Roth

by Jessica Frances

  “No, that wouldn’t feel right. Our baby should have a fresh start and no expectations on their shoulders.”

  I sigh in relief. “What name do you like?”

  “Mattie, you really should—”

  “Please, just answer me. I need to have this conversation with you.” I grip his damp hoodie in my hands and squeeze it tightly, needing to relieve my frustration in some way.

  He is silent for a few moments, and I fear that I have caused him to close up on me, but then I hear the rumble against his chest as he begins to speak.

  “I like the name Rilour. It means freedom. I’d like our baby to be free.”

  “Rilour,” I murmur the word, trying to get the foreign feel of it around my tongue.

  “It was just a thought. I would love any name you choose for our baby. As long as it is healthy and happy, I’ll always be happy.”

  “Rilour… Riley for short? That works for a boy or a girl.” I repeat the name Riley in my mind a few more times and unlock one of my arms, placing my hand over Marduke’s, which is still resting over my stomach. “Riley…” I breathe the name now, and it feels right.

  “Yes, Riley,” Marduke repeats, and it makes me feel happy and sad at the same time.

  “And what do you think our life would have been like? Do you think you would have been happy with just me and Riley?”

  “You would both have made me the happiest man alive. But I would have wanted to make more babies with you, many more.”

  I am torn between feeling horrified about the idea of many more babies and thrilled that we could have had a big family together.

  “I’d have liked that with you. I’ve never been in love before, and I don’t think I’ll ever be in love again. You’re it for me, Marduke. And you can trust me; I will take care of Riley, and I’ll make sure every day that I remind our baby of their brave, strong and amazing father. The man who stole my heart without me realising it, refused to give it back, and took the best care of it. My hero who saved my life on many occasions and made me feel happier and more alive than I’ve ever felt before.” My voice cracks and I take deep breaths, trying to calm down.

  “Thank you,” Marduke whispers, his voice sounding hoarse. He removes his hand from my stomach and hugs me to him again, pulling away only enough so he can kiss away my tears, making his way to my waiting mouth where he consumes me. His kiss speaks volumes to me. It is a kiss of love, of contentment, and sadly, one that is telling me goodbye.

  “I love you, Marduke.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Moving away from him is definitely the hardest thing I have ever had to do. That black hole I felt inside me when I first arrived on Roth—the one that started to heal when I was with Marduke—grows large and present again. However, it’s a darkness I can’t afford to slip into if I am supposed to be a good mother to Riley.

  I crouch down and pick up piles of leaves, moving it over his legs. I push him down, covering his chest, too. He knows what I’m doing, knows that I’m trying to hide him in case any creatures move past here. I’m sure not if it’ll be enough, and unfortunately, he won’t be able to run or fight back easily if he needs to. There is nothing I can do to protect him from a fire, though.

  “Good bye and good luck, Marduke,” I whisper to him, not sure if he can hear my words.

  With him finally covered from view, tears pool down my face, my nose blocks and my throat tightens. I don’t turn back to look at him as I walk away. I won’t be strong enough to keep moving if I see him upset.

  I pay attention to my surroundings, knowing I can’t exactly keep my promise to him. The air is still clear here and it’s possible the fire won’t make it this far out. If that is the case, then I could make it back to camp, find Hank and we could send people in here to get him. I just have to be quick and know where I am.

  I stomp my feet down heavily, hoping to leave a trail of destruction along the ground. I pull at twigs and tear my nails over the tree trunks covered in a green moss, leaving lines in the trunks and dirt and foliage under my nails.

  I begin to jog, knowing Marduke will starve or die of dehydration if I don’t make it back in time. I’m not even going to consider if he runs into a creature or fire.

  I haven’t moved far at all when I find something strange.

  A twisted piece of metal. I stop to glance at it, knowing it’s out of place here. Up ahead, I spot another piece of metal, and as I move closer to that piece, I find more scattered about.

