Trapped: A SciFi Convict Romance (The Condemned Book 1) (18 page)

Disappointment slammed through her. Winthrop was burying his
head in the sand again. “I’m not leaving
Caine
.”

“For once, she’s right.” Pogue stalked toward
Caine’s
pack “You’re not leaving here with her,” he told
Winthrop, “and I don’t need more time.” He ripped open the pack and rummaged
around inside.

Dread twisted Bella’s stomach.

“Surprise, surprise.” Pogue pulled out a heap of twisted
wires and wreckage. “A weapon.” He held it toward Winthrop, shaking it in his
grasp, sending wires flailing. “He wants to kill us all, and she’s trying to
protect him.”

“No,” she protested. “He built that to help us. I told you
before our shuttle was brought down by a prison gang. They intend to do the
same thing to the rescue shuttle.
Caine
built that to
jam their weapon and save those people. Save us.”

“Bullshit,” snarled Pogue, but the rest of his words died as
a roar sounded overheard. Way up high and off to the left, a tiny metallic disc
flashed in the otherwise black sky.

“Holy shit. It’s the rescue shuttle.” Pogue dropped
Caine’s
jammer into the dirt. “We’re saved.”

Bella’s heart leapt—and then took a shuddering dive. Her gaze
shot to the jumble of wires by Pogue’s boots. “We need to use
Caine’s
machine. Otherwise, those people are going to die.”

Unfortunately, no one was listening. Everyone was too busy
shouting and pointing toward the growing flickering lights overhead.

Seizing her chance, she kicked out, sending the distracted
soldier holding her legs stumbling back. Knocked off kilter, Mitchell released her
with a curse.

She landed hard on her ass. Scrambling forward, she dodged
her captor’s grasp and crawled to
Caine
, rolling him
over. Her chest loosened as she took in the rise and fall of his chest.

“
Caine
?” She fumbled frantically
for the catch that would release his restraints, “Can you hear me, baby? We
need to—”

A rough arm lifted her up and away before she could complete
her task.

“I don’t think so.” Pogue’s hot breath rasped against her
ear. “Time to say goodbye to your boyfriend, Cadet West. You want a good
fucking once we’re back in space, I’ll be glad to show you what a real man can
do.”

Before she could take a swing, he hitched her higher in his
arms, squeezing so hard black dots danced in front of her eyes. She dug her
nails into his skin, but it had little impact. Without breath, she couldn’t
even scream, much less fight.

He pitched his voice to be heard by his men over the growing
roar. “We need to get back to the clearing so the shuttle can land. Let’s get
the fuck off this hellhole.”

“No, we…need that…machine. We need…
Caine
.”
Wheezing, flailing, she thrashed in Pogue’s hold while her gaze locked with
Winthrop’s. “Otherwise, those people…are going to die…and…it will be…our
fault.”

Winthrop paled. Pogue ignored her.

She sucked down a desperate breath. “You can’t…just leave him
here.”

As if she weighed no more than a child, Pogue threw her over
his shoulder. “He’s a fucking scumbag criminal. You’ll be thanking us soon
enough for saving you. He was never going to do anything but die here on this
planet anyway.”

Kicking, clawing, she fought for release, but it was no good.
Against some of the other men, she might have had a chance. But not Pogue.

“
Caine
!” She was still fighting.
She was still screaming his name as Pogue sprinted down the hill, the other
soldiers following close behind,
Caine’s
unmoving
body all too soon disappearing from sight.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The low rumble of the shuttle’s motors shifted to a frantic
whir.

“Shit! They’re falling.” Pogue jerked to a stop in the
clearing, his voice tight with disbelief. All around her, the other soldiers
had stumbled to a halt, too.

“Because their equipment is being jammed. Just like ours.”
She was too horrified to feel righteous rage. Good people, who’d come to save
them, were about to die. “Let me go.” She pushed against Pogue’s back. Almost
in a daze, he set her on her feet, his gaze locked on the dropping ship.

She shifted in place, torn between trying to make it back to
Caine
and doing what she could to help those who’d come to
save her.

A series of shrill shrieks echoed across the cliffs raising
goose bumps.

Of course. 225 and his pack were coming for their prize. Just
as they’d done last time.

“We’ve got to hide.” Pogue’s face had lost all color, his
gaze scanning left and right as he gripped his gun tight.

“And leave any crash survivors to those monsters?” She had to
scream now to be heard over the roar of the plummeting shuttle. “The people on
that shuttle were coming to save you. You can’t just desert them.”

He shook her off, turning toward his men. “Let’s go.”

To their credit, the other six soldiers stayed put. Their
gazes flickering to the listing, spinning shuttle, its Council Search and
Rescue stamp easy to see in the shuttle flood lights as it roared closer and
closer to the ground.

“Sir?” Ransom questioned Pogue, “maybe she’s right.”

