“Over there,” Karo said, pointing in the distance. I didn’t see what he meant, but visibility was deteriorating as we walked. Ten minutes later, we finally saw something different. A mist had rolled in, covering the entire region. It was hard to see from one tree to the next in the thick, soupy air.
I was glad we’d added the extra layers, because it was cooling rapidly; the damp fog cut straight through to the skin, clinging to it as we moved.
“I don’t like this,” Mary said in my ear. We all kept close, and I considered suggesting we use a rope to tether us so we didn’t lose anyone.
Two minutes later, Slate shouted from ahead, and I could only see a brief outline of his large frame as he stopped.
“Looks like we found their camp,” he said, allowing us to catch up.
We’d been heading at a slight downward slope from the portal, and the fog pooled in the flattened copse of immense trees. I saw now why they’d chosen to be near this spot. Water pooled to the edge of their neat camp; runoff from rain. Their tents were set up on three-foot-tall bases made from cut tree limbs, keeping them dry.
There were remnants of a fire in a dug-out pit, and I crossed the camp, crouching beside the ashes, trying to gauge if there was any heat remaining. It was cold. “Doesn’t look like they were here today,” I said. “Or at least, they hadn’t made a fire yet.”
Karo apparently had an idea the rest of us hadn’t. He unclasped a tent, opening the flap to see an empty space. “Not sleeping either.” Both tents were empty, but there were a few meager supplies inside.
“It’s been almost three months. That’s a long time,” Slate said, leaving the rest unfinished. Unless the two Gatekeepers had found a food source, they wouldn’t have survived long.
“They’re resourceful,” Mary said. Their bios were strong, and both had been Keepers for some time. They’d been at Bazarn for a diplomatic meeting with some powerful people before being thrust to this remote world at the outer edges of our previously understood universe.
I peered up, wondering what type of star was in the system. Were there other worlds out there now? Did this planet have multiple moons orbiting it? I doubted I’d ever know. Finding our people was the most important thing. Any research would have to come later, and I didn’t expect us to ever set foot here again, especially when the portals were all inactive.
“Do we wait them out here?” Karo asked. Ableen had set Jules to the ground, and my daughter was walking around the camp. She crawled into one of the tents and sat, staring at me with a knowing look.
“Use your earpieces. Let’s split up. Two groups. One searches them out, one stays at camp,” I suggested.
“Karo, can you and Ableen stay with Jules?” Mary asked, surprising me.
“We can,” Ableen answered.
Before anyone could change their minds, I started forward, peering behind me as the Theos guarded my daughter and waited at the camp for our targets to return.
“Boss, I see tracks.” Slate pointed to the side of the water pool. There were definite boot prints leading farther into the fog.
“This reminds me of being in Portland as a girl. My aunt lived there, and we did a hike through a coastal forest outside of town. It was magical. I remember pretending to be a princess while my consorts guided me through a dangerous goblin-infested woodland,” Mary said with a smile. She glanced toward camp as we moved, and I was proud of her for being able to leave Jules with someone while we were out here.
I knew her so well, and she was torn between being the adventurous leader and coddling mother to an extraordinary girl. Even though we were going to face real dangers, I was glad to have them along on the mission with me.
“I visited something like that too when I was young. My dad hated it,” I said. “He was a farmer, and getting him to leave home was a rare event. My mom could have gone anywhere that summer, but she had this idea of Oregon. Coffee and bookstores. A different outdoors than we were used to. It was a fun trip. Isabelle was old enough to miss her friends, who were home doing teenager things while she was doing hikes and visiting botanical gardens with us.”
Slate laughed. “What about you?”
“I didn’t mind it. Growing up in the middle of nowhere on an acreage had its benefits, but I loved seeing new things; expanding my mind,” I told him.
Mary bumped into me with her shoulder lightly. “Then you chose the right career.” She motioned to the misty expanse around us.
“Career,” I repeated. “Is that what we’re calling this?”
