The Survivors Box Set

by Nathan Hystad

  I clenched my jaw, and he looked amused as he watched me tense in anger. “Relax, Dean. I wouldn’t harm them. Not if you agree to my terms. This one will have to die, though. I’m sorry.”

  Slate was my brother. He was my sidekick and my best friend. I saw Denise step back slightly as her finger tightened on the trigger. I had no choice. I fired once, twice, three times, and she fell to the ground, holes blasted through her body. “Go, Slate, go!” I yelled, and he stared at the dead body in front of him before looking over at me with a sadness I’d never seen on his face before. It was then I noticed he was holding his left arm in agony. She’d hit him. His hesitation was over. He ran through the barrier, and I was right behind him, only something blocked my way through.

  “I don’t think so, Dean. You’re not going anywhere.”

  THIRTY

  I struggled to get past the barrier, but it was to no avail. He had me trapped.

  “I’ve heard you consider yourself quite the intelligent person. Not smart enough to fool me, though, were you? As we speak, a hundred of my soldiers are advancing on this building,” Lom said, his voice light and friendly. “Did you really think I wouldn’t figure it out? Even without Denise, it would have been simple enough.”

  I let him talk, hoping Slate had taken the portal down from his end. Lom saw my gaze flicker to where the portal barrier had sat invisible, and he stuck his arm through it. But I knew now we weren’t going back to Udoon. Slate had taken the barrier down. Lom of Pleva and I were alone on a ship bound for nowhere, and I had no way out.

  That feeling of finality hit me once again. I’d had it a few times. Once when I raced down the roads of South America, with no one but Carey at my side. On the bridge of the Bhlat ship when General Blel fought the Empress for control of their fleet, when I thought Mary was dead. Then only a few months ago, when I headed straight for the Unwinding with a dimensional Shifter in my grip. This felt much like each of those times, but I didn’t have a knot in my stomach or sweat dripping down my back this time.

  Calm washed over me as I locked eyes with Lom. He was imposing: part machine, tall and broad, only half a face showing, the other half covered in metal. But I had the upper hand.

  Now that I knew he couldn’t escape through the portal barrier, I raised my hands up. “You got me. How about we consider this deal you’re speaking of?”

  Lom measured me with his gaze. “You expect me to trust you?”

  “Why not? Have you ever heard of me not being trustworthy? I’m Dean Parker, the guy who cut deals with the Deltra…”

  He finished my sentence. “Then killed them.”

  “You would have too, in my position. And one of the Deltra eventually became a great friend of mine. An inventor named Kareem.” His eye widened at this, as if it was news to him. “The Deltra broke the trust first. Hell, I have alliances with your own hybrids. Don’t forget the Bhlat. Add in the Keppe now; even the Supreme of the Volim and I are on good speaking terms. Toss in Garo Alnod and his resources, and I have to say I have some good references.” I stood up straight and felt the grip of his barrier loosen on me.

  “You are persuasive, I’ll give you that. Karo. Where is he?” he asked.

  I hesitated. “You didn’t have men waiting to grab him on Udoon station?”

  “I wasn’t expecting Kinca to give in so easily. I thought he had a backbone.” Lom leaned casually. He started walking for the back of the room. I let him. It was sealed. “How do I get out of here?”

  “I’ll show you,” I said. “What do you need Karo for?” I asked as I walked to the hidden panel that would lead us to the cargo bay of a ship, instead of to the ice world he was expecting.

  “The Theos? I’ve tried for years to find them. Somehow you did it. Karo’s blood will sustain me. I’ll become immortal, like any man of greatness such as myself should be. And just think of the hybrids we can create. How about some Theos and human genetics mixed together? A race of beings that will live long, without health concerns, and so much more.” He paused, and I stopped at the panel, my hands ready to pop it out. “Your daughter could live forever, Dean. Is there a reason you wouldn’t want that for Jules?”

  “Don’t you say her name again,” I whispered, not looking back at him. I popped the panel out and motioned for him to pass through.

  “You first,” he said calmly.

