Oden (14 page)

Sounds fairly simple and straight forward, right?

It’s not.

***

We open the hidden entryway and fortunately find the room we enter empty. We’re in our father’s office. A place he used to spend most of his time. I’ve only been in here once, and it definitely didn’t look like this. His desk is upturned, his walls splattered with blood, and there are two dead guards on one side of the room, their eyes still open. Papers are scattered everywhere over the floor and the shelf that held editions of our planets history—many stories from my family—have been destroyed. They were clearly burned; only ashes remain.

As a voice sounds from outside the door, one that I don’t recognise, I glance at Ival, seeing that he is furious right now. He doesn’t move to hide, instead he stalks his way to the door and bunches his hands on both sides of him into fists.

“Check to see if the black box is hidden anywhere in here,” he grounds out.

I know he’s upset and furious, and it’s interesting that a messed up office has done this to him. Either it’s only hitting him now that our father was just murdered, or he’s really upset about his newly inherited office being in shambles. It wouldn’t surprise me if it was the latter.

I move about the room, searching for a black box as I hear a fight breaking out behind me. I only glance back once to make sure Ival is in control, which of course he is, before I resume my search.

We find nothing in that room, or any other room we’re able to search.

Our house is huge, and thankfully, there are many hidden doors and rooms that only we know about. It makes getting around a lot easier. At one point, I find myself in a room that has a large window overlooking the city. From the height of our home, we overlook Jyin. Smoke and flames are everywhere, a sign of the destruction and war.

I know the humans are out there, amongst the battle. The Claws have swarmed to the eastern part of the city, and our people, who are hidden underground amongst the west side, have a little more time to survive.

Guilt wells up inside of me. This was the right move for my people, but I also know it is in no way fair to humans. We’re using them as a shield for our own people. I also know how much we must look like monsters to them and to Mattie. She has a good reason to be angry with me.

Watching the war happening outside only motivates me to find this black box faster. If we can have our spaceships working, then we can get them into the air and fight the war from there, a much better advantage. We could find a way of holding the Claws, teleporting the lot of them to our ships, out of the way, then either kill them all on the spaceship, or take them into space and let them out once we’re well away from any of our planets. Their home planet, Jukh, has an atmosphere that is similar to most of our planets. It means they need oxygen to survive and dropping them out into space will kill them quickly.

Ival has already started the process of distributing monits to our soldiers, and pilots are on standby to get the ships into the air.

Ival and I split up, hoping to find and destroy the black box quickly. However, after our thorough search, we both come up empty. The longer we take to find this one, the more humans will be sacrificed as we look for our salvation.

“I have found it,” Ival’s voice hisses behind me. “Down in the basement, there are several guards watching over a cage that has Claws trapped inside. In the far corner, there is a hole in the wall where the box has been stashed.”

“How are we supposed to get to it, then?”

“We can manage it; it just won’t be done quietly. The basement is a dead end. If we get trapped there, then we’re stuck. We need to come back with more men.”

I nod, staring one last time at the warzone in front of me, and then turn around, just in time to find our room suddenly swarming with Jeprow’s people.

Without any warning, three men topple onto me, knocking me off balance. I crumple to the ground. Ival handles the men attacking him better, however I lose sight of him quickly.

While I’m punched and kicked by all of the men at once, I try to lash out, yet my limbs are weighed down by more soldiers crushing me. Although I know I’m doomed now and there won’t be any escaping this situation, I don’t feel panicked over this. I merely need to get Jeprow to take me on board his spaceship and destroy the box hidden up there. If I can manage that, and if Ival can manage the one in here, then we can save Oden. Perhaps if I sacrifice myself for my planet, for Mattie and Riley, then she will be able to forgive me.

I still attempt to fight back, but I already know there is no chance of me beating all these men. Ival has crashed through a wall and gone into a separate room, the fight continuing there. He’s not ready to give up. More soldiers swarm towards him, and even though he’s the best fighter I’ve ever seen, I think that maybe this will be too much for him.

The impacts keep coming, even after I stop fighting the men. I’m in pain everywhere, and if I had to guess, I’d say I’ve easily gotten a broken arm, nose, maybe my legs, and definitely cracked ribs. Their pounding is relentless and I begin to black out, the constant hits to my head causing me to lose focus. I grow dizzy and tired.

I must black out because, when I next open my eyes, Jeprow is in front of me. He has a grin over his face as he sits in my father’s chair in his office. My cheek stings and I notice a man moving away from me, giving me the assumption that he hit me to wake me up.

There are four dead bodies in here with us now; two men, who we discovered earlier, and two that Ival had taken care of.

