Frostarc

by Arthur McMahon

  "I didn't know where I was going. I changed my name. I made it impossible for her or anyone else to follow my tracks, and no one ever found me in the last ten years I've spent on this block of ice.

  “That's why I couldn't tell anyone about my past. I couldn't tell anyone because I didn't want to risk Priscilla's safety. But now I am telling you, my friends, the first people I have ever truly trusted since I came to this world, because this infection has changed all the rules, because you all have made me a better person, and because I need to get off this planet and go to Erde to find my Priscilla and protect her from whatever the hell is going on. I need to make sure my Priscilla is alright, I need to find her again, and I have to make sure she is safe. That is my story, my story that I have kept inside for too long, my story that has eaten away at my heart.”

  Kozz was hunched over the edge of his bed, elbows resting on his knees. A small puddle of tears soaked into the concrete floor beneath him.

  Caleb left his seat and sat next to Kozz. Everyone else remained quiet, not knowing what to say to the man who had broken his ten-year silence.

  Jammer shuffled his feet. The man he used to know like the back of his hand was now almost a complete stranger. His personality was the same as ever, but a lot had happened to the both of them in the twenty years they had been apart. “I saw her,” he said.

  Kozz lifted his head. His eyes and face were not red because he was not sobbing, he had simply let the tears fall without hindrance. “What was that?” Everyone else in the room looked at Kozz and followed his gaze over to Jammer.

  “Priscilla,” said Jammer. “We came across each other something like five years ago. We didn't talk for long, you know I never really knew her since it was about the time you met her that you stopped hanging around, but we sure as hell recognized each other.”

  “Where...” asked Kozz, “how was she?”

  “She was doing good, man. Priscilla left the senate offices and was working on some space vessel collecting intel on something. She was a numbers runner, doing some kind of work for the government. She said she just had to get away from Erde.

  “Anyway, I thought I would see your ugly face again since I ran into her, but she started asking me about you. I told her I didn't know anything, that I thought you ran off with her. Then she told me about Jacob, and that you had to leave. I had no idea about the Enforcer stuff, she didn't let any important information slip, she just told me that she had been trying to find you for years and hadn't come across a single lead. You're definitely a sneaky motherfucker.

  “That was about all we shared. She was so disheartened that I didn't know where you were. Hindsight. Now I can see the glimmer of hope that shined in her eyes when she first recognized my face. I wish I had something to tell her, at least a hint of a direction you were in.”

  Kozz's eyes had dried and hardened into something fierce and committed. “She's alive.”

  “Well like I said, that was five years ago. I mean, with everything that's going on right now—”

  “She's alive,” Kozz said again. “I know she is.” Kozz met his old friend's eyes. “I have to get off this planet. Now.”

  “Well, rest yourself for the night and I'll see what I can do,” said Jammer. “You don't still have any of your Enforcer credentials, do you?”

  “I still have my voided badge. It's endorsed by the Presider himself. No name, no picture, but it's clearance code used to get me access to any room or ship in the Cooperation. Even voided it should still hold some weight.”

  “Good,” said Jammer. “That'll make things easier. I know that one of our medical barges is leaving for Erde tomorrow to bring the comatose to a better equipped research facility. I'll talk to some people and get you clearance.”

  “I owe you more then I could ever repay,” said Kozz. “Thank you for doing this for me.”

  “Think nothing of it, but you do own me big.” They both smiled.

  “Caleb and I were thinking of heading to Erde as well,” said Luciele. “Do you know if it's any better there? And is there any way for us to get there?”

  “Well,” said Jammer, “the crisis is just as rampant there as it is here. It's spread across all of our civilizations. The death toll is higher on Erde, but that's only because the population is so immense. Though, from what I've heard, the military response was much quicker and more efficient than on these fringe worlds. They have more forces to control the outbreaks and more supplies to care for the refugees. You might fare better on Erde than here on Frostarc. I've even heard rumors that the Presider might call in the populaces of the outer worlds to Erde in order to pool our resources and save as many lives as possible.”

