by Stone, Piper
Jasmine hissed, lifting her hand and giving him a middle finger. “Fuck you, buddy.”
“Is that your answer, Ms. Spalding? I will also be happy to talk to your parents. I’m certain they won’t take kindly to the fact that while they funded your hefty tuition, they are going to have to forfeit every dollar. Do you know how many women would gladly take your place?” He laughed, cracking the strap against the desk.
We both jumped, rattled as hell. The bastard had no right to treat us this way.
“That’s not fair. You’re an asshole,” I spouted off without thinking. “This isn’t allowed. I demand to see the commander of the colony!”
“That kind of behavior, Ms. Caruso, will earn you fifty lashes. I assure you, the commander of Bellenia is far too busy with important projects to bother with disobedient students. You have five seconds to make your decisions, ladies.” His grin was magnified, the expression on his face one of utter glee.
“You’re a fuckhead, Mr....”
I jerked awake, taking gulping breaths. I could almost see. I could... I scanned the room, fear sliding into every muscle.
“Myers,” I whispered, clawing at my throat in an effort to breathe as I finished the sentence from my dream. Oh. My. God. I could still see the space I’d been dragged to for punishment, the very room we were sleeping in. “No. No!” I sat up, trying to focus. I had been here before. This had been an office for the camp. The internship. Jasmine. Oh, God.
That meant the vision of her death had been real.
“What’s wrong?” Draziak asked, gripping my arm as I jerked into a sitting position, a growl coming from his throat.
I yanked at the covers, suffocating, the terror paralyzing. “I saw him.”
“Who?”
“I remember.” I shifted toward him, gripping his arm. “Stephen Myers. I have been here before. I was an intern eight years ago and he was in charge. This used to be the office of a camp designed for interns coming from Earth to... to mine the caves. There were other outbuildings, the quarters where we lived. They have to be there.” I could hear the rattle in my tone, the way my words sounded like babble, but I knew I was right.
“You are correct. I discovered the remnants of several other buildings in close proximity. They appear to have been burned to the ground.” His words were even, yet laced with anger.
“My friend was murdered by soldiers for talking. She was killed. Oh, God.”
He tilted his head, his eyes glowing as they’d done before. “What else do you remember?”
I closed my eyes, taking several deep breaths and allowing the visions to fade. Almost immediately, a swirl of additional images rushed into my mind. It was as if the floodgates had opened, allowing me a gateway to a past some had attempted to keep locked away.
“Where are you taking me?” I demanded as the two soldiers dragged me out of the truck. I scanned the area, the compound completely different than the camp I was working out of. While the mountains were in the distance, they were entirely different in appearance. I’d heard of a completely different mission, the military working on a secretive project within the colonized portion of the outpost. Rumors had flown, members of the geological group telling tall tales during our off time.
Many discussions had been about aliens. Two of the girls had even sworn they’d seen several.
I’d scoffed at the notion, laughing at their ridiculous stories.
I struggled to get out of their hold, doing everything I could to observe every detail around me. I was certainly going to report this to the commander in charge, whoever the hell he was. While I could see men and women in uniforms as I was paraded through the group of buildings, they quickly scattered, refusing to allow me to see their faces.
“I demand you tell me!” I insisted, although I knew by the fact their faces were masked that I wasn’t going to be told anything. As I lifted my head, a group of buildings up ahead was obviously where they were taking me. Fear unlike anything I’d ever experienced rushed into my system. Wherever I was being dragged to, I knew I wouldn’t return from.
I managed to kick one of the soldiers, catching him just behind the knee. The second he faltered, stumbling forward, I managed to free my arm, taking a giant swing at the second. Finally freeing myself, I raced toward the line of trees. Within seconds, they captured me, the first soldier wrapping his hand around my throat.
“Do not do that again or you will pay.” He squeezed, cutting off my air supply until the second officer intervened.
“You heard Mr. O’Rourke. She’s not to be harmed,” the second soldier said gruffly.
“Fuck the damn asshole. Freaking weirdo,” the first soldier snorted. “I’m getting out of this bullshit mission one way or the other. I don’t give a shit about the issues on Earth, the commander is going to get us all killed.” He finally released me, placing his hand on his weapon as an implied threat.
“Yeah, well, take a number. I heard he’s ready to pack up this shithole anyway. Let’s just do what we were told so we can get the hell off this planet.” The second man yanked my arm, hissing under his breath.
“Wherever the asshole goes, I hope he fries in hell.”
They both laughed and I could see them scanning the perimeter. “Just be careful what you say. A lot of men have disappeared who were working on this project,” the second soldier said under his breath. “Did you hear he’s building some city for his... people? The bastard thinks he’d really in control of this outpost. I wonder what the president has to say.” The first soldier shook his head. “I also heard the quota on mining has been upped. Additional workers are being sent for a several year project. Poor bastards forced to live in this hell-hole. Maybe that means he can’t concentrate on experimentation with the Volkodans any longer.”
