She began hitting at his waist since he towered over her.
He kept her at bay and let her attempt a few swings and grabs before picking her up and slamming her back to the ground like a doll.
She lay there, moaning in pain.
Solix stepped up. “Why are you making this so difficult? It’s a simple question; one that will see you well-rewarded with food, water, and your own life. How shall we proceed?”
Madilay got back up on her knees. She spoke under labored breath, “I’ll answer.”
“Then do so,” Solix encouraged.
“Fifty thousand.”
“Decent size. Are they all soldiers?”
“No. Most of us are scientists and civilians.”
“I see. So, how many would you say are soldiers?”
Madilay did not speak, she stayed quiet.
Lieutenant Solix rolled his eyes.
“Must we go through this again? You were doing so well for yourself. Would you like to reconsider your silence or do I need to have Toxx here give you a…more permanent reminder?”
She looked at the beast to her front.
Its drool dripped, pouring from the gaping mouth lined with sharp teeth.
“No. I’ll answer.”
“Splendid. Please continue.”
She thought for a moment. “About one thousand or so. I’m not sure on the total number, but they didn’t make up many amongst us.”
“Yes, we’ve noticed. These are not your standard warriors, they’re more like…guards watching over a space port or a mining yard,” Solix said, waving off the aythra and its handler. “See, Human? That wasn’t so difficult.”
He looked to the soldier behind her. “We will verify this information and, if you’re lying to me, I will feed your friend piece-by-piece to Toxx while you watch. Have I made myself understood, Human?”
She nodded, eyes on the dirt and mud.
“Put the arm restraints back on her and take her away,” he said as he spun on his heel and left the cell.
Data CELL 45
We arrived safe at the rendezvous point to meet Kulee, our guide into the temple Gnotok.
The ride with the galony was much better this time around. I think I’m getting used to them.
But not the smell. That remained rancid as usual.
We all gathered at the river: Mistuuk, Kayasa, and Kulee…and one bot.
“Is that the log?” I asked.
It was sitting in a small stream off the main river, but near the water’s edge. It had cover and was well hidden from prying eyes.
Kulee approached it.
“Yes.”
He proceeded to open the top of it up.
It was a massive, simple hollowed-out log. About six or seven average adult Humans could fit in there.
At least there’d be some wiggle room.
“What’s the plan from here. What time do we launch?”
Kulee looked up into the sky. “You go now. Star-set is soon.”
“How long will it take to reach the temple?”
Kulee bent over and drew a line in the sand. “Star-set here. Star-rise here. Halfway, you get to temple. Two moons across sky. Time to get out and swim. Take these.” He handed each of us something wrapped in a purple leaf.
We all looked at each other.
Kulee put his hand to his mouth. “You take. Like this. Help with underwater. Good for brief time, longer than normal breath. Take while to activate. Be fine when you there. Take it now.”
Great.
Down the hatch.
What did I just do? It tasted and smelt like sewage.
I had a massive gag reflex…and another…and one more. Whatever it was, my body wanted it out.
Horrid.
Mistuuk and Kayasa didn’t have any reaction to it.
My eye twitched. “How was it for you two?”
Just thinking about it now made me want to throw it up.
“Mine was fine, Rels. It kind of tasted like a–”
“I don’t even want to know.”
“Then why did you ask, Rels?” Mistuuk asked, confused.
I turned my attention to the Vrae. “How about you, beautiful? How was it for you?”
“Fine, Human,” Kayasa responded.
Strange. It must be my sophisticated pallet then.
Kulee motioned to our makeshift raft. “It’s time.”
We all sat inside the log. But before Kulee could close the lid, I had one last question.
“What about rapids?”
“No rapids. Smooth water to temple. Waterfall after temple gone too far.”
“Waterfall?”
“Great Tumpa Falls after bend near temple. Great drop.”
Emvel never said anything about falls. “Don’t they divert the debris from the river to the temple?” I asked with utmost sincerity.
He put his hand to his chin and thought for a moment. “Uh, yes. Divert…debris. You be safe.”
That dramatic pause was super comforting.
Kulee closed the lid and pushed us out into the main waterway.
This was going to be interesting. That’s an understatement. Everything has been interesting on this weird planet.
I just hope Emvel is right about all this or this is going to be a short trip after a long journey.
Once again, time will tell.
∞∞∞
The ride down the river was quiet. I found the sound of flowing water soothing and I slept through most of the trip, waking from dreams of waterfalls.
This time, I was woken by Kayasa.
“Human, it’s time to get up. The twin moons are above us.”
“Okay. Let’s see what we got here.”
I sat up a bit and opened my hatch slow to peek out.
“What do you see, Rels?”
“Hold on, buddy. I’m still looking.”
