Earth (The Invasion Trilogy Book 1) (19 page)

Lisa speaks of the near miss they had a few days ago, how scared she was
, and that other than the ones at the winery, they’ve not had any interaction with the machines. Same as us. Even though I’m still terrified of them, I do begin to feel a little safer. Not only do we have safety in more numbers now, they also haven’t made an appearance in a few days. Maybe they’re starting to retreat, or maybe they’re terrorizing new humans? It’s not the nicest thoughts to hope for, but if it means we get a break, then I’ll take it.

When we find the house that Hank
has found earlier, I’m relieved to see it’s mostly hidden from view. Large trees shade the roof and sides, and I’d imagine if you were to fly overhead of this area, this house wouldn’t be visible.

Hank checks out the inside, breaking a window to get inside.
It’s amazing just how many people have disappeared from their homes. Other than finding Logan and the girls, we’ve never entered a house where people are living or even hiding. Are there no more people like us out there, wandering around, searching for food, water and shelter?

I
n the new home, we find a large, rainwater tank outside. I fill up our empty water bottles and then drink enough until I get a stomach-ache. We feast on more canned food and share a block of chocolate. I am pretty sure Lisa sheds a few tears when she has found it hiding in a drawer.

There are no roads leading to this house,
though there is a worn trail that shows where a car would come here. There is no such vehicle here now, however, so we’re still stuck walking.

I fill up the basin in the bathroom with water from the
tank outside and give myself as good of a wash as I can manage. It’s not helped by the fact that I’m still wearing Marduke’s bulletproof vest, which I can’t get off. I feel around the entire thing, finding no indentation of a seam or split for where the material would come apart. I’m torn between being really annoyed that I can’t get it off and guilty that I’ve taken it from him. It was another way he was trying to protect me, and I’ve now taken it from him.

I lean down and wash my face, washing away the stray tears that fall. I’ve never felt like a horrible person before. I’ve always been nice to people. Even on the court when I’ve been frustrated or had a conflict with another player
—usually on the other team—at the end, I consider all forgiven. I shake every hand. I’ve never had a fight, I don’t bitch about other people, and when I commit to something, I give a hundred percent. I’ve never thought about someone not liking me, someone being angry at me. Obviously, Hannah doesn’t count because she’s my sister and siblings are programmed to fight, and on occasion, hate each other.

T
o have someone not like me, though? To know that Marduke might even hate me right now? Yeah, that is eating a hole right through my stomach. Yet, I deserve his anger and hate, so I can’t really do or say anything to make myself feel better.

The house is small; only two bedrooms
, which both have double-sized beds inside. There is one bathroom, a small kitchenette and a lounge with a view of the field outside. A fireplace sits in the corner, and I imagine the couple who appear in most of the photos hanging about the house often would sit here, cuddled up on the large couch as they watched the sun setting together.

The sleeping arrangements are rather easy given the conversation Lisa and I
’ve had earlier. After Hank helps to wash Logan and finds some kids clothes that he and Lisa have stolen earlier for the girls—which aren’t in the colour pink—and Lisa sorts out the girls, we manage to talk them into a sort of slumber party.

The three of them climb into the bed
where Lisa tells them a story about a princess. It sounds an awful lot like the animated movie
Anastasia
to me, but I don’t interrupt. Logan scrunches up his face a lot through the story, yet he doesn’t complain aloud. Afterward, I stay in the room and watch them all succumb to sleep.

The darkness sets in quickly
, and with no working electricity, I rely on my hands to lead me back out into the lounge area. I leave the curtains open, letting the stars and moon light up the room so I don’t walk into anything.

Lisa and Hank take the bedroom
, and even though I couldn’t actually see them, I’m pretty sure they were undressing each other on their way to the room. Since I
really
don’t want to know, I stop my thoughts from going any further. Then, when I hear a grunt, I hold a cushion over my head and hum random tunes.

Luckily I’m beyond tired, so I don’t have to ignore any strange noises for long before I pass out.

***

“Mattie, wake up!” someone yells into my ear, jolting me awake. Something is leaning heavily on my chest and I glance downwards, trying to force my eyes to stay open.

Logan is sleeping on me. He must have come out here in the middle of the night and climbed on top of me.

“Mattie, we have to go!” Marduke is next to me, his face visible from a bright light shining outside. The light feels unnatural and too bright. It blinds me when I glance outside.

“What’s happening?” I ask, sitting up with Logan.

