by B R Flores
Belton handed his spears to Choan and dropped his heavy tote. Being unable to bring his weapons while in energy form was an unavoidable disadvantage for Belton. Be that as it may, Azha was the Quizan’s only hope for survival. Together, they turned into red energy and streaked into the forest.
In the blink of an eye, they located Sgt. Roon’s squad deep within the Ayak Forest. The soldiers were perched on sturdy limbs high above the Gystfin’s camp. Only a keen eye could spot the angry, red soldiers perfectly camouflaged amongst the colorful tropical leaves. Dozens of dead Ayak birds were ripped apart and strewn across the campsite. Most likely they were victims of the Beasts’ sadism. The Gystfins had redirected their wrath upon a handful of unlucky Quizans. Azha crouched on the limb next to Belton and Roon.
“Tell your soldiers to kill the Gystfins within throwing range and watch the tree-line for any new ones.”
Roon raised his fist into the air signaling his soldiers to attack. Azha streaked towards the largest Gystfin who was violently shaking and punching a female Quizan in the chest. This was his barbaric way of checking to see if there was any life left in her. Unaware of the threat above, he curled his large, ugly lips and bared dingy fangs as he positioned himself to bite off her head. Azha pounced on top of the Beast’s shoulders, and in one swift motion he grabbed hold of its head and wrenched it until he heard the snap. The Gystfin dropped the Quizan and slumped to the ground, dead.
Azha caught a glimpse of a young Gystfin running alongside the dense tree line where soldiers were waiting for a kill. Before the Beast could swerve, a wave of spears rained down and impaled him. Shrieking in agony, the Gystfin crawled several yards, but there was nowhere to hide. The Gystfin moaned and looked up into the trees. He took one last breath before the second wave of spears ended his life.
A third Gystfin howled a cry of revenge. Small branches and leaves exploded as he flew into the trees. Mid-air he veered and stabbed his long claws through a soldier’s chest. The soldier tried with all his might to cling to the limb. His tote of rocks and spears fell to ground as he was lifted into the air. Watching them fall, he knew death was near.
The other soldiers screamed, “Turn into energy, turn into energy.” But it was too late, he could not hear them and his cries for Azha to save him were drowned out. The Beast opened his wide jaws and bit off the soldier’s head. He sucked out the grey-death energy from the neck and then shoved the head into his mouth. With pleasure, he chewed with his mouth wide open as he rolled the soldier’s head around with his tongue for all to see. The gruesome crunching sounds that echoed throughout the trees warned the others. Wanting to see the soldiers’ reactions, he turned in a circle before spitting out what was left of the mutilated head. Laughing out loud, he repositioned himself on a tree limb to gloat, then urinated on the head lying on the ground beneath him.
Before the Gystfin could kill another soldier, Azha grabbed a spear off the ground and landed on the same limb behind him. The Beast was too busy making vile gestures to notice until he felt a sharp slap to the back of his head. Shrieking in anger, he glanced over his shoulder and saw the Trekachaw. Azha smugly grinned at him, then stabbed his spear into the Gystfin’s ear with such force the tip pierced the top of his head. For a fleeting moment, the Gystfin looked at Azha in shock, then fell forward crashing from limb to limb until he hit the ground with a thump. Choan called out to Azha, “Over here. Where do you want us?”
The arriving squads looked worn-out carrying the heavy load of weapons. Azha pointed towards a clearing. “Leave everything over there and have your soldiers take cover in the trees until I know it’s safe. Find Roon, he’ll fill you in. Where’s Zith?” Azha yelled.
“He stayed behind because King Myosis was threatening us.”
“Is Zith in danger?” Azha yelled.
“I don’t know, maybe?”
Azha floated to the ground thinking it was over, but he was wrong. Four more Gystfins broke though the tree line, shrieking their attack as they ran towards the injured Quizans. A wave of spears impaled two of the Beasts, killing them instantly. The other two split up, running in opposite directions. One Beast engaged in a cat and mouse game with the soldiers, while the other charged at Azha, spitting profanities and baring his snapping fangs. Steady, steady… he waited until the Beast was within arm’s length. Azha jumped sideways and shoved the spear into its mouth, shattering several long fangs. The Gystfin bit down on the shaft and shook his head, desperate to break it. Azha held on tight and shoved the razor-sharp tip through its throat and out the back of its neck. Blood spewed from the Gystfin’s nose and mouth. Another dead Gystfin. He let go and watched the Gystfin’s body slowly slump forward onto the shaft. Freakishly, the shaft propped its bulky, limp body in an upright position.
