Final Days: Escape

by Jasper T. Scott

  Andrew tensed beside her, his arm shifting as well. “We’re peaceful, and don’t want it to come to this, Belidar, but we’re also desperate. Take us with you.”

  Belidar stared at them. The two aliens behind him stood rigid, prepared to spring into action if needed, but he raised a hand, making them lower their flute-shaped weapons. “Very well. You have a deal, Kendra.”

  Her shoulders loosened, and she put the gun away. “Thank you. You won’t regret it.”

  “I should hope not. Let’s not delay this any longer than we already have. It’s time to obtain the fuel cell.”

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Roland

  The smell of burning bodies carried to Roland’s nostrils from the far edge of camp where the pyres had been erected. The sun had finally set on the longest day of his life. Roland’s arms were tired from cutting and dragging trees from the forest in order to create the burning platforms. Most of them had wanted to bury the Saints and the alien victims, but Hound had advised them burning was the safest bet, considering the predators.

  Roland wondered if Hound had denied the burial for a specific reason. The man had a flair for the dramatic, and a mass cremation fit that description. He was also removing the importance of separating the aliens from the Saints, lumping them into one pile.

  From what Roland could tell, it only elicited more fear from their colony. With Morris gone, having run off in the heat of the moment, camp no longer had the same feeling around it. But with Hound’s dire words from that day, everyone seemed to be in a state of shock.

  Roland stared as the flames rose high into the night sky, flames licking the air as if they could reach the stars. He was close enough to feel the heat at the edge of camp, near Eden Fifteen, and Tony hugged Val beside him, the girl’s tears fresh at the funeral. She was just a kid, relegated to a life no one should be forced into.

  Personally, Roland was a little numb to it all. He wanted it to be over with.

  Footsteps sounded behind him, and he turned to see Keller and Carrie arriving. Kendra’s sister was speaking with Jane, a woman whom she’d put in charge of inventorying their remaining food supply. Morris and the Saints had depleted their stock, but there was enough to sustain them until the crops came in. At least, according to what Roland was hearing.

  Keller’s eye was black, puffy in the firelight, and he came to stand with Roland. He stared toward the flames. “He destroyed Earth.”

  “Yep.”

  “An alien terraforming project, Roland. Can you believe it?” Keller asked.

  Roland thought about it. In all those months of researching the reclusive billionaire, Lewis Hound, he’d never once suspected the man could have been an extraterrestrial, but how could he have predicted that? Roland was a little over the top on some of his conspiracy theories, but something as ridiculous as aliens being among them and engineering the destruction of the entire planet was beyond even his paranoia. Now he wondered what other things that he’d disregarded could have been true. “I can believe it, after seeing everything we’ve seen. But, man… you worked for the guy for a decade. You didn’t see anything?”

  Keller actually laughed, the sound strange from the skinny man’s lips. “No, but I assumed you’d have figured it out.”

  Roland nodded. “The first time he drank milk from a glass with his finger would have tipped me off.”

  Keller laughed again. “I could have killed him. So many times.”

  “Then what? His people would have still taken over Earth and terraformed it to suit their needs. If you believe what Hound says, he’s doing us a favor here.” Roland crossed his arms, wishing the flames would subside.

  “You’re probably right, but it would have felt good.”

  “You might still get your chance,” Roland said, peering across camp toward Eden Five. Hound had entered shortly after his speech earlier, and hadn’t been seen since. His ship had arrived a while later, and there it remained, hovering above the station, lights aglow: a reminder that Hound was the all-powerful voice of the colony.

  “Enough.” Carrie’s voice caught him off guard, and Roland dropped his arms to his sides, turning to face Kendra’s sister.

  “What?” Roland asked.

  “This talk about killing Hound. It needs to end,” she said.

  Keller stepped toward her, fists balled. “You think you can work with him after all this, Carrie? God, I figured you were in love with the guy, but…”

  Her hand darted out, slapping Keller on the left cheek. He took the hit, but she wasn’t done. “Don’t pretend to be something other than a hired goon, Keller. You took sadistic pleasure in his shit from the start, and just because you’re on the other side now doesn’t mean you can judge me!”

