Lokians 1: Beyond the End of the World (24 page)

Rather than firing, he ran for the Lokian. It
spun, slammed Swain into him, and leapt away into the darkness
again. The allied team members were being tossed, beaten, and
crushed underfoot. Screams resounded through the comms.

“
God, fuckin’ assholes,” Fitzpatrick
grumbled.

She ran from cover, shoulder rolled, took a
knee, and fired a shot, which knocked a tube from one of the
creature’s legs. It let go the pillar it was climbing, landed, and
thundered towards her, but DeReaux came up behind her, used her
shoulder as a tripod, and knocked out two more tubes.

Drastically slowed by loss of goo, the
creature screeched, yet kept shuffling on with outstretched limbs.
Korit howled as he delivered a boot into the alien’s flank. It
rolled over, and he fired point blank at the mouth. What was left
of the brawler twitched uncontrollably.

“
All right,” he groaned. “Only one
more.”

While Swain checked on Nandy, who was
unconscious, the captain ran by, followed by Jor-Tune. Sirt
screamed from sights unseen, but O’Hara spotted her gun light
waving about, so he made for that.

“
Captain, behind you,” Fitzpatrick
screamed.

He turned around in time to receive a fist to
the melon. His head rocked back, and he fell onto his butt. Dazed,
but not dead, he fired; his rifle bucked like a bronco, spraying
bullets everywhere. Most just went bouncing off in all
directions.

“
Captain, they,” Swain started, but a
Thewl tripped right over him.

O’Hara didn’t have time to look, his opponent
locked pincers around his torso. The immense pressure was crushing
his chest, pushing air from his lungs. His feet kicked at the air.
Then, he fell back down; the snipers had saved him.

“
Somebody,” Jor-Tune heaved.

Another Lokian had grabbed him by the
shoulders and head-butted him hard enough to knock him into Swain.
When the both of them went down, Korit gave a Thewlish order, and
they all started gasping for air.

Frightened by the event, the Humans tried to
get a look at what was happening, but before they regrouped, Thewls
shouted, running off in every direction. They found another
brawler, pulled it to the ground, and started raining fists onto
the creature, manhandling it, tearing hoses from its body while
rusty bile sprayed over them.

“
What the Hell’s going on,” DeReaux
called.

“
They’re, they’re like in overdrive,
man,” Swain gasped.

“
It’s that gas they use,” Fitzpatrick
said.

“
What,” O’Hara asked.

“
Oh, my God,” she replied.
“Incoming!”

Hearts sank. She took a knee to steady her
aim, so O’Hara motioned for his crew to flank her, and together,
they all aimed, but it was an agent, who darted to his left. The
captain was shocked; he hadn’t even realized the two were still
around.

“
There’s four on my rear,” Adams
screamed. “I can’t, I can’t handle them!”

Sure enough, glowing, red slits materialized
from the darkness. Phoenix Crew fired everything they had. One
creature stumbled, taking another to the ground with it, but one
leapt clean over them, landed behind them, and knocked them over
with the swipe of paired arms.

Just then, Franklin landed next to it, ducked
from a slash, struck hoses with his baton, and hopped backwards.
The brawler yanked him by the ankle, and swung him into its
brethren. Swain and O’Hara met eyes then.

“
Snipers, cover,” he
ordered.

He and the big man took off at diverging
angles, giving the snipers a clear line of sight, so long as Adams,
who reentered the melee, destroyed the injured brawler flailing
beside them. As everyone moved, or ran, or fired, or swung weapons,
the Thewls hit the ground.

O’Hara heard Korit say two, more enemies were
dead, but their gas concoction, which had made them stronger, also
put them to sleep. Wondering why they employed such drastic
measures, the captain honed in on Franklin’s body; he was kicking
while trying to reach something in his harness.

“
Leap into them,” the captain
barked.

He and Swain smashed into the creature
holding the agent. Once they all toppled over, Franklin finally
took one of his shard grenades, fed it to the beast, and scuttled
away. The brawler’s head burst like a ripe tomato, so O’Hara and
Swain stood, fired into yet another creature, before something
struck the captain. Spit actually flew from his mouth, and he
bounced off the ground.

