Island of the Gods

by C. M. Kane

  ‘Anything I can help you with?’ he asked.

  Tae, although shocked that he had even bothered to speak to her, and still feeling decidedly angry, replied snakily. ‘No. Not unless you know how to get through around thirty to forty metres of volcanic rock with something extremely small and easily disguisable.’ She scraped the leftovers from the plates forcefully into the mulch compactor and started rinsing them. Turning back to see if she’d missed anything, she was surprised to see her father still standing there, his head cocked to the side and his brow furrowed.

  ‘Thirty to forty metre’s’ he mused. ‘That would take at least twenty five to thirty grams of Beastie’ he slurred, depending on the spread of course.’

  Tae stared at him in shock. ‘What?’

  Her father looked at her with the smug air of superiority that only the extremely drunk were capable of. ‘It’s a rare chemical derived from the Wolven home world. We call it Beastie, in honour of them.’ He laughed a little at his own joke then continued. ‘The stuff will eat through anything it touches, rock, metal, flesh, anything. It continues to eat until its own sub-atomic structure breaks down, that’s usually between five to seven minutes after activation. It’s totally harmless until it’s mixed with sea salt, that’s when the real fun starts. I figure thirty to forty metres would take about thirty grams, he repeated. ‘That’s about a spoonful’ he added snidely. ‘Anything else you need?’ he asked ‘No? Well, thanks for dinner. It tasted like crap by the way.’ He then turned and staggered off to their lounge area where she heard him turn on the com-screen, voices from what sounded like the news of the realms drifted out to her.

  Tae stood with her mouth slightly open, she was still holding the plate out in front of her, totally unaware it was slowly dripping water onto the floor. Was it true? She’d never heard of such a volatile compound, but her father worked as a chemical engineer, surely he would know if such a thing existed! Hope sprang wildly in her chest. Who would have believed that her father of all people would be the one to come up with the solution to the biggest hurdle in her quest? All she needed now was to follow up on this Beastie stuff, if it was real, and she thought it was judging by the smug look on his face, and then all she would have to do was find out exactly where she could acquire some, fast.

  She put the dishes away quickly then touched the com-watch again, searching for all references to the chemical. There was nothing. Growing increasingly more frustrated she decided on a more direct approach. She entered the lounge to find her father passed out on the couch. She grabbed an old quilt to throw over him as an excuse for what she was about to do, in case he woke up and caught her. She leant over and quickly removed his personal com-watch, the one that linked him directly to the factory he worked at, and then covered him gently with the quilt. Finished, she tiptoed back out to the kitchen and touched the screen on his watch. Its personal coding linked directly into his work computer. If anyone was checking they would only see a verified engineer accessing the system. Tae had learnt her lesson well.

  It took her ten minutes of searching before she found what she was looking for. There was nothing under the word Beastie, likely it was just the techs’ nickname for the stuff, if it was real. She then searched new and imported chemical agents. That’s where she found it under ‘Restricted Uses’.

  A little over three years ago an insignificant research tech named Howard Mathews had been studying some new chemical agents brought in from Ithaca, the Wolven home world. Tae very much doubted the Wolven would have given the humans the substance freely. The Wolven shared many characteristics with the wolves on Earth, like smell, hearing and loyalty, along with formidable fighting abilities. They weren’t however, known to be ‘sharer’s’ and they disliked humans nearly as much as the Vampires did. That the Ancestors had thought of them as some kind of rabid shape-shifting human-wolf hybrid hadn’t helped matters. Most of them appeared to be good-looking brown eyed humans, the only physical differences were their larger physique, extendable razor-sharp talons and their pointed ears, which had thick short hair running up the outside of them which ended in a little tuft .

