Roth

by Jessica Frances

  “There you boys are!” an unknown voice joins us, one from behind and not one I recognise.

  I turn my head, watching someone new walking up to us. He’s tall, wide with muscle, and his skin is sickly pale. There are scars covering his exposed skin and one that trails down from his eye to the corner of his mouth. He’s shirtless, so the tattoos there are visible; however they are different to anything I have ever seen. His hair is wild and long and his eyes dark and his teeth look sharp as he smiles menacingly at us.

  “Who are you?” Ival asks him, his eyes narrowing in for a moment on Mattie. No doubt he suspects this man is human. I seriously doubt that, considering he’s not speaking English, or any Earth language for that matter. He’s speaking our language.

  “I’m the person who is going to destroy you, the rest of your family, and Oden. It’s nice to meet you finally.” The stranger laughs at us, sounding hollow.

  “No one can take down my family or Oden,” Ival states confidently. Then he switches it up to speaking English. “Would you hurry up and shoot him so I don’t have to listen to his delusions?” He glances at Mattie, and I see her falter. I assume it must be because she’s not comfortable shooting this man, but she surprises me and Ival with her words.

  “This gun is empty; there aren’t any bullets. I was sort of bluffing.” She takes hold of the back of my hoodie, and I think she might be worried Ival is about to attack her because he is looking furious.

  “You bluffed me?” he snaps, and even though the moment definitely doesn’t warrant it, I find myself smiling a little. Ival notices it straight away. “Why are you smiling? With no bullets it means I’ll have to kill this fool with my bare hands. We don’t have time for this.”

  “I’m smiling because you got tricked by a human. I thought you were meant to be the smart one that Father wants to lead?” I antagonise him, knowing I shouldn’t.

  “Interesting language you are all speaking, I was not aware you had two languages on Oden,” the stranger interrupts, his eyes studying us.

  “How do you know about Oden? Who are you?” Ival asks again, thankfully his anger shifting off Mattie and onto this strange man.

  “I was just on Oden, capturing your father and cutting off your mother’s head,” the stranger says calmly.

  Ival tenses, but otherwise, he gives nothing away. “Lies! You can’t get into Oden. And especially not close enough to my father to capture him.”

  “Wrong. I did get into Oden, quite easily actually, and I currently have control of your planet while my pets have control of your other planets. Although, I must admit, this one isn’t taken over like I expected. The pregnant mothers placed here haven’t appeared to nest properly. When I find the time, I will correct that.”

  “Your pets? The Claws are your pets?” My mouth hangs open in shock from his words. There is no way the Claws could be anyone’s pets.

  “Yes, they are. Now I came here to collect you both and take you back to Oden. I have a public assassination I need to complete on your family.”

  “No one threatens me or my family,” Ival growls, stepping in front of the stranger, his hands fisting together and his feet moving farther apart to give him better balance.

  Ival has never lost a fight, not even our trainers could beat him. I have seen him take on eight guards and still win. He’s the best fighter our family has ever had, and the only way this man will walk away from this is to run. Ival’s one weakness is running. I was always faster than him, and therefore, I could outrun him and sometimes prevent the beating he was trying to give me.

  I push my arm back, catching Mattie and stepping us away from the fight that is about to happen.

  “What’s going on?” she whispers to me, her eyes glued to the scene in front of us.

  “That man is saying he’s taken over Oden and that he wants us back there so he can publicly kill us. But don’t worry, Ival is about to kill him,” I try to assure her when she gasps in fear.

  “Who is he? Why does he want to kill you?”

  “I don’t know. He didn’t exactly say.” I stare again at the strange man, not finding anything about him familiar. The tattoos he has look similar to the ones Ival and I have except the ink is different. It’s a reddish colour and appears faded. Our tattoos never fade.

  “What are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know. We need to get off Roth, and Ival might be able to help with that. I can try to get you to your sister and Logan,” I say, watching as Ival circles the man. I know he’s only moments away from leaping forward and beginning his attack.

  “But if we return to Oden, will I ever see you again?”

  “Yes, there is no way I can stay away from you. I might have to wait for the right time, but I will come back for you. We can take everyone and go somewhere else,” I promise.

  “It doesn’t feel right to give up the fight for Earth. It doesn’t belong to your people. It belongs to us.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry it has been taken from you. I don’t see a possible way to get it back to you, though. I think you need to let that fight go and focus instead on keeping yourself and Riley safe. Holding a gun on Ival was not safe, especially since it wasn’t even loaded,” I rebuke her.

  “But I need you, Marduke, and I thought, if I didn’t try, then I would always regret it. You’re walking again; I did the right thing.”

  I open my mouth to respond to her, but my attention shifts when I hear the commotion of the fight taking place. I watch as Ival hits the stranger several times, knocking him to the ground from his powerful hits. The fight is completely one-sided because the stranger doesn’t fight back.

  I almost look away and back at Mattie because the sight before us is boring and predictable, but then the stranger starts to laugh. He catches one of Ival’s fists aimed for his face and squeezes his hand around Ival’s. I hear Ival’s bones crunching, and I wince for the pain that he must be in. The stranger swings out his legs, knocking Ival off balance, and then delivers a punch of his own. It’s just one, yet it is strong and hard, and Ival goes down immediately. He’s completely knocked out.

