WHEN I CONSIDER HOW MY LIGHT IS SPENT
By SilvyrWing
Harlan Band was visibly shivering, one hand hovering just below his eyes, and the other digging into the dirt upon which he was sitting. The one hand grasped at the stony ground with such strength that the fingertips bled.
Radu, though, for once in his life was sure he'd heard his friend wrong. "…You… what?"
"Are you deaf?!" Harlan spat angrily. "I can't see! I'm… I'm…"
Radu's didn't know what to say. He could only stare at the Earther's unmoving eyes. He waved his hand in front of them. No response. "Y… you're… you're bleeding. Let me… Uh…"
There were no bandages, of course.
Jacket. Shirt. Sleeve? Sleeve! In some of the old Earth movies that Harlan had forced him to watch, Radu noted that when someone was bleeding and there were no bandages, one of the other actors used their sleeve as a bandage. Radu tore at the shoulder of one of the dress jacket's sleeve, and the seam easily came undone with a loud tear.
Harlan's head jerked toward it. The empty expression in his eyes caused the Andromedan's belly to flip-flop. There was no confidence there anymore… They were lifeless. Dead. And scared. "What are you doing?"
"Making a bandage," Radu responded, ripping the seam that ran along the side of the sleeve. Realizing it still wouldn't be long enough, he then tore that partially down the center. It would be crooked, but at least it would work as a temporary dressing. Starting to reach for Harlan's wound, he thought better of it, drawing back. "I'm going to tie this around your head now, okay?"
Harlan nodded, never looking at Radu. Not even glancing in his direction. Radu reached forward again, and even though he'd been warned, Harlan jumped at the contact.
"I'm blind."
Radu looked up. "Yes… I know."
"Radu, I'm blind."
The Andromedan remained silent for a moment as he tied off the bandage. "You hit your head really hard." Pausing, he looked over the rocks to gauge the progress the En'hegians had made. They still hadn't moved too far, though, which meant they still had a little time. The hardest part was being able to concentrate when the strange chant continued to filter through his head. "We have to find a way to get you back to the Christa."
"Find a way to get me back…?" Harlan's eyes narrow a bit. "…Can't we just walk? I mean, if you could support me a bit…"
"No… No, you don't… understand. After you were hit, the En'hegians went crazy. I… I don't know."
Angrily, the other boy shook his head. "You don't know what?"
"Their hearts are beating in unison. It's like a drum. It's hard to concentrate… And they're talking about… about a hunt." Radu listened again for a moment. "Let the hunt begin."
"I don't hear it."
Radu nodded, before realizing it was a futile gesture. "I hear it in my mind."
---
The voice continued broadcasting over the Christa's speakers. It was sort of eerie, like if one didn't know they were listening for something, they might not know they were listening to anything at all. Eventually, Goddard allowed it to blend into the background as he thought.
"Thelma, let's go see if we can figure out what's going on."
Commander Goddard had a really bad feeling. And not just the kind he got when he knew one of his students was in trouble. Trouble was often easy enough to fix, but this seemed somehow… worse than that. With the entire population slowly moving inward, Seth had a feeling that something very bad was going to happen.
"Okay."
Or had already happened. Or a combination of the two. "You can turn off the transmission now."
The sound of the static rose again before dying away entirely.
"I cannot get it to shut off, Commander."
Seth turned, narrowing his eyes at her. "What do you mean? It's off."
Thelma's eyes rolled back. "Hm. Yes. However, it still seems to be continuing in my mind. Perhaps a malfunction. I shall perform maintenance at the next possible opportunity."
Great. First the ship's engineers heard voices. Now the android, too. Who next? Bova? "Okay, that's fine. I just think we oughtta get outside and look around. Just to see what's going on."
"If you are as worried as you sound, Commander, I believe you think leaving the Christa would be… dangerous."
Commander Goddard turned, though his eyes remained on the screen. "I have a duty to this crew, Thelma. I can't stay here while they're out there. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
"Good. Let's go."
---
"I'm hearing voices, Rosie."
