By Other Means Page 26

  The fallen girl was an open invitation to an all-you-can-eat deader buffet. Radwin started with headshots for the undead in the street. Those that moved toward her were taken care of quickly but the noise attracted more.

  “Julie, grab hold of the power line and climb. I’ll pull you up.” Julie was stunned and limping. Even from the roof, Radwin could see she wanted to cry, but the girl was tough. She ran to the building, dragging one leg, grabbed hold of the power line, and Radwin started frantically pulling it arm over arm. Julie helped by climbing with her good leg. Tristan tried to help when Radwin noticed a crowd of deaders round the corner.

  “Tristan, I need you on sniper duty. Take out those deaders before they get your sister,” he whispered.

  Tristan nodded as he aimed the jaegorr and started firing. His aim wasn’t great, but in pray and spray mode he just had to make sweeps to hit the deaders.

  “Sam, I’m scared,” Julie called out.

  “That’s good. Gives you more adrenaline, more strength.” Radwin pulled for all he was worth and the girl climbed past the halfway mark.

  “Sam, you won’t let the deaders get me, will you?” Julie pleaded.

  “Julie, I won’t let them touch a hair on your head.”

  “You promise?”

  “I promise, cross my heart and hope to die. Now stop yapping and get up here, girl,” Radwin said and was rewarded with a smile.

  The rapid fire of the jaegorr suddenly stopped.

  “Radwin, the gun jammed!” Tristan said.

  “Grab the other one,” Radwin yelled, his arms burning from the strain of pulling.

  The boy ran to get the other gun, but he wasn’t the only one moving fast. The deaders were off and running too. In the span of seconds, three made it to the part of the power line than lay on the ground. They lifted and pulled and the little girl was yanked off the wall and dangled by her hands over the ground. Individually the deaders were many times stronger than a single man. Three of them together almost pulled Radwin over the edge. He struggled to not let go of the girl’s lifeline.

  “Sam, I can’t hold on!” Julie screamed.

  “Wrap your legs around the line,” Radwin instructed her.

  The girl tried swinging up but her little legs didn’t get high enough to even brush the wire and her sweating hands made her grip slippery.

  The deaders operated more on remembrances than active thought, but even they realized the best way to get the little girl down. In a rare show of cooperation, the trio of deaders started swinging the line.

  “Tristan, shoot them!” Radwin ordered.

  “I can’t. I might hit Julie,” the boy said.

  “If you don’t, they’ll knock her down.” Three feet of power line slipped through Radwin’s hands. “I’m not strong enough to hold them off for long. Hurry!”

  The boy aimed the jaegorr, holding the trigger long enough for short bursts. The first two salvos missed, but the third took off a deader’s leg. Tristan kept firing, getting closer to the deaders with each try. One burst cut through the power line, cutting it free from the zombie’s grasp.

  “Yes!” Tristan shouted.

  Unfortunately, with one end of the line gone, Julie plummeted in the same arc that Radwin had. She was further along this time and smashed into the wall. The impact was all on her right shoulder, the pain making her let go and Julie again fell to the concrete below. A crack echoed through the alley and her left leg bent behind her at an angle that left no doubt that it was broken.

  “Julie!” Tristan screamed, but his sister barely stirred, her eyes closed and fluttering.

  Radwin started to push the power line he had reeled in so he could rappel down to Julie. Unfortunately two of the wounded deaders were still mobile and made it to the little girl, pouncing on her like rats on week-old cheese. Julie regained consciousness screaming at the sight and sensation of the mouths of zombies tearing her flesh apart.

  Radwin stopped short. He had seen it nine times before. It was too late for the girl. His promise would be forever broken and going down now would only leave the boy alone to watch him die.

  “Tristan, give me the gun,” Radwin said.

  “You can save her?”

  Radwin shook his head. “No. I can only end her nightmare.”

  “You mean…” Radwin nodded and held his hand out to Tristan. “She’s going to turn into one of them?”

