Darkest Days Read online

  He wasn’t overly surprised to learn the rebels had been behind the human resistance all along. However, what were the chances that his father was with them? And if that wasn’t enough, it couldn’t be a random accident he was the only one in the transport to survive the blast by the primitive Earth cannon. This had to be the gods playing with him. He imagined them laughing themselves out of their thrones at the predicament they’d landed him in.

  “I never thought I’d have the chance to see you again,” his father hesitantly said.

  “I don’t even know your name,” Pelros blurted, forgetting he’d intended to keep silent. “It was stricken from the records by my uncle.”

  “Here, I am known as Jones.” His voice sounded unnervingly like General Athos’. “How is my brother?”

  “I’ll answer none of your questions.” Pelros fixed his eyes on the forest adjacent to the road. “You are the enemy. Do not assume your contribution of genetic material toward my creation will be of any benefit in your interrogation of me.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Jones’ brow furrow with sadness, but he didn’t flinch. This was not his father. His uncle was as close to a father as Pelros had ever known. If he had the chance, it was his sworn duty to kill this man and any other rebels he encountered.

  “You must see that everything has changed,” Jones said. “The Anunnaki have been rendered powerless and weak. This new enemy has said that all Anunnaki must die. We don’t even know where to begin to resist this thing.”

  Pelros didn’t answer, trying to act as if he didn’t hear a word Jones said. The rebel shook his head in disappointment.

  “You’re stuck with me for the brief time we have left,” Jones said in a quieter voice. “I don’t expect you to call me Father or anything, but can we not be civil?”

  Pelros remained stone silent.

  “Have it your way,” Jones said quietly, shifting his attention to the forest.

  Pelros tried to relax, to settle into his new role as a prisoner. He had to resist and tell this man nothing. It was his duty to escape. These were the standing orders for any soldier in captivity. He braced himself for rougher interrogation. He’d be tortured. Jones would continue his soft approach, his frustration increasing. When he decided Pelros would remain steadfast, he’d have to try other measures. In the absence of information-extracting technology, the only resort left would be pain. It was what he’d do in Jones’ place. Pelros would remain strong—he’d do his part to maintain the legendary demeanor of the Shock Troop soldier. He’d die before he divulged anything to these criminals.

  One of Jones’ illegal clones offered Pelros a sandwich and a bottle of water. He had none of the phenotype modification utilized for all new people born on Anu. Jones’ clones looked just like their creator, minus the scar. He could see a lot of himself in their features and a bit of his uncle. There were also a few female clones standing guard. He guessed they must’ve been created from another rebel who had escaped the war with Jones.

  Without acknowledging the clone, Pelros accepted the offering. His stomach growled as he tore open the bag, but he took his time eating the sandwich. He couldn’t appear weak or too grateful. Acting as if he suspected the sandwich might be poisoned, he carefully chewed each bite, taking this time to study the enemy.

  Jones and his people seemed accustomed to the planet’s gravity. They might have the edge in hand-to-hand combat. Pelros would have to rely on his training if he were to beat them. Jones was the only rebel here who’d attended the academy, and he’d be the hardest one to take down.

  A bigger problem was the humans. He glanced over and saw the one called Jules staring at him. Of all the slaves harvested, she was one of the deadliest. Second maybe to the girl called Kelly who sat nearby. They’d been the two slaves tested in the arena. They’d defeated the massive Stilapian wolves, and he doubted he’d survive for more than a minute fighting either one of them. He found minuscule peace noting Kelly appeared disinterested in him, talking to the boy who seemed to be in charge.

  Several of the kids who were giving the orders appeared to know Kelly and Jules. He could only assume that these two girls, and probably the five others with tactical screening scores that were off the charts, were sent by the rebels to infiltrate the Pegasus. They’d tried to destroy the ship like the others, but something went wrong.

  Together, these rebels and humans had done the impossible. They’d eliminated an entire fleet. Was it possible the green entity that disabled his transport and the Pegasus was another secret weapon being used by the rebels?

