Lokians 1: Beyond the End of the World (16 page)

Fretting nervously, Day fell back behind the
rest. A second later, Franklin slowed. She got scared, and peeked
over her shoulder, expecting a rear assault.

“
You’ll be fine, Miss Day, I think this
hole is clean,” he said.

His words comforted her. She smiled at him,
but wasn’t able to see his face. His black suit had him completely
covered from head to toe like a space ninja.

Hun-Tan and Un-It, two male Thewls, flanked
Becker’s rear, keeping aim above her shoulders. She maintained a
fierce gaze, her whiskey mouth pulled tight over her teeth. Her jaw
clenched nervously, but she wasn’t about to be outdone by aliens,
even if there wasn’t any danger.

Together, they marched in unison for some
time. Minutes of tension slogged on. Eventually, a faint light
shone through the darkness; there was an opening ahead. Becker
jogged to the corridor’s edge.

She perched to have a look below and saw
buildings yards away. Her eyes darted about, trying to locate the
light source, but all she witnessed was an icy floor, a frozen mist
swirling inches above it, and the eerie light wafting around the
expanse, creating strange, dazzling patterns across the walls. It
was like the place was alive.

Becker peeked backwards when the others
approached. Day chastised her for taking off. The pit viper only
chortled.

“
Captain, we’ve spotted civilization,”
Swain said.

“
Then, keep going. Maybe, we can all
regroup and just come through your hole,” O’Hara
replied.

“
Heh heh! Your hole,” Zak
laughed.

“
Really,” Imes asked.

When they quieted down, Korit was heard
mentioning a pick up. His intention was to grab a rover, and a new
visor for O’Hara, and then make for a different point of entry, one
free of Lokians. O’Hara agreed to his plan, so the strike force
leader made contact.

****

Once the two, battle worn crews made it to
their recovery point, they waited patiently at the edge of the
opening for the rover. Ravaging winds blew ice over their heads.
Thewlish communications responded.

“
Rover here in five, O’Hara,” Korit
said.

Five minutes came and went, during which time
the captain prodded at the cracks painted across his vision. A
black cord suddenly appeared from above. Then, a black helmet poked
out; someone had tossed them a line.

By the time they crept from the tunnel, ice
had covered the rover’s entirety. Painstakingly fighting the wind’s
frozen rage, the crew packed inside the ride to find Korit and his
team. An engineer helped to pull the captain’s helmet off. After
inspecting his oxygen hoses, he stated that everything was going to
be fine.

The alien worked quickly to fit the Human
helmet with an energy field. In the interim, the soldiers looked at
one another, sharing their horrors. Fitzpatrick joked about Adams’s
prowess. O’Hara stated it was no time for a laughing mood.

Moments later, they reached the tunnel where
Swain had passed. While everyone made their way back underground,
the engineer refueled Korit’s plasma container.

****

Swain’s crew and Becker’s crew were working
their way towards each other.

“
Look at these buildings. This is
amazing,” Zakowski blurted.

“
Pull your shit together, Zak; those
tunnelers might be around here,” Imes barked.

“
Geez, keep your pants on.”

“
He’s right, Zak,” Franklin said. “It’s
likely some have tunneled deeper or returned to the surface, but
there might be some here.”

“
Where are you guys,” Day
asked.

“
Everyone, quiet,” Flem
said.

Phoenix Crew grew impatient. Meandering
about, caught in the mystique of misty, minute
buildings—scintillating arrays of sparkling hues contrasted neatly
with gray mounds—they glossed over their dreamlike surroundings.
Ultimately, they congregated around one structure.

It lacked windows and only stood waist high.
It was hard to imagine that the travelers were little people, but
Ambassador Weh had not included how big they were in his rendition.
Imes circled the building.

He found the door, or what he thought was a
door; the panel lacked hinges. Day spotted Swain and Zakowski
making their way over. She lifted her rifle above her head.
Finally, every member of those two crews joined Imes and his search
for an entry.

“
How uh…how does it open, and why is
the door so big,” he asked.

