The Humanarium

by CW Tickner

  The jar broke under the pressure and shattered, leaving a hole big enough for the prisoners to escape.

  The Aylen bent over, barking sharp guttural sounds that, to Harl, sounded like curses as the people inside made a bid for freedom. The Aylen started to swipe them back in, impaling one man against the broken edge as the others tried to scramble out of the way.

  Damen’s men opened fire from the ridge line and the blasts struck the Aylen, making the giant spin around to search for the attackers. The Aylen clawed a section of what had once been the marketplace out of the ground and threw it at Damen and the soldiers, before stomping over towards the ridge.

  Oscar had run down from the ridge towards a section of the city that had been cast aside. He made a beeline for a tumbled heap of containers that had spilled open and snatched up a muddy bag, stuffing handfuls of items from the containers into it.

  Harl was too far away to see what he was doing. Why had he left the ridge?

  Oscar hunkered down as the Aylen strode over him towards the ridge where Damen’s men were still firing. He then leapt up and ran through the city’s debris, dodging between broken tunnel sections and ancient metal modules until he reached the mound of rubble Harl was hiding behind.

  ‘Harl,’ he said, holding out the bag.

  Harl peered inside. It was full of the metal cylinders.

  There were enough explosives inside to do some serious damage to the Aylen. He tried to count them but Oscar grabbed his shoulder.

  ‘The ground!’ he said, pointing across the plain further around the broken city.

  The hanger doors were hinging open on the far side of the city and, from Harl’s point of view, it looked like the ground was slowly angling up like a hill. If they could keep the Aylen distracted then Kane could get them away.

  The huge doors eased open, slowly pushing up and outwards to reveal the hanger and the sleek vessel inside. Harl could only just make it out from his position, but if the Aylen spotted it then all would be lost. All it would have to do is stamp down on the ship before it could rise from the crater.

  Oscar seemed to understand Harl’s thoughts and drew his sword.

  ‘We must distract,’ he said.

  Harl nodded.

  The Aylen was standing on the ridge, kicking at the ground where Damen had fired from. Both Harl and Oscar would need as much speed as possible to get to the Aylen before it killed everyone. Several blue shots flew up from the grass forest, signalling that Damen and his men were still alive and trying to keep the giant occupied.

  ‘Let’s go,’ Harl said, breaking into a sprint across the plain towards the ridge. They dodged between rocks and broken sections of tunnel as they clambered up the ridge behind the Aylen, then rushed in close to its feet.

  The Aylen soared over them like a moving cliff face of flesh and metallic clothing. It was still busy stomping a foot through the forest as sporadic shots fired up at it. All of its weight was on its back foot, closest to Harl. An idea sprang to mind.

  ‘Go right,’ Harl said, pointing to the forest on their right. ‘When it turns, move past and get Damen down to the plain.’

  Oscar nodded and broke right, heading into the stalks.

  Harl took a deep breath to calm the thudding in his chest and rummaged inside the bag. He pulled out a trio of cylinders, flicked the metal latches, tossed them at the foot and dived into the nearest stalks.

  The Aylen screamed as they blew, threatening to deafen Harl. The mesh that covered the foot shredded until a cascade of yellow ran from the hole.

  The Aylen turned, its glare fixed on Harl’s location, the golden eyes scanning the stalks. Oscar was just visible, creeping through the foliage to get behind it. The face tilted down towards Harl and an evil gleam entered its eyes as the Aylen spotted him.

  Harl’s throat turned desert dry as he stared up at the craggy grey face. His legs refused to move and he felt like an insect under the gaze of a cruel child. He willed himself to action, broke cover, and ran.

  The giant lashed out with a foot, stamping down at where he’d been to miss him by only a pace as he raced down the ridge towards a boulder. The ship began to rise up out of the hanger, dust billowing around it as though it was caught in a storm.

