Star Force: Lost Destiny (Wayward Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  She rolled to her left as she reloaded, taking a couple more hits that burnt her skin through the armor but adrenaline and fear for her brother kept her moving. Esna came up firing again and charged forward yelling, scaring several attackers out of view and making her taking down the others easier, but she was still outgunned. All she could do was dodge side to side and keep shooting, hoping that they’d get lucky and somehow survive this.

  But when a pair of shots came in from behind her she realized they were as good as dead. Ducking down and letting some crossfire hopefully hit her attackers, she scrambled for a few steps towards the nearest dead body. She shot two more unarmored ones, forcing the group back as she grabbed one of the loose weapons then retreated as she took a hit in the head from behind. The thickness of her helmet soaked it up, saving her for the next few seconds at least, as she spun around and ran a few steps, throwing the short rifle towards where her brother lay…but it skidded across the ground into his body, bouncing off it without a reaction.

  A horrible feeling wracked her, but sheer will kept her firing at everyone in sight. The next few moments were a blur of emotions and pain until one of the silent attackers let out a bellowing Calavari roar that drew her ire and her weaponsfire to her left.

  But rather than turning face on into more lachar fire, she saw two of the attackers fly through the air towards her. Esna shot one of them before his feet hit the dirt, then she pumped two shots into the armored torso of the other as he rolled towards her. A third shot hit flesh through an opening in the chest plate and the attacker flopped out of his roll while the Calavari that had thrown him came into full view. He was a whirling mess of brown robes and flying orange fists that broke bones on contact and pulled the weapons away from others with his four hands.

  She shot another Calavari in the leg then threw the weapon aside with disdain as he drove his injured brethren into the wall as if he weighed less than Esna, dropping him stunned to the ground as the other attackers nearby scrambled away and those down the street suddenly stopped firing.

  “They’re Humans!” one of them cried in protest, but an angry growl as loud as the engine of a truck silenced any reply as the big Calavari walked up and past Esna, imposing his bulk between her and those still holding guns.

  “No trouble,” another Calavari said, lowering his weapon and backtracking quickly along with the others.

  The robed Calavari spun around, glaring at those down the other end of the street…and they vanished as well.

  Esna was breathing so hard it took her a moment to even feel her rapid, adrenaline-fueled pulse, then she realized she was pointing her pistol at the Calavari. Her nerves told her to shoot, but the logical part of her mind that was still operating told her not to. Before she could make a decision an orange hand shot out and grabbed the barrel, twisting it aside but not tearing it from her grasp.

  “Can you walk?” the Calavari asked in a remarkably youthful voice, though still deep in tone compared to her own.

  She didn’t answer him, unable to work her vocal chords as grief and fear locked her down. Seeing the state she was in the Calavari let go of the weapon and knelt over Teren, pulling his body towards him and putting a pair of fingers on his head, turning it to the side and revealing a charred entry wound.

  Esna involuntarily took a step back as she realized her brother was dead, but before she could completely fall apart the big Calavari picked up her brother’s body and tucked it between his two left arms, then looked at her.

  “We have to leave, now. I will protect you as long as I can, but there will be more coming. Too many to fight. They know what you are now and they will not rest until you’re dead.”

  When her emotions locked her down again, a big orange hand came out and gently smacked her in the arm, propelling her a few steps down the street.

  “Move now, think later. I do not want to lose you too,” the unknown Calavari said, carrying her brother as if he was no more than a paperweight.

  Esna was in pain beyond words and the burns in her body were the least of it, but something in his voice compelled her to move. Time swirled and before she knew it they were crossing Palo as the crowds continued to swell, but they all pulled back hard when they saw the Calavari. Whoever he was they did not want to mess with him, but the murderous look in their eyes told Esna they were coming after her as soon as he left her side, and that fear kept her moving with him until she finally croaked out her first word since her brother died.

  “Who… are you?”

  “A friend,” he said simply. “Can you move faster?”

  Her body hurt, but at this point neither that nor anything else really mattered.

  “Yes.”

  “Keep close,” he said, then suddenly they were running through empty, narrow streets with an unlimited number of eyes tracking them at every turn with weapon barrels poking out beneath them. When one of them finally dared to fire, the shot missed Esna and hit the Calavari, but it didn’t seem to faze him. Esna spun and fired back, but a big hand on her other arm yanked her forward after two shots, making her keep pace as a small flame marked the impact point in the Calavari’s robes.

  When he let go of her his hand patted it out quickly, then they turned another corner and ran on. Another hundred meters more and they came to a stop next to a nook in the wall that contained a ladder.

  “Up,” he said, climbing ahead of her with two arms as he carried her brother in the others and wasn’t wasting any time. He was halfway up the building before she could even get on the first rung, and she fired a quick shot into the dirt down the street to push back the crowd before climbing up as fast as she could, afraid that she was going to get hit on the way up.

