Nanowars: Rebirth - 13. Chapter 13: Selection

Chapter Thirteen: Selection

Floating about like a happy blue bee, Puggles was busy searching for his brother. “Talon… Talon… come out, come out wherever you are. We can’t be late. It’s Selection Day.”

“I don’t care. I’m not going.” Somewhere in the barracks Talon was letting out a muffled sob.

“But this is the most important day of your life! Don’t you want to know who your soul mate will be?”

“I won’t do it. I’d rather die than have him choose me.”

“You don’t really mean that.” As he moved deeper into the room, Puggles could sense he was getting closer.

“He’s a monster.”

“A monster who loves you more than all the stars.”

“All the more the reason I can’t let him have me.”

“Now now Talon…. If there is anyone who can tame that wild heart of his, it’s you. If not for yourself, do it for Ares.”

“I would rather give myself to the Maze. ”

“TALON! You know what’s out there.”

“Better a spiderwolf than the Segundo Prime. At least he’s there.” There was no need to discuss who the HE was. How could he have let himself become a part of such forbidden love?

“You don’t really mean that.”

“I do… I swear by the Personas I do.”

“It is the Personas who selected you for Everett. Will you dare defy them?”

“As far as Everett is concerned, I will.”

“Well if that’s the way you want it…” On reaching the very last locker, he found him. Since Talon would not come out on his own, he would have to force the issue. He concentrated on the locker and electrified it with a bolt of energy. The shock was enough to send Talon flying out. “Gotcha ya.”

“Hey… that’s not fair.”

“So?”

“So that hurt.”

“It got you out into the open didn’t it?”

“For a Watcher, you’re real mean.”

“I’m no meanie. I’ve never ratted you out to the Personas, have I? A proper Watcher would have told them about your secret lover.”

“You wouldn’t dare. If you do, I will tell them that you’re not a real Watcher.”

“And get us both killed… not likely. Now come on… we’re late for the Selection.”

Wearing a pout he crossed his arms and refused to budge. “I won’t do it.”

“Fine… what will you have us do? If you don’t show up on your own, the Personas will send the Cybernoids to get you.”

“I don’t care… I would rather they banish me to the Maze than let him select me.”

“Everett is not that bad.”

“Is so.”

“Is not.”

“Is so, is so, is so….”

“Not towards you. You can’t say he doesn’t love you.”

“He thinks he loves me.”

“How can he think he loves you and not love you?”

“You know what I mean… I’m the last of my kind.”

“No you’re not. There’re at least twenty thousand Legates in the Tosian Ark alone.”

“They’re not the same as me.”

“You mean they’re clones while you’re not.”

“Aye.”

“Bigot.”

“Light bulb.”

“Hey… you promised never to call me that.” Puggles never cared for being called a light blub. He sent another spark of energy at his master.

“Sorry… but it’s the truth. Everett only wants me because I’m the Legate not born in a test tube.”

“You both are members of the two most important castes. He’s an Imperator.”

“And I’m a Nuncio. I’ve knows that since I was four.”

“You’ve had twelve years to prepare for this day so there’s no excuse for getting cold feet.”

“Cold feet… that would suggest I once wanted to go through with this.”

“Never? Not even a tinny-weenie bit?”

“You always knew who I wanted to be with.”

“But you can’t… not in a million gazillion years. The Personas would kill him before letting you two bond.”

“But we’ve already have.” Talon whispered.

“WHAT! Have you lost your mind? So that’s why you think living in the Maze is better than life as a prince. Papa made me swear to protect you. Now I know why. You’re more trouble than your worth.”

“Am not.”

“Are so, are so, are so.”

“That doesn’t change that I have to escape.”

“Well… wherever you go, I must follow gosh darn it. Don’t worry Talon. We’ll think of something.”

There was a long silence. “Think faster.”

“I’m trying.”

In Antarctica there was the Relic while off the shore of Western Alaska there was the Eye. Both dated back to before the dawn of history. However, The Stone had appeared only twelve years ago. It’s crashing from space marked the disappearance of Avery’s dad. Like Niagara Falls, the crater straddled the US/Canadian border except along between Alaska and the Yukon. And like Niagara, the Canadian side was far more impressive.

