Kepler: Humanity's Ark

by Kyle Perkins

  So, the planet is affecting our thoughts. Interesting.

  “If I am not killing Caius and his crew, then what help could I be to Orrin?” I ask.

  “Orrin will come to you, and he will need your help. You must return to your landing site. For the next part of this, he will need your brain, and not your brawn. I urge you to go against your instincts. Turn away from the gunfire. The people of this world are hardy and proud. They will endure,” it says, releasing me from his grip.

  “My concern is not for the people of this world, but for Orrin, himself.”

  “Then you’re both on different pages. Orrin is almost ready. We need you to be ready now.”

  “Ready for what?” I tilt my head.

  “Ready for the battle to come. Ready for the great losses to come.”

  “What am I supposed to do when Orrin reaches me at the site?”

  “You’ll know when he comes to you,” it replies.

  “What are you?” I ask.

  “That doesn’t matter now. Go,” it says as it outstretches a vine-like hand and places leafy fingertip on my forehead.

  The world around me warps wildly, in a spectacular flash of color, before I am standing outside, under the red star, at the mouth of the cave. At either side of me are two now-dead tribals with bullet holes in their heads.

  “What happened?” I ask E-7.

  “They moved, sir,” he responds.

  “How long was I in there?” I inquire.

  “Approximately three minutes.”

  “That’s impossible,” I say quietly to myself.

  “Sir?”

  “Nothing. We need to get back to the camp,” I say, walking forward.

  “That’s great news, but why the sudden change in your position?” he asks.

  “It’s a long story, but something tells me I need to be there.”

  “Very well, sir. I’ll be right behind you,” he says over the sound of gunfire.

  The whole way back to the camp, I flinch at every gunshot, and fight my better instincts to run towards it. Even though I was clearly hallucinating, there is obviously something in my subconscious that I need to listen to. Something I have overlooked. My subconscious mind is trying to tell me something that my conscious mind is ignoring. All I can do now is wait, and protect the base.

  These plant people had better be right.

  Chapter 14

  Aya

  “I can’t leave with you!” He is telling me that I have to abandon the sounds of gunshots coming from my home, my people, to go with him to his camp, his people.

  He keeps hold of my hands as he exhales. “You don’t understand what is happening in there. I do, and this is not what we were meant to do. This is not what you were meant to do.”

  Shaking my head, I am torn between my people and Orrin. Why would I choose him? I only just met him. I keep searching for the rational thought process that will lead me. I have already given up so much, I can’t believe that I am considering a choice that I never thought possible. I want to go with Orrin, but I can’t help but feel like I am being used for some selfish reason. He has information that he isn’t telling me. I could be following him to my end.

  “Stop thinking, Aya. You are going to overthink your way to a sure death. Is that what you want, or are you going to let me keep you safe? I can’t protect you from my people if we go into the trees unprepared. I need to get back to my camp, I need things that I can only get there,” he pleads. “I will take you back to your people, but we are not ready to fight their fight. Fuck, we are stronger together.”

  More gunshots echo through the meadow as we argue about which way to go. I want to go back to my people and he wants to go back to his. He is right, we are stronger together. The plants in the cave, the water of the lake and the wind of the meadow were telling me what I already knew; I belong with him, I need him.

  I am different. I feel different, look different and the only person who understands is standing right in front of me. “Okay, I will go with you.”

  “Thank fuck,” he whispers as he grabs my hand and turns to the other side of the meadow. “I know what my guiding system is telling me, but is there a quicker way to the settlement that is closest to those mountains?”

  He raises his hand towards the Hardez people. That’s when it hits me; Orrin killed many from that tribe. He demolished the potential for both growth and procreation, he was directly involved in the slaughter of a hundred men and he took away fathers and mates from undeserving women and children. If he could take such extreme actions on the people of my home, what is stopping him from ending me? How am I supposed to trust him?

  He is staring at me, waiting impatiently for a response. I need answers and it is time for him to talk.

  “I need to know something, Orrin. On your planet, the one full of suits and ships, what is the importance of family, of life?” I ask without moving. Not understanding his way or the way of his people, I find it difficult to believe in him. Being betrothed is a blessing and a curse, interfering with our ability to love and respect. Although we will be protected and will birth children from the chosen mate, we will forever be a possession to the bravest and most dominant choice by our elders.

  “Look, I will humor you for about thirty seconds. After that, we have to go.” He is growing impatient. I can tell by the way he wraps his arms over his head, locking his fingers behind his neck. “Family is important, I guess. I mean, I was born on the ship, as were the rest of my people. To keep it simple for you, from what I have been told, elongating life was to help sustain the population and increase the chances of achieving natural perfection.”

  “Were there women on the ship; children?”

  Nodding his head, he says, “Yes, there were women. Soldiers, medical techs, botanists and a few others. The people that were needed to ensure there was a chance for our sustained survival. Children were ruled a liability until stability in the colony could be achieved, so there were none on the ship. Can we go now, please?”

