The Quiet God (Earth Exiles Book 4)

by Mark Harritt

  The Quiet God

  This book is the fourth in the series, Earth Exiles. The first book is

  ‘On Distant Shores.’

  Copyright 2016 Mark Harritt

  Published by Mark Harritt at Amazon

  Amazon Edition License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Acknowledgement

  People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

  – Richard Grenier –

  This book is dedicated to those rough men and women who stand guard.

  I want to thank my readers. Your kind words inspire me to put pen to paper, or, in this case, finger to keyboard.

  Table of Contents

  Title

  Acknowledgment

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Epilog

  About Mark Harritt

  Other books by Mark Harritt

  Connect with Mark Harritt

  Chapter One

  Mike stood at the top of the compound wall, forty feet above the boneyard below, looking out into the forest. Strangely, staring out over the shattered bones of the monsters that had tried, and failed, to kill them, he felt nostalgic, and a little sad that he had to say goodbye to this bastion against the monsters of this new world. It had taken them a month of cutting and hauling stone out of the cliff to build this wall, the huge mech armor suits doing all of the heavy lifting. It had been awe inspiring to watch the mechs drag the huge stones and manhandle them into place. All the while, Roberto cursing, cajoling and bitching until every stone was perfectly fitted into position. If there was a monument to Roberto, this enormous wall was it. It was a megalithic masterpiece that honored the skill and capabilities of his fallen friend.

  He knew that the safety this wall projected was illusionary, though. With the Ancient, the local monstrous, diabolical equivalent of a dragon and multitudes of predators out there beyond the wall of trees, it was a matter of time before one of them found a way into the compound. The danger was too great. Plus, with the eight-hundred-foot cliff wall surrounding the compound there was no avenue of retreat if the alien humans found them and attacked.

  Still, with all the tactical problems the compound had, Mike wasn’t the only one that was hesitant to leave. Stability was something that none of the old Earthers had experienced in a while, and leaving the compound was a tough sell to most of them. Mike never got to experience being a parent, but after the past month, he felt like he’d gotten a taste of it. Who knew that a group of PhDs and doctoral students could whine, moan, and drag their feet like teenagers. Now he definitely knew what the phrase, ‘herding cats,’ meant. After what seemed like a lifetime in the military, that kind of attitude was just not something that he was used to.

  Still, after an intense session of triage and bickering, which ended in some intense butt hurt and heart ache, they’d come up with a plan and gotten it done. They had to leave a few things behind, like Dr. Humphreys desk. That thing was a monster. It was one thing when you could drag things twenty miles, and another thing entirely when you had to shove it all on a transport aircraft. Hell, it had taken three trips alone to get the mechs out. Only two at a time would fit on the larger transport.

  Now, with their mini Marshall plan airlift done, there was only one last thing to do.

  “You ready?”

  “Maybe. Where’s Leitz and McFarland? Did they get finished?”

  Everett nodded, “I guess so. They loaded the null generator onto the transport and gave us the thumbs up.”

  “Do you have any idea what they were doing?”

  “Nope, and with the null generator, I’m not sure I want to ask.”

  “Good point.”

  “Mike, ready to go?”

  Mike looked over at Everett, then shrugged, “Yeah, nothing else left to do here.”

  Everett inclined his head toward the back of the compound wall. Mike looked in that direction, and then nodded, turned, and started walking toward the stairs.

  A sad expression painted Mike’s face as he walked, “Okay, maybe one thing left to do.”

  Everett turned to walk with him, “What do you want to do?”

  Mike thought about it, and then shook his head, “Honestly, I’m not sure.”

  Everett contemplated the situation, then agreed, “You’re right. Hell, I don’t know what we should do either.”

  They reached the stairs and started walking down. At the bottom, in the courtyard, there were four people, two of them with shackles on their ankles, their chains fastened to a bolt set into the rock.

  Tom looked up at Mike and Everett, then turned his head, spit, and looked back at the two prisoners.

