Fractured Prophecy

by P J McDermott

  Jess rummaged in her bag. “A jar of bush strength insect repellent.” She glanced around. “Might not need that hereabouts. There’s also a supply of radiation inhibitor tablets, my spyglass, and one Smith and Wesson 500 Magnum with five cartridges.”

  “To be used only in an emergency,” said Gareth, laughing. “But why bring an antique firearm?” said Gareth. “Wouldn’t a plasma gun be more practical?”

  “Ha! Each to their own, Junior. This little baby will stop an elephant at a hundred paces. And the signature emitted by a high-tech weapon would likely be detected by the Bikashi when we get close to Kaffur. I did bring along a spare box of ammunition, but it’s still in the ship.”

  They were interrupted by a series of explosions from inside the MET. Damn. “We need to move,” Hickory said. “Grab your gear and head for that formation.” She jabbed her finger toward a rough crest of ice about a mile past where the missing wing jutted from the snow.

  Their breath crystallized on their faces as they stumbled through the heavy snow toward the ice ridge. They were less than halfway there when the sky lit up like Guy Fawkes night. The MET erupted in a shower of emerald and golden sparks, and the life support module separated from the fuselage, shot several hundred yards into the night sky, then tumbled back to the surface. Everyone except Gareth threw themselves to the ground and covered their heads as debris rained down on them.

  Gareth stood with his mouth open watching the spectacle. Suddenly, he yelped and danced, flapping at pieces of smoking metal lodged in the sleeve of his tunic.

  Hickory leaped to her feet and smacked the fragments away, then dragged the boy to the ground and smothered him in snow. “Keep your head down, for God’s sake.” She examined his blackened shoulder. The metal had penetrated his clothing and blood oozed where it had scorched his skin. “Jess, med kit.”

  “Already on it.” Jess opened her rucksack and pulled out her emergency medical kit. She tore open the seal and handed the case to Hickory.

  Hickory fumbled around until she found what she was looking for. “This lotion will seal the wound, and I’ll give you an injection to relieve the pain.” She twisted the cap off and squirted some liquid onto his arm then wrapped a bandage around his bicep.

  Gareth’s expression softened. “I’m not going to die, then?”

  She smiled wryly as she plunged the syringe into his arm. “You can only fool me once with that trick, junior. You’ll be well enough to travel in an hour.”

  “Hmphh. Easy for you to say. How come I’m the one who always gets hurt, eh?”

  Jess interjected, “Because you’re young and you’re a hot-head, boyo,” she said. “And you think you’re bulletproof, but you’re not. Fate takes a dim view of that kind of attitude.”

  Gareth rolled his eyes. “Thanks for the life lesson, mother.”

  Hickory shook her head. “He’s had a shock, but he’ll be okay.” She smiled at Jess. “Can’t do much for his Superman complex, though.” She came to her feet and stared into the distance, sheltering her eyes. “Looks like a storm front approaching. We better get a move on. Sikona, will you carry Gareth?”

  They reached the ridge and huddled together against the lea side as a fierce wind whipped over them. Jess covered Gareth with a thermal blanket. “We can’t stay like this for long, Hickory. The state he’s in he’ll freeze to death,” she shouted to make herself heard over the wailing of the storm.

  Sikona placed his mouth close to Hickory’s ear. “At least the snow will camouflage the ship if anyone comes to investigate the explosion.”

  “You think it could have registered in Kaffur?”

  “No, we are too far away, although it’s possible a Bikashi ship might spot something from orbit and be curious enough to investigate. But see, already the ship is invisible.” He pointed to a clear sky in the distance. “These polar storms come and go quickly, and this one looks to be moderating. If you like, I will gather some kindling from the wreckage, and we can light a fire. Warmth and hot food will give everyone heart.”

  “I’ll join you,” said Hickory.

  With the clouds clearing, the stars and nearby planets appeared overhead. The asteroid belt glittered like a diamond bracelet.

  “So, Sikona, do you believe in the legend of Goshe?” Hickory walked a few paces to one side of the Bikashi, searching for anything not buried by the snow that might burn.

