The Xarren Escape (Plundering the Stars Book 2)

by James David Victor

  So, he was dead.

  Then I fought a Goonish girl, which was a shock because not a lot of us ever came to the Elarri capitol. She was pale and skinny like me and shorter by a head, but she was as ferocious as they came. Quick and lethal, she broke my nose, two fingers, and clawed me something fierce before I managed to get the better of her. Of course, as she died, she prayed to the saints with tears in her eyes.

  That broke me even further. Goons shouldn’t kill each other. We were nomads, loners, but we were loyal to each other.

  As I sat in my cell, it was no wonder I couldn’t get my hands to stop their tremors.

  Jax and El had managed to survive so far too, so that was something good at least. Each day was a nightmare of moral conflicts and the screams of the dying, but at least I had good company. El was even starting to warm up to me. It was just too bad that none of us had that much time left. The pool of fighters was dwindling fast, and it was unclear if Xarren would bring in more. Even if he did, it was unlikely we would survive much longer.

  I sighed, closed my eyes, and leaned my head back against the wall as I clenched my fists to keep them from shaking. Tears threatened to come forth as I thought about the others that had died at my hands. Saints, this was hard… How did people do this?

  But I had to. I couldn’t give up. Throwing in the towel too obviously would only make Xarren throw his wrath upon my family. It didn’t matter if I died, but I simply couldn’t have them hurt because I took the easy way out. It was unacceptable.

  “You okay?” El whispered in the dark. For once, the sconces were running low on oil so it was so dark that I could hardly see my legs out in front of me.

  I shook my head, though no doubt she couldn’t see that. “No.” Of course I had to question if she was asking because of my sigh or whether she could see my shaking hands in the darkness. Did Elarri have better eyesight? I didn’t know anatomy too well, though it was clear that they were physically superior in near every possible way to Goons. Hence the arrogance.

  “Don’t mean to pry, just sounded like you were crying.”

  Was I? I supposed I may have made some sniffles, though nothing like a sob came from me. El was a sharp one, though.

  I snickered. “I wasn’t, but I want to.”

  “Don’t like killing, eh?”

  “No. I don’t see how anyone could.”

  “I understand.”

  I took a breath. Opened my eyes, though of course it was just dim light that greeted me. My cellmates were shrouded in the dark corners of our cell. “How does it make you feel?”

  For a long time, she didn’t answer. It was almost a minute, but it felt like an eternity. Finally, she breathed, which sounded too loud in the silence. “It’s something I’ve had to do. But no, I don’t enjoy it, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  Well, at least she wasn’t a sociopath. The Elarri were a warlike and violent race, so their views on death and killing were a lot more relaxed than the galaxy at large. It was good to know that El didn’t share most of those same sentiments, though maybe I shouldn’t have judged a whole race. That was how many of the conflicts of our people started.

  “Killing is abhorrent,” Jax said. I thought he was sleeping. “Materelle only allows it in self-defense and in instances of righteousness or justice.”

  “Is that how you keep sane when you’re killing slavers, Torgoran?” El asked in a semi-mocking tone.

  “It’s the only way I can make myself sleep at night.”

  I felt the same. And with that somber conversation at a close, we descended back into silence and the crushing darkness. Not for too long, unfortunately.

  The door to our sector opened down the hall with a grinding squeal. It had gotten worse lately. They really needed to oil it or something. Better yet, upgrade to electric doors. Anyway, boots pounded toward our cell. It could only mean two things: food or fights. And we’d eaten our last meal not too many hours past.

  So, it was time again to kill or be killed.

  It was just as always. Our cell door banged open. They came in and dragged us out. Unlike the first time, they didn’t have to carry me. I was no longer an escape or self-harm risk, so I was chained around the ankles like Jax and El. I’d have preferred being carried. Lot more relaxing.

  We took the same route, all the way down to the pits below the manor, to the stone arena that was now much more filled with Xarren’s allies than it had been for my first fight. It got more and more crowded with each match. They were getting a kick out of it, so it was likely that even after the current crop of prisoners was dead, he’d keep on having these fights. Xarren was a businessman, after all.

