Halfkinds Volume 1: Contact Page 19

  “Don’t talk to me, you shit,” he says. “Try and judge me about how I shouldn’t leave. What the fuck do you know about family and courage?!”

  “I know more than you’ll ever know!” I yell. It catches him off guard and scares him. He steps back but maintains his ground.

  “You don’t know jack shit about me,” he says defiantly.

  “I don’t need to,” I say. “I know that you left your family behind right before they needed you most. You made a pact with each other and you broke it. They could be dead and your promise meant nothing. You aren’t their family, you’re a nobody.”

  “Shut up! I’d do anything for those guys. I mean it when I call them my brothers. I got scared. I was thinking and thinking and thinking, and my nerves got the best of me okay?”

  “Yeah, sure. You did a lot of thinking, but it was only about yourself. You are a coward.”

  “Hey, fuck you!”

  His curse echoes faintly through the sky.

  “So what if I left them?” he says. “We’re all in in it for ourselves, pal. You think they give two shits about me? Show me one creature who wouldn’t do the same thing I did!”

  I step from the shadows and take off my hood. My face and body are now clearly visible to him. I tower over him like an ant, my hands protrude from my sleeves and my claws stick out. I give him a demented smile to make sure he sees my razor sharp teeth.

  He looks at me with utter terror in his eyes. His face shakes and he steps back slowly, but with each step he walks faster, and faster, and faster, until he’s far enough to sprint away. I stare at him until he is out of my view completely.

  “Just as I thought,” I say to myself. I put my hood back on and continue on my path. It should only take me a few more minutes until I’m there.

  Chapter 20 – Apollo Bradley - Spared

  November 17, 3040 1:16 AM

  The bear halfkind, Oscar, looks like he has thrown in the towel. I can tell from his body language he knows his fight is over. Commander Trevor has made it clear that he, his brothers, and sisters are to remain alive. Simon has always followed an admirable code of conduct and this order doesn’t surprise me. After all, how right would it be to murder a defenseless group of creatures, especially after they had already surrendered?

  “Hey, can I ask you a question?” A disheveled Oscar asks Commander Trevor.

  “Sure, what is it?” he responds.

  “How come…” But he never finishes the question. I hear a shrill pop and I instantaneously see his body jerk back fiercely. Small flecks of red fly from his skull. And then, his head slumps down and his body slouches.

  “What the hell happened?!” Commander Trevor yells. “Apollo, get over there and check his vitals!!”

  “Got it!”

  I dash to him and call for my bioscanner. A sensor emits from my helmet and scans his body. When it’s done, a holographic screen pops open with the results and I hurriedly review them. I am hopeful for the best, but the output doesn’t lie.

  “He’s dead,” I tell Commander Trevor.

  A loud bawling erupts from the mouth of the cow halfkind, Maddie Lawton, and echoes throughout the casino. She falls to her knees and uncontrollably weeps in despair.

  The two cat halfkinds, Iris and Isaac Lawton, don’t whisper a peep. They look too shaken by the events to even emit a reaction.

  “What happened, what happened?!” Commander Trevor yells demandingly.

  “The scanner says it’s a fatality via gunshot wound to the head,” I say.

  “Borton…” the Commander says grudgingly. We both look at the suspected murderer. “It was you!”

  His gun is smoking from the plasma it has fired. He stands defiantly tall, in a firm position. He doesn’t even bat a lash at Maddie Lawton who continues to sob wildly. His eyes narrow and his face sneers with disgust.

  “I did what you couldn’t, Commander.”

  “What I couldn’t?” Commander Trevor asks angrily. “You disobeyed an order! I specifically said no one was to die!”

  “I disobeyed your order,” Borton says. “But I followed the orders given to me. Hunt and kill, remember?”

  “Those weren’t my instructions!”

  “I don’t care about your instructions. I only care about my superiors and that’s not you. You’re just my teammate.”

  “He’s our commander,” I snap back. “You have to report to him. What you did could get you discharged from the mission.”