  A few more steps in, and I discover a tube, which looks exactly like the kind Marduke and I were in when we crash landed back onto Roth.

  When I move through the trees and find the area familiar, I know I have reached where we crashed. If Marduke had been planning to treat me on that spaceship, then it means he had medical supplies. So if I can find any of them, maybe I can heal him, or at least help him so he can leave with me.

  Excitement and determination lights up inside me as I search every inch of the area around me and find nothing. So I then take the search area wider. I find a gun that we had taken and used to kill some of the creatures when we accidently boarded their spaceship, but of course, there are no bullets left. I place it in the belt of my jeans anyway.

  I’m so lost in thought that I don’t hear the sound of a spaceship nearby until it is practically on top of me. There isn’t the typical pulse of air from jets or whatnot that an Earth craft would produce. This spaceship just gently lowers down until it lands easily in the clearing where Marduke’s spaceship’s remains are.

  When I do notice it, I’m torn on whether to run and hide or insist whoever gets out that I desperately need help. But because of the promise I made to Marduke to protect Riley, I quickly run and hide. If this is going to be his father, I know he won’t care that Marduke is hurt, and he’ll be likely to kill me. I pray for anyone but him, so when a door appears and opens, I’m highly disappointed to see Ival stepping out.

  Rage flares up inside of me, an image taking over my vision for a split second of Ival shooting Logan. I know Marduke told me he is alive and well, but that doesn’t change the fact that Ival shot a five-year-old boy.

  I watch as he stares at the surrounding scattered remains of his brother’s spaceship. He walks over to one of the tubes and peaks inside before dismissing it.

  I know I should probably just sneak away and run as fast as I can. I should ignore Ival’s presence and assume the only reason he is here is for the worst. He’s either come here to ensure the creatures have done his or his father’s bidding, or he’s come to hunt down Marduke and finish off what was started on Earth.

  There is no likely scenario where Ival would ever want to help me or Marduke, but if I don’t try, I know it will eat me up inside. So I quickly think of a plan, which is awful at best, and ignore the words Marduke has spoken to me, which are echoing through my mind in warning.

  I remain hidden behind a tree on the outskirts of the clearing that was created from the crash and grab a hold of a rock by my feet. I throw it into a scrap of metal a few feet from me and then grab hold of the gun I found earlier. I then hold my breath, waiting for Ival to investigate the noise. He doesn’t disappoint.

  As soon as he passes the tree I’m hiding behind, I hold the gun out in front of me, pointing it straight at him as I clear my throat loudly. He turns around, appearing surprised to see me. His eyes drift down to the gun in my hands before moving back towards my face.

  “Interesting that I find you here, human,” he sneers, acting as though the name ‘human’ is an insult. “And I see you’re still wearing my family’s property. You do realise I’m going to have to take that back.”

  “Make a move towards me and I’ll shoot you dead. I know to aim for your head,” I threaten, hoping it doesn’t come to that since I don’t have any bullets to shoot him with.

  While he stares at me, his gaze piercing, I get the feeling he’s reading my thoughts, much like I feel Marduke does sometimes. It must be the bright gre
en eyes they both share that appear so deep and expressive.

  “I didn’t expect to find you here, although I also wasn’t expecting to find my brother’s spaceship in this state, either. Where is he?” he asks, his eyes glaring at the gun in my hand.

  “He’s hurt; I’m going to need you to help him,” I inform him, taking a step back, fearing for a moment he’s thinking about doing the same thing Kane did to me the one and only time I held a gun at him. I can’t afford to be without a weapon against Ival, even if it is actually useless. He doesn’t know that.

  “And if I was here to kill him?” He raises an eyebrow at me, looking more amused than threatening.

  “Then I guess we’re going to have a problem.”

  “Do you really think you could pull the trigger and shoot me? From what I’ve heard, you’re infatuated with my brother. You wouldn’t want to kill his family now, would you?”