Two men flank either side of me as they drag me up on my feet. I still sway under their grip, feeling the tell-tale signs that I’m close to vomiting and passing out.

“You’re awake, good. I didn’t want you to miss this,” Jeprow says calmly, standing with ease and grace as he moves swiftly towards me. “I had heard rumours about a tunnel system running under Oden, but I hadn’t found any proof of its existence until now. I assume this is where you have been hiding, where your brother has probably run off to now, and where you are storing your unusual mate and unborn child.”

My heart seizes at the mention of not only the tunnels, but of Mattie and Riley. The tunnels might be hidden from Jeprow and impossible to breach because he does not share my family’s DNA, but that doesn’t mean he can’t dig and find his way into them that way. Or perhaps he will force me to open the hatch. He could make me bleed all over the door to activate it.

“I enjoy seeing the panic on your face. I haven’t even gotten to the good part yet.” He smirks and points at the floor before me. “I left quite the mess in here, papers everywhere, except they have magically cleared away from this part.”

He crouches down and I curse our stupidity for not noticing that earlier.

“I know a lot of your home is programed to only respond to the leader’s family. You perhaps should have considered investing in changing it to specific DNA. Leaving it open to your entire family opens it up quite a bit. Families on Oden are rather large, and when you go back a few generations, the family tree grows quickly. My grandfather told me his father had an affair with his then leader’s wife. It was a momentary lapse of his dedication to his leader, and because of lust and bad choices, a child was born. That child was my grandfather, and he was out-casted from the Lomh family and lived with my great-grandfather, who was fired from his job of guarding this very home. My grandfather became a soldier. He was a great man, who would have done anything to protect Oden, but he was betrayed and left for dead instead.”

I try to follow his words, trying to figure out why he is telling me this. My brain feels slow, and it’s hard to take in his words when the pain I’m feeling is competing for my attention.

“So, when I place my hand over here...” When he waves his hand against the floor, I watch in horror as the hatch appears, ready to admit him to the ladder that will take him to the tunnels. That will take him to Mattie. “I thoroughly enjoy that look of fear much more than the panicked one.” He laughs, opening the door and glancing down it for a moment. “I’m going to go down there, murder anyone I see on sight, and bring your brother and mate back up here. Then, I am going to make her suffer in front of you before I eventually kill her. Does that sound good to you?” he asks, laughing when I attempt to lunge at him.

The two men have me in their tight grips, though, and I barely make it two steps. I am pulled back and after a quick nod from Jeprow, something hits me from behind and I lose consciousness quickly.

Everything is about to be ruined. My future with Mattie is about to be torn to shreds.

Chapter 10

Mattie

I hate crying. I don’t see the point of it, not when I’m feeling as awful as I am. Sure, sometimes the release of such emotion can feel cathartic and maybe even makes you feel good—there is a reason people like to watch movies and read books that make them bawl their eyes out, after all—however I’ve never been one of those people. Yes, I’ve had my fair share of tears since this invasion. I haven’t felt better after a single tear, though. In fact, I’m fairly certain I have felt worse.

Now my tears bring forth guilt. I don’t want to cry in front of the others because it feels weak. Part of me knows that it’s my job to protect everyone here. I owe it to Hank to keep Lisa and Hope safe. I owe it to my parents to keep Hannah safe, and Logan is just as much my responsibility. I made a promise to his dad, but even if I hadn’t, he is part of our family now. I hate showing any sort of vulnerability in front of them because I fear it will mean I can’t do this. They might realise how terrified I really am, and then how am I supposed to comfort them when they are scared? If they know I’m just as afraid as they are, then I am useless to them.

Therefore, while I am alone, I bury my face into the edge of the mattress and cry. If I had a proper pillow, I’d wrap my arms around it and howl into that. This alien bed is awful for crying.

When I have calmed down a little, I attempt to stem my tears and try to suck it up. I give myself a pep talk and think about the fact that I can’t hide in here forever. Then I recall a time when Hannah wore a pair of Dad’s boxer shorts on her head—thankfully, freshly washed—around the shops when she was six-years-old because she refused to take them off, and Mum was stubborn enough to still take Hannah with her, looking like that.

The memory brings a small smile to my face, and while it doesn’t fix my bad mood, it does add a little bit of light to the darkness consuming me.

Standing up from the bed, I shake out my limbs, move my neck backwards and forwards, and hear a few little cracks along the way. I don’t remember the last time I had a proper stretching of my muscles. Back on Earth, I wouldn’t go a day without stretching because I exercised every day. Now, I haven’t done it at all.

Falling back into an old routine, I stretch out my arms, back, and legs. My body feels good and limber when I’m done while I feel a little more like my old self. That, of course, all changes when I step outside the room.

