Freeforce: The Gryphon Saga

by L. E. Horn

  Some nights, she went from there to the physicality of him—his tall body, long legs, and arms, gawky angles and bones but with the promise of strength to come. This usually led to memories of how he’d looked when she last saw him. Her anger and despair built again when she recalled the bruises. As a result, she often ended up wide awake. So she’d start again, focusing on the silver of his eyes and his smile.

  Tonight she was so tired she just started thinking of him when she drifted asleep. Perhaps her exhaustion triggered the dream.

  Lianndra flew through the jungle, leaping from branch to branch, following a distant sound. She came upon a clearing. What took place within it froze her heart.

  Michael stood in the center, surrounded by four Fang. Each Fang held a heavy chain in their clawed fingers, and the four chains attached to Michael’s collar.

  As she watched in horror, the Fang flicked their wrists and skrins unfurled with lightning speed toward Michael. He tried to dodge them, but using the chains, the Fang pulled him into the paths of the skrins. Lianndra had never seen the device used as a weapon like this. The whip extensions left deep cuts on Michael’s smooth skin. Within seconds, every part of his body dripped blood.

  Sobbing, Lianndra tried to leap off her branch to claw at the Fang, to stop the carnage. Her body refused to obey, and she stayed frozen in place—forced to watch as the Fang destroyed him.

  In the clearing, Michael collapsed to his knees, streaming blood, with his head bowed beneath his arms. She could see how his entire body shook. Blinded by tears, she screamed his name.

  An inhuman cry rose on the echo of her scream, a cry that turned into a roar as Michael surged to his feet. But what stood in the clearing was no longer the Michael of her memory. Covered not just in blood but in dark hair, he expanded in size and his body rippled with new muscle. His ears elongated to points and his nose lengthened into a snout, with vicious fangs dripping saliva. And his eyes—his eyes shone gold, like the sun.

  The Fang cried out in surprise as the monster that had been Michael stood tall, flicking a long, black tail. Clawed hands grabbed at the chains and yanked, pulling his captors within range, slicing through them with the ease of a scythe through tall grass.

  As each Fang died, they dissolved away into dust. Soon, only the beast remained. Panting, it stood in the center of the empty clearing. Gold eyes sought her in the trees, eyes full of pain. The jaws opened.

  “Lianndra . . .”

  Lianndra shot out of her bedroll, shaking and soaked in sweat, her heart threatening to pound its way out of her chest. The camp remained silent around her. Her scream echoed within her. With a quick glance at Hannah, still sound asleep, Lianndra rose to jog off into the jungle. She climbed high into a large tree before finding a spot to sit, staring at the stars through the branches, willing her heart to slow its relentless pounding.

  Only a nightmare, she told herself, one of many I’ve had. She leaned back against the trunk, feeling the retained heat within the mossy bark. The cool, remote glitter of the stars soothed her, as they always did. The nightmare lost its grip although an uneasy feeling remained.

  Lianndra gazed at the stars. So unfamiliar and yet reassuring. She wondered if Earth’s own sun created one of the lights in the sky. What would lie in store for us if we were free?

  For some slaves, the familiar, no matter how horrible, might be preferable to the unknown. Even if they ditched the Fang, what then? Did humans have a place on this world? For a successful rebellion, they needed a better scenario for which to fight. She thought of the little Gryphon. The fates of their two species might be intertwined, and no one knew how things would play out over time.

  We are so far from home.

  Chapter Twelve

  AS SHE SWUNG THROUGH THE trees, Lianndra felt compassion for Drake.

  The Aussie captain might be a slave, but he usually called the shots in the jungle. Now the Fang commander used Drake and his people as escorts until they got back to headquarters. It was a risky duty. The first night they camped, a Fang attacked a human soldier. The alien took a long blood meal before throwing the limp body at the Healers’ feet. They sealed his wounds but could do little for so much blood loss—he could barely walk the next day. Drake protested to the Fang commander, who reprimanded the offending commando, but only because the weakened slave compromised their progress.

