Earth Force (Relict Legacy Book 1)

by Shemer Kuznits

  Nori frowned. “It’s the security room, so what? We can’t use it—electronics don’t work anymore, remember?”

  Nathan nodded and placed his hand on a keyboard at the desk.

  A single monitor flared to life.

  Nori gaped at the blurry image, hardly believing her own eyes. “How … how did you do that?”

  Nathan looked down and pointed at the corner of the active screen. It showed part of a corridor leading outside the building. Something stirred, revealing a four-legged Warped creature, sitting patiently, facing the exit.

  Nori stared at the monitor, then back to the young man, and then back to the monitor. “Looks like I’m staying a little longer.”

  ***

  They each took a corner of the room and got ready to sleep.

  “So, I gave it a lot of thought,” Lana said, after covering herself with a tattered blanket. “It should have a purpose, right? I mean - everything that happened ... it can’t all be just a meaningless catastrophe. You don’t give people the ability to heal almost instantaneously and reduce their need to eat if you plan to kill them, right? Maybe this Tec thing was meant as a gift? Maybe some people were simply incompatible and became Warped instead?

  “You’re an optimist.” Nori’s dreadlocks flailed as she shook her head. “Have you considered that it could be the other way around? Maybe they intended to turn all humanity into a monster slave-race, but only a small part of the population was affected as intended? That would explain the text interfaces we suddenly have, maybe it was meant as a control device.”

  Lana shuddered. “I really don’t like that theory. Besides, if super-intelligent beings were responsible, then why was only ten percent of the population affected? Why keep the rest of us?”

  Nori shrugged. “Everyone’s gotta eat.”

  Lana threw a quick glance at Nathan, but the young man was already asleep. “That’s a pretty horrible idea.”

  “Think about it. We barely need food, but those creatures eat everything they manage to get their claws on. And it makes them bigger. From where I’m standing, it looks like the Earth has turned into their feeding ground.”

  “I think I like my theory better,” Lana said.

  “I like your theory better too,” Nori said and drew in her blanket. “Good night.”

  “Good night.”

  ***

  A loud bang shook the walls, causing all three to jump to their feet.

  “What was that?” Lana said, her face pale.

  “Sounded like a sonic boom,” Nori replied. The tall woman stepped to the window and eased the curtain aside. Then she simply stood there, gazing out into the night sky.

  “What do you see?” Lana approached and looked out. Her jaw fell as she saw what was on the other side.

  A huge ball of fire was descending from the sky. Despite the flames, it had a distinct artificial shape.

  “It’s a … it’s a … it’s a ...” Lana stuttered helplessly.

  “A spaceship,” Nori said grimly. “Looks like everyone was right. It’s aliens after all.”

  “But … why is it burning?”

  Nori frowned. “I don’t know. It shouldn’t be from entering our atmosphere - it's too low for that.” She followed the descending ship, then her eyes widened. “It’s heading this way!”

  The ship devoured the last few hundred meters within a second or two and hit the ground. The earth-shattering impact threw them all to their knees as chunks of stone and dust fell from the ceiling.

  Coughing and struggling to stand, Nori called out. “Everyone OK?”

  Lana rose as well. There was an open, oozing gash on her forehead.

  “Shit. Here, press this.” Nori put a clean cloth on the bleeding wound.

  “Thanks,” Lana said weakly. “Nathan, are you alright?”

  The young man nodded, though he looked pale.

  “What was that?” Lana asked. “Did it hit our building?”

  “No chance. If that thing hit anywhere near us, we’d all have been incinerated by now.” Nori moved to the window. “Oh, wow, it looks like it landed in the square at the end of the street. It looks mostly intact, but it’s still burning.”

  Lana and Nathan hurried to the window. Sure enough, further down the street where a large square with shops once was, now lay a huge piece of flaming metal.

  “So, a spaceship, eh?” Lana tried to smile.

  “The impact destroyed everything around the square,” Nori said, frowning. “I just hope no one was around. We should check it out.”

  “What?” Lana took a step back. “You want us to go out in the middle of the night to investigate a spaceship? An alien spaceship?”

  “If not us, someone else will. And around here, the gangs are the only other ones who dare to go out on the streets. It’s pretty close, we can make it there and back before anyone else gets there.”

  “It only takes a second for a Warped to kill you,” Lana pointed out.

  “Suit yourself. I’m going out there.” Nori put on her jacket and fastened her shoelaces.

  The two students looked at each other for a long moment, then the girl's shoulders slumped. “Wait up. We’re coming too.”

  ***

  “Nathan, are you sure it’s safe going out from here?” Nori whispered, looking through the cafeteria’s service exit.

  The man nodded at her and offered a faint smile.

  “Nathan thinks there are no Warped nearby,” Lana whispered back. “As long as we stay away from the main entrance, we should be fine.”

  Nori nodded. “Then follow me. Quietly.”

  The tall woman led the two students through the broken streets, taking cover whenever she suspected danger was nearby. A few minutes later they were halfway toward the downed spaceship and the square was well within their sight.

  “Oh, that’s not good,” Lana said worriedly.

