Orbs II: Stranded

by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

  Jeff took a cautious step forward. “Well?”

  Overton snorted out a cloud of smoke. “What are you doing, kid? Get back inside.” He turned and faced the valley.

  The sound of small footfalls made the sergeant cringe. A second later the boy was standing next to him. “I’m coming with you when you do.”

  Overton laughed. “Like hell you are. I don’t need a kid weighing me down.”

  “This kid saved your life on more than one occasion,” Jeff said. “Seems to me like you might owe me a favor or two.”

  A pair of blue rays shot into the sky a few miles away. Overton watched the light fade as the water disappeared into the belly of an unseen, orbiting ship.

  Jeff stared at the sky. “So, there are people out there?”

  Overton didn’t respond. He wasn’t sure what Jeff had overheard in the mess hall earlier, but Sophie’s orders had been clear: Don’t tell the kids anything about what the team had seen in the CIC. That seemed to be the one thing they agreed on. He shrugged and took another long drag of his cigarette before dropping it onto the pavement and slowly suffocating it with his boot.

  “I don’t see how anyone could have made it this long,” the boy said.

  Another ray of light burst into the sky. Overton raised his rifle and zoomed in on the spot where it had originated.

  “You made it by yourself. I’m sure others have, too,” he said gruffly.

  Overton dropped the rifle to his side and strolled back toward the blast doors. He wasn’t in the mood to engage in small talk, particularly not when he had a mission to plan.

  Jeff trotted after him. At least the kid has enough sense not to stay out here by himself, Overton thought.

  They were a hundred feet from the blast doors when a deep roar ripped through the afternoon sky. Before Overton had a chance to react, a blue drone appeared overhead. It must have been patrolling the opposite side of the mountain, just out of his line of sight. The craft hovered over the blacktop, its sides pulsing deep blue. It hung there, suspended overhead, as if it were calculating its next move.

  Overton remained frozen, watching the craft. He had never seen one this close. The translucent blue sides were mesmerizing, like staring into a crystal ball. He thought about swinging his rifle around and emptying his clip into the ship, but he resisted the urge, recalling what Sophie had said: They seem to be drawn to movement. As long as the RVM scrambles their water sensors, they can’t see us.

  But Jeff didn’t know that.

  Shit, Overton thought.

  He had two options. One was to fire off a volley of shots, grab the kid, and slip back into the facility. The other was to wait and see if the craft retreated.

  He didn’t like either idea, but option one was too risky. There was only a five-foot gap between Overton and Jeff, and a smaller gap between the kid and the craft. As long as Jeff stayed still, the craft would leave. He’d seen it happen twice.

  But Jeff didn’t stay still. He took a step back, nearly tripping over his feet.

  “Don’t . . .” Overton said under his breath.

  It was too late. The drone’s shell pulsated as a small opening formed in the nose of the craft. A brilliant blue light shot toward Jeff. He turned to run, reaching out to Overton just as the beam gripped him.

  “No!” Overton screamed. In a single second he had shouldered his rifle and fired off a dozen shots into the drone’s side.

  The pulse rounds bounced harmlessly off the ship’s shields as the beam lifted Jeff from the ground and began drawing him inside. Before Overton could do anything else, another boom tore through the air. The subsequent shockwave knocked him to his knees. He could only watch helplessly as the ship disappeared over the horizon.

  * * *

  “What do you mean, Jeff’s gone?” Sophie yelled.

  Overton stood in the center of the mess hall. For the first time in years, he felt ashamed. He’d done exactly what he had promised himself he would never do—he had let his guard down.

  “I can get him back,” he said, his tone harsher than he had intended.

  The commotion drew the attention of David, who emerged from the hallway. Holly rushed over to him.

  “What are you doing here?” she said, cupping her hands over David’s ears instinctively. But it was too late; he had already heard the news. Struggling from her grasp, he dashed toward the blast doors in an attempt to escape.

  Bouma took off after him and dragged the boy back screaming a few minutes later. “Where is my brother? Where is he?”

  Sophie turned to Holly. “Take him into the other room,” she said. Holly nodded and ushered the boy away.

  “Corporal, please accompany her.”

  “How did this happen?” Emanuel asked once the boy was safely away. “Why the hell was he outside?”

  “I’ll get him back,” Overton repeated, ignoring the question. He sat at the nearest table and reached for Emanuel’s tablet. Before the display glowed to life, he caught a glimpse of his reflection. His eyes were accented with dark circles. Was he beginning to lose it?

  No, he thought. Just shaken from Jeff’s abduction. He stood and paced back and forth between the tables.

  “We need you to focus,” Sophie cried. “Tell me what happened.”

  Overton locked eyes with her. “It was a drone. Must have been patrolling the area above the mountain, out of sight. Snuck up on me. Nothing I could do,” he said, speaking briskly as if reporting to a superior officer. Then he added, more slowly, “I saw it take him into the city. We can get him back.”

  Emanuel spread his hands wide. “How do you suggest doing that?”

  “We know the coordinates.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Emanuel blurted.

