by N. W. Harris
He hadn’t really talked to Laura since before the battle in the recruit ship, and he could see that conflict and the loss of her arm weighed heavy on her, not to mention she’d nearly been sacrificed just before the spaceship landed. He’d sit down with her as soon as he had the chance and remind her that Dr. Blain could replace her arm once they got home. The deeper scars caused by the killing they’d been forced to do, he couldn’t help her with. He feared that had done more damage to her kind spirit than anything else.
The Unimog wasn’t as stuck as it appeared to be. Grinding the gears between first and reverse, he rocked it back and forth and managed to get the ugly truck out of the ditch and onto the fractured asphalt. As soon as he did, Tracy stepped outside the driver side door, waiting for him to get out of the way so she could take the wheel.
Laura rode in front with Tracy, along with Lily, who served as the navigator. Shane and the rest climbed in the back and took up positions on either side of the bed with guns pointing out. The Unimog went slow and the ride was rough, but it carried them all, and after driving it out of the ditch, Shane was confident the rugged truck was capable of getting around just about any obstruction on the road.
Having taken most of the night to go just a few miles on foot in Cairo, the twenty-miles per hour Tracy maintained while dodging wrecked cars and swerving in and out of the ditch felt like they traveled at light speed.
They bounced along, searching the fields and farmhouses for any threats. Farmland bordered much of the road, open fields that didn’t provide any cover for the crazies who might attack. The vehicle’s loud engine didn’t permit conversation, and Shane wasn’t in the mood anyway. He glanced up at the sky every few minutes, keeping track of the Anunnaki ship orbiting the planet. Even in the daylight, it was easy to see it zipping across the sky. He hoped the aliens couldn’t see his group. They were supposed to make it to Alexandria before daybreak, but all that had happened had slowed them down.
Watching the ship, he worried about Kelly. He tried to imagine how they’d possibly rescue her. He knew he couldn’t do it without Jones and Lily’s help, and he regretted challenging the captain before consulting his friends. When the ship disappeared over the horizon, he spent the next forty-five minutes terrified that it would not come back around, that it would head off into space and carry her away from him forever.
Lily directed them around the outskirts of Alexandria, and they came to the Mediterranean Sea in the late afternoon, then followed the shoreline east through the city. The coastal areas seemed abandoned, and he guessed most of the survivors had been drawn to Cairo when the Anunnaki recruit ships landed. He saw lots of dead here too, but fortunately, the constant wind blowing off the sea kept the rotting smells and flies at bay. Shane’s back ached from sitting on the hard seat and being beaten by the Unimog’s nonexistent suspension. He hadn’t slept in so long that it started to feel like he’d crack if he didn’t get some rest soon.
He rubbed his eyes and gazed out at the green water. The sunlight reflected off it in a long streak of gold and white. Other than the shoreline strewn with boats run aground by their captains when the limbic manipulator scrambled their brains, the sea itself looked peaceful and inviting.
They weaved their way along the city, coming to an area crowded with docks. Tracy drove through a busted gate onto a long pier with three massive merchant vessels tied to either side. They drove to the last ship on the right and stopped.
“The sub is hiding in the ship,” Lily explained after the Unimog’s engine fell quiet and she’d climbed out of the cab. “Follow me.”
She led the way up a gangplank and through a hatch in the side of the rusty cargo vessel. Shane held back, letting everyone else go first. He searched the sky to the north and found the Anunnaki ship, rising just above the horizon. His fear that they’d left orbit was gone for a while, but his concern that Kelly might be suffering still tore at his gut.
“We’ll get them back,” Tracy said with a quiet and resolute voice. “But you need to lay off Jones.”
He glanced at her. Everyone else was inside the rusty freighter. Tracy didn’t take her eyes off the golden vessel racing south in a low orbit. The same anxiety and sense of helplessness that plagued Shane creased Tracy’s brow and showed in the clenched and rippling muscles of her jaw. The deviation from her usual fortitude was subtle, and Shane doubted anyone else besides Jules would pick up on it.
