Impulse, page 24
part #12 of First Colony Series
“You don’t know that,” Connor said.
“The more I came down on him, the harder he pulled away. We thought it might have been just a phase.”
“Those are tough years. He’s trying to figure out who he wants to be. They all are.”
Diaz nodded and then leaned back in his chair and rested his head against the bulkhead. “He liked the internship at the research institute because he had something for himself. I couldn’t see it at the time. All I focused on was all the mistakes. I kept looking for them. Then, the accident with the aircar happened and all those people got hurt. I couldn’t let it go. It started tainting everything.” He grimaced. “I let it infect my relationship with my son, Connor. If he dies out there, the last thing he’ll remember about me is that I told him he was a failure. And I threatened him.”
“You were trying to protect him. Isaac is a smart kid. He knows you love him. Sometimes the words we say in anger are just that—words that don’t mean anything.”
Diaz shook his head. “They mean something. They do. They hurt.”
“Fine, if you want to believe that all the stupid stuff that comes out of our mouths when we’re mad is going to shatter Isaac’s world, then keep telling yourself that. I’m not saying it’s okay, but Isaac is resilient. He’s a strong kid, just like his father. They lash out at us when they’re angry, testing their limits and ours. Make it better with him after we find him. Focus on what you could do better and go from there, but constantly beating yourself up about what happened isn’t going to help him at all, or you.”
Diaz stared at him and blew out a breath.
An alert flashed on one of the holoscreens. Noah peered at the data. Then after a few moments, he turned toward them and shook his head.
“I’m going to remember all this sage advice when it’s your turn,” Diaz said.
Connor snorted. “I know you will.”
Diaz rubbed the top of his head and remained quiet for a few minutes. Connor sat next to him, and they waited. He hoped they were searching in the right area. He’d gone over the data they’d gotten from the investigation many times, and he stood behind his reasoning. But if he was wrong, he wasn’t sure he’d ever forgive himself.
27
The camp was surrounded by dense forest. The Konus had selected this place because it gave them some cover, but it also covered Isaac as he ran from the camp, and the soldiers couldn’t get a clear shot at him. He darted off the main path and cut through the shrubs, listening to Koukax as he bellowed orders to his men.
Isaac paused, looking for the transmission tower Agent Franklin had told him about earlier. He heard Konus running nearby and started moving again. Keeping his head down to avoid notice, he ran past a grouping of thick trees. Several plasma bolts blazed by him. They’d found him. He darted to the side, trying to use the trees as cover.
He checked his wrist computer to see if his comlink was working. If he’d somehow gone beyond the suppression field, it should come back on, but he’d had no such luck. He spotted some older buildings hidden among the vines that had overtaken them. That had to be it.
In the distance, he heard several loud screeches. There was no mistaking that sound—ryklars were on the hunt. He’d never encountered a ryklar, but all colonists knew what they sounded like, and anyone who went out into the field learned about them.
Isaac ran toward the ruins of a building, looking for any sign of a suppression device. He couldn’t find anything, so he moved on, searching the next building by going around the outside. When he rounded the corner, two Konus soldiers spotted him, so he hastened back the way he’d come and slipped behind a bush. His back was up against the wall. Isaac held his breath so he wouldn’t give himself away to his pursuers.
Armed with long rifles, the soldiers ran into the area and paused, examining the ground around them.
“Search the bushes,” one of the soldiers said.
They split up, and one of them headed toward him. If he moved, the soldier would hear him. Just then, Isaac saw movement among a group of bushes by a building across from him.
The soldier kept getting closer and peered at the bush where Isaac sat. Isaac became still. If the soldier saw him, he would fire his weapon, but he kept coming toward him. A branch snapped across the way, and the other soldier gave a startled cry. The soldier coming toward Isaac spun around, and Isaac watched as Agent Franklin fought the first soldier.
