Jupiter Winds

by C. J. Darlington

  “Wait!” the soldier called.

  The female voice sounded familiar.

  At the risk of being caught, she slowed and spun around. Grey saw the figure fall to the ground.

  “I won’t . . . hurt you.”

  The soldier was now just a mound of dark uniform.

  “I . . . let you go,” came her faint voice. “Outside the dome.”

  Squinting, Grey waited for another flash of lightning to help her see. She needed to get a good look at this woman. Was this a trap?

  The guard was wheezing for air.

  “Why should I believe you?”

  “I told them you headed for Genesis.”

  So that’s why the army had stopped their pursuit.

  “They shot me because I didn’t detain you.” The soldier flicked on a small light no larger than a finger and turned it on her own face. The blood from a cut on her temple, probably where Grey had punched her, had dried to a dirty smear.

  Still not convinced, Grey cautiously retraced her steps in the direction she’d come, ready to flee at the slightest provocation. The soldier kept the light on her face as Grey closed the distance between them.

  “You don’t have to help me, but . . .” She grimaced.

  Grey dropped to her knees beside her. “Give me the light.”

  The guard did so without hesitation. Grey yanked the laser off the soldier’s belt and stuffed it into her own waistband.

  “Why did you let me go?”

  “I . . . I don’t know.”

  Shining the light on the woman’s body, Grey saw a bloody stain spreading across her side under the graphene breastplate.

  “They know where the armor is vulnerable.”

  Undoing the clasps of the thin mesh plate, Grey helped her slip out of it so she could better examine the wound. Lightning shot across the sky, and Grey quickly scanned the grove. So far, they hadn’t been followed, but she was worried about the amount of blood the guard was losing.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Lee.”

  “Grey.”

  “It’s bad, isn’t it?”

  She didn’t want to answer. If a blueflare caused this wound, it probably would’ve torn up her insides too.

  Lee shifted and tried to sit up against a tree trunk. Using the small torch, Grey glanced at her own arm. A deep gouge carved through her muscle. Using one hand and her teeth, she quickly finished wrapping it with the blood-soaked rag she’d ripped off her shirt.

  “They got you too,” Lee whispered.

  She nodded, wondering how long she could stay here before Mazdaar realized where she’d really headed. She tore off her other sleeve and did her best to bandage Lee’s gushing wound.

  “They’ll keep searching until they find you,” Lee said.

  Grey tried to guess how far the woods extended and how easily she could navigate through them in the dark. She swiped at her forehead with the back of her good arm. She was pouring sweat from running.

  She turned back to Lee. “Can you walk?”

  The woman coughed then tried to stand up. Grey shut off the light and stuffed it into her own pocket. This woman wore the Mazdaar star on her uniform. Yet given the chance to kill Grey—something that would’ve certainly been rewarded—she’d let her go.

  Grey wrapped her arm around the woman’s shoulders and supported her back. They were about the same height. “Let’s go,” she said.

  Lee took a few steps, struggling, but she didn’t complain. The lightning illuminated their path intermittently, enough for them to pick through the trees. Lee tripped but managed to right herself before they both went down. Supporting her was causing Grey’s arm to ache, but the exertion kept her from becoming chilled.

  “These woods are your only chance,” Lee said. “There are places to hide here until dawn.”

  “What about the winds?”

  “They’re coming.”

  “When?”

  “Probably soon.”

  They traveled for almost an hour before Grey couldn’t hold Lee up anymore. They both sank to the ground to catch their breath.

  At the next flash of light Grey studied the canopy overhead, amazed that the trees seemed to be at least twice as tall as of anything she’d seen on Earth. They twisted and turned upward, never straight for more than a few inches.

  “You have to keep moving. Don’t let them get you.”

  They’d rested for less than five minutes when a pungent zing hit Grey’s nose like the smell of ozone before a storm in the Preserve, yet sweeter and almost thick. Grey had just enough time to long for home before the winds hit. There was no build up, no warning. Instantly, a rush of warm air hit her, and she cowered down beside Lee, covering her eyes to protect them from the flying dirt, leaves, and bark. The woods roared as the wind crashed through the trees.

