The Colony Read online

  Several latches began to unbolt, each of them done so with caution by someone on the building's interior.

  “I guess I should have threatened them with a cutting torch that we don't have.” Wesley commented, smiling at his XO.

  “Just ready your rifle and make sure it stays that way, at least until we find out what in the hell is going on.” Jack replied, prompting the soldier to shoulder his rifle at the ready.

  “Identify yourself!” Renaldo yelled, trying to keep the heat signature in his scope.

  Both Jack and Wesley turned, realized their sniper had indeed seen something caution-worthy. But, moments after, the steel door began to creak open.

  “Get inside.” Jack ordered, both of the soldiers under his command doing just that.

  A frightened man backed away just a bit, noticeably malnourished.

  “I'm sorry,” Jack said, slowly pushing the rifle of Wesley away from the man's face. “We're Earth Defense Marines.”

  “You...you shouldn't be here.” the strange man replied in a shaky voice.

  “Again, we're Earth Defense Marines. Your colony hasn't answered any communication for at least two weeks. It's standard procedure to deploy a group of marines to check on you, and, well, we're that group.” Jack said, looking around the room, seeming nothing more than a dusty warehouse.

  “Where is everyone else?” Wesley asked, lowering his rifle, though hesitant at first.

  “Dead, mostly. A few of us were able to fall back here and hold position. But going outside of that door is suicide.” the man answered.

  “Dead?” Jacked asked, offering his full attention.

  “That's right. It's all on record, but you need to come this way. Quickly.”

  “You statement sounds military?” Jack asked.

  “I'm a retired general,” the man admitted. “Please, this way.” he added, leading the three soldiers to the rear of the building.

  “Anything on thermal?” Jack asked.

  “No, steel is too thick.” Renaldo replied.

  “Stop,” Jack said, halting everyone. “Listen, I've got men outside those doors and I've got no intention of leaving them. So you're either going to wait here and answer my questions general, or we're all going to take a trip back out into the rain to look for them.”

  “You can drop the general son, I'm not enlisted anymore. And I've got people too, hidden in the floor at the rear of this building and scared shitless. Most of them women and children. While I understand and respect the concern for your people, you'd be wise to give me the same. Otherwise, we're going to have a problem.” The general said bluntly.

  “Children?” Jack asked.

  “Please,” the general said, pausing as if to ask for compassion. “This way.”

  “You two stay on this door. Anything comes in not wearing our uniform,” Jack said, turning to look at both of his men. “You know what to do.”

  “You got it boss.” Renaldo said, reinforcing his statement by a bolt-action slide of ammunition to the ready.

  Though a single building, it was indeed large. Meant as the central part of the colony, a government building, which doubled as a fallout shelter. No windows, and a single entrance.

  “I need to know why most of the colonists are dead. And I need you to carefully think through your words before answering, as I'm forced by Earth Defense code to report your answer directly back to my superiors.” Jack said.

  “Your superiors are of no concern to me,” the general replied with hesitation. “The real judge, jury and executioners are beyond that door.”

  “Who?” Jack asked, stopping the general for a moment with the strong grip of his hand.

  Offering no reply, the general instead broke free of the grasp, lowering himself enough to begin lifting a large grating of steel. A portion of the floor, exposing ten survivors.

  “Dear God.” Jack said, his emotions staggered as he caught sight of nine children, none over the age of seven. Each of them sitting in the small hole with a civilian woman.

  “This is all that remains lieutenant,” the general said, turning as he stood up once more. And the answer to your question is demons.”

  “Demons?” he asked with a puzzled voice.

  Before a reply could follow, however, gunshots began to crack loudly in the background.

  “Report!” Jack yelled, turning to hustle back to the entrance.

  “Earth Defense weaponry, but not ours. Bronson's group maybe?” Renaldo said.

  “Open it!” Jack demanded.

