Timeline: Past

Point of View: Claudia & Lisa

Location: Red Planet

The rest of the day after meeting Ctaolthost, Claudia and Lisa remained beside the pylon. They rested where they were partly because they were both mentally and physically exhausted, but also because they didn’t know what they were going to do next. Ctaolthost had given them their mission, to return to Earth with Lisa’s vision and establish contact with Tegrex, but they had no way of getting back to Earth in their current state. They also had no where to go. They could attempt to reach the next pylon, but neither felt they had the strength necessary to complete the trip.

“I’m so thirsty,” Lisa whispered, her voice becoming dry and hoarse. “I don’t believe I’ve had anything to drink… since they left me for dead.”

Claudia thought for a moment about the same, feeling her stomach rumble. “I haven’t eaten since… Since I broke out of that prison cell.” How long ago had that been? Had it been only a day, or two? How long had she been down there speaking with Ctaolthost? There were many aspects regarding the passage of time on the red planet that didn’t make sense. “Do you know what they fed us in there, that mush?” She asked.

“I have no idea,” Lisa responded. “Do you think they’d share some of it again if we went back? Asked nicely?”

Claudia laughed, and Lisa slowly laughed with her.

“Why do I feel like we’re fucked,” Claudia said. It wasn't a question.

Lisa was quiet for a time. Claudia didn’t expect an answer, the question had been rhetorical.

“I think because we are,” Lisa said.

Claudia turned to face her. Lisa’s head, the place where eye sockets had once been still that smooth, flat skin, was facing upward at the sky. This saddened Claudia, realizing that Lisa couldn’t look up at the stars anymore. Like eating and drinking, looking up at the stars at night also seemed to be a basic human need. It was a meditative act that seemed to reset the balance in one’s life, as one accepted once again their place in the world.

“What do you mean?” Claudia asked.

Lisa’s face turned down to face her, and a shiver went down Claudia’s spine. It was unsettling to watch a face without eyes locate her with ease, even knowing that Lisa could still see her essence.

“How do you think this ends, Claudia? Even if we get back to Earth, eventually these creatures will get over there, too. Likely before we can make it back. Likely before we can locate an Earth pylon and establish contact with Tegrex.”

“So what if they go to Earth?" Claudia asked. "With our abilities, I’m not concerned. We’ll reach the next pylon and be even stronger still.”

Lisa shook her head. “You don’t understand. See, I’ve been following the essence flowing from this pylon. It bounces across the planet, and I can follow it. I don’t understand how, but I can. It’s like I can project pieces of my own essence into the flow. From above, I can see all of the essence on this planet like a scatter plot.

“Here’s the terrifying thing, Claudia. This forest… The trees glow, and the buzzsaws glow, but compared to other places on this planet… it’s faint. It’s nothing. These creatures we're fighting now are weak. I can locate the blood river and follow it, and it leads to this great, glowing city next to another pylon… and it’s a bright light, as if it were a sun burning on the surface of the planet. Beyond the river, there is the ocean… and there are pockets in the ocean that are the exact same, increasing in power until I reach the pylon in the center of the ocean. Beyond the ocean, a desert, and long tendrils of power creep through the sand like incredibly large worms. That’s just some of what I’ve seen so far.”

Claudia’s throat had gone dry as the sightless Lisa spoke to her as if she were a seer or a prophet. Thinking about the potential for stronger creatures, she realized she’d let the excitement of her new found strength get the best of her. She looked up into the sky, seeing the small white star up there now, the red sun having past its horizon. Scattered out there, just like the sky on Earth, were the stars in the galaxy. Were they still in Earth’s galaxy? She wondered as she looked up there at the wide expanse of nothingness. She was reminded that she, too, was nothing. A cat may have power over a mouse, but it was still just a cat.

“So yes, we’re most definitely fucked." Lisa said after the long pause. "I don’t know how long we’ll last. I don’t know who came before us, all the people that Ctaolthost has spoken with at this point, but we most certainly won’t be the last. This whole thing will end with our inconsequential deaths. It doesn’t even matter anymore.”

