by C. W Tickner
The decisive tone in Kane’s voice must have struck a chord and Silver nodded. ‘Alright,’ he said. ‘But how long is an hour?’
Harl laughed, remembering asking a similar question. Silver frowned.
‘Just let him do it,’ Harl said.
‘Catapults,’ Silver said as Harl walked with him to the armoury. The stone throwers had been delivered to the armoury hall and now sat in a line of wheeled wooden frames, waiting to be used. ‘I wonder what Gold got?’
‘They could be useful’ Harl said, pushing through the groups of men clustered together, testing the edges of weapons and tightening armour straps.
Damen’s braided head rose above a group as they picked out shields from wooden racks by a stone arched entranceway. Spotting Harl, he strode over with Kane in tow.
‘Going to sit this one out,’ he said.
‘Typical,’Kane said from behind.
Damen locked eyes with him. ‘Going to make sure no orange robes come for you while you’re busy making things. But maybe I’ll leave you to fight them off.’
‘Not necessary for you to fight this time,’ Kane said slapping him on the back and making him stiffen at the gesture. ‘I’m sure I can find something for you to do.’
‘If they do come,’ Harl said, ‘you know what to do.’
Damen nodded.
‘Fascinating,’ Kane said, studying the catapult. ‘If we can adjust the trajectory-’
‘All ready then?’ Troy said, trying to slip between a couple of surly looking cavalrymen. He threw them a smile and nudged his way through. Dana followed, eyeing the cavalrymen as she shouldered through them. They stepped back when she stopped to stare at one, then join Troy.
‘You’re cheery,’ Harl said. ‘Been drinking again?’
Troy rubbed his chin, ‘I suppose I could have one before the day’s sport. Good idea.’
Dana frowned.
Harl laughed and tested the weight of his new sword with a quick stab, making Troy jump aside almost knocking into the silver general.
A horn blared and as one, the warriors headed for the passages that led up to the battlefield.
The four Aylen faces leering down at them included Grakka. His yellow eyes locked on Harl and Harl looked down before Grakka did something to destroy their plans. He cursed for drawing attention to himself.
Grakka’s hand swept down above him, casting a shadow over a group of swordsmen beside him. The four fingers knocked them apart like a child playing with figurines and snapped shut on a man, crushing him with a horrifying shriek as he was lifted high up and dropped into Grakka’s open mouth.
Harl knew it was all for him, even as men threw themselves to the ground around him. He gagged as Grakka spat the bloody armour out. The pieces slapped into the wet mud in the valley between the two armies.
‘Sick,’ Troy said, falling in beside him and looking even paler than Dana.
Harl spat a gob of diluted bile onto the mud and looked at the horde of gold splattered troops on the far side. ‘It’ll be over soon,’ he said.
Silver rode along the front of the line, giving his speech. His muscled bull managed to keep enough distance from the edge to not slip down as he roared to the soldiers.
‘Today we fight,’ he said, ‘with the same courage as we have always done. You know what to do.’ He drew his sword and held it out to the enemy hill as he slowed his mount.
A buzzer sounded and both hordes swept down in to a frenzied run. The smell of Grakka’s breath mingled in the air with the stale sweat of the men running in front of him.
Faces spattered with gold became individually distinguishable as the ground levelled under Harl’s feet. He picked his man from the roaring staggered line of enemies.
His shield felt heavy as he hefted the thick circle of wood. His mark raised a rusty sword and as they clashed it cleaved down, splitting the shield and throwing splinters of wood over him. Harl twisted the shield, throwing the blade wide and kicked the man in the chest. He heard the wind rush out of him as he flew backwards to the ground. Harl sliced across his stomach and stood, picking his next target.
Both armies were intermingled and only the glittering paint showed who was who.
Troy stayed close, wildly waving his sword to hold off any that came too close. Ahead of them, deeper in the tangle of swords and shields, Dana was surrounded by three gold striped swordsmen. Hunched like a predatory animal in the middle, she dodged a downward slice from one and sidestepped around him. She leapt on his back, wrapping her legs around his waist and raking a dagger across his neck. She stood on him as he fell to his knees and spun on the other two, both daggers held backwards like insect hooks.
The two men slashed simultaneously from both sides and she jumped back to avoid the swings but was caught across her stomach and doubled over. The second slammed his blade down on her back and she pitched forward into a bed of slimy mud.
‘No!’ Troy cried and split from Harl’s side. He launched himself at the two men, swinging left and right. He caught one in the side and felled him like a stubborn tree. The other kicked Troy before he could swing back, knocking him to the floor. Harl was too slow to reach him and could only watch in horror as the kicker stood over Troy and dragged the blade across his back. The killer spun as a troop of cavalry stampeded him to the ground.
