Chapter Sample: Prisoner
The following sample comes from the prologue to the upcoming novel, Kholvaria. The content you see here is mostly finished, but keep in mind that this is not the final draft. All content is subject to change until the novel is published. Readers who have not completed Iris, be warned that there are spoilers. It is recommended that you complete Iris before reading this sample. Enjoy!
————————————————————-
Prologue: Prisoner
Lt. Damien Saljov
It was loud.
The 18-year-old boy smiled, feeling a mix of excitement, nervousness and relief. Damien Saljov took a step onto the stage with his fellow graduates. For a few seconds, the 18-year-old stood there, waiting in anticipation, trying to soak in the moment. He looked out towards the crowd. There were so many faces he did not know, just strangers in an ocean of unknown names.
“Damien Saljjov!” the principle called out, bringing him back to reality.
He walked across the stage, forgetting about the faces. He eagerly took the diploma from the principle. He smiled as his old math teacher snapped a photo and darted off stage in excitement.
Finally high school was just a thing of the past. It’s time for me to live my life.
***
It was quiet.
The 20-year-old man waved to his older brother as he slid the backpack over his shoulders. Even with the dark bag hanging on his back, Tracey’s clean Navy jacket looked as bright as a crystal underneath the light.
“I can’t believe you’re leaving us,” his mother said, giving him a warm embrace. The petite fair-haired woman’s face showed a mix of excitement and sadness. Her vivid red dress stood out as a sharp contrast next to her son’s clean white uniform.
Tracey smiled.
“I’m not leaving you, mom. I’ll be on the north wing of Level 1, at least for now. You can’t really ever leave,” he explained.
A tear formed on her face.
“I know,” she replied calmly, “but I’ll miss having you at home.”
Tracey broke the embrace and looked towards his younger brother.
“You take care of yourself now, okay?” he said.
Damien nodded.
“You know I will. College is…” the young man struggled to find the right words, “college is easy.”
Tracey smiled. Damien patted his brother on the back and the two shared an embrace.
“I’ll see you later,” Tracey said.
Damen let go of his brother as the Navy recruit nodded to their mother. With a tear in her eyes, she nodded back and walked silently into the next room. She knew it was time to let them be alone together.
“How is she?” Damien asked, changing the tone once he was sure she had gone.
Tracey shook his head.
“She’s not happy that I left her, but she’s even less happy that I’m keeping Ophelia.”
Damien looked down to his orange sneakers.
“It’s for the better,” he said, looking back up to his brother again. “She was never there for Ophelia. There’s a difference between being there physically and-”
“I know,” Tracey interrupted. He sighed and wiped his face. “I’m just worried how she’ll do raised in the Navy, surrounded by government and guns and-”
“She’ll be fine,” Damien interrupted back. “Kids are raised in bases all the time. Plus, she’s got a great dad with her.”
Tracey smiled and slowly nodded his head.
“Thanks,” he said.
Damien smiled back.
“No problem, man,” he replied. “I’ll see you later.”
The 20-year-old waved to his brother as he walked off and closed the door behind him.
***
It was familiar.
The 22-year-old walked onto the stage for the second time in his life. The feeling was similar; excitement, nervousness, relief. Damien turned his head again as he waited for his name to be called. This time the sea of faces beyond him looked different. The faces were stronger, more sure of themselves, more prepared for the uncertainty that stood before them.
“Damien Saljov!” shouted the school president.
The oceanic studies student walked across the stage with pride, reaching out his hand as he had done only four years prior. He grabbed the frame from the president’s hand and posed as a complete stranger snapped a picture on her pod.
When he walked off stage, he returned to his seat and turned his neck, looking back at his family. He saw his mother a few rows back before anyone else. Despite her new purple dress and layers of makeup, she looked worse than he remembered. Each day she had been getting smaller and weaker. But she smiled nonetheless.
Tracey sat next to her in his clean white uniform. He fiddled with his fingers and looked over his shoulder, as if worried someone would attack. Lately he had been growing paranoid. Damien assumed their mother’s health was getting to him. After losing their father at such a young age, Damien figured the fear of losing his mother was putting too much stress on his composure.
