by PN Books
“They are landing,” Marcus told them. “They may be trying to find us instead of destroying us outright,” he whispered.
“That or since they can’t get us by bombing from overhead, they want to find us and make sure when they shoot us,” Kirkpatrick pointed out.
Gillian felt a coldness enter her with his words; she threw up a wall of sarcasm.
“Thanks, man. I am glad you are here to keep the mood light, jeez,” she said. He looked embarrassed and Marcus laughed softly, throwing her a look. Gillian felt a little bad but ran with the other two to keep ahead of the Earth First people.
“We should have some time. They will want to search the base completely before moving on,” Kirkpatrick said hopefully. Gillian reached out and squeezed his shoulder in appreciation of the change in tone.
“That is the hope. Unless they have enough people to split formations,” Marcus said and Gillian sighed. Great, if it is not one of them scaring her it is the other. Marcus obviously felt her fear.
“Sorry, I really do think we have some time so I wouldn’t worry too much,” he said.
“I would!” She heard an unfamiliar voice as they ran into a clearing. There were five aliens standing with large weapons pointed at them. Gillian felt a sudden wish that Surveyors were equipped with weapons. Marcus had explained that no surveyors had any weapons, beyond their own strength, since they were on peaceful missions. Gillian groaned and Marcus stepped up between her, Kirkpatrick and the Earth First squad.
“So you are going to kill two sentient earthlings? How can you justify your existence as a group promoting the best for all?” He asked with a rumbling fury in his voice. Only then could she feel the pure rage he must have been suppressing. She trembled to hear it, even though she knew it was in his friend’s defense.
“Hard decisions are sometimes necessary Surveyor. If the regrettable deaths of two earth people guarantee that Earth is closed down for future exploration then it will be worth it,” The leader said.
He was a tall alien, about Marcuse’s size without his bulk. They all wore red jumpsuits and boots but he stood in the center and had a strange badge on his chest. It looked like one of the letters she had seen as part of their alphabet. She assumed he was the leader anyway.
“So you are more concerned with your own agenda and not the lives you say you do. Interesting, you can call it a hard decision but I find most of those are nothing more than people trying to justify their actions. I imagine not your entire group is behind this raid you are leading,” Marcuse said. Gillian did not like how the Earth First guys were tightening their grip on their weapons.
She felt her chest tighten and tears come to her eyes. She felt she was about to die and realized death was a thing to be feared. Her usual defenses against fear were not applicable in this case. She could do nothing except stand there and wait. She trembled and Kirkpatrick moved closer to her side. She felt a comfort knowing he was there and Marcus was doing his best to defend her. She saw Marcus tense, as if he was about to do something drastic. She could actually feel his determination when there was roaring sound and her hair was whipped around by a sudden wind. She crouched with Kirkpatrick and Marcus turned and put his arms around them both as a voice on a loudspeaker boomed.
“Everyone hold positions! This is Fleet command! All earth First operatives throw down your weapons or we will act with extreme prejudice!” The booming voice said. The wind continued to howl and Marcus muttered curses, holding her tight in his protective arms. Some of his determination seeped into her and she lost her tears and her anger and strength came back to her as the wind finally calmed down. They looked up and saw the Earth First people on the ground with their hands over their heads. Light began building around the five people, forming a dome over their position.
“Well it’s about time,” Marcus said looking up. Gillian could not see anyone but he was answered.
“We wanted to wait until they stated their intentions. It will make it easier for a conviction. Earth First will lose all credibility over this incident and cease to be a problem. I don’t know what you were worried about Marcus. We had it under control,” This time it was Gillian who cursed softly under her breath.
They could have told them that! She pushed her hair out of her face. It had completely escaped the tie and she tried to twist it at the nape of her neck. Marcus glanced at her with a wink, her anxiety begin to ease and she grinned. Looking over at Kirkpatrick she saw that he wasn’t even ruffled. How did he do it, she wondered?
Then she heard a laugh. It was a maniacal thing that made her turn back to the Earth First prisoners. One of them was standing under the glimmering dome that covered them. He had a small piece of machinery in his hands and it was beginning to glow.
“Under control do you? You are no match for true determination and conviction,” the leader shouted and began laughing as the device he held began making a strange rumbling sound. Marcus turned to them with panic in his eyes and shoved both Gillian and his butler back the way they had originally come.
“Run! Run!” Shouted and they did. Gillian did not know what that device was but she ran as fast as she could. They had maybe made it halfway back towards the hut when there was an explosion behind her that felt like she was hit in the back with a hot club. She felt herself lift off the ground and fly through the air. She heard herself scream as her shoulder slammed into a tree and blackness took her.
As Gillian came to, she could hear a conversation. She felt pain through her right side, especially her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw she was lying in the bushes. She had leaves tangled in her hair and felt like she had been beaten up. She got to her feet. Her right shoulder was howling pain but she somehow managed to push that aside. Pain just means I am still alive, she told herself grimly. She moved as quietly to the sound of the voices. One of them was a weary-sounding Marcus.
