3531

by Black, John

  She took a deep breath and nodded her head, the need to survival was growing inside her again.

  “I will ease the door open and we will quietly made our way. If they hear or see us then take off running, ok?”

  She only nodded her head. She felt her adrenaline rise.

  Carefully he opened the door and once out he eased it back closed so the wind would not slam it shut.

  Its amazing how a few moments in time can seem like an eternity. He looked back several times, so far so good, he carefully watched his footing.

  Rachel fought back the urge to simply run. The fear of capture was heighten, to the point she was trembling, her legs felt rubbery. Full of panic how much more could she take.

  Fifty yards they had traveled when a whistle blew, with no need to urge them on, they took off running.

  “Stop, Halt!” came a voice on a loud speaker.

  “Faster!” Donovan encouraged her. He only took a quick look and saw five soldiers chasing them. Each was armed with weapons.

  A faint laser was fired striking the ground to their right, violently throwing rock and dirt about. A second laser struck the ground between them causing them to lose their balance falling to the ground.

  Donovan quickly rose up, he took a quick glance, at the pursuing soldiers. They were about seventy five yards away. Helping Rachel up, they once again ran for the shelter the rocks would provide. They were still a good two hundred yards away.

  Donovan then took a hit shoulder, spinning him around crashing into the ground. Rachel stopped to help him.

  “No keep going!” he urged her.

  “They will kill you.” She watched him pull out his .45 pistol.

  “Go,” his voice compelling.

  With no farther argument, she took off running. She was sicken from seeing wisp of smoke rising from his shoulder.

  Donovan used the pack for extra protection from more laser blast. He watched the five soldiers fan out in a half moon formation. They closed to within forty yards or so. One raised up to fire, due to the flaw of the shoulder fired weapon. Donovan took careful aim and shot him in the chest. The man slumped back.

  “Give up, there are reinforcements on the way,” one of the soldiers yelled.

  Donovan ignored the warning, while he crawled he pushed along the backpack to some larger rocks that offered better protection. Looking back, he smiled at the fact Rachel had just about reached the rocks.

  Two of the soldiers began firing their weapons, while the other two rushed forward.

  Donovan returned fire missing the first time, but the second shot struck the charging man in the throat. He fell to his knees while grabbing his throat. Donovan noticed thick oozing white liquid pouring from the wound.

  One of the lasers hit the rock formation causing much debris to fly about, temporally blinding Donovan. “There's only three of you left,” Donovan screamed. He tried desperately to sink into the ground has the laser shots erupted all around him. Then just has fast it grew silent.

  Slowly lifting his head, he peeked, barely visible through the swirling sand the remaining three soldiers had retreated. Rising up he inspected the two dead soldiers, but to his surprise the one shot in the chest was still breathing.

  “Who are you?” Donovan asked.

  The man blinked his eyes but said nothing.

  “Your comrades left you to die?” He looked at the man, his brown eyes had tears rolling down the sides of his face.

  The soldier still said nothing, only fear and hate radiated from his expression.

  Donovan looked at the sun now nearly overhead. Taking out a water bottle, he noticed the HO-2 was damaged, but that was a issue to handle later. He took several sips of the water. “You want a sip?”

  The man nodded yes.

  Donovan knelt beside the wounded man. “Then answer my questions. Why are you after us?”

  “We are after the female, and now you also.”

  Donovan was taken back by the answer. “Why her and now me?”

  “She is a red unit, and your DNA came up on our registry.”

  Donovan watched him eye the water, licking his now extremely parched lips. Showing a bit of mercy he gave the man a drink. “What do you mean she is a red unit?”

  “Meaning she is a fully functional female, no implants at all. In short her blood is red.”

  Donovan nodded his head, but didn't really understand. He glanced towards the horizon but saw no threat. “All right and why is my DNA so important to you?”

  “According to our records you died over 800 years ago.”

  Donovan almost collapsed from the information. He wondered why he was surprised to hear this now. Maybe he never really believed his parents nor the stories on those chips. “So the alliance in sector seven is still functioning?”

  The man gasped for air, but only nodded yes.

  “Will they continue to track and hunt for us?”

  The man was struggling and new pain appeared on his face.

  Donovan sensed time was running out, he gathered up the three laser weapons. In a ammo belt, he pulled out two black cartridge boxes, figuring they were for the weapons. He glanced at the solider. His eyes had glazed over, his brown hair blew across his now lifeless face.

  Rachel moved higher on the rocky convexity. She looked but the distance was to far. She swallowed hard, her fear grew and she hated the not knowing, the waiting.

  Donovan struggled more and more to walk. The shelter of the rocky cliffs were now only about fifty yards or so, when he collapsed, the pain in his shoulder was now intense, he Slipped into unconsciousness.

  Chapter 9

  Donovan looked at his gashing wound after falling out of the tree. His mother came running over, making a quick examination. She checked him for any broken bones or possible internal injuries. “Do you feel any pain son?” she asked.

  “Just my shoulder mom.” He wanted to cry but wished to put up a brave front for his mom.

