“Listen up.” Kirilov’s low voice inside his ear cut his thoughts off. “Once we open fire, they will spread out. So cover the flanks while Scott does the heavy lifting. Wagner, you pick off anyone trying to move closer. I don’t want any of them getting away, so once we’re done, we move out and finish them off up close. Remember, they will kill you if you show the slightest weakness. So be swift and ruthless. And whatever you do, do not remove your goggles.” A trickle of sweat reached the corner of Dave’s goggle, but he gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the itch. He certainly wouldn’t contradict Kirilov’s orders.
“Everyone get ready…”
Dave saw one of the monsters stroking the back of a smaller one that seemed to have a hard time keeping up. The small one let out a yelp, and the larger growled in response.
“Fire!”
A deafening sound erupted, yelps and growls forgotten. Scott’s machine gun rattled, the bangs indistinguishable from each other. Dave hesitated for a moment, enough for him to lose his aim. Where was that beast he’d been aiming at. From the right flank, a series of bursts kicked in, decimating the monsters on Baldwin’s side. Dave still tried to find his aim, but gave up and fired wildly into the flock. The monsters fell, blood spattering all over as they tried to run for cover. But there was no cover to be had, and one after another they fell, writhing, screeching, yelping. It was slaughter.
“What the hell is this?” The shout from his left made him look up. Greer was half way standing, and Dave saw he had put his weapon down.
“What have you done to us? Why…” Greer screamed hysterically, until his chest erupted, and he fell to the ground, eyes and mouth wide open, goggles pushed up on top of his helmet like a second pair of eyes.
“Sniper!” he heard Kirilov shout, and he took aim again. The monsters were all down now, but he scanned the far side of the clearing, searching for the sniper.
“Damn it, why didn’t the rangers pick this up?” one of the seniors asked, before Kirilov cut him off.
“Shut up, Jan. You know the enemy sometimes trails the monsters. Everyone, we have to make sure they are all dead. Let’s move it. Seniors watch for the sniper; juniors watch the monsters.”
“What about Greer?” Scott said, and Kirilov sneered in response.
“He’s dead, and he brought it upon himself. Standing up like that… Now move!” The three remaining junior Wardens stood up, and walked toward the carnage, the seniors following a few steps behind.
“Shit,” Baldwin whispered. The silence was palpable, and only their breathing and a soft whisper of branches moving in the slight breeze broke the quiet.
“Remember, keep your goggles on at all times,” Kirilov spoke sternly. A movement in his peripheral vision made Dave flinch and half-turn, but it was just the irregular flicker.
“What is it, Wagner?” Kirilov asked.
“Nothing, Sir. Just something interfering with my goggles.”
“Hold it, let me see.” Kirilov walked up to him and put something, an electronic device Dave had never seen before, up in front of him.
“What do you see?” he asked. Dave hunched his shoulders.
“Nothing, just that box or whatever it is.” Kirilov seemed to relax and put the box away in his pocket.
“Good. Now, everyone, let’s get this done so we can go home.”
SUE
The first thing Sue noticed was the clean sheets. Then it was the white walls and the spotless coveralls on the nurses milling about. She remembered being captured by the northerners, so the cleanliness of this place surprised her. She had been taught the people beyond the border were dirty savages, and even the thought of them having something resembling a hospital was contrary to everything she’d envisioned of these people. For a moment, she believed she had been saved by a Janissary rescue squad and brought back to Camp Gustavson.
But the language spoken around her was neither English nor the strange words that some of the Moon people sometimes spoke among themselves. She instantly recognized the sounds, reminding her of her first time in combat. Of a woman taken prisoner. A woman she had shot.
Sue lifted her head, but a headache forced her down again.
“Careful, mademoiselle. You have lost much blood.” A man’s voice, in accented English. He bent over her, and she saw a man with features that could have belonged to a pure Moon blood if not for the words that came out of his mouth.
