by Candace Sams
A scraping sound on the paved street made him spin around. He had no weapon, but he could and would fight until his body gave out. But no enemy approached.
Running toward him—at a speed he wouldn’t have attributed to her—was little Una. She barked excitedly and launched herself into his arms.
Marcos hugged her to his chest. The poor little thing was shivering uncontrollably. Her once white fur was now sooty and scorched. As he held her, the pup licked his face and whined in a heart-wrenching fashion.
“Easy, little girl; it’s all right now. You’re okay.”
He gazed in the direction from which Una ran, took two steps forward then froze. Eight Limaxian warriors rounded the corner; Prometheus was in the middle of them. There was no mistaking the largest of the slugs or the one who’d dispensed the fire plasma so many months ago.
With no place to hide that wasn’t burning, Marcos put Una on the ground behind him, stood to his full height, and squared his shoulders. Prometheus stopped, momentarily blinked in surprise, and then grinned maliciously.
It didn’t take the evil creature long to recover his composure. The slug leader raised his laser and strode quickly forward. The distance between them was covered in seconds.
When the big slug was an arm’s length away, he and his minions stopped and growled.
As badly burned as Marcos was, he knew he’d been recognized. The vicious glare in his enemy’s bulbous eyes said it all.
“Marcos Starlaw. It is you, is it not?”
He lifted his chin, but said nothing in response.
“I knew you’d escaped death. I knew it in my bones,” Prometheus said.
“Why don’t we finish this here and now … just you and me? No brawlers, no fire plasma. Just us. As it should have been.”
“And why shouldn’t I just blast you and be done it?”
“Because you think my brother will bargain for my life.”
“Your brother is fighting for his own life. My warships have him on the run.”
Marcos’s eyes narrowed. The Titan might be fighting, but since Prometheus wasn’t there to witness the battle, then the conflict wasn’t going well for him. He’d landed on Delta Seven again to get out of the fray; likely to keep from being blasted to oblivion.
“I’ve had enough,” the slug leader angrily declared. “The trouble you and Forrell have caused will make your deaths sweet.”
“Forrell is already dead,” Marcos told him. “I killed him right after I made him lead me to the communication console.”
Prometheus’s lip curled, and his eyes glowed red. “I knew that worthless bastard would betray me. But I don’t believe you killed him. An enforcer would take him into custody so that he could stand trial. You’d want to see him pay for having you burned.”
Marcos moved closer to the slug and stared him down. “That was your doing. And I will see you dead for it. With or without a trial.”
“What I’ll do to you now will make all else seem trivial, Starlaw. While I would have preferred taking your life in front of all Luster, killing you and your brother on the same night will still leave a horrifying taste in the mouths of those creatures occupying your home world. And they’ll soon know I’m coming for them.” He raised his laser, grabbed Marcos by the front of his cloak, and shoved him hard.
Marcos stumbled back several steps and fell to the surface of the street. A hideous growl emanated from behind him, and before he could move or utter a sound, Una ran forward. His eyes widened by the sight she presented.
The little sweet ball of white fur was gone. In its place stood an animal whose head had expanded at least ten times. Her mouth was open. Protruding from gaping jaws was a set of razor-like teeth that were fully as long as his forearm. He froze, mesmerized by the unholy transformation.
Prometheus quickly aimed his laser.
With lightning-like speed and the strength of a jumping equine, Una leaped forward and up. She latched onto the Limaxian leader’s throat.
Prometheus dropped his laser to pull Una away.
Seeing his chance, Marcos grabbed the weapon Prometheus had dropped, rolled to one side, and fired. Three slugs went down. The other four turned and ran, screaming in terror.
Marcos slowly stood, barely believing an event he was witnessing with his own eyes.
