Kholvaria (The Color of Water and Sky Book 2)

by Andrew Gates

  The sight of this creature made Damien jolt. His heart raced faster than he ever thought possible. He could practically feel it ready to explode out of his chest.

  “You have not seen my kind before,” the echoing voice said as the creature looked down upon the captive pilot. “I understand your fear, but it will not help your health. Your heart rate has just spiked considerably.”

  “Y-you?” Damien asked, barely able to get the word out.

  “Yes, I am the one speaking to you,” the creature responded. Damien suddenly noticed that its mouth was moving as it spoke, though the words did not seem to match the motion of its mandibles.

  Damien sensed something happening on his lower half. He could feel liquid moving along the curvature of his body, covering his crotch and sliding down towards his butt. Shit, I just pissed myself, he realized. He looked down towards his lower half and noticed that he was not wearing any clothes at all.

  “Do not fear me,” the creature said as it leaned over him. Damien looked up at the monster’s eyes again, forgetting all about his uncontrollable bladder. “My name is Kho Rendevahrk. I have been watching over you during the last four months of your hibernation.”

  “How… talk?” Damien asked.

  The creature’s face moved as if it were excited by this question.

  “You wish to be the one asking the questions, I see. I shall entertain this idea, for now. As you rested, I placed a translator chip inside your head, entering from the rear of your cranium. The same chip is in my own head, interpreting the meaning of your words in a way that I can understand.”

  Damien did not believe it. He wiggled his head, trying to feel anything different inside his skull.

  “You will not feel the chip. It is pointless to try, for it is embedded deep within your temporal lobe. The translator can interpret your thought patterns. It knows the meanings behind the words you speak and sends the meanings to me in a way that I can understand. The same works for me when I speak to you.”

  Shit, if there’s a chip in my brain, can this creature read my thoughts?

  “And now that I have answered your question, I hope that you can answer one of mine,” said the creature. It turned and picked something up from beyond Damien’s line of sight. The object, whatever it was, was round and transparent like the lightbulb above his head.

  “Who are you and how many of you are there?” the creature asked bluntly. It simply stood still, holding the object in its claws. Damien was not sure what the ball would do, but he did not want to find out. He decided to do whatever the creature asked of him.

  “D… Dam… Damien,” the lieutenant responded, struggling to find the words. It was still difficult for him to speak.

  “Do not worry about the sound of the word,” the creature suggested. “Any noise will do, so long as you put meaning behind the word in your mind.”

  Damien took a deep breath and tried again. This time, instead of trying to form the words, he simply spat out gibberish. With each nonsensical syllable, he thought up a meaning for it in his mind. The tired pilot was not sure if this technique would work, but it was worth a shot.

  “Damien Saljov,” the creature responded after the pilot had said his nonsense. “So that’s your name.”

  It worked, Damien thought, relieved that he was able to communicate with the creature. Now I just need to make sure I’m not thinking about something I shouldn’t.

  “Did you come from the submerged city like the others?” the creature asked.

  Damien was not sure what the creature meant by this question. Of course the submerged city meant the Atlantic Station. But this should have been obvious. There was nowhere else to reside in the entire ocean. He was more confused by the term others. He and Captain Gesetti were the only ones on the Cassidy submarine when it came under attack and she had almost certainly been killed.

  “I don’t know,” Damien replied in his mind, pairing his thoughts with audible nonsense like he did before.

  The creature leaned over him and placed the transparent ball on his naked chest. Damien could sense it did not like that answer.

  “You are lying. Where did you come from and how many are there?” it asked, rephrasing the question this time.

  “I came from the Atlantic Station,” Damien responded, hoping this was the answer the creature wanted to hear. “There are millions of us, millions of humans living in the station.”

  The monster snickered and pulled the ball back.

  “There were millions,” it responded. “My people saw to your world’s prompt destruction. But that is not the subject I wish to discuss. How many more cities are there?”

  Destruction?

  “What do you mean?” Damien asked.

  “Do not ignore my question. You have already had your time to ask. How many more cities are there?” the creature replied, no longer as kind as it was before.

  “Only one in the Atlantic. There are two more. One in the Pacific and one in the Indian,” Damien responded, still wondering what the creature meant by destruction.

  “One in the Pacific and one in the Indian,” the creature repeated, seemingly intrigued by this information. “So the rumors about the Sorrevahni may be true. I am glad that you are proving useful.”

  What the hell does that mean?

  “I am glad that I can be helpful. Can I ask my own question now?”

  The creature squinted its large eyes and craned its neck down. It hesitated, but then nodded and took a step back.

  “I suppose so. If you feel it will help loosen your tongue.”

  Damien swallowed nervously and looked the monster in its eyes.

  “What did you mean when you said ‘destruction’?” he asked.

  The creature lowered its head and then looked up again. It seemed annoyed.

  “Until recently, you were the only evolved-one that our people knew of. It was a shocking discovery, finding you,” the creature explained. “We examined your vessel and tried to find any signs of your kind. Search parties were sent out across the sea. When the first party finally made contact with the city, your people attacked ours and killed them like animals. As a result, your kind was promptly exterminated, though many were taken as prisoners.”

