Avernus: Book One

by Steven Webb

  “Not your fault. I find that I tend to just lay on the ground for a while listening to the night.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “I’m sure. Hey I’ll be right back.” She picked up another slice of meat.

  “Oh now you’re afraid to eat in front of me?”

  “No, I just have something I need to do.”

  “Well that’s vague.”

  “Trust me, If I told you you wouldn’t like it.”

  “You’re taking some to Rocco aren’t you.”

  “I told you that you wouldn’t like it.”

  “Talk about reading my mind.” Trent stood up. “Regardless, I should probably come along just in case.”

  She stared at him. “It’s not like he’s going to do anything to me. Fine, come on.”

  Trent was pleased that he had won. They walked together, enjoying their feast. It was only a short ways between their shelter and Rocco’s but the trees did a good job of hiding it. He came around the final tree and beheld a terrible sight. Mars moss encircled Rocco’s lean-to. The ribbon trees were caught mid transformation to a brilliant yellow. Tendrils ran along the ground stretching out to gain a foothold. Rocco laid unmoving.

  “Rocco wake up.” Trent bellowed out. He hoped his voice would stir Rocco, but there was no change. Normally they would be able to hear snoring from this distance but right now there was only pure silence.

  “Yo Rocco get your ass up.” Sophie tossed a rock into the Shelter. Still no movement.

  A small unaffected portion remained directly around Rocco that the moss had yet to breach. It seemed as if the trip around the lean-to had deterred the moss enough. As long as none of the spores had reached Rocco there was no reason he should not be alive. Trent refused to lose another crew member. Nothing seemed to work. He tried not to give up hope. With all of his breath he let out a wretched scream that could wake the dead.

  Rocco’s arm moved. Finally some signs of life. “What the hell do you want?”

  “You need to get the fuck up. Right now.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re surrounded by the moss. Get up but make sure you don’t roll over.” Sophie was searching the ground, most likely trying to find a way around the moss.

  Rocco sat up carefully watching his every move. One wrong hand placement could spell death. “Get me the hell outta here.”

  “Hold on. We need to figure something out.” Trent could feel his brain spinning. He looked everywhere for some way in. there didn’t seem to be a good option. “What if you try burning your way out?”

  “Already on it.”

  Rocco spoke the truth. He was two steps ahead of Trent. In his hand was a fresh burning stick. He crawled on his knees towards the edge of the moss. The burning flames skimmed across the surface without leaving a mark.

  “No you have to hold it in place to get any effect.”

  “Got it.” Rocco held the flame in place for over a minute. Upon pulling the torch back a small charred pile remained, hardly large enough for a single foot. “It’s taking too long.”

  Without warning Sophie ran off.

  “Where the hell’s she going?”

  “No idea.”

  Sophie’s voice came to them soon after. “Trent get over here. I need your help.”

  Those words terrified him. What could have possibly gone wrong in such a short time. He left Rocco where he was and ran towards Sophie’s voice. He found her pulling the large Tentacle cups from off his canopy.

  “Oh you did hear me. Grab one of the cups.” She picked up the first two off the ground. “Hurry up.”

  Before Trent could get a word in, Sophie was already headed back to Rocco, dragging the cups through the dirt. Trent pulled the last one from the shaky mass of branches and rushed back.

  By the time he made it to the first campsite, Sophie was already standing on the first cup and placing the second one a short ways in front of it. “Hand me that.” She crossed back to Trent.

  “This isn’t safe.” Trent refused to hand her the final cup.

  “Well it’s too late to stop me know.”

  “No it’s too risky.” He pulled back the cup to try and deter her from proceeding any further. One wrong step and she would be a goner. He refused to let that happen.

  “Fine don’t give it to me.” Sophie hopped to the second cup and bent down to pick up the first one.

  “Wait. Fine, here.” Trent made his way onto the first cup and walked as it would allow. He raised the cup over his head to keep it off the ground. It was like playing a more dangerous version of the floor is lava. He stretched out the cup for Sophie to grab.

