by J. N. Chaney
“Murphy. Glad to meet you.” I reach forward to shake his hand, but he pulls back. “Sorry, that’s a custom where I’m from.”
“Attacking strangers?” he asks. “You just grab people by the hand like that’s okay?”
“It’s called a handshake. A gesture of friendship,” I say.
He scrunches his eyebrows together skeptically.
“Never mind,” I say. “Where were you taking these people? Do you have a ship?”
“Not for several days. There are bedrolls and military rations stashed two levels down from here,” Jaymes says. “We have to wait for Van or the other pilot, Yancy.”
“How long will that take?” I ask.
“Two or three days, sometimes a week. My sources tell me Van brought your group, so he won’t be back for a while. It’ll be Yancy in two days or a week. Once he delayed for nearly a month because he owed people money and was on the run,” Jaymes says. “Bad luck that was. People were caught and executed.”
“What do you do if there is an Overlord raid?” I ask.
His face goes pale. “Die slowly.”
Shaina leans close and speaks softly. “This isn’t our fight. They can escape the Overlords on their own.”
My head aches. I’m tired. We deserve a break after what we went through on the ice planet. Now we’re stuck on an Overlord world with people who need our help. “What happens to these people if they get caught?”
Shaina’s face reddens and she turns away.
Jaymes watches the exchange but doesn’t comment.
“I have questions, Jaymes,” I begin. “You’re the leader of these people?”
“Yes. That is my duty.”
“What about the children in the blood masks?” I’m curious, but I also have a practical reason for asking. Maybe they can buy us time.
“They are impossible to control.” He looks nervously toward his bedraggled people. “Van and Yancy organized them years ago. We stay away. Don’t get comfortable… the little ones are feral. Those claws they brandish are sharp. If they get into a frenzy… And they steal and eat anything.”
“Anything?” Shaina asks. “Never mind. I’m going to watch for the raid. If I come running back, you better all be ready to move.”
“Good call, I say. Do you want Zedas or Garin to go with you? An extra set of eyes might help,” I suggest.
“I can handle it. I don’t need Dogans, kids, or cats to do my job,” she says.
“Stay sharp,” I say. She salutes casually, then leaves to watch the tunnels that brought us here.
Jaymes hangs back from the conversation.
“What do you know about the gate?” I ask. “We’ll help you if the Overlords come but we came here for a reason. We need to travel back to the resistance. Don’t ask for details.”
He closes his eyes for a second and mimics throwing something over his shoulder—an obvious ritual against ill omens.
Garin presses closer to the conversation. “Maybe they won’t come.”
“What can we do to help, Jaymes?”
“End the Overlord domination of our world, for starters,” he says, then exhales. “Old man Dom can’t walk. We’ve been taking turns dragging his stretcher. Maybe your big friend could help with that.”
Zedas growls but doesn’t say no.
“Zedas-Duryan is a warrior,” I say. “It may be against the code of his people to be an ambulance driver.”
Jaymes stares at me, his eyes the perfect image of confusion. “What is an ambulance?”
“Never mind. I’ll talk to him,” I say. “What else?”
He looks away, wrings his hands.
I don’t have time for this. “Speak now or forever hold your peace.”
“I don’t understand what you mean by that,” he says.
“Murph,” Shaina calls. “We’ve got trouble. Lights coming our way. Not much talking. Military jargon when they do.”
“Zedas, we need to move the old man. His name is Dom.” I stride toward the others, forcing Jaymes to keep up.
“I will carry Dom until it is time to fight,” Zedas says.
“Use the stretcher,” I say.
“Fine. I’ll do it your way.” Zedas finds the old man and stares down at three women, a boy, and another old man arrayed defensively around the injured oldster.
“Murphy, sir.” Jaymes skips to catch up with my long stride. “I have people who cannot be captured by the Overlords. They might kill or torture us, but for our resistance fighters it will be many times worse.”
