by Erica Rue
“He’s not a bullet, Dione. He could change directions at any time.”
“It’s better than nothing. Maybe he’s heading in a certain direction. I say we go for it.”
Dione stretched her legs while Zane worked. His speed was impressive, and just thirty minutes later, he had the coordinates. They were right on the river, just a little ways downstream.
“So he’s in the river? Should we follow the river then, or try to use the points we have to map a path?”
Zane was ignoring her, or thinking, while staring at his map.
“I think… he may be stopped there.” Zane pointed to a spot on the map.
“Why do you think that?” Dione did her best to hide the irritation from her voice, especially since she was trying this whole new thing where she listened to Zane, but old habits were hard to break.
“Pull up your map. Look at that area. The ping wasn’t exact, so we just know his approximate location. What do you see there?”
“The river,” Dione said. There were a few dark spots on the map. What did that symbol mean? She checked the legend and realized the point that Zane was making in a roundabout way. “Caves. You think he’s holed up in one of those caves.”
“He hasn’t gone that far from his original location. The Vens would have caught him by now, unless he found a way to hide. Or lost his manumed. That’s a possibility, too.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to check the caves, and if we can’t find him, we’ll use the river as a possible trajectory and follow it.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Zane and Dione climbed onto Canto and headed off toward the caves. Dione tried not to think about the tight, closed-in spaces they would have to search. The confines of the Calypso hadn’t felt like a space coffin. The ship filled her with a sense of freedom and possibility. Caves, though, were dark, small, and unpredictable. Who knew how big the next cavern would be? What if she got stuck and couldn’t make her way out, forward or backward? Dione shuddered. She would almost prefer to face another Ven than go spelunking.
When she realized she would probably have to do both, her stomach flipped in uneasy knots.
11. LITHIA
Lithia hated everyone and everything, especially noises and sunlight and whoever was banging on her door.
She forced her sleepy eyes open, but had no idea where she was or how she got there. She was still fully dressed, except for her shoes. She took in her surroundings. Simple furnishings, sparse. The pillow smelled like Brian. This must be his room.
Who did you think would take you in? Victoria? All those friends you made last night?
The knock sounded again. “Yeah, come in,” Lithia said.
Brian opened the door. He looked tired. There were dark circles under his eyes, and she imagined he had a headache, too. She had kissed him last night, that much she remembered. The dancing had also been pretty fun. The headache, though, was the all-too-real price to pay.
“We need to meet Victoria at breakfast. Here.” He tossed in some Ficaran clothes—loose knee-length shorts and a more fitted top.
Her current outfit was a mess. Between the fighting and the dancing and the partying, she was glad for a change of clothes. “No time for a shower?”
“No, sorry. We let you sleep too long. Come out when you’re ready.” He closed the door behind him.
We? Who else was here? Lithia dressed quickly, leaving her clothes in a pile on the floor. She opened the bedroom door and found herself in the center of a small apartment inside a pre-fabricated housing unit.
“Is there time for the bathroom at least?” There were probably communal kitchens and restrooms. That’s what colonizers would have had fifty years ago, right?
“On our way out,” he said.
He was handing a spoon to an old woman. She was bone thin.
“Ma, you need to eat. Please.”
“I’m fine. Not very hungry today. Why don’t you have it?” The woman pushed back the plate.
“I’ll have a ration at breakfast. This better be eaten by the time I get back.” Brian pushed the plate back toward her and kissed her forehead.
“Okay, honey.”
The old woman took a small bite, and when Lithia approached, she realized the woman was not as old as she appeared. In fact, she was probably in her forties. This was Brian’s mother. Her skeletal frame and features added a decade or two.
Brian looked to Lithia, and she saw something there she had never seen before. Vulnerability. So much emotion. His mother looked like she was dying.
“Come on,” he said. He didn’t even introduce her, but she didn’t blame him for that.
Lithia kept her voice soft as she followed him to wherever breakfast was. “What’s wrong with your mom?” Maybe it was cancer.
“Ever since my dad left, she hardly moves. She won’t eat unless Melanie or I force her. I don’t know. It wasn’t so bad at first, but it keeps getting worse.”
“Maybe she’s depressed. My cousin was never that bad, but for months she could barely get out of bed. Once my aunt got her on medication, she got a lot better. People don’t realize how serious it can be.”
“Well, we don’t have meds, and I can’t snap her out of it.” Brian didn’t look at her when he spoke.
That’s because you don’t just snap out of depression. Lithia kept her mouth shut, though. If they didn’t have the meds, she didn’t know what else might help. Homeopathy was not Lithia’s thing. Her parents were doctors, after all. Her aunt probably would have had some suggestions. Once this Ven nightmare was over, she would look into it and see if there was anything she could do.
***
Lithia was allowed to eat breakfast before the interrogation. Apparently her contributions to the fight last night had been enough to earn her a ration. By the looks on everyone’s faces, she wasn’t the only one feeling a little hungover this morning. Victoria, however, looked fully rested and properly hydrated.