  Sikona shrugged. “There are texts in Kaffur dating back many hundreds of years, some say as far as the war. They are sealed in a vault, and none but the Warlord and his Directorate have access. One day, perhaps, I will find out.”

  “The Directorate—they’re the Warlord’s next in command?”

  Sikona stooped to pick up part of an ejector seat. “A Directorate controls the output of one sector of the economy—say, for example, Energy or Food Supply. The despot, Jolphyr, oversees the Science Sector. He has several subsector administrators who report to him, and each administrator employs a workforce of many thousands.”

  “Are there any female Directorates?”

  “All the leaders are male. At one time these positions were appointed by a central committee comprising all strata of society. Today it is a hereditary position, and females are not allowed to inherit.”

  “And which subsector would be tasked with working on the Sword?”

  “Those responsible for unlocking the mystery of the Sword of Connat will be located within the Physical Sciences Zone which reports to the Science Sector Directorate.”

  “To Jolphyr, the one you want dead?”

  “The same. But, to answer your question, on the home planet, the Warlord’s rule is supreme. He informs the Directorate of his will, and they carry out his wishes.”

  “Very autocratic. I find it hard to understand how the Bikashi has survived so long under such a regime.”

  “I would not expect a human to understand. You lead such complicated lives.” He pointed to a patch of wreckage, and they trudged toward it. “Do you believe you will ever find the answers to the questions you seek?”

  “What do you mean?”

  The Bikashi’s mouth was incapable of producing a smile, but the sudden twitching of his nose was an indicator he’d found something humorous. “To me, it is obvious you search for something you have lost. You are an expert at hiding it from the others, but there are times when grief trickles from your eyes.”

  All at once, Hickory felt exposed. She’d tried to hide her personal problems from the team, but somehow Sikona had sensed her heartache. She felt her throat constrict at the reminder of her loss.

  “Now is such a time. Remembering causes you pain. I will speak of it no further.”

  Hickory’s head swam. Compassion? Since when have the Bikashi shown awareness of the human condition, and since when did they care? Sikona had displayed a side to him she had not thought possible for one of his species. More than that, how does he know I grieve? “I once knew someone special. He is gone now, but his memory remains in my heart.”

  “And yet, you still hope to see him again.”

  It was a statement, not a question. And it was true, but it was only a glimmer of hope, one she refused to think of in case the spark became a conflagration and consumed her. “Sometimes humans may hope, even though we know there is no hope.”

  “Not only humans, Captain Lace.”

  The hint of pink on the horizon grew into pale dawn as they dropped their load beside Gareth.

  “Looks like a new day has arrived,” said Gareth.

  Sikona grunted. “This place is well-named the twilight land. It is the hunting ground for every wild beast that prefers to give birth in darkness. This is a false dawn. Soon night will fall again.”

  Gareth’s lips curled into a smirk. “Cheerful as ever, eh? I don’t suppose you’re talking about pussy cats?” The painkillers were having an effect, and his speech was slurred.

  Sikona frowned. “Puddy tatts? Are they dangerous? We have no puddy tatts in Auriga, but we do have
karackabeti. Pray you do not encounter the karackabeti, Earthman.”

  “With my luck?” said Gareth, laughing.

  “How long will it take us to reach the edge of the polar cap?” Hickory asked, glancing around.

  “One Earth day, perhaps a little more, if the weather holds,” said Sikona.

  “So…tell us about these karackabeti,” said Jess, examining the safety guard on her sword.

  “They are solitary beasts. They give birth once every ten Aurigan years at the time when all three moons are full. They are most dangerous during the mating season. The males will follow a female’s scent for hundreds of miles, eating nothing, and sleeping little.”

  “The mating season would be about…now?” said Gareth, looking to the sky. One small moon shone white and full, high overhead. The other two moons were not visible.

  Sikona’s nose quivered, and he grunted several short barks, the first time they’d heard him laugh. “Fear not, Earthman, there are many months before all three moons brighten the twilight near to daylight.”