  I obliged and entered the cargo bay, running for the far end. He was big and struggled through the opening. I ran, hiding behind a crate, and he growled angrily. “What kind of treachery is this?” he screamed before changing languages and talking to himself. He was likely calling his team on the ice world. He repeated a few phrases, then fired at the crates in front of me, which exploded into small pieces. I dropped low to the ground and crawled ten yards away, behind a larger stack of protection. I was wearing a shield dome, but it wouldn’t last more than a few shots. I had to be careful.

  “What did you do, Dean? Where are we? Why won’t my communicator work?” he asked.

  Mine worked because the frequency was programmed into the ship’s parameters, but all other signals were dead inside this ship. No one would know where he was. My back pressed hard against the metal wall. I goaded him. “What do you mean? We’re on the ice world, like you said.”

  “No. We. Are. Not!” He pounded his feet across the room, and I heard the top crate crash to the ground beside me.

  “We’re far away, Lom. Far away, indeed.” I pulled a thin object from my pocket and stood up, my right hand on the trigger of my pulse pistol. I knew he’d have a shield on too, so it would come down to whose burned out faster. I suspected it would be mine.

  “Where?” Saliva dripped down Lom’s chin as he asked the question.

  “Look for yourself,” I said, and he slowly backed up, heading to the far wall, where a computer screen sat recessed into the wall.

  He tapped it a few times, and an image appeared on it. It was the view from the front of the ship, the distant colorful nebula filling half of the screen. Otherwise, there was nothing but faraway stars. “I don’t recognize this,” he said.

  “You wouldn’t. You know how the universe is ever expanding? This is somewhere few have laid eyes on. No one will find you here.” I stepped out from behind the crates. There was no point in hiding from the inevitable.

  “What’s your end game?” he asked.

  “Karo’s safe. I wanted to work it out with the Kraski, but I guess you did me a favor by killing them all. And my family’s safe. We’ll go on, and you’ll die. Here. Now,” I said. I was surprised by how steady my voice was.

  Lom smiled then laughed, spittle flying out of his thin lips. “You really do regard yourself highly. To think that you, a puny human, can kill Lom of Pleva. I’m centuries old. I’ve amassed the most wealth in the universe, and have started and ended over a dozen civilizations. You’ll either bend your knee to me now, or you will die.

  “Not soon, though. I’ll take your beaten body and make you watch as I kill your child, then your wife. You’ll view it all from above as I destroy New Spero, and then, as I hunt every damned human out there, you’ll be by my side, broken, without a tongue to argue, with no hands to fight. You’ll watch your people all die, and then, only then, will I consider letting you join them.”

  “No. You’re wrong.” This time, my voice did betray my nerves. There was no leaving Lom here to rot. I couldn’t risk it, not after what he’d just said. The others were right. This man was a lunatic. He didn’t just speak that threat idly, he meant every word of it. I had no choice. I had to make sure he never made it out of here.

  I’d told Slate and the others to never reinstall the portal wall. If I was stuck there with Lom, they were to leave it that way. I’d talk to the Empress through my communicator, letting her know it was over. I tapped the earpiece and spoke to Lom. “You and I will die here together today.”

  Lom laughed again as he pointed a hand at me. Pulse beams shot out, and I ducked and rolled, my shield dome taking
the brunt of the abuse. I fired back at him as I stilled, his shield making only the slightest indication it had been hit. He stalked toward me, and I kept firing until the shield began to weaken. He thought he was invincible, but the truth was, I wanted to wear it down enough that the coming explosion would be enough to kill him.

  The Empress spoke into my ear. She wished me luck and called me a warrior. “Tell Mary and Jules I love them,” I whispered.

  He fired at me. My shield wore down as I sat back against a wall, endlessly going shot for shot with Lom. Finally, I saw his visible eye flicker as he looked down to my left hand. I flipped the detonator cap open and gave him a grim smile.

  I pictured Mary and Jules in the short time we’d spent together as a family. I saw them growing older together, me watching from the clouds. Jules with her long curly chestnut hair, and Mary holding her hand on the way to her first day of school. These images flooded my eyes as I pressed down on the button, my body bracing for the explosion.

