“K’teth, I’ve heard that name before. During the war I remember reading reports of a group within the Qharr Ascendancy who called themselves the Edant K’teth. Anytime our troops came up against them, it didn’t end so well for our boys,” Mara said giving me a meaningful look.
“No, I don’t imagine it would have. The Edant, or the Qharr hosts, are capable of doing some pretty amazing things. They gain their abilities from their symbiotes, the K’teth, which is why they call themselves the Edant K’teth.”
“I take it you share these abilities?”
“More or less.” I met her gaze and saw the suspicion in her eyes. “You don’t trust me do you? I went through this with the other Mara too. She was… suspicious of my symbiote. She questioned Khala’s motives for helping me.”
“It’s cause for concern, certainly, which makes me wonder why you’re telling me all this.”
“I don’t like hiding. I’ve done enough of it to last me a lifetime. If we’re going to be working together I want you to know who and what you’re dealing with and I hope you would be equally forthcoming.”
She nodded a smile touching the corner of her lips as she looked me over. “So much like your father. Forgive me, I’ve worked most of my life in intelligence. I’m naturally suspicious of everyone, and unfortunately I can’t quite bring myself to trust this K’teth of yours. You say this being you’ve become joined with has motives which would suggest it is a thinking reasoning being. I don’t blame my counterpart for distrusting it, I feel the same way.”
“But,” she added glancing over her shoulder at Lily and Becca. “If it wanted to give us over to the Qharr I have no doubts that we’d have been met by a cadre of hunters. Still, I cannot for the life of me believe that this symbiote is completely on the level. No, for the time being, I will work with you.”
The look she gave me sent cold chills down my spine. She may not have shared the past twenty-four years worth of experience with the other Mara, but she was clearly every bit her equal. She had to know that my abilities gave me an enormous advantage against nearly any opponent, but she still had the confidence to give me an ultimatum. The Mara I’d known would have done the same thing.
She smiled and glanced back at Becca and Lily then turned back to me with a pointed look. “I assume that you’re not the only human who has become host to one of these symbiotes?”
“Just the three of us, so far.”
With that I stepped past Mara, moving beyond her companions and took the lead. I wasn’t feeling in a very talkative mood and it was probably a good idea if I kept my distance from her at least for the time being. She was a lot like the Mara I’d known, perhaps too much too much like her. It was unsettling to say the least.
A high-pitched wail so intense and so terrible shattered the silence of the city. Neada and fully half of Mara’s soldiers fell to the ground clutching at their ears. The sound was inhuman and it invoked the most basic primal instincts in all of us. I knew that sound, not because of my own experiences, but because of Khala’s. A brief image of a Qharr hunting party moving through a lush alien landscape tracking a pack of the beasts passed into my mind before fading away.
“Dre’ks.” I spun around looking for signs of movement. Thankfully, there were no beasts in sight, but then I heard the screams, human screams.
I turned to Mara and put my hands on her shoulders. “Whatever you do, don’t follow me. These things are almost completely immune to phase blasts. The Qharr hunt them with spears and knives.”
I leapt into motion, not waiting for a response or offering up any more explanation. I sensed, rather than saw, Becca and Lily on my tail, but I didn’t try to stop them they wouldn’t have listened to me anyway.
Another ghastly wail was followed by more human screams and I put on more speed knowing that if dre’ks had caught the scent of humans they wouldn’t last long. I came to a halt to get my bearings–Lily and Becca managed to stop in just enough time keep from bumping into me–when I thought I’d lost the trail, but then the screams came again. They were close this time, and I jumped back into motion–my two companions still on my tail–toward their source.
Just when I thought it was a hopeless case, we intersected the beasts’ trail and I shuddered as I caught sight of all the destruction they’d left in their wake. Once a pack of dre’ks took it into their heads they were going to do something, nothing would stop them, not phase pistols, not people and least of all the decayed and rotten remains of the buildings in the city. If the creatures came to a wall they didn’t let it stop them, they simply plowed right through it.
