Deliver or Die: A Newton's Gate Series (The Delivery Mage Book 1)

by Jamie Davis

  At the same instant, the group standing with Marci all reached under their robes and produced semi-automatic carbines with extended clips.

  Then all hell broke loose.

  A hail of bullets flew across the valley in both directions.

  Kurt grabbed Clara by the shoulder and pulled her to the ground as he dropped down himself.

  It wasn’t a moment too soon. A split second after they hit the ground, the air above them buzzed with bullets from both sides.

  Kurt reached out a hand towards the nearest guard, the one who’d gathered him from his cell that morning. He lay dead on the turf about five meters away. He had Kurt’s stun baton clipped to his belt.

  Palm outstretched, Kurt willed the weapon to return to him as Jonesey had showed him back in her lab.

  The body twitched on the ground, and for a second, Kurt thought the guy was still alive. Then he saw the baton was tugging on the guy’s belt such that it tried to roll him over. Eventually, the magic pulled the guard over onto his stomach. Once the body rolled over, the baton flew free, slapping into Kurt’s outstretched hand with a satisfying smack.

  As he recovered the baton, Kurt activated the personal shield from his wrist cuff with a few taps on the keypad there. A few bullets pinged off the surface of the shield as soon as the transparent barrier appeared next to Kurt and Clara.

  The General crouched behind the sarcophagus. He had Marci’s confiscated pistol in his hand and snapped off a few shots in the direction of the three other warlords who were all running back to join their forces.

  The General’s aim was pretty good and one of the three dropped to the ground with a bullet to the back. It was the second man, belonging to the middle group.

  The General cackled with glee when he saw one of his adversaries fall and he fired off a flurry of new shots at the fleeing leaders, emptying his weapon at them.

  This was Kurt’s chance.

  Jumping to his feet but crouching as low to the ground as he could, Kurt ran at the General.

  He didn’t see Kurt coming. He struggled with reloading the unfamiliar weapon with one of the two spare clips he had.

  Snapping his wrist to the side, Kurt deployed the full length of the stun baton and swung it at the General’s head.

  The General must have seen Kurt’s approach out of the corner of his eye. He raised up the hand holding the pistol just in time to ward off the incoming blow.

  The big alien punched upward with his other hand and it was Kurt’s turn to dodge an attack. He felt the blow connect with a glancing shot to his side that might’ve cracked a rib or two if it had been a solid hit.

  Rolling to one side, Kurt came up on one knee and threw the baton directly at the General’s face only a few meters away.

  This time the baton struck home and discharged the stun effect as the ball-shaped tip of the baton hit the General right between the eyes.

  The charge caused him to fling his hands out to the side. The pistol flew away into the grass nearby. Then the big man toppled over to one side to lay twitching on the ground.

  Crawling over to the General, Kurt rolled him over until he could reach the bulging pouch at his back. Reaching inside, he pulled out Jonesey’s box and scrambled back to where Clara crouched in a hollow in the grass.

  Bullets still flew overhead from both directions. Looking back at the General’s men, Kurt saw them slowly advancing forward towards their downed leader. Despite the additional firepower, Marci had procured for one of the opposing groups, the rebels’ side was still outnumbered and outgunned.

  “Come on. We’ve got to get over to where Marci is crouched behind those rocks.” Kurt pointed to the place where their friend took cover behind a rock outcropping. As he watched, she snapped off a series of precision shots at the approaching forces behind her two friends then ducked back into cover.

  “Go, Kurt,” Clara shouted. “I’m right behind you.”

  “You first. I’ve got the shield between us and the most firepower.”

  Clara moved out first and Kurt jumped up and started sprinting across the field behind her towards Marci’s position, trying to keep his shield in place behind him to cover her retreat. Clara, always a little faster than him, pulled away from him a little as they ran towards Marci. She reached the cover of the rocks first, just a few seconds ahead of Kurt.

  “Hey, Clara. Nice to see you,” Marci said. “Here, take this.”

  Marci handed Clara a semi-automatic pistol like her own and then turned back to the front to snap off two more shots at the approaching soldiers.

  Clara had trained in various weapons with her ex-husband when they were still married. She expertly checked to make sure a round was chambered and then took a position behind the low boulder Marci was using for cover and started firing back at the General’s advancing troops.

  “Ladies, I know you’d like to remain here and make a stand, but we’re going to get overrun if we stay. Marci, I hope you’ve got an escape route planned.”

  “Of course, K.C. I’m not an amateur.”

  Marci turned to the left and called out to the woman leading the mounted soldiers.

  “Ayleeya, we are going. Remember where the rest of the weapons are stashed. With them, you should be able to reclaim your valley home.”

  “Thank you, Marci of Earth. You have held up your end of the bargain. Take your friends and go home.”

  Marci waved and turned back to her friends. “Come on, we can go now. I have transportation nearby.”

  They started weaving their way back from the battle, crouched over behind the limited cover. Running along the rocky outcropping, using it for cover when they could, the three of them kept going away from the battle. The trio crested the far side of the valley and ran down the other side as the sounds of gunfire faded behind them.

