Faded Borders (The Convergence Saga Book 4)

by Rick Kueber

  FADED BORDERS

  The Convergence Saga

  Book 4

  by

  Rick Kueber

  Cover Art Design by Annette Munnich

  Cover Model: Alyssa Evelyn Rhoads

  Copyright 2016

  Stellium Books

  www.stelliumbooks.com

  Grant Park Illinois 60940

  All Rights Reserved

  Dedication

  As always this book is dedicated to my son Daniel,

  but also to Annette for all of her hard work and dedication and Tabitha whose creative soul inspired me to create something unique and beautiful.

  The Convergence Saga is a work of complete fiction. All characters, organizations and events portrayed in this series are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Table Of Contents

  1. The Distance

  2. Relativity

  3. Tastes Like Chicken

  4. Plagued

  5. Going Coastal

  6. On Distant Shores

  7. Close Friends

  8. Swamped

  9. Holo Promises

  10. Growing Circle

  11. Harboring

  12. Escaping the Fringe

  13. Band of Rebels

  Chapter 1

  The Distance

  The freezing blue gel began to digress and as uncomfortable as the suffocating feeling was, the blue gel's exit was equally excruciating. I felt its exodus from every orifice and every single pore of my skin. As my frigid and naked body was revealed, I gasped a deep and painful breath and crumpled to the floor of the alien Titan.

  I felt paralyzed... frozen. I could not move a muscle, nor could I open my eyes... or maybe I was blinded and they were already open. I could, however, hear, and what I heard was a muted scuffling of footsteps drawing closer and surrounding me. Though I could sense the pressure of their hands on me, I was numb, but I knew I was being lifted and moved. During my relocation, I began to shiver and the sense of feeling started to return to my limbs. Our movement stopped suddenly and they released me from their clutches. My body dropped to the floor and I had gained just enough control of my muscles to curl myself into a ball. I felt something fabric drop onto my naked body and I hoped I would find that it was some sort of blanket.

  “Tanner!” A male voice, that I could not quite place, called out. “Is that really you? I thought you were dead.”

  “I'm not?” My voice cracked and squeaked out the question but was barely even a whisper. Though everything was dim and fuzzy, my eyelids fluttered and my sight was returning.

  “Not yet, and neither am I.” The stranger spoke again. “They've kept me alive for some reason. Where have you been?”

  “Better question is; When have I been?” I tried to focus on the figure that had crawled across the floor and now sat next to me.

  “That made no sense.” I understood his confusion. “But I don't care. I'm just glad you're alive and I'm not alone anymore.”

  “Who are you and how do you know me?” I genuinely asked.

  “It's me, Daniel.” The voice did not seem to match my memory.

  “You don't sound the same.” I squinted my eyes. “You... look different too. What happened to you?”

  “Well, not much, really.” He sounded puzzled. “You look good. You don't even need a shave. Me, on the other hand, I've just been stuck in this little room since they separated us. Tanner... I've been locked in so long, I lost track of how many times I’ve slept... I don't even know how long.”

  “Any amount of time is too long.” I was beginning to stabilize. “We have to escape. We need to stop this Titan, disable it if we can, and then find Elle.”

  “That's pretty ambitious, but I'm ready to get the heck outta here as soon as you’re up to it... and we come up with a plan.” The voice did have a hint of being Daniel-ish. “You wouldn't believe the crap they've been giving me to eat.”

  “They gave you food?” This was something I hadn't thought about or expected. “And you ate it?”

  “I wouldn't exactly call it food, and yeah, after a while I had to eat it. It was either that or starve to death.” Daniel's words hit hard, stabbing deep and making me question my experience... 'starve to death'... How long had the memory extraction process taken?

  “Makes no sense...” I forced the words. “Must sleep.”

  “Okay. I’m Just glad you’re here.” Daniel’s voice seemed relieved and even calming as I slipped into a deep dreamless slumber.

  I can only assume that the unbearable pain and lack of nourishment over an extended period of time, the length I could not begin to guess, had left my body debilitated. Likewise, the probing of my memories and replaying every moment of my life, even the ones I did not remember, had left me mentally frazzled. How long I slept, I had no idea, but Daniel said that he was awake for hours after I dozed off, then slept and was awake again for a long time before I finally awoke. I must admit, my throat and eyes still stung like they had been scorched and my body was as stiff as a rusted gate hinge. The fact that my body didn’t squeak when it moved was surprising. There was, however, an inability to keep from verbally groaning with each new joint movement.

  “I didn’t think you’d ever wake up.” Daniel’s deepening voice met my stirring moans. “You snore, ya know?”

  “I ache all over.” My voice was a mere whisper as I felt around and found that what had been dropped on me was not a blanket, but my clothing. There was a stale smell to them, but I began to dress in them anyway. “Well, imagine that.” My hand felt across the warm floor and touched a woven nylon strap and followed it to find the 9mm still in its holster. I pulled it from its hiding place and found the clip still in place. Depressing the release button, with a metallic scraping sound, I removed it to find it still full and slid it back in place with a harsh and sharp snap.

