Escape to Earth 1: Running From Fate Read online

  “You’ll be safe in your home before they arrive.”

  “They’ll stay here every day and wait for me…and you. They’re going to kill us.”

  Kathy wailed all the way back to her apartment and Lukas carried her inside. He put her on a couch and said, “You will not be bothered by them.”

  “You just don’t know! You just don’t know!”

  Lukas went out the door and closed it gently. “I told you to stay out of it.”

  “Did you see where the big one went?”

  “He’s going to a warehouse about a mile from here.”

  “Can you scan it and hear what they’re planning?”

  “Give me a few moments.”

  Lukas went back down the hill to the two attackers and saw that both of them were dead. He had hit the second attacker too hard and had shattered the vertebrae in his neck as his head snapped back. He looked around and wondered what he should do with the bodies. “They’re coming back here with a…van to pick up the bodies. They’re planning to do some rather drastic rearranging of your vital organs tomorrow.”

  “What about the girl?”

  “You don’t want to know what they’re planning for her.”

  “Come and pick me up. I want to be at that warehouse when they return.”

  “On my way.” The Corvette came down the hill and slid to a stop. Lukas jumped in and the Pod accelerated down the hill, passing a white van as it started up the hill.

  “Did they see me?”

  “No, I darkened the glass. Just what do you intend to do?”

  “I can’t just wait on them to make a move.”

  “Do you think you can handle all four of them alone? I can provide you with a stunner.”

  “No, I think I’ll have surprise on my side and I am a little faster than they are.”

  “Did you say, ‘Little’?”

  “Just be ready to fire at the building if it gets out of hand.”

  “I’d prefer not to do that.”

  “Why?”

  “The ones that come and investigate this will know that the fire was started with a flame hotter than anything on this planet.”

  “Even so, just be ready if I have to run.”

  “You’re the boss.”

  “Boss?”

  “Look it up.”

  He thought for a moment and shrugged, “Get me to the warehouse.”

  • • •

  “What do you dumbasses get yourselves into?”

  “Goat, that dude must be some kind of Green Beret or somethin’. I never seen no dude move that fast.”

  “He did catch you; where the bodies at?”

  “Stop here!” The van squealed to a stop, Moe jumped out, and ran to the two bodies lying on the grass between two houses. “Here they are.”

  “This looks like shorty’s blade in Taco.”

  “It is; the dude threw Taco on it.” Moe looked around, “They couldn’t have gone far.”

  “Why not?”

  “I beat on her legs real good. She wasn’t going anywhere fast. They live at the top of the hill.”

  Goat looked up the hill and pointed toward the van, “Throw them in and let’s see if we can find em.”

  Moe and Kong threw the bodies in the van and Gilliam accelerated up the hill. They arrived at the top and didn’t see anyone. “Where do they stay?” Silence greeted Goat’s question and he turned around and looked at Moe, “I asked you a question.”

  “I don’t know. I always seen them walking up and down the hill.”

  Goat rolled his eyes and then shook his head, “I want this hill staked out starting in the daylight, you understand! Shoot the dude and bring me the wo.”

  “They may not come out after what went down.”

  “I don’t care if you wait a month, you will do as I tell ya!” Moe nodded and slinked down in the back of the van. He looked at Kong and saw him sitting on the dead bodies eating a sandwich. Goat looked out of the front glass, “We need to go back home and wrap these dead in plastic for Charles to eat. Just make sure there’s enough weight to feed him well.”

  Moe nodded, “I’ve got the chains stored in a barrel.” Goat nodded as the van made a U-turn and headed back down the hill.

  “They’re on the way back.” Lukas nodded and moved to the side of the warehouse closest to the large metal door. He listened and finally the van pulled up as the door started rising. He slipped in behind the van and followed it into the warehouse.

  Moe and Kong exited the sliding door in the side of the van as Gilliam looked at Goat and shook his head, “I know, he’s dumb but he follows orders.” Gilliam shrugged and heard a gunshot. He grabbed the assault rifle and exited the van.

  • • •

  Lukas saw Moe moving back toward the door and he stepped out from behind the van. Moe was stunned speechless but he had enough sense to pull a handgun out of his belt. He pointed it at Lukas, who stepped in and grabbed his arm and spun him around. Gilliam came around the front of the van aiming the assault rifle and Lukas put his hand over Moe’s and pulled back on his index finger. Gilliam didn’t get a shot off before a bullet hit him in the forehead. Moe felt like he was in the grip of a demon force. He felt an arm around his chest that crushed all the air out of his lungs; he couldn’t stop what was being done with his arm.

  Kong grabbed a shotgun off a table and pointed it at Moe and Lukas. Lukas spun Moe around and the shotgun blast hit Moe in the chest. Lukas ducked behind Moe’s large body just before Kong fired and then he lifted Moe and ran at an incredible speed toward Kong. Goat had come out of the passenger’s door and fired all six shots in his 44 Revolver and missed with all six. He had woefully underestimated Lukas’ speed. Lukas raised Moe’s gun again and pulled on his finger twice. Kong was hit in the throat and then in the right eye. He dropped the shotgun and fell to the floor.

