Wanderer - Extinction

Chapter 1 Six months earlier… Nova shrieked as a whip cracked inches from her cheek but she didn’t dare stop what she was doing. In fact she made her hands move even faster, sorting through the piles of shattered rock in front of her. The guard with the whip grunted and moved on. He hadn’t said anything, but his point had been clear. Nova hadn’t been working fast enough for his liking. Or he was bored. Or he needed a bit of amusement. Or… well, there were many reasons for the whips to come out and only a few she or the other prisoners could do anything to prevent. Nova’s hands were shaking, making it difficult to keep working so quickly. The whip had missed her face, but only by the narrowest of margins. She knew full well the guards weren’t that accurate. It’s tip could have easily taken her eye out, or left her with a vicious cut on her face. She would have been forced to work though the pain of the cut, which would have been bad enough, but if she’d lost an eye she would have been in far more trouble. The agony and probable infection would be left untreated and could easily have killed her. If she’d survived then with one eye she’d still be considered next to useless as a slave. To the Empire slaves were almost valueless. There would always be more around than were actually needed, which meant any who were badly hurt or unable to work effectively were surplus to requirements. On a good day that could mean a bullet to the head. On a bad day… well, the Empire had many ways for the deaths of such slaves to be useful. “Watch out girl!” Nova jumped at the hissed warning from the man beside her. She’d slowed down without realising it and the guard was returning. He was still ten metres away but was stamping towards her position. Nova knew he couldn’t see her work yet, the tunnel they worked in was too narrow, but it wouldn’t be long. She focused hard, forcing her hands steady by willpower alone, even as she shuddered inside. She scrabbled through the pile of shattered rock in front of her even faster, pulling out any pieces showing signs of gemstones and dropping the rest into a chute by her side. The rock was delivered automatically and at a steady pace. Nova’s pile was larger than it should be, evidence of her slowdown, and there was no way she could clear it down in the next few seconds. That left only one option. An option which could land her in an awful lot of trouble. She had to smile at that thought. She was already in trouble, and in a lot more if she didn’t get her pile down. Reaching out she started taking chunks of rock and dropping them straight into the rejection chute without checking them at all. If the guards caught her doing it then her life would be over, but she had no choice. She did it as fast as she dared, having to go slow enough not to draw the attention of the prisoners around her. If she missed something valuable and it was found at the end of the chutes then everyone in her work detail would be severely punished. That was more than enough incentive for someone to sell her out to the guards. She dropped the last unchecked chunk of rock into the chute just as the guard reached the man beside her. Now the guard could see what she was doing. She made certain she examined each piece of rock carefully, but still moved through them quickly. “You see what you can do with a little incentive?” asked the guard, his voice deep and rough. Nova didn’t reply. She just nodded her head. She’d learnt the hard way how to deal with questions like that. Answering inevitably led to a punishment, but so did not responding at all. A simple nod or shake of the head meant she could avoid punishment; most of the time, at least. Sometimes the punishment was coming no matter what she did. This wasn’t one of those times. The guard laughed then moved on. Nova’s hands were shaking again, but this time she didn’t let her pace slacken. As she fought to keep her hands steady she longed for the next meal break… whenever the guards decided that should be. Nova squatted on the floor, eyes constantly moving as she spooned the weak soup into her mouth. Around her the other prisoners did the same. Most were squatting or sitting in small groups, but Nova wasn’t the only one eating alone. The food was far from filling, but it was all they would get until the end of the day and the faster she ate the less chance there was of it being taken from her. Movement caught her eye. Her stomach sank as she realised who it was. Blade. And he was moving her way. Blade was bad news. Six feet tall and heavily built, he was the strongest and toughest of the prisoners she was currently with. He was smart too. Smart enough not to cause trouble when the guards were likely to notice. Smart enough not to slack off, or appear to anyway. And he was heading for Nova. She glanced at her bowl. She hadn’t got through more than a third. She lifted the bowl closer to her mouth, trying to get through more of the food before Blade arrived but without him noticing. Much as she needed the food she didn’t need a beating. As soon as Blade spoke to her or got close enough she would have to stop and meekly pass over her food. This was how Blade managed to stay so strong. He regularly stole the food from other prisoners. His own food would have been left on the floor where no one would dare to touch it. “You! Give me that. Now!” Nova almost choked on her mouthful as Blade’s deep voice boomed out. The spoon was almost in her mouth but she lowered it, not daring to anger him. Heart hammering she looked up, hoping her guilt wasn’t obvious to see. If Blade even suspected she’d been trying to shove extra food down before he arrived then his reaction would be extremely painful. She raised her head enough so she could see his face and nearly laughed in relief when she realised he was looking at someone else. She managed to stifle the laugh before it drew his attention. Laughing at Blade was something few people survived. Despite having been in the same prisoner detail for three months, this was the first time she’d had a chance to study Blade from so close without being the focus of his attention. His body was strong but it still showed signs of his life as a prisoner. His skin was pale and pasty looking. His arms were criss-crossed with scars from the heavy work he almost invariably got stuck with. His head was bald and covered in more scars, but those came from shaving it with improvised tools. Nova couldn’t get past his eyes, though. They were a deep blue colour, deeper than she had ever