  It didn’t seem unlikely. They were well equipped with weapons that didn’t require electricity to function, like maybe they’d planned it. Plasma rifles weren’t that hard to build, so why else would Jones have a stockpile of primitive weapons?

  He decided he needed to learn more before he escaped. If he could figure out how they’d shut down the ship and take the information back to the Pegasus, maybe they could get the power working again and could crush these rebels.

  As much as it disgusted him, he concluded he’d have to pretend to befriend Jones if he wanted a chance to learn something before escaping. He glanced over at the rebel, who had a sad and thoughtful expression and was staring out into the forest. When Jones glanced his way, he diverted his eyes. He needed to play the role of the hurt son and slowly warm up to Jones. He’d gain his trust and then learn everything he could. Jones would lower his guard, and then he’d make his escape. To celebrate his strategy, Pelros took the last bite of his sandwich and drank the bottle of water.

  “Are they your slaves?” Pelros asked, nodding toward the humans from the base.

  “No.” Jones chuckled. “You must know I’m opposed to slavery. They’re free, and I don’t try to control them. They decide what we do. We’re the visitors here; this is their home.”

  “You really believe that?” Pelros had no desire to hear such insanity, but he had to persist.

  “Yes, I do.” Jones’ eyes filled with hope. “I guess I left before you were old enough to remember me.”

  “I would’ve remembered that scar,” Pelros said.

  “Your uncle gave it to me,” Jones said. His gaze seemed to lose focus as he ran his fingers over the raised slash on his face. “It was the last time I saw him, when he’d discovered who I was. They took you before I could get back to our home.”

  “Uncle told me.” Pelros returned his gaze for a moment, but then he looked away. “You made your choice.”

  “I made a sacrifice,” Jones replied. “Dying would’ve been easier.”

  Jones was silent for a moment, staring out into the forest with sad regret pushing his dark brow down.

  “What the Anunnaki do is wrong,” he said, returning his attention to Pelros. “I didn’t want to lose my family, but it is my duty to fight for what I believe is right.”

  “It was your duty to attack your own people?” Pelros snapped, anger eroding his control. “You’re responsible for so much death.”

  “I tried to save our people,” Jones growled. “The Anunnaki abused the freedom of too many worlds. Now we will pay for it.” He pointed at the sky.

  “We have defeated many formidable enemies,” Pelros replied. “I assure you General Athos is already working on a way to defeat this new foe.” He prayed his uncle was still alive.

  “He’s a general now,” Jones mused. “I imagine killing me had something to do with that.”

  “Let’s get moving,” the young male who Jones seemed to take orders from shouted.

  Jones and his clones stood, pulling Pelros to his feet with them. It disgusted him the way they obeyed the human. Pelros’ legs ached from the hiking they’d done earlier, but he tried not to limp, not wanting to hint at how weak he felt. He kept a wary eye on Jules as they walked past the humans. At least the rebel clones surrounding him offered some protection if the crazed slave came after him. He doubted they could stop her, but they’d at least slow her down.


  Chapter Nine

  “What did you see out there?” Athos asked the small female human. He remembered selecting her because she looked so unnoticeable; she blended into the crowd of loyal humans such that he knew she could slip through the city undetected.

  He leaned back in his chair, the success of the last day building his confidence. He hadn’t slept, and Earth’s gravity made his muscles sore. His bones felt like they might crumble, but he’d accomplished the impossible. With the help of his commanders and the soldiers aboard the Pegasus, he’d organized the citizens and reassigned the sailors. Everyone had a new job, rations of food, and a place to sleep. He’d put the aristocrats in charge of the new departments that arose from the loss of power. The Anunnaki had transitioned from a society reliant upon thousands of years of technological advance, which infiltrated every aspect of their lives, to a preindustrial state. The upper reaches of the ship, which they’d secured immediately after landing, were an impenetrable castle. His aggressive implementation of martial law paid off. With the citizens’ lives suddenly overturned, they welcomed the general’s leadership like an escape pod on a burning ship.

