Humble Beginnings (Tri System's Edge Series Book 1) Read online

  Although he appeared calm enough, the man did not put Kalla at ease. Instead, she stood frozen with fear, not sure what to expect.

  “Either you’re not from here or you’re just really stupid,” he said.

  A bit taken aback by the comment, she remained motionless, holding her breath. After what she’d already been through, she was not about to let her guard down. Her right hand instinctively reached for the handle of the dagger at her side, but in spite of the rest that had been forced upon her by her complete exhaustion, she suddenly realized how little energy she still had.

  Trying to stay on her feet, she released her grip on the weapon in order to prop herself against the wall, the room appearing to move on its own while she desperately tried to keep her balance. A noticeable burning sensation in her eyes accompanied the headache that was now very apparent, mild but constant, while a fever began to slowly come over her. “Where am I? Who are you?” she asked, staring at the blurry figure standing before her, unable to fully overcome the dizziness that had taken hold. In her daze, she struggled to make out much detail as she examined the man standing in the small room with her, the burning in her eyes now causing tears to cloud her vision even more.

  “I’m Jarek,” he said, “and you’re safe.”

  Kalla pressed her head against the wall in pain.

  “I know it hurts, but it’ll pass. You just need more rest.”

  “What will pass?” Kalla asked in confusion, wondering why she felt so ill.

  “You’re just lucky I found you last night,” he replied. “And I’ll explain it all later. But right now you need to rest.”

  “Thank you,” she said, recognizing that he’d saved her from whatever had killed her crew.

  “Here, you need some water,” Jarek said softly as he walked toward her holding a dented metallic cup in his outstretched hand.

  She hesitated for a moment before finally reaching for the cup and emptying the liquid. Logic told her she needed to stay on guard. Trust no one! were the words that echoed in her pounding head, words Aurelia had told her over and over again. And yet, as she looked into Jarek’s eyes, her fear of him began to fade, and she gave in to an inexplicable sense of familiarity and safety.

  “Thank you. I just thought—I thought it was over for me. I ran until . . .” She suddenly felt the room spinning. Her host caught her as she fell; his skin felt cool. She shivered and realized the fever had blurred her senses and dulled her logic. Still, she couldn’t fight it. She had no choice but to trust him as her mind went dark.

  ~

  Another dream had ended as she awoke to a blur of movement surrounding her. She could see a bright light from above and an IV rack to the side of her with a tangled mess of tubes dangling from it. Unable to make out much more due to the spinning in her head, which she figured must be a side-effect of the constant regimen of drugs, she just laid there and tried to relax. But something was very different about this place, more real than the dingy white room she usually woke up to. For starters, she was pinned down by cold steel, completely unable to move, in a room she’d never seen before. Yet the sense of reality she felt in that moment was a powerful one, even more real than the dreams she’d been having.

  With her eyes still too blurry to make out much of anything, she closed them and began listening to the noises in the room until she finally discerned two voices talking in the distance. One sounded vaguely familiar, like Dr. Carter’s, but the other was a gruff voice she’d never heard before, at least not that she could remember. She tried to make out the words but only managed to pick up bits and pieces before finally hearing the first clear sentence as the voices moved closer.

  “Is she waking up?” The question came from the irritated-sounding voice she didn’t recognize. Footsteps rushed toward her, followed by a cool sensation that seemed to flood her entire body, quickly forcing her back to sleep. Suddenly, her eyes opened to the familiar surroundings of her pale white room.

  Was it another dream? she wondered. Only it felt more real than anything she could remember.

  She sat in up in her bed and stared at a wall in front of her for what seemed like hours before an orderly finally opened the door and entered the room.

  “Just here to give you your meds,” he said with an eerie smile that looked forced, as though he were hiding some secret she wasn’t supposed to know. She watched as he prepared the injection, then she laid back down and closed her eyes, waiting for the familiar sting in her arm that would inevitably send her back to her dreams.

