AL1 Ch1

Here we are starting in on my sci-fantasy series. I have a lot of hope for this series. If you all enjoy it we can plan on a long series of science-fiction and fantasy having a love child with my slice-of-life style.

Chapter One

“You got us fucking lost again, didn’t you, Wheels?” Zander growled.

“Shut it, Badger!” Wheels hissed back.

“Both of you knock it off!” Breaker snapped at them. “Wheels, what the fuck happened?!”

Wheels gritted his teeth. “I did exactly what I was told. Either we were given bad intel or the fucking goat-lover didn’t know what he was talking about.”

“Not a damned thing out here,” Tex sighed. “Nothing but sand and broken rocks.”

“Didn’t ask, Tex,” Breaker said sharply. “We’re almost at range. Turn us back, Wheels.”

“Not to range yet,” Maker said distractedly. “We have another gallon before we hit range, Breaker.”

“Maker, don’t you start, too,” Breaker exhaled. “Wheels, you get one gallon to find the rendezvous. Chief’s going to be pissed if we turn back empty.”

“Fine. Heading for that outcrop. That should be about range,” Wheels said tightly.

“Then do it.”

Zander bit back his comment. Part of him hated that the PMC insisted on them only using callsigns instead of their names. He glanced back at Selda Engel, one of the two people in the squad that he knew the real names of. “Maker, you going to get that working again?”

“Working on it, Badger,” Selda muttered as she tried to get the cooler working again.

“My balls are melting off,” Zander whispered. “Can’t enjoy them if you let them melt.”

“Three seconds of happiness… about all the enjoyment I can get from them,” Selda smirked. She twisted a pair of wires together, then wrapped them with electrical tape. “Breaker, about to try cooling us down.”

“Oh God above, let her magic work,” Breaker said.

With a flick of a switch, the cooler kicked on, and cold air began to flow from the unit.

“I love you, Maker,” Zander exhaled as the cool air brushed against him.

“Keep it in your pants,” Tex snorted. “I don’t want to wear any of that, and I’m between you.”

“Maker will clean it up. Don’t worry, Tex,” Zander laughed.

“Gag,” Wheels fake vomited.

“God above, why did Chief saddle me with this team?” Breaker groused.

“Got to break in the new meat,” Tex replied. “Shit! Storm!”

Zander had to shift farther to the side when Tex dropped into the backseat, slamming the hatch shut. That was almost all the warning they got before the sandstorm engulfed them from behind. Wheels slowed as their visibility immediately went to zero.

“Where the fuck did that come from?” Breaker asked.

“Happens, but normally, we get a bit more lead,” Wheels replied.

“Once it passes, we’re heading back,” Breaker grunted. “First run and a fucking goose chase? Fuck me sideways.”

“Only if I can lube, first,” Tex laughed, “and put you in a wig.”

“Wheels will get jealous if you see someone else behind his back,” Zander snickered.

“Fuck you both,” Wheels huffed. “Going to stop. I can’t promise I won’t hit the ro—!”

A sickening drop cut him off just before they smashed into something. Tex was thrown forward, but Zander and Selda grabbed him, stopping him from going too far. Breaking glass and cursing came from the front seats as they came to a full stop. The sound of the wind howled over the vehicle before it slowly faded into the distance.

“Wheels, what the fuck?!” Zander asked when he could be sure he’d be heard.

“We’re… stopped…” Wheels said dully.

“I need the kit. His head’s gashed,” Breaker said as he touched a cut on his chin.

“Concussed. Might make him smarter,” Zander said as he handed up the kit from the back.

“Wait until we know how bad it is,” Selda said.

“It’s open around us. We’re in a ditch,” Tex said, looking forward. “Umm… what is that?”

Everyone, including the mildly-concussed Wheels, was staring at the mottled black and gray machine partially buried in the sand. The sheen of the metal seemed to push the eyes away from it. Zander could see what might be a hatch on the side that was nearest them.

“Breaker, it’s got a door,” Zander said. “We going to check? Might make us even with Chief.”

“Let me bandage Wheels, first,” Breaker said. “Tex, pop up. Give us cover, just in case.”

“In case of what?” Tex asked. He unlatched the cover, taking his spot behind the heavy gun mounted to the top of the Humvee.

“Maker, Badger, secure the vehicle,” Breaker added.

The two in the back didn’t want to get out, as the cooler had finally started working again, but orders were orders. Both back doors opened so the two mercenaries could leave the Humvee. Each brought their guns up, ready to give cover fire if required.

A few minutes later, both front doors opened so Wheels and Breaker could exit. Wheels looked a bit dazed, but was still functional, if a heartbeat slow. Breaker looked around, then up at Tex.

“Tex, we’re checking this.”

“Roger,” Tex said, dropping back into the Humvee.

Zander had gotten a look at the front of the Humvee. It hadn’t been a terribly hard crash, but a fin from the metallic thing had been just long enough to shatter the window. That was impressive, considering how resistant the windshield should’ve been: he knew the PMC had upgraded the glass on their vehicles.

Wheels went to the front of the Humvee, giving it a good once over. “She’ll drive, Breaker,” he said.

“Good. First, we check this… thing. Are you having trouble looking at it?”

“A-firm,” Selda replied. “Like it doesn’t want me to see it.”

Tex came out of the Humvee, his battle rifle in his hands.

“Door’s this way,” Zander said. He felt a pull toward it. His eyes were adjusting to looking at the slightly-mottled color of the mostly-buried metallic object.

“Badger is lead,” Breaker said.

