Challa (32 page)

Chapter 42

Deception

“Blend in! Blend in!” Compton yelled over his shoulder at the Ruinos who were passing him up. His fake leg was handicapping him, slowing him down.

Challa glanced back at him, her fear like a frozen mask on her lovely face. Compton managed to wave her onward. “Go,
t’korra
. Protect yourself.”

She gave him a nod and put on the speed, zipping ahead with the other Ruinos as the humans lagged behind. By the time he managed to join them, the officers and loggers had closed ranks around the Ruinos.

Several minutes passed as everyone kept their necks craned to watch the glistening, dark, can-shaped ship. The saws and trucks ceased operating as attention was given to the sight overhead. No sound pierced the night as all work halted.

Compton roughly estimated the thing had to be a good three hundred yards tall and about fifty yards across. The bottom had a flat, wet-looking surface—rough and pockmarked like a badly-surfaced road. From what he could tell, the thing was either a dull gray or muddy brown color. It continued to hover overhead in eerie silence, a little over a mile overhead, lit only by the half moon.

“Ho-lee shit.”

Compton tore his eyes away to find Sarah standing a few yards away. She glanced over at him. “No way our satellites can spot that thing,” she added as she gasped for breath.

He nodded. “The ship has to have some kind of cloaking device to avoid detection.”

“Cloaking device, my ample ass,” the woman replied sarcastically. “Look at its outer hull. No wonder it was able to slip under the radar.”

“What about the troopers? Think they or anyone driving this way will spot it?”

“Don’t see how,” the sheriff remarked. “Bet that thing just blends into the darkness.”

“I agree,” Sarah said. “Its surface is perfect for keeping it disguised. People won’t be able to tell if they’re seeing more stars or a reflection of them.”

Looking around, Compton saw everyone’s gaze was glued to the ship. Thank goodness Sarah had broken its hold on him. He recognized the danger they were putting themselves in by standing around and doing nothing.

“Listen up, people! Everyone!” Putting two fingers to his mouth, he blew a shrill whistle. “Eyes
here
!”

The group’s attention slowly shifted over to him. Mouths remained open as they gave him his ten seconds to make his point.

“They
want
us to be in awe of them!” Compton yelled so he could be heard. “These creatures succeed by intimidation and fear! Go back to work! Get back to work, everyone!”

“And then what?” someone shouted.

Raising his rifle to where the barrel pointed upward, Compton answered, “You do your job, and we’ll do ours. Sheriff Klotsky, can you get your men to meet over by the van?” He had spotted the National Forest Service vehicle sitting off on the side of the road, away from the main activity.

After another glance or two skyward, everyone broke away from where they were standing and went back to what they’d been doing. The clearing away and cutting resumed, along with the grinding and whirring noise that drowned out most conversation.

Compton hurried over to the van where at least two dozen men, some park rangers, but mostly law enforcement officers, were gathering. He saw Tiron standing on the fringe, next to DeGrassi. To his surprise, he also spotted Lawson Hall bobbing around in the back of the crowd. Compton grimaced. He hadn’t thought about the man not being able to get back to his carnival. The guy was stuck here as much as anyone else, but what made him think he could come here? Compton started to ask when the sheriff spoke up first.

“Tell them what your plan is,” Klotsky said, getting the ball rolling.

Compton shrugged off the carnival owner. The man was no longer a problem. “Okay. It’s simple. We’re going to try and draw them in. If we’re lucky, get the Arra in a cluster where we can surround them.”

“What about those Ruinn—” The man, a deputy from Big Oak, stumbled.

Didn’t Thom say the piece of equipment he’d asked for would be coming from Big Oak?
Compton started to answer when he saw Tiron lift her chin.

“We’re counting on the fact that the Arra can’t separate the Ruinos from humans when we’re in human form,” she answered. All eyes immediately locked onto her, and Compton saw DeGrassi move closer to his mate. At the same time he sensed Challa right behind him. She was fearful, but he could tell she trusted him explicitly to keep her safe.

One man made a casual motion with his hand. “Can these Arra shape-shift, too?”

“No,” DeGrassi replied. “But they can split into two separate beings, maybe three or more, like amoebas. They also carry weapons.”

“What kind?” another man asked.

“There is the
adjac
,” Tiron said. “It’s about this long.” She held her hands about nine inches apart. “It’s pointed at one end. They’ll try to stab you with it. If it hits you, it will literally boil a hole through your skin, your muscle, even your bones. And it will cause you pain like you’ve never experienced before in your life.”

Compton glanced around to see how everyone was reacting to what she was telling them. A few men looked dubious, but at least no one was laughing or cracking jokes about it.

“They have a neuron paralyzer,” Tiron continued. “It is a round disk that shoots a thin beam of light. If it hits you, you remain conscious, but you can’t move.”

The first deputy from Big Oak crossed his arms over his chest. “Is that it?”

“Don’t underestimate the enemy,” Compton broke in. “Never forget who and what you’re facing down. If you do, you’re ground meat. Sheriff, did you manage to get that UV gun like you hoped?”

“You betcha.” Klotsky threw a thumb behind him. “Big Oak sent us two of them. They’re sitting in the backseat of my cruiser.”

“Great! Go ahead and fetch them.”

The sheriff nodded and turned to leave.

“Compton!” Challa’s shout from behind him reached him an instant after that cold water rush hit him a second time.

Every eye looked upward, but Jebaral yelled, “The trees! Look to the trees!”

Compton whirled around, rifle at ready. Four asexual, formless shapes stood at the edge of the tree line. The white blobs glowed a pale greenish-white, like phosphorous.

Training took over. Dropping to a crouch, Compton turned to look behind them. Four more carbon copies stood on the other side of the road, near where the logging trucks were parked. “We have Arra to the rear!” he yelled.

