Just as she felt the last remnant of consciousness leaving her, something grabbed her arm.
9.
She sputtered water and the taste of salt water mixed with bile made her retch, again and again.
"That´s it, let it all out." A voice, male.
Tina shivered, felt for something to hold on to; found it. Wet fabric, a hand holding hers. She opened her eyes. The lights were blindingly bright, and her head hurt something fiercely. She shut her eyes hard, before opening them again, slowly, carefully this time.
Roger sat beside her, propping up her head, telling her that she was all right. After a few moments she noticed Leah in the background.
"We thought you were gone," Roger said. Tina didn´t answer.
"Li Xao dragged you up. He and Leah got you into the dinghy, the one that made it, and we managed to get it to land while the beast was busy chewing up the Explorer."
"What about..." Tina tried to speak but she was too weak. Roger seemed to understand though. His jaw worked, and his eyes got a pained look.
"The captain´s dead. We all saw it. He was still standing on board the ship, when the beast... ate him... So much blood... Those teeth... Nobody could have survived that..." He looked away, seemingly struggling to retain his composure.
"And Peter?" Tina managed to say. Leah leaned in and spoke, letting Roger off.
"He´s still missing. But with that thing... What the beast didn´t chew it burned. Like a... dragon..."
"Sea dragon," Tina croaked, before a coughing fit overtook her. Once she was done, she felt better, and she looked up. Nobody said anything, but their losses were evident on every face. She figured she´d have to be the soldier again, the leader who kept looking forward even in the face of disaster.
"Okay, so the Explorer is gone, Captain Turing is dead, and Peter is missing,” she said, drawing herself up. “Any idea where we are?" Leah hesitated, before she spoke.
"We´re on the mainland. But most of our equipment and provisions are gone. We cannot contact Verdi, we only have an approximate location, and the supplies we managed to salvage will only last for a couple of days." Leah laughed, a mirthless laugh.
"Basically, we are screwed," she said.
10.
They spent the first part of the day taking stock of their situation, trying to think of every option before committing to action. Tina was determined not to despair, but the situation looked bleak indeed. Up until the attack they had adhered to a strict schedule of checking in with Verdi every 28 hours, an Aurora day. Then, if nobody heard from them, the shuttle would come searching. As long as they stayed close to their last known location, they should be easy to find. That was the theory, which up until just a couple of days ago had seemed like a great idea.
But then something had caused a minor malfunction in one of the automated systems on board the Exodus, and a crew had been hastily launched into orbit in order to repair it. With Rajiv Singh, the Indira ambassador, having left for Dehlia six months earlier, and Shefania´s starship ordered back to her mother world, the sole remaining shuttle was now floating in space, attached to the Exodus. It would be weeks before anyone would be able to come searching for them.
So the four of them would have to make do with a few days worth of supplies, nothing to help them find their way, except for the shoreline and the location of Cancri and the moon, Rotane. Had they been back on Earth Tina might have managed a bit of stellar navigation, but while astronomers on Verdi were working on creating stellar maps that might aid low tech navigation, it wouldn´t do any good for the stranded explorers on Rossi.
"I guess we can all agree we have to try to reach the depot," Tina said finally. There were no protests. It was obvious, even though it would probably take them between one and two weeks, that it was the only option. If they could find a way to live off the land, they might be able to reach the depot, which held supplies and comms equipment, and even a rifle for hunting. So they needed to get moving, if for no other reason than to have something constructive to do.
"We just have to get going. We have a couple of days before the food runs out. There´s fresh water in the rivers and streams, and we saw plenty of those. Then we´ll still manage to go a few more days before our strength runs out, even without supplies. By then we need to have figured out a source of food," she said. Leah nodded in agreement, and it seemed Roger and Li Xao were ready for the long trek as well. As ready as anyone could be.
They gathered what little they had and set course due east, following the stony shore closely. They walked easily, not wanting to spend all their strength in the first day, but briskly enough to cover ground. Tina, in front, made sure they avoided the stones, but stayed on the dirt just above the shore itself. It would be too easy to twist an ankle on the treacherous stones.
Just as Tina considered taking a break, she saw movement down by the water. Something staggered toward her, and she took a step back. Twice now, beasts from beneath the waters had attacked them, and she ground her teeth as the third one approached.
"T... Tina..." She recognized Peter by voice only, muffled by the still-attached facemask. Only then she saw he´d been injured. Most of his hair seared off, his scalp badly burned, as was half his face. One eye still open, red and bruised but intact, while the other looked totally ruined. His left arm hung limp, while he dragged his right foot heavily after him. Li Xao and Leah ran to him, and held him when he passed out again. In the back of her mind, she registered they now had a serious problem, but mostly she was just happy to see another of their small partly alive. For now.
11.
Carrying Peter proved impossible. He remained unconscious most of the time, only to scream uncontrollably whenever they tried moving him. Tina was beginning to worry they would have to leave him behind.
