by Andrew Gates
The world outside was like an alien planet. Ikharus felt like he was back on the lunar surface again. The Ranji desert was barren as far as the eye could see. An unending ocean of reddish dirt surrounded them on all sides and the soil itself was so hot, it stung just to stand still on top of it for more than a second.
The evolved-ones jumped in panic as their bare feet touched against the surface. The youngest two girls even began to cry out in pain. Greyson and Selena grabbed onto the girls and lifted them up, quickly whispering to them to calm them down.
Ikharus looked up to the sky. There was not a cloud to be seen. Only the moon, the Hive fleet and the vast cloud of rubble filled the void above. Not even a gust of wind blew upon his cape.
Nothing lived here. Nothing for a days’ hike in any direction.
“How close are we to the entrance?” Evirak asked as the group spread out across the desert.
“Our destination is not far. Kal Ukhrani took us right where we want to be,” Jakhu answered.
The cylindrical device in her grasp started to beep. She took a few steps forward, then it beeped more frequently. She continued along, the beeps growing faster with every step, until the sound was completely solid. Jakhu stopped in place and pressed the device against the ground. Then the device went quiet and a green light illuminated across its surface.
For a moment, nothing happened. But after a few seconds, the ground began to shake. Ikharus nearly stumbled as the dirt broke apart and solid slabs of rock shifted beneath his feet. A cavern began to form, widening between the group, splitting them in half.
“Mom, what is happening?” Misha cried out in a panicked tone, still being carried by her mother.
“It’s alright,” Selena replied, holding the young evolved-one comfortingly.
Within seconds, the movement stopped and the cavern stretched across the ground, creating a space wide enough to walk through. Ikharus peered down into the cavern and noticed a small doorway at the bottom.
“There it is,” he said, motioning to the door. “Korgo.”
“You mean we’re going in that hole?” asked Kaitlyn, still being carried by her father.
“We are,” Ikharus confirmed. “Come.”
“Cool!” Jallah said, a smile forming across the evolved-one’s face. Among the evolved-ones, Jallah was the only one still wearing his old footwear. That meant unlike the others, he was able to stand still without discomfort.
The group proceeded down into the cavern. Ikharus took the lead this time. Even descending a couple of kotans beneath the surface, it was already considerably cooler here. When he reached the door, he held out his wrist. A scanner beside the door began to read his identification, then stopped. Moments later, the door slowly began to open.
Ikharus took a small step back, allowing his guards to step in front of him now. It was best to let them lead in the unlikely event of some sort of booby trap.
When the door was fully raised, the guards proceeded first, then Ikharus, then the others. Ikharus could feel the temperature drop several degrees as he stepped into the dark room.
The Kreed soldiers activated the flashlights on their suits, illuminating the room here and there. From what Ikharus could see, this place was full of old technology, in some cases, easily 20 or 30 planet-cycles old. But it was safe. That was all that mattered.
“How do we get the power online?” Daniel wondered.
“There is a generator. I shall find it,” Evirak said, walking off toward a door to the side as if he knew exactly where to go.
None of them had ever been here before, but Ikharus had shared the information he knew about this hideout with Kreed Scion and Kho Vylan during their flight over. He had been granted access to all the data on Korgo, one of the many perks of being Supreme Chieftain. Clearly Evirak had studied it enough to know where to go to get the power online.
While Evirak wandered off, the rest of the group remained huddled by the doorway, where light still shone through from above. All were relatively quiet, though a few of the evolved-ones coughed in the dusty air.
Flokh moved her way up to Ikharus and held his arm. Ikharus smiled as he felt her comforting touch. He was glad she was here.
Only a few seconds later, a faint hum emanated from deeper in the hideaway and overhead lights slowly flickered on. Now Ikharus and the others could finally see the room clearly. The room was relatively small, with a short ceiling that just barely surpassed Ikharus’s crown. This was obviously a control room of some sort. To his surprise, the old monitors and dusty holographic rings appeared even older than Ikharus originally guessed, maybe 30 to 40 planet-cycles old.
