Alien Storm

by Ken Bebelle

  As if on cue, they converged on him. Stranded in the middle of the street, he had nowhere to go. No cover to take. Keenan crouched, gritted his teeth, and took aim at the nearest Hunter. One, two, three Hunters fell to the alien rifle. The cold crept up the back of his neck now, setting his teeth to chattering. I can’t keep this up.

  He risked a look down to the artifact in his hand. The pulsing light was weaker now. This is our best hope. Keenan let the blaster drop and slapped his hand onto the artifact again. Sucking, agonizing cold ran up his arm again, pulling a scream from him. The humming vibration set into his chest again, threatening to knock him down. He dropped the artifact, his hand and arm numb to the shoulder.

  Harding locked eyes with him, even as the quiet man kept firing his rifle. Keenan gave a quick shake of his head and swung the blaster off his back. Harding's eyes stayed flat and unreadable as he returned his attention to the oncoming Hunters. So much for our last hope.

  Keenan set his sights on the next Ringhead, unable to keep his weapon from trembling now. The crippling cold sucked the breath from his lungs and he collapsed into a ball on the street. Fatigue blanketed him like snow and his eyes drooped. Through half-closed eyes he saw a pair of armored feet land in a neat, cat-like crouch next to his head.

  He looked up. The figure loomed above him, sleek and covered in alien armor, but humanoid. Feminine. He recognized the lines of her neck and her face. His heart sang. Cam. He closed his eyes, spent.

  Twenty

  The Hard Way

  Desert air whistled past her helmet as she fell from the jumpship like a stone. As the ground rushed up to meet her Cam saw Keenan in the middle of the rubble. Her vision narrowed, tunneling down to his body. Even from above she recognized the familiar stance he took with the rifle. He stood over another man in light armor, unconscious or dead on the ground.

  Around him, Hunters closed in a tightening iris. Cam tensed, an urge to howl in frustration. If only she had a rifle. She could only watch as Keenan fired again and again, the alien energy taking down one Hunter, then another. She knew it was hopeless. Cam willed herself to fall faster.

  Her legs tensed and AJ hardened the armor around her legs and hips. Below her Keenan dropped to his knees, clutching his arms to his chest. The Hunters closed in.

  “No!” Her anguished scream echoed in her helmet.

  The concrete slammed into her feet and Cam collapsed into a crouch, the suit around her legs creaking and flexing to absorb the impact. Puffs of mist and chips of ice scattered around her as the exterior layer of her armor shattered. A sickening wave of nausea washed over Cam as her guts came to a jarring stop. She coughed and the smell of bile and sick flooded her helmet. Gagging, she allowed the visor to melt away, feeling the baked desert air flow over her face. This wasn’t the homecoming she’d imagined.

  Cam stood slowly. Her legs seemed to be working just fine. The nausea faded, and the sight of over a dozen Hunters in front of her snapped her attention up. In the corner of her eye Keenan slumped to the ground, the Ringhead rifle clattering to the asphalt. Cam reached within herself, finding the diamond hard, cold center of energy, and pulled her swords. White mist spilled off the blades, glowing pale blue from within the ice. Cam turned in a slow circle, the Hunters edging in from all directions. The sounds of pitched battle drifted in from beyond the shattered buildings.

  Ice white mist arced around her in twin fans as Cam whirled into the nearest Hunter, whipping both blades around in a lateral strike. The left blade severed the Hunter’s arm at the elbow and the right blade dug into its abdomen with a wet, meaty thump. Alien gore sprayed across Cam’s face, the blood crackling in the cold. The Hunter twitched and jerked, nearly ripping the sword from her hand. Cam pulled her arms in and planted a boot on the alien’s chest, kicking forward to pull her blade free. Blood ran freely from the gaping mouth of the wound as the Hunter collapsed, a tangle of ungainly limbs.

  A red haze dropped over Cam’s eyes as she bellowed and vaulted into the next Ringhead. A primal need to hit, to punch, to hack and kill screamed from the center of her gut. She moved like wildfire through the Hunters, shedding their blows like water even as she mowed them down like tall grass. Ringhead blood spattered the concrete in a grisly rain. More Hunters poured into the street from the surrounding buildings. Still the sight of Keenan slumped on the street drove her forward, rage and grief powering her swords through mighty arcs.

