Alien Salvation Read online

  Alien Salvation

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Alien Salvation

  By

  Tracy St. John

  (c) Copyright July 2011, Tracy St. John

  Cover Art (c) 2011 by Eliza Black

  Smashwords Edition

  Published by new Concepts Publishing

  New Concepts Publishing

  Lake Park, GA 31636

  www.newconceptspublishing.com

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s

  imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or

  events is merely coincidence.

  Chapter One

  Lindsey McInness peered through her binoculars from the top of the office building, looking at the Fort Lauderdale beach three blocks away. The silver oblong shape lying on the beach tilted to one side, one of its landing struts badly bent. The Kalquorian shuttle had landed hard, skipping across the blond sand like a stone skipping across the water. Lindsey had watched it come down half an hour earlier.

  Her father Aaron squinted through his own set of binoculars while her mother Tara crouched between them, her face eternally peaceful as always. The sharp sea breeze lifted Tara and Lindsey’s matching chestnut locks and Aaron’s soft gray strands. The breeze was cooling in the heat of the early spring sun.

  Tara finally asked, “Any signs of life?”

  “Not yet.” Lindsey put the binoculars down and looked at her mother. Despite Tara’s serene expression, her appearance made Lindsey wince. She was too thin, her tank top and shorts accentuating her starved appearance. Her arms and legs were sticklike. Food had been hard to come by lately, and none of them had possessed an extra ounce of fat when Armageddon had struck Earth six months earlier. With Aaron injuring his back falling down the stairs a few weeks ago, the situation was becoming desperate for the little family.

  Desperate enough that Lindsey had decided to approach the Kalquorian ship the moment she saw it careening through the powder blue Florida sky. With no sign of life coming from the craft, it was time to make her move.

  “I’m going down for a closer look,” she informed her parents.

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Aaron frowned, putting down his binoculars too. The past two years had been harsh to him. He was in his mid-fifties, but living in hiding and then seeing most of Earth demolished in cataclysmic explosions had aged him badly. His eyes were sunken, his face almost skull-like. It broke Lindsey’s heart to see him look so old.

  “It isn’t, but those Kalquorians probably have food. If they survived, they might be willing to share. If they’re dead, they won’t need it anyway.”

  Lindsey hurried across the roof to the door leading into the building, keeping her gaunt frame huddled in a crouch. Kalquorians, other Earthers, whatever was out there — she had no intention of advertising the family’s presence to anyone. Her parents followed, Aaron moving slowly with pain.

  At least he could still walk. Maybe there was a Kalquorian doctor on that shuttle. Maybe the Kalquorians were friendly, having nothing to do with Armageddon. And maybe Santa Claus was with them, handing out presents to good little children. Help was too much to hope for, but Lindsey had lived on little more than hope for a long time.

  They entered the stairwell, finally able to straighten and walk normally without the fear of hostile eyes upon them. Tara also existed on hope, which was obvious in her next statement. “They might know Jessica.”

  Aaron’s voice echoed in the stairwell as they climbed down the six flights. “We don’t know for sure the Kalquorians weren’t behind the attack on Earth. We were at war with them, after all.”

  Lindsey saved her reply until they reached the ground floor. She entered the office building’s lobby, which had been looted. Graffiti was scrawled on all the walls, charming little notes like ‘God is Dead’, ‘Traitors Die!’ and the darkly humorous ‘My Parents Visited Earth and All I Got Was This Lousy Mushroom Cloud’.

  Broken furniture lay in huddled piles, some blackened by fire. Heat blasted like a furnace in the poorly ventilated area, and Lindsey was grateful for her tank top and shorts.

  The family made their home on the top floor and roof where looters and refugees were less likely to discover them. With all government and law enforcement a thing of the past, it was every man for himself. Survival now depended on one’s ability to defend herself and her supplies.

  Lindsey picked her way over rubble to get at a small storage closet, though her steel-toed boots were good protection from the metal and glass pieces scattered about. She cast careful glances at the entrance doors as she went, now just glass shards clinging to metal frames. They hadn’t blockaded the entrance. Nothing attracted looters like the appearance of defense. Lindsey had saved her booby traps for the top two floors.

  She tried for a comforting smile to ease her father’s fears. “If the Kalquorians are as desperate for Earther women to breed with as the underground claimed, it makes no sense they’d have set off all those bombs. Why would you kill off the species needed for your own survival?”

  His face went even grayer, if that was possible. “That’s another reason to not rush over to that ship. You don’t know what they’ll do when they see you. They might rape you. Abduct you.”

  Lindsey reached the supply closet and opened the door. Pulling out the false floor, she grabbed a percussion blaster. The larger stockpile of weapons was upstairs, within easy reach of where they lived. “I’ll be careful.”

  Tara winced, her dislike of violence finally rippling through her calm acceptance of life’s rough treatment. “A blaster?”

