Gamma Nine (Book One) (50 page)

Luckily it was
alone, Christian’s reap sight could see everything around the
group, and there was only the one heat signature that did not
belong to his companions. The other creatures were too far down or
away to be seen by the reap sight; its range was not infinite.

Down it came,
step by slow step, grunting as it smelled the air. It could smell
human flesh, but the smell did not belong to anyone in Christian’s
group. The smell of the dead from outside was far more enticing
than the unwashed bodies taking cover behind Christian’s armoured
form.

Christian set
Tristan down on the cold stone steps, remaining crouched as the
creature came closer. It was less than a few feet away, still
entranced by whatever it could smell.

Six feet, five
feet, four feet, three feet, and then it stopped, but not because
it had noticed Christian and his companions. No, it had stopped
because of the combat blade sticking out of its forehead, and an
armoured hand wrapped around the back of is limp head. Christian
had struck quickly and silently, using his speed to stab the
monster in the head, sliding the blade clean through its brain and
skull. The creature went limp in his hands, but he held it up to
keep it from falling and making any noise to alert any other
monsters that might be lurking close by. Christian could see why
the creature had not noticed them. It had no eyes or ears, its
entire face had mutated into one congealed mess of flesh and bone,
the human genes were probably of lesser stock and the mutation did
the best it could to make a killer out of what it had infected.

He set the body
of the mutant down quietly, shifting his blade to his left hand as
he reached to pick up Tristan again.

Christian
gestured for the others to follow him, even though they did not
completely see the gesture, they saw his battered armour move in
the shadows, and they just followed the Titan.

They were on
the last flight of stairs moments later, and waiting for them at
the end was the door leading to the roof they had been heading
for.

Christian
radioed Locke, telling his captain that they were in position and
ready to move.

The Maiden
stopped circling abruptly, moving into position just above the roof
of the building. There it waited for the door leading into the
building to swing open and the last allies on the ground to get
on-board, hovering mere inches above the roof.

The door to the
outside was locked. Christian had to kick it with all of his
strength, sending the mangled piece of metal that used to be a door
flying and then sliding over the roof towards the Maiden.

Xander had made
a comment about how dramatic the rookie was, but his words fell on
deaf ears. There was something else the others were focused on.
Xander’s quip had stopped him from seeing it.

Gunn called it
out over the squad radio. “Enemy fighter incoming!” she yelled. The
weapons attached to the Maiden’s hull opened fire on the enemy
fighter’s sudden appearance. But it was in vain, it was too fast
for the mounted weapons to track and successfully hit it. Those
weapons were meant for air to ground enemies, and were best used to
cover retreating soldiers or take out static targets.

Christian
stormed through the door, stopping on the other side of the portal
to usher the rest of the group to run for the Maiden. He watched
them run and fell in behind them.

The enemy
fighter had seen the Maiden, and as it turned to strafe the
hovering drop ship it saw even easier targets. It corrected its
course and sighted its weapons at the four softer targets running
across the open roof.

Bullets
exploded around the running Jessica, barely missing her and Sam as
they side-stepped as best they could. Nash was not bothering to
dodge the enemy fighter’s fire; he just kept his eyes on the Maiden
and ran directly for it.

Christian used
his free arm to protect Tristan, holding his armoured limb over her
vital head and upper body while his other arm carried her
weight.

The enemy
fighter missed on its first run, but it pulled back into a climb to
get another run at the soft targets. It was lightning fast and by
the time Nash, who was running at the front of the group, was only
a few feet away from the Maiden, it was already firing again.

The gaps
between Jessica, Sam and Nash had opened up, giving the fighter
ample opportunity to target the middle runners.

But it never
got the chance. As luck would have it, if one believes in such
things, Jinx found his target. Somehow, the man Gunn blames for all
of the things that went wrong on her ship, had hit the fighter with
the mounted guns. Jinx cheered as flame erupted from the fighter’s
side and started spinning uncontrollably.

There was only
one problem, it was spinning directly for the roof they were
hovering on and Gunn was already cursing Jinx’s good aim.

It was all
happening so slowly in front of Christian’s eyes. He heard the
fighter choke and the scream of it falling towards him. He saw Nash
and Sam jump into the Maiden. He also saw Jessica losing her
footing in front of him just as the fighter hit the roof. She
stumbled but regained her footing long enough to leap for the
outstretched hand of one of the Wolves.

Time returned
to normal for Christian when debris from the fighter exploded in
his path, flame and shrapnel engulfed the roof, cutting Christian’s
path off to the Maiden.

He could easily
have run in front of the group, but he wanted the others to go
first. He could easily have jumped through the flames to safety,
but he might have burned Tristan who was starting to become more
afraid as she felt the flames on her face.

All of the
action on the roof had drawn the hungry attention of the beasts on
the floors below, and behind Christian they were already pouring
through the open portal.

To make matters
worse, the concrete beneath him sagged and started to crack, the
weight of the fighter and the trauma from its destruction damaging
the roof’s already weakened state.

Christian made
a decision, something Jessica would probably hurt him for later,
but it was the only thing he could think of before the roof
collapsed or the monsters were upon him.

He shifted and
used all of his strength to throw the frightened girl in his arms.
She was light enough and his aim was good. She flew high enough
over the flames to only get a few minor burns on her exposed legs.
Pyoter was the one that caught her. He softened her landing with
his giant arms, relaxing as he caught her to not injure the fragile
girl as she landed in his armoured embrace.

The roof
collapsed under Christian’s feet before he could move again, and
then he was gone.

He fell for
what felt like minutes, but it was less than a few seconds. Above
him the flames followed him down, reaching for him as everything
around him crumbled and collapsed.

Christian’s
body hit something hard and then there was only darkness.

