Hive Invasion (7 page)

“A lot of us want to do just that, but the elders don’t want to leave family members behind, even ones who’ve been...changed like these two,” Tully said. “If we push on now, we’re doomin’ them to whatever captivity they’re stuck in. If we stay, we risk losing everybody and everything to these people. That was why we were lookin’ for help. We got food and water, that’s all we can really offer anybody, but that should count for something, right?”

Ryan nodded. “Right.” And so does the idea of someone nearby having predark technology and ammunition, he thought. “Why don’t we all get some rest while the storm blows itself out, and when it’s done, we’ll figure out what to do, okay?”

Tully blinked, as if the idea of these new people actually helping them had never occurred to her. “Uh...sure, okay. I mean, we’re already in your debt for savin’ us from them. The least we can do is feed you before you head out on your way.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Krysty said.

“Don’t suppose you have any of that food on you right now?” Ricky asked.

Latham nodded at their bedrolls in a corner. “It won’t go very far among all of us, but you’re welcome to what we have. We’re not too far from the main camp—well, we weren’t till you found us—but because you’ll be walkin’, they’re about a day’s travel away.”

“You got a faster way of traveling?” Ricky asked.

Latham nodded. “Easier to show you than tell you.”

“What about them?” Mildred pointed at the other two.

“Didn’t seem to have much on them,” Tully said. “And they weren’t too hungry, either, for some reason. Only took a couple of bites. Don’t know why.”

“Stress, or whatever parasitic creature was in that woman, may explain part of it,” Mildred said. “I wouldn’t mind taking a closer look at her if I got the chance.”

“Not now,” Ryan said. “We’re all pretty strung out. We also need to get some rest—”
and talk about what we should do,
he casually signed to the rest “—before figuring out what to do next, okay?”

They shared the scavvie farmers’ meager rations—a couple of mouthfuls of relatively fresh bread and dried meat—and used a self-heat tab found on the still-unconscious man to make a cup of watery broth for Doc. Within a few minutes, the two, along with Doc, were fast asleep, leaving the rest of the group free to talk. Even so, Ryan moved them all out into the hallway, finding a vantage point where he could keep an eye on the sleeping scavvies and the jumpsuited man, as well.

The conversation was brief and to the point. “Not a convoy of wags loaded with ammo and trade goods, but it’s a damn sight better than nothing,” J.B. said.

“Besides, do we have much of a choice?” Krysty asked. “With the mat-trans gone, it could be a couple hundred miles or more to the nearest redoubt. At least if we go with these people, we have a shot at finding wherever the others are coming from, mebbe even locate a redoubt of their own. Solve a couple problems at once.”

“Exactly,” Ryan replied. “Our low ammo and supplies are major problems, so we might as well stick with these folks and see what we can see. At the very least we’ll get fed, and if things go our way, we could get a hold of a lot more than that.”

“Maybe when he wakes up in a few hours, we can ask him about where he came from.” Mildred yawned. “Don’t know about you folks, but I’m dead on my feet. I’m going to take advantage of the relative peace and quiet here and sack out.”

“Works for me,” J.B. said. “Watches?”

Although tempted to let everyone get some shut-eye, Ryan knew all too well the potential folly of trusting folks they’d just met. “Two-hour spans. I’ll take the first, Jak second, Krysty third, Ricky fourth.” He nodded at the three sleepers in the next room. “They shouldn’t give any trouble, but even so, don’t get too close. Everybody get some rest while you can. Jak, I’ll wake you when your turn comes.”

Chapter Nine

Though surrounded by the hot, baking plains and the searing dust storm, for some reason Jak dreamed of his home, deep in the swamps of what had been Louisiana long, long ago.

It wasn’t a true dream, just a series of disjointed images and sounds...trickling water...a snake slithering through the deep forest...and perhaps a slaughtered animal being dragged toward a ville for butchering.

It was this last sound that caused the albino’s eyes to pop open and blink to see Ryan standing over him. “Time, huh?”

The black-haired man nodded. “Heard some scuttling earlier—there may be a rat around here. Keep your eyes open.”

Jak rolled his eyes. “No shit. Why not teach me suck eggs, too.”

As the albino got up and stretched, Ryan walked over to Krysty, curled around her protectively and was asleep in seconds.

