Blood Thirsty (Tri System's Edge Series Book 2) Page 14

  Opening his eyes, he was pleasantly surprised to see General Quinn standing in front of him, holding the would-be attacker by the throat. Its arms and legs thrashed and scratched at the general, who calmly raised his free arm, aimed his pistol at the creature’s head, and fired a single fatal shot.

  The black mass went limp and the general tossed it like a rag doll to the floor. “Captain,” he said with a nod.

  The captain stared in disbelief. “I thought—” he started to say, but was cut off.

  “I was dead?” The general let out an eerie laugh. “Actually, so did I,” he continued, extending his hand toward the captain.

  Once he was back on his feet, the captain said, “Sir, we changed course. I thought everyone else was dead, and didn’t know what else to do.” His body trembled as he made the confession.

  The general sneered and asked, “Where are we then?”

  “Svati Prime,” the captain quickly answered. “And, sir, the ship has been set to self-destruct.”

  The general frowned and said, “Well, I guess we should get off the ship, then. It’s lost.”

  Surprised yet relieved by the general’s uncharacteristic response, the captain eased up. “And my crew? Have you seen any of them?”

  The general turned and walked toward the rifle on the floor, bent over and picked it up. “We’re it,” he replied. “Follow me.”

  With a nod, the captain followed General Quinn to the escape pods, and as soon as they rounded the corner, the general’s words were confirmed. The crew members the captain had hoped to save lay scattered across the floor, and the red flashing lights in the corridor only added to the gruesome scene of bodies askew and blood splattered about.

  “Hurry it up,” the general ordered. He reached back and grabbed the captain by his shirt, forcing him to move faster.

  They rounded one last corner, and now stood directly in front of one of the escape pods. The general opened the door and practically shoved the captain inside. “Report back at base,” he ordered, then closed the door to the pod.

  The captain hurried and strapped himself in, then stared at the general through the glass window of the pod. He nodded at the general, who nodded back, then the captain reached out and punched the launch button on the console in front of him.

  He pressed his head against the padded headrest as the pod shot down and away from the ship, and wondered how General Quinn had survived. Then he thought about the creature, and how the general had been able to pick it up with his bare hands and kill it so easily. None of it made sense, but he brushed off the unpleasant thoughts and focused on the fact that he was still alive.

  The escape pod quickly reached the planet’s atmosphere, and began to violently shake as it passed through. After a short bumpy ride, the automated thrusters kicked in, and the pod glided toward the surface and made a smooth landing.

  Relieved to be safely on the ground, the captain lost control of his emotions, and with his head in his hands, began to sob.

  Several minutes passed before the captain finally calmed down and regained his composure. He unstrapped himself from the seat and opened the door of the escape pod. Blinding rays of sunlight flooded into the opening and washed over his face, and it only took him a moment to realize he was in the middle of a desert. Hope I’m not too far from civilization, he thought, as he climbed a large sand hill for a better view.

  Once on top, he could see several large buildings off in the distance, and he smiled as more tears ran down his face. “Thank you, General,” he whispered.

  C

  HAPTER 15

  The vibration through the ship’s hull meant they were almost home, as Kalla piloted the craft downward through the atmosphere toward the planet. Soon the turbulence began to fade, and blue sky filled her view.

  Flying over Paradise, Kalla was reminded of what a beautiful planet it really was, in spite of the thick fog that obscured much of its surface. Although the fog concealed most of the lower valleys, there were still mountain ranges that shot up into the sky, adding texture and colors to an otherwise gloomy scene. It was a sight she always enjoyed when she made her approach, and today was no different.

  As their destination on the cliffs came into view, she looked at the fog below, and for a moment her crew came to mind, friends she’d lost the first time she came here. She still missed them, but since that horrible day, when her crew had been attacked, she’d gained so much more. A sudden feeling of guilt swept over her, and she felt bad for her current state of happiness. It’s just not fair, she thought. Then she remembered something Dom used to say. “Life ain’t worth livin’ with regrets,” she mumbled. He must have told her that a hundred times or more. Of course, it was his way of justifying the less-than-honest activities she and her crew had engaged in. But she believed if Dom were here now, that’s exactly what he’d tell her. She missed him, but the memory made her smile, and it relieved her of any guilt for now.

