Warlord: A Post Apocalyptic Alien Invasion Thriller (The Crumbling Book 1)

by KJ Nelson

  “Am I to be your next bit of artwork?” Cameron asked cringing away from the Squatch in mock terror.

  “I might like that,” Rodrick said looking from Cameron back to the Squatch.

  Cameron did her best to look intimidated by his response. She liked where his mind was headed. It might give her the perfect chance to get close enough to the OAF to input the needed code.

  Cameron purposefully broke eye contact with Rodrick and looked down. The ultimate sign of terror. He walked toward her.

  “Is the great and powerful Warlord afraid of the big bad hairy monster?” Rodrick grabbed her chin and pulled her face to look at the Squatch. Cameron closed her eyes hoping to convince him it was the last thing she wanted to look at.

  “Annabelle, fetch a couple of strong men and the ladders please.” Cameron smelled Rodrick’s breath as he spoke. It smelled like he had just brushed his teeth. Minty fresh.

  “Let’s see how brave you are after a night of hanging. It’s the least I can do to repay all the men you killed.”

  “No!” Cameron shouted, still repeating the numbers in her head over and over. She fumbled several times getting the order incorrect. Each time she would start over and make sure it was perfect.

  40

  It took less than ten minutes for Rodrick’s men to come running with the ladders. Rodrick sat on his couch lounging and drinking while he waited. Cameron continued with repeating the codes while feigning fear.

  Four men came out of the house with Annabelle. Two of them carried ladders on their shoulders. One of the others had a bundle of rope. Cameron had to make sure they didn’t tie her hands too tightly or she wouldn’t be able to access the nodules.

  Cameron screamed and fought as one of the men picked her up. She put on a very convincing display and Rodrick laughed several times at her misery. She made sure not to anger the man enough to hurt her in some way.

  The men made her stand with one foot on each of the ladders that were positioned in front of the cross holding the Squatch. She had her back to the large creature and was barely as large as its midsection.

  The two men had her spread her arms and they tied her to the arms of the Squatch. She could smell the OAF’s distinctive odor as she got near to it. It smelled as it had the first night she met Agbo so long ago. There was no smell of death, which she thought was strange.

  Cameron continued to cry out in fear while inside she focused on her task. She could feel how uncomfortable the men were with being near the creature. She used that to her advantage and made sure not to press her arms tightly against the Squatch.

  This gave her enough wiggle room, where she should be able to slip her hands free. The men tied her legs next. After they were done they quickly climbed back down the ladders wanting to get away as soon as humanly possible.

  After they were off the ladders they removed them from under Cameron’s feet. The sensation of hanging there was excruciating. Her shoulder immediately began to ache as she bore the weight of her body on them.

  She was extremely glad she was as small and skinny as she was. She wasn’t sure if her shoulders could hold her up if she weighed any more. For the first time, her wails and screams were genuine.

  She struggled through the pain to keep the patterns in her head. She focused on the sentry code most of all. That was the one that would get her down off the telephone phone.

  “Sweet sound to my aching ears,” Rodrick said over her wailing.

  Eventually, Cameron was able to find a way to position her limbs so that it removed the pressure from her shoulders. She was able to breathe deeply for the first time by putting all of the pressure from her body on her legs.

  The downside was that her ankles and feet were taking all of the force and immediately starting aching. She knew it would be a cycle of shifting her weight from her shoulders to her feet as her strength left her body.

  She genuinely hoped she wouldn't have to endure the agony long. She would go mad in a few hours. As her pain lessened she was able to control her screams.

  Cameron looked over to Rodrick who seemed disappointed that her suffering had lasted for such a short time.

  “Disappointing,” he said loud enough for her to hear. “Though I’m sure you’ll be ready to perform for me by morning.”

  Cameron fought to keep the pain locked inside her head. She wanted Rodrick to get bored and hopefully leave her to her misery.

  Rodrick sat and drank his way through half a bottle of whiskey and Cameron could tell he was starting to fade as he waited on her to break and give him the show he wanted. Finally, after another hour of waiting, just as the sun was about to crest the horizon, he stood and walked to the foot of the cross.

  “You’re stronger than I gave you credit for,” Rodrick said while he unzipped his pants. He started urinating at her feet and sighed in relief. “I think I’ll go lay down and see how you’re doing after breakfast.”

  Rodrick laughed as he stumbled into the mansion. Cameron was left alone watching the sun rise over the Ashely River.

  “Finally,” she said in exultation. Carefully she slipped her right hand out of the restraint with a quick tug. “Let’s get this party started.”

  41

  It took all of Cameron’s strength to stand tall and reach her head up to the nape of Agbo’s neck. She was just barely able to reach and find the small pearl-shaped nodules that would be her salvation.

  One more time she ran through the sequence in her mind. She stumbled once and had to start over. She didn’t want to mess up the sequence when she did it on the Squatch. She wasn’t sure what would happen if she messed the code up.

  After running through it successfully she started inputting the code. It was extremely delicate work and took her to the limits of her dexterity. After 30 seconds she input the last three button presses and sagged against the Squatch spent.

