by Matt Ward
She had a point.
“I’ll go,” I said. “I’m the only one who can identify him, and besides, it’s me he’s after. Plus, I know the area.”
“I’m coming with you!” Zedda blurted out, concern filling her eyes for the briefest of seconds. “You’ll need backup.” Damn it, she was stubborn.
“Bring Henk and Ashlo too,” Paer added. “They both fly so you can take a VTOL.”
I threw up my hands. “We have to keep things small. Too many people will attract attention.” And flying… Oh, crap… flying? “Won’t we be detected?”
“Not if we stay low,” Lars remarked. “The Earth’s magnetic fields block out anything below twenty meters. And you’ll have to make room for one more because I’m coming too,” he added with a grin. “I’ve come too far to let you die on me now.”
“It’s settled,” Paer said. “You’ll meet our team on site. They’ll help with logistics and firepower. You have three days. We can’t wait any longer.”
Zedda went to find Henk and Ashlo, and in no time, things were set. We grabbed our gear, a few goodies from storage, and set off.
Someone had sent for a VTOL, and it had been delivered from the underground bunker a few kilometers away. It was a work of art despite its age. Flying... My stomach was in knots.
It’s only twenty meters, it’s only twenty meters.
The five of us scrunched through small hatch-like doors and took our seats. Inside, it was bigger than it seemed. Bucket seating for eight, black pods bolted to the floor and ceiling, extra harnesses.
Up front, Henk and Ashlo sat in the miniature cockpit which seemed too basic. A couple knobs and gauges, a single joystick and a few screens. Was that all? Did Henk know what he was doing?
Engines revved and we lifted off, shooting up. My stomach flipped. After five seconds, we were level with the roof. A lot higher than I’d expected. What had I gotten myself into?
Henk laughed. “Here we go, kids.”
I clenched the armrest as we accelerated, and something touched my hand. I jumped.
“Raek, it’s okay. It’s me.” Zedda took my hand. I was glad it was dark. “We’ll be fine. First time?” she asked in a hushed voice.
“Yeah. I like having my feet on the ground,” I said as coolly as I could.
She squeezed my hand.
“We’ll get there around one a.m.,” Lars announced after we’d been flying a while. “Raek, spoof a server somewhere you know well. We need Thorn to know where to find us.”
I knew the perfect place, where I’d found Elly’s body. The Black Forest.
The rest of the journey went without a hitch. As we got closer, I got butterflies. I was going home... but it’d been wiped off the map. And it was my fault.
“We should land there.” I pointed. “Gives us plenty of time and it should be safe.”
We landed, piled out of the aircraft, grabbed our gear, and suited up.
As we were getting ready to leave, the moment I’d been dreading. “Henk, you should stay here with the VTOL. We might need backup or a quick getaway.”
He adjusted his vest and gave me a dismissive look. “Not happening. I’m coming with you!”
“We need you here, Henk,” Lars added. “If something happens or we catch Thorn we’ll need you to save our asses.”
I knew which levers to pull, but would it work? “If anything, this is more dangerous. You’re alone, you won’t have backup.” I put my hand on his shoulder. “We need you, buddy, we need you.”
He gritted his teeth, glaring at me. “Fine,” he growled after a long pause. “I’ll do it. But you call if anything happens, anything! Got it?”
I nodded.
“Now that’s sorted, let’s get a move on, boys, before the sun’s up,” Zedda grumbled.
I gave her a smile, glad to have her along, as we took off into the night.
42
The Pounce
We made good progress considering how cold, dark, and snowy it was, covering four kilometers an hour as we hurried through my old stomping ground. I led the way, a mini lamp on my pack to guide the others.
Memories came flooding back.
The pond where I’d kissed Saley Smith two summers earlier, before the GDR tripled their rent, evicting her family and breaking my heart. Our Star Wars logship Vynce, Toras, and I had ridden in search of better, more equal worlds.
So many reminders, so much had passed; they were gone.
