Alone in the Crowd (The Chronicles of Anna Foster Book 3)

by Patrick Stutzman

  * * * * *

  An incoming message in Danica’s earpiece distracted her from the spectacle. “Armstrong, McClaskey. It seems that Foster’s friends aren’t much of a threat to us.”

  A few seconds later, the two fighters circled around on a course toward the hexagonal vessel. As they approached, a green beam of energy shot at the fighters, instantly piercing through the first and causing it to explode on contact. The beam swept across the short span of sky to the other one and cut through it cleanly, causing it to also erupt in a fireball. The sudden silence after the fighters’ engines died brought relief to Danica’s ears. The remains of both aircraft careened downward into the lake.

  “Now, we’ve got a fight!” the colonel proclaimed through Danica’s communicator. “Launch all fighters. Hit it with everything we’ve got!”

  Danica ordered through her earpiece, “William, we need to get these colonists to the bunkers yesterday. What’s taking so long?”

  “We’re bottlenecked at the end of the lane. I’m trying to route some of them around the houses, but it’s taking longer than I expected.”

  “Damn it! We don’t have time for this.”

  * * * * *

  While the last of the colonists finally left the square, the Altiki ship fired another beam of light toward the airfield, moving it to target various locations. Distant screams and explosions from destroyed vehicles assaulted Anna’s ears. As if on cue, the soldiers bunkered around the square opened fire on the floating ship.

  Torn between listening to Danica’s side of the conversation and trying to keep track of everything in the battle, Anna felt that she needed to do something – anything – to stop the needless bloodshed. She looked frantically around the square, determining the highest point in the immediate area. After a couple of seconds, she knew she had it. “Danica, how do you get on the roof of the town hall?”

  “What?”

  Anna slowed her urgent words. “How do you get on the roof of the town hall?”

  Glancing behind her, Danica answered, “There’s a hatch at the top of the ladder inside the maintenance closet in the back.”

  Without another word, Anna dashed through the front doors. She found the maintenance closet easily enough and scrambled up the ladder to the hatch. Bursting through the trap door, she climbed onto the roof and moved to its apex. She reached the top and, steadying herself, stood upright.

  “What is their word for ‘stop’?” Anna asked herself, wracking her brain for the word. “I wish Bryce was here to tell me.”

  Examining the landscape, Anna assessed the current situation from her vantage point. The airfield was ablaze. Most, if not all, of the vehicles there were either badly damaged or destroyed. Remnants of shelters and fortified bunkers littered the field’s perimeter, and almost no heavy weapons were being fired from the ground. A single missile escaped from a building near the west side, which exploded prematurely thanks to an intercepting energy beam from the Altiki vessel. Seconds later, another lethal beam shot from the alien ship, and the building from which the missile had been fired erupted in a massive fireball. Panning her gaze across the colony, she saw multiple bunkers along the water’s edge and scattered throughout the area, still pelting the ship’s shields with small arms fire.

  Figuring it was only a matter of time before they would be targeted, she rummaged through her memories to find the word she needed. A few seconds later, it finally hit her. “That’s it!”

  Activating her wristcomp’s communicator, she set the transmission to all available frequencies and opened the channel. “Tak! Tak!”

  * * * * *

  Danica, still standing in front of the double doors, flinched from the announcement broadcasting through her earpiece. “What is she doing?”

  “Armstrong, McClaskey. Is that Foster?”

  * * * * *

  In the war room established in the main hall’s basement, McClaskey towered over the communications console behind the operator.

  “I believe it is, colonel,” Danica responded.

  “Sir,” the young officer seated in front of him remarked. “It sounds to me like she’s telling them to attack.”

  The colonel grimaced. “Find her and shut her down. We don’t need her helping them.”

  Straightening his posture, he watched the activity through the few monitors that remained active. “I knew she was trouble from day one.”

  * * * * *

  On the roof, Anna continued her plea, when she noticed a sudden change in the attack. The Altiki ship ceased firing on the airfield and diverted its weapons to the waterfront, sweeping a beam across the shore. Dozens of blood-curdling screams filled the air as bunker after bunker fell to the lethal attack. Within seconds, screams of terror from the north pierced the air, as the colonists realized the proximity of the attacks.

