Annexation

by Marisa Chenery

  Luckily, it didn’t take long for a car to show up after one left. In a matter of minutes, each one was loaded and on its way to the hangar. Cax, Kiri, and her father went with the last group. Meg’s mom was with them. They nodded to each other.

  At the hangar, they rushed to meet with the others. Once they left their cover, they would be out in the open as they ran to the shuttles. The number of warriors who would be there was less than what it would have been during the day, but they were enough to cause a problem. All it would take would be for one to sound the alarm.

  Cax waited for everyone to stand as a single group before he spoke softly. “We have shuttles to take you to the surface. To El Centro. They’re at the other end of the hangar, close to where the ships arrive and depart. There will be warriors on duty. When they see us, they will try to stop us. The warriors with us will do what they must to stop them from getting in our way. Ignore what happens. Just keep running until you reach the shuttles. Nod if you understand.”

  All the adults nodded. A few wore their fear on their faces for all to see. Nothing in their lives on the surface would have prepared them for this. It was a scary prospect to run through an alien ship’s hangar when there were warriors around who had guns that could turn someone to ash with one shot. It’d be like running a gauntlet with your life hanging in the balance.

  Cax turned to Kiri. “Shoot to kill if you have to. No wounding. This is war.”

  She nodded. “Don’t think. Just do.” Kiri looked at her dad. “Keep up with the others and don’t stop for me.”

  He shook his head. “No, I’m staying with you.” He lifted her duffel bag. “Besides, I have the extra arrows. I won’t leave you with no way to resupply if it comes to that.”

  She knew she wouldn’t be able to get him to change his mind. There was no missing the stubborn angle to his chin or the determined expression in his eyes.

  “Fine,” Kiri said. “Though I don’t like it. I can’t be distracted by worrying about you.”

  Meg’s mom stepped to her dad’s side. “I’ll stay with him, Kiri. If things get rough, I’ll make sure he keeps running.”

  “Thanks,” she said.

  “If everyone is ready,” Cax said, “let’s go.”

  Two warriors and Drace took places in front of the group while the other two warriors positioned themselves at the sides. Cax and Kiri would bring up the rear. There were a lot of them, and the space they had to cross was a fair distance, but she wouldn’t allow herself to think they couldn’t do it. They had to. There was no other choice.

  At Cax’s hand signal to go, Drace and the warriors left their hiding spot and fell into a run. The adults did as well. Soon everyone was in the open, racing toward the two waiting shuttles at the far end of the hangar.

  A warrior on duty stepped out in front of Drace just before they’d gone very far. Drace barely paused as he punched the warrior a couple of times on the chin, causing his opponent to sink to his knees, appearing stunned. Drace kept going, and once a warrior running at the side of the group reached him, he struck out, knocking the other male completely over. She nocked an arrow and prepared to fire, to end any other potential threats that got in their way.

  Kiri kept looking behind her every few seconds, expecting a large contingent of warriors to suddenly appear and try to stop them. So far, the coast was clear. A quick look at the warrior who had been knocked out proved that he was waking up. He shook his head and stood. He pulled his gun and aimed in their direction. She slowed only long enough to shoot an arrow into the left side of his chest, taking him in the heart. He dropped like a stone.

  They reached the halfway point and another on-duty warrior stepped in their way. He was taken care of as quickly as the first with Kiri landing an arrow in his chest. At that rate, they would all make it.

  Kiri glanced at her dad. He ran a little ahead of her with Meg’s mom at his side. She’d been worried that he’d have a hard time keeping up, given what he’d gone through these last four months, but he showed no sign of tiring. The nap must have done him good.

  They were now close enough for the pilots to open the doors on the two shuttles. Each one soundlessly lowered to the hangar floor. Their engines hummed to life in preparation for a fast takeoff once everyone was on board.

  That was when everything took a turn for the worse. An alarm suddenly blared throughout the hangar. The sound of warriors shouting accompanied it. Somehow, they’d been given away.