Precious little Una—the cuddly little pup he and Nova slept next to on so many nights—had her horrifyingly long fangs sunk into Prometheus’s throat. She held on, vice-like, until the slug leader’s eyes almost fell from their sockets. His enemy’s face took on an unseemly pallor, and he soon became quite still. Gray matter finally ran from the slug leader’s mouth, down his chest, and into the street. The dead creature’s eyes began to glaze over. They were fixated on the stars overhead. By the light of the fires burning around them, Marcos saw the scene clearly enough. He’d witnessed the end to a tyrant. And by a very unlikely source.
Marcos took a deep breath and backed away as Una actually began to feed sparingly on slug parts. Eventually, she tore flesh away from Prometheus’s throat, leaving a large hole where his trachea had been. Then the pup shook the tissue violently and flung it aside. When she turned, he swallowed hard but didn’t move a muscle.
“Una?” he whispered as he stared at the furry, mega-toothed beast before him. She now seemed all mouth and fangs with no body or facial features at all. The site would have quelled the hardest warrior. He counted himself among their ranks, even as his hands shook.
Somehow, without showing any appendages used for ambulation, she waddled toward him. He held his breath.
When she was a few feet away, she shook herself rigorously, and her head immediately shrunk back down. The upper and lower fangs in her hideous mouth disappeared. In the matter of a few seconds, the cute little pet was there again. Her black little eyes shone brightly as she gazed up at him.
“I knew you weren’t a damned dog,” he softly murmured. “In fact, I’m not even sure you’re a she. But I’ll take Nova’s word for it.”
Una barked once and jumped way up and into his arms again. It was all Marcos could do to shove the laser into the folds of his cloak so he could hold on to the fluffy ball. The last thing he wanted to do was drop her and set her off again. He surmised she wouldn’t attack him since she’d never done so, but there was no sense taking chances.
“Guess you don’t like slugs either,” he said as she whimpered soulfully.
While holding her carefully, he grabbed up the dead slugs’s weapons, shoving each of them into his cloak pockets to conceal them. “Come on. We’ve got to find Nova.”
As he walked away, he slowly shook his head.
The deadliest enemy he’d ever run across had just been bested by a tiny creature whose instincts were obviously seeded to protect.
Who knew?
Never again would he look at a lower life form and consider it less worthy, as so many did. One had just saved his life. Even as he moved forward in his search, he fervently swore to show due respect in future, assuming he had one.
• • •
Nova huddled behind rocks near the incineration pit. It would be the last place anyone would want to search now. Decay and remains of the long dead lay strewn about. Only on one occasion had she found something worth saving and that was here. Now, it would serve as a safe refuge.
With the fires of burning buildings far behind, she grew colder. She had discard her cloak when burning debris had fallen on it and threatened to char her as well. Having been burned once, feeling flames come close to her skin had made her opt for being cold. Sadly, her gloves had been within the pockets of her cloak. Her palms were now so numb she couldn’t have fired the laser weapon Marcos gave her, even if her life depended on it.
Marcos.
Where was he? And where was little Una?
In her fear, she began to cry. Never in her whole life had she felt so alone. She couldn’t even go back to her cave. If Forrell were alive, he’d save himself from the slugs by telling them where she lived
, and offering her up as the one who’d saved Marcos.
All her medicines, including her birth control tablets, were there. If any steam tunnels still existed, the buildings over them would soon collapse and make them uninhabitable. No family would take her in, since everyone was fighting for their own lives and the lives of their children and kin. She was sure the mines were guarded. Slugs would have killed every human near them when the fighting broke out, even Forrell’s guards. There’d be little or no food left after the stores were burned. When the cold worsened, people would fight each other to survive.
She looked to the horizon. There simply wasn’t any choice but to go back to the cave and take her chances. If it was empty, she could salvage what she could and move to some other location. There’d be another cave in the barrens, though previous explorations in the hillsides had proven them to be fairly unsafe. But then what? What would life offer after that? When would help come?
As the monumental task of surviving one of the worst tragedies overwhelmed her, Nova put her face in her hands and wept even harder. What was the use in surviving without hope? If Marcos and even her pet were gone, there was nothing left for which to live. Even if a fleet of enforcers arrived tomorrow, what motivation would there be to get up each morning?