All of a sudden
, the fact that Marduke is here hits me, and I lean forward, wrapping my free arm around him and pulling him close to me. “I’m so sorry I left you. It was a huge mistake. I hated myself for it and—”

“Mattie
, we don’t have time. My brother is here and so are the hinemas. We need to leave.” Marduke stands, grabbing Logan off my lap and holding him close.

“What is here?” I ask, just that second hearing the now familiar creak of the machines
’ metal. I turn cold in fear and jump to my feet.

“We need to get out of here before they destroy this house
,” he whispers, grabbing the bag I’ve brought that is on the ground by my feet.

“I need to warn the others
. Get Logan outside to safety; I’ll be right behind you.” I push Marduke down the hallway and towards the backdoor.

“No, I won’t leave without you.”

“And I won’t leave without them. Move.” I shove them towards the door and then find the door handle to the bedroom Hank and Lisa are in. I have a feeling they won’t be ready for a quick escape, but in the darkness, I won’t see anything. Besides, right now, we can worry about clothes later.

“Guys
, we need to move. The machines are here!” I yell, barging into the room.

“What?” Lisa cries and heavy footsteps on the floor tell me Hank has just jumped out of bed.

I don’t stay to explain, I just cross the hallway, glancing down it briefly to notice Marduke and Logan are gone, before opening the door to the two small girls.

“Time to move
, girls. Up!” I call out, finding their tiny arms in the dark and pulling on them.

They cry from the shock of being woken up
, and most likely, from the uncomfortable way I’m dragging them out of bed.

I don’t have time to be gentle
, though.

I meet Lisa and Hank at the door and they each take a child.

“Take it.” Hank passes me a gun and the grenade we haven’t used. I’ve completely forgotten we have this. “Where is Logan?”

“He’s safe
,” I huff as we all run out the backdoor, and that is when we’re halted by three machines huddled outside of our exit. As we turn around to run back inside, a new figure blocks our way.

The bright light outside makes it easy to see him
—tall, dark skinned, short black hair, dull green eyes and built like a freight train. He’s almost double the size of Marduke, and my heart sinks realising the family resemblance. If that isn’t evidence enough that this is Marduke’s brother, then the fact that he is wearing the exact same bulletproof vest as I am right now seals it.

Marduke
hasn’t been lying about his brother being here, and as far as I can see, he appears to be here with the machines. He’s not running, and he doesn’t look scared. In fact, his smile makes him look wild given the situation surrounding us.

He’s not afraid of the machines.

Could Marduke have been telling me the truth about everything? Is he seriously an alien?

More importantly, how the hell do we get out
of this now?

Chapter 18

Marduke

I get Logan into the forest, making sure he’s in deep enough that he’ll be well hidden. When I place him down, he wraps his arms around my neck in a grip that is surprisingly strong.

“Don’t leave me
, M’Dude,” he begs, his voice cracking as tears flood his eyes and cover his face. Seeing him so scared and hearing him beg me to stay causes me to feel actual physical pain for him.

“I need to go and get Mattie, but I promise we’ll both be right back.”

He shakes his head in disagreement, and when I manage to pull his arms away from my neck, he grips hold of my legs.

“No!”
he screams out, loud enough that I’m sure we must have been heard.

“Please, I need you to let go of me. If you don’t
, then I can’t leave, and you’ll never see Mattie again,” I threaten, feeling like that is probably the worst thing to say to him except it gets me the results I need because he lets go of my leg. He then curls up in a small ball, reminding me just how tiny he is, and howls; his voice only slightly muffled from his tightly wound body.

I know I should reassure him that everything will be okay, wait for him to calm down before I leave. Mattie still isn’t here,
though; which means she’s in trouble, so I turn my back on him and run.

I near the house quickly, my eyes hurting briefly from the overly bright light shining from the hinema
s. There are three of them, and they’re all circling around Ival. My heart pounds loudly in my chest when I realise in front of Ival is Mattie, Hank, Lisa and the two small girls.

I move as close to the situation as I can without alerting them to my position. I listen to what is being said and try to think up a plan of how to get us all out of this.

“I’m looking for someone,” Ival states, his eyes assessing each of them slowly.

“Look
, man, we need to get out of here; these things are dangerous!” Hank hisses, his arm holding the girl in his arms tighter to his chest. Next to him, Lisa is silently crying, but I’m more interested in Mattie.

She looks scared and frightened for sure, but she also looks curious. She’s staring at Ival, really taking in his
entire appearance. Something stirs inside me watching her do that, something I don’t like.

“I’m looking for my brother, Marduke. Have you seen him? I was told he
is traveling with a female and child.” He looks at Lisa and the girl in her arms and a big part of me hopes that he thinks it’s her and not Mattie.