“We’ll try to save them too,” I say, urging his people to their feet and hustling them toward the passage we must use to flee.
“Take them with you,” he says. “Through the Orphan Gate.”
I stop. “That will make them Orphans. I don’t want to be responsible for the consequences.”
A glance at Zedas, then Shaina makes me feel guilty for reasons that aren’t clear. So far I’ve only felt the benefits of my transformation, but that seems too good to be true. I don’t know Jaymes or his resistance fighters. “Tamok won’t appreciate strangers brought into the heart of his operation.”
“Trenis and Galoy are resistance fighters,” Jaymes says. “They should be with Tamok Sky anyway.”
“Then why aren’t they?” I ask.
“Traveling across the Goliath Sector isn’t so easy for the rest of us, Murphy,” he says, but his words hitch when he says Murphy. For a second, it seemed like was about to call me Orphan like Shaina did for a long time after we met.
“I’ll think about it. Introduce me to them and let’s get moving. Time is running short,” I say. “They must understand that anywhere I go it will be dangerous. Trenis and Galoy should decide if they want to fight Protheans or get abandoned on a Sun Ship.”
“Or fight hordes of spiders on an ice world. The dangers Doctor Murphy exposes us to are real, and frequent,” Zedas says as he lifts one end of the stretcher and drags Dom toward the far exit. “Why do they call you Dom?” he asks his charge.
“Short for Freedom. Mother named me well, because I was a great fighter for the resistance when I was young.”
I turn away from Zedas and the old man on the stretcher. “Lead your people Jaymes. Garin, stay close to Zedas. Keep your eyes open for the gate.”
“Okay.” The kid runs to catch up with the Dogan.
“Your big friend makes good time,” Jaymes says.
“Get your people moving. We don’t want to abandon you, but we will if you prove a liability.” The harsh words tasted bitter even though I knew the necessity of saying them.
Shaina meets me halfway. She points back the way she came. “Definitely an Overlord raid. They’re clearing room to room and all the side passages. Otherwise they’d be on us by now. These escaped slaves better pick up the pace.”
“Let’s buy them some time,” I say, then draw my charge pistol. “They have to come through this hallway. We can hold them here for a while.”
Shaina shakes her head. “How do we break contact when we can’t hold them anymore?”
Dust drifts into my eyes. I blink it away as I look up. “We’re going to collapse the tunnel.”
“The next group of slaves won’t be able to escape this way,” Shaina says. “You will be making a decision that affects future generations.”
I shake my head. “If the Overlords are raiding the blood gate labyrinth despite the haunted house stories, this section of the underground railroad is compromised.”
“Underground Railroad? What are you talking about?”
“Just a reference to my world’s history. We’ve had our own struggles with slavery and injustice,” I say, scanning the wall and the ceiling for a weak point.
“Of course,” she says. “Here. This is already crumbling. If you’re sure, now is the time.”
“Fall back. We’ll shoot it from a distance and then run,” I say. “A structural collapse like this will be unpredictable.”
Shaina doesn’t argue.
We hustle to the next cockeyed doorway, aim, then nod to each other. I fire a burst of three rounds. Shaina followed my lead. The passage shakes, the ground jumps under my feet as the ceiling and walls come down.
“Run!” I shout.
“Let’s get out of here!” she says at the same time.
The destruction doesn’t stop where we intended. Falling dirt, rocks, and concrete from the structure above crash down all around us. I cover my head, still holding my charge pistol in one hand.
Shaina’s image disappears behind me, obscured by a blast of dust. I reach back and swipe my hand through the air until I find her. When I finally latch onto her jacket, I shove her in front of me and follow as closely as possible.
My ears ring from the noise. I trip several times, but fight to stay on my feet and keep moving. Shaina and I burst into a large room, part of an older structure that was built to last. We fall laughing, batting away the last bits of gravel pursuing us into this relative sanctuary.
