Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
TARAX
" I just finished a call in to the rest of the Knights assigned to ground crews," I mentioned to Grace when we had a minute alone upstairs in the bank. "I've touched base with all of them, and everyone is accounted for. No fatalities among the Knights … so far, or anyone they were supposed to be protecting in their group."
Grace inhaled a deep breath and released it slowly. She put her hands on her hips and nodded with relief. She was letting this new information sink in. It was a lot to process.
"I must say… that is great news to hear. You guys have been completely awesome with the way things have been handled here so far," Grace praised.
"I could say the same thing about you," I said. We made eye contact. There was chemistry between us. I felt it, and judging by her fiery smile, I knew Grace felt it too.
We had waited out the rest of the night in the vault of the bank. The perimeter was relatively quiet. There wasn't much going on outside the city block, and the streets looked more forgiving under the light of day. However, it was a catastrophic mess all around us. Cars were toppled over on their sides. Dust and dirt were everywhere.
Traffic lights were hanging off their hinges by frayed wires. The air was hazy and smoky, resembling a grayish fog. Papers fluttered by on the street. It was eerily quiet. It was like a scene from an apocalyptic movie. I'd seen a few in my lifetime, but this was real and haunting.
The second wave of android attacks had fizzled out, giving us some wiggle room to move around, but we were still bolted by choice inside the bank. We had discussed it as a group, but in the end, I'd made the ultimate decision to have us stay put for now.
Everyone knew that the bank was only meant to be a temporary solution to a much bigger problem that we were dealing with, but I didn't want to make any rash decisions and get anyone else hurt or killed. Whether they believed me or not, I was ultimately responsible for these people.
I'd been tense and nervous all night, but it was great to have someone like Grace working alongside me and being a great team helper. Her motivation kept me going, no matter how fatigued I felt.
It was also a bonus that she was so familiar with the area of the city, too. Overnight, we hadn't encountered any unforeseen incidents, and no hostile androids got in our way.
Nothing and no one tried to bust through the abandoned bank to get to us. We were lucky for now, but I was afraid that eventually — our luck would run out. It was my job to figure out something to do before that happened.
I knew I'd have to talk to Garlin sooner or later with an update, and I wanted to give him good news... or at least something optimistic about our progress.
For now, that progress was slow moving. I'd let Merrix deal with Garlin. They were closer anyway, and Merrix was Garlin's second in command. If he wanted to talk to me specifically, he knew where to find me.
"I'm grateful that the other Knights survived the overnight attacks, but how are they faring?" Grace asked. "You know… how are they processing it all."
She brushed a strand of hair off her rosy cheeks. Her hair looked soft and elegant, even after all the turmoil we'd gone through overnight. I appreciated her concern. She was so authentic.
"Better than expected," I admitted. "They are clearing out debris right now — mainly from the androids that were destroyed in the battle overnight."
Grace sighed and glanced around the area where we were standing. We were in a secure location, but I still felt like we were exposed against these aggressive androids. If they really wanted to hunt us down, I feared they had the capable programming to do so.
I also didn't know how long we were going to last in this destitute situation. We had minimal supplies to survive on, in contrast to how many of us there were. Some of the others in our group needed medical care as well that we couldn't offer in this abandoned building. They were alright and surviving, but it was not going to work forever.
All was quiet... for now, but the work was far from over. I was grateful for the lull in activity so we could take a breather, clear our heads, and formulate a plan for the next steps.
This particular area of Chicago was an apocalyptic mess. As I glanced out through one of the upstairs windows, I noticed bewildered humans walked around in a trance, shuffling along through the streets in sheer disbelief of what had turned their world upside down overnight. It was incredible and daunting how fragile life really was. Anything could change in a split second.
Grace stood beside me and looked down. "They shouldn't be out there," she whispered.
I shook my head, agreeing. "No, it's not safe yet."
"What's going on?" she asked, peering up at me as if she were clinging to a hope that she already knew was false. "Are there more of them expected? Those alien robot things?"
