Hunting Cari (First Wave) (4 page)

“I
have Niklosi’s team at the housing unit, in case she ran away and is waiting to
return when she feels it is safe to do so. We have no idea where she came from
though. There were no females on the Outpost. I need you to run a search of our
records. Look for any attacks carried out by the Relians where any females went
missing.”

“We
need to know where she came from and if there may be others that somehow found
their way to this planet. And we need to keep this to ourselves right now
Gracus. I know you don’t agree with that, and I know you think we should
contact the Council and at least inform Councilor Macner that his son is alive.
But until we know what we’re dealing with here and now, we need to wait. Amun
says we can wake him in a few hours and get some answers. We need to wait until
then before we contact the council.” Scaden stated firmly enough to make sure
Gracus knew he wasn’t going to change his mind on this.

“I
don’t agree with this Scaden. This is going too far. The Council should be
notified immediately that at least one survivor has been found and more could
be out there! Councilor Macner has a right to know his son is alive!” Gracus
retorted with anger lacing his words at Scaden’s stubbornness on this.

“And
if we wait a few hours, we’ll be able to tell them definitively if there are
other survivors! Because the only person that knows will be able to tell us!
I’m not arguing about this; I've made my decision. The order to block all
communications to Valendra stays in place until I have more information!”
Scaden yelled back at his friend.

Realizing
he was allowing his frustration to overcome him, Scaden tried to calm himself.
“Gracus, I just want a few answers from him before we contact the Council. We
need to at least arm them with enough information to help them make a decision,
about whether or not we should be looking for other survivors. And we need to
find this female and where she came from. Right now finding a defenseless
female who may be in the hands of the Relians is my priority. I won’t waste
time talking to the Council. Once she’s safe and secure with us, and we have
more answers, I will contact them.” He stated more calmly than he felt.

Knowing
it was another argument he would lose Gracus gave up. “All right, let’s see
what we can do to figure out who she is and where she came from. I’ve got the
computer scanning for missing females now, and I’ll let you know as soon as I
know anything. Keep me updated on what is going on down there. With a Relian
presence on the planet, it’s even more important for you and your team to be
careful. We can’t get back one we thought was lost to us and end up losing a
dozen more through acting rashly.” Gracus warned pointedly, hoping Scaden would
get the message he was conveying.

“I
understand my friend. I have no intention of giving them any other victims.
I’ll leave the comm open on the private channel so you can monitor things as
they progress. Scaden out.” He contacted Niklosi next to see if there were any
new developments at the housing unit they found Randor in, and was informed
that nothing had changed and there was still no sign of the female.

With
nothing else to do but wait, he began pacing the unit. The most perplexing of
his thoughts was where the female came from. Females and any mated male weren’t
allowed on outposts. And there was never a time when he could remember any
females going missing. There were so few females compared to the males that
they were always left on Valendra to be guarded and protected by the male
members of their Clan and their mate. It had been that way since before his
existence.

Their
history showed that one of their diplomatic missions to another sentient world
to discuss trade had exposed the entire diplomatic party to a virus that was
carried back to Valendra and infected them all. It caused more than half of
their females to become barren and the majority of the children born since had
been male. A female child had not been born to his world in over 300 years.
Centuries of work from scientists on both planets, still could not seem to find
a way to reverse the damage caused by the virus. So how did this female and a
mated male get to the outpost? How did they survive the massacre there?

Did
the Relians bring survivor’s from the outpost here as slaves? It wouldn’t be
unusual for them to do that, it was actually normal for them to do so. They
moved from planet to planet, enslaving the people and forcing them to strip
their own planet of all its resources, until life was no longer sustainable.
Then they’d move on to the next planet, sometimes keeping the hardest working
slaves from each planet to move with them, and leaving the rest to die on their
now barren planet.

They
were a parasitic species that was loathed throughout the galaxies and one of
the only species where “kill on confirmation” was allowed. Their genocide and
massacres on other worlds were the stuff nightmares were made from.

