First Life, page 27
part #1 of River Saga Series
“I won’t fail this mission.” Justin saluted Desmond, who returned the gesture. “Good luck,” he said to Adley and me; then he took off without another word.
“I’ll bring up the rear. Go ahead,” I told Adley, and she glanced at Ambrose, as if he might replace her. He did nothing of the sort, failing to even look her in the eyes. She jogged off, and then it was just me left.
I saw the expression on my friends’ faces. They didn’t think I was going to make it. I’d be happy to prove them wrong.
I ran into the dark unknown.
NINETEEN
Nine Years Ago
Clacks Canyon, Arizona
I sprinted from my room at the sound of the accident. Tires screeching. A man’s voice, wet and harried, calling for help.
It had been days since I’d seen another soul on the road, but here I was, in the middle of nowhere, witnessing a car crash.
Fire burned from the truck’s crumpled hood, and I guessed what had happened. The road turned sharply here next to the motel’s entrance, and the vehicle skidded into the light pole. I speculated the area had lost all power almost a full decade earlier. The grass in the ditch was almost as tall as me as I bounded through it, rushing to the sideways car.
Someone pushed out of the truck, falling onto the cracked pavement, and I kept going, tripping near the second vehicle.
“Are you okay?” I called, but no one answered. It was dark, probably somewhere around three in the morning, and all I had to go by was the dim crescent moon’s light.
“In here,” a weak voice replied.
I dashed around the toppled car and climbed onto the side of it, hauling the passenger door open. A woman was still in the seat, an angry gash on her forehead. Her male companion wasn’t moving, and I assumed the worst.
“We’re going to get you out of here,” I murmured.
She gazed up, blood covering her face. “Thank you.”
The woman clutched my arm, her sharp nails digging into my flesh.
“You need to undo the seatbelt,” I told her, but she just stared at me, not comprehending my words. I pointed with my free hand. “The seatbelt.”
She finally understood and fumbled with the push button. I wrapped my hand under her armpit, and the moment she unclasped herself, gravity nearly pulled her onto the dead driver. With the car sideways like this, I needed to lift her free, so I propped her onto the edge of the rear doors.
She indicated the driver. “What about Richard?”
“I’m sorry. He’s gone.”
She looked inside and nodded once before starting to sob. “It’s all my fault.”
I hopped down and helped her to the ground, holding her up. “No, it’s not.”
“We shouldn’t have been out here at night. The roads are dangerous. But I was heading from a meeting in…” She looked up at me. “Where’s Golosi?”
We trudged through the grass back to the first truck, and I stood in shock when I saw the injured man was an Angor. He leaned against the motel, holding his arm to his chest like it was broken.
“Golosi!” The woman ran from me, crossing the street. “Does it hurt?”
“No, ma’am. It will be fine,” he said.
I saw the marking on the truck, the Unity flag painted on the doors, and realized the car had the same logo on it. “You’re with the government?” I whispered.
The woman wiped her injured brow, crouching at the Angor man’s side. “Yes. Who are you, all the way out here? Are you alone?” She looked around like someone might be sneaking up on them.
“My name’s Colton. Colton Beck.” I noticed a flicker in her eyes, but it vanished a second later. “And I’m here by myself.”
“Colton. Do you have any water?”
“Sure. Come in.” I was suddenly self-conscious about the motel’s state of disrepair. The front glass was broken, the vending machine looted long ago. We walked past it to the motel’s largest suite. I turned the generator on just outside my room, and plugged the power bar into it. The cord snaked under the door, and I closed it, sealing us inside my unit.
The woman gawked at the room, and I hurried to the bed, tossing my dirty t-shirt into a hamper. “You live here?”
“Not by choice. I… was making a trip to the coast, but got sidetracked. Worked a few jobs here and there. Have to make money somehow.” The truth was, I’d spent the better part of the last year on the road, stopping at smaller cities when I needed supplies. When I reached the northwest tip of Arizona, I just stopped. I could have continued to L.A. or San Francisco, but hadn’t built up the courage to return to civilization.
