by TIME, S. O.
She lets up, more in surprise than acquiescence, but as she looks toward me her eyes shift out of focus and she slumps. I manage to catch her shoulders before her head can hit the ground. She’s still breathing, but she doesn’t respond as I shake her shoulders and call her name. I gently lie her down on her back to recover and try to think of what to do next. Cortez and Andrew’s burns have significantly improved, and their energies have levelled out, but they’re both still unconscious.
I’m about to try shaking Cortez when I hear someone walking nearby. I freeze. The way we’re positioned is easily detectable from the street—I don’t have time to move their bodies out of view. I look around for a way out as my panic rises. Abruptly I realize the only way to really hide is to pretend we’re dead. I hurriedly scoop up some of the rubble dust and throw it over Hitori and myself before lying on the ground, struggling to keep my breathing shallow. After a brief moment I hear whoever is here walking right beside us. It sounds like only one person.
“Is anybody here?” the voice calls.
It sounds familiar, but I can’t tell if that's because it’s an ally, or because the voice comes from one of the students or graduates on Isao’s side that we’ve trained with.
“Kou? Hitori? Is anyone here?” The voice whispers again.
That’s when it hits me, Try.
I slowly sit up, and I hear a startled scream. Try and I make eye contact as he clutches his chest.
“What the—Eiji? Man don’t do that to me! I thought you were a zombie or something.”
“You were just calling out for someone, though,” I say.
“Yeah but I wasn’t expecting anyone to start coming outta the ground!”
I disregard his statement and wave him over, “I need help, they’re all out.” I say as he takes a look at who’s here. He pales slightly.
“Were they all caught in the blast? Is Kou…?”
“Kou’s fine, he’s in the bunker tunnels trying to shake off some troops. Andrew and Cortez were hit by the blast. They were really bad off—Hitori saved them, but it took too much out of her.”
Try shakes his head.
“It’s one thing after another. After we split up, I went to go help my partner, Adeline. She’d made it to the bunker, and I stayed so the evacuation went smoothly. Then I got word of the mission and headed straight here. Where’s everyone else?”
“We’re it. The blast took out all the veterans on our side. Aside from Kou and a few other students, we have peace officers. But they won’t be enough to stop Isao.”
Try clenches his jaw, briefly closing his eyes as he takes the news. After a short moment he opens his eyes and takes out his holo.
“Okay. Doctor Kurosawa needs to know what’s happened here.”
Hana picks up quickly and we can see the massive Tear behind her as people walk through it in droves.
“Is everything alright? What’s going on?” She’s too far for me to sense her energy, but I can hear the worry in her voice.
“The mission failed, Doctor,” Try says bluntly. “The Commander got away.”
“We lost all of our veteran forces,” I add. “Kou and Hitori are okay, but we were ambushed. We’re all that’s left.”
“I propose we just strand him here,” Try says. “We have no real reason to stay here anymore. Now that we have that other world, we can start over. I feel terrible for the Council, but we don’t even know if they’re still alive after that explosion. With the black sludge spreading through the city, destroying all it touches, and the nymians still running around, it’s just not worth it to keep fighting here.”
Hana considers Try’s words. In the brief silence from her we hear a few energy blasts somewhere behind us. None reach us here, but a quick pulse confirms that the nymian horde is getting closer.
Hana speaks. “Only the civilians in the bunkers have been evacuated. There are numerous reports of military and civilian encampments across the city. Hundreds of people could still be out there. I don’t want to leave them behind.”
“We still have many peace officers with shields left. Given how severe the infestation is, I doubt you’ll get much confrontation from the military. You could send helos with peace officers to get those in the encampments into the tunnels and up to you,” Try suggests.
Hana sighs heavily and rubs her face with her hands. “I’ll ask for volunteers to send out. Get back here as soon as you can. I’m going to have to take down the shield over the city in order to send evacuation helos. We’ll put one last effort into getting people out, but we have to be extra cautious with Isao. We don’t know if he’s going to stand by and let us do that. He can’t be trusted in his present state.”