  Grey wasn’t sure how many minutes the blast lasted, but it was an unrelenting, constant gale. Just as suddenly as it began, the winds ceased and the forest became still again.

  She started to climb to her feet as a howl pierced the night, so close Grey felt the back of her neck tingle. It sounded like a coyote, yet much larger.

  “What was that?”

  Even in the darkness, Grey could see the whites of Lee’s eyes. “Tasmanian wolves.”

  * * *

  Chapter 26

  Tevah skimmed the surface of Jupiter, and Rin watched the screens with Dana as the crew scanned the ground using infrared to find a suitable landing site. When they located a clearing on the edge of a wood they banked, reversed power, and slowly lowered the ship to the ground.

  Touchdown bumped hard. Mrs. March and her crew let out a collective cheer and unstrapped themselves from their seats. Rin joined them in hugs and handshakes. They’d succeeded. They were on Jupiter!

  As soon as she could, Rin clambered down into the hold to check on Tram and Trif. She carefully released them from their flight harnesses, making sure they hadn’t sustained any injuries. Both were wide-eyed, but they calmed at her touch.

  “What’d you think of that, boys?”

  Tram whinnied, and Rin wondered if he was missing Grey. Trif had always gravitated to her, but Tram had a special bond with her sister, even if she wasn’t always aware of it. Maybe it was because they were both quiet, no-nonsense creatures who’d rather get a job done than fuss about it. She watched the zorses get their footing again in their stalls.

  “How are they?”

  Rin jumped at Mrs. March’s voice. She’d thought the old woman was still on the command deck.

  “Okay, I think.”

  “Good.” Mrs. March rested her hand on a stall door. “We’re finalizing plans now to send out a scouting team.”

  Rin stroked Trif on the neck. “She could be anywhere, couldn’t she?”

  Mrs. March met her gaze with compassion. “Orion settlement is less than twenty kilometers from here. It’s our first guess.”

  “How are we . . .” The reality of how few they were in number was sinking in. Including herself and Dana, they numbered less than thirty. “Do we even have a chance?”

  Commander March smiled. “We may be small, dear, but we are prepared. And we’re not unarmed.” She gestured toward the zorses. “Are you done here?”

  Rin nodded.

  “Come with me.”

  She followed Mrs. March out of the hold and into the ship’s armory. A long row of blueflare rifles was strapped to one wall, and a vast assortment of gleaming swords and knives lined another. In a closet with clear doors, graphene-armor suits hung ready, and several huge, unmarked crates were stacked in a corner.

  “This is not the first time I’ve been to Jupiter,” Mrs. March said.

  Rin blinked, trying to take the statement in stride even as her mind whirred.

  “I can see this surprises you,” Mrs. March said. “Over forty years ago, I was a Mazdaar military pilot. Once Mars was settled, we started missions to Jupiter about the same time as the Yien Dynasty.”

&nb
sp; “Dana said they used convicts as test subjects.”

  “Mazdaar did. And I flew them in.” With a sigh, Mrs. March turned toward the wall of weapons. “I was a different person back then. I knew what they were doing to those people, but I still obeyed orders.” A muscle in Mrs. March’s jaw bunched. “When I found my faith I defected, and I’ve made it my life’s mission to somehow make up for what I did back then.”

  “So this is personal to you,” Rin said.

  “From day one. And when they took your parents and now Grey . . .” Mrs. March pulled down one of the rifles. “Just know I want to find them as much as you do.”

  “It seems hopeless,” Rin whispered.

  Mrs. March checked the power level of the weapon and returned it to its wall mount. “Even in the darkest night, there is always hope.”

  ***

  The howling echoed through the dark, somewhere way too close.

  “Tasmania wolves?” Grey whispered.

  Lee nodded. “But not like any you’ve ever seen before.”

  An eerie call seemed to answer.

  “Some call them thylacine,” Lee said softly. “They’re extinct on Earth.”

