Roth Read online

  As the bullets the others are shooting at them enter their flesh, a black slime gushes out. A direct hit to their eye takes them out, but right now, we’re trapped in a room with dozens of these creatures, and more appear out of nowhere.

  “Get us the fuck out of here!” Kane demands, one of his guns running out of bullets as he drops it to the ground and takes hold of his next one. We didn’t bring enough guns to handle this.

  I take a few shots, knocking three straight in the eye and missing a couple more shots while Hank crouches down and grabs hold of the control I accidently used to transport us to this unknown hell.

  “Look, we’re above Roth!” Rob calls out, staring out the window to what is below us. “We’re fucking in space, guys!” He is now screaming in shock.

  “It’s broken!” Hank growls as he slaps the control with his hand to try to get it to work. It hasn’t even got any symbols on it now.

  Creatures are stalking towards us from every direction and then one pounces at us. It jumps several feet in the air, and we all dive out of the way. John isn’t fast enough and the creature tears him in half as the claw closes around his middle.

  I barely have a second to comprehend that. We’ve landed scattered from each other, and I have a creature land right in front of me. Before I can get my hand up to shoot it, the claw flies into me and I am pushed backwards. I fall to the ground just before the creature looms over me. It places a claw on either side of my stomach and squeezes.

  I know I am about to be chopped in half… except I’m not. There is pressure on me, but it doesn’t hurt.

  Marduke’s vest is protecting me.

  I take the added seconds I have, not sure how long the vest will hold, and bring my gun up and shoot the creature in the eye. It flies backwards, black gunk oozing out of its wound. The smell that hits me then is like rotting eggs sitting out in the sun for days. I turn my head and gag.

  Then I see Hank get knocked over, two creatures circle him, readying for a kill.

  “Hank!” I yell in warning, but he’s been knocked out. I raise my gun, still feeling woozy from my hazy state, and kill both creatures, two shots to the back of their heads.

  Rob screams and when I look over at him, I find blood everywhere; both of his legs are missing. Kane is fighting to get close to him. He’s obviously run out of bullets and he’s dodging out of the way of their attacks and gropes with the claws, outright punching them.

  They appear dazed by his direct hits, but it’s not enough to kill them.

  I crawl towards Hank and from my lowered angle, I grab my spare weapon and take out a few that are close to Rob as he continues to scream in horror and pain.

  When I make it over to Hank, I find the useless control still in his hands. I reach out and take it, hoping I can figure out how to work it. As soon as I touch it, the symbols appear again, and I find the same one I accidently touched. This time, a blue light flashes. I hope it doesn’t matter what the colour is, and that it’ll get us out of here no matter what.

  I first point it at Kane since I realise he’s about to get his head chopped off. He disappears straight away. I then have to shoot two creatures so I can get a look at Rob. I’m not sure if there is much point in saving him. We won’t be able to do anything for him, not with two missing legs and all the blood he’s lost. It doesn’t feel right to leave him, though, so I shine the light on him and he disappears, too.

  I see John’s body next. He’s definitely dead, but I don’t feel we can leave him here, either. What will these creatures do to him? He deserves some sort of burial. Maybe this light will transport us to the ground and we can give him that.

  I shine it on him and he disappears.

  There is only Hank and I left, and with the others gone, the creature’s attention shifts to us. They advance on us quickly, and I send both Hank and I away together.

  The strange pull in my stomach continues, but when I open my eyes, I ignore the feeling.

  Kane has a man in a choke hold and Rob is still screaming his lungs out. He’s deathly pale, and I know he’s going to slip into unconsciousness soon, or maybe he’ll just straight out die from shock.

  Hank is still out cold, however.

  Kane is swearing nonstop, and just as I am sure he is about to snap the stranger’s neck, something hits Kane’s neck and he falls to his knees, his eyes closing immediately. I catch a glimpse of what looks like a small, thin needle before he collapses onto his front and stops moving.

