CHAPTER FIVE
Night swiftly approached for Joey and Lezura, and the two decided to make quick use of it to prepare for the cold and stalkers to come.
So Lezura made weapons, mostly for Joey. She gathered some sturdy sticks and sharpened them to points and smoothed their surfaces. She told Joey they were faster and more accurate than his bat, but he was reluctant to toss the weapon away.
For projectile weapons Lezura tried to find any length of stick with a nice curve in it. She smoothed them and turned it into a bow, making the string out of the stretchy vine of the sinni tree by cutting it to a suitable thinness and rubbed it on stones to dry it.
While she made the arrows, Joey walked around a perimeter of six yards, acting as Lezura’s protection. With his new found power of honoi he felt he could take on ten of those Cyries on his own. He practiced with the spear, thrusting and swinging it. Though he was making a whole lot of unnecessary sound effects he was actually putting force behind each movement.
Lezura, spotting him, couldn’t help but comment on his work.
“Joey, thrusting is not just in the arms. You have to press forward with your torso and push with your feet,” she had said.
Joey swung the spear angrily and turned to Lezura in the distance. “Would you get off my back?” said Joey. He went back to his practice, actually taking Lezura’s advice. “Geez, you come like my mom—only taller…with those ugly-ass braces.”
“I heard that,” said Lezura warningly.
Joey flinched and clamped his mouth shut. Stupid alien lady, he thought.
Lezura laid down twenty, smoothed arrows next to the bows before their spot on the sinni tree’s root—
Then Lezura heard it, a loud rumbling like thunder with the sogginess of water. She quickly dropped everything, took up the bow and slid an arrow from its spot and readied it. She looked around, trying to find the source of the horrid sound.
“Joey?” she said.
“Hey…”
Joey’s voice was weak, and she turned to seem him with his hand rubbing his belly.
“What is the matter—”
She heard the sound again, but this time there was no mistaking the source.
“Lezura can we get something to eat,” Joey said. “Those jerkies didn’t do a thing…”
Lezura relaxed, and nodded. “Certainly,” she said. “This may be the chance for us to test our weapons.”
Joey hefted his spear and said, “What—hunting?”
“What else did you think we were going to do?” said Lezura, and before Joey could answer she said dryly, “No Joey, I cannot pull anything out of my butt with my honoi. Remember we had to leave my bag up in the yelm tree when the robots came for us?”
Joey retreated with an innocent grin.
With that settled they took the necessary equipment for the hunt; obviously the spears and bow were the choice, along with Lezura’s little knife. They hid the wings under a mass of fallen branches and vines, and took Joey’s bag as the storage for the food, if they could get none.
As the sun pulled down into the horizon, the last of its light burnt clouds in the sky. The twin moons had already went to the other side of the planet in their orbit, and soon to approach was the third moon. But the air of life in the forest hadn’t changed, there was still the cry of animals all around them, and the loud bellowing ones put Joey on the edge.
Those are some big dudes, he thought, and they sound hungry and pissed-off.
The air was cool, a bit gloomy around as the sunlight died. And that was when he noticed all the lights like little fireflies and fairies. The mushrooms; some small and some as tall as four feet, displayed little networks of glowing spots and threads.
The giant mushrooms, which Lezura told her were called the “old wise men” of the forest, of chapepnuns, had long burgundy caps with patterns lights and white stalks. Each time one of the bugs or birds that were captivated by its light neared it, it gave off a puff of glowing dust on contact.
The same happened when they got near the flowers with their glowing filaments of all sorts.
“What’s going on,” said Joey as he watched.
“They are pollinating,” said Lezura. “They are using light to help their pollinators find their way.”
Then Joey suddenly felt like asking, “Lezura?”
“Yes,” she said.
“What exactly am I supposed to do with the key and the God Titan?” he said.
Lezura said, “We need the God Titan’s power to negotiate with the Prestige System to stop harvesting people, and end the Prestige System and help stop the orderran colonization. If that does not work, most likely they will see the power of God Titan as a threat and attack, and with the orderrans’ help that will be a major problem—which is where the God Titan will also come in handy.”
“So where’s the God Titan?” said Joey.
