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  Accursed

  Accursed

  Monster of Earth

  Book Four

  Patrick F. Johnson

  Copyright 2019 by Patrick F. Johnson

  All rights reserved. Published by Patrick F. Johnson.

  No parts of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form

  or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

  recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without

  written permission from the publisher.

  Cover by KL Hagaman

  ©2019

  To all those who refuse

  to kneel.

  1.

  “Ahn, can you hear me?” Gladys asked.

  Ahn was still sitting against the wall holding his head in his hand with his elbow braced atop his large stomach. His other arm hung limp as the wound had made it mostly inoperable. He slowly raised his head and looked around, eventually spotting the orb. “What?” he asked, not recognizing the device.

  “I am Gladys Ford,” she started. “You were holding my husband prisoner. I would like to ask you a few questions.”

  “Ah, yes, the Monster. I hope he tears this place to the ground.”

  “He detests that title, just so you know.”

  “I would imagine so. Please tell me he got to Korick.”

  “Jard got to him first. He is dead.”

  A smile spread across Ahn's face. “Jard? Is that the Assassin's name?”

  “Yes.”

  “I wonder who it was that hired him.”

  “King Ondex hired him.”

  Ahn's eyes went wide. And then his smile grew larger. “That is good. I am glad my old friend found the courage. I learned only today that Korick was responsible for the deaths of the royal family.”

  “It was Korick who shot you, wasn't it?” Gladys asked.

  “Yes. I tried to kill him and failed. But I can die in peace now.”

  “Your wound doesn't look quite that bad. I'm certain it hurts plenty, but there is no reason you won't live.”

  “I don't want to live. I've been a fool. I could have gone anywhere and done anything. But I ended up here, helping that murderer build all of this.”

  “It is not my place to help you decide whether to live or die. I only wish to know where the Ezilak home world is.”

  Ahn paused and regarded the orb with a sympathetic look. “I wish I could help you. Korick was obsessed with finding any species that might fare well in the tournaments. But in the case of the Ezilaks, I don't think even Korick knew the location of their home world.”

  “Frank is going to be very displeased. I assume the Gurdiks are the ones that know.”

  “A specific Gurdik. Most of them are honest and very hard working. Only a small portion of them deal with some of the business that Korick was involved in. And fewer still engage in outright piracy.”

  “Piracy?”

  “Amoz Nudek was responsible for bringing in the Ezilaks. He also supplied the brothels.”

  “Humans?” she asked.

  “Yes, and several other species.” He looked away in shame.

  Anger was consuming Gladys as she sat in her chair aboard Main Ship. But before she could resume their conversation, the sounds of several beings could be heard from outside Korick's office. As a precaution, she activated the cloak on her remote. Two Gote soldiers entered the office and did a quick sweep of the room before speaking.

  “Sir?” one soldier asked, “Are you alright?”

  “I am fine,” Ahn answered. “You should go back to your base and await orders.”

  “We already have our orders. Princess Caja is attempting to overthrow the government. We are to eliminate any royals or alien combatants on Vera.”

  “You are marching into your doom,” Ahn replied with a chuckle. “Korick is already dead.”

  “We are flooding the complex from the tunnels. And there is air support inbound. We'll have this sorted out soon.”

  * * *

  Gladys switched communications over to the armed landing boat. “Gote air support inbound,” she said. “Please keep the Mingrein safe if at all possible.”

  “Understood,” Phildan replied.

  She then switched over to relay a message to Gildract. Switching to Lianese, she said, “Gote air support inbound. Thousands of Gote soldiers flooding the casino complex from a tunnel system.”

  “Yes, let them come,” Gildract replied to the cheers of the few Mingrein who accompanied him.

  “We will engage them in the air and try to cover you. But be ready.”

  “We stand ready to take our revenge on these bloated imbeciles. What news is there of Frank Ford?”

  “He is loose and dozens of Gotes have died by his hand.”

  * * *

  “We only set off one nuclear device and placed every sensor within the blast radius,” Ottwan was saying as his device accompanied Frank, Constanthos, and Breet into the casino.

  “You arranged it so the entire planet appears to have high levels of radiation?” Constanthos asked.

  “Yes. The rest of the warheads were harvested and the entire galaxy thinks the artificial intelligence is responsible.”

  “I'll admit it was a clever scheme,” she replied, “but it is enough to make me want to kill you myself.”

  “Madame,” Ottwan continued, “I know that an apology would never be enough but I do see the error of my ways. I will be pursuing a different line of work.”

  “So what became of the AI?” Frank asked.

  “It is trapped in a system aboard a satellite. Electrical power on the surface is blocked.”

  “Blocked?” Frank asked. “How?”

  “Variable electromagnetic pulse,” Ottwan replied. “It isn't enough to fry everything. I was instructed to leave the infrastructure intact for whatever reason.”

  “What is the size of the human population on Mertia?” Frank asked.

  “It was around five billion before the time of my arrival,” Ottwan answered. “It is significantly lower now, obviously. The humans of Mertia have become rather barbaric, turning on one another. And a lot have been imported to the Gotian brothels.”

