I felt rage course through my veins. My skin bristled, and my ears were filled with the roar of the fight. It made sense to me now, why this felt so right and normal.

  I was bred for this.

  Like my mother.

  These enemies weren’t Omegans to me anymore. A feeling took over me like an infection. Memories of seeing Varrick dying on an Action medical bed and how they hid him from me. The anger swelled so much that I hadn’t felt the shot that pierced my side. Another fist glanced off my face. When I was close enough, I swung the butt of my rifle into the nearest Omegan. I took a hit to my midsection and doubled over for a second, but jumped back up and was in the middle of a giant fray that spread around me.

  I saw their eyes, their inhuman eyes, images of hell and the dogs of Satan about them. They weren’t human, and it made the blows that much easier to dish out. I felt the anger and rage as much a part of me as my own blood as what stood in my way, what kept me from the life I wanted, from the safety and security I needed for myself and my brother.

  Llewyn came out and stood on top of one of the damaged facilities in the crowd that hadn’t burned yet. He watched, and I yelled out to him to take cover, but it was no use. He wasn’t concerned about taking a shot. A blind soldier with a rock could’ve taken him out. What the hell was he doing? Had he lost his mind?

  The ships fired a little on us then moved back toward the group that came out of the cave. I saw Norg first; he took shots standing in the crowd. A few Omegans crumbled to the ground in agony when they were hit. Treg and I stood with our backs together and parlayed whoever came within range. I swung my arms until I felt like they couldn’t move anymore, then I lunged into a large Omegan and drove them to the ground.

  A hot stinging seared my right shoulder, and I saw a bloody blade being pulled out of me by a grinning Omegan. I connected with my good hand and knocked it to the ground. A deep soreness burst through my body. It got hard to breathe; even standing up straight was tough.

  The howling around me was intense and kept going for what seemed like hours.

  “Ana!”

  I heard Nelson’s voice but didn’t see him. Then, there he was, among a group of soldiers with Norg. They fought their way closer, and we stood near each other, flailing arms, weapons, whatever we could grasp at the horde of Omegans. It felt like we were underground, the way they swarmed about us. Sweat rolled off my forehead and got into my eyes, making them sting.

  “You alright?” he bellowed over the roar.

  “Think so. Here we go again, huh?”

  “Y-yeah, well. Same story, different day.”

  An Omegan swung a large pole over toward Nelson’s head, and I swung my arm up fast to block it. The rod made a loud clang against my armor and glanced off. A tingling shot up my arm until my teeth vibrated. Nelson ducked at the sight of the weapon swung toward him, then looked up at me in amazement. A smile found his face. I felt removed from the fight, like I wasn’t there at that moment anymore, that I was somewhere else with Nelson and this wasn’t even a thought for us.

  His eyes widened and brought me back in an instant. He reached his hand toward me, but then his eyes froze on something behind me. He shouted, but I didn’t understand his words.

  A searing sensation penetrated my lower back. The stinging scorch was soon replaced by a deep soreness. My arms and legs tingled and went limp. I wobbled on my feet, and there was a strange salty taste on my lips. I brushed a finger over my mouth and drew it back, coated with blood. Nelson shielded me as best he could with his own body.

  Dizziness came over me as I shuffled around to a rather large Omegan. He had an insignia like Commander Chun, who we’d seen at Sector Five. I managed a shriek and raised my rifle, but he swung his fist into the side of my head. My feet slipped from under me, and I landed face down. Nelson was by my side, but his shouting soon faded. Everything around me, the screaming and explosions, paled to nothing. All around me was calm.

  Then, I entered my own Darkness.

  Chapter 20 (Nelson)

  M y heart fell when I saw Ana’s body go limp. The Omegan who’d shoved a spear into her back stood by and studied her body as it twitched at random.

  “Ana!”

  I swung my rifle at the Omegan who’d impaled her. The Guard who was nearby leapt around the Omegan and in a swift move snapped its neck.

