Trapped (Shadows of the Void Space Opera Serial Book 7)

by J. J. Green

  Trapped

  Shadows of the Void Book 7

  J.J. Green

  If you would like to hear more about J.J. Green’s books, new releases, advanced reader opportunities and other interesting stuff, sign up to the mailing list here:

  http://jjgreenauthor.com/?page_id=136

  (We won’t send spam or pass on your details to a third party.)

  About the Book

  Shadows of the Void is a ten-book science fiction serial, and Trapped is the seventh book. You can read the books out of sequence, but you’ll probably enjoy the story best if you read them in order. The first book in the serial is Generation. If you’ve read all the previous books, I hope you enjoy this one too!

  If you find a typo or mistake, I’d love to hear about it, or anything else you’d like to tell me about the books. My email address is on my website (scroll to the very bottom of the page).

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter One

  Things were getting desperate. They’d eaten the last of the food two days previously, and the water had run out the day before. Jas Harrington sat in the cab of the truck and wondered how much longer they would last if they didn’t succeed in breaking through the Shadows’ siege of Sayen’s home.

  Carl had parked the truck a kilometer or so away. Its battery was almost dead. Jas hoped they were far enough from the house to avoid detection. Sayen’s call to her parents from the untraceable interface had gone through, and after they’d gotten over their joy at hearing her voice, they’d diverted the call to an encrypted line.

  Neither of Sayen’s parents had left home for weeks. They hadn’t even ordered food deliveries in fear that the Shadows would take the opportunity to invade. The aliens were watching them, they’d said, and though they might have been able to leave, they didn’t know where to go or who they could trust. Her parents had activated a force field around the home, but they would momentarily drop their defenses at an agreed time to allow the truck in.

  Jas was sure that the minute the Shadows saw the truck, they would recognize it as the one that had been used to steal a Shadow scanner from the spaceport. Maybe they even knew exactly who was inside. Their reach had stretched far—deep into the recesses of the Global Government.

  The Shadows were certainly in no doubt about who Sayen Lee was. Their attempt to kill her after she’d breached the Global Government’s secure files on them had failed. Jas and Carl had defeated the Shadows in their attempt to take control of the starship Galathea. Young Makey, the sole escapee from the Shadow invasion of the colony planet, Dawn, had gone missing from his refugee institution. Perhaps only Erielle, the wounded underworlder who had helped Jas and the others, was as yet unknown to the aliens.

  They were the ones who the Shadows knew had discovered their secret invasion of Earth. They were the ones who were a danger. If they could reach the Transgalactic Council before the Shadows had taken Earth, and bring the might of the Unity military forces down upon the fledgling offensive, the aliens might yet be defeated.

  But the group would have one chance and one chance only to reach the safety of Sayen’s parents’ estate and transmit a deep space comm to the Council.

  “What’s the time?” Makey asked, though it could be clearly seen on the dashboard. The kid was understandably nervous.

  “We’ve got ten minutes,” Carl replied. His arms were resting on the truck’s steering wheel as he watched the cars passing.

  Jas’ tongue and mouth were thick with thirst. Her stomach had given up complaining about its emptiness the day before. Even if they had their credchips, they couldn’t buy anything without the Shadows immediately identifying and capturing them. Jas wasn’t too concerned about their lack of provisions. If they didn’t get inside the Lees’ house, they probably wouldn’t survive anyway. However, she was worried about Erielle. The woman was still recovering from severe laser burns to both legs. Until the day before last, she’d seemed to be recovering, but the lack of water and food had weakened her far more than the others. She was drifting in and out of consciousness as she lay on the cab floor behind the seats.

  “So, where are we going to find our Shadow to scan?” Sayen asked. “If we can’t prove to the Council what’s happening, or there’s not a lot of point in my parents sending a deep space packet to them.”

  “They shouldn’t be too hard to find,” replied Jas. “I’m guessing it’ll be whoever’s shooting at us. We just have to capture one without killing it.”

  “That all?”

  “That’s all.”

  “You realize I’ve gotta raise the shield around the cab before we get close?” Carl asked. “As soon as they see us, they’re gonna start firing.”

  “Krat,” Jas said. The laser proof steel wall had protected them on more than one occasion, and they would need it now, but it would deprive everyone but Carl of a view outside. She hadn’t figured that into her plan. If it had been just her, she would have taken her chances with no shield, but she didn’t want to expose the others to the risk.

  “What if I have a look around for someone to target before we go in?” Sayen asked. “Don’t forget my enhanced eyes allow me to see a lot of detail at a distance.”

  “We can’t risk being spotted while you do that,” Jas replied, “and besides, whoever you see is going to change position before we get close enough to grab them. Krat. I don’t know how we’re going to manage it.” She turned the problem over in her mind.

  “Six minutes,” Carl said. “I’m going to start her up in four. We’ve only got a thirty-second window. Jas, we don’t have time to be hanging around chasing Shadows. If we delay, they’ll figure out what’s happening, and they’ll get inside Sayen’s place themselves.”

