Survivor Planet III

by Juliet Cardin

  “Amanda!” the cop yelled, confirming my fears he knew who I was.

  In another thirty seconds it was over.

  He ran up alongside me and grabbed hold of my arm. I tried to break free but it was useless. Behind him I could see two other cops running up. And then my hands were being pulled behind me and cuffed. There was no escape.

  On foot, because it was close-by, the three of them escorted me triumphantly to Lindove. Carol, the woman at the front desk lit up like a firecracker when she saw me.

  “Oh, my goodness. Mandy! We’ve been worried sick about you.” She shook her finger at me. “Thank God you’ve found her!” She beamed at the cops. “Where have you been?”

  “Around.” What else could I say?

  The cops stayed at the front desk while Carol called for an orderly. The cop that had caught me took off the cuffs when a man wearing a white uniform arrived. Soon I found myself ushered down the hall back toward my old room.

  “You need to change,” the man ordered. “There’s a gown on the bed.” He peered at the lump on my head. “I’ll send the doc in to look you over.”

  He left the room and locked the door. I stood in the middle of the floor contemplating my next move. Quickly, I slipped the knife out of my boot and slid it under the mattress. A few minutes later, while I stood staring out the window, my door opened again.

  “I can’t believe it.” I heard a familiar voice.

  Turning around I saw it was Jack. A sneering Danny stood just behind him. Without thinking I hurried over and threw myself into Jack’s outstretched arms.

  “You’re okay!”

  “Of course I’m okay,” he assured me. “It’s you everyone was worried about.”

  “I thought you were dead,” I told him. I heard Danny snort. I looked up and met his gaze. He was still sneering, but then his lips turned up in a small smile.

  “Welcome back, kid,” he said.

  Chapter 25

  Neither of them remembered a thing. Not the cottage shaking, or the bright light that beamed them up into the Lariton. According to them, they’d found me when I’d gone missing a year ago and had brought me back to the cottage. Jack had noticed the door being ajar, and he’d gone to close it. This had, in fact, happened. But instead of Danny and I going in search of Jack and all of us ultimately being beamed aboard the Lariton, they remembered a different version of the story. Apparently, as they told it, I’d jumped from the van and stolen off into the woods, never to be seen again…until now. Both of them were full of questions about where I’d gone and how I’d lived. Keeping with their mindset, I told them I’d hitched a ride and gone far away, traveling from town to town.

  I wanted to jog their memories. Try and unravel the tightly wound lies that had been forced into their heads. But to what end? I was in a loony bin. Who would believe me if I said I had returned to Earth with aliens to save the world? It sounded crazy even to me.

  The guys left after we’d caught up and then the doctor came in. He checked me over and declared me fit, despite my supposed ordeal of living a life on the run for a year. I’d begged to be allowed to go outside and get reacquainted with the other patients, many of whom I figured were probably still here. There was also a little hole in the fence I’d used to escape from in the past that I’d also like to reacquaint myself with, but I didn’t mention that. My request was met with outright refusal, considering how slippery I was. I denied any desire to leave again, after all, hadn’t I returned of my own free will? Well, kind of.

  I suppose I got a little vocal and more than a little agitated. The thought of being stuck in here while Ayres lay unconscious in the woods all alone was distressing. Against my wishes, the doctor pulled out a syringe and injected a tranquilizer into my arm. “Everything will be fine. Try to get some rest,” he’d instructed before leaving the room. I had just enough energy to don my white-loony-apparel, figuring I’d better do it myself or they’d have someone do it for me, and collapse into bed. My head swam and my vision swirled. Then, blissfully, blackness enveloped me.

  It was dark when I awoke.

  I sat up in the bed and rubbed at my eyes. My vision was still slightly blurry and my tongue felt like a piece of cardboard. Suddenly, without a sound, a large dark shape moved away from the doorway and came toward the bed.

  “What the…” I began to cry out.

  “Shhhh!” hissed the shape.

