Blood Thirsty (Tri System's Edge Series Book 2) Read online

  “Let’s just say I’m not currently on his good side.”

  The old man chuckled. “Well, then we have something in common,” he said. “We ran him and his army off this planet, so I don’t suppose he likes us much either.” He paused and leaned forward in his chair. “And this here’s our ship now. We won’t be giving it back without a fight.”

  “I respect what you’ve done, what you think you’ve accomplished, but I’m telling you, he’s a lot more dangerous than you think. You don’t really understand what he’s capable of.”

  “Oh, I understand plenty,” came a reply from an unfamiliar voice in the room.” A wiry man stepped out of a shadowy corner in the room.

  “This is my nephew, Dal.”

  “Yeah, I think we already met,” Murphy answered as he made eye contact with Dal, “but I really don’t think you get it.”

  Dal let out a laugh. “Guess ya met Kalla then, heard about what he did ta her?”

  “Who?” Murphy began shaking his head. “Look, I used to work for him, and on a recent mission, he got all my men killed. We found these things . . . these monsters, and now he’s got some on his ship. He’s going to use them as weapons, and if he does, if he comes back here with those things, they’ll wipe everyone out.”

  “You worked for him?” Dal said, stepping forward and gripping the butt end of a pistol in his belt.

  “I don’t anymore, and I know how this sounds. It’s crazy, but it’s the truth.”

  “Why would he come back here?” Dal asked.

  “For starters, he wants me dead,” Murphy replied.

  “Actually, I don’t think he will. I saw them ships shoot you down. Once you crashed, they flew off. Probably already think yer dead.”

  A wave of relief passed over Murphy as he thought about it. “Yeah, yeah, you might actually be right about that,” he nodded, “but what if he wants his ship back? Or what if he just wants revenge?”

  “Son, you get some rest,” the old man interrupted. “We’ll sort this all out later.”

  “No, I need . . .”

  “Son, you need more rest. I don’t suppose the general will be coming for us today.” With that, he stood and motioned to Dal. “Let’s leave him be for now,” he said.

  Dal nodded and followed the old man out the door. “We’ll talk more later.”

  The door slid shut, and Murphy was left alone with nothing but his thoughts again. With nothing to do but lie in bed, Murphy soon realized how tired he still was. “Hope they’re right,” he muttered, thinking about the brief discussion. If Quinn’s people believed he was dead, that meant a free pass. He could disappear and be done with this trouble for good. Then his thoughts turned to his men, his friends. It wasn’t fair what had happened to them, and as far as Murphy was concerned, the general deserved to die for what he’d done. Deep down Murphy knew this wasn’t over yet, not until the general had paid for his crimes.

  ~

  Once the door had shut behind him, Dal said to his uncle, “What if he’s tellin’ the truth and they come back?”

  The old man put his hands in his pockets and squinted. “Well, I suppose if it’s true, if they come back, that we’ll just have to fight.”

  Dal nodded.

  “But with these ships and the supplies they left, we’ll at least have a way to defend ourselves this time,” he said with a grin. He pressed his hand against the wall of the ship then turned and began walking away. “Don’t worry so much,” he called out, as he disappeared around a corner. “Things seem to work out in the end.”

  Dal stood alone in the hallway, thinking about what Murphy had said earlier, and comparing it to what his uncle had just said. While he agreed that the five battleships the general had left behind were significant assets, with functioning weapons systems and full stores of supplies, he didn’t agree that things always worked out. He knew that sometimes you had to step up and make hard decisions. He knew that sometimes you had to fight.

  “Uncle Henry,” he called out as, he ran down the hall and rounded the corner.

  His uncle stopped and turned around, still wearing the pleasant smile he almost always seemed to have. “Yes, Dal, what is it?”

  “It jus don’t feel right. Somethin’ jus don’t feel right.”

  His uncle lowered his head. “Oh, Dal, you’ve always been a worrier.”

  “But my worryin’, it’s usually little stuff. This ain’t little,” he argued.

