Elevators Through Time - Book 1

Part 55: Not The Enemy You Know

Part 55: Not The Enemy You Know

Year: 2005

Time: 1:03pm

Location: Caravan Area, Bonneville Salt Flats, America

Level: Ground

Someways ahead a large mass of dark individuals approached, heading directly for us. They came from a large purple Q2 Gate that shut once the whole force had appeared. It was midday but something about them made the sky around them darken and the air began to smell foul.

Kate was snapped out of bliss, not initially by Tim's firm hand on her head, and not by the smell, but from a sharp scream from a lady nearby.

"Ernest! Get your shotguns quick! We've got zombies!"

Kate didn't know what 'zombies' were but the scream told her that wasn't something you patted and put in a birdcage.

Martin ruffled his feathers and called out in disgust. He sensed something foul too.

I took a closer look at one of the figures at the front of the group. There was no leader at the front, just a whole group of shambling humanoids.

I zoomed in with my ocular enhancer which I always kept around my eyes but didn't need to use often.

[Magnification: 459%

Distance: 302 metres and closing.

Structural makeup: 40% Biological Material, 40% Dark Matter,15% Tungsten and Titanium Alloy, 2% Sulfur, 3% Unknown unstable compounds.

Probable ID: Pycretians]

I related all of this to my companions.

Tim grimaced, "Pycretian Raiders, that explains the smell and the effect on the sky."

Kate tugged my arm without loosing sight of the oncoming group.

"Who or what are they?"

I quickly summarised their history to her.

"They were called the Pycretians because they were humanoids in desperate need of a planet. Earthlings suggested making them a planet made out of Pycrete. A bulletproof and otherwise impenetrable ice and straw material. Once the Que'nesians had amazingly built an entire Class-B size planet, and had tested and fitted it with all of the necessary freezing machinery to maintain such a planet, they left. Unfortunately, Pycretians are too proud and warlike to relate or remember that their planet spins faster and needs to keep cool to keep solid. Their planet may spend an entire Earth-hour in sunlight then another in cold. Their agriculture had to be slower than the planet but that was okay, they had a space station. Despite their ability to feed and maintain themselves, constant war within their society eventually led to them destroying their own planet by ruining the freezers that kept the planet solid. The planet cracked, people died, some that survived blamed it on us Earthlings. They had to change their biological makeup to survive. They now feed on space and matter itself."

"Difficult sort of people, aren't they?" Kate thought out loud.

"Yeah, but we don't call them people anymore." Tim replied. "They had to remove almost all humanity from themselves to survive. They still walk and talk, but they build their children, they leave barren wildernesses in their wake, they no longer have rank or position among themselves. They are equal in mind and purpose because they lack both. They are sometimes found within armies and guard prisons. They are basically the walking dead. An army of useless husks hired just to have something to do. The ones that didn't want to enlist just... stopped living. That was 82% of the population. These that chose this life want to live, but they don't have a purpose of their own."

"A whole world... lost," Kate felt like crying for them, but her fear of them balanced what emotion she felt, so the tears stayed hidden.

Tim brought out a telescope and took a look himself.

"Hmm, I guess The Illuminati sent them, because they don't belong here at this moment in history. They want us dead and they probably weren't happy when that pair of bounty hunters I was informed of didn't get you. They weren't that good were they? A pair of cheap bark-n-no-bite types, eh?"

"Hey! Who are you calling cheap?!" came a familiar voice.

Only I turned around and flinched when I recognised Kepler and Deune pacing towards us. Strangely Kepler walked right past me and ruffled Tim like a kitten, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him up.

"We do bite ya know!"

"I was just teasing. I saw you a long time ago, but I wondered why you weren't making a move. Then I saw them and thought we have bigger problems." Tim didn't struggle but maintained eye contact with Kepler.

Kepler released Tim when she glanced at the oncoming mass. She was irked by the smell more than the sight.

"Ugh, horde for hire. Hmm, I guess that means you want our help then?"

Now Kate and I were very confused.

"Aren't you-?"

"Hey," Deune growled, "We are decent people, we get a person, we bring them to who needs them with or without hurt. It's only our job, not our life. Since I have taken a particular liking to Kate I have promised not to hurt either of you. We get paid higher to bring you alive anyway, right Kep?"

"Don't think were bad... oh okay, technically we are. But we are also your only way to get outta this alive."

Tim and I thought this through while keeping an eye on the horde.

"Just trust us for now, will you?" Kepler said, stepping past us and facing the horde that were slowly passing and eating their way through rows and rows of caravans and people.

Terrified people either ran or shot at the mass but nothing phased them. The horde smashed and consumed the steel and other materials in their path, melting chairs and breaking cars, but strangely... they kept in a uniform line.

While the ones at the front stopped and ate, the ones behind them continued forward and took their turn at eating. They resembled locusts, but didn't eat eachother. They knew their numbers were unsustainable if they spread out.

Deune stepped forward beside Kepler.

"They will keep on eating like that until they get here. We should lead them out to the salt flats. There we can try to beat them until they aren't moving anymore-"

"Wait," I cut in. "I have a plan."

Everyone turned to me. Armies and high calibre people were meaningless in front of this unrelenting mass of 'space-locusts' but I was the first one to genuinely have a plan on how to deal with them.

"Let's send them to the Black Knight Satellite."

"What?" They all asked in unison.

"That hunk of rock that's been orbiting Earth for 20,000 years."