by Ron Schrader
~
General Quinn emerged from the stairwell on the side of the lift station to find two more guards on the floor in pain. Having already seen the other five guards down below, he didn’t expect good news on the landing platform. Looking out on the platform, he also noticed his AGV missing.
“Get up, you idiots!” he yelled, his patience gone as he reached down and began to drag the men to their feet. “How did one man get past everyone on this station and then fly right out of here in my vehicle?” He continued to yell, physically shaking the two injured soldiers.
In his anger, the general walked with a soldier on each side, tightly gripping the belts around their waists. Still in a state of shock and confusion, the guards stumbled along as General Quinn guided them to the edge of the landing pad.
“All you had to do was stop him,” he said just before pushing them both over the side and into the deep mine shaft. He then turned and yelled at the handful of guards still standing by the stairs. “Why are you all still here? Go! Find Davis. Now!”
None willing to test the general’s patience any longer, all of the soldiers within reach of his voice ran to the AGVs in a vain attempt to pursue Davis, who was already long gone, no one knowing for sure which direction he’d even taken.
The general watched as three vehicles lifted off the pad and shot in different directions, then he himself commandeered one of the remaining AGVs for the flight back to his ship.
Still fuming at the loss of his own vehicle, the general beat the steering wheel and the seat next to him as he flew, vowing to end his former captain when his men returned, fully expecting they would have success in locating and bringing Davis back for judgment.
~
The view as Davis flew over the tree-filled forest was one of beauty, and it momentarily freed his mind of the unpleasant events that had transpired earlier. He smiled as he imagined the general’s reaction to his escape—and in the general’s AGV, no less. But with evening now setting in, his peace was interrupted by the pressing need to find a safe place to land, somewhere they wouldn’t find him. He needed to take advantage of what little daylight was left, as night would make it much harder to land safely.
Nearing the base of the western mountains, he peered down into the trees, looking for a good spot to conceal the AGV from anyone who happened to pass by. Davis finally spotted what looked to be the perfect landing place, a small section of fallen trees surrounded by thick forest. He could land in the small opening and use the camouflage setting exclusive to the general’s AGV, making it invisible to anyone flying overhead. He quickly maneuvered the vehicle down to the opening and landed gracefully next to the pile of trees. Switching the engine off, he enabled the camo, blending the AGV with its surroundings. With one problem now solved, Davis moved on to the next issue at hand—finding the village Colban had told him about, and hopefully the help he needed.
Davis had never been this far away from the mining operation, now a good hundred kilometers or more, as he stood in the open forest, alone and uncertain. He grabbed one of the rifles from the AGV and started off along what almost looked like a trail that he hoped would lead him straight to the village.
The sun was setting, making it harder for Davis to see as he hiked along the mountainside, searching for any signs of people along the way. Fortunately, though, there had been no signs of any search parties yet, which meant he’d at least managed to throw the general off his trail for now.
Searching for anyone at night in the dense forest would be pointless, even for someone as determined as General Quinn, but Davis knew he wouldn’t give up easily. He figured the general would more than likely be sending search parties out for days, possibly even weeks. He knew General Quinn would want revenge. The plain truth was that Quinn had been humiliated, and in spite of the predicament before him, Davis couldn’t help but smile, and even laugh a little, for having finally stood up to the man he’d despised for so long now. But that also meant he’d be on the general’s radar and would have to be careful.
Having finally walked far enough for one day, without luck in finding any signs of life aside from the trail he followed, Davis inevitably gave in to the fact that he’d be camping under the cover of the trees tonight. He would have to continue his search in the morning.
Just as he was about to sit down and call it a night, his eyes caught a glimpse of what looked like firelight, off in the distance. A mixed feeling of relief and concern came over him as he considered what it would mean if he’d found Colban’s village. He was certain they would help him if given the chance to explain, but would they give him that chance?
With his mind made up, he decided to approach the fire. As he moved closer, the path he’d been following became increasingly thick with brush and fallen tree branches, and twigs snapped with each step he took, making a silent approach nearly impossible.
“Hello?” he finally called out, believing he was close enough that someone would have to hear him. “Is anyone there?” He stood still, waiting for a response from the owner of the fire, hoping for some hospitality over the numerous alternatives he kept pushing out of his mind.
“Don’t move!” came a threatening voice from behind him, sending chills up his back.
“I’m unarmed,” Davis lied with the intent of putting the potential assailant at ease, though gripping the rifle close. “Please, I need your help. I’m looking for Tuck,” he begged.
“You wearin’ the mask,” came the reply. “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill ya right now?”
Davis slowly turned to face a man he could barely see in the darkness. What he did notice, however, was the glimmer of a large blade reflecting in the dim firelight.
“I’m on the run for trying to save one of your people,” he said sincerely. “But I got caught—barely escaped with my life. I need to find Tuck!” Davis spoke with conviction, hoping to make an ally out of an enemy. The man didn’t respond at first, examining Davis while he thought for a moment.