So
if the Relians had control over this planet, why were their resources still
here? Why hadn’t this planet been stripped before now? It would not have taken
them this long to consume everything they wanted from the planet. And from what
they’d learned prior to bringing the transport to the surface, the planet
wasn’t ruled by the Relians. It was obvious that their influence was on every
continent on this planet, in one way or another, but they did not control it.

Granted
it was also obvious some of the more violent governments and religious
organizations on the planet were infested with Relians among their ranks, but
they weren’t in a position of total power. Or they would have wrecked much more
havoc and destruction on the planet than they already had.

His
head was beginning to hurt from all the questions running through it, the lack
of answers and the lack of sleep. He couldn’t even recall the last time he’d actually
slept since they encountered the distress beacon. Knowing a defenseless female
was wandering alone or potentially a captive was messing with his sanity, and
he knew he’d get no sleep until he found her and either brought her back to her
people or learned her fate.

He
headed out of his sleeping unit and back to the MedLab. He’d get Amun to get
rid of his headache, and he’d wait next to Randor Macner until he awakened so
he could get his answers.

Chapter Four

Pain.
That was the first thing that registered in Cari’s mind when she began to
awaken. She hurt everywhere. She tried to move her arms slightly to ease the
pain in them and realized they were bound above her head. Her mind tried
desperately to break through the foggy layers to remember what happened. It all
came back with sickening clarity. The explosion, the bright light and the face
of Vince Baker before darkness overcame her.

Uncle
Randor must be dead. There was no other reason why she’d be tied up like this.
He would have given his life to protect her. Biting back the sobs that
threatened to consume her, she fought to pull herself together and figure out a
way out of this situation.

Very
slowly she opened her eyes in small slits, so she could see where she was. It
looked like an old barn. Weathered wooden slats made up the walls and ceiling;
remnants of hay scattered around the area, but not much else. No weapons
immediately near her. Not that she could grab any right now anyway. There
looked to be at least two stalls in the far-right corner, but there didn’t seem
to be anything in them. The double entry doors were closed and to her left. And
the space directly in front of her was empty, probably where hay and maybe feed
was stored at some point in the past. It didn’t look like this place had been
used in a long time.

Not
seeing anyone in the room with her, she slowly opened her eyes fully and looked
up at her tied hands. They were tied at the wrists and hung over what looked
like a rafter in the ceiling above her. Her feet dangled just over the floor,
allowing her to stand on her toes and relieve some of the pressure in her hands
and shoulders.

She
pulled on the ropes, testing the strength of the rafter it was attached to,
hoping for some give in the wood. She sighed as it didn’t even sway an inch.
She tried moving the ropes from side to side, hoping maybe the rope would begin
to fray where it was scraping against the corners of the rafter and might
break.

Now
that held out some hope she thought, seeing small fibers of the rope come
floating down upon her head. Although looking closely at the thick rope, she
realized this particular effort might take some time.

With
that as her only plan to escape at the moment, Cari began swinging her wrists
from side to side to scrape the rope along the rafter. She stopped periodically
to rest her arms and blow the rope fibers from her face and shake them from her
hair, in case someone came in and caught her, she hoped they wouldn’t realize
what she was doing before she could escape.

As
the minutes ticked on, her mind began to think about when she got out of here.
The first thing she was going to do was kill Vince Baker as slowly and
painfully as she could. Then she’d go give Uncle Randor a decent burial. And
figure out how she was going to make it on her own without him. Burying the
sorrow as deeply as she could, she tried to concentrate on her anger. And on
how she was going to make him pay for killing her uncle. Rage began to consume
her.

“Don’t
do that! They’ll kill you if you keep doing that! Stop!” Cari’s head jerked up
sharply at the loudly whispered words. She watched warily as a girl around her
age came from behind one of the stalls to the right and began to hobble her way
to where Cari was hanging.

As
the girl came closer into the light, she could see the girl's badly malformed
and twisted legs. Cari guessed her to be around 24 or 25 years old, and if it
wasn’t for her legs, she looked like she was a runway model. She had long
blonde hair that cascaded down her back in heavy waves, a small pixie like
face, with large blue eyes, and a thin frame. She guessed the girl to be at
least five feet, six inches tall, maybe taller if her legs weren’t so
misshapen. The dress she wore was covered in dirt and looked to be several
sizes too small for the girl.

