Broken Earth

by S. J. Sanders

  Although he hated to leave without his favored weapon, he wouldn’t risk his mission for it. Terri was depending on him to wipe out this menace. It was not only logical to remove the blight from the city, but it would give him a great deal of satisfaction to do so. Veral never forgot and rarely forgave. As far as he was concerned, outside of the females, few were innocent. Everywhere he looked, he saw nothing but chaotic brutality. His gaze landed on a lone exception that drew his eye, the one point of stillness among the human frenzy.

  A small cluster of human males—soft-faced, likely young and frightened—stood just off to the side, their bodies crowded together tightly as if attempting to draw strength from each other. Veral understood this behavior. He had seen its likeness on young males when they were led in for processing for the cybernetic implants upon reaching maturity.

  These males were being forcibly conscripted into the unit.

  He trilled quietly to himself, feeling the odd sensation of sympathy that flowed through him. He couldn’t zero in on its cause, recognizing only a flicker of an undefinable memory he couldn’t quite grasp. Before, he might have ignored such an impulse as a malfunction. But since bonding with his mate, he allowed himself to acknowledge the emotion and accept it. On a deep level, he understood the fear that quelled them. The choice between death and joining was a great motivator for increasing a unit’s ranks. He wondered what they would do if presented with an opportunity to be free.

  Compelled by the emotions stirred within him, he decided to find out. Perhaps he was feeling moved to exhibit this compassion his mate had spoken of. The idea didn’t thrill him, but he felt like he was reclaiming a part of himself as he moved toward the youths.

  Leaning into a crouch, Veral hugged the shadows as he closed the short distance that separated them. He slid behind one of the males lingering at the back and yanked him into the shadows, his hand clasped over the youth’s mouth. The male’s arms flailed, his body twisting as the stench of fear rose up from his pores. Veral tightened his arms around him, restricting his movement until the youth ceased moving, his breath coming out in soft, rapid pants.

  Leaning forward, he whispered into the male’s ear. “Do not speak or make a sound. Just indicate with the movement of your head, human. Do you want to escape this place?”

  The male stiffened and remained unresponsive. Veral wagered that the human was debating whether or not he was being deceived. The quality was both admirable and annoying.

  “This is no deception. You are wasting my time. Yes or no,” he growled.

  The male’s head jerked in a positive response.

  “Very well. You shall have the opportunity to earn it. Do the others also wish to depart?”

  Again, he nodded.

  “Return then to your companions and tell any whom you think wish to depart to leave the campfire, but do not attract attention if you want to live. Anyone I see trying to alert the guards will be killed without hesitation or remorse. Once you’ve left the camp center, each of you will need to make your way toward the perimeter gate. You need to be far away from the fire. Understood?”

  Again, the youth nodded. Satisfied that his instructions would be followed, Veral let go of him and pushed him back toward his companions, disappearing into the shadows once more. The male gaped at him but then rushed forward and whispered to his companions. Each of them shifted their gaze around as if searching for any sign of Veral, and he smiled grimly to himself. Though they eyed their surroundings warily, they proceeded with caution as one by one they edged away from the fire.

  Once he judged their distance sufficient, Veral grinned fiercely. He wouldn’t need to get too close to the fire to get the job done; he would merely have to step far enough out in the light to get within throwing distance.

  Sliding the bag of explosives off his shoulder, he gripped the bag in his left hand as he straightened to his full height and strode out among the humans. To his amusement, no one noticed his presence among them at first. They raved at all sides of him, their barely clad bodies writhing so monstrously that he smiled. He walked unseen among them like an incarnation of death until a human, larger and more heavily muscled than his companions, caught sight of him and froze. The alarm went up almost instantly, those nearest to him lurched forward in their zeal, but Veral dispatched them. Drawing his blade, he cut down those nearest to him, blood splattering over his armor as he rushed forward to the fire.

  His systems locked on to his target.

