Karrin Warrior Child

by Sahara Foley

  A few seconds later, a tiny body, clad in an orange life-vest, bobbed to the surface. It struggled toward shore, where it crawled onto land before falling face down, limbs akimbo. Several minutes went by before a heavy-set man showed up on the film. He walked to the tiny, prone figure, picked it up, and carried it off toward town.

  As Slick shuffled through the pictures, Claudia told him the small child was Karrin. Slick stared at her in shock, then squinted at the images, trying to make out more details.

  "Look, Slick, I need your help. You've been reading everything you can get your mitts on about outer-space. Does any of this seem familiar to you?"

  Slick shook his head. Though he had a hoard of books related to Astrophysics, none of them covered what he was looking at, now.

  Claudia grunted In frustration. "Damn. I be telling you this ‘coz something new got picked up by the satellites. They recorded an object passing behind the moon. My sources say it be a comet that crashed into it."

  She worried her bottom lip before continuing, "But, I don't think so. My gut tells me someone, or something, knows there be a survivor, and, now, they are coming to finish the job."

  In an uncharacteristic move, she reached out and grabbed Slick's arm. "There is something special about Karrin. I sensed it when I found her cowering in the cell at the Home. We got to save her. If someone comes a looking for her, you gotta take her to tunnel 60 and Inspector Taggner. Promise me, Ronald. Promise you be looking after my Karrin."

  Slick shook his head at the memory. He had never seen Mama with tears in her eyes before. Those tears elicited his promise to protect Karrin with his life.

  As Slick stood at the rust-covered grate and peered down the gloomy tunnel, searching for any indication of the strange man, he licked his dry lips. He wasn't afraid of dying, but he hadn't expected his death to be this soon.

  He bent and picked up one of the Laws rockets lined up against the wall. He turned it in his hands, studying the weapon. After seeing how impervious the man was to rifle and cannon fire, he didn't think his rocket would do any better. Still, he hefted the tube to his shoulder and sighted down the tunnel.

  Slick chuckled softly to himself. Oh well, might as well go out with a bang.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Lurga was fuming, fingers twitching where they rested on the butt of his pistols. Though he looked as thin-skinned as these Earthlings - beings that could be squished as quickly as a bug - it was all an illusion. Underneath, he still wore the armor-plated skin of an Ispepyein Warrior, impenetrable to any of the puny weapons these creatures used.

  More bullets bounced off his skin and another blast of the cannon threw him to the ground. He rolled over, coughing. The dust clogged his throat and nose, making it hard to breathe.

  Lurga growled and pushed himself to his feet. Ispepyein had a high gravity weight, but this much smaller planet was worse. He stood shrouded by a thick cloud of dust, trying to get his bearings. He was becoming, more and more, pissed off. An Ispepyein Warrior of his caliber shouldn't put up with this crap. Enough was enough.

  Drawing his Seeder pistol, he peered through the dust cloud to find his target – the ugly Peena-colored machine. Lurga never fired his guns until his quarry was in sight. He didn't believe in harming civilians, and too many Humans were milling around. Some appeared to be children.

  Lurga blinked several times to clear his vision when he recognized a faint outline of the boxy machine. He pushed the fire button on his Seeder pistol just as the tank fired with a deafening roar. Once again, he was thrown to the ground.

  In the house, a cry of horror arose as the shocked onlookers watched with disbelieving eyes. The pink tank fell into long, even, square pieces. A gold grid had sliced right through it. The tank looked as if it had gone through a french-fry maker.

  "Fuck, man, what the hell happened?" exclaimed Roger, one of Slick's men.

  Claudia was too shocked to reprimand him for using foul language in front of the children. Feeling a small trembling hand slip into hers, she looked down. Tanya stared back at her, her face white as flour, eyes shiny with tears.

  Claudia bent down and picked up her little girl, holding her close as Tanya softly wept against her neck. The woman stared at the disaster unfolding outside her door. Her heart froze at the choice she had to make.

  Fighting her own tears, she held Tanya out to Roger. “You two,” she nodded toward a burly man standing next to Roger, “take her and get out of the house. You gotta leave by the garage and head west.”

