“What if there are too many for us to kill at once?” I asked, there was a dim light in the cavern, globes of some kind attached to the roof, but they did little to dispel all of the shadows in the narrow corridor In’ah had led them into. Perhaps I should turn around and go to the larger bunker I saw when we first entered.
No, stay with her. I’m studying her, and I’m not finished yet. But remember if there is trouble, do not hesitate to use her as a body shield. You can’t die, at least not until I figure out how to separate us. Sumahon said.
Separate us? I asked Sumahon, stopping where I was lurking behind In’ah.
It was a joke, we are bound together like glue.
It didn’t sound like a joke, I thought as I caught up with In’ah.
“The tracks lead this way,” In’ah said, pointing to another large open room, except that this one wasn’t empty.
I ran my hand against the smooth surface of the tunnel and looked out into the large dome-shaped cavern. A dozen soft, warm lights burned above on the high ceiling, and most of those were dimmed further by thick webs. In the middle of the room, amid chunks of rocks that looked to have fallen from the ceiling, was something I’d never seen before.
It was an elongated sphere covered in green moss and thick vines of orange rope. Everything around it in a small circle of several feet looked alive but overgrown. It reminded me instantly of the pockets of life where the village was, life bordering death. I switched on my overlay with a thought to see if any information had popped up.
- S Class Interstellar Ki’darthian Fighter Ship -
The words floated over the large ship, but I didn’t have any idea what they meant.
-Additional information not found in ancestral memory banks-
Sumahon, I thought, what is the purpose of the ship? Will it kill us if we get close or anything like that?
Ship? Oh, hmm, let me see…how strange, that section of the ancestral memory is fragmented at best. Let me see what I can piece together. Be careful, no idea if it is dangerous. Also, please leave me alone I am reading.
Reading? I let the thoughts die in my mind. No point in poking the agitated book any further if he was willing to try to learn more for me.
“What do you think THAT is?” In’ah asked her voice thick with wonder. She broke free from our hiding place at the end of the narrow hall and began walking towards the ship before I had a chance to answer her.
Looking both ways before leaving my hiding spot, I caught sight of something moving in the shadows behind the ship. I turned to my left and began following the side of the room where the most light shone and watched from a distance as In’ah finally made it to the ship.
“It’s a ship!” I called out as I slowly inched across the wall towards the ship, not willing to lurk in the shadows with someone potentially stronger than me.
“A what?” She called back, giving me a look as she watched me with my back against the wall, moving around the room. “I think it’s safe, come on over.” As she said that she seemed to consider something and scratched her head, then pulled the rope holding her two swords, the rat’s tails, she had dozens more left in her hut.
I listened to the scratching of the weapon against the hard stone and waited to see if she was going to be attacked. Sure enough, the shadows moved and rats began to pour out, dozens of them.
After a moment of panic, I got into formation and readied my Finger Cannon attack. I had been getting used to using the more precise attack because it seemed to have the best distance to damage ratio.
As I channeled Sri energy to my fingertip, I heard laughter. I focused on In’ah and saw her laughing and swing her sword about wildly. The rats were barely bigger than her feet. In fact, it looked like they weren’t trying to attack either, they scurried around running from her.
Taking a deep breath, I cut the power flows and ran to her aid. Small rats I could handle.
The small critters had all dispersed by the time I made it to In’ah’s side.
“We found the rats,” I said, breathing hard from my short run.
“Yeah,” In’ah said between laughing, she was also out of breath, but for different reasons. One of her large blades pressed firmly into the ground and she leaned into it as she caught her breath.
“Maybe we should look around and see if we can figure out why these rats are small, and the ones outside are huge?”
“Lead the way,” In’ah said, making an exaggerated bow and smiling.
The ship had scales similar to the door they had passed through to get inside here, except these ones were worse off. Several were cracked and moss grew into the cracks spreading them further. I did my best not to touch the wet green moss and orange vines as we circled the ship. It looked big enough for a dozen or two Ki’darthians to get inside.
Extensive damage had been done by rocks that fell, presumably, from the ceiling to the back end of the ship. Orange vines mixed with several other colors and some overgrown moss could be seen where a rock had smashed a sizable section free from the ship. A blue liquid that gave off a colorful sheen dripped from deep inside of the damage and settled into a several foot wide puddle.
A rat scurried away covered in the liquid, and I knew what had happened. Unlike the smaller rats, we had just encountered this rat was three times their size. Not big enough to cause us any issues yet, but whatever this stuff was it was changing the rats.
“Did you see that?” In’ah asked, pointing to the large rat that melted into the shadows.
“I did,” I answered, “I think we found out where the giant rats are coming from, now we just have to figure out how we are going to fix the problem.”
“I know what to do!” In’ah exclaimed, and she turned and ran from the room towards the narrow hallway, leaving me alone with dozens of rats.
Chapter Ten
Turned out her plan involved using make-shift shovels and her abilities to carry piles of dirt into the ship, I got stuck with the digging duty.
