“I’m sorry you had to live through that,” Raiden said somberly. “It sounds like a nightmare.”
“It was. I was sure I was going to die in there. And then I met Ferrus, and everything changed.”
Mara sighed, scrolling through her memories.
“I don’t know what overcame me that day. We had just been given our rations. I had been reduced to an animal by then, surviving and reacting on instinct, thinking only of myself. I had seen Ferrus before, clanking around with her burly, mechanical legs, but I’d always avoided her, as I did with all the fiercest looking ones. But this time, she had just returned from a battle, injured and tired, and didn’t seem as much a threat. I wasn’t the only one who noticed, and a few of the more aggressive cyborgs decided to take advantage. I scurried away and watched as they beat her and stole her food. After they’d finished, I saw her lying there helplessly, skin bleeding and wires sparking, and for some reason, it triggered something deep within my heart, a part of me that could still feel. I tended to her wounds as best as I could, taking from my water bucket, and gave her half of my food rations. She took the food without hesitation, yet she stared at me in wonderment with those penetrating big, blue eyes, as if she’d never before witnessed an act of kindness.
The next night, the King’s men came down for their pleasure time. I usually managed to avoid them in the second dimension, but this time I was detected and chosen by a Shadow knight. I didn’t even struggle when they dragged me off to be beaten and violated. Perhaps I knew it was futile, or perhaps I no longer cared. But Ferrus did. She rose despite her wounds and killed the man where he stood. His comrades attacked her in retaliation, but she slew another four of them alone with her bare hands, forcing the last two to retreat.”
“They didn’t hang her for it?” Raiden asked.
“Oh, she was punished. They couldn’t hang her since she’d won too many games and gained the King’s favor. But they chose her over and over again to battle in the colosseum, hoping to kill her off that way. Each day, they pitted her against a more formidable foe, and each day she emerged victorious. I tended to her wounds every night, shared my rations, and she made it known to everyone, slave and knight alike, that I was not to be touched. Eventually, she taught me how to fight, and we became a team. We were unstoppable in the arena, wielding weapons greater than any machine or blade—love and kindness.”
“I can’t believe you managed to maintain your humanity through all that,” Raiden marveled with admiration. “And I thought Yuran was tough.”
“I must remind you, Raiden, that I am not human,” Mara smirked playfully.
“You know what I mean,” Raiden chuckled.
“I do. And it was difficult, but Ferrus and I pulled through together. Eventually, we defeated the King’s champion in the arena and won our freedom. And that’s when I made a big mistake. Instead of leaving the Capital, I chose to stay and enact my revenge against the King, despite Ferrus’s stark objection to the idea.”
“You tried to assassinate the King?” Raiden asked in astonishment.
“And failed miserably. We barely made it past the front gate before being caught. It was then that the amulet was taken from me by a white knight. We managed to escape, but the knight did not pursue, more interested in the amulet’s value than in us. When I tracked the knight down later, I found out that he’d sold the artifact away. I’d been searching for it ever since, until I got word that it had fallen into the King’s hands, and then the Prince’s.”
“And that’s when you found me,” Raiden finished off.
Mara nodded.
“That’s quite the story,” Raiden said, shaking his head. “You’ve really been through a lot.” He looked down at the sleeping cyborg. “Both of you.”
“Before we got out, Ferrus had known nothing other than captivity,” Mara said, her voice tinged with pity and sorrow. “The poor woman had been kidnapped as a little girl by cyborg suppliers. The only thing she remembers of her miserable childhood is the face of her captor. She has nightmares about him almost every time she regenerates. The man with the scarred chin.”
“Well, for his sake, he’d better pray he never runs into her again,” Raiden said furiously.
“Yes, he had better.”
They sat for a moment in silence, Raiden pondering the unbelievable story he’d heard, and Mara the thought of revenge.
“We’re gonna get you home,” Raiden said finally, determination heating his tone. “You will see Yuran again.” He wanted more than anything to help this woman, after everything she’d been through.
