Sullivan Saga 2: Sullivan's Wrath

by Michael K. Rose

  Perhaps Quinn would have killed them if Sullivan hadn’t intervened. Perhaps he would have just left them bound and unarmed. That would have been as good as killing them. Either way, Quinn would have done what he thought was best for his men. But for Sullivan, killing was getting harder and harder to justify, no matter the reason.

  37

  RICK SULLIVAN STOPPED. Just beyond a rise, he could hear men moving. “Piccadilly Circus,” he called, using the code Quinn had taught him.

  “Sullivan?” he heard Quinn say.

  “Yes, it’s me.” He walked forward, and the group came into view. “The Germans followed our orders exactly. They’d still been in their separate groups when I lost sight of them.”

  “Good,” said Quinn.

  “Anything to report?”

  “No, it’s been quiet. Sundown is in about two hours, but we’re thinking of stopping here for the night. We can set a lookout on that hillock. The rest of the terrain is fairly flat, so we’d hopefully see anything coming long before it reached us.”

  Sullivan looked around. “Let me get up on that hill and have a look myself.”

  Allen stood up. “I’ll come with you, Rick.”

  Sullivan nodded. He climbed the hill and stopped at the top. He raised the sight of the gun to his eye and began scanning the surroundings. “I’ll bet this was a really beautiful area before the war.”

  “Quinn said it was mostly farmland with scattered groves of trees.”

  Sullivan smiled. “That reminds me of the farmland north of Agrona, back on Edaline. Fields and fields of crops. But the green belt that ran through the city extended out into the farms. It wound its way across the countryside. It was a windbreak more than anything, but from the air it looked like an emerald ribbon cutting across the yellows and browns of the fields of grain.”

  “I think Edaline will be a beautiful planet again. Once it’s recovered from the war.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “Rick?” Allen said quietly.

  “Yeah?”

  “Listen, I want to say I’m sorry. For ambushing you like that back on Edaline. For making you do all this.”

  Sullivan lowered his gun and sat down on the ground. Allen sat next to him. “I accept your apology, Frank,” he said, “but it’s a hard thing to forgive. You were—you are—my best friend. I don’t understand how you could do something like that.”

  Allen picked up a small stick and snapped it in half. “Neither do I. But have you noticed how Liz hasn’t been around ever since we arrived here?”

  “I have.”

  “I hate to admit it, Rick, but I think she… I think the entity had me brainwashed.”

  “I could have told you that.”

  Allen smiled. “Yeah. Well, now that she hasn’t visited me for a few days I feel my head clearing. I feel like my old self again. I’m beginning to see things more objectively.”

  “And what do you see?”

  “That I betrayed you. That I let my emotions, my sorrow over losing Liz, cloud my judgment. If I had handled her death better, maybe none of this would have happened. Maybe they wouldn’t have been able to get to me.”

  Sullivan put his hand on Allen’s shoulder. “Frank, we only understand a fraction of what the hyperspace entities can do. If they wanted us here, they would have found a way to do it. Don’t blame yourself. But we are here now, and we have to finish this mission. But there’s more going on. I don’t think the real reason we’re here is the reason we’ve been told.”

  “Then why are we here?”

  “Oh, I think we’re here to fire our energy weapons into the wormhole and force the aliens to close it. But there has to be something else. And the fact that Liz hasn’t been around for a few days makes me think she’s up to something. If this was so important, why isn’t she here helping us, telling us when the creatures are nearby?”

  “She did say they were doing other things to try and defeat the aliens who’ve sent these creatures here. Maybe she’s busy with that.”

  Sullivan laughed. ”I’m sure she’s busy with something. I still think all this has been carefully planned and timed. Making us travel across country to get to the wormhole, for example. And that whole bit about getting the credits from Eugene Brain then going to Alvo for the weapons… I think that was just another way to stall what we were doing. They want to get the timing right, make our actions line up with something else.”

