Logic's End

by Keith Robinson

  Its enemy defeated, Rysth-nuul prepared to rise but was suddenly forced to throw itself back to the ground as a stream of fire passed over its head. The snake alien followed the stream to its source only to find that it was not the intended victim of the attack after all.

  Ch'ran and one of the flaming Ryazan were caught in what looked like some sort of acrobatic dance. Both creatures dove and leapt, trying to work their way inside the other's defenses. The burning alien shot jets of flame at its opponent from its outstretched fingertips, narrowly missing each time as Ch'ran dodged skillfully. With every attack, the armadillo alien drew one step closer to its opponent, biding its time until just the right moment when it could deal the killing blow with its poison-tipped tail.

  Rysth-nuul slithered silently closer to the two, all the while avoiding the wild tongues of fire that shot out in all directions in pursuit of the nimble Ch'ran. When it was finally in range, Rysth-nuul whipped out its long tail toward the Ryazan. At the last instant, the flaming creature sensed the danger and dodged dexterously to the side. But that moment of distraction was all Ch'ran needed. Letting out a screech of triumph, it leapt at its foe. Ignoring the flames, Ch'ran dug its claws into the alien to secure itself and then thrust its razor-sharp tail into its undefended flank. The burning attacker crumpled to the ground, ending its dance and its life.

  Meanwhile, Sikaris braced itself as two of the Ryazan charged toward it, claws extended. Waiting until the last moment, the feline alien sprang into action. Leaping to one side to avoid the attack from the first fire rat, Sikaris dropped the second one unconscious with an earsplitting sonic roar. The first Ryazan quickly recovered from its failed attack and hurled itself once more at its prey. This time, instead of avoiding the lunge, Sikaris fell backward, kicking out with its legs. The kick connected squarely with the alien's torso, sending it flying over Sikaris's head to smash into the side of the mountain with a bone-crushing thud. Instantly back on all fours, the alien leader finished off its two stunned attackers in a matter of seconds.

  Now free of enemies, Sikaris looked around to see how the others were faring. About thirty feet to its right, Tarrsk had climbed the vertical mountain face and was raining deadly pellets down on its enemy below. Yet, even as Sikaris watched, flaming liquid sprayed upward from the rat alien's outstretched claws, dislodging Tarrsk from its perch. Running toward the skirmish, Sikaris sent sonic roars in the small creature's direction, hoping to, at least, distract it long enough for Tarrsk to recover. Although the condensed sound waves did not connect directly with the alien's aural receptors, they did, however, cause the creature to stumble back.

  But it wouldn't be enough, Sikaris knew. The fire rat was back on its feet, its claws extended once again toward Tarrsk, eager for the kill. Suddenly, three dart-like feathers flew from the sky, slicing through part of the Ryazan's arms and torso and causing the creature to fall backward and howl in pain. As it glared balefully up at Kyen'tir, Tarrsk recovered and took full advantage of its opponent's distraction.

  Not even taking the time to get to its feet, Tarrsk aimed its two tentacles at its attacker and opened fire. The twin spurts of rock-like shrapnel tore into the creature's body like razors, ending its life.

  At that moment, a bellow of rage and pain split the air. Several yards farther down the path from where Sikaris now stood, Lohgar lay on its back, a flaming Ryazan sitting atop it. The ape alien held the wrists of its attacker as bursts of flaming liquid shot out of the tips of the creature's claws, singeing the fur on Lohgar's face and neck. Up to this point, Lohgar had been successful in keeping the liquid-spewing claws away from its own body, but Sikaris could see that the fire was already beginning to take its toll on the ape alien's strength. Lohgar let out another bellow of pain as the flames from the Ryazan began to heat up the metallic armor and burn the scaly flesh beneath it.

  Before Sikaris could react, Lohgar managed to move the third arm on its back out from under its body. Raising the pistol held in its claw toward the Ryazan, it pulled the trigger at point-blank range, sending the lifeless body of the rat alien flying backward to the ground.

  Reaching Lohgar's side, Sikaris helped it to its feet. "Where are the rest?" it said to the remainder of the group. "I thought there were more than this."