  The embedded circuitry in his joints fired, providing extra power as he spun the bag around and let it fly across the space. The lower gravity on the planet worked in his favor, sending the bag effortlessly toward its target. He spun around, his vibrissae whirling around him as he sprinted away from the fire. The humans tried to run, but they did not get far. He turned his head at the last minute to see the tote land in the largest fire. The fibers began to smoke immediately. Veral pressed his components to their maximum as he raced across the compound.

  Moments later, the explosion rocked the compound. He saw the silhouettes of males up ahead of him freeze, highlighted as they were by the flash of light before he was momentarily blinded. Though he was thrown off his feet upon impact, he rolled and surged up again, running blind. He felt only the briefest impact of the soft, wet projectiles falling upon him in the aftermath, smelling of blood and flesh. He grimaced, knowing even without being able to see that human gore that had pelted him from the bodies caught close to the blast. Veral shook his head against the deafening ringing in his ears and the white light behind his eyes. As he ran, his senses returned. He was able to make out blurry shapes as his vision came into focus and sharpened.

  At about that time, he was finally able to hear it. He heard the human screams of pain filling the air, some of them sounding less than human coming from warped chest cavities and twisted vocal cords.

  His eyes searched through the dark before falling upon the shaky youths he’d sent out ahead, slowly and unsteadily beginning to rise to their feet. He noted that all were accounted for as they struggled forward again, noticeably spooked by the sound of the screams.

  With his nanocybernetics flooding his system to repair the damage from the blast, Veral soon recovered. It took him little time to catch up with them. They stumbled as they ran, their faces pale from shock, though pinched with determination. The wails faded as they gained ground and as those caught in the fires fell. With a low growl, Veral pulled up by their side. They flinched at the sight of him, nearly falling, yet somehow keeping each other upright as they ran.

  Veral’s eyes homed in on the male he’d spoken to. “Move! You will find safety this way. Do not drop back unless you desire to remain here.”

  Though reeking of fear, all seven males ran faster at his threat, staying as close as they dared as he led them toward the compound gate. For their sake, he kept his pace slow enough to be reasonable for human ability but stopped short, fury flooding his veins at the sight that greeted him at the compound’s gates.

  22

  Terri groaned as she rose to her feet. Her ears were still ringing, but gradually she was able to hear the crying baby she’d offered to carry for a weary mom. Shushing the little boy as she bounced him, she watched the women assisting each other up from the ground. Everyone looked shell-shocked, their faces pale with dust and grit. They shook their heads and a few of them began to whimper. At the sound, the toddler in her arms began to wail, bringing his mother instantly to her side. Terri smiled in relief at the woman and handed the little one over as the other woman mouthed her thanks.

  Coughing on the dust in the air, Terri inspected the women. “Is everyone okay? Becky?”

  “Yeah, I think so,” Becky grumbled. “I think I had the safest spot of all the ladies. This son of a bitch barely moved during the explosion. How about everyone else?” she shouted back.

  Affirmations floated forward as women brushed themselves off and blinked their eyes. A few of the small children cried, but for the most
part everyone seemed to be unhurt.

  “Looks like Veral set off the dynamite. That had a bit more of a kick than I expected,” Terri said. She brushed the sand from her hair and face and squinted ahead. The torches of the gate glowed just up ahead. She smiled with relief.

  “All right, ladies, we’re almost there. Is everyone ready to get the hell out of here?”

  A tired murmur swept through the women, but they nodded their heads, and many wore smiles on their faces. Becky lifted a trembling hand and pointed to the gates.

  “Let’s get a move on, ladies,” she croaked. Terri glanced at her in concern. The cloth covering the stump appeared to be fully saturated with blood now. That wasn’t good. Becky fastened her with a hard look and shook her head. She didn’t want the other women to worry. Terri pinched her lips together but reluctantly remained silent.

  “Time to go,” Terri agreed as she pushed her pack up higher on her shoulder. Once they were a safe distance from the gates, they would take a break and she would distribute supplies.

