Ronin (The Pike Chronicles Book 3) (7 page)

Jon woke to the sounds of battle. Angry shouts, panicked screams, and thunderous explosions filled the night. He grabbed his energy weapon and jumped out of bed. His father taught him to sleep fully clothed, gun at the ready, when in the field. He shouldered the weapon and rushed out of his tent. Outside was forest and chaos. Several dead bodies lay at his feet. He knew them. Members of the resistance. Where was the enemy? Blue energy bolts lit up the dark sky as running figures fired upward. He craned his neck, trying to see the threat. There. Triangular lights shone through the treetops. He pointed his weapon at the lights when someone grabbed him by the arm and pulled. He whipped around, freeing his arm and leveling his weapon. He exhaled sharply when he came face to face with his father. His cousins stood behind him, their weapons pointed at the sky.

His father’s eyes were wide and urgent. “Run you fool. Run!”

Jon needed no more encouragement and he took off with his father and cousins. “What’s happening?” he asked.

“They found us,” said his father, without breaking stride.

“Who found us?”

“The Chaanisar.”

The word sent a spike of cold terror up Jon’s spine. “We have to go back. We have to save the boys.”

“The boys? They’re the ones who led the Chaanisar to us,” yelled his father.

“What? How?”

“They were tagged with trackers when they were captured. In case they tried to run. It was already too late when we found out.”

Jon went silent. It was his fault. His choice to rescue the boys doomed the mission. He had cost the lives of good men.

As if reading Jon’s mind his father said, “Don’t blame yourself. I should’ve known better. I should’ve checked them before we left the compound.

“What about the Governor?” asked Jon.

“Dead. I saw to it myself. Rammed a blade right through his heart. Too good for him, but better than nothing.”

“What about everyone else?”

“They have to make their own way. We can’t stay together or those devils will catch us all,” his father glanced back at Jon, the moonlight shining off his glistening forehead. Eyes grim. “Enough talk now. We head for the caves.”

They ran through the forest, barely able to see. They didn’t use flashlights for fear of the Chaanisar finding them. They relied on memory and sure-footedness to see them through. Jon feared losing an eye as branches kept whipping his face. More than the branches he feared the pine needles, dreading the thought of one of them puncturing his eye ball. He pulled his hood down low, covering his forehead and eyes and buttoned his cloak over his chin. It offered some relief and allowed him to focus on keeping up.

He was big for his age, but fast and agile. Mountains and forests had been his back yard his whole life. His every step felt familiar. Every sound, every smell, was accompanied by a memory. His parents had taught him how to survive. If he needed to, he could live on his own in the wild indefinitely. He knew how to find food and shelter, and how to stay safe from predators. Wolves, coyotes, bears, and even the secretive cougar. He could spot their signs and always knew when they were near. But the Chaanisar were a different kind of predator. Could he survive against such an advanced hunter?

They ran for over an hour through the forest before they finally reached the caves. They had put a little over ten kilometers between them and the camp, but that meant nothing. A Chaanisar soldier could cover that ground in half the time without breaking a sweat. Their vessel could cover the distance in minutes. They had gotten this far through luck alone. The Chaanisar would come, it was only a matter of time.

Even in the dark, the moonlight illuminated the rock face up ahead. Halfway up was a small opening that allowed access to the caves. When they reached the base of the cliff his father gestured for Jon to go first. He was the best climber after all. Jon slung his weapon over his back, reached up, grabbed a chunk of rock in each hand and pulled. He found footings for his feet and pushed higher. His cousins followed, with his father coming up the rear.

The rock was relatively dry which made climbing easier. He had reached a height level with the surrounding treetops. The moon shone brighter now, unobstructed by the tree canopies. A light wind blew, flapping his cloak about, without hampering his progress. He took in a deep breath of cold mountain air and reached for an outcropping of rock. He pulled himself up and grabbed for another. Something caught the corner of his eye and he turned to look. It was the Chaanisar craft, hovering above the treetops, hunting for resistance fighters. It moved across the top of the forest in wide, sweeping patterns. His gut tightened when he realized that it was headed in their direction.

“They’re coming,” he said, looking down at his cousins. “We have to hurry.”

“Shit,” said Jason, looking across the trees and spotting the Chaanisar ship.

Gripped by fear they climbed faster, no longer concerned with falling. The vessel covered a surprising amount of distance in a very short time. It seemed to glide across the treetops, like it was skating on a frozen pond. Jon heard its engines now, and the sound drove him harder. In his haste his foot slipped, sending small stones down on top of Jason’s head.

