First Life, page 26
part #1 of River Saga Series
Instead of ruminating over Stingers and alien betrayals, we chatted about Earth. I preferred not to live in the past, but at this tense juncture, it seemed to help the mood. Franklin told us countless stories about his wife, and we listened.
“Leah grew up near Edmonton, and couldn’t wait to move to Vancouver. The moment the Angor offered her a role at one of their companies, she took the first hovertrain there. I was already working in the aerospace field, helping maintain their fleet.” He glowed.
“When did she realize she had Xeno?” Bull asked, and Franklin grew solemn.
“She knew a few months after they landed. Hit her like a semi-truck at the beginning. When we met, she was a year into her sentence,” Franklin said. I cringed at the word. “She didn’t want to date me. How is that even possible?” He patted himself on the chest. “But I wasn’t going to let anything stand in the way of us, especially Xeno. I told her that, and she laughed, not believing me.” He fidgeted with the ring at the end of his necklace, and tucked it under his uniform. “We were married a few months later. Eighteen years. I had that much time with her. Worth every sacrifice.”
Bull didn’t make eye contact. “No kids?”
The moon had brightened, providing a blanket of gentle light across the landscape. The red shale was more ominous in the night than the day.
“She didn’t want to. I thought it would have been nice to continue her legacy, but in the end, it was her decision.” Franklin shifted his pack. “It was all for the best. Now I can be on Dicore, guilt free.”
“Do you regret coming?” I asked them. “Now that you know what we’re facing?”
Bull was the only of us three to have fought them up close. He opened his mouth but paused before answering.
“I don’t. If the Angor want us to fight for Dicore, then that’s what we’ll do. Think about Earth. Do we let the animals control us, or do we push them out of our cities? Are we concerned with bears in downtown Vancouver? Are wolves running loose in New York? We set the rules. These Stingers will be no different. And we can’t blame them for protecting their home. They aren’t actually the enemy,” Franklin said.
Bull tensed. I saw the tendons of his neck bunch. “Tell that to the seventy-five dead Team Black members.”
“I didn’t mean to offend anyone,” Franklin answered. “If we see their point of view, perhaps it’ll give us the upper hand. We must study the Stingers. Where do they live? What do they eat? Where’s their water source? Is it breeding season? Did we encroach on their nest? These are important factors.”
“I think you should bring this up,” Bull told him.
Franklin laughed. “I am.”
“To the powers that be,” Bull suggested.
“Bull, once you’ve been here for a while, you’ll learn that Colton Beck is the voice of our people.” Franklin clapped me on the back.
I was surprised by his comment. “Me?”
“Sure. Everyone comes to you for guidance. We know that Desmond is used to taking charge, but you have a knack with our people. Even Orange sees it,” Franklin said.
Two of their members walked behind us, and I glanced at them, receiving nods from the pair.
“I hadn’t considered it.” That was true. I’d just been trying to survive long enough to see Dicore. I wasn’t sure a leadership role was in my future.
“I know what you’re thinking, but we’re counting on you, Colton.” Franklin lifted his gun, confirming it was charged. “So don’t check out before you have to.”
“I won’t.” I heard Miya behind us, talking with Carly. They chatted about their favorite bands, and it was wonderful to hear someone discussing anything but the Stingers and Dicore.
Everyone was fatigued, but we marched for another four hours, setting one foot in front of the other. We moved slower than we would have liked, but carrying all our gear and helping the injured keep pace really slowed us down. We could be averaging four miles an hour if not for our supplies, but it was closer to two miles currently, which meant we could reach our target in ten without a break.
Unfortunately, we required pit stops. Desmond finally called one, and I let the crate fall to the ground. The land had changed over the last mile. The shale gave way to rocks. They were less red, turning more metallic in tone. We were descending instead of inclining, and I didn’t like the idea of being lower than the Stingers, should they surround us. Desmond must have been thinking the same thing, because he was perched at the edge of the group, spinning in a slow circle as he used a pair of binoculars.
“I don’t see anything. No tracks for the last two miles.” He lowered the device, and passed me his tablet. “But we should have crossed two of the initial drop points by now. There’s no sign of our people.” He drew a green line over the screen directly on the Xs. “Where are our teams?”
“I wish we had live tracing,” I said. “Why show us where they’ve landed, but not give us access to each other?”
Desmond squinted and glanced at the moon, then toward the mountains, which were much closer now. They had a red tinge to them as well, like everything in the area. “It’s a game to them.”
“The Angor?”
“They dropped us here, knowing full well the Stingers were waiting for us. Damn them.” Desmond was furious. I heard it in each enunciated word.
“Was there ever going to be a colony?” Miya asked from behind us. She looked younger than eighteen as she slunk over. “Did they want to kill us?”
Desmond shook his head. “I don’t know, but they’re not going to have the pleasure. We’ll get to the site and learn what’s in store for us. They’ve messed with the wrong group, I’ll tell you that.” He waved at Gordon and Willow, and they broke away from their conversations. Everyone was covered in sweat and dust, and I really wanted a shower and a crisp sweet tea.
“What’s up, Des?” Gordon asked.
