Orion Colony Complete Series Boxed Set J.N. Chaney (books for new readers .txt) 📖

I took the opportunity to sit next to my friend. I wasn’t going to tell him this, but he looked like death warmed over. Gaunt and flushed, Ricky looked how I felt after a match in the pit.

“That bad, huh?” Ricky asked.

“What?” I asked.

“You’re taking a seat like you’re going to comfort me or something.” Ricky sighed then winced at the action. “I’m going to die, aren’t I?”

“What? No,” I said, shaking my head. “Can’t a guy just sit down with his friend?”

“We are friends, aren’t we?” Ricky said with a loopy grin. “I’m glad we’re friends.”

“Those painkillers Arun gave you might be kicking in,” I said, looking over to Mutt, who still had his head in Ricky’s lap. “I’m not here to comfort you or anything like that. That’s Mutt’s job.”

“His furry ears tickle my fingers.” Ricky grinned then winced again. Another coughing wave hit him. I could see the agony clear on his face as his chest convulsed with each cough.

“Easy, buddy,” I told him. “We’re just a few hours away now. You are going to make it.”

“We’re a few hours away from some creepy mist land with monsters inside,” Ricky said, shaking his head. “What if we can’t get past them to the installation?”

“We will,” I said. “We’ll figure out a way. We always figure out a way. We’ve been sabotaged by Disciples, attacked by some weird alien symbiotic virus, and shot at by aliens, and we’re still here. We’re going to make it, Rick, if for no other reason than we’re too stubborn to die.”

Ricky smiled at that then rested his head against the rear of the crawler. His eyes tilted upward to the canopy of tree branches overhead.

“Have you thought about what happens if we can’t make it off this rock?” Ricky asked. “I mean, if we survive all of this and we still can’t get back to Earth?”

“Honestly, I’m just trying to take it one day at a time,” I said. “We got the long-range scanners up and running. We’ll figure out the communication piece next while we deal with Legion.”

“But what’s the end game here?” Ricky tuned his gaze from the clear sky back to me. “I mean, what if we do all of this and we can’t call for help or get off this planet? What if we’re stuck forever?”

“Then I guess we’re stuck forever, and as bad as that sounds, we’ll have to make do. What other option will we have?” I asked him. “But right now, our focus has to be on the next step and the next step after that.”

“I—”

Whatever Ricky was going to say next was cut off by Stacy’s voice. “Gang, we’re getting close. The visibility ahead of us is decreasing.”

Both Ricky and I turned our attention forward. Sure enough, Stacy had made great time. We were still a few hours ahead of the setting suns. With any luck, we could get into the site’s safety before nightfall.

The massive question mark was would we be able to make it past the mist? A hundred meters in front of us, a light rolling fog wafted through the forest. The strangest thing about the fog was it almost knew how far to go into the forest without advancing further.

The fog remained content to stay in a long line that continued on as far as the eye could see on both the right and left side. Eventually, the wall of mist was lost to sight.

“This road will lead us to the installation,” Tong said, nodding. “By your measurements, it is three kilometers into the mist.”

“Remind me again why you chose to build your installation in a mist with monsters?” I asked.

“When we built this installation, there was no sign of the mist or creatures that lived inside of it,” Tong answered. “Both the mist and the creatures must have overtaken this area while my people slept.”

“Any idea of what kind of animal we’re dealing with here?” Arun continued the line of questioning. All of our eyes were still on the rolling mist wall in front of us. “Did this creature exist while you were here?”

“It’s hard to say.” Tong tapped a large finger against his small chin. “The report Doctor Allbright gave of the creatures in the mist isn’t much to go on.”

“She never saw one face to face,” Stacy said in a low tone, recalling the report. “She couldn’t tell how large they were, only that they moved quickly and had what looked like tentacles.”

“The only species I know of that are equipped with tentacles as well as the ability to move on land is an animal called the sawg, but that creature is content to remain in the ocean and is not an eater of meat,” Tong answered. “Bear in mind things could have changed. I have been asleep with my people for many, many years.”

“Great, so what are we waiting for?” I asked. “Let’s get this over with. We put Ricky inside with the driver and the three of us are on guard out here. We shoot anything that moves.”

“I’m in the back this time around,” Stacy said, putting the crawler in park and exiting the vehicle. “Someone else can drive. I’m the best here with a blaster.”

Everyone turned to look at me.

“What?” I asked with a scowl on my face. “Why is everyone looking at me?”

“Tong can’t drive,” Arun said, motioning to the alien. “Stacy and I are both better shots than you. No offense, but you can’t hit much to save your life.”

“Just because you say ‘no offense’ in front of something doesn’t mean you can just say whatever you want,” I muttered. “No way. I need to be back here where it’s most dangerous.”

“Arun’s right.” Stacy shrugged. “Hand to hand, I’d bet my money on you over anyone on this planet, and who knows, maybe even Earth, but right now, the idea is to shoot them before it gets to that point.”

I looked over at Ricky for help. He shrugged.

Even Mutt