“Could be worse,” Slate said.
“How’s that?” I asked.
“You could be stuck in your home office working on some acquaintance’s taxes, waiting for the afternoon baseball game to come on so you could half-listen to the announcers drone on while working,” Slate said, and I didn’t have the nerve to tell him how nice that actually sounded.
“You’re right.” We kept moving, the fog clearing slightly. We could see at least twenty yards, and every now and then, Slate would point out another imprint on the forest floor.
“What about you, Slate? Any good childhood vacation memories?” Mary asked, continuing the discussion.
Slate pondered this and nodded. “We didn’t get out much, but we took a road trip to Florida when I was little. My brother convinced them to take us to the theme parks while we were there, and even though I knew my parents couldn’t afford it, we spent two days on rides and roller coasters. It was the time of my life.”
I knew he missed his brother. The man had died overseas on Earth, long before the Event occurred, and he was the reason Slate became a soldier in the first place.
“Sounds like a good time. I’m waiting to find an alien world full of theme parks. That would be something,” Mary said, making Slate laugh.
“Why are they all so dire? For once, let’s find paradise!” he said loudly.
“Remember the lush island we found Polvertan on?” I reminded him.
“I do. It was a million degrees and had mosquitoes the size of Rottweilers. I don’t consider that paradise, buddy,” Slate responded.
“Good point.” I thought I saw something move a ways ahead, but it was hard to tell in the fog. I raised a hand, and we all froze in silence. I pointed to where I’d spotted the movement, and we waited for the mist to roll through, only to be followed up by a denser cloud.
I took a tentative step forward, and truly hoped we’d stumble upon the Gatekeepers hanging out in the middle of the forest.
I was half right.
“Dean, stop!” Mary shouted, and the noise we’d heard earlier screeched through the air. My hands instinctively covered my ears, and Slate aimed his gun at the source of the sound.
Weemsa stood closest to us, his eight-foot-tall frame thin as a rail. He reminded me of a praying mantis, pretending to sway in the wind. Loo-six was beside him, and she turned to face us, her tight-skinned face pale as a ghost. I glanced up to see why.
All around us, the fog began to shape itself, and moments later, we were surrounded by fifty or so fog creatures, their arms outstretched toward us, each of them wailing along to the initial scream we’d heard.
Eight
The hunter spotted Terran One sprawled out along the ground in the windshield of the lander. It was larger than Terran Five that he’d been nesting outside of. Huge buildings jutted from the flat landscape, startling him. He’d never witnessed something like this. Until recently, he’d never seen a house, let alone structures made by animals like this.
On his planet, the mountains were the only thing that sought the stars; here, the local life attempted to reach space. Space. It was a strange concept to the hunter. When he was in the shapes of the local animals at home, he only thought of the stars or the sun as things to guide him during the days and nights. Now he understood so much more. There were things like the crystal that sent him here. There were space ships; larger versions of the vessel he now had the comprehension to fly.
His who
le existence seemed so small, so pitiful now that he saw what else was out there. His whole life, he’d watched others like him perish on their harsh world, the land dying, hard and cracked. Now he had a chance to be among a race of… humans. He glanced at his skin, nearly hairless, long nails on slender fingers. It was not a scavenging body, but it was strong and healthy.
He briefly considered landing near the city, walking inside like he belonged. Perhaps he could trick them into thinking he was one of them. Perhaps he could live among a thriving people.
He shook his head, clearing the crazy thoughts out. No. He was destined to walk alone in this life, but he’d been granted a chance at something new. He could not only survive; he could thrive here, eating his fill, and never going thirsty. For that, he was willing to accept this new reality. There was nothing left for him at home, and he felt something he’d been unable to be his entire life: safe.
The hunter guided the lander away from the looming city. He needed to hide its whereabouts. There was a forest not far from the metropolis, but far enough to be off anyone’s radar. He’d be able to hide the ship there and make a nest.
