The Chronicles of Benjamin Jamison Mission 1: The Scarab Moons

by Thomas Wright

  Chapter 9

  Ruby heard the commotion upstairs, the sound of things breaking and fighting. She heard something hit the floor, and then it was quiet. The upstairs door opened and saw Georgie coming down the steps. She decided she wouldn’t end up like the girl next to her. Whatever had happened upstairs wasn’t going to aid in her escape.

  Georgie stopped about five feet away, which was too far. She needed him closer. He obliged, taking two more steps so he could leer at her body.

  "I'm gonna have fun with you," he said, reaching for his pants.

  Ruby looked at the girl next to her. "Wake up,” she called out. “I need you to be a witness."

  That got Georgie to look her way. When he did, Ruby kicked as hard as she could, right between his legs. His face contorted as he cried out in pain and fell to the floor.

  Georgie laid on the floor, holding himself crying while Ruby quickly and dislocated her thumb. She was double-jointed, so it didn’t hurt too badly, but the cuff was tight and it ripped at her skin as she pulled her hand free. She gripped the empty cuff as best she could as she repeated the process with the other hand. Turning back towards Georgie, just as he was trying to stand, she kicked him in the face. It didn’t knock him out, but blood began running from his mouth and nose, enough that he clutched at his face instead of standing.

  She grabbed the key chain off his belt loop and opened the cuffs on the girl and the boy, holding them up then easing each one to the floor. The girl was alive and breathing shallowly, but the boy was cold and still. Ruby shook the girl until finally she woke up. Sliding an arm around the girl, she helped her up and they went up the stairs.

  By the top of the steps, the girl was doing a little better, but as they cleared the basement door Ruby saw her brother on the floor with the knife in his heart. She let go of the girl and was at her brother’s side in a second, sobbing uncontrollably. The girl knelt next to her but said nothing, only seeming slightly aware of her surroundings.

  Crying, her mind racing a mile a minute, Ruby made a number of mistakes. She never heard Georgie coming up the steps behind her, blood soaking his shirt and walking half-bent. The captive girl didn’t hear him over Ruby's sobbing as they both sat with their backs to the door.

  In his anger, Georgie decided to grab Ruby by the hair. His plan was to drag her down the steps by her hair, letting the steps beat her. He reached out with both hands and grabbed her, pulling back hard.

  Ruby felt the jerk of fingers in her hair. Adrenaline rushing, she pulled the knife from her brother’s chest and stabbed wildly over her head behind her. She felt the blade sink in with ease and let go of the knife. A groan was all they heard until the body hit the floor. Both girls turned and watched Georgie twitch; the knife was buried to the handle in his eye socket.

  "Come with me,” Ruby said, looking away quickly from what she had done. “Let’s find you something to wear and get out of here. We can call law enforcement once I have you somewhere safe."

  They found the girl’s clothes and belongings in a bedroom along with those of the boy. Ruby's things were also there, along with some weapons. After a few seconds’ thought, she didn’t take any of the weapons. She helped the girl get dressed, and with a few questions, found out her name was Samantha. They headed for the door. Ruby stopped to look at her brother one last time.

  Both girls stared in silence when the sound of exhaling behind them made them jump and turn. The air in Georgie's lungs had escaped, leaving him lifeless and motionless again. Ruby looked at the knife and pulled it out of his eye. She wiped it on his clothes and walked back to the bedroom with the weapons. She found a sheath to put it in and slid it into the top of her boot, pulling her pant leg over it.

  They left the house a minute later to find a place for Samantha to stay. Once that was done, Ruby was going to go and try to talk to some of the people who might listen to her and get them to pull out of the attack.

  ****

  The captain had a holo of the city around the militia base and used it to assign us places to spot from. We would call it in to him, and he would relay it to militia command. He believed they would call in a few fighters to level the city block where most of the rebels were congregated.

