Condemned (Death Planet Book 1) (42 page)

With Simon back, there was no need to kill the King. In fact, this whole thing had been one big misunderstanding.

Oops.

Though, since the Brain had set up a clever little surprise to end his little game, he might as well use it.

He crouched in the bush, grabbed the last set of cables, and touched them to the battery.

Something popped, like a booming gunshot. Something shiny and metallic flew into the sky, like a slow-moving bullet.

Followed by a thick stream of liquid.

T
he liquid rose into the sky, spreading into a thin spray high above Daniel and the King. The Guard with the crossbow turned toward it, then screamed as the first drops landed on his face. Daniel swung the shield high, and crouched beneath it as the other Guards yelled and screamed around him. Pig-Face rolled beneath the King’s legs as the rain fell. The drones that flew through the cloud above buzzed madly, then smacked down to the ground in puddles of melting plastic.

The shield hissed where the drops fell, and they raised clouds of steam from the mud all around Daniel. A drop landed on his toe, and he yelled with pain as his skin sizzled. He pulled his foot back, and threw dirt on it with his free hand. Whatever it was, it wasn’t water. The men around him were screaming as their skin melted, and trying to find any kind of cover. They dropped their weapons and ran, their skin dissolving, and steaming flesh sliding from their bones.

Daniel peered out from below the shield. The crossbowman still stood on the trunk, but his face was just a mass of bloody flesh where it hadn’t been eaten down to the bone. The man reached up to his eyes, but the flesh fell away from his arms, and only fingers of bone reached them.

Then he fell to his side, and slid to the ground. He didn’t move again.

The rain stopped, and Daniel lowered the shield. The King still stood, but his metal body hissed where the rain ate into it.

Pig-Face still huddled below him, peering out at the chaos all around. This was Daniel’s best chance.

He lunged forward, sword outstretched, trying to ignore the pain as the last of the rain that hadn’t been absorbed by the dirt ate into the soles of his feet. If he didn’t kill the King, his feet would hardly matter, anyway.

The King’s arm swung toward him, but the hinges creaked and groaned. It smashed into the tree trunk instead of Daniel’s head, and threw a shower of splinters into the air.

Daniel threw the shield at Pig-Face, then grabbed the King’s elbow and pulled himself onto the arm. It swung as the King tried to dislodge him, but the shoulder creaked and ground, and the arm barely moved. The metal was warm below Daniel’s hands and feet, and the steam pipes glowed red. Smoke belched from the chimney above him as he climbed, and steam hissed out around the nails that protruded from the pipes.

He grabbed the rear of the thick blade that rose from the King’s shoulder, and held on as he raised the sword, and the King tried to twist his body to throw Daniel off. One stab, and this could all be over. He just had to get it into the helmet, and cut something vital. He aimed the sword at the gap around the King’s eye sockets, and swung.

Then found himself flying backward through the air as the King’s other fist hammered into his chest. His back smashed into the ground, knocking the wind from his lungs. He gasped as he pushed himself up onto his elbows. He’d lost the sword when the King hit him. Where was it?

“Say goodbye, boy,” the King said.

“Better to die bravely, than live on my...”

Smack. The King’s hand swung hard into his face. Daniel dodged aside in time to miss the worst of the blow, but the King’s fingers smacked against his cheek. Blood filled Daniel’s mouth. Another tooth felt loose when he touched it with his tongue. And he still wouldn’t get to finish his rousing final words for posterity.

Then the King’s metal hand wrapped around Daniel's waist. Daniel dug his fingers into the dirt, but the King lifted him into the air with a cacophony of metallic grinding. He held Daniel in front of his face, and smiled.

“I’m going to squeeze until your head pops off.”

Daniel yelled in pain as the King’s hand squeezed his chest. His ribs crunched together, and pain stabbed his chest again as the King pushed against the wounded side. Smoke billowed from the steam engine faster than ever before.

“Sir,” Pig-Face yelled. “The valve...”

Daniel looked where Pig-Face was pointing. Daniel's sword protruded from a pipe near a valve behind the King’s back.

The steam engine hissed as the King’s metal fingers squeezed harder. The pipes below the sword bulged.

Pig-Face turned, and ran.

Daniel closed his eyes.