We found bodies as progressed scattered throughout the debris, but none of them showed any signs of life so we moved on. Finally, we came to the end of the trail inside a house just a few blocks away from our old home. We’d covered all that distance only to find ourselves right back where we started.
I didn’t bother drawing my pistols, I knew it wouldn’t do any good. Instead, I lumbered up the stairs at full speed only just managing to turn a corner without slamming into the wall. I heard growls and screams coming from the back bedroom and didn’t hesitate a moment as I pounced through what was left of the door. Three ferocious and very large dre’ks had a trio of kids backed into the corner of the room.
I had to do a double take when I realized it was the group we’d run into just a few days before. The oldest girl had a metal pipe clenched in her hands which she was using to fend off the beasts, but she was fighting a losing battle. Her arms were drenched in blood, presumably her own since dre’k blood had a sickly orange tinge to it. Her chest was heaving and she looked ready to drop, but that all changed when Lily and Becca came tearing into the room after me.
All three beasts spun around to face us and I heard Becca gasp as we got our first good look at them. They were huge creatures, the two largest, being close is size, at nearly a hundred seventy centimeters in length and the smaller approached a hundred-fifty. They had long muzzles with a double row of teeth and a pair of tusks on the side of their head. Their eyes were a sickly green and full of terrible malice. Their bodies were sleek and muscular and covered in scales and patches of fur. Their legs ended not with feet or paws, but with something resembling a thumb-less hand and each digit ended in a claw close to five centimeters long.
The foremost of the creatures, let out one of those inhuman and high-pitched wails. I brought my fist around smashing into the beasts head as it came tearing at me. It didn’t even blink, not that I knew for sure it had eyelids, but it snapped at me and managed rake the side of my arm with its teeth. I spun away and kicked it in the side of the head with every bit of strength I could muster.
That sent the beast tumbling away and crashing through the wall. I followed it through the hole made by its body, hoping to catch it off guard, but it was already back on its feet by the time I landed on the ground outside. It roared and slashed at me, but I jumped out of the way and it’s talons raked through the empty air.
“Khala, how the hell do I kill this thing?” I demanded from my symbiote, grabbing the beast by both tusks and sent it slamming into the wall of the opposite building. Despite our shared memories of the beast, I had no images in my mind of one actually being killed.
I heard roars in the distance, which told me that Becca and Lily, must be fighting the other dre’ks, but I was occupied fighting my own that I had no time to investigate.
‘Their throats,’ Khala replied. ‘Pierce their insides with something sharp and that usually does the trick.’
“Usually?” I gritted my teeth and leapt up in the air as the dre’k pounced toward me. “That’s so reassuring!”
‘They are resilient animals.’
“Yes!” I yelled between gritted teeth. “I’m finding that out now.”
I walked right into the wall and up its side as the creature pounced on me. It missed by mere inches, but had gotten so close, in fact, that I could feel it’s breath on my ankles. I
needed a weapon, something which I could use to kill the damn thing. I might be able to do it in by smashing it with my fists, but the beast would likely do a lot of damage before I was able to take it down. It was better if I ended it as quickly as possible.
I lumbered up the side of the building and lurched up catapulting onto the top of the roof. I spun around looking in every direction, hoping to catch a gleam of metal, anything I could use as weapon and found it several buildings over on what had once been an apartment building. The source was an overhanging balcony balustrade that had gone to rust. With enough force, I thought I might be able to break one of the metal pieces free and use it as a spear. The only problem was getting there.
I heard scraping, and I looked down over the edge to see the dre’k crawling its way up the side of the building. “Dammit,” I cursed swirling away from the edge. “These things just don’t stop.”
I went tearing across the roof, leaping over the opposite edge when I got to the end and just barely managed latch onto the edge of the opposite building’s overhang. I scrambled up over the edge and looked over my shoulder to watch as the pursuing beast found its way onto the opposite one.
