The Gatekeepers (The Survivors Book Eight)

by Nathan Hystad

  “I don’t think he’s a friend of ours, Dean. I think he’s dangerous,” Leonard said.

  “When’s the last reported missing person?” Mary leaned forward, her hand settling on my left forearm.

  “Three days ago,” he said softly.

  “Sorry I can’t be more help. Walk with us,” I said, and soon we were heading for our lander among the dozen other commuter vessels parked inside Terran Five’s boundary. When we arrived at the ship, I went inside, grabbing one of the two communicators Magnus and I had stayed in touch with until he was swallowed by Cloud. “Keep this one. We’ll be able to remain connected. I’ll let you know what we find out when I show this to Sarlun.”

  Leonard grinned and stuck the device into his pocket. “Thank you. Let’s hope we can stop him before more people die.”

  I wanted to warn my sister about the roaming killer, and asked Leonard to do it for me. He claimed they were keeping it quiet so the city didn’t panic, and I wasn’t sure if that was the best move. If everyone knew who they were looking for, then they’d be able to track him down sooner.

  Minutes later, we were lifting off the ground, heading for the mountain ridge we’d become so accustomed to visiting.

  Mary and I lugged our supplies on over our shoulders, and she held Jules’ hand as we trudged through the caverns, heading for the portal room.

  Once inside, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I’d only come through less than a day ago and didn’t feel any more relaxed for the brief respite. So much was weighing on my mind, and even though I had the added stress of ensuring my wife and daughter stayed safe, I was relieved to have them at my side.

  “Together,” I said, clasping Mary’s hand as we stepped up to the glowing portal table.

  “Together.” She selected the symbol for Haven, and I slid the Modifier device onto the lit surface, engaging the power. Jules glanced up at me, her bright green eyes dancing in the dim room. She smiled, a look so sweet I had to fight the urge to pick her up in a bear hug.

  When I was confident we’d arrive at our selected destination, I pressed the button and everything went white.

  Two

  “Sorry I’m not coming with you guys,” Terrance said from outside the portal room. We stood with the rest of the gang that was joining our troop.

  “You have a world to run, and judging by the quick conversation, you have your hands full with everything,” Mary told him. “Say hi to Leslie for us.”

  “I will. Good luck with the portals. Be safe.” And with a last look toward Karo and Ableen, the hybrid leader of Haven stalked off, leaving our small group alone.

  “Good night at home, boss?” Slate asked, breaking the silence.

  “The best. Everyone ready to head to Shimmal?” I glanced over at Suma, who seemed distracted. “Suma?”

  Her snout twitched. “Sorry, Dean. I was thinking about what’s going to happen after they stop functioning. We’ll all be so far apart.”

  “Maybe that’s a good thing. It’ll give everyone a chance to regroup and focus on their own worlds,” Slate offered.

  “You don’t mean that do you, Slate?” Suma asked.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. Sure, I want us to be able to hop planets and all, but without the portals, we’d all be able to relax for a while.”

  “But we wouldn’t be together,” Suma said sadly.

  “What do you mean?” Slate asked.

  Mary and I were staying out of this one, while Karo stood protectively beside Ableen. I could tell Mary wanted to talk to the Theos woman, to ask her how she was holding up in the new timeline she found herself in, but my wife was waiting for the right moment. This wasn’t it.

  “You’ll be on New Spero, Mary and Dean will be… probably on Earth, and the hybrids will be on Haven. Where does that leave me? I don’t want to stay on Shimmal and work in a lab. I want to be out there searching the expanse… with you guys,” Suma said.

  Slate came over and wrapped an arm around her small shoulders. “We’ll figure it out. We’re a crew, and nothing will keep us all apart. Right, boss?”

  I smiled, nodding my head, but she was correct. If they failed, we’d be separated; or at least, some of us would be. “We’ll do our best.” My answer was very obviously noncommittal, and that didn’t go over Suma’s head, but she didn’t comment.

  “Time to go. My father will be happy to see us, at least,” Suma said, scrolling to the symbol for Shimmal.

