by G. P. Hudson
“Get down! Get down!” Sallas shouted at the group. Seeing their fugitive Prime Minister in a fireman carry must’ve seemed strange. Yet they listened. Each one of them dove to the trembling floor.
This building’s architecture was different. They couldn’t exit onto the side street. A door led to a staircase. They ran up the stairs as the mech fired from the street. Bullets ripped through the walls, but the group had already cleared the floor and the mech’s line of fire. They surged up the stairs, leaping entire sections at a time. Jon and Bast still carried Ellerbeck and Sallas, but it didn’t hamper their speed.
“Hear from the ship?” Jon asked Bast.
“No. Still nothing,” said Bast, but not sounding concerned. “We should head for the roof. Make that the new extraction point.”
“Agreed,” said Jon.
They ran up the stairs of the tall building without breaking stride once. Floor after floor fell below them until they reached the door to the roof. Jon burst through onto the green surface. The roof had been turned into a garden and they were surrounded by plants and even some smaller trees. He put the Doctor down and Bast dropped Sallas.
Jon rushed to the side of the building and peered over the ledge, down onto the street. The mech still stood there. From this height it looked like a child’s toy. He watched a military vehicle race down the street toward the mech. It stopped in front of their building. Soldiers began pouring out of it and scurried into the building like a column of ants. The mech had called for help.
Jon raced back to the group. “We’ve got company,” he said.
“How many?” asked Kevin.
“Looked like a squad. Twelve, maybe sixteen men.”
“Armor?”
“No. Haven’t seen much in the way of combat suits here.”
“Yeah, we’ve been lucky.”
“This is what you call lucky?” said Seiben.
Jon ignored him.
“The foliage can conceal us, while we put them in a crossfire,” said Bast.
“Agreed,” said Jon. He looked over to Ellerbeck, Sallas, and Seiben. “Find a good place to hide where you’re out of the line of fire.”
“I’m fighting,” said Seiben, stepping forward.
“What are you talking about? You’re not a soldier.”
“I didn’t do too bad back there,” he said, pointing in the direction of the military building.
“Don’t confuse luck with skill. If you fire on the soldiers you’ll make yourself a target. If you hide with the Doctor and Sallas they won’t shoot at you.”
“I’m not going to hide. I’m going to fight,” he said, defiantly, looking more like a little boy stomping his feet, than a middle aged family man.
“What about your wife and kids? What do you want me to tell them? I’m sorry, Darla. He fought valiantly but didn’t make it. What do I say to your kids? Your dad was a hero? Don’t be a fucking idiot. You’ve got more to think about than just your pride.”
Seiben’s face turned a bright red. He didn’t respond, but he also didn’t move.
Jon grabbed his arm in a grip so tight Seiben winced. “Look, you can be pissed off at me all you want later, but right now you’re going to go with the other two, or I’ll throw you off this roof myself. Now go.” Jon gave Seiben a hard shove, but the agility of the exoskeleton prevented him from falling on his face.
“Screw you, Jon Pike,” said Seiben.
“No you won’t,” said Jon.
Seiben cursed under his breath, but relented and hid with Ellerbeck and Sallas.
Jon turned to see Kevin grinning. “What are you smiling at?”
“Nothing, Sir.” Kevin struggled to lose the smile.
“Take your position,” Jon barked, upset that he had to be so hard on Seiben.
Jon took cover behind a tree. The four of them were spread out almost in a semi-circle around the door, creating an excellent crossfire. The only thing left to do now was wait.
He lined up the door in his sights, and briefly felt sorry for the men who were going to come through. The killing zone they had setup acted like a multiplier, evening the odds, if not giving his team an advantage. Adding Seiben to the firing line would make their position even stronger, but he couldn’t bear the thought of telling Darla and his daughters that he’d been killed. Jon had to admit he liked the man, even if he was a damn pain in the ass.
A distant hum behind him sent an icy chill down his back. He turned to see a black cloud sailing straight toward them.