Tom pointed to the center of the crater. “The Stone is on the other side.” What Tom referred to as the Stone was colloquially known as the Arch or the Half Eaten Doughnut. It was a semicircle of rock, fifty yards in diameter, forty high with a six yard wide hole in its center.

“Is it really a gate that will take us to dad?” Avery had never been to the Stone but Tom had visited often with his father.

“The last time I saw dad, he went through the Stone and never came back.”

“Why did he go?”

“To look for your father. He meant more to my dad than he was ever willing to admit. So did you and Karl.”

“How does it work? It just looks like a hole to me.”

“It is… but I think I’ve learned how it works. I just didn’t have the courage until now to try it.”

“You know what’s on the other side, don’t you?” Though he hid it well, Avery could sense Tom’s growing trepidation.

“He took me past the threshold once so I’d know what I would face one day. Far worse than spiderwolves await on the other side.” Tom looked down at the dog. “But that’s what Peppy is for right?”

Peppy sneezed.

“What about us… How do we defend ourselves?”

Tom opened his pack and took out a mahogany box. Inside were three foot-long cylinders. “We’ll have these.” When he squeezed one it expanded into a six foot double tipped spear. Aiming the tip at a nearby boulder he fired and explosive bolt of energy which shattered the granite like a pane of glass.

Lanyon was flabbergasted. “What the hell? You expect us to fight with one of those things?”

“What I want to know is where in earth you got it.” Avery took one. It was warm to the touch.

“A souvenir my dad picked up while exploring the Maze. I got one for each of you.”

“I would rather have a gun.”

Avery liked the feel of it. “Can’t say if I’ll be much use with this but I’ll take one nonetheless. How does it work?”

“Focus your mind… imagine the spear expanding and it will.”

“Alright. When it happened, Avery was caught so off guard that he ended up dropping it.

Tom gave Avery a congratulatory slap on the back. “Not hard at all. Your turn Lanyon.”

“Thanks but no thanks.”

“Lan…”

“Alright, alright.” He took the last spear but no matter how hard he tried he could not get it to expand. Out of frustration, he tossed it over the edge of the crater. “This is so stupid… magic spear my ass.”

“No Lan… since you can’t figure out how to use it, you’re the stupid one.”

“No… it’s not that. Am I right the spear was meant for Karl?

“It was but… yeah, that might have something to do with it. Sorry.”

“Enough with the sorry business. Just give me a gun.”

“I have one but you got to promise not to lose it.” Tom handed him a 12mm semiautomatic pistol.

Avery thought he recognized it but had to be sure. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Yes.” It was the gun Thad gave Karl before disappearing. He handed the gun and six clips of ammo. “Use these sparingly. That’s no ordinary ammo so it can’t be replaced.”

“What’s special about them?”

“They’re designed specifically to kill Maze creatures. One bullet will take out most things we’ll come across or so I was told.”

Lanyon loaded a clip, and cocked it. “Great… this is more like it.”

Tom shook his head in disbelief. “Don’t forget the safety Neanderthal.”

“Tom…” Avery knew he could be abrasive, especially when dealing with people he saw as his intellectual inferiors, but Lanyon was more than a friend.

Tom saw the threatening look the others were giving him. “I see… Uhm, Ave can I talk to you in private?”

Avery gave Lan a reassuring wink. “This will be quick.”

When they were about twenty yards away, Tom turned on him. “He shouldn’t be here.”

“But he is… he’s a friend and I trust him.”

“It was supposed to be Karl… why couldn’t you bring him.”

“Because of the Symbionts. Didn’t those things come from the Maze?”

“Aye but…”

“That he has stuck with us this long is all the proof you need.”

“Aye… but we would have stood a better chance with Karl.”

“What is this really about Tom?”

“It’s about this.” Before Avery knew what was happening, Tom placed both arms around the back of his neck and drew him into a breath stealing kiss. Avery’s eyes widened when he saw Tom’s eyes turn red.

When they parted Avery was left gasping for air. “What is this?”

“I can’t stand how he looks at you. Be honest. You two have slept together haven’t you?”

“Just once.”

“Which is an infinitesimal number of times more than I have. Karl I could handle but not him… not an outsider.”

Avery kissed the palms of Tom’s hands before drawing him close. “He was my first because he was not Karl.”