  “I knew you would come along.” She took the cup and placed it in front of Rocco’s shelter.

  Rocco crawled forward and had his hand out to place it on the cup when a loud creaking sound turned into a thunderous crack. The ribbon tree that sat near his lean-to fell onto the structure, it’s base eaten away by the mars moss. A scream of pain was followed by silence. Only Rocco’s hand could be seen under the mess of branches and cups. Small whimpers could be heard coming from him.

  Attempting to rescue him would only lead to them getting infected. It was only a matter of time before he either bled out or the moss took him.

  Trent panicked. “Get out of there. There’s nothing we can do for him.”

  Sophie’s eyes were full of tears. “I’m sorry, Rocco. We can’t help you.” She scurried back across the pads.

  The coughing was painful to hear. They needed to get away. Despite all the horrible things Rocco had done, he did not deserve to suffer like this. Trent felt awful leaving him to die alone. If they stayed where they were, there was no telling how long it would take the moss to close them in as well. The two ran for safety.

  Trent was the first to reach the hot spring field. A yellow border surrounded a sea of red dirt. All signs of life inside the ring were gone. A large red mass was at the very center of the spreading. It appeared to be the remains of the beast. Soem how they had missed some of the spores when they burned the body. This part of the woods was no longer safe either. “We need to run deeper.” he grabbed Sophie’s hand and dragged her along. They reached the portion of the forest that was covered in the strange blue nets. A short distance away the moss seemed to have reached even this portion of the forest. Trent stopped. Something about the mars moss seemed different here. It was as if something was preventing it from moving. There were no tendrils stretching out. It was as if an invisible line had been drawn that the moss couldn’t cross.

  “Hey does that look strange to you?” Trent dropped Sophie’s hand and went to investigate. Where the blue nets ended the moss seemed to stop dead in its tracks. He couldn’t be sure but it was worth testing.

  “What did you see?” Sophie finally caught up to him.

  “The moss seems to be repelled by this blue stuff.” Trent pulled up a hand full from the ground, and chucked the clump into the moss. It bounced across the surface but nothing happened. “Well never mind.”

  “Hey it was worth a try. I would have done the…” Sophie’s words got interrupted by a light cough.

  “No!” Trent turned to Sophie.

  “I’m fine really. Just a tickle in my throat. Too much running.” She showed her hand to Trent. No signs of blood.

  He breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank fuck.” He gave her a huge hug. He thought he was going to lose her too.

  “Aww you were worried about me.”

  “Of course I was.” He refused to let go. Sophie pushed herself free from him.

  He caught a glimpse of something yellow on his hand when he pulled it away. His body froze but his hand shook uncontrollably.

  “Let’s go.” Sophie turned to walk away, but Trent stood where he was.

  His hands shook harder as he turned them over. His fears were confirmed. A white powder, covered his palms. He looked up at Sophie who’s back now faced him. Two hand shaped holes broke up the white coating on
her shirt. “Shit! Shit, Shit, Shit!”

  “Uh you got tourettes or something?”

  “He raised his hands up to show Sophie the fate that awaited both of them.

  “But I feel….” A series of coughs over took Sophie. Blood shot from her mouth.

  “It’s too late. We’re both dead.” He stared up at the sky.

  “I feel…achugh” Her body suddenly collapsed onto the ground.

  Trent rushed to her side. He knelt beside her and placed her head in his lap.

  Sophie opened her eyes and looked up at Trent. “I’m sorry.” The coughing picked up again.

  “Don’t be. We were lucky we made it this long. The fact that we survived the crash at all was amazing.”

  Seeing Sophie, He knew where he was going to be in an hour. It was like watching his future on TV just before it happened. Her skin grew cold and pale.

  “Stay with me?” Sophie asked before once again coughing. Blood splattered onto Trent’s face. He wanted to say something, anything to comfort her, even if it was only an I’m sorry. “Hold on please,” was all he could muster. Any other response, and he wouldn’t be able to be strong for her. Her blood shot eyes locked onto his, leaving him staring into their dark abyss. With a bloody hand, she reached towards his face. Halfway to its destination the shaking hand came to a stop. He grabbed ahold and placed her hand gently on his cheek. “I’ve got you Sophie.”

