Star Alliance (10 page)

“I’m not strong—” Zack started to say.

Etanu reached out and grabbed his arm. “I mean up here,” Etanu said, and tapped his head. “I know how to fight, how to survive. Most Nershals can’t see beyond their own strengths, but you’re different. I begin to understand how you survived the rite.”

A loud gong rang throughout the pit, catching Zack by surprise.

“We must move quickly, or there will be nothing left for us,” Etanu said, and began to run.

Zack caught up with the Nershal and matched his pace, but he suspected Etanu was taking it easy on him. The closer they got to where the gong had sounded, the more Zack could hear the other creatures in the pit moving in the same direction. He flinched as the sounds of the mutants came closer to them. Zack saw the edge of the tree line, and Etanu slowed down. They were close to the towering wall of the pit. The edge of the trees was less than fifty yards away, and Etanu signaled for him to stop.
 

Another gong sounded.
 

Large shafts of metal rods burst from the wall, extending outward and forming a large tunnel. Bolts of lightning crackled along the rods, leaping from each one. Zack tried to see what was in the tunnel, but the glare from the lightning bolts kept blocking his vision. Closer to the tunnel entrance, a group of mutants exited the trees across from where he and Etanu were hiding. Some cocked their heads to the side while others sniffed the air.
 

Zack stepped closer to get a better look. As Zack moved, the lead mutant snapped its head in his direction, peering into the brush. The other mutants fanned out on either side of the leader. Each had a long, jagged scar that went from the temple to the base of the skull. Zack froze in place and hardly dared to breathe. The snarling sounds of more mutants grew in intensity until a large roar heralded from deeper in the pit. The silent hunters swung their formation around to face the direction of the roar.

Etanu eased into place by Zack’s side. “Quiet,” he whispered. “Follow my lead.”

Zack bobbed his head that he understood.

Loud thumps of something large stomping through the forest came closer. The treetops shook violently as the giant mutant burst through. The giant leaped from the tree line and closed the distance to the silent hunters guarding the makeshift tunnel. The breath caught in Zack’s throat as he got his first glimpse of the creature that had almost killed him the previous night. He couldn’t tell what it was. The mutant was easily twice as tall as any Nershal he’d ever seen. It had a long dark tail that ended in a large stinger. Zack recognized the stinger from the protokars he’d seen. The mutant was bipedal, like the Nershals, and its skin appeared dark green, with deep crags across its massive torso that reached up its neck like armor. The giant mutant roared, swinging its head from side to side. It had the blazing orange eyes of the Nershals, with three blue glowing points forming a triangle on its forehead. The shape of the head was significantly wider above the jawline, which was both alien and familiar.

“Oh my god,” Zack gasped. “That mutant looks like it’s part Boxan.”

Etanu leaned forward to get a better look, then turned back toward Zack with wide eyes, as if he didn’t quite believe what he was seeing.

The silent hunters stood between the giant mutant and the makeshift tunnel, and something shimmered in each of their hands when it caught the sunlight. Zack squinted and saw that the silent hunters had elongated claws.

Other mutants gathered behind the giant and began to press forward. The giant spun around and grabbed hold of the nearest mutant while the others scrambled to get out of reach. The giant flung its victim into the silent hunters, who scattered out of the way. With the way cleared, the giant mutant leaped forward and slammed its massive fists onto the shafts. Bolts of lightning lashed out from the shafts at the behemoth, but the electric current only seemed to enrage the creature as it kept slamming its fists onto the metal shafts. A deafening gong sounded, and the metallic shafts withdrew back into the wall. A huge supply cache was left in their place, and every living thing nearby sprinted forward.

Zack stood rooted in place while the chaos before him unfolded. Mutants large and small darted in, trying to claim some tiny portion of the foodstuffs that would keep them alive until the next feeding. Next to the supply cache was a large basin of water. The water sloshed and soaked the ground as the frenzied mutants fought around it. The giant mutant tore into the supply cache, dumping small canisters on the ground. Zack watched in silent horror at what the Xiiginns had reduced intelligent creatures to. Even though they were genetic experiments, there was still something of their old selves buried beneath the madness.
 

