Pull (Deep Darkness Book 1) (24 page)

Not having any idea how to start it I searched over and over for a power
source. My rifle had a wire that would normally attach to the back of my
armor and together the two would use kinetic energy to power each other up.
I broke the small cable from my power back and attached it to the one of the
shock plugs just over the top of the skimmer. Again nothing seemed to
happen. It took several hits from the back of my M44 rifle to make the
skimmer start working again. In my rage I had hit it at just the right angle at
the right time. The hellbeast was only a few yards away when I launched up
and out over the snow watching him fade into the distance.

I felt really damn lucky.
Departure in Transit

“You don’t need to rush... this will all be over soon,” a woman who’s voice so
old and frail spoke in the distance. I could only understand a few small
sentences of what she was saying. Was I dreaming? Was this a nightmare?
The darkness seemed to surround me from all sides. My hands were bound
with some kind of thin metal wire. I was on the ground. I could feel my own
blood sticking and drying to my skin my naked flesh. That was when I heard
the rats. At first there were only two maybe three then hundreds of them
turning into thousands. I was screaming but my mouth was gagged.

“I am death,” Another voice spoke. This time it was the voice of an old man.
It seemed sweet and gentle unlike the woman. The gag fell from my mouth
and turned to ash.

“Why are you murdering me?” I asked hoping the old man would save me.
Hoping death itself would come to my rescue. I couldn’t shake the feeling that
somehow I deserved this If not in this life then in another I must have done so
many people wrong. Maybe this was just the curse of being human. I could
barely believe I even had the strength for words.

“I set you free,” it was the woman responded.

The shield surrounding the shards of nexus inside me must have broke again.
One moment I was racing down the bank of an icy river on a skimmer and
the next I am on my back knee deep in a foot of snow. “This is the worlds way
of punishing me for killing the hellbeasts babies,” talking to myself. It seemed
to help with the isolation. The sun had set and aside from some light reflected
from the dead world there wasn’t a single light in the sky. Nights on this
world are going to be hard if not impossible if things get this dark.

It seemed better to freeze then walk. My legs were numb and tired. Three out
of five fingers on my hand my thumb, index, and middle finger had turned
black. How long had I been passed out here? The hellbeast must have given
up chase by now I was miles away and it had no direction to follow.
“Hayden will find me... he always does,” I paused again.

“Set me free?” I said, “I was born free. I have always been free.”

“Your world is a cage. You are chained by your own senses. I forgive you. It
is all you have ever known. You can only see what the darkness that
surrounds you allows you to see. You my child are not free,” she seemed to go
on but I couldn’t make out anymore of what she was saying. Her voice
seemed to echo wherever the hell I was.

Then as if out of nowhere I could see her as she a frail old woman turned into
an angel a being full of light. Her magnifcent wings stretched ten maybe
twelve feet in every direction. Her wrinkles became smooth and the harsh
black tones that covered her face and eyes faded away into nothing.

“Not yet, you are too young.”
I could see the rats again biting my feet. I wasn’t in pain though. They were
eating away at my fesh

Something in the ground around me began to glow. It was a vibrant blue then
green then red then back to blue. It was some kind of small creature like a
dragonfly or firefly on Earth all around surrounding me. All together the
smaller insects like white aphids lit the snowfields for miles. The light seemed
to give me strength. It was more then enough to stand. It was enough to not
give up and die.

My head wouldn’t stop pounding. I felt like I was having a vision but then it
seemed to disappear like a dream or a hallucination. It wasn’t anything
familiar and I didn’t feel like I was in someone else’s body. The drowning
feeling I had felt so many times going in and out of it was gone.

Perhaps I had only been knocked down for a minute even possible it was less
than that. Time in the dark seemed to slow down. It was as if the world
around me had melted into a crystal ball shaded in and tinted blue. I lifted my
skimmer from the ground. It was long maybe twelve feet across and only
wide enough for either a Skrav or human to sit on. I guess it was a lucky
thing both our species were roughly the same size. Aside from two large
handles there were two smaller one close to were the stomach would be. I
guess some of their scouts had adapted armor that allowed them to use their
smaller arms and claws. I wish Hera had been here to see this. There was just
enough room she could ride on the back of this with me. The two of us would
have been able to run away together. Together we could escape this madness.

Hayden and Brecca. The two of them would have had to come too. The four
of us together with Aira and our few friends from the Erebus could start a
small colony a settlement of our own away from the politics of the elders and
Balkava. Away from the technology, tunnels, and darkness that has held us
for a hundreds of years. Somewhere on Eden we could find a home. Hera and
Sev - Adam and Eve.

