Sci Fi & Fantasy / JOURNEYMAN: Episode II (Analysis)
THE STORY SO FAR:
Gossamer, the last human alive, woke up adrift in a pod, floating through space. As his memory returned, he remembered that he had been- is- a part of the Genesis program. Things were running smoothly until PAM, his super-intelligent computer, received a mysterious signal, and proceeded to shut down. Using his initiative and resourcefullness, Gossamer managed to crash land his pod onto a mysterious planet. There, he waits, the future looking bleak indeed…
EPISODE II
CONTACT
The man had first appeared about two hours after Gossamer landed.
Gossamer had been drawing in the sand near the pod and chewing on a sandwich when he had sighted the man approaching from directly in front of him. Abandoning his artwork, he got up and opened the storage compartment of the pod, collecting a set of high powered binoculars.
Bringing them to his eyes, he gave the advancing figure the once-over.
He was wearing a black or green flannel shirt, which looked tattered and well worn, and he wore faded blue jeans, although there didn’t appear to be any holes in the fabric. His feet were encased in what looked like boots, black combat boots to be more precise.
Things still didn’t add up.
What the flying heck was a man doing out here? Last he checked, this was a uninhabited, distant, sandy, and altogether hospitable planet, and he was the last human alive.
The man walked terribly fast, and it was only a matter of minutes before he reached Gossamer.
Closer up, Gossamer could see that the man had thin, black hair, a bit like the hair a balding person might have, except this guy wasn’t going to go bald anytime soon. His chin was enshrouded by a big, straggly, jet black beard, once again thin, but not long, just sort of… spacious. His face was hardened and creased, but he didn’t look old. Gossamer guessed he was about forty or so.
He stopped a few metres away from Gossamer’s feet. Then he in turn gave him the once-over. Apparently satisfied, he thrust out his hand.
‘Hello,’ he said rather cheerfully.
‘Hello,’ said Gossamer, shaking the man’s hand. ‘And you are…?’
‘Soruce. Soruce Faydir. You?’ The cheerfulness was gone.
‘Gossamer.’
Silence.
The man cracked a thin smile.
‘Gossamer,’ he said, as if studying the sound his voice made when uttering the word. ‘Is that all? No last name?’
Gossamer studied the man.
‘No.’
‘Ok then, Gossamer.’ He said sarcastically, waving his hands as he said the name. ‘Let’s go.’ He turned to leave.
‘Just you wait a second,’ Gossamer demanded, grabbing Soruce’s elbow.
Soruce spun around.
‘Don’t you ever touch me again.’
Gossamer backed off.
‘Fine.’
‘Listen Gerald, I didn’t have to come down here and save your sorry behind, so you’d better be grateful and stop arguing about every damn thing I say.’
‘What, you think that just because you showed up, I owe my life to you? Well, I didn’t force you to come and ‘save’ me, and I could have survived indefinitely on my own, so I’ll do the damned well I please, and there isn’t anything you can do to stop me. I hear you and your tough talk, but I tell you, I don’t buy it for one second. Do you take me for a clown? Because I’ve done training so intense and gruelling it would have killed you in a day. So if anyone’s doing killing around here, it’s going to be me. Now, have you got that?’
Soruce glared at him and sniggered.
‘You think I can’t fight for myself? That just because I haven’t done your ‘intense training’, I’m not able to bring you down? Well, this planet ain’t Earth, sunshine. There are things here that will make your worst nightmares look like rainbows. Believe me, you learn to survive.’
‘Yeh, well…’
Gossamer didn’t want to concede defeat, but this man probably had been living here for quite some time. How he ever got here in the first place remained to be answered.
‘You’ll learn soon, Gossamer. You’ll learn soon.’ The man said. ‘Come on, it’ll be getting dark soon.’
Gossamer grudgingly began to follow the man.
‘I’m not five anymore. Darkness doesn’t scare me.’
Soruce turned around and stared right into Gossamer’s eyes.
‘Believe me, on this planet, it will.’
Gossamer gave a quiet snort, but he half believed the man.
He remembered another thing.
‘And my name’s Gossamer, not Gerald or whatever the hell you called me before,’ he shouted to the man, now a good ten metres in front of him.
‘I know your name’s Gossamer,’ Soruce shouted back, waving his hand behind his head dismissively. He sounded annoyed.
Gossamer sighed and continued walking.
His situation was less than ideal, and this man was trouble. He scolded himself for losing his temper earlier. Ah, he should know better. It wouldn’t happen again.