The red star had set, and lights sprang on from around the various buildings in the distance as he settled to the grass. The hunter realized he was exhausted. The process of killing and digesting, let alone transforming into his prey, always took a lot out of him. The brain of the pilot he’d consumed told him there was a transponder inside the ship. He wasn’t exactly sure what that was, but it would allow the humans to search and locate the vessel if they realized what happened.
The hunter crawled to the rear seats and flipped a thin finger through a loop in the floor. He pulled the hatch open and saw blinking lights on a small black device. He unplugged it, and the glow faded. He dropped it to the floor and set about the forest, finding large branches and brush to cover the lander with. He had to hide it; only then would he allow his exhausted body rest. After that, he’d need more food, more sustenance to feed the ever-growing mind that was developing past his wildest imagination.
The hunter paused from his work and peered toward the lights of the city. There he would find ample prey.
____________
“What the hell are we looking at here?” Slate shouted, moving toward the two Gatekeepers. I grabbed Mary’s arm and fought the urge to run through the fog creatures to safety. I had no idea how ethereal they really were. We stepped backwards as one until the five of us were in a circle, facing the mist beings around us.
“We call them Misters,” Loo-six said, and I nearly laughed at the reference.
“I guess you couldn’t call them Misses,” I joked, knowing it was neither the time nor place. Mary frowned at me.
“You’re Dean, right?” Weemsa asked, her words translating into my earpiece. It was becoming more and more rare to find aliens who hadn’t had the translator modification added, and I was among them.
“I am. Sorry we took so long to arrive. As you know, the portals are all haywire,” I informed them.
“No trouble at all. We’ve only spent the last three months scavenging for food, which, let me tell you, leaves something to be desired. Mostly rodents. And mean ones,” Loo-six explained.
“What are we looking at here?” Slate asked again. “Misters?”
Weemsa took this one. His thin arm stretched out over my head, pointing at the Misters. They were in a line, hovering above the ground. They were almost humanoid in form, but like a classic ghost. White-gray and shapeless, with holes for eyes.
“We first saw them three days after arriving. We knew right away that the portal was messed up. Sarlun had been warning us they might shoot us somewhere else, and told us to stay put should it happen. Loo-six wanted to try to leave, but this place seemed as good as any. No visible hostiles, water, and to be honest, I thought it might be like camping out in the trees for a while.” Weemsa spoke, and I kept my eyes fixed on the fog beings hovering twenty yards away.
“Then they arrived?” Mary asked.
Weemsa nodded. “First the fog came, much like today. Then we heard the screech. I’m assuming you did as well?”
We told them we had, and Loo-six took over. “If that wasn’t bad enough, we saw one of them that night. It was late, the light all but disappeared. We were using a lantern, our fire already gone out. It was foggy, and Weemsa went to… dispose of water, and saw one of them. I ran to the scream.” I glanced at Weemsa, who looked abashed at us knowing he’d screamed while being visited with his pants down.
“That’s when I really wanted to try our luck at leaving,” Loo-six said.
“But you didn’t,” I said.
“No. Despite everything, they didn’t attack us. But I could feel them watching in the mist, and there were times I’d catch one forming and floating toward me, but when I turned to face one of them, they’d always dissipate into the fog,” she told us.
“Then what is this?” Mary asked, motioning to the horde of Misters surrounding our group.
“We don’t know. Perhaps your arrival has piqued their interest.” Weemsa’s real voice was low, almost a garbled sound.
“Well, I’d like to unpique it. Can we try to leave?” I asked, taking a step forward. The line of Misters moved another foot toward us.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Mary said.
The Misters began to screech again, a terrible and cutting sound. It wasn’t until I heard a tiny voice from some distance that I realized it was Jules’ cry.
“We have to go. There are more of us, and my daughter sounds like she’s in danger,” I told them, and Loo-six seemed to shudder at the thought. “Got it?” I grabbed her shoulders, squaring her to me. She blinked and nodded her understanding. “Slate, we shoot our way out if we have to.”
