Ouroboros- The Complete Series

by Odette C. Bell

  They reached the bottom of the stairwell just as the roof above shook, indicating the Barbarian ships had landed. Dust and stone hailed down upon them as they ran forward in the dark.

  Well, not entirely in the dark; her skin still glowed blue.

  Carson had full armour on too. Travis had given it to him before he’d left, and it now covered Carson’s whole body, including his head.

  As they ran, his armoured hand was locked around hers.

  Its grip was strong, and with a command from his armour, could shatter steel into dust.

  But her grip was strong too, and with a command to the entity, could pull a ship from the sky.

  Maybe they really were suited for each other after all.

  Before she could consider that fact, they reached a wide room.

  She pulled back. ‘Now,’ she said.

  He ran several steps before turning to face her. The glow of her skin played across the smooth lines of his armour.

  He didn’t say anything.

  ‘Now,’ she said one last time as she closed her eyes and locked her right hand over her left wrist.

  She could do this.

  God, she could do it.

  So she did.

  She pushed right in. Right into the corners of her mind, and right down into the unbelievable depth that was the entity.

  It felt exactly like jumping into a well, sinking into murky waters, and being dragged to the centre of the Earth itself.

  She did not shudder, even though her body wanted to break free.

  She just pushed further down.

  Then the entity surged up.

  She could feel its anger and grief and sorrow. They danced across her skin like flames. Burning her deeper and deeper, yet at the same time chilling her bones.

  She had to fight, fight like she never would again.

  As she opened herself up and commanded a time gate to form, the entity did the same. Yet while she concentrated on the exact moment she wanted to return to, she could feel it trying to confuse her.

  She gripped her hands, and could feel Carson close by. All of a sudden she lurched out and grabbed hold of him.

  He didn’t pull away.

  She forced her mind back to the fight, back to the entity.

  She was vaguely aware dust now swirled around her in a vortex, small stones striking against her cheeks and head.

  She ignored them.

  She concentrated. With all her might, she tried to open the gate.

  . . . .

  It was working.

  She could feel it. Time opening up all around her like a book.

  It gushed into her.

  As it did, she fixed her mind on the one point she had to return to.

  She had to return to the exact moment her and Carson left. Only then would she be assured of securing a vessel so they could make it back to the United Galactic Coalition and warn them.

  Either the Farsight would be still there waiting for them, or they’d have to secure a Barbarian vessel, after they fought their way through the Barbarians, that was.

  She had to get there first though.

  She was aware she started to lift off the ground, gravity no longer locking her to the dusty floor below.

  Carson tightened his grip on her hand, and she did the same until they were both holding on as fast and hard as two people could.

  Maybe he whispered to her that she could do it. Maybe he remained completely silent.

  It didn’t matter.

  He was here.

  He was by her side.

  She was not alone.

  With that fact singing in her soul, she pushed harder into the battle.

  As she concentrated on the right time period, the entity tried to pull her back into the past, back into some other point in Vex’s history.

  But she couldn’t let it.

  With everything she had, she concentrated on her own time. On the point just after they had left through the time gate.

  The entity pushed into her.

  It tried to force itself into every gap in her mind. It wrapped itself around every thought and belief, trying to steal away her mind as it did.

  She wouldn’t let it though; she fought.

  Despite how fraught it was, it was a silent battle.

  She did not scream nor whimper. She only pushed on.

  Until finally, finally she felt it.

  Time opened.

  It furled before her like curtains parting to an endless view.

  She saw flashes of Vex’s history intermingled with her own.

  She ignored them.

  She knew where she had to be.

  And it was time to go home.

  With one final surge, she did it.

  She overcame the entity.

  She opened the right time gate.

  Light burst around them, and the world shifted in silence, rewriting itself anew as the clock was wound back.

  Chapter 31

  Cadet Nida Harper

  Finally she made it. She forced herself through.

  They arrived back in their own time.

  Both Nida and Carson struck the floor, crumpling like dolls abandoned by their owners.

  As she lay there, unconsciousness threatened to consume her. Yet it didn’t.

  She pushed it back with every last scrap of resolve she could muster.

  She forced her eyes to continue blinking, her chest to keep sucking in breath after breath.

  And she sought out his hand. She forced her fingers to move, to collect over his.

  He was still, but he was not dead. Even though he still wore his armour, she knew his heart still beat within that impenetrable chest plate.

  It was the kind of boundless knowledge the entity gave her flashes of every now and then. Facts beyond her limited time and space.

  . . . .

  It took her a long time to rise up, to sit, and to shift forward until she had his helmet cradled in her lap.

  He was silent, still, unconscious.

  She rested her palm flat on his helmet and closed her eyes.

  Dust filtered down from above and dashed against her face and hair.

  Slowly she opened her eyes and stared at it.

  She still glowed, lighting up the whole room.

  But gradually that glow withdrew as the entity pulled in on itself.

  With ever-widening eyes, she watched the ceiling high above draw into darker shadow until she could hardly see it any more.

