by Gary Weston
Of course, members of the council hotly debated what was to be done regarding the visitors. Some had suggested to try to communicate with them. To do that, however, would mean revealing their underground world. Perhaps these creatures would decide that the city below the frozen ground would be suitable to take over for themselves. Not an option.
For the same reason, the idea of going up in great numbers was also dismissed. Beings who had developed ships to cross space, were obviously quite capable in defending themselves. Korvalians had no need for weapons, therefore any attack would probably have a worse outcome for themselves than it would for the visitors.
It had been discovered that the troglonite bugs were toxic to the visitors. Not aggressive, but if encouraged they could devour a Human very fast. The Korvalians, generally a peaceful race, could not bring themselves to kill any living creature themselves. But these creatures needed telling, right? The plan was simple. Tunnel under the Base. Rip open the garment protecting the visitors, wipe on a little of the food the bugs could not resist and let them do the work. The visitors would take the hint and go, right?
That had only created a panic amongst the visitors, but had not encouraged them to leave. When some of them had ventured down into their world, it was just too much. They had to be destroyed. There had been death on both sides.
Now there was this quiet lull; both races waiting for the other to attack. It seemed nobody wanted to throw the first stone. But it wouldn’t take much.
Chapter 27
One young Korvalian stood with the others, rocking as one, chanting their mantra, the mantra of the spirits. His name was Regnad HoL’tor. His sister had been Migoka HoL’Tor. She had been killed by a visitor. She had bravely defended their city, and against the numbers, against the weapons, had given her life. He had so many emotions swirling around in his mind. Pride. That his sister had seen the danger the intrusion of the visitors represented and had selflessly brought it on herself to take them on, paying with her life. Sadness that his family had lost such a wonderful member. But most of all he felt anger.
These creatures had come to plunder his planet. Slowly sentencing his kind to a slow and lingering death as the power run out, the sun would die, the crops in the field would perish, his kind would starve to death.
He listened to the eulogy given by LaH’vot. As if LaH’vot really cared. The remains of his sister were being eaten up in the acid lake, the traditional way to dispose of their dead, and here LaH’vot spewed forth his meaningless words. None, it seemed, wanted to do something about this. These visitors came here, to their planet, sucked the life from it, came down into their world and killed his sister.
Regnad stood and fumed as they all raised their arms to the passing of his sister’s spirit to the beyond place. Weren’t they forgetting something? These creatures had no right to be here. They had no right to take what did not belong to them. They had no right to…kill his sister.
And yet, LaH’vot droned on. Not talk of retribution. His sister would die for no good reason.
‘I’ll avenge you, my sister. You deserve so much better than words. I will avenge you.’
Chapter 28
Vornil Cole lay crying on his bed. His dad had been butchered by some critter that lived beneath them. His dad had been the most amazing man. Taking them from one planet to another, even when his mother had died, giving birth to him. Dad had often taken him into the helium extraction plant, teaching him, saying what a good living could be made from this. One day, he would join his dad at the extraction plant, the fourth generation in the game. His Grandfather had worked the extraction plant on Earth’s moon, travelling between there and Mars, where he lived.
That had been a dangerous time, the Earth destroying itself with war, and Mars fighting the Varlindrans alongside the Graggons. His dad often told him of the adventures his grandfather had, and the epic battles Humans, Graggons and Varlindrans fought. He would listen to his father and imagine himself as the captain of a ship, taking on the enemy, or a shooter, firing the laser cannons, blasting the Varlindran ships to pieces. Or, perhaps even to ride the mysterious Blackness, travelling faster than the speed of light. Those wars had ended even before his father had been born.
His dad was gone. He was alone. His lot for the next year or so would now be an orphanage until he was deemed old enough to follow in his father’s footsteps or to become one of the Miller family. That’s all he and his father had wanted to do; coming to planets like Nyzon Five. Make a living. Go on to the next planet. Him and his dad. Now, some monster that lived beneath his feet, evil, nasty, had butchered his dad.