  It felt as if Damien’s heart had stopped. He gasped for air, but could barely breathe. His body jolted as if he had lost control of his muscles. His arms rubbed against the invisible restraints, burning his skin like a flame. Tears rushed down his eyes and around his cheek.

  Images of his family flashed before him like pictures on a pod. He could see his mother, his brother, even little Ophelia. They were all gone. Not only them, but my home, my job, my past. Everything he had known meant nothing now.

  “Why?” he shouted, managing to find the exact word this time.

  He shook the table, banging himself against the metal slab. He was sure to be covered in bruises by the time this was over.

  “Calm down, evolved-one,” it said in a quiet tone.

  Damien tried to calm down. He stopped flailing and took long, deep breaths, though the tears continued to stream down his face.

  “As you can imagine, being that you were the only specimen we had at the time, my people wished to thoroughly study you and your anatomy. The decision was made to keep you in prolonged hibernation so that we could examine you more easily. Your preservation was valuable, you see. However, upon the discovery of your entire colony, there are many more prisoners like you now. You, Kho Damien Saljov, are no longer as valuable. That is why I have awoken you at last.”

  Shit, this thing is going to kill me, just like it did to everyone else.

  “What? What do you want with me?” Damien asked, speaking normally now.

  The creature put the ball back down, out of Damien’s line of sight.

  “You have given to me that which I require. You have told me your name, where you are from and how many cities there are. You have assured me that there is only one city in what you call the Atlantic.”

>   “Yes,” Damien confirmed. “Yes, one city.”

  “And your people, they owed allegiance to no one, correct?” the creature asked.

  Damien closed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears.

  “Our people belonged to the Atlantic Federation,” he answered. This time he had to use the gibberish technique again.

  “The Atlantic Federation,” the creature repeated. “No allegiance to Sorreveous?”

  Damien shook his head and replied, “No.” I don’t even know who Sorreveous is.

  “Then that is all,” the creature said, walking away. Its footsteps clanged against the metal floor.

  Damien remained strapped to the table. He felt alone, cold, helpless. Not even the creature stood by him anymore to keep him company. Damien never wanted to end his own life before, but now he would do anything for a shot in the head.

  “I have a question,” a different voice echoed through his mind.

  Damien was shocked to hear a different speaker. He tried to turn and face whoever was talking, but his head could still only move up and down.

  The room fell as silent as death for a moment. Damien did not know why, but he feared whomever this new speaker was even more.

  “Release his restraints,” the new voice ordered.

  Everything opened up. Damien quickly pushed himself up so that he was seated. He stared around the room in shock.

  Until now, Damien assumed he and the creature were the only ones in the room. But as he looked around, he saw more creatures than he could count. Most were seated against the walls on all sides of the room like an audience to a show.

  The chamber itself was massive, large enough to hold a basketball court and decorated with shining black walls unlike anything he had seen in the government district. Large V-shaped arches held up the tall ceiling like something out of a hellish architect’s dream. His own table was positioned in what seemed to be the center of it all. To his right, a few stood at attention as his interrogator joined them. To his left, a large glowing screen covered the wall behind the seated creatures. The screen was full of bright colors mashed together in a ball shape like some sort of abstract art.

  “Kho Damien Saljov, I am your releaser,” the voice said.

  Damien struggled to find which creature was speaking to him. He frantically searched around to see if any of their mouths were moving. Then one of the standing creatures stepped forward. This one looked different from the rest. It wore a long crimson cape, flowing well past its protruding abdomen and onto the shiny floor. The creature held what looked like a golden scepter in its claw, capped off with a red jewel in the shape of a spearhead.

  “Hello,” Damien said to the creature as it walked his way. Whoever this was, it appeared quite regal.

  “I am Kho Veznek, Under Chieftain to the Supreme Chieftess, her Majesty, Kal Khtallia, of the Kholvari. My brother, Kho Mohkzani, was killed by your people when we first discovered your city.”

  “I am sorry to hear that,” Damien said, trying to sound polite.

  “Your apologies mean nothing to me, evolved-one,” the Under Chieftain replied. “Your kind got what they deserved. Though Kho Rendevahrk may have finished his questioning, there is one question that I still want answered.”

  Damien swallowed nervously. He hoped he could give this creature the answer it desired.

  “How do your people plan to counterattack?” the Under Chieftain asked.

  Damien shook his head and shrugged.

  “I don’t know,” he replied.

  “Don’t lie to me! There must be a plan!” the Under Chieftain shot back. The decorated creature continued walking towards the table. By now it was so close that Damien could smell its pungent odor.

  Kho Rendevahrk quickly dashed forward and caught up to the regal monster.

  “Under Chieftain Kho Veznek, it is possible this specimen knows nothing of a counterattack. He has been under forced hibernation for the entire duration of-”

  The decorated creature spun around and stared its counterpart in the eyes. The Under Chieftain raised its free claw in the air and Kho Rendevahrk quieted down. It was instantly clear who held the power in this room.