  The lieutenant and the platoon were on their way to the moon 6912 and were advised of the situation. Militia command asked that they continue on their mission and try and locate the rebel camp and put it out of commission. They would destroy it later after they finished dealing with the rebels outside their front door.

  We left the hotel with packs and gear this time, but still no weapons. It was getting dark, so we would be using night vision. I had some concern about the fighters leveling a whole block, mainly because we were going to be so close.

  53 was going to be in a water tower on our six, watching for any hostiles approaching from the rear. I was in the middle, with Arrendondo on one side and Terri on the other, a block apart. We could hear shots being fired from an assortment of weapons; some were using chemical propellant and had to be antiques. You could tell by the crack. If there were enough shots fired, you could even smell it in the air.

  "Captain, we have a civvie approaching. She’s about two blocks away but hustling. Looks like Jamison's girlfriend," 53 announced. "She looks unarmed."

  "Copy, 53. We know where she's heading,” the captain said. “One of the others will follow her progress."

  "Be aware,” he added, “there are two squads of militia working their way into flanking positions to push the rebels into a centralized grouping. We’re going to get as many as they can in a single strike and see if it breaks their spirit."

  We kept calling it a base, but it was really more like a compound — twelve-foot walls, two feet thick all the way around. It made me wonder if this wasn’t the first time in their history the people had chosen to take action.

  "Captain, we have mechs coming in our direction. Any idea who they are?" 53 asked. “I only see two, along with about 10 civvies walking along behind them."

  "Are they manned or remotes, 53?" the captain asked.

  "Remotes, captain,” 53 answered. “I see the controller now. He’s walking in the middle of the group, using them for a shield."

  "Old military surplus, I would guess, looking at the images you just sent,” the captain responded. “The missile launchers look empty, but the guns may be live. Ammunition is still available for those MK3s. Once they have moved beyond your positions, I want you all to fall back to the warehouse. It’s about to become a really hot zone."

  We all copied that; we heard the order to fall back. Even with the MK3s, I didn’t think there was any way they were going to take out the militia, even if they did have superior numbers and a couple of mechs.

  The militia weren’t marines, but they were an organized fighting unit. We kept our heads down and waited. Finally, the mechs and the small group of rebels were in front of us. They took cover and the controller walked the mechs right up the steel doors of the compound.

  I was in the building coming down the stairs when I heard the mechs open up with turret mounted chain guns. I opened the door to the side street slowly and slipped out. Moving quietly to the corner of the building, I looked around. The streets were clear, except at the end, where it was a dead end at the militia compound. I saw Ruby approach the group of ten on the run, with five individuals following her.

  The group had assembled behind a building, and for the first few seconds it seemed they were just having a meeting, until Ruby jumped on a man and began punching him. A fight broke out. The larger group drew weapons and fired, taking out Ruby's followers. Two men pulled her off the man she was attacking and held her between them. He began to beat her as she struggled against the two holding her.

  "Private Jamison, don’t do anything stupid,” the captain said. “That is not our problem, and infighting between them is good right now. You need to get moving and join the others."

  "Yes sir," I answered. Then I took off the headset and put it
in my pack. This really shouldn’t take too long, I thought. Maybe he won’t court martial me. I needed to find a weapon and figure out how to take out 10 armed men and women. Maybe it was luck, but they had decided to relocate to another position.

  I moved in and out of doorways, working my way to where they had been last. The bodies of the five rebels lay on the ground. They weren’t stunned; they had all been shot with a lethal setting. But they weren’t all dead either. I checked each one and took a few seconds to plug the holes.

  I took the best of what the rebels carried, which wasn’t great but would help even things up some — two pistols and two knives. I cranked the settings to lethal. They weren’t going to change their settings just for me, so I thought it was only fair.

  I quietly worked my way within 10 yards of their position. Ruby was still being held by the same two people. One rebel in particular was wearing a headset shouting and giving orders. Next to him was the man controlling the mechs. I was working out who I was going to shoot first when I heard the footsteps behind me.

