Alone in the Crowd (The Chronicles of Anna Foster Book 3) (33 page)

Again, Anna shook her head. “Save your supplies. Whoever shot me hit…” She grunted loudly, and her eyes grew wide as she reacted from another surge of pain. “Danica?” Her voice was reduced to a faint whisper.

Leaning closer, Danica directed her ear toward Anna’s face. “What is it?”

“Pull Kate out of my ship. I don’t care how, but get her out. I promised to take her to Earth.”

Danica nodded. “I’ll do it.”

With the agreement made, Anna nodded one last time and closed her eyes. She grunted again, her whole body flinching from the pain. Her body relaxed, and she exhaled.

* * * * *

“Anna?”

No response.

“Anna?”

Again, no response.

Tears returned to Danica’s eyes. “Oh, god. Anna! Don’t go! Stay with me!
Anna!
”

A faint hum reached the governor’s ears, and Danica looked up, barely able to see through the tears that filled her eyes. The Altiki ship floated directly overhead, casting the entire square in shadow. Moments later, four blue beams shot down from the central circular port in the craft’s underbelly and enveloped the bunkers that guarded the plaza. A few soldiers turned their guns on the energy field, only to find that their shots could not penetrate it.

Six white flashes appeared between her and the fountain. After the light faded, six beings over two meters tall, each with three arms and three legs, stood grouped together. Each of them wore a gray mesh outfit that covered most of their body, except for the very top of their bodies, and they carried what appeared to be a twin-barreled weapon in each hand, one barrel above and one below the hand.

“Altiki.” Danica’s whisper was barely audible above the wind that blew between the buildings. Her eyes locked on them, observing their every move, and she could not will herself to look away.

The being that stood nearest to Danica pointed his weapon at her. “Ona.”

Another one slapped a node near one of its shoulders. “Namamos el godrel. Cralivamos el nama.”

The group expanded their circle a little, and two more flashes appeared, producing two more Altiki. One was dressed much like the others, but the other was shorter and wearing a light blue robe-like garment and a tight chain around what could be construed as its neck. The two new arrivals moved through what she realized must be guards toward Danica, who recoiled in horror and threw her empty hands before her. The Altiki stopped a couple of meters away and looked to be studying her.

“Gatal. Tansas
Danica?” The shorter one extended its hand toward her in a simple gesture.

Danica balked and blinked several times. “You…you know my name?”

The Altiki blinked its eyes. “Dura gatsinakas?”

“Tahabolo.” The taller one pointed to a small box attached to the chain and pressed a button on it. “Try now.”

“Can you understand me now?” Danica heard a few syllables from the mouth on top of its head before the words in English broadcasted from the necklace.

Danica nodded.

“My name is Fretick, and this is my assistant, Bron. We are Altiki. You must be Danica.”

“Y-yes. My name is Danica Armstrong.” After a second’s pause, she added as an afterthought, “We come in peace.”

The front doors to the main hall burst open, and Jason charged through, holding a first aid kit in hand. “I’m here, Ms. Armstrong. I…” He stopped suddenly at the bottom of the stairs upon sighting the Altiki in the square. Taken aback, he stumbled backwards and inadvertently dropped the case, which hit the ground with a clatter. The six Altiki guards each raised a weapon at him.

Glancing at the young man, Danica did a double-take before turning back to Fretick. “No, wait! He’s not going to hurt you. He’s bringing medical supplies to help Anna.” The mention of her friend’s name brought her back to the reality of the situation. She looked at her friend lying in front of her. “Oh, god.”

“Danica.” Fretick pointed toward Anna. “We are here because of Anna.”

“For Anna…why?”

“She asked us to stop. We assume she meant the attack against your people.”

Danica stared at them for several seconds, her mouth hanging open as she contemplated the implications. Anna asked them to stop the attack? And, they complied?

As her thoughts returned to her friend, Danica glanced down at her again. “Can you help her?”

“We detect that her body has ceased functioning. The term I believe you use is ‘dead’. We should be able to fix her.”

