Chapter 3 – Lament

Joey and Ruth went running over the green fields toward Stith's house. The last streaks of sunlight were burning their way into the horizon as the sky was a brilliant, incandescent pink. The children huffed and puffed with each short step they took with Ruth clearly smoking Joey behind her. Joey always hated that a girl could run faster than him; he swore there would be a day when that would change. Granted, the boy was her little brother and Ruth had longer legs, but still: it was a girl. Their hair bounced and swayed while the children neared Stith's home.

Cale and Akima slowly walked behind them, keeping the two in their sight. They didn't want to ruin Stith's surprise when the children went ahead and sneak attacked her with hugs like they always did.

"Do you think Stith's okay?" Akima asked.

"What do you mean?" Cale responded.

"I don't know; it just seems like she's been so sad lately."

"Do you want to ask her about it?"

"Well, yeah I would, but—."

"—But—you don't think tonight's the right time to bring it up," Cale finished for her.

"Don't worry; I'll talk to her sometime."

The children finally reached the door, which was open, and started shouting for Stith, "Hey, Aunt Stith, we're here! Stith! Where are you?" The two ran into the dark house through the open door. Cale and Akima watched them go into the darkness and waited for an array of childish noises.

But none came…

A shrill and faint noise rang out from the Mantrin's house: the scream of a little girl. Cale and Akima exchanged worried glances, "Is that Ruth?" he asked.

"Sounded like—" Akima didn't get to finish her sentence when Cale burst into an all out sprint. Akima trailed and ran as fast as she could, but Cale reached the door long before she did. He bounded into the door, grabbing onto the frame, and swung himself into the house. He found Ruth and Joey standing in her living room crying the only way children know how. He rushed up to Ruth and gently held her upper arms.

"What's wrong?" he asked, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the answer: there was a dead, female Mantrin on the floor. Akima came rushing in and saw the dead alien immediately. She crashed down on her knees and wailed. It was a coarse and whispy cry that quivered as she trembled. "Akima, I need you to take the kids outside," Cale said, but she didn't answer. Akima scuttled across the floor and began to touch the lifeless face of her dear friend. The Mantrin's fur was cold and stiff; there was no warmth in the body any more. "Come on," Cale said as he collected the kids and took them out in front of the door, "I need you to stay here, okay?"

"'Kay," Joey answered, his voice trembling. He barely managed to get out the words through the tears. Cale smiled at the two and raced back inside. He found Akima with Stith's head in her lap. His wife was still wet with tears. He cautiously approached her like a scavenger approaches a carcass.

"Akima?" he softly asked. She didn't say a word. Akima sniffed and wiped her face with her sleeve then stopped to try and contain herself.

"She was murdered," Akima replied. Cale looked at the body: the Mantrin had been pierced through the midsection. Her entrails had slowly pushed their way out and spread themselves on the floor. Both of the Mantrin's hands had been severed at the wrists and Cale found the two hands to the side. They were still clutching a plasma gun. Her neck had been slit in such a way that her spine barely kept her head on. The Mantrin's tongue, now black and empty of blood, hung over the side of her teeth. It was difficult to imagine that this was Stith. One who had always been so strong and courageous was now a butchered hunk of bloodless flesh.

Cale knelt beside her. His pants soaked up the blood that was pooled on the floor. Akima was covered in blood. He really didn't know what to say. What was there to talk about that would be of some comfort? He tried to hold back his own tears; he needed to be strong now for Akima. He was her anchorage through this tribulation. He had to be.

"Akima?" he asked.

"What?" she dully replied.

"I'm going to go outside for a second; only for a second," he said trying to stifle his own tears, "Okay?"

"Yeah," she weakly replied.

"Akima," he said, his hands clenching hers, his eyes searching for hers, "I'm here; I'm going to do all I can. Akima? We're gonna make it through this, right?" he asked, trying to encourage her.

"Yeah," she weakly replied again.

"Right," he responded, the tears spilling over his eyes, "right."

Cale shot out through the door and out into the deep blue sky outside. The sun was gone. Ruth and Joey sat together on little crates which served as their chairs while they visited. Cale could still hear them sniffling and snorting their tears away. He let out a loud sigh, trying to erase what he had just seen out of his mind. He blinked several times and streams of water came from his eyes. He caught himself though and wiped them away immediately. Cale breathed heavily, gasping for breath. He found a spot in the sky to stare at and brought his wristwatch close. After pushing a series of buttons, a hologram of a red cross appeared.

"Emergency services, how may I help you?" a woman's voice came over the speaker.

Cale calmed himself down and searched for words, "Yeah, there's been a murder," was all he could say.

Inside, Akima traced the face of her dead friend with her fingers. She caressed every feature of the Mantrin's lifeless face. Akima's heart felt like it was being pulled out of her back. She grasped her chest and clenched the shirt. Her heart was pounding. Akima started to cry again. She put her bloody hand over her face and sobbed quietly into it. Never in her wildest dreams would this happen. All of the death and pain was left out in space back when they didn't have a planet; why was this happening now? Who would want her dead? That last thought caused Akima to look around the room; it wasn't toppled or disheveled in any way. Whoever did this knew what they were doing. They didn't take anything but Stith's life. This wasn't a common criminal; this was someone who intentionally mutilated the poor Mantrin. But who?

The next morning was still. Cale and Akima lay in bed facing opposite directions. Sunlight crept into his eyes and he reluctantly opened at its bidding. He sat up and turned to look at Akima. Her naked back slowly raised and lowered in a steady and quiet motion. She had the white sheets tucked under her arm and her hair was a messy collection of purple and black. The room was bright and the light made it glow a bright tan. He turned and put his feet on the floor where he grabbed some white, cotton pants and pulled them up. Cale stood and made his way over to the window and looked into the horizon. The ocean was clear and glistening; an inviting image after what they'd been through. He sighed and rested his head and his forearm against the glass. Outside stretched a paradise, but that paradise couldn't save them from what happened.

Akima had been awake the whole time. In fact, she'd been awake most of the night with the inexorable bout of sleep here and there. She always woke from the same nightmare each time: a dark, gory pit of flesh that she was submerged in up to her neck. Chopped body parts filled the pit and came alive, grasping at her and sending her deeper in until she was under their writhing mass and she drowned in the blood. The images would go away each time she would open her eyes so she resolved to keep them open. Akima rolled over and saw Cale standing quietly at the window. Cale heard her but didn't turn to look; he kept staring out the window. "Couldn't sleep?" he quietly asked.

"No," she answered lifelessly, "Could you?"

"You kept me awake," Cale replied, "I don't think it would've made much of a difference anyway."

Akima propped herself up on one elbow. The sheets followed the curves of her breasts before they draped down to the bed. Last night was a rare occasion when they hadn't been used. In fact, neither Cale nor Akima had said a word to each other during the night. Akima was pale. She wasn't so much tired as she was fatigued. Her heart still felt hollow; like it couldn't stand to release one more pump. Her eyes searched the floor while she thought of something to say. She found some words that she'd said a million times before, but they felt awkward in this moment. She had to let them out.

"Cale?" she asked, getting his attention.

"Yeah?" he asked while turning to her.

"I love you," she said, "If anything ever happens, I want you to know,"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Cale said as he rushed to the bed and sat down next to her. "I know," he hushed, "but let's not think about that. You know I could never deal with it."