Through the Never

by J. A. Culican

  “We had to come here. Our world isn’t safe for us anymore.”

  “BEK?” Travis said. “Why didn’t you pick up on this earlier?”

  “I could make no sense of it until it was too late. My software was confused.”

  “Confused?”

  “This life form’s signature is part-biological and part-mechanical. It was being masked by the human host element, but I believe upon closer inspection that it is some kind of parasite, an artificial intelligence. On further analysis, now that I am aware what to search for, I can see traces of it in the soil. You have all been exposed.”

  Becca clutched her head. “You have to do something. Get it out.”

  “I will need to extensively study the parasite. The lab on the ship is not equipped for such a task. But the fact that it has not taken control of your brain already suggests it requires a mature brain to take control.”

  “So my brain isn’t mature?”

  “Not enough for the parasite to assimilate with it. But to understand how it achieves its objective, I would need to study it further.”

  “The city has a lab, right?”

  “Yes it does.”

  “Then we need to get the city back. We get back to the ship and we send a distress signal to the other cargo ship, then we formulate a plan.”

  “Where did you land?” the girl asked.

  “Follow me,” BEK said. “I will guide us back.”

  “Is it safe to break cover?” Becca asked. “I don’t want to get caught before we even try.”

  The boy sniffed the air before answering. “Go now, or don’t go at all.”

  All the way to the ship, Becca could hear the engines in the distance. Sometimes too close, so hiding again would be in order. But the hive didn’t get close enough to catch them.

  Darwin and Jenkins were lost to whatever the hell this thing was. Shit! Reynolds was probably infected too. What if he’d hurt Sarah or infected the cargo? They couldn’t lose the cargo!

  “We need to hurry. Reynolds could be one of them by now.” She urged the others on.

  She was the first out of the forest and back to the meadow where the ship was waiting, it’s body a charred and battered husk. The sun was lower in the sky, casting a golden glow over everything. She wasn’t ready for sunset. The night couldn’t come yet. Not yet.

  Becca ran at the ship, banging on the door when she got there.

  “Sarah! Reynolds!”

  The sound of engines filled the air.

  “They’re coming,” the girl said.

  “Please open up!”

  “Reynolds!” Travis joined in.

  “I will log into the system,” BEK said, “and open the door from here. There is some auxiliary power”

  “You can do that?” Becca asked.

  “Yes.”

  He didn’t need to. The hatch door opened and Sarah was standing there. “What’s wrong?”

  “Everyone in,” Becca said.

  “Where’s Darwin and Jenkins? Who’re the kids?”

  BEK closed the door once they were all safely inside and sealed it through his interface with the ship. The last thing Becca saw was a motorbike breaking the tree-line.

  “I got the power up and running,” Reynolds said as he walked toward them. “Cryogenic was fine with the back-up generator kicking in.”

  Travis rushed him, pushed him into the empty room, and slammed the door. “Seal it,” he ordered BEK.

  The door clicked.

  Reynolds banged against the round port window. “What the fuck is going on?”

  “I’m sorry,” Travis said. “You could have been infected with a parasite. We’re all probably infected, but because of your age, you’re more at risk of turning.”

  Reynolds stared at them, incredulous. “What the heck are you—” He blinked rapidly, his face contorting and twitching. His hand went to his cheek, and his eyes widened as if in the face of some magnificent revelation, and then his features smoothed out.

  “You must not resist,” he said. “Give us the cargo. We wish you no harm.”

  “They have us surrounded,” BEK said.

  Reynolds smiled beatifically, the gesture alien on his usually sour face. Becca stepped away from the door, her stomach churning with anxiety.

  It was time for action. “We can’t let them get their hands on the cargo. BEK, make sure all entrances to the ship are sealed, and send a signal to Cargo 2. Do it now.”

  BEK nodded, but didn’t move. He didn’t need to. After a long second he blinked and smiled. “Both actions completed.”

  She was taking charge, taking action just as her mum would have wanted.

  “Cargo 2 just hailed us,” BEK said.

  “Inform them what’s happening. Tell them not to land.”

  “There is nowhere for them to go. Fuel will have been depleted. The ships were meant to make a one-way journey. They have no recourse but to land.

  “And if they do then all the adults on board will be infected,” Travis said. “Dammit!”

  “BEK, open up a communication link with the other ship,” Becca instructed.

  BEK inclined his head then went perfectly still. “Cargo 2, Cargo 2. This is Cargo 1. Come in.”

  There was a buzz of static. “Cargo 1, we are about to enter orbit.”

  Becca cleared her throat. “Hello, this is Becca Rivers—Captain Rivers’ daughter. We have a problem.” She filled the captain in as succinctly and quickly as she could.

  “I see the quandary, Miss Rivers. But we have limited options. Thankfully, we have a military presence on board and plenty of biohazard suits. You say this hive has you surrounded?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. While they focus on you, we will take the city. If this parasite is indeed mechanical, then a strong electromagnetic field should deter it.”

  “A force field?”

