by Ralph Prince
“This is insane,” Dillon said, anxiously shifting his heavy club from one hand to the other. He was there solely because his sister had insisted upon following the Terran to her doom. “What will our deaths accomplish? We should return to the caves and make our stand there.”
“You don’t have to stay,” Don said calmly, his eyes fixed on the street leading into the Tant’s domain. He found no comfort in the knowledge that there were over fifteen thousand of the deformed humanoids in the city.
“Donald,” Karen said, moving closer to him, “maybe Dillon’s right. The Tants won’t listen to reason.”
“Please, Karen,” he pleaded, placing one hand upon her shoulder, “go back to the caves before it’s too late.” He had hoped Dillon would make her stay in the relative safety of the shelter below, but she had insisted upon accompanying him. Unable to sway her, Dillon chose instead to come with her. Now, both of their fates hinged on his ability to make peace with the Tants.
“They’re coming,” Dillon said, as dusk brought with it a perceptible drop in temperature and the sounds of bloodthirsty howls and earsplitting shrieks.
“I won’t leave you, Donald,” Karen said, choking over the words. “I love you.”
“Then stay behind me,” he said, his hand moving to the butt of his photon blaster as the cacophony grew ever louder.
Together, they watched as the masses of disfigured humanoids began to appear, weapons and arms flailing above their heads. Accompanied by loud shrieks and whistles, the creatures resembled a pack of wild animals more than a group of humans.
As he looked upon the ever-growing mob, Don began to have doubts about his plan; serious doubts. He looked to Karen and Dillon; both stood tense, but neither faltered in the face of their greatest fear.
The army of Tants drew nearer, their screams of excitement growing louder as they spotted living prey. His hand clenched tightly around the blaster, the captain began to slowly draw it from the holster as the first Tant came into range.
“Stop!” boomed a voice from amid the crowd. Immediately, all the Tants halted, their war cries dying until all that remained was the whistling of the wind.
The wall of Tants parted, and the dim moonlight fell upon a dark-skinned, barrel-chested figure standing head and shoulders above the rest. His muscular body was not twisted like those milling around him, and he was much more massive—towering over two meters tall. Beneath a mop of oily black hair, the pronounced asymmetry of his visage gave him a frighteningly monstrous appearance. The mottled brown skin of the right side of his face was pulled taught, like the skin of a drum, drawing his lip back from his uneven teeth, and causing the eye to bulge from above the protruding cheek bone. It has the appearance of a desiccated corpse. In contrast, the left side sagged as though the flesh were candle wax melting from his skull. His lip hung below the gum line and rolls of loose skin hung from his cheek below a sunken eye.
“That’s their leader,” Dillon said quietly, as though it weren’t obvious enough. “He is called Oaklander.”
A shrouded Tant limped to the leader’s side and spoke in hushed tones. He handed Oaklander an object, which Don recognized as one of the cold packs Will had discarded, and pointed toward the earthman.
Advancing to the front of the ranks, the leader glared at Don. “You,” he rumbled in a voice coarser than sandpaper. “You are not an Underdweller.”
“No, I’m not,” Don answered, matching the Tant’s authoritative tone. “I am Terran. I come from far away, a place called Earth. My name is Donald Benjamin Garris.”
“Garris,” repeated the Tant, holding up the cold pack. “This strange object that feels cold to the touch was brought here by you. I am told you also command the blue flame of death. Is it true?”
“I am one who uses the blue flame,” Don replied. “There are others.”
“Have you chosen to die first then,” the Tant asked, “or do you believe the blue flame can kill us all before we can tear you to pieces?”
“I wish to avoid this unnecessary violence,” Don said in response. “I offer you peace, instead.”
“Peace?” laughed the Tant, causing a buzzing of conversation among his troops. “What use have I for peace? In peace, there is only death. There is not enough food and water for both the Underdwellers and the Tants. We must kill to survive.”
