The harsh sound of venting air made Ronin realize he was moving too quickly. Setting down the knife, he readjusted his full faced breathing mask. It made a rasping noise as it rubbed against the five o’clock shadow, he couldn’t seem to get rid of. No matter how often he shaved, the stubble always appeared, and loosened the masks seal on his face. Mask seated, he Swiveled around and checked the tank attached to his lower back, the dial showed twelve hours. Twelve hours of oxygen left. Twelve hours to get to the cave, before earth’s toxic atmosphere killed him.
With an effort of will he calmed himself down, before picking the knife up. Even knowing the consequences, it was hard for Ronin to stay calm. Moving slowly now, he gently worked the knife back into the wound he had created at the base of the flower. Precious sap trickled out and was quickly caught in an old canteen, but as valuable as it was, the sap wasn’t the goal.
“Yes,” he breathed as the prize was exposed. “A crystal tree seed, I’m gunna be rich.” He chuckled to himself as he finally freed the football sized seed from the flower. Quickly wrapping the seed in soft leather, he slipped it into his bag before going to the hole to finish collecting the sap. He giggled to himself as he worked, trying in vain to keep his breathing to a minimum. Crystal tree seeds were rarely seen so near the caves.
Having finished collecting his bounty, Ronin checked his surroundings. They were still clear, thankfully none of the alien beasts had entered the flower while he had been working. With another giggle, Ronin pulled the seed back out of his bag and examined it. The seed was shaped a lot like a football, one of earth’s ancient relics that he had only seen in books. Running his hands over the seed’s crystalline surface, he couldn’t help but grin. The multifaceted shell was a beautiful emerald green that sparkled in the sun.
Another vented breath reminded him that he was on the clock. Gently wrapping the seed back up, he slipped it into his bag before climbing to his feet. He gripped a wrist thick stamen to steady himself before beginning the long climb out of the house sized flower. Ronin wished he could take the time to collect the pollen as well, but the scent of fresh sap would attract unwanted attention. So, with a sigh he headed out. Besides, he was starving. It was about time he headed home.
Exiting the partially closed flower, Ronin slowly moved down the stem until he reached the branch and looked back. The alien flower reminded him of an apple blossom he had once seen in a book. If left alone he knew the flower would eventually turn into fruit that looked a lot like an apple too, but that never happened this close to the caves. No one could pass on the opportunity to gather the seeds immediately, before someone else snagged it.
It took Ronin over two hours to climb back to the ground from the lowest branch. Thankfully he made it down without encountering any hostile monsters. He shuddered at the thought of those beasts, their giant armored bodies weren’t something he wanted to face alone, or in a group for that matter. They were extremely territorial, not hesitating to tear any human or other monsters to pieces. He’d read once that the ancient trees of earth had monsters too. They weren’t called monsters back then, but he’d seen pictures and they looked remarkably similar. Wood lice, aphids and termites, those ancient monsters resembled the monsters of today. Except those ancient beasts lacked the glittering crystalline carapaces. Shaking the errant thoughts from his mind, Ronin patted the seed in his bag and headed towards home.
The walk was uneventful. He didn’t even see any other humans as he moved. Not that he often did, so few people had oxygen masks anymore that he rarely met others. The monsters weren’t a problem either, they always stayed in the trees. Once he got far enough away from a crystal tree, he would be safe from attack.
The hours slowly crawled by as he walked. He had pulled out a book and was reading as he moved. The time worn pages were cracked and yellowed, yet he couldn’t get enough as he carefully turned them. Ronin had read this book so often he knew every line by heart. He giggled quietly as he turned the page, desperate to find out if the prince would be in time to save the damsel. Before he could read the words he already knew, the sky went dark. On instinct, he dropped to the ground looking around wildly for the cause. It didn’t take long to spot the problem. Letting out a sigh, he climbed back to his feet. After checking to be sure his prize was safe, Ronin looked into the sky.
It was the crystalline ship moving slowly across the sky in low orbit. At this distance, it looked just like a giant crystal beetle with its wings spread. It appeared to be flying through the sky, its multi-faceted surface reflecting a rainbow of colors across the ground.
“That damn ship,” he grumbled to himself. “I could have ripped the page out, then what would I do?” He continued to grumble as he watched the ship moving away.