She swiped at her tears and shook her head. Self-pity wouldn’t help. “I won’t give up. I haven’t yet; I won’t now.”
• • •
As the night went on, Marcos encountered no one still living. Not even slugs.
He put Una on the ground and encouraged her to find her mistress. It seemed the little animal understood. She put her attention on furiously scrambling from one side of the street to the other. Though her head was almost indistinguishable from the rest of her fuzzy little body, she appeared to be sniffing the ground.
Finally, a hazy dawn crept over the horizon. Exposed as he was, he had weapons now and could defend himself. All he had to do was find Nova and get her back to the cave. If Forrell was still there alone and hadn’t contacted any of his thugs, the place might be safe. The governor wouldn’t have been able to contact anyone, since he had no communication devices. Cowardice being his mainstay, he’d have likely heeded the warning to remain there and keep quiet.
But if even Una’s intense searches revealed nothing of her beloved mistress, what would he do then?
He finally shook his head and screamed out her name, loud and long. Fear she’d never answer made him act in a way contrary to all instinct. He remained in the hazy light and kept yelling, even when he knew he should hide somewhere until darkness and keep quiet.
Either he was going insane, or a very familiar voice responded—one he hadn’t expected.
“Marcos! I hear you. Where are you?”
Marcos took a deep, gasping breath as black enforcer uniforms appeared at the end of the street. Through the smoke and limited light, he’d have recognized them anywhere. On hearing his cries and recognizing his voice, a dozen uniformed officers ran toward him from the direction of the decimated marketplace.
Darius had won. His brother and his crew had to have made it through whatever battle took place in orbit, or there’d be no uniforms on the ground.
As hope renewed every cell in his body, he ran toward them. One towered above the rest and pushed himself forward. He recognized the hue of green eyes so very like his own.
Barely daring to believe the vision, he stopped just a few feet from his older brother and stood there panting.
“By the love of all that’s h-holy … is that y-you, Marcos? What’s happened to you?” Darius asked as his voice broke.
Marcos’s burned appearance shocked the personnel standing before him. From the looks on their faces, he knew he must be barely recognizable. They’d all rightly assume he’d been a victim of fire plasma, but that didn’t matter now. He took a shaky step forward, then wrapped his arms around Darius’s shoulders and hugged him hard. It was over. The nightmare was over.
Darius held him a long silent moment, then gently pushed him away. His stare was poignant and horrified. “Who did this to you, little brother? You tell me who was responsible,” he whispered.
Marcos shook his head in denial, and swallowed hard to speak. “Later. I have to find someone. She saved my life. We were separated when slugs scorched the town.”
“We’ll find anyone you want, but you’re going back to the Titan right now. You need to have a med-tech check you out.”
“I can’t. I have to find her. Please … Darius … help me look.” He glanced at the other enforcers. “I’ll need everyone.” The pure desperation in his voice couldn’t be mistaken. He’d never spoken to anyone with such anxious appeal.
“All right,” Darius said. “We’ll help you. We need to search for survivors anyhow.” He turned to his crewmembers and gave orders. “Keep your communicators clear. Spread out in case of Limaxian brawlers. Though their fleet is burning, any who escaped in life pods may have made it safely to the ground. They’ll still attack. Locals may not care who we are at this point; they’re frantic to survive and protect their families. Don’t assume anyone is safe.”
“Their fleet is burning?” Marcos asked.
“Most of it. The rest surrendered after reports filtered from their negotiators. Seems some monstrous creature is wandering the streets. It attacked and killed their leader. Those slugs who survived and witnessed that event said the animal is a murderous carnivore; they begged their own fleet officers for surrender just so they could get off the surface.”
Marcos pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. Then he began to laugh uncontrollably and sank to the ground against a nearby wall. The sound of it was a bit hysterical, even to his own ears. Darius put one arm around his shoulders and offered comforting words, obviously thinking him half mad.