  Allen sighed. “Maybe you’re right. I’m beginning to understand what you’ve been saying all along. Still, it’s been strange to not have her around. Do you know that she was visiting me almost every day when we were back on Silvanus?”

  “I figured as much.”

  “And I’m not proud of it, but now I really can see how she was manipulating me. I can see how she was using my feelings for Liz to get me to do what she wanted.”

  “I’m glad to hear it, Frank. But what are you going to do about it?”

  “Do?”

  “Yes. When she comes back, what are you going to do?”

  “What should I do?”

  “Do you trust her, Frank? Are you convinced the entities’ intentions are what they’ve stated them to be?”

  Allen picked up another stick and snapped it. “I… I don’t know.”

  “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes. Of course.”

  Sullivan smiled. “Then you have your answer.”

  Frank shook his head. “It’s simple enough for you. But what if she gets in my head again? What if she starts telling me to do things that I don’t want to do, but I can’t say no? What if she tells me to betray you again?”

  “You’re strong, Frank. Stronger than anyone else I know. You must assert your will. You must tell her no. And you will.”

  Allen tossed the broken bits of stick to the ground. “I’ll need you to help me. If she makes me do something I don’t want to do, I’ll need you to physically restrain me if you have to.”

  “Christ, I tried that before, Frank.”

  Allen laughed. “You had a gun on me, Rick. But you didn’t take the shot when you should have.”

  “I didn’t want to kill you, I just wanted you to take me back to Edaline.”

  “But you’ll have to, if it happens again.”

  “Have to what? Kill you?”

  Allen nodded. “If my actions are going to cause harm to you or anyone else, do it. I know that I don’t stand a chance against you in a fair fight, Rick. Promise me you won’t hold back. If I—if I’m not myself—do what you have to do to prevent me from doing whatever it is I shouldn’t be doing.”

  “And what if what you’re doing will only hurt yourself? What if you’re trying to cross over, like Liz has promised you can? I can’t stop that by killing you.”

  Allen smiled. “You’ll find a way. If there’s anything I know about Richard Sullivan, it’s that he always finds a way.”

  Sullivan sighed. “What the hell are we talking about? None of this will be necessary.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because if Liz or anyone else tells you to do something that you know is wrong, you’ll be able to resist. I know you will.”

  Allen turned and looked Sullivan in the eyes. “I appreciate the pep talk, Rick, but you don’t understand. You haven’t been under their control the way I have. And I don’t think you could be. I don’t think they can get to just anybody, not strong people like you. But I’m not strong. I know it, and I accept it. If and when she comes back, I need you by my side. If I’ve decided to cross over, I need you to find a way to stop me.”

  Sullivan nodded. “I understand, Frank. And don’t worry, I’ll be there.” He stood and picked up his rifle again. After scanning the terrain for a few minutes more, he held out his hand and helped Allen up. He pulled his friend into an embrace. “This will be over in a few days,” he said. “Then we can go back to our universe. All this will be over, and Kate and I will settle on Faris. And you’ll be with us, won’t
you, Frank?”

  Allen nodded.

  “Good. Just a few more days and you’ll be able to let all of this go—I’ll be able to let it go. Then we can get on with our lives.” Sullivan looked into Allen’s eyes. He wasn’t entirely convinced that what he had told his friend was true, but he could tell that Allen was comforted by the thought.

  38

  CAPTAIN QUINN SILENTLY directed three of his men left, three more to the right. It had taken him a moment to process what he had seen only moments before, but his instincts as a soldier had quickly taken over.

  Sullivan crept up beside Quinn. “There’s got to be at least thirty of them,” he whispered.

  Quinn nodded. The alien creatures were down in an abandoned trench, sleeping in a tight ball, like rodents. Quinn unclipped a grenade from his belt. He signaled to the men he had sent in each direction to follow his lead. Quinn pulled the grenade’s pin and lobbed it into the trench. Two more grenades followed in quick succession.

