Eden One, Episode One

by Raven K. Asher

  “Silas, Jace, we need you on the guns.” Max yells and they quickly rush into place as the engines fire on our ship.

  “Are those ships even ours?” Max questions.

  “Those aren’t ours, they aren’t even human.” Jace growls as he fires the ships side gun.

  “What are they?” Silas questions firing from his side.

  “They’re your worst nightmare.” Cash answers calmly.

  “This is messed up.” Maddox mutters as the ship is rocked by random fire. “Cash, please tell me these aren’t what you ran into?”

  “I can’t tell you that, Maddox.” Cash replies causing Maddox to let out a string of curses.

  I sob as I hold my gun tightly in my hand.

  The ship gets a hard hit and I cry as I lift the gun to my head. I was ready to end things right then and there.

  They wouldn’t get me alive, and they wouldn’t have the pleasure of killing me.

  “No, stop, Kenzie. Don’t you dare do it, don’t you dare pull that trigger.” Maddox growls as he quickly unfastens his belts.

  “I can’t let them take me.” I cry.

  “They aren’t going to get us, Babe.” He answers kneeling in front of me as he reaches for my hand. “I won’t let anyone get you.” He promises.

  “He’s dead, Maddox, they’re all dead.”I whisper.

  “I know, Babe, I know. None of it was your fault.” Maddox whispers as he pulls my gun from my hand before grabbing the other one from my belt.

  Grey finally snaps out of his trance to look at me with sad eyes.

  “Don’t cry, Mac, please don’t cry.” He whispers softly as he reaches for my hand. “I need you to stay strong. We need you to stay strong.”

  “I can’t.” I choke out with another sob.

  I couldn’t be strong.

  I wasn’t the leader that they needed.

  I had failed them.

  “We’re clear.” Cash finally yells out and everyone around sighs out a breath of relief.

  Maddox turns to watch as Cash makes his way back towards us.

  “Are we really clear? Shouldn’t they be sending ships after us?” Maddox questions as he watches Cash closely.

  “They aren’t attacking the ships that are flying away, yet.” He answers as he kneels down in front of me.

  Placing his hands on my cheeks he moves my face so I have no choice but to look into his eyes. “We are safe, Love.” He whispers softly as his thumbs wipe away my tears.

  Glancing over at Killian’s lifeless body he sighs.

  “Maddox can you take care of Grey’s wound?” Cash questions, Maddox nods as he moves over to Grey.

  Leaning over towards me he snatches one of my knives to cut away at Grey’s shirt.

  “Love, I have to tell you this now even though I hate to even say the words.” Cash bows his head.

  “I couldn’t save him.” He blurts and I look to Killian’s lifeless body.

  His face was pale and his head hung loosely.

  “No, he can’t be dead.” I pant breathlessly as I fight against the belts that held me in my seat.

  “They killed him right on the mat before we could even get out of the room.” He explains letting me free of my seat.

  Kneeling in front of Killian I reach out and touch his face.

  My knuckles caress his still warm cheek as another sob gets caught in my chest.

  It was all just too much.

  “I’m sorry, Love. I am so sorry.” Cash apologizes as I rise to my feet feeling numb.

  I stand still for a moment before crumbling down to the floor.

  Cash grabs me and then curses as he feels the blood soaking through my jacket.

  Removing my swords he tears my jacket off before tearing through the bandages.

  I lay still on the floor as Maddox joins him in cursing.

  “Don’t worry about me, Maddox. My wound stopped bleeding. Help her. She’s lost too much already.” Grey demands.

  “Just let me go.” I whisper as I feel the urge to give up my fight.

  “No, I will not let you go, Love.” Cash growls fiercely, while placing my face into his rough hands. “I won’t lose you again. I fought to get back to you the first time and I’m not about to lose you when I finally just got you back.”

  My eyes flutter as I look into his red eyes. “I love you, Cash.”

  “I love you too.” He whispers as I’m pulled into a deep darkness.

  Chapter 13

  “How is she?” Cash questions nearby.

  “She’s going to make it but she is going to be in a hell of a lot of pain when she wakes up.” Maddox answers. “I don’t know why none of us thought to bring a decent medic kit, or at least one that contained some sort of pain killer.”

  “Once we are on the ground I should be able to find something to help her.” Cash replies.

  “What’s waiting for us down there?” Maddox inquires curiously.

  “It’s a primitive world on one side, and on the other side is a world far different from our own. They are dangerous and won’t hesitate to kill.” Cash explains.

