over right behind her. Both crouched low to avoid being seen by the guards at the gate. They peered over at the Grusks.

  “Don’t think they saw us,” said Jill.

  “This wall’s going to be the toughy,” said Josh, looking up the twelve-footer. “I’m thinking you should boost me up and I can pull you from the top.”

  “All right. But we need to creep farther down so the guards don’t see us.”

  “Yes,” said Josh, already twisting away from the gates.

  Once they were mostly out of the guards’ line of sight, he stopped and said, “Here should be good enough.”

  Jill moved close to the second wall and held her hands low.

  “I’ll step as lightly as possible, but you’ll have to lean in and give it everything you’ve got.”

  “I’ll try. Go for it.”

  Josh stepped on her palms and hopped to the top of the wall. From there he held down his arms and pulled Jill up. “Just hang drop down,” he said, looking below at the black-steeled ground.

  The grey-steeled lots of the checkered expanse were six feet lower than the blacks.

  Both let go at the same time and landed within a couple of feet from each other. They brushed themselves off while looking around. “So, we’re going to do this how we discussed earlier?” asked Jill.

  “Yeah, but we should travel east to the far end together in a snaking line. On our return we can split up and zigzag our way back to this wall. There’s no way we can cover every inch of these lots, and I’m sure it wouldn’t be necessary anyway.”

  “Agreed.”

  Josh bent down and turned on his boots. “Your detectors on?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then off we go.”

  They started east.

  “Told you we wouldn’t really need the flashlights. But if we use them it has to be brief—and when we’re at least a mile from the castle. Otherwise we risk being detected,” said Josh.

  “Good point.”

  The pilots traveled across the black-squared lot, which was about a hundred yards by a hundred yards. They then went down a ramp into a grey lot.

  “You really think the Mercens would put a base here?” Jill asked.

  “I don’t know. But the fact that we’re walking on metal instead of ground definitely ups the chances—if only slightly.”

  “Well, if we run into Mercen soldiers, I doubt a little comb-knife’s going to do us any good. We’re practically defenseless. They’ll surely have lasers.”

  She’s right about that, thought Josh. Would Clint put us in a situation he knew to be exceedingly dangerous? Or is this truly a ruse, just to give us a reason to be h
ere so I can catch Nemchek? I still don’t even know how the hell I’m going to accomplish that. What happens if I fail? I’ve never failed him.

  The pilots peered at their dark surroundings, crossing the lot and going up a ramp into another one. They traveled across a handful more, before Josh stopped to glance down at his boots.

  “What is it?” asked Jill.

  “I thought I felt a vibration from the detector—but I guess not.”

  “Want to backtrack through this lot before moving on?”

  “Yeah. We probably should.”

  Josh and Jill scoured the lot.

  “If these boots are functioning as Rolly described them, we would’ve detected something by now,” said Jill.

  “Aye. There’s nothing here. Let’s move on.”

  They marched down and up another grey lot.

  Halfway through a black one, Jill stopped. She tilted her head so that her ear was up. “You hear that?”

  “I heard it,” said Josh, gazing north. “Sounded like clinking metal.”

  “Yes.”

  “It was too faint to be sure, though.”

  They peered around.

  “Probably nothing. Could be some of those rat-sized creatures we saw fighting back at the casino.”

  Jill pulled an “if you say so” face, and the pilots continued on.

  As if these lots weren’t already creepy enough, thought Josh.

  Over the course of the next five minutes, there were more clinking sounds in the distance. The pilots would snap their heads in the direction of the noises every time one was heard.

  They were nearing the far eastern perimeter of the space lots—when Josh noticed something unusual on the ground. “What’s that?” he said, staring at the white object roughly thirty yards away.

  Jill didn’t see it at first, but saw what Josh was talking about after he pointed to it. She squinted, lowering her neck. “I’m not sure. It’s too dark.”

  Once they’d arrived at the thing, Josh squatted down to have a closer inspection. Then he looked up at Jill. “I’m pretty sure these are human bones,” he said, staring her in the eyes.

  Jill kneeled too. Her mouth was open when turning toward Josh, who was awaiting her gaze. “What do you think happened to this person?”

  “No idea, but there’s another one, right over there,” he said, pointing.

  Jill saw it and gasped. “Two people dying in the same location, but spread apart from each other?”

  Josh moved a hand to his chin in thought. After that he took out his flashlight and examined the bones, plus the ground nearby. “Impossible to tell what happened to them. There’s no weapons around. But what’s more surprising is there’re no clothes. These people died completely naked—unless the killers took the time to dispose of their clothes.”

  Jill was looking toward the purple ocean not far from where the space lots ended. “You think they went swimming in that water, and it did something to them? Or maybe they drank from it?”

  “I’m not sure why they would ever drink from fluids that color, but perhaps they did go swimming in it. I’d imagine they’d still have clothes though. Unless something startled them and they left their belongings at the shore.” Josh shook his head. He switched off the flashlight and stood. “I guess we’ll never know.”

  Jill rose too. “Should we check to see if their belongings are still along the coast?”

  “Nah. We need to keep to our mission. Plus, whatever they were wearing might’ve been washed away days ago.”

  Jill nodded.

  “There’s a chance we might see something before we reach the end of these lots.”

  The pilots marched on.

  A short while later, they stopped at the eastern end of the space lots.

