by Kelly Goode
‘No. I just get the feeling that Blake has some issues to sort out. Some personal issues. He asked me to give him some space, so I did.’
She tried to keep the tone of her voice light, but failed.
‘If he hurt you, I’ll-’
‘You’ll do what?’ she interrupted. ‘Somehow I don’t think he’ll scare as easily as my maths tutor.’
Tom gave an unexpected laugh down the phone line.
‘You said you weren’t sleeping with him.’
‘Blake or the tutor?’
‘Both, young lady.’
She sighed, as she recalled Blake pressing her down into the soft mud while his hands explored her slick skin.
‘Finch finished his analysis of the security log,’ Tom continued, thankfully not dwelling on the earlier topic of conversation. ‘He confirmed it wasn’t hacked. Someone keyed in your code. Someone wanted to get you in trouble. Any idea whom that might be?’
‘I have a lot of enemies.’
‘Not within the team.’
‘Sheridan hates me.’
‘He wouldn’t have put his grandfather in danger with a stunt like this.’
‘You’re right…I don’t know how that mutated boy got inside your office using my key code or who killed Ted. I’m sorry.’
Carson swallowed deeply as she chased away the image of the old man with his empty eye sockets.
‘Do you need me to come over?’ Tom asked. ‘I’ll make you a hot chocolate before bed like the good old days.’
‘I’m tired,’ she replied, ‘but thanks for the offer. I appreciate you looking out for me.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’
‘Fine, get some rest. I’ll give Blake a reprieve tonight, but if he doesn’t surface tomorrow…’
‘He will.’
‘I hope so. Goodnight, Carson.’
‘Goodnight.’
She ended the call and headed for the shower. She stayed under the hot jets until her skin felt raw and wrinkled, and shampooed her short hair twice to remove the grass and mud. Finally, she felt clean and she shut off the water. She dried herself and brushed her wet hair. It still stuck out at unnatural angles due to the singed ends, but it wasn’t as bad as a few days ago.
When she entered her bedroom, the first thing she noticed was the bottle of sleeping pills on her bedside table. She walked over and shook one into her palm. She eyed the small white capsule knowing it would bring her solace if she took it, but hating that she was once again relying on drug-induced sleep to chase away her demons.
‘Just this one last time,’ she said aloud, before she pushed the capsule into her mouth and swallowed it. The chalkiness stuck in her throat and she coughed when she settled against her pillow.
Carson closed her eyes but all she could see was Blake as he towered above her. His face darkened from the scruff on his cheeks and chin, his eyes hot with passion, his mouth…
NO.
She would not allow him to invade her dreams. She reached over and took another pill. It was double the dose but she wanted to sleep like the dead - deep and long.
50
Blake pushed his heels deeper into the soft ground, as three large jaktten burst from the tree-lined perimeter of his land and ran towards him. Etiquette dictated that he shift forms to greet the council, but his emotions were too turbulent to allow his inner-beast to gain control. The beasts circled him, snapping and snarling, but Blake refused to bend to their custom, especially one that was outdated and unnecessary given their reason for visiting him. When the largest jaktten finally shifted to human, the other two mirrored him.
‘Are you refusing to pay your respects to your elders, Blake?’
Just as he had shifted first, Sebastian spoke first. He was head councillor and stood just as tall as Blake with similar dark blond hair. The other two men were smaller, but not less muscular than their comrade. Theo was dark-skinned while Erik was pale. All three men were naked and angry, not a great combination given the current lunar cycle.
‘It is customary to place your belly on the ground when we arrive,’ Erik said, his green eyes flashing with anger. ‘We deserve your subservience.’
‘You’re on my land,’ Blake replied evenly. ‘I bow to no one. Jakttera customs mean zilch here on Earth.’
Erik made a move to strike out, but Sebastian lifted his hand and the other man stilled, conceding to the hierarchy.
‘We will not resort to violence.’
