"No one's saying you are. You almost died and had both your legs amputated. Even a Nymph would need time to recover before doing all of this. You're only hurting yourself."
"Lying in bed all day isn't going to help me either. If I'm going to be of any use in Vergessen, I have to train."
"You won't be of any use if you kill yourself." Katarina kneels down beside him and takes him in her arms as he completely breaks down. She gently caresses his shoulders as he cries into her hair. "Shh. It's okay. Everyone has their limits and we just found yours. It's nothing to be ashamed of. It's okay to cry, Jarred. Look at all you've been through. You are dealing with so much that other men would never be able to cope with. This only shows how strong you really are. You go ahead and cry. I won't tell anyone."
Through his tears, he continues to speak softly to her. "I've never felt so helpless."
"Now isn't the time for you to be worrying about that. Everything is going to be fine. I promise. You'll see. We'll go out to Vergessen and find the power core. We'll shut down Clark's plans and find a way to say Jayce. Then you can bring him up here so you two can be together like you should be."
"You think so?"
"I know so. We have the most brilliant scientists on our side. Kazimir won't let anything happen to Jayce. But you have to stay strong for him. I believe that people in love can feel how the other is feeling even from millions of miles apart. So if you want Jayce to stay confident, then you have to as well."
He squeezes her in his arms. "Thanks, Kat."
"It's what I'm here for. I care about you, Jarred. I really do."
Jarred stands and helps her to her feet. "We should get back upstairs before they start worrying about us."
"Sure."
* * *
As soon as they reach the top of the stairs, the front door to the laboratory slides open and a man in a long black cloak approaches Jarred. He bows and holds out a bundle of blankets to him. "Please take care of this baby."
Jarred takes the baby and looks just as confused as Katarina is. "Baby?"
By now, the others have gathered in the hall and watch. Doss steps forward. "Who are you? Show your face."
The man hands the baby to Katarina and pulls back the hood of his cloak.
Doss draws a laser pistol from the holster on his thigh and aims it at the man. "Gabriel! You found a way to hide your wings."
He holds up his hands. "Don't shoot me. I'm not here to fight. That's your son, Jarred."
Jarred looks down at the baby in his arms. "Uh . . . what?"
"Jayce was pregnant with your child." Gabriel says.
"Again . . . what?"
"The baby's name is Zodiac. Jayce was able to replicate your DNA, simulate a womb in his body, then create a baby. We ran the tests and you are definitely the father. He wanted to keep him down in Paradise, but we couldn't risk Clark finding him and harming him. Please don't turn your son away. Jayce specifically asked for him to be brought to you."
Jarred is suddenly overcome by happiness. "Oh my goodness. He's so little. Awe! He has Jayce's hair and a tiny little nose." He holds up Zodiac who giggles and waves his arms. "He's adorable!"
"Jarred, are you crying?" Zach asks.
"Leave me alone. Maybe I am. Who cares?"
Zach laughs as he watches them. "And I believe we've found Jarred Cunningham's only weakness: cuteness."
When Zerachiel joins them, a sudden silence falls over everything. For a minute, he and Gabriel stare at each other. Zerachiel sips his tea as he examines the archon who used to be his enemy, the one who nearly killed him a few weeks ago on Verloren. "The devil returns. Back from his command in hell. Has he come for me?"
Gabriel removes his cloak and spreads his intricately carved gold wings as a sign of respect as he kneels at Zerachiel's feet. "I have changed, Brother. I apologize for my actions and for harming you, but I can assure you it will never happen again. I have come here on Jayce's behalf and for the future of Earth as well as the IGR. Clark must be stopped. I now know how far he is willing to go to get what he wants. Allow me to stay here and provide my services to help combat the true evil."
To everyone's surprise and eliciting a few gasps from the onlookers, Zerachiel's jade wings glisten in the fluorescent lights as he raises them high and joins Gabriel on his knees. He holds his teacup to Gabriel's lips so he can drink. He sets the cup on the floor and embraces him. "You're forgiven, friend."