“Before Try got here, Isao mentioned that if Hitori didn’t come to him within the hour, he’d start attacking bunkers. He also mentioned having ‘something special’ for the mansion. He won’t let this pass.”
“Then I’ll give him what he wants,” Hitori comments from behind us.
“Hitori how long have you been awake?” I ask.
“Long enough,” she says as she pushes herself off the ground. “If he has me, he’ll let you go. He won’t get in your way.”
“Hitori we can’t let you do that,” Hana says.
“My life isn’t worth all of the potential survivors left in the city. He just wants me.”
“Hitori this isn’t up for discussion,” Hana replies. “We’re not going to let you—”
An energy blast hits the rubble a few meters away, drawing our eyes back to the street. The nymians have arrived, with Isao’s soldiers close behind. A few of the nymians are in a panic—they careen into damaged columns and broken walls, collapsing what few structures remain. But not all of them are wounded—and we’re directly in their path.
“We’re out of time!” Try shouts. “Let’s take my pod and get out of here!”
“Hitori we—” I turn back to her and she’s gone. I quickly pulse out for her and I sense her moving through the passage before her energy is drowned out by the energy of the approaching troops and nymians.
“Dammit!” I yell. “She’s gone through the escape tunnel. She must be going to Isao.”
“Send the evac helos to get the civilians,” Try tells Hana. “We’ll find Hitori and deal with the Commander. We’ll contact you again when we have her and give you coordinates for extraction.”
“Okay! Be safe.”
Try puts his holo back on his arm.
“I’ll take Andrew, you take Cortez, we have to move!”
I nod and drag Cortez over my shoulder. We hurry over to the hatch, stumbling slightly on the broken stairs leading down into the escape tunnel. I set Cortez down and activate my shield. I leave it on one of the steps and focus it to block the entrance.
“That should buy us some time,” I say. Try nods and I pick Cortez back up as we make our way through the passageway in search of Hitori.
Chapter Thirty-Six
O ur pace is slower than a crawl, partly because we’re carrying Andrew and Cortez’s unconscious bodies, but also because the lights that are supposed to illuminate the passageway either flicker uncontrollably or stay off altogether. The walls are lined with cracks, but are remarkably intact despite the blast. After about ten minutes, I notice that I’m panting under the strain. It doesn’t take me long to realize it’s more than exertion making it hard to breath.
“Try, what’s” —pant— “with the”—pant— “air?”
“The blast must have destroyed any ventilation systems,” he acknowledges wearily. He takes a moment to catch his breath before continuing. “Combined with all the fire and dust—whew—we probably aren’t getting any”—pant— “fresh air down here.”
I nod. Anxiety twists in my stomach, but there’s nothing to do about it but press on and hope the air lasts. Time becomes hard to track as we continue. The lights give out for a long section, leaving us blindly bumping into the walls as we stagger forward. I can tell the lack of oxygen is making me light-headed, but a
fter a while I stop caring. Limping through the darkness, carrying a heavy load—I smile, vaguely aware of some symbolism to my situation, but unable to directly identify it.
After a while—minutes or hours—we finally begin to see a light. We pick up our pace slightly, eager to be out of the darkness. When we arrive beneath it, we are in a circular room that connects to seven other passageways.
“Great. Now where do we go?” Try asks.
I stare at him blankly for a moment before the obvious occurs to me. I pulse out and sense massive amounts of energy nearby.
“I think they’re above us...that way,” I say, pointing toward the energies.
“How do you know that?”
I’m too dazed to try and come up with a convincing lie.
“I can sense energy. It’s the same way I was able to find these two under the wreckage.” I say looking at Andrew and Cortez. “It’s a long story.”
I dimly note that it’s easier to talk without losing my breath—the large room provides a welcome respite from the oxygen-deprived tunnels.
“Right. In that case, why don’t we search for the quickest way out of here?”