An hour or so later they reached a rocky outcropping of some sort, not quite a mountain, but rather large and maze-like. Soruce led the way through this labyrinth of spires and ledges with the ease of someone who had trod this path many times before. He definitely knew his way around.
Gossamer trailed behind Soruce for some time, until they reached a cave-like structure in one of the larger rocks. Here, Soruce stopped.
‘Welcome to my home,’ said Soruce. ‘A bit modest, but…’ he turned to face Gossamer. ‘It serves me well.’
Gossamer nodded. ‘Hmm, well, I can see that.’
He surveyed the cave.
It was about three meters wide, two meters high, and went into the rock for about five. It was quite cosy looking, really. About ten meters from the mouth of the cave, running in a semi-circle fashion and effectively enclosing the cave, was what appeared to be a hastily erected but brutally and effectively made barbed wire fence, with ten inch, razor-sharp barbs jutting out from the primary wires at every single angle imaginable. The fence, from what he could tell, was about two meters high. Gossamer made a mental note of its position. He wasn’t planning on running into that at night. With further study, he realised that about halfway along the fence lay a small gate, about half a meter wide, that was simply a partition in the fence, probably made with a saw or similar tool, on one side and a few poorly crafted hinges on the other. Behind the fence, on the cave side, were thick, solid wooden beams, obviously intended to support it. Gossamer noted that the fence was built to keep things out. And just what was it meant to be keeping out? Once again, the answer eluded him.
Behind the main fence lay a second, smaller fence. This one was only about a meter high, but again ran in a semi-circle, enclosing the cave mouth. This guy was taking no chances.
‘Just what are these… defences for?’ Gossamer asked, as they walked through the first gate.
‘Snyagens,’ said Soruce flatly.
‘Ah… and what would that be?’
‘I don’t know much about them, but I know enough to survive. They’re humanoid, but far from human. They’re creatures. 7 foot tall, fast, smart. Smart enough to know not to mess with barbed wire. They’re a sickly greeny-yellow all over, with three inch fangs and one inch claws, both as sharp as knives. They appear to be cannibalistic, so naturally only the stronger ones live into adulthood, or what you could call ‘adulthood’. They’re the ones we have to worry about, because only the adults venture out of their tunnels. And they only come out at night.’
Gossamer pondered over this for a moment. ‘And these Snyagens… have you ever run into one before?’
They had reached the inner sanctum.
There was only one bed, and a large, rusty, metal box beside it. Lots of other pieces of equipment lay scattered around the den.
‘Yes, I have,’ replied Soruce, lifting up his shirt to reveal a six inch scar running from under his right rib cage towards his belly button. He motioned for Gossamer to sit down.
Gossamer happily complied. His legs were shaky from all the walking. Soruce also opted for sitting down.
‘It’s your organs they go for first,’ he explained.
‘But you’re standing here today.’ Gossamer said.
‘That’s right. I was out hunting a few weeks ago. I was heading back, just as it was starting to get dark. But a landslide had blocked my usual path. Luckily, I knew an alternative route, but it was going to take longer. It was as I was walking back that a particularly feisty Snyagen chose to attempt to have me for dinner. It wasn’t even completely dark yet. Well, that was the biggest mistake of its life. It jumped on me from a small cliff, and took me by surprise, but only for a second. Next thing I knew, I was on the ground, and it had detracted its claws. It swiped at my chest just as I managed to push it off me, so I only received a glancing blow. Still, it was enough to puncture my large intestine. I was losing blood rapidly, but I had my knife strapped to my leg. I grabbed it and, holding my stomach to keep my insides inside, I advanced towards the thing, as it leapt up from the ground. It was headstrong, too headstrong. It ran right at me, right into the knife. But don’t you think they’re that easy to kill. I jerked the knife, which was still inside it, towards the right and then pulled it out. The Snyagen’s organs were dangling out and it was shrieking, I guess from the pain, but they always shriek so I really couldn’t tell. Anyway, I slammed the knife into its neck and heard a crack, which meant that I had probably fractured some vertebrae, as well as puncturing its wind pipe. It was wheezing and coughing blood all over the place, but I finally silenced it with a knife through the skull. And that, my friend, is how you kill a Snyagen and survive to tell the tale.’
Gossamer’s face was set in a look of disgust. Soruce certainly hadn’t left out any details.
‘What did you do after that?’ asked Gossamer, caught up in the story while at the same time not wanting to hear any more.