  Joseph stood with his arms crossed. He looked up at Mike and sneered, “So, you gonna kill us now?”

  Weitz looked up, startled. Evidently that scenario wasn’t something that he’d considered until Joseph brought it up. A look of terror filled his face, “Oh, God no! You aren’t going to kill us!”

  Mike’s face was noncommittal as he continued to walk down the stairs, “Honestly, I’m not sure what the hell I’m going to do with you two.”

  A look of terror was on Weitz’ face, “Please Mike, please don’t do it. I don’t want to die!”

  Joseph looked at Weitz with disdain, “Pussy.” Staring at Weitz, he pointed at Mike, “You gonna give him the satisfaction of watching you beg?”

  Weitz turned and snarled at Joseph, “Piss off! I never should have listened to you and Landberg. You bastards are the reason I’m in chains right now!”

  Joseph turned to Weitz. His large, muscled arms uncrossed, and his hands dropped and curled into fists. His next words were so quiet that Mike had to strain to hear what he said.

  “Watch it, little man. You piss me off, and you won’t have to worry about Mike and the goon squad.”

  Weitz looked into his face and stepped back in fear.

  Mickey’s deep voice rumbled across the courtyard, “Hey Joseph, how about you pick on somebody your own size. Say me, for instance.” Mickey thumped his right fist into the palm of his left hand while he stared at Joseph.

  Joseph turned away from Weitz, and turned toward Mickey raising his hands. He motioned for Mickey to come at him, “Anytime you’re ready, big man.”

  Mickey grinned, popping the knuckles on one ham sized fist, then the other.

  Mike held up a hand, “No, we aren’t going to play your games today, Joseph.”

  Mickey frowned like he’d just had his favorite toy taken from him.

  Joseph turned back to Mike, “What’s the matter, you afraid I’ll break him? Or would you rather fight me yourself?”

  Mike laughed, “Oh, yeah, that’s a good one. You, break Mickey. Jesus, you have a good since of humor. And no, I don’t want to fight you today. I already fought you once. You, Murph, and Mitchem. I beat your ass then. I could beat your ass now. Hell, you even had pistols, and I still kicked your ass.”

  Joseph scowled at Mike.

  “We have to make a decision. What do you want
to do, Mike?” Everett asked.

  Mike looked at Tom. Tom noticed and glanced at him before he turned his attention back to the pair, not wanting to take his eyes off of them, “I say we shoot them both. We can’t trust them. They’ve already proven they’d turn on us. I sure as hell don’t want Joseph anywhere near Latricia.”

  Joseph made thrusting motions with his hips, “Why not, Tom? You think she’d want a decent lay. Your skinny ass can’t be giving her what she needs.”

  Tom didn’t say a word, his steely gaze cutting through Joseph’s bluster. It slowly dawned on Joseph, that speaking disrespectfully about Latricia might not be a good idea. Joseph shut up. Tom wasn’t a big man. He was whipcord thin, a few inches shorter than Joseph, and lighter by about forty pounds. That didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous, though. Mike had seen him in action in South America. When the situation called for it, he was a wiry, tough, violent man. Mike would lay odds on Tom any day over Joseph.

  Mike mulled over the situation. He really didn’t want to kill the two men. He didn’t want to take them with him, either. Tom was right. There was no way to trust them.

  Weitz studied Mike’s face intently. Evidently he didn’t like what he saw. He fell to his knees and put his hands together, “Mike, please, don’t kill me. I’m sorry. I lost my mind. It won’t happen again, I promise.” Tears ran down his face.

  Mike was pissed. He shook his head, “Dammit. Look at us,” he motioned to the six of them. “We’re the last of our people. The last thing I want to do is kill two more of us.” He paused to jab his finger at them, “You drove us to this. You were family, for God’s sake. You betrayed everybody.”

  He glared at Weitz, “And you. You’re a brilliant man. You’re an amazing programmer, but somehow, you always manage to piss off everybody around you.”

