Nathan Hystad - The Survivors - Books 1-3

Natalia was openly crying by then, but so was the whole room. I unashamedly wiped a few tears from my face alongside everyone else, knowing how much the two of them had been through. Mary squeezed my hand tight.

“Of course I will,” Nat said, letting him slip the ring on her hand. He got to his feet, picked her up, and spun her around in a hug.

“One more thing, baby,” he said. “How about tonight?”

Music started up again, and the partygoers rushed to line up their chairs on the empty dance floor. The priest stood at the front of the rows, smiling widely.

Natalia blushed but shrugged. “Let’s do it!”

Soon Magnus and I were at the front of the group, Mary opposite us as the maid of honor, and when the here-comes-the-bride music kicked on, Natalia was there looking resplendent on the arm of General Heart, who was walking her down the aisle.

The setting was beautiful, and I took it all in, knowing everything was about to change with them leaving us here and going on a crazy adventure to another world. It didn’t seem real.

They went through the process, quick but classic nuptials. Mary was dabbing her eyes as they kissed, and the whole room stood up and cheered them on.

It was official. Natalia and Magnus were married.

Before the noise died down, Mae came into the room, bleeding from the face and limping. Her clothing was torn, and when she was close enough, I saw her eye was swollen.

I ran to her, the crowd spreading apart. “What happened?”

Mae pointed toward the sky. “They got away. Terrance and Leslie escaped.”

W e sat in Dalhousie’s office, discussing what to do. Leslie and Terrance had somehow gotten free from their cells, stolen a ship we’d moved from the hangar, and gotten out the ceiling.

“How did this happen?” The president sat with her hands on her face. I’d never seen her so flustered. “They just happened to get out when we had the ships outside, and conveniently escaped as the hatch up top was opened for a nighttime test flight.”

Heart assured her the pilot was one of his best and wasn’t involved. They must have had secret information, and someone on the inside. That didn’t bode well for the base’s security.

“We need to go after them,” Mae said, repeating the same thing for the tenth time. No one seemed to be listening. She was right.

“If they left, as you say, and aren’t hanging out at Earth, hell-bent on blowing shit up, then we need to go after them before they get word to the Bhlat, or anyone else for that matter.” I would be the voice of reason and back Mae up on this. She looked at me, her eye covered with ice, and her smile quickly turned to a grimace as the pain of moving her mouth registered.

“You’re right.” Dalhousie looked over to me and Mary, and I got that almost-regular sinking feeling in my gut. “The colony ship must go now as planned. It’s even more imperative. As for the hybrids, we need to tail them, stop them at any cost. They’re in the original, unaltered model of ship. Ours will be able to track it anywhere, and they won’t even know you’re coming.”

“Wait. You’re coming? Who do you mean when you say ‘you’re’?” Mary asked.

“I need the best on this. We can’t take any chances. Mary, you’ve flown the ships before, and have experience in fighting on Earth in jets and out there in space. Plus, you’ve been practicing these last few weeks. You know that ship. And Dean has the kind of mind that will keep you guys on top of them, one step ahead.” Dalhousie sounded much more confident about our chances than I did.

“Don’t you guys have people for this kind of thing?” This from Magnus, who didn’t look very happy to have his wedding night interrupted.

Heart spoke up finally. “We do. That’s why Slate’s going with you, and Clare. Slate is as big as an ox and will be your feet on the street, should it come to that. Clare will be your engineer wizard, able to fix things, and adapt the ship’s needs to yours. The longer we talk about this, the farther they get from Earth. You’re Earth Defense now, so do your job. Defend Earth!” He was red-faced by the end of it, and so was Magnus. He looked like he wanted to punch the older man. Hell, so did I.

“Look, no one is questioning your integrity. We need you guys again. Earth needs you.” Patrice Dalhousie stood up now, looking Mary right in the eyes, then me.

“We better get going, then. Dean, you can stay back if you like,” Mary said, breaking my heart a bit.

“You don’t want me to go with you?” I asked.

“Of course I do! I just don’t want anything to happen to you,” she said, grabbing my hand.

“Nothing’s going to happen to either of us. We can go stop them and be back sooner than you thought possible.” I said the words but didn’t believe them even as they left my mouth.

“Then it’s settled. You guys leave now,” Dalhousie said, a tired look in her eyes.

It was midnight by the time we packed up our few belongings, and the crews at the base loaded the ship with enough supplies to last a long time. Heart never did tell us how much food they loaded on, but the storage area had a lot of crates in it. He told us Slate knew what it all was, and since we didn’t have time to go over the itinerary, we trusted they were prepared for this.

“I can’t believe you guys are leaving. And before us!” Magnus said, walking with us to the ship. He was still in his tuxedo, the tie conspicuously missing.

Carey followed alongside us, wagging his tail. I couldn’t believe that after all we’d been through, I had to leave him. I couldn’t bring him on the ship with us. It was a dangerous trip, not one for my new best friend to tag along on.

I had an idea. “Magnus, would you take Carey with you?” I hated to ask, but I had to.

He looked at me, his features softening. “Dean, are you sure? He could stay here. I’m sure you’ll be back in no time.”

“But what if we’re not? What if something happens to us out there?”

“It won’t. I know you guys.”

“But what if? We could be following them a long way. To God knows where. Just take him, please.” My heart was freezing up at having to pawn off the little guy. He meant so much to me.

“Of course I will, buddy. We love the little rascal too. When it’s all over, come to Proxima, and he’s all yours again.” Magnus clapped me on the shoulder. His words rang a finality over my mind, and I worried I’d never see Carey again. That I’d never see any of them again.

I took a knee and Carey rubbed his face into my stomach. He loved it when I got down to his level. He licked my face, and I laughed, giving him one last big hug before I left. At that moment, I told myself I would get back, stop the Bhlat threat, and make it to Proxima to see my friends again and get Carey.

Mary walked up, pack slung over her shoulder. She seemed to get the sense of what transpired, and she gave Carey a big hug, letting his sloppy tongue give her a lick before leaving.

“Nat, I also need you to watch over my sister. She was supposed to get here today for the party, but they were delayed. I still can’t believe my little sister is going with you guys. Take care of her. Please,” I said, wishing I could see her just one last time before leaving.

“Of course. If she’s anything like you, we’ll have a lot to pick on her about.” This from Magnus. “Dean, take these.” He passed me a small cloth bag covertly. I snuck a peek and saw some of the green gem jewelry used to counter the Kraski beams. “You never know when you’re going to need them.” I spotted my pendant in there and wondered how he’d managed to pilfer them.