“Yes,
stay calm. Don’t be angry. If anything you need to show fear. That would work
the best for you.” The girl whispered, stopping just inches in front of Cari.
Her whispered words did nothing more than heighten Cari’s anger and make her
struggle harder against the ropes.

“Let
me go!” She ordered angrily at the girl.

“Stop!
Please! They’ll kill you before I can get you free if you don’t!” The girl
cried frantically, tears streaming down her pretty face. At hearing that the
girl would set her free, Cari calmed slightly and waited impatiently for her to
cut the ropes.

“My
name is Jess. I’m one of yours. They killed my father, kidnapped my mother and
me… so many years ago. I don’t even remember how long it’s been. I will try to
steal a knife or something, so I can cut the ropes. They don’t let me around
anything that could be used as a weapon, and have left nothing in here that I
can use. Until I find something, you have to stay calm or afraid. If you show
anger or rage like you just did and project it, they’ll come in and hurt you.
Do you understand?” The girl said in a rush of words, Cari tried hard to
follow.

“What
do you mean you are one of mine?” Cari asked warily.

“I’m
not human either. My father wasn’t anyway. They don’t kidnap normal humans.
They found out a long time ago that they can’t breed with them. They only
kidnap our kind, thinking that they will be able to breed with one of us since
the Valendrans can. You’re a projectionist. I’ve only met one other like you.
Those were years ago. I’m sorry if I seem to talk so fast. I don’t have anyone
to talk to except another one of us, and that’s only until I can get them
free.” Jess said on a sigh.

“If
you are one of us, then what is your gift?” Cari challenged, not trusting that
this wasn’t a trick of some kind. Her uncle told her about the gifts given to
those like herself.

“You’re
smart, like the others. Watch this!” Jess said with a mischievous grin. Jess
bent down awkwardly until her fingers on her right hand touched the ground, and
the fingers of her left wrapped around Cari’s ankle in a hard grip.

Cari
was ready to jerk her leg out of her grip, when she saw tiny sparkles forming
around Jess’s fingers on the ground. She watched in fascination as the sparkles
traveled through Jess’s hand, across her body and to the hand holding her
ankle. She felt a comforting warmth radiating through her body from the ankle
Jess was holding. She began to notice that the ache in her wrists and arms had
lessened to the point where it was no longer painful to her. Completely amazed,
she stared down at the girl's bent head as the sparkles increased in intensity
before winking out.

Jess
collapsed heavily to the ground, letting go of Cari’s ankle at the same time.
Cari looked down at her ankle and noticed that in place of Jess’s hand lay a
delicate chain of white metal, interlaced with red and white gems, giving it
the appearance of a tennis bracelet on her ankle.

“What
did you do?” Cari asked in amazement.

“That’s
my gift. I’m a crafter. At least, that is what my parents and others like us
called it. I can draw metals and gems from the earth to create something unique
for someone that they need. I don’t know what they need, but apparently the
earth does, and it helps me draw the right metals and gems for that person.”
Jess answered with a shy smile.

“That’s
incredible. I’ve never met anyone who could do that. Can’t you make a knife to
cut me loose?” Cari asked amazed and hopeful.

“No,
I can’t make any weapons. Believe me, I’ve tried. I can’t even make something
for myself. For some reason, I can’t determine what I make, or what metals or
gems are drawn to me. I’m sorry. But I promise I will get you out of here.”
Jess said with a confident smile, seeming to get her energy back.

“If
you can help me escape, then why have you and your mom not been able to escape
yet?” Cari asked, still a little suspicious of the girl.

Jess
looked up at Cari, with big blue eyes full of sadness and tears. “They killed
my mother when she tried to protect me. She had overheard them saying that
since I had matured, it was time for them to start seeing if I could bear their
children. She said she couldn’t stand the thought of me going through what they
had been doing to her for years. One night we escaped. We didn’t get far when
my mother collapsed and couldn’t go on. Her body unable to make it further
after the years of abuse they put her through. She begged me to leave her
there, but I couldn’t. She was all I had left. I had carried her for only a few
miles when they caught up to us.”