  My heart stops altogether and I hold my breath, searching for the source of who just took Kane out. Rob’s screams begin to die out as I panic and search this new area. This one is reminiscent of the first spaceship we had been in. It feels newer and cleaner, though, and with the added bonus of none of those creatures.

  My eyes land on a woman, one who is holding another needle and her arm is swung back behind her. I know she’s aiming at me next. These must be people from Oden. We have been found out, and now we will be killed. We didn’t manage to get any revenge. We failed.

  I don’t even bother raising my gun. I accept my fate.

  As her arm begins to move through the air, I feel like we are moving in slow motion. Just like what happened when Logan was shot, time shifts and changes.

  I wonder if I’ll see my life flash through my eyes. Maybe I will get to see all my wonderful memories with my parents and Hannah one last time. I will remember every laugh Hank, Lisa and I shared together. I will get to see Logan alive and feel Marduke’s arms wrapped around me one last time. Maybe death won’t be so bad

  But it doesn’t come. Instead, a new voice calls out. It’s not a human voice. The language is the scratchy, awful one that I heard Marduke speak with his brother.

  I cringe when I realise how outnumbered I am. Then, I watch the woman let her hand drop to her side. No death for me. No reliving any memories. There will be no comfort for me.

  That’s when I hear something that is impossible, a voice that is familiar, and I know I must not be awake. I have to be dreaming. There is no way Marduke is behind me. There is no way he just gasped my name.

  No. Way. Right?

  Chapter 4

  Marduke

  I hear a commotion from the holding area. A loud scream that is full of agony. It sounds animal, and when it suddenly stops, I am relieved the pain has ended enough for the screaming to go away.

  I move into the holding area, feeling reluctant at what I will find. I have been to three different planets and haven’t found Mattie. I’m already worried and anxious to find her, and I am definitely not in the mood for whatever distraction is waiting for me.

  But then I enter the room and take in the scene. Gyter, one of my medics, is gasping for air. He’s bent over and sputtering as he takes deep breaths. At his feet, there are four bodies on the ground, which are all covered in blood that is spilling around them. None are facing me, but I see one man is no longer whole. He is in two halves. Then I notice one has no legs.

  I shiver at seeing such severe injuries, but stop when my eyes are drawn to the one lone female standing with her back to me.

  She’s tall, has a lean frame, and her dirty blonde hair is tied up in a ponytail. She has a gun held in her hands. I notice the ripped and open sweater she is wearing, which reveals to me the underneath argu.

  I mouth her name, swearing I must be imagining her. Why would Mattie be here? How did she get here? Where has she been that four men appear dead at her feet?

  It’s at this point I see Hyera pointing a sedative at her and tell her to halt. She obeys me immediately, and as soon as she does, I eye Mattie again. Her shoulders are tense, her legs are slightly bent, and her stance is ready for anything. She’s in attack mode.

  “Mattie?” I whisper her name. I didn’t mean to whisper, but what if I call out to her and I break this strange spell? What if she disappears and I realise this is just my eyes playing tricks on me?

  She turns to face me, her movements shaky and slow, and when her eyes conne
ct with mine, I see tears fill them.

  “Marduke?”

  “Are you really here?” I ask her, taking a step towards her.

  “Are you? I thought your brother…? Didn’t you…?” She bursts into tears now and rushes towards me. I catch her in my arms and hold onto her as she wraps not only her arms but her legs around me, too.

  “It’s all right; I’ve got you now,” I assure her, walking us away from the holding area and from prying eyes.

  She shakes in my arms from her tears, and when I reach my quarters, I sit down on my bed with her sitting on my lap. As I settle her, my arms unable to loosen even an inch around her, she moves her head away from my shoulder and looks up at me. Her eyes are glazed from more unshed tears and there is dampness on her cheeks from where her previous tears have fallen.

  “How are you alive? What happened?” she croaks out.

  “Ival didn’t kill me,” I quickly assure her, realising that point is rather obvious. “He thought I’d disgraced myself enough that our father would never have me as a leader, so he took me to our spaceship where my father was waiting. I was healed, locked in a room, and sent back to Oden. I was held there until my mother was able to break me out and have been searching for you ever since.”

