Menace and Tain were quickly surrounded by the other men who were soon giving Menace pointers on how to use the machine gun. Solace could have helped but knew the children were on edge. The young teen was wringing her hands. Solace placed her hands on her shoulders.
“You are a brave young lady, Nina. All of you children are brave. Look at what you’ve been through. You have battled in a war, you’ve made weapons on Doom’s planet and you are all loyal. I think if the alien is manipulating things he will begin taking us when the hybrid is close or gearing up for an attack.”
“Will he send us to Doom?” A little voice piped up. Solace crouched and picked up Blue.
“I don’t know, sweetheart. Menace and I will find you no matter what happens.”
“Me too?” Cole held his arms up to her.
Solace smiled and hefted him to her hip. “We’re a team you guys. Before when the sinkholes took you from our Earth it was scary because you didn’t know what was going on. We’re ready this time. We have each other.”
Solace took in their wary faces. She kissed Cole’s forehead then Blue’s. She wondered if knowing was for the best. Time would tell. The first to disappear was Em. Nina screamed as a dark hole hovered over the child’s head while sitting on a tree branch watching Menace learn to shoot. Nina reached for her, they clasped hands as Menace raced to them, shouting at them to go to Doom, they must go to Doom. Solace wasn’t certain if it was the aliens he was calling to or the children.
Joe strode to his son and picked him up. Solace doubted the boy’s feet would ever hit the ground again. She didn’t blame Joe for a second knowing he would travel to every planets hell if he had to if he must find his son again.
“So that’s it?” Tain raged. “They pick us off one by one? This fucking sucks.”
The sinkhole that took the girls was gone and a clear blue sky was overhead. Everyone was stunned. Nick had a hand to his mouth and Solace was certain he held back sobs. The pain etched on his face made him appear to be the helpless teen he was.
“I lost them,” the teen muttered. “Lost many.”
“This is beyond your control,” Solace said to comfort him. “There are times life is not in your control.”
“You mean Doom,” his tone was that of rage. “I not Doom.” Nick stormed off.
“You may need more than a gun, to kill the hybrid,” Lochlan said as they watched Nick stomp his way into the plane pulling the twins with him.
“Like what?” Menace asked.
“Like a bomb,” Joe said.
“We don’t have bombs here and less time to make them,” Solace said.
Joe gazed at the plane. He sighed as he ran a hand over the sleek metal. “This pile of junk and I have been friends for a long time. We have rope. We need some fat or something that burns steady.”
Solace caught his idea. If all else failed Menace would need to blow up the plane. They set to work on a long rope coated in mammoth fat and tree pitch. Menace would need to get as far away as possible once the rope was lit. They worked closely together. The hybrid could be watching Menace learn to shoot and would understand the weapon was dangerous but it had never seen a plane and wouldn’t know it could blow.
“Hey, guys.” Solace gazed at Joe, Bastian, Lochlan and Tain. “I want to say I’m happy I met you. Not the circumstances, but pleased to know you nonetheless. My father was army; he would have been honored to have you on his team.”
“I’ve got your back,” Lochlan said then grinned. “Until it vanishes anyway.”
“I hope you and Menace get to where you need to be,” Joe said, he carried his son in his arms, Solace was surprised he could hold the boy for so long. It was apparent Joe was never going to lose his boy again.
“We will,” Menace said. “Please know you are all welcome on my planet. If there is where you end up, I would be pleased to have you in my village, and so would Doom.”
“We best get some rest,” Tain said. Solace smiled at him. He was a quiet complex man, never making mention of loved ones or home.
“If we are being taken where do you want to end up, Tain?” she asked.
“Anywhere I can shoot my gun.”
“What about you, Joe?” Solace asked.
“A quiet place to raise my son.” He smiled slightly then followed Tain into the plane.
“Well Bastian, you’re next,” Lochlan said. “Where do you want your hide going?”
“Joe and I have been friends a long time. Wherever he goes is fine, as long as there are lots of women.”
