HIDDEN: A Dystopian Science Fiction Adventure Read online

  When the day came, I climbed a tree to eat and rest in, but sleeping was difficult. I only managed a few fitful hours.

  On the morning of the second day, a distant horn sounded, jolting me from sleep.

  I gathered what strength I had and surged forward. I headed into the deepest part of the forest to try and throw them off my trail.

  All day and into the night, the sounds of branches being smashed and the wailing of horns echoed from behind me.

  By dawn, the volcanic caldera of Mount Kilimanjaro rose on the distant horizon. The sight of it filled me with hope, even as the booming sounds of heavy footfalls surrounded me.

  A Targ with a staff in his hands leapt out above the trees and skidded to a stop in front of me. I had never seen one jump that high. Gray armor sheathed the reptilian’s body. Its head covered in a triangular helmet with two large compound eyes that moved independently in every direction, like a hulking insect. Even with the helmet on, I knew it was a Targ; his thick, muscular tail a dead giveaway. A burlap sack dangled from his waist and a holstered gun hung from his side.

  He pressed the back of his helmet and bio-luminescent blue seams appeared on the insect-like face. They flattened and folded back, disappearing behind the neck, revealing his green, scaly, dragon-like head and red eyes. I recognized that face immediately.

  “Very good little one,” Draks said. He rose to his full height and licked his yellow teeth. He dropped his staff and pulled out a large double edged dagger from behind the sack. “You gave us quite a hunt, but your time is up.”

  Four more Targs leapt out of the trees all clad in the same gray body armor. They removed their helmets as well. Each had a gun in a holster on their right side and a wooden staff gripped in their clawed hands. They formed a circle around me and lifted their staffs.

  I readied mine, but then saw something familiar and froze. Three bio-luminescent blue areas glowed behind the plates in their right knee, tail, and left armpit.

  “You look surprised,” Draks said. “Did you really think I would not station a hunter by the Exog’s farm when I left? You Hu-mans think we are beasts, but we are far smarter than you.”

  He tore open the burlap bag and pulled out Cradlo’s severed head. I gasped, and he exposed his yellow teeth in a crocodile like grin. “Aiding an escaped slave is punishable by death, and now it’s your turn.” He tossed the head at me and motioned his blade to the other four Targs.

  My hands gripped my staff tighter as I worked to get my emotions under control.

  His hunters leaned forward, their staffs raised, ready to strike.

  I searched the area all around me, looking for a boulder or a stump, anything I could use to get out of the shrinking circle of Targs.

  Some tree branches shook and Merrick ambled in behind one of the Targs. They all glanced at him and then wound their gaze back to me.

  “Ah, Merrick,” Draks said. “Come again to witness another of our kills?”

  “You know me too well.” He glared at each of the Targs. “Five hunters, Draks? That’s not like you.”

  “This slave proved to be most resourceful.”

  Merrick turned and stared deeply into my eyes. “That she is.” He gave me a slight nod of his head, and I readied my staff.

  The Targs lifted theirs and hunkered down on their massive legs ready to pounce.

  Merrick strolled forward until he was right behind a Targ. His face calm, yet determined. He yanked out a gun from a Targ holster and fired multiple shots. The two closest Targs fell to the ground. A gray shadow flashed behind him and he cried out, dropping the gun.

  Draks was at his back, his dagger piercing through Merrick’s abdomen.

  “Father!” I cried and reached out to him. I took a step, but a Targ moved in front of me. I felt weak, helpless. My knees wobbled and my eyes burned.

  Draks froze. “Father?”

  He kicked the gun away and yanked out his knife. Merrick collapsed, grabbing at his stomach.

  Draks knelt and held his crimson blood soaked dagger across my father’s throat. “So, this is the answer to all the riddles.” His head turned, and his red eyes glared at me. “You’re Merrick’s daughter…” His eyes flared open. “And I suspect something more.”

  He turned his head to the other Targs. “Break her bones if you must, but I want her alive.”

  The Targs looked back at him, their forehead brows slanted down in disbelief.

  “You heard me. Now do as I say, or I’ll kill you myself.”

  The two Targs moved to opposing sides and circled me contracting their distance with a slow sliding gait.

  I flicked my head from one side to the other, trying to keep track of both of them.

  Just look forward and use your peripheral vision, Merrick’s voice echoed.

  I cleared my mind and lowered my staff, letting my peripheral senses of sight and sound take over.

  A branch snapped behind me. I sidestepped to the left. The Targ at my back slammed his staff to the ground. I maneuvered around him, keeping the other Targ in front.

  In one fluid motion, I smashed under his right knee before swinging my body over to hit under his tail, followed by an upward thrust to the left arm pit.

  The impacted areas in the body armor shattered with each blow. The blue glow flickered and then switched off. Meanwhile, a light blue fluid dripped out of the spider-web like cracks.

  The Targ’s body locked in place and he wavered like he had lost his balance, before crashing to the ground unable to move.

  I pulled out my dagger and plunged it through the Targ’s throat. His eyes grew wild with desperation and his head jerked before letting out a last garbled breath.

  The other Targ stopped moving and gaped at me.

