Annals of the Keepers - Rage

by Christiaan Hile

“Thanks, Rels.”

  “We need to be going. How’s your galony?”

  He turned back to his climber. “He’s a tough one, Rels. Galony remind me of meekas back on my home world of Tormuun.”

  I made my way back to the galony. “You don’t say.”

  “Yes. Meekas are strong animals, Rels.”

  “Do they stink like these guys do?”

  “No, Rels. Why?”

  “No reason.”

  “Why ask then, Rels?”

  I ignored him.

  I bent down next to the downed terror bird Mistuuk’s galony had taken out to get a closer look.

  The thing had been disemboweled.

  Looking over to his galony’s massive front claws, there was that orange goo on one of its front hooks.

  Not bad. These things weren’t all that defenseless after all.

  “Okay. Let’s get out of–”

  The third terror bird struck.

  I was knocked off my feet and thrown to the ground before I knew what had hit me.

  The creature lunged and latched onto my lower leg.

  Its teeth sunk into my calf.

  I tried to roll over and hit it with the nearest rock I grabbed.

  Mistuuk had jumped and landed on top of the bird, which was larger than the other two we had faced.

  Our galony backed away from the commotion.

  I struck it in the beak with the rock and he stabbed it in the back.

  The terror bird let go of my leg and flew up, dislodging the Cuukzen and sending him to the ground.

  Before I knew it, the winged monstrosity pinned me down with its taloned feet. I couldn’t move my arms.

  There above me was the nasty dripping saliva of a beaked mouth full of teeth and fangs. I didn’t know what was worse, how it looked or how it smelled. What was it with this planet’s animals?

  I tried to move back and forth to get free as its teeth gnashed. Just when I thought it was about to strike, it reeled backwards.

  The terror bird’s screech was piercing this close to it.

  Blood shot forth from its throat before it keeled over and fell to the ground.

  A spear stuck out of its head and neck as it twitched.

  Mistuuk was still recovering from getting thrown off. He hadn’t thrown the spear.

  “Are you alive, Human?”

  Kayasa. She was the one that had thrown it.

  Back to being Mister ‘Human’.

  Here I thought we were on a first-name-basis.

  “A little sore, but no worse for wear. Nice shot by the way.”

  “Yeah, Kayasa. Nice throw,” Mistuuk acknowledged.

  I got up. “The better question is: How are you doing?” I asked with care, of course.

  “No worse for wear, Human.”

  “Perfect. I wouldn’t want it any other way, Vrae.”

  I was shocked to see her hand extend to help me up.

  I took it.

  I wasn’t ashamed. I could have been bird food if she hadn’t been here.

  “Now what do we do, Human?”

  “Let’s get back to the galony. We need to get to wherever they are taking us.”

  “Where’s Blink, Rels?”

  “How would I know?”

  Just as I asked, Blink flew out from around a tree.

  “There she is. Hiding as usual,” I grumbled.

  “She’s not a fighter, Rels.”

  “Sure.”

  Mistuuk scowled at me. “She did warn us, Rels. That’s something.”

  “I guess so. I’ll give her credit for that, but–”

  An echo of familiar screeches moved through the forest, once again silencing the jungle around us.

  “We have more incoming. Everyone back on the galony. Now,” I called out.

  No time to argue about the bot. Those terror birds had a purpose. Almost like a mission. They were tracking us, no doubt, but how did they follow us all this way? A predator would have broken chase by now.

  Something wasn’t right here.

  The tree climbers were back on track.

  Our dizzying swing through the jungle had begun once more as we both road atop our tree hugging friend.

  Data Cell 35

  We were heading for the great falls we had seen earlier at the start of our journey.

  The sound of torrential whitewater could be heard as the jungle foliage thinned to the river banks.

  The galony stopped on the last outstretched tree branch.

  Mistuuk’s galony perched on the tree next to us.

  “Hey, Rels. I think we lost them.”

  It seemed so.

  Now to figure out if we were close to our destination.

  “Human, would you mind removing your knee from my side?” My Vrae companion in under me stated as she shifted out of her harness.

  “After you.” I smiled.

  She just gave me that wonderful Vrae glare.

  “Give me a second, Mistuuk. I am wondering if it’s safe to rest here.”

  The galony seemed fine.

  Insects buzzed about and small birds flew around trying to catch said bugs.

  So that leaves the waterfalls ahead.

  The rushing turquoise water before us was vast. The river weaved in and out across a valley with countless cascades of gushing water.

  Beautiful, but dangerous.

  Large white rock outcroppings littered the banks as ancient and once-standing dead tree trunks darted the rugged landscape.

  “I hope we don’t have to cross,” I said.

  “I don’t think so, Rels. There are no trees to swing on for the galony beyond the rocks. Blink also confirms this.”

  “Good observation, bounty hunter of the obvious. Good observation.”

  “I don’t hear anything,” Kayasa said.

  “What?” I replied, confused.

  “The sounds, Human. There are no jungle sounds any longer.”

  She was right.

  “Get ready. We may have company.”