  “Oh, god.” Anna felt sick to her stomach. Believing they would turn to the colony itself very soon, she enhanced her appeal with renewed vigor. “Altiki ship, this is Anna Foster. Tak! Tak!”

  * * * * *

  Through Danica’s communicator, the administrator heard, “Armstrong, where in the hell is Foster?”

  “She’s on the roof of the main hall.”

  “God, damn it! Get her down!”

  “Find someone else. I have colonists to take care of.”

  She looked down at Jason, who remained rooted to his position. Confused, he did not know whether to join the colonists or run after Anna.

  “Fuller!”

  Snapping out of his daze, he looked up at Danica. “Get out of here! Go with the other colonists!”

  Nodding rapidly, he turned and ran to the rest of the group. Seconds later, Danica followed.

  * * * * *

  The Altiki’s weapons shifted again, and their beams moved into the residences nearest the lake. Several of the houses erupted with flames when their power generators were hit, sending debris in all directions.

  Anna yelled into her wristcomp, tears cascading down her cheeks. “Tak, damn it! Tak!” She stopped suddenly from an extremely sharp pain in her chest that nearly threw her backwards. Looking down, she found a dark, burned spot just above her heart. The unbearable pain penetrated all the way through to her left shoulder. As she realized she had been shot, the energy in her limbs faded. Her knees buckled, and she dropped to the roof, rolling down its silvery surface to land on the ground with a bone-crunching thud.

  * * * * *

  From a bunker on the far side of the square, one of the soldiers smirked to himself as he lowered his rifle and changed the channel on his communicator. “Objective complete. Anna Foster is dead.”

  “Good work, Adams.” The voice of the man from Anna’s encounter a few days back congratulated him. “Our benefactors with NR Suppliers will be pleased. As soon as we get through this, we will make our way to the rendezvous point.”

  * * * * *

  Seconds after Anna hit the ground, the weapons from the Altiki craft ceased firing. The ship remained motionless for a couple of seconds more before maneuvering over the colony, which prompted more screams from the colonists.

  Danica looked over her shoulder, spying the approaching ship. Out of the corner of her eye, she found that Anna was no longer on the roof, and she pivoted and sprinted back to the square. Rounding the corner, she spotted her friend lying motionless in the dirt in front of the building.

  “Anna!”

  Rushing to her side, Danica knelt next to her friend and noticed the telltale burn on her back near her left shoulder. “Oh, god. Who shot you?” She rolled her over and cradled her head in her lap. “Anna, say something!”

  Jason rushed to Danica’s side. Dropping to his knees next to Anna, he asked, “What happened?”

  “Some asshole shot her!”

  His mind raced to determine what to do, whether to remain here and help his leader or find medical aid. “Let me find a first aid kit.” He leaped to his feet and hurried into the town hall.

  Danica looked upwar
d at the approaching craft, tears staining her cheeks. “Why? Why did you do this?” At that moment, a distant explosion in the upper atmosphere caught her eye just before the vessel obscured her view of it.

  “Armstrong, McClaskey. Word from the cargo ship is that the frigate was attacked and destroyed by another of these Altiki ships. With most of our forces gone, we have no choice but to surrender and hope these beings are civilized enough to let us live.”

  Dropping her head back down to look at Anna, she sniffed back her tears and touched her earpiece, defeat washing over her. “William, how are the colonists doing?”

  “We’ve got most of them through the bottleneck now. They should be in the bunkers in moments.”

  “Thank you. I’ll keep you informed.”

  “Are you coming, Ms. Armstrong?”

  “I’ll keep you informed. Armstrong out.” She pulled the earpiece from her ear and dropped it before breaking into fits of sobbing. “Why, Anna? Why did this have to happen?”

  “I guess somebody didn’t like my outfit,” Anna mumbled weakly, her voice raspy as her eyelids fluttered open.

  “Anna? You’re alive!”

