Oden

by Jessica Frances

  “Can I try?” Hannah asks, but as soon as I leave the area, it won’t work for her.

  “How did you do that?”

  “It’s Riley, I think. The DNA from the baby works for their technology.”

  “Freaky. What else can you do now because of the baby? Can you fly? Can you read my mind?”

  “No, but I can vomit and cry on demand and for no reason.”

  “Sounds boring,” Hannah teases.

  I roll my eyes, stepping into the area with her and letting her wash her hands.

  “Are you scared about having a baby?”

  “Terrified,” I admit.

  “I think you’ll make a great mother. Just look at how attached Logan is to you. And that’s after only knowing you for a couple months back on Earth. I’ve had him for months here, and he still talks about you, Dude, and his daddy.”

  “He’s a good kid. I’m worried about how messed up he’s going to be with all of this, though. I mean, at least we’re adults in this situation, right? How is a five-year-old meant to handle any of this?”

  “I don’t know. I might be over ten years older than him, but I’m struggling with it all. I’m so glad you’re here. I was losing it before, almost at my breaking point. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” As Hannah’s voice cracks at the end, I pull her forward to give her a hug.

  “I was worried about you, too. From now on, we do this together.”

  She nods, wiping quickly at her eyes. I take her back into the room with Logan and tell her I’ll get us some food.

  My feet ache, my legs protest every step, and my eyelids fight me, wanting to close shut along the way, but I finally make it to the area Marduke has spoken about.

  Sadly, there is no food to be found. There are empty bottles that I am able to fill from the water that comes out of a sink area, even though I see no taps to tell me where it’s coming from. Everything feels foreign, and it gives me the worse wave of homesickness I’ve felt in a long time.

  The bottles are easily a litre each, so after filling one up, I drink as much as I can before I begin to feel sick, and then fill it back up. There are four empty bottles, and I struggle to carry them all back to the rooms.

  When I enter the room Lisa and Hope are in, I find them both sleeping on top of the bed. I stare over Lisa, worried about how she will react to me being pregnant. She’s my best friend, but she’s also suffered at the hands of Marduke’s people. She’s lost the man she loves, and she’s now separated from her family, with no easy way to return to them. Not with the only entrance there now buried.

  What if I have lost her friendship forever?

  I leave two bottles with them, deciding to leave the door ajar in case they can’t open them later, or if they want the light in there. I appear to be the only one able to turn the lights in the room on, and the heat only comes from the walls when I enter.

  When I go in the opposite room, I find Logan is still asleep, and Hannah is lying next to him, her eyes open.

  She accepts the bottle when I hand it to her and greedily drinks from it. She’s pulled her hair up into a bun so the wet curls don’t touch her new, dry clothes.

  “So what is that vest thing I saw on you earlier? You didn’t take it off even though it’s wet.”

  “I can’t actually take it off. It only works for Marduke’s touch.”

  “So he can get you naked when he wants and you have no choice if you want to shower naked and he’s not around to take it off for you?” When she raises her eyebrow, I can see her suspicion behind her eyes. She’s wondering if Marduke is some controlling, dominating man who is perhaps taking advantage of me.

  “It’s more a protection thing. This is like a bullet-proof vest, but better. It’s protecting me and Riley. It’s a big deal for Marduke to give me this. He’s making himself vulnerable, just so I’m safer.”

  Hannah stares at me; her eyes glazed over as she thinks about what I’ve just said.

  “I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that you’ve fallen for an alien. That you’re carrying an alien in your stomach.”

  My hands automatically wrap around my abdomen. I feel like I need to shield the baby from Hannah’s words. I know she’s not trying to be mean by what she’s saying, but I want to scream at her that there is nothing wrong with Marduke and me loving each other, that Riley isn’t some weird alien baby, but my baby.

