Grant braced himself as his ejector seat landed roughly against the hard ground. His teeth clenched, his knuckles white from gripping the arms of the chair, he tried to absorb the impact. The small jets beneath the seat had softened the landing considerable, but Grant's body was still jarred when it hit. Less than three kilometers away, he could see the explosions from his crashed fighter. The sounds of the explosions were lost among the explosions occurring in the nearby base and colony and across the ravaged countryside. Overhead, other fighters tore by, their engines screaming, as they unleashed another torrent of missiles toward the invading Mantis forces. The alien's answered with a volley of weapons, fired from their shelters. Much farther overhead, the Battleship that had brought Grant and the reinforcements for the embattled colony was in a heated battle against the Mantis' own battleships. Grant could see flashes of light as the vessels' cannons fired back and forth at each other.
Grant quickly unlatched the straps that had held him to the seat, and pushed himself up. After a couple of unsteady steps, he collapsed to his knees and remained there for several seconds, allowing his body to become accustomed to the planet's gravity. As he was catching his breath, his hand dragged the pistol from his belt. After a few minutes, he climbed back to his feet and turned toward the ejector seat. Grabbing the emergency pack, he slung it across his back. He checked to make sure he had everything, then pressed the button underneath the left arm of the seat. He swiftly jogged toward a burnt building with a collapsed roof, as the timer began counting down the self destruct sequence. Once he was safely inside, he crouched behind the stone wall. Seconds later, the seat exploded. He wasn't sure if the Mantises knew where he was, but it was common procedure not to allow the aliens a chance to recover anything they might be able to use.
Grant took a quick inventory of his supplies. He had a week's supply of rations and water tablets. The pack also included a homing beacon. There was a first aid kit, a lighter, and other basic necessities. In his utility belt, he had three clips with 21 rounds each for the pistol, as well as a loaded clip already in the gun. 84 armor piercing, titanium tipped rounds. He also had a nine-inch long, double bladed hunting knife, a smaller folding knife, and three impact grenades. He hoped it would be enough.
Glancing overhead, he could barely see the Battle cruiser still in combat against the two, much smaller, alien vessels that had brought the invaders. The cruiser had been summoned to assist the Earth-Alliance base, which had come under attack by the Mantises. The two forces had been fighting for this sector of space for nearly ten Earth years, with neither side gaining a strong hold. The Earth-Alliance had a base on this small mineral-rich planet, to protect the miners pulling the precious ores out the ground. The Battle cruiser arrived, and immediately leant air support for the depleted ground forces of the base. There were two other Battle cruisers on the way, and if the E-A forces could hold out, reinforcements would be here within a couple of days. Grant was among the first squad that had launched an attack on the Mantises that were laying siege to the base. His fighter had been hit by a round launched from a Mantis surface-to-air cannon. He had ejected as his damaged craft was plunging toward the ground.
Grant took a minute to assess his situation. He could hold up where he was, or someplace else nearby, and hope to get rescued by an E-A squad, or the human colonists. If he did that, he was taking a chance of being picked up by a rogue Mantis squad. He could try and make it to the base, and inside, without being caught. The colonists there could probably use his help. He glanced up at the Battle cruiser, which was pulling back from the assault from the Mantis' vessels. If the cruiser retreated, it might be a while before help was on the way. He thought about his week's supply of rations and decided on trying to make it to the base. There would be plenty of food at the base.
Slinging his pack over his shoulder, with pistol in hand, he started out through the ravaged village.
* * *
Grant picked his way across the ravaged landscape. Overhead, the Battle cruiser had retreated, drawing the two Mantis' ships with it. The fighter crafts had disappeared, returning to the Battle cruiser before it had fled. In the distance, he could still hear explosions, as the Mantis forces and the colonists continued to shell each other from their strongholds, though there was more time between each explosion now. The smoke from the ruined buildings stung his nostrils, as he made his way through one abandoned and devastated village after another. The colonists had several villages scattered about, separated by what they happened to be mining in that particular area. Several of the buildings had collapsed, or partially fallen, while others remained upright, their insides burned out. Grant moved cautiously, watching for stray Mantis that could be combing the ruins for survivors.
The aliens were called Mantises due to their appearance. They were tall and thin, with long spidery arms that ended in insect-like claws. Their heads were long, and thrust out in front of their bodies. They had mandibles instead of mouths, and large, black eyes. A greenish color, they greatly resembled the insects called praying mantises that lived back on Earth, only much larger, and much deadlier. Their technology was at least as good as the Earth-Alliance forces, if not more so. They were intelligent, and vicious, believing themselves to be the supreme race, destined to be superior throughout the universe. Grant had seen videos of races the Mantises had conquered, and enslaved. They slaughtered children and women, treating combat and civilian personnel equally. He had heard reports of them doing unspeakable tests on their captives, as they studied other races the way children back on Earth studied insects, which the Mantises resembled. All attempts at treaties had failed miserably, as the aliens refused to accept another races point of view.
