Earth (The Invasion Trilogy Book 1) (16 page)

My own hands explore, finding traction with his skin since he now wears no vest. His chest is hard
, his muscles twitching and tensing under my hands. His skin is slick with sweat, but so is my own.

I link my legs around him, needing to get closer to him, needing to feel something that I’ve never needed before. There is an ache growing inside me
, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do about it, but when I feel his hardness move against me, some of that ache settles for the brief moment and then the ache grows worse.

“Marduke…” I mumble his name, trying to catch my breath.

He moves against me again, his tortured groan matching exactly how I feel. We stay in this torturous embrace, staring into each other. There is an intimacy here that grows with every second that passes. I open my mouth, ready to beg for him to rock against me like that again, but before I get a word out, he suddenly pulls away from me.

“Mattie, we need to stop.” He grabs my hands in his own and prevents me from moving them lower
, but my legs stay wrapped around him, and he doesn’t try to move off me.

“Why?”

“Because we’re on the ground, because Logan is asleep just a short distance away, because you don’t know me, not really.”

“I do know you
,” I protest, not wanting to stop what we’re doing. I
need
us to keep going. In fact, I’m desperate for us not to stop. “You saved my life back there, and you’ve done it before. That speaks volumes to me. You’re brave, strong, and not to mention, I find you incredibly hot.” I redden slightly at having just freely admitted that, but this is so beyond being embarrassed over something so small. “I trust you.”

Instead of being reassured by my words, he looks panicked. “You shouldn’t trust me.”

“Why?” I don’t understand, and given that the world as we know it is ending, I’m not sure what really matters anymore. Surely his past in France doesn’t matter now? Whatever he is referring to, it doesn’t need to be brought into this.

“I need to find us food and water before it gets too dark. You and Logan should get some rest. I’ll search for supplies and come back.”

“You’re leaving us?” I say, panicking. I’ve proven to myself that I’m stronger and braver than I’ve ever realised. I can take care of myself, and maybe if it came down to it, I’d take care of Logan, too. Or at least I’ll try my best. That doesn’t mean I don’t need Marduke, or that I want him to go.

“Just for a little while. I’ll be back
,” he whispers, his gaze staring at me intently again.

“But what if you get lost or hurt?” I worry, my legs subconsciously tightening around him
, causing us both to groan.

“There is nothing in this world that will keep me from you, I promise.”
At that, he pushes off me, and I move my legs away from him. I feel colder without him over me, even though the weather is warm.

“I don’t like this.”

“I know, but it needs to be done. I will be back in the morning.” He leans further away from me, and while I often find him gazing unnervingly at me, now he isn’t glancing my way at all. He’s avoiding looking at me.

“How do you know you’ll find anything?”

“I don’t, but I won’t come back empty-handed.” He finally looks at me, assuring me that he won’t break that promise.

“What about your knee? You’re injured
, too.”

“It is feeling better.” He quickly looks away again, proving to me that he’s lying.

“Not if you keep on it. Please, Marduke, don’t leave us.”

“I will be back.”

I open my mouth to protest again, not feeling right about this at all, but he stops me by leaning over and kissing me again. This time the passion is simmered, and if anything, I feel like this is a goodbye kiss. My eyes water, and when I close them, tears threaten to fall, yet I manage to hold them in.

“Fine
.” I push him away and crawl over to a still sleeping Logan. I wrap my arm around him, bringing him in close to me and trying my best to ignore Marduke and the taste of him on my lips. If I don’t think about it, if I pretend that he doesn’t mean much to me, then maybe it won’t hurt as badly if I never see him again.

“I will come back
,” he promises again, sounding worried.

“I know
. See you soon,” I speak quietly, dismissing him. I don’t want to wake Logan up and have him realise Marduke is leaving. If I feel panicked and sad at the thought, then Logan will be worse.

I hear his retreating footsteps
, forcing myself not to look back to see him leaving. New emotions bombard me, ones that I don’t want to be feeling. Sadness, loneliness and heartbreak are all coming to the forefront.

