“Yes. This is as far as I’ll go.”
Allison opened her arms and threw them around her quickly. She felt tears stinging her eyes, and her hands were shaking like crazy. “Thank you, Queane, for everything,” she whispered.
Queane was hesitant, even confused at first. But, she relaxed and wrapped her arms around Allison. “I’ll miss you, Allison,” Queane said softly. “I really will.”
“I’ll miss you, too,” she replied between soft, contained gasps.
Just as they pulled apart, a crack burst through the air. The sound was loud, and Allison reached her hands up instinctually and turned around quickly, looking for the source.
“That was a gunshot,” she said hurriedly. She continued to scan the forest for their attacker. “Queane, you have to get out of here, now,” she turned to look back at her guide and friend.
Queane had her hand pressed tightly to her gut, and streams of red were spilling out between her fingers.
“Oh my God!” Allison yelled, rushing over to her side just as she fell to her knees. “Queane, I’m so sorry,” she began. Her ears were still ringing from the sound of gunfire, and her heart was beating wildly.
Queane tried to speak, but couldn’t. She collapsed onto the ground, a small pool of blood forming around her. She was still breathing, but it was labored. Allison wrapped her hands around her shoulders and shook her softly.
“Stay awake, Queane. You have to stay awake!”
A familiar laugh came from up in the tree above them. She looked up quickly to spot Ryan, still pointing his rifle down at them.
The sight of one of her own people surprised her at first. She had become so accustomed to the Samou, that it took her a minute to recognize First Lieutenant Gordon up in his perch.
“Ryan!” She yelled up at him. “What the hell were you thinking?”
"Well, ‘hello' to you too," he replied. "Hey!" he yelled over his shoulder. "I found Allison!"
She heard the footsteps growing closer. She knew that it wouldn’t be long before they were completely surrounded.
“Queane,” she said, shaking her again. “Please wake up,” she begged. She had begun to cry, and her vision was blurry. “Please wake up!”
She looked up, just in time to see five, fuzzy but still clearly very large, figures marching towards her. She heard Ryan lowering himself down from the tree, yelling orders.
“Take the blue one to Commander Peterson. He’s going to want to see this.”
“No!” Allison yelled, pushing herself up and stepping forward. She planted herself between the men and Queane. “She needs help! She’s going to die!”
“That was kind of the point,” Ryan replied, walking over to her slowly.
He looked so small compared to the Samou. She had grown accustomed to their large size and dark features. Ryan’s pasty skin and light blond hair seemed foreign to her, and his heavy, bold movements were harsh.
“Allison,” he said setting his hand on her shoulder. “You’re delirious. They’ve had you for weeks. You’re not thinking straight.”
“She didn’t do anything to you!” Allison objected. “Why did you shoot her?”
“She’s one of them,” he said bluntly.
“She’s my friend!”
"Your friend?" He let out a hearty laugh. "Someone is suffering from serious Stockholm Syndrome." He put his other hand on her shoulder and lowered his face to hers. His bright blue eyes were almost blinding. "You're coming with us. They can't hurt you anymore."
“They didn’t hurt me!”
He looked down at her ankle, the scars from the animal attack that seemed to have happened a lifetime ago were still red and raised.
“I don’t know what they did to you out there, but we’re going to get you back to normal,” he said in an almost soothing voice. He eyed her carefully for a second before adding, “although, maybe you can keep the outfit. It’s kind of hot.”
She wanted to scream, to curse him and tell him he was a pig—a fucking pig. But when she opened her mouth nothing came out. He reached out and took hold of her hand, tugging her forward. She heard the men lifting Queane off the ground behind her.
Hakona was right. The Samou were right. Her people didn’t care who they were, they only knew that they were different; they were the enemy. They were going to kill them, no matter what.
Chapter 16: The Truth Comes Out
“Oh my God, Allison!” Tory yelled as she ran up to her. She threw her arms around her neck and hugged her tight. “I heard that they found you, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. But, you’re here! You’re really here!”
Allison looked quickly around the camp. It was like she had walked into a different world. All of the trees inside the wall and immediately surrounding it were cut down. There were jagged stumps sticking out of the ground in scattered clumps around the tents and tables. The buzz from the electric fence behind her made her head hurt. She felt sad as she stood there, taking in the scene. It was such a harsh contrast from where she had been. It was depressing, and empty, and dying.
"Tory," Allison said, hugging her quickly then pushing her out and holding her at arm's length. "Where is Dr. Cooper?"
“He’s coming, don’t worry. I heard that they captured one of them? Is it true?”
“Yes, and that’s what I need to talk to Dr. Cooper about.”
“Was it awful? What did they do to you? And what are you wearing?” Tory asked. Her dark brown eyes were dancing back and forth.
“We don’t have time for that right now.”
She had seen the men carry Queane back to one of the tents on the far side of the camp—where Commander Peterson had his headquarters.
She grabbed hold of Tory’s arm and began leading her back to the military section of the camp. “We need to hurry,” she said.
“What’s going on, Allison? I thought you’d be happy to be back.”