  The explosions vibrated through the ground below them, and a second after they had gone off, three of the creatures leapt up from the trench directly in front of Quinn, Allen and Sullivan. Some of them were missing limbs, but the damage from the grenades didn’t appear to have slowed them down.

  Quinn pulled his Webley and fired point-blank into the face of the creature that was rushing him. Sullivan and Allen brought out their energy pistols and killed two more that had been right behind the first.

  A scream brought Quinn’s attention to the men on his left. Two of them were on the ground, and a third was locked in battle with one of the aliens, keeping it at bay with his bayonet. Allen raised his energy pistol and shot the creature in the back. It fell forward onto Quinn’s man and spasmed wildly before dying.

  The sound of movement brought their attention back to the trench directly in front of them. An alien, its legs missing, was patiently crawling its way up the side of the trench. Quinn stepped forward and kicked it in the face, sending it back into the mud. He carefully aimed his Webley and shot it in the mouth as it snarled up at him.

  “What a bloody mess,” said Quinn, peering down into the trench.

  “Oh, shit!” said Sullivan.

  Quinn looked up and saw dozens of the aliens bounding across the open terrain on the far side of the trench.

  Quinn’s men began firing their Enfields, but the creatures were closing too quickly. “Switch to the energy weapons!” he yelled over the gunfire.

  He holstered his revolver and brought out his own energy weapon. He glanced as Sullivan. “We may not be able to make these last until we get to the wormhole!”

  “Let Frank and me worry about that. If we don’t survive this, it won’t matter.”

  Flashes of light lit up the near side of the trench as they began firing their energy weapons. The creatures had been moving fast but slowed slightly as they saw the flashes and witnessed their brothers dying instantly upon being hit. The reluctance cost them dearly.

  Half a dozen aliens made it to the trench and leapt cleanly over it to attack the men. One landed next to Sullivan, and he kicked it away as it swung its claws at his face. It recovered quickly and pounced on top of Sullivan, who managed to use its momentum to roll it off of him. But Sullivan was flat on his back with the creature above his head, out of sight. He scrambled to move into a defensive position but wasn’t fast enough. The creature bit into his shoulder once then reared up to bite into his throat. Sullivan saw a flash of light then a fine mist covered his face. The alien flopped on top of him, dead. Sullivan frowned and spit out the gore that was dripping into his mouth. He rolled the creature off of him and saw the blackened hole in the back of the alien’s skull. Whatever the creature had for brains and blood had sprayed through its open mouth.

  Sullivan looked up to see Allen standing with his pistol at his side. “You all right?” he asked, helping Sullivan to his feet.

  Sullivan shrugged off his coat and tore open the collar of his shirt. A neat row of bleeding puncture marks formed two semi-circles on his shoulder.

  “He hit the bone,” said Allen, “so he let go to try for a softer spot.” Allen pulled the medical kit out of his bag and began cleaning the wound.

  “I hope these things aren’t venomous,” Sullivan said, wincing.

  “You feel anything? Dizzy? Nauseated?”

  “No, I’m fine.”

  Allen finished dressing the bite. “Stay alert for anything out of the ordinary.”

  “I will.”

  Quinn stepped over to them. “Three more of my men dead.”

  Sullivan put his hand on Quinn’s arm. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. In fact, we’d all probably be dead if you hadn’t shown up with your energy weapons.”

  “And we’re close now,” said Sullivan. “I think the wormhole must be just over that rise. This lot,” he said, gesturing at the dead aliens, “probably just came through. That’s why they were in such a large group.”

  Allen nodded. “We’ve never seen that many together before. We’re close, Captain. There will still be plenty of these things running around, but if we’re successful, at least there won’t be any more arriving.”

  “Thank God for that,” said Quinn. “The bloody things were fast!”

  “This close to the wormhole, they’re still fresh,” Allen said. “They haven’t been roaming the countryside for days like the others we’ve encountered.”