  They lined us up as before, on our knees, our chains rattling as they forced us to the ground. From a cursory glance, I counted about seven or so of us prisoners left. The odds favored me fighting again.

  It was nice not having Xarren and his entourage standing before us as we picked who we’d fight. I didn’t need that level of smug ownership staring down on me. It was bad enough that he held my sister’s life in his hands. Every time I looked at him, it took everything in me not to attack him.

  Since there were so few of us, only one of the thugs passed around a bucket with the papers that sealed our fates. It started a few prisoners down from me and worked its way slowly. Before long, the guard stood before Jax, a sneer on his face, his scarred cheeks twitching as he did so.

  Jax pulled out his hand and unfurled the paper. A bright red dot smiled back at him. His eyes fluttered as he swallowed hard. He hated killing almost as much as I did, though as a former slave and revolutionary, he was less reserved when it came to people that he deemed deserving.

  The guard moved on to me. My turn. I dug into the bucket and held my breath. There were only a few papers left. When I pulled my hand out, I slowly uncurled my fingers.

  My heart stopped. There was a big red mark on the paper.

  “No,” I whispered, barely audible enough to hear. El sucked in a breath beside me. Jax cursed. A lump formed in my throat. This was the literal worst-case scenario that I’d imagined. Our deaths were all but certain, but I’d hoped that we would die at someone else’s hand. Killing a friend, or being killed by one, was not high on my list of things to do.

  The guard noticed our two papers, smirked, and grabbed us by the napes of our necks. He threw us forward. We were both able to keep our balance, if only barely, our chains rattling as we cursed.

  From his box, Xarren’s claps reverberated over the arena. “Ah, the cellmates have to fight, how splendid! I do hope you two didn’t form any sort of comradery, otherwise this might be tragic.”

  Tragic indeed.

  I still could hardly breath as the guards led a stunned El and the rest of the prisoners away. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were wide with shock. It shouldn’t have been that much of one, since the odds were good that we would fight each other if we kept winning. Didn’t mean any of us had to like it, though.

  The guards undid our chains and backed away, but not before they each unhooked the grav-blades from their belts and tossed them between Jax and I. We both bent down and scooped them up, if not a bit gingerly. Neither of us was eager to get this fight underway.

  Jax held his blade limply at his side. His eyes twinkled in the moonlight streaming in from the hole above. He gave me a sad excuse of a smile.

  “I’m sorry it’s come to this, my friend,” he said.

  My friend. Yes, that was what we were wasn’t it? Even though we’d only known each other for little over a week, we’d become friends, bonded by the hardships of life, our hatred of Xarren and his ilk, and our love for our shared friendship with Jinx. And the grief of her passing…

  So, friends we were, which was why this was, in Xarren’s words, tragic.

  “Fight! Don’t hold back,” roared Xarren from his box, his voice amplified by a speaker above.

  I held my blade out in front of me, my grip so tight that my hands shook and my knuckles hurt. Te
ars were on the verge of fighting their way free.

  “I don’t want to do this.”

  Jax’s smile grew wider. “But you have to.” His arms went limp and his sword nearly fell from his grasp. He placed his other hand over his heart. “Right here. End this.”

  I frowned. “You can’t ask me to kill you. Not like that.”

  “I have nothing left to live for, Yan. You, you still have your family. I don’t want to kill you and you don’t want to kill me, but if there’s even a chance that you could be reunited with them, I won’t take that away from you just so I can survive a few days longer in this sad excuse of a life.”

  The tears did come forward at last. A lump formed in my throat. “Don’t make me do this.”

  “You don’t have a choice. If you do nothing, Xarren will just kill us both, and hurt your sister and family. This is the only way.”

  He was right, of course. Of course. But that didn’t mean I had to sit here and like it. He was my friend; I didn’t want to kill him. I didn’t want to live with that knowledge. And what if El and I fought? She still didn’t like me much, but we got along. I didn’t want that either, and with the way things were going, the saints’ favor was not on my side.