“The rest of the group will be heading straight into the mountains.” He pointed at the center of the looming peaks. There were five of them visible, each standing ten thousand feet, if an inch.
Willow followed his finger with her gaze. “How can you be certain?”
“Because most people are taught to take the straightest line to any problem. Shortcuts. And if they haven’t encountered the Stingers yet, they don’t know the danger.” Des watched the mountains, and then peered to the left, where our destination lay in wait.
I sensed a shift in his mood. “Des, you aren’t changing your mind, are you?”
“Can we ignore the fact that thousands of our people might be marching to their doom at this very moment?” he asked.
“You want to risk our hides to help them?” Gordon asked. He held a Marksman rifle in one hand, and his pack in another. He looked angry. The gash on his face had been patched with a flimsy bandage.
More people gathered, and word spread about the possible change in plans.
“I think we should help them,” Bull said.
“Me too,” Miya added.
Ambrose stalked in front of us, his thick curly hair bouncing despite the clammy conditions. “Are you nuts? We have to stay with the original idea. Get to the colony site. You saw those things!”
“Actually, we haven’t seen them, Ambrose,” Adley reminded her partner.
“Whatever. We’ve seen what they can do.”
“The kid’s right,” Gordon said. “These bastards are no easy prey. They’re ten feet long. Weigh four times what Bull does. Stingers on those damned tails that can kill you within five minutes, and those last few moments are not pretty. I saw most of my team die from those strikes, and it was painful to witness.”
Ambrose crossed his arms, like he’d proven a point.
Gordon frowned at him. “But I can’t, in good conscience, leave our people to that kind of fate. I vote we join the rest of the teams in the range. Fight the Stingers.”
“If they even live that far out of the desert,” Willow added.
“That’s true. We might be arguing about nothing. Maybe the Stingers prefer the flatland, and we already passed all of their nests,” Miya suggested.
Franklin didn’t seem to agree. “I have a feeling they’ll be there. Probably in larger numbers. The mountains have water and, from what I can see, more vegetation. The Stingers will have nests. Big ones.”
“Then it’s settled,” I said, nervous about our next steps. “We help the others.”
“Let’s have a vote,” Des told them. “Team Blue?”
Every single one of us, with the exception of Ambrose, raised their hands. He eventually broke and joined, making it a hesitant unanimous decision. Teams Orange and Black also agreed, but I could see the fear in the remaining Black members. They’d already experienced the local creatures, and it was obvious they weren’t excited at the possibility of meeting up with more monsters.
“We should go,” I muttered.
Once I said it, the camp started to pack up, ready to depart from this short break. We were still weary, but every minute was precious.
Desmond and I leaned over the tablet, checking the distance. “Seven miles.”
I did the math, and estimated we’d enter the range in three and a half hours. I wasn’t sure our people would make it that long. We drank some of our stored water, ate hastily, and kept marching.
____________
It took four hours to reach the base of the nearest mountain. This was the smallest of the five, with dual peaks, one halfway up from the larger. It was covered in a bluish grass, with ruddy rocks and shiny metallic exposed ores glinting in the bright moonlight.
The trees were short, dwarfed from the harsh land, but it obviously rained enough in the region to sustain life. They resembled pine trees, with bulbous cones sticking to the multiple branches. Instead of leaves, they had spiky blue needles.
They grew thicker the farther in we went, and soon they blotted out the light, making it nearly pitch black in our position. Insects croaked, their mournful song a continuous reminder we were the strangers on Dicore. This planet may have been offered to us by the Angor, but did anyone truly own the rights to an entire world? I had a feeling the Stingers didn’t agree to these terms.
“I smell fire.” Franklin grabbed my arm. I sniffed the air, not able to pick up the scent.
“He’s right.” Des went ahead, pushing through the tight tree boughs. “We should have gone around.”
“That would have added another three miles,” Gordon reminded him.
“What was that?” Miya’s voice wavered, and I looked back, seeing her wipe a blob of goop off her face. Another splat landed on the ground between us.
We carried lanterns, trying to light our path, and I used mine, crouching at the gelatinous liquid.
“Don’t touch it!” Gordon shouted, rushing to my side. He poked at it with a big, black-hilted knife. The blade was longer than my forearm. The liquid spread out, hissing on the shale.
I peered up and saw something high above, moving through the tree limbs. “Everyone run!”
The rustling overhead drowned out the insects chirping, and a second later, they stopped their song entirely. A predator was in the area.
Desmond took the lead, trying to forge a path into the dense forest. Franklin and Bull flanked him, shoving branches. One of them flung back, striking me. A three-inch needle jabbed into my chest, and I plucked it out. A drop of blood welled on my skin, sinking onto my uniform. But I had bigger things to worry about, like what was crashing through the treetops, dropping ooze on our people.
Someone shouted out, and I turned to see a member of Team Blue on the ground. Slime coated her eyes, and she cried out. The region turned to panic. Des tried to control our people, but two hundred of us were spread thin in a line, struggling to navigate the first mountain pass.
My brain kept expecting a Stinger to plunge from the trees, so when a creature finally did, it took a moment to realize it wasn’t a giant scorpion. It was six feet tall, with fuzzy ears and a black button nose. The claws were long and curved. It looked like a koala, only five times the size. Was everything on Dicore gigantic?
