They both frowned and shrugged their shoulders in unison.
Seeing that the twins finally covered the last bit of area on their bodies with pseudocarrion grease that they could reach, Daverex swiftly began covering the out of reach areas. A thought came to Daverex as he did so. “I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's not a coincidence that the both of you keep making the same movements at precisely the same time. You two wouldn't happen to be psychically bound by any chance, would you?”
They both nodded yes.
“Fascinating! I have a...close friend who is psychically bound to her brother. Which reminds me, we need to go see her. She's in charge of the place where the first dead ringer is heading. With any luck, he doesn't know where it is, which would give us a head start in getting there before him.”
Daverex finished covering the twins with grease and said, “Hustle up and get your clothes back on.” Once they happily did, he said, “Okay. Follow me. We've got to hurry!”
The portal that would take Daverex back to the destroyed world he had only just begun to explore reappeared before him when he got within five feet of it. He expeditiously stepped through the portal, Aegis and Fracas close behind.
Daverex found himself transported to familiar grounds when he exited the portal. It was new and uncertain to Aegis and Fracas, however, so they instinctively crouched low and immediately began assessing their surroundings. Daverex knew, of course, that menacing creatures like the ones he and Benny encountered and successfully dealt with (which Daverex called razorbacks and pseudocarrions) were fairly common on this planet, but he also knew he could rely on his danger sense and temporary time-slowing abilities to prepare for any real potential peril.
With the twins moving low and slow and looking every which way and Daverex upright and walking along at full speed toward Sister Tillage's home at the Grove within Facility One, it was not long before there was a sizeable gap between them. Daverex stopped when he came across a massive area of wild bramble he had not noticed when he first walked through this section the other day. He looked over his shoulder to see the twins acting overly cautious and said, “Relax, gentlemen. I am already aware of the dangers of this area and am fully capable of reacting as necessary. It's vital you keep pace with me. You have nothing to worry about.”
Of course, that was when Daverex's danger sense kicked in; an ability he fully recognized as unique the first time he came to this seemingly desolate planet. This time, however, the danger was not above him, but rather beneath his feet! He leapt backwards as his ability to also briefly slow time then kicked in a split second before the mass of bramble reared upward and unraveled to become a hideous and menacing serpent-like creature some 20 feet tall! Overall, it resembled a large snake, like a boa constrictor, but its thick body simulated sizeable boulders and its hundreds of skinny appendages mirrored twigs, making it all but invisible to the unwary rambler when it remained coiled and completely still. It possessed small, beady eyes and a huge, gaping mouth with scimitar sword-like fangs.
Well, this is freakishly new, Daverex thought as he drew his small laser pistol from the holster concealed inside his right boot. As he studied the creature , looking for possible combat weaknesses, he hollered back at the twins, “Okay fella's, spread out on either side of me! Cover me and don't make yourselves easy targets!” When he saw that neither of them had rushed to his sides, he turned around and saw that they had instead taken shelter together behind a large boulder. They were peeking over the top of the boulder and aiming their automatic rifles at the creature. Daverex sprinted away from their field of fire and then turned to face the creature, thinking, Damn! You'd think those two never saw a hideous predator more than twice their size before. Pfft. Amateurs. Right then the creature lunged at our hero, its mouth open wide to show scimitar sword-like fangs destined for Daverex's neck!
Daverex fired his laser pistol at its head just as the twins fired their automatic rifles at its twisting entwined body. The serpentine beast's body swayed and its head drew back away from Daverex as a result of the high velocity impact of the blast and the bullets, but it was otherwise unaffected. In fact, it seemed only to fuel the flames of its rage as it let out an almost ear-splitting hiss and smacked its massive tail repeatedly, causing the ground to shake violently. Daverex stopped firing at it and Aegis and Fracas followed his cue.
