The Book of Ominiue: Starborn (52 page)

‘Who has a compass?’ Shayne called. His was in his pack, which was blown away by the wind. The others stared at him dumbfounded, Shayne sighed before explaining, ‘there was a magnetic anomaly in the forest. If we walked the opposite direction, it’ll take us away.’

Hope spread over their faces as Javier pulled a small compass from his pocket, letting it fall from his hands as he dangled it from the string, a weak smile upon his face. They all crowded in around him as he held it level, but it seemed to drift aimlessly around. He tapped it a few times with no effect.

‘It seems to point in that direction,’ Rae pointed hopefully.

‘No,’ Javier shook his head in despair. ‘It’s lost its magnetism; it’s just floating around.’ He then gave it a shake and held it out again. It was now pointing in a slightly different direction, wobbling about. He let his hand fall and let out a long sigh of anguish.

‘Or, we’re already in the anomaly’s centre,’ Shayne commented as he looked around. ‘Our only choices are to stay put and wait for the fog to lift, or to pick a direction and start walking.’

‘I’m not staying here,’ Jameson affirmed as he shook his head, his eyes wide and serious.

‘And I don’t think this is a natural fog,’ Shayne added. Everyone would have mocked that comment a few days earlier, but now they all looked hopeless and afraid, accepting that something was out there and it was far from the scientific and rational upbringing they all had.

They voted upon a direction which looked neutral. It did not slope downwards or climb up. They began to walk, leaving the fire smouldering behind them.

‘Remember,’ Javier turned to everyone, talking louder to try and break the eerie silence that seemed to dampen their words. ‘
Always
keep the person in front of you and the person behind you in view. Make sure no one loses each other’s sight. If you can’t see them call out and stop!’ Javier took the lead, followed by Rae, Shayne, Jameson and then the other Starborns.

The fog seemed to move as a creature: it searched and wound around them, it reached out for them, in places it grew thick and seemed to roll around the party as they walked deeper into the forest and then it would retreat. Often they were forced to bunch up until they were almost touching; so thick was the fog that assailed them, other times they were able to spread out further, but they always remained close; too afraid to move too far away from each other. Shayne continued to move forward. His own steps difficult to hear; he tried to step exactly where Rae had and constantly checked to see if Jameson was still behind him.

Once again the fog crowded them. Though he felt fear Shayne was also curious. He watched as something swirled and made its way around one of his arms, so thick you could not see through it, it then faded off into the mist. Other swirls came; pushing around them and twirling through them. Shayne would stretch out a hand and try and grasp one and it would in turn dance around his hand and off into the mist.

The fog steadily grew thicker and thicker until Jameson cried out in panic, ‘We gotta go back!’

Everyone stopped. Shayne turned to face him; the man was almost touching him but his features were obscured. ‘Please Captain, please can we go back?’ he cried as Rae and Javier felt their way to him, they all huddled in a circle.

‘We’re being dominated by our own fears,’ Rae tried to convince herself as much as the soldier. ‘We’re better than that. We’re not superstitious, we don’t believe in demons. You’re letting their legends get the better of you.’

‘I’m not so sure,’ Javier said, his figure barely visible in the mist. ‘It’s ok to believe in a detached supreme being, but when it comes to something more than that we’re sceptical? There is nothing natural about this.’

‘And I say you’re creating hysteria,’ Rae responded. ‘There’s an explanation to everything,’ she turned to Shayne seeking his help but he just looked darkly at her. ‘There has to be.’

‘The Starborn is rational and neutral,’ Javier said seeing her movement. ‘Perhaps he sees an explanation for this event?’

‘If there is one, I don’t see it,’ Shayne replied. ‘There could be a link between the electrical failure and the other things. I’m strongly inclined that way, but I don’t see how.’

‘It’s not safe,’ Jameson half sobbed. ‘Something is very wrong here, I can feel it!’ his comments made the others shiver.

‘We have to keep going!’ Javier urged. ‘If we tie each other together, we won’t have to worry about losing anyone in the fog. We can keep going; as far as we can!’ They all agreed and proceeded to tie each other with various strands they salvaged from the camp. Once they were tethered and checked each other’s knots they continued on.

