8 Saleuk
The horizon was a deep purple and the sun had disappeared behind Sylos. Most of the interns were onboard the ship ready to turn in for the night and Ilisa was making her final rounds to check everyone’s conditions after being on a foreign moon for a day. I counted every member of the team as they filtered into the Haelo, but someone was missing. Sam.
I waited at the ramp of the ship, watching the woods, but it was far too dark for anyone to be out there. I turned to Ilisa.
“That isn’t everyone,” I stated.
She shook her head, glancing at her readings.
“Sjek.”
“Samantha Worthington is missing,” the old professor sighed, going through a roster on her data pad. She didn’t seem worried. No one did.
“Oh, and so is Mr. Hemburg,” one of the other female interns pointed out, her arms crossed over her chest like she was upset.
Two young men who were just packing their things in the storage compartment spoke up.
“We saw them hiking into the woods,” one said.
“Yeah, about an hour ago.”
I turned back to the trees and searched for two silhouettes in the darkness. Through my visor’s tint, I could see less than usual and I was growing agitated by it.
“Settle everyone in,” I said to Ilisa.
She nodded and then her gaze flitted past me to the border of the woods. I followed it to see one figure emerging from the shadows. He was walking fast and even jogged a little to reach the ship once he was in the clearing. It was the middle-aged man who seemed to have a particular affinity for Sam. My stomach turned with suspicion as he approached without her. Mr. Hemburg.
“Sorry about that,” he said in a chipper tone. “I completely lost track of time. This place is just so fascinating.”
The professor craned her neck to see past him. “Where is Ms. Worthington?”
“Who?”
“Sam,” I cut in.
He seemed a little caught off guard when I spoke directly to him. “Oh, I don’t know. Shouldn’t all the interns be here?” He did an exaggerated search of the people inside the ship, but in my gut, I knew something was off.
“A few of them said they saw you two going into the woods together,” the professor pointed out, a hint of suspicion in her tone.
At least I wasn’t the only one.
“Oh, we did. I wanted to show her something and then we parted ways. I told her to head back before me.”
I didn’t want to hear it. I pointed at Puro inside the ship and spoke in our native tongue.
“Make sure no one leaves this ship,” I said, marching toward the woods.
“Now, everyone calm down,” the man said to the others as if he was taking charge. “I’m sure Ms. Worthington is fine.”
She better be.
Once in the woods, I quickly lifted my helmet off my head, breathing in the fresh air of Phesah. I’d taken plenty of trips to the moon for its scenery. It was a good place to seek some solitude and be alone. It was peaceful. Quiet. Beautiful. But at night, deep in the wilderness, it was dangerous, especially for a human who didn’t know the terrain.
I hiked straight into the thick darkness, letting my eyes adjust to the lack of light. They did so quickly. Valerians were accustomed to low light situations and on top of that, Sylos and Phesah both had high amounts of bioluminescent life to compensate for the dim dwarf star. As soon as night came, the fungus on the trees lit up with a white glow and small drops of condensation mixed with tree sap made the forest look like a starry night. I took in a deep breath of unfiltered oxygen and marched onward, deeper and deeper into the glowing terrain. I followed the tracks of multiple boots until they faded into two very distinct trails.
Sam and the lead researcher.
Her boots were significantly smaller than his and she walked with more grace while he seemed to walk with a slight drag in his right step.
I followed the trail deeper until the base camp fell out of view. What were they doing so far away? We gave them specific parameters to abide by. I swore at myself over the fact that I didn’t keep a closer eye on her. She was a magnet for trouble. I should have been more cautious.
I finally hit a small field of colorful flowers that grew in blankets low to the forest floor. It was there that the footsteps started to lead in careful circles. But then they clustered together and the flowers looked sadly crushed inside grinding footprints. My hands curled into fists thinking of the implications. I kept following the tussle until it was clear that they started to run. Then there was another area of disturbed soil and my blood began to boil. I thought I might punch a hole in the nearest tree when I saw an OxyMask on the ground, cracked and discarded.
Crouching, I picked up the mask to find it had no power to it, and one whole side was crushed severely. My lip twitched with anger as I slowly stood, watching more disturbed ground lead to the edge of a hill. I moved toward it, clutching the mask so hard in my hand that I could feel the glass grinding.
If I looked over that ledge and saw Sam’s body, that man was going to die. I knew it in my bones. But I saw nothing. I saw a long incline that ended in a sheer drop. And below that, the river. I could hear the sound of its water even from up in the woods high above.
“Sam!” I called out, my voice carrying loudly through the canyon.
If she was dead, she wouldn’t answer. If she’d been swept away by the river, she wouldn’t answer.
When she didn’t call back, I snarled and started back toward the ship, anger like a fire rising inside me.
I emerged from the trees and made my way toward Sam’s tormentor, helmetless and without a care about who saw my enraged expression. My skin had changed from a light fuchsia to a burning red within moments. Everyone backed away, surrendering the lead researcher to me as I zeroed in on him.
I could have so easily reached out and twisted his neck hard enough to break him, but I was a controlled monster. For the moment.
I threw the mask down at his feet and showed him my teeth with a low growl, sharp canines out for him to see.
“Puro,” I demanded. “Take him into custody.”
Without asking, I ripped the man’s mask off his face as Puro stepped up behind him to pin his arms in place.
“Hey!” he griped.
I quickly turned the mask over to see the inside of the glass where data was displayed for the wearer. Quickly, I tried to access the memory feed to find that the past two hours had been erased from the mask’s storage. My nostrils flared with disappointment as I handed the mask off to Keril.
“Memory’s gone,” I said in our tongue, careless that the humans couldn’t understand us.
“Where is the girl?” Keril asked.
“Out there somewhere.” I marched onto the ship and quickly slapped my hand to a lock panel. As soon as it read my authorization, a compartment slid open full of emergency supplies. “I’m going out to get her. Take the humans to the Nexus and get them processed. The trip is over.” He nodded and immediately headed for the pilot chair to take my place. “Puro, lock the man up and make sure you report the reason. He put a fellow human researcher in danger and therefore put everyone in danger. This doesn’t bode well for future expeditions. Make sure the humans know that.”
I tossed a pack over my shoulder full of things I might need for my venture into Phesah’s wilderness and added a thigh holster with a pistol, a commlink, and a blade hilt. As I returned to the ramp, Ilisa caught me by my arm.
“Take this,” she said, handing me a white tube full of emergency medical supplies. I nodded and took the tube as I descended the ramp. “You sure you got this?”
“I know Phesah pretty well.”
“We could send a team after we’ve got everyone back on the Nexus.”
I shook my head. “Send a team to get us both once you take care of the humans. But she won’t survive out there alone for very long, especially if she’s hurt, and you know it.”
She nodded and turned back to wrangle the interns as they talked quietly amongst themselves. No one knew quite what was happening since none of them spoke our language, but they knew the tension was high.
Damn humans. It was a great privilege to explore one of our planetary moons and they squandered it. Or at least one did and now I was venturing off into the wilderness to find the one he’d endangered most. At night.
Phesah was a mostly docile environment, but it had its dangers in certain parts. We’d chosen a high elevation to make camp where wildlife wasn’t as prominent, but there was no telling where Sam had been dragged by the river.
I only hoped my search didn’t lead me to a body.