“Ow! Watch it,” said Jason.

“Sorry, cousin,” said Jon.

“Never mind, just hurry,” Jason replied, his voice tense.

Jon kept going. A few more meters and he finally reached the mouth of the cave. His hand groped the ledge in the darkness, searching for something to grab. He found a gap between two rocks, enough to squeeze his fingers in. He anchored his hand and kicked up a leg. His foot hooked the lip, the muscles in his thigh burning. He took a breath and pulled himself up onto the ledge.

The engines were louder. The Chaanisar closer. The sound reverberating against the rock. Jason reached the ledge next and Jon helped him up. Then came Michael, Jon and Jason together hoisting him up. His father was last. The ship practically on top of them now. It hovered just ahead of the cliff. Its lights sweeping the forest. Sophisticated equipment searching for the remaining fighters. Soon those lights would bathe the rock face. They would be seen and then there would be no escape.

He peered over the edge at his father. He almost made it. He had to make it. “Come on, father. They’re on top of us,” pleaded Jon.

His father growled in response and miraculously pushed himself to move even faster. When his hands reached the ledge, Jon and Jason both reached down and heaved his body the rest of the way onto the ledge.

One of the lights swung up and stopped, lighting the four men up.

“Go!” shouted his father.

The four scrambled as one into the darkness of the cave. First diving, then clawing, grasping, pushing as deep as possible into the cramped cavity. The ship fired. The men fell. Down a hidden chute they crashed, falling over one another as the Chaanisar pounded the entrance above. The cave shuddered, threatening to collapse on top of them. Rocks joined them in their descent, and above was a terrible crash. Their fall came to an end, piling the men up in a tangle of limbs and stone. The firing stopped. All around was darkness.

“Jon,” called his father. “Are you ok?”

“I think so,” said Jon. His body hurt all over, but he didn’t think he broke anything. He pushed someone off of him, not sure if it was Jason or Michael, and sat up.

“Jason? Michael? You two in one piece?” asked his father.

“I’m ok,” said Michael.

“I think I broke my nose,” said Jason.

“Don’t worry, it’s probably an improvement,” said Michael.

A fist smacked against flesh.

“Ow,” Michael cried. “I was just joking.”

“So was I,” said Jason.

“Ok, cut it out,” said his father. “From the sound of that crash I think they caused a cave in. Lucky we fell when we did.”

“It didn’t feel lucky,” said Jon, rubbing the goose eggs forming on his scalp. “What do we do now?”

“We can’t just sit here, that’s for damn sure,” said his father, turning on his flash light. He shone it around them at the walls. They had fallen into some kind of pocket. There were two separate openings on the far side. He brought the light back to illuminate the group. “Do any of you know these caves?”

Jon and his cousins shook their heads.

His father grunted. “Neither do I.”

“Damn,” said Jon. “What do we do?”

“Pick one,” said his father, pointing to the two tunnels up ahead.

Jon looked over at the tight openings and cringed. “Do I have to?”

“Do you want to die in here?”

“No.”

“Then pick one.”

Jon took a deep breath. “Oxygen,” he said. “How much oxygen do we have?”

“I don’t know,” his father said slowly. “We should be ok. These caves exit on the other side of the mountain. We’re not sealed in. There’ll be enough oxygen. Now stop stalling and pick one.

“Okay. The one on the right, I guess.”

“The one on the right it is. Do you have your flashlight?”

“Yeah, it’s right here.”

“Good. You’ve got lead.”

Jon’s jaw dropped.

“Is there a problem, son?”

He was testing him. Again. Of all the times to choose. He looked back at the opening, feeling claustrophobic. Wanting desperately to say no. “There’s no problem,” Jon said, swallowing hard. “Let’s get going.”

His father gave an approving smile. Jon wondered if his grandfather had pushed his father as hard when he was Jon’s age.
Who am I kidding
? he thought.
Grandfather probably pushed him harder
.

Jon pulled out his small, tactical flashlight and crawled over to the ominous looking tunnel. He shone a light inside to see what he was getting into. Dirt covered the ground and rocks protruded out from the walls at odd angles. It seemed doable. At least from this end.

“You going to stare at it all day, cousin?” said Jason, lining up behind him.

“I’m going.” He put the flashlight in his mouth and entered the tunnel on his hands and knees. There was plenty of room for him. He had at least a foot clearance on all sides. The ground was mostly dirt, but he became aware of the stone underneath every time his knee landed on a hard protrusion. The tunnel snaked off and he could only see a few meters ahead before it turned again.

