Neverwylde (The Rim of the World Book 3) (12 page)

“How many did you leave behind?” Kleesod asked.

Mellori hesitated for a split second. Such information regarding a ship’s compliment was always held secret from the enemy.
But we’re no longer enemies. All that protocol no longer exists.

“We lost four when we crashed. Bertriol died when he was shoved off the ledge in the temple.”

The Seneecian stared at him. “I meant to ask someone about that incident. May I ask you?”

The engineer waved a hand. “It’s no longer relevant. It was when we were still fighting each other, right after we’d landed here. Cooter tried to take on Kyber and send him over the edge. But he missed, and Bertriol took the fall.”

“So your ship held thirteen people?”

“Yeah. How about you? How many were on board your ship?”

“Twenty-one.”

“Wow. That’s not a whole lot, considering the size of your ship.”

“It is always twenty-one. Twenty-one is considered holy by our gods.”

Mellori chewed on that bit of information for a minute. “If your ship held twenty-one crew members, that’s a whole lot of people unaccounted for.”

Kleesod nodded but didn’t reply.

Dox led them directly to the medical bay. After nearly an hour of prying, they managed to get the doorway opened. Mellori went directly to the storage panels. Opening one, he stepped back as a torrent of supplies tumbled down around him. Following that, the undeniable smell of a corpse wafted into the room.

“Find something we can use to carry this stuff back with us.”

Kleesod nodded and hastened into the back room to search.

Picking up several packets of flesh adhesives, Mellori looked at Dox, who continued to study his tablet. “I could use some help here. What are you looking at?”

“Movement.”

His alarm rose several notches. “Where? In the ship?”

“Underneath us.”

He took a deep breath through his mouth, expelling it loudly. “Sand snake?”

The little man nodded as he continued tracking the creature.

“Dox, while you’re doing that, tell me what Sandow requested, and keep track of what we recover.”

As Dox reeled off the items from his mental list, Mellori placed the supplies to one side. Presently, Kleesod returned with a blanket.

“I could not find another hover transport. Perhaps we can carry things in these.”

“That’ll do perfectly,” Mellori told him. “I don’t suppose there are more of these where you found that one?”

“There were fifteen more.”

“Good. Go get them. I like your idea. We’ll make backpacks out of them.”

With the exception of a couple of items, they managed to find everything on the physician’s wish list. Rather than place it all in one blanket, Kleesod suggested they divide it into two.

“You’re right. It would be easier to carry that way,” Mellori agreed and they took everything back to the transport bay. With that much done, they took a break. Dox found a dozen more packets of food and they each consumed one as they rested.

“Dox, what’s the latest on our stalker?”

“Sixty meters port. Forty meters below.”

Kleesod looked to Mellori. “Sand snake?”

“Two,” Dox answered. “Big ones. Big, big ones.”

“At least we’re in here instead of out there,” the engineer remarked. “They’ve probably been tracking us ever since that encounter we had yesterday. They must have lost our signal when we came inside the ship.”

“They may be waiting for us to emerge,” the Seneecian countered.

Mellori nodded, cleared his throat, then took a sip of water. They had propped the hatch open a few centimeters to allow fresh air in, and to dispel the odor coming from the dead. “I wouldn’t doubt that a bit. Dox, time to go Easter egg hunting for yourself.”

Dox glanced up and gave him a curious look. Mellori laughed.

“Do you already know what you want? Or do you plan to window shop and pick up items as you see them?”

That analogy made more sense and the young man smiled. “There are some things I want. The rest…” He shrugged, not finishing his statement, but Mellori understood. Ever since Dox came on board the
Manta
and was assigned to work under him, the two had quickly bonded. Mellori often wondered if he was the closest friend Dox had ever had, or if the little man considered him a father figure. Either way, Mellori knew more and understood more about their isotope crew member than anyone, including learning how to read Dox’s moods, odd mannerisms, and odder speech pattern. “The rest” meant if he spotted something he felt he could use, he’d obtain it. It didn’t matter what he’d use it for. If it could serve a purpose, he’d eventually make something with it.

