I nodded then bit my lip and glanced down at Farris. “Give us an extra ten minutes we’ll be ready then.”
“Fine,” she nodded then turned away. “I’ll scout ahead.”
She departed and I glanced around locking eyes with Becca for a moment. She shuddered and turned away. I sighed then turned to Lily. “Stay with the others, I think I’ll join Ne–Janet.”
Lily nodded and I spun away, running after Neada in the hopes of catching her. It didn’t take me long to find her, she was making her way up a path that looked pretty treacherous. She didn’t see me, and was traveling eastward and I was facing north which gave me a good look at her face. She was crying. I’m sure she had left because she wanted to be alone, but I didn’t like the idea of our only guide falling and injuring herself because there was no one there.
“Hey Janet!” I called and she stopped, her head snapping to the side to meet my gaze. There were still tears on her cheeks and as if realizing for the first time that they were there she reached up to wipe them clean.
“Something wrong?”
“Fine,” she said then cleared her throat. “I just had something in my eyes.”
I nodded. “Mind if I join you. Two eyes are better than one after all.”
She glanced at me, and bit her lip. As suddenly as if someone had flicked a switch, her features hardened and her facade of cold detachment returned. “You said that the Qharr killed the mother of your child? I don’t mean to pry, but if that’s true you may be the most convincing crossdresser I’ve ever met. Most woman don’t look as good as you do.”
I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at her a moment, completely dumbfounded. I’d just assumed that Rayland had told her about my past. She was his second in command and his lover, I didn’t expect him to have held anything back from her.
“I’m not a cross dresser. I didn’t always look like this. The rumors you’ve probably heard about the Qharr experimenting on Lily and I aren’t true. I’m a woman now, but I was born a man. Lily and I… and Becca are hosts to something called a K’teth symbiote, mine transformed me when we first became joined and I’ve been stuck this way ever since.” I left the part out about Lily’s transformation, in my eye she’d always been a woman even if her body hadn’t quite matched her self-image.
“That explains why Dahl is so eager to be rid of you.” She studied me, she didn’t look angry or disgusted as I had expected, just curious. “I assume that K’teth thing is the reason for your… abilities?”
I nodded. “I’m surprised most people don’t take it so well. My own aunt trapped me in an interrogation and, well you’ve seen how Dahl reacted.”
She shrugged. “Major Patterson trusts you.”
“Major Patterson? You’re in love with the man and you call him Major Patterson?”
“I’m a soldier, it’s not appropriate for me to call my commanding officer by his first name. Then again it’s not really appropriate for us to be dating, is it?”
“Why not? I mean if he makes you happy? If there’s one thing I’ve learned is that if you find someone you really care about, you should never let them slip through your fingers. Don’t worry about what other people think or who you offend, just be yourself.” I said stopping in my tracks as my own words reverberated through me. Those words hadn’t been intended for Neada at all. I’d just realized what had been bothering me for so long and I knew what choice I was going to make regarding Khala’s offer. I just wish I would have realized it sooner.
“It’s not something either of us planned it,” Neada continued not even realizing that I had stopped. “There’s been this sexual tension between us that we’ve been fighting for years, but then one day I don’t know what happened we were alone. We kissed and… well I’m sure you can guess the rest.” She blushed brushing her bangs out of her face. “We’ve been hiding our relationship for so long it’s become almost second nature. I didn’t want to live with the lies any more. I hate pretending when there’s no one I’d rather be with. Now one of us will probably have to step down. I’ve worked so long and so hard to get where I am… I never thought I’d sacrifice everything for the sake of a relationship.”
I ran to catch up and she glanced over at me wiping more tears from the corner of her eyes. “Look at me I’m a mess. All I can think about is whether or not I’ll see him again! I thought I lost him when he went to go find you. I-I don’t know if I can go through that again.”
