Ball of Silence

Ball of Silence - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Cleves is a research station. Its blue-gray, metal, half-pipe houses have no walls except to the front and back. The rest is a canopy roof, a half moon shell. Permanent snow rests on the half-pipes. Roads don't exist, only trampled snow lies between the twenty houses. Disproportionally huge antennae stretch into the sky, and one of the houses has a big satellite dish on its rooftop. Several snowmobiles and trucks rot together at the far end of the settlement, like animals wanting to keep warm, next to a row of sleek, ice-proof skimmers.

A human packed in arctic gear leaves one of the round metallic houses of the station and approaches Vic's skimmer. It's Dom Halif.

"Hello, Jaiah."

"Hello, Dom, sorry for all the trouble."

"Oh, don't worry, it's a welcome diversion in the bleak winter here."

I'm happy I can provide you entertainment, I think, but don't say aloud.

Dom leads us towards a different house further down the row. We step through not only one door, but two. Behind the second door, a wall of heat sweeps over us. A display next to the door says that it's minus four degrees Fahrenheit outside and plus eighty inside. We quickly shed excess layers of clothing, and Dom leads us through yet another door.

I gasp.

An alien jungle greets us. I've seen my fair share of weird vegetation on the seventy-five worlds I've visited so far, but the Heelith plants are different. Although the Heelith breathe the same mix of oxygen and nitrogen that we breathe, their plants look like nothing I've ever seen before.

They entangle and choke everything beneath them. Green, thick, rubbery leaves burst with life as they claim other lives. I have little time to marvel at the vegetation before a frightening sound reaches me. A big bug-like creature scurries across the floor. The hairs on my neck rise and shivers crawl up my spine. A caveman's instinct: a huge predator is on the hunt.

And what a weird predator, half bird, half insect, black feathers and thin legs, antennae and folded wings. I can't be sure whether this is the same unit who I talked to last time, but I presume so.

Hriff is dressed again today. A slick, smooth piece of light, elastic cloth covers most of her torso. The main difference is that her spindly legs are bare while last time she wore leggings and shoes.

"Jaiah Sufford. Welcome. I'm very glad to meet you again," she says. I almost stagger backwards. I can't hear her real voice anymore, only that mechanical, emotionless translation that comes out of the device around her neck.

"Hriff, nice to see you again, too," I say.

"Vic, thanks for bringing him here," Hriff says.

"My pleasure."

"I hope you understand that I would like to talk to Jaiah alone."

"Sure. Vic and I will be in house three," Dom says.

"Good, I'll call you when we're finished."

Dom pats my shoulder. "Take your time, we're in no hurry."

"Yes, definitely," Vic says. "We can spend the night here if necessary."

"Okay, thank you." I manage to smile at them. I don't exactly want to spend the night with the Rels, but I keep that to myself.

After the two humans have left, I turn to Hriff, the big ugly alien that she now is without her heavenly voice.

"This way, Jaiah," she says.