Something like two hundred years had passed since that ship first entered earth’s orbit. Bringing with it the death of the world as humanity knew it. Ronin remembered his dad telling him stories as a child, stories his own father had told him. Giant seeds falling from heaven, impacting the ground like flame covered asteroids. Crystal trees growing so fast from the impact sites that the eye could track their movement. Ronin ground his teeth together as he remembered his father. Turning away from the now distant ship, he continued on his way. The rest of the stories came unbidden to his mind as he walked.
Apparently, it had all been an accident. The ship had dropped the terraforming trees as soon as it had arrived. Relying on old probe data that stated nothing about sentient beings living on earth, data that stated giant lizards lived on this far away planet. The aliens were peaceful colonists who’d just made a mistake.
“So sorry humans, but we really didn’t mean it.” Their apologies didn’t stop the downfall of human earth, or the war that followed. Now what was left of humanity controlled the ship. What had once caused devastation was now the only thing keeping the dregs of humanity alive. Not that it was much of a life. Shaking away the last of the old stories now that the ship was out of sight, Ronin resumed reading.
There was less than an hour of oxygen left in his tanks when Ronin made it back to the cave mouth. There wasn’t much to see, in fact, if one didn’t know there was an entrance here, they would never find it. It just looked like a small pond that butted up to a small rock mound, a simple natural spring that had formed in a depression. It went a long way to conceal the cave’s mouth, but that wasn’t the real reason the entrance was underwater.
Wading into the pool, Ronin turned off his tank, held his breath and dived in. Entering the narrow tunnel by feel, he found the knotted rope affixed to the bottom with his hands. Gripping it tightly, he hauled himself forward as fast as he could. Coming up out of the water at last, Ronin was able to remove his mask and breathe freely.
They had flooded the cave entrance on purpose, to keep their oxygen from escaping and the toxic atmosphere from getting in.
“Welcome back boy,” came a voice from the back. “Bring back anything good this time?” The speaker was an old man, sitting on a many times repaired lawn chair. He sat in shadow and wore a large cloak that blended in well with the rocks. His long grey hair was tied up in a loose bun on the top of his head and he cradled a rifle in his lap.
“Hello Markus,” Ronin called back once he caught his breath. “You on watch again? I could almost believe you live in that chair.” He continued with a chuckle. “As for bringing back anything good…” his words trailed off as he patted his bag, giving the old man a wink.
“Really now?” Markus said, his voice losing its friendly tone. “As happy as I am for you lad, today isn’t the best day to be coming home with a profit. Alexander is fixin to crystalize today, and he seems intent on taking every damn thing that isn’t nailed down with him. If you’ve got the air, I’d suggest going back outside until he leaves.”
Ronin frowned up at Markus, still standing waist deep in the pond. The old man was his only friend in the caves. A fellow book lover and former scavenger like Ronin. If he said it was dangerous, it was.
“Thanks for the warning, Markus,” he eventually answered with a sigh. “But I’ve got less than an hour’s worth of air left, and I haven’t eaten in nearly two days.” The older man frowned at those words, but he could only nod his head in understanding.
“Alright lad, just hurry on home then. Get inside your hole and keep the lights out, maybe they won’t know you’re home.”
With a nod, Ronin exited the pond and moved swiftly through the cave. The tunnels were dark, but he knew them like the back of his hand. The only areas that were lit were near the low spots filled with water. The lights there were focused on the pools, helping the algae to grow. Ducking around the lit areas as best he could, Ronin did his best not to think about the algae. He really hadn’t eaten since he left the caves nearly two days back and just thinking about the dried and salted algae bar, he had waiting on him made his mouth water.
His thoughts wandered back to his favorite book. To the scene when the prince hunted the noble stag to feed his men. Ronin had seen pictures of many animals, but he didn’t know what a stag looked like. He wondered what it would be like to eat beasts that he’d hunted himself. There weren’t any edible beasts left these days, apart from the small clams in the underground pools. Other than clams and worms, his diet consisted entirely of algae and mushrooms. Seasoned with various minerals for flavor and the nutrients his body needed to function. His mind fully focused on food; he rounded the last corner to his home.
A small outcropping in the cave wall covered over with crystal tree bark as a door. Moving his makeshift door aside he crawled in, pulling it closed behind him. Reaching out with long familiarity Ronin’s fingers touched the switch that turned on his lamp. The single LED bulb had been crudely wired into a portable battery charger. Outside, its light couldn’t even be seen during the day, but in this tiny pitch-black space it illuminated everything nicely.
