It tried to flee, but Nick wouldn’t let go. He jerked the knife free and raised it again. The animal slammed its shield into his arm again. Pain radiated from Nick’s forearm. The armor was hardening to protect him, but the creature was driving down onto Nick’s arm with all its strength.
He thrust the knife point first into the creature just behind its front shoulder. The blade sank deep. The animal raised its head, freeing Nick’s arm. He let go of the creature’s leg, and it crawled away in a jerky spasm and then slumped over.
“Killed it,” Nick said in a shaky voice. “I killed it.”
“I found Jules,” Kal said. “Looks like she maybe tore a ligament in her knee.”
“Get her to the rally point,” Gunny Tveit snarled. “I said move, people!”
Nick got to his feet and checked his arm. It was sore, but not injured. The interlocking armor was slowly releasing, and he could move his wrist freely without too much pain. He bent over and jerked his D-Garr free of the animal’s carcass. The weapon was covered in thick brown blood. He wiped as much as he could on the animal fur, then sheathed his weapon and shook his hands.
“How’s Ember?” Nick asked.
“Her name is still showing up on my helmet display,” Ty said.
“Mine too,” Kal added.
“Has anyone found her?” Nick asked.
“I’ve got Gracie,” Tveit said. “Get to the rally point, Nichols. That’s an order.”
Nick was already walking toward the arrow that pointed him back to the rally location on his helmet’s display. He still couldn’t see far into the fog, but it only took a few minutes to reach the rally point. Ty was already there with one of the repulser sleds.
“Ty and I are at the rally point,” Nick said. “He’s got a sled.”
“Very good,” Gunny Tveit said, her voice strained.
“Almost there,” Kal said. “But Jules won’t be able to walk much farther.”
“Damn creature rolled up my leg,” Jules said through clenched teeth.
“Her armor stabilized her leg, but she can’t put weight on it,” Kal said.
“What’s going on with Ember?” Nick asked.
“I see you,” Ty said, hurrying to help Kal and Jules as they neared the rally point. “We can shift some of the equipment and let her ride on the sled.”
“God, it hurts,” Jules said.
“Doesn’t our armor have morphine or something?” Kal asked.
“Not the armor,” Gunny Tveit reported. She was still somewhere in the fog, and Nick was starting to feel desperate to find her. “Check your pack. You’ve got trauma supplies there. Should be a pain blocker.
“Roger that,” Kal said.
Ty had already scooped Jules up and was carrying her to the repulser sled. Nick saw Kal drop to one knee and start looking for the first-aid supplies in his pack. Nick had an intuition that he should do the same. He unslung his backpack and unzipped the compartment with the medical supplies. He didn’t know what he needed, but he had a sick feeling in his gut that Ember was hurt bad.
“Should we try to get her armor off?” Ty asked.
“No,” Nick replied. “We can’t do anything for her here.”
“I feel like it’s swelling,” Jules said, “and there’s not enough space.”
“Here,” Kal said. “This should help.”
He put the pain blocker into the receptacle on her helmet, and to everyone’s relief, she immediately relaxed. “That’s better,” she said.
Kal was busy moving some things on the sled. There wasn’t much room with the surveillance equipment, but the sled didn’t seem bogged down with Jules’ added weight.
Finally, Gunny Tveit appeared in the fog. She had Ember over her shoulder and was moving slowly. Nick hurried to help.
“What’s wrong with her?” Nick asked.
“Gunshot wound,” Tveit said. “I shot her.”
Chapter 15
The wound wasn’t as horrible as Nick feared. There was no gaping hole or spray from a severed artery. In fact, her armor had nearly stopped the bullet. It had struck her abdomen on the left side. The diamond-tipped round had cracked through the armor and lodged there. Blood was seeping around the bullet.
“Oh no,” Nick said.
“We have to leave the bullet in,” Gunny Tveit said. “Otherwise, her armor will be compromised and she’ll have to go into quarantine.”
“Is she okay?” Kal asked.