I sighed and shook my head. I understood now why Neada had been so brusque with us. “When I changed. Kaya, my girlfriend at the time dumped me. She wasn’t attracted to woman and our relationship was a mess even before I’d changed. Then we found out she was pregnant. It hurt not being with her, I don’t really think I ever stopped loving her. Now she’s dead and so is my child. I’m probably going to spend the rest of my life wondering what would have happened if I’d never been joined with this damn symbiote.”
For once Khala didn’t offer up any protests and I was glad for that.
“This is supposed to cheer me up?”
“If one of you die… at least you left it on good terms. At least you won’t have any regrets. I wish I could say the same for Kaya and me.” I paused then smiled. “Rayland is a good man. He could be pretty annoying sometimes, but his heart always seemed to be in the right place.”
She glanced back down the path and stopped in her tracks. “It’s been twenty minutes, hasn’t it? We should probably go back.”
I nodded and let her lead me back down the trail. We made our way back down the trail and she stopped me just outside the chamber where the others are waiting. “Lexa.”
“Yes.”
“Thanks.”
“Your welcome,” I smiled and together we returned to the chamber. It was strange, but I guess our talk must have done Neada some good from then on out it was like we were dealing with a completely different person. I was just glad whatever I had said was of some help. Neada had dropped a bombshell that day by revealing her relationship with Rayland and it wouldn’t be long at all before I dropped a bombshell of my own.
As we traveled I only grew more convinced I’d made the right decision. The problem was telling Lily… and my sister. Hopefully, once I ate humble pie Becca would be able to forgive me and Farris too. Things were going to change, to be certain, but I think it would be for the better. I hoped Lily understood, I didn’t want to lose her.
Our struggles were far from over, it took us more than an hour to finally make our way out of the caves and another thirty minutes once we got outside just to get back to the ship. It didn’t seem to have been disturbed when we found it, which was fairly difficult because the holocloaker was still concealing it. All we had to do was get inside and take off, but if there was one thing I’d learned since joining the resistance few things were ever as easy as they seemed.
Naturally, I was weary. Dahl’s rangers could have easily beat us to the ship and I full expected an ambush. We approached the ship and started up the ramp. I fully expected someone to jump out at us at any minute, but no one did. We found our way inside, and were almost to the control room when it happened. Corporal Jake appeared out of thin air almost like a specter rising up from the depths of the past.
“Shit,” I heard Farris curse.
I didn’t catch much of what Neada said, but I did hear the words “personal holo cloaker” escape her lips just before the Corporal acted. He had one of the coil guns, and he opened fire as soon the cloak lifted. I didn’t have time to react, I didn’t have time to do anything before the shots rang out. Then only darkness.
Chapter Eleven
There was nothing but the purest brightest light for as far as the eye could see. It didn’t hurt my eyes, but it seemed to be everywhere.
“Ooooh,” a familiar voice warbled and I spun around to find the doctor leaning over so that he was right in my face. “You’ve finally come to join us. We’re all dead and it’s all your fault.”
“W-what?”
A pair of hands pushed Vakrexid aside and I caught a familiar flash of red as a tall bearded fellow stepped into view. It was Strave. “She killed me too. Didn’t even bat an eyelash. Never even wept for me. I thought the two of us had something, but I guess our night together didn’t mean much.”
Lily appeared beside him, wearing nothing but a bra and panties. “I thought she loved me, but I guess not. She was too wrapped up in her own worries to pay me any mind. I’ve found someone better.”
Lily stood on her toes and Strave leaned down and shared a kiss. “Hey I want some of that action!” A new voice protested forcing Lily out of the way and locking her lips around Strave’s in a kiss.
“Kaya!” I gasped. “b-but you hate Strave!”
“How could I say no to a big, sexy, brawny hunk of man meat like Strave? God! Just look at him!”
“I saw him first!” Lily screamed grabbing Kaya by the hair and punching her in the face.