  Four monsters were circling the spacecraft. Three of them looked like the dog variant, with metal tubes and spikes growing everywhere from their bodies, but the fourth one was different. The last Warped looked like a giant humanoid, standing at least two meters tall. Metal plates covered its legs and arms and its head was grotesquely misshapen. A strip of metal covered the place its eyes should have been and there was no nose. There was a mouth, though. An unnaturally large mouth. Nori narrowed her eyes as she observed it closely.

  Warped, level 4

  The spaceship itself looked like a metal rectangle with a pointy front and a cylinder mounted on top, like something a kid with building blocks would make. It was huge though, at least thirty meters by twenty. The fire was gone by now, but the hull still emitted heat that scorched the nearby vegetation.

  The three dog monsters carefully circled the ship, occasionally probing it with a metallic appendage, only to hiss in pain and retreat a short distance. The human-like monster was more careful, it kept circling the ship, its arms reaching for it but never actually making contact.

  Nori frowned. “Those Warped sure look interested in that ship. I wonder why.”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” Lana asked with surprise. “Just look at them, they are obviously absorbing technology into their bodies. An alien spaceship, with its advanced tech, probably looks like a grand buffet to them.”

  “I thought they just absorbed metal,” Nori said.

  Lana shook her head. “It’s easy to assume that when watching them from afar, but remember the student with the remote control I told you about? The circuitry was first grafted into his skin then the metal bits covered them up.”

  “So they’re like cyborgs?”

  “Yeah, I think you can say that. Demented cyborg monsters who want to eat people and technology. Hmm … I guess ‘Warped’ is a good name for them.”

  Nathan breathed out explosively and pointed upward.

  The two women looked up.

  “There’s another one!” Lana gasped.

  A second spaceship flew toward the downed one. Unlike the first, its desce
nt was controlled. It was smaller and round, with weird pipes surrounding the exterior.

  The four Warped started howling in excitement as the second ship touched down. The three dog-like monsters charged at once, their freakish tubes extending forward as if eager to tear into the ship’s hull.

  The pipes surrounding the ship flexed and moved to the sides, revealing an opening.

  A squat creature that was almost wider than it was tall stood at the entrance.

  Lana inhaled sharply. “It’s an alien!”

  The alien looked indifferently at the charging Warped and his hand moved upward, holding a silver item.

  Three blue rays shot out of the item, each striking a charging monster and reducing it to a heap of smoldering meat and metal. The alien moved toward the bodies and lightly tapped each with his foot. Lana gasped as a faint light streamed out of the dead Warped into the squat alien.

  Leaving the bodies behind, the creature approached the downed ship.

  “The Warped aren’t healing,” Nori whispered, her eyes narrowing at the silvery weapon. “If we had that guy’s gun, we could make the streets safe again.”

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea to try and take it from him,” Lana whispered back. “He might not like it.”

  “We might not have to, look behind the ship.”

  Lana followed Nori's finger, and her eyes widened as she spotted the human-like Warped. It was quietly making its way around the ship, putting it between the alien and himself.

  “It’s trying to sneak up on him!”

  “Looks like it,” Nori said grimly. “It's much smarter than the dogs. And it probably weighs four times more than the alien. If the little guy doesn’t see it in time, he’s going to have a really bad day.”

  “We’ve got to do something!” Lana said.

  Nathan shook his head firmly.

  “He’s right,” Nori said. “Everything that’s going on is way out of our league. All we can do is watch.”

  They continued watching as the alien got closer to the ship. The Warped was meters away from him when the alien tapped the hull.

  A platform extended outward, revealing a doorway, and the alien promptly went inside.

  A moment later, the Warped reached the entrance and looked hesitantly at it. After several seconds, it seemed to decide that going in was a bad idea and settled on hiding behind the open platform.

  Nori and Lana exchanged knowing glances but remained silent.

  A few moments later a loud series of metallic noises sounded.

  “What’s that?” Lana asked.

  Nori frowned as she surveyed the ship. “Just watch.”

  The alien appeared at the doorway again. He had managed only a few steps before the human-shaped Warped charged him.

  The alien wasn’t holding his gun and there was no way he could take it out in time. Lana’s mouth opened in horror at the imminent carnage, and Nathan's face became deathly pale.

  But things didn’t unfold as they expected.

  Just as the monster was about to grab him, the alien whirled around holding a short club. There was a flash of light and the Warped was sent flying, crashing against the ship’s heated hull. It fell to the ground and stayed down, its skin smoking.

  Lana’s mouth and eyes were as big as saucers. “How did he do that?”

  “Look at him closely,” Nori said grimly.

  Lana narrowed her eyes, examining the alien.

  ??, Kordlin, Level ??

  “I can’t see his name or level!”

  Nori nodded, “He must be masking the information, or perhaps he’s just too high level for us. Either way, it's clear he’s much stronger than he looks.”

  The alien looked back at the downed monster and took a step toward it, lifting his club. His own spaceship thrummed to life and started hovering a few centimeters off the ground. Seeing that, the alien abandoned his prey and ran back to his ship. The pipes shifted again, closing the entrance behind him. Then the ship took off slowly, hovering above the downed one.

