Michael Siemsen - Exigency

Aether’s arms gained more wiggle room beneath the Seekapock’s light grip.

Skinny stepped before Qin. “Qin say who is leader.”

Qin sent the message through his PA. “You are leader.”

“Let them free!” the benevolent Skinny proclaimed.

The arms around Aether and Qin uncoiled, falling out of sight behind them.

Aether pumped her hands open and closed. “Let the killing begin.”

Arms free, Aether wrapped her fingers around her MW, felt the rapid double-buzz confirming activation, and pulled it from the holster. A tap of the thumb engaged the lethal setting. She aimed as Skinny began walking away, spouting off magnanimous nonsense that rolled unread through Aether’s Livetrans.

She sent Qin a last-minute order.

AETHER: Non-lethal on any others.

QIN: What why

AETHER: Because I said.

QIN: Fine

The multirounds left Aether’s barrel at supersonic speed—three shots in the span of one second. Aether blinked upon firing, and as her eyes reopened, a cloud of blood, organ matter, and endoshell fragments had already sprayed out the other side of Skinny’s face. The macerated body launched forward, legs yanked from the ground, arms flinging backward, trailing Skinny’s descent toward the mud pit like streamers from a kite. A splash. Tentacles floundered and coiled reflexively.

Behind her, Aether heard rapidfire pulses from Qin’s MW. She spun to see two convulsing Seekapock already on the ground as Qin dove with outstretched arm to reach a third, retreating guard. Two more on the right, near Tom and Angela, hesitated with bronze-tipped Threck weapons dithering before them. The tip of Qin’s MW grazed one of the fleer’s legs, and the shock could be seen traveling up the tentacle like a mouse scurrying through a tube sock. The beneficiary seized and joined her writhing friends on the ground.

Aether thumbed the toggle and sent a non-lethal round flying toward one of the still-faltering guards. As she’d hoped, the expanded projectile didn’t break skin, impacting between the siphons with what probably felt like the force of a supersonic grape. Another one down.

“Drop your weapon!” Aether blasted from her PA.

The last remaining guard tossed the curved spear aside and thrust both arms down and out in a gesture of peace. In the distance, Aether heard the sounds of clanking metal. She peered out beyond the emptying mud pit—panicked Seekapock bathers running wildly from the scene—and saw that even the guards at the far side had given up their weapons, some joining the escaping masses, while others parroted the peace sign.

Aether’s gaze returned to the frightened one in front of her. What now? She hadn’t thought much about what would happen after killing Skinny. All advice from her beseeching conscience had been thrust aside, eclipsed by pain and rage and blood. Now, the voice of reason slowly emerged, a timid head peeking from behind a wall: May I come out? And Aether felt a rush of fear and doubt. What had she done? What would be the consequences? Again… what now?

She looked down at Tom and Angela. Tom’s big hand rested on Angela’s blood-matted hair. He stared up at Aether—mystified, lost—a shell-shocked child in the middle of a battlefield.

And then Aether’s brain kicked in, like a spinning engine wheel catching on a gear, and clarity returned; options and next steps presented themselves, reorganizing into a bulleted list. Her ears reactivated. The docile Seekapock guard stood muttering untranslatable sounds as Qin held his MW muzzle close to her side, his eyes appearing to await some answer from Aether. Her focus returned to Tom and she held out her hand to him. He seemed to ponder the hand for a second, then reached up and took it, long legs unfolding beneath him, boots searching for traction—learning anew to stand in a world with no Angela. Fully upright, he swayed a moment until finding balance, rolling his red eyes and sallow face down toward Aether. A thick bar of Angela’s blood stretched from one of his ears, across his cheek, to a small red circle perfectly centered at the tip of his nose.

Aether reached up and casually swiped away most of the blood with the back of her glove, then cradled both of his cheeks in her palms. “We’re going to leave this place now, sweetie. Okay? You stay close to me.” He blinked mechanically and nodded. She turned her head to Qin. “I’m so sorry, honey, but I need you to do something really difficult.” Qin’s face was already wracked, yet compliant. “I need you to take care of her… head, get her wrapped up, and carry her to our EV.”

“I’ll… Yeah, I can get her… ready , but, I don’t know if I can, um—”

“I’ll carry her,” Tom said with a soft, shaky voice. Aether looked up at him. “It should be me anyway.”

Qin used wraps from a medkit to cover Angela’s head, then carefully slid on her helmet, attaching it to her suit and sealing the visor. He took her MW and utility belt, stuffing them in her backpack, and strapped it onto his back. All three helped to tenderly lift Angela up over Tom’s shoulder. Tom wrapped his arms around her dangling legs.

Aether stepped in front of him. “You sure you can do this?”

He swallowed and nodded, determined.

She turned to the Seekapock prisoner, still standing stiff, eyes hiding every few seconds. It was time for the next step. “Do you know where Eeahso is?”

“Eeahso leave.”

“Yes, I know. Do you know where Eeahso go?”

“Away.”

Aether sighed. “Away to where?”

“No.”

“You don’t know, or you won’t tell me?”

“No know.”

“Do you know where Eeahso goes sometimes ? Where Eeahso can sometimes be found?” Vapid eyes. Pulsing siphon holes. “Have you ever seen Eeahso at a place many times? Where Eeahso stays, rests, lives, hides—”

“Eeahso rest beach.”

“Yes! Take us there. Now. Go.”

Without hesitation, the Seekapock turned toward the mud pit, marching as if programed, in a straight line from the bank, splashing through mud, stomping over piles of fish bones, brushing through thorny, arm-slicing plants, as hiding Seekapock leapt, frightened, from cover, scurrying from the undergrowth. Aether had to call after her repeatedly to slow down until they finally reached the beach.

Arriving on the dune-covered shoreline, their steadfast guide cut left, scaled a sandy ridge, and halted, facing up the coast. The team trudged up the hill, finding at the top a panoramic view of the brightening horizon, low-breaking waves, and a lone EV nestled in a sandy rut.

Their escort pointed to the threshold of beach and jungle beyond the EV. “Eeahso rest.”

Aether pointed, too. “Lead on. Go.”

Along the sand bar they walked until it sloped down to the beach level, leading them right to the EV.

With no sign of their guide slowing, Aether turned back to a beset Tom. “Why don’t you go ahead and set her in the EV. Think you can prep the skimmers for us?”

“Yeah,” he said, and headed toward the sealed hatch.

Aether and Qin kept pace with the Seekapock as Qin called back to Tom. “Stay on guard, man. Maybe setup prox alerts, too.”

Tom didn’t reply, but he appeared relatively lucid.

Ahead, a pair of Seekapock huddled in wet sand, wrestling with a large, zeppelin-shaped shell. They shot looks at Aether and Qin as they passed.

“We catch! We eat inside!”

The pair returned to their labors, unconcerned with the passers-by.

The guide stopped a short stretch later, pointing to the dark space between a tall cone-shaped plant, and a three-story-high rock face. “Eeahso.”