A quick glance behind him saw Challa was sticking close to him. For a split second he debated whether to send her away where she might be safer, then nixed that thought. If he sent her away, there was the chance he couldn’t protect her as well. But if the Arra figured the Ruinos would keep close to their blood mates, it was a risk he was willing to take. The safest place for her was with him, and always would be. Period.

Several men lifted their guns and aimed them at the shapes. Compton quickly stood up. “Don’t fire! No no no no no!
Hold your fire!
” he yelled again. “Wait for my signal! Jeb!”

The Ruinos were crouched, arms out, a defensive at-ready stance, but they managed to maintain their human forms. Jebaral looked over to him. Compton realized then it was taking every effort by the Ruinos not to change into their true selves, their more powerful form with the razor claws. They had to be feeling very vulnerable at this moment, and he didn’t blame them. But they understood that to shape-shift could bring the Arra directly down upon them if the enemy wasn’t able to discern Ruinos from humans.

“Can the Arra understand our languages? Do they use any interpretation devices?”

“No. They speak to us mentally,” Jebaral answered.

“So they wouldn’t know what we’re saying?”

“No, but they can read your emotions. They feed off of your fear and anger. They know when you intend to attack them because of your fear.”

“Your fear and terror is like a potent drug to them,” Simolif added. “They get off on it.”

It made sense. When wild animals sensed fear, it often led them to attack. Another glance around the perimeter showed the Arra hadn’t moved. Compton wondered how many of them were armed.

“Try to control your fear, people!” he called out, knowing it was nearly impossible. All around, people looked panic-stricken. Compton glanced over at Jebaral and Simolif, wondering how he was going to get everyone to pay attention to him, much less obey. He was surprised when Lawson Hall stepped up to the plate.

“All right, all you pansy-assed wusses! Listen up and pay attention! The Arra aren’t after us! They don’t give a whoopee shit about humans because they consider us nonproductive cargo. To them we’re weak, and we probably taste bad on top of that. We could no more survive on the worlds where the Arra do business, which is why they won’t do us any harm if we don’t make any threatening gestures toward them.”

He gave Compton a wink before continuing. Compton realized the man probably had a lot of experience getting rowdy crowds to pay attention and follow his orders.

“Here’s the drill, so pay attention because there won’t be time to repeat it. Keep working. Keep your attention on the job. Everyone else, mingle. Look disinterested. Remember, the Arra want their lost cargo, not you. Stay clear and don’t fear them. Think of them as…as walking raw meringue.”

“What’s meringue?” a male voice piped up behind them.

Several feet away, Sarah rolled her eyes. “Calf slobber! Now, get back to work, and let the experts do their job!”

Amazingly, the loggers went back to dismantling the barrier. Several officers holstered their weapons and offered their help. Compton saw Jebaral helping with the chains, along with DeGrassi and the deputy from Big Oak. Everyone spread out, allowing the Ruinos to roam among them, while Hannah and Sarah remained close by.

When Klotsky rejoined them, he carried a portable ultraviolet light with him. The Arra never moved.

Impasse.
Compton kept checking back and forth to see which side would make the first advance, or if all of them would make their move simultaneously. He would have given his fake leg to know what the Arra were thinking. Or planning.

One thing was certain. The humans weren’t running in panic, and they weren’t showing any fear. Neither were they making any threatening gestures toward the Arra. And because they weren’t, the Arra were probably wondering what kind of life forms inhabited this world that didn’t flee at the sight of them and their ship.

They were hesitating. They were thinking. They were unsure. They were stymied.

They are the enemy, and they are mi—

The Arra began to close in.

Chapter 43

First Blood

The Arra slowly drifted toward them, eight semitransparent globs of iridescent gelatin. They had no legs or feet. It was almost like watching white slugs advancing as one united front.

Compton automatically reached behind him, searching for Challa. Her hand went to his back to let him know she was there. The sense of her love warmed him to the core, and at the same time strengthened his determination.

All eyes were on the creatures that continued to move closer and closer. Compton caught Sheriff Klotsky trying to get his attention.

“Let’s see if they mind us going around them,” Klotsky suggested.

“Go for it. I’ll watch your back.”

The sheriff nodded and motioned to one of his deputies. Compton watched as the man easily walked down the road, back toward town, not stopping to look back at them until he was in the clear. The Arra continued to inch toward the crews from opposite sides.

Without any urging, the sheriff tried to follow the man when the Arra nearest him raised an armlike extension and aimed a round, silvery disk at him. Klotsky froze.

Challa grabbed the back of his shirt. “It’s a paralyzer!”

At the same time, DeGrassi yelled, “Hold off, George! Don’t move! It’s the UV ray! They think it’s a weapon! Don’t lift it! Don’t do a thing!”

“Anything in your hands they’re going to consider to be a weapon!” Compton said. “Try putting it down and seeing if they’ll let you pass!”

The Arra paused to watch as the sheriff carefully laid the UV gun on the tarmac. As he straightened, he held out his hands to show they were empty then continued down the road toward where the deputy was waiting. As expected, the creatures allowed the man to pass without further incident.

There was a moment when the machines began to power down, but several logging foremen waved for the crew to continue cutting and clearing. Yet the strain of trying to maintain a casual demeanor in front of the aliens was beginning to tell on everyone. Fear and expectation for the worst hung thick in the air. The men were reaching their breaking point. Soon, very soon, something was bound to erupt, and Compton hoped it wouldn’t be the humans.

“No!”

Compton jerked around to see Jebaral slowly walking toward the Arra, taking the same route as the sheriff and deputy. Behind him, Hannah was reaching out to him.