by Jack Halls
Gideon shook his head. “I guess it never came up. You gotta remember I grew up inside a giant tube.”
Sophia shrugged. “Good point.” She pointed back at the star. “Show me this sailboat.”
Gideon leaned closer and pointed again. “Look, there’s Earth, at the bottom of that square I showed you. Right below it, there are two other stars, and they make the stick thing that holds up the sail.”
She laughed. “You mean the mast?”
“Yeah, whatever. So back behind the first square is a bigger square, like a second sail. And below that”—he pointed out several stars—“there’s this kind of boat shape. See?”
Sophia tilted her head back and forth for several seconds. “Yeah, I do see it. That’s incredible, Gideon. You just made Valkyrie’s first constellation. And now we’ll always know how to find earth in the night sky.”
“Cool,” said Gideon. “Can we use it to navigate the ocean?”
“Well,” said Sophia, “I don’t really know how they did it. I think they would go off of the North Star, Polaris. It was a bright star that always stayed in the same place in the sky, right over the North Pole. Maybe if Valkyrie has its own north star.”
“I can find out,” said Gideon. “Pauline, does this planet have a North Star?”
Another flashing circle on Gideon’s visor showed a star close to the sailboat constellation. “This galaxy is the closest celestial body to what could be considered the planet’s north pole,” said Pauline.
Gideon showed Sophia the star, or galaxy, which was quickly fading in the light of dawn. “Look, right there. The sailboat is heading right for it.”
“Well,” said Sophia, turning to smile at Gideon, “isn’t that a coincidence.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
The Pesadilla
DAYLIGHT REVEALED THAT the rasp had again stalked the perimeter of the camp. It frustrated Gideon to no end that he hadn’t picked up the faintest sign of the creature during his watch. It seemed to know just how far away it needed to stay from the camp to avoid detection. At the moment, there was little to be done about it, and so the group simply continued on their march, weapons at hand and senses alert.
As they descended from higher elevations, the vegetation grew thicker about them. Soon the trees soared over them like the watchtowers of giants. They passed a pristine lake cradled in the palm of the hills. In the center of the lake, two gargantuan creatures waded in water up to their haunches, yet their heads were still half a dozen meters over its surface. They watched in awe as the graceful animals dipped their heads beneath the waves, emerging with mouthfuls of aquatic vegetation.
“Looks like a scene out of Jurassic Park, doesn’t it?” said Tony.
Padre grunted. “Let’s hope this trip doesn’t end up like the movie.”
Gideon and Takomi looked at each other and shrugged. They had grown accustomed to the elders’ references to movies long since forgotten. As they continued on and the lake disappeared through the trees, Vincent called for a break. They stopped, and those without Sentinel Armor collapsed on the ground to rest. The others formed a protective ring around their unarmored comrades as Connor scrambled up another tree to see if he could pick up any radio signals.
“I’m getting something,” Connor yelled down at them. “It’s mostly static, but there are definitely people talking on the common channel.”
Padre stood at the base of the tree and looked up. “Can you make out what they’re saying?”
Connor didn’t respond immediately as he concentrated on the signal. “Negative. They sound like they’re excited about something, but....”
Before anyone could ask what was going on, Connor jumped from his perch twenty meters up in the tree and landed in a crouch in the middle of the group. He ran to his supplies and picked up his rifle. “Gunshots,” he said, slamming a magazine into his weapon. “Gunshots and screaming.”
Padre gathered his own supplies without asking for an explanation. “Connor and I will go ahead. The rest of you follow as fast as you can. You good, Connor?”
Connor nodded. “Let’s go.” The two of them raced off through the trees at full Sentinel Armor speed. As they disappeared into the woods, Gideon looked at the rest of the group and saw they were waiting to leave. He scrambled to gather his things.
Vincent was ready to move; in fact, he had probably always been ready. “We’ll go single file. Gideon and Takomi, take the rear with Gavin’s stretcher. I’ll take the front with Sophia to make sure I don’t go too fast. Let’s move.”