She had changed into a pair of black pants and a white t-shirt with her fire stations emblem patched into the corner of the right breast pocket. Her hair was loose and long, falling elegantly down her back and shoulders like black, wavy feathers.
Her olive complexion and her big brown eyes complimented each other and gave her an exotic beauty that lured me.
"When I was talking to some of the other Space Knight ground forces in some of the other cities, I found out that they were hit hard just like Chicago was," I explained.
Grace's eyes flickered with concern. She pushed her hands into the back pockets of her black jeans. "So, you're saying that it's just as bad everywhere else?"
"It seems to be," I said somberly. "At least that's what they are telling me." I didn't want to lie to her. There was no point in sugar coating the situation. Grace was a first responder. Unfortunately, she knew all about death and destruction in the line of work she was in, anyway.
Grace sighed with a certain solemness that made my heart ache for her. "It's going to take a while before life goes back to normal… if it ever does."
"We are going to stay and help pick up the pieces," I promised her.
Grace gave me a sincere smile. "We appreciate that. I radioed through to some of our police officers who are in the nearby area. They were praising you all for your hard work and efforts to help restore some order and peace. The local law enforcement agencies, me included, really need all the help we can get right now."
As Grace talked, I admired her stunning beauty. She was beyond gorgeous. It was hard to look at her and not feel that impulsive tick of desire and passion in my heart.
I couldn't ignore the way my cock hardened whenever I looked at her. I pictured her naked, wrapped in my arms. The situation wasn't appropriate for that kind of thing, but my imagination had a mind of its own. Being around Grace exposed the yearning even more.
Sometimes my fantasy world got carried away. Grace was remarkably beautiful. It didn't surprise me that I was so attracted to her, human or not — her personality and good looks were all it took to make me feel hooked.
"We need to be prepared for more attacks," I said regretfully.
She looked more shocked than I expected.
"Are you kidding me?" she asked.
"I wish I had better news to give you," I said.
Grace shook her head in disbelief. "It's really not over?"
"Just because it's a new day doesn't mean the problems are over," I said as gently as I could.
Grace frowned and looked out the window for a moment before turning her attention back to me. "How do you know all this?"
"When I was on my headset talking to Merrix, he told me some disturbing news. We also have a team up in the sky trying to take down the warship, but it's not going well so far — and that crew is struggling."
"The… warship?" Grace quizzed, giving me a perplexed frown.
"It's the ship that's housing all these attacking androids," I explained. "It's in charge of releasing them, too. It's commanded by an artificial intelligence, or A.I. for short."
Grace nodded. She seemed to be getting it now. "I have heard of those before. I've never actually seen one though."
"This one is in charge of controlling the mobile androids and giving them the power to launch to Earth," I added, trying to keep the explanation simple.
I didn't want to overwhelm her with the logistics of it, although maybe she could have handled the information anyway. She had already proven herself trustworthy and intelligent to me.
The woman was strong and brave. I'd watched her tirelessly try to save her fellow humans. The compassion about her was fascinating. She had this aura about her — one that radiated and gave her this compelling glow.
I admired her courage. She was like this gravitational source in and of herself, and here I was orbiting around her like a lust-sick moron when our lives were on the line.
If I didn't find a way to keep my emotions in check, my distractions could cost us our lives.
My brother Norin is near the military base," I explained. "He is ready for the third wave of androids when they strike. He is going to try to defend the base as best as he can."
"I wish we could get to them to help out too," Grace said with a dismal sigh and a bleak frown.
"Me too."
There was an extended silence between us. The air felt heavy.
"We need to tell the others," I said, looking at Grace.
She gave me a contemplative glance. "Tell them what?"
I inhaled slowly. "Update them on what we know so far without causing a panic."
Grace nodded and gave me a resilient glance. "Okay. That seems fair. They deserve to know what's going on."
We met up with the rest of the group that was still hiding out in the bank vault.
I started catching everyone up to speed. "I just don't think it's safe for us to be on the move yet. We can't march out of here without a viable plan in place, especially since a third wave of attacks is expected. We'll be easier for them to spot out in the open and in broad daylight."