Isaac scrambled out from behind the bush, tackling the soldier, and the long rifle clattered to the ground nearby. Isaac swung his fist, unleashing a barrage of punches to the soldier’s head. He grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and banged his head to the ground. Dark greenish blood splattered on the ground. At some point, the soldier stopped struggling.
Someone grabbed Isaac and pulled him off the dying soldier.
“Isaac,” Agent Franklin said, “come on. More are coming. Let’s go.”
Isaac stood up but just stared at the soldier he’d killed. Agent Franklin grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him away with one hand. He carried a long rifle in the other.
Isaac followed him.
“Where’s the tower?” he asked.
“It’s this way.”
“How did you find me?”
“It wasn’t hard to figure out where you were going,” Agent Franklin said. “Ella told me what you’d learned.”
Several ryklar screeches sounded through the forest, and both of them froze. The predators were getting closer. Agent Franklin started running and Isaac followed.
The tower was hardly a tower at all. The metallic supports of a building were exposed, and the Konus were using it to extend the suppressor’s effective range. The building was ten meters tall. They started climbing to the top, using thick vines to hoist themselves up. Gaps in the exterior walls gave him enough of a foothold to keep climbing. Once they reached the top, Isaac saw six small disc-shaped devices attached to an exposed metallic rod.
Agent Franklin lifted the long rifle and aimed it at the suppressors. As he was about to shoot, something big scrambled over the roof and sprang toward them, snarling. Franklin knocked Isaac out of the way.
The ryklar shrieked a battle cry and bounded toward them. Agent Franklin fired his weapon, and the plasma bolt scorched the rooftop. He’d missed the ryklar. The creature threw itself at the CIB agent, and they tumbled to the ground below.
Isaac scrambled to the edge of the roof and looked down. He couldn’t see anything. There was no sign of Franklin anywhere. The ryklar howled from nearby, and a few others bawled out answering howls. Isaac jerked away from the edge and peered into the forest.
He heard plasma bolts firing and then nothing. Isaac sat there for a few moments, gasping. He wanted to call out, needing to know if Franklin was okay. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. There were three ryklars, and they moved so damn fast. Franklin would want him to focus. He turned toward the suppressors and hastened over to them, examining how they were set up. A patchwork of wires connected them to the metallic frame of the building. Isaac recognized the suppressors as the same that were used on the rover when they were captured. He started yanking the wires apart, breaking the connection. After he’d pulled half of them apart, he checked the comlink status on his wrist computer. It was still blocked. Muttering a curse, he kept going until every wire was detached from the rod. Then, he disabled each of the suppressors, but he still couldn’t send out a signal.
Several ryklars screeched a hunting call from the ground below. They’d returned and were circling the building. His stomach sank. Agent Franklin must have been killed. He grabbed one of the suppressors and flung it as far as he could off the roof. It bounced off a nearby tree and tumbled to the ground. The ryklars were on it in seconds.
He grabbed another and hurled it even farther. As the suppressor flew through the air, a ryklar leaped up from the ground and caught it. Two powerful outer arms grabbed onto a tree, its claws cutting deep, and it was able to hold itself up. The ryklar turned toward him. It had a face of folded gray skin and a beard of blood-red tentacles. A mouth filled with large teeth opened wide, and the creature howled, making the tentacles flail wildly.
Isaac flinched back, trembling. He had no weapons, and there was no way he could outrun those creatures. They moved too fast. The ryklar dropped to the ground and charged toward the building. Two more joined it, circling around.
Isaac sucked in a deep breath that caught in his throat. They were going to tear him apart. He’d disabled the suppressors, and his comlink should have worked. Why didn’t it work? He was broadcasting a distress beacon from his wrist computer, but there was no acknowledgment. The signal wasn’t getting out.
He frowned. The ryklars hadn’t climbed up.
“You have something that belongs to me,” Koukax said.
Isaac leaned toward the edge of the rooftop.
Koukax stood on the ground. There were two soldiers with him, and the ryklars sat on their haunches nearby, waiting.
