by Craig Gaydas
“Wait!” Red Sash repeated.
I looked from the stunned couple to him. “What? How?” I stuttered. “How did they survive?”
Red Sash turned to me and held up his hands. “Bree N'Dadi sent us.”
I recognized the name. He was the leader of the Erudites, a group of cosmic messengers, whom I met aboard the Argus long ago. From what I understood they held no affiliation and were simply messengers zooming across the cosmos delivering messages. “Bree from the Erudites?” I asked. “Aren't they just some sort of galactic FedEx?”
“Why would Bree do that?” Wraith asked incredulously.
“My name is Ehoro,” he replied. He pointed to the couple. “We are here to rescue the people of this planet.”
Hope?
“My name is Jimmy, and this is Amber.”
The man was really just an older kid. He looked pale and ready to vomit but remained strong. I thought it was more of an act to impress the girl more than anything. The girl, on the other hand, had a look on her face like she bit had into an onion. Her hair hung in her eyes and she brushed it aside several times trying to study us. Her hair had been dyed red to clash with her name.
“What were you two doing inside the hotel?” I asked.
“Well, mister cheapskate here insisted on staying at Rodeway instead of the Holiday Inn like I wanted,” Amber pouted. “All he had to do was wait until we got to 285 like the GPS said.”
Jimmy's mouth tightened. “Amber, shut up about the damn Holiday Inn already. You heard the reports on the radio.” He walked over and pointed at Ehoro who cocked an eyebrow. “Look at this guy.” Ehoro started to voice a protest but was interrupted by Jimmy turning dramatically toward their ship. “Look at their ship. They are aliens, Amber. We were attacked by aliens. Do you think they really give a damn what hotel we stayed at?”
Ehoro's companion, who ran back to the ship earlier to replace his shattered rifle, approached.
“What is it, Merren?” Ehoro asked.
“A report from Rok,” he responded. “Ships have been sighted over Australia, heading northwest.”
“Not ours, I suppose?” Ehoro asked sourly.
Merren shook his head. Jimmy and Amber exchanged nervous glances.
Ehoro frowned. “How many survivors have been recovered so far?”
Merren looked down at a large square object, no bigger than an iPod. He touched the interface and muttered something unkind under his breath. “It appears we have rescued thirty-five thousand.” He slid his finger across the screen. “Rok reports we are nearing capacity and will need to finish soon. We would have been able to rescue more but Bulwark 7 blew a plasma converter core and had to be escorted back to Kamil-Isa by Bulwark 1.”
Ehoro turned to us. “Come with us. We need to leave.”
“Wait. I need to see if my parents survived.” I placed my hand on his arm and he pulled away from it like it was on fire.
“There is no time,” he countered. “We are a search and rescue team.” He pointed down the road toward his ship. “These vessels are not machines of war. The reports of unidentified ships entering Earth's atmosphere is a cause for concern. We have over seven hundred humans on board. We need to get them to safety.”
“Where are you taking them?” Kedge asked.
Ehoro narrowed his eyes and studied Kedge. “Somewhere safe,” he replied dryly. He looked at Wraith and Gard. “You are not humans. Who are you?”
Kedge and I exchanged nervous looks. In the end I determined Ehoro could be trusted with our information. “I am Nathan Chambers,” I replied. “I am…was…the Cartographer.”
“We are nothing but rebels now,” Wraith added.
“No.” Ehoro frowned. “Not rebels. Insurgents.”
I took a step back and sensed Kedge stiffening beside me. Wraith's hand slid slowly to his sidearm where it came to rest on the grip. I lowered my hand to my belt, closer to my weapon.
A broad smile split Ehoro's face. “Such a terrible name. Insurgent implies rebellion against established authority. The title alone lends power to the Consortium as if they were some sort of galactic governing body.” He bellowed laughter and Merren followed. I exhaled and felt the tension leave my body. He clapped a hand on my shoulder before leaning over to whisper in my ear. “Bree believes in you, lad. If he believes in you then I believe in you. The Consortium is decaying, and you are all that's left of what it stood for.”