D
aniel’s body ached everywhere. He couldn’t even tell where, when his whole being was a mass of aches and pains. The last thing he remembered was a blast of heat smashing against his back, then tumbling through the air.

He opened his eyes carefully. He was lying on the ground beside a smashed tree. A tower of smoke and steam rose into the sky, from where the King lay on his face in the dirt. The rear of the suit was a mass of shattered metal where the steam pressure had finally risen until the pipes and tanks gave way.

Men groaned around him, with chunks of twisted shrapnel protruding from their skin. Daniel felt warmth in his left arm and glanced down. Blood dripped along his forearm where a piece of wire had dug into him. He grabbed it and pulled, then winced with the sharp pain as it came free.

He pushed himself up from the ground. His arms wobbled, then gave way, and he fell back into the dirt. He slumped down, and closed his eyes. He was done. He’d finished his job, killed the King, now he could relax and sleep. If they stabbed him in the back, and he didn’t wake up... so be it.

Pig-Face brushed mud from his face, and pulled a metal shard from his nose. A long chunk of metal pipe through his thigh impaled him to the tree trunk behind.

He raised his sword. “Get the boy.”

No-one moved.

Pig-Face swung his sword toward Daniel. “Get the fucker.”

A man standing beside the tree spat on the ground, then grabbed the leash of one of the King’s hounds. The hound hissed at him, and he yanked on the leash. It yelped, then lowered its head, and sniffed the King’s body.

“The King’s dead. Who’s going to pay me the reward?”

“The King is not dead.”

The man pulled on the leash, and the hound turned away from the King. “He’s lying on the ground with his face in the mud and a metal spike sticking out of his back. He sure looks dead to me.”

Another man lowered his bow, and relaxed his grip on the string. “Yeah, fuck this shit. I’m not fighting a kid who can pull bombs from his ass, unless I know I’m getting paid for it.”

Pig-Face pointed his sword toward Kevin. “You. Get him.”

“Fuck that. The King was going to feed my balls to his girls. I reckon the kid saved me.” He raised his hand, and showed the blood-smeared fingers. “Besides, I just got beaten up by a fucking spider. I’m done for today.”

Pig-Face grabbed the pipe, and tried to pull it from his leg. It was stuck fast. “Get him, or I’ll have your balls.”

Kevin turned away. “Yeah, whatever. I got a princess who needs my balls right now. And it's a long walk back.”

The army was devolving into a mob of looters. Those still alive and uninjured grabbed weapons, shinies and hounds from those lying wounded on the ground, or torn apart by the force of the explosion. As they argued, Daniel backed away into the wood. No-one was looking his way any more.

“It wasn’t me,” Moses yelled.

Red’s fist smashed into Moses’ face on the far side of the clearing. “Then who the fuck wasss it?”

Moses pointed into the woods. “I didn’t kill Sparky. It was that lying fucker Guy.”

Daniel's gaze followed Moses’ finger. Guy and the Brain ran across the clearing, and were about to vanish into the trees.

“Wait for me,” he yelled.

D
aniel ran through the woods as fast as he could behind Guy. Simon clung to the Brain's shoulder up ahead. Red and his men were close behind, and coming closer every second. Their hounds hissed and yelped, and the hunters' boots crunched through the plants the others had already crushed down. If there was nowhere to hide, they'd be caught in minutes.

“Where are we going?” Daniel said.

Guy panted ahead of him. “I’ve got a plan.”

“I’m sorry about last night,” the Brain gasped. “I was just upset about what you said about Simon.”

“I must have been mistaken.”

“If I’d known he was still alive, I wouldn’t have done that.”

“Maybe it was another spider who looks like him. Does he have a brother?”

“He's never mentioned one.”

“Still, it all worked out for the best. Good job, both of you.”

Daniel had thought that people might stop chasing him once the King was dead. He should have guessed that wasn’t going to happen. Not on Hades.

“What happened back there?” he yelled.

“Clever, if I say so myself,” the Brain said. “Connected the pod’s oxygen tank to a nitric acid tank from the thrusters, let it pressurize, then blew off the valve. Woosh! Acid Rain!”

Guy pushed on through the bushes. They scraped Daniel’s skin as he followed, leaving yet more scratches on his arms and legs. Then his feet crunched down on the dark sand beyond.