  I don’t scream at her, though, because there is part of me that knows she is right. It’s both weird that I have fallen for Marduke, and that I am carrying inside me an unborn, half-breed child. If my own sister can’t accept it, then I have no hope in Lisa or anyone else being tolerant.

  “Still, I can understand your attraction to him. Man, you guys had some serious sexual chemistry pouring off you earlier. I thought, for a second there, you were going to jump his bones right in front of me!”

  “Hannah,” I groan, already anticipating the next question she’s going to ask.

  “So, what is the sex like?”

  “I can’t explain it to you because one, it’s none of your business, and two, you’ve never had sex, so it won’t mean anything since you’ll have nothing to compare it to.”

  “Well, actually…” She trails off and my mouth drops open.

  “No way, when?” I gasp.

  “I went to a party during school holidays, and Jayden Hooper was there. And you know,” she shrugs, “things happened.”

  “No-freaking-way! Jayden Hooper!” I try to keep my voice down so I don’t wake Logan, yet it still comes out like a loud squeal.

  “Yeah. I mean, he was a god in your grade, so you can imagine what he was like to us. It’s not that big of a deal. I was sixteen and he was eighteen, so it wasn’t weird or anything.”

  “Are you sure? He didn’t pressure you, did he?” I suddenly have a sick feeling, one that has nothing to do with being forced to eat white mush or from Riley.

  “No, I was all for it. Most of my friends had already had sex, and I wanted my first to be with Jayden. He is so hot and muscly. I mean, you remember what he looks like, right?”

  “So what happened afterwards? Did he call you?” I wince as I realise Jayden most likely used my sister as a quick screw. I swear, if I ever see that bastard, I’m going to cut off his—

  “Oh, he called, many times. I just never took any of them. I know your first time isn’t meant to always be great, but he was awful. His kisses were all saliva, his dick was no bigger than my pinkie finger, and it was all over in about thirty seconds. Then he passed out on me so I couldn’t even move. It was gross.”

  I quickly try to change my thinking from outraged on my sisters behalf to grossed out as well.

  “Sorry your first time was so awful,” I finally say, my anger quickly dissipating when I see that, not only is she not upset, but in my exhausted state, I can’t keep any strong emotion going for long.

  “It doesn’t matter, not really. I got my friends off my case about finally doing it, and they were all jealous that I got with Jayden Hooper. I just kept it to myself that he was awful.”

  I shake my head, not understanding this at all. I never felt any pressure to have sex, however all of my friends were my teammates, and we mostly just spoke about basketball. It wasn’t until Lisa that dating became a common topic, and she never pushed me.

  I sense she’s about to ask me again about Marduke, and since I don’t want to discuss it with her, I quickly head her off.

  “I’m tired. Do you think we can continue this conversation tomorrow?” I beg, knowing that, when tomorrow comes, I’ll try to avoid it then, too.

  “Sure, but don’t think you’re getting out of it.”

  “I know. Goodnight, sis. I’m glad you’re here. I love you.” I take her hand, squeezing it. I don’t think I’ve ever told her I love her before. I always have loved her, of course, but usually, we’re arguing or giving each other the silent treatment, as a result we never say it aloud.

  “I love you, too.
And when Riley is born, I’m sure I’ll love her, too.”

  I laugh at her words, feeling relief from them.

  “What if Riley is a boy?”

  “Then I’ll reserve judgment until I can change his diaper and not get peed on.”

  I laugh again, a lightness coming over me. I have not even considered diapers, but it’s a small worry in the grand scheme of things. It’s something I wish was my only worry.

  “Okay, then. Goodnight.”

  I move over to the door and leave it ajar. As I exit the room, the light goes out with me. I sit down along the hallway and wait. I don’t want to be alone, but since every room I enter lights up brightly, I don’t have much choice. Also, that bed won’t fit all three of us, and I know Hannah will insist I take the bed if I stay. I don’t want to stay in a room all by myself, and Marduke said he was just going to find Ival and then he’d be back. Therefore, my sitting on the ground is only temporary.