  “You’d prefer me unarmed?” She watched her mother struggle with her fears for Lindsey’s safety and her Buddhist beliefs against armed confrontation. Lindsey leaned down to kiss her mother’s elfin face, unable to watch the moral conflict duking it out in her eyes. “I won’t shoot them on sight, Mom. I’ll give them a chance to be nice.”

  “Do what you have to,” Aaron said, but he lowered his eyes when Tara looked at him. His voice low in apology, he said, “Losing one daughter was more than I wanted to bear. I can’t face losing both.”

  Tara nodded her understanding, hugging him close with skeletal arms. Unable to witness their pain, Lindsey turned away and crept to the double doors, alert for any sign of others in the area. “Get back upstairs,” she ordered. “Stay out of sight. The crash might attract some desperate characters to the area, and I don’t want to lose what little we have.”

  Nothing outside stirred except the palm tree fronds holding up the blameless blue sky overhead. Lindsey stepped through the doors, angling her body to avoid the dagger shards of glass that reached to spill her blood. She darted to the dubious cover of a burned-out hover shuttle on the street in front of the building, watching carefully for any enemy, be it Earther or Kalquorian.

  * * * *

  Bacoj was out of the ship and down the ramp the instant the main hatch opened. Japohn’s growl followed him, and the brawny Nobek was on his
heels in an instant.

  “Bacoj, you wait until I’ve determined we’re clear!”

  The young Kalquorian turned to face his clanmate. “You’ve been scanning for hostiles for the last thirty minutes. How much more clear can we be?”

  The massive Japohn stood over him, his blue-purple eyes scanning the windswept beach on one side and the tall buildings on the other. Long, loose black curls spiraled to his muscular shoulders, left bare by his red-trimmed black formsuit. Japohn was a behemoth by even Kalquorian standards. He looked big and clumsy with 300 pounds of bulky muscle, but Bacoj knew his Nobek’s agility was not to be underestimated. The man was quick and vicious in a fight. If Bacoj hadn’t been so angry right now, Japohn’s scowl, nearly hidden behind his mustache and goatee, might have given him pause.

  Bacoj turned to look their surroundings over. On the street bordering the beach, abandoned hover craft transports and archaic automobiles on round black wheels dotted the surface on which they had once traveled. Almost all of them were blackened, burnt hulks of metal and molded plastic. None of the nuclear explosions that had wiped out most of Earth’s inhabitants had happened here. The surviving Earthers had obviously turned on each other in an orgy of destruction.

  Japohn’s sharp eyes looked over everything, suspecting every piece of the landscape of harboring enemies. “We may be under observation from a distance. Let me do my job of protecting you.”

  Nobeks were the clan defenders, and Japohn was taking his position very seriously. Too seriously, in Bacoj’s opinion. He twitched, shaking off Japohn’s heavy hand on his shoulder. “I’m already outside. I need to check the engine to see how much damage was done.”

  He strode over the rippled skin of sand, hearing the soft grind of his knee-high boots against the grainy surface. He restrained a groan at the damage to the underside of their shuttle. It looked like Japohn had used it for a punching bag. He opened the engine

  compartment, wincing in expectation. “We took a direct hit from that magnetic surge. It can’t be good news.”

  Japohn ran his hand over the hull. “The whole skin is crumpled. It’s my fault. We should have taken the long way and avoided the portal like you wanted.”

  Yes we should have, Japohn. But we always have to do things your way, don’t we? Bacoj bit back the angry words. His clanmate sounded sincerely upset with himself, especially since their other clanmate Vax had been hurt in the crash. And who was really at fault? He knew who his superiors would blame.

  Bacoj took a deep breath. “I was the one piloting. And I am clan leader. The blame for this is mine.” He raised his voice to a yell. “Vax, hit the ignition.”

  The shuttle powered up with a thick grinding sound that masked its usual efficient hum. Purplish-black smoke roiled from the compartment, and Bacoj coughed as the fumes hit him. Still, there was a sense of relief.

  “All right, shut it down!”

  The ship fell silent again. Light thumps on the ramp claimed Bacoj’s attention, and he turned to see Vax leave the ship to stand at Japohn’s side. The smallest member of their clan, Vax looked somehow childlike and defenseless next to the Nobek. His well-formed face, usually gentle with a smile, was drawn. His brows pinched close to each other. Bacoj’s Imdiko, the clan’s nurturer, was in obvious pain, his broken arm encased in a hard shell and supported in a sling.

  “What’s the verdict?” he asked them.

  Bacoj smiled encouragingly. “Fortunately, I don’t see major damage to the engine. It’s the power recharger that’s the real problem, along with the loss of all but one thruster. I can repair it well enough for a few short hops.”

  Vax, ever the optimist, smiled back. “It beats walking.”