It didn’t take long to spot it. The temple was massive. It must rise two hundred meters in the air.
There was a blue glow about two-thirds of the way up it, emanating from four large openings on each side of the structure.
I could make out other lights at the base, fires or torches of some sort.
“What do you see, Rels?” Mistuuk asked again.
“The pyramid.”
“What does it look like, Rels?”
I didn’t answer. I was still taking in what I was seeing.
“So, what do we do now, Human?” Kayasa asked.
I could see other driftwood around us. “Once we get closer and mingle in with the other debris, we will get out and head to the water canal near the pyramid.”
We floated for another twenty minutes before we began to get corralled by the diverters.
There were several Xty on platforms, diverting each log with long poles. Some they sent near the divider near the shore, the others they pushed off to the other side to continue down river.
That’s where we do not want to go. This could be a problem.
“Kayasa. We may get diverted toward the waterfall. Since you’re in front, you may need to open the hatch and pull the pole man in before he pushes us away to the wrong side.”
“Not a problem,” she said.
“I will let you know when to go on my end.”
Mistuuk wiggled to turn himself towards me. “What about the other Xty? Where are they at, Rels?”
I took another look. “It looks like there are six of them and they are spread wide across the logging path of the river. They’re busy pushing debris. Since this one is on the end close to us, the others may not see it. We got to be quick though, Kayasa.”
“I have this, Human. Just let me know when.”
“I will count down from three. Go on one.”
“What should I do, Rels?
“Get ready to help, Kayasa. We need to pull him in quick.”
“Got it, Rels.”
I hope this worked.
Our log drifted closer to the pole man.
I was keeping an ey
e on him through the sliver of my open hatch.
The two moons were bright so this should help judge the distance.
The pole man moved some debris to the right, where we wanted to go, and some to the left.
There was a decent size log in front of us. Let’s see what he’s going to do.
He pushed it to the left. He didn’t move from his position. He’s going to push us down river.
Never easy.
“Get ready.”
The Xty was getting his pole ready to push our log.
Now’s the time. “Three…two…one.”
Kayasa threw open her hatch and grabbed the pole.
The Xty was surprised.
He fell forward since the pole was attached with a leather strap around his wrist.
He fell in the log.
Both Kayasa and Mistuuk pulled him in and the hatch closed.
I kept an eye on the others to see if they had noticed the commotion.
Too busy. They hadn’t seen it.
Our new occupant was struggling.
“Keep him quiet,” I whispered.
Snap.
The Xty stopped fighting and went limp.
“There. He’s quiet,” Kayasa announced.
That’s one way to do it.
Peeking through the hatch, I wasn’t too pleased by what I saw.
By pulling him in, we had nudged ourselves off course a bit, just enough to move over to the wrong side of the divider.
We were heading towards the falls.
“We have to get out now. The platform ends soon. Go.”
I threw open my hatch and jumped out into the water.
Mistuuk, with Blink strapped to his back, followed. Kayasa wasn’t too far behind.
The current was moving faster now. We were right up against the metal divider, which was much higher from the water line now. It was about two meters above us.
We were sliding against it. There was nowhere to grab a hold of.
I surged up out of the water and tried to grab the top of the platform, but it was just out of reach.
I could see the end of the platform approaching.
The noise of the rush of water could now be heard from the falls.
“I can’t get up!” Kayasa yelled.
Without hesitating, I grabbed Mistuuk. “I’m helping you up, then you help me up.”
“Got it, Rels.”
I hoisted the little guy up.
And, with a final surge and push, he was on the platform.
The water was moving swifter.
Mistuuk had just gotten up and was already ten meters behind us.
I looked at the end of the pier.
He wasn’t going to make it.
But, before I knew it, he was already over me, running alongside.
How did he do that?
“Rels, go!” he called out.
I pushed up.
He dropped down along the edge.
I grabbed his hand and he pulled me up the rest of the way.
Now for Kayasa’s turn.
Before I could get my footing, Mistuuk was already racing to the end of the platform.
I never knew he could run that fast. He looked faster than me.
He was faster than me.
He even had Blink strapped to his back.
But, would he make it? This was going to be close.
I saw him dive near the end and put his arms down.
I waited for what felt like a full minute.
Mistuuk stood up.
His head was hung low.
Oh no.
He didn’t make it.
I ran to the end and caught up with him.
“I missed her, Rels. I couldn’t get her in time,” he said with great remorse.
I looked out over the moonlit water. I couldn’t see her.
The falls were another fifty meters away, churning with whitewashed waters.
“It’s okay, buddy. You did your best.”
“Are you just going to stand there, Human?” A familiar voice called out of nowhere.
