The Human

by Jenny Foster

  “Tybor,” he growled, when the man was finally visible.

  With this one word, he was both accusing and expressing profound disappointment. It cut straight to her heart. Damn, she knew what it felt like to be betrayed by someone you trusted.

  She knew his face from somewhere. He was coming closer to the cage and she realized who he was. She had run into him several times in the library. The friendly expression on his face was gone now. He looked smug, and his grin told her that he could see how hard Talon was trying. One step closer, and she would be able to touch him.

  He realized his folly and jumped back with the elegance that his race was known for, when Talon extended his claws and reached for him. “Sorry, old buddy,” he said condescendingly. “You and your valuable little whore had your chance. Kiss her one last time before I separate you.” He was almost singing, he was so happy.

  Cat took a step backward instinctively. The certainty in Tybor’s voice was worse than any threat. “What are you going to do to us?” She gathered her courage and stepped back up to Talon’s side. It was hard to look at his face. The fire in his eyes promised that he would kill Tybor, but at that moment, he was powerless. The roar he let out was a clear admission of helplessness.

  Tybor’s expression didn’t change, but the hatred in his voice was hard to miss. “You will fulfill your contract. I will bring you to your new lord and master, and you will live there happily ever after. Or less happily. It depends entirely on the king’s mood.”

  This made the Krak hiss. Cat had no idea what had made them unhappy, but even she could see that he should not have said those last few words. They moved closer together, but Tybor didn’t seem to notice. He was focused only on her and Talon, and on making sure they knew that he was superior to them.

  “Why?” When Talon spoke, Tybor’s eyes widened in fake surprise.

  “Can’t you figure it out?” He shook his head in fake sympathy. Talon’s answer consisted of nothing more than a challenging look. Tybor sighed and returned the stare. “Our king is not especially pleased with you. One could even say that he is afraid of you.”

  “I never did anything to try to overthrow him,” Talon responded, suddenly appearing dangerously calm. “I obeyed his orders, no matter how ridiculous or cruel they were.”

  Cat took in a deep breath. If she judged Ferthoris III correctly – the colorful brochure on board the space glider had given her a small impression of his majesty’s character – then his words were equal to high treason. Even so, she felt something close to relief. When Talon finally expressed, out loud, the things he had been thinking, he had crossed a line. Tybor seemed to think the same thing, because his eyes took on a hard and calculating look.

  “You just spoke your own death sentence, Talon,” he said, drawing out each syllable with pleasure.

  Talon snorted. “As if my death weren’t a sure thing already,” he said evenly. Only Cat could see the tension in his shoulders.

  “You’re the one who said it, not me…”

  “Just tell me one thing. Did you tell the pirates how to get around our protective shields?” Both men were looking at each other without blinking.

  “Nicely done,” the man across from her said condescendingly, “but even that happened with our king’s permission, more or less. He gave me free rein to choose my own methods.”

  “You will never get away from here without a space cruiser,” Cat added.

  “Then it really is a good thing that our supposedly captured space cruiser is waiting for us right behind Saturn. The Kalatassians will drop us off there, and all of us will fly home comfortably. I’m sorry – not all of us. The former commander will not be joining us, unfortunately.”

  Never. Nobody would separate her from Talon. Not now, after her cold heart had learned to feel again. Cat wracked her brain for a way out. In seconds, she quickly walked through various scenarios. Offer herself to Tybor? No, she wouldn’t have a chance there. He had already received everything he wanted from Ferthoris – a position of power. Grab him and pull him up to the cage so that Talon could slit his throat? Hardly. She wasn’t strong enough, and there was no way she was quick enough. Beg the Krak for mercy? What were they doing here, anyway?

  Talon spoke up, as if he had her thoughts. “You are working with the Krak? Why? After everything that farce of a king did to that woman, they agreed to do that man’s dirty work?” Cat listened up. Talon’s face didn’t change, but she knew that he was watching Tybor and the Krak very closely. She tensed up instinctively, secretly preparing for either Tybor or the Krak to attack him.