  The psychological conditioning of the human slaves proved its usefulness as well. Over two thirds of the slave population responded to their Anunnaki captains with total obedience. Athos had selected a hundred of the slave soldier population to gather intelligence on the city surrounding the ship. He personally debriefed each of them as they returned.

  “It’s mostly chaos out there,” the female human said with trust glowing in her eyes. She fidgeted, like she was nervous in his presence. “But there is one group that seems to be growing.”

  “Who draws them together?” Athos leaned forward. “Why are they organizing?”

  “Many of them seem to have known each other from before you rescued us,” she replied. “They say they follow a boy named Shamus.”

  He’d heard the name from several of the other kids.

  “What do they say about him?” Athos slid a plate with dried fruit on it toward the girl.

  “It’s not so much what they say, it’s the way they say it,” she replied, making a timid grab for a piece of fruit and holding it near her lips. “It’s like he’s a god or something. People say he organized them just after the adults died. That he’s been feeding them, fighting off anybody who tried to enter the city and take advantage of them.” She devoured the piece of fruit in one bite.

  “He sounds like a nice guy.” Athos had heard otherwise from some of the scouts. He nodded toward the plate to invite her to take more.

  It wasn’t easy sharing this resource with the slave. He’d sent food-gathering missions out into the city, and they hadn’t found enough to sustain the Anunnaki beyond their reserves. There was still a risk of starvation for his people, but Athos had to ensure the humans believed they had an abundance of resources.

  “No.” She said, her expression incredulous. “They’re scared shitless of him.” She covered her mouth and looked ashamed. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” he replied. “Go on.”

  “There are groups of thugs who are loyal to him, hundreds if not thousands of them.” Bolder this time, she took three pieces of the precious fruit. “They go around messing with, and sometimes killing, people. Down there,” she pointed out the window, “kids are doing what they’re told because they’re scared. They speak about Shamus like he’s some great savior or something, but a good amount of them seem to be doing it because they know they’ll get beat up or shot if they don’t.”

  “What do they think of us?”

  “They don’t know what to think,” she said. “Everybody’s got a different theory. Lots of them are scared. Everybody’s curious. Shamus hasn’t announced what he plans to do about you yet.”

  “You’ve done very well.” Athos had heard enough. He needed to set up a meeting with this Shamus. “Get some rest.” He held his hand toward the door.

  “Thank you,” she said, giving him a shy but grateful smile. “And thank you for helping us.”

  “It is as it should be,” he replied.

  The girl left the room. Athos couldn’t help smiling at her loyalty to him, even without using the slave gene to control her. The humans were created to be slaves—they wanted to be told what to do.

  The beings that crippled the Pegasus couldn’t have anticipated this, though he worried even millions of obedient soldiers might prove useless against their technology. However, if they had a soft spot for humans, and he controlled an army of them, he might find an angle, something he could use against this formless enemy.

  He stood and stretched. Every part of his body ached from the excess gravity. Athos walked downstairs and out of the council building. He stood in the street, watching the soldiers and citizens go about their business. He smiled at how adaptive they were, managing without electricity better than he could have imagined. More brows were furrowed than usual, and an undertone of fear could be heard in the garble of conversations, but there was no mass panic.

  He headed toward the impromptu armory set up nearby. Platoons of the loyal human slave soldiers led by Anunnaki gathered weapons from the city, finding them in abandoned homes and shops. There were more guns to be found than food, but they still needed a lot more. He approached the Shock Troop soldier who’d overseen the gathering of the armaments.

  “Commander,” Athos said.

  “Yes, sir,” the commander replied, coming to attention.

  “Recon is telling us that the humans down there are organizing under someone called Shamus,” Athos said.

  “Yes, sir. I’ve heard the reports.”