  Goat pulled out a Colt 45 semi-auto out of his belt and opened fire again. Lukas threw Moe’s body to the side and dove to the floor and slid by Kong’s body; he picked up the shotgun as he passed. He raised it above Kong’s dead body and pulled the trigger just as he moved his head slightly right. A bullet missed hitting him by an inch and clipped the top of his left ear. He looked at Goat and saw he no longer had a face. The gang leader remained standing for an instant and then collapsed to the floor.

  “You’re going to need to get your fingerprints off that shotgun.”

  “I stopped the oil in my hands thirty minutes ago. The only fingerprints will be the huge man’s. By the way, did you get the frequency that opened the door?”

  Lukas ran out of the warehouse and the door began closing behind him, “I did.”

  “We need to get home, my ear is bleeding.”

  “Lay back in the seat and I’ll use the DNA program to heal it.” Lukas leaned back and in a moment, the ear returned to normal.

  “I should have thought of that.”

  “You were preoccupied. Let’s get out of here.” The dark Vette lifted over the trees in back of the warehouse and landed in an alley fifty yards behind it, just as the first police cruisers arrived. It quietly moved away from the site and arrived at Lukas’ apartment three minutes later. “The local law enforcement are just now breaking through the warehouse door. I’ll keep you informed on what they determine.”

  “Thanks, I’m turning on the TV to see if anything turns up.” Things did turn up.

  • • •

  The next day, Lukas took out his garbage and found Kathy sitting in a chair on her porch waiting for him. Lukas saw her and paused; after a moment he smiled and said, “Are you alright?”

  “I need some help getting up to my room. I managed to bring the garbage down but my legs hurt too much to climb the stairs; can you help me?” Lukas put the garbage bag in the dumpster and nodded. He walked over and picked Kathy up and carried her up the stairs. She used her key to open the door and he carried her toward the couch, “If you don’t mind
, please take me to the bedroom.” Lukas carried her in and put her gently on the bed. He started to leave by she grabbed his hand, “I want to thank you for taking care of me.”

  “Anyone would have come to your aid last night.”

  “I’m not talking about that. I heard on the news this morning that the gang that attacked me had a shootout and killed every member. Thank you.”

  Lukas looked her in the eyes and quietly said, “The news says they killed each other.”

  Kathy smiled and said, “But you and I know better.” Kathy pulled him down to the bed and Lukas was surprised by her strength. He also learned why humans were so wrapped up in the opposite sex. It all made sense, now.

  • • •

  He left Kathy later and walked back to his apartment. He wondered how she knew but finally decided she figured it out after he told her they were not going to harm her. His head was spinning and suddenly, everything that was so confusing about this species started to make sense. He watched TV until time to leave for work and everything seemed to be clear. He left his apartment and walked down the hill and thought about everything that had happened the night before. He was lucky. He took a huge chance at going after the four gang members and had almost been shot. He thought about if he would do it again and after he arrived at the restaurant, he had to say he would. He felt something when he found her being attacked and coming to her defense was almost a genetic response. He knew he had to do it. It wasn’t something that he had thought through; it was something that took control of him. This was something he needed to discuss with the pod. But first, work.

  • • •

  He didn’t see Kathy for four days but on the fifth he saw her on her front porch hugging a young man. She saw him and yelled, “Lukas, come over here, please.” Lukas was wondering what was going on and he walked over. Kathy said, “Lukas, this is John. He’s my fiancé; we’re getting married this coming May.”

  John came down the steps and said, “I want to thank you for taking Kathy up to her apartment after she fell down the steps. Her legs are really bruised. I really do appreciate it.”

  Kathy stared at Lukas and he smiled, “What are neighbors for? Congratulations, I wish both of you the best.” John shook his hand and Lukas saw Kathy nod slightly. He turned and went back to the garbage can. He didn’t understand why she had done what she did, but after several days he decided that it was the only thing she could do to thank him. He knew this was someone he would have to put behind him. He sighed and went back upstairs.

  • • •

  He watched TV for an hour and then turned it off. He stared at the black screen for another hour and then picked up his jacket. “Don’t let this bother you.”

  “Easy for you to say.”

  “She’s just the first, there will be others.”

  He stopped on the third step from his porch and thought, “How can you say that?”

  “I’ve been listening to the females that work in your restaurant.”

  “You have?”

  “Oh yes!”

  He stood there for a moment and then smiled, “Why didn’t you say so?”

  “I rather let them do the talking.” He laughed and began walking down Calumet.

  Chapter Four

  The Welken Royal looked at his Fleet Royal on his monitor, “Have we learned anything about the missing task force?”

  “No, Your Greatness. It’s like they just vanished. However, my staff is of the opinion that they ran into an overwhelming Myot force.”

  “I’m not clear on what you’re communicating.”

  “Every Myot fleet has formed a screen to the Universal East of our Confederacy. That screen has a huge number of giant battleships that we’ve never seen before.”

