Journey to Marrachi Read online

  Journey to Marrachi

  Dan Oakley

  Copyright © 2018 Dan Oakley

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.

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  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Author’s note

  Newsletter

  Chapter 1

  I was sick of the heat and humidity. I’d only been outside for twenty minutes but already I was dripping with sweat. Running a hand through my damp black hair, I scanned the perimeter fencing. There were no immediate problems I could see, but the dark green vegetation was encroaching fast. A large fern was only inches away from the shimmering fence. This time last week, it had been half its current size, but things grew fast on this planet.

  I grabbed my laser knife from its holster and headed towards the fence. I’d counted the sections as I’d walked the perimeter, and knew I needed to turn off the power to panel twenty-two. The electric current running through the fence wasn’t enough to kill me, but that didn’t mean I wanted to risk getting a shock. I used my small wrist device, which had been hacked into the main system from the compound, to disconnect the current.

  Detaching the panel was quick work and I soon cut down the new fern at the base of its stem and left it to wither in the sun. Sticky sap dripped from the laser knife.

  Within seconds I had the electric fence reconnected and running again.

  It had been three months since we’d managed to banish the creatures from our compound. In that time, we’d had no attacks. That didn’t mean the creatures had given up, though. We had them on video, trying to breach the fence by throwing sticks and branches. So far, our defences had stood strong. We’d added another fence as an internal perimeter, as our secondary line of defence, and it was this I patrolled on a daily basis. We had cameras pointed at every section of fencing so the giant lizards could not catch us unaware.

  I felt a prickle on the back of my neck and turned. There was nothing there. Nothing but cracked concrete, discarded trailers and rusted motor parts. Turning away, I checked the time on my wrist device. I still had another fifteen panels to go.

  A few feet ahead of me, marked with a simple wooden triangle was the mass grave. It was filled with the bodies of my team members who’d been massacred by the reptilian creatures soon after we’d arrived on the planet, and those who’d already perished before we arrived. Each day, I paused for a moment beside the rough earth to pay my respects.

  Touching my curled fist to my chest, I moved on, now keeping my eyes on the steamy jungle. The creatures were lurking out there just waiting for a chance to attack.

  As much as I hated this oppressively hot planet where everything seemed to want to kill me, I was grateful for the fact I wasn’t alone here. Trella was worth her weight in precious stones. As a fully trained and powerful mage, Trella was someone I wanted in my corner. Kira’s experience had saved us a ton of time. She was used to the compound and knew how to handle the software. There wasn’t much she didn’t know about the admin building or the accommodation complex. In fact, Kira was so comfortable here, I was pretty sure she didn’t want to leave. Kira was the young woman we discovered while on a rescue mission. She’d been living alone for the past ten years after being abandoned as a child when the planet was evacuated after a nuclear accident. She seemed perfectly happy to spend the rest of her life here now that we’d managed to evict the predators from our compound.

  After being abandoned by the KSS Morellic and left to rot on this planet, we’d done our best in the circumstances. Though I hated the climate and the temperature, inside the complex, my new quarters were more luxurious than anything I’d experienced back on my home planet, Terrano. Trella, was as anxious as I was to get off this planet, but for different reasons.

  Though I’d set up the scanner to detect when any ships came in communication range, we’d heard nothing for three long months. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, the nuclear fallout had been severe. But Tor was a planet rich in minerals, and I hoped that the prospect of riches would mean the Seven Kingdoms would soon send another ship to assess the mining situation.

  A trickle of sweat ran down my back as I strode to the next fence section. I tried to picture myself back in the cool woods of Terrano, with a crystal clear mountain stream running nearby, but the chirping chorus of the insects made it impossible. I inspected the fence panel and was pleased to see it was fine. I checked it off on my wrist device, then froze as I heard a noise behind me.

  It was a scuffing sound – something scraping across the concrete. I made a grab for my plasma weapon.

  Maybe it was Kira or Trella?

  Only one way to find out.

  I spun around.

  My heart slammed against my ribs. What the…? How was it possible…?

  Twenty feet away, standing upright and sniffing the air, was a giant lizard. It’s scaly skin was peeling, making it appear even more hideous.

  This wasn’t right. It didn’t make any sense. How the blazes could a lizard be this side of the fence? There’d been no breach.

  I fumbled with my headset, trying to secure the earpiece. It wasn’t exactly an engineering masterpiece. I’d removed them from our old headsets, and Kira had helped me make them into makeshift communication devices.

  I pressed the green button.

  “It’s Tomas. Is anyone there?”

  Static buzzed in my ear. Pressing the button again, my fingers, slick with sweat, slipped against the sleek design of the earpiece.

