by Darren Sloan
I turned away from the fire and laid on my side. I wasn't sure if I would even be able to sleep out there, but with just a few moments of peace, I began to feel sleep come over me. I closed my eyes and soon I drifted off.
Chapter 16
Sitting Ducks
When I opened my eyes again, I was startled to discover I was no longer in the woods. In fact, I wasn't even on Xenos. I was on my own bed in my apartment back home. I tried to remember how I got there, but my thoughts were clouded. I couldn't remember anything. I got up off the bed and it felt like a dream, but it felt too real to be a dream.
"Jason?" I looked up and saw Tyler walk in from outside. It was him. It felt like I hadn't seen his face in years. I felt tears forming in my eyes. He held his arms out to me and all I could think to do was run to him. I raced up to him and just as we were about to touch, I woke up and I was back in the alien woods. A moment of disbelief turned into a burning heartache. I buried my face into my sleeping bag and I felt the waves of tears come over me. I couldn't help it.
I allowed myself my weakness for a few moments more, but then I composed myself and found my center. I accepted once more I was millions of light years from home and that the life I once had was gone. I brushed the tears from my eyes and I allowed myself to rejoin the moment. I looked over and saw Panther kneeling across from me.
"Sorry to wake you," She said. "But it's your shift." I nodded to her and got up.
"How long was I down?"
"About six hours. The sun should be up soon. When it does rise, wake me. We need to reach the river as soon as possible if we hope to find any food."
"Sure." I said. Panther curled up in the sleeping bag and I walked over toward the edge of the camp area. It was dark. It was like we were walled in by globs of pure darkness. I couldn't even hear the sound of any creatures. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. There was a small stump of wood nearby and I sat down on it. The air was crisp and cool. I thought of releasing the suit in order to keep warm, but I then remembered about the collar.
The fire was dwindling to nothing and whatever heat I could feel was fading fast. I looked up to the sky, but there wasn't much to see. The branches of the trees webbed over and I could only see patches of star filled sky. My eyes were growing heavy, but I forced myself to stay up. I stood up and paced around for a bit and when that wasn't working, I sat back down on the stump and tried slapping myself. I figured I just had to hold on until sunrise. I held my vigil for hours and I soon had no concept of how much time was passing at all.
I looked up and I saw the little bit of sky that I could see was beginning to change color. The stars were fading from sight as well and I knew that meant the sun was coming. I ran over to Panther and nudged her shoulder carefully. She woke up with a start and looked up at me.
"Is it morning?" She asked.
"I think so." I said. Panther looked up and then back to me.
"Perfect timing. Put out the fire while I gather up the supplies." She said. I turned and kicked dirt over the fire to put out the flames and pushed the stones around, breaking them up at random. I turned to Panther and she was ready to go.
We ventured further through the forest and after a little bit, we finally came upon the river she was talking about. It was rather wide and the rushing waters roared so loud, I wondered why we couldn't hear them from our campsite. I could see a new path that started on the other side of the river, and I assumed that was where we were going to be headed after breakfast. I turned to Panther to ask, but she was busy measuring out a length of twine. She found a stick and sharpened it to a fine point and tied the string to it. She then waded out into the water, fighting against the current. She had mentioned fishing, but I wasn't sure if she would be able to catch any fish in such wild waters. She climbed up onto a large rock in the middle of the river and she stared down at the passing waters. She held the stick up over her head and with careful precision, she darted it into the water. She pulled the string hard and a large, thick fish-like creature was speared by it.
"Catch!" She called as she threw the fish at me. I caught it and was surprised by the weight of it. It had to have been sixty pounds, at least. It was orange in color and ugly as sin. I dropped it onto the ground and after a few halfhearted flops, it fell silent. I turned just in time to see another fish just like the last one flying at me fast. I grabbed it and fell back onto the ground. I tossed it aside and saw Panther fighting her way back out of the water and trudging up to me. "We got lucky. It's hard to catch Bounders this big." She said as she knelt over one of the fish and with a small knife she popped out of a pocket in her leggings, she stabbed into it, cutting off its head. I watched in horror as she systematically cut the thing into pieces. She looked back at me and indicated back toward the woods. "How about another fire?" She asked.
"I thought this was supposed to be my test."
"This is just surviving. Your test will come." She said as she started cutting up the other fish.
As I began gathering up wood for the fire, I heard her cutting stop. I looked over at her and Panther was frozen in her place.
"What is it?" I asked, but she only held her arm up at me.
"Quiet." I hurried over to her.
"What?"
"We're not alone. I felt it a few yards back, but now I'm certain. We're being followed."
"By who?"
"I don't know. Finish with the fire. We need to eat and get out of these woods as fast as we can."
I managed to build another decent fire and we cooked up the fish and ate well. They were a lot more tasty than I imagined they would be. After we were done eating, we continued on our path. I followed Panther across the river. The water was even more powerful than it appeared to be. It took all my strength to stay upright against the force.
I finally dragged myself out of the river and found myself on the other side. Panther pulled me up to my feet and we were back to walking. We wandered through more woods and all along the way, Panther was acting odd. Every step we took, she spun around and waited. She was convinced someone was following us, but I didn't sense anyone.
