Striker (The Alien Wars Book 2) (6 page)

It was clear to
Kenneth which voice belonged to Mike. As Molly had said earlier, he had an
unusual accent, kind of a mixture of American, British, Indian, and South
African. As for the other voice, it was also strange. It spoke English, but he
couldn’t tell what accent it was. It certainly wasn’t American or British.

“How can they
refuse to help?” Mike seethed. “Can’t they see it’s their fight too?”

“Of course, but
they’re scared,” the second voice said.

“Are you scared?”
Mike asked.

“Yes,” the second
voice replied.

“So why do you do
it?” Mike asked.

“I don’t know,”
the second voice said. “It just seems so unnecessary. If only we could arrange
a treaty.”

“I can’t see
anyone agreeing at this point in time,” Mike said. “That’s why we need everyone
we can get, and we need them now, before it’s too late.”

“That’s what I
told them, but they still said no,” the second voice said.

“Did you find out
when the military is planning to attack?”

“Yes. Tomorrow
morning,” the second voice replied.
“Just after dawn.”

Kenneth frowned
as he waited for the talking to resume. Suddenly, the door flew open. Mike
charged out, a pistol in his hand. “Stay where—”

“Drop the weapon!”
Kenneth shouted as he raised his pistol and aimed it at Mike’s neck.

The man spun
around, but Kenneth’s arctic voice froze him.

“Stop!
Drop the weapon now!”

Mike dropped the
pistol onto the grass, and Derek quickly grabbed it.

“Good, that’s
better. Now, let’s see where your friend is,” Kenneth said, pushing Mike inside
the barn.

“Just hold on. I
can explain.”

“You will, but
not right now.” Kenneth gazed around at the barn. All was silent. Various hay
bales sat here and there. He frowned. “Where’s the other person?”

Mike furrowed his
brow.
“Other person?
What other person?”

“I heard you
talking with someone.” Kenneth grabbed his shirt. “Where are they?”

“I was talking to
myself.”

“Don’t play dumb
with me!” Kenneth pulled him close and hissed, “I heard two distinct voices.”
He glanced around the darkened barn. “Derek, Molly, do you see anything?”

“Not yet,” Derek
said as he walked to the other side of the building.

Suddenly, the
other side door flew open and light filtered in. A second later, a figure went
through it.

“He’s escaping!”
Derek rushed forward and, once outside, leaped at the man’s legs.

The two tumbled
down the slope. As they did, the man’s cowboy hat flew off and Derek let go of
the legs in surprise. He stumbled to his feet as the others rushed over.

Kenneth took one
look at the man and saw that he was, in fact, a Seod. The creature stood up but
didn’t make a move to run away.

Kenneth raised
his pistol and prepared to fire.

Mike ran between
the two and waved his hands. “Don’t shoot!”

“Move out of the
way!” Kenneth flipped off the safety and tried to get a good shot.

“Trust me,” Mike
shouted. “He won’t hurt you.”

Kenneth hesitated
for a moment, and Derek clenched his fists. “Shoot him before he runs away!”

Mike locked eyes
with Kenneth. “If you stop to think for just a moment, you’ll realize he could
have shot you by now, but he hasn’t.”

Kenneth looked
past Mike at the Seod and saw a silencer sitting in a holster-type thing around
his waist. “Well, maybe that doesn’t work.”

Mike glanced at
the Seod and nodded. In response, the creature reached up and removed the helmet
type thing that covered his head.

Kenneth and the
teens couldn’t speak when they saw the head of the Seod. It looked similar to a
human’s, but it was larger and wider at the top. Two big, black eyes stared at
them. The
gray
skin looked smooth.

Finally, Derek
spoke. “Hey, he looks like a Gray.”

“He should,” Mike
said. “His species have been visiting Earth for so long it’s hard to stay
undetected. Some of the assumptions made about the
Grays
aren’t true, but in regards to their appearance, they’re pretty accurate.”

“Isn’t he tall
for a Gray?” Molly asked. “We did a study about extraterrestrial species and—”

“I’m normal for
my species.” The Seod held out his hand. “My Earth name is Carl.”

Kenneth shook his
head in amazement as he shook Carl’s hand. “How can you speak English?”

Mike glanced
around. “How about we continue this talk inside?”

“Why?” Molly
asked.

Mike hesitated. “It’s
complicated. Just follow me inside and I’ll explain.”

After picking up
the cowboy hat, the Seod placed the helmet back on his head and followed the
others. Every few steps, the teens would glance at Carl and shake their heads
in wonder.

They entered the
house and sat down in the living room. Once everyone was settled in, Mike
glanced at the three of them in turn. “What I’m about to say is so secret there
isn’t a word to describe it. You got it?”

They all bobbed
their heads but kept their mouths shut, so Mike continued speaking. “If word
got out about what I’m about to tell you, we’d all die. So keep your traps
shut, okay?”

“My lips are
sealed,” Kenneth said.

“Ours are too,” Molly
muttered.

Mike hesitated
and glanced at Carl. “Shall I tell them everything?”

“What do you
think?” Carl replied.

“Well, we do need
to trust someone, and I do know the parents of these teens. They seemed like
decent people.” Mike locked eyes on Kenneth. “What about you? What’s your
connection with these two?”

“He’s been
helping us find our parents,” Derek said. “If you’re in a tight spot, he can
help you.”

Kenneth glanced
at the Seod and then at Mike. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two,
but if it’s about saving people from being killed, I’m all for it. I’ve seen
too many dead bodies these last few weeks.”