  Kiri cursed under her breath as a great number of warriors seemed to come out of nowhere. Some came at the group from the sides while others rushed up behind them. She didn’t take the time to think and just fired arrows at each target that came into her sights.

  She vaguely paid attention as her dad refilled her quiver with the extra arrows he carried. “That’s it,” he said. “Those are the last of them.”

  “Go,” she shouted. “We’re almost at the shuttles.”

  “Not without you.”

  “I’m coming. I’ll hold them off for as long as I can.” Kiri looked at Meg’s mom. “Please, get him out of here.”

  Kiri fired another arrow at a warrior who came too close. She heard Meg’s mother urging her father to run and the sound of their footsteps as they left her. She glanced at Cax to find him a few feet away, firing his gun at the approaching warriors. They slowly worked their way closer to the shuttles, taking out as many Atres as they could.

  Even though they were outnumbered, Kiri thought for sure she and Cax would reach one of the shuttles with no interference. She’d been wrong. Another group of warriors shot out toward their left side and moved in to surround them. They were in such close quarters she barely had enough time to grab an arrow from her quiver, nock it, and fire. It soon came to hand-to-hand combat. She struck out at any warrior who got in her way, even using her bow like a staff to knock them off their feet, but there just seemed to be too many of them.

  Chapter 16

  Kiri punched and kicked. When needed, she hit with her bow. She’d get rid of one warrior and another always seemed to take his or her place. How could there be so many of them? And where were they all coming from?

  She heard Drace calling to them, shouting for them to run. It was too late for that. If she and Cax turned and ran, they would be caught. They had to stand and fight.

  With a quick look back, Kiri saw everyone else were on the shuttles. Even her dad and Meg’s mother. They would be safe. That was what mattered the most to her, getting her dad off the ship and to El Centro.

  Thinking there was no way she and Cax would be able to free themselves of the warriors, Kiri reached the decision that she should give herself up. Maybe her doing so would be enough to distract the other Atres for Cax to reach the shuttles.

  The sound of a fighter’s engines just behind her had Kiri jerking her head around to look. One hovered just a foot off the hangar floor. She only had enough time to throw herself out of the way as the pilot opened fire on the warriors. She crawled away, calling Cax’s name over the sounds of explosions as another fighter came and fired on the unoccupied ships. It caused a distraction and made it so there would be less ships to come after them.

  Smoke filled the space, making it hard to see. Kiri kept shouting for Cax, but if he answered, she couldn’t hear over the noise. Coughing, she turned in the direction she’d last seen him. She had to find him. There was so much confusion there was a good chance he could have gotten hurt.

  “Cax!” she shouted.

  A fighter exploded too close to her. Kiri was thrown a short distance by the shockwave. She painfully pulled herself to her feet while her ears rang. She reached up and touched warm wetness at her temple. Her fingers came away stained with blood.

  “Cax!” she shouted again.

  A patch of smoke cleared, giving her a clear view of Cax. A group of warriors had him surrounded in a tight circle with his arms held roughly behind his back. Somehow she’d managed to keep hold of h
er bow when she’d been thrown. She reached behind her to grab an arrow, but her quiver was empty.

  He looked at her and shouted, “Kiri, run!”

  Kiri was about to run toward Cax when a strong pair of arms snagged her around her middle and lifted her off her feet. She struggled, trying to break free.

  “Stop, Kiri!” Drace shouted into her ear. “We have to leave him. We can’t help him.”

  “No! Let me go!”

  “I won’t. I promised Cax I would get you onto a shuttle, no matter what happened to him.”

  She screamed Cax’s name over and over again as Drace turned and ran with her in his arms. She’d been closer to a shuttle than she’d thought. After he’d taken a dozen footsteps, he ran up the craft’s ramp and toward the open doorway. It started to close before they reached it.

  The shuttle lifted off, and more explosions rang out in the hangar as the rebel pilots opened fire again and again. Kiri continued to struggle, calling Drace every swear word she knew.

