Primal Link 2 Read online

  Primal Link 2

  Justin Sloan

  L. Bowers

  Copyright © 2020 by Justin Sloan and L. Bowers.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Welcome

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

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  1

  Goshawk

  The enormous mechanical beast's roar signaled the start of combat. My Marines and I replied with the chattering barks of suppressive fire. The armor that acted as the thing’s hide was too thick for our small arms to inflict more than a scratch. We did get its attention, however, which was the point.

  “Kopf,” I shouted. “Time to put your training to the test. You’re up!” Once the message was out, my cheek went back to the stock of my rifle, and my finger stroked the trigger repeatedly.

  Kopf stopped shooting, since his task was now entirely different from the rest of us. His Lenashal gave him a unique ability that made this tactic possible. As the Marine rose to his feet, the air around him shimmered. As he took his first step, Kopf vanished. He was on his own once he went invisible. Jones, Standish, and I would keep the creatures’ attention.

  This particular machine came in the big and bulky variety. If I had to pick an analogue from Earth’s varied species it would be a cross between a rhino and a long-extinct stegosaurus. Its body was thick like a rhino, but its tail resembled that of a stego. Plates protruded from its back down the creature’s length, but they were regular and symmetrical. Each of them glowed a sinister orange. The thing’s head was the most alien part. Its snout was long and round and ended with a hole. Eyes, or what these things used as eyes, rose on articulating stalks that allowed them to move independently. I hoped they wouldn’t see Kopf coming.

  Time seemed to drone on at a terrible pace while we laid down fire. The beast moved closer to us, but seemed hesitant to charge. Taking turns falling back allowed us to keep a steady stream of fire on the target as we moved.

  A hand dropped onto my shoulder and caused me to jerk back. “It’s me,” Kopf said. “Package delivered.” His hand fell away as he moved back.

  “Fall back.” I let my throat mic pick up my words. “Package delivered. Surprise party starting in one minute.”

  I took my own advice, turned, and hauled ass. My team ran in front of me until Standish spun, dropped, and pulled a device no bigger than his thumb from his kit. The rest of us dropped next to him to face the oncoming beast.

  “Fire in the hole,” Standish announced loud enough for his mic to pick it up. Then he hit the switch.

  A loud boom tore through the air, followed by a wave of pressure that threatened to squeeze the air from my lungs. The buds we wore in our ears kept the sound from damaging our hearing by generating white noise to cancel the boom. Aside from the slight discomfort, our gear did a good job of protecting us.

  “Sound off,” I ordered, because it never hurt to be sure.

  “Standish, good to go.”

  “Jones, ready and able.”

  “The baddest mo frakker this side of the galaxy is locked, cocked—”

  “Let’s move,” I interrupted.

  As I rose, I looked at the machine. A smile warmed my face at the sight of a cloud of black smoke rising from the ground where the beast had been. The thick plume seemed to indicate the machine was burning. For a moment, I was in my happy place.

  An intensely loud roar broke me free from said happy place. Then the black cloud eddied, and a burning leg stepped free.

  I took an involuntary step back while my eyes grew wide. A burning nightmare crawled out of the smoke, and sent the hairs on the back of my neck straight up. It was halfway free when its face turned to align with my team. Another roar came from it as orange light billowed from the hole at the end of its snout.

  “That’s not good,” Kopf said.

  “Run!” I shouted.

  I turned hard right and ran as fast as my legs would carry me. Reaching deep within, I prepared to tap into the abilities of my Lenashal, Aspen. The earth exploded behind me and sent me careening through the air head over feet. I hit the ground knees-first and slammed to a stop on my face.

  Once again, my gear saved me. The armor covering most of me kept me from serious injury while my ballistic goggles saved my sight. Spitting out blood and dirt from a split lip and bloody nose was no big deal in the grand scheme. Still hurt like the dickens, though.

  “You okay?” Jones knelt at my side.

  “Yeah,” I groaned.

  Strong hands grabbed my shoulder and yanked me to my feet. “Then run, cause it’s not done!”

  Jones grabbed my hand and jerked me forward. I stumbled as I tried to get my bearings. Calling on Aspen was difficult, so she pushed up to add her strength to mine. Vitality infused my legs and I was able to keep up with Jones. The ground behind us exploded again, but we were far enough away that the blast pushed against us without knocking us over.

  Right away, I spun and brought my rifle up. My first shot was the second one to hit the beast. Standish was already laying down suppressive fire. Our rounds were as effective as before, which was not at all. The fires burning on its metal skin did nothing to hinder it. The only saving grace was the smoke. Every couple of steps, the beast shook its head to clear enough of it to see us.

  “This isn’t working!” Jones shouted over the comms. “We need a better plan or that thing will make mincemeat of us.”