As we got closer, we all stiffened. We’d heard the horror stories of Resistance rendezvous. Young, trigger-happy soldiers meeting other terrified rebels was a recipe for disaster. Add guns and the possibility of betrayal or being intercepted by the DNS, and it was no wonder there were accidental shootings.
I pinged Commander Nim.
He replied seconds later, Affirmative soldier.
Good. We should be—movement in the trees to our right. What was that?
Whoosh.
I dove and rolled for cover. Zedda and Ashlo hit the deck as well, leveling their blasters. Lars just stood there, laughing.
“It’s an owl, kids. Be careful, it might hoot you to death.” He chuckled.
Talk about jitters. I rose, dusting snow from my pants, blushing. We were all on edge.
Zedda strode toward the treeline as Ashlo covered her.
“It’s all clear!” She turned, lowering her weapon. “It was just—”
The words died as something pounced, flattening pines, and knocking her to the side. A massive paw flashed and sent her careening through the air.
The beast charged.
It was huge, some sick cross between a bear and tiger, a vicious pointed snout, murderous eyes. and jaws to crush a truck.
Ashlo got off a shot but missed, misjudging its speed. I aimed, firing twice, catching the behemoth in the side. It didn’t flinch.
Shit. My team couldn’t see what was happening. Their goggles weren’t on and only I had night vision and infrared.
It leapt at Lars, whose blaster was out but didn’t see it coming.
My third shot hit the rippling foreleg but it didn’t react. I rushed it, desperate to reach it before it mauled Lars.
Lars fired again, but it was too close and he missed, blowing a hole clean through a pine tree to the side.
“What is that thing?” Ashlo yelled, securing goggles to his head alongside Zedda, who was lying there, unconscious, maybe dying... My sensors said her heart was beating, but barely. Hurry. Was she okay? I couldn’t lose her.
My SmartCore analyzed the monster in a split second. Five hundred kilos, three meters in length. How could something so big move so fast?
Scans showed a weak underbelly and jugular area. Judging from the blasts earlier, the skin and fur must be tougher than they appeared. A gun wouldn’t cut it, but I had to save Lars.
Not another friend, not after Fitz.
We collided midair before it hit Lars, my shoulder crashing into it, fist connecting with its right eye. The force knocked the brute to the side, missing Lars by a hair’s breadth.
A sickening roar as paw whirled toward my unprotected head. I blocked it, muscles straining. Shit, I had to finish this fast, or we were all dead.
“I don’t have a clean shot!” Ashlo screamed.
“Don’t worry about me, check Zedda!” I yelled as another blow flung me through the air. “Cover me, Lars.”
Rolling, I sprang onto the creature’s back, locking my legs around its huge neck and yanked, leveraging all my strength to choke it.
The thing roared, flailing and pounding me into the icy ground. My body spasmed, absorbing the blow through my spine as it rammed me over and over. I held on for dear life, focusing on everything our people had suffered. The violence, the hatred, the abuse—even Elly and Fitz… channeling all of it. It wouldn’t be enough.
Burning rushed through my veins and muscles. I was losing consciousness but I held on. I had to.
A ROAR, a gasp. Crash. The creature convulsed and topp
led off me, rolling enough to let me scoot away.
Exhausted, I collapsed, not moving, not speaking, not even daring to hope. I was done, completely, utterly done.
Lars appeared in slow motion.
“Rrraaeeeekkkk,” he garbled. “Aaaarrreee yyoou ookay?”
“Six claws,” I whispered, giddy. “It had six claws.”
“What? Are you okay, kid?” He looked worried as the world came into focus. For the life of me, couldn’t figure out why.
“That was it.” Uncontrollable laughter, head spinning. “The beast, the six-clawed beast,” Tears of laughter and sadness danced down my face. Wait, Zedda! “Where is she? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine, big guy,” Ashlo replied. “She’s waking up, took a hit to the head.”
Phew. “I think I like her. I feel funny.”