I ignore them, instead thinking about Hank and Lisa. I heard a child’s laughter before I saw the machines coming.
It means they were close and didn’t know they were in danger. When Hank saw those machines, he would have sent them off to hide while he drew them away. I only ever saw two, which means Hank successfully kept them away from Lisa and the two girls. And I saw them burning to death, so providing Hank didn’t get trapped in that field during the fire or sent away somewhere else, it’s possible he is back with Lisa right now. It means that we’re close to them and heading in the right direction.

I let that thought warm me, focusing on the image of Hank and Lisa, believing that we’ll be reunited soon.
I might need Marduke for my sanity, but I also need my two best friends. I would have never have guessed how much I really needed them, though, not after what happens to us tomorrow.

Chapter 15

Marduke

I walk to the edge of the forest before nightfall then let the stars and moon in the sky help guide me into the nearest town.

Mattie is right
; my knee is aching badly. My body might be better at healing than a human’s, but I’ve done nothing right to help it along. Carrying Mattie nearly killed me. Any added weight causes my knee to twinge in pain, so even Logan is a struggle. Mattie is a fully grown woman, and while she doesn’t appear to have an ounce of fat on her, she is tall and muscled. In normal circumstances, I’d have no problems carrying her. In fact, there was a part of me that took a lot of pleasure having her in my arms like that. I think, if my knee wasn’t messed up—even if we weren’t running for our lives—I’d still want to carry her around with me. The more time I spend with her, the more she feels like more than my equal. She is beginning to become everything to me, and I don’t know how to force those feelings away.

I’ve been taught many lessons in my preparation of being part of the leader’s family on my planet. Feelings
haven’t been mentioned. I’m aware pleasure can be made from sex, but never is it told that passion rules our bodies. We never mate outside our chosen partners, and only death can mean you have more than one mate. If I were to take things there with Mattie, I’d not only be doing my future mate on Oden a dishonour, but I’d be dishonouring my family.

Mattie doesn’t know who I truly am
. She has no clue I’m part of the reason her planet is being taken over, no idea that I’m not from Earth. There is no way I can take this any further with her, no matter how badly I want to, until she knows. And since I already feel my restraint waning on the matter, I need to tell her soon.

I fear I know her response. She’ll hate me. She might even try to leave me. And I can’t even be mad about that because I understand why she’ll despise me
; I’ve taken everything from her. Her family, her friends and her home are all gone because of my people—because of
my family
.

S
till, I want her badly. I want to touch all of her, to see her naked and wanting me. I know what would have happened if I hadn’t stopped it earlier. I saw the same want and need reflected in her eyes. The pure ecstasy that went through my body as she rubbed up against me was enough to almost finish me.

My life has always had a purpose
, and apart from disagreeing with the attack on Earth, I’ve never been tempted from what I’ve thought was the right path. In that moment, at that very second with Mattie, I’d have been happy to spend my life doing nothing other than being with her. I’d spend eternity trying to make her happy, a lifetime pleasuring her and trying to do what is right by her. Even now, with the distance between us, I want her badly. I don’t ever see this going away, and that means we have a serious problem.

If we’re both to survive
—which I refuse to lose Mattie—then we need a plan. I can’t go back home, not when Ival wants me dead and my father wants me to take over as leader.

Mattie is a human
; she’ll never be allowed at my side. As soon as Ival or father knows of her, she’ll be dead. She’ll be taken out before she can bring shame down on our family name. They won’t care how brave, strong, beautiful or inspirational she is. They won’t listen when I try to explain that I’ve grown to care deeply for her. They’ll just see her as human, as a lesser being, and they won’t stand for it.

No, Mattie can never go to Oden and neither can I now.
Earth isn’t safe, either; but perhaps if we can stay hidden long enough, then Logan, Mattie and I can escape to a new planet. A planet that will accept us and let us live our lives. Or maybe we can be wanderers, living out our life traveling around the universe.

