Chapter 3 #2
Even as they hit the ground, the door exploded outward and a rush of air came howling through the mountain caverns.
He had never tasted desert air so sweet.
The Ungrich attached to Kai and Aled had already retreated through the wall, but the third and most senior was trapped under Rehz and the weight of the other two males.
“DYING.”
“Good. Where’s Anna? We’re going to put you in a fucking jar and study you for a while. See how you like it. Is that what you want?”
“Can’t function. Need Other.”
Rehz looked up at Kai. “Can you find anything to cover this bastard up in and keep it wet?”
“The wall can’t seal up with half an Ungrich out here.” Aled shot to his feet. “I’ll collect some of the goo oozing out of the wall. We can hold it in that if we can contain it in something.”
“Rehz!”
He looked up to see about a dozen of his former colleagues, all Tribute trainers, pouring into the space. “I need something to trap this fucker in, stat!”
Within moments, the trainers stripped bare one of the man-size resuscitation units from the medical center.
They filled it with the soup oozing from the cracks in the wall through which the Ungrich had failed to retreat and seal its space.
Shoving the bulk of the tentacled alien inside was like trying to fit a full-grown camrak into a half-liter observation jar, but they were damn well motivated to make it work.
He crouched down beside the mess of heaving tentacles and straddled the largest that was still connected to the wall.
“You want to stay here? Or do you want to go home? Or shall I just send half of you back so you can see how I feel? Give me Anna and we’ll let you go.
We’ll even patch up the portal so your world is safe. ”
Behind him, the sound of weapons being readied echoed through the cavern. He didn’t bother to turn his head. Not even when he recognized the next voice to raise itself over the din.
“Release the Ungrich , Rehz Akran.”
“Fuck off, Palk.”
“I said stand clear.”
“So you can what? Become leader of the Mitan people when the Ungrich unleash their power on the surface? What people, Palk? We’ll all be fucking dead.”
“He’s right.” Aled faced Palk and the armed guards. “That’s what this has all been about for the Ungrich . This research ? This fucking treaty ? All so they could find a way to get out of their space and into ours.”
Kai kicked the unit containing the Ungrich . “Who are you going to believe, guys? Palk, or me and Rehz?”
Malke took a step toward Kai. “I’d tend to believe you. Palk’s a sadistic bastard.” Shooting his arm out, he disarmed the nearest guard and turned the weapon on a stuttering Palk. “What do you want us to do with this filth?”
“Stop Palk from killing us and make sure the government knows what’s going on?” Kai suggested.
“This is an insubordination!” Palk cried. “Take these men down!”
“Fuck that.” Kai reared back and executed a perfect kick at one of the guard’s throats, taking his weapon as the man crumpled to the ground. He tossed the gun to Aled as the remaining trainers efficiently overcame Palk’s uncertain troops.
“What are we going to do, Rehz?” Aled crouched beside him.
“Tell everyone to shut up so that I can talk to these fuckers.”
He concentrated hard. “If you give Anna back, I will return you to Ungrich space. My government and our scientists will get here very soon. They’ll walk inside that vault and blow it to pieces with every fucking weapon they have at their disposal.
Your entire world will be cut off from ours.
You’ll lose everything, and they’ll chop you up into little pieces in their labs and analyze you until the day you die.
Even if your Other tries to retaliate, they won’t be in time to save you. ”
There was no reply, and he pressed his cheek against the clear surface.
“If you give Anna back, you’ll still have your world and your research.
I don’t want anything else but her. From the look of you, you won’t last much longer out here.
Make a decision while you’re still attached to your world and still alive. ”
Kai came to kneel next to him. “If this bastard won’t help, we’ve all agreed that we’ll go in there and find Anna regardless.”
Rehz nodded, his mind totally fixed on the ragged internal breathing of the Ungrich wrapped around his throat. His whole body was shaking. If the fuckers didn’t agree to his request, he was taking a fucking flamethrower, walking into Ungrich space, and . . .
“We comply.”
For a moment Rehz thought he hadn’t heard anything, and then Kai shouted. “Look out!”
He turned in time to see the pink walls vibrate again and release a tangle of probes and a flash of blond hair. He released his grip on the Ungrich coils and ran toward the platform, the mass of the creature spilling out of the container and following behind him.
Pushing his way through the thrashing tentacles, he grabbed Anna and took her into his arms, bringing her out into the cavern.
“Let it go.” He nodded at the rest of the men.
Palk stirred. “The government won’t—”
His words remained unfinished as Aled stepped forward and punched him in the face. “Fuck the government.”
Within an instant the Ungrich ripped its probe out of Rehz’s neck and shot back into the wall.
“Shut the portal as best as you can,” Kai ordered. “And seal it up.”