  Others were staring toward them. “Stop it!” Valeria said, breaking away from Tony. “Carrie, if you want to be the leader here, you have to stop pretending that there’s nothing wrong with what Hound and his race did. And Eric, stop talking about violence.” She pointed to the burning pyres. “Is this what you want? Do you intend to be lying on that wood? How about me? Would you be okay with me, or Roland, or all these other innocent people dying in a pointless struggle?” Val left in a hurry, hands in the air. “I’m so sick of this.” Tony shrugged and raced after her, leaving the three of them alone.

  “She’s not wrong,” Roland said.

  Keller shook his head, glancing at Carrie. “No, she’s not. I’m sorry.”

  Carrie nodded. “Me too.”

  “So what do we do?” Roland asked.

  “We do what he says. He leaves, they continue to watch us, but we stop the fighting. We live, have kids, improve our camp, and we survive.” Firelight reflected in her dark eyes, and Roland saw the tears forming.

  The trio stood silently for a few minutes, Carrie leaving first, then Keller, and Roland was alone with his thoughts again. A dangerous place to be.

  He walked toward Eden Sixteen, then continued toward the forest. The Saints’ guards were no longer patrolling; the few of them remaining were near Hound’s Eden station, leaving the perimeter unchecked.

  What the hell had those other aliens been after? Roland was more curious than ever about the canister tucked in Eden Sixteen. It wasn’t very big, but it was clearly important enough to steal. Andrew had mentioned a creature similar to them in Hound’s lair, and Roland wondered if Hound wore a different face for each of the valleys in his zoo. Likely he did, making it all the creepier.

  “What’s your true form, Hound?” Roland muttered to himself, walking through the forest, heading toward the lake. There was no path here, and his footsteps were noisy, stepping over fallen twigs in the dark night. He stopped and looked about, feeling disoriented. He could still smell the fire burning, but from here, he couldn’t see the flames any longer.

  A noise rustled behind him and he spun, hoping like hell he wasn’t being stalked by one of the four-legged predators: the tigerwolves. A dumb name if I’ve ever heard one. And yet, they were deadly, and he was unarmed. What had he been thinking, coming alone out to the forest?

  Something gripped his shoulder, pulling him, and Roland let out a surprised bark, feeling a hand press against his mouth.

  “Quiet! It’s me,” Andrew hissed.

  “Andy!” Roland said too loudly as the palm left his face. He saw Kendra a few feet away, tucked behind a tree, and she moved from the shadows toward them. He ran over, hugging her tightly. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you two again.”

  Kendra grinned, releasing him. “Glad to see we’re still welcome.”

  “What happened while we were gone? We haven’t seen any patrols,” Andrew asked.

  Roland described the recent events, from him infiltrating the Saints to ridding the colony of Morris’ Communion water. They listened with rapt attention as he described the aliens’ attack, and how Hound had announced the truth.

  “We’re supposed to thank him for this?” Andrew asked when he finished.

  “I guess so,” Roland r
eplied.

  Kendra rubbed her hands together nervously. “Hearing the explanation finally answers our questions, at least. Better to understand than to speculate.”

  “And Valeria’s fine. She’s… coping,” Roland told Andrew.

  He nodded. “I know. I saw her earlier at the fire. Thanks for keeping an eye on her.”

  “I’d say you’re welcome, but she’s done a good job of watching herself,” Roland said.

  “She’s had to for most of her life,” Andrew said softly.

  “What about you guys? Where have you been?” Roland asked.

  “You’ll never believe this,” Andrew started, but Roland doubted that, after everything he’d seen. Andrew and Kendra told him their story, and he leaned against a tree trunk, trying to follow along.

  “You’re right, I don’t. If I hadn’t seen them with my own eyes, I’d call you a liar,” Roland said.

  “We need the fuel cell,” Andrew told him.

  Roland smiled, nodding along. “That’s something I may be able to help you with.”

  “You’ve seen it?” Kendra asked, her voice hopeful.

