Chapter 43: Chapter 43

AMY

Silian crouched still and quiet in the dense bushes next to Amy as they watched the armed men in uniform pass by. She couldn’t see him with the stealth suit activated, but knew she could reach out and touch him.

The rest of the crew and rebels were similarly hidden around the shuttle. The only light in the forest was the torchlights of the searchers, and the sounds of distant howls and roars made the guards uneasy.

The guards had already checked the shuttle and surrounding area, but when they didn’t find anything, they started heading back to the base. Only stragglers in small groups remained, slowly forming up to walk back to base.

~Hurry up, we can’t move until you do,~ she thought.

She watched the last of them leave, hurrying off toward the base, and waited for Silian.

When he seemed to feel sure none remained, he helped Amy stand up and pushed the tangle of branches aside for her, turning off his stealth suit.

“We need to get out of this rainforest quickly. Haark will lead the way. Stay close,” he said to her.

She turned off her stealth suit as Haark landed on the ground next to them from his perch in the tall tree and straightened to his full height.

“We must move.” His deep voice echoed in the trees. Silian nodded and followed as the man led.

“What is that noise?” Amy whispered. Silian looked around at the dense trees and then at her.

“This jungle comes alive at night. The sun has set, and the beasts that live here are waking up to hunt.”

“Oh, goody,” Amy mumbled.

They stalked through the trees and bushes on the ground, taking each step with caution. Amy adjusted the bag containing the explosives on her hip again.

“Let me take the bag,” Silian said to her.

“No, it’s okay, I got it,” she said, pulling the straps again.

“You need to save your energy. I am stronger.”

Amy rolled her eyes at him, but undid the bag for him. He took it from her, and she rubbed her hip and nodded her thanks to him.

They walked quietly for a while, and Amy couldn’t help her eyes wandering around and trying to get a glimpse of everything around her. Everything looked so strange and yet so familiar.

The forest looked like what you would expect from a forest. Dense towering trees with twisted heavy roots and bracing to handle the immense size, thick underbrush, and the ground covered in mulch.

But every time she moved her eyes, she could see a small flicker of light, like a glow-bug twinkling in the distance.

The sounds of growls and snarls were replaced by what sounded like birds singing in the distance. When Silian stopped in front of her, she almost bumped into him from looking up at the tops of the trees.

“Why did we stop?” she asked.

“Shh,” he whispered, and she saw him turn his head, listening. Haark and the others scanned the trees, bringing their weapons up. They all looked on edge, tense and ready for a fight.

Amy scanned the darkness around her, but it felt useless. The thick foliage above meant pitch blackness on the ground with only the occasional thin beam of moonlight letting her see Silian in front of her.

“Silian. The jungle is still,” Haark whispered.

“I know. I can’t hear anything. You?” Silian replied.

“Nothing. This is not a good sign.”

“We need to get to the river. Fast!” Silian said, and turned to grab Amy’s arm. He pulled her forward, and she tried to keep up with him on the rough terrain.

“Silian, slow down. I can’t see where I’m going.”

He ignored her and continued to pull her over the rocks and down the muddy sides of the steep river valley.

An ear-piercing howl from just behind them made Amy jump, and she lost her footing. She slid on the mud, and the sudden jerk loosened Silian’s grip.

She rolled down the embankment, hitting trees, bushes, and a few rocks on her way. She finally stopped when she hit the water.

Her head spun, but her suit protected her from the worst of the impacts, although she felt bruises forming.

She reached for the sonic blaster under a few inches of water, getting her hands on it, and stood up, but dizziness from the wild spinning ride made her close her eyes.

She jerked as she felt Silian’s hand on her arm. “Are you all right?” he asked in a panicked rush.

“Yeah, I think so. I don’t think I broke anything,” she said.

“Your helmet is scratched. You must have hit your head. For now, we need to move. If the Sirmax heard you fall, they will be coming,” he said, helping to steady her on her feet.

“I’m okay. I just need a second,” she said, finding her footing on the wet rocks.

