“They have another hideout not far away. I have no doubt that’s where they’re going. The leader ain’t dumb. They won’t leave the area until they get what they came for.”
“And what did they come for? This hard drive thing?”
“That’s just a bonus. They’re looking for Xarc’n tech. Blasters. Shuttles. Communicators. Translators. Anything.”
I scoffed. “And they claim they don’t need the aliens.”
But that was all I could say because I was already starting to feel out of breath as we hurried down the street. They were moving fast, and for good reason too. I heard them before I saw them, the sounds of many exoskeleton-covered feet against the pavement.
“Oh fuck! They’re already here.” Shawn looked behind us, then at me. “Do you know how to get back to New Franklin from here?”
“Yes. I think so.”
“Good. You can cut across the town now, as long as you make a few blocks detour around where the nest had been because of the fungus. Move fast, but don’t tire yourself out. Rest when youneed. Stay close to the buildings, under the overhangs if you can. Stop and listen for danger often. And hide if you see any flyers.”
I could hear him saying those exact words to a bunch of younger boys.
“Why? What are you two—” My words cut off as almost a dozen scuttlers came out from behind a building.
Visceral fear speared through me at the sight of them. Not quite ant, not quite spider, with praying mantis-like blades tipped in neurotoxin for arms, each one was at least hip-high on me. And the worst part? They always travelled in packs.
“Keep going this way. Kai and I will lead them away. We’ll try to find you before you get to New Franklin, but if we don’t, please talk to Roger for us. Tell him what happened. Tell him the boys were coerced. I know he’s a good man, and he will understand. Tell my brother I’m coming.”
“Mine too. He’s the other Sean, spelled differently. Now go, while we have their attention.”
I gawked at the two young men who were even now turning back.
“Go!”
Kai’s word spurred me into action, and I started down the road, staying close to the buildings.
Loud shouting had me turning back. The two were waving and screaming at the scourge, drawing their attention away from me. I had to believe that these young men had a plan. They had to, right? Right? They’d survived out here for years.
Not wanting to waste the distraction, I broke into a jog. I had to make it home.
Chapter 12: Ror’k
It was a small rescue team. Remi, the female leader of New Franklin’s guards, had taken one other human in a Xarc’n shuttle they’d salvaged. And together, we’d flown quickly to join Kaj’k.
The NEM was already leaving as we arrived, and we’d watched from the air as groups of scourge had started to travel toward the area. Had they expected us to stop where they’d just vacated instead of following them and get ambushed? We weren’t dumb enough for that. Especially when following the cloaked aircraft to their new location was easier than expected.
The Earth-style rotary-bladed aircraft made a distinct sound and was easy to track even when cloaked. I didn’t know how they managed to use our cloaking on their vehicles, but I was sure our Tech Wizards would love to get their hands on it. While it was easy to track because we knew what to look for, it still avoided visual detection.
According to the conversations I’d had with the human Tech Wizards, our cloaking technology was very different from Earth’s attempts. I didn’t understand much of it, despite being an overseer. Not many hunters did. Our technology was createdby the now-defunct Xarc’n military centuries ago. Hunters were made to follow orders and fight, not to understand technology.
But things had changed so much since the beginning, even before we found Earth. Our creators had given us the bare minimum. We were fighters, nothing more, and comfort wasn’t part of the design. We’d questioned that, and some of us pushed back. The more technologically inclined among us made improvements to our shuttles and weapons, reducing casualties and improving our odds. And then we discovered Earth.
Earth, and her intelligent and wildly intriguing humans. They were the first to be able to break down and understand our technology. For the first time since Xarc fell to the deadly combination of the scourge and our mighty military’s own folly, we found beings intelligent enough to fill the role of Tech Wizard. But most importantly, Earth had biologically compatible females. Here we could set down roots and start again.
And here I was, on a mission never detailed in our protocols, searching for a female who would probably not make a difference in our fight against the scourge. Destroying the scourge had been my life’s only mission until now. Dottie was in one of those shuttles, and I had to rescue her.
We hadn’t expected the New Earth Militia to drop our females off with some of their men at the new location and fly out without them. They were loading the females up into their ground transports when we arrived.
It was an easy rescue mission. Too easy. The few armed combatants they’d left behind hadn’t expected us to come charging in, my bladed staff and Kaj’k’s battle axe blazing with plasma energy. They shot wildly at us in a blind panic. The fightwas over before it even started, and Kaj’k was stomping over to sweep his mate up into an embrace.
I turned to the females, chest puffed out and eager to see Dottie’s reaction to the rescue. I knew instantly that something was wrong. The air carried Dottie’s scent, but it was faint and fading, as if it were clinging to the clothing of the females present rather than really being here. I scanned their faces, and my chest tightened. She wasn’t here.
“They left her,” Alice said from Kaj’k’s arms. “They said Dottie was too old and they left her. It was an abandoned bar.”