“Drones!”
Chapter 27
The cloud of small black drones swooped down toward the roof like one large bird. All eyes turned to the assault coming in from the sky, the rooftop erupting as they all opened fire.
“Don’t let them swarm us,” said Jon. He pulled his trigger so fast his gun fired like a machine gun. He shot at the drones one round at a time, each round finding its mark. He worried his gun might jam. It kept up.
The drones fell out of the sky like dying black birds. They hit the rooftop with a clang, each one adding to the pile. The team’s suppressive fire created a wall in the sky, blocking the drones’ advance.
“There’s too many of them,” yelled Kevin, swiveling side to side as he fired at the small targets, taking full advantage of his exoskeleton’s speed.
“Breach,” yelled Jon. A drone had punched through the wall. Kevin took it out, but that split second change in fire allowed another drone to follow.
“Breach,” shouted Kevin.
“Got it.” Jarvi, shot it down. He and Bast were firing into the cloud almost as fast as Jon.
The drones continued to needle, and more drones made it through the line. The drone numbers were dropping, but their suppressive fire wall continued to be pushed back.
“Fall back,” said Jon, trying to keep the swarm from overrunning their positions.
“Reloading,” said Kevin, swapping out a magazine.
The swarm pulsed.
“Shit,” Jon cursed, trying to compensate. Another broke out. He blew it apart and focussed on the swarm. Kevin joined alongside, a new magazine in place.
“Two more, nine o’clock,” said Kevin. Jon took them out with quick bursts.
The swarm swelled and his firing picked up speed, pushing the bulge back.
“Bast, three o’clock,” yelled Jon. Colonel Bast pivoted and fired, catapulting the drone out of the sky.
The team had fallen back, and the breaches increased, but they managed to keep up. The swarm’s number was dwindling. Victory was within their grasp.
Whoever controlled the drones must’ve come to the same conclusion, because the swarm changed tactics. It split into two smaller swarms and tried to flank the group.
The group barely adapted. Jon and Kevin fired on the first, Bast and Jarvi the second.
Suddenly, an unexpected stream of bullets ripped into the first swarm.
Seiben.
“Get down,” Jon shouted.
Seiben didn’t listen. He stood there, exposed, firing at the drones like a madman.
The new attack surprised the swarm. The drones stopped and hovered, as if reassessing. Seiben was no marksman, but his firing managed to knock down a few of the machines. More importantly, the hesitation gave Jon and Kevin a tactical advantage, allowing them to double down on their targets.
That crazy old bastard, thought Jon. His stupidity actually worked. The drones compensated, shifted direction and tried to rejoin the other swarm. The move was costly. Jon and Kevin easily picked them off as they scrambled back.
“How do you like that?” Seiben yelled at the falling machines.
“Get your ass down,” Jon shouted, but Seiben remained standing. Perhaps he didn’t hear him, perhaps he didn’t care. Jon promised himself he would give Seiben a beating over this.
Still, Seiben’s surprise attack helped them gain the advantage. They now focused their fire on the remaining swarm, aiding Bast and Jarvi. Out of the corner of his eye Jon could spot
Seiben firing at the sky. Still standing.
Jon heard a shot ring out from behind.
Seiben fell.
“Six o’clock,” Jon yelled, whipping around to see soldiers spilling through the door. He took aim and squeezed the trigger. The gun spat out a bullet into the man’s eye. He pulled the trigger again, and again. Two more down. Kevin’s fire joined in, but Bast and Jarvi remained on the drones.
The soldiers flooded onto the roof. Jon and Kevin were forced to play catch up, trying desperately to keep them from getting a foothold.
Several soldiers found cover and began to lay down their own suppressive fire, hampering Jon and Kevin’s efforts. More feet hit the roof. Jon pulled the trigger. Nothing.
“Reloading,” he yelled, grabbing another magazine and slapping it into place.