  But no return shots came. Whoever this Calavari was these people were deathly afraid of him.

  When Esna got near the top he grabbed her and hauled her up the last few rungs, dropping her on her feet beside him as he pointed to a hoverbike parked on the roof.

  “Get on,” he said, rushing ahead of her and half jumping onto the wide seat while still holding her brother in a vice grip between his two side arms. When she hesitated he turned his head and glared at her. Most of his body was covered in swaths of dull material, but his face and neck were exposed. They looked as if they were chiseled from gleaming orange rock, and his expression was no less intense.

  “Get…on…” he repeated.

  Esna moved, but it was almost as if her body were carrying her along, for her will was dead. She climbed up and straddled the too wide seat, having to lean back to get her legs spread wide enough. Fortunately there was an equipment rack on the back that she could brace against, for as soon as her butt hit the squishy seat they rocketed across the roof.

  She wasn’t ready for the drop when they got to the edge and her already overstressed emotions felt a spike of shock when the building disappeared beside her…but the fall didn’t occur and they continued on straight, passing over Palo and another building as they accelerated towards the edge of the settlement. When they got to the last building they shot out under the harsh sunlight in midair, not dropping down to the ground but flying some 20 meters up for more than a minute before suddenly dipping down and hugging the terrain as they moved through a large curve and put a low rise between them and the settlement.

  “Yammar,” Esna suddenly said, remembering. “I have to get to Yammar,” she yelled over the wind.

  “Who is Yammar?”

  “Our…” she said, emotionally clamming up again before biting her lip to steady her nerve. “Our father. He’s waiting on the other side of town.”

  “Then that is the last place we want to go. We’re being followed.”

  “What?” she asked, gripping a low handlebar as she turned around so not to be peeled off by the fierce wind. “I don’t see anyone.”

  “They’re coming. And they’re not going to stop until they kill you.”

  “Why!” she yelled, her frustration and anger coming out like a cannon in that single
word.

  “Many reasons. But primarily they fear those who destroyed this world coming back to get you, so they will try and kill you first.”

  “What?” she yelled, barely caring and vexed by this insanity.

  “You are being hunted, and I promise I will do all I can to keep you safe for as long as I can.”

  “Why?” she asked as they rose up again to pass over a cliff wall where other hoverbikes of lesser tech couldn’t go, then they dropped back down and made a sharp right turn, hugging a bolder field close enough that Esna’s dangling left foot clipped a rock and half dragged her off the bike.

  “I am a Commando.”

  “What does that mean?” she asked after righting herself

  The Calavari half turned his head. “You truly have no idea what you are?”

  “They called me a Human.”

  “They do not know what you are. It is a term they’ve heard and repeated and twisted with tales over time. None of them have ever seen your likeness before.”

  “Then what am I?”

  “You are Human. They accidentally got that right. Now word will spread and many hunters will come from you. Some for sport, some out of fear, but it is those that are not from this world that are the primary threat. We have some time and must make use of it. Tuck in behind me. We’re going to accelerate soon and I don’t want you thrown off.”

  Esna didn’t know what he was talking about, and with her heart literally torn out of her body she leaned forward and rested her helmet on the back of the Calavari’s cloak as she fiercely held on to the sidebars. For a moment her faceplate was staring directly at her brother’s body, inches away from his legs. Tears and grief welled up so much that she had to turn her head the other way, and she hated herself for having to do it.

  She hung there behind the Calavari, belatedly realizing that her head was resting against something hard underneath his cloak, but not caring as the wind whipped up and the landscape passed by in a blur as the speeder accelerated to a speed hers never could have…nor any other that she’d ever seen.

  Esna rode in a ball of grief behind her mysterious rescuer not knowing how much time had passed until the sun suddenly went out and darkness fell around them. A moment later she was pushed into his back as they quickly decelerated. When she was able to pry her face loose she saw cave walls flashing past at dizzying speed, then a tight turn brought them around a giant rock formation and they ground to a halt with the bike hovering a meter off the ground…or rather where ground would have been. Instead there was nothing but blackness beneath her.

  The Calavari dropped their altitude and a small light appeared in the wall ahead of them. Two more also became visible as small green dots as they lowered further, and with her helmet’s limited nightvision she saw rough rock formations approaching below them that he steered around following the guide lights until they landed on a broken bit of platform that led into a partially lit tunnel.

  “Get off,” he said, waiting for Esna to pry her cramped legs free before he hefted himself and Teren’s body over to the other side. “We can’t stay here long, but there are some things we’ll need.”

  “I have to get back to Yammar.”

  The Calavari’s head sagged. “You fear for his safety?”

  “Should…should I?” she said, not having thought of that. “What are they going to do to him?”

  “Most likely they will kill him as well, along with anyone else associated with you.”

  “Take me back now!” she said firmly, but the Calavari only looked more sad.

  “They are coming to kill you. If you go to him, you will only draw them to him and ensure his death. If you run as far from him as you can, then there is the small chance they might ignore him.”

