by Andrew Gates
The creature growled and roared back at her. As it spoke, Dr. Parnel grew visibly worried.
“What? What do you mean ‘gone’? I need to see him. He sent me on a mission. He charged me with the task of retrieving these evolved-ones. I need to bring them to him.”
The creature waved its claws to the air and continued to growl back at her.
“What… an… an attack? What do you mean?”
The mantises in the escort party pushed their way to the front now, suddenly invigorated. They growled back in deep, powerful tones.
“What do you think is happening?” Jallah whispered to Margery.
She clenched his hand.
“I don’t know. I thought I heard her say something about an attack. Then the mantises behind us got worried.”
“Yeah, I noticed. Do you think we’re in danger?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered back with a tone of uncertainty in her voice.
Dr. Parnel looked up to the roof of the hangar as the mantises continued to speak to her.
“Space… the space fleet?” she asked. Her voice was quiet. She barely got the words out. After a few moments, she brought her gaze back down again and motioned to the humans behind her. “Well… what do I do with them? If the Supreme Chieftain just left, who do I take them to?”
The mantis in the metal shirt growled back.
“They don’t have translators in them. You won’t be able to talk to them,” she continued.
More growling. More nodding.
“Very well. I’ll tell them,” she said. Dr. Parnel spun around to face the humans and walked toward them. “I have some bad news. The Supreme Chieftain isn’t here. Apparently, he just left on a mission a few minutes ago. We barely missed him. There’s been some kind of an attack in space. It sounds serious.”
“What happens to us?” Dan asked bluntly.
“We’ve landed in the city’s sublevel. Apparently, it’s like a big maze under the city. They say we’ll be safe here. The Kholvari military will protect us. This is where we’ll stay until the Supreme Chieftain gets back from whatever he’s doing.”
“Sounds like we’ll never meet this guy,” Selena muttered.
“We will,” Dr. Parnel assured them. “In the meantime, they want to talk to you.”
“Talk to us? But how can we do that?” Grey asked.
“By giving you the same procedure that I received,” Dr. Parnel replied. She pointed to the back of her head. “They want to set you all up with translators.”
Jallah shook nervously and gulped. He remembered the sight of the scar on the back of her head.
“You… you mean they’re going to cut our heads open?” Jallah asked.
“Don’t think of it that way,” Dr. Parnel replied.
“But… but that’s technically what they’re doing, right?”
Dr. Parnel sighed.
“Technically, yes.”
Dan let out a huff and stepped forward.
“Do we have a say in this?” he asked.
“Why do you always fight me? You can either get the procedure willingly or they can knock you out and force you to do it,” she replied. “Those are your choices.”
“I’m starting to feel like we aren’t guests at all. More like captives,” Grey retorted.
“Trust me, you’re wrong. You’re all guests. We just need to make sure everyone can talk to each other,” Dr. Parnel replied.
“You just said ‘we’, as if you’re one of them,” Grey noted.
“Stop with this us and them mentality, Greyson. The world doesn’t need to be so black and white. That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to unite us.”
“You have a poor way of showing it,” Dan retorted.
“Fine, but anyway, if you’ll follow this big guy in the silver shirt, he’ll show us where to go,” Dr. Parnel said, brushing off Dan’s insult.
“We don’t really have a choice, do we?” Selena asked.
“No. No, you don’t.”
Jallah trembled again. Something felt strange. For the first time, he was finally starting to see why the others did not trust Dr. Parnel.
* * *
Jallah and the others blindly followed their insect-like hosts through the winding subterranean city like children unquestioningly marching behind their teachers. Only, unlike a classroom, their fate was far more uncertain.
It was dark and damp in the sublevel and it reminded Jallah of the Pentagonal Megastructure beneath the ground. So much of it was the same, yet so much was different too. Mantises walked around here and there, always stopping and staring when they saw Jallah and the other humans, though none of them ever lashed out violently. Slowly, Jallah’s fear of them was gradually put to ease… slowly.
It did not help that Dr. Parnel was gone. She hurried off somewhere to speak with whomever was in charge, leaving the other humans to follow some mantis escorts they could not understand. The impatient woman seemed annoyed that her boss, the Supreme Chieftain, had run off shortly before they landed. Jallah did not know who she was meeting with now, but he did not really care. There were bigger things on his mind… much bigger things.
Like the fact that he was about to have a computer chip installed in his brain.
I’m going to have my head cut open, he worried. Just thinking the words made him tremble. He felt the air leave his lungs and instinctively clutched the part of his pocket holding the vial.
He closed his eyes and let out a deep, calming breath. Somehow holding the vial seemed to help ease his nerves, if only a little bit. The subtle calmness was enough to allow him to forget about his worries for a moment. He slowly felt his senses come back to him.
Jallah had been so distracted by everything going on that only now did he realize how incredibly hungry he was and how badly he needed to use the bathroom. He had not peed since leaving Country Roads and only had a handful of small nuts to eat during the flight. He was amazed that he had not noticed it until now.
“Will we be alright?” Margery asked as they marched along.
Margery’s sudden words, as innocent as they were, quickly undid whatever calming power the vial provided. Jallah found his fears return to him in that moment.
