Eclipse of the Warrior: The Interdimensional Saga (Book 1) (3 page)

Just as we were discussing the possibility of Earth’s
war-loving people having a bad influence on the peaceful fae, Nishni came into
the room with some troubling news.

“Sir, pardon my interruption, but I just heard on the police
scanners that a group of rippers might have been spotted about one mile from
here. They were harassing a group of college students coming from a bar. If we
hurry we might be able to follow them back to where they are staying.” Nishni
really wanted to be the one responsible for finding the ripper hide-out so he
spent most of his down time listening to the scanners.

The Commander told Lancer to take his team out and see if
they could find the rippers, or at least stop them from getting any more fodder
for the ripper terrorists back on their home planet.

I stayed back at HQ with the Commander and we continued to
discuss his planet and their history. Turned out he had wanted to be a history
professor instead of a military man, but his father was a military man, and so
was his grandfather. He said it was in his blood to join the warrior elite,
which he compared to our Army Special Forces.

After about thirty minutes of his history lesson, my mind
started clearing up and the fogginess left my brain. I remembered something he
said to Lancer before they left and it was really bugging me.

“Commander, before Lancer and his team left, you said
something about fodder for the Ripper’s attacks? What did you mean?”

“I was wondering if you were going to pick up on that. When
a ripper comes here, they are only looking for humans to change and bring back
to our planet to fight the war against us. While we came to a semi-peaceful
accord about 300 years ago, there are some factions within the ripper
communities who believe they should be the ones who control our planet and we
should leave it to them.

“Somehow, they believe that they were the first to populate
our planet and the Sennafae were travelers who came there after they did. Most
don’t believe those lies. We have been taught that we were all one species in
the beginning and a plague came to our world and almost destroyed us all. We
lost about sixty-five percent of our population to this plague.

“I believe it was something similar to your Black Plague.

“And when the dust settled, some people who had been
infected healed. They became the rippers. And about thirty percent of the
Sennafae were immune to the plague and never got sick.”

I sat there processing his story and then asked, “So the
rippers used to be Sennafae and they got sick but some naturally healed? Is
that why they drink blood?”

“Yes and no. Yes, they got sick and healed, but on our
planet they look differently than they do here. There is something about your
atmosphere that changes their look and genetic make-up. That difference is what
causes their need for blood. I guess you could call the rippers here vampires
since your sun hurts them and they need blood. But back at home they rarely
need blood. In fact, most of us donate blood once a year and those stores
satisfy the needs of rippers back on the home planet. They will always have a
type of blood disease that needs treatment.”

“So rippers on your home world look different to the
‘vampires’ here? How do they look different?” This was giving me a headache; I
just couldn’t understand how a species can look different as they travel from
one dimension to the next.

The Commander explained to me that the vampires here on
Earth had red eyes with blue veins; the veins had a spider web effect around
their eyes. Before they left their home planet (which is called Sendryl), they
only had red eyes with bags under them. They looked more like someone who had
been out partying all night long in a club filled with cigarette smoke and
hadn’t slept in two days.

The changes to the ripper when they arrived here on Earth
were pretty quick. After about a month they started to develop the spider web
veins, and about two months later the effect was permanent. No time spent back
in their own dimension would cure them of the nightmarish look.

“Then why do they bother coming here? If they mostly look
like you back home, why risk the permanent deformity by coming here to kidnap
Earthlings?”
Man these rippers must either be totally stupid, or desperate.

Coming to a planet that will permanently make them look like
something out of a Grimm’s Fairy Tale doesn’t seem like a fair trade for some
slaves. Something isn’t adding up here.

“Commander, is there more to the story with the rippers
coming here?” I tried to give him my stern look that said ‘You better tell me
all you know’, but I think it really said I’m constipated, where is the
bathroom?’ My face started to redden with embarrassment when his mouth started
to twitch while holding back a laugh.

“B’Lana, do you need a break? The latrine is just across the
hall and two doors down if you need it.” At that point he smiled which just
made my face redden even more. I needed to figure out a way to get him to tell
me what I wanted to know.

