Don't Look Back (Warders of Earth)

by S. E. GILCHRIST

  No recrimination in her eyes, nothing but sadness and love, fear and relief.

  Choking down a sob, I stumbled from the jeep. My eyes squeezed shut when Mum enfolded me in a tight embrace. I sucked in the familiar floral scent of the shampoo Mum always used. I longed for a return to my childhood where responsibility was someone else’s problem.

  My mother soothed my hair while I clung to her and the long minutes ticked slowly by.

  Gently, I disentangled myself from her arms. Mouth trembling, I looked at her. I had to say it.

  “I’m okay, Mum. Do you know...,” I hesitated, searching for the words, the right way to tell her I’d killed my father.

  “Yes, honey, Alex phoned me.”

  I gulped. “It was my fault. I’m the one responsible for Dad...” I couldn’t go on, couldn’t say that dreadful word.

  Through the tears dribbling down her cheeks, my mother smiled her familiar sweet smile, the same one that had encouraged me, comforted me and had made everything right in my little world.

  My heart cracked open again.

  She chided me gently, “Rubbish, Tara. Your father and I both knew the risks. We made our decision long ago. Nothing ever really mattered except keeping you and Dan safe. You didn’t place a gun in those men’s hands. You didn’t incite them to murder. Don’t forget this started a long time ago and by people who want nothing but power.”

  Nowhere in the universe were there parents as wonderful as mine.

  If only I’d realised this sooner.

  “We can’t leave him there,” I mumbled, heedless of the tears flowing down my face. I snivelled.

  “I know.” Mum passed me a fresh handkerchief and I blew my nose.

  “I’m sorry, but the Mundos Novus will be here at any moment. They know where you live. We don’t have any time to lose. We’ve got to move fast,” inserted Alex. He stood soldier straight watching us, one hand resting on the butt of the pistol in the holster on his hip, the keys to the jeep dangling from his other.

  His eyes were shadowed, his jaw tense.

  Shay drove up in Alex’s car and parked behind the jeep. He got out and strode over to the passenger side where he opened the door for Em who hurried to my side.

  Talking as she walked. “What’s going on? I wish someone would explain. Who were those people? Who are you really? Where did you get those outfits?” She cut her eyes from me to Alex and back again.

  “Later, Emma. I’ve packed a few suitcases.” Mum indicated the house behind her.

  Alex nodded. “I’ll get them.” He and Shay strode over to the pile of bags and began to load the cars.

  “Where’s Dan?” I asked Mum quietly.

  “He’s in his room.”

  “Wait...” began Em.

  “Sorry, Em. I need to talk to him. By the way, there’s something I haven’t told you. It’s about Marnie. Her father has escaped from jail and she’s camping out in the bush with him.” I decided not to mention Marnie’s little girl until I’d had a chance to speak with her. It was possible I’d read that last message wrong.

  Em clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. Blinking, she squeaked, “That’s awful. Is she okay?”

  “I hope so. I’ll talk to you later.” Shaking my head, I ignored Em’s restraining hand and raced into the house.

  I found my brother huddled on his bed. “Dan.”

  He looked up and at the sight of his blotchy red face and swollen eyes, guilt and grief clutched me with vice like fingers. “Dan, I’m sorry.”

  He scrubbed at his face with the back of his hands and sat up, nodding.

  “We have to leave straight away,” I said. What I really wanted to say, roared inside my mind. My stupidity had cost us our father’s life. I’d left him to die alone like an animal. Making a tremendous effort, I held it together. The clock was ticking. “Get your gear together.”

  “Already done.” Dan wriggled off the bed and shoved his laptop into a leather satchel. Zipping the case shut, he pushed the straps over his shoulder. “Where are we going?”

  “No idea but I’m sure Alex has it all organised.”

  A high-pitched alarm splintered the quiet of the street. I jumped. At the same moment both our mobile phones buzzed.

  “Shit.” I pressed a hand to my racing heart and reefed out my mobile to stare at the screen. I flicked it around and showed Dan.

  “It’s an emergency broadcast. It says…impact event imminent. Five minutes. Stay inside or shelter in school and community halls. Holy fuck. It’s really happening.”