  ~

  Kalla slowly opened her eyes to find Jarek sitting in the chair across from where she lay.

  “It’s about time,” he said with a hint of relief in his voice.

  Kalla attempted to sit up only to be stopped by a pounding headache. “How long was I out?” she probed, holding her head in her hands.

  “You’ve been out for a couple days now,” Jarek replied. “I was starting to wonder if you’d ever wake up.”

  “A couple of days?” she asked in disbelief. Fighting the headache still hanging on, she sat up to find herself on the same stone bed, only this time Jarek sat near the opening of the cave, bathed in sunlight. For the first time, she got a good look at him. Was he her captor or savior? Though she still wasn’t completely sure, she no longer felt threatened by him as she fixated on his eyes. Something about him brought her comfort, a sense of peace.

  “You barely stayed on the bed. Thrashed around in fits every two hours or so. Not much else I could do but watch and hope you’d come out of it. But I think you’re past the worst. Fever’s gone now. How’s the shoulder feeling?”

  Kalla slowly reached her arm around to her shoulder to find nothing more than a couple small holes in her shirt. Aside from the dull ache she felt in her head, there was no other sign of injury.

  “What happened?” she began to ask. “I remember falling and then a sharp pain, then nothing.”

  Jarek stared at the rock wall bathed in sunlight. “Looks like I saved your life.” He hesitated, looking away.

  It seemed odd. If she’d saved someone’s life, she would at least look them in the eye, proud to have done something good. But this guy, he acted as though he was ashamed of something. “What aren’t you telling me?” she said, trying unsuccessfully to make eye contact.

  He continued looking away. “So are you feeling any better?” he replied as though attempting to change the subject.

  She just nodded, still confused about everything, but during the course of their short conversation, the sunlight flooding the cave had been slowly making its way across the room. As the bright light made contact with her face, Kalla suddenly found it difficult, even painful, to keep her eyes open. The pain was so overwhelming at first that she felt like a fire was consuming her mind, and she wanted to curl up into a fetal position and cower in natural response to it.

  “It goes away,” said Jarek, now looking straight at her.

  Kalla shot a confused look in his direction, still struggling to focus.

  “Well, not completely, but you get used to it,” he said as he stood and walked closer to the bed where she lay. “We’ll talk later,” he added, his voice quiet with a tone of regret. “I’ll tell you everything when you’re well.”

  Unable to get her eyes to focus, she lay there until another restless sleep finally took hold.

  ~

  Waking to an unusually bright light, her eyes burned for a moment, as if she’d been staring at the sun. This pain felt familiar until she realized it had lingered from her dream. Kalla—the girl in her dream—she was sensitive to light.

  She blinked several times, trying to focus, but all she could see was the IV rack next to her and clouded shapes in the distance, some moving and others standing still.

  After several minutes of this deliriousness, she finally closed her eyes and relaxed. She’d dreamed about Kalla for so long now it had become her preferred reality. Seeing life through Kalla’s eyes was the only thing keeping her
sane.

  Wishing she could stay there forever, she focused on sleep, allowing the dream to begin once more.

  ~

  Awareness tingled through Kalla’s skin as she sat up. She could see the setting rays of sunlight fading into another dark night. Her senses seemed all at once to be more focused than she could ever remember. Her body felt new somehow as she recognized that she had never felt so rested, so alive, or so strong. It was as if she had been rebuilt into a machine that would tire no more. She stood with an alert sense of everything surrounding her in the small room of the cave where she had now lain for days, fighting for her life.

  As she peered through the opening of the cave, she was taken aback by the realization that something wasn’t right. The sun’s rays were no longer present in the cave, only it wasn’t dark like she believed it should be. It was obvious to her that the day had ended, the moon now making its first appearance, and yet, looking around the cave and into the night sky, she could see clear as day.

  She also noticed another opening that had been disguised before, an unlit hallway near the back of the cave that angled to the right, blocking her view of where it led.