  “Yes. There’s nothing we can do but put an end to her misery,” Radwin said. “Give me the gun.”

  Tristan pulled the jaegorr to his chest. “No. She’s my little sister.”

  Though tears, the boy aimed the gun. “I love you, Julie,” Tristan yelled. His finger pulled back the trigger and a single burst reduced his sister to small chunks. His only consolation was she would never come back as a deader.

  Tristan turned the gun around, trying to get the barrel pointed at his head, but it was too long for his arms to manage.

  Radwin grabbed the weapon from the boy. “No, Tristan.”

  “I killed my sister. I promised my parents I’d always look out for her and take care of her. Instead I killed her.”

  “No, she was already going to die. You saved her from the horror of being devoured by the deaders. You made her death quick and ended her pain. You looked out for her in the only way you could. And you made sure she wouldn’t rise again as one of them. You were a good big brother,” Radwin said. “Julie would want you to live, not put a bullet in your own head.”

  “But I let her go over there,” Tristan said, his face soaked with tears.

  “Only because Mr. Poole told you too. You trusted him and he sent your sister to her death. That was your only mistake, but you had reason believe him. He was an adult and had kept you safe. You had no way of knowing he would risk sacrificing one of you to help save his own skin.”

  “No, he took care of us. He cares about us. He wouldn’t do that,” Tristan said.

  “But he did. I’m sorry,” Radwin said, reaching out to touch the boy. Tristan yanked away and headed down the side of the building. Radwin followed.

  The two helped push the rolling bunker back to Zimmen’s in silence. This time during the skin inspection there was no embarrassment in Radwin’s manner, just simple staring ahead. This time when they made it inside, they didn’t have to find Poole. He was waiting for them.

  “Did it work? Are they coming for us?”

  Radwin stepped forward and cold-cocked Poole in the nose. Blood squirted everywhere as the man hit the floor.

  “Your first question should have been where was Julie. She gave her life because you gave her a stupid order contradicting mine. We would have gotten the message out without a little girl dying.”

  Poole was on his knees and was holding his nose in a futile attempt to stop the blood. “The sacrifice of the one saved the many.”

  Radwin brought his knee up into Poole’s face. The former teacher curled up on the floor.

  “You don’t sacrifice people without a good reason or a plan, you son of a bitch. I’m going to see that you are charged with her death.”

  “That’s really too bad. I guess I will have to make sure that you don’t get on those Harpies,” Poole said, slowly rising to his feet.

  “What are you going to do about it? You’re too cowardly to even go outside. You have children do your dirty work,” Radwin said.

  “My children are still going to help me. Everyone get your weapons. Mr. Radwin has been very naughty. We are going to have to beat him into submission and throw him outside for the deaders. Otherwise he’ll kill us all,” Poole said.

  “You know that is a lie. I’m a fully trained soldier for the Host. I am armed. Are you really going to send children against me when they don’t stand a chance? They could be hurt or worse,” Radwin said. “Or don’t you care?”

  “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few,” Poole said.

  “And the needs of the one outweigh the rest as long as the one is you, huh, Poo
le?” Radwin said.

  Poole licked his lips trying to hide a smirk. “Nonsense. The welfare of the children is my first concern. They have all lost their parents. If anything happens to me, who is going to look after them? Besides, I think you will have trouble firing on innocent children just for following my orders. Get him, my children, get him.”

  A couple of the children hesitantly took steps forward. Radwin moved into a fighting stance but left all of his weapons untouched. This despite facing down more than a dozen children armed with sharpened metal spears.

  “Everybody stop,” Tristan yelled, as the boy stepped in front of the soldier.

  “Tristan, why aren’t you listening to me?” Poole scolded.

  “You ordered my sister to go across the wire. Radwin said we could have come up with another way. Because of you, Julie is dead. I had to shoot her in the head so she wouldn’t see the deaders eating her alive.”

  Poole frowned and seemed saddened. “I am so sorry, Tristan. Julie was the bravest one of us. But Radwin was wrong. Her doing what she did was the only way we could reach the communication array. The only way the Host would come and get us out of here.”

