Avernus: Book One

by Steven Webb

  Sophie picked herself up. “Yeah I’m good. Now’s as good a time as any.”

  “Yes!” His excitement boiled over. The pure adrenaline rush got him outside before he could say another word.

  “Hey, you’re not going to make it very far without me you know.”

  “Fine. but hurry up.”

  “Not like the bacteria’s going anywhere. I mean what’s it going to do run away from us?”

  Trent spoke up, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m with her.”

  Is Trent really siding with Sophie? “You know Trent I’m starting to think you missed her.”

  “Or I’m just a lazy mother fucker.” A quick nod of Trent’s head told Taylor exactly what he was planning to say next.

  “Yeah it’s definitely the second one.” Taylor and Trent both said together.

  “You sure we’re not related?” Taylor asked.

  “I wish man. I’d kill to have had you as a brother. Mine was a useless punk.”

  Taylor knew deep down that blood or not these people had all become his family. “Can’t say I’d have been much better. Now get your lazy ass up and let’s go.”

  “Come on everyone, it’s probably best we all go in case the thing that attacked Trent shows back up.”

  “Yeah what Rocco said.”

  All Taylor wanted to do was get going. Finally the rest of the group made their way from the cave. They truly made a rag tag bunch. All their clothes were in tatters and barely hanging on. The guys all had beards, Taylor and Rocco’s being nice and thick. Trents was long and patchy, and Joseph’s was almost non existent aside from a few wispy hairs. The girls’ hair was a mess. Addison was sporting a full unibrow. If someone saw a picture of everyone walking around they might have confused them for a bunch of prehistoric cavemen.

  “Okay Sophie lead the way.”

  “Dude just chill. We’ve got a ways to go.”

  The way into the woods took shape behind Sophie. They wandered between plants, with no real indication of their direction. Sophie would occasionally stop, stare at a purple plant on the ground and then adjust her path. For whatever reason these plants were her guide. This continued on and on until they reached a large dirt field.

  “So this is where the magic forest was.” Sophie grabbed a chunk of flesh from the nearby boulder fruit. Rather than taking a bite Taylor watched her stuff her pocket full. “We have to cross all the way to the other side.”

  The excitement Taylor had felt was starting to wear off at the immensity of the field ahead. “You’re right. The lab is pretty far out here.”

  “Oh we’re not close yet. Make sure you keep up.” Sophie trekked ahead, leaving boot prints in the soft dirt.

  The sun beat down on Taylor’s unprotected skin. His boots filled with soft dirt. There was no way Sophie made this trek. He watched her lead the group without looking back or even stopping to rest. Occasionally one of the others would force her to stop just to catch their breath. In these moments the canteen would go around. The water was limited to a few sips each. This continued on for what seemed like hours before they finally reached the far edge. The welcoming site of shade was just ahead.

  The group stopped once more upon entering the forest. This time, however, was at the behest of Sophie. “Things might get a little weird out here. If you hear anything, you know voices, beeping sounds, god forbid screams, don’t go after them.”

  “What kind of screams?” Zea asked seeming nervous to get get an actual reply.

  Sophie let out a blood curdling scream, “Wahhhhahgghgh. Something like that.”

  For a moment Taylor was concerned about Sophie. Had she really gone crazy out here? He leaned over to Trent. “I’m worried about her. She seems a bit… unhinged.”

  “I don’t know man. With what I’ve seen I can’t discount her.”

  The screeching of nearby trippers sent Taylor into panic mode. He looked around for a branch to defend himself.

  “Taylor what are you doing?” It was as if Sophie couldn’t hear the cries.

  “The trippers are back.”

  No they’re not. Remember how I said not to trust anything you here?”

  “Guys I found food.” It was Rocco’s voice but it seemed to be coming from somewhere far away despite Rocco being right next to him.

  “See. Strange things. Some kind of mimicking creature. Though their pretty cool looking if you do see one.” A gentle wave of her hand and Sophie was off again. “If we don’t keep going we’ll never make it there by the end of tomorrow.”