I looked around and saw no one besides the Cuukzen and myself. Then, down the platform near the end, I saw a large hook resting on the edge.
We crawled over, keeping low.
There she was holding onto the pole in the water.
We helped her up onto the platform.
“How did you get down here?” I asked with fascination.
She tossed the pole into the water behind her. “I didn’t think the Cuukzen was going to make it. I figured the dock had anchor points, so I dove under. There were chains attached and weighted to the bottom. I went from chain to chain until I got to the end. I pulled the pole out when I went into the water, then unhooked the leather strap I had attached on my waist, and used the hook to grab hold. Simple, Human.”
“Right…‘simple’. We need to get to the other side of the debris holding and slip back into the water.”
We all crawled to the holding pen for the logs.
We slipped into the water and began making our way to the flow channel around and under the debris.
There weren’t many guards; a few here and there.
I took the lead through the murky water as we made our final swim to the base of the pyramid.
There was the flow channel.
The turquois coloring was returning to the water as we got closer to a light source near the shore.
Here comes the fun part.
I was starting to miss swinging through the trees.
We huddled together near the opening. “So, here’s the plan. We need to swim underwater from here down the channel. The water flow should pull us up as we get closer. Now, we will go about halfway before a safety grate stops us. This is where the Xty contact will let us in. Are we ready?”
They both nodded their agreement.
Well, time to find out if the nasty purple stuff works.
We each took a deep breath and dove under the water, making our way up the channel.
We swam for about twenty meters before I could feel the pull of the water.
The suction was beginning.
It must have been at least several minutes and I still felt as if I had the same amount of air in my lungs from when I took my breath.
The tunnel was dark as we moved up.
I could see the faint light outside the entrance dimming.
We all stayed close as we rose through the shaft.
A few moments went by and I could see another light from the top. It was getting brighter.
I could see the inner, smooth stone walls of the temple.
Soon, I could see the grate rushing at us.
We met the grate and couldn’t go any further.
I looked around and saw a side grate.
This is where we were going to meet the Xty soldier.
So, we waited.
Several more minutes went by and now my lungs were beginning to burn.
The purple stuff was wearing off.
Mistuuk pointed his finger at his mouth letting me know he was holding his last breath.
We all are, buddy.
I nodded, then tried to push the grate again.
It would not budge.
I swam around and tried kicking it in.
Nothing.
Kayasa pointed down to the way back out.
I shook my head.
We couldn’t. The water column moving up was too great. We couldn’t swim against the current.
My vision was beginning to blur.
I could feel the fire in my lungs moving down my arms and legs as my body screamed for air.
My fingers lost their grip on the grate.
Then, a wrenching noise.
The grate opened along the side wall.
We all swam in.
It was a short swim to an opening in a room.
We burst the surface, coughing and spluttering, trying to breathe.
We had made it.
∞∞∞
We were in a small, dim room and being stared at by a Xty warrior.
He put his hand up to his face, then extended his hand out, palm up, gesturing towards us.
It must be a greeting.
I returned the gesture.
He nodded.
The room we stood in must be an overflow chamber or a watering hole. Either way, I was happy about being out of the water.
He then motioned for us to follow him.
We followed him out a door and into a tall and wide stone hallway.
There were crystals giving off light in recessed niches along the walls.
I recognized them. They were the same crystals the Sutii were mining back in Emvel Hallow.
The Xty waved his hand for us to follow.
As if we were going anywhere else. We just wanted to get off this planet and back in our own quadrant.
A lone door stood at the end of the hall.
I could see a circle of light on the floor in the chamber we were about to enter.
He stopped before the door.
Bowing before us, he gestured for us to move inside.
Kayasa and Mistuuk followed me through the threshold.
As I turned around to ask our guide where we were going, the stone door slid shut.
“I guess he’s not coming with us,” I remarked.
Mistuuk took his pack off and untied Blink.
“Did she make the trip?” I asked, pretending to care.
“She’s fine, Rels. Just going to wake her up.”
Kayasa paced along the ring of light in the floor.
The ring held nothing but a deep and endless shadow.
“Huh. Emvel said they would be here. Three tubes. Wonder if we have to activate something to get them to show up.”
At that moment, there was a gratings sound like another stone door opening beyond our site.
Kayasa turned to me. “What was that?”
“I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine.”
“There, Rels. I see something.” Mistuuk pointed.
There, in the darkness below us, was a green line. Then another, and another.
The green glow started to curve and make symbols in the shadows.
“Is...that the tubes?” Kayasa asked.
I knew what they were.
“No.”
The thuds and grinds of stone being laid on stone echoed in the chamber.
The noise started faint, but grew louder, shaking the floor.
Annals of the Keepers - Rage Page 29