“
It was a mistake to
create the planet-killing weapons. We put those weapons into the
hands of tyrants and arrogant fools. Instead of finding better,
more intellectual resolutions for conflicts, those bastards’ first
course of action was to press a button and then wipe out the threat
in one ego-filled final strike. They should have only been used as
last resorts, and kept away from the ones inept at controlling
their horrible power. One shell from the planet destroyers was
enough to burn the atmosphere from the surface off of any planet,
consuming everything organic in the firestorm it produced. The
aftermath of the planet-killers was devastation and ruin, leaving
nothing alive in its wake. Righteous flame would burn with a mind
of its own, seeking out anything that could draw breath. I was
there in the orbit above Gardiana when the Southern Fleet unleashed
a planet-killer against the beasts swarming over the planet’s
beautiful surface. I will never forget what I saw...or what I heard
as the once great world burned before our very eyes. Never again
will I allow anyone to use these terrifying weapons in my presence,
even if it costs me and my crew our lives to put a stop to
it.”
-Amish Rayland, Captain of the KIA frigate Seraphim Unbound,
Recorded in his personal journal years before his death, Date stamp
missing

“Why are you
not moving? This cannot be the end for you. There is too much at
stake, too much to be done. Why are you not answering me? Your
silence is very troublesome Christian. I can sense your life
slipping away. I cannot help you. I am you, and if you perish, so
will I. Your companions are calling out to you. Can you not hear
them? Listen...there, your brother screams your name while the one
you love cries for you. Move! Please! Do not let it take you, not
again. Do not let it win Christian! Wake up, now!”

Christian’s
eyes snapped open, his lungs gasped for breath. His other senses
were numb. He could not feel, hear or even speak, only see. He
could not call out to his friends, nor could he reach out to them.
He was trapped beneath the rubble of what used to be the building
he was standing on. Tons of concrete and stone had fallen with him,
pinning him beneath a collapsed concrete pillar. No matter how hard
he tried, he could not move. He suspected it was due to more than
just the weight of the rubble on top of his damaged body.

Light was
creeping in through cracks between the rubble, hitting the dust in
the air, creating wonderful cones of light wherever Christian
looked.

A crackle in
his ear brought his hearing back abruptly. He flinched at the pain
as the voices in his ear assaulted him.

Nathan was
calling for him, calling his name. He sounded distraught, but
Christian could not answer him. He tried to speak but his voice was
not there.

Christian could
hear Captain Locke arguing with Gunn about whether they should
leave him or stay and give the fallen Wolf a chance. Locke was for
staying, and was luckily winning the argument against Gunn.

He heard Gunn
say that they could only stay for a few more minutes because they
were sitting ducks and were drawing more attention than she felt
comfortable with.

It was now or
never. Move or get left behind. Stand or stay on the ground
forever.

Christian took
a deep breath; stinging pain confirmed what he had suspected. His
armour was breached in more than a few places. His armour could
deflect bullets and hits from mutated fleshy weapons, but it had
broken under the force, cracking and splitting open as he had
fallen against the concrete and stone. The pillar had dealt the
final blow when it fallen on top of his prone body.

At least, from
what he could tell from his suit OS, his back and organs were all
still functional, his limbs had a few broken bones, but they were
being held together by his under suit. Feeling slowly returned to
his body, and he was becoming aware of the massive amounts of pain
he was feeling even with his suit pumping his system full of
painkillers.

Christian tried
to move, but he could not. His strength was faltering.

Then he heard
her. Jessica was speaking to him, even though he could not reply.
She was asking him to answer her, begging him to say something.

But he could
not. The pain was just too much to form the words.

She kept
begging him, and the more she begged the more he sensed the feeling
in his body returning. He could slowly move his fingers, then he
could move his armoured feet slightly.

Alarm tones
sounded in his ear, his suit OS reporting damage to his armour and
body, but he shrugged it off as he tried to rise.

Christian put
everything he had into the first movement, using his feet to find
purchase in the rubble. He lifted the pillar with his legs and then
slid his arms up and underneath the heavy stone pillar. He was
holding it just above his chest, like he was about to bench press
the heavy piece of stone and concrete.

He roared
voiceless at first as he lifted the thing that had pinned him down.
The suit around him scraped and sparked against the rubble.

Little by
little he was winning, power and sheer determination to survive
fuelling his body.

His voice
returned just as he lifted the heavy pillar free, letting it tumble
over his head, freeing his damaged body.

Everyone heard
the roar, over the squad radio and even over the drop ships whining
engines.

“Son of a...”
was all Rivers could get out before Nathan spoke.

“Christian?” he
yelled more than asked.

“Hurt...I need
to get out,” Christian said.

“You need to
climb, look up brother.” Nathan’s voice was filled with hope
again.

“I...I see
light. Where are you?” Christian asked. He was confused. His body
was in so much pain that it disorientated his senses and clouded
his mind.

“Right above
you, just climb, we will wait for you. But do it now!”

Christian
grunted a response. He stepped on top of the closest rubble pile
and looked for a way up. A crack in his visor made it hard to see,
but he noticed a way up, blocked only by a few pieces of metal
frame and mangled substructure.

He did not
hesitate any longer. He started climbing while ignoring the pain
and all of the alarms going off in his helmet. There were just too
many things wrong with him and his suit to worry about it now. All
he needed and wanted to do was go up, and so that is all he
did.

Up he went,
painfully pulling his weight up. Hands gripping wearily to
handholds, his legs were aching as he lifted his weight
upwards.

But the
universe always had an ace up its sleeve for dire situations like
the one Christian found himself in. Christian took a moment to
rest, just a few seconds, but it was enough for his senses to focus
on the scrambling noise far below him. He almost laughed when he
looked down into the darkness where he had been trapped before.