“So kill me then. You have already killed what I love, why let me live? Get it over with, murderer,” he said. Peering through the bushes, she could see Marcus looking about how she felt. Barely keeping his feet and seeming like he had given up on hope. She could not see Kirkpatrick anywhere.
The big Earth First guy was not far from where she was and she felt herself crouch. She had a picture in her mind at how she would finish this. Gillian had no idea if it would work, but she had nothing else and she refused to just give up. She was ashamed at how she had just stood and waited to be shot earlier. Not this time, she told herself viciously.
As she thought it she saw Marcus seem to frown and then his lips twitched. She did not know if he had sensed her or not but she couldn’t wait for the bad guy to know she was there. Without thinking, she burst through the bushes bending low with her good shoulder leading the way, just like she had seen Marcus taking opposing team members down. She connected below the guy’s rear, hitting him with her full weight. It drove him to his knees and he went face first into the dirt.
Her shoulder screamed at her and she rolled to the side gasping and crying out in her pain. She forced herself to remain conscious and saw Marcus pick up the weapon the Earth First leader had held and pointed it down at him.
“If you move I will kill you and not think twice about it. You killed your own people and almost killed a representative of earth. You deserve to die,” he snarled, panting. He glanced over at Gillian and she gave him a weak smile through her pain. He nodded but she could see his concern as he looked back at the now prisoner. When re-enforcements arrived, Gillian let herself go, and everything faded to black again.
Gillian stood on the sand as the sun came up. She was still exhausted, despite the sleep she had got. Her right shoulder was in a mechanical brace that healed the longer she wore it. The rest of her felt bruised but not as bad as she might have been. Marcus was talking to several of his people down by the water where a submersible craft was parked. Kirkpatrick limped up next to her. His leg was in a brace like hers.
“Do you know what you are going to do Gillian?” He a
sked quietly.
“I don’t know. I know what I want to do but… it is a big decision,” she answered. “Do you?” She returned.
“Oh yes. I have known for years. Marcus made the offer when I decided to stay with him. I have no one here to miss me,” he said.
Gillian nodded thinking the same thing. They had learned that the world thought she had died at the ranch along with the star running back and his butler. It was a strange freedom and she wasn’t sure what to do with it. Marcus laughed at something the small man he was talking to said. She smiled, feeling his joy even from there. Her lover turned and walked back up the beach towards her and his butler. He was all smiles as if he had no care in the worlds. She could understand the feeling.
“They are ready for you Kirkpatrick. You can go on board now if you like. They will be staying here a few more days. The decision was that all movement on the planet should stop for a time, just in case anything was detected. No one believes it was, but better safe than sorry,” he said. Kirkpatrick had a big smile on his face.
“Thank you, my friend, I have been waiting for this for years. See you soon,” he told Marcus. He hugged Gillian and walked down to the craft floating on the water. Marcus didn’t watch him go, he had eyes for Gillian. Gillian watched her friend and butler go up the ramp and into the ship. Then she turned to her lover.
“I think I know what I want to do, but there is one thing I want more. Are you sure they can wait a day?” She asked concerned he had arranged it just for her.
“I am sure Gillian. I will support whatever you want to do. I meant what I said before. No matter what happens you have given me a great gift to hold to my breast for the rest of my days,” he told her and her eyes misted up. She felt the same and hugged him. After a wonderful moment holding each other, she broke the embrace.
“Then there is one thing I want more than to be with you for the rest of my life,” she said. He looked hesitant but smiled gamely.
“That is,” asked.
“One interrupted night with you on the beach before things start hopping again. Just one, then I will go anywhere with you!” His smile broadened and she giggled. He scooped her up in his arms and she squealed as he ran up the beach with her. She had a brief moment of reflection that it had been the strangest interview she had ever had.
THE END
Another bonus story is on the next page.
Bonus Story 10 of 15
Full Court Press Part One
The sound of the basketball dribbling always calmed me down. It was like the second it hit the floor, all of my troubles went away. There is nothing that I love more than coming out on the basketball court. It didn’t matter if it was a professional court, like this one in my college, or back home in the streets of Brooklyn, New York. I could easily zone out here and let the rest of the world fade away. It was just me, the game, and the basketball; and right now that’s all that matters.
I’m Benjamin Wood, B-Wood to all my close friends, and I’m 20 years old. I’ve loved basketball all my life. Ever since I was a baby, it was all I could think about. In fact, my Mom has a picture of me holding a little plush basketball when I was only three months old. It’s a running family joke that it was meant for me to be a pro basketball player. It seemed so destined and the fact that I am really good at it, made it even more true. My father taught me to love the game and instilled the values of it in me.