I was one roof over from the apartment complex. There was a lot more distance between the two building than the last two and the jump would be a lot more difficult to make, but I didn’t let that deter me. I took off running, giving myself a greater head start then yelled at Khala. “Just when I reach the edge, give me a boost.”
Khala didn’t answer, but I sensed the symbiote’s consciousness stirring inside my mind. I leapt over the edge of the building and lurched forward soaring across the expanse, my arms flailing uselessly through the air before finally finding purchase on the tiled surface of the apartment building. My stomach impacted the side of overhang so hard that I was left momentarily breathless. I almost lost my grip, but I managed claw my way up the edge at the last moment.
I glanced back over my shoulder, and yet again I found the dre’k crawling across the surface of the roof behind me. “How the hell do the Qharr manage to kill these things?” I asked no one in particular. I was beginning to seriously doubt the sanity of any gray skin who willingly hunted the beasts.
The roof was pretty unstable, and each time I moved tiles slid off their seating and over the side of the building. I moved carefully, but that didn’t keep me from losing my footing and almost falling over the edge. Fortunately, I managed to right myself in time, but it was about then that the dre’k found its way across the apartment roof, landing just a few feet away from me before letting out one of its’ God awful wailing howls.
It might have been a persistent beast, but it wasn’t particularly graceful creature and its’ efforts to get to me resulted in three entire rows of roof tiles coming free from their seating and sliding down over the edge of the building taking the creature down with them. “That was close,” I muttered under my breath then climbed over the edge of the building and dropped down onto the balcony below.
I heard the dre’k stirring from the ground and I knew it was only a matter of time before it made its way back up the wall. I knelt down next to the railing, found one of the more heavily rusted portions of metal and attempted to force one of the bars free, but they wouldn’t give. I gritted my teeth and kicked the bar with my foot, the metal groaned in protest and I knew I was on the right track. I kicked it again and one of the weld spots popped loose. I grabbed it with both hands and with one violent jerk managed to break it free. I had my weapon, now it was time to use it.
The dre’k was just beginning to ascend the wall toward me, and when I climbed up over the railing and dove off the edge, bar held in front of me and slammed it into the beast on my way down. I managed to leap far enough away from the creature to keep from going down with it, but my weapon was flung from my hands as I tucked and rolled.
I climbed back to my feet, just as the beast came lumbering at me. I dove out of the way and kicked it in it’s side as it went tearing past, but the blow had almost no effect. I cast my eyes about looking for some signs of my bar and caught sight of it resting on the ground a good five meters away. The dre’k came lunging toward me and I jumped up, stepping on it’s head and rolling across it’s body before landing on the other side.
I lunged forward, snatching up my makeshift weapon from the ground and spun around to face the beast. It lunged at me and I swung the bar at it hitting it across the snout. It snarled, but seemed otherwise unaffected by the blow. It lunged at me again, it’s jaw snapping and I threw myself forward stabbing the creature so deep into its mouth that I just barely enough room to maintain my grip.
My blow proved pretty devastating, and the beast attempted to jerk back, but the bar was lodged so deeply into it’s mouth that it couldn’t break free. I kept my grip and pushed forward with all the strength I could muster. The creature let out one last shriek then keeled over dead as I thrust my weapon deep into it’s brain cavity.
I loosed my grip on the bar and grimaced. I wasn’t about to try and free it from the creature’s corpse. It was lodged in there pretty good, but I needed something if I was going to help fight off the other two dre’ks, assuming Lily and Becca hadn’t dealt with the damn things already. I glanced up at the balcony and pursed my lips, there were always more where the first one came from.
I managed to pry loose another bar from the railing before making my way back to the house where I found another dre’k corpse. It didn’t have any obvious puncture wounds, but I only did a cursory examination before I heard the wail. I lurched forward, zooming through the city’s streets traveling nearly an entire block before I found the source of the sound. It was the third dre’k and it was doing an amazing job of fending off Becca and Lily who were pounding at the beast relentlessly.