Etanu raced forward and fought his way to some of the canisters that had been flung away. Several dead mutants littered the ground. Zack glanced up at the tower where he knew the Xiiginns were watching and swallowed hard.
 

The giant mutant howled, grasping a large green canister. The creature slammed the canister onto the ground and then pried the lid open. Several mutants got too close to the giant and were swatted back by a massive fist. The giant tossed the lid to the side and emptied the canister’s contents into its mouth. Zack couldn’t get a good look at what it was. Without a backward glance, the giant mutant returned to the woods from which it had come. Smaller groups of mutants rushed in to snatch whatever was left. The dead were carefully avoided, as if the mutants couldn’t bear to face the victims of the chaos. Zack took several steps toward the remnants of the supply cache. Etanu was heading toward him with several canisters clutched against his chest.

“Why didn’t you follow?” Etanu asked.

The feeding grounds were quiet but for a few small mutant scavengers. Zack didn’t answer the Nershal.

“Don’t go over there. It’s not safe,” Etanu said.

Zack continued on, ignoring him and trying to walk without drawing too much attention to himself. The scavengers quickly worked their way through the area while keeping a wary eye on Zack. He hoped they wouldn’t bother him if he stayed clear of them. He came to the body of the first dead mutant and simply stared at it for a moment. Its body was broken and its limbs stuck out at odd angles. Some of the dead had large gashes from the fighting, but most were just trampled. Their faces were frozen in permanent agony. Zack didn’t consider himself an overly religious person, but he couldn’t stand idly by while the dead rotted on the ground. They deserved to be buried or, at the very least, not left lying on the ground like garbage.

Zack squatted down and grabbed beneath the arms of the Nershal mutant, then dragged the body a short distance away. He straightened the limbs as best he could and tried to arrange the arms and hands so they rested across the body. Zack retrieved two more bodies and repeated the process. He returned for a fourth Nershal mutant and noted its large size. He wasn’t sure if he could move it by himself. Some of the mutants wore some type of leathery mesh that hadn’t torn as he thought it might when he’d dragged the other two bodies away. He took a firm hold of the shoulders and strained to lift the large body. Sweat blurred his vision, and when he wiped it from his eyes he saw several of the blind mutants he had encountered the night before. Zack gasped, but the blind mutants slowly approached and came to a stop at the dead mutant’s feet. They each grabbed hold of a leg, and Zack gritted his teeth while lifting the shoulders. Together they carried the dead mutant away to where Zack had taken the others. His muscles ached from the exertion of moving the bodies, but he felt better in the depths of his core. More of the blind mutants joined them and carried the bodies of the dead until they were all lined up and arranged as neatly as possible.
 

Zack took a quick look around. There were no more dead to be moved, and the large basin of water nearby was destroyed, so he didn’t understand why the mutants were still with him. One of the blind mutants came toward him, and Zack wasn’t sure what to do. He thought about running and immediately dismissed the idea. He was too tired to run. Zack glanced behind him and saw Etanu start to approach, but Zack motioned for him to stop. If the blind mutants wanted to hurt him, they would have already done so. The creature came to within a few feet of Zack and held out a metal canister that it must have gotten from the supply cache. Zack slowly reached out and took the canister. The creature’s milky white eyes seemed to stare off in the distance for a moment.
 

Zack couldn’t read the blind mutant’s expression. He had a hard enough time trying to discern what Etanu was thinking. The blind mutant’s facial features closely resembled the Nershals he’d seen—enough to know they had once been the same.
 

“Thank you,” Zack said.

One of the other mutants grunted, and the blind mutant who stood in front of Zack turned around and joined the others.

Etanu walked over to him. “I don’t believe it. I’ve never seen them do anything like this before.”

Zack frowned. “Like what?” he asked while twisting the lid to the canister open. Inside was a yellowish liquid that had the consistency of oatmeal. Zack leaned in and sniffed. Putrid smells slithered up his nostrils, and he almost gagged from the stench. He glanced over at Etanu, who gave him a nod. Grimacing, Zack raised the canister to his lips and gulped down its contents. His stomach clenched as the gruel made its way down, and Zack clamped his mouth shut to stop himself from throwing up. It tasted awful. He hoped whatever it was wouldn’t kill him. After a few moments, the nausea eased up enough for Zack to stop dry heaving. At least his hunger diminished while his body figured out whether it would accept what he’d swallowed.