As Vincent and Sophia started in the direction of the signal, David stood in place, frowning. “You don’t expect us to leap into the middle of whatever’s going on without Sentinel Armor, do you?”
Vincent didn’t respond, and the rest of the group glared at David as they passed. Gideon and Takomi handed Gavin a rifle, then picked up his stretcher and followed the others. David’s scowl melted away, and his eyes went wide as it became clear they would leave him there. “Wait!” he yelled as he ran to catch up.
David fell into step next to Gideon. “This is lunacy,” said David. “We can’t run headlong into a battle without armor. And what about Gavin? He can’t even walk.”
Gavin sat up in his stretcher and glared at David. “We’re not running headlong into a battle — Padre and Connor are. They’ll have it sorted before we get there, and if not, they’ll let us know what’s happening.”
“People might need our help,” said Takomi without looking back. “We can’t just run away.”
David grumbled, but didn’t say anything else about the matter, scrambling to catch up to the others.
They pushed forward as fast as they could for twenty minutes. They had just reached the top of a hill when a sound like a distant landslide screeching over metal froze them in their tracks.
“Did that come from an animal?” asked Sophia, lifting her rifle to her shoulder. Even as she spoke, a more familiar sound echoed off distant cliffs, the staccato of rifle fire.
Vincent’s voice went out over the common band. “Padre, Connor, do you read?”
“Get down here, Vince,” said Padre. “Takomi and Gideon too. We need everyone with Sentinel Armor now.”
“And the others?” asked Vincent.
“They’ll have to manage. We need you now. People are dying down here.”
“No, no, no,” said David. “You’re not leaving us...”
“Shut up, David!” yelled Gavin. “I had no idea what a bloody coward you were until now. We’re fine, Vincent. Go.”
David stood with his mouth open, but the others all looked back at him with nothing but contempt. “We’re on our way,” said Vincent.
Takomi and Gideon set Gavin down gently, and before they knew it, they were chasing Vincent through the trees in the direction of the battle. The others disappeared from view in the trees behind them.
Frantic radio traffic continued as the three of them darted through the trees. Gideon’s visor displayed a virtual beacon leading them to Padre’s location. The priest was slowly moving back toward them.
A few meters ahead, Vincent cursed. They were coming up to a cliff at the edge of a ravine. Gideon slid to a halt at the edge and peered over. The cliff dropped sharply down to a stream far below. The opposite side was thirty meters away.
Gideon scanned the ravine for some way across. “Do you think we can jump it?”
A new volley of gunfire erupted from the riverbank below them. Takomi pointed down into the ravine, where it rounded a corner out of sight. “Look, there they are.”
Tiny white figures were scrambling toward them through the rocks and trees at the bottom of the ravine. Occasionally, one of them would turn and fire their rifle at something around the bend. Now that they had a line of sight, the garbled radio signals became clear.
“Just die already,” came the breathless voice of Tawny Drexel.
Vincent didn’t hesitate, but ran along the cliff toward the melee. “Tawny, this is
Vincent. What’s going on down there?”
“Vincent,” she said, half sobbing. “Please hurry!”
Gideon and Takomi did their best to keep up with Vincent as they raced along the top of the ravine. Gideon was focusing on avoiding trees and rocks when he nearly slammed into the back of Takomi.
“What are you doing, Takomi?”
She ignored him as she stared down at something below. Gideon followed her gaze and felt a cold grip on his insides as he found what she was looking at.
An impossibly huge creature had appeared from around the bend at the bottom of the ravine. Its draconic head was nearly level with the canyon rim, with a long, reptilian mouth. Its curved teeth were so large that Gideon could clearly see them from this distance. A long neck ran down to broad shoulders carrying massive arms and clawed hands that the creature used to pull itself along and move whole trees out of its way. The torso led down to a body carried on four legs, the front pair of legs being taller than the back set. If a centaur had a child with a great black dragon, this would be it.
“What is that?” asked Takomi. Gideon could only stare at the beast as it lumbered forward, cracking tree trunks along the way.