  Harl skidded to a halt at the boulder, only to realise that it was a chunk of the city that had been torn away by the Aylen. A section of tunnels led through it. The Aylen raised its foot above him again, so he flicked a switch on one of the cylinders inside the bag and dropped it. He counted one heartbeat then dived aside as the foot slammed straight down into the ground beside him.

  The foot crumpled as the cylinders exploded underneath it, and tore apart with a sickly wet pop. Harl threw himself into the tunnel as hunks of flesh and yellow ichor splattered around him. The Aylen’s roar was blood curdling and the world shook as the giant toppled to the ground.

  The tunnel saved Harl’s life. The Aylen fell on top of it, a mountain of flesh crashing down on to the ground like thunder reverberating through the soil. Rock fractured around him, but the metal panelling held it at bay. Harl cowered there, not quite able to believe that he was still alive.

  For a moment there was silence, then the downed Aylen went berserk. It rolled over and thrashed out at anything around it. A fist connected with the tunnel section, flinging it away with Harl trapped inside. The world tumbled over and over until the boulder shattered fifty paces from the Aylen, throwing Harl out on to the dusty ground.

  His vision blurred, but then the sunlight turned to silver. He rubbed at his eyes trying to clear them. Was it the Aylen? He didn’t know, so he scrambled on his hands and knees to get away. The silver light seemed to track him until his vision cleared. He turned back and shouted with joy when he realised that the silver light was a reflection off the ship as it skirted around the Aylen’s flailing limbs.

  The silvery mass slowed as it drew close to where Damen had been, and then, instead of rising up and flying away, it floated towards Harl. He rubbed his eyes again and saw that the loading ramp was hanging open just above the ground.

  ‘Dammit,’ he said, trying to roll over and get up. Pain surged through nearly every part of his body. It felt like the foot had actually landed on him. He tried to push himself up, but his hand slipped and his face slapped into the soil.

  As if in a dream, he imagined he was rising, and then, in a moment of bewilderment, he was. His feet hit the floor as he felt a tight grip on his waist. He looked to his side and found Oscar there, ducking underneath his arm to half carry him towards the ramp as the ship glided over them.

  Troy was leaning out from the ramp, his hand stretched out to help him in. The ship didn’t slow and, instead of letting Harl try to jump on, Oscar roared and heaved him up. Troy grabbed his hand and yanked Harl inside to sprawl on the ramp.

  A billow of dust blew into the ship as the Aylen tried to stand, but it collapsed, its mangled stump unable to support the weight. The creature roared in fury and started pitching huge fistfuls of soil and rocks at the craft.

  Oscar leapt up, grabbed one of the struts that connected the ramp to the roof of the cargo bay, and swung himself inside.

  Troy’s face turned pale as he stared out the back. Harl looked around to see the Aylen on its knees and lunging for the ship with both hands. In a moment of horror the grey hands wrapped around the ship and jolted the vessel to an instant stop.

  Harl was flung back towards the hideous face beneath them.

  Oscar gripped the strut with one hand while his other shot out to catch Harl’s, jarring Harl’s shoulder from the socket. He was left dangling from the ship like bait on a fishing rod.

  The Aylen roared and dragged them back towards it, a malicious grin spread across its face.

  Harl closed his eyes and waited for the end.

  Chapter 76

  An apprentice! There might just be time. Time, no matter the species, is never enough. One hundred and forty thousand oscillations, and I’m only just seeing how similar we
are, regardless of size.

  Troy grabbed the second strut and gripped Harl’s free hand. The ship lurched again and together he and Oscar held Harl from plummeting out of the ship.

  The Aylen was battling against the power of the engines to drag the ship closer, but it was a stalemate.

  Harl scrambled up, but his feet were swept out from under him again as the Aylen tilted the ship and peered in through the open ramp. Harl swung above its leering face as Troy and Oscar strained to hold him.

  One of the crew had opened the interior cargo bay door and the woman tumbled out, screaming as she slid past Harl. Troy’s grip weakened, as if he was going to grab her, but as the Aylen shook the ship again, Troy’s fingers tightened around Harl’s hand and the woman shot out the back of the ship. The Aylen didn’t flinch as she bounced against the face.