“You’re right,” he replied, looking up at the spaceship. None of his friends seemed to support his actions toward Jones, and Shane started to feel guilty for confronting him. Maybe he’d overreacted.
“It’s amazing that you care so much,” Tracy said distantly, her voice taking on a little rasp. “I don’t care about anyone but Jules and you guys.”
“What do you mean?” Shane asked.
“I mean all those kids Jones killed,” Tracy replied, looking at him with sadness in her eyes like he’d never seen. “I saw what he did and heard you order him to blow the buildings before anyone could get hurt. It didn’t faze me to watch those kids die. I’m turning into a monster with no feelings, and with no respect for life. When I got hurt back there…” she nodded her head toward the south, “there was a second when I just wanted to die. Just leave all this shit behind for somebody else to deal with.”
“Tracy,” Shane scolded, putting his hand on her arm. He studied her eyes, searching for something to say to help. “Even a badass like you deserves a moment of weakness once in a while. I’m sure as hell glad you didn’t give up. I’d be lost without you.”
Shane expected her to object, but she just stared back at him. Either his simple response had some positive effect, or Tracy had squashed her emotions. For a moment, it looked like she regretted saying so much to him, then her usual stoic expression returned.
“That’s the truth if there ever was one,” she said with a forced chuckle. She looked up at the ship. “Look, you know I’m not the sappy type, but I wanted to say thank you.”
“What? Why?”
“You’ve led us through some pretty horrible shit,” she replied. Her gray eyes appeared silver in the sunlight. “I doubt any of us would be here if it weren’t for you.”
“You’re exaggerating,” Shane objected. “Any one of you could have led, but y’all always made me make the decisions. I didn’t ever want to be in charge.”
“Not sure I’d have followed someone who wanted to be in charge.” She adjusted her rifle strap and crossed her arms over her chest. “From that first meeting in the gym, where we decided to go to Atlanta, I knew, and everyone else there knew, that you were the leader. We wouldn’t have made it without you. So thanks.”
Shane looked at her, uncomfortable with her reverence. “No, Tracy. Thank you,” he said. “You’ll remember you were the one who kept it together and turned the limbic manipulator off. Steve and I would’ve killed each other if it weren’t for you.”
“That is what happened, isn’t it?” she replied with a grin. “Alright, you convinced me. We could’ve survived without you.”
After punching him in the arm, Tracy turned and headed up the gangplank. She stopped halfway and looked back at him.
“But since you’ve had the job for so long, you best step up to the plate and keep leading us,” she teased with that dry humor she was capable of no matter how bad things got. “I’m not sure there’s time to teach anyone else.”
Shane laughed, heading up the gangplank after her.
“Let’s go get them back.” She pointed at the Anunnaki ship overhead.
“Yes, let’s,” Shane replied and followed her into the rusty merchant ship. Her infectious confidence made him believe they at least had a chance at saving Kelly, Jules, and the others.
From the outside, the freighter appeared dark and abandoned. It didn’t look seaworthy—more like someone had forgotten it at the pier and left it to slowly disintegrate into the harbor. Inside, it was better preserved. The bowels o
f the vessel had been cut out to create a hangar of sorts, and the bottom had a large, rectangular opening cut in it, providing covert access to the sea. In the opening sat a long, black submarine, illuminated by large floodlights that hung overhead. It reminded Shane of a hidden base in a spy movie.
“Los Angeles Class,” Tracy said, whistling with admiration. “Would’ve rather it be a Seawolf, but she’s still got it going on.”
“No match for an alien spaceship,” Shane reminded her, surveying the vessel, which sat mostly under the water.
It would’ve been an impressive bit of advanced technology to him before he learned there were aliens out there that had spaceships bigger than the biggest pyramids on Earth. Relative to Anunnaki technology, the submarine may as well have been from the Stone Age.
“Hey,” Tracy scolded. “Don’t rain on my parade. It’s not every day that someone gets to ride in a billion dollar WMA.”
