Condemned (Death Planet Book 1)

by Grant, Edward M.

  It would make sense, wouldn’t it? The planet was too much like home, with air and trees and bushes and furry animals, even if they didn’t look much like the ones he was used to. The people who made the VR just didn’t have much imagination. He’d seen much stranger worlds in the underground games he hacked into at EdCamp.

  It not only made sense, it was the only idea that made sense.

  Right?

  His feet slowed, then stopped. He took a deep breath, and turned. His gaze roamed over the trees. Did they look real? Shiny bark, spiky, dark leaves. As real as anything he’d seen in a VR. Then up to the star-filled sky, where tiny points of light glittered between the branches. Would it look like that in a VR? The wind blew around his face, cooling his cheeks and drying the sweat on his forehead. The smell of rotting leaves filled his nose. The sound of his panting breath filled his ears.

  Then the ground shook as the creature approached, its six legs stomping through the forest, and three eyes glowing in the darkness.

  CHAPTER 73

  The boy had been yelling up ahead. Damn right, too, when Moses caught him, he was going to spank the boy’s ass until it glowed in the dark. Then he’d drag the boy back to Kingston, and deliver him to the castle with a sore ass. If that didn’t clear Moses’ name, nothing would.

  The yells came closer, but the words were muffled by the trees and the crunching of smashed vegetation. He was actually heading their way. Was he lost? Or did he think he could attack them, and win? Could he? Surely not?

  Moses’ boys were ahead of him, swinging their chains to smash down the undergrowth so they could move faster through the woods. If the boy tried to attack, he’d run into them first, and would be on the ground in seconds.

  But now his boys were slowing, as though scared by the noise. They glanced at each other, and stared past the flickering light of the torches into the shadows beneath the trees.

  He cracked the whip behind their backs. “On, Rimjob. On, Felch.” He nodded toward Butt-Clench. “Don’t kill the boy.”

  Butt-Clench slung the crossbow behind his back, and drew his sword. He turned it around, and held the leather-wrapped metal butt high, ready to swing. One smack with that, and the boy would be on the ground, moaning. A few moments later, he’d be moaning for other reasons.

  “Whichever of you bastards catches him,” Moses said, “gets to cum on my face tonight.”

  That seemed to motivate them better than the whip. They lifted their chains, and swung them harder and faster, widening the path between the plants, around the trails the boy had already crushed down. Something crashed through the undergrowth ahead.

  “Ready, my brave boys,” Moses said. He tapped the whip against the palm of his free hand. It would knock any fight out of the boy, if he came close.

  Then a face appeared in the trees, with crazed eyes, and a beard even longer than the boy’s. Moses’ mind froze for a second. What the heck was that thing?

  The slaves stared at the man as he ran past them. Then moonlight reflected from the brain tattoo.

  “Stop him,” Moses yelled.

  Butt-Clench swung his sword hilt, but the Brain slammed his hand into Butt-Clench’s wrist. The sword swung past, and Butt-Clench’s eyes opened wide as the point slashed across his neck. He tumbled to the ground, spurting blood, as the Brain raced on toward the trees.

  Moses cracked his whip. The Brain dodged away, smashed through the bushes, and vanished into the woods. Moses held his torch high, and took a step after him.

  Leaves began to burn around the torch Butt-Clench had dropped. He writhed on the ground, his hands clasping his neck, trying to stop the bleeding. The slaves stared at him, then turned back toward the crunching footsteps in the trees.

  Guy’s scarred face appeared in the glow from the burning torch. He stumbled for a second, staring at Moses. Then branches crunched behind him.

  “Run,” he said. Then raced on through the trees.

  Revenge or redemption? If Moses could catch the Brain, then return him to the King, that should clear up all the little misconceptions the boy might have placed in the King’s mind.

  But Guy could get away. After causing all this chaos, he’d live out the rest of his days happy and free.

  Fuck it.

  Moses tossed his torch and whip aside, grabbed the rifle, and pressed the butt hard against his shoulder. He only had one shot, and Guy was disappearing into the shadows. He’d never fired a gun before, but he aimed along the barrel, and placed the front sight on Guy’s back.