“You killed a freaking bear. With your hands!” Ashlo shook his head in disbelief. “Most badass thing I’ve ever seen.”
Lars smiled. “Let’s get a few pictures and a video of this thing. It will make great marketing material.”
I groaned, both in pain and at the prospect of pictures. “Do whatever you want. I’m going to check on Zedda.” I stood, unsteady, and made my way to where she sat.
“You okay?” I knelt next to her.
“Me? I’m fine,” she said. “Just a scratch.”
I touched her cheek. “This looks like more than a scratch.” My finger traced the massive cut on her face.
“I’ll be fine.” She looked away. “How are you? You okay?”
“I’ve been better,” I said. “I’ll survive. Ready to try and get up?”
She nodded, and I helped her to her feet. “I’m good, really,” she protested. “We need to get going.”
She was right. We couldn’t afford to be late. “We’re leaving.”
We set off, walking hard to make up lost time.
43
A Girl
The rest of the hike was easy, nothing but the shadowy landscape until the sun rose, shedding light on the mysterious, black-and-white world. I pinged Nim. We’d be there soon.
Fifteen minutes later, we reached the small clearing. A group huddled on the far side around a roaring campfire, five pitched green tents to one side; the predetermined signal everything was clear.
“Commander Nim!” I shouted as we headed over.
Two figures emerged and walked toward us.
We stopped halfway from the trees’ edge and waited.
The fellow to the left was short and built, boulder shoulders and ruthless arms straining his compact frame. He had the close crop of old war films, camouflaged fatigues, and a rifle over his shoulder, hunting knife at his side. Must be Nim.
His companion, a female of average height and obvious canine ancestry had a friendly face and a wild, fiery glint in her eyes. Dressed in fatigues, she favored a blaster at the hip and wore a bloodstained cap
“I’m Nim.” She offered a hand. “This is my Lieutenant, Don. “We’re glad you made it.” She eyed us. “We’ve been briefed by Agtha and know the plan, but wanted to hear it from you before we finalize the team.”
“Good.” I covered the basics, but left out the reason for the kidnapping. The fewer people that knew, the better.
“Where are they holed up?” Lars asked when I was done.
“Bout three-k’s east of here,” Don replied. “Three-quarters of a kilometer from the original server ping.”
“By the way, why’d you choose that, of all places?” Nim remarked. “Tactically it isn’t great.”
“I know the area. It’s a long story.” I didn’t want to elaborate.
“No worries,” Don said. “Our boys can handle it.”
“How many? And how many do we have?” I added on second thought, scanning the camp.
“At least fifty or more,” Nim said. “We’ve got eleven.”
Dang.
“And there’s probably more than one group,” Don added. “At least that’s how I’d do it.”
“Fifty?” Ashlo whistled. “Fifty?”
“Have you searched for other groups?” Lars asked.
“Yes and no,” replied Nim. “We did the best we could, but we didn’t want to alert them either.”
“Let’s assume there’s more than one.” I looked at Nim and Don. “If you were the DNS, how would you run this op? Lars, anything to add?”
“Three teams,” the soldiers said without hesitation. “Corner ‘em with a triangle and surround ‘em if doable. If not, have more than enough bodies to cover the perimeter and take out the target. VTOLs for backup.”
Lars agreed.
“So it’s simple,” I said. “Divide and conquer.”
Nim’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean? If anything, the situation is reversed.”
I shook my head. “We’re outgunned and have to win through misdirection. If they’re three-quarters of a kilometer from the initial site, odds are, the other two teams are too, but on opposite sides. You said a triangle?”
They nodded.
“We need to separate ‘em, spoof three locations at once and isolate each group further. We only need to find Thorn, grab him, and make a clean getaway.”
“How does ten-to-one odds help us?” Don said flatly.
“You hunt?” I asked.
He looked lost.
“Ever chase something farther than you should, something you knew you’d never catch but you’d committed so much you didn’t want to give up?”
Don nodded, brow furrowing.
