Chapter XI: Abandoned
Colonel Sommers did not slow down once during the walk, even when Garrus was falling behind as they trudged through the thick undergrowth. The turian's left leg ached admirably and he was beginning to find it difficult to keep up his pace, especially since the injury seemed aggravated after his fight with the Colonel. He was already quite tired after the events of the day and did not know how long he could keep walking like this.
The Colonel was several metres up ahead, barely paying attention to the ambling turian behind him. He walked with a confident pace, having little trouble traversing the uneven ground of the forest. Above the canopy was thick and little sunlight shone through, creating a cool, dark and foreboding environment beneath. Insects buzzed around and some had the nerve to bite the human and the turian. Garrus was barely affected due to his thick scaly skin but the Colonel seemed to be growing increasingly annoyed with the bugs, swatting them to and fro as he walked.
Garrus' head still ached profoundly after his fight with the Colonel. There were a few gaps in his mouth where teeth had once been while the blood pounded in his skull, each heartbeat sending one long ache flowing through his head. His anger towards the Colonel had subsided somewhat since their fight, especially since neither of them had really been successful in beating each other up. Both of them were quite evenly matched as much as Garrus hated to admit it, leaving them in a stalemate. Garrus knew that the Colonel would probably try and kill him sooner or later, especially if they ended up staying on this world for a long time. The turian had no intention of staying longer than he needed to. He was going to find a way off of this forgotten world no matter what happened.
Until they got to this Prothean town Sommers had mentioned, Garrus had decided not to try anything against the Colonel. He was not in much of a state to try anyway, with his aching head and throbbing left leg. Each step became harder than the last as the pain in his left leg gradually increased. Ahead, Colonel Sommers had little trouble manoeuvring through the underbrush and swatting away bugs. Garrus felt a large one land at his neck and sink its teeth into his scaly skin, its sharp teeth having little trouble in puncturing his exoskeleton to get at the blood flowing underneath. Garrus swatted it with one hand, feeling in explode in a rather disgusting manner. His hand came away covered with sticky green gunk and he wiped it with disgust upon a nearby bush.
Garrus continued walking albeit slowly and carefully. He was in an understandably sour mood after all that had happened, although there was some curiosity he felt when it came to what Sommers had said: a settlement of Protheans was apparently on this very world, having separated from the rest of their civilization. If they were still around then Sommers and Garrus would be able to meet with actual Protheans…the turian had no idea what they looked like, having only seen the statues on Ilos that were of tall but strange looking alien creatures. If that's what they looked like…well, he and Sommers would definitely be out of place.
The turian continued to follow in Sommers' wake, almost falling over as he tried to step over a fallen tree trunk. Garrus had to balance himself against the fallen moss covered trunk with one hand as he eased his aching left leg over it. He stepped over it successfully and continued to walk onwards, only to fall over a slight dip in the ground that Sommers had had little trouble in avoiding.
Garrus landed flat on his front as his left leg erupted in pain. He groaned, refusing to scream and show weakness. The last thing he needed was Colonel Sommers to come by and take advantage of his injuries and kill him. The Colonel would do that, as Garrus believed, so there was no way he could possibly give the Colonel a chance. Garrus kept telling himself he would live through this and get off of this planet, even when the chances of that seemed rather slim. He would see Shepard again, no matter what he had to do to achieve that.
Sommers stopped up ahead and turned around, watching with some curiosity as Garrus picked himself up from the ground slowly. The turian winced as his left leg erupted into pain again. He composed himself and started to walk in the Colonel's wake, his gaze meeting with the Colonel's as he approached.
"You look like you need some help," Sommers said, a slight smile forming on his features.
"Shut up and keep walking," Garrus replied harshly. Colonel Sommers simply shook his head and turned around, resuming his walk through the forest.
Garrus knew he needed to find a way off of this planet. If there were actual Protheans here he doubted they would be much help…then again he doubted that they were still here after about fifty thousand years. It seemed odd to think that one set of Protheans had decided to leave the rest of their civilization behind since none had known of the Reaper invasion until it had happened. And the Reapers had been frighteningly thorough in their extermination, so this planet may not have remained entirely untouched. Sure, there was no evidence of any battles here but fifty thousand years had passed since the Reapers had exterminated the Protheans. This was ample time for the evidence to have faded into nothing.
Garrus passed a young looking tree, one that was struggling to grow tall enough to break through the canopy. One of the branches was thick and quite long so stopping momentarily he grabbed this branch and pulled down sharply. It broke away after some effort but when he succeeded he knew he had himself an effective walking stick. Gripping the end in his left hand he began to walk again, trying to put wait on the stick and not his left leg. It helped slightly but not as much as he would have liked it to.