The others formed up with Zander in the front. All of them had their guns ready to bring to bear while keeping zones of fire clear.

Reaching the area Zander thought had a door, he squinted at the dark gray metal. Running his hand over the area, his fingerless gloves let him feel the surface. Slick and smooth, it felt almost alive to his fingers.

“Does anyone have a breach on them?” Selda asked.

“I could go grab the few we have,” Tex said, watching their backs.

“Can you get it op—?” Breaker was starting to ask when the door slid away soundlessly and quickly, revealing a dark room.

“I didn’t do that…” Zander said. “It feels powered, though. I felt a hum or something similar.”

Selda reached out to touch the metal before yanking her hand back. “That’s unpleasant as hell. How did you keep touching it, Badger?”

“Huh? Felt comforting to me,” Zander answered, squinting into the dark interior. “Small dark room with a single chair in it. I think there’s another door.”

“Too risky. Might trap us in,” Breaker said. “Tex, go get the breaching charges. If we can break the far door, then we’ll go.”

“Copy, Breaker,” Tex said, heading back for the Humvee.

He’d only gone a dozen feet when things went wrong. The area wavered near the machine, bending, warping, and shifting in unnatural ways. The air itself seemed to congeal, engulfing them like an ooze. Five sets of expletives filled the air, all of them muffled as the world twisted, bent, and dissolved around them.

A rift formed over their heads, and Zander was the first to see it. He managed to snag Selda, pulling her to him as he stumbled into the open space of the metallic object. A ringing filled the air a second before the strange structure lurched toward the group.

Zander was flung into the chair and Selda, cushioned by his body, ended up in his lap. A brief sharp pain stung his neck before another twist of space flung them back out through the open doorway. Twisting in the thick air, Zander managed to bring Selda over the top of him so he would again take the brunt of the landing.

Blinking as he rolled, Zander’s mind reeled in objection to what he was seeing. Three moons hung in the sky above him. The mauve sky was cloudless so the dark red sun could glare down on them.

Selda rolled out of his arms, going to her knee, her FN Scar coming up to find a target. “Tex? Breaker? Wheels? You alright?”

“The fuck hit us?” Tex groaned as he sat up, spitting black sand from his mouth.

“A… ship?” Wheels breathed out in awe as he looked at the unearthed machine they’d found.

Breaker groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, favoring his left leg. “Where the hell’s the Humvee?”

Zander rolled to his knee beside Selda, his own FN up, but he was facing away from her to cover more area. “Nothing but black sand.”

“Three fucking moons,” Tex said, having looked up already. “The air feels thick…”

“We can breathe, at least,” Wheels whispered.

“Did we… teleport?” Breaker asked. “Badger, what the fuck did you do?”

“Not me!” Zander snapped.

“Do you hear that?” Selda asked.

Everyone shut up; they all wanted to hear what she had. A moment later, they all heard a faint rhythmic sound.

“What is it?” Tex asked.

“Where is it?” Breaker asked.

“It’s getting closer,” Selda said. “I think we should move away from the… spaceship?”

“Roger that,” Breaker said. “I’m lead.”

“We’re in a swell, like the one we crashed in,” Zander said, taking up tail position.

“We ain’t in Kansas anymore, Toto, so it don’t matter,” Tex said.

Zander glanced at Tex, or Devin Smith, as Zander knew his name to be. The man’s normally chocolate-brown skin tone looked obsidian in the strange light of this planet. They all looked off-color as they trooped after Breaker, who was limping with each step.

“It’s getting closer faster than we’re moving, and it’s behind us,” Selda said.

“Up the ridge,” Breaker said. “Go, I’ll take tail.”

Devin powered forward, taking the lead as Breaker stepped aside. They adjusted their positions so Breaker could fill in the last spot. When Devin reached the top of the ridge, he looked back the way they’d come. The shock on his face was clear as he stared behind them.

A few heartbeats later, they all saw why he was staring. In the distance, six machines stomped closer to them. The smallest of them was at least twenty feet tall. Each looked different from the others, but they all had a look of war.

“Mecha?” Wheels exhaled in awe. “I want one.”

“I want to disassemble one, but I’d rather survive, first,” Selda said. “They’re slowing. Do they see us?”

“I hope they come in peace,” Breaker said.

“Shoot to kill, shoot to kill,” Zander muttered thinking of an old song.

“Fuck me!” Devin shouted.

They all agreed with him silently as they watched the six giant metal machines suddenly stop. The reason why was probably the giant worm that jutted out of the ground at that same moment. Beams of light, the distant thunder of large guns, and the eye-searing sight of lightning filled the distance.

“Fuck me!” Zander hissed as images began to fill his head.

The Entoma came through the dark void of space. Some were large enough to take on the dreadnaughts of the Assembly’s defense force in the depths of space. Most were placed on asteroids, then pushed toward destinations. When one of those rocks landed on a planet, the Entoma— if they survived— would begin to breed. The bugs would eventually consume anything of use before finding a way off-world again.

Shaking the images from his mind, Zander was breathing hard. His skin prickled and tingled while alternating currents of cold and heat pulsed through him.

“Is this hell?” Breaker whispered, his gaze going distant.

“At least they’re over there,” Wheels exhaled. “We’re safe.”

At the base of the sand dune they’d climbed, things began to shift. A sense of dread filled the group for the few seconds they had to realize that something was happening. Worms ranging from a foot in length up to five feet long started burrowing out of the sand.

“Fuck that!” Wheels shouted just before he began shooting.