Everyone settled in as comfortably as they could. For obvious reasons, they couldn’t start a fire. The diamond batteries in Jessica’s U-Board were damaged, and the solar cells only held power for so long, so the light that came from it was rationed.
“Get some sleep,” Jessica said. “Tomorrow’s going to be a big day.”
“I’ll take the first watch,” Gabe said, standing.
Jessica kissed him. His lips were still soft, even after all of this. How was that possible?
“Get some sleep,” she said softly. “I’ll take first watch. I have to check in anyway.” She tapped the U-Board.
Gabe looked back at Kildere. “Can you imagine the ruckus if Kildere found out who you’ve been in contact with.”
Jessica looked at the old man, who gingerly swept the ground as if it were his living room floor, then lay on his clean patch of dirt.
“I don’t care what he’d think about it,” Jessica said. She kissed Gabe once more. “Get some sleep, baby. I’ve got to make a call.”
Jessica waited until she could hear the steady, restful breathing of her three companions, then took her U-Board and stepped away from the group. She quickly tapped on the U-Board’s glass three times and made sure the volume was down.
The U-Board beeped three times, then the face of an elderly Chinese man appeared. His eyes focused, then narrowed.
“Alpha,” he said.
“Chairman Lee,” Alpha whispered. “How are you faring?”
The CEO of Worldwide Produce Manufacturing frowned. “Not well. I am in my underground bunker, but the serpents are everywhere. They hover over China, Japan, and half of Europe. My sources tell me they have been sending our citizens by the thousands through these...gates. Transporting them to their ships to be slaves, perhaps?”
Jessica closed her eyes. “I’m afraid it’s worse than that, Chairman. Anyone who goes through those gates is dead. There’s no hope of getting any of them back alive.”
Jessica watched the chairman’s face flush with anger. “Damn Damien Thorpe to hell for what he has brought upon us,” he screamed.
Jessica quickly turned the U-Board volume down. Not for the first time, she felt a pinprick of guilt for her small part in bringing the lizards here. Jessica had used the Mulvari’s wormholes more than once. Still, she wasn’t the one who had the bright idea to hold an intelligent alien species captive.
“And have you completed your task?” Chairman Lee asked.
Jessica nodded. “Thorpe is dead, sir.”
“And the other one? Has he given you the information you seek?”
Jessica looked at Kildere, softly snoring in his clean spot of ground, near Havelson’s feet.
“Not yet, but he will,” she said. “And then he’ll be just as dead as Thorpe.”
“Excellent, Alpha,” Lee said. “If we are to survive this, the world must not go on with narcissists such as Damien Thorpe at the helm.”
“To that point, sir, we have found information useful to fight back against the lizards. They can’t take water for some reason. It physically hurts them. Also, have you come across creatures they use that look like slugs?”
“Oh yes, we’ve seen them and what they can do,” Lee said and looked over his shoulder as if one were creeping up behind him.
“Salt,” Jessica said. “It turns them to rock and kills them.”
“Well, that’s something,” Chairman Lee said. “Well done, Alpha. Are you back at your base?”
“No. We have a detour to make, something we have to do first.” Jessica tapped the screen once. “I’ll contact you when I get to San Luis Obispo. Alpha, out.” She touched the screen again, and it went black.
She quietly stood and gently woke Gabe.
“Ah, my turn already?” he asked groggily.
“Yep.”
He slowly, clumsily, stood. “I feel good about our odds, Jess,” he said. “I think we’re all going to make it back home alive.”
Jessica glanced at Kildere. “Yeah, Gabe,” she said. “I think you’re right.”
Shortly after, when she was sure he was awake to take the watch, she kissed him goodnight and got some much-needed sleep.
2
Using a rough zigzag pattern, they made it to the eastern city limit at just past two in the afternoon the next day. The high whining noise from the battleship hovering over Sacramento was nearly deafening.
Jessica led the group to a small alley that looked uncontested. She took out her U-Board as Gabe walked up to her.
