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  “Ann, I’ve brought you our first aid kit,” Jeffrey called with a knock at the door. The normally unflappable man’s eyes went wide and he stumbled a little as he saw the state of the now mumbling Skye.

  “Ann, you have to…” her words cut off with a strangled sound and she groaned pitifully. Jeffrey knelt down on the floor with the marooned Ann and tried to help by digging through the first aid kit.

  Skye had gone quiet, but she suddenly sat up, looked at her friend, and spoke.

  “Ann, the revolutionaries are back.” Her eyes spun in her head for a moment, and then, she passed out.

  “Fuck, that’s bad. That’s very bad,” Ann muttered and held her communicator up to her mouth. “Rager?”

  “Ann?” he responded immediately. “What’s going on?”

  “Skye’s been attacked from the looks of it. She says the revolutionaries are back. I don’t know how, and she’s just passed out, but I’ll do my best to find out what’s happening.”

  “Lock the doors, now!” Jeffrey moved when he heard Rager’s order, and used his own communicator to spread the order. “Lock it down, Ann.”

  “We are.” Her hands shook almost as much as her voice when she put her arm down. She reached for Skye’s neck, felt the pulse, and breathed a sigh of relief. Skye’s pulse was steady and strong at least.

  Meg soon arrived, escorted in by a soldier that Ann hadn’t even known was there, and began to examine Skye. “Is there anyone that can help us move her? We need to get her off the floor.”

  Ann called for help and two more soldiers appeared. They moved Skye into a smaller bedroom and Meg began to pull off Skye’s clothes. “I don’t think any bones are broken, she doesn’t look too bad. This is a superficial wound from what I can tell.”

  Meg examined what Ann had thought was a stab wound. Ann looked closer and could see now that the wound had stopped bleeding and wasn’t as deep as it had looked at first. Ann watched as Meg started an IV line, attached a glass bottle of saline water they’d prepared at the clinic, and started to clean Skye’s face up.

  “We’ll need to get her to the clinic when Rager says we can leave, but for now, she’s going to have to deal with no scans. This is about all I can do until he lets us go out of the house.”

  “Did you give her the pain medicine?” Ann asked, worried that her friend would be in pain.

  “It’s in her IV line now.” Meg watched Skye closely as she washed away the blood and dirt, but the other woman didn’t respond. “I think there might be some problems internally, but I’m not sure.”

  “Rager will let us out soon, I hope,” Ann assured the medic.

  “I hope so.”

  Skye remained unconscious for another hour before she opened her eyes and coughed. “Where am I?”

  “One of my guest rooms, Skye,” Ann said and stood up to look down at her friend. “How are you?”

  “I’m not in pain, so I guess Meg is here somewhere?” Skye looked around but didn’t see anyone, so she looked back at Ann. “I have to tell you something.”

  “It’s okay, don’t talk. You said the revolutionaries were back.” Ann hushed her friend until Skye settled her head back onto the pillows.

  “Good. I couldn’t remember…” her voice trailed off and she was asleep again.

  “Did I hear Skye?” She’d been in the bathroom connected to the bedroom and came out quickly.

  “Yes, but she’s asleep again.” Ann sat back down in her chair; her nerves frayed as the minutes passed. They needed to get Skye to the hospital, fast.

  “He’s only doing what he thinks is right, Ann. Don’t be too upset,” Meg said as she checked the supplies in the kit she’d brought one more time.

  “I know, I’m just frustrated. There’s been no sign of any of them. He needs to let us out.”

  “He will when he’s certain it’s safe. Not just for you, but for all of us.”

  “You two are so noisy,” Skye coughed out and sat up. “I’m fine, just battered.”

  “Well, that’s an improvement.” Ann gaped at her friend. She’d been at death’s door a moment ago, and now she was wide awake? What had happened?

  “I would say,” Meg responded, her face a mask of surprise.

  “What’s going on?” Skye asked, confused.

