Proxy: A Dystopian Thriller (The Unwelcome Trilogy Book 3)

by R. D. Brady

  A stream of energy burst from the end of the romag and hit Maisy right in the chest as she scrambled to her feet. A huge burst of light exploded around her. Against her will, Lyla’s eyes winced shut.

  When she opened them again, Maisy was gone.

  43

  Lyla could barely breathe. She dropped to her knees, unable to think. The two Unwelcome that had stormed out of the trees near Maisy continued forward, but they lowered their romags. Lyla barely registered the romag near her. She was vaguely aware that Arthur was fighting with one of the Unwelcome, but she could not get herself to move.

  Maisy. Maisy is gone.

  From the corner of her eyes, she saw the Naku step from the trees. He was four feet tall, emaciated but with less wrinkles than some of the other ones she had seen. Which meant he was younger. The Naku stared at the Unwelcome, his hands reaching up for them, strain on his face. A romag blast crashed into the Naku’s chest, sending him flying, his back slamming into a tree before he crumpled at its base.

  Lyla didn’t have to check him to know that he was dead. The Naku could withstand very little force against their bodies. So fragile, and at the same time, so incredibly dangerous.

  All of this ran through Lyla’s mind, and yet she still could not move. One of the Unwelcome approached her. Lyla knew she should get up. She should defend herself. She should protect herself. But she simply couldn’t. First she had failed Miles. Now she had failed Maisy. The Unwelcome stopped only ten feet away. It didn’t raise its romag. It stood there and tilted its head, watching her.

  A scream sounded from Lyla’s left. A blur of movement, and then Maisy, beautiful, wonderful Maisy slammed into the knees of the Unwelcome. The being threw its arms out, trying to steady itself, but somehow Maisy had worked up enough energy to knock him over. With a scream, Maisy jumped, slamming both her knees into the creature’s stomach. The Unwelcome doubled over in response as Maisy rolled off.

  Lyla’s jaw dropped, trying to figure out what was going on as she sprang into action. She ripped the Unwelcome’s helmet off, her knee slamming into its face a second later. It flew back, its head slamming hard into the ground.

  Maisy was still crouched low. Lyla pulled her up and away from the Unwelcome. She yanked her behind her, facing the other Unwelcome.

  Instead of rushing her, the Unwelcome dropped their romags and raised their arms. Lyla didn’t let her guard down, though, her muscles tense. But then the warmth left Lyla, and she knew they were no longer an immediate threat. She glanced at the Unwelcome lying prone in front of her and then back at Maisy. She darted a quick glance at the porch, where Little Thor lay unharmed and still asleep.

  Lyla glanced back at Maisy. “How?”

  Maisy’s eyes were large as her gaze darted from Unwelcome to Unwelcome. “I don’t know. The blast hit the box, and my hands got a little burnt but not me.”

  Lyla grabbed Maisy’s hands, turning them over and inspecting them. There were burns along the fingers at the front of her left hand. That made no sense. It did not matter where the romag struck a human. If it hit a human, that human turned to dust. And yet Maisy was proof that that was not the case.

  Arthur hurried over to their side. “What happened? Are you all right?” He picked Maisy up, inspecting her closely before hugging her tightly.

  Maisy hugged him back. “I’m okay.” She broke out in a grin. “I took down an Unwelcome,” she announced proudly.

  “I saw that,” he said, his gaze intense as it focused on Lyla.

  Lyla shook her head. “I don’t know. She was hit. She shouldn’t be here.”

  Maisy nudged her chin and back toward the coffin. “I think Ta’Chiko saved me.”

  Lyla frowned down at her, not sure what to say, and only then did she become aware of the Unwelcome still surrounding them. She whirled around, scanning each of them. None of them had moved closer to them. None of them threatened them. In fact, all of them had stepped away from where their romags lay on the ground.

  Lyla looked at Arthur. “What’s going on?”

  One of the Unwelcome approached, his hands in the air. Slowly, the Unwelcome removed his helmet. The face underneath was young. In Earth years, the individual couldn’t be more than twenty. He nodded toward Maisy. “Is she all right?”