“I thought I would be, too,” Allison muttered to herself under her breath. She wasn’t. She wasn’t happy to be back at all. She felt like an outsider as she marched across the depressingly desolate camp. Everyone was staring at her.
That, she was used to. It didn’t surprise her, either. She was dressed like one of the Samou, and she had been missing for more than two weeks. She was probably a very interesting sight, stomping angrily past them.
A few people called out to her, but she didn’t answer any of them, until the voice that shouted her name belonged to the person she was looking for—Dr. Cooper.
He was walking towards them, coming from Commander Peterson’s tent.
“I’m so happy you’re back,” he said wrapping Allison up eagerly in his arms.
“We don’t have time for this,” Allison said, pushing him back quickly. “I need to speak to you.”
“What’s going on?”
“In private, please.”
“Sure, we can go to my tent.”
He led her down to where he had set up his lab and research equipment. Tory followed behind as they pushed their way past the heavy flap serving as a door. As soon as they were inside and alone, Allison turned and glared at Dr. Cooper angrily.
“Where is she?”
“The woman who was holding you captive?”
“Where is she?” Allison asked again.
“She’s with Commander Peterson.”
“She should be in the medical tent,” Allison said quickly.
“That’s ridiculous, Allison. You don’t realize what you’re saying.”
“You don’t realize what you’re doing,” she said. She took a step forward and held his gaze. “Or do you?”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Do you know what’s going on, Gary?”
“Allison,” Tory said stepping forward and resting her hand on her shoulder. “What are you talking about?”
Dr. Cooper took a step back and stared at her. His eyes were wide, and his face seemed to turn a shade of pale she had never seen on him before. �
�Yes, Allison, what are you talking about?”
“You’ve been here before, haven’t you?”
“That’s ridiculous,” Tory chimed in, laughing a little. “No one has been here before, Allison.”
“You have, Dr. Cooper. You were here about ten years ago.”
Tory continued to giggle nervously. She looked back and forth between Allison and Dr. Cooper. Slowly, a heavy silence fell over them.
“You’ve only heard their side,” Dr. Gary Cooper said quickly.
“Because you decided to keep the truth from us. This entire time, you knew about Planet 48-Z. You know that there are other planets, just as inhabitable, nearby. You rigged the tests so they would come back negative. You rigged the entire trip, so we would have to come here.”
“We need this planet!”
"No, we don't!"
"There's something in the soil or the air, or somewhere," Dr. Cooper continued. "It's some element we don't have on Earth. It extends life, Allison. If we alter it just the right way, we can extend the human life up to 150 years! Maybe more! We've found the fountain of youth!"
“That’s why you sent the military back? To wipe out the Samou and take their planet from them?”
“It didn’t work, did it?” he said. Suddenly his face became hard as stone and his eyes small and pinched. “Because they killed them—every single one of them.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Tory asked nervously.
“Well it’s going to happen again,” Allison replied. “If we don’t release Queane, and get out of here right now—it’s going to happen again.”
“We’re ready for them this time.”
“Wait,” Tory cut in. “They’re going to kill us?”
Allison turned to look at her. She really had no idea. “Why did you think the army was arriving?”
“Because you got taken. Right, Dr. Cooper? We called in reinforcements because we wanted to find Allison.”
"Is that so?" Allison turned to look at him again. "That's why they were already en-route when I was abducted? That's why it only took them two weeks to get here? Because they rushed to save me?"
“What do you want me to say, Allison?”
“The truth!”
“It seems like you already know it. You have all the answers you need. So, the question is—what are you going to do about it?”
She let out a frustrated cry and lunged forward, banging her fists angrily into his chest. He pushed her back quickly. He was surprisingly strong for an older man. She went flying into one of the tables, knocking it backward and sending the samples flying across the room.
“Shit! Allison!” Tory said running over to her and kneeling down at her side. “What the hell is going on?” she yelled.
Allison pushed herself up, about to retaliate when a series of shouts distracted all of them. She turned her attention from her former mentor and ran out of the tent.
Just a few tents down, where they were holding Queane, she saw a group of men running towards them quickly. There was a stream of smoke leaking out from under the heavy fabric frame.
“Shit,” she muttered under her breath.
“What’s happening in there?” Dr. Cooper asked, appearing suddenly at her side.
Allison didn’t answer. She just broke into a run, as quickly as she could, in the opposite direction of the others, who were attempting to escape the ball of heat and fog that was quickly expanding.
She pushed her way into the tent. “Queane!” she yelled. The smoke was thick, and she couldn’t make out anything in the room. “Queane, no! You can’t do this! Not now!”
She ran around the room, feeling blindly in front of her. She had to stop her. If she changed then, the military wouldn’t hesitate to unload an entire magazine worth of bullets into her.
The air was warm, and she continued to search for her friend. When her fingers grazed against the rough scale-covered skin, she yelled out. “No! Queane, you can’t. Not now! Please!”
The air around them seemed to shake violently, and in an instant, the smoke cleared. She stumbled back, pinching her eyes shut, afraid to open them.