  “So, what do you think they are going to do with us now?” Daniel asked as if I had some higher knowledge.

  “I have no idea, but if they take us out of here, that’s when we need to make our move.” It wasn’t much of a plan, but there were so many variables, it was impossible to say what we should do. “If we stop somewhere and the Takers unload, maybe we can escape then.”

  “They’ll be bringing food soon. And water...” Daniel grimaced at the thought of eating the same deplorable garbage they had been giving him since they were taken. “Maybe we can get out of here then?”

  “Maybe, but I’m not sure I’m ready.” I answered honestly.

  When the Taker came, escorted by an Ahsusha, the wall opened only for a brief moment and it placed a small decrepit bucket of dirty water on the floor and dropped a few small rectangular bread-like cakes. They were a pale blueish color and Daniel and I shared them. He wasn’t exaggerating when he said it tasted horrible. It was like eating moldy bread that had been covered in rotting meat. It took everything I could muster to keep from gagging and vomiting, and trying to wash it down with water that smelled like dead fish and left a gritty feel and a putrid aftertaste in my mouth didn’t make it any more bearable.

  “You are one hell of a strong young man.” I patted Daniel on the shoulder. “I don’t know how many days you’ve had to eat this, but I might have starved if I were you.”

  Daniel smiled. “I’ve been close to starving, and as nasty as this is, it’s better that that feeling.”

  He was right. As disgusting as the meal was, it was satisfying and filled the void in my gut, but there was another emptiness that remained unfilled and a thirst that stung my hollow and unquenched soul. Days passed, or so I assumed, though we never saw the light of the sun. Danie
l and I spoke about Elle and Maddie and the friends we had made together and wondered if the CCC Tribe were still held up at the treatment center. Other times, in hushed voices, we talked about how we could possibly escape, or daydream about overtaking the alien beings and gaining control of the Titan. Mostly we sat in silence, waiting for our daily gruel and thinking to ourselves. Daniel had learned to force feed himself, swallowing his bites of the foul cakes without chewing. I had a different method. I took small nibbles and washed each one down quickly with the stagnant water.

  After what was probably two weeks of solitude in the bland, gray prison of a room, something completely unexpected happened. Sitting in solemn unspoken depression, Daniel and I awaited the delivery of the stomach turning meal, but it did not come. My stomach growled and my mouth grew parched, but still, no Taker and no relief. The waking hours waned and I leaned against the warm wall and watched as Daniel slipped off into a restless sleep. Had they forgotten about us? If so, it was the first time that I knew of. Times of wake and sleep passed and my best guess was that three days came and went with no visit. On what might have been the fourth day, I awoke and found Daniel pacing the empty space.

  “Are they just going to let us starve?” He grumbled. “When are they coming?”

  “Stinking bread and fishy water sound pretty good right now.” I tried to lighten the mood, but failed miserably.

  “If we don’t eat soon, your gun is going to sound pretty good.” Daniel spoke morbidly.

  “Don’t even...” My thought switched mid-sentence. “That’s brilliant.”

  “No, I didn’t mean I was ready to die just yet.” The thin young man said.

  I drew the pistol from its holster under my arm and checked to make sure the chamber was loaded. Daniel’s eyes grew wide and I turned in a complete circle, trying to make my decision. When I thought I knew where the wall opened for the Takers to bring the bucket and cakes, I spoke. “Cover your ears...and you might want to get behind me.” I was unsure of what would happen when I pulled the trigger. The bullet could penetrate the wall, but it was more likely that it would ricochet and in an empty space, that could be dangerous. I squinted my eyes nearly closed, gritted my teeth and squeezed the trigger three times swiftly. The shots marked the wall but didn’t penetrate it. Where they did scar the wall, a gray light poured from the wall like blood from a deep cut. The deafening sound of the shots rang in our ears and when Daniel spoke, his words were so muffled I could not understand what he was saying, but I could tell he was repeating himself, over and over.

  “What?” I shouted, and from Daniel’s reaction, he could hear me just fine.

  I felt the Titan’s movements change. It was subtle, but different. I grabbed my ears and wiggled them and stuck my fingers in them, trying to stop the ringing. Daniel pulled at my arm as if he knew something I didn’t. Unexpectedly, the wall opened up and an Ahsusha rushed in. Not calm and authoritative as usual, but frantic and chaotic. Its eye’s glowed fiercely and without hesitation, I shot again. The smell of gunpowder and smoke filled the empty room and the bullet found its mark, striking the Ahsusha just above his right eye. Like a damp washcloth, he folded to the floor and the alien being of light left him.

  Gun still in hand, I decided to rush the alien. Giving a rough and forceful shove, Daniel pushed me aside and confronted our captor. With a tragic assumption, the being met Daniel halfway and attempted to subdue him. This choice would be its last mistake. My young friend shuddered like he had been struck by lightning and in mere seconds the being of light stretched awkwardly away from Daniel and let out such an agonizing squeal that even I could hear it.

