Page 12 of Planet Zero
Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. The same rocky, unyielding ground with its patchy carpet of moss. Clumps of dry dull grass that grew seemingly out of rocks. Shrubs of several kinds, the tallest among them over seven feet tall. All of it was bathed in the bright but not blinding sunlight with an orange glow.
It was so quiet… Which wasn’t altogether unusual on a still day like today, but Addie was becoming progressively uneasy. It felt like an expectant stillness. Like she wasn’t alone.
“Don’t create boogeymen out of nothing,” she muttered to herself but drew her small axe close. Keeping it near had become a habit.
Ihr hissed.
Addie whirled around rising to her feet in the same motion, hand going for the axe. A booted foot kicked the axe out of her reach. A large foot. She was on her feet and moving fast but going nowhere. A solid wall of muscle stood between her and the open vastness of the uplands. She tried to turn and run in the opposite direction and found another wall of muscle. And another.
Breathing in noisy gusts, she turned in a circle and found herself surrounded by four For warriors. They were huge. They were armed. And they were looking at her like she was a cornered rodent they were about to get rid of.
“I’m unarmed,” she gasped, showing her hands palms up. “Please. I mean no harm,” she babbled in her native language before realizing that they couldn't understand.
Forcing her mind to calm down, she repeated the same message in For using the few broken up words she could remember in her panic.
One man said something to her, fast and low, a growl more than speech.
“I don’t understand. I’m sorry.” Addie’s heart was doing a thousand beats per minute, straining in her chest. There was too much of them, and they were too close. It was like four Hobans surrounded her, and she was terrified.
The man who spoke to her had swarthy skin with a gray cast just like Hoban’s. Dark brown hair hung loose around his shoulders, and his red-green eyes were trained on Addie. That look nearly made her faint.
She had always found For eyes to be both beautiful and ugly with their dark-red “whites” overlaid with two thin rings of dark-green iris, a marked deviation from the familiar human set up with only one wide iris ring surrounding the pupil. And For eyes had no black pupil; the center was red like the sclera. Monster eyes to go with the monster bodies.
The Hoban-looking man uttered another unintelligible string of guttural sounds, and Addie’s ears picked out “settlement” and “go.” He motioned to one of the other men, and large hands encircled Addie’s waist from behind. She struggled madly, and the hands quickly withdrew leaving in their place a thick rope.
The men started down the mossy path, leaving Addie no choice but to tug along, pulled behind on the leash. Once in a while, one or the other looked back to check, presumably, if she caused mischief and tried to attack them.
She could only wish she were that powerful.
They walked fast, and they went for a long time. The men had caught her completely off guard as no doubt had been their intention, with no shoes on, and she struggled to keep pace, barefoot, the sharp rocks leaving the soles of her feet bleeding. In her mind, she was ready to plead with them to slow down, but she didn’t dare utter a peep, conscious of the For disdain for weakness.
When a settlement finally came into view, it took all Addie had to keep from limping.
The settlement’s setup was similar to the city she’d lived in; the feel of the place was entirely different.
There were thirty or so large teepees situated on a flat area protected from two sides by boulder outcroppings where a sentry was keeping watch. The area appeared well organized, the structures forming a neat circular pattern with a clearing to one side for either games or rituals. The other side contained racks with recently tanned hides and foodstuffs that were strung up and left to dry. There was activity in the settlement, people walking, women sitting in a circle intent on some menial task. Several children ran around. A bevy of Yuux flew over their people, frolicking and squabbling among each other.
Addie greedily absorbed every detail, savored every sensation of the settlement. Despite her captive status, she reveled in close proximity to other human beings. Not human, exactly, but a fellow sentient species. City of Seraphims never felt that alive. It was the children, she decided. Their city had been devoid of their tinkling laughter.
As their party neared the settlement, people began to notice her, dragged behind the warriors. Women rose to their feet, staring openly at Addie. Other men emerged from the teepees. There was some whispering and finger-pointing. Being the center of attention wasn’t pleasant now when she had no idea what the Fors’ intentions toward her were.
What if they are cannibals?Sweat broke all over her body at the thought.
The men leading her like sheep to the slaughter came to the center of the village and stopped. The one reminding Addie strongly of Hoban disappeared into a large tent set up in the middle. The rest of them waited outside.
The local folks had begun to gather around, staring at Addie like she was an exotic animal on display at the zoo. A child toddled close and touched her leg, only to be promptly snatched away by his mother.
“Addie!”
Her head whipped around. Melmie was hurrying over, a big smile on her face. “You came!”
Well, yeah.Addie slid a bashful glance to her waist encircled by the rope and smiled at Melmie.
The girl looked thrilled at seeing her. She appeared to find nothing strange about the rope, a sign of Addie’s forced arrival, and her lack of concern gave Addie a small glimmer of hope. Maybe the ropewasjust a precaution on the For warriors’ part, and she wasn’t about to be served for dinner to Melmie and her kin.
The flap to the great teepee opened and “Hoban” appeared.
“The Chief will let the people listen,” he intoned. Or at least that was what Addie thought the meaning of his proclamation was.