The engineer got to his feet. “Let’s go ahead and gather up what you think you’ll need. Then we can get a few hours’ sleep before heading back to the temple. I’d rather stay here where it’s relatively safe to spend the night and travel during the day.”

“Daylight is in four hours,” Dox noted. “You sleep. I will search.”

Mellori gave him a hard look. “And what if something should happen to you while we’re asleep? No, Dox. We need to stick together for safety’s sake. Give yourself some shutdown time, then we’ll start fresh in a few hours.”

Dox didn’t appear to like the idea, but he didn’t argue. Sinking down to where his back rested against the bulkhead, he cradled his tablet against his stomach, curled into a fetal position, and dropped instantly to sleep.

Kleesod blinked in surprise. Mellori chuckled.

“Yeah, he can do that. If you tell him he can only sleep for five hours and three minutes, he’ll awaken in exactly five hours and three minutes. We’d better try to get some shut eye while we can.”

The Seneecian lay down a few meters away, close to the overturned transport ship. Mellori chose a portion of the floor between Dox and the corridor leading into the ship. Sighing loudly, he crooked an arm under his head and tried to find a comfortable position, when a high-pitched whine pierced the silence. It was immediately followed by the wail of an alarm.

He sat up, along with Kleesod, then Dox jumped to his feet.

“Sand snakes!” the little man yelled just as the floor beneath them heaved upward, sending them flying into the air.

Chapter 18

Aftermath

            The
Manta
tilted upwards at an almost fifty degree angle, sending everyone and everything inside the ship sliding toward the bottom. At the last second, before it all crashed into the bulkhead, the vessel came down with a heavy
whump!
and a cracking sound. The hatch door was ripped away. Sand poured into the bay, sending a cloud of dirt roiling over everything.

            Mellori found himself pinned between the deck and a thick coil of recharging cable used to refuel the transports. Coughing, he tested his extremities to see if anything was broken or damaged, giving a silent thanks to find nothing more serious than bruises.

            “Is everyone all right? Dox? Kleesod?”

            Something moved in the semi-darkness. He was about to call out again when he caught a movement overhead. A shadow blocked the outside light coming through the hatch.

            Mellori froze.

            Someone groaned. He shushed him and the groaning ceased.

            Eventually, the shadow moved away. The engineer let out the breath he’d been holding and breathed easier.

            “Kleesod?” he whispered.

            “Yes.”

            The dirt cloud inside the bay made it difficult to breathe, and almost impossible to see.

            “Are you okay?”

            “I believe so.”

            “Dox! Dox?”

            There was no answer.

            “Kleesod, can you see Dox?”

            “No.”

            Mellori tried to remember where he’d seen Dox flying through the air when the ship had been struck. If he was correct, the young man should be a few meters away.

            “What happened?” the Seneecian asked.

            “I think one of those sand snakes nudged the ship. I think it detects us through the hull. Help me find Dox. How well do you see in the dark?”

            “Well enough with the light coming in from outside.” A pause. “Did one of those snakes hover over us?”

            “Above the hatch? I thought I saw it, too. Start coming toward my voice. I think Dox landed somewhere between us.”

            Mellori could hear Kleesod moving through the bay, drawing closer to where he was huddled. He was reluctant to turn on his tube light for fear of attracting the attention of one of those sand snakes. Although he was pretty sure the creatures were blind, he didn’t want to take the chance. There could be other monsters outside they had yet to discover, who weren’t sightless, and preferred to hunt by night when the sands were cooler.

            He heard the Seneecian pause.

            “I found him.”

            “Don’t move him. See if you can get him to wake up.”

            “I smell blood.”

            The engineer froze at the words. “A lot?”

            “Some. There is a rod sticking out of his thigh. But I fear there is more blood at the back of his head.”

            Mellori began climbing over the debris, trying not to break a leg or injure himself in the process. The dust cloud slowly dissipated, enabling him to find where Kleesod was bent over a prone figure.

            “I’m going to turn on my light. Try to help me shield it from overhead. I need to see the extent of his injuries.”