  “I think it’s in our best interest to gain this human’s allegiance.”

  “I agree, sir.”

  “Do we have a fresh platoon available?” Athos asked.

  “Yes, sir,” the commander replied. “The first ones we sent out have been back for over twelve hours. They’ve eaten and slept.”

  “Perfect,” Athos said. “Ready them. I’m going to try and meet with the one called Shamus.”

  “Yes, sir.” The commander spun away, hurrying to carry out the general’s orders.

  Chapter Ten

  Shane made his way across the dark meadow, past dwindling campfires encircled by young refugees. Nearly everybody lay sleeping on the grass, the long hike taking its toll. Heavy sounds of breathing punctuated by snores resonated off the forest to the east of the field. He drew near the fire his friends slept around. Only Tracy was still awake.

  “You should get some rest,” he whispered.

  “So should you.” She grinned, eyes puffy from sleep deprivation.

  He looked over at Kelly, who slept nearby.

  “At least she’s not flipping out anymore,” Tracy said. “I think her memory will return in a few days.”

  “Thanks for saying so,” he said. “I hope you’re right.”

  “I know I am,” she replied. “Night.”

  “Good night.”

  Tracy laid down and put her arm over Jules, who was already asleep. He scanned the dark meadow one last time. The fire where Jones and his clones camped burned brighter than the rest, and he could see two of the rebels sitting up and tending it. Jones must’ve ordered them to guard the prisoner. Knowing they were on watch put him at ease.

  Shane yawned. It was the first time all day his mind or body had a chance to slow down. He lay a few feet away from Kelly, looking at her back. He wished he could put his arm around her and pull her close to him. His earlier conversation with her made it clear she didn’t remember anything about their relationship. She’d probably freak out if he touched her.

  It was a terrible feeling, to have her not remember him. He’d broken up with girls before, and had been dumped by girls, but this felt way worse. He remembered how she’d looked at him before. Her affection was the most precious thing he’d ever had, and it was taken from him. It made him hate the aliens. It made him want to find a way to kick them off Earth for good.<
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  Shane’s mind drifted over everything they’d been through, and his eyes grew heavy. He slipped from reality into a dream about his dead friend, Aaron. They were playing football in the field behind his grandma’s house. Granny brought out some sweet tea and sandwiches, and they laughed together as they ate.

  Sensing movement, he roused slightly as someone on the other side of the fire got up. He was a light sleeper, but it wasn’t enough to wake him fully. He rolled onto his back and slept again.

  “Help,” Jones shouted.

  Shane jerked awake, looking toward Jones’ campsite. The moon had risen, illuminating the silhouettes of people fighting.

  “Jules,” Tracy said frantically.

  She was gone from her spot by the fire. He cursed. Rolling to his feet, he ran toward the commotion, Tracy and Steve on his heels. Before they could get to her, he saw Jules push the clones who were trying to restrain her. She managed to get one by the head. Jules twisted her body with the clone’s head locked in her hands. Shane heard a crack, the clone’s neck breaking. Then Jules released the dead rebel and lunged toward Pelros, the Anunnaki prisoner.

  Shane and Steve got to her, latching onto her arms from either side. They jerked her back from the prisoner and away from the other clones.

  “Let me go,” she snarled. “They all must die!”

  “Damn it,” Jones groaned. He rushed from one body to the next, checking for a pulse.

  Jules had managed to kill two of the male clones and one Lily clone with her bare hands. Tracy stood by. Her eyes were wide with shock as she looked from the bodies to Jules.

  “They’re dead,” Jones said, his voice cracking. He looked at Shane as if he expected him to do something.

  Shane loosened the grip of his right hand, which held tight to Jules’ arm. Same as after she’d shot the transport the Anunnaki where in, she acted totally calm and collected. Maurice, Laura, Kelly, and Anfisa stepped out of the shadows, and all eyes fell on the bodies, and then Jules.