“We do the same here, spread ‘em thinner by pinging locations that are close to, but separate enough, from one another. They go from fifty to twenty-five to twelve, etc… as they split each time. It’ll be chaos as each subunit splinters off, chasing an invisible enemy. And they’ll be motivated by huge rewards and promotions.”
Don was nodding, Lars and Nim as well.
I played out what I’d been thinking as we dissected the plan, covering our bases and getaway. We’d go at dawn.
Out of the corner of my eye, Zedda crumpled, and my heart jumped. I rushed over but Nim beat me there.
Ashlo, Lars, and Don turned to the treeline, drawing blasters.
“What happened?” Ashlo yelled.
Shit. “I don’t know.” She had to be okay.
Nim checked her pulse. “She’s breathing.”
I grabbed Zedda’s hand too and couldn’t let go. “I think she fainted. Probably the blow to the head.”
“What happened?” Nim asked.
I told her.
“We need to get her back to camp!” The commander sprang into action, and we hightailed it across the clearing, past bewildered, fatigue-clad rebels polishing weapons by the campfire.
“In here.” Nim pulled aside a drab green curtain to reveal a well-stocked med tent.
In seconds, she slid a few flimsy white drawers out before finding what she was looking for. Pouring several gelatinous pills, she grabbed a bowl, a small spoon and crushed the golden capsules, stirring them into a goopy, rancid liquid that smelled like rotting fish guts.
“Have her take this.” She handed me the bowl. “Her brain’s seventy percent fat, these will help blunt the swelling. The six to twelve hours after head trauma are critical to prevent brain damage.”
Brain damage? “Are you sure?”
“Do it now! We don’t have time.”
I opened Zedda’s mouth and worked the bowl into a pourable position as Nim hooked an IV drip into Zedda’s arm.
This seemed all wrong. What if this made it worse? “You’ve done this before?” I asked.
“Yeah. I’m a doctor actually. Have to pay bills somehow.” She popped the transparent bag onto a metal hook and twisted the plastic knob. “I’m giving her some vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to kickstart her system. These will help.”
Despite my cybernetics, my hands shook. Nim must have noticed.
“It’s nothing that could hurt her,” she added. “It’ll h
elp her recover faster, maybe a full recovery.”
Only maybe? “How long?”
“Depends on her. I’m sorry, can’t say. There’s a chance she doesn’t recover.” She winced. “We’ll do the best we can.”
She might not...
“I know what you’re thinking, Raek,” she said. “We can’t call off this mission, not for a girl, even if she’s special to you.”
How’d she know?
“It’s obvious the way you look at her, kid,” Nim added. “But we have more important things at stake.”
“Damn it!” She was right. I slammed my fist on the table to mask the burning pain inside. “We go at dawn.”
“One of my best men will be here with her,” Nim said, but I was already halfway out the flap.
44
Seek And Hide
The next few hours passed in a painful blur. Why was I so worried about her?
“Raek, you ready?” It was Lars. He pulled me up from the log I’d been moping on behind an abandoned tent. “It will be fine. We’ve got to go.”
“I’m ready. Thanks.”
Lars nodded his understanding, not needing to say anything.
When we rejoined the group, I realized I’d let my team down. I couldn’t let pain or emotions cripple me, not now. They were risking their lives for this. They were counting on me.
Stepping onto a small crate, I looked around. “Everyone ready?”
A weak chorus of “yeas” and “yeses.”
“I said, everyone ready?” I yelled in what I hoped was motivational anger. “We’ve got between fifty and a hundred fifty bastards in those woods. Our job’s to capture one man, Thorn Fury. It might seem trivial, but trust me, this monster might be the key to the entire war.” I let that sink in.
“Have you been beaten down by the GDR, seen your family and friends subjected to unspeakable humiliation, violence, and hate? I have. My sister was murdered by those pigs. My family disappeared too. They’ve taken everything from me, including my town. It’s our time to hit back. So, again, who the hell’s with me?”
This time, a roar.