Broken Hero: Part 1 (Broken Hero Series)

  BROKEN HERO

  PART 1

  CHRIS HENNESSY

  SerialScienceFiction.blogspot.com.au

  Copyright © 2012 by Chris Hennessy

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  NOTES

  Chapter 1

  It had been two days since Adam arrived on Earth, and this was the first moment that the rain looked like it might ease. Out of the fading noise of the downpour on corrugated iron, came the crunch of wet gravel under running footsteps. For a brief second, the moon poked out from behind the clouds; the twisting and cluttered alleyway lit up with sparkling beads of light from the wet metal surfaces. As he stood silently against the tin wall of an abandoned shack, the footsteps grew louder until it sounded like they were right around the corner.

  Adam stepped out from the shadows, one arm stretched out to the side. The desperate sprinting figure didn’t see anything until it was too late. At full speed, he ran into Adams outstretched arm. It wrenched him backwards he hit the ground hard, sliding to a halt in the waterlogged gravel. The impact sent a spray of small water beads from Adam’s long brown coat, which sparkled as they surrounded him in an aura-like haze.

  "Nice to see you again, Eddy." Adam said stepping around to the front of the half-dazed man.

  The scruffy, soaked man on the ground tried slowly squirming his way backwards. Adam casually stepped forward placing his heavy boot on Eddy’s ankle, stopping him on the spot.

  Eddy let out a scream before catching his breath enough to speak.

  "Don’t kill me. Don’t kill me. Here, you can have it back."

  Eddy wrestled clumsily with the layers of his drenched clothes until he finally found the cold metal of the handgun. Adam pushed down harder on Eddy’s ankle as he slowly raised the weapon between two fingers. He flung it towards Adam, who caught it easily in one hand.

  "I hope you looked after it." Adam announced firmly, holding it up in front of him to inspect in the moonlight.

  It was an old revolver-style pistol, hardly seen outside of collectors display cases. The black metal frame extended all the way to the end of the long barrel. The moulded black rubber grip fit Adam’s hand perfectly.

  "You know the most interesting thing about this gun?" He waited a second for an answer that didn't come before continuing.

  "You see, it uses a unique size of ammunition only available to specific contractors who have the right connections."

  He unlatched the cylinder and gave a quick flick of the wrist to open it. Six large, empty shell casings rattled to the ground. Then, one by one, he began replacing them from his coat pocket.

  Eddy tried to pull himself backwards, but his arms just slipped in the wet gravel. As the last bullet slid into position and Adam flicked the cylinder closed, Eddy began kicking desperately with his free leg. Then without warning, Adam released him. In a flurry of movement, he shuffled backwards a couple of meters and then froze on the spot when he realised the gun was now aimed directly at him.

  "No wait, wait." He pleaded.

  "You left me to die on that ship, Eddy. Why shouldn’t I do the same to you?"

  "It wasn’t up to me. I was just following orders. The Captain was the one who did it." Eddy yelled back.

  "The Captain and the rest of your little crew aren’t here are they? It’s time for you to take responsibility for your actions."

  Adam adjusted his aim, so that the gun was now pointed directly at Eddy’s head.

  "Wait. I can help you find them; I know where they went when we split up."

  "Start talking. Where’s Hindermann?"

  "The Captain, Lee Chen, and Alana all left together. Anson and Time Bomb, I don’t know where they went."

  Adam leaped forward, covering the short distance between them in a single bound. Crouching down, he grabbed Eddy by the front of his jacket and held the end of the barrel against his head.

  "Where – are – they?" he asked slowly.

  Eddy smiled, his scruffy bearded face showing a full row of yellow teeth.

  "You won’t kill me, you need me. Besides, law men like you don’t get payed without a trial."

  Adam pulled back the hammer of his revolver, although being pointless it made an intimidating sound.

  "This isn’t about the money, or the law. I want to know where they’re hiding, or I’m going to shoot you in the fucking head."

  "Fine. I’ll tell you after you get me off this planet."

  Adam tightened his grip on Eddy’s jacket and shook him up and down with all of his strength.

  "No, you’ll tell me now."

  Eddy just looked back up at him, silent, motionless and with the same stupid grin on his face.

  Infuriated, Adam wrenched him to his feet, mostly annoyed at himself for tipping his hand too early. Arresting Eddy was nothing compared to getting Captain Till Hindermann. He knew it and Eddy knew it as well. Without any resistance, he forced Eddy’s arms behind his back, securing them with a set of handcuffs from his coat pocket.

  He was sure Eddy was still smiling to himself, though he didn’t dare check. The sight of that satisfied grin might be just enough to actually shoot him, and he hadn’t come this far to lose the only lead he had, to a moment of rage.

  With the pistol in his hand he quickly gestured in the direction they had both come from.

  "Move." He said loudly. "I want to be off this miserable planet by sunrise."

