Chapter 24
As we crest another rolling hill, what must be the charging station pops up among the far-off dunes. Its black tin roof stands out amidst the bronzed earth.
The other buggy is further ahead. They'll reach it in a few short minutes at this rate. I wonder if their speed has anything to do with Tane needing to rid himself of Leo, and I can't help the smile that stretches between my chapped lips.
As we dip down another windswept hill, a horrifying noise rips through the silence. A fractured shriek slices through the air, stealing the breath from my lungs. Every hair on my arms stands straight, goosebumps littering my skin as I glance at Farra, who has her hands clutched over her ears.
It sounds like it’s from another world; tearing through the landscape with an unnatural echo. My own hands fly to my ears, needing to muffle the sound before my eardrums erupt, the buggy stuttering as Vera fights the urge to do the same.
"What in the underworld is that!?" I manage through my panting, the noise subsiding for a moment. Vera takes the reprieve to slam her foot down on the pedal; pushing us up the remaining hill, because now we hear another sound, one that sounds a lot more like a human scream.
"Sicari..." Vera breathes out, as her eyes meet mine in the mirror, wide with fear.
"It can't be... they've been gone for years. Haven't they?" The dread lining Berkley's words puts me further on edge. Berkley doesn't scare easily, so the way his knuckles turn white while he grips the bar in front of him, has me swallowing bile.
Another haunting wail splits the air, as I try to use whatever brain cells remain to remember what thing could make this noise.
It hits me right as we jump the final hill and see Tane's buggy sitting there, empty.
Tane is pulling himself up off the ground, his blades already dripping with a thick, sticky substance.
In front of him is the corpse of a Sicari, an ancient arachnid with legs longer than Tane is tall.
Several of its limbs are cut off and strewn about, barely visible; the translucent body blends perfectly with the coppery sand and dirt.
Tane shouts something at Leo and Tarius, who are standing frozen behind the cart. Leo screams, pointing over Tane's shoulder frantically.
To my absolute horror, I catch movement on the top of the dune behind Tane, who's still several yards from us. The ground moves and shakes, as great creatures seem to dust themselves off, emerging from their hiding places.
Their hideous forms appear half-spider, half-scorpion, their bodies elongated and darker than the almost-invisible legs.
Their front legs are separate from the eight that frantically start to move themselves, long and lifted as they run, the backs of their bodies dragging in the sand.
The only thing that makes them possible to see from a distance is the four black, red-tinged fangs that open to a dark, gaping mouth as they scream.
"Shit!" Vera yells, blaring her horn, hoping to divert the monstrosities descending the hill towards our crewmates.
My breath seizes in my lungs as one veers towards us, gliding along the dunes, its bulbous dark voids of its eyes locking in on us. My own eyes bulge.
"The gun!" Vera screams, and I reach behind me into the container strapped to the back, the plastic flap of the dome smacking me in the face as I struggle with the lid.
"Hurry!" Berkley hollers, his frantic voice causing the blood to pound in my ears.
Vera slams on the brakes right as I grasp the rifle from the back.
She jumps out and I unzip my door, throwing her the weapon just in time.
The Sicari is right in front of her now, and as she unloads the gun into its face, the blackened fangs blooming open in a curved nightmare.
I grab my measly baton, scrambling and cursing everyone for only arming us with these fucking sticks.
Our beast goes down, a clear, gelatinous liquid splatters the soft earth as it curls in on itself.
Dust and dirt shiver off the fine hairs lining its legs, and a terrifying, strangled noise comes out of it as it stills.
I remember the others and move towards them, but my feet fail me when I catch sight of the fight unfolding across the dunes.
Tane is alone.
Both blades in his hands, he cuts through the Sicari like they're a mere annoyance. Every swipe and stab is an artful movement, lethal with grace. The two creatures apparently work better in numbers, as they use their remaining legs together to corral Tane.
He ducks under the taller one, back arched as he slices its underbelly, drenching himself. He cuts off the other creature's remaining two legs off as he rolls to the other side, almost getting trapped in its gaping fangs as it screams. Dust and gore spray through the air. It's beautiful butchery.
With a grunt, he shoves his other blade into its side; the last Sicari making one last desperate shriek, before toppling over.
Vera barks for me to get back in the buggy, and we drive silently for the two minutes it takes to reach the rest of our group.
Chest still heaving, Tane wipes ichor from his eyes.
I look at him with a new appreciation. Until now we have only heard of the Lieutenant's lethality ––his savagery a myth among cadets.
I was foolish, thinking his reputation was exaggerated.
He just took on not one, but three Sicari, without even a scratch on him.
Without modern weaponry. The creatures that are said to have snuck out from the underworld; the pets of Gods, accidentally unleashed on our world.
Used as lore to keep children from wandering too far into the desert. And he made it look easy.
"Show off," Vera taunts. There's a smile on her face, but an edge to her voice as she checks him over. Saying something under her breath to him and he gives her a grunt for a response. I am staring, and wonder briefly if I'm intruding on a private moment as she cleans him up, so I turn.
