Exile to the Stars (The Alarai Chronicles) (12 page)

“Greetings,
two-legged brother.”

His
mind lurched and Jeff jerked upright like he had been kicked in the rump. Pain
lanced through his brain like a red-hot poker.

“God,
that hurts!”

Letting
the saber fall to the ground, Jeff grabbed his head and groaned. His mind
lurched again and was suddenly flooded with alien thoughts racing around inside
of it. Opening and closing his mouth spasmodically, Jeff gasped for breath.

“This
can’t be telepathy,” he moaned between clenched teeth. “No way am I hearing
their thoughts. Get your shit together before they decide they’re hungry.”

Another
packet of alien thoughts caromed into his mind, sending Jeff reeling backward.
“They’re laughing at me!”

He
wanted to take action, but the pain in his head was so severe that Jeff
collapsed onto a piece of wood. For a time, it hurt so bad that being eaten
seemed the lesser of two evils. While struggling to master the pain, Jeff felt
like the contents of his brain had become a flea market. Clusters of
high-spirited thoughts gathered here and there to dig around the merchandise,
all the while clucking with mock dismay at the shoddy quality.

Stung
by their amusement and tired of the show, Jeff fought off the pain. Getting an
idea of how things worked by tracking the wolves around in his head, he kicked
them out one by one. Dusting off mental hands with a sense of satisfaction, he
tried to assemble a thought to project. Jeff caught himself as he was about to
address the leader as asshole and reluctantly censored it out of the thought.

“I
am greatly surprised by your presence, as you are aware,”
nodding toward the biggest wolf,
“and do not understand this manner of
speech.”

Mirth
barely suppressed, the wolf responded with the same diamond clarity as his
opening sally.

“We
understand that you are new to this world and its ways; that you have never
employed this manner of speech. Yet, it is your heritage to so speak.

“We
have followed your passage from the high country with great interest. In our
turn, we are amazed at your strange manner of hunting with the little stick
that makes great fire and thunder. Your bravery in retaining life while in the
great snow has also not gone unnoticed.”

The
leader rose to his feet and walked around the fire to sit back down about three
feet from where Jeff was seated. The wolf was so big that Jeff had to look up
to meet his eyes. Although not directly illuminated by the fire, they caught
enough light to glow a yellow-green. The combined effect was not comforting.

“We
have been asked by our brothers to keep watch for one such as yourself, and to
be of aid as we might.”

Jeff’s
mind turned inside out once again.
“I must admit confusion. I am expected?”

The
wolf replied with the mental equivalent of a shrug.
“We know only that
something has gone amiss, and that you could not be found. You have come to our
hunting grounds, we have met. Two suns ago you would have died had we not
guarded you from the great shaggy one that does not see well.”

Thinking
that one over, it became clear to Jeff why he had not encountered any serious
carnivores other than the wolves near his campsites. Maybe the ‘great shaggy
one’ was a bear of some stripe, he mused. Jeff let out a grunt of relief.

“Of
course! That must have been the wolves playing with my head a few days ago!
Frikking comedians.”

Jeff
recalled himself to the present situation and found that a reply came naturally
to mind.
“I am grateful for your assistance, and pleased that you and your
pack shared my kills.”

“The
eating was good,”
the wolf acknowledged.
“We will
remain with you for a time to help as we may. Call us in need, in the manner
you have now become aware of.”

“How
are you called?”

“You
have seen me, we have shared minds, you know who I am.”

The
group of wolves arose and trotted off. Their leader briefly turned to emphasize
a last thought.

“Be
cautious, new brother. One day’s march will bring you to lands of two-legs that
do not have mind speech and live in fear of that-which-they-do-not-know.”

Jeff
sat by the fire long into the night and tried to escape the feeling that he was
in way over his head.

“Shoot,
not a single paw print.”

Bending
over to see better, Jeff circled the campsite again to make sure but came up empty
handed. A heavy shower during the night had beaten the dirt flat and left pools
of standing water.

Maybe
I imagined the whole thing, Jeff thought, groping around in a pocket of the
backpack in search of his match container. Really wouldn’t surprise me if last
night turns out to be no more than a pipe dream. What a bummer that would be.

Although
the fire was dead and the wood was wet, dry tinder was available. A kitchen
match soon had a merry blaze going. Before capping the waterproof container,
Jeff counted how many matches were left. There were eighteen.

“Well,”
Jeff decided, pouring boiling water over a tea bag, “Either it happened or it
didn’t, and pipe dream or whatever, my head is not the same. It feels....” He
laughed. “Okay, why not. It feels like new software has been installed.
Question is, if it’s there how do I boot it?” Jeff fiddled around in his head
to no effect. “Well, shoot. Hello! Anyone out there?”

Jeff
chuckled at himself and heated a piece of venison. Still, he knew that
something in his head was different. While eating he searched for some concrete
change that he could identify. It was the first time he had tried to think
about thinking, and found it an eye-crossing experience. He was about to give
up when a red and green cube materialized seemingly in thin air. The cube had
the appearance of a holographic projection hanging a foot or so in front of his
eyes.

“Now
that’s all right! Damn, its beautiful!”

It
had to be a program icon. He was sure of it. Suddenly the cube seemed to expand
as it rushed straight at his eyes, pulling his perception around in a sharp U
turn to follow. It was a hot chase, but Jeff lost the icon somewhere in his
left hemisphere. He stopped to orient himself and realized with a start what he
was doing.

Talk
about getting inside your head, Jeff thought, and closed virtual eyes until a
wave of dizziness passed. This beats the hell out of most head-trips I’ve been
on. Question is, where am I and how do I get out? Damn those wolves.

