The Theron Residency (Brides of Theron Book 4) (12 page)

At the last guard meeting with the emperor, Carel had a plan. He suggested that since he had experience with rock climbing, he would be willing to descend down the cliff to ease his esteemed leader’s piece of mind. In return for securing evidence that Zirlo and Lars died down there, Gatton promised that he would be promoted to the inner circle of his guard. He would take over leadership of the entire prison camp and would report directly to Gatton himself. Carel did not know if this promotion would be in his best interests. After all, the last supervisor of the prison was shot in the head at point-blank range when he reported that Zirlo and Lars were missing at about the same time a Drylon ship went AWOL.

The work camp was as busy as always. It made him sad to walk through this place. All of these people were so skinny and malnourished that their bones jutted out from underneath the tattered clothing they all wore. The women nearest to him walked by with the large heavy jugs of water strapped to the yokes across their shoulders. The sound of the ladles that hung from the leather belts at their waists audibly clanged together with each step they took. Full of so much dust and despair. His only consolation was that they all may be out of this dump in a couple of weeks. But, until the moment they were all free, he would keep trying to push his way further into the upper echelon of the Drylon military establishment. He was certainly on his way. He would earn that promotion when he brought evidence of the bodies from the bottom of the pit. Stuffed in the large bag with his gear were the burned skull and hand of the dead Theron warrior that he would pass off as Zirlo and Lars.

He took massive coil of rope that dangled from a large metal ring on his pack and began to unravel it. He prepared the line and set up all his rigging equipment. Pulling several yards, he attached it to his harness with a series of tucks forming a knot. He tugged hard on the rope to make sure the knot was secure and tossed the remaining length of rope over the edge of the cliff. He thoroughly checked all of his equipment before he made his decent. He hoped that the rope was long enough to reach the bottom. This was the longest line that he had ever packed. It made the climbs of his past feel less than the challenge they actually were. The thick leather gloves on his hands would protect his skin from rope burn as he leaped down. He felt the butterflies in his stomach as he leaned back vertical to the cliff edge and took the first leap off of the top of the cliff making his way into the deep pit below. It was the anticipation of danger, that rush of excitement that made climbing one of his favorite outdoor activities.

As he descended, he thought about last night. After meeting with the doctor, he had brought the charred skull to the men in Zirlo’s group to examine it before lights out. He figured that they would have to possess some knowledge of its unique characteristics to convince the higher ranking officers that they were telling the truth. The teeth were straight and perfect like Zirlo’s with one feature they may be able to capitalize on. He noticed the missing molar on the upper left side that might have been removed sometime in the last year. Because the prisoners had no dental care available to them, Danuwee decided they would concoct a story that a year ago Zirlo was always battling tooth pain and that he was having trouble with an abscessed tooth. Danuwee would say that he pulled the tooth out himself. The skull might prove easy. However, Jenaya had explained that the identification of Lars’ hand was going to be a bit more complicated. He would bridge that gap when he came to it.

He made one leap after another, setting anchors as he went down until he reached the rocky bottom. He found the mining cart lying on its side with all the large boulders spilling out to the side. He dug around the wreckage knowing full well that he would not find bodies. It didn’t matter anyway. Nobody was crazy enough to accompany him down here and others thought he was nuts for suggesting it in the first place. Carel was a very skilled climber and had solo-climbed many of the steep slopes on Pernmock. He had learned from the best. Kurtz had taught him everything that he needed to know and brought him and his father to some of the most challenging mountain peaks on his planet.

He had already come up with a reasonable explanation for why the bodies had been burned. When the ground at the bottom of the pit was impacted by the heavy cart, it opened a small fissure located near the wall at the base of the pit into an isolated natural gas pocket. The gas was under pressure and when released was ignited when the metal wheels of the cart sparked against the rock as it hit the ground leaving a big gaping hole in the rock face. The flames must have been fanned by the heavy winds that day, making the fire burn hotter. This theory would be hard to disprove unless someone else came down to survey the wreckage. Given the hesitation of the guards that refused to volunteer to join him, he doubted anyone else would want to check to validate his findings.

