Earth (The Invasion Trilogy Book 1) (12 page)

“I was so worried
. I thought… I can’t…” His grip turns bruising, and I tap his back. He loosens his arms and I pull back, looking at his tense and worried expression.

“I’m okay
,” I lie. If there is anything I am right now, it is not okay.

“Please don’t ever do that again. Don’t risk your life for mine, never.” His words are forceful, but he brushes his hand gently over my
cheek, his touch sending warmth over me.

“Well
, maybe if you weren’t just standing out in the open in clear view of those things, I wouldn’t have to risk my life,” I say, not wanting to make him feel bad for his actions, yet also wanting to shake him and ask him what the hell is wrong with him.

“It’s not your job to save my life, Mattie. I don’t want you taking on that responsibility. It’s not one that you’ll be successful at. I want you safe, but being around me… There are things you don’t know. Things I should tell
you…” His voice trails off, leaving confusion in its wake.

“Mattie?” Logan’s small hand pulls on the material of my jeans
, and I glance down, finding a tearful and terrified looking little boy.

“I’m sorry, Logan,” I gasp, completely
having forgotten about the small boy as I lost myself in Marduke’s arms. How awful am I to let myself be comforted while a five-year-old boy is just left forgotten?

I move out of Marduke’s arms, crouching down so Logan can wrap his arms around me. His body shakes with silent tears
when I wrap him up in a hug, lifting him in my arms as I stand again.

I gaze over the machine at our feet, reali
sing that Marduke must have shot and killed it. The rifle dropped on the ground by his feet confirms it.

“Thank you for shooting that thing
, I say to him, watching as he stares at Logan in my arms. He looks confused, I think.

Then I notice his bloodied arm. “What happened to you?” I gasp.

He glances down at his arm and in response, shrugging his shoulders. He looks nervous, and I wonder if he’s embarrassed that he perhaps fell over. I’m not sure why that would embarrass him. Nothing about this situation is funny.

I stare at the gash down his arm
. It’s not oozing blood badly. Hopefully the cut isn’t too deep. The last thing we need to have to worry about is an infection or blood loss.

We move silently back towards the forest, grabbing hold of the bag I
’ve dropped, then we head into the forest. I stop walking when we are hidden from view of the town. I realise Marduke no longer has his makeshift walking stick, but my main concern is for my friends.

“Where did Hank and Lisa go?” I ask Marduke, shifting Logan a little in my arms. I can tell he’s just going to feel heavier every step I take.

“I’m not sure; I wasn’t watching them,” Marduke admits.

“Shit
,” I mutter, quickly aware afterwards of Logan being in my arms. I’m going to have to watch my language around him, although swearing around a five-year-old shouldn’t really be a worry high up on my list right now.

“Where do you think they would go?”

Marduke shrugs and I stare along the ground, hoping to find a clue as to what direction they might have disappeared in.

“Fine, let’s just move forward
, and hopefully, we’ll just come across them.” I say, deciding we need to put distance between the town and us. Maybe it’s naïve of me to hope for things to work out for us that easily, however I don’t have much choice if I don’t want to be paralysed by fear and worry.

As we step over the uneven ground
, I remind myself what I need to do. We need to find Hank, Lisa and the girls. I absolutely have to believe they’re in here somewhere and not injured, dead or part of the disappeared. Then, once we’ve found them, we’ll need to figure out what the hell we’re supposed to do next. Hiding out in a forest might be the best option we have, but how will that work out now that we also have to take care of three young children?

I glance again at Marduke’s bleeding arm, curiosity hitting me as I reali
se he hasn’t answered me on how he’s hurt himself. I know it’s not important, not in the larger scheme of things, yet then I watch him climb over a large, fallen tree branch, his pants bunching, and something falls out of his pocket.

It’s a knife, one that he must have found in the house Hank and me left him and Lisa in, but what catches my attention as he leans back over to pick it up is that the knife is bloodied.

I instantly try to shake off the idea that Marduke has actually cut himself. There is no way. Why would he do that? What would the point be in harming himself that way? Except, he acts skittish as he tries to hide the knife from my view, his hand moving over his arm, almost as if he’s afraid I’ll make the connection just by seeing his injury. I shudder over the implication.

If Marduke
has cut himself on purpose, does that mean he was trying to end his life? Is he someone I can even rely on anymore?

Chapter 11

Marduke

We make it into the forest without any further incident. Mattie carries the kid—Logan, she’s called him—while her eyes occasionally stray to me, looking down at my arm. I know she’s curious about it, but I don’t have a good explanation for her.

How can I tell her that I
’ve had to cut myself open? How do I explain that, when I came to this planet, my brother and I were inserted with a locating device in case we had trouble here? How do I say I think the reason we’re being attacked by so many hinemas is because they’ve been able to track me? What will she say when she realises that, not only am I part of the race that is invading her planet, I have also caused her nearly to die twice? How will she react when she finds out she has rescued an alien? When she finds out an alien has saved her life?