  “Hurry.” I picked up a bulging gym bag. “Is this everything?”

  “Just my backpack and laptop.” Dan scooped up his gear.

  “Time to go, little bro.” I hustled him out the door. Snatching one minute to myself, I raced into my bedroom, changed into jeans, fresh tee-shirt and socks and pulled on my volleys. My precious boots lay discarded on the floor. I had no idea where I was heading, but I did know wherever it was, I wouldn’t need my boots.

  Joining the others outside the house, I searched the sky. “OMG! Look!”

  Overhead, burning balls of fire and rock hurtled toward the Earth, growing larger by the second.

  “Move. Get into the jeep,” shouted Alex, coming up and pushing us on our backs much in the manner of a dog rounding up sheep.

  Mum and Em were already seated inside Alex’s car with Shay stashing the last suitcase in the boot. He took Dan’s gym bag off me and stuffed it inside. Slamming the boot shut, he raced to the driver’s side.

  After exchanging a glance with Alex across the hood, he jerked open the car door.

  I took a couple of steps towards the car only to be halted by Alex who pointed to the jeep. “You stay with me. Dan, you’re with me too. Get in the back seat.”

  Alex swung behind the wheel of the jeep while I scrambled in beside him, asking, “Where are we going?”

  Alex yelled, “The only place where we’ll be safe from impact. The garage. It’s got a strong roof with steel beams. We can shelter in the concrete pit of the workshop.”

  “Do your belt up.” I turned around to ensure my brother was safely in the seat.

  He did the thumbs up gesture.

  The jeep shot down the road.

  “Impact in twenty seconds to the west of town,” yelled Dan.

  I slewed around to find Dan had laptop open and was typing on the keyboard.

  “I’m on a weather station site,” he said.

  Feeling as if I was trapped in a never-ending nightmare, I stared at my panic stricken neighbours running about the streets with suitcases and cardboard boxes as our small world was torn apart. The alarm continued to blare its message. I knew once it stopped...well, that was obvious.

  Rubble from the recent super storm still lined the streets. Frantic families piled belongings into cars; crying, shouting, stuffing kids and pets inside and slamming doors, obviously heading for the halls. Those choosing to stay in their homes raced round boarding shutters over windows or rounding up their family and pets inside. Some people pushing laden supermarket trolleys ran along the footpaths crying or in a daze casting terrified glances up at the sky.

  So this was what the end of the world looked like.

  Alex yelled information into some type of communication device inserted in his collar. Words like state of emergency, the Mundos Novus force, fall-out from the strikes and the jeep’s precise whereabouts reverberated inside my head like out of control ping pong balls.

  I clung to the side door as Alex took the next corner like a racing pro. The jeep hurtled down the main street, sweeping round the slower vehicles. Alex applied the brakes and worked down the gears then turned into the workshop yard to come to a jolting halt.

  “That’s it,” shrilled Dan, slamming his laptop shut as he struggled with his seat belt.

  I reached over and unclipped him before attend to my own but Alex was already at my side, yanking open the door, wrestling with my belt.

  “
Inside,” he roared at Dan who took off like a racehorse. “Quick.” Alex pulled me out of the car.

  Boom!

  His gaze whipped to the horizon. “We won’t make it.”

  Huh?

  Instead of racing to the workshop where Dan was being grabbed by Shay and hustled inside, Alex pushed me to the ground, wrapped his arms around my chest, protecting me with his body.

  Through the concrete beneath my palms, the ground shuddered and rippled.

  Then a mighty energy force punched into us, scraping us across the yard where we slammed into the railings of the perimeter fence. The scream of the wind generated by the impact deafened me. It sounded like a freight train about to crush us to the tracks.

  We lay there huddled together until the pressure eased.

  Alex rolled off me, heaving me to my feet where I swayed while the world around me swam in crazy dips. Not giving me any time to orientate myself, he pulled me toward the workshop.

  Breath wheezing as I gulped in large lungfuls of air, I stumbled after him too battered to do anything other than obey.

  Alex hammered on the closed door with his fist.

