Defiance Rising (36 page)

“Bastien!” I shriek, scrambling across the floor toward him as his legs give out.
 
“What happened?”

I slide to a halt beside him, lifting his head into my lap.
 
His skin is pale, his breathing labored as he coughs up blood.
 
His eyes squeeze shut as tears cascade down his cheeks.
 

My head jerks up as shouts rise from all corners of the camp.
 
I gaze out through the open door as Caldonians scramble from their cabins, armed with charged laser guns.
 
Terrified, I glance back down at Bastien and notice his blood has begun to pool on the floor.
 

His head lolls to the side and glossy eyes meet mine.
 
“They’re coming,” he gurgles. Then Bastien’s body falls limp in my arms.

Thirty

Eamon is at my side within seconds of Bastien busting through the door.
 
He stares down at Bastien, the emptiness in Toren’s eyes confirming my worst fears.
 
There is no way Bastien can survive a wound this extensive.
 
“You have to do something,” I plead.

“I’ll get Kyan.
 
Stay here.”
 
He races out through the door, ducking as Brym unleashes a red laser through the courtyard at a group of black clad Caldonians breaching the far side.
 

Bodies lie face down across the camp, the melting snow dotted with bright crimson.
 
I shove the door closed just before a laser slams into the doorframe mere inches from my face.

“Hold on, Bastien.
 
Kyan is coming.”
 
I lift his shirt and gag at the sight of the torn flesh across his abdomen.
 
This is not a laser wound…it looks like he has been hacked by a serrated blade.
 

His breathing becomes dangerously shallow, so I shake his shoulders and pat his face, praying to get a response.
 
“What is taking Eamon so long?” I cry.

I rip off the bottom of my shirt and press it against Bastien’s wound.
 
I shudder at the squelching sound and the warmth of his blood as it rapidly soaks through the material.
 
He won’t last long at this rate.

Kyan!
 
I need you!

The wooden cabin creaks as a violent vibration ripples through the ground.
 
My blood runs cold.
 
“Oh god!
 
The machines!”

Kyan!
  
My scream is met only with silence.
 
I lay Bastien’s head on the floor and race for the nearest cot, yanking a sheet and pillow off.
 
I race back to his side, slip the pillow over his stomach, then lace the sheet under his back, and tie my makeshift tourniquet tightly in place.
 
It won’t last long but maybe it can help prolong his life until Kyan arrives.
 

“I’ve gotta get you out of here,” I grunt as I wrap Bastien’s arm over my shoulder and try to lift him.
 
I half carry, half drag him to the door.
 
As I reach for the latch, the door bursts inward and Toren and Aminah dive to the side to avoid hitting me.

“Eamon sent us,” Aminah gasps, clutching her side.
 
“Kyan has sounded a retreat.
 
There are too many of them.”

“Drakon?” I ask Toren.
 
He nods, his face grim and streaked with blood.
 

“We have to fall back to the emergency camp,” Toren explains, grabbing Bastien from my arms.
 
“Do you remember how to get there?”

I nod.
 
“He won’t last long without Kyan.
 
Just get him there, ok?”

Toren grips my shoulder.
 
“I will do my best.
 
Take care of Aminah till I get back.”

With Bastien cradled across his arms, Toren blurs out the door and I breathe a sigh of relief.
 
At least Bastien is out of harm’s way.
 
I slam the door and slide down the wall beside Aminah.
 
“You ok?”

Her face is pallid, her delicate fingers twisting knots in her shirt.
 
“I saw Zahra fighting with one of them.
 
I didn’t see…” she trails off into whimpering silence.
 
Her chin quivers as tears stream down her face.

I pull her to me, resting my head atop hers.
 
Precious, fragile Aminah doesn’t belong here…but I do.

Aminah begins to hum, plugging her ears against the screams outside.
 
I look toward the window, feeling trapped.
 
I should be out there fighting.

I fling open the door at the sound of a cry just below our cabin steps.
 
A tall, ginger haired alien falls to a red laser.
 
Aminah begins to hyperventilate behind me as she peers past to see dozens of our new allies staring lifelessly at the sky.

I watch as Balan, one of Kyan’s best warriors throws himself over a man and disappears from sight.
 
I have never been so grateful for his teleportation gifts as I am right now. Within seconds, the two of them will reappear in the safe zone, more than ten miles from this battle.
 
Knowing Jardin, he’s out there in the fray, completely invisible to the naked eye.
 

“I need to fight.”
 
I turn and look to Aminah.
 
Fear widens her eyes.
 
“Our men are being slaughtered.
 
Maybe I can give them time to retreat.”

“You can’t!”

She shrieks, covering her face as the Toren bursts through the door, slamming it shut behind him.
 
He instantly drops to Aminah’s side, soothing her.
 
“It’s just me.”

Lifting her into his arms, he waits for me to open the door.
 
“I’ll be back for you.”

I shake my head.
 
“This is where I belong.
 
I can slow them down.”

Toren hesitates, obviously concerned by what I might be capable of that now that Bastien is lying on his death bed.
 
He grinds his teeth but nods in agreement.
 
“Give ‘em hell!”

“You got it,” I call as he disappears with Aminah in his arms.
 
I poke my head around door, ducking low to get a lay of the land.
 
Nothing looks the same.
 
Smoke lingers in the air like a thick fog.
 
Moaning rises from the smoke.
 