  Pulling out her medical prob, she scanned him and let out a sigh of relief, he had escaped serious injuries. She lifted him up and carried him inside, where she sealed his wound with her medical device. She cleaned up the mess on his arm. “Feel better son?” There was nothing she could do about his strained shoulder.

  “Yes Ma'am,” he answered with a smile.

  “How about we have some milk and cookies?”

  “All right,” he grew enthusiastic, but still moaned from the pain in his shoulder.

  “Easy on that son, that will have to heal naturally, but I'll get you something for the pain.”

  He enjoyed tasted the refreshing milk on his lips...

  “Donovan?” came the soft voice. Opening his eyes, Rachel was bent over him, with worried look. “Want some more water?” she asked lifting the container.

  Looking about, he noticed he was now in the shelter of the rocks. Excruciating pain shot through his shoulder. Donovan looked up at Rachel. “We need to get out of here, two of those soldiers got away, and I believe they will return with help.”

  She held him down. “I don't think you're in any shape to move at the moment.”

  “What is a red unit?” he asked.

  She only gave him a confused countenance.

  “That one soldier I questioned, said they were after you, because you were referred to as a red unit.” He watched her look away as if wanting to escape explaining it.

  “It just means I'm pure human.”

  “Aren’t we all?” he asked.

  She settled down next to him, ensuring she face north to watch for any approaching signs of trouble. “No, long before the first nuclear war humans began having implants placed in their body, the advancement of the technologies made it somewhat practical. However many felt this practice was a indoctrination to being a simple minion for the alliance.”

  “So that arm I saw in that video might be mine?”

  She saw the confusion in his face. Shrugging her shoulders, she had no idea. “I don't know Donovan, bu
t its clear you have some implants, that may explain why your stronger, then a normal human, its also why at first I didn't really trust you. My parents were raised to be purist. Meaning no type of implants nor artificial improvements would be accepted.”

  Donovan raised up. “There is something else, that soldier revealed to me, they were also after me, because of my DNA.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  “According to their records I was suppose to be dead some 800 years ago. The Alliance in sector seven is still functional.”

  “I already knew they were, just wasn't sure how organized they were.” She watched him grit his teeth in pain. “What else did you learn?”

  “That was it, he died before anything more could be said. They still have several allies running a round out there, they might be coming back with buddies.” He handed her one of the weapons and he slung the remaining two, over his neck. He watched her handle the weapon, as if trying to learn it. “How do they work do you know?” he questioned.

  “Yes, these are saber lasers-3 The clips fit into this slot, and it takes a few seconds for it to charge. The clips hold thirty rounds of energy. These were very primitive. You can't fire them prone, the discharge can come in contact with the ground setting off the weapon. A flaw in the design.”

  He handed her one of the spare boxes of ammo. Slowly they made their way south. He continued to check the compass to make sure they didn't deviate off course. After several hours of walking in silence, they stopped under the provided shade offered by the boulders.

  He handed her one of the 771.

  “Thanks,” she took the pill from his hand, and chased it with a swallow of warm water. He followed suit.

  “Here take a bottle just in case we get separated.”

  She took the bottle, then looked at his shoulder. “How are you feeling?”

  “It hurts, but I'll live.” After taking another sip of water he opened the pack to examine the HO-2. She came up beside him.

  “Its broken, it took the majority of that laser shot.” Not giving up they both examined it closer.

  “Look the one processor looks disconnected.” She carefully pressed it back into its slot.

  He tried turning it on, but had no luck. “Those connectors look really bad too.” Tearing away a button from his shirt he filed it against some rocks attempting to turn it into a sharp tool.

  She watched on, while he managed to reconnect some of the wiring. Attempting to turn it on, they cheered and hugged as it came to life.

  He looked around, “lets go ahead and find a concealed place to camp for the night”

  She nodded her head and together they find a suitable place among some rocks.

  “What do you have in that bag?” he finally asked.

  “Soap, shampoo and those chips.”

  “But why?” he asked

  “There might be some very valuable information on those chips.”

  “I don't exactly see a place to insert them in, out here in the middle of no where.”

  “They can play on just about any form of video, AI, or VR machine. Some of those machine have internal power sources.”

  Laying on the sleeping bag, he folded his hands under his neck. “What do you think we will found out there,” pointing his foot towards the south.

  She smiled at him. “I don't know, but its got to be better then where I came from.”

  “I can't see us living on these pills for ever,” he added.

  “True, I hope there's no side effect on these things. I'm dieing to sink my teeth into a nice piece of meat.”

  After the sun sank behind the horizon, they could feel the temperature drop. Rachel burrowed into the sleeping bag.

  “Aren’t you cold?” she asked, innocently feeling his side with the back of her hand.

  “No it actually feels good.”

  She gave a silent smirk at his comment. Tired and weary from the days events, she fell asleep.

  Donovan continued to stare at the stars. They sparkled brightly in the night, from unknown distances. His arms ached from being folded so long, he fingered her hair. The strands while still course were thicker now. Feeling her stir, he stopped and rested his hand where her neck and shoulders came together.