  “Why would they be forming a screen?”

  “It’s to either keep us from moving in that direction…”

  “Or?”

  “To keep someone from coming to us from that direction. The Scientists on the Staff have surmised that our missing task force must have encountered those giant ships and that is what happened to it.”

  “There’s got to be more than that.”

  “They have surmised, without direct evidence, that our taskforce may have discovered where those giant ships are being built. If they did, it’s possible that a survivor may have escaped.”

  The Royal nodded, “And if that’s true, they can’t allow that escapee to tell us where those facilities might be.”

  “That’s how they see it. They haven’t found him yet.”

  “Oh? How do you know?”

  “That screen is still in place. The entire Myot Fleet is stuck here until they do.”

  “Do we want to do anything about this?”

  “We know what direction the escapee must have gone to get away. That tells us that the location they’re trying to hide must be Universal North or South of here.”

  The Royal nodded slowly and then said, “If those giant ships came from that location, they had to leave a skip trail to join that screen. Contact our scout Task Forces and see if they can’t find a trace.”

  “I’ve already ordered them to start the search.”

  “Inform me if anything turns up.”

  The Fleet Royal nodded and the monitor went dark. The Myot won’t attack us here, even with those new ships. Our planetary defenses dwarf those ships, but if they can build enough of them…we need to find that escapee. He pressed a button on his panel and a black being appeared, “Has anyone contracted your services?”

  “Why do you ask, Your Greatness?”

  “I might need them soon.”

  “You best hurry, we have a standing contract with the Myot.”

  “Would it be possible for you to tell me if you find what that contract is executed to uncover?”

  “You know that would be highly unethical.”

  “I’ll pay double if it’s the Myot that have that contract.”

  “Why don’t you just buy us out?”

  “I’d prefer to keep this just between the two of us. I won’t allow anyone to know about this but just the two of us.”

  The black being stared at the Welken Royal, “Did you say double?”

  “I did.”

  “I’ll let you know.”

  The monitor went dark again and the Royal smiled. The Myot must think that the escapee went to ground on a primitive planet or they would just go after him themselves. This would have to be handled delicately. The Sentinels must not know about what was going on.

  • • •

  The being looked like a white gas ball with multicolored sparks flashing in it. It felt its anger rise and then, it mentally shrugged. The rules agreed on by all the members of the fellowship were no longer being followed. They had been ignored for more than four hundred years and these two species were the most frequent violators. It was foolish for them to think he wouldn’t know everything that happened, that’s what his civilization did best. He always kept his attention on the rulers of those two species and it was ludicrous for them to think they could deceive him. It thought to the Sentinel charged with following the landing of the escapee on a primitive planet, “I assume you know where this escapee is hiding.”

  “I do. I followed him from the moment he ejected from his destroyed battleship.”

  “Is he now on that primitive planet?”

  “He is.”

  “A most grievous violation of our rules.”

  “He’s not the only one that violates them.”

  “That doesn’t excuse his actions. Has he caused issues?”

  “No, he’s actually done nothing but blend in with the local population and attempt to avoid discovery. I must say he’s done a remarkable job of hiding and avoiding any mistake that would affect that species’ development.”

  “What do you think about the planet he’s currently located?”

  “The species there is both beautiful and horrific
in things it does. I believe if the Stalkers go in, there will be a massive war for possession of it.”

  “Why?”

  “The planet has enormous petroleum deposits. Whoever takes it will most likely become the most powerful in the Fellowship.”

  “You should go there now. Don’t allow anyone to know of your presence.”

  “What about the stalkers if they arrive?”

  “Tell no one.”

  “What about the presence of the escapee?”

  “If you remove him, will that stop the Stalkers coming to investigate?”

  “Probably not. They won’t know I did it unless we tell them.”

  “If we do that, they’ll know we’re watching everything they do.”

  The Sentinel thought for a moment and said, “For the moment, do nothing.”

  The thoughts ended and the Sentinel turned his attention to the planet where the escapee was hiding. He was curious about what the other had seen. How could a species be both beautiful and horrific? And if that was true, how could a Welken Warrior blend in?

  • • •

  Lukas picked up the dirty dishes and wiped the table clean. He saw the crowd was growing; night classes at Harvard and M.I.T. were ending and the students were coming in for a late meal or appetizer. Jack was smart by offering a one-man band to entertain them and Joey was very entertaining. He was one half musician and the other comedian. Both halves were as good as most full time musicians and comedians. He was especially good with the college students. The funny thing was that Joey did it for free. Rumors were he inherited millions and didn’t need the work, he just loved doing it and he never failed to show up. The student community loved him. Lukas also enjoyed listening to his music and trying to really understand his comedy. Once you understood what a species found funny, you truly understood that species.

  He saw the young professor arrive at her normal time. She always came in thirty minutes after night classes ended. She would sit at the end of the bar by herself, open a legal pad, order an appetizer and a glass of wine, and duck her head as she wrote in the pad. He could set a clock by her punctuality. She spoke to others when spoken to but, for the most part, she focused on the pad.