Earth Unknown (Forgotten Earth Book 1), page 28
“Got you, sir,” the Spacer said.
“We’re close enough to run,” Hayden decided. “Help me get him out.”
He jumped out of the car and went to the back. Animal stayed inside, pulling Bennett toward him. Hayden could hear the cars still approaching, finding another way around. The Kiev was only a few hundred meters off the ground, the back ramp starting to open.
Animal fed Bennett into Hayden’s arms. He cradled the Sergeant again, gathering him securely and then taking a step forward, the first in a short sprint to the finish line.
A bright flash caught his attention from the left. He looked over in time to see the helicopter that had been hovering silently over the hospital in the light of a long blast of thrust.
“Danethi, incoming!” Hayden shouted into the comm. There was no way the pilot could do anything about the weapon. It was just too close.
The missile dove toward the Kiev, breaking apart and splitting into a dozen smaller propelled discs as it did. Each of the discs spread out and hit the side of the ship, clinging there.
The helicopter started to rise and fade away from the dropship. The Kiev touched down, waiting for Hayden and Animal to bring Bennett on board.
“Sheriff, what are you waiting for?” Animal said.
Hadn’t he seen the missile?
“Sheriff, the signature is gone,” Danethi said. “It must have been a…”
The discs exploded, one by one, each one creating a ball of fire Hayden could hardly believe. In an instant the Kiev was invisible, buried under the flames. Then pieces of the ship began to emerge, debris flaring out from the explosions.
Hayden shifted and ducked behind the car, letting it capture the fallout. The ground shook, the roar so loud it hurt his ears. What the hell had they hit the dropship with?
He waited for the fireballs to subside before standing upright again, to look directly at the Kiev. The entire thing looked like it had been melted from the outside in, collapsed to nothing but a smoldering mess of a burned out, dead husk.
“Danethi?” Hayden asked hopefully. He didn’t expect a reply.
He didn’t get one.
“Well, that’s just fucking great!” Animal shouted.
He looked up at the helicopter, which was moving away. He pointed his pistol at it, but realized soon enough how stupid shooting at it would be.
“What the fuck do we do now, Sheriff?”
Hayden ignored him. He lowered Bennett to the ground, tears falling from his eyes.
“Sergeant?” Animal said, realizing Hayden was on his knees beside the other Spacer. He came beside him, looking down. “Shit. Son of a bitch.” He sighed loudly, carrying his anger and pain with it, his worries about their situation momentarily forgotten.
Hayden owed Sergeant Austin Bennett a debt of gratitude he would never be able to repay. The man had helped him when no one else would. He had been directly responsible for both Hayden’s survival and the survival of his wife and daughter, as well as thousands of others. A soldier-turned-diplomat who had truly cared about the fate of humankind on Earth, even though he technically wasn’t human himself. He was a hero in every sense of the word.
But most of all, and more importantly, he had been Hayden’s friend.
And now he was gone.
Hayden reached down into his pocket, pulling Stacker’s ring from its resting place and holding it over Bennett.
“What’s that?” Animal asked.
Hayden glanced up at him. “Do you want to know what all of this is about?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Sergeant Bennett died for this,” he said, turning the ring in his hand and catching the inscription in the light of the dying flames.
Real love never dies.
“The answers are here.” He pointed out in the direction the helicopter had gone. “And out there. But first, we have to get out of this place.”
Animal nodded, standing up and looking back the way they had come. Hayden looked back too. A line of trife was emerging from the city, attracted to the heat and noise.
“I’m ready,” Animal said.
“Get in the car.”
Animal looked like he wanted to question the order, but he climbed back into the car instead.
Hayden pushed Bennett’s eyes closed. Then he picked him up, carrying him the last hundred meters to the burning wreckage of the Kiev. The heat was intense, but he wasn’t about to leave his friend’s body out in the open for the wildlife. He reached into the flames and gently lowered Bennett to the ground.
Then he turned back toward the car. The trife were approaching cautiously behind it, not quite sure what to make of the whole thing. He walked back to the vehicle, watching them. They didn’t charge. They didn’t attack. He would have liked to think they had come to pay their respects.
Not likely.
He slid back behind the driver’s seat. The vehicle wouldn’t take them far running on its rims, but it would get them away from the trife and hopefully to the river. They would figure out the rest from there.
Three days.
Natalia was going to think he had died. He hated knowing she would be upset. If he could get a message to her sooner, he would. If not? It would make their reunion all the more joyful.
Assuming he survived.
He put the car in drive and turned the wheel, making a wide U-turn through the overgrown brush and facing the trife once more. He glanced at Animal, who nodded in reply.
Then they were on their way.
Chapter 53
Nathan limped along the dark tunnel. He had no idea where he was headed. He didn’t even know what direction he was going. He knew he was angry.