The moment Lithia finished her bread and fruit, Victoria escorted her and Brian to her office.
“I hear you two had fun last night,” Victoria said. Lithia didn’t blush. She didn’t care what Victoria had heard. “I wanted to follow up on our conversation.”
“What conversation?” Lithia asked.
Victoria smiled so smugly that Lithia wanted to hit her. “I’m not surprised you don’t remember. You told me where the Regnator’s family sleeps.”
For a moment, Lithia felt guilty. She vaguely remembered talking to Victoria now.
“I’m sure I did, but it doesn’t matter.”
“And why’s that?” Victoria asked.
“Because we’ll probably all be dead before you can act on that intel.” Lithia might have forgotten about talking to Victoria, but not her conversation with Bel. “I want to tell you what I came here to say. You were gone yesterday when we got here.”
Victoria leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, but she didn’t say anything. Lithia was about to enter full truth mode.
“You call them demons, but the Venatorians are a race of aliens. Hundreds of them landed here just two days ago, and they’ve already attacked your settlement.”
“Nick filled me in,” she replied. “I don’t have much trouble believing that the Farmer lied to us when he called them demons, but we repelled them easily, and we’ll do it again. The Aratians are the true threat to our wellbeing, and I don’t need an outsider telling me what to do.”
Lithia was frustrated, and her head pounded. How could Victoria just believe the Vens were aliens with no push back, yet still believe they weren’t a threat? “Just think about it. How many Vens actually attacked last night? A few dozen, split into groups. They got inside your walls and caused havoc. This place is not safe.”
“This is our home. We’ll continue to defend it, from Aratians and Venatorians alike.”
“The Vens don’t want a truce. They don’t want to force their ideology on you. They want to kill every single one of you.”
“Please just listen to her,” Brian said.
“You need to evacuate your people. There is enough room at the Mountain Base, Temple, whatever,” Lithia said. “The Vens were just testing your defenses last night. It was a trial run. Tonight, they will attack in full force. Think about it. How many Vens did you actually kill? How much ammo did you go through? I assume you have a way of producing more, since you still have ammo after all this time, but between your raids and the Vens, will you have enough?”
Victoria’s clenched her jaw and stared at them. That meant no. They did not have a way to manufacture bullets. Lithia raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.
“The Vens are gone, but I’ll be taking added precautions before today’s raid.”
“You’re leaving again today?” Lithia raised her voice. “You can’t be that stupid! If you take the Flyers, everyone here will be screwed. At least evacuate some of the people too young or too old to fight.”
Victoria nodded to someone behind them. Lithia hadn’t heard anyone come in.
“Thank you for your concern, but we’ve got things under control,” Victoria said.
“I’m not staying here. The Vens are going to come tonight and kill us all.”
“I can’t let you leave. You know too much. In a few days, once we’ve taken over the Vale Temple, I may let you leave. Despite everything, I’ve been told what you did for my people during the attack. Don’t cause problems, and I’ll repay the debt by letting you go.”
“You’re sentencing us all to death,” Lithia said.
“And you’re being dramatic. Like so much of what the Farmer told us, these demons were a lie. He made them sound more dangerous than they are, all so he could seem more like a god. Last night proved that. We’ll take care of the Vens once the Aratians have been dealt with.”
“Victoria, please,” Brian began, but she cut him off.
“Enough. Colm, lock them up. The Cell.” A large, muscular man stood Lithia up. Another man did the same to Brian.
“Your people will die tonight if you do this,” Lithia said.
Victoria paused, her fingertips spread across her desk. “Is that a threat? Is your friend selling our secrets to the Aratians?”
“No! God, you’re such an idiot.” In a flash, Victoria was in her face. Lithia thought she was going to slap her. Instead, Victoria punched her in the gut. Lithia coughed. “You should try that on a Ven, see how many bones in your hand you break.”
She braced herself for the second punch, but it didn’t help much. She groaned and kept her mouth shut. Another hit and she’d probably vomit.
“Don’t overestimate my patience,” Victoria said. “Tomorrow morning, once we’ve returned, you’ll see.”
Tomorrow morning we’ll all be dead.
Colm took her manumed and Brian’s communicator, and led them upstairs to a room with nothing more than a window, a bathroom, and a metal-framed bed. Brian slammed a hand on the door as it closed and locked, but Lithia was already at the window. It looked down on the square below.
“At least we’ll have a good view,” she said. She could almost taste the bitterness in her own voice. People were out in the square, cleaning up from the night before. They seemed relaxed and happy. Or maybe it was just her imagination. “And a private bathroom. How luxurious.”
“That’s because we won’t be leaving here for days.” Brian looked defeated.
“You okay? I’m sure that people won’t think you actually deserve this. They must realize Victoria’s insane.”
“It’s not that,” Brian said. He was silent for another minute. “They’re going to die. They don’t have to, but they’ll die. We should have started taking people yesterday, one trip at a time. All Victoria can think about are those damn Aratians. Argh!”
