Zein: The Homecoming Page 12

  The other three groups were running as fast as they could back to the vehicles. The last flickers of sunlight were gobbled up by the encroaching tendrils of night. The security detail protecting the other three groups, consisting mainly of US Marines and troops from the Malacca clan, had created a defensive line, firing into the mass of bodies that were jumping from roof to roof, exiting damaged buildings, swinging from exposed pipework as they attacked the convoy, to give the civilians a chance to make it to the vehicles.

  Too many, thought Kabel.

  I agree with you, bro, replied Tyson, as he fired his photon shotgun through the broken window at one of the massive forms rising from the holes in the floor at the Grand Zein Central Transportation hub. The soldiers supporting the other fleeing groups were now grappling with the attackers no match for the brute animal strength. The civilians had managed to climb into their respective APCs but the troops supporting them were losing their battles.

  Amelia, alarmed, screamed a warning to Tyson when she saw a seven foot, dark blue furred, giant ape-like creature jump off the top of the Grand Zein Central Transportation hub and land behind Tyson with his frightening incisor teeth bared. As he brought his wicked looking claw down onto Tyson’s unsuspecting back, Tyson’s force-field flared up. He activated one of his seckles and whipped round severing both the lower part of the arms of the creature. The creature roared with pain, blood spurting from the stumps and then one of the troopers finished the creature off.

  More and more of the creatures were racing to the centre of the city, drawn like moths to a light on a dark night, fixated on the convoy. A number of the troops exposed in the circle supporting the other three groups died where they stood, their limbs ripped from their sockets by the enraged beasts, who didn’t break stride in their attack. Groups One and Two had not reached the vehicles yet and more and more of the vicious animals were launching themselves like maddened beasts at the frantically defending Blackstone troopers. Tyson heard and felt their fear. They were still untried even with all Remo’s training behind them and were panicking at the unfolding nightmare. Then the levitation tanks and ASV weapons opened up and the barrage tore the front line of the attackers to pieces, momentarily halting the advance.

  ‘Quick, get to the trucks, now,’ yelled Kabel as he fired into the massed ranks. Some of the scientists were too slow and perished at the hands of the attackers. Walter Moore ducked as one animal launched a swinging arm at his head. Walter fell over, losing his glasses, and it looked like he was lost. Then Bronstorm and Hechkle went to his aid, dispatching the main attacker by simultaneously swinging and embedding their seckles deep into the creature’s stomach and ripping out his intestines. They stood over Walter, protecting him as he found his glasses, placed them on his face and then continued his sprint to the APC.

  The others fell behind him creating a meaningful barricade. Bailey was firing with unerring accuracy at the nearest Pod and Amelia kept pulling at his shoulder telling him to get into the APC. Eventually all the survivors managed to climb aboard and for the next two minutes the powerful guns halted the attack. Kabel could see that the halt in the attack would only last for a moment; the creatures appeared crazed, throwing their bodies at the vehicles even though their numbers were taking massive casualties.

  ‘This is Group One Leader. Let’s move. Don’t stop until we are safely behind the barrier,’ Kabel ordered all the drivers. ‘Sean, contact the ship and ask them to send air cover, there are too many, we don’t stand a chance without help.’ The experienced Scottish man patched into the communication link with Elanda as the driver next to him followed the back of the ASV in front of them as the convoy snaked out of the large central circle. On the ship, General Corder received the request but delayed the order. At the back of his mind was the opportunity to be rid of Tyson.

  The expedition, led by the two levitation tanks at the front, fought through the debris and the growing number of attackers. The tanks cleared the street before them before advancing back towards the ship, all the while with the creatures jumping on the tanks trying to find a way in and wrestle control away from the intruders.

  On the ASV behind the fifth APC the troopers manning the Browning and grenade launcher were using them to good effect, until, one of the Pod managed to land on the top of the vehicle and tear the head of one of the troopers clean off and then slashed the throat of the man firing the Browning machine gun. Another joined him and they used their claws to rip the door of the ASV door off. They then swung in. The ASV careered off the street into one of the buildings.

