by Foxx Ballard
“Umm, sure?” he replied, not knowing this was something people could do. He knew Vesuvians could put an image in your head, but browsing thoughts?
Just relax, she said in his head. Try to think of nothing. It felt like he had another Rusty in his head digging up memories, but he was watching them do it. Strange. And sad and joyful at the same time when it briefly brought up memories of his wife and son, and then fast-forwarded over the time since he had arrived.
At the same time that he was watching his own memories, he noted that he could also wander into Angel’s. And because his mind was quick, he got a very detailed overview of her life. The carefree and yet deep caring and kindness this woman had for others amazed him. A lot of it came from her people’s minds, always being open to each other. Nothing was ever hidden. Bad thoughts were always immediately known and dealt with. And were rare. He couldn’t help feeling closer to her than he had to anyone. People that couldn’t read each other’s minds were missing out on truly knowing one another.
You are the most intuitive person I have ever met, Rusty. She said in his head. You had not been exposed to much in your life, and yet, since moving to Earth, you adapted fully, and even now, every experience you have had, you have accepted and grown from, quickly. Including this one. You have an amazing mind. Although we now know each other, I hope we get to experience new things together.
I would like that, he thought back to her, his mind freer to communicate without the need for stumbling over a spoken language. You are very thoughtful. I would enjoy your company for as long as we have it.
She smiled at him. “I think he’s right,” Angel said to the rest of them.
Lais shook her head. “That can’t be… Drak? Really?”
“Rusty can recognize people more accurately than we can, and he hasn’t even seen Drak before, yet he can recognize his individual smell on others. I believe him, Drak is the one that controlled his life on Earth, separating him from his family. He was the one that directed Rusty to cause the incarceration of all of us. It wasn’t an accident, but I don’t know why. Rusty doesn’t have that knowledge. He was just protecting his family. I also have no idea why Drak came to this prison world. I’ve never been able to delve deeply into his mind. Rusty has sought us out to assist us in finding the Chakran, though his motivation is to confront Drak, not rescue our friends, although now it might be that as well… On that note,” Angel said directly to Rusty. “I wouldn’t recommend confronting him. Drak is quite powerful, from what I have observed. I had never considered him a threat until now. He is a Drakkenfang, a crystalline entity with molten blood. He looks like a small winged dragon.”
Rusty was not surprised by this. He already knew the interactions Angel had with Drak, through her mind, many of them visual. She was right. It didn’t seem like Drak would do something like that, but he had. Rusty needed to know more, he’d lost everything and wanted to know the reason behind it.
“Hold on,” Lais stopped her for a moment. “Rusty is the reason we’re all here? But not really because Drak was holding his family hostage? This all sounds so ridiculous! I mean it does, doesn’t it?!”
Angel shrugged. “I’m just telling you what Rusty has experienced and what he believes. And I believe him.”
Lais sighed. “Sorry, I just needed a second to process all that. I had to re-organize a lot of… thoughts.”
“I understand,” Angel said, rubbing Lais’s shoulder.
“Me come with you? Help find friends, you help find Drak?”
Lais looked at Angel and then back at Rusty.
“Yes, we’ll help each other. I’m curious too why Drak would do such a thing. It just doesn’t seem to fit his nature.”
Rusty smiled and hopped back up onto Synth-E-Uh and climbed into his t-shirt-padded seat.
“Where we go now?” he asked.
“Holbrook,” was the answer.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Mogul: Diamond Mine in the mountains above Holbrook
Mogul woke with the female's rocky fist gripping his arm tightly. In one hand she had him, in the other a partly eaten mountain hopper, half the size of her, held far from his reach. Arga didn't share, as was customary, and would use him until he was spent, storing his seed for many years to come. He needed to get away, though. She would mate with him until he had starved to death or suffered a fatal injury. So far he had found her mating patterns predictable, but forceful, so he had managed to avoid most injury, save for a few broken rock-scales, and those would repair over time.