  He resigned himself to sit there and die with her in his lap no matter what. The blood was just a reminder of the life that was leaving her. Through watery eyes, he watched as her coughing grew more violent and then her breathing slowed. Her face twisted in pain. Between coughs she tried to speak. What came out were only raspy breaths. The warm sun beat upon them, but her body only grew colder. Her legs kicked violently at the ground, searching for some foothold on life. The arm he had been holding fell away. Then, with one final breath, the moving ceased entirely. She had passed away there in his arms. The color had faded from her eyes. All around him the world was oblivious to the horrific scene that had played out. He knew this was his future.

  The only thing left for Trent to do was wait. He looked out at the blue clump he’d tossed carelessly into the moss. Now instead of a solid field of yellow, patches of brown led to the final resting position of the clump. Around it was a ring of brown. Trent couldn’t help but laugh. The stuff all around him really did kill off the moss. It was too late for any of them now. He closed his eyes and sat awaiting his fate. Soon enough he would start coughing and it would all be over.

  Trent sat running his fingers through Sophie’s soft hair. Time seemed to be going by so slowly. He wished it would take him already. Deciding that the waiting wasn’t worth it, Trent moved Sophie’s limp body aside. Seeing it lying there motionless, staring at him, was devastating. It had all happened so fast. He closed her eyes, and rested her on her back. With a final kiss on her cold forehead, He walked towards the yellow moss hoping to end things as quickly as possible. He stopped at the edge of what was left of the forest and stared at her body one last time. She looked so peaceful. In a matter of minutes there would be nothing left of her. “I’m coming everyone,” he said, walking into the yellow moss barrier. There he laid down and breathed deeply. It was only a matter of time now.

  The longer he waited the more he began to question why he felt so good. The sun rose higher yet no symptoms showed. It was in that moment he remembered his first trip into the forest. The blue masses on the net had broken when he fell. The nasty taste returned to his memory. It all became clear. The juice had gotten into his system and provided some kind of immunity. He began sobbing uncontrollably knowing that, despite everything, he was now the only one left. For whatever reason Trent had been spared from the destruction caused by the god of war’s servant.

  FRANK

  Mission control was like a ghost town. The crew were out preparing for the media circus that would ensue once the Phoenix VII was discovered. Frank stared up at a large screen filled with twinkling stars. The satellite had been equipped with a telescope capable of viewing the ship in detail. They had to position it as close to the sun as it could safely allow, for the communication antenna to function. Until it reached the optimal position, the view remained locked onto a random set of stars. Once they were ready to start collecting data, the boosters would kick in and turn the satellite towards the ship. A large countdown clock indicated that it was just under and hour till go time.

  There were so many what ifs to answer surrounding the ship’s condition that it would take a full week to process all the information and come up with a clear plan. What if the crew died after they found the signal? What if the crew survived, but the ship was venting atmosphere slowly? What if the crew is running out of food and water? What if the radiation from the sun is making them sick? What if they are out of fuel? The list never seemed to end.

  Frank pulled his glasses off and held them loosely in one hand by the arm. The earpiece fit comfortably between his front teeth. He was nervous to say the least. They had invested so much money into this operation, that if they didn’t show positive results, he would be without a job for good this time.

  The first one to break the silence was Daniel. He looked like a vagrant with his disheveled hair, and rugged beard with crumbs lodged inside. The bags under his eyes were so dark they could be mistaken for a bad makeup job. He seemed incapable of getting comfortable as he came into the room, first trying to sit in his chair, spinning back and forth while shuffling through his papers, then getting up and walking over to the vending machine not to buy anything but just to stare inside. Seemingly unsatisfied with the view, he transitioned to the front of the room and flipped through the different satellite information diagrams.