"Uhm. Well." She tilted her head, looking not at Bova, but at the advancing aliens. Or were they retreating? It was hard to tell. Rosie hadn't ever looked quite so confused in her life. "…At least we know what's going on, right?"
The Uranusian arched his eyebrows and looked at her. Sometimes, her logic was infallible, but this certainly wasn't one of those times. "No. I'm hearing voices telling me that there is a hunt starting. I have absolutely no idea what is going on. Unless you're an expert on this culture, you don't either—And I know for a fact that you're not. Wow! What an awesome day to be lost in the middle of an alien city. Perfect. I needed to add this to my List of Things I Never Want to do Again."
"I think we should follow them."
Bova considered this. Pondered for a while. Looked at his shoes, then at the En'hegians. Then at Rosie. "Yeah. Alright."
She stared at him. That was too easy.
He smiled that sarcastic smile he was so good at. "May as well choose how we're gonna die, huh?"
Rolling her eyes and offering a more sincere smile of her own, Rosie grabbed Bova's elbow and let him away… despite the fact that the little bolts of electricity between his antennae were becoming more and more apparent.
---
Miss Davenport and Suzee were nestled in a rather unpopulated area of the city. Sure, there were a few denizens present, though none of them seemed very willing to talk. In fact, tapping them on the shoulder and inquiring about what was happening just got the two women completely ignored.
Suzee clutched her hands over her ears. Removed them. She uttered a very interesting expletive. "This is getting really annoying."
She turned to look at T.J., who jumped back in alarm and suddenly turned her eyes away.
"…What?" Suzee asked, trying and failing to keep the bite out of her voice. Unfortunately, the only person to whom she could direct her anger was Miss Davenport. They were on somewhat shaky ground already, she knew, but sometimes she couldn't help it. When the voices of what seemed to be a billion people were running through her head, it wasn't exactly the best time to catch Suzee at her nicest.
T.J. continued to look away. Tilting her head, the Yensidian stepped forward. "Your… eyes are closed. Oh. You… don't trust me."
"Your eyes are glowing," T.J. countered.
"…They are?"
Davenport nodded.
"Uh… I didn't… I wouldn't… Look, Miss D., I'm not… going to take over your mind, okay? So relax. It must be some sort of side-effect of…" Suzee quirked a brow, nodding her head once toward one of the En'hegians that was passing them by. "…Whatever's going on."
She relaxed, and turned back, though she still wouldn't meet Suzee's eyes.
"Why are you afraid of me?"
"I'm not," T.J. offered.
"Uh, yeah. Sure. When you're ready to talk, just let me know." Frustrated, Suzee crossed her legs and suddenly sat down very hard on the ground. The motion was enough to cause Davenport to actually look up at her. Like a child throwing a tantrum, she thought, as she started to move toward the girl. Sometimes she had to remind herself that these were still just children… Well, not really children anymore…
"Suzee…"
Suddenly, she was on her feet again, glowing violet eyes wide, smiling. "Wait. I have an idea."
---
"…The current status of the atmosphere is not allowing me to get a solid trace on the crew," Thelma commented, "Though all of them seem to be alive. Commander Seth Goddard seems to be the closest."
"Really," the Commander replied. "Wouldn't have guessed."
"I believe Miss Davenport and Suzee are the closest. Bova and Rosie seem to be moving away from the ship."
Which left two. "And Radu and Harlan?"
Thelma's eyes rolled back, lidding partially as she calculated. "Radu and Harlan are stationary. Their current position: Unknown. Distance: Unknown. They are off the Christa's scanners."
Commander Goddard scratched his chin. "Hm. How could they have gone that far? Or why, rather?"
"They could have walked, sir."
Seth considered this. "….Yes. Or they could be hiding. Thelma, continue tracing them as best you can." He started forward, meaning to search the city for them, calling them if he had to. With the recent silence, and the En'hegians not caring whether or not they shouted, it would be easy to call for them.
He stopped. Backtracked. Grabbed Thelma's arm. "I meant for you to come, too."
Thelma smiled. "Ah!"