  I remove an arm from around her, needing to hold her face. Her skin feels soft and smooth against me. Her cheek warms under my hand, and I can tell her heartbeat speeds up from our touch, just like mine has done. I have missed her so much.

  There is a lot that needs to be said between us, but instead of saying those words, my lips move over hers and I hungrily take from her. I have been desperate to taste her, feel her under me, to feel her naked body against my own. I put every piece of grief and fear into my kiss, and she gives everything back and more, her desperation matching my own. My tongue plunges into her mouth at the same time her hands hastily push up my shirt. While her hands electrify my skin, I help her to rip it off completely.

  As soon as my shirt is away from my arms, she wastes no time in shoving me down so my back is flat against the bed. She moves over me and I groan as she sits right where I need her most. I move my hands up over her thighs, grabbing hold of the torn sweater. I begin to lift it up over her, eager to not only take it off, but the argu underneath. I only make it part way over her chest when I finally comprehend the state of her sweater. It’s ripped and badly damaged.

  “Mattie, wait,” I say and lightly lift her shoulders so I can see her properly. “Are you hurt? What happened to you?” I try to assess her for any injuries, suddenly reminded of the state of the bodies at her feet earlier.

  She looks down between us, seeming confused until her eyes land on her tattered sweater. She sits up straight, grinding on me in a torturous way, however her attention is on her chest. She lifts her sweater up and feels the vest underneath. I have visions of her touching her stomach, feeling the child we potentially have growing inside her and that thought arouses me further.

  “This thing saved my life. We saw these… I don’t know what they were, but they… it killed John, and Rob’s legs… he… and Hank!” she gasps.

  “Hank?”

  “He’s unconscious out there. We have to make sure he’s alive!” She tries to move off me, but I grab her wrists, making her stay where she is.

  “The medics will take care of him,” I assure her, knowing they’d never kill any of them. All Hyera had in her hand before I stopped her from hitting Mattie with it was a sedative, which will only knock the recipient out for a few hours. Hank will be fine if he is hit with one. “Tell me what you saw.”

  She looks down at me and then her eyes grow wide. “I saw this.” I allow her hands to move and she fingers my chest.

  I sit up, releasing her hands completely now and lean on my elbows so I can gaze at the place she’s pointing. It’s the claw I have tattooed on my chest, one that is there to remind us of our failed attempt at taking over their planet over a hundred years ago. The creatures, which had these claws, are brutal and killed many good men and women. We had to flee, making a promise that it would never happen again. We never attacked another planet without first being aware of what we would be facing. It is why we built the hinema. They protect our men and are expendable; we can just build more of them.

  “Are you sure?” I frown at her answer. It’s not that I don’t believe her, but as I gaze at her darkly circled eyes, her almost gaunt features and bony arms, I realise Mattie has lost weight. A lot of weight.

  Something has changed with her. Something is different. There is a haunted look to her stare.

  “Yes, we made it onto one of your spaceships, and we were talking about what we were going to do next when I accidently grabbed hold of one of those controls, like the one you sent me away with on the day that…” When her voice hitches, I realise she was going to say the day Logan died.

  “Logan isn’t dead. After I sent you away, Ival sent Logan up to our spaceship. The medics there were able to save him. He’s alive and well, Mattie. I promise you.” I place my hand over hers and squeeze it.

  “He’s… Are you sure?” A mixture of hope and disbelief enters her eyes.

  “He is. He’s with Lisa and the girls.”

  “I… Am I dreaming? Is this some weird, happy dream?” she whispers now, leaning down over me and again grinding down in a torturous way. She lies against me and rests her ear over my chest. “I can hear your heartbeat.”

  “I’m really here, Mattie, and so are you. Logan is alive.”

  “Is he with you?”

  “No, I had to leave him behind. He’s happy where he is, and I wasn’t sure what I would find on our other planets.”