  The fighting continued as I sunk down near Ana and shielded her body from the combat above. The tears streamed down my face, and fear gripped me. What was going on, what were we supposed to do?

  Pandemonium enveloped us like a dense fog. The Omegans continued their fight and we stood our ground best we could, but soon we were enclosed in a tight circle by the Omegan horde. I suddenly found myself pulled from the fight, and away from Ana, as much as I’d fought to stay close. I was then back in the scuffle on my feet.

  A large horn sounded, and the Omegans stopped their assault. Our group pressed forward but all the Omegans did was defend at that point. Gradually, our group was subdued and the Omegans wrestled the few who still had strength to the ground. I then noticed I was near Llewyn. He regarded the scene with a grim frown, a trickle of blood oozing from a spot on his head.

  “What’s the plan?” I asked Llewyn.

  He watched me with empty eyes, like his entire country had been destroyed. “Plan? We’re a bit beyond that now.” His eyes twitched about. The groans of the wounded settled on the battlefield. A group of Omegans on a small floating skiff observed the scene. One of them clasped a device and then spoke to us.

  “Pitiful humans, you’ve lasted much longer than we’d ever expected. You’ve proven yourselves worthy of lasting for the purposes you’ve been designed for. My name is Emperor Zakmar of the Omegan empire, and you are henceforth and forever onward our prisoners. You were given the opportunity to serve us, but instead you defied our wishes. All you are, all that you did, all that you made was because we allowed you life. You won’t win, you won’t live, you won’t breathe without us there. You’re our crop, and we’re reclaiming what is ours. We’re taking you to our fortress soon. For now, do listen to what I say carefully and relinquish your weapons to the nearest Omegan at your side. Failure to do so will guarantee your immediate and swift termination. Do not test me; I’ve been gracious enough allowing you to come to this location freely.”

  The Coalition surrendered weapons slowly. The Omegans made their way through our group, pulling and reaching for our weapons. The wounded were sorted out. The dead were yanked out of the group, much to the anger of others nearby, but any attempts to stop the removal of bodies was met with brute force from the Omegans.

  Before long a pile had developed of bodies. It pained me to look at it, but still I found myself focused on it. One of them reached for Ana.

  “You’re not taking her.”

  The soldier glared back at me and raised his hand to strike, but Llewyn grasped his shoulder and spoke a few words in his ear. He nodded and left Ana.

  I shrugged and looked at Llewyn. “We’ve been down before; we can figure this out. I’m sure Charista’s got a plan. Another strike, or Cataclysm maybe?”

  Llewyn eyed me with a smirk, his eyes narrowed.

  “She’d help us, right?”

  Still with his eyes on me, he raised his hand. “Emperor Zakmar, I wish to discuss the terms of my surrender with you.”

  “Yes, we must discuss the terms of delivery as agreed upon by Charista.”

  I froze at the conversation.

  It was him.

  The whole time.

  The familiarity that Llewyn had, the fact they knew him by name. Well, they’d know him by name because he was a ranking official. But the deal, the very terms that were mentioned in the document Kado uncovered. It wasn’t fabricated, it wasn’t a mistake. In fact, Llewyn looked to at least be in on it, maybe even the broker of the whole thing.

  Llewyn eyed me with pity; a smile found his lips.

  I felt rage as it coursed through me. My fists were balled so tight they got sore. “You unbelievable bastard. You sold us out to them. Why, what for? How the hell could you do this?”

  “I’m here to survive, Nelson. Look around you. We’ve fought these people for decades. And you don’t even realize we owe them for our very existence.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Humans were dormant as a species. After countless wars humans had their biological activity suspended, and it was the Omegans who brought us back to life. They cloned, cultivated and trained us. They gave us some of their tech, which we learned and were even able to augment, like Cataclysm. We were supposed to be their workers, but something happened. While the Omegans were only worried about what they could take from the planet itself, we became aware and developed. Evolution took over and then before long we’d established a nation. With a whole belief system. And they had a harder time controlling us. People like the Valkyrie made it very difficult for us until they were taken by force to get us under control.”

