by T. R. Harris
Panur’s body lay hunched over Adam Cain’s, both unmoving and glistening from their icy coatings. TeraDon took a long crowbar into the lock, prepared to pry the bodies from the deck … and each other. He worked it between Panur and Cain and the smaller creature broke off and slid to the floor.
TeraDon guided the cart inside, and then after considerable effort, placed Panur’s heavy body on the bed. Considering how hard that was, he knew lifting Adam Cain would be impossible.
So be it, he thought. Cain is dead, and that is all Te’moc needs to know.
But just to be sure, TeraDon stepped closer to the body and drove the crowbar through Cain’s back. He heard and felt the impact of metal on metal as the rod penetrated all the way through.
Returning to the cart, TeraDon hurried away to the rear cargo ramp of the Cartel ship. He’d already prepared a freezer to receive Summer Rains. Now it would contain Panur. Again, joy filled his mind. Such good fortune! He placed the body inside the metal container and set the controls. It would keep the body frozen until he could meet with Te’moc.
He left the cargo hold and closed the outer door, then still wearing the environment suit, he moved to the interior control panel for the bay. A moment later, the atmosphere was evacuated from the chamber just before the huge doors slid away.
He reentered the Cartel ship through the side airlock entrance and raced to the bridge. The ship slid out of the bay on a gentle cushion of flame before entering the cold of outer space. An agonizingly long three minutes later he was far enough from the Colony Ship to engage a deep gravity-well. The Cartel ship disappeared, bolting for the edge of the Formilian system.
In another hour, Te’moc would have his unexpected prize, and TeraDon Fief would be a very rich Bazusean, even if his home planet of Bazu would soon be destroyed, along with everything else in this universe.
14
…in a medical bay aboard the Behemoth
Adam Cain’s grey, lifeless body lay on a cold metal table in one of the Behemoth’s many medical bays, surrounded by his devastated and tearful friends.
Sherri wept openly, while Riyad let out whimpers of grief. But it was Arieel who showed the most emotion, as she was prone to do. When Adam’s body was first delivered to the room, she ran to it, wailing uncontrollably over the corpse and beating on the body before Lila could pull her away.
The crowbar had been removed, leaving a large gaping hole in his chest. There was no blood; his body was still frozen, but slowly thawing. Doctors came in and left a few minutes later. There was no life, no hope. There was nothing the doctors could do.
There was nothing any of them could do.
It was Copernicus who broached the subject first.
“What do we do now?” he asked. “Adam’s dead and Panur is gone. And to top that, Te’moc has ruined the Aris plans to save the universe, and …” His voice trailed off before punctuating his statement with, “That fucking TeraDon.”
Security video clearly showed what happened, and now Summer sat on the floor at the far end of the room, her knees pressed against her chest, slowly rocking back and forth and mumbling to herself. She felt responsible. Because of her TeraDon was aboard the Behemoth. She also felt guilty about the feelings she once had for the alien, although she never carried through with her fantasies. The idea of an interspecies hookup was a little more than she could accept at the time. Now the thought made her sick.
“Everything is my fault!” she kept chanting after the team gathered in the room to view Adam’s body. At first, the others tried to console her, but after a while, they let her have her guilt. It was what most of them were thinking anyway but thought it too cruel to admit. Now she sat away from the others, consumed by her grief.
Lila addressed the team.
“Panur and I have developed a plan for sealing the breach at the Terminus Anomaly. But it will require Kracion’s help.”
They’d heard this already, so it wasn’t news. It also didn’t lift their spirits.
“Good luck with that,” Riyad muttered.
“The problem is we will need another TD starship to get the proper equipment in place, and unfortunately, Panur was the master at TD construction. I can do it, but not nearly as fast as Panur.”
Lila tried to hide her emotions but to no avail. Her father was dead, and Panur was gone for good. Te’moc would know how to assimilate his essence; it may have already happened. And although the loss of her father was tragic enough, Panur’s symbolic death meant the fate of the universe—of two universes—was sealed. She would do all she could, but she also knew her efforts would fall short. There just wasn’t enough time.
