New Enemies: A Discordant Earth Series Prequel Read online

  New Enemies

  A Discordant Earth Prequel

  Melony Paradise

  Credits & Copyright

  Alpha Reader/Editor: Danielle Romo

  Cover by: Clarissa Yeo of YoclaDesigns

  New Enemies

  A Discordant Earth Prequel

  Copyright © 2017 Melony Paradise

  www.melonyparadise.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.

  Table of Contents

  Credits & Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Broken

  Connect with the Author

  Other Books by Melony Paradise

  Be sure to check out my other books in this series,

  Discordant Earth

  And my other series,

  Vamp Tales

  Dedication

  Thank you to my amazing sister for being my sounding board, first reader and editor, and for being so supportive. I am so happy we are taking this journey together.

  A huge thank you to my husband for supporting me through this wild ride. Love you, babe!

  Chapter 1

  March 20, 2020

  “You can’t go, Bas. We need you.” Judith whined as four-year-old Jordan clung to her leg while peeking around the corner of the kitchen island.

  “I have to go, Mom.” Bas dropped his head into his hands, elbows planted on the tabletop. “It’s a draft, they’ll come get me if I don’t show up.”

  “No!” She slapped her hand down on the laminate countertop. “You will not leave us, Sebastian David Roberts! Jordy and I need you. He’s only four, he needs his brother.”

  Bas stood, taking two halting steps towards his only family. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’ve got no choice.”

  “Your father would’ve never left us!”

  As if he’d been smacked on the cheek, Bas balked, his face flushed with anger. “Do you mean Jordy’s asshole father who left before he was born, or my father, who died in a bar brawl?” He scoffed. “He left us too, Mom. He practically lived at that bar!”

  Jordan’s squalling cries were muffled as he buried his face in his mother’s long, patchwork skirt, his scruff of jet-black hair sticking up in ten different directions. Bas scrubbed his hand through his own shaggy, out-of-control black mop, squeezing his indigo eyes closed and biting his tongue. Nothing I can say will make this better…

  Large, bright blue eyes pinned him in place as his haggard mother sniffled, pulling herself back together. “Fine. Go. We don’t need you. Jim will be here.”

  With a sigh, Bas grabbed his backpack from the table, tossing it over his shoulder. “Whatever, Mom. Run to another useless jackass. I hope, for Jordy’s sake, this guy sticks around for a while.”

  “He’ll stay with us. We can count on him to take care of us, even with his bad heart.”

  “Yeah, well, he better live until I get back.”

  “You come back to us, Bas.” Judith left her spot behind the island, dragging Jordan along beside her. “We love you, baby. Please, don’t die out there.”

  “Wuv joo, Bas,” little Jordy muttered around a drool-covered finger.

  ***

  The over-sized, green army jacket hung from Bas’ shoulders, nearly reaching the holey knees of his faded black jeans. He yanked on his pants leg to get it unstuck from the top of his scuffed biker boot as he walked at a brisk pace past dilapidated houses on his way to the local park.

  I can’t wait to be out of this dumpy neighborhood, not that we’re going anywhere better. I’m so damn tired of Mom moving us from one bad place to another, Jordy deserves a good home! Maybe after the war I can make good on some of those promises Jordy’s dad made, since that idiot she’s dating now isn’t any better than all the other assholes who have come and gone since Dad died.

  Reaching the edge of the park, he looked out over the patchy grass and weather-worn benches, searching. Sitting on the other side of the run-down playground, his girlfriend, Becky, waited underneath a half-dead tree. There were bullet holes on every side of all the trees in the park from when the terrorists made a pass through little Seattle suburb.

  With a deep sigh, Bas gazed at her. Why couldn’t we have a normal life, with homecoming dances and proms? Becky should have the chance to wear pretty dresses, not boots and camo.

  Her short, auburn hair fascinated him, the way it curled behind her ear just so, and her hazel eyes, twinkling even when she was angry. At nearly a year older, Becky matched his five foot six height, making racing her a little harder these days.

  Four years ago, several of the largest terrorist groups came together to organize a concerted attack on all the major cities in nearly every country. Many of those cities were leveled, or cratered by bombs, with much of the rest of the world overrun by terrorists. The militaries fought back, but too many died, and now each surviving country scrambled to pull together every able body, in an effort to win a losing battle.

  With half the world’s population dead or dying, the struggling militaries had joined forces and begun drafting people. At first, it was voluntary for anyone eighteen and older, then males sixteen and older, then anyone sixteen and older, and finally, anyone fourteen and over, or big enough to hold a gun.

  Bas and Becky both recently turned fourteen, but agreed they would’ve joined no matter what. As he jogged toward her, he watched her angry face, her eyes burning with unspent tears.

  “You okay, babe?”

  “Yeah, my mom freaked out,” she said, her soft, sweet voice thick with emotion. “Tried locking me in my room.”

  “Ouch. Mine played the baby brother card. It was rough.”