Lezura sighed heavily, and said, “The thing is Joey, only the Rakai can activate the God Titan, so no one else who desires its power can use it. So the first Rakai, Yefia Illowise, decided to hide it on the island of Maltatabi—”
Lezura stretched her hand before Joey and stopped him. She gestured with her spear at something slithering over a patch of blue grass with dried up leaves. It was long, blue and segmented, its body being carried away by rows upon rows of clawed feet. Its round head had beady yellow eyes and six mandibles around its mouth.
Joey grimace at the thing as thick as his chest, waiting a full two minutes as all its body slithered out of sight, leaving the stickiness of fear on the back of his neck.
“That was a carspi-worm,” said Lezura, starting ahead and Joey following. “They eat only small animals like karoties, but they will attack anything that gets too near.”
“That thing’s too angry,” said Joey, looking where the animal had disappeared. “He needs a shrink.”
Lezura found herself smiling at that joke, but she continued with her previous point while searching for signs of a karoti or tapike. “And Maltatabi is on the other side of the planet.”
Joey stopped and looked at her angrily. “The other side of the planet?” he said. “Lezura how the hell’re we goanna get there? I doubt the wings can carry us that far. Wait…can’t Donnowarru just open up a portal to that place?”
“No,” said Lezura. “Donnowarru cannot open a portal to somewhere he has not seen before. That was why when he came to Earth he requested the help of the reapers to carry us there. It is the same reason why I have not let him bring us to Ugatin. He does not know how that area looks either.
“But he did remember how this region was because the Ixians had him survey the area days before we left. It was luck that it was not completely changed during the months were gone.”
Joey scratched his head. “Well that sucks,” he looked down at Lezura’s belt, “and Donnowarru sucks too!”
Joey leaned forward and cupped his hands around his mouth and said to Lezura’s waist, “You hear that, Donnowarru, you’re an unreliable wizard!”
A second later a huge fist steaming with honoi shot out from one of the pockets on the belt and into Joey’s face, sending him toppling over. The arm withdrew into the pocket, and Lezura could vaguely hear a satisfied chuckle.
When Joey recovered he continued the hunt with Lezura, now wondering how the hell they were going to make it to the other side of this alien world across Prestige and orderran territories. He was expecting to help save a world, but wasn’t counting on the long adventurous part. He wasn’t too into walking around for long after seeing the creepy looking worm-thing.
Night had eventually come, hideous shadows crawled and lurched with each sway of the trees in the cool wind. But there were a brave few organisms that fought the darkness with their own little weapons of bodily light.
It was bright enough for them to see their way somewhat, but Lezura still turned on the night vision on her goggles for aid.
Joey hugged the spear against his chest and made his body compact, fearing that something would reach out from the shadows and snatch off a limb. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw something move, and it was huge.
Joey turned to look, and saw nothing.
“What was it?” said Lezura, feeling the presence as well.
“I don’t know!” said Joey. “Lezura are you sure you don’t have any milk in your breasts? Could just use that and the old pack a cocoa I have and brew us some nice tea!”
Lezura whacked Joey in the side of the head with the spear and continued searching, still weary that predators were around.
Finally she spotted it! At last a meal, some fifteen meters a head of them, the unmistakable shape of a karoti.
Lezura touched Joey, looked at him and gestured for them to be quiet. Joey nodded, wincing a little at his still throbbing head. He knew in situations like this he should shut up and let Lezura take control.
The two of them crouched and silently crept up the still grazing animal. Lezura readied her bow, while Joey looked around, still seeing no sign of the source of the huge shadow.
But that was because he wasn’t looking up.
The creature stalking them was indeed close by, using the thick limbs of the lucaysha and gopto trees to travel across. The gopto trees were quite short, with dark green leafy trunks, but with brownish-green leaves as large as a skateboard and the largest limbs being as thick as a man’s torso.
The animal was a muscularly built quadruped, covered with brown scales; blue and green on the head and back and a white underbelly. Its head was large and its jaws equally big with curved canines sticking out, itching to sink into some flesh. A pink, wide nose sniffed the delicious scent of the prey in the air, and yellow eyes in deep sockets stared down at its unsuspecting quarry.
Its long tail was wrapped around the limb like a harness, and padded feet muffled its footsteps.