  The bloody detritus of more than a dozen Hunters sprawled on the street around Keenan’s body. Cam wasn’t even breathing hard yet but smoking holes and craters pocked her left sword. Cam dropped the ruined sword and picked up Keenan’s Ringhead rifle in her left hand. A freezing thrill of energy rushed up her arm as she made contact. She shivered from the sensation and pleasure that accompanied it. The remaining Hunters approached slowly now.

  “C’mon you assholes! What are you waiting for!?”

  A strangely flat and slurred voice came from behind her, accompanied by the whine of a plasma rifle charging. “Identify yourself.”

  Cam turned to find the man in the light armor now propped up on a shattered street light, his plasma rifle aimed up at her. The end of the rifle wavered slowly, but his eyes shone sharp and bright. His clothes made him out as a civilian playing soldier, but Cam recognized the tattoo on his arm. This man was a marine. A killer. Cam’s eyes darted to the Hunters and then back to the marine. There wasn’t time to explain.

  The barrel of the man’s rifle dipped and a discharge of plasma thundered past Cam’s shoulder, bathing her in white heat as it passed. Cam whipped around in time to see a Hunter behind her tipping backwards, its neck a ruin of charred meat.

  The man spoke again. “Watch yer sixsh. Identify yersef.”

  He sounded like he had a concussion.

  On instinct, she said, “Lieutenant Alvarez. Dub Team Alpha.” As soon as those words left her, she blinked. Everyone on the team was dead except for her and Jonesy. The ugly taste of shame filled her mouth. Jonesy. She’d left him behind. The world lost focus for Cam and her eyes fell to Keenan on the ground. Cam swallowed hard, her throat suddenly too tight. Her legs shook, threatening to buckle beneath her.

  AJ zapped her, cold prickles running up and down her back and neck. Cam shook briefly, like a wet dog clearing its ears. Pull yourself together, soldier.

  Tattoo tilted his blaster away from her, though his gaze remained at the ready.

  A familiar voice rang out from down the street, from behind the encroaching Hunters. A sickening pit opened in Cam’s gut as the voice called out to her. “Cam! Mother says you need to stop! Now.”

  Cam tore her eyes away from the marine and looked past the Hunters. The sight of Jonesy and his alien arm ripped a jagged line of despair across her heart. Joy and anguish clashed inside her, seeing him alive but rebuilt with alien tech. His outstretched arm looked to be raised in greeting, if not for the glowing pulse of energy building in his hand.

  Jonesy said, “Mother says you’re to come back with us. Do it now. Don’t make me put you down. Do it and we’ll even let Keenan be.”

  Keenan. Jonesy. My family.

  Her breathing deepened, a small core of calm spreading in her chest like an ocean of still water. Rigid resolve sprang up around her heart like armor plate. The Ringheads were not going to take away any more of her family. Never again.

  Cam spared a quick glance to the marine. “Watch my back. Protect Keenan.” At his nod she lifted her sword towards Jonesy, her visor flowing back over her face. “He’s mine.”

  Frost bloomed along her left arm as Cam raised the alien rifle and laid down withering cover fire. Dazzling bolts of blue energy arced across the street, slamming into the nearest Hunters. Cam took off at a run, following in the wake of destruction. The arcane energy danced and forked from target to target, splintering off and chewing up the asphalt and blowing out street lamps. The remaining Hunters fell before the onslaught, the energy bursting them apart like rotten fruit. As she got closer to
Jonesy, she could feel the chilling wave of the surrounding iceboxes. AJ vibrated around her legs, but Cam stayed in motion, too focused to slow down. Her sword took off a Hunter at the knees and she vaulted over its falling body, launching herself at Jonesy.

  Jonesy hadn’t budged. His quiet, relaxed stance didn’t change as he loosed the massive ball of energy in his hand. A solid beam of force leapt out of his hand, crossing the distance to Cam in an eyeblink. It slammed into the left side of Cam’s chest, hitting her like a semi truck, flipping her end over end in the air. The sky and ground swapped places with nauseating speed and the street reached up and slammed her in the face.

  Cam groaned, starbursts filling her vision. Blood trickled from her nose to her lips from where her face had smashed into the visor. Footsteps approached her, rough sounds on the loose gravel. Get up! She tried to get her arms under her to push up and a hot lance of pain speared her left shoulder. She rolled instead and screamed, her left arm flopping bonelessly at her side, the dislocated joint grinding and scraping.