  ‘Carson, wake up,’ she croaked. ‘I can’t do this without you.’

  Perhaps she could. Perhaps she was mistaken, and she could complete this mission without him at her side.

  But she didn’t want to.

  And that was all that counted.

  Slowly he woke.

  She was right there as he did, still cradling his head in her hands.

  Ready for what would come next.

  The end of Book Three. Book Four will be available shortly.

  END BOOK FOUR OF OUROBOROS

  Chapter 1

  Cadet Nida Harper

  She didn’t have the luxury of letting him wake slowly.

  She could hear them now.

  The Barbarians.

  She ducked her head low until her lips pressed close to the side of his helmet. ‘Carson, wake up. Wake up,’ she continued.

  He was rousing, but it was slow.

  Too slow.

  With every passing second, more ominous noises filtered into their small room.

  The ground shook, the ceiling rained dust down upon them, and somewhere beyond the narrow, dark halls that surrounded her, she could hear the whirr of engines.

  They weren’t prepared for this. When they’d left their vessel, they hadn’t taken their equipment with them. Sure, Carson had his armor and guns, but they didn’t have any of the heavier weapons.

  Though she’d been offered armor on multiple occasions, she’d refused.

  She didn’t like the idea of an inorganic
carapace covering her body. It wasn’t just claustrophobia talking; she didn’t know how it would interfere with the entity, or how the entity could interfere with it. She couldn’t run the risk of putting armor on, only for the entity to overcome the amour’s computer and control it and her in the process.

  So she was relatively undefended.

  Relatively being the operative word there.

  . . . .

  Though she’d just opened a time gate and was pallid with fatigue, she could still fight.

  She could call on the power of the entity.

  But she couldn’t do it alone.

  ‘Come on, Carson, come on,’ she begged.

  He groaned.

  Every time they went through the time gates, it affected them, but she didn’t have the time for Carson to rouse naturally.

  She grabbed him by his armored shoulders, her fingers slipping off the perfectly smooth surface. ‘Carson, please,’ she hissed.

  ‘ . . . Nida?’ he finally mumbled her name.

  ‘Yes, Carson, come on. The Barbarians are coming.’

  He didn’t move.

  Then he bolted to his feet, or at least he tried to.

  After a stumble, he managed to stand though.

  She saw him shift his neck to the side quickly, and realized he was likely commanding his armor to fill his bloodstream with stimulants—with anything it had that would see him wake up and be ready to fight.

  She just waited by his side.

  With every passing second, the ceiling shook more and more.

  It wasn’t just dust falling down to brush against her cheeks now. It was chunks of stone. She ducked to the side, bringing her arms protectively over her head.

  She heard a stone hit her device, bouncing off with a clunk as it tumbled to the ground.

  Carson stood there for a few moments, clearly blinking himself awake.

  She moved close, in case he would need her for support, but soon enough he made two tight fists, shook his head, and pointed forward.

  Relief flooded through her to see him back on his feet, but it was only a measure of relief.

  The Barbarians were still here.

  Together they made it to the door. Though her skin was rapidly dimming, as the blue light of the entity returned to itself, Carson walked ahead unhindered by the dark.

  His armor would not be affected, no matter how deep the shadows became.

  As for her, she simply followed in his wake, her eyes wide as they adjusted to the growing gloom.

  With every soft step she made, she could hear the ceiling shake more and more violently.

  It felt as if the Barbarians were trying to blast their way in, and hey, they probably were.

  For all the viciousness of the Vex, and the sheer willfulness of the entity, the Barbarians were on another level altogether.

  She could not afford to fall into their hands. Not only would they rip the modified TI device from her wrist and poke at the entity until it roared into life, they would either take Carson or kill him. And both options were as bad as each other.

  The Barbarians routinely took slaves. Few Academy members ever fell to them, but of the handful of stories she'd heard, it sounded like a truly horrifying experience.

  . . . .

  So she would fight them if she had to. She made that decision then and there. She would use the full force of the entity to push past them if it meant saving the Coalition and Carson in the process. Yet she would not act like the entity; she would not fall into the same bottomless pit of hatred and brutality.

  Carson stopped, put his hand up, and raised three fingers. He hesitated, then raised another, and another, until soon he had eight fingers held before her.

  Though she wasn't the best at combat situations, she knew what he meant. Eight contacts were coming their way.

  She was ready for this.

  He handed her one of his guns, then pushed back against the wall, motioning for her to do the same with one strong swipe of his armor-clad hand.

  Her breath was stuck in her chest. It was pushing up into her throat and neck, and it felt exactly like she was choking.

  She didn't make a sound though. Not a sound.

  Seconds later, she heard a soft clunking noise filter down the hall, only barely audible under the constant barrage of shakes and blasts from above.

  Carson didn't pause; he rammed into her, pulling her to the ground just as he slammed one of his gauntlets over her eyes.