Very angry.
He seethed inside, the loss of Niobe’s ring driving his rage. Why the fuck had Sheriff taken it from him? Why had he stolen it, only to allow him to go? Was he working with the Trust? Just because he had helped Nathan kill the judicus, that didn’t mean he wasn’t. Maybe they had a difference of opinion on how to handle him?
Live to fight another day, Captain.
That’s what Sheriff had said to him. Sheriff had to know he would come for him. Was he that smug? Was it all a game to him and the Trust?
He clenched his free hand, balling it tightly into a fist. He decided he was going to kill Sheriff. No matter where, no matter when. He was going to get his ring back. He was going to find out what Niobe was trying to show him.
The Trust wasn’t going to get away with any of this.
He stopped for a moment, leaning against the wall to rest his leg. He had stopped the bleeding, and there didn’t seem to be any damage to the muscles. The swelling was pushing on the nerves, making it painful.
He could deal with pain.
He didn’t stay there long, taking a handful of breaths to regain himself and then pushing off and continuing along the tunnel. If he had to guess, he would say he was going north. But it was just a damned guess.
He aimed his pistol forward and fired a bolt, using it to light his path through the darkness. He spotted a sharp turn up ahead, just before the charge vanished against the wall. He measured the distance and kept going, heading for the curve, trudging along in the pitch black.
He took a dozen steps and fired again, lighting the way. He reached the turn, going around it by following the wall with his hand, saving his charges until he had gotten to the straightaway.
He fired another round, which zipped along the tracks and revealed a station up ahead.
Live to fight another day, Captain.
Who the fuck did Sheriff think he was? He had left him with a limp and moving through the tunnels in the dark. Did he think it was funny? If Sheriff really wanted him to survive, he would have given him his night-vision goggles. Asshole.
He picked up speed, dragging his leg as he powered toward the station. He was done with these fucking tunnels. He was done with the fucking darkness. He didn’t care if the trife came for him. He would kill every damned one of them, with his bare hands if he had to. He regretted coming to Earth, and at the same time, he was glad he had come. It was better than being a prisoner. It was better than being a research subject back on Proxima. At least he had a chance.
Live to fight another day, Captain.
He intended to follow that advice. No matter what, he was going to survive. Niobe was counting on him, and that was the greatest motivation of all. Without the ring, the only thing he had left of her was his memories. It was enough.
He raised the pistol, firing into the darkness again.
He caught a glimpse of a dark shadow in front of him, out of place with the rest of the tunnel.
“Is my luck really this bad?” he said, turning the weapon and firing at the lump.
The Stalker uncurled and leaped to the side, avoiding the plasma bolt. It hit the wall and bounced off, diving toward him while he adjusted his aim. He got one bolt into its chest before it reached him, rough hands grabbing his arms, its weight pushing him down. He could smell its breath right over his face, and he bucked up hard, throwing the creature over him. Its sticky fingers held onto his flesh, pulling hard against the momentum before it let go. Nathan could hear it smack against the wall, and he rolled over, trying to get up but stumbling on his bad leg.
He fired the plasma pistol again. The bolt hit the Stalker in the leg. The wound on its chest was already nearly healed. It bounced sideways, forcing him to turn. It jumped up and flipped over, grabbing the top of the tunnel and vanishing into the darkness.
Nathan stayed down, turning in a desperate search for the creature. He fired his weapon straight up, creating microsecond bursts of light to find the Stalker.
It seemed to have disappeared.
He knew it wouldn’t have left. Not while he was still alive and it hadn’t fed. He kept turning until he was facing away from the station and shooting back into the tunnel.
Still nothing.
He started backing up, listening carefully for any sound that might give the creature away. Where had it gone?
He didn’t know which direction it attacked him from. One moment, it wasn’t there. The next, it was. It landed on his back, claws digging into his arms again, puncturing deep into the flesh. He shouted, the sound echoing in the tunnel, trying to dislodge the Stalker as its teeth found his neck.
It bit into him, and he threw himself backward into the wall, smashing the Stalker against it. The move loosened the teeth but didn’t get it off. Its nails went deeper into his skin. It had learned from its earlier mistake.
He turned the plasma pistol toward himself, squeezing the trigger and sending bolts burning past his face. The Stalker released his neck to avoid them, staying on his back and riding him like a scooter.
Live to fight another day, Captain.
Nathan fell to his knees, blood soaking his chest and pouring down his arms. He wanted to live. He needed to. For Niobe.
There was no way in hell he was going to.
He let out a soft cry, tears forming in his eyes. He had survived all of the monsters, the soldiers, the judicus and the Spacers, only to fail now? He reached back for the Stalker, planting his hand on its blind head and pushing. He wasn’t strong enough. Not now.
He leaned forward on his hands, the life draining out of him. He was getting lightheaded. Dizzy. This was the end. He was going to die.