The last Gystfin howled, “Azha!” and stomped the ground while searching the trees with red, crazed eyes. Froth spewed from his mouth as he flew into the trees searching for a kill. Unable to find a soldier in body form, he jumped from limb to limb chasing clouds of buzzing red lights. They taunted him relentlessly, driving him further into a blind madness. The fur down his spine spiked straight up, and he swatted frantically at the swarm of red lights circling his head. Desperate to catch his prey, he’d lost track of the Trekachaw who was following close behind. Jumping to a lower limb thick with leaves, the Beast pivoted, thinking he was going to catch a soldier. Instead, he came nose to nose with death. Panic-stricken, his eyes darted back and forth looking for an escape. He seemed confused, and then a look of defeat swept across his face. Azha rose above, giving a clear sign for the soldiers to attack. A wave of spears whistled in flight as they rained down. It was too late to run, and the last Gystfin fell to the ground, face down.
Azha roared and the trees shook. Looking up, he watched the soldiers’ red energy circle above.
They had done well, but at what cost? Their innocence was gone forever. They’d hunted as a ruthless pack and killed without remorse. Roon sat on the battle-stained ground holding the dead soldier’s mutilated head tight against his chest.
Azha leaned over. “Who was the soldier?”
Not more than a couple of feet away, the headless soldier’s translucent body was draped across the chest of the youngest slain Gystfin.
Roon pointed at the body crying, “Aeon Devotio, Aeon Devotio, Aeon Devotio.”
“Is that his name, Aeon Devotio?” Azha asked.
“No, no, no!” Roon wailed as he rocked back and forth.
A wounded soldier kicked the carcass of the younger Beast as he limped over to Azha.
“The soldier was Roon’s brother-in law. Aeon Devotio means he’s been cursed with eternal damnation because the Gystfin sucked out his death energy.”
Azha placed his hand on top of Roon’s head to comfort his friend; he had no words to lessen Roon’s grief. The best he could do was walk away and leave him to mourn.
He had saved five Quizans from certain death; however, two of them had been tortured so heinously they were beyond recognition. Their bodies were riddled with deep puncture wounds and contorted from so many broken bones. Suffering in excruciating pain, they crawled across the ground begging for someone, anyone, to put them out of their misery. Though everyone wanted to help end their suffering, they could not bring themselves to honor the injured Quizans’ dying wishes. Watching them suffer made it seem as if it took forever before death finally came and freed their gray-death energy to ascend. They were finally at peace.
Azha recognized the three remaining Quizans. Atue was his childhood playmate. After leaving Kismet Ebb to bond with Rodia, he never returned home. Years passed and for one reason or the other Azha always found a good excuse to avoid visiting his parents or Atue. Deep down, he was afraid of rekindling old feelings for his first love, Phera. Azha watched his severely injured, old friend pick himself up off the ground. In obvious pain and unsteady on his feet, Atue hobbled over to several soldiers and was thanking them profusely for saving his son. More than once he’d gla
nced sideways, frightened by the towering alien that everyone was calling Azha. Clearly, his old friend was afraid and trying to keep his distance. With the help of two soldiers, Atue made his way over to his terror-stricken son who was mumbling gibberish and dragging himself across the blood-stained ground. Delusional, or perhaps in shock, he was still searching for a place to hide from the Gystfins. Atue fell to his knees and embraced his son, “Etios, it’s me, Papay.”
The boy’s legs had been twisted with such force that his feet faced the wrong direction and his tiny body was covered with bite marks. How he survived the attack was beyond comprehension. Azha respectfully kept his distance, giving Atue the privacy to comfort his son.