  “Lieutenant, wait,” the general pleaded, doing his best to catch up to the soldier in wait. “If the demons are outside, opening the door will seal all of our fates.”

  Taking a moment to consider the pleas of a retired general, Jack began to think of his men in the rain. Gunshots firing wildly outside of the thick plating of the door.

  “Open it.” he finally ordered, grabbing a small shotgun from his back and readying it with a single hand which held the weapon by the fore-end.

  And with Renaldo laying prone, his scope to the door and rifle at the ready, Wesley slowly began to pull the door open.

  Startling them all, Bronson nearly dove in, his body covered in a grimy mixture of blood and rain-drenched soil.

  Twiggy staggered in as well, beginning to shut the door on his own. Or at least offer an attempt.

  “Shut the door,” Bronson yelled, moving in to help his shell-shocked friend. “Shut the fucking door!”

  “Wait, Avery.” Jack said, starting to intervene.

  “He's fucking gone...in pieces!” Bronson yelled, never slighting on his attempt to seal the entrance. “Now somebody help me get this door shut!” he added, trembling hands working hard against the steel locking mechanism.

  With the immediate help of both the general and Lieutenant Jack Strong, steel connected once more, forcing the horrors of the damning rain to remain outside.

  “Oh fuck.” Twiggy commented, sliding down to a sitting position.

  “Someone is going to start telling me what the fuck is going on!” Jack said, pulling his shotgun back to the ready while adjusting his aim to the general.

  “Please.” the older man said, holding his hands up a bit.

  Determined to get answers, however, Jack remained dedicated with his weapon. Until he noticed a small child approaching them, followed by several more survivors.

  Finally lowering his weapon but never losing sight of his chilled stare onto the general, Jack nodded a bit.

  “Start talking.”

  “We call them demons. Succubus. But the truth is we're not sure what they are.” the general said.

  “Sounds about right to me,” Bronson yelled, still trembling a bit from fear. “Fuck sakes!”

  “Bronson,” Jack replied, staring to the man while thinking of the children looking on. “Shut up.”

  “We were colonizing, doing things according to protocol, and honestly, everything was going smoothly,” the general added. “Then one day, people started missing. At first we suspected our own as though a criminal lived among us, but we began to see this demon. Very tall, very pale. Wings.”

  “Wings?” Jack asked with suspicion.

  “Yes wings,” the general replied firmly. “Not made of feathers, mind you, but steel. Sharp as blades.” he confirmed. “I finally convinced the others to pull back closely so we could better watch our people, but then the succubus creatures began come here. They don't fear us, don't fear weaponry. They just come here and murder.”

  “You said they...how many are we talking about?” Jack asked.

  “We still aren't sure. Maybe just a handful, maybe dozens,” the general replied. “Maybe more.” he said with regret.

  “Don't matter how many,” Bronson added, his normal calm beginning to settle back in a bit. “We encountered just one. Chopped Avery up into pieces with its wings and damn near got me.”

  Jackson looked at him for a moment, trying his best to soak up the entire statement, before fina
lly turning back to the general, who now had all of the survivors behind him.

  “And you didn't once try and radio for help?” Jackson asked.

  “Of course we did. When everything first began, we tried. We did everything we could to get a transmission through this damn rain,” the general responded. “As a last ditch effort, we sent a group out to try and trigger the distress beacon on the far side of the colony. But they never returned.”

  “Your group did you proudly, our ships picked up your beacon several days ago. That's why we're here.” Jack replied.

  “We didn't know what else to do, so the general and I moved our children here. We wanted to keep them safe. Their parents agreed to fight the demons long enough for us to get here, and we've been locked in ever since.” the female survivor said, her voice warm but desperate.

  “Julia, it's alright. I'm sure we are to be safe soon enough.” the general replied.

  “Well you were right to bring the children here. This building acts as a fallout shelter, and I assume that the general's training served you well in this case.” Jack said.

  The general simply nodded, priding himself with being such a resourceful soldier.