Ophelia sat next to her father at the end of the aisle, shifting around in the large chair. Despite her father’s growing paranoia, Ophelia had grown into one of the smartest kids Damien had ever known. The girl wore a bright orange dress, shining like a flame in a dark room. The graduate could hardly believe how much she had grown. The six-year-old looked twice as big since he had seen her last.
The graduate turned back around and faced the stage as another stranger received his degree. Young Damien knew what he was going to do next. After the ceremony, he would follow his older brother’s path and enlist in the Navy. It seemed like the best thing to do. The pay was good and steady, offering lots of paid vacation time and loads extra benefits. Damien would never have to pay for a doctor visit again.
***
It was traumatizing.
The 24-year-old felt his hand shake as he held the pod to his ear. Navy trainees jogged around him in the black-walled drill court, decorated with crimson flags and Navy emblems. He ignored them like they were not even there.
“When did it happen?” Damien asked, hardly able to get the words out.
“Just now, I called once I found out,” his brother replied over the pod.
Damien looked up as a young woman approached him. She was one of the trainees, though the Chief could not remember her name.
“Chief?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
Damien could feel a tear fall down his face. He clenched his fists, snapping the pod into pieces.
The trainees all took a few steps back, realizing right away that this was not the time to press him for questions.
“My mother is dead,” Damien said aloud. His voice was like a whisper. “My mother is dead.”
***
It was chilling.
The 26-year-old shivered on the cold metal bench that pressed against the long red wall. He rubbed his hands together and breathed on them. Not working, he thought. Why are medical centers always so cold?
The Navy man had come to be quite acquainted with medical centers in the past few months. Years ago it was a rare thing for him to venture into this zone, but Tracey had been in and out so many times lately that these days Damien began to see red just as often as white.
The medical center was almost completely abandoned at this time of night. Most people were either asleep or in the colored zone. That was where the EMTs found Tracey only a few hours ago.
Damien removed his cap and stood up as the doctor entered the quiet hallway from the next room. The older man’s long white coat looked like it belonged in the Navy lines. Funny how they do all that shit with color, the cold man thought.
“How is he?” Damien asked bluntly.
The Lieutenant glanced down at the pod in the doctor’s hands before he moved it away. Medical charts filled the screen. Damien did not get a great view, but he was able to read the words drug overdose.
“Mr. Saljov, I’m afraid your brother’s lifestyle is getting worse. He needs real care,” the old man explained, shaking his head.
Damien sighed. This was the same story as last time.
“He’s getting better though, isn’t he?”
“I’m afraid not. I’d guess he hasn’t had a clean blood reading since he left the military,” the doctor explained. “He has his moments of improvement here and there, but nothing steady.”
Shit, and here I thought he was getting better.
“What of the girl?”
“Who?”
“His daughter,” Damien clarified, almost afraid of the answer. “What happens to her?”
The doctor shook his head, looked at something on his pod and looked up at Damien again.
“If he has one more relapse, the Federation will be forced to remove her from him. And based on what I’m seeing, I’m afraid I can’t come to his defense.”
Damien knew that losing Ophelia would be his brother’s breaking point. He could not let that happen.
“I’ll talk to him. If he knows what you just told me, he’ll pull himself together. Nothing matters to him more than Ophelia.”
“I hope you’re right,” the doctor replied. “For all your sakes.”
“He’ll change,” he answered. “He’ll do it for her. I promise you.”
***
It was hopeless.
The 28-year-old felt his heart racing, his head sweating and his hands trembling.
Warm sea water covered Damien’s legs as he sent the archaic message. It had been a long time since the crewman had any reason to use Morse code, but his training kicked in as the Cassidy X20 filled with ocean.
Damien looked forward towards his captain as she frantically pulled on the yoke. Her black hair dripped in sweat, soaking into the large foam chair like a sponge filled with soap.
“Come on, come on!” she said to herself, trying to bring the submarine up.
In an instant the front window cracked and water rushed into the cabin. Damien could only sit and watch, strapped to his seat as his captain disappeared from view, engulfed by the monstrous sea.
“No!” he shouted as the ocean collided with his body, burning his eyes and choking him from the inside.
Damien quickly shut his eyes and felt around for the buckle to unlock his seatbelt. I’m going to die, he told himself. I know it. I’m going to fucking die.