We finally made it out of the woods and found ourselves once more on an open plain. We kept on going and I noticed an odd sight ahead. It looked like there was a ridge of rock just ahead and beyond that it looked like the mid-section of another mountain. I ran ahead and discovered that the rocks sat before a huge drop off. I looked over the edge and it appeared we were still on the mountain. I turned and what I saw was almost beyond my comprehension.
"We just climbed down a mountain range that, itself, sits on another, bigger mountain range? Are you kidding me!" I barked. I could see the mountains we had climbed down and it was obvious that they were sitting upon a plain that was set upon an even larger mountain. Panther seemed just as troubled, but far less confused, than me.
"It's a setback, but I think we're still on the Northern Mountains. We just need to get down there and we'll be okay."
"Can we get down there? It looks even steeper."
"Don't worry," A new voice called out. "You won't be going any further." I turned and I saw a slender figure rise up into the sky and land in front of us. She had long black hair and her eyes were covered by a pair of silver goggles. She was clad in a skin tight body suit that was colored green with black lines along the arms and legs.
"Keena." Panther growled.
"Hi, Panther. I'm surprised I was able to track you this far. I thought for sure you had pinned me down further back."
"I knew someone was there. What are you doing out here? This area is restricted." Keena produced some kind of weapon from her belt. She held it in her hand. It looked like a small stake, but with a flick of her wrist, it grew into a long staff and then began to glow as though it were made of pure light.
"It's kind of a covert action. We felt The Council was letting you off a bit easy. We're just making things interesting."
"We? Who's we?"
"Nuh-uh. Your journey
ends here." Keena said and with lightning speed, she shot forward. Panther pulled her sword free and as they met in the middle of the field, a flash of light exploded as their weapons clashed together. Keena was nimble as she flipped and leapt around Panther as though she were standing still, but Panther was a furious fighter. She countered every one of Keena's blows with ease, and struck with her sword easily.
Panther spun around and her sword swung wild and it sliced through a rock sitting close as if it had been made of whipped cream. Keena caught Panther's sword and pulled it from her hands. It flew off and Keena then kicked Panther's legs out from under her and she fell.
It looked as though Keena was about to deliver the final blow. I then bolted forward and I was amazed as I got closer, Keena didn't seem to notice my proximity. I got up to her and tackled her to the ground. She rolled away and as she got to her feet, I realized I was way in over my head. She ran toward me and I struck at her as best I could, but I soon felt her leg driving into my stomach and her fist slamming against my face. I fell to the ground and the pain was intense and complete. I looked up at Keena as she stood over me with her staff.
"I'll give you credit, human. I didn't expect to see such a bold move from you, as stupid as it was. I'm trained in over a hundred forms of unarmed combat, including disciplines from other planets. What hope did you have against me?"
"Not much," Panther said. "But at least he distracted you long enough for this." A blade cut through Keena's torso and sliced through her as if she were nothing. Keena fell to the ground in a heap. I got up and walked over to Panther whose stare was fixed on her dead enemy.
"Who was she?"
"She was called Keena. She was a Hunter, like me. She was one of the first aliens admitted into the academy. We had trained together years ago. She was good, but her problem was always that she took too much pride in her conquests. She lacked focus and now she's dead."
"Do you think she was part of the test?"
"No. She seemed fixated on me more than you. She was definitely working on her own agenda."
"She kept saying 'we'. You think there are others?"
"I have no doubt. We have to get back to the city as soon as we possibly can."
Chapter 17
Down The Mountain... Again
Despite the fact that she tried to kill us both, Panther insisted on giving Keena a proper burial. We dug a hole and wrapped her in some thick leaves from a nearby tree. As we laid her to rest, Panther uttered a whispered prayer just under her breath and we filled in the grave. I put together a humble cross from some sticks on the ground and I stabbed it into the ground in front of the grave.
"What is that?" Panther asked.
"It's a cross. On Earth, we traditionally place them on graves."
"Why?"
"Well, for some it has religious meaning and for others it's just tradition. I can take it away if you like."
"No. It's fine. Appropriate, in fact. Keena was one of the first aliens to join the academy. I think she would like being buried with traditions of other planets being observed."
"Why do you think she even came after us?"
"I don't care to guess. What we do know is that she is most likely not alone and if that's true, we're still in great danger." Panther then picked her sword up off the ground. It still had smears of blood on the blade, but with a simple flick, the red stains lifted off and fell to the ground. She then slid the sword into the sheath that was strapped to her back.
"What is that sword made of? I saw it slice through a rock like it was nothing."
"It's made of Tritanium. An experimental alloy of Xenosian origin. Virtually impervious and indestructible."
"Virtually?"
"It's still under study. We don't know the full limits of the element just yet."
"But they went ahead and made a sword out of it?"
"It was a gift for my service to the Xenosian Empire. I'm also helping the man who discovered Tritanium to test it. My friend, Dr. Soren, believes field testing is the best kind."
"Well, at least we have that in our arsenal. Now what do we do?"
"Get down off this mountain."
"I was afraid you'd say that. It looks like we're up a lot higher than we were on the first mountain."