“Silian, we must leave. I won’t wait for her,” Haark boomed down to them. Silian gave him an annoyed look, and when he looked at Amy, his eyes were on fire.

“Can you walk?” he asked her.

“I don’t have a choice. Let’s go,” she said, putting her hand onto her head.

They hurried along the river bank, Haark and his men shadowing them from atop the high ground, not too far away.

Silian stopped abruptly cocking his head to one side and she bumped into him. When he turned to look at Amy, his eyes were concerned.

His body went tense and in a second, he threw her into the river and drew one of the black sparking blades from his back as a massive white shape leaped toward him.

As she came up out of the water, all she could hear were the horrific growling sounds of a large animal.

In the blink of an eye, the beast must have bowled Silian over in its charge and now stood over him with its massive white frame, lunging at him with long sharp teeth.

By luck or skill, Silian used the black shockblade in his hand to keep the fangs off himself.

“SILIAN!” she screamed, bringing up the sonic blaster.

“No!” Haark shouted. “That will only attract more!”

The thing swiped at Silian with its claws, before resting its weight on him and trying to crush him.

“Rippers on,” she said, and the HUD screen became active. Two circles took a half second to track her eyes, and she felt the shoulder mounts start spinning up.

~Short range, but ~very~ destructive. I can’t aim anywhere close to Silian.~

She targeted the hairy back end of the animal, as far away from Silian’s struggling body as possible.

“Do not fire that weapon, you will kill us both!” Haark shouted as he slid down the bank toward Silian. The white fur around the animal’s mouth turned red with blood as long strands of milky drool dripped onto Silian.

Haark reached into his belt, producing a small oval-shaped device in one hand and a smaller knife in the other.

As his feet slid down the bank on the wet mud, Haark fell back to avoid being crushed by a thick mass on the end of the animal’s tail that swung toward him with speed.

He pushed himself up with one arm, in the same instant changing the direction of his descent and moved toward the animal’s gut. Three rebel men, one the Bolith, came rushing toward Haark with weapons ready.

The beast swung its tail again, swiping the men off their feet with a bone-crushing sound and sending them soaring through the air for a few feet before they smashed to the ground in a motionless pile.

~It’s going to kill Silian. I have to do something!~ Amy pushed out of the water, her feet sinking into the mud as she tried to get to him.

She caught sight of Haark as he reached a hand out as he slid past the creature on the steep bank, stopping at the edge of the water.

He stood to his full height, and without hesitation, he leaped for Amy, barging into her and out of the way of the swinging tail to land in the water next to her.

“Help him! Please!” Amy cried out to Haark as she sat up. She saw him grin before she heard a dull thump, and a splatter of dark blood covered the mask of his suit.

Amy spun around to look at the source of the blood, her heart racing thinking that it must be Silian’s.

The white mountain of fur collapsed. Its wide body jerked once, then fell forward revealing a huge hole in its gut.

She felt Haark grab the frame on the back of her suit and lift her up to place her on her feet, then he strode past her.

The animal moved again, its limp head swaying as its body rolled off Silian and tumbled down the bank.

Amy stood rooted to the spot, unable to move in fear of finding Silian dead on the ground.

~Oh, God, please be okay~, she thought as warm tears rolled down her cheeks. Haark stopped next to Silian, looking him over and shaking his head.

Haark extended his hand, and when Silian grabbed it, Amy’s knees felt weak with relief.

That relief vanished quickly when Haark pulled Silian out of the mud, and she saw the ragged torn metal of his suit and the blood dripping from the holes.

Silian lurched to his feet with Haark’s assistance. Long, deep cuts on his chest poured blood on the ground. Amy felt her heart sink at the sight. She pushed out of the water and climbed through the mud to him.

Once Haark had him off the bank and back on the mulch, Silian fell to his knees. Amy ran as hard as she could through the thick mud to get to him. She grabbed him as he was about to fall forward.

“Oh, God, Silian. No!” she cried, helping him lie down on his side. Igraak, one of the Orbanite crew, rushed to him.

