The flight didn’t last long, and soon we were descending again, until they eventually marched us out of the shuttle with guns at our backs.
The area looked familiar; this was the south side of town. I almost didn’t recognize it, even though I used to come this way every week when my son was younger and had to see the physiotherapist for his sports injuries. The buildings were still standing, but they were run-down and partially destroyed.
We landed in the parking lot of a strip mall. The asphalt was cracked and all faded by years of inclement weather. Most of the empty storefronts had their glass broken, and the back of a van stuck out from one of them.
Another stolen Xarc’n shuttle landed next to us, uncloaking as it did. More assholes stepped out, dragging more of our women behind them. But it was the helicopter suddenly appearing out of thin air that had me tightening my grip on Alice’s arm. I’d heard one when we were grabbed, but I thought I’d imagined it. How had they managed to get the Xarc’n cloak working on it?
We had to warn the others. But first, we had to survive.
They herded us toward the only unit with an intact front window. It had been a bar. The NEM must have been here for a while because the place stank.
It was warm inside, especially when the other NEM bandits piled in with us. They had shoved all the chairs and tables to one side, and there were supplies stacked against the opposite wall.
As they shoved us unceremoniously into a corner, a man wearing an eye patch rose from his seat. He wore an old army uniform—stolen because it clearly didn’t fit him—and had ayellow New Earth Militia band sewn to the sleeve at the bicep. He looked like the tough guy straight out of a movie.
“Where the hell are the brats?” he demanded.
“Th-They were caught,” stammered one of the men who hadn’t been in our shuttle. “I saw them with the crates and bins, but the guards got to them before I did.”
The boys and the loot? My stomach twisted. I thought of the short interaction I had with Jason at the library, and the snippet of conversation Ror’k and I had overheard. The realization that they’d been working with the NEM made me queasy.
“Excuses!” roared the man with the eye patch, who I was guessing was the big boss here. “You had one fucking job! Our contact says nobody suspected them. This is on you.” He smacked the guy across the head.
“I couldn’t land.”
“Our sensors show that all hunters were off fighting the bugs. What do you mean you couldn’t land?”
“The-The-They had guns, and…”
“Youhave guns, you imbecile.” Eye Patch pointed his weapon at the bumbling idiot.
“Wait!” shouted another man. “Don’t waste him yet. We can still use him.”
“Fine. But this is your last warning. The next time you fuck up, I’m feeding you to the bugs.”
“Boss?” A woman’s voice shouted from behind the bar. “We’ve got a problem. Hunters are coming.”
“Fuck. I told you all not to uncloak.”
“But command said…”
“Fuck what command says. Command is safe in their bunkers. I don’t give a fuck how much fuel it wastes. We’re the ones out here risking our hides. We need to get moving.” Eye Patch walked over, surveying us ladies. “She’s too old,” he said. “You were supposed to grab the young ones.”
“We didn’t have time to pick, sir.”
“Whatever. Leave her behind with the brothers. They’re no use to us anymore now that the brats are caught. They can feed the bugs. Load everyone else up and let’s get out of here.”
The next few minutes were a mess as they dragged Alice and me apart. Then I was standing alone in the abandoned bar with nothing but light streaming in from the darkly tinted windows.
A shuffling sound caught my attention. I wasn’t alone after all. I turned toward the sound, holding a chair in front of me as protection.
“Hello?”
Just more shuffling. Then there was a tapping.
Tap-tapa-tap-tap, tap-tap.
Tap-tapa-tap-tap, tap-tap.