  * * * * *

  Wincing from another surge of pain, Anna lightly shook her head. “Not for long. Did they stop?”

  “Who?”

  “The Altiki. Are they attacking anymore?”

  Danica moved her head negatively. “No, they aren’t.”

  Smiling feebly, Anna swallowed, and her voice cleared a bit. “Good.”

  “Jason’s finding a first aid kit.”

  Again, Anna shook her head. “Save your supplies. Whoever shot me hit…” She grunted loudly, and her eyes grew wide as she reacted from another surge of pain. “Danica?” Her voice was reduced to a faint whisper.

  Leaning closer, Danica directed her ear toward Anna’s face. “What is it?”

  “Pull Kate out of my ship. I don’t care how, but get her out. I promised to take her to Earth.”

  Danica nodded. “I’ll do it.”

  With the agreement made, Anna nodded one last time and closed her eyes. She grunted again, her whole body flinching from the pain. Her body relaxed, and she exhaled.

  * * * * *

  “Anna?”

  No response.

  “Anna?”

  Again, no response.

  Tears returned to Danica’s eyes. “Oh, god. Anna! Don’t go! Stay with me! Anna!”

  Chapter 34

  A faint hum reached the governor’s ears, and Danica looked up, barely able to see through the tears that filled her eyes. The Altiki ship floated directly overhead, casting the entire square in shadow. Moments later, four blue beams shot down from the central circular port in the craft’s underbelly and enveloped the bunkers that guarded the plaza. A few soldiers turned their guns on the energy field, only to find that their shots could not penetrate it.

  Six white flashes appeared between her and the fountain. After the light faded, six beings over two meters tall, each with three arms and three legs, stood grouped together. Each of them wore a gray mesh outfit that covered most of their body, except for the very top of their bodies, and they carried what appeared to be a twin-barreled weapon in each hand, one barrel above and one below the hand.

  “Altiki.” Danica’s whisper was barely audible above the wind that blew between the buildings. Her eyes locked on them, observing their every move, and she could not will herself to look away.

  The being that stood nearest to Danica pointed his weapon at her. “Ona.”

  Another one slapped a node near one of its shoulders. “Namamos el godrel. Cralivamos el nama.”

  The group expanded their circle a little, and two more flashes appeared, producing two more Altiki. One was dressed much like the others, but the other was shorter and wearing a light blue robe-like garment and a tight chain around what could be construed as its neck. The two new arrivals moved through what she realized must be guards toward Danica, who recoiled in horror and threw her empty hands before her. The Altiki stopped a couple of meters away and looked to be studying her.

  “Gatal. Tansas Danica?” The shorter one extended its hand toward her in a simple gesture.

  Danica balked and blinked several times. “You…you know my name?”

  The Altiki blinked its eyes. “Dura gatsinakas?”

  “Tahabolo.” The taller one pointed to a small box attached to the chain and pressed a button on it. “Try now.”

  “Can you understand me now?” Danica heard a few syllables from the mouth on top of its head before the words in English broadcasted from the necklace.

  Danica nodded.

  “My name is Fretick, and this is my assistant, Bron. We are Altiki. You must be Danica.”

  “Y-yes. My name is Danica Armstrong.” After a second’s pause, she added as an afterthought, “We come in peace.”

  The front doors to the main hall burst open, and Jason charged through, holding a first aid kit in hand. “I’m here, Ms. Armstrong. I…” He stopped suddenly at the bottom of the stairs upon sighting the Altiki in the square. Taken aback, he stumbled backwards and inadvertently dropped the case, which hit the ground with a clatter. The six Altiki guards each raised a weapon at him.

  Glancing at the young man, Danica did a double-take before turning back to Fretick. “No, wait! He’s not going to hurt you. He’s bringing medical supplies to help Anna.” The mention of her friend’s name brought her back to the reality of the situation. She looked at her friend lying in front of her. “Oh, god.”

  “Danica.” Fretick pointed toward Anna. “We are here because of Anna.”

  “For Anna…why?”

  “She asked us to stop. We assume she meant the attack against your people.”