  Daniel fell to his knees and his eyes glowed with a light brighter than any I had ever seen. Running over to him, I laid my hand on his shoulder and felt the hot energy radiating from him, like he had been microwaved a bit too long.

  “Hey! Are you okay” I shouted again, unnecessarily, but Daniel did not respond.

  Before Daniel could collect himself two aliens entered the area. Not Takers, or Ahsusha, but free form beings of light and energy. Angrily, I exploded across the open space and threw my arms around both of them. I thought I could smell the hair in my nose burning, or maybe it was just the gun smoke that lingered in the air, but whatever it was didn’t matter. My body went rigid as if in a seizure. The painful burning of electricity coursing through my body paralyzed me and the last thing I remembered was falling to the floor in a series of involuntary and unpleasant convulsions.

  ***

  A warmth and a blinding white light greeted me when I came to. A stabbing pain, like broken glass in my brain, made me feel sick to my stomach. Lying flat on my back, I could feel the uneven and irregular surface beneath me and immediately felt it was not a floor of the Titan. I shaded my eyes with my hand and squinted my eyes to focus on anything to get my bearings.

  “Where am I?” I mumbled.

  “Ya got me.” Daniel’s familiar voice eased my worries. “We won, though ...sort of.”

  “How do you ‘sort of’ win? And what do you mean?” I wracked my brain to remember what had happened.

  “The Takers... They’re all dead, and we took out the last Ahsusha and the aliens.” Daniel seemed proud of the accomplishment. “So, the Titan’s ours. Only problem is...” I began to see more clearly and watched as Daniel pointed. “We are here. The Titan is right there, and when I woke up after the aliens were...dead...the Titan was on the ground and, well, I guess we’re stuck here.”

  “And we don’t know where here is, right?” I reiterated our dilemma. Looking around I first thought we were deep in the deciduous forest, but the thick green overgrowth and the sultry weight of the air made me believe it was more tropical than that.

  “It’s a jungle out here.” Daniel said. “But I don’t think that Titan is going anywhere.”

  “Did you say all of the Takers were dead? Like they were already dead?” I asked trying to piece together the bits of information.

  “I don’t know. Me and you... We were the only ones left alive when I woke up.” Daniel was just as confused as I was. “I think maybe they were already dead, or dying. Maybe that’s why they didn’t come with food. Maybe that’s why they forgot about us until you shot the gun and got their attention.”

  “I guess that makes sense.” My head and vision were growing very clear and my memory had returned within minutes of waking.

  “So... You’re the adult here. What do we do now?” Daniel would never have admitted that if he had any idea of what our next move should be and frankly, I didn’t know either.

  “I guess we can go see about the Titan. Maybe we can ‘get it going’ again and figure out where we are.” It wasn’t much, but it might keep Daniel distracted while I tried to come up with a better plan.

  The Titan laid silently, its appendages were not folded under it like usual. It was sprawled out like a hunter’s trophy, as pale as ashes and it showed obvious signs of deterioration. Its edges were oxidizing and dull, but not rusting and some parts of it were completely gone, almost as if it were melting under the warmth of the sun. Whatever this thing was made of wasn’t a metal that would rust but it was not impervious to our environment either. We circled the fallen Titan twice, carefully searching for any possible means of awakening it. We found nothing and the dull hum that I had grown accustomed to was gone. For lack of better words, this Titan was dead. We would have to find another way back, but in order to do that, we would have to figure out where we were.

  “Well buddy, looks like we’re hoofing it.” I tried to make it sound like our car had overheated and we had to walk to a service station. Deep inside I worried that we might be close to civilization, or even an abandoned town, but with no way of pinpointing our whereabouts, we could walk in the opposite direction and never survive. I couldn’t let Daniel know my fears. I had to keep the morale up, if I could.

  “Why don’t I climb one of these trees and see if I can see anything from up there?” Daniel offered.

>   “Great Idea.” I hoped he would see something, and I wondered if I should offer to climb in his place. If I didn’t see anything, I could make a decision about which way to go and not let on if we truly were hopelessly lost. “You want me to go instead?”

  “Naw. But you can climb another tree if you want.” Daniel said as his energy and enthusiasm were renewed.

  Daniel began to climb a large pine tree with a fat and gnarly trunk so large my arms could reach just over half way around it. The bark was coarse with a pungent smell of pine. Round, prickly, green balls adorned a plethora of branches that reached high above the forest’s canopy. I watched him climb so agilely, not missing a single step. He looked as nimble and dexterous as a spider monkey, scaling the tree with ease. I chose a nearby tree of similar height and girth and leapt into action, almost as if it were a race to the top. Before I reached the top, but at least a hundred feet from the forest floor, I stopped and began to survey the landscape around us.

  “You see what I see?” I shouted to my companion in the treetop thirty some-odd feet away.

  “What do you see?” He seemed to be distracted by a swarm of gnats or mosquitoes that seemed intent on making a home in his ears, eyes and nose. I had a variety of pests buzzing around my ears too, but they didn’t seem quite as numerous or intentionally annoying as those attacking Daniel. “What?” He shouted again as he feverishly swatted at the flying pests.