“I don’t know,” Dan replied, slowly shaking his head. The tone of uncertainty in his voice was almost more terrifying than the worries already racing through Jallah’s mind. “But we don’t have a choice. You heard what Sanja said.”
“I think she prefers being called Dr. Parnel,” Jallah replied, not sure why he had even said anything at all.
“I don’t give a sh-” Dan stopped himself mid-sentence. He unclenched his fists and let out an exhale. “I… I don’t care what she wants to be called,” he said, this time in a quieter, slower tone.
Jallah was not used to seeing Dan so afraid. Worried? Yes. Sad? Yes. Unsure of himself? Yes. But afraid? Dan rarely ever showed fear. It seemed somehow wrong.
“We’ll be fine,” Grey interrupted, the only voice of optimism in the group. He held Misha in his arms, though she was fast asleep.
Jallah envied Misha in that moment. To sleep through this, to not have the same unnerving fear that the rest of them had, it must have been nice (though he knew she and her sister had already lived through enough fear to haunt them for the rest of their lives).
“Roar! Graug!” declared one of the mantis escorts in a loud, commanding tone. The creatures suddenly stopped and stepped aside, creating a path between them leading to a tall door at the end of the hall.
The humans were still for a moment. Jallah quickly peered to Margery, who looked back at him with a worried expression. He reached out his hand to hers. She grabbed it and held it tight.
“What do we do now?” Ophelia asked.
“They want us to go through the door,” Selena replied, carrying a weary but conscious Kaitlyn in her arms.
“I’ll go first,” Dan said, gulping.
The room was dead silent for a moment. Dan took a hesitated step for
ward, the sound of his boots against the hard floor the only thing that Jallah could hear, that and the intense beating of his own heart.
The grotesque mantises nodded approvingly as Dan moved forward.
Finally, at long last, Jallah could hold the contents of his bladder no longer. Not even realizing it, a warm trickle began to form along his left leg. He quickly looked down to his jumpsuit, now noticing what he had done.
Margery glanced down too and looked away as soon as she realized what had happened. Strangely enough, she did not seem the slightest bit surprised nor bothered, and Jallah did not feel the slightest bit embarrassed. Both had bigger things to worry about than soiled pants.
Dan continued along until he reached the door. The two mantises closest to the door nodded. One pressed its wrist against some sort of sensor along the wall and the door began to rise.
Jallah gulped and clenched Margery’s hand a little harder.
A dark laboratory revealed itself on the other side of the door. Tall, wide operating tables filled the space with unlit circular bulbs hovering over each table. To the side of each table stood racks covered in some sort of cutting equipment and circuitry.
Margery clenched Jallah’s hand so hard it was painful just to hold on.
Grey nervously stepped forward next, with little Misha still asleep in his arms.
“Grey,” Selena said, motioning forward as if to hold him back. “I love you. Be careful.”
“It’s alright, Selena,” he replied, turning his head to face her as he walked to the room. “I love you too.”
Tears began to form in Selena’s eyes. Tired Kaitlyn noticed her mother beginning to cry. Not even knowing what was about to happen, the girl started crying too, simply copying her mother.
Margery loosened up on Jallah’s hand and turned to face him.
“Ready to go?” she asked.
Jallah gulped and turned to face the door.
Am I?
“I… I…” He did not know what to say.
“Growl!” bellowed one of the mantises.
Without realizing what he was doing, Jallah took a step forward. Then another. Then another. Margery followed by his side step by step. They were in this together.
“I love you,” Margery said as they passed into the laboratory.
Jallah turned to face her and smiled a nervous smile.
“I love you too,” he replied. It was the only thing he felt sure of right now.
At long last, he knew it was true.
Dan approached the nearest table and stood beside it. A creature in what looked like some kind of lab coat walked up to him and garbled some orders while pointing to the table. Dan nodded back and started undoing his jumpsuit when the creature shook its head and waved its claws aggressively. Dan understood. He kept his jumpsuit on and simply sat down on the table.
A claw brushed against Jallah’s back, prompting him to walk faster. He turned to find an impatient mantis pushing him.
“I’m going,” he said, turning forward again.
He took one last look at Margery before peeling off to his own table. Like Dan, he kept his jumpsuit on, but more to keep the vial in his possession. It took a bit of effort to climb atop the tall table, but once on top, he leaned back and let out a deep breath.
A mantis walked up to him and glared down at him. The sight of the creature made Jallah’s heart pound violently. The creature nodded to him, as if attempting to calm him down, then placed some sort of mask on its own face. Jallah could hear the mask filtering the air as it breathed in and out.
Some sort of dark gas suddenly filled the air. Jallah breathed it in, then felt his body go limp.
* * *
Light. Blinding powerful light.
Jallah blinked. He felt dizzy, disoriented, confused. The light lingered, but slowly the rest of the world began to come into view.
The bulb above his head, previously unlit, now glowed pure white. Its warm heat caused sweat to trickle down his face.
“L… light,” he said, struggling to get the word out. As he spoke, saliva bubbled up and drooled down his face. He tried to wipe the spit with his sleeve, but his arm was immobile.