Lochlan chuckled. “I have no ties on my earth,” Lochlan said. “I’d kinda like to meet the dude called Doom.” He winked at Solace and they went to the plane followed by Menace.
The twin boys disappeared overnight with Nick. Solace’s insides were in an uproar. She was reminded of a story by Agatha Christie—And Then There Were None. All were on edge. She was loath to release Menace’s hand for a second but he was learning about a weapon he obviously fell in love with. Tain was giving more instructions to Menace when a vortex opened and he was sucked in, howling, leaving the gun behind. Solace was in a panic. Menace was catching on fast but she was terrified she would be next to go. Joe and his son disappeared together during the next night, followed quickly by Lochlan.
“Why is it the black dude is always the last to go?” Bastian complained. “Aliens can’t handle me, that’s why. Too smart for them, too handsome, too…”
He was still complaining when he stepped from the plane and the ground swallowed him. Solace stood looking at Menace.
“We need to take a stand. The hybrid must be close. If we can spot him before he spots us, it would be better.” He nodded.
Menace raced them to the pond where at the marsh they turned over rocks to step in the depression, then settled the rocks back into position to hide their tracks. Menace turned to Solace. He crushed her into his embrace. His thumbs stroked her cheeks.
“You know that no matter what I will always find you.” She nodded. “I live in you. Keep me safe. That means you must be safe at all cost, my love. I couldn’t bear to be without you. You are everything to me. You are warmth and beauty, passion, and power. I am honored with your love. I have never been happier than when I am with you. Do you know I never smiled as a child or an adult until I met you? The first time was so foreign to me I was afraid, yes afraid. It was as though I walked from darkness into light, I could see, Solace. My heart opened, you did that. Can you even guess how special you make my world and those around you? Be safe, my love.”
He pressed his forehead to hers and rubbed her cheek with a thumb. She smiled while trying not to cry. This time they were prepared to be parted; it didn’t sting less. Solace sucked in her breath gazing beyond him. The hybrid was coming, racing along the marsh; it must have been watching them. Huge legs took long strides. Menace turned to look when she pointed. When he glanced to where Solace once stood, she was gone.
Chapter Nine
Solace gazed at her surroundings. She wasn’t on any planet. There didn’t appear to be a floor beneath her feet but she was on solid ebony ground. Her reflection gazed up at her as she studied where she stood. She was standing in a massive room watching earths, twenty of them—no nineteen, as one disintegrated into particles—hover and circle her, from everywhere. Each planet appeared close enough to touch, such was the illusion. She was in semi-darkness. The planets, all different colors, with some being larger, spun lazily. Each planet was in possession of at least one sun, and moon. Solace turned at the deep voice of a male. A cloak covered him from head to toe.
“Don’t be afraid.”
“Which is the planet Menace is on right now?”
He pointed to a larger planet. “The same type of fiery meteors that hit your Earth in the early thousand year beginnings hit their Earth but with the different DNA building blocks to create life. It was too flawed. There was too much illness, sadness, more so than your Earth. The humanoids warred often and died young. People gave up
on hope. Some sat in corners wishing for death, others crumpled where they stood watching gangs who committed cruelties. The DNA mix was no good. Exaggerated evil mixed with meek. I couldn’t take the suffering.
“It was time to call them back to us. There is no one left on that planet and we have yet to decide what to do with it and some of the people who wait in limbo for our decision. The planet will postpone life for a few hundred thousand years. We may add other species first. Before we introduce any signs of human life we will wait until all traces of the others vanish. Your Earth taught us that. Pyramids, Stonehenge, and other phenomenon. Humans are so inquisitive. At times they can be delightful, others exasperating.”
“Which am I?”
“Both.”
“Menace is alone on that planet with a hybrid from his world.”
“The hybrid he fell into the sinkhole with was sent onto another planet, that one, for safe keeping. The Neandersauri must be dispatched. It is unfortunate but the creature cannot stay there. I didn’t know where else to send it. I am hopeful Menace will be victorious but you humans have taken much of my time. I have others to settle.”
