Savage World

by Jennifer Slusher

  Like Derick would have let him come out here alone. That had been a fun discussion.

  With still no contact or acknowledgement of the signal they'd sent to the Olympia that morning, Luke assumed the worst. The signal was probably too weak to penetrate the ionised atmosphere. Taking this as a personal challenge, Luke decided the next thing to do would be to prepare a locator beacon.

  According to Captain Curran, they would be considered overdue by nightfall. Since they moved locations and couldn't count on the update getting to the fleet, they needed the beacon for the ships to find them.

  Shiny snorted, a dark eyebrow lifting. “You heard Gunny, no one goes no place without a Shark, okay?” How in the world did the Gunny keep his patience with his brother? She rested a hand on the butt of her rifle, where it was clipped to her vest and motioned him forward. “Come on, while it's still light.”

  “Okay, okay, but it's hard to take 'Gunny',” he raised his fingers to emphasize his brother's rank; “Seriously, when he used to sit on my head and fart.”

  Derick had been ten and he'd been five, but Luke had been vindicated when Chris ran Derick down and did the same thing. Nevertheless, her point was taken, and he hastened his pace, aware that she was just looking out for him.

  “That's it!” Shaini closed the distance between them and yanked him around to face her. “You don't get it, do you?” She glared before rolling her eyes. “Of course not, or else you would not be showing such disrespect. I don't care if the two of you peed on each other like my little cousins or picked boogers out of each other's noses! Out here, he's Gunny! No quotation marks, no sarcastic remarks! If anyone of us spoke to him like you do, we'd be finding pieces of our ass between here and those mountains! You talk to him like shit and you don't respect him. It makes every one of us want to shoot you when you open your mouth!”

  She paused and caught her breath, aware she'd crossed a line, but it was too late now. She would say her piece.

  “That man has had the shit for the last six months. People in his face, spitting on him, calling him all sorts of names, threatening him, all because he's wearing a uniform. All because he's doing his duty and he never once lost his shit and gave those fuckers what for.” She stepped closer to Luke.

  “He took the brunt of it, you know. He wouldn't let the survivors take their anger out on us. He stood between us and them. Before word came about you, he did this despite mourning his entire family. You will not disrespect him in my company, brother or not, you hear?” she finished, nostrils flaring in anger and her eyes black.

  Woah. Luke actually took a step back. Shiny looked that damn scary. As her words sank in, he regrouped, meeting her glare eye for eye. This wasn't the first time he'd got yelled at by a soldier, not when you grew up in the household of Daniel Rickman. Hell, after the death of his favourite son, yelling was the only way to get through to Derick.

  After a long pause, Luke bowed his head slightly. “I'm sorry, Corporal. Have you been a soldier long?”

  “Six years,” Shiny retorted, hands going to her slender hips. “What of it?”

  “I've been in the military all my life,” Luke replied, wondering if she'd understand. “When your father and brothers are soldiers, you don't get a choice. You go where they go, you live with all the other soldiers on base. Its life, until they get shipped.”

  He didn't know why he was explaining himself, but her anger made him feel it was necessary. There was no denying the respect and awe in her voice as she fought for his brother. He respected that.

  “No one other than soldiers' families understand the weight of that hangs over us, the dread of seeing the chaplain or another officer walking up the driveway with bad fucking news. I've been through that. I watched it change my brother from the hippie surfer boy to…Gunny,” he said, thrusting an arm in the direction of the city. “He and our dad nearly tore each other apart from grief.”

  Stepping closer, Luke tried not to appear confrontational, but he needed her to know that in no way did he disrespect his brother.

  “Trust me, I know the sacrifices he's made, I know that he could die any day. Jesus, if anyone knows that, it's me. What you call disrespect keeps me from begging him to leave the Corps… I mean the Sharks, because I don't want to lose him too.” His voice threatened to bottom out and Luke cleared his throat. “Trust me. I respect him, just like I respect you and all the Sharks.”

  Even Henry had gone quiet, perched back on his haunches, one paw on her boot. “You have a funny way of showing it,” Shiny retorted finally. “You could show it occasionally, too, you know? Right now, it's nothing but disrespect.”

  “Do you have brothers?” Luke bit back, using restraint because her critique was coming from a place of affection for his brother.