In the short time I’ve gotten to know Mattie, I can’t help feel
ing attached to her, like she is a part of me somehow. I don’t know why. I’ve always felt committed to my family, felt a loyalty to them that I have been born with. I care about them to an extent, but I have never felt the heightened emotions for them that I feel for Mattie. We don’t have such powerful feelings back home. We care deeply for our planet, for our people, and for our history and future. We’ll do anything to further our agendas as well as keep our planet and people healthy and strong. We mate on our planet, but only to keep our bloodline going. We are expected to have children, so we do. We treat each other properly and with respect.

I’ve never had a conversation with anyone like the one Mattie, Hank and Lisa had last night when they were laughing and remembering funny moments they’
ve shared with each other. I don’t have friends. I haven’t shared moments like that. I could probably even count the amount of times I’ve laughed on my hand. We don’t have entertainment like Earth does. We don’t have entire professions dedicated to making people laugh. There are no short breaks in life where we can watch a show and enjoy humour. Sometimes, I think this is a good thing because we have very little distractions. Other times, like now, I wonder how my life would have been different if I’d had laughter in it.

Maybe we wouldn’t be invading Earth.

“Marduke, are you okay? Do you need a rest?” Mattie has stopped ahead, watching my slow approach.

My knee is shooting pain up my leg with every step, but I quicken my approach. For some reason, I don’t want to let her down.
Disappointment is a feeling I know well. There are many things expected of me, and while I’ve met most of my goals, on occasion I have failed. I always try my hardest to honour my father and family. This is the first time I’m trying my hardest for something else, for some
one
else. I don’t want to fail Mattie.

“I’m fine. Any sign of the others?” I wipe away the sweat from my forehead.
Sweat is pouring off me.

The weather isn’t hot in the forest; in fact
, I’d say its cooler in here. The sun is shaded from the tall trees, and because of that, there is a chill in the air. It doesn’t matter, though; I’m sweating from the effort it’s taking me to walk. I’m not the only one, either. There is sweat over Mattie’s neck and her hair sticks to the sides of her face. While my perspiration comes from the pressure to push past the pain, I imagine Mattie’s is a little from being tired, but a lot from the personal heater that is still hugging her front. The child hangs on her like a monkey might a tree.

I’ve felt his eyes on me a lot
as he peeks over Mattie’s shoulder to stare.

“No
, and I have no idea how to track a person. They could have skimmed the edge and stayed close to the town to not lose us or be halfway into this forest, for all I know.”

I hear the stress in her voice, the worry that she might have lost her friends.

“They’ll be looking for water, we should do the same.”

There are several insects and birds in the surrounding tress, but no mammals of any sort have appeared. I’m unsure if the commotion from the hinemas
has caused them all to run deeper into the forest, or if my brother has managed to take them all. I know there has been the plan to take some of the animals, but I haven’t realised they’ll clear Earth entirely from all living things. We have only a few species on our home planet while many of our other planets that we’ve acquired over the many years in our past have more. I assume that, after extensive study, these animals will be reintroduced and monitored back on Earth.

This planet is the most populated of any planets we’ve tried to take. There is enough research and study to be done here for most likely my entire lifespan, and maybe the next generation. If I wasn’t so appalled by the murder we’ve committed and so
enamoured with Mattie, I might actually feel excited for what is to come for us. This is the biggest find in our history, therefore my father will be remembered forever for this acquisition.

His name will be taught in classes and spoken of long after he is dead. It’s what every leader wants. It is why we remember the good our family has done before us
—to remember them is to honour them. We learn from them. Even in death, they teach us.

We walk for a long time, my knee feeling worse with every step. When I finally trip on a rock I
haven’t noticed, I’m too tired to even get up. On my second attempt to stand, Mattie stands over me and places her hand on my shoulder to stop me.

“Don’t. You’re tired and so am I. It’s beginning to get darker in here. The sun is setting. We’ll call it a night and keep searching tomorrow.”

I nod in agreement, watching her place Logan down beside me gently.

“How is your arm? We can’t do too much about it here
, but do you think you need stitches?”

With all the pain shooting from my leg, I haven’t felt a thing from the wound over my arm.

“I’m okay.”

“I’m thirsty
,” Logan whines as Mattie drops the bag off her back, stretching her arms up over her head.

“Here
.” She crouches down then searches through the bag, finding a bottle of water for him. She opens it up and passes it to him, helping him hold it up so he doesn’t spill it. When he has finished nearly half of it, he says he’s full. She opens up a can next of what I think is peaches. The kid frowns at it, but he doesn’t protest out loud. She passes the bottle of water to me then, and I easily finish it off. She already has another one out, and as she takes the empty bottle from me, she passes another can of peaches to me.

“I should have thought to bring a
can opener. Half of these need one to open,” she complains. She takes another can out after she’s had a drink and eats the peaches slowly.

“What’s your name?”
the kid suddenly asks me.

“My name is Marduke. What is yours?” My voice shakes
. Why am I afraid of this kid?