“Ladies, Ladies, there’s plenty of Strave to go around, but let’s not forget why we’re all here!” Strave’s eyes turned a deep and menacing red, his skin falling off in clumps as his body started to shrivel and sag. He thrust his arm out and pointed at me “She killed us.”
“Why couldn’t you just let me be happy? All I wanted to do was Fuck Matthew! What the hell is wrong with that?” Becca appeared, her skin was gray, and splotched with gangrene and her eyes were milky white. “Just look at me. Who would want to touch me, now?
“You don’t look so bad,” Strave grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.
“Back off, beardface, she’s mine!” Farris yelled appearing beside my sister yanking at her arm. Besides a few patches of white that stuck to his head in odd places, he was almost completely bald. His skin was the same gray as Becca’s and his whole ribcage was exposed and bleeding.
“NO!” A voice screamed and I spun around to find Khala standing there wearing a defiant posture. “This is NOT real, you must wake up. You must fight! You’ve been injured. I’m trying to heal you, but if you don’t fight this you will die!”
I closed my eyes and when I opened them again, the light had disappeared. I couldn’t see much of anything, but I could smell grass and feel the wind against my back. “Dammit, find the others! Kill them! Dahl wants them dead!” a voice echoed in the distance.
I was weak, my muscles refused to move despite repeated attempts, and I felt like I was being stabbed all over my body with fiery pincers. I tried to roll over, but even that was beyond me. “Khala” I whispered. “Do something.”
‘Trying.’ Her response was like a whisper on the wind and I wasn’t sure if I’d actually heard it or if it had been a figment of my imagination. My head was throbbing, and when I tried to lift it, the pulsating only intensified. I groaned and collapsed back to the ground.
I felt a small jolt of energy, burst from my under my jacket and coursing through my body. Khala, had absorbed the energy from energy cells in my guns. I grunted and groaned and rolled onto my back. I felt stronger, but not strong enough.
“Fuck!” a voice yelled nearby. “She’s still alive. What the hell will it take to kill these freaks.”
A coil gun, I could see it’s barrel a few inches from my face. I could feel the power emanating from his weapon and I jerked up and grasped my hand around it. It didn’t give me much more than the pistols, but it was just enough to get me back on my feet. I almost fell back down on my ass, but I gritted my teeth and tumbled forward, right into the ranger. He backhanded me and I stumbled backward, but I managed to yank his phase pistol free from the holster at his hip and opened fire shooting the bastard right in the face, needless to say he didn’t put up any more resistance.
I spun around, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I lurched, and opened fire killing two rangers with my initial volley. I narrowed my eyes, then let Khala drain the pistol empty, before lurching forward. Screw those fucking bastards I was through playing nice, they’d tried to kill me and my friends. I was through playing nice. I was still pretty wobbly on my feet, but with each powercell I drained it got a little easier to move. I dove to ground where one of the rangers I killed had fallen, and scooped up his pistol.
Something slammed into my shoulder, splattering blood all over my face. I rolled away, taking refuge behind a nearby tree and winced as the bullet popped out from my shoulder and the wound slowly started to close. I peaked around the corner and nearly got a face full of lead as the ranger opened fire. I cursed then swung around the other side of tree and fired wildly in the jackass’s general direction.
I heard him let out a particularly foul string of curses just before he opened fire and I was forced to duck back behind the tree. One of his friends tried to sneak up on me, but I caught a flash of metal out of the corner of my eyes and I planted my foot in his chest before he could get the drop on me. I snatched a second phase pistol from his waistband then leapt out from behind the tree, and blazed a path back toward the tree. I killed the ranger with the coil gun with my second shot than killed a second and third as I took off running toward the ramp.
I spotted Jake coming around the other side of the ship, and I had just enough time to dive to the ground as he raised a coil gun and opened fire. I squeezed the trigger on my appropriated pistols spewing out a half a dozen shots, but the corporal ducked behind the landing gear as they came zooming toward him.