He started banging on the door again, yelling at the guard to let him out. He was going to hurt himself at this rate. Lithia was trying to find the words to calm him down when two swift knocks from the other side of the door interrupted Brian’s rhythm.
“Brian, please. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Jared, you know me! If the Vens, the demons from last night, attack again, we’re all dead. Last night we barely withstood a few dozen. Tonight they’re coming back in full force.”
The guard, Jared, was not convinced. “Victoria’s left more of the weapons and experienced guards. She’s taking a smaller force this time. She’s only going to one of their larger farms tonight, not a Hub.”
“So there are still Flyers here?” Lithia said.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m not supposed to talk to you. Just stop struggling.”
She turned to Brian. “It sounds like she kind of listened to us.”
“But it won’t be enough, will it?” Brian said.
“If we can start evacuating people…”
At that moment, a small group of Flyers rumbled across the sky, heading north into Aratian territory. At least Victoria had considered the Ven threat. It wouldn’t be enough, but Lithia thought it was a sign of progress. She and Brian would have to figure out a way to escape and start the evacuation with as many people as possible. Some had to believe them. The people who were out fighting last night, they had to know how dangerous the Vens were. A few extra guns and experienced fighters would not be enough.
The shuttles, though. Those she could work with.
12. DIONE
“On the left,” Zane said.
Sure enough, when Dione looked, she saw the eerie bloom of an angler worm. Another point for Zane, bringing his score up to two. Even though it wasn’t the most exciting game, it did break up the monotony. Considering Brian had never seen one until a few days ago, it seemed strange that they had seen three in one morning. They were pretty deep into the woods by now. Maybe he hadn’t come this way before.
They were nearly to the spot where the professor had been just a few hours ago, according to the burst Zane had sent to his manumed.
They were still a good distance away from the coordinates, but they could already see they had a problem. Vens. They were patrolling the section of the river where the professor’s last known location was, but Dione saw no evidence of a cave.
“I guess this means he’s still here,” Zane said.
The Vens knew the professor was in the general area, but not his exact location. Maybe Zane was right, and the professor was still here somewhere.
Two Vens with scalloped edges along their plates, females, were down near the water’s edge. The river pooled in this area, the result of a natural dam that slowed its flow. The other two were on the opposite bank farther up, pacing, or searching, Dione didn’t know. They were females, too. One was painted with the same spiral design that was carved into Bel’s cheek.
It was all making sense.
“I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I think these are the mothers of the Vens we killed on the ship,” she said.
“Why do you say that?” Zane asked.
“These Vens have the same markings as the ones that boarded the Calypso. See that spiral? It’s the same design as on Bel’s cheek.” Dione knew he hadn’t forgotten that. She couldn’t remember all the other symbols, but the three nested rectangles looked familiar. The ones along the opposite ridge were far away and hard to see, but Dione thought she recognized the bisected triangle that one of the blue Vens had displayed, but she couldn’t make out or remember the other design.
“So the mothers of the Vens we killed are hunting the professor? Why not just kill him for revenge?” Zane said.
“I don’t think the Vens only like killing. This is about more than that.”
“Don’t like killing? Tell that to Bel.”
“No, I mean, the killing isn’t really the part they enjoy. They li
ke winning. They like to conquer. They might not see it as murder. What if it’s just about the victory to them?”
“Then why are four Vens hunting one man? I thought they liked challenges,” Zane said.
“If they are the mothers, maybe they couldn’t decide who would get to kill him, so they’re working together. That claim must override their normal rules.”
“Then why didn’t the adult Vens come over and attack when you and Professor Oberon killed the boarding party?”
Dione paused, thinking. She had often wondered why they hadn’t sent more Vens. At the time, she had been too occupied to worry about it, but afterward, it bothered her. She had come up with another idea.
“I think it was some initiation ritual, and they couldn’t interfere while the juveniles were attacking. We thought they were all dead when we boarded their ship, but the last one was still alive, stopping them from joining the fight.” She couldn’t prove any of this, and it would make for a weak scientific paper. Small sample size, not reproducible, and horribly biased and anecdotal, but she had to try and make sense of what she had experienced, even if her hypotheses only lasted until they were proven wrong by their next Ven encounter.
“And how does this intel help us?” Zane said.
“I don’t know,” Dione said. “Maybe we could find a tracking squirrel and set it on them. They run into the water and drown. They’re not strong swimmers, right?”
“Tracking squirrel?”
“Like a trained, aggressive skunk with the stink dial turned up to a thousand.”
“Huh. Any other animals around here that are maybe a little bigger and scarier than could distract them long enough for us to find the professor?”
“No, not that I’ve seen.” Dione hadn’t noticed or heard about many predators on Kepos. No big cats or bears or hippos. She would like to see a hippo crush a Ven’s insides through its plates, though, and she said that as someone who hated hippos.
No large animals. It was strange, really. You would expect terraformers to create a balanced ecosystem, complete with apex predators, something to keep the other animal populations in check. She supposed there were probably some predators around, like birds of prey or larger fish. There had to be some predators in the forest. Nothing had attacked them, except…