“I sincerely hope so,” Mara said, exhaling deeply. “At least now, with you by our side, we stand a fighting chance.”
◆◆◆
“That’s the last of them,” Sable said as she approached Raiden by the town gate, escorting a couple, their child, and a pygmy. She morphed from a tigress back into humanoid form.
“You checked every house?” Raiden asked to be sure.
“Yep,” she confirmed. “I organized a count of each block. Everyone’s accounted for.”
“Thanks, Sable, you’re the best,” Raiden smiled. Sable returned the grin.
“I have a good feeling about today,” Raiden breathed in a lungful of fresh, moist air, looking up at the brilliant sun rising in the thick, orange sky. “The villagers are well-rested, and we’ve nearly doubled our pygmy herd, which should speed things up considerably.”
“We could sure use a good day,” Sable sighed.
Skarai’s caw echoed from the sky above as he ventured near a flock of vultures. The creatures circled him, the smallest among them three times his size, assessing the threat. Finally, one of them dared to approach, extending its long, sharp beak like a spear. Skarai eyed his opponent with fierce, narrow eyes, calm and calculating. Just before the vulture could strike, Skarai dipped nimbly around the predator’s side and released a dart from below his wing. The pellet dug its way into the vulture’s feathery abdomen and, after a moment of confusion, the bird fell from the sky. Skarai swooped to face the rest of the flock and ushered a shrilling, threatening cry, sending them scrambling.
The villagers below prepared hastily for their journey, making last-minute adjustments to their pygmies’ saddles and supplies. They chatted amongst themselves as they worked, exchanging complaints about the house they’d slept in the night before. Children chased each other around the pygmies, and for the first time since the attack, some even laughed.
“We move in five minutes!”
A team of Coders galloped around the group’s periphery, led by Sable, announcing the group’s departure. The villagers fastened their children atop the pygmies with their supplies and waited their turn. Raiden, Mara, Ferrus, and Kaiyu, led in front. As they began to walk, the front line of villagers followed their lead, and then the ones behind them. Wave by wave, the pilgrimage took off, headed for the city of Balron, what was to become their new home.
“How’d you sleep?” Raiden asked Ferrus as he walked, brushing away a tall bush in his path.
“I do not sleep,” Ferrus replied coldly. “I regenerate.”
“She had a very restful night,” Mara chimed in quickly, nudging Ferrus beratingly. “Kind of you to ask.”
Mara smiled at Raiden, and Ferrus grunted with annoyance.
Raiden returned the smile. He had stayed up hours with Mara, exchanging stories of their worlds. By the time he’d left to his sleeping quarters, they’d hardly been able to keep their eyes open.
“I see the icy duo has begun to warm up to you,” Kaiyu whispered amusedly from Raiden’s other side.
“Well,” Raiden sighed. “Nothing breaks the ice better than a common goal and a common home.”
“Where is your home?” Kaiyu inquired curiously.
“I thought I told you, I’m from Earth.”
“I did not ask where you are from, Raiden. I asked where is your home.”
“Don’t go getting all priesty on me now, Kaiyu,” Raiden jo
ked.
Kaiyu chuckled. “My father was a fool, but he had a wise word a time or two. He told me once, ‘You know you’ve found your home when you’ve stopped searching for it.’”
Raiden stopped for a moment, pondering the thought.
“Well, I definitely haven’t stopped searching,” Raiden said finally.
“Nor have I,” Kaiyu agreed. “I do not know even what I am searching for. At least you have paths to consider.”
“Paths?” Raiden asked, not understanding.
“It doesn’t take a priest to know you are a torn man, Raiden. You must ask yourself—are you searching for Earth…or are you searching for Kiara.”
The name sent a shudder down Raiden’s spine. Kiara, the woman who captured his heart, whose smile was forever imprinted in the forefront of his mind. The woman he’d sworn to a dying mother to protect.