What happened? Jallah wondered. The last thing he remembered, he was just about to start his procedure. He did not know how long it had been since that moment. Did it work? Am I safe? He let out a deep, nervous breath. At least I’m alive, he thought, reassuring himself.
After a few seconds, it occurred to him that his head ached immensely. It felt as if someone had kicked him in the back of the skull. He tried to use his other hand to feel his head, but he realized that both arms were immobile.
I can’t move at all. Oh no! The procedure went wrong! I’m paralyzed! The boy panicked. More drool poured from his mouth.
Jallah heard noise. Someone was fumbling around next to him. He would have turned to face the noise if he could. The pain of not knowing what was happening was torturous.
“You have awakened,” said someone nearby in a deep, echoey tone.
A voice! Someone is speaking!
The light above his head finally went out. Jallah could see more clearly now. He blinked a few more times.
“I shall power down your restraints,” the deep voice continued.
A second later, Jallah could suddenly move his body. He pulled his chest up, practically falling forward. He stabilized himself atop the table, glad that he was not actually paralyzed.
A mantis stood beside him, staring at him with interest.
“Wh… what happened?” he asked in mumbled words as he looked around the room.
The other humans were all in various stages of waking up. Dan and Ophelia were already fully awake, walking around even. Grey and the youngest girls were still fast asleep on their tables. The others, Selena and Margery, were at about the same stage he was. Each of them had another mantis scientist working with them.
Jallah looked at the mantis. His eyes widened as he quickly put it together.
“Are you the one talking to me?” he asked. It was difficult to get the words out.
The creature nodded and said, “I am.”
Jallah could not believe it. He had really just heard a mantis talk to him. The sensation felt almost dreamlike.
“W… wow,” he muttered.
“I know this must be surprising for you,” the mantis said.
“Yes, I mean, I guess, yeah,” Jallah replied in a strained voice. “I mean… that’s so cool.”
“Cool? This facility’s internal temperature should be set to-”
“No, no, not that cool, I mean… like…” He paused, thinking about how to explain the slang. “Forget it.”
“Does your species require warmer temperatures to thrive?”
“No, no, this is fine. Forget what I said about cool,” Jallah replied. As he spoke, it slowly became easier and easier to form the words.
“I do not understand.” The mantis paused for a moment. “But I suppose, if you do not deem it important, then I shall not trouble myself with it. Alas, I have yet to make my introduction. My name is Kalrey.”
“Good to meet you, Kalrey. I am Jallah.”
“No, it is not Kalrey, but Kal Rey. My name comprises of two separate words,” the creature explained, emphasizing the gap between words this time. “And in my culture, you would be known as Kho Jallah. You are male, are you not?”
“Male? Uh… yeah I am,” Jallah confirmed. He looked up and down at the creature. “And you’re a boy too?”
“Negative. I am female. You shall learn in time that females are designated with the title Kal and males with the title Kho.”
“You’re a… a lady?” Jallah asked in disbelief. Her voice was so deep, he would have never guessed that she was anything but male.
“I am,” she confirmed. She paused for a moment and stared at him. “How do you feel, Kho Jallah?”
“I feel…” He thought about it. “Dizzy. Fuzzy. My head hurts.” He instinctively reached back and touche
d his head, surprised to feel a small patch where his hair had been shaved off.
“These are typical symptoms. You have nothing to worry about. They shall pass in time. I have provided you with medicine to help aid you in recovery.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you experiencing any stomach issues? Cramps? Loss of vision?”
“Vision is a bit fuzzy, but it got better when you turned the light off.”
“Good, good. This is all to be expected.”
“So it worked then?” Jallah asked.
“It would seem so,” Kal Rey replied, nodding.
The procedure worked, he thought, smiling. A powerful rush of relief overcame him. In that moment, Jallah no longer felt any fear for his large insect-like hosts. He knew now that he could trust them. They were here to help, not to hurt. He never would have expected that he would ever feel this comfortable around the mantises.
“Wow!” Dan loudly exclaimed, prompting Jallah to quickly turn and look his way. Dan held his hands out before himself in bewilderment. “This is incredible tech! I can’t believe it!”
Jallah smiled at Dan’s excitement. Obviously, any worries he had before going into the procedure were already far behind him.
“The technology creates a link between your thoughts and the transmitter,” the mantis by Dan explained in an even deeper voice than Kal Rey’s. Jallah now had heard two mantises speak. The feeling was surreal.
“Yes, yes, fascinating!” Dan replied, turning his eyes to his mantis host. “And the power source from the device comes from my own brain energy?”
“That is correct, Kho Daniel.”
“It’s just Dan,” he replied.
Dan’s eyes met Jallah’s. The man smiled and said, “Jallah, can you believe this?”
Jallah shook his head and smiled back.
Watching Dan use the translator chip was like watching a child play with a new toy. Dan was absolutely enthralled. He practically jumped up and down with excitement.
The others readied themselves one by one and practiced with their new translator chips. Even the two youngest girls, Kaitlyn and Misha, were starting to become more comfortable, at least, more comfortable than they had been around the mantises. They were still uneasy around their monster-sized hosts, but it was an improvement from how they were the day before.