  Nothing happened.

  THIRTY-ONE

  Lom’s instinct had been to duck and run for the edge of the ship, thinking I had the bomb on my person. I got up, firing toward him as I ran for cover. It hadn’t worked. The ship was wired to go off with the press of a detonator, and it had failed. Even though I wanted it to work, I still felt relief at being alive. My mind raced, thinking of ways I could I win the day.

  “It looks like your plan to kill yourself alongside me was flawed. I told you I’m invincible,” Lom of Pleva said.

  I rolled my eyes, knowing he had nothing to do with the malfunction.

  He kept talking. “See. It’s a sign. Join me, Dean.”

  An idea hit me like a ton of bricks. There was a way to get rid of Lom and survive. I pulled the small device from my pocket, fumbling with it. Regnig and I had spent some time going over how to work the time-travel device Fontem had spent his life searching for. Now, as I heard Lom walking toward me, all of the research on it slipped through my mind like water through a strainer.

  He was close now, and I stood, dropping my pulse pistol. “You win.”

  “Good. I thought you might say that. Just imagine the look on Alnod’s face when we kill him, you by my side. It will be priceless. You see, he did this to me.” Lom ran a hand across the left side of his body, where the robotics whirred, and to the plate covering half of his face. “He thought he could kill me so easily, but not even an explosion that large could end my reign.”

  “My family will be safe, though, right? That’s the deal?” I asked, more to appease and distract him as my thumb tapped the final details into the time device.

  “As long as you stay in line, then yes. I’m not a monster, Dean.” He said this with a dark half-grin that churned my stomach.

  I had to prod him now, to anger him so much he would charge me. It was the only way. Sweat dripped down my torso as I nervously waited to activate the device. “Only, you are. You want nothing but power and credits, and for everyone to fear the name Lom of Pleva. What the hell is a Pleva anyway? A backwater swamp planet? Are you the king and lord of a muddy stink hole, Lom?”

  “Watch your tongue.” He raised a hand. “Deal’s off. You will die like I described. I can’t wait to see your face as I peel your baby from your wife’s arms.”

  “You’ll never see them. You’re useless. Trapped by a human in the middle of nowhere. No communication, no engines, and a shield that’s nearly dead. You’re impotent, Lom,” I said, hoping he’d bite.

  It worked. Lom yelled in frustration and stepped closer to me. I waited. The rift would open one yard from me, and he needed to be moving so he couldn’t stop.

  “Come on, let’s do this like men!” I yelled, raising my right fist as if we were boxers in a ring.

  He ran now, an animalistic snarl over his face. I closed my eyes for a second and pressed the button. The colorful rift opened in an instant, small as a pinprick at first, then upwards and sideways at the same time.

  Lom was able to avoid it, crashing into me. We rolled to the ground in a heap, the air gone from my lungs. I gasped, swinging at him. My hand hit his armor, and crumpled.

  “You think to trick me?” Lom was on his feet, kicking me in the ribs. I felt something snap as I rolled away. I stumbled to my feet, Lom stalking after me. He swung an arm, his long reach catching me in the shoulder. I spun but kept my footing. Lom was standing right in front of the fold in time.

  It hung there, a blotchy circle, reds, greens, and blues cascading around like a whirlwind. He didn’t even seem to remember it was behind him.

  A blade shot from his left hand, and his face was a mask of horror. “Let’s start with the tongue.” The sharp edge came at me, cutting into my cheek. Blood poured out, and I took the chance. He was off-balance from his thrust. I kicked low, hitting his right knee. It twisted, going to the ground. I kneed him in the head, on the flesh side.

  His blade caught me in the leg. A searing pain coursed through me, causing me to bend over.

  “You’ll never beat me,” Lom shouted, but he was wrong. As soon as he was looming before me, I pushed forward, planting both hands on his torso, shoving him back with all my remaining strength. He stumbled back, entering the colorful vortex. His yells cut off as soon as his head disappeared into the time fold.

  I staggered around it, seeing I was alone in the room. I tapped it closed and fell to the ground, my back pressed against a stack of crates. It worked. Lom of Pleva was gone, sent into another time.