  Henry walked toward Dal, and when he reached him, he placed his hands on Dal’s shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. “Have some faith that things will work out,” he said.

  Dal lowered his head. “Jus wish I had a way to find Kalla.”

  “The girl who helped us?” Henry asked.

  “Yep.”

  “Perhaps our guest Murphy’s the answer to that one.”

  Dal hadn’t really considered that, and he nodded. “Yeah, maybe. Ya always got the right answers,” he said. “I’ll go ask him. See what I can find out.”

  “Just not now,” Henry scowled. “Let the man rest a little longer. There’ll be plenty of time for more talk soon.”

  “Sure,” Dal lied. He watched his uncle walk away, and waited until Henry was out of sight. Then he turned and hurried back toward Murphy’s room.

  When he opened the door, it was dark inside, except for the track lights below the bed. “You sleepin’?” he whispered, but there was no answer. “Murphy?” he said a little louder. Still nothing. “Hey,” he yelled out much louder this time.

  “Wha . . . What?” Murphy stuttered “Was just resting my eyes. Who’s there?”

  “It’s me, Dal. Got a question for ya.”

  “Sure.” He yawned and stretched his arms out from his sides. “Whatcha need?”

  “I know ya said ya didn’t know her, but I was hopin’ ya could maybe help me find my friend Kalla.”

  Murphy’s face scrunched up as he yawned again. “Yeah, I remember you mentioned her name before, but I don’t know her.”

  “Well, she’s kinda special, and if ya could help me find her . . .”

  “Special, like she’s your girl?” Murphy smiled.

  Dal blushed and shook his head. “Nah, nothin’ like that.” Wiping the smile from his face, he looked Murphy in the eyes. “I just mean that she can do stuff. She’s fast and strong. And she didn’t need no mask to breathe here.”

  Even though it hurt, Murphy pushed himself up and propped his arms behind his back. “I’m listening.”

  “Well, the general had her locked up, and we got her out, and she pretty much saved us all. She’s why we got all these ships.”

  “Do you know where she’s from? Or any idea where she was headed?”

  Dal thought back and tried to remember. “She said somethin’, I think, ‘bout Paradise.”

  Murphy’s eyes opened wide. “I was there,” he said. “We, I mean my team and I, we were tasked to bring back some creature there, but things went south on us. Found lots and lots of them, and they were fast and strong.”

  “Don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no creatures, but Kalla looked like a regular girl, only she ain’t.”

  Silence filled the room for a moment. Dal watched Murphy, who appeared to be mumbling something to himself, but he couldn’t make anything out. “Well, what is it?”

  Finally, Murphy looked up and said, “Can’t make any promises about finding the girl, but if you’ve got a ship, I can get us to Paradise.”

  Dal smiled. “Fer real?”

  Murphy nodded. “Yeah, as much as I really don’t want to go back there, I guess it’s worth a try. I do kind of owe you for saving my life.”

  Still smiling, Dal said, “You get some rest, then. You gotta be in shape enough to fly.”

  Murphy nodded. “Might still take a few days before I can even sit up on my own though.”

  “What if I bring ya some stronger pain meds?”

  A big frown grew across Murphy’s face. “You have something stronger than wh
at you’ve been giving me?”

  “My uncle ain’t gonna like it, but yeah. Got something called Chlormexol . . .”

  “Chloromethoxidol?”

  “Yeah, somethin’ like that.”

  “Why . . . how do you have Chloromethoxidol? That stuff’s not easy to come by.”

  Dal shrugged. “It was jus somethin’ we found on one of the ships that got left here. My uncle keeps it locked up, but I might be able to get some for ya.”

  “Yeah, okay,” Murphy nodded. “Get me some Chlormex and give me another day or so to rest up. Do that and I’ll take you to Paradise.”

  Dal grinned and said, “Alright, then.”

  “I take it you do have a ship though, right? Pretty sure mine’s scrap.”

  “Yeah, yer’s ain’t goin’ nowhere. Just rest, an’ I’ll figure stuff out. And don’t say nothin’ to my uncle if ya see him.”