  “How’d they get here?”

  “No idea.”

  Grey felt queasy as another lupine joined in. That made at least three. They were sitting ducks if these wolves were hungry.

  “Think you can keep moving?”

  When Lee didn’t respond, she dared to flick on the light again. Lee’s bandage glistened with fresh, crimson blood, and her eyelids drooped.

  Grey shook her. “No. Stay awake.”

  “Please . . .” Lee’s eyes opened but looked beyond Grey. “You must leave me. It’s okay.”

  “I won’t.”

  “I’m going to die here.” Lee clutched Grey’s arm with trembling, sticky fingers. “But you can make it.”

  Leaning toward her, Grey spoke directly into Lee’s ear. “You are not dying on my watch, so quit talking like that.”

  “I don’t deserve to live.”

  A panicky feeling bubbled up inside her at how faint Lee’s voice was sounding.

  “I’m sorry for what . . . I’ve done,” Lee said. “But it’s too late.”

  What could she possibly say to this woman? Shivering, Grey knelt beside her. She grabbed Lee’s hand. She shouldn’t care about a Mazdaar soldier who might have killed or even tortured people, but Grey couldn’t leave her to die alone. Lightning flashed. Lee’s face was ashen.

  Once when she was very young, Mom had sat by her bed while Grey’s small body fought a virus not even her mother’s strongest herbs could cure. She was barely lucid from fever, but Grey still remembered some of her mother’s whispered prayers.

  If I go up to the heavens, you are there.

  Lifting her gaze to the treetops, Grey felt tears drip from her eyes.

  A stick cracked somewhere to their left, and Grey strained toward the sound, yanking out Lee’s gun. She’d never shot a laser pistol before, but she would not leave Lee at the mercy of these wild animals.

  Grey stood and shined the torch in the direction of the sound, and a pair of eyes glowed, then disappeared. Her heart hammered, intensifying the ache in her arm. If a wolf came any closer she would have to shoot it. But if she did, the shot could alert anyone nearby.

  “Please move on,” she muttered. “Nothing to see here.”

  A long, low howl reverberated through the woods, ending in a deep snarl. She pointed her light into the trees, and two more sets of eyes reflected back at her.

  Twigs snapped again, this time from her other side. Grey had the horrible feeling they were being surrounded. And the howls were coming from both sides of them now.

  “How big are they?”

  Lee didn’t answer.

  Grey dropped to the ground again and tried to help her stand. “We can’t just sit here and let them attack us! We have to start moving.”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It has to.” She tried to pull Lee up, but the soldier was a limp weight.

  “Lee, come on!”

  Musk filled her nose, even as a nearby growl chilled her to the core. Grey let Lee lie back down and clutched the gun, slowly rising to her feet again. Each time she turned on her light she took a risk the soldiers would see them, but Grey had to know how many wolves she was up against. She flicked on the beam, shining it into the woods.

  That’s when she saw it.

  There wasn’t even time to shout a warning to Lee before the animal darted directly in front of her, teeth bared. A fierce rumble billowed from its throat.

  He crouched, his thick, striped tail wagging nervously, the hackles along his back spiked in formation. The Tasmanian wolf’s face looked like a cross between a cougar and a dog, but his jaw opened twice as wide.

  Grey raised the gun as two more angry lupines emerged from the shadows. She swung toward them, gauging the distance.

  Three! How could she shoot three? Spinning back to the first, she aimed for the spot between his eyes right as the third wolf lunged at her.

  She fired.

  The laser beam sizzled through the air, but the wolf had dodged out of the way at the last moment. Instantly upon her, the wolf behind her latched onto her wounded arm, knocking her to the ground. Landing hard on her right shoulder, the gun flew from her grasp.

  The animal shook her with its massive jaws and Grey shrieked in agony, desperately pounding its head with her other fist.

  It was like hitting a furry rock.

  Lee was right. They were both as good as dead. She’d never see Rin again.

