by Scott E Moon
He couldn’t go back to Crater Town with Orlan conscious, but perhaps he could get them close enough for Rickson to finish the job. Once Clavender was safe, Kin would hide in the foothills and watch the Fleet. The hardest part would be seeing them leave. Crashdown was going to be a lonely place with only one drunken mountain man and a couple of horses.
Bear grunted. “Mind that horse.”
Kin turned and saw Rickson shorten the rope on the pack horse. The edge of the trail crumbled as the animal pulled against the rope, stomping its hooves. Horses weren’t sheep. They could be led on a rope, but there was a fair amount of diplomacy involved with towing a strange horse across a narrow ledge.
“Rickson,” Kin shouted. The boy pulled harder on the rope as the back legs of the animal slid over the side. Kin dropped from his horse and sprinted. Drawing his sword, he jumped without knowing if he’d land on the ground or plummet a thousand feet to his death, and slashed the rope. The horse fell into the air with Rickson screaming at the animal and pulling. Rickson wasn’t a weakling, but he was a tall, skinny kid trying to prevent a pack horse from tumbling into the abyss.
Kin sheathed his sword, then grabbed Rickson as he staggered sideways. They fell against Bear’s mount, which only twitched an ear nervously as the screaming pack horse cart-wheeled toward the canyon floor, exploding against the rocks. Kin saw the grisly spectacle, but Rickson was pressed faced down on the trail under him and was spared the sight.
“Don’t move.”
Bear sat on his horse and stared down at the lost animal. The horse, and the supplies that went with it, could mean the difference between life and death for Bear. His life was a daily struggle for survival, more so than for the townspeople. The wolves hadn’t removed the harness and packs the horses had been wearing when Bear lost them. He had connived for Kin to help him recover the horses, but he was still risking everything to help rescue Clavender.
Kin stood and checked his weapons. “Damn it, Rickson. Keep your horse away from the edge. You can’t relax until we are on level ground.”
Rickson picked himself up and straightened his clothing. “There is no level ground up here.”
“Exactly,” Kin said. He made eye contact with Bear. “Are you okay?”
After a long silence, Bear said, “I’ve been better.” He carefully adjusted the path of the horse he was riding and began the descent toward the riverbed where they would probably pick up the Reaper’s trail.
“I’m sorry, Kin,” Rickson said.
Kin shook his head and checked Rickson’s equipment and clothing as though they were father and son. “Just pay attention. I need you to take Clavender into Crater Town when we get close. Don’t get killed. Next time a horse goes over the edge, let go of the rope.”
“I thought I could save it. If the stupid beast would’ve just walked when I pulled,” Rickson said.
“Animals panic. You can’t afford to. Let’s go. There will be times when I tell you to do something and you have to do it without hesitation or argument.”
Rickson nodded. Kin pointed at Bear who was already far ahead of them. Rickson started moving, leading his horse rather than riding it on the narrow path. Kin followed.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SMOKE drifted from Gold Village in a single, black column. A bonfire could create that kind of smoke, or a funeral pyre. Many columns would mean cottages and cabins burning. One pillar of dark, oily smoke meant something else.
Kin motioned for Bear and Rickson to stay behind as he worked his way up the trail to a better vantage point. He doubted Captain Raien and the 11th LRC did this, unless things had gone seriously wrong. Raien’s troopers scavenged without resistance when Kin left them. Yet, foul smoke rose above the mountains.
“That’s Gold Village, isn’t it?” Rickson asked.
Kin lowered the binoculars to watch Rickson and Bear creeping behind him.
“Now you’re both doing it. Great,” Kin said.
“When was the last time I let you walk into an ambush,” Bear said.
“I don’t get ambushed.”
“Because I’m watching your back,” Bear said. “What do you see?”
Kin raised the binoculars and studied the terrain. “We need to move closer. The smoke could be a distress signal, or it could be an accidental fire.”
