by Aaron Hubble
Calier thought of the chip glued behind her ear. Digging at the little bump with his fingernail, he dislodged it and threw it out of the vehicle. Cullen’s still remained a problem.
Cullen opened the black case and pulled out a small surgical scalpel. “Try not to hit any bumps,” he said.
Calier saw him take a breath and hold it. He placed the scalpel by his ear and then hesitated.
“Nope. Can’t do it. I can’t cut myself.” He held the scalpel toward Calier. “You do it.”
Calier looked between Cullen and the road and wheeled the vehicle into an alley. He slammed the car into park and reached for the scalpel. His hands were shaking. He was not a doctor, but this was just cutting a little skin, right?
The human nodded at him and tilted his head toward him, exposing his neck and ear. Under the skin, Calier could see the man’s pulse. His fingers gripped the scalpel harder. If he plunged the scalpel into the man’s neck, he’d bleed out in a matter of minutes. It would be one less human on Aereas.
The scalpel blade caught the light of the moon Zonatuwa reflecting the blood red light back at him.
No.
He wouldn’t be like this man’s people. Am’Segid were not like that. They’d moved past the need to conquer by force. To kill for revenge. This man had helped him. Whether his motives were pure or nefarious would be borne out in time. Calier folded the man’s ear over exposing the little bump where the chip lay hidden under the skin. Quickly, Calier slid the blade over the skin and the chip, smeared with blood, popped out. Cullen flinched but didn’t make a sound.
Calier flung the bloody disc into the alley and then wheeled the vehicle back around, accelerating into the night.
Cullen pressed a wad of gauze against the wound. “Thanks. That should buy us some time.” He tapped several controls on the instrument panel and then spoke.
“Jane how do we get out of the city? I don’t think the front gate is an option anymore?”
A voice came from the dash and made Calier jump. The man had help from someone else. “All the gates have been sealed. The likelihood of your getting past the guard outposts is less than one percent.”
“I know a way out,” Calier said. He pulled his handheld from his pocket. His eyes flicked from the road to the handheld as he looked for the map. He thrust the device in front of Cullen.
Cullen looked at the map and then back at him. “This is how you got in the city?”
“Yes.”
“Are there more of your people waiting there?”
Calier nodded. He prayed they’d still be there.
He glanced at Cullen, his face illuminated by the soft glow of the instrument panel. If this was a trick, the man was terrible at hiding his emotion. His face showed all of the indecision he was currently going through.
“Can you promise me your people will treat me better than we’ve treated your people?” Cullen asked.
Calier shrugged. “I don’t know.”
It was the only answer he had for the man. The Ma’Ha’Nae were compassionate people, but they were also locked in a desperate struggle for survival with the humans. Who knew what that meant for this man. Cullen turned the handheld in front of a screen on the instrument panel.
The human spoke into the air again. “Jane, did you get that information?”
“Yes, Cullen.”
“Show us the way,” he said.
A map appeared on the screen showing them the route. The voice from the instrument panel began directing him where to go. Calier prayed he hadn’t rescued Berit only to be led into another human trap.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Aereas - Human base in Homa former Am’Segid great city
The vehicle pitched to the left as Calier pulled hard on the wheel. A large chunk of jagged concrete scraped across the passenger side of the little vehicle. Cullen yelped and leaned sideways trying to avoid being hit himself.
A bullet whined off the road followed by a gunshot. Calier instinctively ducked and swerved the vehicle back to the right. Headlights were growing larger in the rear camera display. He tried to push the accelerator further, but it was already on the floorboard. The little vehicle had no more to give.
The other vehicle continued to steadily close the gap between them. He was beginning to lose hope they would make it back to Maltoki, Ammaya, and Denar. They would need a miracle.
Beside him, Cullen conversed with the voice from the dash. Calier tried to follow the conversation, but the bulk of his concentration was required to pilot the vehicle over the debris-strewn road.