“It’s getting narrower,” said Jon. Jason was a fair distance behind him, but there was no need to yell. The smallest sound travelled effortlessly through the tunnel. The group spread themselves apart. It was safer not to be bunched together in case something happened.

“Can you fit?” said Jason.

“Yeah, but if it keeps closing in I’ll have to crawl on my belly.”

Jon’s prediction came true. The ceilings and walls closed in on him and he dropped to his elbows, continuing in an army crawl. He fought the urge to shudder as insects with way too many legs crawled across his hands. He wondered how many were on his clothes where he couldn’t feel them. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. The walls continued to narrow, forcing him to tuck in his elbows. He squeezed through the tunnel an inch at a time, groaning with the effort. His flashlight flickered, and he cursed as it went out.

“Shit,” said Jon, smacking the side of the light with his palm.

“What’s wrong?” Jason asked.

“My flashlight went out. It must’ve been damaged in the fall.”

“Can you keep going?”

“Yeah, I’ll try.”

He pulled himself forward with his elbows, beads of sweat dripping off his nose. Surrounded by total darkness. Constricted by hard, dank stone. Jon felt anxiety creep in.

He tried to breathe, the way his mother taught him. Deep breaths. In through the nose, out through the mouth. He searched for his center. Tried to remain calm.

I’m going to die trapped in here
, he thought. Paralyzing fear overwhelmed him. It wasn’t the fear of death, but the fear of being trapped in the blackness of this horrible place.
I won’t give up
, he thought, trying to fight the panic.
I can do this
.

He tried to move forward, but didn’t budge.
I can’t move.
The realization sent a spike of cold dread down his spine. His heart beat harder. He struggled to keep control of his breath, but it quickened as well. His hands trembled and it suddenly occurred to him that he might pass out.

No. No. I’m losing control. I can’t lose control
.

He tried pulling himself again. Still nothing.

I’m going to die.

Would someone find his skeleton one day? Maybe hundreds of years in the future. Would anybody else ever crawl through this tunnel?

I can’t die in here. I won’t die in here
.

He pulled again. His arms burned. Jagged rocks clawed at his ribs. He cried out in pain. But he moved.

He pulled again. This time it was easier. He pulled through until he freed himself.

“What the hell are you whining about?” said Jason.

Jon laughed as relief washed over him. “You’ll see. There’s a really tight spot. It’s a bitch to get through.”

“I told you not to eat so much you overgrown ox.”

Jon laughed so hard his side hurt.

“Not only are you big, but you’re loud too. Quiet down or you’ll cause a cave in.”

“Okay,” said Jon, regaining control of himself. He looked ahead into the darkness and pushed on. The tunnel was still cramped, but it no longer threatened to suffocate him. He had enough room to get back into army crawl. His elbows and knees felt raw, like the flesh was being ripped away each time he moved. He tried to take his mind off the pain and turned his thoughts to the mission. Where had the Chaanisar come from? They couldn’t have been the compound, or else the whole operation would’ve failed. Their intelligence said nothing about Chaanisar. Why were they here?

The Juttari wouldn’t normally waste something as valuable as a Chaanisar soldier in circumstances like this. The Chaanisar were better deployed on the battlefield. The Governor wasn’t that important. He was merely a regional tyrant. He could easily be replaced. It had to be the resistance.

He thought about the meeting with the Diakans. His father had said the movement was growing.
We’re hurting them. We’re making a difference
. That was it. The Juttari are getting desperate. That’s why they’re deploying the Chaanisar. The realization stunned him. They might actually have a chance. They might actually win.

A sound brought him back to reality. It came from up ahead. He heard it again. Squeaking sounds. His stomach lurched as he recognized the noise. Rats. He suppressed a gag reflex and forced himself forward.

He hated rats. When he was little his grandfather showed him a large one that he had killed. He had pulled back its mouth to show him its teeth. They were nasty looking things. Long and yellow. His grandfather told him that rats had ridiculously strong jaw muscles and could even gnaw their way through brick. A long series of nightmares followed and Jon spent too many nights lying awake in bed, imagining giant rats coming to feed on him.

He pushed on as the squeaking sounds grew louder. Was he crawling into a goddamn nest? Something crawled across the back of his hand and he jumped, hitting his head on the hard ceiling. “Damn it,” he cursed. Was it possible for a goose egg to grow on top of another?

