Escape From Desolation (eBook)

Chapter Two
The Beast Within

Rage erupted when the shock wore off, fueled by a disdain for deception, unleashing a reservoir in the mind, a pool of fire fed by transgressions unresolved, Maddy’s blaming him for their failed marriage, bullies that ground his face into the dirt, the annihilation of his friends, the humiliation of groveling for citizenship, wrongs left unchallenged in obedience to a code of civility, and the artificial construct of an amiable disposition. It required energy to suppress the lava dome that wanted to explode. Yoni lived on the edge, managing to quelch the eruption until the right trigger released the flood gates. He lunged at the rat. Prig’s latest deceit was the tipping point.

“Huh?” The rodent was startled, or it appeared that way. He slid the book down so that he had a line of sight with Yoni. He attempted to speak again as Yoni rushed him. Prig tossed the book on the cot and raised his paws in a defensive posture, as though he was about to wrestle with the human. He blocked Yoni from grabbing his throat. Yoni lifted Prig and shoved his adversary against the nearest wall. The lizard-rat’s feet dangled a half meter above the ground.

“Hell! Yoni, what are you doing?” Judge lost his balance when he rushed to intervene and tripped, giving Yoni time to interrogate Prig.

“You rat, come clean.” He pressed hard on the alien’s shoulders. “Tell us what you know!”

Prig snorted and gagged while he wrenched his neck trying to break free. His limbs squirmed as he tried to kick. Judge reached the struggling pair and grabbed the captain’s shoulders, pulling back. The engineer was stronger, but he could not break Yoni’s grip while the captain was an adrenaline-engorged maniac. With superhuman strength, he easily pushed Judge away.

“Please.” Prig let out a guttural hiss after the only word he could muster.

“Let him talk.” Judge rammed his fist on Yoni’s shoulder. “Listen, Captain. He is our lifeline. You cannot kill him, Captain!”

Yoni glanced at Judge. He eased off Prig, after one last full body thrust to reveal his frustration. Although he continued to hold Prig in the air, the rodent could breathe.

“This worm knows about the Realm. For all we know, he could be from there, somewhere on the rim.” He lifted Prig higher. “He’s playing a game with us, Judge.”

Prig shook his head but did not speak. He directed sad and dreary eyes at Judge.

“You’re wrong, Captain. He’s a trader and collector. He has lots of stuff. The illicit markets reach beyond the Realm and these systems. There’s crossover, that’s all. Let him go. Let’s hear what he has to say.”

“He’s been lying to me about the Realm. That’s the problem. We can’t trust this rodent.”

“Captain!” Judge pulled again on Yoni’s shoulder.

Yoni finally relented and backed away as he released his prey.

Prig fell but landed on his feet. Momentum pushed him to one side, but he recovered his balance before tumbling. He landed like a cat. Paws massaged an aggrieved throat, and he straightened his clothes. Limping, he approached a mirror, and he groomed the bristles around his scales.

Yoni recognized the artifact. “Judge, it’s a mirror. There’s no such thing up top.”

“So? That’s supposed to explain why you acted like a lunatic and pounced on our tiny host?”

Prig took minor offense with Judge’s comments, or he pretended he was insulted. “Hmm? I am not tiny. You are behemoths, gargantuan, bloated—”

“We get it,” Judge interrupted.

“But you are not as large as DeSolan males. Who is tiny?” Prig beamed because he thought he returned a good insult.

“We get it.” Judge laughed and walked over to their host. “The captain must have lost his bearing up there. I apologize for his craziness. I—we—both appreciate what you have done for us.”

“Shut up. I’m still the captain. Show some respect.”

“Our partnership didn’t last too long.” Judge shook his head.

“I didn’t start the fight.”

“Like hell, you can’t blame the victim.”

“Victim?” Yoni flicked his fingers across Judge’s shoulders. His subordinate raised his arm preparing to strike but withheld it at the last moment. Yoni assumed that Judge recalled that, in the Realm, striking an officer was a capital offense. He sat down, panting, sweating, and rubbing the arm that held Prig in the air. Without the fuel of anger, he was not fit enough to exert himself the way he did. This attack was not like the scuffle with Ahn, which was calculated combat. His attack on Prig was all out, chaotic, unbridled, and unreasoned. As he composed himself, he watched Judge attending to the lizard-rat.

“Your chum came to my apartment. He might have had you safely stowed away down here already—”

“Not true.” Prig’s rebuttal was a garbled squeak. He sipped his drink. He sat quietly and glared at Yoni.

“Yes, it’s true. Judge, he knew about you the whole time he visited me, offering his services to get around the city. Look around here, Judge. He has an old Realm military jacket somewhere. He might have been in the Realm military if he were old enough, but I’m sure he would lie about that too.”

“That’s no crime. I knew a girl when I used to run freighters who said she was twenty-nine the whole three years we were together. Besides, I’ve never seen his species in the Realm. Have you?” Judge remained Prig’s defender.

“No, but he hides his connections. He hides his motives. Being indebted to him makes us vulnerable. No one on top knows about the Realm, but he has a link to it.”

“I keep telling you, Captain; it’s a crossover. The frontier of the Realm trades with worlds connected to the DeSolus traders. From what I have heard, the citizens up top do not know much about their trading partners. That is left up to Prig’s people.”

“That is true, gentlemen. One of those worlds is Mingulus Prime, my birth planet. There is also Mingulus Colony and Kandra Rock. My species originated on a planet known as Valerie—”

“We get it.” Yoni raised his hand.

“Some of the first colony worlds are long dead and all resources exhausted.”

“We get it!”

“A history lesson may be what we need, Captain.”

“What we need is straight answers. For God’s sake, didn’t you notice anything about the book?”

“Yeah, I noticed. It’s an antique.”

“A Tale of Two Cities!”

“I know what it is, an ancient classic. I never read it, but I remember how it started: ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom—’”

“Judge! You are missing the point!” Yoni reached over and grabbed the ancient text, the first example of paper on DeSolus. “This is not only an ancient story. It’s an exceedingly rare copy. The cover is made of leather, dried and cracked from old age.” He feathered through the pages. “These pages are yellow and brittle. It smells musty.” He peered at the book, allowing his nose to get close to the pages.

I didn’t know this unpleasant odor would smell so good.

“It’s not only from the Realm; it’s of old Earth origin. There’s no way this relic made it to the Rim where your crossover occurred.”

“It could be Benson’s. She had a lot of old books.”

He glared at Prig. The rodent turned away, not prepared to speak.

“I doubt it. No one had time to retrieve personal items. And I already told you: the DeSolans incinerated everything.”

“Why would they do that?”

“I don’t know, not exactly. They are insane recyclers here. I don’t know.”

“Captain, what else have you learned besides their fondness for recycling aluminum cans?”

“Watch it, Judge.” Yoni threw the book on the cot.

“What did I say?”

“Never mind. I will tell you what I know. They have impressive technology. Morphing materials, turning solids into transparent panels, shuttles that don’t bounce, an electronic system that keeps track of everything automatically, a society that functions without paper or books, no dependence on written language, absolute environmental control, no weather, no insects, and no pests. They tell me the scant signage that I’ve seen is for my benefit, not theirs. The whole city is symmetrical and laid out with precise regions. Getting around is impossible for me, but they manage without any problems. And my apartment—”

“What about your apartment? Nice deal!”

“All citizens have a place to live. I thought I explained it.”

“You have nothing to complain about.”

“It’s not...