Garin enters the room from the other direction, tears in his eyes. He looks his age without the tough talk and overconfident swagger. “I thought you were dead! What happened?”
“The tunnel collapsed. Whoever dug it weren’t engineers,” I say.
Shaina stands and comforts the kid with a pat on his shoulder. “Look at the bright side, the Overlord goons won’t be following us.”
Garin hesitates, then points to one of three other doors leading into this place. “Jaymes said lots of passages lead this way. He said the Overlords are in all of the passages now.”
I escort him back the way he came. “Then we better get moving. The collapse bought us time.”
“Did you cause it? Because that would be really dumb if you did that on purpose,” he says.
“Let’s go.” I push the pace until we are jogging down the far hallway. Shaina shoots me a look and returns a warning glance not to elaborate on what really happened back there.
“Where’s the cat?” I ask.
Garin grabs his jacket like he hopes to find Patty-pats. “She keeps running off. I thought she came back for you. That’s why I came this way.”
“Keep an eye out for her,” I say, worried about the animal but extremely frustrated.
Shaina nods, and we keep moving. It isn’t long before we again hear sounds of pursuit. These voices sound angry and seem to be moving faster.
“They’re onto us,” Shaina says as we catch up with Zedas, who has abandoned the litter and now carries Dom in his arms like a big child.
“Undignified,” Dom complains.
I ignore him. “Zedas, how far ahead are the others.”
“Their leader said he would be waiting with a group at the next major intersection,” Zedas says. “He suggested there would be a decision to be made at that location.”
“Great.” I take the rear guard position, point the way we need to go, and cajole Shaina to go with Zedas, Garin, and Dom.
“I’m worried about Patty-pats,” Garin says.
“She’ll be fine. Animals can take care of themselves.” Telling the lie my parents told me about every pet I ever lost feels terrible, but I don’t have time to do more. I hope the calico is resourceful because the chances of finding her in this chaos are slim.
Jaymes and two tough-looking young men wait at the intersection. The rest of the group isn’t much farther ahead. I can hear a child crying and a mother desperately shushing her.
“How are we going to stop the slavers now, Murph?” Shaina asks in a low voice.
Zedas says nothing, but I can tell he’s listening, and since he’s carrying Dom, the old man is also part of this conversation.
I study the fork in the tunnel. “I’m working on it.”
Jaymes steps closer. “Trenis and Galoy will continue with you after this. That passage leads to the blood gate. They can fight here or when you get to Tamondran. Good men, both of them.”
“Fine. As long as they understand the permanent consequences of traveling through an Orphan Gate, they can come. We don’t have time to argue.” I wait a beat but no one says a word. “We’ll wait here until the first of the Overlords approach, then lead them toward the gate so you can escape.”
“You can’t let them use it,” Trenis says.
“I’ll figure something out,” I say.
Galoy looks me up and down. “You better.”
“Watch yourself,” Shaina says, squaring off with the resistance fighter.
“Get your people out of here, Jaymes. Don’t make this all for nothing,” I say. “We will probably have to collapse the rest of this place.”
He nods gravely. “I understand. What about Dom?” Jaymes asks.
“I have to go with this brute,” Dom says. “Unless you think you can carry me.”
The old man looks more pathetic than any of the refugees. He’s too weak to walk, his skin sags, and he’s covered with cuts and scratches from the recent ordeal. His bald head is covered with random strands of gray hair that is somehow the most miserable-looking part of his appearance.
“He comes with us,” I say.
Jaymes shakes my hand with both of his. “Thank you, Orphan.”
All I give him is a nod. Things are happening too quickly, and I don’t like the situation he’s put me in. Tamok won’t be glad to see the unknown fighters or the old man. The Dark Eye will probably imprison them as spies the moment he sees them. I don’t trust Trenis and Galoy. Dom gives off a different vibe, and I don’t want him to get left behind for the Overlord slavers to torture.
Maybe I’ve been in the Goliath Sector too long.