  “The bad news is, however,” Jack said with pause. “Help may not be on the way. At least no time soon.”

  “I don't understand?” Julia asked.

  “Well ma'am, the ship we have in orbit is a small marine vessel. What you see in front of you, plus the six aboard our ship in orbit.” Jack replied.

  “Can't you call for help?” she asked.

  “No ma'am. Less than a minute after hitting the atmosphere, we lost all ability to communicate with the ship in orbit. The same rain that stopped your calls for help I'm guessing.”

  “Won't they eventually send more soldiers to look for you?” Julia asked, her concerns growing deeper.

  “Eventually, yes. But the mandatory time frame is thirty-days, at which point they'll dispatch an Earth Defense Carrier to come find us.” Jack replied.

  “Any mech units on your ship?” the general asked.

  “Two, but they're engineering only.” Jack replied.

  “I don't understand? Mech units are supposed to be the ultimate soldiers, the protectors of our race?” Julia asked, unsure of their chances of surviving.

  “Yes ma'am, and the soldier variety are. But we also have a lot of engineering versions in service, and the two aboard my vessel are just that. They can weld with the best of them, but aren't programmed or equipped to fight.” Jack replied.

  “So we have no chance then?” Julia admitted with disgust.

  “What the Earth Defense Marines did send, ma'am, is the toughest group of soldiers this side of Twalian. I'm well-trained,” he said, turning to his soldiers. “We all are. Survival is very much a possibility, but we are going to have to be smart about things.” Jack replied with a smile, his attempt to comfort her.

  “Our chances of surviving greatly increased when you arrived, if nothing else. And for that we are grateful.” the general said.

  “As you already know, we're just doing our job,” Jack replied with a nod. “But I do need to know of any other possible entry points into this building. Any venting systems, tunnels?”

  “No,” the general replied. “All of our breathable air comes in through steel grating on the roof. It's then put through a filtration system and pumped inside using holes on the upper-walls that are smaller than an everyday coin. Our venting systems are safe. No tunnels, no windows. Just that single door.”

  “Good, that's a start,” Jack replied. “Renaldo, you and Wesley stay with the door. We'll rotate shifts on it. Make sure it remains locked up tight at all times,” he ordered, gaining a nod from both soldiers. “Bronson, you and Twiggy find something to get cleaned up a little bit. Check your weapons and report back to me in fifteen.” he added.

  -

  “Anything?” Bailey asked, approaching the small bridge of their ship.

  “Nothing sir,” Chandra replied. “They should have at least checked in by now.”

  “I agree.” the XO commented, staring through the plated glass which overlooked the small moon.

  “What should we do?” Chandra asked.

  “Get Lincoln on the com, tell him to get his ass up here.” the XO replied.

  “Yes sir.” Chandra replied, turning to digitally call throughout the ship using her com system.

  -

  “Yea, I've fought a lot worse than what's outside of this building.” Jack replied, answering the question directed to him by a near-starved six-year old.

  Julia glanced to him with approval, knowing the children needed to feel hope.

  “Fought against much worse.” he added.

  “Will we get to see our mommy and daddy soon?” a young girl asked, catching the soldier by surprise.

  “I,” he began to reply, doing everything he could to hold things together emotionally, eventually kneeling down to face the young girl. “I'm not sure sweetie. I'm not sure,” he added, turning to glance at Julia for a moment. “But I do know that your mommy and daddy stayed outside to fight for you. To keep you safe. And that's our job now, so if they are still out there,” Jack said, fighting back tears. “We'll find them.”

  Thank you. Julia motioned with her lips, eyes crisped with tears for the children.

  Jack replied with a nod, standing once more.

  “Bronson, Twiggy, you guys swap out at the door. I need to talk with Wesley and Renaldo.” Jack ordered.

  And slowly, not to mention very reluctantly, the two men swapped guard detail at the door.