“Then why did you take me from Menace?”
“You are not meant to die on that planet.”
“Is Menace?”
“Menace is supposed to go home. He carries too many lives on his person to simply lose. I need a home for those souls as well.”
Something about his tone bothered her. “Did you return the others to Doom’s planet?”
“Some. Tain and Bastian are headed to a new destiny. The father of the one we want for our new planet will stay with his child. We came to the conclusion there could be no separating of the two. Joe would go after his son again and Doom’s planet is no place for either. The new planet they were sent is not in infancy, but rather in a far more advanced state, something the boy needs. Do not fear for them, they will be fine. I anticipate Joe’s reaction to flight and the manner in which it’s done on his new world.”
“What about Doom’s planet?”
“The hybrids are too dangerous, but Doom is winning the war. Unfortunately it won’t be of consequence. Something not foreseen but not at all unusual either will happen. There is a planet on a collision course with his planet.”
“What?” she shrieked. “Make it stop.”
“The two colliding planets will merge and create different life.”
“Yes and will kill everyone on the planet. Are you so callous about life?”
“I adore life. If there was a way to stop the planet we would. The collision is not of our doing.”
“The sinkholes…”
“The sinkholes are unfortunate and somewhat unstable. I am also not the cause of all of them. Other aliens play a factor. I can’t suddenly open a bunch of holes and drop Doom’s people in. I already have a wayward hybrid; I can’t risk more falling through. The sinkhole wasn’t meant to take the Neandersauri and I can’t direct a sinkhole to a dead or dying planet. Menace and you could have been happy on the planet of All Humans, where you were welcomed, but it wasn’t to be. Menace’s drive is too strong; his loyalty to his planet and Doom runs deep. We are also not without the fond hand of fate interfering at times, annoying as it is.”
He waved his arm in a different direction to send Solace to gaze at a higher planet. One more earth was on the verge of death, it was turning gray.
“What about the people on that planet?” she asked.
“The humans and inhabitants are long gone. Fate had a hand in that.”
“So once all of your Earths die the human race will be gone?” Solace asked.
“No, planets form all the time, they grow and expand. See the dead Earth is gone, deteriorated and is now dust and particles. Everything is floating. All of the debris will reassemble with crucial DNA to form another Earth and Earth-like planets. The planets will have their own species. Even the dead and buried take something of themselves to new worlds. You are never really gone. Dinosaur bones, fossils should have taught you that.”
“Roaming planets?”
“Orphan worlds, planemo, planets with no stars will sling shot each other.”
“Sling shot?” Solace’s thoughts began to race.
“Those worlds can move into our system and we can nurture life, give the planets a home. They are without an owner and yet to be molded.”
Solace went to stare at Menace’s world. She could see a meteor would be directly beside the planet before being struck by the wayward planet. The meteor would align with the wayward planet for a brief moment.
“You can manipulate the new planet. You can sling shot the meteor against the other planet like in the game of pool and move Doom’s planet those few inches out of reach. You can change the gravitational pull for a few seconds. That’s all we need, a tiny tap from the meteor not a collision with the huge planet. The meteor can be a go between. We just got our proverbial fulcrum and lever.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Archimedes said, ‘Give me a fulcrum and a lever and I can move the world.’ Let’s move the world—Doom and Menace’s world, a few inches.”
“Moving an established earth with a moon and sun and gravitational pull could have devastating effects.”
“Oh, and having a planet crash and kill everyone won’t.”
“The timing is everything. The meteor would have to rap the planet a millisecond before the collision. The gravitational sling shot would then have to pull Doom’s earth back into place again a millisecond after the meteor and planet pass.”
“But you can do it?’
“Yes but…”
“Do it, damn you. Set it up.”
“I’ve seen your pool games dearie, and remember the black ball.”
“Then think of it as a pretty pink planet.”
