Apocalypse Earth: Alien Siege

By J. T. Skye

Aliens desperate for human slaves. A human survivor who will not be denied.

Their worlds collide with explosive ferocity of wits and weapons.

There is a special bounty on wild-caught humans from the deep forest safe-zones.

But, some humans are not as stupid or easy to catch as the alien overlords thought.

And, survivors, in this apocalyptic Earth, are not afraid to fight to the death.

Bill Benson and his family of survivors from the deep forest refuse to get caught, refuse to submit and refuse to give up.

They will kill any aliens... or humans... in their way. Fierce and fast science fiction with no fluff.

Battles of wits, skill, blasters, drones and edged weapons...

Grab your copy of Apocalypse Earth - Alien Siege now to join Bill Benson and his tough family of survivors as they are heavily tested on their long adventure back to a big city to get the urgent, life saving supplies they desperately need.

Live with them through the riveting, unexpected and heart wrenching journey as they face first-contact aliens and human gangs desperate to catch them for sale.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J. T. Skye
• Release date: Feb 24, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224796687

J. T. Skye

Hi there. I'm Jon Thomas Skye, better known to my friends as JT.I've loved to read and write science fiction and action adventure stories for many years. I wrote my first story in the early-2000's on an IBM Selectric typewriter of all things - you remember those days when you pressed hard on the character key, it swung up and smacked a carbon ribbon onto the paper leaving a visible character on the page, one letter at a time. Wow, have things changed!I am passionate about mainstream SciFi Opera and Action Adventure, but always with a twist. I always want to throw a curve to make it interesting and unusual while staying true to the genre and readers - my goal is to have readers think and smile, exhausted from the adventure.I also strive to weave in my personal experiences into the story when I can, whether from travels, climbing, making stuff or creative exploits. Every day, I get up early to write. It is an amazing and wonderful journey.If you'd like to receive an email update whenever I release a new title, join my special Readers' Group. I'll occasionally send you short notes to keep you up to date on up-coming releases, special eBook promotions only available to the Readers' Group, new fan art and author recommendations I think you'll enjoy reading.

Book preview

Apocalypse Earth

Alien Siege

J. T. Skye

Skye Publishing LLC

Copyright © 2021 by Skye Publishing LLC

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Cover Design by Steven J. Catizone

Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual historical events or people is unintentional coincidence. Really. Despite what you may have heard or read in the tabloids, this story isn’t true. Please, enjoy it as it unfolds.

Contents

Chapter

1.Chapter 1

2.Chapter 2

3.Chapter 3

4.Chapter 4

5.Chapter 5

6.Chapter 6

7.Chapter 7

8.Chapter 8

9.Chapter 9

10.Chapter 10

11.Chapter 11

12.Chapter 12

13.Chapter 13

14.Chapter 14

15.Chapter 15

16.Chapter 16

17.Chapter 17

18.Chapter 18

19.Chapter 19

20.Chapter 20

21.Chapter 21

22.Chapter 22

23.Chapter 23

24.Chapter 24

Introduction

First, thank you for buying my story and taking your very precious time to read it. This story continues in the Trigellian Universe. Because Earth is part of that universe, of course it had an apocalyptic event when the Brinlo arrived hunting for slaves to sell. Many millions of humans of all nationalities, ethnic origins, races, religions were swept up in mass and shipped to markets on Cren Siblis and other planets.

But now… there are skilled survivors who have carved out a life in deep forest safe-zones. Book One of the series describes one of those journeys and William Theodore Benson (okay… Bill Benson) continues in this story as he and his family show the skills they have developed along the way.

I know in Book One, Bill’s growth arc was enormous and painful for him. In this story, Bill’s growth arc is very subtle, but it is there nonetheless. You’ll see it in full bloom at the end as he comes full circle.

I wanted to construct a story frame that really showed some of the wide character diversity that may evolve in this horrible apocalyptic event and have tried to bring some of that into this… while hopefully showing some of the underlying traits that show the best in people, too. There is a lot of bad mingled with the good, but I wanted to show both hope and promise for us as a species.

Anyway, thank you again for investing your time to read and please enjoy the story as it unfolds.

Chapter one

Iblinked to keep my eyes moist, took in a full, deep breath and let it out slowly. I couldn’t believe my luck, so wasn’t going to blow this chance for the family. Well, I called them family. They were like the family I never had.

I was a hundred feet from a young male bison. I guess he was nearly fifteen hundred pounds as he stood on the edge of the meadow, in the shade at the edge of the forest I was standing in. He was only a hundred feet away. I couldn’t believe our luck.

I was completely quiet as I raised my compound bow, drew and confidently let fly one of my hunting arrows, the kind that are triangle shaped with razor sharp edges. It would be hard to miss from this distance and my arrow ran true as it had so many times before. I hadn’t killed any food meat this big before so was a bit concerned whether the arrow would reach his heart. As it turned out, my arrow was just a bit low and hit the animal in the lung. I really wasn’t sure what it would do and was surprised when he jumped as he was startled by the impact, looked over at me, then turned to walk away. He ambled for about a minute, then simply fell over dead.