  “Good to be back home,” Jarek said, as he entered the cockpit.

  Kalla turned her head and smiled at him. “Never thought I’d say it, but yeah, I agree,” she admitted. “Something about Paradise, it just feels like home now.”

  Jarek grinned and nodded.

  “Is Davis still resting?”

  “No, I’m pretty sure he’s awake. I think he’s having a tough time with what he did, though. Saw him go back to the cargo hold a bit ago.”

  Kalla’s smile faded. “Definitely takes some getting used to . . . what we are.”

  Jarek nodded. “Yeah, I know it does.”

  “You probably don’t, but thanks for trying,” she teased.

  Jarek frowned. “Hey, don’t forget, I wasn’t always like this, either. It’s just been a while. A lot longer for me.”

  “I was teasing you know,” she replied. “But he’ll be fine. Just needs a little more time to get used to everything. Besides, what we can do . . .” She paused and thought about what she’d become. Her smile grew and her eyes widened. “I’d never want to go back,” she said. “I love everything about this. Well, everything except the cravings for raw meat. Still struggling with that,” she said with a laugh.

  Jarek shook his head. “Guess I’m just so used to it, I don’t really notice much anymore,” he replied.

  Kalla nodded and changed the subject. “Sure is something to see all this sunlight up here, when there’s nothing down in the valley.”

  “Suppose I’m just used to that, too,” Jarek replied with a shrug.

  ~

  Murphy had almost dozed off when Dal burst into the room.

  “Ship just landed. Think it might be Kalla. Get dressed!” he blurted out, trying to catch his breath.

  Before Murphy could speak, a young nurse entered the room and grabbed hold of Dal’s arm. “You need to calm down, sir,” she demanded.

  “Sorry,” Dal replied, “but it’s impartent.”

  “I don’t really care,” she insisted. “And you,” she said, making eye contact with Murphy, “need to rest.”

  “But—”

  “No buts. You were in bad shape when you arrived, and until the doctor gives the okay, you’ll be staying in that bed.”

  Murphy reluctantly laid back down in the bed and said “Dal, why don’t you make sure it’s your friend? If it is, bring her by and we’ll all talk.”

  “Yeah, I’ll git her,” Dal said with a nod. He turned and walked slowly past the nurse, who lifted an eyebrow as he walked by. The moment he was outside the room, he darted off again.

  “Slow down!” she yelled out the door.

  Murphy let out a laugh that turned into a short cough, and he grimaced.

  “How’s the pain?” the nurse asked.

  “It’s not as bad anymore,” he said, rubbing his hand over one side of his ribs. “Still hurts if I move around too much though, or sit up, or stand . . .”

  “Which is exactly why you still need to rest,” she finished.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Murphy teased. He’d c
ome to enjoy his short conversations with this young nurse, even when she was just giving him orders.

  “I’ve told you not to call me ma’am,” she said, though she couldn’t keep from smiling when she spoke.

  “I’m sorry,” he lied. He caught her glance when she looked up and could see she was blushing, so he changed the tone of their conversation. “Uh, so when do I see the doctor again?”

  She broke eye contact and pulled a tablet out of her coat pocket. “It looks like he’ll be by again later today,” she said.

  Murphy nodded and said thanks, then watched her leave the room and shut the door. What am I doing. I’m probably twice her age, he thought. He knew he wasn’t going to be here long anyway, so there was no point in developing any attachments.

  He pushed away all thoughts of his nurse and closed his eyes. He still didn’t understand why this girl named Kalla was so important to Dal, or how she could possibly help them, but he didn’t know what else to do. So, for now, he would allow himself to trust his new friend.

