The exterminator

Science fiction by Aleksandar Žiljak, Croatia

Space port, rainy night. Lukas listens to the raindrops as they drum against the roof, pour into the gutter and gurgle, watering the Aldebaran vines coiling around the hotel in the firm embrace that is probably the only thing holding it from collapsing. The vestibule is becalmed in semi-darkness. Sleeping lantern-fungi, rooted all over the ceiling and walls, hardly smoulder.

It is almost two o'clock and the hotel finally sunk into silence. Even the Baglins in the room 131 quieted down, the merry band with their beer and frantic songs. Their ship landed three days ago and, as far as Lukas heard, they plan to stay for at least three more days.

Lukas rummages through the pile of mangas that he read and re-read long ago. Then he pours himself some coffee from a thermos flask. After all these years, he should be used to boredom and solitude of a night shift. If only some girl would drop by to take shelter before the rain, there's enough coffee in the flask. The girls are OK, if they're not drunk. But, the girls are working, crews are looking for some fun after weeks of travel across the black emptiness. And so, the solitude remains the only friend.

Suddenly, the door bell rings.

The entrance membrane opens before a tall figure in a black and yellow cape carrying a heavy bag in his hand. The figure stops, shakes the raindrops from the cape and then comes closer. Lukas caresses the lantern-fungus on the reception desk. It purrs contentedly and glows upon the Trinitian as he lowers the hood from his head, baring his elongated crocodilian snout. Lukas finds himself staring into those piercing yellow eyes from which nothing can hide and nothing can escape. The emerald-green skin shines in the soft lantern-fungus light as if slimy, but Lukas knows it's parchment-dry.

"Do you have a room?", the Trinitian asks in a low, cold voice.

"Only one, nobody wants it. A Regulan Ugotitsa is in the room above." They both know what it means. There's no chance that the room below a folding tank filled with 30 000 litres of water is fully dry. "I can give you some discount", Lukas adds quickly.

"I'll take it." Just as Lukas expected. Trinitians don't mind the wetness, quite the contrary. The alien passes his ID-card, Lukas takes it and as he scans the code matrix with the reader, the data of the new guest fill the desk computer screen.

"That will be 35 a day, with the discount included." The Trinitian nods his head and Lukas gives him a key-card. "Room 211. I wish you a pleasant stay, mister ..." Lukas casts a quick glance at the screen. "... Mikkah ven Strenenka-vah." Just Mikkah, Lukas decides for himself, it's easier to remember. The Trinitian takes his bag and heads upstairs, and, as the old stairs creak under his weight, Lukas checks the data on the screen once more and stops at the column OCCUPATION. The parasite exterminator ...

* * *

The girl comes near the end of the shift, a little before 8 a.m. Lukas never saw her before. Soaked through, freezing, staggering towards the desk, one of the many swirling incessantly around the port, hoping to grab the jackpot. This one wasn't lucky, Lukas decides as the girl approaches him.

It doesn't take a particular power of observation to see that she is under the Golden Nectar. A long time ago she must have been full of life, before drowning in the grey whirlpool of everyday existence in the port. The drug seemed the only straw, couple of hours of floating oblivion, and now a pale haggard ghost barely stands in front of Lukas, with hollow cheeks, blue bags under the eyes, purple strands of hair wet on the forehead. Neither first nor last, Lukas saw dozens of such sad stories. "A room ...", the girl mutters, barely audible. "You have a room?"

"Not a single one", Lukas shakes his head. The girl must have spent the whole night out, evicted from some other place. Nobody likes addicts, they are constant trouble. The girl stops, trying to figure out what to do next, and then almost collapses on the desk.

"Please, just for today. Here!", and she takes several notes out of her red anorak. "I'll pay, it's no problem. Just for today!"

"I'm telling you, I'm full", Lukas tries not to sound rude, but he would like the girl to leave. Trouble here, nothing but trouble. "Go and try somewhere else!"

At that moment, Mikkah comes down and stops on the stairs. The girl jerks suddenly when she notices him. The two of them study each other tensely for a second or two, and then her face contorts in a painful grimace and she bolts and almost tears the entrance membrane as she runs out into the rain.