  The ship tilted further over as the Aylen started to shake it. It peered through the opening again as though hoping something else would fall out.

  Oscar’s feet slipped and he staggered, letting go of Harl as he grabbed the strut with both hands to save himself from falling. His feet swept out from under him and he dangled there next to Harl as they stared down into the Aylen’s face.

  Troy’s arms were giving way under the strain of holding Harl in place. His fingers started to weaken and slip.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Troy said. ‘I can’t… hold… us.’

  Terror rippled through Harl, but then it ebbed away, leaving only a cold sadness. He would never see his child or watch it grow up. There was no way Troy could hold them both. He nodded as he looked at the anguish in his friends eyes. Oscar was still holding on to the strut and staring down at the face as if calculating the drop.

  ‘You’ve done enough, my friends,’ Harl said, peeling his fingers free from Troy’s grip.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Troy yelled. His eyes widened. ‘No. No! I won’t let you do that!’

  ‘Tell Sonora I’m sorry,’ Harl said.

  ‘Its not your time,’ Oscar said. He tilted his head back and roared with a savage fury. Dropping one hand to the scabbard at his waist he drew the sword Damen had given him. He pressed the button on the hilt and fixed his gaze on the Aylen below.

  Without another word, he let go.

  Oscar dropped straight down, both hands gripped the pommel of his sword and he slammed into the eye socket of the Aylen. He drove the tip of the sword in first and plunged down through the cornea deep into its yellow gaze.

  The Aylen screamed a deafening cry as Oscar sliced left and right, gouging out chunks. It snatched its hands away from the ship to clamp them down over its injured eye. The fingers missed Oscar as he jumped aside, but the impact broke his grip on the embedded sword and he was catapulted free, sailing out into the air.

  The ship’s engines roared as it swept up into the sky. Harl watched his friend fall, tears streaming from his eyes as Troy dragged him up the ramp. Low clouds engulfed the ship at the instant Oscar hit the ground and Harl dropped to his knees on the cold metal ramp and sobbed.

  The clouds parted for a brief moment to reveal the Aylen as it toppled backwards to the ground covered in its own blood.

  Harl knelt in silence, unsure what to do. The clouds shifted over the world until the dead Aylen was nothing but a tiny speck on the ground below. It was as if their roles had been reversed, Harl had become the giant while the Aylen shrank away to nothing.

  Troy stood behind him and, when Harl finally turned around to thank him, the buzzer droned on a wall-mounted radio beside the door.

  ‘Anyone there?’ It was Sonora and he raced across the cargo bay to press the reply button.

  ‘I’m here,’ he said.

  ‘Harl?’ Sonora said. ‘You’re alright, I thought…’ She broke off.

  ‘I’m fine,’ he said, almost choking on the words, ‘but we lost Oscar. Tell Kane we’re on our way up to you.’

  Kane’s voice came through a moment later. ‘I’m sorry about Oscar. We’re on autopilot at the moment. The ship should take us from here. No need to rush. Other than a few bruises, everyone’s alright. The ramp will close momentarily, so make the most of the view.’

  The radio clicked off.

  Harl looked around at Troy who was perched on the end of the ramp staring out at a spectacular sight. Harl didn’t care what was out there – the shock and pain of losing Oscar was too much – but his feet seemed to drag him over until he was beside Troy.

  A vast blue sky spread out around them as the ship climbed up into the higher wispy clouds. Below them, vast areas of the planet were sectioned off, not by a fence, but by two colours. The land masses were divided into black and green rectangles. It looked like someone had taken a plough to most of the surface, slowly turning lush vegetation into barren soil one square at a time. Was that how the Aylen grew their crops?

  The two tone plains were broken apart by white-tipped mountain ranges and long, stretched out lines that resembled roads. Buildings lined the roads, some much bigger than the shop. The lines intersected from every direction, but seemed to converge at a grey smear on the horizon. It could only be a city, a city of giants.