  She managed to elbow him on the chin. He grunted, and his grip loosened enough for Kiri to break free. She turned to face him. “We have to turn back! We can’t leave him there!”

  Drace rubbed his chin. “We can’t. Would you risk the freedom and the lives of all the adults on this shuttle?”

  Kiri looked around and saw the shuttle was full of adults. She set her gaze on Drace as tears welled in her eyes. “I can’t leave him.”

  He gave her a sad look. “You have to. It’s what he wants. Plus, they won’t hurt him. He’s Thalar’s son. They wouldn’t dare.”

  “Kiri.”

  At the sound of her dad’s voice, Kiri turned and threw herself into his arms. She cried against his chest, no longer able to hold back the tears. Leaving Cax felt as if she’d ripped out a part of herself.

  Her father held her tight and told her it would be all right. It wouldn’t, though. Not as long as Cax wasn’t with her. She didn’t know if it was because of the bond that had formed between them or if his being taken from her had her seeing her feelings for him more clearly. She could no longer deny that she loved him. She had since she was twelve years old and he was fourteen.

  The pilot called to Drace, who went to join him at the front of the shuttle. “We’re not out of it yet,” the pilot said. “The fighters our pilots missed blowing up have left the ship. It’s going to get a little rough.”

  Drace turned his head and shouted, “Everyone sit and hold on.”

  Kiri allowed her father to lead her to a couple of open spots on one of the long benches. A beam of light crossed in front of the shuttle, causing the pilot to turn hard to avoid it. People were thrown from their seats, but didn’t appear to be hurt.

  One of their fighters buzzed by and fired, taking out another. The explosion rocked the shuttle. Kiri held her father’s hand as she watched the battle taking place in the sky. Her other hand was still wrapped around her bow.

  Their pilot dodged and swerved, sometimes firing his weapons on a fighter that came into range. It was a true war zone. All Kiri could do was silently look on. Pictures of how she’d last seen Cax kept playing through her mind.

  It was some minutes before the shuttle evened out and picked up speed. The sound of explosions drifted away. She looked out the front window and saw the other shuttle a short distance ahead, accompanied by three fighters. They’d made it free of the fighting. The last two fighters were nowhere to be seen. She hoped the pilots were all right and were only fighting off any ships that tried to follow them.

  Quiet reigned as they flew toward El Centro. Once they reached the city, Kiri had no idea what to expect. If the rebels hadn’t managed to take over the weapons depot and subdue any warriors not on their side, they could still be in trouble.

  It was only a matter of minutes before Kiri recognized the scenery outside as the outskirts of El Centro. She gripped her bow tighter. Her nerves were stretched almost to the breaking point. This, in a way, would be another gauntlet they would have to run. Who would have control of the weapons on the ground that could shoot a ship out of the sky?

  The pilot and Drace frantically talked to each other. Something rocked the back of the shuttle. Some of the women on board screamed. They were rocked again, and the pilot once more steered them in evasive movements. A few seconds later, an explosion seemed to rattle the craft. The pilot and Drace let out shout of approval.

  “What was that?” Kiri shouted.

  Drace turned in his seat and smiled. “That was one of our ground weapons taking out a non-rebel fighter. Our warriors must have taken the depot and the city. We’ll have clear flying now.”

  The rest of the trip was uneventful. The shuttle came down smoothly in the mall parking lot, close to the other one. Kiri stood with everyone else as the door opened as it lowered to the ground.

  She walked out with her father and looked around. The fighters were still flying high above them. She counted more than the five that they’d taken from the San Diego ship. Obviously, some of the warriors had turned to their side when the fighting had started. Just as Cax had thought might happen.

  Kiri brought her attention back to their group as a woman called a name and ran toward another group made up of kids. Other adults did the same thing. They rushed to their children and swept them up into their embraces.

  “Mom!”

  The sound of Meg’s voice had Kiri remembering that her best friend’s mother was with them. Mrs. O’Brien ran toward her daughter and son. They clung to each other. Meg wiped away tears and smiled at Kiri. She mouthed the words “thank you.” Kiri nodded.