  Kabel heard the scream of the driver through his headset. Where is the air support!

  The expedition was making very slow progress through the city. The levitation tanks were blasting away and the remaining ASV was keeping the hordes away from the APCs. A few of the Pod jumped on the APCs only to be flung off the moving vehicle or picked off by the machine gun on the ASV. The Pod seemed to recognise this, with Tyson picking up a sense of urgency from the Pod to attack the ASV. Although he couldn’t understand all the words as his magics were still attuning to the language barrier, it was enough to understand the Pods’ plan.

  Sure enough, at a narrow part of the road, six Pod jumped on the ASV in front of Group One’s vehicle and after a brief fight the ASV skewed sideways, blocking the path of the other vehicles.

  ‘Out everyone,’ Kabel shouted, ‘we are sitting ducks if we stay in these vehicles, if we go down, then we go down fighting.’ With that, Kabel released the lock on the vehicle and the back doors were flung open and he leapt out with the remaining soldiers followed by his companions. Tyson jumped onto the back of the APC and pulled his photon blaster out and activated one of his seckles. He coolly used both to good effect. One Pod jumped and whilst in mid-air Tyson shot him, causing the body to leap back in the air from the force of the shot, and then another came from behind him but his force-field, thankfully, did its job as the blow bounced off him. He brought his seckle into the fight, ripping into the muscled stomach region that was less hairy then the rest of the animal. He then threw the creature off the APC as, with a look of disbelieve and pain, it held the open wound in its hands.

  Tyson was shocked; the fear he felt emanating from the beasts was overwhelming. It was driving them on insanely in their attack. Why are they so scared? he thought.

  Good question, Tyson, I feel it as well, Kabel echoed in his mind as his two seckles cut deeply into a Pod in front of him.

  And I, thought Belina.

  Now was not the time for deliberation. Kabel joined his brother, along with Amelia and Gemma. Bronstorm and Hechkle went to help the civilians in Groups Four and Five, who had lost the majority of their troopers. The roofs of the buildings were full of the beasts. Tyson saw in the disappearing light that there was a sea of blue in every direction. Sweat ran down his face as the intensity of battle increased.

  ‘General Corder, Sir, what should I do?’ said Lieutenant Michaels. The messages for support came thick and fast, yet General Corder still hesitated. The crew listened with horror to the cries for help, casting angry glances at their commander. It was only when Admiral Koshkov burst into the Command and Control Centre with a face like thunder that he acted.

  ‘Launch ten Cobras, Lieutenant, immediately,’ General Corder ordered, his uncertainty gone. Koshkov glared at Corder but did not say anything; there would be time for that later.

  Gemma and Belina were using every martial art move they could muster. Tyson marvelled on how Gemma, who reached only to Belina’s shoulder, took on the beasts that dwarfed her. She didn’t flinch and her face was full of concentration as she spun round and used a roundhouse kick to propel one of the creatures off the top of the APC.

  On the ground, Walter Moore had picked up a photon shotgun and with a wild look of fear in his eyes blasted anything that came into his radius.

  ‘Well, bro, at least you have seen your home planet,’ said Tyson, standing back to back with Kabel. His brother could only grun
t as the exertion of the defence was taking its toll.

  Gemma disposed of another attacker below him, at the side of the APC that caught Tyson’s eye. God, you look sexy, he said telepathically, shading his thought from Kabel.

  You are only human, well sort of, she retorted, with barely a smile. This was no time to inform him that she had moved on. The interplay was then disrupted as both dispatched another two attackers.

  Neither saw that Amelia had caught the glance as she fired unerringly at the mass of creatures before her. Her stomach churned with jealousy and drove her to defend with increased vigour, driven by her rage. Tyson picked up the increased intensity of her emotions and her less than pleasant thoughts of Gemma. He decided to ignore them and focused on the task at hand, knowing he had to sort out his feelings for the two girls’ once and for all.

  Kabel was worried. They had lost one of the levitation tanks at the back of the convoy when a number of the Pod had collapsed a building onto the top of it, crushing and burying the men.