  “Sorry, Bas. I know how much you love Jordy. You think they’ll all be okay without us?”

  “I don’t know. I hope so. If our moms weren’t both so stubborn, they could stay together and take care of each other.”

  “Isn’t your mom with that guy?”

  “Yeah, but he’s pretty useless. What’s new, right?”

  Becky hauled herself up off the ground, brushing off her khaki jeans, and adjusting her fur-lined jean jacket. Slinging a small duffel bag over her shoulder, she grabbed Bas’ hand and led him out of the park. He admired her bravery, secretly enjoying when she bossed him around.

  “Come on, Bas. Maybe, if we get there early, they’ll put us in the same squad.”

  “They better.”

  ***

  Becky bumped into Bas as they shuffled forward slowly. She grabbed his wrist, checking his scratched, stainless steel watch, the only memento Bas had of his father.

  “Christ, we’ve been in this line for two hours, Bas.”

  “I know, Becks, but we’re getting close. I can see the doors of the recruiting office now.”

  She scuffed her pink sneaker over some loose asphalt of the run-down parking lot, hanging her head as she bumped into Bas again, laughing when he stumbled into a short, stocky kid in the line next to
them.

  “Sorry, man,” Bas said to the scowling kid with a shrug, “she’s bored.”

  “It’s fine, dude,” he said, jerking his chin at Bas. “I’m bored out of my mind too. I didn’t think there would be this many people left to recruit for this fuckin’ war.”

  “Neither did we. Figured we’d be on our way out of this shithole by now.”

  Bas had a brief pang of guilt for not asking the names of the kids around him. What’s the point? We probably won’t know any of them long enough for it to matter.

  “You see the guns the recruiting officers have?” a tall, dark-haired girl asked from behind them. “They’re bigger than some of these other kids in line.”

  “Right? One shot’s going to knock them on their asses.” Bas laughed a little too loud as he tried to hide his anxiety. Becky glanced at him with an arched eyebrow and snorted softly.

  “You ever shoot a gun, dude?” the stocky kid asked, blinking at Bas through long blond bangs.

  “Uh, no. The army came through and picked up all the weapons left behind by the terrorists when they rolled over us. My mom had us hiding in the basement for days.”

  “Yeah, same here. I guess no one thought we’d be down to recruiting kids for this fucked up war.”

  When they finally reached the front of the line, an older, gray-haired soldier sat at a table with stacks of papers surrounding him, weighted down with fist-sized concrete rocks. His steely glare followed Bas and Becky as they stepped up to the table. Wrinkly jowls hung from a weathered, square face, three creases pinched together between his gray eyebrows.

  “Name.”

  “Sebastian Ro—”

  “Rebecca—”

  “One at a time,” he barked.

  As they gave him their information, Bas inspected the soldier, wondering what rank the six stripes, three up and three down, on his green camouflage uniform made him. Does it even matter at this point?

  “Sir?” Bas asked, when the soldier was almost done filling out his papers. “Can Becky and I get put in the same squad?”

  “It’s master sergeant, kid. You two and the next four behind you are all going in one squad.” He snatched two flimsy identification cards, matched the numbers to the papers, and wrote their names on them. “Take these and get on that bus.”

  With cards in hand, Bas and Becky found a seat in the middle of the green bus, stuffing their bags under the seat. Only a few seats were left, so they only had to wait another forty minutes before another old soldier took the driver’s seat. With a glance back, the soldier squinted at everyone before turning around to close the door, start the engine, and drive them away from their homes and families.

  ***

  On the bus ride south, Becky huddled against Bas as they rode in a silence born of fear, the kids in the other seats either sleeping or staring out the windows. When they pulled into an old military base, the silence filled with hushed voices as they passed through a gate with armed soldiers standing at attention.

  “Jeez, Bas, this place looks like a herd of giant elephants ran through it.”

  Many of the buildings were in some state between half-crushed or fully crushed. The bus slowed down as it drove past a large overgrown pond, into the parking lot of a medical complex with a fifteen-story hospital at the front. The white paint of the hospital had faded to a dingy yellowish color, the building’s edges singed and crumbling.

  “Stay close, Becky,” Bas said as they were ushered off the bus and into the hospital. “I don’t know if they’re going to try to split us up.”

  “Okay, Bas,” she said, her eyebrows scrunched together with worry.

  Once inside, everyone from their bus crowded together in the sterile entryway, lingering diesel fumes mixed with the smell of too many nervous bodies in the compact space. Ahead of the group of fidgeting teenagers, three stern soldiers stood blocking the hallway. When the hospital doors shut behind them, the center soldier held up a fist and all the kids quieted.

  “Listen up! You are all assigned to the third floor. Find a room and dump your gear, you’re only going to be here two nights.”

  Shocked gasps echoed throughout the crowd.

  “Cafeteria’s on this floor, you’ll get lunch now and supper at eighteen hundred hours. Lights out is at twenty-one hundred hours. You’ll be woken up at oh six hundred hours for a day of intense fast-track basic training, so get plenty of grub and sleep. You’re dismissed!”