“You need rest, for now. Don’t worry… Atlas, is that it? Hmm, English then, am I correct?” Sue nodded carefully, wondering how he could know her name. A nurse came over and checked a machine standing by the bedside. She spoke a few words to the man and then walked off. Sue tried to raise her hand. Chained to the bed.
“We have to be careful. I’m sure you understand. We will talk more later. Now rest,” he said and turned his back on her. She coughed and tried to speak.
“Did any…”
The man turned back again.
“Please, mademoiselle. You shouldn’t speak.”
She strained to get the words out.
“Did anyone else survive?” she whispered. The man’s brow furrowed, and he took a step closer.
“I assume you ask of your own people, yes? The Janissaries.”
She mouthed a yes, soundlessly.
“Two more made it here. We lost one on the operating table.” Sue thought his eyes looked sad. Curious.
“The woman had lost too much blood. The man lives, though. The rest I’m afraid are dead. As are so many of our people,” he finished, about to turn away again.
“You know my name,” she said. “What is yours?” The man smiled at her.
“You should not worry about that, Mademoiselle Atlas.” He turned and walked away. As he stood by the doors, waiting for them to slide open, he turned to her again, seeming reluctant.
“I am only a doctor,” he said.
“Your… name…” Sue said, feeling herself sliding back into unconsciousness.
“Dr. Conrad Marsden,” the man said, his voice distant, as he disappeared before her eyes, along with the rest of the world.
DAVE
They began the grueling task of checking to see if any of the monsters were still alive. A shot rang out, and Dave saw Scott standing over one of the largest of the beasts. They kept walking.
A medium-sized monster further away was still alive and trying to drag itself away from them. Dave and one of the seniors hurried over, but when they reached the monster, it rolled over. A small sound, a whine, made Dave pause. He thought there was something behind the beast. Bang. The senior Warden, who should be watching for snipers, finished it off.
“Never hesitate. They can get to you,” she said. Dave looked at the monster again as it lay still. It was dead, all right.
But there it was again, a whimper, almost like a cat meowing. The larger one had been covering something. Dave walked around it and pushed with his boot at the dead form. It almost made him sick, although something, like a wall, made his emotions feel more distant than usual. He pushed again, and he saw a small claw sticking out.
“Oh, man,” he said. “It’s got a baby.” Dave took a step back. The senior cursed and kicked the larger form away.
“Oh crap,” the senior Warden said, before he fired a burst at the two forms. The mother and the child. Dave stood speechless, and the flicker inside his goggles intensified. He took another step back.
He was about to rip his goggles off, when Kirilov grabbed his hand hard.
“Don’t,” the older Warden said. Dave tried to object, but Kirilov cut him off.
“Just don’t. Or you will wish you hadn’t. Trust me.” Something in his voice made Dave comply. A shiver, or was it something Dave imagined?
“Let’s move out, Wardens. Time to go home,” Kirilov said, and everyone followed, eager to get away from it all. Dave hesitated, before he followed like the others.
Dave wondered why nobody was watching for the sniper, but then again, the senior Wardens seem
ed to know their way around, so it was probably safe. Snipers probably left as soon as they had fired their deadly shots, anyway. That had to be it.
“Just through the trees, and the airship will come pick us up,” Kirilov said. Dave looked forward to getting on the airship. He hoped he would never have to go out like this again. This was ranger business, and he was more convinced than ever that Tech was right for him. If he got a chance, he would find a way to fix the goggles, though.
They passed Greer’s body, and Dave was about to stop, when Kirilov slapped his back.
“Care for the living, Wagner. He’s dead, and now he will return to the Earth that birthed him.” Dave looked at the senior Warden, noticing he had a firm grip on his rifle. Determination. He knew the Moon people had notions about death that they never spoke of. While the English were left to rot, anyone of the Moon blood who fell on the battlefield would be taken back. The rumors said their ashes would be sent back to their home world, from where their people had come. Probably just rumors.