  “Hello? I could really do with some help right about now.”

  Neither Kira nor Trella could hear me. Unfortunately for me, there was nothing wrong with the lizard’s hearing.

  The creature let out a low hiss and turned in my direction, locking its amber eyes on me. Out in the open with no protection, I had nowhere to hide or shelter.

  It cocked its head to one side as though wondering if I would run. I was tempted, believe me, but I knew that was one race I could never win. I’d seen the monsters move at full pelt before. For something so big, it could move like lightening. Still, the fact it hadn’t charged me yet had bought me a little time.

  I needed to focus. I passed the last three months intensively practising my mage skills. I’d improved, for sure. But my practice had mainly been on inanimate objects, which made things easier.

  I was pretty sure the creature wasn’t going to be obliging enough to stay still long enough for me to blast it.

  A voice sounded in my ear. “Tomas? What’s the problem?” It was Kira.

  “I’m outside, by the fence, just past th
e grave, opposite the rec room in the complex.”

  “I’ll give you a hand when I finish up here,” Kira said with a sigh. “I’m replacing the water filters at the moment.”

  “I don’t need help with the fence, Kira. I need help with a lizard.”

  “A lizard? In the compound?” Her voice rose an octave in alarm.

  “Yes,” I confirmed, keeping my voice low and calm even though I felt like panicking. “Could you get Trella?”

  Trella would be able to dispatch the lizard without breaking a sweat. I couldn’t wait until my magic was at her level.

  Then Kira said the words I really didn’t want to hear. “Sorry, Tomas. I’m not sure where she is.”

  As though the lizard had realised my backup options were now non-existent, it let out a triumphant screech, opening its mouth, and displaying its yellow, dagger-like teeth.

  Flaming fires. I was in deep trouble.

  The lizard lowered its head, ready to charge, and I locked onto my magic. At least, that was something I could do without a problem now. I could access the votoom zone with ease. My skin tingled, and blood rushed in my ears.

  As the creature raced toward me, I felt the energy and vibrations build in my hand, generating a glowing ball of blue energy. So far, so good. I dropped to one knee. I needed my central core stable. I couldn’t risk a miss. Failure meant death.

  I took aim at the largest part of the lizard, which was its lower abdomen and hips. The creature raised its small front limbs, clawing the air, no doubt excited to tear me to shreds.

  I reached back and used my bodyweight to propel the energy bolt forward. I held my breath as the energy bolts shot through the air towards the lizard. The dirtwipe dived at the last moment, and the glowing blue ball merely grazed its long meaty tail. Now I was in serious trouble.

  I generated another energy ball but didn’t have long enough for the energy to build. This one harmlessly glanced off the animals shoulder as it let out a hiss of contempt.

  Bracing myself for impact I raised my plasma weapon. I should have fired this first. Relying on magic was hopeless. When would I learn? Now the creature would be too close to discharge the weapon safely, but it was my only option.

  Before I could press the trigger button, an explosion of sound and light descended around me. A sharp pain slashed into the right side of my stomach just below my ribs. Then the great beast grunted and fell towards me. Twisting away, I moved before the oversized gecko crushed me. Sprawled on the floor, choking on acrid smoke from burning lizard flesh, I tried to catch my breath.

  The smoke stung my eyes, and I blinked as tears streamed down my cheeks. The charred lizard was slumped beside me. My weapon lay unused on the ground.

  “Were you using the lizard for target practice?” Kira demanded to know, striding up to me, holding a huge plasma gun that dwarfed her small frame.

  I tried to speak, but the smoke I’d inhaled had stolen my voice. I coughed.

  “Why didn’t you fire your weapon?” she asked.

  That was a good question. I should have, but I’d hoped after all my practice, I’d be able to dispatch the monster with my magic. Apparently not.

  I stood up and dusted myself down.

  “It came at me fast,” I said in the way of an excuse.

  Kira looked up at me, her pointed features tense. “How did it get past the fence?”

  Another good question. I shook my head. “I don’t know. All the panels were intact, and I didn’t get an alarm to say that any of the sections were breached.”

  Tapping my wrist device, I stared at it in the hope it would give me some answers, but all sections of our defensive line were shown as live and functional.

  Kira pointed at the side of my torso. “You’re hurt.”

  The reptilian dirtwipe had taken a chunk out of my side with its vicious claws before Kira had taken it out. The deep grooves in my flesh were stinging, and I knew from experience, the pain would only get worse. The creatures had some kind of toxic coating on their claws.

  “Let’s get you to the medical centre,” Kira said. “And then I’ll try to find Trella. She’ll have you fixed up in no time.”

  “Good idea,” I managed to cough out.

  Kira offered to support me but I shook my head. “I’ll be fine.”

