The Harvest (Book 1) (44 page)

“Zack do you read? Over.”

“Zack here. Over”

Austin paused, hanging his head.

“Captain?”

“I found them.”

“Who? Found who? Over.”

“People. Hundreds, thousands maybe. Over.”

“Alive? Over.”

“Not sure. I’m gonna look around some more. Stay put. Over.”

“Copy that. Over.”

Austin clicked the radio off. Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes. How could this be? Who had brought these people here? And who was watching them? None of this made sense. The slew of questions rushing through his mind came to a halt. His senses switched to high alert and, without opening his eyes, he knew he was no longer alone. 

“What’s the matter Captain Reynolds? Couldn’t find who you came here for?” Chase spoke in a condescending manner.

Austin opened his eyes, not surprised it was Chase, or that he was pointing Luke’s gun at him. Austin glared at the insignificant man, but said nothing.

Chase squirmed. The captain didn’t show the least sign of worry, which angered Chase as much as it intimidated him. “I’m sorry your wife’s not here. I thought I’d already mentioned that to you, but maybe it’d slipped my mind.”

Austin took a step forward.

Chase stepped back. “Don’t come any closer. I
will
shoot you.”

“Where’s my wife and son?”

A nervous laugh escaped Chase’s lips. “I don’t know.”

“Why are these people here?” Austin took another step.

Chase raised his gun a little higher. “I said stay where you are.”

Austin walked towards him. Chase pressed the trigger. Nothing happened.

“Safety’s on.” Austin yanked the gun from Chase, knocking him to the ground in the process. 

“The people. Why are they here?” Austin used the tip of the rifle to poke Chase in the chest.

“They’re here for…”

“Get it right this time Chase.”

“I don’t know. I don’t know.” Chase cried. “We were following orders. I was never told for who or why.”

“You’re lying.” Austin jumped on Chase and yanked him up by his shirt. “Where is my wife? Where is my son? God damn you!” He slammed Chase’s head into the concrete floor. “Where are they?” 

At this point Austin let go of reason, permitting rage to become his master. He pummeled Chase’s face over and over, turning the sniveler’s nose into a bloody mass of tissue and broken bones. Austin raised his arm over his head ready to smash his fist into Chase’s throat, when he felt cold steel clamp around his wrist preventing him from delivering the fatal blow.

Austin jerked his head to see who was holding him and there stood Eve, with her fingers wrapped around his wrist. Austin released Chase and Eve released him. She pointed to Chase and then back to herself.

“You want him?”

She nodded.

Austin spit on Chase and walked away. He didn’t look back when the man’s gargled screams filled the air. Soon there was silence. Silence everywhere. He blocked the human specimens from his mind and hurried outside, desperate for fresh air.

In a numbed state, Austin returned to the front of the first warehouse, where he slumped to the ground and buried his face in his hands. He didn’t contemplate the morality, or lack of, in what he’d done by turning Chase over to Eve. He didn’t think about his next move or course of action. The numbness was weaving its way through his mind and heart, choking out the light. He didn’t fight the darkness; rather he embraced it with a vengeance.

A loud rustling noise coming from above startled him from his lamentations. A squadron of Sundogs swooped in, landing thirty yards from him. Instinct took over, pushing out all feeling. Austin sat perfectly still watching the gargoyle like creatures mill about. The taser crossed his mind, but there was no point in fighting. The odds were too overwhelming. 

Austin began easing his way towards the corner of the building. If he could reach the corner he might stand a chance. Inch by inch he moved closer to safety, all the while his eyes were glued on the Sundogs. When he’d come within three feet of the edge a piercing screech shattered the air and he froze. From the corner of his eye he saw a Sundog charging towards him. Austin yanked the taser from his pocket, rolled on his back, aiming in the direction he thought the beast’s head might be.

“Asta!” A male voice shouted out from the jungle’s edge and the charging beast dropped to all fours, head bowed to the ground, whimpering.

From his place on the ground Austin saw the other Sundogs part down the middle allowing five men to pass through. The beasts bowed down to the men like they were kings or gods and certainly their masters. At this point, Austin surmised just about anything was possible and any explanation would have sufficed as plausible. The men approached where Austin lay still pointing the taser. The first man ordered the Sundog back with the others. It obeyed in an instant.

