Conquest ~ Indian Hill 3 ~ A Michael Talbot Adventure (3 page)

CHAPTER T
H
REE

It had been weeks since the mothership or for that matter any of the fighter ships had so much as blinked and Paul could not help but wonder if this was the calm before the storm. Civilization for the most part had crumbled, sure there was a viable resistance set up across the globe but could it stand up
against
any sort of onslaught
?
Paul thought not. The best mankind could hope for was to die free. It wasn’t how he had planned his life
,
but then he figured that it really wasn’t how any of them had.

“Well
,
better g
e
t on with it
,” he said
out loud.

“Sir?”

“Oh
,
I’m sorry
,
Corporal
,” Paul said
as his addled thoughts converted back to the more streamlined and simplified of the military life. “What is it
,
Corporal
.
Addison?”

“Sir
,
the civilians are beginning to grow restless. A growing minority of them want to go topside
,
they’re sick of living like rats, tucked away and hidden.”

“Better to be hidden
,
living like a
rat than shot down like a dog.”

“Sir
,
nothing has happened for over two weeks, maybe the worst of it is over.”

“I take it
Corporal
that you are part of this growing minority?” The
corporal
did not respond. “Do you truly believe
C
orporal
that
our ‘friends’ up in the sky after so thoroughly kicking our mightiest militaries
collective asses
in a matter of days have since decided that maybe this planet isn’t worth the effort after all?”

The
corporal
struggled for a second, Paul couldn’t completely blame him, they had all lost most of their loved ones and wanted to now try to get on with some semblance of normality.

“No
, sir
,
I don’t but what are they waiting for
?
”

“Well
,
that’s the million dollar question
,
isn’t it
?
Maybe they’re busy prepping their ground troops
,
maybe they’re waiting for reinforcements, maybe they’re just toying with us like a cat
with
a mouse. Maybe they just want to completely crush our spirits when they have our greatest champion slaughtered at the hands of their champion live as it’s broadcast around the globe on the Alien Sports
N
etwork. Fuck
,
corporal
,
I don’t know
,
but if so much as one person attempts to go topside without explicit orders to do so I want them detained and if they resist I want them shot. I will not have our last bastion compromised because some in our group want to go smell daisies! Do you understand
,
corporal
?”

“
S
ir
,
yes
, sir
!” The
C
orporal
snapped to attention
, saluted and about-
faced to tell his girlfriend that they’re topside picnic was going to have to be postponed for a while.

“Frank
,
I know you were listening
—
can you believe this shit
?
”

“Sir
,
I can
.
E
very day the aliens do nothing
,
the more restless our charges get. I
almost wish they’d attack so we could direct our energy somewhere.”

“How go the preparations for the fight site?”

“On schedule
,
Paul
,
maybe a little ahead. I think our French friends feel a little guilt for how quickly they were willing to give M
ike
up.”

“Go
od
.
W
hatever leverage we can use on our froggy friends to make sure they get the job done right is fine with me. What have the new models listed the possibilit
y of a successful raid at, Frank?
”

Not good
,
Paul, even with our changes in tactics we’re really only looking at a
one
in
four
chance in pulling this off.”

“Well,
let’s just hope this is the
fourth
chance and not any of the other three.”

“I’m in agreement, oh and one more thing
,
Paul
,
”
t
he
major
turned
and said
as he was headed out the door. Paul nodded for him to continue. “Our stores are down to
two
months even with rationing.”

“One way or the other
,
Frank
,
I don’t think we’re
going to need the full
two
months.” The colonel nodded as he put his cover back on and headed to the civilian sectors to quell any sort of uprising that
might have been
rearing its ugly head.

'
Is any of this worth i
t?
'
Paul could feel his
deepest doubt
s
surfacing, he
thought
. H
e felt powerless to stop them.
Even he though
t
the
y
should have the
chance to breath in fresh air one last time
.
Throw a baseball under a beautiful blue sky once more
.
Hear the laughter of children as they played on a swing set
.
Was
n’t that their right? NO! Paul forced it down
.

He knew he hadn't taken their rights away
, the invaders ha
d
.
He just felt that he was the
last stop-
gap
to prevent
any
further
loss of whatever rights
they
may have left.
 
Letting
them go would be tantamount to mass murder, sure not by his hands, but he would shoulder the blame all the same. While there was any semblance of hope he would hold onto it as long as possible
.
T
o let go of the
t
iger’s tail now would be to admit defeat and if
Mike
could keep going o
n after all he had been through, then
dammit
,
so could he.
He would
not
be bested, not by the aliens not by fate or destiny and definitely not
Mike
.

“
Even through all this mess.
”
Paul laughed
. “
I
t
comes down to
a
competition with
Mike
. I won’t lose to him, to see that smug look of satisfaction on his face as he sees me in defeat, I would rather die at the hands of the aliens.
”
And somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind
,
he knew that he would get his chance.

CHAPTER FOUR
  - Mik
e
Journal Entry 2

“How are you doing
,
M
iiiii
k
e
?”

I was aroused from my sleep to a butchering o
f my name. Was it friend or foe?
My memory seemed to have taken an indirect hit during my bouts but as the layers of
unconsciousness peeled away
,
I was able to place a name with the
face hovering over me
.

"
Drababan
i
?” I’m sure I returned the butchering almost as well as my visitor.

“Close
,
hu-man,
it is pronounced Dra-ba-ban,
how are your wounds?”

I had not the resolve or the strength for the barbs I felt like issuing. Or lies for that matter. My next and most likely last combatant probably knew my condition far better than I. “I still hurt
,
Drababan
and I feel as weak as a new born lamb.”

“I do not feel pity for you,
hu-man you have proved your might over and over again. And you have f
ought honorably.
I will feel something that
G
enogenerians seldom
do
. I think that your hu
-
man term is regret
—
regret that I will have to exterminate the life force that is within you. If all of your kind battled like you
,
we may have moved on to a much easier confrontation.”

“Confrontation? Is that what you’re calling it? It was wholesale slaughter. You took us completely by surprise and have done your best to exterminate what is left.” I knew what I was about to say was a lie
,
but if I could make this brute just stop to think for even a second it was worth it. “And you’ll see what my kind can do when our backs are to the wall.”

“To the wall? I do not understand
,
hu-man.”

“It means
,
you fucking ape
,
that we’re not through
yet
.
W
e’ll
make you pay for what you’ve done!” It was false bravado
,
but it was still somehow cathartic.

“M
iiiik
e
, I did not come here to elevate your vital signs, I came as one warrior to honor another warrior.”

“
Drababan
,
I am not a warrior, I’m just some scared kid who’s world has been t
urned upside down.
I was cornered and I did what I could for myself, but at what cost, I have lost my soul
,
Drababan
.
I traded my life for my soul.”

“Ah
,
that is something I do understand, the
Pro
gerians do not believe in what you call a soul but the
G
enogerians in secret have always believed in Cravaratar.”

“Crava
ra
tar?”

“That would be equivalent to your religion, I think is the word you use.”

“You’re spiritual? I find that hard to believe.” D
rababan
seemed unperturbed at my comment.

“There are a few of us left that hold on to the old ways, although under penalty of death for practicing our rites has greatly reduced our numbers.”

Recognition dawned. “Is that how you became a gladiator?”

“Gladiator? Ah yes, I was the leader of a small group of worshippers when soldiers stormed my home
.
T
hey killed all that were present save me. I was forced to become amusement for the masses.”

“So have you sold your Cravatar for you
r
life
?
”