Champion (From the Ashes #2)

Chapter 1

Caden

“I count ten of them, Captain,” Ben says through my comm.

I nod, though no one can see as I crouch behind a thicket of Gambel oak. The rest of my squad is spread around the premises, close enough to help in case of trouble, but far enough to confuse the enemy when we attack.

And attack we will.

This band of Raiders is not technically on Hive territory, but they’re close enough to be a threat.

As far as the Raiders are concerned, there’s no such thing as Hive territory.

They treat the land as theirs for the taking, and no matter how many of them we kill, more always show up like stubborn bugs.

Since surrendering isn’t an option, we Defenders must get better at killing them. I’ve been doing this for ten years, since I was sixteen, and taking down Raiders has yet to get old. I have a debt to settle with each and every one of them.

It seems we have another thirty minutes until sunset, which will give us the best opportunity to engage.

In the Raiders’ makeshift camp, they have already set up a campfire.

I’m surprised they aren’t drinking alcohol yet, but something about this group strikes me as more disciplined than what I’m used to seeing.

It doesn’t matter, since I’ve learned the hard way to never underestimate my opponents.

We’ll take this nice and slow until we make our move, and it will all be over in seconds.

Go hard, go fast, go home. Words to live by.

“Get comfortable,” I say through the comms. “We have time before it gets dark.”

“I heard a new joke,” Ben says.

“No.”

“Come on, Captain. It’s great.”

“Radio silence until you hear from me. Save your joke for later.”

“Roger that,” the seven members of my squad reply.

I shift onto my stomach, my rifle resting beside me.

It will take me about three seconds to pick it up, aim, and fire.

With the slow setting of the sun, the crickets begin to chirp, annoying the hell out of me.

I try to ignore them while I focus on one of the Raiders.

He sits alone on a log, sharpening a machete with a rock.

His hair is long and dark, and his beard is short and elegant.

He seems to be in his mid-thirties, and there’s something about him…

I can’t put my finger on it, but it rubs me the wrong way.

My gut tells me he’s the leader of this band.

The world becomes darker as the sun slips behind the mountains, but not enough for me to turn on the thermal vision in my helmet’s visor.

It’s been a couple of weeks since we were last in our Hive Unity, and I’m itching to get back.

The feeling is bittersweet, since I no longer have him waiting for me, not after the way we ended things.

“Captain.”

I sigh. “Yeah, Ben?”

“Are you seeing the one with the machete?”

“Yeah, what about him?”

“I could be wrong, but I think he has a tail.”

Shit.

“And there might be some scales on the side of his hands.”

I pull out my binoculars and zero in on the man’s hands. Ben’s right; he has scales. And there is his tail, swaying close to his waist.

The protocol is clear in this case. We don’t engage with mutants unless we have no other choice. Some could just be strange-looking, but some could be twice as strong as the strongest human. I don’t want to find out the hard way which type the mutant in front of me is.

“What do we do, Captain?” Ben asks.

“We back off slowly. No sharp movements.”

Before any of us can move, I freeze at the mutant’s sudden laughter. I grab my rifle, gripping it tightly.

“Relax,” the mutant says, his voice carried by the wind. Around him, the rest of the Raiders watch in confusion. “We’re not on Hive territory. No need for bloodshed on this fine and peaceful evening.”

The Raiders catch his meaning and hurry to grab their weapons. I should give the word to attack, but something tells me that will be a mistake.

“Captain, what do we do?”

“Nothing.”

“Good call!” The mutant rises to his feet, his eyes locked on my location, even though I’m hidden.

“Come out and say hello, Defender. If I wanted to hurt you, I had sixty-seven minutes to do so.”

“Captain, I think there are more of them behind us,” Jake says. “I can hear movement.”

“Tell your men to stay back!” I yell. “I’ll come out to talk, but my squad stays safe.”

“Of course!”

I sigh. “Nobody moves.”

“It’s a trap,” Ben says.

“It was one from the get-go. Keep low and wait for my orders. If I’m compromised, you run like hell.”

I stand up, leaves falling from my black uniform.

I keep my rifle next to me but aim it at the ground.

The mutant smiles as I approach like I’m coming over for dinner.

