“I’m going too,” she said. Einar looked down and shook his head in frustration. She replied, “I didn’t ask you to like it.”
After a second, he looked up at her, gave a nod, then moved to the side of the mountainous plateau upon which the Imil rested. As he reached the edge, the rock appeared to be coated with a slick, dark, mildew type of substance that would make their passage more treacherous. While there were places to step, the climb was at an angle of about fifty degrees. If they were to slip on the greasy rocks and fall, there was a landing area that he estimated to be sixty feet below them. That was the first stage of the venture to the base of the mountain. He hoped that conditions would improve.
As they descended, a growing stench of waste gave him a cause for concern as it seemed obvious that it was not a random natural odor. By the look on Eerika’s face, she shared his concern. Einar considered going back and searching for another rout wondering about the possibility that they were descending on top of a nest of winged creatures like the ones that spat acid on the Imil. Einar turned and looked up. Eerika followed his gaze and then looked at him. Without saying a word, he motioned back toward where they had come from asking Eerika if she wanted to return. After considering the treacherous climb over the slick rocks upward, Eerika realized that she would rather face whatever was at the bottom than attempt to return to the Imil. She shook her head in disagreement. He flashed her a look of confirmation. She nodded in the affirmative and they continued to descend.
Within minutes they safely reached the flat rock. Einar paused and looked back and forth for the cause of the stench. They were close to the source. The area was twice as large as the one they had set the Imil on. The rock was slick and seemed to have an increased coverage of the substance that was more like a black slime than before. As he looked, he could see trails of hand and foot like indentations in the slime. The hands appeared to have four appendages with three pointing forward and one backward, but more human than bird-like.
“We should stay on the side of the rock. I am not sure what made those prints, but I don’t see a nest or anything from here. Let’s quietly pass over and get down to the next level,” Einar raised his PX as they stepped out and crossed the rock. After twenty feet they came to another flat area similar to the one they had just climbed down from. Einar turned to get Eerika’s opinion on a possible rout and saw the rock formation that was behind them. His expression caused Eerika’s curiosity to perk up and she could not resist looking.
The sixty-foot-high wall of rock was over a hundred feet long. It was inundated with hundreds of holes that were bored into its side and were unequivocally unnatural. Einar estimated the average height to be about five feet at the apex of the openings and considered its maker to be large with the ability to fly or climb exceptionally well. The holes were in no particular order and seemed randomly carved into the face of the flat section of mountain without much thought given to each location.
He faced Eerika and suggested that she go first while he watched her back, but his attention was drawn to a hole on the top in the center of the formation. The tips of two horns protruded out of the darkness of the hole and were moving into the red-orange starlight toward the opening. Within a fraction of a second, a face covered with black hair was studying them. The creature was as large as Einar and covered in black hair with two footlong forward facing horns on its forehead. Black eyes stared at them and it began to get agitated by their presence. It bellowed out an angry, bone-chilling howl as it flashed a mouth full of pointed teeth. In the front of its jaw two grossly oversized canines hung over the bottom lip and were far too large to be covered by its lips. The creature started bobbing its head up and down as it continued to howl and scream. Hundreds of horns moved from the shadows of the caves and became visible in the honeycombed mountainside answering the rallying cry. Most simply looked at the agitated creature and joined in on the haunting chorus of bone-chilling howls without ever seeing them. Others took a defensive posture as the pre-attack frenzy echoed throughout the valley. Each began to swing their heads in U shaped patterns from left to right, howling and flashing razor-sharp teeth.
“Move!” Einar directed. Before he could get off the rock the first creature leapt out of the hole and swung from opening to opening as it worked its way down to the flat surface of the rock. Einar knew it was going to come after them and the odds were that they would never make it down the mountainside faster than the ape-like creatures. They needed to find an area where they could make a stand.
They found themselves doing more sliding than climbing down the slick mountainside slamming into bolder after boulder and getting covered in the black substance from the rocks. Einar looked up as he slid down keeping an eye on their pursuers. He hoped that if they left the immediate area, the creatures would no longer feel threatened by them. Einar was relieved when he looked up at the cliff and saw one of the creatures, possibly the first one to object to their presence, sitting on the ledge looking over at them. It was no longer screaming and howling but watching. As he watched, a wall of the beasts formed as they joined in at his side and filled in the ledge as far as his eyes would allow him to see. If they attacked, there was no realistic way to defend themselves. They were irritatingly vulnerable.
As with some creatures on Econ, they could sense aggression and a threat. While they had displayed no acts of aggression, their presence alone was perceived as such. Einar wondered if he raised the nose of the PX up and pointed it in the direction of the wall of creatures if that would trigger an attack. Every second would be precious if they leapt from the cliff area and pursued them. He would need to shoot hundreds if they had any chance of survival.
A large beast in the center of the chaos was the first to leap over. Before it reached the bottom of the ledge, it flew backward against the rocky wall. Eerika had put a round in the middle of its forehead before Einar could get his PX up. The instantly lifeless body slammed against the rocky cliff and slid, then tumbled down the mountainside for nearly twenty feet before stopping to rest face up. The bloodied face of the creature was without expression staring coldly into the atmosphere.