Sommers still had that suitcase gripped in his left hand. It was scratched and dented from the wear and tear it had acquired over time, yet now there were a few red bloodstains on it as well as some dark blue turian blood. If anything Garrus wanted to know what was inside but that would mean killing the Colonel, something he had already tried to do but his attempts had not been successful. Sommers was still alive and the suitcase was still in his possession.
Garrus tailed along behind the Colonel, the few insect bites he had beginning to itch. He scratched at them absently as he walked along, forcing his way through thick underbrush and past the trunks of centuries old trees. There was still significant anger within him and he took it out on the bushes he pushed through, smashing through their leaves with his makeshift walking stick. To think he was stranded here…it made him far angrier than he had ever been before. He had not asked for this, to be brought here with Colonel Sommers and yet it had happened anyway, as if some sort of higher power had it in for him. Garrus was not the religious type, primarily because it was not something he had ever given much thought to. There was no time to give faith in divine beings much thought when you worked with someone like Commander Shepard.
Already he had begun to miss the Commander. Her fiery temper, her bright blue eyes, the warmth of her skin…all of those things and more the turian had begun to miss profoundly. It simply fuelled the determination he had to get off of this planet and he vowed that he would not rest until he had seen her again. For once in his life Garrus had found someone he could relate to, someone who liked him as much as he liked them. Commander Shepard may have been human but he no longer saw her as a mere "human": She was Commander Katelyn Shepard and, if Garrus was thinking right, he loved her. It was a silly thing to think so soon after they had consummated their relationship but he thought it anyway. He had been let down in the past by other women so he knew to tread carefully when it came to declaring love for another. He had not had a chance to tell Shepard this before he had been snatched away from her so suddenly and this thought angered him. It was all Colonel Sommers' fault, even if Garrus himself had been the one to dive at the Colonel and send them both into the portal. Now they were here, far away from any galactic civilization. Garrus' transponder was broadcasting but he doubted it would ever be detected and if it was he doubted those forces would be benevolent. For once in his life, Garrus wanted something to go "right" for a change: his relationship with Commander Shepard seemed to be going this way for a while before he had ended up on this planet. When he finally did find a way off of this world, if he ever did, then Colonel Sommers would pay for what he had done.
"I think we're almost there," Sommers announced from up ahead. Garrus did not respond, seeing no reason to. The Colonel had caused enough trouble for one day and Garrus was certainly in no mood to speak to him.
However, Garrus did stop for a moment and look around, trying to listen for any sound that may indicate some semblance of intelligent life nearby. Instead, he was met by silence. It was an eerie silence, one that seemed to bore right into his very being. It was enough to send someone mad and immediately Garrus knew something was not right. He looked up ahead and saw that Colonel Sommers had stopped by a large black column that poked from the ground, one that was covered with weeds and moss. Garrus slowly approached and stopped nearby, able to see that the black stone column was definitely Prothean in nature. He recognized the design from what he had seen on Ilos. The column was etched with intricate geometric patterns while a few symbols had been carefully carved into its front. Sommers was looking at the column carefully, frowning as he removed a datapad from a pocket in his jacket.
"I did some research," he said, "Some of the more common Prothean symbols I've been able to translate." He looked through the information stored on the datapad, taking a moment to match the symbols on the column to the ones he had on record. "It's a welcome sign. It seems we're on the right track."
"You would think that if they were still here they'd have kept it from ending up half buried and covered with moss," Garrus said. Sommers looked a little fazed by this comment but said nothing, putting away the datapad and turning around to resume walking. Garrus started following him again, already quite sure that they would find nothing at the Prothean town. Whoever was once living here had since gone or had simply become careless in maintaining their welcome sign, it was impossible to tell for sure.
Garrus could tell that Sommers was worried abut what they would find. The Colonel was being ignorant of the obvious facts, preferring to think that these Protheans were still at their peaceful little town on this world. Already Garrus could see that this was not the case. The silence was a dead giveaway, as was the ill-maintained "welcome sign". It was strange how these Protheans could have remained here for fifty thousand years anyway without making technological advancements and building a means to get off of the planet. By now they should at least have built a massive city…and yet there was no evidence of one anywhere.
"You're hoping for too much if you think these Protheans are still around," Garrus said as they walked on. He hobbled uneasily on his aching leg, doing his best to ignore the pain. Sommers glanced back at him, his face creased into a frown.
"Oh, really?" He asked, annoyed, "Why should I listen to some pessimistic turian such as yourself, Garrus?"
"Because it's obvious," Garrus replied.
