Roth

Roth by Jessica Frances

Book: Roth by Jessica Frances Read Free Book Online
Authors: Jessica Frances
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happened after those weird creatures attacked us? Where are the others?” Hank questions, his mindset changing already to be on the task at hand. Now that he has confirmation of Lisa’s survival, he will be more determined than ever to get to her.
    I try to recall exactly when Hank lost consciousness. Does he know about John? “We’re still somewhere on Roth. John is dead, so is Rob after what happened to him, I think. I don’t know about Kane. He might be alive in one of these things.” I tap the tube that is still next to us.
    Hank glances around us. “Did we take that spaceship down?”
    “No, I managed to get that stupid thing working. We ended up on the same spaceship Marduke was… being held on. Then something brought us down.”
    “I don’t know what happened; those spaceships aren’t easily brought down ,” Marduke mutters. He lets go of my hand and begins pacing, his attention focusing on the spaceship’s remains.
    “Why isn’t he wearing a shirt?” Hank watches him, his eyes drifting down to his exposed chest. “And did he a lways have those tattoos?”
    I redden , thinking about why he isn’t wearing a shirt. I ripped it off him back on the spaceship. “He just isn’t wearing one. And, yes, he had the tattoos before. He told me he’s had them for a long time.” I recall just how long ago, too. If his father is willing to kill Marduke just to give Ival a test, then it really shouldn’t still surprise me he would have his son inked like this when he was just a small child.
    “What do they all mean?” Hank asks, his eyes narro wing over Marduke who is still lost in thought.
    I realise that , with Hank alive and Marduke here with me, this is going to be a tough secret to keep from him. Hank is a good man, and I know he would never kill Marduke in cold blood, yet if he finds out about what Marduke really is in the wrong way, he won’t be in the right frame of mind to understand. Maybe, even in the right frame of mind, he won’t understand my feelings for him. He definitely won’t forgive Marduke for what has been done to Earth, been done to Lisa, and what we have all gone through.
    “They’re personal.” I hope to head off his curiosity quickly. “Help me look for some clothes for him.”
    “He can take my hoodie if he wants . I have a t-shirt on underneath.”
    “Thanks .” I take his offered jumper and pass it to Marduke, who distractedly places it on.
    When Hank is a safe distance from us, searching through the wreckage, Marduke pulls me aside. “You know it’s really weird that we crashed. There was no reason for it. We had a good spaceship; it wasn’t old and they don’t even need experienced pilots. They practically fly themselves. I couldn’t even program it to crash. It’s just not possible.”
    “Did you run out of fuel or whatever it runs on?”
    “Our spaceships don’t need fuel. They generate their own energy to run off of.”
    “Maybe this one was just faulty?”
    He frowns, but he doesn’t disagree with me. With how destroyed the spaceship is now, though, I doubt there will be any way for us to know what really happened. “I just keep coming back to what you said about those creatures. Why did you end up there? We don’t have them on Oden and definitely not on any of these planets. There is no reason for them to be on a spaceship of ours. The monit—that control you used—only works for our spaceships. It can only take you on board ours. I almost thought maybe you imagined what you saw, but Hank just confirmed it was real. Plus, it explains why those two men were in such bad shape.”
    “You thought I was lying?”
    “Not lying, just that, whatever you saw, it was horrible enough to remind you of these Claws. It shouldn’t be possible that you saw them at all. I don’t understand what is going on here.” He sounds frustrated.
    “Guys! I think I found Kane!” Hank calls out from over by the other end of the clearing.
    Marduke and I don’t make a step

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