Horizon Down

1 Devika Sharma picked her way through a trail of rubble, brushing dust from her face. The goldenrod sky of Gargantua was bright, with red clouds flowing over the place where the Gargantua Medical Facility for Military Research had been. She made her way toward a giant crater in the ground, a hole full of black earth, rebar and grass roots. Stretching several hundred feet wide, it looked as if someone had grabbed the medical facility and simply plucked it out of the ground. A cloud of dust made her cough. She rubbed her nose, and her hand was covered in sand. Sand? The area was covered in it. The soil must have been sandy. She shook it off her hand and took a step forward. Someone grabbed her arm. “Watch out. You don't want to step on that.” Keltie pulled her back. Devika looked down. A sharp metal edge lay below her boot. “Thanks,” Devika said. Michiko hopped on several large chunks of foundation as if she were playing hopscotch. She saw the crater and whistled. “Whoa…” Together, the three of them stood at the edge of the crater. “That's a long way down,” Keltie said. Michiko backed away. “Clark really made a mess, didn't he?” Devika clicked her tongue. She still couldn't believe the fight that had ensued here—Clark and another Planet Eater eating the entire facility and then mysteriously battling it out, disappearing in a white flash of light. But not before Clark vomited up all the debris they were standing on. “This is a first,” Devika said. “I don't know that the Planet Eaters have ever given anything back that they've eaten.” Michiko clasped her hands together. “That's because Clark listened to me,” she said. “Even after he went crazy, he listened.” Michiko hung her head and folded her arms. “Are you upset?” Devika asked. “About Clark?” Devika did feel a little sorry for Michiko. As annoying as she was, she built a relationship with Clark like a kid would with a pet. And if it hadn't been for her foolish attempt to save him, he might have killed more people. “No,” Michiko said. “I am at peace with myself. I am. In some sick and twisted way, I made it right.” “Clark did vomit up some of the debris,” Keltie said. “I don't know for sure, but I'd say that was against Planet Eater protocol.” Sirens wailed through the sky, and police and ambulance ships descended upon the area. “That's our cue,” Devika said, eyeing a helicopter that circled the crater. They started to walk back to the GGC Horizon which was parked in the distance. The Galactic Guard ship’s silver exterior shone in the planet’s golden light. A piece of rubble nearby shifted. Then a voice moaned. “Help…help me…” The three looked at each other. Then they dashed in the sound of the voice. “Over here,” Devika said. She saw a hairy leg sticking out from under a chunk of rock. A man was pinned under a concrete slab. Devika grabbed the bottom of the slab and lifted. Keltie joined her, and together, they strained and lifted the rock off of the man and cast it aside. The man groaned, reaching for his bleeding leg. His clothes were caked in sand and dust and he stunk of sweat and body odor. Michiko slid to his side. “Sir, you look like you’re in a lot of pain. I’d like to help,” she said. The man groaned again and nodded. “My name is Michiko,” Michiko said, applying pressure to the leg. “Keltie, get the ambulance ship and tell them to come over.” Keltie ran off toward a red ship with a siren on the top. Devika knelt and studied the man. “Were you in the facility?” she asked. “My leg,” the man said. “God, it hurts!” “Focus on Devika for me,” Michiko said. “I’ll worry about your leg, okay?” Michiko pushed on the leg with all her might, straining. “What is your name?” Devika asked. “Rex,” the man said. “Rex Olbertson.” “Good to meet you, Rex,” Devika said. “It looks like you’re going to be just fine.” In the distance, a group of paramedics ran toward them. Drone bots carried a stretcher through the air. Rex looked into the sky, squinted and cupped his hands to his eyes. “Where the hell am I?” he asked. He must’ve been delirious. “He’s losing a lot of blood,” Michiko said. “Those paramedics need to hurry.” She waved to them frantically. “What’s your job, Rex?” Devika asked. “Did you work in the facility?” “Job,” Rex said, laughing through pain. “Ain’t got no job.” “Ah,” Devika said. “Keep me out of that forsaken hellhole,” Rex said. “I won’t go back!” Devika didn’t know what to say. The medical facility didn’t seem to her like a hellhole. Modern, neoclassical, and a tad on the boring side—but far from