“I’m scared,” she heard Queane’s voice say.
When she opened her eyes, she saw her, still in her human form, standing in front of her. The dried blood on her stomach looked purple, and her usually glassy, bright black eyes were fogged over. There were trails of tears streaming down her face, and her hands were shaking violently.
She pushed herself to her feet and hurried over to her side. She reached out and took her hand, “I know. And I’m so sorry. I never wanted this to happen.”
“They’re in there!” someone’s voice called out from the entrance of the tent.
She turned quickly, scanning the room. It was Commander Peterson’s tent. So, the amount of weapons and guns just lying around was insane. She grabbed the first thing her hand could reach—a large handgun.
She didn’t have much experience with weapons, but she did know enough to make sure it was unlocked and ready to fire. She held the gun out in front of her as the men quickly made their way into the small space.
“Wait!” she yelled.
They all pulled back quickly and stared at her. Commander Peterson walked in after them. He looked at her with a tired, but amused expression. "You're not going to shoot us, Allison."
“I will! Let her go! Let her leave—now!”
“We can’t do that.”
Allison lowered the gun slightly and squeezed the trigger. The sound that rang out was deafening. “Let her go!” she demanded again.
The men all looked back at the commander, awaiting his orders. “There are a lot more of us than there are of you.”
Allison lifted the gun again, training the sights on one of the men in the line. “I won’t go down without a fight,” she warned.
Dr. Cooper appeared behind Commander Peterson. He set his hand on his shoulder and leaned in, whispering something quickly in his ear. Commander Peterson’s eyes lit up as he listened.
“So, you have information that could be useful to us, I hear.”
Allison looked back at Queane. She was still holding her stomach. She looked scared, but angry at the same time. She turned back to Commander Peterson. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. But, you have to let her go first.”
The commander looked back at Dr. Cooper. He nodded quickly. The commander turned back to Allison. “Fine,” he agreed.
He quickly barked orders to his men. As they jumped to action, Allison turned to face Queane. She took her hand in her own and began to lead her out of the tent. As they walked, Allison kept her head down. She hurried as much as she could, to put a little distance between them and the man who was to be their escort to the gate.
“Can you make it back?” she asked.
“I think so,” Queane replied.
“Good.” Allison looked up at her and squeezed her hand tightly. “Tell them to hurry,” she whispered. “I’m going to hold them off as long as I can, but you have to tell them to hurry.”
Queane nodded firmly in response.
When they reached the fence, they released Queane. Allison watched her go. She walked slowly, looking over her shoulder a few times as she disappeared into the thick forest in the distance.
She wanted to go with her. She realized that as she watched her leave. She wanted to go back to the Samou camp. She wanted to go back to her small cell, even.
Turning to face her people, she felt a sickening feeling form in her stomach. How many of them knew? How many of them knew their real reason for being there? She felt isolated and alone. She looked out at the faces, all more similar to her own than the tribe she had spent the last weeks with. But still, she never felt like more of an outsider than she did in that very moment.
“All right, then,” Commander Peterson said stepping forward. “Now that that’s done, I believe we have some catching up to do.”
Chapter 17: Taking Sides
“I wa
nt to speak to Tory,” Allison said firmly. She was seated in Commander Peterson’s tent, he and Dr. Cooper sitting across from her. They were both staring at her accusingly. It didn’t bother her; she was looking at them the same way.
“You can speak to her when we’re done,” Peterson said, leaning forward in his chair.
“I won’t say anything until I see her,” Allison replied firmly.
“What’s gotten into you, Allison? You were never like this before,” Dr. Cooper observed.
“I thought I could trust you before,” she shot at him angrily.
“You can still trust me.”
"Like hell, I can! I want to speak to Tory."
“First, tell us what you meant when you said ‘it’s going to happen again’.” Dr. Cooper said.
Allison crossed her arms at her chest and turned her head to the side.
“Answer the question!” Peterson demanded, slamming his hand on the frail, plastic desk separating them.
She didn’t say anything.
“You’ll have five minutes, that’s all,” Gary Cooper said, standing to his feet.
“What?” Commander Peterson interjected. “She’ll get nothing until she answers our questions.”
“I don’t think we have time to play her games,” Cooper said quietly.
“Then we’ll force her to speak.”
Dr. Cooper set his hand on Peterson’s shoulder. “She’s one of ours, Peterson,” he said firmly.
Commander Peterson turned and eyed her suspiciously, “I don’t know about that.”
“Let’s go,” Cooper said turning to walk out of the tent.
The commander pushed himself up quickly, eyeing her one more time before turning to storm out.
It wasn’t more than two minutes later that Tory appeared meekly at the tent entrance. “You wanted to see me,” she said walking in.
Allison looked at her, surprised at her scared expression and reserved movements. “Are you afraid of me?”
Tory walked towards her quickly, “they’re saying you defended that woman? Is that true Allison?”
“She’s my friend.”
“I’m your friend,” Tory replied. “She took you. She held you captive!”
Hakona: Dragon Warrior (Scifi Alien Dragon Romance) Page 13