  Borton looks at me smugly. “Fine, go ahead, tell on me, you suck up. But what are you going to do, really? Try to get me in trouble for subordination? I was doing what the United Species Alliance asked me to do. You really think they’re going to side against me in this argument? I did them a favor.”

  Commander Trevor kicks a chair in frustration. It falls and slides across the floor. “What you did was cold blooded murder!”

  “What I did was my job,” Borton responds.

  “But, he was about to say something,” I interject. “He could have given us valuable information.”

  “He wasn’t going to give us jack shit,” Borton says bluntly. “Even if we tortured the poor bastard, I doubt he would’ve talked.”

  “It wasn’t your call!” Simon yells. He walks away in disgust, hands on his head and paces around to cool his temper. Borton looks at him apathetically, while I observe the situation. I’m still appalled by what has gone down.

  I can’t believe Borton disobeyed the Commander. I’m even more surprised that he killed Oscar so callously. I know we were given orders by the Alliance, but I agree with Commander Trevor. They were restrained, we had the situation under control. It was wrong to fire on Oscar. I don’t believe Borton’s whole ‘I’m carrying out my duty’ shtick. He executed someone.

  “Why are you so determined to kill them?” I ask Borton. “It seems that’s more important to you than following orders.”

  He looks at me suspiciously. “None of your business, dog.”

  “There is something else then? I believe you have a hidden agenda.”

  Borton looks even angrier than before. “You can believe what you want to believe, but I’m not talking.”

  “Or… firing mode,” I say. A gun barrel protrudes from my helmet. “You can tell me why you want them dead.”

  Borton suddenly looks afraid and yells, “Commander, are you seeing this? Tell him to put his weapon away!”

  Simon looks at me and shrugs. “Proceed, Apollo. I’d be worried about him. Unlike you, Borton, he’s good at following orders.”

  I shoot him a smile and then shift my focus back to Borton. “So, tell us!”

  I see sweat trickle down his brow.

  “All right, all right! I did it because I don’t get my fee unless the mission is fulfilled!” he blurts out. “If there are any left alive, then this mission isn’t fulfilled, is it?!”

  “That’s what this is about, getting paid?” I ask irately. I put my weapon from firing mode back to safe mode.

  “That’s what it’s always about,” Borton says. “Don’t tell me you don’t get any compensation for these jobs.”

  I stare at him blankly.

  “Wow, you dogs really do get taken for a ride. Guess the whole ‘man’s best dope’ stereotype is true,” he says.

  “And I guess you pigs get the reputation you deserve,” I reply. “Greedy bastard.”

  “Watch it, dog,” he warns me.

  “So that’s all you are, Borton?” Commander Trevor says, “Just a hired gun?”

  “Don’t do that,” Borton retorts back. “You both act like you’re better than me, because you hide behind that veil of your honorable service. But when it comes down to it, you’re no different. I’m just smart enough to make some credits off of it.”

  “Whatever, you’re a low life mercenary,” I say.

  “I don’t care what you think, brownnoser,” he shoots back.

  “Enough!” Commander Trevor says with a raised voice. He pauses to collect hi
s thoughts. “I’m not going to judge your motivations, Borton, but your actions defied my direct commands and I won’t stand for that. From now on, you will listen to me at all times. If you’re worried about the Alliance, don’t be. You should be worrying about me first. And, you will treat your squad mates with respect. If you continue to have this attitude, if you fail to follow one more order given by me, I’ll have you off this team in a heartbeat. You can practically kiss that paycheck good bye.”

  Borton looks at him cautiously. He’s trying to determine if he should call Simon’s bluff.

  “All right, Commander,” he says. “You win. No more renegade actions.”

  “Good. You can make up for what you did by cuffing the others. If I see you harm a single hair on them, you’re done.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he says dismissively.

  As Borton approaches the rest of the family, I notice something odd about Maddie Lawton. She’s no longer weeping, but what’s strange is that it happened so suddenly. A few minutes ago, she was crying her brains out and now she’s as quiet as can be. She might have calmed down when the three of us were arguing, but I’m not sure.