“I will destroy your body and take your soul.” The voice of death cried out.

He was holding a scythe pointing it towards me. His voice was no longer kind
and gentle. I was afraid again. With her eyes and glow the woman scared
away the rats. It didn’t matter I was no longer in my own body I was floating
flying above it.

From the air the woman seemed to pull out a long two handed blade made
from the bones of some primordial being. It had several points on it and the
handle looked like it was made from glass.

The woman I knew now was a Valkyrie. I don’t know how I knew it was like
some voice inside of my head had began speaking to me narrating the scene in
a language I couldn’t understand. The two figures grew to the size of
skyscrapers as I floated above them looking down.

She sank her sword into death’s chest and he fell to the ground. I began to fall
no longer floating. Faster and faster in a downward spiral I could see
mountains and clouds all around me to my left and to my right. Below me
stood sharp pointy trees ready and waiting to puncture my heart and tear
away my spine as I continued my descent.

I reached Hayden’s ship but there was no sign of him. The glass cockpit has
been busted. Small breaks and tears in the glass as if several animals had
swarmed over it hoping to reveal some kind of meat. They were smaller
marks then a hellbeast but it was still something to worry about all the same.
I opened the cockpit all the same to see if there was anything useful inside.
Wherever Hayden had gone he had managed to take everything with him
even more then myself. His entire seat had been shredded. He had probably
managed to make a coat out of it.

“The least you could have done was leave me a note,” I said thinking out loud.

There was no way I could track him in this snow. I made my way back to the
skimmer. There was a small hologram displaying various information in
several languages including Trepp - one of the few I had managed to study
onboard the Erebus in my downtime. The skimmer had been analyzing
several dozen tracks in the snow.

From what I could gather this is what it said...

Eventually the Lethe was given no choice but to create a genetic disease that
would make the Terra Vesp population nearly extinct. Today the Terra Vesp
live in the remains of the abandoned Lethe worlds hunting and scavenging
the other wildlife. The ones on Tetra V are all but extinct give or take a rare
sighting made by tourists. They are constantly poached because many alien
species believe their skulls are a token of survival that brings good luck. It is
not uncommon to see Terra Vesp skulls or even fake skulls on sale in the nets
and markets. Their many limbs and bones are also ground up and made into a
powder that is used as an aphrodisiac.

There are some that believe the Terra Vesp are sentient primal creatures able
to communicate with each other and other species. No one has tried or come
back yielding positive results from this information but it the Terra Vesp have
been observed using tools such as spears, ropes, and knives when hunting
their prey. Others believe they are noting more then a pest. Children often
sing songs about the Terra Vesp calling them bone eaters and tooth fairies."

I recalled the name. It had been something I overheard one or more exotic
species talking about amidst the black market on Errikus. I think I even
remember seeing some Vesp tooth necklaces and jewelry for sale once in the
black market.

The Skrav and Trepp seemed to have a ton of information on orbitals and
airspheres. It was a lot to take in. This one skiff probably held more secrets
inside it then we would ever get out of a prisoner. Once I had it back at the
Erebus they could pick it apart study it and reverse engineer it. Hayden will
be thrilled. Even Balkava would be happy. If they were scouting this orbital
they probably had a lot more useful information on it then we had. I now had
another reason to get home safe.
Around me just over the hill I could hear the soft quilling of several smaller
animals. The information the skimmer gave me was right. Several Terra Vesp
were biting endlessly at the corpse of a dead body. I couldn’t tell – I couldn’t
tell from where I was if it was Hayden or not. I watched in horror as one of
the Vesp with its crooked teeth and pointed jaw ripped an eye from the
corpse. The eye fit perfectly inside its mouth and splattered like a grape. The
snow around the body was bright red like it had been dragged several feet by
the rush of the small creatures jumping to enter inside of it and feast. I shot
one two three one two three round after round into the tiny creatures
splattering their bodies. I didn’t want to die alone out here. If that was
Hayden and he couldn’t make it what chance did I have? He had always been
the better of the two of us.

The Vesp I didn’t kill scattered. They would probably regroup and attack in a
minute or two. Worst-case scenario I could just fire off a few more rounds at
them. I had to be an animal wild and hostile just like everything else on this
world. Every shot was my way of saying I owned this body... this kill.