  I can’t hold off the sleep forever, though, and eventually, I do drift off to sleep. My final thoughts are of him and wondering what he and Ival are doing. He didn’t tell me where he was going or that he would be a long time.

  Could something be wrong?

  I don’t focus on that horrible thought, knowing Marduke is fine and these tunnels are safe.

  If only they could have remained that way for us forever. But as always, trouble is just around the corner.

  Chapter 7

  Marduke

  I find Ival rummaging through drawers and leaving everything in his wake a mess.

  “What are you doing?” I ask, stepping into the large room.

  There is a large table set out in the middle of the room. Scattered over it are digital maps and building plans. This would definitely not have been left like this, which means this has all happened since Ival got here.

  “I’m searching,” he states distractedly.

  “Yeah, what for?”

  “For any physical information on our… security systems and spaceships. I need to… know how they are able to override our power and shut us… down. This war will be lost if we can’t get up into the air.”

  “You really need to do that right this second?”

  “What else is important right now?” He finally stares up from the pages in his hand, giving me a hard look.

  “How about resting your body or refuelling. I had a quick look around, and there is no food down here. We need to get supplies before we all starve to death.”

  “Yes, well, that wouldn’t be such a hard thing if… we didn’t have to suddenly feed a bunch of useless humans,” he growls.

  “They didn’t ask to be put on Oden, we did that. Now, how about you get over them being here already, accept it, and let’s move on. Where does our nearest exit come out of?” As I distract him with a change in topics, I see his annoyance give way to his interest in the new topic.

  “Technically, our nearest exit is out by the ramp… where the water comes into the tunnels from, but that… is complicated and we will be stuck in the water and easily… discovered by Jeprow’s men from our home if we go that way. Also, we risk… the chance of drowning, and in our fatigued state, I don’t think it’s worth the risk.”

  “I agree.”

  “There is another, which enters directly through to… our house. Unfortunately, it was placed for the purpose of… getting quickly to safety. It was not set up to help infiltrate it from… within. Without knowing what we’re dealing with, entering from… there will amount to us surrendering. We save that until we know… it can be of use.”

  I nod, wishing he’d just hurry up and answer my question.

  “Our next entrance places us directly into the centre of Jyin. It would be useful knowledge to… see what state Jyin is in, and if we’ve been able to maintain any… control here. We have a higher amount of hinemas, and our soldiers as well as the majority… of our population reside here. It is important that we have control here.”

  “And if we don’t?”

  “Then we get it back. We cannot lose Jyin, and we… cannot lose Oden. This is our planet, and we will fight until the death to keep it.”

  I nod, half agreeing with his words while the other half of me is frustrated we still have so much to do before I can rest. I didn’t sleep at all while I was mistreated on Jeprow’s ship because I refused to allow myself to rest while I had no idea what Mattie was being put through. Now it has been a week without sleep, without proper food, and Ival is discussing war like we’re ready to face that.

  I’m not. I’m ready for a bed, Mattie wrapped up in my arms, and a long, deep sleep. The only reason I want to wake up is so I can make love to Mattie until we both fall back into a satisfied rest.

  Entering a battlefield, risking my life to gather food, and having to leave Mattie while I do that isn’t something I’m excited about, but she needs food. Riley needs food, I need it, and so will the others. If I don’t do this now, then I will find it harder to leave later, and perhaps Mattie will fight to come with us. At least, right now, she won’t know we’re leaving, and she will stay down here where it is safe.

  “Let’s go.” I groan, pushing off from the table I was using to help me stay upright and then leading the way out of the room, letting Ival take over after a while since he knows where we are going.

  Jyin can’t be in too bad of a state, right?

  ***

  Too much time later, we finally reach the exit we want. I climb up the ladder behind Ival as he slowly eases the hatch to take a peek at our surroundings. He is quick to close it again.

