SHADOWED MINDS

CHAPTER TWO

“What in the Great Glacier is THAT thing?” Cryos exclaimed.

“My name is Ratel,” was the haughty reply, “and I am NOT a thing! Stupid rass. Um...I mean...” Ratel trailed off as she noticed that everyone in the room had their weapons trained on her.

“Beast!” Jade cried, “See its claws!” As Jade prepared to shoot, Ratel panicked and grabbed Femur, placing the frightened toad in between her and Jade’s gun.

“Jade wait!” Graveheart cried.

“Why? I see nothing wrong with ridding the world of a toad and a freak.”

For the creature before them was indeed a freak. It looked like someone had randomly thrown the four planets’ citizens together, and then shoved some Beast claws onto its wrists. It had fire hair and ears, but rock and ice skin, mostly rock but with ice parts breaking through in streaks. The fact that it was also made of bone showed in the standard bone tail, with the killer scythe on the end, protruding from the small of its back.

“Wait!” Graveheart repeated, and to Ratel he asked “What are you and what are you doing here?”

“I am 3460 Ratel, and I am escaping termination.”

“Termination,” Cryos mused “Why are you being terminated and...”

“Why do I look like a freak?” Ratel supplied the end of Cryos’ question. “I am an experiment in the field of study to create the perfect soldier. The Beast has decided that, as your planet cluster has held out the longest of all other planets it has attacked, your people might be worth making into soldiers. The reason I am escaping termination is because I am a failed experiment; therefore, I am a liability.”

“This is most intriguing.” Tekla said “Have they done this to any other planets?” As she asked her question, hope started to creep into her voice. Perhaps she was not the only one of her kind left! However, what little hope she had begun to gather was destroyed by a negative response from Ratel.

“Could you please gasp let go of my throat now...please?” Poor Femur was quickly running out of air. When Ratel’s grasp did not slacken, he started to pass out.

“Release him.” Graveheart said, “We will not attack you.”

“For now at least.” Jade muttered, as Femur was dropped, gasping and spluttering, onto the floor.

***

Zera eyed the newcomer with a sort of morbid fascination, “so, why are you a failed experiment?”

Ratel looked around, Tekla, Voxx, Sternum, Cryos, Jade and Graveheart had all left, to try and find the Beast Planet and, though for obvious reasons they did not reveal this, to discuss their new “problem”.

***

“What should we do?” Graveheart addressed them all. “I do not know if we should trust this creature. It might be a Beast agent.”

“True,” said Cryos “yet...it’s not really in Lamprey’s style. Also, it seems to me to be a rather big risk to take. I mean, alerting us to their presence on the off chance that we would accept this ‘Ratel’ character, as someone safe.”

“I don’t know...” Jade was uneasy “Why do we need her at all? Just shove her in the cells with Jewelia.”

“I agree with Jade.” Sternum said, “There is something unbalanced about the creature. Besides, we will not need the creature’s help, once we have located the Beast Planet.”

“If we can locate it at all.” Tekla replied gloomily. “It appears that the sensors cannot find the Beast Planet at all, not even a trace of where it might be.”

“Well then, it seems we have no choice.” Graveheart was determined. “We shall have to keep this ‘Ratel’ with us in order to locate the Beast Planet and to show us its weak spots. Perhaps the Beast Planet has set up more bases on planets, such as with Remora. If so, then we will need all the help we can get. Do not let Ratel know that you do not trust her, as it may make her unwilling to impart important, or even truthful, information. But do not let your guard down, even for a second. She might be an ally, but she is also part Beast.”

“Very well then.” said Jade. “But something about her grinds my stones...”

***

“Yeah, why are you a failure? You look like a soldier to me.” Pyrus seemed to be unaware of Ratel’s rising discomfort. However, Ratel decided that the best way to shut him and Zera up was to simply tell them.

“OK, I’ll show you, but you have to promise not to tell, and get rid of that toad! He’d tell as soon as breathe!”

“Hey! I don’t insult you!” Femur was indignant. “I won’t tell anyone, I promise you toots!”

“Ok.” And with that Ratel opened up her hands, exposing the palms.

“Eww, gross.” Pyrus and Zera exclaimed in unison.

“What, I can’t see.” When Femur saw Ratel’s palms he joined the others in their disgust. For Ratel’s palms were raw and bleeding, bits of flesh constantly falling off, burnt.

“Fire and ice do not mix well.” Ratel’s voice was expressionless. “The fire breaks through in certain places, and burns the ice and rock skin. It means I cannot handle weapons and the pain can cause me to react...rather loudly sometimes, and this is inappropriate. I age faster too, so I’m about your age now Zera, couple of years and I’ll be sleeping with the ancients. Also, for some failed experiments, the fire burnt through their faces and poor Agama was barely capable of...” Ratel stopped abruptly. “Anyway,” she said briskly, “the ice interferes with the fire so I am incapable of using either fire’s OR ice’s ‘special features’. I cannot use nanonytes, nor can I throw fire or stand high temperatures. That,” she said, with a sudden flash of humour “and I can talk back to the leaders and insult them, which really pi...um annoyed them.”

“What was it like?” Zera asked, “I mean, having to actually LIVE with the Beasts and knowing that they were going to kill you, just because you weren’t right.”

Ratel shrugged. “I dunno, I may as well ask what’s it like living with the people of Ice and having them respect your wishes, just because you are royalty. No one ever thinks about it much because that’s the way it’s always been. Maybe I’ll take you to see them someday.” Ratel smiled at the look of distaste on Zera’s face. “Then again...maybe not.”

***

Graveheart rubbed the back of his neck. This had been a long and difficult day. Not only did they have the renewed threat of the Beast advancing upon them, but had also discovered that the Beasts had been creating hybrids, and, to top it all off, they had been stuck with one of the failed hybrids! ‘Oh well,’ he thought as he headed for the bathroom ‘at least Jade isn’t TOO cross, and she’s calmed down a bit’. Famous last words.

“AH!” Jade screamed as Graveheart entered the bathroom, just when she had gotten the water temperature right. Before Graveheart could react, she had him on the floor with her gun to his nose.

“JADE WAIT! IT’S ME, GRAVEHEART!”

“Oh.” Jade seemed rather embarrassed but, as they were both flat out on the floor, this was understandable. Their faces were only inches away...Graveheart and Jade were both still breathing rather heavily from the fright, when Jade leaned in a little closer. “Graveheart...” she said, in a seductive voice.

“Yes” Graveheart whispered, hardly daring to breathe.

“...Your breath stinks!”

“All right, that’s it!” As Graveheart took his revenge, the showers ran out of hot water.