A light flashed on his onboard display. Calier shot a glance at Cullen who wore a puzzled look.
“Now what?” Cullen muttered.
“The vehicle’s power source is down to twenty percent. You will begin to experience a loss of speed and power,” the voice said.
Calier slammed his hands against the wheel. Not now. Not when he was so close to getting Berit home.
“Jane, can you hack into their vehicle and mess something up?” Cullen asked.
“I cannot, Cullen. I do not have access to any CPF vehicle controls.”
Sweat ran down Calier’s forehead. Helplessness pulled him close and invited him to give up. He’d experienced the same thing during the initial invasion and then numerous times while traveling through Sho’el.
He gripped the steering wheel and narrowed his eyes. This wasn’t the time. If he’d learned anything about himself over the past several months, it was that he didn’t give up. He’d always found a sliver of hope to hang on to. They still hadn’t been caught and they were still free. He’d hold onto that hope for himself, for Berit, for Aereas.
Several more shots skipped off the pavement. The headlights were closer and growing in the camera.
“Think, Cullen.”
Calier risked a quick glance at the human. He gripped the dash with one hand and massaged his forehead with the other, deep in thought. Cullen suddenly sat up straight and pointed at the map display on the dash. A red digital representation of the vehicle he and his companions were riding in traced a path across the vehicle’s on-board navigation system. Behind that he could see the blue icon of his pursuers.
Cullen spoke again. “Jane, you were able to upload our course into my vehicle’s navigation system. Can you do the same for the security force?”
“Yes, Cullen.”
Cullen pumped his fist, and Calier understood what the man was trying to accomplish. He caught the man’s eye and nodded.
“Okay, I need you to create multiple representations of our vehicle on their display when I tell you to.” The man looked at Calier and then continued speaking. “My friend is going to start wildly deviating from our course to try and put some distance between us so they can’t see us. We’ll probably ditch the vehicle at some point. Hopefully, it will be enough to confuse them and we’ll have time to escape.”
“Understood, Cullen.”
“Do you understand what I want you to do?” Cullen asked Calier. “Take a few quick turns and then find someplace we can hide the vehicle while Jane confuses them.”
Calier nodded. He glanced at the map and saw the destination he wanted a hundred yards ahead. He jerked the wheel to the left, following a side street and then took a quick right. Lights of his pursuers bobbed in the rear camera. He dodged around chunks of rock. Taking another quick turn he saw a building with a large hole torn in the side by a bomb. That was his target. For the moment, he did not see headlights behind him. He pointed to the building and Cullen nodded.
“Now Jane! Do it now!” Cullen yelled.
“Your instructions have been carried out, Cullen.”
Charging along the debris-filled street, the vehicle bumped along the rough road as the warning light on the dash showed ten percent battery left. Passing another large chunk of fallen rock, the vehicle shot through the opening in the side of the building. What Calier hadn’t anticipated was when the bomb blasted away part of the wall, it also collapsed the f
loor. He jammed on the brakes as Cullen groaned beside him.
The little car skidded over the rubble, threatening to roll as it dove down the steep incline. In the headlights he could see broken support columns and a wall looming toward them. Holding his breath, Calier closed his eyes and hoped they’d stop before hitting the wall. He felt the car go sideways, slow, and lightly strike the wall before rocking to a stop.
All was silent save for the pounding of his heart in his ears and the rapid breathing of Cullen next to him. Calier anxiously turned to see if Berit was okay. Unable to see anything in the darkness, he reached over the seat back and felt her. Her chest rose and fell and Calier sighed in relief.
“Jane,” Cullen whispered. “Did we lose our pursuers?”
“Yes, Cullen, they have gone past your location. However, they are attempting to clear up the system and will soon eliminate all other paths but the correct one.”
“Then we need to get out of here. I’ll need you to verbally guide us to our destination.”
“Affirmative,” Jane said.