  The strange sounds followed the group for the next several hours until the sun set. With the oncoming darkness, and no real source of light to speak of, the only option was to stop for the night. Everyone slept, with Rocco and Sophie agreeing to take shifts keeping watch.

  Taylor and everyone else were awoken by Sophie before the sun’s rays had reached the horizon. Groggy, they plodded along. All Taylor wanted to do was get sleep. Walking this much was more than he had been prepared for. This time he was the one dragging the group down. The woods went on endlessly, every plant looking just like the last.

  The sun was setting when the sight of the ship came into view. Taylor couldn’t believe they were finally there. “Are we actually at the lab or is this some other trick the planets playing on us?”

  Trent punched Taylor’s arm.

  “Ow! What the hell?”

  “Good news.” Trent smirked. “You’re not dreaming.”

  “Thanks.” Taylor said, rubbing his arm for emphasis.

  He hoped the sarcasm was coming through enough. As they approached, the sulphur smell was everywhere. A yellow moss like layer coated the ground around the ship. Tiny little yellow pods grew from the ground cover. This was even more impressive than he had imagined. “I thought you said the yellow was contained inside the ship?”

  Sophie wandered to the edge of the growth. “I never said contained. But it was all still inside the lab when I left.”

  Taylor took a knee to get a closer look. “The growth rate is incredible. If this is really the stuff we dragged from mars, then that means it was capable of lying dormant on Mars for god knows how long. And as far as I can tell those small yellow bulbs are the means of distribution.” He needed to find out as much about it as he could. He grabbed a nearby stick and tested it out. The moss squished under the pressure. The pods bounced around when struck only to resume their position when left alone. He pushed a small clump away from the main bunch. Heat radiated off of the pile as if reacting to being separated.

  In the dying light Taylor noticed another peculiar feature. Some of the pods began splitting open. A fine white powder coated the insides. “Rocco hand me the flashlight.” He waited for a response refusing to divert his attention from the pods.

  A beam of light illuminated the mossy growth. Taylor reached back searching for the flashlight. It made contact with his hand. He used it to scan the opened pods. The gentle breeze picked up the fine powder in a small cloud, particles dancing in the light, and then released them back to the ground. The powder landed on parts of Taylor’s face, and clothes. He reached up and brushed himself off. A strong taste of rotten eggs coated the inside of his mouth. He got up and tore the canteen from Addison’s hand.

  “Ugh I think I’m going to vomit.” The taste was overwhelming. A quick swish of water in his mouth cleared it right up. “I need something to eat. Anything that doesn’t taste like vomit would be preferred. Hey Sophie you still have that boulder fruit?”

  “Yeah here you go.” A lint covered mass emerged from Sophie’s pocket.

  “You know on second thought, I’m good.”

  “Whatever, more for me.” Sophie bit into fruit. “We should probably start a fire and hunker down for the night.” juice oozed down her chin as she talked.

  Rocco was ten steps ahead of her. A pile of cloth strips sat in front of him waiting to be lit. the steel struck the flint, throwing sparks in all directions, igniting one of the scraps
. A few breaths and the fire grew, into a blazing inferno.

  Taylor took up next to the flames. Smoke drifted toward him, scratching at his lungs.

  “Hugh.”

  He tried to resist the urge to cough a second time. The more he held back the more it hurt. Moving spots became the only way to overcome the unbearable smoke. This made no difference, as the coughing fit continued. He put his arm over his mouth to keep from coughing on anyone else. Blood now speckled his skin.

  “What the hell?” The coughing fit grew harder. His mouth tasted of metal.

  “What’s going on?” The surprise from Joseph’s voice told Taylor it wasn’t just his imagination.

  The only response Taylor managed to muster was the word Blood between coughing fits. His chest felt like it was being pressed down and burned from the inside at the same time. All he wanted was to shake loose the buildup settled deep down. A chunk of phlegm flew up his throat, but brought little relief.

  “Zea I think Taylor’s in trouble.”

