Don't Look Back (Warders of Earth)

by S. E. GILCHRIST

  I drank in her warmth, the comforting familiarity of her lavender scent and wondered whether this would be the last time I’d ever see her.

  Alex cleared his throat. In a low voice he said, “I’m sorry, Mrs Ferguson but we have to leave.”

  Reluctantly, Mum gave a shuddering sob and changed her hug to gripping my hands in hers. Leaning closer she pressed her forehead against mine and whispered, “Your father would be so proud. We never stopped loving each other or either of you. The divorce, the living of separate lives was a plan we dreamt up to keep you and Dan safe. Another smoke screen.”

  “But the drugs and Dad’s depression?” I mumbled, feeling dazed. Who would have thought they’d be such good actors?

  Mum smiled. “Another smokescreen.”

  “Then you and Bob Garroway...”

  “It would never happen. I love your father now and always. There could never be another man for me.” She gave a sudden roguish smile. “We used to meet out by the creek, just the two of us.”

  “Mum!” Tears welled even as I cringed at the thought of my parents making out like a couple of teenagers. But it was so typical of them.

  “Now don’t be sad for us. We made the most of every day we had and neither your father nor I ever entertained any regrets. Be careful sweetpea. Remember everything we’ve taught you.” A warning gleamed in Mum’s steady blue gaze and I nodded.

  Be careful who you trust.

  ***

  It was a considerably smaller group that left the Chamber’s property as dawn peeped over the horizon and bathed the land with golden light.

  Garroway had decreed we take the jeep and leave Alex’s car for use by the refugees in the bunker. With its armour plating, it would make the perfect means of transport around town, either looking for other townsfolk to retrieve and bring to safety or in the search for further supplies.

  Nic and Marnie followed in Nic’s ute as the jeep sped along the main road leading out of town. They’d left the dog behind with Marnie’s grandmother.

  Alex drove with his father seated beside him. Shay and I sat in the back. The guys were all armed to the teeth, rifles slung by straps over their shoulders, guns in holsters and grenades hanging from their belts.

  It should have made me feel safer, instead, the further away from the town centre we drove the vulnerable I felt.

  Grief weighed me down like I had rocks in my pockets.

  I sat slumped in the seat, staring out at the passing scenery, my mind numb. I stirred. “I thought, Bob, you were supposed to be looking out for my brother.”

  Garroway didn’t bother to turn his head. “He’ll be safe enough for the moment. What’s imperative is to ensure neither you nor Alex screw up this mission.”

  The censure in his voice told me louder than any words, he was still stewing over our racing off in search of the medicine. I bet he’d torn strips of Alex, once he’d gotten him alone.

  He didn’t trust either of us to get the job done.

  I turned to Shay and lowered my voice. “I thought you and Marnie…”

  His face tightened. “Orders. When this is over, I’ll find her.”

  Nodding, I picked at the ragged edge of a fingernail while I looked out the window. The residential streets gave way to hobby farms, a car wrecking allotment and before long we approached the showground with its white timber fencing surrounding three acres of browning paddocks, two rickety grandstands and an assortment of tin sheds.

  “What’s that smell?” I took a deep breath and wrinkled my nose as the pungent stink hit the back of my nostrils. Waving a hand in front of my face, I peered across Shay to stare out his window as the showground came closer.

  Clouds of smoke billowed from four large mounds of...burning clothes?

  The jeep sped along the narrow tarred road.

  Horror froze my mind. Surely....? OMG! I averted my gaze, jerked back into my seat.

  Bodies.

  Human bodies.

  Alex twisted round to look at me. “The infected. If the antidote isn’t given in time, there’s no cure but death. It makes sense to burn the remains.”

  Nodding like a Noddy on steroids, I slunk lower. That’s it. I wasn’t looking out any window ever again.

  “We’re coming up to the edge of town fast,” Garroway warned his son.

  “I know.”

  This was where we’d part ways. Marnie and Nic would stay on the main road then turn onto the highway that led to the coast. They intended to bribe the soldiers stationed at the roadblock with a small container of vaccines. As the disease spread over the country, the world even, the price of one vaccine would soon be immeasurable.