Of course
, all this rides on the fact that Mattie has to want to be with me. After that kiss, I know she has feelings for me, but at the moment, they’re for the French human, Marduke. Now she needs to hear about the real me and make her decision.

I’ve moved past the fire now, which is slowly beginning to die out in the distance. A light rain is sprinkling over it, a rain that is only moving over the flames and not the areas that aren’t affected by fire. It means that it’s being put out purposefully, which also means that the hinema must be close.
The air is smoky, however it’s nothing near as bad as what it was like when I reached Mattie in the field. This smoke is bearable, so I keep moving forward.

Ahead I find a house and move in closer. I
’ve removed the tracking device from me, but I know any movement or noise that catches the hinema’s attention will have them coming down on me. I need to be careful.

I make it inside the house without a hassle
, leaving the curtains open, allowing me to see where objects are in the house to avoid. The only problem is that I can’t exactly make out what they are, so it takes me a while to find a bag, and even longer to find a can opener. I don’t find any bottles of water, however there are cans of soda. They’ll be better than nothing.

Searching
more through the house, I find a couple of jackets, some clean t-shirts that hopefully Mattie and I can fit into, and I even find some smaller clothes for Logan. I can’t see what colour anything is, but I don’t think that will really matter.

With the bag full
, I move back towards the front door and stop dead when I hear Ival’s voice. He’s close, as in just outside the house. I stand frozen in shock as I listen to him speaking in our language.

“You mentioned he was here
. Where is he now?” he snaps. I imagine him speaking to the hinema, which makes no sense since they are unable to speak back. You can download information from them, but not verbally interact with them.

“We’re not sure
. He was seen with two humans,” a voice responds, and I realise he’s speaking to one of our guards. It means our people have arrived on the planet, therefore most of the humans must be off it. We’re close to completely owning Earth.

“He was with humans? Why would he take refuge with them? They’re being hunted.”

“I do not know, Drym.” The guard calls Ival a name of high respect, the equivalent of being called “sir.” “One of the humans was a woman. She was… pretty.” The guard appears to struggle with finding the correct word to describe Mattie. There aren’t many words that describe someone beautiful on Oden. There is no need for such words.

“Are you insinuating that he is mating with this human woman?” Ival sounds disgusted
, and I almost growl aloud in anger at the insulting note in his tone, as if sleeping with a human is so beneath us. Of course, I need for him to believe I’d never do that, that I couldn’t care about Mattie. If he knows I care, then she’ll just have a bigger target on her back.

“No
, Drym. I’m sorry.” The guard’s voice sounds muffled. I imagine he’s kneeling right now, giving Ival his respect. On Oden, formalities are less proper, but out here, Ival would demand every respect be paid to him.

Ival sighs wearily and his footsteps sound closer. I quickly jump back, moving further into the house and
sneaking around the corner as Ival opens the front door.

“Find him
. I want him here now. I’m sick of chasing after him. He’s being a coward. While I don’t believe he’s mating with a human, I don’t doubt he might have grown attached to the two humans. If you can’t find him, then find them. Dead or alive, bring them to me. I want my brother to suffer for wasting my time.”

My hands fist around the bag I’m holding
as I take a step to move around the corner. I’m ready to face my brother once and for all, to put an end to this. Except I know Ival is stronger than me, and right now, I’m outnumbered. His guards won’t protect me. He’s the older son, and until our father announces his intentions to bypass Ival and select me as future leader, they’ll always protect him first.

I
’ve promised Mattie I’ll be back for her and Logan. Confronting Ival is a sure way to break my promise. I need to stay hidden to get back to her. She needs this food, and without it, I might be guaranteeing not only her death but Logan’s. So I don’t take another step forward, instead retreating silently to the back of the house. I find a backdoor and sneak my way out.

I’m more careful
navigating the woods this time, aware there are also guards searching for me—searching for us.