---
Somewhere in the city, Radu attempted to remain calm, himself… He was shivering, though. Cold, almost as if he was sick. He could feel his internal atmosphere dropping in pressure, too. Likely just a cold… But why now? He wasn't hallucinating, thankfully, but in addition to the constant voice in his mind, this was just another annoyance.
"What are they doing now?" Harlan asked. Some time ago, he'd closed his eyes, and while he was still in the same position, at least Radu didn't have to look into that blank expression anymore.
The Andromedan stood, finding it to be a task that was a bit more difficult than normal. Almost as if he was heavier…
Or …losing his strength?
"They're coming this way," Radu answered. "Really slowly… Though I think they're picking up speed, and their heart rates are increasing. Just a little, though." Pausing, he took a step over the rock.
"Radu?"
"I'm right here, Harlan."
There was a bit of a scuffling behind the Andromedan, and when next Radu turned, he saw Harlan standing, heavily favoring his right leg. His eyes were open, just a little, revealing the drifting pupils underneath them. As the Earther concentrated, they synchronized, though they still carried that dead expression. His face wore a determined grimace.
"I don't know where I am."
"There's rocks in front of you. I can't… I don't think I can lift you over. Something's weakening me. Something in the air, I think." Radu stepped back over the barrier. "Look, just lean on my shoulder. I'll help you over."
"I think I can—" Harlan stepped forward, his foot slipping on one of the loose rocks at the base of the barrier. It rolled out from under him, and he fell backward, landing on his tailbone and shouting a surprised and pained "Damn it!"
Automatically, Radu turned toward the En'hegians to gauge their reaction, but they just continued steadily forward at a slowly increasing pace. There had to have been two or three hundred he could actually see, and likely more behind the rock shelters and stores. There was, at least, no vegetation for them to hide behind, though that was an incredibly small comfort.
Reaching down, he grabbed Harlan's wrist to help him up, but the stunned Earther lashed out, kicking Radu in the ribs with his bad leg. Another cry of pain, this time from both of them.
This was not going to be easy.
"Okay. Okay." Radu attempted to regain his breath. "I'm going to help you up now, alright?"
"Yeah," Harlan answered.
---
She slowly paced herself in front of the En'hegian. That wasn't hard, considering how slow it was moving… Though she was walking backwards, and had to glance behind her every now and then to make sure she wasn't going to trip over anything. "Alright," Suzee said, eyes looking once to Miss Davenport. It had become a game, sort of. If she looked up at the teacher, she would nearly always turn away. Not this time, though. This time, T.J. offered Suzee a reassuring smile.
There was little physical change this time, as her eyes were already glowing. However, her shoulders did slump a bit as the violet spirit separated from her, melting easily into the En'hegian.
And she felt the drive. Suddenly, an overpowering mental call. A signature. They all communicated through signals in the air, relayed through tiny waves of electricity that were inherent on the planet. That was why Suzee could 'hear' their message. Anyone with any sort of psionic power would be able to pick it up.
And because they had that mental power, this particular En'hegian was able to grasp onto Suzee's spirit and forcefully propel it from his body.
Unexpectedly, Suzee tumbled, rolled a little way, and landed on her belly. The En'hegian continued on, slowly, as if nothing at all had happened.
"Guh," she stated, intelligently.
T.J. kneeled next to her. "What did you see?"
Wrinkling her nose, Suzee pushed herself up into a seated position. Pain. "…They… They don't really eat. That's why there's no food on the planet. But…" She seemed to concentrate, glowing eyes intense, focused on the retreating alien. "…They… Uh… There's really no delicate way to put this."
T.J. steeled herself. "…Go on."
"They eat those that have become injured. Or sick. They can all tell… It's passed through the air…" Suzee was shivering. Miss Davenport put a hand on her shoulder, and after a moment, she continued. "They're smart, but short-lived… That's why their hours are so short. This technology… It's all been donated to them. Creatures… took pity on them. Tried to… help them."
"Suzee, calm down."
"…They… uh… The crew. Of the ship… It's all in their collective memory… They crew that donated the stuff… They got sick."
Miss Davenport paled, noticeably. "…Suzee, there's something you're not telling me."
"They're after Harlan."