The desperate crewman fumbled, unable to find the buckle to his belt. The co-pilot’s stomach rocked like he was falling a thousand levels. He could feel the pressure pushing on him like heavy metal slabs. He felt dizzy. He no longer knew which way was up. He could not even tell if he was moving his hands at all.
I’m helpless, he realized. I am done. The crewman stopped fumbling and accepting his fate. For once, Damien Saljov felt truly at peace.
***
It was bright.
The man awoke from what felt like the worst hangover of his life. Damien Saljov stared straight into the bulb above, too tired to shield his eyes from it. He did not know where he was, how old he was, or if he was even still alive.
My life just flashed like a dream, he realized. It was all real; high school, college, even the submarine. Oh Lord Beyond Both Seas, the submarine. Damien shuddered at the thought. The last thing he remembered was the salt water filling his lungs and stealing his breath like poison. After that, he was here, staring into some sort of light.
Damien tried to take a step forward but quickly realized that his legs were immobile. He tried to look down to them but realized his head was immobile too. He started to hear noise. Someone was in the room with him, fumbling through what sounded like a box of tools nearby. The clanging of metal grew louder and louder. Eventually Damien realized it was not the sound getting louder, but his hearing getting better.
He tried to move his head again, but this time he felt the force of an invisible strap holding him in place. He wiggled his fingers and felt a wall behind him. Damien squirmed about, trying to move in any way he could. That was when he realized this was no wall. It was a table. Damien was lying flat on his back, facing the ceiling.
I’m a fucking classroom project, he thought, shivering in fear. He wiggled some more, hoping that whoever was nearby would let him loose.
“Do not fight it,” a deep voice said to him. Damien could not tell from which direction the voice was coming. It was almost as if it were echoing in his mind.
The trapped Navy man tried to answer but his voice was far too weak to produce any noise. He cleared his throat and tried again but all that came out was a long cough and some drool.
Not knowing what else to do, the trapped man wiggled some more. Slowly the Lieutenant felt his muscles coming back. He had not realized it until now, but it was as if his head, neck, chest, arms, hands, torso, legs and feet had just awoken from a yearlong sleep.
What the hell is going on? he wondered, finally giving his body some rest.
Suddenly the light above his head shut off. Everything went dark for a moment as Damien’s eyes adjusted to the brightness inside the room. By the time his vision changed, Damien finally felt coherent for the first time since he had woken up.
Above his head was a small transparent ball, apparently the source of all the light. The ceiling behind it looked like it was crossed with obsidian beams, not in a normal grid pattern commonly found the station, but in an odd wave of V shapes flowing into each other like waves.
“Good. You have stopped flailing like a fish taken from water,” the voice said, echoing in his mind again. Whoever it was, they spoke in the deepest pitch he had ever heard. It almost sounded inhuman.
Damien tried to focus on the sound and suddenly realized that the fumbling noise had stopped.
“Wh-”
The Lieutenant struggled to form the word.
“It speaks! I was wondering when you would find the strength,” the deep echo continued.
The man heard footsteps. They were heavy and strong, almost like the footsteps of five men marching as one. He could hear the stranger approaching him slowly.
“I’m surprised to see you awake so early. Do not worry about the memories. It is just a symptom of the thawing process.”
Thawing process?
As each footstep grew closer and closer, Damien started to feel the floor rumble beneath him. Whoever was coming must have been huge. He felt his heart race as if he was about to die all over again.
“You must be confused. Do not worry, evolved-one. You are safe from harm,” the voice said, though Damien could still not identify the speaker. “My people pulled your incapacitated form from the wreckage. Your body sustained many injuries, but we have worked to heal it, and added our own enhancements. Only now have we awoken you from your sleep. Your body and mind have been in suspension for four months.”
“Who?” Damien asked, now able to form a word. The footsteps were so close now. Whoever was in the room with him must have been standing right next to him.
“Who?” the voice repeated in a strangely satisfied tone. “That is what I wish to learn about you, evolved-one.”
A shape moved into his line of sight. It was not a person, nor was it anything the pilot had seen before. At first it reminded him of deep sea fish, like the ones he had studied in college. Whatever it was, it looked as if it had a drooling shrimp-like mouth, large round eyes like black slugger balls and a head the shape of a puffer fish, only wider and darker. But whatever this thing was, it certainly was no fish.
