Bandits (26 page)

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked, pointing the gun at the others. He didn’t bother to shoot again, because the insects seemed more scared of him than he was of them. He had never been one to shoot at something unprovoked, so he just stood there and watched the bugs run around in circles. They seemed too frightened or stupid to go back the direction they came from.

He shook his head and turned, figuring he’d ignore them and continue on the path to his treasure. Heading for the tunnel opposite from the one the bugs came from, he froze. A loud, echoing screech sounded behind him, and it was close - much to close. The hairs on his neck stood on edge and he swallowed. His lips trembled, and he fought against the terror that crept up his back. He gripped his gun and slowly turned around.

Daniel didn’t look back. He knew those beasts were dead. Looking around, he realized the ground wasn’t too soggy. The trees were thinning a bit, but the grass was high, which meant anything could be hiding within its depths. The thought of what waited for Jade and Nickel had a ball of
trepidation
heavy in his gut. He hoped Faulk was doing okay, because he would have to wait to get to him. He knew that with Nickel’s training from his father and life on Merwin, Nickel would know how to survive. At least he could survive – for a while. Daniel had to make it to him before it was too late.

Slowing down, he checked around to make sure it was safe. He stopped and touched the neon map on his arm. A frown of concentration marred his face. His ears tuned in to the thick forest around him, the vision of the hungry beasts he left behind still a fresh memory. Prepared for any sneak attacks while he studied the map, he braced himself. With a nod, he tracked the map to his treasure which was beyond Faulk’s location. There was a coun
t
down timer displayed above the map. He gr
umbl
ed when he realized his time was running out and with each second, it a
p
peared as though his treasure moved also.

“I don’t have time for this
!
” He reached into the 3D map that sprang up from his arm and touched the replica of Nickel and then Jade. His treasure throbbed and glowed. It was over six miles from his current location. All the others were in line at some point on the route.
The way this is laid out makes me think they are forcing me to make a choice. The treasure or my family. No way I’m choosing. I’ll get it all.
He flattened his hand over the map, and it collapsed. With his gun in one hand and his knife in the other, he ran at top speed in Jade’s direction. He had a sick feeling Jade was in danger. Knowing he would have to save her was all the inspiration he needed to pick up speed.

Jade knew staying in this spot too long wasn’t a good idea. She moved her feet back and forth as they dangled over the edge of the tunnel she’d hid in. Keeping her gun aimed at the remaining beasts, she was transfixed as the larger beast kept its gaze trained on her. As it chewed, it occasionally stopped, squinted its eyes at her, and then licked its pointed tongue over its sharply protruding teeth.

Slowly, she brought her arm up and rubbed it where it burned. She felt Daniel’s location, and saw he was coming at her. He was less then half a mile away, moving fast. She hoped he wouldn’t run into these monsters. As she watched, she spied more creatures. There were now over ten of them, feasting on the dead and dying. There wasn’t much flesh left to consume. The others that came fought over the scraps and bones that remained. They didn’t leave anything. With a jerk of their heads, they ate bones and all. She knew she had enough power in her gun to put down at least two more, maybe up to five if she could just un-jam the dumb thing. With Daniel’s firepower, they just might stand a chance.

She swallowed and watched as one then another stopped their munching to take a sniff with their mouths open. They made clicking and grunting sounds when they communicated. She lifted an eyebrow, studying them.

Slowly, they moved to the surrounding trees. Still as a sculpture, they stood in front of separate trees. Quickly, as if a light switch turned out, they disappeared. Or it looked like they did. Jade knew they were still there. Waiting, and watching for Daniel in silence while they blended into the trees, hidden.
They waited here for me too. Oh no! 
Hurriedly, she struggled to fix the gun. With a sigh of relief, she gripped it tightly.