I showed them the bathroom, and she was surprised to find there was water.
“I found a place that still used the old towers. It’s incredible that technology deemed worthless before the Angor is now so useful.” I glanced at Golosi, and he grimaced in pain.
The woman had on sophisticated clothing: a dark blue pant suit, and a white blouse now drenched in red. She undid the jacket, draping it over my desk chair, and set to work on Golosi. I offered her a first aid kit, and she bandaged his arm after determining it wasn’t broken.
He was unusually silent, and I watched him closely, seeing the way his nostril flaps flared when he breathed. His skin was different than ours. Looser, somehow. His eyes were black, but full of vigor and life. This man had shallow lines in his brow, and was extremely thin. I hadn’t seen an Angor since my dad’s shop, and before that was the Angor doctor running tests on me.
“I’m sorry for staring,” I told him.
“Do not worry. It’s common in the interior,” he said.
“You still haven’t told me your name.”
The woman poked her head from the bathroom, blotting her face with a towel as she dried off. She was beautiful. Her smile radiated confidence. “Amy. Amy Horowitz.”
“Nice to meet you, Amy. Where were you off to?” I asked, setting into my chair. The old springs squeaked.
“San Diego. We’re starting construction on a barge,” she said.
“What’s a barge?”
“The Angor have a new way of utilizing the ocean for countless benefits. I’m in charge of overseeing the manufacturing of all West Coast facilities. At least for now.” She spoke as if it was no big deal.
“They trust you?” I blurted out.
“Why wouldn’t they? I’ve cooperated with the Angor for the last five years. Golosi and his people are wonderful. I wish the rest of the world could see that.” Amy’s hair was wet, and she had a large bandage over her left eye.
“Will it be acceptable to remain here until we can contact our people?” Golosi asked.
“Sure, though the network doesn’t extend to this region.” I saw their reaction. They were worried.
“Colton, there’s a tablet in the car. Would you…” She slumped on the bed, holding her hands on her lap.
“No problem.” I left them in my room, jogging across the street. The truck wasn’t on fire any longer, but the entire area was filled with smoke. I took my time, trying to get a feel for the crash. Golosi had been in the truck alone, ahead of Amy. He lost control, hit the pole, and…
I saw the skid marks on the road, and they weren’t very long. I walked around the truck, surveying the damage. The bumper was mostly intact. I would have expected it to be far worse. Instead of going straight to the car, I opened the passenger side door of the Unity-marked vehicle, opening the glove box.
A weapon sat inside, short and rounded, with a small button trigger. I picked it up, noticing how light it was. The rest of the cab was empty. Not even a coffee cup.
The car wasn’t much different. There was a bag in the backseat and grabbed it, trying to avoid looking at the driver. The glass on the rear passenger side was broken, and I made sure not to cut myself while I hauled the luggage out. The tablet wasn’t in the bag. I gathered Amy’s clothing, a few toiletries, and a file folder.
There were four letters written on the front. R-U-S-A. I had no idea what that meant. I flipped through it, glancing over my shoulder. There was no one out here but me and the cicadas. Everything was in another language. I ran a finger over the title text, feeling like I should know what “Rusa” was.
“Did you find it?” Amy’s voice carried from the road, and I shoved the file away, zipping up the Unity-issued luggage. The flag was sewn into the fabric on a patch.
“No. Was it in the front?” I called, tossing the bag to the grassy ditch.
“Yes!”
A minute later, I had the tablet. The screen was cracked, but I didn’t dare open it. I’d already risked enough.
I returned to the road and offered it to Amy. “Thought you might want this.” I hefted the luggage in my hand.
“Thank you.” She glanced at it, as if trying to assess whether I’d opened it or not. “Damn it.” She touched the broken screen. “No network. How are we going to get to San Diego? I’m due there tomorrow. All this work, and they’ll take the title from me if I don’t show.”
I’d been looking for an excuse to get on with my life. I couldn’t stay here in the middle of nowhere forever. “I can bring you. I have a truck.” I pointed at the old vehicle across the parking lot.