  Roland held his hands out, palms facing each other. “About this long, glowing with light?”

  Andrew glanced behind him, as if worried that something could be creeping up on them. He turned back with a nod. “Where is it?”

  “Eden Sixteen. Hound killed the operative who stole it and moved the canister over there. At least, I think he did,” Roland said, trying to remember if he’d actually seen Hound return it.

  “Is it there or not?” Andrew asked gruffly.

  “I think so,” Roland said again, without confidence.

  “Only one way to find out.” Andrew pulled his Beretta, slapping it into Roland’s grip. “Take this. We’re going to need all the firepower we can get.”

  Roland had never loved guns, but he’d been able to use them when necessary. Now seemed like one of those times. “What’s this about, anyways? You found the aliens, and they want the fuel cell, but why?” Roland realized they hadn’t finished their story.

  Kendra pointed behind them, and his eyes acclimated to the dark, seeing four or five shapes crouched among the shrubbery. His heart raced as he recognized the aliens from the valley over. “They have a ship.”

  “And we’re escaping from this rock as soon as we steal a power supply for them,” Andrew finished for her.

  Roland gulped, and looked toward Eden Sixteen.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Andrew

  “It’s now or never,” Andrew whispered, nodding to Kendra.

  “I’m ready,” she said.

  “Me too,” Roland added.

  Andrew turned toward Belidar and his team of four operatives. The aliens were clearly waiting for him and Kendra to take the lead.

  “Well? Have you located the fuel cell?” Belidar asked, his voice rippling silently through Andrew’s head.

  “Yeah, Roland says it’s back where your guys found it.”

  “It could be a trap.”

  “He’s right,” Kendra replied. “We need to be careful.”

  “Who are you talking to?” Roland asked, glancing from Andrew to Kendra.

  Andrew tapped the device on his head, buried in his overgrown hair. It was pitch dark inside the forest, meaning Roland likely hadn’t spotted that they were wearing the translators, so Andrew turned his cheek and traced the line of one of the metal legs of the device where it ran along his jawbone.

  “What the heck is that?” Roland hissed.

  “A translator,” Kendra replied.

  “It reads our thoughts,” Andrew explained. “They can use them to communicate with us telepathically, or at least soundlessly. I think it’s bone-conduction tech.”

  Roland gaped at him, and Andrew slapped him on the back. “Focus. Is Eden Sixteen guarded?”

  Roland shut his mouth and shook his head. “No. Not by us, anyway. The Saints are over and everyone’s busy gawking at the cremation. Hound returned to Eden Five. But...” Roland turned and pointed to a gleaming vessel hovering above the colony. “His ship is out here, and I’m pretty sure it’s set to shoot at the first sign of trouble.”

  Andrew scratched at his beard. “Hmmm.”

  “Maybe it won’t see us in the dark,” Kendra suggested.

  “Doubtful,” Roland added. “It’s bound to have all kinds of scanners. Even a simple infrared camera would pick you out.”

  “It won’t notice us if it only sees three colonists out for a walk.”

  “He’s right,” Kendra said. “Maybe it can detect us, but it can’t tell one person from another.”

  “What about your froggy friends?” Roland asked. “They’re bound to have different body temperatures from us. That will distinguish them on scanners.”

  “They’ll have to stay here,” Andrew decided. “Belidar?”

  “I heard. We will wait here.”

  Andrew nodded to him and then to the colony. “Roland? Lead the way.”

  “Man, I hope this is a good idea.” Roland stood from his crouching position and crept along the treeline toward Eden Sixteen.

  “So do I,” Andrew muttered. Kendra flashed him a reassuring smile. He returned it and looked to the somber gathering of colonists around the crackling roar of the funeral pyre. Long shadows danced across the field as the flames wavered and leapt into the night, sending sparks shooting across the stars. He hoped Val would have the sense to keep out of the line of fire if things went badly and they had to shoot their way out. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.

  Andrew’s gaze tracked to the hovering specter of Hound’s authority: his ship. The red half-moon cast it and everything else in a dim, bloody light. He hoped that wasn’t an omen of things to come.

