Children of the Void: Book One of the Aionian Saga (27 page)

“Don’t you get comfy,” said Padre. “We gotta get moving again after we eat and rest for a minute. We’re not out of the woods yet.”

“Literally,” laughed Tony as he unlaced his boots. “But you’ve got to admit it’s a lot nicer out here in the daytime.” He took off the boots and sat on a rock to massage his feet.

“You’re going to regret that,” said Sophia. “Putting them back on is going to hurt like crazy.”

“I’ll worry about that later,” said Tony. He left his boots on the ground and walked gingerly over the smooth rocks away from the others.

“Hey,” said Sophia, “where do you think you’re going?”

Tony turned and winked at her. “I’ve gotta take care of some business. The kind none of y’all want to see.”

“Hold on,” said Vincent. “No one goes off alone.”

Connor groaned and stood. “No worries, Vince,” he said. “I’ll babysit him.” He walked toward Tony, who started to protest about the lack of privacy. “Don’t be a baby, Tony. I’ll give you your space.”

Tony chuckled, and the two men walked off together into the trees, carrying their rifles. The others pulled food and water out of their packs and stuffed their mouths with emergency rations. “Take it easy,” said Sophia. “There isn’t a lot of food. We could only sneak away with so much.”

Padre rifled through his backpack for a moment. “Hmm,” he said, “we’re going to have to think of something else. We don’t know how our bodies will react to the native food, do we?”

“We’re going to have to find out one way or another,” said Alexia. “Even back at camp there’s a limited supply of food.”

“Good point,” said Padre. “One of us should try some fruit or something first, and we’ll see if they get sick.”

Gideon pointed up at some purple fruit nestled within the spiky branches of a nearby tree. “How about some jumbada fruit? Takomi and I saw some tobolos eating it our first day here.”

The rest of them all looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “Son,” said Padre, “I have no idea what you just said.”

“Sorry,” said Gideon, sitting up, “I named those spiky ones jumbada trees, and a tobolo is an animal that kind of looks like a giraffe with a snake head. They eat that purple fruit up there, so I figure it’s probably a good one to start with.”

Padre laughed. “Jumbada trees and tobolos. You sure have one active imagination,” he said. “Well, I think I’ll try some jumbada fruit.” He pulled out his knife and hacked away at the spiny branches. He pulled off a piece of fruit about the size of a mango and sliced into it. Inside, the fruit was orange and juicy. It dripped down his hand and onto his arm as he cut into it.
 

“It looks pretty tasty, at least,” said Gideon.

“Only one way to find out,” said Padre. He carved off a small piece and held it between his fingers. He sniffed it, nodding approvingly, then licked it. “Not bad. Here goes nothing. Just bury me under the river rock if I croak.” He smiled, then took a small bite.

He chewed the fruit for a moment, then swallowed. “It’s pretty good,” he said, sounding excited. “It tastes like... well, way different than anything I’ve ever tried.”

“How does it feel to be the first earthling to sample alien food?” asked Alexia.

Padre laughed. “Why don’t you ask me in a day or two, if I can still speak.” He tossed the rest of the fruit away. “Better start out with a small piece. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow.” The others nodded in agreement.

A scream erupted from within the forest, followed by an alien screeching sound that froze Gideon’s blood. He’d heard that screech before.
 

“Connor!” yelled Vincent. “Tony!” The big security officer didn’t hesitate a second before he raced toward the sound. There was a gunshot, then two, then a whole volley of weapon’s fire. It took the others a moment to recover before they followed Vincent into the woods.

More gunshots rang out, echoing off the nearby hills and tearing through the silence like thunderclaps. Vincent crashed into the trees in front of them like a meteor. The rest of them followed behind, unable to keep up with the huge warrior.

Connor called out somewhere ahead of them, and it didn’t take long for the group to catch up. Gideon came up behind Vincent and stopped short in his tracks. Connor was on his knees next to Tony, who lay flat on his back. Both men were covered in blood, and Gideon could see deep gashes in Tony’s chest and neck. The body of a large creature lay on the forest floor a few meters away. It was a rasp.
 

As the group came closer, Tony’s eyes flicked open. He tried to speak, but his throat had been slashed. Instead, he made a sickening gurgling noise. Connor tried frantically to staunch the blood gushing out of the wounds in his chest, but it seeped through his fingers.
 

