Chapter 8 #2
Something flashed overhead, a blur of movement that had him and the others lifting their rifles.
A ball of purple landed a few meters in front of him.
Everyone retrained their rifles down toward it until Dax held up his hand to hold.
The ball unfurled to a small, monkey-like creature, and its arms were raised in a universal sign of ‘I’m unarmed.
’ It stared at Dax, unblinking. He stared back, uncharacteristically at a loss for words.
This was no Travian, but what was it, and was it friend or foe?
“Can you understand me?” he asked in a hushed voice.
The creature shook its head, which might mean no, except that would be stupid.
How could it answer with a no if it didn’t understand the question?
Before Dax tried again, the creature started walking backward with a rolling gait.
It gestured with one of its hands, paws—whatever—and that signal was pretty damn clear.
He looked over his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Cleo grabbed his arm before he took a step. “How do we know we can trust this thing?”
“We don’t,” he retorted. “But I can’t see why the Travians would employ it to lure us into a trap when it would be so much easier to wait until we walked ourselves right into their arms. Let’s play this out.”
So saying, Dax stepped forward. He swore the purple monkey grinned in encouragement. “We’re here to rescue Frey.” This time he was sure the creature grinned, and it waved them forward with greater urgency.
Frey couldn’t hold back the whimper when Kuren reached for him again.
Words of pleading pressed against his closed lips, desperate to come out.
He held them back with effort, knowing they’d make the asshole even happier than he already was brutalizing his human pet.
No, he was Rone’s pet. This wasn’t over yet.
Kuren kept his weapons in the quarters with him.
He obviously didn’t think Frey was any kind of threat.
Too bad they were laying so far from the bed.
Frey had no hope of reaching them unless Kuren fell asleep.
So far, he showed no sign of flagging energy.
Kuren’s meaty hand wrapped around Frey’s arm and squeezed as he pulled him closer. “I can see why Rone became so possessive of you. I almost hope he succumbs to Avith’s efforts. Keeping you will help ease the irritation of finding a new runner.”
Frey said nothing, as there was nothing to say. He just went boneless in the alien’s hold, letting him put Frey’s body in whatever position he wanted. Closing his eyes, he tried to drift to that place in his mind where things hurt less.
“How the fuck did you get in here!”
Kuren’s weight lifted suddenly off him. Frey opened his eyes and saw Preen had come into the room.
Kuren was already moving to grab a gun. Frey didn’t even form a coherent thought before launching his aching body off the bed.
He leaped onto Kuren’s back before the guy had fully stood.
Frey snaked his arm around the thick neck and tightened his hold with all his strength.
His small body had little impact on the larger creature.
But suddenly there was a commotion by the door.
A man strode in, rifle at the ready. He homed in on Kuren and Frey in an instant.
Frey hurled himself off Kuren to avoid the line of fire.
The man didn’t hesitate. He dropped Kuren with a single shot to his face.
The Travian fell heavily right by Frey’s foot, which he pulled out of the way just in time.
Panting with pain and exertion, dazed and confused, Frey watched a woman, another man and a kid no older than him file in, then shut the door.
It was Preen, though, who raced to Frey first and put its furry little arms around him. Frey hugged the creature close, tears clouding his vision for a moment while he pulled himself together. He gently pushed Preen back enough to sign.
“You led them here?”
“They’re your people, yes?”
Frey grinned widely. “Yes, except I’m not sure who they are or what they’re doing here.”
The man who had shot Kuren came over to kneel by Frey’s side. “Frey Bjorkson, right?”
Frey blinked back at him in surprise. “Yes, sir. How did you know?”
The man’s expression turned grim. “We found Halo III.”
Frey sniffed back his tears. “Did they get a proper burial?” He didn’t know why that mattered, yet it did. His mother had once said it was the final act of the living for the dead.
“Yeah, they did. I’m Dax, by the way. And that’s Cleo, Branch—the giant—and Ben. We’ve been spying on the Travians and tracking you at the same time.” He jutted his chin toward Preen. “Your friend here led us right to you.”
Frey grinned. “Preen’s the best, and it understands a lot of what we say.”
“Good. Obviously it can come with us, but we need to hurry.” He looked around the room. “Do you, ah, have any clothes?”