Now that the lights were on, Kozakh pressed an icon on a panel beside the door leading out to the desert, closing it shut.
“Thank you, Kho Evirak,” Jakhu said as Evirak returned from the other room.
“The generator was easy to locate. It was just as Kho Ikharus’s data said,” he replied.
“Is there a bathroom?” one of the young evolved-ones asked, completely changing the subject. Ikharus did not hear her speak, but he thought the voice sounded like Kaitlyn’s.
“Why do you require a room for bathing?” Vylan asked, taking a small step toward her.
“She’s talking about a relief room,” Sanja clarified.
“Ah! A relief room, yes. I passed one on my way to the generator. I can show you,” Evirak answered, motioning toward where he had just come.
“I’ll go with you, Kaitlyn,” Selena said, pushing her daughter forward.
“Me next!” added Jallah, eagerly raising his hand.
“And me too,” said Ophelia, not quite as enthusiastically as Jallah.
The evolved-ones each began to move toward the relief room.
“Settle, settle, evolved-ones. Each shall have your turn with the relief room,” Ikharus said, waving his scepter. “There is no need to rush. Allow Kal Kaitlyn to go first, then all others can go. Kal Kaitlyn is youngest, so she shall go first.”
“Actually, Misha is youngest,” Jallah explained.
“Jallah, don’t talk back to him. He’s the king!” Margery whispered to him in a panicked tone. She shoved him on the shoulder.
“Here, here, Kal Margery, do not hurt the young evolved-one for his words. I take no offense. He is right to correct my error,” Ikharus said. He looked to Misha, who still clung by her father’s side. He then turned to see that Evirak, Kaitlyn and Selena were already in the next room.
“I apologize, Kal Misha. You shall go next,” Ikharus explained.
“She’s fine,” Greyson replied. “Kaitlyn asked first anyway. Don’t worry about it.”
A claw met Ikharus’s chest. He turned to see Kho Vylan staring back at him.
“If I may, your Majesty, I think we have more important matters deal with than a relief room procession,” Vylan said.
Ikharus nodded back to him, though he had to admit, there was something strangely calming about such a mundane issue. With so many high-stakes decisions to make, trivial matters like these came as a much-needed comfort.
Alas, Kho Vylan is right. There are more important things to discuss right now.
“You, Kal Sanja, I place you in charge of the evolved-ones. See that they are taken care of and that they use the relief room as needed,” Ikharus said, pointing to Sanja. Despite his distrust in her, he knew she could at least do this job.
“Yes, of course,” Sanja said, bowing back to him.
Ikharus turned to Vylan now and motioned toward the opposite corner of the room.
“Come, let us assemble where the evolved-one ears cannot hear,” Ikharus said.
The Kholvari and Soh Saratti made their way across the room as Evirak came back with Kaitlyn and Selena. Evirak stood by the doorway, waiting for the next evolved-one to come use the relief room. Greyson and Misha went next and, once again, Evirak turned to show them the way. The remaining evolved-ones were huddled in the corner by the entrance. It looked like they were listening to Sanja discu
ss something.
She and Evirak have them under control, Ikharus observed.
“I know you wanted to keep the severity of the destruction away from the evolved-ones,” Vylan said as they huddled around the far corner of the room. “I hoped that here, we can finally discuss what has transpired.”
“You are right, Kho Vylan. While I wanted to spare our guests of the hard news, there is no reason to keep anything from you all.” Ikharus gulped and looked down to the floor. He paused to mentally prepare himself for these next words. “T’Dakho has been destroyed.” He lifted his head now and stared at the faces around him. “It is just as I have seen in my vision.”
“T’Dakho never stood a chance,” Kozakh said. “Against the Hive, we cannot win. You saw how fast the Hive cleared Earth’s orbital defenses. A mere terrestrial city is nothing compared to the combined fleets of Kholvaria, Sorreveous and the lunars and even that could not stop this enemy.”
Ikharus let out a deep sigh.