  Murphy nodded and lay back down. “I’ll just be here when you’re ready,” he joked. “Got nowhere else to be.”

  As Dal closed the door behind him, he began to formulate a plan. He knew if he said anything to his uncle, he’d have to convince the old man that this was their best chance, and he didn’t believe there was time for that. It would be best, he decided, to keep his plan to himself for now.

  C

  HAPTER 12

  The thick doors refused to budge as Jarek rammed his shoulder against them repeatedly.

  Standing to one side of the cramped dirt cave they had created, Davis watched several of Jarek’s attempts, before finally joining in. “Is it moving this time?” he grunted, as he pushed against the door.

  “Don’t . . . know,” Jarek replied.

  Kalla positioned herself against the packed dirt wall, facing the big metal doors, and prepared to push herself toward them. “Keep pushing, boys. I’m about to join you.” She paused long enough to appreciate the fact that although it was pitch black, she could see in the dark just fine. She smiled at the thought and propelled herself away from the dirt wall with as much force as she could.

  The short distance prevented her from gaining much speed, but she still managed to build up enough momentum that the doors shook when she made contact.

  “Well, you knocked more dirt loose,” Davis said.

  “Ha,” Kalla replied. But with all three of them now pushing against the doors, Kalla believed their combined effort had to be enough to gain entry. But the doors had other plans. Despite their efforts, the metal doors refused to budge.

  After several minutes of nonstop straining, pushing, and pounding, with no recognizable progress being made, Kalla finally backed away and took a deep breath. “It’s no use,” she said as she dropped to the ground to rest. “It’s like they’re just up against solid rock or something.”

  Jarek threw his fist at the door one last time, leaving a faint circular dent where his fist connected, then grabbed Davis by the shoulder and pulled him away from the door. “Take a break,” he said.

  Davis nodded and backed away.

  “Wait, do you see that?” Kalla observed, staring at the dent Jarek had just made. Upon further inspection, she realized that while the doors hadn’t budged, they had been taking damage. “I just don’t understand why they aren’t moving though. It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “What?” Davis asked. “What are you looking at?”

  Kalla jumped up and walked over to Jarek, pointing to the dent he’d made. “See, right there? How it’s smashed in? The doors aren’t opening at all, but they are starting to compress.

  “So what’s your point?” Davis asked.

  “Well, either these doors are meters thick with some incredibly strong hinges, or there’s something behind them, something really strong that’s supporting them.

  “Like a mountain,” Jarek added.

  Davis shook his head and started to laugh. “You’re right, that doesn’t make any sense. Who guards doors that lead nowhere?”

  “It’s a diversion,” Kalla said. She stepped back from the doors, and aiming for the inside edge of the right door, she kicked against it and watched as the force of her foot smashed the corner of the door in. “See what I mean? If there was nothing behind it, it would bend inward, at least a little. But it’s not. We’re just smashing the metal. I think we’ve been duped. In fact, I think this entire base is nothing but a giant distraction.”

  “Ahhh!” Jarek yelled, as he punched the door again with his clenched right fist. “Are you kidding me?” he cried out.

  Davis pounded his fists together and with clenched teeth asked, “So what now?”

  Kalla ignored the question and started to laugh. “He had to know. Somehow, he had to know that we would eventually find his base. Or that someone would.” She kicked at the ground and threw a small pile of dirt and rock toward the door, making a clinking sound as it hit the metal.

  Jarek turned to Davis and said, “Now we dig our way out of here and get off this worthless planet.”

  Davis shook his head. “But what about the army waiting outside?”

  “You think I care about any army right now?” Jarek yelled back. “We’ll just push our way through. It’s still dark outside too, so we have the upper hand.”

  “Yeah,” Kalla agreed, “we really don’t have to fight an army, just get past them and back to my ship.”

  Davis nodded. “Okay, let’s get to it then.”

  Jarek pushed his way between them and headed toward the wall of compressed dirt and began throwing punches at it, gradually pushing his way through.

