Read Warden: A Novel Online

Authors: Gregg Vann

Warden: A Novel (11 page)

“And go where?” Tana replied. “There’s no place left to hide.”

“Yes, there is.”

“Where?”

“Not in front of this criminal. I know damn well that he’s already practicing some entertaining stories to tell the soldiers about us.”

“We can make sure he stays silent for good,” Tana said menacingly. “After what he did to Sri, he has it coming.”

“What? Wait!” Yali yelled, the fear in his voice unmistakable.

“It’s the easy solution,” Barent agreed. “But then we’d be no better than the Collective.”

Tana glared at him. “I’ve only known you for a few days,
baby
, but you are altogether infuriating at times.”

Barent smiled. “It only gets worse”

“I have no doubt.”

Without warning, Barent snapped his arm out and punched Yali in the head. Hard. He fell straight to the ground like a puppet with his strings cut.

“Damn,” Tana said.

“It won’t keep him quiet forever, but at least he won’t be telling anyone about us for a few hours. Now, let’s tie him up and get out of here.”

While Barent tore a few pieces of cloth into strips to bind and gag Yali, Tana grabbed a Nutriall brick off a crate by the bed, throwing it into her backpack. Once Barent was confident Yali couldn’t free himself they fled from the shack, following a path he’d mapped out during a scouting mission the night before. He anticipated this might happen sooner or later, and already had a plan in place for their escape, but Barent had really hoped to be long gone by the time the Collective started searching the Outland.

Just one more day to prepare
, he lamented.
That’s all I needed.

They remained as far away from the main alleys as possible, yet still heard screaming as the Collective troops knocked down shanties and terrified the downtrodden. The soldiers were being as ruthless and destructive as possible in their search—using intimidation and fear as weapons—and Barent knew he had to do
something
to stop them. He got an idea as they drew closer to their destination.

Barent realized they’d have to cross over a wide-open area up ahead and risk being spotted, but that fit into his plan nicely—his
new
plan, anyway. If they did this right, it would take the heat off these poor people and the Collective would leave the Outland.

“Get ready,” Barent said.

“For what?”

“To fight. All hell’s about to break loose.”

Tana didn’t reply, but instead, threw open her cloak to expose a pair of daggers at her waist. Then she pulled her gun out of her backpack and checked the ammo.

The narrow alleyway they were using ended abruptly, emptying into a large clearing where makeshift booths had been set up to form a crude marketplace. Barent peered around the corner and scanned the area, spotting a Collective squad making their way toward their position. He glanced over his shoulder to confirm Tana was ready, and then they waited until the squad was almost right on top of them to strike. Barent gave the signal and they both sprang out of hiding and started shooting.

The Collective troops weren’t nearly as surprised as Barent had hoped—they were probably on high alert, fearing the locals might try something—and some of them made it behind cover to return fire in earnest. But unlike Tana and Barent, the Collective weren’t picky about their aim. They were firing indiscriminately with beam weapons, and striking innocent people as they ran out of the market, trying to escape the fight.

Before the soldiers dove behind a big sheet of metal, serving as a skirt for one of the stalls, Barent counted ten of them total. He’d taken out three in the initial assault, and Tana had killed another two, but the remaining five were leaning out from cover to lay waste to everything in front of them—completely unconcerned as their powerful plasma beams cut thick swaths of destruction through the surrounding camp.

If his plasma rifle held a charge Barent could have just burned through the metal scrap and put an end to this in short order. But it was dead, and his bullets were bouncing off the thick panel like harmless rain. He ducked away from the enemy fire and quickly surveyed the area again, trying to devise a better plan of attack. But when he spun back around to check on Tana she was gone.

Where the hell is she?
Barent asked himself
. Surely she didn’t run away.
I couldn’t have misjudged her that badly.

But then Barent saw a ruffle in the canvass shelter behind the Collective troops, and he watched as Tana stepped out, slicing the throats of two soldiers before they realized she was there. As they fell to the ground, one of the dying men grabbed at her legs in a last desperate act, and Tana went down as well.

