The Enemy by Susan Bowes (best classic books of all time txt) 📖

The Enemy

- Chapter One -

Our battleship was taking heavy fire and we sustained major damage to the engines. Warning lights flashed and alarms sounded as Max, our main computer, ordered an immediate evacuation. The reactor had neared critical mass and was going to detonate. The crew quickly abandoned their posts and made their way to the evac stations.

Ellie, my second in command, jumped into my pod just before the hatch slammed shut. We ejected into space. Being the captain of the vessel my pod was only meant for a single occupant. Ellie’s sudden decision to leap in was certainly a shock. To say we were a little cramped was putting it mildly.

“Are you out of your mind?” I yelled.

“Sorry Cap. Didn’t have much of a choice. That little jolt we felt just before Max ordered our evac was the upper levels being blown away. It just so happens that’s where my pod was. It was either join you, or go down with the ship; and I wasn’t particularly fond of that idea.”

The blackness of space was suddenly illuminated by the detonation of our destroyer. I fought with the controls to guide the pod away from the alien orb we spiraled towards, but the concussion must’ve damaged the guidance system. We continued to hurtle towards the single mooned sphere.

We entered the atmosphere and the small pod heated up fast. I prayed the heat shield would hold. My life is dear to me and I didn’t want it to end in that fashion. I am a soldier and prepared to die in battle, but the thought of burning up in a fireball did not appeal me.

The heat shield held and we soared over a great ocean to a land mass. “We’re going to hit hard. Hang on,” I yelled. The pod slammed into the terrain. It left deep crevices as it bounced and tumbled before coming to a complete stop. I was very surprised we survived. I looked towards Ellie and noticed blood gushing from a deep gash in her forehead. I asked if she was okay.

“Yes sir. Just a little dizzy.”

I reached for the medpac in the storage compartment. I cleaned and bandaged her wound as best I could in the cramped quarters. The cut was superficial and the bleeding soon stopped.

“Now what Cap?” she asked.

“We’ve got to get out of here and find some shelter. They’ll have a search team out before long.”

“We’d better hustle then.”

I checked the oxygen monitor. The air was close to our own so there was no need to don our environmental suits. I grabbed the emergency survival kit before exiting. I was dark, but the moon lit the way as we took our first tentative steps on the alien soil. We hurried from the crash site and hid among the huge boulders that surrounded the area while I got a bearing. We then headed up the shoreline.

*

“Did you track the enemy craft down?” the major asked..

“Yes sir. They crashed in the eastern portion of the hemisphere.”

“Deploy the search team. I want them found and captured.”

“Yes sir. The teams are already on the way.”

“Good.”

*

“Over there sir,” Ellie said as numerous searchlights scoured the beach. We heard powerful engines rumbling above as Ellie pointed towards what appeared to be a cave. Waves crashed inside the opening and we’d have to swim. We quickly ran into the sea and dove down into its unknown depths as the machines continued whirling overhead.

The entrance was partially caved in, but we managed to get past and emerged into a huge chamber. The air was dank, but breathable. Ellie noticed several smaller chambers. We swam to them and entered one. The walls were metal and the tunnel was definitely man made. The water slowly subsided as we made our way up the banked passageway. We finally touched our feet down when the water level lowered enough to do so. I searched through the survival kit and found a flashlight. It seemed that the tunnel had been abandoned quite a while ago as there were loose cables hanging from the ceiling.

Ellie and I continued our trek past the jumbled wires through the blackened tube before it finally leveled out. It seemed we walked for miles before light stared to filter through the darkness. We were coming to the end of the tunnel. As we neared the end I listened for voices. I couldn't hear anything but a slight humming sound. I moved to the screened opening and peered though. The grate looked into a small supply room.

“What do you see?” Ellie asked.

“Not much. Just some shelving and lockers.”

“Do you think there might be something we could change into? I’m cold.” Ellie’s lips were blue and her teeth were chattering.

“Only one way to find out,” I answered as I pushed against the screening. Though rusted, it swung open easily and we climbed through.

Ellie started seaching throught the dust covered lockers and found some maintenace uniforms. Luckily our enemy is almost the same in size and stature as we are. We stripped off our gear and donned the clothing. I went to the exit and it was unlocked. I cautiously opened the door a crack and listened. I heard nothing.

