Immortal Coil - Jeffrey Lang [76]
Ruk considered several possibilities. If he turned and walked away, fled into the deepest recesses of the warren, it was likely the intruder would either tire of looking or, more likely, die, especially if he was injured. Ruk thought about the paths just a little farther down, the ones that were carved into the cliff face. There was more than one precipice. It would be simple to wait there, to see if the intruder found his way. If he did, well, then, a step forward, a shove, a scream, then silence.
“Please,” the voice called, somewhat fainter now. “The sensors … they said something was down here. Something … Dammit.” Its steps faltered again and Ruk heard it gasp. There was something there, a tone, that made Ruk think this one did not have long to live. Perhaps a push off the cliff would be a mercy. No, he remembered. That would not be the right thing to do. Be patient. The light flickered again and he sensed that the intruder was headed in the opposite direction. Its back would be turned. Ruk did not want to approach it from behind. He would have to attract its attention.
Ruk straightened and opened his mouth to speak, then considered for a moment. What should he say? It had been so long. What did two beings say to each other upon first meeting? He grew frustrated because he could not remember, and, worse, as he stood castigating himself, the intruder was moving farther and farther away. The light disappeared around a corner, and Ruk, his voice sounding like an avalanche, called out, “Wait!”
The lamp turned around and shone directly into Ruk’s eyes. He groaned in pain and shielded them with his hand, fighting down the twin compulsions to flee or attack. Ruk waited for the intruder to slowly shuffle back down the tunnel toward him. The intruder stopped two paces away from Ruk, then leaned against the tunnel wall. It looked, Ruk thought, strangely pleased for someone who was so badly damaged. There was a large open tear on its forehead that was leaking fluid onto its garment. Its leg was turned at an awkward angle and it held itself twisted to the side as if something inside its skeletal frame was no longer doing its job. Its left arm was missing below the elbow and there was some sort of medical device clamped onto the stump, but it was poorly fitted. Liquid dripped intermittently onto the floor. The top of its head barely went past Ruk’s elbow which, for some reason, greatly annoyed Ruk. Such a fragile thing, Ruk thought. It would be so easy to crush.
The intruder said, “Can you understand me?”
Strangely, Ruk could. He hadn’t wondered about it before, but now he noticed that the intruder wore a device on a strap around his neck that seemed to be translating their speech. Ruk said, “Yes.”
“Can you help me?”
Ruk considered the question. Finally he asked, “What do you want?”
Surprisingly, the creature made a croaking sound that Ruk recognized as laughter. “Good question,” it said, and then its legs slid out from under it. Without thinking, Ruk stepped forward and cradled the body with his arm before its head hit the floor. Ruk knew that heads broke open easily against floors, but could not remember where the knowledge came from. The intruder spoke again, its voice low, almost a whisper. “What I want … What I want is …” and it laughed again. “What I want is not to die. I am dying, I think. Could you help me to not die?”
Ruk was surprised. This was an unexpectedly direct and clearly stated request. He replied, “Yes.”
The intruder seemed gratified. “Oh,” it said. “Good. Well, I think it’s going to happen soon, so whatever you’re going to do, you should do it now.”
Ruk slid his arms under the intruder’s back and legs, then stood. “Yes,” he said. “I will.”
The intruder’s head lolled to the side and Ruk sensed that it was drifting off into unconsciousness. Despite this, the intruder asked, “Do you have a name?”
“Ruk,” he replied, realizing it was the first time he had heard his own name spoken in untold millennia.
“I’m Korby,” the intruder said. “Roger Korby.” And then his head dropped