The Mortis Desolation (Book 1): Mortis (10 page)

T
he alien stood
tall and regal. Its shiny grey skin reflected the moonlight now that it was in the open. It wore a black suit that looked as if it was part of his body. Its head was angled up in the back, almost to a rounded point. Its facial features had no sharp edges; everything was rounded and smooth. It didn’t even have a nose, just two oblong holes for nostrils. Its face was expressionless. It stared ahead at Jefferson Memorial, and walked as if it was going for a stroll down the street, not to a place filled with pain and misery.

I turned to John and Mila. “I’m going to rescue the alien, and I need to know right now if you’re in,” I whispered.

“In,” John said.

Mila sighed. “In.”

“Okay, I’ll take out the two in the back. Mila you take out front left, John front right. Let’s go.”

I pulled my gun up to my shoulder, but kept it pointing at the ground. Keeping myself low to the ground, I walked fast down the front of the building until I was directly behind the group that was taking their alien prisoner to Jefferson Memorial. They were at the edge of the gas pumps, almost to the road. I raised my gun and took aim. I waited a couple of seconds for Mila and John to get in place. Once they did, without saying anything, I took out the Rove in the back left. He fell to the ground with a thud, and Mila took her shot, taking out the one in the front.

I took out the one in the back right a second later, and John took out his target just as the Rove was turning around trying to figure out what was going on.

The alien didn’t move; he just stood over his captors, looking down on their bodies.

We crossed the parking lot of the gas station, keeping our guns trained on the alien.

“I was wondering when you would show up,” the alien said as we got close. I was surprised at how young his voice sounded. It had a raspy, slightly nasally quality to it, like he was someone in his twenties.

“You were?” I asked, confused.

The alien stood up even straighter and turned around. His face looked slightly panicked and confused. “Wait, you’re not with the—” he stopped himself. “You’re not who I was expecting.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not who we were expecting either,” I said. I lowered my gun and motioned for Mila and John to do the same. “It’s dangerous around here, come with us.”

The alien looked at us suspiciously. “How do I know you can be trusted?”

“We just killed your captors and saved you from a world of pain. That’s not enough?” I asked.

The alien looked off, his disturbingly humanoid eyes showing he was thinking. “I will come with you until I am safe. But then I must go on my own.”

“Fair enough,” I said. “This way.”

I turned around and began jogging toward the back of the gas station, and down the road, leaving Jefferson Memorial behind me.

W
e reached
the church where the Range Rover was parked. The moon well into its nightly journey across the sky, casting an eerie glow on everything. The shadows grew long and menacing, reaching out for us. I thought back to what happened to Sean when he was in the shadow. I made sure to keep my distance, even though I wasn’t sure it’d make a difference at nighttime.

I turned to the alien. I was ready for some answers. “What’s your name?” I asked.

“My name is Ronoss. That is all I can tell you,” he said like a rehearsed line.

I put my hands on my side and scoffed. “Really? We just saved your life.”

“I’m sorry…?”

“Miles.”

“Miles. I’m sorry. I cannot tell you anything.”

Mila threw her gun on the ground and cocked her fist back as if she was about to punch Ronoss. I grabbed her and held her back before she could. She struggled and fought against my grasp. “Let go of me!” she screamed. “Let me go!”

I held on tight though. “Mila calm down, you’re not helping any. You’re going to give our position away.”

She ignored me and kept on fighting.

“What is your reason for acting this way?” Ronoss asked Mila.

“You son of a bitch! We saved your life, you’re going to give us answers!” Tears began to flow down Mila’s face.

“Mila!” I shouted. “Stop it!”

Mila began to lose energy, and finally just broke down crying. She fell to the ground. Sitting up, she held her knees, crying into them.

“She lost a lot of friends today,” I told Ronoss. “She thinks you might know something about it.”

He looked at her with sad eyes. “I am sorry, Mila. I know nothing.”

I eyed him suspiciously. “Are you sure? Her people were killed by the black ink–like creatures. Obviously alien. You don’t know anything about that?”

Ronoss looked at me, and took a second to respond. “Nothing I can say. You saved my life, and for that I am grateful. But there’s is nothing I can tell you. I am not in any position to say anything. I’m just a soldier. I have no power, no stature. It’s not my call to tell you anything.”

I looked at him, defeat growing within me. “There’s nothing you can tell us? So many things are changing right now. None of us know what’s going on. The ink creatures, all the zombies and Xenomortises showing up, so many things changing. You can’t give us any insight?”

Ronoss sighed and shook his head. “If I did, it would not end well for me. I’m afraid I must leave at once. I cannot be seen by anyone else. It’s bad enough you know of my existence. I must leave, and you mustn’t tell anyone that you saw me. Please. It would not end well for either one of us.”

I opened my mouth to protest more, but I stopped myself. “Okay then,” I said. “You may go. It was nice meeting you, Ronoss.”

He motioned his head in acknowledgment. “Same goes for you. I thank you again for rescuing me.”

“No problem,” I said.

With that, Ronoss turned and began jogging away.