  “How likely is that?”

  “Not very. The fear in their eyes was one of madness. And madness will strike at anything and everything they feel is contaminated.”

  “Then I have to go back and fight.”

  “You will die. As will he. The most you can do is give him this small chance. If you go back he has none.”

  “I can die fighting alongside him.”

  “I would expect nothing less from a Human, but you do not know who it is that pursues you. Or will, once word spreads of your sighting. I intend to deny you to them for as long as possible.”

  “And leave Yammar to die alone,” she said, already feeling dead herself and not able to bear him and Innit…

  “It is not an easy choice to make, but we must do what we can. We cannot prevent their deaths by going back. But we can deny their killers what they seek…and that is you. It is not enough. I do not expect you to feel good about it. But we must take every moment of time we have and use it to disappear, for those who hunt you are very good at what they do…and I do not refer to the rabble in town.”

  “You haven’t told me who’s after me, or why.”

  “Those who are stronger than me. I cannot defeat them in combat, so my only avenue to best them is by running and denying them their prize. I cannot and will not squander what little advantage we have. I know you are hurting, but come with me. We can take no more time talking here,” he said, turning around and carrying her brother into the tunnel and out of the shadows.

  “Where are we?” she asked, following him for no other reason than wanting to stay near her brother’s body. She wasn’t going to let him get out of sight with it.

  “Ruins from long ago. Forgotten by many, but not those who will soon be hunting you. We must stay on the move.”

  “What is a Human?” she asked meekly, the fire in her quickly turning into despair. “We were told never to show our face or skin to others. Why are we hunted? And by who?”

  “A discussion for another time…when we have time,” he said, pushing aside a partially open door that had no power. “What I must do now concerns your brother, and I do not expect you to understand.”

  “No,” she said, not knowing what he was going to do but fearing something awful, but once she got inside the room she saw that it was of the same construction as the ruins they had been scavenging before, except this room was immaculate. The Calavari walked over to a bed platform and laid the body down, releasing Teren from the iron grip that had been carrying him protectively ever since they’d fled the settlement streets, then the Calavari’s hands began to move over it, disassembling the armor and revealing multiple burn marks beneath.

  “Stop,” she said, but one of his four hands reached back and held her firm.

  “I assure you I have great respect for Humans. They saved my people long ago, and there is a debt there that has never been fully repaid. We cannot take his body with us, but our pursuers from the settlement will not find it here. The others that will hunt us might, but if they come here then he will draw them further away from us,” the Calavari said as he continued to pull off pieces of armor and reveal the burned clothing beneath, which he then began to strip off him as well.

  “Stop,” she repeated, punching his muscled arm to no avail, with which he gently but firmly shoved her back a full meter away from him.

  Soon her brother’s bloody body was naked and carried over to the other side of the room and put into a vertical cylinder. Esna wanted to scream, but didn’t have the energy left in her so she stood still and watched in protest as Teren was drenched with water. The blood and grime came off, then the big orange arms pulled him out and took him aside to a storage compartment from which the most beautiful clothing Esna had ever seen was stored.

  The four hands quickly dressed Teren in deep blue garments that nearly matched his body’s dimensions…not the oversized robes that most people in the desert wore or the wrap-like under garments that she had beneath her armor. Next came equally smooth and blue socks, followed by the Calavari choosing from a rack of shoes until he found a size that would fit. He slipped them on then carried the body in all four arms before him.

  “Come with me.”

  “What is this?” Esna asked
, following him out of the room and back into the corridor.

  “Are there any more of you? Yammar is a Calavari name.”

  “Like us…no.”

  “No other Humans.”

  “No,” she repeated.

  “How did you get here?”

  “Our father brought us…then died to a Glader attack. Yammar and Innit raised us, but they never told us we were Human. Only that we couldn’t show ourselves to anyone.”

  “Wise of them. What is your name?”

  “Esna.”

  “And this one?”

  “Teren. He’s my…brother,” she said, welling up again.

  “Teren,” the Calavari repeated. “I am sorry I could not save you. After all this time it is cruel irony that I was moments too late.”

  “He can’t hear you,” she said angrily, as if he was mocking her brother.

  “I know. In fact I know a great many things it appears you do not. We will have to discuss that later, but right now I need to know how you came to this world. Tell me of your father.”

  “He brought us here by ship. He was a trader.”

  “And what happened to his ship?”

  “Sold.”

  “Where was it from?”

  “I don’t know. He died when we were young. We barely remember him.”

  “Was there anyone else on your ship?”

  “No. Just the three of us.”

  “And you two have lived here unnoticed ever since?”

  “Yes, but unnoticed by who? You still haven’t told me who is coming after us…or even your own name.”

  “I am Rammak.”

  “Where are you taking my brother, Rammak,” she said, still following him down corridors that were mostly intact, though there was a collapsed beam every now and then to navigate around.