Lorna Book 1 (A Krone Series Back Story) Read online

  The blow hit hard against the side of her head, Lorna blacked out. From behind two hands grabbed her waist breaking her fall, the man stood holding her limp body.

  “Forgive me,” he said removing the hood to reveal his face.

  Beyond the alleyway the main street ahead was covered with neon lights, the misfits and deviants would soon be departing from the various strip joints and bars. Due to recent inner city riots a curfew had been put in place, police patrols would be on the look out for any stragglers. A decision would have to be made, the man holding Lorna’s limp body could easily trade her in for credits. The question is what would become of her, that would be anyone’s guess.

  After a sudden pause a wave of pity washed over him, looking at her now with remorse he had decided against the trade off. It was best for both of them if they disappeared into the shadows. Lifting her up over his shoulders he quickly started to walk towards his vehicle at the end of the alley. He opened the trunk, Lorna was still out cold and soddened with the pouring rain. Placing her gently inside the trunk he quickly grabbed some rope and tied her arms and feet. Grabbing a blanket nearby he proceeded to place it over her body, it provided her with some warmth.

  The time had arrived now to leave, he slammed the trunk shut. Outside the wind was starting to pick up, trash blew all around and danced in the air. Once inside the driver’s seat he closed the door and powered up the vehicle. The controls inside came to life as the dashboard lit up, he was greeted by a female voice.

  “Hello Lei, a spot of bother?”

  “You could say that, whatever she was doing back there she must have been desperate.”

  The vehicle reversed onto the main street, as the electric engines came to life. Lei dimmed the outer lights and spun the vehicle around, quickly slamming the accelerator the vehicle disappeared down the main street. Lei activated the onboard computer, he glanced at the display.

  “Elite police patrols, just as I thought, approaching from the west they will reach us within five minutes.” Emitted the female voice from the dashboard.

  “Yes you are right Keena, I see them we cannot risk staying in the city whilst on the road.”

  “Road blocks most likely will be our obstacle I suspect Lei, I thought a quick trip for supplies would bring no trouble.” said Keena.

  Lei did not respond, and instead plotted a new course on the display map, the coordinates flashed green as they locked into position.

  “Time for you to relax” said Keena taking control of the vehicle.

  “Auto-pilot again, always at the right time.” replied Lei as his mind wondered.

  Making a sudden sharp turn to the left towards a downward slope, the neon lights of the city started to disappear over the horizon behind them. They where now heading towards a woodland area, that was situated on the outskirts of the city zone. Keena slowed the vehicle down a little as they made their approach, below the ground was muddy and water logged. The recent flooding over the past month had made for many a dangerous journey on the outskirts.

  Suddenly the vehicle skidded, they where losing control, quickly Keena activated the grip control on the tyres. Within a couple of seconds Keena had regained control, and they carried on with their journey. Lei turned his head and looked through the passenger window, in the distance he could make out settlement camps. Nearby campfires glowed against the night sky, fire flies danced in the air. Around each fire, groups of refugees huddled around each other trying to keep warm, the damp earth around them was made worse by the rain. Above each group, within the trees make shift shelters had been erected, each one was made out of bits of wood and metal. Anything the refugees could find to stay safe from the element’s.

  Lei leaned back into his seat as Keena continued to navigate through the winding roads that took them deeper into the woods.

  “What the fuck is going on?” groaned Lorna, unsure of where she was.

  She was finally starting to come around, her head hurt, the pounding became worse with each passing second. She could not move her body, looking down towards her feet Lorna could see nothing but darkness. Trying to move was pointless, it felt like she was bound with something. The rope started to dig into her skin, she struggled to break free, pausing to catch her breath….

  CHAPTER TWO

  The lake felt eerily quiet as the moon reflected onto the water’s surface. Within the nearby woods the scattered camp fires emitted a faint glow of orange and red. The lake was void of any wildlife, most of the life beneath the water had disappeared some years back.

