Equinox

by L. J. Higgins

Drawing a deep breath, I let it out slowly but was stopped as a hand gripped my mouth and wrapped around my waist. My gun fired, hitting one of the hunters in the leg, as I was dragged into an empty room, clawing at the arms holding me.

  Inside the room, the person threw me away from them to the ground, ripping my weapon from my hands in the process. I bound up onto my feet, a fierce anger in my eyes as I focused on the face of Ricko.

  “You son of a…”

  “Ky, do you really have to be so unlady-like?” he tutted.

  “Why? Why can’t you just let them leave alone?” I growled.

  “What? So, they can go get more aliens and come back and attack us with more force?” he asked. “They’ve really done a number on you, haven’t they?”

  “Quit the bullcrap, Ricko. We both know what I know is the truth. Nothing you say can change the fact you’re helping Commander Kane and Skywatchers murder innocent Solians.”

  “This is bigger than us. Do you really think the government would be killing them if there was another way?” he asked.

  “Why invite them here only to kill them? It makes no sense?”

  “We needed their technology, their knowledge of the universe. But never did we want the human race to know aliens were not only helping us but living among us. We’ve spent years hiding the truth. Years hiding that they are indeed out there. How would it look if we suddenly allowed them to live here after years of denying their existence?” he asked.

  “If I’d known, I would never have hunted them,” I said.

  He stepped towards me, but I shot him a warning glare.

  “Exactly. That’s why we made them monsters, so it would be easy for you to take them out. Fear has been a control tactic for years, and it’s used because it’s effective.”

  “Except when the truth comes out,” I said.

  “Then we just deny it and call the exposers insane. Works every time. As long as the majority continue to believe what their government tells them, it becomes nothing more than a crazy man’s conspiracy.”

  “Why me? Why drag me into your messed-up world?” I asked.

  “Because I knew having you murdering aliens was what would hurt Tyson the most. He was my best friend, and he betrayed me. And now I’m going to make him hurt more than he could ever know. Not only will everything he worked for the past few years be for nothing when all of these aliens are dead, but his only remaining family will be dead. I’ll make sure he knows before I shoot him myself.”

  Ricko raised the gun and aimed it at my head, and I gritted my teeth, hoping I’d bought them enough time to launch.

  The bang of a gun stung my ears, and I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for impact. Ricko cried out, and I forced my eyes open, tears streaming down my cheeks, to see Ricko on the ground and Reece pointing a gun at him.

  “Are you okay?” he asked me, holding his hand out.

  I rushed to him, and he wrapped me in a tight hug.

  “You’re going to miss the airship,” I said, looking up into his sapphire eyes.

  He shook his head. “Did you really think Tyson and I would leave without you? We don’t have long, We need to get moving.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “I thought I was done for.”

  “So, did I for a minute. Lucky the conceited douche felt the need to sprout a monologue before he shot you.”

  He made his way to the doorway, looking left and right.

  “Ky…” Ricko’s voice murmured behind me.

  I turned to face him. Blood oozed from his chest pooling on the floor beneath him.

  “Please, help me.”

  “Sure. Just like you helped me,” I replied.

  I gripped Reece’s hand and let him guide me out of the room and into the hallway. Reece’s radio crackled, and he pulled it up to listen.

  “How far away are you? Things are getting crazy around here,” Tyson said.

  “I’ve got Ky. We’re on our way,” Reece replied.

  “It’s not going to be easy. There are Skywatchers hunters surrounding the airship. I can release a blast when you’re ready to distract them, but it’ll still be dangerous,” he said.

  I took the radio from Reece’s hand. “With Reece by my side, we can do anything. See you soon.”

  Reece took the radio back. “What she said. We’ll let you know when we’re ready.”

  “See you both soon,” Tyson replied.

  We made our way down the hallways of the bunker towards the airship hanger, easily taking out any hunters we came across. Two on two, Reece and I had the upper hand, but once we peered inside the aircraft hangar, it was obvious Tyson hadn’t been exaggerating. Both airships were completely surrounded by men and women in black, each of them holding a rifle. Not long ago, this would’ve been me.

  Guilt clutched at my chest, making it hard to breathe. I’d done horrible things as a hunter, but now I was finally doing what was right.

  Gripping my weapon, I looked to Reece. “Ready?”

  “As long as you are,” he replied.

  I peeked back through the window. “See the shelving to the left? Let’s sneak in behind it and then assess the situation. Tyson was right, this isn’t going to be easy.”

  “We’ve got this. I’ll follow you the whole way,” he said.

  “That’s what worries me,” I replied.

  Creeping through the doorway, I snuck behind a pile of boxes and crept low until I was hidden behind the shelving I’d pointed out, behind various metallic parts. At least fifty hunters surrounded the aircrafts. Maybe more.

  Above us, the ceiling was wide open, revealing stars spotting their way across a clear night sky. Kneeling down and resting my elbow on my knee, I aimed my gun at the shooter closest to us. Reece rested his arm on the shelving and took aim.

