ENDGAME (The Dead Planet Series Book 3)

by Drew Avera

  Gentry weighed a lot more than he looked like he did and I was already struggling to catch my breath when we made it to the hatch. I helped him stand and support himself against the fuselage while I peered inside. I poked my head up to look down the passageway, and it looked clear. I jumped back down to the ground and took Gentry's arm again. "Let's hurry," I said, pushing him towards the hatch.

  He labored to move inside the transport and was out of harm’s way when a stray beam from a gauntlet glanced the side of the transport two feet away from me. I looked back to see it was a member of The Syndicate trying to flee from the cargo bay door, but he was shot by a policeman before he could get his shot in. I needed to get out of sight before my luck ran out.

  I climbed into the transport, where Gentry was slumped against the bulkhead and was about dead on his feet. There was no use in wasting any time trying to be polite. I started dragging him towards the doctor's stateroom without any regards for whether or not he could help me at all. Time was of the essence and I was afraid he was about to die.

  Climbing up two ladder wells with a barely conscious human being was difficult, to say the least, but I made do. Luckily there were chutes attached to the ladder rungs and I was able to drag him up like he was on a slide by using a rope. It wasn't pretty, but it worked.

  I made it to the doctor's stateroom and gently knocked on the door, with Gentry curled in the fetal position at my feet. I rapped at the door a little harder. It came ajar slightly and fearful green eyes looked back at me. "Serus?" It was Kara.

  "Yeah. Is the doctor here?"

  "Yes, come on in," she said, opening the door for me. I bent down and grabbed Gentry's arm to start pulling him when I heard the sound of running in the passageway several frames back. I was running out of time. I dragged Gentry into the room and quickly shut the door, but stopped it from slamming. I didn't want to alert anyone that we were here.

  "What happened to him?" the doctor whispered.

  I turned to look at him and replied, "I was hoping you could tell me, Dr. Foyle."

  Chapter 30

  Gentry was barely breathing at this point, and Dr. Foyle knelt down to examine him. Gentry's jacket was already opened, revealing the dark dying tissue underneath. Dr. Foyle put his hand near the wound and frowned. "This is some kind of poison or venom. It has a similar effect to some spider bites I've read about. If it's venom, then the tissue damage is done and we can't do anything about it other than keeping it from spreading. The proximity to his heart concerns me, though," the doctor said.

  "How do you do that?" I asked.

  "Cut out the infection," he replied, as he pulled tools from a case. The first one he grabbed was an ominous looking scalpel. He donned gloves and got to work cutting around the black mass. Luckily, Gentry was already unconscious, because there was no time for anesthesia. "There we go," the doctor whispered after his initial cutting. Gentry's chest was now covered in blood and puss from opening the wound.

  "How did the infection grow so fast?" Kara asked looking over the doctor's shoulder.

  The doctor kept working, ignoring the question for over a minute. "It's possible the weapon used against him had venom on it. In ancient times, tribes dipped their arrows in poison to ensure their enemies would die. This could be something like that, but I can't say for sure." Dr. Foyle pulled the chunk of flesh away and began cutting out the dead tissue underneath. It looked horrible and I had no idea how he could do this kind of work without gagging. There was even a bitter odor to the infection which made me turn my nose away from it.

  "Nurse, I'm going to need some assistance.”

  The nurse was a much older woman, perhaps the same age as Gentry. She came, knelt beside him, and immediately dove into action. It was obvious the two of them worked well together and had a kind of silent communication. I took the opportunity to step away and get close to Kara. "Where are Harris and Laurel?"

  "We got separated from them and Captain Fillon when The Syndicate came on board. I'm pretty sure they are in the infirmary. Harris is doing well, last I'd seen. Thank you for saving him."

  I nodded. "You're welcome, but I don't like the idea of being separated."

  Kara agreed. "It was Nila's idea," she said.

  I was stunned. I had almost forgotten about the fact Nila was part of this. "Where is Nila?" I asked urgently.

