Unearthed

by Marc Mulero

  The two medics carrying his stretcher ignored him as they lugged him back to the camp. He reached for the stained battlefield as it faded into the distance.

  One of the rooms in the fortress erupted into a bloodbath. As the Sin fighters entered, gunfire spewed from both sides. Sabin fired careful shots with his long barrel pistol, waiting for the right time to unleash his blades. He ordered Mars to stay in the hallway until the gunfire died down. The elite guard with a roaring lion etched into his helmet ravaged through the fighters; his steel breastplate fended off incoming bullets. He lunged forward, unleashing deadly force in the form of heavy, brutal punches. The fighters were focused on the incoming fire, while Sabin diverted; he noticed how much of a threat the weaponless colossus was.

  Volaina mentioned this one. He must be Wes Howard, the guerilla warfare nutjob.

  Sabin saw the open creases in his armor and quickly let a blade fly. Wes lifted his leg, causing the blade to bounce off of his steel armor. Sabin whipped the blade back, catching it with his metal glove. Wes lunged at another fighter, shattering ribs with one punch to the gut.

  "I knew you pieces of shit would show up," Wes roared as he spun to uppercut the next fighter, snapping his neck.

  Only a handful of guards and fighters remained. Sabin jumped behind a pillar to avoid incoming gunfire, but had a clear shot at the charging beast wreaking havoc. Sabin threw his blade and used his other arm to adjust the tightening string. He guided the blade upward, slashing Wes' skin right between his forearm and bicep. Sabin whipped the blade back as Wes groaned. Wes focused his attention to Sabin.

  Oh shit.

  Sabin kicked off the pillar and dove out of the doorway, as Wes ran in his direction. Mars was anxiously waiting behind the door, obedient to Sabin’s orders. Mars’ ears tensed as Sabin flew out of the doorway. He whipped his blade toward Mars, timing the shot perfectly. Just as Wes charged into the hallway, Sabin’s blade slashed him right behind the knee. Wes grunted, while Sabin whipped the blade back to his hand. He simultaneously threw the other blade toward Wes’ neck. Wes caught it midair; his hand spewed blood from the deep cut. Wes yanked the blade as hard as he could, jerking Sabin to the floor.

  "Now, Mars!" Sabin shouted.

  Mars lunged from his position, tearing at the exposed flesh between the back of Wes’ knee and calf. Wes cursed, swinging wildly behind him with his free hand. Mars took another ferocious bite. The giant’s strength didn’t falter. Wes jerked his leg, sending the wolf flying into the wall. Mars yelped upon impact. Wes turned back to Sabin, now bleeding from multiple wounds. He pulled Sabin into his hands with two tugs at the wire and lifted him by the neck. Sabin kicked spastically, unable to catch his breath.

  "You giann pfffor shtttt," he mumbled, while gasping for a breath.

  Wes released one hand to remove his mask so that he could take a closer look at the man he was strangling.

  "Golden eyes," Wes said curiously, "Where have I seen those before?"

  Wes re-tightened his grip. Sabin tried to jab at the man's face, but quickly reverted back to trying to pry Wes' fingers from his throat. Just then, the middle door opened behind them. Lesh flew out like a bullet, tossing a knife into the elbow crease of Wes' armor. She removed the knife, flipped over the tall man, and then sprinted toward the front door. Distracted and in pain, Wes loosened his grip. Sabin fell to his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

  "We're even!" Lesh yelled as she sprinted for the front door, flashing a grin at Sabin.

  Sabin took the blade that was still tumbling on the floor and slashed into Wes' exposed skin near his shoulder. Wes’ blood puddled onto the floor from all of the fresh, open wounds.

  "What I was trying to say is that you're a giant piece of shit," Sabin said as he kicked Wes to the floor.

  Sabin quickly ran over to Mars, who was breathing, but in terrible pain.

  "You're alright buddy," Sabin said as he inspected his best friend, "It’s just a bruise."

  Mars was dazed from the impact, so Sabin pet him delicately and then went to go check on any survivors in the other room. Two Sin fighters were left trying to keep a third fighter alive, putting pressure on a deep stomach wound. Sabin shook his head and wiped off the blood on his blade.