Seating himself, Ronin rested his back against the wall with a sigh. For a time, he couldn’t bring himself to move, but hunger and the tank digging into his back forced him to act. Undoing the bindings holding his gear in place, he carefully removed his tank and mask. Setting them aside for the time being, he unclipped a small battery pack from his shoulder and clicked the button to check the charge.
“Four bars,” he said with a grin. “Looks like Markus’s fix did the trick.” Turning it over he examined the small solar panel attached to the charger. It had gotten a short somewhere along the way, but his old friend had managed to get it working again. He’d wait until bedtime and top off his lamp battery, he should turn it off, but he needed the light to finish his book.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Having stripped his equipment, Ronin reached to the back of the small nook, where he shifted a pile of stones aside to reveal a small plastic box. It said Joe’s best water tank on the side. Ronin didn’t know what that was exactly, but it was air and watertight and a perfect place to store his treasures. Unscrewing the lid Ronin pulled out a dried algae bar and took a bite. Chewing slowly, he reached back in for the air tank’s hand pump.
He had once seen a magazine on scuba diving, apparently, their tanks only had an hour or so of air in them. The alien-built tank he’d inherited from his mother could hold forty-eight hours of oxygen. Unfortunately, it took nearly four days of near constant hand pumping to fill it all the way, but that was a small price to pay since it meant he could leave the caves. Latching one end of the pump to his feet, Ronin sat back into a familiar position. Setting “The prince’s adventure” in his lap he slowly read the time worn words as he worked the hand pump and chewed his algae bar.
His mind wandered away on adventures as he pumped. He was no longer a lanky man in his thirties who barely topped five feet, he was a prince on an adventure. There was a damsel to save and wild beasts to hunt. Having finished his book, he continued to pump as he grabbed another. Before long he was a dashing captain on the bridge of his very own star ship, the deck lurched under his feet as they received fire from a pirate vessel they had tracked down. When they finally brought them to a stop, he led his marines in the charge to take over the ship.
Turning the page, the emerald sparkle of the crystalline seed caught his eye. He grinned at the sight. He’d been saving his ship credits for five years, but with this seed and the sap he’d collected, his goal was in sight. This would afford him another oxygen tank. Another forty-eight hours outside the caves. With that, his hunting grounds would double, who knew what he would find. Few people could venture that far from the caves so he could vary likely find unclaimed seeds out there…. And books. He giggled at the thought of discovering untouched ruins, ruins filled with books.
There were other caves out there, with other humans living in them. He knew that because they sometimes came and went through the teleportation pad that every human settlement had, courtesy of the crystal ship. He had never used it himself, however, the price was simply too high. Pulling his ID tag up from around his neck he checked his credit balance. Not enough yet, but after he sold the seed, he would be on the way to book heaven.
His daydreaming was interrupted as the crystal tree bark door was savagely ripped away. Light flooded into the alcove, blinding and confusing Ronin. Before he could gather his bearings, he found himself being ripped from his home and planted face first on the rocky cave floor. The breath left his lungs as a knee was rammed into his back. Before he could struggle, his arms had been pulled behind him and he was trapped.
“Well, hello, if it isn’t Mr. Robert Jones.” The flashlight was still in his eyes, but Ronin knew that nasally, congested voice. “I had thought I might miss you since you were out…scrounging in the dirt… but here you are, and a good thing too. You see, I’m leaving today, and it really would be a shame if you didn’t get the chance to give me a going away present.” The flashlight was finally taken out of his face, and Ronin could see Alexander Dawson’s smug face framed by greasy hair.
“My name is Ronin,” he said through gritted teeth. Robert Jones was the name his parents had given him, but his parents were gone now, and his name was Ronin. “Ahh,” Ronin let out a yelp of pain as the man holding him down twisted his arms up another inch.
“The boss says ur name is Roburt Jones boy. So, your names is Roburt Jones.” Ronin snapped his mouth closed at the words. He recognized that voice too, it was Smith.