  Jill exhaled and said, “We did it. We traveled across the entire thing. Not even a trace of Mercen activity.”

  “I had my doubts. It’s just an odd place for a Mercen base, to be honest.”

  “Should we even bother with splitting up to check the northern and southern lots?”

  Josh saw her shoulders jitter. He knew from her sagging lips and drooping eyes that she really didn’t care to go at it alone. “As unlikely it is the Mercens have a base here, we’ve got to investigate those regions.”

  “I knew you were going to say that.”

  Josh smiled. “You should explore the segment at a southwest angle until reaching the southern perimeter. Then cut northwest until reaching the wall.” He made an example with his hand. “I’ll do the same to cover the northern side. We’ll meet up at the castle walls.”

  Jill glanced southwest before turning her attention back to Josh. “Fine. Keep your transmitter on in case either of us encounters something out of the ordinary.”

  “Will do. When you make it to the western wall, try to arrive at the approximate spot we hopped it. Use the castle for a guide. Just bend down and flicker your flashlight a few times north once you’re there.”

  “Okay.”

  “Don’t worry, Jill. I highly doubt there’s anything out here. Let’s try to shoot for two hours.”

  “All right.”

  Josh gave her a reassuring smirk, then turned northwest. He glanced back before she was completely out of sight. Searching these lots is definitely not the most exciting mission I’ve been on.

  Not even a third of the way toward the northern perimeter, Josh stopped at another pile of bones. This time there were three within four feet from each other. These are human too… What the fuck is going on around here? He shined the flashlight on each skeleton, then scanned the ground for more. Why only human bones? Especially when so few humans travel to this planet.

  Josh stood thinking. After a moment, he switched off his light and continued on. There were no signs of chewing, or striking of the bones. No clothes either. Maybe they were with the others at the beach and made it farther than the rest.

  Once he’d made it to the northern wall, Josh was surprised to see yet another pile of human bones on the dirt side of the perimeter. Those were the last he saw before making back to the wall bordering the castle’s courtyard. He bent down low and switched on his transmitter. “Come in, Jill. I’ve reached the hop spot. Where ya at?”

  There was a few seconds’ delay before Jill responded. “Just made it here myself. Can you see my light?”

  Josh looked up and saw a flicker about ninety yards off. “You’re not far. Keep north.”

  “Shine yours.”

  Josh did.

  “Okay, I see you. I’ll be right there.”

  Josh scanned the space lots then stared up at the sky until hearing Jill’s footsteps and seeing her shadowed figure moving through the dark. When she’d reached his side, he asked, “How’d it go?”

  “Nothing. Not a trace of Mercen activity.”

  “Did you see any more bones?”

  “No. Why? Did you?”

  Josh nodded. “At multiple locations.” He saw Jill’s eyes widen a bit.

  “Well, it’s like you said. Investigating human remains isn’t a part of our mission.”

  “Right. Let’s get out of here.” Josh started to turn—but stopped abruptly. He squinted, peering southeast.

  Jill twisted her head around while saying, “What is it? You see something?”

  “I think so… but I’m not sure.” He stepped slowly, almost subconsciously, southeast.

  Jill kept at his side. She moved her neck at different angles to try and see what was out there.

  Josh kept up his gradual pace—until seeing two shadowed figures start to take shape. “At our one,” he whispered.

  “Probably guards. We better get out of here,” Jill whispered.

  Josh’s curiosity kept him moving forward. I just feel like those aren’t guards, he thought, staring ahead, though still seeing Jill glimpse at him from his peripheral vision.

  “Josh…?” she said.

  The shadowed figures stopped. It was hard to tell, but Josh felt certain they’d
just turned in his and Jill’s direction.

  Seconds later—the pilots halted dead in their tracks.

  “Josh…” Jill whispered. “Those look like the two Mercens we saw in the playing hall earlier!”

  Josh’s blood rushed to the sound of his pounding heart. He stood stiff as any statue he’d ever seen. Nemchek!

  Even from the distance, Josh could see the Mercens’ sharp eyes locked on where he and Jill were standing. Moonlight basked their faces. Neither party moved for a good ten seconds.

  “Let’s go, Jill,” said Josh, backpedaling slowly.

  She did as instructed.

  When they were about fifteen yards farther from the Mercens, both turned into hasty strides. Josh checked over his shoulder every couple of seconds. From what he could tell, the Mercens were still standing in the same place, watching him and Jill depart. Before long, the aliens could no longer be seen.

  “That was intense, Josh,” said Jill, finally breaking the silence.

  “I wonder what the hell they’re doing out in these lots.” He saw Jill’s eyes enlarge.

  “You think they’re responsible for all of the skeletons we found?”

  Josh thought for a moment. “I definitely wouldn’t rule that out.”

  “You don’t think there’s a possibility of there still being a base out here, even after we just finished searching the area, do you?”

  “Not if these boots are working correctly. We covered too much ground to have not gotten a reading. At best those two Mercens have some sort of small dwelling out here.”

  “That or they’re on their way to kill some more humans.”

  “Well, they didn’t attack us.”

  The pilots thought for a moment.

  “You think they’ll report us being out here to the Grusks?” asked Jill.

  “I don’t know. They could very well have snuck out themselves.”

  “It looked an awful lot like they were in line with the castle gates.”

  “Yes, it did. But you never know.”

  “They still had that demeanor to them, as if this were their land.”

  “I got that feeling too,” Josh responded.