by J. N. Chaney
On my back, I fired my rifle between my legs, unloading the magazine.
The runt took several shots in the shoulder, neck, and chest, before slowing. I got lucky, managing to tag him in the knee, splitting the animal’s joint and forcing him to the floor. He slid, screaming, while the other and much larger of the two continued his pursuit.
“Run!” I shouted, getting to my feet.
Abby turned and fled alongside me, each of us heading down the long corridor.
We had no idea where we were going, no way to know what was up ahead. All we could do was run and try to get as many shots in on this thing as possible before it finally caught up.
Which wouldn’t be long, I quickly realized, glancing over my shoulder.
The animal ran with more speed than I had expected, pounding the ice with its massive legs and clawed hands. It was so loud, I could feel the movement in my chest.
Abby and I raced through the hall, the beast shortly behind. I raised my weapon and fired, letting out a few shots before I heard a click. “I’m out!” I shouted.
“Me too!” she replied.
We rounded a corner, and I slammed my shoulder into the ice wall, then pushed forward and continued sprinting.
“Tessa! Tessa!”
“What?!” I asked.
“I didn’t say anything!” Abby answered.
“Tessa!” came the voice again. I looked ahead to see a figure, waiting at the end of the hall, waving both arms. “Tessa modune! Tessa!”
“Who the fuck?” I asked, but there was no time to answer. We were already arriving.
The stranger, dressed in an assortment of pelts and furs, and wearing a large mask, waited for us to leave the hallway before stepping in front of the oncoming animal. In a fluid motion, she swept her hand beneath her garment and retrieved a sort of stick—no, it was a rifle, I quickly realized. “Sachala!” she shouted at the beast. “Sachala rockheme!”
The end of the barrel glowed blue and white before releasing an explosive blast on the monster, just before it reached us. The light pierced the creature’s shoulder, knocking it back a few steps.
The monster staggered, dragging its claws on the floor. It shook its head, spitting into the air, and then leaned forward and roared.
I flinched at the sound, it was so loud.
The animal raised its claws and pounded the area around it. A show of force.
The woman kept the gun aimed on the creature, ready to fire a second time, should she need to.
The animal wailed and raged at us, foaming at the mouth.
Right when I thought the stranger might fire her blue stick again, the animal jerked its claws above its head, scratching the ceiling and the ice, cracking it, and slamming its fists down.
The ceiling must have already been weak, because that was all it took to bring it crumbling down. Ice and metal collapsed on the animal, burying it in what seemed an endless pile of ruined foundation.
Dust scattered in every direction, hitting me like a storm. I reached for Abigail, who was right beside me, and brought her to the floor just in time for the blast to hit us.
We tumbled, the wind sweeping across our backs, the avalanche still falling as it boomed with thunderous destruction. I expected the entire facility to come falling down at any moment, sending us to join all the other corpses that had once called this place their home.
Six
I opened my eyes in Abigail’s hair, snow falling all around us from the cave-in. She looked up at me, blinking and confused.
I moved back, and as I did, more dirt slid off my back. I offered my hand to her, which she took, and I pulled her up. We swiped our clothes, but the snow seemed never-ending.
“Gods,” muttered Abby, wiping her forehead. “Let’s not do that again, please.”
We both looked at the stranger, who was staring at the fallen monster in the outer hall. She hadn’t moved, despite everything that had just happened.
“Hey,” I said, trying to get her attention. “Who are you?”
The woman turned to me, the skull-mask covering her face. Now that I was close enough, I could see the shape of the skull more clearly. It seemed to be from one of those animals, with odd markings etched along the bone. They were familiar, like the kind I’d seen on Titan, but more specifically the tattoos Lex and I both shared.
“Are you listening to me?” I took a step closer to the woman. “I asked who you are.”
“Badalaka,” said the woman. “Dusaka, kei la.”
I looked at Abigail. “Did you catch that?”
The nun shook her head. “I’ve never heard that language before.”
“Badalaka!” shouted the skull-faced woman.
“We don’t understand,” I responded.
The stranger took a step closer to me, stopping a few meters away. She raised her stick—the weapon she’d just attacked that animal with—and began to point it at me.
I instinctively went for my rifle, but felt Abigail’s hand on my wrist. “Hold on,” she told me. “Wait.”
The other woman extended the stick toward my neck, pushing my collar away, revealing the beginning of my tattoo. “Koraka,” she whispered.
“What?” I asked, peering down at the stick.
The stranger pulled the weapon back. “Fordo,” she said, gripping her skull mask and pulling it away.
I was surprised at her appearance—pale skin and blue eyes, with tattoos going from above her ear down to her neck. What exactly was I looking at?
“Fordo ack bala,” said the woman. She seemed to be older, possibly in her late sixties, if the wrinkles around her eyes were any indication. Who could say what effects this world might have had on her health? Maybe she was only thirty-seven.
“Yeah, hello to you, too,” I answered.