“Do you know what those animals will do to us if they find
us?” snarled Pogue. “I’m not going out like that.”

Her potential ally folded in on himself, Ransom’s pupils
widening as fear won.

The pounding of footsteps from the way they’d come sent the
soldiers whipping around, their guns clenched tight.

Winthrop appeared from behind a rocky ledge, his pace slow,
his face flushed. “Shit. Bella was right. The shuttle’s going to crash.” He
bent over as if the run had given him a stitch in his side. “I’m sorry,” he
wheezed. “We should have believed you.”

She wasn’t in a forgiving mood. She swiped at the blood
dripping into her eye. “You should have believed
Caine
.”

Guilt flared in Winthrop’s gaze. “You’re right.”

Pogue grabbed Winthrop’s arm. “Save the sucking up for later.
We’re out of here.”

Another set of shrieks sounded, closer than before.

“No.” Winthrop shook Pogue off. “Listening to you was wrong.
You’re not in charge. I am.”

Somehow, faced with the consequences of his cowardice,
Winthrop had found his backbone. Only it was too late.

The shuttle was coming in fast now, only a few hundred yards
up and off to the left, its nose pointed downward, close enough to the ground
to see the underside of the shuttle even as it spun, its engines sputtering and
sparking as whatever was jamming it kept everything from working properly. So
close, the roar of its descent was as loud as a scream of agony in her ear.

It was horrific to realize she knew exactly what those poor
people inside the shuttle were feeling. How terror was gripping their chests as
all the regrets, all the people they loved, all the things they’d never get to
do played through their minds. She swayed on her feet, memories of her own
crash blurring with her guilt and pain over what she was seeing now.

Then, suddenly, she blinked, her eyes disbelieving.

It…it almost seemed as if the engines were streaming to life.
As if the sparking embers had become one long continual flame.

“He did it.” Winthrop’s voice was heavy with awe. Beside him,
Pogue had gone still.

In shock, her stare returned to the shuttle. It was still
coming in far too fast, but it had stabilized somewhat, its nose no longer
pointed downward.

Caine
had done it.

“How?” she whispered.

“I heard what you had to say.” Winthrop grabbed her hand. “I
doubled back to release him. Not because I’m Council and my order should be
followed, but because it was the right thing to do. I wanted him to come with
me, but he insisted on trying to get the equipment to work.”

 
“Is he okay?” Her
throat was so tight it was hard to get the words out.

“He’s fine. A real hero.”

“Tell that to the Council,” she said. “Please.”

“I will.”

They instinctively ducked as the shuttle, struggling for
control, thundered overhead. Close enough that the heat of the engines singed
their skin and its roar deafened their ears. It bowled into the hard rocky
ground, debris spewing everywhere as it tore forward several
metrals
into the planet’s surface, its wheels digging for
traction. Then it spun to the side, smacked into the cliff, and shuddered to a
halt.

Alarms whirred. Sparks flew from one engine. But the shuttle
was intact. Hope poured through Bella.
Caine
had
really and truly done it. Against all odds, he’d saved the people on that
shuttle.

Floodlights flashed on, lighting up the valley.

In the next heartbeat, the shuttle door lowered. Grey gun
barrels poked through the entrance, followed by big men in familiar Council
soldier uniforms. They fanned out and started marching in their direction.

Help had arrived.

“Thank God,” whispered Winthrop. “And thank
Caine
.”

Bella had to agree. He’d done it. He’d saved them all.

She turned back the way they’d come. Pogue and the other soldiers
were already sprinting toward the rescuers, calling out the identification
codes that would prove them survivors of the crash.

A hand clasped her arm. “Where are you going?” Winthrop’s
troubled gaze met hers.

“I’m going to find
Caine
. I can’t
leave him here.” The screeches were so loud and frequent now, they were a
constant feral hum. “We’ll hide in the caves until the prisoners leave.”

“You’ll never make it back up the hill before those prisoners
arrive.”

“I have to try.”

Winthrop’s eyes sunk shut. When they opened, they were filled
with determination—and sorrow. “I’m sorry, Bella.”

“What’s wrong?” She didn’t like the look on Winthrop’s face.

“He made me promise.” Before she could make sense of
Winthrop’s words, her already sore stomach took a hit as his shoulder plowed
into her and her world turned upside down.

“No!” She struggled to right herself.

Not as strong as
Caine
or Pogue,
Winthrop staggered under her assault, but he managed to stay upright. “He made
me swear I’d get you to safety.” His voice was laced with strain. “Said I could
make things right if I get you on that shuttle, no matter what.”

Didn’t
Caine
understand that there
would be no making it right for her if he wasn’t there?

“No. He has to come, too.” Slamming her palms into the vulnerable
area just over Winthrop’s kidney, she dropped back to her feet as he doubled-over
with a howl. “Sorry, Winthrop.” She scrambled backwards. “You left me no
choice.” Pivoting, she screamed toward the hills. “
Caine
,
I’m not leaving here without you.” She had no idea if he could hear her over
225’s pack. Still, she had to try. “You promised!”

