by KJ Nelson
13
“We need to go,” Cameron said, shaking her head again to get the replicator to release her hand.
“You don’t have to do it that way,” Drac said, shaking his head. “Just look up and to the right for four seconds and it will release you, Cameron” as he said that, she felt the weight return to the disk. Expecting it, she didn’t let it fall to the ground.
Cameron ripped open the zipper on her backpack and shoved the device inside. She had just enough room to be able to zip it closed with the replicator inside.
“How do we get out of here?” Stafford asked, moving back and forth on his feet. He was anxious to get above ground and help Garland.
“Back to the console,” Cameron said motioning with her arm for them to follow. Stafford was right behind her, but Cameron realized Drac hadn’t moved. She turned back to him and saw his face set.
“I’m staying here.” He said with conviction. “I gave you what you need to survive. You can rebuild your civilization with that technology. You don’t need me anymore.” Cameron could always tell when someone was selling, even if they were an alien.
“Not gonna happen,” Cameron said, shaking her head. “You’re coming with us, you’ve got a lot to answer for. This doesn’t make up for any of what you’ve done.” Cameron said pointing to the replicator in her backpack.
“Move!” Stafford said flipping the safety on his rifle off and gesturing with it for Drac to join them. Drac tightened his lips and walked forward.
“As you wish.” He said simply. Cameron wasn’t comfortable with the look he gave Stafford as he walked forward. She reached out as he walked by and made sure the cuffs were still tight on his wrists.
Drac led them back to the console and he quickly mimicked the actions Agbo had taken on Cameron’s first trip to the outpost. With them he called the platform that would take them all back to the surface.
Two minutes later they were back in the dome-shaped room. The three of them stood quietly hoping to hear if someone was outside waiting for them to emerge. It would be an easy ambush to shoot them when they exited the dome.
Cameron heard moaning coming from where she’d instructed Garland to wait on them. She needed to get to him and make sure he was okay. She regretted not letting him tell her what had brought him all the way back to Charleston.
“Is there another way out of here?” Stafford asked Drac, turning his bloodshot gaze on him. Stafford could be extremely intimidating when he was stressed. The size difference between the two was almost laughable. Drac barely came to Stafford’s chest.
“No. One way in, one way out.” Drac said, shaking his head.
“We can’t cut a hole in this…” Cameron searched for a word to describe the flesh-like material. “Membrane?” She said finding the best word.
“If you do, you’ll pop the bubble and destroy the Compaction Ring.” Drac pointed to the hole in the floor as he spoke. “You’ll also likely kill all of us,” he added as an aside.
Cameron could tell he really didn’t want them to take such a drastic course of action. She also didn’t want to destroy the room either. There might be other valuable pieces of technology.
“Would you like to go out first then?” Stafford asked Drac pointing to the flap that led out of the dome.
“No, I’d rather not,” Drac said grinning tightly at Stafford’s suggestion. The three of them stood there for a while looking at each other and thinking. The moaning noise was getting louder and it made Cameron’s skin crawl.
“I’ll go out first. Stafford, you lay down cover fire from inside. Drac, you sit on your hands and do nothing.” Cameron looked at both of them in turn, resigned to taking the risk herself. “If I don’t make it, find out what Garland knows, and use the replicator to feed everyone.”
Cameron moved quickly, not giving Stafford a chance to argue. She used the inertia of her plan to move forward. Cameron breathed out heavily as she grabbed the corner of the membrane and started pulling it up.
Cameron felt the rush of air as she broke the seal on the dome. Stafford stood over her and took the warm material out of her hands. Cameron could see out into the night, nothing moved. Aside from the low grunts, she heard nothing.
Cameron took one step out of the dome and heard the crack of rifle sound. A small patch of dirt exploded right by her left foot. She rolled to her right and let Stafford drop the membrane back into place.