  Becky hauled Bas into a packed elevator and to one of the many rooms where they dropped their bags on their beds. Back on the elevator, they ran into the stocky kid from the recruiting center and asked him to sit with them at lunch.

  “What’s your name, man?” Bas asked.

  “Steven, you?”

  “Bas, and this is my girl, Becky.”

  She smiled and gave him a small wave. When they reached the ground floor, the hallways were crowded with people still being brought in and others rushing to the cafeteria. The three of them hustled through the chow line, tired old men and women in stained white aprons served food that smelled of burned fryer oil and looked like piles of mush in various colors.

  “You guys notice there’s like no middle-aged soldiers or food servers?” Steven asked, leaning over his tray as they settled at the end of a long table, the only space they could find in the packed cafeteria.

  “Yeah, they’re all gray and old,” Becky said as she held up a spoonful of brownish mush, possibly stuffing, and let it plop back down to her plate. She turned to Bas with a frown, her skin slightly tinged green.

  “I’m pretty sure they got all the younger people out fighting.” Bas stuffed half a yeast roll in his mouth, his stomach growling since his mother refused to make him breakfast, or even let him make something himself before he left that morning.

  “Watch it!” Someone hollered at the other end of the table as a small commotion drew everyone’s attention.

  A burly guy with close-cropped brown hair, a prominent eyebrow ridge, and big ears, shoved a smaller, timid looking kid with geeky glasses and unruly black hair. Sebastian and Becky leaned back in their seats to look down the aisle where the burly guy had the geeky kid by the front of his shirt.

  “What do you think’s going on down there?” Steven stood up just enough to peer over the heads of everyone at the table.

  “Uh, looks like someone is wearing someone else’s food,” Becky said, grabbing a yeast roll, and picking pieces off to squish into little balls before popping them in her mouth.

  A soldier moved in between the burly guy and the geek, while burly guy turned several shades of red, jabbing his finger at the cowering kid.

  “That guy doesn’t look our age,” Steven said. “How do you think he managed to avoid the draft for so long? He’s got to be in his twenties.”

  “Money, I’m sure,” Bas said. “Throw enough money around and you can hide in your luxury home on Mercer Island, Capitol Hill or any of the other rich neighborhoods forever, or until the money runs out.”

  “Shit, I hope I don’t get put in the same squad as him.”

  Sebastian and Becky agreed with Steven as they watched the big guy get pulled out of the cafeteria while one of the kitchen staff handed the geeky kid a mop and bucket.

  After lunch, Bas and Becky closed themselves up in their room, tucked under the blankets of one of the hospital beds. They’d been lost in their own thoughts since they left the cafeteria, and now lay together, staring into each other’s eyes, dressed only in their underclothes.

  “I’m scared, Bas.”

  “Me, too, but we’ll be together. We’ll watch out for each other. It’ll be alright.” Bas tried to keep a steady voice, hiding his own doubts. He’d never heard Becky sound so timid and subdued. Everything she said and did held conviction, purpose. Even as a little kid, her whispers were always so forceful and commanding.

  “I love you, Sebastian.”

  Taken aback, he gasped, his heart racing. They’d never talked about love befor
e.

  “I love you, too, Becky.”

  “I know we’ve been on and off as long as we’ve known each other, but I’m glad we’re together now, doing this together.”

  She leaned forward to kiss him tenderly on the lips. When he pushed forward a little, her hand snaked over his waist as she put more pressure behind her kiss. Taking the encouragement, Bas pressed his tongue into her mouth while pressing his body tight up against hers.

  Pulling back, Becky panted, out of breath. “Bas, let’s do it.”

  “What?” He blinked, wondering if he heard her right.

  “Let’s do it tonight. Just in case…” Her voice hitched, as if she couldn’t say the words.

  “Uh… are you sure? You want our first time like this? What about dinner?”

  “Yes, I want this,” she said, “and I don’t think I can stomach any more of that stuff they call food. Besides, we might never have this chance again. I… I want us to be close, before we go off to fight a war.”

  “You know I love you, no matter what.” He brushed his fingers over her cheek. “I always have. You’ll always be my girl, Becky.”

  “I know, Bas.” A single tear flowed from the corner of her eye, dropping to the rough, white hospital sheet. “We’ve always been together, even when we weren’t. I’ve always wanted you to be my first… no one else.”

  “I only ever wanted to do this with you.” He cupped her hot cheek with his trembling hand. “You’re special, and no matter where we do this, it will always be special.”

  “Love you always, Bas.”

  “Love you always, Becky.”

  Chapter 2

  March 21, 2020

  The cold metal of an M14 rifle stung Bas’ stiff, sore hands as a stern soldier with deep wrinkles ringing his eyes and mouth shoved it at him. The weight of the firearm pulled on aching muscles in his neck and shoulders. His calf muscles screamed with each step he took up into the idling green bus.