I motioned for the rest of our party to come in from their hiding spots in the trees and bushes.

Elijah and Maria were the first to arrive. Elijah is my life-brother. I’m nearly forty and he’s like twelve or thirteen. We’d been through hell getting to the safe-zone when his African American grandmother and warrior Marine passed on from cancer. I was pleased though when he was reunited with his mother at the ‘zone.

Maria stood right next to him smiling broadly at the enormous bounty we’d just received. She is in her late twenties and my soul-companion. I still chuckle inside, it had not always been so. I still remember her telling me that the world would do better without humans like me… just before she jumped out of the slaver truck, hit the guard in the chest and took off for freedom.

My journey was a lot harder. A lot.

After Elijah and Maria came Madison and Dustyn. They were all very skilled hunters, too. It was just my luck that I’d found the bison first, so claimed the first shot. Now that I looked at the sheer size of the beast I realized we had a problem.

Dustyn, we aren’t enough to carry this back. Please go back home and ask the Elders for about ten more carriers. We’re going to need them if we want to keep it all.

He smiled broadly at the mound of meat, gently shaking his head in amazement and delight, Wow, that will feed us for a long time Bill. Nice shot, very nice shot. He paused to pull his brown bangs out of his hazel eyes and nodded, I’ll go over the top of the ridge, that’ll be faster than tracking back through the valleys and ravines.

With that, he melted into the forest and disappeared with his hunting lance always poised in front and slightly raised.

Home. I still chuckle at that. Well, I guess home is what you make it. Ever since the damn Brinlo aliens surrounded Earth, nuked a few cities and started harvesting humans for slaves and to feed their animals, home took on a new meaning. Maria and I had come from the big city to the East, about a three month journey from the ‘zone. Of course we didn’t come together. Oh, no. We hated each other way too much for that. Of course, that was my fault. When we both worked at the warehouse, I was so angry that a Hispanic woman would get a better job than me. Yeah, I was pretty pathetic. I laugh about it now, but back then it was pretty poor. I remember each afternoon, sitting in the bar with my bar-friends, complaining about what was wrong with the world, our country and our work. It was the immigrants feeding off the government like ticks. I actually remember saying that.

I shook my head in disgust. Like I’d said, it was a long journey to get to the safe-zone, both physically and with my heart. Along the way, I learned how to survive, I met Shandra and Elijah and they became my family. It no longer mattered they were African-American, it was just they were good people and we hunted well together. Now my measure is whether someone is a good soul and adds value to the family. That’s it.

I still, every day, have my same ritual. I wake up at dawn and then again at dusk, say my small prayer to Shandra and hope she is comfortable wherever Marine Warriors go. She was a Staff Sergeant in what used to be the United States Marines. She was released the day before the aliens arrived when her commanding officer discussed her terminal cancer diagnosis. Of course she never told me that. She just said she was escorting Elijah to join his mom, Kanesha Jones, at the zone in the mountains.

When she died, Elijah and I were just devastated. We’d all become like family. Well, to me anyway, a family I’d never had. I just wish my dad could have seen how to do it right.

After she passed, Elijah and I were inseparable. We both suffered her loss greatly and continued to hunt and learn as we made our way West. We had a few… challenges along the way. Not with he and I, but with others. And, sometimes, finding food and good water.

And now he and I were the lead hunters for the new family, the family of the safe-zone. We were thirty one strong and competent people. People who cared for each other and contributed to the growth and safety of our small group.

And, now, Maria was my companion. I would guess you would say we were married, but we don’t have any religious people in our ‘zone, so we just announced we would stay together, live together and spend our lives together. So, yeah, Maria would often wake up and sit up with me at dawn to honor Shandra and then again at dusk. I so wish they could have met. They are both so strong, quiet often, but so very strong. I am so lucky.

I turned to nod at Maria and Madison as I walked over to the bison and stopped.

I put my fist up in the air like Shandra had taught me and then quickly pulled another hunting arrow out of my quiver. By this point, the muscle movement was so smooth, I did it without even thinking about it.

I just pulled the arrow, notched it and held the bow in my left hand down, while I looked for the sound in the forest that shouldn’t have been there. It was a slight crack of a twig and a rustle of a bush across the meadow. The sound was out of place in the gentle rustle and breeze that was flowing.

Someone or something was out there. And it was not part of the forest.

I moved through the trees to get close to the fallen prize and waited while I watched intently.

Elijah and Madison had not stopped as I’d motioned. They’d disappeared back into the bush and started to head left and right around the meadow to merge behind whatever had made the noise. Clearly, they had heard it too. Maria stood next to me with her hunting lance ready for battle.

If it was a group, they may want to claim the beast as theirs. Food was a scarce commodity and it certainly made a juicy treasure.

I got close, but still stayed in the trees. I could see my hunting arrow deep in the side. It would be hard for someone else to claim it with my arrow sticking out of the side like that.

I waited and heard another small sound.