The mist never wavered, it always it seemed to follow them; letting up only slightly in places, and beyond what they thought was possible it seemed to grow thicker in other places; so much so that Shayne struggled to see his own hands. He held onto the rope in front of himself and relied on the tension caused by Javier, who often moved only by feel, to guide them. Shayne also made sure that Jameson kept the line taut. A few times he or someone else stumbled pulling on the ropes, but they gradually made their way along.

They tried to keep communicating, with those in front shouting when spotting a tree or rock, but everyone’s voices were so faint and distant that it was hard to believe they were only separated by a few metres. Their ability to see was so impaired that they were unable to know if they were walking in a straight line or around in circles, but they continued on regardless, knowing it was the only thing they could do.

‘What was that?’ Rae cried out.

‘What?’ Jameson suddenly stopped, causing Shayne to stumble. The soldier looked around in fear, gripping tightly to his gun.

‘I saw something run past me.’

‘I can barely see my damn feet,’ Javier snapped. ‘You must be imagi—’

‘There!’ Jameson cried. ‘I saw something too!’ Pointing his gun out into the mist; Shayne caught a glimpse of the gun’s barrel sweeping passed him.

‘Lower your weapon Lieutenant!’ Shayne growled. ‘Before you kill someone!’ Just then Shayne also saw it. It was a dark streak that rushed passed him. It was so fast; like an animal. He grew still; listening but they could hear nothing.

‘Ok,’ Javier called out, but his voice broke, ‘gather in. Come together. We can make a circle.’ They slowly made their way to him, but then Jameson’s terrified voice called out repeatedly.

‘My rope, my rope, my rope!’

Shayne could still feel the tension on his link, ‘What are you talking about?’

‘The SB’s they’re —’ He broke off a second, ‘—the rope is cut!’ he cried and pushed into Shayne who grabbed him firmly and pulled him into their huddle. He held onto the other end of the line and Shayne could just see it in the fog; it was frayed and severed as if something sharp had cut through.

‘Starborn report!’ Shayne cried out, his voice barely carrying the distance. They heard nothing. Javier called out in his deeper and louder Spanish accent.

‘
Starborn report! Rank and File!
’ They strained their ears but were rewarded with nothing. Rae came close to Shayne so that they were touching. Jameson also came closer, his automatic rifle pointed into the mist. Suddenly they heard screaming but they could not tell the direction, it seemed to come from all around them. Shayne lifted his gun and pointed it into the mist with the rest following his lead.

‘Starborn, follow my voice!’ Javier cried out. The screaming continued; both men and women, followed by some gunfire and then silence. Jameson shook violently; his gun quivering in his hands. Rae took Shayne’s free hand and held to him tightly. They stayed standing but none knew for how long. Shayne’s hands grew cold though he felt the warmth of Rae gripping firmly onto him, shaking with fear.

‘What do we do?’ Javier finally broke the silence.

‘Keep going,’ Shayne replied.

‘I don’t remember which way we were going,’ he said.

‘Just go, Shayne replied. He put his gun back in its holster, ‘and this time we will hold onto each other.’ Shayne held out his free hand to Jameson who reluctantly took one hand off his rifle and accepted it; his hand burned with the cold. Rae took Javier’s and they continued on with both Javier and Jameson pointing their firearms into the bright nothingness. They made their way slowly along until exhaustion gripped them.

Rae stopped, pulling Javier back, ‘I’m so thirsty,’ she said as she sat down on the mossy ground, her water pack now empty. She tried to catch the moisture in the air but there did not seem to be any.

‘The Starborn had the remaining supplies.’ Javier tried to warm his hands as he knelt down, ‘and the rest of the water.’ Shayne unhooked his small drinking pack from his armour and handed it to the medical officer. She looked questioningly up at him, but his dark eyes ordered her not to protest. She took a few grateful sips from the tube before handing it back. 

‘I don’t think I can go on.’ Jameson shivered, ‘and I can’t even tell the damn time,’ he said as Javier drew an arrow in the ground; marking their direction. They sat silently for some time, leaning on each other for warmth and too tired to continue on. He wished he had his fur cloak with him; to help keep him warm, but he doubted if it would work; their uniforms and armour were designed to regulate the temperature yet the cold still seeped through. Shayne found himself drifting off, unable to keep awake despite how cold he was.