As they journeyed on for hours and hours, through wild fields of tall grass and over rocky hills, Raiden grappled with the question, unable to come to terms. Other than the occasional conversation with Mara or status report from Kaiyu and Sable, Raiden thought silently to himself.
What kind of Earth would I even be coming back to? One with Discovery Inc. logos engraved on the side of every building, a statue of Roko in place of the Lincoln memorial? With my luck, chances are everyone I ever cared about is gone anyway. Even the Shadows don’t stand a chance against Roko’s forces.
Raiden shook his head, dismissing the thought.
I can’t think like that, not after all the lives that were sacrificed. I have to go back, even if I’m the only one left. I have to, for Sarah, for Maximus, and for my father.
Suddenly, Raiden’s attention was snatched by a cry coming from the sky before him. Skarai descended rapidly from a cloud, half gliding, half tumbling towards his master, sparks flying from his damaged machinery.
“Skarai!” Raiden exclaimed worriedly. He cupped his hands and caught the bird just as its wings gave out.
“What happened, buddy?” Raiden asked, stroking the soft, bloodied feathers on Skarai’s head. Mara and Ferrus huddled beside him, watching the bird with concern.
Skarai cawed weakly, then wrapped his wings around his body and closed his eyes, initiating his regeneration sequence.
“Could it have been the vultures?” Mara asked.
“An entire flock of those bird-brains would be no match for Skarai,” Raiden said, dismissing the idea. “Whatever did this to him was far more dangerous. We should stop and send some scouts ahead.”
“No need,” Ferrus grimaced, looking out into the distance. “It does not take a bird-brain to know what is coming.”
Dozens of vultures soared through the clouds opposite their direction, beating their wings frantically as they fled from an unseen danger. The air around them grew suddenly frigid, and a roll of thunder shook the darkening skies above.
“They’ve found us,” Raiden whispered fearfully, his voice shaking.
He placed Skarai carefully into a sack on a nearby pygmy and signaled to his team of Coders to halt the group. Voices rose as people began to panic. Children cried, and pygmies squealed as the day turned to night, and the entire hillside before them was set ablaze, the flames flowing down towards them like an ocean wave.
“Raiden!” Sable galloped over to him from around the crowd as a centaur. Kaiyu rode on her back, their faces pale with terror.
“You must prepare the people for a fight!” Mara ordered them, taking charge as the others stared in shock at the oncoming storm. “Round the children and elderly to the center of the crowd! They will most likely strike from all sides!”
“And you!” Mara yelled sharply, slapping Raiden back into focus. Raiden turned towards her, pale-faced. “Find a way to stop those flames!”
“Molders!” Raiden yelled, turning around towards the villagers. “I need Molders!” It was no use. His voice was overpowered by the screams and cries of his terrified people. Some of them began to flee, breaking formation and sprinting backward away from the oncoming inferno.
“ENOUGH!”
The voice rumbled across the ground and sky like thunder, rattling the villagers’ hearts and bones. The flames halted, only meters away from where Raiden stood. A monstrous pair of black-feathered wings descended from the heavens, devouring the earth’s light in their shadows. With a single, powerful beat, they sent a gust of wind hurling down the grassy hill, blowing out the fires in an instant and passing through the crowd of petrified Ankarians. Raiden coughed as he was hit by the blow of dust and ash.
Raiden watched in silence as the dust settled, and the full extent of the creature’s form came into view. His jaw dropped.
“It cannot be…” Ferrus muttered.
“Is that-”
“An angel,” Mara interrupted with dread, answering Raiden’s question. Her hand curled into a fist.
Hundreds of Decrepit creeped out from behind the angel’s wings, huddling close to him like loyal pets, eyeing their prey with hunger as they awaited his command.
“I have not come here today as your judge,” the angel spoke, Decrepit slithering across his body. “Nor as your executioner. Rather, I have come as your savior.”
