Captured earth, p.19
Captured Earth, page 19
“He’s going to be in the building with the lights.”
“I don’t want to lose the device. If we can figure out how it works…” No one was ready to start chopping off Andrew’s toes until he spoke except him. He didn’t like what that said about him. That he was desperate, pessimistic, and ready to break?
Xavier hadn’t said a thing; he hadn’t needed to. The look in his eyes had been enough.
In the afternoon sun, that spat had been forgotten, and they were pretending that everything would be fine, the way it had been so many times when it was clear nothing was ever going on be fine. It was exactly the same way they’d avoided talking about their relationship for three years.
“We’ll figure out how to get it working, and if we don’t, someone in Sydney will.”
We aren’t going to make it to Sydney. Josh wasn’t even sure they’d make it to nightfall.
Josh started the ute. The air-con blasted him with the promise of arctic winter. He lifted his arms so the breeze could hit him in the pits for a few seconds. He closed his eyes and let himself imagine living somewhere cold and alien free.
Cold.
“What?” Xavier asked, as he slammed the door.
Josh cracked open an eye. “Nothing.”
“You had an idea.”
“It’s not an idea.” It wasn’t even half an idea. “The Geckos don’t like the cold.”
“And?” Xavier turned the vents on him and paused. “You want to chauffeur them around town?”
“No…maybe. What if we could find a refrigerated truck?”
“Ice cream truck?”
“Supermarket delivery truck.”
“And then what?”
Josh shook his head. “I told you it wasn’t really an idea.”
He doubted they could force a bunch of heat loving aliens to walk into a nicely chilled truck to die. And once they were in there? Then what? Would the cold kill them? Put them to sleep? Or just piss them off?
“What about liquid nitrogen?” Xavier said.
“What’s that got to do with a truck?”
“Nothing, but I bet there’s some in the doctor’s clinic. It’s not the kind of thing people would think to steal as it’s only good for freezing off warts.”
“Except you.” Josh smiled at his lover. “We’ll stop off and grab it.”
Xavier shrugged. “Don’t know what we’ll do with it.”
“Doesn’t matter at the moment. Better to have it and not need it.” Josh drove them around to the clinic. The building had a broken window. No doubt it had been raided by survivors early on. Those survivors had either died or moved on. Maybe they’d fled along the coast, hoping to eventually make it to civilization again.
They both got out, leaving the keys in the ignition. There was no one left to steal the car.
Josh shoved open the door. Xavier had his pistol drawn, ready to fire if needed. The building was empty except for a few critters that startled and fled deeper into the shadows. He’d never realized how dark buildings could be without lights. “Where’s it kept?”
“No idea.” Xavier walked through the reception area toward the treatment room. It was all set up, ready for the next patient. The bed was covered with a sheet. A drip stand lurked in the corner. He poked around a few cupboards, then opened the fridge and shut it just as fast. “Ugh.”
Josh grabbed the packages of bandages and suture kits—that shit was always useful—and shoved them into his pockets. He followed Xavier through the rest of the clinic, opening doors and peering in cupboards.
Everything was waiting for the humans to return. Even though he should be used to it, Josh still found it eerie. There was a sense of the building holding its breath. He was waiting for someone to step through a door and ask what they were doing. He’d felt the same in every town and homestead. He always hoped that there’d be someone.
Andrew counted as someone. One survivor, and he was a traitorous asshole.
Xavier rattled the handle of a locked room. He didn’t hesitate, just broke the lock and forced his way in. Josh winced. But no one was going to complain about the damage.
“Jackpot.” Xavier shone a torch over the shelves. He picked up a small silver flask. “Liquid nitrogen.”
Josh took the canister. “You think it’s still good?”
“No idea. But now we have some. So let’s make a plan to mess up some Geckos.”
Chapter Two
Josh was relieved to find Andrew still tied to the chair when he returned to the hotel. He’d been worried that Young and Dave would take pity on him and let him go.
“Where’s Fisher?” Young asked.
“I dropped him at our new base with the supplies.” Xavier was setting himself to give them early warning of the aliens approach.
This hotel had been a safe base. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, wanting to hold on to the happy memory before Andrew’s captive had made a break for it and driven through the front doors, bringing a herd of alien bugs with her. Was it too much to ask for even one night of peace? “How has our guest been?”
In his absence, Andrew had been gagged.
“He wouldn’t shut up,” Young said. “Begging and bribing and promising to put in a good word with the aliens if I let him go. This hasn’t lit up or made a sound.” He handed over the alien device.
It looked like metal, but it was too light. It was the same greeny yellow color as the alien base. And like the base, this was hexagonal. It was a bit bigger than human palm sized, and there were some grooves on the outside, but nothing that made him think it was a comms device like Andrew claimed.
But then what did Josh know about alien tech? Nothing except that getting shot hurt. His shoulder wasn’t great. While it ached from the dislocation, the wound also hurt. And not in the way he was used to wounds hurting.
“Great.”
He tipped the chair that Andrew was sitting on back. Andrew startled and freaked out, his eyes widening. As much as he wanted to give Andrew more than a couple of ways to remember him, Josh knew he wouldn’t be able to look Xavier in the eyes if he did.