As Grant passed the smoking ruins of a collapsed building, a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Stopping in his tracks, he turned and saw figures moving on the other side of the building. Grant swiftly ducked behind the fallen wall he was standing near. Gripping his weapon tightly, he peeked out from over the top of the wall.
Two Mantises were walking slowly through the ruins. They walked slowly, but without hesitation, making Grant believe they hadn't seen him. Thought he had seen videos, these were the first aliens Grant had seen in person. They were tall and thin, and walked stiffly. They carried long, thin weapons, long rods with a large, oval-shaped attachment on the end, making the weapons resemble spears. They wore dark, shiny clothing, appearing to be made out of plastic. Considering his alternatives, Grant realized that if they continued on their route, they would pass him in a few minutes. He could wait for them to walk out in the open, and ambush them from where he hid. The pilot switched the safety off his pistol.
A sudden noise caught his attention, as a few pebbles rolled across the ground behind him. Grant turned and saw another Mantis on top of a pile of rubble. The alien had circled around, and was sneaking up behind him, to attack him while he watched the others. Grant realized instantly that they had seen him before he had spotted them, and they had set up their own ambush. The alien had slipped on the loose rubble, and accidentally alerted Grant. Without hesitation, Grant turned and fired on the alien behind him, before the creature could bring his own weapon up. The armor piercing rounds from the pistol tore through the Mantis' body armor. The alien jerked sporadically, then dropped it's weapon and fell backwards. Grant spun back around, as the others rushed forward to assist their comrade. Grant opened fire on them, even before he had them in his sights. The first Mantis fell as the rounds ripped into it's body. The other Mantis managed to get off one shot from it's strange, spear-like weapon, before Grant brought that alien down as well. The shot, which appeared to be a bolt of light that sounded like a high pitched burp, went wild, putting a hole through a concrete wall.
As the aliens collapsed, Grant quit firing and glanced around, looking for any others. Not seeing or hearing anything, he picked up his pack, and began to move swiftly in the direction of the colony.
* * *
Nearly an hour later, Grant heard a noise that brought him to a stop. He stopped, and listened, as the noise reached his ears again.
It sounded like a child, crying. The sound was faint, nearly inaudible, but Grant heard it. Tightening the grip on his pistol, he glanced around, making sure there were no more Mantises within sight. There was no sign of anything moving. Grant listened more carefully, trying to determine where the sound was coming from. The soft breeze distorted the crying, making it impossible for him to determine where the faint crying originated.
Tensing, the pilot stepped behind a wall he could use for cover, then took a deep breath. "Hello!" he shouted. "Where are you?"
The crying instantly stopped. After several seconds, a child's voice shouted back. "Help! Help me!"
"Where are you?" Grant repeated his question.
"Help me!" the shouting continued.
"Keep yelling!" Grant shouted back. "I'll try to find you!" He stepped cautiously in the direction he guessed the cry for help to be coming from, his pistol in his grip. As he picked his way through the ruins, the voice became louder, indicating he was moving in the right direction. After several minutes of slowly picking his way over the rubble of the collapsed buildings, the voice became clearer.
"Where are you?" he yelled again.
"Here! Help me!" the muffled voice called back. "In my house! It fell when the explosions started. I'm trapped beneath the house!"
Grant swore under his breath. The voice was coming from directly beneath the rubble he was standing on. He had been afraid it was something like that.
"Help me!" the voice continued to cry. "It's dark in here!"
"Hush, now," Grant said. He glanced around, looking for any Mantises. He was surprised the child's crying hadn't attracted any of the aliens' attention earlier. "Everything will be all right," he continued. "I'll get you out of there as soon as I can."
He carefully stepped off the debris, trying not to cause the wreckage to shift. A few small pebble sized pieces of the building rolled away, as he stepped off, and Grant became still. "Are you all right?" he called out after a moment.
"Yes," the child's voice answered. Grant couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl, only that it was a young child.
"It's dark and dirty in here. It's hard to breathe."
"Just hang in there," Grant said, looking around for anything he could use a digging tool. He glanced toward the colony, still half a days' walk away. If he tried to go for help at the colony, it would be a day before he could bring anyone back, and that is if he could get through the battle lines to get to the colony, and then again bringing help back. He didn't know if the colonists would risk sending a party back for the boy, or even if they would be able to. And if he didn't make it back to the colony, the child would either die of suffocation or dehydration or eventually attract the Mantises. If the aliens found the youth, they might kill him swiftly, or they might dig the child out, to conduct their experiments on. Grant decided he couldn't leave the child; he either had to rescue the youth, or remain here until the child died.
