“No, I completely understand. I just can’t imagine…” Braxton said, shaking his head.
“Don’t worry about it, Mystic,” Chunk grunted, “That’s why we brought some Triggers along. To get the job done.”
Braxton nodded, then looked up at the commander.
“Yeah, if it’s alright with you, Commander, can you give me the real targets and leave all the little children for the Triggers?”
Chunk leapt forward, taking Braxton immediately into a headlock. Combatants Rollins and McDonald tried unsuccessfully to stop the fight, grabbing at Chunk’s arms and uniform.
“Commander,” Braxton choked out the words, “I want to follow orders, but this Trigger is about to die if you don’t stop this.”
The commander just stepped back, watching the struggle between the two. Diana finally stepped forward, drew her fist back quickly and slammed her palm down into Chunk’s collarbone, cracking it in a single blow.
“Aaargh!” Chunk screamed, falling to the floor.
“What the heck?” McDonald shouted.
“Was it worth losing a member of your crew, Commander?” Diana asked, “And for the record, Braxton didn’t retaliate and all I did was use brute force which you apparently approve of.”
The commander gave Diana a look of disgust, then turned to his strategist. Diana tended to Braxton while the other combatants helped get Chunk up off the floor and out of the room.
“Well, I guess I don’t have to stay with the shuttle now that we have an injured crew member who can stay behind,” the commander stated, “When the others return, we’ll discuss all the strategies and placement.”
Brown leafed through his folder, retrieving a few more papers. The rest of the crew returned to the bridge, leaving Chunk medicated, taped, and resting in the passenger area.
“We will have eight drop zones tonight, the final one being in Australia. Two of you will be going after four non-expired targets in Australia. Two others will be dropped in the United Kingdom to take out five targets located there,” Brown stated, handing maps to the people he had already decided for those particular jobs, “One of you will be going after a target in Ireland. Another will be dropped in Puerto Rico to locate a target. One will be going to Toronto to locate three targets there. Two will be going to the southeastern US to take out four targets. One will be going to the western US to take out two targets, and two more will be spending some time in the northeastern US to take out three targets.”
It was during this last statement that he handed a map to Braxton. The map showed a close up view of New York, New Jersey, and part of Pennsylvania. There were notes for each of the targets listed on the back of the map, giving known addresses and occupations of the people. Braxton handed the map to Diana.
“Each person will receive a handheld communicator that can be used to contact the shuttle or any one of us,” the commander said, opening a silver case and drawing one of the small devices out to show them, “I’d also like to point out that we won’t be limited to the use of their primitive weapons, but the rule is, if you bring an ion pistol with you, it better still be with you when you return to the shuttle.”
“Everything better still be with you when you return,” Brown added, glancing around the room, “That includes your Mystic suit, Braxton.”
Underworld
The Histories – Book 6.3
The Sons of Violation
During the era between the Rhodall Quake and the Sqilte Flood, we would often send groups to the Upperlands in the late evenings when both Giant Orbs were no longer in the sky. These people would load up baskets with the nuts, peppers, and tree fruits that seemed to only grow up above. We knew about the similar-shaped creatures that were living there in recent times, but they seemed somewhat violent, so we avoided any contact with them.
The horror came one night when our people were secretly followed back home. There were almost fifty of them who overtook our night gatherers, then followed our tunnels to the first level. No one could understand their language even though they truly seemed to want to communicate with our people. Then, witnessed by many, they tore the clothing from two of our women and they started violating them in ways that we only use for procreation.
Their people became more violent while these others continued violating those two women. They started tearing through our homes, looking for more of our women. Before the night was over, they would have stolen forty-two of our women and brought them to the Upperlands.
The two women who were attacked in our street became pregnant, but the pregnancies were highly unusual. Their bellies grew quicker than we were used to and the women found it harder to breath as the babies grew. Both women died in childbirth, bearing mixed-breed children who resembled the Uplanders more than any of us.
A few days after those children were born, the carcasses of twelve of our kidnapped women were returned to the mountain entrance as well as seven other women who were still alive but extremely pregnant. All these women would die in childbirth, bearing the Sons of Violation.
The Sons of Violation were healthy babies as far as anyone could tell, but we didn’t want the reminders to stay with us. Many lost their spouses to the Uplanders and because of that, many hated these babies.
The next night when only the Night Orb was in the sky, we loaded the Sons of Violation into a cart and wheeled them to the village of the Uplanders. There we left those mixed-breed babies to live or to die.
Four
The cloud cover heralding a coming storm brought with it a welcome darkness over the North Atlantic. The shuttle coasted barely thirty feet above the ocean as it approached Point Pleasant Beach on the New Jersey shore. Thanks to a thunderstorm pulsating on the horizon, the beach was found to be nicely abandoned. The shuttle banked right and stopped parallel to the shoreline, then opened its side door. Its metal plank moved outward about twenty feet, then dropped in small sections toward the sand, forming a nice stairwell.