And then there was Phera, the third survivor. As quieys they were best friends, and later she blossomed into his first love. Be that as it may, when Azha was created, his parents negotiated a bonding troth with a prominent echelon family from Cavern Village. He had been promised to Rodia, not Phera. For years, Azha protested profusely, believing he could dodge the troth if he complained enough. However, tradition ruled. Fifty years later, Phera was as beautiful as the day he’d left Kismet Ebb. But everything was different now. He was a Trekachaw, not the Quizan she remembered. Azha called out to her, “Phera, do you know who I am?”
Boldly she walked over and squeezed his hand, “Of course, I do. Come, we need to talk.”
She led him away from the carnage and sadness into the secluded forest. Memories of his childhood flooded his mind, making him dizzy. Gently she tugged on his hand. “Sit with me.”
It was as if time stood still and he was young again. Her voice was soothing and for the first time since Rodia’s death, he felt good.
“What I’m about to tell you is very bad. The female you tried to save, was your sister Azine. She wanted you to know how much she loved you and how proud she was of you. You saved her from Aeon Devotio.”
Finding it difficult to talk, his words were strained. “Are you sure she was Azine?”
Wiping tears from her face, Phera nodded yes. “Azha, our village was attacked by Gystfins. Five older Quizans gave their lives as a distraction so we could escape into the forest. Everyone hid underground until we began dying. One after the other villagers surfaced, only to be slaughtered. Can you help us?” Phera cried.
“I can do more than help. Follow me,” said Azha.
Azha kissed Phera’s forehead and they flew back to the campsite.
Azha rallied his Sergeants, “Phera just told me Kismet Ebb is being attack by Gystfins. Sgt. Roon, you and Choan’s squad will accompany me to Kismet Ebb. Sgt. Duro, you and Belton escort the injured Quizans back to the Caverns and set up a defensive perimeter just like the one here. Phera, do you want to go with me or Duro?”
With no hesitation she responded, “You.”
Looking confused, Azha cursed, “Damn, I can’t remember where Kismet Ebb is. My Human-half has clouded my memory.”
Sgt. Roon spoke up, “No worries, I’ll lead the way.”
Choan and the soldiers gathered loose spears lying on the ground and pulled-out those embedded in the dead Gystfins. Even though Kismet Ebb was less than a mile away, their trek would take precious time carrying the heavy load of weapons. For Sgt. Roon and Azha, the flight would take a split-second.
PERCHED ON A TREETOP HIGH above the heart of Kismet Ebb Village, Azha could see an energized blue net that blanketed the entire area and far beyond into the forest. Until now, Azha had been baffled by how Gystfins were able to trap Quizans underground, but seeing the net answered his questions.
A faint light rising from beneath the ground caught his eye. It was a Quizan weak from starvation. Roon and Azha cringed as they watched him being violently stunned by the net. The jolt instantly paralyzed the young Quizan, forcing him to morph into body-form. Several Gystfins wearing black gear from the waist down ran through the luminous blue-net and grabbed the limp Quizan by one leg.
They dragged him out to an open area where two more Gystfins were waiting. They pulled the Quizan’s legs in opposite directions and roared with laughter at his screams of pain until his hips snapped and his suffering no longer entertained them. After a fight over who was to get the Quizan’s head, the winner ran away with the limp body. The other three waited for the next light to rise from the ground.
Somewhere close by, there had to be a power source for the blue net. The only obvious anomaly was a dense beam radiating from a small space shuttle docked on the opposite side of the village.
Azha nudged Roon and pointed at the shuttle. “Turn into energy and follow me.”
Terrified, Roon wanted to flee, but Azha had asked, so he obeyed. They circled outside the village for several miles searching for any more Gystfins. Satisfied there where none, Azha covertly returned, flying through the thick trees with Roon following close behind. While they were away, several more starving Quizans had ascended from beneath the ground and were trapped underneath the blue net. They cried for each other and for themselves, for they knew it wouldn’t be long until the Gystfins came for them, too.