I considered slapping his face, but the extremely sharp
teeth in his mouth – which were very evident when he smiled - made me hold my
hand still.

“Please just tell me why the rippers need humans?” I said
while looking at the Commander. Hoping he saw a ‘Please help me look’ instead
of a stupid face that would just make him laugh again.

“O.K., this is actually important for you to understand. The
small group of dissenters, we refer to as terrorists, have been losing a lot of
their own people in their attacks on us back home. About one hundred years ago
they decided that they could easily come over here to Earth and kidnap people
without drawing too much attention to their actions; either by the Earth
government, or our government.”

“After their first attack we realized something was off with
the suicide bombers. Yes, we have a similar issue with zealots who kill
themselves while trying to kill or hurt as many innocent civilians as possible.”

“I think their hope is that the Sennafae will just leave the
planet if too many civilians are killed. But that won’t work. We have nowhere else
to go. What these terrorists don’t realize is that both of us need to work
together to solve the overpopulation issue and that it is not possible to drive
us away.”

“How does a human change into a ripper? Is it just like our
folklore? If you get bitten by a vampire you become one after you exchange
blood?”

The Commander looked at me like I was crazy. “You really
need to stop watching so much TV.”

Be both started laughing which in turn caused us to laugh
more and before you knew it, we were both laughing so hard tears were streaming
down our faces. While his comment wasn’t really that funny, it did help to
break the tension that was starting to suffocate me.

“Please explain the process of how a vampire changes a human
and then uses them to become an interdimensional suicide bomber.”

“When a ripper who has been here on Earth for more than
three months bites and drinks almost all of the blood of an Earthling, that person
is then on the brink of death. The ripper then feeds its own blood to the dying
Earthling, which isn’t too different from what your movie vampires do. But the
resulting creature is very different from your vampires of lore.”

“That process begins a very painful change. It usually takes
about a day for the change to complete its cycle and then you have a hybrid
ripper who is very bloodthirsty. These hybrids are different from the vampires
you see here as they can’t change anyone else themselves. But they do look very
similar to the rippers who changed them.

“Sadly, these hybrids are more animalistic than anything
else. They will do anything for more blood. And just attack anything, or
anyone, that gets in their way. Although, they tend to revere their master who
created them and will follow their orders.”

Interrupting the commander I stated, “These hybrids sound
like the Nosferatu of our literature.”

The commander continued, but first gave me a look that
reminded me of my seventh grade teacher when I would interrupt him.
Hmmm,
that look must be a universal sign of ‘stop interrupting me’.

“Are you are ready to finish listening to my story?” I
nodded to the Commander to keep going.

“The rippers take their hybrids back through the portal and
once they have built up a large enough group, the rippers send them out to
attack certain areas. Most of these hybrids don’t survive the attack as our
security forces easily kill them. But make no mistake; if they were left unchecked
they could easily destroy a small city within a few days.”

I was totally freaked out by this revelation. So much so, I
sat there with my mouth open and both hands wrapped around my neck, hoping that
a vampire – or ripper – did not touch me.

It was at that point that the commander noticed the injury
on my arm. “B’Lana, what happened to your arm?”

I pulled my left arm down from my neck and looked at it.
There was more blood than there should have been by this time. Apparently my
arm kept bleeding, even though Lancer had cleaned it up while I was still out
of it.

“I was fighting with a ripper earlier and when I tried to
pull away from his grasp, his long claws scratched my arm. It looks like it is
bleeding more than I realized. Do you have anything to help stop the bleeding?”

The commander took me to their infirmary and cleaned my
wound then re-bandaged it. He had a strange look on his face and asked me about
my pain levels and if my head has cleared up from the drugs yet.

I told him it was more annoying than painful, and that yes
the fog was finally gone. I was feeling pretty good all things considered. Then
I went back to asking him questions about the war.

What I should have done was asked why he looked at me the
way he did. Little did I know that simple scratch would be the catalyst for a
very large change…

“Ok, so if both the fae and the rippers are stronger than
us, why hasn’t either group tried to take over the Earth for themselves?”