“I'm not sure about all that,” I argued. “All I want to do right now is find my parents.”
His smile faded. “Then what?”
Before I could answer, Merren fell in behind Ehoro. “Sir, we have to go. The ships are passing over the southern tip of Africa and closing.”
Ehoro nodded and Merren ushered Amber and Jimmy back to the ship. “Bree said that you were smart. If that is true than I trust you will do the right thing.” He placed a finger against his temple. “Think about what's happening right now. Really think about it. Despite the despair, despite the bloodshed and despite the heartache, there is a real chance to do good.” He turned and walked away.
“Opportunity for what?” I called out after him.
He stopped and turned. “You will know when you discover it.” He continued down the road.
“Gee thanks Aristotle,” I grumbled.
He turned one final time. “We will be back, Nathan. I promise. I made a vow to Bree to rescue as many people as I could. If you do decide to stay here, look to the sky for the Ark.”
“The Ark? I asked.
“It was dispatched from Kamil-Isa but is much slower than the Bulwarks. It will come for most of your indigenous wildlife, but it is capable of holding up to one hundred thousand people. The last I heard it entered your solar system with only a skeleton crew in order to house more survivors. It should arrive soon.”
“What about those other ships? Won't the Ark be in danger?” I asked.
“I hope not,” he replied before continuing down the street. “But if the ships are hostile, the Ark is better equipped at defending itself than we are.”
“We are running out of time, Nathan,” Kedge urged. “Let's go.”
I watched Jimmy and Amber board the ship. Should we have followed them? Even if my parents survived, there is a chance they had been picked up by one of the Kamilian ships. Was it really worth risking our lives only to come away empty?
“Let's go,” I said. I led our group down Carlsbad Cavern Highway. As we passed the Rodeway Inn, the humming from Ehoro's ship grew louder, eventually becoming a giant hornet's nest inside my skull as the ship lifted off. The ship ascended slowly into the sky and hovered over us. Several blue globes of light rotated counter clockwise around the hull of the ship one time before it shot out of view like a ball from a sling. Textbook flying saucer, I mused.
We got a half mile past the Rodeway Inn before we saw our first real signs of battle. A trailer park entrance was located just off the main highway. The property was surrounded by a chain link fence which allowed us to see inside. Most of the trailers had been obliterated. They were now nothing more than smoldering metal carcasses. I wandered past a red Ford pickup truck with a smashed windshield that had crashed into the ditch. There was a bumper sticker on the back window that read “I'll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.” A hulking man in brown camouflage hung out the driver side door with a charred hole in his chest. Clutched in his hand was a tactical shotgun. Kedge approached the scene cautiously before reaching down and prying the gun from his hand.
He took one look at the bumper sticker and glanced at me. “Irony, huh?” There was no humor in his voice.
Several Eddy county Sheriff vehicles were parked across the street with doors and trunks open. Shotguns and AR-15 assault rifles were scattered around the vehicles along with the bodies of several deputies. The Eddy County Sheriff is the first line of defense for the residents outside the city limits but against the Consortium, they were no defense at all. Wraith rushed to the nea
rest corpse—a burly cop clutching an AR-15. He waved his hand scanner over the corpse.
“This person was shot at close range,” he observed. “The wounds appear to be consistent with a hand cannon.”
“So what?” I asked.
“It means Meta put soldiers on the ground,” answered Kedge. “It means that he wanted to wipe the humans out. This wasn't some insane quest to destroy the time hole. There was a hidden agenda here. These people were assassinated.”
I looked into the lifeless eyes of the deputy. They stared accusingly toward the sky, as if blaming heaven for unleashing hell. “There is nothing we can do for them now.”
“Retribution,” Wraith said.
“Huh?” I turned and watched as his mouth tightened.
“That is what we can do for them. Retribution for all that had died as a result of Meta's misguided actions.”