  “Finish her!” Draks said. He held his knife steady while my father’s blood oozed out his clenched hands.

  Murderer.

  My teeth bared and my blood boiled. I leapt at the Targ hunter. He made a few clumsy blocks before I swung behind and dispatched him as well. The beast screeched as I sawed off his head with my blade.

  I turned and threw it at Draks, my dagger dripping with black blood. “Now, it’s your turn.”

  “I don’t think so, slave.”

  He pressed an armband button. A rush of fiery pain much greater than I had ever experienced hammered inside my mind, but my anger surged forward, and I banished it.

  I took a step forward. Draks pressed the button again and again, but I kept moving toward him.

  His eyes glared hot at me, and he put a hand to his holster. Merrick reached up and grabbed at Draks’ gun. They struggled before Draks pulled it free and raised his arm.

  I jumped at him, smashing the gun from Draks’ hand with my staff.

  He jumped over me and fled.

  I whipped around to chase after him.

  “No!” Merrick cried. “You’ll never catch him.”

  Father.

  I turned back and knelt at his side. Blood pooled out his stomach. I ripped off his shirt and tore off a long strip.

  “Go Lumenara.”

  He’s delirious.

  I tried to wrap the makeshift bandage around him, but he nudged my hands away.

  “There’s no time.”

  “But I can save you.” Tears welled up in my eyes. “I have to save you.”

  “No.”

  His breathing stilled and his eyes closed.

  “Father…”

  Not you too.

  A tear fell. “There’s so much I want to tell to you. To thank you for protecting me.”

  Memories of our life together swirled inside my head. The times he held me close and chased away my fears in the cellar. Our walks in the flower garden. Teaching me how to play my flute.

  My head bowed, and I took his hand. It was cold and limp. “I love you,” I sobbed. “Please, don’t leave me. Please…”

  His hand lifted and touched my cheek. “It’s OK,” he whispered. “You were always in my heart.” He took my h
and and set the scrapbook with the pencil sketches within mine, curling my fingers around the spine. I gazed into his face, his brilliant blue eyes penetrating right through mine. “Now go. Trust no one. Awaken Gaia, before it’s too late.”

  I staggered up from his side and ran like I had never run before. To the volcano on the horizon I ran, with tears streaming from my eyes. Every so often, I turned my head to see his shrinking, bloodied body in the distance.

  Father… forgive me.

  ~~~

  I don’t know what lies hidden under the volcano before me, but my path is clear. For I am Lumenara, daughter of Merrick, keeper of the key of Gaia. And I shall awaken her.

  THE END

  Want More?

  If you enjoyed Fives’ adventure in Hidden, you will want to buy the next story in the series called…

  Awaken

  “Trust no one. Awaken Gaia before it's too late.” These were the dying words of my father.

  “I knew only three things about Gaia. First, she was our planetary guardian located under Mt. Kilimanjaro. Second, the bloodthirsty alien invaders called Targs were frantically searching for her. And third, I had to find her first.” — Fives

  ...

  “Fives” was the first human slave to survive 'The Hunt'. Trained by her father from birth as a living weapon, she watched as the Targs butchered him when he helped her to escape. Grief-stricken, she wanders the African wilderness alone, desperate to locate Gaia. Pursued relentlessly, she sinks into despair when she finds the volcano guarding the entrance is swarming with Targs.

  Then a chance encounter with a handsome but mysterious human resistance fighter offers her hope. He leads Fives to his base promising assistance, yet something sinister there awaits.

  Can she survive and awaken Gaia in time...

  For sale on Amazon here:

  US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0778TXV6Z

  UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0778TXV6Z

  1 2 D A Y S O F Christmas

  Troy has a novella published within this anthology titled ‘Three French Hens’

  A plague has been unleased, and it doesn't care that Black Ops Commander, Victor, is on vacation. Now in a race against time, Victor must come face to face with the sins of his past to stop the outbreak, without exposing an illicit relationship with a woman he's desperate to keep a secret. But can he afford to save her and complete his mission...

  For sale on Amazon here:

  US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076C55WRM

  NEEDS OF THE MANY

  In science, discoveries are like doors, and some doors should never be opened. For Dr. Lang, his discovery became his greatest hope, and his worst fear.

  This is a free story. That’s right it is completely free. Just sign up here to download it. https://www.instafreebie.com/free/41ArP

  Hidden: One title. Endless possibilities.

  This story is part of a muti-author project.

  From military sci-fi to dark romance, paranormal to dystopia, the Hidden Project has something for everyone. Each author has taken the same title, and put their own spin on the story, leading to a wide range of stories in a variety of genres.

  You can check out all the books in the Hidden Project here: www.HiddenReader.com

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  About the Author

  Troy McLaughlan is a software engineer who spends his days in the high tech world of computer science.

  When not trying to put food on the table he spends his nights and mornings (very early mornings) dreaming up faraway worlds and writing speculative fiction. His second hobby is photography, and he specializes in landscapes, shooting wild animals, and astro-photography.

  He also has another life biking, hiking, and camping with his family in the mountains near his home.

  Contact Info:

  Email: [email protected]

  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/troymclaughlan