Novum: Revelation: (Book 4) (5 page)

“Are you all right?” AJ asked. “We couldn’t see anything. What happened down there?”

“They attacked,” Jake replied. “I really didn’t think we were going to make it.” He looked at Raines in the filtered light of the fire below. “You can move fast for an old guy. Thanks for saving my life.”

Raines nodded. “I rarely admit things like this, but I think I’m a little too old for this kind of adventure.”

Jake smiled and patted his shoulder. “You and me both.”

“What did they look like?” Vee asked. She was higher up in the tree than the rest.

“You probably don’t want to know the details,” he replied. “I don’t think you would be able to sleep tonight.”

“I don’t see how any of us are going to sleep tonight,” Jessie said. “Unless we find a way to tie ourselves to this tree.” Jake looked up at her and saw that she was crouching on a branch right next to Jane.

“Are you okay, Jane?” he asked. She just nodded her head. He wondered for a moment why she was the only one not talking but then remembered where she grew up. Maybe these dog-creatures reminded her of the huge cats that probably stalked her every night in her dome.

“I’m just glad those things can’t climb,” AJ said. As she said that, everyone looked down. The growling and hissing had vanished, and the only sound they heard was the crackling fire.

“Well, I think we just learned the real reason for the fences,” Raines said, breaking the silence. “We were wrong to assume the entire torus would be just as safe as the section we came from.”

“Thank goodness Captain had us camp next to this tree,” Jessie said.

As his crew nodded in agreement, he said, “Don’t thank me. I shouldn’t have brought you all out here with me. I…I thought it would be an easy trip.”

“You didn’t bring us anywhere,” AJ was quick to say. “We’re all adults, and since we’re no longer officially a crew, we didn’t have to come along.”

The words “no longer a crew” stung a bit, but he knew she was correct; without his ship, they were all just
people
. “I know, but—”

“No buts, Jake,” AJ said. “We all agreed—”

“Speaking of butts, yours is in my face, Jessie,” a voice said.

“Hey!” Jessie screamed as she turned around, nearly losing her grip on a branch.

Jake reached out a hand to steady her. “Calm down, Jessie. That was Dr. Wood.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Wood said from somewhere behind him.

Jake looked at the dark space behind Jessie. “Then who’s there?”

Ash’s face appeared out of the shadows. “It’s me, Captain. Sorry for startling you all.”

Vee gasped then grabbed Jessie and tried to pull her away from the newcomer. “Who are you?” she yelled.

Jessie reached out and touched the man’s face. “Is it really you, Ash?”

“It’s really me, little sister,” he said.

Jake leaned in close to try to get a better look, wishing he still had one of the spears. “I watched you die,” he said. “How can you be here?”

Ash shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m right here. How could I be dead?”

“That’s what we would like to know,” AJ said, positioning herself closer to the man. “How did you get here?”

He shook his head. “If you mean how did I get to this place, I don’t remember.”

“What exactly do you remember?”

He looked at Jessie. “I remember hearing your voice in my headset while I was working outside on the ship. You were telling everyone that I was farting, or something like that. Then I woke up in a room here.” He looked at Raines. “So you tell me what happened. You were there.”

“There was a malfunction,” Raines said. “You were…stabbed in the back by a spike from the hull. It went all the way through your body.”

He touched his chest. “Well, I guess that explains it. I have a weird patch of what looks like new skin on my chest that doesn’t grow hair.”

Dr. Wood spoke up. “Your description sounds like some sort of dermal repair, but who would have performed the surgery? Certainly not one of the villagers.”

“It had to have been the Isopods,” Raines said. “We saw one take you away. It must have brought you here and repaired you somehow.”

“How could one of those big things do a delicate surgery like that?” Vee asked.

Raines shook his head. “Perhaps there is another version, something we haven’t seen yet.”

Jessie finally gave in and hugged Ash. “I thought I lost you, big brother.” She sobbed. “I can’t believe you’re back.”

“I’m still not sure I believe it,” AJ said.

“Me neither,” Jake said. “However, I do accept the possibility that the Isopod brought you here.” He looked around at the rest of his crew. “They basically saved all of us as well.”

“So, what part of his story don’t you believe, then?” Jessie asked.

“There was simply far too much damage to Ash’s body for him to have survived,” Raines answered.

“It was more than that,” AJ added. “We were very deep. The pressure would have turned his body into mush the moment his hardsuit was pierced.”

“But he’s right here,” Jessie said. “Don’t talk about him like he’s not here. It’s him. I can tell by the nuances in his voice. He’s real. He’s right here.”

“Listen, Captain. I understand how you feel,” Ash said. “I can’t explain what happened. Like I said, I woke up in a room here—”

“Wait a minute,” Dr. Wood interrupted. “You said a room. Not a hut?”

