Portals of Infinity: Kaiju

by John Van Stry

  "What's a tiger?" Loomis asked.

  "The largest and most efficient land predator on the planet." I said. "Very big, very deadly." I paused a moment, "And they always attack from behind."

  "Good one," Suzona whispered, smirking.

  "Well, I haven't seen any indications of that many animals, so I wouldn't think it's something we should worry about." Evean said.

  As it got darker, Suzona had to hold my arm, because while the rest of us had superior night vision in our champion forms, she didn't. Fortunately the moon had started to rise by the time we got to the coast.

  The city we were heading towards had been coming into view slowly, behind the ridgelines that obscured it as we walked. When it finally came into full view, it was still some miles away.

  "That is an impressive sight," Suzona said as we all looked at the well lit and sparkling towers that climbed high into the sky.

  "Sure beats that tower we saw back in the beginning," Evean agreed.

  "Should we continue along the river, or just strike out directly for the city now?"

  "Let's start heading for the city, I'd like to get there before sunrise, then we can rest for a while as we try to figure out how to get inside."

  I nodded and we all struck directly off for the city then. Surprisingly we eventually came across a road that headed towards the city.

  "This looks pretty old," Suzona said as we walked along it.

  "Still, no weeds, no dirt, someone must be maintaining it," I said.

  Evean looked to either side of the road, it was pretty wide.

  "Sure it's not a runway?" She asked.

  I shrugged; I wasn't planning on walking on any part of it other than the side anyway.

  "Let's take a break for a minute," I said, "I need to relieve a few bodily functions."

  "Sure."

  I walked away from the road a bit, into the weeds and took care of business, but that wasn't the real reason I wanted the break. Up to now I had been up in front leading us towards the city, and I didn't want to be up in the front anymore. I had started thinking about the things that Cenewyg had done to me, years ago, and right now I really had no ideas on who I could trust.

  So, I was going to hang back now, and I was going to start holding back too. One of those three was behind what was going on, and while I'd bet it was Loomis, I had family on the line now. Goth had already died, if that monster made it up to Hiland somehow, Rachel and my children would be in harms way. Not to mention Narasamman, Laria, and their children, and most especially Fel, and the clergy.

  Because one of them was a traitor, or at least had their own agenda and part of that agenda was getting rid of me. So it was time to shut up and pay attention. Fel was right, I did have a reputation for going over the top, and if I had to go over the top and burn some friendships to save my family and Fel, then I'd burn them.

  When I rejoined the group, several others took a potty break, and I got out my water bottle, had a drink, and ate some more food.

  "Let's go," Evean said after a minute.

  I had positioned myself on the far side of the group from the tower, so when we all stood I just looked at them, and waited to see who took the lead.

  Evean and Loomis looked at me, and I just looked back. Suzona started heading towards the city without a second thought, and I just waited until Evean shrugged and started walking. Loomis waited, until Evean called his name, and then he hurried up to catch up with her. At which point I started to follow the group.

  I watched them as we walked. Evean and Loomis chatted occasionally, with Loomis looking back over his shoulder every once in a while to see if I was still there. Evean didn't care and didn't look back, though the way her tail flicked every once in a while, usually after Loomis said something to her, I could tell she was annoyed.

  Whether at him, me, or something else, I had no idea.

  It was still pretty dark out, even with the moon up, and when everything suddenly slowed down, I didn't think twice, I threw myself to the ground away from the pavement and rolled onto my back, figuring that perhaps Evean was right and some sort of jet was coming into land.

  No, it was a freaking tiger!

  I swore loudly as the tiger hit the ground where I had been just a moment ago, and I rolled away from it, trying to scramble back to my feet as it changed course and turned to attack me.

  I wasn't being cute when I'd asked about tigers, I remembered a lot of old Japanese prints had tigers in them; perhaps the people here had reintroduced them when they'd retreated into their cities? All I knew was I had one coming after me, and I didn't have a single weapon other than my own claws, and his were definitely bigger.

  I got hit with a paw, as I tried to dodge to the left, and was sent sprawling as it ripped the pack off of my back.

  Tucking and rolling I came back up on my feet as it turned to charge me, this time I ducked down and charged it back, with my arms wide. When it leapt at me I braced myself, then getting my hands up under it's head I pushed up hard into its chest, letting my own claws come out and tear at its thick skin as I twisted and sent it flying to the side, my own face just barely missing the tiger's jaws.

  I got raked up along the back pretty bad, I could feel the fire tracing up my back as its claws dug in, but I had sent it sprawling now, and it was the one scrambling to get back up. Screaming at it, I used a healing spell on my wounded back as I charged it.

  The tiger laid its ears back and we faced off, snarling at each other as it took swipes at me with one of its massive paws. However, now that we were squaring off, I was faster than it with my boosted speed, and I was able to claw up its nose twice, before it turned and ran off, as the others came running to my aid, yelling and shouting as well.

  "Will!" Evean said skidding to a halt next to me, "Are you alright?"