“This is your stop,” the commander said to Braxton, handing him the black bag Tristan had given him before they left Legacy, “Three simple targets with no option to fail. Call us when you’re done and we’ll get the team back to Legacy as soon as possible.”
Braxton took Diana’s hand and followed her down the stairs. The shuttle had never actually landed, so the final step was quite a distance above the beach. Diana jumped, landing nicely on her feet. Braxton tossed her the bag, then jumped and landed just as firmly. The stairs retracted quickly, followed by an immediate departure of the shuttle.
“So this is the planet that our enemies call home,” Braxton said, retrieving the bag and tossing the strap over his shoulder.
“This is the planet our own ancestors called home. If you really think about it, we’re finally home for the first time ever,” Diana replied.
“We’re home to a planet that we’ve never seen; to race that’s beneath the technology of our current hosts, yet probably still far advanced of our own people; to a city that we know nothing about; to a paranoid world that considers ‘curious people’ to be aliens or spies,” he replied, “I think our home may be a little frightening at this time.”
As they started up the sandy beach, heading toward the boardwalk, Diana noticed an older man propped against a tall chair holding onto a bottle of amber liquid. She smiled at him as she trudged onward, but received a negative nod in response.
“That was a weird ship if ever I saw one,” the man slurred, tipping the bottle at both of them.
“Ship?” Braxton asked, looking out toward the noisy ocean, “I can’t imagine any ships being out in this. We’ve got a storm coming in.”
The man’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Braxton, then he glanced out at the rising seas. Each flash in the eastern sky was now accompanied almost immediately by a crack of thunder. The storm was closing in quickly.
“But, I just saw that ship that went upward?” he asked.
“Storm’s coming in,” Diana said, pointing toward the oc
ean, “Better get to higher ground. I don’t see any ships and obviously they don’t go ‘upward’.”
They offered the man another smile, then proceeded to the boardwalk. The storm was now announcing its New Jersey debut with a drizzling rain. Braxton took Diana’s hand and sought out shelter beneath an awning of one of the many large buildings lining the boardwalk.
“I don’t think this will protect us for long, especially if the wind picks up,” Diana said, peering out toward the road, “And I’m sort of leery about going into any of these buildings since we don’t know anyone.”
“Then let’s head out and look for better shelter before this gets any worse,” he replied.
Diana agreed with a nod, then rushed out from beneath the awning and started jogging up the road. Braxton followed, noticing that the rain pelting his face was no longer just a light drizzle.
“How do you feel about the job?” he asked, finally keeping pace next to her.
The buildings and streetlights were now just a wavy blur beyond the intensified downpour. A flash of lightning offered a temporary view of a bridge crossing their road in the distance. They accepted this vision of a potential shelter and made it their destination.
“I’m not real excited about it if that’s what you’re asking,” she replied, raking a hand through her hair and drawing the sopping strands from her face, “No sane person likes to kill people, especially in a preemptive attack.”
“See, that’s my biggest problem,” he said, “I understand self-defense, but I guess I’m a little worried about how I’ll fare when I have to actually kill an innocent person.”
They finally reached the shelter of the bridge, escaping both the torrential rain as well as the increasing wind. Diana combed her hair back through her fingers while Braxton palmed the rain from his face.
“How is it that I find my ex-wife sexy when she’s more than twice my age?” Braxton asked, staring at the woman who was now ringing the water from the lower portion of her shirt.
“Don’t start and please refrain from the age remarks. If I could have it my way, I’d be twenty again too,” she replied.
“Trust me when I say that I much more prefer this shapely version of Diana,” he replied, “I’ve seen both and both are beautiful, but one has the curves where the curves count.”
“Please,” she groaned, “Please don’t do this to me, Braxton. You don’t understand how much time I’ve spent regretting my choices and how much time I’ve spent missing you. I didn’t revive this… this young version of you to be used as a…”
“No,” he pointed at her, a look of anger suddenly spanning his face, “I refuse to have my emotions held in contempt. You revived a twenty-year old version of me and this version has all the heart of my past self. If you have a problem with my heart and mind, then you need to leave me now. We need to split this list of targets and work alone. I can’t work with you if I have to conceal my heart.”
She looked at him, taking in the man before her. No matter how many times she tried to push the past away, it kept presenting itself in the closest and most dangerous ways.
“It’s just so hard for me, Braxton. We had a life together that didn’t quite work out as we’d planned. You don’t remember this life, but I do. You have an attraction to me that I now realize I’m not worthy of,” she said, nodding suddenly toward the vehicle approaching, “I think we’d better probably head up that hill and stay out of sight.”
Braxton was quick to agree. They climbed the little hill and sat at the peak with the bridge directly over their heads. Their shelter felt a little more private and comfortable from this high viewpoint.
“We’ve discussed your selfish past aboard the Foothold and we’ve discussed why you and Braxton divorced. I don’t care about all that. I care about now and the world today. If you have problems regarding a different Braxton, then you need to deal with those problems when I’m not around. I’m a different Braxton and I’d appreciate it if you offered me that respect,” he said, turning to the woman seated next to him, “This Braxton finds you attractive and there’s nothing you can do to change that.”
