by Casey Wyatt
“Shit. Any idea how we’re getting down there?”
~ * * * ~
“No fucking way in hell!” I banged my palms on the table. Ian’s grip on my knee, prevented me from throttling the vampire across the table. “You have got to be kidding!”
Prior took great delight in the news. “They are perfectly safe. We use the balloons to drop cargo.”
The plan: use the same technology used to “land” rovers onto Mars. Essentially, eject us out of the ship in large rubber balls. Then we’d bounce around at high speed for a while. After the ball stopped moving, the sphere would deflate, freeing us. Uh. No.
Ian, looking equaling unsettled, leaned closer to Prior, “Mate, we’ll hurtle thousands of miles an hour down to the planet’s surface, right after you do.”
Prior balked, “I’m supposed to stay on the ship.”
“Says who?” Ian growled, “You’re a member of this crew. If the colony leader says you debark, then you debark with the rest of us.”
I examined the ends of my fingertips. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
“I protest!” Prior spluttered and squirmed in his chair. “Someone has to man the ship.”
“One of my men will do it. I have the perfect chap in mind,” Ian drawled. “Now, get your arse out of here.”
As soon as Prior left, I turned to Ian, “How do I know your man won’t take off and strand us on Mars?” Despite weeks trapped together in a tin can, I still knew next to nothing about Ian.
“He won’t. But if it makes you feel better, you can leave some of your people behind too.”
Damn. There was one person, er... vampire, best suited for the job. He would never agree.
And I was correct. Unfortunately.
“No way. I’m not staying behind.” Jay pointed his finger at me. “You can’t do this to me, Cherry.”
“Come on. It’s a chance for you and the ship to share some quality alone time.”
“No.”
“Jay, I need someone I can trust. As far as I can tell, no one else knows the ship is alive.”
“Sentient.”
“Whatever. The point is we need an exit strategy. I don’t want to spend an eternity on a dusty rock.” The thought of never seeing a tree or a lake again gave me hives. “Besides if you stay here for a little while, you might learn some of the ship’s secrets. I’ll introduce you right now.” I lowered my voice, “Come on, sweet talk her. I bet she speaks nerd really well.”
Jay’s lips quivered, trying to hold off the smile. But I had him. I knew his weak spots and shamelessly exploited them. “Fine. I’m not staying up here forever.”
I tiptoed and kissed Jay on the cheek. “Ian may be your sire. But I’m still your girl.”
“About the sire thing. I don’t think it works with Ian and me.” Jay raked his fingers through his hair. “I don’t feel any connection to him.”
Jay was unclaimed. Oh no, that wouldn’t do. “Sweet. You’re mine. Right now. I don’t want Prior or anyone else to claim you.”
“Agreed.”
Ten minutes and one blood exchange later, Jay and I were back in business. Connected again. I led Jay down hall and towards the area where the rune chamber appeared. The portal appeared and we stepped through.
“Good day, Cherry!” the ship said in its usual sensuous female voice. This was the first time she had spoken to me out loud.
Jay’s mouth dropped open.
“Who is the new Brunii?”
“What does that word mean?” Might as well ask since it kept coming up. I might not get the chance later.
“Brunii is the clan you are from. It means drinker of life.”
“Cherry, is the ship speaking?” Jay circled around the empty room. When he approached the center, the runes appeared, but dimly. Not vibrant like earlier.
“Yes. I am the ship.”
“Holy Jesus!” Excitement colored Jay’s voice. I could see the inner geek rising. “When Cherry said you were alive she wasn’t kidding. Do you have a name?”
Well, geez. I slapped my forehead. I should have thought of that.
The ship responded, delighted. “My name is Kasia. And yours?”
“Jayakrishna. Call me Jay.”
I interrupted before Jay and Kasia could start with the techno-babble. “Kasia, I have to go to the planet’s surface. Please allow Jay whatever access he requests and cooperate with him as you would with me.”