Claudia brought her eyes back down to her friend, who had laid down against the red dirt. She thought back to being stuck inside that prison, before all of this had taken off. So much had happened, yet nothing had happened. It was the same conversation they’d had before they’d woken up the next morning, Lisa being pulled from the prison doors.

Claudia thought about reassuring Lisa, but wasn’t sure it was worth the effort. She'd tried that back in the prison, hadn’t she? She wasn’t positive, but she felt certain that Lisa had rejected her optimism then. What would make this time any different? Besides, Lisa was right. Sure, Claudia was stronger now, and would surely train herself to be even stronger still. But in the end was death. The end was always death. So… what was the point?

To win, said the voice in her mind.

“Either way,” Claudia said, choosing to change the conversation, “I’m going to do what I can. Not for Ctaolthost, but because I don’t really want to die on this planet. I think we start by going to the river to quench our thirst. From there, we figure out what we’re going to eat. After that, we go to the next pylon, and see if we can get an ability that gets us home. How does that sound for a plan?”

“Works for me,” Lisa said. “But first..." She placed her hands behind her head. "A nap.”

“Here?” Claudia asked. As soon as she said it, the question felt ridiculous. Where else would they nap? No matter where they went, it would all be dirt. Here was as good a place as any.

“Yup. If the buzzsaws come for us… oh well.”

Oh well, Claudia thought. She hoped they would come. She was eager to try out her new power. There was a thirst for violence and battle growing within her, and she rather liked it.

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As it would happen, the buzzsaws did come in the night. Claudia awoke to the sounds of skittering approaching from the trees. She awoke and leapt to her feet, crouched in a ready-battle stance.

Looks to be five of them. Four have axes, but the one in the back is unarmed.

Why only four? Why not send their whole damn army?

It’s unclear. Maybe they don’t see you as a threat yet.

Lisa took out a whole group of them back in the mound, how can they not see us as a threat?

You’re right. There must be something here that we’re missing. The one in the back, the one unarmed. We should keep an eye on it. They may be trying some trickery.

Are there others possibly in the trees?

I can’t see these creature’s essence beyond what you can physically see. Lisa, though…

“Lisa, get up. We have company.”

“I know,” Lisa said unconcerned. Her hand remained below her head.

“If you know, then why aren’t you getting up?”

“Claudia… I’m sorry,” Lisa said.

Claudia looked back at her friend, who continued to lie there despite impending conflict. She seemed uninterested in battle. “Lisa, what the fuck is wrong with you?”

Lisa said nothing.

I think you should prepare yourself for a 1 on 1 battle.

1 on 1… you mean 1 on 5? How will I do this alone? I couldn’t even beat one by myself back in the village.

You have a new ability. Now is as good a time as any to test it out. The worst that could happen, is… well.

Yeah. Death. Claudia knew.

The first approached while the other four remained by the trees. It scurried forward on it’s four legs touching the ground while the other two held its ax high. It’s teeth spun in its mouth, grating, making the metal on metal grinding sound that still hurt her ears. Its many arachnid-like, beady eyes were all trained her. This is one of the weakest creatures on this planet, Claudia thought. If so, this thing is nothing more than a bug. A bug with above average intelligence, nothing more.

The creature was upon her and swung its ax down. She easily dodged the swing, stepping back as she did. It swung the weapon in quick succession, this time to the other side of her, and she stepped back again, making sure she was moving parallel to the pylon pit.

Don’t be timid.

I don’t know what to do here. I’ve always had the element of surprise.

The surprise is your strength. This creature doesn’t know how strong you are. Surprise it with that, but hold back what you don’t need. You win by maintaining the upper hand. If you continue to move backward and simply dodge, this creature maintains the upper hand against you, and will eventually kill you.