  She heard a slight humming sound coming from the Squatch behind her. Otherwise, it was completely silent aside from the sound of the river in the background.

  Cameron was concerned that she’d messed up the input and started going over it step by step in her mind. When she was halfway through the sequence she felt a jerk behind her. She watched as first the feet, then legs began to move. Next, the torso behind her started to rise and fall. Finally, the arms moved behind hers.

  The next part was going to be complicated. How would Cameron get down without being hurt by the Squatch freeing itself?

  Cameron made a quick decision and freed both of her hands. She used her abdominal strength to bend down and untie her feet. She could feel the creature moving behind her and only had a few seconds.

  She fumbled with the rope and finally got it untied just as the Squatch freed its left hand. It started bucking behind her trying to free its legs. She had to get out of the way or it would injure her without a doubt.

  The rope around her feet was loose but not enough to free her. As Cameron was trying to free herself the Squatch moved its legs again and she lost her balance. She tipped forward, and the rope tying her legs slipped just enough that she was able to pull her left heel out of the binding.

  She hung upside down for a dizzying second before the rope slipped the rest of the way off the OAF’s legs and she plummeted to the ground.

  Cameron landed on her back and the air whooshed out of her lungs. She opened and closed her mouth several times as she tried to force air back into her body. Finally, her body remembered how to breathe and she gulped at the air.

  The oxygen flooded her brain and she coughed a couple of times in quick succession. A moment later she opened her eyes to see the Squatch falling directly toward her face. She rolled instinctively and narrowly avoided being crushed by the huge creature.

  The Squatch landed on its knees and used its left hand to brace itself. The thud of it hitting the ground shook Cameron and she immediately started looking around to see if anyone had seen her free the Squatch.

  Fortunately, it looked like everyone was either i
n bed or had their attention focused elsewhere. She eyed the myriad of windows on the back of the house uncomfortably. It was only a matter of minutes until she was discovered.

  The Squatch maintained its crouched position and Cameron got to her feet and moved to the back of the creature.

  Even with it kneeling Cameron had to stand on the tips of her toes to reach the nodules again. She needed to execute the emergency removal immediately.

  Her hand was shaking as she held it up to the circular input buttons for the second time. She was worried about what it would look like inside. She hadn’t had time to ask Drac any questions about using the Squatch.

  Cameron hoped it would be similar to using the replicator. If it wasn’t she didn’t know what she was going to do.

  As quickly as she could, Cameron pressed the sequence to open the Squatch. A quarter of the way through her mind went blank and she couldn’t remember the next move in the sequence. Her eyes bulged out of her head as she racked her brain trying to remember.

  Finally, she remembered and did a third level press followed by two mid-level presses. After another 15 seconds, she was done inputting the code.

  Like the first time, the Squatch didn’t immediately react. Cameron was hopping back and forth on her feet hoping she hadn’t messed up the combination. Finally, there was a squelching sound and Cameron noticed a tear in the skin of the Squatch starting to form.

  Right below the four nodules on the creature’s neck, the skin started to separate. There was a thick black liquid that seemed to be holding the skin together that was dissolving. Cameron grimaced as the black liquid ran down from the opening.

  In an effort to expedite the process, Cameron grabbed the flap of furry skin and tugged gently at first and then harder when she met some resistance.

  After tugging for a few seconds, the black membrane fully dissolved and the flap of fur moved to reveal the back of a figure dressed in a white skin-tight suit.

  Agbo was spread eagle inside the Squatch, each arm, and leg lining up with the suit’s corresponding appendages.

  Cameron had no clue what to do next. Before she could make up her mind, Agbo’s body started moving of its own accord.

  It started with his head, which fell back and to the side as it was pushed out from the OAF. His chest and torso followed next. Finally, his legs were pushed out on the ground. After a few seconds, only his arms were still connected to the Squatch.

  It seemed as if the OAF was giving Agbo a chance to stand on his own before fully releasing him. After he didn’t move for a few seconds Cameron went over and grabbed the small man’s back.

  Standing next to Agbo, Cameron took in his real features for the first time. Agbo was impossibly tiny, even smaller than Drac. He barely came up to Cameron’s shoulder.

  Like Drac, he was very fit. Cameron could see the lines of his muscles outlined in the thin white bodysuit he was wearing. He had dark black hair that had strange designs shaved into the sides.

  He was years younger than Cameron was expecting, seeming to be in his mid 20’s. His face was angled sharply and seemed to be chiseled out of stone. He had dried blood on the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were closed.

  Cameron grabbed Agbo by his torso and pulled gently. The OAF seemed to be aware that she was there, and that she was helping Agbo, so it released him into her arms.

  Even though Agbo was very small, his deadweight hit Cameron like a ton of bricks. They both fell to the ground in a heap, Agbo landing on Cameron’s side.

  As she sat up, Cameron saw Agbo’s wound for the first time. The entire front of his bodysuit was stained red. His abdomen was ripped open from the impact of the large bullet. Cameron grimaced at the gruesome sight.

  She was taking in the wound when Agbo opened his eyes and looked at her.

  “Cameron?” He asked in a weak voice. “You must save Draconius”

  Cameron stared in shock.