  “What do you mean, ‘us’? Wait, Llewyn—” I reached for him.

  He gazed on me with disgust. “Forget it, Nelson. That’s how it is here, and if we don’t make friends with it, we’ll die. Charista is dealing, and I’m doing what I need to survive. I suggest you do the same.”

  “Dealing? With the same force who wants to kill us?”

  “Corral, not kill.”

  I jabbed a finger toward Ana. “See what you did to her?”

  He eyed Ana like someone who observed an entry at a science fair. All he mustered was a head shake. I lunged toward him, but an Omegan clutched me and flung me back to the ground.

  I watched Llewyn’s dead eyes review everything as he walked off. The whole place and everyone there looked frozen, like a streaming video caught in buffering mode. I felt numb and lost. The weight of this crushed me to where even breaths were difficult. This was my fault.

  She couldn’t be gone.

  No.

  Not her.

  Not her too.

  I couldn’t lose her again. She lay there like a discarded mannequin, and I thought back to Mom’s helpless and lifeless body on the bed. I clutched her while the rest were pulled and pushed into groups above and around me. I didn’t care. It stung like Mom did. I lost her. Who was I, did it matter anymore? I wish it was me, why not me? It’s my fault; why can’t I just die so other people won’t have to anymore?

  I stared at Ana and noticed her brow wasn’t creased. It was the first time I’d ever seen it relaxed, which made me all the more worried. Her eyes were shut. She lay like a wax figure. The Omegans prodded about the rest of us and divided people into groups. Large orcish looking soldiers stepped about with weapons, moving us into place like frightened cattle. A few who dared push back or resist were bludgeoned intensely.

  One of the monitor screens across from us showed teams of Omegans hauling the Valentium store away. Just one of their precious cargoes. From the look of it they were far more gentle with it than with their human payload.

  Some of the officers milled about. Zakmar stood fixed, his eyes pouring over us like a bear that is deciding which of us morsels were to be its next meal. “Your government has seen fit to deliver you to us in exchange for a cease fire. I’m not willing to discuss terms of this, and frankly, I could care less about their safety at the moment. We’ll handle them in good time. But for now, all you need to know is you’ll be transported for processing.”

  Zakmar strode about us. When he neared me I asked him, “What are we going to be doing there?”

  Zakmar responded, “You’ll find out soon enough. It’s time you humans learn just how much you have was given to you, and since you’ve proven you can’t be productive with your freedom, you’ll be returned to the original purpose we developed you for: servants and miners. That is, those who can follow along. The rest, well, we’ve got ways of handling the non-compliant.”

  The leader of the Omegans spoke with Charista on a monitor chat, and in the background behind Charista I saw a large box being moved away with that familiar Valkyrie symbol on it. She had won, and the Omegans had no idea. To them, they’d made a deal and an easy grab. I wondered what they had in store for us.

  Slavery?

  Experimentation?

  Worse?

  None of it mattered anyway if Charista learned how to break the Cataclysm Failsafe. She had it, us and the Omegans where she wanted us. I thought back to a time that felt so long ago, when I was just a simple man who dreamed of writing this book. I had a crazy pie in the sky dream that I would get published one day, and now it had turned into this.

  I held Ana’s head on my lap. She was still as a rock, but I refused to believe she was gone. My mind flashed back to Mom on the bed, and my every thought that echoed the words and the sentiment, “Live, you must live! Don’t do this.”

  I knew Mom had to go. But Ana; no, this was wrong. It was too early and just incorrect.