“You lied,” the man responded. “Throw me the rifle,” he ordered.
“And if I don’t?” Davis replied, not sure he was willing to take that risk just yet. After all, he could only make out a thick swordlike weapon, which his rifle easily trumped.
“If you don’t, you won’t live to take another step.”
The words reverberated in Davis’ skull as he began looking around in the darkness, noticing for the first time that several other people were standing off in the shadows, surrounding him. Without any further hesitation, Davis tossed the rifle to the man, who reached out and caught it in his free hand.
“Now turn and head fer the fire.”
Not thrilled at the idea of turning his back to the proud new owner of a stolen rifle, Davis reluctantly obeyed and walked as instructed toward the fire. Once in the small clearing, he was immediately grabbed from behind by two other men who tied his hands behind his back. They roughly forced him to his knees and before Davis could even let out his plea, and the butt of the rifle came abruptly in contact with the back of his head, knocking him to the ground and into unconsciousness.
Chapter 11
Kalla reached the entrance of the cave to find Jarek leaning against the back wall with his arms folded.
“You’re not going to let this go, are you,” he stated as Kalla walked toward him. “I’m telling you, it’s a bad idea.”
She stopped right in front of him, hands propped against her waist. Frustrated that he was being so difficult, she struggled to find the right words. “I . . .” She paused to think, not wanting to make things worse. She moved in close to him and made eye contact. “I know we can find a way to do this.” She spoke softly as she stared into his eyes, attempting to persuade him like she had the guards. “There has to be a way to get that replacement part,” she said as she slowly backed away.
“Okay,” Jarek said, grabbing Kalla’s arm and pulling her up close to him. “But we’ll need a plan.” He released her arm, but she didn’t pull away.
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“Yes, agreed,” she said, concentrating on his face as she moved closer. “We need a plan.”
Jarek met her halfway as their lips gently brushed together before Jarek pulled away.
“I’m sorry,” he said, looking away from her.
She stepped back, a faint smile on her face. “Don’t be,” she replied, before moving back toward him again, hoping to finish what had almost started.
Jarek pushed her gently aside and walked past her.
Confused as to why he’d so abruptly ended the moment they’d just had she asked “Did I do something wrong?” She waited for what felt like an eternity before he finally responded.
“Let’s just get your ship fixed so you can have your life back,” he said sternly as he turned around to face her.
She tried to reach out and touch Jarek’s face once more but was rejected as he pushed her hand away.
“So what’s the plan? How are we supposed to get in and out of a ship surrounded by Vie?” he asked.
Confused at Jarek’s reaction, Kalla stood silent for a moment before responding. “Well, I was thinking we just need a distraction, something really big that can draw them away long enough for us to get the part and get out of there.”
“Yeah, but how will we distract them? My other concern is that those ships are huge, and I don’t even know if they’ve been breached or not. For all we know, the Vie are living inside of them,” Jarek argued.
“Well, I’m betting the right distraction just might get enough of them out of the way—that distraction being me,” she said with a smile.
Jarek looked at her, a bit confused at this point. “What? No. It’s too dangerous.”
“But you’re faster than they are, right?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
Jarek nodded slowly, a look of curiosity on his face.
“Well, I’m a lot faster than you are, and if I can draw enough of them away, you should be able to get into a ship and find the part I need.
“But I don’t even know what to look for,” Jarek replied, now shaking his head in disagreement with the idea.
“You don’t, but Reav will. He’s the one who told me where I could find the part to begin with. If the two of you can sneak past any Vie that stay behind, Reav can lead the way.” Kalla’s excitement in her plan wasn’t enough to convince Jarek that this was a good idea, but he didn’t have anything else.
“Reav?” Jarek replied sarcastically. “You really think I want to go anywhere with him?”
“Unless you think you can find the right part on your own, I don’t see any other choice,” Kalla said sternly. “Just let Reav help you get the part, then we meet back at my ship.”
Jarek stared at the floor as though deep in thought. “All right,” he said. “Say we convince Reav to go along with this. He’ll want help in return—protection from the Vie. There’s no way he’s doing this for free. Am I supposed to become his personal watchdog?”
“No, but I have an idea for that, too. Just need to run a quick errand first.” Kalla smiled mysteriously before turning and walking back toward the opening of the cave. “I’ll be back in a bit,” she said, stepping outside the entrance before Jarek could respond and, dropping quickly toward the valley floor.
~
Landing on her feet, Kalla turned to face the eerie mist and began a sprint in the direction of her ship. While the Vie were sometimes out during the day, protected from the sun by the blanketing mist, she didn’t plan on seeing any as she closed in on her ship. Before long, she could see the large outline becoming clearer until finally she arrived at her destination.
As she reached the entrance of the ship, her thoughts turned to the brief moment in Jarek’s cave when they’d almost kissed. Why did he pull away like that? she wondered, but with evening on its way, she didn’t have time to worry about it.
