Stealth

  New World Book 9

  Stealth

  By: C. L. Scholey

  Editor; Melanie Billings

  Cover art; Rogue Reyer

  Dedication; I’d like to thank those of you who have offered support and encouraging words while this was written. Special thanks to my daughter Seani for all her help. And for my eagle- eyed friend—who knows who she is. Much love.

  Copyright 2018 C. L. Scholey

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 (five) years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.

  No part 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 permission in writing from C. L. Scholey.

  Printed in Canada

  Caris refused to save herself when the Tonans landed on Earth offering salvation. She couldn’t believe their rescuers were kind when they left the old, weak and diseased behind. Her volatile world fell apart as mega storms crashed around her and those she cared for. The cave she and other survivors fled to kept them safe for months, until the unthinkable happened.

  The tiny female Benz found was beautiful. She was also dangerous to his planet. Caris held a secret that could wipe out life as he knew it; as all knew it. One little female had the power to bring the warrior to his knees. An alien war species could bring them all crashing down. Benz couldn’t kill her, but would Caris end up killing him with another unforeseen problem?

  Prologue

  The hospital lights were dim as the world outside battered the sealed windows and doors. Weather the likes Caris had never seen before screamed in fury. Splashes of rain the size of snowballs assaulted the glass mercilessly, cracking it in places, shattering it in others. What she could see of the day was blackish-gray. The ground beneath her feet trembled as though frightened; Caris knew she was. Her breath caught and held as she gazed around. Tina was watching her with little three-year-old Cooper in her arms.

  “We can’t stay here.”

  The intense fear on the doctor’s face as he shouted to be heard, rattled Caris to the core. Doctor Doug was usually a sea of tranquility during the worst of times.

  “We can’t go outside,” Caris yelled, also trying to make herself heard.

  The point was becoming moot as outside began to invade the inside. Earth was a volatile place on most continents. Little had been spared, plants, domiciles, food, or people. Tonans came in droves promising protection on the planet Ulsy. Caris volunteered at the hospital because the Tonans refused to take the sick or injured. The frightened faces of the ill hurt her heart. She knew the Tonans were evil; they had to be if they refused a three-year-old boy sanctuary in his final days.

  “I’m going to see if we can get to lower ground,” Doug said, moving closer.

  “What if it’s flooded?” Tina asked.

  Doug’s look was grim. “Inside is about to become flooded.”

  As he left, a large window shattered sending the lot of them screaming and leaping out of the way. Caris shoved a fist to her mouth. She could see the tornado in the distance, black smoky swirls heading their way. Everything in its wake exploded and was destroyed, an out of control locomotive barreling down fast. The noise was excruciating. Cold winds sent shivers of ice to her bones.

  A gaunt woman in her early thirties huddled on her stretcher near an ill teen girl. The teen was wide-eyed but not sobbing, she seemed too afraid for tears. Shock no doubt. Caris didn’t know them; they were new to the ward. Cooper was a regular, his parents were dead. Tina checked his IV and Caris almost smiled. Tina, sweet wonderful, unshakable Tina was a diehard nurse to the core. No doubt she’d check over little Cooper even if they were airborne.

  “Come with me.”

  Caris jumped when Doug appeared. No longer afraid, he was calm and moving, his gentle countenance was back. The doctor grabbed the teen’s cart and pushed her down a dark corridor. Caris took hold of an old man’s stretcher and Tina carefully placed Cooper next to the gaunt woman. The doctor turned back and shouted for them to go one at a time.

  “Tina if we don’t make it I want you to know how much I admire you,” Caris said into the beautiful dark face of her friend.

  “Back at you. I am proud to know you. Honey, we will make it. I know it.”

  The doctor came back running fast. He took the woman’s stretcher, handing Cooper back to Tina and demanded Caris follow next after he rounded a corner. They could only make it one at a time, of that the doctor was adamant. The floors wouldn’t hold much more weight. The walls were unsteady and crumbling but so was the ground beneath her feet. Caris could see great gaping holes leading to lower levels. Maneuvering the stretcher would be a hair-curling experience.

  Caris raced forward at the doctor’s yell, pushing the bed hard in front of her, grunting as she got it in motion. At the doctor’s command she moved fast but cautious. The old man was saying a prayer and Caris was so scared she forgot his name. Caris’s heart pounded within her chest. Sweat dripped from her temples. The bed skidded and the wheels wouldn’t cooperate, the right one locked sideways.

  “Damn hospital budgets and cutbacks,” she screamed as the stretcher careened sideways toward a gaping hole.

  The wheels scraped the edges of the four-story drop into underground parking. Using every ounce of her strength, Caris pulled hard on the metal under her grip. Her eyes squeezed closed as the bed began to fall. She refused to let go, the slick ground made a squeal under her rubber soled shoes as she was dragged forward. She heard a sharp scream, and her eyes flew open, her world went dark and her hands flailed as the rail of the bed slipped through her fingers.

  “Nooo.”

  She lunged headfirst, unseeing, uncaring of her own safety and was certain for a second there was no floor beneath her feet. The backs of her hands banged into a solid material and she gripped the bed again, muscling it forward. Regaining her footing, she shoved her way toward the light and was soon standing, shaking in the doctor’s grip.