  Weitz nodded, contrite. He spread his hands in supplication, “I know, I know. I’m sorry. It’s Randall. She drives me crazy. She teased me for years. I . . . I thought she would choose me when she dumped Mitchem.”

  Joseph laughed. Weitz glared at him, then turned his attention back to Mike.

  Mike studied Weitz just as intensely as Weitz had studied him seconds before. Weitz thought he saw the expression on Mike’s face soften, “Please Mike, don’t kill me.”

  Mike grimaced, as if he had a bad taste in his mouth, but he’d come to his decision, “Okay. We won’t kill you. But we don’t have a choice. We have to leave you here.”

  The expression on Weitz’ face changed quickly from relief to fear. He glanced over at Joseph. An evil grin slipped on to Joseph’s face.

  Weitz shook his head, and looked back at Mike, “Mike, please, you can’t leave me here with him. The guy’s crazy. If you leave me here with him, it’s the same thing as a death sentence.”

  Joseph laughed, “What’s the matter, you little pussy? You afraid you’re going to wind up being my bitch.”

  That statement made Mike reconsider. He studied Joseph. He knew that Weitz was right. He didn’t think that Joseph would rape Weitz, but killing him? Mike knew that would probably happen pretty quickly. Still, after everything that had happened, Mike couldn’t rule out the rape scenario either. Mike couldn’t leave Weitz here.

  Mike nodded, “Okay, you got it. You can come back with us.”

  Weitz’ shoulders slumped in relief, “Thank you, Mike.”

  Tom shook his head, “He’s playin’ you, Mike.”

  Mike thought about it, “Maybe. We’ll keep an eye on him when we get back.” He looked back at Weitz, jabbing his finger at him, “This is your last chance. You screw this up and I’ll personally put a bullet in the back of your head. One thing, though, Weitz. There’s no way you’re ever getting close to a computer again.”

  Weitz looked down at the ground. In a small voice, he acquiesced to Mike’s conditions, “It doesn’t matter. I’ll do anything. It doesn’t have to be computers. I won’t go anywhere near computers. I can help Mitchem. I’ll help him butcher animals. I . . . I’ll clean toilets, dig ditches. I’ll do anything.”

  Joseph watched Weitz, then shook his head, “Crying like a baby. Don’t you have any balls at all?”

  Mike made his decision, “Get Weitz out of the shackle. He can come with us. Joseph stays here.”

  Weitz’s tears increased as he realized he was going to live. He was blubbering and sniffling as he covered his face with his hands.

  Everett looked over at Mickey and nodded. They pulled their pistols and covered Joseph. Tom took out a set of keys, “Hey Weitz, catch.”

  Weitz looked up and saw the keys flash through the air. He tried to catch them, but ended up dropping them on the cobblestones. He scrabbled to pick them up. He grabbed them and fumbled at the lock on his shackle. He unlocked, it, and then quickly scrambled away from Joseph. As soon as he felt he was clear, he stood and walked to Tom, handing him back the keys.

  Tom grabbed the keys, then looked at Mike. Mike nodded.

  Tom threw the keys to Joseph. Joseph grabbed them out of the air with one hand.

  Mike spoke, catching Joseph’s attention, “I’m going to warn you now. If you try to unlock yourself before we get on the transport, I’ll put you down like a mad dog.”

  Joseph looked surprised, “You gonna let me live?”

  Mike nodded, “We’re going to let you live. You never got the chance to hurt anybody, but you aren’t coming with us. I don’t trust you around the women. Since Matki’s people are with us now, it wouldn’t be wise to bring you. The last thing I need is for you to rape one of their women. They’d kill us all. Still, you’re one of us, one of the last of the homo sapiens. I’m not going to have your death on my hands.”

  Mike waved to encompass the area behind the compound wall, “There’s plenty of room and food for you here. You won’t be happy, but you’ll survive.”