  And I would stay with the Warders while they sought a more covert route past the Mundos Novus Forces.

  I looked behind me, leaning my arm over the back seat.

  Through the grimy rear window and the short expanse of space separating the two vehicles, my gaze met Marnie’s.

  I smiled a little as Marnie waved a frantic hand out the window.

  Then Alex swung the wheel and the jeep careened off the road, bounced as it flew over a narrow ditch and picked up speed as he sent it down a narrow dirt track that wound through a field of sunflowers.

  I kept watching until Marnie, Nic and the ute could no longer be seen.

  Feeling as if I’d been gutted, I turned slowly to face the front.

  “This track doesn’t look as if it goes anywhere.” Garroway flapped a map in the air.

  “I know what I’m doing Sir. I spoke to the owner myself. This road should turn to the left up here a bit. We follow it to the edge of the field where it ends near the house. Then we cut through another paddock and we should join up with the highway about five kilometres away.”

  “Let’s hope the Mundos Novus Force has failed to secure private roads.”

  Alex shrugged. “I’m banking even if they do have a patrol here, it will only be a small one. Their unit must be spread pretty thin by now what with mopping up duties in the town.”

  “Horrible.” I muttered, still dealing with the knowledge I’d said goodbye, like forever, to another friend.

  “Perhaps, but it’s for the greater good,” decreed Garroway coldly.

  “Once we’ve got past the soldiers, then what do we do?”

  Garroway flicked down his visor. His flat grey eyes met mine in the mirror's reflection. “We secure a site on open ground and you fulfil your mission.”

  “How much longer do we have? Those meteorites look awfully close.”

  Alex didn’t respond, instead he pressed down harder on the accelerator. Gripping the jeep’s side handle, I closed my eyes. This is it. I can’t believe the fate of the world is on me. What if I blow it?

  You won’t, you’ll do just fine. Remember, I’ll be with you.

  Oh, Alex, I wish we’d had more time together.

  His inward sigh filled with yearning feathered across my mind.

  Yeah, me too, he flashed.

  The jeep cleared the last row of sunflowers and Alex shifted down a gear.

  A flock of sulphur-crested cockatoos flew, screeching, across the rapidly lightening sky capturing my attention and momentarily lifting my heavy spirits. I’d always loved dawn.

  Early morning sunlight glowed over the farmhouse with its cottage garden filled with colourful flowers and where a rubber-tyre swing dangled from a shady oak tree. A thin ribbon of smoke fluttered from the chimneystack.

  It would have made a tranquil picture straight from a storybook, if not for the army truck squatting dead ahead.

  And the soldiers peering down rifle sights aimed squarely in our direction.

  Chapter 20 – BETRAYAL

  “Take them out,” ordered Garroway, palming his pistol and leaning out the side window. He fired.

  Shay let loose a volley of shots and I clapped my hands over my ringing ears.

  The soldiers facing them returned the attack.

  “Get down on the floor, Tara,” snapped Alex. You can�
�t take any chances.

  I know. Snapping off my seatbelt, I crouched on the floor of the jeep, hanging onto the seat in front of me as we hurtled forward.

  Shots pinged into the jeep’s bonnet.

  Then silence.

  “All clear,” announced Garroway.

  Hands closed over my shoulders. Turning, I met Shay’s calm, smiling face. I allowed him help me up off the floor. But I kept my gaze on my hands, bunched in my lap until we’d left the dead soldiers behind.

  Shay reloaded his Glock before re-holstering it. Finally, I raised my head to stare unseeingly out the window at the passing scenery.

  When would it all end? Until not one human being remained alive?

  Cold anger fused like steel inside my soul.

  They started this, all this killing and grief. And what for? Resources? Domination over another planet?

  “Are you okay?” asked Alex.

  Garroway snapped, “Of course she’s okay. Concentrate on your job, soldier. We’re through their containment line, if you could call it that, bunch of ill-trained monkeys.”

  The engine hiccupped as the jeep rattled across the rough paddock and began to lose speed. Steam hissed from under the bonnet and dissipated into the air.

  “What the devil is wrong now?”

