The Cosmolis

by REM

“We’re all set. Let’s get going,” said Skirm.

  The crew got into the craft with their two weedwhacker-like detection devices and flew off from the facility. By Skirm’s suggestion, they decided to investigate the far eastern jungle first, since it was far more dangerous. Skirm landed the transport in a dry field along the jungle’s western edge. The tropical forest was too dense for them to land anywhere inside.

  Josh stepped down from the cargo ramp, gazing at the seemingly endless expanse of vined trees about forty yards ahead. Searcher One appeared at his side with his blaster drawn. The rest of the team wasn’t far behind. Josh saw Skirm had his customary rifle blaster slung over his shoulder, but the Bodens appeared to be unarmed. They’re wearing bracers, probably the same type Comm wore, that shoot out over their hands into a metal fist. I’d much rather have a blaster, though.

  Skirm moved into the lead, which Searcher One didn’t object to.

  Upon entering the jungle, everything was as green, muddy, or wet as Josh had remembered. There were more puddles than last time, as well as a few small ponds, but the ground changed into more of just being damp the deeper they trekked.

  Josh batted at hanging vines, pushing through tall plants with the rest of his team. When the brush lessened and the trees became more spaced, Searcher One motioned for Searchers Two and Three to spread out to his right and left to cover more ground. The pair did as instructed, fanning about twenty yards in each direction. Both carried the detection devices.

  “Be careful,” barked Skirm. “This is no place to get split up. Keep a sharp eye out for wildlife, and stay far away from any beautiful bushes with vibrant green leaves and faint purple sparkles!”

  “What are those?” asked Searcher One.

  “Fopple plants. They can feel your movements through the ground with their roots if you get too close. Then they’ll grab you with their tentacles and pull you inside to be consumed—slowly,” said Skirm.

  A horrible death, thought Josh, remembering Comm’s words. He glanced at Searcher One’s face and thought him unmoved by the jungle’s threats, as if having faith his blaster would ward off anything.

  Instead of trekking straight east, their group snaked through the region to maximize their search. Like trying to find a needle in a hay stack, thought Josh. All we can do is our best. He peered about the dimly lit jungle, seeing mounds of earth sticking up from the center of a few ponds. “We shouldn’t bother checking the swampier parts of the jungle where missile silos are unlikely. Will save us a lot of time,” said Josh.

  Searcher One nodded, and said, “I agree.”

  Skirm was focused on an area ahead, and didn’t bother to answer. The two Bodens kept quiet too. Searcher Two and Three were still spread out.

  Sometime later, Skirm stopped in place, holding a hand to the group. He scanned the brush to the northeast. “Did anyone hear that?” he asked.

  “I did,” said Josh, having heard rustling from the direction Skirm was staring. “Think it’s something big?”

  Searcher One raised his blaster. It had been in his hand the entire time they’d been in the jungle. The searchers who were spread to the sides halted too. Even the Bodens were looking around.

  “Probably a pack of coy,” said Skirm, glancing back with a serious look. “You should probably call your men in tight,” he said to Searcher One.

  “Two, Three, in!” said Searcher One, motioning to both.

  Skirm slid a thin cylinder-whistle from his shoulder pocket. It was half the size of a standard pencil. He put it to his lips and blew three sharp whistles. “Only a small percentage of coys in this jungle have been trained to fear the whistle. Let’s see if it works on these.”

  “Keep very alert. These creatures are terribly smart,” said Josh.

  “What do they look like?” asked Searcher Three.

  “Like hyenas, with over-sized fangs,” Josh responded.

  There was another rustle. Everyone frozen in place. This time the sound came from the southeast.

  “Oh yeah. Might be trying to get the drop on us,” said Skirm.

  “I would guess their numbers greater than ours to be bold enough to attack all seven of us,” said Tich.

  “Yes,” said Tach.

  “That’s true,” said Skirm. “In that case they were almost certainly going after one of you two that were spread out.”

  Josh watched Searcher One’s eyes move in thought.

  “Stay tight for now,” said Searcher One, to Searchers Two and Three.

