First Encounter, page 7
part #1 of The Visitors Series
"We saved three of them, Trev."
At the sound of his voice in my ears, I looked over at Mike.
"It should have been five."
13
After we landed, I got everyone out and pointed them toward the caverns. Dean and Steve came running out with their weapons to provide cover back to the gates and the plan was for Dean to join Mike in the Huey for the trip back to Carlson to get the Cobra. But, he had some news that put that mission on hold.
"We’ve got a problem inside, sir."
"What’s up?"
"Simon and Calvin got out when food was taken to them."
I turned around and gave Mike the signal to cut the engines and come inside. Then Dean and I took off running to the caverns and went straight to the holding cell, leaving Steve at the mouth of the caverns to cover Mike as he came in.
When we got to the holding cell, the door was standing wide open and it was empty.
"So, what happened?"
"When Gene brought them their food and water they overpowered him and Tom, took their weapons away and disappeared into the tunnels."
I stood at the door of the empty cell and could feel the anger rising in my chest.
"I want to talk to Gene and Tom."
"Well, Tom is in the infirmary being looked after by Ariel. He’s unconscious right now."
Mike and Steve came running up. Steve had filled him in on what happened while they moved.
"Okay, let’s talk to Gene."
Dean looked down at the ground and didn’t want to say anything. I looked at him, expecting an answer, but it came from Steve.
"Gene is dead, sir. Calvin shot him after he took his gun away from him."
I closed my eyes as I turned around, stretching my arms up and placing my hands behind my head.
This can’t be happening!
I started walking away, toward the infirmary and the other three followed me. It took about thirty seconds to make the trip and my anger had only grown hotter. Walking into the medical space, I found Ariel checking on Tom’s condition.
"How’s he doing?"
She looked up and nodded.
"He’ll be okay. Just a concussion right now. I expect he’ll wake up in the next hour or so. At least I hope he does."
I looked to the side of the room and saw the covered body of Gene laying on a table. As I pulled the sheet down from his head, I wasn’t expecting anything nice, but seeing him laying there with a bullet hole in his forehead brought my anger to the top and it boiled over. As I slammed my fist into the table next to his head, I could feel the sound reverberate throughout the room. Mike stepped up behind me and pulled the sheet back up over Gene’s head and patted me on the shoulder.
"Let’s get out of here," he said.
As we walked out of the infirmary, Dean and Steve were standing there looking like a couple of whipped dogs.
"How long ago did this happen?"
"About an hour ago, sir."
I looked around and then asked, "Where’s Randy?"
They looked around and it was clear no one knew where the big guy was. I took off toward the tunnel and Randy’s quarters in haste. When we rounded the corner, my heart sank further and faster than ever before.
The door to Randy and Michelle’s quarters was standing wide open and the lights were out. Stepping to the room, I reached for the switch and when I turned on the lights, I wished I hadn’t.
Randy was laying face down in the middle of the floor with a gunshot wound to the back of his head. Kneeling down beside him, I reached for his neck to check for a pulse and was shocked when I heard him groan.
"Randy. Don’t move."
He pushed himself onto his side and looked at me through his glazed eyes. I’m pretty sure he was trying to figure out where he was and what had happened. I heard Mike send Dean to get Ariel.
After he left, Randy, being the big, stubborn guy he is, pushed himself into a sitting position.
"Look, big guy. I don’t think you should be sitting up right now."
He looked at me and cocked his head.
"Why?"
"You’ve been shot in the back of the head! Let’s get you laid back down."
He reached up behind his head and then pulled his hand back down. His fingers were covered in blood and from the look on his face, I thought he was going to fall back.
Ariel came running into the room and couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
"Why are you sitting up?" she yelled at him.
"It doesn’t hurt, ma’am."
She knelt down behind him and started examining the wound. Then she just shook her head and looked at me.
"Are you sure he was shot? Because it looks to me like he was just clubbed on the back of the head with something. Hit him pretty hard and opened up the wound and head wounds bleed a lot."
"So, you’re saying he wasn’t shot."
"Not that I can see."
"What happened, Randy?"
"I don’t know, Trev. Me and Michelle were here, getting ready to head for lunch and someone knocked at the door. I had my back turned as she opened the door and I heard her scream. I heard what sounded like a gun going off and that’s the last thing I remember."
Ariel looked a bit closer at the wound as she was cleaning it up.
"He might have been shot, but based on what I see here, it was a glancing blow and didn’t penetrate the skull."
Then Mike spoke up.
"Guys, where’s Michelle?"
The End (For Now…)
***
The story continues in…
HUMANITY’S BANE
Book Two of The Visitors
Get your copy here!
Cast
Main
Trevor Donovan (me) – ISS commander
Deb Cowlings – pilot and comms specialist
Mike Stevens – pilot and second in command
Ariel – biology and medical specialist
Phil – mission specialist
Supporting
Todd Causey – radio operator
Randy Barlow – radio operator
Michelle Barlow – Randy’s niece
Simon Tarsbury – old man in the caverns
Calvin Tarsbury – Simon's son and army sergeant
Dean Winfield – Demon hunter
Steve Winfield – Dean’s brother and fellow hunter
Jackson Holcombe – Marine general, friend of Trevor
Afterword
Thank you for reading First Encounter. I hope you’ve enjoyed this novella as much as I did writing it!
Book two is now available for pre-order on Amazon — it will be released on __ September 2019. Click here to grab your copy. Alternatively, you can also do a simple search on Amazon for “Humanity’s Bane, Kelvin Teo”.
Also, if you will like to stay updated with my latest book releases, you can:
Join my mailing list (and receive my horror anthology, After Sunset: Six Scary Short Stories, for FREE)
Like me on my Facebook page
Follow me on Amazon and Goodreads
Lastly, I would very much appreciate if you can review First Encounter on Amazon. This is the best way you can support an indie author and move his work forward.
Thank you again and I will see you in the next book!
Kelvin Teo
6 August 2019
Other Books By Kelvin Teo
Dark Web
After Sunset: Six Scary Short Stories
Kelvin Teo, First Encounter