For a few seconds, the creatures were silent. As if on cue, hundreds resumed the head swinging and howling. From the center outward, the hairy creatures leapt off the ledge, sliding down the pitched ledge then crashing onto the rocky base. The slime coating on the rocks slowed the aggressive pursuit of the beasts down as they had a difficult time with traction. Rocks were cascading down the mountainside as the anxious beasts worked their way toward the two invaders.
Einar and Eerika opened fire as they leapt from the ledge. Both successfully landed rounds and killed nearly a dozen before the primate mob reached the base of the rock wall. They were bombarded by tumbling rocks that were being dislodged by those who had survived the jump and the barrage of gunfire. The abrupt stop at the end of what amounted to a controlled fall, caused each to give anger-filled grunts as padded feet met the rocks at the base. Some seemed to pause for a second in order to assess the situation, others charged on with little concern. The great wall of horned beasts continued to approach and seemed to be more energized with each shot that was fired at them. Lifeless carcasses rolled down the mountainside, some were pinned up in higher elevations as an arm or horn was caught in between boulders or in crevices. As one fell, another took its spot as they mounted a charge.
To their right, there was a sudden change in tone of the howling hoard to that of a pain filled shrill. The line stopped their advance and looked to the sky as a large shadow passed over them and began to rain down acid on the ape-like creatures. The beasts gave up on the quest to get at Einar and Eerika and immediately began to reverse their position, intently seeking refuge from the airborne assailant. Einar stopped firing and watched as twenty or more of the krytyr were flying in sweeping patterns and raining acid down on the large black beasts. They screamed in agony as the acid began to dissolve the portions of their bodies that were directly exposed to the c
onsuming liquid. Hair and muscle seemed to evaporate.
“That is not the best way to die!” Einar noted.
“We should get out of here before we end up like that,” Eerika yelled focused on the returning threat.
The once agitated creatures were now desperately attempting to climb up the mountain and return to the refuge of the honeycombed mountainside. They slipped and kicked up more rocks that had been dislodged by the initial advance. Einar pulled Eerika down below a large boulder that provided them with some shelter during the assault. Just as she ducked, a large black rock slammed into the boulder and bounced over her head and down the mountain.
“That would have hurt,” she said watching it roll away.
“No, that would have killed you. Do we take a chance and get down the mountain? Or, sit here and risk getting coated in acid?” Einar asked while trying to remain invisible to the threat.
“Well, they don’t see us because of these boulders. If we move, they will see us. We can try to shoot our way out, but I don’t think that will end well. Or, we can just wait them out and see if they leave. I’m fairly confident that moving would be a bad idea.” Eerika was breathing heavily.
Einar looked around the boulder to get a better perspective on the position of the krytyr. As he did, one seemed to notice the movement and turned toward them. The creature let out a scream as it rained acid down on the boulder. The liquid splashed against the rock and the forward momentum carried most of it past them. A renegade droplet that was less subject to the laws of physics landed on the back of Einar’s uniform.
“Your back. Some of it got on your back,” Eerika said while pulling on the sleeve.
He quickly jerked off the jacket as the acid began to spread and dissolve the material rendering it useless. Einar tossed it aside watching the vanishing rock behind them and couldn’t help but imagine what it would have been like had a large portion of the acid landed on them. Without his flight jacket, he was more vulnerable and would certainly be at risk if the creature made another pass. He looked beyond the rising smoke from the melting rock and saw the krytyr as the large birdlike creature made a wide turn, circled around and was now behind them approaching. They were now exposed and open to the same fate as the tortured, howling creatures. Einar raised the PX and fired. The plasma met with the chest of the krytyr, it bellowed in agony and fell from the sky. It crashed onto the rocky terrain below them spewing blood and acid on trees thirty feet away from the body.
As the dead beast fell from the sky, the other krytyr simultaneously halted their assault and were no longer interested in the fleeing horned primates. They pulled up and immediately blanketed the area over the fallen. Aggressively they flew back and forth over the dead krytyr as if attempting to discern what had happened. Screams echoed through the mountainside as the angry creatures swarmed erratically distressed by the deceased krytyr. One of the largest in the flock separated from the airborne frenzy. Its feathered body was black with golden stripes that appeared to be without any distinct pattern. From its massive feet hung six large talons that looked as if they could effortlessly be used to rip apart any creature on their home planet of Econ. He realized that even without the ability to destroy an enemy with acid, their beaks and claws gave a cause to fear them. The beast surveyed the area as it landed. It stomped in circles as if it were contemplating the source and threat that had taken down the krytyr. Without saying a word, Einar and Eerika knew to stay quiet and motionless in hopes of being less visible to the beast. After a second, it began to nudge the fallen with its long, pointed beak. When the creature failed to respond, its death was confirmed.