The people below kept firing, and the monster lunged forward, swiping at one of the figures below, narrowly missing them with its long claws. It leaned forward and opened its jaws. The screeching roar made Gideon and Takomi take a step back, but it was just the thing to shake them from their trance.
Gideon looked up to see Vincent hadn’t slowed down and was far ahead of them. “Come on,” he said, tugging on Takomi’s arm. They sprinted after Vincent once more.
The com was a chaotic symphony of shrill voices. Vincent’s calm and commanding tone silenced them all. “Padre, Connor, what’s your situation?”
Padre sounded like he was out of breath as he replied, “We’re on the ground right in front of it. Trying to... humph... hold it back while the others... retreat. Small arms fire doesn’t do much.”
“I see that,” said Vincent as he rounded the bend above the creature. He paused and shouldered his rifle, taking careful aim before squeezing off three rounds into the monster’s face. It flinched and roared, lunging at Vincent. Despite its size, it leapt high enough to catch one clawed hand on the canyon rim. Vincent dove and rolled out of the way as the ground where he’d been standing gave way beneath the onslaught, sending boulders tumbling down into the ravine.
“Careful,” yelled Connor. “You’re going to get somebody smashed doing that.”
Vincent was back on his feet by the time Gideon and Takomi caught up to him. “Connor,” he said, “you and Padre carry those people back up the ravine. We’ll distract this thing as long as we can.”
Gideon had his rifle up, waiting for the order to fire. Vincent turned to them. “I’m going down there. You two stay here and harass it. Keep it mad and distracted, and do everything you can to keep it away from the others.”
“What are you going to do?” asked Takomi.
“I’m going to try and kill it.” They didn’t have time to respond before Vincent turned, ran to the edge of the cliff, and jumped. He landed on a steep incline of loose rock and slid the rest of the way down, then sprinted directly toward the creature.
Gideon clenched his teeth as he lifted his rifle, then let out a deep breath. “Aim for its eyes,” he said. “Then get ready to get out of the way.”
Takomi lifted her rifle and peered through the scope. “I can’t find its eyes,” she said.
Looking through his own scope, Gideon realized he couldn’t find the creature’s eyes either. The oily black skin made it difficult to make out any kind of texture at all.
“Just aim where you think they should be,” he said. “Ready? Fire!”
The two rifles barked in unison, sending bullets at the creature in tight, three-round bursts. The monster screeched, pulling its head away from the incoming fire. When it lunged for them, Gideon and Takomi were already leaping out of the way in opposite directions, and its claws raked harmlessly over the ground.
Gideon and Takomi didn’t let up. They stood, fired, then leapt back away from the edge of the cliff to regroup and start again. The augmented reality of Gideon’s visor told him that Vincent was right underneath the beast, but so far he wasn’t firing at it.
“If we were trying to piss it off, it’s working,” shouted Takomi as she jumped out of the way moments before a great clawed hand slammed down on the canyon rim.
Gideon was about to reply when an ear-shattering roar erupted from the canyon floor. The two of them ran to the edge and peered down as the creature crashed down to the ground. Vincent ran out from behind the beast as it tried to spin around and swipe at him. In his hand he held a glowing plasma blade.
“Vincent, look out!” yelled Takomi as the clawed hand lashed out at him. Vincent dodged just in time to avoid the crushing blow.
Gideon fired at the creature, but this time, it ignored the stinging bullets. All of its attention was focused on Vincent as it managed to lift itself up again. One of its rear legs dragged behind it as it pulled itself toward Vincent. Even with one leg hobbled, the monster was gaining on Vincent.
Takomi and Gideon took aim and fired round after round into its side, but the creature ignored them.
“This isn’t working,” said Takomi. “Vincent, get out of there.”
“I’m trying,” grunted Vincent. “This guy’s too fast.”
Gideon looked over at Takomi. “What do we do?”
She didn’t respond. Instead, she took a deep breath and leapt from the precipice. Gideon gritted his teeth, checked his ammunition, and jumped after her.
