Devolose

by Alana Khan

  “Doc, are you coming with Tawny, Dev, and I? Show us where we’re going?”

  Seneca nods as he shoves his gun into one of his numerous pockets.

  I glance at Tawny from the corner of my eye. Sextus has equipped her with a holster and is fastening it around her tiny waist. I breathe deeply, clench my fists, and control my rising impulse to rush over and beat him to a pulp.

  I question my sanity at having left Tawny alone on a ship full of six lusty males while I hid in Thantose’s room. What does it matter? I’ll be gone forever by 1600.

  We’re on the ground in minimas. Sextus and Griff take off on the hunt before Tawny, Thantose, Doc, and I get our bearings. Young Destin strikes off on his own.

  Seneca’s coordinates from annums ago were accurate, and the Tranquility touched down within a mille of the waterfall. As we tramp through thick underbrush, I notice the perfect temperature and lack of humidity. Everything seems so calm on this planet.

  Tawny tries to walk next to me. Luckily we’re making our own trail and for a while, there is no way to walk two abreast. She lags behind, causing me to slow down. I don’t care how much I wish to avoid her, I can’t allow her to bring up the rear; it would put her in too vulnerable a position. We’re now twenty-five fiertos behind the others, the path barely wide enough for the two of us.

  “You haven’t talked to me in two days, Dev. How rude is it not to answer someone’s knock at your door? You can’t avoid me forever.”

  Well, yes, I can. But I don’t say it. I don’t want to go to my grave with her feeling guilty, like she didn’t do enough.

  “You’re right, Tawny. I suppose there were a lot of things I needed to come to terms with. It was rude of me. Unforgivable, really. I just...needed some time to myself. Perhaps I was worried about the outcome of our jaunt today. Whatever the cause, I’m sincerely sorry.” I spear her with a somber gaze, apologizing for so much more than she could fathom at this moment.

  She grabs my hand and looks up at me with a sweet gaze. “We’re a team, Dev. In the future don’t avoid me. Come to me. Tell me what’s wrong if you can. I can give you space if you need it. We’ve been through a lot. I might need space at some point, too.

  “I’ve passed the last two days with a bunch of males who’ve spent too much time in the company of other males...in outer space...with no females. I haven’t heard that much cussing, farting, or tall tales in all my life. I missed you, my friend.”

  I have a moment of insanity where I question my decision, wondering if I should back out of my plan and stay with Tawny. No. Bad idea. I’m like a heavy weight holding her back. I need to go forward with my scheme.

  Her hand feels small and warm in mine. She’s grasping me tightly as if I’m the most important thing to her and she doesn’t want to lose me.

  If only things were different, I would spend my life with her. I’d love her and care for her. I’d protect her and provide for her. But things aren’t different, and the way she’s looking at me, right this minima, like I’m the bravest, smartest, best-looking male in the galaxy is only because of the terror she experienced at my hands. Only because of that syndrome.

  I hear Doc and Thantose murmuring to each other up ahead. They’ve stopped and are staring. When we catch up with them I can see why. The falls are beautiful, breathtaking. It’s two falls, really. The mountain is wide and perhaps one-hundred-twenty fiertos tall.

  There’s a jagged peak at the top, and the water comes rushing off in gushes on either side of the apex. In the middle, there are perhaps ten fiertos with no water; you can clearly see the green, craggy rock of the wall behind it. The rest of the mountain is obscured by the veil of the turquoise-hued water flowing in two torrents to the pool at the bottom.

  Directly under the falls, the water is churning and forming whitecaps. However, only a few fiertos away, the pool is calm and still. It flows gently off into a slow-moving, meandering river.

  The doc’s face has a look of wonder. I imagine he’s remembering every moment of his sojourn here decades ago. He remembered it well—it really is paradise.

  If I wasn’t contemplating suicide, this scene would calm me. The beauty could almost heal one’s soul. But I lost my soul a long time ago, and I’m of no use to anyone now. It’s time to leave this plane of existence and let everyone move on without me.

  It’s the work of a moment to mentally pick my way toward the top of the mountain. I’ll tell everyone I’ll be fine, not to worry, I'm just having fun. I’ll climb to that spot, there, about halfway. It’s about fifty fiertos straight up. It will look believable for my foot to slip on the slimy, moss-covered rock. I’ll fall, and if the sharp rocks don’t kill me, the churning water down below certainly will. Poor Devolose! What a shame. Let’s say some words over his dead carcass and move on.

  Thantose and the doc have already shucked their clothes and are swimming from our side of the pool directly across toward the waterfall. They find a place that’s calm but near the spray of the falls. They’re treading water. Their bursts of laughter carry across the pool as loudly as if they were five fiertos away. The air is warm enough to enjoy a dip in the lake. Too bad I have to ruin their day.

  Tawny slips out of her leggings and holster, but keeps on her long top and panties. She looks like she was born to the water as she dives in and catches up to the two males in a few strokes.

  I put my gun on the ground, pull off my shirt, shuck my pants, and dive in as quickly as possible to hide my deformity. From whom, I don’t know.