Her snoring rumbled through the mine, sometimes shaking small rocks loose. Now was as good a time as any. Females slept soundly, which gave the males a fighting chance. But if he woke her... he didn't think he would have the energy to escape if this went on much longer.
He started by prying her fingers up carefully and whenever she snored, he would slide a rock the same width of his arm further under her fingertips.
Arga snorted, and he froze, fear shooting through him. Few things scared a Ramogran, but death frightened all living creatures, and this was surely one of the ways Ramograns were noted for dying. She dozed again and he let out a quiet breath he'd been holding as her snoring continued.
Eventually, the rock replaced his arm, and he was able to slip free, but it wasn't over. She could still wake, and if she did, she would catch him again easily. She was far faster and stronger, and had been eating the whole time. He would be able to replenish his resources in short order if he got away. He let that goal motivate him. Never would he take from her. She would go through the nightmare of giving birth many times over if she survived. Nothing that could happen to him would come close to that painful of an experience. No male worth seeding children would take food from the female. He'd never heard of it happening, and he wasn't going to be the first one to do it.
The secret was the snoring. He had learned that from his first mate after she'd nearly killed him. Move only when they snored. It took him an hour of creeping, but he reached the mouth of the mine. Though it was pitch black inside, he had been all over the inside, mostly involuntarily, so he knew the way by feel. Outside, the moons provided enough light to see by. His heart sank a little. It had snowed. She would be able to follow his footsteps if she woke. His old shorts were sitting there by the entrance where he had tossed them a couple months ago, judging by this world's days. Mogul put them on and repeated the mantra—step when she snores, step when she snores...
This was where it had started. If he hadn't mated with Arga, his friends would have been killed by her rampage. He missed them. They had accepted him without much trouble, which was rare for non-Ramograns. Earth Common was hard to learn, and he hadn't grasped it very well, so most aliens that met him thought he was simple-minded. Their loss. He never argued the point. Easier to find the ones that were worth knowing by ignoring the ignorant ones.
His foot slipped, and a scattering of small rocks tumbled into the mine. Damn the earth! He shouldn't have let his mind wander!
“Mo-GUL!”
The roar sent ice through his veins and he ran, as quietly as a Ramogran could run, trying to match his paces to hers so he would be harder to hear. He sprinted up the narrow eastern path that ended at the main north-south path that led through the mountains. If she looked down and saw his tracks, there was no chance he would escape her.
Inspiration struck him and he stomped down the south path several paces and then tiptoed back up the north one, trying to stay within his own footsteps, even as she came thundering out of the mine shaft. He gritted his teeth... If she turned north he was dead, but he kept quietly stepping as quickly and carefully as he could.
Again luck was on his side. She turned south. He risked a glance back, only to see her standing and staring at him. She let out a great angry roar, but ended it with—was that a smile? He couldn't believe his eyes. She was letting him go.
And then she took a stomp in his direction again, and his heart nearly jumped into his throat.
Only to be followed by her laughing, a deep, joyful sound, and then she waved. He waved back off-handedly even though his instincts screamed to run, still unsure what to think, but he didn't want to wait around for her to change her mind. It was rare to be let go. He must have pleased her, and she hoped to mate with him again. He'd only heard of it happening a few times, but he smiled to himself. All the more reason to please the female, so they didn't kill you in the end.
Once he had relaxed enough and stopped jogging up the northern path, he glanced around and listened for any signs of food. The mountain hoppers were fairly plentiful up here. She had several in the mine, so he knew there were more. She would never have hunted a herd to extinction, so there had to be some left. He just wanted one. There was no vegetation that he could see either, and though it would have passed as food as he could almost eat anything, there was nothing like a good mouthful of juicy meat with crunching bones.
Concern grew after an hour of looking and not seeing any tracks. Of course, they were probably avoiding the area around the mine. He would have to be patient, but it was hard when you had gone so long without food. Another hour passed and though he was covering ground at a fast pace, the path was barren of vegetation. The hoppers were likely lower down in the tree line. He would get there. Patience.