  “A shield, yes. We can use the ship’s core to run it while we search for a more permanent solution. This is our home now, and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna turn tail and run.”

  Travis grabbed Becca’s hand and gave it a squeeze.

  “What about us?”

  “Once we have the city, we’ll send a couple of pod ships to pick you up. You’ll need to gather in the cryo chamber and we’ll beam personnel and cargo on board.”

  They had beam technology? Damn. Maybe this could work after all. “Thank you, captain.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Outside the ship, the hive waited, unsuspecting of what was to come. This planet was supposed to be their home, and with the tenacity of humanity, they would claim it.

  Epilogue

  Behind her, the city was bursting with life. And before her, beyond the shield, was the dead expanse of the grey, a world they’d pumped full of a specially synthesised toxin to keep the hive at bay. So far it had worked. The infected steered clear and the city prospered. Despite their best efforts, the civilians on Cargo 2 had also become infected upon setting foot on the planet. The few adults who’d been suited up until the shields went up had thought themselves safe, but the parasite was in the soil and they too had fallen prey. They were all gone now, exiled into the grey and beyond to join the hive.

  The last two years had flown by in a flurry of settling in and safeguarding, and in the search of a cure. A cure they were close to finding, but not close enough. BEK worked tirelessly to find a solution. Some way to eradicate the threat from the soil and their bodies, but for Becca it was too late.

  The one year she’d had with Travis had been bittersweet. Filled with as much love as they could cram into it and, yes, they’d had a child. Her eyes burned with unshed tears. No. She couldn’t think about Yana now—the baby she would most likely never see again. Instead, she focused on Travis. He was out there somewhere—beyond the grey. Was he waiting for her? Did any part of him remain? Would any part of her remain?

  “You ready?” Sarah said.

  The sixteen year old guard waved them forward, to
ward the exit doorway built into the electromagnetic shield.

  “We’re going to miss you,” he said.

  Becca nodded. “Yeah. I’ll miss you guys too.” But would she? Would she feel anything? Fear was a fist clamped around her heart.

  Sarah slipped a hand into hers. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  Together they slipped through the shield and into the grey. The mist enveloped them. There were two options. They could keep walking or they could sit down and wait to die. The toxins in the atmosphere weren’t deadly to the parasite outside of a host, but once it was bonded to one, the grey would kill it. Only problem was, it would kill the host too. But wasn’t death preferable to life as a puppet?

  Becca stopped walking.

  “Come on,” Sarah said. “We’re running out of time. If we stop, we die.”

  Becca could feel it too—the sense of impending something, the tickle at the base of her brain. It sent a chill down her spin. The parasite’s disembodied fingers reached for her consciousness.

  “I can’t. I can’t be that.”

  But Sarah was pulling Becca along. “You’re not dying. I won’t allow it. There could be a cure someday, and the tracker BEK planted inside us will help them to locate us and cure us.”

  If, maybe, possibly. What would happen in the meantime? What would she become?

  The grey was thinning.

  “No!” Becca pulled up short.

  “Becca! Look!” Sarah pointed out through the diminishing mist.

  She saw a figure, tall, broad and familiar because she’d held onto that frame every night for a year, knew every dip and curve of that body. Her heart surged up into her throat.

  Travis raised a hand in greeting.

  He knew her. Had come for her. Suddenly death was no longer an option, because life was standing beyond the grey. Uncertain and alien, but still, it was something. It was hope.

  Sarah reached for her hand again and this time Becca didn’t protest. The change was almost upon them. She could sense him now. His familiar heartbeat.

  Together, it said. To be together.

  She walked out of the grey and into the hive.

  * * *

  The End

  About the Author

  Debbie Cassidy lives in England, Bedfordshire, with her three kids and very supportive husband. Coffee and chocolate biscuits are her writing fuels of choice, and she is still working on getting that perfect tower of solitude built in her back garden. Obsessed with building new worlds and reading about them, she spends her spare time daydreaming and conversing with the characters in her head – in a totally non psychotic way of course. She writes High Fantasy, Urban Fantasy and Science Fiction. Debbie also writes dark, diverse Urban Fantasy fiction, under the pen name Amos Cassidy, with her best friend Richard Amos.

  Connect with Debbie via her website at https://debbiecassidyauthor.com/ or twitter https://twitter.com/authordcassidy. Sign up to her newsletter to grab a free short story, and stay up to date on new releases: http://www.subscribepage.com/f6u2k8

  * * *

  Richard Amos is an author from England who is constantly lost in the worlds he writes about, and the ones in the queue yet to be written. He also has more books in his house than anything else, and is never without a book (and chocolate) in his hands when he's not writing. He’s a proud nerd who loves to dance. Hard.