  I laugh because I have seriously been dreaming of killing Ival since I got to Roth. If there were any bullets left in this gun, I still might have pulled the trigger, even if he did help me with Marduke. I laugh even more when he appears taken aback by my reaction to his words.

  “I watched you shoot a five-year-old, defenceless boy. I wouldn’t give a shit if I killed you.”

  “Yes, well, I did ensure that human child was saved, so that should count for something.” He shrugs like his actions were no big deal.

  “Well, it doesn’t. Why are you here?”

  “Apparently, so I can save my little brother from whatever mess he’s made.”

  “Save him how?”

  “Well, I don’t know, you’ve not told me his injuries yet. I imagine from the state of this wreckage, he’s not doing well.” He finally takes his eyes off me and stares at the warped pieces of spaceship surrounding us.

  “Where is your medicine?” I narrow my eyes at him, not trusting that I could convince him to help Marduke that easily.

  “Again, I need to know what is wrong with him.”

  “He either sprained or twisted his ankle,” I finally admit, hoping this won’t all blow up in my face. I have just admitted Marduke won’t be able to run or walk.

  He pulls out a control, one that I have seen used to transport people onto the spaceship, much like the one I accidently used to take us up to the spaceship full of creatures. I tense up, immediately fearing he’s about to zap me away and I won’t ever find Marduke again.

  Instead, he holds it to his face and speaks into it, using his own language so I have no idea what he is saying. Is he asking for backup? Am I about to be surrounded by Marduke’s people?

  When he moves the control away from his mouth, I point the gun at it. “Throw it over here.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t trust you with it.”

  He rolls his eyes, appearing to be less amused with me now and heading towards angry. He still throws the control which lands at my feet. I’m tempted to stomp my foot on it, but that spaceship could be a way off this planet and back to Oden where I can find my sister, Logan and Lisa. I can’t throw that away. So I pick it up, careful to only touch the sides, and slip it into my back pocket.

  “That won’t work for you, human.”

  “You let me worry about that,” I tell him, fearful I might have to use it in front of Ival. He finding out about Riley is not something I need happening.

  The last sun is beginning to descend downwards, and I know we’ve got maybe an hour before darkness sets in. I do not want to be anywhere near Ival when it’s dark.

  A new person appears outside of Ival’s spaceship, a short man who looks young and nervous. He bows his head deeply at Ival, the metal case he’s holding looking as large as the span of his legs.

  “Who is he?”

  “He’s my personal medic. He will help assess my brother. Now, where is he?”

  I stare at him for a moment, quickly trying to decide if this is a good idea. If he’s trying to kill Marduke, then I am leading him straight to him. Is it possible he knows my gun is empty? That maybe he’s just humouring me to get to Marduke? But then, what are Marduke’s chances of surviving here if I don’t go back to him?

  Very poor.

  I have to at least try.

  Without another option, I lead him back to Marduke, following the trail I left behind and having Ival walk several feet in front of me with the medic. I tell them when to shift direction, and soon enough, we make it back to Marduke.

  He appears shocked to see his brother, but then he sees me and that look turns livid.

  Chapter 17

  Marduke

  “What have you done to her?” I hiss at Ival, watching Mattie wince behind him when I use my own language.

  “Nothing. I simply stumbled upon her and she mentioned you needed assistance. Moyut is here to give you some,” he says, his eyes assessing me.

  He looks nervous, maybe even worried. Not about me, but about something else.

  “Why are you here on Roth?” I ask as I glance again at Mattie, seeing her pointing a gun at Ival. I have no idea where she got it from, but I know that, if she’s threatened Ival, he won’t let her forget it. He doesn’t take kindly to being bossed around. Is that why he appears off right now? Is it something Mattie did or said?

  “I came looking for you, you are needed back home immediately.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Oden is under attack.”

  “Attack? You mean the Claws?” I’m confused. Why would they be attacking Oden as well?