  “You comin’ back for me?” Joseph asked.

  Mike shook his head, “This is the last time you’ll ever see us.”

  Joseph glared at Mike, “Well, fuck you then.”

  Mike returned the stare. Joseph didn’t back down. His eyes didn’t shift from Mike’s. It was bluster, and Mike knew it. He held all the cards, and Joseph didn’t. Mike turned to the team, “Let’s go.”

  Tom turned, and pushed Weitz toward the shuttle. Weitz’ tears slowed, and he tried to wipe them away as they crossed the ground to the shuttle. As they walked up the ramp, Tom pointed at one of the seats and Weitz hurriedly sat down, afraid that if he did the wrong thing, they’d leave him behind with Joseph.

  Mike looked back at the compound wall. Joseph’s lonely figure stood there for a moment until everybody was on the shuttle. Mike watched him kneel down to take the lock off the shackle, and then he stood up, walked over to the steps, and sat down to watch the shuttle take off. Mike sat down, and Joseph disappeared from sight as the shuttle rose and the ramp door closed.

  ----------------------------------------------------

  The Dostori Rev was deep in concentration as she studied the girls before her. Ten girls faced her, hands clasped in front, eyes down at the ground. Chidea, Dostori Rev’s servant, stood behind the girls, mirroring their pose. To the side, two male servants stood, waiting for the Dostori Rev’s choice. Om Varee watched as she examined each one of the prepubescent thregari locals, looking for blemishes. She stopped at one, considered her for a moment, and then casually dismissed her. She slowly paced back and forth, weighing her options. She studied one girl intensely, then walked over to her, put her finger under the child’s chin, and tilted the girl’s head until she could look into the girl’s eyes. Dostori Rev nodded, and stroked the girl’s cheek with her finger, “yes, this one will do nicely.”

  She smiled at the girl, and hesitantly, the girl smiled back at her. She snapped her fingers and pointed at the girl, “Take her and get her ready for me.”

  Chidea nodded, “As you wish, Dostori Rev.”

  Chidea moved forward to pull the girl aside. She motioned for the two men to take
the others out of the chamber. As they herded the girls out, she fell in behind them, her hand firmly on the arm of Dostori Rev’s selection.

  Finished with the selection, Dostori Rev turned back to Om Varee, “I love them at that age, so sweet and tender, untouched by life’s hardships, innocent of the world around them.”

  She waved toward a chair, “Sit.”

  He inclined his head and moved to the chair and sat down. She picked up a glass of wine, took a sip, and then moved to the chair opposite him and sat. She took a deeper drink and then ran her finger around the rim, “Have you found them yet?”

  He hesitated, then shook his head, “No, we haven’t found them yet, Dostori Rev.”

  “What about your agents?”

  Again, he shook his head, “According to the report that the Lord Caon filed before his, ah, demise, they found the remains of the three pilots and two mechanics. Those assets are no longer available to me.”

  She stared at him, long enough for him to feel uncomfortable, “So, you’re telling me that they have pilots as well?”

  “They have to. If they killed the three pilots, they’d have to have someone capable who could fly the transports.”

  She sat musing, processing the information. He watched her stroke the rim of the glass. She was amazing, mesmerizing, tantalizing. She was every man’s fantasy, no matter what hominid race they belonged to. He had to force his desire for her to the back of his mind. He watched as she took another drink, and noted the delicate actions of the muscles in her long neck as she swallowed.

  She looked at him, noticing his attention without acknowledging it, “They have resources then.” She looked forward, her teeth clenching with anger as she spoke, “Where . . . did . . . these . . . people . . . come from?” She took a deep breath before she spoke again, “I don’t understand how a force big enough to kill four hundred men and destroy my base can’t be found. Have you sent out the trackers?”

  He nodded, “Yes, Dostori Rev. We’ve sent out both the biologicals to sniff them out and men to track them down. Neither were successful. The men who were tracking them said the trail ran cold, disappeared.”