  With the room empty, save herself, she stood from the bed and moved toward the opening. She cautiously entered the hallway in an attempt to explore the strange dwelling, but as she was about to take her first step inside, Jarek appeared from around a corner as if he’d been waiting for her. Slightly startled, she backed away and moved toward the opening of the cave.

  “Good. You’re awake,” he said calmly as he entered the room. Pointing to the familiar rock slab that had been her bed since arriving here, he continued. “Go and sit. We need to have a chat.”

  She obeyed without hesitation, which bothered her slightly, but she also realized that the fear she’d felt just days ago was no longer present. Instead, she felt a power inside of her, almost as though nothing could harm her. So she sat to hear what he had to say.

  As she walked to the rock slab, she also noticed for the first time a cracked mirror leaning against the wall and paused for a moment, wondering why she didn’t notice it before. But that thought soon vanished as she stared at the reflection of herself, a slender yet muscular woman with auburn hair curling toward the back of her shoulders. She wore a crimson long-sleeved tunic that tapered out from the thick leather belt at her waist and dark brown leather pants that tightly hugged her hips and thighs, disappearing halfway down her lower leg, where they were tucked beneath black leather combat boots. On the right side of her belt, a holstered pistol could be seen, and the decorative handle of a blade just behind that. She reached down and grasped the handle briefly as she stared into the mirror. Finally satisfied with her healthy appearance, she sat down and turned to face Jarek.

  He nervously looked away, as though he’d been staring at her, before regaining his composure and beginning to speak. “So would you like to tell me what you were doing down in the valley, especially at night?” he asked calmly but with a serious tone. “Probably safe to assume you don’t know anything about this planet, do you?”

  “Wait a minute,” she replied. “Before you start drilling me with questions, I’d like to know what’s happened to me and how I’m even still alive.” Her tone was polite yet demanding as she spoke. “How were you able to save me from those . . . those things?”

  Whatever had been chasing her in the fog that night had wiped out her entire crew with relative ease, and in spite of her best efforts to escape, she remembered the exhaustion and the attack just before blacking out. She also remembered the glimpse of a man, and she wanted to know how he could have possibly fared better than she and her entire crew had. And now, she recognized her heightened senses and emotions and just wanted to know what was going on. She felt confused and anxious, and she wanted answers.

  “I’m sorry,” he said as he looked downward and paused for a moment before lifting his face toward her to continue. “I wanted to tell you before, but . . . you weren’t . . . well . . . all there, so I didn’t get the chance. You . . . you needed some rest. You were hurt worse than you know. If it weren’t for me . . .”

  “I . . . I know, you saved me. Thank you,” she interrupted, now a bit more calm as she did her best to contain her emotions.

  Silence filled the room for several minutes as Kalla studied her host, careful not to be too obvious. She quickly paid close attention to every detail she could take in, from the worn-out military-grade black leather boots he wore to the hilt of what she guessed must be a sword partially buried in the tangled dark brown hair flowing down past his shoulders. He wore dirty green pants with several pockets down the side of each leg that all seemed to contain something hidden from her eyes. At his waist he wore a two-inch-thick black leather belt with several sheathed knives, ammo pouches, and a pistol at each side. His black shirt, worn and faded, was tucked neatly in his pants and hugged him tightly, exposing his muscular physique. The short-sleeve shirt he wore left his arms bare, revealing his tanned skin. His face was leathery and unshaven, but she could see a kindness in his eyes. Still, an uncertain feeling grew inside of her as she looked at him. He’s got to be a soldier, she thought to herself as a final assessment.

  She’d never trusted or cared much for military types, and logic still insisted that she shouldn’t easily trust him either, and yet, she couldn’t deny the calm she felt as he sat in the room with her. He’d done nothing to indicate any desire to harm her, and he had saved her life, so she decided to give in for once and give Jarek a chance.