  “No,” Sayen said. “We can’t let that happen. Jas, how about we give up on catching a Shadow on our way in? We can try to do that once we’re inside. There isn’t a shortage of them in the area according to what my parents told me.”

  “I don’t like it,” said Jas. “They’ll know we’re there, and they’ll be on the defensive. They might guess what we want to do because they know we kidnapped the minister. Your parents haven’t attacked them, but they know we could. If we don’t grab one when we have the opportunity, we’ll lose the advantage of surprise.”

  “If we go in there with the shield down,” Carl said, “they’ll have clear shots at all of us.”

  Jas bit her lip. She couldn’t decide what to do. For once, she wished someone else would take the lead. Her decisions didn’t ever seem to be the right ones lately. The death of the minister they’d kidnapped weighed heavily on her. The woman had been incompetent at her job, it was true, but she hadn’t deserved to die. Erielle had lost the use of her legs by trying to help them, and their friend, Ozment, whose truck they were in, had lost his life.

  “Two minutes,” Carl said.

  “Krat it,” said Jas. “Carl, tell me what you can see as we’re driving in. If you can see a Shadow we might be able to capture, let me know, and I’ll go after it. I guess it’s the best we can do.”

  He started the engine. “Righto.”

  Jas took out her weapon and set it to stu
n as they pulled away from the curb.

  Sayen’s parents lived out of town on a huge estate. As well as a tall electrified fence surrounding the place, an invisible barrier formed a dome over the estate. When Jas and Carl had visited, Sayen had told them the barrier was to trap artificially cooled air, Jas guessed it had now been transformed into a force field to make the grounds impenetrable.

  Their destination was easy to spot as an oasis of green in the surrounding dry, barren landscape. Jas had heard that the whole state had once been green and lush, but that rising global temperatures had changed the climate and dried up the rain.

  Something had changed since her last visit. On the borders of the estate, opposite the front gates, construction of a large building was underway. This was how the Shadows were staking out Sayen’s parents. They were building nearby, no doubt under the guise of a construction company. The shell of the first three floors were up already.

  The truck was barreling down the road, only a minute from their destination. From a distance, the hard-hatted figures working inside the building were tiny and difficult to spot, but they didn’t need to wait long before Shadows left the construction site and appeared on the road.

  “Raising the shield,” Carl said.

  It slid smoothly into place, and the cab turned dark. A light blinked on. Jas was pushed back into her seat as Carl floored the gas. From all around came the sound of sizzling as the Shadows’ lasers scored the shield.

  “Nearly there,” called Carl over the sound of the laser hits. The truck began to slow. If they entered Sayen’s parent’s estate at full speed, they would crash into the trees that lined the long, winding driveway.

  “I see a Shadow you can get, Jas,” exclaimed Carl. “On your side. Open your door and grab her.”

  They were all thrown forward as Carl braked hard. Jas flung open her door and put one foot down on the step, squinting in the glaring sunlight, trying to see the Shadow Carl had identified. The truck was still moving, and all she could see was a little girl, about eleven years old, holding a skipping rope.

  “Get her,” shouted Carl.

  But Jas turned to him for confirmation that this was who he meant. A child? Laser fire hit the inside of the shield near her head, and she was nearly thrown from the truck as Carl pulled away violently. She retreated inside and slammed shut her door.

  In another thirty seconds, the truck stopped. “We made it,” Carl said. “We’re inside.”

  They were safely behind the defenses of Sayen’s home, but they had no Shadow.

  Chapter Two

  The door that Jas had only recently slammed shut was wrenched open, and she was crushed beneath Sayen’s mother as the woman leapt into the cab and climbed right over her. She grabbed her daughter, saying, “My baby. You’re home. You’re okay. I can’t believe it. You’re finally home.”

  “Mama, please,” protested Sayen. “Calm down and get out of here. You’re squashing Jas.”

  “I’m sorry, honey,” she said. “I’m just so happy to see you again.” She awkwardly clambered backward. Jas caught the woman’s elbow as it was on its way into her face. She helped her as she climbed down from the cab onto the gravel of the driveway.

  Jas also climbed down and moved out of the way so that the others had room to get out. Sayen’s father embraced his daughter lovingly. The Lees’ mansion was as Jas remembered it: massive and imposing.

  Looking back in the direction they’d come, she saw figures peering through the estate’s gates, keeping a respectful distance from the electrified metal. Smallest of the figures was the girl Carl had told her to capture.

  He came over. “Why didn’t you take her?”

  “Do you really think she’s a Shadow?”

  “’Course she is. She’s gotta be. Why else would a child be all the way out here in the middle of nowhere on a building site? Why would Shadows allow a human kid to hang out with them?”

  “I don’t know. I guess you’re right. It just freaked me out for a moment. Krat. I missed our chance.”

