The Gatekeepers (The Survivors Book Eight)

by Nathan Hystad

  “All set,” I told him, and we were soon basking in the light of the portals. My very last trip through one, and his second to last.

  Twenty-Four

  “Papa!” Jules ran toward me, hugging my legs as we emerged from the corridor.

  Mary’s eyes expressed her worry, and I squinted a smile at her, letting her know we were okay.

  “Ableen, are you ready?” Karo asked, and the Theos woman nodded.

  “I am, Karo. Let’s go home,” she said, and we followed them through the corridors. “Thank you for everything, Dean and Mary.”

  “You’re welcome, Ableen,” Mary said.

  Ableen hugged me at the edge of the portal room. “Without your help, I’d still be on the Collector’s ship.”

  “Take care of him for us, would you?” I whispered into her ear.

  “I will,” she promised.

  Karo and Ableen stood past the doorway, and Jules was at my leg, looking up at me.

  “Where Karo go, Papa?” she asked.

  I knelt to her level. “Karo and Ableen are going home.”

  “No,” she said defiantly. Her lower lip stuck out.

  “Yes, honey. They have to heal the crystals,” I told her, knowing she wouldn’t understand.

  “We can help,” she said, holding her hand out.

  “What’s that about?” Mary asked.

  “I don’t know. She’s said it a few times lately. I think she wants to be helpful. She must have learned it from a game,” I suggested.

  We’d all said our goodbyes, so we remained at a distance as the two tall Theos walked to the portal table. I couldn’t believe this was it. They were departing to their home world, and we’d never see them again. The portals would be disabled after they released the Theos inside the complex system’s main crystal, the resulting effect freeing every Theos from their captivity inside the Shandra. I hadn’t thought of that name for a long time.

  I recalled absorbing the Theos with Karo, placing his father inside the stone to activate it. Standing there, I could sense the ghosts of the Theos I’d merged with, the ones who’d helped me fight Mary’s Iskios.

  Karo gave me one last nod as he placed the Modifier on the table, his green eyes reminding me of Jules’. I tried to picture the Theos world’s Shandra symbol, but couldn’t. It was some magic protecting them, and even after using it, the memory was wiped from my mind.

  “He’ll be okay,” Mary said. Her arm pulled me closer, and she kissed me on the cheek, leaning her head onto my shoulder as we watched them prepare to leave.

  They both waved from the table, and Karo went to press the icon.

  “Papa!” I heard Jules’ voice before I saw her. She was inside the portal room, running for Karo.

  She was too close. She’d get beamed away with them! I ran for her. The second I scooped her up into my arms, Karo pressed the icon, and everything became white once again.

  I was once again floating. Alone.

  “Jules!” I shouted, but she was nowhere in sight. I wasn’t sure how this worked, but I guessed she was already safely with Karo and Ableen. The others didn’t seem to be pulled to this state of transition like I was.

  “Jules is safe,” the voice said. I recognized it. I’d once spoken using the same voice.

  “Tagu. You’re Karo’s father,” I told him.

  The figure appeared. Tall, lanky, gray-skinned, with bright colorful eyes. He was an older version of my friend. “I am.”

  “Why did you bring me here?” I asked. I peered down, and I was wearing the same clothing I’d had on when I first met Karo.

  “We have a bond. You’ve absorbed my energy, even for a moment, and that connects us. The Shandra will be unlinked, then?” he asked.

  “That’s the plan. We weren’t supposed to go with Karo and Ableen,” I told him.

  His eyes displayed his surprise. “Ableen? Who is this Ableen?”

  I told him the quick version, and Tagu acted very pleased with the news. “This is good. This is very good.”

  “What else do you need? We need to make it to New Spero before this all happens,” I said.

  Tagu shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry, Dean. We can no longer allow travel through the Map.”

  Even here, my heart rate sped up. “What are you talking about?”

  “We’ve been holding on by a thread. We cannot function any longer. This is the last trip through the Shandra. Our job is complete. The Balance is returned. Thanks to you,” he added.