Manipulating the keypad just outside the door, she waited patiently for the ramp to fold out, allowing her to enter the ship. Once inside, she moved to the cargo hold toward the back of the ship where the large rectangular containers marked “Directive Property” still sat untouched since her last visit here. She walked through the stack of containers, looking for one in particular, until she finally located it at the bottom of a tall stack. The task of dismantling the stack would have been quite time consuming for anyone else, but Kalla managed to complete the work in just a few minutes, moving the heavy containers with ease.
With the container she was after now sitting in front of her, she opened it to reveal a large brushed-metal, cylinder-shaped device about a meter in length. Designed to stand upright, the bottom of the device contained a tripod of spikes used to secure it into the ground. At the top of the device, a sphere-shaped object was seamlessly attached, only slightly larger in diameter than that of the cylinder. Satisfied she’d found what she needed, Kalla folded the lid shut, secured the outer latches, and began dragging it toward the front of the ship.
As she neared the exit, she turned her back to the ramp and began pulling the container through the narrow opening and off the ship, but before she’d made it half way to the ground, a painful sting pierced her left shoulder. She knew instantly what had jumped onto her back, sinking its sharp fangs into her flesh. Pushing the pain aside, she reached for the pistol on her right side and removed the attacker with a single bullet.
Ready to face more, Kalla crouched down and turned her back to the ship, searching the fog for more attackers. But as she waited for another Vie to make its move, Kalla couldn’t stop thinking about the pain from the bite and how it seemed to be throbbing, not healing quickly, like she expected it to. Jarek was right, she thought to herself. She remembered him saying their bites took longer to heal. The sting of the bite made Jarek’s concern about her plan more real too, understanding now that if she couldn’t outrun a massive pack of Vie, things could end badly for her. She needed that part, though, and she wasn’t about to give up before even trying.
After waiting long enough in silence, Kalla determined this one must have been alone. She finished dragging the large container out of the ship and closed the ramp, sealing the entrance once more.
Grabbing the crate by the handle, she hoisted it up on her right shoulder and began walking back toward the cliff wall, hoping to avoid any more Vie encounters as the bite on her left shoulder was a constant reminder of the pain they were capable of causing even her. She also knew that carrying this crate left her more vulnerable to an attack. All she could do was keep walking fast and stay sharp, watching and listening for anything that might require her to drop the crate and defend herself.
Several minutes later, Kalla had reached her destination undisturbed. Relieved to have arrived at the cliff, Kalla dropped the crate and looked upward, wondering now how she was going to carry the large container while she climbed. “Should’ve grabbed some rope,” she said under her breath. Looking back behind her into the mist, she could tell that the sun was going down, meaning the Vie would start coming out in larger numbers soon enough. Better hurry, she thought as she started sprinting back toward her ship.
About halfway to the ship she heard the first of many screeching noises up ahead. Her sprint slowed to a fast walk as she armed herself, pistols in hand, waiting for the battle to begin. “And all of this because I forgot rope,” she mumbled under her breath, now regretting the decision to go back so late in the day.
The first dark figure rushed by, disappearing into the thick mist that surrounded her. Then, out of nowhere, she heard the thundering noise of running behind her and saw several Vie headed straight for her.
With a quick forward roll, she hit the ground and turned to face the oncoming gang, emptying both pistols and dropping all of the would-be attackers, five in total. Just as she finished with round one, the second commenced as several more Vie came from the direction of her ship until they surrounded her, circling and waiting for the right moment to strike.
Still on the ground, she rolled into a crouching position, hands t
ouching the cold ground for balance. All at once the circle of creatures charged inward, responding to one loud screech from off in the distance. Kalla waited until the last second and jumped as high as the strength of her legs would send her, which, to her surprise, was over ten meters in the air. Her timing was impeccable as the Vie all collided with one another, falling in a huddled mass. The lunge in the air had not only taken Kalla upward but also at an angle, which landed her just outside the mess of Vie trying to recover from the impact they’d all caused themselves.
Rather than stay and fight, she darted off in the direction of her ship. It wasn’t long before she could hear the creatures screeching behind her, following her scent no doubt, but with time to spare she arrived at the ship, which seemed to be clear of Vie for the moment.
Moving straight to the control panel, Kalla activated the ramp, jumping on before it finished unfolding, and then quickly closed it behind her. The ramp locked in place, and all was silent.
Before looking for rope, Kalla first went to the cockpit window and peered through the mist to see how many Vie had followed her. Hunching down low in hopes of staying out of sight, Kalla kept watch out the window for several minutes as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was then that she realized there weren’t just a few Vie outside her ship, there were dozens or more circling the ship, begging her to come out as they screeched and charged the ship in random intervals. If she ran fast enough, she felt confident that she could probably take a few out and beat them all to the cliff face, but with her shoulder still stinging from the bite, she opted to stay in the ship and wait until morning if necessary, expecting they wouldn’t bother the crate she’d left behind.