She even appears shorter than I remember, but of course, she’s not wearing heels now. Nothing about this girl reminds me of my sister, and even though I didn’t ever connect with the girl I’m remembering, I hate that it has been taken away from her.
“You’re bleeding. Are you hurt?” Her hand brushes my forehead.
“I’m fine. Are you okay?”
“Yes, but we can’t stay here; we have to get back to the others,” she whispers, her hand resting over Logan’s head. She’s comforting him.
“Others? Where did you come from?”
“We’re all hiding in these underground bunkers, but Logan bolted away, so I chased after him.”
Logan’s head lifts up at the sound of his name, and he glances at Hannah, reaching out to touch her cheek, but his head soon rests against my chest once more.
“Are they safe?”
“They’re under the houses. It’s the only safe place we have. We should go back to them. Those things…” her voice trails off, fear making her shake. “They’re everywhere. They scare me, Mattie. I’ve never seen… I can’t move when they’re near me. I freeze, and…” Fresh tears rush down her face.
I lean forward, hugging her to me and Logan. My heart breaks seeing her so upset. This is the first time I’ve ever seen her looking fearful. The first time she’s appeared broken to me. Before this, the only tears I saw were from a tantrum. I wish this was an overreaction. I wish our lives weren’t in danger.
I know Marduke said that everyone would be safe in the bunkers, but if he is making me go into those tunnels with him, then he obviously knows that is a safer place to be. He would never intentionally put me and Riley in danger. Therefore, if I’m going down there, then so are Hannah and Logan.
“I’m afraid of them, too, but you can’t go back to the bunkers. I know an even safer place for us. We need to find Marduke.”
I recall the last time I saw him. He purposely got the attention of that creature so we could escape. What if the creature got to him? What if he’s dead?
“Is Marduke the guy you met in Canada?”
“How did you know about him?”
“Lisa told me some of the things that happened after the invasion hit. She said you and Hank recused a man in Canada. Logan has been asking for him every day as well as asking for you. He calls him Dude.”
“M’dude. Is he here?” Logan speaks up, his fingers pinching my arms painfully.
“Lisa…” I breathe her name, my heart aching as I picture Hank. Is he still alive? What happened to him on Roth?
“She’s in the bunker with her family and the girls,” Hannah mutters, her hands quickly wiping at her eyes. Hannah likes crying as much as I do, which is not at all. Although, she was always willing to openly cry for Mum or Dad, if it got her what she wanted.
Another painful squeeze as I recall our parents. How are we supposed to handle this without them? I’m Hannah’s older sister. How am I meant to be strong for her as well as Logan and Riley when the baby is born? I’m not even sure I’m strong enough to handle this just for myself.
“What safer place is this? How safe is it?” Hannah breaks me out of my dark thoughts.
“It’s safe. We have to find Marduke.”
“How? Where is he? We can’t just go plodding along the streets, searching for him. I’m not sure if you’ve had to face one of these disgusting things, but they’re freaking scary.”
“Trust me, I know.” I glance down the other end of this small walkway situated between buildings.
The easiest way to find Marduke is to find the spaceship and the tunnel entrance. Ival is no doubt still there, and it gets Logan and Hannah one step closer to being safe.
“This way.” While I jog down the passageway, my arms knocking the sides of the building, Hannah falls in behind me.
“Mattie, are you sure you know what you’re doing? This seems like a really stupid idea. I mean, how is that Duke guy meant to have a safer place for us when he’s not even from this stupid planet! I’ve seen those scary creatures and the robot things attacking, and they can knock entire buildings over. Nothing is really all that safe, nothing above ground.”
“I know, trust me.”
“You’re going to get us killed!” Hannah shrieks at me. “This is just typical. You have to be in charge; Mattie always knows what’s right. We’re on an alien planet here! I think we can put aside your need to control everything and—”
I’m ready to cut Hannah’s rant off, ready to tell her to shut up and stop being a whiney baby, but I don’t get the chance. I open my mouth, ready to snap at her, and instead, a scream leaves my mouth.
Just as we reach the end of the narrow pathway, flames shoot down at us from where we just were at the opposite end. They race towards us just as the building to the side collapses under the weight of a creature that is thrown into it. We scurry out of there, just avoiding being burned alive, while the flames sprout out of the gap next to the crumbling building.
We manage two seconds of catching our breath before a machine pounces over the creature that was just getting back to its feet. The machine crushes it under its weight, however the creature manages one last lunge with its tail claw and stabs the machine through the chest. Not enough to kill it, but it is stuck as the creature explodes underneath the machine’s weight, and the strange substance the machine is drenched in causes it to sizzle and hiss. The machine appears to be melting.
“That is so gross,” Hannah whispers, her voice shaking again.
I glance down at Logan, seeing that he has his face hidden against my chest. His arms and legs are gripping me tightly and his entire body is trembling.
I try to get my bearings. I only jumped one street over from where Ival said the entrance is. However, I ran down that street a long way. I must be in the right area, just too far upwards.
“This way.” I reach out and take Hannah’s arm, dragging her with me.
We only take a few steps before I hear my name being called again.