  The steel door slid open and Shay dragged us inside.

  I took one last look around.

  To the west, a massive plume of smoke and dust interwoven with flames of fire billowed into the air. A group of screaming people hobbled down the middle of the road, caked in red dust, their arms full of possessions, blood and smoke staining their clothes. Even as I watched I heard it first; a roar like a dragon, a whizzing sound then saw the dazzling glitter of light as a small meteorite flashed over the roof to explode in the building across the street.

  The door slammed shut blocking my view.

  With Alex gripping my arm like he’d never let go, I raced to the pit where eager hands helped me down. Alex jumped down. Together with Shay, he pulled a steel lid on rollers across the top of the pit effectively sealing us inside.

  The shock wave hit the workshop.

  The iron roof rattled, the thick concrete walls creaked and groaned.

  Shaking, I clamped my hands over my ears and squatted, my back against the wall. A kerosene lantern glowed in the corner giving a feeble light to see by. Mum smiled at me from where she cradled a terrified Em wrapped in a blanket. Bob Garroway sat quietly amidst six ten-litre containers of water and a pile of boxes which I suspected contained ammunition. Shay sat on his butt looking into middle space, his rifle resting like a baby in his arms.

  Beside me, Alex stared at the floor, a deep frown on his face. And my brother... As our eyes met, Dan scrambled over and pressed against me shivering violently. I hugged him close.

  “It’s okay, little bro.” My reassurance sounded hollow but I had to say something.

  Outside, chaos erupted.

  Noise louder than anything I’d ever heard assaulted my eardrums. Explosions like cannons, the screaming of ripping metal, the clangs and thuds as objects hurtled against the walls, the constant barrage of whistling as the meteorites rocketed from the sky, crackling sounds like gunshots, thunderclaps and the hissing sound of escaping steam…it was madness.

  It sounded like the end of the world.

  At least my family was safe for the moment. But what about everyone else?

  What about Marnie, somewhere out there in the bush?

  Squeezing my eyes shut, I thought about the message I’d read in my brother’s drawings.

  Where were those fucking aliens when you needed them?

  Chapter 14 – SEEDERS

  The impact strikes lasted for a little over two hours but it could have been as long as a hundred years so slowly did the time pass.

  Outside I knew night was falling. Shadows were thick and dark where we waited. We’d been lucky to escape a direct hit to the building. The steel roof of the pit might be strong but I was glad we hadn’t cause to test its might against a meteorite impact. I knew nothing about engineering but I doubted we would have escaped alive. But our chances were better here than being inside a house.

  “Do you think it’s over?” I asked through a throat as dry as sand paper.

  Bob Garroway tossed me a six hundred millilitre water bottle, saying, “Make it last.”

  What a charmer. I unscrewed the top and with my hand shaking like I was a ninety-year-old woman, chugged down four, blessedly cool, mountain stream smooth, mouthfuls. When I finished I offered it to my brother who took it with a mumbled, ‘Thanks’.

  “Alex, check it out,” ordered Garroway.

  Warder or not, the guy was an arsehole.

  Shay and Alex rolled back the pit lid before Alex crossed to my side to retrieve his rifle.

  I laid a hand on his arm. “Be careful.”

  The startled surprise on his face both delighted and troubled me. Had no one voiced any concern for his safety before? His cheeks reddened. His gaze flittered from mine as he picked up his rifle. Frowning, I watched him climb the rungs to the top of the pit then disappear from view.

  The heat of the day had ebbed but now the air was acrid with the stench of smoke and fire. It made my lungs hurt with each breath I took.

  With my ears still buzzing from the noise I blew my nose on a scrap of tissue I found in my pocket, not at all surprised when it came away spotted with blood.

  Every part of me either throbbed or burned. My shin pulsed with a heavy dull pain that felt bone deep and I wiggled my toes inside my boots experimentally. Not too bad. Bearable.

  Which hopefully meant I could still run.

  It was nothing compared with the pain of my broken heart.

  Dan wriggled out from under my arm. Did he blame me? Could he ever forgive me? I wouldn’t blame him if he did. I could barely manage to think Dad’s name. It was like I was all raw inside.