The buzzsaw scurried wide around Claudia, seemingly hoping to trip her up. Claudia spun with the creature, keeping it in front of her. It came at her, and instead of retreating, Claudia came at it as well. It seemed to surprise the creature, but it was already mid-swing. Claudia caught the ax handle in one hand, then thrust her other hand into the creature's belly, ensuring her essence was focused into her hands. The creature recoiled, and Claudia attempted to pull the weapon from its hand. It resisted, so Claudia spun in the air, twisting its arm in a circle. She heard what must have been bone snap, and the creature squealed and released the blade.

Weapon-less now, the creature stared at Claudia for a brief second before screeching and scurrying in at her, hands outstretched to grab hold of her. She arched the ax high above her head, focused her essence into her arms, leapt at the creature, and thrust the ax down into its head with all of her might. Hoping to avoid its gaping maw of teeth, she continued her momentum in a somersault over the creature’s body after the ax dug in. She slid down its back and landed painfully on the ground.

She spun around, ready for the next attack, but the creature was collapsed. Dead.

She walked up to it, gripped the ax, pulled, and an arch of blood curled into the air and caked her like war paint. She glanced back at the other four, still standing there, unmoving.

Why aren’t they attacking? Why aren’t they attacking Lisa?

I think this… I think this might be an assessment. I think they let you enter the pylon. They wanted to know what ability you would be given. Lisa doesn’t matter to them because they know she’s already entered the pylon.

So they don’t know yet, because I haven’t shown them.

Correct. They might be attempting to locate a human that gives them the ability to travel to Earth. They must not be aware of the blood portal method, thankfully. They must worship Ctaolthost, but not speak to it.

The next three approached, cautiously, weapons raised.

Claudia touched the body of the dead buzzsaw, but found she was already at full essence.

This close to the pylon, there’s no need. Ctaolthost keeps you fully charged.

Awesome.

She raised the ax behind her back again, focused her strength into her arms, and threw the ax at the buzzsaw furthest to the left. The ax spun end over end at blinding speed, faster than they seemed able to track, and the buzzsaw collapsed with the blade deep within its skull.

One down, but now you have no weapon.

Yes I do.

Claudia ran at the next buzzsaw, choosing the next one to the left. She could tell that these creatures were both right-handed (another interesting thing about life, that all creatures seem to favor a specific appendage), and so she chose the one on the left to make a swing by the one on the right awkward (it would have to switch hands to have a good angle). It would buy her a second or two.

She caught the creature's swing before it could come down upon her. She thrust the ax forward, finding herself stronger than the buzzsaw because of her additional power, and struck it several times in its eyes, popping some of them with the thrusts. It squealed, and Claudia released her hold on the weapon, knowing the creature was temporarily surprised. She put her hands together against its head, and sent her essence through the creature with a pulsing wave. It scorched its path through its skin, skull, and brain, and black sludge erupted from the back of its head like a shotgun blast.

I like this new ability.

Claudia! Turn around…

She spun to face the other beast, just barely missing its attack. The ax struck the dirt, and she raised her hands, intending to do the same to this buzzsaw. Instead, it stood up on two of its legs, using its middle two arms to grab hold of her. It spread her arms out wide to her sides. Claudia shrieked in surprise, and pulled, trying to free herself. With her arms spread as they were, and with her essence not yet recharged from the pylon, she found herself unable to free herself. She squirmed in its grip as the creature raised its head, it’s great maw of teeth spinning in its mouth, impossibly going round and round in that jaw as if on a track.

It’s going to bite my goddamn head off.

“Lisa!” Claudia shrieked.

Bullets penetrated the creatures head, the black liquid raining down across her face as they broke skin. For a second, nothing happened, and Claudia thought her end might still be near. Instead, the creature crumpled to the ground. Claudia ripped her hands free from its dead grip. Her heart was racing in her chest. She’d been careless.

She looked up at the final creature, but it was long gone, scurrying back into the cover of the trees.

Looks like they found out about your new power.

Yeah… And they know now that we’re useless to them. They'll come back with a bigger army.

She glanced at Lisa, now sitting up. Her arms were outstretched, but were mangled and bleeding. The sinews were already beginning to rebuild.

Claudia stepped back toward Lisa and sat beside her, feeling humbled and more defeated than ever.