  Her facial expression is even more peculiar. Her eyes are bugged out and her head is shaking. She’s on one knee and her hands, which are very human like, are placed firmly on the ground, like tree trunks. Her posture is intense.

  That’s when I notice an item in her hand. It’s rusted, long and narrow, like a stick. I take a closer glance and realize it’s a piece of debris that resulted from our assault. She grips it tightly, but I’m unsure why she has it.

  If I had more time to analyze the situation, I would’ve realized what she was about to do. But because we spent so many minutes arguing, I didn’t keep track of her movements. It is now that I realize what she is planning and I only have a few seconds to react. But I am too slow.

  Borton is only a few feet away from her. In a savage moment, she jumps towards him, rod clutched tightly with both hands, and jams it straight into an exposed area on his neck. He is caught off guard and probably doesn’t even know what hit him until after the metal stick is already lodged in his head. He squeals out and falls to the ground, rolling in agonizing pain. Blood spews out of his neck like a water fountain on a hot summer day.

  Maddie still has her hands grasped on the rod and her attention turns to the Commander. She starts to lunge at him the same way she did at Borton, but before she makes it to another victim, I say “Fire!”

  A shot from my helmet goes careening out of the barrel and makes its way directly to her head. It knocks her off her feet and blood flies across the room on impact. Her body lands hard on the ground and ends up in a contorted position. Now two halfkinds are dead.

  “Are you okay Commander?” I ask him.

  He ignores everything and rushes to Borton. He’s still squirming on the floor, flopping around like a fish out of water. I hurry over to see if I can help.

  Commander Trevor uses his hand to cover the wound and tries to contain Borton, but it’s difficult because he’s moving around too much. Simon’s palms are painted a crimson red and more blood flows everywhere. The red liquid seeps through his fingers and a pool starts to form under Borton.

  “Apollo, I’ll take care of Borton, go restrain the others,” Simon says.

  But when I look to where they are, something horrifies me - they’re not there.

  “Commander, the twins are gone!” I yell.

  “Shit!” Simon screams. “What else can go wrong? Apollo, there’s no way they could’ve gone far. You need to find and capture them at all costs. Use whatever tools you have at your disposal, just get it done. I’ll stay here and try to treat Borton’s wounds.”

  I look at Borton. His screaming is fading by the seconds, his skin has turned pale. He’s already lost a lot of blood and I literally see life draining from his dead eyes.

  “Um, Commander,” I say trying to make him see the obvious.

  “Just go!” he yells.

  That’s my cue. I equip my scent booster and sniff the area. Within a few seconds, I have a lock on their trail and follow it. It leads me out the back door and into the alley from which Borton and I had entered. I look around and see no signs of them.

  The night sky colors the streets with a shade of orange and the only noise I hear is that of the wind blowing on an empty street.

  I continue to sniff their trail methodically, making sure not one footstep goes unnoticed. It goes for ten feet, then another ten, and then another. With each stride I feel like I’m getting closer and closer.

  But suddenly something unexpected happens - the scent turns cold. I can’t smell them anymore. It appears they have disappeared into thin air. I’m confused at first, I don’t understand how this could’ve happened. Then I realize the feeling of the ground has changed from the gripped surface of pavement to the smooth, slipperiness of metal. I’m standing on top of a manhole cover, a remnant of the once glorious sewer system humans were so dependent on. I’m sure this is where the twins escaped to.

  There’s only one problem, I can’t open it. My paws can’t lift the metal enclosure. Not to worry, my suit has grappling hooks in case of situations where opposable thumbs are needed. I fire them and they latch on to the small holes of the lid. I then retract the wire and the manhole cover slides open.

  It’s dark down there, so I say, “flashlight.” A white stream of light comes from my helmet and I look down. I’m worried the drop will be huge, but, after I shine the light, I see it’s only about ten feet deep.

  I gracefully hop down and smell a foul odor. The sewers haven’t been used in some time, but their stench still remains. It’s too much for my nose to handle, so I unequip the booster and try to sniff out the twins’ trail. It’s faint, covered by the musk and lasting filth of the sewer, but it’s still traceable.