Neither my sister nor my lover had taken note of me just yet, but that was about to change. I entered the fray at full velocity, and with a bit of a boost from Khala went soaring up in the air only to come slamming down a moment later my makeshift spear held out in front of me. The weapon actually managed to pierce the beast’s skin, but it did little to slow the creature. I yanked my weapon free from the creature’s side then spun away as it snapped at me.
“Becca, Lily,” I grinned at the pair who paused a moment to gawk at me. I ran up along the side of the beast and hit it with my bar as hard as I could where I’d pierced the skin. It shrieked and swung its tail around slamming it into my ankles and sending me flying away. The weapon slipped through my fingers and I heard it clang against the hard concrete somewhere behind me.
I was back on my feet in an instant, but the beast was already on top of me. It’s big muzzle was right in my face, and I shoved it away, planting a fist inside its eye socket. It roared and jerked back, swinging around to whip me with it’s tail a second time. I jumped back, only barely managing to keep from getting hit and spun away looking all over for my weapon.
“Lily! Becca!” I screamed. “Find the damn bar!”
The dre’k came charging toward me and this time I wasn’t able to dive out of the way. It’s tusks tore into my side pinning me against a piece of debris. I screamed hitting it in the snout with blow after blow. My attacks proved powerful enough to prompt the creature to pull away and I collapsed on my side clutching at my wound. I was only on the ground a moment, but when I rolled back onto my feet the creature had moved on.
Lily was battling the dre’k alone, and was doing a good job of keeping it occupied. I couldn’t see Becca, but I was sure she was still looking for the rod. I winced as my bones creaked and snapped back into place then I went lumbering across the street toward Lily and the beast.
I drew my phase pistols, and opened fire. They didn’t do a damn bit of good against the dre’k, but the bright flashes from the phase blasts distracted the damn thing long enough to get it off Lily’s back. I tucked my guns back into their holsters and came rushing back into the fight my fists beating into the side of the beast’s head
.
It lunged at me and I jumped back doing a back-flip. Lily charged the beast slamming her fists into its side. Again, it shrugged off the attacks and I went charging at it with arms swinging. The beast swirled around and met me its’ massive jaws opened. Its’ gnashing teeth clomped down on my wrist and didn’t let go.
She came bursting onto the scene with speed that only a bonded human could matched, leapt up into the air and slammed into the beast with a the rod in her hands. The weapon pierced the skin of the dre’ks leg and it released its hold on my arm screeching in pain. She yanked the weapon free, then jumped forward and forced the bar into the creature’s eye socket. It roared again, rearing back, but Becca was relentless she kept at it and with one last thrust the creature let out one final groan and collapsed dead at my sister’s feet.
“Holy hell,” Becca said tossing the bar aside. “The Qharr actually hunt those things?”
‘It was a worthy hunt.’ A disembodied voice said and I stopped to glance at my sister. Her symbiote had spoken.
“Worthy isn’t the word I’d use.” I winced, bringing up my arm in front of my face just in time to watch the wound close.
“Let’s get back to those kids. That girl looked like she was in pretty rough shape.”
I spun around, intent on doing just that, but stopped dead in my tracks when I spotted figures moving in the distance. I had my pistols in my almost immediately. My gut told me it was probably Janet, Mara and the group of E.R.F. soldiers, but it never hurt to be cautious.
I watched them approach motioning for the others to get down as I steadily crawled my way through the ruins. Becca and Lily followed, much to my irritation, but I didn’t want to give us away so I didn’t say a word. I tried motioning at them, but Lily and Becca merely shared a nearly identical look of defiance. I glowered at them and rounded a corner. I let out a sigh of relief and leapt back onto my feet, my guns slipping back into my holsters as I approached Mara and her group.
Battle For Earth Page 49