“That was disgusting,” Zack said.

“But necessary. What you’ve just consumed was likely one of their daily rations,” Etanu said, and handed Zack a small serving of water from one of the canisters he’d captured. “I’ve never seen the blind mutants so calm. I saw them approach you. They seemed to be drawn to what you were doing. It didn’t appear as though they were going to attack, so I stayed away. I didn’t want to provoke them.”

“There’s still a part of them that remembers being a Nershal,” Zack said.

Etanu regarded Zack for a moment before speaking. “Why did you do this?” he asked and gestured to the line of neatly arranged dead mutants. They seemed oddly more at peace than before.

“It didn’t seem right to just leave them like they were. Back home we would have buried them in the ground and given them their last rites, depending on what they believed,” Zack said.

“You surprise me, Human. Our customs for how we deal with our dead is similar to yours, but I would caution you against such actions in the future,” Etanu said.

“Why?” Zack asked.

“While the blind mutants were receptive to this practice even though the dead weren’t all one of theirs, there are others who would kill you on the spot for disturbing their fallen,” Etanu said.

“I don’t understand,” Zack said.

“The creatures in this pit aren’t true Nershals. They’ve been reduced to our primal instincts. Your intentions are good, but they could also get you killed in a place like this,” Etanu said.

Zack pressed his lips together. “So we should only look out for each other and ignore the rest?”

Etanu nodded. “If you wish to survive this place.”

The area around them had become serenely quiet, almost peaceful. A gentle breeze blew through the area.

“What will happen to them?” Zack asked, gesturing toward the line of dead mutants.

“They will be collected,” Etanu said.

Zack’s stomach clenched, and the nausea faded away completely. “Do you think the stuff I just ate is safe?”

“Yes,” Etanu said. “While it may not appeal to your palate, it’s just a basic ration with proteins and other nutrients that will keep you alive. Your body will be able to process it.”

Zack glanced over at the wall where the metal shafts had opened. He walked over and touched it. The gray surface was mostly smooth, but Zack saw the indentations of where the shafts had exited. He traced his fingers to the central area.

“What are you doing?” Etanu asked.

“I think there’s a door here. It must be how they send the supplies in. So if there’s a door to get in . . .” Zack said.

“Then we can use it to get out,” Etanu finished.

Zack frowned while tracing his fingers across the surface. He wished he had access to his PDA. At least then he could use his implants to try and detect any signals. Zack glanced at Etanu. “Do your implants work?”

“Partially. Otherwise we wouldn’t be able to understand each other,” Etanu said.

The same applied to Zack, but the higher functions of his own implants were only available in conjunction with his PDA. “Are you able to use your implants to connect to the systems that control the doors?” Zack asked.

Etanu looked at the wall. His furrowed brow pushed forward in concentration. “No, they must have me blocked.”

Zack continued to feel his way along the wall, certain there must be some sort of access panel. As he did so, he heard Etanu take a few steps away from him. He noticed a slight indentation and pressed his fingers in. Nothing happened. Zack tried to pull on it, but he couldn’t get a firm enough grip. He sank to his knees and started digging where the wall came to the ground. After he cleared some of the dirt away he noticed that there were thick cables surrounded by smaller wires that fed into the wall.

“Hurry, Human,” Etanu called over to him.

Zack glanced behind him. Etanu was facing the tree line.

“What is it?” Zack asked.

“The hunters are returning,” Etanu said.

“Help me,” Zack said.

Etanu came to his side.

“Do you know what these wires do?” Zack asked.

Etanu examined the wires and cables that Zack had exposed and shook his head.

“Damn,” Zack said. He glanced down at them and knew better than to start pulling the wires without understanding exactly what they were. They could be high-powered lines that would fry him in an instant. He kept clearing away the dirt, but Etanu grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him to his feet.