Cameron grunted in pain as she landed on her side. It was definitely a trap. There was no way they were going to make it out the way they’d come in. Whoever was out there wanted them dead, and it seemed like they were willing to wait as long as it took.
“Let’s pop the bubble,” Cameron said looking at Drac as his eyes expanded in fear.
“That’s the most ignorant thing you’ve said since I met you. And believe me, you’ve said some really dumb stuff.” Drac rolled his eyes at Cameron’s enthusiasm at destroying the outpost.
“Do you have a better plan?” Cameron asked, raising her eyebrows at Drac. She wasn’t offended by being called ignorant or dumb. Her plan was pretty stupid, she had no idea what would happen if they popped the dome. It was the only thing she could think of that would throw their attackers off balance. She loved doing the unexpected.
“Yes, I do,” Drac said, nodding his head and breathing deeply. Cameron sensed another sales pitch inbound and she smiled to herself. Let’s see what he tries this time. “Let me go back into the storage room, and see if there’s an OAF suit. I’ll put it on and take care of these pests once and for all.” Drac spoke as if his plan were the simplest solution.
Of course, it was, for him. In the suit, Cameron and Stafford would have no chance of keeping him prisoner. He would be taller than them, and ten times as strong. He would likely kill the attackers and then turn and kill them without blinking an eye.
“Sure,” Cameron said nodding enthusiastically. “Go put on your hairy death suit and save us, all mighty one.” Drac’s face rose and fell as quickly as Cameron spoke. He shook his head at her sarcasm and walked as far from her as he could in the confined space.
“Let’s blow it,” Stafford said, opening his pack again. He pulled out a small object and showed it to Cameron. It was a small block of C2 plastic explosives. Cameron recognized the off white clay substance and nodded.
“We can use this to direct the blast toward the membrane and away from us,” Stafford said with a frown. Cameron had used similar explosives in the past, they were meant for breaching rooms without hurting the infiltrators.
“Let’s do it.” Cameron nodded in agreement. “What will happen when the seal is broken?” Cameron asked Drac, wanting to know what to expect.
“I guess you’re about to find out,” Drac said with a sneer. “Stupid Sape.”
“Stop calling me that. I’m just as smart as you are, little man.” Cameron said standing face to face with Drac.
“Of course you are,” Drac took a step back. “My apologies, wise one.”
“Enough,” Stafford stepped up to them both and looming over them like a giant. “Go over there and cover your heads. This is going to be interesting.” Stafford pointed toward where Garland continued to moan quietly. He was going to place the explosives as far from the man as possible.
Cameron covered her ears and her face with her arms. Drac used his arms to cover his ears and face. She could tell he was uncomfortable in the situation without his living fur-suit. She loved seeing him cower in fear after his earlier boasting.
“Welcome to earth, little one,” Cameron said as Stafford stuck the plastic explosives to the membrane and pushed the arming button. A bright red five showed on the front of the device and counted down.
Cameron closed her eyes and waited.
Four...three...two she counted in her head.
One.
The air around them was ripped away and Cameron felt the concussion behind her eyelids.
14
Cameron felt herself flying through
the air. She spun like a frisbee being tossed around and around. She tried to open her eyes to get her bearing so that she could prepare for the eventual impact, but it was useless. The spinning completely ruined her equilibrium and she couldn’t tell which way was up, let alone try to prepare for the fall.
After a long couple of seconds flailing through the air, Cameron’s back struck a large object. She heard as one of the hoses whinnied loudly and she realized she’d smacked into the side of one of the huge creatures.
She opened her eyes and took in the hoof that was about to come down on her face. She jerked her head to the side and rolled away from the danger. She lifted her head and the world continued to spin for a few seconds.
She wasn’t sure if she’d lost her hearing in the blast, or if everything was completely silent. She heard the horse’s loud breathing on her left and realized she still could hear. Why weren’t the Freeriders lighting her up with sniper bullets?