Vornil got off the bed and went to the dresser. He picked up the image-player in the marsillium frame. It was a five-sec-three-dimensional. So old fashioned. The clip replayed itself. His mother picking up her baby boy, his father laughing, looking on, so happy, before tragedy hit them. She died so unexpectedly just hours later.
His father never let her memory fade. They would be sitting at the table eating and his father would suddenly start laughing, remembering the good times.
“Dad?”
His father would be laughing so hard he had to push his plate away. “Did I ever tell you about the time your mother forgot my birthday?”
Of course he had. A hundred times. But Vornil always said no, because he so wanted to hear it again.
“Jeez, Dad. I bet that made you mad.” He knew what was coming.
“Me, mad? Hell no. I’ll tell you something, son. Women will always have the upper hand for ninety percent of the time. They’ll only think they have the other ten percent. I can’t tell you how many times I’d forgotten her birthday or our anniversary for this or that or the other. Now, this was the one and only time she had ever forgotten my birthday. Boy, was I relieved.”
“Relieved? Why, Dad?’
“Why? Because she wasn’t really an angel sent to me just so I could worship her. She was actually Human.”
“So, what happened?”
“I pretended to be so grumpy with her. Like, it was getting real late and my birthday was over. Then this look came over her face. Damn, she said. It’s the ninth, right? And I said, it was, yesterday.”
‘Jeez. Then what?”
“Well. I was trying to keep my face straight. Trying not to burst out laughing. Then she came over to me. I missed your birthday? she said. I said, no big deal. Then she said, Oh, honey. I’ve been working so hard I clean lost track of the time.”
“What did you say, Dad?”
“I said, Well. I guess you’ll have to be my birthday present. And she said, and this where you’ll have to watch women, she said, that’s what I was planning all along. Damn. I loved her so much.”
“And she loved you, Dad.”
“You’re the living proof, son. Not long after that, you were on your way.”
Vornil loved that story of how he came to be. That his mother and father loved each other so much and he came about because of their love. He played that old fashioned five-sec-three-dimensional and played it all over again. Over and over he played it, until his tears dried up.
‘Nobody seems to give a shit, Dad. Like, I got nothing. That ain’t right. You should be here with me. They let some critter get you. I ain’t letting them get away with that. Tell me what to do, Dad.’
Something unexplained happened that moment. The image froze in its frame of marsilium. That had never happened before. It froze with his parents staring at him. He thought he saw something in their expressions.
He thought he had heard his mother speak. “Go kill them, Vornil. If you are a worthy son, take revenge for your father.”
‘I will, I will. I’ll go down there.’
Chapter 29
Vornil Cole needed a plan. But mostly, he needed a weapon. All five laser rifles were in the hands of the men guarding the hole that led to the tunnels. He walked into the jungle and found the men.
‘Hey, kid. You shouldn’t be here,’ one said.
‘T
his is where they come out?’ asked Vornil.
‘Yeah. And we’ll fry their brains if they try.’
The men stared at the boy. One said, ‘You’re Cole’s boy. Jeez. Sorry about your dad, son.’
‘Yeah. A good man,’ said another. ‘But Charlie’s right. Only us should be here. And you ain’t got a bio-suit on. Them bugs are still about.’
Charlie Norton said, ‘Don’t spook him. They don’t attack. Only if them monsters make ‘em attack. Hey kid. I need to pee. Watch my back for a minute, will you?’
Charlie handed the boy the rifle and went behind a bush. Vornil held the weapon, standing close to the bush. The others were sitting on the ground, bored with just waiting around, itching to see some action. Vornil saw his chance. He ran to the edge of the hole and grabbed the line that was attached to the harness and dropped it down the hole.
The men were quickly on their feet. ‘Hey, kid. What the hell are you playing at?’
Vornil pointed the rifle at them and they stepped back. ‘Don’t try to stop me.’