  “So were you going to tell me why you were down in that field?” Jarek calmly asked again, breaking the awkward silence. “And do you have a name?”

  She looked out into the night sky, gathering her thoughts. “I’m Kalla—Kalla Zar,” she finally replied, looking back at Jarek. “I’m . . . I was the captain of a small trade ship. We ran into some mechanical trouble on our way to . . . to a meeting. I landed my ship hoping to get some help and be on my way. Had I known what was going to happen . . .”

  “And your crew?” Jarek questioned politely.

  “Do you really have to ask?” Kalla said, a single tear running down her cheek as her thoughts drifted to the fate of her crew, her friends.

  “Thought maybe they stayed on your ship. Too bad I didn’t get to you sooner. Too bad you landed down there to begin with.” Jarek stood and walked toward the opening of the cave as he finished his last words, then peered out into the darkness of the night.

  “I had no choice. Had to just pick the closest planet, and this was it. Besides, how was I supposed to know that would happen anyway?” Her emotions beginning to get out of control again, Kalla looked down and reached for the handle of her dagger, squeezing it tightly while drawing deep breaths. “What are they? The things that took out my crew,” she asked as she released the tight grip on her knife and looked back up at Jarek.

  “Well . . .” Jarek paused in thought, not quite sure where to start. “Believe it or not, they were once people.”

  A mixture of disbelief and anger engulfed her. “Those things that killed my crew were not people!”

  “You’re right, they’re not human anymore. Just monsters now. But they used to be part of a group of settlers who came here to start a new life.” He turned and looked her in the eye. “Vie,” he said. “They’re called Vie.”

  “Vie.” Kalla whispered the name. It tasted bitter in her mouth.

  “Things were good for a few years, up until the meteor showers. Beautiful shows in the night sky, from what I was told, but the dust that fell as the meteors entered the atmosphere brought something with it. The dust covered the valley floor and polluted most of the water before it finally settled, but it reacted somehow with a lake in the valley. About a third of the settlers were using the lake for drinking water, including my father. The first people infected went into a comatose state, then eventually woke feeling fine. But whatever was in that meteor dust, it was doing something nasty inside of all those people. My
father and grandfather were among the first to turn.”

  Before he could begin again, Kalla stood abruptly. “You were here when this all happened?” she asked, trying to make sense of what he was telling her. “How long ago was it?”

  Jarek stared blankly at the floor as if in a trance for a moment. “Please, sit,” he asked in a hushed tone. As Kalla slowly relaxed once more and sat down again, Jarek continued. “I wasn’t even born yet when it happened, but my mother told me stories about the meteors and what happened to all of those people.”

  Confused yet intrigued by what she was hearing, Kalla prodded him to go on while Jarek walked back toward the empty chair and sat down, staring again into the open night as he began to replay what had transpired.

  “I don’t look it, but I’m forty-three years old.”

  Chapter 3

  “From a young age I remember hearing the stories from my mother about the meteor shower and how everything changed. She and my father, they had both lost almost everyone they’d ever known. But this place was supposed to be their refuge, their safe haven; they couldn’t have known how it would all turn out.” Jarek paused, staring blankly into the star-filled night. “Thanks to those meteors, my father was taken from my mother before they’d been given the chance to even begin a life together, before I ever got to know him. It was unfair, but it happened, and nothing could have stopped it. Even my grandfather, with all his knowledge of science, didn’t stand a chance, though my mother said he tried. But now, because of an event that took place before I was even born, I’m stuck here on this planet, alone, cast out from the rest because they’re all afraid of me. They shouldn’t be, but I guess I can’t blame them. I’m not like them.”

  Jarek was now standing with his back to Kalla. His voice was thick, almost angry, and she understood why people might be afraid of him. It appeared he had a lot of pent-up anger that he’d never had the chance to deal with. But for Kalla, instead of fear, she felt oddly connected to him, as if they shared something unspoken, beyond understanding.