  “But, Mamma,” Roger protested with a puzzled frown. “If'n we leave by the garage, that fat man be seeing us.”

  Claudia narrowed her eyes at him, hating herself for lying. “Nah, he’s too busy right now defending himself. But, if you sit here jawing away, he won’t be. Now – get! Remember, keep Tanya safe and keep moving west.”

  Roger shrugged, and took off at a run with his companion, heading for the garage. They were just as happy to leave the death scene as she was for them to go. Her heart wrenched with regret for what she just put into play. “I’m sorry, Tanya, but I hope he does see you. Please, forgive me,” she murmured at their departing backs.

  Glancing around, she noticed she was alone. Everyone had vacated the house. Not that she blamed them. She only stayed around this long because of Karrin. Sighing heavily, tears threatening to spill, she pulled her rocking chair over in front of the extra broad, double doors.

  She sat, waiting, rocking back and forth. The squeaking movement was usually a comforting sound, but not this time. Now, each squeak meant death was inching closer and closer to her door. The wait wasn’t long.

  The wooden, double doors crashed inwards with a resounding bang. One door flew across the room, where it bounced off the wall. The other door hung crookedly from only one hinge, swaying, ready to fall off at any minute.

  Claudia’s mouth went dry, but the palms of her hands sweated where they rested on the arms of the chair. She tried to swallow around the lump in her throat as she peered at the chubby man standing in the doorway. She craned her neck, to peer around him, outside.

  Behind him, the ground was littered with bodies. However, they didn’t look right. They seemed to be melded into each other. Then, she understood. They were sliced and diced.

  Fingers trembling, Claudia took a small cigar out of the front pocket of her apron and lit it. She sucked in a deep breath and with a shaky exhalation, blew out a stream of smoke. Squinting up at the chubby man, she began rocking, back and forth, again. The squeaking of the chair the only noise in the room, or outside.

  Lurga stepped up to Claudia and held out the picto with the picture of his prey. “Where is the girl?”

  Puffing away on her cigar, Claudia studied the narrow end of the silver pistol aimed at her. No, it’s definitely not a toy. “If you shoot me with that contraption, you’ll never find her. I’m the only one left alive who knows where she’s hiding.” Sliding her gaze up and down the harmless-looking man, she asked, “What planet you from?”

  The chubby man smiled, which reminded Claudia more of a grimace of pain than pleasure. “I am Lurga Pukani, Warrior from the planet Ispepyein.”

  Though the words were spoken in a guttural growl, Claudia heard the pride and arrogance in their tone. Her heart fluttered in fear. She bit down on the end of the cigar, trying to calm herself. I’m staring at my death in front of me. Once he got what he wanted, she’d be dead.

  Over the years, Claudia had seen death too many times to be afraid of it. Not scared for herself, she was frightened for Karrin. She needed to detain this stranger long enough for her little girl to escape.

  Pulling the cigar out of her mouth, she asked, “You be a masterful warrior, then?”

  Lurga puffed out his chest and squared his shoulders. “I have been proclaimed by the Warrior Council to be the Greatest Ispepyein Warrior.”

  “Humph!” Claudia grunted, giving an indifferent wave of her hand. “I’m Claudia Giroux, Lurga, and I’m a Warrior
Woman. I do not fear you or your silver pistol. I do know where the girl is that you seek. But, if you want her, you’ll make a deal with me, Oh Great Warrior who makes war on a small, helpless child. So, go ahead, shoot me and see where that gets you.”

  Claudia held her breath, cringing inside. Will he take my offer, or kill me without a thought? Visions of her body being sliced into pieces filled her mind. Will it hurt? Suddenly, she felt sorry for all the potatoes she turned into French fries.

  Lurga stared unblinkingly at the large woman sitting in front of him. In all his travels, he seldom met other races that compared in bravery to an Ispepyein Warrior. However, he liked this woman. She didn’t show fear in the face of death. An honorable trait.

  As he held out his seeder pistol, ready to press the trigger, she said, “You don’t look like a Great Ispepyein Warrior. You look like a fat, spoiled baby.” Then, she snickered at him.

