Condemned (Death Planet Book 1) (35 page)

This was like hunting bears, back in the good old days. The men would beat the woods, the hounds would push the bear toward him, then he could step in and rip the creature apart.

The King smiled. The heart-pounding thrill of the chase. The smell of blood. Now that had been fun. It was so long since he'd had any. He should do it again. Bianca would enjoy a good hunt. He could string up a bear, and let her skin it alive.

Oh. No. No, he couldn't. The last he'd seen, she was still writhing on the bed with her head on a pillow stained with her own blood. Screeching and clawing at the doctor as he ummed and ahhed about the best way to remove the nails, without making a mistake that might cost him his balls.

What was he doing thinking of himself at a time like this?

Water splashed as Kevin jumped down into the river. Was that fuckwit trying to escape? He waded out into the water, until it was almost waist deep. The King reached down, toward the revolver he’d taken from the Guards. Maybe the asshole thought a bullet in the back would be a less painful death than what he had in mind. Would be a shame to let him off easy.

“Sir,” Kevin said, as he turned. He approached the King, and held up something small and red. Water dripped from a sparkly high-heeled shoe that dangled below his fingers.

“I found this in the water.”

The King's arm whirred as he grabbed it from the man's grasp and held it in front of his eyes. That was the bitch's shoe. Who could afford something so shiny, other than the King?

He tossed it toward the hounds. They hissed as they lunged forward against their chains. One grabbed the toe in its teeth, and the other snapped at the heel, tearing the straps away.

“That's her.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I'm fucking sure. Otherwise I wouldn't be telling you, would I? Let's watch the hounds find the bitch.”

“But, sir, if it's floating in the river...”

“Dead or alive, I want her found. If she’s alive, I want her stripped, then I want her on her knees, begging for my cock.”

D
aniel ran, screaming, through the woods. He’d lost sight of Guy minutes before, as they dodged between tree trunks, and forced their way through the spiny, twisted plants that filled the gaps at ground level. The other guy was old, but had run faster than Daniel ever could. Up ahead was a light, and what looked like a camp fire. The flames, at least, might save him.

Hadn’t he spent most of the last couple of days running from something that wanted to kill him, or worse? His lungs ached, and he could barely feel his legs any more, as the muscles complained about the unexpected exercise. He should just give up. Let it catch him, and sleep for the rest of eternity. Forget the bad things he’d done, that just added to all the bad things the rest of the population of Hades had done already.

But his legs wouldn’t stop moving. His body wanted to live, or die trying. Even as he slowed, it kept putting one bare, scratched, painful foot ahead of the other. Back in EdCamp, just a few days ago in his timeline, he’d never have imagined he could do the things he’d had to do since he arrived.

Or could he?

What if this was all just another VR game? What if this wasn’t his real body after all, just some simulation they’d thrown him into? If he died, they might just laugh as he came out of the VR, and let him go.

That could be true. Couldn’t it?

Trees crashed behind him as something strong and bulky pushed between them. Moonlight flashed from sharp claws and long teeth as it stomped through the plants back there.

If it was a VR, everyone he’d killed would still be alive. The girl would still be alive. The ones he’d seen abused, enslaved and hacked apart would never have suffered for real. The State wouldn’t have killed them by sending them to Hades, just given them a scare, a hint of what life was like for their victims, in the hope they would see sense. The worst and toughest criminals would live in the VR for their entire lives, as they killed the rest and sent them back home, not realizing they were condemning themselves to a life in their own prison and freeing the rest.

It would make sense, wouldn’t it? The planet was too much like home, with air and trees and bushes and furry animals, even if they didn’t look much like the ones he was used to. The people who made the VR just didn’t have much imagination. He’d seen much stranger worlds in the underground games he hacked into at EdCamp.

It not only made sense, it was the only idea that made sense.

Right?

His feet slowed, then stopped. He took a deep breath, and turned. His gaze roamed over the trees. Did they look real? Shiny bark, spiky, dark leaves. As real as anything he’d seen in a VR. Then up to the star-filled sky, where tiny points of light glittered between the branches. Would it look like that in a VR? The wind blew around his face, cooling his cheeks and drying the sweat on his forehead. The smell of rotting leaves filled his nose. The sound of his panting breath filled his ears.