  The Shadows were gazing at them and not even trying to pretend they were anything other than what they were. Even at a distance, she could see that their faces were expressionless. Up until then, she’d only seen rare glimpses of the natural state of the aliens. Most of the time they tried to mimic the humanity of the person they’d replaced. She supposed that they saw no need for pretenses now. A shiver ran down her spine. Not for the first time, she wondered who these mysterious aliens were, and what form they had before they copied human bodies to inhabit.

  Behind her, Sayen’s parents were urging them all to go inside, and she was happy to oblige. She’d had enough of Shadows for that day. For a lifetime, in fact.

  “Wait, Mama, there’s someone else,” Sayen said. “Another friend. But she can’t get out by herself. She’s hurt. I have to help her.” Sayen returned to the cab, where Erielle still lay, half hidden and unconscious.

  “No, wait, honey,” said her father. “Let Florence and Tyler do it.” He motioned to the maid and butler who were standing in the doorway. The two android servants came down the steps, and at Sayen’s instructions, they gently lifted Erielle out of the truck and carried her into the house.

  With a final look at the watching figures of the Shadows, Jas followed the others inside.

  At the sound of the door closing behind her, she relaxed for what felt like the first time in weeks. Whatever defenses Sayen’s parents had against the Shadows, they seemed to be effective for the moment. There, they were as safe as they could be, even with the mysterious aliens sitting on the doorstep. It was odd, however, that this couple had military-style protection of their home. There hadn’t been a war anywhere in the world in years, and the extent of their security went far beyond that needed to prevent burglaries or other home invasions. She wondered what it was that warranted the need.

  “Oh, Sayen,” exclaimed her mother, hugging her child again. “We thought you were dead. We thought the Shadows had caught you and murdered you.”

  “I know Mama. You told me so when I contacted you. Don’t you remember? Now, where should Florence and Tyler put Erielle?”

  “I think the red guest room would be best. That’s nearest yours. I’ll see what we can do for your friend. She looks very weak and dehydrated.”

  “Thank you, Mama. We all need food and something to drink. We haven’t been able to buy anything for two days.”

  “That sounds awful,” said Sayen’s father. “Don’t you worry. We’ll see to it all. Florence will look after Erielle. Please, everyone, come through here and eat something. You must all be famished. And you two...” He turned to Jas and Carl. “Thank you for bringing my daughter home. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

  “You don’t have anything to thank us for, Mr. Lee,” said Carl. “Sayen saved our lives more than once.”

  “And mine,” said Makey.

  Sayen introduced the kid to her parents, and they went further into the house. Nothing was said for a while as the four ate and drank. No one could eat much after fasting for two days, but the water tasted like nectar to Jas.

  “Where’s Beau?” Sayen asked her parents.

  Jas remembered the strange cat-dog hybrid that was Sayen’s pet.

  “I’m sorry,” Sayen’s mother replied. “We gave him away when we thought you weren’t coming back. I couldn’t bear to see him anymore. He reminded me of you.”

  Sayen sighed. “Okay. I’m going to check on Erielle.” She put down her glass.

  “She’ll be fine,” said Sayen’s father. “You know Florence will give her the best care, just like the other maids used to give you when you were a little girl.”

  “I know, Daddy. I just can’t rest until I see that she’s okay.” She got up and put down her napkin before leaving.

  As Sayen closed the door behind her, Sayen’s mother raised her eyebrows at her husband.

  “If you don’t mind my asking,” said Mr. Lee. “Who is that woman, Erielle?
Sayen didn’t mention her when she called. She seems to have been seriously injured.”

  “She was,” Jas replied. “She helped us kidnap the security minister—”

  “That was you, was it?” said Mrs. Lee. “We saw the reports on the vidnews. She’s been missing for days. Why would you do a thing like that? What’s happened to the woman?”

  “She’s dead, I’m sorry to say. She got shot when we were attacked,” said Jas ruefully. “I guess I should bring you up to speed. A lot’s happened since we left you to go and rescue Sayen.”

  She and Carl narrated the events of their retrieving Sayen from the Shadow facility in Antarctica, their first encounter with Erielle in the underworld neighborhood, and everything that had happened since. It took a while, and long before they’d finished, Sayen returned from checking on Erielle. She and Makey also contributed to their parts of the story. Sayen took over to explain how they’d stolen a Shadow scanner and how their friend, Ozment, had died.

  As Sayen spoke, Jas went to the window, which looked out over the lawn of the estate. The green sward led down to a lake with flamingoes. The fence that marked the rear boundary far away was obscured by trees. She couldn’t see it clearly. She wondered if Shadows were patrolling behind the estate as well as in front. As she watched, a dark shape appeared in the sky, flying closer. A heli. Not one of the small, domestic four-seaters, but a military vehicle. Her hand went to her mouth.

  There was only one explanation for the heli being in the vicinity: the Shadows’ reach had now extended into the Global Government Air Force. She was silently grateful that the aircraft hadn’t turned up a couple of hours ago, or they would never have made it into the house. As always, they seemed to be only one step ahead of the encroaching Shadows.

  “Krat,” breathed Carl, who had joined her at the window while Sayen was finishing off their story.