  It moved closer until the light of the moon shining through the window revealed it to be Danny. “You scared the crap outta me!” He loomed over me and I had to squeeze my eyes shut and open them a few times before his face came into focus.

  “I remember what happened,” he said.

  I frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I remember it all. The light, the capture, the spaceship, all of it!”

  Shit! Was this a good thing or a bad thing?

  “Jack doesn’t remember anything, that’s why I had to play along earlier. But I know what happened. A day after that fiasco at the cottage with the earthquake and bright light, we both suddenly found ourselves back there. It was hazy—like a dream. Both of us felt weird, as though we’d been drugged. It was morning, and Jack said we’d searched for you all night. But I know what really happened. For Jack, it was like they beamed him back down with a made-up story in his head. I was afraid to say anything. Afraid I’d end up here—as a patient.”

  “But you remember?”

  He stared at me dumbfounded. “I wish to hell I didn’t, but I do.”

  “They didn’t hurt you?”

  “No. They said something about needing us for leverage, but then decided to let us go.”

  I recalled the leverage part well. “It’s because I gave them what they wanted.”

  “You’re not carrying some alien baby, are you?” he asked, frowning at my belly.

  There was a tray of food sitting on the dresser. Danny reached for it and put it on the bed beside me. I peeled back the foil lid of a container of apple juice and drank it down, trying to remember the last time I ate something. “No. They wanted me to participate in a game,” I admitted, unwrapping a ham and cheese sandwich and taking a big bite.

  Danny shook his head. “All that trouble for a game?”

  “It’s a pretty big deal to them.”

  “Well, you’re back now, so I guess it went okay?” he said anxiously, as though fearing the aliens’ return.

  I shrugged, shoving the last bits of bread into my mouth and swallowing. “I’m back, but it has nothing to do with the game.” I struggled with the idea of revealing everything to him. Could he handle it? Regardless if he could or not, what choice did I have? I needed his help. I’d just have to tread carefully. I put the tray down on the floor beside the bed. “Danny, I have to tell you something. Something very important.”

  He leaned closer to me as though I was about to reveal a secret. And, indeed, I was. A very big secret.

  “I don’t want you to freak out, okay? I need you to help me get out of here.”

  He cocked his head to the side and squinted his eyes as though he thought I was pulling a fast one on him.

  “The fate of the world is at stake.” That sounded overly dramatic even to me. When he rolled his eyes and began to back away I got up on my knees and put out my hands. “Please! Listen to me. You’ve seen what they’re capable of. Look, I told you they made me play a game. They used to play games on Earth, a long time ago. Now they want to come back here. The lure of the games is everything to them. They thrive on it, they’ll even kill for it!”

  “Come on,” he snapped. “They want to conquer Earth to play games?”

  “Yes. Just like the Romans thousands of years ago. Actually, they’re called Roamyns—different spelling, but that’s where we got the name.” He still appeared skeptical, but he hadn’t moved any closer to the door. “They are coming here, any day now. That’s why I’m back, to stop them. And I’m not alone.” I let him digest that for a moment.

  H
e went over to the window and looked outside.

  “They’re not out there,” I told him. “But they’re close. And we’re Earth’s only hope. You have to get me out of here.”

  He stared at me for almost a full minute before he spoke. “Get dressed. I’ll be outside the door.” A moment later he was gone.

  I lay back on the bed and breathed a sigh of relief.

  Chapter 26

  Five minutes later we were sneaking through the dark halls of Lindove. All was silent beyond the many locked doors except for the odd snort or snore. We had to avoid the front door since Cory, the old guy who did night duty, would be vigilant at his post. Danny slunk down the passageways like a pro, knowing when to go fast, when to go slow, when to duck, and when to jump or roll. The entire place had been outfitted a year ago with alarms and trigger beams, thanks to yours truly. Finally, after Danny entered his secret code in the back door, we made it outside. I breathed in the cool summer night air, exhilarated by our escape. Danny, however, appeared jumpy and looked nervous as his eyes scanned the parking lot and beyond.

