Animus Boxed Set 1 (Books 1-4): Initiate, Co-Op, Death Match, Advance

by Joshua Anderle

  They all did, also finding comms. “Small mercy,” Flynn said flatly.

  “Can any of you rig this so we can send out an SOS?” Cameron asked.

  “I don’t think any of us are that skilled in engineering.” Luke sighed.

  “I wish Genos were here,” Kaiden mumbled.

  “Nah, he was smart enough not to sign up for the crazy man’s camping trip,” Silas said, placing the link back into his ear.

  “It’s short-range anyway and stuck on one channel. Even if it could be wired or the channel changed, it wouldn’t do us much good unless we were already close to an emergency station,” Flynn explained.

  “I doubt we’ll be lucky enough for Wulfson to pick an area where that’ll be available,” Kaiden guessed.

  Silas looked around. “Any way to figure out where we are?”

  The ace shook his head. “No windows. Chief, you got anything?”

  “I can track your position, but that would be no fun, now would it?” Chief jeered.

  “Are you shitting me? You’re supposed to help me in situations like this,” Kaiden snapped.

  “Normally, I would, but you signed the contract. In the stipulations, you agreed to go in without your EIs,” Chief stated.

  “Wait… Where’s my pad?” Luke asked, feeling around his suit.

  “My oculars are gone,” Flynn cried, his eyes widening in realization.

  “All our EI devices were taken,” Silas concluded.

  “You would be right. Finally one of ya are catching on.” Wulfson chortled over the comms. “Here’s the deal since I can tell you didn’t go over the rules.”

  “You could have explained it better,” Cameron retorted.

  “You are all supposedly grown-ass men, so you should have done the damn reading yourself. Now stop whining and listen up.”

  The group all sat back, resigned to their current predicament and listening intently.

  “Now, what’s going to happen is that you will be left in a designated area for one day. During that time, you will have to band together to get supplies and arm yourselves, because in twenty-four hours, Raza will be hunting the lot of you down.”

  “You mean for real?” Flynn asked, a tinge of fear creeping into his voice.

  “Well, I suppose it’s more like he’ll capture you, but still, he’s a Sauren and they are good at that,” Wulfson reminded them.

  “What are we supposed to do?” Luke asked.

  “Not get caught, for starters. But to win, you gotta take him down or capture him yourselves.”

  “We’ve gotten pretty good at that over the last couple months,” Silas noted.

  “Yeah, in a contained space, with me advising you, and with weapons provided and Raza with handicaps. But besides the fact that he’s not out to kill ya, it would make diplomacy a bit of a bitch to have dead initiates on our hands. You’re dealing with a Sauren Warchief in his element. But keep up that bravado, it’ll serve you well.”

  The group looked at each other nervously. “We wouldn’t be able to pull out of this would we?” Flynn asked doubtfully.

  “Pah, where’s your backbone? Where’s your sense of adventure?” Wulfson demanded.

  “I think I forgot to get them from the drawer of my nightstand when you kidnapped me,” Kaiden jeered. “Fine, whatever. Sauren hunt in some mystery location, got it. When can we start so we can get this over with.”

  “Oh, we’re just about there. Gotta couple of things to do first, but we’ll start in about ten minutes,” the instructor said.

  “I’m reporting him for this,” Cameron muttered.

  “Good luck. We signed an agreement to do this. Plus, I think he can do this anyway as our instructor,” Kaiden reminded him.

  “Your instructor. I’m more of a hostage,” Cameron grumbled.

  “I’m warming up to it, honestly.” Luke seemed thoughtful. “Could have done without the rude awakening, but hey, it’s something different.”

  “Your appetite for spontaneity is greater than mine,” Silas observed.

  “Mine too, though Amber and Marlo have pulled me along on many a misadventure,” Flynn added.

  “Two other people who were apparently smarter than us,” Kaiden quipped.

  “Anyone wanna take a stab on where we’re getting dropped?” Cameron asked.

  “Jungle would be my guess,” Silas suggested. “Izzy’s been reading up about the Sauren homeworld Jurak, and says it’s mostly a massive, deadly jungle with a couple of deserts, and it rains half the year solid.”