  “The children need food,” Lieutenant Jack Strong commented, both Wesley and Renaldo standing close by. “And they are going to need it as soon as possible.

  “Alright boss.” Renaldo replied, both men agreeing, as were the general and Julia.

  “The supply cache in the chopper...” Jack began to suggest.

  “Bad idea boss.” Renaldo replied.

  “What do you mean bad idea?”

  “Bronson thought it best that we make the most of a short trip.” the sniper replied.

  “Meaning?” Jack asked sternly.

  “He thought it better to bring luxury items.”

  Jack continued a stare of investigation, waiting for a further explanation from the stringy soldier.

  “Vodka and chocolate bars, to be precise.”

  “Are you fucking?” Jack began to ask, stopping short when realizing the children were close by.

  Then, grabbing the sniper by his elbow, Jack led the man away far enough to question him as a soldier.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Jack asked. “You mean to tell me that our supply cache, the metal box which normally contains rations for the field, is full of booze and chocolate?”

  “Vodka actually.” the sniper replied.

  “I don't give a shit!” the XO said with a growl. “He's an idiot for

  suggesting it, and you're an idiot for doing it!”

  “Yes sir boss.” the sniper acknowledged.

  “Cut the boss shit Renaldo, this is serious. These kids have been here way too long without food.”

  “Let me know what you want and consider it done.” the sniper replied, turning for a moment to glance at the children.

  “That's the million dollar question,” Jack replied. “Everyone on me!” he demanded loudly, prompting his group of soldiers to hustle to attention.

  -

  “Hadn't heard from our team on the ground. They should have checked in by now,” Bailey said, a small group gathered on the ship's bridge. “Lincoln and Sayers will take the second copter down for a quick flyby. Recon only. You hustle your asses down below the hard deck and find out what's going on. Then you report straight back to me. Double time!”

  “Yes sir.” Lincoln replied, the husky soldier resembling a street hooligan in appearance, black hair hanging just below his ears and a strong chisel of chin.

  “I mean it Lincoln, recon only.” Bailey
reminded him.

  “I got it.”

  It was a legitimate reminder, Lincoln's wrap one of being a hothead. More times than not, he would do what needed to be done, even against direct orders. A soldier, not a politician.

  Red tape was not his strong suit, and most of those within Earth Defense ranks wanted no part of him on their team. But Lieutenant Jack Strong had been the exception. He could appreciate a man with values. And Lincoln respected Jack as a leader. Only part of the reason that Bailey felt inclined to remind the man of the sensitivity of the mission ahead.

  Then there was Sayers. Typical soldier, though a bit on the scrappy side. Brush cut up top and a frame that filled out with the results of daily pushups. Though he was a good soldier, very solid with a battle rifle, his knack was reading digital equipment. He could literally see things through a monitor in a simple flyby that most others seemed to miss. He had an attention for detail.

  And though Bailey worried a bit, he had no time to second guess his order. The two men had already boarded their chopper, prepping it for a hop. Doing it so quickly that most looking on began to wonder if their order had interfered with their routine. One that consisted of eating, sleeping...and not much else.

  “Stay in contact throughout the flight. Make sure they stay on point.” Bailey commented.

  “Yes sir.” Chandra replied, turning to exchange com traffic in order to test the equipment.

  Then, without warning, the chopper dropped from the hangar back, free-falling through a large opening in the floor.

  It exposed an empty hangar bay. One large room of steel walls with two openings in the floor, each of them normally home to a chopper held in place by extending arms of steel. Now, however, Bailey found himself looking out of the openings onto the glow of a moon below.

  “Always hated this shit!” Lincoln yelled, both soldier strapped in tight as the chopper dropped like a stone into the planet's atmosphere.

  “Well, the rain is knocking out all communication. Something else to hate.” Sayers replied.

  “Fuck it, I don't like talking on this thing anyway. Just stay glued to the monitors and we'll do a quick flyby.” Lincoln said.