Waiting was a luxury that Azha could no longer afford. How many more would die if he did nothing? Taking one last look around, he hovered above the shuttle and flickered a signal at Roon to get ready. Simultaneously, they streaked through the hull into an unknown danger. Inside, they found a Gystfin slumped over in a chair with his eyes half-open. The Beast inhaled and then blew out a rumbling snore, blowing spatter and foul breath across the cockpit. Azha morphed into body form and grabbed a handful of matted fur from both sides of its head. The Beast awoke, startled at first then irritated and arguing how he was not sleeping. Still foggy, he tried to turn his head to see who was holding him and realized whoever it was, would not let go. Shrieking and snapping his fangs, the Beast pushed himself away from the schematic screen and tried to stand up. When that didn’t work, he kicked the chair out from underneath him and dropped to his knees trying to escape.
Azha spoke into his ear, “I’m half-Quizan, think about that before I kill you.”
The Gystfin begged for mercy and screamed for help, but no one heard him.
“You do not deserve my mercy.” Azha tightened his grip and wrenched its head until he heard the crunch.
Azha snapped his fingers motioning for Roon to look out the portal window. “Can you see any Gystfins out there?”
Standing on his tiptoes Roon was barely able to peek out the bottom edge of the window.
“I see a bunch of them laughing and pretending to kill us. Why do they enjoy killing us so much?”
Azha snatched the Gystfin off the floor and flung him across the cockpit. The carcass slammed into the hatch and slumped into a ball blocking the door.
“I don’t know. But I enjoy killing them,” Azha admitted.
Giving the cockpit a quick once-over, Azha sat down in the navigation chair searching for a weapons systems indicator.
“Roon, push down the lever on the door. Make damn sure it’s locked.”
The shuttle did not appear to be engaged, nor was it like anything he’d seen before. A raised, circuit board attached to an adjacent bulkhead had two lights on… one green, the other red. Azha stood up and yanked the circuit board off its bracket. Success. The beam disappeared, and the magnetic blue net vanished.
Roon squeaked and squatted on the floor, “No. Oh no, they’re running this way. A bunch of them.”
Several rotund Gystfins barged up the ramp and tried to open the hatch. Grumbling and cursing, they kicked the door a couple of times, and then there was silence. Sounds of heavy footsteps were followed by pounding on the door with a heavy object. When that failed, they demanded the door be opened.
Azha yelled back, “Not happening, assholes.”
A few of the controls were like those in the Gystfin’s cargo ship. Several rotating levers and icons formed a specific pattern beneath the largest port-window. The icons identified what appeared to be variations of a weapons system. Choosing a rotating lever with
an icon that resembled a laser beam made the most sense. Azha rubbed his hands together, repositioned himself in the chair, and then squeezed the handle. A high-pitched whine pierced his ears and a complex, transparent electronic screen dropped down from the ceiling. The screen revealed chaos and a burning village. Roon peeked out the portal and gasped, “Azha, look what you’ve done!”
Trees and pods were on fire from the laser blast, and there had to be a dozen Gystfins strewn across the village sliced into cauterized, smoldering pieces. Roon was jumping up and down like a pogo stick shouting, “I see soldiers, I see soldiers.”
Soldiers had climbed into trees with their totes full of rocks and spears waiting to ambush the Gystfins. On the ground, hordes of disheveled and injured Gystfins ran amok, fleeing the torched village into the trees. They didn’t get far; from above, waves of spears and rocks rained down upon them. Many fell to their deaths, some crawled into the shelter of the trees, while others ran and never looked back.
CHOAN STOOD AT THE EDGE of the forest fearing they were too late. The thought had crossed his mind that Azha and Roon had died and their bodies had vanished before he and the other soldiers arrived. Sgt. Choan and two soldiers vigilantly crept up the shuttle ramp. Slow and steady they made their way to the top where noises could be heard from within. The exterior latch began to rotate. Choan shouted, “Get off!” and the hatch door flung open. Nose-diving off the ramp, they each landed with a belly-flop on the ground, then scrambled to their feet expecting to fight. To their surprise, a dead Gystfin was flung out the hatch door, bounced a couple of times down the ramp, then rolled, coming to rest at Choan’s feet. At the top of the ramp stood Roon with a big smile on his face. Sgt. Choan dropped his spear as he sprinted up the ramp.
“I thought you were dead. Where’s Azha?”
Rolling his eyes towards the inside of the shuttle, Roon stepped aside. “In here. Didn’t you see him throw the Gystfin out?”