  Skirm held the group in place for a couple of minutes more. Then he resumed their trek. After about fifteen minutes or so with nothing unusual being heard, Searcher One ordered his men to spread back out with their detection devices. The ground they were walking on was wet but firm, and the trees were still spaced a fair distance from each other.

  A short time later, Josh glanced to his left and saw Searcher Three was no longer visible. “Where’d he go?” said Josh. Everyone looked in the direction they’d last seen him.

  “Searcher Three!” Searcher One shouted. “Report!” He waited a moment. “Searcher Three, report!”

  “We should’ve brought comms,” said Searcher Two.

  “Didn’t think we’d need them,” said Searcher One.

  Skirm had narrowed his eyes and said, “Better try and find him fast.”

  “I’m not sure what the hell’s going on. Searcher Three was just there, can’t be far. We would’ve heard him call out if something got him. Right?” asked Searcher One.

  Skirm strutted hastily toward the area where Searcher Three was last seen, with his rifle in hand. The rest of the group followed. Josh drew his blaster from the holster at his thigh and kept it raised. One shot from a Bigfoot and there’s no way Searcher Three could’ve called out. Who knows what else might have gotten him in this damn place. Hopefully he’s just lost.

  At first the group searched within about a fifty-yard radius for the missing searcher. Then they branched out farther. Searcher One called out the missing crewman’s name from time to time, but there was never a reply.

  “We’re wasting time. Your man should know better,” said Skirm.

  Searcher One didn’t argue the fact.

  They kept searching for a bit longer, until Josh pointed through a cluster of trees to the northwest and said, “I think I see him. Over there!”

  Searcher One broke into a jog and took the lead. Everyone else hustled behind him.

  “Searcher Three!” Searcher One called out, when the missing crewman was in plain sight.

  Searcher Three was unresponsive and kept his course at a steady stroll.

  “Searcher Three! What in the hell are you doing?!”

  Josh was batting his way through tall brush, when hearing Skirm say: “It’s too late! He can’t be saved!”

  That was when Josh got a look for himself. Searcher Three was being led into a wide, dark cave by a parrot-sized bird. Inside of the cave were more than a hundred pairs of glowing blue eyes. Josh remembered instantly the mesmerizing trance he’d been placed in by a lulu-bird the last time he’d been in this jungle, their black speckled pupils that rotated continuously—and kept him in a sleepwalking daze.

  Searcher Three disappeared into the dark. Seconds later there were loud screams: “Aaaaah! Aaah! Aaaaaaah!”

  Searcher One raised his blaster in a panicked frenzy. Skirm grabbed his arms and struggled to pull them down. “No!” he shouted. “You’ll get us all killed! He’s done for! He’s already dead!”

  Searcher Two had started hastily toward the dark entrance—but came to a sudden halt when three angered birds flew out into the light. The middle bird was bigger than any lulu Josh had ever seen, and had a black mohawk sticking up from its head.

  Searcher Two drew his blaster.

  “Do not shoot!” Skirm shouted. “You will kill us all!”

  “Stand down, Searcher Two!” Searcher One shouted.

  Searcher Two lowered his shaking gun arm. His eyes were stricken, wi
de. “They’re killing Bobby, Simon. They’re tearing him up!”

  “Aaaaaaaaaah!” Searcher Three cried out more.

  Josh saw Searcher One lower his head in grief, then heard Skirm say, “They’ll swarm us if he shoots!”

  Tich and Tach had made it over to Searcher Two’s side and turned him away from the cave. They ushered him back over to where Josh and the others were standing. Seven lulu-birds were now visible. There was another big one with a black mohawk. Skirm got everyone out of the area as quickly as possible. Josh took one last look back at the cave and saw the exotic birds hopping and flapping back inside. He glanced at the distraught looks on Searcher One and Two’s faces—they looked as if their worlds had just been turned upside down.

  A few hundred feet from the cave, Josh spotted the detection device Searcher Three had dropped, and jogged over to pick it up before rejoining the group. “Do we spread out again?” he asked.

  Searcher One stared for a moment. An aura of gloom lurked around his otherwise serious face. He nodded. “We’ve still got a mission to complete.”

  Searcher Two didn’t even wait for a command. He spread out to the right.