  I looked down at myself, I had a couple dozen more slashes on me than I had realized. Thank goodness I was in my champion form, or I'd never had survived.

  "Barely," I said and healed myself, if the others hadn't shown up then, I probably wouldn't have survived.

  "How did you know?" Evean asked.

  I noticed then that it was only her and Suzona. Loomis was watching from a couple dozen yards away, he hadn't done anything to help.

  "I thought I heard something when I took a piss," I lied.

  "Why didn't you say something?" She said looking at me a little angrily.

  "I wasn't sure, and I didn't want to cause any trouble," I sighed and glanced over at where Loomis was still standing. "So I figured I'd just follow and try and keep my eyes and ears alert. Sorry."

  Evean glanced back towards where Loomis was standing and looking back at me she rolled her eyes. "And here I thought you were just trying to provoke him. Fine. Are you sure you're okay?"

  I nodded, "Just help me find my backpack."

  We found it a few minutes later, it had been torn open, but at least my shoes, shirt, and pants were still okay. I'd have to carry those in my hands, I let the others take whatever they wanted of the food I had, grabbed the water bottle, and just left the rest.

  "I'll follow," I told the rest as we started up again. Only this time I started looking over my shoulder every minute or two. Talk about bad luck! If I'd stayed at the front, the tiger would probably have killed Loomis for me.

  It wasn't Fel laughing at me this time, it was the universe.

  We stopped about a half mile away and shifted back to our local forms, and I got dressed. We could see that the roadway ran right up to the wall of the city, and that there was a large gateway there.

  "Should we wait until sunrise?" Loomis asked.

  "With large predators roaming about, it would look suspicious if we were to wait," Suzona said.

  "I agree," Evean said. "Will?"

  I nodded and stood back up.

  The others got up and we started on again, with me taking up the rear once more. Only this time I didn't lag that far behind, that would probably look suspicious to any who ob
served us coming.

  As we got closer, I could see that the large gateway in the wall had a smaller door set next to it, one with a light set above it, and a few small structures around it. I wasn't really sure what time it was locally, but when we finally marched up to the gate, dawn hadn't started yet, so it was probably extremely early.

  The structures had resolved into a couple of small garage like buildings. One was set against the wall, the other three were not. They each had what appeared to be a wide roll up door and a regular door as well.

  When we got to the door with the light over it, a screen suddenly appeared on the wall next to it, with a woman's face on it.

  "Are you requesting entry?" She asked.

  "Yes," Evean said.

  "Are you carrying any weapons?"

  "No."

  "Names please."

  "Evean."

  "Suzona."

  "Loomis."

  "Will."

  "I am Akira, the Baku of Shimmering city. If you have needs, ask any of my terminals in the city, and I shall supply them. You are welcome here."

  With that the door opened, and we all went inside.

  Lights came on as we went down a hallway; there were no doors to either side, and at the other end, the door opened as we approached.

  I could only assume that we had entered the city at ground level, because the hallway we had gone down had not been sloped, however there was a ceiling above us, probably a good fifty feet or so, and buildings all around. There were street lights, so it wasn't dark, and as we watched several machines went by, down what I guess was the road.

  Suzona looked around and walked over to a spot that had a design draw on it, one that looked like some strange sort of animal.

  "Akira?" She said.

  Instantly a screen appeared where the design had been, with the same woman on it as before. "How may I help you?"

  "Where are we?"

  "You are on lower level one, in the sky mechanic section, by the main exit way."

  "Where is everyone?" Suzona asked.

  "I assume you refer to the lack of personnel in your present area?"

  "Yes," Suzona replied.

  "You are the only humans on lower level one. People do not normally visit any of the three lower levels."

  "Where can we find lodging?" Suzona asked next.

  "On which level would you prefer lodging, and what amenities are required?"

  "Basic amenities, or better, and are there are any available on this level?"

  "Of course, there is lodging nearby for travelers. Please follow the footpath lights."

  As she said that, lights lit up along the ground and led off down the street and around a corner.

  "Handy that," I said.

  "Thank you, Akira," Suzona said and we followed the path of lights.

  "What is that thing?" Evean asked.

  "A computer," Suzona said. "I've seen similar ones before, though never something as well integrated as this."

  "I thought you knew about computers?" I said to Evean.

  "We didn't have anything like this, where I came from. Did you?"

  I shook my head, "Not really, but there were people talking about it."

  "How does it work?" Loomis asked Suzona.

  "Just ask it questions, tell it what you want. But you must be careful, they can be quite literal, and you never know what you might ask for that can lead to problems."

  "Okay," He nodded.

  The path didn't take us very far; we ended up at a rather nice looking building with a nice entrance.

  The doors opened as we approached and we went inside.

  As we walked into the lobby a voice came from the ceiling, "Please follow the light path to your rooms, Suzona, blue. Evean, green. Loomis, yellow. Will, red."

  "Well, let's see what they're giving us," Evean said and we followed the lights out of the lobby, and down a hall. The lights ran to the first four doorways, two on either side of the hall.

  "Interesting," I said and walked up to the one the lights ended at. There was a little display to the right side of the door with my name on it, and the door opened as soon as I approached.