  The Contruda’s hand link translated her words into his earpiece. Lurga roared in anger, which changed into a deep growl that vibrated off the walls and every bone in Claudia’s body.

  Claudia shrank in her chair as she stared in shock at the seven-foot, gray Ispepyein Warrior, his rows of sharp, triangle teeth snapping shut. The small cigar fell out of her mouth. “Holy Shit!” She clung tightly to the arms of her rocker, trying not to wet herself.

  Over the last sixty-one years, Claudia witnessed the horrific things done by despicable people, but none of them took the cake to what she beheld now. Her worst nightmares couldn’t compare. This creature was so big and hideous she prayed he’d shoot her with his silver pistol than touch her with his long, razor-sharp claws or mouthful of triangular teeth.

  She shuddered, thinking about her flesh being filleted from her bones like the rats she used to clean. Or, her body being ripped apart, chunk by bloody chunk.

  The monster leaned over and stopped when his face was inches from her wide eyes, his head easily twice the size of hers. “Where is the girl?” he growled, sounding like an avalanche of ice and snow.

  Heart hammering in absolute terror, Claudia stared into huge, almond-shaped eyes that reminded her of a snake due to the pale blue vertical retinas. Her knees shook so badly, she clamped them together, so he wouldn't notice how terrified she was. I need to get a grip. If I don't, Karrin will die.

  Taking a deep, trembling breath, she snarled. "Get your ugly face outta mine. You’re nothin more than an overgrown snake-skin suitcase with bad breath. My sister dated uglier men than you."

  Claudia held her breath as she waited for him to retaliate, hoping her ploy worked.

  Lurga sniffed, the smell of urine strong in the air. The woman wet herself when he leaned over, but she still dared to taunt him. How odd he found her.

  He straightened to his seven-foot-plus height and appraised the thin-skinned Human. "You are a brave female, but you will die, regardless."

  The terrified woman let out a small sigh of relief as the monster raised his silver pistol. Thank God! At least, he won't eat me.

  However, being sliced and diced wouldn’t help Karrin. After working around her sister and cousin all those years, and the power they craved, Claudia understood she had to offer this fearsome creature a deal. A bargain to save her child.

  "Go ahead and make mincemeat outta me, but you won't be finding her. I hid Karrin from you." She sneered at him.

  Lurga scratched his chin with one long claw, not accustomed to fearless prey, especially when they faced certain death. He studied the woman for a moment. Is she the worthy opponent I have been searching for?

  "What is your bargain, Warrior Woman? Do you wish to trade your life for that of the girl?"

  The old woman huffed in anger. "Not my life, you hideous, gray bumpkin – HER life." She narrowed her eyes. "Tell me, were it your people that tried killing her afore?"

  Lurga's triple hearts jumped with excitement. This Earthling was not trading her life for another's, something he expected. She is my worthy opponent.

  Peering down the sight of his seeder pistol, he said, "Since you will die soon, I shall tell you. They were from a client planet, called Calen. When the thin-skins realized they failed in their mission, they hired us to clean up their mess."

  Claudia's face lit up with joy. "I knew she be special," she muttered to herself. "Hell, she might not be from this world. Maybe she’s a Princess, or…or a Queen! Imagine, my little Karrin, a Queen from another planet."

  "Karrin?" Lurga asked, the unfamiliar name coming out as a low growling rumble deep in his throat.

  "Yes, my Karrin, you bug-eyed, wharf rat!" Claudia's gaze snapped with indignation. “Why do the Calen's want her dead? Why do they perceive her as a threat? Don’t you be for knowing why they want to kill a little, harmless child? And, if you’re such a powerful 'Warrior’, why haven't you found her? Are you as stupid as you are ugly?"

  Lurga's fingers tightened on the grip of his pistol when his hand-link translated her words. "Your bargain, fat one?" he hissed through clenched fangs.

  "Look who’s calling people names. If you had a fin and a pointed head, you'd be a damn bloody shark."

  Lurga gnashed his teeth in frustration when Contruda couldn't explain what 'shark' meant.