Another fell, then more followed. They clung to tree trunks with their clawed grips, watching us.
Nobody moved, scared to break the silence. One of the Team Black women dropped her bag, and three of the alien animals turned toward her. The closest spread its jaw wide, and I noticed the slime dripping from its lips. She froze, arms raised in front of her.
“Don’t shoot,” Franklin whispered.
“Why not?” Desmond retorted. I expected Des could kill two of them before any more dropped from their perches high above.
“Their saliva… it’s not meant to harm us.”
Another two of them fell, scraping claws to slow down near the bases of the trees they clung to. They watched us with trepidation.
“Franklin, would you mind explaining?” I asked, keeping my attention on the massive creatures ahead of me. They kept coming, and my finger twitched next to my gun’s trigger button.
“I noticed some cones were covered in it. Didn’t think twice about the stuff until now. They eat them. But I have a feeling their digestive systems don’t break down that tough surface.” Franklin picked up a random cone. They were brown, with thick scales.
The aliens seemed fascinated with the object in Franklin’s grip.
“He’s right. They want to eat it.” Franklin tossed it high into the air, and the cone bounced and rolled to the creatures. It was obvious they all desired it, but the leader stepped a clawed toe onto the ground. It hissed and spat, covering the cone. “The saliva’s enzyme will help break down the molecules, for optimal digestion.”
It acted quickly, and within two tense minutes, the brown cone broke in half. The creature’s paw shot into the ooze, and it extracted the food, devouring the softened seeds.
“I’ll be damned,” Desmond whispered. “Let’s leave them to it.”
Miya and I gathered more of the cones, making a pile near the animals. We decided that ten feet was close enough, and they stood with big eyes as we made our offering. Before the last of our group departed the area, they were on the stack of food, spitting more slime from their small mouths.
The insects’ chirping returned, and my heart beat normally. We were in the clear. Everyone seemed to walk slower, their heads cocking at each sound the forest offered.
A soft breeze ruffled the tree branches, and I finally caught the scent of the fires the others had noted a while ago. We were close to a camp. Whether or not they lived was another story. Smelling the burning wood motivated me, and we picked up our pace. Desmond led us through the forest, and as we steadily climbed the incline, the trees’ density lessened, making our hike easier.
Ultimately, after what seemed like hours, we broke free from the edge of the trees, and I felt a wave of vertigo at the sight. The other four mountains appeared, each larger than the previous. They formed a semi-circle, funneling everyone into the center. The colony was fourteen miles from this spot, and I tried to see it, but the biggest section of the range blocked it from my view.
“Look. Water.” Justin passed me binoculars, and I saw what he was indicating. It wasn’t a huge lake, but it was fresh water in the middle of a dry region. That was where the Stingers would frequent. Judging by the volume of lanterns and burning fires, our people were unaware of what was waiting in the shadows.
“We have to warn them,” Miya mumbled.
“That’s what we’re going to do.” Des sighed. “I wish they hadn’t cut us off from communicating with one another.”
“Safety in numbers is what Leruf said. There have to be around three thousand people.” I nodded toward the lake, but I might have been underestimating. It could have been twice that.
“How far is it to their camp?” Franklin asked.
“Four miles.” Willow used her tablet, marking our spots roughly on the map feature.
Justin dropped his pack. He stared at the body of water. “I’ll go. I can run.”
“It’s a good idea, but we can’t have you doing it alone,” Des said. “We need three volunteers. And you’ll have to spread out, in case the Stingers are waiting near their camp. We can’t risk all three being killed before warning our people.”
The way he casually spoke about dying was unnerving. Desmond had seen a lot, but he was usually so jovial. I was witnessing a different version of him since landing on Dicore.
“I’ll go.” Adley tossed Ambrose her bag, and he huffed out a breath, catching it.
“What are you, crazy?” he demanded. “It’s a death trap.”
“I don’t care.” Adley brushed her pink hair to the side and unclasped her electron pistol. She went to Justin, seeming half his size, but her determination matched the young soldier’s.
“I’m going with you too.” I barely recognized my own voice.
“You don’t have to. We can find someone…” Desmond started to say, but stopped when he met my gaze.
I wasn’t much of a sprinter, but I could walk for days.
“It’s only four miles,” Gordon told us. “The ground looks to level out after the first mile, which will be far slower. Be cautious on the hillside. It’s easy to roll an ankle, and that’ll quickly take you out of the game.”
As if on cue, thick murky clouds materialized from our right, blotting the giant golden moon. Everything became enveloped in darkness. The clouds seemed to stop in place, refusing to offer any light.
“Don’t use the lanterns. It’ll draw their attention. Stay apart. Justin, you take the lead, since you have the most experience.” Des passed the soldier a grenade. “This should bust a few of them up. But it’ll make one hell of a mess.”
I watched the fires from the huge camp near the lake. “If there are Stingers nearby, I bet we got their interest.” I recalled the sight of walking into Team Yellow’s camp, and the horror scene. I couldn’t let that happen to the rest of our colonists.