  Kara shrugged. "She said something about sneaking out and grabbing some food while we hid." Hiding meant nothing when the enemy knew exactly where you were. I swore under my breath and walked towards the door. "Where are you going?" she asked.

  I turned around with my hand on the door handle and looked her dead in the eye. "Nila is affiliated with The Syndicate in some way. She alerted them to our presence, which is why we've lost so many policemen. I have to find her and find out what she's told them.”

  Kara moved over to me. "Do you want help?" she asked.

  I shook my head. "No, stay here and defend them. I'll come back if I find anything," I said, as I opened the door and left the room behind. All of this death and destruction was made possible because we trusted someone we didn't know. I aimed to find her and beat the truth out of her before killing her. It just seemed like the right thing to do, woman or not.

  I kept my steps light as I crossed between passageways. I assumed Nila was in a place of power on board the transport. She didn't seem like the type to be in the middle of a battle. Then again, she didn't seem like the type to be a member of The Syndicate either.

  With my back against the bulkhead I peered around the corner and saw nothing between myself and the control room of the transport. It was where Captain Fillon had spent a majority of his time with his crew during the journey. It was the place where the entire transport could be controlled.

  I moved quickly, but with light steps up to the door. It was ajar and I dared a glance through the crack between the door and door frame. I couldn't see anything at all. With a gentle push, I opened the door wider and moved into the room. The only light inside was from the sunlight beaming through the windows. It looked like it was dead and abandoned, but something told me there was something amiss. On guard, I stepped deeper into the room and looked around.

  After a few moments, I was frustrated with how stymied I was. I let out a breath and started to leave the room when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. What’s that? I turned my head slightly and felt something cold against my neck.

  "I've been waiting for you, Serus Blackwell," the woman said. "Turn around and drop your gauntlet, or I'll kill you slowly after I murder Kara and Laurel."

  I slowly turned to face her and came eye to eye with the woman who had betrayed us all. "You're responsible for a lot of deaths, Nila.” It was hard not to bite the words in half, considering how much contempt I felt towards her. I dropped my gauntlet to the deck, and the clatter of metal on metal rang in my ears for a moment as I stared at her.

  She gave me a wicked smile. "There are two things you need to know. First, all of those deaths are your fault. No one told you to start some kind of revolution. Your misguided sense of right and wrong are why you're in the situation you find yourself right now," she said stoically.

  I stared her down. She was wrong, but I knew she would never admit it. "And what's the second thing I need to know?" My hatred for what she had done was brimming to the top. I balled up my fist and imagined what it would be like to give in to my anger.

  Her lips curled more at my question. "My name's not Nila," she replied. "It's Ceit Whelming, and you killed my father." She spoke without an ounce of despair, but her eyes didn't lie. There was something just beneath the surface she had been holding back all this time.

  Over a year ago I performed a hit on a man named Whelming. He had placed a hit on Kara, and that was how I found out about the artificial atmosphere degrading and The Syndicate's role in it. I couldn't believe it. It was if everything had gone full circle, and now I was standing in front of a gauntlet aimed at my head by the daughter of th
e man I killed. "I was only doing as I was told," I said. I lied; it was so much more than that. Knowing he had placed the hit on Kara had caused me to go into a rage. I had to kill him because I had my orders, but the truth was I wanted to kill him. I enjoyed it.

  "Don't lie to me, Serus. I was in the other room, looking at the security footage. I watched you break protocol and I saw the look in your eyes as you fired your gauntlet into his head," she snapped. I could see a twitching of her eyelid as she stared at me, her father's killer. I was certain I had looked at Gentry in the same way many times before. It was the look of someone hell-bent on vengeance. "And now I'm going to kill you."

  The sound of footsteps entering the room drove both of us to look. It was Harris' uncle and he looked surprised to see us. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Ms. Whelming, but I was promised this transport in exchange for my army," he said. The polite dribble he spoke masked the disdain he had for The Syndicate. The enemies of my enemy, as it were.

