Cries of the Wolf

by C. S. Harte

  Meomi’s mini-map lit up with countless red dots. “Looks like we have less time than we thought.”

  “Sunrise can’t come fast enough…” Rayfin sighed.

  “Would you like a hand in climbing out of this hole?” Bast extended his arm to Meomi.

  She took his arm and wrapped herself around his waist.

  Bast used his thrusters to fly both him and Meomi to the streets above.

  Thorne activated his strength neuromod for a quick boost and jumped from a standstill to join Meomi.

  Rayfin used his agility neuromod to do the same. “Where to now?”

  “We should find somewhere with a choke point, so those things can’t swarm us,” Thorne said.

  “Searching,” Bast said as he ordered his drone higher into the air. “The eastern entryway into the city has a guard tower, and the canyon is a natural choke point.” Bast projected the drone video with his gloves.

  The hexagonal, window-less tower measured one hundred and forty meters tall, eighty meters thick. All six sides were a dull blue, similar to the building material of the other structures in this eastern half of the city. A flat rooftop platform capped the skyscraper. There were no distinct markings anywhere on the surface, sharing a similar characteristic to the Aorgar cube. It had only one entry point, a door on the south side of the structure.

  Meomi registered the tower as a checkpoint on her mini-map. “We’re only one and a half klicks away. We can get there in ten minutes if we beat feet.”

  Rayfin activated his speed neuromod. “Last one there is Calfar food!”

  "Not funny, Ray!" Meomi yelled.

  “I will wait at the entrance.” Bast fired his thrusters and flew away.

  “You heard Rayfin,” Thorne said to Meomi and began sprinting.

  Meomi injected herself with a combat stim leaving her with one remaining. She made it to the watchtower in nine minutes flat but was the last to arrive.

  30 minutes until sunrise.

  Thorne waited until Meomi entered to close the half-ton metal doors.

  Bast used his lasers to weld the doors shut.

  Everyone but Bast dropped to the ground breathing heavily. The team was safe for now.

  Meomi took this reprieve to survey the alien structure they inhabited. The same dull, blue metal on the outside covered the surface on the inside. Rings of cold white lights segmented the walls every ten meters. Her eyes followed a spiral staircase in the center of the tower to the top. She looked for a control room or command headquarters but found none. “I wonder what’s powering this place?”

  Thorne stood and in a surprising move, shoved Bast against the wall. “You said there were no power sources on this planet!”

  “Captain Thorne, I have not been in this building.” Bast did not try to fight back. “I am as perplexed as you are.”

  Rayfin stepped in between the two. “I’m just glad we’re alive and in one piece. Please, Captain...” He separated Thorne from Bast. “24 minutes until sunrise. It doesn’t matter what’s powering this place right now. The enemy is out there,” Rayfin said in a calm voice. “We can easily make that. My average nap time is longer than 24 minutes.”

  Meomi tugged at Thorne’s arm. “Rayfin is right. Worry about the new mystery later.” She pointed up. “Let’s get eyes on the outside.”

  Bast flew to the rooftop while everyone else took the stairs. “We may have a problem.”

  “What is it, Bast?” Meomi asked.

  “I believe it is best to see for yourself,” he replied.

  The team climbed the spiral staircase of the 14-story tower and joined Bast on the rooftop platform.

  Bast pointed at the horde of Calfars advancing toward the tower.

  “There’s so many of them…” Rayfin said with his mouth slacked.

  “I wish we had our rifles,” Meomi said. “We could pick off hundreds from here.”

  More Calfars poured into the canyon road.

  “I doubt three rifles would make a difference against that size of an army,” Thorne said.

  “16 minutes left,” Rayfin said. “We’ll be safe after that right, Bast?”

  He nodded at Rayfin.

  The screeching of the Calfars carried high into the air, reaching the team at the top of the tower. Waves after waves crashed into the tower. Some dug their claws into the side of the tower and began slowly climbing up the walls before slipping and falling down.

  Suddenly, a sound akin to a war horn blasted above the Calfar screeching. The Calfars stopped in their tracks. The ones in the middle of the horde parted way allowing for something substantial to pass through.