“May the Chiefdom mourn for those fallen. Again, these are dark days,” he said.
“Did you say you saw this happen in a vision?” Vylan asked.
“I did,” Ikharus confirmed. “As we escaped the battle, or… extermination in orbit, the queen showed me images of T’Dakho’s destruction. Even then, it felt so real. I could see the streets, feel the wind, hear the sounds. It was like I was being shown the future before it even happened.”
“If you envisioned this fate happening to T’Dakho yesterday, then how come it took a full day for the Hive to destroy the city?” Vylan wondered.
“The queen tapped into my mind somehow. She must have searched my thoughts for images of where I was going, but she did not know where it was or how to get there… until later,” Ikharus surmised.
“By the Chiefdom. If the Hive can read our thoughts, how do we know this location is safe?” a black-armored soldier asked, nervously balancing the cannon in his trembling claws.
That question caused Flokh to take a step toward Ikharus and clutch his arm.
Alas, you can run to the surface, but know that Earth will be ours. That was the queen’s message to him. Perhaps it was best not to share those words now.
“You ask a good question, noble soldier. To that I have no answer,” Ikharus replied, knowing his response would not put this soldier’s worries at ease. “But this place is highly secure. Unlike T’Dakho, Korgo cannot be found through a visual search or even a heat scan, nor is it on any map. Hopefully that will be enough to hide our location.”
“Your Majesty, there is more news,” Ukhrani said, stepping forward.
“I shall hear it.”
“I was in contact with several generals during the flight over here. We spoke at length. I am sorry to tell you that T’Dakho was not alone. The Hive coordinated simultaneous attacks on terrestrial cities across the continent. Merezok, Rakhaan, Globte Nouk and Y’Dotural have all been destroyed.” Ukhrani paused for a moment, lowered her head, then met Ikharus’s eyes. “Their fates were the same as T’Dakho. The cities were each lost in a matter of minutes.”
“By the Chiefdom,” added Jakhu.
“All those cities,” Ezenkharam whispered to herself.
“Why was I not told sooner?” Ikharus asked.
“I apologize, your Majesty. I thought, given the circumstances, you would not want to know until we reached safety.”
Ikharus felt light-headed. He released his arm from Flokh’s grip and held his claw, still wielding the scepter, against his forehead. He held his claw there for several seconds, let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes.
T’Dakho, Merezok, Rakhaan, Globte Nouk, Y’Dotural. So many cities. All destroyed. Millions of Kholvari lives lost. And it was all in a matter of minutes. Ikharus felt his heart race. His muscles quivered. He suddenly fell to his knees. By the Chiefdom, we truly cannot win this. There is no way. There is no way. The Hive will kill us all.
“Supreme Chieftain!” an honor guard said, grabbing his shoulders.
It took two honor guards to lift Ikharus back up to his feet. He felt dizzy, exhausted, in shock.
When he opened his eyes again, the faces around him appeared just as horrified. Mandibles were open wide, eyes were lost in the distance, faces grew pale. It was clear that nobody among this group was able to remain calm.
“I… I must go. Let me through. I find myself in need solitude,” Ikharus demanded.
He pushed past the Kholvari around him and stormed through the room. He walked toward Evirak, who was still guiding evolved-ones to the relief room one at a time.
“Your Majesty,” Evirak said as he approached.
“Is anyone in the relief room, Kho Evirak?” Ikharus asked.
“Yes, the young one called Kho Jallah.”
“Then I shall take it when he is finished. Show me the way,” he said.
“Of course, your Majesty. It is just down this hall.” Evirak turned to the door as it opened and motioned to the hall. “Take a right at the end.”
“Very well. Thank you, Kho Evirak.”
Ikharus pressed onward into the hall and, to his surprise, found Jallah standing by himself at the end, staring down at something in his grasp.
The Supreme Chieftain slowed his pace as he curiously examined the young creature. He did not seem to move. It was as if he were a statue.
“Kho Jallah,” Ikharus eventually said after a few seconds of waiting.