Einar was taken back by the behavior of the animals that seemed to indicate a high level of intelligence coupled with a degree of emotion. It was certain that anything determined to be a threat would be utterly destroyed. Since taking the kill shot on the krytyr, Einar had continued to hold the PX in firing position. After several minutes of watching the krytyr and then deciding against taking a shot due to the risk of being doused in acid, the weapon was getting heavy and the muscles in his arms were starting to burn. With nothing close for him to prop up the weapon, he slowly began to lower it. The movement was enough to alert the grounded krytyr to their location. It leaped over the fallen creature and stomped on the rocks into their direction. Loose rocks slid down the mountain. They were thankful it had been too far away to spit the deadly liquid on them.
“Shoot or not to shoot?” Eerika asked while assessing the situation.
“I’m not sure we have much of a choice,” Einar replied.
Before Einar could fire off a round, one of the air bound krytyr screamed. The sky was suddenly ablaze with upward bound, airborne balls of red-orange fire. One by one the krytyr were struck and bellowed in agony. The large krytyr that had been walking up the mountainside toward them looked up and then to the rear. Its claws dug into the rocky mountainside as it turned to survey the area. Without hesitation, Einar fired off a round that struck the krytyr in the back of the head. The giant whipped its head back toward them. Its eyes were ablaze and blood red, it opened its beak to rain down the deadly acid on them, but nothing came out. The creature was still for a second then fell to the ground. The weight of the beast dislodged some of the rocks and it began to slide down the mountainside. As it moved, it gained momentum and slid toward the odd oncoming wall of what appeared to be the same colors and aimless patterns as the bird. As if parting the sea, the lower formation opened. Einar could hear what sounded more like that of a human than an animal.
Within a few seconds, the large krytyr was gone and he could see what the source of the fire in the sky had been. Eerika gasped as she looked down the mountain. She touched Einar’s arm, “What are we going to do now?”
Chapter 15
“Wakey…wakey head sleepy,” Ann sang the words in an annoying tone as she touched Sonia on the leg. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the quirky blue-eyed android standing over her, “You sleeping for long. We bout to go out of celerity and be dare.”
“No, no, no…it’s ‘sleepyhead,’ not ‘head sleepy.’” Sonia moaned as she continued to lay across the bench seat struggling to wake up. It was the first time in recent memory that she was able to get quality sleep and the annoying android had waken her up. The bench seat was far more comfortable and warmer than the tank she lived in in the Erim of the Tilhar, and oddly enough, the bed in her living quarters. An added bonus was the lack of interruption of her sleep by Joseph the demanding, long-haired boy that always showed up the second she would lay down. It was the thought of him that rejuvenated her concern. What was I thinking…flying through the universe in a stolen ship piloted by a dysfunctional robot because of a voice in my head? I have to be insane. I’m not really sure where we are going. I doubt Ann knows…that thing needs android therapy or to be reprogrammed or something.”
“Why are you talking that way?” she asked rolling her eyes.
“I done did some research while you were sleeping, yeah…Cher. I know you one of dem Cajuns from down in Louisian.”
Sonia chuckled, “Look I appreciate the effort, but we didn’t quite live in Acadiana. We were just a little to the east. Besides, your Cajun isn’t very good.”
“Oo ye yi!” Ann said.
Sonia laughed and replied, “I appreciate the attempt, but I really don’t remember that much. It has been a long time.”
She convinced herself to sit up and try to stand. Perhaps by looking at the planet she would recognize it…if they truly ever reached a planet at all. Ann’s programming seemed to be a bit off, well way off if she was being honest. This was somewhat terrifying. She was willing to guess that they were simply wandering aimlessly through space with no actual real target in mind. Unless the tracking device was working, the chances of being found and recovered weren’t very high as it would be up to her to get them back. Either way, floating through space until running out of fuel and dying from starvation was still better than being a prisoner of Ti
lhar.
Each time Sonia thought of him, she recalled his death. The memory was so vivid as if reliving it in person each time. The smell, the look in the scaly face, the wide black eyes that were filled with fear as he violently gyrated and cooked from the inside out, was as clear as if it had just happened. Tilhar had always seemed emotionless unless it was anger that he was directing toward her. She took pleasure when recalling the fear that was evident in him. It was certainly difficult knowing not only that his death was certain, but that it was going to come at the hands of a slave girl from Earth. Poetic justice, she thought. How many slaves had the monster killed himself? How many others were killed at his direction? To see any resemblance of fear in the monster’s eyes had brought a bit of satisfaction from her accidental revenge despite the potential consequences. The smell was the worst part and it still seemed to linger in her sinuses. Sonia swore that she could still smell his burning, dying body from time to time as if it was following her. But he was now on the other side in whichever eternity would have him. She allowed herself to smile for a second at the thought. No one would ever suffer at the hands of Tilhar ever again and it didn’t matter if no one knew that she was the one who ended his reign of terror.
Sonia looked down at the pants she was wearing and to the pouch fastened to her side by a black belt. She reached in and pulled out the piece of telenium that ended the reign of Tilhar. The game piece that brought his life to a wonderfully pain-filled conclusion. It was still in its original shape, which reminded her of the tip of a very primitive and large spear. She placed the pointed end at the tip of her middle finger. It ran several inches past her wrist. The edges were rough, but no electricity shot into her body. She marveled at the metal and wondered from a scientific perspective why the metal worked the way it did. How it formed. It was all too hard to fathom.
Universal Code Page 27