Lifting her gun, she pointed at where the larger one had disappeared and fired. She gritted her teeth and hoped its mouth was where she aimed. A
squish
confirmed she made a hit. A loud rumble sounded at the creature’s demise. The beast’s color changed from its camouflage color to black, as yellow blood seeped from its mouth. It fell dead, to the ground. Rapid footsteps pounded from behind her, she knew it was Daniel. She had to warn him. Quickly, she started to crawl out of the tunnel.

Rubbing her knees against the soft ground at the bottom of the tunnel, she tried to wiggle out. She kept her gun trained on the other beasts she couldn’t see. She knew they were there, waiting patiently for their next victim.

“Ahh!” she
cried
. So
mething cut at her leg. Searing pain
stabbed at her calf, and tears formed in her eyes as she reached down toward the source of
the ache
. Her pants were being pulled. A yank, a tug, and the sharp cutting pain of teeth a
s
sailed her. She fought while clawing at the dirt and mossy walls of the tunnel. Whatever it was, released her briefly as she stru
g
gled to crawl away, and it lunged at her again. Another piercing pain attacked her calf and moist slime from her a
t
tacker sm
o
thered her opened wound.

“Ugh! Oww!” She struggled to turn on her back. Digging her free hand into the moist dirt, she kicked her feet as som
e
thing bit down in her calf again, its teeth lodged into her calf. It wouldn’t let go and jerked her from side to side, dragging her deeper within the burrow.

She swallowed against the pain, and her fight for her life won out. Her elbow hit the soft dirt walls of the snug burrow. Twisting, she kicked hard, and her foot landed on something that should have been a head. Dirt rained down around her. She tried to shoot into the dark at something she couldn’t see. Something else had crawled from the drop-off in the burrow to pull her further in as it bit further up her leg and into her thigh. She hoped it was only one, but she knew she was wrong the minute another creature slithered beside her.

Daniel ran into the clearing. He heard Jade
shriek
. Fra
n
tically, he looked around for her, ready to attack. The tall trees around him swayed with a heated breeze. All he could hear was her screams. He headed toward them hoping he wasn’t too late.
          
“No!  Behind you!” he heard Jade yell out between her stru
g
gles.

Daniel turned quickly and backed up a few feet. It looked like the bases of the trees were turning colors. He gazed down at the dead beast at the foot of the tree in front of him. Raised his gun and jerked his eyes from tree to tree as the beasts a
p
peared to come out of the trees and stalk him. Their gaping mouths were filled with sharp, overcrowded teeth, and their mouths were just a slit from ear to ear on their coned heads. He didn’t have time to think about the danger and he shot one, then another, aiming for the only weak spot he could find on them. One by one they fell. Their gray slimy bodies glistened in the sun, and their clawed hands twitched in death.

A small one leaped over a dead beast to attack him. D
a
niel yelled out when it bit his arm that held the gun.
He
grabbed his knife and stabbed into the beast’s mouth before it could bite down on his bloodied arm again. Pain burned his arm, but he was too pumped up on adrenaline to notice. He raised his gun and shot down the remaining beast.

“No... no!” Jade yelled out, and gunshots went off.

Daniel searched anxiously for her. Finally, he saw an arm thrust out of a hidden burrow covered in moss. It clawed at the ground and was jerked back within, as if she was being pulled by something.

He raced to the opening, got on his knees, and reached in with his hand. Poking his head in to complete darkness, he called out, “Jade!  Give me your hand! Fight it.”

“Daniel!  Daniel here!” she cried out, feeling around for him.

His hand touched hers, and he grabbed it and then pulled her to him. He rubbed his opposite arm on his face to activate the map. The tunnel lit up, and he saw the back of Jade’s dark head while she fought off something beneath. Daniel leveraged his foot on a nearby trunk and pulled her with all his strength. He fell out of the tunnel, Jade on top of him
.

“Ahhh!” she yelled out.

Their gazes locked on the black, fat, slime-covered slug creature. Its mouth was blindly biting with sharp black pointed teeth, searching for the meal it had lost. Daniel raised his gun and shot it. With a squeal, it exploded into tiny meaty pieces. Daniel fell back again with Jade still on top of him.

