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Chapter 13: New Member
It was two days after the festival that Talus had finally decided to see us. During these two irksome days, we helped the Cave People moved the boulders around and reshaped the caverns that were deeper down into the earth. For two days, Talus had eluded us, refusing to see us.
We had gotten pretty good at grasping the time while underground. Some how, some way, the midget-sized people had taught us ways to use our senses to detect time. I could only vaguely describe the strange sensation that was now rooted deep inside my head. It was like a pile of sand slowly seeping out of a filter, though confusing since you couldn't count each grain of sand, but for Wriik and me, we had no problem doing so. We had to distinguish the differences between the Standard Time, which was the normal space time, and the X-Varied Time, the time in the sector that we were now in. The space continuum was slightly changed here.
Early each morning, we ate breakfast for half an hour of Talus' people's time (X-Varied). Then we would go deep into the ground and shift the pile of rocks around to make more room for further expansion of the tunnels. It was a good thing that the Cave People liked large caves, since our heights were way taller than they were. Still, we had to be careful not to bump the stalagmites hanging down from the ceiling with our heads. Lifting big slabs of stones were not as tough as I thought they would be. With the size of our muscles, we could literally bench press at least six hundred pounds of weight one hundred times.
Then at noon, we would rest for an hour or so, eating smoked meat that the hunters had made. Up till now, I still wondered how did they manage to get their daily supplies. From what I had seen, there was absolutely no way of getting out of the underground passageways; they were like a broad maze with no definite exits.
Afternoon, Wriik would leave me working on the mountain of debris while he would go to another section of the subterraneous area, where he would help making more dugouts. He had fun. Oh yes. I could hear his roaring laughter bouncing against the jagged walls all the way to my position. I wished that I could learn other languages as rapidly as he could. After all, even though I had improved a little more, but...
I smiled as I piled up the rocks on a new spot. My talons gripped the stones with great strength. Here I was, laboring off like a mineworker. I was not a human, at least, I didn't look like one anymore. Spikes poking out, muscle bulging out, and limbs lengthening up, I was like a monster really. Sweat drenched my leathery, navy colored skin. It stung my eyes where drops of acidic liquid rolled off from the top of my head and my long, dark brown hair. I still had my power. The power that if used correctly, could destroy an entire planet. It was possible anyway, just a crazy thought.
Just how did I change my attitude toward vengeance? After all, I still disliked humans. The scarred part of my mind would never heal. Never. And if I could just find out who was responsible for bringing me such pain, I would still more than happy like to blow his or her head off. Yes. I still hated the human race, but not so much that I wanted to destroy all of them. I just wanted to get back at those who were responsible for my suffering.
Naiomi for one had lied to me. She was with them. Those dullards had thought they could control me, making me do their dirty jobs for them like a puppy.
Without knowing it, I slammed a fist into the solid wall. A gaping hole was made. Fragments fell away from the cracked edge of the hole. I stared at my knuckles. No wounds. I must calm down. I would not wipe out the humans. No. I would just destroy certain ones, ones that are not worthy enough to live...
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Just before dinner, Talus came to us. His face was completely concealed behind the shadow of his hood.
"Come with me," he said.
I took a peek at Wriik, who looked back and shrugged. We followed. The workers still worked on behind us, showing no signs of stopping.
Down and down into spiral stairway, we descended deeper into the planet. Burning rods were fixed onto each side of the wall, guiding us all the way. Temperature rose quickly, and I had to strip my dirtied white cloak down to my waist, exposing my chest. Wriik had done the same thing as well. It was just plain too hot to wear anything basically. Yet, Talus was able to withstand the immense heat.
My shoulder, which had a spike jabbing out of the flesh, came in contact with the ancient wall by accident. The pointy bone chipped a piece of rock away from the wall with a snap. Talus stopped and stared at me. I coughed once and lowered my head.
We continued on. Wriik leaned toward me and whispered: "Strong bones you have."
I smiled faintly. When we had finally reached the bottom, a small chamber was present. Along the wall, torches were lit. A metallic door with weird designs stood in the center. It was golden brown. It was round like a moon. Soft, humming sound echoed around us. I could feel extensive power floating in the air.
"What is this?" I asked.
Talus didn't reply. He only stared toward the front. I frowned. Grabbing his shoulders, I spun him around. Wriik reached out and steadied the elder. He gave a dangerous look at me, warning me to treat the man with respect. I ignored him.