  Richard writes High Fantasy and Urban Fantasy—some of which will be released in 2018. He also writes as one half of writing duo Amos Cassidy—a partnership with his best friend Debbie Cassidy. You can follow him on TWITTER, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM. Sign up to Richard’s newsletter to keep up to date on his releases: http://www.subscribepage.com/t6q7q7

  Dragon in Man’s Clothing

  JC Kang

  Dragon In Man’s Clothing © copyright year JC Kang

  * * *

  Copyright notice: All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  About Dragon in Man’s Clothing

  Avarax thought becoming human would be fun. He didn’t expect complications associated with the frail form.

  When the Last Dragon, Avarax, hears a voice from afar that sings to his Dragonstone, he takes on human form to uncover the source. With humanity enslaved by orcs for millennia, his new, frail body will experience humiliation he never imagined possible: toe fungus, body odor, and love.

  If he learns to play nice with lesser beings, he could mean the difference between mankind’s freedom and another thousand years of oppression.

  Dragon in Man’s Clothing

  Stuck in human form for the past decade, Avarax had suffered indignities no dragon should ever endure. Toe fungus. Hangnails. Body odor. The new perspective, closer to the ground, had made him almost sympathetic to the bottom feeders’ plight.

  Almost. Now they were proliferating again, after the Hellstorm and Long Winter had culled the herd. Only the best had survived, which was not to say their best were all that good.

  Up ahead, in the shadow of the pyramid, a ragtag band of the pathetic roaches stood in disorganized ranks. The emaciated, olive-skinned men wore tattered rags and held makeshift spears.

  He looked past them to the smooth stone pyramid, and the gemstone sparkling at its top. It pulsated with energy, perhaps enough to chip away at the ward constraining his power.

  A particularly filthy specimen spat at his feet. “You aren’t allowed here, Brownie.”

  Of course. In this land, the bronze complexion and dark hair of his frail form stood out. Avarax yawned. It never ceased to amaze him how humans made such a big deal out of race, when all color of skin looked and tasted the same when roasted. Underneath, they were all succulent flesh and thirst-quenching blood.

  “I said halt.” The man leveled the sharp end of the staff at him.

  “Actually, you said, ‘You aren’t allowed here.’” Avarax grinned. Unfortunately, a human mouth couldn’t match a dragon’s in expressing contempt.

  More spears pointed in his direction. Avarax continued toward the pyramid, undaunted.

  With a shout, the first soldier lunged forward with a halfway-decent stab.

  It punctured his shirt, but shattered on his skin. Avarax frowned. Now he’d have to find a new shirt. Not an easy proposition on most days, considering the lawlessness and famine that still ran rampant.

  Then again, the fool who’d just stabbed at him was about the same size. Avarax tightened his fist. “What’s so important that you would risk your miserable life?”

  Backing away, the man stared at his broken spear. Then he puffed his chest out and glared, in a show of bravery that would’ve been admirable had he not kept his distance. “We are the honor guard, fulfilling the Elf Angel’s last command to protect the pyramid, lest the Orc Gods return on their flaming chariots.” He lowered what was left of his weapon.

  Avarax laughed so hard, he would’ve belched sparks had he still been in dragon form. If these rubes only knew. He raised his hand, ready to smite the fool with the little magic he’d regained.

  A voice like the trilling of nightingales, like hers, sang from behind him. “You must be the one. The stars foretold the coming of a dragon in man’s clothing today.”

  He spun around.

  Standing there was
a young woman, whose brown hair cascaded down her shoulders in curls. She was comely by human standards, though the roughspun dress made her look like a sack of potatoes.

  Avarax raised an eyebrow. “Who are you?”

  She curtseyed. “I am Dalia Larusso, descendant of the First Diviner.”

  “Is that how you knew I was a dragon?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “Not a real dragon, of course.” She laughed, the sound as pleasant and disarming as the girl who’d betrayed him centuries ago. “The Last Dragon, Avarax, has been asleep for seven centuries.”

  He snorted. No one knew that the ruckus of the Hellstorm had woken him, since he’d immediately been transformed into a human. Against his will.

  She pointed to the heavens. “The Guardian Dragon of Cathay crowns Kor, the Hunter.”

  Avarax squinted, but his human eyes couldn’t make out the stars in daylight. “And?”

  “It portends the coming of a ruler who will restore peace to the land.”

  He searched her eyes. Estomari Diviners could see the future; but in this, she was clearly referring to the other dragon in Tivaralan, the one responsible for his current predicament. Snarling, he thought back to how his misfortune started.

  700 Years Earlier: A Snack Uneaten

  Avarax wiggled the stubby toes of this new experimental form, marveling at the sensation of mud squishing between them. How humans walked without collapsing in ecstasy was just one of the many questions he planned to answer today, along with an age-old conundrum: which tasted better, orc flesh or human skin?

  The dragonstone in his chest pulsated wildly as he looked up and scanned the fields. People hunched over, hands working in the swampy flats, pulling up weeds from neat rows of greenery. One of their voices had drawn him here from his lair thousands of miles away, yet now the sight of so many made his stomach rumble. A veritable buffet, and one he could finally enjoy now that they weren’t so tiny that they’d barely register on his taste buds. He strode to join them, feet sinking into soft loam with each step.