  Once the device showed the same symbol, she pressed the icon, and we arrived in the sterile white portal room on Suma’s home world. Two guards assessed us, and squawked something to Suma. I’d become fluent in the language and didn’t need the translator. “Your father is waiting for you,” they’d said.

  The seven of us strode down the halls. We were all wearing white Gatekeeper jumpsuits, with the exception of Ableen, who had on a tall pair of leggings and a long-sleeved sweatshirt. I wasn’t sure where the oversized clothing came from, but silently thanked Leslie for accommodating the Theos female. Jules was wearing a small red romper, and she stuck out like a sore thumb as she stood beside Mary, holding her mom’s hand.

  The halls were familiar here, though it had been a while since I’d occupied them. The last time, I’d been in a rage at Mary’s disappearance and had almost assaulted Sarlun. We’d made up since then, and I couldn’t wait to hear the progress of the rescue missions.

  The second the female guard led us into the boardroom, I knew something was wrong. Sarlun appeared older than ever, and Suma ran to him. We all busied ourselves, letting them have their brief moment of reunion, and I noticed Ableen staring toward them, eyes wide. Karo whispered something to her, and she nodded, giving the Theos man a grin.

  “Dean, Mary, Slate, and Karo,” Sarlun said a few minutes later. “I wish we were seeing one another under different circumstances.” He grabbed something from the table and passed it to Jules, who accepted the outstretched sweet fruit with glee. She popped it in her mouth and peeked up at me.

  “Sarlun, I’d like you to meet Ableen,” Karo said, motioning to the woman beside him. She was striking, almost as tall as Karo, with long white hair, the same gray skin, and a slender form. She extended her hand out to Sarlun in our customary greeting, and Sarlun looked like he’d seen a ghost.

  “Hello, Ableen.” He spoke in English. “Pleased to meet you.”

  “It’s a long story,” I started. “You’ll want to sit for this one.”

  And for the second time that day, I told our tale since we’d parted ways during the festival on Haven. So much had happened to us. The whole time we’d been gone, Sarlun would have been working on understanding where his Gatekeepers were sent through the random portals.

  When I was done, Suma and Slate taking over at certain points, Sarlun leaned back in his seat beside Suma and frowned. “What I wouldn’t give to find the Collector. Imagine what we could learn from all of those aboard that ship.” His eyes drifted to the far wall. “I suppose you want my update now?”

  We all nodded. Jules was in my lap, and all the excitement of the day was coming to a halt. She dozed while we spoke in hushed tones inside the boardroom, her body warm and cozy against mine.

  “Five teams are missing.” Sarlun stood, activating a large screen on the wall. Faces appeared, with their names and brief bios underneath. He tapped a device in his hand, and it zoomed on the first pair of Gatekeepers. “Bee and Da-Narp are a team from the Oryan system.”

  I’d seen them before but hadn’t spoken directly with them. They were a lanky race that walked on two legs, but could use four when they had to travel at vast distance and speed. Their faces were accented by dog-like muzzles, but were mostly hairless. They were heading to a new system, one rumored to be rich in minerals, Sarlun said, and a symbol appeared, one of the portal destinations. “Only they didn’t make it there. This was before we knew about the issue. All five teams departed before you returned from saving Origin.”

  Sarlun went over the next
four teams, each having disappeared or, at least, not having returned since leaving. It was going to be next to impossible to learn where they went, not without more information. I was hoping Regnig would be able to assist us with that. I was looking forward to seeing the peculiar bird-man again.

  “As you’ll notice, Polvertan is missing, alongside the other newcomer, Dreb.” Sarlun pointed at their pictures, and alarm seeped into me.

  “You have to be kidding me. I thought they were pairing up newbies with someone experienced. How could we miss two of the new recruits, and from new Alliance of Worlds members?” Slate asked.

  Sarlun glared at him for a second before his face softened. “They were asked to venture here to meet with their actual partners. They never made it to Shimmal.”