"So? What is it? Answer me," I pressed on.
Finally, Talus looked up at me. His eyes were cold, radiating an invisible fury that I had never felt before in him. I took a step back. His eyes softened.
"This is a Teleportation Room. A place where we get our supplies," he said in a low voice. "This machine emerged out of the soil and rock when we've dug into this area. At first, we didn't know how to work this gizmo. But as time goes on, we found writings on the walls all along the tunnels that we've dug, and gradually, we learned the words and understood the meanings of them."
The puzzle in my head broke apart. "So that's how you get the food and clothes! Through teleportation from other planets!"
"Yes. But we seldom use this, since we have our ways to hunt for food and to gather for water. Now, you guys were asking for transportation? Unfortunately, we don't have adequate equipment for your perilous journey. Of course, I don't know where you guys are planning to go to, but I am sure it must be a place full of danger."
"Are you going to zap us into space?" I asked. "This thing won't just dump us into space, would it?"
Sighing, Talus clasped his hands behind his back. Tipping his toes, he said: "No, Jake. This machine will take you to exactly where you want. It has a vast data bank, where it stored infinite coordinates for each and every single planet in space."
Wriik clapped my bare shoulder. His green eyes sparkled. "This, could be our ticket out of here." He then turned and looked down at Talus. "Thank you for saving us and helping us. We are very grateful, Honored Elder."
Waving his hand, Talus nodded. "Yes, yes. Nothing to it. Don't thank me like this. I feel... uncomfortable whenever someone is praising me or thanking me. There's more to it, you two."
I stiffened. I knew it. There must be a price to be paid. Wriik stopped breathing as well. He slowly straightened his back.
"I am going with you two."
My jaws went slack, exposing my sharp fangs. Wriik's eyes were as big as they could get. His long tendrils on his arms stiffened like porcupines.
"Are you joking with us?" both of us yelled at the same time. Our voices reverberated away from the room and up the stairs.
I saw Talus' red pupils were shining as he grinned. "I want to explore other worlds as well. I've been planning on this for ages, but no one in the colony wants to come with me. So, when the two of your have arrived on this planet, I figured this might be the day that I can leave along with companions to delve on other parts of the universe."
The thought of travelling with an old man was... unbearable. I betted that Wriik was thinking the same thing as well, for his face had gone ashen.
"You... you must be joking, O' Elder!"
"Bah! Stop calling me 'Elder'. Just call me Talus, darn it! I am not that old. Compare to you guys, I am about the same age as you are."
"No. Way!" I bellowed. A little bit of dust rained down from the ceiling.
Laughing, Talus pulled back his hood. And for the first time since our arrival, we could see his features clearly. He had this pair of large, purple-colored, almond-shaped eyes (with the red pupils). Long, pointy ears extended from side of head. His head was large and bold at the top, and thin and pointy at the bottom, with green-colored skin. Have you ever saw E.T on book covers and other sources before? On Earth, I had seen fictional pictures made up by humans about what an entity would look like. Well, Talus resembled the alien drawn in the books. Talus' neck was thin, with slender shoulders. No wonder the Cave People were short and small looking. Had they been on Earth, they would have been mistaken as 'lack of nutrients'. Little muscles were present.
He was surprisingly young. I'd thought that he would have wrinkles all over his face.
"I... you look... cool," I stammered. I nudged Wriik, who just stood there as if someone had swung a sledgehammer right into the back of his head, stunning him.
"Yeah... um... Eld - I mean Talus, you look... wonderful!" he managed to get the words untied.
Groaning, the alien before us placed his small hand onto his forehead. "Why are you guys making such a big deal as to what I look like? Now you've just shattered my confidence..." He was going to replace his hood back onto his head when we intercepted his motions.
"No, no, no!" I quickly explained, placing the hood at his back. "It is because we have never seen your face before, that's why we have this... wild imaginations as to what you might look like - but let me assure you that you look - how should I put this - grand."
"Yeah. Talus, we are not laughing at you or anything. Heck! Take a look at Jake! His face is ten times more ugly than yours - not intend to offend you by the way - and he's still roaming around like a Siberian Tiger!" Wriik briskly butted in.