Kazimir steps between them. "I will make that decision. Gabriel, what you've done has hurt so many people. How can I trust you when all you've been is a traitor?"
Gabriel stands and reaches into the pocket of his robe where he retrieves something that he places in Kazimir's hand. "Consider my crimes paid for."
As Kazimir examines the small silver disk, an uncommon smile graces his lips. He flips it in the air and catches it as he chuckles. "Well done. Welcome home, Gabriel."
* * *
Katarina sits at the foot of Jarred's bed where she cradles Zodiac in her arms and feeds him from a bottle. He's so tiny and makes the most adorable cooing sounds. His large hazel eyes begin to close as he falls asleep against her chest with his little fist clenched around a lock of her hair. She sets the bottle down. "He's asleep."
Jarred finishes cleaning Katarina's rifle. "Good. You just hold him while I finish packing. We leave out early, but I want to keep him in here with me tonight. I'd rather lose a little sleep when he wakes up than not have time with him before we leave."
"You really like him, don't you?"
"He's my baby and part of Jayce. Of course I like him. I'll tell you one thing. For the first time in years, I'm not looking forward to going on a mission. I never thought I'd be a father, but now that I am, I have to ensure that my son has a better childhood than I did. I must be a better father than mine was for me."
"You will be." Katarina says. "You are a kind and caring man with so much capacity for love."
"I have all the confidence in the universe when I'm on my own or with Jayce, but when it comes to someone else who relies on me, I question my every decision. Zodiac is a baby. I can't just toss him a rifle and an MRE and tell him to get busy."
"That's true."
Jarred holds up the rifle to look through the scope. After a few seconds, he sighs and sets it back down against the wall. "While we're in Vergessen, I need you to take point and let me spot for you. I'm not even going to bother taking my rifle."
"Why? You're a better shot than I am."
"Not anymore." Jarred holds out his hands that are visibly trembling. "I can't shoot like this."
"Why are you shaking like that?"
"I don't know. Ever since these burns, I can't stop it. They must have messed with my nerves or something."
That's actually very concerning. "Shouldn't you tell Zach or Kazimir so they can check it out? It could be serious."
"It's nothing. I'm sure it will subside in a week or two."
"And if it doesn't?"
"Then I'll tell them at that point." Jarred says. "We have so much more to worry about than my ability to shoot. Do you think the archons will be able to take care of Zodiac while we're gone?"
"Velex had a son. I'm sure he won't mind. You're changing the subject."
"Because we're done talking about my hands. I'm ordering you to not mention a word about it to anyone. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir." Katarina mocks him. "Want me to call you Owner while we're at it?"
Jarred grins playfully and sits at beside her to look at his son. "You're gonna pay for that, missy."
"Oh, really? What did you have in mind?"
"I'll think of something and believe me, it will be excruciatingly vile."
She pouts. "You're mean."
He puts his arm around her back and takes Zodiac from her. "Goodnight, Katarina. Go to your husband. I'm sure he wants some time with you before we head out."
12
The cypress trees dot the marsh with their large roots coming up out
of the murky water where the water bugs scurry across the surface, sending ripples out to the muddy banks. The croaking of frogs fills the air along with the constant buzzing of mosquitoes and clouds of black gnats that bite Katarina, leaving tiny red welts on her arms and face. She sinks down in the sticky mud that covers her boots up to her knees. This place is hell. Her hair is slicked with sweat and clings to her face in the humidity.
Jarred grabs her arms and helps to pull her out of the sinking mud. "Keep an eye out for quicksand. We don't need you getting sucked in."
"Thanks. How much farther do we have to go before we set up somewhere?"
Zach checks the map on his watch as he swats away more insects. "Looks like we're almost there. The satellite feed is a little grainy, but if we keep heading east, we should reach an old train depot."
Really? "Trains? There were trains on this awful planet?"
"A long time ago, before it was nothing but a giant swamp. You can thank Clark for that. He's the one who sent all the toxic waste here."
Her stomach turns a bit. "Toxic waste?"