“He’s a survivor, Bella.” Winthrop called out to her as she
moved farther away. “He’ll be okay. We can send someone back for him later.”

“It will be too late,” she shouted back. “The pack will know
he’s the one who helped us. They’ll destroy him. Stall as best you can.” He’d
saved her. She would save him, too. “I’ll be back with him as soon as possible.”

“Freeze,” barked an unfamiliar voice. “Identify yourself.”

A lean guy in a Council uniform stood behind Winthrop, the
latest in Council weaponry, something that looked like a cross between a gun
and a computer in his hand. He looked decidedly uneasy.

She froze. “I need to go.”

The soldier in Council uniform hitched his gun higher.

“You’re not going anywhere.” Pogue and the other soldiers closed
in around her.

“Thank you for coming.” Ignoring her, Winthrop approached the
soldier from the rescue shuttle. He was talking fast as he held out his wrist
for the scan. “All accounted for. Let’s move out.”

The lean guy’s scanner beeped, but he didn’t relax. “Her,
too?”

“Her, too.”

Fury whipped through her. She wanted to run, but she was
afraid the soldier would shoot her. The instant he was distracted, however,….

“We were told there were thirty-seven crewmembers on board
the last shuttle.” Disbelief laced the soldier’s voice. “Are you saying you’re
all that’s left?”

“No,” she protested, “there are critical personnel missing.”

“Don’t listen to her,” snapped Pogue. “Dragath25 prisoners
are closing in fast. We need to get out of here.”

“What the hell is that?” Eyes wide, the rescue soldier
pointed behind her.

She swiveled back around, horror rising in the back of her
throat. She’d missed her chance.

Like locusts, hundreds of shrieking prisoners swarmed over
the cliff, pouring into the clearing as if unleashed from the bowels of the
planet. Dirty, wild, most in little more than rags. Some carried spears, some
twisted wreckage. In the flickering light of the shuttle flood lamps, all had
the wild, deadly look of rabid animals crazed by blood lust.

Nausea spread through her.
Please, please
, she prayed,
please
let
Caine
be safe and beyond their reach
.

“Holy shit,” whispered Winthrop. “They’re going to tear us apart.”

There was no more time to look for
Caine
.
No time even to hide in the caves.

“Run,” shouted one of the rescue team. “Get to the shuttle.”

But before anyone could move, a stream of red light cut
through the air, followed by a scream, the stench of burned flesh. The officer
to her left fell to the ground. Mitchell crumpled next.

“They have guns,” shouted another rescue team soldier, firing
back. “Protect the survivors. Defensive positions.” Unlike Pogue and his team,
this team of soldiers was well-trained and courageous. They instantly circled around
her and the rest of her colleagues.

225’s pack had guns. Where had they gotten guns?

Winthrop must have been wondering the same thing because he
whirled to face Pogue. “You said the lost soldiers’ guns were destroyed.”

Pogue’s silence spoke for itself.

Another beam of light flashed. Another rescue soldier went
down.

Chaos ensued. Another team member fell. One of Pogue’s men
dropped, too. She tripped over his leg, but managed to right herself.

“We’ll never make it,” shouted one of the remaining rescuers,
his expression resigned. She knew that look. She’d seen the same one on
Caine
.

“Shoot,” the man ordered into his wrist transmission,
communicating with the crew still on board the shuttle. “It’s the only chance
we’ve got. They’ll overrun us and the shuttle otherwise.”

In the next instance, flashes of light streamed from the
shuttle, trapping her and her colleagues between two dangers. Most of the
shuttle beams went over their head and into the crazed crowd beyond, felling
many of the frontline, but one shot went astray, slamming into the very rescue
soldier who’d just given the order. He went down hard, victim to friendly fire.

There was no time to even mourn.

“Stay low,” she shouted to Winthrop. “If we can make it a few
more paces, we’ll be below the arc line.” She cast a quick glance in his
direction. As expected, his face was drenched in sweat, his face twisted in
pain. That he’d been able to make it this far was a miracle given his injuries.

She risked another quick glance over her shoulder. She
shouldn’t have looked.

The shuttle lasers had taken out a huge chunk of the
frontline, but too many prisoners had managed to avoid being hit. They surged
forward as the lasers recharged. Another rescue soldier went down, not by
lasers this time, but by hands.

Her mind could barely process the terrified scream of the
soldier as the pack closed in, ripping at his skin, his limbs, his eyes.

Bile rose in her throat. She could only pray the poor man was
already dead.

“Keep running!” Her command snapped Winthrop back into
action.

“Help,” Ransom screamed as he was dragged down by two
prisoners. Pogue didn’t even look back.

She was turning to help when a vicious force slammed into
her.