  I pressed a palm to my cheek, which stung fiercely, as did my wounded leg. Each breath came with a sharp pain, and I knew my rib was broken.

  I looked down at the device and double-checked the stats. My stomach knotted up tightly when I saw what I’d done. I’d meant to send him into the future, far away, so I wouldn’t have to think of his name ever again. The device wasn’t built on Earth years, so the math was suspect, but I’d intended to program it for two thousand of our years.

  But in my rush and half-concentration, it was set for around twenty Earth years.

  I sat there, staring at it, wondering if he’d arrive in our own timeline twenty years from now, or if he was on a parallel one. My head pounded as I got to my feet, the blood loss becoming worrisome now.

  “Empress. Communicate with Slate. Tell him to open the portal again. It’s done. I’m coming home.”

  ____________

  We sat inside Cee-eight’s ship, ready to start the trip back home. Rulo remained quiet, her pride shaken after Lom of Pleva had blasted a shield around her and walked by her at the doorway. I told her it wasn’t her fault he got through. There was no way to prevent it, but it didn’t seem to help. Rivo was the only one of us with some energy. She was thrilled at the outcome and couldn’t wait to tell her father that his nemesis was gone.

  Karo was there, eyes bright and wide as he stared out the viewscreen. I think he assumed his time was over, and he hadn’t spoken much since we’d gotten him on board. Lom’s hired goons had broken when Cee-eight bribed them as they engaged her ship, holding Karo. She told them Lom was dead, and they hadn’t put up much of a fight.

  Then there was Slate. He was in the small quarters, lying on a bunk that was too short for his tall frame. I made my way inside the room and closed the door.

  “Slate, I’m sorry,” I told my friend. He didn’t move, and his back was to me while he faced the wall. My face was bandaged; all of my injuries had been fixed, but I might have scars. They’d remind me how close it had been.

  “It’s not your fault. How could I be so stupid, Dean?” Slate asked, and I noticed how he called me by my name, and not “boss.” It sounded good, like we were equals. He claimed he didn’t mean anything by the term “boss,” but it always made me think he felt like my subordinate, instead of my co-conspirator or friend.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “She was a hybrid. Looking back, it’s so obvious. Of course she was the mole. Damn it, Dean. The first woman I fall in love with, and s
he’s using me.” Slate now turned and swung his legs off the bed, his feet hitting the ground softly.

  “I understand that only too well,” I offered. “It seems we both had the same thing happen.”

  He thought about it and gave me a weak smile. “You’re right.” His gaze averted from mine. “We even killed each other’s.”

  Slate was clearly still ashamed for killing Mae back on the Bhlat station, but I’d long ago forgiven him. “Forgive me, Zeke,” I said, using his real name. I went and sat beside him on the bed, and put my arm around his wide shoulders. “Forgive me for having to kill her like that in front of you.”

  “She was about to shoot me, so I can only say thank you. We’re even now, I suppose,” Slate said.

  “Can things go back to normal between us?” I asked him.

  He nodded. “They already are.” He said the words, but I could see the pain racking his body and mind. It would be a while before he’d heal from this one. He held his arm close to his body, and I saw the fresh pink skin. Cee-eight’s medical kit had cleaned up his injury well, but a damaged arm was something we both shared.

  Slate leaned back, his right arm propping him up. “Dean, I’m sorry I didn’t come help you.”

  “You weren’t supposed to.”

  “Do you know how hard that was? I thought you were going to die,” he said.

  “I know. But I didn’t. I have too much to live for.”

  “You do.”

  “And so do you. You’ll get over this, Slate. You’ll be stronger for it. Believe me,” I assured him.

  “Thanks. Do you mind if I have a few minutes alone?” he asked, and I got up, shaking my head.

  “Take as much time as you need.” I shut the door and heard him fall back down on the bed in a heap.

  EPILOGUE

  One Year Later

  “What do you think?” I asked, taking the blindfold off Mary’s eyes.

  She stood at the precipice of the rooftop, glass safely keeping her from falling down, though she still took a step back. “It’s amazing.”