“Or the troopers you told me about could have leveled the place,” Bear said.
Rickson gripped his staff and looked around. His characteristic recklessness retreated in the face of real danger.
Kin put the binoculars in his belt pouch and moved toward the trail. “At least allow me to go first. If something happens, I need you to get Rickson back to Crater Town.”
“Sure,” Bear said.
“I can get back myself.”
Kin followed the trail until he caught sight of the village, then moved parallel to it. A steep incline made the approach difficult. Loose rocks caused his feet to slip. He moved slowly, stepping between fallen branches and dry leaves that would betray his position.
The village appeared one small piece at a time. The bridge was intact. Villagers moved around the commons area without talking. They gathered dark shapes and threw them into the fire.
Kin returned to the trail where Bear and Rickson waited.
“Well?” Bear asked.
“They’re burning something,” Kin said. At this distance, the air was thick with smoke. He didn’t like the smell, which grew heavier and more unpleasant with every step toward it.
“I wish you would teach me your secrets, Kin,” Rickson said. “I wouldn’t have figured that out.”
Bear laughed. “He once showed me water was wet.”
“I can show you again when we cross the bridge,” Kin said. He looked to Rickson. “Bear isn’t a great swimmer. He needs practice.”
“I can’t swim at all, so don’t get any ideas,” Rickson said.
“That is what I said before he threw me in.”
They approached the village, watching for trouble, but only attracting the attention of villagers, who put down their work. Two men and a woman approached.
“Hello, Chalene. Is everyone okay?” Kin asked. He hugged her, then shook hands with the men.
“No one was hurt, but the children are especially rattled. A Reaper came through the village with a winged woman hostage. Sarah saw them climbing the trail and warned us. We hid until they continued, but a swarm of Clingers came and would’ve done for us, but a couple of those troopers had come back acting friendly. They blasted a bunch of the Clinger’s to bits,” Chalene said.
“The Reaper took Clavender,” Kin said. Chalene nodded somberly. She had recognized Clavender, but didn’t want to say the words.
“Are the troopers here?” Kin asked.
“No. They ran toward Crater Town soon as it was over. Said they were going to bring help, but to be honest, I’ve had enough of the Fleet,” Chalene said.
“They were probably AWOL and won’t say a thing. What about the Reaper? It’s hard to imagine it would leave your village untouched.”
“It seemed lost. Had a Clinger stuck to its back. Always heard Reapers were dangerous, but anything that can survive a Clinger attack scares me. It’s been a bad couple of days. First the Fleet steals everything valuable, including most of our food and alcohol, then monsters pop out of the forest,” Chalene said.
“Do you need help?” Kin asked.
Chalene didn’t answer immediately. “Come into the village. You look like you could use rest and a hot meal.”
“We have food. It wouldn’t be right to take yours,” Rickson said.
“They have plenty,” Bear said, patting the boy on the shoulder.
Chalene smiled at Rickson. “This far from town, we’re resourceful. Troopers could’ve stolen all of our food and we’d still eat well tonight. The river is full of fish. The forest has everything else we need.
“It is good to see you, Bear.”
They walked into the village. Bear immedi
ately went to help with the fire, grabbing a dead Clinger from the pile and tossing it into the flames. The villagers stared. They had been pushing the corpses across the ground with shovels rather than touch them. Bear grabbed two more, one in each hand, and turned his face from the smell.
Rickson, after working up his courage, picked up a Clinger but had to carry it in his arms. It wasn’t just heavy, it spilled out of his grip like a wet blanket when he tried to move it.
Kin took Chalene aside. “Tell me everything you can, including what you didn’t want to say in front of the others. Details are important.”
As they sat on the steps of her modest home, Chalene told him a story. The Reaper was struggling to control the Clinger. Droon wasn’t just running from Kin, he was running from the swarm as well. Chalene answered his questions, though she was tired and worried. Gold Village had always been a hard place to live, but monsters generally kept their distance.