  Kalla and Davis waited patiently behind him, watching as he burrowed his way through, pounding with his fists and kicking his feet, slowly forming a tunnel.

  After several minutes, Kalla moved closer and put her hand on Jarek’s shoulder, tugging him gently toward her.

  He shrugged it off and kept punching. “I’m fine,” was all he said.

  Kalla turned back to Davis. “Ready to fight?” she said with a smile. The adrenaline in her body was building as she prepared for what was about to happen.

  “Just one question,” he asked

  “Sure Davis, what is it?” The look on his face—the half smile and squinting brow—made it clear he was concerned about something.

  “Does it hurt to get shot?” he blurted out.

  Kalla laughed. “Well, let’s just say it doesn’t exactly feel like a massage. So just try not to.”

  Davis nodded. “Yeah, I like that idea,” he said. “Don’t get shot.” And the moment he said these words, gunshots could be heard outside the tunnel that Jarek had been digging.

  “You doin’ alright?” Kalla asked, as she turned back toward Jarek.

  “Fine. Think I’m almost there.”

  “Yeah, we can hear the gun shots. How close do you think you are?”

  “Pretty close. Already been hit by a few bullets that made it through what’s left of our cozy little dirt barrier.”

  “That’s just great,” Davis muttered. “You sure this is a good idea?” he called into the tunnel.

  Jarek stopped his digging and backed away from the wall of dirt. “Don’t have any better ideas, do you?” he asked.

  “Don’t worry, we’re right behind you,” Kalla said, already holding a pistol in each hand. “Just tell me when you break through.”

  “Pretty much there,” Jarek said. He pulled his sword from its sheath and pointed the blade behind him. “Much as I’d like to take ’em all out, I’m done with this planet. Can we just go home now?”

  “Sounds good to me,” Kalla replied. “Let’s get back to the ship and worry about Quinn later.”

  Jarek gave a half nod, then crouched enough to spring forward, keeping his head tucked close to his shoulder. The remaining dirt and rock between him and the army outside exploded outward in all directions, causing enough of a distraction for Jarek to barrel his way through several rows of soldiers before he even needed to bring his sword into action.

  Kalla followed right behind him, and e
mptied her pistols before the explosion of dirt and rock subsided. She glanced back to see Davis was staying close behind her, then ran at full speed through the largest group of soldiers, knocking several of them over with ease. She passed Jarek in the process, and was the first to reach the front gate of the base.

  Jarek caught up to her moments later, but when she looked back for Davis, he had been overrun. She watched as the soldiers surrounded him, mercilessly firing their weapons into the center of the circle.

  Kalla briefly made eye contact with Jarek, and then they both ran without hesitation into the growing crowd of soldiers who were attacking Davis.

  Jarek reached the first soldier, and his sword made contact, passing through the abdomen, then into the soldier behind him. In one fluid motion, he yanked the sword free, and both soldiers to drop to the ground as he passed by.

  “Keep them busy,” Kalla yelled, as she pushed her way through to Davis, who she found huddled in the middle of the crowd. He was curled up in a ball with his arms covering his head for protection. “Get up!” she screamed at him.

  When Davis looked up at her, fear was not what she saw. His eyes were dark red and Kalla could see his clenched teeth through the open grin on his face. He let out a deep, loud growl as he sprang to his feet and grabbed the soldier closest to him as though he were a rag doll. Without any hesitation, Davis bit into the man’s throat. The soldier shook violently for a moment, then went limp.

  The gunfire ceased almost immediately, as most of the surrounding soldiers appeared to be in shock while they watched the gruesome scene.

  “Davis!” Kalla yelled again. “Let’s go!”

  Davis suddenly woke from the anger induced trance and threw the lifeless body of the soldier toward his retreating companions. He then crouched and jumped toward Kalla, landing several meters ahead of her, but waited mere seconds before she and Jarek were next to him again.

  Almost in sync they made their way to the front gate and jumped over as though it weren’t there, landing several meters outside the base.