“No!” Don shouted as the buzz of conversation grew to a rumble. “I know where there is enough food for you and the Underdwellers, but you must listen to me.”
Dillon regarded Don incredulously, scarcely believing his ears. He knew of no such supply of food. Surely the earthman wasn’t foolish enough to try to bluff the Tants. He shifted the weight of his club in his tense hands.
“What is to keep us from taking the food by force?” asked the leader.
“Only I know where it is,” the captain said, “but I won’t tell unless you agree to my terms.”
“We are Tants!” Oaklander thundered. “We follow no laws except for our own. Why should we now befriend those who have been our enemies since the world fell? Why should we live in peace with those who shut us out at the time of bereavement?”
“Listen to me,” Don shouted over what had become a roar. “You speak of the time of bereavement. That was years ago, in a time before there were Tants or Underdwellers. There were only humans, people like me. There must have been a war, and the city was destroyed. Most of the people died, but some of them survived. Those underground were relatively unaffected by the cataclysm, and became the Underdwellers; those on the surface were deformed, changed, and became the Tants. You are not enemies, you are both part of the same race.”
“Silence!” Oaklander yelled, bringing the crowd once again to a low buzz. “There is some truth in what you say, Terran, but we and the Underdwellers are not the same. We are the Tants; we are superior. We crush all who oppose us. The Underdwellers are called such because they are beneath us.”
Suddenly, without warning, Dillon charged down the street toward the Tant leader, his club wildly sweeping the air before him.
Don raised his blaster, only to have it knocked from his grasp by a club striking the barrel. Several of the deformed humans suddenly closed in on him as though from the shadows themselves. He silently chided himself for allowing Oaklander to goad him into dropping his guard.
Struggling against the many hands seeking to restrain him, Don caught sight of Karen, fending off three Tants with her knife. Her plight enraged him, giving him the strength to throw off one of his own assailants.
He spotted the photon blaster hopelessly out of reach. Looking toward Dillon for help, he froze in trepidation at what he saw: Dillon swung with all his might, the weapon aimed at the Tant leader’s head.
With quickness incongruous to his bulk, Oaklander blocked the haft of the club with his huge forearm, causing the spiked head to snap off and hurl into the crowd. Simultaneously, he grabbed Dillon by the throat with his other hand and effortlessly lifted the flailing Underdweller into the air. Smiling evilly, the hulking Tant cupped his captive’s chin in his massive hand. With a quick wrench, he snapped Dillon’s neck with a resounding pop, causing an uproar from the crowd.
“Dillon!” Karen screamed in horror as she watched the life ebb from her brother’s eyes. The momentary shock afforded her assailants the opportunity to disarm and restrain her.
Casting the limp body aside, Oaklander shouted above the wild howling. “Do not harm the Terrans; take them back to the tower. We will return to crush the Underdwellers after they have told me how to use the blue flame. Then, we will be invincible.”
Don looked helplessly toward Karen, who screamed in outrage as the Tants held her immobile. Her tear-blurred gaze was fixed firmly upon Dillon’s lifeless body.
Unable to bear the sight of her in such pain, the captain focused his attention to where the blaster had fallen. He cursed and slumped in resignation, giving in to the hands that sought to overbear him; the weapon was gone.
CHAPTER 8
: To the Rescue
“Jackie?” Will asked, as they began their climb toward the surface. “Are you sure about doing this? The captain ordered us to stay below.”
“I know,” she replied, continuing upward, “but we should have heard something by now. It’s been dark for four and a half hours.”
“I guess you’re right,” Will agreed. “Either he should have checked in, or the Tants should be pouring into the caves by now. Once we’re on the surface, we should be able to contact him or Iva. Do you think they’re all right?”
“Don can take care of himself,” she said. She had been telling herself that for the past four and a half hours. “He and Karen are probably off somewhere—”
“What about Dillon?” he interrupted. “I suppose he’s watching them?”
The rest of the climb was silent except for the echo of their feet upon the metal rungs. Upon reaching the top of the ladder, Jackie called to the unseen guards.
