Neverwylde (The Rim of the World Book 3) (8 page)

“Are your people still stupid?”

Mellori smiled. “That was generations ago. All of us who’d been dumbed down are long dead. But their children, and their children’s children, unfortunately those generations remain with very low intelligences. We also discovered that when a test tube baby, one born of frozen egg and sperm, was paired with a naturally born child, their resulting offspring varied. Some were bright; some were not.”

“What of the children born of Dox’s kind?”

The engineer let out a loud sigh. “There are very few children born of isotope parents. No one can understand why. They’re not sterile or infertile. But the ones who are born have normal intelligence. They do not have their parents’ vast abilities.”

“Then you continue to create those of Dox’s kind?”

“Yes,” Mellori nodded.

Kleesod took a few longer strides to catch up with the little man. “Dox, why did you choose to go into space?”

At first, Dox acted as if the Seneecian hadn’t spoken. After nearly a minute of silence, he stopped in his tracks.

“To meet you.”

Kleesod blinked in confusion. Mellori could relate.

“To meet me?”

Dox bobbed his head once, then took off again.

When Kleesod shot him another perplexed look, Mellori smiled. “You can try to ask him again, but I doubt you’ll get a better explanation.”

Dox halted a second time, but his attention was focused on the tablet in his hand. He pointed directly in front of them. “Ship is there.”

Mellori peered into the distance but couldn’t make out anything. “How far, Dox?”

“Eighteen hundred meters. We have to run,” the little man remarked and took off.

“What? Wait!”

Both Mellori and the Seneecian tried to stay even with him, but the going was tough in the loose soil.

“Why are we running?” Mellori managed to yell.

Dox didn’t reply, but glanced behind them. Mellori tried to spot what Dox was looking for, when it hit him in the gut.

“Oh, shit.”

“What? Why are we running?” Kleesod repeated.

“It’s under us!”

Was it his imagination, or was the ground starting to shake?

They poured on the energy. Another hundred meters going full tilt and Mellori’s legs began to drag on him. Breathing was like inhaling fire and he started slowing down. Dox saw him lagging and reached out, grabbing his arm.

“No! Keep going!”

“I…can’t…Dox.”

The little man snagged his arm with both hands. Suddenly, Mellori felt a hand in the middle of his back. There was the sensation of being lifted, and he realized Kleesod was helping him to stay upright.

They’d barely taken another dozen steps when they went soaring into the sky. The ground rose beneath them, throwing them into the air with a hard push. Mellori flailed his arms and struggled to get his feet back under him. When he came down, he landed on his left side, his hip and shoulder hitting the sand. Throwing out his hands, he continued to roll down the slope.

Something fell beside him, narrowly missing landing directly on top of him. Dox gave a yelp of pain as he slid partway down the rise and tumbled into Mellori’s lap.

The creature continued to emerge from where it had been tunneling underground, following them. It’s narrow, elliptical head swung from side to side as it tried to locate the source of the vibrations it had sensed on the planet’s surface. Opening its slitted mouth, it gave a high-pitched whine.

Mellori wrapped an arm about Dox and pulled him close. Pressing his mouth to the young man’s ear, he shushed him, warning him to remain absolutely still and silent.

What they could see of the creature’s body was long and flat. Its outer hide was covered in large, overlapping scales the same color as the sand, giving it perfect camouflage.

From where they lay, Mellori couldn’t see where Kleesod had landed. The monster continued to sway from side to side. It repeatedly closed its mouth, making resounding clapping sounds. When it lowered its head to nose the sand, it enabled Mellori to see there were no visible eyes atop the thing’s face. He figured the creature hunted purely by feel, sensing vibrations coming from the surface. If that was the case, any sound would alert it.

Kleesod, wherever you are, don’t fire your weapon at it. Don’t antagonize it. And for God’s sake, don’t try to run from it!

The sand snake rubbed its chin across the surface, taking several swipes over the ground. The fine granules sprayed over them, forcing them to cover their noses and mouths to keep out the particles. At one point, the head stopped mere centimeters away from Dox’s left leg. Both men waited with nervous expectation. Finally, it withdrew, slowly sinking back into its underground chamber, until it disappeared from view.