  Bacoj looked towards the southwest, seeing nothing but dark, hulking buildings, the glass broken out of windows and doors and strange hieroglyphics painted on their exteriors. He’d learned a little of the Earther language English since that was the dialect of the area he was assigned to. But he couldn’t read any of the writings posted on the seemingly abandoned buildings. Bacoj was low in rank, a mere shuttle pilot, and he hadn’t counted on much interaction with Earth’s native population.

  “I’ll also have to repair the stabilizers. Once that’s done, we might be able to reach the search teams southwest of here within three days.”

  Vax’s blue-purple eyes widened. “Three days? There’s no hope of restoring communications with the fleet?”

  He must be in a lot of pain to be so worried. We’ll have to make him take pain inhibitors. Bacoj swallowed. Vax was an easygoing man, never making waves and content with whatever life threw in his direction. The complete opposite of Japohn, in fact.

  “The com panel is fried, along with environmental controls. We’ll have to open the atmospheric vents and hope this mild weather holds.” The gravity of their situation hit Bacoj with renewed strength. “My commander is going to have my head for this.”

  Japohn frowned. “I was the one who insisted we take the unstable Bermuda Triangle portal. If anyone is to be punished it’s me.”

  Bacoj regretted sharing his anxiety. “I’m the pilot and the clan Dramok. The responsibility is mine. How’s that arm, Vax?”

  The Imdiko tried for a brave smile, but he looked like he might vomit. “Sore, but I think I’ll survive.”

  “I want you to take a pain inhibitor.” When Vax opened his mouth to protest, Bacoj held up his hand for silence. “We’ve got enough for you to last until we get to the search party’s base.”

  “But if someone else needs it—”

  “No one else is hurt. You’ll take as much as you need.” It was easy to be clan leader with Vax. He took orders with little argument.

  Japohn stiffened, and they immediately looked in the direction that had his attention. Vax asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “Someone’s coming.”

  Bacoj saw nothing moving among the refuse of the Earther landscape but didn’t doubt his Nobek’s claim. A bounty hunter before the war, Japohn could detect danger better than most. Bacoj’s hand went to the dagger sheathed in his belt. “How many?”

  “I think one. You two had better get back inside the shuttle just in case.”

  Bacoj let go of the blade, confident in Japohn’s ability to handle a single Earther. “We’re a rescue operation first and foremost. It may be someone who needs our help.”

  “We aren’t in much of a position to help anyone, including ourselves,” Japohn reminded him.

  “Still, let’s not be too hasty to attack if we’re approached. We can at least give a good impression of our people.”

  Japohn snorted, his gaze still riveted on a burnt out husk of a transport vehicle. Bacoj couldn’t be sure if he would obey his orders. Not for the first time, he wondered if he’d made a mistake clanning the assertive Nobek.

  * * * *

  Peeking through the filthy windshield of an electric car, Lindsey swallowed, her dry throat clicking. All three aliens were staring in her direction. She’d been spotted despite her best efforts to remain hidden. She was still a block away. Surely that was enough of a head start for her to evade them.

  But her parents were starving, especially her father. Lindsey knew he’d been going without to make sure Tara had enough food. Desperation made her bold. She stood up straight and walked towards the Kalquorians, putting on a brave face like a mask.

  She studied them as she drew closer, staring at them as frankly as they stared at her. Her eyes went to the tallest one first. She’d known Kalquorians were big, averaging about six and a half feet tall, but this one was a monster. His clinging black outfit showed every bulge of his amazing physique. Black curls hung to his wide, bare shoulders. His skin, like the other two, was dark like the people of the Middle East. His face was handsome but the expression he wore, watchful with suspicion, made him look brutish. Fear licked through her belly, turning her insides strangely warm. Heavens, he was the most virile-looking creature she’d ever set eyes on.

  The smallest of
the three men was still at least a foot taller than her own five-five height and well-muscled in proportion to his frame. The tense but gentle expression he wore gave her courage to keep going. Hair swept back from his attractive face in soft waves. She liked the strength of his chiseled jaw. He’d apparently been injured. One of his arms was encased in a hard-molded gray shell, and a strap slung around his thick neck held it close to his chest.

  The third man was thicker bodied than his injured friend, his face striking even though it wore a frown. Despite the downturn of his sensuous lips, he didn’t look unfriendly. His was a look of concern, as if he had enough problems without an Earther showing up for who-knew-what reason. He tossed his head as a breeze blew an errant lock of his long, wavy hair across his unlined face. Lindsey wondered if the hair was as soft as it looked.

  Lindsey had known the Kalquorians were similar in features to Earthers, but she hadn’t expected them to be so attractive. They were gorgeous examples of masculinity with wide shoulders, tapered waists, muscled thighs and … she warmed as her gaze skittered over the prominent bulges of their crotches. Their clothing left very little to the imagination.