  Everyone began to advance when a woman burst out screaming to the rear of the group. “A Reaper is coming! Hide!”

  All the woman flew into a panic, a confusion of voices all crying out in unison. Terri pushed her way back through the women straining to hear the voice calling out to them.

  “No. It’s okay! Please wait for me. I’m not a Reaper!”

  Terri froze in recognition, her eyes widening. “Everyone, it’s okay. Calm down. It’s Meg!”

  The name was recognizable only to a small minority, a few of them twisting their lips in a knowing grimace of distaste. Terri frowned at them.

  “Every one of you has had to do what you needed to do to survive. Meg made her choices and suffered for them.”

  A commotion erupted as one of the women shoved to the fore. Terri recognized her, the woman’s fingers twisting around the small blanket that had been wrapped around her little girl. She’d refused to leave without it.

  “Don’t any of you bitches say nothin’ bad about Meg,” she said tearfully. “She wasn’t like some of the other women in the camp. She never did anything to hurt any of us and tried to deflect anything that Dale had planned. She brought me back my baby after those men hurt her. She didn’t have to do that, and sure as hell none of you would have. You can pretend you’re superior but not a one of you is better than her,” she said to the few smirking women, effectively wiping the superior looks off their faces. Another woman came up behind her, wrapping her arms around the weeping woman as she shuddered and sobbed.

  There was a stunned silence. Becky snorted, shattering the quiet. “Hell, I’ll welcome her. It’s not like I haven’t seen plenty of the women in that shed spread their legs for the boys coming through, willingly or not. I don’t shame anyone keeping herself alive.”

  Several ducked their heads in embarrassment while other women voiced their agreement with Becky.

  “We women need to stick together,” another one said, earning more mumbles of approval.

  Meg stumbled over to her, barely visible in the low light from the nearby torches. Terri winced in sympathy at the dirty and bruised woman. Meg’s dark hair was hanging in a tangled mass in her face as her body shivered with nerves. A wide smile stretched over her friend’s face as she cried out.

  “Holy fuck, Terri!”

  Terri grinned and rushed forward to meet her friend. They embraced tightly and Terri laughed with relief.

  “Meg, I am so happy to see you,” she said as she hugged her friend close once more. “I was worried that you didn’t get far enough away in time.” She hesitated and looked around warily. “Dale?”

  Meg shook her head with a watery smile. “Bastard tried to use me as a bargaining chip to save his own skin. Your mate took care of him—the whole mate thing I’m dying to hear about, by the way,” she joked. Her shaky laughter turned into a sob as she clutched Terri tighter. “I’ve never been so scared.”

  “It’s all right,” Terri soothed. “We’re going to get out of here and put this shit behind us. You are going to live in a safe place on the coast, get married and have a crap-ton of kids.”

  At the mention of children Meg’s face crumpled and her shoulders shook with sobs. “I can’t, Terri. I can’t go through that again and lose my babies. I just… can’t.”

  She stroked a hand over Meg’s face, brushing her hair back. “Okay, well, no pressure on the kids part then. The point is you’re going to have a fresh start.”

  Meg nodded her head and sniffled.

  Her arm braced around her friend, Terri started forward once more. Her entire body ached from the blast, and exhaustion quickly began to wear at her. It seemed to take forever, but the torchlight slowly grew the closer they got. She smiled as they filed up to the gate at last.

  “This is it!” she cried back to the other women. “Freedom.”

  She faced forward and staggered to a stop as a tall man stepped out from the other side of the gate. He was accompanied by a pair of males that looked like… Veral.

  “My apologies, ladies, but I’m afraid I can’t let you do that. I have struck a deal with these… gentlemen,” he said smoothly, though the aliens looked at him balefully. He didn’t appear to notice as he rambled on. “We’ve come to an agreement. It seems one of you lovely ladies managed to mate with their species. They’ve come to take said lady, and the rest of you, back to their world for observations of some kind.”