He eyes me for a while, almost like he is contemplating me
, putting me even more on edge. “That’s a funny name. You sound funny, too. Are you from Alayeria like Mattie?”

“I’m not sure where that is, but no.” I watch Logan touch Mattie’s arm
, feeling annoyed by that. Why is he allowed to touch her so casually?

“Marduke is from France, Logan, not Australia
,” Mattie explains.

“Is that where we’re walking to?”

“No, we’re just walking to find your neighbours and my friends,” Mattie explains to him.

“I want to go home. I miss my dad.” His words sound wistful,
yet I see Mattie’s face blanch with his request.

“I know you do, but we can’t go back to your home because those machines are there.”

“Can we go back when they’re gone?”

Mattie looks at me, appearing as though she’s asking me for something, but I don’t know what.

“Maybe. So tell me about camping. What do we do next?” She sounds falsely upbeat, though Logan doesn’t appear to notice.

“Daddy put up a blanket for us to sleep under and we had these big bags to lie in, and then we had
marshmos to eat and fire, and we saw the stars and Daddy told me a story about Mummy.”

“What was his story about your m
um?” she asks softly, apparently able to follow his near ramble.

“He said they met under stars and kissed. Do you and
M’Dude kiss?”

Mattie laughs, and I think I should probably feel offended that she
’s just laughed at the thought of kissing me, but her laugh sounds so good and the smile on her face causes my heart to beat faster. I want to see her smile all the time. I want her to have that sparkle in her eyes when she looks at me.

“His name is Marduke, not
M’Dude. And no, we don’t kiss.”

“Why not?”

“Because we’re just friends. I think that’s enough talking about kissing. We don’t have a tent to sleep in, so we’ll just have to make do out in the open.”

“What about animals like bears and snakes and moose and rabbits?”

“Well, you see that water we drank is a bit magical. It helps repel those things, so that way, we’ll be protected.”

“Really?”
Logan gasps.

“Yep, but it works best when you’re asleep. Think you can try and sleep for me?”

“You promise you won’t leave me?” His arms tighten over Mattie. I don’t feel anything now except bad for the small child who is without his parents.

“I promise you
, Logan. I swear it with all my heart,” Mattie promises.

He seems satisfied with her answer
, so she helps him settle down where we are. She lies next to him, and he cuddles into her side.

We’re silent for several minutes, maybe even half an
hour, before Mattie speaks up. I haven’t moved from my spot next to them, sitting up.

“Logan?” Mattie whispers, but the boy is asleep.

“He’s sleeping,” I say, wondering why she wants to talk to him just after getting him to sleep.

“Good
,” she sighs, but her eyes are wild and scared when she stares at me. “He made a good point; what animals are in this area? Do you think we need to worry about it?”

“I already thought of that. I think
, if anything, they were probably scared by all the commotion the hin—those things caused.” I can’t exactly assure her that there is a good chance all of the animals have been taken from Earth. How would a human know such a thing?

“Well
, keep a gun on you anyway.” She grabs the rifle and passes it to me. I settle it next to me on the ground.

I finally feel my exhaustion wearing me down. I lie next to her, Logan between us
, and wonder if I should tell her who I really am. I could reassure her that the animals are no longer a threat to us here. I could even tell her that some of the humans are being taken away but are safe. I’ve seen some representations of aliens on TV, so I can only imagine the horror Mattie thinks is happening to the humans who’ve disappeared. How do I explain about all the death she’s seen, though? That wasn’t supposed to happen, at least not that I was aware of. What are the chances that she would believe me?

“Do you think they’re okay?”
she whispers, her voice shaky.

“Yes
,” I reply quickly, wanting to take the fear out of her voice. I know she’s referring to the others. I push away my thoughts about coming clean to her, and instead, I focus my attention on trying to soothe her.

“I’m not sure how I’ll cope if we can’t find them. I can’t do this on my own
,” she admits.

“You’re not on your own. You have me and Logan.”

“Logan is just a kid,” she points out.

“And me?”

“You’re a stranger who hacked up his arm on purpose and won’t tell me why,” she snaps.

I hold my breath, astounded that she knows I did it on purpose. I knew she was suspicious of my answer, but how did she jump straight to that?

“How did you know that?”

“Your knife is bloody. Please don’t tell me that was a failed suicide attempt, or that you’re losing it.”
Again she sounds desperate and sad. I don’t want to disappoint her.

“It was an accident; I didn’t want you to worry about
me. I promise to be more careful.”

“Why do I feel like you’re still lying to me?”

“I’m not,” I respond, hating having to lie. Will there ever come a time when I have no need to do that anymore? I’ve never had a reason to lie before coming to Earth, and now I’m lying on a regular basis. I don’t like it.

“I meant what I said to Logan before. We’re friends
, Marduke, and friends don’t lie to each other.”

“I’ve never had a friend before,” I admit, feeling better for telling her something that is true.

“Why not?”

“I’ve never known anyone my age, at least not long enough to make a friend. Where I come from
, we were isolated. My brother was the only person I saw regularly.”