When the sun rose, he realized that he had missed several sets of tracks in the dim light. They were just a short distance off the trail. He could see the odd hoof-print in the snow among the rocks. When he saw fresh scat pellets, he knew he would have one before long.
And he was right, just a few minutes further, and he ran across a herd that was crossing the path. He stopped moving and stood silently, watching for any that were injured, or were old or sick. There was one. A straggler, with long curled horns and a sagging back. His long gray beard nearly reaching the ground. His hooves clattered on the rocks and he was stepping gingerly. Arthritis probably. He would have lived a good long life for a hopper. That was his meal. Mogul sprinted down the path, the motion causing the gray hopper to freeze for just an instant, but Ramograns were huge and could sprint nearly as fast as a cheetah for short periods. It didn't really stand a chance. The entire herd ran off, higher into the mountains for protection, but Mogul scooped up the old hopper in both hands and mercifully bit his head off in one bite. As the two old ram’s horns clattered to the ground at his feet—they couldn't fit in his mouth—Mogul chewed and reveled in the delicious warmth and crunchy sustenance he had been so desperate for. Everything relaxed. He hadn't realized how tense he was, worrying about survival. But now he would survive. He just had to decide what he was going to do next.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Rusty: Outside Holbrook Valley
The sleds were parked a short distance out of town, and Synth-E-Uh and Jack stayed with them as guards because Lais informed them that the people of the town were a little xenophobic. Jack protested, but Rusty didn’t give him a choice.
Angel stayed behind to nap, so Rusty accompanied Lais into the village, ignoring that people might not like him there, pulling the gorlon with the wagon along behind him. It licked Rusty with its long forked tongue a couple of times, but didn’t eat him. Rusty wasn’t sure he should be that close to the animal, so handed the reins to Lais. She just smiled and took them, so appeared to understand his concerns as he stepped to the other side of the path to put her between himself and the gorlon.
It wasn’t long before there was a large gathering of people and Lais relayed the sad news of what had happened. Thankfully, Randall’s son still had his grandparents to look after him. The news of the attack on Cassiden had everyone concerned. They had lost their mayor, and there wasn’t any aerial defense against the Chakran if they attacked in Holbrook.
Rusty listened to the recount told by Lais and noticed she didn’t go into full detail when relaying the death of Randall and his wife. He agreed with that choice, no point in being cruel. After suggestions to make wasp-proof clothing as a possible defense, which could feasibly be woven from the rock-spider silk, she started saying her goodbyes to people, leaving the wagon with them.
While she was saying goodbye, Rusty walked back to the sleds at the entrance to the village and investigated the building pulled by Lais’s sled. Turned out to be a fancy bathroom, which Rusty was happy to use. Funny, since Lais didn’t require such a facility, or you wouldn’t think, being a synthetic. Not like any synthetic he had met on Earth. She was more personable, normal. If she hadn’t smelled of silicon and metal, he wouldn’t even have thought twice about her being human.
As they waited for Lais to finish up in Holbrook, the thumping of heavy footfalls caught their attention. The footsteps were approaching from the desert that ran along the north-south ridgeline separating the desert from the mountains. It was a Ramogran, wearing nothing but gray shorts, and carrying what smelled to Rusty to be an aging haunch of some sort of goat. Synth-E-Uh immediately spun up her Gatling lasers, but Angel put her arm on Synth-E-Uh’s and called out to the rocky giant. Rusty didn’t know much about them, other than they were huge, standing at their largest several feet above the rest of them, and they had their own scent, something like a combination between rock dust and rusting metal.
“Mogul!” Angel yelled, waving. The Ramogran smacked his chest hard in a returned greeting, the loud crack echoing through the cliffs.
“You know him?” Rusty asked as the rock-ogre stepped up and stopped in front of them. He was huge, with rocky black skin, small beady eyes, and a large head that was mostly jaw. He looked to be composed of numerous pieces of black slate that had been stuck randomly to his body.