  He said quietly, “You didn’t kill him, Sis.”

  My eyes stung. He was so much like Dad, it broke my heart. “Thanks. That means a lot to me Dan,” I finally managed.

  I knew it would be a long time if ever, before I forgave myself. One thing I did know was if I ever got the chance I’d make those bastards pay.

  Anger stirred deep in the pit of my belly as I stared into my brother’s face taking in the haunted expression in his brown eyes. Dan was growing up fast.

  The hard way.

  “We didn’t ask to be hunted.” I folded my arms over my chest.

  “What are we going to do now?”

  “We’re going to do what we were born to do. Or, at least, I am.”

  “Talk to some aliens?” His sad expression lightened a little.

  I smiled at the sparkle reappearing in his eyes. “Yeah, little bro. I am going to talk those suckers out of the sky.”

  Somewhere over the course of the day, I’d made a decision.

  If this was my fate, my responsibility, then I was damn well going to get the job done. All I needed was some direction and a lot more information.

  I rotated my shoulders, working out the kinks. Fatigue sank heavily into my bones. Crap, I’m tired.

  “Tara.” But Mum’s admonition lacked bite. She looked as worn out as I felt so I mumbled an apology. Mum rewarded me with a smile and a little bit of my grief eased.

  Em had pulled the blanket up over her head as if hiding from the world. Shay was studiously examining his rifle and Bob Garroway stared at me.

  I raised my eyebrows and looked back. Yeah, check me out arsehole. I could see I wasn’t a person to him. I was a tool, to be used and discarded once I’d passed my use-by date. The knowledge ate into my soul.

  Did Alex see me the same way?

  It shouldn’t hurt so much but it did.

  Placing my hand against the concrete wall to steady myself and stood testing my weight on my aching leg. Backwards and forwards, I walked, gritting my teeth, working out the stiffness in my muscles, feeling them strengthen as I continued to pace. My pulse steadied while I thought.

  Would Alex stand up for me when I was thrown to the wolves? Did he care for me? Even
a little?

  ‘You can do this, kiddo.’ As if I could hear him standing right beside me, Dad’s voice echoed inside my mind.

  Squaring my shoulders, I stopped in front of my brother. “Dan, check if there’s any local news on your computer.” I pulled out my mobile.

  “Turn that thing off,” snapped Bob Garroway, springing to his feet. “That’s how they’ve been tracking you.”

  “I don’t see how, this isn’t a smart phone.”

  “Nevertheless, you will obey orders. They knew your father was going to the camp. They knew you would follow.”

  Yeah, I’d already worked that one out for myself.

  “Tara, turn it off, please,” interrupted Mum. I heard the warning note in her voice.

  “Okay, Mum.” That sick feeling was lodged in my gut again.

  It wasn’t my phone that had been tracked. Dad had encrypted all our mobiles and computers so nothing could be hacked. At the time, he’d given the excuse of on-line predators. Now, I realised he’d been covering our tracks even back then.

  The only way those murdering bastards could have known about what we were doing had to be from something else. Or more to the point someone else.

  But who? Who was working with them?

  One of my family?

  A friend?

  A Warder?

  On the pretence of turning my mobile off, I took a split second to scan the last message, recognising the avatar that popped up beside the text. Marnie. I noted the time; sent ten minutes ago which meant my friend was, so far, alive. No time to decipher the message with Garroway's beady eyes boring into my back. After pocketing my mobile, I resumed my pacing.

  The sound of the workshop door sliding open made me flinch. A few seconds later, Alex leaned over the side of the pit. His gaze swept around until he located me. Despite my reservations about his intentions, my heart pitter-pattered as I was held immobile by his clear eyes.

  He’d looked for me first.

  I smiled, feeling giddy, enjoying the warmth heating my cold body as the seconds passed and our connection remained unbroken.

  “Well,” demanded his father.

  Poof! His dad sure had his timing down pat.

  Alex looked over at his father. “It’s not good out there, Sir. A fair bit of panic. Water and power are down. There are a lot of houses destroyed and several fires burning out of control. I thought we should lend a hand.”