  Josh took a hard gulp and began distancing himself to the left.

  “Better if we stay in pairs,” said Skirm. “Tich, Tach, can you?” he said, motioning in Josh and Searcher Two’s directions.

  “Certainly,” Tach replied.

  The Bodens joined the men on the flanks. Josh was happy to have the strong Tich by his side. He eyed brush after thinking he’d heard movement. He then scanned more of the dim, damp jungle while holding his detector to the ground. Wait a sec… “I should probably stay in the middle with Skirm, since I have these boots. We’d get more coverage.”

  Searcher One agreed and swapped positions with Josh.

  They’d been trekking for a fair amount of time, when Josh spotted the void striker wreckage, where he had salvaged a Creston fleet core in order to get his own crashed fighter back up and flying. A swirling of old emotions flowed through him upon reaching the site—and recalling Comm getting shot from the rear, Nalee and Skirm hiding behind the ship’s front, and the shootout, standing toe to toe in open field with the lone Mercen, before taking him down. The memories had been tucked deep, but now felt so fresh in his mind.

  “Yaaap… I remember this,” said Skirm, sliding a finger against the ship’s fuselage then glancing at Josh.

  Searcher One was surprised by the wreckage and asked, “Was this yours?”

  “No,” said Josh. “This crashed on Skurier long before I did. We took its fleet-core to repair my striker.”

  Searcher One nodded and continued to inspect the wreckage.

  Something else had caught Searcher Two’s attention, and he was walking west a ways from everyone else.

  “I exchanged open fire with a lone Mercen right here,” said Josh, pointing to the ground. He walked toward where the Mercen had been hit. “The Mercen died here,” he said, pointing again.

  “That was crazy to see,” said Skirm.

  “There’s no remnants…” said Josh, scanning about.

  “Anything could have taken it out here,” said Tach.

  “Aye,” said Josh, coming to his senses. He caught a glimpse of Searcher Two reaching toward the trunk of a tree, and thought the searcher to be extremely curious about something.

  “Whatcha got there, Searcher Two?” asked Searcher One.

  “Looks like some sort of…” Searcher Two started. There was a sudden snap. A tri-spiked stick shot up from the ground and struck into the side of Searcher Two’s leg. “Aaaaaaah!” he cried, reaching to his thigh, grimacing from the pain.

  Tich and Tach were the closest, and rushed to Searcher Two’s aide.

  Josh made it over with Searcher One and Skirm. Shit, he thought.

  “Leave it in!” said Tach.

  “We’re going to have to break off the end of it, until we can get it removed,” said Tich.

  “Move, let me see!” said Searcher One. “Fuck, it’s deep!”

  “Probably lodged in his bone,” said Skirm.

  Searcher Two let out another cry of pain.

  “Gah, damnit,” Searcher One muttered, inspecting the stick for some sort of idea.

  Searcher Two began to convulse. Josh thought it looked as if he was being hit with pulses of electricity.

  “Calm down!” said Searcher One.

  Searcher Two’s jerking became more violent. That was when Josh saw a trickle of green fluid running slowly down from the head of the stick. Skirm had seen it too.

  “He’s been poisoned!” said Skirm.

  The others realized quickly what Skirm was talking about.

  Searcher Two foamed at the mouth. His body flipped and flopped while he made all sorts of gagging noises.

  “How do we help him?!” said Searcher One.

  Skirm’s sorrow-filled expression told it all.

  Searcher Two’s body gave two sharp jerks and collapsed to the ground—motionless.

  Josh stared helplessly.

  “He’s dead,” said Tach.

  “No! Damnit, no!” said Searcher One, shaking his head at his fallen comrade, then throwing the detection device to the ground. He walked away from everyone, still shaking his head—then kicking twice at the base of a tree.

  Josh felt an emptiness inside, and could only imagine what it must be like for Searcher One.

  Searcher One rushed back over to Searcher Two’s corpse. He knelt down with both hands on the crewman’s shirt, pushing and tugging. “Wake up, Jim! Wake up, damnit!”

  “There was enough poison on those spikes to kill something twice his size. He’s gone, Searcher,” said Skirm, empathetically.