  I ran a hand through my hair. “You have to let us go home. I have a daughter. She can’t stay here.”

  “I’m sorry. Tell Karo I love him. Tell him to be happy,” Tagu said, and began floating away.

  I tried to swim in the white light, but my arms moved helplessly. “Tagu! Don’t do this to me! One last trip, that’s it, I promise!” I shouted at the top of my lungs as the figure grew farther and farther away until he was nothing more than a speck… then nothing. I was alone in the light.

  ____________

  “Papa!” Tiny hands held my face as I blinked my eyes open. I sat up in a hurry, grabbing my daughter.

  “Jules, what have you done?” I asked her. She was clear-eyed, even smiling.

  “Dean, I didn’t see you. I’m sorry,” Karo said. “What happened? Did you see your future self again?”

  I jumped up, looking around the familiar room I’d only been in once, filling up with the energy of the Theos a few years ago, before Jules was even born. “No. I saw your father.”

  “My father?”

  “Yes. Remember, we left him in here.” I pointed at the table, which was no longer glowing.

  “I remember well,” he said.

  “This was it. I can’t feel him any longer. The screaming is done,” Ableen said.

  Karo turned to her. “What do you mean? We have to help Dean home,” he told her.

  “We cannot,” Ableen advised.

  I stumbled away until my back hit the wall of the crystal-covered room. Jules stood there like this was no big deal, and I wanted so much to be angry with her for running toward Karo, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel mad. She was a little girl, an inquisitive kid who ran head-first into dangerous situations with her heart instead of her head. She was just like me.

  “What do we do?” I asked softly.

  Karo tried to activate the portal table again, but it failed. Nothing worked. The Crystal Map was here, but it showed none of the glowing portal worlds any longer. The table may as well have been meant for dining on. Jules walked over to it and I crossed the room, picking her up before she could touch it. Her eyes were brighter than ever as we locked gazes, and I almost dropped her.

  “We can help,” she told me plainly.

  “Okay. Let’s help by going to Karo’s house and figuring this out,” I said.

  “Good idea.” Karo grabbed the few packs they had, his stuffed with mementos of his time among us.

  We exited the portal room, and I was humbled by the beauty of the Theos world. I hadn’t seen much last time, but now Karo was more open to sharing their secret planet with us. His home was nearby, and we emerged from the crystal caves into a village. The streets were lined with dark stone roads, and tall crystal buildings stood pristine as ever all around us.

  Ableen took it all in with awe. “It’s… different than I remember,” she said.

  “A lot has changed since you were taken,” Karo admitted.

  The sun was low in the horizon, and even from here, I could see the immense crystal mountain in the distance. The sun lowered a little more, and a thousand prisms scattered across the sky. If I hadn’t been terrified at being stranded here for the rest of my life, I would have appreciated the sight even more.

  “It’s beautiful,” Ableen said.

  “Karo, is that…?” I started to ask.

  “That’s where we have to access the portals from, yes. It’s the core that powers the entire thing,” he said.

  “Why didn’t you tell me abo
ut it the first time I was here? I could have used them to defeat the Iskios,” I said, a little confused.

  “Dean, you were resourceful in coming here, but I couldn’t risk giving you all of the information. You could have taken their power and become something… something terrible,” Karo said.

  “Or wonderful,” I added, not liking the term he used.

  “Perhaps, but I didn’t know that. If you had, the portals would have failed regardless,” he told me, and it made sense.

  “You do have space ships here, though, right?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “It’s going to be a long trip home, isn’t it?” I asked.

  He only nodded. Jules smiled up at me, and she grabbed my hand as we traveled toward Karo’s home. I couldn’t think of that journey yet. It might be years before we found home again, and I had no idea how we’d do it.

  Karo took us into a building, this one squat and sturdy. “Is this the same place we were before?” I asked, not recognizing anything.