  “Agreed,” Standish said. “Got anything for us, Corporal?”

  I did, but I didn’t see a point in telling them only to have my team argue with me. I took off while dropping my rifle onto its sling. As it bounced off my body with each step, I missed my retracting sling. I would have to get another as soon as possible.

  “Hey!” Standish shouted. “What in the name of Hades are you doing?”

  I didn’t answer. Standish and the rest of my team would see soon enough. The machine caught on fast, though. It turned its great head to face me and the orange glow came to life at the end of its snout. The glow intensified with each step. I was fifty feet away when it fired the orange beam.

  Aspen and I reacted quickly since we knew what to expect. Her ethereal wings sprang from my back as I leaped. Flying was beyond us, but we could glide and cover long distances swiftly. The wings beat against the air and pushed us forward at an increasing velocity while slowing our descent. The beam died as we reached the top of the machine’s snout.

  No sooner had our feet touched down when one of the eyes turned to face us and glowed orange. A much smalle
r beam shot out a second later. I dove to the side while dismissing the wings and manifesting talons. The blue-green transparent claws tore into the metal of its snout while I fell along its side. My other hand shot out, sank talons into the metal, jerking me to a stop. As my dangling legs swung back and forth, I reached up and gripped the snout with my free hand.

  The machine swung its head to the side. The metal I grabbed broke free. It swung its head the other way. Momentum pushed me away, and my blades sliced through the metal like hot knives through cream cheese. The ground swiftly rose to greet me.

  Aspen’s wings shot out and flipped us so that I faced down. There was enough time for one flap to slow the fall. The ethereal appendages crumpled, then disappeared as my weight and velocity slammed us to the ground. Enough of our forward momentum was absorbed that my landing hurt, but caused no serious damage.

  “Move!” Standish shouted into the comms.

  He could have been yelling at anyone, but I didn’t take any chances. The fall made me feel like the world was spinning, so I couldn’t tell which direction would work best. I chose left and rolled as far as I could.

  The world spun in a passing blur as I made my escape. Before I made it too far, a loud boom shook the ground, and my controlled roll became a wild tumble. A moment later, I flopped onto my back and stared up. I knew that I’d stopped, but the clouds above me swirled in a maddening whirlwind.

  "We have to move." Jones grabbed the back of my harness and dragged me along the ground. "It has its eyes on you, and it looks hungry."

  Jones yanked me up from the ground and threw me over her shoulder. Then she took off at a run, moving far faster than a normal human could. Both my hands gripped Jones’s armor tight enough that my knuckles went white. Each step sent me flying up like she was trying to buck me off. Each impact drove her shoulder into my gut and forced the air out of me. As darkness overtook the edges of my vision, Jones stopped.

  The warrior woman set me on my feet. Her hand shot out and grabbed my shoulder as I rocked to the side. “You okay, Ray?” She asked low enough that no one close by would hear.

  “Get a room,” Kopf said over the comms because we could all hear her over her throat mic. “We got killin to do, and that big bastard has a date with a junkyard.”

  “I’m good.” I ignored Kopf. “A little jostled from the ride. Thanks for the save.”

  “We’re not saved yet,” Jones replied. “That thing is still coming.” She pointed over my shoulder.

  “Let’s move,” I said. “We need a new plan.”

  I turned left and took a step. Jones grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. “The guys are this way.”

  “Right.” I nodded. “I knew that. Just uh… testing you. Good job, you passed.”

  “Right?” Jones nodded with an expression that said she didn’t believe me. “Whatever you say, Corporal.”

  We ran with Jones in the lead. Her science-augmented body carried her at nearly forty miles an hour. The armor I wore provided some strength enhancing properties, but not enough to match her. If not for the power granted through my connection to Aspen, I would have fallen far behind. A subtle glow encircled my legs as an energy source I didn’t fully comprehend infused them.

  As I ran, I caught a flicker from the corner of my eye. I turned my head, and the sight caused me to stumble and fall. While I tumbled, the face and torso of the woman made into a serpent machine hybrid turned her head to look at me before fading from view.

  “What the hell?” Standish shouted as he grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet. “Your bird is supposed to make you more graceful than that!”

  “I saw…” I didn’t know what I saw, not really.

  “Tell me while we move,” Standish replied. “It’s coming, and there are more smaller ones inbound.”

  “Right.” I ran alongside the older Marine and quickly described what I saw, hoping he had seen it.

  “No,” Standish said. “All I saw was you falling. You saw her torso, like it was disembodied?”

  “Sort of,” I replied. “I saw a touch of the machinery, but it was more like there was a small screen or mirror hovering in the air, and I only saw what was visible on the screen. But it was all transparent, and only for a moment.”