The others spun toward her and began to fire, but as they jumped up in panic they presented a clear target. Barent took them down in seconds. Two he killed outright—without thought or hesitation—and then Barent fired off a precise double-tap at the last soldier.

The first bullet knocked the rifle from the man’s hands, while the second punched through his stomach, exiting out of his lower back. Barent knew he’d be out of the fight and rendered harmless, yet still live long enough to speak with the other Collective troops, undoubtedly already on the way.

And that’s exactly what he wanted.

Barent holstered both pistols as he walked over to check on Tana.

“Are you all right?” he asked, extending a hand to help her stand up.

“I’m fine. They were lousy shots.”

Tana raised her pistol to kill the lone survivor but Barent pushed her hand back down.

“No,” he said simply. Then Barent knelt down and pulled the soldier up by his collar.

“How did you track me here?” he asked.

“Fuck you.”

“Tough guy, eh?”

Barent grabbed a round metal bar off the ground and held it up to the man’s face. Its pitted surface was rusty, and the bar had jagged burs running down its full length. It was also glistening with bodily fluids that Barent didn’t want to speculate about…and it stank.

“What do you think would happen if I shoved this thing through that hole in your stomach?” he asked the soldier. “If lice got through the
Le’sant’s
bio-filters, god knows what kind of bacteria made it to this planet. I bet there are things on here the doctors haven’t even seen before.”

“You wouldn’t…” the man said nervously.

“I would,” Barent countered. “And after what you’ve done to these people today, I wouldn’t even think twice about it.”

“Your DNA,” the man gasped. “They gave us a sample of your DNA.” He feebly pointed over at a device sticking out from underneath one of his dead comrades and Tana pulled it free.

“Shit,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve seen one of these before. It’s not fast or easy, but they can use these DNA scanners to track you down anywhere in the city.”

“Then it’s a good thing we’re leaving it,” Barent said.

“Leave the city? You’re mad.”

Tana thought of the barren wasteland out beyond Le’sant’s walls, where no one sane dared to go. And why would they? There was nothing out there. The city sat in the middle of a deep crater surrounded by a frozen, lifeless world—eager to kill anyone stupid enough to venture out into it.

“We wouldn’t last a day out there,” she protested.

“And we won’t last an hour in here,” Barent pointed out.

“But—”

Barent pushed his hood back so Tana could see his face. “It’s your turn to trust
me
,” he said. “And it’s better to die out there, free, than to remain behind and let the Collective take us. Besides, something tells me their treatment would be even less hospitable than what lies beyond the city walls.”

Barent let go of the soldier and dropped the metal bar into the bloody slush surrounding him.

“You have to take my testament for the Vade,” the man begged. “You can’t leave me alone to die! It’s the law!”

“You’re not going to die,” Barent told him.

“But…how do you know?”

“Because I know where I shot you.”

Barent heard voices yelling loudly in the distance—barking commands. More Collective soldiers were coming. He got back up and found himself surrounded by a crowd of downtrodden. They were looking down at the dead squad, but gazing even more intently at Barent.

Some of the soldier’s blood had ended up on Barent’s face, making his pure white skin even more obvious, but it was his size and the twin pistols strapped across his chest that truly gave his identity away. The downtrodden studied Barent’s features—comparing them to likenesses they’d seen their entire lives. And then a slow murmur began to flow through the crowd. Soon, those whispers grew loud enough to hear.

“It’s the Great Betrayer.”

“It can’t be. It’s been five hundred years. How could he still be alive? Yet…his skin.”

“He’s come back, I tell you. Look at his face.
Look.
It’s really him!”

Barent pulled his hood back over his face and leaned down to speak in Tana’s ear. “We need to leave,” he said calmly. “And we’d better do it now.”

The crowd parted to let them through and they ran to the nearby gate leading out of the city—the commotion behind them growing louder as more of the downtrodden arrived to see what was going on. Barent threw the solid metal doors open and a frigid gust of air hit them in the face, and then Tana followed him out onto the icy surface of the planet. They heard the loud yells in their wake plainly over the sound of snow crunching beneath their feet, and even the howl from the growing wind couldn’t hide the outbursts.