Rehz remained on the floor, his arms around Anna Lee, his head bent over her unconscious form. He was shaking so hard he could barely manage to breathe. Kai and Aled came to join him.
“What did you say to get the Ungrich to release her?” Kai murmured.
“I said we’d trade Anna for the captured Ungrich . I also said we wouldn’t obliterate them and that the extent of their research would remain in their hands.” His smile was feral. “I lied. The sooner we can get back in there and erase them forever, the better.”
The sound of booted feet echoed around the cavern, and it was soon filled with troops. He stayed where he was, blood dripping steadily from his torn throat. Kai collapsed next to him, his strength gone, and Aled stood guard over them all, his purloined weapon at the ready.
A man Rehz had never seen before but who looked vaguely familiar came and crouched beside their little group.
“Rehz Akran. Your government thanks you.”
He nodded, barely able to form words. “Anna needs help.”
“We will take you all to a secure medical facility.”
Rehz’s grip on Anna tightened. “Not a military one where Palk has any influence. Nor anywhere near that fucking bastard.”
“No, my private facility.” The man got off his knees and stood back to reveal a medical team. “You can trust these people with your lives.”
Kai managed a faint snort. “I’ve heard that before.”
“You may keep your weapons if you prefer.”
“We had no intention of giving them up.”
Aled offered Kai his hand to rise as Rehz stood with Anna in his arms. Every cell of his body hurt. All he wanted was darkness, Anna, and the oblivion of sleep in a normal bed.
As they moved forward, a team of large guards closed around them and the man leading them. Anna and Kai were placed on gurneys, and the whole procession moved out through a row of black uniformed troops and onto some kind of airship.
“The journey will only take a few minutes.” The largest man nodded to Rehz. “I am Bron, head of presidential security.”
No wonder the guy offering help had looked so familiar.
Rehz sank on the side of Anna’s gurney, holding her hand. He jumped as someone slapped a dressing on his neck, and grabbed their wrist.
“Sorry!” The young medical assistant went still, her eyes wide. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Bron eased Rehz’s bloodstained fingers away from the female tech and spoke to her in a quiet rumble. “Don’t touch any of them without permission, okay? They’ve been in hell.”
Rehz held his gaze, and the security guard pulled down the collar of his black shirt to reveal the mark of an Ungrich tentacle. “I survived for seven days. I don’t know how you guys survived for fourteen.”
“It was that long? We had no idea of time in there.” Rehz swallowed hard. “It wasn’t so bad.” He had no intention of revealing all the details of their ordeal to a stranger, even if the man had once been a Tribute.
The engines stuttered and began the process of descending. He struggled to keep his eyes open as the warmth of the place surrounded him. Whatever Bron said about them being secure, he had to keep awake. He glanced over at Aled, who was checking out the space, and caught his eye.
“Ready?”
“To protect you all? Yeah.”
Bron wisely didn’t say anything as he walked to the door and began issuing orders. Within seconds of touching down, they were on the move again, through more soldiers and into a low white building. Even the beauty of the place couldn’t hide the smell of a medical center, and Rehz stiffened.
Bron took the four of them through to a large room with big windows facing out over a lake. There were a variety of beds and other furniture spaced around the chamber. Anna was transferred into one of the beds and Kai into another.
A man in a white coat appeared and bowed to Rehz.
“I’m Dr. Ilkar. I’ll be responsible for your care.” He hesitated, his gaze on Rehz’s weapon. “We’d like to do a basic health survey of you all to make sure we don’t miss anything vital that needs attending to right away. Would that be acceptable?”
“Sure. Start with Anna Lee, please.”
Rehz took a reluctant step backward and laid his weapon on the end of Anna’s bed. She was still unconscious and smelled too much like Ungrich space and Aled for his liking. But she was alive, and for that he’d always be immensely grateful.
Dr. Ilkar produced a scanner and ran it over Anna’s body, his frown deepening.
Rehz tensed and reclaimed his weapon. “She’s going to be all right, isn’t she?”
“I believe so. We’ll stabilize her first and then discover more.” The doctor turned to him. “Stand still.”
Within a few moments the doctor had scanned them all and was issuing a long set of orders to his staff. Rehz was directed toward another bed, but he balked until Dr. Ilkar turned to a staff member.
“He can sleep next to Anna Lee if he wishes.”
“But Doctor—”
“We will manage.”
Bron stood against the wall and watched all the proceedings, occasionally muttering into his cuff. Rehz felt his eyes closing as the intravenous fluids went to work. A shape materialized by his bed and he reared up.
“Don’t take my fucking weapon.”
Bron leaned over him, his brown eyes steady. “Rehz Akran, we will guard you with our lives. Do not doubt it. Sleep now.”
Rehz held the man’s gaze and then nodded. The next thing he knew, he was falling into the darkness of sleep.