by Nyk Nova
“What do we do?” the bald prisoner asked, his voice trembling.
“You two can do what you want,” Pol said. “I’m not standing around, waiting for anything to get me.” He stepped away from the others. “You better hope I don’t find you in the wild, Kade’Tor Lorenth.”
Kade’s eyes flickered back and forth, keeping sight of his surroundings and Pol. If the big man was attacked, Kade wanted to know what did it. Even if only for small comforts. It was better to know his enemy than not.
“Wait, Pol,” the other prisoner said as he stepped away from Kade. Moonlight moved along the bald man’s head as it swiveled back and forth between the two of them, not knowing which way to go. Pol Wier was large enough to take on just about any enemy but Kade had law officer and military training.
A sudden shrill cry blared out into the air. The sound of it stopped Pol in his tracks. Then it dialed down to a guttural, gravely noise. Kade and the other inmate stared at Pol who, even in the moonlit night, could be seen clearly enough to recognize the expression of terror on his face. But it wasn’t aimed back in Kade’s direction.
“He sees it,” Kade whispered.
“What? He sees what?”
The air went silent before Pol spun back around, ready to run. But only one foot stepped forward before two four legged creatures burst up at the large man. One of them gnashed its jaws around his shoulder, the other around his upper legs. And in one quick motion, Pol Wier was gone. Half of him going one way, half going another.
The other inmate was ready to throw up at the gruesome sight. Kade nudged him with an elbow, bringing him back to focus.
“What were those things?” the bald man whispered, panicked.
“Giths. Not even the worst Razen has to offer,” Kade told him. There was no sense keeping quiet now. They had been spotted.
“Should we run?”
Kade shook his head. “They’re faster. What’s your name?”
“My name?” the prisoner fumbled with the words. “It’s— Phord Lyrel.”
“OK, Phord, I can’t tell you how we’ll make it tomorrow. But if you want to survive tonight, do as I tell you.”
“I want to get off this planet.”
“One thing at a time— There.” Kade’s eyes narrowed, staring into a patch of tall grass. “Watch my back.”
Suddenly, the same four legged attacker leaped at Kade. He held the clamps in front of his head but the shear force and weight of the beast put him on the ground. It swiped at the Oscerian, trying to get past Kade’s defense. But his military training was paying off and Kade managed to keep the sharp claws from making contact.
The Gith had no nostrils as far as Kade could tell. The beast’s most telling feature was its four green eyes. Two in the front and one on each side. Perfect placement for stalking prey while keeping lookout from becoming prey. Kade’s primary focus was on the thin teeth chomping at him with every claw swipe. They were perfectly lined up and curved inward to keep anything from escaping.
Kade tried to kick the monster but it was useless. And unless Phord became a new interest, Kade was only going to get worn out by staying on defense. The beast’s head surged downward, mouth open. Kade used one of the clamps as a shield, making sure the beast chomped down on it. He could feel the padding on the inside get tighter around his arm. It wasn’t going to take much more before the bond was broken through and his arm pierced by the needle like points. After that, he would be no more than a memory.
But Kade was a soldier. More, he was a general. His free arm swung at the beast’s head, shoving the clamp into the side eye. The monster grumbled but didn’t let go. Kade tried again, making sure he slammed the end of the clamp into the dangerous Razen beast. He wanted to hammer the top of its head, but that could have opened the clamp. And he wanted to keep his bare hand as far from that thing’s head for as long as possible.
He struck several more times. Each time the beast’s growls grew louder. It was working, just not as fast as Kade wanted it to. At this rate it was a losing battle.
Kade’s eyes shifted around the monster’s head, searching for a vital spot or something he could take advantage of. His focus landed on its snout and the lack of nostrils.
“We’ll cut that off, then.” Kade pushed his arm forward, lifting the beasts head just enough to see its underside. Then just as he did with its face, Kade slammed the clamp into its throat.
A raspy sound like something locking up came from the monster’s mouth. It opened the needle point maw, releasing Kade’s arm, and backed away as it tried to inhale air through the crushed windpipe.
Kade and Phord watched the beast drop to its side, its four eyes rolling upward. It was dying.
“Now we know where to hit them,” Kade said, returning his focus to the area around them.
“But I don’t have clamps,” Phord said. “What am I supposed to use?”
A metal screech came up from Kade’s arms. He glanced down to see the clamps—one severely dented, the other full of small holes, both barely recognizable for what they were.
“Well, neither do I,” Kade said as the prison bonds slid from his arms.
Two more of the creatures stepped out of the tall grass. Kade took note of their size. Each of them were longer than he was tall and their heads came up to about chest height. It was no wonder he couldn’t kick the dead one off. And now neither he nor Phord had anything to fight back with.
The two of them got closer together. Kade spun so they were back to back.
“Why do I have to face them?” Phord asked.
“Because there are three more behind us.”
Phord glanced over his shoulder to see the beasts stalking toward them.
“We have to run!” Phord shouted.
“Where?”
“Anywhere but here!”
“Then good luck to us both,” Kade said, ready to face the threat but knowing these were his last moments.