“From the sound, it seems as if they’re taking people right down Capitol Avenue,” he screamed. “We can’t tell for sure though, unless we can see it, and these surrounding buildings are too tall to get a glimpse.”
“Way ahead of you, Gabe,” Jessica yelled, tapping her U-Board.
“I’m almost afraid to ask,” Kildere said, walking up to them. “But what are you doing?”
“I’m tasking one of the TPC drone satellites to video feed the area.” Jessica’s tone was normal. She smiled, figuring Kildere hadn’t heard her.
“Just because I’m older, Miss Waters, does not mean my hearing is gone,” Kildere sneered. “How long have you been able to do this?”
Jessica ignored him. The first satellite image came through, and she enlarged the image. Gabriel looked over her shoulder.
“OK, that’s 21st Street. They’re marching them down Capitol Avenue to what looks like...” Gabe looked up as if he could see through the buildings. “Just past 17th Street, where Capitol Avenue widens. The gate must be there.” Gabe looked at her. “So, any ideas?”
Jessica sighed. Any ideas? Not really. They had eight purifiers, against what? An army of lizards and a ship the size of ten city blocks, which probably had weaponry on it that could obliterate the entire downtown area. They’d die in flames, or an explosion, before they made it within two blocks of the gate.
“Miss Waters—”
“Damn it, Kildere, I’m trying to think.”
“Yes, well, I assume if I supplied you with the access codes to another satellite. Perhaps a weapons satellite. You might be able to use that to our advantage.”
Jessica stared at him.
“Why would TPC put weapons satellites into orbit, Kildere? Where were they originally aimed?”
“Can you retask the satellite, Miss Waters?”
Jessica wanted to take her purifier and blast Kildere in the face, but she just nodded. “We still need a way to liberate the people who are being marched to their death.”
Kildere looked at her like she was crazy. “Why?” he asked. “We need to take down the gate, correct? We can do it here, now, and get away before they know it was us.”
Jessica stared at him. She didn’t move; she was half-afraid to, for fear she would kill him now, before getting the access code. Using the satellite was a solid idea; they just needed to get the people away from the gate before the satellite fired.
“We don’t do things that way anymore, Kildere,” Gabe said. “Yes, it may be a little more challenging, saving the people near the gate instead of secretly blowing downtown Sacramento to hell, but it’s the right thing to do.”
“Actually, Mr. Stern, my concern was more that trying to save those people will expose us to the Guardians. They are already pissed at us because we captured and abused their deities. Who knows what will happen if we destroy a wormhole that their deities have created, and we’ll be left exposed.”
Jessica looked at him. “I’ve told you so many different ways, I’ve run out of elaborate analogies, Kildere, so I’m just going to be blunt. We are at war.” She pointed toward the street. “They started it, and I, for one, am not going to lay down and let them win. Now get with the goddamn program!”
“Miss Waters—”
Jessica swung her purifier, and it connected with Kildere’s jaw. He screamed, but the ship’s hum drowned him out.
“This is war, Kildere. It’s great if they find out we did this. I want them to fin
d out we did this.” She looked around at the other three. “OK, this is what we’re going to do.” Jessica turned to face them all and withdrew three U-Comm earpieces from her pocket. “Gabe, get to the roof.” Jessica looked up at the shiny metal-and-glass structure in front of her. “It’s tall enough for you to be our eyes and have our backs.”
“I’m on it.” Gabe grabbed two purifiers, took a U-Comm, and headed for the building’s side door.
Be careful, Jessica thought. Remember what I taught you when you shoot and watch out for lizards. Despite these thoughts, she was confident that the Guardians’ force was outside, herding the citizens, not inside empty buildings.
“He’ll be OK,” Kildere said as if she had spoken aloud. “Meanwhile, I see you advanced your shoplifting skills during your tenure with TPC.”
“Shut up,” Jessica said and tossed Kildere her U-Board and U-Comm. “You stay here and call down the lightning on my command.”
Kildere’s features relaxed, until Jessica pointed at his chest.