“They
figured that since they hadn’t been able to get her pregnant, she was of no use
to them anyway. So they killed her right there in the woods. They didn’t even
bury her body. That was when they decided to make sure I couldn’t escape again.
They began breaking my legs, and not setting them correctly. You know how fast
we can normally heal. The bones were mending within a week, but when they
weren’t set properly they began to heal malformed. After a few months of
different breaks in different places on my legs, it worked. I can never run
from them again.” Jess said sadly, gesturing to the twisted legs laid out in
front of her.

“Oh
my God!” Cari gasped in horror as she realized the pain the poor girl had to
have endured for months at a time in order to make her legs look like that.

“I
can feel your compassion and horror radiating from you in waves. You’re very
strong. But don’t feel sorry for me. Obviously, the All Father has meant for me
to be here. If I wasn’t here, I wouldn’t have been able to help so many others
escape, just as I will help you. Right now, you need to make sure you don’t
radiate any emotions that will cause them to come in here and hurt you before I
can get you out of here. Ok?” Jess asked hopefully.

Cari
struggled to control her emotions as Jess had asked. “I’ll try. Can’t you
create something that can help you heal your legs so you can try to escape
again?” Cari asked curious.

“I
tried. But my gift doesn’t seem to work on me, only on others. They will come
for me soon. When they do, you will have to pretend like you are still passed
out. You can’t let them know you are awake. If they think you are still
unconscious they will leave you alone, and that will give me time to get a
knife or something sharp from them, so I can cut you free.” Jess told her.

“When
I leave, I will take you with me. I won’t leave you here with them.” Cari vowed
stubbornly.

“You
can’t. I would only slow you down, and we’d both be captured again and
punished. If you get back to your protector, maybe one day you and others can
come back and kill them all. For now, I do better for our people staying here,
than I would if I were on the outside.” Jess said sadly.

“They
killed my protector, my Uncle. But I know how to contact others like us and
their protectors. I swear Jess, when I get out of here, I will come back for
you. I will find you. I promise I will.” Cari replied with conviction. She
would not allow this poor girl to spend another day with these people than she
had to. One way or another, she would come back, she would find Jess and bring
her back to her people.

“Just
promise to kill them. That’s all I really want. I hear them coming now. Pretend
to be unconscious. No matter what, don’t let them know you are awake!” Jess
whispered, standing awkwardly she began to hobble back towards the two stalls
in the corner of the barn.

Cari
could hear raised male voices coming closer to the door of the barn. Quickly,
she dropped her head to her chest, closed her eyes and made it look like she
was hanging by her wrists again. Whatever Jess had crafted for her seemed to
make the pain of her weight on her wrists, not nearly as bad as it had been
before.

The
door opened, and a group of men entered the barn. Judging by the sound of it
there had to be at least four or five of them. And they all seemed to be
arguing over Jess.

“Vikan
said we can’t touch the new one; she is only for him. He said she’s special.
She’ll be special until he tires of her and finds another one who is 'special'.
Until then, I have a taste for mouse!” One of the voices said laughing.

“I
don’t want that one yet anyway. I haven’t gotten tired of our little mouse yet.
I love the way she cries and screams when I take her.” Another, deeper voice
replied.

“She
cries and screams because it takes her a few days to heal after you’re done
with her! The rest of us get her first because she’ll be useless to us after
you’re done with her!” Yet another new voice added.

Cari
heard what sounded like something being dragged across the floor and a slight
whimper. She opened her eyes a bare fraction, in order to see what was going on
around her. Vince Baker stood in the doorway, watching with a smile on his face
while three human looking men dragged Jess across the floor to the door, by her
hair. Cari could see the terror in Jess’s eyes as she clung to the hand holding
her hair trying to prevent them from ripping it out by the roots.

“Looks
like the mouse isn’t quite as afraid this time since she isn’t squealing like
normal. Try to keep her busy for a long while this time. I won’t have our new
guest go missing before I get to have fun with her and ensure she stays.”
Vincent said to the men as Jess whimpered in fear at the order.