  #

  From their vantage point at the top of the cliff, a stony beach stretched more than a mile before disappearing into a mist-covered ocean. Auriga’s sun wavered, drowning on the horizon.

  “Where to now?” Hickory whacked her hands on her arms until the feeling came back.

  “Now,” said Sikona, “we walk. Roughly twenty miles east along the coastline. We should arrive at the isthmus crossing to Ongea in five hours or so. The path to the island will be covered until low tide. So, we will wait. We walk, then we wait, then we run.”

  “Ongea—what should we expect there?” Gareth asked.

  Using the data prism, Sikona produced a map of the island. “The island is said to be the first battleground in the war which destroyed two-thirds of this planet. It was overrun by enemy shock troops wearing heavy armor and using conventional weapons. We know this from what they left behind. In the early days of the conflict, the invaders planned to settle on Auriga when they had conquered it, but the Bikashi proved to be a more formidable foe than expected.”

  He pointed to the map. “Although the island suffered atomic fallout in the war, Ongea was never bombed. There’s still residual radiation in some areas, but the island escaped the worst of it. Scientists come here once each year to search for historical artifacts, measure the island’s recovery, and map out potential areas for recolonization. So far, it’s proved difficult to settle here. Crops are poor, and babies are born malformed, but plants and animals have returned to the western coastline, and there are rumors of primitive people living there.” He cocked his head to one side and sucked air through his teeth, the Bikashi equivalent of a shrug.

  “Sounds idyllic,” said Gareth.

  “There are some positives. The island lies in the path of warm westerly currents, so it enjoys a more temperate climate than here,” replied Sikona.

  “Maybe we won’t freeze to death after all.” Jess brushed the ice crystals from her face.

  Sikona tapped a few buttons on his data prism to display the crossing to Ongea. “We need to cross at this point to take advantage of the outgoing tide.”

  “Lead the way,” said Hickory.

  Later that afternoon, Sikona called a halt. “We should rest here. High tide won’t be until four tomorrow morning. When it starts to recede, we need to follow it out. The first hour should be fine, then it will run faster. If we can’t keep pace, we will end up meeting the tide coming back from the opposite direction.”

  “So, then we drown?” said Gareth.

  “Drown, or freeze to death, or be eaten by sea denizens.”

  Jess’s face paled. “Fabulous. How long will it take us to cross over to the island?”

  “It’s roughly twenty miles, coast to coast. We walk for the first hour, jog for the next two, and run for the last half hour.”

  “Doesn’t sound so bad,” said Gareth.

  Hickory mentally shook her head. Sometimes the boy-genius was so naive. “Sikona, why didn’t you tell us about this part of the journey when we were deciding whether to move forward or call for help?

  “As I said, there is danger at every step, but our task is not impossible.”

  “Is there no other way?”

  “Not from the Southern Polar region.”

  “Let’s find something to eat and rest up. I have a feeling we’re going to need it,” said Hickory.

  She lay awake for a long time, one hand behind her head, staring at the stars. With no ground-based lights to dull the display, the stars shone like jewels against the inky-black sky. A comet with a long white tail passed across the firmament and disappeared over the horizon. Gradually, her eyes closed, and in a half-dreamlike state, her great grandmother seemed to speak to her. “Be careful. Trust none but those who love you.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Cruel Sea

  “It’s time.” The Bikashi shook Hickory’s shoulder. She rolled away, then sprang to her feet.

  Sikona pointed to the sea which had receded a quarter mile offshore. “We must follow the tide out.”

  Hickory nodded then woke Gareth and Jess. They packed their belongings, turned up the collars of their jackets, and ran to join Sikona who was striding off into the distance.

  An icy wind blew at their backs, and their breath froze on their faces. They trudged across the seabed in single file with Sikona in the lead, followed by Hickory, Gareth and Jess bringing up the rear. They hadn’t gone far before Hickory felt a low-level tug on her empathic sense. Although she’d suppressed her higher empathic powers—those related to shared feelings, mind-to-mind communications, and influencing skills—Hickory could still sense if someone was evading the truth and she was still alert to premonitions of imminent danger. She shaded her eyes and gazed into the distance. There was movement, parallel to them but a long way off. She pointed. “Sikona, can you make that out?”