She shook her head and turned to him.
“Then can I kiss you right now – completely selfish and absolutely unworthy?” she asked.
“You never have to ask,” he replied, cupping her shimmering face in his hand as he leaned in.
He tasted her lips, kissing the moisture of the rain off them. He took her face in both hands, holding his prize as he kissed her more intimately. She groaned, wrapping him in both her arms and preventing the old Braxton from sneaking in between them.
“Be mine permanently this time, Diana,” he whispered against her lips, “Permanently.”
His left hand drifted to the front of her shirt then slipped beneath the wet fabric. His fingers caressed the cool skin along her upper hip, then drifted toward the lower portion of her back. Her tongue tasted sweet to him as he continued kissing her tenderly, nibbling her tongue gently between his teeth and lips.
“Only if you’ll be mine alone,” she breathed against his lips, “Mine alone.”
His other hand bravely took hold of a generous portion of her shapely “seat cushion” while he tugged her bottom lip in a kiss. He then kissed his way tenderly down her chin, then along the front of her throat before taking subtle bites along the skin of her wet collarbone.
“Alone? Of course I’d be yours alone,” he whispered.
She leaned her head back, allowing him to kiss his way up the side of her neck. He tugged her earlobe into his mouth, sucking gently on it before kissing his way along her jaw line and back to her waiting lips.
“Was I not yours alone last time?” he whispered between kisses.
“No,” she replied, raking her hands through his wet hair and pulling his lips to hers, “You had someone else.”
He pulled back suddenly despite the grip she had on the back of his head. She leaned forward, unwilling to be left unsatisfied.
“I was a cheating loser?” he asked.
She slid her fingers through his hair, combing his wet locks back. Finally she squeezed his face and nodded subtly.
“How could I?” he asked, “How could anyone…”
“Thank you, Braxton,” she interrupted, her eyes suddenly filling with unexpected tears.
Those tears suddenly became uncontrollable, creating rivers down her cheeks in spite of her refusal to allow them. He stared in confusion.
“Thank you? I’m a disgusting-”
“Thank you for saying the words I’ve always needed to hear you say. Thank you for saying ‘how could I?’” she said, “That is exactly what I needed to hear.”
“But-”
“I’m yours now, Braxton,” she said, aggressively pulling his lips closer to hers, “You’re a different Braxton and I’m a different Diana now. You’ll never hear me referring to that other Braxton ever again. I’m yours.”
Underworld
I was grateful for Elix’s assistance today. My contribution for as long as I can remember has always been at the Striliuxe River Fishery. My father used to take me there with him a lot of times because that was where he contributed. Then when I finally reached the age of society contribution, it was only natural that I chose a job I already knew a lot about.
The Striliuxe River is the largest underground stream in all of the Tunnel-world and thanks to the efforts of our ancestors; the river is populated by an abundance of fish breeds. I was going to have a heavy workload today due to a recent stock of clempin, so that’s why I decided to elicit the help of Elix.
“Why do we have so many fish today?” he asked me, using the knife to open a clempin belly just like I’d shown him.
“The eco-system of the river was getting severely imbalanced. Pretty soon, the clempin population would have taken over the river and although they are quite delicious, they would eventually die off and leave us with a dead river. We need a good balance of all the fish so they can basically feed off
each other and keep the river alive.”
Working together, we were gutting the fish in half the time it took me the last time we did this. News had already spread throughout the tunnels that we’d be enjoying a clempin feast for the next several meals.
“Would you be mad if I told you that it stinks down here and I’m getting kind of tired of doing this?” he asked, offering me that familiar look of innocence.
I laughed, then shook my head, “It does stink, doesn’t it? But no, I wouldn’t be mad. What were you planning to do?”
“I was hoping I could play at Qall’s house. He invited me over today.”
Qall was a boy Elix met the last time he went to the tunnel chutes. The tunnel chutes was a favorite hangout for a lot of the kids lately. It was a large cave with its floor angled sharply downward. Kids would bring their wheeled sheets with them, lay down on the sheet, then ride them dangerously fast to the bottom where it gradually returned to a flat surface, allowing the sheets to slow down safely at the end.
I’d only met Qall twice, but from what I could tell, he was a really good kid. I gutted another fish, then placed my knife on the board.
“You can go ahead and leave if you want, but you need to promise me that you’ll go straight to Qall’s. If his parents aren’t home though, I want you coming straight back to the river,” I said.
“I promise, Mom,” he replied, quickly rinsing his hands in the soap tub.
“I’ll stop by Qall’s on my way home later,” I said, kissing him on the top of his head, “I love you.”
Five
As the infrequent vehicles continued to drone by, it became more and more evident to Braxton and Diana that their affections were a bit indiscrete. It may have been late at night, but anyone who happened to glance up at them in the crevice beneath the bridge would not require a lot of imagination to transform what they saw into something it wasn’t.
The Mystic Saga Omnibus (Books 1 - 5) Page 21