The convex panel in question was practically
the full height of the building. Flem placed a hand on it, and the
metal slowly sank into the ground, revealing stairs. It turned out
the buildings were just rooves with access to a lower level. Becker
raised an eyebrow.

“
What happened?” she
demanded.

“
Vibratory energy is required to open
the door,” Flem answered.

“
Vibra-who?” Imes snipped.

“
Biorhythms,” the alien
said.

“
Are we going in or what?” Becker
snapped.

“
Would you guys keep your cool?” O’Hara
admonished. “Don’t do anything stupid until we get
there.”

“
Heh, heard that,” Marty snickered.
“Wait for us to get stupid.”

The aliens turned to one another before
scrutinizing the Humans. Nothing more was said for a moment, but
Becker was dancing on her toes, waiting to explore. Swain was no
more composed than she, rubbing his hands together. Day smiled at
him.

“
I’m going in,” Franklin announced.
“Everything out here looks fine anyway, so hurry it
along.

O’Hara grumbled, but the agent was already
inside, and Becker and Swain went in right behind him. Judging the
austere abode, Franklin assumed the travelers were Human sized. He
turned to see Flem exhibit difficulty entering.

“
Not much here,” he said.

“
Hey,” a Thewl grunted. By the time
everyone exited the home, the rest of the group surrounded the
structure. “What was down there?”

“
Not a whole lot,” Becker
replied.

“
Let’s check out another one,” Imes
suggested.

“
Those tunnelers made their way down
here for a reason. They were looking for something, and those other
Lokians might be around,” DeReaux added.

Swain nodded and spoke, “If the tunnels lead
here—and I don’t see any other holes like the ones we
traversed—those things probably aren’t here.”

“
They could be looking for anything,”
Zak mentioned.

“
It’s true,” Korit agreed. “There’s no
way of knowing what they’re looking for, but I doubt it’s
travelers.”

A sense of confusion washed over them. There
was no doubt the Lokians were seeking something more than supper.
After what seemed like an eternity, one of the Thewls spoke.

“
Some of us can search homes while
others post up for recon.”

Fitzpatrick and DeReaux nodded to each other.
They broke off to inspect the cavern walls. Shining their lights
above their heads, they were unable to see the ceiling.

Adams and Franklin went rummaging through
buildings, but found nothing. O’Hara set his jaw, scrutinizing the
glinting panorama. The mist sparkled, waves of light wormed over
the scenery, and tiny pieces of ice occasionally fell from
overhead.

Have the Lokians tunneled deeper underground?
This might not be the only city. Why should it be? Maybe, they
already found something. Definitely doesn’t look like they were
trying to get here, and I don’t seen any other tunnels leading
anywhere else.

“
Korit,” O’Hara asked as he
approached.

“
Yes, Captain?”

“
Can you contact the ship and see if
they picked up any new readings?”

“
If they had, someone would have
relayed the Intel, but I’ll see.”

Changing channels, he asked. A pause ensued,
but he turned to O’Hara and shook his head. The lack of information
made him more nervous rather than less.

“
Weren’t there like a bunch of tunnels?
Where did all the Lokians go,” the captain asked.

“
I don’t know, but the longer we stay
here, the more likely we are to find out.”

Though Korit replied in a monotonous fashion,
there was something unnerving about his voice. O’Hara wondered if
the alien was also nervous. Before he asked, Franklin mentioned
checking another house.

“
This one’s bigger than the rest,” he
said. “There’s a large living area.”

It was a round room, cleanly scooped out of
the rocky ground, but like the others, it was ascetic; either
travelers were minimalists or they abandoned their homes after
extensive packing. Aside from rugs and mats strewn about, there
were a handful of storage containers, but nothing worth mentioning.
He pointed out stone bowls and utensils similar to Humans’.

There was another room with shelves dug into
the wall. An object caught Franklin’s eye, a stone ziggurat the
size of a fist. He took it and turned it over in his hands,
searching for markings. The carving emitted a nearly indiscernible
vibration. It felt alive.