The room turned quiet; even Summer’s wailing went silent. Internally, each person reached the same conclusion. Hope was lost.
That’s when Sherri suddenly jumped from an unexpected clanking from behind her. She turned … and nearly fainted, as did everyone else in the room.
Adam Cain was sitting up on the table.
Te’moc didn’t wait for Panur’s body to be transferred to the Arya. Instead, he boarded the ugly Cartel warship and raced to the cargo hold with TeraDon, having already been apprised of the unexpected turn of events.
Te’moc was ecstatic. He’d assimilated fourteen of the remaining Aris, and even with that much of J’nae’s essence within him, it wasn’t enough. The power operating within the aliens had degraded the essence to such a degree it was hardly worth the effort. Their bodies were advanced enough that all they needed was the immortality feature of the lifeforce and nothing else. That they got, and essentially let the rest of J’nae go to waste. Te’moc was different. He didn’t convert power directly, so he needed it all.
That’s when he realized he needed the uncorrupted essence within the Human Summer Rains. He would have to return to the Milky Way galaxy.
Another frustration came from the fact that through all his research, he couldn’t find any clues to what became of the vials of pure J’nae essence Panur took from the Aris base. Had Panur destroyed the essence, casting it into a star somewhere along his journeys to keep it from Te’moc? And if not, then as long as it remained frozen, he couldn’t detect it. And now, throughout two universes, there was no trace.
But that was a consideration for another time. He needed what was inside Summer Rains if he was to go up against Panur and survive. And he was willing to do anything to get it, including promising a galaxy’s worth of wealth to TeraDon for the Human’s capture.
However, all that effort was but a means to an end. And that end was the eventual assimilation of Panur.
And now his frozen body lay in a container in the cargo hold of the Cartel ship.
This was beyond Te’moc’s greatest expectations.
He pulled back the lid, and using protective gloves, removed the frozen body, placing it on the metal deck. It would have to thaw before he could fuse with it, so he brought in equipment to speed up the process. Panur would be aware of what was going on but powerless to do anything about it. That made the moment even more satisfying for Te’moc. And then just before Panur regained complete control of his faculties, Te’moc would move on him. Their fusing would be like all the others, and once inside the mutant’s host body, his essence would be his.
TeraDon stood back, watching as Te’moc paced the room. Te’moc could see his joy was as palatable as was Te’moc’s. The assimilation of Panur would be a momentous event for both of them.
It was a strange dynamic.
Although Adam was sitting up and looking around—a blank, confused look on his pallid face—no one rushed to embrace him. Instead, they stood back in apprehensive shock. He still had a gaping hole in his chest, and although he was thawing, still no blood appeared at the site of the wound. His eyes were a uniform grey, his lips white and cracked.
To Sherri, he still looked to be dead, and by all indications, he was.
All indications … except for the fact that he was sitting up and moving his head.
Lila approached
him. Sherri mused; being immortal gave one a certain amount of natural courage. For her part, Sherri would wait to see what happens next.
Adam’s blank stare watched his daughter approach the table. There was no recognition, no curiosity, just instinct following motion.
“Can you speak?” Lila asked.
Adam’s mouth fell open, but no words came out. He tried again, still nothing.
“Try breathing,” Lila suggested.
This time Adam’s brow furrowed. He understood, and it seemed such an odd question to ask. His head bent forward as he looked down at his bare chest. That’s when he noticed the hole. A shaky, pale arm lifted his hand to his chest. He placed a finger inside the wound and a moment later withdrew it, as a mass of bubbling, red and white mush filled the opening before forming a thin coating on the surface, merging with the rest of the skin.
Seeing the gross mass of flesh bubble from the wound almost made Sherri vomit.
Lila took a sheet and covered Adam’s naked lower torso.
Then she smiled.