As her vision cleared, Cameron was finally able to take in her surroundings for the first time. She looked back over her shoulder and saw the remnants of the Squatch outpost. It looked like a miniature nuclear explosion had gone off.
There was a 20-foot mushroom cloud where the structure had been. Drac hadn’t been lying when he said they didn’t want to pop the membrane that made up the outpost. Taking in the blast radius, Cameron knew she was extremely lucky to have made it out alive. She heard the sound of retreating hoofbeats. It seemed like the explosion had scared off the Freeriders for the time being.
Cameron continued searching and saw two forms about 30 feet away that weren’t moving. Cameron ran over the first person and saw Drac lying on his side knocked unconscious. There was a slight trickle of blood coming out of his right nostril.
Lying there, Cameron saw for the first time, Drac’s humanity. When he wasn’t in control of his facial features, he looked peaceful. Cameron left him there and went over to the other much larger form.
Stafford was in pretty bad shape. It looked like his right arm was broken in at least two spots. Cameron could see the bone of his forearm sticking out through the muscle. The stark white of it contrasted against his dark and skin made her cringe in revulsion. Stafford was conscious, and Cameron could see his white teeth also shining in the low light cast by the moon.
“Cam?” Stafford grunted through his grimace. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I think I got it easiest out of everyone.” Cameron nodded as she spoke. She hated seeing her friend in pain. “Can you move?”
“I think so, can you help me get this pack off my back? I’ve got a sling inside.” Stafford gritted his teeth as he spoke. Cameron was glad he always came prepared for the worst. She helped him maneuver the backpack’s straps off his bad arm. She reached in the pack and grabbed the sling.
“Here you go,” Cameron said, handing Stafford the bundle of light fabric. She didn’t know how Stafford was going to fit his huge muscled arms into the sling.
“Weren’t we in a firefight two minutes ago?” Stafford asked, looking around for enemies.
“The blast must have scared them off,” Stafford nodded in agreement. She realized with a start, she hadn’t seen Garland. She got to her feet and rushed over to the horses who had bolted several hundred feet. Garland was nowhere to be seen. The Freeriders must have taken him with them.
“Great,” Cameron said, realizing how much of a mistake it was to leave the man alone outside in his vulnerable condition. She decided to worry about him later. Her goal was to make it back to camp without getting blown up again.
Cameron led the horses back over to where Stafford and Drac were positioned. Stafford had modified the sling to fit over his bulk, and Drac was still seemingly unconscious. Cameron walked over to him and kicked him in the shoulder.
He awoke with a start and covered his face with his still bound hands.
“I’m alive?” She heard him whisper to himself as if he were surprised to find the statement true.
“For now,” Cameron whispered loud enough for him to hear. His eyes flashed up to her’s, and she saw the embarrassment wash over his features. She wasn’t supposed to see him in that weakened state.
Drac sat up and shook his head slowly back and forth. “You Sapes are absolutely insane. I cannot fathom how we all survived a decoupling of the Compaction Ring.” He rose to his feet as he spoke, his face reorienting into his previous otherworldly expression. All humanity was gone once again.
“Let’s get out of here,” Stafford grunted in pain. The bandage on his arm was already soaked with blood. Droplets leaked out and onto the ground in quick succession. He didn’t have much time before he would be unconscious from blood loss.
“Where’s Garland?” Stafford asked, looking around for the first time.
“Taken,” Cameron said in a low voice.
“We shouldn’t have left him behind,” Stafford said, echoing Cameron’s earlier thoughts.
“Agreed. But there’s nothing we can do about that now. Let’s get back to base and regroup.” Cameron said with finality. Drac’s eyes narrowed at the mention of the base. She knew he was contemplating what being among a large group of humans meant for him and his chance of survival.
“Roll out,” Stafford said, mounting his horse. He used his muscular good arm to smoothly lift himself into the saddle. Cameron made Drac lie on his stomach as they rode Angus back to the co-op. She didn’t trust him to be sitting up behind her.