Harl heard a roar behind as his mind raced and he twisted to find Gold rushing him on foot. The general swung his sword and only reflex let Harl parry the blow. There was no time for him to return the attack. Gold was too fast. Instinct saved Harl from two more heavy strikes until he felt a blade carve across the plates on his thighs. Dropping to his knees, he knew he should have practised more with Damen.
The general’s blade smashed into Harl’s chest and he toppled backwards into the mud, his mind drifting to thoughts of Sonora and Elo.
Chapter 42
I have lain down inside the cryo bed a dozen times but I can’t bring myself to do it. I have been living here for nearly five years and the world I have created for myself, although lacking in human company, is abundant in every other way.
The noise of combat faded from the battlefield and the watchers retreated, leaving the victors to trudge back up their hill and the losers to drag away any injured.
Orange robed janitors poured out from concealed entrances along the length of the wall and began the arduous task of dragging the dead away.
‘A lot of casualties this time,’ one said as a pair orange figures stooped over Harl. He felt a tug on his legs and the slop of dirt slide under him as they dragged his limp body over the field towards the body vents in the tunnel.
His feet were dropped. ‘Hey,’ one said.
‘What is it?’ another asked.
‘This one hasn’t got a collar.’
‘Same here,’ the second said.
Harl sucked in a deep breath as he drew the horn that hung around his neck up to his mouth. He lashed a foot out at the nearest janitor to give himself time and blew a long, high note.
Prone men who’d been lying still in the sodden ground, rose to their feet at the sound, until every seemingly dead body on the ground jumped up and turned their attention to the janitors.
‘Please don’t,’ the one in front of Harl said, almost falling over in shock at the sudden life in him.
‘Drop any weapons you have,’ Harl ordered, catching Troy’s eye as his friend grinned at him before placing a boot on the back of a janitor and shoving him forward to Dana. She ushered two more along, using her daggers at their backs and forcing them towards the silver hill where they’d be counted and held.
He watched her herd the stunned men as Troy sent his prisoner towards her and strode over beside him.
A group of swordsmen came to collect Harl’s janitor and march him up the hill.
‘What do you think they’d do,’ Troy said, ‘if they knew the weapons are blunt?’
‘Shh,’ Harl said.
‘Got to give the mad scientist credit f
or that one,’ Troy said, tapping the edge of his sword against his palm.
‘Stop it.’
Troy shrugged. ‘I got two of em, he said. ‘Getting better at this sword malarkey. Probably could have saved Dana if I’d taken a bow.’
‘You know that would have killed,’ Harl said eyeing the corpseless battlefield.
‘I could have managed a limb shot, or wrapped the tips in-’
Harl had stopped listening and caught sight of a side door closing and a flash of orange.
‘One got away,’ he said sprinting for the where he’d seen the outline of the door. He cursed the heavy armour they had chosen to wear to turn the blunt blades as his feet sunk into the mud.
When he reached the door he found the familiar blood stain and pressed it so the door popped open. Stepping inside, he could hear the patter of running feet echoing down the corridor before his eyes adjusted to the gloom. It was coming from further down the narrow tunnel where it widened out and he followed the sound, unable to to keep his own feet from clunking.
The runner stumbled as he looked back and tripped on his robes. Harl gained on him. Legs burning from his wounds, he pushed himself faster and, as the man scrambled to his feet, Harl dived.
He caught the man’s leg with one hand as he clawed his way to the hole where the bodies had been dumped. It was surrounded on three sides by railing and the janitor clasped the lip of the black hole and was pulling himself closer to the drop, straining against Harl’s grip. How he was dragging Harl, clad in armour was beyond belief. But slowly, he was dragging himself over the ledge. When the janitor’s waist reached the ledge he fell head first down the hole, pulling Harl with him.
Harl’s foot caught on the rail and he tensed his leg, trying to keep hold of the flailing man. A black curtain was halfway down the hole and with the janitor pushing it to one side, the truth below was revealed. A slow moving, black plated conveyor trundled from left to right below them. The tension on Harl's foot intensified, and as the man wriggled, he felt his grip weaken.
A nozzle on one side of the hole sprayed liquid over the janitor as he writhed in his grasp.
Harl’s foot slipped a fraction and the man jolted. Harl’s stomach gave a lurch as his foot slid away from the railing. There was no going back, he was too far over the edge to pull himself back. The sticky fluid caked his hand and the man’s leg started to slip. He let the man drop, feeling relief as the pressure eased on his foot. But even as the man slammed into the conveyor belt ten pace below Harl knew it wasn’t enough and his foot slid free and he tumbled over the edge.