  “This can’t be good,” Rayfin said.

  “Do you know what’s going on, Bast?” Meomi asked.

  “I have never seen this behavior before,” he replied.

  The tower began trembling every few seconds as if the surrounding ground was unstable.

  A huge red dot, twice the size of the others, appeared on Meomi’s mini-map.

  “Look,” Thorne said as he pointed at a bend in the canyon.

  Stomping through the lane of parted Calfars, was a gigantic creature standing over 50 meters tall, significantly larger than the average Calfar which barely reached its ankles. Its leathery skin was black, making it hard to see against the backdrop of night. Still, Meomi made out bony protrusions jutting out from every part of its flesh. On its head were three fiery red eyes placed in a triangle.

  The other Calfars appeared scared of the giant creature, backing away as it neared, to the point of compressing themselves against the canyon walls. One Calfar was slow in moving out of the giant’s way and was crushed, leaving a gooey, green mess on the ground.

  “Oh boy, this is bad…” Rayfin said.

  “What is that supposed to be? Their leader?” Meomi asked.

  “I do not know,” Bast said. “I have never encountered it before.”

  “How can a living creature be so big…” Thorne said.

  “Do we… shoot it?” Rayfin asked.

  “I doubt our weapons would have much impact,” Thorne said.

  “What do we do then?” Rayfin asked.

  Meomi checked her timer. 12 minutes left. “Time is on our side for once. We need to hold out until the sun rises.”

  The apparent Calfar King regurgitated a vile black sludge and sprayed it at the base of the tower.

  Immediately, the tower groaned and swayed losing its structural integrity.

  Everyone but Bast dropped to one knee to maintain their balance.

  The war horn sounded again, a cry from the throat of the King. Its underlings raised their clawed arms and charged the tower. In seconds, they broke through the ground doors of the tower, flooding the core.

  Rayfin ran to barricade the rooftop entrance with his body.

  Thorne dashed to help him.

  “We must leave now,” Bast said. “I can only carry one of you at a time. Captain Hana, you first.” He held out his arm.

  “No, take one of them first,” Meomi argued.

  “Just go, Captain!” Rayfin yelled.

  “We don’t have time, Meomi. Go!” Thorne screamed.

  Meomi reluctantly took Bast’s arm and wrapped herself around his waist. Together they flew half a klick eastward and out of the canyon.

  “You might need this.” Bast handed her his rifle.

  “Bring them back alive!” She yelled as Bast flew back in the air.

  The tower began swaying.

  Bast latched onto Thorne next, leaving Rayfin to fend for himself.

  “Why did you take me and not Rayfin?” Thorne asked.

  “You are a higher rank, and I presumed more important,” Bast said.

  “I have a strength neuromod!” Thorne said bitterly. “He doesn’t.”

  “I don’t mean to be pushy, but I’m struggling to hold this door in place…” Rayfin said over voice comm. “Using my last combat stim…”

  Bast dropped off Thorne. “On my way back, Ensign Mana
lo.”

  The tower tipped over, groaning as it leaned.

  “This is not how I wanted to go,” Rayfin moaned.

  “Almost there, Ensign,” Bast said.

  The base of the tower snapped. The lower part crumbled into dust as the top half hurdled to the ground.

  “No…” Meomi exhaled. “Not you too…”

  Six minutes until sunrise.

  25

  Some Fleet sailors had up to five neuromods installed in their bodies, but only one neuromod was meant to be active at a time due to the strain they exerted on the human heart.

  Rayfin initiated both his speed and agility neuromods at the same time. He had to. His life was on the cusp of ending. With every measure of effort, Rayfin raced to the edge of the falling tower and vaulted himself as high as he could into the air.

  One of the Calfars broke through the roof as Rayfin made his jump and latched onto his ankle just before the building toppled over.

  Bast fired his suit thrusters at maximum capacity, aiming to intercept Rayfin during the upward ascent of his jump.

  Rayfin swung his arms and legs wildly to keep himself in the air longer and to shake off the Calfar holding onto him.