“They’re almost all dead anyway,” the second soldier muttered, yanking on my arms. “Do you really think President Michaelson knows or cares? She has her hands full with the Federation. If you ask me, I think he was tossed here, unwanted given he’s a disgusting pig. If I had a chance to kill him, I would place a bullet between his eyes.”
Winded, I coughed several times but realized there was no way out. I was led to the last building and in through a locked door, the first officer scanning his hand over a console, gaining admission.
The series of blue lights as well as the odd level of darkness accosted my senses. I could see dozens of computer stations, men and women in white coats immediately turning in my direction. I wanted to call for help, to beg to be released, but I knew no one was in a position to care.
Yet their eyes told me they were angry as well as exhausted.
And they were afraid.
A series of stairs led me to the very bowels of the earth, the darkness suppressive. Within seconds, I was forced into a room, tossed away. I rubbed my arms, trying to catch my breath.
“Strip,” the first soldier stated, snarling after saying the words.
“Over my dead body,” I huffed, backing away from both of them.
He raised his weapon again, taking two long strides toward me. “Then you will be punished.”
“There is nowhere for you to go,” the second soldier said in a softer voice. “Just do as we tell you and everything will be all right.”
“Who is behind this?” I asked, my body trembling.
“It doesn’t matter. Undress. Now!”
The vision remained, various additional pieces of information flowing into my mind. As I relayed the information to Draziak, I began to shake. A city. Why in the hell was he building some kind of city? A kingdom? “I don’t think the former president knew anything about the project. What I overheard the soldiers saying was that the Scorpion had gone rogue, aliens becoming his pet project.”
“We can’t be so certain,” he said quietly.
“No, but one way or the other, we are getting off this rock and I will find out.” I shuddered, every muscle aching. “The soldiers also mentioned a several year mining project. Maybe
the Scorpion was forced to hide the Quantum Unit and the other work. What I don’t understand is how he was able to hide the murders.”
“This is a dangerous outpost, Annabella.”
“Then the president is culpable, choosing to look the other way, pretending that the loss of lives was because of accidents.”
“That is entirely possible. What we must do is locate this city, find the Scorpion,” Draziak snarled. “And he will die.”
“Okay, but how are we going to get there? Walk?”
He climbed out of the bed, extending his hand and unfurrowing his fingers. As the warm blue healing light extended, lighting several feet in front of him, he issued several words in his native language. “Trust me, little human. The time has come to end this.”
I grabbed the sheets, curling them around me, more terrified than ever. His words were unnerving, as if he’d given up the fight. “What object do you need to locate, Draziak? Why is finding this piece so damn important that you are willing to risk everything to obtain it?”
He hesitated only briefly. “In order for the Scorpion to control the power in the Quantum Unit, he must have what is called a capacitor. In human terms, the instrument allows the power to be free-formed and controlled. Without it, there is little the bastard can do.”
“He didn’t know this when he imprisoned you and your men. Did he?” I crawled toward the edge of the bed, shaking my head.
“No. If what the soldiers said is true, now that the quota has been lessened, he’s able to continue on his special project.” Draziak sneered after saying the words.
“That’s why you were freed, but that doesn’t answer the question as to why I was forced to return. He could have simply reopened the mine.”
As he turned toward me, his eyes burned into mine. “You are correct, Annabella, but you must remember that the Scorpion enjoyed the game, keeping me from my people.”
“Who never looked for you.”
He hissed, closing his eyes for several seconds. “We were galaxies off course, our last communication indicating several lightyears away. They couldn’t waste the manpower or the resources to attempt a rescue, not without knowing our exact location.”
“Are we going after Stephen as well? He is a part of this, a keeper of information and the very reason I’m here. My guess is he arranged to have me included on this project.” While what he said made sense, a nagging remained in the back of my mind, several questions needing answers.
“That will serve us no purpose. He did what he was ordered to do, keeping watch over you. In the end, he meant nothing to the Scorpion. No one does.”
I clenched my jaw, my heart racing. “What about the other members of the group?”
He didn’t answer for a full ten seconds, but I already had a terrible feeling what he was going to say. “They were expendable. If what I believe is true, the explosion we heard before was the removal of evidence. The end is near.”
The end. He didn’t have any emotion in saying the words, merely stating a damn fact. Oh, my God. I closed my eyes, trying to calm my nerves. One. Two. Three. Four. Counting only made me more anxious.
While I gathered he was still holding back information, the understanding of what I’d seen in my mind was chilling. Sampson O’Rourke was a true madman, determined to rule the Earth, the outpost merely the beginning of his ultimate plan. I’d been used as bait, awakening the hungering beast. Whatever happened during the next phase, I knew I could trust the sole surviving alien who’d wanted nothing more than to get back to his own species.
Boom!
The entire room shook, the sound of breaking glass coming from every direction.
“Oh, my God. Another bomb,” I yelped, scrambling to get out of bed.
“Get into your clothes. The final attack has begun.”
Chapter Thirteen
Draziak
“If you survive this, Draziak, trust me, there will be nothing left for you. Your people aren’t coming to save your warriors. There is no escape but one day you and I will work together again. You will learn what it’s truly like to be a king, only you will be my loyal subject, helping me perfect the power your kind unleashed.”