  Still, Jax was right. And I doubted we could just kill each other at the same time, because it was hard to stage something like that to be believable. Xarren was an arrogant prick, but far from a gullible idiot.

  Defeated, I took a deep breath and wiped at my tears. “Okay,” I said.

  “I’m sorry, Yan.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  Jax pursed his lips and nodded. “I’m glad I got to meet you. I only wish we could have had more time.”

  “As do I.”

  “You two better start soon or there will be consequences,” Xarren boomed over the speakers. As Jax said, he had nothing to live for, but the consequences for me were obvious—ones that I just couldn’t accept.

  So, I gripped my grav-blade, the vibrations making my arms feel heavier than they were, and charged forward. Jax took a ready stance and lifted his sword, but I knew it was just for show. I would reach him, and my blade would run him through, and he would be dead, and I would die a little more on the inside.

  As I neared my friend, time seemed to slow. I knew that was a common phrase, but for once, it really rang true.

  One step closer. Jax smiled.

  Two steps. Tears glistened in his eyes.

  Three steps. Tears continued from mine.

  Four steps. I started my swing.

  Five steps. He tensed, like he was ready to parry.

  Two steps away from him. Two steps until my grav-blade ended his life and prolonged my miserable existence. Two more small steps until another death that I could never take back, no matter how bad I wanted.

  Two steps.

  Then one step. Then…

  BOOOOM!

  13

  Chapter 13 (YAN)

  The entire arena shook from a sudden blast. How far away was unclear, but the magnitude was astounding. It sent me stumbling. Jax fell over. My sword went flying. It felt like it was an earthquake from the never-ending rumbling, but I could hear the explosions in the distance. This was an attack.

  Another blast came, closer. So violent that there was a resounding CRACK! I looked up in time to see why. A large chunk of the rocky ceiling came loose and plummeted right toward us. Jax was still dazed and on one knee. He didn’t notice it, because he was looking around at the arena.

  “Jax!”

  I rushed at him, arms pumping. I dove. Tackled him around the waist. We rolled end over end. Limbs smacking against each other. It hurt.

  BOOM. The chunk of ceiling crashed behind us in an explosion of rock and dust. I covered Jax with my body as rocky shrapnel bit at my back like galawasp stings. Painful, but I would manage.

  Once it was over, I stood up, gulping on air. I could hardly see there was so much dust and debris in the air, but I knew Jax was below me.

  “You okay?” I asked him as I helped him to his feet.

  He brushed himself off. “I’m fine. Thanks.”

  I nodded. The air began to clear of dirt, but the rumbling didn’t go away and the distant explosions still sounded. Xarren’s guests scrambled from their bleachers, yelling and cursing clear as day. There was a large rock in the middle of some seats. Blood stained the ground beneath it. I would say it served them right, but it still made my stomach twist.

  Through all the confusion and chaos, no one was paying any attention to us. Jax noticed this too. He grabbed me by the shoulders and locked eyes with me. “Now’s our chance, you beautiful Goonish thief!”

  “But I—” I licked my lips. “I can’t, Jax. If I escape, he’ll kill my sister or do saints know what to her. I can’t.”

  He frowned. “Do you know where she is?”

  “What?”

  “Do you know where she is?”

  I shook my head, but then I remembered Rago probably knew. He had told me about her current predicament to begin with. “I know how to find out.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll do. We’re gonna get out of here, rescue your sister.”

  Tears threatened to spill down my cheeks. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. Let’s move!”

  Then he was dragging me by the elbow. I smiled and took off at a sprint along with him. We scooped up our grav-blades as we ran. I still had no desire to use it, but in defense of my life, it could serve me. I was going to get out of here, go find my sister, and make sure Xarren never hurt anyone I cared about again. Nothing was going to stop me.

  Except maybe getting shot by blaster fire.