  She nods, not lifting her head up from her new resting place. “I’m so glad you’re alive, Marduke. I thought you were dead and I was alone. I keep seeing that day happen over and over. We should have stayed in the forest. We shouldn’t have gotten so relaxed.”

  “I know.” I move my hands in circles over her back, trying to soothe her. “But I’ve got you now. I’m going to take you away from here, and we’re going to find a new place to go. I’ll keep you safe, I promise.” I hold her to me, needing her to feel safe and secure.

  I open my mouth to reveal she might be pregnant without knowing exactly if this is the right time or what I should say, but her voice drowns out my own.

  “Did you speak to Lisa?”

  “No.”

  “So you don’t know if she’s alone there? Did her family make it?”

  “She was with a man, her brother, I think. They were both playing games with Logan and the two girls.”

  I feel the tears falling onto my bare chest. She’s crying again and I hate that. I don’t want to upset her. How the hell am I supposed to tell her the news about her own family? I can’t lie to her, but maybe she won’t bring—

  “Do you know if my parents and my sister are alive? Are they on Oden?” As she lifts her head to look at me, I try to keep my face straight. However, she must read the bad news on my face because she immediately begins sobbing and quickly sits up, ready to move away from me. She knees me right in the groin, and it knocks the breath out of me, but I grip ahold of her and ignore my pain, needing to hold her. I have just spent weeks without being able to touch her, so there is no way I’m letting her go again.

  She struggles in my arms, her legs still wildly kicking out, and her nails dig into my shoulders. In the struggle, we both end up on the ground. Her voices mumbles and cries out in a jumbled mess, too indecipherable for me to understand. I continue to hold her through this, hoping she will calm down enough to listen to me.

  Thankfully, her struggles soon leave her, and then she’s holding onto me just as furiously as I’m holding her.

  “I’m sorry, Mattie. Your sister is alive and on Oden with Lisa, but from what I was able to find out, your parents were killed on Earth during the invasion.”

  She howls then, a sound that feels like a direct stab to my chest. I don’t know what to say or do. I don
’t know how to make her feel better. I have zero experience in this area. When there is a death on Oden, you pay your respects to the family by standing with them in silence. You stand united in remembrance, and then, after enough time has passed, you go back to normal life. I have never seen a reaction like this, but I knew, from Mattie’s conversations about her parents, she would not take this news well.

  I rock her, holding her tightly to me and honour her family with my silence. I don’t think she would hear anything I said over her crying anyway.

  We sit like this for a long time. Long enough that my back is sending stabs of pain from the angle I am forced into, yet I don’t move. Mattie has settled to only silent tears now. She hasn’t spoken a word to me, and I fear that she might be in some sort of emotional coma.

  “Mattie?” I whisper, kissing the top of her head lightly.

  She doesn’t respond.

  “Mattie, talk to me please.”

  “I want to see Hannah,” she gasps, her voice sounding raw.

  “I’m sorry, but we can’t go back to Oden. She’s being taken care of. Lisa is looking out for her and Logan.”

  “What? Why can’t we go there?” she asks, her head finally coming up to look at me. Her eyes are puffy and red, her cheeks blotchy, and her eyelashes are clumped together from her tears.

  In that moment it becomes clear that now is the time to tell her. She deserves to know she might be pregnant. We could go into medical immediately and have the proper test to find out for sure. I don’t get the chance to answer her, though. Instead, the room shakes violently, sending us flying off to the side, and then the entire ship flips upside-down. I crash into the ceiling, catching the force of Mattie colliding into me.

  “What is—?” Mattie screams, but the sudden shift again cuts off her question.

  We slam into the side wall this time, and when I gaze outside my window, I see we’re plummeting towards the ground. It’s a fall this spaceship is not equipped to survive.

  I grab her hand, standing up on the wall, and run with her to the bathroom. We enter the room at the wrong angle, and I signal for Mattie to stay while I jump into the room. I connect with the shower, which is shaped as a long, round tube, then wave my hand and catch Mattie as she jumps down and lands in my arms.