  Sikona squinted. “Something’s there, but it’s too far away for me to see clearly, a herd of ice-grazers, perhaps? They comb the glaciers extracting food particles trapped by the ice.”

  Jess reached into her backpack and extracted her spyglass. “It’s a herd of animals, alright.”

  “Let me look,” said Hickory. The distant figures became clearer through the glass. “These are bipeds, but not Bikashi.” She handed the spyglass to Sikona. “Are they the ones you call Lakedwellers?”

  Sikona stared through the telescope for a long time. Eventually, he handed it back to Jess. “No. These are the Scarg—mutant beings who evolved after the war, but mutations of what, I know not. In my village, Bikashi parents would frighten their children with tales of their savagery.”

  Hickory sensed dissemblance. Sikona knew more than he was telling her. No time to worry about it now. I’ll have to deal with it later.

  “They’ve changed direction. They’re coming this way,” said Jess.

  “I suggest we don’t wait for them, eh?” said Gareth.

  A grunt that passed for laughter came from their guide. “I’m afraid we don’t have a choice. See, they have split into two packs.”

  Half of the Scarg number continued to make a beeline for them, while the other half veered off with the clear intention of blocking any retreat.

  “We could still make it back before they cut us off from the mainland,” said Gareth, an edge to his voice.

  “To what point?” said Sikona. “In the end, we would be pressed against the cliff face, unable to escape.

  Hickory’s pulse raced. The main force was clearly visible in her spyglass. She could now see they looked nothing like Bikashi or Lakedwellers as described by Sikona. The Scarg creatures appeared similar in body shape to the great apes of Earth, although these were taller, stood more upright and were covered in short, thick, white body fur. Their chests were broad and muscular, and they ran across the beach on long legs. They were closer now, and Hickory refocused her spyglass on the creatures’ heads, angled forward on long necks. Their faces were round a
nd full, with deep-blue, almond-shaped eyes under bushy brows.

  One creature pointed at her and screeched at its companions, its thick lips pared back revealing sharp carnivorous teeth. Intelligence plus savagery, she guessed, a dangerous combination.

  “Are they Bikashi mutations?” asked Jess, tugging the clothes out of her backpack until she found her revolver.

  “Whatever they are, they’re quick and organized, and I wouldn’t put money on them being vegetarian. We might have to swim for it,” said Hickory.

  Sikona’s scowl left no doubt what he thought of her suggestion. “We do not want to swim in these waters, Commander Lace. We would never reach the island.” He was pushing buttons on his data prism, shaking his head. “I do not have specifics, just notes and sketches from ancient seafarers. If we swim, we face death.”

  “Then give me a better option.” Hickory felt the onset of panic. She didn’t like the vague threat implied by Sikona, but she didn’t want the Scarg catching up to them either.

  “Do these guys look like swimmers to you?” said Gareth, studying the Scargs through the spyglass.

  Sikona cocked his head and sucked air through his teeth. “If they can survive in these waters, there is no hope for us, but I believe they are crossing the isthmus at this time for the same reasons we are. They fear what may be in the water.”

  “We’ve been in worse situations,” said Jess, passing the Smith and Wesson to Hickory. “What if we go in as far as our waists, will they come after us?”

  Hickory’s hand trembled as she placed the revolver in her waistband. The outgoing tide is barely a ripple. It could work. “And we move forward as the tide recedes, keeping the water between us. Good thinking, Jess.”

  “At least it would give us some time,” said Gareth, raising a quizzical eyebrow at Sikona.

  Sikona glanced at the simian-like creatures rapidly approaching them from two directions. “I don’t think they will pursue us. At least, I hope not…”

  Hickory took a deep breath. “Let’s go then,” she said, splashing into the shallows. She gasped as the icy water rose up her thighs to her hips.