“The svan yodha will not cause you harm.” The first man informed Austin. His teeth were brilliant white and, to Austin’s utter amazement, he had fangs like a wolf or a vampire. Austin tried to recall if Eve had fangs, but he couldn’t remember ever seeing her open her mouth.

Looking up at them, Austin noticed their eyes were the same as Eve’s, no iris or pupil, just solid black. Their hair, black as ink, was worn close to the scalp. They wore black long sleeved shirts and black pants, which accentuated their pale skin and slender frames.

“Who are you?” Austin addressed the speaker, assuming him to be the leader.

The man’s lips curled up. “I am Arati. We are members of Agra’s saciva.” He waved his hand over the others. His fingers were long and graceful. “Of course who we are holds no meaning to you nor does it make a difference if you know.”

Austin lowered the taser and backed up into a sitting position. “Is this your home? Your planet?”

An expression of distaste clouded Arati’s face, disappearing as quick. “No, it is not ours. We are here temporarily.”

“Temporarily?”

“We will take you to see Agra. He can answer all of your questions.” Arati replied using a tone reserved for a child or dimwit.

“What about all those people inside these buildings?” Austin pointed to the warehouse not ready to leave just yet.

He tilted his head down at Austin, a look half in mimicry, half in disdain covered his face. “You should know the answer to that Captain Reynolds. It was your generals who made deals with our uttama yodha for the harvest of your people.”

Austin stood up, brushing dirt and grass from his clothes. He stopped, looked at Arati. “I don’t know about any deals. And how do you know my name?”

“We know everything about you from Eve.”

Eve, Austin repeated to himself and knew this was his Eve. The waif like girl who had been with him since he was nine years old was somehow part of this, part of these strange people.

“You know who she is, but you know nothing about her.” Arati put sound to Austin’s thoughts. “She is Agra’s daughter.”

If this statement about her lineage was supposed to clear up the feeling Austin had of swimming in a murky sea, it failed miserably. After a moment he asked, “Why me?” A question he’d often wanted an answer for and thought maybe now he could finally get one.

“Agra will explain.” Arati looked past Austin, his face turned less ominous, but never reached happy. “She joins us now.”

Eve exited the building, behind her she pulled a semi conscious Chase. She paused upon seeing Arati. Austin could not discern what her feelings might be, but he sensed she was not pleased to see the saciva.

“Who do you have?” Arati asked when Eve stopped in front of him, holding Chase like a rag doll.

She raised an eyebrow to his question and without a word walked on dragging Chase behind her.

Thinking nothing more could shock him, Austin watched in disbelief as upon raising her hand to the Sundogs, they rose and followed her into the jungle.

“Your comrades are waiting Captain Reynolds.” Arati announced.

“My comrades?”

“I will take you to them.” Arati turned on his heel and the others followed leaving Austin no choice, but to do the same.

40 THE FITTEST

Austin followed Arati and the others deep into the jungle. Where the overgrowth seemed to bend and part, opening up a path for the saciva, Austin had to continually dodge and duck to make his way through. They eventually came upon a temple sitting high in the tree tops. It was a setting out of a fairy tale, but Austin suspected, as he stared at the unending steps ascending into the mist, there would be no happy ever after ending.

Two prodigious Sundogs sat guarding the steps leading up to the temple. Arati spoke a short command and the beasts lay down at his feet, leaving Austin to marvel at their dominance over a creature that could rip them in half without effort. Clever to maintain control over that which is superior in strength, he pondered. It only occurred to him later that maybe the Sundogs weren’t the fittest of the species on the planet.

About half way up, the ascent became grueling and Austin’s muscles cried out for mercy. Vices be damned, he cursed silently, and pushed on using pride to propel his weary body upward. At the top the saciva waited on him, their blank expressions giving away nothing of the contempt they felt. Austin didn’t need to be clairvoyant to know how they viewed him. Their disdain, pure and intense, clung to him like an oily residue.