  “You were passed out, now you’re wide awake and sitting up,” Ann spluttered, still surprised.

  “I think I’m part shifter sometimes, I heal so well,” Skye informed them and pushed a pillow up behind her back. “I don’t know why, but I always have healed well. It’s sometimes sudden like that too.”

  “But you aren’t a shifter at all. They checked everybody.” Meg was still in stun mode too; Ann could tell by the way she kept staring at Skye.

  “We can study it later. Do tests, whatever. Did I tell you what happened at all?” She looked between the two women but neither responded. “About the revolutionaries?”

  “Yes. But not what happened to you.” Ann dismissed the news as old and pushed on for new information.

  “Well, I saw one of them, the old ones from the last uprising, and followed him back to one of the places at the edge of the new sector. The one with the fewest people?” When both women shook their heads, Skye continued. “They’ve dug a hole under the fence there, and they’re letting people in.”

  “No!” Ann exclaimed, and knew there’d be trouble. Why did people always have to cause trouble? “And they saw you?”

  “I fell off a trash can I’d stood on to look into a window. They heard me, came out, and proceeded in a major attempt at stomping my face in.” She indicated her face and then continued. “I managed to play dead and they left me in the alley. But not before I saw who the ringleader was of the face-kickers.”

  Skye paused and Ann felt her stomach go tight.

  “Who was it?” But she already knew. Dread filled her and anger quickly followed.

  “Rex. Rex was there with a load of brand-new followers. We’re in trouble.”

  15

  “The soldiers are in place?” Rager asked the computer onboard the mothership. His ears were perked up, to listen for its reply, even though he knew the sound came from the sides. Everyone responded the same way when they awaited a response from the system, their ears perked upwards.

  “They are, Overlord,” came the softly spoken reply. Rager knew it wasn’t actually spoken, nor was it a real voice, it was a simulation of the computer system, letters and sounds put together to produce responses that could be understood by anyone. “I have located the place where your targets have taken sanctuary, Overlord. Do you want me to destroy it?”

  “No, I want to be there. Call me a transporter and prepare the soldiers. We’re leaving now.”

  Rager stomped down the passageway, anger, rage, in every step he took. He could hear the noise of soldiers getting into transporters as he made it to the large area at the bottom of the ship where the transporters were kept and maintained. Small vehicles left, on the way to the location of the latest troublemakers. Rager got into one, filled with soldiers, and they followed the vehicles that had already left.

  When they landed, a good half mile away from the abandoned building where the revolutionaries hid, they formed into ranks. Rager was in the lead, a helmet with a face shield in place. Like the other soldiers, Rager wore the lightweight armor that would protect him from the human’s weapons, if they had any, and would prevent their alien technology from doing them harm. The soldiers could be knocked down, but their armor could not be penetrated, nor could the helmets or the face shields.

  In the last battle, the aliens had learned to wear the armor that they’d left in the ship. There’d been a lot of doubt that the humans could have found any weapons that could harm them. There’d been an arrogance there that they soon regretted. They’d lost two of their soldiers. This time, that wouldn’t happen.

  “Let’s move in.” There were speakers and microphones in the helmet, controlled by buttons on the side. Rager left his
mic open so that he could send out orders and started to march towards the small brick building situated in a small section on the outskirts of the city.

  The small building stood between two much taller buildings, but all seemed to be around the same age. Rager counted six floors, which meant they’d have to sweep a lot of rooms, but every single room would be inspected before he would declare the building clear.

  “Move into the first floor, four of us will clear it. The rest of you head up, four to each floor.” Rager told the soldiers, made up of women and men, and walked up to the door. They all knew the procedure by now, but he repeated it anyway, just in case.

  It was still dark and there were no lights in the windows, but Rager could see where the door was. He took one deep breath, pictured Ann’s face, and then kicked the door in with one swift punch of his leg.