  “You made it,” he crooned. “He’s safe. You saved him. You did well.”

  Caris looked around. They were outside under a huge overhang. The hospital bordered a large mountain. Up the hillside was a roundish dark hole. She had never seen it before, then again she’d never been in this parking lot. With some confusion she gazed at her surroundings. Ruble continued to fall as the ground trembled. The rain stopped. The wind died down. There was a gaping hole where she fled the hospital.

  “The floor fell apart. Tina is still in there with Cooper,” she cried out. She tried to go back but the doctor caught her by the elbow.

  “Look.”

  The doctor pointed and smiled. When Tina emerged with Cooper in her arms, she was harried and disheveled, an arm held high lifting the IV bag. Caris thought they’d died and her relief overwhelmed her. Heart pounding, she ran to take the boy and sobbed as she wrapped an arm around Tina.

  “See, I told you we’d make it,” Tina said gasping in huge gulps of air.

  “We need to get to that cave,” the doctor said.

  “But the stretchers,” Caris said. Her hand lifted to brush at hair the wind was whipping in her eyes.

  “There’s a trail. It’s uneven but we can do it before another storm hits. It looks like the tornado passed us by, even if the wind hasn’t,” Doug said.
“The interns are forever fooling around on this trail, sneaking wheelchairs and hauling stuff for campouts. I guess it’s a good thing they did.”

  “What about supplies?” Caris asked.

  “You both take the stretchers up and I’ll head back inside,” Doug said.

  “The floor is almost gone,” Caris said and placed a hand on his arm. He was filthy and tired.

  Doug smiled through a face covered in dirt and sweat. He placed a hand on her shoulder. “All I can do is my best.”

  When he took off, Caris and Tina began making their way higher up the mountain to the cave. They were able to make the distance in record time. The young teen found her feet and was able to amble up the somewhat steep slope. They muscled the stretchers inside and while Tina fussed with the patients, helping the teen back onto her bed, Caris gazed around.

  The cave was surprisingly roomy. The dirt floor was packed down. There were pieces of old furniture strewn about. A large hearth sat in the middle surrounded by stones. A supply of wood was stacked to one side. Beyond the cave entrance was quiet.

  Doug returned often with supplies. Armloads of sheets were set on benches. Pillows and dressings for bandages were removed from a large duffle bag. Doug seemed tireless until she noted the frown lines when he appeared again carrying flashlights, matches and a number of other useful items. As they set up, Caris worried openly about food. She held a few packages of juice, and sandwiches Doug must have tossed together or taken from the less fortunate, presumed dead. Doug would never steal.

  “When this is gone we’ll starve unless we have someone who can hunt and knows edible plant life.”

  “I think I’ve found someone,” Doug said.

  Three men entered the cave, all loaded with burlap sacks. Caris was surprised. They were all over six feet, each had longish hair, and all appeared they had stepped out of a Special Forces magazine. They gazed at her with curiosity. In total she counted ten survivors. The elderly man was settled back asleep as was the teen, Cooper was with Tina, and the sickly woman. The men began placing tins on shelves. Caris filled with awe. Canned meats, potatoes and vegetables soon lined the shelves.

  Caris lifted down a glass jar. “Potted meat? Funny I was reading about that only days ago.” She studied another container, the ingredients, similar to dried chips, were familiar. “Portable soup. This will be handy. Since food is so scarce, I thought we’d have to revert to old ways. I guess someone had the same thoughts.”

  “It’s good they did,” Doug said. “Maybe the men will find other things.”

  “I can help,” Caris said, although trudging off into the unknown was a little worrisome.

  “I wonder if it will storm again,” Doug said.

  “It always storms,” Caris replied, then sent him a fast glance. He winked at her in a teasing fashion. She was certain he must have seen her frown when she mentioned she’d help search for food. Her expression was something that always gave her feelings away. Tina took Caris into her arms and they rocked together as they had done so many times before.

  “Yes, of course it always storms,” Doug said. “Maybe in time the planet will settle.”

  The wind picked up and howled around them. Thunder boomed and a streak of lightning shot through the sky. Caris sighed. “And—it’s back. At least the weather waited until we were safe.”

  She went to stand at the mouth of the cave while the patients slept. The tornado was gone but the area was gray. The rain began a heavy deluge. Doug put a hand on her shoulder. The hospital faded into the background.

  “I don’t suppose that building will stand much longer.” Doug’s face was grim. “But I’ve got a lot of supplies and so do the men I found. We should be okay for a few months.”

  Caris shuddered. A few months in a cave with almost virtual strangers and patients who needed constant care. She sighed as she stepped away from the mouth of the cave and gazed around. Four of their number were ill. It would take nothing short of a miracle to see to their survival.

  Chapter One

  Caris stood at the mouth of the cave and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. As far as the eye could see the green foliage was turning brown and wilting. Before long, Doug came to stand beside her.