  He picked up his radio, "I need medics in the fortress. The front hallway is clear," he said as he walked back to tend to his wolf.

  Blague shot at the pillar Mulderan used for cover.

  "Is this really your path, Blague?" Mulderan questioned.

  Blague shifted to the next pillar and let out three more shots.

  "Stopping someone from achieving something great?" Mulderan questioned again as he shifted his position to shield himself, "What would Elaina think of you now?"

  Blague dipped his head, the memories rushing into his mind as fast as the blood flowed through his veins.

  "Murder, Mulderan. Murder is all you have accomplished," Blague said with strain in his voice, dragging his words out.

  "For humanity, brother," Mulderan shouted as he shifted pillars, letting out a spray of bullets from his rifle, "There's nothing greater than that."

  They continued to exchange shots as Blague retreated into his head, his thoughts racing.

  “You could have been a great contributor, Blague,” Mulderan said as he held down his distraught brother.

  Blague was still sickened from the murder of Elaina just an hour earlier.

  “You fail to see the truth, just like our father,” Mulderan mocked as he unclamped one of Blague's arms. “Now hold still while I sentence you to banishment.”

  Silent tears escaped Blague's eyes, digesting the reality of another fallen loved one.

  “You could have been the greatest Hiezer of all,” Mulderan said as he lowered the Cryos needle.

  Blague transcended human strength as the needle engraved the Sin mark onto his arm. He twitched and broke through the steel clamps and knocked Mulderan ten feet back. His mark was a mix of Cryos blue and blood; an unfinished, smeared mark unlike those of his new Sin brothers and sisters. Blague got up and charged his smiling brother, getting a few rage induced smashes to Mulderan's face.

  Mulderan laughed as the guards forcefully restrained Blague, “I'm actually remorseful I wasted the preservation of life on you, a defiler. Get him out of my sight,” Mulderan said, waving Blague away.

  Blague shifted pillars and gripped his gun. He aimed his last shots at the low ceiling of the room. Mulderan was forced to strafe in Blague's direction to avoid the falling debris. Blague took the opportunity to kick the rifle out of Mulderan’s hand and swing for his face. Mulderan spun and reached for his staff, as Blague unsheathed his black carbon blade. Blague lunged forward, slashing twice. Mulderan flipped his staff artfully, blocking both of Blague's advances and kicking him back. Mulderan unclipped his pauldrons and shrugged them off; they hit the ground hard and his cloak followed to the floor. Mulderan's tall and lean figure was more apparent in his fitted, rich garb of black and gold. He flipped his staff to show off before attacking Blague, whose Cryos mark was glowing through his bloodied arm. Mulderan attacked three times at lightning speed with his staff. Blague parried with aggression and held the third clash, pushing his brother back and indenting Mulderan's staff with his blade.

  "I've always enjoyed this more," Mulderan said, leaning in to closely stare Blague in the face, "It's much more personal than pulling a trigger."

  "When have you ever identified with any emotion?" Blague asked as he pulled back the parry and slashed toward Mulderan's face.

  Mulderan evaded and slammed the bottom of his staff into Blague's shin.

  "On the contrary, why would I fight so hard for humanity if I didn't have my own memories I thought were worth fighting for?" Mulderan asked rhetorically while swinging his staff and pushing Blague into a corner. "Every unfortunate life that I had to take was backed by the thoughts of my experiences and how billions of potential lives may have experiences of their own in the future. Why am I the only one wi
th the fortitude to make the ultimate sacrifices?" Mulderan asked as he swung his staff harder, causing Blague's parries to jerk closer to his body. "Why am I the only one who can see that a billion lives are worth a few sacrifices? It's my curse, and indirectly your curse too. But it's to humanity's gain," Mulderan finished.

  Blague lunged forward and kneed Mulderan in the stomach.

  "You truly are lost. Your obsessiveness and obscurity has made it impossible to reason with you. That fact has remained unchanged since we were kids," Blague responded as he stabbed and slashed, aiming to kill.

  Mulderan ducked and parried, guiding Blague's blade in different directions.

  “I always knew you were meant for something greater. I just didn't realize what that was until now,” Mulderan said as he motioned to the scientist to proceed. “Goodbye, Elaina. I'm sure Blague will miss you.”