  He flicked the flashlight on his weapon to the on position and barked out orders. “Get on the ground, get on the ground now!”

  People screamed, scrambled, and moved to obey the orders given. Rager saw men, women, and a few he couldn’t identify as he swept the area in front of him with his weapon. People obeyed the orders swiftly, but he spotted a few making their way to the back doors. A couple made it out before he and his soldiers could get to them, and Rager sent the two soldiers behind him after them.

  He came back once he was certain the three rooms on the ground floor were clear and headed up. He heard the sound of Earth-made gunfire and quickened his run up the flight of stairs. By the time he got up there, explosions had started to go off outside, and Rager could hear screams of pain. He had one hundred soldiers with him. If one lost their life, these humans would pay.

  He quickly spotted the shooter from the second floor and went after him as the man ran from the alien soldiers. The man ran right into him, bounced away, and Rager swiftly kicked the shooter in the knee to drop him to the ground. He couldn’t see any more targets so he headed up to the third floor. He wasn’t even out of breath when he paused there. His soldiers gave him the thumbs up so kept climbing. He found his soldiers in a back room, waiting on orders. Someone was holed up in a room there.

  “Blow it open if you have to. Get them all out,” Rager said softly and waited.

  The soldiers kicked in the door and when gunfire rang out, used their weapons. When the smoke cleared, there were three dead earthling males on the floor, and the room was quiet. “Good.”

  He moved up to the fifth floor and was about to go search for his soldiers when an explosion blew the top floor off the building. The entire structure trembled, and the floors started to give way just as debris began to rain down on Rager.

  He made it halfway down the steps before a large beam knocked him down and the floor completely gave way. He didn’t make a sound as he fell, down and then further down. The impact was dampened by his suit, but he still felt the jolt as his body came to a sudden stop. It knocked the breath out of him, and he sucked in, trying to get air to go into his lungs.

  The whole world span around, and then went dark. He came to when someone punched a fist directly over his heart and shocked him back to awareness. “Fuck!”

  He gasped in air, sat up, and pushed debris off his legs.

  “That was some wave you caught, Overlord.” A soldier, a female from the sound of it, said and held out a hand to help him up.

  “So, it seems. Status report?”

  “All of ours are accounted for sir, but we lost a few of the targets. They’re crushed on the first floor, where we’d gathered them to await transport.”

  “Not a loss, then.” It saved him the time of giving them a trial and the resources to punish them.

  “No, Overlord. We just have to deal with the ones outside now.”

  “Good. Has Target One been located?” Rager had given Rex the designation before the mission began.

  “No, Overlord, he has not. He’s not been spotted among the ones setting off the bombs now either.”

  “Alright. This is under control; I’ll leave you all to it.” Rager could see the battle was all but won, the last holdouts would be dealt with. He needed to go home, protect his mate.

  That was when he heard new explosions, from the area where they’d left the transporters. He ran to the area and fell to the ground as someone knocked him down. He grunted as he hit the ground and rolled over. A man, a very tall man but still an earthling, stood over him with a piece of timber in his hands, one of the timbers from the building if Rager wasn’t mistaken.

  He didn’t think about it too long, he just brought his weapon up, fired, and turned to push himself off the ground. He’d taken two steps when the ground before him vaporized and a wave of energy knocked him right back down.

  “Bastards,” he muttered, but picked himself up. His helmet was scratched, but he could still see through the dark pane.

  More of his soldiers flooded by him and the group of four that had some kind of grenade launcher were taken out. He made his way to his transporter and quickly pulled it into the sky. He could see below that the group now dead on the ground and the group that was still fighting near the building was finished. He couldn’t see any more activity and headed in the direction of home.

  His gut told him that’s where he needed to be. It had been a long fight, but most of the battle was done. His soldiers would deal with that. He had to make good on a promise he’d made to Ann. He pushed the transporter as fast as it would go and called ahead to the soldier at the front door.

  “I’ll be there in two minutes, what’s the status there?”