  “No. That was more for show. We didn’t want anyone to see our real world.” Karo opened a door, and it slid to the side smoothly. The inside of the building was amazing. Wooden furniture over hard crystal floors. Lights came on as he stepped into it, and Ableen smiled as she took it in.

  “This is nice. Nicer than the hut we had back home,” she said with a laugh. I couldn’t join her. My stomach was aching, and I found a seat on a soft-cushioned couch, obviously built for someone much taller.

  “Dean?” Karo sat beside me.

  “This is too much. We saved the stranded Keepers, we stopped the monster from killing, and now, I’m here with Jules while Mary’s on New Spero. Is the universe really trying that hard to keep us apart?” I asked.

  Jules was wandering around, touching everything.

  “We’ll figure it out, Dean. We always do,” he said.

  He wasn’t wrong, but at that moment, it was hard to believe. “You know, it was only yesterday that we were fending invaders off outside Haven,” I told him.

  “I know. How about something to eat?” Karo asked.

  “Let me guess, pizza?” Ableen beat me to it, and I finally broke a smile.

  “Is this a house?” I asked Karo.

  “It is. My house, I guess. It has three stories and six bedrooms. The layout is different than you’re used to, I suppose.” Karo was already moving toward the strange kind of device he’d concocted pizza from the first time we’d met. Moments later, fresh food came out of it.

  “Now you know you need to share that technology with me, right?” I asked. For a second, I forgot I wasn’t going to be able to bring it home through the portals.

  “We’ll share whatever you like, Dean,” Karo said.

  “Does this mean you finally trust me?” I asked, giving him a sideways grin.

  Karo shook his head. “Not even close. I trust Mary, though, so I’ll give you anything you need.”

  “You know, when we met, you weren’t much of a joker. Do you think us humans rubbed off on you?” I asked.

  “More than I’d like to admit. I’ll surely miss everyone, including you and Miss Jules here. Will you help us tomorrow before you leave?” Karo asked.

  “We will. I wouldn’t have it any other way. You know, since I’m stuck here anyway. I did tell Ableen I’d help shut them off, didn’t I?” I rose from the couch.

  “You did, Dean. Perhaps this was a self-fulfilling prophecy?” she asked.

  “I hadn’t thought of that, but I wouldn’t be surprised. The universe seems to have a few tricks up her sleeve,” I said, trying to relax. I couldn’t change our situation, but I could accept it and work with it the best I could.

  “Jules, time to eat,” I said, and she tottered over to the table. “Do you have a sink to wash?”

  Karo pointed to a spot in the kitchen that had two holes. He stuck his hands in the openings, and a red light shone out. He pulled them out when the light went off, and he grinned. “Saves the hassle of towels,” he said.

  I tried it first, feeling an energy vibrate through me rather than soap and water. It was some kind of disinfecting station.

  “Okay, Jules. Your turn,” I said, and she stuck her tiny hands inside, fully trusting it was safe.

  She beamed as the light turned off, and she pulled them out, staring at them up close.

  We ate in relative silence, not wanting to discuss the next steps. I stopped after one piece; the food sat heavily in my stomach. Jules sat playfully, like she didn’t have a care in the world, and I suppose she really didn’t. Her mother would be so worried about us, and I wished I had the communicator with me. We hadn’t brought anything, because we were expecting to leave Terran Five and head home in our lander for a quiet night, just the three of us and Maggie cozied up in our house.

  “We will figure it out, Dean,” Karo promised.

  “I know,” I lied.

  “Tomorrow,” Karo said.

  “Tomorrow.”

  Karo took us all on a tour of his home, and I watched as Ableen searched through her new abode. It was endearing. Jules seemed to like it here, and I had a hard time wrangling her up when we were done.

  “These are the bedrooms. I trust you’ll find it to your liking,” Karo said. He was different here, not so subdued. I could tell he was upset that we were stuck here, and he likely blamed himself for our situation, even though it wasn’t his fault.