  “Incoming!” Kopf shouted over the radio.

  We dove as a blast of orange heat seared the area above us. The beam lowered to catch us on the ground, and we had to roll away from each other to keep from being fried.

  “I’m tired of this,” I said into the radio. “Everyone converge on that thing. I have a plan.”

  While I made my way to the machine, I laid out the plan to my team. Kopf went invisible while Jones, Standish and I spread out. Aspen’s power infused my legs and arms, allowing me to run as fast as my teammates and dodge with supernatural grace. The giant machine shot at us with various-sized cannons that blanketed the area around it in orange beams.

  While I jumped and spun, allowing a pair of beams to pass harmlessly by, I remembered not too long ago when I coveted the power of an aug. Thanks to Aspen and our bond, I could do everything they did and more. The thought made me giggle as I continued my mad dash.

  Standish reached the left flank of the machine, and spider-like translucent legs spread out from his back and sides. He sank the tips into the metal and did considerable damage while climbing its body.

  Jones leaped as the glowing blue legs of her Lenashal surrounded hers, allowing her to go high into the air and land with a devastating boom. She stood and raised her left leg, then brought it down hard while still covered in her Lenashal’s glow. Her leg moved up and down at incredible speeds, and did massive amounts of damage.

  The giant machine rocked back and forth as its body took the brunt of Jones’s thumping attacks and Standish’s combo of stabbing with the tips of his sharp spider legs and rifle fire. Large wings spread from my back and pulled me off the ground, then above the creature. We reached a hundred feet, the upper limit of our flight, before changing our orientation to point down at it. Aspen’s wings folded in, and we dove.

  Instead of going for the main body, we aimed for one of the stout legs. Nano-sharp talons surrounded my hands as we shot past the mechanical appendage. Sweeping strikes passed through the metal with ease as our wings spread and caught the air. We pulled up from the dive in time to pass within an inch of the ground before swooping back up.

  Kopf became visible as we swung around for another pass. His legs were surrounded by the reptilian feet of his Lenashal, and another set of arms sprouted from his sides, allowing him to cling to the side of the machine. He scurried to the opening Aspen and I had made in the hard shell and fired a couple of rounds, then followed with a grenade into the body.

  A loud boom tore open the side of the machine as Kopf dove away and went invisible. The mechanical beast collapsed. Jones jumped and rolled to a standing position a few feet away, Standish used his spider legs to cling to the machine, and Aspen and I landed on the top of it as it settled on the ground.

  Standish wasted no time in freeing the trapped Lenashal. He moved to the rear of its spine and used a couple of his spider’s leg tips to pry open the compartment housing the spirit. A savage jerk ruined the machine, and a glowing creature resembling a mix of badger and skunk jumped free. It looked at Standish for a moment before it ran away. The creature faded to out of sight as it fled.

  Kopf appeared next to me and shouted as he jumped while pumping a fist into the air. It wasn’t the first time he’d reappeared next to me, so I wasn’t startled, this time. I chuckled and added a whoop of joy. “Let’s go check on our Marines,” I said.

  The smaller machines that joined the fight had gone straight to the building the Marines were using as cover. With the fire from inside and my team joining from the rear, the small machines were quickly dispatched. As soon as the last bullet was fired, we made our way into the building.

  I stopped inside at the sight of seven Marines. Four were armed, but covered in minor cu
ts and bruises. Two of the remaining three groaned and held various wounds that seeped blood. The third had a tourniquet stopping the bleeding from the stump that used to be his left arm. He stood perfectly still except for his chest rising and falling while he checked out his options.

  “Drugs,” one of the Marines still able to fight said. “He’s out from the drugs we gave him. We didn’t have enough for the other two, though.”

  “Okay,” I said as his words snapped me back to the moment. “We’ll give them something for the pain.” As I said it, Standish moved to the Marines while removing his medkit from his gear. “A transport will be here shortly to take you up to the ship. Do you know where any other Marines are?”

  “No—” the same one to speak started, another of the able-bodied Marines interrupted him.

  “Our squad leader Sergeant Prince had to go in another direction with the rest of the squad when we were hit. We have to go after them!” The Marine said in a rush.

  “It’s okay.” I held up my hands to calm him. “We already found them. They gave us a good idea of where to find you guys. You’ll see them on the ship.”

  “Transport is six minutes out,” Standish reported as he approached. “We need to make sure the LZ is clear.”

  “Copy that,” I replied. “Let’s get to it.”

  2

  Goshawk

  The full moon peeked over the city skyline and bathed the night in a cool blue. I stared out and allowed my eyes to roam from side to side. As the sentry for the hour, it was my task to ensure the Marines at my back stayed safe. If the machines came, I would sound the alarm, ensuring plenty of time to react.