Mikkah pulls out a gun under his cape and cocks it. Lukas jumps to stop him, but the Trinitian is already out, taking an aim and pulling the trigger. The dart from the gun hits the girl in her back. She staggers as she runs, her hands flailing blindly as she tries to pull the dart out. But, she fails and finally collapses in the water and relaxes, paralysed by tranquilliser. Mikkah approaches her and lifts her bodily. Lukas stares at him, bewildered, as he's carrying her back to the hotel.

Lukas opens the doors of the Mikkah's room. Without a word, the Trinitian brings the girl in and lays her on the bed. Lukas is not really happy about all this. The boss will not be glad if he finds out, but yellow stare tells him there's no use arguing. The room is wet, water trickling from the ceiling, soaking the walls, gathering in puddles on the floor. I really have to tell the boss to do something about that Ugotitsa and her aquarium, Lukas decides. True, she pays double, but still ...

Mikkah pays no attention to the water everywhere. He reaches for his bag, takes out some belts and ties the girl firmly to the bed.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"My job", Mikkah replies as he takes out a dark box from his bag. The box looks expensive, of some finely grained wood that Lukas never saw in his life, with gold inlays on the lid and sides. Mikkah opens the box, as if with reverence, and Lukas sees it's filled with needles, syringes and vials, all neatly arranged on red velvet.

"I really do not wish to interfere, but the girl is not a parasite."

"No, she's not", Mikkah agrees as he takes the syringe out and places a needle on it. "But she carries one in her." The Trinitian chooses a vial, obviously telling them apart. To Lukas, they all look same. "I'd like to know where she picked it up, that species is rarely encountered. It takes the control of the brain and permeates it completely. It works differently in different hosts. Some are not even aware of it. To others, it sharpens their senses and broadens mental abilities. In such instances, I usually don't interfere."

"And in her case?"

"Bad luck. The girl was already an addict when the parasite took possession of her. The addiction crossed to it. After that, everything was just one never-ending search for more drug. Down, at the desk... I felt it, and it felt me. The parasite can control its host, he made the girl run. Fortunately, she didn't get away. She's completely exhausted, she wouldn't last long. Several days, a week maybe."

"You're going to take it out?

"This is enough to deaden it", Mikkah shakes his head as he gives the girl an injection. "After that, it's easy to dissolve it."

Several minutes pass and Lukas begins to wonder if that is all, when all of the sudden the girl bolts, screaming from the top of her lungs. Her hands and legs pull at the belts, the bed squeaks beneath her as if it will collapse. Lukas jumps to help the Trinitian and they both grab the girl to stop her from injuring herself. They hardly manage to contain her. The parasite gives the fragile body an almost inhuman strength, but the injection works and the girl, covered in sweat, falls back into the bed and calms down.

Minutes pass in silence. Only an occasional twitch passes through the girl's body. The Trinitian's tense stare seems to penetrate her and Lukas wonders what does the parasite feel? Pain as the content of the injection kills it? Fear before the end? Helpless anger? And then, one more strong jerk, the last one.

Mikkah closes his eyes and rises from the bed.
It's over, the parasite is dead.

"We're not finished yet", the Trinitian breaks the silence.

"We're not?" If the boss finds out ...

"The healing will take a long time ... You will help me, won't you?"

The Trinitian's question remains hanging in the air. Lukas stands and watches the girl. There is a trace of calm in her tortured face, perhaps for the first time after who knows how long. We don't even know her name, he thinks as he removes hair locks from her sweaty forehead. Anyway, as if it's important. The girl needs help and Lukas' life suddenly has a purpose, becoming somewhat more than sitting at the reception desk night after night after night, in the semi-darkness of the vestibule, among the sleeping lantern-fungi. And maybe, just maybe, the solitude will came to the end.

"I have a field bed somewhere in the storage room", he answers finally. "I hope we'll find some dry place to put it."


Aleksandar Ziljak (born 1963)
is a science fiction and fantasy writer from Zagreb, Croatia.