  The sewers are even more silent than the ground above. I hear a few droplets of water here and there, its impact on the floor timed out like a metronome. It’s nearly pitch black down here, the only source of light is some dimly lighted bulbs, but my eyes are able to adjust.

  I follow my nose for another hundred feet, when suddenly, the trail makes a sharp U-turn back the other way.

  “That’s odd,” I say to myself, “Why is it going the other…”

  I don’t finish my thought. A flat, dizzying, throbbing sensation hits the back of my head like a wrecking ball. I hear a thunderous clang noise behind me. My vision takes a straight nose dive to the ground. The cloudiness of my consciousness makes it hard for me to piece together what has happened, but it comes to me - I’ve been struck a heavy blow to the back of my head.

  I am paralyzed. I try to move my legs, but the slam has tired me and my perception is less than coherent. The only thing I can feel is a deep ache at my neck. All I see is a hazy picture from my eyes. Two blotches emerge into the fold. I hear discombobulated, but recognizable, speech coming from them.

  “What… should we… do now… Isaac?” I hear one of them say in a distorted tone, slow in pace.

  “We… should… kill him for… what they’ve… done,” he says.

  “But… he’s… defenseless… right now….”

  “So… was… Oscar…”

  I’m breathing more heavily than before. I feel my awareness slipping from me into a cloud of grey. But I stay steady to hold on, even if it’s just for a few more minutes, a few more seconds.

  “No…. Isaac…” the voice responds. “It’s…not… right…It wasn’t…. his…fault… it was…the…pigs’.”

  “Sister… if we don’t… kill him… now…he and… his team… will kill us… later…”

  “Isaac, please…. don’t…do it… please…”

  I am a victim at his mercy and can only pray his sister’s intervention is a success. A few moments later, I hear a clashing noise and see a metal pole drop to the ground.

  “Fine… sister…we’ll… do it… your way…”

  After those words, the two
shapes walk away. Their size gets smaller and smaller until they fade into small specks that I can’t see anymore.

  I take a few deep breaths, until my mind gives up and things fade into darkness.

  Chapter 21 – Iris Lawton - Refuge

  November 17, 3040 1:28 AM

  “Now’s our chance,” Isaac says to me. We’re still on our knees, but the dog and human are too busy tending to their injured comrade to even think about us.

  “But what about the others?” I ask him. Maddie had attacked the pig and now she’s dead. Oscar was shot without warning. My brother and sister were killed in front of my eyes and I was helpless to prevent their deaths. I look at their bodies, splashed with blood, twisted and deformed as they lie lifeless. I’ve lost so much these past days.

  Isaac’s voice interrupts my thinking. “If we don’t move now, we’ll be like them.”

  “But the human promised that we wouldn’t be killed,” I say.

  “That promise might be broken if their teammate doesn’t make it.”

  I look at the pig, screeching and thrashing in misery. Red liquid stains the floor and gushes out of his wound. Things don’t look too good for him.

  “I don’t think he is,” I respond.

  “Then we have to go while they’re distracted,” he says. I nod my head. We both slyly get up in unison and lightly sprint to the back door. With all the noise and chaos happening, the two don’t even notice us slip away to the exit

  Isaac carefully opens the door, it smoothly glides open without a sound. He holds it for me and then with steady hands, like he’s conducting surgery, he closes it.

  The moment it’s shut, we start to run. We don’t really know where, we just know to get as far away as possible. The night light creates shadows of our rapidly moving bodies. They flicker on the ground like sunlight leaking through a windy field. Our scampering echoes through the barren streets, creating a cadence of hectic footsteps. Gusts of winds blow on our faces, it intensifies the adrenaline fueled rush of our escape.

  For a few minutes, I feel invincible. We have fled from certain death, from a group of highly trained individuals. Nothing can catch us, we’ll run forever. But then reality starts to set in: we’re getting tired. My legs move slower, my breaths get heavier and heavier, and then Isaac and I have to stop.