‘I say we pass our judgement swiftly and go home,’ Theo said, his cheekbones darkening with fury. ‘This poor excuse for a jaktten warrior is insolent and deserves no mercy from the council.’
‘Insolent yes, but is he a murderer?’ Sebastian said. ‘The punishment for such a crime is death. How do you plead?’
‘Not guilty,’ Blake replied.
Erik raised his fair eyebrows. ‘You do not even have the decency to confess your crimes. Viktor already told us that you killed a fellow jaktten.’
‘I did.’
‘That makes you guilty.’
‘Not of murder.’
‘I don’t understand.’
Blake clenched his hands into fists. ‘No, you don’t. The jaktten attacked a human.’
‘Impossible,’ Theo spat. ‘You disrespect us further by lying. No one within our colony would bite a human. We know the outcome.’
‘I used to think that too, but then I came face-to-face with a bitten human at ISCU last night. He was followed by a desquamater.’
‘What did you do?’
Blake swallowed deeply. ‘I’m not proud of my actions, as the human was just a boy.’
‘What did you do?’ Theo repeated.
‘He deteriorated during the change. I asked who bit him. I told him I would help, but he attacked, so I killed him. I had no other choice.’
‘And the desquamater?’
‘He got away.’
The three council members shared uneasy glances.
‘You’re asking the council to trust your version of events,’ Sebastian said, and the frown on his brow deepened. ‘Where is your evidence? Your proof?’
‘You know I care about our species’ survival or else you wouldn’t have chosen me to infiltrate the ISCU in the first place. You asked me to observe the humans and report back their dealings with the desquamaters. You trusted me for that job and I’m asking you to trust me again. My word should be all the evidence you need.’
Theo pushed his hands through his dark hair.
‘We need to discuss this,’ he said to Sebastian who nodded.
‘You are welcome to use my home,’ Blake offered, and he gestured towards his farmhouse.
‘That won’t be necessary,’ Sebastian replied. ‘We shall confer here.’
Erik and Theo gathered around the council leader. They spoke in low whispers at first, but then Erik’s tone turned aggressive. It was clear not all three agreed on their verdict and Blake’s stomach twisted. If they decided he was guilty, he was screwed. He was almost a free man and he had too much to lose.
‘We have reached a decision,’ Sebastian said, as he broke away from the others. ‘It was not unanimous but as lead councillor, I have the casting vote. Blake Holloway, this council finds you-’
Blake never heard the ruling, as Erik’s hand morphed into a claw and slashed Sebastian’s throat wide open. The man grabbed his neck, as blood gushed through his fingers like a fountain. He fell to his knees then slumped forward onto the ground. Theo shifted into his wolf-form, but his reactions were slower than Erik’s and the man crushed his skull with his bare fists. Blake readied himself to counter the next strike, but it never came.
‘I’ve wanted to do that for years,’ Erik said, his chest heaving as he sucked in a deep breath. ‘All they ever do is talk, talk, talk. I couldn’t take it any longer.’
‘You’re crazy.’
‘Yes, I think I am. That’s what this fucking planet has done to me. I curse the day we ever left Jak
ttera.’
‘You murdered your fellow councillors.’
Erik shook his head. ‘No, you murdered them. If Sebastian hadn’t overruled me and found you not guilty, they’d still be alive. They brought this on themselves. I needed proof of your betrayal and now their blood is seeping into your land.’
He slashed his claws across his bare chest, deep enough to draw blood but not to cause any real pain.
‘You attacked me,’ Erik continued, ‘but I managed to escape back to the prince and recount your treachery.’
‘Viktor won’t believe you.’
Erik shrugged. ‘Then I’ll kill him too.’
‘Why are you doing this?’
‘We need to build an army, but the human species is weaker than anticipated.’
‘You’re the one biting the humans. You’re the traitor.’
‘I’m not a traitor, I’m a loyalist. The desquamaters are growing in numbers and the next invasion is imminent, but Viktor hides his head in the sand. We need to join forces with the humans to eradicate the alien-scum.’