“Marcos … you need to get to the Titan. I’ll have my crew continue looking for whomever you want to find. But it’s obvious you’re not well. No wonder we couldn’t find your transponder signal. If the rest of your body is as badly burned as your face and neck, your tracking device was probably incinerated by the heat of the plasma.
The device his brother spoke of had been embedded in his breast muscle. It had, indeed, been burned. The remains had fallen from his chest as the flesh had. He’d never told Nova about it, because he hadn’t wanted her to know who he was.
Marcos put one hand on Darius’s shoulder and tried to allay his brother’s angst. “Una! Come here, girl.”
The fuzzy little figure that’d been frantically digging through debris in search of her mistress, acknowledged. She came bouncing toward him, making whimpering pup-like sounds that in no way made her appear as the horrific carnivore Prometheus’s surviving ground crew described.
“The reason I’m laughing is this!” he said as he held Una up for the enforcers to view. “This terrifyingly grotesque monster is what killed Prometheus.”
Darius frowned. Then he shook his head in apparent disbelief. “That’s it … you’re going back to the Titan right now. You’re not mentally any better than you look.” He grabbed Marcos’s arm and pulled him up, but Marcos gently disengaged himself.
“I’ll explain as we search. Please, Darius … I have to find her. I can also tell you where Adaman Forrell is hiding. He needs to be taken into custody. Just keep searching with me, and I’ll tell you everything, in excruciating detail. But we have to keep looking. It’s getting colder as we speak. Survivors might not last long.”
Darius nodded. “All right. But you don’t get more than three feet from me. Understand?”
At one time Marcos would have resented the childish warning. But the horror over his burns was still reflected in the crew’s expressions. They probably thought he was about to die, right there in the street. Without wasting more time, he cuddled Una close and led the way.
Their search led them back through the streets, toward Forrell’s residence.
As the enforcers dug through rubble, finding only b
odies, it became clear that anyone who had survived had run into the hillsides and away from any standing buildings.
They were about to move to another street when Una jumped from Marcos’s arms and ran to the demolished entrance of the governor’s residence. Limaxian remains were strewn about the foyer, as indicated by slug body parts that didn’t remotely resemble any humanoid colonists. Persistently, Una circled the charred body parts and growled. Suddenly she stopped, lifted her head, and ran excitedly into the smoldering, upright support frames that were still falling.
Marcos ran after her, even as Darius shouted for him not to.
Una’s sharp barking alerted him to a pile of boulders and steel that was strewn where the foyer would have been. He knelt beside Una. She dug furiously at a pile of hot debris, even though her little paws were being burned. He pulled her against him to keep her from further harming herself. But even as he picked her up, she grabbed at something with her mouth.
Up from the ash came one garment: a very small, tattered brown glove.
He’d have recognized it as he’d have known his own uniform gauntlet from dozens of others.
Everything faded around him. He heard Una whimpering loudly as she nuzzled the glove. If there was any uncertainty about who’d owned it, the pup removed all doubt.
“I shouldn’t have left her,” he bitterly whispered. “I shouldn’t have left … ”
“You’ve had enough,” Darius gently told him as he stepped around spot fires, put his arms around his sibling, and led Marcos out of the building.
Marcos didn’t resist his brother’s help this time.
And when they were standing outside the debris and on the street again, Una jumped from Marcos’s arms, stood in front of them, and faced the building. Her sudden movement surprised everyone into stillness, as did the low, soulful howl she emitted. The pup stared into the remains of the building as she howled a heart-wrenchingly sad tone not even the hardest heart could misunderstand. She was mourning someone she’d lost.
“Let’s get you to the Titan,” Darius softly urged.
• • •
As med-techs hovered around him making comments and completing tests, Marcos woodenly listened to Darius’s debriefing regarding the immediate future of Delta Seven and its inhabitants. He tried to say something that’d sound intelligent; anything that would make it appear as though he was listening. But his heart hurt too badly.
