The Mamluks (The Mamluks Saga: Episode 1)
Read The Mamluks (The Mamluks Saga: Episode 1) Online
Authors: Edward Lake
The Mamluks
A Novel by Edward
Lake
Copyright © 2013 by Edward
Lake
All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be
reproduced or transmitted in any form without prior written permission of the
publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are
used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Table of Contents
Part
One – The Arrival
Chapter 1
I was flipping through our DVD collection, trying to find
something that looked interesting. My girlfriend Emily was sitting on the sofa
behind me, eating some popcorn. As I carefully checked each cover before going
to the next, I heard her
huff
in aggravation.
“Just pick one already.”
I chuckled. “Hey, be patient. I’m trying to find one that
we’ll both like. Because if I don’t, you’ll start whining halfway through it.”
It had been a while since we watched a movie together. For
us, living in LA
usually
meant going out every weekend. It was nice to
share a quiet evening at home for once.
Finally, I saw a movie I liked and pulled it out. “This
looks good.” I turned it around to read the back. It was an older movie from
the eighties—or maybe the nineties. I remembered picking it up at the Amoeba
music store on Sunset Boulevard.
“Let me see.”
I flipped it around and held it out so Emily could see the
cover.
She flashed a playful smile and rolled her eyes. “OK,
whatever.”
You’re such a brat. But I still love you.
I opened
the case and put the movie in my PlayStation 3, then went to the sofa and
cuddled with Emily. She grabbed the bowl of popcorn off the coffee table and
tucked it between us. I picked up the PlayStation 3 controller and pressed
play.
Oddly, as I got comfortable, I heard a horrifying scream
from outside. “Did you hear that?” I turned my head and stared at the window.
“No. What was it?”
I blinked and listened carefully. “Sounded like someone
screaming.”
Emily laughed. “Babe, we live in Hollywood. Remember?”
I smiled and looked back at the TV. But as the previews
played, another scream echoed from outside. And this one was much louder than
the first. I took an anxious glance at the window.
There is something going
on out there.
I tried to get up and check it out, but Emily pulled me back.
“Andrew, leave it.”
I exhaled softly and looked back at the television. Emily
rubbed my arm, trying to calm me. The movie began, and within the first few minutes,
we were yawning. It had been a long day for both of us—and a long week.
Emily released a gentle sigh and rested her head on my
shoulder. “I don’t think we’re going to make it.”
“That’s OK. Let’s just fall asleep right here.”
She put the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. Then she
reached over my chest, grabbed the PlayStation 3 controller and turned the
system off. She set it down on the table and leaned into me, closing her eyes.
I kissed her forehead and wrapped my arms around her.
Finally, it was quiet outside. I closed my eyes and enjoyed
the peaceful silence. But within seconds, I heard more screams.
“Keep going! Don’t look back!”
A thunderous
boom
followed that shook the building.
I opened my eyes and jumped to my feet, pulling Emily up
with me. “
Shit
—I think it was an earthquake.”
Out of nowhere, a loud buzzing sound came over us, followed
by a bright light that zipped past our window, shattering the glass and
wrecking the wall. Emily screamed as we staggered backwards. I quickly shoved
her behind me and moved toward the front door, trembling.
More bright lights flashed outside, followed by more
thunderous explosions.
“Get down!” I shouted.
We quickly dropped to the floor. I jumped on top of Emily
and covered her head. She kept screaming, shaking in my arms.
Finally, everything stopped. Still, I waited a few seconds
before slowly lifting my head and checking the wall. There was a small fire on
the edge of the wreckage. My mind was racing, thinking of all the
possibilities. “What the hell was that?” I wobbled to my knees and crawled
toward the wreckage. “Stay here.”
Emily reached out to me, still shaking. “No, don’t go over
there. Let’s just leave.”
I ignored her and kept moving, hoping that whatever hit our
building was just some freak accident. But as I got closer, I could hear more
screams. The sounds were terrifying, like someone was being burned alive. When
I got to the wall, I leaned against the splintered opening and peeked over the
small fire.
“What is it? What can you see?” Emily begged.