As footsteps approach, my resolve begins to crack under the anger and sadness that has built up inside me. I spent over an hour sobbing and then pulling myself together, and all it takes is the echo of Marduke’s footsteps to ruin it all.

I stand still, feeling undecided. Should I confront him, or go into Lisa’s room where I hear the others talking?

The footsteps sound louder, getting closer, but then I notice there are more than one set of steps. It’s three or four people, I think. Considering the fit that Ival threw at the thought of having the others down here, it seems unlikely he would allow more people into the tunnels. But what other explanation is there?

I let my thoughts wander, let the idea that something might be wrong sink in, and then I turn quickly and rush to Lisa’s room.

I make it there in just a few long leaps and barge into the room.

“I think we’re in trouble. Everyone, get up,” I call out, seeing them all on the bed, Hope is in Lisa’s arms and Logan is being tickled by Hannah. They all jump in surprise from my voice and then panic settles over each of their faces.

I don’t know if I’m overreacting, and even if I’m not, perhaps leaving isn’t the best option, but if this is as bad as I fear, then staying here will only mean capture and death.

“Move!” I yell, gathering them all up, and then we run back the way we first entered this part of the tunnel. I swing open the door, and as I look back to usher them through, I catch my first glimpse of Jeprow.

He’s leaning against the wall, watching me with a lazy smile over his face and his eyes narrowed on me.

I know we won’t be able to outrun them now. We’ll be trapped in these tunnels unless I can give the others time. Maybe Jeprow won’t even care about them. He’s obviously here for me, Marduke, and Ival. The boys aren’t here, but I am. I need to distract him long enough to get the others out.

I shut the door on Lisa as she is the last one in. Hannah and Logan both scream out my name before the door shuts and cuts off their voices. I hear nothing now. I know this is a water proof door, as a result there won’t be any chance of their voices filtering through. I hope they know to run. I hope that Jeprow doesn’t open that door and find them unmoved.

“Very brave,” he finally says, moving towards me now. He has three men behind him, all large and intimidating.

“Marduke and Ival aren’t here.”

“I know. I have Marduke my possession, and Ival elude men my. I he not down here because he not exact coward. Me and three men won’t him feel scared. He would attack us now by. He won’t able resist the chance end me.” His English is slowly getting better, although still jolted.

“You have Marduke?” I whisper, my anger at him dissipating. In its place, concern and fear consume me. What have they done to him? Is he being tortured? Is he already dead?

“Yes, don’t worry but, treating him…
well.
” He smirks.

I try to swallow past the lump in my throat, but my mouth is suddenly dry.

“What happens now?”

“Now...” He stops in front of me, his hand moving to my face where he traces a finger down my cheek until he curves and reaches my lips. I purse them together to stop him. “You cause me lot trouble of earlier. I had Marduke and Ival where want them; you play me so you get monit. You them help escape. I still in mess you leave me in.”

He pauses, maybe expecting me to beg or apologise. I just stay frozen, though; waiting for either death or him to strike out and physically hurt me.

He leans in even closer, his nose brushing against mine. “I need make you pay that. I see way you try protect them when lead you me away from them. It is same what done now. They mean much to you. Have found out about attack on home your planet, they people you know there from. They humans.”

My heart thumps loudly in my chest and dread chills me.

“Since me want hurt Marduke as much possible, I save you for him witness. However, I these people don’t mean much him. So, this for you.”

When his hand moves away from my face, touching the wall I’m leaning against, I turn my head and watch the wall light up.

“I find out this in room maps plans. Interest defence plan. I aware only our species open any along here, you have pass because child carrying. Since they human, have no ability do that.” His hand brushes over a button, and then he moves away. He turns and opens the door. The others are no longer there, but I don’t feel any relief knowing they did run.

My relief and hope has been ripped away from me as I watch water rushing down from the ceiling grate and piling along the tunnel floor. Water rushes our way, covering my feet. Jeprow has opened the grate above. I know they will be trapped down here. Soon, the tunnels will be full of water and everyone I love will drown.

“No…” I whisper, taking a step towards the ramp, yet Jeprow blocks my way.

“How good they swimming…?” His voice trails off and his grin is back again.

“Please, don’t do this,” I beg, fresh tears falling down my face. “I’ll do anything, just please turn that water off.”

“Save beg later. Have feeling hearing beg will form of torture to Marduke.” He nods, signalling something, and then hands grab me, pulling me away.

I scream for Hannah and Logan. Then he closes the door and the noise of the gushing water is silenced. My screams echo off the walls, but I’m no match for the two men pulling me along.