  “This mission became more imperative. They’re all important, don’t get me wrong, but the prince of Motrill? Our relationship with them is strong, but mostly through their Keppe cousins. We need to mitigate the fallout. Also… the Empress is going to be upset with me if we don’t bring her pride and joy, Dreb, home safely. She hand-picked him to join our Gatekeepers when we asked.” I let out a deep breath, knowing this all added to the ever-growing pressure building up surrounding the job.

  “We’ll bring them back, boss. We always do,” Slate said with a grin. I almost believed him.

  The last duo’s image zoomed in, and my breath caught in my throat. “Is that one of yours?” I asked, recognizing the Shimmali man.

  Sarlun nodded. “His name is Soloma. He was with the first other human Gatekeeper, Sally Prescott.”

  I knew her, we all did. She was sworn in a week before the festival because of her mission. I knew how badly she’d wanted to go to Haven for the festivities. My gut was telling me we wouldn’t be seeing her ever again.

  “I have something to show you.” I grabbed my console, strapping it over my forearm. I found the file and pushed it to the screen on the wall. My image filled up half the screen, and it showed the video Leonard had sent me. Sarlun gasped as Soloma roamed through the corridors, and outside.

  “How?”

  “We don’t know. I guess he arrived two months ago,” I told him.

  Sarlun was standing, and he crossed the distance, staring at the image on the screen. “Do you have him now?”

  I shook my head, and told them everything Leonard had told us.

  “This can’t be,” Suma said. “I know Soloma. He used to help me with my engineering homework.”

  “He can’t be a killer,” Sarlun said point blank. “I don’t believe it.”

  “Then how is he there alone? Where’s Sally?” Mary asked.

  “I don’t know. I suspect they were trapped on the other side of a portal, and he elected to try his luck solo. Maybe they each went their own way, in hopes one would arrive at a safe world,” Sarlun said.

  “Look closely. That EVA doesn’t fit him, and there’s blood on it. He killed her, Sarlun. He stole her suit, and traveled through the portal.” I hated having to say it, but the evidence was there.

  “Then something possessed him to do so,” Sarlun said, and I could tell he hated his choice of words. He glanced at Mary, shooting her an apologetic look.

  “That could be. I wanted you to know. I’ll be in touch with Leonard, and hopefully, we can find out what exactly happened. We need you to send us this information. Since we know that Soloma and Sally don’t need to be rescued, we’ll work on bringing the other six teams home,” I said before telling them my plan to meet with Regnig, to see if there was anything in his galaxy-class library that might be useful.

  “What of the portals? How do we fix them?” Sarlun asked Karo.

  Karo drummed his fingers on the table. “My people are leaving them. Ableen can feel them inside, as if they’re calling out to be freed. With the Iskios banished by Dean’s Shifter, there’s no place for them any longer,” Karo said, and I hoped he didn’t think that meant there was no place for him and Ableen now.

  “So we’ll be without?” Sarlun asked.

  “Soon, I think. Soon,” came Karo’s answer.

  Sarlun sat again; the weight of the last two months showed in his posture and slack face. Suma grabbed his hand and looked up at me. “Dean, I can’t come with you this time. I have to stay with my father. Maybe I can help in the research. We need to find another way to power the stones, one that doesn’t require an ancient race’s life force.”

  I nodded, sensing this coming. She was such a great team member, but she’d been through as much as any of us. I had half a mind to ask Slate to stay behind too. I’d have to talk to him before we left for the mission. On the other hand, I selfishly wanted his expertise and experience alongside us, especially if Mary and Jules were coming with us.

  “A well-deserved rest.” I gave Suma a smile, and she lowered her eyes, as if she felt a great conflict in remaining with her dad. “We’ll figure this one out. We don’t have any big looming enemies for this one, just faltering portals. I think we can handle it with a smaller team,” I told her, and she perked up a little.

  “I, for one, will be glad to have my daughter around,” Sarlun said.

  We talked for another hour, grabbing every detail we could about the missing Gatekeepers. It was getting late, and Sarlun asked us if we’d like to stay for dinner. Slate’s expression said yes, but I was anxious to keep moving. The sooner we finished this task, the faster we’d be home again.