‘They can’t survive the change.’
‘It’s true the success rate isn’t high, but I’m working on a way to counteract their DNA to make them stronger.’
‘And where do I fit into this?’
Erik took a step backwards. ‘You’re the fall guy.’
‘I won’t take the blame for your actions,’ Blake said, as he prepared to shift forms. ‘I’ll fight to the death if I have to.’
‘Whilst it would neatly tie-up all the loose ends if I killed you too, I heard a whisper before we left about that partner of yours. Carson isn’t it?’
‘Leave her out of this.’
‘Rumour has it that she’s going to receive some unwanted visitors tonight, but if you run, you might get there before the desquamaters peel her skin from her battered bones. Make your choice. What’s more important - me or her?’
Rage filled Blake’s veins at the smug look on Erik’s face, but the rage soon gave way to fear. Carson was the most important thing to him, and he couldn’t risk losing her. Not when he’d only just found her.
51
The aliens surrounded Carson. No longer cloaked in human skin, there were too many to count. Their sharp teeth and segmented skin blended into one mass of deadly predators. How had they found her and where was her weapon? One of the larger desquamaters broke away from the group and lunged for her. She landed a solid kick to his chest, winding it, and then she snapped its neck. The audible crack caused the others to fall back slightly and Carson sucked in a deep breath. The need to kill soared through her veins and she imagined this was how a drug addict felt when they craved their next fix.
‘Who’s next?’ she screamed. ‘I’ll kill every single one of you with my bare hands if I have to.’
A group of young girls stood huddled in the corner –the shadows obscured their faces but she knew who they were. Liv, Tisha, Amy, Bonnie and Sage. Another girl stood behind them, one she didn’t immediately recognise, but bore a strong resemblance to her as a child.
‘Get to safety,’ she shouted at the girls but they didn’t hear her.
Another alien pounced and she fought her way out of his grasp. She pummelled her fists into its scaly face until it slumped to the floor. She spun around, looking for her next victim, so when Blake stepped out of the shadows, she faltered. His green eyes glowed unnaturally inside his ruggedly handsome face and his shaggy hair hung loose around his shoulders.
‘What are you doing here?’ she asked, not really knowing where here was. Nothing looked familiar.
‘You know why I’m here, Carson.’
She shook her head, even though something niggled in the depths of her brain. Blake looked natural leading an army of aliens and she wondered if he’d been a commander during his time in the military.
‘We need to fight them,’ she said. ‘Come on, help me. We can take them down together.’
‘There’s too many of them.’
‘Doesn’t matter. We fight until the end. Show no fear, show no mercy.’
‘Not this time. You need to run…Run.’
Blake reached for her and she jolted awake. Sweat pooled on her top lip and there was a few seconds before she realised he’d only spoken in her dream. She inhaled greedily, trying to settle her beating heart as it had felt so real.
So damn real.
Carson closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but after several minutes she realised that was going to be impossible. She looked at the clock on her bedside table, which confirmed there were still a few more hours until the sun rose. She contemplated taking a couple more sleeping pills, but quickly dismissed that thought.
A loud bang caused her to sit up in bed. It sounded as if it had come from her back garden, so she got out of bed and crossed to the window. The full moon gave enough illumination for her to scan the area and confirm nothing looked out of place, but the next bang sounded closer. As if something had crashed against the door.
Carson had a decision to make, pretend she was paranoid or go and investigate. Whilst it might be Blake letting himself in, the tension in her stomach told her to remain vigilant, so she crept to the box beneath her bed and retrieved two hand guns. They were custom made pistols with silencers, which wouldn’t stop her enemies from hearing the gunshots but might stop her neighbours from thinking world war three was happening in their street.
She slipped her jeans over her pyjama bottoms and walked downstairs. She took up a position beside the back door and peered through the pane of glass. She could see something in the middle of her garden that hadn’t been there a few minutes ago.