The runes brightened. “Step forward into the circle, Jay, so I may know your mind.” The runes encircled Jay like a cosmic hula hoop. Spinning slowly at first by his feet then gradually picking up speed and they rose towards his head.
My bracelet flared to life, the colors matching the symbols surrounding Jay.
“I like him. His mind is broad and intelligent.”
“He’s the smartest man I know,” I said, meaning every word. “Once I’m on the surface, will we be able to communicate?”
Kasia was silent for a moment. The lack of quick answer made me uneasy. “Yes, I can arrange a connection. You will have to locate the caves for it to work.”
Caves? Familiar images from my dreams filled the floating view panel. The runes around Jay detached and bordered the screen.
“Cherry. There’s a sexy, angry vampire at the door,” said Kasia. Ian’s image flashed up onto the view screen.
How the heck did he find us?
“Let him in. Keep your mouth shut. Please.” No matter how warm and gushy Ian made me feel, he didn’t need to know about Kasia. “And hide the screen and the runes.”
The door swished open. Ian stalked in, body rigid. “I’ve been calling you for over an hour,” he said, accent sharp enough to cut through steel.
If he thought I was apologizing, he could forget it. “What’s up?”
“What. Is. Up?” Ian glared at me and then Jay. “Did you forget we have to plan our departure?”
“Didn’t we discuss landing at the morning conference?” Seriously, how many meetings can you have on the same topic?
“The earlier meeting was a high level overview. The details still have to be hammered out.” Ian’s face softened. “I’m sorry. I sometimes forget you’re new to this. But don’t get used to it. You need to be in top form for when your family wakes up.”
I sighed. “You’re right. I’m not used to all this fuss about everything.” Cold prickled my back, thinking about what lay beyond. “What do you need me to do?”
Ian looked around the empty room. “What on Earth are you two doing in here?”
“I made Jay part of my family.”
Ian smiled, “Consider him my gift to you. I know how much your friendship means to you both. Jay, do you mind giving us a moment alone?”
“Sure. No problem. I’ll go see what Prior is up to.”
As soon as Jay left, Ian backed me into the wall. “What do I have to do to earn your trust?”
The closeness of Ian’s body stirred all kinds of hungers in me. I hadn’t fed since Jonathan’s death (Trent’s, then weak human, blood didn’t count). I hadn’t had sex in . . . I don’t remember how long. “Why is my trust so important?”
Ian pulled back and ran his fingers through his silky hair. “Understand this, luv. Down there, our survival depends on trust. I know Prior thinks our bodies can withstand anything, but we’re both smart enough to know otherwise.”
Before responding, I swallowed a lump of hunger, tinged with anger, “Ian. I wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for you.”
“Are you so sure?” Ian leaned in again, a rush of scents tickled my nose. Fresh mint and clean male. “This whole time you’ve been assuming I was the patsy in this scenario. From what I’ve seen, it could be you who was meant to take the fall.”
Okay, the new theory rocked my world. And not in good, fun filled way.
“Think about it. Someone tried to kill you. I don’t drink those nasty excuses for juice. The Queen, a known recluse, visited you at the strip club. And she left you a note
.”
I jerked my head up. “How did you know about the note?”
“The details aren’t important right now.”
I was about to argue differently when Ian held up his hand. “The point is you’re not safe here either. We need to work together as a team before one, or both us, wakes up with a stake in our backs.”
“So, how do I know it’s not you?”
Ian threw his hands up in frustration. “Again with the trust issues. I’ve done nothing but help you.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “And why is that, exactly? I doubt it’s because you’re a nice guy. There must be something in it for you. You are a rogue.”
“I am a nice guy. We rogues have a code of honor. Truth be told, I’m a bit sick of running. I was in the process of vetting Jonathan, if you must know.” Ian flashed a lopsided grin, making him appear much more harmless than he actually was.
“You wanted to become a member of the family?” Knock me over with a feather. I remained skeptical. “You don’t seem the joining type?”
Ian snorted, “Believe what you will. Life for a rogue isn’t easy. In any case, I would make the same proposal to you, I made to Jonathan.”