Wraith was right. This was just a small sample of what happened on Earth. This was just a small rural area with a relatively small population. I could only guess at what kind of carnage waited at the larger cities. Thirty-five thousand. That's how many the Kamilians rescued on a planet inhabited by billions. They said an Ark was coming, but how many people were left to rescue? Scowling, I reached down and pried the assault rifle from the dead deputy's hands. His hands were stiff with death and he clutched the weapon as if he planned on taking it with him to the afterlife. I pulled with such force that his index finger broke, which added to the sick feeling already present in my stomach. I popped the clip and examined it, relieved to see it was still full of ammo. I slammed it back into place with a resounding thud. I noticed Kedge looking at me with a curious expression.
“What? I have seen this done a million times in Call of Duty,” I joked.
Kedge narrowed his good eye and studied me with the monocled one. “Call of Duty?”
Before I could respond, a transmission from Vayne came over Wraith's communicator. “Hey folks, I'm not sure what island you people are vacationing on, but I suggest you hurry. I have several ships heading our way. I know I am good and all that, but several is a few too many for me to handle solo. At this time I'm not sure if they are hostile, but why take a chance?”
Gard stared off into the sky, northeast of the sun's position. The blue orbs of his eyes flashed like a disco light. “Do you have the Kamilian ships on your radar, Vayne?”
I heard Vayne fidgeting with something in the background. He muttered something under his breath before coming back to the radio. “It looks like the Kamilians took off like an Umbral Ice Hound on fire.”
I wasn't sure what an Umbral Ice Hound was, but I supposed they didn't enjoy being on fire. Either way, we were running out of time. “Where are the ships now?”
“About two thousand miles southeast of our position,” Vayne responded.
“Let's get out of here,” I said.
“Are you sure?” Kedge asked.
I swung the AR-15 over my shoulder. “We need to get out of here. Those ships may be looking for us. If my parents are still alive, I won't do them any good leading a fleet of ships to their doorstep.” I walked over to the closest police vehicle and rummaged through the trunk. I found a clip full of ammo for the AR-15, a bulletproof vest, two tactical knives, a portable defibrillator and road flares. I grabbed the clip and one of the knives. I shoved the clip in my pocket and stuck the knife in my belt. “Now I'm ready.”
We doubled back past the scorched trailer park. As we moved past the Rodeway Inn with its mangled pool fence I noticed a crushed Cadillac on the far side of the parking lot. It seemed Ehoro's parking job wasn't as smooth as first suspected but I figured the owner had more important things to worry about now. When we got to the abandoned fire house, Wraith grabbed his communicator.
“Vayne we are about a half mile from your location. What's your status?”
Dead air responded. “Vayne?” Wraith repeated.
An antenna extended from the back of Gard's head. “Perhaps he had to relocate due to imminent danger. Let me try using long range communications.” Gard rolled up a nearby hill to gain a better vantage point. “Vayne, this is Gard. Are you there?”
More silence followed until Vayne's frantic voice broke through. “Gard…had to…under attack.” There was too much static to understand what he said afterward. Gard looked toward us.
Even though he was an emotionless robot, for a brief second I imagined an expression of hopelessness nestled within his eye orbs. Kedge and Wraith stood along the edge of the highway and they seemed to sense the same thing.
Suddenly the radio sprung to life. “GARD…THE SHIPS…HUNDREDS…RUN!”
No one questioned the panic in the voice. Vayne was one of the Twelve Timeless. I had witnessed his combat abilities aboard Calypso's ship and I did not doubt his courage. If he was telling us to run, we must run.
“GO!” Wraith commanded.
“Where?” I cried. “We are in the middle of nowhere.”
“Back to the fire house,” Kedge suggested.
I turned and ran as fast as I can. We were about a quarter mile from the building when suddenly a humming sound came from the sky behind us. It sounded like the world's largest dial tone which got louder over time. They were here.
“Don't look back, Nathan,” Kedge shouted. “Just run as fast as you can.”
I put my head down and pumped my arms as fast as I could. It became awkward eventually as I struggled to maintain control of the AR-15 strapped over my shoulder. It bounced painfully against my arm. Gard whizzed past me and I realized for a small robot with tank treads he was quick. He must have been going at least forty miles per hour.
“Hey, wait,” I shouted breathlessly. “Give me a ride at least!”