The people murmured frantically amongst themselves. Suddenly, a vibrant, white light shone in the darkness before the angel, catching their attention. It emanated from a tall, majestic figure donning flowing, white robes and a grand staff. The figure hovered down towards them until his features fell into view.
“What the hell,” Raiden muttered in shock as he recognized the man’s face.
“How many times must that fool die,” Mara gritted spitefully.
“My people,” Jaaro called out, a warm, jubilant smile radiating from his lips. “My family. How it warms my heart to be reunited with you all.”
“Leave them alone!” Raiden cried. A few of the villagers joined in his protest.
“I know, you do not trust me,” Jaaro continued. “That is by no fault of yours. For generations, the white priests, myself included, have fed you lies. We taught you to worship Gavriel and to hate the angel Mikael. Today, I shall prove to you that Mikael is not the monster we thought him to be, nor is Gavriel our savior. Today, our true savior is revealed to be Mikael, the King of Angels.”
“Father!” Kaiyu’s enraged voice cut through the chaos. He ran out from the crowd in front of Raiden, his face seething with anger. “This has gone too far! Take your savior and leave us alone!”
“Ah, Kaiyu, my beloved son,” Jaaro answered gently. “Look how Mikael has healed your old father. He could do the same for you, for all of you! And so much more…”
“We don’t stand a fighting chance,” Raiden whispered hopelessly to Mara, eyeing the droves of Decrepit.
“Our savior promises to deliver us to the promised land!” Jaaro continued enthusiastically. “He does not ask for our lives, nor the lives of our children. In return for salvation, he only asks one simple request—hand over the heretic, Raiden Williams. Hand him over, or we shall all perish.”
The people’s voices rose in clamor once again. Raiden looked back uncomfortably as the villagers eyed him with torn expressions.
“I have to give myself in,” Raiden said solemnly.
“There has to be another way,” Mara insisted, but Raiden stepped forward.
“Wait,” Kaiyu hissed, grabbing Raiden’s wrist. “This is not over yet.”
Kaiyu turned to face his people. His hands clenched to fists, and his eyes burned fiercely with resolve.
“My father deceives us!” Kaiyu shouted, his voice resonating throughout the crowd. “We saw what those creatures did to our loved ones! Where are they now? Tell me father,” Kaiyu turned around, staring hatefully into his father’s eyes. “If this angel is so holy, why did he save only you?”
“Look not to the past, but to your future,” Jaaro said, dodging the question. “It is true that we have suffered. Each and every one of us has lost. But that can change. Follow us, follow me,
and there shall be no more bloodshed. We can be happy, even without our PDs. We can become a family again.”
The villagers looked up at their shimmering, old leader with wide, dazzled eyes as he hovered above them in the shadow of the angel.
“He has the people under his spell,” Raiden whispered nervously to Mara.
“We must slay that idiot!” Ferrus growled, unsheathing her sword.
“Hold on,” Mara grabbed Ferrus’s hand, stopping her. “Give the boy a chance.”
Kaiyu looked at the villagers. He opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. He turned back towards his father.
“Look at me,” Kaiyu said, his voice trembling.
Jaaro ignored him.
“I said, look at me!” Kaiyu raged.
Jaaro looked down at his son, staring into his anguished, tear-stained eyes as he stood among the field of ashes.
The villagers fell silent.
“A wise man once told me, the quality of a true leader is measured not by the loyalty of his people, but by the love they hold for him. For fear induces loyalty, but love cannot be bought,” Kaiyu said, dropping his voice to a solemn whisper.
Jaaro blinked nervously as the quote spun through his memory, heavying his heart with a tang of guilt. Suddenly, he was no longer just facing an opponent. He was facing his son.
“These people, my people, have lost everything!” Kaiyu continued, raising his voice. “You come to them in their darkest hour, threatening them with an army of demons, and ask that they follow you!? Is that the way of a true leader? Is that love!?”
The Chamber of Genesis Page 17