  Kyen'tir, still aloft and circling, replied first, "I killed two as they were climbing up the side of the mountain, but I do not know what happened to the five that were chasing you and Rebecca."

  Sikaris narrowed its eyes. "Kyen'tir, see if you can find them. Let us grab our equipment and go. The transport is almost here. Once it reaches the mountain, we will be greatly outnumbered." As if to punctuate its words, a booming crack echoed off the walls of the mountain, followed a moment later by an explosion not more than fifteen feet over their heads that rained down dirt and rocks on them for several seconds. After the dust had cleared, they looked over the cliff to see several dozen more Ryazan exiting the transport and beginning to climb toward them. The mere sight of the new attackers immediately prodded the motley group of aliens into action. Picking up their supply packs, they began running at full speed up the winding path.

  Rebecca, who had been catching glimpses of the battle as she followed Prin and Jorylk up the trail, returned her attention fully to her own predicament as Prin spoke into its commlink. "Sikaris, we found the cave entrance about seventy-five yards up the path from your position. We—"

  The ferret alien stopped in midsentence and reached for its gun, but it was too late. A stream of oily liquid splashed across its chest. An instant later, Rebecca saw four of the small fire rats leap up from below and land on the path. Igniting themselves on fire, they lunged forward: one throwing itself on Prin, who stood closest to the edge, and the other three charging toward Jorylk.

  The leaping creature knocked the alien scientist to the ground, the flames that licked across its body spreading rapidly onto Prin's oil-soaked Dakkar-nil armor. Whether the other three Ryazan had not yet seen her near the cave entrance or were too busy attacking the larger enemy, Rebecca was left unchallenged. Taking advantage of that oversight, she thrust her hand into her pocket and produced her gun. Pausing just long enough to make sure she had an accurate shot, she fired several shots at the flaming alien on top of Prin.

  The creature screamed in pain and dropped sideways onto the ground, its body going limp. With its attacker's weight no longer hindering it, Prin began writhing in pain as the fire ate ravenously into its scale-like flesh. After several seconds of struggling, Prin managed to extricate itself from the burning pieces of armor and put out the remaining flames tenaciously clinging to its fur.

  A ferocious howl of rage suddenly caused Rebecca to turn her attention away from her wounded companion and toward the spiked giant, who was fighting for its life. Jorylk was holding one of the burning creatures by the throat, and with a mighty heave, it sent the doomed rat alien plummeting down the side of the mountain. A second Ryazan, seeing an opening in its foes defenses, jumped up and landed on Jorylk's chest. But just as the creature was about to spread its burning fluid over the body of its victim, Jorylk did something the alien had not anticipated. Instead of fighting to remove the rat alien from its chest, Jorylk threw itself forward onto the ground, using its weight to drive the spikes on its body into its attacker.

  Jorylk's abrupt move had an unexpected secondary effect as well: a third Ryazan, standing directly behind the spiked alien sent a stream of fire shooting forward at the same moment that Jorylk threw itself onto the ground, causing the fire to sail over the now prone form, narrowly missing it. The giant alien, suddenly realizing the new danger, quickly turned its body sideways and began rolling toward the new threat, catching the creature off guard. Like a steamroller, Jorylk rolled its body over its attacker, crushing the life out of it.

  Its foes vanquished, Jorylk stood to its feet and let out a feral howl of rage. Whirling around in search of new enemies, its gaze fell upon Rebecca standing near Prin's fallen form. Its mind clouded by its
berserker rage, it howled once again, its mouth foaming.

  Prin, recognizing madness in its companion's eyes, shouted the creature's name in an attempt to halt its attack. "Jorylk! Stop! Jorylk!" Its efforts proved futile, however. The maddened alien lunged forward, intent on their destruction. Prin and Rebecca simultaneously leapt in opposite directions, momentarily confusing it and causing it to miss both of them with its massive spiked arms.

  Dropping into a crouch, Rebecca quickly sent several shots toward the creature, but deliberately missed. As the enraged being turned her way, she shouted to Prin, "Shock his abdomen! Now!" Without hesitation, Prin launched itself toward Jorylk's back. Reaching its double right forearms carefully around the spiked alien's waist, Prin released a jolt of electricity into its stomach. Immediately, the creature doubled over in pain and fell to the ground.