The Scorpion’s voice filtered into my mind, words he’d expressed as he’d followed behind the soldiers dragging me toward the cave. I’d been the last of my warriors to be imprisoned, the last of my kind to breathe the air of a planet I’d come to loathe. I’d made several promises that day, all of which I would keep.
Hunt.
Attack.
Kill.
Then there were the words of my father, touting the fact I was one of the strongest warriors on Tretonia, capable of surviving every crucial attack, ready to lead us into the next millennium. A survivor. I fisted my hand, forced to face the realization that I’d failed my people.
Now I needed to take a calculated risk. How the Scorpion had determined there was another mechanism in order to make the Quantum Unit work no longer mattered. Perhaps he’d even been able to read my mind during my incarceration. I couldn’t rule out any possibility.
The bomb had been set with intention in mind, but not for claiming our lives.
At least not as of yet.
The game would continue.
“Move, little human. We don’t have time to waste,” I encouraged Annabella, pushing her gently. The time I’d spent with her had been incredible, more so than any time shared with a female. Her soft touch had been powerful, her lilting mews haunting me even now. The way she’d yielded to me had left me hungering for more, her body and mind no longer fighting what we shared.
I studied her in the darkness, able to read her varying emotions. Love. The word had floated in her mind more than once while we’d spent hours exploring each other’s bodies. I’d allowed myself the freedom of enjoyment, something I believed would never happen again.
There was no denying our attraction, but there was also no possible way that what we shared could continue. Already, my two hearts ached at the thought. I was a warrior, incapable of allowing emotions to disrupt what was required, yet just the sound of her voice troubled me more and more.
As she reached out, taking my hand into hers, my sense of desire roared to the surface as well as my need to protect her. This wasn’t just about the engineered assault that had changed both our lives. I truly... cared for her.
Another round of anger swept through me. She’d been forced into this by a monster, a man she’d barely known and by one she’d originally trusted. She was right, Stephen Myers was as culpable as O’Rourke. Both would die by my hands.
I took a deep breath as she squeezed my fingers, guiding her out of the cabin quickly. The game had taken another turn, our escape likely not exactly what the Scorpion had wanted to happen.
I’d known that O’Rourke had already been hunting us. I’d gathered a stench of humans coming close to the cabin earlier in the day. The men stalking the jungle been nothing more than basic sentries gathering information. The game continued, only it was time to take the upper hand. I hadn’t told her that not only had I found debris from the buildings she’d remembered but also makeshift graves. How many humans had lost their lives on this planet and why wasn’t the Earth Federation stepping in? Was this the way their government handled dangerous yet powerful individuals?
These were answers that no longer could matter to me. I had a mission to fulfill, at minimum making certain the Quantum Unit couldn’t be used by a monster. However, in order to do so, the chances I was taking could cost Annabella her life. I snarled, angry for letting my back be forced to the wall.
One decision was required. I had to secure the capacitor. Everything that was about to occur depended on keeping the piece within my possession.
With the memories returning almost fully to Annabella’s mind, certain pieces had fallen into place. While the Scorpion hadn’t acted alone, the soldiers had lost their faith, killed for their disloyalty. What our fellow Volkodans had been told the others had believed.
“I don’t like this,” she whispered. “We’re being watched.”
“Yes. We have to be very careful.”
The explosion had rattled her, but her resolve had kicked in. However, I was certain the next bomb would be directed at leveling the cabin. The Scorpion wanted us on the run with nowhere safe to hide, forcing our hand.
“What are we doing here?” she asked as I jerked open the door to the outbuilding, storming inside.
“Your curiosity regarding this place was insightful.” I extended my hand, allowing the light emanating from my fingertips to shine over the all-terrain vehicle I’d found. I was no fool; the escape mechanism was obviously left on purpose.
“Are you certain the ATV is still operational?” she asked as she moved closer, rolling her hand over the partially rusted metal.
“It will work, human. This is merely a part of the Scorpion’s plan. However, we need to go before the soldiers arrive. I want no part of a massacre tonight.” I took long strides toward the vehicle, straddling the seat.
She hesitated, using the solid beam of the LED light she’d found to shine across the closest table. A smile crossed her face as she advanced. “While the assholes might believe they are playing us, let’s see what we can do to surprise them.”
“What are you doing?”
“Evening the playing field.” Her tone was almost giddy as she stepped aside, allowing me to see the various weapons secured against the wall. As she began grabbing one after the other, it became obvious that there was much more to this human female than I’d given her credit before.
“I assume you know what you’re doing?”
Laughing bitterly, she snapped what had to be ammunition into a rather crude-looking piece. “It’s your turn to trust me, Draziak. I was raised on the streets in several ugly cities, forced to protect myself. These weapons are old, but I assure you, they’ll do the trick.” She dumped several more in a bag she’d collected, finally jogging toward the vehicle.
The moment she climbed on, a second explosion occurred, the shattering boom deafening. A wall of fire rushed past the entrance to the outbuilding, the flames licking against the ancient wood. Within two seconds, the building caught fire as the ground around us continued to rumble.