  “What is it?” I whisper, even though our voices can’t possibly carry out into the open.

  “Prepare yourself, brother,” Ival hisses, giving me no other warning about what I’m supposed to prepare for before he swings the door open and flings himself out.

  I follow suit, slamming the hidden door shut just as a Claw leaps over my head, aiming for Ival.

  It is an all-out war here except there are also our soldiers fighting back. We’re surrounded by destroyed buildings, the hidden door now out in the open. Of course, everyone is too distracted to notice where we’ve come from or even that we are here.

  As soon as the door closes, it blends back into the ground. We are lucky the building didn’t collapse over the entrance, or else we would have had to keep going until we could find a new entrance, which might have taken hours.

  Ival ducks down as one of our guards slams an arrow directly into the Claw’s head. I notice the men and women have guns on their sides, no doubt most taken from Earth and perhaps a few are our own knockoffs of their weapons, but no one is using them. Either they don’t realise the firepower they have at their hands, or they are choosing not to use the human technology.

  As more Claws pour their way towards us, I scramble forwards and grab a hold of one of the guns being ignored. The woman moves to complain at the intrusion, but pauses in shock when she sees my face.

  I point and shoot the gun until there are no bullets left, taking down four Claws.

  “Drym, you are here?” one of the men exclaims of Ival standing next to him, but instantly, he winces, knowing how Ival hates when someone states the obvious.

  “What is our status?” he barks out, taking the gun off the man’s side and looking it over.

  Another Claw storms towards our group and the woman next to me stands and fires off another arrow. It’s another direct hit and she crouches down afterwards to stay hidden.

  “We’re heavily under attack, thousands dead and more missing. We tried to evacuate our people, however they came at us from every direction. Our spaceships are useless, we can’t teleport anywhere, and we’re losing the battle against the Claws. The hinemas are stationed across the other side of town where most of the children are hiding in the bunkers. Their numbers are depleting rapidly, though.”

  “What of our leader? Is he alive?” he asks of our father.

  “No word, however we know your house has been taken ov
er. We fear he might be dead. We all thought you were taken hostage, too. If we hadn’t been trapped here, we were going to storm the house.”

  “No, this is where you need to be. Protect… our people as best you can,” Ival grunts.

  “Move!” someone farther down yells, and we all scramble when a particularly large Claw leaps into the air, landing where we had just been huddling earlier.

  I move away from the group, knowing I don’t have the energy for this fight and this is not the reason Ival and I came here.

  I run quickly, finding so much destruction surrounding me it takes my breath away. Our cities have always been beautiful, clean, and full of life. Right now, there is only death and devastation.

  Leaping over dead bodies and having to go around the dead Claws, I find a group of homes that have so far evaded destruction. Much like the bunkers on Edael, there are hidden bunkers in many houses here. So even though the buildings have crumbled, hopefully people knew enough to hide in there. There should be enough supplies in each to last past this war. Now we just need to win it.

  Moving into the large building, I enter and immediately search for a kitchen. I find it fully stocked and grab a bag, quickly filling it up. When it’s almost too heavy to lift, I tie it up and swing it over my shoulder. This will hopefully last us several days.

  Heading back towards the secret entrance to the tunnels proves to be harder than I would like, however. More Claws have flooded the streets, appearing to be never ending.

  Dodging and weaving around them, I find myself heading back towards Ival, who hasn’t left the small group we found earlier.

  He glares at me when I join them and his eyes narrow over the bag. I’m not sure what his problem is, but I don’t get to ask as three Claws sprint our way. I’m not sure if we would have had enough time to get out of the way if a loud ear-splitting whistle hadn’t happened. It came out of nowhere, and every Claw in the vicinity freezes, almost like they’re hypnotized.

  They glance upwards, and I see a few women and men taking advantage of their distracted state, shooting them in the head. However, when I glance upwards to see what the Claws find so interesting, I can’t look away.