“I am filthy…,” I whisper to no one as I dragged my feet behind In’ah. My slow pace didn’t seem to bother her, as she was moving slowly as well. Her fingers pressed against her head as she walked, and her rope hung tight around her elbow dragging her two large swords beside me.
Not for the first time, I thought about throwing the large spoon-shaped branch aside and just walking into the distance, but something stopped me—rain clouds. The horizon was filled with dark clouds that clawed at the ground with fingers of mist in the distance. And one of the things I hated just marginally more than dirt was water. Not the kind of water you could drink or dampen a towel to clean yourself, but the sheets of water that poured from the sky.
My first memory of rain flashed through my mind. I had been training with Aetex doing one of the warrior dances he was so fond of when I noticed the dark clouds. I had been fascinated by the flashes of light that would sporadically dance across the darkness. So I stayed outside to watch. He had warned me, told me that I should come in before I got wet. Water? I remember thinking, I didn’t love water, but it wasn’t that bad. Then I was hit by a wall of icy rainfall and nearly jumped out of my skin.
I shuttered and did my best to keep from shivering as I remembered the traumatic experience. Much better to stay close to the safety of shelter, I told myself.
“What is the point of all this mess again?” I asked In’ah as she removed her hand from her head and let the small pile of light-colored dirt fall into the pile of darker dense dirt. I took an exaggerated step back and watched the dirt spill out, and down the small hill, we’d made. The puddle was now completely covered in dirt, but she had said something about mixing the dirt together and using it.
“We are patching a hole!” In’ah said, motioning to the several feet wide hole in the ship, “If we mix this lighter stuff with the darker soil, it dries really hard. I’ve used it to b
uild a hut before, it’s really sturdy!” She hopped from foot to foot and began to rub her hands together in the strange way she always did when growing excited.
“What are you doing?” I asked, watching as she began to lightly hit her cheeks with her hands.
“I’m running low on juice, and I need to mix then lift that stuff before the rain keeps us from getting back,” In’ah said, pressing her fingers hard against the side of her head. Nothing happened and she began to grunt, which evolved into a series of loud yells. Slowly at first but after a few moments, she was screeching at the dirt pile. Still nothing.
I focused on her, and her info appeared.
-In’ah, Sri Manipulator, Level 4, Energy: 15/213-
“You have almost no Sri Energy left,” I said, pushing her aside lightly and shoving the shovel into the dirt, “I’m already dirty so I might as well just mix the mess myself. Sit and rest because I won’t be lifting this filth into the ship.”
She sighed and without complaint flopped into the dirt to the left of where I was trying to mix the two soils. I groaned, seeing her wallow in the mud like an animal.
“How’d you know I was so tired?” She asked while crushing a clump of the harder dirt and throwing it towards me.
I dodged expertly and used the shovel to fling a small amount towards her. I missed.
“I just read your Sri levels,” I said between my poor attempts at mixing the soil evenly.
“He just read my Sri levels,” In’ah said in a poor mock tone of my voice to her hand that I guessed was meant to be me talking. “Not even Mesh’el can just read Sri levels.”
She had used the mock voice again, and I felt my face flush.
“Believe what you want,” I shot back, digging harder into the dirt and forgetting the filthiness of it all, “I’m not a liar.”
“Sorry,” In’ah said, her tone softer than I expected.
I stopped digging and really looked at her. Her red hair fell in messy clumps over her forehead, and her gem was barely visible. I noticed how the frayed edges of her clothes and the tired lines under her eyes. She had pushed herself to the limit and hadn’t even complained.
“It’s okay,” I said back, putting the makeshift shovel between my legs as I crouched to rest, “Thank you for all your help. I would have never been able to do this alone. You are amazing.”
I immediately felt hot and knew my face was turning blue. I took a deep breath and stood, letting the shovel fall. My book was lying not far off, so I picked him up and decided to crack it open and look inside.
Hello! Sumahon’s voice rung clear in my head. You don’t even knock? You think it’s okay to just open someone up without any permission?
I heard him complain, but I didn’t react, I was too enthralled at what I saw. I had cracked the book open to the midpoint. The entire page was filled with words, letters, sketches of things like the rat, the ship, and even In’ah, all floating around in seemingly random patterns all over the two pages.
“Sumahon,” I whispered, “These drawings are amazing!” He had captured the likeness of several of the rats and the ship perfectly, but it was the drawing of In’ah that captured my eyes. He must have just done it because it depicted her sitting on the dirt pile, but instead of dirty, tired, and worn out, she had been drawn fierce and alert. Her eyes both defiant and yet somehow kind. Her clothing frayed but in a way that made her look like a dignified warrior who had won the day against impossible odds. And her hair, no longer wild and covering her face; instead, the short messy curls stood on end and accented her face perfectly.
I tore my eyes from the picture to see her sitting in the dirt. She had pulled her hair back and matched the drawing in that aspect, if not more.
