Neverwylde (The Rim of the World Book 4) (3 page)

            The thing ahead moved. The smell of blood grew stronger as they neared the creature and its kill. When they reached the angle where the hallway curved, Cooter made a sign he would take point and stepped out into the middle of the corridor. He raised his rifle, aimed…and froze.

            They tensed. A handful of seconds passed and nothing happened, but Cooter’s wide-eyed look of shock and surprise kept them from advancing forward until Kyber broke rank and joined the man. One by one, the others moved out into the open to gaze upon the surreal scene happening less than a handful of meters away.

            Dark brown, almost blackish blood smeared the floor and walls, evidence of the deadly struggle which had taken place. A thin creature sat cross-legged in the middle of the carnage. Its bulbous head came to a point in front, which had to be its mouth as it jerked and tore pieces from the carcass splayed in front of it. Two rod-like appendages held more of the slain creature, while a third arm lifted a bloody chunk suspended in front of its face.

            The creature paused. Several shiny black orbs embedded in its head rolled. Some pulsed, as if focusing on the group of men standing before it. It made no move to attack, no move to retreat. Neither did it threaten them because they had interrupted its feeding.

            “What the holy fuck is that?” Fullgrath whispered.

            “It looks like a giant freaking praying mantis,” Cooter replied.

            Behind him, Kyber heard Gaveer’s question. “What is a praying mantis?”

            “Have Dox show you,” Jules replied. “But I totally agree with you on this one, Coot. How big do you think that thing is?”

            “Dunno. It’s got to be at least two meters tall, but the damn thing’s sitting down. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s four meters or taller.”

            The creature pushed away the carcass of the thing it was eating and started to rise. Everyone instantly went on the defensive, when a soft voice behind them spoke up.

            “Wait. Is that thing wearing a collar?”

            Kyber froze where he stood. In some ways he wasn’t surprised that Kelen had followed them. At the same time, he was peeved she would continue to endanger herself, despite his request she hang back with the others. But she was correct. The tiny string of glowing objects around the thing’s neck seemed vaguely familiar. He threw up a hand for everyone to halt as Massapa voiced exactly what he was also thinking.

            “That looks like an Adajuss translator.”

            “Adajuss.” The glowing objects pulsed as the creature repeated the word. “Yes. Adajuss.” The words, spoken with a strange resonance, came from the necklace it wore.

            “Kyber, what’s Adajuss?” Fullgrath asked.

            Kyber hushed the man and took a cautious step toward the creature. “Who are you? What are you called?”

            The creature’s head swiveled an impossible two hundred degrees peripherally as its eye orbs examined around it, above it, and behind it. “Hoov.”

            “Hoov. Is that your species or your name?”

            “Ganj. Hoov.”

            “How do you want us to address you?” Kelen spoke up. Kyber glanced over at where she stood beside Fullgrath and noticed the blaster she held in her hand. It was aimed forward, but clearly wasn’t directed at the creature. He was struck by the similarities in their circumstance at that moment. It reminded him of when she had come to his and his men’s defense shortly after they’d encountered each other since crash landing on this desolate world. She had coolly yet cautiously intervened back then to give each side a chance to see reasoning instead of killing indiscriminately. He had to give her credit again for stepping forward. Although this creature was obviously dangerous, the fact that it wore a translation necklace proved it had to be intelligent. More intriguing was the fact that the choker was a piece of Adajuss technology. Where had the creature obtained the piece?

            Once again, the thing turned its head at an impossible angle. “Hoov,” it finally responded. “Eat.”

Chapter 4

Questions

            Kyber reached out with one hand and barred Kelen from advancing closer. None of the men moved from where they stood. Neither did they lower their weapons. Oddly enough, the creature didn’t appear to be disturbed by the obvious sign of hostility.

            Jules pulled out his tablet and checked it. “I don’t have any input regarding Adajuss. Who are they? Where are they from?”

            “Is this thing Adajuss?” Cooter added.

            “Adajuss is a planet in the Snee Cruss Po system, approximately forty
meedurs
from Seneecia,” Tojun informed them.