I look over at my friends, who are all standing, gawking at Tane. For once, none of us seem to know what to say. The shock of the attack has stunned our usually chatty group.
"Solana finally put that loud mouth of his to good use. His high-pitched screaming almost beat out the Sicari's call. You probably woke up the rest of its pack with your antics," Tane says, breaking the tension.
"I.. uhh... " Leo shudders, peeking over at the shriveled corpses that are now steaming on the warm earth, a potent odor coming from them.
"The noise they made just sent me into complete hysteria.
I'm not even scared of spiders, but I draw the line at that," he finishes waving his hands at the carnage before us.
I smile up at him, because I love that he's far from embarrassed that he just squealed in front of his crew members.
"You better figure out a better line of defense, and quickly, kid," Tane scoffs, but it's half-hearted. He's probably too tired to fully reprimand us for our inaction.
I turn back to Tane, who's taken his shirt off, using it to wipe the blood and grime covering his face.
My eyes peruse him without my permission.
His torso is corded in thick muscle, a long, jagged scar bending down his chest towards his abdomen.
There are other scars, littering his otherwise perfectly golden skin, but it's the dark whorls on his shoulders that catch my attention.
Tattoos peek over his shoulders. As Tane walks by me, he gives me a smug smirk that makes my cheeks flush, and I realize he knows full well I've been ogling him.
I try to stop myself, but I can't help but look back as he passes me.
He walks away, a tinge of familiarity washes over me as I try to continue to analyze his tattoos from afar.
Tattoos snake up his abdomen; what appears to be fire and smoke curling along muscle in artful swirls.
It might be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen; the lowest flames dark and violent, cascading up and out, leaving soft tendrils of smoke grazing his shoulders.
My mouth gapes, because I definitely recognize them.
"The Lieutenant is the strong silent type, hey?" Leo asks in Vera's direction, as he grabs packs from the buggy's storage container.
She tries and fails to hide her smirk, which Leo returns––his own giant goofy grin lighting up his face. Gods, this kid really can weasel his way into anyone's heart.
Anyone, except maybe the Sicari-slaying giant that is our Lieutenant.
"Leo, how many times did he tell you to shut up?" Farra whispers, grabbing her own bag.
"Oh, he threatened my life on multiple occasions. The guy’s got some issues to work through. Although, he can say whatever he wants when he slays monsters for me like that. Woof." He fake pants our way, completely unbothered.
Tarius pops up beside him. "You also might want to ask yourself why death threats are preferable to silence. It’s strange to watch." He scrunches his face up, like he was analyzing our crew members' compulsions the entire ride.
Laughing, I head to the front of the building. I search for the door, when suddenly the entire wall moves, and I jump back.
Vera is there, moving the heavy rust-coloured steel by herself, before we all catch on and help her push. Once it clicks open, Vera hops in the first buggy and drives it in. Tane does the same with the other, and our crew saunters into the giant, empty building.
"Old packing facility," Vera says, and I notice her tone’s changed back. The cold viciousness I've seen her display at training settles onto her features.
"Packing what?"
"Produce. Fruit mostly, if I remember correctly."
My eyes go wide. This place is huge. Imagining this amount of produce is... unfathomable, at this point. Empty metal shelves line the vast space.
I hear voices echoing to my left, and see two officers sitting between tables filled with wire, and odds and ends.
There's a disk in the center with a network of tiny wires, and plugs on it.
One officer is cursing as he tries to untangle the mess.
The other officer notes our approach and calls to attention, and the first scrambles to do so as well.
"At ease," Vera says. The officers slack their shoulders slightly at her dismissal. They aren't dressed like us; they're in casual, albeit very dirty, work clothes.
Tane comes around the tables to inspect what they're doing. Repairs of one of the solar charging boards would be my guess, and the two officers tense at his nearness.
"Harrow, care to explain to me why we were just attacked by Sicari outside the station, and no one bothered to come aid us?" Tane's voice comes out like rolling thunder in the empty space. The two men blanch.
"We've come to ignore such sounds, sir. Being out here, you learn which noises to investigate, and when to stay put for survival. If we'd thought you were out there, we would have come to your aid," he says, his voice trembling slightly under Vera and Tane's scrutiny.
Tane grunts his disapproval.
"Harrow, show the cadets the bunk house so they can get settled for a bit, before we head out in the morning." He nods, to the strawberry-blond guy, who looks like he's either in love with Tane or absolutely terrified of him––maybe both.
Harrow motions for us to follow him to the back of the facility, where a room is tucked away between empty shelves.
Walking into the space, I'm struck with a sudden familiarity.
Gone are the orderly clean bunks of our dorm rooms; in their place are about eight bunks, unevenly splayed one on top of the other, taking up most of the space in the room.
They're constructed with warehouse shelving and other mixed materials, cleverly assembled to hold crews that pass through.
This is what I'm used to. A kind of desperate ingenuity. We pick bunks and get comfortable. A part of me feels more at ease like this, anchored in the reality of our world.