  "Well, I'm going to take a nap," I said and looked at the others who were looking at their own open doors curiously.

  "Sure," Evean said and walked in to her room, the door closing behind her.

  I walked into mine, and the door closed behind me as well.

  Walking into the room I looked around, there were no windows, though there was one rather large floor to ceiling mural on one of the walls. The room was nice, about twenty by twenty, with a bed, desk, a couple of chairs, and lighting fixtures.

  "Akira," I said.

  "Yes, Will?"

  "Can you see me?"

  "No, there are no visual sensors in hotel rooms, as per privacy regulations."

  "How much is this room costing me?"

  "This hotel is subsidized housing, there are no costs."

  "Can I get food here?"

  "Yes, what would you like?"

  "Can I get meat?"

  "Yes, what would you like?"

  "Whatever is free."

  "There are three hundred and sixty-two selections available."

  I asked then if there was a terminal in the room, and then after viewing pictures of several dishes, I ordered a couple, ate, took a shower, and then took a nap.

  Eighteen

  4th World

  Automat Hotel

  "Will, you have a request from Evean to come to her room for a meeting."

  Opening my eyes at the sound of Akira's voice, I stretched, yawned, and got up out of bed.

  "What time is it, Akira?"

  "It is eleven forty-two."

  "Is that am, or pm?"

  "I do not understand the question."

  "Do you," I paused a moment, "Let me restate that. How many hours are in the day?"

  "There are twenty-four hours in the day."

  "And is twelve considered noon?"

  "Yes, that is correct."

  "And the following hour?"

  "The following hour is thirteen."

  I nodded, "Can I get a weapon?"

  "Weapons are not permitted inside the city, except for police, military, and designated citizens."

  "Can I have a knife?"

  "Knives other than cutlery are considered weapons, and are prohibited."

  "Can I have a quarterstaff?"

  "No, quarterstaffs are considered weapons."

  "Can I have a six foot long walking stick?"

  "Where would you like it delivered?"

  I smiled, "Here would be fine. Thank you, Akira."

  "You are welcome, Will."

  I put my pants on, left my shoes and shirt by the bed, and exiting the room I went to the one I'd seen Evean enter earlier. It didn't open for me however.

  "I'm here to see Evean," I said to the door.

  "One moment."

  The door opened then, and I walked in.

  Evean's room was the same as mine; she was sitting on the edge of the bed.

  "Where is everyone?" I asked looking around.

  "I haven't called them yet," She said. "This is just between you and me."

  "And not Loomis?" I asked.

  "What is it with you and Loomis, Will?"

  "I don't trust him, Evean."

  "Why not?"

  I shrugged, "Gut feeling, his attitude towards me. The way he never steps up but always hangs back."

  "I've know Loomis a long time, Will."

  "Longer than me?" I asked curious.

  "Yes actually, several years longer. Yes, he's not as experienced as you are. The war with Barassa is his first war, and this is his first time off the sphere. So he figures he should let the more experienced people lead the way."

  "Teshes was the least experienced of all of us, yet she never held back! Hell, her goddess was a fertility goddess!" I said throwing my hands up in the air in exasperation.

  "What is w
rong with you, Will?" Evean said standing up and looking me in the eye.

  "Nothing," I grumbled and turned away.

  "Bull! You can pull that crap on the others but it isn't going to work with me! What happened?"

  I sighed unhappily, "My daughter was killed in Marland."

  "Your daughter?" Evean looked at me with a rather quizzical expression on her face. "What was your daughter doing at Marland?"

  "She was apprenticed to the temple there, under Jane's goddess."

  "How do you have a daughter old enough to be apprenticed? I know that your queen has a son, because I've heard people talk about the prince."

  "I adopted her, after I saved her from a bad situation."

  "Adopted?" She said almost flippantly. "Then why ...."

  I snapped my head around and got in her face immediately, "Don't you say it! Don't you even think it! After what we've been through, and after what we did back in Japan you should know better!"

  I had the satisfaction of seeing the blood drain from her face as she took a step back and sat down on the bed, hard. Her eyes never leaving mine, as she started adding things up.

  "You care about them, you care about them all!" She said still looking rather shocked. "I thought you only cared about Cam, because you gave birth to her yourself. But you care about Rachel, your kids, all of them."

  "And you're surprised by this, why?"

  "I'm sorry about your daughter, William. Truly. I had no idea. I thought you were like all of the rest."

  "They're not all like that, Evean."

  "You're the first one I've ever met who wasn't." She said and gave me a rather sad smile.

  "Just understand, if you ever use that knowledge against me, I will spend the rest of my existence destroying you," I warned.

  "Like you did to that other guy?" She gave a small laugh. "There are a lot of things I may be, Will, but I know what it's like to see people prey on the children of others to get back at them. I lost several childhood friends that way."

  I sighed and walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. "She was working to help the wounded when the monster crushed the building they were all in, killing everybody. Several other friends of mine died there, but well, they were part of the fighting and they knew the risks.