“What?” Shane glanced at her and saw the grin forming on her face. The Unimog had lifted her spirits, but standing on the platform and looking down at the submarine seemed to infuse her with joy.
“Weapon of Maximum Awesomeness,” she said, grinning. “WMA.”
“Is there anything military that you don’t know about?” Shane teased, chuckling.
“Um, let me see.” She scratched her head thoughtfully. “Nope.”
She headed down the metal staircase with a spring in her step Shane hadn’t seen since before they attacked the Anunnaki. Shane was glad she got a moment of happiness from seeing the sub; her glumness over losing Jules wasn’t making it any easier to deal with his over Kelly.
He followed her onto the boat, climbing down a hatch guarded by one of Jones’ clones. The air was cool inside, and it had a peculiar oily, metallic smell that was foreign to him though it wasn’t offensive, mixed with the fragrance of food, which made his stomach growl and his mouth salivate. The bottom of the long, stainless-steel ladder ended in a room that looked like the ship’s cafeteria. The rest of his team stood around Lily and Jones.
“Rather convenient that you have a submarine for us to use,” Laura said, sounding a little suspicious.
“It must take a lot of highly trained people to run this ship,” Shane joined in, glancing around the small room and feeling claustrophobic. “I’m not crazy about taking this thing underwater with a bunch of people guessing at how to drive it.”
“Like many of the other technologies your military uses, we gave them the knowledge and in return they gave us this sub,” Lily explained.
“The crew is all our people, and I assure you they are quite competent sailors,” Jones added with his usual growl. If he held a grudge for Shane throwing him against the wall at the hotel and then trying to disarm him in Cairo, he hid it well.
“There is not much for you guys to do until we get back to the States, so make yourselves comfortable and we’ll be underway shortly,” Lily said.
Jones and Lily left them in the cafeteria. Steve made the first move toward the window where the sounds of cooking and smells of food came from.
“Players got to eat,” he said, sounding like it was a life-or-death situation. “I don’t know what this kitchen’s got cooking, but it smells like five stars to me.”
“It’s called a galley,” Tracy corrected. “And this area is called the mess deck.”
“But it’s so clean,” Steve replied. “I don’t see the mess.”
“You’re as dense as you look,” Tracy teased.
Chuckling at Steve and Tracy’s banter, they lined up at the window to get food. Everyone looked and sounded drained. After receiving a plastic tray piled with baked chicken, rice, and vegetables from a teenager in dark blue coveralls who helped one of Jones’ clones in the galley, Shane settled at a table amongst his friends and leaned over his plate. He was too beat for conversation and starving, shoveling the warm food in his mouth without fanfare. His friends ate silently around him, all looking as worn out as he felt.
They’d gone nonstop from the moment they stepped off the plane in Cairo. Before that, they’d been training so hard that they hadn’t had a moment’s rest. If it weren’t for the training, they wouldn’t have made it this far. And if it weren’t for Lily and Jones, their brains would’ve been scrambled and they’d be out trying to kill each other. A shiver passed through him as he thought what it must be like to be one of those kids who were so jacked up that they were cutting peoples’ faces off to wear them. The thought made him lose his appetite, but he forced himself to keep eating. The food would make him strong, and strength was what he needed. He had to become Superman for the next mission.
He drained his cup, got up, and refilled it with the fruity drink that Tracy said was called bug juice, though she assured him there were no insects in the beverage.
“Hey, look who finally made it,” Petrov teased. He’d stepped out of a narrow passageway leading toward the front of the vessel. It was the only access to the forward part of the boat, and his broad shoulders nearly touched the walls on either side. “You Americans are always late to the party, and the first thing you do is eat.”
Having missed Petrov’s constant chiding, Shane grinned and shook his hand. He had a nick on his forehead and held his head low. Shane guessed he had earned the scratch after coming aboard and made a note to keep his own head down to avoid the low ceilings.
“It’s what we do,” Shane replied, trying to return his jovial energy. “Aside from kicking ass and winning.” His tired voice didn’t convey how happy he was to see him.