Although
the facility of vision had no meaning, Jeff was aware of every detail. He hiked
along a pulsing arteriole and elaborately folded layers of gray matter that
enclosed him in a confusing labyrinth.

That
little bastard has to be around here somewhere, Jeff thought grimly, and that’s
my way out. Think it went deep. Guided by a nerve trunk, he angled right and
descended.

Creeping
about the base of the cerebellum, he spotted a familiar glimmer and crouched
behind a prominent brainstem nucleus. There it is! Come to papa. Jeff jumped out
of hiding with mental arms spread wide to prevent escape and maneuvered the
icon against a large bundle of neurons. It quivered and glowed like a cube of
green and red Jell-O, giving the impression of neurotic uncertainty.

Okay,
I’ve got the little sucker trapped. Now what do I do? Jeff edged closer and
made a flying leap at the icon but seemed to pass right through it. With no
perceptible transition, he found himself back in the outside world.

“Whoa!
What a rush!”

His
mind blinked off then on, Jeff fell flat on his face in a puddle of water, and
he was abruptly aware of the world from an entirely different perspective. His
vision dimmed, but other senses he had never used expanded a hundredfold.

“All
right! I didn’t imagine it! Connected and running hot!” Jeff got up spitting
mud and water. “Damn it feels weird. I wonder what that faint hissing is? Could
it be something like a carrier wave?” Phrasing he would never have previously
considered leaped to mind.

“Good
hunting be with you this day, brothers and sisters.”

He
let out a whoop of delight when a chorus of greetings bloomed in his mind, even
though none of the pack could be seen. With each message, Jeff received a
symbol that represented the individual wolf as if he were looking at him or her
in the fur.

“Greetings
new brother—hunt well.”
And again, “
Walk silently this day,
for danger approaches in the evening.”
Standing out from them all was the
leader’s symbol and message.
“Strength to your arm.”
The connection
dissolved in an instant, the effect so shocking that Jeff nearly toppled off
the log he was sitting on.

While
it didn’t take long to pack up, Jeff spent considerable time attaching the
saber in such a way that he could draw the weapon by reaching over his head.
The greetings he had received were sobering and offset some of the excitement
he felt at being able to speak mind to mind.

I
wonder what the natives look like? he thought nervously. The wolves are so damn
big! I hope to God that doesn’t hold true for whatever it is I am about to
meet. He shouldered the backpack and hiked downslope through high grass that
was heavy with raindrops.

Late
in the afternoon he encountered a peculiar triangle-shaped spine of rock and
earth. It lay directly across his path but appeared to terminate a short distance
ahead in a massive bluff. Jeff spent a hard two hours clambering up its flank
through dense trees and broken scree in the hope that he might get an idea what
the terrain held in store for him. As he climbed, the sky cleared and it warmed
up. The trees began to thin out as he neared the top, and were gone by the time
he cautiously shuffled out onto a stone parapet.

“Whoa.
That’s bright.”

His
sunglasses had become badly scratched, but Jeff put them on and inched toward
the edge of the parapet.

“Now
that is worth seeing,” he murmured. Heavily forested mountains marched away to
the limits of vision.

Wishing
fervently for binoculars, Jeff shaded his eyes and got the impression of
progressive moderation in the terrain. Deep canyons furrowed the landscape between
a series of rugged cordilleras, which debouched fan-like into large valleys off
toward the horizon. Although forested with evergreens, the land was dotted with
clumps of deciduous trees. Far to the west he caught the glint of a river and
followed snatches of its line.

“That
has to be a good-sized stream,” he mused. “Might feed into a lake.”

Releasing
the backpack, Jeff sat cross-legged near the edge of the parapet. The scale of
the wilderness, its beauty, called for contemplation. He had never imagined
anything like it.

The
sun was halfway to the horizon, brilliantly illuminating snow-covered peaks. At
lower elevations, mists clung to deeper valleys and softened the forest’s
collage of greens. While a gentle breeze dried the sweat of his climb, Jeff
watched what appeared to be a dozen or more large birds circle above the
immense area he was viewing. He turned north to view land already crossed.

 
“Holy shit.” For the first time, Jeff got an
unobstructed view of the giant mountain.

Even
though he was over a hundred miles from where he had first awakened, the effect
was not diminished. It did not seem possible that anything could be so massive.
Mountains nearby the giant’s location seemed no more than hills although he had
earlier estimated they must be twelve to fifteen thousand feet high in their
own right. Jeff stared at the mountain for some time but simply could not
comprehend its size. Prodded by the fading day to move on, he took a number of
bearings with his compass.

By
late afternoon Jeff had passed well beyond the bluff he had named Spine Ridge
and angled off toward the river noted earlier. Prepared to hide or run at the
first sign of danger, he encountered nothing new. He did chance across a large
buck taking his ease near a brook.

The
buck clambered to his feet when he spied Jeff and stared at him with lowered
head. Showing long canines in a carnivorous smile, he advanced with the
stealthy motions of a stalk.

“Well,
you insolent son of a bitch.”

There
was no doubt in Jeff’s mind that the animal was considering him with dinner in
mind. He released the strap over the Colt and walked toward the buck.

“Not
today, dipshit. Move on or take the consequences.”

The
buck stopped and raised his head but gave no evidence of being frightened. Jeff
was no more than fifteen yards away when the buck spun around and trotted into
the woods like a horse.

Easing
the Colt’s hammer down, Jeff called after him, “Pass the word!”

Not
long afterwards, and still grumbling about the deer, Jeff ventured into a large
meadow cut by a small river. He had taken only a few steps when shouts rang
out. Almost at once, the shouts were followed by the unmistakable sound of
steel on steel.