  The footsteps stopped and Cam looked up at Jonesy. His biomech arm reached down and gripped her helmet. He dragged her up and she screamed again at the agony in her shoulder. The pain made even thinking impossible.

  Jonesy shook her like a rag doll. Her arm was a thousand pounds of bright pain, pulling her into madness.

  “Always gotta do it the hard way, don’t you, LT?”

  He hauled back and punched her in the gut. Her breath exploded out of her, spraying the inside of her visor with spit and blood.

  He punctuated each statement with another strike. “Be a good soldier. Keep fighting. Follow orders. For what?!” His voice escalated in volume as he raged at her. “More pain?”

  AJ sent an cool wave of sensation around her visor and around the back of her neck, a weak trickle compared to what Cam usually got from AJ. Cam blinked. She must have blacked out. Jonesy continued to pummel her and her vision swam.

  Jonesy paused and looked at her, head tilting to the side. “Such a waste.”

  His biomech hand began glowing, the light beating against her face. Cam’s hair stood on end as energy crackled around her head.

  A violet plasma blast slammed into the side of Jonesy’s head, rocking him to the side. Hot plasma dripped off his armor like wet paint. A look of irritation passed over Jonesy’s face. Cam tried to turn her head inside the helmet and saw the marine out of the corner of her eye. He lay prone over Keenan, the barrel of the rifle smoking. Blood painted half his face garish red from a slash across his cheek. Dark stains dotted his uniform.

  Jonesy sighed. He pulled Cam in close, shifting her to a choke hold with his other arm. His biomech hand continued to glow brighter and he aimed it at Keenan and the marine.

  Cam’s eyes widened, her heart pounding out of her chest. “Jonesy! Stop!”

  She flailed her good arm, struggling to break Jonesy’s iron grip. “Don’t do this!”

  The energy built to a peak, a crushing pressure Cam felt in her lungs. She kicked her legs, her good hand scrabbling at Jonesy’s arm.

  Jonesy turned to look at her, his eyes flat and dead. “Sorry, Cam.”

  Fury and heartbreak raged inside her, rending her soul, tearing through her heart like a knife. She couldn’t save Jonesy. She couldn’t save Keenan.

  No!

  A primal scream ripped forth from her lungs and Cam jack-knifed her body up, hooking her legs around Jonesy’s extended arm. Pain flared in her arm again, but it seemed a small, distant thing now. Even as they threatened to topple over Cam scissored her legs, trying to break Jonesy’s arm. Jonesy was fighting back now, trying to pull his arm free. Cam felt her legs winning, and with a sound like metal rending, his arm bent back at the elbow.

  Jonesy roared, just as the energy in his hand discharged, the beam of light digging a trench in the macadam the length of the roadway, missing Keenan and the marine by inches. In that instant Cam squirmed loose from his chokehold and released her legs, dropping to the ground.

  The cold certainty rose up within her again. This time, instead of going to that cold power, she called to it, welcoming it into her being. This is who she was now. Not human. Not Ringhead. Something different and stronger. Something strong enough to protect her family.

  Energy from the nearby iceboxes streamed into her as she opened the mental floodgates. Her armor rebuilt itself in seconds, encasing her body in blissful cold, popping her shoulder back into place with a moment of sweet agony. AJ pulsed gently, tightening around her rib cage, numbing the pain in her gut. Cam retracted her visor and stood, breathing deeply of the cold mist cascading off her body. Each breath streamed down her throat and lungs, filling her with strength.

  Jonesy clutched his broken arm, staring wide-eyed as the ice continued to grow on her armor. Gleaming knuckles and claws covered her hands. Deadly spikes extended from her elbows and shoulders. Cam looked at her arms with equal parts wonder and horror.

  Across the street, a figure ran out of dark alley, skidding to a stop. Cam’s heart leapt at the sight. Mack! He’s alive! Mack’s eyes took in the scene, darting from Cam, to Jonesy, and back, confusion and fear clear on his face, and Cam’s heart broke a little more.

  A scream beside her and Jonesy was on her again, pounding with his useless right arm. Cam reared back, bringing her arms up to block the blows, her movements quick and fluid. She danced back, away from his frenzied rage. Her mind was clear, clearer than ever before. Her movements flowed like water around a rock, keeping Jonesy back like he was a small child. Her claws lashed out, giving him wounds at the joints, nicking his tendons, slowing him down but fueling his anger.

