Siblings of Sol: Destruction of a Planet

Chapter 31

The side slides open, and a warm damp air, rich in oxygen, floods into the close space. Jard sets Evian down on the floor of the Sphere and prods her forward with his clawed finger. The bottom of the Sphere is just about touching the floor of the chamber, so she can simply step down to exit the Sphere. She can tell right away that she is someplace very different because the strain on her legs proves to her that things have changed suddenly.

Jard steps down beside her and takes her arm. "You can run if you want, but first, I think you might want to see what you would be running into."

He leads her to a set of stone steps that exit the chamber going upward. They climb the rough steps till they reach a stone opening at ground level. The dense vegetation has stayed back from the entrance in a half circle, almost as if the ground were toxic to them.

She is reluctant to step out of the entrance to the underground chamber, because of the noises coming from the jungle, which are causing the small hairs on the back her neck to stand out sharply.

Jard simply laughs at her reaction. "You have every right to be afraid my dear, because some of the creatures on this world are truly huge, and very hungry all the time."

He pulls her from the entrance and takes her around the side of the cliff face to a set of steps that go up the side of the stone mound. She follows close because the noises of the beasts seem like they are right behind them.

They reach the top of the solid stone wall to a level ledge that looks out over the dense jungle below them. Evian can see the source of the noises now as the creatures push their way through the jungle with very little effort, because they tower above the surrounding vegetation. Off in the distance, she can see other huge beasts with long necks looking up from grazing on wet plants at the edge of a large body of water, as if they too are afraid of being eaten by the creatures that are roaring as they open their mouths that could easily swallow even Jard whole. The jungle sways as other creatures move below them under the cover of the dense foliage. The huge creature drops its head suddenly and pulls a four-legged creature from the ground and tosses it up into the air, as if playing with it, before it drops back into its massive mouth. In one swift bite, it cuts the creature in half, catching the two ends in its small front arms.

They watch as the creature chews all its meal in moments and moves away, trampling great swaths of jungle as it goes. Evian has instinctively moved towards Jard and his protective hard body. "What was that?"

"That is just one of the many dangerous creatures on this planet. Fortunately, they are very stupid and easily distracted. The ones to watch out for are the Shrils that are being helped by the Crawlers that have developed a truly amazing way of capturing their meal," states Jard happily.

Evian watches and can soon tell that the jungle is swaying slightly in the direction of a clearing not far away. She continues to watch as the flow of movement ends at the clearing and three Moles appear at the edge of the opening. A group of creatures very similar to Jard, race forward and surround the three.

She looks up to Jard imploringly. "Please don't make me watch this."

Jard looks down on her. "But, my dear, this is preciously why I have brought you here. I want you to see how smart the Shrils on this planet have become."

Evian glances back to the clearing to see the primitive Shrils look over the three and grab the male, leaving the female and her child alone. They drag the poor male to the center of the clearing and each one grabs an arm and leg, stretching the male out a few feet from the ground. The larger Shril steps between the spread legs of their victim and bites hard as the male screams at the suddenness of it. The Shril keeps his mouth there till the male stops moving from lack of blood. The rest drop him to the ground and drop down to feed on the remains. The female and her young push back against the jungle as a pathway suddenly opens for them, so they can escape the horrific scene.

Jard lets out a satisfied sigh at the sight. "I long for the day when we can hunt like that again. It is what we were meant to do, not processing the Moles like animals. I tire of eating alive the small creatures that we find scurrying around the Fortress from time to time. We, the naturalists, will force the villagers to run from us as we hunt them down, as is our right."

Evian had pulled away from him, and now cowers from the gaze of his lust filled eyes at the raw sight they had just witnessed. Jard shakes his head to return to reality and smiles at her. "Sorry for the outburst, but I am just one of many on Mur who will bring about the transformation of the villages. The important part is that the Shrils down there did not kill the female and young one, because they are protecting their food source, showing their intelligence."

She glances back to the clearing, to see the Shrils sitting back, chewing on the large bones, which is all that is left of the poor Mole. Jard has taken her hand again and is heading for the steps back down to the floor of the jungle. They return to the Sphere Chamber, as she follows him back inside the Sphere, not wanting to stay on this vicious planet any longer than she must.

The inside lights up again, and Jard presses the top of the device to return them to their own time in the future. He waits till it stops to indicate that they have reached their own time, before reaching out and touching the image of Mur. The side opens and Jard grabs her around the waist, so they can step back into the Sphere Chamber above the lava pit.

The guard steps back into the stone corridor as Jard follows. For the guard, it would seem like they had just left, even though to them, it has been at least a couple of turns since they had entered the Sphere.

Jard sets Evian down on the floor and walks away from her swiftly, calling back over his shoulder to the guard. "Take her back to her cell and keep her full of the special water till I am ready for her. At that time, I will instruct you as to where to put her for the hunt, plus I want her feelings high and her screams very vocal.

Evian pales at the words from Jard but feels helpless now because of what she had just witnessed. The guard pushes her forward, and they soon get back to her cell. The guard stops her at the table with the pitcher of water and the clay cup. "Drink it all, and you will get some food shortly. Refuse, and you can go hungry, to add to your crying and sobbing. It does not make any difference to me."

Evian pours the water and drinks deeply till the pitcher is all gone again. The guard opens the door and pushes her in. She stumbles across the floor and lands on the bed on her side. The water has not started to affect her yet, and she sobs into the rough blankets, thinking about where she had just been. "Is that truly Adam's planet?" It is nothing like what Adam had told her; could he have been lying to her, and she is truly alone on this Beast Planet? She goes over the horror of what she has witnessed but finds it hard to believe that Adam has deceived her. There must be something else going on, something that the Shril's and the Crawlers do not know about and need Adam to explain it to them. She holds onto that thought as the water takes her down into the depths of her need to be touched again. She smiles and lets herself go, squirming deliciously on the rough material.