New Horizon (The Survivors Book Nine)

by Nathan Hystad

  “It’s right there. We need to help them,” Jules told me as she kept lowering us.

  Our feet planted on the rocky ocean bed, and I reached for the device. I leaned over Jules and checked her, seeing a brief smile as she touched the prize. Then her eyes went dark, the glow visibly absent for the first time in her life, and everything faded around us.

  The green orb surrounding us dissipated, and the whirlpool angrily shook as her power over the water suddenly stopped controlling the ocean.

  She’d deactivated this section of the world’s time-freezing with her powers, and there was no turning it off again. Instead, I knew what I had to do. I had to turn this metal box off at all costs, to free the Scaril and our Gatekeepers trapped in the portal room. Jules fell to the rocks, her armored EVA clanging against the hard surface. I’d comfort her in a second.

  The shiny box was unmarked on the sides and top, so I flipped it over, finding a screen on the underside. I couldn’t read it, so I triggered my helmet’s translation display. The alien language scrolled across my facemask and translated into English.

  I had to move quickly. The whirlpool was still spinning around us from its built-up dynamic energy, but the walls were shrinking at an increasing pace.

  I tapped the screen on the time-freezing unit and found what I was searching for. The deactivation screen prompted me for a code, using alien numbers. I had no idea what to do.

  “Jules, we need to go. Can you lift us out of here?” I asked my daughter, who was groggily drifting into consciousness beside me.

  “We have to help.” She stretched her arm up and past my waist, pressing five symbols on the device’s screen. It hummed to life, vibrating heavily now.

  “Is it done?” I asked her.

  “It’s off,” Jules said, her voice so small and helpless.

  “Let’s leave here,” I told her, grabbing the device in my arms. We needed to bring this with us. We’d have to store it somewhere safe, out of the clutches of our enemies. I considered bringing it to Earth through my portal, to my hidden collection of tools. No one would find it there.

  Jules grasped my arm. “Papa.”

  “What is it?” I glanced around at the incoming waves nervously.

  “I can’t get us out.”

  I scanned her eyes, seeing they were totally dark green; still no glow. “You used up everything you had. We’re going to have to brace ourselves,” I told her.

  “I’m scared. I don’t like the water,” she said.

  The whirlpool was closing. Water surged toward us from all directions, until it had encased us standing at the bottom of the ocean, surrounded by it. We were out of time.

  “I know, honey, but we have no choice!” I had to yell now, the ferocity of the incoming water overtaking my voice.

  Jules screamed as it washed over us, but I knew she’d be safe in her armored EVA suit. She held my arm, and I cradled the device as we were tugged from the rocky ocean bottom, ripped in a circle with the momentum of the water.

  Jules’ grip lessened, and the last thing I saw before she was torn from my arm was her tear-filled eyes, and a silent scream from her open mouth.

  Twenty-Eight

  I was still moving away from Jules’ last position, and I dropped the inactive metal device.

  “Jules, come in,” I said into my earpiece, but I couldn’t see much through the frothy water. I tried to focus on my arm console controls, and found the radar. I pressed it, and the area appeared on my HUD, showing me where Jules had gone in the form of a blinking orange icon.

  “Papa!” she called out to me. Her voice was strained, scared.

  “I’m coming for you,” I told her, and was about to begin moving for her when I noticed other icons appearing on the radar. The orange one identifying Jules was embedded into her suit, but these new icons were lifeforms my short-range scanner picked up. There were half a dozen of them, and they were moving toward my daughter.

  “Jules, do you see anything?” I shouted. I was hoping they were maybe birds of some kind, high about the ocean but somehow showing on my sensors. This map was 2D, and I couldn’t tell depths with it.

  “Water!” she answered.

  Good. That meant…

  Her voice dropped to a near whisper. “Papa, there’s something here with me.”

  The six icons were blinking near her orange marker in my HUD. I had to hurry. I triggered the thrusters and guided myself toward her, through the still-surging water. Jules had been tugged away from the spinning whirlpool, and I broke free from the clutches of the spiraling water, moving for my trapped little girl.