About halfway down, he hit the ravine wall and slid for a few meters until he was about to fall. Before he lost his balance, he sprung off the slope and sailed through the air, finally crashing down on the canyon floor near the river.
It took a moment to orient himself, but with his visor’s heads up display, he was able to find Takomi running toward the creature. Gideon pulled out the knife strapped to his thigh and ran after her.
Now that he was standing below the monstrosity, he could truly appreciate how huge it was. The thick tail scraped along the canyon floor in front of him, and with every step the ground trembled. Blood dripped from the wounded leg and filled the air with a sharp metallic smell.
In a few seconds, the creature would be right on top of Vincent, and Gideon doubted that the Sentinel Armor would do much good against those teeth. Takomi and Gideon circled around to its right side and activated the blue glow of plasma around their blades. Without pausing, Takomi leapt in the air with the knife held over her head like a samurai. She swung hard, and the ultra-hot blade sliced through the flesh at the back of the creature’s thigh.
The canyon walls echoed with the screams of the enraged beast. The cut must have inflicted a lot of pain, but the monster continued to put weight on it as it spun around to find its attacker. Gideon failed to notice the heavy tail swinging at him until it was too late, and it slammed into him with a force that would have crushed his bones if it weren’t for his Sentinel Armor. Nonetheless, he flew into the opposite wall of the canyon and fell to the ground, fighting to regain his breath.
“Gideon, you all right?” yelled Vincent. It was several seconds before Gideon could reply.
“I’m okay,” he said between gasps. “Knocked the wind out of me, that’s all.”
Climbing to his feet, he looked around to find his rifle bent in two, and his plasma blade had disappeared. He was about to tell Vincent he’d lost his weapons when Takomi spat out a string of curses. The creature had her trapped between a sheer rock wall and its deadly claws.
Gideon ran toward her through the creature’s legs. “Get out of there, Takomi!” he yelled.
Takomi fired her rifle up at its chest. “I’m trying.”
The monster recoiled from the bullets pelting it at close range, but there still didn’t seem to be any real damage. It took a swipe at Takomi, na
rrowly missing her as she dove and rolled out of the way. Before she could get to her feet, the other hand came crashing down on top of her.
“Takomi!” yelled Vincent as he fired at the monster in vain. The clawed hand came up with Takomi in its grip. She squirmed like a mouse in an eagle’s talons as the hand brought her up to the creature’s jaws.
Takomi’s knife and rifle lay glinting in the sunlight where she had just been. Gideon sprinted forward and swept up the knife in his hand, then turned and flicked the switch to ignite the plasma. He took three steps and dove at the creature’s foreleg, plunging the knife up to the hilt into the creature’s knee joint.
The monster roared as the leg gave way under its bulk. As it tumbled down it flung Takomi into the air, sending her flailing into the trees along the river. Gideon barely had time to scramble out of its way before the creature fell on its side next to him.
The walls of the canyon echoed with the beast’s cries as it thrashed on the ground, trying to prop itself up. The tail knocked boulders loose as it whipped across the ground. Huge claws ripped trees from the soil as it tried to find leverage.
Gideon ran to Takomi, but she was already up and moving to get out of harm’s way. Behind him, Vincent circled around to the creature’s head, staying out of reach of the long claws. Avoiding the creature’s thick tail, Gideon ran around behind its back to meet up with him.
“What now, Vincent?” he asked.
A series of gunshots burst from Vincent’s rifle, and the creature roared. “Hopefully it will try to eat me.”
“What?” said Takomi as she came around to join Vincent. Without a weapon, she could only help so much.
Vincent was too focused on the creature’s snapping jaws to reply. He inched his way forward, rifle at his shoulder. The beast turned to face him, and lurched forward, jaws ready to snap him up. At the last second Vincent fired fully automatic bursts straight into the gaping mouth. With one last screech of pain, the creature’s huge head crashed to the ground. After a few spasms, the creature lay still. Nonetheless, Vincent fired more rounds into any soft tissue he could find until he was satisfied it wasn’t going to move again.