  “Give him the signal,” I whispered.

  Reece pressed the button on the side of the radio three times then steadied his aim.

  Peering through the scope, I squinted to ensure my aim was precise before squeezing the trigger. With a soft bang, one of the hunters dropped to their knees as a loud bang shuddered the room, kicking up dust and sending sand rattling from the ceiling.

  The explosion knocked me sideways, my ears ringing, as I climbed back to my feet and began running in a zigzag towards the airship.

  But just as I picked up pace, my foot snagged on something, and I found myself falling to the concrete with a thud. My lungs emptied, and I struggled to breathe as I turned to find what I’d fallen over. It was a body. A Solian body. How many had they murdered as they tried to escape? How many more would be left behind to be hunted down?

  The dust began to clear, revealing the red blinking lights around the door to the airship. But anger raged through my veins and muscles, tensing every part of my body. A hunter came into view, and without a second thought, I raised my weapon and shot him. Another appeared, and I picked him off before turning on another.

  I was so focused on taking out the hunters appearing in front of me, I hadn’t noticed as one made his way around behind me until I heard the whip of a bullet flying past me to embed itself with a thunk into the side of a metal drum. Swinging around to return fire, I found Reece behind me just as he shot the hunter before pulling me in behind the row of metal drums.

  “We aren’t leaving without you,” Reece said.

  More hunters approached us, and I fired a few shots.

  The sound of my brother’s voice echoed through a radio. I turned to find Reece beside me, holding it up to his mouth. “We’re trying to get to the ship. We’re under heavy fire.”

  “You have to make it to the ship,” I said to him.

  “We will,” he replied, taking out a hunter.

  “Not me. You. On the count of three, run. I’ll cover you.”

  “I’m not leaving you. Not after everything I went through to find you.”

  “You completed your mission. You returned me to my brother, and I’ll be forever grateful. But now I need to repay a debt. You and y
our friends need to get home.”

  “Ky, I’m not leaving you,” he said.

  “I could never go to Terra Sol knowing I killed so many of them, at least this way they might remember me as the bad guy who had a change of heart and helped save them.”

  “They’ll think that anyway,” he pleaded.

  A bullet whipped past our hiding spot, and I pressed myself against the drum’s side.

  “I’ll be right behind you,” I said. “You ready?”

  He shook his head, and I ducked out to take a shot at our pursuer.

  “One,” I started. I could see the conflict behind his eyes. “Two.”

  “I can’t,” he continued to shake his head.

  “Tell Tyson I love him, and he’s a better person than I’ll ever be.”

  Reece reached out and took my hand, his firm grip conveying everything I needed to know. He didn’t want to leave me behind but understood this was something I had to do.

  “Three.” It was barely a whisper, but we both bounded from behind the drums, and I began shooting towards the hunters.

  There were more than I’d thought, but I continued shooting as we closed the distance between the drum and the spaceship.

  Reece ran ahead as I ducked behind the last row of shelves, taking a knee and firing towards the hunters. I watched as Reece made it to the spaceship, his frame disappearing through the oval doorway before it closed. He was safe, but the hunters were edging closer. Reloading my gun, I bounded from my position and sprinted towards the ship once more.

  Justin’s stern face came into view. He yelled at the hunters around him, pointing towards me, telling them to shoot. As I had with so many aliens, I aimed at his heart and squeezed the trigger.

  He was thrown back by the shot just as a hard punch hit my side. I spun, falling forward and rolling across the concrete floor. My side burned as the spaceship rumbled to life. A thick blanket of dust kicked up around me, filling the air until the beams of light from the spacecraft were dull wisps of white. A bullet bit into my leg, and I cried out in pain. My eyes grew heavy, and I rolled to my side as my last bit of strength evaporated. I sank into the ground, my sight blurring, and the world faded away.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  My head swam as I pried my eyes open, blinking away the blurriness. Above me, bright light bounced off a metallic ceiling. Turning my head to the side, I took in what looked like a hospital room made of shiny metal.

  “About time you woke up.” Tyson arrived at my side.

  “Where am I?” I asked.

  “You’re on a spaceship.”

  “I made it?” I asked.

  “She’s awake?” Reece’s voice sounded from behind me.

  “Reece hasn’t left your side since he dragged you into the ship. Guess he’s taking his promise to keep you safe very seriously.” Tyson smirked. “But I’m glad he did.”

  “Me, too,” I said. “I honestly thought...”

  “We said we weren’t leaving without you,” Reece said.

  “She’s awake?” Cleo appeared in the doorway.

  “I’m awake,” I said.

  “You’ve had everyone so worried,” she patted my hand as she reached the bed. “I know this is really bad timing, but I need Tyson on the flight deck. I’ll get him back to you as soon as possible.”

  “Are you sure someone else can’t handle it?” Tyson asked.

  “It’s okay. You go be important,” I said.

  “I’ll be back soon okay?” he said.

