Alien Read online

  Kal straddled the officer. They struggled for the remaining weapon in the officer’s hand. The Magnum. Though he had the officer in weight and size, the officer didn’t quit. One hand on the Magnum, the officer squeezed off a round, which brightened the night sky with a tremendous red ball-shaped blaze. Kal repeatedly pounded the officer’s hand against a rock until the Magnum flung into the woods.

  The Paoni’s other hand produced a knife and stabbed him. Severe heat sizzled up the inside of his thigh and sent a river of fire into his bloodstream, letting him know the blade was drugged. The blade twisted. Kal bit back the pain, thrived on it, and redirected it into strength. He squeezed the officer’s wrist until he forced the knife’s release. Though it wasn’t easy, he pinned the Paoni’s forearms beneath his knees. The officer didn’t stop.

  For a smaller person, the inner strength amazed Kal. Though his opponent’s arms were secured beneath Kal’s knees, the Paoni used this as leverage and attempted to head-butt Kal. Though the height difference between them didn’t allow head-to-head contact the solid blow to the middle of his chest knocked the wind out of Kal. On reflex, he shoved the officer with enough force to cause the back of his helmet to hit the ground hard. His head bounced once then all motion stilled. Kal quickly leaned forward, shifting some of his massive weight into his arms as he held down the officer by the shoulders. Though he tried to see through the shield, its dark tint allowed no glimpse of the officer inside the helmet.

  A lack of response from the Paoni had Kal believing he’d knocked out the officer. Kal searched for the one aspect of the battle suit that wasn’t officer-specific. An emergency-release trigger had been installed in case an officer went down and needed to be removed from his suit. He worked his fingers underneath the edge of the helmet. A subtle movement of the hips beneath him gave a clue he was wrong about the officer’s condition. Before he found the release trigger, the officer’s boot tip made contact between his shoulder blades.

  A sharp object ejected from the boot and penetrated his flesh. Damn. A Pulsar dart. Short bursts of energy pulsated from the point. It thrived on the victim’s heartbeat. With the increase of the pulse rate, the energy bursts also increased until the heart short-circuited and quit beating. Kal took slow deep breaths and concentrated, fighting his system’s natural need to panic and pump blood faster. Though the officer bucked beneath him, Kal managed to stay seated, held down the Paoni, and fought to remain in control. One shaky finger tripped the release trigger of the helmet. A slight gap popped between the helmet and the battle suit.

  Kal worked his fingers into the opening, pried it wider, wrapped a meaty hand on the officer’s neck and clasped tight. It didn’t feel thick or solid like that of a muscled warrior. Instead, an unusual softness met his palm, which surprised him. The officer’s rapid pulse spoke volumes in fear. Or anger, Kal noted as the Paoni wiggled and squirmed and even attempted to implant another Pulsar dart into his back. But Kal was ready for this one and shifted. The second boot missed. The dart shot across his shoulder and lodged in a tree.

  Seconds seemed like minutes before the officer stilled. Kal couldn’t be certain if he’d killed the Paoni or simply suffocated him until he passed out. Either way it didn’t matter. The officer was incapacitated—for the moment. Inwardly, Kal battled the effects of the drug from the knife and the bursts of energy from the dart. If he didn’t do something soon, he’d be in the same condition as the Paoni—out cold, or dead. From the way his body hurt, death would be a relief right about now.

  He assumed from the throbbing headache, the drug was Kettlemine. A poison to most, but not to him. Threatened with it too many times in his youth, he had ingested small doses of it over a period of years, until he had developed immunity to it. Now, it simply made him suffer as if he had a severe hangover. He shook his head slightly. The short bursts from the Pulsar weren’t helping his situation, but he knew he couldn’t reach it.

  He needed help. Dio was still locked in the port-o-pod. At least it wasn’t activated for takeoff. Kal gritted his teeth and sucked up the pain as he moved off the Paoni. For a split second, his vision blurred as intense pulses shot through his chest. Kal grappled for the strength to remain conscious. Breathe in. Breathe out. Sweat beaded his brow and moistened his upper lip. The Pulsar dart vibrated as he struggled to stay calm.

  A glance at the Aludra and he knew she’d be of no help. Her lips were blue and her skin paled. Guess the second hit of the KO-2 was more than she could handle. He needed Dio or he was going to die. His heart pounded with every movement, but he had no choice. He had to search the Paoni.

  If memory served him, the controls for the port-o-pod was usually located in the upper left section of the battle suit. He lifted the outer edge of the breastplate. Heavy-handed, he felt for the button that would release Dio. A series of buttons lay hidden beneath a protective flap on the left side of the chest. His thick fingers didn’t fit in the slender opening so he ripped off the flap that covered the miniature control panel and pressed the correct button.

  The port-o-pod spat Dio out then shrank to the size of a marble. Dio gasped for air as he scrambled on hands and knees to Kal. Without being told what needed to be done, Dio caught the Paoni’s glove Kal tossed at him. He didn’t waste time slipping it on. Instead, he wrapped it around the dart and tugged. The instant it was out, Kal relaxed and took a cleansing breath.

  “We’ve got to get that knife out,” Dio stated the obvious as he examined Kal’s thigh.

  “Don’t remove it,” Kal hissed. “It’ll bleed worse. We have to tie a tourniquet above it and wrap it tight before you pull it.”

  With Dio’s help, Kal ripped the leg of his jumpsuit away from the wound. They tore the tattered material into strips. Kal held a long strip tight around his upper thigh to stanch the circulation, while Dio jerked the knife free. Dio wrapped multiple layers of the torn material around his thigh, covering the cut with a makeshift pressure bandage. Slowly, Kal released the tourniquet, while keeping an eye on the Paoni. Something about that one nagged his conscience and whispered danger.

  “That’ll have to do.” Kal groaned. “We’ve got to get out of here. No telling how many Paoni may be headed this way.”

  Dio looked at the Aludra woman. “Is she dead?”

  Kal nodded and sadness filled the young man’s eyes. When Dio crawled over to her, Kal shook his head. The kid didn’t learn. A woman got him into this mess in the first place. A hot blob of red lava landed beside him, letting him know it was definitely time to move. The gap widened. Lava bubbled dangerously close to the rim. Globs of it shot into the air and landed fiery balls of mass destruction around them.

  “Shove her into the pit.” Kal struggled to stand. Dio’s surprised look of disgust struck a nerve. They didn’t have time for sentiment, not if they wanted to survive. “If you don’t and the Adamu—humans—find her, they’ll dissect her remains in the name of science. Do you want that?”

  For a second, he thought Dio wouldn’t comply. He read the indecision in the young man’s face and understood. He’d been there once. Love was a deadly distraction as far as he was concerned. Women weren’t to be trusted. But it was a lesson to be learned not taught. He knew that all too well. No matter what he said, he knew Dio wouldn’t listen. Not when the heart ruled the mind.

  With a swipe of the back of his hand across his eyes, Dio leaned, kissed the dead woman’s cheek then rolled her into the growing pit. She instantly disintegrated in the intense heat.

  “That’s going to be us if we don’t move.” Kal leaned against a tree. The pit popped a pebble-sized glob of molten lava onto Dio’s arm and he screamed in pain, hurriedly brushing it off as he scrambled backward.

  A sensation of pure dread washed over Kal. A presence loomed in the distance, hidden in the night skies. He felt it in the marrow of his bones. Something deadly came for them. Every instinct kicked into high gear and focused on the synergy he sensed in the air. To the unskilled, this would’ve been missed or perceive