The woman pointed with her stick, behind us. “Soga,” she said, and started walking, heading directly between the two of us.
We turned with her, watching as she walked calmly to the back of the room, near a sealed door. She leaned over and tapped a small screen on the wall, causing the door to slide open. “Soga,” she said again, looking back at us.
Abigail, still with her pistol out, looked at me. “What do you think?”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said, thumbing at the collapsed hallway with the newly deceased monster. “There’s nowhere else to go.”
Abby hesitated, but ultimately conceded. “If she tries anything--”
“We’ll handle it,” I finished, and together we followed after the stranger.
* * *
I watched the old woman open several doors, each with the same code.
2-0-1-1-9
I quickly memorized the sequence, because why the hell wouldn’t I?
The raggedy hag brought us to a hall with glass walls on either side. The rooms here seemed to be made for meetings, with ancient tables at the center and what I guessed were broken chairs surrounding them, although it was difficult to tell with all the rubble and debris.
At the end of all this, the woman took us to another door, this one opening into a tall staircase. She pointed her blue stick into the air, saying something I decided must mean “Up” or “Go.”
Either way, that’s exactly what we did. She led us through seven flights, never slowing, despite her age. I decided that whatever happened next, I respected her. She’d killed an animal twice my size and still had the energy to climb all these steps. Not bad, lady. Not bad.
When we reached our destination floor, there was a sealed door, although it didn’t look like the others. This one didn’t slide between the wall when you entered a code. It was more traditional than that, attached directly to the side so it swung open. She banged on the metal with her stick three times. Twice quickly, then a short pause before the final tap.
The door creaked open, echoing in the stairwell.
A face appeared between the widening crack in the door, covered with another mask. This one was metallic, probably made with parts and scraps
from around this facility. I wondered, briefly, why the old woman had used the bones of an animal instead of metal shards like this person, but dismissed the thought. I’d have plenty of time to think about things that didn’t matter, once I was out of this place. For now, I had to keep my wits about me, should any of these people prove a danger.
The man with the metal mask looked at the old woman before glancing at me. “Chala,” he said, and I could see his eyes go wide from behind his mask. “Chala do ray!”
The old woman nodded, pointing to her own mask. “Dusaka es graw, chala do ray.”
The man slowly nodded, then opened the door the rest of the way. I spotted a few people on the other side, watching us from afar.
The old woman looked at me, pointing with her stick to the open door. “Tak.”
“I guess this means we’re invited to dinner,” I said, stepping through the opening, passing the two masked individuals.
Abigail followed, staying close to me. “I just hope we’re not part of the main course,” she whispered.
* * *
The old woman and her friend took us through what I could only assume was the general gathering area. It looked like another warehouse-sized room with tall ceilings. No crates, though. If any had ever existed in this place, I guessed they had been relocated or destroyed some time ago.
There were dozens of people here, each of them actively engaged with something. I saw some distributing supplies to one another, while children played nearby. Kids, I thought as one of them passed by us, laughing with her friend. Even in a place like this, people find the time to make more people.
Our hosts led us to another door, where a second guard was standing by. He stepped aside immediately, no doubt conceding his authority to the old woman and her friend.
The door opened, and we followed, taking us to a small area shaped like a circle, mats along the floor. There was someone already there, a younger woman who, like everyone else in this place, had pale skin, white hair, and blue eyes.
“Edda,” said the old woman, nodding at the younger one. “Dusaka es graw, din mohala kin ro.”
The younger woman, who I had to assume was the leader here, stared up at us. More specifically, at me, and seemed to consider us for a long moment.
“Tucka del ka,” said the young woman. She looked at her older associate. “Sadda.”
The old woman nodded, motioning to the nearest mats as she proceeded to the other side to take her seat. She folded her legs and sat her stick beside her, fully removing her mask and staring at me.
I glanced at Abby, and she shrugged.
“This ought to be interesting,” I said, taking the same position the two pale women had, but across the circle.
Abigail sat beside me, and together we waited for what I could only assume would be some kind of tribal ritual.
The guard stepped outside and closed the door behind him, leaving the four of us alone.
“Tosha,” said the younger woman, not looking away from me.
The older woman reached behind her for a small box, opening the lid and retrieving something from inside. Some kind of object, which she quickly and carefully handed to the one in charge.
The younger woman unwrapped the cloth, revealing a small device. I was about to ask what it was when she went to touch it, causing her tattoos to glow, along with the device.
I looked at Abigail, whose eyes had widened. We both knew full well what kind of technology this was, and that made us more than concerned. If these people were using ancient machines from Earth, there’d be no telling what they were capable of, especially when it came to weapons.
The younger woman held out her hand, the device resting on her palm, glowing with a soft, blue light.
“Taloka,” she said, looking at me.
I stared at her, not understanding.
“Taloka,” she said again.
I looked at the old woman, who pointed to her mouth. “Taloka,” she said, repeating the word.
“I don’t know what you’re saying,” I answered.
