Jilid Short Story Page Three

Thumping behind her, Hargor walked up and brought his hands onto her waist. Keswyn had not followed but he still lingered in the distance, too afraid of Jilsian the girl but did not wish to disturb Shelsa the woman. She let herself be engulfed into the massive body of Hargor, forgetting all thoughts. She simply let herself feel every touch, every moment and every little movement.

Hargor began to strip himself of his equipment, first setting down the helmet and gloves he had already taken off. He moved his hands toward his chest, ready to remove the atmospheric seals that ringed his neck. As sudden as it had all begun, his hands jerked to a stop. Shelsa gave a confused face, but she could feel tension and anxiety. She could read his face even if he turned it to stone. There was something terribly wrong.

In an instant, he stopped low, donned his helm and gloved his hands. He turned to face her, whispering fiercely, “Stay quiet.” Shelsa became fearful, and lay down onto the ground. Slowly, a slow constant rumble grew in the tunnel. Hargor could hear it long before her, but now she could hear it as well. This was no noise of a Jilid band pulling fur sleighs with barking brown dogs.

Keswyn crawled up beside them, laying a reassuring hand on Shelsa. “What is it, Hargor?” he said. Even if Keswyn claimed to be the greatest warrior, in combat, he became every soldier’s equal. “What is that noise?”

“Can it be true?” Shelsa asked. “The other Jilid tribes that went to trade with the Peasosh came with stories of war.” Then her face darkened realizing what truth those stories may have held. “They say the Growar cities above us were destroyed by someone. Some people from a place called Earth have brought war to us.”

“Shelsa,” Hargor whispered back. “These Earth people were known to the Growar. They call themselves the Federation. They’re human, just like us, but,” he paused, almost for dramatic effect, “they make war. They may burn everything.”

“But we’ve done nothing!” Shelsa said, sorrow lacing her voice.

“They see us as Growar,” Hargor said, unable to give justification. “So they war with the Growar and burn their lands.”

“We aren’t even Growar,” Shelsa said, although she caught Keswyn staring at Hargor at those words. “Not even you,” she said with almost tears in her eyes.

It was then the rumbling broke into the cavern. The noise spilled into the fields, flooding every ear within. The noise was unbearable, like a herd of running game but pushed into a single point. She hazarded a look on the people and found unrecognizable beings. A craft greater than the size of a big man’s fur tepee, hovered slightly above the ground. Two barrels jutted from a rotating piece on the top, while metal wings spread out to each side below it, with air blowing out from underneath. The men standing around the machine were human in shape, but the devices that stuck onto their bodies and even their face made them look like monsters. They talked in a sharp tongue and only in short phrases. It was almost as if language was an unnecessary knowledge for them.