“Neither group wants to take over Earth. The rippers just
want fodder for their attacks on us back home. While the Sennafae want to find
a peaceful solution where we can all live together. There are too many humans
here for us to take over this planet. It would be suicide for us to try.

“And the rippers wouldn’t want this planet, even if you gave
it to them. The atmosphere is such that they can’t be out in the sun here. But
back home they can stay outside twenty four – seven; which is why they want our
planet so badly.”

For the next hour we discussed the atmosphere of Earth and
compared it to the atmosphere of the fae’s home world. Right as we were
finishing this discussion, Lancer and his squad returned.

“Commander, call the healers!” I heard Lancer yelling while
his squad was entering the building. I figured they were frantically running,
since the sound of their boots echoed off the ceiling of the warehouse, making
it sound like a hundred jackbooted soldiers instead of just five. I had not
heard them make that much noise before.

The commander stood up abruptly and leapt through the door.
“Lancer, who is injured?”

“Sir, it’s Nishni. He found the location of the rippers and
was injured when we went down into the sewer tunnels. I will give you a full
report, but he might not make it. We need to get a healer here right away!”

“Maliki, call it in right now and make sure they send us
Netty, she’s the best healer this side of the two moons!” The commander ordered
Maliki as he headed towards the makeshift emergency room they kept for such
situations.

“Benden, get the surgical kit we keep for these situations.
Make sure you grab his type of blood, he is type Z1. Lancer, get me some warm
water and plenty of sterile cloths and bandages.” The commander yelled as I
followed him to their ER.

Benden was the warrior from earlier who carried a long sword
and used his handgun with a silencer to kill one of the rippers in that alley.
He was taller than me, about six feet two inches. He wore his blonde hair just
like the rest of the guys, down to his shoulders but not tied back. Of course
he was good looking; the fae must have some sort of genetic code that ensures
their race is extremely handsome.

Maybe that is how they were able to move around without any
issues? They gave off this vibe that makes you feel all giddy when you looked
at them. Strange I hadn’t notice that before. This must’ve also help to
misdirect people so that they didn’t see too much of the paranormal world all
around them. Which could explain why I kept focusing so much on their looks and
wasn’t too worried about the fact that they drugged me and kidnapped me just a
few hours ago…?

I’ll have to find some way to counteract this effect, or
I am doomed!
I wasn’t being melodramatic at all.

Lancer jerked my attention back when he pushed me aside.
Apparently, I did not hear him ask me to move when he asked me three times.
“B’Lana, if you want to watch you will need to stay out of our way. There will
be a few healers and warriors coming in here shortly to help Nishni.”

At that, I moved to the corner where I could get a look at
Nishni. I wasn’t sure where he went, but he had this green goop all over him.
It covered his face, arms, chest and was even all over his legs. Next to him
hanging from what looked to be a blood bag, was more of that green goop. “Um
Lancer, is your blood green?”

“Yes, we have green blood and you have red blood. Now please
hold all questions until we can get Nishni stable.” Lancer sternly said as he
was cutting away at Nishni’s shirt.

About ten minutes later a group of fae healers walked in and
made everyone leave the room. Their local portal must have been very close for
them to have gotten here so quickly. I made a mental note to search it out for
myself later on.

I went back to the conference room to wait for everyone.
Squad 1 and the Commander all went to clean up and change out of their green,
blood soaked clothes. I didn’t know anything about the fae biology, but it
wasn’t looking good for Nishni. It seemed like he may have lost way too much
blood. He had to have been ripped all over his body.

Lancer said there were cuts all along Nishni’s arms, legs
and torso. There were even marks on his neck! The guys said that they thought
the rippers tried to rip his throat out. Thankfully their jackets have a
covering over their necks or he would have been dead for sure!

I really hoped he would be OK. He seemed like a nice guy,
even though he did decapitate a ripper right in front of me. Poor kid, the
commander told me that this was his first assignment and he had only been here
for a couple months. No wonder he was working so hard to find the ripper’s
hideout, he had been trying to prove his worth to this team.