  Gravity pulled Rayfin faster than Bast anticipated. He adjusted his flight path to intercept Rayfin at a point just above the mass of Calfars on the ground.

  The guard tower crumbled apart as it fell. Each piece slammed violently into the ground, knocking all the Calfars on their backs. A massive plume of dust blossomed into the sky, rendering visibility at nearly zero.

  Bast showed little hesitation flying into the cloud of dirt and sand. “I have you!” He exclaimed as he took hold of Rayfin with the extra passenger Calfar still attached to Rayfin’s legs.

  “Too much weight,” Bast cried as he struggled to maintain his flight. They descended toward the stunned horde of Calfars that survived the collapsed tower.

  “I can’t get this guy off me!” Rayfin yelled, trying to shake off the stowaway clenched to him.

  Meomi watched the entire scene unfold through Bast’s rifle scope. Her sights were set on the unrelenting Calfar attached to Rayfin. She prepared herself for a nearly impossible shot. Half a klick away, a moving target flying at 20 kilometers per hour, poor visibility through the dust cloud, while aiming for a headshot and trying not to hit her friend. “I can do this,” she whispered to herself. She exhaled, then pulled the trigger.

  Miss.

  The Calfar screeched. Instead of hitting its head, the projectile ripped through its abdomen and exploded out its backside. The damage did nothing to shake the creature loose from Rayfin.

  “Not a bad shot,” Thorne said. “At least you didn’t hit Rayfin.”

  “My thrusters are weakening. I advise removing the Calfar holding onto you,” Bast said.

  “You think I’m just shaking my leg for exercise?”

  Meomi relaxed her breathing and refocused her concentration. “I need you to stay still…” As her lungs emptied, she fired her shot.

  Hit.

  The Calfar immediately released its grip on Rayfin as its body went limp and plummeted.

  “You did it!” Thorne picked up Meomi and twirled her. “Incredible shot, Meomi!”

  “It was nothing.” Meomi blushed. “Every space marine has to undergo sniper training.”

  With the enormous weight of the Calfar gone, Bast regained control of his suit thrusters and brought Rayfin safely to the team.

  Meomi ran to Rayfin as he touched the ground. “You did a good job of staying alive, sailor.”

  Rayfin laughed. “I did do a good job, didn’t I?” He turned toward Bast and punched him on the arm. “Thanks for coming back for me.”

  “Of course. It is what friends do,” he said. “We are friends, are we not?”

  “Anyone who flies straight into a nest of Calfar while dodging falling towers to save my life is definitely a friend of mine.” Rayfin grinned.

  “You would do the same for me,” Bast said.

  Rayfin snorted. “I would like to think so, but I don’t have suit thrusters like you.”

  One minute until sunrise. Dawn had already pushed away most of the night.

  Meomi ignored the banter and zoomed in on the canyon entrance of eastern Raena. The Calfar King stood in the shadows of the ravine with an expressionless face and lower body shrouded in a cloud of dust. The handful of surviving Calfar minions formed a line in front of their King, posing still like statues. “I get the sense that the Calfars haven’t given up on us.”

  “I don’t think so either,” Thorne said. “Bast, how much further until we reach the pyramids?”

  “Less than a day’s walk," Bast said. "We have a renewed 15 hours before sunset.”

  “No point in a staring contest,” Rayfin said. “I’m ready to go.”

  Thorne tapped Bast’s shoulder. “Lead the way.”

  Bast nodded and headed in a southeastern direction away from the city. Unlike the desert lands where they started, the sands to the east of Raena were a deep shade of crimson, saturated with rust. Other than a few rocky outcrops, the landscape had few landmarks and even fewer signs of life or vegetation.

  “It’s a good thing we didn’t find shelter in the city.”

  “It was a decision that worked out,” Thorne said. “Whoever built Raena, carved it from a mountain which provided plenty of overhead shade from the sun. A perfect place for Calfars to call home.”

  “I didn’t think of that,” Rayfin said. “I’ve been preoccupied with almost dying. It wasn’t fun.”

  “You know something, Ray?” Meomi asked.