  ~

  Kalla exited her ship and walked down the ramp. The midday sun was high in the sky, forcing her to shield her eyes with her hand. It also felt hot on her skin, and she took a step back onto the ramp and into the shade of the ship, bumping into Jarek as he made his way down.

  “Sorry,” she said with a laugh. “Hot day today.”

  “You see that?” Jarek replied, pointing off into the distance.

  Kalla looked up and noticed someone running toward them. “Can’t tell who it is,” she replied, straining her eyes to see who it was.

  “Either someone’s glad we’re back, or there’s a problem,” Jarek muttered.

  “Always the pessimist,” she said, shaking her head. “Is Davis coming?”

  “He’s still in the cargo hold. Said he needs some time to himself.”

  “We’ll check on him later. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” She stepped off the ramp again, and Jarek walked beside her as they closed the gap between themselves and the approaching figure.

  “Recognize him yet?” Jarek asked.

  Kalla suddenly stopped. “No. Can’t be!” She grinned and took off running. “Dal?” she called out. Moments later the two collided in a tight hug. “How did you . . .?”

  “Made a new friend,” Dal said, as he pulled away.

  “Is Tuck with you?”

  His smile faded and he shook his head.

  “What happened?”

  “The general. Right after we got off the ship ya took. Happened fast, and Tuck, I don’t think he felt much.”

  Kalla’s heart sank as she took in the terrible news, and a single tear escaped her eye. But her sadness was quickly replaced by a wave of rage. “I’ve really had enough of that . . .”

  “What’s wrong?” Jarek interrupted.

  Kalla turned and said, “Jarek, meet Dal. He’s one of the men I told you about, the ones who helped me on Esaria.”

  “Pleasure,” Jarek said with a nod, extending his hand.

  Dal accepted the handshake with a smile. “Nice meetin’ ya,” he said excitedly.

  “Remember me telling about his friend Tuck?” Kalla said.

  Jarek nodded.

  “Well—” She suddenly choked up and couldn’t speak.

  “Tuck didn’t make it,” Dal finished.

  “Quinn?” Jarek asked.

  Kalla nodded. “We’ve gotta stop him.”

  Jarek folded his arms. “We’ve been trying to, Kalla.”

  “I know. It’s turning out to be a lot harder than I expected.”

  “Well, he is a military general. Maybe it’s time to fight fire with fire,” Jarek suggested.

  “’Bout that,” Dal chimed in. “I got someone ya’ll should meet.”

  ~

  The nurse happened to be walking in the hallway when Dal and Kalla reached Murphy’s room. “He needs his rest!” she yelled in a whisper.

  Dal backed away from the door and gave Kalla a nervous look.

  “It’s important,” Kalla said, facing the nurse. “He’s got information that I need.”

  “That’s fine, but he needs to rest right now,” the nurse insisted.

  Kalla gave her an unfriendly glare and began to step toward her when Dal jumped between them.

  “I swear we ain’t gonna cause problems. We’re just gonna talk to him fer a bit, then we’ll leave him be. Let him rest more.”

  The nurse dropped her gaze to the floor with a look of uncertainty. “I can give you five minutes,” she said, as she looked back up at Kalla. “Then can you please just let the man rest?”

  Kalla relaxed the tense muscles in her face and nodded. “We’ll hurry.”

  The nurse gave a half smile, then turned and walked away.

  Dal immediately opened the door and led the way into the room. “Hey Murphy, you up?” he asked.

  A groan came from the bed as Murphy began to stir. “Guess I am now,” he replied with a yawn. Then, after rubbing his eyes for a moment, he opened them and attempted to prop himself up with some pillows. “You must be Kalla,” he said, staring her down.

  “The one and only,” she replied.

  “Dal seems to think we need you.”

  Kalla laughed. “Right to the point, huh?” She turned to Dal and said, “I like this guy.”

  “Jus’ wait till ya hear what he has to say,” Dal said.