  The tech had found nothing of interest in the new compound and had decided to have a snack, despite eating in the laboratories being strictly forbidden. As he’d sprinkled some sea salt onto his tomato slices a light breeze had blown in from an open window and a few grains of the salt had drifted onto the sample he was studying. Yet another broken law, she thought. Even she knew - from her father’s ramblings - that it was forbidden to have any window open while chemical compounds were in use. Apparently this Howard had been something of a rebel in his line of work. Way to go Howard, she grinned.

  The reaction when the grains of salt hit the compound, Ithacian White as the Wolven called it, was instantaneous. It immediately began eating through his electron microscope, followed by his desk, the floor of the lab, the cement underneath the synthetic wood flooring- and two and a half metres of solid bedrock. The exciting discovery of Ithacian Whites volatile nature earned it the nickname Beastie by the techs. Its discoverer, the rebellious tomato eating Howard, was quickly shifted to a new, far safer, position in the Personnel Department of an underwear factory in Ganashua. Poor Howard, she thought absently.

  Over the following three years the chemical researchers had petitioned the gods at various times for permission to build new weapons utilising the compound, but the gods had refused. They liked their little wars fought with simple weapons, and they set the rules for each skirmish wherever it erupted. If some petty lord wanted to declare war on some other equally petty lord, then they simply asked the nearest Religious Caste for permission. A priest would ask one of the gods, usually someone like Ares, Shiva, or Yama, for permission.

  The gods would then relay which types of weapons they would permit in the conflict. Hands, teeth, and claws were always acceptable, as were knives of any shape or design. Sometimes they would add swords and spears, or any other type of edged weapon they could think of. At other times small personal Zap shields and Zap guns - Named for the zapping noise the guns made when fired - would be allowed, the shields were necessary then because a Zap gun could burn a hole right through a person.

  They had never included weapons that could wipe out all of the opposition in one attack, and they had also banned the use of bombs and ships of any description. The gods liked their bloodshed apparently, and if the petty rulers in different areas of their realms wished to fight, then the gods would make sure they got some amusement from it. As far as ships went, the only warships that were allowed belonged to the gods themselves. Tae figured this way there could never be any temptation to question them or their rule ever again.

  Everything depended on what the gods were in the mood to see at that particular time, and of course the population numbers of that particular planet, as population control was strictly enforced at all times, so that nature also had a chance to co-exist. This was something Tae was in thorough agreeance with. She had watched some vids of before the god’s war, and they had shocked her at a fundamental level, it was one of the reasons she had become a vegetarian. How anyone could have lived as selfishly as that was beyond her comprehension.

  Finally she located where the Beastie was being kept. There was fifty grams of it, and every last gram was locked in a high security section of her father’s place of work and had limited access. She needed to find a way into that building, and she needed it within, she glanced outside at the darkened sky, nineteen days.

  Removing the watch she crept back to where her father lay snoring, and placed it on a small table next to the couch. He grunted loudly and rolled from his side onto his back, dousing her in a solid wave of mead fumes. She gagged a little then smiled, he probably wouldn’t even remember any part of tonight he had been so drunk. Satisfied she walked silently back to her bedroom. With all the thoughts bouncing through her head she felt she would never be able to sleep, but after the day of punishing work-outs and emotional turmoil she was quickly d
ragged down into dreams filled with melting rocks, nanites, and wicked black eyes watching her, waiting.

  CHAPTER 7

  The next two days followed along the same path as the first. Upon waking Tae would reach out with her mind to check for Jason, once she felt reassured that he was still alive she’d get up. After making breakfast she’d jog over to Brohan’s where the routine continued. Jog. Eat. Fight. Learn.

  It was during this time that Tae learnt exactly how inadequate a fighter she really was. Brohan, perhaps knowingly, had decided to teach her a few defensive moves in case she was attacked. He then proceeded to drop her butt on the ground several times, effectively incapacitating her, during the following exercises.

  At first she had reasoned with herself that he’d just gotten lucky, but after the sixth time she admitted to herself that the old man was simply better than her … a lot better. Her once confident plans for “taking care of business” while she was on the Island evaporated as she came to terms with reality. She was now incredibly embarrassed that she had so overestimated her own abilities, and so underestimated his.