Te’moc was growing more agitated as the time neared. TeraDon watched the alien, wondering if he could time the fusing perfectly enough before Panur thawed completely. Would the mutant be capable of fighting off Te’moc at that point? He didn’t know. It seemed unlikely since Te’moc was much bigger than Panur. Either way, TeraDon knew the time was near. Panur’s flesh appeared softer, greyer, and his eyes had begun to shift in their sockets.
“It is now!” Te’moc proudly proclaimed.
TeraDon had never seen the fusing process before. Now he stood in shock as Te’moc’s body began to vibrate, creating rippling waves in the flesh that grew more pronounced by the second. Soon, his body took on a violent demeanor, as if it was about to explode. Instead, Te’moc fell forward, draping his vibrating mass over the much smaller alien. Panur disappeared, until a moment later when what remained of Te’moc’s body began to fade away.
TeraDon couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It was as if Panur’s body was a sponge and Te’moc’s water, being absorbed through every pore, every cell. Soon, it was only Panur on floor.
TeraDon wondered if something had gone wrong. Did Panur prevail and now Te’moc was assimilated within the mutant … and under his control? Would Panur suddenly bolt upright to take out his revenge on TeraDon?
He moved toward the exit, anxious to reach a safe location where he could dump the atmosphere from the cargo hold and possibly prevent the catastrophe he saw in the making.
But then Panur’s body began to shake uncontrollably, writhing on the metal deck, making gyrations that should have been impossible. Then his skin began to vibrate, with brownish-red matter bubbling from every pore. This putrid mass continued to grow until it was easily twice the size of Panur’s body. Then the masses separated, like cells dividing, yet on a much grander scale.
Legs formed and soon a body took shape.
TeraDon was relieved to see Te’moc once again standing on the deck, his manic red eyes staring down at the now lifeless grey body beside him. His arms trembled, and his hands balls of white-knuckled fists. He continued to glare at Panur’s body as he gave out tiny yelps of … of anger?
“What is wrong?” TeraDon built the courage to ask.
The fierce red eyes locked on TeraDon, causing him to step back from fear. He’d never seen Te’moc this out of control.
“It … it is not there!” Te’moc bellowed.
“What is not there?”
“The essence! Panur’s essence is gone.”
“Can you hear me, Panur?” Lila asked sweetly.
The question hit Sherri like a sledgehammer. Everyone else in the room reacted in turn. Summer jumped to her feet and rushed to the table.
“Panur … he’s in Adam’s body?” she gasped. “Like J’nae is in me?”
Adam’s eyes locked on the tiny blonde. A smile invaded his face.
“Not quite the same,” an anguished voice said through Adam’s lips.
“Take your time,” Lila said as she placed a hand on Adam’s—Panur’s—bare shoulder. “The transition process must have been traumatic.”
“Wait a goddamn minute,” Copernicus said, as he pushed his way through the others and up to the table. “You’re saying Panur had taken over Adam’s body? Is Adam still alive or not?”
Adam’s body took several deep breaths, and with each one, color returned to his skin. Even his eyes were turning blue again.
“To answer your question, Mr. Smith, yes he is,” said Adam’s body.
Almost immediately, the real Adam Cain spoke. “Oh, hell no!”
“Is that you, Adam?” Summer asked with desperation.
“It sure is!” The voice was strained as once-frozen vocal cords fought to regain their elasticity.
Sherri looked at Lila. “What happened … how did this happen?”
“The fusing process is quite simple. I would assume that to save both their lives, Panur transferred his essence into Adam moments before they both froze.”
“But Adam is going to be okay, isn’t he?”
Adam gnashed his teeth. “If you mean if having some mutant presence in my body is okay? I repeat: Hell, no!”
“Welcome to my world,” Summer mumbled.
“Are you fully aware now, father?” Lila asked. “I am overjoyed to find both of you well. We feared the worst.”
Hands now reached out to pat Adam, smiles everywhere.