  Above the surface small waves started to appear from one side of the lake, suddenly a disturbance greeted the water’s surface. Lei’s vehicle emerged and was moving at full speed towards the dry land.

  “Water pressure held well, scans are fine this time around.” said Keena.

  “Either way I will need to do a check over once we arrive back.” replied Lei.

  “Of course Lei, anything less would be undesirable.”

  They arrived on land once again and the vehicle slowly picked up speed.

  A sound that could be heard coming from inside the trunk had stopped, much to Lei’s relief. But that was no consolation he needed to reach his destination quickly, and get some answers.

  Lorna had managed to adjust her body slightly into a better position, which gave her some comfort. Her nerves calmed only a little and her shouting had stopped. It was obvious now it had fallen on deaf ears. Lorna’s mind started to wonder once more as she lay in darkness, had her parents killers tracked her down?. Was the man back there in the alleyway a hitman, maybe hired to do someone’s dirty work?.

  Lorna’s neck started to ache as she lay pressed against the wall of the trunk,“How could I have fucked up so badly?” she thought. Lorna had spent years trying to track down whoever murdered her family, most of that time she had spent alone. Her trust in anyone evaded her years before.

  As the vehicle started to gain speed the floods around them had started receding, the lake faded into the distance. They where now nearing the end of their journey. Lei quickly lit up a cigarette he removed from the glove compartment. Taking a drag he checked the navigation map once again, the cigarette smoke left his mouth as he nodded in agreement at the map display.

  “Nearly home, I think we may have some talking to do with a certain someone.”

  The rain outside quickly turned to drizzle and the wind had started to calm. Clearing the woods the car entered a rocky area, huge mountains stood tall either side as they passed. Just ahead of them the road started to narrow, Lei leaned forward and turned off the controls, disconnecting the auto-pilot. He quickly thanked Keena for making the journey much easier than it could have been.

  “Are you sure you do not want me to take over again?” asked Keena.

  He did not respond and instead flicked the switch to disconnect her. Keena came across okay in small doses, but she was a good social companion to Lei when he needed someone to talk too on the road.

  The vehicle came to a halt just in front of an entrance to a large cave. Inside the opening all around the darkness was suddenly illuminated by white lights, the rocky structure within stood out. Lei stepped out and slammed the door shut, quickly making his way towards the rear, he opened the trunk. Lorna flinched in the process, trying to regain her vision as the light from the cave shone over her.

  “Hey!!”

  “Who the hell are you?, what is this place?” she shouted.

  “Quiet!” replied Lei.

  Reaching inside his coat Lei grabbed what looked like pieces of cloth, he proceeded to place a piece of cloth over Lorna’s face and mouth.

  “I am not going to hurt you,” said Lei trying to reassure her.

  Lorna paid no attention, and tried to kick her way out of the rope she was bound with, Lei pulled out a sharp knife from his trouser pocket. Trembling with fear Lorna felt the grip loosen as Lei cut the rope, her hands and feet where now free.

  “Please, I just want to talk to you.”<
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  Lorna nodded nervously she had to go along with the situation, no matter how desperate it seemed. If she could get through this then she could work out her best escape route. Dragging Lorna out of the trunk Lei placed her onto the rocky ground. Lorna’s legs had weakened slightly as she made an attempt to stand up, Lei reached out his hand to support her.

  Inside the entrance, interior walls stood as tall as the eye could see, water trickled down and fell softly onto the rocky ground. It was time to move inside, Lorna was being led away by Lei suddenly she could here the sound of crashing waves from the outside.

  She had left the city zone behind that much she was sure of, but how far had she traveled?. Time felt like it had passed very slowly as the two of them walked on, at the end of the cave they came across a narrow passageway, they stepped inside.

  “Careful, watch yourself it can get a little cramped in here.” said Lei. He stood still and removed the piece of cloth from her face and mouth.

  Lorna was not amused, her eyes quickly started to adjust. “You need to let me go right now.”

  Without warning she decided to make a run for it, quickly breaking free of Lei’s grip, but it was no use.

