“Her dead ones reached us first, as you warned us they would.” He grumbles in disgust. “They were pretty ragged and smelled awful. We dispatched them easily with our light weapons. However, they communicated our location to Thresh. A month later the damned creatures you call grubs arrived. They began attacking our containment field.”
“What about Thresh?”
“She and her human companions arrived shortly after the grubs. They set up an encampment to the south of our location. Grey and Minns worked tirelessly to determine ways to enforce our protective field. However, the grubs were relentless and fueled by a constant trickle of that infernal fog. They breached the field on the seventh day.”
“My gods, Etch. What did you do?”
“We sought refuge in the Fuerst. I powered the engines and lifted off. Two grubs grabbed the hull. We were about 200 meters in the air when one of the damned monsters ripped off the bow thruster. In space, I could have easily compensated. However, with the gravitational pull of the planet and the wind, I began to lose control.”
I sense the pain of my limb being torn off. My time spent in communion with the Raven has given me empathy for the Fuerst. “That’s horrible.”
“It was indeed horrific for us and the poor vessel. I had two options. I could crash the Fuerst into the land, where the grubs and Thresh would quickly find us. The other option was to send the Fuerst into the deep ocean. As you might guess, that is where we are right now — 100 meters below the surface.”
“Did the grubs follow you?”
“No. The two bastards evaporated when we hit the water. Apparently the fog is unable to stay formed as beings in liquid. Very good, indeed.”
“Good? You’ve been swallowed by the ocean.”
“Amy, do you not recall that we have Iggy’s children with us? They have matured considerably and are learning to communicate with us through sign language and crude transmitters. They can spend considerable time outside of the ship conducting repairs. The problem is that we need to completely refabricate the thruster, which will take at least two months given our lack of supplies.”
“That means we won’t see you until spring.”
“Correct. Can you hold out until then?”
“Well, most of us, with the exception of Iggy. And then there’s Gorian. She’s with child.”
Etch whoops and whirs. “That is some wonderful news. I will tell Grey. He has something to hope for.”
The cheer suddenly drains. A third presence joins us — one that I recognize too well. “So, Amy Marksman, we’re reunited. Who’s this here with you? We haven’t met face to face. I’m Thresh.”
“It is always useful to meet one’s adversary on the field of battle.” Etch growls. “You will find that I am a relentless and merciless enemy.”
“So relentless that you had to hide in the water with your tail between your legs,” Thresh taunts. “Amy, I know that you’re in the mountains. My scouts are headed for you. The fog’s also creeping across the range from the portal. We’ll be there before your friend — Etch is it? — can reach you. Once I fetch you, we can travel to the opening together.”
Etch turns to me in the void. “Amy, please hold tight. We will see you soon.” He seems to be reaching for something in the pilot house and vanishes. I wish I had the ability to do the same.
Thresh floats before me in the timeless emptiness. “You can still join me and Eliza. Eliza’s looking more like you every day. She’s also showing abilities. I’ve been trying to hone them. Before long, she’ll be able to meet the others. I’m so very excited, aren’t you, Amy?”
I’m seething and then something unusual happens. A bluish glow expands and washes over Thresh. Thresh looks surprised and dims. I feel a pull and all goes blank. I open my eyes and find myself in our garden at home. I’ve managed to escape the void and settle back into a regular dream. I hope I sleep for weeks.
Chapter 56 – Morning
The sun’s perched high in the frigid sky when I awake. I look out the frosty window at the snow-laden mountain peaks, the stately spruces, and tiny tits darting through the brush. It’s hard to believe that somewhere out there, a battalion of corpses shuffles through the snow. Once they find us, Thresh and her monsters won’t be far behind.
I wander downstairs to the main room. Theo’s got the fire blazing and Bets is skinning a couple of pocket gophers — not my favorite meat but I’ve no grounds to complain. Bets looks up at me and then over to Theo. She goes back to her work with renewed vigor.
I pad over to the back door and fetch a cup of water. I steep a pinch of tea in it over the fire. Settling down next to Theo with fragrant steam curling around me, I decide I might as well tell them about my meeting with Etch and altercation with Thresh.
“How’d she find us?” Bets asks, exasperated.
“I don’t know,” I respond.
Gorian busily taps at her pad. “If they left from the coast two weeks ago, it should take them at least another two weeks to reach us. I’m assuming that they’re able to crawl quickly through the snow, which isn’t likely. Of course, it’s hard to estimate how fast dead people can move. The cold will reduce the decay, so it’s likely they’ll be pretty intact when they get here. And who knows if they’ll be picking up new recruits along the way.”
Iggy real voice rasps, although his mechanical voice sounds fine. “Gorian, do you realize how silly and macabre you sound right now? It’s a strange mix.”
“Silly maybe. But we need to know how much time we have. I can’t do anything about any poor villagers that might be in their path.”
Theo stretches. “I suppose we’ll need to sit continuous watches. I enjoyed getting sleep there for a while. Amy and Bets, it looks like it’ll be us.”
“I may be pregnant but I can still keep watch and yell.” Gorian stands, her hands propping up her back.
Bets wipes her knife. “What are we going to do if they attack? Iggy’s wasting away and Gorian can’t even walk straight. The three of us can’t hold back an army of bodies, let alone Thresh’s monsters. We need to retreat.”
“Where do you reckon we go, Bets?” Theo seems strangely calm. “We can’t move in the snow. It’ll kill Iggy for sure and Gorian’s in no shape to travel. We’ll need to make our stand here.”
“We may be alright,” Gorian muses. “The shuttle was loaded with munitions and additional supplies — far more than what we were able to bring uphill. We could rig the perimeter of the lodge with defensive weapons. It might not stop those grubs. But it’d put a dent in the dead people — live people too. I’d bet that Thresh would explode real good. If we could just get one good shot into her, the whole battle would end.”
“It’s settled. I’m heading down to the shuttle to get materials.” Theo starts pulling on his fur leggings.
“Not so fast,” Gorian responds. “I need to show you what to get. Also, some of the munitions are pretty touchy. If you hit the wrong button, whoosh.” She lifts her arms and shakes them.
Theo sits down next to her.
After several hours of tutoring, we all have a better idea of Gorian’s tactics. Given the snowpack, it’ll take Theo, Bets, and me three days of hard toil to bring the necessary materials to us. The trickiest maneuver will require Theo removing the shuttle’s fuel core, which is unstable but very necessary for us to have a chance against our assailants. It’ll have an added bonus of powering the lodge’s ancient circuits, if they still work. We may be able to light the old lamps and heaters in the building. Gorian suggests that the lodge’s machine interface may still be operational. The rest of us are not so sure we want to fire that thing back up.