by Dan Decker
“It's shallow,” Xarda snapped. “I've seen people die of less.” She looked at Soret. “More water!”
Soret stared down at Jorad, unable to move despite Xarda's tone of voice. How could he have killed Gorew and Thon?
A distant part of her recognized that Gorew had attacked first and that Jorad had acted on instinct. Thon had been a different story, though. Jorad could have tried something else to keep the man from beating him.
I might have been able to convince Thon to come off him, she thought, if I'd been quicker to think through things.
Unfortunately, she'd been so shocked at Gorew's sudden death that she'd been able to do little else other than watch.
“I need more water!” Xarda grabbed Soret by the arm and pushed her back. “He'll die without it. See what you can do about getting a fire going and bring some to a boil. Don’t go starting a fire in here. Open a different arch. Go now!”
As Soret stumbled away, too afraid to explain to Xarda that more water was already on the way, she wished again that Xarda had been there when Thon had been straddled on top of Jorad.
Xarda would have known what to do.
Soret snorted. I must not have more than a wit or two left. She knew what Xarda would have done. She'd have run Thon through with her sword and not given it a second thought.
She closed her eyes when she thought of Jorad's bloody shirt on the floor and tightened her hands into fists. When her father had stabbed Jorad, she'd felt helpless and torn. What would Xarda have done in that situation, knowing all that Soret knew?
Soret still couldn't come up with an answer that she liked as she approached the closest arch. A young man with a baby had taken up residence in front of it. The child was asleep, whimpering softly. It was probably hungry and tired. She bent down, intending to wake up the sleeping kid to get him to move when she stopped herself. A young couple sat before the next arch over, and they were both awake. It wouldn’t be any bother if Soret asked them to move instead.
Shaking her head ruefully, Soret glanced back at Xarda who was bent over Jorad again and working to bandage him up.
I need her training.
Soret asked the couple to move. They didn't respond at first, and she had to repeat her question several times before it sunk in. By that time, the kid with the baby was awake anyway, and the infant had begun to fuss.
As the couple moved out of the way, she noticed that the woman had her hand wrapped in a bloody shirt and the man made sure to keep her wounded hand elevated as they stood.
Soret stared numbly. At any other time, she might have felt guilty, but she had far greater concerns on her mind. Once they had gone, she reached up and touched the top of the arch with her thumb in the same way that she'd seen the others do.
Nothing happened.
She tried it again with the same result. After the third try, she looked around, hoping Xarda wasn't about to rip into her again.
“Can't get the arch open?” Leron asked. He held a bucket of water. Wes was right behind him with a full bucket as well.
Soret was unable to read Leron's tone, and she couldn't tell if he was making fun of her or not.
Without responding, she went ahead and touched it one last time, wondering if she was doing something wrong. When the bricks between the arch didn't disappear, Leron stepped up and elbowed her out of the way.
“It's easy, just like this.” He swiped his thumb across the top, and the arch disappeared, revealing a grassy meadow that was lit with sunshine.
Suppressing her annoyance that she couldn't tell if Leron was trying to be helpful or if he was just toying with her, she stepped through. She had touched it in the exact same way as he, why had it worked for him but not for her?
“Come on,” she said. “We need to get that water boiling.”
Chapter 5
Adar must have surprised the Hunwei turncoats when he stood up wielding one of their own blasters because all three of them froze. They weren't used to people that fought back, much less those that used their own weapons against them. From where Adar stood, he could make out the body of the last turncoat that he’d shot. The blast had taken the man in the head and then moved through the top of his back. The ghastly sight caused a small whisper of remorse that he pushed out of his mind. It wasn't his fault the Hunwei had raised a generation of humans who fought for them.
It wasn’t the fault of the turncoats either.
Raindrops hit his face as he looked back at the Hunwei turncoats, blinking through water that trickled down his forehead and into his eyes. It hadn’t been raining before he’d come out of the alley. It must have started right after he spotted the turncoats. The action had kept him from noticing the rain, and he was surprised to realize that he was already quite wet.
The all too human eyes that stared back at him from the alien armor caused him to growl quietly. It was wrong, very wrong that he was fighting humans that were armed like Hunwei. The moment lasted for several heartbeats as they all stood looking at one another. In the next, everybody moved.
“Bleeding Melyah!” Adar muttered as he twisted, running for the closest building, a two-story home that was less than ten feet away. He ground his teeth when he realized all of this was getting in the way of him catching up to Tere. The hesitation of the turncoats was gone, and blasts from their weapons tore through the spot where he'd been mere moments before. One of the Hunwei must have anticipated where Adar was heading because a blast flew right by his face, the heat of it burning his nostrils.
Without thinking, Adar dove and rolled. The hilt of his sword rung out as it hit a cobblestone and the spare blaster he had slung over his shoulder poked him in the back and rattled against the cobblestones. The blast had come within an inch of taking his nose.
He didn't know what it was that kept the turncoats from hitting him but he was just glad that their blasts missed him. He should have been an easy target, and he attributed their poor aim to their surprise at seeing a human wielding a blaster.