Charlie came back from behind the bush. ‘You’ll not shoot us, kid. Give me the damn rifle.’
‘No. I don’t want to shoot you. But you won’t shoot me, either.’
They stood just staring at each other, none daring to move. There was a helmet-lamp on the ground and Vornil grabbed it and jammed it on his head. Still with rifle pointed at the men, with his free hand, Vornil wrapped the rope around him loosely, then quickly put the strap of the rifle over his head and dropped into the hole. He hadn’t realised just how deep the hole was and he found himself dangling awkwardly on the rope. Above him he could hear the men cursing him, yelling for him to climb back up. Then he felt the line being pulled up.
He had to move fast and he scrambled down the rope. The rope was still being winched up by the men as he climbed lower. Then he was at the end of the line, and in the darkness he had no idea how far it was to the bottom. He reached up to turn on the lamp and his other hand slipped and he was falling. He landed hard, but he had been just a few feet off the bottom of the hole, so didn’t hurt himself too much as he fell over onto his backside. He could see lights up above him, and he could hear the men calling his name. Vornil got to his feet and turned on the lamp. The light lit up the cold empty tunnel. With the rifle in his hands, he took his first steps into the world of the monsters.
Chapter 30
‘Absolutely not,’ said Carver. ‘Sending men down there merely puts more lives at risk.’
‘But he’s just a kid, Commander,’ said Charlie Norton. ‘Look. It was my fault, giving him the rifle. Stupid. I’ll go after him on my own.’
Vickers said, ‘You will not. The boy will just get scared on his own. He’ll soon be wanting to get back here. You just need to be waiting to haul him up. And who the hell is guarding the hole anyway?’
‘We all came right here. Something needs to be done.’
Carver said, ‘Not without proper organisation. Going down there unprepared would be just reckless. Now return to your posts while we decide on the best course of action.’
Reluctantly, the men stormed out of Carver’s office as Tagg Raven was about to enter. As they walked out, Raven asked Nightly what all the fuss was about.
Nightly said, ‘Cole’s kid went down the hole. He has a rifle.’
‘Jeez. Commander Carver. Is that right about the kid?’
‘Yes,’ said Carver. ‘Those jokers let him slip by them. They wanted to go after him.’
‘Suicide,’ said Raven. ‘But we have to do something.’
Vickers said, ‘If we had more weapons, I’d agree. I’m hoping the kid will see sense and get back here.’
Raven said, ‘We have four weapons. If the kid isn’t back in half an hour, I’ll lead a team down there.’
‘I don’t see any alternatives,’ said Carver. ‘Ok. It’s against my better judgement, but you organise a team, Raven. If the kid isn’t back in one half hour, you can go down.’
Chapter 31
Regnad HoL’tors had made up his mind. He would take revenge for his sister’s death. The others may be prepared to do nothing to save their planet from the visitors but not him. He had seen the puny body being dropped into the acid lake. He could have easily killed one of them. He would kill one of them. More if he could.
Regnad had not been into the world of the visitors but he had heard the others talking about it. The entrance was always guarded now. They would be waiting for anyone coming out that way; ready to use their weapons like they had done on his sister. But there were other ways to the surface, away from the guarded entrance. It would take almost a full day to walk that far along the tunnels, then less than one half day to reach the home of the visitors.
With his fingertips he felt the two claws on the back of his hand. This was all he needed to rip them open. He said nothing to his family or friends because he knew they would try to stop him. It was time for him to go. Quietly, he left the city and took the path by the side of the waterfall. He stood on the path and stared into the tunnel. Then he looked back at the city. With the anger still burning in his two hearts, he started along the tunnel.
Chapter 32
Raven’s team included Ralph Miller and Merv Hanson because they knew Vornil Cole, and also because they knew what to expect down below. Charlie Norton had insisted he go along because he felt responsible for the boy being down in the tunnels. Joy Dainty put up no arguments this time about being excluded. Instead she helped pack food for the trip.