“Maybe they want you to eat it,” said Abigail, raising her brow at me.
She was only half-joking, since neither of us could make out what any of this meant. How were you supposed to cross a language barrier like this? Oh, sure, there were different dialects all across the known galaxy, but most people continued to use Common E, since it was the official language of the Union government, all trade organizations, and even the Sarkonian Empire.
I reached out for the device, but the woman pulled her hand away, shaking her head. “Taloka,” she said, pointing to her mouth.
“I already told you, I don’t know what that means,” I said. “You people keep talking gibberish like we’re supposed to understand.”
“Maybe if we return to the ship, Sigmond to translate for us,” said Abigail.
The woman let her hand out again, opening her palm. She pointed at her mouth. “Taloka.”
I sighed. “This is getting us nowhere.”
“Giving up already?” asked Abigail.
“I didn’t say that,” I responded.
“What’s the plan, then?” she asked.
“We just gotta figure out how to tell them we need to get topside,” I said. “That’ll be a challenge, all on its own.”
“What do you suggest?” she asked. “Nonverbals?”
“Aren’t you good at that sort of thing?” I asked.
“Should I be?” she asked.
I cocked my eye. “Isn’t part of your job knowing how to analyze body language?”
“That doesn’t mean I’m good at charades,” she said. “Maybe you can try pointing up and telling them we need to—”
“You would like to return to the surface?” asked the woman, suddenly speaking the same language.
I stared at her, uncertain of what I’d just heard. “Uh, what?”
Abigail blinked. “Did she just—”
“Ah, so you understand,” said the young woman. “Good.”
“You speak…?” My mouth fell slightly agape as I tried to process what I was hearing. “You know Common?”
“What is Common?” she asked.
Abigail looked at me, then back at the woman. “The language you’re speaking right now, it’s—”
“What you’re hearing is a translation,” said the woman. She turned the glowing orb in her fingers. “I do not know your language. The machine speaks for me, just as it does for you.”
“That’s a translator?” asked Abigail.
We both gawked at the device. Mobile translators weren’t uncommon in the Union, but I’d never seen one like this. It had the same color as the rest of the old Earth tech, blue and beautiful. Judging by the way these people were dressed, they couldn’t have the knowledge to build something like this on their own. Had they found it somewhere in the ruins we’d explored on our way here?
“The machine is one of many,” said the woman. “We have a great deal of technology and are scavenging more each day. The process is long and difficult, and time has not been kind to these caves.”
“So, you found it?” I asked. “Did you also salvage the staff that buried the animal in the tunnel?”
The young woman glanced at her older friend, giving her a slight nod.
The older woman leaned forward. “I built this staff myself,” she said, a hint of pride in her voice. “I salvaged its core and weaved its parts. Only the strongest of us have done so.”
“Okay, okay,” I said, fanning my hand at her.
“And the monster you hit with it?” asked Abigail.
The younger woman answered this time. “We call them Boneclaws. They patrol the tunnels you were in as well as the abandoned areas.”
“Abandoned?” asked the nun. “You mean the old facility we saw?”
“What kind of name is Boneclaw?” I asked, mostly to myself.
The woman ignored me. “This entire structure was built by our ancestors when they came to this world.”
“From Earth,” she answered.
I sat up, my interest suddenly piqued. I couldn’t give a shit about the animals, the snowstorms, of half the other stuff I was hearing. My goal was the same now as it had been when I first heard that transmission—finding out what the hell this godsforsaken place had to do with Earth.
“What do you know about Earth?” I asked them.
The younger woman stared at me for a brief moment. “I could ask you the same, boy.”
I didn’t say anything.
She smirked at my silence. “My name is Karin Braid.” She motioned to the older woman beside her. “This is my mother, Lucia. We are the leaders of this encampment. All three hundred souls.”
Abby smiled. “I’m Abigail Pryar. This is Jace Hughes.”
“It is so wonderful to meet you,” said Karin, a genuine sense of joy in her voice.
“How many more are there, besides your group?” asked Abigail.
“There are no others,” said Karin.
“Not even in other parts of the facility?” asked Abby.
The older woman, Lucia, shook her head. “The cold kills any who leave.”
“There are only three hundred of you on the entire planet?” asked Abigail. “How is that possible? Shouldn’t there be more by now?”
“By now?” echoed Karin.
“Do you know when your ancestors left Earth?” asked Abigail. “Do you know when they came here?”
Karin looked at her mother, who was happy to answer. “The records say it was over two thousand years ago, but the colony continued to grow long after that. It wasn’t until the Boneclaws and the storms that our numbers diminished.”
I paused, turning the words over in my head. “Did you just say the Boneclaws arrived? What does that mean? Weren’t they always here?”
She shook her head. “No, not if the record keeper is to be believed.”
“The record keeper?” asked Abigail.
“Janus,” said Karin. “He holds all the knowledge of our history.”
“Most of it,” corrected Lucia.
Karin nodded. “Yes, most. I apologize.”