His face flared with pain, his suppressed yelp coming out as a groan. He scrambled to his feet and barreled shoulder first into the door of the home.
The door he rammed burst open off its hinges and slammed to the floor, pieces of wood flying off from the frame, as hinges were ripped loose. He dove down as blasts ripped through the building above him. More wood and chunks of plaster fell as the shots made their way through the wall. A blast came within a hairsbreadth of burning off a couple of fingers. Blisters formed on the skin of his knuckles. It had been even closer than the one that had almost taken his nose.
Biting off a curse, he sprung up on all fours and crawled across the floor. His blaster was in one hand, and he awkwardly dragged the spare blaster in the crook of his other arm by the sling as it had slipped off during his fall. He cringed as it scraped across the floor but he wasn't willing to leave it behind or stop to pick it up. He wanted the hand free in case he needed to shoot again. It wasn't like they didn't already know where he was anyway. He wished he had half a dozen more of the weapons. And the men to use them.
What good is a weapon that all of the sudden stops working? He wondered as he navigated around a table and chairs. Perhaps it is like the quiver of a bow. There are only so many arrows before you need to get more. He'd never seen any of the Hunwei carrying more than one blaster and he’d never seen them have any trouble with their weapons malfunctioning. There had to be a way to get them to work again, but whatever he needed to do was beyond his skill set to resolve. None of the ancient texts he'd read about blasters had even touched on the subject.
Adar came to a man's body that had a big gaping hole in his abdomen and scurried around him to get to a door on the other side. The man looked as though he’d been dead for a while. His skin was cool to the touch when Adar’s hand accidentally brushed up against the face of the corpse.
Adar heard shouting from behind as he grabbed the doorknob and went through. He wasn’t able to distinguish what they were saying, but their
voices were high pitched and coming closer. Another blast ripped through the door he’d just opened and traveled several feet above where he crawled on the floor.
He looked back and was glad that none of the Hunwei turncoats had caught up to him yet. It had just been a random shot.
At least, that is what he told himself as he scuttled through the next room while still on all fours.
If I'd have been on my feet I would have been just as dead, he thought, skilled shot or not.
He came to another door and pushed through it into the backyard of the home at a full run. He found himself in a fenced garden with corn whipping at his arms as he passed. The rain hadn’t abated in the slightest. He squinted to see through the downpour. When the corn ended and turned into rows of beans, he crouched but continued forward. The plants were knee high, and he caught sight of red tomatoes and yellow squash on the far side as he passed. Something squished underneath his foot, but he didn't look back to see what it was. The way ahead of him was blocked by a fence with a gate. On the other side was another vegetable garden that led to another home. He skid to a stop, mud squelching beneath him as he panted for breath while looking over his shoulder. The way was clear, but did it make sense to go forward?
The turncoats would expect him to run straight.
There hadn't been a blast in the last few seconds. He changed direction and ran to the side of the garden, vaulting over a low fence. On the other side was a narrow pathway between the fence and another building. He followed it back up towards the street where he'd just fought the turncoats, thinking he might come at them from behind if they'd all followed him into the home.
He wasn't certain what the building to the side of him was, but when he noticed a door, he decided to see if it was open before carrying out his crazy plan to ambush the turncoats. If the door were unlocked, he would go into hiding. If not, he couldn't risk the noise it would make if he tried to break it open.
He made it to the door without any of the Hunwei turncoats appearing and let out a sigh of relief when he found that it hadn't been locked. He hadn't been looking forward to sneaking up on them. He eased the door open and slid inside, quickly shutting it behind him. He paused just before it hit the doorjamb and went the last inch as quietly as he could. If the Hunwei had entered the garden at the same time, they wouldn't be drawn to the door. He released the knob, and the latch clicked into place louder than he liked, but the storm on the other side would keep it from traveling.
With the door shut behind him, he paused to catch his breath as he looked around. He was in an entryway that connected to a long narrow hallway. He’d need a key to lock the door, or a board could be placed to block it from opening. When he scanned the surrounding area, he was unable to find a board or anything else that would fit. His blaster was long enough, but he didn’t entertain the idea for long. He doubted that it would have held and he couldn’t spare the blaster anyway. A locked door wouldn't stop the Hunwei for long. It wasn't worth the effort it would take to find the key or a board.
He put the issue from his mind as he expended a breath. A puddle had formed at his feet from his rain-soaked clothes. He quietly stamped his boots on a nearby rug, hoping to remove most of the mud and water that he'd picked up. Hiding wouldn't do him much good if the turncoats could follow his muddy footprints to his hiding place.
The hallway was bare, with a wooden floor and rough-hewn boards that made up the wall and ceiling. He saw several doors off to either side. Further down on the left was a set of stairs that went up. Even in here, he could still smell the scent of the burned Hunwei. He wondered if the stench was just that strong or of there were dead Hunwei somewhere in the building.
He picked up a hint of something else in the air as well, but he wasn't able to identify it. Sweat? Stale food? The stench of the dead Hunwei had to have lessened somewhat if he was now able to smell other things.