  “The death tolls are that bad?” said Kozz.

  “Not yet, but we still don't know how to prevent people from becoming infected. The numbers are climbing and we're slowly running out of the manpower to keep our cities running. We may not be able to provide aid to the fringe worlds indefinitely.”

  “Then we shouldn't stay here on Frostarc, should we?” asked Caleb.

  “Well it's all just rumors for now, but it could really happen at any time. I'm losing soldiers every day to the infection. It'll be safer for you where there are more soldiers to protect you. I can't get you on the medical barge with Kozz, but there is a passenger barge heading to Erde later in the week. We're already bringing people to Erde in mass quantities, so maybe the rumors are more truth than fiction. The barge will fill up quick, but I can make sure you get on.”

  “That's what we'll do then,” said Luciele. “I just don't think it's safe enough here for us, even in the city. I think my sisters are on Erde. Maybe fate will give us another chance to be a family again. Thank you, Jammer.”

  “What about Kelly and Richard then?” asked Caleb.

  The young couple had been silent ever since Kozz started telling his story. They appreciated their new friends, but did not feel a part of their close-knit relationship. They had fought together and survived together, but Kelly and Richard knew that they had their own path to take. They looked into each other's eyes and held a silent conversation in that short moment. They knew what they had to do.

  “We're still going to head to Quartz,” said Kelly.

  “Our families need us,” said Richard. “We've got to find them.”

  "We love you guys." Kelly grabbed Richard's hand. "But Richey and I have to go our own way. We knew this was what we had to do, even before we met you kind folks."

  “Quartz is a dangerous place right now,” said Jammer. “I just sent a battalion of soldiers over to aid them in their efforts. The gangs are under as good of control as here, but the infected are tearing the place apart. It's chaos.”

  “But that's where we need to go,” said Kelly. “I'm sorry that we have to leave you, Caleb, but it's what we must do.” Kelly hugged the boy.

  “Yeah man,” said Richard. “You guys are great, but you understand. We have to find them.”

  “We understand,” said Luciele, “and Caleb will in time.”

  “No, I understand,” said Caleb. “You have to help them. You have to save them. I just wish we were all going to the same place.”

  “Well I'm gonna go start contacting some people,” said Jammer. “You all make sure to get some rest tonight. I'll see you in the morning.”

  They stayed up late reminiscing about the adventure they had shared. That night would be the last night they spent together on Frostarc. Kozz was going to leave the next day to Erde, and Richard and Kelly would be looking for a way to Quartz. Kozz told stories of his past and everyone was most interested in his time as an Enforcer. He told them about his journeys along the four inhabited worlds of the human universe and shared stories about their dark undergrounds. They sat in a circle like they had around their campfires as Kozz told his tales.

  Caleb fell asleep at Kozz's side. Luciele let him rest for a bit the way he was before bringing him to his bed and calling it a night. Richard and Kelly prodded Kozz for awhile
longer before growing tired themselves. Kozz was the last awake, as usual, and for awhile he watched over his friends as they slept. He had learned more about himself in recent weeks than he had let himself in the ten years he lived on this planet. The friends he had fought for and survived beside had become his family, something he had abandoned years ago, and he knew that they all thought he was the strong one of their group, but inside he always felt that he was the weakest. He had failed to protect so many, but they did not see him that way. They always looked to him for strength and courage when he felt like he had none, but what they did not know was that they gave him his strength. He had run away and hid for a decade, and it was not until they had walked into his life that he had felt brave again, that he felt strong and alive again.

  They had all changed him for the better. Kozz rested in his bed, thinking of how much he was going to miss them all, until exhaustion dragged him to sleep.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Flight

  “Your ride leaves in three hours,” said Jammer. He found Kozz and the others in the mess hall. Hundreds of tables and benches were filled with soldiers scarfing down their meals before heading out to their duties. “Sorry I couldn't give you any more warning, bro, but you're in. Just show them your badge at the gate. They'll be expecting you.”