  “Marcus,” Meg whispered. “What are you doing?”

  “Becoming set for life. They delivered a significant amount of supplies and promised me transportation out of this dust heap just for handing you over. Quite profitable for me. Now, which of you is the lucky lady?”

  He looked among them, his eyebrows raised. “No volunteers?”

  “Enough of this,” one of the males growled, his optic implant moving noticeably as his glowing iris turned and expanded. “We will just take them. Veral’monushava’skahalur will recognize his mate when he comes.” He turned and glanced at his companion. “Deal with the betrayer.”

  Marcus’s smile fell. “I’m sorry, what?” He looked from one to the other, his eyes widened as a blaster was pulled out and leveled at his face. The loud discharge from the weapon made Terri jump, her breath panting out of her in terror. Marcus’s body twitched, his face nothing but a gaping hole, before he finally collapsed into the dirt at the feet of the Argurmas.

  Holy shit!

  The first male turned and looked upon them sternly, eyes steely. “I am Anakmasha’senat’amibdar, Lieutenant of the First Guard of the Imperial City of Argurumal. One of you has broken our laws, but in doing so may have opened an opportunity for a study of your genome if your codes are as compatible with ours as your mating indicates. You will have the honor of possibly strengthening Argurumal. Your presence is required.” He paused. “Any female who comes forward will be… rewarded.”

  “Don’t you dare, Christie,” one of the women hissed.

  “You heard it… We’ll be rewarded! I want far away from this hellhole,” Christie said. She craned her neck. “Hey! It’s that one over there, the blonde holding up her dark-haired friend, Meg.”

  The Argurma rumbled as his head turned, his silver cybernetic eyes resting on her. A low growl rattled in his chest and his mandibles expanded, lips parting to draw in her taste and scent. There was a strange red flash in his pupil, and he nodded. “Confirmed. DNA presence of Argurma implanted embryo lifeform. You will come with us, female.”

  Terri shook her head in denial as she stumbled back, dragging Meg with her. The massive, dark hand shot forward, grabbing ahold of her before she was able to retreat more than a foot. He dragged her forward, removed a silver band from his belt, and snapped it open.

  “Hey, what about my fucking reward?” Christie shouted.

  Anak, as Terri mentally dubbed him, turned to his companion and gave him a meaningful look. The male moved over to her, pulling out an identical band that was snapped immediatel
y around her neck.

  “Your reward will be to become experimental breeder EB02 and join EB01 for testing of your codes. Zarnolmatek’inyafor’kashen lost his mate. He will have the honor of breeding you. You will enjoy considerable renown for your contribution.” His head turned as he looked down at Terri. “Come, EB01.” He was still staring down at her when he addressed Zarn in their own language. The other male smirked, throwing Christie over his shoulder with one arm as he pointed his blaster at the women huddled together. “All females will proceed in order without complaint. You will provide good genetic base material for our scientists to experiment with.”

  “Great. Going from the slave of one group of assholes to science experiment of another,” Becky groused.

  “And silence will be required,” Anak snarled. He unholstered his blaster and pointed it at Terri. “Come, EB01,” he repeated, his mandibles rattling in irritation.

  Terri could see his vibrissae moving around him with aggression. Terri swallowed but her heart leaped just seconds later when Veral strode into the torchlight. He was smudged with gray dust and ash from the campfire, but she didn’t think she’d ever seen a better sight. His eyes strayed to her to make sure she was okay before returning to narrow on Anak.

  “Anak, release my mate, and these females under her protection.”

  The male chuffed without humor. “You are not one to make demands, Veral. You have been an outcast of our civilization too long—a reckless, malfunctioning system on the verge of destruction who has dared to flaunt our customs. At least your miserable life is worth something through the offspring you’ve seeded in this female. This new blood will be studied to see if there is anything that we can harvest to make our species stronger. Be honored that you were able to provide at least that.”