  Tears fell as she remained silent, staring at Mulderan. She knew it was useless to try and reason with him.

  Blague's green eyes turned bloodshot from his rage. He swung with a wrath that Mulderan could only keep up with for a few seconds. The carbon steel blade clashed against the metal stave, causing sparks to fly. Blague spun and slashed wildly, splitting open Mulderan's garb and slicing his chest. Before Mulderan could look down, Blague dashed and jabbed a fist into his face. Blague let out a roar as he gathered momentum to elbow him in the temple. Mulderan stepped back, dazed and barely able to hold on to his staff. Blague was focused and his strength was beyond his normal limits. Without giving Mulderan a moment, Blague tackled him straight through the door leading to the outdoor landing pad. Blague lifted himself and flipped the blade in his hand to face the floor, in position to stab Mulderan.

  "Forgive me father, I couldn't save him," Blague said as he stared into Mulderan’s hazel eyes.

  Elaina, I should have done this a lifetime ago.

  Blague's arm descended with force as Mulderan grinned, staring back at his brother. Just before the knife plunged into his heart, a spear punctured Blague’s shoulder and sent him flying back, slamming his back on the ground. He grabbed the spear with both hands, realizing it was lodged deep. The sound of guns loading echoed. Blague lifted his head to see an elite guard flipping spears around with both of his hands, followed by twelve soldiers with assault rifles coming his way.

  "Did you really think I would leave this battle to fate, Blague?" Mulderan said, brushing off the dirt from his fall. "My mission is as large as this earth, while your rebellion is as insignificant as a grain of sand," Mulderan said as he kicked his staff back into his hands. He turned his back to Blague, waved his hand, and calmly said, "Open fire."

  Eldra fired at a Sin fighter who attempted to flee the scene. The Sin reserves took cover behind shields and jets on the other side of the battlefield; Eldra made it a point to help clear both. Her sword rested on the side of her belt as she lay prone on the floor, adjusting her aim for her next shot.

  "The battle has turned in our favor," Eldra proclaimed loudly to her Hiezer cadets. "We have to crush their morale before the retaliation begins. If another jet takes flight from their camp, focus all fire on taking it down.”

  We have the numbers and the momentum. I have to keep the upper hand.

  She kept a keen eye on the chaos in the middle of the field. Her scope crossed a medic, who was desperately trying to save a fighter. She took aim and pierced the medic's brain in an instant.

  Of course!

  Eldra moved her face slightly away from her scope, focusing on her epiphany.

  The medical station.

  She jumped up confidently, holding her rifle in one hand. Her crystal blue eyes were radiant in the cloudy, grey atmosphere. Her long, black hair waved as she quickly advanced toward a higher sniper's nest. She wore light-weight black and gold combat attire that allowed her to move swiftly, as a sniper should.

  "Follow me," she said loudly.

  Bombs and screams sounded loudly in the distance, even though the mid field battle was coming to a notorious end. The Hiezer cadets shot up from their positions and fell in line behind her.

  "Take out the civilians. This attack will cut their lifeline and their morale with one swipe," she said with a smirk.

  "The queen is ruthless," she heard a cadet whisper; she pretended not to hear.

  A bullet whizzed closely behind the advancing snipers. Eldra repositioned herself, resting her pristine rifle over the ledge of the cliff. She had a clear view of the hardworking medics stashed away in the far corner of the field. Without hesitation, Eldra fired on the first unsuspecting victim. The bloodied medic groaned in agony, wondering how the battle could have stooped to this level.

  There are no rules in war. There are only the victorious and the dead.

  She fired again, taking out another. Eldra then shifted her aim. She aligned her crosshair with a frightened nurse with a nose ring, who struggled to stop the blood of a wounded fighter. Narene took her last breath, sensing that she was next. The wind blew Eldra's silky hair all around her as she tightened her finger around the trigger. Eldra heard the sound of a bullet piercing through the air, before hearing her scope crack; one of her eyes went dark. She found herself sliding down the sniper's nest. She screamed an explosive battle cry as her sniper cadets flew back from their positions, each with their own high caliber bullet wounds.