Then the ground shook as the creature approached, its six legs stomping through the forest, and three eyes glowing in the darkness.

T
he boy had been yelling up ahead. Damn right, too, when Moses caught him, he was going to spank the boy’s ass until it glowed in the dark. Then he’d drag the boy back to Kingston, and deliver him to the castle with a sore ass. If that didn’t clear Moses’ name, nothing would.

The yells came closer, but the words were muffled by the trees and the crunching of smashed vegetation. He was actually heading their way. Was he lost? Or did he think he could attack them, and win? Could he? Surely not?

Moses’ boys were ahead of him, swinging their chains to smash down the undergrowth so they could move faster through the woods. If the boy tried to attack, he’d run into them first, and would be on the ground in seconds.

But now his boys were slowing, as though scared by the noise. They glanced at each other, and stared past the flickering light of the torches into the shadows beneath the trees.

He cracked the whip behind their backs. “On, Rimjob. On, Felch.” He nodded toward Butt-Clench. “Don’t kill the boy.”

Butt-Clench slung the crossbow behind his back, and drew his sword. He turned it around, and held the leather-wrapped metal butt high, ready to swing. One smack with that, and the boy would be on the ground, moaning. A few moments later, he’d be moaning for other reasons.

“Whichever of you bastards catches him,” Moses said, “gets to cum on my face tonight.”

That seemed to motivate them better than the whip. They lifted their chains, and swung them harder and faster, widening the path between the plants, around the trails the boy had already crushed down. Something crashed through the undergrowth ahead.

“Ready, my brave boys,” Moses said. He tapped the whip against the palm of his free hand. It would knock any fight out of the boy, if he came close.

Then a face appeared in the trees, with crazed eyes, and a beard even longer than the boy’s. Moses’ mind froze for a second. What the heck was that thing?

The slaves stared at the man as he ran past them. Then moonlight reflected from the brain tattoo.

“Stop him,” Moses yelled.

Butt-Clench swung his sword hilt, but the Brain slammed his hand into Butt-Clench’s wrist. The sword swung past, and Butt-Clench’s eyes opened wide as the point slashed across his neck. He tumbled to the ground, spurting blood, as the Brain raced on toward the trees.

Moses cracked his whip. The Brain dodged away, smashed through the bushes, and vanished into the woods. Moses held his torch high, and took a step after him.

Leaves began to burn around the torch Butt-Clench had dropped. He writhed on the ground, his hands clasping his neck, trying to stop the bleeding. The slaves stared at him, then turned back toward the crunching footsteps in the trees.

Guy’s scarred face appeared in the glow from the burning torch. He stumbled for a second, staring at Moses. Then branches crunched behind him.

“Run,” he said. Then raced on through the trees.

Revenge or redemption? If Moses could catch the Brain, then return him to the King, that should clear up all the little misconceptions the boy might have placed in the King’s mind.

But Guy could get away. After causing all this chaos, he’d live out the rest of his days happy and free.

Fuck it.

Moses tossed his torch and whip aside, grabbed the rifle, and pressed the butt hard against his shoulder. He only had one shot, and Guy was disappearing into the shadows. He’d never fired a gun before, but he aimed along the barrel, and placed the front sight on Guy’s back.

He’d never liked guns. No foreplay, just one bang and it’s all over. What did they say about firing them? Oh, yes, you pull the trigger slow and smooth, like jerking off a virgin.

Guy tried to dodge left and right, but couldn’t move fast with his wounded leg. Just follow his motions until the gun fired. Left. Right. Left. Right.

Moses pressed a finger against the cold metal of the trigger, then began to squeeze.

T
he creature lowered its dark face toward Daniel’s, and sniffed. Its short, spiky fur fluttered in the wind. Two of the three eyes, glowing with reflected moonlight, stared into his. Saliva dripped from the long, pointed teeth as it opened its mouth and blasted a rotten cloud of warm air into his face. If it stood fully upright, it would be at least twice his height, and its arms were longer than he was tall. Hunched over, it was like standing in a furry, stinking tunnel. It raised two legs with sharp claws longer than Daniel’s fingers. The teeth were the size of daggers.