“That thing was ugly as hell,” he said.

The pain of his attack started to settle in, but he pushed the nagging thought of it away. Focused on the treasure, Nickel, and Faulk he groaned. He moved Jade off of him and pushed himself up to his feet. Looking down at her, he saw the cut on her leg. He ripped off the bottom piece of his shirt, and wrapped it around her bloodied calf. Tightened the strip of fabric into a knot and smiled at the fact that she didn’t cry out. Only a grimace here and there showed how much it hurt her.

“Aren’t you going to wrap your arm?” she asked.

He offered his hand to her. She grabbed it, and he pulled her up. “Can you do it?” He looked around to make sure not
h
ing else leaped out at him.

“Sure…, and quick. I don’t want to stay here any longer than we have too,” she said. After ripping another piece from his shirt, she double wrapped it around his forearm and tied it in a tight knot.

“C’mon this way. We’ve got to get to Nickel. Quick! I know he’s tough, but hell, some of the things that live here aren’t like anything he’s ever seen. I don’t even want to think about what might happen to him.” Daniel pulled Jade with him as he started to walk.

She stumbled. “Sorry. Just give me a minute. I’ll adjust to the pain in a second. Ugh,” she said with her eyelids closed. Her bottom lip quivered, and she swallowed before opening her eyes.

“Just put your mind on something else. It helps to dull the pain. A trick my father taught me. Just, don’t think about it,
and
it
won
’t hurt as bad.”  He put her arm around him and walked with her.

“Yeah, I’ll try to remember that.” She picked up speed with each step.

“Jade. I,” he started, before she interrupted him.

“You want to tell me what went wrong with you and Poppy?  You used to idolize him like Nickel did. The last couple years though, you… well, you seemed to almost hate him.” She looked up to gage his response.

“I never hated him. Well, hell, maybe I did sometimes. I just... he well, the truth is, I looked up to him for so long. All my life he taught me to be a Zukar. He was a legend. It was what he was, and at the time all I wanted to do was be like him, be a legendary Zukar – better even. After he went on this snatch job to steal the pakeet, he changed.” 

“It’s okay to change sometimes, Daniel.” She smiled up at him.

Daniel adjusted his arm under hers. “Well, he changed for the worse, I think. It’s like he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life anymore. Like he was confused, you know, like he just gave up. The one person in my life that told me never to give up – had. He’d just stopped being who he was, and he couldn’t figure out …hell couldn’t figure out what he wanted me to be anymore. And now, it’s too late to fix all of that, he’s gone.” A frown creased his face, and his eyes watered. The memories of his father were bittersweet.

She reached up and touched his cheek. “I think he wanted you to have a better purpose than what the Zukar could give you. He wanted you to maybe do something greater than being a thief or a killer.” She slid her arm from his waist. Wal
k
ing a bit stronger on her leg, she reached out and balanced on his arm.

“I don’t know about not becoming a Zukar. All I do know is after we get this treasure and save Merwin, things will never be the same. You ready to run? Faulk’s on the way to Nickel,” he said, looking anxious.

“Yeah, I’m ready. I’ll race you. Just have your gun ready, just in case.” Jade tagged him and started running. She ran a bit with a limp and then relaxed and to run steady.

Daniel jogged beside her, with Faulk destination burned in his mind.

Faulk was seduced by the alien’s calling. Her silver smooth skin mesmerized him and all he saw was beauty. Clo
s
er, closer he walked or rather it felt like he floated. He wasn’t sure. She seemed to summon him under the tall trees and high grass, as if she were a queen and he
was her
mindless subject. The beauty around them of han
g
ing flowers, and large green leaves paled in comparison to her. It was if they faded away as he drew closer to her. She was all he saw, a shimmering trea
s
ure. He looked into her silver eyes draped with the longest lashes he’d ever seen, and he was capt
i
vated.