  The smell of rotting fish got stronger. Tybor couldn’t see it, but the Krak were inching closer. Their tentacles moved so quickly, and Cat thought that maybe she had been wrong, but no – their long limbs continued to move toward the cage.

  Tybor looked at him, unmoved, and shrugged. “They are being compensated for their loss.”

  “Nonsense,” Cat blurted out. “What could they possibly want with Talon?”

  “There are some things between heaven and Earth that you couldn’t possibly understand with your limited brains, human woman.” He spoke with all of the disdain he could possibly manage. “Enough chatting. It’s time for us to depart. Honestly, I can hardly wait to get out of here. This planet and its weak inhabitants disgust me.”

  That’s when Cat knew that she didn’t have a choice.

  If she was going to find a way for them to escape, she needed to act now. She had to use her gift. Tybor turned around. He flinched when he realized how close behind him the Krak were, and Cat shivered in satisfaction. “Do your work, despicable fish things,” Tybor growled, and took a few steps to the side to evade the tentacles. He looked at Cat one last time and spat on the ground. “Let the human woman live,” he ordered in a commanding voice.

  Cat had to decide. Whose head should she go into? Was Tybor the better choice, or one of the Kraks’? She chose Tybor, simply because, at the very least, he had something human about him. She didn’t dare imagine what it would look like inside one of the tentacled creatures’ heads, and she didn’t intend to find out.

  She closed her eyes, blocked out her surroundings, gave her spirit the order to move ahead, and then, thanks to years of practice, she was in Tybor’s head.

  It was different than with Talon. There was a gray twilight here, and she had a hard time moving in it. Talon had been easy to read, because he was a good man in his core. Tybor, on the other hand, was rotten. He loved only one single creature – himself. Everything revolved around him, his position in his world, and his status. This spongy and somehow despicable way of thinking made her aim less accurate. One time, inside the head of a pedophile mafia boss, she had experienced the same thing. It had taken 15 minutes for her to overcome the wall of slime that had separated the rest of his thoughts from his innermost desires.

  This time, she needed to work more quickly. She had 30 seconds max. Cat doubled her efforts. As if from a distance, she noticed her body trembling. A tear opened up in the gray mass. Seeing his defenses weakening like that gave her renewed strength, and she pushed and squeezed through the crack until she was finally in Tybor’s head. Just like the mafia boss, the traitor had surprisingly little resistance to offer once she had managed to crack him. Before he could defend himself, she planted the thought in his head, made sure that it was deeply anchored, and fled back into her own body.

  All hell was breaking loose around her. Cat prayed that she hadn’t taken too long, because then everything would have been for nothing.

  The three Kraks had positioned themselves at the cage and were trying to wrap their tentacles around Talon. He had managed to bite one of his arms free, as evidenced by a tentacle lying on the ground, jerking helplessly. He was half man, half lion, and even in this scary half-form, he was impressive. Every move showed the strength of his body, and even though the tentacles were restricting his movements, he was able to evade most of them. He moved surprisingly gracefully for a man of his
stature – no, that was the wrong word. He was deadly elegant, sure of himself, and absolutely precise. When he aimed, he hit his mark, and the pain-filled hissing from the Krak proved as much.

  Cat tore her eyes away from Talon, whose punches were landing faster and faster on his enemies. She was wondering if it had even been necessary to rush into Tybor’s head, when one of the tentacles shot out at her. She barely had time to fall to the ground. Finally, Tybor made a move.

  He started moving towards the Krak who was closest to him, with heavy steps, as if he were fighting against what his head was ordering him to do. She saw that his fangs and claws were out, and before the squid creatures had the chance to smell any danger, he attacked them. He had the element of surprise on his side. His claws slit the plump body open. The stench of rotting fish made Cat’s eyes water.