I was speechless at first—probably because I couldn’t
believe what I was seeing. “They’re all dead.” I shuddered as I looked on.
“There’s a bunch of dead people in the street.”
Emily got to her feet and ran to me. “Come on; let’s go. We
have to get out of here.”
I couldn’t look away, still trying to comprehend what my
eyes were seeing. At that moment, worrying about myself, or Emily, seemed
impossible. I wanted to help those people, if I could. Because we were OK, and
one of them might still be alive. But not for long if we did nothing but run to
save ourselves.
Chapter 2
The only thing on my mind was getting as far away from the
area as fast as we could. I loved Andrew with all my heart—but this was a life
or death situation. We didn’t know what was out there—and helping those people
seemed foolish.
I desperately tried to go the other way. “Please, listen to
me. This is no time to be a hero.”
Andrew huffed as he pulled me along. “What if it was you,
huh
?
What if you were out there, dying on the street, crying for help? How would you
feel if no one came?”
I wanted to break free and run—regardless of everything—even
our love.
When we got to the exit, Andrew pushed me against the wall.
“Wait here. If I’m not back in two minutes, go to the car.” He shoved the keys
in my hand and kissed me hard.
Andrew pulled away and looked into my eyes. “I love you.”
Then he dashed outside.
I stood there, sweating like crazy, thinking about running
to the car. Waiting for him was making my whole body sting, like a painful itch
that I could feel all over. Still, despite my overwhelming fear, I stayed.
Down the hall, I saw a man and two little girls sprinting
toward the parking lot. The man caught me standing by the wall and
paused—probably wondering why I wasn’t running out the door.
“I just looked out my window. They’re coming back!
They’re
coming back!”
He quickly lifted the two little girls into his arms and ran
into the parking lot.
“Wait! Tell me what’s out there!”
Seconds later, Andrew burst through the door, carrying a woman.
She was bleeding from the top of her head. I hurried to the floor and held her
up as he set her down.
“We’ve got to get her to a hospital.”
Then, shockingly, Andrew turned to go back outside.
“Wait! I think we’re being attacked.”
He spun around with a frustrated glare in his eyes.
I ignored the troubling look and tried my best to reason
with him. “Andrew, please. We need to leave now.”
“There are two more out there that are still alive. We’re
taking them, too.”
I covered my forehead and cried out in agony, gradually
shaking my head.
“
Emily
! There is no time to waste. Just take her to
the car.”
But before Andrew could leave again, a deafening horn
sounded that shook the building, knocking him to the floor. Moments later, I
heard footsteps approaching. Andrew staggered to his feet. The horn stopped,
but the footsteps continued.
Watchfully, Andrew leaned his head outside and looked up at
something. “Oh my God.” Trembling, he spun around and quickly helped me and the
injured lady to our feet. “Run!”
After that, the bright light appeared again, zipping right
over our heads, ripping through the building. Blocks of concrete fell on top of
us like an avalanche. Andrew tried to pull us back, but it was too late.
Chapter 3
My body was aching, and I was littered with cuts and
bruises. I pulled myself out of the rubble and rolled over onto my back. I
could only see out of my left eye. My right eye was covered in blood, seeping
from the gash on my head. I wiped the blood away and looked around. Emily was a
few feet away, covered in concrete blocks and broken beams. Her face was
blanketed with dust and tiny rocks—and she looked lifeless.
Thereafter, a powerful
whoosh
came over us, taking
some of the debris off. I looked up and saw the same creature from before. It
was clearly a male of its kind, resembling a human. He was about ten feet tall,
bare-chested, wearing black pants that looked like cargo pants, and black
boots. He had a bald head with no hair on his face, was ripped like a
bodybuilder, and had a device on his arm that looked like some kind of weapon,
covering the area from his wrist to his elbow.
The creature aimed at me with the same device, confirming
what I was thinking. He held his arm out for a second, and a bright light
flashed. The flashing light looked like a laser, and he was about to blast me
with it.
As I looked on, another one came out of the shadows—then
more and more came forward. All males, dressed like the first one: shaved
heads, no facial hair. Finally, it hit me. They were aliens, and we were in the
middle of an invasion. At first, the thought seemed silly. But I knew I wasn’t
dreaming.