“Need a hand?” a voice said in the darkness behind him. It was deep and confident. It sounded familiar.
Then the Stalker was gone from his back. He could hear it whining behind him, and he turned his head to see it held up by a huge metal hand. At first, he thought it was Sheriff, but the hand was too big, its shape primitive compared to the soldier’s smooth replacement.
His savior threw the Stalker hard into the wall. It bounced off and charged the man, and he laughed. He fucking laughed. He caught the thing in his other hand, again metal like the first. He lifted it by the neck, holding it out past its ability to reach him, though it tried to slash him with its claws.
“Doc, get the hell over here and patch him up,” the man said, still holding the Stalker up.
A light appeared behind the man, bathing him and making him visible. He was wearing armor of some kind; a type Nathan had never seen before. It was big and chunky, with a full helmet that hid the man’s face, leading down into bulky arms and torso and legs, which he realized now made a soft whining noise as the man moved.
He noticed the eagle and star logo etched into the arm, and his head began to slump. Had he just been saved from the Stalker, only to wind up in the hands of a different enemy?
A squad of soldiers approached. One of them broke off and came to kneel beside him. She was a hard woman, with a shaved head and a weathered face. She dropped a satchel beside him and opened it, pulling out medical patches.
“Don’t die on me,” she said.
Nathan didn’t reply. He watched the man in the armored suit play with the Stalker for another few seconds, pulling it in to let it get close before holding it out again, continuing to laugh.
“It’s been a long time, Betty,” he said to the thing. “I see you still hate me as much as ever.”
Nathan wasn’t sure he wasn’t hallucinating. Had he already died and didn’t realize yet?
“I’ll give you one chance to get out of here,” the man said to the Stalker. “You come at me again; I’m going to have to kill you.”
He tossed the Stalker back again. It was motionless for a moment. Then it jumped on one of the other soldiers. The man screamed as it slashed him in the throat, right before the man grabbed it again.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” he said. He reached up with his other hand, wrapping it around the Stalker’s head.
Then he twisted.
Its bones cracked. Its body convulsed. He held the torso in one hand and pulled with the other, separating its head from the rest of it. Then he dropped both to the ground.
Nathan continued watching, even while the woman was applying ointment and patches to his neck and shoulders. He barely noticed how the pain was subsiding.
“Someone shot him,” the woman said, getting the armored man’s attention.
The man turned toward them. He reached up, tapping the side of the helmet. The faceplate came up, and Nathan froze. He was dead, wasn’t he? Was this Hell?
He was looking back at himself.
“You’re a hard man to kill, Stacker,” the other Stacker said. “But then, I guess I should have known.” He laughed again. “It’s probably for the best. I assume Judicus Shia is dead?”
Nathan stared at him without speaking.
“Okay. You don’t have to talk to me now. We’ll have plenty of time later. I know you think we’re your enemy because we were trying to kill you. I know you won’t believe this, but we’re not. There’s stuff going on; you have no idea. But you will.” His eyes shifted to the woman. “Is he stable?”
“Yes, sir,” she replied.
“Good.” The man put out his hand. “My name is James Stacker, but most folks down here call me General. These here are the Liberators. Part of my army. If nobody else has said it, then let me be the first. Welcome to Earth.”
Nathan didn’t take his hand. He continued staring, still trying to make sense of it. He was failing miserably.
“Have it your way,” General said, pulling back his hand. “Give him a sedative and let’s get him loaded up. We’ve wasted too much time and lost too many people already. It’s been a lousy night.”
“Yes, sir,” Doc said.
She reached into the satchel and withdrew a needle. Nathan’s eyes widened when he saw it, and he tried to shove it away.
General grabbed his arms, holding them easily with the powered armor. Doc jabbed the needle into him, emptying its contents in his thigh.
He stared at General as his vision started to blur, his strength and will to stay awake fading along with it.
Live to fight another day, Captain.
They hadn’t saved him to kill him. He would wake up again. This wasn’t the end of his fight.
It was only the beginning.
Thank you for reading Earth Unknown!
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Earth Unrelenting, the second book in the Forgotten Earth series, is coming soon. Do you want to know when it’s available? Click here.
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Cheers,
Michael.
Other Books By M.R Forbes
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Forgotten (The Forgotten)
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Some things are better off FORGOTTEN.
Sheriff Hayden Duke was born on the Pilgrim, and he expects to die on the Pilgrim, like his father, and his father before him.
That's the way things are on a generation starship centuries from home. He's never questioned it. Never thought about it. And why bother? Access points to the ship's controls are sealed, the systems that guide her automated and out of reach. It isn't perfect, but he has all he needs to be content.
Until a malfunction forces his Engineer wife to the edge of the habitable zone to inspect the damage.
