Oden (2 page)

I know even getting to that will be a huge feat to overcome. It won’t be easy, and already, Jeprow has proven how strong and capable he is when he took all three of us without breaking a sweat on Roth. However, I let hope build inside me because I
need
that hope. With Marduke, Hannah, Logan, and Lisa on Oden, possibly facing these creatures and machines, I need something to hold onto.

Unfortunately, Ival’s eyes narrow over my shoulder, and I suddenly have the feeling that he hasn’t even been listening to me. What is he seeing?

I begin to turn around, wary at placing my back to Ival, but curious as to what he is seeing. I don’t see anything out of place, though. Nothing that explains what is catching Ival’s attention.

Just as I’m about to turn back around, something happens. I can’t be sure if I imagined it, but did that building at the end just
shake
?

I stare at it intently, not daring to blink, even as my eyes sting. Then I definitely see the building tremble. This time, it lasts longer, and even the building next to it shakes.

“What is—?”

“Run!” Ival grabs my arm and propels me forwards.

I don’t argue, more surprised by his demand than anything. However, I do chance a look over my shoulder and watch as the quiet and once immaculate area I have just stared at is destroyed by two uncaring creatures. They move through the buildings like they aren’t even there at all. In my quick glance, I notice these creatures appear larger, more brutal than the ones on Roth. I might have even seen an extra claw on these ones.

I chance another look, and yep, there is definitely another claw on these creatures. A claw, which is at the back of them, attached to the end, much like a tail. Compared to the creatures on Roth, these appear like they are on steroids. They snarl, permanently drooling a substance that hisses and sizzles as it leaves their mouths.

I think back to what Jeprow told me on Roth. He put mothers on the other planets so they would nest and their army would multiply, most likely needing very little more outside help to dominate the planet and take over. He was surprised by how little impact they had made on Roth, but that was because we had been destroying the nests before they could hatch. If Marduke’s spaceship had not crashed in the middle of the forest, we would have never found the nests and never known to expect a second wave of creatures attacking. So if Jeprow placed pregnant mothers on the other planets, then I guess he placed all the violent males on Oden.

“Oh, shit!” I scream, easily overtaking Ival.

I’m mostly unharmed, other than the left side of my face being sore, no doubt from the two hits I took there from Jeprow. However, Ival can’t seem to go any faster than what he is managing now, which is currently barely a brisk jog. He’s not going to be able to outrun these creatures, and if I’m being honest with myself, I know I should leave him behind.

He would do the same to me. He has tried to kill Marduke—several times now. He carelessly shot Logan and almost killed him. He has always hated humans, and he is happy that he helped to invade Earth. He feels no remorse over what he has done, therefore there is no reason that I should risk my life to help him.

However, since I’m being honest with myself, I also know Marduke never even considered leaving Ival behind on Jeprow’s spaceship where we were being held. I know he is angry at Ival, maybe even furious, but he still made sure we left with him. They very clearly have a very complicated relationship, and while I’m positive Marduke would understand me leaving him behind and protecting myself and Riley, I’m also sure that he’ll be devastated to lose his brother.

I also have no idea what type of impact that’ll have on Marduke leaving Oden with me. What if he has to stay behind to be leader? If we can survive this war, then Ival most likely will take over as leader from their father once he steps down in the future. Maybe if they can let go of their anger over Marduke and me, then Marduke can hopefully disappear with me. If Ival dies, then Marduke might not ever be able to leave as the only remaining son.

Taking all of this into consideration in only a handful of seconds, I make a quick decision.

I have to try to help Ival.

With no weapons, no help nearby, and nowhere near enough time to think of a decent plan, I decide our best chance is to evade and hide.

I decrease my speed, and once Ival is next to me. I grab hold of his arm and suddenly shift to the side, taking him with me. I don’t look back at the creatures, afraid I’ll either be paralysed by fear or realise how hopeless my idea is.

Ival doesn’t protest my sudden change of direction, he just grunts in pain since I’ve managed to grab the arm that has been hugging his chest. I really don’t care, though. I force him to move faster, and we run towards the closest building and through the first doorway I see. It is missing the front door. In fact, as we’ve raced along this strange street to reach the building we enter, I never saw a single door on any building we passed.

A powerful breeze flies over us as we make it inside the building, and I know we’ve just missed a swipe from a claw. The repugnant smell emanating from these creatures is just as bad as how they smelled on Roth. We run through the bottom floor, dodging corners and walls. The shaking of the walls and crashing noises close behind tells me we are being chased through the building.

We make it to the back and run outside, finding an entirely new scene in front of us. Creatures and machines are clashing epically and violently, buildings crumbled around them. In the few seconds I’ve managed to take a glance, I’d say there are at least a hundred creatures swarming the twelve or so machines.

These machines don’t have guns or the ability to spit out fire. They are just using their brute strength to crush the creatures. Several machines lay scattered amongst the ground along with the gruesome remains of piles of creatures.

If this was about strength alone, then the machines would be on top, but there are too many creatures. I notice the reaction the machines have as the creatures climb over them, swarming them and drooling their strange saliva. It’s apparently a sure way to disable and destroy a machine. It’s obvious that the machines will soon be overrun and defeated here.

I have only a handful of seconds warning before the creatures, which followed us into the building, are about to crash through behind us as the walls behind us rumble. While I’m still holding onto Ival’s arm, I pull him quickly to the side and we move along, parallel to the building where I try the next open doorway we come across.