“You just let him go?” John said as Ronoss reached the road and began running down it.

“No way,” I said.

I reached down to Mila, who looked up at me with questioning eyes. She grabbed my hand and I helped her up. “What do you mean?” she asked.

I looked out at Ronoss as he turned and ran down an alley. “Come on,” I said as I started walking after him. “Let’s see where our new friend is going.”

I
pushed
the low limbs of a tree out of my face as I followed Ronoss through the woods. The light of the moon filtered through the trees, giving just enough light so I could see Ronoss’s shiny skin but still be hidden by the shadows.

We’d been following him for a while, and he didn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. We were deep into the woods by this point, and I was beginning to get very worried. Where was he leading us? I wasn’t so sure I’d be able to find our way out of the woods once we found out where Ronoss was heading.

John and Mila were following close behind without protest. I wasn’t sure what I was getting them into, but I hoped it wasn’t anything too dangerous. I was counting on pulling the “we saved your life” card should I get into any trouble with Ronoss and his people.

I didn’t even have time to think about the implications of that. The fact that the Genari were still here and hadn’t all turned into Xenomortises was baffling. A revelation that was a game changer, and opened up a new can of worms, that was for sure.

Ronoss began to slow down, and so did we. He’d reached a large cave that sat in the side of a tall cliff. I found that very strange, since this part of Texas wasn’t exactly known for its cliffs and caves.

Ronoss entered the cave without hesitation, disappearing inside. I paused for a moment.

“Are we going in?” John asked.

I sighed. “We’ve come this far, can’t stop now.”

We navigated through the trees and entered the cave. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust. Once they did, I could barely see Ronoss’s silhouette standing in front of the rocky back wall of the tall cave.

I hid behind a boulder in the cave, Mila and John falling in line behind me. We watched as Ronoss placed a hand on the cave wall. A bright blue light appeared, and moved up and down his hand, scanning it.

Identity confirmed,
a robotic female voice’s echoed through the cave.

There was a rumbling sound as a piece of the wall rolled away. The piece was large and round, going from the ceiling to the floor. It moved away slowly. A red glow emitted from the room that appeared. I couldn’t see far inside, since it seemed to angle down.

Ronoss walked inside, and the door stopped rolling with a loud
thud
.

I stood up.

“Miles, what are you doing?” Mila asked.

I turned and looked at her. “I’m getting some answers. This may be our only shot.”

“Miles, wai—”

Before she could finish, I took off, running toward the now-closing door. I ran as fast as I could, telling myself how stupid I was the entire time. This was surely a death sentence, but I had to have answers. I had to know why the Roves were so interested in Jefferson Memorial. I had to know why there were so many zombies and Xenomortises all of the sudden. I had to know why the atras were just now appearing. I had to know answers, and this was going to be my best shot.

I heard Mila and John shouting for me to stop from behind, but I ignored them. A few moments later, I heard them running after me, and I tried to ignore the flash of relief that followed. I had to focus on getting through the door in time.

It was almost closed, but I crossed the threshold just in time. I came to a stop, Mila and John right behind me. The door shut with a
thud
, followed by the clicking sounds of it locking into place.

“Where are we?” John asked.

I said nothing, because I had no clue. In front of me was a large corridor that angled down, red lights illuminating the way.

Intruder alert. Intruder alert,
a loud screeching voice shouted over the blaring of alarms.

“Shit,” I said. I looked around for someplace to hide, but there was none. The sound of footsteps marching down the halls reached my ears. I turned to Mila and John, who were staring down the hallways, their eyes wide. “Looks like we’re going to have to use our ‘get out of jail free’ card sooner than I thought.”

I turned back around just as multiple figures reached us, their guns pointing at us.

But there weren’t just aliens standing there, but humans too. I looked at them, not believing what I was seeing.

“Put your weapons down!” one of the humans shouted.

I was so dumbfounded, it took me a moment to follow his orders. I complied, setting my gun on the ground and lifting my hands up. Mila and John did the same.

“Shut off the alarm,” one of the aliens said into a radio. A few moments later, the alarm stopped, and I was taken aback at how eerily silent it was. There were only the sounds of our breathing for a few tense moments, before one of the humans spoke.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“My name is Miles. This is John and Mila,” I said, gesturing to them respectively. “We rescued one of your men, Ronoss, from the Roves. They were going to interrogate and surely torture him. He wouldn’t answer any of our questions, so we followed him here.”

“We have no answers to your questions here,” an alien said.

I sighed. “Please, we rescued one of your own men from people who were going to torture and possibly kill him. You gotta give us something.”

“Oh, we will,” one of the men said. “We’re giving you a prison cell to call home while we figure out what to do with you.”

Before I could protest, they advanced on us. They picked our weapons up off the ground, and tied up our hands with zip ties.

“Alright,” an alien said, jabbing his gun into our back. “Start walking.”

We did, and began walking down the long hallway, into the Genari and human bunker, completely unaware exactly what would be waiting for us at the end.

R
etaliation
, book two in The Mortis Desolation, is coming July 31st. It is a full length novel, twice the size of Mortis.

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