Prophecy: A Space Opera: Book Seven of The Shadow Order Page 2

  Chapter 4

  A few long minutes passed before there were no more soldiers in the sea next to them. They’d taken on four new passengers, all of them delirious from the shockwave. Many of the other surrounding boats had done the same, and when he looked, Seb couldn’t see any more of the ship’s crew in the water.

  The first creature to come round had white skin and two holes where a nose would be on a human. It had tiny red eyes, blinking as it clearly tried to find its bearings. A rookie, Seb grabbed its shoulder and looked into its dazed stare. Unable to keep his panic from his voice, he said to it, “Are you okay?”

  The creature blinked repeatedly, its breaths running through it in short and sharp bursts. The first moment of clarity settled on its face when it looked from the chosen one to the flotation device he clung onto. It didn’t reply, instead offering Seb a confused frown. Why couldn’t the great Seb Zodo swim? At least, that’s what he read into the creature’s expression. Maybe he projected his own insecurities onto the being and created a narrative that didn’t exist. He looked back at its frown. Maybe not.

  Before Seb could defend his actions, one of the other creatures sat up, frantic in how she searched the other ships surrounding them. She took a few seconds before she leaned over the side of the boat to look at the water. “I think we’ve lost one.”

  One too many. Seb dropped his life vest and looked at the space where the ship had sunk. It offered no clue as to where the missing soldier had gone.

  The engines of all the boats then roared to life. If they had lost one, they couldn’t do anything about it; hopefully it had made its way to one of the other ships. Just then, another teardrop silhouette lifted into the sky. “Damn it,” Seb said before reaching for the life vest again and slipping it on. So what if the others judged him? He needed to do everything he could to survive. They all did.

  Chapter 5

  The next large metal teardrop seemed to take an age to rise as Seb watched it in slow motion. It lifted up as if surveying the battlefield, playing god in how it decided who to target next.

  A tightening in his chest, Seb tried to pull in a deep breath to unwind it. The ocean spray continued to pinprick his face while he adjusted his legs to accommodate the boat’s unpredictable movements. Although he watched the missile, he felt the white-skinned creature with the red eyes in his peripheral vision. It stared at him as if looking for some kind of guidance. But what could he do? He tugged on his life vest’s straps so it pulled tighter against his body. The creature whimpered.

  If he’d had more time, Seb might have tried to reason with the rookie. He didn’t choose any of this. He knew no more about what they faced than it did. His fists were a curse from Moses. That was why he couldn’t swim. The rookie shouldn’t be scared of that.

  For a second, the large missile appeared to hover in mid-air as it hit its apex. The sun as its backdrop, the bright glare added to the saltwater sting in Seb’s eyes.

  Then it fell, Seb’s heart dropping with it.

  It took a few seconds, but even with the distance currently between them and it, Seb saw the teardrop wasn’t heading for them this time. A space where the already sunken ship had been, he looked across at the next one along. The largest in their fleet, he focused on the captain. A red female from a species he’d never seen before, she had flaccid horns framing her pretty face. He waved to get her attention and then called across to her, “The magnetic pull stops at the last minute.”

  Although the driver looked at him, she clearly didn’t hear anything he’d said.

  The splash of the water, the roar of engines, even the fighting in Aloo on the horizon … he had to compete with all of it as he shouted again, this time so loudly stars swam in his vision. “At the last minute, accelerate away from the missile. It’s the only way it will miss you.”

  The driver continued to stare a blank glaze at him. Then she flinched. Her eyes widened and she looked around. Suddenly the missile didn’t appear to be her main thought.

  Just metres before it landed, Seb got what had happened. SA next to him, she’d spoken to the ship’s driver, clearly adding to the chaos already running through her.

  The red flashing light on the missile went off. Seb closed his right hand as if gripping an imaginary throttle. He pulled it back to urge the red-skinned captain to get the hell out of there. He called across at her, “Go now!”