She lit up. “Are you sure? We’ll need reliable people like you, Colton. I can get you a job. A good one.”
My situation was improving. “Great.”
Golosi was asleep when we entered the room, so we went outside, and I graciously shared my stash of sweet tea with Amy. We talked long into the night, until the sun rose and it was time to go.
We loaded the truck, and after a light breakfast, we were off, heading into the unknown as the sun crested the horizon behind us.
The future was looking up.
____________
Now
Dicore
Everything burned. I’d had a couple days of tireless marching while carrying gear, and after that, combined with the anticipation of seeing our colony planet, I was beat. The first mile went by sluggishly. I used to hate climbing uphill, but after treading this rough terrain, I would have preferred an incline.
Each step was a risk, especially beneath the black sky. The trees were sporadically placed, but the ground was different than the other side of the range, where we’d been released by the dropship. It was harder and rockier. The odd weed rose from between the stones, and their blooms held a fragrance that reminded me of a skunk.
I thought I heard Adley ahead, and saw her outline resting at the edge of the platform. I slowed, approaching with caution.
“They said not to travel together,” she told me.
“I’ve always lived by the rules. Maybe it’s time to break a few.” I smiled at her, but I doubted she could even see it.
“Thanks,” she whispered. “Justin’s way ahead.” She waved her hand. “I heard him a while ago.”
I searched but saw no sign of the soldier. I did make out the fires by the lake and used that as my marker. “Ready to go?”
My lungs were cooperating. That was the thing about Xeno. Most people assumed we were unable to do things such as running or playing sports, but it wasn’t like that. Exercising didn’t trigger the reaction. I wasn’t certain what did. It usually happened at random times, and I’d never been able to piece together a rational explanation. Of course, none of these people were aware I had Xeno, so I didn’t bring it up.
Adley and I jogged, each of us holding our weapons. My GR-852 wasn’t heavy, given its size, but it was starting to wear on my wrist. I used both hands, pressing it to my chest. Someone screamed, a primal echo that may not have been human.
I grabbed Adley, almost throwing her at a tree. I pressed my back to the prickly trunk, and glanced over my shoulder in the direction of the noise. All we heard were the sounds of our exasperated breathing. Adley stared at me with big eyes, her gun shaking.
And we listened, noticing exactly what the dying woman had described. Clicking. I saw my first Stinger, dragging its thick tail over the rocks. It knocked aside a boulder with a flick of the stinger, and kept crawling by, the four rear legs striding in perfect tempo. It was bigger than I thought—probably as tall as Adley, and twice as long. Two larger front arms stretched out, and thick claws snapped as it went.
The thing smelled. A pungent taste landed on my tongue, and I tried to breathe through my mouth. Adley plugged her own nose, and we cringed as a pile of white excrement escaped the tip of its tail. So that was what the white stuff we’d seen earlier on our journey had been. Sun-caked Stinger poo.
It entered the open clearing, and we lost sight of it a moment later.
“That was close,” she whispered.
“There’ll be more. They were in groups of a couple hundred when they assaulted the other teams.” I scanned the vicinity for additional Stingers, and heard more clicking. They were nearby. “Come on.” I led her around a few trees, backtracking a bit. I almost fired at one walking five feet away. I froze, keeping Adley behind me. It continued past me, its tail slinking in tow. The Stinger didn’t see us.
We ran. The scream might have been from Justin, but I couldn’t risk checking on him. If he’d died, there was nothing I could do to help him, and we had thousands of oblivious people waiting like sitting ducks by the lake. I drove on, glancing over my shoulder to see dozens of the Stingers emerging from an opening in the hillside. They pushed out methodically, clicking thick front claws. I guessed they did this to communicate. Some form of echolocation perhaps. It seemed to be done with a purpose. One would send the message; the being behind it would repeat the staccato rhythm.
Adley was panicked. She clutched my arm, her entire body convulsing. I didn’t blame her. Instead of coddling her, I turned and whispered in her ear. “We’re going to survive this. Don’t worry about them. Just run with me.”