  As one person, the two other Krak turned towards Tybor. His wide eyes betrayed his fear and confusion, and he raised his hands in defense. Cat almost felt sorry for him as he saw his end coming near, unable to do anything about it. He had no choice but to obey Cat’s orders.

  Next to her, Talon looked at her quizzically. His chest was rising and falling, but he seemed not to be as out of breath as he should have been, considering that he had just fought off three opponents in restricted circumstances. “Is this your doing?”

  Cat nodded. Her heart was racing like crazy, but before she could say anything, the noise in front of the cage grew loud, far too loud. A wet tearing sound and suppressed gurgle told of Tybor’s end. “I am sorry,” she whispered. Her throat constricted.

  “Why?” Talon looked at her, and for the first time, Cat really noticed how big the differences between their races really were. She could see that he felt no sympathy for his dead warrior. His next words confirmed her suspicion. “He decided to take one side, and that side proved to be the wrong one. If he had gone to the trouble of finding out more about you, then he might still be alive.”

  Or was it because he was a man and she was a woman? The agents she had been in contact with had all been men. They had also never worried about how it might feel to be powerless, until one of them had let his guard down – and then it had been too late.

  “Because I left him no choice.”

  “We should save this conversation for later,” Talon snarled and pointed out of the cage with his face. The last Krak was visibly weakened. He was swaying and making strange noises. The shrillness of them almost hurt Cat’s ears. He fixated on her, or at least she thought that was what he was doing, since she couldn’t make out any eyes on his pimply skin. He was bleeding slowly from several wounds that Tybor had given him.

  “We need to get out of this cage,” Talon said and looked at her frankly. “Can you make him open the door?”

  “I don’t know,” she whispered. He could see the reluctance she felt at the thought of trying to get into the wounded Krak’s head. Talon came over to her and held her in his arms. She enjoyed the warmth for two seconds. He was exuding heat, despite being naked in these frigid temperatures, and she blocked out everything but his presence. His body was still half-person, half-animal, but Cat wasn’t afraid of him. Talon lifted her chin and buried his amber-colored eyes in hers. I cannot demand it of you, I know that,” he said softly. Cat closed her eyes. He was telling the truth. He could and would not demand anything she didn’t want to do. It was her decision.

  “Can’t your men get you out of here? Surely they will return with reinforcements.” Her voice got smaller and faded away. She could see the answer written on his face. “You sent them away,” she whispered.

  “The risk was too great,” he replied, just as softly. Talon glanced sideways at the Krak who had stopped trying to move. He pulled her close one more time and she understood. He had been sure that he was going to die saving her. He was surprised and delighted that they were still alive and breathing.

  Cat didn’t think about it for long. She made herself ready. Whatever it was that awaited her, she knew it would be bad, but did she really have a choice? Without pondering it any longer, she prepared herself and jumped into the Krak’s head.

  The first thing she saw was a reddish light. It reminded Cat of the glow she had seen behind the crack in her cell. The slow, rhythmic pulse and steady beat, of what appeared to be a heart, accompanied her on her way into the innermost reaches of his brain. She tried to let herself be led by whatever motivated the creature the most, just like she always did, but nothing was clearly organized here, and there weren’t any forbidden zones either, where the being hid his most secret wishes. A Krak just took what he wanted. This aimless wandering felt strange to Cat. It was almost as if she was staggering around disoriented. She usually felt safe when she was searching for things in someone else’s head, but not this time. She saw strong impulses here and there, like eating and mating, but these wishes were just that. Nothing more. This Krak had no motivation or goal.

  The familiar trembling in her body reminded her to speed up. If she didn’t hurry, she would have to leave empty-handed. She forced herself to breathe calmly and to go deeper into the Krak’s thoughts. Normally, she didn’t do that. There was a real danger of getting lost in someone’s thoughts and getting stuck there forever. Just breathe, she told herself. Come on, Cat thought out loud. What really makes you happy? There had to be something – anything. Even single-cell creatures don’t just vegetate without a goal, although they may not be aware of that.