  “I'm the oldest… “Shiny's hesitation was almost unnoticeable. “Of five girls. Why?”

  Five girls. Well that explained that.

  “Well the disrespect you see, is how brothers always behave towards each other. When I was little, Chris and Derick, your gunny, use to put bugs in my bed. The number of times I had to eat something that was meant to be fudge but ended up being motor oil… I've lost count. We give each other shit, that's how it is.”

  “Motor oil?” Shiny stared at him in disgust. “I suppose that's as bad as convincing your little sister that fish slime is good for her hair…”

  “Or being forced to go on a play date with Betty 'the Spitter' Scolari because she has a hot older sister your brother wants to date.”

  It was so not worth the five bucks Derick had paid him.

  “NAF!!” Shiny glanced down at Henry before looking up at Luke, ignoring the creature pawing at her pants leg. “I had to go on a double date with my little sister once. Mother would only let her go if I went. The boy brought his older brother, who was still two years younger than me.”

  “NAF!NAF!NAF!!!”

  Scooping him up, Shiny rubbed behind an ear. “What's all the noise for?”

  Henry paused long enough to sniff her hand before wiggling to prop his forepaws on her shoulder. “NAAAAF!!”

  “Oy…” Shiny pulled him back into her arms. “Luke, look!” she called out, holding Henry up for him to see. Along the creature's back, the furry spines had turned blood red, as if the little guy came complete with its own version of Condition Red. Henry wiggled and barked again, his cries getting more urgent. “Ouch!! Alright, calm down…”

  “Maybe he smells something off!” Luke replied as he headed around the ship towards the rear cargo hatch of the Firefly. He was only a few steps from the corner when something emerged from behind the ship.

  UGG-LEE was Luke's first take on the nearly seven-foot-high creature that stopped him in his tracks.

  Holyfuckingshit…was the second. Standing upright on powerful hind legs, it had a muscular serpentine neck that didn't seem to have a head. No eyes, no snout, even nostrils. Just a star shaped mouth that opened to reveal rows upon rows of glistening, sharp teeth.

  “Uh… Shiny…” Luke hissed as he retreated. The thing reared up. “You know what I said about not wanting to be a soldier? I TAKE IT BACK!” He yelled, jumping back just in time to avoid the swipe of a long, three clawed hand.

  Jesus, Mary and Joseph's Dead Uncles!! Tossing Henry to the ground, Shiny snatched her rifle into position. “DOWN!!!” she bellowed just before the report of her blast rifle sizzled through the air. The bolt impacted the creature's head, lifting it off its feet and sending it backwards to the ground in a spray of fluids and wet meat.

  On his belly to where he'd dropped after she'd shouted, he was scrambling away from the thing when it was ripped to shreds. Not far enough, he realized, recognizing the fluid sprayed over him and the wet thuds he could hear smack down around him.

  “Luke!” Shiny rushed to his side, yanking him hard by his field harness. “Are you all right?!” she demanded, shaking him.

  “Yeah… no… the fuck was that thing?” he grimaced, flinging gunk off his hand before
wiping it on the grass. Swiping at his cheek, Luke made a face when he realized the liquid was blood.

  “Fucking mulk!” Shiny retorted, hauling him to his feet and shoving him towards the shuttle. Behind her, Henry naffed frantically and loudly. “Get the transponder and come on!” she ordered as Henry ran off a few feet and turned to bark at them again. His back spines were still an electric red. “Christ on a pogo stick, Henry knew they were there!” She jabbed the button on her link. “Gunny, we made contact! Mulks!”

  “What?” The Gunny's voice was broken up over static.

  “Mulks!” Shiny yelled into the link just as Henry tugged at her pants leg with his teeth. “Henry, all right, we're coming, I… shit….” Her eyes went wide at the sight of two more mulks breaking out of the tree line. “Gunny, one Mulk dead and two… shit… three… more!”

  It's odd how a little bit of death and possible rending could bring two people together, Luke thought as he raced up the ramp. His foot slid on something gory, but he didn't stop to inspect it, intent on getting what he came for and getting the hell outta Dodge. The broken transponder he hadn't managed to jury rig into the ship's communications was lying comfortably against the floor. Snatching it up, Luke hurried back, skirting the dead mulk before leaping over its carcass.