  He’d never liked guns. No foreplay, just one bang and it’s all over. What did they say about firing them? Oh, yes, you pull the trigger slow and smooth, like jerking off a virgin.

  Guy tried to dodge left and right, but couldn’t move fast with his wounded leg. Just follow his motions until the gun fired. Left. Right. Left. Right.

  Moses pressed a finger against the cold metal of the trigger, then began to squeeze.

  CHAPTER 74

  The creature lowered its dark face toward Daniel’s, and sniffed. Its short, spiky fur fluttered in the wind. Two of the three eyes, glowing with reflected moonlight, stared into his. Saliva dripped from the long, pointed teeth as it opened its mouth and blasted a rotten cloud of warm air into his face. If it stood fully upright, it would be at least twice his height, and its arms were longer than he was tall. Hunched over, it was like standing in a furry, stinking tunnel. It raised two legs with sharp claws longer than Daniel’s fingers. The teeth were the size of daggers.

  Was it real?

  His heart thumped, almost loud enough to hear over the sounds of the woods. Daniel’s body shook, and his legs felt weak. They certainly thought the thing was real.

  Would the World State really let dangerous criminals out of a VR where they had been trapped? If they’d done so, surely he’d have heard of it? Unless they set up new identities, to keep their release a secret. Sent them to the other side of the planet, maybe, then flagged their ID to ensure they couldn’t travel, or contact friends.

  A drone buzzed toward them, dodging between the trees as it approached. Its lights flickered on, and shone into the creature’s face. The creature raised a hand to block the beam, closed its eyes, and twisted away.

  Then it farted. The stench of week-old rotting meat filled Daniel’s nose, and he coughed. He took another breath. The vile gas burned his lungs. He held his nose, and backed away, toward fresh air.

  He’d fought monsters in the underground VR games he played, but they’d never done that. What kind of pervert would build corrosive monster farts into a game?

  The creature swung an arm, and knocked the drone aside. Then it reared up and hissed at Daniel. The long arm swung again, and the claws slashed through the air toward his face. He jumped back, and they slammed into the tree trunk beside him. Splinters sprayed from the side of the trunk as the claws ripped through it, leaving long gouges behind them.

  Let’s think about this another time. When there isn’t a great big furry thing with big claws and big teeth trying to eat me.

  Daniel turned and ran, with fresh air in his lungs, and fresh strength in his legs. More shards of wood and bark bounced off his bare back as the creature followed, swinging its claws in both directions, tearing into the trees. A branch tumbled through the air as the creature smashed it down. Daniel ducked, and the branch snapped in two as it flew into the trunk of the tree on the far side of him.

  The fire was just ahead, only a few seconds away. The creature slowed as Daniel approached the yellow, flickering glow. The light illuminated the trees and bushes ahead of him. Men stood there, staring at him as he forced his way through the plants toward them. Then their heads turned, and they stared at the creature behind him, instead. They froze for a second as Daniel approached, then began to back away.

  “Get away,” he yelled.

  Then raced past them. Something caught his feet in a loud rattle of metal on metal that suddenly weighed them down. He went flying, tumbling across the gr
ound and trailing the chain that had tripped him,

  He smashed into something wide and leather-clad. Moses yelled as he went down, and the rifle he was holding slid away from him. Daniel landed on top of him, and rolled off.

  “You, boy,” Moses yelled.

  Daniel struggled to his knees. Moses swung an arm, trying to grab Daniel’s ankle, but Daniel kicked him away. The rifle was on the ground, a metre from them. Could he use it? Back home, the mere sight of a real gun would have triggered him. But, now, that felt like a lifetime ago. He must have killed dozens of people. What difference would one more make?

  He lunged forward, wrapped his fingers around the cold, hard barrel, and pulled it toward him. Moses’s elbow smashed into his face with a crunch of bone on bone. Daniel swung the gun, and Moses grunted as the butt connected with something soft and sensitive. Then he wrapped an elbow around Daniel’s neck, and squeezed.