Damien heard a faint clicking sound and was suddenly able to move his head up and down, though he was still unable to look left or right. Whoever was in the room with him must have released the restraints. Happy to finally move his head, the nervous pilot studied the object before him.
It’s a head, he suddenly realized, I was only looking at the head. Oh Lord Beyond Both Seas, this whole thing is a creature, some sort of massive creature.
The creature before his eyes had a thin but long torso which connected to an enormous ovular abdomen. Its arms were long and its fingers were like spearheads. It had four legs, popping out from underneath a crablike shell. Its skin looked like the color of vomit and seemed to be covered in some thick fluid.
The sight of this creature made Damien jolt. His heart raced faster than he ever thought possible. He could practically feel it ready to explode out of his chest.
“You have not seen my kind before,” the echoing voice said as the creature looked down upon the captive pilot. “I understand your fear, but it will not help your health. Your heart rate has just spiked considerably.”
“Y-you?” Damien asked, barely able to get the word out.
“Yes, I am the one speaking to you,” the creature responded. Damien suddenly noticed that its mouth was moving as it spoke, though the words did not seem to match the motion of its lips.
Damien sensed something happening on his lower half. He could feel liquid moving along the curvature of his body, covering his crotch and sliding down towards his butt. Shit, I just pissed myself, he realized. He looked down towards his lower half and noticed that he was not wearing any clothes at all.
“Do not fear me,” the creature said as it leaned over him. Damien looked up at the monster’s eyes again, forgetting all about his uncontrollable bladder. “My name is Kho Rendevahrk. I have been watching over you during the last four months of your hibernation.”
“How… talk?” Damien asked.
The creature’s face moved as if it were excited by this question.
“You wish to be the one asking the questions, I see. I shall entertain this idea, for now. As you rested, I placed a translator chip inside your head, entering from the rear of your cranium. The same chip is in my own head, interpreting the meaning of your words in a way that I can understand.”
Damien did not believe it. He wiggled his head, trying to feel anything different inside his skull.
“You will not feel the chip. It is pointless to try, for it is embedded deep within your temporal lobe. The translator can interpret your thought patterns. It knows the meanings behind the words you speak and sends the meanings to me in a way that I can understand. The same works for me when I speak to you.”
Shit, if there’s a chip in my brain, can this creature read my thoughts?
“And now that I have answered your question, I hope that you can answer one of mine,” said the creature. It turned and picked something up from beyond Damien’s line of sight. The object, whatever it was, was round and transparent like the lightbulb above his head.
“Who are you and how many of you are there?” the creature asked bluntly. It simply stood still, holding the ball in its claws. Damien was not sure what the ball would do, but he did not want to find out. He decided to do whatever the creature asked of him.
“Dam… Damien,” the Lieutenant responded, struggling to find the words. It was still difficult for him to speak.
“Do not worry about the sound of the word,” the creature suggested. “Any noise will do, so long as you put meaning behind the word in your mind.”
Damien took a deep breath and tried again. This time, instead of trying to form the words, he simply spat out gibberish. With each nonsensical syllable, he thought up a meaning for it in his mind. The tired pilot was not sure if this technique would work, but it was worth a shot.
“Damien Saljov,” the creature responded after the pilot had said his nonsense. “So that’s your name.”
It worked, Damien thought, relieved that he was able to communicate with the creature. Now I just need to make sure I’m not thinking about something I shouldn’t.
“Did you come from the submerged city like the others?” the creature asked.
Damien was not sure what the creature meant by this question. Of course the submerged city meant the Atlantic Station. But this should have been obvious. There was nowhere else to reside in the entire ocean. He was more confused by the term others. He and Captain Gessetti were the only ones on the Cassidy submarine when it came under attack and she had almost certainly been killed.
“I don’t know,” Damien replied in his mind, pairing his thoughts with audible nonsense like he did before.
The creature leaned over him and placed the transparent orb on his naked chest. Damien could sense it did not like that answer.
“You are lying. Where did you come from and how many are there?” it asked, rephrasing the question this time.
“I came from the Atlantic Station,” Damien responded, hoping this was the answer the creature wanted to hear. “There are millions of us, millions of humans living in the station.”