  "Private, you are in some trouble this time. You need to come with me," Arrendondo said softly, trying not to attract attention.

  I looked back towards my targets to see if anything had changed in the past fifteen seconds. I had never acknowledged the corporal, which I think made her mad. This time she grabbed my arm, her intention to spin me around to face her. I did, but I didn’t stop. I just kept coming, pushing her into the building and pinning her in place.

  "Are you out of your mind, Jamison?” she whispered frantically. “You don’t even know her. You would throw everything away you just went through for someone who may not even thank you?"

  "Elizabeth, shut up,” I answered, not budging. “When I'm done you can arrest me, shoot me, or put me in a body bag. She isn’t a terrorist and is barely a rebel. This isn’t what she wanted. I'm sure of that."

  "None of that matters,” she said. “This is about you and what's going to happen to you."

  "I'm done talking,” I said. “Go to the warehouse and report in before you get yourself in trouble."

  "You're my responsibility,” she snapped. “What you do here will reflect on me."

  Our faces were about two inches apart as we argued in whispers. I didn’t answer her, but I did back off and stepped over to survey the situation again. I should have never taken my eyes off of her. Her arm slipped around me and took a pistol from my waist. She pointed it at me, smiling.

  I didn’t wait for her to speak. I just turned and charged the group of rebels with a pistol in one hand and a knife in the other. I shot the guy controlling the mechs right in the back. He dropped the control pad and fell forward, the hole in his back smoking.

  I dropped to the ground and shot one of Ruby's guards in the chest. I saw her trying to pull free from the other one, but everyone was aware now of the trouble and began firing. I tackled Ruby's other guard and her, knocking them both down, and I quickly put a knife between his ribs before he could stand back up.

  The leader was in a fire fight with Arrendondo. I took the guard’s weapon and, lying on my back, began firing at multiple targets. I had my leg draped over Ruby, holding her in place next to me. The rebels were taking cover and I did the same, using the dead guard’s body.

  I heard yelling behind me but couldn’t turn to see clearly what was happening, until the combatants moved and I could see Terri and a woman. Terri had her by the hair, yanking her head down to connect with the knee that was on its way up. Two of those and a few punches, and the woman was a crumpled mess on the ground. Terri picked up her weapon and began firing.

  The rebels decided it was time to get away. The leader took off running, as did the others. Ruby rolled out from under me and began chasing the leader, Mr. Black, with Arrendondo right behind her.

  Black twisted and tried to shoot, but the shot went wild. Arrendondo was luckier and managed to shoot his pistol. He stopped running, and Ruby plowed into him. She threw wild punches and screamed about him having her brother killed. Black hit her solid and knocked her off of him. He was about to begin beating her when he felt the pistol touching the back of his head.

  "Get off of her, asshole," Arrendondo said. "I won’t tell you twice before I burn a hole through your head. Put your hands behind your head and stand up.”

  I could see she stood to close to Black and began to run in their direction. He grabbed the pistol with one hand and was trying to grab her by the throat with the other. Ruby was up and on his back in a second. I didn’t see where she got the knife from, but I saw her bury it in his throat and fall to her knees.

  Arrendondo was able to push him away now that he had loosened his grip on her pistol. Blood was pouring out of the wound, even with the knife still in his neck. He went down to his knees.

  I walked up to the kneeling man and pulled the knife out of his neck, then pushed him over in the dirt, where the blood ran out and began to pool. I helped Ruby up and she looked at me with tears leaving trails in the dirt on her face.

  I handed Terri the pistol and took the headset off of the dead man. I handed it to Ruby.

  "Tell them he is dead, and that they need to give up now or the militia is going to light up this whole block with whatever their fighters are armed with. Let’s walk while you talk to them."

  I heard the fighters coming in seconds later, and we began to run. I pushed Ruby into a doorway and grabbed the other two, pushing them in.

  "Wrap your arms around each other and cover your faces," I ordered. I took off my jacket and threw it over our heads, placing myself in front of the three of them and pinning them against the building. I felt the debris tearing through my shirt, cutting and lodging itself into my back.