Anfisa followed the big Russian into the room, sitting down at the other end of the table with Shane and his friends.
“How is everyone else?” Shane asked, returning to his seat.
“Everyone made it without as much as a scratch.” Petrov continued the teasing tone. “You Americans stir up trouble wherever you go.” He raised his hands, mocking exasperation. “But now, I fear we will all die in this attempt of a submarine. I thought these aliens were smart.”
“Yes, she is no Akula,” Anfisa said with a homesick smile. She leaned toward the center of the table and whispered, “They appear to have a lot more people and equipment than they say before, eh?”
“It does,” Tracy replied. “It’s like they have a whole military at their disposal.”
“Right now, I’m more happy about it than suspicious,” Steve said, barely looking up from his seconds. “We’d be screwed if they didn’t have a way to get us back to the hidden base.”
“Well,” Petrov said, running his finger over the cut just below his hairline, “they have showers and beds. Right now, that is as good as heaven to me. But watch your head, big guy. This boat was built for tiny Americans.”
“Where’s everyone else?” Shane repeated his earlier question, perplexed as to how the small submarine could hold all the teens that had been in the hotel.
“We’ve been here for hours,” Anfisa replied. “Everyone has eaten and most are asleep. We heard you found some trouble.” Anfisa’s tone was questioning.
Tracy relayed what happened, with Steve and Laura chiming in on the parts where she was unconscious and couldn’t remember. Shane kept quiet, listening to the story with mild amazement that he’d just lived it and they’d all made it out of Egypt alive.
The food sated his hunger, and immobilizing exhaustion crept in to take its place. A Lily-clone entered the cafeteria and climbed the ladder that led out of the boat. Shane heard two thunks, and he knew the inner and outer hatches he’d passed when climbing down into the submarine were sealed. Tracy still relayed her story when the clone came down the ladder. A few minutes later, a dive alarm sounded.
Shane’s pulse raced at the thought that they were going underwater, and he could feel the boat moving, sinking out of its hidden dock and slipping into the Mediterranean Sea. This was even worse than flying. It frightened him to think that they were trapped in the sub, that if it sank, they’d likely go down with i
t, but it also comforted him to know they were hidden from the view of the Anunnaki orbiting overhead. Hopefully, he’d get a glimpse of Kelly’s prison through the periscope while they were underway.
Petrov showed Shane and his team where the bathing and berthing areas were. Shane was so exhausted his mind felt like it was shutting down. He made quick use of the facilities and soon lay in a tiny bunk that felt like he was in a coffin. It was cold in the sub, so he wore the clean pair of dark blue coveralls provided to bed. He could feel gentle vibrations pulsing through the ship. Its nose tilted downward, raising his feet above his head.
Popping sounds came from the hull, not unlike the sound of an engine cooling. It was the sound of metal contracting, and not because it had been hot. They descended into the black depths of the Mediterranean Sea, and the sound came from the immense pressure of the ocean squeezing the hull of the submarine. A memory of a submarine imploding in a scene from a movie came to mind, but he was too tired to be frightened. Like the sea swallowing the plummeting vessel, sleep dragged him under.
The meeting with the officers in the admiral’s ready room adjourned. Athos took the long way back to his quarters, avoiding anyone but the lower-ranking sailors and soldiers who inhabited the common areas of the ship. The message they’d received stunned him. It broke his heart to think that the home world might’ve been taken, but he was a man of action. His plan to continue the harvest of Earth had taken on new meaning. Enslaving the rest of the human population was no longer about gaining wealth and power—it had become a question of survival.
He came to the door of his apartment and didn’t remember half of the journey through the ship. Engaging himself in that practiced calm he’d developed after years of command, he relaxed his expression before entering. He trusted Pelros and shared nearly everything with him. He wanted the young officer to understand every aspect of what it took to be a good leader, including the politics. Deciding if he should tell his nephew what he’d just learned occupied his full attention.