FOLLOWING THE TRAIL (part VII)

I returned to consciousness only in the orbital hospital, 270 miles above the surface of Khorat. My hip had suffered bad injuries — parts of the muscles were burnt to dust and it took a several-hours operation and a lot of expensive materials to re-create those bits. I had a lot of free time to reflect upon what I had seen down in the warehouse. Cultists in robes, strange writings and a giant picture on the wall: ten smaller circles inside a much bigger one. And Jerry Yun with a blaster in his hands, smiling viciously.

Now, several days later, I’m fine. My leg doesn’t hurt anymore. I’m back home, away from Khorat and its secrets, its cultists. And Jerry Yun is here too, in the office. He smiles when we make eye contact. I try to persuade myself that my memories are fake, just a dream, a product of stress and bumper doses of different medication that I’ve received in the hospital. No one saw him in that warehouse except me. And no one can even imagine that he might be capable of something like that. But…

But yesterday another artificial planet was found — HPL_MX. And Jerry volunteered to go there, to cover the first steps of colonization. It’s completely unlike him, especially after all those horrors we’ve been through. Our editor Jeremiah Cruck is definitely suspecting something. He barred Jerry from leaving Earth and is constantly watching him. Why HPL_MX is so important? Can it help us find the answers about that so-called Hollow God? I’d go there myself but it seems Jeremiah doesn’t trust me either. Can’t blame him, though, right?