  “What’s that, Captain?”

  “You’ve shown remarkable resiliency,” Meomi patted Rayfin’s back. “You would’ve made a solid space marine.”

  “I appreciate that, Captain. But I’m going to have to disagree. I’ve used up most of my luck these past few days.”

  “Let’s hope you have a little left,” Meomi said. “We still have to make it back to our universe and warn Fleet about the Mimic infiltration of our command structure.”

  “As you like to say, Captain. One problem at a time,” Rayfin said. “I’m happy to be alive right now and not digesting inside some Calfar stomach.”

  “Bast,” Thorne said.

  “Yes, Captain Thorne?”

  “You said the Calfars were not a self-aware, intelligent species.” Thorne narrowed his eyes. “Not only do they have a social hierarchy, but they are organized and capable of forethought and strategy.”

  “I have made the same observations, Captain,” Bast said. "The books I read on them appear inaccurate.”

  “Maybe the people who wrote the books were all eaten by the Calfars before they updated them,” Rayfin said.

  “It is also possible Calfars have evolved to be more social over the centuries,” Bast said.

  “This is a concerning development,” Thorne said. “The leader, the giant one, seemed acutely aware of the situation. We are not safe until we leave this planet.”

  “I agree,” Rayfin said. “I’ve never been on a planet where everything wants to eat me.”

  Thorne turned to Meomi who wore a pinched expression on her face. “Are you still thinking about the source of that lantern light?”

  “I am.” She raised her eyebrows. “You’re not part Entrent are you?”

  Thorne scoffed. “As much as it’d make my life easier, you would not want to be an Entrent. If you only knew the things they do to your body! But we’ll save that conversation for another day.”

  Meomi didn’t answer.

  “I understand what it feels like to make a command decision and for it to be the wrong choice.” Thorne matched strides with Meomi. “For all we know, the lantern light was a trap by the Calfars to lure people to stay in the city until dark.”

  “You mean gullible people like me.” Meomi frowned.

  “I meant…” Thorne cleared his throat. “Compassionate people who are always concerned about the we
lfare of others.”

  Meomi nodded ending the conversation.

  The team traveled the rest of the way in relative silence, choosing to conserve their energy if they needed to fend off more surprise attacks. After walking roughly 11 hours under the oppressive heat of the desert sun, they finally glimpsed their final destination, the black metallic pyramid. They stopped one klick away, exercising caution.

  Bast sent his drone on a comprehensive survey of the land around the pyramid, checking for Calfars, sandwyrms, and other potential threats.

  Meomi’s visor displayed a three-dimensional wireframe image of the structure using data from the drone. The pyramid measured 146.7 meters in height with a base length of 230.34 meters, a volume of 2,583,283 cubic meters, and a slope of 51°52’. She cross-referenced the dimensions with other known pyramids in the Commonwealth database not expecting to receive any hits. Her mouth gaped open. There was one matching structure — the Pyramid of Giza on Earth's northern African continent in what was once the country of Egypt. Meomi turned her head to Thorne but remained speechless.

  “I know,” he said, looking back at her. “Remarkable coincidence.”

  “What do you think it means?” Meomi asked.

  “I wish I knew.” He shrugged. “The dimensions are nearly identical.” Thorne tilted his head back. “Perhaps the development of our universe was not so random after all.”

  Bast stared at Meomi and Thorne. “You both have seen this structure before?”

  “Not quite the same,” Thorne said. “But eerily similar to something on Earth, our home planet.”

  “Fascinating,” Bast said.

  “I’m glad everyone is finding this interesting, but shouldn’t we get going?” Rayfin asked. “If that’s the way home, I think we should figure out how to work it before night comes again with the second round of Calfar King battles.”

  Meomi nodded at Thorne. “As much as I hate to say it, Rayfin's right. Time isn't on our side.” She took point as the team followed her in a single file line. As Meomi neared the dull metal, jet-black pyramid, she noticed a remarkable feature not apparent from the overhead drone. “It’s… It’s floating…”

  “And here I thought I’ve seen everything…” Rayfin said.