  Daniel released the rifle as he reached up to grab Moses’ arm. The gun wouldn’t be much help if he couldn’t breathe. His cheeks glowed red with the blood trapped in his head, and his vision began to fade. His nails dug into Moses’ arm, but it just pulled tighter against his neck.

  He slammed his elbows behind him. Moses grunted, and his arm slid just enough for Daniel to take another breath. A drone buzzed down toward him and hovered, recording the action in the flickering light of the nearby fire. Not much more than a metre away. The heat was roasting Daniel’s bare skin.

  Maybe...

  Daniel pulled his legs beneath him, then kicked out. Moses must weigh twice as much as he did, but the sudden movement took him by surprise. They fell back, slamming down on their sides. Moses’ grip relaxed, and Daniel tried to twist away.

  Then Moses’ free hand grabbed Daniel’s balls. And squeezed hard. Sharp pain rushed from his groin to his head, and he yelled as he writhed in Moses’ grip. He grabbed Moses’ arm, but Moses just squeezed harder.

  “Give up, boy,” Moses muttered. “Before it’s too late.”

  The crashing noise among the trees grew louder, and was followed by a hiss. The slaves yelled, and rattled their chains as they tried to get out of the creature’s path. It slid to a stop, claws scrabbling, and stared at the spreading flames.

  Daniel swung his elbows behind him. His balls would burst if Moses squeezed any harder.

  Another drone buzzed around his head. It circled three times, then its light clicked on, and it zipped away to the left. Then it turned and raced back. It accelerated, and smacked into Moses’ face. As it floated away, spinning and tilting to regain stable flight, Moses’ grip relaxed, and he raised a hand to try to knock the drone aside.

  Daniel twisted, pulled Moses’ hand away, and slammed his elbow back until it thumped against bone with an impact that sent pain racing up his arm. He swung again, and it smacked into Moses jaw with a crunch. Moses rolled backwards.

  And landed in the nearby flames.

  He sat up.

  “Fuck,” he yelled, and slapped his hands against his head, as he tried to put out the fire in his hair. Smoke rose above him, and he rolled in the dirt, rubbing his smouldering head against the ground.

  Daniel grabbed the rifle, and raised it to his shoulder. He aimed carefully at the creature. More carefully than he ever had in a VR game, where the only penalty was some fake pain and a restart, not a death. The sights wobbled, the creature twisted from side to side as it peered out from the woods, and the light from the flames flickered too much to see it clearly.

  He pulled the trigger. The hammer clicked down, and the gunpowder hissed. Then nothing happened.

  Was it broken? Or did he do something wrong?

  The creature took a step toward them.

  The gun boomed, jerked in Daniel's hands, and kicked against his shoulder. He closed his eyes against a blinding flash of light that obliterated his view, but his vision was still dull and hazy when he opened them again.

  He blinked hard, and shaded his face with his hand as he stared toward the creature. Blood oozed from a hole in its head, and dripped down its face, past the third eye. It turned toward Daniel, and its jaw opened wide. It raised its clawed hand, rubbed its face, and hissed at him.

  Then it tore through the branches in front of the slaves, grabbed one of the men, and lifted him high. He screamed, smashed his hands against the creature’s arm, and kicked his feet against its chest. Blood oozed from his belly as the creature’s claws dug into his flesh. The screams grew louder as the creature opened its mouth wide, then wider still. The other slaves pulled against the chains as they tried to get away, those at each end of the chain pulling against those on the other end, so they just dragged themselves closer together.

  The creature shoved the slave’s head into its mouth, and bit down hard. Blood spurted across its face from the slave’s severed neck. The weight of the chains rattling against the dead slave’s wrists and ankles tugged the bleeding body from the creature’s fingers as the others tried to escape. Bones crunched as the creature chewed.

  Daniel suddenly wanted to pee more than he’d ever peed before. Real or VR, he didn’t want that thing to eat his head. He dropped the gun, and ran into the woods, leaving the screams behind. They soon faded as the sound of his gasping breath, his feet crunching over the twigs, and body crashing through bushes overpowered them.

  The drone circled him again. Then hovered over his head. The lights played over the ground, showing a faint path for him to follow.