“I… I don’t understand. You two have been boyfriends since before either of you knew what that meant.”

“Because I’m not strong enough. I’m not ready to lose myself to him. You understand that better than I do.”

“Aye… I lost myself to you the first day we met.”

“The eyes?”

“Part of my inheritance. You will change too when you awaken.” Tom rested his chin on Ave’s left shoulder. The two rocked in each other’s arms.

“Uhm, I hate to interrupt but there’s something you need to see.” Lanyon cheeks were flush red with embarrassment.

Avery knew he had to make the first move. “You better show us.”

Following Lan to the crater’s edge they saw clouds of dust rising around the bottom. “It looks like they didn’t leave the Stone unguarded.”

“They… who is they?”

“They as in those who took Ave’s father from him.” From pockmarked holes in the blasted earth, giant spine covered grubs were digging up to the surface.

On instinct Lanyon drew it 12 mm. “What the hell are those?”

“Spiderwolf larva. Looks like five of them.” Tom replied as he extended his spear.

“How dangerous are they?” Ave asked.

“Not as bad as an adult but dangerous enough. They will try to capture us if they can but kill us if they must.”

“Why would they want to capture us?”

“To make us one of them.” Tom replied. “Come on. Let’s get this done before the sun sets. You don’t want to be fighting these things in the dark.

“Let me at them. I can get them from here.” Lanyon raised the gun to eye level, aimed and shot at the nearest grub. The bullet hit dead center in its teeth ringed maw.

As the poison in the round began eating away at its flesh, it let out a glass-shattering scream that sent all three boys to their knees.

By the time they recovered, the remaining four larva had closed the distance between them in half. “Dang, at this rate they’ll be on use before we can deal with half of them.” Avery looked to Tom for a plan.

“Then we make a run for it. Ave and I will use our spears to stun them but no more fancy shooting. Ave you circle right. Lan take left. I’ll go for the center.”

Ave grabbed Tom by the back of his collar. “No. It’s too big a risk.”

“Ave, he’s right. We have no hope of getting past all four unless we split up. Since you’ve never used that magic spear of yours, Tom is the best able to deal with them.”

“But.”

“Hell… I’m not waiting.” Tom jabbed Avery in the gut with the butt of his spear. Free, he charged down the slope.

Before Ave could recover, he found Lanyon had run off as well. Seeing he had no choice but to play the role he had been assigned, he leapt after them.

Even though Lanyon had killed one of them, the larva completely ignored him. Instead they split into two pairs… half of them charging at Tom while the rest changed course to intercept Avery. Lanyon had to admit Tom seemed to know how to use the spear to his advantage. Instead of shooting to kill he blasted the ground beneath the worms creating three feet deep trenches that slowed their progress.

Avery, however, was having more trouble. He got the spear to expand but his ability to shoot with any sense of aim was lacking. When an immature spiderwolf got within ten yards of him, it shot a cloud of black threads from the orifices that ringed its mouth. When they got within a foot of Ave, they were blocked by a shield of blue energy, which burned them into harmless ash.

If Avery was caught off guard, it didn’t stop him for long. Using his skill in field and track, he thrust the sharp end of the spear into the grubs soft body and pole vaulted over it. Even though he lost his only weapon, he was in the clear.

That left only Tom. With the other grub giving up chasing Avery, he now had three of them to deal with. He had slipped past one but he still had one on his left flank and another coming straight at him. Seeing his predicament, Lan came to a sudden stop.

Lanyon saw Tom’s eyes lock on his. “Run, damn it, run.”

Tom raised his spear and threw it like a javelin. “Get Avery out of here!”

Avery had just joined Lanyon when the spear landed at their feet. “No… what’s he doing!”

As one all three grubs launched their threads. Unlike with Avery, they hit their target, cocooning him in a matter of seconds.

Lanyon recovered fast enough to keep Avery from running back up the slope. Holding his spear on either end, he pinned Avery between the shaft and his body. As Lan backed them into the rock archway, Avery screamed and fought with all his might to go after his friend.

As both them were facing away from the Stone, neither of them noticed the point where they crossed the threshold from one world to another. One moment they were under a blue sky and yellow sun, the next they were surrounded by a sky of stone that glowed with a faint crimson light. There was no sign of a means to return.