They would never have known that there was a fire burning down here that day. The wind from the dust storm would have blown the smoke away from the camp, thus covering the lack of observable smoke on the day in question. He would say that the cart crushed the bodies and the only thing that he could salvage was a broken hand and what must be Zirlo's charred head on the opposite side of the wreckage.

Taking a deep breath, he looked up the cliff face. It was almost a vertical ascent which was sure to make the progress up the cliff slow and tough. He made his way to the top after several hours of picking and choosing good hand and foot holds. He unhooked the rope from the anchors he placed earlier as he came to each of them. Every so often he would find himself slipping on the scree as he grabbed on tight to the rocks with sweaty hands along the wall and let his harness carry his weight. He amassed numerous cuts and abrasions to his elbows and knees along the way. By the time he was just half way up, he was tired and sore. He was ready for this climb to be over. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the sun was slowly descending below the horizon. He had been at this for hours. As he wiped the sweat from his brow, he looked up to see where he was. Was he almost there already? He really couldn’t tell just how much further it was to the top, but he had to be almost there. He found his first anchor after about ten good heaves up the rock wall.

As his head popped up from behind the edge of where he started. He saw a couple of the guards that thought he was crazy for even attempting to go down the cliff in the first place. Benton came up to him and offered his hand to pull him up. “Did you find anything down there Fenwick?”

“I think I did. There was what looked like two bodies trapped under the cart. Unfortunately, I was only able to retrieve a hand and a skull.” He reached into his pack to pull out a cloth sack with the bones, carefully opening it up for them so that they could look inside, “Unfortunately, the bodies were severely burned.” Carel said as he took his gloves off and dusted off his uniform. The knees and elbows of the tan uniform material were stained with blood from the wounds he received from the arduous climb.

Benton looked at him wrinkling his nose and said, “That is really gross man. I guess you will be getting that promotion now, huh?”

“Maybe. I saw them go down with the mining cart you know. I wrote down every detail of that day in my report, but with the dust and wind that day nobody can corroborate my statement. You know that Gatton has been a bit tougher on us than usual lately. Who could blame him with that Drylon ship missing at the same time? I only hope that this will give him some assurance that the prisoners didn’t escape. I found two men crushed by a heavy gravel cart and burned. I only hope that this is enough evidence to convince him that they didn’t escape.” He took his gloves and put them in the side pocket of his pack. He did his best to not make a big deal of the climb and began to coil the rope around his elbow and through his hand. The rope was long and it took some time. Two of the other guards, Gabe and Tordor, started to help him gather the line. He tied the end around the coil and hooked it onto the metal clip.

Tordor asked, “Are you going to speak with Gatton now?”

“No. First, I think that it’s in my best interest that to be sure that these are Theron remains. I don’t want to tell him I brought him remains of the two escaped prisoners and find out that these bones are not even from someone of the Theron race. You know as well as I do that if I am wrong it will be my death sentence. Think about what happened to our last supervisor.” He looked to each of the other guards in turn and said, “You guys had better get back to your stations before they realize you are gone. There is no telling what those scumbag prisoners are up to. I just hope that climbing down that cliff is my ticket out of guard duty.” He started walking in the direction of Jenaya’s cave and looked back yelling, “Well, go on!”

To Carel’s relief, the guards went back to their sectors to watch the men he hoped he could free. He took the long way to the cave to make sure that he was not being followed. It was a kind of blessing to be returning as the sun set. The path he walked was nearly dark now. The only thing that lit his way was the dim light cast by the moon. It was unbelievable that just forty years ago this planet was a lush and green environment with blue skies as far as the eyes could see. The oceans, lakes, and communities, used to spread out at the edges of the mountains. This planet was now rendered a veritable wasteland. It was so dry and arid. The atmosphere was starting to show signs of collapse. Already, the capital city was under a dome. Pretty soon if something weren't done, if Gatton’s rule did not end soon, he would likely never be able to return to the planet that his grandfather had called home. It would end up just like UV-49. “Doctor?” he said just outside the opening of the cave. It was late and he did not want to walk in on her unannounced.