  Her dad put his arm around her shoulders. “You did a good thing here, Kiri. I’m proud of you.”

  “It was Cax’s idea,” she said softly, her heart breaking again at the thought of him being left behind.

  “He’ll be okay. Drace is right. As the son of the Atres’ leader, none of those warriors on that ship would dare harm him in any way. Cax may be part of the rebellion, but it will be up to his father to decide what is to be done with him.”

  “And his father could very well want him dead because he did rebel.”

  “I doubt that. I’ve lived with the Atres long enough to know they think highly of warriors who stand up for themselves. Strength, be it physical or mental, mean a great deal to them. Thalar will have to dole out some kind of punishment for Cax, but I don’t think ending his life will be it.”

  “I hope you’re right. If he dies…” Kiri couldn’t finish the sentence. Her throat closed up, and she had to swallow back a wave of tears that threatened to rise.

  “He’ll be okay, sweetheart.”

  Kiri nodded and allowed her dad to walk her toward the mall. Cax had been the leader of the rebellion. She figured with him not there that Drace would take his place. He had been, essentially, his second-in-command.

  For now, all she wanted to do was go home, fall into her bed, and sleep. The new day had dawned just before they’d left the San Diego ship. With no more adrenaline pumping through her system and the loss of Cax weighing heavily on her, Kiri was about ready to collapse. She needed to close her eyes and not think of anything for a few hours.

  * * * *

  It’d been a week since they’d made their daring rescue of the adults on the San Diego ship. And a lot had happened since then.

  El Centro was firmly in the rebels’ hands. Their warriors had managed to put up some kind of force field-type barrier around the entire city. Supposedly, the machine that generated it had been placed in the mall some point before the weapons had arrived. It’d been found during the fighting. Kiri didn’t really understand how it worked, but just knew it did.

  She walked out of her house to find her dad on the front lawn, talking to Lemeah. She still cared for the baby across the street since his parents hadn’t been freed. Drace’s sister came over quite a bit. The female had been very happy to learn that Kiri would no longer be alone.

  Kiri walked up
to them. “I’m leaving now,” she said to her dad. “I should be back in time for dinner.”

  Her dad gave her a kiss. “Are you walking to the headquarters?”

  “No. Drace insists I ride in a shuttle, even though I’m perfectly fine with the walk.”

  Lemeah smiled. “He doesn’t think one of his senior warriors should have to.”

  Kiri shook her head. Drace had taken Cax’s position as the leader of the rebellion, but only until Cax could return. Drace had also placed Kiri as his second-in-command. She’d tried to refuse, but he hadn’t listened to her.

  Right on time, a smaller shuttle landed on their street. It was one of the ones that was used to deliver meals, which were still ongoing. Kiri waved at her dad and Lemeah before she went to the craft and to step on it.

  It was only seconds before they arrived at the mall, now the rebel headquarters. She thanked the pilot for the ride and walked down the ramp. She went to the entrance where two warriors stood guard. They nodded to her as she headed inside. Kiri still hadn’t gotten used to them coming to attention and nodding like that whenever she went by.

  Inside, the mall had gone through a drastic change. Some of the stores had been emptied and turned into barracks. There was also a communications center and, of course, a storage area for all their weapons. A more thorough search of the place had turned up even more than what Cax and Drace had watched being delivered.

  Kiri walked by the food court, which had been turned into an off-duty space for the warriors. Their numbers had greatly increased. After news had reached the other ships about the rebellion, Atres from all over the world who wanted to join the cause had flocked to El Centro. Some were pilots and had brought their fighters and shuttles with them. They were now a force to be reckoned with.

  She reached the door that led to what used to be the mall offices and walked through. Kiri went to the back one that was the largest. That was where she and Drace spent most of their time, organizing their troops and deciding what needed to be improved to make life in El Centro better for human and Atres alike.