  Amelia was at the side of the APC and was so intent in picking off any Pod approaching her that she didn’t notice that she had become separated from Gemma. A sixth sense made her turn round and it was only then that she realised that she was alone on this side of the APC, with Gemma moving to the front of the vehicle. Her second mistake was in taking her attention away from the Pod. A claw crashed into her gun and it fell to the ground smashed to bits. The giant male Pod then grabbed her arm and pulled her into an alleyway.

  ‘Tyson, help me,’ she cried. Tyson saw Amelia being dragged off and with a leap jumped of the APC, closing the distance between them. With a flash of his seckle he cut through the hairy blue arm holding her and the limp remainder of the arm lost its grip and fell away from Amelia. The Pod gave a great squeal of pain. Tyson put the creature out of its misery.

  ‘Run back to the vehicle,’ he said, monitoring closely the other creatures converging on them. Amelia didn’t need to be asked twice. She set off and ran with her head down. Tyson began working his way with backward steps down the alleyway, picking off any Pod with his blaster.

  At that moment, when all hope was disappearing, suddenly explosions on either side of the convoy cleared their nearest attackers. Kabel looked up and saw Elanda’s fixed wing aircraft. Wave after wave of Cobras launched a devastating non-nuclear payload from their propulsion cones, followed by deathly rounds from their photon machine guns. All around the survivors of the expedition there were cries of fear from the Pod and many died. Huge explosions blew the buildings around the alleyway which Tyson was desperately trying to exit.

  ‘Run, Tyson, run!’ shouted Kabel. Amelia turned around and looked down the alleyway. Tyson, with his bright blue shield flaring, was running towards the entrance of the alley. The buildings either side of him shook with the explosions and then came tumbling down on top of Tyson, burying him.

  ‘Tyson!’ Amelia cried at the top of her lungs and started to run back but Bailey grabbed her and held her. Amelia fought against Bailey’s grip, to no avail. The explosions continued throwing up sheets of dust and shrapnel.

  ‘Amelia, into the vehicle, it’s too dangerous,’ said Bailey, as Hechkle came across to help him bundle the struggling girl into safety. Bronstorm was not far behind, panting from the fighting. He peered into the gloom and saw a mountain of debris where Tyson had stood. He looked up at Kabel and shook his head. Kabel swore.

  The Pod retreated, disappearing with their injured, just as quickly as they had appeared. Soon the only sound was the crackle of fires ignited by the bombing and the cries of the injured convoy personnel.

  It took them sometime to move the AVS out of the way and unblock the rubble strewn road. Reinforcements were sent from the Elanda by General Corder, to provide cover. They again checked the area where Tyson had been standing and the amount of rubble made it impossible for them to find him. Reluctantly, Kabel gave the order for the remaining vehicles, three levitation tanks and four remaining APCs, to limp into the safety of the perimeter as the deep gloom of night descended. The friends were all distressed and Kabel vowed they would go back in the morning with heavy lifting equipment to see if they could retrieve Tyson’s body. He was in no mood to lose another brother.

  Of the seventy-two members of the expedition, forty three survived. Shattered and with heavy hearts the remaining members sought the security of their quarters. Amelia had ignored all attempts by the rest of the group to comfort her and left those looking after her, soulfully making her way to her room.

  Later, there was a knock on her door. Amelia ignored it. She didn’t feel like talking to anyone. Tyson was gone. He had given his life for hers. She could never forgive herself. The knocking on the door was persistent and anger flared up within her. She pulled herself from the bed, wiped her tears away on her sleeve and stormed to the door, ready to give whoever was there a mouthful. The door slid back.

  Any angry remark was struck from her vocabulary. Standing in front of her was an equally distraught Bailey. His eyes were rimmed red where the tears had come thick and fast. Amelia stepped back and he shuffled in and simply stood in the middle of the room with a hopeless look. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him and with a glazed look he slowly placed his arms around her. They didn’t know how long they stood there before Bailey left, for each was wrapped up in their own memories of a person whom they loved deeply.