Dave glanced back at Greer once more. He lay so still, and there was almost no blood around the small hole in his back. It was almost as if he was asleep, except for the pool of blood he laid in. Dave walked hesitantly along with the others. Something was off, but he couldn’t put his finger to what it was.
He still felt as though his mind worked just fine after his brief disorientation.
It wasn’t until he sat safely on the airship, on his way back from the slaughter, that he realized how wrong he had been. The realization made him sweat, as he looked around at the others, aware, for the first time, of how wrong everything was.
Greer’s chest had exploded.
The exit wound was in his chest.
He had been shot from behind.
His final words, What have you done to us?
He had been shot because of those words.
Chapter 11
SUE
She was feeling better, finally. She couldn’t remember much of the past few days, only that she had been sliding in and out of consciousness until she finally remained awake long enough to notice more of the people around her. There were six beds in her room. All empty, save hers and one more. The person in the other bed lay on the far side of the room, covered in bandages, unconscious all the time. Sue remembered the doctor mentioning that a man had survived. She tried asking the nurses about him, but got no reply other than confused looks and gibberish in that strange language. None of them spoke any English, it seemed.
On the third day—it must have been three days—the doctor returned. This time, a woman in camouflage uniform came with him. The two had the same angular features and the same sand-colored hair, but hers was cut shorter. And she had stars on her collar.
“Mademoiselle Atlas, meet Colonel Renee Marsden,” he said. The woman remained standing, one step behind the man, Dr. Marsden. Sue cocked her head.
“Your wife?” she said without thinking. The two laughed in reply.
“No, mademoiselle,” the woman said, “he’s my twin brother. You are very perceptive.” Dr. Marsden motioned for one of the nurses to fetch chairs, and they both sat down. The doctor looked at his sister before he spoke.
“So, your friend is still unconscious, I hear. I’m sorry. I am afraid he will not wake again.” Sue glanced over at the unmoving form.
“Can’t you do anything?” Dr. Marsden shook his head.
“If we had your technology… He has sustained severe damages to the head.”
“But what if you got him back? What if you could arrange for a prisoner exchange or something?” What was she thinking? How many times had she heard the orders not to take prisoners?
“The Covenant seldom takes prisoners,” the woman said, a hoarseness in her voice. “And even if you did, he would never get the necessary treatment. Rory, that’s an English name, yes?” Sue nodded, and swallowed hard. So it was Rory, and he was dying.
“Only Moon people get cryo treatment, unless he already earned his citizenship.” Sue looked at Rory’s unmoving shape. A second-rate citizen, about to give his life for the Covenant. Even if she could somehow break them free, Rory would die. Simply because he was English. Expendable.
Dr. Marsden got to his feet.
“I’m sorry about your loss, mademoiselle. But I have other patients to tend to. My sister would like a word with you, though, so I will leave you two together.” He walked out, and Sue looked at Renee.
“Time for interrogation, then,” Sue said drily. The colonel only smiled. Sue thought it must be a high rank, from the way the nurses looked at her, but then she hadn’t even known the northerners had ranks.
“I believe we should talk,” Renee said.
DAVE
He felt sick. Someone had shot Greer, murdered him for what he had said: What have you done to us?
To us. That was the part Dave couldn’t understand, no matter how hard he tried. He could easily understand why someone might react as Greer had to the carnage back there. Given the chance, the monsters would probably have slaughtered them all easily, but he could empathize with Greer feeling bad, sick even, for killing the beasts from a distance, one after the other until all were dead. He had heard of other boys in school, going out bow-hunting with their fathers, and after bragging about it in public, they would admit to feeling a little queasy, no matter how necessary the hunt was for feeding the family. Dave had never had to hunt, but he could easily understand how that might make you feel.