  After the lesson she had finally accepted exactly how vital it was that she kept clear of any hunters, because if a retired seventy year old warrior could clean her clock with relative ease, then if a working warrior found her she was as good as dead. She put aside her own bruised ego and fully accepted what Brohan had been trying to teach her, her only chance of survival was her mind and her speed. She was extremely grateful he had seemed to know what was going on in her mind and had planned accordingly. She saw this as yet another hurdle she’d gotten over.

  Brohan now started to join her during her study times. He would give her any knowledge he could, describing the Thalien in detail. Like how their bone ears were a form of outer eardrum, break it and they lost their sense of balance along with the majority of their hearing. On the down side they were also extremely fast and getting close enough to break the bone usually meant you were already impaled on one of their short lethal swords.

  The Vampires were also extremely fast, and had exceptional eyesight and strength, incredible endurance, and short, claw-like nails. Thankfully they rarely entered the Island in the summer months due to their very delicate skin. ‘They can rip you open like an overripe peach’ said Brohan showing her a wicked scar that ran the length of his arm, and the hungrier they were the more lethal and vicious they became. Both of them were hoping that as it was summer the Vampires wouldn’t show. The Elves and most other races rarely hunted on the Island in this world. That left the Wolven, and they could prove even more difficult.

  They were formidable in a fight, large and heavily muscled they had strong wickedly sharp seven centimetre retractable claws. No warriors, not even the Vampires, would willingly go hand to hand with them if it could be helped. On the bright side the Wolven weren’t that much faster than humans, and their eyesight was only a little keener, this information perked Tae up a little until Brohan told her their endurance was nearly as good as a Vampires and worse still, their sense of smell was infinitely more astute than a human’s.

  Because of this trait, and much to Tae’s embarrassment, Brohan informed her she would have to relieve herself in any running water she could find, after refilling her bottle of course. She would also have to bury any excrement as deep as she could and cover it with dirt and pine needles to disguise her scent. Preferably she was to bury it in a hole under water if at all possible, anything to try to disguise the direction in which she was heading. Basically this meant she’d have to go in her hand to stop it drifting away. Her immediate reaction, Ewww gross!

  She would also need to rub pine needles and dirt over herself to try and help disguise her scent. Even though she would be rubbing herself down with a Keefar rock – a small rock from the planet Chem which humans found disguised all hint of sweat for at least sixteen hours - she would soon need something more.

  As Brohan pointed out, this way if she were near anyone else, the other person’s scent should be much stronger than hers, and if she were being stalked by a hunter, they would be more likely to go after the other person. Brohan wanted them stalking anyone but her.

  The night before the Island she was to thoroughly wash herself and her clothes in clean water. There could be no trace of the mint from the chem shower on her, the Wolven could smell Drav mint from two kilometres away.

  Luckily her father had continued to ignore her and she suspected he hadn’t even noticed his watch had been taken from him. He probably assumed he had taken it off himself before he fell asleep. Everything was progressing well except that she still hadn’t figured out how she was going to get the Beastie. That was a problem she had no idea how to solve, and time was running out rapidly.

  Word of Kresleys and Jason disappearance had leaked out quickly the morning after they vanished. As Tae had predicted, no questions were raised. Soola informed her that most people simply assumed that Kresley had finally had enough of the surly drunk she had married, although people had expressed surprise that Tae had been left behind with him.

  Soola had been coming to watch her practice and occasionally even joined her jogs in an effort to encourage her. All the while she kept up a running diatribe on the town gossip. Tae had long ago learnt from Soola that the best place for gossip was in a brothel. Most people were both drunk and a little mouthy, or they were trying to impress Margarete or the other pleasure worker, Valaria, of what very important people they really were.