“It was a good plan. You distract us at the camp and try to disable the suppression field. Where is Dr. Franklin?” Koukax asked.
The Konus commander didn’t know that Hunter Franklin was a CIB agent, but it didn’t matter now.
“Those things got him,” Isaac replied.
Koukax glance at the ryklars. “They’re perfect hunters. They would have killed you if we hadn’t shown up.”
Isaac glared at him. “Didn’t want to deprive yourself of the pleasure?”
“Killing you is a necessity, not a pleasure,” Koukax said and looked at the ryklars. “There are much better ways to die than to be torn apart by them.”
“A plasma bolt to the chest is so much better.”
“There is no way for you to escape,” Koukax said.
The certainty with which he said it made Isaac want to howl in defiance, but the Konus commander was right. He couldn’t escape, and no amount of resistance was going to change that.
“You have something I need. You stole what didn’t belong to you,” Koukax said.
They’d already figured out that he had Dr. Townsend’s formulas.
Isaac looked at Koukax. “Are the others dead?”
“Not yet, but if I have to ask again, they will be.”
Isaac was blinded as his vision blurred. He was going to die no matter what he did, but if he resisted, Koukax could make it worse for the others. He clenched his teeth.
“They’re hungry,” Koukax said.
Isaac’s gaze slid toward the ryklars. Their powerful chest muscles heaved, and they appeared to be mere moments from springing into action.
Bile crept up the back of his throat, leaving a bitter taste. He sighed and began to climb down. Once he reached the ground, the Konus soldiers aimed their weapons at him. Koukax stared into his eyes for a few moments and then walked ahead of them. The soldiers shoved him forward, following the Konus commander. The forest around them had settled into a stunned silence, and Isaac could hear the dull thud of his footsteps on the forest floor as he marched toward his own death.
28
Isaac followed Koukax back to camp, glancing behind them a few times in the hopes that Agent Franklin had somehow survived. If he’d been able to contact the CDF, they would have found them, and they would have been rescued. Everything he’d done had been for nothing. Koukax walked a short distance in front of him, secure in the knowledge that Isaac would never attack him. Isaac knew that if he were to try something, the soldiers following them would shoot him. He’d climbed down and surrendered on the vague promise that Koukax would make their deaths less painful.
Isaac shook his head and tried to convince himself that he hadn’t given up. He’d surrendered because Koukax was moments from sending the ryklars up to the rooftop to kill him. They’d dragged Agent Franklin off easily enough. What hope did he have of fighting them?
Isaac followed Koukax, and with each step he took, he clenched his teeth harder. His lips lifted, moments from a snarl as he remembered killing the Konus soldier and imagined doing the same thing to Koukax. A small part of his mind quivered. Could he kill again? He’d just reacted before, but was he a killer? Was he like Koukax? He stared at the Konus commander’s back, and dark, violent thoughts stirred. He hated him, and he hated the soldiers behind him. Had his father been right? He thought about all the time he’d spent in Shetrian, and all the Mekaal he’d met. They were different than Koukax and his soldiers, but some of the Mekaal had been part of the attack. He’d come to Shetrian determined to keep an open mind about the Mekaal and the Ovarrow in general, but Koukax had shattered that for him. It would be easy to simply hate them, but he knew it was wrong. There were good Ovarrow on New Earth. He hated Koukax and anyone who followed him, but that didn’t mean he must hate all Ovarrow. If he did, then Koukax not only controlled whether he lived or died, but would control his mind… his soul, and Isaac wasn’t going to give that up.
They entered the camp. Dr. Townsend had a gash on the side of his head, and blood had dried over his swollen eye. Isaac locked eyes with Ella for a few seconds. She looked hopeful, but Isaac shook his head. Dr. Rostova looked at Isaac and then glanced behind him. She was looking for Agent Franklin. When she didn’t see him, her gaze sank to the ground, and she began to weep.
Koukax led him to Dr. Townsend’s workstation. “Put the formula back and initiate the serum creation protocol.”