  “Please do not test me” he whispered grabbing hold of her arm.

  Lorna was still being stubborn he had to calm her down, maybe once when they where both out of the cave things might change. They arrived at the foot of a metal door, Lei tapped a set of keys on a nearby control pad. A loud beeping tone sounded and the door slid open, he stepped inside carefully guiding Lorna through the door. Once inside it slid shut behind them, they entered a room which was large in size and dimly lit. A wooden chair could be seen in the middle of the room. The dim light slowly grew brighter as it shone into Lorna’s eyes, the rest of the room slowly came into view. Lei reached down towards the rock floor and grabbed a piece of rope. He secured Lorna to the chair, making sure the rope was tight. She struggled to break free but it was pointless even trying, Lei walked in front of her. He stood still, both his arms folded looking at her concerned.

  Lorna started to struggle, desperately trying to break free from the chair

  “You need to save your strength, it must have been tough back there.” he said.

  “Tough,!” shouted Lorna.

  “What do you know?”

  “More then you could imagine.” replied Lei shaking his head.

  Crouching down he glanced up at Lorna, she looked dehydrated and weak. After a couple of seconds he rose to his feet, and walked over towards the kitchen area. Lei quickly grabbed a glass from a nearby side unit and proceeded to fill the contents with water out of a small storage tank.

  “Here, you need fluid.” said Lei.

  She bowed her head slightly, her dry lips meeting the edge of the glass as she proceeded to take small sips. After a short while Lorna stopped drinking and looked up at Lei.

  “Thank you.” she said.

  The room was simple in decor, a single thin mattress lay in the corner accompanied with a bed sheet and pillow. Lorna sensed that Lei lived alone, the room itself looked well maintained and clean. Glancing to her left she noticed a door ajar which led into another room, stone walls covered the inside. Upon closer inspection she noticed a communication system sat on top of a desk, very similar to the ones on alpha moon bases.

  “You have noticed something?, that is my private study nothing of concern I can assure you.” said Lei.

  Lorna started to grow tired of whatever game he was playing, once again she tried in vain to loosen the rope around her. Lei removed his leather jacket, it was sodden with the rain. Lei was muscular in appearance, almost as if his body had been crafted to perfection. He proceeded to walk towards the back of the room. Attached to wall was a scanner, placing his hand upon it a small laser moved from left to right and scanned the bottom of his palm. Nearby a wall slid open and a gust of wind blew inside the room. Then he removed the rope around Lorna’s body, she winced with a little discomfort as she stood up.

  Through the wall which led outside there was a balcony stretching all around, below the balcony a cliff face could be seen. A rocky beach was at the bottom of the cliff, waves could be heard crashing along the shoreline, the smell of the sea air started to fill Lorna’s lungs as she walked outside. It was a refreshing sensation to witness something like this, even as a child she had never seen a shoreline Lorna closed her eyes. After a brief moment she opened them again, she walked back inside walking past Lei as he proceeded to close the outer wall once more.

  “Now we have to talk.” said Lei.

  “Why did you think you could get away with robbing me back in that alley way?”

  “I…I was hungry..this was harder than I originally planned, you need to let me go I could be losing track of them.” replied Lorna anxiously.

  Lei frowned, “Who is them?”

  “I cannot say, for all I know you could be an insider, watching me since I arrived.”

  Lei did not respond and instead turned his back to Lorna, he walked towards a small container which lay on a nearby table. He opened the lid, and from inside pulled out some fresh towels. “Here I think you may need these, the shower is just down the passageway to your left.”

  Lorna took the towels, but she did not trust him.

  “Thank you.” she replied hesitantly.

  “Don’t come anywhere near me you hear?

  “What do you take me for?” replied Lei.

  “Now that is what I am afraid of.” Lorna quickly turned around and disappeared down the passageway with the towels under her arm.

  ****

  Warm steam filled the air from above the opening of the shower cubicle, inside the water from the shower head gently soaked into every pore over Lorna’s body.