"I prefer to gather all of the facts before making wild assumptions," Sommers said, "My dad always used to say: ASSUME makes an ASS out of YOU and ME. You get it?"
Garrus just shook his head and the Colonel returned his gaze to his front with some irritation evident on his features, walking along as if nothing had been said. Garrus was not looking forward to arriving in this Prothean town…that's if it was still there since chances were it was not.
The forest began to ease out a little. Sommers' pace picked up noticeably as they neared their intended destination and Garrus struggled to keep up. He felt like such a cripple, hobbling along on a makeshift walking stick and falling behind but he could do little about it. He had lost his whole container of painkilling capsules during the firefight on Virmire so he would have to put up with the pain as his left leg healed. There was no advanced medical equipment here, leaving Garrus with little option but to live with the pain. Maybe there were some plants he could eat…but he doubted it. If this planet was anything like most others then most of the available food sources here were not fit for turians to eat. Instead, he would probably be forced to drink water and eat leaves. It seemed that not only was he stuck here but there was also a good chance he would starve, further adding insult to injury. He shook his head as he thought about this, and could only feel envious of Sommers who would have little trouble in finding something to eat thanks to being human.
The forest ahead opened into a clearing nestled in a wide valley, with mountains far off on the horizon. The sky above was practically cloudless and the harsh yellow sun beat down upon the landscape. Sommers was noticeably sweating while Garrus' hardened scaly skin was beginning to get hot. Ahead, by a narrow river that flowed through marshland, was a set of overgrown structures that had seen better days. Garrus stopped on the trail that lead into the centre of what had once been a quaint little village while Sommers put one hand to his head, shaking it furiously.
The village consisted of primitive wooden structures, all of them fairly large hinting at the typical height of an average Prothean (which was quite tall). All of the buildings were falling apart and overgrown, with most of the wood having rotted over the last fifty thousand years. The only parts of the buildings that had been left standing were the stone supports and even they were not looking to be in terribly good shape either. The centre of the village was overgrown with long grass and weeds, with one single ancient column jutting up from the centre of it all. Any sort of evidence that there had once been people here was long gone, replaced with ruined buildings and rampant grass. Sommers looked noticeably upset but even so he continued into the village (or what was left of it). Garrus followed, having little other option. Now he was effectively demoralized since there was no way anything here could be of any help to him in getting off of this planet. The Protheans who had once lived here were long gone, how this had come to happen was impossible to ascertain. Fifty thousand years was a long time and even skeletons could have turned to dust by then.
"Great plan, Colonel!" Garrus shouted after the human, his anger evident in his voice. He had come all this way just to find out that there was nothing here but ruins? What a joke! So much had happened today and he was beginning to grow understandably angry towards it all…first it was getting stranded here, now it was discovering that he and Sommers were the only ones on this godforsaken rock. "Let's just come here and hope that there's someone left behind after fifty thousand years? Really great plan!"
Sommers turned around as Garrus approached, shaking his head. He still gripped the suitcase in his left hand while he stamped furiously on the ground, like a child having a tantrum.
"Shut the fuck up!" He shouted back, enraged, "I wasn't expecting this!"
"What did you expect?" Garrus said. He found a stone column overgrown with creepers about half a metre in height nearby and sat down on it, using this as a chance to stretch his aching left leg. "Did you expect the Protheans to have some bustling metropolitan community? Did you expect to have a welcoming committee here waiting for you, with food and drinks? Seriously, Colonel, you're stupider than I thought."
Sommers groaned in a rather angered fashion. Garrus remained seated where he was, confident that he had made a point. Now all he had left to do was sit around and do nothing. He was not in any state to try and start finding a way off of this rock, especially when his leg was aching the way it was now.
"It's been fifty thousand years," Garrus said, feeling some anger as he realized the futility of his situation, "Fifty thousand years! What made you think there would still be anyone here?"
"Well, it certainly doesn't look like the Reapers blew the shit out of them," Sommers said, "To me, it looks like the Protheans who were supposed to be here just packed up and left. Maybe they've moved somewhere else?"
Garrus sighed and shook his head. The Colonel was missing the point, a reaction which was to be expected when faced with the harsh truth. Colonel Sommers and Garrus Vakarian were alone on this far away world with only each other and the local wildlife for company. This was something that Garrus hated immensely.
"Colonel, they're gone," Garrus said. He stood up again, stepping towards the agitated human, hobbling along on his wounded leg as he walked. Sommers seemed to have calmed down a little and had removed a small pack from his jacket, one that he placed upon a nearby fallen stone column. He tipped the small bag upside down and out fell numerous odds and ends, including a pack of gum, a Swiss army knife and a few disc-shaped grenades. Sommers took the pack of gum and removed a piece, placing it into his mouth and chewing furiously.