The blast and the bullets started to disappear as though they were being somehow absorbed into the creature's extraordinarily bulky body. Daverex noticed this moments before he was knocked to the ground by its violent shaking. The creature then bared its fangs and darted its head towards the prone Daverex again, only much faster this time. Though his environmental suit was puncture proof, he did not relish taking a chance on it withstanding the immense crushing pressure of the things monstrous jaws. He slowed time enough to roll out of the path of its fanged attack twice, but on the second attack, the creature also unexpectedly slammed its tail down upon him, pinning him to the ground! He made an “oomph!” sound as the wind was knocked out of him, giving the creature enough time to wrap its tail securely around his body so that he could not escape.
Aegis and Fracas reacted to Daverex's precarious predicament by resuming firing their automatic rifles at the creature. “Stop shooting!” Daverex yelled once he got his breath back, “It has no effect! Save your ammunition!” Then the creature tried a third time to strike at him with its fangs. He tried desperately to break free of its tail's tight grasp, but to no avail. He willed himself not to think about losing the woman he loved, Sister Tillage, for doing so would trigger his ability to slow time. That would only prolong the horror that was sure to follow. He instead simply closed his eyes and prepared to die within the bowels of the giant reptile. He had experienced incredibly good luck of late, but he figured bad luck had finally come to claim its place.
The creature was gentle with Daverex, however, only using its fangs to hold him in place while it unraveled its tail from his body. He opened his eye to see the creature moving him to a very muscular part of its body just above its tail. Then Daverex realized with further horror that before swallowing him whole, it intended to twist its well-muscled section around his body and squeeze him until the flow of blood in his body stopped, just like the modus operandi of a boa constrictor! As Daverex was drawn nearer to his doom, he slowed time again and then stretched his right arm as far as it would go, reaching for one of the creature's many skinny appendages. He got a hold of one and grasped it as tightly as he could. It was very sticky (presumably to keep prey who managed to get free of its coils from getting away), so he knew he had a good chance of not losing his grip. He yanked on the appendage with all his might! That, combined with the creature pulling him towards its muscled section, soon caused the appendage to rip away from the creature's body. He quickly shoved the pointy appendage horizontally into its mouth moments before it attempted to sink its fangs into him in reaction to the sudden pain of losing a limb!
Daverex felt something in his chest snap and he screamed in pain as the sudden and intense pressure of the creature's clamping jaws caused the tips of its fangs to crack several of his ribs. Lady Luck was still fighting for him it seemed, however, as the creature's fangs failed to puncture his suit, which, in this poisoned environment, would have otherwise resulted in an agonizing death. Also, its fangs were only a little longer than the stick limb that was now lodged in its mouth. Before it could snap the offending limb in half and completely crush him with its fangs, Daverex fought through the crippling pain in his chest long enough to unhook the Close Proximity Hand Grenade from his belt and yell with hitched breath, “Choke on this, you ugly son of a bitch!” He shoved the grenade down its throat and then quickly withdrew his arm. A few seconds later, the creature coughed once and then the grenade went off. Daverex was showered with blood and guts from the creature and from what it last ate, as well as flesh from small bits to large slabs, before he collapsed to the ground, unstirring.
Aegis left
the safety of the boulder and rushed to Daverex's side, already making movements with his hands to maximize his power in preparation for this dire need of his healing ability. Fracas followed close behind. The brothers hardly knew Daverex. This much was true. However, Daverex was now a sworn member of The Empyrean Prowlers. This meant more than privilege or honor. It meant that your very life was equal in value to that of any other member of the guild. If you were unwilling to do all that you can to save the lives of your fellow guild members, you had no business in being one yourself.
By the time Aegis got to Daverex, his hands were glowing with a yellow light so intense, his brother had to shade his eyes. Aegis knelt beside Daverex and hovered his hands inches above Daverex's sunken chest as Fracas held Daverex down in case pain caused him to begin flailing about. The brothers looked at each other with panic in their eyes, knowing that if this attempt at healing failed, Aegis would have to wait a few precious minutes before he could try again. That was time Daverex simply did not have in his current delicate condition.