  His eyes were watering, making it almost impossible to see Zea walking over.

  Her hand pressed against his forehead. “No fever.”

  Taylor felt his coughing fit grow worse. His reaction time was dropping. His head was dizzy.

  “His heart’s racing.” Zea’s cold hands held his left eye open and a brilliant light blinded him. The right eye was next.

  Once his eyes readjusted, he sawy Zea seated in front of him. His coughing continued. Suddenly Zea’s face was covered in blood. It was hard to focus but he was certain she tried to wipe her face clean. Each breath was a struggle.

  Nova rounded the fire to join them until Zea stuck her hand out.

  “Stay back.” Even in his distressed state Zea’s worried face was unmistakable. Something was wrong. “I need you all to keep…,achhugh…Sorry. Keep back. We need to … hughch…Get out of here.”

  The back and forth of Taylor and Zea’s cough’s grew louder.

  “What’s going on?” Rocco brought a burning branch near by.

  “The yellow….” It was all Taylor could manage to muster. Talking was impossible at this point. He pointed to the yellow moss that infected him.

  Rocco nodded his head. “Okay we need to get moving. Zea will you be able to walk with Taylor?”

  “Should be able to.”

  “Good. Everyone else we need to treat this like a chemical attack. Keep your distance from both of them.”

  The ground was swelling beneath Taylor’s feet. His legs struggled to hold his body up. A few steps and he succumbed to the coughing, falling to the ground pulling zea down with him. Spots drifted across his field of vision. All he could think about was the pain inside his lungs. Every breath grew shorter and more labored. He had to muster the strength to keep going. A few deep coughs released a bunch of red mucus. He spit it out. His breathing improved enough to get back on his feet and keep walking.

  Zea, however, didn’t appear to be doing quite as well. She laid curled up on the ground, hitting the dirt with her fist. The coughing was violent, and rattling.

  “Zea!” Nova stopped and headed back towards them.

  “Nova, Please….ughhhch….Zea wouldn’t want you to get sick too.” Taylor wiped the blood away from his mouth. “You need to stay back.”

  “Come on Nova. The only thing we can do is lead them back to the cave.” Addison wrapped her arms around Nova.

  On the ground Zea’s breathing became sparse. Her quiet spell was interrupted by a cough.

  “Hack it up.” Taylor pounded his fist against her back, Hoping to loosen up the mucus building inside her. The pain grew again inside of his lungs. It felt as if he was drowning this time. The agony was immense. He forced himself to stay awake. Falling asleep could spell the end. He realized in that moment that Zea’s breaths had stopped all together.

  ADDISON

  Blood encrusted yellow clumps sprouted from the mouths of both bodies. The moss which previously had consumed the lab in a small circle, now formed a larger ring with arms spread up the nearby ribbon trees, and tentacle plants. Red dust was all that remained of the once vibrant life in the center. The metal of the ship’s hull was now completely rusted out. It was as if the entire scene had rapidly aged.

  Addison was in denial. She refused to accept that she had lost another two members of her crew. The promise she made to protect Zea was broken. There was no time to mourn the dead.

  “Let’s get back to the cave. We need to get away from this stuff, whatever it is.”

  “What about the bodies?” Nova was visibly shaken. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying all night.

  Joseph placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “You heard them. We can’t take the bodies.”

  “It’s my code to never leave a man behind, but we can’t risk catching whatever that is.” Rocco grabbed his survival pack off the ground and backed away from the scene.

  “She deserves at least half the respect she gave to Carl.”

  Addison grabbed Nova’s arm. “I promise we will have a funeral as soon as we get back to the cave.”

  Sophie popped a red creature into her mouth. “Yeah we better go. There’s some vicious creatures out here. I’d prefer not being caught again.”

  The group led Nova away from the nightmare. Addison positioned herself between Nova and the bodies to keep her eyes from wandering back.