Lezura stopped, so did Joey. She hid behind a tree, and Joey followed. The karoti had turned in their direction, sensing something. When it was sure nothing was there, it turned back to stripping the bush of its leaves. Lezura was close enough and aligned her bow with the animal. The light from the environment gave her enough illumination to see the distance between her and her prey.
Then the karoti turned around again sharply, this time its nose wasn’t fooled. It had smelt something vile in the air that meant a ghastly death. It ran.
Lezura knew the karoti couldn’t have seen her or Joey. It had to be something else. She turned around and the creature leaped from the tree upon them—upon Joey.
Before Joey could react he felt a mountain fall upon him, knocking the breath from his lungs before he could even scream.
Lezura didn’t bother to open her mouth, but took the initiative and released the arrow into the creature, right in its left shoulder. It uttered a guttural shriek and leaped away. As it clawed at the arrow Joey sprung to his feet.
“Can you fight?” Lezura said.
Joey lifted his spear with a vexed expression. “As if I’ll let that prick get away!” he said.
“It is a cossik,” said Lezura as she prepared another arrow.
“No,” said Joey. He lifted his spear and charged. “It’s dead!”
The cossik picked out the arrow, hearing Joey’s roar it turned to the prey. Even though the predator was twice Joey’s size it move with amazing agility, sidestepping out of each of Joey’s thrusts. Infuriated, Joey fired a Blueburst, knocking the cossik in is ribs and breaking two. A loud grunt escaped the animal’s throat.
The cossik leapt on Joey, snarling in anger more than pain. Joey lifted the spear as shield, but the cossik snapped through it with its jaws like a twig. Another arrow from Lezura in the animal’s back made it leap on its hind legs and cry miserably.
It ran after Lezura, leaping to the side out of another arrow. Lezura ducked and spun beneath its snapping jaws that rang in her ears.
It landed behind her, spun and charged again.
But Joey fired two consecutive blasts of honoi that knocked the animal over with a guttural whimper. Lezura finished it off with a well-placed arrow in its neck.
Joey punched the air. “Hell yeah!” he said.
Lezura went and inspected the animal, another arrow loaded and ready. She saw its mad yellow eyes stare at her with defiance at death, making her cringe. But its pupils dilated and its eyes rolled into its head.
Lezura put up her bow, turned to Joey and said, “Nice work.”
Joey came to her side and checked the animal. He gave it a kick, it didn’t move, and he said, “Oh well,” he turned to Lezura, “let’s eat…”
Lezura and Joey took the meatiest parts of the cossik; the thighs, chest, the tail section near the pelvis, liver and heart, wrapped them up in the leaves of the gopto tree and stored them in Joey’s bag. They left the rest to be eaten by the carspi-worm and other scavengers.
It was over half an hour when they got back to their spot under the sinni tree. Lezura started a fire, and made a spit to roast the meat on. The meat had a crispy brown outside, with a soft, white inner that melted in Joey’s mouth like hot butter, and it tasted like salmon and nutmeg.
“You think they’ll be coming after us?” said Joey, taking another mouthful of meat.
Lezura sat across the fire on a mat of gopto tree leaves, taking mouthful of her meal. She swallowed and said, “Highly likely. The Cyri escaped and undoubtedly reported back its findings to the orderrans.”
“So I guess that means we should be on the move…” Joey said.
“Are you not tired?” said Lezura.
“A little bit,” said Joey. He shifted his bottom on the grass to a less bumpy spot. “But I don’t really feel like sleeping with all these bastards trying a eat me.”
“I checked the fuel meter on the jetpacks,” Lezura said. “Their acrilium battery has a good lifespan. We could possible fly for a few miles.”
“That’s good. I could get some sleep on the way,” said Joey.
Lezura smiled and took another mouthful.
“Lezura?” said Joey.
“Yes?”
Joey said, “Um…I was wondering…” he scratched his head “…could I see your alien form?”
Lezura looked a little perplexed. “Why so?” she said. “I thought you would feel more comfortable interacting with someone who looks like your own species?”