I glared at my friend. "Me ugly? Why of all the-"
Then Talus laughed. When he laughed he looked even better. I could almost say handsome, which I would not in front of Wriik. Otherwise he would have made more irritating remarks at me.
"Okay, you guys are hilarious," Talus gasped between laughter.
"Gee... thanks..." I muttered. We had turned into comedians? Wow...
"Right. But Talus, I have to warn you, our journey won't be fun. As you have said before, it will be dangerous." Wriik got rid of his giddy expression and began focusing on the situation at hand. "Are you sure you want to come with us?"
"Talus. Wriik and I are planning to go to some rebel planets, where we can acquire arsenals to attack a special group of... species. If you want to travel with us, you'll be counted as one of us," I added with a serious voice.
Talus seemed to ponder about our words for a second there. He then heaved out a deep breath as he looked up at us. "I understand that perfectly. And I don't care if people want to kill me just because I hang around with you guys. After all, we are friends, aren't we?" He smiled.
Nodding, I was relieved that Talus understood the predicament. One more member in our little exploration team was even better. And Talus looked like a man who could aid us greatly in our little war against the military armies on Earth.
As Talus went to a corner to grab our bags and equipment, Wriik turned toward me and said: "You're sure that you want me to help you destroy your enemy? The troops on Earth are hard to kill, and with three people, we can do almost nothing against them."
I tapped the side of my head. "Quantity does not matter. What matter is the quality of your brain. So what if they have - say - a thousand troops? One tactical nuclear warhead and boom!"
He shook his head grimly. "Where are you going to attain that kind of fire power? We don't even have enough credits to buy food for ourselves save for weapons."
I shrugged. "I'll think of some ways. Don't worry." Then I glanced at him for a moment. "Thanks for helping me out."
"Ah, that's what friends are for. I don't like those guys anyway to begin with. They've completely destroyed my father's ship, those bastards."
"Sorry about that. I guess it's my fault that your transportation is obliterated," I clamped his left arm. I could feel the blood pumping through the veins and arteries there. "I shouldn't have bothered you like this."
Wriik lifted a talon up in front of my face. "Hey, stop saying sorry okay? There's no need for it. It's their fault that they have used you like some laboratory mouse, and I especially hate that kind of torment. It is my wish to sacrifice my vessel. And also, have I not saved you from those idiots back on Earth, you would have destroyed all the innocent souls on the planet surface! It's a good thing that I've crashed into you on that first day. You've changed a lot ever since then."
I grinned, showing my fangs. "I sure changed."
Talus came lumbering forward, carrying all three heavy bags, each at least a hundred pound. I marveled at his strength.
Grumbling, he said: "Instead of standing around like a statue there, why can't you guys come and help me pack up all the stuff? Man... You guys are so lazy..."
Grabbing my bag, I chuckled. "Thanks for doing the work. I knew you would be a great asset." I winked at Wriik.
"Bah! Just because you guys are bigger than I am, but that doesn't mean..." Talus continued muttering away as he reached the teleport gate and keyed in the destination on a control panel on the wall beside it. Looking back over his shoulder, he asked: "Where to?"
I thought about it for a moment. Wriik spoke up: "Let's just get to Atarii first. That's a pretty good rebel star, and that's also where I've bought my weapons to fit onto my late-Starflyer. Punch in the coordinates: seven-two-two-forty-two-seven dot six."
Once the computer had analyzed the information, the gate slowly opened. A swirl of yellow and white colored lights appeared in front of us. The humming noise grew louder. It was like a vortex, mystic, quaint.
"It's... beautiful," Wriik said under his breath.
I looked at Talus. "What about your people? Without their Elder guiding them, they will be lost as to what to do."
"Never mind them. I've given specific instructions to them. Well? What are you two waiting for? Go! Go! Go!" He pushed Wriik and me toward the entrance of the vortex.
Wriik gasped as he disappeared into the liquid light, I was half way in when I had noticed something was... different. I had gotten that feeling a long time now, ever since we came down here. But... I just couldn't grasp that feeling. I couldn't discern it. Just before I, too, vanished through the gateway, I suddenly got it.
"Hey! Talus! You've been speaking Univer-" my voice disappeared as Talus grinned and shoved me hard into the light.
He looked back at the stairway and whispered: "Yeah. I've been speaking Universal all this time since I brought you guys down here." He then jumped in after us as he screamed: "Here I come!"
~End Chapter 13~
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