  “I don’t understand,” Caris said in a soft tone not wanting to upset the others. “The sun is normally so beautiful and bright, and the temperature has remained steady. There has only been one season, summer. For months the world was settled. Why now, Doug, why now is the atmosphere on Earth changing here?”

  “I’m not sure,” he muttered and his troubled gaze avoided hers.

  “The hunters and gatherers bring back less food. Will we soon starve?”

  “You will never go without, Caris.”

  “I’m not worried for me; you should know that by now, it’s the patients, the children. This make-shift hospital has been our only refuge for months. When the Tonans came, they claimed a better life. The Earth was under so much duress. The storms lessened when we found this place until they stopped and the greenery returned. We’ve had food and water, heat, light. The wildflowers I walked through days ago are losing their petals. When I look outside now, a shiver of dread slides down my spine. Our planet seems to have taken a turn for the worse.”

  “Indeed,” was his sad response.

  Doug turned her from the cave entrance and with the help of others pulled partitions up to cover the mouth. For the second time that week their fires blazed bright for warmth. Caris was uncharacteristically tired. The cans of food that once seemed never ending were dwindling to nothing. That morning her shower was cool.

  “Doug when you showered today was your water cold?”

  “Maybe, a little.”

  Caris frowned. Doug and Tina were always up before her, they never took all the hot water from a shower they’d improvised. The hunters normally returned after a long day with more than food and washed after everyone retired at night. Sometimes they were gone before Caris was up and weren’t back until after she fell asleep. Every morning there was something to show for their endless efforts. Blankets and towels were found, brushes, combs, anything necessary and unnecessary. There were no people, Caris knew humans went to Ulsy and she expected no others to be found. Earth had appeared to be healing; until now.

  “Is that a dust storm out there?” Caris peeked past the thick walls of canvas the three men put together to keep wet weather at bay.

  “I don’t know,” Doug said.

  “Snow would be reasonable if the temperature is falling. It’s colder today. Where did the dust come from?” Caris said.

  “Don’t worry, Caris. Everything will be fine,” Doug said.

  “Caris, it’s little Cooper. He wants a story.”

  Caris smiled at Tina, the young beautiful nurse, and a friend. The four patients were hanging on, and Cooper’s fortitude was a blessing. Caris was amazed the boy was alive. At two he was diagnosed with bone cancer. Caris thought they would lose him but after finding the cave he brightened and seemed to be healthier though he didn’t grow. Not altogether well, he wasn’t always at death’s door. When the IVs stopped and no more could be found, he remained in the same health.

  Caris and Tina were nurses to Doug. Caris didn’t start out with the training for a nurse, but she had hands-on experience after months of taking care of the few in the cave. Brando, the elderly man she saved, was the oldest patient. Caris was certain he was a thousand and ten at least. The man had a quick wit and sweet smile. Every day she thanked the heavens she’d saved him. Miranda was in her early thirties, and Mary was eighteen. Mary was a beautiful young girl with a heart condition. All of the patients were doing well, though remained bedridden and weren’t very vocal. They slept often but Caris assumed it was because of their ailments.

  The three men in their group were thankfully never ill. All three proved to be adept hunters, suppliers of food, and aloof. They spent many hours away from the cave searching—Paul, Mike, and Bill. Caris was grateful for them. Th
ey went out for days at a time only to return and sleep. They were all an enigma. Over the months Caris spoke little with them. They seemed unwilling to engage in conversation for long periods of time. They were polite, kind, quiet and respectful but that was all. She didn’t know if any had a family at one time. Caris guessed their family life was too painful to talk about and she stopped questioning them months ago.

  Caris eyed her own bed after Cooper’s story was read and the boy slept. She yawned. The air in the cave was different. The dust storm sent small swirls scattering dried leaves in corners. Caris wandered over to where Doug stood. He was quiet and seemed concerned.

  “I feel so tired, Doug,” Caris said.

  “The oxygen in here is low. The wind outside is tossing loose debris everywhere. It’s best you remain inside.”

  “I wondered about that, the oxygen. I have zero desire to go anywhere.”

  “Why don’t you nap? Tina has everything under control. I’ll monitor everyone.”

  “Is it wise to sleep when the oxygen is low?”

  “That’s why I said I’ll monitor you all. Your breathing is better during sleep, calmer. I can see your agitation. Rest. Everything will be fine.”

  Caris slipped off her shoes and crawled under her sheets. There was a drape set up for privacy. She lay on her side and stared at the same pattern of rocks she always saw. The rock flickered and she rubbed at tired eyes.

  “Great now I’m seeing things,” she muttered.

  She fluffed up her pillow which sagged the second she lay her head down. The mattress wasn’t as firm as it normally seemed and she shuddered. Usually her sheets were warm, but not now. Cold and tired she drifted into restless sleep.

  * * * *

  Benz stared at the image on the screen before him. Red swirls of dust covered the dead planet. The surface was smooth, void of plants, mountains, aliens. Nothing had been spared. In all his four hundred and sixty five years Benz hadn’t once witnessed the complete rape of a world. Earth had been bad enough but after sixty five years the water was receding. Not that it mattered. No one emerged from underground as was expected. At least with Earth some land sites were saved, some partially buried but recognizable.