Beyond the End of the World, Lokians 1

Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Nandesrikahl was out, Swain was down, and O'Hara was staring into darkness. A wave of energy worked through the cavern. It was a tremor that any living creature knew in their bones meant the arrival of something big.

An old enemy had reared its face. Ice cracked and fell to the ground. The beast took large gasps of cold air into his lungs. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and all the enemies dropped to the ground.

Fitzpatrick and DeReaux shuddered. They saw the Lokians lift their heads, turning their hateful gaze onto to a gray creature covered in fur. His eyes were black pools of nothingness, and suddenly, he was on them.

The brawlers jumped to their feet, screeching. They grasped the traveler, and hit him, and clasped him with pincers, but he was unshakable, unmovable. He looked into their glowing, red slits. Those who remained conscious saw how the traveler dismantled the assailants.

With a furrow of his brow, tubes snapped off, and armored plates went flying away, bouncing off pillars, skittering over ice. Rusty ooze poured from gaping wounds. Each brawler suffered the same fate, an agonizing death.

Calmly, the ape-like man walked over to Nandesrikahl, stopped, and knelt next to his body. The Human groaned then turned to witness obsidian eyes. The glistening jewels searched his soul. He felt them inside, probing something ephemeral. With renewed vigor, Nandesrikahl rose to his feet, glossing over carnage, breathlessly.

The gray man then approached Swain. He placed a powerful hand on his shoulder, another on his arm. The big man looked into the creature's eyes and knew they had been delivered.

Nandesrikahl dashed to his captain's side and helped him to sit. Looking on in astonishment, he saw the traveler, who closed the distance in a blurred fashion. The creature knelt, peering into O'Hara eyes; pain evaporated, confusion diminished, and all was calm.

The Humans regrouped, staring from their sleeping Thewlian compatriots to the eerie and mysterious traveler. There were no words to be spoken. Pure silence, external and internal, showed them the way.

Adams stiffened. He was unable to look at the creature. Franklin felt the same cold abandonment. Knowingly, the traveler gripped their shoulders in a gesture of solidarity; he knew they were no longer Human, and they knew he knew.

Only a moment later, the Thewls groaned, coming to. In an effort to gauge the situation, they looked everyone over. Insectoid carcasses lay strewn about. Pieces of tattered armor hung from the crew's suits. Only the snipers bore little damage.

The utter mayhem of the battle had taken its toll, but, for incomprehensible reasons, they were all in great spirits, and before them stood the man with all the answers. A second gust of energy moved through the subterranean extent, and they knew in their bones the traveler had come to help them.

Complete thoughts were imprinted onto their minds. They were more than pictures and words, more than ideas, or concepts; it was a silent knowledge, total and complete, if a bit confusing. Concise, cohesive units of ideas and explanations provided an all encompassing answer.

I am a traveler. I travel worlds upon worlds. I travel through time, and observe the lines, which unfold. I see all outcomes, but I affect none. I have the power to do as I please, but desire nothing.

Lokians will not stop. They will achieve what I have achieved through artificial means. Their bioengineering is growing at a compounded rate, and soon they will ravage the galaxy. There is but one way to end this threat; you must travel to their home world, and destroy their queen.

The creature had not said a word. He had uttered no sounds, but they knew what he meant. It was more than a voice in their minds; it was pure intent.