  Chapter 11: Olive Branch

  Tate stumbled back down the shaft where they had entered Reinan. This was their main secret entry point from the Aeria Cavern, which provided a secure way to salvage any materials or stores in the hastily abandoned capital city. The entrance was purposely made to look like one of the Pod entrance points when they invaded the city all those years ago. Tate had been a young boy when the city was attacked by the Pod. That night had left him scarred. His father had woken him from a deep sleep in the Malacca Royal Palace and they and the rest of his family had fled to the basement where their escape hatch to the Aeria Cavern was. As they rushed into the room the Pod crashed through the impressive front door, cutting through the few troops left to guard the building, with the majority sent to fight a rear guard retreat outside the city, some two termins away but the speed of the fall back had come as a shock to both the soldiers and the Reinan population. The blaring alarm telling them all was lost. Those who were not wealthy and did not have their own escape hatch were forced to make their way to the Transportation or Royal Council buildings through the dangerous streets. Many did not make it… men, women and children cut down by the creatures, hell bent on annihilation. Tate still remembered the screams of the guards and from those unfortunate enough to be outside as his family made it through their escape hatch…he didn’t stop shaking for days after and it was then he vowed, if he became a soldier, he would look after every man, woman and child irrespective of wealth.

  He turned his attention back to the tunnel. After the strategically placed foot and hand holds dug into the soil of the hole, further down there was a steel hatch requiring a passcode to enter. The steel hatch was the beginning of a long chute-like tunnel with rungs inside attached to ultra-thick zinithium strengthened steel. The chute entered the main tunnel near the South Gate entrance. The rest of the party of six climbed down with their plunder and dropped into the tunnel.

  Tate was still in shock. The others had already begun descending when the noise outside stopped them, they were caught in two minds, not wanting to be out in the dark with the roaming Pod to deal with but intrigued by the noise. They had heard the vehicles and all could not resist taking a look out of the broken windows. They were initially shocked at seeing the heavily armoured invaders. This was how they viewed the convoy, as invaders, which is what they thought they were at first. It was only when they saw the troops and civilians approach the Royal Council building that they realised that this pre-conception was not altogether right.

  ‘Look, that is a Blackstone,’ said Kron, pointing to the tall figure at the
front of the soldiers.

  ‘Yes, and Fathom and Malacca troops as well,’ said Tate, ‘but who are they?’ He pointed to some of the figures that didn’t tally with the usual characteristics of the five clans. His eyes fastened on two young women who were chatting with one of the men who seemed to be related to the girl with spiky black hair. He then saw her.

  Belina was checking her shotgun with her gaze focused downwards. She then looked at and laughed with the man who was standing with the other two females. Tate could see that they were close. It was when her head turned and looked at the Grand Zein Central Transportation hub that Tate had seen her face clearly: it was one of the most beautiful faces he had ever seen. He carefully retreated slightly to prevent her from spotting him peering from the cracks in the broken windows.

  When the invaders decided to shift their attention to the building he was in, Tate decided that it was time to go. He saw the light diminishing and hoped that these strangers knew the risk they were taking. No one stayed out after dusk if they wanted to stay alive. They were just in the process of exiting the building when Tate was spotted by one of the men, an unusual man. He saw the tell-tale Blackstone blue eyes but this was no Blackstone. His magics smelt danger, conflicting magics within the blood of this man. He was young but there was an edge to him. Tate had seen many things in the last few years, fought many battles, faced incredible odds, yet he felt the hairs on the back of his head and on his arms stand up. He felt fear.

  He hurriedly climbed down the shaft and joined the team in the tunnel. ‘Kron, call an emergency session of the Inner Council,’ he commanded as he hurried along the tunnel. Kron saluted and ran ahead to do his master’s bidding. Tate removed his pack and outer armour when he reached the Inner Council building. He poured himself a glass of water and thought what the arrival of the invaders meant. It was obvious that this must be the returning Expeditionary Force as he had seen Zeinonians, but who were the strange race with them? They looked very similar to Zeinonians but there was enough difference for him to identify that they were an alien race.