  No response. If anything, SA trying to help had only made it worse. The captain froze as she waited for …

  The same shockwave thoom clapped through the air. It hit Seb and drove the wind from his lungs as it knocked him backwards like the first one had. He stumbled into one of the benches and fell. A white flash ran through his vision when he hit his head on the side of the ship.

  Although not unconscious, a throbbing ran through Seb’s skull along with another harsh bout of tinnitus. He worked his jaw to get his hearing back. While poking his right index finger into his right ear, he wiggled it as if it would help. When he pulled it out, it had blood on the tip.

  Seb staggered to his feet to see those around him doing the same. His balance off from a combination of the rocking boat and the whack to his head, he moved to the side of the ship closest to the recent wreck. A series of waves from the explosion crashed into them, each one threatening to spill into their vessel.

  The others came to Seb’s side, tilting the boat so hard it dropped the lip of it just inches from the water. But it didn’t go under.

  The gunmetal grey of the large boat’s twisted frame vanished into the depths beneath them. The unconscious crew sank with it. Those on all the surrounding ships dived into the water to rescue their colleagues. SA, Sparks, and Bruke all jumped in with the rookies, who’d only just recovered from their own wreck.

  Seb kept a tight grip on the edge of his vessel and watched on. A larger and more populated boat than any other in their fleet, the sea had filled with the Shadow Order members rescuing the unconscious crew.

  As Bruke and SA swam back to the boat, Seb saw Sparks treading water and looking down. Too small to help, she looked to be serving as a marker for a sinking soldier.

  When Sparks made eye contact with Seb, he looked around for a spare being. Owsk drove their ship, and everyone else had gone in. He drew a breath to call to a neighbouring boat. All of the crew were already in the water.

  The gunmetal grey of the large ship might have vanished from sight, but as he narrowed his eyes to focus, Seb saw the crew member beneath Sparks. He saw bright red skin that was dulling as she sank, the dark water closing around her—the ship’s captain.

  When Seb made eye contact with Bruke, he inhaled to call out to him. But he stopped. Bruke couldn’t do anything; he had his own struggle with an unconscious crew member in one of his strong arms. No one else could help the poor pilot without putting their own survivor in danger.

  Locked in a battle with his own trembling body, Seb undid his life vest. It took several attempts to free the catch because of his shaking hands. When he got it off, he threw it down on the deck of the boat and picked up a nearby rope. Slow motion gave him time to think. He tried to shut it out. Too much consideration and he’d change his mind.

  Once he’d tied the rope around his waist, he then attached it to one of the metal struts beneath the bench next to him. Not allowing himself any more time, he stepped up onto the lip of the boat and dived in.

  When he made eye contact with Sparks and saw her wide panic at what he’d done, he changed his focus and looked at the fading red captain below instead. He didn’t need to be reminded of the insanity of his decision.

  The water damn near freezing when he hit it, Seb’s entire body tensed as he sank. He angled himself so he aimed at the red-skinned pilot. Just one chance, he reached out for her.

  Although slightly slowed down because of the resistance in the water, Seb hit the captain with a rugby tackle and wrapped his arms around her, dragging her down with him.

  They fell fast. A test for Seb’s kno
t and the rope’s strength. It snapped taut, pulling the wind from his body in an explosion of bubbles.

  Fighting the urge to inhale, Seb looked up. The surface seemed impossibly far away.

  It took extra effort to use his hands in the water, but they weren’t so heavy he couldn’t lift them. With the creature he’d rescued in one arm, he reached up the rope, gripped it, and turned his hand, wrapping it around the outside of it. As he repeated the process, the rope shortened, pulling them back up again. But they weren’t making fast enough progress.

  The sound of Seb’s pulse ran through his skull. The dead weight of the creature from the ship in his arms, his heavy hands fought against his pull to freedom. He gritted his teeth and continued to wind the rope around his grip.

  A few metres from the surface, Seb looked up at the bottom of the boat he’d jumped from. He saw Sparks’ small legs above him. At least he had an advocate on the surface. Hopefully she’d find someone to help them.