  “Don’t leave me.” As I spoke the words, visions of Mom floated into my head. It wasn’t about letting go this time; I couldn’t. This wasn’t a person who’d suffered a disease where death was imminent. This was someone, an idea, a hope, a picture of strength that I somehow willed into being. How did I do that? Out of despair and the absolute stubborn belief that people dying wasn’t the end, that somehow I could make it be about more.

  But it wasn’t.

  Even so, Ana wasn’t going. Some way, somehow, she wasn’t dying. At least not without a fight.

  The Omegans gathered us into small groups and marched us toward giant transport ships where they loaded us like cattle. A few got rambunctious and tried to resist but were quickly silenced with blows to their bodies. They removed our weapons and gear. A fleet of transport ships began to arrive and several people were loaded onto them.

  Norg muttered, “Charista’s just bought herself time, that’s all.”

  “If the Failsafe is tied to the Valkyrie, she won’t have much time at all.”

  “She’ll get hers in time, and hopefully from us,” Norg said. “I need me some Grade A payback, and I’m ready to pull the trigger on her.”

  “First things first. They’re loading us and we’ll need to size up things.” I shuddered as I heard words that Baudricort or even Ana would be saying but they came from me. Treg and Norg looked at me for a moment with awe.

  “We’re open to suggestions, Nelson; you just keep that going.” Treg grinned.

  Norg steadied me. “Can’t do anything now. Too many of them here. Better wait until it’s a one on one thing.”

  “I’m wondering if they even know about me.”

  Norg eyed the Omegans. “I can’t say for sure, but in any case, you get those Pulls you were talking about, best keep them quiet for now. We got to figure out our new situation and any advantage we got better be secret.”

  Norg and Treg remained back with the rest of us. Treg came closer and knelt by Ana; his eyes were shrouded in tears, and a deep wince hung on his face as he looked on her. “Anything from her?”

  “Nothing.”

  “They won’t take her with us,” Norg said.

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “Heard some talkin’. They ain’t no hospital. Anyone going with them’s gotta be able to stand on their own. They’re looking for slaves, not patients.” Norg kicked the ground and grunted in disgust.

  I shuddered at what else that meant. I cupped her head in my hand as a sob choked its way out of me. “They better kill me too then; I won’t leave her like this.”

  I shook her body. Tears came loose and wandered down my face, splashing onto her chest. “Come on, you can’t do this. You’ve got to live, Ana. You aren’t ready for this; there’s more you have to do. Please, just don’t leave me. I need you. I’ve always needed you. Please.”

  Even the thoughts of returning home escaped me. What? Was that my home anymore? Had I lost everything that made me who I was? Was I still even Nelson? Was this where I belonged now?

  For the first time, I heard a strain of emotion in Norg’s voice. “We ain’t going quietly, Prophet Man, I can assure you. I’m thinking of something.”

  “Looks to be now.” Treg flashed a dagger in his hand. I grabbed for the dagger Ana held and nodded to him. “One or None, right?”

  “Fuck-n A.”

  I watched the Omegans corral the Action and Coalition troops, and then Llewyn appeared. He walked with some of them and made comments.

  Llewyn stood with the Omegans in a conference with Charista where it was laid out. The deal, the transfer. Llewyn watched us all, the sweat collected on his brow. My hands clenched into fists and, despite Treg’s warning, I launched to my feet. The Omegans didn’t grab me until I had a hand on him.

  “What did you do? What is this?”

  “It’s survival; you wouldn’t understand.”

  “Oh, I think I would. Only my version doesn’t involve tossing people to the wolves.”

  “I won’t debate the merits of this with you.”

  “Because there are none.”

  “Look, it’s over, it’s done, I made a deal.” He turned, but I yanked him back and gazed into his eyes.

  “You sold us like a bill of goods.”

  “We had to stop them; there was no other way.”

  “What about Cataclysm?”

  “It’s halfway to Lebabolis by now.”

  “You let them in on that little tidbit?”

  He just eyed me in response.

  “Was that even true, what Charista said about the Pox and curing the people?”

 

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