  I saw the shadow first just as Kayasa finished strapping back in and, when I looked up, there was a terror bird diving down straight for us.

  I pulled the reigns and the galony bolted, running off the branch and jumping to the next dead tree below us.

  We made the first branch, but on the first swing, the terror bird caught up with us.

  It hit our galony and knocked it off the snapped branch and down to the rocks below.

  We were lucky as the tree climber landed on its feet and, without skipping a beat, ran and leapt over a small gorge.

  As it bounded, Kayasa slipped from under me and landed back on the other side of the gulch we just crossed.

  My galony scampered to another dead tree branch, but I pulled and held it off.

  I grabbed the spear and jumped off, returning to the edge.

  Mistuuk’s galony had made it across and was up on a dead branch.

  Kayasa made her way to the edge of the gap. It wasn’t wide, but dropped at least a good twenty meters.

  The terror bird hopped along the tops of the rocks, making its way ever closer to the Vrae.

  “Jump!” I yelled.

  “No, I won’t make it!”

  “You have to! Go now!”

  The bird was getting closer.

  “It’s too far, Human.”

  “I’ll catch you. Trust me,” I said, reaching out with my arms.

  She got up.

  The screeching bird was just about to her, its horrible beak and fangs gnashing.

  She’s not going to make it, I thought.

  She took a step back just as the terror bird reached her.

  With a leap, she pushed off as the jagged beaked mouth of the bird snapped at her back.

  Just before it could sink its monstrous fangs into her, Blink flew in and intercepted the feathered monstrosity.

  Kayasa lunged for my hands.

  I dove between two rocks and grabbed her wrist.

  She fell.

&
nbsp; I slid forward to the edge and held on to her, my other hand flailing until I grabbed hold of what I hoped was a tree root.

  “I don’t have much of a grip, Kayasa. Try and push up.”

  She needed to hurry.

  Blink had the terror bird snapping at air as she flew around its head, trying to distract it.

  That wouldn’t last long.

  The bird refocused on our struggling to get Kayasa up.

  Not long at all.

  It screamed and darted straight for the gulch and leapt.

  I pulled. Kayasa pushed.

  She was up and out.

  The bird was coming right at us.

  I reached down and picked up the spear.

  My weapon met the creature’s throat, the terror bird’s own momentum driving the point through its maw and out the back of its skull.

  It was flapping and flopping around.

  With a little nudge from my boot, the terror was no more, dropping down into the gorge below.

  “Thanks,” Kayasa said, gasping between breaths.

  “No problem. Let’s keep moving.”

  We got back to the galony and the grinning Cuukzen.

  “What do you think of Blink now, Rels?”

  I murmured. “She came through.”

  “I’m sorry, Rels. What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

  The little pudge wasn’t going to let this one go.

  Maybe I deserved it.

  “She did okay.”

  “What, Rels?”

  “She did fine.” I gave him what he wanted.

  “Now say it to Blink.”

  Oh, the humiliation.

  “No. Let’s move.”

  Kayasa got on and I motioned our galony forward.

  We were off again with Mistuuk and Blink in tow.

  The climbers didn’t waste any time as they rushed the roaring river.

  They sprang from one dead tree branch to the next.

  The river was approaching fast. What were they doing? Were they suicidal?

  “They’re headed for the water,” Kayasa said.

  Worse yet, they were heading for an edge near a waterfall.

  I pulled back on the reigns. “They’re not stopping!”

  Mistuuk yelled out, “Mine’s not stopping either, Rels!”

  This is not going to turn out well.

  I was thinking about grabbing Kayasa and jumping off our ride, but it was too late.

  The galony leapt to the last tree near the river’s edge and off the short cliff to the falls.

  It swung three times around the branch to get momentum before it released.

  We flipped around just in time to see us drop towards the waterfall.

  “Hang on!”

  The weight of rushing and falling water hit my head first, careening over my shoulders and down my back.

  It felt like we hit a wall of stone and fell through to the other side.

  The sound was tremendous.

  I held my ears as the torrent of water was pouring and crashing all around us.

  The galony landed on solid ground and not in the river, to my surprise.

  I opened my eyes.

  We had settled in a cave opening behind the waterfall. There was a flat rock outcropping that jutted out meeting the wall of water.

  Mistuuk was next, followed by Blink.

  The galony started to walk down a passage under the river.

  After moving through some natural pillars of rock, the climber came to a dead end.

  “We’re in a cave, Rels.”

  “Thank you, bounty hunter of the obvious, for your unparalleled power of observation.”

  Kayasa sat up.

  “Did they make a wrong turn?”

  “That’s what I’m thinking.”

  “So, how are we going to get out, Human?”

  As if I had all the answers. But, before I could answer her with my cutting wit, the galony started barking.

  Their throat noises reverberated off the walls, mingling with the rushing water on the other side of the pillars.

  After a couple of barks, they were quiet.

  Did they realize they had made a wrong turn?

  I chucked to myself at the thought.

  I wasn’t laughing for long, though.

  The rock wall in front of us started to slide open.

  Fascinating.

  “Hey, Rels. It’s moving.”