  “Going for the terrain advantage?” Luke pondered this. “I guess I’d rather be in a jungle than a desert. Wish I had my armor instead of this clown suit.”

  “No kidding, this stuff compresses way too much.” Flynn grunted, pulling at the elastic around his waist. “It’s also hot—got thermal lining?”

  “Feels like it. I guess that would rule out desert or anything too humid,” Luke observed. “Unless that’s supposed to be a deliberate liability, but he would have to be a sadist to do something like that.”

  The other four looked at him with curious or annoyed expressions. The titan took a moment to realize what he’d said before rubbing the back of his head. “I guess that does go without saying, huh?”

  “What do you think is in the crates?” Flynn asked, pointing to the mass of boxes and containers in the back.

  “Not sure. Can’t exactly check them out like this,” Kaiden said, pointing to the bars.

  “Weapons, supplies, medical tools. I don’t know if it’s for them or us.” Cameron still sounded peeved.

  Kaiden crossed his arms. “Wulfson didn’t say he was participating, just Raza. Most human food and medicines don’t do much for them—hell, some are poisonous. And Raza doesn’t like using our gear, says ours pale in comparison with the Sauren weapons.”

  “You think that’s a pride thing or just speciesism?” Luke asked.

  “Mixture of pride and biology, I would guess,” Silas said with a shrug, “His weapons seem pretty primitive compared to ours, but you have to admit he’s damn effective at carving things up with them, and that energy rifle he showed us is pretty sick.”

  “I like how the war-mongering alien can walk around campus with an energy rifle, and I’m still stuck with my zappy gun,” Kaiden grumbled.

  “And yet you still hold onto it like it was your teddy bear.” Cameron chuckled.

  “It’s all I have,” Kaiden retorted.

  “Sorry for the interruption, boys,” Wulfson said.

  “Just plotting how we’ll smother you in your sleep,” the ace shot back.

  “Ha! Not a very smart tactic against someone who can throw ya like a child’s doll into the muck,” the man scoffed.

  “Is that some sort of Scandinavian proverb or is he simply being weird?” Flynn asked.

  Kaiden held his hands up in the air in a show of uncertainty. “Since he’s the only Scandinavian I’ve met, I assume both.”

  “You boys might wanna hold on. The bars should keep you tethered, but this may get a bit turbulent,” the instructor advised.

  “What might?” the ace asked. A red light shone from the back of the ship, drawing the group’s attention. It turned green, and they heard the hiss of air and the shifting of gears and metal.

  “Is he going to—” Cameron began.

  “Aw, hell.” Kaiden sighed.

  The door to the back of the dropship opened. All five of them immediately held on to their harnesses as the ship began to tilt. “What is he doing?” Flynn shouted over the rushing air.

  “Good God, it’s cold!” Silas grunted. “Sure as hell not in a desert.”

  “I see snow,” the ace stated. “Are we in the North Pole?”

  “Nah, Alaska. This ship is fast, but not that fast. Only been out about seventy minutes,” Wulfson informed them.

  “Alaska? I’m not built for Alaska. I grew up in Texas,” Kaiden hollered.

  “I was born in the Caribbean. This is a whole new level
of bullshit,” Silas cried through clenched teeth, bracing against the bars and tensing up from the cold air.

  “Sending out first batch,” the instructor stated. Kaiden saw several tethers detach, the cases sliding down the floor and then out the hatch.

  “You should be making notes of those, boys. Be damn helpful during the training,” Wulfson advised.

  “Yeah, right. I’ll remember to look for the big white spot. It’ll be easy to find,” the ace retorted acidly.

  “Heading up. Hold on,” Wulfson shouted. The ship began to ascend straight up. The group was now dangling from their harnesses, clutching them for dear life.

  “My ass has never been so clenched,” Cameron yelled.

  “I’m feeling a little woozy here,” Luke bellowed.

  “I swear to God, Luke, if you puke on me, I’ll shove your hammer up your ass the next time we’re in the Animus,” Kaiden warned.