“Marduke?”
Hank questions, obviously realising that there aren’t many people with that name in the world. “He—”

“It’s just us, no one else. You can search the house if you want
,” Mattie interrupts Hank, unfortunately bringing Ival’s attention to her.

I glance around me for any
weapons, however there is nothing I can use. I notice the gun tucked along Mattie’s side and she has something clutched in her hand, but I can’t see what it is from this angle.

“I was told he was in this area, and so far you’re the only humans we’ve found here.”

“What do you mean,
humans
? You’re human!” Hank snaps at him, taking a step towards him in anger. I stand up, readying to intervene just as Mattie grabs hold of his arm and hauls him back.

“Interesting
.” Ival stares at Mattie for a long time, and again, I feel uncomfortable. There is no reason for him to know who she is, therefore no reason for him to be looking at her like she is interesting.

“Please
, put the child down,” Ival demands, grabbing hold of a monit from his side pocket.

“No
,” Hank growls.

“Do as I say
, or I kill the female.” He waves the monit at Lisa as I have seen humans waving guns.

The
monit isn’t a gun or any type of weapon; it’s a link to our spaceships and acts much like a control to a TV. It has symbols that act as buttons, so that when they’re pressed, they cause something to happen. The twist is that it only works for our people—our DNA activates it. To anyone else here, it’ll just look like a plain rectangular piece of metal. Sort of like some of the cell phones I’ve seen humans carrying. The buttons only come alight when touched by our people.

“What is that?” Hank growls
. Mattie grunts out loud, no doubt from the strength she’s using to hold him back.

“Here, I’ll show you.” He smiles at Hank and then his back turns to me
so that I no longer see his face. I can’t see what he’s doing, but the bright red light that reflects on Lisa’s face lets me know what he’s just done. Also, the scream Lisa lets out and the string of swear words and threats that Hank makes is a big clue.

He
’s used the monit to transport the young girl in Lisa’s arms to a spaceship above.

“Give her back!” Lisa demands, her voice shaking with fear.

I need to do something. I need to stop Ival from destroying these people’s lives—well, any more than he already has.

“Give the child to this hysterical female,
now,
” Ival demands. His demand has changed from wanting Hank to just put the girl down. I’m not sure if it’s because he thinks Hank will be more agreeable to letting the girl go if she’s in someone else’s arms, or if he’s decided that Lisa and the only child left are the ones I have been traveling with.

“I will kill you, whoever the fuck you are, if you lay a single finger on them...” Hank threatens, handing over the girl to Lisa. She only has her for a few moments before Ival points the
monit at them again, and this time they both disappear.

“What the hell? Where are they?”
Hank demands, promptly jumping out of Mattie’s grip and lunging at Ival. He gets one good hit in, a punch to the side of his face, before Ival knocks him to the ground, kicks him hard in the side and points the monit at him, too.

This time
, it’s a black light that overtakes him. This just means that Ival sent Hank to a different spaceship than what Lisa and the girls are on. It also means that there is only Mattie left.

I’m unsure if I should try to rescue her. I’m no match for Ival, let alone three of the hinemas as well. If he doesn’t believe her to be with me, then he might just place her on a spaceship
, too. It means that, if I can get off this planet, I can find her. She’s safer off this planet than on it at this point.

I stay in my hiding place, waiting to see Ival send her away except he doesn’t. Instead
, he circles her, almost looking predatory.

“Now, as I was asking you before, where is Marduke?”

“I told you, I don’t know anyone by that name.” Her voice shakes.

“I know you’re lying. It’s one thing that interests me about your species. The lies you all tell each other.”

“I’m not—”

“If you do not know my brother, then why are you wearing his argu?”

“His what?” Mattie asks while my heart races, and I begin to sweat. How could he know she’s wearing it? Her sweater is covering it.

“The vest
. I noticed it when you grabbed hold of your human. The last I saw of it, Marduke was wearing it, so why is it now on you?”

“I found this on a dead guy
. Figured he didn’t need it anymore.” She shrugs, still trying to protect me, but getting herself in deeper.

I want to jump out and alert Ival that I’m here
. I want to divert his attention away from Mattie, but then I know I’ll be signing my own death and Mattie will most likely die, too; just out of spite. Where will that leave Logan?

“Only Marduke could have removed it. Your human hands can’t take it off him or seal it on yourself. Why did he give it to you?” He stares at her curiously.