She nodded her understanding and took off after me. We circled a giant boulder, and I skidded to a halt, finding ten or more of the Stingers walking to join the rest of their group. They were forming an army, and it was moving directly toward the colonists’ camp.
Trying to not make any noise, we slunk to the left, and when the coast was clear, I continued my journey. The lake was much larger from this vantage point, and I could smell the semi-stagnant water. It wasn’t unpleasant after inhaling the aroma from the Stinger a while ago.
The ground leveled out, and our boots splashed water from the spongy moss we stepped on. It was a far cry from the dry shale, but it made our passage louder. We had to slow, refusing to speak so we didn’t give our position away. Finally, the clouds parted enough for the moonlight to offer guidance. It was like someone turned a light switch on in a pitch-black room. My eyes ached initially, but quickly acclimated.
The area was littered with huge boulders, and I peered to the peak beside us. These must have rolled down in an avalanche. Judging by the moss growing on them, it had been some time ago. Adley rushed up to one and leaned against it, gasping for breath.
“We’re almost there. Under a mile,” I whispered, receiving a nod.
“I’m scared, Colton. I know I try to act tough, but… I’m from Wisconsin. My grandparents had a dairy farm. I grew up thinking I was going to raise cattle,” she said. “What happened between now and then?”
I thought about that baseball game, and the Angor hovering over the field while we played. “The Angor happened, Adley.” I pulled her into a hug, and she buried her face into my shoulder, sobbing gently. I stroked her hair and told her everything was going to be all right, but that wasn’t true. Because either way you flipped it, we were doomed. Especially me. But she didn’t need to hear that.
Click. Click.
I let go of Adley, holding my GR-852 up as I’d been trained to do. I scanned the area through the sight and saw the Stinger. I counted twenty trying to walk by our position, but only one was headed directly for us. I tugged Adley with me, rounding the boulder, and heard the movement from the creature. By the time I crested the bend, it was there, rearing on four legs, claws slicing for us.
“Get to high ground!” I shouted.
Adley bolted ahead, and I almost wished she’d stayed to help me battle this monstrosity. I stared up at it, its beady black eyes wiggling from side to side while it wobbled backwards, then at me.
I pulled the trigger, but the gun didn’t fire.
The Stinger’s tail rose, arcing overhead as it sped at my abdomen. I dove out of the way, feeling the wind of the poisonous tip narrowly missing me. I rolled to my feet, running around it. I still had the gun in my hands, and I tried to shoot it as I darted off. Nothing.
The energy cell was loose. I snapped it into place, but two more of the Stingers were bearing down on me. They clicked and screeched from their hideous mouths.
“Look out!” Adley shouted, and I didn’t wait. I dropped while her gun blasted at the three Stingers. They stood up, enraged, and I finally threw my GR-852 into position. Tap. Tap. Tap. I hit the first one, blasting thick holes in its exoskeleton. Blue ooze gushed from the wound, and it clicked a final time before slumping to the damp ground.
Adley kept firing, taking the life from the second, and the third swung its tail for me. I tried to shoot it, but the Stinger knocked the gun from my grip. I rolled again, avoiding a murderous blow, and grabbed the knife from my boot. Adley was on top of a boulder, shouting at the Stinger. When it looked at her, I sank the blade into its throat, straight up. It cracked the creature’s protective layer, and liquid poured over me. The thing twitched, dropping as I let go of my blade.
When it huffed its final breath, I collapsed, landing on the soft moss.
“Colton, there’s more on the way!” Adley jumped down, glancing at the dead Stingers. “We have to warn the others.”
She was right. I climbed to my feet, wiped my face, and ran with everything I had. There was no time to delay or tiptoe around. I could now see hundreds of the things approaching the unsuspecting camp. My reserves of energy were low, but I willed them to power the final half-mile.
The fires burned hotly, guiding my footsteps. It took a handful of minutes to reach the outer edge, and a sentry greeted us with a rifle in the face. “Who goes there?” He was a big man, heavily tattooed.