  That was sooner than Kozz had expected, but he was ready to leave as soon as possible. Kozz caught Caleb's eyes as the boy put his fork down, the child looked like he had suddenly lost his appetite.

  “And you two kids,” Jammer said, looking at Richard and Kelly. “I have a supply convoy moving out to Quartz in a few days. There's room aboard if you can wait that long.”

  Everyone was thanking Jammer for his kindness, but Caleb could not help feeling a little resentment towards the man. Jammer was making it too easy for all of his friends to split up and go in separate directions. Why couldn't he just wait a little while? thought Caleb, and why couldn't Kozz wait a few days and come with us to Erde instead of going by himself? He understood the reasons as to why everyone wanted to go their own ways in such a hurry, they had people they needed to make sure were safe, but he could not help feeling abandoned by them all. Almost everyone he knew was gone, and now his new friends were all leaving him. The only person who was staying with him was his mother. Caleb scooted down the bench to get close to his mother and he latched on to her with a tight squeeze. Luciele was surprised by the sudden affection. She put her arms around her son, knowing that he was upset.

  After breakfast Kozz grabbed his already packed belongings and began the trek to the medical barge that would be his home for the next three weeks as it made the journey to planet Erde. It was a bit of a walk to get to the ship and he wanted to make sure he did not miss his flight. Kozz bid farewell to his friend Jammer before leaving the military barracks. Jammer was on duty and could not escort his friend to the ship.

  “Thank you for everything, Jammer,” said Kozz. “We'll run into each other again, I'm sure. I'm not in hiding any longer.”

  “I'll find you, big man. You're not gonna run away as easily this time.”

  “Take care of my friends for me when I'm gone.”

  “I will man, don't worry. They can stay in my barracks until they're ready to leave and they'll have some guards to protect them while they're in my city.”

  “You've always been a good man,” said Kozz. “Even when we were kids and doing bad things, you were always a good man. Keep yourself alive.”

  “You do the same.”

  They shared a handshake and a hug before Kozz walked off. Jammer stayed behind as the rest of Kozz's friends followed him to his ship.

  The streets were heavily guarded and full of early morning traffic. It almost looked like the beginning of a regular work day in the city, but the broken windows and occasional outbreak of an infected was enough to keep the reality of the situation alive.

  The spaceport was a massive area on the edge of the city. A wall of tall skyscrapers were the border between the city itself and a vast emptiness that lay beyond. No buildings existed beyond the skyscrapers at this end of town because the strong pulses of energy emitted by the spaceships would obliterate anything beneath them. Empty fields were flattened under the massive ships, the grass itself crushed against the earth as the behemoths floated above. Pathways extended from the skyscrapers, giving access to the ships on various levels. One ship in particular nearly touched the ground, its height almost as tall as the two-hundred story skyscraper that served as its loading platform. The black hull was as wide as two of the largest city blocks in Port Town. “Sticks out like a sore thumb,” said Kozz. “Just like Jammer said it would.”

  Kozz and the others entered the skyscraper which served as the docking station for the ship Kozz would embark upon. The staff loading platform was on its roof, and that is where Jammer instructed Kozz to go. The building was unscathed by carnage around it, the outer glass remained unbroken, and inside crystalline statues adorned the floor and hung from the ceiling. The bottom floor was a grand display of light with its ceiling standing a hundred feet high and its walls of clear glass letting in unhindered sunlight from all directions. The sun's rays bounced through the crystalline structures, creating a beautiful brilliance throughout the entire lobby and giving life to the green gardens at all four corners of the floor.

  They entered one of the dozen elevators and were crammed into the small space with several other people, all pushing different buttons as they headed towards their own destinations within the building. The elevator shot up ten stories at a time, not stopping at any floor which did not end in a zero. The elevator halted its ascent several times as it emptied out its passengers until Kozz and the others were the only ones left. They flew up the remaining fifty stories at a high velocity and arrived at the rooftop.