  Chapter 19

  After running over the nearest ridge and along a nearby riverbank, Marci called a halt by a small waterfall. The water cascaded over the steep hillside on their left forming a large pool that continued into the small river they’d followed.

  “How much farther, Marci,” Clara asked as she sat down. Her breathing came in ragged gasps after all the running.

  “Not too far. I couldn’t park the ATV too close without risking that the General’s men would see it as they approached or swept the area. They might’ve suspected something odd was going on if they discovered a modern vehicle from Earth here.”

  “You’ve got an ATV?” Kurt asked.

  “Yeah, it was the only way to haul all the weapons up the hill to the gateway back home and then get them to a disbursement point here.

  Kurt scratched his head, puzzling at the words she used. “Marci, just out of curiosity, what did you do after you jumped into that river and how many weapons did you manage to bring back with you. Bringing modern weapons into a society like this can upset the balance of power.”

  “It’s kind of a long story.”

  Kurt got the distinct impression she wasn’t telling him something.

  “Now’s not the time, Kurt. I promise I’ll fill you in later. I escaped, made some new friends, and figured out a way to help you guys get away. The hardest part was figuring a way to get the crates with the guns and ammunition through the portal in one go.”

  “Crates? You brought crates of guns through? Where did you get them all?”

  “Don’t worry, I was careful. I disabled the security cameras at the National Guard Armory before I broke in.”

  “You stole the weapons from the National Guard armory? Marci, the feds aren’t going to just chalk that up to a random break-in, especially if you took whole crates of weapons with you.”

  “Don’t worry, K.C. they won’t suspect anyone local. I used a little hack of my own along with some magic and created a pretty good likeness of your General friend back there based on a description I had from my friends. It’s grainy and out of focus but that, along with the increased gate activity is going to tell the cops and military that e
verything they’re looking for is on this side of the portal.”

  “You’re taking a big chance there, Marci,” Kurt remarked. “You can’t always count on the authorities making decisions that go the way you want them to.”

  “Just face it. I figured a solution for this one out without you. Again. I keep telling you I’m all grown up now and don’t need your help. You treat me like I’m a child. I’m not.”

  Clara jumped into the conversation as Kurt’s temper started to rise. He was glad she did. She always knew how to defuse these types of situations for him.

  “I have to say, Marci, it’s great to see you again after so many years. You’ve grown into quite the capable young woman, that’s for sure.”

  “Thank you, Clara. It’s nice to be appreciated for a change.” Marci glared once again at Kurt and then picked up her pace as they continued their trek across the countryside.

  They marched for another hour or so until they came to an abandoned village. The fields around it were full of weeds and brush was starting to encroach into the edges of what used to be well-kept farm plots. Kurt realized that the hold the warlord had over this region had depleted the resources available for all of the farmers who’d lived there. People couldn’t afford to defend themselves and either left for better opportunities or were killed in defiance.

  As they walk through the village, Kurt got an itch between his shoulder blades. He looked behind him at the empty buildings. He had an eery feeling that they were being watched.

  “Careful, Marci,” Kurt whispered. “I think someone out there is watching us right now. I can’t put my finger on it but I trust my gut on this one.”

  Marci stopped and looked around, then smiled. “It’s alright, K.C. They’re my friends.” She turned and raised her arms outward. “Come out. It’s all right. These people are friends of mine.”

  As soon as she said those words, a group of children of various ages, about ten in all, emerged from a pair of buildings to the left. Marci smiled at the kids and pointed to her friends. “These are my companions, Kurt and Clara. They are the ones that I needed your help to rescue.”

  Marci turned back to Kurt and Clara. “These children have been living in this abandoned the village for over a year. The river I jumped into passed nearby and it was them who helped fish me out of the swift-moving current before I got to the waterfall we passed. They provided me with dry clothes, food, and shelter that first night.”

  One of the little girls came closer and tugged on Marci’s sleeve, looking up her with big wide cat-eyes. “Does this mean you are going to leave us now?”

  “I’m afraid it does, but it doesn’t mean that I am not going to find help for you.”

  “What kind of help?” the girl asked.

  “I have made arrangements with the leader you helped me find. Chief Ayleeya leads the mountain raiders clan. I told her all about you and she agreed to take you into their villages and adopt you as part of their families. They will raise you and help you continue on to have successful lives of your own.”

  “The mountain raiders scare me,” the little girl said. The other children all nodded in agreement.

  “You don’t have to be afraid of them,” Marci said. “Remember, they are the ones you sent me to find because you told me they were the fiercest of the three clans who opposed the General. You knew they would be able to find a way to get me to my friends. Your plan worked and I found out that not only are they fierce but they are also friendly and loyal to people they consider their friends. They’re friends with me and I’m friends with you. You will all be safe there.”

  “So what do we do?” A taller boy of about eleven years old asked. “Do we just wait here for them? I’m afraid the General’s men will come first.”

  Another older girl stepped forward. “What if we wanted to come with you? We could be very useful and help you in your world. We know many things and could assist you.”

  Marci smiled. “That is very sweet of you, Tamryn, but I’m sorry, it just wouldn’t work out. My world is very different from yours and I fear that you would soon become lost in all of our magic and technology. It is better if you stay here. But perhaps I can come back and visit you from time to time and check in on you all.”