  Drake ordered the Healers to stay well away from the Fang, even insisting they sleep in the trees. After the Fang incident, he corralled his men into a tight circle at night. Such measures likely irritated the Fang, but she supposed the reptilian aliens tolerated it since they needed the humans to help guard the Gryphon until they reached headquarters.

  Until then, Drake gets cut some slack, she thought.

  Each night, under the pretense of seeing how the small Gryphon healed, Lianndra insisted on bringing her fresh fruit and nuts. The Fang fed the creature meat-based ration bars. Lianndra had been inside the captive’s body. She believed, like humans, the Gryphon were omnivores and needed other things in their diet to stay healthy. The Fang watched her approach their prisoner with burning orange eyes, making her skin crawl. Drake followed her and stood near with his strong arms crossed, although Lianndra wondered what he could do if the Fang came after her.

  Hannah theorized the small Gryphon must be important and Lianndra agreed. Why else would they kidnap her? Lianndra’s mind buzzed with questions every time she brought food to the little Gryphon. She felt drawn to the furry alien. The long, tufted ears pricked as she nodded her thanks to the Healer. Lianndra found the large, violet eyes mesmerizing, she could not mistake the intelligence in them. She sensed the creature wanted to communicate, but they had no opportunity. The commandos watched their every move.

  During the day, the Fang obviously viewed humans as disposable inventory. While the commandos kept close to the captive in the center of the column, they positioned the slaves around the periphery. The Fang expected the Gryphon to pursue them, and they wanted the humans in place as a buffer. Drake countered by keeping Lianndra and Hannah busy as sentries along the perimeter. They were extra alert to any movement in the jungle behind them.

  Lianndra knew the Gryphon weren’t jungle dwellers, but creatures of the open grasslands where the big six-limbed aliens had maximum mobility. Slow moving Fang units became easy prey in the grasslands, but the close confines of the jungle helped to level the playing field. The Fang chose the jungle as their base of operations for that reason. Yet these Fang were certain that despite their difficulty with tight spaces, the Gryphon would come after them.

  When he checked in, Drake informed the Healers that another Fang unit would arrive soon to improve the escort security.

  He’s hoping the Fang will kick us loose then, Lianndra thought. I’m not counting on it.

  The Healers ran on the edge of exhaustion. Every night, convinced the Gryphon would come from that direction, the Fang commander insisted the women backtrack far along their path to check for pursuit. Drake could not override him.

  The Healers were two miles from camp when the attack came—not from behind, but from the front. Carefully swinging through the darkness, they heard distant laser fire and battle screams. They doubled back, pushing hard as the branches, leaves, and vines came at them far too fast to dodge. They didn’t have to rely on their scent trail to find their way since the battle sounds carried for miles.

  The jungle lit up with laser fire. Both women skidded to a halt to survey the chaos. For the first time Lianndra saw, up close and personal, the full scope of the aliens the Fang wished to conquer.

  Standing over eight feet to the top of their head, the Gryphons’ bodies appeared much broader and taller than a horse’s. The stripes and spots on their brightly colored coats helped them blend with the dappled shadows, and they carried everything from aged hand lasers to clubs in their humanlike hands. Their arms sprouted a single line of stiff feathers that rotated so they lay flat. Lianndra saw a warrior snap the feathers
forward to knock a Fang flying. Their four legs kicked in any direction, slicing into bodies with their powerful claws. Even their long tails, topped in spikes, thrashed with such speed they cracked like a bullwhip, easily able to snap a neck or limb.

  They outnumbered the Fang. Movement out of the corner of her eye revealed the commander with one commando pushing the Gryphon captive through the foliage ahead. They were trying to escape while their fellow Fang provided a distraction.

  “Help Drake!” Lianndra shouted to Hannah as she swung in pursuit of the escapees. Oh no you don’t, her anger flared. That little Gryphon is going back to her friends! She spotted a female Gryphon warrior wielding an imposing battle-axe. Dropping from a tree, Lianndra landed in the Gryphon’s path before sprinting ahead. The alien wheeled to give pursuit, weapon raised high. Lianndra had no issue with screaming convincingly as she bolted toward the little Gryphon and her captors. In the open, the Gryphon would have caught her in seconds, but hampered by the thick undergrowth, Lianndra kept one step ahead of her. She had a close call when she slowed to change direction, and the axe split the trunk of a small tree right next to her head.