  The elevator opened to large glass archways and a view of the medical barge which floated outside. Through the archways they could see dozens of other ships docked at other skyscrapers of varying heights. Nearly all of the ships were military, but none were as large as the medical barge. There sure must be a lot of comatose bodies in the belly of that ship, thought Kozz. The outermost edges of the archways met either end of the skyscraper. From such a height the city below looked like it should have, as if nothing had changed its usual ebb and flow.

  Caleb stuck his nose against the glass as he walked and observed as much as he could, amazed at all he could see from such an incredible height. He imagined how it would feel to be flying high up in an airship, soaring even higher than the Port Town skyscrapers. He jumped up and down, letting free the excitement that coursed through his veins. It felt right for him to be so high above everything else. Luciele, Richard, and Kelly succumbed to a sickening vertigo when they looked down at the streets and so they drifted towards the center of the archway.

  Kozz approached the security perimeter and turned to face his friends, putting his bags on the ground. The sudden realization of where they were slapped Caleb across the face. His skyward fantasies disappeared in an instant. The boy ran to his mother's side and sniveled into her leg.

  “It's not over little buddy,” said Kozz. “Just because I'm leaving doesn't mean it's forever.”

  “Will you...” Caleb cleared his throat as he pulled his face away from his mother's leg. He wiped his nose on her dress. “Will you wait for us on Erde?”

  Kozz's mouth opened to say something, but no words came out. Luciele noticed his hesitation.

  “Kozz has important things he has to do as soon as he arrives on Erde, sweetie,” said Luciele as she rubbed her son's head. “Our ship might not even be landing on the same side of the planet that Kozz will be on.”

  “I wish you didn't have to go,” said Caleb. “But I know you miss your wife and I know it's been a long long time since you saw her.”

  “It has been a long time,” said Kozz. “Thank you for understanding why I have to leave. This isn't goodbye. I'll find you once I have found my Priscilla.”


  “I'll be trying to find you the whole time!” said Caleb.

  “Good luck trying to catch me,” said Kozz. “I'm pretty darn quick.”

  “Yeah...”

  “What's the matter, Caleb?” said Kozz.

  “I just still feel bad about leaving everyone else in the camp behind and all the infected people that were killed. I just wanted to save everybody, but I guess I learned that you can't save everybody.” Caleb sighed. “I guess with you leaving it makes me think of it all because you saved me. I know you can do it, but now you're leaving and I guess people are gonna keep dying. I thought maybe when we got to Port Town you would find a way to help everyone.”

  Caleb's mood had shifted from innocent sadness to a mature acceptance of the situation. The boy had grown strong over the short time Kozz had known him. Kozz was aware of Caleb's desire to save people from the infection. Every time his friends fought with the infected Caleb had questioned why the sick people could not be saved.

  But it was not that simple. They had to fight to keep themselves alive. Kozz knew that perhaps he could have tried harder to save some of the unlucky fallen, but it was not his highest priority. He had other things to worry about such as protecting his friends and finding a ship to Erde. He desperately wanted to find his wife, but he also kept much of his plans secret from Caleb and the others— mostly because they were just wild ideas, but partly because he did not know if the young boy he had met back in Edgetown was strong enough to understand the scope of the chaos all of humanity was in. Caleb was once an innocent boy, easily brought to tears by a single mention or thought of his deceased father or grandmother. After experiencing all of the destruction and bloodshed that a massive war would have trouble garnering, the young boy had formed a hardened soul and had gained some control over his emotions. He knew the gravity of their situation. He was mature enough to understand.

  “That's another reason why I'm leaving,” said Kozz. It was time for him to let some of his wild ideas loose. “I want to figure out just what in the hell is going on, and I want to find a way to fix it. I should still be able to locate some of my old connections on Erde, and I know that once Presider Conway hears I'm back in town he's going to want to see me. I want to help the Presider and everyone else battle these demons that are haunting us.”