In answer, Angel stepped up to give the giant a hug, and her head barely came up to Mogul’s chest. Rusty laughed inwardly. That must have been how he looked next to a human. If he stood next to Mogul, he would have only come up to his thigh. Rusty noticed that Mogul returned her hug gently and avoided her injured wing, even though she hadn’t mentioned it. He was thoughtful, at least.
Angel let Mogul go and stepped back to face him. “We didn’t think we would ever see you again! You said you were going to be gone a year.”
“On me homeworld, year pass,” Mogul answered matter-of-factly in one of the deepest voices Rusty had ever heard. “New friends?”
“Yes!” Angel replied, indicating each of them in turn as she stated their names. “Rusty, Synth-E-Uh, Jack… oh, and here comes Lais!”
Lais was jogging up to the group from the direction of the village.
Mogul looked at the approaching woman and scratched his head, which made the sound of two rocks being rubbed together. “Lais? From Connor head? Where Connor?”
“Oh right, you weren’t there for all that.” Angel crossed her arms. “You remember Gorath? Well… he…”
As she was deciding on the right wording, Mogul became animated. “Gorath kill Connor-man?! Me should never help him!” One huge fist pounded the ground, spraying sand and shaking the earth beneath their feet. “Where Gorath?!” Mogul made a motion with his two hands like he was tearing something in two.
“I killed him,” said Lais, deciding it was time to step in. “And I’m pleased to finally meet you in person, Mogul.” She held out her hand, offering a handshake.
Mogul accepted, but she could only fit her hand around two of his fingers.
“Pleased meet Lais-head-girl,” he said, even though he still looked a little confused. Even Rusty was confused. This group obviously had other companions before he came on the scene.
Angel stepped up to touch Mogul’s hand. “It would be much easier if I caught you up.” She concentrated on Mogul, and his eyes went wide. He grabbed at things in front of him that weren’t really there, and then a smile crossed his enormous mouth.
“Me understand.”
Just like that.
Angel smiled. “Where to now?” she asked, looking at the rest of them.
Lais crossed her arms and paced while she thought. “I think we should go back to Afir and Attacana’s s
ilk factory. We need transportation that can travel through the sky and we did talk of making a skyship balloon at one point. Maybe now is the time. We need a way to get from continent to continent, and a boat would get left behind at a shoreline, but a skyship. We could take that almost anywhere, we just need to take stock of our materials and design something that will work. What do you think?”
“Sounds good to me,” replied Angel. “I’m just along for the company, anyway. What would I do on this world alone?” She bumped her hip against Lais, who smiled in return and winked at Rusty at the same time.
When Lais looked at Rusty, he just shrugged. “On ground no find friends.” Seemed to be no other choice, not like they were going to flap their wings and… well maybe Angel, once hers healed, but still…
Lais looked at Jack, who just had his typical smile on. He stared back at her and she waited. So he stared some more.
“What do you think, Jack?” she finally asked.
“Oh!,” he said, surprised. “I don’t think anyone has ever asked that before. Well, if we need to fly, it seems reasonable.” He had a thoughtful emoji for a moment and then went back to his normal smiling one.
“I’m in, I already have some design ideas,” offered Synth-E-Uh. “And we have some good base materials if we salvage the droppod. Perhaps we should head there first.”
Lastly, Lais turned to Mogul. “You’re welcome to come with us, Mogul, if you don’t have to go back—”
“If me go back to mate, me dead, far away better.” He smiled. At least Rusty thought it was a smile.
Lais stared at him for a second, but it didn’t appear that he was going to elaborate. “Well, it’s settled then… There’s no way we can use the sled-lavatory on the skyship, I’ll take it to the villagers in Holbrook, they could make good use of it.”
Angel smiled and nodded. Perhaps speaking mentally, Rusty thought, because they stared at each other for a moment before entering the building to remove all of their personal items.