  He listen but only the breeze swirling among the jagged rocks was all he heard. He finally allowed himself to fall asleep.

  The next three days, they continued their southern direction. Each evening, they used the HO-2 in a feeble attempt to keep up their limited water supply.

  “Doesn't it ever rain?” he asked.

  She only shook her no, watching the device give out several ounces of water before losing power again. By dark he gave up at trying to repair it.

  “I'm now more worried about our water, then I am another alliance attack,” said Donovan.

  “Well I think we are well beyond their borders anyway.” She watched him sit on a rock frustrated at their situation.

  She went over to him, “Come on, I think we are better off now then we were back there.”

  He grinned at her attempt to cheer him up. “You know whatever we find, they will be in some form of clan.”

  “That doesn't mean they will be hostile,” she argued.

  He looked at her, “then why weren't you in a gang back in that town?”

  She said nothing for the longest time. “I was,” she paused a moment. “When my dad never returned, I couldn't stay where I was so I began adventuring out. Sneaking from building to building, looking for food and something to drink. I found a stash of food, it would have kept me alive for weeks. Well I ate some and found a kid, much younger then myself. I gave him a little. He led me to a small group of people. They allowed me to join, pooling our resources we started thriving a little, until a stalker found us and we fled. Bigger gangs killed a few of us, including the kid. I knew I was the target.” She looked at him, and sighed. “The alliance started coming after me and the remaining part of the group held them off while I fled. I felt guilty for running but they pleaded for me to.” She wiped her tear stained face. “That's when you found me.”

  Seeing the pain in her face, he hugged her. She clung to him as if to never let go. While it was expensive to cry, she started sobbing. She felt it was safe to do so.

  “I'm sorry Rachel,” Donovan caressed her shoulder, trying to ease her pain.

  “Its what I keep trying to tell you, everyone that had cared for you, would want you to survive another day.”

  He gave a simper, “you keep telling me that.”

  Playfully she punched him in the arm, “you're doing it better then you realize, Mr. I've killed me some stalkers and hunter-killers.”

  He rested his chin on top of her head. “Someone needs to keep you out of trouble.”

  They both got in the sleeping bag, she drew close to him and kissed him on the cheek.

  He lifted his eyebrows in total surprise.

  “I'm sorry,” she didn't know what possessed her to do that.

  He glanced down at her, “sorry for what?” he asked.

  “Well it can be expensive showing and giving someone emotions and feelings, out here.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  “Death is quite common out here Donovan, one must guard their heart.”

  He considered her thoughts a moment. “Seems to me everything is a calculated risk, I wouldn't let that stop me.”

  “Maybe,” she replied with a yawn.

  He couldn't help but feel where she had kissed him. Feeling the moisture of her kiss, he didn't know how to process her gesture.

  Opening his eyes he could sense dawn was close at hand. Resting his hand on her side, he nudged her. “Come on lets get a jump on our journey before it gets hot.”

  To tired to argue, she rose from the bedding. Setting out with their gear they made their way south. Remaining well discipline they only took sips of water. The heat was relentless. Like his own lips her mouth was cracked and dry.

  “Donovan, I don't think we can
last out here,” her faith showing its first sign of fatigue.

  “We must push on,” he encouraged.

  “There's nothing out here!” she screamed starting to panic. She looked at him, a sense of helplessness grew in her.

  “Donovan look,” glancing in all directions she only saw sand and rock. Taking out her last bottle, she placed it to her mouth, but knew good and well, it was empty.

  Without regard of his own thirst he handed her, his last bottle.

  She looked at him, then the bottle. “Really are you sure?”

  “Yes take it,” he offered generously.

  Ignoring her shameless craving, and stinginess she guzzled down the remaining water.

  “Now come on,” he encouraged.

  How did he do it, she wondered. Walking along beside him, the sun bore down on them. After several more hours she collapsed. “I can't Donovan, leave me.”

  He turned and adjusted his burden, took her bag then lifted her up to carry her in his arms. He willed each and every step. It would be so easy to lay down and give up, so why didn't he? Another unanswered question. His legs felt like rubber. He pooled his remaining strength and pressed onward.

  The sunset offered only mild relief of the heat. He had already made up his mind he would continue walking. He could feel her arms dangle. His own arms ached, the pain burned, it only took his mind off his dieing thirst. The feelings raged a war in his mind on trying to seize total control of his thoughts.

  He focused on her kiss, the thought was sweet, and he loved it.

  “One more story mom, please?” he pleaded.

  “Son I have to get up early,” she explained.

  He frowned for she never had to go to work that early before. “Why mom? Did work call?”

  She tucked the sheets up to his neck and while leaning kissed his cheek. “No son, I have to go to the hospital.”

  “Why?” he questioned, seeing a tear form in her eyes.

  “Never mind son, you just go to sleep and when I get home, I'll make you some home made fudge!”

  He made a huge smile, “can I help?”

  She leaned and kissed him again, “you're mom's little helper right?”

  He eagerly nodded his head.