  Just when she felt like she was going to pass out, harsh voices broke through the forest. A light temporarily blinded her. A flurry of men rushed into the clearing, shouting and warding off the Tasmanian wolves with clubs, boots, and curses. The wolf let go of her, yelping off into the woods with the others.

  Grey curled into a ball, whimpering. The razor-sharp teeth had ripped deep into her wound.

  “Terminate them,” a deep voice said.

  “But we have orders.”

  “To Hades with orders.”

  “They’re wounded anyway.”

  “Shut up, both of you! Have you no decency?”

  Grey cracked open her eyes. A bearded man with wire-rimmed glasses stood over her and two other men surrounded Lee, who wasn’t moving. One of them held a lantern of some kind; another picked up the gun Grey had dropped.

  The bearded man knelt in front of Grey. He reached for her wounded arm, but she recoiled, pulling it closer to her chest. Please. No more pain.

  “Let me see,” he said.

  “She’s worse,” Grey managed. “Shot. In the side. Help her. I’m only grazed.”

  The man waved a hand to a rangy guy with long hair. “Get over here, Rusty. Shine your light.”

  Another lantern was held in front of Grey’s face, and she squinted. Who were these men?

  “Bring the other one over here.”

  By the light of the lanterns, which contained some sort of fiery liquid inside a clear cylinder, Grey could make out her arm. The wolf had torn away most of her makeshift bandage, and the wound was pouring blood again, fresh slices carved into the original gash that had taken a chunk from her triceps. She clamped down on it with her right hand. She would refuse any help until these men did what they could for Lee, who appeared half-dead already.

  Two of them carried Lee over and laid her down next to Grey. Her eyes were closed now. The man with the glasses dug in a pack and produced a clean towel and a canteen. A knife with a blade as long as his forearm came from his belt. Without words, he removed Lee’s blood-soaked bandage and cut at her shirt to further expose her wound.

  “What kind of weapon was it?” he asked.

  “Blueflare, I think.”

  He pressed the towel into the open wound. Lee didn’t make a sound.

  Grey tried to sit up, but the forest pirouetted around her in a wave of nausea. She took in a deep b
reath, trying to focus. What if the soldiers saw these lights and came after them all?

  “Who are you?” she asked in a whisper.

  “The more important question is who are you?”

  Grey focused on breathing, and the excruciating fire seemed to loosen some of its grip. She glanced at each scruffy man. They were all dressed in rugged, mismatched clothing, and she noted their muscular bulk. She didn’t have a chance if they intended her harm. She’d escaped the soldiers, but what if this group was worse? At least the soldiers had left her alone in her cell.

  The guy holding Lee’s laser gun approached, glaring down at the soldier. “She’s Mazdaar,” he practically spat.

  “I am well aware of that.” The man with the glasses—she noticed one of the lenses was cracked—wiped Lee’s blood off his hands into another rag. Then to Grey he said, “I’m Pierce.”

  Kneeling in front of Grey once more, he reached for her wound. This time, Grey let him touch her. Adrenaline still surged through her veins, and she quivered with fear as much as with pain. She closed her eyes as he wrapped her wound like he had Lee’s side.

  “You aren’t Mazdaar,” Pierce said.

  She opened her eyes. “What are you going to do to us?”

  He offered her the canteen. “To dull the pain,” he said.

  She sniffed at it, realizing it was some sort of liquor. Grey took a long swallow and grimaced as it bit the back of her throat.

  “Now let’s try this again,” Pierce said. “Start with your name.”

  With effort, Grey tried to get up, and Pierce took hold of her hand to help. The forest spun again but gradually settled. She remembered how Dr. Lenoir had said there were others out here.

  You’ll need to find them, and then you’ll have a chance.

  “Grey,” she said.

  Pierce jerked a thumb at Lee. “Her?”

  The lanterns brightened the clearing enough that Grey got her first good look at the Mazdaar soldier who had saved her life. She might’ve been about thirty with short, dark hair and olive skin.

  “Her name is Lee.”

  Finley kicked at the stripes on her sleeve with the toe of his boot. “A sergeant.”