Isaac stared at the workstation. The amber-colored holoscreen was displaying a data window with several error messages. He lifted his wrist and accessed his own computer. This was it. He would upload it back to the workstation and initiate the protocol, and then Koukax was going to kill them. Isaac raised his gaze to the sky and spotted bright, clear blue above the treetops.
He looked at his wrist computer. He could delete it and deny Koukax what he wanted—just delete the data and contend with whatever horrifying death the Konus commander had waiting for him.
“There it is,” Koukax said. “At least there is one fighter among you, but it’s a fight you cannot win. Betray me now and I’ll make you watch them all die one at a time. You’ll witness each agonizing moment of their suffering, and it will be all your fault.”
Isaac looked toward the Konus soldiers. “He’s going to betray you and use the serum to gain power for himself.”
Koukax tilted his head to the side. “Of course, I am. They’re loyal to the Konus, and this serum is what’s best for us all. It will be ours.”
“Will they stay that way once you become the Warlord? You don’t plan to bring the cure as a gift for the Konus. You plan to keep it for yourself.”
Several of the Konus soldiers shifted their feet, and several exchanged glances.
Isaac played his recording of Koukax loud enough for everyone to hear it. The soldiers listened, and several of them glared at Koukax.
Koukax raised the end of his long rifle and gestured toward the workstation. “Do as I say.”
Isaac stepped toward him but kept his wrist raised high. His personal holoscreen was easily visible. “All I have to do is delete it and you’ll have to wait for Dr. Townsend to recreate the formulas, but you don’t have that kind of time. The CDF is coming. They’re closing in on us as we speak, and they’re going to catch up to us. They’re going to catch up to you. Even if you kill all of us—especially if you kill all of us—they’ll never stop hunting you.”
“They have no idea where we are. Now, stop lying and upload the data you stole,” Koukax said. After a few seconds, he aimed his weapon toward the others.
Isaac gritted his teeth and moved to comply, but a high-pitched whine echoed above the trees. It was distant but unmistakable, and the soldiers glanced upward.
Koukax’s eyes flicked toward the sky and Isaac leaped toward him. When he spun around, Isaac grabbed at the long rifle and they each locked grips on the weapon, but Koukax was stronger than Isaac. The Konus commander used his long, powerful arms to pull Isaac off his feet, swinging him through the air, but Isaac held fast, refusing to let go. When his feet touched the ground, he pushed as hard as he could. Koukax backed up a few steps, off-balance, and plasma bolts shot from the end of the rifle. Konus and humans alike scattered out of the way. There was movement all around them, but Isaac didn’t know what was happening.
Koukax twisted the rifle, and Isaac was pulled toward him at an awkward angle. The commander pivoted and drove him to the ground. Pain spread like lightning across his back. Koukax pressed the rifle to Isaac’s neck, and Isaac looked up. His eyes widened when he saw an active suppressor at Koukax’s hip. That was why he hadn’t been able to send out a distress beacon. Koukax had been blocking it.
The Konus commander lifted Isaac up and then slammed him back to the ground. His vision swam, but he was able to see Ella come up behind Koukax and smash something on his head, hard. Isaac kicked the Konus commander’s leg and lunged for the suppressor, but Koukax stumbled forward and the rifle tore from Isaac’s grasp. Isaac twisted around and scrambled toward Koukax, slamming his fist onto the suppressor. A small electrical arc came from the device, and it started smoking. His wrist computer chimed. The distress beacon was broadcasting! Isaac blinked several times, staring at it. A chorus of chimes could be heard as comlinks heralded an active connection.
Koukax growled and grabbed Isaac by the neck. The powerful Konus lifted him up, and Isaac kicked out with his feet. Koukax dropped him to the ground and staggered backward.
Ella helped pull Isaac to his feet, and he stood up, a little wobbly at first.
“We have to run,” Isaac said. “The beacon is up, and the CDF will be coming,” he said. He looked at the others. “Run!”