The monster snickered and pulled the ball back.
“There were millions,” it responded. “My people saw to your world’s prompt destruction. But that is not the subject I wish to discuss. How many more cities are there?”
Destruction?
“What do you mean?” Damien asked.
“Do not ignore my question. You have already had your time to ask. How many more cities are there?” the creature replied, no longer as kind as it was before.
“Only one in the Atlantic. There are two more. One in the Pacific and one in the Indian,” Damien responded, still wondering what the creature meant by destruction.
“One in the Pacific and one in the Indian,” the creature repeated, seemingly intrigued by this information. “So the rumors about the Sorrevahni may be true. I am glad that you are proving useful.”
What the hell does that mean?
“I am glad that I can be helpful. Can I ask my own question now?”
The creature squinted its large eyes and craned its neck down. It hesitated but then nodded and took a step back.
“I suppose so. If you feel it will help loosen your tongue.”
Damien swallowed nervously and looked the monster in its eyes.
“What did you mean when you said ‘destruction’?” he asked.
The creature lowered its head and then looked up again. It seemed annoyed.
“Until recently, you were the only evolved-one that our people knew of. It was a shocking discovery, finding you,” the creature explained. “We examined your vessel and tried to find any signs of your kind. Search parties were sent out across the sea. When the first party finally made contact with the city, your people attacked ours and killed them like animals. As a result, your kind was promptly exterminated, though many were taken as prisoner.”
It felt as if Damien’s heart had stopped working. He gasped for air but could barely breathe. His body jolted as if he had lost control of his muscles. His arms rubbed against the invisible restraints, burning his skin like a flame. Tears rushed down his eyes and around his cheek.
Images of his family flashed before him like pictures on a pod. He could see his mother, Tracey, even little Ophelia. They were all gone. Not only them, but my home, my job, my past. Everything he had known meant nothing now.
“Why!” he shouted, managing to find the appropriate word this time.
He shook the table, banging himself against the metal slab. He was sure to be covered in bruises by the time this was over.
“Calm down, evolved-one,” it said in a quieted tone. Damien tried to calm down. He stopped moving and took long, deep breathes, though the tears continued to stream down his face.
“As you can imagine, being that you were the only specimen we had at the time, my people wished to thoroughly study you and your anatomy. The decision was made to keep you in prolonged hibernation so that we could examine you more easily. Your preservation was valuable, you see. However, upon the discovery of your entire colony, there are many more prisoners like you now. You, Kho Damien Saljov, are no longer as valuable. That is why I have awoken you at last.”
Shit, this thing is going to kill me, just like it did to everyone else.
“What? What do you want with me?” Damien asked, speaking normally now.
The creature put the ball back down, out of Damien’s line of sight.
“You have given me that which I require. You have told me your name, where you are from and how many cities there are. You have assured me that there is only one city in the Atlantic.”
“Yes,” Damien confirmed. “Yes, one city.”
“And your people, they owed allegiance to no one, correct?” the creature asked.
Damien closed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears.
“Our people belonged to the Atlantic Federation,” he answered. This time he had to use the gibberish technique again.
“The Atlantic Federation,” the creature repeated. “No allegiance to Sorreveous?”
Damien shook his head and replied, “No”. I don’t even know who Sorreveous is.
“Then that is all,” the creature said, walking away. Its loud footsteps clanged against the metal floor.
Damien remained strapped to the table. He felt alone, cold, helpless. Not even the creature stood by him anymore to keep him company. Damien never wanted to end his own life before, but now he would do anything for a shot in the head.
“I have a question,” a different voice echoed through his mind.
Damien was shocked to hear a different speaker. He tried to turn and face whoever was talking, but his head could still only move up and down.
For a moment, the room fell as silent as death. Damien did not know why, but he feared whoever this new speaker was more than the last.
“Release his restraints,” the new voice ordered.
Everything opened up. Damien quickly pushed himself up so that he was seated. He stared around the room in shock.
Until now, Damien assumed he and the creature were the only ones in the room. But as he looked around, he saw more creatures than he could count. Most were seated against the walls on all sides of the room like an audience to a show.