  All the children nodded at her when she said that and they smiled. Kurt realized that Marci had made quite the impression on this group of youngsters. He looked around and asked her.

  “We should probably be getting on our way. The boy’s right. It’s not going to do them any good if we are found here with them by any of the General’s forces. He’s got to have awakened from the stun blast I hit him with. I’m sure he’s pretty pissed by now.”

  “You’re right, of course,” Marci said. “The ATV is over there and there’s a wagon attached to it so we should be able to get all three of us back to the gate in one trip.” She turned back to the children clustered around them. “My friends and I are going to leave. Go back and hide. The General’s men won’t find you. Chief Ayleeya and her people will be here tomorrow or the next day to come to collect you. Don’t come out of hiding until you see their hexamounts. That is how you will know it’s them.”

  Marci gave out a few hugs to the youngest and then hustled them back to the buildings from which they came. She came back a few minutes later and beckoned to Kurt and Clara.

  They followed Marci to the far side of the village and into a dilapidated barn. There they found a tarp covering a large object in the center of the run-down building. When they pulled it off, Kurt saw a top-of-the-line, fully electric all-terrain vehicle from Earth. It had a two-wheeled wagon hitched to the back of it.

  “I don’t suppose I should ask where you got this? I’m sure you didn’t pay for it.” Kurt asked.

  “Don’t ask if you don’t want to be upset with the answer.”

  “Fair enough,” Kurt said. “Come on. Let’s get loaded up and get a move on.”

  Marci climbed onto the ATV, taking the lead and motioned to Clara to jump onto the seat behind her. There was just enough room for the two smaller women there.

  That put Kurt sitting in the wagon in the back. It was something he was not looking forward to because he knew this was going to be the bumpier of the seats. The women, however, seem to resolute in riding the ATV itself so he climbed into the wagon.

  “Don’t be a baby, Kurt,” Clara said. “The man doesn’t always have to be the one who drives.”

  Marci laughed out loud at that statement. “Damned straight, Clara. This is the twenty-first century. You tell him!”

  She started the motor and twisted the accelerator on the handlebars, lurching the wagon forward as the ATV pulled out of the barn and began to speed off away from the village, heading back in the direction of the gate.

  Kurt realized the electric ATV was actually the perfect solution for this world with its extremely loud internal combustion engines. The electric motor was nearly silent. All you could really hear what is the slight squeak of the suspension and the jolt of the wagon as it rumbled over the rough ground.

  It took them almost 40 minutes to get back into the vicinity of the gate but that was a lot better than walking there. Kurt figured the trio made good time considering their roundabout route after the rescue in the valley.

  Unfortunately, the General and his men were able to get there first.

  Marci slowed the ATV and parked it inside a dense thicket of woods and underbrush at the edge of a steep slope about 2 km from the location of the gate.

  They had to stop there because they could see patrols of the General’s troops moving around, searching for something or, more probably, someone. It had to be obvious to the General they would be heading back to the gate to escape. All he had to do was wait for them there.

  “We’re going to have to come up with some sort of a distraction,” Kurt said. He searched the area around the small wooded thicket in which they hid, trying to ponder a way they could cross the open ground to the next piece of cover across the o
pen plain. There was a rocky ridge about a half a kilometer away. There were too many guards and soldiers roaming the open ground nearby for them to dash across the open area in the daylight. They’d be spotted by one of the patrols right away.

  “We’ll have to wait until dark,” Marci said. “It’s the only way we will be able to slip past them.”

  “I’m not sure we can slip past them even in the dark.” Clara pointed at her eyes. “Remember those cat-eyes of theirs. I suspect they see nearly perfectly in the dark with very little light. What would look like near blackness to us will probably seem just like twilight to them.”

  “Well, we can’t stay here,” Kurt said. “It’s only a matter of time until they come over and search this thicket. We have to keep moving.”

  Marci shook her head. “I think we should remain here until it gets dark. There aren’t that many of them and they seem to be covering all the open approaches to the gateway. Hopefully, they won’t come all the way over here. Once night falls, we can make our move. Perhaps if we circle around them in the darkness and come at the gate from the other direction, the General won’t expect us that way.”

  Kurt nodded as he thought about it more. “That might work. I’m still nervous about waiting here for any length of time, though. If we have to run, we’ll be exposed right away.”

  “We should probably get some rest anyway.” Marci walked over to the wagon where there were a few bundles in the back Kurt had been using as cushions to lean against during their trip. She opened the bundles and took out a few blankets and a pack of military field rations she must’ve stolen from the armory with the guns.

  “Here, let’s get something to eat. We can think some more about our plans while we wait.

  “Food always sounds like a good idea, Marci,” Clara said. She sat down on a nearby tree stump and held out her hand for the basket. “Here, let me take a look at what you have and I’ll parcel it out for the three of us.”

  “It’s just some of the extra rations I got from the armory. I gave most of the meal kits I stole to the kids. They’ve been subsisting off of what little the villagers left behind in that place. Their root cellars are getting pretty empty now.”