“Come in,” he heard her say as he ducked his head under the opening of the cave. There were two new patients and Mattie was still and silent as she slept on her mat. Jenaya had taken the box apart and folded it up to make a pillow for Mattie’s head. Mattie’s condition was not improving. It looked like she was getting worse. Hopefully, she would hold on until they could be rescued. “So, what can I do for you?”

“I found these bones at the bottom of the cliff. I believe they are the two prisoners that are unaccounted for. Do you think that you could examine them for me?” He looked at the two other people in the room studying him. Women at this camp worked really hard. They were responsible for carting off the small rocks and debris on platters and in buckets to get them out of the caves. This would clear the way for the men to hack at the walls with their tools hoping to find gold or other valuable metal veins. They would also distribute water and food to the men. Carel had learned from Zirlo that the women were the means for communications between sectors. They would carry notes with instructions from their leader as well as spread gossip and news around the camp. They rarely had the opportunity to sit down. “Why are these women here?” He said in his sternest voice.

“They came in with gastrointestinal distress. The newcomers to this camp are not used to the unsanitary conditions here. Unfortunately, I have no means of treating them other than giving them clean water that I have boiled myself to keep them hydrated. I have asked the women that are on water duty to boil all water before it is distributed. They say that they can’t do it because they do not have enough large pots to hold the water in for it to be boiled.” She looked at the two women and said, “Please remind them of what I have said. All of the people that came in here recently need to drink boiled water. The prisoners who have been here longer can probably tolerate the drinking water as is. However, all the people from our ship will continue to get sick if this is not done. We are not used to whatever organisms live in this water. Make sure you tell them this.” The two women nodded and left. Jenaya looked at Carel and said, “If we are not able to boil the water, you will need to see if you can get us some water treatment tablets to make the water safe to drink. I have already had one death this week from dehydration. I hate to lose my patients. It is unfortunate enough to lose them when they are old, but the casualty was an adolescent boy.”

She squatted down to check Mattie by gently laying the back of her hand across her forehead. Carel moved beside her and asked, “Is she still not doing well?”

Jenaya began to look as if she would crumble. He could tell from his previous encounters with her that she rarely lost control of her emotions. Now it seemed as if she was starting to lose it. He instinctively reached out to her, but she swiftly moved away and wrapped her arms around herself. He didn’t like having to watch her cry. With her back against the wall, he watched as she slid down to sit on the dirt floor. “I’m not one of the Gods. I can’t save anyone here. I’ve never seen such deplorable conditions in all my life. I am helpless to change what happens here, and if something doesn’t happen soon, I will lose my friend’s mother. Mattie’s getting worse by the hour. The healing salve you brought is not working. It actually looks like it is making her worse. She needs stronger medicine that I don’t have. What am I going to do? I don’t even want to think about looking Brylon in the eyes and saying that I did everything that I could for his mother. I know with the right supplies, the right medicine, the outcome could be very different. But, it’s not and I might not be able to save her.” She lay her head on her knees with her arms wrapped tightly around her legs looking at Mattie. He could see the trail of tears as they made a path down her weary face.

He hated seeing her like this. As her teal eyes filled with tears, it tore at his heart. He wanted to see the strong fire that he knew burned in this woman. The fire that aptly matched her hair. Her hair was the same color of flames with bright purple streaks. He wondered if it was naturally this color. He loved the way that her lip turned up on one side when she was determined and that dimple near the corner of her mouth that made its presence known when she was angry. Never before this moment did he see her this soft, this vulnerable. It broke his heart.