  Skidding to a halt beside his escort, Luke followed her glare. “Fuck me…” he muttered, spying the group at the tree line. Two more emerged from the woods and one of them let out a sharp, trumpeting bellow.

  When it was answered, Luke stared at Shiny as a second call echoed in answer.

  “Oh shit…”

  “RUN!!” Shiny ordered, shoving his shoulder. She plucked a hand grenade off her belt and thumbed the timer for it.

  “Shiny!! Come on!” Luke demanded. Like hell he was going to leave without her. Derick would kill him.

  “Ten more seconds,” Shiny told him, never taking her eyes off the approaching monsters. Finally, she yanked the pin free and hurled it with an arm worthy of a World champion bowler. Not waiting to see if she landed it, she gave Luke a shove and scooped up Henry. “Run!!”

  As she and Luke ran flat out for the ruins, a still bright red Henry clung to Shiny's back. The air sucked back a second before a muffled WHOOMP exploded in their ears. Behind them, more of those brassy, trumpeting calls sounded. Tapping her link as they ran, Shiny hailed the camp. “Gunny, we're coming in hot! Mulks on our tail! Whole fucking herd!!”

  As the link opened to all channels, Shiny heard the Gunny call for Richards to cover them. She glanced at Luke, but her gaze went past him. “Shit! Gunny, on our left!!”

  Just as she said that, the head of one of the mulks closing flank on them exploded in a haze of bluish mush. Richards! Shiny thanked whatever God had given that woman her sniper's eye as another braying call sounded. Risking a glance over a shoulder, she cursed. Too damn close!

  “Luke, keep going!!” Skidding to a halt, she turned to face the oncoming threat, ignoring Henry's frantic barking. Seven more mulks, the closest about twenty feet away, were advancing quickly. Suddenly, the leader's chest exploded out of its back. Yes!!

  Planting her feet, Shiny opened fire just as a plasma bolt zipped overhead to blow another chunk out of a mulk. The thing roared in pain, its odd tubular head thrashing as it went down.

  “SHINY! Fall back!!” Other shots echoed the first, giving her the cover, she desperately needed to get back to the city.

  Luke paused when he saw Tom firing over the stone fence and risked looking over his shoulder at Shiny. For the first time, he wished he had a gun in his hand, so he could help, even though the idea of firing a weapon was something he had trouble with. Another reason why soldiering wasn't for him. Something nipped at his boots and he looked down to see Henry. Suddenly, over the creature's insistent barks and yaps and the sound of weapons fire, he heard a loud, clear voice.

  “LUKE, GET YOUR ARSE MOVING BEFORE I SHOOT YOU!”

  Dan Rickman had NOTHING on Tom Merrick when the Major was properly pissed. Luke's feet were moving before his brain could even engage. Henry 'naffed' in encouragement, ducking out of the way of the two Sharks coming towards him.

  “Keep going!” Ozzy yelled at Luke as he and Dupree ran past to assist Shiny.

  “They're turning back!” Shiny's voice was breathless over the links as she turned on a heel and ran for Luke and her fellow Sharks.

  Ozzy hurried past Shiny, to cover her back. Tapping his link, he kept moving, backing up towards the city and keeping an eye on the retreating beasts. “Gunny, that's confirmed! They're running off.”

  “Fall back!” Tom ordered over the link and instructed Richards and the others to keep an eye out as he met Shiny, Ozzy and Luke at the entrance.

  “Major! Did you see…?” Shiny began, peeling Henry from where he'd dug into her pack.

  “I saw,” Tom frowned, still watching the retreating animals. Derick's description hadn't done them justice and that was saying something, considering the big bloke was quite articulate. They were something out of a bloody nightmare. Evil looking, they could run like hell and from what he'd seen just now, they worked as a pack on the hunt. Shiny had no idea how lucky she was, she could have easily been lost to those bastards.

  Tom didn't move for a long while.

  As he watched them retreat, he did so with the suspicions something was wrong. There was no doubt in his mind, the bloody things would have kept coming until every one of the pack was dead. No, they'd stopped because their pack leader had uttered a weird, trumpet call during the gunfire, like a signal to break off the attack. Not one of them had come any closer than twenty feet of the city.