  "My bargain, yes." Claudia crossed her arms over her breasts while she squinted at the shark-man standing in front of her. "How can I trust that a creature like you be knowing about honor, and will stick by our bargain?"

  "My word is my bargain!" roared the gray monster as he took a step closer to Claudia. “I always honor my word. It is the Code, woman."

  "Humph!" Claudia retorted as she tossed her head. "Men must be the same no matter where they’re from. Woman my arse." She slowly rocked in her chair. "Listen up, shark-man. Two girls are living here that could be the one you want. Both came to me as unwanted retards, which neither of them is. So, you, in your infinite wisdom, must choose which girl be the one you seek."

  The chair came to an abrupt halt as she leaned forward. "Here be my bargain to you. If, or when, you find either of my girls, you promise not to harm them." She held up her hand when Lurga’s mouth opened in protest. "Not until you find out who Karrin really is, and why she’s so different they hired a warrior, like yourself, to hunt her down and kill her. She’s just a small child. A sweet child, one I will gladly sacrifice my life for."

  Claudia started rocking again, a small smile playing on her lips. "Karrin has a destiny, shark-man, even you must realize that. I have done my part for her. Now, it’s up to you. So, this is my contract with you. You must find out her purpose. You must protect Karrin with your own life until she is returned to where she belongs."

  "What payment do you offer for this contract?"

  "My life," Claudia said as calmly as she could with her heart racing in her throat. She wasn't ready to meet her maker yet, but Karrin was worth the early trip.

  Lurga tilted his head to one side, thinking. It was not unheard of for another being to offer their life for payment, but there had only been one time when the contract had been taken. That was long ago, and by one of his ancestors.

  What about my vow to the Code? He telepathically contacted Contruda, asking what his options were in this type of scenario. When he received his answer, he growled in frustration.

  The only way to override the code was just what the fat woman offered. A contract whereby she offered her life for his prey. She had also brought up some very valid questions. Why are the Calens afraid of a small, defenseless child? What possible harm can she bring to them?

  If he accepted the contract from this Human female, it meant protecting the girl from her enemies. Regardless of whom they were.

  Hmm. Maybe this is just what I have been waiting for. Not only will there be battles with Calen, but I might have to defend her against other Ispepyein Warriors. Once Kargan hears I abandoned the original contract, his only choice will be to send another warrior – or warriors.

  He chuckled to himself. There were none that measured up to his s
tature or abilities. It could be fun, indeed. Do I want to be burdened with a small, female child?

  The minutes slid by without a response, and Claudia feared the warrior wouldn’t take her offer. “What’s your problem? Perhaps you’re not as good of a Warrior as I’m thinking.” She snorted in derision. “Those Calens will probably kill you as soon as you leave Earth.”

  The big, gray Ispepyein puffed out his chest, his snake eyes glinting with anger. “It is done, Warrior Woman. I accept your contract. Now, where is the child?”

  Claudia smirked at him. “Not so fast. You need to earn your payment, Warrior. Two girls left this house in different directions, so you’ll need to find which girl be Karrin. But, you can’t harm either one. All I will tell you is one girl left in that direction.” Claudia pointed toward the garage.

  Lurga remembered seeing two males leaving from that direction, one of them carrying something. He thought they were fleeing from him.

  He smiled down at the woman in the chair, causing her face to blanch further. “A game and a bargain. I accept, Warrior Woman.” His claws clicked together as he made a fist – palm up – kissed it and opened his hand as he extended it toward Claudia. “Good battle, Warrior Woman Claudia Giroux. You have been a worthy opponent.” He pressed the silver button on his silver Seeder pistol.

  Claudia and her chair fell to the floor with a weird sucking sound, in square uniformed pieces. One chunk showed the corner of her mouth, turned up in a triumphant smile. As he observed, sections of the chair and the Earth woman blended together into one bloody, lumpy mess.

  The bargain was struck. Lurga turned on his heels and strode toward the garage, heading west.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  In the garage, Lurga wandered around the packed room until he found the door leading to the west. He strode toward the doorway and clicked a button on his hand-link. Every living entity left an electromagnetic footprint. He just keyed his device to follow the signature paths that recently fled this way.