  With a roar, Jonesy threw himself against her and Cam saw her opening. Time slowed as Jonesy lunged, leaving himself painfully exposed. Cam reached under his strike and wrapped her claws around the base of his biomech arm. Jonesy’s eyes showed only a moment of panic as he realized his mistake before Cam clenched her fist and ripped the prosthesis off. The biomech cables crumpled under her fingers and as she yanked bloody cords connecting the arm to him pulled out of his stump. The cords writhed and twisted like blind snakes.

  Jonesy screamed, his eyes wild. He kicked Cam in the gut, backing away, the biomech arm dangling like a dead marionette. Cam advanced on him, relentless, even as tears pricked at her eyes to see Jonesy like this.

  She knelt and retrieved her sword. “I’m bringing you home, soldier. I’m getting that bitch out of your head.”

  Cam feinted high with the sword and Jonesy raised his mutilated right arm on instinct. She whipped the sword away from his head and brought it through a sweeping arc across his arm. Ice energy crackled and sparked as the blade cleaved through the end of his stump, severing the connective cords. Jonesy uttered a high, keening whistle, his back arched, neck tendons standing out like guitar strings, his body seizing.

  Cam stowed her sword and rushed up to Jonesy, grabbing and shaking him by the shoulders. “Jonesy! Fight her!”

  Jonesy’s whine morphed into a growl and he snapped his head forward. Cam jerked back just as his teeth snapped shut in front of her nose. Cam pushed him out at arm’s length, unwilling to let him go now.

  She slapped him across the face. Bone-deep sorrow filled her. Was she crying? “Fight it, soldier!”

  He continued to writhe, kicking, flailing, and growling. Bitter smoke rose from the stump of his arm, the flesh blackening as the ice energy died away. Cam grabbed the front of his uni and pulled back her left arm. Her elbow spike swept past his face and stopped under his chin, the deadly point resting over soft skin and the beating artery.

  Jonesy stilled, his eyes huge, showing too much white. Cam pulled him in, pressing him into the spike. A dot of crimson welled at the tip of the spike and ran down his neck.

  Can I do this? Can I put him down?

  “Stand. Down. Soldier.”

  There it was. She saw it in his eyes. Conflict. Anguish warring with fear. Jonesy was in there, hating himself. Just like she was.


  “Easy there. Ease down.”

  The wild shine in his eyes faded and his arms slumped.

  “Fighting’s done. Time to come home.”

  Jonesy looked Cam in the eye, a spark of recognition now, changing into utter horror. His breath hitched into a sob. “What…”

  Cam stumbled as Jonesy turned into a rag doll, dead weight pulling her down to her knees. Jonesy’s head rolled bonelessly, his staring eyes looking at nothing.

  Fresh panic coursed through her veins. “Jonesy! Jonesy!”

  Everything froze.

  Sound stopped like a wet blanket had been thrown over her head.

  Cam was rigid, hunched over Jonesy, her hands curled into his shirt. An all too familiar feeling slithered up her back like eels sliding over her skin.

  Nononono…

  Grunting with effort Cam turned her head the barest fraction of an inch, fighting for control. Amidst the cluster of iceboxes, the largest of them unfurled like an alien flower, ropy cables twining through the air. Mother stood in the center of the twisting arms, the small alien held aloft on tentacles that formed a platform beneath its feet. Mother’s clawed hands glowed bright blue, mirroring the lights flashing along the sinuous cables.

  Twenty-One

  You Belong To Us

  Sour sweat panic boiled up Cam’s throat as she struggled under Mother’s mental grip. Her back arched in pain, the only movement she could make. Desperate for relief, Cam instinctively cried out to AJ to shield her but AJ lay silent, quiescent under Mother’s grasp. Inexorable pressure like a rolling boulder settled its weight between her shoulder blades and slowly crushed her will to powder.

  Ice water flowed through her veins, spreading from her chest, into her arms and legs. Terrifying numbness followed as the cold radiated out. A black hood of terror closed over Cam’s head as Mother stretched its mental arms and legs through Cam, wearing her like a gruesome sock puppet. Cam's perspective zoomed out, her mind fleeing Mother's onslaught.