Smith was by far one of the strongest people in the cave. He, like many others, suffered from birth defects. The lack of oxygen, sunlight, nutrition, and exercise in the caves had really taken a toll on the human population. Apart from their overall smaller size, many were also born with problems. Smith was one of those. He had a club foot, and a twisted knee that made it difficult for him to move quickly. This made him mean and spiteful to everyone. Everyone except for Alexander. He followed him around like a stupid, crippled puppy.
A crippled puppy who just so happened to have arm strength that rivaled a gorilla’s; and a willingness, even eagerness, to use those arms to hurt people. If Ronin talked back to him, his arm might end up broken. In the caves, a broken arm was as good as a death sentence since he didn’t have anyone to help carry his workload. Better to just let Alexander have his way. He was cruel but he had never taken too much from anyone before. Alexander knew how far he could push. Worst case he lost his food and the crystal tree sap.
“Good boy, Robert.” Alexander said, sneezing into his hand and then patting Ronin’s cheek. “Damn allergies! Ah but it won’t be a problem after today my good man…why you ask? Because Robert, today I’m going to the crystallization station. My dad finally sent me enough credits to get a teleport transfer out of this hell hole. My stuffs already there yea know. Just spending my last few hours here saying goodbye to all my friends. Everyone has been so nice too, the gifts they’ve given me have been beyond generous.” As he spoke, Alexander moved his flashlight back into Ronin’s alcove. Brad, another one of Alexander’s thugs, was busy rifling through his belongings.
“Hey boss,” he called over his shoulder. “Look at what the scrounger’s got in here.” He continued as he turned around to show off the crystal tree’s seed. “He’s also got a ship’s tech air tank and a canteen full of sap. Not to mention all the fire starter in that tub…” he added, kicking “The prince’s adventure” away. The binding that had survived two hundred years of apocalypse gave way to the kick. Pages scattered everywhere, to the amused laughter of the thugs.
“Hey!” Ronin shouted when he saw his favorite book explode. “What are you doing? Just take my food already, don’t ruin my boo… ahh” his outburst ended in a cry of pain as Smith twisted his arm up even farther. Ronin could actually feel his joints creaking under the pressure.
“What’s this?” Alexander asked in mock astonishment. “Didn’t I tell you old friend? I’m leaving today, I don’t have to play nice with you dirt grubbers anymore. So, I’ll be taking everything I can with me. I should have enough to set myself up for life… so thank you Robert, for the gift. I’ll think of you when I’m crystalized into the ship.”
Ronin struggled wildly when he saw Brad tossing everything, he could find into the water tank and pick it up. Smith ground his knee into his back, but he couldn’t just let them take everything he owned. Without his tank he couldn’t replace anything. He had to stop them. His struggles ended when brad’s booted foot connected squarely with the side of his head.
Ronin didn’t know how much time had passed when he finally came to himself. He could tell that he was alone though, it was pitch black and there were no sounds apart from his labored breathing. He felt the side of his head, it was still wet with blood. Good, that meant that he hadn’t been out long. If the blood had dried, then it might have been too late. He felt his way back into his alcove from memory, feeling around to see what, if anything, was left.
After several frantic minutes of searching with his fingers, he finally gave up with a sigh. They’d taken everything. Even the broken pages of “The prince’s adventure” had been gathered up. Ronin didn’t know what to do. If alexander was really getting a teleport out, and he’d taken everyone else’s things too, the people in the cave weren’t going to last long.
“What would the Prince do in this situation, or the Captain?” He asked himself, desperately trying to think through the throbbing in his head. “I’ll have to try and stop them,” he said at last. Knowing that if he didn’t get his mask back, he was as good as dead. Decision made, he moved to the back of his alcove. Behind the pile of stones that hid his water tank stash, there was another pile of stones. Pulling them aside he reached way way back, as far as his arm could go. Finally, after scrambling around in the dark for a long minute, his hand came back out holding an oilcloth wrapped bundle.
His parents had left him when he was ten. They had finally earned enough to get crystalized, but it was against the rules to crystalize a minor and they weren’t willing to wait. So, his mother had given him her ship crafted air tank, and his father had given him this bundle. Slowly unwrapping the oil cloth, Ronin’s fingers finally came into contact with the cold metal of the S&W model 29. The .44 magnum hand cannon his father had once said had been handed down from his father.
Blindly opening the revolver, Ronin felt for the three shells that he knew would be there before closing it again. His heart had started racing as soon as he touched the gun. Now that he had confirmed it was loaded, he was beginning to reconsider his decision. This wasn’t a joke; this thing could kill people.