  “All clear, Overlord. No sign of anyone or anything around the house.”

  “Good. Kill whatever comes near it. There are still targets on the loose.” Rager could see the lights on the front of the house and breathed a sigh of relief as the lights became brighter. Everything was fine.

  His mate was slow and cumbersome these days, and she slept a lot. She’d had a rough night already, so he didn’t bother to call her. If she was asleep, she needed the rest. Their baby would arrive soon, and she’d need all of her energy for that.

  Rager spoke with the soldier at the door as he landed and felt assured that all was well. There were soldiers placed all around the property, at all of the doors and windows, it would be impossible for anything to happen to Ann, even in her vulnerable state.

  He took off his armor in his office and then headed into the kitchen. He was thirsty, but not hungry, and drank down almost an entire jug of the stuff Ann called orange juice. It wasn’t bad and soothed the thirst he had built up. The armor was great at protecting him, but it didn’t always keep him from sweating.

  With his thirst satisfied, Rager carefully walked up the stairs. He knew the marble stairs didn’t make a sound, but his feet might. He wanted to see Ann, to assure himself she was just fine, because something in him had started to become distressed. Something deep, that he’d only felt once before.

  When Ann was taken. The feeling blossomed into something more, primal fear, and he ran up the last few stairs, and down the hall to their room, he threw open the door, and found Katy on the floor, barking her tiny little head off at the open doors to the veranda. Rager flicked on the light and found the bed empty, with no trace of Ann.

  He glanced in the bathroom just in case, then ran out of the doors, Katy yapping on his heels. He couldn’t see anything, anyone, not even Ann. She wasn’t there, she’d simply vanished. He had no direction to run in, nowhere to look. With a roar of rage, he ran back into the house and down the stairs.

  “My mate, my mate is gone! Find her! Now!”

  Soldiers scrambled, voices started to call out around the perimeters, but nobody had seen anything. Ann, for all that he could tell, had simply vanished.

  Rager knew that wasn’t the case though. Rex had her. He’d taken her, somehow, and this time, Rager wouldn’t just let him slip away. He’d hunt the bastard down himself and strangle him with his bare hands.

  Rager went to the transporter and back
to the mothership. Katy was left in the care of one of his female soldiers and would be taken care of. For now, he had to focus on his mate, and try to find her.

  “Track her,” he said once he was on the ship, and he didn’t have to say who to track or who was meant to track her. The computer knew from the tone of his voice, another program designed to interpret the emotion expressed in a person’s voice, that Rager was in distress and that only one person could cause that kind of distress.

  “Tracking now, Overlord,” the computer said, her tone even, placid, to soothe him.

  Rager gathered a range of new weapons and went back to the transporter. By the time the computer had located his mate and gave him the direction she was headed, Rager was calm, cold, and collected.

  He wouldn’t escape this time. Rager would hunt him down with his last breath. This time. Rex would not escape with his life. He was too much of a threat to Ann.

  Rager could understand the younger man’s fascination with Ann, she was all that was good and hopeful in the world. But Rager knew it wasn’t those qualities Rex found so attractive about Ann. No, he knew the man was attracted to Ann because he wanted to destroy those qualities, Rex was a very sick man.

  The computer had picked up on it when he was first brought in. At the time, it was considered an anomaly, a quirk of the man being a shifter. He was obsessed with Ann, even then, but it was a sick obsession, one that was ugly and full of hate. It was one of the reasons he’d been put into service as a gardener. It would keep him away from Ann but would allow him to be near his family.

  Not many of the humans had families left, so to have two families that knew each other was all but impossible. It was decided that they’d be kept together, but Rex had caused some concern. Rager had agreed with the computer, at the time, and thought that the problem would be resolved over time.

  Instead, it seemed to have increased. Rex had put other people in danger, not once but twice, so that he could kidnap Ann. This was abhorrent behavior, and this time, it would cost him his life.