  I place my hand back over Mattie, keeping her behind me. I have never seen Ival lose before. I didn’t expect this outcome, and now we’re trapped.

  “I need you to run.”

  “What?” she gasps.

  “Run now! Don’t look back.”

  She hesitates.

  “Protect Riley,” I whisper, and that’s all I have to say. She turns around and runs. I don’t look back to see the direction she goes in, either. I can’t afford to turn my back on this man.

  Moyut rushes to Ival’s side as soon as the stranger takes a few steps back from him. He’s shaking, no doubt terrified of the man standing over him. His sole job is to heal Ival, and right now, his job is forcing him to be in harm’s way.

  I know I need to distract the stranger until Moyut can wake Ival up.

  “Why do you want us dead? Why do you want Oden? What did we ever do to you?” I ask him, stepping to the side so for him to look at me he has to place his back to Ival and Moyut.

  “I want you dead because your family is full of cowards and murderers. You don’t deserve to be leaders. You don’t deserve to be respected or remembered. I plan to wipe your family out, and no one will ever speak of you again. You will never have existed.”

  With the knowledge that there is a good chance that, after what I have done with Mattie and how I feel about her, I will be dishonoured and hated anyway, his words don’t have the fear that I assume he wants. Although, I understand what this will mean for my family. Everything they have done has been in honour of our ancestors. This will be devastating and even I cannot let that happen.

  “What species are you? Which planet did you belong to that we took?” I ask, assuming that we have obviously wronged this man. Earth has been the only planet we have found life similar to ours, though. The rest have only had vegetation or creatures. Did we overlook something?

  H
e laughs again, sounding hollow and tortured. He doesn’t even look down as he moves his hands quickly to Moyut’s throat and snaps his neck easily.

  Moyut drops dead to the ground without the stranger even breaking a sweat. He just steps towards me, cracking his knuckles and wrists as though he’s getting ready to kill me, too.

  “My name is Jeprow and my great-grandfather was born on Oden. He was a good man who loved his planet and his leaders. He followed them blindly through life, never doubting their loyalty or commitment to their people. Then, one day, they found a new planet. Without caring about the casualties, they sent their women and men in to claim it. What they found were creatures so brutal they had no defence against them. Many women and men were lost. So, like the cowards your family are and always will be, they ordered everyone to retreat and leave behind the men and women who were trapped. They assumed we would be dead soon anyway, but they were wrong.”

  My mind is reeling from his words. That can’t be the truth. We were told everyone was dead when we tried to take over Jukh, the planet which had the Claws populating it.

  “You’re lying.”

  “I don’t really care if you believe me or not. I only want to see your family suffer. That woman who was just with you, who is she?”

  “No one,” I quickly reply, angry at myself when I know my response only adds more curiosity to him. “She’s no one to me,” I speak slowly, trying my hardest to appear uninterested in Mattie.

  “Do you often give your family argu to just no one?”

  I wince when he brings up Mattie wearing my argu and nothing else over the top. I should have made her put her sweater back on. Even in this heat, she shouldn’t have left it off when she saw Ival. She had to know it would just antagonise him.

  “I assume she has been mated to you, although I didn’t realise you would care about your mate unless she was perhaps carrying your child,” he sneers at me.

  “She’s not mated to me. She is human, a species whose planet we took recently. We relocated all the humans to our other planets until we knew what to do with them. She’s just a human,” I explain, desperate for him to believe me. I need him to forget about Mattie and let her go.

  “While it doesn’t surprise me that you would ruin the lives of another species, it doesn’t explain why you demanded she run way. You tried to save her life, and for that, I will happily kill her in front of you.”

  “No!” I take a threatening step forward, aware of the fact that, if Ival couldn’t beat this man, there is no way I can. I need to buy Mattie more time to escape, however. I need for her to get away. “If your problem is with my family, then you have us. What are you waiting for?”

  “Do you care at all about the news that your mother was killed?” he asks me, his head turning to the side slightly as he stares at me. It is as though he’s studying me.

  “I do care,” I admit, although I don’t feel any loss from her dying. I’m angry that this man is saying he killed her, and I will avenge her death if given the chance. Yet, I realise then I don’t feel anything close to how Mattie felt—and still feels—over the loss of her own mother.

  “How about the fact that I now hold your father hostage?”

  “He is a strong-willed man; you won’t break him.” This I know for certain. No one can break my father.

  “I’m aware of that, but I would like to watch him as he sees his world crumble down around him. I also find it interesting that, from the mention of both of your parents—your planet’s leaders—you’ve shown nowhere near as much fear as when you looked at that female. You weren’t scared of her, though, you were scared for her. I want to know why.”

  He keeps bringing this back to Mattie, and I can’t have that. He needs to forget her. I fear the way to do that might mean I will get myself killed painfully and sooner than if I keep my mouth shut. But for Mattie, I’ll do what I must to give her every second I can.