  Danica stared at them for several seconds, her mouth hanging open as she contemplated the implications. Anna asked them to stop the attack? And, they complied?

  As her thoughts returned to her friend, Danica glanced down at her again. “Can you help her?”

  “We detect that her body has ceased functioning. The term I believe you use is ‘dead’. We should be able to fix her.”

  “You can?”

  “Yes, but we must move quickly to retain as much of her as possible.”

  Behind Jason, the double doors burst open, and McClaskey emerged with several soldiers, all armed with assault weapons. “Freeze!”

  The six Altiki guards trained their weapons on the new human arrivals. “Avan hartanal, il monshamos vadal!” one of them shouted.

  “Stand down, or we will fire!”

  Fretick leaned closer to Danica. “We will not fire unless fired upon. For everyone’s safety, have your people lower their weapons.”

  “Forgive my asking, but how do I know that I can trust you? You could easily kill us if we withdraw.”

  “Danica, if we wanted to kill you, we would have done so without coming down.”

  “But, you could easily do so after taking Anna with you. Since she is so important to you, you would have no reason to hold back any longer. I do not wish anymore harm to come to the colonists.” She chose her words carefully, not wanting to give away the fact that she was their leader.

  Fretick paused for a few seconds. “I understand your reluctance. If you wish, you can accompany her.”

  “Don’t do it!” The colonel intervened harshly. “They could still wipe us out with you aboard.”

  “As a gesture of goodwill,” Fretick continued. “I will remain here. They will not attack while I am on the surface.”

  Danica pondered its proposal. From the way it was dressed and interacted with the others, Fretick appeared to have some level of authority. Perhaps he was the commander? If so, he was putting his own life as well as those under his care on the line, for Anna.

  Anna! If his words were true and they could bring her back from the dead, deliberating any longer may decrease the chances of her coming back whole, if at all. She remembered Anna saying something about Private Anderson bein
g brought back while they were in the underground caves. Maybe Fretick spoke the truth.

  With a nod, Danica said, “McClaskey, stand down!”

  The colonel warned the administrator without taking his eyes off the Altiki. “Ms. Armstrong…”

  “Stand down! That’s an order, colonel!”

  McClaskey shifted his eyes toward Danica, back to the Altiki, then to Danica again. With a sigh, he commanded as he lowered his pistol, “Stand down, men.” The soldiers followed suit but looked ready to respond.

  Fretick straightened himself. “Tondan, lower your weapons.” The guards did as they were ordered.

  “Ms. Armstrong, I don’t like this.” McClaskey’s gritted teeth strained his words.

  Danica stole a glance at McClaskey. “Noted, colonel.” She turned back to regard the Altiki. “Fretick, I have so many questions.”

  Fretick’s lips atop its head tightened in what Danica interpreted as a smile. “I believe you do.”

  “Why is Anna so important to you?”

  Fretick bent down and slid the shoulder strap from Anna’s left shoulder. “An ancient prophecy foretells of a deformed Altiki with a series of glowing marks ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity for our people. The pattern of marks described in the prophecy match the series of dots on Anna’s shoulder. And by our physiological standards, Anna is a deformed godrel. She only has two arms and legs.”

  Danica nodded in understanding. “Why did you…”

  Fretick held up one of its hands to silence her, giving her a good view of the three-fingered, two-thumbed appendage. “Let us attend to more important matters before we continue. Bron?”

  The taller one stepped forward and reached to lift Anna’s body up with two of his arms. He turned and extended his third hand toward her. “Tranamos?”

  “Don’t go with them, Armstrong.” McClaskey’s stern warning came as no surprise. “They’ll kill you or us once you’re aboard.”

  “Ms. Armstrong?” Jason called to her as he stepped down the stairs and moved toward her. “You’re too important. Let me go instead.”

  “Mr. Fuller, I can’t let you go.”

  “And, I can’t let you go. The colony looks to you for guidance and leadership. You can’t go. I, on the other hand, am Anna’s personal assistant. You entrusted me with that position. Now, I have an opportunity to help her again. And by doing so, I am helping the colony, too.”