Aegis finished his silent incantation and then he and his brother waited with bated breath for what would come next. Ten seconds went by and Daverex remained utterly motionless, his chest still concave. Twenty seconds went by without a reaction. Thirty seconds went by and still no change. The brothers exchanged nervous glances and shook their heads in defeat. Just as Fracas then let go of Daverex, however, the prone patient's chest slowly repaired to its normal shape. He gulped in air as did Aegis and Fracas. Then he blinked awake and gently raised himself up onto his elbows. He was audibly sore, but otherwise in the same condition he was before he disturbed the giant serpent-like monster. He looked down at the gore covering his environmental suit and said, hoarsely, “Either of you fellas got a packet of wet wipes on ya by any chance? I seem to have made a bit of a mess of things here and I can barely see out of my visor. Is it still daytime?”
Aegis and Fracas smiled at Daverex. Fracas pulled a cloth rag from his belt, soaked it with cold water from his canteen and then began wiping the gore off of Daverex's visor and helmet. Daverex grabbed the cloth and said, “Thanks. I'll take it from here.” When Fracas didn't let go of the rag right away, Daverex said, “Really. I'm fine now, thanks to your awesome brother. I definitely owe you one, Aegis. Thank you.”
Aegis slapped Daverex's thigh twice as his brother let go of the rag. Then they both leaned back to give Daverex some room to wipe off the rest of the gore. When he was done, he stood up with surprising ease, picked up one of the smaller chunks of flesh, studied it and said, his voice now back to normal, “Benny would love to analyze this,” as though Benny were a living organism capable of emotion of any kind. Then he picked up a fragment of bone with his other hand and placed them both in a pouch on his suit. Aegis and Fracas both looked at him strangely and exchanged bewildered glances with each other before they all continued on their journey to The Grove within Facility One.
CHAPTER FIVE
F inally, the trio reached their destination. Facility One – the one-time self-contained, now makeshift village faction of friendly, if misguided cultists – lay sprawled out before them. Several guards (or Reapers, as all tribal adults of Facility One were called) covered in pseudocarrion grease, wearing tattered overalls and wielding makeshift spears, stood in front of the facility's only entrance. The tallest and heaviest of the guards, at just over seven feet tall and nearly four hundred pounds, a look of deep mistrust in his dark eyes, stepped forward as did Daverex. They stared at each other for a few moments, unflinching. Aegis and Fracas again exchanged nervous glances. Then, suddenly, Daverex and the guard laughed loudly and embraced each other tightly. They slapped each other several times on the back and then the guard held Daverex at arms length, smiled and a moment later said, “Praise The Grower! It is good to see you again Founder Daverex! What brings you back so soon? Not that we are not happy to have you here.”
“Thank you. I need to speak with Sister Tillage.”
“Of course. But you must be hungry after your long journey. Would you not care for a feast of pseudocarrion meat prepared in you honor...again?”
Daverex remembered the horrible pseudocarrion meat. Its greasy texture and rancid taste still lingered on his pallet like a phantom memory. “I appreciate the offer, but it is rather urgent I speak with Sister Tillage. Please. May I enter the facility and see her?”
“Everything is urgent with you. Is it not? Surely even a Founder must take some time to stop and smell the sweetness of a rose in bloom every now and then,” the guard said with a huge smile. “Where is your music machine, Benny?”
“Benny is being recharged. I'm afraid that makes him unavailable to entertain your tribe at this time.”
The guard's smile quickly became a frown. “That is a shame. We have very talented performers among our tribe, but none match the complexities or variety of your Benny.”
“He is one of a kind. Now I'd really like to...”
“And who are the two nervous-looking travelers behind you? Are they clones?”
“This is Aegis and Fracas. They are friends of mine. Identical twin brothers. Not clones.”
“Twins! Like Brother Harvest and Sister Tillage. How fascinating!” The guard walked up to Aegis and Fracas, circled them and studied them closely. The twins decided it best to remain completely still. “What tribe do you two lead?” the guard asked them.