Too bad Jonathan didn’t think to include me. “I’m listening.”
For the next twenty minutes Ian described his proposition. When he finished, I was impressed. “Does it matter now? Everything has changed. You don’t need a family to be free.”
“More than ever, luv. Think about. It’s a new world. We could make it ours.”
Sure, it sounded great. All brave, new world and utopia-like. Except, I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend the rest of my existence on a dusty, old rock.
When I didn’t jump up and down for joy and immediately accept, Ian gave me a long, appraising look, followed by a charming smile. “Very good. You’re learning. Look before you leap. Let’s talk again, when things are settled.”
“Deal.” We left the chamber, our next stop another boring planning meeting. Hey, I was learning, but I didn’t have to like it!
~ * * * ~
Once again, I screamed like a girl. Anyone would have. No one in their right mind would volunteer to be dropped from orbit in a free fall. The rest of my family was lucky, they at least remained in their stasis boxes. Or coffins if the drop didn’t work as planned.
“Luv, could you quit yelling in my ear?” Ian shouted over my caterwauling. “We won’t impact for another few minutes.” Ian and I traveled together in the same confining ball. In addition to a potential death by high speed, I also had to fight claustrophobia while packed like a sardine next to Ian.
“It’s not the stop, but the sudden drop I’m worried about,” I complained.
Alarms beeped for the small square panel methodically counting down the altitude. High pitched atmospheric winds jangled my nerves even more.
“Here we go.” Ian wiggled closer, gripping me in a tight embrace. “Breaking engines first. Then the parachutes. Remember, they’ll slow us down.”
I nodded and pressed closer. As a precaution, we had donned pressure suits again, leaving us with limited mobility and little room to maneuver. The beeps pulsed rapidly. The countdown flashed three times. Four loud bangs later, the bubble jerked upward and back.
I thought I was afraid before. Terrified had a new name – Cherry Cordial.
“We’ll survive!” Ian shouted over the screeching wind.
I had no words. Every fiber in my body was devoted to fear.
A new countdown appeared, the time left until impact. Thirty seconds later, we hit the Martian surface with a bang.
Bones rattled. Organs vibrated. The bubble bounced again and again, like a demented basketball. A rib cracked, then my ankle broke. Pain seared through me with each recoil and spring. I expected to explode into a goopy mass of liquefied organs and shattered bones.
The bubble finally stopped. I had lost my sense of direction and was completely disoriented. For a long while, we stayed entwined in each other’s arms. Ian occasionally shifted, so I knew he survived. The control panel was dark. Either it had shorted out or had done its job and deactivated.
“Ian?” I wiggled my mending ankle. It was stiff, but healing. Right before launch, Prior required us to drink a “fortified blood formula.” He had promised it would accelerate our body’s natural healing ability.I only drank it after he took a few swallows first.
“That was one helluva landing.” Ian stiffly reached around me above my head, grasped an oval shaped latch and twisted it with a hard wrench. Compressed air hissed. The bubble wobbled and shrank around us.
“We’ll be trapped!” My instincts went into overdrive. The walls were closing in and I had to escape.
“Hold on!” Ian twisted the handle again in the opposite direction. The pod’s inner membrane tore open.
Pale blue sky appeared in the gap. Thank God! We weren’t upside down.
Ian tore back the rest of the pod’s interior, freeing us completely. We stood in the center of the debris. Layers of fabric and other materials I couldn’t identify surrounded us. “This flimsy cloth was the only thing protecting us.” A new round of weakness ripped through my body. I needed to lie down.
“Come on. I think I see the base camp over there. Talk about luck, huh?”
It was then I noticed the bleak Martian landscape. Nothing but reddish sand and jagged rocks for miles and miles. The one surprise, light puffy clouds.
Far in the distance, rounded domes peeked over the horizon. “Ian that’s miles away”
“Then we best start walking.”
