AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The squad commander up front signaled us to move. I closed one hand on the canister while I shuffled behind the soldiers moving single file into the marshes ahead.
Gnats swarmed over the brown-spackled reeds. They flew in front of my mask. I wiped the lenses as humidity fogged up the goggles.
The squad commander signaled for us to go left. As the first of the line turned, a roar sounded in the distance. My muscles froze. We all looked to determine from where the noise came.
"Keep moving." The squad commander barked the order. He may have wanted us to get on with the mission, or he wanted to get us away from whatever made the noise. Either way, I tightened my grip on my service weapon and proceeded forward.
We moved quickly and as quietly as we could through the marshland. Our heavy boots and jingling metal gear were the only sounds. Strange yellow birds the size of vultures circled overhead. I watched them with a careful eye. Were they protecting their carrion or waiting for a living creature to soon become their food?
I shook off my wandering thoughts when I noticed we slowed down. Sixty paces ahead, the marshland revealed the enemy encampment. Dirty, stained tarp was staked into the ground, held by frayed cable rope. This Quarek camp had been set up and taken down multiple times on different planets.
Major Zucu checked the heat sensor grid on his rifle. "No life on this side. They must be on the other side of the camp."
Our squad commander positioned his weapon to fire before he continued moving. We did the same. The back of my laser rifle bit into my hip while I carried it.
We trooped past the first tents. A couple soldiers broke from the line to check the other tents for possible traps.
Major Zucu pointed to a ragged cage. "That’s where they must be keeping Varus."
I viewed the cage where the thick bars of steel were dented and bent in several places. Their prisoner was a strong one who made frequent attempts to escape. As I stared inside the cage, an odd mix of anxiety and sadness tugged at my chest. "Where is he?"
The major nudged a broken chain on the ground beside the tent. "Ankle brace. The renegades use it to restrain ring fighters."
My anxiety turned to nausea at the thought of the prisoner being made to fight for sport. What was happening to me? It was natural to feel compassion for the people captured and imprisoned by Quareks. This feeling went deeper, as though I knew Varus on a personal level.
I never met this alien male in my life.
We left the cage and advanced on more tents. We passed one in bad shape. I frowned as the combined stench of waste and marsh rot got through my mask.
The other soldiers smelled it, too. "Filthy Quareks." Someone in front of Major Zucu grumbled. "Worse than dogs."
"Watch it," the major reminded him, his tusks showing more as he voiced his disapproval at the name-calling. "You humans have your criminals, too."
"Yeah, but ours aren’t terrorizing galaxies."
"That’s because they still haven’t mastered intergalactic travel yet." A Javorian soldier joined in. "Leave the Major alone."
I sighed behind my mask. We were all allied against the renegade Quareks, but war tensions among the different people groups never stopped.
Shouts and clashing of metal in the distance made everyone quiet down. I couldn’t tell what language they spoke, but the guttural sounds of fighting were unmistakable.
I blinked and the flame-filled image of the male with red irises flashed before my eyes.
"Get ready." Major Zucu’s warning launched me back into the present. His heat sensor went from blue to orange to red. "We got bodies."
I readied my rifle. We got closer and there they were: a circle of Quarek captors yelling obscenities at two figures. One was a Quarek like them. The other’s back was facing me. All I could see were the large span of grey wings. They stood at least a head taller than anyone else.
My heart jumped in my chest. This towering being, was this Varus the prisoner?
"Go." The squad commander pushed us forward.
The heavily armed infantry soldiers shot forward. I heard shots of laser rifles fired to stun the Quareks. The infantry spread out to shield us.
Major Zucu yelled to me. "Get the serum loaded. We’ll cover you."
I slung my weapon across my back and opened the container at my belt. I loaded one of the syringes into a dispenser.
The major ushered me ahead of him into the space cleared by the soldiers. Mud flew into the air as renegades and soldiers fought. I kept my head down and ran through the camp.