  The dull beating grew louder. Instinctively, she turned towards the source of the sound. The closer she got it, the stronger the red light pulsed. Her heart beat faster as she understood what she was seeing. She tried not to cry with relief when she realized that she had just found the Krak’s motivating force. When she looked a little closer, she couldn’t keep from shuddering in disgust. These creatures were so foreign, and a human brain had a hard time taking this in, much less understanding it.

  Very carefully, she planted the thought of opening the door to the cage in the middle of the soft, pulsing spot. Cat knew that she couldn’t really feel what she was doing. It was only an illusion, but she still gagged when her hands reached in deeply and sank the order there.

  The second she pulled her hands back out she got out of there.

  Talon was holding her when she opened her eyes. She was lying in his arms. She smiled at him, but even that took a lot of effort. She was very weak, and her heart was still beating too quickly. She didn’t even know if it had worked. One look at the Krak told her that he was still swaying in the same spot, not moving towards them.

  Then, slowly, very slowly, he started moving towards the cage door.

  Cat held her breath and couldn’t watch. Talon wanted to let go of her, but she held on tight to him. “Wait,” she whispered.

  It seemed to take forever for the tentacled creature to reach the cage. The loud squeak of the door being opened, was the most beautiful sound Cat had heard in a long time. Talon set her down gently. Cat held her breath, waiting for the unmistakable sound of Talon ending the Krak’s life.

  She didn’t know what kept her from being an idle spectator, but something was wrong here. “Talon, wait,” she said and put her hand on his arm. His muscles tensed and his body trembled under the tension of being ready to pounce, but he did as she asked.

  The Krak stepped back from the cage. In an unmistakable move, he raised his tentacles and slid slowly away from the open door. Talon and Cat followed him. When they were out of the cage, Cat breathed a big sigh of relief. She didn’t dare turn her back on the Krak, but the further they went from her jail cell, the more certain she was that nothing would happen to them. For a reason none of them could understand, the fish creature had let them go. Cat had only planted the thought of opening the door. Everything he did after that was of his own free will.

  The three of them stood there for an eternity, just staring at each other, then the Krak turned and went in the direction of the aquarium.

  “What in the world did you do to him?” T
alon look at her doubtfully.

  “That wasn’t me,” she retorted. “Maybe we are just lucky, or maybe he is injured so badly that he didn’t want to engage in a fight with you.” She was silent. “Why did you spare him? Surely not just because I asked you to.”

  He was quiet for a time, while they walked slowly to the exit. “I don’t know,” he said. She could hear how perplexed he was. “I felt sorry for him,” he said, surprising himself. He shook his head and looked at his hands, as if he couldn’t believe that they hadn’t killed the Krak. “It must have something to do with this planet. Your emotions seem to be wearing off on me.” He frowned.

  “Is that so bad?” Cat asked timidly. “I mean, bad for you?”

  “It feels strange, like I don’t have any self-control anymore.”

  Cat reached for Talon’s hand. She squeezed it lightly, and when he looked down at her, her smile widened. “Well, let’s get out of here, then. The sooner, the better.” She saw a sign on which the pale letters “Exit” were barely legible and followed the arrow. Well, she wanted to follow it, but Talon had stopped dead in his tracks.

  “That’s a good idea,” he agreed, “but we have a problem. By now, my men are on their way home with the Kalatassians, and we don’t have a ship we could use to follow them. And anyway,” he took a deep breath, “I am not going to deliver you to Ferthoris.” It sounded like he wanted to say more. Cat waited, but nothing came. She felt surprisingly calm and hopeful in the face of this new catastrophe.

  “We could charter a ship. There are plenty of captains on Earth who would love to earn some money transporting, shall we say, illegal freight.”

  “We don’t have any money,” he reminded her. “Even if we could find such a captain, we wouldn’t be able to pay him.”