  “Dropping the next batch!” More cases and a few small boxes dropped into the air, falling to the snowy ground below.

  “Heading back down.” The ship arced and then raced down toward the ground. The group slammed back into their seats and then into each other as the plane descended.

  “Cameron. Get your elbow out of my ribs,” Flynn demanded

  “Blame gravity,” he grunted in response, trying to force himself off the marksman.

  “Luke… Open…your damn…arms,” Kaiden ordered, his head trapped beneath the titan’s right arm.

  “Oh, sorry!” He apologized, opening his arm as wide as he could for the ace to escape.

  “I hope one of those crates has deodorant.” He huffed his fury. The ship steadied after a few more seconds, then tilted up a little.

  “Final batch!” Wulfson said. The last of the cargo dropped out of the hatch.

  “I’m going into this with some whiplash,” Flynn mumbled, rubbing his neck.

  “Congrats, Santa, you dropped off all your gifts, now what?” Kaiden inquired.

  “Now it’s your turn!” the instructor yelled. The ship banked, making a complete turn.

  “Where are you dropping us off?” Silas asked.

  “Eh, somewhere around here. I’m looking for a good spot.”

  “Are we getting anything out of this?” Cameron asked.

  “Besides bragging rights?”

  Kaiden shifted in his seat, trying to sit straight. “I’ll settle for time off after this.”

  “That’s certainly not happening,” the instructor warned. “I’ve got a few prizes for ya once we get back—assuming you win.”

  “Wulfson’s version of prizes is suspect,” Flynn pointed out.

  “Today we’re only running ten miles instead of twenty,” Cameron said in a mock Scandinavian accent. “Aren’t I so generous?”

  “Never complaining about workshops after this,” Luke muttered.

  “All right, I’m about to let you go,” the man said.

  “Good, we can finally get out of these damn harnesses,” the ace responded in a waspish tone.

  “Why haven’t you closed the hatch yet? You shouldn’t land with an open hatch,” Flynn protested.

  “I ain’t landing.”

  “Then how are we getting out of here?” Cameron asked. The others hesitated for a moment before they all looked at the open hatch and then back at each other.

  “Oh no…” they all muttered together.

  “Best of luck to the lot of ya. I’ll be back to drop Raza off tomorrow.” Wulfson shut the intercom off.

  “Don’t you do it, Wulfson,” Kaiden ordered. Then he heard a clack and felt his seat shift. He heard more of the same sound as the grips holding the chairs in place released and they began sliding toward the hatch.

  “Oh, son of a bitch,” Cameron cried.

  “He does know that we’re not in armor, right?” Flynn asked pointlessly.

  “Luke! Get in front of me so I can fall on you,” Kaiden said, using his feet to try to slow his descent.

  “Oh, real nice, you jackass!” the titan snapped.

  “If one of you believes in a God or gods, start making deals and throw me in!” Silas demanded.

  The intercom whined back to life. “Yer still in there? Quit that bellyaching and get out.”

  The ship pulled upright, the motion launching all the soldiers immediately through the hatch and into nothing. The arctic around them was rather silent except for their ferocious screams as they sailed through the sky.

  Chapter Six

  The group continued their fall, the adrenaline in their systems helping them to ignore the frigid air but not imminent death from a large fall strapped to dropship chairs.

  “Well, this seems like quite the predicament,” Chief noted nonchalantly. “Also, would you can the screaming? I swear, your mostly empty skull magnifies it.”

  Though Kaiden’s words couldn’t be heard through the roar of the air as he fell, Chief was able to read his lips and counted over a dozen different curses coming his way—not his high score, but close. He then seemed to accuse him of not helping, and if he died, Chief would deactivate.

  “I’m quite aware of that, dumbass,” Chief grunted. “But you won’t die. You really think Wulfson would just drop you to your deaths?”

  More swearing resulted—nearing twenty unique words, some directed at Wulfson this time. “True, he’s a bit insane and probably should be checked, but good luck getting him in a psychiatrist’s office. But no, he’s not trying to actively kill you. Your seat has a parachute that should activate… Now.”