“I’m not sure that’s going to work against these things, boss,” Slate said, but he was already moving, taking the lead. He let out a war cry and ran through the line of Misters. I saw his outline beyond them as the ones he pushed apart reformed and turned to face him.
“Come on!” I shouted, staying behind Mary as she ran and jumped through their lines. I felt cold when I passed through; a muted horror filled my veins as part of their being stuck to my skin. They were miserable, but I didn’t know if they truly meant us harm. Mary appeared to have the same reaction, because she was pale too, a profound sadness expressed on her beautiful face.
Jules shouted again, and my wife moved faster than I’d ever seen before. She passed Slate, and I checked to make sure the two Gatekeepers were nearby. We all moved fast, sprinting through the foggy forest toward their camp. The Misters had regrouped, and they followed us, floating thirty yards behind. The fog around us transformed, and dozens more of them sprouted up with each passing minute.
By the time I saw camp as a bleary outline, there were at least two hundred Misters chasing after us.
“Jules!” Mary shouted, and I saw our daughter finally, her hands outstretched toward her mother from Karo’s arms. Her cheeks were red and damp. Ableen held a gun, pointing it at the Misters that had the camp surrounded.
“It’s a long trip to the portal,” I said between breaths.
“What do we do?” Karo asked.
I tried to think. “You haven’t been harmed by them yet?”
“Not yet. I’ve been touched by a few. It’s almost as if they want to pass their pain on to someone,” Loo-six said. “But look.” She pressed the growing dense cloud of Misters, unable to get through the fog.
“Will they leave?” Mary asked.
“We don’t know. They’ve never done this,” Loo-six answered.
It gave me an idea, one I wasn’t happy with. “When they break apart, take everyone and head to the portal. I’ll be there soon,” I said.
Mary glanced dubiously at me. “Trust me,” I whispered in her ear, kissing her on the lips. She was holding Jules, and my daughter clawed for my face. “I love you,” I told my girl, and they were off.
I stood firmly, facing th
e opposite direction as my departing friends. A few Misters hovered past me, chasing after the group, but I had other ideas.
I raised my arms, silently calling them to me. I needed to draw them away from my friends; otherwise, we might not be able to escape the thick wall of them. They seemed to understand what it was I offered, and the fog surrounded me as hundreds, then thousands of the Misters connected, becoming one cloud around my body. I tried to push an arm through, but it was thick, like pressing into pudding.
I ran, away from my friends, and they followed, all of them in a horde. Before they lowered, circling me, I locked gazes with Mary, who began running with the others for the portal.
I fought to breathe, and seconds later, it didn’t matter. The fog rushed into me.
I was the mist.
I hovered now, floating through the immense forest. I brushed against ancient bark, so old I didn’t comprehend an age. I’d been here when the planet began. I’d witnessed the saplings protrude from the fresh earth; I’d seen them rise over the years, the centuries. I watched as life started and died all around me.
I pictured various animals in the forest, fish-like creatures in the seas beyond the trees, and I saw them as they evolved, changing to adapt to ever-adjusting weather patterns, and many disappeared from the face of the world.
Winged animals took flight, soaring through me, the mist, and I felt their freedom as they hunted from the forest floor. I absorbed the essence of the plants on the ground, and the fungi attaching to the tree trunks. I was one with the world.
I was the mist.
Thousands of years passed. Millions. I grew lonely. Was there more? Could I fade into oblivion, the way countless creatures on the ground had over the millennia? I didn’t know, but I ached. Each passing day became a restless challenge. I sought ways to disintegrate. I plunged into the water, hoping to drown, but all it accomplished was killing a species of bottom-dwelling fish who needed to see to avoid predators. Even after a thousand years, I rose from the waters, more miserable than ever.
The Gatekeepers (The Survivors Book Eight) Page 7