I growled then dove for cover behind a small outcrop of rocks when he opened fire again. Every time I tried to come out from hiding the bastard would open fire again. It wouldn’t be long before he ran out of bullets, but I wasn’t sure I could afford to wait him out. The damned coil guns could hold a lot of ammunition and I wasn’t exactly in the best of shape. How many of his friends were lurking around a corner just waiting to slit my throat?
Khala drained the energy from one of the pistols and I tossed it over the rocks hoping that it would strike Jake, but unfortunately ducked back behind the damn landing gear, again. I dove out from my cover and Jake pelted my path with bullets. I was still too injured to get my full speed on, but at least I was fast enough to keep just ahead of his projectiles as they followed in my wake.
Finally, I turned around the ship and was out from his sights. I circled and came around the other side, but unfortunately when I got there Jake was gone. I spun around and found the little rat fink rounding the ship behind me. He didn’t waste any time, raised his rifle and opened fire the moment I was in sight.
I spun away and managed to avoid his initial shot, but the next one took me in the shoulder. A second slammed into my chest and a third got me in the belly, and I collapsed on my side whatever energies Khala had lent me to keep me going apparently depleted. I closed my eyes clutching at my wounds as life slowly drained away. I fully expected Jake to pull the trigger and end my life, but it never happened and I heard a blood curdling scream in its place
My eyes snapped back open and I propped myself up on my elbow. A figure was perched atop Jake’s inert form. She had a mess of short blue hair and if it hadn’t been for that I might have mistaken her for Lily. Slowly, the figure’s head rose and she looked me in the eyes. It was Becca. She looked so… primal like a force of a nature.
Our gazes locked and she simply stared at me, her eyes as wide as mine must have been. She looked surprised, I couldn’t have said for sure why, but it was several long minutes before she finally spoke.
“Lexa, I-I.” She paused, glancing over her shoulder before she turned back to me. “We thought you were dead.”
I collapsed back to the ground and let out a long sigh. “So did I.” I shuddered forcing visions of my… I wasn’t really sure what it had been. A dream? Some sort of vision? A hallucination?
“The others?”
“Fine… I-I think,” Becca replied. “They scrambled when you got hit. We’ve all been fighting off the rangers, but… it’s difficult keep t
rack of everyone in these woods.”
“Help me up, we need to get inside the ship and get it ready for takeoff.
“You’re in no shape to be moving.” She craned her neck and she turned back to me.
“Someone’s coming,” she disappeared into the trees before I could offer up any protests.
A moment later they were on me. They weren’t much of a threat, just a pair of rangers, armed with a couple of pea shooters. I let them think they’d gotten the drop on me, then Becca rushed out of the trees slamming into them with bone-crushing force. I didn’t even have to sit up, which would have been a nice change if I hadn’t been bleeding all over the damn place.
“Hand me their phase guns, would you?” I grunted, pushing myself back up which was a much bigger effort than I let show on my face. Becca complied, tossing me their weapons, a pair of pistols and a rifle, one at a time and Khala promptly drained each of energy. I gasped and stretched my neck, bullets popping out and wounds beginning to heal. I shuddered, then climbed gingerly to my feet. I was far from a hundred percent, but at least I could move without assistance.
I popped the power cell from the only remaining appropriated pistol I had that still had a charge then popped it into one of the custom ones Lily had built for me. There was no using toting the things around if I couldn’t use them. I winced, and took a few ginger steps forward before stopping where Jake’s body was resting. I felt a pulse, and bit my lip and look back at my sister when I didn’t find one. It was bad enough that I had human blood one my hands, but now my sister did too.
Becca’s face looked just a little green, clearly she’d realized what the look I’d given her meant, but she held her stomach better than I expected. I snatched Jake’s pistol’s from his waist and tossed one of them to my sister who caught it out of the air with casual ease. I removed the cell from Jake’s other pistol and popped it into the slot on my second pistol. I snatched the coil gun from where it landed after Jake had taken his fall and tossed it to Becca too.
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