A young family stepped out of the trees about two hundred feet away, nudged along by Elijah and his crossbow. A young mom, dad and daughter. They were clearly woodsy folk, but seemed way too young to be traipsing around the deep forest without some kind of plan.

Elijah motioned them forward and they just stared at the animal. Bill, they are alone, just the three of them. Their camp is behind and further in.

The father looked at us, Are you going to take our gear? We are just passing through to the South. We mean you no harm.

I shook my head, We are not taking your gear. We just heard you in the trees and wanted to make sure you weren’t going to attack us, that’s all.

His wife never looked at me, just kept looking at the bison.

Maria was to my side and motioned with her head looking at me with a question in her eyes. I nodded at her with a small smile.

She turned to them, We can share some of the meat if you have a way to pack it.

The wife simply started to cry against her husband’s shoulder. He grimaced and nodded, Thank you, it’s been a while since we’ve eaten.

I looked at Elijah and he was smiling as he put down his crossbow and took out his long and very sharp hunting knife to help Maria cut a leg off.

The young girl just stared, wide-eyed at the food they were going to have.

I remembered being as hungry as that. We had a lot of mouths to feed, but Elijah and I were good enough family hunters that we could afford to pay it forward and help the family out.

I chuckled. In my past life, I would never have done that. I would always be about me and what I was owed, what the union and the company owed me. I gently shook my head and Maria saw the expression. She looked at me quizzically and I shook my head with a broad smile.

I looked at the father, Do you have a way to carry a whole leg? We’ll cut it down to meat, but that is still a lot to carry.

He nodded, We’ll be right back. And all three of them raced off, back to their camp to retrieve their packs and gear.

While Elijah and Maria cut the leg off and sliced the meat into chunks, Madison came back with a smile.

I went back to my usual practice of watching. I moved back into the forest with Madison and we both scanned around us, listening, smelling and looking for anything that didn’t belong.

It was never too much to be careful and have patience. Elijah and Maria were very competently slicing through the left haunch so they didn’t need us. That left us responsible for our safety and why we were both on guard.

The others came back. I could see Maria and Elijah had made quick work of the limb. She stood up to face the family and looked at the parents, You are heading South, do you have a destination or are you searching for a safe-zone?

She shook her head, pointing, We’re heading South to my grandparents ranch about two hundred miles down. My parents were heading there when the attack came. We were just late leaving and are making our way slowly. She had motioned with her head toward the North.

Maria nodded and then pointed at the haunch, now almost completely cut up into chunks.

They all just sat down and wrapped the chunks into their clothes to pack them. They could wash the clothes, they couldn’t afford to lose the meat. The wild insect life was already aware of the open carcass and starting to accumulate. We’d need to move quickly too if we weren’t going to be carried away by the flies and yellow jackets.

We were already prepared for meat so took off our packs and used old, washed and folded space blankets to wrap the meat into smaller, packable chunks. It was still way too much for us to carry.

When Elijah and Maria stood up to rest, I handed my notched bow to Maria to give her a break and pulled out my hunting blade to continue where they’d stopped.

The family was quiet while they carefully wrapped their food. The mother looked over at us and then turned to Maria, "We’ve never had this much before. If we lay it out in the sun will it dry up for jerky?

Maria nodded, You’ll need to cut away as much of the fat as you can, then slice it thin. A good, dark rock that is flat and in full sun can work for you. It’ll take a few hours but go slowly with it and you’ll have some good food. Cooking some soon will also give you clean and packable food, but you’ll want to wash your clothes before you reuse them.

Madison and I began to tackle the rest of the carcass. So, a little about Madison would help here. She is… well, tall, but not stocky, just well muscled. She is very strong and has a lot better endurance than I do. She is just a solid sister and has a smart head.

We kept at it and I had to take a break to stand up and rest my bones. Madison was just getting into her groove, cleanly cutting away the hide into a single sheet of furred skin. That was a prize even by itself.

She flayed the skin away. She had the perfect knife for it and also kept it razor sharp. Hers had a flat edge near the handle that curved up with a big sharp point at the tip that was perfect for slicing through meat and along the edge of the skin. It was also really good for cutting through cartilage between bones.

And, she and Elijah were a pair. Yeah, I know, he’s only twelve and she is seventeen, but our ‘zone rules are about who likes who and how compatible they are. He and I had talked about that a lot. He wasn’t flirty with others, just seemed to be really happy, comfortable and settled with Madison. Kanesha, Elijah’s mom, was a bit more concerned, but she was watchful and wanted to make sure neither of them got hurt. They were at that awkward stage of just wanting to be around each other, but not taking it any further, at least not so anyone noticed.

So, Madison and I kept at the bison, Elijah rested and held his crossbow, constantly searching through the forest for sound, smell and movement.

Maria had the family step deeper into the forest away from the open meadow and began to form up a fire pit to cook some of their food now, so they could satiate their hunger and gain their strength back.

Hey, we were in no rush. We had to wait for Dustyn to bring the troops back before we could hike it out