To us. The words wouldn’t leave him alone. Greer hadn’t been the softest of them, either. Dave knew he had applied to the rangers, although he only made security. But he had seemed tougher than all of them, except Scott perhaps.
Kirilov scooted over, and produced a small pack.
“All right, guys, you’ve just passed your final initiate test. You’re full Wardens now,” he said, grinning. He opened the pack and let three small blue pills roll out into his palm.
“One each. Final stage of the vaccine. Makes it last longer.” They all got one, and Dave swallowed his with some water from his half-full canteen. Better than taking another shot.
Kirilov went to talk to the pilots, while Dave sat lost in thought. When the senior Warden returned, Dave considered telling him of his ideas. Of how Greer had been murdered. Of his final words. Perhaps Kirilov would understand what they meant.
What was it Greer had said? Dave shook his head, struggling to remember. His head was spinning. He needed to remember the exact words. For some reason, the words were important. Which words? What was happening to him? He blinked once, twice, and looked around. Baldwin was sitting next to him, and Scott sat in front with one of the seniors. Kirilov returned, and Dave was about to speak to him, when he found he didn’t know what he wanted to say. He laughed softly at his own stupidity. He turned to tell Greer.
Where was Greer?
He considered getting some sleep, but found he wasn’t tired. Actually, he was feeling better than ever. Stronger. More alert. He looked at Kirilov and almost guffawed when he saw that the senior Warden had unusually long teeth. Why hadn’t he noticed before? He gazed over at Baldwin. Hadn’t he been clean-shaven? Now he had a long, bushy beard. Strange. He looked at Scott and sat up straight. His eyes were glowing red, and his grin exposed a set of sharp fangs.
What the hell is happening here? Dave wondered.
“Easy now, Wagner.” He heard Kirilov’s voice, a note too gravelly. His vision was quickly fading. Scott was laughing hysterically in the background, and an inhuman shriek came from somewhere far away.
“What is happening to me?” he whispered. Kirilov’s reply was a growl, almost incomprehensible.
“You are a Warden now. One of us. Time to let go, Wagner.” Kirilov’s voice grew more distant, and his final words were so far away, Dave wondered if he had actually spoken, or if it was all in his own head.
“Ignorance is Bliss,” the voice said.
SUE
“So you are telling me there’s a world
out there, with people living their lives, and we are not even allowed to know about it? That people get to live until they die from natural causes? That the Moon people didn’t save us at all?” Sue shook her head, dumbfounded, and Renee smiled at her.
“I know it’s a lot to process, Atlas. And you are more eager than most. Hah, most of those we capture don’t believe any of it, at first. They cling to their beliefs like it’s a loved one, even when we show them proof of the opposite.” She set the books aside and produced her infopad. While she swiped and moved boxes and images around, Renee continued speaking.
“Most end up crying, whether it is from relief or anger or sadness, or all of those reasons, I don’t know. That’s when I know they are beginning to understand. And nobody ever wants to return. Not even those of the Moon blood. Can you imagine that?”
Sue stared at the map again.
“I knew there had to be others out there, but they taught us you were primitives, scavengers, savages… That the Covenant was a lone beacon of civilization in the world. And yet, look at this map; the Covenant is so small!”
“Beacon of civilization…” Renee grumbled. “Look at this,” she said, pointing at a red dot by the sea, far to the north.
“Here’s Hudson, our capital. Built from scratch after the Fall, ninety-nine percent underground to protect the people from air raids from the south. Like most of our cities. The Moon people think they have us subdued, but we have never succumbed to them. One day, we will set your people free, as well. After all, we are the same.” There was a silence between them while Sue studied the map. Hudson was about the same distance from the Westfold as Legacy, although north instead of southeast.
“Why do some of you speak English, while others speak… I don’t know what your language is called…” Sue trailed off, as Renee began to laugh.
“Don’t you see, Atlas? We are also English, at least part English. And French, although you probably have no idea what that means.” The officer’s laugh died, and she began to explain.
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