by Pj Belanger
“I’m too good a soldier. I don’t have to sleep with any officer to make it, you asshole.”
Sure enough in the back of the hover were over a thousand arrows and three boxes of explosive grenades. “Where are they getting these from?’ Lio asked.
It was Talman that thought of checking the hovertruck’s travelpad. They both climbed into the cab. “Look at this!” he exclaimed as he fooled with the pad. “They came from Himpton.”
Lio turned the directional map toward her. “The truck came from the XLD company headquarters!”
“Those bastards!” Talman exclaimed. “I bet it’s easier for them to make the natives our enemies and then get us to kill them. It’s cheaper for them than having to pay for their relocation!”
“You heard Mulle,” Lio commented. “The army is also in on it. At least some of the higher-ups are. We should tell Captain Allen, I don’t think he knows.”
“You really think that will stop it?” Sarcasm dripped from his words and Lio knew he was right. “Let’s get rid of this truck. I know just the place to dump it.”
They looked around for the Chief but saw him way down the road dragging the golden bobbling light towards his village. “Guess we don’t have to worry about the King anymore.”
Talman drove for an hour; the lobos flew overhead following them. He reached a cliff that overlooked the Cicot River far below. They put a rock on the truck’s forward pedal and dove out the sides. The hover plunged over the cliff and sank to the bottom. “This is the deepest part of the river, good grave for them!”
Lio said nothing; she could tell Talman was upset. On the fly back there was no communication between them. A rain had begun, soaking the two riders. When the barn’s lights came into sight both were drenched. After landing, they quietly entered from the back side of the barn.
They heard only the stable hands making their rounds at the other end of the building. Talman immediately started packing his knapsack with extra clothes and rations. “What are you doing?” Lio asked.
“I can’t stay here. They’ll catch me. Kinsmen already suspects that I’ve been working with some other riders. Several of us are forming a group to help the natives. I’ll probably be killed but I can’t stand by and let them annihilate each village slowly. The XLD Company is too powerful. We need to disrupt their operation here. We need to let the people in the North aware of what’s actually going on. Good luck Lio. Leave as soon as you can. You know they will kill Moira - it is policy.”
She felt her chest constrict, emotions were whelming up. A now whole lobo rider looked at Moira. They would kill the beast. It was written in the regulations, lobos died if their rider is killed.
“Wait, I’m going with you! Let me get my knapsack,” she pleaded, afraid he wouldn’t want her to go with him.
Out of the darkness came Larson, carrying her knapsack, “Here Captain, good luck!”
“Thank you.” She actually hugged him, getting a hug in return, “and thank you also for not reporting on me.” He just nodded.
She followed Talman out. Five steps of the lobos and the two riders were gone. Both animals were screeching away as they headed into the night.
Larson watched them go, squinting at their silhouettes against the dark gray clouds. His tears mixed with the rain, “Thank you Captain, thank you, good luck.”
Thank You!
Thank you for taking time to read Soldiers One - Warriors of Misfortune.
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Also by Pj Belanger:
The Houses of Storem - Epic Fantasy
The Thunderstone
The Treachery
The Triad (just released)
Space Detective - A Skip Brown Adventure
Sci-Fi series
Murder on Nestor – Race to Death
Murder on M.O.S.S. – Medical Mayhem
Murder on Hilda – Slippery Slopes
Collection of Sci-Fi/Fantasy short stories
Sci-Fi à-la-mode
Available at all major online retailers
See more information at
https://www.pjbelanger.com
The Triad