The other Raiders watch me with malice, but I remain composed, my heart drumming in my chest. I stop in front of him, keeping a few feet between us.

He’s almost as tall as I but leaner. His tail is dark and pointy, swaying like a snake.

“Helmet off,” he says. “I’d like to see who I’m speaking with.”

My visor is raised, so he can see me just fine, but without my helmet, I’m cut off from my squad’s comm. I reluctantly remove my helmet, the evening breeze stroking my damp nape.

The man smiles, his green eyes darting up and down. “Much better. My name is Hector.”

I’ve never heard of that name. “Caden.”

“And you are the captain of the group that was about to viciously attack us.”

It’s not a question, so I don’t answer. He hasn’t yet told me to drop my weapon, maybe to give me a fake sense of control, or maybe because he knows I can’t use it fast enough to kill him.

He takes a step closer, his tail swaying toward me.

I hold my breath when I feel the pointy tip brushing against my chin.

I know my squad members are itching to shoot, but I pray they don’t do anything reckless.

I trained them better than that.

“Were you going to ask us to surrender?” Hector asks, raising my head with his tail beneath my chin.

Something tells me that lying won’t be smart. “No.”

“You Defenders don’t waste time on prisoners, do you?”

“No.”

“Yet we’re the savages.”

“You know you are. If you’re going to kill us, make it quick.

” I make the request even though I know that’s not their style.

They tend to torture before they kill, leaving mutilated corpses for others to find.

My blood grows hot with guilt. This mess is on me, though I’ve never seen a mutant who could hide what he is.

“Steady,” Hector says, resting his palm over my heart like he can hear it beating. “We’re just talking.”

“What do you want?”

“For you to convey a message to your leadership.”

I breathe in relief. A corpse can’t convey a message. “I can do that.”

“Good. Tell your assembly to keep away from Denver’s business.”

“We don’t—”

“Shh. Don’t lie. Tell them what I said and make sure they know that any stretch of land outside the Hives is Raiders’ territory. If your people wish to travel, they can do so unarmed.”

“Sure we can, right before we jump off a cliff.”

“Jumping might be your safest choice.” He smiles broadly with confidence in his eyes. “A plague is coming, Caden, and you’d better keep your distance. Is my request clear?”

“Yes.” The assembly and General McCoy will never agree, but that’s the least of my problems right now. “I’ll let them know what you said.”

“Lovely. You’d best be going before it gets dark and scary.”

I don’t yet allow myself to feel relief.

I turn around and take a step forward, but something pulls me back, wrapping itself around my torso and keeping my arms pinned to my body.

It’s that fucking tail, and Hector stands right behind me, his chest pressing against my back.

He rests his chin on my shoulder, and I stop myself from banging my head against his face.

He removes my rifle and throws it aside. “I forgot one more thing.”

I take a breath, though it’s hard with his tail pressing against my lungs. “And what’s that?”

“For you to let your leadership know I mean business.”

I catch movement in the tall grass where my squad is hiding, but before I can warn them, their screams of horror chill my blood. I can’t see what’s happening, but they don’t even get a chance to shoot with how quickly they’re overrun.

“Stop them!”

But Hector doesn’t give the command.

I try to bang my head back, but he grabs my hair and forces me to watch, though it’s too dark to see clearly. The air turns quiet within seconds, yet their screams echo in my ears. I’ve heard those sounds before—too many times to count—but never when I was so helpless to do anything.

Dark shapes rise from the tall grass and walk forward.

My brain struggles to digest what my eyes are seeing.

For a second, I thought they were people, but they are human-sized lizards.

Their skin is green and covered in scales, and their round eyes are massive.

The blood smeared all over their skin isn’t theirs.

Hector sniffs my neck. “You’re sweating fear, Caden. It’s lovely.”

I shiver against him, too shocked to speak, then a sharp cut on my neck causes me to hiss in pain. The fucker cut me with his pointy tail, and even though it’s not deep, warm drops of blood slide down my neck.

“We bleed so easily, don’t we? Mutants and humans alike.” He withdraws his tail, and without his grip around me, I slump to my knees.

“Run along now, Captain of nothing. Run back to your Hive and let them know what is lurking beyond the safety of your mountain.”

Terrified he might change his mind, I run like hell between the corpses of those I swore to protect.