“I think we should wait for these two to wake up. We can’t really run out there with them on our backs. I also sense the rest of the nymian horde approaching. We might be able to make use of them if we wait for their arrival. Isao will have no choice but to fight them off if he wants to stay in this area.”
Try nods, and we lower our unconscious companions to the ground. After taking a moment to stretch his shoulders, Try reaches for his holo. “Might as well try and get ahold of Kou,” he says.
“Yeah. But his holo broke. He has Hitori’s.”
“Got it.”
For the first few rings Kou doesn’t answer, but Try keeps calling until he finally does.
“Man, I get no mercy from you. What if I was trying to hide from enemies and you go calling me? Hitori isn’t here. She’s with Eiji.”
“But you answered so it’s okay,” Try continues. “Also, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Where are you?”
“I just made it out of a situation with some of Isao’s guys. A lot’s happened, but what’s going on with you?”
“I’m right here with Eiji and…Hitori isn’t here.”
“What? What happened? Did more of Isao’s forces show up?” Kou demands.
“No, she...left on her own.”
“Why? Are you sure? She wouldn’t just leave like that…”
“We talked to Doctor Kurosawa about evacuating more people trapped in the city. She’s going to deactivate the shield and fly helos in to save as many people as possible. Hitori said that she didn’t want to risk Isao’s retaliation, so she volunteered to go with him.”
I don’t have to sense Kou’s energy to be able to know what he’s feeling. His jaw tightens and faint hints of red permeate his body.
“Where did she go?” he says, eyes intent.
His anger isn’t aimed at me, but I can feel the intensity of his gaze as if he were right here. Looking right through me.
“We’re not certain. We’re taking care of Andrew and Cortez in the tunnels Isao used to escape. Eiji says Isao and his forces are nearby, above us. I’ll send you our coordinates, hold on.”
Try sends him our location, and Kou checks his holo.
“I’ll find my way to you. Get those guys up and ready while you wait for me. I’m coming for Hitori,” Kou responds before he signs off.
“Oh man, I can’t imagine how he must be feeling right now,” Try says.
“I think I have a pretty good idea. But it’s not going to end well for anyone,” I answer.
#
I wake up to find myself on the floor beside Andrew. I’m not certain how long I slept. Try is sitting up and talking to Cortez. It looks like she’s the first of the two to wake up.
“You really think it’s going to work?” Cortez says to Try in a hushed voice.
“I feel he’s crazy enough to make it work somehow,” Try responds. “There’s nothing he won’t do for Hitori.”
“What’s going on?” I ask as I get up.
They both turn to me.
“Kou called back,” Try begins. “Apparently he was able to rally some of the peace officers with shields and civilians with crystal abilities on his way back.”
“Civilians? How could Kou…”
“They’re pissed, man. So many lives were lost because of crazed soldiers on serum and the lack of promised protection. They know that Isao’s choices caused the deaths of their family members. They’re out for blood and I don’t blame them,” Cortez replies.
“But still…”
“It’s their lives. I say let them fight if they want to. I mean, it’s not like there’s anything we can do about it. Kou’s leading them to us and they’re almost here.”
Behind me I sense a large spike in energy, and I turn around to find Andrew shaking on the ground. He opens his eyes and gasps for air. “Fire! Fire!”
“Hey, we’re here, it’s okay! It’s okay!” Cortez rushes over.
Andrew looks around frantically, breathing heavily.
“You’re alright, it’s okay. There’s no fire, you’re okay,” she reassures him.
“I saw you burn,” Andrew says. He takes a few deep breaths as tears fill his eyes.
“We’re fine, man. We made it. We’re here. C’mon,” Cortez says as she offers Andrew a hand.
Andrew takes it and stands, but he keeps looking at his other arm. “I can’t move it.”
“Can’t move what?” Cortez asks.
“My arm, I—I can’t feel my arm. I can’t move my arm!”
“Look at me,” Cortez says as she stands in front of Andrew. “We’re going to finish this mission, and we’re going to get out of here. Doctor Kurosawa will patch you up like you’ll never believe, okay? But you gotta stay with us. We’ll be okay.”