Ash looked at the man. “Hey, Doc. Good to see you again. Yeah, it was a good-sized room with a sort of medical bed in the middle. Kind of like the
Wave
’s medical bay, but a lot bigger and filled with a lot more gizmos.”

“Gizmos?” Wood asked. “You need to take me there.”

“That’s just a small part. Wait until you see. Actually, that’s why I came out here.”

“Why did you come here?” Jake asked.

“To lead you all inside.”

“Inside? Inside what?”

Ash wrapped his arms around his sister and said, “Your new home.” Jake and the others sat there in the tree, staring at Ash for what seemed like several minutes. “Was it something I said?” he finally asked.

“You’re going to take us to our new home?” Jake repeated. “I don’t think I can even count the number of questions that just popped up in my head. Like, why are you bringing us? Where are you bringing us? What makes you think we need a new home?”

“More importantly, is it a building?” Wood asked. “Preferably one with indoor plumbing and a proper shower.”

Ash addressed Wood first. “It has showers, Doctor, several of them, in fact. All the comforts of home, including a full kitchen, and I’m talking a full-featured one like they probably have in Capitol City. Not a cramped little galley like the
Wave
.” He looked at Jake and AJ. “Sorry, no offence.”

“None taken,” Jake said. The man was obviously delusional. Maybe he was suffering brain damage from the accident. Even with the best medical facilities in Civica, he should not have survived his injuries. “So how far away is this new home of ours?” he asked, hoping that his first mate would catch on.

“Yes,” AJ said, perfectly mimicking Jake’s calm demeanor. “I’m anxious to see it.”

Ash looked up at the stars shining down through the upper branches. “It’s still a couple of hours until daylight,” he said. “Why don’t we go back down and get some sleep? It’s a full day’s walk tomorrow, so we’ll need to get an early start if we want to get there before dark.”

“Sleep?” Vee asked. “Down there?”

Ash started down. “They were attracted to your fire,” he said. “Nothing here has ever seen fire before. In fact, that’s how I found you. You were broadcasting your location for kilometers in all directions.”

“Are you sure?” Jake asked. He was still going on the theory that Ash was crazy, but he knew that trying to sleep in the tree had its own risks. Like falling and breaking your neck.

“Those dogs live in the mountains to the south, or at least, in the foothills. They eat small things like rabbits there and mainly hunt at night. They have no reason to come down here unless someone invites them.”

“And we invited them,” Raines said. “Lesson learned.”

“They looked pretty hungry,” Ash continued, “which is why they were so angry. It also means they are probably running full tilt back to where the rabbits are to try to find dinner before daybreak.”

Jake nodded and followed him down. Crazy or not, he couldn’t deny the man’s logic.

By the time the last of his crew had finally climbed down from the tree, Ash and Raines had completely put the fire out. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, Jake realized that they really didn’t need firelight to see. The world around him seemed to glow from the same starlight he had once condemned for being useless.

Within a few minutes, everyone began to relax a bit. Being able to see the area around them, rather than be blinded by the bright fire as before, had a calming effect. One by one, his crew began to drift off to sleep. Jake overheard Ash telling his sister that he would stay awake and watch out for her. Soon, she was out.

As tired as he was, Jake forced himself to stay awake as well. He still didn’t trust Ash, but on top of that, the night sky was just too amazing to disregard. While he was looking up, he felt Jane crawl up beside him and put her head on his chest. He put his arm around her and felt her body relax. The sound of her breathing relaxed him as well, and soon he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

When Jake woke, the first direct rays of the sun were just peeking around the upper corner of the curved inner wall to the east. He gently moved Jane’s head from his lap then stood and surveyed his crew. Everyone seemed to be sleeping soundly. Then he realized that Ash was not there. “AJ,” he whispered, tapping her shoulder with his foot then jumping back. He didn’t want to make the mistake of being too close to her when she woke.

“What’s up?” she asked, eyes still partly closed. The morning sun on her face made the small tattoos on her temples stand out.

“Ash is gone,” he said.

Jessie must have been eavesdropping, because she suddenly jumped up. “Where is he?”

AJ sat up and stretched. “Sure that wasn’t just a dream?”

Jake looked at her. “Unless you believe in shared dreams, I don’t think so.” The rest of the group began to stir. “Does anyone know where Ash went?”

“Right here, Captain,” Ash said as he strolled in through a space in the bushes off to Jake’s left.

“Where were you just now?” AJ demanded.

Ash walked over and gave his sister a hug. “You don’t trust me, do you?” he said to AJ.

She shook her head. “It’s not about trust. I just asked a question.”

He sat down on one of the logs. “Well, it just so happens I was making our morning walk a bit easier.”

“How exactly were you doing that?” Jake asked.

He pointed to the west. “There’s a barrier just ahead. I’m guessing you found it last night, which is why you camped here.”