  “I'm kinda leaning towards killing you again too,” Frank admitted. Breet chirped in agreement as they entered a stairwell and started down toward the lower level. A commotion caught their attention from above. Frank peered up between the steps and thought he caught a glimpse of a royal uniform. He was startled when the remote in his hand became active. “Well, hello there my dear,” he said as he released it.

  “Gote soldiers are infiltrating the complex via a tunnel system,” Gladys said. “There are several near Korick's office already.”

  “So the princess is in danger?” Frank asked with a disappointed tone.

  “I'm afraid so.”

  Frank looked at Constanthos as he stowed the remote. She smiled and shrugged. He then turned to Breet. “Feel like maybe killing some more Gotes?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “This is where I take my leave,” Ottwan said. “Mr. Ford, you will not be seeing me again.” Before Frank could reply, Ottwan's drone fell to the ground and tumbled down the steps.

  “That's a shame,” Frank said.

  “He was a fucking asshole,” Breet replied.

  “Yeah, but that thing looked expensive.” Frank looked up again. “I suppose we should go see what is going on up there.” Breet stepped aside to allow Frank to lead the way upward. After a couple of quick flights of steps, he found himself staring down the two barrels of Raymond's guns.

  “Shit,” Raymond exclaimed as he withdrew his pistols. “We're unable to gain entry onto the second floor.”

  “Oh yeah?” Frank replied. “Why not?” He look
ed past Raymond to see King Ondex standing nervously behind Moldew, who was covering the door.

  “There are dozens of soldiers out there,” Ondex said. “They aren't answering to my authority. They think it's a trick.”

  “Where is Caja?” Frank asked.

  “We reached Rando on the communicator,” Moldew replied. “They are trapped inside a room somewhere down the concourse. Ran has fallen.”

  “Would you like me to go have a little talk with them?” Frank asked.

  “We were, you know, formulating a plan,” Raymond said. “But, yeah, you can go talk to them, if you want.”

  Frank looked at Ondex. “Promise me you won't get mad if some of those guys out there happen to die.”

  “I promise,” Ondex replied.

  Frank nodded then turned to Constanthos. “Connie, cover the rear. If anyone comes up those stairs, uh, explode them.” She smiled and nodded. “Breet, how are you on ammo?”

  “I'm low,” he chirped.

  “I'll slide some guns over toward the door. Give me a little while before you follow.” Frank slid past the rotund bodies of Ondex and Moldew and stood at the door. “Get down,” he said as he pulled the door open and walked through.

  * * *

  “Would you mind some company?” Michelle asked as she neared the loba tree.

  “I welcome it. These are trying times and we should all be as one whenever possible.”

  “I couldn't agree more.” Michelle lost her balance for a moment but quickly corrected. “Whew, this low gravity.” She plopped down near Cindy and forced a smile.

  “Are you feeling well?” Cindy asked.

  “I'm fine,” Michelle lied. “The stress of having Robert down there, and the gravity...it has me a little off.”

  “There is something different about you.”

  “Judging from the look on your face, it mustn't be anything bad.”

  “May I?” Cindy asked as she extended her hand.

  “I have been curious about your gift. Sure.” Michelle reached out and accepted Cindy's large hand into her own. Cindy stared off into the distance as she probed Michelle's very existence. When her eyes came back into focus, she simply released Michelle's hand and smiled. “So, anything interesting?”

  “It is slightly different than with members of my own species, but I sense a life growing inside you.” She was answered with a wide-eyed stare. “Is this not a good thing?”

  Finally Michelle smiled. “You know, I think it is a good thing.”

  * * *

  “It's the Monster!”

  Frank was greeted with a barrage of gunfire. So he stood and waited as he knew the Gotes wouldn't be able to hear him over the sounds of their weapons. Sighing, he pulled the orb up close to his mouth. “Gladys?”

  “Yes, my love?”

  “I kinda have a situation here.” He released the orb so she could have a look around.

  “I suppose you have to go through these Gotes to reach your objective, right?”

  “I really just want to go home. But Ondex is cool if I need to kill some.” Frank was thinking they should all be about out of ammo at this point. Larger rounds were hitting his shield but did not faze him.

  “We should take this opportunity to film a new propaganda video,” Gladys said.

  “You're joking, right?”

  “No, my love. Show the galaxy what happens to those who threaten Earth.”

  “Let me try diplomacy first.” Frank held up his hands as if to ask them to stop firing. He was surprised when they actually paused. Switching to Gotian, he said, “Your guns are useless. Drop them and walk away and you may live.”

  “Use your blades,” an armored Gote called out from the rear of the group.