  Tyson and Cleo left the room, and Reece pressed a button to make the head of my bed rise up, pushing me into a seated position.

  “How long was I out?” I asked.

  “We gave you something to heal quicker, but it also makes you sleep. It’s been seven days, Earth time,” he replied.

  “Earth time? Where are we?”

  “I guess you’d say we’re in outer space.”

  The thought made my head throb. “I’m going to Terra Sol?”

  “I know you’re scared, but I’ll be with you. And so will Tyson.”

  My head swam with the images from the aircraft hangar. “So many Solians didn’t make it.”

  “But so many did.”

  “If I hadn’t brought Natalie,” I said.

  “Then you’d still be trapped in Skywatchers, or we would’ve died getting you out. We all made the mistake of trusting Natalie. I’m just glad I got you into the airship,” he said.

  “You did?”

  “Did you really think I’d leave you behind?” he asked.

  “And they say I’m the stubborn one.” I laughed, eliciting a rush of pain into my side.

  “Unfortunately, you took a few shots before I got you on board, but the Solians have great medical technology. You’ll be back to your old self in no time.”

  “Not sure anyone would be too excited about that,” I replied.

  “It’s okay. I asked them to remove the part of your brain that makes you sarcastic,” he said.

  “They can do that?” My eyes widened.

  “No.” He laughed. “And don’t tell anyone, but I kind of like your sarcasm.”

  “Yeah well, now you’ll be stuck on your home planet with me. You might change your mind.”

  “Never. Despite the crazy ride I had on Earth, it was worth finding you,” he said.

  “Did you get shot, too?” I asked. “Or did they insert a corny sayings part into your brain?”

  “Okay, second guessing my love of your sarcasm.”

  “Told you,” I said. “Thank you for not leaving me behind.”

  “Looks like you’ll be stuck with me forever,” he replied.

  Leaning in, he pressed his lips to mine the familiar warmth, making my body melt into the bed.

  “Don’t forget you have us, too,” Tyson said as he walked back into the room with Cleo.

  “Everything okay?” I asked him.

  “It is now you’re awake,” he said. “Hope you’re happy to have the three of us for company from now on.”

  My eyes met my brother’s, and the feeling I was finally home settled in.

  “Looks like you don’t have to fly solo anymore,” Reece said.

  And for the first time in years, I was more than happy to have company.

  THE END

  About the Author

  L J Higgins writes fiction with an intriguing twist. Stories that remind you to open your eyes, minds and hearts. Hailing from Queensland, Australia, she is a wife, and stay at home mother of two young children.

  Always intrigued by dystopian worlds, the advances in technology, and what those might mean for the future of the human race. L J Higgins enjoys creating stories that explore these ideas and loves creating new worlds for readers to enjoy.

  Visit her online at

  www.ljhiggins.com

  Or find her on

  Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

  Acknowledgments

  When I dreamed up the idea of Ky, a sassy young lady who hunted aliens, I knew I was going to enjoy every moment of writing her story. My mum would tell you it was as though I’d channelled my teenage self in some of the lines Ky said throughout the books. Then Reece appeared and the rest just flowed.

  I want to thank Michelle Bryan and Michelle Lynn for always inspiring and encouraging me to keep at this writing gig and reminding me why I love it on the bad days. To my local writers group especially DL Gallie, Cass Laelyn, and Sue-Ellen Pashley, thank you for your support, writing catch ups, and making me laugh until my cheeks hurt.

  Thank you to the readers who fell in love with Ky and Reece in Aphelion and have asked me every day since when Equinox is going to be released. Your excitement pushed me to sit down and write even on the hardest days.

  As always, I have to thank my ever supportive family. My husband believes in me and my writing whole-heartedly and my kids love telling complete strangers their mum is an author.

  Books by L J Higgins

  The Dreamer Trilogy:
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  Dawn of the Dreamer

  Fall of the Dreamer

  Rise of the Dreamer

  Standalones

  On Delicate Wings

  In Their Shoes: A Collection of Short Stories

  Secrets of Aurora series: Utopia

  Eden

  Arcadia

  Elysium

  Skywatchers Series:

  Aphelion

  Equinox

  Sign up to L J Higgins Readers List

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  SETH: A Secrets of Aurora Short Story

  When giant waves wiped out the city, Seth’s family fled to the mountains to survive. Now they’re about to return to the place where their lives changed forever.

  As rumours reach them of people rebuilding their lives in the city, Seth and his parents say goodbye to their home in search of a better life. But, the moment they arrive, they know they’ve made a mistake. Attacked by unfriendly residents, Seth’s parents must make the ultimate sacrifice to save their only son. An act that leaves him alone in a foreign place.

  As he gives in to desperation and loneliness, strangers appear with promises and kindness.

  After everything he’s seen, can he trust them to deliver him to a new life? Or will trusting the wrong people lead him to an even worse fate?

  Sign up at www.ljhiggins.com for your FREE copy!

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