  “If there were women on the ship, you must know what it was like for the people that you hurt over there. Do you know anything about family?” He has to know the sorrow and sadness that the Hardez women are experiencing.

  More gunshots echo from the woodlands as he contemplates. My head is racing with questions I can ask him and there are so many things that I am intrigued by regarding his kind.

  “That, Aya, will take me all day to answer and we don’t have time for that. Anything a little less complicated?” He ends my questioning as he stares off towards the mountains. “Look, I can tell that there is more than just your family on your mind, but you have to understand that I am here to help you and your people. If we don’t move, there will be nothing left for you to return to.”

  I want to make the right decision and do the right thing for my people, but what is considered right at this point? I have never felt so helpless in my life.

  “We can cut through the trees, follow me.”

  Orrin looks relieved that I made the decision to help him. “Good.”

  This time it’s my turn to pull him through the trees. We have to move fast if we are going to get to my people, my family, in time to help them. My biggest fear is that Vaklarn are going to meet the same eradicating fate as the Hardez. I can’t let that happen, none of this will be worth it if there is nothing to save; nothing to go back to.

  Following an abandoned path across the meadow, the protective nature of the trees is obvious. I quickly take notice of the fatal bushes in full bloom. Their petals are ready to be of help as I pass, but hesitant to accept Orrin through. Squeezing his hand harder than I need to, I reassure both him and the beauty around me that he is of no danger to me.

  The branches begin to pull back, revealing a clearing that we are in much need of. Small creatures scatter the dirt-covered path as we make our way towards the mountains in record time. This is one side of the meadow that I haven’t explored much, as I was forced to stay within our wood
lands.

  There is so much that I want to say to Orrin, but there is no right thing or right time to say it. The words are holding my tongue captive as we pad through the highly alert forest. Boulders grow larger as we move closer to his camp, creating an unsteady path to continue on.

  “Are you sure this is the right way, Aya?” He comes to a halt next to a type of tree that I recognize all too well.

  “The place that you are looking for is just on the other side of this mountain. I told you I would take you there, and I will, but we have to move.”

  He releases my hand, moving away as he starts scanning the area and confirming the direction that I gave. I climb on top of a massive boulder, giving me a view of the path ahead.

  Without my connection, Orrin is suddenly a threat to the trees, as I feared. It doesn’t take long for me to notice the filling bulbs that cling to the branches above us. His attention is lost to the technology that his people covet. What he is unable to see, I do… and it is going to hurt him.

  “Orrin. Don’t. Move,” I whisper slowly, enunciating each word as I watch a plump bulb contemplate its next move. While I have questioned his motives, and lack the trust that he deserves, I have to protect him as he has protected me.

  “Oh my,” I whisper to myself and the nature around me. “Please, don’t.”

  Tears begin to fill my lids as I beg the trees for his safety. The blood rain will have been the worst that I have ever seen. Never in my time within the trees have I seen such an attack being prepared; an attack that is against the one person that I have sacrificed for, fought for. The one person that I have not only turned my back on my father for, but I have fallen in love with.

  “I am begging you not to hurt him,” I stare to the sky with tears in my eyes and begin to plead with the surrounding beauty. The wind picks up, pulling the fallen leaves into the air, surrounding us.

  “What are you doing, Aya?” Orrin starts to move towards me, triggering the attack I was trying to prevent.

  The acidic droplets begin to release from their bulbs, falling in slow motion towards us. There is too much to sacrifice with his defeat, now. I need him more than ever before. My mind is racing as time stands still. The onslaught of free-flowing liquid hell is inevitable as I helplessly watch. There is no grace gifted to my request as I watch nature turn its back on me, shun me and my love for this man.

  I refuse to let him be hurt after all he has done for me. I owe him for everything that he has done for me. The words of my mother from the cave begin echoing through my ears, “You may not trust him, as he will not trust you but your heart has already softened. Don’t fear him for his differences, but help him understand yours. You need him, as he does you.”

  She was right; all along she was right. My heart has softened and for the first time in my life, I belong to the person that deserves me. I do need him.

  Before the first droplet of red connects with him, I jump towards him from my perch on the large rock. If he is going to be pained for my discretions, then I will sacrifice myself with him.

  Orrin is caught off-guard by my action, tossing both of us to the ground. Landing on top of him, I stare into his eyes, awaiting the torturous, skin-searing pain that’s inevitable. A burst of indigo erupts around us as a sole tear falls from my eyes.

  Large, blood red drops hit the protective bubble around us, flowing down the barrier, pooling only inches from us before seeping into the ground, only to be reabsorbed by the trees and prepared for the next threat.

  He watches the flowing storm deflect off of the protection that I have provided as I fall apart, knowing there is no way that we can ever be together. He is from the stars and I am a simple girl from the trees. Whether it is my mother or myself, I need to protect him and would sacrifice myself for him. Orrin owns me.

  Wanting him to know how I feel and what he means to me, I need to tell him. The bulbs empty the last of their crimson heat to the ground as we watch the glowing bubble repel the pain that was meant for us.