The chamber itself was massive, large enough to hold a basketball court and decorated with shining black walls unlike anything he had seen in the government district. Large V shaped arches held up the tall ceiling like something out of a hellish architect’s dream. His own table was positioned in what seemed to be the center of it all. To his right, a few stood at attention as his interrogator joined them. To his left, a large glowing screen covered the wall behind the seated creatures. The screen was full of bright colors mashed together in a ball shape, like some sort of abstract art.
“Kho Damien Saljov, I am your releaser,” the voice said. Damien struggled to find which creature was speaking to him. He frantically searched around to see if any of their mouths were moving. Then one of the standing creatures stepped forward. This one looked different from the rest. It wore a long crimson cape, flowing well past its protruding abdomen and onto the shiny floor. The creature held what looked like a golden scepter in its claws, capped off with a red jewel in the shape of a spearhead.
“Hello,” Damien said to the creature as it walked his way. Whoever this was, it appeared quite regal.
“I am Kho Veznek, Under-Chieftain to the Supreme Chieftess, her Majesty, Kal Khtallia, of the Kholvari. My brother, Kho Mohkzani, was killed by your people when we first discovered your city.”
“I am sorry to hear that,” Damien said, trying to sound polite.
“Your apologies mean nothing to me, evolved-one,” the Under-Chieftain replied. “Your kind got what they deserved. Though Kho Rendevahrk may have finished his questioning, there is one question that I still want answered.”
Damien swallowed nervously. He hoped he could give this creature the answer it desired.
“How do your people plan to counterattack?” the Under-Chieftain asked.
Damien shook his head and raised both hands in the air.
“I don’t know,” he replied.
“Don’t lie to me! There must be a plan!” the Under-Chieftain shot back. The decorated creature continued walking towards the table. By now it was so close that Damien could smell its pungent odor.
Kho Rendevahrk quickly dashed forward and caught up to the regal monster.
“Under-Chieftain Kho Veznek, it is possible this man knows nothing of a counterattack. He has been under forced hibernation for the entire duration of-”
The decorated creature spun around and stared its counterpart in the eyes. The Under-Chieftain raised a claw-like hand in the air and Kho Rendevahrk quieted down. It was instantly clear who held the power in this room.
The Under-Chieftain took a deep breath, looked down towards its crablike legs and then back up to Damien’s table.
“Kho Rendevahrk may have a point,” the decorated creature said reluctantly. Damien could tell the creature did not enjoy admitting this. “Be that as it may, I still do not trust you, Kho Damien Saljov. You are the first evolved-one we have awoken, but you shall not be the last. Prisoners are being transported here as we speak. If we find that you have been uncooperative with us, I shall show no mercy.”
Damien did not know what to do so he simply nodded his head. The angered Under-Chieftain turned and walked back where it had come. Kho Rendevahrk followed. All at once, the crowd of creatures slowly stood up from their seats and exited the chamber. I guess the show’s over.
Another creature walked up to his table from behind. Damien turned to face it. This one was leaner than the others and seemed to have smoother, younger skin (though that did not make it any less ugly). It scurried towards him like a crab to food.
Damien instinctively raised his hands in front of his face as it came near, though he lowered them as soon as he realized the creature meant no harm.
“I am Kal Likus. I will take you away from here,” the creature said to him. This one’s voice was softer and higher than the others. Damien assumed that this creature must have been a female and that the others were male.
“Where are you taking me?” Damien asked. He could not even tell if he was speaking real words or gibberish anymore.
“I will take you to your cell,” Kal Likus answered.
Damien shook his head.
“No,” he responded, “no, no, I don’t want to go to a cell. Just bring me up to the surface to die. Let me suffocate on the poison air. I don’t even care.”
“Up to the surface?” the creature repeated. “Evolved-one, where do you think you are? We are far beyond the depths of any ocean.”
The creature gestured towards the glowing wall. Damien turned to face it as members of the audience slowly continued to file out of the room.
The illuminated image was a circle, a perfect sphere surrounded by nothing but black. Dots of white and green decorated the empty space, slowly shifting like waves in the ocean. That’s when it hit him. This was no screen at all.
No, no, it can’t be, he thought to himself. I can’t be here. It’s impossible.
Damien Saljov, once an explorer of the deep, now looked down at his home planet from the window of an alien vessel.
