The Awakening: Book 1 of the Evaran Chronicles (12 page)

Evaran pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. “His time is coming.”

Galkett gulped. He turned and ran down the hallway. Dr. Snowden and the others stepped out into the hallway.

Evaran faced them and tilted his head. “The ship is not too far away from here. We should move.”

They walked for twenty minutes in silence through various hallways and rooms.

Dr. Snowden rubbed his legs. They were feeling much better. They stung a bit still but didn’t shoot pain up and down his legs when he walked. He wished he could say the same about his nose. The stench of rotting bodies filled the air as they came to a large corridor.

Evaran interacted with his ARI. “Down this corridor is a storage room off to the right. It should provide us a shortcut.”

“Damn, what is that smell?” said Jay.

“We are near the Krotovore living quarters. The strength of the scent leads me to believe there is a lot of dead Krotovore there,” said Evaran.

Dr. Snowden’s nose wrinkled as he caught the scent. Despite his lingering hatred of the Krotovore, he felt bad for the ones caught in their living quarters.

He went over the interaction with Hulldar and Galkett as they walked down the corridor. Something about it troubled him. He wrinkled his eyebrows and looked at Evaran. “Could you have saved Hulldar back there? Like maybe by stopping him physically from going into the Slivyn?”

Evaran stopped and turned to face him. “Yes.”

Dr. Snowden swallowed hard as his fingers went cold. He remembered Galkett saying they didn’t really know Evaran. Maybe he was right. Evaran had let someone die when he could have prevented it. “I had come to believe you respect all life.”

“Most life. At the massacre of Neoparene, he and Gaellus killed over fifty women and children. They did not do it quickly. They tortured them for several months before killing every one of them. That is unacceptable,” said Evaran.

Dr. Snowden’s lips parted as he adjusted his glasses. “I see. Friends of yours I assume.”

“They were,” said Evaran as he turned around and continued walking.

Jay watched Dr. Snowden, then looked at Evaran. “No wonder Galkett was scared shitless of you, man.”

Evaran half turned his head toward Jay. “He knew my view on those like Hulldar and Gaellus, so that would be an expected reaction. Galkett’s concern was if I would find him guilty by association.”

Jay exhaled sharply through his nose while bobbing his head. “Maybe, but he was
terrified,
and he didn’t look like the type that scares easy. Like he was more scared of you than death. He had one thing right, though. We don’t know much about you.”

Evaran glanced at the ground and then looked forward. “You know more about me than most, and that is a dangerous place to be. This situation has caused me to share more than I normally would.”

Jay smirked. “Well, no worries there, man. I still have a hard time believing half this shit anyways, or even understanding it. I mean, hell, living slimes, headhunters, mercenaries, giant insects, and a big-ass high-tech dog.” He put out a hand toward the krall. “No offense.” The krall tilted its head at Jay. He turned back to Evaran. “Not to mention you and your wild devices. All we need to round it out is some killer clowns. Damn, I could use a beer about now.”

V flew near Jay. “Correction. Killer clowns are not on the ship specimen roster.”

Jay shook his head. “I know that, Blue Ball. I’m just saying, we keep running into shit that I didn’t think existed.”

V’s lights dimmed. “There are twelve known clowns with the killer attribute on Earth.”

Emily glanced at Dr. Snowden, then at Evaran. “Is V being serious?”

Evaran turned his head toward Emily. “V is always serious.”

A tingling sensation ran through Dr. Snowden. He really didn’t like clowns. They creeped him out, and now he knew there were at least twelve known killer clowns on Earth. He exchanged a look of surprise with Jay.

They walked in silence for ten more minutes before approaching a large storage room. The krall growled, and its skin turned a light shade of red.

Jay scrunched his nose and waved his hand in front of his face. “Smells like someone shit their pants. Man, not sure I’m liking this enhanced smell thing.”

Evaran put his finger up to his lips. “Listen.” He motioned for V to enter the room.

The sound of a man gurgling in pain emanated from inside the room.

V flew back out. “One life-form detected. Life signs are diminishing. Death is imminent.”

They entered the room and followed V. The room had a wide path to the other side, leading to another entrance. On each side of the path were large high-tech shipping containers stacked in groups of three. The groups were laid out in a grid fashion.

They followed V down a row to the immediate right of the entrance. They reached the last container stack in the row. The krall paused and sniffed the air. It growled and walked menacingly toward the end of the row. Evaran walked beside the krall.

V flew forward and scanned around the corner. Evaran rushed to where V was scanning and put his hand out to the krall. Dr. Snowden and Jay gathered around Evaran and found a man covered in blood. The man was holding his neck and squinting hard as blood gushed out. His eyes dulled, and his motions slowed.

A catlike humanoid alien with blue-and-orange fur and white stripes jumped from the top of the container and landed behind Emily. It grabbed her and put its left arm around her body and a claw from its right hand against her neck. The krall wheeled around and roared at it.

“Stand back!” said the alien.

Evaran motioned for the krall to stand down as they turned to face the alien. He tilted his head. “We mean you no harm. We did not know you were here, although I am not sure how that is possible.”

The alien growled and nodded toward the now-dead man on the ground. “Your kind is not trustworthy.”

Evaran narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. He pointed to the dead man. “This man. He tried to attack you?”

The alien hissed. “He hunted this one. He killed my sister. Said he was a friend and meant no harm. I killed him.”

Evaran sighed. “Judging by the gear he is wearing, this man was part of another group on this ship. They are hunters. Like you. They call themselves the Bloodbores.” Evaran pointed to Jay and Dr. Snowden, then at Emily. “We are not hunters. We just want to leave this ship.”