“I don’t think it’s gone,” Mellori barely whispered into Dox’s ear. “Which way to the ship?”

Dox pulled out the tablet from where he’d cradled it against his body. Checking it, he pointed in the direction they should go.

“We’ll move slowly. Put each foot down carefully, and try not to make any sound or unnecessary movement. I think that thing’s going to hang around and try to track us. Can you walk?” He noticed how Dox appeared to be favoring his hip. The young man nodded, and they gradually got to their feet.

The thing’s eruption from the sand had left a doughnut-shaped mound around the hole leading underground. To get to the ship, they had to circumvent the mound. Dox hobbled, flashes of pain crossing his face with every careful step.

As they rounded the mound, they spotted Kleesod crawling in their direction. Grasping the Seneecian’s shoulder in relief, Mellori bent over his ear.

“We can’t make any sound, or in any way make vibrations that thing can follow.”

Kleesod nodded, motioning to Dox. “Is he injured?”

Before Mellori could reply, Dox struggled to take another step, nearly collapsing. Kleesod caught him, scooped the young man into his arms to carry him, and glanced at Mellori. The engineer pointed in the direction they needed to go. And with agonizing slowness, they proceeded on their way, one careful step at a time.

Chapter 12

Consciousness

            Kelen strained her ears for any sound that would alert her to someone coming their way. Or something. She continued to cradle Kyber’s head in her lap. Every now and then she would wipe her moistened hand over his face, sometimes dropping a kiss to his brow or cheek.

            He radiated heat. Her pants were soaked in his sweat, and the ground beneath him was moist and muddy. A couple of times he convulsed, jerking a leg or arm as he moaned in pain, but otherwise the Seneecian remained still. Comatose.

            She listened closely to his breathing. Fortunately, it wasn’t labored. He wasn’t having any trouble getting enough oxygen, and for that she was grateful. But until his fever broke, his delirium would continue. Of course, she knew she was basing all her suppositions on the belief that his Seneecian physiology was similar to hers, but she had nothing else to go by. Still, Kelen dreaded to think what might happen if he awoke with the madness still raging within him.

            Propping her light to where it shined down the tunnel, she pressed the tube weapon to Kyber’s neck, her thumb on the firing button.
Just in case.
God knew she didn’t want to shoot him again, but she couldn’t take the chance. At the first sign of psychosis, she wouldn’t hesitate to protect herself to protect him.

            “What happened to you, my love?” She kept her voice low, her lips to his ear. “What made you this way? Is it natural?”

            For all she knew, this could be something Seneecians went through. A phase of their life cycle. Or maybe his wounds had poisoned his system. He hadn’t been resting like Sandow had ordered him to. It seemed that, just when he was on the verge of healing and regaining his strength, something would prevent him from doing so, and his health would take several steps backward.

            Kyber turned his head. Kelen readjusted her weapon, her hand shaking as she tensed in expectation. He gave a loud sigh, then she heard him sniff. Tentatively, she placed her other hand on his face.

            “Kyber?”

            His reaction was immediate and a low growl began in his throat, but he was overcome by a dry, raspy cough. She quickly lifted the water pouch to his dry lips.

            “Drink.”

            He grabbed the pouch and tried to swallow, but he was wracked with another coughing spell. Taking the pouch from his shaking hands, she tried to soothe him.

            “Gradually, my love. Slow sips. Give your body a chance to absorb the water.”

            He seemed to understand her, this time allowing her to pour the water into his mouth a little at a time, where he swished it around before swallowing. She did this twice more, until he pushed aside her hand.

            “Who is there?” he managed to ask. His normally rough velvet voice sounded cracked and strained.

            Dread went through her when she realized he wasn’t cognizant of her presence. “It’s me, Kyber. Kelen.”

            He remained lying sprawled on the ground with his head in her lap. She tried to shine the tube light over her, but he didn’t respond. She started to fear the fever had taken his eyesight, as well as his sanity.