  The ramp lifted, and Troy jumped up, blocking the view as it closed.

  ‘Kane,’ Harl said, moving quickly to the radio. ‘Keep it open.’

  ‘I can’t,’ Kane radioed back, ‘It’s automatic from here on.’

  ‘From here to where?’ Harl asked, hoping the man might know where the ship was headed now it was actually flying.

  ‘You’d better come up and see for yourself.’

  Chapter 77

  I was too late to train another to take my place. I lie here, in the health centre, and I realise that from the start I made the wrong choice. I know I’m thinking like one of the Compassionates, but the creatures should not have been caged. I have only myself to blame and I will answer to the One True God when I pass from here.

  Harl met Damen coming back from the cargo bay and the hunter had darkened at the news of Oscar’s death. The two men had only know each other a short time, but it was an instant friendship, one that would have blossomed over time. Harl let Damen lead him to the cockpit, unwilling to see whether or not the hunter had tears in his eyes.

  The cockpit was crowded and, when Sonora saw him, she ran into his arms. She kissed him deeply.

  ‘I was so worried when you were down there,’ she said, holding him tight as tears flowed onto his bloodstained jacket.

  ‘I couldn’t leave you two,’ Harl said, stepping back and touching her stomach.

  ‘Sorry to interrupt,’ Kane said, his hands flickering over the control screen. ‘But we seem to be going a little high.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Harl asked, looking out the window as the clouds whizzed by.

  ‘Well,’ Kane said, ‘I expected us to go up a bit but to eventually level out.’

  ‘And?’ Harl prompted.

  Kane cleared his throat nervously. ‘Erm, we’re still going nearly straight up.’

  It was true. The ship was gaining height at an alarming rate with the window tilting up to a darkening blue sky.

  ‘What happens if we keep going up?’ Harl asked. ‘Can we stop it?’

  ‘I don’t think we need to panic,’ Gorman said, stepping into the room and tapping his stick on the computer consoles to feel his way forward. ‘This ship is well built and the chances for it to head directly upwards on automatic and not be designed for that purpose would be unlikely.’

  The words had a calming effect on all of them and even Kane seemed to relax a little. He punched buttons on a comms box and started to get the engineers busy again, before ordering status updates on those in the community room, where over a thousand people waited expectantly.

  Reports came back that the ship’s engine core was working as well as could be expected and, after the rough handling from the Aylen, the ship was in remarkably good condition.

  The distance from the surface was immeasurable now. The once flat land below them had tr
ansformed into a curve. For some bizarre reason Harl had imagined the world to be cubed, like the tanks, but if they kept going up it would surely be round.

  ‘Help!’ Gorman cried, and Harl turned to discover what could make the blind man so unnerved.

  He felt and saw it at the same time. Gorman rose up from floor at the same instant as everyone else. They were floating in the air. Only Kane, who was clipped into his seat, did not rise. Small items floated past them across the room, spinning through the air as if they were in a peaceful dance.

  ‘Hold on to something,’ Kane said, keeping a firm grip on the console in front of him.

  Harl had risen from the floor like everyone else, but then – as if reality had snapped back into place – they all dropped back down. A noise came from the ship itself in response and Harl guessed, somehow, that it was countering the effect.

  ‘What was that?’ Sonora asked.

  ‘I would guess,’ Kane said, ‘that we have left the pull of the planet and the ship has engaged something to reverse it. I should have expected it, but with so much to concentrate on I forgot.’

  ‘Forgot?’ Troy said, incredulous. ‘That we might suddenly start flying around?’

  Harl gripped the back of one of the seats and watched the window in awe. The blue sky kept darkening until it went black. Pinpricks of light studded the void ahead of them in a dazzling display.

  Gorman must have sensed the change.

  ‘Tell me Kane,’ he said, ‘what do you see?’

  Kane looked up from his console and gasped. ‘I see… I see the darkness of night is all around us, but the ship is coming around. It’s so beautiful, Gorman. I see the sphere of the land below. I see the planet.’