            Dox was lying atop a pile of miscellaneous equipment that had come unsecured after the crash. The Seneecian cupped his hands over the young man, and Mellori added his palm as he examined the thin piece of conduit pipe Dox had fallen on. Fortunately, it hadn’t gone all the way through, and it was located in the inner, meaty part of the thigh. Yet he couldn’t risk pulling it out, for fear Dox might bleed to death.

            He reached behind the young man’s head where Kleesod indicated. Gently, he ran the tips of his fingers through the reddish curls. Immediately he could feel the blood, but he could also tell it didn’t hold a telltale warmth. When he brought his hand up to where he could see it, he could tell the blood was already beginning to congeal. His fingers were tacky.

“Nether wounds appear to be life-threatening. Can you carry him? Let’s get him back to medical and take a closer look.”

            Kleesod bent down and carefully picked up the limp figure. Dox stirred slightly, but didn’t respond or regain consciousness.

            They managed to get him to sick bay without further consequence. This deep inside the ship, Mellori felt safer and turned on a lamp, flooding the examination room. But, despite their being further within the ship’s interior, he kept his voice low.

            “Damn it. I forgot we left the medical scanner in the docking bay.”

            “Want me to go get it?”

            “Let’s first see if the x-ray is still functional.”

            He pulled the metal arm from underneath the bed where Dox lay and set it upright, locking it in with the arm extended over the bed. Stepping back, he flipped the switch on the activation panel and the arm slowly came to life. Seconds later, it moved down the length of the bed, stopping at the foot.

            Above Dox’s body, a 3D figure appeared. The first thing the engineer checked was Dox’s skull.

            “Not even a hairline fracture, thank God. He lost some skin with that laceration. He’ll probably have a massive headache when he awakens. He’s damn lucky it’s not worse.” Mellori moved closer to peer at where the pipe was located.

            “It does not look like it hit a major artery,” Kleesod commented.

            “I think you’re right, but to be on the safe side, let’s do a side shot.”

            The engineer reset the machine to where the arm would scan Dox’s injured side. The resulting figure showed the pipe resting at an angle, suggesting the young man had fallen on it during the upheaval. Whether or not he was conscious at the time was unknown, but Mellori had the feeling Dox may have landed on it at the same time he hit his head and blacked out before he could experience any pain.

            Going over to the panel wall, he opened a drawer. “These rolls of medicated gauze are seldom used, since the self-sticking healing pads are more effective, but they’ll do for this. Hold his head up so I can wrap it.” He also grabbed several antibiotic-soaked sponges, tearing open the packages to clean Dox’s wounds.

            “What will you do about the pipe?” Kleesod inquired.

            “Remove it. He can’t walk under his own steam with it in his leg. Hold down his knees.”

            It took him less than a minute to ease the pipe from Dox’s thigh. Leaving the sponges in the wound, since the oral antibiotics were packed, he used the remaining gauze to bind the leg. When he finished, he took a deep breath in relief.

            “All right. We might as well remain here until Dox comes to.”

            “Then we will leave?”

            Mellori shook his head. “He won’t leave until he’s had a chance to ransack this ship for equipment.” He allowed himself a smile. “These injuries may slow him down, but they won’t stop him. We might as well get some rest while we wait for him to wake up.”

            “It will put us later getting back to the temple,” Kleesod observed.

            “I know. Let’s hope nothing bad happens while we’re gone.”

            The Seneecian snorted. “Let us hope the sand snakes do not return and try to tip us over again.”

            Mellori agreed. The last thing they needed was to be trapped in the space craft, unable to return, and unable to contact the others.

            After strapping Dox onto the examination bed in case of another upset, Mellori took a seat on the floor where he could keep an eye on the young man, and soon found himself drifting back to sleep.

Chapter 19

Plan

            The door suddenly dropped open, and Jules and the others rushed back inside the apartment. Behind them, Kyber heard the whine of the pulse rifle as it powered up, followed by a barrage of shots. Cooter backed into the room, slamming his palm on the glyph to close the portal.