“Okay, here goes.
Seods are, in many ways, like humans. Some of them are good, some of them are
bad. You might find it hard to believe, but this mission to Earth was supposed
to be as peaceful as possible. And, in some cases, it is.”

“For a peaceful
mission, a good many people have died,” Kenneth muttered.

“That wasn’t our
intention,” Mike stated.

“Our intention?”
Kenneth scoffed as
he shared an eye roll with the teens. “What do you mean by that?”

Mike hesitated. “Well,
you ought to know the full story.” He smirked. “I’m also a Seod. Well, half
human and half alien. I’m what you might call a Hybrid.”

The three stared
in shock and surprise. None of them could speak for a minute.

“But how can that
be?” Molly backed away. “You look just like a human.”

Mike made a big
show of flexing his biceps. “It was a long process, one that involved changing the
shape and figure of my body, but I can’t complain about the results.”

“But how did you
do that?” Kenneth asked, astounded. “We can’t do it.”

“Correct. But our
technology is far more advanced than yours. Anyway, we’re getting off track. Neither
your people nor mine have time to waste, so I’ll give you the brief facts.
First, we didn’t come here to harm you. We just wanted to get a metal out of
the ground.”

“What kind of
metal?” Kenneth asked.

“I won’t go into
specifics because it doesn’t matter, as you, earth people, don’t use it, but
for us, it’s a matter of life and death. Second, our leader was overthrown
while our ships were heading to Earth. That’s why some people are following the
new leader whose instructions are to get the metal as fast as possible and at
whatever the cost.” He sighed. “I’ve come to admire the beauty of this planet,
and I don’t want it to descend into war.”

“Correct me if
I’m wrong, but aren’t we already at war?” Kenneth asked.

Mike smiled thinly.
“Well, to you, yes, but not for us. The wars we’ve had on our planets—”

Molly frowned.
“Planets?”

“Yes, we live on
more than one. As I was saying, the wars we’ve had have been far more
destructive than yours. We actually lost several planets to war and had to flee
and start all over again. I don’t want this to happen on Earth.”

“Do you really
think you can make a difference? Just you and a few—” Molly said.

“The
Alliance
is not
just a few people. Yes, we do need more, but we are still more than a few.”

“How many more do
you need?” Derek asked.

“It’s not so much
how many we need, but where they are,” Mike admitted.

Kenneth looked at
Mike. “I still don’t know why you are telling us this.”

“I want you to
get a message to General Loreto,” Mike said.

“General Loreto?”
Kenneth asked. “And how can I do that?”

“Earlier, you
mentioned you were at the military compound, and since the only military command
center
is in
Sparks
, which is
where the general is, I thought you could pass on a message from me.”

“Since you know
where the general is, why don’t you do it?” Kenneth asked.

“I wish I could,
but I can’t. I’m on their wanted list,” Mike said.

“Wanted list?
What for?”
Derek asked.

“For aiding and
abetting criminals,” Mike said.

Kenneth frowned. “I
won’t work for a criminal. If you—”

“He was saving
me,” the Seod interrupted.

Kenneth cocked an
eyebrow at Mike. “Is that true?”

Mike stared off
into the distance. “There was
an
… incident a few
miles from here. A group of us, Hybrids as well as humans, were meeting to
discuss the current strategic situation, when the military arrived. It was a
low-key meeting, so naturally, we didn’t bother bringing weapons.” He studied
his boots.

“I’ve been on
this Earth for many years, longer than you guys have, and I’ve seen countless atrocities,
but none as methodical and cruel as what happened that night. They swooped in
with their helicopters and gunned us down without warning. We fled like animals
into the woods, but they must have had infrared scopes. They took their time …”
He gulped. “Anyway, I somehow managed to make it to the river with only a gut
wound, but I was the only one who made it out alive. Even those that stopped
running and threw up their hands were cut to pieces. So, yeah, knowing what
went down in that camp, I wouldn’t be surprised if they have my photo plastered
on a wanted dead or alive list.”

“But you don’t
know for sure?” Kenneth asked.

“Of course not,
but would you risk it? And it isn’t just about my own precious ass. There’s too
much at stake for all our people.”

“How could the
soldiers open fire on unarmed people like that? Did they know you were Hybrids?”
Molly asked.

Mike didn’t
answer for a few moments as he stood up, strode over to the window, and peered
out. “I don’t know.”

“Surely you must
suspect one way or the other,” Kenneth said. “I mean, what if you’d been solely
humans and not Hybrids?”

Mike hesitated
for a moment. “I don’t know. Humans often say one thing and mean another. I’ve
learned to not trust anyone, but now I have to trust you.” He gazed at Kenneth.
“This situation is getting out of control. We were only planning to be on Earth
for a week. At this rate, we’ll be here for more than a year. And, I can assure
you, if that happens, both sides will pay a very hefty price. So, I need your
help to …” Mike paused as he turned back to the window. He stared for a few
moments before he hurried out of the room without saying anything.

“Hey, what’s
going on?” Derek said.

As Carl followed
Mike, Molly stood up. “Why have the two of them gone away together?”

Kenneth frowned. “I
don’t know. I don’t like the look of this.” He took hold of his pistol and
strode to the window that Mike had been looking out of just a few moments
earlier.

“Can you see
anything?” Molly asked, running over.

“Two jeeps.
Around
ten men.”
Kenneth frowned. “They’re parked at the bend, right where our
bicycles are.”

Mike suddenly
reappeared in the room with a silencer. He aimed it at Kenneth. “How much did
they pay you?”

~*~*~

Logan
looked back
at the others. “Are you ready?”

Xavier nodded. “Let’s
do this.”