“Has there been any word from the surface,” she asked.
“None have returned,” a quiet voice answered from the darkness beyond the range of their chemical light. “There has been no sign of Dillon or your friend.”
Jackie drew her blaster and cautiously started through the maze of pipes and ducts, with Will at her side. Hearing a noise behind her, she whirled with the weapon leveled, expecting to see hordes of hideously deformed humanoids. With a sigh of relief, she lowered the blaster.
“I help you find Captain Don,” Victor said, an innocent smile on his perpetually filthy face.
“It didn’t take him long to get away from the woman we left him with,” Will said, shaking his head. “What do we do now? We can either take him back, or take him with us.”
“I go with you,” the boy said.
“Okay,” Jackie agreed, “but stay close, and be quiet.”
“I find Captain Don,” he said excitedly, rushing past them and beckoning them to follow.
“I still think Donald Jr. would have been a more appropriate name,” Jackie muttered, quickening her pace.
Stepping out into the pale moonlight, an eerie sensation came over the two Terrans. There was no wind, no sound, no movement. The skeletal towers loomed over them, casting threatening shadows upon the cold darkened streets. It was as though the city were frozen in time.
“It’s freezing out here,” Will said, rubbing his arms. “How can a planet that gets so hot during the day be this cold at night?”
“It’s like the desert regions of Earth,” Jackie explained. “It gets hot during the day, but with low humidity and no cloud cover to hold in the heat, it can reach freezing temperatures during the night. Kind of makes you wish you were wearing a regulation uniform, doesn’t it?”
“You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?” he asked.
“Not likely,” she replied. “Just let me know if your fingers start to drop off.”
“Let’s find the captain before that happens,” he suggested. “Then we can get back below where it’s at least a little warmer. Where should we start?”
“You try to raise him on the communicator,” Jackie replied. “I’ll do some scouting.”
Removing the goggles from her belt pouch, Jackie put them on and switched them to tactical mode. As the display cycled through several settings and projected information in her field of vision, she sighed. “There’s no sign of thermal signatures on the streets or in nearby buildings,” she said. “At least nothing man-sized. I don’t like this. Have you got anything?”
“He’s not responding to my hail,” Will said, doing nothing to alleviate her concerns. “I’ll try Iva.”
“Captain Don!” Victor bellowed, his voice echoing through the streets.
“Well, if there’s anything out here, it knows where we are now,” Will said, once again activating his communicator. “Iva, this is Will, over.”
“Will, this is Iva. Affirm,” came the immediate response. “I’ve been attempting to contact the captain for hours. I’ve discovered something of vital importance. Over.”
“The captain’s missing,” Will said, “Can you locate him with your sensors? Over.”
“Copy. Locate a single individual out of thousands?” Iva responded. “That won’t be an easy task. I do, however, detect only three life forms in your immediate vicinity. Ov…. That’s peculiar.”
“What’s peculiar?” Will asked. “Over.”
“For a moment, I thought I detected an energy reading near your location,” Iva replied. “Now, however, I can find no trace of it. Perhaps it was a momentary sensor malfunction. Over.”
“Will,” Jackie called, her voice trembling.
“Hold on, Jackie,” he said. “I’m trying to find Don. Iva thinks she may be able to locate him.”
“Damn it, Will!” she snapped. “I think I just found somebody.”
“Standby, Iva,” he said, rushing to her side. “Over.”
In the street sprawled a motionless human form, largely covered with gray soil.
“I can’t look,” Jackie said, turning away. “Please, Will.”
“Okay, Jackie,” he said apprehensively, slowly approaching the partially buried body. Victor followed close behind.
Kneeling next to the still form, Will gave a sigh of relief. The body wore furs, not a space force flight suit. Rolling it to its back, he shook his head and led the boy back to Jackie.
“Was it Don?” she asked, preparing herself for the worst.
“It was Dillon,” he replied. “I think his neck was broken.”