From his side, he saw more aliens scramble
from the darkness. Someone was screaming. One of the agents
careened into the other. With a furrowed brow, and piercing ring in
his ears, O’Hara tried to come to his feet. Something bent in him
half; a Lokian had kicked him into a pillar, where he whacked his
noggin again.

Ice, rocks, guns, bullets, men; they were all
over the ground.
I…I have to get the, we, shit…think straight. I
have to stop these things.
He managed to push himself to hands
and knees, but even that made him dizzy, nauseated. Regardless, he
fired at immense fleeting shapes, red lines that vanished behind
pillars; he heard shots and casings hit the ground, but everywhere
he looked, people were running, and aliens were either chasing
them, or striking them.

“
Oh, man,” Fitzpatrick whispered in
fear.

“
No time for that, stay focused,”
DeReaux reassured.

“
Hold on,” O’Hara shouted. Grunting, he
forced himself upright, pointed at a creature, and fired. When it
turned to stare him down, he pointed at another and fired.
One-by-one, he turned them all against himself. “You leave them
alone, you alien assholes. You leave my crew alone!”

A kick sent him sailing backwards. He skidded
into Swain who reached a hand for him. The big man let out a
scream, when a Lokian pincer locked around his arm. Rolling around
on the ground, unable to move, the captain shed tears.
This is
it…I can’t do it.

Chapter Sixteen

Nandesrikahl was out, Swain was down, and
O’Hara was staring into darkness. A wave of energy worked through
the cavern. It was a tremor that any living creature knew in their
bones meant the arrival of something big.

An old enemy had reared its face. Ice cracked
and fell to the ground. The beast took large gasps of cold air into
his lungs. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and all the enemies dropped
to the ground.

Fitzpatrick and DeReaux shuddered. They saw
the Lokians lift their heads, turning their hateful gaze onto to a
gray creature covered in fur. His eyes were black pools of
nothingness, and suddenly, he was on them.

The brawlers jumped to their feet,
screeching. They grasped the traveler, and hit him, and clasped him
with pincers, but he was unshakable, unmovable. He looked into
their glowing, red slits. Those who remained conscious saw how the
traveler dismantled the assailants.

With a furrow of his brow, tubes snapped off,
and armored plates went flying away, bouncing off pillars,
skittering over ice. Rusty ooze poured from gaping wounds. Each
brawler suffered the same fate, an agonizing death.

Calmly, the ape-like man walked over to
Nandesrikahl, stopped, and knelt next to his body. The Human
groaned then turned to witness obsidian eyes. The glistening jewels
searched his soul. He felt them inside, probing something
ephemeral. With renewed vigor, Nandesrikahl rose to his feet,
glossing over carnage breathlessly.

The gray man then approached Swain. He placed
a powerful hand on his shoulder, another on his arm. The big man
looked into the creature’s eyes and knew they had been
delivered.

Nandesrikahl dashed to his captain’s side and
helped him to sit. Looking on in astonishment, he saw the traveler,
who closed the distance in a blurred fashion. The creature knelt,
peering into O’Hara eyes; pain evaporated, confusion diminished,
and all was calm.

The Humans regrouped, staring from their
sleeping, Thewlian compatriots, to the eerie and mysterious
traveler. There were no words to be spoken. Pure silence, external
and internal, showed them the way.

Adams stiffened. He was unable to look at the
creature. Franklin felt the same, cold, abandonment. Knowingly, the
traveler gripped their shoulders in a gesture of solidarity; he
knew they were no longer Human, and they knew he knew.

Only a moment later, the Thewls groaned,
coming to. In an effort to gauge the situation, they looked
everyone over. Insectoid carcasses lay strewn about. Pieces of
tattered armor hung from their suits. Only the snipers bore little
damage.

The utter mayhem of the battle had taken its
toll, but, for incomprehensible reasons, they were all in great
spirits, and before them stood the man with all the answers. A
second gust of energy moved through the subterranean extent, and
they knew in their bones the traveler had come to help them.