AJ nodded. “We found it.”

“Well, there is a way to pass through it without taking the full effect. You have to make a sort of zigzag pattern. I dropped some rocks along the route so you can just follow them through.”

“How do you know how to get through the barriers?” Raines asked. “Did someone show you?”

“Did someone show me?” Ash repeated, as though he didn’t understand the words. “No. No one showed me. I’ve been here for a couple of months, so I’ve had time to work out a few things.”

“That reminds me,” AJ said, “you never explained how you knew we were out here.”

He looked confused. “Yes, I did. I told you I saw your fire.”

“From a day’s walk away?” AJ asked. She obviously didn’t believe him.

“I was much higher than we are now,” he said casually then looked to the west. “You can almost see it from here. A small plateau on the inner mountain range.” He pointed, but Jake couldn’t see what he was referring to. “In a space this big, you can see farther from higher elevation.”

“Really? I didn’t know that,” AJ said sarcastically.

“Are we all ready to go?” Ash asked, ignoring, or missing, her sarcasm. “As I said, it’s a long walk.”

“Can I eat something first?” Jessie asked.

“I‘ll second that,” Vee said.

“I’m sorry,” Ash said, “but there won’t be much to eat today. We’ll be heading into a semiarid region, mainly sand, scrub brush, and thorny desert plants. I’m afraid that there’s not much that hominids can digest there.”

“Hominids?” Vee asked.

“Sorry, I meant humans. People. Anyway, there are a number of clean streams along the route to drink from, but if you all can make it until evening without food, I promise you a feast when we get there.”

The idea of any sort of meal being called a
feast
made Jake’s mouth water. The edible plants available at his mother’s village were nutritious and plentiful, but they were also boring and fairly tasteless. “I can do it,” he said.

“Well,” Vee said, “since it looks like we don’t have a lot of choice, I guess I can last as well.” She looked at Jessie. “I’m not promising we won’t complain from time to time, but I can do it.”

Jessie looked at her brother. “I would go a week without food if it meant bringing you back to me.”

“That’s sweet, sis,” he said. “Now let’s get moving before you change your mind.”

The walk was uneventful, and even though they had nothing to eat, other than nibbling on what little food they carried in their backpacks, the time seemed to pass pretty quickly. Nobody spoke at all, and Jake assumed they were like him—eager to reach this building of Ash’s and even more eager for the supposed feast. The sun was far ahead of them, and the shadows were getting long, when Ash finally came to a full stop.

“Please tell me we’re almost there, Ash,” Jessie said. “Agreeing to walk all day without much food is one thing, but actually doing it is another. I’m tired, and I’m hungry.”

“I’m sorry,” he replied.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I know I shouldn’t complain so much.”

“No, I’m sorry that I didn’t manage my time with you very well.” Jake turned to see what Ash was talking about then saw him literally fall apart. One moment he was staring at his sister, and the next he had dissolved into a pile of dust that fell to the ground. Something small and bug-like rose up from the dust, lingered for a moment, then shot straight up into the air.

“What the bilge?” Jake cursed.

“Ash!” Jessie yelled, reaching for the empty spot where her brother had been standing. On the pile of skin-colored dust below, Jake saw a small metallic cylinder.

“What just happened?” AJ asked, turning to look at them. “Where’s Ash?”

“Apparently, he was never here,” Raines said as he walked over and picked up the cylinder. “I believe what we have been speaking with was a simulation of some sort, like we have in our rec room.”

“Utility fog?” Vee asked. “Out here? A simulation out here? How is that possible? There are no computers or power sources to run a simulation.”

“This could be its power source,” Raines said, holding up the cylinder to examine it in the fading light. “Perhaps it was used to power the nano-particles.” He looked down at the dust pile and then at Jake. “Impressive.”

Jake looked down at what was once his navigator. “Did anyone see something rise up out of that?” Everyone shook their heads. Had he imagined it?

Vee looked over Jessie’s shoulder. “Utility fog doesn’t fall apart like that when the power is cut.”

Raines shook his head. “The fog particles used on our ships and in the colony are programmed to remain locked when they lose power,” he said. “This was obviously programmed differently.”

“So, this is my brother?” Jessie asked, kneeling down to scoop up the particles in her hands. Her eyes were filled with tears.

Raines walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. “That is most definitely not your brother, my dear.”

“But I don’t understand. I touched him. I smelled him. I heard his voice, the inflections. There’s no way he was a simulation.”

Raines rubbed his chin. “The technology to create what we just saw is beyond my comprehension, but there’s no other explanation.”

“So he really is dead?” Jessie asked, standing up.

Jake knew he had to be but didn’t say so. “Actually, we don’t know that,” he told her then looked at AJ. “Right now, I think we don’t know much of anything.”

“Like why that thing brought us all the way out here,” AJ said. “It could have left us to die last night. Why did it lead us here?”