  We were nearly to the tunnel when some of Xarren’s thugs opened fire from the stands behind us. They were terrible shots, so we just kept running. Saints protect me, I thought. And they did. In a heartbeat, we were in the tunnels, surrounded by darkness and away from the blaster bolts.

  We ascended the steps to the prison. The rumbling became more distant and intermittent. Whoever was attacking had eased off the assault. As long as they didn’t stop all together, it was fine with me.

  As we got higher, voices came from ahead, angry and Elarri. Probably guards. Jax bumped my shoulder. “You ready?”

  “No.”

  “You better be then, because they’re not gonna let us walk out of here.”

  Yeah, that I knew.

  We came to the last landing lit by torches. There was one more stairwell with the door at the top. This was it. We took the steps two at a time, my legs dying from all the running, but adrenaline coursed through me so I could go for miles. Jax was ahead of me and got to the top first. No pause. He used his momentum to shoulder the door open.

  On his heels, we emerged to our prison block. Two Elexae guards stood ahead of us, arguing over something. We were nearly halfway to them when they turned to us. They yelled something in Elarri, but it didn’t matter. Jax took the one on the left and I the right. He was big and fat, with a massive grav-axe held in his meaty grip. Good thing he didn’t have a blaster, otherwise this would have been a fast fight.

  He swung at me. I ducked beneath his swing and slipped beneath his legs. Once on the other side, I popped up and kicked him in the rear. He fell forward with an angry grunt, flat on his face. I didn’t hesitate. Before he could recover, I whirled around and jammed my grav-blade into his thigh so hard that it broke through the stone floor under him. He screamed in agony.

  “Sorry,” I said. I punched him in the face as hard as I could. Strength wasn’t something I had, especially compared to an Elarri, but my adrenal-fueled muscles were enough to knock him out. He was scum, but that didn’t mean he deserved to die.

  I pulled my blade from his thigh, which took a little more effort than I cared to admit. I turned in time to see Jax jam his sword through his opponent’s neck.

  “Ese coo ashla Materelle,” he said, like a prayer, as he looked into the dying Elarri’s eyes and laid him softly against the st
one floor. I tried not to look at all the blood.

  Jax stood and gave me a sympathetic look. “Sorry about that.”

  I shook my head, trying not to show my displeasure. “Don’t worry about it. It was you or him.”

  Before he could respond, a familiar voice yelled from down the hall. “Jax! Yan!” It was El, still in her cell. The remaining prisoners were also pressed against their cells, eager as pups. Eyes wide with curiosity and excitement.

  Jax and I ran over to our cell. “What’s going on?” El asked.

  “Can’t say for certain,” Jax answered. “We think the manor is under attack. Yan and I slipped free in the chaos.”

  She smiled wide, her eyes glistening. “I’m glad you two are still alive.” Huh, I guessed she did like me after all. “Now get me the hell out of here.”

  “Will do.”

  I ran back to the bodies. I fished through their pockets before I found two sets of keys. One was electronic, for the more advanced cells above, and the other was a simple iron keyring. For our current setting. I returned to our cell and tried a few keys before one worked. Then did the same for El’s chains. Once she was free, she threw her arms around us.

  “Thank goodness.”

  I patted her back. “Glad to see you don’t hate me.”

  “Give me time to regain that fire, Goon.”

  “Can you twits stop the hugging and let us out too!” yelled one of the prisoners. He was a skinny Elarri with tremendously thin eyes that looked like he wanted to flay me alive. I didn’t like the look of him, but a jailbreak on top of an attack was just the type of chaos we needed. I went and unlocked all the cells. It took a minute to figure out the keys, but soon, we had a half-dozen new allies who didn’t waste any time with introductions. They took off up the next set of stairs to the cellblocks above.

  “They have the right idea,” El said as bent down to pick up the grav-axe of my knocked-out opponent. She held it in her grip and inspected the shiny obsidian shaft and the humming black blades. She smiled. “Oh yes, just like the one my dad used to have.”