“But where’s Don?” she asked, approaching hysteria. “If Dillon’s dead….”
“Calm down,” Will said, reactivating the communicator unit. “Iva, are there any bodies in the area other than Dillon’s? Over.”
“Negative,” returned the reply on both of their communicators. “I detect only one body. Earlier, however, I detected a large number of life forms at your present location. They receded to the northeast. Over.”
“They must have captured the captain,” Will deduced. “Where did they go? How far?”
“Approximately three kilometers,” Iva reported. “There are several large towers there, and the life forms are dispersed throughout them, as well as in the surrounding streets. That is where the Tants seem to be based. Over.”
“Can you tell which building Don is in?” Jackie asked, growing impatient. “Over.”
“That would be difficult to determine,” Iva replied. “The sensors are not precise enough to differentiate between such similar life forms. For the captain’s sake, I’ll try. Wait out.”
“Wait,” said Will, “can you locate the power cell in his blaster? Over.”
“That would be much simpler,” responded Iva. “It is in the tallest of the structures, on one of the upper levels. I remind you, however, it is generally standard procedure to relieve prisoners of their weapons. It is not likely the captain is still in possession of his blaster. Over.”
“It’s right,” Jackie agreed. “What else does Don have that’s unique to this planet?” She thought for a moment, but could think of nothing specific that wouldn’t be taken away by his captors.
“His bio-chip,” Will said excitedly. “We should be able to monitor Don’s bio-chip and trace it to his location. Iva, did you copy that? Over.”
“Affirm, Will,” Iva replied. There was a brief pause before she continued, “Normally, I would not be able to detect such a weak signal at this distance amongst the ambient transmission waves; however, as we possess the only transmitters on the planet, I should be able to detect them if I boost the sensor gain. I have located the captain, and he is also in the tallest of the buildings. He is in close proximity to, though not in possession of, the photon blaster. Over.”
“Roger, and Karen?” Will asked. “Can you tell if she with him? Over.”
“One moment,” answered Iva. “I should be able to locate the biochip Lieutenant Monet implanted in her as well. Affirm, she is on the same level, thoug
h at a different location than the captain. Over.”
“How many Tants are there?” Will asked, not entirely sure he wanted to know. “Over.”
“Nearly eight-hundred in that structure,” Iva answered. “The rest are in the other buildings, or on the streets nearby. Over.”
“Are you sure Don and Karen are still alive? Over,” Jackie asked hopefully.
“Affirm,” replied Iva. “Both are alive at the present time, although the captain’s vital signs indicate elevated levels of stress. Over.”
“They’ve got them,” Will said. “What do we do now?”
“We’ve got to go rescue him,” Jackie replied, starting down the street.
“You can’t be serious,” Will said, grasping her arm. “There are fifteen thousand of those things out there. We can’t fight them all; that would be suicide.”
“I don’t care,” she snapped angrily. “Don’s my friend, and I’m going to try to help him even if it does kill me.”
He knew he wouldn’t be able to sway her now, anymore than he could when she thought the captain had been attacked on the ridge. For some reason, it bothered him that she was so willing to sacrifice her life for a man who would never requite her affections. He couldn’t think of anyone he had ever known who would do the same for him.
His downcast gaze fell upon Dillon’s half-buried body.
“What about Dillon?” Will asked. “We can’t just leave him like that.”
Jackie silently took off her pack and removed an item from it. Unfolding it, she spread the silvery blanket-like fabric on the ground beside Dillon and gestured for Will to help her. Together, they lifted the still body onto the blanket and wrapped it around him.
“There,” Jackie said. “The cryo-bag will keep him until we can cremate him, or whatever the Underdwellers do with their dead. Now, are you coming?”
Will watched as she strode away, her pace strong and determined. He knew she was marching toward her death, and there was nothing he could do to stop her. Looking down toward Victor’s questioning face, he cursed silently.
“Jackie,” he called, trotting down the street after her, with the child close behind, “wait for me.”