Jak watched the sleeping couple for a moment, wistfulness passing over his scarred features. The land they were traveling through reminded him of the area around the farm he’d stayed on for a few months with his wife, Christina, after leaving the companions. Those had been good times—until she and their baby girl had been killed and the homestead contaminated by a bunch of rad-blasted crazies. With the life he’d built in ashes, Jak had rejoined the companions, and been with them ever since.

But that didn’t mean he didn’t mourn the loss of his wife or daughter, or envy those in the group who had found love. Granted, he was happy for them, but at the same time, he wondered if he’d ever get the chance to know real love again, like what he’d had with Christina.

A slight rustle in the dark room, near the body of the dead woman, attracted Jak’s attention, and he glanced over at her. Night had fallen outside, rendering the room and outer hallway so dark that they’d left a small flashlight on for visibility. It was dim, but more than enough for Jak to see the entire room as if it were high noon.

As he looked more closely at the woman’s body, he saw the jacket Mildred had placed over her head and chest had slid off. Something gleamed wetly in the light, and the albino walked over to check it out.

Her stomach had deflated over the past few hours, and now the corpse looked like any other normal dead woman. Well, not quite. Jak leaned closer to see what looked like some kind of shiny mucus ringing her mouth. “What...” He leaned over to see the trail of thick slime dripping down the side of her dead face and onto the floor...as if something had come out of her mouth and left it behind.

A throwing blade appeared in Jak’s hand as he looked along the glistening trail to the nearest person—the still-sleeping guy who had taken the scavvies hostage.

But as Jak peered closer at the man, he realized he wasn’t just sleeping—his entire body was twitching, as if he was being shaken or something. As the albino took a step closer, he realized that the trail ran not only to the man’s body, but whatever had come out of the dead woman had actually slithered
onto
him. Jak wrinkled his nose at the thought, even as he leaned down for a closer look at the sleeping man.

That was when his eyes snapped open.

At the same time, his hand shot up and grabbed Jak around the throat—or tried to. Jak, however, had been fighting since he could walk, and evaded the clumsy grab with ease. His blade flicked out in return, and the man drew back three bleeding fingers.

The albino took a step back as the man sat up, then rose to his feet. All trace of his earlier hysteria was gone, replaced by an intense stare at the white-haired teenager.

Jak stared back at him. “Best sit, if know what good for ya.”

The man cocked his head as he regarded Jak. “Current subject appears to be result of massive mutations in parents, resulting in abnormal skin, hair and eye appearance. Given the typical genetic weaknesses inherent in offspring of mutations, subject is deemed not suitable for implantation. Recommend rejoining the rest of the primary group for debriefing and complete physical examination.” He flexed his fingers, which had already stopped bleeding.

“What say ’bout me?” Jak asked. The man didn’t answer, but stepped to the side, apparently intending to go around him. The albino moved over to block his path. “Not goin’ anywhere—”

This time the man moved fast—so fast that even Jak was caught off guard. He slammed an open palm into the smaller man’s chest, knocking him back several steps. Hitting the wall, Jak rebounded and came at him again, cutting him off before he reached the door. “Fucker!”

“What’s going on, Jak?” Ryan asked.

“Slime trail from dead woman,” Jak replied, not taking his eyes off his opponent. “Went this guy. Tried grab me. Said nonsense, now tryin’ leave. ’Bout show him that’s bad idea.”

Blaster in hand, Ryan had also risen to his feet during Jak’s speech, and now pointed the weapon casually at the man’s midsection. “Best stand down before the Jak puts a world of hurt on you.”

The man regarded Ryan with that same flat stare. “New subject acquired. Initial scan shows excellent physical health, with only detractor a missing left eye. Subject otherwise suitable for implantation. Move to acquire if possible before returning to primary group.”

The man stepped toward Ryan, but was stopped again by Jak, who raised his fists. “Said get back, fucker!” He flicked out a fist whip fast, snapping the man’s head back and loosing a trickle of blood from his nose.

The man stopped, now looking at Jak again. “Reevaluating initial observation of mutant. Reflexes and strength both demonstrated at abnormally high levels. Suggest obtaining him as well before departure. Resetting adrenaline levels in anticipation of possible conflict during subdual.” Oddly, his nose, like his fingers earlier, had already stopped bleeding.

“What the hell, Ryan! Are we setting up pit fights now?” J.B. asked from his corner.