  “It looks as if a bullet’s gone through the radiator, Sir. She’s done.” Shuddering the jeep rolled to a halt. Alex turned around. “We’ll have to walk from here.”

  Garroway swore and wrenched open his door.

  Wordlessly, I picked up my backpack from the seat beside me and exited the jeep. I should have known it wouldn’t be easy.

  The cool morning air filled my lungs. A light breeze lifted my hair. Over in the far paddock, three cows mooed over the fence.

  “Wait, while I double check the directions.” Garroway unfolded his map and after consulting it and his compass, jabbed a finger north-east. “This way.”

  He motioned Shay first and fell in behind.

  We marched off. The men constantly scanned the landscape. I trudged along, head down not wanting to see how the meteorites now seemed to fill the sky.

  It wasn’t long before I lagged. Little sleep, a battered and bruised body, high stress and emotional overload had finally taken its toll.

  Casting me a concerned glance, Alex looped his left arm around my waist. “Lean on me.”

  “I’m good. Don’t worry, Alex....”

  “Make sure she keeps up,” barked Garroway without turning his head.

  Alex lowered his voice. “He’s concerned we won’t get to a suitable clearing in time.”

  “It’s okay. You don’t have to make excuses for him. I get it.” I get that he doesn’t like me, considers me to be a necessary evil.

  Don’t.

  I’m sorry. I know he’s your father but it’s true.

  He’s doing what he perceives to be his job.

  Up ahead, Garroway and Shay had slipped through the barb-wired fence and stopped to converse for a few moments before Shay darted ahead and disappeared into a thick clump of trees and bushes. Alex’s father beckoned us forward.

  “We’re nearly there. I’ve sent Shay ahead on scout duties. Let’s move out. No talking. And you.” Garroway pointed at me. “You walk by yourself. Alex needs his hands on his weapons, not on your body.”

  Be nice. He was Alex’s dad. Clamping my lips together so I didn’t say something I’d regret, I straightened out of Alex’s hold and stalked off.

  Silently, Alex held the wires apart so I could climb through and I repeated the action for him. Then we joined Alex’s father, who strode off compass in hand. Why doesn’t he use his phone? Surely he has GPS?

  Phones can be tracked.

  Oh. I’d forgotten. I shivered. It was cooler here in the shadow of the trees, a reminder that soon the land would be covered in frost and the nights would be crisp and clean. I’d always have my memories.

  Twigs and leaves crackled underfoot. The ground here was uneven, dipping and rising and the bush pressed in on all sides making it difficult to see what was ahead.

  Or if anything or anyone watched us.

  Ducking beneath a low-hanging branch, I tripped over a knotted tree root. I swore as I slid down a leaf-littered slope on my belly. I rolled onto my side and sat up, brushing who-knew-what-kind-of-crap off my jeans. About to push to my feet, I froze.

  Was that...what was that glitter? At the other side of the gully, light glittered where the early morning sun dappled through the thick branches of a bush. I sniffed. Gagged as I recognised the sickly sweet stench of decaying flesh.

  “Tara. Let me help you up.” A hand appeared in front of my face.

  “No, Alex, over there. Look.” Pinching my nostrils together so I couldn’t suck down any more of that terrible smell, I scrambled across to the shrub and dragged aside the branches to reveal a familiar-looking rug rolled into a bulky roll.

  Please don’t tell me, that’s what I think it is!

  Alex bent down and pulled.

  The rug unravelled.

  A scream travelled up from my belly and shrieked inside my mind as I clamped my hand over my mouth to trap the noise inside.

  There was no mistaking that red-gold hair. Or the 20 carat gold earrings.

  Mrs Andrews.

  And with a bullet hole in the centre of her forehead.

  “There's nothing we can do for her.” Galloway shooed flies aside, lifted the edge of the carpet and covered Mrs Andrews’ lifeless stare. “An execution style killing. Whoever did this to the poor woman, is a trained killer. Struth, maybe we’re not worth saving.”

  The lines bracketing both sides of his mouth had deepened, his shoulders rounded as if his burden had tripled in the past hour.