"I'm not about to start walking around trying to find them," Garrus added. The thought occurred to him that he should just kill the Colonel now, get it over with. The Colonel was probably thinking the same thing and the turian could tell this much from the human's gaze.
"You don't need to walk around looking for them," Sommers replied, "I'm going and I don't want you to come with me."
"Where are you going to go?" Garrus asked, "There's nothing outside of this village except wilderness. You'll die."
"I won't die," Sommers said, "I'm pretty sure I can handle myself out there."
Garrus shook his head. The Colonel obviously had little clue as to what he would do: he had been relying on the Protheans to still be here and since they were not that left a gaping big hole in his plan. Now he would have to fend for himself and Garrus would have to do the same. He may as well accept the fact that he would be stuck here for a while and yet Garrus could not, especially when he thought of Shepard. She was still out there somewhere, probably desperately trying to find him. Her search would be near impossible unless she somehow found clues as to the location of this world from within the excavation site. Anything was possible.
"Why'd you bring grenades?" Garrus asked, nodding towards the few that had fallen out of the Colonel's personal little bag. The Colonel picked one up, armed it by pressing a button and turned around to face the river. Garrus almost stumbled backwards in surprise when he saw the Colonel arm the grenade but composed himself once he saw what the Colonel would do.
"Fishing," Sommers replied. He threw the grenade, letting it glide through the air before plopping into the water. A moment or two later and there was an eruption of water and dead alien fish from where the grenade had landed in the pond, accompanied by a loud thump! More dead fish floated to the surface of the river and the Colonel strolled over to the bank, picking up a long stick from the ground and using it to pull the floating dead fish towards him.
Garrus stepped over to him, watching as he piled the dead fish on the grass by the bank.
"Make yourself useful and collect some firewood," Sommers said, delivering it as more of an order than anything else, "We're going to be eating well tonight."
"I don't think I can eat that stuff…"
"I don't care!" Sommers snapped, shooting the turian an agitated gaze, "I don't care what you can and can't eat, you dumb turian, because I can eat what I want! Just go out into those woods and get me some firewood, otherwise I'll just shoot you. I'm not in the mood to hear some whiny complaints out of you, okay?"
"Do you seriously want to start another fight?" Garrus asked, "Because that last one wore me out." He had a feeling that getting along with Sommers would be difficult, even if their chances of survival here were greatly increased if they worked together.
"You seem to be forgetting who has the gun," Sommers said, tapping the Magnum revolver that was in the holster at his waist, "So go out there, get some dry wood and come back here."
"Get it yourself," Garrus said, even though the idea of making a fire seemed quite the logical thing to do. A night out here would be damn cold, especially since there was little in the way of portable heating units, nor any place to plug them in.
Sommers swallowed and looked like he was about to explode again. However, he did not go for his weapon. Garrus could tell that the Colonel would not kill him…yet. They both knew that they would get by easier working together, even if the turian had effectively gone against this by telling the Colonel to get the fire wood himself.
The Colonel dropped the last of the dead fish and stood up, his face one of controlled rage. He brushed past Garrus and started walking out of the village with the obvious intention of getting the wood himself. Satisfied, Garrus sat back down on the short stone column and stretched out his left leg. The Colonel came back about ten minutes later, carting a large pile of dry sticks. He found a spot for them on the sand by the river and arranged them into a neat pile, surrounding them with stones he found lying around nearby before pulling out a cigarette lighter and setting the pile alight.
By now the sun had gone low in the sky, sending it a bright purple. Night was coming and the heat of the sun had decreased profoundly, sending a chill through Garrus despite the armour he wore. As Sommers worked at the fire, Garrus stood up and made his way to the nearest of the ruined structures. This one was just a stone corner wall with green creepers and weeds growing through it. In the corner behind, Garrus found a suitable place to sleep, taking a few minutes to tear out a large section of grass to act as a pillow.
He returned to the Colonel and the fire a few minutes later, watching as the Colonel had begun gutting one of the fish with a sharp combat knife. The fire burned strongly by now, the smell of burnt wood rather pungent in the immediate vicinity.
"According to what I read," Sommers said as he used the knife to rip the guts out of one of the bright blue dead alien fish, "A full day and night cycle here lasts about thirty hours. That means we have a long night ahead of us."
Garrus sat down by the warmth of the fire, stretching out his left leg. He looked towards the setting sun, unable to avoid thinking of Shepard. Even now he was beginning to miss her and think that he may not ever see her again. It was certainly likely that he would be spending a long time on this remote world.