“You can?”

“Yes, but we must move quickly to retain as much of her as possible.”

Behind Jason, the double doors burst open, and McClaskey emerged with several soldiers, all armed with assault weapons. “Freeze!”

The six Altiki guards trained their weapons on the new human arrivals. “Avan hartanal, il monshamos vadal!” one of them shouted.

“Stand down, or we will fire!”

Fretick leaned closer to Danica. “We will not fire unless fired upon. For everyone’s safety, have your people lower their weapons.”

“Forgive my asking, but how do I know that I can trust you? You could easily kill us if we withdraw.”

“Danica, if we wanted to kill you, we would have done so without coming down.”

“But, you could easily do so after taking Anna with you. Since she is so important to you, you would have no reason to hold back any longer. I do not wish anymore harm to come to the colonists.” She chose her words carefully, not wanting to give away the fact that she was their leader.

Fretick paused for a few seconds. “I understand your reluctance. If you wish, you can accompany her.”

“Don’t do it!” The colonel intervened harshly. “They could still wipe us out with you aboard.”

“As a gesture of goodwill,” Fretick continued. “I will remain here. They will not attack while I am on the surface.”

Danica pondered its proposal. From the way it was dressed and interacted with the others, Fretick appeared to have some level of authority. Perhaps he was the commander? If so, he was putting his own life as well as those under his care on the line, for Anna.

Anna! If his words were true and they could bring her back from the dead, deliberating any longer may decrease the chances of her coming back whole, if at all. She remembered Anna saying something about Private Anderson being brought back while they were in the underground caves. Maybe Fretick spoke the truth.

With a nod, Danica said, “McClaskey, stand down!”

The colonel warned the administrator without taking his eyes off the Altiki. “Ms. Armstrong…”

“Stand down! That’s an order, colonel!”

McClaskey shifted his eyes toward Danica, back to the Altiki, then to Danica again. With a sigh, he commanded as he lowered his pistol, “Stand down, men.” The soldiers followed suit but looked ready to respond.

Fretick straightened himself. “Tondan, lower your weapons.” The guards did as they were ordered.

“Ms. Armstrong, I don’t like this.” McClaskey’s gritted teeth strained his words.

Danica stole a glance at McClaskey. “Noted, colonel.” She turned back to regard the Altiki. “Fretick, I have so many questions.”

Fretick’s lips atop its head tightened in what Danica interpreted as a smile. “I believe you do.”

“Why is Anna so important to you?”

Fretick bent down and slid the shoulder strap from Anna’s left shoulder. “An ancient prophecy foretells of a deformed Altiki with a series of glowing marks ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity for our people. The pattern of marks described in the prophecy match the series of dots on Anna’s shoulder. And by our physiological standards, Anna is a deformed godrel. She only has two arms and legs.”

Danica nodded in understanding. “Why did you…”

Fretick held up one of its hands to silence her, giving her a good view of the three-fingered, two-thumbed appendage. “Let us attend to more important matters before we continue. Bron?”

The taller one stepped forward and reached to lift Anna’s body up with two of his arms. He turned and extended his third hand toward her. “Tranamos?”

“Don’t go with them, Armstrong.” McClaskey’s stern warning came as no surprise. “They’ll kill you or us once you’re aboard.”

“Ms. Armstrong?” Jason called to her as he stepped down the stairs and moved toward her. “You’re too important. Let me go instead.”

“Mr. Fuller, I can’t let you go.”

“And, I can’t let you go. The colony looks to you for guidance and leadership. You can’t go. I, on the other hand, am Anna’s personal assistant. You entrusted me with that position. Now, I have an opportunity to help her again. And by doing so, I am helping the colony, too.”

Danica considered his words carefully and, after several seconds, nodded her consent with a grim expression on her face. “Very well, Mr. Fuller. You may go.”