  Frank felt bad for him. After the loss of Addison he just wasn’t the same. The higher ups had discussed dismissal as a possibility, but Frank had convinced them he was still invaluable to the team. He needed to think of something to help distract his friend for the next forty or so minutes.

  “Hey Daniel, can you do me a favor and go get my cell phone from my office.”

  “Uh, yeah, sure.” Daniel shuffled out of the room. On the way out he stopped in the doorway, “Where did you leave it?”

  “I’m thinking its in one of my desk drawers.”

  “Ok, I’ll be right back.”

  The silence was back. Despite the lack of people, the computers were working at max capacity to ensure every detail was taken care of. The clock reached thirty minutes. It was time to call back the others. Frank picked up the phone and dialed into the intercom system.

  “All staff of the Seeker mission please return to mission control immediately.”

  He placed his glasses back on, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and tucked his shirt back in. It was game time. He set to work prepping his computer.

  The team slowly trickled in, some without saying a word headed immediately to their stations, others were chatting amongst themselves, and a few who were thanking Frank for rescuing them from the carnivorous reporters. By the time they finished settling in the countdown was at five minutes. Daniel still wasn’t back.

  “Caleb can you take over for me? I’ll be right back.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Feeling satisfied that he could leave the team in capable hands for a minute, he made his way down the brightly lit hall. The door to his office was wide open. Daniel sat inside pulling drawers in and out in an act of insanity.

  “Oh hey, you’re here…that good, because I can’t find it. You sure it’s in here?”

  “Well, I mean it’s not in my pockets.” He pretended not to know where the phone was while he tapped his front pocket. “Never mind.” He reached in and pulled it out. “It’s right here. Not really sure how I missed it. Let’s get back to the control room. It should be time.”

  They walked back just in time to see the last few seconds tick off the timer.

  “The telescope is ready to turn, sir.” Pam was aw
aiting his orders.

  Frank looked at Daniel. “You ready for this?”

  “Are you kidding me right now?”

  “You heard him, go for it.”

  The view on the screen shifted as stars drifted across the screen. They watched with bated breath. Suddenly something strange came into view. Rather than a metallic spaceship, they saw Earth but it seemed different. The oceans were still a deep blue, and white clouds swirled along the balls surface, yet where green swaths of trees adorned the land on Earth this planet had a bizarre mixture of fall colors all weaved together. There seemed to be three separate land masses on the side facing the sun. Here on the far side of the sun, completely hidden away from human eyes, floated Earth’s true twin. Born to forever chase it’s sibling, the two were locked in an eternal dance.

  “What the?” Frank couldn’t believe his eyes. The whole room was a buzz. He could barely hear his own thoughts over the comotion. Everyone seemed to be experiencing varying levels of disbelief. “Everyone, please quiet down for a moment.”

  All of his efforts were in vain, but he couldn’t blame them for their bewilderment. He, himself, had no idea how exactly to handle the situation. He took to the front of the room, and hollard out at the top of his lungs, “Attention.” No one paid him any mind.

  “Everyone shut up form a sec.” A deep authoritative voice commanded. It managed to superceded all of the chatter. Silence fell over the room.

  “Thank you, Daniel. Now I know this is the most…the greatest find…well ever. But we need to remember why we’re looking here in the first place. We’re looking for our cew from the Phoenix VII.”

  He pointed to the screen. “According to their last signal this is where they should be. I want to find out everything we can about this planet. Forward all the Data we collect onto Julie, and then take an hour to get this out of your system so we can all get back to work. There could be lives at stake. For now I have to ask you not to tell anyone outside of this group.”

  The keyboards sprang to life. There was a series of hurried clicks and people started exiting the room one by one. Frank stayed behind just to stare at the image. He was completely perplexed by the prospect of another possible life bearing planet. Just then a small object passed by the planet. Could it be the ship? Frank rushed over to the nearest computer and pulled up the feed. It just so happened that NASA recorded all of their satellite feeds. He pulled up the video and backed it up. There it was again. He slowed the playback down to a tenth of the speed. It tracked across the planet and lit up in the sun.