Joey said, “Hell! My own species doesn’t give shit about me. Why do you think I was living on the streets? Plus…I wanted to know if you’d look as good as a nycarman as you do a human…”
Lezura smiled, placing the small morsel of meat on a leaf before her. “Certainly, Joey…”
Lezura clasped her hands, concentrating to tap into her honoi. Her body glowed bright blue, and the light was sucked all from her body and into her hands.
Joey was now staring at a lavender-skinned woman with oval ears, long golden hair and slanted pink eyes. Her swirl-like creases stopped glowing, letting her skin radiate with the light of the oak smelling flames.
After studying her appearance, Joey said, “Your boobs are still small though…”
Lezura scoffed and threw the piece of meat at Joey. He laughed and caught it, eating it whole at once.
“But seriously, though,” said Joey, “you look beautiful…”
Lezura’s cheeks felt warm all of a sudden; a bit too warm, in fact. She turned her face to hide her smile. Joey himself was smiling at her. Suddenly both of them realized what was happening and casted it off with coughs and clearing throats.
“Wow…” said Joey, taking up his bag. “I wonder what kinda fantastic things I got in this bag?”
“Yes, Joey,” said Lezura. “Please let us find out.”
Joey took out the painting and held it up. “Huh? Well check this out. I still had this…”
Lezura frowned at the painting. “That thing nearly got us both killed,” she said. “What is the painting depicting anyway?”
“Just some alien dude that was running around Los Angeles,” said Joey.
The word struck Lezura into a tentative stare. “That name is familiar to me. Joey, please let me see the painting.” Joey walked around to Lezura, handed the painting to her and sat. He didn’t really get to sit fully when Lezura said, “My goodness!”
“What?” said Joey, looking at the painting expecting to see something spectacular that he missed.
“This is Blinchi!” said Lezura excitedly.
“Who?”
“Blinchi,” Lezura said. She turned to Joey, “He is a member of the Felkremin religious group. His species is the largaph, just as Conner Wondonder!”
The alien in the picture had green-brown colored skin. His appearance was near human, except for his facial features, where the nose was flat, the ears were internal and he had three little horns on each side of his jaw. His head was an ornate work of large bony plates with blue and red patterns. The back of his head wasn’t visible, but Lezura knew those bony plates extended off the back of his head in flat spikes. His eyes were bright brown colored with the sclera a deep yellow.
What made Lezura recognize him was his skin color, the narrow face and the twinkle of excitement in his eyes. But most of all, his bright smile that would spark light even in the gloomiest of rooms. He was sitting with his hands on his knees, wearing a white t-shirt and jeans and a black cat curled up in his lap.
Lezura commended the artist for such magnificent work, reading her name in the lower right, and knew she would have a brilliant career ahead of her.
“You’re telling me you knew this guy?” said Joey.
“Of course,” said Lezura. “He was the first of us to go to Earth.”
So he’s the guy that told Lezura to pick me up, Joey thought. I guess I owe him one. “Where’s he now?” said Joey.
“It is hard to say, really,” Lezura said. She adding to be precise, “Blinchi himself was an adventurer as far as everyone knew him. He was always exploring places no one dared the go. Shortly after he came back from Earth, he went on another voyage off world; though no one got back a message saying if he made it pass the planet’s armada or not.” Lezura handed Joey the painting. “Put this back up.”
Joey took the painting. Lezura stood and looked down at Joey and said, “I think we have spent enough time here. We should be leaving.”
Joey nodded at her.
They finished up their meal and packed up their gear. Lezura handed Joey the compass, which she said was actually a key. Joey suddenly remembered the things the key showed him, and draped it around his neck without a second thought.
His bow and arrows and bat, along with his stolen nut, the painting and a bag of old cocoa and the key were all he had.
With Lezura’s help they fashioned his bag to hold the arrows and the bow, while he carried the bat across his back in a sheathe he made without Lezura’s help—and got a few nods from her.
Lezura had her box with Donnowarru, the data-scroll, a few medical items and her knife all on her belt. She put the spear behind her on her lower back in a makeshift sling of vines. She took a few pieces of cossik meat with her in a little pouch of leaves and vines across her chest.
She showed Joey to how to work the jetpack. They looked like huge silver bugs with protruding ovals in their backs. When activated these ovals extended to reveal the antigravity orbs. At the base of the wing was a single, orange tinged thruster like a tube that narrow at the opening.