  Lianndra and the Gryphon burst upon the fleeing Fang. The little Gryphon kicked through her restraints, braced all six limbs, and screamed through her gag as her two captors gave her shocks through her collar. Both Farr looked up as Lianndra and the Gryphon warrior exploded on them.

  Lianndra didn’t hesitate to leap for the commander, teeth bared and claws extended.

  Lianndra’s surprising turnaround from foe to friend did not cause the slightest hesitation on the Gryphon’s part. With her goal so clear, she swung her huge axe, splitting the second Fang in two. Lianndra clung to the back of the commander with her fangs buried in his neck when the axe finished its backswing, gutting him. She released the body as it crumpled beneath her.

  No more healing for that one, she thought in satisfaction before turning to face the Gryphon.

  The warrior bent to remove the restraints on the small one’s legs. When she reached toward the collar, Lianndra stepped forward in protest. The big alien turned to contemplate her with its enormous violet eyes. The axe remained holstered on her back, but Lianndra knew it could be readied in a hurry.

  Lianndra gestured to her own collar, turning to show the Gryphon how it entered her skull behind her ear. The big creature huffed in dismay. With her gag freed, the little Gryphon talked to the warrior in a high, piping voice, sounding much like a bird. The bigger creature responded.

  Lianndra became the subject of intense scrutiny.

  Then the little Gryphon gave the white feathers of her crest a shake. To the Healer’s astonishment, she spoke in perfect, accented English. “I believe you can disable my collar?”

  She knows about that? Lianndra stared for a moment before she replied. “We disabled the kill node last night. I can do the pain nodes now.”

  The little Gryphon stood motionless while Lianndra worked to swiftly encase all the nodes in scar tissue. The large warrior watched in silence, but Lianndra remained acutely aware of her presence looming over them.

  When the Healer finished, the little Gryphon spoke again. “You have proven yourself to be a friend. We will not forget this.” She bowed. “I am here to tell you the Gryphon are aware of the efforts of the Tlok’mk rebellion and the Healers’ role in those plans.” She paused, glancing up at her larger companion, before continuing. “Remember this—the Gryphon are your friends. For the moment, however, both to respect the rebellion’s goal and to protect your best interests, we must treat you as a captive when we rejoin your fellows.”

  Lianndra stared at her. How the heck did it speak such perfect English? It took her a few seconds to follow the conversation to the end and for the words to penetrate. Oh, they don’t want to reveal I’m with the rebellion. She nodded as they headed back toward the camp, marching like a captive in front of the warrior with the small Gryphon following behind.

  They walked forward into a silent tableau. One Fang remained upright with a damaged leg. Drake stood beside Hannah, his face bloody from a nasty head wound. Behind them, two human slaves lay on the ground, alive but injured. The Gryphon warriors surrounded their captives with thunderous looks on their faces, their colorful feathered crests, manes and neck spikes bristled erect while the long tails waved in agitation.

  Two warriors made Lianndra gawk in awe. She had no idea Gryphon got so large. One in particular must be regarded as a giant even among his own kind, towering over the others with a coat flashing silver and blue in the dappled moonlight. Instead of the smaller crest the female possessed, he featured a thickly feathered mane. Despite his size, the massive Gryphon deferred to the smaller golden male standing beside him. Smaller than the giant, but still larger than the others, this Gryphon radiated a confidence Lianndra recognized. Leader. As Lianndra and the small Gryphon emerged from the foliage, she thought she detected a hint of relief in the craggy features.

  The leader strode forward to clasp the smaller Gryphon’s shoulder. His deep voice trilled something to her in the beautiful, birdlike language, and she replied in high, piping tones.

  Lianndra noticed the one remaining Fang slump at the sight of the small Gryphon. Worried about the injured men, Lianndra hurried to them. With a nervous glance around, Hannah joined her. As Lianndra worked on Sean, the little Gryphon addressed the group of warriors in their own language.

  The Fang commando didn’t react when the small Gryphon accepted a long dagger from the biggest warrior and approached him.