"It´s either him, or all of us," Roger said quietly, echoing her thoughts. But while she remained determined to find a solution, he seemed to have made up his mind already. Even Peter, in a short lucid moment, had whispered for them to leave him, before slipping back into unconsciousness.
They were stuck, and Tina felt powerless. Despair had never been an option in her book, but now, for the first time in her life, she felt it creeping up on her. Li Xao kept quiet and Leah seemed on the brink of another breakdown. Tina didn´t think anyone would oppose Roger if he demanded they continue without Peter.
She paced restlessly, searching her mind for a solution, but none came to her.
The rest of the day they stayed put.
"We´re losing valuable time," Roger said. He was right. They should be covering as much ground as possible while they were still capable of it.
"But..." Leah finally said, causing everyone to stare. She hadn´t said a thing for hours. "I don´t know if I could live with... abandoning him to die," she said. Roger was about to retort, when Tina spoke.
"I will stay with him. You guys go ahead; I´ll figure something out." She knew she was lying, as did the others, but everyone kept a straight face. Nobody wanted to admit to condemning not one but two of their friends to death. Such is self-preservation, Tina thought to herself as she finally stopped pacing and sat down next to Peter.
"So, it´s settled then. First thing tomorrow, you go ahead. Make it as fast and as far as you can each day. You will last longer than you think possible, and as long as you keep hydrating, your body will live off of your reserves. I think you´ll make it." Nobody answered, but Roger nodded, a pained look on his face. Tina forced a smile, trying to show him that she understood. He hadn´t wanted it this way; he´d only said what everyone else thought.
The evening remained alight. It was something they had spoken about a few times since sailing across the sea from Verdi, noticing that the further north they came, the later Cancri would set. They had come to the conclusion that somewhere, deeper inland, it would never set in the summers. Of course, they only had to query the Exodus database to figure it out, but it was common sense. Just like back on Earth, there would be a period in m
id-summer where the far north would be bathed in sunlight around the clock. The downside was that the same area would be dark around the clock in mid-winter.
Tina wondered how it would be, to experience such a phenomenon. She thought the dark winter would be worth it just to see the midnight sun. She´d never seen it back on Earth, and now it didn´t seem like she would be able to see it here on Aurora either.
She sighed, and looked over at Peter. He looked peaceful for now.
A twig snapped behind her, and she came alert. She resisted the temptation to turn quickly for a few seconds, until she thought, what the hell, and stood up, facing whatever was coming at them.
Leaves rustled, and then a furry creature came wagging out from the brush, followed by others just like it, in various hues of brown and black and grey.
Tina had never been so happy to see an Akhab as she was right then.
12.
The Akhab carried Peter off to heal and take care of him, while one of them remained with Tina and the rest of the group.
"Jujjj say look for Tiina," the Akhab told her. The Akhab had this remarkable ability to speak to each other over great distances. It wasn´t telepathy, exactly, but something related, Tina thought. It seemed Jujjj, the first Akhab to make contact with humans about a year ago, had sent out a message for the Rossi Akhab to help Tina and her crew.
They walked along a narrow path inland, saving several days compared to sticking to the coast, and Uhuur the Akhab, made sure they had plenty to eat. Berries, fruit, edible roots and plants. No meat, but nobody complained. The mood had changed completely, from despair to optimism. Tina and Roger had long discussions while walking, about how future ships should be equipped to deal with sea dragons and whatever else could lie hidden in the deep water. They also talked about the shark man and the likelihood of finding similar beings elsewhere, and about settling Rossi. The latter was something Leah and Li Xao seemed eager to talk about as well, and Leah already had the perfect spot in mind.
The depot was located near where they had first set foot on Rossi, about a hundred meters inland. When they first landed there, they had noticed the site looked perfect for settling. The land seemed fertile enough to grow enhanced foods that would survive the harsh winters and short summers. A stream would provide fresh water, and the location near the sea would make fishing and eventually fish farming an option for many to make a good living. Inland there was no shortage of building materials, with thick forests all the way to the mountains in the far distance. What began as a scramble to stay alive soon became a veritable brainstorm for building a viable town. Tina was surprised to find she was just as eagerly participating in these discussions, and she began to realize she wanted to take part in this. It was just like those first weeks back in the beginning, when she and her friends had founded what had come to be known as Port Hammer, except without the ever-present shadow of George Havelar hanging over it all. She still felt a pang of regret whenever she thought back on those days; there were so many things that should have been different; so many good people who could have been spared. But Aurora was a different place now, and she felt the joy of optimism coursing through her, despite the bad memories and the past losses.
Within days of their arrival, the depot was turning into a settlement. One of the first things Tina did was to contact Verdi and let them know what had happened. They explained that the shuttle was expected back in about a week, a bit sooner than expected, and she told them there was no need to come pick them up, at least not yet. She, Roger, Leah and Li Xao all agreed that for now they would stay here. With the Explorer gone and Captain Turing dead, the expedition had come to an end, and Peter was still with the Akhab, his fate unknown. So they began building.