            “Kyber?”

            “K-Kelen?” His hand fumbled for the water bag. Rather than give it to him, she continued to hold onto it and helped guide it to his lips. He took another swallow and sighed. “Kelen?” he asked again, this time a little louder.

            She laid the tube weapon beside her and quickly shushed him. “We’re in some sort of tunnel. Fullgrath’s gone to get help so we can get you back to the apartments.”

            He tried to rise, but she pressed down on his chest and shoulder to prevent him from getting to his feet. “No, Kyber. You’re not strong enough. Stay here. I’ll protect you while we wait.”

            With a groan, Kyber allowed her to rest his head on her thigh. She saw him close his eyes and his breathing slowed. She thought he was falling asleep, when he spoke.

            “There are monsters in these tunnels.”

            “I know. I’m armed. Help is coming soon.”

            “The monsters took me. They bound my arms and legs, but they let me go. I don’t know why they let me go.”

            “They’re gone now,” she assured him. “I’m here, and I won’t let them take you again.” She ran a hand through the sweat-soaked fur covering his forehead. “You need to rest. Fullgrath and the others should be back soon.”
I hope.
She had no idea how long the weapons master had been gone, but it seemed to be an extraordinarily long time. “How do you feel?”

            “My body aches. My head aches. I feel dizzy. I am on fire.”

            “It’s the fever. You’re putting out an incredible amount of heat.” She stroked his face. “You’re sweating out a lot of water.”

            At the mention of water, he reached for the water bag again. She guided it to his lips.

            “How did you know I wasn’t a monster?” she murmured.

            “I smelled you.”

            The vision of him attacking her remained in the front of her mind. In his muddled madness, she could see now how he’d mistaken her for an enemy. She also realized that if he hadn’t been so weak, he could have seriously injured her.

            Her stomach clenched. It was another sign that hours had passed. She tried to reach for her food pouch, but it was underneath Kyber’s head. He realized she was struggling with something.

            “What is wrong?”

            “Nothing. My food pouch is caught beneath your head. Hold on.”

            “Here.” He fumbled for his own pouch, but his fingers couldn’t manipulate the ties. Kelen leaned over to undo it. Opening it, she pulled out a blue pancake and for a moment, she froze. Carefully, she placed it on her tongue, but she didn’t bite or eat any of it. The pancake smelled rotten, and the taste was acidic.

            “Kyber, where did you get this?”

            “In our apartment before we left.”

            There was a sinking in her gut as a possibility raised its ugly head. “How many of these have you eaten?”

            “Two.” He adjusted his position slightly. “They do not taste good, for some reason.”

            “Oh, dear God.” She threw it away from them.

            He must have recognized the tone of her voice. His face turned in her direction. “What is wrong?”

            “Sandow told us not to eat any food that’s been in the containers or from the apartments. It’s gone bad. It has elements in it that could affect us.”

            A shudder went through her when she realized how things could have turned out differently if he’d eaten all three pancakes. His training to ration his supplies in emergency situations may have saved his life.

            She finally wrested her own food pouch from beneath them and pulled out a couple of blue thumbs, giving one to him. “We’re to eat directly from the garden until we figure out what to do with the spoiled food.”

            He chewed slowly, using the water to help him swallow. She silently gave him another thumb, which he accepted. She heard him empty the water bag and handed him Fullgrath’s. Kyber waved it away.

            “We must save it.”

            “It won’t be much longer,” she noted.

            He gave a snort of amusement. “You have said that before. How long is long in your estimate?”

            She smiled. He sounded like her Kyber, but this moment of clarity didn’t mean the madness wouldn’t return. His next remark surprised her.

            “You said you were armed. Keep your weapon close, in case I lose myself again.”

            She stroked his face. He caught her hand and kissed it.

            “I think your fever’s broken. You don’t feel as hot. It’s a good thing you didn’t eat that third pancake. Can you move?”

            He tried to sit up. After two unsuccessful attempts, he sighed. “Not yet, but the pain in my head seems to have eased.”