Kin noticed Bear trading with several men, telling jokes and slapping his victims on the back good naturedly. Rickson sat on a stump surrounded by children, carving simple toys from scraps of wood, telling stories about the figurines he gave out as he completed them. The sight of the boy, the young man, clowning for the village children made Kin smile.
He was glad Rickson had come. Later, he would regret the situation, but for the moment, it was a pleasant day despite the smoke and smell of charred Clinger flesh. He talked with Chalene about the Fleet and the possibility of passage from Crashdown. The woman remained grim.
“I don’t know about leaving. Fleet hasn’t done us much good,” Chalene said.
“I know.” Kin stood. “Thank you, Chalene.” As soon as he started to walk away, a girl approached him.
“Can you take me to Crater Town?” she asked.
“I can’t go back until I find the Reaper and deal with it,” Kin said.
“I know that. But later, on your way back, can you take me? Corporal O’Brian said it’s nice there. He said he’d take care of me.”
Kin took her hands reassuringly. “I spoke with Chalene about moving everyone to Crater Town. She’ll hold a meeting tonight. You’ll need to talk to her.”
Chalene hadn’t liked the idea of leaving her home, but understood many people wanted off the planet. They’d been marooned a long time and the idea of rescue never really died.
The girl nodded and thanked him.
“Bear,” Kin said, interrupting the man’s sales pitch. “We need to re-provision and get moving. Clavender isn’t going to save herself.”
“Provisions are taken care of. Fortunately, my credit with the people of Gold Village is in good standing. They don’t seem to want to buy the shirt off my back or beaver pelts,” Bear said, as they walked toward Rickson.
“You brought beaver pelts?”
“No, but I promised to deliver them.”
Kin looked at him. “Do you extend credit when they come to trade with you?”
“Never,” Bear said. “Rickson, stop messing around and get your stuff. What are you, a pony?”
Rickson untangled himself from several children as Bear and Kin shook their heads, smiling. He growled and raised his hands to imitate claws. The kids screamed in delight and ran to escape him.
“You could stay here,” Kin said.
Rickson laughed. “You aren’t getting rid of me that easy.”
“Chalene will feed us, but eat quickly. We can make Maiden’s Keep by nightfall if we leave soon.”
“You can. Rickson and I are mere mortals,” Bear said.
“It will be dark when we get there, but we don’t have a choice.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
NEITHER gate nor sentinel guarded the rock formation around Maiden’s Keep. Columns of stone flanked a crystalline waterfall where the portcullis should be. Closer inspection revealed a gentle curtain of water incapable of repelling invaders. At times, Kin could see through it.
“Rickson, stay with the horses.”
Rickson nodded and gripped his staff, which made Kin nervous. He expected an argument. The boy must sense something. Maiden’s Keep was a quiet place. No one ever came to greet him when he visited. A month ago he followed the trail around the cliff to the dry gate and entered to find several women going about their daily activities—reading, mending clothing, cooking, or meditating. Despite the quietude, an aura of happiness and energy normally pervaded the atmosphere.
“I’ll go first,” Bear said. He gripped his axe and stepped through the waterfall.
Rickson laughed.
Kin shook his head. “I guess we’re getting wet.”
“Bear has never been here, apparently.”
“And you have?”
“All the time. They like to mother me and I like to eat.”
Kin nodded and followed Bear through the waterfall.
“It’s dark,” Bear said.
The cavern was large. Though Kin wasn’t surprised to find it empty, his unease grew.
“Hello!” Bear called.
No one answered. Kin slid his sword free, moving around the room, checking the corners and poking at the ashes in the hearth.
“I don’t like this, Kin. Did Captain Raien’s troopers come here or is the Reaper feasting in the tunnels?”
Kin examined the ground, finding large boot prints with a familiar tread pattern. Fleet armor was heavy. He wasn’t surprised to find evidence of troopers. He didn’t see blood, which was a good sign, though they had probably not come to Maiden’s Keep to kill.
