KARRIN: Warrior Woman (Excalibur Saga Book 4)

by Sahara Foley

  As the alien being drew nearer, Karrin realized it was actually the same orange color as the sky with uniform, black square lines all over it. A thin golden beam flashed, causing Karrin and Pan to duck. A small rock next to Karrin exploded, striking her leg with flying pieces of shrapnel. She stared in shock at the blood dripping down her pants leg.

  “We better get the hell out of here. It won’t keep missing.” She held her hand out to Pam. “Can you run?”

  They ran at a slow pace in the lemon-colored sand, headed toward some bigger rocks down the beach. Sand erupted several feet behind them as another golden beam lanced downward.

  “It’s taking too long to adjust its aim, Pam. We’re going to make it.”

  Right then, several golden beams hit the sand in front of them. They stumbled as they tried stopping in the soft sand. Suddenly, a bunch of screeching came from the cluster of boulders they were running toward.

  Several man-like beings, as thin as Karrin’s arm, stepped out and fired stick rifles at the massive, black and orange grid. It let out a loud rumbling roar and quickly moved away, out of sight.

  Before Karrin and Pam understood what had happened, they were surrounded by seven of the stick people. They prodded the stunned captives forward with their rifles, screeching at them the whole time. Their voices sounded like poorly played violins.

  Karrin grimaced in pain as they gibbered away, giving her a terrible headache. Pam had her hands over her ears. The girls were pushed and poked until they found themselves inside a corral made of rocks. Two guards were left at the entrance.

  Pam uncovered her ears as she peered around. “God, but my head hurts. What the bloody hell are they? They look like people made of sticks. I could snap them in two without breaking a sweat.”

  “That might not be a good idea,” Karrin said with a sigh. “At least, not now. Did you notice what those stick rifles shot? Wooden slivers and the golden grid looked like a pincushion when it finally fled. We better try to . . .”

  One of the guards screeched at them as he pointed at each of them separately, and then to the different sides of the corral.

  Karrin stood with hands on hips, glaring at the talking stick. “We are not going to opposite sides of your cage. We’re not cattle to be herded around.”

  The guard fired his thin rifle at them.

  PFT! PFT! PFT!

  Without thinking, Pam shoved Karrin behind her.

  The weapon spat six times. A line of five-inch-long wooden slivers landed in the sand at their feet.

  Angry at being shot at, Karrin stepped around Pam and stomped toward the guard, kicking at the wooden darts when she passed by them. She stopped near the guard who’d used his rifle. “Get the hell out of here and leave us alone, you walking toothpick.” She gestured toward the corral entrance.

  “No,” Pam screamed as the other guard swung his rifle at the girl, hitting her in the head.

  Karrin slumped to the ground, unconscious.

  Pam rushed over to her side and sank to the ground. She cradled Karrin’s head in her lap. Blood flowed from a deep gash over her right ear.

  The other stick guard raised his thin rifle at Pam. “Go ahead and shoot, you bastard,” Pam hissed. “But, you better make sure I’m dead, or I’ll weave a bloody chair out of you and shit in it.” She held her breath waiting to be shot, then gave a sigh of relief when the guard lowered his weapon and backed off a few steps.

  Sweat stinging her eyes, Pam wiped her brow as she glanced around the enclosure. The hot sun was doing neither of them any good. The corral ended at a tall, steep rock face and a few overhanging rocks offered some shade. The older woman grabbed the injured girl under the armpits and drug her to the welcoming shadow.

  Pam sat cross-legged as she cradled Karrin’s head in her lap. “Please, wake up,” she pleaded while wiping the blood off the teenager with the bottom of her tee shirt.

  There was more screeching, so Pam glanced up. At the corral’s entrance was a growing group of the impossibly thin stick people. They were poking and prodding at a creature that made the older woman break out into a cold sweat.

  The horrible monster was five feet long, three feet high, and two feet wide. It had no legs, but was propelled forward by thousands of appendages that resembled very thick hair. It was a washed-out white color and reminded Pam of a slug. However, all the slugs she’d seen didn’t have teeth. Whereas, this one had rows of razor-sharp fangs.