  The light orange glow of morning lit up the horizon behind them as the tightly packed maze of derelict buildings began to thin. With the increasing light, Adam started to pay more attention to their surroundings. He stuck to the shadows wherever possible and cautiously inspected any open areas for signs of movement.

  He had heard stories about the things that happened on earth. He suspected most of them were just stories. Never having met anyone who had been to Earth, the stories were all he had to go on. Long before he had been born, the Earth was shut off from the rest of the solar system. After the sabotage of one of the orbiting stations by religious extremists, where almost a million people died. Then the reluctance of Earth’s government to track down those responsible; it was quarantined from the rest of humanity.

  From what he had heard, what habitable land was left was controlled by one government. They ruled by force under strict religious law and considered anyone not from earth to be their enemy. And that the reason that they didn't leave Earth like most of the population was because their god did not want them to leave.

  That was one of the parts Adam didn't completely believe. In his entire life, he had never met anyone who believed in a god or religion. It seemed crazy to him that someone could spend their life on a dying planet for that reason alone.

  As they reached the edge of a large concrete area, Adam brought them to a halt. Tall, spindly weeds poked through the cracks making it hard to get a full view of the area. Several large vehicles lay strewn across the open yard, most nothing but a rusting shell, picked clean of any usable parts.

  In the middle of the concrete pad was the remains of a large warehouse. Most of the corrugated iron from the walls had been removed, exposing the framework and the clutter of abandoned machinery inside.

  "There is no one out here you know." Eddy said, finally breaking his silence.

  "The military came through not long after I arrived, ro
unded up everyone that they could find, and marched them off south. Haven't seen them, or the troops since." He continued.

  Adam glanced back at the never-ending clutter of scrappy buildings they had just passed through.

  "What was wrong with them living here? Seems more habitable than most of the planet."

  Eddy kicked a patch of green grass that was growing through a crack in the concrete. The broken clumps scattered along the ground in a line to where Adam was standing.

  "That’s the problem. Land that you can grow food on is hard to find. The desert around the equator is getting wider; half the places where it does still rain get too much and turn to swamp."

  Their conversation quickly ended as the low rumble of a running engine came from somewhere in the distance. They stood silently for a moment trying to identify its location. The noise seemed to be echoing off different buildings, making it impossible to get an exact position. The only thing that they could determine was, it was getting louder.

  Grabbing the handcuffed prisoner by the upper arm, Adam pulled him forward and began to run. It took them several seconds at full speed to reach the abandoned warehouse. By that time, it sounded like the vehicle was just around the other side of the building. At the same time, they ducked under one of the exposed crossbeams in the wall and looked for somewhere to hide.

  The warehouse had been picked clean of anything that could be reused. The closest thing to them big enough to hide behind was the rusted-out body of a forklift. In a crouched position, they quickly moved across until they were behind it. They waited there for the approaching vehicle to give away its position. Seconds after they took cover, the vehicle came into sight. The six-wheeled armour-plated truck slowly rolled past the warehouse. It was painted white, the only markings were a large black cross on the side.

  "That's a military APC. There are probably twenty troops in that thing." Eddy whispered.

  Adam tightened his grip on Eddy's arm as the APC slowly made its way up the right side of the building. Through a small gap in the forklift’s body, he watched the APC closely as it continued past the narrow end of the long warehouse where they had entered. It continued at a slow crawl down the other side before disappearing out of sight. As it circled the building, the two men shuffled on their hands and knees around the forklift, keeping it between them and the vehicle at all times.

  "You really think I was going to try and escape with them out there?" Eddy said, trying to stand up straight.

  Adam released his grip and stood up next to him.

  "You know what they would do to me, to both of us, if they found us here. Doesn't matter that you're a lawman in the rest of the solar system, on this backwards rock you're just another heretic. They'd shoot us both dead without question."

  "Don't try and pretend you care about anyone but yourself. You've left a trail of bodies across half the system."

  Eddy stared back at his captor, that same crooked grin reappeared.

  "You misunderstand. I could quite happily kill you right now. But, if I can choose between life in prison back in civilisation, or getting a bullet in the head just because I wasn't born on this dying rock, then I choose life."

  Adam took a cigarette from the almost empty packet and lit it.

  "Why would you come here in the first place?"

  Eddy tried to scratch his nose on the shoulder of his torn, dirty jacket, though soon gave up. In frustration, he scrunched up his face to try to relieve the itch.

  "Had no choice. Some scumbag lawman chased me from every station I went to. Figured he wouldn't be stupid enough to follow me here. If I'd known how bad it was here though, I would have taken my chances out there."

  "You could’ve just turned yourself in," Adam responded using his pistol to point Eddy towards the outside of the building.

  The two cautiously emerged from the warehouse and continued across the open concrete yard towards a cluster of smaller industrial buildings.

  "What happened to that shuttle you stole to get here? Why didn't you try and leave earlier?"

  "One of the ships in the blockade spotted me trying to reach Earth. They got off a lucky shot that took out half my manoeuvring thrusters. By the time I got through the atmo half the ship had been ripped apart. Had to walk three days through the desert just to get here."