About fifteen minutes after I entered the conference room, the
commander came back in followed by Lancer and then the rest of squad 1.

“Lancer, now tell me exactly what happened out there! How
could Nishni be hurt so badly?” The commander almost barked that order to
Lancer.

“Sir, earlier tonight Nishni was looking at the video
surveillance we have set up over a one mile square radius from the most recent
abductions. We figured that the rippers must have a base of operations close by
and that is how they keep evading us.”

“We all went to the location as shown by the video feeds.
There were three rippers with two human females. We followed them down an alley
and saw them go into a sewer drain.

“Either it was a trap, or they are just always prepared.
Because Nishni volunteered to go down first and as soon as he made it to the
bottom of the stairs they grabbed him and started ripping him to shreds. We all
jumped down, I was first, then Benden, then Maliki and the rest. By the time I
got down there Nishni looked like he was dead. But there were fifteen rippers
attacking him. Once they saw me most of them came at me and then split up as
Maliki jumped down. We fought and killed three enemy combatants, and then once
the rest of my squad was in the sewer they fled with the humans.

“I decided not to follow them since Nishni was injured so
badly, we brought him up and I sent Benden to get the van. Then we drove
straight here.

“I do believe they are hiding out in one of the sewer
tunnels. That would explain why we always lose them around a corner or down an
alley. They are jumping down through the sewers to get away and have some sort
of base in one of the larger tunnels.

“It appears that they have more personnel here than we
thought too. I suggest we call back to command and request an additional three
squads. Then we can go down in those tunnels and kill them like the rats they
are.”

For the next hour they all discussed what they did back in
the sewer in more detail, and then they started sharing stories about Nishni.
It sounded like he was a really great guy. I hoped I would get the chance to
spend some time with him.

One of the stories was about his first week here on Earth.
He was trying to track the rippers, but found a group of skinheads who were
high on meth and scared them to death when he ran at them with his sword. If
Lancer hadn’t stepped in between the humans and Nishni, they would have had
their heads cut off.

Nishni hadn’t seen a ripper who had gone through the change
yet. The skinheads were very pale, with red eyes and the veins in their face
were actually sticking out.

But the main difference was that the skinheads were almost
passed out. They barely had their eyes open and their clothes were no better
than a street urchin’s. These guys had been living on the street and
malnourished. Most likely spent any money they could get on meth. And a ripper
always dressed nicely and never let their guard down on the street. You would
never see a ripper with their eyes partly closed, unless they were dead.

Squad 1 gave Nishni such a hard time after that. About a
week later, Maliki pointed out a stoner to Nishni and said, “Look! It’s a
ripper! Go get him Nishni.” And then everyone just laughed. But Nishni took all
of the joking with stride, even pranked Maliki after that.

Apparently, Nishni met a girl who was taking classes to be a
special effects makeup artist. One day Nishni came back with red eyes and the
spider web effect. He scared the living daylights out of every single person in
the warehouse that day. The makeup was so good that even the commander thought
he was a ripper! Nishni became a full-fledged member of Squad 1 that day.

About an hour later Netty walked out looking pretty upset.
“I am sorry commander, but Nishni lost too much blood. Some of the lacerations
on his torso were deep enough to rip his liver and kidneys. We were not able to
save him.”

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop at that point. I
actually started to tear up.

“Commander, I would like to escort Nishni home and pay my
respects to his family” Lancer said, and the rest of his team joined in the
sentiment.

“Lancer I can appreciate your desire to do so, but I need
you to stay here and figure out what to do about B’Lana. She has seen too much
to let go.” The commander looked at me right as he said that. I really wanted
to disappear at that moment as I was sure I was not going to like the outcome.

“Yes, of course commander. Maliki you can take the rest of
the squad back home and please be sure to let Nishni’s family know how much I
will miss him and that he was a fine member of my squad. I will come see them
the next time I am home.” At that point Lancer turned back to me.

“B’Lana, it is late and I really need to sleep. How about
you go back to your room and later today we can discuss your options?”