  Was that?

  He followed the drone. The light shone on a familiar face among the trees, then it clicked off, and the drone buzzed up into the sky above them.

  “Hey, kid,” Guy said.

  Daniel slumped down against a tree, beside him. He just couldn't run a step further. His legs felt like lead, his knees ached every time he bent them. His balls pounded as the blood flowed back into them. His head was light from lack of air. He gasped, and the world began to stabilize around him.

  His ears were no longer filled by the slap of his feet on the ground, and the cracks and swishes of his body crashing through the plants. Guy’s drone buzzed high above them, and faint shouts and the clanging of metal against metal and wood against wood floated through the air. Daniel glanced toward them. In the distance, faint light glowed between the trees.

  He climbed to his feet, and stepped forward on wobbly legs as his quivering muscles clenched and relaxed. He took a few steps through the trees, and the drone buzzed down to follow him. He leaned on a trunk as he stared into the night.

  The lights flickered and wobbled in the distance, vanishing when they passed behind one of the many trees and bushes between him and them. Dozens of lights, carried by dozens of men, and they were moving slowly toward him.

  Daniel slowed his breathing, trying to make himself as quiet as possible as the horde approached. The closer they came, the more intelligible the words became.

  “Come out, you beauties,” someone yelled.

  “I got my barbecue sauce,” another yelled.

  Feet crunched among the plants behind Daniel. Guy’s drone buzzed up into the air, and floated toward the noise. Guy stepped up beside him, and stared at the lights.

  “Who are they?” Daniel whispered.

  The drone’s buzzing increased, then faded, as it flew toward the men. A cloud of smoke and steam rose into the light.

  “Where’s that fucking bitch?” the King yelled. “My cock is ready to burst.”

  “Holy fuck,” Guy said.

  CHAPTER 75

  The King stomped along the riverbank. This was taking far too fucking long. Chasing the fuckers around the woods all night wasn’t his plan. He should burn the fucking forest to the ground, and wait for the rats to come scuttling out. Show them what the King’s wrath really looked like. Not skulk around in the fucking trees like a girl scared of her fucking shadow.

  “Isn’t there a man here who can find a fucking boy and a blonde fucking bimbo in this fucking forest?”

  At the least, he shoul
d kill a few of the useless shits he’d brought with him, to encourage the others. An army of dimwits was no use at all. They just slowed him down.

  Screams came from up ahead. Maybe they had finally found one of the bastards. About fucking time. The hounds hissed and bared their teeth. The King stomped ahead, and the army spread out around him. Whatever was going on, at least it would relieve the monotony of stomping through this place. He was going to have to do something about it, when this was all over. Tear it down, maybe. Build a fucking park, where his girls could come and play. Maybe fill it with slaves they could hunt for fun. They’d like that.

  People were moving, and torches swinging, just past the trees up ahead. The gap was too narrow for his exoskeleton, so he slammed his shoulder into the trunk. It creaked as it bent.

  He pushed harder. A cloud of smoke and steam pumped out of the steam engine’s chimney. The trunk creaked louder, and wood tore below him. He leaned back, and twisted his body, turning his shoulder as he smashed it into the tree again.

  It creaked one last time, then the top began to move. The men beside him yelled as they dodged aside, and the tree crashed to the ground. Its roots tore out of the dirt and knocked one of the hounds aside as they smacked into the creature’s back. It whimpered briefly, then lunged forward, clamping its jaws around one of the twisted roots. It heaved on them until the root broke free, chewed it for a second, then spat out the broken remains.

  Swords and axes swung ahead of the King, and the men holding them yelled at a dim shape in the firelight. The three-eyed face of a bear stared across a narrow clearing. Body parts and blood were scattered across the dirt, and fires burned in the undergrowth. The bear was taller than the King, and its arms thicker than the King’s exoskeleton. Big fucker, this one.

  A blade slashed across the bear’s forearm, before it grabbed the Guard who held it, and tossed him aside. The Guard screamed as his back smashed into a nearby tree, then he slid down the trunk like a sack of mouldy old rags.