  “I was wrong. I thought she was the MN force’s leader. I guess its Andrews after all.” Alex gripped his father’s arm. Quietly he added, “We need to keep moving, Sir.”

  “After this senseless death...” Grey-faced, Galloway glanced up at the sky. “How can we believe they’ll stop their invasion?”

  “I don't understand.” I staggered several feet upwind and away from the body and looked from father to son. “I thought once we’d made contact, they’ll call a cease fire. What is it you’re not telling me?”

  “You tell her. I've had a gutful of this shit,” said Galloway, shaking off Alex’s hold and tramping off.

  Alex took both of my hands in his warm clasp. “Unfortunately, Tara, our intel is limited as to their true purpose. But we’ve been told, they prize honour above everything. Apparently we have to show we're worthy of being allowed to live.”

  I snorted. “How’s that supposed to work? They’re up there, miles away and no one apart from me can speak to them.”

  “They’ve been watching us for some time.” Alex hesitated. “Through me, through my father, through all the Warders. Everything we see and hear is transmitted telepathically to someone here on Earth. Someone who we assume was a member of the initial scout ship. I guess, he or she, sends off this information once the mother ship is within communication distance.”

  He smiled wryly. “We have no control over this process, its automatic. I did tell you, I’m part alien.”

  “You should have told me this earlier. What other secrets are you hiding?” Hurt and confused, I tugged free.

  “Would you have listened?” Sighing, he ran a hand over his jaw. “Meeting you changed everything. The job, this mission means little to me now. All I want is to keep you safe. Please believe that I wanted to tell you the little that I know but I also had to hold true to my orders.”

  “So they’ve seen us killing each other, stealing, fighting.” Overwhelmed, I covered my face in my hands. What chance did I have of making the aliens leave us alone?

  Alex pulled me into his arms and hugged me close, mumbling into my hair, “We’re not all bad. You know that.”

  “Yeah, but is that going to be enough?” For sixty seconds I hid in the folds of his shirt, his h
eartbeat strong and sure beneath my cheek. Then I leaned back to look into his face. “I’m not giving up. I’m going to make them hear us, realise that what they’re doing is much, much worse. Its murder on a grand scale and they have no right to play God.”

  “You’re amazing,” he said softly.

  “No. I’m just human. A little bit good, a little bit bad but mostly somewhere in between.” I grinned. “We’re wasting time.”

  Hands half-curled into fists, I staggered up the slight incline and strode off in the general direction Galloway had been leading us earlier. “Bob! Where to now? ”

  ***

  Head whirling, partly through lack of food and sleep and partly through the sight that had burned into my brain, I jogged behind Galloway as he tore through the forest. I knew that terrible sight would remain with me forever. At every crunch of leaves and crack of twigs I flinched.

  My parents were wrong. I was no hero. Inside I was a blubbering mess.

  I could barely think straight.

  Had Mrs Andrews decided she wanted no part of her nutso husband’s acts of terrorism? Had he decided she knew too much and had to be silenced?

  Shit...killing your wife...that was cold.

  A bullet whizzed into a tree, inches from me. A scream tore from my throat. I hit the dirt only to be hauled onto my feet by Alex and hustled forward until we hunkered behind a wide tree trunk.

  “Come out! You're surrounded,” bellowed a harsh voice.

  From my crouching position behind Alex, I glanced over at Bob Galloway who’d positioned himself behind another tree. Pistol in hand, he fired off two shots.

  A burst of semi-automatic fire shredded the bushes and trees around us into confetti.

  I clapped my hands over my ears and flattened myself to the ground.

  “It’s over. Surrender.”

  Raising myself onto my elbows, I peered through the leaves. Undergrowth crackled and rustled as soldiers pushed into view. I spotted Em’s father standing behind two burly, unshaven soldiers. Coward.

  “All of you,” Mr Andrews shouted.

  Alex motioned with his gun toward the ground. “Don’t move, Tara.”

  “We only want the girl. Leave her and we’ll let you go.”

  Galloway answered by firing off a shot, hitting one of Andrews’ men in the shoulder. The impact spun him round. His buddies answered by peppering the trees with more gunfire.