  “We need to be quick to land on the side that’s primitive and hopefully we can do so without attracting unwanted attention.” Cash continues. “That’s the only way I survived. I had help and hopefully I can find that help for us again.”

  “I hope so too, Cash, because right now this is all looking pretty hopeless.” Maddox answers and Jace, Grey, and Silas grunt in agreement.

  “I need you up here now, Cash.” Max suddenly yells.

  I open my eyes as pain washes through me as the ship jerks.

  I scream as it jerks again.

  “Shhhh, Mac, you’re going to be okay.” Maddox speaks softly as he pulls me to lean forward.

  “It hurts.” I pant out as tears fall from my eyes.

  “What hurts the worst, Mac?” He questions.

  “My heart hurts, Maddox, it hurts so badly.” I answer with the first words that popped into my mind. It was the honest truth though.

  It hurt far worse than my back did at the moment.

  Looking into my eyes I see tears form in his eyes for the first time since I had known Maddox. I had never once seen any one of my guys cry.

  “I know it hurts, Babe, mine hurts too.” He answers softly as he wipes away my tears. “We just have to stay strong, okay?” He questions with his voice clogged with emotion.

  I nod looking over to where Killian’s body had been.

  “We moved him to the back. When we land we can bury him.” Silas answers this time as he watches us with sadness in his eyes.

  “I’m sorry, Silas.” I whisper and he nods as he looks back out the window near him.

  He had lost everyone close to him and that only made my heart hurt worse.

  I felt his pain as if it were my own.

  I couldn’t imagine the pain I would have been in if I would have lost my whole team. It would have been overwhelming.

  It was hardly bearable to have lost Dash and Killian.

  But I was thankful to still have Maddox, Grey, Max, and Cash.

  They were everything to me.

  Grey’s hand slips back into mine as I close my eyes. “We will be fine, Mac.” He whispers. “We will all be fine with Cash now.”

  I nod in agreement as I squeeze his hand tightly in mine.

  He was right, with Cash we could make it through this.

  “I can’t believe the council was going to send us to the same planet that they sent him to.” Silas blurts out abruptly.

  “They were going to send you to ground here?” Cash questions from the front.

  “Yeah, they were going to send teams of us down. My team and Mac’s were the first chosen.” Silas answers.

  “Then those idiots deserved this.” Cash growls out as the ship jerks again.

  I cry out in pain.

  “Sorry, Love. I promise it won’t hurt much longer.” Cash yells back to me.

  “Maddox strap her back in a
nd get into your own seat.” Max commands. “Silas, Jace, we need you on the side guns again. Bad shit is coming at again.”

  Moving like lighting, both Jace and Silas move into position.

  Maddox buckles me back against my seat tightly to reduce my pain as we are jerked back and forth over and over.

  “Where are they coming from this time?” Silas curses as he fires.

  “Behind us, they’re giving chase.” Cash yells back as the nose of our craft angles up at a steep climb.

  “You need to get them off of us.” Max snarls from the front.

  “I’m trying the best I can. These stupid ships weren’t made to do these types of maneuvers.” Cash growls out right before our ship turns left sharply.

  Cash cuts us right and I cry out as the pain triples in my back, any more movement was bound to have me blacking out, but at the moment blacking out was looking like the better option.

  It was either that or to face the feeling of crash landing, or worse, being blown straight out of the sky.

  Neither sounded like a good option to me.

  I wanted to at least reach the ground in one piece.

  I wanted to feel the dirt beneath my feet and the air on my face as I stood in the sunlight.

  “You better not get us killed, Cash.” I growl out abruptly.

  “I won’t get us killed, Love.” He laughs along with everyone else.

  “You better not, I want to feel that damn ground beneath my feet.” I yell out. “I want to feel the sun on my face, and I want to breathe in the fresh air.”

  “I want to eat some real meat.” Jace adds.

  “And I want to have wild sex with the natives.” Grey barks out and a round of laughter sounds through the ship.

  “I want to feel your lips against mine, and your beautiful body again.” Cash yells back making everyone go silent.

  “I want that too, Cash. More than anything I want that again.” I answer.

  “Dude, she’s like my sister, I don’t want to hear that smut.” Max barks out jokingly and everyone chuckles.

  “Don’t make me turn this ship around, Max, because I will.” Cash warns lightly.

  “Okay, grandma, let’s see you try.” Max teases as the ship takes another sharp turn.

  “Is that all you’ve got, grandma?” Jace teases and the ship turns sharply to the left.

  “Damn it.” Cash curses as the ship tilts upward once again.