“The shift will pull Doom’s earth toward the moon and it will be high tide when the change occurs. You could be looking at substantial flooding.”
“Yes but the flooding will recede?”
“Technically yes. A hypercane could form, volcanoes will erupt when none had. Continents will split. There could be an ice age.”
“Then send me there to warn the villagers to get to higher ground and get provisions ready.”
“That isn’t possible.”
“Why not?”
“I explained to Clarity she wasn’t supposed to be there.”
“She came back.”
“She is on a collision course with a planet.”
“What is so different about her and me?”
“Your blood type. The RH negative factor was never to mix with this planet. We tried it on your Earth thousands of years ago, then again on another planet. On your planet there is a color war, a religious war. Fighting is also on the other planet. Just think of being separated from your mother at birth because you are O positive or O negative. A virtual blood war where no one cares about the color of your skin or religion any more than they would care if grass is green. We decided not to do it again.”
“How do you know I’m not supposed to be on Doom’s planet? What if there is a higher power that directs even you?”
“Interesting concept. Perhaps true.”
“Send me back.”
“You could die.”
“I want to be with Menace. I need to warn the others.”
“It’s admirable you are willing to risk your life. Are you willing to risk the life of your baby?”
That stopped her in her tracks. “My, my baby?”
“You carry life, Solace. I can detect a force within you. Small as yet but there is something there. You have some time to decide. Come, eat. Rest. Your warrior needs to concentrate on the hybrid. I will send him a sign you are well. In the meantime I see a game of pool in my future.”
****
Menace panicked. He knew Solace would be taken from him, but to where? The hybrid was gaining ground. The wind picked up. The tingling of icy fear invaded his heart for her. What if she were
tossed into a battle unarmed? How could he function without his love, how could he not? It was up to him alone to defeat the Neandersauri. He couldn’t let all earths down he needed to focus.
“I will not fail Solace. I will not.”
A small flower fluttered to the ground near his feet. Solace’s favorite kind. Menace looked up in time to see the remains of a dark hole close. The flower was from his world. Did it mean Solace was safely back on his planet with Doom, waiting for him? Menace hoped so. The gift was enough to focus on what needed to be done. The sooner he killed the beast the sooner he would learn Solace’s fate.
The machine gun in his hand set off popping noises as he aimed for the hybrid who was fast approaching. The beast raised a shield last moment, it looked to be a rusted car door, and what Menace had thought to be an easy kill wasn’t so easy. The beast kept coming, his long legs eating up the terrain. The shield lowered slightly and there was an evil grin on the beast’s face. Menace should have known the being was clever. Menace turned and it was his turn to let his feet fly over the land. He had to get behind the beast or over it.
Heart hammering in his chest, he had never pumped his legs so brutally fast. The plane came into view. The engine was destroyed, completely gutted with the parts cooked black in the ground oven Solace made days earlier. They would take no chances. A group of five massive dogs attacked and Menace wielded the gun taking the lives of two. The beasts howled and backed off to go after the hybrid. Menace jumped into the plane, his sword swinging at his side from his belt, he needed both hands to hold the gun. He watched as the hybrid smashed the dogs with the car door, into the face, onto a head, making them cry out in pain, and a thought occurred to Menace.
As the hybrid lifted the door to send another dog flying, Menace fired on his enemy. He’d thought to take the beast out with a clean shot. He was a skilled hunter and the idea filling him was enlightening. Menace wasn’t in need of a compassionate execution. The beast was his enemy, not mere prey or food. The bullets hit along the hybrid’s left side from ankle to hip. The hybrid went down as bone shattered. The Neandersauri bellowed in fury and agony. The beast crushed the third dog by crashing the door onto its back. Exposed for mere seconds, Menace rattled off another burst. The hybrid jerked as he was hit in his hip and right arm. Menace slammed the plane door closed as the hybrid rose to his feet and began to run for him.
Finding Solace (Ancient Origins Book 2) Page 12