Jason gave a quick nod in return, his lips drawn tight. Turning to face Bron, he gave the Altiki a quick once over. Was he really doing this? Was he really taking a chance and going into an unknown spaceship with beings never before encountered by humanity? He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He was doing this for Anna and focused on that. “I’m ready.”

Fretick gestured toward the taller one. “Stand next to Bron.”

As Jason moved to stand next to the alien, Bron pressed a free hand to a button on a device strapped to another arm. Through Fretick’s translator, Danica and Jason heard him say, “This is Bron. Bring me and a guest aboard. Have a medical team ready.”

Danica reached a hand toward Anna’s body. “Goodbye, Anna.”

Seconds later, another light flashed around them. After it faded, Bron, Anna, and Jason were gone.

“You have more questions, Danica?”

She stood and brushed the dirt from her pants. “Why did you attack us?”

Fretick exhaled – sighed? “We reacted to the attack against us. We were watching you to see what your people were doing. The leader on our ship felt it necessary to extend our response to your presence in its entirety, not knowing the purpose of these buildings.”

Danica gestured with both arms stretched out. “These are homes for colonists, innocent people trying to make a living on a new world.”

“This is a colony?”

Danica replied with a nod.

“I understand. I need to tell you that your colony on this moon may not be accepted among my people. We hold this moon sacred and do not allow visitors. We tolerated Anna’s presence here because she posed no danger to us.”

Nodding, Danica absorbed his words, trying to formulate the best diplomatic response. “I respect that you hold this world in high regard. Had we known before establishing ourselves here, we may have chosen a different place to settle. Perhaps we can use these circumstances to an advantage for both of us. Maybe we can learn about your people, and you about us. We could learn to work together and form a peaceful relationship that could benefit both Human and Altiki alike.”

Fretick fell silent for a moment as if poring over her proposal.

McClaskey broke the silence. “I don’t like the looks of this, ma’am.”

Danica hastily raised her hand to stop him from speaking any further.

After another moment, Fretick blinked his eyes and responded, “You speak with wisdom, Danica Armstrong. I will present your offer to my leaders for consideration. In the meantime, your colony may remain here. As a condition of your continued presence, you must stay away from the pyramid and any nearby underground locations.”

Danica smiled. “I agree with your terms, Fretick.”

Fretick’s lips stretched in what Danica interpreted as an Altiki smile. “Very good. Now, I must deliver the news of your presence and your proposal to my leaders.”

As he reached toward his wrist device, Danica cocked her head. “I thought you were going to remain here while Anna was being ‘fixed’.”

“Anna’s body will take time to repair, but I assure you that she is in good hands. I take full responsibility for her while she is aboard our ship.” He reached for the device again.

“What about Jason who went aboard with Anna? He is my responsibility.”

Lowering his hands, Fretick blinked twice. “Do you wish me to return him to you?”

“After Anna is alive and healthy again, yes.”

“That is my plan. I do not want to retain them any longer than necessary. I want to…”

A bright flash of light enveloped Fretick and the six Altiki guards standing nearby.

Danica recoiled, surprised and angered at the sign of their anticipated disappearance. McClaskey, realizing too late that one of the alien guards must have somehow managed to sneak a message to their vessel, raised his weapon and fired into the group of guards. The soldiers standing behind him responded in a split second and shot at them too. Seconds later, all the Altiki had vanished.

With clenched fists, Danica stared at the floating craft as it started moving away from the colony. “
Fretick!
” Seconds later, the shield around the bunkers dissipated, and the large hexagon shimmered and disappeared, allowing the bright sunlight to reach the ground again. The colonel and his troops turned their weapons skyward, firing at the ship’s last known position.

“Colonel!” Danica marched with purpose to the military leader. “Tell your communications officer to send a message on all frequencies demanding the return of Anna and Jason immediately, or we will take action against them. Have the sensors scan the skies for anything that may tell us the current location of that ship.”

McClaskey said nothing to her but toggled his communicator and relayed the command.

Danica stood in the square, holding back her tears while watching the sky and waiting for some sign of the vessel’s return.