With Bear’s help, he explored the tunnels for an hour before coming to a fortified door he built years ago. The safe room was never closed. Apparently, the women of Maiden’s Keep decided to shelter from the attentions of their recent visitors. He saw more boot prints, but no marks on the door. He rubbed the back of his neck, moved away from the door, and tried to think.
“Move away from the door. There’s a peep hole. They could be watching us,” Kin said.
“Good. Maybe they’ll let us in.”
Kin shook his head. “The door must have been open when Raien’s troopers came, because they would have forced it otherwise. I see boot prints leading to the door. They wouldn’t come this far and just turned around.”
“Are they still in there?” Bear asked. “Maybe the women learned their lesson and started locking the door after the men left.”
“That is one possibility.”
“I don’t think I’m going to like the other possibility. God damn these troopers. I thought the Fleet was supposed to protect people, not rape and kill.” Bear gripped his axe tightly, clenching his jaw and closing his eyes for a moment.
“We don’t know what they did. Things could have been a lot worse at Gold Village. Remember, a pair of AWOL troopers returned to Gold Village in search of young women. They could have come here as well.”
“But they high-tailed it back to Crater Town after the Reaper came,” Bear said.
Kin nodded. “I’m going to open the door. Stay alert, and don’t tell Rickson what we find.”
“He isn’t stupid.”
“Then we’ll lie to him. These women were like mothers and sisters to him. Whatever we find, he doesn’t need to know the details.” Kin approached the door from the side, avoiding the peep hole, and worked the secret latch.
The lock clicked. He pushed. The heavy timbers of the door swung inward. Firelight flooded into the passage, but no sound. Eventually, he heard something, possibly a woman’s sobbing, but it sounded muffled.
Kin looked Bear in the eyes and held up three fingers. Then he closed his fist before lifting one, two, and three fingers.
They rushed through the doorway. A rifle boomed, blasting bits of rock from the wall where they would have been had they stopped inside the door.
“You son-of-a-bitch,” Bear yelled, as he rushed forward with his axe held high.
Kin charged the trooper, scanning the room as he moved, spotting a second man in half armor. His attacker hastily put on his helme
t and breastplate, but didn’t have time to fully equip the FSPAA unit. Kin sliced off the man’s hand and shoved him backward as the weapon fell.
Bear ran at the other one, but wasn’t going to make it. His opponent aimed a rifle. Kin pivoted on the balls of his feet, drew his pistol, and fired three times. Two bullets hit the man in the chest and the third hit him between the eyes.
Kin returned his attention to the man he had slashed, kicking him in the gut. As soon as his foot came back, he kicked again. His foot slammed into the helmet and flung the man against the wall. Kin’s victim stumbled and fell, holding the stump of his wrist as it gushed blood.
“Grab hold of this one. Tie up his wound if you can,” Kin said, holding his pistol in one hand and his sword in the other.
Bear grunted and forced the one-handed trooper onto his stomach. He pulled both arms behind the man’s back and began tying a tourniquet above the amputated wrist. When the bleeding stopped, Bear tied the arms together.
“Good work, Bear,” Kin said without looking at the man. He focused his attention on twenty women of various ages sitting at a long table, gagged and bound with rope.
“Untie them,” Bear said.
Kin shook his head. He approached a corridor on the far side of the room, unable to see into it from where he was. Instinct warned him another trooper lurked just out of sight, waiting for Kin or Bear to move into view. No trooper he knew would hide without a reason. A Fleet soldier would be waiting for a kill shot.
“Damn it, Kin,” Bear said. He stood and moved quickly toward the table. A bullet grazed his head. He flung up his hand to hold the wound and turned to face the new threat, but didn’t move out of the kill zone.
“Get down!” Kin ran forward, kicked Bear’s legs from under him, and faced the danger. A young man, his body dark with Fleet tattoos, stood aiming a rifle.
