The Sun God Comes Home--Part Four

“You’re going back there, aren’t you?”

He didn’t answer her. Sara had strolled out on the patio while Nick was going through his things. Chelsea was taking her afternoon nap. The Ra helmet was on the picnic table next to him.

“Have you seen them before?”

Nick nodded. “They’re called the Tast, a race of builders. Some of their science is amazing. But the ones we’ve seen most often are the drones, the ones who build the nest to protect the queen.”

“And that’s what’s out there?”

“Yeah.”

Sara crossed her arms over her chest. She was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt. “Can they be killed?”

Nick looked down at his battered knuckles. “Oh, yeah.”

Sara crossed he patio and placed a hand on his shoulder. “But so can you, right?”

Nick didn’t know what to say. He carried a lounge chair out into the yard and placed it next to a swing set.

“Can I bring you something to drink?” Sara said.

“No, thanks,” Nick told her. “I’m just gonna catch some rays.”

***

It was stupid, he knew, coming out here alone. But he had spent a lot of years letting down his family, his town. The least he could do was try to help.

He approached the cave in the fading light. He wore the helmet; its circuitry could help him see better at night. He also carried an older piece of equipment: his government issue Colt .45.

He found what was left of the Tast drone outside of the cave. It was only the vague shape of a body, outlined by a gelatinous substance.

Nick sat down in front of the cave entrance and waited. The Colt in his waistband dug into his back.

In thirty minutes the sun had gone down. Inside the cave, something stirred.

The first drone took a tentative step out of the cavern, its angular heading bobbing back and forth.

“Hi, ya,” Nick said, right before he shot it between the eyes.

The drone dropped to the ground. It didn’t move.

Nick stood and watched the opening. It looked empty. He stepped closer to the cave.

“You all coming out? Or do I have to come in and say howdy to your queen?”

“We are already here, fool.”

The voice came from behind him.

He turned to see dozens of the drones lining the hill behind him. Where the cave obviously had another exit.

“Oh, great,” Nick said.

They came for him.

Nick took his time and lined up his shots. He dropped the first six before he had to dig in his pocket for his spare magazine. He slammed it into place and shot four more of them before they were upon him.

They pushed him to the ground, their teeth and claws digging into him. His skin, hardened by years of alien treatments, would protect him for a short time, but, eventually, he would be torn apart. Their stench was almost overpowering, like being smothered with raw sewage. Nick thought death would at least bring a respite from the terrible odor.

One of the drones had been sawing at his neck with its fangs. Nick felt hot liquid on his throat and he wasn’t sure if it was saliva or his own blood.

Won’t be long now, he thought.

The head of the drone who was chewing on his neck exploded. An instant later, he heard the shot.

The others let go of him as they faced this new threat. Nick staggered to his feet to see who the newcomer was.

And he saw Noodge, Lester and dozens of townspeople–some he recognized, most he didn’t–all armed with shotguns or rifles. Sara stood with them, pumping a round into the police-issue shotgun she held.

“You all right, Nick?” Lester shouted.

“I am now,” he said.

“Sara told us you were comin’ out here,” Noodge said. “Man, them are some ugly characters, ain’t they?”

The drones standing between Nick and the crowd seemed confused, their heads waving in agitation.

“Start shooting,” Nick said. “Don’t worry about me.”

“This is for my little Ronnie,” Noodge said. He sighted over the barrel of his Winchester and blew apart the skull of the drone nearest to him. The other townspeople opened fire. Lester whooped like a warring Comanche. Nick dove to the ground, tackling as many of the Tast as he could manage, using his fists to batter them into unconsciousness.

It didn’t take very long.

Nick was the only living creature standing in the pile of Tast bodies. The thick cloud of gunpowder choked him but it was far preferable to the stench of the Tast. He heard shots in the distance: stragglers being eliminated.

“You look awful,” Sara said.

“She’s right, Nick. You look like dog shit.”

“And I feel worse,” Nick said. He smiled at them. “Thank you.”

“It ain’t nothin’,” Lester said. “We take care of our own.”

The ground beneath their feet shook.

“What the hell–” Noodge said, before he lost his footing and fell.

“The queen,” Nick said.

They turned to the cave, as the earth trembled again. Small pieces of rock above the entrance began to rain down. The darkness inside of the cave was slowly replaced by something else. It was a pale, oozing mass which squeezed out of the cavern’s opening. As long as a city bus, it rose toward the sky, and the assembled crowd could see that its belly was covered by dozens of mouths, all full of sharp teeth.

Nick heard someone scream, just before a volley of shots.

They might as well have been shooting BB guns for all the good it did.

The massive body of the queen towered above them, each of its hundred mouths making a horrible screeching sound. The stink from the creature was worse than any of the drones, and Nick heard someone vomit behind him.

“Get behind me,” he said, hoping he could be heard.

He took off the helmet of Ra and threw it aside. Nick stood directly under the queen, and watched it lower itself toward him. The hungry mouths sang a maddening song in a hundred different voices.

They had told him he was used up.

They had told him he was a dry cell.

But Nick Denton, Ra the Sun God, looked deep within himself and found a reservoir of strength he hadn’t been sure he possessed.

He screamed at the sky, and twin beams of destructive force discharged from his eyes, lighting up the night and incinerating the Tast queen. The screams from its mouths climbed to a shrill crescendo, then was silenced.

Pieces of smoking meat fell to the ground, landing with soft plops all around them.

“Holy shit,” somebody said. It might have been Noodge.

It was his last thought before the blackness took him.

6.

His first day home from the hospital was spent greeting visitors to the house. He sat in John’s recliner, and tried to smile as he accepted the best wishes of the town of Radiance. Late in the afternoon, the party moved to the backyard, where Sara grilled hot dogs and hamburgers provided by Handelman’s grocery as a thank-you to Nick. Chelsea clung to Nick all day long, and he was surprised at how happy it made him feel.

When everyone had gone home, Sara and Nick sat on the front porch, watching lightning bugs play in the trees. Chelsea slept in her mother’s lap. It had been a big day.

“So,” Sara said. “It looks like you’ll live.”

“Looks like it.”

“Is it over for you? I mean...”

“Yeah,” Nick said. “I’m really a dead battery now. Nothing left.”

They were quiet for a spell, just enjoying the hush of the night.

After a time, Sara cleared her throat. “Have you made any plans?”

“Other than making one more trip to Legion headquarters to punch that patriotic s.o.b. in the mouth? No.” It was Nick’s turn to clear his throat. “Except...”

“What?”

“I spent a lot of years away from home, Sara. I think it’s time I learned how to be a grandfather.” He wanted to look away from her, but he didn’t. “And I’d like to learn how to be a father. If you’ll have me.”

Sara didn’t answer him at first. He could see her tears in the moonlight. She shifted Chelsea from her lap to her shoulder, and she stood up.

“Why don’t we go in,” she said. “I’ll put Chelsea to bed. Then I want you to read something. Your son was a wonderful writer.”

She offered her free hand to Nick. He took it and stood up. Together they walked into their home.



Originally published in 2004 at Adventure Fiction Online.
Revised version © 2007 Mark Justice