We were no more than thirty yards from the fire house when the humming became too much to bear. I tripped, fell hard on my side and lost my grip on the rifle. It went skidding into the gravel alongside the highway. Gard reached the fire house and stopped in front of the first bay. He turned and waved his arm frantically.
“Get up!” Kedge grabbed me roughly and hauled me to my feet.
I hurried over to the rifle and swung it over my shoulder. As soon as I did, a large shadow fell over us and I glanced back. During my lifetime I had wished for a lot of things: money, fame, good looks, but never have I wished for anything more than I wished to have never looked back.
Vayne was correct. There were hundreds of ships. There were so many that they blocked out the sun.
“My god,” Kedge gasped.
The ships were all different shapes and sizes, making it difficult to tell their allegiance. I spotted the familiar crescent moon flags of the Scarlet Moon. But they were only a few of the many ships in the sky. I saw the blimp-like vessels of the Lumagom. There were triangle-shaped ships, round ships, square ships, ships shaped like an X. My jaw dropped at the sheer volume of spacecraft.
“This isn't the Consortium,” Wraith stopped. “This may actually be a good thing.”
“What?” I replied incredulously.
“Hear me out. The Consortium wants us dead. They want mankind dead. But Corvus is human. His first goal would be to save the survivors of his home planet, wouldn't you think?”
When I looked back to the sky the ships' actions seemed to confirm Wraith's statement. They flew past us. The ring tone in my head went from deafening roar to dull hum. Several of the Scarlet Moon ships lagged behind the main pack. The largest among them broke from the smaller group and headed toward us.
“Uh oh,” Kedge lamented.
It approached for landing in a nearby dirt field off the main highway. Several small wheels emerged from the hull extending along the base toward the rear of the vessel. The metal sails adjusted to form a parachute-like canopy above the deck. Bright red halogen lights blinked rapidly along the “masts” of the ship, signaling its approach. It landed and rolled to a stop about twenty yards from the fire house. Despite the similarity to a pirate ship it was almost as big as a full-sized air
craft carrier. A door opened and a ramp lowered to the ground.
The first person to exit was an Exorg. They resembled angler fish with their toothed maw and glowing appendage sticking from their forehead. Despite their ugliness, I was reminded of an ally from long ago who had been taken from us before his time—Madoc. Behind him exited a human with an eye patch. He looked familiar and I struggled to recall who he was. It wasn't until he descended the ramp that I remembered a conversation long ago with the prison planet, Carcer-4. Colonel Noz appears to have picked a side in this conflict. The Exorg grasped a rifle tightly to his chest and moved off to the side of the ramp once he reached the bottom. Colonel Noz had a sidearm strapped to his waist. He moved aside as well once he reached the bottom of the ramp. The last person to exit caused my blood to boil.
“Shai,” I growled.
I barely noticed Wraith sliding his hand to his sidearm. My focus was solely on the man who had killed Captain Jasper who was murdered in cold blood before our eyes. Whether he was our enemy or not I couldn't stomach an allegiance with him. I clenched my fists in anger. Kedge gripped his staff tightly. The move made the Exorg uncomfortable and he shifted the rifle in his hands. Shai reached the bottom of the ramp and smiled broadly when he saw our group. He was armed with nothing more than a slender, curved sword strapped to his waist. I could take him out with one shot from the rifle, I thought. One shot and Lianne would have her justice.
“Look what we have here,” Shai beamed. He pointed and turned to Colonel Noz. “Do you know who this is?”
Noz squinted his eye and shook his head. “Can't say I do.”
“This is the Cartographer,” he chuckled. “Map reader extraordinaire and prized possession of the Consortium.” Noz only responded with a grunt of disinterest.
I stepped forward, clutching the rifle tightly. The Exorg lifted his rifle and pointed it at me.
“Maybe you haven't heard, but we aren't part of the Consortium anymore,” I said through clenched teeth.
Shai's smile faded. His gaze fell upon Kedge. “Well then,” he sneered. “That seems to lower your value significantly. What should we do with you?”