  “Can you get a clear shot of them, Silas?” Cash questions quickly.

  “No, I can’t. If I shoot now I’ll kill us by nicking the wing.” He answers.

  “If I tell you to take the shot, will you?” Cash questions and Silas looks back to me.

  “Are you asking me if I’m willing to kill us?” Silas raises his brow in question.

  “No, I’m asking you to trust me that when I tell you to take the shot that I have a plan to keep us alive and them dead.” Cash replies.

  “Then yes, I’ll take the shot when you order it.” Silas answers.

  “Max, get into the back with the others. If this goes bad it’s best you’re back there than up here.” Cash orders calmly.

  “I’d rather stay up here. You’re going to need me to keep this boat from getting too out of control.”Max responds.

  “Fine, but everything is on my count, my command.” Cash relents.

  “Yes, captain.” Max replies seriously.

  “Alright, is everyone ready for this family trip to be over?” Cash question making light of the tense moment.

  “I’m more than ready, grandma.”Maddox yells.

  With a sharp turn to the right and then a quick turn to our left Cash curses. “Get ready Silas.”

  “Ready, and waiting, Captain.” Silas grunts.

  I swear everything next happens in slow motion.

  My body is jerked right again and then left before the nose tips up and then abruptly down before one last turn left.

  “Shoot, shoot now.” Cash orders and shots ring out as Silas takes his shots.

  A loud boom sounds from behind us and Silas smiles turning towards me. “I hit them.” He calls out.

  “Great job, now I need both you and Jace to get into seats into the middle near Mac, before this boat hits ground.” Cash calls out and they quickly move as the ship turns right and left abruptly as the nose takes a dive downward.

  Barely getting into his seat next to me Silas curses as he buckles himself in, Jace quickly buckles in next to Maddox.

  “Are we good?” Cash yells back.

  “We’re good.” Jace calls back.

  “Good. Now, hold tight to your undies, because this is going to hurt like a son of a…” His words end as the ship impacts with solid ground.

  My breath is knocked from my lungs as I slam against the belts holding me in, I cry out as Maddox curses.

  The ship suddenly tumbles and this time Cash curses along with Max.

  Glass shatters.

  Metal crunches and we continue to tumble.

  With every tumble I come closer and closer to the darkness that I so badly want at the moment.

  The pain was unbearable.

  I prayed for us to stop, for us to all be alive, that I wouldn’t lose anyone else, I couldn’t lose anyone else.

  As fast as it all started the ship comes to a stop. I cry out as it jerks me in my seat but at least it had ended its tumble upright.

  “Cash, Max?” I yell out as the ship fills with smoke, or dirt, I wasn’t sure.

  “Please, tell me someone is alive.” I yell out.

  I’m met with silence.

  “Please, someone be alive.” I beg as my eyes begin to flutter shut. “Cash, please answer me?”

  My eyes flutter again as the darkness takes me down into it depths.

  I fight it but it’s no use.

  Maybe it was better to not fight it. I didn’t even know if anyone else was even alive.

  What was the use if I was just going to end up alone?

  At least if I did die here and now, I was on the ground for the first time ever and I would be back with my father, Dash, and Killian again.

  And my mother, I would give anything for her to touch my cheek and tell me a story of a world I could only dream about going to.

  I was finally there.

  I was on the ground.

  But was I even still alive.

  ####

  Episode Two Teaser

  “Um, guys, I hate to break up your moment but I think we have a big problem.” Max growls out low as he and Maddox duck down closer to the floor.

  I instantly become alarmed.

  “What is it?” I question moving off of Cash.

  “I don’t think we are alone in here.” Maddox answers quietly.

  We all go silent as we watch different spaces of the ship. I couldn’t see anything, but I could hear what sounded like soft footsteps.

  I awkwardly stand to my feet and pull a knife from my thigh holding it out in front of me as Cash stands to his feet and reaches for another one of my knives.

  Just as his hand grazes the knife I’m pulled back from his reach and I feel someone, or something, grab for the very knife that Cash was going for.

  I cry out in pain as my back slams into a hard body.

  Cash, Max, and Maddox curse as they watch me.

  “What the hell has a hold of her?” Maddox snarls.

  Against my neck my blade ever so lightly taps my skin.

  It was weird feeling the thing holding me but at the same time not being able to see it.

  “Drop your weapons.” A deep voice sounds from behind me.

  No one moves.

  “Drop the weapons or your female gets killed.” The voice warns while dragging the cold blade of my knife across my neck.

  Thank you for Reading.

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