We stepped into the brightly lit corridor and found the area was deserted. We walked down the hall which was painted entirely in white and slowed at each doorway, carefully looking in as we passed. Most of the rooms were devoid of any furniture appearing to be laboratories. We entered one. It was lined with shelves along each wall containing numerous vials of all shapes and sizes. I walked over and took one down. I wiped dirt from the exterior and peered inside. It contained some sort of specimen taken from the ocean.

“What’s in the bottle sir?”

“Some sort of sea creature.”

Ellie walked over and peered inside the dirty container. “Grotesque hobby they have. Dissecting the cohabitants of their planet.”

“I imagine it must’ve been important to them. Their animals have gone extinct from what our scientits tell us. Maybe they were trying to find a way to restock their food source by experimenting on this creature.”

“Ugh. How can they eat meat? It's a disgusting thought. They probably did it to amuse themselves too, knowing them.”

“We don’t know much about them, do we? Perhaps if we did we could’ve averted this war.”

“They invaded our planet. What else could we do but fight? They want to take all our resources. They’ll destroy our would as they did their own.”

“You can’t be sure of that.”

“Can’t I? You’ve seen the recon photos. They’ve depleted their own planet. Now they want ours. You never saw what these savages did to my home. They took everything they thought was useful then nuked it. They took over a billion lives in that one city alone. They are completely ravishing our planet sir and we have to defend ourselves. I will not hesitate to take every one of their lives if that is the only way to save our planet from total devastation; even if it means killing the innocent.”

“That’s quite a mouthful coming out of you. I’ve never heard you make such a long speech.”

“Well it's the truth, isn't it?" she spat out.

“It appears this facility is deserted. We can camp here overnight. We’ll try to make it to the surface and set our homing beacon in the morning. Do you have any idea how long that will be?” I asked changing the subject. I didn’t want my second to get any angrier than she was. She’d lost her entire family to the invasion and held a deep hatred for the enemy.

“Daylight will be in approximately five hours sir.”

“I’ll take the first watch. You get some rest. I have a feeling we’re gonna need it.


- Chapter Two -


The major was near the crashed pod as the waves crashed on the shore. He was standing ankle deep in water, but took no notice. “I want this entire quadrant searched. Don’t leave one pebble unturned Lieutenant Mace. Do you understand me?”

“Yes sir.” The lieutenant snapped his hand up in a quick salute and ran to the troops that were assembled. He yelled out his orders. The men scambled.

The major got on the radio to headquarters. “The search is underway General Beumount. We’ll capture them soon.”

*

I shook Ellie from her sleep. “Your turn,” I said.

“Yes sir,” she sleepily responded. She yawned and grabbed her weapon out of her holster. She moved over to the door to start her watch.

I wouldn’t have woken Ellie, but I was finding it extremely difficult to stay alert. Though the air was breathable it was much richer than our atmosphere and gave me a wicked headache. “Wake me if you need me,” I said as I closed my eyes.

“Yes sir.”

I’d been asleep for quite a while before I felt Ellie shaking me.

“Time to get up Cap.”

“What time is it?” I asked as I raised my arms and stretched.

“It's morning. Time to make our way up to the surface.”

“Why didn’t you wake me for my watch?”

“I figured you needed the rest more than me.”

“Next time let me do the figuring,” I scolded.

“Yes sir,” Ellie replied. “If there is a next time,” she whispered under her breath.

“I heard that.”

“Sorry sir.” Ellie knew I didn’t encourage negative thinking.

The place was definitely deserted long ago so there was no need to worry about being discovered, though we still continued to be cautious. We moved to the door out into the corridor and started down the long hallway. We finally came to the end and rounded the corner. There were two elevators and a stairwell. I tried the elevators, but a special code was needed to activate it so we went to the stairs. It had several flights going up and down. We started up not stopping long to catch our breath between floors. I wanted to get to the surface as quickly as possible so we could set up the homing beacon. If any of our ships survived they’d receive the signal. I wanted to get away from this hostile sphere as quickly as we could. I didn’t want to make it my final resting place. Unlike Ellie, I had a wife and child waiting for me. I was extremely anxious to return to them and prayed they were still alive.

As we continued our upwards climb I couldn’t help but remember how this war had started. Our peaceful world had been invaded by the alien race over five years ago. They’d depleated their own resources and needed to find another planet like their own in order to sustain life. Finding a similar world was extremely rare and they intended to reap all they could before destroying our planet completely. We’d tried to contact them and freely offered all we could, but their only response was to fire on us. There was no other recourse we could take. We fought back. War had been declared by our leaders and many rushed to join the cause. That’s how I ended up