  They sat motionless for several seconds, breathing heavily. Finally, Prin ventured to speak to the downed figure. "Jorylk, it is Prin. Do you know me?"

  Slowly, the giant alien nodded in affirmation. Relieved that their companion had returned to its senses, Prin hobbled over to the edge of the cliff to make sure that there were no more Ryazans coming up the side of the mountain.

  Suddenly, another loud crack of cannon fire was heard from below followed once again by an accompanying explosion. The missile from the Ryazan transport hit the side of the mountain just below the cave entrance, the resulting impact knocking both Prin and Rebecca from their feet.

  "That was close, yes, yes," Prin said, stating the obvious. Regaining its feet, it called out to the others, who were still thirty yards from the cave. "Quickly. The Ryazans are halfway up the mountain!"

  "Sikaris, I will try to keep them busy for a little longer, but I have almost used up all of my spare feathers," Kyen'tir said as it began to circle around to head back down the path.

  However, just as the winged reptile had finished its aerial maneuver, another shot from the transport shook the mountainside, splitting it and sending chunks of rock hurling down upon them. Kyen'tir, caught in the middle of the explosion, was struck several times by sharp fragments of stone that sent it plummeting toward the ground with the rest of the small avalanche.

  Rysth-nuul, Tarrsk, and Ch'ran dove forward and narrowly escaped being entombed with Kyen'tir under the massive pile of earth and stone. Sikaris and Lohgar, being at the rear of the group, were forced to retreat back down the path. Tons of rubble struck the path, shaking the earth beneath them and sending up huge plumes of dust and dirt into the air. It took several minutes for the avalanche to settle enough for the group of aliens to stand.

  "Blocked!" Lohgar howled in frustration after observing the damage. "Now what do we do?"

  Before Sikaris could reply, a triumphant screech arose from behind. Turning to look, they saw several dozen of the small creatures hurling toward them with reckless abandon.

  Rebecca and the others watched helplessly from their vantage point at the cave mouth. After a moment, Tarrsk spoke its thoughts aloud. "They are going to die. Let us go now. We will have more of a head start that way."

  "I agree," Rysth-nuul hissed. "But which way? I do not want to face the Modir. I would rather take my chances outside the mountain. The Ryazans are busy with Sikaris and Lohgar, and the path is blocked. I say we go around our original way."

  "Yes. I think we can find cover a little farther up—" Tarrsk began.

  "Look!" Prin suddenly shouted, abruptly cutting off any further discussion. A lone Ryazan had somehow worked its way up the mountain and now stood directly above Sikaris and Lohgar, poised to strike. Before Prin could call out a warning, the rat creature dropped from above, landing directly atop Lohgar. Instantly, the ape alien was doused in oily liquid from head to toe. A split second later, Lohgar screamed in pain as its body became a living torch.

  Sikaris turned quickly to help its burning companion, but Lohgar, desperate to quench the flames, dropped to the ground and rolled madly. Before Sikaris could stop it, Lohgar rolled too close to the precipice and tumbled off the edge, screaming from pain and fear.

  As Loghar's cries faded away, Sikaris turned to face the single Ryazan who had sprung to safety on the ledge. Now wreathed in flames, it moved to attack. Sikaris feigned to the left and then dove back to the right, avoiding the creature's stream of burning liquid. Rolling quickly on the ground toward it, Sikaris pivoted its body and kicked out with its muscular legs, sending the Ryazan flying out several feet over the edge before it fell to its death.

  Even as Sikaris regained its footing, though, several more streams of fire lanced out toward it from the horde of Ryazan, now only a few dozen feet away. The large feline alien backed up toward the side of the mountain, seemingly trapped. Then with a great heave, Sikaris broke into a run and threw itself off the path, jets of fire shooting after it in its wake.

  The Grinathian leader spread its arms and legs wide, catching the air currents in its skinfolds. Once its flight was stabilized, it turned back toward the mountain and cave.

  "He's lost too much altitude," Rebecca noted with concern. "He's not going to make it."

  She had barely finished speaking when Sikaris slammed into the nearly vertical side of the mountain twenty feet below them. The reptilian feline scrambled for purchase as its body began sliding downward. Finally, its claws grabbed onto a large outcropping, halting its descent.