  “Jules, I’m almost there,” I said. The water was still murky, but the farther I moved from the whirlpool, the clearer it became. I finally saw her small form, sunk from the suit’s weight to the bottom of the ocean.

  The creatures surrounding her were huge. I had to slow to grasp what I was seeing. They were kraken from Scandinavian folklore. Gigantic eyes stared forward; eight arms greedily outstretched toward Jules. She was still as a stone as they inched closer to her, their combined tentacles resembling something out of a horror movie.

  I looked closer, using my HUD zoom feature for a better view. I instantly regretted it as I saw the immense mouths, with double layers of sharp pointed teeth. Everything about the creatures was menacing, and I knew they hadn’t arrived to make friends.

  I knew there were some worlds where underwater creatures were intelligent and friendly to other races, even cephalopods like these beings, but these were angry, water churning as their tentacles thrashed in excitement at finding easy prey at the bottom of the ocean.

  We’d reanimated them along with the rest of the life on this planet when we shut off the device that I’d dropped to come save Jules. They appeared to be hungry.

  One grasped her leg as I waited, watching, and it began to pull her toward it. I shouted out, and saw her attempt to use her Iskios powers to stop it. Nothing happened.

  “Help me!” she shouted through my earpiece, and I raced through the water as another tentacle swung around her waist, jerking her in the other direction. The first Kraken shook fiercely as Jules became the prize at the middle of a tug-of-war contest.

  “Your armor is strong. They won’t penetrate it, honey,” I said, pulling my pulse pistol from its position clamped on my thigh. My thrusters were propelling me straight toward the monsters, and I slowed the energy feed, momentum keeping me on target. I shot the tentacle wrapped around Jules’ leg, and it lurched away.

  I was only ten feet from Jules now, and her petrified gaze met mine. I shot the other tentacle around her waist, but the monster kept its grip. I fired again, and it only pulled her away faster.

  I had to switch tactics. I shot at the large bulbous body and head of the kraken, and tugged my cutting torch free from my pack. It started up under water with ease, and I jutted forward, my thrusters sending me directly at Jules as she was being ripped through the water. The other five creatures were following along, hoping for a piece of the two food sources now in their vicinity.

  I grabbed Jules and swung the cutting torch past her, slicing through the tentacle. An ink-black blood oozed out, and more tentacles sought purchase on my daughter. I swung the torch like a wild lumberjack hacking a massive tree. Pieces of flesh and blood filled the area around us, and Jules stayed utterly silent the entire time. When no more tentacles came for us, I began to aim at their bodies with the pulse pistol, until all six of them finally swam away, sensing the prey had become the hunter.

  I stood on the rocky bottom of the ocean, panting heavily, and Jules hugged me tightly, her sobs carrying through my earpiece.

  “It’s okay. You’re okay,” I ran my hand over her helmet, knowing she couldn’t feel it. It didn’t matter. We’d come to unfreeze time on the Scaril’s new planet, and we’d accomplished it.

  I held her close as I returned to find the device unscathed in the rocks. I clipped it to my suit and used my thrusters to find the coastline, away fr
om the water and the dangers lurking within it.

  ____________

  “Are you sure the powers will return?” Mary asked me from across the living room. My hands were around a cup of coffee, and I felt every year of my age as I stood there.

  “No. Maybe she drained them completely,” I said, unsure if I was a bad father for hoping her powers were done with.

  “And would that make you happy?” Mary asked.

  “Wouldn’t you be happy too?”

  “No. Dean, Jules is the girl she is because of her abilities. Do you really want to strip her of her identity?”

  I set the cup down, sliding beside my wife on the couch. “Do you think that’s all she is? She’s more than her Iskios powers, and you know it.”

  “I agree, but…”

  “Let’s not speculate and have an argument about it, okay? We’ll wait it out and see if they return,” I told Mary, and her slight smile told me she agreed.