  “Are they close?”

  He meant my alien back up. “No.”

  “Why didn’t they just beam you out of here?”

  I smiled. “Doesn’t work like that. They’d need to be aboard a big ship with the technology. We only have little ships.”

  “Then where are they?”

  “Nearby.” Which reminded me that poor Ayres was hopefully awake but no doubt going nuts wondering where I was. “I need to get to my cottage.” With miraculous luck maybe Ayres had found his way there. Hopefully Kenix and Lourde as well. “I need another favor,” I said.

  “What is it?”

  “Will you take me to my old cottage? I’m hoping my friends are there.”

  He pulled a set of keys from his pocket. “My car is over there. Let’s go.”

  “Thanks, Danny. I really appreciate it.” Easier than I thought. We drove in silence. By the way Danny gripped the steering wheel and his gaze darted around I knew he was tense.

  He chuckled suddenly. “Didn’t think I’d ever go back there again.”

  “Yeah, I used to feel the same way,” I admitted. It’d taken me a while to come to terms with what had happened to Uncle Mick and my lying deceitful aunt. Carnage like that isn’t easily forgotten.

  “So, what’s going to happen? Will they come in their ships and nuke us or something?”

  “They don’t want to damage the Earth. They want it for themselves. It’s humans who will be eliminated. Well, most of us. All I know is they plan to make a game out of it. How they plan to do that is anyone’s guess. I do know it’s gonna happen soon. We have ships, and weapons. I don’t know that it’ll be enough to stop them, probably not, but we’ll do what we can.”

  “Why don’t you tell everyone here what’s happening? You know, give them a chance to fight back, or at least prepare themselves.”

  “We tried. Since you haven’t mentioned it, I’m guessing the transmission we sent didn’t get through. The Roamyn’s shut it down almost right away. Then they traced the signal back to us and we had to flee.”

  “Flee from where?”

  “Taleon. It’s another planet. Anyway, there was a battle and our ship took a hit. We got separated from our companions and then we crash landed here.”

  “Oh.” He digested that bit of information for a while. “Shouldn’t we return to the crash site?”

  “I’m hoping Ayres, the man I was with, is okay now. Both of us got knocked out in the crash. I was looking around for the other ship when two guys found me. They must have seen our ship go down. I told them it was an airplane and that I was alone. They offered to take me into town. I had to go or they would have gotten suspicious. That’s when the cops found me and brought me to Lindove. Anyway, I’m hoping Ayres and Kenix—his brother—connected and returned to my cottage. Kenix has been staying there for a while.”

  Danny whistled low. “There’s been an alien at your cottage all this time?”

  “Yep. You wouldn’t know it to look at him, or any of them. They look just like us. Well, most of them.” Some of them look like cyborgs.

  “Oh.” A couple minutes later he asked, “What do we do if nobody’s there?”

  Despite the animosity between Danny and I in the past, I actually felt comforted by his presence and his words. He spoke as though this was our problem, not just mine. Maybe after what he’d gone through he was relieved to have someone to talk to about it, someone who could relate to him. I knew all too well how it felt to question your own sanity. “I think I could find my way back to the crash site if I have to. I guess I’d start there.” We’d have to go into the woods, backtracking from where those guys had parked their truck on the road. It’d be difficult at night, but what other choice did I have?

  A few minutes later we pulled up before my cottage. It appeared dark and empty. Danny put his car into park and switched off the engine. Both of us sat in the driveway in silence.

  “Doesn’t look like anyone’s here,” he finally said.

  As far as I knew, Kenix hadn’t obtained a vehicle to use while here, so the empty driveway didn’t deter me. The lack of any lights or movement from inside the cottage did however. I opened the car door. “Wait here, okay?”

  Danny nodded.