  Prin immediately began rummaging through one of the packs. Producing a length of rope, the alien scientist uncoiled it rapidly.

  The attacks from the transport, which had temporarily ceased as the mob of Ryazan grew closer, suddenly began again with renewed fury. Projectiles pounded into the mountainside, threatening to dislodge more of the tough rock and stone.

  Prin quickly threw the rope down to Sikaris as rocks fell around them. The Grinathian leader looped the rope over its torso and, with the help of Prin and the others, slowly began to climb up the cliff face.

  Then just as Sikaris cleared the edge, a tremendous roar, like that of a thousand stampeding horses, filled their ears. Looking up, they watched as half of the mountainside seemed to be sliding down toward them. Reacting instantly, the group threw themselves inside the entrance of the cave as the mountain seemed to land on top of them.

  12

  Jorylk's Condition

  REBECCA LOST all sense of time as she lay on the cold hard stone in the dark recess of the mountain. Finally, after the avalanche had settled, her ears began to pick up a faint scuffling sound. The darkness, combined with the fear of the unknown, sent her reaching for her pistol. She was about to call out for the others when Sikaris's voice broke through the stillness.

  "Say your name if you are conscious."

  In turn, each of the other five surviving aliens spoke their names, with Jorylk's sounding more like a painful grunt. Waiting until last, Rebecca offered hers. Not detecting any trace of fear in their voices, Rebecca relaxed and felt the adrenaline slowly ebb from her body, leaving her weak and exhausted.

  Suddenly, a blinding shaft of light pierced the darkness. After a moment of adjustment to the newfound luminosity, Rebecca could distinguish the dark forms of the others lying on the ground, one of them holding the flashlight responsible for the brilliance.

  A moment later, several more lights shone forth as the others removed flashlights and electronic lanterns from their gear. Soon the entire area was lit comfortably with the exception of the back of the cave, which stretched into darkness like a cold, dank well.

  "I did not know Ryazan were that persistent," Prin said to the others as it brushed dirt and dust out of its fine yellow-brown fur.

  "That is because they are not," Tarrsk replied. "Hunting must be very bad lately for them to become that desperate."

  "This is very, very good," Rysth-nuul said, its tone oozing sarcasm. "Look at this. The entire cave entrance is buried. We are as good as dead."

  The others stared at the pile of rubble, none offering a counterargument to their companion's observation. />
  "I am so tired of this!" Rysth-nuul continued, its anger boiling over. "First, the Mrdangam and then the Ryazan. Now we are going to end up enslaved or eaten for sure by the Modir or the Gorz. I have had enough. It is over."

  As Rebecca watched, Rysth-nuul peeled back a small section of scales on its left wrist and withdrew a tiny vial containing a dark liquid. Popping the attached top off with its thumb, it began to raise the vial toward its lips.

  With lightning-fast reflexes, Sikaris's claw shot forward and stopped Rysth-nuul's hand mere centimeters from its destination.

  "Do not do this, Rysth-nuul," it said in a low and serious voice. "We need you."

  The snake alien stood momentarily still like a stone statue, its arm still held firmly by Sikaris. In a throaty rasp, it replied, "I will not be made into a slave again. Not by the Modir or anyone else. You know we will die. Do not lie to us."

  "I agree with Rysth-nuul," Tarrsk said, stepping closer to where the two aliens faced off. "We are trapped. The only way out is down there, inside the mountain, in the heart of Clan Modir! We are going to end up dead like Kyen'tir, Lohgar, and the others." As it spoke, it unconsciously scratched at its torso just below its mouth, causing large flakes of white diseased scales to fall to the cave floor.

  "No, not like the others." Ch'ran's irritating screech rose from behind them. "They were crushed and burned alive. We will probably be gassed by the Modir or eaten alive piece by piece by the Gorz!"

  Sikaris shot a searing look at the three-foot alien, causing Ch'ran's expression to become one of feigned hurt.

  "What?" Ch'ran asked. "I was only stating a fact. Besides, I am with you, Sikaris. Nix has already told me that I will not die inside this mountain, so what are we waiting for?"