“How were you going to put in a good word? You speak Gecko? Does this translate? What exactly did you tell them?”
Andrew laughed behind the gag.
Josh shoved the chair upright and ripped the gag down. “Answer me.”
“Or what? They own us now. The sooner you get used to it the better.”
He’d never accept that Earth had been taken over, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to roll over for the aliens.
“Fuck off.” He pulled the gag back into place, then turned to Young. “We’re relocating, and he’s coming with us.” Unfortunately. Josh would’ve been happy to leave Andrew and let the bugs feast on him when they woke up at dusk.
He put the device in his pocket. If they didn’t know how to use it, it was just fancy junk, but it was the kind of thing that was best handed over to people who were paid to study those kinds of things. He wished they’d been able to send it with Marsh and the other civilians. They’d have been able to take it to Darwin and maybe farther. But there was the risk that the device was a locater. That if they had sent it with Marsh and the others then it might have led the aliens right to them.
He didn’t feel good having it in his pocket.
“You ready to go, Dave?”
“I was ready this morning.” He picked up a bag loaded with who knew what. The grudge that he’d been made to stay behind soured his expression.
Josh didn’t feed it. There was no changing what had happened. After learning about Andrew’s betrayal, he and Xavier had made the call to send Marsh and the others on their way, leaving the rest of them stranded.
A last line of defense.
It might be funny in a few months if they made it.
Between him and Young, they wrestled the office chair with Andrew attached out of the hotel and into the road. The chair wasn’t made for rolling along the main street. It spun and bounced over the rough surface. The next hotel wasn’t far up the strip, but Josh’s shoulder was throbbing, and he was sweating by the time they got there. Dave didn’t offer to help.
Josh opened the door, and they wheeled Andrew into the lobby. This was a really fancy joint. The kind used for weddings and honeymoons or by rich people who planned on staying by the pool and never leaving the resort.
He could’ve never afforded to stay there, not for more than a night anyway. For a few seconds, he was tempted to search the rooms, but there was no point. He didn’t care if there were corpses and bugs hiding out in the honeymoon suite.
Only Andrew would be here come nightfall.
And Josh didn’t care if he got eaten alive.
“Your new home until after your friends have finished visiting.” Josh carefully turned on a couple of high-powered torches that they’d picked up. They’d last for six hours. They only had to last for two. Then it would be dark. “I’ll leave the door open for them.”
Andrew kicked his legs and struggled against his bonds.
Yeah, that’s right, fucker, you know what that means.
The lights would draw the bugs even if the Geckos didn’t arrive tonight. And the bugs would make short work of Andrew.
Young looked at Josh like he’d gone mad. “You can’t leave him.”
Maybe he had. Maybe weeks in the outback thinking his lover was dead and being captured by aliens had knocked a few things loose. He thought he was holding it all together pretty well, but maybe he was one bad day away from snapping.
Unless he’d already snapped?
Would he know if he had?
“Yeah, I can. And I am,” Josh said. “So who’s going to arrive here first, the bugs or your buddies?”
Andrew spoke, but it was so muffled, Josh couldn’t understand him.
“Let him speak. Maybe he has some words of wisdom to impart.” Josh crossed his arms and waited.
Young untied the gag. He was far too gentle.
“Don’t leave me for the bugs. Kill me if you have to.”
“I’m not allowed to. You’re a civilian.” Josh smiled, lobbing Andrew’s words when they’d captured him back at him.
“You can’t leave me to be eaten.”
Josh shrugged. “That I can do. Accidents happen.”
“It’s not an accident. It’s murder. Turn the lights off.”
“No, the area needs to be lit for safety.”
“But it won’t be safe.”
“Yeah, it will. For the rest of us.” Josh turned away. “Put the gag back on. I don’t want to hear him screaming.” He already had more than enough nightmare fodder to last for the rest of his life. He suppressed a shudder, knowing what the bugs would do, but unwilling to save the man who’d damned them all.
“Wait!” Andrew shouted.
Josh kept walking.
“The device is a translator.”
He stopped. When he’d been imprisoned, he’d suspected that someone had been reporting to the aliens. The promise of extra rations could turn a man against his own even if it was only a temporary benefit. He turned ninety degrees. “Translates how?”
“Give it to me, and I’ll show you.”
“Do you think I’m fucking stupid?” The moment Andrew got it, he’d probably send some kind of distress signal.
Andrew shook his head. “You have to slide your thumbs along the grooves to activate it.”
“And then what?” Josh pressed.
“And then you talk. And they talk.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. I don’t want to die like the others. Please.”
“Neither do we. Gag him,” Josh ordered Young.
“But I helped you.”
Josh stalked over. He pointed at Andrew, who had the decency to shrink back as Josh leaned over him. “You fucked us over. You reported us to those clear skinned, maggot eating freaks. You were happy to watch us die so you could keep your hostage and be the King of Georgetown.” Josh stepped back and gave a mock bow. “Enjoy your reign.”