  Lyla stepped in front of Maisy. “She’s fine.”

  The Unwelcome’s shoulders dropped in apparent relief. “Thank the gods. I did not want to shoot. The Naku forced us to.”

  Arthur frowned. “What do you mean you didn’t want to?”

  The other Unwelcome gathered behind the first one, and slowly each of them removed their helmets as well. The Unwelcome gestured back to them. “All of us, for the last month, has been experiencing”—he paused—“emotions. Different feelings. We weren’t sure what to make of them.”

  “Are there many of you that feel this way?” Arthur asked.

  “Yes. We don’t simply follow orders like before.”

  “And the Naku?” Lyla asked. “Why did they send that one with you?”

  The Unwelcome winced. “They use their mental powers to make us do what they want. It is painful.”

  “How did you find us?”

  “We were on patrol. We saw the veerfinah, and we were ordered to check out the area. The Naku ordered us to kill you.”

  “And now?”

  The Unwelcome opened his mouth and then shut it. “I-I don’t know what we’re supposed to do.”

  “Do you want to go back to the Naku?”

  The Unwelcome shook his head, as did his companions. “No.”

  Lyla turned to Arthur. “I don’t understand. We know the sabotage was discovered. The Ka Sama should have gone back to its normal levels, so why is this happening?”

  “Perhaps they developed some sort of immunity to it. Or some other factor is somehow blocking the effect of it now.”

  Lyla turned back to the Unwelcome. “So when Arthur shot the Naku, that’s when you were released from his control. Is that correct?”

  Arthur shook his head with a frown. “I didn’t shoot the Naku.”

  “I did,” one of the Unwelcome said.

  Lyla stared at him. “But how is that possible? The Naku was controlling you.”

  “After the flash, when the girl was hit, the Naku’s control was broken.” All eyes turned to Maisy.

  Maisy looked up at them. “It was Ta’Chiko. When they hit the box, I could smell the burning.” Maisy hurried back to the coffin before Lyla could stop her. She picked up the box from where it lay on the ground and hurried back to Lyla’s side, handing it over. “Look.”

  Lyla ran a hand over the strange box. It looked like hieroglyphics had been carved into each side. They were incredibly intricate.

  But one side had a deep scorch mark that had removed some of the symbols. Lyla ran a hand over the scorch mark.

  If Maisy hadn’t been holding this …

  She shook her head, not wanting to face that possibility. “Where did you find this?”

  “In the coffin,” Maisy said. “Ta’Chiko told me to find it, that we would need it.”

  Arthur knelt down. “What do you mean he told you?”

  Maisy looked between Arthur and Lyla. “Just that: He told me. When I touched his amulet, a warmth spread through my hand, and then the next thing I knew, I wasn’t here anymore.”

  “Where were you?” Arthur asked quietly.

  “I was in the middle of a battle. It was the Naku fighting on one side and people that looked like Ta’Chiko fighting on the other. It seemed so real.” Maisy shuddered. “Ta’Chiko, he found me and spoke to me. He told me that I needed to find the box. That it would be buried with him. So I felt inside the coffin, and it was underneath his head. I had just taken it out when they arrived.” She nodded to the Unwelcome.

  Arthur turned to Lyla. “May I see that?”

  Lyla handed it to him. No one spoke as Arthur examined the box.

  “Do you know what language that is?” Lyla finally as
ked.

  Arthur nodded slowly. “It looks Egyptian, but it’s not. I believe it’s Sumerian.”

  “The language of the Anunnaki.”

  Arthur nodded. “Yes. I cannot decipher all of this, but do you see this along the top of the box?” He pointed to a long line of symbols that ran along the center of the lid. It was surrounded by a rectangle. “This tells what is in the box. It gives the name for the weapon inside.”

  “Weapon?” Lyla asked.

  Arthur nodded, his face grave. “Yes. It is called the weapon of transformation.”

  44

  The weapon of transformation. The possibilities were staggering. Lyla looked from Maisy to the large Unwelcome she had taken down. He was beginning to stir, his eyes flickering open. One of the Unwelcome started for him and then stopped, glancing at Lyla.