  The rock stopped.

  On the other side were glowing crystals of some kind. They were stacked in assorted sizes in an open metal cauldron.

  They lit up the cave which now opened farther into and under the river.

  We rounded a corner and the cave became even more interesting.

  Along a cave wall were what I could only assume were stables. Other galony were there feeding from a trough.

  The animals grunted upon seeing them.

  Our galony trotted over to the others and began to eat.

  “They’re more galony, Rels.”

  “Thanks, buddy.”

  The little guy amazed me. He never missed a detail.

  “I wonder where we are.” Kayasa pondered.

  Now, that was the question. It was safe to presume we’re probably in the safe location Yren spoke about, but where is here?

  “That’s the light year question of the galaxy isn’t it, Kayasa?” I retorted.

  It didn’t take long for a response, but it didn’t come from any of my companions.

  “Emvel Hollow. That is where you are,” an unknown voice declared from behind us.

  We all turned.

  Standing before us was an older… male…Human.

  Wasn’t expecting that.

  What now? I thought.

  We were about to find out.

  Data Cell 36

  “Who are you?” I asked our new Human guest…or host.

  This white-haired older guy was covered in a simple black and white robe. His faced was weathered.

  “My name is Emvel Kasse. I’m sure my presence comes as a shock to you.”

  He hit that one in the crosshairs. “That would’ve been my first question. You are Human, right?”

  “I am.”

  “How’d you get here?”

  Emvel smiled. “That’s a long story, Rels.”

  “It seems we have time, Emvel.”

  He chuckled, “We do indeed.”

  I wasn’t shocked he knew my name. “Yren, told you.”

  “Yes. We got communique you were coming.”

  “We? More Humans?” Kayasa lashed out.

  “No. I’m the only Human here. Come, I’ll show you.”

  I looked at the others. “We’ve come this far.”

  “And they might have food, Rels.”

  “Yes, they might have food.”

  “Why yes, we have lots of food. Along our way, I’ll tell you the abridged version of the story of why I’m here,” Emvel said.

  We decided to follow our new host down a natural slope in the rock.

  This story should be interesting, as another Human in this part of the galaxy sure was a surprise, and I had a lot of questions. A lot. I just hoped we would get what we came for…the Gashnee Ancients.

  ∞∞∞

  We continued our walk down the path within the cave. Our guide, Emvel, started explaining the cave system to us.

  Caves. Just what was missing from our mystery adventure on the opposite side of the galaxy. I should ask if they have giant worms down here. It would be our luck.

  We made our way through twisting passages of rock that were stained with turquois from the dripping mineral water that seeped from the river above. It was kind of pretty, I guess. The thunder from the waterfall became a distant rumble as we continued.

  Clear pools of water occupied depressions within the rock, fed by trickles that lined our path.

  More crystal-filled cauldrons lit our way as we sank deeper within the network of tunnels.

  He had our attentio
n, at least mine and Kayasa’s.

  Kayasa was right next to me, not wanting to miss a word spoken by the new Human. Her Vrae suspicions, no doubt.

  Mistuuk walked near the edge and stared at the colored walls highlighted by the glowing crystals.

  He couldn’t look less interested.

  Thinking about jojo fruit for sure.

  Blink just flashed the pools of water with her lights as she flew around and ahead of us.

  I couldn’t wait any longer.

  “So, how’d you get here and why is this place named after you?”

  “Right. I did say that I would give you the condensed version.”

  He didn’t waste any time. Good.

  “Let me start at the beginning, Rels. I was part of a sentient exchange program when the Gashnee first visited Earth in…oh, about 2488 A.D.”

  “You went with them?”

  “Yes.”

  I was confused.

  I was unaware that anything like that had ever occurred.

  “I don’t remember seeing that within the Annals, Emvel.”

  “Annals?” he asked.

  “Our Human history…after the Kryth invasion.”

  “I understand now. Your historical documents. No, you wouldn’t have. You see, it was a secret greeting set up at the highest levels. It was either concealed or deleted.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  “It was part of an exchange agreement they had when they gave us their drive technology along with one of their own.”

  That last part threw me. “Wait a minute. You’re telling me that a Gashnee was left on Earth?”

  “Yes.”

  I was stunned.

  It didn’t take long for both of my companions to chime in.

  The Cuukzen was first, of course.

  “Not good, Rels. Humans and Gashnee. You know what Yren showed us about their prophecy. This is not good. You didn’t tell me everything, Rels. You’re hiding things from me.”

  Next up was the charming Vrae. “You side with the Gashnee, Human. What are your plans against the Vrae Empire? I should never have trusted you.”

  Here we go. Wait, did she say she trusted me?

  They each started their rants, their voices growing with outlandish assumptions.

  “Stop! Just stop,” I said. “This is all news to me too. Let’s hear what the man has to say before we go all nova on each other. Let’s just take it one step at a time. Okay?”

  The Vrae gave me her usual scowl. The Cuukzen just shrugged his shoulders and went back to staring at the walls, looking bored but obviously paying close attention to the conversation.