Arati grasped Austin’s arm when he stumbled on the last step. The sensation of his touch was numbing cold, yet energizing, and all at once Austin’s aches vanished. A surge of adrenaline rushed through his veins, making him feel drunk, and then subsided to where he was himself again owning all of his senses. He shook Arati’s hand from his arm and stood tall. Being the weakest species on the planet was unsettling enough in itself, being pitied as if they considered him feeble was unacceptable.

The temple was a magnificent organization of stone and glass, dominated by sharp angled pillars of grand proportion extending infinitely upwards. Austin couldn’t help admiring the structure. The architecture was superlative and the architect, most likely obscene and demented. The further in they traveled, the thicker the presence of the wicked and corrupt swirled about.

The saciva appeared to glide across the stone floor, while Austin’s footsteps echoed loudly in the halls. They proceeded into the depths of the temple, into the depths of hell, led by Satan’s disciples. Images of devils and demons danced in front of and alongside Austin. Invisible fingers caressed his face. Faceless voices whispered in his ear.

With considerable effort Austin ignored the temple’s supernatural talons and focused on the saciva. Like Eve, he knew they weren’t alive in the same sense as a human, they weren’t living beings, yet they were dying. Austin could sense their desperation, could smell death upon them.

Yes they were superior in intelligence and strength, but they were dying all the same. They were dying and he was somehow vital to their survival. Their need for him was the reason he lived today. Whatever happened now, it was far beyond his control and, if he was honest with himself, this had been so ever since Eve had entwined herself into his life. Her being there at that moment in his life was not by coincidence.

The journey into the bowels of the temple came to an abrupt end when they stopped at a solid stone wall that seemed to indicate they could go no further. Arati laid his hands on the center of the wall, spoke words Austin could not understand, and the wall slid sideways. The four saciva traveling with Arati proceeded through the opening. Arati waved Austin through, following behind him. The stone door slid closed, making Austin feel as if he’d just been locked in a tomb.

The foreboding Austin felt grew increasingly stronger as he followed Arati down yet another corridor that was more narrow and dim than the last. This one did not come to a dead end, but rather opened up into a circular chamber. Several stone benches were positioned around the outer edge. On the opposite side from where they stood sat a massive stone altar. Sitting at the center of the altar was a man, and to his right was Eve. Austin presumed the man to be Agra.

At the center of the room, a smaller circle within the circle sank about a foot into the floor. As Austin approached the center his legs went weak and the color drained from his face. Lying naked face down on the floor, shackled wrists and ankles, were Luke and Zack. Austin moved to go to his friends, but Arati’s cold fingers stopped him.

Arati inclined his head towards the altar. “If you would please, Agra awaits.”

I don’t give a damn, Austin wanted to say, but let Arati push him along thru the circle only feet from Luke and Zack. Red welts made it obvious they’d been tortured in some fashion, maybe with a whip. A split second of gratitude for leaving Edward behind entered Austin’s mind.

Agra stood as Arati approached with Austin. With the exception of being taller than the others, Agra had all the same physical characteristics. He wore black and on his right middle finger was a silver ring with a brilliant yellow gem stone. He appeared from around the altar to stand in front of Austin, moving through the air unseen or perhaps faster than Austin’s eyes could process.

“What do you want from us?” Austin demanded.

Agra backhanded Austin, hitting him without seeming to raise his arm. “Consider that your only warning.”

Picking himself up, Austin glared at Agra, unafraid, but holding his tongue. He brushed off where he stood, not returning to stand in front of Agra. Knowing this was not wise, he did it anyway. If he was going to die, he was going to die with dignity not like a mongrel.

Be wary your thoughts,
she whispered inside his head. He glanced up at Eve, but she sat statuesque head down.

“Eve has told me everything about you Captain Austin Reynolds.” Agra spoke; his voice was everywhere, out in the air and inside Austin’s head.

Austin remained silent. This man, or being, was no different than the many warlords and deviants of society Austin had crossed paths with during his life. Somehow intelligence did not breed out violence. Somehow the instinct to survive trumped all arguments for a peaceful existence amongst competing species. And good never prevailed over the wicked.