Having Mattie and Logan with me is placing them in further danger, but the damage has been done now. They have guards and hinemas coming for them. Leaving them alone won’t accomplish anything now. I have to just hope that I can protect them from what is coming
, and the first step to that is telling Mattie who I really am.

***

Walking through the forest in the dark is almost impossible. I walk into several things, and when I fall and twist my knee, I know I have to stop. If I get hurt worse, then I won’t be any help to Mattie or Logan.

I don’t consume any of the food or beverages I
’ve stolen, not feeling right with eating or drinking while Mattie and Logan go without.

I lie on the ground, my mind circling over what Ival
has said. He’s never going to stop until I’m dead, and now he won’t stop until Mattie and Logan are, too. It means, if I want to survive, if I want to save them, I’ll need to kill my brother.

I don’t hate Ival. I understand his motives too well to hate him. He wants this planet because it will bring great fortune to our people.
New technology, new farming techniques, new crops and new land. It will create new jobs and add to our acquisitions. It’s the find of a lifetime. No other planet will ever compare to owning Earth. Giving it up is not an option. I should have known I’d never be able to stop this.

Taking me out makes sense
, too, because all Ival has ever wanted is power. It’s all we’ve ever been brought up to want. I’ve never assumed I’d become leader, so I was brought up wanting to serve my family and honour us. For Ival to have his future leadership threatened, I understand his need to take me out.

Ival is cruel and can be sadistic
, though. He’s just proven it with his request of bringing in Mattie and Logan, dead or alive. He only wants them to hurt me, and he’ll take pleasure in my pain.

When
we’ve fought each other in training, Ival always has won. He’s older, stronger, bigger and further along with his training. He would beat me until our trainer would tell him to stop. The look in his eyes as he would strike me… he enjoyed it. There is darkness in my brother, one that I didn’t realise my father could see. And now that cruelty is aimed right for Mattie and Logan.

As soon as
the first light appears, I get moving. I limp my way forward, not allowing myself to think about what I’ll find when I get back to Mattie and Logan.

Last night I used my knife to scratch along the trees I passed, and while in the dark
, I’ve gotten off track a little. However, in the light, I find my way easily.

The bag is heavy
, so I swing it over my back, hoping to take some of the strain off my arms.

When I notice a track along the woods
, I veer off, curious as to why there is a walking track up here at all. A mile or so up the dirt track I find a small shack. It’s sheltered and there is a board on one of the walls with maps plastered over it. One side has a desk with a radio on it as well as pieces of blank paper, spare maps and pens. A tattered rug hugs the ground, and on the other side, there is a small couch and a blanket. Pinned on the entryway door is a notice.

‘A shelter for hikers and lost souls: If you find yourself lost or in need of assistance, please use the radio provided. Water and food rations are available in the draw
ers under the desk. Please keep them shut to avoid attracting animals. There are maps on the wall and spare ones on top of the desk. Take what you need and please spare what you don’t. Safe journey traveler. This safe haven was built in memory of the great man, Jacob Hope, gone too soon, but never forgotten.’

I take another look inside and grab one of the maps on the desk, noticing it
is marked on for where I am now. We’ve managed to make it back into America. I then head back out towards where I’ve left Logan and Mattie.

I know when I’m getting close because I hear loud voices speaking through something muffled.
Fear surges inside me as I rush forward, afraid that my detour has cost me. I should have gone straight to them. I shouldn’t have followed the trail.

When I break through the bush and stumble on them, I don’t find any of the guards, hinemas or Ival interrogating or hurting Mattie and Logan.
Instead, I find Logan sobbing, his arms hugging his legs and Mattie crouching over him, trying to soothe him.

“
M’Dude!” Logan yells out, catching sight of me first. He races towards me, not slowing down as he reaches me and runs into my legs. My sore knee takes the brunt of the impact, but my worry over why he is crying keeps me from focusing on it.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” I ask, first looking at Logan and then my eyes finding Mattie. She looks tired,
as if she hasn’t gotten much sleep last night.