  I went around the cottage and climbed the steps of the deck that faced the lake. There was a spare key above the light if I needed to let myself in. I tried the door and discovered it to be unlocked. I flicked the light switch and nothing happened. Kenix must have flipped the power bar before he flew off to find us. That told me that he hadn’t returned here. No one had.

  I reached under the bench that sat beneath the big picture window and grabbed hold of a flashlight, thankful it hadn’t been moved. Shining the light ahead of me, I went down the hallway to the room with the panel box. After I flipped up the switch I turned on the bedroom light and switched off the flashlight. I went back through the cottage to the kitchen and turned on that light and then the one outside. I opened the door and waved at Danny to come in.

  He joined me moments later.

  “Nothing?” he asked, swinging his nervous gaze around.

  “No. I want to leave a note just in case they come here.” I grabbed a large notepad and a pen and began writing. Then I drew a map on the bottom of the page estimating where Ayres’ ship had crashed.

  Danny peered over my shoulder. “Hey, I know where that is.”

  “You do? Good. Would you mind taking me out there?”

  Danny reached around me and picked up the note. The look in his eyes became blank as though he stared right through the paper he held. Then he raised his eyes to mine and his gaze suddenly became frightening. Lightening fast, he grabbed hold of my wrist.

  “What the hell?” I cried, tugging away to no avail.

  He shook his head as though to clear it but still held on tight to me. “Stupid, stupid girl!”

  That wasn’t Danny’s voice.

  “What’s the matter with you?” I asked.

  He flung the paper back onto the table and reached for my other wrist. I eluded him by putting it behind my back. Raising my booted foot I kicked him in the knee making him loosen his grip on me. I brought my other hand around, made a fist, and punched him right in the nose. While he was momentarily dazed I slipped away and reached for the knife I’d returned to my boot back at Lindove. When he went to lunge forward I waved the sharp dagger before me, halting him in his tracks.

  “Back off asshole. What’s wrong with you? Was this all some kind of ploy to get me to take you to Ayres? What did they do to you on that ship?” I demanded.

  Danny’s face twisted into an expression that tugged at something in my memory. “Think you’re the only one with a trick up their sleeve?”

  “What are you talking about?” He didn’t sound like himself at all.

  “Do you really think after all the attempts on my life I wouldn’t put a back-up plan into motion? I
have Lourde to thank for that. At least he did one thing right.”

  “Still don’t know what you’re talking about,” I reminded him.

  “It’s me, you idiot.”

  “Who?” But then everything clicked into place. The violence, the expression, the voice…

  A cold shiver ran over me as I suddenly realized why they seemed so familiar.

  That wasn’t Danny standing in front of me anymore.

  It was Baynar.

  Chapter 27

  “No! How can it be?” I gasped in horror. “You’re dead.”

  “You may have killed my body, you little bitch, but my consciousness was relocated at the time of my so-called death. A failsafe precaution I had put into place a while ago.” He looked down at his hands and feet, as though seeing himself for the first time. He grimaced. “This body was deemed most compatible for my needs.”

  “Seriously?”

  He shrugged. “The other male human was highly susceptible to coercion, making him an unlikely vessel. This one, however, fought and retained his memories. His mind was quite clear when we returned him. He did go home with something extra—my little insurance plan.”

  “But why a human?” Especially considering how lowly he valued us.

  “Earth is the ideal hiding place. Even if my enemies suspected what I’d done, they’d never think to look for me here. I know this crummy little town is one of our hotbeds for recruits. It was only a matter of time before what I needed showed up. Now, it’s just a matter of contacting someone I trust. I need your ship for that.”

  “Holy shit.” The bastard had thought of everything. If I wasn’t so horrified, I’d actually be impressed. “So all this time, you’ve been in him. Is he still there? In that body with you?”

  “Of course. I’m able to switch him on and off as I need him. He remains quite unaware of me, however.”

  Just as Lara and I had shared her body.

  Why hadn’t Lourde warned us this could happen? Although, brilliant as he was, he did seem quite scatterbrained and singularly focused at times. “So Lourde could identify you?”