hellhole. “Well, you’re going to a hospital now,” she said. “Hospital?” “Yes, you’re going to get the best care in the galaxy,” Devika said. “Bullshit,” Rex said, groaning. “They don’t care about us. They…give us spotlights to live like dogs. Screw your little medical assistance.” “That’s no way to talk to someone who’s saving your life,” Michiko said. “We’re just society’s rabble,” Rex said. “We’re the garbage you throw away to make yourselves feel good about—aaaaagh—” Michiko pressed hard on his leg intentionally. “That’s enough,” she said. “Maybe it’s better you don't talk.” The paramedics arrived. Michiko stepped aside as they tended to his wound and lifted him onto the stretcher. Devika and Michiko watched as the drone bots carried the stretcher to the ambulance ship in the distance. Across the field, more paramedics responded to other people trapped in the rubble. “I guess my nursing school education came in handy,” she said, holding up bloody hands. “I need to wash my hands. Gloves would have been ideal.” “Let’s go back to the Horizon,” Devika said. “Something tells me this place is going to be evacuated soon.” “Doesn’t make much sense,” Beauregard said. The Horizon flew over the rubble field. Police walked around the rubble, shifting items, looking for survivors. A thick cloud of dust rose up from the ground, coating the ship’s windows. Beauregard turned the ship around and flew over the field a second time. “Is it just me, or does that rubble look a little weird to you guys?” Will asked. “What about it?” Devika asked. “Wasn’t the medical facility gray?” Will asked. “All the rubble down there is brown.” “There is a lot of dust,” Keltie said. “Dust isn’t that brown,” Will said. He tapped Keltie on the shoulder and pointed to a cluster of debris. It was dark brown. “If I didn’t know any better, it almost looks like there are shingles down there. The facility didn’t have shingles. It was a flat roof with a black membrane. I know that for a fact.” Devika regarded the comment. “When you fly as much as I do, you get to know roofs,” Will said. “And those are residential shingles down there. Really bad, cheap shingles, too. If I’m wrong, punch me in the face.” “I believe you,” Devika said. “But what good does it do us?” “Hello,” Will said. “Did you see any houses around here?” He was right. There weren’t any houses for miles. And on a planet like Gargantua, there were plenty of shingled homes—it was one of the few planets in the galaxy whose soil could support traditional structures. But something didn’t follow. Michiko walked into the room, wiping her hands on a rag. “What’d I miss?” she asked. “A big mystery,” Keltie said. “The guy?” Michiko asked. “Yeah, he was weird. I don’t think he knew where he was. Couldn’t tell if it was the trauma or if he had mental issues.” Devika paced the bridge. “He kept mentioning that the medical facility was a hellhole,” Devika said. “That was strange,” Keltie asked. “Looked like paradise to me.” Beauregard maneuvered the ship away from the rubble field and started into space. His radio beeped. “Galactic Guard, come in,” a voice said. Sounded like police. “This is Petty Officer Romeo Beauregard.” “Were you folks just on the ground?” the voice asked. “Yes,” Beauregard said. “We’re sorry if we interfered. We are leaving now.” “You didn’t interfere,” the policeman said. “You saved that guy’s life. But we’ve got a little problem.” “How can we help?” Beauregard asked. “We just got a report from the paramedics, and they’re worried about the guy’s mental health.” “My acquaintances had the same concerns,” Beauregard said. “Was he a patient at the facility?” “We can’t find any records of a Rex Olbertson in the entire Gargantua System,” the policeman said. “Neither can the doctors in the medical system. I’d reckon he’s not from here.” “Hmm,” Beauregard said. “I see your problem.” “Well, that’s not it,” the policeman said. “The paramedics pressed him some more, and he kept referring to a desert. Kept saying that he wanted to go back to the desert. Said he wanted to get back to his gang.” “There are no deserts on Gargantua,” Devika whispered. “Surely he was mistaken,” Beauregard said. “Maybe,” the policeman said. “But the guy is claiming that he’s telling the truth. We’ve got investigators on the way. They suggested we widen our database search. So we did, and we found the guy.” “Neighboring planet?” Beauregard asked. “If you call Defestus a neighboring planet, sure,” the policeman said. Devika, Michiko and Keltie stared at each other, their mouths wide open.