Chapter 22
Firming his resolved, Adam ducked into the vegetation, gripping the flash rifle tighter as he did so. He had to give Sherri enough time to get clear. Once the Juireans picked up his scent, they would concentrate all their efforts in this direction, allowing her time to escape. How he would elude the Juireans and their machines long enough for him to make it to the spaceport — of that he had no idea. He also had no false illusions that the drones wouldn’t be able to take him out from the air. Depending on what level the drone’s flash rifles were set at, it may take a shot or two to kill him, but it was perfectly feasible that that could happen.
Hopefully, his heat signature would be programmed into the Juirean computers by now; if the Juireans planned on taking him alive, then they could direct the drones just to track him through the jungle without firing on him. Yet from the Juirean actions so far, they didn’t seem too opposed to simply killing him. With so many forces aligned against him, his only chance at survival may be to let the Juireans capture him; then he might be able to escape at some future date. He had done it before. But to be blasted from the air — that would suck.
Adam moved back toward the river, skirting the shore just inside the tree line, heading for the Juireans. The drones buzzed past, but over the jungle, moving further from the river. The Juireans figured he’d move away from their position, rather than toward them, but this might be the only way he could save his life.
Within a few minutes, the tanks were nearly upon him, and Adam could see there were troops moving along behind them in the path cleared by the tracks. He moved into the jungle, allowing one of the towering and noisy vehicles to pass by. But then a drone appeared above him. He dove to his right, just as a powerful blast struck the ground to his left.
So much for surrendering. He rolled on his back and fired into the air, striking the drone.
Immediately, he heard shouting, as a dozen armed troops moved in his direction. He fired again, hitting one of the Rigorians in the chest. But then bolts began to splash all around him. He tumbled into the palms and vines — just as he was hit. The bolt struck his right calf, sending him to the ground with a spasm of pain. He groaned loudly, lying on his back, cradling the flash rifle on his chest. He fired again, missing this time. But then another bolt hit his left shoulder, and the pain was unbearable. These were flash rifle bolts, not the lower-intensity shots from the MK’s.
Adam felt himself losing consciousness, barely noticing when several creatures descended upon him, pulling the rifle from his weakened grip. The pain was gone now, replaced with an almost heavenly feeling of peace. His eyes fluttered and then closed, bringing to him such a sense of relief that it left a slight trace of a smile on his blood-splattered face.
Senior Guard Jydle Ga Liplun pushed his way through the crowd of creatures surrounding the body. Once the others realized who he was, they separated, allowing him an unobstructed view. The Human was lying on his back, covered in blood, with a peaceful-looking expression on his face. A medical Nuvilian was huddled over the body; he looked up when Jydle came near.
“He is still alive; why I do not know,” the Nuvilian said.
Jydle lifted a datapad from his satchel and pulled up an image. He compared it with that of the unconscious Human. It’s him — and he’s alive!
Jydle turned away and used the datapad to open a link to his ship. “Let the Overlord know that we have Adam Cain,” he said when another Juirean came on the screen. “He is alive but injured. Send the report.”
The Juirean looked back at the Human. You don’t look all that impressive, Human, not to have caused all this concern, the Juirean Guard thought, addressing the body. Jydle had captured the so-called super-being. Now it would be up to others to have their way with him.
Chapter 23
Sherri had made her way southward, following the course of the river, moving closer to the Juirean location. She knew Adam would have expected her to go west, toward the town, and make her way to the spaceport. But she couldn’t do that, at least not right now.
From her vantage point on the opposite side of the river, she had witnessed the effects of the brief battle between Adam and the Juirean forces. It had made her mad that her instincts had been right: Adam wasn’t about to run from his pursuers. Instead he would try to give her time enough to get away and to bring the search to an end.
She had seen the flash bolts strike the two drones, as well as the sounds of battle from within the jungle, and then everything had gone quiet. There had been dozens of creatures amassed against him, so even Adam Cain was outmatched. She fought back tears. The odds were she had just witnessed the death of her friend — her best friend in the entire universe.
This also meant she was now alone on the planet Hyben. Adam had been such a strong rock in her life for the past year that it was now hard to imagine him not being there anymore.
There was still a lot of activity across the river, but the drones had ceased flying. She should be safe for now; after all, it was Adam Cain who was the big prize, not her. She doubted the Juireans even knew her name.
It was about mid-day on Hyben and Sherri had the rest of the day and night to make it out of the jungle and across the town to the spaceport. The distance wasn’t the problem. Whether she could make it there without drawing attention to herself was the real question.
Reluctantly, Sherri turned back into the jungle, separating the covering vines and leaves as she went. The jungle had become a blanket of sorts for her over the past five days. She steadied her emotions as she trudged along. So many terrible things had happened to her — and to her race — over the past few years. And the battle was continuing. It was time for her to get back into the fight.
Sherri left the jungle just on the west side of the massive Hyben shipyards. Through a combination of frequent rain showers and sweat, most of the caked-on mud had washed off of her, but still, she was a mess. Her hair felt like a stiff, brown cap on her head, and her tunic was stained and torn in so many places to be almost non-functional. Looking like this, it would be impossible for her to pass through the town without attracting attention.
She moved along the fence line next to the yards until she came to a neighborhood of Hyben mounds. There were a few of the natives about, so she ducked behind the mounds as best she could to keep from being noticed. Still, a few of the Hyben did see her, but the normally timid creatures did their best not to make eye contact with the disgusting-looking alien.
This couldn’t go on; she still had a dozen kilometers to cover. Sooner or later one of the natives would call the Mulinni to report the suspicious alien in their neighborhood.
A small male Hyben opened the door to his chamber and disappeared inside. Sherri moved quickly toward the door and tried the handle. It was unlocked; apparently Hyben did not feel the need for security. After today, he may rethink this belief.
Sherri slipped inside and came face-to-face with the shocked alien.
“Who are you? You do not belong here,” the Hyben protested. He unfurled his back plates to show his full size, a move meant to intimidate the much smaller Human.
Rather than being scared, Sherri whipped out her blade and extended out to its full length. She brandished the sword in the face of the Hyben.
“All I need are your clothes,” she said. The Hyben stepped backwards as his mouth formed the circle she had come to recognize as the look of shock.
“My clothes? Why?”
Sherri waved her left hand down her body. “I can’t go to town looking like this, now can I? Do a girl a favor and help me out.”