  “The Scaril continue to be afraid. And we have good and bad news,” Mary said.

  “What’s that?”

  “Khozal says he doesn’t have any means to return the world to its rightful size. That means the planet will stay the size of a globe forever,” Mary said.

  “But it’s not frozen any longer, at least. Can they survive on the world?” I asked.

  “Suma and Silo claim it will be fine. Some of the Scaril are even choosing to remain there. They want nothing to do with their old lives; the mines of Rutelium caused too much friction, and they seek a simpler life,” Mary said.

  When Jules and I had emerged from the water, we’d hiked to the nearest pathway, leading to the edge of the settlement. Most of the Scaril had only been there for a week or so before Khozal had frozen them in motion, so they were still in disarray. Most of them had no clue they’d been stuck in time at all.

  They’d been very surprised to find Jules and me trudging onto the path, water dripping from our EVAs. We had their language programmed into our translators, so I’d been able to tell them we weren’t a danger, and I’d advised them a contingent from our ship would be there shortly to talk to them about their future. I’d been exhausted, and Jules needed to get out of that armored suit and home where she belonged. The Scaril had been accepting of this, and I knew they’d be shocked when they found out so many years had passed since they’d set foot on the now shrunken planet. Mary had been on the diplomatic team sent along with Suma and Magnus to talk with the Scaril.

  “What about the mines?” I asked her.

  “The Scaril still technically own the mines on Mion V9, but that’s only because Magnus and the Alliance of Worlds aren’t aggressively staking their claim. The Scaril leaders have opted to work out a partnership, and at the end of the day, I imagine they’ll join our Alliance. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the Scaril at our Academy and on Haven in the near future. They seem like they’re ready to spread their wings a bit,” Mary said.

  “That’s good. Magnus happy with everything?” I asked.

  Mary grinned. “He’s very happy. We have a source of income from the mine partnership. We take over the operations at the two main sites, since the Scaril ceased production a long time ago when the demand faltered. They take a twenty percent cut, and everyone’s thrilled with the deal.”

  “What about Khozal?” I asked, recalling the traitor to his own people.

  “We’ve relinquished him to the Scaril leaders.”

  I cringed. I suspected the man’s ending wasn’t going to be a pretty one, but in my eyes, he deserved whatever the Scaril thought necessary punishment. He’d almost ended an entire race. He was a terrible person; greed had consumed him.

  “What now?” I asked.

  “We have a few options, Dean.” The baby cried, and I lifted a hand, letting Mary know I’d take care of it.

  I left the living room, heading for little Hugo’s crib. He was flailing his tiny arms, and I picked him up, cradling him against my neck. His sobs subsided, and I went to the kitchen to prepare a bottle. I set him in his rocking chair and turned it on, soothing him as I prepared the milk.

  “What are the options?” I finally asked Mary.

  “We can stay this return trip out, spend some more time with our loved ones. It’s going to be a few months, almost eight, to reach home. Hugo will be nearly a year old by the time we’re on Haven,” Mary said.

  “Jules wants to go to the Academy,” I said.

  Mary’s face showed a hint of astonishment, which disappeared quickly. “I shouldn’t be surprised. What if her powers are extinguished?”

  “Then she attends like every other kid,” I replied.

  “You think she’s going to be ready for school like that?” Mary asked.

  “I do. You should see her out there, Mary. She’s confident for the most part, but she still has her fears.” I thought about her face as the water had enveloped us.

  “Then it’s settled?” Mary asked.

  I set Hugo on me, holding him up with one arm and grasping the bottle with the other. He clamped on to it contently, his gurgles letting me know he was happy with the midnight snack.

  “Stay here with the crew, make Haven our home for the time being, and place Jules in the Academy,” I said.

  “Right. I like it. Have you spoken to Magnus about this yet?”

  I shook my head. “No. Jules claims Patty and Dean want to attend as well. It could be good for everyone,” I said.

  “I think it will be. Dean?” Mary’s eyes glimmered, and her hand found my knee.

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you for listening to her. And for being you.”