  Looking at Murphy, it was clear that he was in pain, and a part of her wanted to help him like she’d helped Davis. But this was different. She didn’t know anything about him, so she pushed the thought from her mind. “So what happened to you?” she asked.

  He stared back at her and said, “The general. That’s what happened to me.”

  Kalla moved closer to the bed. “Where is he?” she asked.

  Turning his glare on Dal, Murphy said, “How is this little thing supposed to help us?”

  “Trust me, she ain’t what she looks like,” Dal answered. “Jus’ tell her.”

  Murphy shook his head and looked at Kalla. “He’s probably still on his ship somewhere. But you’d be crazy to go after him.”

  “Oh, I can handle myself just fine,” she gloated.

  “No, you don’t understand. He’s . . .”

  “He’s what?” Kalla blurted out impatiently.

  Murphy hesitated a moment longer, then he finally said, “Look, I didn’t realize what was going on until it was too late. He brought us here, to Paradise. Sent my team and I on a mission to capture something here, but it all went south on us.”

  A sudden wave of worry came over her. “You caught a Vie?” she asked.

  “Not exactly. He used us. Sent us in without enough intel. One of my men didn’t make it back to the ship, and another got infected by the thing we were tasked to capture.”

  “Great, so the general has a Vie now.” Kalla began pacing at the foot of the bed. “This is bad. This is really bad.”

  “Yeah, tell me about it,” Murphy interrupted. “My men died because of this, and if not for some dumb luck, I’d be dead with them.”

  Kalla stopped and took a deep breath. “So, you got hurt escaping then? Any bites or scratches?”

  “No, nothing like that. I made it out just fine, but the general sent fighters after me. Shot me down. If not for Dal here . . . you and I wouldn’t be talking.”

  Kalla had to focus to control the anger that wanted so badly to take over. Murphy’s story was just one more reason the general needed to die, and the fact that he was still alive left her feeling overwhelmed with frustration. “So where is he now?” she asked through her teeth. “You said he’s probably on his ship, right? So where’s his ship?”

  Murphy scoffed. “Even if I knew, I still don’t see how you could possibly do anything to stop him.”

  Kalla growled and grabbed hold of the foot of the bed, lifting it until it was at a forty-five-degree angle, then let go and watched it slam back to the floor.

  “Ahh!” Murphy cried out. “Okay, okay,” he
said, squirming in pain.

  Immediately Kalla regretted the act. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I just lost control for a second.”

  Even through the pain, Murphy started to laugh softly. “I really didn’t see that coming,” he said, with tears streaming down his cheeks. “Couldn’t you have just said she’s really strong?” he asked Dal.

  Dal shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the side of the bed. Fumbling in his satchel, he pulled out the container of chloromex and handed it to Murphy. “Still a couple more. Looks like you could use one right about now.”

  “Thank you,” Murphy said with a smile and proceeded to give himself another dose. His eyes closed and he took a few slow, deep breaths. “I’m gonna sleep now,” he said, as he handed the container back to Dal. Then, turning to Kalla, he said, “Svati Prime.”

  Kalla shook her head. “No. We were just there,” she replied. “Looked but couldn’t find him.”

  “Don’t know then,” Murphy answered.

  “Asherah?” Kalla asked.

  “Maybe, but unlikely. I still say Svati Prime’s your best bet. Maybe not on the planet, but on one of his ships.”

  Kalla nodded. “Thanks,” she said, then turned and headed for the door.

  “How ya gonna stop him?” Murphy slurred, as the drugs began to kick in.

  Kalla ignored his question as she headed to the door.

  “Wait,” Dal protested, jumping in front of her and waiving his hands. “You ain’t gonna leave without me, are ya?”

  “I need to go tell Jarek,” she said, “and you’d better stay here.” She pushed him aside and started down the hallway, but Dal followed close behind her.

  “What er we gonna do?” he asked enthusiastically.

  She stopped and turned to face him. “We aren’t doing anything,” she answered. “I’m going to get Jarek and Davis, and the three of us will figure it out.”