  “Yes. They have systematically taken over every planet we have. They’ve somehow managed to infiltrate Oden, and we are struggling to hold them off.”

  “So this isn’t Father’s doing?”

  “No.” He glares at me. “Father would never put our family’s planets, ones we bled and sacrificed to take, in jeopardy just to kill these pitiful humans.”

  “Then how did they get here? They aren’t able to fly themselves here, and I saw one of our spaceships. Something isn’t adding up.”

  I wince as Moyut injects my ankle with a serum that will help speed up the healing process. Depending on the damage, I should at least be able to limp on it very soon.

  “We’ve been hacked. Our systems are being overruled by an unknown source. No one should know how to break into our security, but whoever is attacking us does. We need you back home, brother. We’re going to war.”

  “Will you two stop speaking in that fucking language and speak English!” Mattie yells at us, waving the gun wildly through the air before pointing it again at Ival.

  “To speak your language is like eating dirt. It’s beneath us,” Ival hisses at her in English.

  “Is that your way of saying you want to get shot?” she threatens him.

  He glares at her and I sense he’s close to snapping. I need to put a stop to it before the situation can escalate. “How did you get here? We weren’t able to get anything to work. In fact, my ship stopped working mid-air. The supply ship here wasn’t able to move. How is it that you were able to land?” I ask him in English, trying to distract Ival while also appease Mattie.

  “We followed the tracking device in your spaceship to here where it last communicated its position before it went dead. We’ve been circling above, waiting for whatever force field that was blocking us to get taken down. Whatever it was, it was trying to scramble with our systems so we held off getting too close. For whatever reason, it went down earlier today. So here I am.”

  “And you want me to go back to Oden? Why? Father already told you he isn’t interested in having me take on leadership, and I have no interest in it, either.”

  “You don’t get to decide when you do and do not defend our family and our people. It’s a job that we do regardless of where our hearts may lie. Now get your head together. We’re leaving, now.”

  “I’m not leaving without Mattie.”

  He glances back at Mattie, almost as if he had forgotten she was there. He glares at her, and I don�
�t like that at all.

  I awkwardly stand to my feet, my ankle still tender and sore. It’s definitely too early to be on it, but I limp over to Mattie and place my shoulder in front of her, letting Ival know I will defend her while allowing her aim to stay on him.

  “And what do you think Father will do when she shows up wearing our family argu? He will shoot her on sight for being seen with it.”

  “I’m not leaving her here,” I state stubbornly. There is no way I will ever leave her here.

  “Honestly, she’ll be safer here than on Oden for a while.”

  “What? What is he talking about? You said Hannah, Logan and Lisa were safe. You said the creatures wouldn’t attack Oden!” Mattie shrieks. Her voice goes straight through my ears and I wince.

  “I thought my father was behind this attack. Ival is saying he’s not,” I explain.

  “So you’re telling me the creatures are there now? That my sister might not be alive anymore? That Logan and Lisa might be dead, too?” Her voice is shrill, and I hear the agony behind it.

  I turn around, ignoring Ival for a moment, and place my hands on each side of her face, waiting until she looks up at me. “We don’t know anything, so let’s not assume things until we know for sure. As of right now, they’re alive until we hear differently, okay?”

  She nods, my hands moving with her. She still looks terrified, and I get the feeling she won’t be able to handle much more bad news.

  “I won’t leave you here, I promise,” I tell her. I then turn around, looking back at Ival. “She comes with us. We can hide the vest from father’s eyes or anyone else that may be around and disguise her as one of the medics. I’ll get her somewhere safe with her friends and family and then I will help you.”

  “You don’t get to make the conditions, brother. You either come willingly, or I force you,” he threatens, but then his eyes move to the gun Mattie is holding. He’s aware she has the ability to kill not only him, but also his medic who could heal him.

  “I will come, just as long as Mattie is with me.”