  “I think we’d better leave for Bazarn. Maybe Regnig will have a spot for us to crash for the night, or Garo Alnod might take us in,” I told Sarlun.

  “Very well. Dean, may I have a moment?” Sarlun grabbed my arm, gently leading me apart from the others.

  “What’s up?”

  “I don’t think this is going to be simple,” he said.

  “What? The job?” I asked.

  He nodded. “That and more. If the Theos are dying inside, how will Karo and his new friend Ableen handle that?”

  “Sarlun, the Theos are already dead. They don’t have bodies; it’s only their energy inside. And they’re not necessarily conscious,” I said.

  “You pulled a few into yourself on Sterona, correct?” he asked.

  I could see where he was going with this. “Yes, and their energy powered me, like the Iskios did to Mary.” The only reason I’d been able to beat them was because of their opposing force inside me. I’d harnessed the energy from the portal to flow through me, granting me temporary strength and powers. My spine tingled, thinking about the foreign voices inside my head.

  “Just be careful. Do you remember how to pull them out?” he asked, eyes wide.

  I nodded. It wasn’t something I’d forget any time soon.

  “How about putting them inside?” he asked, glancing at the two live Theos in the room.

  “You’re not suggesting we’d need to…” I set my sights on Karo, who gave me a grin from across the hall.

  “No, hopefully nothing so drastic. You’ve been stranded enough times, though. Let’s make sure it doesn’t happen again.” He sighed. “Perhaps I should accompany you. They are my responsibility, after all. I should have seen this coming.”

  “How could you know they would fail?” I asked.

  “Regardless, I should be there to bring them home.”

  Suma was standing near us, trying unsuccessfully to appear interested in something on her arm console. “Your daughter is home. Savor this time with her. She’s special, and it won’t be long before some amazing project takes her away from home for extended periods. Enjoy these next few weeks.”

  Sarlun leaned against the wall. “You’re right. You take care of your family, Recaster,” he said with a twitch of his snout. He used the title Regnig had named me, and it was strange coming from his lips.

  “I will. Even though I suspect I’ll be the one that needs taking care of.”

  “Can I send someone else with you? We have a large contingency of Keepers on Shimmal, idly sitting around,” Sarlun said. “I can guarantee
many of them would love to join your mission.”

  I considered this, very seriously, before answering, “Nah. The fewer moving pieces, the better. We’ll do everything we can to solve these portals and bring the teams home.” I patted my pocket, where the Modifier jutted out. “Once I can read where they traveled to, I’ll be able to bring them home.”

  Sarlun interrupted, “As long as the entire network doesn’t fail first.”

  I clapped him on the shoulder. “And that kind of positive thinking is what keeps me going every day.”

  He stared, open-mouthed, before laughing. “Dean, I’ve missed this. We’ll have to do that dinner when you return. I have a few things I’d like to pick your brain about.”

  Any other alien asking about picking my brain might have thrown me for a loop, but Sarlun had easily picked up our colorful sayings.

  Suma and Sarlun stayed behind as our small contingency passed the sterile halls to the portal room. Jules was awake now, being carried by Slate. She was tugging on his blond beard and laughing.

  And then we were six, and a very unlikely six.

  “Bazarn Five, coming right up,” Slate said, activating the portal table. The symbols lit up, casting an eerie glow across the Theos’ faces. We set the Modifier up, ensuring we ended up at our proper destination, and as Slate tapped the icon for Garo Alnod’s world, Ableen let out a terrifying scream.

  Three

  “What is it?” Mary asked. We were on the other side, inside the portal room on Bazarn. The immense guards arrived, and the Theos woman continued shouting. Her body was against the wall, and she crouched low, covering her ears with her palms, long fingers wrapped behind her head.

  Jules was crying now, startled by the light and the noise, and Slate passed her to Mary, who began to console the small wreck.

  Karo knelt beside Ableen and tried to calm her. “It’s okay. You’re all right, my dear,” he said, and she glanced up at him with red-rimmed eyes.