He walked through the hallway backward while holding up his blaster. If one of the Hunwei turncoats burst through the door, he would be able to fire off a shot before the turncoat spotted him. The first couple of steps left muddy footprints but by the time he'd gone half a dozen more the trail he left was barely visible.
He could hear shouts coming from outside the door so he quickened his pace while glancing over his shoulder to ensure that the way was still clear. The voices were human, but the words were not. They weren't close yet, but it wouldn't be long before they figured out where he went. He doubted that they would let him escape without doing their best to catch him.
They weren't used to watching their comrades die by a blaster. On top of that, they had just witnessed the destruction of most of their invading force. He figured that their blood would be hot and that they wouldn't be acting rationally.
Something to be careful of, but also something he could use to his advantage.
He continued backward through the hallway and was surprised when he heard muffled screaming coming from above him on the next floor up.
He wondered how long it would take the turncoats to find him, especially if the screaming continued unabated.
Melyah, he thought, of all the times!
When he came to the stairway, he almost passed it by, thinking to take advantage of whatever was happening upstairs so he could kill the turncoats when they came to investigate. He pushed the thought away with a shake of the head, surprised he'd been able to conceive of such a horrid plan. Times were bad, but not bad enough for him disregard the misfortune of others so callously.
The scream of terror came again, this time, it was louder and not as muffled. With a last look towards the door, he headed up the stairs. Careful to test his weight on each stair to minimize the chance that they would squeak under his weight.
He found a short hallway on the landing above and followed the noise until he stood outside of what appeared to be a bedroom door. Now that he was closer, he could also hear the voices of two other men as well. He couldn't make out all they said, but he heard enough to get an idea of what they were talking about.
Adar clinched his fists around his blaster. It never ceased to amaze him the things that people would try to get away with during the middle of a crisis. The city was burning, attacked by invaders that most wouldn't think to call Hunwei but everybody would recognize as a walking nightmare. Despite all that, they were taking advantage of a woman.
He put his hand on the doorknob and was slowly turning it when the door on the floor below crashed open. The turncoats hadn't even bothered to open it and had opted to kick it in instead. Heavy footsteps echoed through the stairway up to where Adar stood outside the door.
They are too close, he thought, I should have waited for them downstairs.
Even though he knew that the turncoat inside the bulky armor was the same size as himself, it was still hard not to be intimidated by the sound of the footsteps moving down the hallway. He turned, heading towards the stairs, but a scream drew him back to the door.
It had increased in volume and was now accompanied by thudding sounds as well. Those on the other side of the door were oblivious to what was happening on the floor below. If anything, their voices had gone up in volume as well. They were all too absorbed in what they were doing to realize the danger that had just entered the building.
He looked back down the stairs, wondering how long he had before the Hunwei turncoats came up here too. The screaming took on even greater levels of alarm and was accompanied by more thumping sounds. The turncoats had several other doors to explore before they came to the stairs. Hopefully, they would stop to investigate those first instead of dashing all the way up here.
Bleeding Melyah, Adar thought. I’m gonna have to move fast. The stairway was still clear as he took the several steps back towards the room, hoping that he was making the right decision. It didn't sound like the woman on the other side had much time.
“Quick! I have her, slice her dress from the back.” The words were accompanied by a hiss from another man. There had been
no attempt by either of the fools to keep from being overheard.
They probably figured that the building was empty. Fools, bleeding fools. They were likely to get Adar killed.
Gripping his blaster with one hand, Adar turned the doorknob with the other. He wasn't sure if he intended to use the blaster or not, but they should know what it could do and would treat him with the proper respect because of it. He didn’t have much time, and it would be best if he went in with the upper hand.
He scowled once he had pushed open the door. It was about what he had expected, but he'd been hoping that it would turn out to be something else.
A tall, burly man knelt on a bed as he held down a struggling woman. His back was to Adar. The strap of her dress was torn. Her hair was askew. A rag had been pushed into her mouth, and he had a hand clamped over it as well. As the burly man bent over the woman, she head-butted him in the nose. He pulled back with a yelp but didn't let go of her.
“You always did like to play rough,” he said with a growl.
When Adar had first heard the woman, her screams had been muffled. He now realized that she must have pulled her gag out at some point. The burly man had stuffed it back in right as Adar had entered the room.
A short fat man with a knife also looked lustily down at the woman, his face split with a grin.
A flash of lighting came through an open window behind them. When the thunder came rolling several moments later, Adar was glad to recognize it as actual thunder and not one of the Hunwei ships dropping bombs. At least, he didn't have that to contend with as well.
The room was a mess. Chairs had been overturned, and a vase of flowers was broken. A pool of water had formed around the shattered glass.
Confound it, Adar thought as took in the scene. He was tempted to use his blaster to take down both men, but he never knew when it would stop working and didn’t want to waste what shots he had left on these criminals.
Neither of them saw Adar as he entered the room. He was about to clear his throat but then decided he didn't want to take the risk that they didn't know what the blaster could do. He swung the door shut behind him, turning the knob so he could shut it without the latch sounding. It clicked shut when he released it but none of them noticed.