“This is different than it is with J’nae and me,” Summer stated. “Panur can speak when he wants to?”
“Yes, I’m different than J’nae,” Panur confirmed. “And because of this, Adam and I will share this body equally.”
“For how long?” Adam asked in almost the same breath.
Sherri laughed. It was weird watching Adam carry on a conversation with himself.
“Until I can find another compatible host and a way to extract my essence from your body. I’m sure Te’moc would not be helpful in that regard.”
“You can do it though, can’t you?” Sherri asked.
“That remains to be seen.”
Adam—the real Adam—wasn’t satisfied with the answer. “That remains to be seen! Really? Admit it, you don’t have a clue how to reverse this, do you?”
“I will eventually, but it will take time.”
“So what do we do in the meantime?”
Adam/Panur looked around at the anxious faces in the room. “In the meantime?” He grinned. “Well, let’s see. It is Tuesday. How about we go save a universe?”
The End
… later that day
Riyad turned to Adam. “So what do we do now? The universe is about to explode, Te’moc is still running wild, the Sol-Kor are waiting on the sidelines, and both you and Summer have aliens living inside your bodies. I know it’s Tuesday, but it still sounds like an impossible situation.”
Adam laughed. “Relax, buddy. Have we ever run into a challenge we couldn’t overcome? Have faith. The powers-that-be will find a way.”
“So what do we do in the meantime? I know what Panur said, but what about you?”
“I say we go find The Last Aris.”
“Kracion? And how do we do that?”
Adam smiled.
“It’s actually quite simple. Just go to Amazon.com and pre-order The Last Aris by T.R. Harris, the next book in The Human Chronicles Saga.”
Riyad flashed his trademark white smile. “Nothing like some blatant self-promotion, my friend.”
“Whatever works.”
Riyad nodded. “When does the book come out?
“The end of July 2019.”
Riyad pursed his lips. “I hope T.R. gives me more lines in this next one. It’s been all about you and Summer lately. Hey, I’ve been around since The Fringe Worlds, and I’m feeling a little neglected.”
Adam shook his head. “Your agent should have negotiated that upfront. But until your contract comes up for renegotiation, just be happy you have a job as my faithful�
�if quirky—sidekick.”
Riyad extended his middle finger and scratched his temple. “I got your sidekick right here … my friend.”
“Just keep it up, Mr. Tarazi, and I’ll have T.R. kill you off. I’ve had him kill characters off before; I can do it again. After all, I’m the famous Adam Cain. The dude owes me for all the money I’ve made him over the years.”
What Riyad said after that will have to wait for another day … and an R-Rating.
The Last Aris
Book #29 in The Human Chronicles Saga
July 2019
Pre-order
The Last Aris
today at Amazon.com
Author Notes and FREE BOOK OFFER
Really, so what will Adam and the team do next?
The rip between universes is set to burst in a very short time and the Mad Aris Kracion is the only hope of stopping a cataclysmic blowout that will destroy everything. And if that wasn’t enough, Te’moc is still hungry for some juicy Panur and J’nae essence, and the Sol-Kor are not going to just sit back and let their Colony die off.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that both Adam and Summer are possessed by aliens.
I know, it sounds crazy. But crazy is what I do.
The Lost Aris is coming out at the end of July 2019 and is available now for pre-order. Not that I’m suggesting anything, but….
Terminus Rising is the 28th book in The Human Chronicles Saga, and I don’t why, but I seem to just now be hitting my stride. However, I am about to make some minor changes (gasp!).
After The Mad Aris, I’m planning on breaking future Adam Cain adventures into three- or four-book mini-series, allowing new readers to join the party without having to go all the way back to The Fringe Worlds to understand what’s going on. Some people like a long, in-depth, never-ending saga. Others don’t, afraid that if they commit to the early books they’ll never reach the end of the story. (Hey, we still love James Bond even though his story never ends!) But I understand. So I’m willing to compromise.
