Chapter 10 - Poisoned Hearts

Skiz grabbed the stump of his hand to stem the flow of blood as the god slaughtered his tribe. 

He did not avert his eyes. 

He wanted to remember it all. 

Each lifeless body that fell on the ground was someone he knew. He knew their names and names of their fathers. He knew where they ploughed their crops and he knew the problems they faced in their lives. 

Now they were all dead. Under the blade of a vengeful god. He let the pain and hatred harden his heart. The vision of revenge in his mind forced him to keep his eyes open and watch the massacre as the god's steel cut life out of those that were once living. 

Someone bent down near him. Another of the gods that had walked down into the valley. He grabbed Skiz's stump and sprayed it with a liquid that solidified instantly, stemming the flow of blood. Skiz felt the numbing effect of the liquid and his vision blurred. He forced his eyes open but the darkness was overpowering his senses. 

Skull voxed Tiberius, "The man is out for good, boss. What should I do with him?"

"We are taking him with us."

"What's the next move for us?"

"Plant the rest of the pods, let them do their work and we can go back to the ship."

Skull looked down at the unconscious form of the man. There was a twinge of unease in his mind, knowing that it was a close call with Raster. The man almost had him, even with technology on their side, this man with a wood and stone spear had almost dismantled a mech suit. Was it a good decision to take someone like him onboard their ship? He did not know, but he trusted Tiberius' judgment. Skull took out a capsule suit from the utility bag on his back and started to wrap the suit around the man. 

The trip to the ship would be bumpy, but this man would be out for a while so he was not too worried about him. He finished wrapping the suit around the man and stood up. Surveying the scene around him, he saw the rest of the team positioning the pods in the ground of the valley. Once they were off-planet, the pods would release toxins in the ground and the planet would be off-limits for a few decades at least. It was a beautiful place, full of lush foliage and probably exotic local wildlife. Such a shame, all that would have to go. 

He caught movement from the corner of his eye and saw a figure standing on top of one of the hills far away. His suit zoomed in on that figure automatically, the figure blurred for a spell and then cleared up in his visor. It was an old, bald man. Wrapped in animal skins and covered in ink from head to toe. The man raised a hand and made a two-fingered sign at Skull. A blessing or a curse, he had no way of knowing. Skull just raised his hand. The old man was closer to death than he knew, no harm in waving to him. His earpiece buzzed. 

"Get the captive and reach the LZ. They are sending a bird to pick us up."

"On it, boss." He grabbed the suit clad tribal, hoisting him over his right shoulder and started to make his way towards the LZ. He felt the strange sensation of being watched and turned around to see the old man standing behind him. Close enough to touch. His suit's sensors had not warned him of the proximity and even now they were not buzzing as they should have been. The old man raised his hand and smeared two ink stained fingers on the breast plate of Skull's suit. 

"What the fuck?" Skull raised his foot and slammed it in the old man's chest sending him sprawling on his ass. 

"Stay there!" he pointed with his finger. He had no intention to kill that man even after making mincemeat of all his tribesmen. He was just too old and about to die in a matter of few hours. Still, he did not know how the old man had reached so close to him even though a moment ago, he was standing so far away that his suit had to magnify the view. The old man sat on his ass and grinned a sheepish grin at Skull. Like he knew a secret that he did not want to tell. 

Skull hefted the weight on his shoulder and continued his walk towards the LZ. He tried to wipe off the ink that the old man had smeared on his suit but it only made the blotch spread. He ignored the stain and continued to walk. The technicians up in the ship would know how to deal with the stain. 

He hoped.

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Been away for a while, but let's take this story forward.