“The impact did some damage, but she’s breathing,” Gunny Tveit said. “She needs help, though.”
“We have to find the other sled,” Nick said.
“I’ll go,” Kal offered.
“No one goes out alone,” Gunny Tveit said. “Not in this fog.”
“I’ll go too,” Nick said, feeling a sense of desperation. He knew he couldn’t just stay with Ember and not help her somehow.”
“Ty, go with them,” Gunny said. “Try to find your plasma cannon. We can’t leave without it.”
“Roger that,” Ty said. “You okay, Jules?”
“Right as rain,” she said in a soft, dreamy voice.
“That pain blocker does the trick,” Kal said. “Kind of makes you want to get injured just to try it out.”
“Let’s go,” Nick said.
They set off into the fog. Nick noticed the private channel that Kal opened between himself, Ty, and Nick, but didn’t say anything at first. His two friends took up a place on either side of him as they walked through the fog, each one just a couple of meters out to maximize how far they could see, but always keeping sight of the others.
“Nick, you okay, man?” Ty asked.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Nick said, his fear making his reply more gruff than he wanted it to be.
“There’s blood on your armor, dude,” Kal said. “You hurt?”
“No,” Nick said. “That’s not my blood.”
“Good job killing that thing,” Ty added.
“Who knew Nick was the savage among us?” Kal teased lightly. When Nick didn’t say anything, his friend continued. “She’ll be okay, Nick. You know that, right?”
“I don’t know that,” Nick said. “Have you ever been shot? I haven’t.”
“But her armor stopped the bullet,” Ty said.
“So why was she unconscious?” Nick said. “Why is her name still flashing red on my heads-up display? We’ve got to get her out of here.”
“We will, man. I promise,” Kal said. “But you can talk to us. We’ve got your back.”
“Always,” Ty added.
Nick didn’t say anything at first. His heart was aching, and his eyes stung with tears. The truth was that his greatest fear had just been realized. And the worst part about it was that the bullet came from Gunny Tveit. Nick admired and respected his NCO—she was tough as nails and smart. But he didn’t understand how she could have made such a horrible mistake.
“We settled things,” Nick finally said. “It wasn’t what we wanted, but it was the right thing, the safe thing.”
“That’s good,” Kal said. “I don’t know about playing it safe, but I’m glad you cleared the air.”
“We’re in a tough spot,” Ty said. “I mean, we’re out risking our lives and you have to be able to turn off your fear or your anger and perform. If keeping a little distance makes that easier, I think it was smart.”
“But it didn’t make it easier,” Nick said. “I was wrong, so wrong. I’m kicking myself for not taking advantage of every second we had together.”
“You were together,” Kal said. “And you’re going to be together. She’s going to make it.”
“Yeah, man, she’s tough,” Ty added.
“Our whole lives, we’ve been friends,” Kal went on. “We all love each other to some extent. I can’t help but wonder if we wouldn’t have been better off in the infantry.”
“You mean you want to give this up to babysit eggheads?”
“It’s safer,” Nick said.
“You don’
t know that,” Ty said. “We all signed up for this. We knew the risks.”
“But we didn’t have to be Dragons,” Nick said. “We could have opted for safer jobs.”
“And been miserable for five years,” Ty said. “If we learned anything being in the ULU, it’s that any amount of time being miserable is too long. Especially if you can do something about it.”
“He’s right,” Kal said. “This is better than anything I could have thought of back home. And I was doubtful that anything good could come from joining the PMC. You got us here, Nick. Your vision, your willingness to take a risk. Maybe it’s time you started trusting yourself.”
They walked on in silence for a few moments, then Kal caught sight of Ty’s plasma cannon. They converged on the weapon, and the biggest member of Dragon Team Seven mounted the cannon onto his armor.
“Feels better having it on,” he said.
“You don’t mind the extra weight?” Kal said.
“Nah, just reminds me how much heat this baby is packing,” Ty said, the joy obvious in his voice. “I was made to do this.”