            “
Meedurs.
That’s light years in your language, right?” Jules confirmed.

            “Yes.”

            “I take it you and the Adajuss aren’t best of friends,” Fullgrath remarked.

            “No,” Gaveer admitted. The Seneecian pointed toward the creature. “Neither is this Hoov one of the Adajuss.”

            “If it isn’t Adajuss, where the hell did he get the bauble?” Cooter questioned.

            Kelen remained silent as the men softly discussed this new development and observed Hoov devouring its kill. The stench of blood permeated the cold air, and for some reason her stomach grumbled at the thought of a haunch roasting over an open flame. It was difficult to tell what the slaughtered thing looked like prior to Hoov taking it down. The only remaining evidence was the steam rising from the carcass and the dense gray fur.

            Jules moved forward a step and raised the tablet to get a picture of the creature and its meal. Hoov immediately hissed. Spines rose along its appendages and back. Alarmed, the navigator retreated, and Hoov dropped its defensive posture.

            “Guess Hoov doesn’t want to share his dinner,” Fullgrath noted with a chuckle.

            “I’m aware of that, but
what
is it eating?”

            “And can we barbeque one if we find one of our own?” Cooter asked, thinking along the same lines as Kelen.

            Fullgrath made a slight movement toward Hoov. Immediately, the creature lifted its spiny ruff. Holding up his blaster, he made a show of slowly lowering it to the ground as he knelt on one knee. “I’m not going to take your food away from you. I’m putting my gun down as a sign of non-aggression. Do you understand what I mean? I’m not going to hurt you. We just want to ask you a few questions. Can we ask you some questions, Hoov?”

            The spines gradually lowered. “Ask.”

            “Where did you get the translator?” Fullgrath raised a hand to his neck for emphasis.

            Hoov tore another slab of flesh from his kill and gulped it down whole. “Adajuss.”

            “How? When?” Cooter whispered.

            “I take it you’ve never seen a creature like this?” Jules asked the Seneecian standing beside him.

            Massapa shook his head. “If they exist in our quadrant, we have never come across them, or heard of anything like them.”         

            Kelen touched Fullgrath’s shoulder to get his attention. “We have to be linear with our questions.”

            “Like we do with Dox?”

            “Yes.”

            “Gotcha. Hoov?”

            “Begin with if it belongs here, or if it came from another planet.”

            Fullgrath nodded. “Hoov, is this your home planet?”

            “Here. Yes.”

            “That doesn’t answer our question,” Cooter noted. “If it landed here, this could be its home now. Ask if it was born on this world.”

            “Hoov—”

            “Ganj. Hoov Ganj.”

            “Is Ganj where you belong?”

            The creature slapped the ground beside it. “Ganj.”

            A light went off in Kelen’s mind. “Hoov, is this place called Ganj?”

            Several eyes rolled in her direction. “Yes. Ganj.”

            She took a deep breath. “This place is Ganj. You are Hoov. You wear a translator from Adajuss. Did the Adajuss come to Ganj?”

            “Yes.”

            Fullgrath reared back. “So Hoov is a native of this world.”

Like Fullgrath had done, Kelen crouched beside him, then lowered herself to a sitting position and placed her blaster on the ground. She became aware of Kyber moving to stand next to her as a protective measure.

“Go ahead, Kel,” Fullgrath muttered. “You’re better at this than I am.”

            “Hoov—”

            “You,” Hoov abruptly said. “You.”

            Kelen touched her chest. “Kelen. I am Kelen.”

            “Keln.”

            She smiled. “Yes.”

            “Keln not Ganj.”

            “No. I’m not Ganj. I’m not from here. I’m from another world, another planet. It’s called Earth.”

            “Uth.”

            She pointed to Kyber. “He is Kyber. He is not from Ganj. He is from Seneecia.”

            Hoov focused on Kyber. “Kybr not Ganj.”

            “Hoov, are the Adajuss here?”

            “No.”

            “No? They left?”

            “Gone.”