  Why? Tom turned around to study the ancient construct of looming walls and pyramids in a new light. Was it this place? Come to think of it, during the work clearing out the ruins, they'd seen nothing larger than bugs and lizards. No scat, no skins, no bones. By rights, it should have been overrun by wildlife.

  Not liking where this was heading, Tom broke into a jog to catch up with Shiny. “You all right, Corporal?”

  “All body parts accounted for, Major,” Shiny answered without looking at him. “Did you hear that last noise they made? Like a braying noise?” she asked, glancing up at him. “It was different than the others.” Not that she was an expert but something about that sound had sent a chill down her spine.

  “NAF!” Henry propped his paws on her shoulder, watching behind them.

  “You did good, Private Henry,” Shiny grinned, running a soft hand over his back spines. “They aren't red anymore.”

  Tom glanced down at the little beast and noted it had indeed returned to its normal russet colour. “Situation normal, eh, fuzz ball?” Tom gave the naf an appreciative smile before replying to Shiny's question. “Probably some kind of rudimentary communication system. They're pack hunters, like wolves howling at each other. When you get a chance, get some of the vid together from your approach.”

  “Yes, Major.” Pack hunters? Shiny shivered, thinking of the hyena in her native Botswana. Letting out a breath, she scratched behind Henry's ears. “Oh, Major? I think Henry knew the mulk was at the shuttle. He kept barking at us and pawing at me. He knew.”

  “I guess Orphan Annie was right,” Tom didn't look at Henry as he spoke. “They are this planet's version of dogs. Might pay to keep more of them around. We can start a naf unit,” he joked until he realised it was not a bad idea. Any sort of warning system for mulks was going to save lives. “Did Luke get the transponder?”

  “Yes, he did,” Shiny replied, still coddling Henry as they walked.

  “Good. Nice work, Corporal. Now go grab the vid,” Tom ordered, catching sight of Derick clapping Luke on the shoulder. Jesus, if they'd lost the younger Rickman, Derick would have gone ape shit.

  “Yes, sir,” she nodded and hurried off, Henry in her arms.

  * * *

  Twenty minutes later, at the base camp set up inside the main pyramid, Tom was standing with Derick, Jules and Luke, watching video footag
e of the encounter and not liking it at all.

  “There.” Shiny replayed the section where the mulks had turned back. The footage was shaky, but it was from her body cam. She tapped a small box at the left hand of the screen and its image appeared. “This is Corporal Richard's footage.”

  Watching it again from the new angle, Tom's jaw ticked. Both he and Shiny were right. That last call was different from the others before.

  “Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?” Jules asked quietly, eyes fixed on the screen.

  “Jesus.” Not for the first time since Luke returned, Derick squeezed his little brother's shoulder. The gesture served as a reminder Luke was still alive.

  “They turned back when they got to the columns,” Tom confirmed.

  The question why opened a whole new can of worms. Why had the buggers run off? What could scare something that visceral and atavistic into turning tail?

  “Gunny, I want both squads up. Put Alpha on patrol, buddy system. Check in every fifteen minutes. I'll take Dr. Nordin personally,” he said, glancing at Jules, whose expression mirrored his thoughts.

  He wondered if the alarms going off in her head were as loud as his?

  XXI

  Instinct

  Upon the eerie revelation the mulks had turning back from the city, Tom decided a scouting mission was in order.

  Two hours and a hike through dense woods later, Tom dropped his kit in an out of the way corner inside the main pyramid chamber and squatted down to dig out his water bottle. Dropping back onto the paved tiles, he took a long drink and then another before digging out a protein bar. Chewing steadily (really the only way to eat the damn things), he surveyed the large room and the industrious changes made while he'd been out scouting.

  Worktables and work lights had been set up, the latter connected to cables running out to solar gennies parked outside. Squints milled around, some of them coming, some of them going and all of them giving him a wide berth.

  Tom really hoped it was because of his reputation and not his smell.

  A low chuckle caught his attention and Tom's gaze easily found the source of it. Jules was sitting with Luke, bent over a drone produced map of the compound. She didn't seem to notice him, so Tom took the moment to observe one Juliana Curran.