  They reached the point closest to Eden Sixteen. Roland pointed to a ragged hole in the back wall. “There,” he said. “That’s where they broke in before. They cut a hole.”

  “And Hound hasn’t fixed it?” Kendra asked.

  “It hasn’t even been a day since those frog guys came and tried to steal the canister.”

  “Fuel cell,” Andrew supplied.

  “Right.”

  “So Hound just put it back where it belongs, without posting guards or bothering to barricade the hole that Belidar’s people cut?” Kendra asked. “That has to be a trap.”

  “Yeah, she’s right,” Andrew said. “We need a better plan.”

  “Look.” Roland pointed to Hound’s ship. It hovered to one side of Eden Five, across camp. The vessel’s engines began to glow. It moved slowly through the air, heading toward Eden Sixteen, as if aware of their plan.

  “If that thing spots us, we’re dead,” Andrew concluded.

  “Maybe we can stage some kind of a diversion?”

  “I have a better idea,” Belidar said, the voice making Andrew flinch and spin around, but the aliens were nowhere to be seen.

  “What’s that?” Kendra asked, her eyes also darting among the trees.

  A brilliant blue flash lit up the forest from within, silhouetting tree trunks and dazzling their eyes. Colonists screamed from the direction of the fire, and a titanic boom rolled through the sky like thunder.

  “Whoa!” Roland cried.

  Hound’s ship flickered with racing tongues of blue fire, and fell like a stone twenty meters to the grass. It hit with a ground-shaking crash.

  “Let’s go!” Kendra said as she ran out of the trees with her rifle in a two-handed grip. Roland tore after her with his pistol aimed awkwardly above one shoulder, and Andrew followed, hurrying to catch up. Flames leapt from Hound’s crashed spaceship, soaring high above the top of Eden Sixteen.

  Long grass rustled loudly as it scraped past their jumpsuits. They reached the hole in the back of Eden Sixteen and darted inside.

  “Go find the fuel cell,” Andrew said. “I’ll guard the entrance.”

  Kendra nodded and took off with Roland, racing down a narrow corridor full of pipes and machinery. This was o
ne of the engineering decks, but Roland didn’t recognize it. He suspected that it was one of the restricted levels he’d never been allowed to access. He stopped at an adjoining corridor less than five meters ahead, checking both sides for signs of trouble.

  “Which way?” Andrew heard Kendra ask.

  “I don’t know!” Roland replied.

  “What do you mean you don’t—”

  “I didn’t see them steal it! I saw them go in and then saw them come out. I have no idea where in this section they found the fuel cell.”

  The sound of hurried footfalls drew Andrew’s attention to the opening he’d assigned himself to guard. Belidar and his people came streaking through the grass, crouching low and moving fast. They streamed through the hole in the hull, one after another. Two of them automatically took up positions guarding the entrance, aiming out with their flute-like weapons. One of them shouldered Andrew out of the way. They traded glares, and Andrew gave up with an open-handed shrug. “Fine, you watch the door.”

  The alien nodded to him, and he withdrew, hurrying over to join Roland and Kendra. Belidar was there, studying a tablet strapped to his arm. There was some type of schematic on that screen with a blinking blue dot. He started down the right-hand side of the adjoining corridor.

  “I guess he knows the way,” Kendra added.

  “Good for him,” Roland replied, sounding like his pride might be hurt.

  Andrew was starting to wonder why the Froggers had bothered enlisting his and Kendra’s help if they were basically handling the obstacles themselves. Maybe they felt better knowing they had inside support, or else it was just an elaborate excuse to explain their change of heart. Maybe Belidar has a conscience after all, Andrew thought. Whatever the case, he was grateful for it.

  They came to a door that had been cut open like the exterior hull, and Belidar led them inside with one of his four operatives. They emerged in a relatively cramped spherical chamber with a hovering metal sphere in the center of the deck, suspended between two glowing pads with metal claws radiating from them. Andrew guessed this was Eden’s reactor room.