Calier jumped out of the vehicle and unstrapped Berit. As gently as he could, he picked up her slight body. She seemed so fragile and small. Holding her close, he turned to Cullen and nodded again. The human had the handheld with the path they should take laid out in the display. They began picking their way over the rubble to the opposite side of the building where the map indicated an exit.
With every step he took, Calier felt some of his hope return. On this new Aereas, hope was the one commodity he couldn’t afford to be without.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Aereas - Human base in Homa former Am’Segid great city
The sound of footsteps brought Maltoki to his feet. Denar shot him a glance and they both trained their weapons down one of the larger tunnels where the noise had come from.
“Who’s there?” Maltoki said, his voice echoing off the ancient stone walls.
“It’s me, Calier.” The professor stepped out of the darkness and into the chamber. Maltoki blew out a long breath and smiled.
“It’s about time. We were just about to leave. Denar was getting hungry and…” His voice trailed off when he saw Calier carrying what looked like a body wrapped in a blanket.
Denar’s gun edged up slightly. “What’s under the blanket, Professor?”
Calier looked at Maltoki. He could see his friend’s lips quiver, but he seemed overcome with emotion. Maltoki stepped forward and pulled the top of the blanket aside. Black hair streaked with gold fell over Calier’s arm. Maltoki looked into Calier’s eyes and the professor nodded. Unbelieving, he pulled the blanket back further and stared at Berit’s face.
“How?” Maltoki breathed. His mind was a turbulent sea of confusion and elation, each emotion jostling for position. He’d always hoped they’d find Berit at some point, but his hope had not been as strong as Calier’s. Now, here she was. Calier set her on the floor.
“I got her,” his voice cracked and he wrapped Maltoki in an embrace. “I found her.”
“I still don’t understand how.”
Calier nodded toward the tunnel. “It’s a long story, but I had some help.”
“Help?”
A figure stepped out of the darkness. Maltoki narrowed his eyes and brought his rifle back up.
“A human? Are you kidding me, Calier?”
Calier stepped between the guns and the human man who looked scared enough to bolt in any direction that offered him escape.
“His name’s Cullen and he risked his life to help me escape with Berit. He says he doesn’t want to be a part of what his people are doing.”
Maltoki felt the trigger against his finger. If Calier moved just a little, he would have a clear shot at the man behind him. He didn’t care what the man had done. The evidence of what his people were scarred the surface of Aereas. The mountains of dead Am’Segid shouted from their mass graves. There was not a human in the galaxy who deserved to continue living.
“Step aside, Professor,” Denar growled. “You should let the soldiers take care of this.”
Calier shook his head. “No. I’m not going to let you kill him. Before I showed up, he was trying to rescue Berit himself. I don’t really understand why yet, but I wouldn’t be here with Berit without him. He deserves to be heard. Perhaps, when we get back to Alam, he can be a source of intel for us.”
“Are you out of your mind? There is no way we are taking this man into Alam. He’s a spy. I’m sure his body is full of surveillance hardware.”
Calier stepped toward him and laid his hand on the barrel of Maltoki’s gun, gently pushing it toward the floor.
“Son, I know this is hard for you. What you’ve been asked to do these last few months, what you’ve seen, it’s changed you. You have my thanks for your bravery, but I need the old Maltoki to come out and look at this situation.”
Maltoki let the weapon fall to his side as he stared into his mentor’s eyes. His hands shook with barely controlled rage.
“He’s one of them,” Maltoki said. He gritted his teeth. Why was Calier asking him to do this?
“I know what he is, but I don’t know who he is. My guess is he’s been forced to do things he didn’t want to do and now he’s trying to make up for that. We don’t have to take him into Alam right away, but let’s give him a chance to explain himself. He’s a living, breathing creation of the All-Knowing One. I think he deserves at least that.”
“This is a terrible idea.”
Calier grinned. “Probably. You can pin this on me if it goes sideways.”