  Gods! I haven’t swum in annums. Heaven. It’s the perfect temperature. It’s as if I’m being caressed, held, and yes, healed. I hold no illusions that this water will heal my flesh, but I do feel comforted and safe here.

  I glance over at Tawny and see an expression of awe on her face. I wonder if she feels it, too. I swim to her side in a few powerful strokes. Even though we’re close to the two males, the roar of the falls obliterates our words to anyone farther than three fiertos away.

  Tawny

  “I hate to sound like a gullible dolt, Dev, but...do you feel it? Like we’re in some church? It’s ridiculous, but it’s as if I’m being held in the hand of...I don’t know...God.”

  I suddenly realize how ridiculous I sound, and silently curse the medic. I think he set us up for this. My logical mind knows there’s nothing magical happening here. We’re just in a beautiful place with warm, peaceful water, and calm, azure skies. Ambient temp is maybe a perfect eighty-five degrees. The steady sound of the falls could lull you to sleep. It’s definitely a step up from a dungeon.

  I haven’t felt this level of calm since...perhaps ever. I have the feeling that everything will be okay, that all is right with the world, that nothing bad is going to happen. I feel warm and safe and am filled with a deep knowing that everything between Dev and I will work out, even though I’m getting an odd, detached vibe from him today.

  Dev and I float in the water for long minutes, holding hands, enjoying the peace. I don’t know who notices it first, but within two seconds of the disturbance, all four of us are scrambling toward each other, voices raised in shouts of panic.

  It started as a rumble. Like the planet was moving strangely, like a shift. The water in the huge pool is no longer placid but is splashing outside its boundaries in five-foot waves. Dev puts a strong arm around me and begins scissor kicking to the closest shore. It’s like going from the calmest lake to being dumped into the ocean during a category five hurricane.

  My senses are swamped in confusion. Fear races up my spine. I have no idea what’s happening, I just know I need to paddle to shore.

  I thought I was a strong swimmer, but thank God for Dev. I couldn’t have made it under my own power. I swallowed a gallon of water on the way and found my mind wondering about amoebas, bacteria, and dirt. What I should have been worrying about was breathing—or drowning.

  I have a chance to look over at Thantose and the doc. They’re struggling but kept up with us. A minute later, we
’re all splayed out on the muddy shore, desperately gasping for breath.

  Perhaps we all realize at the same time that the intense roar of the falls has now morphed into silence. Utter silence. The term “calm before the storm” passes through my mind right before I hear the screaming. Screaming is a funny description when it’s from far away. No matter how soft the noise is, somehow a little part in the back of your brain knows it’s urgent. I have no idea who’s making the noise, but I’m so terrified my lips and hands are trembling.

  “Come!” Dev shouts as he grabs my hand and pulls me toward the far side of the shore where our clothes are.

  We’re hurrying, but it’s less like running and more like slogging. The sloshing and the waves drenched the first twenty feet of the shore, and it’s a muddy bog. We’re hustling to grab our weapons, which we all dropped with our clothes when we arrived here and caught our first glimpse of “paradise.”

  I’m the last to arrive. I have mud starting to cake all the way up past my knees, but I’m not paying attention to my state of undress. I won’t feel comfortable until I have my gun in my hand.

  Now armed, we naturally put our backs together and look out in all directions, wanting to provide a semblance of protection for ourselves and each other.

  “See anything?” Dev asks with urgency.

  “No.”

  “Can anyone tell where the yelling is coming from?”

  “Maybe I’m crazy, but I thought I heard it from behind the waterfall,” I say, as every muscle in my body tightens. Some of the tension is from fear, some because the temperature has dropped maybe twenty degrees in the last ten minutes, and I’m wearing a soggy t-shirt and panties.

  We all fall quiet, straining to hear the noise, trying to discern which direction it’s coming from.

  “I think she’s right,” the doc says, motioning his chin toward the place where the falls used to be.

  “Holy fuck!” I say as I point to where the slow-flowing, meandering river had been when we arrived. I see a wall of water, maybe twenty feet tall, barreling at us from a quarter-mile away. Dev pulls my arm as we all run toward the mountain, away from the swift-moving onslaught of water that is rushing toward us.

  The mud is sucking me down with every step; my muscles are already quivering from overuse and frigid air. The back of my mind registers the temp has dropped maybe five more degrees. “Move!” Dev yells. “Looks like there are caves behind the falls.”

  I hope they’re deep, and I hope we can get there before we’re smashed to bits against the rocks.

  I focus on lifting my feet as swiftly as possible and getting to the tenuous safety waiting in the caves. I try not to wonder what cataclysmic event is happening to this planet that a river has reversed course and a waterfall quit flowing.

  In order to access the caves, we have to get back into the pool, which is now much shallower than when we began. Dev picks me up, holds me against his chest, and jumps in feet first. Our heads dip underwater and then we pop back up.

  “Let me go, Dev.” We’ll never get there with him carrying me. I’m a strong swimmer and focus on hand over hand over hand as I head behind where the curtain of the falls used to be. I refuse to feel my terror, or I’d be paralyzed with fear. Just make my way to safety—that’s my only goal.