“It’s just a bulletproof vest.” She raises an eyebrow, looking at him like she thinks he’s crazy. Much how she was looking at me just two days ago.

“It’s much more than that. Allow me to demonstrate.” He turns around, standing before one of the hinema, and his voice doesn’t carry over to my ears. I know he’s not speaking English, but my home language.
An uneasy feeling settles inside me, not liking this one bit.

Ival moves out of the way, and the hinema that he
’s stood in front of suddenly and completely unexpectedly fires several rounds at Mattie.

They hit her directly in the chest and she falls over
from the impact, crying out in shock.

Deep down I know she’s not hurt
. I know the argu would have protected her, yet I can’t help it. I jump up from my hiding place and rush over to her, not caring that I’ve just exposed myself to Ival.

“Mattie, are you okay?” I ask, holding onto her face gently and leaning over her, staring into her eyes. Sometimes I think
, if I look hard enough, I’ll be able to see her thoughts. Instead, I’m often left with more questions than answers.

“I’ve been shot!” Mattie gasps, shock and fear lacing her voice.

“You’re okay. It didn’t hurt you,” I promise, helping her to sit up. She fingers the holes in her sweater, and then lifts it up to reveal the untouched vest.

“How
…?” she stammers, beginning to ask me a question before an arm links around my throat, and I’m pulled backwards. “No!” she cries out, sounding breathless.

“Nice of you to join us
, brother,” Ival snaps, his arm tightening around my neck, making it impossible for me to breathe. “I thought as soon as I found you, I’d kill you, but now I have to ask, who is this human to you? Why did you give away your argu to her?” He loosens his grip a tiny amount, enough for me to wheeze as I try to breathe.

“She’s no one, just an innocent
. Please… let her go,” I beg in my own language, my vision blurring as he tightens his grip again.

A loud bang rings out, loud enough to hurt my ears and cause a ringing sound to echo deep into my eardrum.

“Let him go or the next shot I aim is at your head.” Mattie is holding the gun at us, her arm shaking. If she were to try to shoot Ival, there is easily a good chance she’ll miss and hit me instead.

“Feisty one, isn’t she
?” Ival whispers to me. “Is that why you like her?”

“Now!”
Mattie shoots again. This time, I swear I feel the breeze from the bullet flying through the air.

“I have three hinemas in my command
, and with one word, they’ll crush you,” Ival threatens her, however his grip around me loosens until I fall at his feet.

“I know that
. It’s why I have a backup plan. Marduke, remember what happened when Hank destroyed that machine after our first night together?”

She doesn’t wait for me to nod my head or acknowledge that I know what she is referring to because
, when I glance back at her other hand, the one not attached to the gun, I realise she has the other grenade and her thumb has already pulled out the pin.

She throws it so it lands close to the hinemas and then she runs. From my angle on the ground
, I quickly elbow Ival hard in his thigh, momentarily shocking him as I take off, too.

We only run for a few seconds and in those seconds Mattie is shot at again, thankfully only two bullets make impact and both are in her back where my argu is protecting her.
Then the explosion sounds behind us.

We’re not far enough away to avoid the blast
, though. Unbearable heat and a strong invisible wave hit us from behind. We both fall down and I crawl forward, covering Mattie’s body as pieces of hinema and house go flying through the air. One large wooden chunk lands directly to our side, only inches away from crushing us both. I don’t move, giving myself a moment to catch my breath and hope the ringing in my ears goes away.

Mattie thrashes under me
until I lift myself up enough that she turns around, now facing me. Her eyes have tears in them and her body is shaking.

“Are you okay?”
she screams the words, veins in her throat popping out from the effort, but it only sounds like a distant whisper to me.

I nod, looking her over to see if there are any injuries. The light changes as the unnatural bright light dies with the
hinemas, but the fire from the house gives me the chance to still be able to see her.

Her arms moves up, unpinning themselves from me
, and she wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me forward against her. I hold her to me, letting her cry into my chest, and then I roll over so she moves on top of me. Sitting up, I bring her with me and shift her in my lap while I assess the damage behind us. Flames are licking the house, easily getting further out of control. All three hinemas are in states of pieces, and in the middle, there is an either unconscious or dead Ival.

I’m not sure what I feel about seeing him like that. Yes, I’m angry at him
. I’d probably even have killed him with my bare hands if he’d laid a hand on Mattie or Logan. I have been preparing myself for the only way to get him off my back, knowing it is to have him dead. He was going to kill me, so it makes zero sense that I feel loss seeing him there. Even if he’s only unconscious, he’ll still be killed by the fire once it reaches him.