Jaymes runs after the rest of the escaped slaves.
“I hope he knows what to do with them once they get off this planet,” Shaina says. “They will be hunted forever.”
“Or until the fall of the Hadrian Empire,” Trenis says.
“I’m going back to the last doorway to watch for the Overlord squads,” I say. “Zedas, take Dom to the gate. Leave him there and come back. Make a note of anything we need to know about this blood gate. I don’t want there to be surprises.”
“On my way,” Zedas says, then strides into the dark passage.
“What about us?” Galoy says.
“You go with Zedas. Trenis, stay with Shaina,” I say. Neither man likes the order, but I want them split up until I can test their loyalty. “Let’s give the Overlords something to think about and get through the gate.”
22
Time rushes by too quickly. One moment I’m bidding farewell to Jaymes and his people, and the next I’m bracing for the Overlord attack.
Flashlights appear in the hallway, sweeping in disciplined arcs. My training didn’t include much close-quarters fighting or building searching, but using weapon-mounted flashlights has obvious pros and cons. The Overlord troops are easy targets, but the powerful beams of light blind me when they come around the final corner.
I speak into my comms. “Get ready.”
“Just waiting on you, Murph,” Shaina says.
Two more lights appear.
“You there, drop your weapon and surrender in the name of the Hadrian Empire!”
My finger squeezes the trigger, but I hesitate right before the breaking point. I know these men will kill me, but I’ve never drawn first blood like this. Just a little more pressure…
The Overlord soldier fires, exploding part of the wall near my head. I return fire, impressed with myself that I didn’t flinch. If the shot had been a little lower, I’d have been too dead to protect my friends.
It’s a sobering thought I don’t have time to ponder.
Additional overlord troops rushed forward, stepping over the first that I dropped. One stops to fire along the right wall while the others charge along the left wall. I move, then fire several rounds into the group on the left, causing more than one to stagger out into friendly fire.
I never expected combat to be dignified, but this is particularly brutal. Each time I fall back and fire, I take at least one
down. A man goes down with a charge bolt wound to his chest. He either wasn’t wearing body armor, or it wasn’t strong enough to stop my round. Another I hit in the knee, and he screams in pain, falling and holding his wound.
Something slashes my left cheek. I can’t tell if it was a ricochet or fragment of concrete.
“Fall back!” Shaina shouts. “And stay low.”
I reach the gate room, crouch low, and rush toward my friends. Shaina opens fire, but it’s not enough to stop my pursuers. Charge bolts force them to hide behind the gate as ricochets bounce off of it.
Patty-pats rushes into the middle of the fray, appearing out of the shadows at the most inconvenient moment possible. She stops, looking more like a kitten than ever, and hisses at the overlords. I scoop her up on the run and jam her into my jacket. She claws my hand, of course. Not that I blame her. It was pretty rough treatment, and she is, after all, a cat. Being kind of an ass is what they do, no matter the circumstances.
“Everyone through the gate! I’ll hold them off,” I say.
“How?” Shaina yells. “We haven’t found a way to collapse this room.”
I reach cover, turn, and fire. The battle could be going worse. We could all be dead. Unfortunately, that seems like the inevitable conclusion of this conflict. That, or we’ll be captured and put on another sun ship.
Zedas charges forward, taking several rounds on his armor. He slams his flail down on the first man to oppose him, crushing him to the ground. Without hesitation, he slashes his sword horizontally, removing the hand of an officer holding a charge pistol. But he’s not done. He kicks a third man in the chest, knocking him into the others.
I reload, fire, and try not to hit my Dogan friend. Shaina moves forward and to the side as well to get a good angle without hitting Zedas and immediately takes a charge bolt to her calf. She falls in a heap screaming.
For one second, I’m torn between fighting the enemy and helping her get to cover.
She makes the decision for me by continuing to fight. She’s down, lying on her side, holding her leg with one hand and shooting her pistol with the other.