  “You know, we haven’t thought a second about your great-grandfather. In fact, I bet his name has been completely forgotten. He’s nobody, just like you,” I sneer at him, watching as his face turns red and the veins running over his body appear to pop outwards.

  I don’t see the punch coming, but I do feel my nose break. Within minutes, my entire body is pummelled, and when he finally stops, I can’t move a muscle. Every part of me hurts as I feel myself beginning to black out.

  Jeprow’s face moves into my view, his foul breath hitting me and forcing me to inhale it. “You almost tricked me into killing you, but I have much worse planned for you than this. So prepare yourself for your fate because there is nothing you can say or do that will prevent it from happening.” He grabs my hoodie, lifting me off the ground as my eyes flutter open, having closed without my permission. I’m not sure how much longer I can hold off the darkness beckoning me.

  “Sleep well, Marduke Lomh, because when you wake up, I will have your little friend with me, and I will make you watch her slow and painful death,” he whispers the words, sounding even more evil. “Then I will slaughter your coward family, take over your blinded people, and ruin everything your family has built. This is the beginning of the end of your family, and I’ll make sure our people know how weak and pathetic you all were.

  “I know everything you do is to gain power and reverence in your family’s name. You only care about making your mark, and you want to be respected and remembered. How about I give you one of those things. Your family’s story will be taught in classes to our children, and everyone will laugh hearing how the Lomh family was taken down so easily. How they were eliminated while crying and begging for their lives. This is how your ending begins.”

  Before I can even think to respond to that or even offer a protest, he gives me one last punch to my head, and I can’t stop the blackness taking over.

  I can’t save my family from this monster, and it’s unlikely I’ll be able to save Mattie and our baby, either.

  Chapter 18

  Mattie

  I’m running through the forest, completely lost and turned around. Though, I do have a feeling I’m heading back the way we’ve come, heading back towards the fire. The air is getting murky now and there is definitely a smoky smell in the air. I know if I keep running in this direction, I won’t survive.

  Thinking about what awaits me back the way I came doesn’t make me want to turn around, however. There was something about that stranger that scared me. He wasn’t right. There was evilness pouring out of him, a confidence that felt cocky, but after his fight with Ival, was most likely well-deserved.

  I know that, by leaving Marduke back there, I have abandoned him, but I had to, for Riley’s sake. Every instinct inside me screams I can survive this forest. I can make it past this fire. I can outwit and fight my way past any creatures. I can handle the pain of running and exhaustion.

  Yet, looking at that stranger, I knew I wouldn’t survive him. He didn’t kill Ival and he hadn’t attacked Marduke because he wanted them back on Oden. There is still a chance for Marduke to survive, time for him to work out a plan and escape from that madman.

  There would be no hope for me.

  So here I am, running into what I assume will be a forest alight in fire. I veer off to the side, following the air that is a little clearer, and keep running. My legs are passed causing me pain now and my biggest obstacle is my mind. I have to focus only on making my way out of the forest and not the scene I’ve just left. I have to definitely not think about what I heard about Oden. I can’t think about everyone I’ve lost.

  My mind still tortures me with memories of my parents, of Hannah being scared, hurt and having to fight one of the creatures. I see her with Logan and Lisa, and my mind plays out their deaths, reducing the only hope I have to be an added part of the darkness and depression inside of me.

  What am I supposed to do if I’ve lost everyone I love?

  I’m not paying attention at all. Therefore, when a creature jumps out at the side of me, it completely surprises me, thr
owing me off balance. I fall to my side and then roll as it jumps through the air and tries to squash me. I quickly get to my feet and dive around a large tree, feeling it vibrate as the claw slams into it instead of me.

  This creature is different than the others I have faced. This one is only as tall as me and everything is miniaturized. It’s definitely from one of the nests. It’s a baby creature.

  I sprint forward, trying to glance everywhere at once in hopes of finding a weapon. When I see a rock on the ground, I know it’s not much, but it might be able to buy me some more time.

  I crouch down, still moving forward, and reach down, grabbing a hold of the rock which is jagged and can’t be heavier than a few kilos. Then I dive quickly to the side, feeling the near miss of the claw as the creature chases me. From my sudden move, it passes me.

  I take aim and wait for it to turn to face me and then I throw the rock, aiming for its face. I’ve always been good at sports and my practiced aim works in my favour. The rock lands directly in its large eye and black blood oozes out of it as it shrieks in pain.

  I cover my ears at the uncomfortable piercing sound and then consider running except I have been turned around again. I also realise the control that I took from Ival is gone. It must have fallen out either as I was running, or during my fight with the creature.

  Darkness is beginning to set in now that the second sun is disappearing from view. Although, the thought of spending a night in this forest alone doesn’t sound appealing, no matter how tired I am. Therefore, I turn my back on the creature, deciding that the opposite direction to where it is now suits me just fine. I take a few steps before I hear something crash to the ground and then the dead silence afterwards.

  I turn back, finding the creature no longer has a head attached to its body. The madman from earlier is standing over it, a bloodied blade in his hand.

  Cold fear rushes over my body as I glance around, hoping to find Marduke or even Ival with him.

  Unfortunately, there is no one.