The laser rifles were fully charged as were the helmet lamps. They had used up the half hour getting ready and there was still no sign of Vornil Cole returning. They stood with the commanders and Joy at the edge of the hole. It was time to go.
‘You come back to me, you hear,’ said Joy, hugging Raven.
‘That’s second on my to-do list. Finding the kid is number one.’
‘Good luck, everyone,’ said Carver. He wasn’t keen on the team going down the tunnel. They had the only weapons and if anything happened to them, those in the Base would be even more vulnerable. He kept those thoughts to himself, though.
Raven flicked on his helmet-light and he was the first to be lowered in the harness. They set off along the tunnel.
Charlie Norton yelled out, ‘Hey, Vornil,’ the noise echoing off the tunnel walls.
Raven grabbed Norton’s arm. ‘Are you crazy? We don’t exactly have a formal invitation down here. No more noise.’
‘Sorry. I just…sorry.’
‘Ok. And watch where you point that damned rifle. Let’s pick up the pace.’
They hurried along the tunnel, hoping to catch up with the boy.
Chapter 33
Regnad HoL’tor had reached the tunnel that led to the home of the visitors. He paused and looked into it. He knew he had to continue following the river upstream, where the other hidden way to the surface was. Regnad stayed long enough to drink from the river, then he continued his journey along the path by the side of it. Had he stayed there one more minute, he would have seen the single beam of light in the tunnel and he would have had his revenge for his sister.
As Regnad hurried on, Vornil Cole reached the T junction and came to the river. He took a drink from it, then looked upstream and downstream, wondering which way to go. His instincts told him to head downstream, which he did. With the rifle at the ready in his hands, he thought of his father, the reason he was down there. He was doing this for his dad. After several hours he came to the first platform not knowing this was where his father had rested with the others. He sat down after drinking from the shallow river, and tried not to think about food as his belly rumbled. After a few minutes, he got up and continued his quest.
Back at the T junction, Raven and the team stopped.
‘The kid could have gone either way,’ said Charlie Norton.
Raven said, ‘Well, we’re not splitting up, that’s for sure. It’s a fifty-fifty call, so I say we head downstream towards the city.’
The others offered no comments, so Raven took the lead and they followed him downstream. Each step they took brought them nearer to the city and certain death. Walking at a good speed, they needed to find the boy before he reached the city. They did stop at the first platform, hoping Vornil had decided to rest there.
‘Look,’ said Hanson. ‘Part of a footprint. Human. He drank here.’
Raven said, ‘We can’t be far behind him. Let’s move it.’
Chapter 34
Regnad HoL’tor pushed his way out of the hidden exit, looking about the frozen land. In the distance he could see the huge dome of the Base. The home of the visitors. He would have to find a way inside it unseen. He shivered from the icy biting wind, not used to the cold. It was almost nightfall and he could reach the dome unobserved. He would hide inside, killing the visitors one by one. The frozen ground crunched beneath his weight as he continued his mission.
With his blood freezing in his veins, Regnad reached the huge dome. Behind a pile of rocks, he studied the massive structure. It was made of a clear material to let in what little natural light it could from the distant sun during the daytime. He could see the main entrance, big enough to drive vehicles in and out. That way would be too well guarded. There had to be a weakness to the building; a way in for him to enter unseen.
Lights shone inside, and he could see the outline of trees. That would be a good place to hide.
Seeing nobody moving about inside, he dared to move closer, right up to the building. Keeping as low as he could, he made his way along the bottom of the dome in the opposite direction to the main entrance. Finally, he saw what he was looking for. A venting shaft, used to expel stale air. It was large enough to climb through, but the cover of steel was closed.
With his fingers, he felt around the cover and found a slight gap. Pushing the claws of both hands into the gap, he levered it wider. He was then able to pull the cover away, rivets snapping one by one. It was enough for him to climb inside, which he did. He reached behind him and pulled the cover back into place.