When I was younger, my father took me to the basketball court in my neighborhood every single Saturday. If the weather wasn’t great, he would show me basketball games on TV and break down the plays fpr me. He showed me what each dribble meant, how to do some moves, and how to play the field. He made sure that I knew that a good basketball player wasn’t just about getting the shot in, but he knew how to play the game.
“You see,” He told me one day while we were playing basketball in the park, “I don’t want you to only concentrate on making the shot.”
“But I thought you win games by making the most shots.” Eleven-year-old me told him while I sunk another three point shot. He caught the ball and held it.
“That’s one of the way you win a game, yes. But, to be honest with you, it’s not the only way and it’s such a small fraction of how the game is won. When you are out there, you have to see what is available to you. You have to see if you can make the shot, or if it’s much better passing it to someone else. You have to see who is open and whether or not they will get blocked. There is so much more to basketball than just making shots.” He passed the ball to me, “Now imagine that you’re on a team and they got you blocked on both sides, what do you do?”
“I make the shot.” I threw my arms in the air pretending to make the shot.
“And you miss because they smacked it out of your hand. The other team now gets the ball and wins the game. You have to think outside the box and be more of a team player.”
I carried those lessons with me all throughout my basketball career. At first, I was just playing for my school, but pretty soon I joined leagues so that I could play in the summer. I couldn’t stop myself. By the time I got to high school, I got a following.
I was pretty sure that in high school, I was going to get drafted. I really thought I would be the next Lebron James. I won basketball contests left and right. I won the dunking contest, free throw passes, just all of them. It was almost a sure bet, but that’s not what happened. Instead, I got a full ride scholarship to school. As much as I wanted to be drafted right out of high school, I’m grateful for the scholarship to this Georgia University.
“Hey, there’s my main main B-Wood!” Aaron, my best friend and fellow teammate, yelled as he stepped into the basketball court. “What you doing out here all by yourself?” he asked, watching me sink in another three point shot.
“You know me, I like to come out here to clear my mind. Besides, I felt like shooting around a little bit before our game on Friday.” I told him while dribbling the ball.
“You are all work no play.” He rolled his eyes, “You do know that college is for much more than basketball.”
“Oh, so you want me to concentrate on my studies?” I laughed because everyone around campus knows that Aaron wasn’t the most dedicated student.
“Not at all,” he chuckled, “but come on, you have to party, meet girls, do something else besides dribble all day.”
“You know I’m trying to get drafted.”
“You and everyone else on the team,” he reminded me, “but let’s have some fun tonight.” He smiled.
As soon as I saw him smile, I could sense the trouble. Aaron and I have been best friends since I got into the team. When we had to go through the training, we just stuck together. We knew, as two freshmen, that we would get the worst of all the treatment, and we did, but we stuck it out. He got me through it with his jokes and going to parties to take our mind off of it. At the parties, he was such a ladies man and always leaving with one or two females.
With him, it would all start normally. We would be having fun, drinking, and the next thing we knew a fight broke out. Or he would try to sneak us into a club and we’d get in trouble. Every single time something crazy happened with him, it all started with the damn smile.
“What is it now?” I sighed.
“Why do you make it sound like such bad news?” He laughed. “Aren’t we brothers?”
“We may look alike, but we aren’t brothers.” I pointed out how we were both 6’4, brown skin, with low cut hair.
“And as your brother, I will never get you in trouble.”
“What about that time when we tried to get into the club?”
“That bouncer was the one acting crazy. If he didn’t push me, I would have never punched him.”
“And what about that time at the restaurant?”
“That bitch wanted to card me. How is she going tell me that I’m not 21?”
“But you’re not.” I reminded him.
“She didn’t know that.”
“Tha
t is why she carded you. Look, we might be tall but we still got baby faces. Besides, you didn’t need a drink there anyway, you always have a case of beer stashed somewhere.”
“That’s not the point and anyway, I’m getting off track. I have an exclusive invite to a house party where I am told that the best and most beautiful Georgia peaches are going to be there.”
It’s like Aaron is addicted to woman. Every time I turned around, he was always off with another female. Some of the reasons he was never in class was because he was always with one of them. Occasionally he would have me lie to one while he was off with another. He was taking full advantage of the fact that women loved athletes.
I, on the other hand, had bigger things on my mind. When I left New York to come down here, I had a mission. I was only going to stay here to get drafted and then take all the money in the world. I had a lot of expectations to live up to, and a family back home that was relying on me. I can’t get in trouble and ruin all of that over some “innocent” fun with Aaron.
“I don’t know man.” I shrugged. “I’m trying to-”
“Before you give me your long speech, let me tell you that it is a pool party.” His eyes grew just as wide as his smile. “And you know that means bikinis.”
“I know what it means, but I’m not looking to get into trouble.”
“Understandable, but you know you want to see these nice, beautiful, gorgeous women lounging by a pool. I know you want to see that.” I stopped dribbling and looked over at him. “Come on Benjamin, I know you do.” He was giving me that devilish smile again.