“You really think that?” Nick asked.
“I know it,” Ty replied. “Man, I’ve become a badass hero right out of a holofilm. You get that, right? We are the danger that other people fear. We are warriors, man. Who gets to say that? Who gets to see what we’ve seen in just a few weeks? Who gets to fly through space, not in a spaceship but literally fly like superheroes. Man, this is the greatest life I can imagine. I could never go back to anything less.”
“Does that mean you’ll re-enlist?” Nick asked.
“Maybe,” Ty said. “I mean, I’m with you guys all the way, and if we decide not to re-up, I’m cool with that. Who knows how I’ll feel in five years?”
Nick understood what his friend was saying. In many respects, he felt the same way, only there were times when his fear was so potent that he questioned why he allowed himself to get in such precarious situations. At the moment, all he wanted was to get Ember to safety.
“Nichols, Phillips, Lonzo, report,” Gunny Tveit ordered over the team channel of their com-link.
“We found Ty’s plasma cannon,” Kal said. “No sign of the repulser sled yet.”
“How’s Ember?” Nick added.
“She’s resting for now. Let’s not waste time, though,” Gunny said. “Get back here with that equipment, I want to reach the evac zone ASAP.”
“Roger that,” Ty said.
They spread out again and continued the search. Nick had to ask himself if he was doing what he loved. Training was fun, and the last two weeks had been tolerable, but what made him truly happy was being in the Issip city with Kal. Sneaking through enemy territory, relying on his wits and equipment to see him through. It had been his favorite moment since they joined the PMC. He couldn’t imagine a better job than that. He was either a Recon specialist or a cat burglar. Nick had his own belongings pilfered often enough as a kid to hate stealing, which narrowed the options.
It felt odd to discover he was doing what he loved to do. For the first time in his life, he was truly happy with his circumstances. There was only one thing he needed to do, and that was to tell Ember how he felt about her. He realized that nothing he did, or didn’t do, would make him care about her safety any less. It had been foolish to try and hide his feelings, as if they could be set aside for five years like a suit of clothes he didn’t want to wear.
“Hey, what’s that?” Ty asked.
“Can’t see a thing,” Kal replied.
Nick strained and saw a dark form on the ground. He knew instantly what it was, even if he had no idea what the thing was called.
“It’s the carcass,” Nick said.
The three friends converged on the alien creature. It looked strangely harmless, and Nick wondered for a moment if his memory was accurate.
“Man, what the hell is that thing?” Ty asked.
“Looks like a cross between a dog and a dinosaur,” Kal said.
“That head is a real piece of work,” Ty said.
“You killed it, huh?” Kal remarked. “Unbelievable.”
“With his knife no less,” Ty said with admiration. “Remind me not to mess with you, Nick.”
They left the carcass and searched for nearly half an hour before finding the sled. When they finally got back to the rally point, Nick was relieved to find Ember awake.
“I gave her a pain blocker,” Gunny Tveit said. “Let’s get her on the sled. We’ve wasted enough time as it is.”
Nick and Ty lifted Ember up and put her on top of the hard case for the surveillance optics. It wasn’t what Nick considered comfortable, but it was the best option at the moment.
“I’ll take point,” Gunny Tveit said. “Nichols and Phillips will push the sleds. Lonzo, you cover our rear.”
“You know it, Sarge,” Ty said.
They set out, and Nick tried to talk to Ember as they went. He opened a private channel, but she had trouble activating it.
“Are you okay, Em?” Nick asked.
“I think my ribs are broken,” she said in a lazy voice.
“Are you hurting?”
“No, I feel pretty good.”
“I’m sorry,” Nick said.
“Why? You didn’t shoot me, did you?”
“No, Em. I would never shoot you.”
“Good, Nick. I’m glad. I wouldn’t shoot you either.”
She giggled, but the sudden movement caused her to wince. Nick decided it was better if she didn’t talk, and soon Ember was asleep. Jules was out too, and they pressed hard through the long afternoon, reaching the edge of the jungle just before dark.