He moved again and wet fur quickly brushed against his nose. He flayed his hands around making contact with more of the critters. The squeaking intensified as the rats raised the alarm. Tiny feet scurried across the top his head. He swatted at the thing, terrified it would climb down onto his face and bite off a chunk of his nose.

They were all around him, darting around in their own confusion. His breathing quickened. His heart raced. He swatted in front of his face, doing what he could to keep them away. He shut his eyes tight, trying to protect them from childhood nightmares. They were all over his arms. He suppressed the urge to scream, fearing that one would climb into his mouth.

At last he felt them scurry away from him. Tiny feet raced off his arms making him tremble with disgust. He tried to calm himself. His mind knew they were gone but his body still felt them. He flinched at the imaginary vermin crawling all over his body.

They’re gone
, he thought.
Calm down
. He focused on his breath and began to get his heart rate under control. His mind cleared.

Wait a second
, he thought.
The rats are running away from me. There must be a way out
. For a moment he wondered if that made sense. Then he decided he didn’t care. There was a way out and that was all there was to it.

An exit gave him a renewed sense of purpose. They weren’t going to die in the darkness. He continued down the long tunnel for what felt like hours. What time was it? Were the Chaanisar still out there, waiting for them? He decided he would gladly face the Chaanisar rather than climb through this tunnel again.

He crawled a bit further and hit a wall. The tunnel had ended. How? Where did the rats go? He still couldn’t see anything, so he used his hands to feel around for clues. There had to be something. They couldn’t crawl backward through the tunnel. They would never make it.

He reached up above his head and felt nothing. Where was the ceiling? He pulled himself up to his knees, ducking his head out of reflex. He reached up again, but still the ceiling wasn’t there. He rose slowly to his feet. Nothing. He stretched his back. It felt good to stand again. Feeling the walls around him with his hands he realized that the tunnel had turned upward.

“The tunnel’s ended,” he called out.

“Is there an exit?” said Jason.

“Not sure. We have to climb.”

Jason muttered something inaudible. Probably a curse. Jason was a good climber, but after crawling through these caves it was probably the last thing he wanted to do. For Jon, climbing was a hundred times better than crawling in the darkness. He stretched out his hand, grabbed hold of some rock and pulled.

Every muscle in his body screamed, but he powered through the pain. Jon figured he’d be in bed for a week if he made it through this alive. He steadily scaled up the wall until his hand found a ledge.

He pulled himself up to his feet and looked around. A cavern surrounded him with long stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Then it dawned on him. He could see. He wheeled around, trying to identify the source of the light. He followed it and soon came upon an opening. As he walked through he was bathed in morning sunlight. He was sweaty and dirty, and his body ached all over, but at that moment he couldn’t imagine any better feeling than the sun on his skin.

The peaceful moment was short lived as his instincts kicked in and he began to feel exposed. He dropped back into the cave, out of the sun’s glorious rays, and took a less visible position behind some rocks.

Were the Chaanisar still there? Had they seen him? He scanned the surrounding sky, looking for the vessel that had attacked them a few hours ago. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Just endless blue sky. His eyes scanned the forest canopy. He saw nothing, but anything could be hiding underneath those trees.

“See anything, cousin?” said Jason from behind, startling him.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that,” he said, glaring back at Jason.

His cousin laughed and slapped him on the back. He winced. How much damage had he done to his body?

“No, I don’t see anything,” he said, scanning the trees again.

“We made it.”

“Don’t be so sure,” said his father, approaching from behind with Michael. “They could be anywhere down there.”

“So what do we do?” said Jon. “Stay here?”

“No, we keep moving. The farther away we get, the better.”

Jon sighed. All he wanted to do was sleep.

As if reading his mind, his father said, “If you stop now, your muscles will seize up and it’ll be worse.”

Jon didn’t think his body could feel much worse.

“We can sleep when we get home,” said his father. “Come, we’ve got a long day ahead of us.”

Jon looked outside again, this time scanning the sides of the mountain. There was a small goat path stretching out away from the cave and down the side of the mountain. They could walk down. Thankful for the small reprieve, he rested a hand on his weapon and ventured out onto the path.

He took a few steps and stopped. He whipped around and looked back at the treetops below.

“What’s wrong,” said Jason.

“Nothing. I just felt like someone was staring at me.”

Jason laughed and punched Jon in the bicep. “Don’t worry, cousin. I’m here to protect you.”

Jon shrugged, feeling stupid, and continued down the path.