“It was Sergeant Barent! Did you see?”

“The Great Betrayer is alive!”

“He’s come back to save us!”

Tana pulled her cloak around herself tightly as they moved out further from the city wall, but despite her efforts to stay warm, the icy wind cut right through her clothing. Ahead of them she saw nothing but ice and snow, and behind was an entire army that wanted them dead.

But despite her predicament, Tana smiled.

She knew the word was out now, and there was no way to stop it from spreading—no matter how hard the Collective tried. Soon, all of Le’sant would know the secret that only she’d held up until this very moment…a secret that would change everything.

The Great Betrayer had returned.

CHAPTER TWELVE
The Frozen Planet

It was a bitter and biting cold.

Not the ever-present chill Tana was accustomed to in the Common Ring, or even the frigid, icy air of the Outland slums. This was something much, much worse. And Tana didn’t think she could hold out much longer.

It had been more than two hours since they’d fled Le’sant, and there was no longer any trace of the city left behind them—nor had there been any signs of pursuit by the military. The snow flurries filling the sky occasionally parted long enough for Tana to see the towering outline of the crater wall—dozens of kilometers out ahead of them—but when she looked back at the route they’d already travelled there was nothing but white. White ground. White sky. White nothingness.

What the hell was Barent thinking?
Tana wondered
. We are going to die out here, just as surely as if we’d stayed behind to face the Collective troops.

He hadn’t said a word to her as they shuffled through the thickening snow. Barent just kept relentlessly pushing forward, moving through the wind and sleet like a man driven. But driven by or toward what, Tana had no idea. She just hoped that
he
did.

Tana’s foot hit an ice-covered rock and she went down, landing flat on her back. She tried to lean forward and force herself up again but was far too weak. Tana was exhausted, and the fresh snow was pulling her down into a permanent and lethal embrace. It was like some desperate lover, refusing to let go, and Tana knew that she had neither the will nor the energy to escape it.

Several moments passed before Barent noticed she’d fallen behind, and he had almost disappeared into the misty white haze completely when he turned back and spotted her on the ground.

Barent ran to Tana’s side and knelt down.

“What happened?” he asked her, yelling above the sound of the wind.

“I fell on something, but I’m fine. I just can’t seem to get up.”

Barent leaned in closer and pushed a hand down one of her pant legs.

“Hey!” Tana yelped.

“Relax, thief. Your legs are freezing.”

“Yeah. Unfortunately, I don’t have your resistance to the cold.”

“No, you don’t. You should have said something.”

“Probably. But it seemed like your mind was elsewhere.”

Barent began removing his padded armor—taking the jacket off first, and then pushing Tana’s arms through it. He fastened it around her snuggly and flipped up the collar. Then Barent removed his boots and slid his armored leggings off, leaving him in just a regular pair of pants and a short-sleeve shirt. He pulled his boots back on and re-slung his pistol holster, and then Barent drew his cloak over his shoulders before opening the strap and tossing the plasma rifle across his back again.

He knelt down to pull Tana’s shoes off, but when Barent saw how small her feet were he realized he could just slip his pants right over top of them. He pulled the waist up high underneath the jacket, so her torso was doubly insulated, and then Barent yanked the cuff straps tight at Tana’s ankles. He rubbed both of her legs vigorously to try to warm them.

“Thank you,” Tana said appreciatively.

“I should have been paying better attention to how you were doing. I’m sorry.”

“What are we going to do, Barent? We can’t survive out here.”

“No, we can’t.”

He grabbed Tana’s arms and helped her stand up, and then Barent held her against his side for support. He wiped the snow off her face and pointed out ahead of them.

“Do you see that rounded prominence sticking up from the ground? It’s just off to the left.”

Tana squinted as more snow flew into her eyes, focusing her attention on the area Barent indicated. After a moment, she spotted a shadowy outline on the horizon.

“What is it?” she asked.

“It was one of our more distant outposts during the Pardon War.”

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