Complete thoughts were imprinted upon their
minds. They were more than pictures and words, more than ideas, or
concepts; it was a silent knowledge, total and complete, if a bit
confusing. Concise, cohesive units of ideas and explanations
provided an all encompassing answer.

I am a traveler. I travel worlds upon worlds.
I travel through time and observe the lines, which unfold. I see
all outcomes, but I affect none. I have the power to do as I
please, but desire nothing.

Lokians will not stop. They will achieve what
I have achieved through artificial means. Their bioengineering is
growing at a compounded rate, and soon they will ravage the galaxy.
There is but one way to end this threat; you must travel to their
home world, and destroy their queen.

The creature had not said a word. He had
uttered no sounds, but they knew what he meant. It was more than a
voice in their minds; it was pure intent.

I can travel there on my own, but I can no
longer affect things directly. I will act through you. I will show
you the marvels I have mastered and the steps I have climbed.

O’Hara stood there dumbfounded. He stared at
the stocky alien, able only to wonder. Korit approached the captain
then placed a mammoth hand on his shoulder. O’Hara snapped out of
reverie and looked at his friend.

“
That’s him. We’ve done it,” Korit
said.

He thought back to what the ambassador had
first said about their benefactors, about how they communicated,
and he understood why Weh presented his case with such ambiguity.
Still baffled by the immensity of the traveler’s presence, he
remained slack jawed, watching the being move.

The traveler walked towards the entry tunnel.
He moved past the lighted area then vanished in the darkness.
Everyone was stuck to the ground, at once elated, and
terrified.

“
Guess we should follow,” Swain
whispered.

He rubbed his arm, which, now healed, had
been broken in battle. It no longer hurt. He motioned with his
head, and they all started walking.

“
Everyone good,” O’Hara
asked.

They all nodded and followed Swain. Adams and
Franklin were redistributing whatever weapons looked intact.
DeReaux stopped to pick up a lighting device. He tossed it to
Jor-Tune, who turned it off.

Korit set his comm. to broadband. “They are
still fighting outside.”

“
Maybe we should wait before we exit,”
Sirt puffed.

“
I think we should get out there and
kick some bug ass,” Fitzpatrick argued.

The captain followed closely behind Swain.
Adams caught up and handed him his rifle, so he flicked on the gun
light. All hurried to catch up to the traveler.

“
What should we do, traveler,” O’Hara
asked. “We want to help our friends, but our mission was to find
you.” There was no reply. “What about others of your kind; are we
leaving them behind?”

Immediately, he knew the other travelers were
not coming. They had sealed themselves away, each with a specific
purpose not to be revealed. Time was of the essence—something they
all knew—and they started jogging, yet the alien seemed to be
walking. He moved in such a strange fashion that left ordinary eyes
mystified.

Back at the rovers, Korit took the
convertible. Part of the crew filled the seats. Swain looked over
the ride. The door was still wedged into the frame. Dead Thewls
remained in repose. With a flick of a furry hand, the door
dislodged, and the rest piled in, trying not to look at the dead
crew mates. Once they were all inside, the traveler joined
them.

Drivers started the engines, turned on the
headlights, and made for the exit. Someone mentioned turning their
comms. to broadband. The war yet raged outside.

“
Day, it’s O’Hara. Copy?”

“
Copy. We’re holding strong. Downed
that fish thing, and we’re cleaning up. How about you? What did you
find?”

“
We found the traveler…we’re on our
way.”

“
One?!”

“
Roger,” O’Hara replied.

“
His name is Roger,” she
joked.

“
Get out of here!”

He laughed uproariously, shocking himself.
All of them laughed; they were beyond joyous, which was so
outrageous, it was also horrifying. The traveler’s mere presence
left them absolutely blissful and incomprehensibly shocked.

“
How long ‘til you make it back,” she
asked.

“
We’ll see you in five if you cover the
opening.”

“
Copy. We’ll have you
covered.”

The crew of Korit’s rover sat looking at each
other. They had so many questions, but no place to start. Trying to
mentally review recent events, they heard only chatter over the
comms., and the rover’s tracks crunching ice and stone. Winds
howled around the corridor.