The krall stepped forward. The alien growled, stepped back, and nodded at the krall. “She means to kill.”

Dr. Snowden furrowed his eyebrows. So the krall was female. It reminded him of how little he actually knew about the krall. He noticed she had bonded with Emily more so than with him or Jay. Maybe it was a maternal thing to protect the young, but he figured it was more likely he was anthropomorphizing her.

Evaran motioned for the krall to step back. Evaran interacted with his ARI. “You are a Farethedan hunter, correct?”

The Farethedan tilted its head. “Yes. How do you know this?”

Evaran nodded. “I have access to information on those aboard this ship. My name is Evaran. To my left is Dr. Snowden. To my right is Jay Beerman. The big female is a krall. You are holding Emily Snowden, Dr. Snowden’s niece. They were all captured like you and brought here. I am taking them home. I can take you home as well. Do you have a name?”

The Farethedan squinted its eyes and scanned them for few moments. “Kazryn.”

Evaran put a hand out toward Kazryn. “There is no need to hold Emily hostage.”

Kazryn growled. “You wear the clothes of a hunter. This is a trick! Like last time! Drop my guard, then you shoot me with a weapon of light.” He walked backward toward the main path in the center of the room. Emily whimpered.

They followed Kazryn cautiously.

Evaran put his hand out. “Wait! There is no need for this. We have lost one of our own already to these hunters.”

They reached the path in the center of the room. Kazryn walked out to the middle of the path, with his back to the entrance they had come in from. They assembled across from Kazryn and Emily. Emily was trembling with closed eyes.

Dr. Snowden tapped Evaran’s arm and stepped forward. “You lost your sister and are alone now, right?”

Kazryn growled and narrowed his eyes.

Dr. Snowden’s breathing shortened. “You are holding the only family I have left. If you kill her, I will be alone, like you.” He grimaced and squinted hard as his eyes watered. His breathing went ragged. “I don’t want to go on without her in my life. If you want to take someone as a hostage, take me. But let her live. Please.” He swallowed hard.

Kazryn’s eyes softened, and he scrutinized Dr. Snowden for a minute. He uttered a low growl and then released Emily. Emily ran to Dr. Snowden and wrapped her arms around him.

Kazryn adopted a defensive stance, as if expecting an attack. “This one gives you family.”

Evaran stepped forward as Dr. Snowden, Emily, and Jay moved behind the krall. “Do you remember where you came from?”

Kazryn eyed Evaran. “This one does not. This jungle is unusual, made of metal. My sister and I woke up and explored it. Met two of your kind. They said they were friendly, then tried to enslave us. My sister did not make it.” Kazryn gave a deep, guttural growl. “This one killed one of them. Came here. Killed the other one. This one is now alone.”

Evaran wrinkled his eyebrows. “They have locational beacons. The others will come looking for the ones you killed. You do not need to be alone. You should join us. We are on the way to my ship. We can figure out where you came from and take you home.”

Kazryn turned his head out to the hallway, then looked back. “You smell like a matter mage. This one does not trust matter mages.”

Evaran raised his head and tilted it. “Matter mage.” He rubbed his chin. “I have not heard that term in a long time. I may share certain traits with them, but I assure you, I am not one of them. I do, however, have an idea of where you might be from now, though.”

Dr. Snowden noticed V fly in behind Kazryn. He hadn’t even realized V had been gone.

“Multiple life-forms approaching. Visual profiles indicate ninety-six percent match of dungol and four mercenaries, including Jerzan.”

Kazryn roared and flashed his hands out with extended claws. He turned and bounded out of the room and down the hallway.

“Wait!” said Evaran. He put his hand on his forehead and sighed.

“What was that all about?” said Dr. Snowden.

Evaran sighed, then licked his lips. “He did not trust me and now seeks vengeance for his sister. The Farethedan, based on the Krotovore logs, appear to be a hunter society. He is honor bound to avenge his sister.”

Jay snorted and gestured toward Evaran. “This ain’t the place to be doing that shit.”

Weapons fire and a high-pitched roar rang out from the hallway.

Evaran tilted his head. “We need to move now. They are approaching fast according to the locational beacons. I do not think Kazryn was successful.”

Dr. Snowden shook his head. Evaran had tried to help Kazryn, but Kazryn didn’t trust Evaran. At least Kazryn hadn’t hurt Emily. He remembered that it took him several hours to believe Evaran, so he could see where Kazryn would not trust Evaran in a matter of minutes. Still, Kazryn trusted him enough to release Emily. He wished Kazryn would have joined them.

They moved toward the entrance opposite the one they came in from. They reached the entry and paused to look back as loud grunting noises filled the air.

Dr. Snowden froze. It was the dungol, and it was barreling toward them. He remembered Evaran asking him what he would do if he were to face one. Running sounded good.

The krall stepped in front of Dr. Snowden, Emily, and Jay. She shook her head and deployed her shield. As the dungol crossed the midpoint of the room, the four mercenaries entered from the other end.

“There they are!” yelled one of the mercenaries.

“Get ’em!” said Jerzan.

The mercenaries took aim and fired at the dungol. Orange beams sliced it up. It let out a final grunt as what was left of it slid into the krall’s shield, pushing her back some.

Emily, Jay, and Dr. Snowden ran into the hallway and around a bend. Evaran slapped the back end of the krall. She shook her head, which dissipated the shield, and turned and ran into the hallway.

Evaran stood for a moment with his shield raised as the beams bounced against it. Time slowed down as Jerzan and Evaran locked eyes. Evaran then ducked into the hallway.