The evolved-one spun around and quickly shoved something into his pocket. His mouth was open wide, as were his eyes. Jallah was clearly in shock.
“What are you doing? Do you know that there are others waiting to use the relief room? If you are finished, you should return. It is not polite to hold up the line,” Ikharus explained, walking toward him again.
“Y… yes, sorry,” the evolved-one said, quickly putting his words together.
Jallah removed his hands from his pockets. Ikharus made an obvious effort to glance at whatever the evolved-one was trying to conceal.
“What was that?” he asked, motioning with his scepter.
“What was what?” the nervous creature replied.
There were few times Ikharus was truly offended by the words of others, but Jallah’s obvious attempt to deny Ikharus an answer filled him with anger.
“Do not test me, creature. I am not ignorant. I saw something in your grasp.”
Jallah took a step back, but still did not answer.
“Lives were lost today, Kho Jallah. Kholvaria is under attack. If there is any time to play games with me, I assure you, it is not now. After everything that has happened today, my patience for insolence no longer exists. So, I shall ask you again. What was that?”
Jallah gulped, then took a step forward. He reached into his pocket again and drew a small glass of liquid. It appeared bright blue in the light.
Ikharus took a curious step forward and examined the strange object.
“What is that?”
“It’s a vial,” Jallah answered.
“I can see that, Kho Jallah. What is inside the vial?” Ikharus asked, growing even more impatient.
“It’s… it’s…”
“Speak!”
“It’s called Metamorph. It, uh… it’s a chemical that turns people crazy. It’s what created the zombies,” Jallah explained, talking quickly. “I know you are probably confused, but that’s the truth, honest! I’ve kept it with me since Country Roads. That’s why I’m still wearing these clothes. I kept it in my pocket the whole time. Please, don’t tell anyone.”
“Metamorph? I have never heard of this. What did you say it does?”
“It… I don’t know,” the nervous evolved-one said, struggling to answer. “It… it messes with minds, I guess. If you can think clearly, the chemical turns your brain to mush until you can’t think clearly anymore. That’s what it does.”
“Allow me to see,” Ikharus said, placing his scepter against the wall and reaching for it.
“Be careful!” Jallah
replied, pulling his hands back. “Don’t mess with it. Dan says this is the most dangerous formula ever created.”
“If that is true, then why do you have it?”
“I… I don’t know. I’ve been trying to figure that out. I just feel like I’m supposed to have it for some reason, like it’s maybe fate or something.”
“Fate?”
“I know it sounds silly. I honestly don’t know what else to say. I’ve seen this in my mind, like a vision or a dream.”
“A vison?”
“I shouldn’t have said that. Now you think I’m crazy.”
“No,” Ikharus said, genuinely interested, “tell me about this vision.”
“I… I can’t remember everything right now.”
“Tell me what you can remember.”
“Well, there was something about tentacles reaching out to get me, like something from a giant octopus or jellyfish or squid. They wrapped around me. I couldn’t get away. The more the tentacles wrapped around me, the more the vial of liquid started to glow. It got brighter and brighter. Then came the words the vial is the key. It… it was something like that. I know it’s not a lot, but I can’t remember everything exactly as-”
“Tentacles. You said tentacles,” Ikharus repeated. He could hardly believe it. He had seen tentacles in his vision too.
“Uh… yes, that’s right,” Jallah replied, nervously gulping.
“And that formula, the Meta… Met-”
“Metamorph?”
“Yes, Metamorph,” Ikharus replied, nodding. “You said it affects the mind, yes?”
Jallah nodded his head.
Ikharus took a step back and felt his mandibles open wide. His heart raced, more than it already had been. He blinked rapidly and leaned against the wall.
Moments ago, Ikharus was ready to give up, knowing that there was no way to win. He was ready to concede defeat to the ultimate enemy. But now, the path was right before him. It was all so clear.
The mind. The Hive is controlled by its mind. Destroy the mind, destroy the Hive.
Ikharus moved away from the wall and stared at the blue liquid in Jallah’s grasp.