“They’re getting closer,” the Brain said.

He was right. The hounds were louder, and Daniel could hear the hunters’ yells. They didn’t have much time, and they didn’t have anywhere to run.

“Now what?”

Guy pointed to the right. Red’s boat lay on the sand, with the waves slowly lapping against the side.

“That’s our escape plan. Come on.”

Guy raced across the beach. Daniel stomped after him, his feet sinking into the sand with every step. He’d rarely seen a beach before, only on educational day tours from EdCamp, or the travel recordings they showed the kids. The sand shifting beneath his feet made running even more tiring than forcing his way through the woods. But, given a choice between death from exhaustion, or death from whatever Red had in mind, he’d keep running until it killed him.

The Brain ran alongside Daniel for a moment, then began to pull away as Daniel slowed. Simon clung tightly to the Brain’s shoulder, and stared toward the boat.

Guy leaned against the boat and pushed against the logs with his legs. His feet sank into the sand, but the boat began to move, slowly twisting and sliding across the wet sand.

“Come on, you fuckers,” Guy yelled. “I’m not waiting.”

The Brain reached the boat, and pushed on the logs beside Guy. Simon jumped from his shoulder, down onto the deck. The boat moved faster, but still had a few metres to go before it would float off the sand.

Daniel glanced back. Red and his hunters pushed their way out of the woods, and shaded their eyes from the suns with their hands as they looked along the beach.

“That’sss our fucking boat,” Red yelled. Then he and his men ran toward it. The hounds pulled ahead on their leashes, and the hunters released them.

They didn’t have long.

Daniel raced on, and held out his arms as he approached the boat. The sand was wet now, more solid, and gave his feet more grip. His hands smacked into the logs, and gave the boat a little more momentum. It slid across the sand, into the deeper water, which rose around them as they pushed the boat into the sea. Simon raised his front legs in the air and waved them at Daniel, but he ignored the creature. He had more important things to worry about, and the hissing from the hounds told him they were coming closer every second.

The more they pushed, the faster the boat moved. The waves broke behind them now, and the boat twisted and turned in the current as it rose from the seabed. Daniel glanced behind him at the approaching hunters.

The hounds’ feet threw up clouds of sand behind them, and they were almost on the wet sand.

“Heave,” he yelled. They pushed harder, and, at last, the boat floated free. The current caught it, and it began to pull away from them.

Guy grabbed the side of the boat, and clambered on. Daniel struggled through the water, which was almost up to his armpits. The hounds hissed as they splashed through the shallows behind them.

The Brain jumped, and grabbed the boat. Guy grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

Daniel held out his hand. “Help.”

Guy helped the Brain on board. Water splashed on Daniel’s back as the hounds approached. Their hissing grew louder. He threw himself toward the boat, and grabbed a rope that hung from the sail above his head. A hound jumped toward him, and he swung aside. The hound’s head smacked into the thick logs of the hull, and it slumped into the water.

Daniel swung his feet onto the log, and the Brain grabbed his hand. He pulled Daniel onto the deck, just as another hound took a running leap, and its front legs landed on the logs beside him. The long claws scraped across the wood, and the hind legs scrabbled for grip on the hull. Its mouth opened wide, and the sharp teeth lunged toward Daniel’s neck.

Daniel ducked. Guy grabbed a heavy pulley that hung from the mast on a rope, and smashed it into the hound’s head. It yelped as it fell over the side of the boat, and floundered in the water, throwing thick sprays into the air.

The boat twisted in the current. An arrow flew through air between Daniel and the Brain, and smacked into the water beyond them. Daniel ducked into the hut on the deck.

Dead eyes stared back out at him. The previous crew hung naked from the roof of the hut, with their necks slashed and blood running down their dangling arms in thick streams until it dripped to the deck.

He’d seen worse since he arrived on Hades, but he’d seen more than enough that day. He stood on the bench that ran along the side of the hut walls, and untied the ropes that held them there. He glanced out. The boat was now far from the shore, and Red and his men just shouting at them.

“Next time,” Red yelled. “I’ll have your ballsss...”

Daniel dragged the bodies across the deck, and tossed them into the water. They floated briefly, then sank into the depths. Dark shapes moved in the sea beneath the boat, and the sea behind turned red with blood as they sailed on.