  The stick men herded it into the corral and stood in a single row at the front of the opening, like a barrier. The monster worm slowly inched forward, large eyes focused on the two women. The creature’s dog-like mouth snapped open and closed while thick, yellow saliva dripped to the ground.

  Pam shuddered in horror. The thought of being torn apart, limb by limb, made her heart race. It would be up to her to defend them.

  She slid Karrin’s head off her lap, and it landed on the sand with a thud. “Oh God, I’m so sorry,” Pam said as guilt over their predicament overwhelmed her. If I hadn’t teleported, Karrin wouldn’t have followed me, and we wouldn’t be the next meal for Rover the Worm. Pam clamped a hand over her mouth as hysterical laughter bubbled out. I have to get a grip.

  Looking around, the older woman saw two loose rocks about the size of her palms. She crawled over to them, picked them up, and stood. The worm was only fifteen feet away and appeared hungry as more strings of saliva fell to the sand.

  Pam jiggled the rocks in her hands, weighing them, and shifted to the balls of her feet. “I hope I give you diarrhea, you smelly, hideous bastard.” Then, she attacked.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Karrin groaned, her head throbbing to the beat of her heart. She opened her eyes and grimaced in pain, then gingerly touched a very sore spot over her ear. Blood stained her fingertips. What the hell happened?

  “Thank goodness you’re awake. I was starting to get worried. How are you feeling?” After wiping her chin with the back of her hand, Pam stuffed a glob of white, gooey something in her mouth.

  Carefully sitting up, Karrin leaned forward and held her head as a wave of nausea rolled over her. “I’d have to die to feel better.”

  “Well, what do you think happens when branch meets skull?” Pam grinned and went back to eating.

  “Uhm, what is that stuff you’re eating?”

  Pam grinned again. “Dinner. It was going to eat us, so I’m eating it instead. Not bad either. Kinda like greasy, white bread. Want some?” She pointed with her chin behind Karrin.

  The injured woman peered over her shoulder. A few feet away sat a puffy white mass with several sizeable chunks missing. Over by the entrance to the corral laid three of the stickmen. “What did I miss?”

  Pam shrugged, then chuckled. “Not much. They brought one of their pets to be fed, but I took it out with a rock. They didn’t like that, so they fired at me with one of these.” She held up three of the branch-like rifles. “They shoot slivers of wood, which hurt like hell. Took me forever to remove all the splinters. Thank goodness I have thick skin, even without my force field.”

  Karrin stared incredulously at Pam. Woah, she’s one tough lady. I hope she never becomes mad at me. Her eyes wide, she asked, “How’d you take out the guards?”

  “Oh, that was easy.” Pam waved her hand dismissively. “I just clocked them in the heads with rocks. I grabbed one of them by the arm and crushed it like balsa wood. They’re so skinny, my hand almost goes around their waists. If this is the extent of the danger here, I think we’ll be fine. Better than Cal and Lurga.” Pam’s bottom lip quivered, and she quickly looked away as she wiped her eyes.

  “I understand,” Karrin said, sighing. “I’m worried about them, too.”

  “Here.” Pam shoved a blob of white stuff toward Karrin. “We need to eat. Pretend the meat is something you like and hope to God it's not poisonous.”

  Karrin took a tentative bite and grease ran down her chin. “Oohh. Yum,” she said sarcastically. “Reminds me of watermelon. You ca
n’t eat it without wearing some of it.”

  They glanced at each other, their faces smeared with grease, and burst out laughing.

  “Ow,” Karrin yelled, grabbing her head. “Don’t make me laugh. It hurts too much.”

  “Take it easy, honey.” Pam laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “That was a pretty hard thump you got . . .” Her voice trailed off, eyes huge, face going pale. “OH - MY – GOD. Look.”

  Karrin turned, and her heart jumped into her throat. Another white slug was being herded toward the corral. This one was twenty-five feet long and almost as high. It was having trouble crawling through the entrance. After much poking and prodding, it squirmed its way into the enclosure.

  Fear coursed through Karrin. “I don’t think a rock will kill this one.”

  It slithered toward them on hundreds of hairy, thin, short legs. Its sharp teeth gleamed under the hot sun. Long ropes of thick, yellow saliva trailing behind it.