  The Under Chieftain took a deep breath, looked down towards its crablike legs and then back up to Damien’s table.

  “Kho Rendevahrk may have a point,” the decorated creature reluctantly said. Damien could tell the creature did not enjoy admitting this. “Be that as it may, I still do not trust you, Kho Damien Saljov. You are the first evolved-one we have awoken, but you shall not be the last. Prisoners are being transported here as we speak. If we find that you have been uncooperative with us, I shall show no mercy.”

  Damien did not know what to do so he simply nodded his head. The angered Under Chieftain turned and walked back from where it had come. Kho Rendevahrk followed. All at once, the crowd of creatures slowly stood up from their seats and exited the chamber. I guess the show’s over.

  Another creature walked up to his table from behind. Damien turned to face it. This one was leaner than the others and seemed to have smoother, younger skin (though that did not make it any less ugly). It scurried towards him like a crab to food.

  Damien instinctively raised his hands in front of his face as it came near, though he lowered them as soon as he realized the creature meant no harm.

  “I am Kal Likus. I will take you away from here,” the creature said to him. This one’s voice was softer and higher than the others. Damien assumed that this creature must have been a female and that the others were male.

  “Where are you taking me?” Damien asked. He could not even tell if he was speaking real words or gibberish anymore.

  “I will take you to your cell,” Kal Likus answered.

  Damien shook his head.

  “No,” he responded, “no, no, I don’t want to go to a cell. Just bring me up to the surface to die. Let me suffocate on the poison air. I don’t even care.”

  “Up to the surface?” the creature repeated. “Evolved-one, where do you think you are? We are far beyond the depths of any ocean.”

  The creature gestured towards the glowing wall. Damien turned to face it as members of the audience slowly continued to file out of the room.

  The illuminated image was a circle, a perfect sphere surrounded by nothing but black. Dots of white and green decorated the empty space, slowly shifting like waves in the ocean. That’s when it hit him. This was no screen at all.

  No, no, it can’t be, he thought to himself. I can’t be here. It’s impossible.

  Damien Saljov, once an explorer of the deep, now looked down at his home planet from the window of an alien vessel.

  IRIS PULLED OFF ALL HER clothes and tossed them on the damp floor. Though her hands were purple and her skin looked as white as her old bedroom wall, she felt warmer than ever before. Looking around the cramped pod, she started losing track of who was who. All of the bodies in her company were strangers to her. There were children around too, shivering and removing their own clothes. They climbed on top of a big black crate and other people’s legs. Iris began to feel dizzy. She coughed, but only blood sputtered.

  “- and we’re ending!” she heard someone yell. Was it a man’s voice? A woman’s voice? Iris was not sure of anything anymore.

  “Look!” someone said, holding up what looked like a grey jumpsuit. “Aha!”

  It seemed like the room was spinning. Although she was already sitting down, Iris struggled to balance. Before she knew it, the dizzy teacher felt herself fall onto another person’s lap.

  “What’s wrong with us?” someone shouted.

  “Hypothermia!” someone else replied. “We need to find a way to get warm fast. Our bodies are going into shock!” That must be someone smart, Iris thought. Like a professor! Professors are smart.

  Iris could not remember much right now, but she remembered the word hypothermia and she remembered wading through freezing water only a short while ago. Ah, that must’ve done it! She felt herself smile
, but did not know why.

  She closed her eyes and heard ringing bells. Ah, bells. How pleasant. That’s a sound I know! She envisioned herself in one of the wide yellow transition rings during a festival. Colorful banners decorated the walls. Performers stood on stilts, juggling and breathing fire. Children smiled and pointed at the spectacles.

  This was peaceful. Iris opened her eyes again and saw the blurry outline of a figure covering her with what looked like a blanket.

  I don’t need a blanket, she thought, though she was too tired to speak. I’m hot! I’m hot!

  She closed her eyes again, trying to return to her imaginary world. This was where she wanted to be right now, not cramped inside of a small box with a bunch of faceless strangers covering her with blankets.

  Before she knew it, the freezing woman was fast asleep.

  Iris awoke to a warm feeling in her pants. She opened her eyes and lifted her head. Everything was hazy and distorted, but she could tell she was wearing clothes now. Some sort of jumpsuit?

  She reached down to the warm feeling and realized she had wet herself. I haven’t done that in years, she thought. I’m like a kid again!

  Still dizzy, she fell sideways into the shiny glass window. Her head banged against its hard surface, but Iris was too disoriented to feel any pain. She leaned forward and vomited onto a child’s lap. The kid immediately awoke and started crying. Oh, whoops, she thought.

  Iris simply closed her eyes again and dreamed.

  It was night when she next came to. Dark shadows and blinking lights surrounded the cabin. Iris could feel the heat circulating through the air. She smelled vomit and urine and maybe even feces.

  “Iris?” someone asked.

  Iris turned towards the sound, though she was not sure who asked the question.

  “Yes,” she replied. “Am I okay?”

  Someone different answered, but it was difficult to hear the words. It sounded quiet and muffled, like someone was speaking with their hands in front of their mouth.