  “From the rover that discovered the human farm. We know its location. That’s where the drone will take him. I have no doubt,” Overton replied. “That’s also where you’ll find the human prisoners. Two of whom are my men.” Overton paused, cocking an eyebrow at Sophie, challenging her. “You don’t really expect me to leave them all out there, do you, Sophie?”

  It was the first time he’d called her by her first name since back at Denver International, just after she had saved his life.

  She didn’t reply.

  Overton knew that Jeff’s abduction changed everything; it gave him the leverage he needed to go back outside. He knew how it looked—like he had somehow let this happen. But he knew the truth and didn’t give a fuck how it looked. All he cared about was getting the boy and his team back to the Biosphere.

  “Well,” Overton said after a moment of silence. “Now are you ready to authorize a mission? Now that it’s one of our own out there?”

  Sophie chewed her lip and snarled, “You, of all people, have the audacity to question me?”

  “What the fuck does that mean?” the marine shouted.

  Emanuel stepped between them, holding up his hands. “Enough already. We can’t have you fighting with each other when you need to be fighting the Organics.” He paused and looked at the ground.

  “I’ve made a breakthrough with the weapon. I think I’ve found a way to bring down their shields. But it needs be field-tested,” he finally said. The doctor looked at Overton first for a reaction.

  “Hell yeah, I’ll do it,” the marine responded without hesitation.

  “That’s what I was afraid you would say,” Emanuel said. “There’s one condition,” he continued, managing a confident smile.

  “What’s that?” Overton asked.

  “You have to take me with you. I’m the only one who can operate it.”

  Sophie reached for Emanuel’s hand. “Absolutely not.”

  “It’s the only way,” Emanuel said. His voice was soft, tinged with a hint of sadness.

  The biologist and the marine both looked at Sophie.
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  “Okay,” Sophie finally replied.

  The terse response took Overton by surprise. It lingered for an uncomfortable moment before he turned and nodded. “All right, then. I’ll brief Bouma, and we’ll head out as soon as the weapon is ready to go.”

  CHAPTER 7

  AT first, Jeff wondered if he was dead. A blue fog clouded his vision. The light seemed distant and close at the same time.

  Where was he? And how had he gotten here?

  Struggling, he tried to think, tried to move, tried to do anything, but there was only the blue fog.

  For minutes he studied the light and tried to make sense of what was happening to him. And finally it hit him. The memory of the drone sent a surge of panic through his body.

  Trapped.

  Jeff swallowed hard. What would the Organics do with him? Would they turn him into an orb? Would they suck his body dry like they had his father’s?

  Panicking, Jeff tried to squirm. He was rewarded with a powerful electric shock that raced through his body. He tried to scream, but the noise that came out sounded more like a gurgle.

  At least he knew he wasn’t dead. Gasping, Jeff worked to catch his breath. He had to be strong now. He had to find a way out of here. Slowly, the panic cleared and, with it, the fog. He saw his surroundings clearly for the first time.

  The blue walls of the alien prison pulsated around him, forming a small cocoon that was filled with a sticky, breathable gel. He sucked in a breath, trying to taste it, but it was flavorless.

  The ship vibrated, rattling him inside his cell. The result was another agonizing shock. Despite the pain, he continued to struggle. His skin burned and his bones ached, but he didn’t give up. He jerked and squirmed and gasped for air until finally he was so tired his body simply stopped responding to his requests. Defeated, he closed his eyes and worked on moderating his heart rate and breathing, the two things that he still had control over. He resigned himself to watching the walls of the craft pulse in and out. At least the distraction would keep him from getting bored.

  Just as his breathing calmed, an abrupt vibration shook the ship. Jeff cried out in pain as he was spun and another electric shock pulsed through his body.

  When his eyes snapped back open, he was upside down. Below, he could see the vague shapes of buildings through the translucent skin of the craft. Jeff tried to look for landmarks, but the ship was moving too fast.

  The craft soon eased to a stop and hovered over a field that extended as far as his small prison would allow him to see.

  The view was hazy, like looking through a fogged-up windshield. There was something moving toward him across the ground. He squinted, trying desperately to see. Slowly the shapes grew bigger and more pronounced. The blurred outlines began to come into focus.

  They look like people.

  Another jolt of electricity shocked him as he strained to get a better look. In seconds, he had maneuvered himself so he could see clearly.

  “Holy crap,” he mumbled.

  There were people below. Hundreds of them.

  Before he had time to react, a hole opened in the bottom of the craft. He screamed as he fell, bracing himself with his hands as he dropped face first to the ground a few feet below.

  The taste of dirt and blood filled his mouth. He scrambled to his feet. He didn’t have time for pain. Around him was a crowd of people, real people! There were other survivors, and they weren’t holed up in some bunker like Dr. Sophie’s team.

  He looked at their dirt-streaked faces. Few of them returned his gaze. Most of them simply slogged past him.

  “Hey, what’s wrong with you?” Jeff shouted. He moved closer, cautiously. As he scanned the group he realized something was very weird. Their clothes were loose and tattered, like they hadn’t eaten or bathed in weeks.

  “Hello?” Jeff said.

  There was no response.

  He froze when he saw a familiar blue glow in the distance. The light was coming from hundreds of rods protruding from the hilltop.