  Distressed, Lito ran over to where he saw an unknown jet hover for a moment, before it unloaded bullets onto the field. Bodies decorated the ground around him. The outlook of the battle seemed grim as only sixty or so fighters remained. He walked to the top of the hill, ready to pull the pin of a grenade. Lito froze in position before pulling it; he discovered a familiar sniper who was creating harrowing screams from his victims.

  "Eugene!" Lito's voice was full of hope as he ran over and hugged him.

  Eugene sighed, "We have work to do. Get off of me," he said with a smirk.

  Eugene took aim to finish off the last Hiezer sniper. He pulled the trigger as multiple jets approached the vicinity. The jets dispatched members of the Aura, who promptly helped wounded and demoralized Sin fighters back to their feet.

  "You came back," Lito said in shock, "And even better mijo, you saved us."

  Eugene turned to look at Lito, "I haven’t saved anyone yet," knowing that there was still work to be done.

  Stray Hiezer soldiers attempted to flock to the queen, responding to her cry. Eldra somehow got back to her feet. She ripped a piece of cloth from her sleeve and wrapped it around her head. Her one crystal blue eye darted around with a lust for revenge. Lesh ran after her, as she whipped knives into the air. She punctured the back of each Hiezer guard that stood in her path. Lesh then flipped high into the air and threw a knife, aimed straight at the Ice Queen. Eldra quickly unsheathed her curved sword and deflected the blade into the air. Lesh kicked off of a falling Hiezer, drew two throwing knives, and spun them between her fingers.

  This bitch is living up to her name. That wound on her eye is fresh; how could she possibly have the energy to fight?

  Lesh leaped a third time, now within close combat range of Eldra. Lesh spun on her way down with the two knives in hand. Eldra slashed her sword, meeting with one of Lesh's blades, which caused her spinning motion to cease. Lesh quickly jumped back and shifted her momentum forward again. She slashed high with one arm and Eldra dodged it. Eldra had to hastily adapt to her newly impeded vision, her depth perception was lacking. Lesh spun again and swung low with her other arm. Eldra met Lesh's knife with her blade.

  The Ice Queen, her reputation precedes her.

  Eldra advanced forward as she swung her sword at Lesh; Lesh parried some, but dodged most. Eldra's long blade was easier to evade than to deflect. Lesh back flipped onto a fallen Hiezer’s back to reclaim her knife, which jutted from his corpse. Eldra became further agitated by Lesh. She slashed her sword more violently, as blood drops seeped out of her mostly covered eye socket. Lesh saw a brief opening and took it, parrying Eldra’s blade and guiding it to
the floor. She then stepped on top of the blunt side of the blade with one foot and jerked her body, creating enough force to kick Eldra across the face, throwing her onto the floor. Hiezer guards flocked to her aid in the distance. Lesh took notice and rapidly tried to end the duel by throwing a knife toward Eldra's forehead. Her expression hardened, her icy blue eye pierced through Lesh’s as she still managed to deflect the knife with her sword. Stray bullets ricocheted around Lesh. She looked back and decided it was time to flee. She gave Eldra a cold stare back, as if to say, ‘we'll finish this another time.’

  Jets piloted by the Aura continued to fly overhead, aiming to take out the Hiezer reinforcements. The Aura began to march onto the battlefield, all with hooded half cloaks and large rifles. With their large numbers and fresh spirit, they helped to turn the tide of the battle, once again. Jen walked up to the medic center. She was impossible to miss with her deep red hue and the slight trail of red smoke that followed her.

  "But Eugene," Lito said, still surprised by Eugene’s return, "How did you know? How did you find us?"

  Eugene looked over at Lito in between shots and gave him a look, before giving him an explanation.

  Blague looked forward at his reapers as they took aim.

  My Sin brothers and sisters, you can take it from here.

  Elaina's smiling face came into vision before everything turned white; all he could hear was a strong ringing in his ears. Blague thought that this was what the final moments before death felt like until a few moments later when his vision returned to him. To Blague and Mulderan's surprise, most of the Hiezer guards toppled over from the bloody slashes delivered by a man sheathing an ancient blade.

  It was a flashbang, I'm not dead yet.

  Blague tried to sit up, grimacing from the spear impaled near his shoulder.

  "Niro," Blague shouted with a strained voice.

  "You've got it backwards," Niro responded, emitting three different tones from his voice changer.