  Adam gave a chuckle at his prisoner’s story, followed by a push in the back to hurry him up.

  The sun was completely above the horizon when Adam brought them to a halt beside another abandoned building which was slightly more intact than the ones they had been passing all morning. There had been no sign of anyone else since their first encounter with the patrolling APC. That didn't stop him from being cautious at every open space or hugging the sides of the buildings wherever possible.

  After a quick pause to check the immediate area was clear, Adam forced open a small rusted door at one end of the corrugated iron building. He peered inside to check if it was clear before pushing Eddy in and closing the door behind them.

  Most of the old factory was cluttered with machinery and equipment that hadn't been used for decades. A thick layer of dust coated everything except for the bright yellow shuttle sitting directly behind two large sliding doors.

  "That's a fucking rental. You brought a short-range, civilian shuttle down to earth. Are you crazy? We’re going to get blown out the sky."

  Adam released the latch on the small side door of the ship and pulled it open.

  "It was all I could find on short notice. Now get in."

  From the outside, the shuttle looked small; on the inside, it was even tinier. There were six seats. The front two were for the pilots, and the four behind them were for the passengers.

  Adam pushed Eddy down into the last row of seats and headed straight for the control panel at the front. Reaching over the pilot’s chair, he flicked on a couple of switches that brought all the lights and panels in the ship to life. Then, after pushing a couple more buttons, he heard the low rumbling sound of the engines.

  "Hey, I can't sit like this," Eddy complained, trying to slide his hands out from underneath him.

  After double-checking the engines were starting correctly and that all other systems were on, that needed to be. He returned his attention back to the complaining passenger.

  He grabbed hold of the handcuffs and yanked them out from behind Eddy’s body. He released one side of the cuffs and immediately snapped them to the armrest of the seat.

  "Oh that's just great. Where was I going to go?" Eddy protested, holding his arm up the small distance it could move away from the chair.

  "Hey, wait, where are you going?" he continued. As Adam ducked back out the hatch of the shuttle.

  "To open the doors. Just shut up and put your belt on."

  The gradually increasing whine of the engines began to level out as they approached full operating speed. The ear-piercing sound gave him a moment of relief. It had been nearly two days since he first landed and began the final search for the man now cuffed in the shuttle –two days without sleep, without stopping, and with the constant risk of being detected by the Earth military. After all that, he was now only seconds away from leaving this forgotten planet for good.

  It took all of his strength just to force the massive sliding door open even a fraction. After repositioning himself for a second go at the rusted, heavy door. Something caught his attention out the corner of his eye.

  A brief flash of movement through a gap in the concrete wall that separated the factory and the crumbling road that ran alongside.

  Cautiously peering out the slightly opened door, he scanned the length of the wall. Nothing, only the tips of the tallest weeds that poked through the cracked concrete swayed gently back and forth.

  He tried to convince himself that it was just the effects of two days without sleep, that his mind was just playing tricks. Then he saw it again. This time it was clear they weren't alone.

  A white, six-wheeled vehicle smashed through a set of sturdy
looking iron gates further along the wall, sending twisted metal flying like it was only paper. It was closely followed by a second, and then a third vehicle, all heading at speed towards the factory.

  Adam abandoned his effort of trying to open the doors and sprinted straight back to the shuttle.

  "What is it?" Eddy shouted, trying to twist his body enough to see out the front window.

  Ignoring his prisoner, Adam slammed the hatch closed as he jumped through, almost crushing his ankle in the process. Stumbling the entire way, he eventually fell into the pilot's chair. Bright sunlight flooded the cabin, as a small group of troops on each of the sliding doors forced them open in just a few seconds.

  Adam desperately tried to force his eyes to adjust to the sudden light. He couldn't tell exactly how many troops there were, but there were clearly three vehicles parked across the front of the now fully opened doors. Not wanting to give them a second longer to get into position, Adam slammed the main throttle lever all the way forward with the palm of his hand.

  The force of the engines blew the back wall of the factory to pieces sending large sheets of corrugated iron flying through the air. At the same time, the shuttle itself rocketed forward with a bright orange shower of sparks as the undercarriage dragged along the concrete floor.

  The surrounding troops dove to the sides as the shuttle blasted out of the doorway barely off the ground. Pulling back on the flight controls to the point where he thought they were going to rip off in his hand, he managed to get enough height to avoid crashing straight into the vehicle parked directly in front, though not enough to clear it completely. The undercarriage just clipped the top of the six-wheeled vehicle. Only the massive amount of G-force pushing them into their seats saved them from being flung into the walls and ceiling as the shuttle lurched and shook violently.

  The armoured vehicle itself flipped straight onto its side, crushing at least one of the troops that had taken cover behind it. The sound of machine gun fire echoed out from below for a few seconds before the shuttle punched a hole in the low clouds and vanished from their sights.