Sophia and Alexia kneeled down next to Tony. Sophia cut strips of cloth from Tony’s shirt with her knife while Alexia held his hand and spoke to him gently.
 

“The rasp,” said Connor between sobs. “It came so fast... I didn’t know it was there... until he screamed... I wasn’t fast enough.”
 

Padre walked over and put his hand on Connor’s shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself, Connor.” Tony’s eyes glazed over, and his grip on Alexia’s hand grew weak.
 

“No, buddy. Stay with me!” yelled Connor. “Don’t you give up, man. Stay with me.” Tony’s eyes rolled back and forth wildly, but he managed to fix them on Connor. A slight smile crossed his face, then the light faded from his eyes, and his body went limp. Silence filled the forest, until it was broken by Connor’s sobs.
 

Alexia reached up to put an arm around Connor, but he reeled away. He came to his feet and turned his back to the bloody scene. He reached down and picked up his rifle. “You filthy piece of...” Connor yelled, shouldering the rifle and sending a burst of bullets into the rasp’s head.

“Connor,” yelled Vincent, “put your gun down!” Connor ignored the big man and continued to fire into the body, screaming at the rasp. Vincent ran at him, tackling him while holding the gun’s barrel away from the others. He wrestled it away from Connor and pinned him to the ground.

Connor struggled for a moment, but it was useless against Vincent’s iron grip. He slowly relaxed, breathing heavily. Vincent released his grip and helped the other man back up to his feet. Connor collapsed into Vincent’s shoulder, still sobbing. A moment later, he turned and walked a few paces away, then went down on his hands and knees and dry heaved.
 

Padre rushed to his side and offered him a canteen. Connor took it, nodding in gratitude. When he regained his composure, he stood and faced the group. His face was covered in dirt and streaked with tears. His eyes were wild and rimmed with red, and he was covered in blood from the neck down.

When he spoke, his voice came out as a wheezing whisper. “I’m sorry,” he said. He looked down at Tony’s devastated body and mouthed the words I’m sorry again. Padre put his arm around him. “Come on, Connor,” he said, “let’s get you cleaned up.” Padre nodded to the others, releasing them from their stunned shock.

Gideon stared at Tony’s bloodied body, then he looked over to the corpse of the rasp a few meters away, the telltale scars of a knife blade standing out on its hide. “Oh no,” he moaned.

Takomi stood beside him. “What is it?” she asked, following his gaze to the dead creature.

Gideon raised a shaky arm and pointed. “Look at the scars.” The knife wounds confirmed what Gideon already suspected: this was the same rasp he’d fought off. “It’s been following us. This is all my fault. I should have...”

“Stop right there, Gideon,” said Padre, pausing to look back. “Think logically for a second. Do you really think the same rasp has been following you around all this time?”

Gideon pointed at the body again. “Look at the scars, Padre. I made those.”

Padre looked, but shook his head. “That could be anything. Claw marks from another creature, perhaps. In any case, it’s dead now, so leave it alone.”

Gideon looked down at Tony’s body again. Tears welled up in his eyes. Takomi squeezed his shoulders as tears streaked her own face. The others gathered closer and comforted each other as they all mourned for Tony.

It took some time before they had composed themselves. When they were ready, they carried Tony back to the dry riverbed, setting him down on the soft dirt of the bank. They gathered stones, placing them around his body. Takomi grabbed the boots that Tony had left behind and placed them above his head. They proceeded to cover the body with stones while Padre helped Connor clean himself off.

When the macabre work was finished, Padre and Connor joined them around the impromptu gravesite. Padre said a few words, then etched Tony’s name into a large stone with his plasma blade. Gideon thought it was a scene that was becoming all too familiar. He looked down at the crude grave, trying to control his quivering chin. “I’m so sorry, Tony,” he whispered. Padre looked at Gideon and put an arm around his shoulder, but didn’t say a thing.

Eventually, Gideon ran out of tears and pulled away from Padre. The group stood in silence for a moment until Vincent told them it was time to leave. They collected their things and started off without a word. Connor lingered, staring back at the crude tomb of his friend. Padre turned back and gently took Connor’s arm, urging him forward. Connor took a deep breath, dropped his gaze to the ground, then turned and followed the others.

