Daniel Arenson - The Heirs of Earth (Children of Earthrise Book 1)

THE HEIRS OF EARTH

CHILDREN OF EARTHRISE, BOOK 1

by

Daniel Arenson

Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

CHAPTER FORTY

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

AFTERWORD

NOVELS BY DANIEL ARENSON

KEEP IN TOUCH

Illustration Tom Edwards - TomEdwardsDesign.com

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CHAPTER ONE

On a cold dark night, theangels of death came with fire.

Theirstarships plunged through the clouds, leaving wakes of flame. Their enginesrumbled like hellish beasts hungry for flesh. Their wings tore the sky.

Theyfound us. God above. They're here.

Davidstood on the rocky ground, staring up at the flaming shards of black metal,these chariots of vengeance. His breath died.

Foryears we hid. For years we cowered. For years we survived.

Hischest shook. His legs seemed bolted onto the stony ground of this godforsakenplanet. He managed to move his handit felt like bending steeland grab hisrailgun.

Butsomehow the bastards found us.

Theships swooped, still blazing with atmospheric entry, shedding fire and ash likereptiles shedding skin. There were dozens. Maybe hundreds. As they drew nearer,doffing the last of their fiery cloaks, they revealed their true forms: blacktriangles the size of buildings. Red portholes blazed upon them like wrathfuleyes.

ToDavid, watching from below, they seemed less like starships and more like godsof wrath and retribution.

Thehunters.

Thebane of humanity.

Thescorpions.

Forso long, David had run, had hidden. Now his judgment day had come.

No.

Davidgritted his teeth.

Ifled the war. But I'm still a fighter. I'm David Emery, descended of heroesfrom old Earth. He sneered. And I will fight.

Hesnapped out of his paralysis. He raised his railgun, a heavy assault riflemounted with a grenade launcher.

Hefired.

Agrenade soared skyward at hypersonic speed. Even years after defecting, David'saim was still true. The shell slammed into a starship.

Anexplosion filled the sky. Shards of metal hailed onto the planet, hissing,digging holes through the rock. The wounded ship lurched and slammed into itsneighbor. Both vessels careened, belching smoke and flame and a million sparkslike cascading stars.

Yethundreds of ships still descended, and more kept plunging through the clouds thatforever draped this cursed world, and the sky burned.

Davidcould not shoot them all.

Heturned and ran.

Heraced past his buckets of truffles and worms. He had been collecting the foodfor his family. Truffles and worms were the only edible things that grew onthis world. David had chosen this place for its desolation. Harmonia was adistant planet, far from the front line, its soil barren of precious minerals,its sky forever wreathed in ash. A dead, forgotten world, useless to the greatpowers that fought among the stars. An oasis where he had hoped to survive.

Howhad the enemy found him? Had somebody betrayed him? Had the aliens interceptedtheir lone trading starship, captured the pilot, tortured him?

Rightnow that didn't matter.

Rightnow seventy-eight humans underground needed him.

Rightnow David Emery must do what he had always done. What all humans, theirhomeworld fallen, must do.

Hemust keep surviving.

Ashe ran, his amulet swung on its chain. The Earthstone. The memories and soul ofhumanity. Yes, this amulet too he must protect. This was a treasure that couldnot, must not, fall into enemy claws. The fate of humanity hung aroundhis neck.

Davidreached the cave. He spun around to see enemy starships landing on the planet.Their hatches opened. The aliens stirred within.

Davidaimed his railgun and fired.

Ashell flew into one ship. Flames roared and creatures shrieked. David spun awayand leaped into the cave.

Heraced down the dark tunnel.

"Scorpions!"he shouted. "Warriors, arise! Scorpions!"

Warriors?They were those who had fled the war. Cowards, some called them. Traitors,others said. But tonight they would fight. Tonight they would be warriorsagain. One last timefor humanity, for the remnants of this endangeredspecies, hunted and dispersed among the stars. For a memory of Earth.

Davidkept running. Behind him, he heard the aliens scuttling in pursuit, their clawsclattering down the tunnel. Their stench filled the cave. God, the stench ofthema miasma like burnt skin and ash and ammonia, the stink of piss on asmoldering campfire.

Thesmell summoned memories like demons, and again David was back there, fightingwith the Inheritors, battling the aliens in their hives. Again he heard hiscomrades scream. Again he felt their blood spray him, hot and coppery. Again hesaw the claws rise, tearing his brothers apart, and

Davidshoved the memory aside.

Youstill have family, he told himself. Defend them. Survive!

"Warriors,rise!" David cried again.

Andfrom the depths of the caves, they emerged. Twenty men in body armor, holdingrailguns. They were thin, haggard, hungry. They were perhaps cowards. They werethose who had defected, had fled the war, seeking safety in darkness.

Solet us now be heroes, David thought. One last time. If wemust die, let us die with honor.

Davidjoined his comrades. The cave tunnel was just wide enough for three men tostand abreast. David knelt, gun pointing ahead, and a man knelt on each side.Three more men raised railguns over their heads.

Beforethem, like demons surging from the abyss, they charged.

Shrieking.

Eyesblazing.

Hungryfor the meals to come.

Herethey were. Those who had slain David's brothers, who had slain countlesshumans. Those he could never flee.

Somecalled them the Skra-Shen, their true name. Others called them theflayers, for they adorned their lairs with the skins of their victims. Somewhispered in fear of the bloodclaws or shadow hunters.

Tohumans, they had just one name. The name of an animal from old Earth, said toresemble these aliens from the depths. A name that filled every man, woman, andchild with horror.

Scorpions.

Thescorpions from Earth were small, David had heard. No larger than his hand. Thealiens that charged toward him were the size of horses. Black exoskeletonscoated them, harder than the toughest steel. Their pincers gleamed, largeenough to slice men in half. Their eyes blazedred, narrow, flaming withmalice. Stingers curled over their heads, dripping venom.

Theycame from deep in Hierarchy territory, from a planet no human had ever seen.Some claimed the scorpions had emerged from a black hole, while otherswhispered of beasts from another dimension. They were apex predators. They hadconquered countless worlds, yet humans were their favorite prey.