  Ceit stepped towards him and placed a hand on his chest seductively. "Of course. And let us not forget the crew to fly it, as well," she said as she walked behind him, putting Treston between herself and me. How I longed to have my gauntlet so I could end both of them here and now. "Have you met Serus Blackwell?"

  He looked at me briefly and shook his head. "In passing, but he doesn't interest me. I just want to drop my nephew to the ground from twenty thousand feet. Whatever you want to do to your guy is up to you. So about that transport?"

  Ceit had a look of contemptuous hate before she turned to Treston, grinning. "Yeah! About that." The gauntlet on her wrist fired directly into Treston's head, causing his body to drop like a ton of bricks. "You should have read the fine print," Ceit said as she stood over his body.

  I looked on at how emotionless she seemed. It was reminiscent of a Prospect coming out of The Agency and performing his first hit. As awkward as it seemed, it was as if she had received the same programming I had. She killed without batting an eye.

  "So, Serus, what were we talking about again?"

  Chapter 31

  I felt the tension in the room build as I anticipated her next move. She should have blasted my head off, but for some reason, she was stalling, taking her time. There was a commotion coming from down the passageway, and she shifted her head slightly to see what was going on. I thought I had a chance to sweep her legs out from under her, but she had reflexes like a cat.

  I spun my leg across the floor and she hopped over it with the finesse of a seasoned fighter. I had underestimated her prowess and needed to rethink my strategy. With a quick jump, I was back on both feet and swinging. With each strike, she shielded herself, using her own gauntlet like a shield against my assault. Again and again I lashed out. An uppercut, a jab, another kick. I was amazed as each blow glanced harmlessly away from her body.

  Ceit retaliated with her own kicks and punches. It was like a dance where neither of us knew who was leading or who was following. With each change in stance, the sound of footsteps approaching grew louder. I was distracted slightly and found myself on my back. My head struck the steel deck and I saw stars as the room began spinning around me. I reached out for something, anything, to make the spinning stop, but couldn't. With blurry vision, I heard people flood into the room and stand around me.

  "He's still alive? I thought you were going to kill him. He's a threat. Do I need to handle this myself?" a man asked, irritated.

  "I thought you were holding off the policemen outside," Ceit said. "I have this under control."

  "The hell you say!" another man yelled. I felt a foot kick me squarely in the ribs. I could feel one of the breaks sending a stabbing pain into my chest. Another person grabbed my arm and forced me to stand.

  "Let's show him why it was unwise to stand against us," someone said. I looked over to where the voice had come from. It was a burly man with greased-back hair. I made eye contact with him for a split second before he punched me in the face. The lights went out for a moment and I felt warm blood flooding from my nose over my mouth and chin. A metallic taste in my mouth made we want to vomit.

  From all around me, I was being punched and kicked. There was nothing I could do or bring myself to do. I felt useless, as I was battered to the floor and stomped on. With my vision blurry and a ringing in my ears, I was running out of time. I was weak, but that was no excuse not to fight back.

  With every ounce of strength I could muster, I leapt from the floor and spread out my arms, coming into contact with at least two of my attackers. One eye was swollen shut, but I could make out the general form of some people, and I did exactly what I was trained to do. I fought with everything I had and as soon as I had the opportunity, I stripped a gauntlet away from one of them and clasped it to my arm. I fired my gauntlet in their direction. As far as I was concerned, everyone in this room was an enemy; everyone was a target.

  One after the other they fell into heaps onto the deck and I kept firing while many cried out in fear. The wails did not last long once the blue beam from my gauntlet severed them from their life. I didn't know how many I had killed so far, but it must have been over twenty. Still, they piled into the room to try and overtake me. I raised my gauntlet to fire again, but this time was different. Someone had grabbed my arm and jerked it up so the blast hit the overhead instead of my target. The blue beam ricocheted a few times off the polished surface before dissipating into nothingness.

  The person who had my arm bent it back and I screamed in pain. I was pinned to a tabletop and didn't have much strength left to fight back. The further he bent my arm the more tearing I felt in my shoulder. It was unbearable, but still I fought. The man bore down with all of his strength and that was all it took. My arm snapped so loud I thought a gunshot went off in the room. All I felt was severe pain and nausea as I lay there, gasping for breath.