“Who is Sumahon,” She asked, getting up and moving closer.
I snapped the book shut as she approached. If Sumahon didn’t enjoy me looking inside him, I could only imagine how upset he would be if she saw what he’d drawn.
“My book,” I answered, gazing into her eyes. She really did hold a fierce fire in those eyes, I thought. Then she punched me.
“Ouch,” I said, recoiling in surprise, “What was that for?”
“You were staring at me all funny,” She shot back, “So you named your Seinkah, eh?”
“No,” I said, my head tilting while observing the strange girl, trying to figure her out.
“But you just said-“
I cut her off. “He named himself,” I said, “Do your swords not talk to you?”
“Talk to me?” In’ah asked, her eyes widened, and the beginning of a grin touched her lips, “You are joking, right?”
“No,” I said, standing up straight and taking a step forward, “Are you?”
“Whoa! No way! What is it saying right now?”
That I am not an IT.
“He says that he is not an IT.”
“But he is a he?” She asked, her eyes were locked on the book, and I watched as her hand moved forward as if to grab it and then pull back.
Actually, technically I am neither he nor she, but since you thought of yourself as he, I imprinted on that identity. Hmm, I will have to think about this, I will add it to my list of research items and get back to you with my preferred gender pronoun.
“He says he isn’t sure but will get back to us.” I said, “Whatever that means.”
“Hah!” In’ah yelled, “I absolutely love your book!”
“Thanks,” I said, walking past her back towards the dirt, “We should really get finished if we want to stay dry. Have you recovered enough to lift it in place?”
I checked her numbers before she had a chance to answer.
-In’ah, Sri Manipulator, Level 4, EP: 45/213-
“You tell me,” She said, giggling, “I feel a bit better; I think I’ll be okay.”
I watched in awe of her power. Lifting and placing the dirt with ease. It didn’t take long for the mud to be placed, and to my surprise, it held.
“Do you think that’ll last for long,” I asked, leaning forward to inspect her work with a more critical eye. She had patched it to match the outer surface of the ship, all except the scales and color.
“The villagers use this same mix to build their houses,” In’ah said, shrugging, “If it works for them, I think it’ll work for us. Only one thing left to do. We need to dry it.”
“How,” I asked, turning my head and meeting her eyes. She wore a mischievous grin on her face.
“You are a projector,” she said raising her brows and brushing a stray hair that fell into her face, “I’ve only ever met one other, but I’ve felt the amount of heat he generated during some of his cooler attacks. You just need to do the same, without actually attacking.”
“Okay,” I said, I had no idea how I was supposed to do that, but I wasn’t going to not try in front of her. I placed my hands close to the packed earth that covered the hole and began to direct flows of power to my hands. I shut my eyes in concentration, I really couldn’t afford to let any stray energy out lest I blow the dirt away.
I felt the energy surging in my hands, begging to be free, but I flexed my arms and clenched my teeth against the impulse.
“That’s enough,” In’ah shouted, “Any more and it’ll crack.”
Her sudden outburst caught me off guard, and I felt a thread of power release. As quickly as I could, I pushed the energy back down and let it spread throughout my body. Finally opening my eyes, I examined my work.
The light brown colored soil had turned a crispy dark brown with a single line of burnt black running the center of the compact earth.
“Oops,” I said, looking at the burnt section and wondering if it would comprise the patch job, “Not bad for my first try, though, right?”
“Yeah, it’s good enough,” In’ah said, shrugging, “If giant rats show up again, it’ll be you that clean
s up the mess this time, alone.”
We made it outside just in time to be engulfed in rainwater.
“Let’s go back inside and wait it out,” I called after In’ah, who had begun a slow jog in the direction of her temporary residence, her swords dragging in the mud behind her.
She didn’t answer, and I made a snap decision. Raising Sumahon, my book, above my head to block as much rain as possible, I ran after her.
Even if I had lost sight of her, which I didn’t, I knew I’d be able to find her again because of the long line left in the dirt. Instead of running a straight line for her hut, it appeared that In’ah was going out of her way to find as many puddles as she could and jump into them, splashing rainwater and making a terrible mess of herself.
She even went as far as to wait until I approached and tried to splash me as if I wasn’t already wet enough. I watched her in bemused puzzlement, I had thought she was a friend, but what kind of friend would soil another with grime, dirt, and water!
Before long we reached the hut, I rushed in immediately and covered myself with blankets. I was freezing cold and wet. I leaned on the wall of the hut and tried to merge with the shadows, worried that In’ah might bring a bucket of water with her into the hut for ‘fun’.
After several minutes, In’ah finally came inside and plopped down on a sack of her supplies, water and dirt dripping from her and soiling the perfectly clean items.
“We can go back out if you want?” She asked, moving to the center where the heating stones lay. She took out a long metal rod and struck the rocks, just as she had the night before, slowly they began to go from a warm orange to a bright red and heat filled the enclosed dome.
Reincarnation Page 8