Just as the first creature crashes through to the new battlefield, I dive us into a new house and we run back through, heading in the direction of the street we just left.

I am unsure if we were seen, or if the creatures were taken in by the scene we just left. Hopefully, they were and are now distracted enough to miss our hasty escape. Just in case, though, I weave us through this new area and move us in and out of several different rooms. I can’t help noticing there are no doors anywhere, just open doorways.

“What the hell is with the doors?” I huff out at Ival, grunting when we hit a dead end.

“We don’t have… doors, exactly. The… humans couldn’t use… our technology, so we… had to get rid of… them, so they could… leave freely,” Ival gasps out, sounding worse than before.

With how he’s looking, I fear he might be about to pass out.

“What’s our plan? How do we find Marduke?” I wince when I hear a building collapsing. It sounds like it is one close to us. We should probably keep moving.

“He’ll know to head back… to our home. We need to find a tamdet.” He sounds a little less out of breath now, however his arm is back to hugging his side.

“A what?”

“It’s an area where we can… transport from. We might not have a… monit, however on Oden, the tamdet acts as… a place where people move from one place to… the other within the blink of an eye.”

“You mean teleporting?” Nerves build up imagining doing that. “Will it work? I mean, didn’t Marduke try to send me away on the spaceship? That didn’t work.” I have visions of being split in half. Irrationally, as though they wouldn’t have figured this out already, I wonder what would happen if a fly goes through with me. Wasn’t there a movie back on Earth about that happening? Would I turn into Fly-woman? Wait, are there even flies on Oden? Why am I thinking about flies right now?

“We were being blocked up there. It… doesn’t mean they have managed to hack into… our systems down here and disable them.” Ival sounds unsure, which in turn squashes any building hope that Marduke could teleport to us. How will we find him then?

“Fine, where do we find this stupid trumpet place?” I accidently mispronounce tamdet.

His nostrils flare in anger. I didn’t even realise nostrils did that to a degree where it was so noticeable.

“I should just leave you behind to be slaughtered,” he snaps at me. His body tenses and he actually manages to stand up straight, no wince or look of any weakness at all. It’s intimidating, although since I know I can outrun him if need be—at least at this moment with him injured—I don’t let him get to me.

“Is that what you’ll do to Marduke when you find him? You know you never did say what you plan to do with him.”

“It’s none of your business,
human.
”

“Marduke
is
my business, actually.”

“He’s not, and if my family’s legacy wasn’t… under attack, if Jeprow wasn’t trying to wipe us… out, then I would have him killed him already for… the traitor he is. Getting you pregnant is the most disgraceful act… a Lomh has ever done, and he deserves… to be hung for it. However, since he is my blood and that… might be a rarity soon, I realise that killing Marduke is… foolish. At least until I know what our father decides… we should do with him
and you
. I’m… ashamed he is my family, and I hate that we currently… share
dna
. Marduke is useless and a failure.”

I gasp, my hand automatically moving to slap him across the face. I use all my strength, but it doesn’t appear to hurt him.

He growls in anger, stepping into me until his imposing body forces me against the wall behind me, and the hand I slapped him with is trapped between our bodies.

I refuse to feel intimidated or scared right now. “You don’t know him at all. He’s brave, kind, and smart. He could have left you on that spaceship, but he didn’t. He’s forgiving, and that shows how strong he is.
You
should be ashamed of yourself.” I gasp, hating having him so close to me.

The wall behind me vibrates, the squeals of the creatures and screeches of the machines sounding even closer now.

“You are a novelty to him. A pretty… thing that is willing to have sex with a man she hardly knows. One… who isn’t even the same species. I believe you humans have… a word for that,
slut
. Don’t confuse my brother’s… character for him just taking the easy… pleasure you’re handing out freely.”

His words steal my breath away. He might as well have slapped
me
and kicked me in the stomach for good measure. Not because I believe Marduke feels that way, but because of how he described me. I have never been called a slut before, and the word upsets me more than I would’ve expected. I feel like bursting into tears.

I know Ival’s words are only making an impact on me because, deep down, I fear I am a slut. Or rather, I fear that, if anyone knew the truth about Marduke and me, they’d agree with him.

What Marduke and I have is special, and it’s real. I hate that I have lingering doubt over my worthiness.

“You’re an asshole, and I hope you rot in Hell,” I hiss at him, wishing my words would actually cut him, instead I know they mean nothing to him.

The walls shake again, this time more violently, and the wall behind me actually cracks.

“While it’s been fun chatting with you, I think… unless we want to be in here when the building falls down around… us, and we are squashed under five floors… of rubble, then we should move.”

“Fine, try to keep up,” I snap, finding another way through this maze and ending up back on the side we were originally on where the creatures chased us.

I sprint us down the long road, purposely running as fast as I can since it proves to him that, right now, I am the stronger and faster one. He is back to only a slow jog, and by the time I slow down and he catches up, he’s out of breath.

“Where is this trumpet thing?” I snap, this time getting the word wrong on purpose.

“Down… there, where… the ground is… tiled.” When he uses his head to nod down the street, I see the area he means.

We quickly make our way there, and I watch as a building to our side crumbles under the force of the creature flying through it.

Ival and I stop dead in our tracks as we watch it scream out in either pain or anger. It then picks itself back up, the tail claw snapping menacingly, and charges back through the now rubble and towards the machine that used its weird pulse wave to throw it.

We both know without saying it aloud that we’re running out of time here.

We race onto the tiled area, and I wait for Ival to either tell me what I need to do, or to just do it himself.