He walked out, the alien device cool in his hand. His fingers brushed the grooves and he pulled them back, not wanting to accidentally activate it. He didn’t trust Andrew not to have lied. But at some point, either he or Xavier was going to have to give it a go. It would be a luxury to be able to listen in on Gecko communications.
And they were smart enough it probably wouldn’t happen. Aliens didn’t fly through space and knock out all of Earth’s satellites only to handover tech that would let the humans gain the upper hand. He turned the device over, this time tempted to run his thumbs up the grooves to see what would happen. Would an alien answer?
What would he say?
What would they say?
He put it back in his pocket before his resolve weakened.
Dave stared at him as he walked past. “Who’s next?”
“What do you mean?”
“Who are you going to feed to the bugs next? Why are you the judge and jury, the king of Georgetown?”
Josh clenched his jaw. He didn’t have time for this, and for a few seconds, he regretted not sending all the civilians to help Marsh load the boat. Then Dave wouldn’t be here whining about how prisoners were treated. “He’s a traitor. He’s working for the aliens.”
“He’s human.”
Josh was about to argue that but chose another argument. “I can’t protect you if I’m watching and waiting for him to knife me in the back. Do you trust him?”
“No…but…what I mean is…how do I know I’m not next?”
“Have you been helping the aliens?”
Dave shook his head. “I’ve done everything you’ve asked.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
Young jogged over and caught up with them. “You aren’t actually going to leave him to die are you?”
Josh scratched at the stubble on his jaw. He could lie, but he couldn’t be bothered. “I don’t want him anywhere near us, and I sure as hell don’t want to be dragging his ungrateful ass to Darwin.” He glanced at both men. “He held Kayla hostage and raped her repeatedly while reporting to the aliens.”
“So he’s a shitty person. That doesn’t mean he should die,” Young said.
Dave nodded.
Josh bit back on a few curses. As far as Josh was concerned, Andrew had proven himself to be a shit of the first order more than once.
Dave licked his lip. “He deserves a fair trial.”
Josh laughed. “Jesus fucking wept. Take a look around. The only law around at the moment is survival. If the Geckos capture you, you’ll be fighting other humans until they feed you to the bugs. If we don’t get our weapons and plan sorted ASAP, they’ll catch us with our pants around our ankles, and I can tell you straight up, sunshine, that I am not going to be their captive again. What about you, Dave? You want to go back to that?”
Dave shook his head.
“Andrew is a traitor and can’t be trusted. If you want to hold his hand and keep him company to make sure he doesn’t escape and make things worse, be my guest. But then we have one less person fighting for our survival, and I don’t have the resources or manpower to devote to his safety.”
“We should’ve gotten on the boat. You made us stay,” Young snapped.
“One tiny boat has a chance to make it to safety. We are the distraction.” His voice broke. “I hope they make it. I hope we make it. We would’ve all made it together if not for Andrew reporting our arrival. Think about that as you defend him.”
Young lifted his chin and considered Josh. Josh held his gaze. Young would be the first one to cry if taken by the Geckos. He’d scream the loudest when the bugs filled him full of eggs and the larvae ate him from the inside out.
Young looked away first.
Josh started walking. “I’m trying to keep us all alive. You can help me or you can help Andrew, who was happy to see you dead. Your call.”
He had no confidence that Dave or Young would make the right one.
He walked up the block and stepped into the shade of the church. This was their new base; it was on high ground and the belltower gave them a few more meters. In the belltower, he saw a flash of sunlight on Xavier’s rifle.
The building was old and whitewashed. As churches went, it wasn’t that fancy. It was much smaller than the one where his parent’s funeral had been held. But this place had some history judging from the numerous plaques around. It also had clear lines of sight to where Andrew was. It was the perfect place to watch and wait. He had debated trying to find somewhere more defensible, but nothing was safe when it came to the aliens, so surprise and the best vantage point were worth more.
For a moment, he considered the idea that making a run for it might be the smart move, but then they’d be covering their tails, and they lacked the weapons to do that on the move. He doubted very much that they could hide. One person might be able to, for a short amount of time…
He shook his head. He was tired of running and fighting, and even if he got away, he didn’t know how he could live a quiet life knowing that aliens were claiming land and killing everything in sight.
What was going to happen when they’d stripped this land bare?
He already knew the answer. They’d move on to the cities on the east coast.
The door to the church hung open, and he stepped into the gloom. It was a welcome relief after the sharp, bright sunlight.
Someone had set up some water bottles on a pew along with some food. He helped himself to a slightly soft chocolate bar, knowing that it wasn’t real food and he should be eating properly but wanting it all the same. If he died today, he wanted some damn chocolate, and if he survived, then he’d pop a few of the vitamin tablets that would hopefully stop their teeth from falling out since there was no fresh fruit or vegetables.
Dave followed him in. “Where are the others?”
“Probably still looking for urea.”
Once they had it, they had to figure out how to use it as a weapon. He hoped it worked on the aliens the same way it worked on the bugs. If nothing else, at least it would keep the bugs and larvae away, and that was enough of a win to be worth the effort.