Lezura demonstrated the ways to turn the foot-control in order to maneuver the antigravity orbs. And that kicking your foot increased the thruster’s output, while folding that foot decreased it.
“How do you know all this shit?” said Joey and he strapped on the wings. “We just got these?”
“I had a friend in high school that was well versed in electronic and technical equipment,” said Lezura.
Joey’s mind never crossed on school. Well, at least not since he came here. He remembered that he once wanted to be a video game designer, but wondered if it would even still be possible with the new life he decided to take.
But those were best left afterwards. He had to focus on finding the God Titan to help these people, help Lezura. She had taken a bullet for him; the least he could do is do the same for her.
“Are you ready?” said Lezura with a finger over the start button on the wings.
“You bet,” said Joey.
“Go,” Lezura said.
Both of them pressed the button, and the antigravity orbs came on with a harmonic hum. They crouched and stepped off into the air with the thrusters propelling them. Joey twisted his angle left to turn right, and vice versa, sewing his way through the trees until he broke the canopy.
He spread his arms like and soared towards the silver-brown moon of Flitin, covered with craters and canyons. Joey arched his foot backward and the wings bent him forward, he straightened his foot and he flew forward over the forest.
Lezura came up beside him. He looked at her and they both smiled knowingly.
Both of them spiraled around in a circle like a vortex. They took each other’s hand and spun in a circle of two.
Their laughs echoed through the star speckled night as the two aliens juiced what joy they could out of their situation.
Seven miles later, feeling genuinely exhausted, Joey and Lezura decided to land to get some rest. Lezura brought them down near a shallow stream. They took of their jetpacks and other equipment and laid them down under a gopto tree.
Joey looked up and saw multicolored lights of creaking and chirping insects darting about. Some were still on the surface of the trees, finally finding a mate, and so they turned off their lights.
The stream was bordered by smooth pebbles and purple flowers. A few roots stretched into the water to get a drink, and the massive root of a sinni tree from a way in the distance arched its way into the stream like the coil of a sea serpent breaking the water.
Joey looked at the water, blocking out his reflection, and saw the lights of the critters sparkle like colored stars in the sky.
“Is it safe to drink?” said Joey to Lezura.
Lezura had just finished scanning the water with a wire stemming from her data scroll. Lezura checked the readings and said, “Yes. It has no dangerous microorganisms.”
They both drank and washed their faces.
Lezura lit another fire, a small one, just enough to warm their bodies.
They made a huge bed of fresh gopto tree leaves and lay down with relieved sighs.
“You have to get stronger, Joey,” said Lezura in a weary voice.
Joey stretched, bones cracking audibly. “I’m already strong,” he said. “I can handle myself.”
Lezura raised an eyebrow, but she was looking in the other direction at a patch of pink mushrooms.“You mean when the Cyri almost kill you? Or when that predator almost made a meal out of you?”
Joey frowned and grumbled.
“I thought so,” said Lezura. She closed her eyes. “Tomorrow I will begin your training.”
Joey looked at her and said, “For what?”
“Do not argue with me, just do what I say,” said Lezura impatiently. When Joey said nothing she said, “We were very fortunate that those robots were not the assault class. And yet we still nearly got killed. It will only get more dangerous from here, Joey; especially when they learn that the Rakai is back.”
Joey had a bored look on his face. “You don’t say.”
He didn’t hear a reply from Lezura, and figured she had already dozed off. Joey took one last look at the key around his neck. He put it up and went off to bed.
The next morning Joey was awakened by Lezura’s voice in his ear. He turned his face from out of the leaves and saw Lezura kneeling over him.
Joey sat up and wiped his eyes. He cleared his throat and said, “Did you make breakfast?”
“No,” said Lezura. She handed him a bundle of wet leaves.
Joey took them and said, “What’s this for?”
“Chew them,” said Lezura, “they will help to get rid of your morning breath.”
Joey grimaced and looked at Lezura out of the corner of his eyes. “Geez, you make sound like I ate crap last night…”
Joey chewed the leaves, shuddering at their bitter taste. He got up and saw Lezura head to one of the jetpacks. She bent down and inspected it.