  Every pull drained Seb a little more. A metre of water between him and fresh air. Fire ran through his muscles, and his lungs felt like they’d pop, but he had to do this. He had to keep going.

  Half a metre to go, Seb’s view faded. Then he heard the splash of Bruke’s two strong arms plunging into the water. They reached in and grabbed the red-skinned captain.

  When he felt sure they had her, Seb let go. He let go of the ship’s captain. He let go of his grip on the rope. He let go of hope. He’d saved her. He couldn’t save them both.

  Dizzy with his need for oxygen, Seb watched Bruke’s wavering reflection. It grew dim as he plummeted back into the darker water.

  Chapter 6

  The heavy pressure on Seb’s chest registered milliseconds before the hard rush of salty water exited his lungs. He tried to inhale too soon, pulling most of the warm brine back in again. As he flipped over onto his front—taken over by a coughing fit—something drove a hard whack against his back. It felt like he’d been hit with a club, the pain of the contact demanding most of his attention.

  Another hot saline rush. The taste of the liquid itself made him retch harder. It burned on the way out and pooled in the metal bottom of the boat.

  After clearing out his stomach again, Seb sat up before dragging himself onto the boat’s bench. This time, he hung out over the side of the vessel to be sick.

  When the vomiting abated, Seb leaned forwards, rested his elbows on his knees, and stared at his feet. The rise and fall of the boat did nothing to help his nausea, so he looked up to keep his bearings. They were much closer to Aloo.

  Both his head and stomach settling down, Seb turned to those around him. He met the stares of many anxious beings, more than had been on the boat before. Bruke, SA, Sparks, and Buster were the closest of the lot. Just next to them, he saw the red-skinned captain he’d saved. She pressed her hands together as if to pray to him. The creature with the tiny red eyes and shock-white skin stood next to her. The judgement the creature had previously looked at him with had now gone. It stepped forward before anyone else could speak, dropped down onto one knee, bowed its head, and held up the bright orange life jacket as an offering.

  No need for words, Seb simply took the garment and slipped it on, his arms shaking as he tried to get some of his strength back. A brief shared look with SA, he smiled at her, and she returned the warm gesture. I’m glad you’re okay, she said.

  Seb nodded before he stood up to get a better look at where they were heading. He was already exhausted, and they hadn’t even started yet. Much closer to land, pyrotechnics still lit the air above the spaceport—more for show than anything because he couldn’t see any ships in the sky. Or maybe not show; maybe more a display of the chaos and wanton destruction they were about to walk into. Maybe the enraged beings had no concept of showing off. Maybe they hadn’t jeopardised the comms between Aloo and the Shadow Order’s base on purpose. Maybe they had nothing else driving them but the need to obliterate everything in their path.

  Because they were now a lot closer, Seb saw the smoke came from burning ships. It looked like every one docked in the port now sat ablaze. He saw beings fighting in the walkways. Blasters were fired, punches and kicks thrown. “How the hell are we going to wrestle this place back under control?”

  None of the beings replied.

  As much to distract himself from what lay ahead than anything, Seb looked at the fleet riding with them. They seemed in good health. “I’m guessing there were no more missiles?”

  Sparks shook her head. “No. Thankfully.”

  The silence from every other being on the boat with them spoke of what they were about to face. They’d had longer to watch Aloo as they closed in on the port. Seb’s lungs ached from nearly drowning, a pain in his wrist from where he’d wrapped the rope around it, and his throat burned with the taste of salt. He focused on his breathing as the boat bobbed up and down with the waves, the cold spray still hitting his face. If he didn’t take this time to be still, he couldn’t guess when the next opportunity would come. This was his moment of meditation before they stepped into insanity.

  Chapter 7

  A loud crunch shuddered through the ship when they rode the boat up onto the concrete ground where Aloo’s spaceport met the water. Several of the rescued beings fell over because of the abrupt halt. As the lead boat, they hit land first. A second later, the others grounded on either side of them. The scraping sounds ran away from them in both directions. The easy part out of the way, they were now about to run head first into hell.

