The leader remained.
Derek couldn’t tell if there was regret in the alien’s eyes, but he felt like the alien should’ve run far away from him.
“You’re not going to take my planet, you ugly pork rind mother—“ He upper cut the alien so hard that the static blue dots on it’s head popped one by one in sequential order up its face. It careened from side to side and then the alien flopped to the ground like a load of wet laundry.
Derek stared down the corridor to where he had kicked the third alien. He could feel it, though he couldn’t see it. He knew it wasn’t going to get up. It couldn’t.
Derek had broken a sweat. He thought he’d look cooler if he hadn’t. But he still delivered a line full of confidence. “See nothing can stop me now.”
He held his hand out for Beth, but she didn’t take it. She stared back at him.
“What?”
Beth didn’t want to tell him. The blue glow in Derek’s eyes was not natural. She saw it in the aliens just before they began to decompose on the floor. Whatever powered them, it powered Derek now.
“Look,” Derek said. He crouched down next to the bubbling remains. A thin sheet of green rectangle remained. It was shiny like metal, but transparent like plastic. “What do you think it is?”
“It might come in handy, let’s take it.”
“We should check the other bodies.”
“I think forward progress is better, I’m sure these jerks followed protocol and called for back up.”
“Nah, I think they thought they could beat us,” Derek said. “I mean you’d have to have a lot of confidence to walk around like that looking all ugly and stupid.”
“They are ugly.”
“Maybe they were picked on too much at the School for Beginner’s Invasions. Maybe they couldn’t get dates to the galactic ball…”
“Enough, let’s get a move on it,” Beth said and led the way for two steps. Then she stumbled. Whatever the aliens had done, it was having a lasting effect. “Damn,” she moaned.
“I can carry you.”
Beth looked like she wanted to punch him, but she nodded and let Derek pick her up.
“Hopefully you’re just stunned and it’ll all wear off soon enough.”
“That would be appreciated.”
Derek carried her for a while. Beth fell asleep on his back, he didn’t notice until he stopped because of the walls and walls of yellow force fields. The kind he knew would alert the aliens that there was an intruder onboard. The pleasant rocking of Derek’s gait ended and the stillness woke Beth.
“Oh, no. I fell asleep, what happened?”
“Relax. I’m trying to think of somewhere I can stash you.”
“What?” Beth took in the yellow force fields and wondered how Derek could’ve walked into a trap.
“You’re in no condition to fight, but if they want to find me, it’ll take less effort on my part to bash all their brains in if I just sound one of their alarms.”
“Derek, there might be ones more powerful than you.”
Derek shrugged.
“Please don’t do this right now. We have to try and destroy something of significance first. Then you can have your death wish.”
Derek nodded. “I’m glad you woke up. I hadn’t thought of that. Even if I beat them, they could probably keep sending beast after beast after beast to keep me from stopping the invasion. I guess I’m just the brawn now.”
“You still have that green rectangle thing right?”
Derek fumbled into the pocket on his bodysuit and revealed it.
“Look over there.” Beth pointed at a console on the wall, just before the walls of translucent yellow alarms. Derek took the green rectangle and laid it on the console, it accepted it, absorbing it. It turned purple and the yellow walls dissipated into thin air.
“Groovy,” Beth said.
“This way must be real important if they wanted to make sure we didn’t go this way without their knowledge.”
“Here’s hoping.” Beth worked her way off his shoulders. “I think I can walk on my own a little.” She was more worried about falling asleep again and Derek coming up with some half-thought plan.
“We make a good team, you and I.”
“Here’s hoping,” Beth had that hope that was missing earlier. Something had changed. The way she looked at Derek was different, too. There was pep in her step as they marched forward with hope to guide them to an important thing to break that could stop the invasion.
“Hang on,” Derek said. “I should break that security console thing so they can’t turn it back on.”
“That sounds like a great idea.”
Derek jogged back to the wall console and did his best Bruce Lee growl before he wailed a barrage of fists on the alien device. Sparks popped. Old Derek would’ve been hurt, but he was like a Super Saiyan and the bursts were little more than static shock.
Derek had time to think during the bashing. He prepared his heroic smile for Beth, but when he turned she was all yellow. Like that damned song.