  “Go ahead,” she said. The Unwelcome hurried over to the other one, helping him sit up.

  The soldier outweighed Maisy by nearly three hundred pounds. It was not humanly possible for her to have taken it down.

  And yet she had done exactly that.

  “This is what created the abilities for Muriel and me?” Lyla asked, although as she stared at the coffin, it became the less of a question and more of a statement.

  Arthur nodded. “I believe so.”

  Maisy grinned, her eyes lighting up. “Does this mean I’m like the Cursed? I can do all the same stuff they do?”

  Lyla did not feel the same enthusiasm at the idea. Part of her was glad that Maisy would be able to defend herself, but the other part of her was terrified of what would happen if the Naku found out that she had these abilities. She would become a target just like her brothers were.

  “We don’t know what it means, exactly.” Lyla said. “It could be temporary.”

  Arthur caught her eye and shook his head. Apparently temporary wasn’t an option. “I cannot translate all of this quite yet, but if you look here at this sign, it indicates that the transformation is permanent.”

  Lyla sucked in a breath. When they had made the trek here, she had no idea what they would find. She had really just been glad to get away from the Gatsby. To give herself a chance to clear her head a little bit and hopefully see things more clearly. But this, a weapon that could somehow transform humans into the Cursed with the same abilities? That she had never expected.

  “What about us?” asked the Unwelcome that Maisy had taken to the ground. All of the Unwelcome had been standing quietly, not attempting to leave.

  Arthur looked them all over. “What would you like to do?”

  One of the female Unwelcome stepped forward. A wind blew. She closed her eyes, turning her face toward the wind. The others turned as well. All of them blinked rapidly, surprise flashing across their faces at the feel of the wind on their skin.

  Lyla realized this was probably the first time they had ever felt it. They never removed their helmets when they were on the planet, only when they were going to sleep.

  Little Thor let out a soft cry. Lyla turned, but Maisy was already running across the space to the porch and pulling Thor into her arms. “Shh, shh. It’s all right. I’m right here.”

  The surprise on the Unwelcome’s faces shifted to disbelief as Maisy walked toward them, holding Little Thor in her arms.

  One of the women couldn’t take her gaze from him as she asked, “Where did he come from?”

  “He’s one of the children we rescued from the breeding facility,” Lyla said.

  The female Unwelcome exchanged a shocked glance with the others before her gaze returned to Little Thor. “That did happen? We had heard that the facility had been destroyed. That humans had destroyed it and that all inside had been killed.”

  Arthur shook his head. “No. We did go into the facility, but we liberated all of the women and children there. They are all alive and quite safe.”

  “Who told you that they were dead?” Lyla asked.

  “We have lost a number of members of the chelvah in the last few weeks. The Esteemed Leader issued a rare statement. He said that they had been killed by increased human attacks. He also said that they had destroyed the facility.”

  Lyla shook her head. “That’s not true. Your people are deserting. They no longer wish to serve the Naku.”

  Lyla could read the uncertainty on their faces. She couldn’t blame them. It was all so new for them. She couldn’t imagine being completely under the control of another species and slowly waking up and realizing that the control was no longer there. But being on an alien planet, it would take a lot to get someone to break away.

  “Do you wish to go back to the Naku?” Lyla asked.

  “No,” one of them said quickly. “But I do not know where else we could go.”

  Maisy shifted Thor to her other shoulder, patting his back. “Well, you could come live with us. We have lots of room. And there are other Unwelcome there as well. Right, Mom?”

  Lyla nodded slowly. It was always a risk offering a haven to the Unwelcome. But these five seemed completely lost. And they all looked so young.

  “You don’t have to stay forever,” Lyla said. “If you want, you could stay for a little while as you figure out where it is you’d like to go. It will give you a chance to think. And you can speak with some of the other Unwelcome and make a decision for yourself as to what would be best for you.”

  One of the women’s eyes grew large. “We have never made decisions for ourselves.”