“Got a weird situation,” Ryan replied. “Jumpsuit here’s trying to leave, but he keeps spouting stuff about Jak and me.”

He nodded to the albino. “Take him down, but make sure you keep him alive. We’re going to get some questions answered afterward.”

A thin, feral smile creasing his features, Jak nodded and started advancing on the man, who stood motionless as he approached. “Not go anywhere,” he said, then immediately lashed out with a right fist, aiming for the guy’s cheek to stun him before moving in to finish him off.

Only that wasn’t what happened.

Instead, Jak missed.

The man moved his head aside just enough so that Jak’s callused hand grazed his ear. While he did that, his left hand shot up to try to grab Jak’s wrist, while his right hand pistoned forward into Jak’s stomach. The combination of dodge and riposte were so fast they blurred together into one single action, faster than Jak, Ryan or J.B. had ever seen.

Even so, Jak managed to move out of the way of the punch so the man’s fist glanced off his ribs. “Son of a—” He backed off a step, dancing on his feet, bobbing and weaving back and forth. Two angry spots of pink colored his high, pale cheeks. “Done playin’!”

“Don’t kill him, Jak,” Ryan warned.

The albino shook his head, making his snow-white hair sway back and forth. “Won’t—just put him down hard.”

He came in fast this time, a blur of motion. Feinting high to draw the man’s attention, Jak dropped into a crouch and swung his leg out in a roundhouse sweep, intending to knock the man off his feet, then take him out with a punch to the face.

But again he was thwarted. Committed to his sweep, his feral look of glee turned to disappointment as the man stepped over his swinging leg even as he leaned down to hook it with his arm. Using Jak’s momentum against him, he brought the leg up and pushed it back, sending the skinny kid over onto his buttocks.

Kicking free, Jak kept rolling, turning the takedown into a somersault so he could land on his feet. That was good, because the man wasn’t stopping either. He advanced on his smaller opponent and tried to grab him again, this time at the scruff of the neck. Jak batted the incoming arm away with a swat and followed that up with a ram’s-head punch to the man’s shoulder, staggering him.

“Shouldn’t we help him?” Mildred, who had been awakened by the commotion, asked.

“Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, Jak doesn’t need any,” J.B. replied.

“What about the hundredth?” she asked.

“Still waiting to see it,” he replied. “Although this guy’s giving him a decent run for his money.”

Jak darted close to the man and fired several short punches into the right side of his rib cage. The blows had to have hurt—Jak heard the snap of at least one rib in the flurry—but the injury didn’t seem to slow the man in the least. He swept Jak’s fist aside and followed that up with a front kick to his chest that knocked Jak off his feet and sent him skidding across the floor and into the two scavvies.

“What the fuck—?” Tully asked.

“Stay down!” Wincing, Jak got up again, moving a bit slower now.

“You still got him?” Ryan asked.

“Damn right!” Fixing the man with a venomous stare, Jak took two steps forward and leaped into the air, his combat boot–shod feet lancing out to crush the man’s sternum.

The man grabbed Jak’s feet with both hands and started to pull him to the floor. That, however, was exactly what Jak wanted him to do. The moment those fingers closed around his ankles, he jackknifed forward and reached out to slam his cupped hands against the man’s ears.

The painful twin blows rocked his opponent, and he released Jak’s feet, letting him fall to the floor as he clapped his hands to his head and swayed on his feet. Jak scooted forward, hooked the guy’s legs with his own and swept them out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor, his head bouncing off the concrete. Just like that, the fight was over.

“How hard did you hit him?” Ryan asked.

“Enough make him let go,” Jak replied. “Mebbe burst eardrum, too.” He grinned at Ryan’s wince. “Hey, stopped bastard?”

“Yeah...just hope you didn’t kill him. Mildred, check him out.”

“Sure.” She got up, grabbed the flashlight and went to the semiconscious man, thumbing back his eyelids and shining the light into them. “Pupil response is good. Better observe him for the next couple of hours, though...ugh, what’s this?” She wiped her fingers on her pants leg. “He’s got some kind of slime all over his mouth.”

“Same stuff saw on dead woman.” Jak pointed at the dead body.

Mildred straightened and walked over to take a look. “What is this?” She followed the drying trail to where the other man had been sleeping. “It’s like a giant snail came out of her and into him...which means whatever was inside the dead woman was still alive after she died.”