Uhuur stayed apart and sometimes went foraging, while the rest built a log cabin. The tents from the depot were comfortable enough, but they all looked forward to moving into the cabin, which would house them all with room to spare.
Cancri stood high on the sixth day after their arrival, and they were all enjoying a well-deserved break, soaking in the warmth of summer, when rustling leaves grabbed Tina´s attention. She turned.
Walking toward them with a big smile on his face, almost fully healed except for a long scar across his face and an almost unnoticeable limp, Peter waved at them as he approached.
The first thing Tina noticed was his remarkable recovery.
The second was the missing facemask.
13.
"Peter, you look... well..." she said. Someone behind her gasped. Peter just grinned as he approached.
"Never better!" he said. "And I see you guys have been busy."
"Your facemask, it´s gone." Tina said, pursing her lips. She didn´t know what to expect, but she remembered Ben, who had almost killed his best friends, driven by the airborne parasite which had infested his mind, and made him do horrible things. The facemasks were their only protection from being taken over by this alien organism, and now Peter had removed his.
"The Akhab removed it while I was unconscious," Peter explained, as he sat down next to the still sitting Leah, smiling at the younger woman reassuringly.
"I was just as surprised as you when I woke up and it was gone. Scared to death, but relieved that I was still alive. It was pretty damn close..." Tina sat down opposite from him, peering at his eyes, looking for signs that he was loosing it. She caught herself. It wasn´t as if anything would show immediately. Ben had seemed fine for a while too.
"They knew of the parasite though, and the effect it has on humans. They told me everything... I mean, not told me, exactly..." Peter shook his head, closed his eyes as if searching for the right words. The smile never left his face though.
"It was as if the Akhab were inside my head. No voices, but I knew what they meant. They taught me so much! I know everything about the parasite now, and for one thing; I think we should stop calling it a "parasite." It has a name." Tina was lost for words.
"A name?" Leah said. Peter nodded.
"It´s called Khawat."
"It? Like a species? Or just the one inside you?" Tina was amazed at Leah´s question. She hadn´t thought of it that way. To her it had just been a parasite, like a nasty bug. The thought that it might have an individual name...
"It. The species and the individual. There´s no difference. It´s like it has one singular mind. Hard to explain but... I don´t know, kind of like bees. Only a hell of a lot smarter. Anyway, the Khawat began healing me soon after the Akhab removed my mask. My foot still hurts a little, and the arm is still weak, but in a few weeks it´ll be as if I was never injured. The Khawat even saved my eyesight." Peter got up, and looked out at the sea.
"I never thought I´d see the ocean again..." he almost whispered, but loud enough for everyone to hear. He turned toward them again.
"My eye was gone. I mean, the cornea was all ruptured, and... And the Khawat restored it, fixed me up, healed me completely and then some. It can do that, you see. The Akhab let it come to them, let it live inside them, and in return it lets them live virtually forever. Of course, they´re not immortal; they can be killed, but man... The Akhab gets old, just like we do, but age itself doesn´t kill them. Do you even begin to see what this means?" Tina could have sworn it was madness, what Peter was saying, but there were no signs of madness there, only astonishment at having experienced something profound.
"But what about Ben? And Lisa and Drew? It killed Ben and almost killed the others," she said. Peter shook his head.
"No, Tina. The Khawat never saw it that way. It was only protecting its host from danger, or what it perceived as danger. And Ben..." Peter shook his head.
"Ben was sick. Psychologically damaged from having seen too much. Done too much. The Khawat inside him became confused, saw what he saw. Instead of healing him, it amplified his sickness. The Khawat never meant for him to do any of those things."
"But we cannot control it, can we?" Tina said.
"No. The Khawat is not to be controlled. But there i
s something that will keep it from doing harm. The Akhab told me, well inside my head again. The ones up here don´t speak English... Mostly." He laughed, and Tina couldn´t help but smile as well. Peter continued.
"There is a root that grows up by the Rossi tree-line, nowhere else. You only have to take it once, and the Akhab usually brew a tea from it. Tastes like hell, and makes your stomach hurt for a few hours, but what it does is just amazing. I don´t know just how to explain it... You could say it keeps the Khawat in check, but I´d say it calms it, makes it understand that I mean it no harm, and that the people around me mean well also. I still control my own thoughts, but I let the Khawat fill me, live freely in me. We share memories, knowledge, you name it. And it understands me... I can´t explain it, but I just know that there isn´t a sickness in this world that can harm me. I will grow old, but I will keep my health, and age itself will not kill me."
Peter continued trying to explain everything to the others, but Tina stood up, and walked down to the beach. She would learn more of this Khawat, and at one point she might even take her chances and take off the mask as well. It was still too early for her though, and from the look of it, the others would keep theirs on for a while as well.
She stared out at the sea, a feeling of urgency growing in the pit of her stomach.
They were safe now, and Peter had survived. Now they were building a new settlement, and Tina meant to stay here. But before she could settle, she needed to make one more journey. And this one would make all the difference.
Explorer Page 3