“Kildere, I swear to God if you don’t come through for me on this, there will be nowhere you can hide. I will come back from the fucking grave and shoot you in the face,” she said.
Kildere nodded.
“Havelson, you’re with me. Step where I step, go where I go, and shoot when I tell you to.” She handed Havelson two purifiers and kept two for herself, then put a U-Comm in her left ear.
I’m going to die, she thought.
“Let’s go!” she screamed and stepped out onto the street.
Jessica immediately felt the effect of the buildings shielding the ship’s hum. She took a step back on instinct. Then she looked ahead and breathed a sigh of relief. A dozen lizards, all holding purifiers, seemed to be bracketing the street and two lizards were at the gate. The line of people they were marching to the entrance was long, straight, and five to six people wide. Two lizards were bringing up the rear about a half city block from where they stood.
She was also able to get her first look at the gate, which reminded her of the first time she and the rest of the Minutemen were in the testing room. The first time she saw the shimmer.
There was a shimmer here, too, but larger. It looked to be nearly fourteen feet in diameter. The buildings behind the gate looked distorted, like Jessica was looking at them in a funhouse mirror. The lizards had constructed a thin metal frame for the shimmer, and row by row, people were walking through it.
Jessica jogged to within ten yards of the rear guard and fired two quick headshots. The lizards dropped in the middle of the street, and three rows of humans turned to see what happened. Thank God the lizards stood a good two feet taller, or that shot would not have been possible.
“Keep walking, keep walking, damn it.” Jessica gestured forward with her hands while jogging up to take her place at the end of the line. Havelson followed as fast as he could.
“Sorry,” he wheezed.
“Don’t shoot until I tell you,” Jessica said.
They were approaching the first two lizards who bracketed the street, one on each side. Jessica let out a big sigh and aimed for the head of the lizard on the right.
She fired, and the lizard dropped. Then things happened quickly. The other lizards on the right side of the street turned their attention to Jessica. She dropped two more before missing a target and hitting a lizard’s right shoulder.
The lizards on the left side of the street had begun firing, but with all the people scattering and running in the street, Jessica was somewhat covered from them. She felt the heat from a purifier blast and looked around wildly for more permanent cover.
“What’s going on?” one of the Lizards roared. “Thorpe must be here!”
What?
“He must be toward the back. Guardians, concentrate fire near the building colored like our sun.”
Jessica noticed the building a half block in front of her was an old red-brick structure. She vaulted over an abandoned slot car, using it for cover. She quickly shot the two remaining lizards on her side of the street as they advanced on her position. She killed both, but one got off a shot that just missed—it singed the side of her gray jacket.
She looked through the slot car’s shattered windows and saw that the street was mostly cleared of people. She also saw Havelson sprawled on the asphalt with multiple wounds. He was clearly dead.
Damn it, Jessica thought.
She also saw a half-dozen lizards shooting holes in the red building down the street. Jessica’s view of the street and gate beyond was lost in a smoky, dusty red haze. It was time to have Kildere call down the lightning. She’d be discovered, signaling him, but if the satellite fired quickly, she might have a chance to get out alive.
It was now or never.
“Kildere, now,” Jessica said. The lizards were still shooting up the building. Jessica stared hard through the red haze in the direction of the gate.
Nothing happened.
Damn Kildere, Jessica thought. Not paying attention...
She stood and shot her purifier ten feet from the alley where Kildere stood. She saw a patch of concrete fly up. Kildere had to see it too.
“Kildere, trigger the damn satellite!”
Still nothing.
“There,” said one of the lizards—the same one who barked the order to shoot at the building. He was near the gate. “Thorpe is there. Take him alive.”
“Kildere!” Jessica screamed so loud she coughed. “Where the hell are you, man? Do it now!”
Nothing but the sound of armored feet getting closer.
Jessica suddenly heard a hum of a different frequency and a thump. She looked through the slot car’s shattered windows in time to see a lizard drop. Then another. And another as purifier beams rained from the sky.