  The crowd marched past him like mindless zombies, shoulders and arms brushing him without care. Their faces were emotionless, their eyes glued to the poles like a ship captain fixated on a lighthouse.

  Too terrified to move, he watched them pass in silence. Most of them were kids, but there were a few adults as well, men and women who looked to be his parents’ age. And they were all staring at the poles, transfixed.

  He took a step forward only to be knocked to his knees. Through the dozens of passing human legs he saw something else—something not human.

  One of them.

  He should have known it was too good to be true. Why would the drone have dropped him off into a crowd of survivors?

  These were not survivors, he realized. They were prisoners.

  Jeff quickly pushed through the crowd until he burst out the other side. A set of claws tore through the air, narrowly missing his face. He jumped back, bumping into a hideous woman with thin, dark hair draped across her forehead. She tilted her head and gawked at him. And then she snapped out of her trance, her eyes softening.

  “Come with me,” she whispered, ushering him forward with a filthy hand.

  Jeff glanced over her shoulder. She was the last person he wanted to go with, but behind her the Spiders were swiping at the prisoners with razor-sharp claws. He could hear the whoosh as the talons swept toward the humans.

  He had no choice. It was either follow the witch of a lady or face the Spiders. He jogged to catch up with her and focused on the glowing rods in the distance. There was something weird about them. His eyes followed one of the poles into the sky. Every eight feet or so, a dark shape hung off the pole like a pod off a beanstalk.

  A human shape.

  He stopped dead in his tracks. There were hundreds of people on the poles; their heads slumped toward the ground, their arms hanging loosely at their sides.

  Jeff felt a push from behind, but didn’t dare move. His heart thumped in his chest as he finally realized what was happening.

  Another push from behind broke his trance. This time the shove was harder, and he lost his balance. As he regained his footing, he scanned the sky again. There were rows and rows of them. Poles as far as he could see. And the Spiders were herding the prisoners right to them.

  * * *

  Emanuel watched the marines lay their gear out on a metal table in the mess hall. They didn’t have much. Certainly not enough to face an advanced alien race. But the aliens could be killed. This he knew, and knew well.

  As he checked his own gear, Emanuel thought of the growing feud between Overton and Sophie. Both of them were at their boiling points, and both of them were starting to worry him. It was Overton he was most concerned about, though. The marine seemed as though he was getting reckless. Ever since he’d seen his men outside, something had changed. Like a light switch, something had flipped on inside him.

  “Are we completely out of electromagnetic pulse grenades?” Overton snapped, scanning their gear like a drug addict looking for his last pill.

  Emanuel considered something that might calm the marine down. “If my experiment works, you aren’t going to need them, Sergeant.”

  Overton ran a hand over his freshly shaved scalp and jerked his chin toward Emanuel. “I don’t like surprises. Whatever you have up your sleeve, I want to know about it, now!”

  Emanuel studied Overton from a distance. The man’s temper was definitely spiraling out of control.

  “I get that I’m not one of your men and that you don’t trust me,” Emanuel said, standing his ground. “But if I were you, I would have a little—”

  Overton tossed his pack on the table and took a step toward Emanuel, spit flying out of his mouth. “You’re exactly right. You aren’t one of my men. Which makes you a liability. How do I know your weapon will work?”

  Emanuel rega
rded Overton with a cocked brow. Now the man was starting to piss him off. Maybe I didn’t think this through, he thought, crossing his arms. But there was no turning back.

  An awkward silence filled the room as the two men stared at each other. “It will work,” Emanuel said. “This is our best shot at getting your men back, and rescuing Jeff. A successful field test might even put us in a position to help the other Biospheres as well. Maybe we can even find that survivor who’s been trying to contact us.”

  Overton narrowed his eyes and then nodded. “Guess I have to trust you, don’t I?”

  Emanuel wasn’t sure if the man was looking for an answer, but he wasn’t going to give Overton any more of his time. Faking a smile, he walked back to the table and grabbed his pack.

  “When are you leaving?”

  Sophie’s voice startled him; he hadn’t heard her approach. He turned to face her with the same smile he had extended to Overton, but it quickly faded when he saw her face. She was pale, with dark circles under her eyes that added a decade to her features.

  He felt an instant wave of guilt. Like Overton, she was close to her breaking point, and here he was, preparing to leave her. On top of everything else, he knew she wasn’t sleeping. She hadn’t complained of any more dreams, but he knew she was still having them. The past few nights she’d kicked him awake as she tried to escape from whatever was chasing her. Every time he had asked her about the dreams, she’d denied having them. Emanuel didn’t have the heart to argue with her about it. Did it really matter anymore? Was there anything her dreams could tell them that they didn’t already know?

  “We’re heading out in fifteen,” Overton said. “Your boyfriend here was just about to explain how his weapon works.”

  Emanuel glanced at Sophie and quickly turned away. He had to finish gathering up his gear. There wasn’t much time, and he wanted to make sure the weapon was fully charged before they left. She followed him back to the CIC, where the hunk of metal sat plugged into the mainframe.

  “Alexia, is the RVAMP ready to go?” Emanuel asked as soon as the lights turned on.