  Crouched over Sean but watching events unfold out of the corner of her eye, the movement was so fast Lianndra barely registered it. The Farr slumped forward around the dagger buried in his abdomen. With a strong shove, the little one sliced the knife through the leathery skin—tracing the path to the second heart.

  The small Gryphon pulled the dagger free as the lifeless body fell. She offered the knife back to the owner who wiped it clean. The smallest warrior turned to address the humans.

  Lianndra found herself standing over Sean, who struggled to sit up. She pushed the tall blond man back to the ground. Lianndra looked up in time to see the muscles in Drake’s back go rigid when the clear English words rolled from the small Gryphon’s mouth.

  “In appreciation for the services the Healers offered me, we spare your lives. We understand that as slaves you had no control over the actions you performed against us. If we could free you from Fang control, we would offer it. Unfortunately, the technology inherent in your collars makes such a rescue impossible at this time.” She traded a glance with Lianndra before closing an eye.

  Did she just wink at me? Lianndra wondered. She admitted she knows the Healers can deactivate the collars, but she doesn’t know if Drake and his men are in on the secret. Or, more importantly, where their allegiances lie.

  She traded a troubled glance with Hannah. For that matter, neither do we.

  The small Gryphon stepped close to Lianndra. Her long head rose to just below the Healer’s. She reached into the soft blue feathery fur around her neck to remove a necklet, easing it over the gleaming Fang collar. Gently taking Lianndra’s hand in her own, the Gryphon dropped the object into her palm. The Healer glimpsed a tiny, perfect figurine of a winged Gryphon on a simple leather thong before the little Gryphon folded the Healer’s fingers over it. She met Lianndra’s eyes and shook her head in a curiously birdlike gesture. Her white crest of feathers, not as long as the full-sized versions, rearranged itself in a bright cascade around her elongated face. Then, with a nod to her fellows, she moved off into the underbrush.

  One second, fierce multi-limbed warriors surrounded the humans. The next, the big aliens melted with surprising silence into the jungle.

  After they disappeared, Drake walked over to stare at the dead Fang commando. He turned to look at Lianndra and raised a hand to touch the wound on his forehead. For the first time, Lianndra saw Drake at a loss for words.

  Kneeling beside the other survivin
g soldier, Hannah broke the silence. “How’s Sean?” Her words galvanized Lianndra to action. She pocketed her gift and met Sean’s blue gaze, fogged with pain and confusion.

  “Did that Gryphon just give you a present?” he asked.

  “Uh, yeah. She did.” Lianndra placed a hand on Sean’s forehead, reaching within for the pain receivers. “Just lie still while I look at things.” As she worked, her mind raced. What will Drake do now?

  The man in question stood and watched the Healers for a moment before settling himself with deliberation on a large tree root.

  “Did the others make it?” Hannah asked, not taking her eyes from her patient.

  “Ben and Jose got mowed down in the first few seconds. I’m not sure about the other two, the Fang ordered them away.” Drake’s voice sounded wooden, devoid of emotion, but it didn’t fool Lianndra. She heard Hannah’s soft gasp, and her own heart hurt.

  Beneath her fingers, Sean tried again to rise. “There’s nothing you can do for them,” Lianndra whispered in a ragged voice as she pushed him back down. “Lie still.” As she struggled to go within, she remained acutely aware of the man behind her, whose mind must be filled with questions.

  “We should report in.” Drake appeared to be thinking out loud, a rare thing for him. He touched his head again and winced before rubbing his eyes. “I honestly don’t know what to bloody tell them.”

  “Just tell them the truth,” Hannah said, trading a glance with Lianndra. “They spared us because we healed their friend. As we are only slaves, subject to the whim of our masters, they didn’t blame us for her capture.”

  Drake nodded but didn’t move.

  Every second he hesitates buys the Gryphon time to get the hell out of here. She wondered if he shared her concern. More likely, he’s thinking about whether any of us will live through this.

  She knew the Fang would interrogate them since obviously this kidnapping had been an important initiative. The fact they were valuable slaves wouldn’t spare them the rigors of the interrogation. Drake had lost most of his unit and survived while the Fang commandos died. Their futures were likely grim.