  The room was spacious, with its own bathroom, one not too far off from a human’s needs. The bed was soft, and Karo returned a few minutes later with fresh linens.

  “Even your bedding doesn’t grow stale,” I said, taking the sheets.

  “You don’t become an ancient race by having poor sleeps,” he said as a joke, but his face sobered as he probably recalled that all his people were gone, and he and Ableen were the last.

  Ableen entered with Jules in tow. “I take it you’d like her back?”

  I patted the freshly-made bed, and Jules ran over, letting me pick her up and place her beside me. She kicked out her legs and laughed as she fell on the bed. She was in a little romper again, and I couldn’t believe how much trouble this tiny child had brought me. Still, I was glad to be with her.

  “Goodnight,” I told the two Theos, watching us like proud grandparents from the doorway. I saw the way Ableen looked at Karo, and I could almost read her mind. She wanted a child.

  “Goodnight, Dean. Goodnight, Miss Jules,” Karo said, and the door shut, sealing us in.

  “You are a piece of work, Jules,” I said.

  “Papa. Where’s Mommy?” she asked.

  “Home with Maggie,” I told her.

  “Can we see?”

  “Not yet. We have something to do first,” I said.

  She nodded, as if that made sense to her young form of logic.

  We fell asleep on the bed shortly after, me dreaming of finding a way to New Spero, one that didn’t take years of space travel to happen.

  Twenty-Five

  “This is the ship?” I asked, running a hand along the side of the vessel. It was sleek, almost like the perfect skipping stone: round and flat.

  “This is it,” Karo said. “It was my father’s, and his father’s before him. I guess that makes it mine,” he added.

  “Are you sure you want to part with it?” I asked. There were other similar vessels nearby, each glittering in the sunlight. It was a gorgeous day on their planet, and I suspected most days were this nice here. It was bright, but not too hot; there was a breeze, but not too gusty. Out here, on the outskirts of town, we were closer to the mountain range, and Ableen stood at the precipice of the hillside, staring out toward it, as if she was being called toward the remaining trapped Theos inside.

  “I’ll gladly give you this small gift. I’ve never used one of these ships, but I hear they’re impressive. You won’t go hungry on board, that much is clear,” he said, implying it had food modifiers like his home.

  I nodded toward the mountains and asked, �
�Do we fly there?”

  Karo smiled. “No. I have something to show you. If I knew how to pass these on to you, I’d do so. It would help transport around the planet. They’re not long-range, but you’d be able to travel from one Terran site to the next with ease.”

  He led us across the white stone ground, toward an outbuilding beside the parked vessels. I counted now, and there were five ships here, each about fifty meters long. It would be ample room for Jules and me to share. I pushed aside any worry for what Mary was feeling, because I couldn’t control that. I had to focus on what was in front of me.

  “Come on, Jules,” I said. She was beside Ableen, holding the woman’s hand.

  Karo went first into the building, which I found sparsely furnished. There were seats outside and right in the doorways, and I imagined cloaked Theos guards posted there, allowing access only to those with permits. A doorway stood at the far end of the dim room, its green light flickering on at Karo’s presence. The light glowed around the doorframe, urging us toward it with calming illumination.

  “This will take us to our destination,” he said.

  “How is it powered? Surely not by the Theos’ living energy?” I asked him.

  “It harnesses solar energy, nothing more,” he said, as if that explanation should make sense.

  Jules walked up to it, and I held her away. “Sweetie, we’ll let Uncle Karo go first,” I said, grinning at Karo.

  “It’s safe. Come,” he said, and waved us forward. Ableen appeared to have used the doorways before, and she stepped through right after Karo.

  “Ready, Jules?” I asked.

  “Yes, Papa,” she said, and stepped forward on balanced legs. I was right behind her, my hand on her back.

  One step, I was at the building beside the idle Theos fleet; the next, we were at the bottom of the crystal mountain, looking up at the majestic sight. The doorway was out in the open here, and the green glowing energy surrounding it misted away as we moved beyond its sensors.