  42

  Cameron knelt down processing what Agbo had said. He knew about Drac, he said she needed to save him. But why?

  “Is that why you stayed behind?” Cameron’s curiosity was killing her even though she knew she didn’t have time.

  “He is more important than he knows. He must save our people.” Agbo’s face was pale and his words were pained. He wasn’t going to live much longer.

  “How can he save your people? They left him behind.” Cameron narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

  “There is a ship,” Agbo said then coughed raggedly. Blood spurted out of his mouth and ran down his cheek.

  “A ship?” Cameron’s mind reeled. It all made sense. Drac knew he could escape the planet with Agbo on his ship. That was his plan all along.

  “Yes,” Agbo spit out the blood. His breaths came quicker. There was a gurgling noise and it sounded like his lungs were filling with blood.

  “Cameron, you are wise. That is why I chose you for my experiments. My people must be shown that humans are not beneath them. We cannot continue committing these genocides.”

  Cameron shook her head in disgust. She wasn’t interested in helping Drac or saving Agbo’s people. They could all burn and she wouldn’t bat an eye. But a ship, that could be very interesting.

  “I won’t be able to save him without your OAF. How do I use it?” Cameron used his own desires for her gain. He would have to help her get what she wanted in order to get what he wanted. The perfect win-win scenario.

  Agbo shook his head.

  “You cannot possibly…” he trailed off losing strength.

  “You saw for yourself that I can. I fully integrated with a replicator. I can do this, tell me how.” Cameron shook Agbo’s shoulder trying to keep him from slipping into unconsciousness.

  “Impossible,” he whispered. “But you did show an aptitude for using our interfaces. Possibly…”

  “Just tell me or we’ll all be dead.” Cameron looked back toward the house. It had only been two or three minutes since she’d fallen from the cross, but she knew she didn’t have much longer. The sun was almost fully above the horizon and the fog that lay across the huge lawn was starting to dissipate.

  “You must remove your thick clothing. The interface needs direct contact with your skin in order to function,” Agbo coughed another glob of reddish-black blood from his mouth.

  “Stand before the entry port and reach your hands out to begin the pairing process,” Agbo was panting as he spoke the final words.

  Cameron started stripping down to her underwear, getting ready to follow Agbo’s instructions.

  “Anything else?” Cameron asked hoping the rest would be self-explanatory.

  “You must think of my passphrase in order to begin the syncing process.” Agbo reached a hand out to Cameron. Cameron took it with reluctance. She was so close to her goal, she didn’t want anything to get in the way.

  “The phrase is, homo sapiens,” Agbo said and a tear slid down his cheek. “I wish there were any way to make up for the great injustice my people inflicted upon yours.”

  Cameron looked away. She didn’t want to hear his apologies. She didn’t want to feel anything at that moment.

  “Save Draconius,” Agbo spoke in one last burst of energy and then fell still. Cameron knew he was dead.

  Just as Cameron stood, she heard a muffled shouting. She could see someone was pointing and yelling at her from the third story balcony.

  “Time to go,” Cameron abandoned Agbo’s body and ran back to the Squatch, ready for the fight of her life.

  43

  Cameron reached out with both of her hands and inserted them into the place where Agbo’s hands had recently been. She felt dozens of the pearl-shaped nodules make contact with her skin.

  She closed her eyes trying not to focus on any of the commotion that was going on inside the mansion. She had only seconds before they would open fire.

  In the right side of her blackened vision, she saw the now-familiar prompt that accompanied Neandraton technology.

  There was o
nly one option. Begin onboarding procedure? Cameron stared at it, focusing all of her being on it.

  “Passphrase requested,” A smooth feminine voice said inside Cameron’s head. She almost spoke aloud, but then realized there was no need to.

  “Homo sapiens,” Cameron thought the word over and over. It seemed to take forever for the OAF to recognize the word in her mind.

  “Beginning onboarding,” Cameron heard from the voice again. She felt as her body began to move into the Squatch’s back.

  The second her body started moving she heard the first gunshot go off. Only it wasn’t her ears that heard the shot. She could tell exactly where the shot was fired, the trajectory that the shot was going to take, and the caliber of the bullet.

  For the second time that week, Cameron’s mind exploded.

  If she hadn’t already experienced the sensation of having a second set of eyes while using the replicator Cameron would have gone mad when she paired with the OAF.

  With the replicator, she had used her hand to pair with the machine. With the OAF the entirety of her body paired with the suit.

  What it felt, she felt. That part of it was fine, easier to accept than she would have ever thought. After all, she wasn’t seeing with her own eyes or feeling with her own fingertips. There was only one input for each sense she normally had.

  What blew her mind, quite literally, was the number of sensations she was able to feel. She could hear Drac and Stafford arguing in the cellar. She could hear snoring coming from the mansion. She could hear everything.

  Just processing the sense of hearing took all of the brainpower she had. There were four other senses she couldn’t even begin to comprehend how she was going to take in the information they delivered to her brain.

  She decided to focus on one other sense besides sound. She opened the OAF’s eyes, her own eyes. There was no difference between the two. When she entered the OAF she became the suit.