"Yeah. Don't get too much of that mud on you. There's no telling what poisons are in this muck."
"Great. I think it's in my hair."
Zach looks and laughs. "It is. I'm not touching it."
"Fine. If it kills me, I'll kill you."
"That doesn't make sense. I think the mud is affecting your brain already."
"Shut up, Zach." Jarred says as he pushes past him and leads them through the swamp.
* * *
"Okay. There's the entrance to the mine." Zach says. "See those men over by the entrance with the mine carts? I need you to figure out what is in those. From here it looks like some kind of computer parts, but I can't be sure. If it is technology, why are they moving it out of the mine? Is there more down there? We're gonna have to get inside and past those guards so I can analyze it."
Katarina looks through the scope on her rifle until she finds the mine carts and zooms in to get a good look at them. "Looks like you're right, Zach. If I didn't know better, I'd say they are hard drives."
"That's probably exactly what they are. They've been storing information down there, but with that much capacity, it makes me even more curious as to what they could have been working on. That amount of data is terrifyingly enticing."
Jarred places his hand on her shoulder. "Kat, remember what I taught you. It's not that far so you should be able to take out those guards easily. Control your breathing and steady your rifle. You want to take out the farthest one first then focus on the other one. Your shots always end up above where you aim from the recoil. Remember where you specifically get to aim?"
She grins and adjusts her scope. "The balls."
"That's my girl. You're clear to take the shot whenever you're comfortable."
"Shouldn't you be the one taking shots, Jarred?" Zach asks.
"She's perfectly capable. Jayce and I both trained her. It's her time to prove what she can do."
"Where's your rifle, anyway?"
Jarred crosses his arms defensively. "Just be quiet and let her concentrate."
"Are you sure it's not because your hands are shaking so much?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You can't hide that from me, Cunningham. When did that start?" Zach asks.
"After I got burned. It's none of your business."
"You may have a very serious condition."
Jarred holds up his fist threateningly. "I'll show you a serious condition."
"Will you two shut up?" Katarina asks, getting annoyed more than anything. "Maybe I'll miss and hit you instead."
"Sorry."
"Yes, ma'am." Zach leans closer to Jarred and whispers to him. "She's scary when she's angry."
"I heard that." Katarina squeezes the trigger and the first Blood Force agent falls.
"Nice shot! Now get the other one down quickly before he has a chance to run or call for reinforcements."
She takes out the other one with ease. This is easier than she thought it would be.
"That's my girl!" Jarred hugs her. "I knew you had it in you. You don't know how proud I am of you. Looks like you'll be able to take Jayce's . . . never mind. Let's go."
What happened to how happy he just was? Now all of that joy is gone and has been replaced by a stone cold seriousness.
"Get down here so we can get this over with."
* * *
When they get close to the mine entrance, Jarred checks out the bodies of the fallen Blood Force agents. He tosses some money, a combat knife, and two flashlights to Katarina before tearing open the armor. As he examines the body, he starts to look concerned. "Kat, how many shots did you fire?"
"Just two, one for each of them."
"You missed."
"What?"
"Look at this guy's chest. Three bullet wounds that are way too small to be from your rifle. Yours is a .50 caliber so if it was from yours, this guy probably wouldn't be in one piece. I knew something wasn't quite right from the way they fell, but we were too far away for me to notice specifics. I'd say these are from a .22 silenced pistol." He looks around then goes to the side of the rocky cliff where he traces his fingers over one of the grey stones. "Here's where one of your bullets hit."
Zach calls to them from the mine cart with the technology he's been examining. "Guys, we need to get away from this area. Katarina can handle more radiation than either of us men because she's a M.A.G.E."
"Whoa. Hold on. Radiation?" Jarred asks.
Zach sweeps his watch over the mine cart and a constant beeping emanates from the speaker. "It's a pretty high level. This technology isn't storing data. It's storing hyper-irradiated nanobots."
"Why would they want irradiated nanobots and this amount of them?"