  “I hadn’t either,” Arthur said. “But after you make the first one, you begin to like it. And this is your first one. Would you like to join us?”

  The group of them exchanged glances before the man who’d first removed his helmet nodded. “Yes.”

  45

  The flight back to the Gatsby was a little surreal. Arthur was alone in the cockpit while Lyla sat in the back with the five Unwelcome, Maisy, and Little Thor. She didn’t trust the Unwelcome yet and wasn’t comfortable leaving them alone with the kids.

  But none of them made any suspicious moves toward the two children. In fact, they seemed alternately amused and curious about both of them.

  Maisy, for her part, kept up a long stream of conversation with what she considered to be her new friends. She told them about all of the Unwelcome mothers at the Gatsby and described each of their children.

  She described her new best friend, Iris. And she explained all about how Little Thor’s uncle had helped them save all the women at the breeding facility.

  Lyla half listened to the conversation as she thought about what they had discovered. Ta’Chiko’s coffin had been loaded into the back of the veerfinah. The box and book sat in her lap, and she absentmindedly ran her fingers over the ridges in the carvings. She knew Arthur wanted to sit down and study the box and book, but he was the only one that she would allow to fly the veerfinah.

  It was the amulet that intrigued her the most. She’d left it around his neck, although she was dying to examine it further. Was it really some sort of communicator with the alien? It seemed impossible, but she was well beyond ruling things out. But investigating that would have to wait until they returned to the Gatsby.

  They had left the other veerfinah back at the cottage. She planned on sending a team with Arthur and Pxedlin back to there. Once Pxedlin removed the tracking device, they would return with the second veerfinah. She had an idea of how she was going to use it, but right now she was letting that idea marinate in the back of her mind.

  Currently she was more focused on Maisy’s vision. Maisy said it felt incredibly real, not like a dream, but as if she were actually there. Lyla knew that wasn’t possible. Maisy had been in the clearing with them the whole time. But then again, they were talking about a species that could create incredible abilities in another species. So who was she to say that Maisy hadn’t actually been there?

  Which, of course, led to the next question: Who exactly was Ta’Chiko? Where had he come from? And why had he decided to help humans? Lyla hoped that the book would be abl
e to tell them.

  A light blinked on above the cockpit door, indicating that they were descending. Lyla placed the box and book on the chair next to her and stood up. She crossed over to Maisy and Little Thor, double-checking their straps. “We’re about to land.”

  Maisy grinned up at her. “I can’t wait to tell Riley and Miles what I can—” The grin fell from her face.

  Lyla leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Tell Riley and Petra. They will be very happy to hear it.”

  Maisy nodded, but Lyla saw the slight tremble in her chin. Next to her, Little Thor looked up at her with his goofy grin. Lyla ran her thumb over his cheek. “You are cute, kid.”

  Then she took her own seat. A few minutes later, they landed behind the Gatsby. Lyla quickly unstrapped the two kids, pulling Little Thor into her arms. She turned to the other five as Arthur stepped out of the cockpit.

  “I think it would be best if you stayed here for a moment while I give everyone a heads-up that you’re here.”

  “I’ll stay with them,” Arthur said.

  Lyla gave him a quick smile before heading for the ramp. She needed to find Xe and let her know that Thor was fine. She’d barely stepped off the ramp when a cry went up across the yard. And then Xe was sprinting across the space toward her. Lyla hurried to intercept her. “He’s fine. He snuck on board as we were leaving. I’m sorry I worried you.”

  Xe hugged Little Thor to her chest as Thor came running up, his relief obvious at the sight of his sister’s son in her arms.

  “I was so worried,” Xe said.

  “I know. I’m sorry. If there was a way we could’ve communicated …” Lyla said.

  Xe nodded her understanding, but there was still a tremor in her arms as she walked away. Lyla turned to Thor. “We’ve got five new Unwelcome inside. They found us at my father’s cottage.”

  Thor raised an eyebrow. “New recruits?”

  Lyla shrugged. “Still to be determined. But they need a place to clear their heads and figure out where they want to go from here.”