One of the monsters leaped at Phord but a gunshot cracked and the beast was struck. The force of the blow moved the four legged monster in mid-air just enough to miss crashing into Phord and Kade.
The other beasts stopped their movement and looked in the same direction. Another shot went off, striking one of the three in front of Kade. There were only three monsters left. Still not good odds for the Oscerians. But the beasts were more concerned about whoever it was on the other end of that gun than they were in their prey.
The powerful legs, scurried back into the tall grass, away from whoever was shooting at them.
Kade dropped to the ground before the strange group of beings came into view from the tree line.
Phord tried stepping forward. “Hey, you saved us. Thank you—”
Kade grabbed his ankle and pulled, bringing the man to the ground.
“What? Why did you do that?”
Kade crawled on his stomach. Positioning himself next to Phord. “We can’t let them see us.”
“Why not?”
“Because they’re the worst Razen has to offer.”
10
The hunting party was seven deep. Each being carried a type of rifle in one hand, a longer rifle slung on their backs and two hand guns— one on each hip. They were armed better than most soldiers and riot officers. On a planet like Razen, one had to be.
Kade and Phord watched as the hunters shifted their heads side to side, keeping watch for anything that moved. The rifles in their hands moved the same way. It was as though they were constantly aiming.
Kade scooted back along the ground every second step the hunters took.
“Who are they?” Phord asked.
“The Rekoul,” Kade told him. “Expert trackers and marksmen. And when I say expert—”
“They never miss.”
“They populated the planet about one hundred years ago. Osceria made a deal with them, allowing the use of Razen as a prison colony if we would let them hunt prisoners.”
“You let them hunt us?” Phord said with so
me anger in his voice.
“As I heard it, at the time, it was more humane than execution. At least this way, prisoners had a chance at survival.”
“I’d rather be executed than hunted.”
“And eaten,” Kade said nonchalantly.
“Eaten?”
“The Rekoul have an undiscerning appetite. If they can eat it, they will. Now you know why this place is so dangerous.”
“Officers knew this and still brought prisoners here?” Phord was fuming but he still kept his voice down.
“It’s not like your options were all that great,” Kade said. “Prison lifers were in a life and death struggle anyway. Execution was just the end…We still have a chance, here. We just have to stay in their blind spot.”
“They have four guns, each. What blind spot?”
“Look. Look at them,” Kade pointed to areas of the Rekoul as he spoke.
They had all of the proper anatomical structures to be like the Oscerians or Lugazians except they were taller and had fewer joints. “They can’t bend at the waist like we can,” Kade said. “And higher up, they have no neck. That means—”
“They can’t bend to look down,” Phord finished his sentence.
“They’d have to crouch. That’s why they can’t see us. And the closer they get, the more invisible we become.”
“But they still have eyes.”
“That’s their biggest flaw, though. Look closely.”
The eyes of the Rekoul were a light purple color. With pupils that were constantly scanning the area. Phord took particular notice of how deep set they were with a brow that acted more as a cave ceiling than anything. It was the same for their cheeks.
“They can move their eyes up and down but they can’t see anything on that axis. Not peripherally or directly,” Kade said.
“So we could be right under them and they couldn’t see us?”
“Exactly. That’s their weakness. Unfortunately, it also makes them the best shooters we’ve ever seen. Their vision is so narrow, it’s perfect for aiming.”
The Rekoul continued forward, maintaining the same vigilance for anything that moved.
“That seems like a major handicap,” Phord said.
“If it weren’t for the guns, it would be. Speaking of guns, we’re going to need those.”
“We can rush them.”
“No. We’re still too far away. The ones in the front might not see us but the ones at the back will. And they don’t stop to ask questions. The second you stand, you’ll be back on the ground—dead. We’ll wait. With them here, we can be patient.”
Three of the seven Rekoul stepped next to Kade and Phord, stopping to gauge the area. Kade took notice of Phord’s shaky hands. He didn’t know if it was from fright at being so close to the top predators on Razen or because he was planning something foolish. Kade looked up at the side arm of the hunter and nudged Phord with his foot. The prisoner looked at him but Kade only shook his head. Whatever Phord was thinking, he didn’t want him acting on it. Not yet.
The three Rekoul continued on, never looking back. As long as the rest of the party was behind them, they had little need to watch their backs.
Two more stepped along side the Oscerians. Kade paid no attention to them. His eyes were affixed to the last hunter. Their positioning was grouped in three, two, one and one. The last Rekoul walked backwards, keeping watch of the hunting party’s rear. It was the best blindspot he was going to get. Right between the sixth and seventh hunters, their backs to him.
Kade got up on his feet but stayed low as he maneuvered to the last Rekoul hunter. He held up one hand, signaling to Phord to stay down.
The side arms on the hunter were buttoned in, making a dicey situation all the riskier. Kade wanted both guns but would need both hands just to get one. And success or failure, once he started, the Rekoul would be alerted. It may not be able to see him but those at the front would.
Kade slowly inhaled. It was a risk he had to take.