“Yeah, ok I can do that. I am really sorry for your loss.
Nishni seemed like a really nice guy… or fae. I hope you can catch those
rippers and destroy every one of them!” I was sad for the loss, but also angry
that a ripper did that to a nice young fae warrior. I needed to get out of there
before I started crying, my eyes were already starting to sting with tears just
thinking about what happened tonight.

Lancer walked me back to my room, and he locked me in. Ugh,
just my luck that he would be thinking about locking me up so I couldn’t run
away tonight. That was actually what I was thinking about doing if he hadn’t of
locked me in.

I looked at the clock and it showed almost six am when I
went to bed. I was so exhausted I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the
pillow. It was after noon when I finally woke up.

______

My door was unlocked, and the place so eerily quiet. I
thought everyone had left last night except maybe the commander and Lancer, so
now would be my best chance at getting out of there. Of course I am the
unluckiest person alive…

As I was quietly going around the corner, some other guy I
had not seen before was casually leaning up against the only exit that I knew
of.

Stink! I thought I was never going to get a break.

The guy was really tall, he had to be at least six feet six
inches, or taller. He had brown hair that was thick and straight, it went down
to just below his collar but was tied back at the base of his neck with a black
leather strap. I wondered if the length of hair was determined by the fae
military. Squad 1 all had the same length of hair. He appeared to be about 23
or 24 and was smokin’ hot! Man, I need to find a way to turn off that
attraction I seem to have to all of these guys.

“B’Lana, the kitchen is back the other way. There are some
bagels and coffee if you are hungry. Lancer said he would be back shortly and I
was to keep you entertained until he returned.” At that point he walked up to
me and put his arm around my shoulders and walked me to the kitchen.

“My name is Ash, and I will be joining Squad 1. I look
forward to getting to know you better.” Ash said that in a sort of suggestive
way. I thought he might be flirting with me and for some strange reason, I
actually giggled. I must not have gotten enough sleep as I gave him my flirty
smile and told him I looked forward to it as well.

What was wrong with me? I am not some young girl who swoons
at hot guys who flirt with her. I am a strong, independent woman who takes no
prisoners! I needed to get myself back in control. But first, I needed coffee!

I grabbed a cup of coffee and put an onion bagel in the
toaster. After I buttered it I sat down at the table across from Ash and
started in on my breakfast. “So, Ash, have you been to Earth before?”

“This will be my fourth rotation to Earth, but my first time
in Los Angeles. Previously, I served in Moscow, Paris and England.”

“Wow, you have seen more of my planet than I have. My only
trip outside of North America was a college semester abroad to England.” I
hadn’t learned a foreign language so my college counselor told me I should
stick to English speaking countries. If I had it to do all over again I would
learn a foreign language like Russian, or Italian.

“Really, how did you like England? Were you in London?” Ash
asked as he looked right into my eyes and leaned closer to me as he spoke.

“Yes, I was in London at the Queen Mary University and I
loved it! I really want to go back to England and see more of it. I spent so
much time studying that I did not get to see much.

“Part of our program included a long weekend in Bath, which
was really kinda cool as I read historical fiction. I love Jane Austen and have
read all of her books. I almost stayed behind so that I could search out all of
the places she wrote about in her books.” I said as I started to laugh
recalling how my roommate on the trip had to convince me that we would do a
Jane Austen weekend soon and travel around to all of the more famous places she
wrote about. Sadly, that never happened. I never got out of London again until
I left.

“Jane Austen? Didn’t she write Sense & Sensibility and
Pride & Prejudice? She seems to be a favorite amongst most human women.”

“Have you seen the five hour BBC version of Pride &
Prejudice? I don’t know a single woman who doesn’t swoon over Mr. Darcy.” My
face started to turn red with embarrassment as I was swooning over Mr. Darcy
just remembering the show.

Ash got up from his chair and came over and sat next to me
and put his arm around my shoulders again, and leaned in to me and whispered,
“I think I am going to like you. We should stay in for a drink some time.”

My entire body was covered in goosebumps as he was
whispering in my ear. His lips softly brushed my ear and my body involuntarily
shook with anticipation.