  Kaiden was jerked around in his seat and then briefly ascended for a moment as a large silver parachute opened on the back of his chair. He took a deep breath and looked around at the others. Each of them now had their own parachutes open and drifted around in the air.

  The ace drew in a few more deep breaths of the chilling air. Leaning his head back against the seat, he rolled his head around to look at Chief, staring silently at the orb for a moment. “You know…I only meant about half of those things.”

  “Oh, I know. The usual pet names and just enough violent threats to know you still care,” Chief mused.

  Kaiden heard some static in his ear before Silas’ voice came through. “All right, did we lose anyone to a stopped heart?”

  “Nah, still here,” Kaiden said.

  “These bars don’t leave a lot of room for breathing, man,” Cameron whined.

  “You know, for being so sure I was about to die, I’ve never felt so alive.” Flynn chuckled.

  There was silence from Luke’s seat. “Luke, you there? Did we lose the big guy?” Kaiden asked.

  “No… No, I’m here…just had my dinner make an exit,” he muttered somberly.

  “Ah, jeez, check y’all’s suits,” Kaiden jeered.

  The group descended slowly to the ground, landing softly on the snow with loud crunches. The ace took a moment to look around. They were in a forest covered in frost and snow. He heard several clicks and the bar around his chest released. Relieved, he pushed it up and over his head, stood, and looked around. “I’m on the ground,” he announced.

  “Same here. Hey, I see you, Kai, on your left.” He looked over to see Flynn waving to him.

  “Just landed. Give me a moment to compose myself,” Luke mumbled. “I’ll find you.”

  “I think you have it the wrong way around. Catch your breath, and we’ll make our way to you,” the ace responded as he walked over to Flynn. He looked at his suit. It was white with a small silver Nexus logo blending into the fabric. He wore gloves and boots that allowed him to grip the snow as he walked. At least they weren’t totally helpless, even if the thermal lining of the suit didn’t completely keep him warm.

  “Silas, Cameron—where are you two?” Flynn asked over the comm as Kaiden approached.

  “I landed near one of the crates. I also see Cameron. He’s not on the ground.” Silas chuckled.

  “What do you mean? He’s still airborne?” Kaiden asked.

  “Sort of,�
�� the enforcer replied.

  “I’m stuck in a damn tree,” Cameron yelled, his voice echoing through the forest. It sounded like it came from the east beyond Kaiden and Flynn.

  “That’s certainly unfortunate.” The ace snickered.

  “Well, that helped us get your position. We’ll grab Luke and hurry over,” Flynn assured him.

  The two looked around to see if they could find their titan comrade. “Luke, can you call out or something so we can find you?” the marksman requested.

  They heard a rather faint moan come from behind them and hurried over to find Luke sitting against a tree. His seat lay a few feet away from him. He looked up and raised a wavering hand as they approached.

  “Man, looking pale there, buddy,” Kaiden noted. He glanced around the forest. “At least you’ll blend in.”

  “Funny,” Luke grumbled.

  “You don’t get like this in the Animus,” Flynn remarked, offering him a hand. Kaiden followed suit.

  “The Animus takes care of things like that.” He grunted as the two helped him up. “I’ve been kinda airsick since I was a kid. Doesn’t really bother me now, but all that junk Wulfson was doing and the high speed… Not great.”

  “Well, take it slow for a bit so you can recover. But let’s move ahead and get to Silas and Cam,” Flynn said.

  Luke nodded, and they trudged through the snow toward the other members of their party.

  “Would you stop fiddling with the box and get me down?” Cameron demanded, yelling down from atop the tree as he pulled against the bars and the ropes of his parachute. “Why hasn’t this thing released me?”

  “Probably because it has an auto-lock that won’t open until the chair is sitting on something solid, and you’re…” Silas looked up to see his friend dangling from the top of the tree. “I mean, you’re just hanging there.”

  “And you could get up here and help me,” Cameron pointed out.

  The enforcer continued to unstrap the box. “I could, but it would take a while. I’m hoping there’s something in here that will help. Climbing spikes, a blade, maybe a gun to shoot you down.”