The scent of burned skin and hair makes my stomach roil.
 

The ground is a near constant rumble now.
 
Judging by the loud splintering of wood in the distance, the spider drones aren’t too far behind the Squaddies.
 

“Watch out!”

I react instantly, throwing myself off the porch as a large fireball slams into the cabin, exploding in a rain of slivers.
 
I shield my head, crying out as the splinters bury deep into my flesh.
 

I crouch, choking on the thick smoke enveloping me.
 
Blinking does nothing to help the stinging in my eyes as I rise to my feet.
 
My ribs hurt, along with my head, but I push the pain aside.
 

With a loud crash, the first metallic spider leg pierces through a cabin roof on the southern edge of camp.
 
It’s giant cannon swivels toward the cabin beside it.
 
Anger simmers in my belly as I watch my home go up in flames, and hear the cries of the dying all around me.
  

Dark clouds roll in, bringing with them a downpour.
 
The fires are instantly quenched, the smoke disperses and I am left with a gruesome view of Drakon’s handy work.
 
We lost more men than I thought.

A flash of blue streaks across the courtyard, snagging my attention.
 
I duck and race after Zahra, sure that Kyan won’t be too far behind.
 
I leap over a red laser that burrows into the growing mud and slide to a halt at the foot of the dining hall.
 
Eamon has Zahra’s hand grasped in his, peeking around the far corner.

“Get down!” I tackle him to the ground as a red laser slams into the wall behind him.
 
Zahra screams and clings to Eamon.
 

“Where’s Kyan?” I shout, rolling off Eamon to let him sit up.

“Gone.”
 
Zahra’s lips quiver.
 
She looks like a drowned cat with her hair and clothes plastered to her body like a second skin.
 
“They took him.”

Thunder rumbles loudly overhead as I scream, slamming my fist against the wall.
 
Kyan was Bastien’s only shot.
 
“I have to go after him.”

“No!” Eamon pulls me back.
 
“They teleported him out of here.
 
Drakon’s not going to let you within five miles of him.
 
That’s why he was here.”

I turn slowly to stare at him.
 
“Drakon is here?
 
In person?”

“Was,” he corrects, looking increasingly worried that he just made a big mistake in telling me that.
 

I grit my teeth, fight against the urge to race straight into the City, and retrieve Kyan myself.
 
“Toren will be back soon.
 
See to it that he gets you and Zahra out of here.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“This isn’t up for discussion, Eamon,” I state emphatically, shoving his arm off.

“You’re right.”
 
He glares right back.
 
“It’s not.”

I stare him down, annoyed that he’s pushing the issue, but I finally relent.
 
“Fine.
 
Then get her out of here and meet me at the armory.
 
We’re gonna need what weapons are left to bust Kyan out.”

Three more machines pulverize the tree line at the base of camp, sending us sprawling to our bellies.
 
The ground quakes as they smash through the outhouse and move on toward the far row of cabins, lasers blazing through the rain.
 
Steam fills the air in their wake.
 

The center spider swivels and locks us in its target.
 
Run!
 
Kyan’s booming command has me on my feet before the crimson laser even begins charging.
 
I grab Zahra’s arm and drag her out of the way, Eamon close on our heels.

The explosion slams us to the ground.
 
My body sinks into the rising muck as razor sharp debris falls around us.
 
A thick cloud of sawdust hangs in the air.
 

“Illyria!”
 
Eamon rushes to my side, pulling charred boards off my back.
 
“I’ve got you.”

His words come out in a jumbled mess as I pound my ear to still the loud ringing.
 
Eamon lifts me into his arms and races toward Zahra.
 
She lies nearly comatose near the medical cabin, one of the few buildings still standing.

Eamon sets me down and shakes my shoulders.
 
His hair is plastered to his forehead, dripping red tinted drops onto his nose.
 
He is hurt.
 
I can see the blood seeping up from the crown of his head.

“I’m fine.”
 
I struggle to rise to my feet.
 
“Just a little shaken is all.
 
I heard him, Eamon.
 
I heard Kyan.”

“That’s not possible,” Zahra gasps, coming out of her shocked state.
 
“He’s too far away by now.”

“I know what I heard.
 
He’s still alive.”
 
For the first time in my life, I reach over and give Zahra’s hand a squeeze.
 
“He’s gonna be fine.”

She nods, surprised that I’d offer her comfort.
 
“Thanks.”

“What are you doing just sitting here?” Toren grinds to a halt just behind me, taking in our battered appearance.
 

“Take Zahra to the safe zone and then come back.
 
We need to gather the weapons,” I tell him, crawling up the wall to support myself.
 
“Eamon and I will create a diversion until you get back.”

“It’ll take me longer in this rain,” Toren states as he pulls Zahra into his arms.
 
“Is this your doing?”

I shrug.
 
“Wouldn’t be surprised.”

Grabbing Eamon’s arm, I yank him down the side of the medical cabin and pause at the end, surveying the war torn yard before me.
 
The aliens seem to be congregating off to our left.
 
They have yet to reach the armory, but it’s only a matter of time.
 
If they do, all our planning is for nothing.

The overhang above gives us a brief respite from the driving rain.
 
I’m pleased to see that even Drakon’s men are slipping and sliding in the mud.
 
Eamon presses against my back, peering over my head.
 
“We’ll never make it without them seeing us.”