‘I had dinner.’ Soruce said.
‘Ah, yes, I’ve been meaning to ask you… what’s on the menu around here?’
‘Snyagens,’ replied Soruce.
Gossamer leant back. ‘You’re kidding me.’
‘I kid you not. If you can cook them right, they are very nutritious and a high source of calcium and all those other fancy vitamins and minerals. It’s the young ones you have to get. The meat’s softer, you see.’
He looked distant, as if reminiscing.
‘Anyway,’ he piped up again, ‘I usually go to Snyagen City every few days. I’ve worked out how to trap the little ones, works every time.’
Gossamer nodded, and Soruce continued.
‘I save a bit of Snyagen from my last meal, and then I attach it to a bit of string and hang it from a gnarled tree that stands about a hundred metres from the entrance. Now, there is always a curious little one, and he will smell the meat from miles away. He just cannot resist it, so he comes out, slowly, always sniffing and looking for danger. He sees the meat on the tree. It is irresistible to him. He goes to the tree. He grabs the meat. A block of nails falls on him from the top of the tree. He isn’t dead yet, but he is pinned down and slowly he dies a painful death.’ Soruce laughed. ‘Isn’t it fantastic?’
Gossamer wasn’t so sure about that.
‘How does this block of nails fall on them?’
‘Well,’ began Soruce, ‘The meat is attached to a single piece of very thin, but immensely strong, rope. The meat is placed a bit upwards from the bottom of the rope, and the bottom of the rope is made into a loop. A nail with a large head is put through the loop into the ground at the base of the tree. The other end of the rope is flung over the bough of the tree, and then the block is attached to this end of the rope, draped in a brown sheet. The Snyagens eyesight is not so great, so they cannot see it. The whole contraption looks a bit like a pulley, except one side is anchored to the ground, the meat side. Now, when the unsuspecting youngster grabs the meat, he pulls the nail out, and the block of nails is now in gravity’s hands, which brings it to rest nicely on the Snyagen.’
He sat back, relishing in his ingenuity.
‘Ingenious,’ said Gossamer.
‘Thankyou,’ replied Soruce. ‘It took me a while to develop and perfect, but now it works like a charm.’
‘But don’t the Snyagens realise the danger? I mean, don’t they learn not to approach your trap?’
‘No. None of the other Snyagens ever see the youngsters leave, and if and when the others realise they are missing a member, they assume it’s been eaten, which it has.’
Gossamer nodded his head in understanding.
‘Well,’ began Gossamer suddenly, clapping his hands, ‘I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your stories, but I am absolutely spent. I’ll be heading of to bed now, if you don’t mind.
He got up and walked over to a corner of the cave. He took off his coat and rolled it up, placing it under his head as he lay down on the cold, hard floor. It rally wasn’t different to his bedding conditions in the pod, he realised. He smiled grimly at the thought.
It only took him a few minutes before he was out.
Soruce, who was starting up a fire just outside the cave but within the second fence, glanced at him as he lay, facing away from the wall. This one wasn’t going to be easy. He was going to have to keep his wits about him that much was for sure. He couldn’t rush it. He sighed, turning back to the fire, poking it with a metallic object fashioned to look something like a long fork. He would stay here for a few more hours before himself retiring to his bed. He would have offered Gossamer his bed, but he had been friendly enough for one day. Perhaps tomorrow he would consider it, but tonight he wanted a good rest. He would need it.
Tomorrow was hunting day.
You need to log in to urbis or create an urbis account to review this writing.
Reviews
Sort Reviews by Newest | Oldest | Highest Quality | Lowest Quality | Newest Comments |
This 718 word review has not been unlocked.
This 187 word review has not been unlocked.
This 97 word review has not been unlocked.
This 13 word review has not been unlocked.
This 26 word review has not been unlocked.
This 46 word review has not been unlocked.
This 22 word review has not been unlocked.
Hmmmm very challenging I bet. You did a good job of creating another world and other species. The way Soruce was dressed had me thinking a lot of different things. Also the fact that he knew that Gossamer was from Earth. Is there more to him calling him Gerald or was that him being annoying. I’m ready to see those two grow closer and what other humans might be lurking on this planet. Good follow up.
- add/view comments (0)
This 51 word review has not been unlocked.
This 162 word review has not been unlocked.
Showing 1 - 10 of 11
Next →
Review item
Add to faves
GENERAL
REVIEW QUEUE
Ratings & Rankings