“Mattie?” Lisa’s voice hisses my name from a shadow. I jump in fear, not expecting the sudden noise from right beside me.
“Lisa?” I gasp her name, watching as she races towards us and wraps her arms around me tightly from the side, hugging me and Logan to her.
“I can’t believe you’re really here! When did you arrive? What happened to you? What happened to Hank? Is he here with you?” She quickly sweeps the area, not giving me a chance to respond to any of her questions before she rushes to speak again. “I was so scared when Logan showed up but you didn’t. He said he didn’t know what happened to Hank, and that the last thing he remembered was falling asleep and you were crying.”
“Hank is…” I hold my breath. What is Hank? The last time I saw him, we were running for our lives in a forest that was burning down. What if he didn’t get out? What if he’s dead? “We got separated. Now isn’t really the time to talk about this.”
I listen to the screeching and feral screams surrounding us. We’re right in the middle of this new warzone, and it feels like we’re in the eye of the storm.
“But he’s okay? He’s alive?” Lisa grips my arm, her eyes pleading with me to give her at least that much relief.
“Yes, Hank is alive,” I tell her, praying I am right about that.
“Why are you out of the bunker?” Hannah asks her as Lisa moves away from us and re-emerges from the shadow holding a small child.
“Logan and you disappeared, and I knew… I knew Mattie would want me to make sure you were safe. Then Hope chased after Logan and I lost you both as I went after her.”
I glance back over the small girl, seeing the familiar red hair and fear that marred her pretty face for most of the time I knew her on Earth.
“Thank you for going after them.” I give her a small smile, knowing how terrified Lisa is about all this and she still went after Logan and Hannah. “I’m so happy to see you,” I tell her, allowing another brief hug before I pull back.
We have already lost too much time, and I know we have to get to this tunnel entrance soon. While Marduke will wait for me, I know Ival won’t. He might have already given up, and if Marduke returned to find us not there, then he will go looking for us. We might forever miss each other until one or both of us ends up dead.
That cannot happen.
The lights grow brighter as we near where the entrance is. As we come closer to the clearing, we also face a new problem.
There is a battle raging on right now between the creatures and machines. Buildings that were standing only what must have been half an hour earlier, are now completely demolished. The area of this clearing has expanded and it feels like a miracle when I spot Marduke and Ival in the distance.
They’re standing close to one of the undisturbed buildings, and it appears they are arguing. What the hell are they doing openly fighting in such a dangerous situation? They should be hiding at the very least! Although, I can hazard a pretty good guess as to what they are fighting about. No doubt Ival wants to leave, and Marduke is insisting on waiting for me.
Regardless of how stupid they are being, I allow myself a small sigh of relief that Marduke is alive. However, my smile dies when someone steps into my view of Marduke. Someone who instantly has my skin crawling and my stomach rebelling.
Jeprow steps towards me and I shake, realising he is only a few, short feet away from me while wearing a creepy smile on his face that sends chills down my spine.
“Hannah, take Logan,” I hiss at her. I try to hand him over, but he’s stubborn and his arms grip hold of me, refusing to let go without a fight. I end up having to pry his hands away, which starts him crying.
“Do you see those two men over by that building?” I whisper, my eyes never leaving Jeprow.
“Yes, I think so,” Lisa answers, her body leaning in as she no doubt squints her eyes to see who I’m talking about.
“It’s Marduke. I need you guys to get over to him as quickly as possible.”
“Mattie, you’re scaring me. What is going on?” Hannah asks as she struggles to keep hold of Logan who is trying to kick his way out of her arms.
“Logan, please stop. Marduke is right over there waiting for you,” I say, seeing in the corner of my eye that he calms down immediately.
I can’t bring myself to look away from Jeprow. I’m sure he will disappear from my view if I look away for even a second. As terrifying as it is to be staring him down, I think it will be worse to know he is here without being able to see him.
“Aren’t you coming with us?” Lisa asks, her hand reaching out and taking mine.
“I’ll be with you soon,” I croak out, my fear trying to drown my voice.
“What about those creatures and the robots?” Hannah cries.
“They’re more interested in each other at the moment. Now go,” I snap.
Once I feel them shuffling off, I step forward. I don’t want Jeprow’s attention shifting off me.
“So, you found me,” I call out, trying to sound unconcerned.
“You trouble like I thought,” he growls, his obvious anger sounds out of place given his twisted smile he’s still displaying.
“So what is the plan now?” I ask him while taking another step closer to him. It gives me a better view of everything.
Behind him, I see the others hugging the sides of the buildings as they make their way around the fighting and towards Marduke and Ival. I know the exact moment when Marduke sees them because he stops arguing with Ival and races towards them. I glimpse him reaching out and grabbing Logan before I shift my attention back to Jeprow.
“Plan kill you.” He shrugs casually, his rage only briefly flashing over him before he gets himself under control.
I glance again behind him, seeing a new argument happening between Marduke and Ival. No doubt, he doesn’t want everyone to be allowed down his precious tunnels, and Marduke is fighting him on it because he knows how important everyone there is to me.
“That sounds a little boring.” I sound braver than I feel. Am I really trying to suggest that he should keep me alive and torture me?