In the heat of the moment, Frey had forgotten that he was buck naked, bruised and bleeding in a few places.
He could tell what everyone was thinking.
Their sympathy and, frankly, embarrassment rolled at him over Kuren’s corpse.
He suddenly couldn’t wait to get dressed, except Kuren had ripped off the nice clothes Rone had given him.
He searched the room for something he could use and spied Rone’s suitcase.
Relief flooded through him. Of course, Frey’s old uniform was packed inside. He pushed up from the floor.
When Dax held out a hand to help, Frey shook his head. “It’s okay. I can do it myself. I’m fine.” He stood on shaky legs and eyed each of his rescuers. “I’m fine, really.”
Despite his brave words, he did feel much better once he’d managed to put on his uniform. Worn, yet comforting, it also gave him a kind of inner strength to get moving. The rescue wasn’t done by a long shot. He turned to Preen.
“Do you know where they have him?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” Frey went over to Kuren’s stash of weapons, trying not to limp, so that the others wouldn’t think him too weak to proceed. Picking up a handgun, he turned it over and over in his hand. “Do you know how to use this?” he asked Dax.
“Yeah, why?”
“Because I need you to show me. We’ve got another stop to make before we leave this ship.”
Rone went down again barely, before he got to his feet.
One eye was clogged with blood from his head while the other was shut almost entirely from a more direct blow.
It was getting almost impossible to avoid that fucking prod and the asshole wielding it.
The guards, who were supposed to be observing only, still chose to kick him back into play any time he strayed too far from Avith’s range.
If there was any spot on his body that didn’t ache, burn or bleed, he was hard pressed to identify it.
Avith’s leering face came into view. “You’re working for High Command. Admit it and all of this stops.”
Sure, permanently. Not. Going. To. Happen. “Fuck,” he wheezed. “Fuck off.”
Avith raised the prod again, searching no doubt for a virgin spot to hit.
He never got the chance. The storage room turned torture chamber swished open.
Laser fire pulsed through, taking out the guards first. Through his limited vision, Rone saw…
humans? With a painful shake of his head, he tried in vain to clear his vision.
It didn’t help. He still saw humans, then one in particular, and he knew he wasn’t seeing things.
Frey raised the gun in his hand and dropped Avith.
The moment he did so, the boy seemed to collapse.
He fell by Rone’s side.
“Oh, shit. What did he do to you?” Rone’s gaze raked his boy, and what he saw broke his heart. “What did Kuren do to you?”
Frey didn’t answer. Instead he leaned over Rone and worked the restraints free. The pain of blood returning suddenly to his numb hands was excruciating.
A large human male, with only light stubble where hair should be, interrupted. “Look, guys, I hate to break up this frankly really fucked up reunion, but we have to go. Our luck is running out, and I don’t like our odds if the rest of the crew trips to what’s going on.”
Rone glanced at the male, then back at Frey. “Who is this and do you trust him?”
“What’s he saying?” the human demanded.
Frey shook his head in frustration then assured them—each in his own language—that he’d explain it to both of them later. He turned toward Rone. “Come on, master. Can you stand?”
“Master?” the male spit out. “Are you sure you want to bring him along?”
Frey turned on the guy with a growl that made Rone proud. “I told you before, I’m not leaving without him.”
The male put his palms up. “Fine. Branch, come over and help. No way you’re lifting this naked mountain by yourself,” he added to Frey.
Although it hurt his pride, Rone allowed the human males to lift him onto his feet and didn’t protest when the largest of them slung one of Rone’s arms around his shoulders.
It helped that Frey took up the same position on the other side.
His small pet didn’t have the height or the strength to provide much support, but the closeness comforted Rone, regardless.
As they passed through the open door, Rone tried to ignore that a female seemed to be with them, getting an embarrassing eyeful.
Then he spotted Preen and all of his worries slipped away.
“Good to see you in one piece, friend.”
“Not sure I can say that you are in the same condition.” With one of its throaty little sounds of happiness, the creature scampered off, leading the way.
The trip was short, passing surprisingly the shuttle bay and ending instead in the cargo bay. How had the humans entered here? The answer came to him when they stopped by a small, open hatch in the floor. The leader of the humans eyed the hole, then Rone.
“He’s never going to fit through there.”