“There is another one of them,” their lizard leader yelled. Another beam came down and dropped a lizard that was about to shoot the car Jessica was using for cover. “There!” The lizard leader pointed to the roof where Gabe was.
“Gabe, if you can hear me, get out of there now,” Jessica screamed as she watched the lizard leader talk into a communication device on its scaly green wrist.
“I hear you.” Gabe’s voice came over her U-Comm earpiece. “I’m on my way.”
Jessica stayed crouched behind the car. The lizards weren’t after her anymore; they had moved back to the gate. She looked up at the ship, which cast a shadow over the street. She could see something underneath the ship—something that looked like the barrel of a cannon—swivel in the building’s direction.
“Gabe, get out of there now!”
The lizard ship blasted the building. Jessica heard nothing as the beam shot out of the cannon, but when it hit the building, the sound was deafening. Out of survival instinct, Jessica remained behind the car as a vast cloud of dirt and dust quickly washed over the street. Jessica closed her eyes. After two minutes, it retreated.
God, please tell me Gabe got out in time, Jessica thought. But the odds of that...
“Gabe, can you hear me?” Jessica waited but heard nothing. She couldn’t be sure. She hit the car with her fist and didn’t hear that either. Just a faint ringing. “Gabe, can you hear me? Say something!” Jessica started to cry.
After the dust cloud retreated, Jessica stood, numb to her surroundings. She saw the lizard leader, flanked by the last five Lizards. A low number, but just one could crush her like a plastic container.
They were slowly advancing. Jessica saw the lizard leader say something, but she couldn’t hear it.
Thank God, Gabe could still be alive, she thought.
The lizard leader spoke again. This time the words sounded like a whisper and slowly rose in tone.
“...we might let you live,” the giant, scaly bastard finished.
“Gabe, are you there?” Jessica ignored the reptile. “Look, my comm may not be receiving, but get away if you can. Don’t come back for me.”
“Who is this ‘Gabe’?” The leader stepped forward. “I wil
l repeat my offer one more time, human. My name is Slithendor, second to hatch from my clutch. Give us the location of Damien Thorpe, and we might let you live to serve us during the purge.”
Jessica didn’t move. She still stood behind the car, but the lizards were now on the other side of the vehicle. There was nowhere to run.
“Was that Thorpe up in the building? Was he your support?” Slithendor continued.
“Thorpe?” Jessica laughed. “I dumped that shriveled-up loser back in Denver. You haven’t picked him up yet?” She laughed so hard she had to put her hand on the car to anchor herself and keep from doubling over. “Here I thought you were some smart, superior race, and you can’t even locate one old man?”
“Stop laughing. Who are you?” Slithendor growled.
“Hey, Jess, Kildere is gone, but I picked up some new friends.” Gabe’s voice came over the U-Comm, and Jessica sobbed. Thank God, she thought.
“What is wrong with you, human?” Slithendor yelled. “I will not ask again. Where is Damien Thorpe?”
“Duck!” Gabe shouted. “Now!”
Jessica ducked behind the slot car just in time to see a spacecraft dive toward the gate. It was smaller, silver, and more angular and maneuverable than the one hovering above the city. Before the lizards could move, the craft fired multiple shots and destroyed it. Then the ship rose and turned toward the lizards.
Those who had flanked Slithendor ran for a quick moment before they were shot to pieces. Jessica whistled as their scaly green parts rained down onto the street, adding to the debris.
As the ship flew by, Slithendor talked into his communication device. It must have been the same one he used to tell the ship to blast the building.
Jessica jumped up and shot her purifier. The shot connected with Slithendor’s left leg. Green liquid sprayed in an arc over the ground. His scream faded as quickly as he did.
“Damn it,” Jessica said, coming out from behind the car.
The starcraft set down on the street, twenty yards from where Jessica stood. As she ran to the craft, a hatch opened from the bottom, and a ladder extended to the ground.
Minutemen- Parallel Lives Page 12