  Gently running her fingers through her hair she smiled, the warm water felt refreshing a far cry from month’s prior. After a couple of minutes she reached out and hit the button on the inside of the shower cubicle, a small hissing sound emitted from above. The flowing water came to a sudden stop. Opening the door Lorna quickly made herself dry with some of the towels, a black gown hanging from a nearby cabinet caught her eye.

  Wrapping a towel around her head she placed on the gown, and unlocked the door. The wall which led to the outside slid open again she slowly walked through. The crashing waves could be heard below hitting the shoreline, but this time at a more gentle pace. At the foot of the balcony on the ground she noticed Lei, he was dressed in a white shirt and trousers. He appeared to be barefoot, upon closer inspection Lei was performing some kind of meditation.

  “I trust everything was in order back there.” asked Lei as he slowly opened his eyes.

  “Yes, it was.”

  Lei stood up and turned around to face Lorna, he needed to get down to business and wanted more information from her. The two of them walked back inside and the wall closed behind, a wave of silence fell over them.

  “Please do sit down, we need to talk.” said Lei grabbing two chairs nearby.

  “Okay..I thought we already did that?”

  “We have only just started.” Lei replied. “I know in the alleyway back there you were desperate, I could tell in your eyes.”

  Lorna paused, she turned her head and looked away.

  “I am not from here, Old Earth I mean.”

  “Go on.” replied Lei as he lent closer.

  “In fact I have never stepped foot on a different planet before. Things are a lot different back where I come from on the Moon hub stations.”

  Sitting back Lei quietly listened, he knew straight away that Lorna felt lost. She went on to say that back on the hubs a few families had been safely tucked away for years. The filth and depravity that had consumed Old Earth had spread like a cancer.

  “So what was happened to your family back there?” said Lei.

  Suddenly Lorna stood up and kicked the chair beneath her in a fierce rage, it smashed against the wall and splintered into different pieces. Lorna grasped the locket a
round her neck with both her hands holding it tight. Tears streamed down her face, landing softly onto the ground. Lei reached out his hand to comfort her, something was tearing her up badly inside the pain was evident in her eyes.

  Quickly wiping the tears away from her face, Lorna’s hands started to shake and gripped the locket even tighter. Lei decided it was best to give her some space, he got up and walked into a nearby kitchen area to prepare some food.

  “One thing I have learned from living alone is to cook like a master.” said Lei quickly grabbing some fresh vegetable's from a small pot. Activating the cooking machinery he chopped up the vegetables, then placed them inside a metal container along with some freshly cooked meat.

  “I think you will like…” his sentence was interrupted as Lorna’s hand slid into view on the kitchen counter, she was holding the locket.

  “Please study it as you want, the image you need to view requires the code four five two, I am tired and need rest.”

  “There is a bed in the room to your right, I have no use for it.” replied Lei as he grabbed the locket. Lorna nodded as she walked past him, what he would find could shock him.

  Closing the door behind her she disappeared from view, Lei was left standing alone holding a token of Lorna’s past in between his fingertips. Walking over to the nearby study area he sat down and switched on the computer module, leaning over a set of controls he placed the locket underneath a inferred scanner. A set of lights began to flicker moving over the object and the locket opened up, it emitted a holographic image which became fixed to a wall on the far side of the room.

  A date stamp appeared at the bottom right corner of the image, the date was some twenty years prior. As Lei started to watch the images unfold he noticed a large moon colony come into view, the angle suddenly switched to the inside of a large harvest dome. Inside the dome a few apartment building’s lay scattered around the landscape, one of which overlooked a moisture farm.

  Various instruments within the field where fixed along certain points, technology at it’s finest, it would yield many a good crop. The inhabitants that settled within the moon colony where a first generation of moisture mineral farmers, back when Earth was in the midst of a resource problem. Holding their mothers hand two children came into view, and walked along the lush green grass. Above all three of them a huge dome roof gave them protection, the blackness of the deep space from outside was intimidating.