Resuming fire, he glanced back at Seiben. Doctor Ellerbeck had crawled out from her hiding position and was treating him. More soldiers ran through the door. Jon shot one in the chest and sent him reeling into the second, both falling to the ground. Two more rounds to the head finished him off for good.
Jon ducked as a wave of bullets flew at him in response, forcing him to duck. Another team punched through the door and took cover. Bast and Jarvi were still engaging the drones. Jon sprayed bullets at the doorway, stopping a man in the middle. Return fire forced him to duck again. More soldiers made it onto the roof.
The storm of bullets flying over his head cleared briefly, and he noticed that Bast and Jarvi had joined the fight. That meant the drones were finally dealt with. The odds were slightly better, but the crossfire was lost. They were simply outnumbered, on a roof with no real options for mobility.
He counted as he fired off a few more rounds at the soldiers. Eight already on the roof. Were more coming? Would there be more drones? They had no escape. These soldiers could simply keep them pinned down until reinforcements came. Soon it would be all over.
His ears twitched as the sound of powerful engines came from above. Drones were probably the least of his worries. Energy bolts crashed into the roof. Jon covered his eyes to protect them from the blinding flash of light. This was the final nail. His body tensed and he thought of Breeah.
He felt the heat from the energy fire, but none of it struck him. He opened his eyes to see a Chaanisar shuttle land in the middle of the rooftop garden, crushing the foliage underneath.
Jon surged to his feet. He had to get to Seiben.
“How bad is he?” he asked Ellerbeck.
“Bad,” she said. “I need proper medical equipment.”
“You’ll get it up in the ship,” said Bast, appearing beside them.
As Jon reached down and picked up his wounded friend, Seiben said, “I saved your ass again.”
“Yeah, you did,” said Jon.
Seiben smiled and closed his eyes.
Chapter 28
Walking behind his father, Jon wondered how the man could keep going. There was no part of his own body that didn’t ache. His feet were covered in blisters, and he thought he might have torn a shoulder muscle, or two. How long had it been since he last slept? It was just before the Chaanisar attack, and even then he only slept a couple of hours. He was engulfed in darkness and envisioned himself sleeping in his bed. He winced with shame. How could he expect his father to treat him like a man when he still thought like a child? Did his father and cousins not go through the same hardships? Not one of them complained. Neither had Jon, but he wanted to. It was all he could do to keep it together. But he wouldn’t fall apart. He knew that. He would suffer in silence. However, the thought alone made him question his strength.
“I know you’ve been through a lot, son,” his father had said after the encounter with the Chaanisar. “But it is very important that we make it home as fast as possible.”
He spoke of how the Chaanisar were relentless. Jon needed little convincing after their encounter. They were like nothing he had ever seen before. The word relentless didn’t do their resolve justice.
“The Chaanisar will find our home,” his father had said. His tone ominous. His face grim. “It is only a matter of time. No man can withstand Chaanisar torture.”
“You think they captured some of our men?” said Jon.
“I’d be surprised if they didn’t.”
The image of his mother spurred him on. It gave him the will to push on, despite the relentless pain. His motivation could not drown out his agony. Each step remained a struggle. Every movement a test. Did he have it in him? Was he tough enough? Was he a man, like his father? Like his cousins?
“Actions, not years, make a man,” his grandfather once told him. Today he understood the meaning of those words.
They hiked through the uneven terrain of the mountain forest, Jon’s quads burning with each step. By early morning they reached a stream. His father finally let them stop. They needed to replenish their water supply, and wouldn’t be any good to anyone if they collapsed from dehydration.
Jon dropped to his knees and dunked his head into the frigid water. His legs and back relaxed and his feet were given a temporary reprieve. He lifted his head out of the water, cupped his hands together and filled them from the stream. He drank, the cold water soothing his parched throat. He filled his hands again, and again. Nothing in the world could possibly feel better.
“Take it easy, cousin,” said Jason, kneeling beside him. “You’ll wind up with a cramp.”