  The further they got the safer Addison felt. She took full responsibility for everything that had happened up till now. If only she could find a way to change the past. The entire trip back was a solemn journey and talking was kept to a minimum. Every time they would stop to rest the notion that the yellow moss was not far behind got them moving again. That night little sleep was had by anyone. Addison entire body was on edge. The darkness would make it harder to tell when the impending danger was getting too close.

  Light from the breaking dawn afforded the team enough visibility to move out. Addison was completely exhausted both emotionally and physically. She trudged along in silence, as did the rest of the crew. Before long they found themselves at the mouth of the empty field. Knowing they had to cross this large seemingly endless field broke what was left of her spirit. She fell to the ground and refused to move.

  Rocco placed his arm around her and whispered in her ear, “I’m sorry for everything. It’s alright to feel upset. Hell I’m furious. But everyone here is looking to you. Just hold on a little longer. I know you have the strength inside you.” He picked her up and handed her the last of his boulder fruit. “Eat this and take my sip of water. Then we’ll move on.”

  The food was satisfying, but Addison felt guilty taking Rocco’s water rations. She knew it was useless to argue though. Rocco took the canteen back and then led the way into the barren landscape. Clouds rolled in overhead, blocking the sun’s vicious rays. Once they reached the other side it wasn’t long before Familiarity had returned to the surroundings. A sense of safety should have been there but now even the memories of the cave chased after her sanity. Images of open graves, and broken friends consumed her. She fought them back with as much strength as she could muster.

  Drawing upon the cave brought yet another terrible sight. Signs of a raid upon the encampment were everywhere. Scraps of the bark beasts remains marked the far corners of the clearing. Parts of cloth once rescued from the ship were now torn to shreds. The dirt around the was entrance littered with pockmarks. The team was ill prepared for a fight. What ever lied within, released a gravely grunt that seemed to come from all directions of the cave.

  A shadowed figure ran through the dark. The lack of light made it hard to distinguish it’s true nature. With one hand, Rocco pulled his knife from its sheath. The other hand grabbed a rock. Without a word to the others, he lifted his hand to his mouth and gestured them to remain silent. He crept quietly towards the cave, calculating each step he took to minimize the noise. Joseph followed suit with nothing but a stick to defend himself.

  The pair disappear
ed inside the darkness. Rocco shouted from the void, “Trent get in here. You’re going to want to see this.”

  “For some reason I don’t trust you guys. Call it intuition if you will.”

  “No seriously, come check this out.” Joseph sounded desperate.

  He checked in with each of the others to get their opinions.

  Addison couldn’t care less about their immature pranks. They had grown stale over the last month. “You’re on your own.”

  “You guys are no help.” Wearily, Trent made his way in. His next words could only be described as a mixture of terror, joy, and confusion. “Oh shit!” his scrawny legs carried him swiftly out of the cave. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.” behind him a large spiker and three babies poked out of the dark, in a full sprint. Trent’s footing gave way and brought him to the ground. The small spikers jumped on top of him. Their spikes shaking on their backs. The beaked snouts rubbed at his clothes, and their tails alternated wagging up and down.

  The sight was a welcome change, but soon life would be back to the same old routine. Inside the cave the few possessions they had were being played with. A select few beasts were jumping up the walls in a valiant effort to catch the clear bugs crawling around, leaving behind red marks along the stone. One was finishing off what little food had remained in their stores.

  The need to get away from everyone was gnawing away at Addison. She felt she could no longer be of any real use. What good was a captain who couldn’t protect the people she swore to lead. “I’m going to look for some more food since apparently these things decided to eat it all.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  “No, I’m good Sophie. You stay here and rest with the others.”

  “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

  Addison left the group behind, unsure where she was going. The goal was to get out of earshot, but not far enough to not be able to get back. These drafty woods held no appeal to her any longer. The long flowing ribbons and large tentacles seemed so ordinary. A small boulder made a nice resting point. She sat there letting the sun warm her skin. With no one around, it seemed the perfect time to enjoy some pleasures from when she was young. The heated rock felt so relaxing under her bare skin. With her eyes shut, and the feeling of warmth fully embracing her she took in the moment.