  The fighter only made one pass. The mechs were burning, as well as any hover vehicle that had been used as cover. There was no more weapon-fire, since most of it had already stopped before the fighter made its run, but I was thinking the militia wanted to make a statement.

  The steel doors opened and a platoon or more of soldiers came out of the compound and began the process of trying to catch anyone they could find and clean up the area.

  Chapter 10

  Amateur hour was over — it was time to get moving away from the area. I stepped out, giving them room to move and separate, slipping my jacket back on over the shredded shirt. We walked hurriedly towards the section of town where Ruby lived. After a couple blocks of sticking to the shadows and doorways, we moved quietly and quickly out into the open.

  At some point Arrendondo decided it was time to talk about what had just happened and what to do next. I didn’t much like her idea.

  "Jamison, we need to turn her over to the authorities. We’re just getting in deeper and deeper," Arrendondo said. "What do you think, Antolini?"

  "I think you’ll get more out of that hover car parked there than you will him,” Antolini said drily. “His mind is made up."

  Ruby looked at me. "Keep walking," I said to her. "You should get your family on the move."

  She wrapped her arms around me, sliding them under my jacket, but when she felt the blood she quickly took them back. I grabbed her arms and wiped her hands on my jacket.

  "Go, I’ll be fine,” I told her. “I need to help my friends now.”

  Ruby looked like she wasn’t going to leave. I didn’t want to, but I yelled at her.

  "Get the fuck away from me and go home!” I told her. “You’re being stupid and you have no time for that. Just leave.”

  She turned and ran. I hoped she wouldn’t be mad at me for too long. I would be gone, so it didn’t really matter, but I still didn’t want that to be the last thing she thought of me.

  "Terri, you stick with Arrendondo and keep your weapon pointed at me. When we get to the warehouse, just make sure you both have the same story, alright?” I ordered. “You caught up to me and arrested me."

  "Can you even raise your arms and look like a prisoner?" Terri laughed.

  "I would rather not,” I
admitted. “Can you just tie my hands behind my back?"

  I heard a pack open. Terri held my arms while Arrendondo tied my wrists. We walked into the warehouse 20 minutes later. I was staggering and had one of my friends on each arm. 53 and the captain looked up from a holo-map when we walked in.

  My captors had decided that Arrendondo would do all the talking and Terri would only talk if ordered to. I thought they would bring me straight to the captain, but they took me to a chair so I could sit down. Terri cut the rope on my wrists and Arrendondo unbuckled and unzipped my jacket. Terri helped pull it off me. I heard her take a sharp, deep breath. I felt her pull on the shirt and cut it up the middle while Arrendondo pulled it off.

  At the beck of Arrendondo’s finger, 53 ran to the lieutenant’s office and returned with a first aid kit.

  "I'll get some water," 53 said after seeing my back. When he returned, four hands went to work pulling pieces of glass and rock out of me. Somewhere along the way I passed out — probably when they started pouring alcohol on my back. Payback is a bitch.

  When I woke I was on my stomach, my head resting on Arrendondo's lap. Terri was still wiping down my wounds. They were seeping blood and we didn’t have enough bandaging. They had put stitches in the larger cuts; it wasn’t pretty, but it worked.

  "While you were out the captain questioned us,” Terri said. “I’m pretty sure he knows it was all just bullshit, but he didn’t say anything. The lieutenant and everyone else will be back in the next fifteen minutes."

  I grunted, thinking it really didn’t matter.

  53 walked up to us. "The captain says it would probably be better to lay him in a cot before the lieutenant gets back. She may not be as lenient as he is about proper conduct and behavior."

  Terri grabbed an unused cot and set it up right next to me. I stood and immediately laid down face first. My problem was the blood loss. It zapped my strength, but by tomorrow this time I figured would be good; or at least I would keep telling myself that. My throat still hurt and so did my lungs.