  I laughed lightly. “It’s all I know how to be.”

  ____________

  The meeting room was jam-packed with our crew and the top five Scaril leaders. The Chancellor, Khozal’s uncle, was an imposing man. His cranium was longer than the others’, his small pink face scrunched up to continuously appear angry. His arms were thicker than most of the others’, his belly flat. He wore finely woven robes, and a much smaller woman stood at his side, eyeing us with interest.

  Everyone on our team was uniformed, even me and Jules, in Gatekeepers’ attire. Jules’ eyes were still dark green, no longer glowing, and she claimed her powers were gone. I expected her to be more upset about it, but she was taking it with a grain of salt. I was so proud of the way she was handling herself.

  Slate stood beside Loweck, and he flashed me a grin. Magnus was standing at the end of the table, Natalia and his children with him.

  The Chancellor spoke with a slow cadence, and his words echoed through the translator, coming out in English. “You’ve done us a huge favor, Horizon, and we are forever indebted to you. We happily sign the declaration of partnership and are thrilled to join your Alliance of Worlds.” His long fingers extended to the digital screen, where he added a thumbprint beside Magnus’. The pact was set, and the room erupted into applause. The Scaril with the Chancellor were startled by the clapping, but seconds later understood its meaning and joined in.

  Magnus stood up straighter. “We’re happy to have you on our side, Chancellor Khamin.”

  “And we to be on yours. We will also accept your gracious offer of taking up residence on this Haven you speak of. We have ten families ready for departure on your word. Thank you for the opportunity. For too long we have sat in isolation on Mion V9. When my nephew claimed destruction was upon us, we were too quick to believe him,” Chancellor Khamin said.

  I noticed no one asked what had happened to the treasonous Khozal. They didn’t have to.

  “If we’re done with the formal part, let’s move to the courtyard and continue the celebration,” Magnus said, and people began funneling out of the room. Everyone was in such high spirits, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel the same way. I could sense the impending battle with the Kold targeting to Haven and was even more worried than before. We now understood the human-like race was working for Lom of Pleva’s people, and that had me on edge.
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  I’d sent Lom into the future, but twenty years wasn’t so far ahead. I glanced at Jules and realized that four of those years had already passed. Jules would be a woman when he slipped into our timeline, and I had to find a way to prepare for his arrival. She needed to be ready. We all did.

  I knew Lom was going to be vengeful. He would be freshly angry from the defeat, thrust into a future where his foothold might be affected by the passing of two decades.

  “Dean, are you coming?” Mary’s voice broke me from the reverie, and I noticed the room was all but emptied out.

  “Sure. I’m coming,” I told her.

  “Karo’s here with Ableen and the kids. They’re waiting for us in the courtyard with the others,” Mary said, but I only half-heard her. Lom was fresh on my mind, and I was sure the threat the Kold brought with them was coming to Haven and our Academy sooner rather than later. With the ground shield plans stolen from Garo Alnod’s home on Bazarn Five, I could almost sense their plan of attack.

  “Come on, Papa,” Jules grabbed my hand and tugged me along.

  Mary was ahead; Hugo remained at the suite with the Nanny-Bot. “Jules, I wanted to tell you that your mother and I have discussed it, and we think you should go to the Gatekeepers’ Academy next year.”

  Her eyes sprang open, and the smile she passed on was infectious. She jumped into my arms. “Thank you! Thank you!”

  “I didn’t expect you to be so excited,” I laughed.

  “It’s going to be hard work, honey,” Mary told her daughter.

  “I know. I’m ready for it. I can’t wait. Is Patty coming too?” Jules asked.

  “We’re not sure yet,” I told her.

  She didn’t press us as we walked into the open courtyard, which was as full as I’d ever seen it. Everyone was laughing and eating. The Scaril were scattered throughout the space, talking amongst one another and with groups of our crew. It was a great sight to witness. This was what being members of the Alliance of Worlds was all about. Sharing stories, offering protection, working unanimously on technology and ideas.