Doctor Malone.
‘Shit,’ Carson cursed, as she slipped her weapons into her waistband in order to open the door. ‘Malone, are you ok?’
She thought she heard him groan, which meant he was alive at least. She stepped out onto the patio, checking for movement in the shadows. She ran towards him and crouched down onto the grass. She carefully rolled him onto his back and he whimpered loudly.
‘It’s a trap,’ he said, blinking blood from his eyes. ‘They lured you out.’
‘I know, but I couldn’t stay inside and watch you die.’
‘I’m dying anyway. Leave me.’
‘No way.’
A branch snapped and Carson jumped to her feet. She pulled out her guns and stretched her arms straight out so she could fire left and right at the same time. A mob of desquamaters slithered towards her without their human disguises, as they didn’t need them under the protection of the moonlight. Her heart pinched tightly in her chest as they seemed to replicate her dream; advancing with teeth and claws glinting. Only this time she wasn’t defenceless.
Carson fired twice, hitting two aliens in the chest. Her gun was customised and so was the ammo. Not grenade cartridges, but almost as effective. The bullets dissolved and released a concentrated poison which entered the bloodstream and caused paralysis. Both desquamaters dropped to the floor, their near-translucent limbs immobilised in an attacking stance. Another two advanced and she took those down too, but others seemed to multiply from the shadows. She continued firing until her bullets ran out, which left a heap of paralysed aliens at the edge of her garden, but their raid was relentless. She had to fall back to safety, and she grabbed Doctor Malone by the legs and started dragging him towards the house.
‘Leave me,’ he said, wincing as his back scrapped against the floor. ‘I’m too heavy.’
A strident howl pierced the night sky, momentarily causing both Carson and the desquamaters to pause. She thought about Blake meeting the jaktten council. What if the encounter had gone badly and the jaktten had followed her scent here?
‘Carson, watch out,’ Malone cried, as one of the aliens caught her from behind and wrapped his clawed hands around her throat. She released her grip on the doctor’s legs and immediately countered the attack by thrusting her elbow into the desquamater’s stomach. Due to their segmented bodies,
the blow barely penetrated, but she followed it with an uppercut to the chin and was able to overpower the alien long enough to crack its neck, which was the weakest part of their body.
Malone managed to get to his knees and shuffle the remaining distance to her patio. Another howl echoed through the air, followed by a growl that sounded close – too close. Carson opened the back door and yanked the doctor inside.
52
Doctor Malone’s skeletal hand latched onto Carson’s wrist with more force than she’d expected given his injuries. His fair hair was covered with dirt and dried blood, and she was torn between anger and pity for the man. His face was swollen and bruised from where he’d been beaten, and he winced whenever he moved.
‘Don’t let them get the data,’ he wheezed. ‘You must protect it.’
Carson removed his vice-like grip from her wrist and grabbed her back-up weapon from beneath her kitchen sink. She took up a position beside the window, expecting the desquamaters to be beating her door down, but they were retreating instead, taking the bodies of their fallen with them. It didn’t make sense and she wondered if this was another trap. She rubbed the sharp pain in her chest as she sucked in breath after breath that didn’t fill her lungs.
‘We found your laboratory,’ she said, once the last alien had disappeared from sight. ‘What gives you the right to treat another living being like that?’
Malone’s eyes widened. ‘Did you find Sabrina?’
‘Who?’
‘Sabrina, I left her there. I had no choice. They were coming for me, so I ran. I did it to protect her, but it’s been days since I fed her.’
‘Is Sabrina an alien?’ she asked and Malone nodded sadly.
‘But not like the ones you deal with,’ he said. ‘She’s not the enemy. She’s different.’
‘She’s a jaktten.’
‘You know about them?’
‘Yes, I shot one,’ she replied dismissively. ‘Why did you run? The team wasted valuable time trying to find you when we should’ve been hunting down the bastard that killed another little girl this week.’