  Several cables extended, connecting to the cylinder on top of the downed ship. The ship flew upward and the entire cylinder was hoisted away from the downed ship.

  “So that’s what it’s all about,” Nori said.

  Lana gave her a questioning look.

  “This guy wanted the first ship’s cargo. They probably shot it down and came down to retrieve their haul.”

  “Why do you have to be so pessimistic?” Lana objected. “It could be that the two are working together, and the alien came to their rescue.”

  Lana shook her head. “The two ships are of completely different designs. The first one was on fire when it got down, while the other wasn’t, suggesting it was shot and forced to land. I’m pretty sure we just witnessed a space heist.” She chuckled humorlessly. “It’s comforting to know that the rest of the galaxy is just as depraved as we humans are.”

  Lana frowned. “I don’t know about that. Even if you’re right, it doesn’t mean all other aliens are like that. If they’re really like us, there’ll be good and bad ones.”

  Nori shrugged.

  “So, now what?” Lana asked.

  Nathan rubbed his hands and pointed at the ship. He looked animated and his eyes were full of excitement.

  “The kid’s right,” Nori said. “That alien left the door wide open. I for one always wanted to see the inside of an alien spacecraft.” She got up and started walking toward the ship.

  “But it could be dangerous!” Lana protested behind her.

  “You can stay here if you’d like.”

  Lana and Nathan exchanged glances. The young man gave her an apologetic look and hurried after the tall woman. Lana sighed and got up. “Wait up for me!”

  3 - Level Up

  The three companions crossed the demolished square towards the downed ship.

  As they approached, they could clearly see the mangled form of the Warped that had been clubbed by the alien.

  Lana grimaced at the sight, then raised her hands to shield her face. “The ship’s still hot!”

  “Everyone, walk back, nice and easy,” Nori said with a casual tone.

  “Eh? Why would we--” Lana lost her voice when she followed the taller woman’s eyes. The Warped was moving. Apparently, the blow it received wasn’t enough to finish it off. Metal wires were crawling over it, patching back up skin and metal.

  The three retreated quietly, then, once they put enough distance between them and the creature they turned to run away.

  A second monster came into view, jumping on top of an overturned truck in front of them, blocking their path. The thing had a human torso with the lower body of a metallic spider.

  Nori sharply pulled back the two stunned students. “Run! Run to the ship!”

  The spider monster easily jumped to the ground and started pursuing the running humans. Its own human arms extended toward its would-be victims and a look of desperate hunger was plastered on its face.

  “Run faster!” Nori shouted.

  The three ran past the human-shaped monster, which was still piecing itself back together, straight into the open doorway.

  “Close it! Close it!” Lana shrieked as the spiderish nightmare drew closer and closer.

  Nori feverishly looked for the door controller. There were a few lever looking things, but nothing she tried worked.

  Meanwhile, the spider was getting closer.

  Ten meters.

  Eight.

  Five.

  The roar of a diesel engine sounded and a large black Hummer jeep rammed into the spider, hurling the monster away with an audible crunch.

  “Oh, thank god; we’re saved,” Lana said, her arms visibly shaking.

  The Hummer doors opened and a powerful looking black man stepped out. He looked to be in his forties and was built like an ox, with a wide, meaty frame, bulging with muscles.

  “No, we’re not,” Nori said grimly. “That’s Bulco, and this is his gang.”

 
Bulco, Human, Level 4

  Several other men, carrying thick chains, jumped off the car and hurried toward the fallen spider.

  “Well, well,” the beast of a man said. “What do we have here? What are you kids doing on my new spaceship? You better come out of there, or there will be trouble.”

  With a screeching scream, the human-shaped Warped finished assembling itself and jumped on Bulco while a fleshy tendril shot toward Lana and wrapped around the woman’s wrist.

  But it was in for another nasty surprise. With superhuman speed, Bulco turned on his heel and punched. A weird robotic device on his fist sprang out, adding force to the punch. For the second time, the level four Warped was thrown against the ship’s hull and landed on the ground in a broken heap. Nori grabbed Lana before she could be pulled away.

  “Now, where were we?” Bulco turned to the ship’s entrance.

  Nori was desperately pressing around the door with nothing to show for it. Then Nathan moved. The young man patted a part of the wall, almost affectionately. White light flickered between his fingers and the door raised, sealing them inside a dark chamber.

  Nori collapsed to the ground and put her back against the wall, the faint light Nathan had created lit up her face. “Phew, that was a close call.”

  “Eew! Eew!” Lana tore the still twisting tendril from her wrist and stomped on it until it stopped moving. “That’s disgusting.”

  Nori chuckled, feeling exhausted. “Consider yourself lucky it was just a piece of Warped and not Bulco that got his hands on you.”

  “Why?” Lana frowned. “He didn’t seem like a bad guy, even if he was big and kinda scary. Wouldn’t he just let us go?”

  Nori shook her head. “Better not risk it. You didn’t hear the stories I did … of what he does to the people who cross him.”

  “But he just took down two Warped!” Lana protested. “He’s so strong, he can save us if we just--”