Was it real?

His heart thumped, almost loud enough to hear over the sounds of the woods. Daniel’s body shook, and his legs felt weak. They certainly thought the thing was real.

Would the World State really let dangerous criminals out of a VR where they had been trapped? If they’d done so, surely he’d have heard of it? Unless they set up new identities, to keep their release a secret. Sent them to the other side of the planet, maybe, then flagged their ID to ensure they couldn’t travel, or contact friends.

A drone buzzed toward them, dodging between the trees as it approached. Its lights flickered on, and shone into the creature’s face. The creature raised a hand to block the beam, closed its eyes, and twisted away.

Then it farted. The stench of week-old rotting meat filled Daniel’s nose, and he coughed. He took another breath. The vile gas burned his lungs. He held his nose, and backed away, toward fresh air.

He’d fought monsters in the underground VR games he played, but they’d never done that. What kind of pervert would build corrosive monster farts into a game?

The creature swung an arm, and knocked the drone aside. Then it reared up and hissed at Daniel. The long arm swung again, and the claws slashed through the air toward his face. He jumped back, and they slammed into the tree trunk beside him. Splinters sprayed from the side of the trunk as the claws ripped through it, leaving long gouges behind them.

Let’s think about this another time. When there isn’t a great big furry thing with big claws and big teeth trying to eat me.

Daniel turned and ran, with fresh air in his lungs, and fresh strength in his legs. More shards of wood and bark bounced off his bare back as the creature followed, swinging its claws in both directions, tearing into the trees. A branch tumbled through the air as the creature smashed it down. Daniel ducked, and the branch snapped in two as it flew into the trunk of the tree on the far side of him.

The fire was just ahead, only a few seconds away. The creature slowed as Daniel approached the yellow, flickering glow. The light illuminated the trees and bushes ahead of him. Men stood there, staring at him as he forced his way through the plants toward them. Then their heads turned, and they stared at the creature behind him, instead. They froze for a second as Daniel approached, then began to back away.

“Get away,” he yelled.

Then raced past them. Something caught his feet in a loud rattle of metal on metal that suddenly weighed them down. He went flying, tumbling across the ground and trailing the chain that had tripped him,

He smashed into something wide and leather-clad. Moses yelled as he went down, and the rifle he was holding slid away from him. Daniel landed on top of him, and rolled off.

“You, boy,” Moses yelled.

Daniel struggled to his knees. Moses swung an arm, trying to grab Daniel’s ankle, but Daniel kicked him away. The rifle was on the ground, a metre from them. Could he use it? Back home, the mere sight of a real gun would have triggered him. But, now, that felt like a lifetime ago. He must have killed dozens of people. What difference would one more make?

He lunged forward, wrapped his fingers around the cold, hard barrel, and pulled it toward him. Moses’s elbow smashed into his face with a crunch of bone on bone. Daniel swung the gun, and Moses grunted as the butt connected with something soft and sensitive. Then he wrapped an elbow around Daniel’s neck, and squeezed.

Daniel released the rifle as he reached up to grab Moses’ arm. The gun wouldn’t be much help if he couldn’t breathe. His cheeks glowed red with the blood trapped in his head, and his vision began to fade. His nails dug into Moses’ arm, but it just pulled tighter against his neck.

He slammed his elbows behind him. Moses grunted, and his arm slid just enough for Daniel to take another breath. A drone buzzed down toward him and hovered, recording the action in the flickering light of the nearby fire. Not much more than a metre away. The heat was roasting Daniel’s bare skin.

Maybe...

Daniel pulled his legs beneath him, then kicked out. Moses must weigh twice as much as he did, but the sudden movement took him by surprise. They fell back, slamming down on their sides. Moses’ grip relaxed, and Daniel tried to twist away.

Then Moses’ free hand grabbed Daniel’s balls. And squeezed hard. Sharp pain rushed from his groin to his head, and he yelled as he writhed in Moses’ grip. He grabbed Moses’ arm, but Moses just squeezed harder.