He takes his first step towards me, his smile turning bigger. It draws attention to the sharp edges of his jaw and cheekbones. “Promise I make fun time.”
“You know I’d love to, but I think I’m a bit busy at the moment.” I glance again over his shoulders, and I’m horrified when he glances over his shoulder, too.
I sigh in relief, though, when I see that no one is there. They must be inside, searching for the tunnel opening.
“What you see?” he asks, again glancing over his shoulder.
I take his offered distraction and quickly dodge to the side, running away from where I last saw Marduke and the others, sprinting past the fighting and through one of the houses.
I know Jeprow is following close behind because I hear his laughter. He must think this is a game; no doubt he’s sure he can beat me.
I’ve always been a great runner, and I’m incredibly competitive. Unfortunately, I haven’t been training, and I definitely haven’t been eating correctly. I’m not at my best, and several times, I feel his fingers brushing my back, ready to reach out and grab me. I know I can’t let that happen.
When I break out onto the street, I immediately search for a small passageway. Three, torturous buildings away, I find one and run down it, my arms again scraping the sides.
Jeprow is wider than even Ival, and I hear him grunt when he can’t run through it like I can. I look back, seeing him moving slowly and having to twist his shoulders to fit through. I know this is the biggest advantage I’m going to get, therefore I push myself harder
When I make it out of the other side, I am almost crushed by a machine landing next to me. I scream, having not anticipated such an unexpected thing to happen, and then cry out when someone grabs hold of my arm.
As I look to the side and see Marduke’s panicked face, I don’t get time to thank him or hug him before he’s dragging me away. We sprint towards the building where the entrance to the tunnels is, and when we are inside, he moves me straight towards the back room.
He taps his hand against a wall and it opens up a control panel. From there, he holds his hand flat against it and below us a hidden door appears. He moves away from the wall, grabbing the door and opening it up. All I see are stairs, and as soon as I step over the edge, coolness overwhelms me and causes me to shiver.
I rush down the steps, watching as Marduke moves over the entrance as well. Then, as he begins to close the door, a loud crash blasts over us and the door is forcefully slammed shut. Marduke is pushed down, not ready for the force of the building surrounding the entrance to collapse onto the door
As we’re sealed into the darkness, he falls down and knocks into me. We both collapse, and thankfully, I’m wearing my vest to protect the baby. Regrettably, my head doesn’t have any such protection, and I feel the painful jolt as I crack the back of it on the ground. Marduke’s body crushes mine for only a few moments before he rolls off me and wraps his arms around me.
“Mattie, are you okay? I’m so sorry; please say I didn’t hurt you.” His hands skim over me, moving from my face, down my arms, over my vest, and even touching my legs before he moves back to resting his hands on either side of my face.
“I’m okay,” I gasp, hoping that is true. I don’t have time to not be okay. “Where are the others? Did you get them here safely?” I panic when I realise there will be no going back now. Not with the only entrance to the city above trapped under a collapsed building.
“Yes, we should keep moving if you are sure you’re unharmed.” Marduke’s voice echoes around us.
He helps me stand, but I feel shaky on my feet. I lean in and hug him tightly, needing his warmth and strength as he wraps me up in his arms.
“Thank you. I’m sorry I ran, but I saw Logan, and I had—”
“It’s okay, I understand. I’m just grateful we got him here safely. You’ll all be safe in here, I
promise.”
I nod, trying to let his words soak in and comfort me. I’m still in shock over everything that happened since being taken on Roth, though. I might have been in some weird sort of coma on Jeprow’s spacecraft, but my brain hasn’t been able to process anything I’ve been through. As soon as I woke up, I was fighting my way out of that room and getting to Marduke. Then, after we grabbed Ival, we were dropping out of a moving spaceship and arriving on a war stricken Oden. I am overwhelmed and exhausted.
Therefore, when I hear yelling echoing down to us and sobbing, I fear that the comfort Marduke just tried to give me is already pointless.
What threat is down here with us? What is waiting for us now? What is happening to the others?
Chapter 4
Mattie
The farther down we travel, the louder the voices and a light in the distance grows. I recognise one of the voices yelling. It is Lisa, and she sounds angry, not scared. Since she is down here with only Hannah, the kids, and Ival, it’s obvious who she is yelling at.
When we enter the new area, a light trailing along the ceiling of the tunnel reveals the scene in front of us. Hannah loses her grip on Logan’s hand as he sprints at us and throws himself at my legs, knocking me back into Marduke, who is able to catch me and keep me upright.
“Careful, Logan,” I mutter distractedly, steadying myself before reaching down to hold him. My eyes are glued to Lisa as she rages at Ival.
“You are the reason I’m here! You sent me away from Hank! You took me off Earth!” She shoves his shoulder and I am impressed. Ival is a scary looking guy, and with the way he’s glaring at Lisa, I’d be hesitant to yell at him, let alone push him.
When I hear Ival growling, though, I know it’s time to step in.
“Lisa, calm down.”
“Calm down! Are you serious? Do you not know who this is?” She turns around to face me, her shrieking voice echoing loudly around the tunnel.
“I do know who this is, but you don’t understand—”
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