  Searcher One kept staring at Searcher Two. When he finally stood, Searcher One looked away from everyone. “We bury him.”

  “That could take a lot of time,” said Tach.

  Searcher One scowled. “There’s five us—we bury him, or this nuclear search is over and we can all get blown to hell.”

  Josh could tell that Searcher One wasn’t kidding.

  Skirm held an arm to Tach and said, “We’ll bury him. We have time.”

  Searcher One pulled a cup from his bag and started digging right then and there. Everyone else grabbed what they could find and joined in. It took a chunk of time, even with five, but in the end Searcher Two was laid to rest in a proper burial.

  “We’d better get moving if we want to finish our search and make it back to the shuttle before dark,” said Skirm.

  They all took their last looks at the grave and set off with Skirm at point. Tich and Tach volunteered to spread out with the detection devices.

  “The easternmost part of the eastern jungle has many unknowns,” said Skirm. “We need to be on extreme alert.”

  Josh heeded the warning and could tell everyone else had too.

  Sometime later, when they’d entered the easternmost part of the jungle, Josh and his group heard the occasional rustling of brush or trees from random surroundings. Every time Josh checked in a direction, he didn’t see a thing.

  Skirm motioned the Bodens back in close.

  “You think there’s something stalking us?” asked Searcher One.

  Skirm nodded and said, “Yes. Probably coy. But who knows what the hell else is out here.”

  Searcher One drew his pistol.

  Josh did too.

  They all kept a careful watch for any signs of predators.

  After about five minutes or so of relative silence, Josh began feeling somewhat more relaxed. “I haven’t heard anything for a while. Whatever it was probably decided not to attack, like those coy from earlier. Our five-man group is still a decent size,” he said.

  The Bodens bounced their chins in agreement.

  “Well, this is just about it. According to my map there’s not much more jungle to the east. I’d suggest we starting heading back to the shuttle, before it gets dark,” said Skirm.

  Searcher One nodded. �
��Let’s go back,” he said, in a dreary tone, as if remembering his dead friends.

  Thfft! An arrow shot through the jungle and struck into Tach’s upper right shoulder. Josh snapped his head toward the Boden, as did Skirm. Thfft! Thfft! More arrows zipped through the air. Josh turned in the direction they were coming and saw a creature sticking partway out from behind a tree. It had the legs of a spider, but the upper body of a humanoid, as well as sharp teeth, red eyes, and thick black skin atop its head, instead of hair.

  Josh drew his blaster with gaping eyes. Searcher One had done the same. Thoot! Thoot! Searcher One fired at the creature, as an arrow whizzed by dangerously close to his head.

  Skirm had his rifle in hand but didn’t fire. “Get out of here!” he said, turning to run.

  Searcher One fired a shot that grazed one of the creatures’ abdomens. Josh let off a few rounds too. Tich and Tach were ducking away from the fight.

  “We can kill them! They only have arrows!” Searcher One shouted.

  Josh dodged an arrow, feeling uncertain about Searcher One’s assessment.

  “This is their territory! We’re intruding on their land!” barked Skirm. “There could be many more—and I can assure you their arrows are just as capable of killing as lasers.”

  Josh fired a couple of shots and ducked behind a tree. “We should go,” he said, looking in Searcher One’s direction.

  Searcher One appeared angrier than normal, and let loose more shots while keeping his focus in the creatures’ direction. Josh reckoned he’d seen at least six of them so far.

  Thfft! An arrow skimmed the side of Searcher One’s shoulder, tearing his clothes, and drawing a scratch of blood. “Urrgh!” Searcher One cried out, ducking down and moving behind a tree.

  Skirm was already about twenty yards away with Tich and Tach.

  “We’re outnumbered. They’ll overwhelm us! We’ve got to go!” said Josh.

  Searcher One’s eyes appeared somewhat vacant. His expression was as angry as before.

  “These aren’t the lulu-birds that killed Searcher Three! And I doubt they were the ones that set the trap to kill Searcher Two. Killing these creatures will not bring them back. We’re in their territory—we have to go!”

  Searcher One’s face looked as if Josh’s reasoning had gotten through. He stood straight up and nodded.