            “Gone? Gone where?” Massapa interrupted. “Did they manage to get off this world?”

            Someone hushed him, but Kelen flashed him a quick smile.

            “Hoov, did the Adajuss leave Ganj?”

            “No.”

            “No?”

            “If they didn’t leave, but they’re no longer here…” Jules wondered aloud.

            “Hoov, did the Adajuss die?”

            Hoov turned its head toward Kyber. “Yes. Adajuss gone.”

            Kelen felt her stomach clench again. She drew the blanket tighter around her and wished she could pick up the blaster. Put on its lowest setting, the weapon would generate a small amount of heat. She would have given anything if she could wrap her hands around it and cradle the gun in her lap. Her wounded leg ached to the point where she could hardly stand or walk on it.

            “Hoov, we are hungry.”

            The creature continued eating. Listening. Patiently waiting.

            Kelen pointed to the kill it devoured in chunks. “What is this?”

            “Food.”

            “Before it was food, when it was alive, what was it? What do you call it?”

            “Toos.”

            “Hoov, is there another toos we can eat? Is there another one we can hunt to eat, the way you hunted this one?”

            “Toos gone.”

            Fullgrath grunted. “Sounds like Hoov tracked this thing for a while. No wonder it’s coveting its food. No telling how long it’s been since its last meal.”

            “Betcha it won’t share, either,” Cooter surmised.

            “Are there any others like it around here? Kel, ask if there are more of its kind here,” Fullgrath suggested.

            “Hoov, are there more of you?”

            “More. Yes.”

            “Are they here?”

            “Here. No.”

            Cooter snorted. “So it’s probably a loner.”

            “Ask about the orange room,” Gaveer whispered.

            Kelen nodded. “Hoov, do you know Ganj? This temple?” She held up a hand to encompass the building. “Do you know the rooms below us?” She pointed downward. “Do you know the tunnels?”

            “Tun-ls. Yes.”

            “Hoov, where do the tunnels go?”

            The creature pointed at the floor. “Down.”

            “Can we be safe there?” She shivered involuntarily. “Can we get out of this cold? We can’t stay out in this cold much longer. We need to find shelter. We need to find a place that’s safe for us.”

            “Yes. Cold.”

            “Hoov, can we go below? Will you take us to find shelter?”

            The creature thought about it for a minute. “Yes. Take shelter.”

            “Good! When?” Cooter asked.

            Hoov focused on the security officer. “Eat. Go.”

            Fullgrath let out bark of laughter. “Might as well get comfortable, folks. Apparently we’re not budging until Hoov finishes its meal.”

Chapter 5

Danger

            “Kelen.”

            She turned to look over her shoulder up at him. Although Kyber spoke to her, his eyes were locked on Hoov. The creature may appear to be calmly eating and somewhat non-dangerous, but it was still an alien. An intelligent alien. How intelligent was yet to be seen. But because it was intelligent, that made it a thousand times more dangerous in her opinion. There was no way they could anticipate Hoov’s next move. It could be as simple as standing up, or it could be an all-out frontal assault launched from its sitting position.

            She waited. He finally glanced down at her as he squeezed her shoulder. “You need to go back to the tunnel to wait.”

            “I’m staying here with you.”

            He pressed his lips together as he thought of what to say to her that would convince her to do as he bid, but she beat him to it.

            “You’re on the verge of dropping from exhaustion. I’ll go back if you go with me.” She noted the others. “They can keep Hoov under surveillance. And they’re better armed.”

            “She’s got a point, Kyber,” Jules told him. “After I get a few more pictures, I’ll come with you.”

            “Yeah, Kyber. You two go. We got this,” Cooter reassured him.

            Gaveer held out a hand to her. She accepted it and let the Seneecian lift her to her feet. Giving Hoov a final glance, she took Kyber’s arm and they returned to the hidden tunnel where someone had built a small fire.

            Sandow jumped to his feet and rushed over to them when they stepped through the holographic door. “What happened? Is everyone okay?” He scanned her and Kyber for signs of further injury, but she waved him away.