He unbuttoned the holster, immediately alerting the hunter who stopped in its tracks and spun around. Kade froze in place. He glanced up at the hunter as it strafed its rifle side to side. The Oscerian quietly crept to the side of the Rekoul and grabbed the handle of the side arm, hoping that as the hunter walked away, he could slide the gun out, unnoticed.
A quick movement caught Kade’s eye as Phord moved for the other gun. Kade shook his head, desperately trying to stop the prisoner but the man’s fear had overtaken all reason.
Phord grabbed the side arm, not noticing that it was fastened in. He jerked the gun up but it stayed firmly secured in its holster.
The hunter spun toward Phord, only this time it said something in a language not known to Kade.
The others turned around and those at the front could see the Oscerians with total clarity.
There was no warning shot and no halting words, only the pulling of triggers. Kade dashed behind the last hunter, using it for cover. In his fright, Phord continued trying to remove the side arm. The action only served to keep him in the open and Kade watched as the man was riddled with bullets.
11
Kade maintained his position behind the hunter even as it tried to back away from him. He poked his head out from around it to take shots at the others. It wasn’t like being behind a tree or a boulder that didn’t move. His cover was in constant motion. And not just backwards. The Rekoul moved every which way except down as it tried to get away from Kade.
The Oscerian took the chaos of the shooting to finally pull the Rekoul’s other side arm. Kade raised his arms around the hunter and blind fired at the others. The action kept them moving back but he knew any one of them could have drawn a bead on him just by moving sideways.
The Rekoul in front of him finally stopped and staggered forward. Kade wasn’t sure what was going on until the being dropped to its knees. At that height, the two met face to face. Kade could see the hurt and confusion in its purple eyes. Another shot rang out, rocking the Rekoul forward. Kade put the pieces together very quickly before the others returned to firing at him. He ran forward, firing off shot after shot, trying to keep the others from sighting down on him as he worked to get in their blind spots. But they only continued moving backwards, ensuring that he stayed in their line of sight.
One of Kade’s shots found a target, winging one of the hunters. That Rekoul dropped its rifle. It wasn’t out of the fight but at least it was one less gun firing at him. He rushed up to the wounded hunter and crouched in front of it for cover. His eyes dropped to the rifle. It was a better weapon than two hand guns. Kade poked out from his living cover and emptied the guns at the others. The shots kept them moving and unable to fire back.
He dropped the guns and hefted up the rifle. It was heavier than what he was used to. He checked the recoil by using it on the injured hunter. After all, the Rekoul had already proven their willingness to shoot each other. As long as he’d stayed near one of them, the others would fire on it just to get Kade in the open again.
The weapon made a loud cracking sound and jerked Kade back but the shot was true. He rushed back toward the dead creature he’d killed before. In a place with so many things that could kill him, backwards was as good as forward.
As Kade ran, bullets sang passed his ears. The Rekoul were excellent shots but when the target moved in such an erratic way, it was difficult to get a hit. It also didn’t help them that this particular target was shooting back. The Rekoul weren’t used to fights such as this. They were the only ones on Razen that had this kind of weaponry. The fact that Kade had lasted this long had thrown them off their game.
The Oscerian slid to the ground behind one of the dead Giths. It wasn’t a preferred spot but at least it wasn’t moving. A series of bullets ripped into the carcass, forcing Kade to duck. Even from that far away, they still had to aim downward, making their shots less accurate. He hoped that as they got closer, the Rekoul’s blind spot would become more hindering. Kade fired back, hitting one
of them. It was a good shot but it had an undesired effect of pushing the hunters farther back. He caught sight of one of them dropping its rifle and bringing the longer weapon to the front.
Kade’s eyes went wide. He was confident that the Rekoul couldn’t hit him, even with a longer firing range. But he had no clue the power of that gun.
At this point there were no good options. There were four hunters left and he was still vastly outmanned and outgunned. It almost reminded him of the last fight with Lugaz. But he had no talisman and no boulder. Just a carcass that was getting weaker and weaker as a cover with each bullet that hit it.
Kade fired a single shot then rolled before the long barrel went off.
The dead beast was ripped in two, alien animal parts flying into the air. Kade took no time to survey the carnage. He was just glad he’d decided to move. But his choice had left him wide open. One of the Rekoul made a sound that Kade was sure was laughter. They had him. He knew it as well as they did. But this time, there would be no prisoner transport.
“It always comes down to this, doesn’t it?” Kade muttered.
The strange sound from the Rekoul stopped abruptly and was replaced by the sudden yelling of six individuals. Kade looked up to spot the newcomers dropping from the sky, firing round after round of bullets at the hunters. Not being able to look up, the Rekoul had no idea who or what was attacking them. Kade watched all four drop to the ground before the newcomers even landed.
The dark obscured their features but Kade could see they all moved in unison with the same motions. Of the six of them, five had a certain shimmer. The shine got brighter before they faded away, leaving one left.
“That was a Spirit Divider,” Kade said. He hadn’t even seen the talisman drop. “You used solid divisions?”
The figure said nothing but immediately went to work gathering the Rekoul weapons.