"Are you going to have any of this fish?" Sommers asked, wiping the fish guts off of his hands before impaling the one he had just gutted on a pointed stick. He held it over the fire, leaving it to cook. His gaze went to Garrus. The turian was able to see the bruises and the cuts on Sommers' face far clearer now with the flames nearby, casting shifting shadows across the human's features.
"I'll probably throw up if I have any," Garrus replied, "But I'll try some, just to find out." Nothing ventured nothing gained, he thought absently.
Sommers simply nodded in acknowledgement, letting the fish cook as a silence fell between the two of them. By his side was the suitcase, its shiny metal chassis glinting in the light of the fire. It was some time before the sun had completely disappeared, casting a cold and dark night upon the landscape. Stars filled the cloudless sky, providing a unique vista of completely alien constellations. Two moons were visible in the sky, both of them in a stable orbit around the planet.
Garrus had some of the fish and ended up feeling a little sick as a result. Sommers cheerfully had a whole one to himself, wolfing it down ravenously. At one point during the meal he got up and went to a nearby patch of exotic looking plants. This patch had once obviously been part of a controlled garden but had sort of broken free of its perimeter over the last fifty thousand years before they had completely overtaken the nearby plains. He returned with branches covered with smooth green leaves, saying that they had a herb-like taste to them. He tore the leaves apart and sprinkled the pieces upon the few more fish he ate during that meal. Garrus took some of the leaves and ate them without the fish, thinking that they would have a better chance of passing through his system. Throughout the meal he could only think that he would end up starving on this planet, although this thought was quelled when the smooth leaves seemed to ease the stomach upset from eating the fish. The leaves themselves had a smooth texture and a sweet, almost bittersweet, flavour. He did have some of the plant on another piece of fish but otherwise pulled through that meal somewhat demoralised. He was stuck here with Colonel Sommers and to add more insult to injury he could hardly eat anything of what was available.
Garrus went to sleep in the spot he had set up for himself by the stone ruins. Sommers dozed off lying by the burning fire, the suitcase clutched to his chest like a teddy bear.
Garrus dreamed of Shepard, of the talk with his father…And of his childhood and the constant bickering he had always had with his younger brother. It was things like that you often took for granted and now that his brother was dead…well, it felt like there was a mighty large chunk missing out of his life now.
However, Garrus was woken up at what must have been the dead of the night. The positions of the two moons had slightly shifted but otherwise the night sky was how he had remembered it before falling asleep, filled with a dazzling array of stars. Sommers remained fast asleep by the fire, the suitcase still clutched against him. He certainly would not be giving it up anytime soon.
Garrus sat up, feeling cold even through his armour. Sleeping in armour was not entirely comfortable but sleeping without it in temperatures like this would probably make him ill. The last thing he needed to add onto all of what had happened today was to get sick. He was contemplating constructing a makeshift bed out of leaves and such to accommodate what he knew would be a lengthy stay but he had not had time to do so. He would get started tomorrow morning, as well as begin to find a way off of this remote world.
There were noises and they were close, Garrus could hear them quite well. Where the rest of the night was eerily quiet there was an unnatural addition: the sounds of hurried footsteps, multiple sets of them. They sounded like restless children, scurrying around like children so often did. Garrus was immediately unnerved but not scared. Why would he be scared? He had been in far more frightening situations and he was not afraid of the dark.
The footsteps continued, as did the whispering voices. Garrus froze when he heard these, looking over the short stone wall next to him and into the centre of the ancient village. He could see nothing save for the burning fire by the river and Colonel Sommers fast asleep near it, the suitcase held close to his chest. That suitcase was something Garrus wanted to find out more about, if only to satisfy his own curiosity. There was no easy way to go about and do this though, especially since Sommers showed no signs of giving it up.
Murmuring voices, whispers…Garrus needed a weapon. He fumbled clumsily about in the dark, finding a sharp rock. Feeling it immediately brought some ease but he was still unnerved, primarily because he was unsure of what to make of what he was hearing. There were running footsteps, whispers he could not understand…And yet he could see nothing, unless he was looking in the wrong place.
The noises abruptly stopped. Garrus waited a few minutes, the silence of the surrounding wilderness unnerving him greatly. He shook his head, thinking that a mere few hours on this world had already made him crazy. Slowly he lay back down to fall asleep but he kept the sharp rock close at hand, just in case. He had a feeling that he would need it. Even as he began to doze off again, he could have sworn he heard something, a whisper…
"Garrus," it said. It was the only word that he heard clearly whereas all the other whispers were incomprehensible, coming off as mere noises in the wilderness. Garrus did not sleep easy after that, with the constant feeling that he was being watched…and not by Colonel Sommers since that human was asleep himself.