“Derek,” she gasped. “It turned the alarms back on!”
“Come one, that’s just crappy.”
Beth buried her shaking head in her hands. Her word selection for the alliteration of the f-words was neither varied nor was it appropriate for children.
“There’s only one thing we can do. I’ll hold them off. Try to get as far away from here as possible.”
“Derek, I’m not 100%.”
“Then find a good hiding place.”
“They’ll kill you.”
Derek shrugged. The muscles he felt during the process infused his ego. “You go. I stay.”
Derek reached forward for the yellow light.
Beth knew she couldn’t hesitate. She had words that never left her lips, she spoke them in her mind and she ran.
Derek counted to ten. Then he hesitated. What if she was right? What if there were aliens stronger than him? As whacked out as their luck had been, it wouldn’t be farfetched. But it wasn’t like he was cut off from Beth. He could run through the alarms and catch up with her. But then they’d come for both of them.
No. He had to be a good sacrifice.
His hand touched the yellow light.
There was no gratification, no sense of feel that his fate had changed. But he knew the aliens, or the bubbles and or beasts were on their way to give him hell.
Nothing ever came.
Minutes past. Derek knew they had. He didn’t have a wristwatch, but his impatience was a good counter. He counted at least ten minutes with intervals where he paused before counting the next. So he went looking for trouble.
And perhaps this story would not continue if he had not found some.
He passed through corridors they must’ve missed. He walked through open halls, to tight tunnels. There was nothing to stop him. It was as if the ship had been abandoned, or perhaps the aliens did not wish to make him any stronger, or die at his hands.
“Fight me, damn you!” he screamed in his mind. With all his power he was not brave enough to say it out loud. Instead he crept through more corridors, his fear grew with every moment he wasn’t attacked. What could they be planning? How would they try to defeat him?
His mind worked fear into him through the uncertainty. The sounds of footsteps marched ahead of him. There was more than one pair. This is it. They’re going to kill me. Derek tucked himself into an alcove for cover, but it wasn’t just an alcove. A door swooshed open and a draft exhaled loud enough to call attention to his attempt at a hiding place.
He turned to see he was on a balcony overlooking an array of green cubes. A large hall cut between the cubes at least three stories below. There were figures within the cubes, depressed in solitude or sleeping, tired from starvation or screaming. Somewhere someone still screamed, though Derek could not pinpoint which cell. It was horrible. This was their prison. But maybe, Derek thought, Bub is being kept here. If he can rescue Bub then he’ll know what to do,
he can destroy what needs to be destroyed and the invasion can be stopped once and for all.
A large set of doors opened down below. The aliens marched a woman and two men in. They shoved them into a cell, an energy field sealed them in, static bursts of energy distorted and quickly silhouetted their appearances, but Derek saw enough.
He recognized the woman. It was Melinda.
TO BE CONTINUED…
PART THREE OF INVASIVE SPECIES COMING in 2015:
For more information on this series please visit www.brideofchaos.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel J. Kirk is a resident of Richmond, Virginia. He has written and published westerns, horror, and science fiction short stories throughout the digital world.
He has several ongoing series, including the urban fantasy series: THE HATCHBACK WOMAN and the alien invasion series: INVASIVE SPECIES.
And look for book two of The Kingdom of Autumns, ARCHITECTS OF FOREVER in 2015.
He can be contacted at: [email protected]
And visit www.brideofchaos.com to keep up to date with new releases featuring Mr. Kirk and many more authors.
Other Stories by Daniel J. Kirk’s Available Now:
THE FORGOTTEN PRINCESS: A NOVEL
VULTURE & Other Tales
PROMISED: TALES OF SUSPENSE & TERROR
THE HATCHBACK WOMAN #1-9
THE HATCHBACK WOMAN #10-18
WESTERN ENDING: SIX TALES OF THE WEST
STRYDER’S WAR: HELL WITH EARTHSIDE
STRYDER’S WAR: PRISONER OF EARTHSIDE
© 2014 Daniel J. Kirk
Thank you for reading!
© 2014 Bride of Chaos
Thank you for reading!
Invasive Species Part Two Page 3