  “We’re trapped in here.” Pam frantically searched the area as she backed into the tall cliff behind them. “There isn’t any way out,”

  “The overhang,” Karrin hollered. “The cave is low and deep enough it shouldn’t be able to reach us.” Without waiting for a response, she crawled on her hands and knees until she hit the rock face, six feet in.

  Pam tight beside her.

  Leaning forward, Karrin dragged the three branch rifles into their hidey-hole. “I think we’re safe. There’s no way it can fit in here.”

  “I hope you’re right. Oh, oh.” Pam groaned when the giant slug stopped at the pulpy remains of the first one. “You better not be one of its babies.”

  “Yeah. Well, I hope it’s not a little brother or sister with mom or dad around somewhere, either.”

  “Oh shit,” Pam exclaimed when the huge worm quit nuzzling the dead one and trained its enormous, green, hate-filled eyes on them.

  It opened its cavernous mouth, and a tongue three feet in width thumped to the ground. It started snaking through the dirt, right for the trapped, terrified women.

  Grabbing one of the rifles, Pam began firing. “The eyes. Go for the eyes.”

  Slivers of wood struck the worm until the rifles were empty. With hundreds of splinters sticking out of it, it kept advancing.

  “What do we do?” asked a desperate Karrin as she flung her useless weapon aside.

  “I don’t know. Anything. Nothing.” Picking up several fist-sized rocks, Pam threw them at the slug, but they bounced harmlessly off the rubbery, white skin. “Oh shit.” She stooped over and backed into the overhang, clutching her granddaughter’s hand in a tight grip. “We’re doomed.”

  “All we need is a Qated rifle, seeder pistol, or a damn sword. Hell, I’d even use a knife to take it down.” Karrin huffed in frustration. Learning to live on Switch had been a challenge, but she’d never been as defenseless as she was, now.

  When a foul stench from the slug’s breath blew into their hole, Karrin covered her nose with her hand. “Oh, my God, what the hell does it eat?”

  “Most likely, defenseless people like us,” Pam replied as she gagged. “What we need is a gas mask. Its breath smells like rotting feet. Yuck.”

  Once the slug reached their overhang, it stopped. Its green tongue slithering along the ground, probing. The appendage flickered once, and grazed Pam’s arm. Before she could pull back in revulsion, the tongue shot out and slammed her against the wall and encircled her upper body with her arms pinned at her sides.

  Pam squirmed and fought, her face turning red when the worm tightened its grip.

  Frantic and scared, Karrin searched around their little cave for something to fight with and help free Pam. She spied two rocks lying on the ground and picked them up and started clapping them together against the thick, green tongue.

  Over and over, she slammed the stones together, her arms growing weary. But, Karrin desperately fought on. Seeing the fear and hopelessness in Pam’s eyes as she was slowly crushed to death energized her.

  Finally, the slug gave a hard jerk and dragged Pam out of the hole. Fortunately, the tongue’s grip loosened. Screaming in fright, she fought, and managed to untangle herself loose from the foul appendage. Panting, the older woman crawled back under the overhang, her body dripping with yellow saliva.

  “Thanks, honey. I couldn’t move. I thought I was going to end up worm food.” Pam’s hands trembled as she tried wiping the smelly spit off her body.

  “S’ok,” Karrin gasped, her lungs aching from the exertion of freeing her grandmother. She motioned toward the slug, where it had stopped several feet away with its tongue back in its mouth and slanted green eyes studying them. “Do you think I hurt it? It never made a sound.”

  Pam shuddered. “My tongue hurts just thinking about it.”

  “Do you think it can tell how many of us are here?

  “Well, it knows I’m here.” Pam rubbed more thick spit on the wall. “Why?”

  “See here.” Karrin drew a diagram in the sand with her finger. “There are openings on both sides of it, now. If you’re able to run, we can zip past on each side. I don’t think it’s fast enough to catch us.”

  Pam stopped smearing saliva on the wall and grinned. “It beats the hell out of staying here and being licked to death. Let’s do it.”

  They crouched into sprinting positions, took deep breaths, peered at each other, and nodded. Off they ran, Pam going one way while Karrin headed in the other. As Karrin raced around her side, she noticed she was a bit faster than Pam, who was struggling in the soft sand. However, they both escaped around the monstrous worm. Smiling with relief and victory at each other, they came to a skidding stop, frozen in terror.