They saw no one on the trip back. It seemed as if the blast had scared everyone within a 5-mile radius away. By the time they crested the small hill overlooking the shipping yard, the sun was rising over the Ashley River. The beauty of the sparkling water made Cameron sad. Even after all the pain and destruction, the world was still beautiful.
Cameron then remembered the replicator in her bag bouncing up and down against her spine as Angus galloped. The thought of what they would be able to do with its power filled her with hope. She swore to herself that she would use the tool to help rebuild everything the Squatches had taken from humanity.
15
Even though she was happy at the success of their mission, Cameron still felt like she’d been run over by three trucks by the time they made it back to the co-op. She was sagging in the saddle, barely able to keep her eyes open. It sounded like Drac was not feeling well either, he let out a little gasp every time he bounced on Angus’ back.
As bad as she felt, Stafford looked worse. He was freely bleeding from his arm and his dark skin had taken on a greenish tint. He needed to get to the doctor as soon as possible. As they approached the rear hidden entrance, Maggie and Jake leveled their guns at them.
“Open up, quick,” Cameron said in her commanding tone that always got people to move. “We have injuries that need to be tended to.”
Maggie ran off to fetch help while Jake unlocked the two chains holding the gate together, and started pulling the armor-covered gate entrance wide enough for the horses to get through. Stafford went first, and as soon as he made it through the gate, he stumbled off his horse.
He couldn’t stand and fell to his knees before falling to his side. He wheezed slightly, then his eyes closed.
“Do not die on me, Stafford,” Cameron said quietly to him, dismounting her horse as well. She grabbed Drac by the ankles and slid him onto the ground. After locking the chains that held the gate closed, Cameron handed both sets of reins to Jake.
He looked strangely at Drac, but at a glare from Cameron didn’t say anything.
“Take the horses to get something to drink and give them a little to eat. They did a great job last night.” Cameron said to Jake. He nodded and ran off leaving them. Cameron knew she had little time before Maggie got back with the Jeb and whoever he brought with him. People were always nosey about raids, especially when there were injuries.
“I need to get mini Squatch boy out of here,” Cameron said to Stafford. She wasn’t sure if he was conscious or not. He wasn’t moving and his chest barely
rose and fell with his breaths.
“Where…” Stafford wheezed out quietly. His teeth glinted in the early morning light as he grimaced in pain. “...will you take him?”
It was a good question since Cameron had the tendency to kill anyone who disobeyed her, they hadn’t ever needed any holding cells. It left her in a predicament of not having anywhere designated for keeping Drac prisoner.
“Got any ideas?” Cameron asked racking her brain to think of a safe, well-hidden place to hide the pompous alien.
“You could let me go,” Drac said with his chin pulled high. She couldn’t tell if he really thought it was a possibility and that they were that stupid.
“Not gonna happen,” Cameron said, with a grin. She had thought of the perfect place to stash the annoying man-child while she figured out her next move.
“I’ll take him to crate 102,” Cameron said to Stafford, smiling wider as she spoke.
“That’s perfect,” Stafford said, enjoying the idea even in excruciating agony. Sometimes the only way to feel better about being in pain is to know someone you loathe is having it rough as well.
“What is crate One Zero Two?” Drac asked, sounding out each number. There was slight worry showing in his eyes.
“You’ll find out,” Cameron said, relieved to have somewhere to put him. “This way.” She said grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the fence. She planned to walk the perimeter of the co-op so that they could avoid as many people as possible.
As she was leading, Cameron heard the chatter of several people making their way to the gate. Stafford would be taken care of.
It was a short walk to crate 102 since it was at the back of the shipping yard. It really was the perfect place to keep Drac. Because of the smell, no one lived within 100 feet of the container. As they approached their destination, the wind changed directions and a full blast of fertilizer hit them both.
“Ugh,” Drac said, wrinkling his nose at the smell. “What in Eden is that horrendous smell?”