  No matter how many times Seb had tried to settle himself with breathing techniques, nothing calmed his ragged pulse. It didn’t help to see the white-skinned creature with the small red eyes pull itself to its feet before vomiting several times. The splash-back kicked up against Seb’s legs, and the acrid stench hit him a second later. Not even the strong wind could banish the smell. A flare of rage streaked through Seb, but he couldn’t be cross with the wretched thing.

  Just before they’d landed, Seb had thrown his life jacket down. He now rested on the edge of the metal ship and led the way by vaulting off the boat to dry land. It took a few wobbly steps before he trusted the ground beneath him wouldn’t lurch and sway.

  As Seb watched his friends follow his lead, he directed them to where he wanted them to go. Before they’d left the base, Buster had identified this spot as the best place to defend—a cluster of warehouses owned by Moses. After Sparks confirmed the buildings to be empty of any rioting creatures, it seemed like the best spot. Four large structures of identical shape and size, they had an alley about three metres wide between each one. On the left side of the first warehouse and the right side of the last one stood strong fences about five metres tall. They shut off any chance their attackers would have of flanking them. It left just three walkways to defend. They could use them to funnel the insanity towards them.

  They’d numbered the warehouses as they approached them. Number one on the left, running all the way across to number four. SA, you and I are going to go to number two and watch a side of it each. Bruke, number one. Sparks and Buster, number three, and Owsk, number four. None of them acknowledged his orders. They didn’t need to; they’d already discussed tactics.

  As Seb ran across the stretch of concrete between where they’d landed and the warehouses in front of them, he unslung his machine gun. Loaded with rubber bullets, they’d gone with the intention to overwhelm them without killing them. These creatures were victims; they didn’t deserve to die. Just to be sure his weapon still worked after the soaking, he shot the ground as he ran. A burst of three bullets kicked from the gun, bounced off the ground, and rebounded in three different directions, running close to several soldiers. Seb felt some of the soldiers looking at him as if they wanted an explanation. He didn’t give it to them. Even if he had clipped one of them, they were rubber bullets, and they’d had all their force taken from them by being shot against the concrete first.

  When he got to warehouse number two, Seb leaned
his back against the brick wall framing the building’s large entrance. He then poked his head out for a clear view down the alley. Flimsy chain-link fences covered the end of each one. Beyond that, he saw the burning ships in the spaceport. There were no crazed beings … yet.

  Bruke held a similar position to Seb on the other side of the alley. He leaned out and also looked for attackers.

  Seb hadn’t given them explicit instructions, but he saw the Shadow Order soldiers divide equally and spread out. Each team picked a warehouse to hide behind. The hammer of their feet, although muted with their caution, still called out to any listening ears.

  A tight grip on his weapon, Seb looked in the opposite direction to Bruke at his other friends. They all seemed ready and in control. Before they’d landed, he couldn’t have guessed how long they’d have before they were attacked. Now, as he heard the stampede heading their way, he suddenly realised he thought they’d have had longer.

  Chapter 8

  They might have had strong fences on either side of them, preventing an attack from their flanks, but the weak chain-link netting over the end of each alley didn’t seem up to much. After hearing their approach, Seb saw the front-runners of the chaotic mob heading their way. Despite them doing what he’d hoped they would, dread sank through him to watch them close down on the weak fence. Too late to back out now.

  A second later, the loud splash of it yielding rang out as the crazed stampede rushed through it without breaking stride. Similar splashes ran down the other two alleys, almost impossible to discern amongst the screaming insanity.

  A wall of maybe fifty of them in his alley, Seb looked at their attackers. Mandulus, grints, snirks, the porcupine things they’d seen running the Countess’ slavery business … and a whole host more. Remember, Seb said to his friends, as intimidating as they look, they’re victims. They haven’t chosen this fight.