Even though I wished I was.
One of the others came close and talked to the one that was
aiming at me. His voice was incredibly deep. I tried to make out what they were
saying, but my ears were buzzing. However, the blurry words sounded a little
familiar, like they were speaking our language. They went on for a moment,
going back and forth while the first one I saw continued to aim at me. I kept
looking back at his comrade, hoping he would stop him. Then my hearing slowly
came back.
And finally, the one aiming at me lowered his arm. “Call a
ship.”
My eyes got wide, realizing I was right. Right away, the
other one lifted his arm and held it by his mouth. He had a laser device, too.
I took a quick look at the rest of them and realized they each had one of those
gadgets.
The creature radioed to someone, telling them to bring a
ship.
I could hear the other devices buzzing with the same message. At last, the
group marched along, obviously soldiers of some kind. I looked back to Emily,
thinking they were going to spare us.
Out of nowhere, a spaceship swooped down over our heads.
Seconds later, another glided in and stopped over us. They were massive ships,
about the size of houses. They landed, and ramps popped out. Two more aliens
came marching down the ramps and walked onto the rubble. Surprisingly, they
were females—but dressed just like the males from earlier. Their chests were
bare, too—which was a sight to see. And they had laser devices on their arms.
They got close, giving me a better look at them. They had
strong facial features, and their bodies were incredibly muscular like the
males. They were also just as tall. It was so unreal, looking up at these
remarkable, yet frightening creatures.
The one on my right had long, platinum blond hair that was
neatly kept. And the one on my left had short brown hair, dipping evenly over
her ears.
“These two are still alive,” the one with the platinum blond
hair said. She checked us for a second and pointed at Emily. “Take that one.”
The brown haired soldier reached down and scooped Emily out
of the wreckage. She went into her ship and the ramp closed up. The other one
picked me up and headed to her ship.
No! Emily!
She carried me like a bag of laundry as she walked up the
ramp. I looked around and studied all the gears. It was right out of a space
movie. Flashing lights, buttons all over the place, weird looking controls. She
pressed a button on her arm gadget that opened a circular door on the floor.
She tossed me inside, and I landed on someone.
“Get off me! Get off!”
“I’m sorry. Are you all right?” I said as I rolled off.
It was pitch black. The person I landed on pulled out their
cell phone and used it as a flashlight. I could see their face, barely, and
realized it was a woman. “They got you too,
huh
?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, at least I have some company now. My name’s Madison.”
“Nice to meet you, Madison. I’m Andrew. Sorry for falling on
you.”
She laughed tensely. “It’s OK.”
“How long have you been in here?”
“About an hour.”
There was a brief, unnerving silence.
“I always knew we weren’t the only ones in the universe. But
never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined this,” I said.
“How do you know they’re aliens? What if they’re robots that
the government’s been hiding for years? And now they’re releasing them on us to
begin some kind of new world takeover.”
I laughed. “That would be more reassuring, I guess.”
Madison let out a depressing sigh. “I was joking.”
“I figured as much.” I crawled through the dark until I
found the wall. “I wonder what the military’s doing.”
“I don’t think they’ll be able to stop them. I was on the
freeway when I first saw the spaceships. They came out of the sky and blasted
us with lasers. I tried to drive away, but cars were crashing left and right.
So I got out and ran. But I didn’t get far. The lasers were going by like
bullets, crisscrossing from all angles. I desperately dropped down and hid
behind a wrecked car. I stayed there and watched for a while. And moments
later, a fighter jet flew in. But by then, the spaceships were covered with
bright force fields. The fighter jet fired a missile, but it bounced right off
the force field and exploded.”
Hearing her story made me shiver a bit. “How did you end up
in here?”
“One of the ships landed nearby and an alien came out. She
checked the area and found me. I froze and put my hands up. Then she grabbed me
and took me into the ship.”
I exhaled and shook my head. “I don’t understand. Why would
they keep us alive?”
“I know,
right
? Makes me think they’ve got something
horrible planned.”