I stirawake to the faint sound of shouting. Groaning, I open my eyes. Taking in the dark sky above me, I wipe the sleep from them.
I sit upright realizing I’m still alone and that I must’ve dozed off. Scanning the shadows outside the boulders for Krellix, I think I hear shouting again. Pushing onto my feet, I walk to the front of the closed-off space and search for him. “Krellix?” I whisper but receive no response.
Quiet and dark, he’s not back yet.
“Help! Somebody, please, help!”
Louder than before, the shouting turns frantic, and I take a step out from the boulders to face the direction I think it’s coming from.
“Help! Our ship is on fire! Help!”
Peering further down the mountain and into the pines below, I search for a path towards the voice.
I need to go to them.The words take over my head as everything I’ve learned in my years of service kicks in.
I’m trained to fight the Ketts, the aliens humans are at war with, from the ground, specializing in evacuation procedures and human management. But most of all, I’ve been trained in the weapons that can repel and even hurt the aliens. Even so, killing them is nearly impossible and the best chance of survival is to run. Which is what most of those on the frontlines do. Rather than fighting, we’re supposed to keep the Ketts busy long enough for civilians to flee. Which is hard to do because they can multiply within minutes.
And they always overwhelm us.
Always.
But Earth is not space, nor is it anywhere near where the war is currently taking place.
I hear more yelling and I leave the spot between the boulders behind. If Krellix comes after me, I will be easy to find if he’s not already on his way to help himself.
The shouting grows louder as I move faster through the forest, tripping, and bumping into logs and bushes, forcing my body through. “I’m coming!” I call out as I get nearer.
A man’s desperate voice responds. “We’re trapped! Hurry!”
Following his voice, I see large blinking lights and bush fires appear through the trees. The reek of exhaust envelops me as I enter a jagged clearing made of skid marks across a roughened forest floor. Bushes, plants, and even trees have been broken and split upon the ship’s arrival.
Watching my footing and climbing through the uneven tracks, I see the ship ahead of me is small, smaller than any flyer that should be able to land planetside. And I realize as I get closer it’s not a spaceship at all but an evacuation vessel that’s been released by one. Partially crushed against the thick group of trees and boulders that had stopped it, the smaller evacuation vessel is partially on its side and folded inward at the front.Glass, metal, and debris lay strewn across the ground, some of it in flames.
“Over here!” The man’s voice calls out from the back and left side of the vessel.
Seeing his arm reaching out through the partially open slit of the vessel’s back hatch, I work my way towards him.
“The door’s jammed,” he says, pulling his arm back in when we come face-to-face. With his face covered in grime and ash, I’m barely able to make out the features of a younger, middle-aged man. “I can’t get it to open any further. Can you see anything from your side that might be stopping it?”
“Let me check.” Shifting my eyes over the outside of the vessel, I immediately spot the debris blocking the way. “There’s a large tree branch. Hold on, I’ll try to move it.”
“Thank you, God’s stars. Thank you, soldier. We thought we were going to die here.”
I internally wince at being called a soldier, feeling strangely guilty after abandoning my station when I could’ve returned to it. “Don’t thank me yet.” And then feeling even more guilty when the nagas slaughtered them all afterward.
I get a good grip of the branch, and pull it toward me. Keeping my grasp firm, I drag the giant limb away from the vessel only to discover several more underneath that I also need to clear out.
“How many are with you?” I reach for the next branch.
“There’s three of us, the rest… didn’t make it.”
“Are you hurt?” I ask, unable to see him clearly enough to assess him.
“We’re all banged up in some way.” His voice fades for a moment as he talks with someone inside. Someone who sounds like another man. “The young girl with us, Olivia, her arm is broken and she’s bleeding from a puncture wound on her upperchest. Are there more soldiers nearby? Are they coming? We need medical aid immediately.”
I hesitate before mentioning Krellix. “There are no other soldiers coming. What’s your name?” I change the subject as I drag the next branch away and wipe my brow. “Do you have any food or supplies with you?”
“I’m Benjamin and we have some supplies with us. The two others with me are Quinton and Olivia. There’s a few bags of our belongings between us. I don’t know what’s in theirs but mine is filled with clothes and pictures. What do you mean there’s no others coming?”