“But the captain killed pirates all the time. He killed pirates and saved the merchants; this is the same right? Alexander and his gang are just a bunch of pirates trying to take what isn’t theirs.” Mentally psyching himself up, Ronin climbed to his feet. He couldn’t see, but he knew these caves like he knew the words in his books. He also knew where they were headed. The teleportation pad was some distance away, so he decided to run.
The stale air in the tunnels barely stirred as he moved. If it wasn’t for the grow lights he passed near the small pools, he would have felt that he wasn’t moving at all. It was a strange feeling. The light and the dark, mixing with the pain from his head and the churning in his stomach. Ronin felt as if his head was floating along the silent tunnel without his body. The spell was finally broken when he neared the teleportation pad. Loud and angry voices echoed down the tunnel to meet him as he ran closer.
“…and I’m telling you boy” Markus’s voice rang out over the rest. “We put up with your thievin and bullyin all these years because of what your daddy did for this community. But if you think we are gunna just stand by while you…” his voice faded back into the clamor as Ronin increased his pace.
“That’s enough out of you, old man.” Alexander’s voice pierced the din, echoing off the walls. “Smith, shut that old bastard up.”
Ronin had nearly rounded the last corner to the teleportation chamber when he heard the shot ring out. Bursting through the doors, he was just in time to see the old man collapsing to the ground. Alexander stood in the center of the teleportation pad, near the control panel. His thugs stood shoulder to shoulder in front of him facing a small crowd.
“No no no no no no no.” he muttered as blood began flowing out from Markus’s still form. Looking up, Ronin’s eyes latched onto Smith, holding a tiny pistol in his large hands. “Nnnnoooooo”
With a roar of confused rage, Ronin rushed forward, bringing his old S&W Model 29 up as he ran. The gun bucked in his hand as he fired the first shot. It went wide, disappearing into the darkness. Bringing the barrel back down, he fired again. This shot missed Smith but hit Brad, the goon’s head burst at the impact. The gun bucked again but Ronin battled it back down, he was nearly on top of Smith by this point, the other man staring at him in shock. The third and final round took him in the face from less than a foot away. Alexander hadn’t remained idle this whole time, Ronin saw him moving backward as he charged. Pressing his hand to the control panel, the teleportation pad began to light up.
“No no no” he was still chanting the word over and over as he saw Alexander trying to escape. He had caused this. He had stolen everything Ronin owned, and he had ordered that Markus be killed. There was no way Ronin could let him get away now with everything he had done. Dropping the now empty gun, Ronin rushed onto the teleportation pad and tackled alexander to the ground.
He flailed his fists wildly, pounding them into Alexander’s head over and over. At first the other man tried to cover his face, but Ronin wasn’t an experienced fighter, and his punches didn’t deliver much damage. Ronin was so focused on hitting Alexander that he was taken completely by surprise when the other man brought his hand up, holding an oxygen tank, and smashed it into his jaw. Once. Twice. Three times. The fight went out of Ronin as he felt his jaw break under the pounding.
Alexander on the other hand, still had plenty of fight left in him. Shoving Ronin off him, he clambered up and brought the tank down again. The pad was growing brighter, it wouldn’t be long before it activated. Taking everything on its surface to some other place. Ronin whimpered as the tank impacted him again. He’d brought his hands up to intercept, but that had only resulted in broken fingers.
“I told you… Robert… that I am leaving this… shit hole…” his words were interrupted as he continued to bring the tank down on Ronin’s body. The teleportation pad had become almost blinding at this point and it was all Ronin could do to keep his eyes open. “You could have stayed… here, but now… you’re going to die… Robert.” Rearing all the way back, Alexander held the tank with both hands, ready to drive it down into Ronin’s skull. A loud crack echoed out, and the tank fell from Alexander’s limp fingers. Shortly after it hit the ground, his body followed. Blood splashed Ronin’s face as the body hit the ground next to him.
Ronin had closed his eyes at the last second, waiting for death when the crack sounded out. He opened his eyes when Alexander hit the ground. Looking around wildly he caught sight of Markus being propped up by his wife, rifle held up and pointing his way. Before Ronin could react to the change in situation, the pad flashed brilliantly, and he wasn’t in the cave anymore.