He was right, but Jon didn’t care. He drank as much as he could and dunked his head again. His hair was dirty and itchy. He imagined it still hid the insects from the cave. He hoped the water would get rid of some of the dirt clinging to it. Finally, he filled his canteen and stood up, wincing as the pain returned.
“You’re doing good, son,” his father said. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks.” Jon was surprised by the rare compliment. His father never gave unearned praise. Jon swelled with pride, and when his father called time to move out it seemed like his body hurt a little less than before.
They hiked throughout the day, keeping a brisk pace. They avoided climbing cliffs, and for that he was thankful. His fingers were so sore he questioned whether they could hold onto the rocks. Instead they traveled mostly through forest.
By mid-afternoon, Jon felt like he was being watched. Could it be more Chaanisar? He casually looked around, trying to set eyes on his trackers. At first he saw nothing. Certainly not any Chaanisar. Then he caught it. A pair of eyes watching from behind the trees. The eyes were familiar. They belonged to a timber wolf.
He glanced around, looking for more. Where there was one wolf, there was a pack. Nothing. He continued to search the trees. Still no trace of more wolves. It appeared to be alone. While unusual, it wasn’t unheard of. Sometimes wolves left the pack and lived alone. This happened when a wolf was unwilling to take its place under the alpha. In a wolf pack, only the alpha male and alpha female are allowed to breed. This keeps the pack from becoming too large. But, if the mating instinct is too strong in one of the other wolves, they will leave their packs and go it alone. In doing so, they develop superior cunning, agility, and skills unknown to the rest of the pack. A lone wolf is a slave to no master.
This particular wolf was big. Almost sixty kilograms. Clearly a male. He was covered from head to toe in jet black fur. Well suited to a rebel.
Jon stared at the lone wolf, looking into its piercing gray eyes. The eyes of a killer. It looked right back at him. Unflinching. Jon wasn’t afraid, and it didn’t look to be afraid of him either. It was as if they recognized each other. Something caught his attention and he turned to see Michael aiming his weapon at the wolf.
“Don’t,” he said, and pushed Michael’s shoulder to throw off his aim.
“What are you doing?” Michael said, looking annoyed.
“Don’t shoot it. It’s not bothering you,” said Jon, not sure why he felt so strongly about a wolf.
“Have you lost your mind, cousin? It’s a wolf and it’s stalking us.”
“It’s not. It won’t bother us.”
“Oh really, and how do you know that?”
“I just do.”
“Hey,” Michael said to the others. “Jon can talk to wolves now.”
Jason and Michael laughed, but his father frowned.
“Stop acting like a bunch of idiots,” said his father. “And don’t shoot that damn weapon unless you have to. Do you want the Chaanisar finding us again?”
Michael stopped laughing and said, “No, sorry.”
“Leave the bloody wolf alone and keep moving.”
Jon looked back but the wolf was gone. He didn’t know why but he hoped he would see it again.
He spotted it an hour later. They were hiking up an incline and the black timber wolf stood in the distance, perched regally on a large rock, watching them with interest.
“Do you want to tell me again how it’s not stalking us, cousin,” Michael said sarcastically.
“I don’t think it is,” said Jon, fascinated by the animal.
“Oh no? Then what the hell is it doing there?”
“I agree that it’s following us, but it’s not hunting us.”
“Are you talking to it again? Using some kind of wolf telepathy?”
“Don’t be an asshole.”
“Well, you said you know, so how do you know?”
“I just do. It’s a feeling. That’s all.”
“A feeling? Really?”
“Yeah, and common sense. It’s without a pack, and even a pack would look for easier pickings than four grown men.”
“You may be a man, cousin, but you’re not grown yet.”
“Funny.”
“So, if it’s not hunting us, then why do you think it’s following us?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s curious.”
“Well curiosity can kill a wolf too. Maybe you should tell him that, cousin.”