  “I don’t believe you,” Tristan said.

  “That’s too bad, Tristan, because I’m telling the truth, but you have now betrayed us and stood with this outsider. You are going to share his fate,” Poole said.

  “First you kill Julie, then you want to kill Sam, and now me. Where is it going to end? On the sky station, the kids will be taken away from you. Do you think someone won’t tell on you? Are you going to kill the rest of us kids just to save your fat ass?”

  “Profanity, my boy, is not acceptable in my presence. And I will continue to do what is best for all of us.” Poole reached out with his hand and took a spear from the nearest child, pointing it at Tristan. “I will not tolerate anyone disobeying me. I think of you as a son, Tristan, which makes your betrayal so much worse. The other children will do as they are told. I know that in my heart. And my heart tells me you will endanger us all and that cannot be allowed to happen. I’m sorry it had to come to this.”

  Poole pulled his arms back in preparation to thrust the spear forward into Tristan. He never got the chance because Radwin pulled his sidearm and put a bullet into each of Poole’s knees.

  Poole fell screaming and crying.

  “Time to feed you to the deaders. The scent of blood and your screams should bring them fast,” Radwin said, kicking the spear away from Poole. He put his back toward Poole and mouthed no to the children to let them know he was not actually going to follow through on the threat.

  “No, you can’t,” Poole said.

  “Why not? You were going to do it to me,” Radwin said.

  “It was a joke,” Poole said, trying to smile through the pain.

  “I’m not laughing,” Radwin said.

  “C’mon, everything is negotiable. What can I do to change your mind?” Poole said.

  “If someone was willing to take your place, I’d be willing to consider allowing it,” Radwin said.

  “Okay,” Poole said, grabbing onto the idea like a drowning man to a piece of driftwood. “Sandra, you’d trade places to save Mr. Poole’s life, won’t you?”

  The girl remained silent.

  “Jason, I’ve done a lot for you and I’ve never asked for anything in return. I’m asking now for you to step up and save my life. Are you man enough to do it?”

  Jason turned and walked away. One by one, Poole tried to convince each child to give their life for his. There were no takers on his offer of painful death.

  “Tristan, you were always my favorite. Talk to Mr. Radwin and convince him not to do this horrible thing to me,” Poole begged.

  “You mean like you listened to me before you tried to kill me?” Tristan said.

  “Tristan, I was in grief over what happened to Julie. I wasn’t thinking straight,” Poole said.

  “Don’t you ever say my sister’s name again. You are not worthy. And Sam was never sending you out to the deaders. He was just trying to show us what kind of man you really were.”

  Poole’s head snapped to look at Radwin who had a dark grin.

  “It’s true,” Radwin said, tossing him two straps. “Make a tourniquet on each leg. The Harpy will have medics who will treat you before you are taken to the brig.”

  “Brig?” Poole said.

  “Yes. Edmund Poole, you are under arrest,” Radwin said.

  With the realization that he wasn’t about to be fed to zombies, Poole became indignant. “You don’t have the right.”

  “Actually, soldiers of the Host outrank civilian authorities, so I do, even if the planet Ozark wasn’t under martial law. You are guilty of the attempted murder of a soldier of a Host, inciting to riot, and child endangerment resulting in death.”

  “I kept these children alive.”

  “And I am sure that will be taken into account.”

  “Sam Radwin, this is Harpy Dropship Gamma. We are approaching your position. Can you read me?” came the radio burst in Radwin’s ear.

  “Harpy Dropship Gamma, we have ninety-six children and one wounded war criminal ready for transport,” Radwin said.

  “Radwin, we were told you had ninety-seven children.”

  “The war criminal’s actions caused the death of the brave girl who radioed for evac,” Radwin said.

  “Acknowledged. We will be making a hover landing on the roof of the cement factory in t-minus ten. Soldiers will be sent to escort the criminal and to assist in evac.”