  We reach the edge of the pool that butts up against the gaping maw of the cave. Dev, who has already pulled himself up onto the rocky shore, reaches down and hauls me up, then grabs my wrist and pulls me deeper into the cave system. I don’t see either Thantose or the doc. It’s every man for himself at this point. That wall of water is waiting for no one.

  Obviously, Dev has no idea where he’s going. He’s functioning on impulse, simply heading farther and farther from daylight. I’m hoping the water runs out of speed and capacity before we run out of the cave.

  “Dev, look up!” I’m panting so hard I’m surprised he heard me. We’re in a cavernous room with a high ceiling—maybe eighty-feet high. I don’t even have time to question my eyes when I see ancient steps hand-hewn into the wall. They rise all the way up toward the ceiling and end at what looks like an arched passageway that leads further into the wall of rock.

  “Steps!” I point. The problem is the steps start about nine feet off the ground. The sound of the onslaught of water is thunderous. It’s clear we don’t have much time. Dev pulls me to the steps, grabs me by the waist, and hefts me high enough to grab the bottom step.

  “Hurry, Tawny!” He yells.

  I see the water breach the yawning mouth of the cave. I use every ounce of upper body strength I possess and pull myself up so I’m crouched on the uneven surface of the first stone step. Finding an ancient crevice with one hand, I hold on for dear life and reach my other hand for his.

  He shakes his head, eyes wide in fright, “Run!” It’s an order.

  I don’t move; I just hold my hand for him. For a second it seems he’s not going to join me. Then he grabs my wrist as I clasp his. Between his phenomenal leap and my stabilizing his huge body, his fingers grasp the edge of the bottom step.

  “Run!” He orders, and I take off, knowing he can claw his way up, get his feet on the bottom step and follow. I’m at the top of the stairs, halfway through the tall archway and into the adjoining passageway. I turn to watch and see Dev hurtling up the steps, maybe ten feet above the crest of the water.

  “Hurry,” I urge, more fearful for him than myself. I see something bobbing near the surface of the churning white water. It’s one of the males. “Dev!” I don’t know how he heard me, but somehow his head looks in the direction I’m pointing. He sees it, too. He steps back down and with perfect timing, he grabs hold and drags it up. It’s the doc—not moving.

  Dev carries him up the steps to the archway where I’m standing. The water’s still twenty feet below us, but it’s raging onward. It’s hit the back of the cavern, and there’s nowhere for it to go. It will be rising and following us down the corridor in moments.

  Dev sets the doc down, then hurries back down a few steps, obviously looking for Thantose. I turn my attention to Seneca, rolling him on his side and giving back blows like I saw in a movie once. He spurts out water but is still unconscious. More back blows, more retching, more back blows and he sputters back to awareness.

  Dev’s carrying Thantose up the stairs at a run. I don’t know how he found the male, and don’t have time to ask. We all hurry down the hallway in whatever direction it leads. The water is swiftly approaching, and so is the darkness. No light can penetrate the murky depths of the water behind us, and the cave in front of us is pitch black—we’re running blind. I assume all three males are behind me. I just keep putting one foot ahead of the other, not acknowledging this is a life and death struggle against an onslaught of water.

  My muscles are so fatigued they’re quivering. My teeth are chattering from the freezing cold. Terror races along my veins, but still I run forward, stumbling in the dark. My quads and calves are screaming in pain, and I realize this corridor heads uphill.

  I notice a sliver of light up ahead. The farther I go, the more light illuminates my vision.

  I don’t hear the roar of the water anymore, so I take one second to look behind me. All three males are running on their own power; I don’t see a wall of water behind them. That’s all I need to know.

  Light is definitely coming from somewhere up ahead, and I’m bearing in that direction. We wind up in a cavern maybe thirty feet in circumference. The ceiling is domed, and has two long, jagged cracks in the top—that’s where the light is filtering through. This is the end of the line. If the water creeps up this high, there’s no way out. We certainly can’t squeeze through the cracks, which are maybe two inches across at their widest.

  Then I see a hole in the wall about six feet above me. There is no doubt in my mind it’s not a natural phenomenon. It looks like a seven-foot-tall arched doorway, and there definitely seems to be light streaming in from that direction.

  I look around at
our motley crew. Dev is on his knees on the dusty stone floor. His hands are on his thighs, his back bowed, and his chest is heaving with exertion as he gasps for breath. Thantose is lying on his back panting, eyes open. The doc is leaning against a wall, also breathing heavily. They’re all nude and wet.

  My black t-shirt is hanging to mid-thigh, ripped at the shoulder. I’m gasping and notice it’s so cold I can see my breath. I listen, ignoring the panting, to see if I can hear the water coming. I hear nothing, but that doesn’t mean fingers of water aren’t surging along the route we just took, seeking higher ground just like we did.

  Then I hear screaming. I wonder if it’s a hallucination or a trick the water’s playing on me. But I notice the males’ heads all swivel toward the archway in the wall, which is where I thought the noise was coming from.

  The sound mobilizes all of us; the males get to their feet. I clench my teeth and straighten my spine, attempting to get ready for the next episode in this grueling ordeal.