  “Idiots,” Frank mumbled. He looked to his right to make sure the concourse was clear that way as every bullet had been coming from the other direction. Satisfied, he turned to his left and pulled his sword off of his back. The Gotes were slowly advancing toward him. He grasped the handle and let himself be consumed by his own anger. The color was gone from his eyes when he quickly unsheathed his sword to decapitate the nearest soldier. Three more lost their heads before his sheath hit the floor. Six more were surging forward in unison. Frank darted left and took a slight chance, as he knew he was being recorded, and swung hard to cut a Gote completely in half across his large abdomen. The Gote didn't realize he was injured until he fell down and became two. The other five missed the sight as they were too busy also being dead. Frank was cutting through the group with great efficiency. Arms and heads were flying about until the entire floor was covered in blood. But the armored Gote stood his ground, his large knife held upward in a ready position.

  “Fall back,” the commanding officer ordered to the remaining four soldiers that were flanking him. “His blade won't pierce my armor.” He assumed an offensive position toward Frank.

  “Nice suit,” Frank said as he swung his sword very quickly. “But that's a funny looking knife.” The officer looked down to notice that his knife blade had been somehow removed. Franks next swing removed both of the officer's armored hands. “You guys really should improve your armor.” Frank jumped up and punched the Gote straight in the face, sending him onto his back, unconscious. Turning back to the door to the stairwell, Frank yelled out, “Breet!”

  The door opened slowly as the bug peered out to have a look. “I am so glad the tournament was canceled,” Breet chirped as he surveyed the carnage. “Hey, those four are getting away.”

  “No, they're not,” Frank replied. Pointing to the armored officer he added, “This one never fired a round. He should be fully loaded.” He turned and sprinted away, quickly overcoming the four fleeing Gotes. Breet watched in amazement as Frank hardly slowed down to slice the tendons on the back of the knees of two of them and beheading the other two.

  “All clear,” Breet chirped. He could hear Constanthos translating his words. The door opened and Raymond emerged first, followed by Ondex and Moldew. Constanthos came through last and turned to regard the door. Pulling her sword, she stabbed the door next to the handle. “What was that?” Breet asked.

  “I locked the door,” she answered. “We can't have anyone sneaking up on us.” She turned to look, as the others were, at Frank's mess. She noted to herself that it was considerably bloodier than the mess they had made together. She picked up Frank's sheath and handed it to Ondex. “Frank will want this,” she said. He didn't argue.

  “I should catch up with him,” Breet said as he realized the officer was still alive. Having fixed that problem by pushing his pincer through the Gote's skull, he continued, “There won't be any left for me to kill.”

  “You go ahead then,” Constanthos replied with a smile. “I'll look after these three. Good hunting.” Breet finished loading up and scurried away. Turning to Raymond she said, “I see muzzle flashes off in the distance.”

  “How can you see that far?” he asked.

  “Just so you know, I am the female version of Frank Ford.”

  “Holy shit.”

  “Holy shit, indeed. Let's get moving.”

  * * *

  “I'm having a hard time watching this,” Denise said as she turned away from the view screen.

  “It is rather intense,” Gladys admitted. “But some lessons are hard.”

  “You're going to need a good edit if you really intend to release a new recording.”

  “You have an eye for such things,” Gladys said. “Are you volunteering?”

  “Of course. But I just want this to be over.”

  “I just like watching our husband.”

  * * *

  Princess Caja found herself in the corner of a dark room trying to make herself small. She had Ran's coat pulled up over her head. The shooting stopped abruptly and she couldn't resist the urge to sneak a peek toward the door. Ran's body laid out in the wide corridor and as she stared at it, she witnessed the human known as the Monster walk into view and look down upon Ran. He then looked ov
er at her and the sight of his colorless eyes sent chills down her spine. The shooting started again and the bubble that formed his shield became visible as the onslaught of bullets bounced off of it. He continued his charge until the shooting stopped again and only the screams of dying Gotes could be heard.

  “Your Highness,” Rando said, “the Monster is clearing the way.”

  “I know humans,” she replied. “How is such a thing possible?”

  “Perhaps we should just count our blessings.” Rando started toward the door and was startled by the giant bug that scurried past. “I am so glad the tournament was canceled,” he said after he regained his composure. He looked again and after he decided the coast was clear he ran out and dragged his brother's body into the room. Looking down on him, Rando said in a low voice, “We've always had each other and we shared our duty.” He fought back his tears as he continued, “I will continue, and honor you with every act, with every breath.”

  Caja came from behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “I am sorry for your loss, Rando. But you will never be alone.”

  “Thank you, Your Highness.” But before Caja could reply, there were sounds of someone approaching. “Get back,” Rando said in a low tone.

  A voice called out, “Princess Caja?”

  Recognizing the voice of Moldew, Rando lowered his gun and answered, “In here.”

  Raymond and Constanthos covered the corridor as Moldew and Ondex entered the room. “Oh, no,” Ondex said as he saw Ran laying dead on the floor.

  “Father! What are you doing here?” Caja asked as she rushed to embrace Ondex.

  “I thought it over and decided you might need my help.” He held his daughter close. “I never should have let you come here.”

  “This requires my personal attention, Father. Now I must get to Ahn.”

  “Ahn?”

  “He is the key to rooting out the corruption in the government. But right this moment we need to know why the soldiers are still firing at us.”