"We probably are, if this is the mountain range I'm thinking it is. It wouldn't be a test if it were easy, now would it?" I let out a heavy sigh and pulled out the climbing tools from my bag. I had been hoping we wouldn't need them again.
There wasn't need for much coordination. We simply repeated the process we had used before. That was about the only thing similar to our new climb. The first mountain was difficult, but the second one was much harder. The face of the mountain was coated in not only snow, but ice as well. There were less outcroppings and footholds as the mountain was oddly smooth. The stone it was made of even felt different. It was slick and smooth; as if it had been polished to a fine sheen.
As Panther and I made our way down, I could begin to see the ground at the foot of the mountain. It was far, but at least it was the real ground. There was no way we could be on a third mountain; at least I hoped not. I looked over my shoulder and I could see the green fields below. They looked so close. I thought for moment and realized that it had to have been over sixteen hours which meant I had two minutes banked to use the suit.
"Don't do it, Jason." Panther said. I guess my hesitation became obvious.
"It's so close. I could just fly down there and end this."
"You only have use of the suit for so long, and believe me, you're going to need it later. Don't waste it."
"My arms are starting to wear out. I don't know if I can keep up this pace, and there's no place to camp up here."
"You can make it. Just don't focus on the distance yet to go. Look up and see how far you've come." I then looked up and I couldn't even see where we had begun. I grasped the rope in my hand and took a deep breath as I continued down. I was about to take a step when there was a loud bang and I was pushed back by a hard blast of force. A huge crater had been formed in the mountain, as if something had exploded inside of it. Another explosion rang out just below me. I turned just in time to see an orange object flying through the air like a bullet. It rose up and I could tell that it was headed straight for me. I leapt aside and the thing struck the mountain and caused another violent explosion. I looked down and I saw someone below us. He looked to be real big with a rather large weapon strapped to his ample frame.
"What the Hell is that?" I asked. Panther looked down as well.
"That's Brock. Another hunter. He's not much for hand to hand combat, but rather excels in the use of explosives and firearms. He lacks style, but makes up for it in brute force."
"Great. Do you know why he's shooting at us?"
"I imagine he is in league with Keena." I was about to ask Panther what our next move should be, but before I could speak, another shot rose up and took out the rope. I just felt weightlessness take over my body as I fell from the mountain. I passed Panther just as she was jamming her sword into the mountain. She reached out to grab me, but I was falling too fast. I looked down and I saw Brock growing larger as I streaked toward the ground.
"Damn it!" I barked and I felt the suit shoot from my flesh and wrap itself around me. Once my eyesight came back, I saw I was just a few feet away from the ground, I shot back up into the sky, turning on a dime. I then turned again and directed myself down, right on top of Brock. I heard him yell out in pain as my heels struck his shoulder in just the right spot. His weapon, which appeared to be some really overcomplicated rocket launcher that was hooked up to his body, fell to the ground. I fell back and crouched as Brock found his bearings. He was a lot bigger up close. His muscles were thick and his eyes were primal. He reached down and produced another gun. He aimed and fired with surprising speed. I leapt out of the way as his shot connected. He fired again and I once more lunged out of the way. For a big guy, he was pretty quick with a shot. I spun around and flung out
my hand. A spark of energy shot through me and I was able to destroy his gun. He then scrambled for his rocket launcher, but as he picked it up, I heard Panther crying down from above.
"No!" She screamed. "Brock! Don't!" She protested, but he ignored her pleas and strapped the thing back on. He took aim at me, but as he pressed the trigger, something went wrong, judging by the look on his face. He tried to free himself but before he could, his weapon exploded, taking him with it. I fell down against the force of the detonation. I looked up and bits of weapon and Brock were raining down all around me. I looked up and saw Panther climbing down the mountain on her own. As she leapt and flipped her way down, I could see that I had been slowing her down. She made it to the ground and stood before the crater where Brock had been standing.
"What happened?" I asked as I walked over to Panther.
"I could see it from up there. When you hit him, you bent the frame of his launcher. I guess he didn't see it and when he tried to fire it again, it came back at him."
"Wow."
"Jason! The suit!"
"Damn it!" I said and I retracted the suit as fast as I could. "How long was that?"
"I'm not sure."
"Does this thing have a counter or anything?"
"No, but we can figure this out later. First Keena and now Brock. Whoever is doing this knows right where we are. We have to find cover at once."
"Fine, fine. Lead the way."
Interlude Two
Tales of Earth:
Atrocity Born
Tucker Marsden had been stuck in his hospital bed for over two weeks. He was an actor who had traveled to Towers City in hopes of getting his acting career off the ground. He had the looks, the body and the talent. He just needed the opportunity.
He had read in several trades that one of the fastest roads to Hollywood was actually to work outside of Hollywood, and there were many cities that were suggested to be excellent starting places. At the top of the list were New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia but they were all way out of Tucker's budget. He was the epitome of the starving artist. His mother did say she would bankroll him if he came to Towers City, where she lived. He wasn't thrilled to be so easily controlled by her purse strings, but he wasn't so proud that he would refuse.