When the twins shrugged their shoulders in response, Daverex spoke up, “You are correct about them being like Brother Harvest and Sister Tillage, but Aegis and Fracas do not lead a tribe. And speaking of Sister Tillage...”
“Yes. Yes, of course. Go on through. You will find her tending to the children in The Grove. I am certain she will be more than happy to see you.” The large guard winked at Daverex and made two hand waving motions towards the two guards standing at either side of the entrance to Facility One. The two guards then opened the doors, bowing slightly as Daverex entered. Aegis and Fracas hastily circumvented the towering guard and followed Daverex inside.
The group entered a massive dome that stretched in a circumference as far as their eyes could see. They then moved quickly towards a second, much smaller enclosed space called The Grove located in the center of Facility One. Along the way, Aegis and Fracas were amazed to see row upon row of healthy, fruit-bearing trees on a planet unfit to support such delicate life. Eventually, they all reached The Grove, a very special place that was key to the tribe's very survival, much like a church in the center of a town is to the townsfolk. Here the tribal children learned all about the tribe's god, The Grower. The Grove was where the only source of water for the entire tribe was produced in abundance. It was also where the two most delicate and prized commodities on the entire planet – dried berries and nuts – were carefully cultivated by the children to teach them patience and reverence.
Upon entering The Grove, Daverex could sense right away that something was not right, though he could not yet put his finger on it. He also saw no sign of the children, which troubled him. He did spot Sister Tillage in the distance, removed his helmet and called out to her, “Tilly! Where are the children?”
Sister Tillage saw him and as she ran towards him, she said, “They were being naughty, so I had to lock them in the storage closet to give them time to reflect on what they did.”
“That seems harsh. What did they do?” asked Daverex.
Rather than answer him, she put her arms around him and kissed him hard on the mouth.
Daverex reciprocated, being swept up in the moment. But when their lips parted, he said, “It's not like you to grab me and kiss me in front of other people.”
“I...am just so excited to see you again!” she said with a troubled expression.
“I'm excited to see you too, but...”
“Oh, Daverex! I need your help. The whole tribe does!”
Daverex dismissed his suspicions for a moment and said, “What is it? What's the matter?”
“Not long after you remov
ed The Grower's Orb from its sacred spot, the water gradually began to decrease its flow. It is now down to a mere trickle and I fear the entire tribe will wither alongside the trees and plants and crops! Please, you must put The Grower's Orb back in its rightful place for the sake of all that lives within Facility One!”
“Not one of the tribe has said anything to me about this on the way here.”
“They do not know. I have kept it from them to avoid panic and a lapse of faith.”
“I'm just trying to wrap my head around all of this. You're saying you managed to keep the entire tribe from noticing that their only supply of water is down to a trickle?”
Sister Tillage shook her head, but offered no explanation, choosing instead to prove to Daverex that the water flow was only a trickle as she claimed. “Come. I will show you what I mean,” she said as she placed her soft, petite hand over his. He had to block out how nice her hand felt over his so that he could continue to think objectively. He allowed her to lead him to the spot where he first found The Growers Orb (a.k.a. The Sphere of The Fallen). “Right here. You see? Only a trickle,” she said as she pointed down at the long crack where hot water once flowed freely from somewhere deep in the ground. “Do you have The Grower's Orb with you?”
“No. It is in a passcode locked container on Benny. Let me take a closer look at the crack. Maybe it's just clogged or something,” Daverex said as he put his helmet back on to protect his face from the hot steam rising from the crack.
“That really isn't necessary. I looked already. You should run to your robot and bring back The Grower's Orb. Now! Before we all die!” she said quickly.
“Don't you mean wither?” Daverex said.
“What?”
Daverex ran a hand along either end of the crack, his environmental suit protecting his flesh from the intense heat below. “Your people use the word 'wither' instead of 'die', but you said 'die'.” He was distracted then by a discovery. “Aha!” he said as his right hand hit something soft and supple. “It looks like someone jammed something in here.”
Deadeye- Episode II Page 4