  At fifty-eight Valaria was coming up for retirement in seven years, if she so desired. Tae liked her a lot, every time she had been to visit Soola, Valaria would make an effort to say hello to her. She would ask how she was, and how things were going at school, as if she were genuinely interested in her. Valaria always asked if Tae would like a cool drink, or one of the sweet biscuits she would make.

  On the night before Tae’s deadline with Brohan she jogged home as usual, as she was running up the road to her home she was surprised to see Jason’s friend, Trevor, step out from behind a tree in front of her neighbour’s house. He waited patiently, watching her until she finally reached her house before he walked forward. She had been dreading something like this happening, and she wasn’t quite sure how she’d handle it.

  She stopped as he approached her, and waited patiently for him to speak. Trevor scuffed his boots, looking uncomfortable. ‘Is it true? Is he really gone?’ She could see the beginning of tears in the corner of his hazel eyes. ‘Yes.’ she replied softly. ‘I am so sorry, Trevor, I know what you meant to Jase.’

  Trevor’s head whipped up as a tear leaked out the corner of his eye. He dashed it away quickly with his hand. ‘If I meant so much to him then why didn’t he tell me he was leaving?’ he demanded. His expression immediately changed to one of hope. ‘He didn’t leave a note did he? Have you looked? It could have slipped behind something. Things like that happen,’ he said with a hint of desperation.

  ‘There were no notes Trevor. Not for anyone.’ she added. ‘They just made a clean break, all we can do is to try to move on without them.’ Although she felt guilty about lying she was at least trying to be gentle, she had no idea how to soothe this boy’s broken heart. There was certainly no way she would involve him in what was really happening.

  Trevor glared at her as his anger and frustration boiled over. ‘Do you even care? You damn bitch! He was your twin brother!’ All Trevor’s pent-up pain and confusion overflowed and he swung a fist at her head.

  Tae saw it coming and dropped to her haunches. She balanced on her hands and left leg swinging her right leg out and around, it hit the side of Trevor’s knee and he dropped to the ground in a howling heap. She knew he should be grateful that a bruise was all he’d suffer, she’d pulled her kick at the last second so he’d take no permanent damage. She was now at the limits of her own patience; she was tired, sore, scared and angry. And now she had a love- struck boy insulting her and trying to add his pain to her own.

  She stood up again a
nd looked down at him, filled with a cold rage of her own. ‘Don’t ever try to hit me again Trevor. You know nothing of my life, or my pain … and just be glad you don’t.’ she added before she stalked off into the house. That night when she slept she dreamt she was floating in a void, she could see a beautiful silver moon shimmering brightly in the distance, far out of her reach. She yearned with everything in her to be able to reach the moon, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t move. She awoke in a cold sweat, it had been a while since she’d had the strange moon dream that she’d had on and off since she was around twelve, but she was pretty sure that she knew what it meant. She felt powerless and stuck, with the object she most wanted forever within her site, but always out of her reach. It took her a long while before she was finally able to sleep again.

  ***

  When she arrived at Brohan’s the next morning, she found the old man waiting on his porch eating his roll. He wasted no time he simply rested the roll on the small wicker table beside his chair and leant back. ‘Well?’

  ‘I will take out the vid-ball by throwing my coat over it when we first arrive on the Island.’ She said. ‘It will pan around the landing area when we first get out of the jumper, like they always do. They won’t be watching what I do so it’s my best shot. I’ll find the nearest rock and smash the ball until it stops working.’ She waited, when Brohan nodded she continued. ‘Thirty to forty metres of volcanic rock can be destroyed by the chemical Ithacian White that, when mixed with sea salt will eat through anything. I only need a spoonful, around thirty grams, which I will hide in one of the two hollowed out wooden beads on the hair ties that I’ll use for my pony-tail. The sea salt will be in the second bead.’

  Brohan looked at her his eyebrows raised. ‘Ithacian White is incredibly rare. Where the hell are you going to get it?’ Tae was surprised he’d even heard of it, but continued on regardless. ‘There are fifty grams of it locked in a secure section at my father’s work.’