"We hardly have any supplies, and we have no food," Mike declared, standing up in front of the rest of the group. He planted his hands on his hips and gave me an expectant glance. Defiance flickered in his dark eyes.
I paused a moment and nodded. "Yes, I understand that?—"
"I don't think you do understand, alien man," David said, standing next to Mike and backing up his captain.
Grace released a labored sigh. "David don't be an ass?—"
"We are thirsty and starving," David said, glaring at Grace to cut her off. "What is this guy's plan for that ?" He shot me an accusatory glower.
My blood pressure was rising and so was my frustration. I wanted to put an indentation through David's face with my fist, but I knew that wasn't going to solve any of our problems and would only make the tensions worse between us.
"I can go out for supplies," I suggested. "Is there a corner store around here?"
"What makes you the big hero?" David scoffed, cutting me an icy, patronizing scowl.
"I'm not trying to be a hero. You mentioned food, and I can go and get something?—"
"I thought you said it wasn't safe to leave the bank?" Mike gave me a questioning glance, arching his left eyebrow cynically.
"It's not safe to travel long distances, but if there is a store that has supplies and food in it, we could take the risk to try and bring them back here," I mentioned. "I can scavenger things if I need to and pick through whatever is left."
"You might run into problems with that," Mike said. His expression wasn't as hard anymore. He looked like he might be ready to bend a little more flexibly now. "I'm sure looters have come through."
"Maybe not, though," Grace said. "People might be too scared to come out of their hiding places right now."
"That's a good point," I noted.
Grace all but beamed. Her olive cheeks turned a rosy shade, and she gave me a subtle smile. I noticed David watching us. He seemed angry and jealous every time Grace and I shared a bonding moment.
"I'll go with you," Grace offered. "I know the area. I can help you rummage through the convenience store that is on this same block. It's only a few yards away and it's our best option for now. We can hurry, and I can be your navigational guide. I can also help you carry things back."
She seemed determined to help me. I wanted to find a reason to keep her here where I knew she would be safer, but I trusted in her abilities, and I'd much rather go with her than David or Mike.
"Grace, you can't go out there with him ," David protested.
Grace cut him an irked glance. "Why not?"
David reflected. Once again, he couldn't conjure a legitimate excuse. He sulked in the corner and crossed his arms over his chest with anger. I didn't trust David. I thought he was reckless, like a loose cannon. I thought he might be a ticking time bomb. There was only a matter of time before that guy snapped and fucked us all over.
Grace looked at Mike. "Let me guess — you are going to protest, too."
Mike shook his head, surprising me. "Go ahead with him, but hurry back as soon as you can. If you run into trouble, take a radio so we can send back up to you. Stay with each other, don't separate under any circumstances. Remember — your safety and health are more important than the supplies and food you bring back."
Grace nodded, giving Mike a grateful nod. "Got it. Thank you."
She leaned down to pick up a backpack full of medical equipment, but Mike stepped up to her and shook his head. "No. You have to leave that here, with us."
Grace glanced at me to see if I would argue.
I shrugged. "It's fine with me."
Grace handed the bag over to Mike. "Alright. Here you go."
She turned toward me and gave me a timid smile. She looked nervous to go into the outside world after everything that had happened and to be honest, I couldn't blame her.
"Hey Grace?" Mike asked.
Grace glanced at him over her shoulder. "Yeah?"
"Be careful out there. Come back to us in one piece. We need you." There was kindness and respect in Mike's eyes as he looked at her.
Grace smiled. "Don't worry, I will."
"You are making a mistake, Grace!" David shouted arrogantly behind us.
Grace ignored him and don't look back. David wasn't willing to be as accommodating to the plan.
Grace and I hurried off together before David could charge after us and block Grace from leaving with me.
I thought privately that he might need to be dealt with later if worst came to worst. I wasn't going to rule anything out. We needed to stick together, but if our lives depended on it — I wouldn't hesitate to take matters into my own hands.