  The broken skin where the lizard had scratched me felt like it was burning up, but it wouldn’t stop me getting to the medical centre under my own steam.

  Kira kept her weapon ready, scanning the concrete, looking for more predators. I hoped there weren’t more, but we couldn’t ignore the fact there could be. Somehow, that creature had invaded the perimeter of our compound, despite all the safety features we had in place.

  “I just can’t understand it,” she said as she punched the code into the security lock to get in through the rear access door. “It didn’t breach the fence, so how did it get in?” She shivered and looked out at the dark jungle. There were many more lizards out there hidden by the dark, twisted vines. “You don’t think they’re climbing the trees, do you?”

  “Unlikely.” My throat felt raw, and my voice was gravelly. “Their forelimbs are much too small to scale trees effectively.”

  I tried to force confidence into my voice, but I suspected we couldn’t discount that theory entirely.

  Kira gave a relieved sigh as we made it inside the complex and the safety lock gave a reassuring click behind us. Before we rounded the corner, I looked back through the large window. If one lizard had made it over the fence, that meant there would almost certainly be more to follow. It looked like we were going to have a fight on our hands.

  Chapter 2

  The air was deliciously cool against my skin, and I sucked in a deep lungful of filtered air. Fixing the air filtration and cooling system to work throughout the entire complex was the best decision we’d made. I tapped my wrist device to bring up the security menu. Now we were back inside, I wanted to reset the movement alarm so we would get an alert if any more lizards were wandering around the compound.

  Kira shot me a look. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

  I gave her a half-hearted grin. “Thanks.”

  “I’m serious. Do you think you’ll make it to the medical room, or shall I go and try to find Trella now?”

  “I’ll make it,” I said through gritted teeth and tried to increase my walking speed. It wasn’t easy. Every step sent a jolt of pain through my side. We only had two more corridors to pass through before we reached the medical room, though. I could get that far under my own steam.

  Once there, I could wash my wounds while Kira went to find Trella. There were numerous drugs available in the complex — most of them well past their best — but I preferred Trella’s treatment. The magical runes worked faster.

  As we got closer to the medical room, we saw Trella strolling along the corridor. She hadn’t noticed us and had her head buried in a technical manual.

  “Tomas is hurt,” Kira announced, finally feeling safe enough to re-holster her weapon.

  Trella looked up from her book, and her eyes widened. “What happened?”

  “Lizard attack.” Holding my breath, I pulled my tattered uniform aside, so she could see the claw marks that gouged my flesh.

  An expression of irritation passed over Trella’s face. “Why did you go outside the perimeter on your own? You know it’s dangerous.”

  “That’s the thing,” I said. “I didn’t go outside the perimeter.”

  Trella’s face paled. “You mean there was a lizard inside our safe zone?”

  I nodded. “Yes, it took me by surprise, but thanks to Kira, I’m still here to tell you about it.”

  Trella put a hand on Kira’s shoulder and squeezed. “Nice work.” Her brow furrowed with a frown, and she ran a hand through her bright red hair. When I’d first met Trella, her hair was styled in a chin-length bob. Now her red locks reached her shoulders. “Let’s get you to the medical room.”

  Both women offered me the
ir arms, and this time I didn’t refuse their help. The burning sensation was spreading rapidly and my whole body was shaking.

  Each step sent shockwaves of fire through my nerves, and the pain was so overwhelming it made it hard to concentrate on Trella and Kira’s conversation.

  I zoned out until Trella asked, “We have the system set up to sound an alarm when the fence is breached, but I didn’t get one, did you?”

  My teeth were clenched, so I simply shook my head.

  “No,” Kira said. “The system says the fence is intact. That either means we have a problem with the system, or the lizards have found a way to get inside the safe zone without destroying the fence.”

  Trella’s forehead wrinkled again with another frown as we reached the medical room. “How is that possible?” she muttered.

  She pushed the door open and pulled me over to the sink. “We’ll need to cut off the top part of your uniform.”

  Kira handed me a pair of steel scissors, and with a shaky hand, I cut through the midsection of the uniform. Despite the fact the fabric was thin, it didn’t cut easily. Sycrilline was seriously tough stuff. I ended up ripping the last of it.

  Trella used a bottle with a nozzle to squirt sterile saline into my open wounds. The sensation made me catch my breath, and it stung at first, but after a while the burning lessened.

  “We’ll get as much of the toxin out as we can, then we’ll use the runes,” Trella said. “Could you get them for me, Kira?”

  Kira nodded. We kept the runes stored in a cabinet in the medical room. It was one of the first rooms we’d renovated, figuring that it was better to be prepared and never need it, than to need it and be unprepared.