Invasive Species: An Epic Military Sci-Fi Series by Ben Stevens

Author:Ben Stevens [Stevens, Ben]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aethon Books
Published: 2021-02-08T16:00:00+00:00

They ran on through the dark, their only thought to put as much distance between them and the elemental as possible. Even carrying Carbine, Lucy moved like a machine, no longer holding back, forcing Jon to push himself to his limits. His ragged breathing punctuated the silence of the dead city as he willed himself to keep going. Sweat no longer beaded on his brow and pooled in his eyes, and that worried him. He knew enough about the human body to know that he was far into the red, that soon, he would succumb to dehydration and exhaustion. Blissfully, as if she had read his mind, Lucy slowed to a halt.

Jon bent at the waist, his hands on his thighs, and sucked air. He wanted to thank her but couldn’t manage to speak just yet. They had entered a wide space of some kind; its dimensions and nature eluded Jon, for without the electric torch, he only had the dimmest of distant ceiling light to see by.

His breathing slowed eventually, and he straightened up, preparing to ask Lucy if she happened to have any water hiding on or in her body.

Just then, the air around them blossomed in a wash of bright light. Jon heard primitive, pre-Storm engines turn over and rev in a semi-circle around them. More lights bloomed, these ones belonging to the idling vehicles. It was only then that Jon realized Lucy hadn’t stopped for his benefit.

Jon squinted and held up his hand, trying in vain to shield his eyes from the blinding light. Silhouettes moved in front of the lights, revealing perhaps a dozen or more humanoids.

“Of all the cursed luck...” Lucy mumbled to herself.

“What’s going on?” Carbine asked weakly, straining his head to see, then giving up with a moan of pain.

“Well, well, well,” a voice called out from near the center of the semicircle of lights and rumbling engines. “We just get done bumping down some pickers and who but stumbles into our lap? My favorite whore.”

“You could never afford me, Radi8tr,” Lucy replied calmly. The speaking man chuckled, which prompted laughter and murmurs from his unseen companions.

“That’s funny, Lucy.” The man now stepped out far enough in front of the vehicles’ beams for Jon to get a decent look at him. Dark skin, closer to Carbine’s hue than Elena’s; hair cut so short it was barely more than stubble on his skull; gangland tattoos, like stickers or badges of honor, spotted his wiry arms. His clothes, starched crisp and white, were cleaner and nicer than Jon would have expected for a denizen of the Underground, which perhaps signified his station. A shiny chrome pistol hung from one ring-and watch-studded hand. “I guess if I can’t afford to fuck you, I’ll just have to rip you apart and sell you for spare parts.” More laughter. Radi8tr grinned like a coyote over a fresh kill. His teeth glinted, reflecting the light of the beams, flashing gold and silver.

“Jon, these are the East Side Lords. They will kill you.

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