  My sight was returning and I saw Ceit standing over me with wild eyes and a smile stretched across her face. "I am impressed, Serus. Here I thought you were merely a man at the right place and the right time for all of your glorious achievements. Apparently, you can put up a fight. I am not sorry to say that those days are over. In fact, all of your days are over. Take him outside," she commanded.

  Several men grabbed me and started dragging me through the transport. My body was riddled with injuries and I couldn't even stand. The men hauled me out by my arms and legs. Every step they took tore at the muscles in my broken arm and sent shooting pains down my body. I tried to fire my gauntlet, but it seemed I had experienced some damage to the nerves that controlled the firing of it. My gauntlet was nothing more than a bracelet at this point.

  Once we were in the cargo bay, I saw dead bodies everywhere. Several of them were members of The Syndicate, but I then saw the body of Commander Brzer lying next to several policemen. Our plan had fallen apart again. It seemed we would never come out ahead. The Syndicate was too powerful.

  The men dragged me outside and tossed me to the ground. I couldn't hold back tears from the pain I felt coursing through my body. I longed for a sip of Serum to numb me from this experience, but I couldn't even move my hand enough to retrieve the bottle. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw how gray the sky had become. It was as if the storm from yesterday was coming back. I could relate to that. Every storm in my life seemed to return with more fury than the previous one. I realized something as I stared up into the dark clouds sizzling with energy, ready to burst with rain. I understood how Harris could feel so defeated. It took them only a day to break me, where it took them several months to break him. I was weak, and this life did not seem worth living anymore. I closed my eyes and no longer cared what would come to me. I was broken and useless. It was time to die.

  Chapter 32

  Ceit came forward and looked down at me. Her fierce eyes widened with rage. Her short cropped brown hair was tousled by the wind as she smiled wickedly. The smell of her leather boots wafted into my nostrils, and I looked at her, helplessly defiant. Every part of my body ached, and
I knew my time had come. I just wished I had taken more of them with me. How much would be enough? I didn't know, but I knew I hadn't made it far enough.

  "Revenge is just like anything else in life," she said feigning a seductive voice. "It's better with an audience." She raised the gauntlet to aim it at me and then dropped to a kneeling position. Our eyes met and there was no sign or remorse reflecting back at me. There was only hate. A hate burning for me. It came as little comfort when you looked death in the face.

  "What are you waiting for?" I spat. The effort it took to talk was surprising. My voice was hoarse and my throat was dry. It hurt to swallow as well as speak.

  Her grin just widened. "I only wish my father were here to see his daughter take control of his empire and The Syndicate. He would be so proud of what I have accomplished, but those achievements come after this one: standing up to The Agency and killing the man who murdered my father in cold blood. You try to be heroic and ask what I'm waiting for? I'm waiting for nothing, Serus Blackwell. It is you who waits because death will come on my timeline, not yours." She sneered at me. I could hear a chorus of applause coming from those around us, but I couldn't see their faces. All I saw was Ceit.

  I was growing tired of her ruminating, and just wanted her to get on with it already. Perhaps that was the essence of my defeat. How I wanted the death to come and it would not come soon enough. I tried to lift my broken arm and raise my gauntlet, knowing it was a wasted effort. If only I could taunt her into action then I would be reprieved of this life. It was worth a shot.

  She saw straight through me. Ceit delivered a kick to my face that snapped my head back, shooting pain down my spine. A body that knew pain quickly discovered a how far back the threshold to endure it had escaped. It was too much to endure, yet somehow I still lived. I was all but completely unconscious as she straddled me. She looked at me and spit in my face. "Go to hell, Serus Blackwell," she sneered I felt the stares from members of The Syndicate. They were truly enjoying this display of power; murmurs of agreement broke out as they idly watched me get what they felt I deserved. I was the one who had nearly brought their empire to an end. If only we had known there was a spy in our ranks, we could have silenced her and defeated them soundly. That was the problem with hindsight, though.