The body wasn’t Hayden. It was a Scourge. I had only ever heard what they
looked like in person. From what I had been told each of them being a clone
looked similar though the color of their skin and sometimes hair and body
type varied – a doctors way of saying the science was never perfect and never
would be. The top of its head and eyebrows were completely shaven. I doubt
it ever had a single shred on its entire body. Its mouth was open and I could
see it’s teeth had been filed into sharp points. On its forehead there were
several black bars. A barcode. That must have been how they kept track of
him after they were placed in stasis. I could picture it perfectly. Walking
through the halls of the ship looking at the walls seeing into the stasis
chambers the eyes of the scourge all around you each with their own small
story and background. A room full of clones each labeled like a product. Its
body had been mostly stripped of gear. There was nothing useful on or near it
aside from a small knife. It was protected by a small skintight body suit. It
was some kind of exotic kevlar probably strong enough to stand an impulse
blast or one or two projectiles but it was light and meant for a warm
environment. The Terra Vesp were rodents scavenging for a meal- they were
this environment’s clean up crew and they had done a good job eating
through most of the lower body and even the kevlar it wore as well. Small
teeth marks shredded the thick layer of kevlar down to the skin and in some
places the flesh had been chewed away leaving muscle and bone visible. In
this cold the Scourge must have frozen. I wonder if he was even dead before
the locals started eating.

She grabbed me. With her sword sheathed she moved her arms and hands
around me cradling me like a small child. I felt like I had just run a marathon.
Every inch of my body was now in pain. I never hit the ground. I could see
behind her Death lying on the ground defeated. His blood poured out in
waves over rock and concrete.

Every few seconds I wanted to wail out in pain. It was as if someone was
breaking my beating it senselessly with a hammer or digging the crest of a
shovel into my spine one column at a time. I could feel something small
shivering and as it struggled to insert itself into the small space on the bone
and then I could feel it lift and pull. It was like opening a small can. Even the
pores of my skin had begun to feel like they were being stuck with thousands
of pins and needles.

Then I looked at my hand. – My hand was withering away fading into ash
and nothingness. All of this while the Valkyrie hummed some kind of strange
archaic song. Maybe it was suppose to be soothing. The harder I tried to get
myself free the faster and louder she sung.

“It will all be over soon.” She said.

If I don’t
find shelter I will freeze too. From where the Scourge lay I could
see another piece of ruin sticking out from the base of the snow. It was good
enough. Another howl. The hellbeast was back. It had managed to track me. I
could see its shadow in the distance block out the pale blue light of the
aphids. It was flying. Damn monster had wings. I had no cover were I was at
and only two choices; run on the skimmer or hide inside the ruins. My best
bet was to hide.
I didn’t run straight to the ruin. I still had to hide my skimmer. I unhinged the
cable from my rifle and plugged it in. If the hellbeast caught up to me here I
could ram it. It would be suicide and I would lose the skimmer and my life
but at least I wouldn’t freeze to death like the Scourge. There was nothing
more I could do now I drove my skimmer into the tunnel at the base of the
ruin. It was farther away and taller then I thought. The cold was toying with
my senses – and my breathing. Hayden wasn’t with me but once again he had
saved my life. I had taken a re-breather from his ship. It was meant for a
Drok but it would still work for a human. As soon as I stopped I placed it
into position swallowing the chord. I could feel the gel like tails of it make
their way down my throat and slither themselves into my lungs. It stung for a
moment before I took a deep breath of fresh clean air. It was working.

This world must have had more oxygen then the Erebus had or I had just
gotten use to breathing in space. The air on the Erebus had always been so
stale. It was always just enough. It had all the trace elements oxygen,
nitrogen, even some of the poisons megacities on Earth would have had.
Living onboard the Erebus was like living underground compared to this
place.

I tucked the skimmer into the hollow of the ruin burying it with my hands
under as much snow as I could. Underneath the snow I found small pieces of
foliage and plant life. The snow was covering up what looked like the vines
and plants you would see inside a jungle. My guess was Eden-3 must have
had at least two or three seasons; summer and winter with a short fall inbetween.

We couldn't have had worst timing. If there was such a thing as karma I
couldn’t believe we had enough of it to keep ourselves existing. In the pitch
black darkness of the ruins the light from my M44 came on. It was refreshing
for a moment to feel the warm hue of artificial light again. It reminded me of
home of being back in my bunk staring at a holo. I settled in against what
looked like a massive door made of stone covered in strange etchings - some
even looked fresh. I studied them for a moment. They seemed barbaric - some
looked like cave man drawings. I was barely forty yards from the entrance
but deep enough not to be seen from the outside. It was a strange feeling.
Most Lethe ruins discovered had always been made from biomass or exotic
metals. There was even one made from a hybrid of the two called “the red
flower” on Errikus. It had been given the name based on how it looked from
the sky. Like a giant red rose rising up from the ground. These ruins all
seemed to be carved from the world itself. Couldn’t put it past them.