“Count on it,” Maltoki said, grimly.
Maltoki turned to Ammaya. “What do you say, Captain? Do we take a human back with us?”
Ammaya stood behind him, arms folded. She was silent, eying the man who stood behind Calier. “Bring him. Calier’s right. He might be able to give us some information.” She looked around. “We need to get moving. Something big is happening up there and we need to get back to Alam. I have a bad feeling about the amount of troops and aircraft assembling here.”
They grabbed their packs. He and Ammaya lashed the blanket around Berit so they would be able to drag her through the tunnels. Maltoki looked down at her and brushed a bit of hair away from her forehead.
“She’s special to you?” Ammaya said, looking over his shoulder.
“Very,” he replied. “Like a sister. She traveled with us all the way from Gadol City. I was sure she was gone forever.”
Ammaya laid her hand on his shoulder. “Miracles still happen on Aereas.”
She turned away and moved toward the tunnel. Maltoki stood and carried Berit toward the mouth of the tunnel that would lead them back outside of the city. He looked down at the still unconscious form of his friend.
Perhaps Ammaya was right. If miracles still happened in a world that had been torn apart, then maybe there was reason to hope.
****
The trip back through the tunnel took twice as long as the trip in. Moving Berit gently through the tunnel prove arduous. The human followed Calier, silent for the entire trip. It took Calier, Maltoki, Ammaya, and Denar to support Berit as they made their way back up the small tributary. Darkness still covered the land, and they needed to hurry in order to reach the rendezvous point before dawn. Most likely they’d need to find a place to hide and wait out the day. Cirta wouldn’t leave for another day and a half. They had time.
Once out of the river and concealed in a small grove of trees, Mirala did a quick check on Berit’s vital signs. “Everything seems normal, maybe just a little below normal, but that’s probably to be expected after being in a hibernation state for so long.” She looked to Cullen and asked him when Berit would need the second injection.
“You can give it to her now. We are a little late, hopefully that won’t make much of a difference,” Cullen said.
With the aid of the translator in his ear, Calier interpreted for the rest of the group. Maltoki still kept a wary watch over Cullen, distrusti
ng the human’s motives.
Calier sat beside Berit, holding her hand as Ammaya readied a syringe containing blue liquid. Berit stirred after the drug was administered. Her eyes fluttered and looked into Calier’s before closing again. There were no words in the Aerean language to describe the joy he felt upon seeing those golden eyes.
Ammaya stood up. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Maltoki asked.
“Shhh,” Ammaya said, putting her finger to her lips.
From the direction of the city they heard a throbbing of engines. Calier watched the flight lights of aircraft rise over the city walls.
“I knew he would lead them to us!” Maltoki stalked toward Cullen, grabbed him by the front of his shirt and hauled him to his feet until they were nose to nose. “Where’s your tracking device?” He shook Cullen. “I hope you get satisfaction out of seeing more innocent people die.” He raised his hand to strike Cullen, but Calier grabbed his wrist. The Professor pointed toward the sky over the city.
“They’re not after us,” Calier said.
Several more Valkyries rose above the walls and streaked off into the darkness, their lights soon lost. The aircraft screamed over their heads and Calier remembered that sound belonging to the sleek ships that had pummeled Gadol City into submission with their bombs.
“If they’re not after us,” Calier asked, “then where are they going?”
There was silence for a moment before Ammaya spoke.
“Alam. That’s the only thing in the direction they’re headed.”
“No, it couldn’t be,” Calier whispered with disbelief.
“Andy,” Ammaya said.
“Who?” asked Maltoki.
“The human man that was in Alam. He escaped a couple of weeks before we left and must have survived. Now they know where Alam is, and they intend to destroy it.”
Maltoki grabbed packs from the ground. “Let’s go. There’s no time to waste. We need to get to Cirta as quickly as we can. Maybe we can get a message to the city before the attack begins.”