seen before. Beautiful eyes. She found herself mesmerised. Blade must have sensed her study. He glanced at her with a scowl. Nova immediately dropped her head, heart hammering again. Blade was unpredictable. She might get away with a sharp word or he might let loose on her. As the seconds stretched out the need to look up, to see what he was doing, grew stronger and stronger. She resisted as best she could, knowing doing so could trigger the attack. Finally he muttered something and she heard him turn away. Her hand trembled as she spooned soup into her mouth once more, but as she focused on the task it steadied. Blade appeared from behind her, walking slowly as he ate his stolen soup. Once he was safely past Nova risked a quick glance behind. Blade’s victim was obvious. He hadn’t been touched, but he was sitting with no bowl and a mixture of anger and fear flowing across his face. Nova hoped the fear won out. She had seen people challenge Blade before. It had always been a messy mistake. What Blade had done was none of her business. She needed to concentrate on her food, on getting it down as quickly as possible before Blade or someone else decided to take it off her hands. Eating enough could easily be the difference between life and death for a prisoner. Nova was spooning the last few mouthfuls of soup into her mouth when she noticed Blade was on the move again. This time there was no doubt about it, he was heading straight for her. The sneer on his face was bad news. She kept her head down, not meeting his eyes as he approached but able to see him stop only a couple of steps away. He just stood there for a few seconds, before breaking the silence. “Stand up,” he barked out. Nova stood quickly. Blade towered above her. She found herself looking at his chest. Meeting his gaze would have put a crick in her neck. It would also have been a sure way to invite an attack. “I didn’t like the way you looked at me,” Blade said, his voice controlled. There was a playful edge to it. He was enjoying himself. Nova certainly wasn’t. “I’m sorry,” Nova said softly. “What? I didn’t hear you?” “I’m sorry,” she said, louder this time. She had a problem. Insane though it was, she was getting angry with Blade. She wanted to shove him away, tell him he was a bully and an i***t, tell him that she wouldn’t take it any more. “Sorry? That’s not good enough. The way you looked at me, it made me feel dirty. Even my boots feel dirty. I want them cleaned. Take your jacket off. Now!” Nova stared at him without moving. She had a thin vest on underneath and nothing else. She was cold enough with her jacket on. She would freeze without it. “I said now.” Blade’s voice held the promise of violence, but Nova’s anger was getting the better of her. Whatever Blade planned would involve humiliation and probably pain. More importantly, it would leave her without her jacket. Even a few hours in the cold without it would probably prove fatal in the long run. She would quickly get ill and the guards were less than sympathetic towards anyone who was unable to work. The cure was generally fatal. Nova looked up, craning her neck to meet Blade’s gaze. She could see the anger bubbling there, the violence brewing. Steeling herself she shook her head. “No,” she said softly. She had meant it to be a defiant shout. Fear had muted it. Blade’s eyes widened for a moment. Then he struck, moving so quickly Nova didn’t have a chance to tense. Pain exploded in her stomach where Blade’s fist had landed and she collapsed to one knee. The pain was bad but it paled into insignificance as she fought unsuccessfully to draw in a breath. The muscles in her stomach had locked solid. She didn’t see or feel the next blow. One moment she was on her knees, struggling to breathe, the next she was laying on her side with her head ringing. As her vision cleared she saw Blade’s legs. Saw him pulling back his foot ready to deliver a kick. She couldn’t do anything about it. She still couldn’t even breath. Pain lanced through Nova’s body, screaming down every nerve. For a moment she thought Blade’s kick had done serious damage, that she must be dying. Then the pain cut off as suddenly as it had started. Nova lay on her side, panting as she finally managed to draw a little air into her lungs. As her vision cleared she made out Blade laying in front of her, his body twitching. Nova grimaced as she realised what had happened. The guards had activated the control collars that she and the other prisoners wore. They had saved her life in doing so, though Nova doubted that was their intent. Groans around her bought home what had happened. The guards had activated every collar within range, so every prisoner had suffered. Because of her. Well, mostly because of Blade but Nova doubted anyone would dare blame him, especially after what he had done to her. Which left Nova. “Stop lazing around,” bellowed one of the guards. “Back to work, right now.” The prisoners struggled upright with a series of groans and curses, then headed back to the work area. Several sent angry looks Nova’s way. Blade walked beside her for a moment, matching her pace. “This isn’t over,” he said, voice almost pleasant. “Not by a long shot. Now I owe you for the collar too. Next time there won’t be any guards to save your sorry hide.” He lengthened his stride, stalking away from Nova. She trudged after, eyes burning a hole in his back. She knew he meant it, and that he would make her suffer. She thought he would probably kill her. There were only two ways to avoid it. Get away or kill Blade first. Escaping was impossible, her collar ensured that, but getting away from Blade might not be. If the guards decided to move some or all of the prisoners around then she would try to end up in a different group to Blade. It was a faint hope, though. She doubted Blade would wait longer than he had to. That meant he would come for her during the sleep break. The guards paid very little attention when the prisoners were supposed to be sleeping, and the occasional dead body didn’t seem to worry them. That left one other possibility. Killing Blade. Even the thought of it made Nova’s pulse pound. She’d never killed anyone. She’d never tried to. She wasn’t sure she could do it, even to save her own life, and how was she supposed to kill Blade? He would almost certainly be awake and coming for her. He was much bigger and stronger. She wouldn’t stand a chance. What she needed was a weapon. That would at least give her a chance. But she was a prisoner, where was she going to get a weapon?