“Silian, turn on your back,” he said, reaching into a bag he carried on his back.

“Is he going to be okay?” Amy asked as her hands trembled.

“I don’t know…,” Igraak said, giving her a concerned look. “…Silian, did it bite you?” he asked.

“No, Igraak. But I can feel its poison in me,” Silian’s voice sounded pained and weak.

Igraak moved a loose piece of the stealth armor to one side. Beneath it, she saw a bloody claw mark, cutting deep into his skin, with white pus around it.

“What is that?” Amy asked.

“Sirmax venom. Without Prime, I will not be able to stop it from spreading,” Igraak muttered to her.

“What happens if it spreads?” Amy asked, knowing by the look on his face that it wasn’t good.

“Silian, drink,” Haark’s deep voice came from above them. He held a large leaf cupped into a bowl. He dropped onto his haunches, and they all helped Silian get to his knees.

“What is that?” Amy asked. She looked into the bowl and saw a thick black liquid.

“Drink,” Haark insisted. He pushed the leaf bowl closer to Silian’s face and poured the dark liquid into his mouth. Silian spat the first sip out with disgust and glared at Haark.

“It will keep the poison at bay for some time until you can get to your Prime,” Haark explained.

“It’s blood,” Silian wheezed.

“Yes. The blood of the Sirmax will stave off the effects for a while. It’s the best remedy, unless you can get one to lick you. Now drink,” Haark pushed the bowl at Silian again. Silian opened his mouth and drank two long sips.

“You cannot continue. You and your female must stay here,” Haark said. “I will finish the mission.”

“No. We need to keep moving,” Silian said, and with Amy and Igraak’s help he got to his feet.

“Silian, don’t. You can barely walk, and you’re losing a lot of blood from the cuts,” Amy said, holding him up as he tried to find his feet.

“No. I will be fine. Let’s keep going,” he said, and pushed forward. The cuts on his chest spilled blood down his arms and legs, and it dripped onto the ground.

Igraak pulled out a small gun-shaped tool and went to Silian. Amy couldn’t hear what they said, and then Silian nodded. He stood up straight and clenched his jaw as Igraak stood in front of him.

“Forgive me, Silian. This is going to hurt, but I must stop the bleeding. Try not to scream,” Igraak said. Amy heard that part just fine.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“This is a bio filler. It’s used to patch up wounds in the field until Prime can heal, but without Prime to inhibit his pain receptors, this is going to hurt. A lot,” Igraak said and began filling the first cut.

Silian bucked and growled, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. She could see the pain in his body as the muscles in his arms quivered and twitched. Even Haark and his men held a look of pity on their faces for him.

With the first cut sealed, Silian took a few ragged breaths, and Igraak began with the second one. Again, Silian clenched and bucked as the black foam filled the wound.

When Igraak started on the third gash, Silian couldn’t hold it in anymore. The pain escaped his lips and he let out a heart-wrenching howl.

When Igraak finished, Silian fell to his knees again, but this time, Haark came to help him.

“You are stronger than I thought,” Haark said as he offered Silian his hand.

“How…so?” Silian asked.

“I do not know many men who could stay awake to experience all three wounds being filled like that,” Haark smiled at him and he pulled him up.

“If I had a choice…,” Silian said, giving him a look. Haark smiled at him and nodded.

“Can you fight?” he asked.

“Always,” Silian said, rolling his shoulders. Amy saw the foam in his flesh move and settle inside the wound.

Igraak bent forward to look at his wounds, and when he straightened, he spoke. “The wounds are not bleeding anymore. How do you feel?” he asked.

“Angry,” Silian said.

“Feverish? Dizzy? Weak?” Igraak asked.

“I can fight. We need to move,” he said. Igraak let out a frustrated sigh and nodded.

“If you insist, First, but if you feel any of those, tell me. It means the poison is spreading through your body.”

“I will, I promise,” Silian replied.

“Can you walk?” Amy asked Silian as she went to stand next to him.

“I don’t have a choice.”