Joey blinked the sunlight out of his eyes and looked around. They were in a large glade, wide enough to support a house. A sinni tree loomed above the area on a giant up-rise of rock and soil. And with a water source like the stream flowing by, Joey thought it would be nice to have a house here.
When he ran it by Lezura, she remarked to Joey if he thought Terriak would really come back for him. Joey forgot the thought, and said, “Forget it. Just do what you were doing.”
Lezura took up one of the packs, removed the acrilium battery and tossed it on the ground.
“Why did you do that?” said Joey.
Lezura fired three Bluebursts at the jetpack until sparks exploded from it. Joey retreated a few feet, shielding his face with a forearm. He dropped and looked at Lezura’s casual expression is disbelief.
“Why the hell did you do that?” Joey said.
Lezura did the same to the other jetpack. This time the jetpack exploded into three pieces.
Joey was certain that Lezura was a brilliant woman up until now, but doubts were popping up in his head after just seeing all of this.
“Lezura are you nuts?” Joey said. “What the hell are we goanna use to get around now?”
The acrilium batteries were five inches long and three inches in diameter. They had metallic caps on their ends, and shone with a lustrous blue. She pocketed them in her utility belt and said, “I discovered trackers planted inside the wings. I could not remove them without using electricity, and since I did not have that option, I had to destroy them.”
The answer was enough to make Joey forget about them. He scratched his head and looked around. He finally stared at Lezura and said, “Well, what the hell’re we goanna do, walk all the way to Suride Town? That could take days!”
“Four days to be precise,” said Lezura. “But do not worry. While you were asleep I did a little strolling and found a heard of mynamathers moving in the direction that we are headed. I have some experience in domesticating animals, thanks to my friend.” Lezura went for her spear and put it on her waist. She took up the bag of meat and put across her chest and showed Joey a leaf wrapping of some green dust.
“What’s that?” said Joey.
“Nerve-numb powder,” Lezura said, “made from the dried root of a pomeg tree and the hespi bush. It blocks off nerve signals to the body for three to four minutes. In an animal as large as a mynamather it may only be for a few seconds, though.”
Lezura put up the wrap and said, “Plus, now is a good time to get some exercise and begin your training.”
“But what about breakfast?” said Joey, stroking his rumbling stomach.
Lezura lifted a finger and said, “That, Joey, will be your reward for your workout.”
Lezura stared their workout with a warm up of stretches and jumping-jacks. She gave Joey the bow and arrows to carry with his baseball bat, and they went off for a brisk jog to where the mynamathers were.
As pissed off as Joey was, he tried not to complain to Lezura. He knew she was doing this for his own good; to prepare him for the dangers ahead. But he couldn’t help but wonder why all of this was necessary when he could use honoi and blow stuff up.
It was over twenty minutes into the jog and Joey was drenched in sweat. His merino that was stained with his blood from his knife wound really was beginning to stink.
While Joey observed his own pitiful state, Lezura was ahead of him maintaining the pace she had started with. She stopped and lifted a fist. Joey halted.
Joey lowered his voice and said, “What?”
Lezura didn’t answer; she only knelt down and looked at the ground. Joey came up behind her, looked over her shoulder, and found Lezura putting her finger in footprint of three toes. Soon Joey took notice of the other footprints around them.
“These track veer off to the west,” said Lezura thoughtfully. She got back up and ran off. “Come, on!”
Joey growled and went after her. “We’re not in the Olympics, Lezura,” he said. “Stop running so damn fast!”
Minutes later Lezura stopped him again, but Joey didn’t have to ask why. They crouched and huddled together. Lezura got flat and crawled forward. Joey reluctantly followed her.
They crept up to a slope of bushes. They carefully peeled away the bush, hearing many footsteps beyond a musky odor.
Joey saw them. They had the body proportion of horses, but were large and more muscled. Their skin was an artwork of green, blue and brown stripes with a pale underbelly. Their four feet ended it three thick toes. Their short, narrow snouts had two tusks at the end of it. When they turned their heads Joey saw four pink eyes, and on their heads was a bright red frill.
There were so many of them packed together that their color patterns made it almost impossible to tell them apart from the group at times.
“Their big, man,” whispered Joey. “How’ll we get over there without spooking t