  “Thank you Gamma. I will have someone meet you on the roof to guide you in. Radwin out.”

  “We’re being rescued?” said Tristan who had heard just one side of the conversation.

  “Yes, you are,” Radwin said.

  “Radwin, I plan to report your actions…” Poole started, but the click of Radwin’s sidearm caused him to fall silence.

  “The prisoner will adhere to regulations and remain silent unless spoken to,” Radwin ordered.

  “Tristan, will you take some of the kids to the roof and show the soldiers in?” Radwin asked.

  “Sure,” the boy said, looking from the soldier to the former teacher and back to the soldier. “Why didn’t you kill him?”

  “One, soldiers of the Host are not murderers. I could stop him without killing him. Two, death was too easy an out for him after what happened to Julie. Three, I needed you to truly know that what happened to your sister was because of the actions of a man who cared more for himself than those he professed to be taking care of. That way I know you will stop thinking it was your fault and put the blame where it belongs—on Poole.”

  Tristan looked up at the soldier with a small smile, then reached forward to grab the man around the waist in a hug. The embrace took Radwin by surprise, but he recovered quickly, hugging the boy with his left arm. His right arm held the gun still aimed at Poole. The boy pulled back, some of his anger gone. The rest would be a long time leaving, if it ever did.

  “You are pretty good with kids, Sam. How many do you have?” Tristan asked.

  “None.”

  “That’s too bad. You should really have some,” Tristan said, wiping his eyes and running to the stairs that led to the roof.

  Radwin found himself smiling and thinking that maybe the boy was right. He needed to find three more survivors so he could get back to Kyklopes and check on what the policy on soldiers adopting Ozark orphans was.

  A Meal Fit For God

  A Tale of the Roosevelt

  C.J. Henderson

  “It now appears that research underway offers the possibility of establishing the existence of an agency having the properties and characteristics ascribed to the religious concept of God.”

  Dr. Evan Harris Walker

  Theoretical Physicist

  Correct stabilizers—bring drift back below two degrees—now, mister!” The navigator of the Earth Alliance Ship Roosevelt sprang to her task. Despite the incredible n
ature of the ship’s design and the sophistication of its state-of-the-art sensors, the Roosevelt had somehow accidentally blundered into a cosmic storm of unbelievable intensity.

  “Still being dragged, Captain.”

  Of course, that the great battlewagon would somehow manage to find an uncharted storm system, one infinitely more severe than any previous encountered—anywhere, by any race—came as no surprise to her crew. The most forward-sailing of any space vehicle dispatched from its world since the beginning of galactic exploration, the E.A.S. Roosevelt had encountered more confounding, unbelievable and well, downright wozzlingly strange stuff than any human being had ever imagined possible.

  “Reroute the auxiliary power reserve from the light motion cannon—do whatever it takes but get us straight-lined!”

  Indeed, if the entire tally of intergalactic oddities the Roosevelt had encountered up until that particular star date were ever to be reviewed by the proper authorities back home, they would have no choice other than to conclude that the crew member who drew up the list must have been quite mad.

  “The helm just isn’t responding, Captain. We’re still listing, shoving the needle close to six.”

  Yes, of course, the Roosevelt was the first Earth ship to leave the solar system. Hers was the first crew to come face to face with alien races, to walk on other worlds, to interact with unimaginable cultures. Still, space exploration, it had always been assumed, would be a thing of monotony, a tedium of cataloguing inert planets, charting the currents of the galactic undertow, clearing debris from what would become the spaceways of the only sentient race in the universe.

  “There’s no reason for any storm to be this powerful. Check for magnetic pulsing.”

  But, humanity had discovered that not only were they not alone in the universe, they were actually residents of a galaxy practically choking on a seemingly never-ending roster of other life forms. The activities of this cacophony of civilizations was overseen by the five great races comprising the ruling body of the highly esteemed organization known as the Pan-Galactic League of Suns. Or, should it be said, the “formerly,” highly esteemed organization.