“What should we do?” Kal asked. “Make camp?”
Nick could see that Jules and Ember were still registering as wounded on his HUD. He wondered if that meant there was more damage to the girls than what he could see.
“I’d rather not,” Gunny Tveit said.
Her voice was strained, and Nick could tell she was beating herself up for having shot Ember. Not that it was her fault. She had reacted to a threat, and in the fog, no one could have known that her teammate was close by. Still, Nick was angry at her. He couldn’t help the feeling. She was their sergeant, their leader in the field. Surely, he thought, she should have known better than to fire blind. He had to put his personal feelings aside and give her the benefit of the doubt, but it wasn’t easy.
“Let’s keep moving,” Nick said. “I won’t rest until we’re off this rock.”
“I’m with Nick,” Ty said. “Jules and Ember need help.”
“How far to the evac zone?” Kal asked.
“It took us a full day to get out of the forest,” Gunny Tveit said. “If we push ourselves, I’m guessing we can get there by midday tomorrow.”
“But there’s no way to avoid being in the forest at night,” Kal said. “Might as well get it over with.”
“Alright, let’s go,” Gunny Tveit said.
They had to turn north and move along the tree line until they found the game trail that led back to the clearing. The repulser sleds wouldn’t fit between the trees except on the trail. It was fully dark when they entered the forest.
Nick wasn’t scared, but he worried that they were taking too long. There were a lot of sounds in the forest at night, some were menacing, but the Recon specialists didn’t slow down. They kept marching for eight hours, their night vision allowing them to see the trail and make decent time despite their fatigue.
“I gotta stop,” Kal said when the new day cast enough light in the jungle for them to see without night vision. “Jules needs another pain blocker, and I need an energy boost.”
“Me too,” Kal said. “This cannon weighs a ton.”
“Want me to carry it for you?” Jules said.
“How’s the leg?” Nick asked.
“Hurts like someone took a bat to it, but the armor splint helps. If I don’t move it, the pain isn’t too bad.”
“Is Gracie awake yet?” Gunn
y Tveit asked.
“No, she’s still sleeping,” Nick said. He couldn’t keep the worry from his voice.
“So let’s fuel up and get out of here,” Kal said.
An hour later, they came across a fresh kill. Something had ripped the guts from a large animal that reminded Nick of a deer. The dead creature had a gentle face and long thin legs. There were claw and bite marks all over its body.
“What the hell did that?” Kal asked.
“I don’t want to know,” Ty said.
“They’re close,” Gunny Tveit said. “Stay alert and don’t touch that animal. They might see it as a threat.”
As the group passed on, Ty saw the creatures return to their kill. They were smaller than he expected. A pack of what looked like house-cat-sized canine creatures with long muzzles full of sharp teeth. They had long, curling tails and mangy fur. One turned and growled at him. The big Recon specialist kept the trident plasma cannon trained on the animals, but they were more interested in their kill than in the aliens in their forest domain.
It didn’t take long for the moisture to return. Nick was thankful their armor and BIO-suits kept them dry. He had to wipe the condensation from his helmet’s visor, and by the time they reached the clearing early that afternoon, they had mud up to their knees.
“You guys look rough,” Jules said, giggling. “You could use a shower.”
“Just be glad you’re riding up there,” Kal said. “This place is one big mud hole.”
“We’ve been in worse,” Nick said, thinking of the pit and their first couple of days at the Foundry. That had been a nasty experience, and yet he was beginning to think of the alien space station as home.
“When we get back to the ship, I’m eating until I can’t take another bite,” Kal said.
“I could eat,” Jules said.
Gunny Tveit used a field transmitter to boost her com-signal up into space. She gave the prearranged message, and they learned a shuttle would be sent to retrieve them as soon as it got dark. Nick was thankful to get off his feet, even if he was forced to lower the repulser sled down into the mud. He sat on the edge of the sled and held Ember’s hand.
Uncommon Loyalty Page 10