"What's your name?" Grant called out.
"Kevin," the child replied. "I don't know where my Mom and Dad are. Dad was at the mines when the Mantises came. Mom was in the house. We were getting ready to go to the shelters at the base. The neighbors had left already, but Mom wanted to wait for Dad. Then the explosions began. I remember a loud noise. When I woke up, I was trapped here. I can't move, my legs are stuck under part of the house. Do you know where my Mom and Dad are?"
"Ok, Kevin," Grant replied. "My name is Grant. I don't know where your folks are. Your Dad is probably at the base. I'm going to try to get you out, then we'll go find him."
"Where's my Mom?" Kevin shrieked, and began to cry. "I want my Mommy!"
"Kevin, Kevin," Grant called back, finally getting the boy's attention. "I don't know where your Mom is. Maybe she's at the base, too. You have to try and be quieter, so the aliens don't hear you."
The boy started to sob softly, as Grant looked around for something he could use to dig him out. He spotted a piece of a pipe, about two meters long. He picked the pipe up, and found that though it was heavy, he should be able to use it to try and pry some of the rubble. He carried the pipe over to where Kevin was buried, and forced it into the rubble. Bracing the pipe over a part of the fallen, Grant got on the end, and pushed down, using the pipe as a lever. The rubble shifted slightly.
Suddenly, Kevin began to scream. Grant immediately stopped. "What's the matter?" he asked. "What's going on?"
"It hurt for a minute," Kevin said, his muffled voice sad with tears. "It felt like it was crushing me, worse than before."
Grant swore and tossed the pipe aside. He'd have to dig the boy out a little at a time. If he tried to pry the rubble off, he'd crush the youth. After taking a slow look around, to make sure he wasn't being watched, or that there were no Mantises moving in the nearby area, Grant bent down and picked up the first piece of rubble.
* * *
As the sun over the unnamed mining planet started to set, Grant stopped for a minute to catch his breath. He had dug several feet into the rubble. He removed the larger pieces of stone that were too heavy for him to lift by rolling them slowly away, being careful not to cause the rest of the rubble to shift and crush Kevin. His shirt was drenched with sweat. The dust of the rubble clung filthily to him.
"How are you holding up, Kevin?" Grant asked after a minute. Kevin didn't answer. Fear suddenly gripped Grant, as he realized it had been some time since he had heard Kevin make a noise.
"Kevin!" Grant shouted, leaning over toward the remains of the destroyed house. "Kevin! Kevin!"
A soft moan reached him, then the child's voice. "What is it?" the voice replied sleepily. "What's going on?"
Grant smiled to himself. "Nothing, Kevin," he replied. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, I had fallen asleep," Kevin explained. "Is it night, it seems darker than before."
"Yes, Kevin," Grant said. "The sun is setting. It's night now." He reached down for another stone, when suddenly the night was erupted with several flashes of bright light. High-pitched burping sounds coughed in the darkness, all about him.
Grant dropped the stone, and yanked the gun from his holster, scrambling toward his pack. Firing into the dark, the barking of Grant's pistol and the burping of the unseen Mantises weapons drowned out Kevin's screaming. The pilot nearly reached his pack, when one of the streaks of light struck his shoulder, knocking him off his feet. Climbing swiftly back to his feet, he grabbed his pack and fled into the darkness, away from where he suspected the aliens were. He held his pistol and pack in the same hand, his other arm numb from the shot it took.
Grant ran some distance into the dark, dodging around fallen buildings and abandoned ruins. After nearly fifteen minutes, the sounds of his pursuers were left behind. He dropped behind the wall of a collapsed house, and squatted down, looking for any sign of pursuit. He gasped, trying to catch his breath as he surveyed the darkness, seeing nothing moving, hearing nothing coming for him. Confident that the Mantises weren't closing in on him, he turned his attention to his injury.
The arm leading to his wounded shoulder tingled. He flexed his fingers, making sure he could control the arm's movement. Setting the pistol down, he touched his shoulder. The torn uniform was wet and sticky from the bleeding wound. Tearing the material away, he examined the gash more closely. The flesh was torn and frayed where he had been hit. It wasn't bleeding as bad as he would have expected, the skin being burned by the blast. Grant considered himself lucky it had only been hit with a glancing shot. If it had struck head on, it could have taken his arm off. The shock and burn to the wound helped with the pain, the shoulder felt numb to the touch. The pilot took the first aid kit from his pack, and quickly, working as quiet as he could, cleaned and dressed the wound.
Afterwards, he leaned against the wall, considering his options. He could try and sneak away, continue on to the colony. After a moment's consideration, he knew he couldn't do that. He knew why the Mantises had followed him yet. They would be trying to free Kevin for their own purposes.