  She heard him hiss something as they hit the floor, 'light grenade.'

  An enormous explosion shook through the hall, and even over the ringing of her ears, she heard massive stones fall from the ceiling above.

  Carson had his body over hers, one hand still locked over her eyes so tight she could see stars exploding through them.

  She also felt his armor shake forward as stones struck it. No matter what hit him though, he didn't crumple, and the rocks just glanced off and fell around him.

  As the seconds ticked by, they felt like years.

  Her ears were filled with a persistent, high-pitched ringing, and when Carson moved his hand from her face, she could barely see. Her vision was just clear enough to note the massive stones that lay all around them however.

  Before she could react, or realize how close she'd come to being squashed, Carson pulled her forward.

  She had to climb over a stone so big it was practically a boulder. Her skin was already raw, and she cut herself across her thumbs as she maneuvered around the obstruction.

  As soon as her shoes hit the ground, he was pulling her forward, one gun held out.

  Though her ears still rang and her vision was hooded in shadow, he wouldn't let her fall.

  Just as they rounded a corner, Carson pushed back, yanked up his gun, and started shooting.

  The Barbarians. They were here.

  As Carson shoved her hard into the wall, using the bulk of his armor to shield her, she saw a flash of an enormous form, the glint of yellow eyes, and the glimmer of white tusks.

  Her heart pounded so hard in her chest, she could barely keep hold of her gun. Her sweaty fingers kept shaking up and down.

  The blasts from Carson's weapon lanced through the dark, lighting up the scene in strange, abstract flashes. She saw the hole in the ceiling, huge and gaping, leading up to the floor above. Then a flash of the Barbarian as its face twisted in rage. Then Carson pouncing forward, rolling, and coming up shooting.

  So fast.

  So terribly fast.

  Despite the break-neck pace, Carson fought undaunted. He thrust forward, he shot, he dodged, and he protected her.

  Nida had come a long way since the beginning of her journey. All those weeks ago, she truly had been the worst recruit in 1000 years. But she had come far.

  Too far to just stand there and let him do all the work.

  She couldn't let him risk himself alone.

  Though she wanted to fight, she had enough humility to understand she was still a terrible shot with a gun. She would likely shoot out a chunk of the ceiling and promptly crush herself.

  There was one thing she could do however.

  Just as Carson pushed forward, shooting one Barbarian as it reached for an electro whip, she saw another pull out of the shadows to their left.

  It had clearly been hiding in one of the rooms.

  Though Carson's armor might have picked it up, he didn't react quickly enough.

  The Barbarian launched forward.

  He was huge. Simply huge. He was also wearing armor of his own.

  With speed that belied his form, the Barbarian rushed Carson, wrapped its arms around his back, and pulled him off the ground.

  At the same moment, another Barbarian rounded the corner and brought up its gun.

  Carson's armor was strong, and would be able to withstand great amounts of damage. But it wouldn't keep him safe from everything.

  She reacted.

  Immediately. On instinct. Without thinking.

&nbs
p; She threw her left hand forward, concentrating just as she would if she were commanding a TI object.

  Something surged through her wrist and into her fingers.

  Power.

  Blue light burst from her hand, slamming into both Barbarians and sending them careening down the corridor until they crashed into the far wall.

  Carson spun on his feet, but didn't fall over. Instead he pushed out his hands for balance, then, just for a moment, angled his helmet her way.

  She had no idea what he was thinking, no idea what expression he wore under that thick black armor.

  She didn't have time to ponder it either. As they looked at each other, the ceiling started to cave in.

  Huge stones fell down around her in a hail of death.

  Carson pitched forward, no doubt intending to throw himself on top of her to use his armor to protect them both.

  He didn't have to.

  She threw out her hand again, and sent the tumbling ceiling off to the sides of the walls.

  It was . . . so strange to be able to move matter like that. TI objects were one thing, but TI objects were specifically engineered. They were also very expensive, and the Coalition kept tight control of them. So they were hardly scattered around your everyday environment.

  'Impressive,' Carson said as he walked backwards, still looking at her, then turned to pelt down the corridor.

  She smiled.

  She followed.

  She didn't know if it was impressive; it felt . . . weird, to be honest. But right now it was effective, and that's all she needed.

  They had to get out of here.

  As they ran down the tunnels, they faced more Barbarians, but together, they pushed through.

  In fact, they made a great team. She could hold any Barbarians in place as Carson stunned them.

  Yet it couldn't last.

  She was getting seriously tired. Every time she used the entity's power, it cost her.

  Her fatigue was bone-deep—it ate through her like acid to flesh.

  She kept standing though, kept fighting.

  Their current plan was to make it through the tunnels and up to the surface. Carson had already confirmed with his sensors that the Farsight was still up there. If they could fight their way to it, then they could finally make it off this cursed planet.

  Nida shivered as she thought that.

  Remus 12 felt like it haunted her. From her thoughts, to her blood, to her pulsing left hand, she doubted she could ever free herself of it fully.