‘Sh-sh-shayne.’ He woke to the feeling of someone shaking him. He had expected to be back in Karmoníth but instead he was in the mist with Rae almost crying. ‘They’re gone,’ she said shaking with fear. Shayne sat up and looked around; both Captain Javier and Lieutenant Jameson were nowhere to be seen. Shayne was not surprised and though their impending doom was falling upon them he felt no horror. He knew it was pointless calling for them. The fog was not as deep now, but it did not help their mood. Silently Shayne rose to his feet. Rae also rose, using his arm to help herself up before grasping his hand again.

‘We must keep going,’ he said, taking a drink before he handed her his almost empty water supply. She nodded silently and they ventured on; following the direction of the arrow Javier dug into the dirt. There was no way to know what the time was, or even what day it was. There was no point in thinking about it so they continued on; hand-in-hand. Not long after they started walking the mist began to crowd in upon them again with the wisps of swirling fog drifting by, flowing around, reaching out and grasping at them with its invisible hands. Rae began to shake as the attack started all over again. They were now practically side-by-side and she half leaned on him when they could, sharing each other’s warmth; but soon the thickness engulfed them and all he could see was the faintest outline of her body. Shayne squinted as he continued on. Occasionally he would suddenly stop as the ferns grew too high, or a tree would block the direct path before them and he would guide them around it, still clutching her hand, but it became so difficult and he eventually stopped. Breathing heavily, he stood with her shadow next to him. He looked around desperately hoping for a clearing.

He suddenly stiffened; gripping her hand harder when he realised she had not spoken in a while. He looked across to her shadow; it stood passively beside him. He slowly lifted his hand. His heart jumped painfully as he saw that he no longer held hers, though he was sure he felt her skin; felt her warmth. In a panic he moved across to the shadow; arms outstretched, but it moved away from him. He took a few more steps until his hand connected to something soft and cold. He came closer knowing that he grasped the mossy trunk of a tree. He wildly looked around, stumbling through the fog.

‘Lieutenant?’ Shayne called out. He stopped walking and stayed dead still, not even the sound of his breath escaped his mouth as he listened. ‘Lieutenant Wong?’ he cried out again, now with his hands around his mouth to amplify the sound, but the mist dampened everything. He felt his heart race as he began to move back in the direction he had come from. ‘Rae!’ he shouted her name repeatedly. ‘
Rae
!’ a feeling welled up in the pit of his stomach. He cried out her name again as he began to run; not caring for the mist. He held his arms out and each time he saw the dark shadow of a tree he would grab hold of it and use it to move around, but the fog suddenly closed in around him leaving him blind. He fell over a tree fern stumbling down into a gully he landed painfully on his side. His breath came quick and his heart raced as fear seized him.

The sight of his right hand resting upon the cold earth started to clear. Shayne drew in a breath as he looked upon his fingers; the detail of his hands growing bolder. His observed the forest around him and watched as the fog parted before him; creating a path. He picked himself up, cringing at pain in his side as he staggered in the newly cleared direction, the only thought that passed through his mind was to escape the torment.

He came upon the entrance of a fortified wall. He half laughed as he stumbled again realising he was at the entrance of the abandoned city. They should have been days away from there, but he did not care. The retreating fog revealed a high tower in the city’s centre. He could see that it was carved out of stone, with pinnacles stretching from its centre like a star, the tops chiselled flat. He looked to the archway before him; the rotted gate hung from their mountings with broken and corroded pieces fallen on the ground. At the foot of the gate lay something, its shape looked as if it had been left there; discarded and forgotten. The trees suddenly seemed to loom over him and became dreadfully large, the wind which he had not heard since that first night roared high above him causing the trees to groan. Shayne looked up at the forest around him; dread gripped his heart, the city felt like the only safe place and the fear pushed at him to run. Something felt wrong, he mastered his urge to bolt; warily he came closer to the matted thing on the ground and saw that it was a skeleton wrapped in old robes and rusted armour; its arms sprawled out in front of it as if it had been dragged there. Shayne froze once again. The shadow of the arch fell on the body, his eyes fixed on the empty sockets which laughed at him.