  Quinn took out a cigarette. “I’m going to check on the rest of my men.” He looked at Sullivan’s shoulder. “Do you need a rest?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Good. We’ll start moving again in fifteen minutes.”

  THE WORMHOLE DIDN’T look the way Sullivan had expected. He’d imagined something spectacular, like a glowing vortex or swirling light. Instead, it was just a dark disc. An occasional change in light revealed that there was something inside—or on the other side—but otherwise it was altogether unremarkable.

  They had encountered a few more individual alien creatures, but it appeared the next wave had not yet arrived.

  They set up to the side of the wormhole so as not to be in the direct path of anything that came through, but as they watched, nothing emerged from it.

  “I thought Liz said this place would be guarded so we couldn’t bring the ship here directly.”

  “She did,” said Sullivan. “Let me try something.” He picked up a large rock and lobbed it toward the wormhole. A solid beam of red light shot from the abyss and hit the rock. It exploded into a fine powder.

  “If we get in front of that opening, I’m guessing the same will happen to us,” said Quinn.

  “That response was far too quick. I’d be willing to bet that it’s an automated system,” said Sullivan. “The question is, can it handle more than one target at a time?”

  Sullivan picked up two more rocks and handed them to Quinn and Allen. He found another and palmed it. “Ready?” he said. “On three. One… two… three.”

  The rocks sailed into the air. The beam hit the rock that had flown nearest the wormhole. Half a second later, it hit the second, and a half second after that the third.

  “There’s a reasonable delay,” said Allen.

  Sullivan nodded. “Yes. And it goes after the nearest target first.” He took out his unused energy pistol. “Quinn, you and your men gather as many rocks as you can find. Allen and I will move across the wormhole and fire our weapons while you keep up a barrage in front of us. Hopefully the system isn’t smart enough to identify between high-and low-priority targets.”

  “We can try a few more experiments,” said Quinn.

  Sullivan held out his hand. “No, Captain. We need to do this now. Another wave of creatures could come through there at any time.”

  Quinn shook Sullivan’s hand, then Allen’s. “Good luck, gentlemen.”

  They waited for a few minutes while Quinn’s men gathered several piles of rocks, sticks and anything else they could throw in front of
the wormhole.

  “Ready?” Sullivan asked Allen.

  “Yes.”

  “We keep moving, right across the wormhole’s line of sight. If it doesn’t close after the first pass, we make another.”

  “Got it.”

  Sullivan turned to Quinn. “Now!”

  He and Allen ran out into the clearing in front of the wormhole as the rocks began to fly. As they ran, they turned to the side and began firing their weapons into the mouth of the wormhole. The beam of light targeted the rocks that were zipping across right in front of the entrance. Sullivan counted five direct hits into the wormhole before they were once again clear of the opening.

  “Did you see any change?” Allen asked.

  Sullivan shook his head. “Another pass.”

  He signaled to Quinn to resume the barrage as he and Allen ran back across the opening, toward Quinn’s men.

  Sullivan paused to ensure that his next shot went directly down the middle of the wormhole. Just then, there was a lull in the rocks, and Sullivan saw the red beam center itself on his chest. He jumped to the side as it fired and landed hard on his shoulder. He looked up and saw that Allen was already clear of the wormhole and waving him over. Sullivan scrambled as Quinn’s men continued throwing stones, just making it clear as their immediate supply of rocks was exhausted.

  Sullivan dropped to one knee to catch his breath.

  “How many hits that time?” asked Quinn.

  “I know we got at least three more shots in. Maybe four.”

  Sullivan turned back to the wormhole. It appeared exactly as it had before. “Do you see anything different, Frank?”

  “No. No change,” said Allen.

  Sullivan lowered his head. “How many shots do you have left, Frank?”

  “Two.”

  “All right. One more pass. If that doesn’t do it, we’ll have to round up the energy rifles from the men.”