S
HORTLY
AFTER
RESUMING
their march, it started to rain. Light sprinkles soon turned into a torrent, and the dry riverbed they’d been following quickly became a swift stream, so they had to follow along beside it. The icy rain soaked right down to the bone, and they found it was too cold for them to stop moving despite their fatigue.

The land steadily rose beneath their feet, and the forest continued to thin out. By midday, the clouds were gone and the sun shone down through the canopy. Steam rose up from the damp ground where the sun’s rays hit it. When they finally stopped to rest in the early afternoon, they were all sweating from the exertion and heat.

“Temperatures sure change quickly around here, don’t they?” said Connor as he took off his jacket and shirt to stand in the shade in his sleeveless undershirt. Connor’s tone was upbeat, but his eyes still had a haunted look as they stared off into the distance.

The rest of them shed layers of clothing, too. They were still damp from the rain and sweat. Gideon laid his clothes down on a dry spot of ground, then sprawled out on top of it. Every muscle in his body ached so badly that he didn’t even notice the stones jabbing into him through his wet clothes.

“Not a bad idea,” said Sophia. She followed Gideon’s example, and soon Alexia and Takomi were doing the same thing.

“Don’t tell me you’re all tired,” said Connor. “The fun’s just beginning.”

“I’m afraid, sooner or later, we’re going to have to sleep,” said Padre, looking to Vincent for direction.
 

Vincent was the only one among them that didn’t look like he was about to fall over from fatigue. He glanced over at them, lying in the dirt on their wet clothes. “You’re right, Padre,” he said. “But this isn’t a good place to camp. Those cliffs to the east aren’t far, and they should be able to provide us some cover.”

The rest of the group slumped at the idea of moving again. Some of them even groaned at the thought. Padre leaned toward Vincent. “Why don’t you and I go check it out? We’ll find a good spot and come back once the others have had a bit of rest.”

“I’ll come with you,” said Connor. “Better to have a third person.”

Vincent didn’t look happy about the idea, but after looking over the exhausted travelers, he agreed. “Joseph,” he called to his son, “can you stay awake to keep watch until we get back?”

Joseph leaned his rifle against his shoulder. “That’s not a problem, but I was hoping that someone could explain what’s going on, now that we’ve stopped.”

A half smile crossed Vincent’s face. “I almost forgot. You’ve been very patient, son. Alexia, why don’t you fill him in?”

Alexia’s eyes flicked open when Vincent said her name. “Oh, sure. Um…” She looked at Joseph, then back at Vincent. “How much do you want me to tell him?”

Vincent looked to Padre, and the priest nodded. He looked back at Alexia. “Tell him everything. The Order’s biggest secret is already out of the bag.” He turned and walked away.

“Vincent,” said Alexia. He looked back over his shoulder at her. “Be careful.”

He smiled. “We should be back soon. Don’t worry.” He nodded to Joseph and kept on marching. Connor and Padre followed him, and soon they were out of sight. Gideon lay on the ground, listening to Alexia’s voice as she told Joseph about the Order. He tried to stay awake long enough to hear what Joseph thought about it, but his eyelids were too heavy to hold up anymore. Alexia’s voice faded into nothing as Gideon drifted off to sleep.

☥

Gideon dreamed he was falling through space toward the surface of a planet. A spaceship exploded in a blinding flash behind him, and bits of debris pelted him as he continued to fall.

Something hit him hard, shaking him awake. He tried to turn to see what it was but couldn’t move. He tried to scream but something grabbed him, covering his mouth. He panicked, thrashing wildly, until he heard someone say his name.

“Gideon,” they said. “Gideon, wake up.” The voice was quiet, barely a whisper. He recognized it as Joseph’s, and suddenly he was wide awake.

Joseph was shaking him, holding a hand over Gideon’s mouth. “Gideon, you need to be quiet. There’s something in the woods.”

It was all the encouragement he needed. He rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up. The others were asleep, including Alexia. He grabbed his rifle as Joseph pointed to the south. “Over there, in the trees,” he said. The look in his eyes told Gideon it was no joke.
 

Gideon nodded and motioned for Joseph to wake up the others. Bent over double, he moved silently in the direction Joseph had indicated and found cover behind a large log. He peered over the log, listening for the sound. He expected a rasp to jump out of the bushes any second. But when he heard the sound, he knew it couldn’t be a rasp.