  I can’t form the words to tell him what he needs to hear. I want to tell him that I choose him, that I will always choose him. The shield begins to dissipate as the final drops fall to its surface. He sits up, pulling me with him.

  “I don’t know how you did that, but I am not surprised. Like I said before, there are a few things that are different,” he says as he scans the area again.

  I stand as he does, waiting for his findings. I already know his camp is on the other side of the tree line, not far from where we are. I saw it from atop of the boulder.

  “We are already here, Orrin. Just on the other side of the rock wall ahead.” I once again fear that our time together is short-lived. He will join his men and I will be left.

  This time, I keep my hand securely wrapped within his. For one, I need to ensure his safety if I am going to survive his people… and also because I can’t let him go. He has no idea the effect that he has on me and the freedom that I have away from Garret and the rules of my tribe. Freedom of choice, life, and love.

  We continue down the path until we are only steps from the camp that he was in search of. He begins moving faster as I fight to keep up. Before he can break the tree line, I pull him to an abrupt stop. He assumes there is an unseen threat and turns to the area around me. Before I lose my nerve, and him, I act before it is too late. Lifting his helmet away from his eyes, he stares at me with concern and confusion.

  “I love you,” I whisper to him.

  I leave him with a soft kiss, replacing his helmet. I want him to respond, but I don’t want to hear his answer so I break through the tree line with his hand securely in mine only to find a camp like nothing I have ever seen before. There is another man standing in the field with a floating object circling him from above. Before I can ask, Orrin answers the question for me with a name I had heard before.

  “Erikk.”

  Chapter 15

  Caius

  Something about this world… it’s different. All of the power in my suit, all of the excess… it’s still there. I expected the surplus of energy to fade long ago, and I am still just as strong as when I broke free from my cage.

  Electrical arcs dance across the plating of my suit as the current runs through me, causing my muscles to spasm as I clench the throat of the beast.

  “How many is that, sir?” one of Orrin’s former lackeys asks.

  “Fifty or so. Kill all of these cat creatures, as well as anything else that stands in our way. For all we know, Orrin is building an army out of the natives. We need to be on high alert,” I say, tossing the beast to the side.

  The air here, it is thick, and it clings to your lungs, taunting and teasing you as it floods through your blood stream, making all of the decisions. I started noticing the effects of this world back when Orrin turned traitor. A guy like that doesn’t just switch flags. Something in the air turned him, something we weren’t prepared for.

  It’s changing me, as well. It’s turning me into something else, something bloodthirsty, and I like it. This is what we have always been. We are reaching our full potential, and I think our forefathers knew it. They sent us here to self-realize, to become the best version of humanity.

  The old ways of peace and diplomacy hold no bearing here, and in the end, it was their undoing. Orrin was a placeholder, and I see that now. His only purpose was to mold me into who I am; a true leader.

  Then, like some of the species on Earth, I am to eat the parent. His time here is done, and though I thank him for getting us here, we need to put him to rest, along with all of the old ways. We need to reclaim our primal instincts. We need to reclaim what is ours, and what is ours, is anything we can see.

  Getting away from that is what ruined us, and I won’t let it happen to my men, as weak as they were for following him. It is a new dawn, and now my flag rises with the sun. I will turn these boys into men, and it will all start once I relieve Orrin of his thick skull.

  “That’s the last of them,” a soldier
says, approaching on my right.

  “Then push forward. There is nothing left here,” I say, waving the men with flamethrowers ahead.

  The men begin scorching the hostile plant life between us and the large settlement, where we are sure that Orrin is holed up. Smaller animals and birds flee through the air and on foot as we turn the forest into an inferno that only our suits can survive.

  I want them to know we’re coming. I want them to all be in the same spot, so that we can eradicate the bulk of them in one shot.

  As the leaves burn, I can almost hear the eerie sounds of screams in my head, though I shake it off and march forward.

  After a short walk, we are just a few hundred feet from the encampment, and I can see that they have mounted a primitive defense as some sort of joke against defeating us. The men are brave – I can give them that – but they are out of their element. You would think that Orrin would have better prepared them.

  There is no right or wrong. That is an imaginary line that humans built. A guide that nothing else in the animal kingdom follows. There is only winning and losing, edging out your competition. I can see all of that, now.

  The primitives below file into formation, and I suspect that they are now aware of our presence. Mostly due to the hellscape behind us. In the middle of the men below, a barrel-chested warrior stands out. He is heavily adorned, and surrounded by the toughest looking warriors.

  He must be their king.

  If I can see them, they can see me.

  I gesture for my men to lower their weapons symbolically, to let the primitives know that we are only here to talk. Perhaps we can talk them into ending their lives on their own terms. Peacefully, and without the carnage. I would be open to allowing them to explain their inevitable fate to their families. Though a pointless exercise, it may spare a couple of my men in battle. We need all of the bodies we can get if we are to repopulate this planet. Plus, putting your children to sleep in an eternal slumber, quietly in their beds, is better than the alternative I am bringing, should they refuse.