***

I do try to get loose of the men who are holding me close, but all I get is an elbow to the side of my face and a split lip. I’m painfully aware that I am not wearing Marduke’s vest, as well. The thought of being hit in the stomach stops me from fighting too hard. It goes against my instinct to let these men take me without a fight, but I don’t feel I have any choice. Not if I’m going to protect Riley.

When we eventually make our way out of the tunnels, I find myself in an office. Four lifeless men are on the floor, and there is enough blood around me to make me feel ill.

I’m dragged through rooms and hallways, my attention wavering as my mind focuses only on what Hannah, Logan, Lisa, and Hope are most likely facing right now. How far up is the water? Are they still alive, or have they drowned already? Is there any way possible for them to get out of there alive?

I know there isn’t, and I’m equally devastated and angry knowing that all I have left is Riley. Without him, I know there isn’t any reason to fight for my life, not anymore.

“I brought you mate,” Jeprow taunts.

I glance up, finding myself entering a padded room. Inside, Marduke is beaten, bloodied, and chained to a wall.

He pulls painfully on the chain, growling when he sees me, almost sounding animalistic. He’s furious, and instead of it giving Jeprow pause, it only appears to make him happier.

“I let you acquainted again while I check on surprise for you have.”

As he nods at the two men holding me, one lets go of me while the other backhands me across the face. Pain explodes across my cheek, and I swear even my brain rattles against my skull. Before I can even register what has happened, I am hit again. This time, it’s an uppercut to my jaw. My head flies backwards. I lose my footing and fall back into the man holding me. He pushes me off him, and then I slam into the wall, sliding down to the ground.

Marduke is screaming at them, not speaking in English, but I assume, from his tortured voice, he’s most likely using whatever profanities his language has and maybe even some threats.

The man who has punched me steps up to Marduke and kicks him in the stomach. That stops his shouting as he struggles to breathe.

The men leave, and once they are gone, so is the entrance we just used.

“Marduke?” I whisper, moving towards him and holding out my hand to his face. His eyes are closed, his face dripping with blood and sweat, and he’s taking shallow breaths.

When he eventually gets his breathing back to a more acceptable huff, he looks over me. He winces, and I know that rather than feeling his own pain, he’s feeling mine.

I touch my face, feeling that it’s sore and tender. There is even some blood from where the impact broke my skin. There is no way I won’t look like a swollen mess in a few hours.

“I’m sorry,” he croaks.

“What happened?”

“I failed.”

I remove my hand from touching him, remembering all too well the consequence for that failure. Did he tell Jeprow how to get into the tunnels? He assured me they were safe, so what happened to change that?

“I tried to get the others out. I put them into the passage we came down and then I closed them in, hoping to give them time to get away, but Jeprow turned the water back on. They are trapped in there. Hannah, Logan…” my voice hitches, “Lisa and Hope are drowning.”

The chains rattle as he tries to move his arms. I think he forgot for a moment that he isn’t able to comfort me.

“I’m sorry,” he says again sadly.

Thoughts and memories of Logan, Hannah, and Lisa consume me as I cry. I know that Marduke seeing me in pain, unable to do anything about it, is probably what Jeprow wants, but I can’t stop myself. I’ve lost more people. This time, my sister, my best friend, an innocent little girl, and a boy who meant the world to me; all taken away from me in one fell swoop.

I think Marduke keeps talking to me, however I don’t actually take any of his words in. I just let his voice soothe me, lulling me into feeling a bit calmer, which for now, keeps my sadness at bay. It’s still there inside me, ready to consume me, but for now, I am able to push it aside to focus on the present.

We’re trapped in a room, in a place Jeprow controls, and I have no vest to help me protect Riley. If I want to prevent more loss today, we have to get out of this room.

I sit up, having slumped against the wall beside Marduke as I cried, and peer at his chains. My first problem is that there is no way I will be able to get them off him. His wrists are already raw from pulling. They are done up tightly and the chains appear to have been drilled into the wall. The second problem is that I have no idea how to get the door to appear. I have no control. These two obstacles I’m facing are too big to work around.

“Mattie, I see your brain ticking away, and you need to stop. Whatever happens, if you see a chance to get out of here, then take it. Even if it means you have to leave me behind. Don’t you dare risk your life for me.”

I don’t answer him because I’m not sure I’m capable of leaving him behind to die. Even furious about what he said earlier, I can’t help being in love with him.

Seconds later, the door appears, opening to reveal Jeprow.

He steps fully into the small room, his broad shoulders and imposing figure taking up what feels like the entire space of the room. “Hope given you enough time have nice talk. I assume discussing mass slaughter of human that is happen around Oden? Or perhaps dead friends sinking bottom of tunnel ground?” Jeprow smirks. “Maybe you goodbye because know not letting ever you get out here alive.”