Andrew closes his eyes and shuts them tight as tears trickle down his cheeks.
“Okay. Okay.” He takes more deep breaths as he tries to regain his composure. “How did we make it out of there?”
“Hitori saved our lives.” Cortez answers. “We owe her. Right now she’s in trouble, and we’re waiting for Kou to get here so we can go get her.”
“Trouble? What kind of trouble?”
“Isao has her.”
“No…”
“Do we know which way we need to go?” I ask.
“Cortez scouted out some of these tunnels. She says we should take that one,” Try says as he points to the one on our far right.
“It leads to the Memorial for the Fallen. I counted more than twenty of Isao’s troops guarding the museum building, with at least ten more patrolling the garden. Isao must have decided to make it a stronghold,” Cortez reports. “While I observed, two nymians appeared from a portal, but were immediately dealt with. I’m not sure how frequent those incursions are.”
They talk among themselves for a while before I sense a large clump of energy approaching. “He’s here,” I say. We all turn and watch as Kou walks out of a nearby tunnel, followed by dozens of uniformed peace officers and civilians.
“Are you ready?” Kou asks us.
“Ready,” we reply unanimously.
He turns back to his group of recruits. “We’ll fight against nymians. We’ll fight against the remainder of Isao’s forces. But most importantly, we’re going to be facing off against the Commander himself. If anyone here is thinking about backing out, now is your last chance,” he says.
No one moves or speaks.
“Everyone here has someone to fight for. We will find justice for those we have lost.” He turns back to us.
“Battlefield overview.”
Cortez steps forward and turns her holo to display mode, directing the image at a nearby wall so all can see. A map appears, consisting mainly of a large green rectangle below a much smaller grey rectangle.
“This is the garden area of the Memor
ial for the Fallen,” Cortez says, gesturing to the green area. “There are numerous statues for limited cover, but it’s primarily open ground. We’ll be entering from here.” She points to the bottom of the map. “Our tunnel access point opens under a sheltered walkway. The walkway runs around almost the entire perimeter of the garden. It provides limited cover as well.” Now she points at the grey rectangle. “This is the museum proper. It’s heavily guarded—we can’t take it in a direct assault. We’ll need to create enough chaos in the garden to pull troops from the building.”
Now Try steps up. “You need to get into small groups, three to five people each. Every group should have someone who can generate a shield. Stay together. Aim for distracted or isolated targets, and retreat if you get too much attention. Healers should hang back, inside the perimeter walkway. If any member of your group gets hurt, the whole team needs to pull back to the perimeter and find a healer.” He nods at Kou.
“Okay. Get into groups and we’ll head out.”
Despite their lack of training, people form quickly into groups of balanced power sets, with only a few white crystal users left unattached. Kou moves forward to begin the march. Everyone walks silently, but the corridor still echoes with the clamor of the crowd as we approach the gates. I take a look at some of the people walking behind us. I notice some have left their holo screens on, displaying a portrait or group image. One woman carries a small stuffed animal, and I see a peace officer with a scarf tied around his arm. Everywhere I look I see eyes red from smoke and tears, jaws tight with anger. The more I study our ragtag coalition, the angrier I become. I can feel their energy traveling over to me and the weight of their sorrows carries through. I can see Kou’s crystal activate as always, taking in their darkness as we walk.
The walls are a type of reflective metal that makes us look ten times larger as we march toward the exit. The tunnel begins to incline as we move, but no one slows down. The tunnel turns left sharply before straightening out, and we see the gates leading outside. I head right for it beside Kou and the others, ready and determined—and then suddenly I freeze up. The sight of the gate brings tears to my eyes as my breath catches in my lungs. Confused, I manage to wipe my eyes and force my legs back into motion before anyone notices. I feel a tremendous pain in my chest that only grows stronger the closer I get to the gate. It takes everything I have to keep from dropping to my knees and wailing. What is happening?