“
Hmm,” Franklin pondered.

“
Found something, didn’t you,” Adams
asked.

Everyone asked what it was. The noise came
over the channel like a cacophonous eatery. While he claimed he
didn’t know yet, Flem walked into the same home as Franklin. She
decided to push a rug aside with her foot, revealing a depression
cut away beneath. On the ground was a stone canister. More people
had filed in by the time she turned it over. It was covered in
pictures and symbols.

“
Franklin,” she asked.

He and the others gathered around. “This is
Sumerian,” Franklin exclaimed.

“
Hand it over, please,” Nandesrikahl
said. “No…not Sumerian….”

Adams gave Franklin a playful smack on the
shoulder. His friend shrugged. Everyone else was staring at Nandy,
who was completely consumed by the object. O’Hara asked him what he
had.

“
I really don’t know, but it looks like
Sumerian glyphs.”

“
You just said it wasn’t,” Becker
argued.

“
It isn’t,” he chuckled. “It
looks
Sumerian….”

“
Do we have enough,” Imes
asked.

“
Um,” O’Hara muttered.
“Korit?”

“
What exactly did you find?”

Franklin showed the captain both pieces.
“Two, I don’t know, they look like decorative statues to me.”

“
They’re not decorative statues, Sir,”
Nandy giggled.

“
If anyone knows language, it’s Nandy,”
Marty said.

“
Alright,” the captain huffed.
“Everyone meet over here. Let’s have a look and decide what to
do.

The search parties gathered around the home
from which Franklin pulled the objects. They items passed from hand
to hand. The aliens argued over whether such things were sufficient
for their goals. In the end, Korit decided to question his
superiors, when Adams called everyone’s attention.

Chapter Nine

Adams motioned for everyone to quiet down.
Fitzpatrick took notice of his behavior and started climbing for a
ledge. She spotted an insect crawling from a crag and immediately
called out. Without wasting a second, DeReaux fired a shot, and the
bug hit the ground with a smack.

Jun and Adams walked over to it. It looked
like a small football, a brown, bulbous insect with no eyes or
mouth, although they may have splattered to the wall. Four legs of
steel composition still jittered amidst goo and exoskeleton. The
agent surmised it was a scout.

When more crawlies sprouted from darkened
recesses, O’Hara ordered the crew to take cover behind the
buildings. Soldiers scattered for safety, when a guttural drone
resounded. Following the nauseating belch was the sound of churning
stone.

Eyes grew wide. A tunneler was coming.
Alright, where are you
, O’Hara wondered. No sooner had his
light pointed overhead that a rock fell, bouncing off his helmet.
Then, the very ground shook.

“
It’s on top of us,” O’Hara
exclaimed.

The crew spread out. Immense boulders crashed
to the ground, some large enough to crush rooves. Glistening dust
erupted from the wreckage. Franklin spotted an alcove next to a
building and stowed his riches in the knick of time. The beast
careened onto the debris, its tentacles extended.

It looked stunned, so were the soldiers; not
only had the noise and earth shaking vibrations frightened them
beyond comprehension, but in full view, the Lokian was more
intimidating than expected. At over twelve feet across with rows of
ravenous teeth, the filthy, maggot-like roach was an
incomprehensible creature lacking eyes or even a real head. The
hooks on its belly sprung to life, twitching at the air. Just as it
started to rock from side-to-side, everyone laid into it.

“
More scouts,” Franklin
hollered.

Ton and Sura fired plasma bursts, popping the
bugs like balloons; for each one they killed, two more came
crawling from icy crags. “Get in here,” O’Hara yelled, firing
repeated shots into the enemy’s flank. “Your weapons are better
aimed at this thing!”

Thewls followed his command, taking the
frontline. Bluish lights exploded on impact, illuminating the
cavern with a strobe-like effect. Puss and chitin frothed in all
directions, but the tunneler gave a final thrash so potent, it
flung itself onto its belly, gripped the frozen ground, and charged
at the crew.