Grant knew he had to go back.
* * *
Grant backtracked as best as he could in the darkness, trying to move silently. His pistol was held out in front if him. A fresh clip was in the gun. The remaining spare clip and the grenades were attached to his belt, along with the knife. He had left his rations, and other supplies in the pack, hidden behind a collapsed wall. He slowed as he heard sounds before him, telling him he was getting close. He crept forward, trying to get close enough to determine how many Mantises there were, before he decided on his next move. Crawling to a fallen wall, Grant peeked around. The dim light from the planet's small moon provided the only illumination.
A round glowing orb sat near the pile of wreckage, illuminating the fallen building and those working to free the boy. Three of the tall, spindly creatures picked at the pile of rubble, while two more stood guard. The guards paced back and forth, their tube-like weapons in the arms. The weapons of the other three leaned against a stone, nearby. Grant ducked back behind the wall, and started thinking. He had two full clips for his pistol, as well as the grenades. If he could kill the two guards, he could probably get the three working before they could reach their weapons. He wondered if there were others lurking about, either searching for him or waiting for him to return. Silently, he watched the three Mantises moving the heavy stones. He could hear Kevin crying and trying to talk to the aliens between his tears. The Mantises ignored him, as the continued on with their tasks.
Grant decided to wait until they had freed the boy before he made a move.
* * *
As the Mantises lifted a heavy stone Kevin thrust his arm through the opening, reaching for freedom from the wreckage. While two of the Mantises moved the last of the stones, the remaining worker grabbed the boy's arm, and started to pull him out. Kevin started to struggle in the creature's grip, but was unable to break free. Suddenly, shots erupted from the darkness. The two Mantises that were standing guard fired their weapons a couple of times into the dark, sending blasts of bright light randomly into the night. Before they could find their attacker, they both fell from their wounds. The two holding the stones dropped them, and dashed for their weapons. They jerked in pain, as the barrage of bullets found them before they reached their waiting firearms.
The remaining alien pulled Kevin tight to it's chest, using the boy as a shield. It slowly began to inch toward the waiting weapons, it's eyes scouring the darkness for the attacker.
Grant stepped forward, into the light of the glowing orb. He held his weapon in front of him as he came forward. He could see the fear in Kevin's eyes, as his dirty face contorted in pain, while he tried to twist free. The Mantis held him in a vise-like grip. Grant walked toward the creature, stopping within a few feet of it.
"Hold still, Kevin," he said quietly, and pulled the trigger.
The bullet struck the creature between it's eyes, causing it to flinch and release the boy. As Kevin fell to the ground Grant emptied the clip into the falling alien. As soon as he heard the click of the empty chamber, he yanked the clip from the pistol, and slammed the remaining full one home.
Kevin scrambled to his feet, and still sobbing, rushed Grant, throwing his arms around the man's legs.
"You came back, you came back," the boy sobbed. "I was so scared you were gone, like my Mom and Dad, but you came back."
"Come on, Kid," Grant said. "Let's get out of here, before anymore of them..."
A burp and a bolt of light erupted from the darkness, and struck Grant square in the chest. The pilot fell onto his back, struggling for breath. As he struggled to regain his feet, he glanced about for his pistol. His weapon had flown from his hand when he had been knocked down. He could feel hands on his back, trying to help him up.
"Run, Kevin," he gasped between breaths. "Run for the base. I'll be right behind you."
Tears streamed down the boy's face, leaving wet trails in the dirt caked cheeks. "No, Grant," the boy sobbed. "You came back for me, I'm not going to leave you."
Grant glanced about, and saw dozens of tall, shadowy figures closing in on all sides. He knew Kevin would never make it back to the base on his own. He remembered the videos he saw of the prisoners the Mantises had taken, the experiments they had done to them.
Grant pulled two of the grenades from his belt and held one in each hand. Using the fingers from the opposite hand, he pulled the pins on each grenade. Next to him, still clinging to him, Kevin sobbed as the creatures drew closer.
"Don't let them take me, Grant," the boy sobbed.
"Don't worry," Grant hissed through clenched teeth. His shirt was soaked with blood from the wound in his chest. "I won't let them take you."
He dropped the grenades and wrapped his arms around the boy next to him.
Bio:"I have been reading Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy since grade school. My hobbies are hunting, fishing, golfing, writing, reading, and arguing with my teenage daughters. I have had short stories published in Aphelion Science Fiction, in Planet Magazine, Writer's Hood, and Dark Moon Rising. I currently have a book available through Booklocker.com or your local bookstore, a horror novel called THE UNLEASHED. I live with my wife and three teenage daughters in the Northwoods of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, where the four seasons are early-winter, mid-winter, late winter, and July."
E-mail: plbrgmn@newnorth.net
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