The Lethe we believed made this world. As far as we knew they are the only
civilization with technology advanced enough for something like this. It
would make sense they could mold it and sculpt it anyway they wanted. They
had the power to harness energy from stars and explore the immer; their
ruins had been found throughout nearly every discovered world. This would
have been nothing to them.

I wonder if they preferred orbitals. It would make sense. There had been
pieces, ruins of several found through the galaxy. This was to the best of my
knowledge the only one we have found that was intact and in perfect
condition. Even Parcae would have been considered an orbital to some
though it was more of a way station. Eden-3 probably took more then half the
entire resources that made up the dead world. An orbital could be controlled
moved and made any which way one so desires. The architects of these
worlds must have been brilliant. Like a composer they would twist and pull
the land creating something out of nothing but rock and scraps of elements
here and there. I thought about how a musician plays chords on strings
making music form from thin air or the way a writer strings words into a
novel even the way an artist turns a blank piece of canvas into a reflection of
time. The magic of creation.

I crawled into a small storage compartment. It was better to feel
claustrophobic then leave myself open to attack. The hellbeast would more
then likely track me to the entrance but no way could it squeeze through the
tunnels.

I just wanted to lie there and wait for it all to go away.

A few minutes passed. I had managed to
find warmth lying in the tight space.
This was probably a place used to store food once - ironic how everything on
this world wanted to eat me. The stone seemed to radiate with a small amount
of heat. If it had been metal it probably would have been freezing. I guess I
was lucky the architects made these structures out of the ground after all. I
had to decide now whether or not I was going to sleep. In the gear I had from
Hayden’s ship I found a small medkit. I probably could have dropped some
adrenal or injected myself with some other drug or Drok remedy he might
have to stay awake but at this point I had probably been awake past thirty
hours maybe more. My body was begging to shut down. If I had any nanites
left inside me from the various injections I would get before battle they were
dissipating and dying off. There was also no way to know how any kind of
stimulant would make the protein chain surrounding the shards inside me
react. My body was my own now and at the same time it was my own worst
enemy. My eyes were so heavy. The most they had ever been. My mind
wouldn’t stop racing with everything - The battle in space, the Skrav ship and
the Aelita crashing, losing Duv’Mir and Addax and so many others – not
knowing what happened to Hayden, Trevor, Brecca. There were so few of us
left how many were out there now?

She laid me down inside a hole then tore out my eyes. Then when I could no
longer see she tore out my tongue so I could no longer scream. My arms and
legs had all burned and turned to ash. I was nothing but a head and torso
now. A broken fgure melted like wax onto some dried paper.

All I can do now is hope there is a purpose to my sacrifice.

Light broke through the tiny holes that separated me from the rest of
the world shining in like the morning sun through a window. I had no way of
knowing how long the night was here or whether I slept for four hours or
fourteen. I thought about the lives I had seen the people waking up for work
in the morning so few ready to start a new day. I would have killed for a
shower and I would send this entire world to hell for Hera to be there too. I
had to stay focused. If she was alive I would get back to her. She HAD to be
alive.

Around the entrance I could hear an animal breathing. It had already
dug up the skimmer and bashed it up against the wall. Nothing looked
broken but it was difficult to see from where I was. The Hellbeast came closer
and closer till finally it was right above me. I could see its white teeth still
covered in blood from its last kill. I could smell it’s rotten breath and feel the
cold send shivers down my back as the white from its mouth and nose ignited
the air around me like vapor. All the world was silent with the exception of
the beast and me. I gripped my rifle in my hands and watched the beast like a
lion.

It had four small arms ready to grab anything that moved. It must have
been able to smell me. The moment it discovers me is the moment I strike.
One good shot into one of its several eyes maybe I could put her out of her
misery for good. I had just enough room to aim my rifle upwards. The front
of the gun was barely an inch away from the hole that led to the outside – the
outside was barely an inch away from the predators largest eye.

‘I should just
fire now no hesitation,' was what my training had told me
to do. I am a soldier, the surviving child of Errikus, and paladin of First
Descent. I am Sev. The great Narville himself in his final words had written
my name, which has been whispered across the universe and across time itself
- in blood. I don’t die here. This isn’t right. If there was one thing I knew
about the future it was that it could always be changed. Every time a user like
me saw something – the invasion of the Skrav, the Ankari, the Antliods, the
end of Errikus and the burning of the Tritan – it all changes. Nothing is
certain. We can’t even be certain our past is our past let alone what actually
happened. I am no God, no seer, nor am I any kind of oracle. I am nothing
but a junkie, torn away from my friends and tossed about like a rag doll. The
hellbeast is my harbinger, my Valkyrie.