  Chests heaving, lungs pumping, and hearts pounding, they held each other as another giant-sized slug moved into the entrance. Karrin thought she was going to faint from fear. This one was way bigger than the one they just fought, which was turning toward them.

  Panicked, the young woman searched her surroundings. The walls of the enclosure went straight up with no hand or footholds. There was no way to escape.

  “Looks like our goose is cooked this time, honey. The boys won’t know what happened to us.” Pam’s body shook as tears slid down her face, leaving a clean trail along her cheeks. “I’m so sorry.”

  Karrin glanced from the newcomer squeezing through the entrance to the one sneaking up behind them. “I hope you choke to death on us, you bastards.”

  The new arrival was the closest. It flicked its fifteen-foot tongue out a few times and snapped its mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.

  Just one bolt of silver power. That’s all it would take to kill this monster. Karrin flicked her wrist, but nothing happened. She groaned in despair eyeing the worm eager to feed.

  Like a bullwhip, the tongue lashed out again, and wrapped around both of the women. It lifted them in the air. Both expelled, “OOUGh!” as all the air was forced out of their lungs when they were squashed together. Then, the appendage started pulling them into the massive, teeth-filled mouth.

  Barely able to breathe, Karrin dropped her head on her grandmother’s shoulder and whispered,” I love you, Grandma.”

  Pam leaned her head toward Karrin’s as her face turned blue. She tried gasping out a response, but she didn’t have enough air to speak.

  A roaring growl split the air, and the women hit the ground hard, wrapped in the sticky, green tongue as it writhed around like a live wire. Pushing and pulling, they managed to free themselves, the growling noise still all around them. Karrin sat up and stared, her mouth dropping open.

  Thirty feet away, legs spread, teeth bared in a ferocious growl, both hands on a silver, seeder pistol, stood Lurga Pukani. The warrior fired silver grid after silver grid into the colossal slug. The first shot had severed the tongue. After a dozen more shots to the body, the slug was a giant mound of quivering white squares of jelly.

  Hearing the rustling of sand as the smaller worm approached, Lurga turned his weapons on it, firing away, s
till growling like a massive lion. On the ground behind the Ispepyein laid Excalibur. Before long, the only sounds heard were the bubbling of fluids from the sliced and diced worms along with Pam and Karrin crying in relief and surprise at being saved.

  After holstering his pistols, Lurga stomped over to the gasping Karrin. He swooped her clear off the ground into a bear hug so tight, she felt like her ribs were cracking in half. He rocked her, back and forth, her feet swinging like pendulums.

  “Lu-Lu-Lurga. St-St-Stop,” she managed to say between the rocking and her crying.

  “I am sorry, little one,” Lurga said contritely as he set her back on her feet.

  She promptly fell to her knees, clutching her ribs, choking.

  Lurga knelt in front of her, concern and fear in his eyes. “Are you all right?”

  Nodding, Karrin gasped for air. Once her lungs functioned again, she threw her arms around his thick, gray neck. “I’m fine. I don’t have any powers here, and you almost crushed my ribs.” She leaned back, stared at his face, and smiled. “I’m so happy to see you, you ugly, gray baboon.” Her heart soaring with relief, she hugged him again.

  Lurga didn’t know what a baboon was, but it didn’t matter. He was where he was meant to be – in Karrin’s arms. He returned her embrace, but more tenderly, this time.

  “Ugh. I’ll never eat cow’s tongue again.” Pam grunted in disgust as she threw the severed, quivering mess off her legs. She wiped her hands in the dirt, but all she managed to do was coat the spit with lemon-colored sand. “Never mind,” she mumbled to herself. “I have to go to Cal.”

  The older woman rose and stumbled to where Excalibur laid unconscious. She fell to her knees next to him and peered up at Lurga. “What’s wrong with him?”

  “I do not know. The Shalit mumbled something about silver and human emotions, and told me to concentrate on Karrin. Then, he slumped into my arms.” The warrior shrugged. “I did what he asked, and we ended up here, where that THING was ready to eat you. Cal’s alive, but unconscious.”