Jessie turned to AJ. “Don’t call him a ‘thing,’” she said. “That was my brother, no matter what you all say. I know my brother.” She still had a handful of the dust in her hand.

“All right, calm down,” AJ said. “It’s getting dark, so we had better find a place to make camp. We’ll have to go without a fire again.”

“I was so looking forward to a shower,” Wood said rather callously, even for him. The doctor had been so quiet, Jake had almost forgotten he was there. Then he looked for the other quiet member of the group but couldn’t find her.

“Where’s Jane?”

“She was right behind me,” Vee said.

Everyone spun around looking for her, but she seemed to have vanished as quickly as the Ash simulation had. “You don’t think…” Jessie said.

“What?” AJ asked. “You think Ash took her somehow?”

“How could a simulation do that?” Vee said.

“That’s not what I meant,” Jessie said. “I mean, what if she was a simulation too?”

“She’s been with us for almost a year now,” Jake said. “How could she not be real?”

“No,” Jessie said. “I mean, what if someone captured her last night then replaced her with a simulation?”

“That’s absurd,” Dr. Wood said.

“Why, Doctor?” Jessie said. “My brother looked real. How can we know Jane was real this morning?”

“She was really quiet this whole day,” Vee said.

“Well, if that’s the case, then how do we know if any of us are real?” Wood said. “Maybe more of us were swapped out for simulations last night.”

“Jane’s not missing,” Jake said, staring over their heads towards the mountains to the north. He pointed to a small figure in the distance, running away from them. “She’s right there.”

“Jane,” Vee whispered. “Where are you going?”

Jane!” Jake yelled as loudly as he could, but he knew she was too far away to hear.

“What do we do?” AJ asked him.

“Follow her,” he answered without hesitation. No one asked for a reason, but he gave them one anyway. “We have to stick together, and since she isn’t coming back to us, we need to go to her.” He looked at Raines, then AJ. “Besides, we’re out here in the middle of nowhere, with no food or shelter. Maybe she knows something we don’t.”

“She does seem to have a knack for figuring things out before the rest of us,” Raines agreed.

“Grab your gear, everyone,” AJ ordered. “Looks like we’re moving again, and I don’t think we’re coming back here.”

They started walking, but it became obvious that Jane was moving away from them at a pretty good clip. Without suggesting it, they all began to walk faster, then a bit faster, and eventually they were all in a full run.

“Where is she going?” AJ asked between breaths.

Jake looked ahead and realized she was heading straight for the base of the mountains. He looked up and saw what looked like a flat ledge halfway up. Was that the plateau Ash had mentioned? “Up there, maybe,” he replied, panting from the run.

“We’re not going to catch her before dark,” Raines said as he slowed to a stop. His face was red, and his breathing was labored. “At least not with me slowing you down.” He looked at Jake. “You go on ahead without me.”

“We’re not going without you,” AJ said, and she stopped beside him. Vee came over and helped him sit down on the dirt. Sweat was pouring off his forehead, and Jake was worried the elder man was going to have a heart attack.

“Take deep breaths,” Dr. Wood said, coming over to help. He placed his index fingers against Raines’s neck and counted aloud. “Your heart is racing, but you’ll be fine.” He looked at Jake and shook his head.

“All right,” Jake said. “We’ll take a break and then walk from here on.” He pointed down to the ground. “She’s leaving a good set of footprints, so she’ll be easy to track.”

“Where is she going?” Jessie repeated as she watched Jane’s figure disappear into the distance.

“I’ll be ready to go again in a few minutes,” Raines said. His breathing had slowed, and his color was coming back.

“We’re not in a rush, Grandfather,” Vee said, patting him on the shoulder. “You heard the captain. We can follow her wherever she goes.”

Jake looked ahead. He thought he could see a figure moving up the face of the mountains, heading right up to the ledge. He hated the idea of Jane going up there all by herself.

“I know what you’re thinking,” AJ said, “and I think it’s a good idea.”

“What’s a good idea?” he asked, having no idea what she was talking about.

“That you go on ahead. By yourself, you might be able to catch up with her.”

He shook his head. “I’m not leaving you here.”

She stood tall and faced him. “You’re not going to tell me how we need you here to protect us, are you?”

He quickly shook his head again. “No! No, of course not.”

“Then go,” she ordered. “We’ll follow your footprints just like you said. See you in a few hours.” He started to protest, but then Jessie added, “Go, Captain. She’s all alone up there. She might need your help.”

He took a deep breath. “All right, but start walking as soon as you can. I want you to reach the foothills before dark. If I can’t locate her, or if I spot any sort of danger ahead, I’ll double back to you.”

“Go already!” Raines said, giving Jake a thumbs up.

He took one last look at his crew and then turned and started running towards the mountains.