The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1) by Gwyndolyn Russell (100 best novels of all time .txt) 📗

going on? Fenris, just tell me." Reaper groaned.

Just as Fenris went to explain, Jackal blurted it out.

"He doesn't know how food is made here. He’s used to catching his own!" Reaper barely understood a word. It sounded like one long word instead of an entire sentence. "He, uh, got too hungry, you see. And he, uh, ate those panels and the cats... He may have been why the, uh…"

Reaper sat back, whole face pinched in at the nose. He thought about what he was told. He was silent for a minute or two.

"You... Ate the bodies of our dead?"

Fenris' head dropped sharply. Reaper could tell it felt ashamed. He could see it and feel it. Fenris always stood proud, knowing it was in the right.

"Hunger…" It grumbled.

"I think he eats those monsters." Jackal suggested. "The ones on the Utopia."

Reaper was quiet again. It was a lot to process. He was not ready to hear such awful things. Fenris tried to suppress its hunger by eating more harmless things. Panels that served the purpose of looking good. Cats because, well, frankly, it probably thought they were rodents. When its hunger got the better of it, it turned to the next best thing.

"Those creatures... They're called eos, aren't they?"

Fenris' head rose.

"Yes... Soul eaters." The words hung in the air like an everlasting echo.

"What are they exactly? Are they like you?"

"Valkyrie designed to destroy eos. They are food."

Jackal perked up hearing that.

"Hey, you could have told me that!"

"Eos ravage lands. Gorge until nothing left. Hunger is eternal."

"Why such a name? Do they actually eat souls?" Reaper inquired.

"Yes."

"So, the problem is deeper than we thought."

"Wait, you're not mad?" Jackal put his feet down.

"Disappointed." Reaper took a breath. "Fenris, you should have said something sooner. You have to eat to stay healthy, if you can't control your hunger then you could turn on us, right? Not just our dead?"

Fenris gave a shrug.

"Fenris sworn to protect humanity. Refuse to will wrath or hunger upon."

"Fen, weren't you having a conversation with someone during the jump?"

All eyes fell on Jackal.

"You did mention it." Reaper agreed.

"I saw you standing there talking."

"Yes." Fenris answered. "Contacted by... Sibling."

"What artifact?" Jackal shut his mouth quickly. Those were not his words. Not his voice. He barely remembered anything he saw and heard.

"Wait, you woke up during the jump?"

"Yeah. I heard a...howl. A wolf's howl. It woke me up, like it pulled me into reality."

"So, the malfunctions started sooner than when we were knocked out."

"I don't know. I just remembered staring into this shimmering white light. I saw Fenris there. Talking. He...looked angry." His lips pursed. "You were talking about an artifact."

Fenris looked to Jackal curiously.

"Well?" Reaper set his now empty cup down.

"Yes. Search for artifact. Must retrieve."

"Is it on B-58? What's it for?"

"The eos." Fenris looked to Reaper now. "Know not what it does. Must be used against eos."

"It must be vital."

"Told may stop them."

"Are they a threat to everyone, or is this just one area?"

"Universe." It let the word sink into their minds. "Eat all things until nothing left."

"Bible say anything about that?" Jackal crossed his arms over his chest.

"No." Reaper shot a glare at him. "However this may be God's way of telling us what we must do."

"How?"

"Perhaps it is all a test. A lesson to be learned to prepare us for what is to come. It would explain why we found the Utopia and why Fenris has joined us."

Jackal let out an obnoxious sigh. "We're the ones that found the signal and answered it. Fauriei insisted we take him in. I don't think this has anything to do with divine intervention."

"What about your dreams?" Reaper questioned. "I've seen similar to what you've described. Fenris is clearly not...like any life we've yet to discover. The good book has always described angels as being horrific, cosmic beings incomprehensible to humans." He gestured towards the valkyrie.

Fenris looked down at itself, a claw tapping on its chest. Horrific, it agreed with. Cosmic? A word it did not know. Angel? The last thing it could imagine being labeled.

"I think you're making delusional connections." Jackal said matter-of-factly.

"Brother Mimir said all things connect." Fenris stated. "Fate cannot escape."

"Someone who sees things like I do!" Reaper smiled.

"Ugh, I can't sit here and listen to this psychobabble." Jackal pushed himself up. "I'll be in my room if you need me."

Fenris turned to follow him out the door, only for Reaper to stop it.

"Fen! One second." Reaper got up from the seat. "This... Hunger thing. Will it be an issue? I don't know how long it'll be till we get to that planet of yours."

"No."

“One more thing. Keep the booze away from Jackal. No alcohol at all. Water is all he can have.”

Fenris gave a nod of its head.

EIGHTEEN

Despite all of the troubles and the lack of materials, everything had been going as smooth as possible. The Syndicate was still dead in the water, or rather space, but progress had been made. Certain systems had been prioritized for repairs. They had to keep the life support running at max no matter the cost. Next was food. Crops failed due to the power outage duration, making a yield less than optimal. The synthesizer had blown all of its fuses and some of the pipes had even melted together due to a fire. A team of fifteen engineers were on the job 24/7 with little they could do. Luckily, the Syndicate kept a large stash of MREs as emergency rations for a situation such as this. Ideally, they would be docked at a station, or a colony. That luxury was out of the question. The engines were still down, the core unpowered until the repairs for the cooling system were fixed. Maintaining the backup generators was a full time job, requiring two shifts of personnel to cycle in and out perfectly. These generators were meant to run for a short duration, a couple of days, not weeks.

Personnel were stretched thin. Not enough hands to go around. Not enough materials.