"I have theories, but I hope they're not true. Here. A little more exposure won't kill me." He picks up a shiny metal object from the pile in the mine cart. "What does this look like to you?"
"It's a helmet." Katarina says. Now she's even more confused than she was before.
"They're making irradiated nanobot armor. If all these mine carts have this armor in them, it's enough for a small army."
"An army of radioactive computerized soldiers?" Jarred asks.
"Or enslaved human soldiers forced to be trapped in the armor."
"Who would do something so cruel?"
"Adam Clark. Who else?" Zach places the helmet back on the mine cart. "Right now, I'm more concerned about who is going around with a silenced pistol and able to time their shots with when Kat took hers. Are they watching us?"
Katarina suddenly remembers something about Clark. "Jarred?"
"What is it?"
".22 caliber is small, right?"
"Yeah."
"Small enough to be used in a cane gun?"
Zach rushes over and pushes Katarina and Jarred into the mine entrance. "Get inside. There's only one person I know of who has a cane gun. That's Clark. If Clark is here, we need to get done and get off this planet as fast as possible."
"Just calm down." Jarred says as he pulls away from Zach. "We don't know it's Clark. Losing your cool isn't going to help anything."
"You don't understand."
Jarred pushes Zach away again. "No, you don't understand. What kind of survival training do you have, pretty boy? Let me make the decisions regarding staying alive and combat. You stick to your computers. I wouldn't want you to break a nail."
"What the hell, Jarred? You think you're so manly?"
"I know I am. I could take you down blindfolded with my hands tied behind my back."
Zach grins. "But you can't bed a woman."
"Real men go after the stronger prey."
"Prey? Oh, that's not creepy. Do you kill and eat the men you stalk after you mate with them?"
"Why don't you lie down and we'll see?" Jarred asks as he cracks his knuckles.
"No thanks. I'm not much of a swordfighter."
"Lookin
g at you, it's probably more like a toothpick."
Zach steps up in Jarred's face. "At least I know how to use mine the right way."
Are they talking about penises? Katarina sighs as she listens to them continue to make lewd comments and hurl creative insults at each other. What is it with men and their instinctual need to prove whose is bigger? No, they're not men. They're children. This is getting pathetic.
The chunks of rocks and dirt that fall from the ceiling are the first signs that something is wrong. The large blanket of spider webs drifting down to the floor and the thudding of approaching legs is the next warning and what cause Katarina to look up above her. She fumbles with her gun and tries to load it with shaking hands as the guys continue to argue. "Jarred!"
"What?" He turns around and immediately draws his combat knife. "Shit."
An enormous spider taller than Jarred drops down to the floor, shaking the walls of the mine and making the strings of lights flicker. Eight hairy brown legs run at them, charging past Katarina and blocking off the entrance.
Zach types something into his watch. "Well Jarred, now's your chance to show us just how manly you really are."
"I'm not gonna just run at the thing."
"What's wrong?" Zach asks mockingly. "You're a Nymph. Nymphs love spiders."
"Not this one."
Are they really still going at each other? "Now's not the time for you two to be fighting. Use that energy either for killing that thing or running away deeper into the mine."
Before they can decide a plan of attack or retreat, the spider's front legs slam into the walls, bringing down another shower of rocks and splintered wood from the shattered support columns. Zach cries out as he becomes pinned under one of the heavy legs.
Jarred pushes Katarina back. "You take off and get farther down the mine. I'll meet up with you later."
"No! I'll help."
"Run!"
Katarina watches in horror as Jarred charges in and slashes at the legs with his knife. She's not about to run away while her owner and friend are in danger. Finally, she is able to slide a cartridge into the chamber. Taking aim at the cluster of eyes, she fires.
The monster lets out a pained squeal as a burst of clear sticky goo shoots out, allowing Jarred just enough time to rip apart a roll of microgrenade tape with his teeth and stick it to the hairy thorax. He grabs Zach and carries him down the hallway, running to get away from the explosion as it rings out.
Paradise Awakened Trilogy Page 52