~ * * * ~
I take back every bad thing I said about the ship. Compared to Mars, it was the freakin’ Ritz. It took us over an hour to reach the camp. If you could even call it that. The domes were flimsy metal structures like the Quonset huts used during World War II. They were connected with a series of large tubes made of similar material to the air bags we rode down.
“A giant hamster cage,” I said, stumbling across the rocks.
“What?” Ian steadied me.
I shrugged him off, “This place sucks!”
A small group of colonists waited for us on the perimeter of the camp. Empty stasis containers were being stacked near the huts.
Ian commented, “They’ll be re-purposed around the camp.” At my look of confusion he added, “It was in Prior’s report.”
Before I could make a biting comment about Prior, we were interrupted.
“Welcome, Ms. Cordial and Mr. McDevitt.”
The greeter was a zombie. I lurched backward into Ian’s chest.
Ian covered my, what I would consider a rather sensible urge to run, with an apology. “Pardon us. We’re still unsteady on our feet.” Ian stuck out his hand. The zombie eagerly shook it.
The zombie’s gray lips curled into, what I assumed, was a smile. “It’s a rough way to come down. I hope not too many broken bones.” His voice was smooth and steady. I guess I expected wheezy grunts and simple sentences. “I broke every bone and ruptured a few organs. Prior used the data to refine the drop parameters.” He said it like it was a great honor to be bashed up in the name of science.
“How nice of Prior to use your experience for the greater good.” Sarcasm oozed out of my voice.
Ian poked me in the back. “We greatly appreciate your sacrifice. Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
The zombie ran his fingers through his hair in a classic aw shucks manner. “Pardon my manners. Name’s Louis.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Louis,” Ian said with genuine interest. More than I could fake on a good day. “Where to then?”
“Come this way to the mess hall. We have hot beverages waiting for you.” Louis turned on his heel and headed toward the center of the encampment.
Despite the primitive conditions, the mess hall was bright and clean. Not white glove clean by Earth standards, but it wasn’t a dirt floored hovel either. The drinks, a different fruity concoction resembling mulled cider, improve
d my mood.
And the zombie, Louis, was affable and quit chatty. Turns out he was a graduate of Harvard Law School, back in 1892, so we were contemporaries, of a sort. He became a zombie during, what he thought, was an initiation into a secret society.
“So there I was, naked in this circle, when a gray skinned woman appeared. I didn’t care about the skin color because she was naked, with these great, big beautiful breasts. I kind of assumed she was part of the ritual. You know, a little present. It was highly unconventional, and I was a virgin, but I could perform in front of others... ”
I tuned him out. Honestly, men are alike. Flash a pair of boobs their way and they think they’re getting lucky. Trust me. I’m a total expert on this.
“So Louis, do we have quarters assigned to us yet?” Ian stretched and made a big show of yawning, “we’re kind of tired and need some time to finish healing.”
I wanted kiss Ian right then and there. I mocked yawned and nodded my head in agreement.
“Of course. How rude of me. I hope you don’t mind, you’re both in the same dome. Ms. Cordial, as the Colony Leader and Family Head, you have the most spacious quarters, conveniently located near your office.”
I tried not to blanch when I saw my “spacious quarters.”
Okay. I knew not to expect the Ritz, but I also didn’t expect spacious to mean closet sized either. And I gathered having the office near my room meant they could find me, morning, noon and night.
Ian chuckled at my observation. “Welcome to leadership, luv. Get some rest. We can re-group when you’re ready. The zombies are out now transporting the stasis boxes back to camp, it will be weeks before they are all accounted for.”
He slid into his room before I could ask – how did he know this stuff? And . . . weeks to find the boxes?
I marched over to his door. A thin metal sheet and tapped on it. “Did I hear you say transport? They have vehicles. How come we had to walk?” My feet still ached from treading on sharp rocks for hours.
“Get some sleep, Cherry,” was Ian’s half-awake reply.
Dang-nabbit. A large yawn tore through me. I’d deal with it tomorrow morning. I collapsed onto the crude camp bed, fully dressed down to my shoes and promptly fell asleep.