Hands grabbed both his legs and hauled him backwards. When he rolled away from the drop he saw Troy looking down at him, face a red as a tomato from the effort.
‘Took forever to find that hidden blood patch thing,’ he said, ‘or I’d have got here sooner.’
Harl massaged life back into his legs as he sat up. ‘I’m just glad you came,’ he said.
‘What was all that about?’
‘He got away,’ Harl said.
‘And the smell?’
Harl couldn’t be sure but the feeling in his gut made him nauseous.
‘Flavouring,’ he said.
‘You don’t mean for taste?’
Harl nodded. ‘It’s a guess but I would say those snacks Grakka was eating at the summit probably came from the losing side of a battle.
Troy pitched over the side of the hole, clutching the rail and gagged, vomiting down the hole to the conveyor below.
Chapter 43
I have spent my time working on computer programming and trying to piggyback on the work laid down by AI designers before the world ended. We have a full archive of all scientific studies ever undertaken but I admit that I am only trying to distract myself from loneliness.
‘Where did you two run off too?’ Damen asked when Troy and Harl reached the top of the hill.
The last troops, beaming with pleasure at their cunning, were escorting the janitors through the doors. The men were rushing to get the orange robed men out of sight while the janitors tried to linger as long as possible in the hopes an Aylen would come back to investigate.
‘One got away,’ Harl said. ‘Threw himself down the body vent in the tunnel.’
‘Suicide by snack,’ Troy said.
Damen gave him a confused look.
Dana wandered over, having had to kick a few of the reluctant janitors through the door and was cleaning her daggers on a torn orange rag.
‘I’d rather not explain,’ Troy said.
‘The bodies that went through, were processed into Aylen food.’ Harl said.
‘Then he’s dead?’ Damen said.
‘They’re meant to be dead before they go through.’
Troy gagged and put a hand over his mouth.
‘It’s only a matter of time before the Aylen know what’s happened and they’ll smash this table to pieces if we don’t get away,’ Harl said
‘But we have a plan?’ Troy asked, looking hopefully at them before they headed inside and Dana closed the doors behind.
‘Kane has,’ Damen said. ‘Something that doesn’t involve running away for once. A good one.’
‘Good?’ Harl asked.
‘We’re going to fight back.’
‘Oh dear,’ Troy said.
They met Kane coming out of the forge room, silhouetted in the blaze from the iron melting fires inside. The corridor split off into four directions. The janitors were taken to the mess hall, where they would be held, while grubby soldiers headed for the baths.
Kane’s face was coated in black smudges and he looked exhausted. The tiredness disappeared when he caught sight of the four of them and he gave them a huge grin.
‘It worked?’ he said.
‘You weren’t sure it would work? Troy asked.
‘Of course not,’ Kane said. ‘Any number of variables could have flipped things but we’re almost ready for the rest.’
‘So what’s this great plan then?’ Troy asked.
Kane raised an eyebrow at Damen then smiled at the indirect compliment.
‘We have to recover our gear from Grakka’s office.’
‘It’ll take days to get there and...’ Harl said, unable to meet his eye. ‘There’s been a mishap.’
‘What?’
‘One janitor got away.’
Kane cursed then shrugged, seeing Harl’s shame. ‘Doesn’t matter,’ he said. ‘We will use the hover platform the janitors use. It should be kept in their lodging quarters. Although I’ve yet to see it. We can fly it from here to the office.’
‘And the Aylen guard?’ Troy said. ‘The one in the mech suit, that can swat us like a fly?’
‘We don’t fly back through the archway,’ Kane said. ‘We take the door in this room.’
Harl tried to recall when they had been brought through the archway from Grakka’s office into the room with the table. There had been two sealed doors leading off.
‘Which door?’ he asked.
‘According to a janitor I spoke to,’ Kane said, ‘one leads off to a lab.’
‘And the second?’ Troy asked.
‘Kane frowned, ‘no need to rush me,’ he said. ‘You remember the closed door in Grakka’s office? Well, if my calculations are correct then there is a room behind it that connects the one in this room to Grakka’s office. It’s not patrolled by the guard, like the archway, so we can use it to pass through and retrieve our stuff.’ he saw their blank looks. ‘You didn’t see it on the shelves when we were being interrogated? Nevermind. Our bags are there and if I can get mine back then we can get what we need from the reactor and get away from this bloody nightmare.’
‘What about the door code box?’ Harl said, thinking of the recessed keypads beside each door.
‘The one benefit from being so small,’ Kane said, ‘is that it makes Aylen circuitry very easy to manipulate.’
Damen grinned and Harl wondered what the hunter knew.
‘And when we’ve
broken into the office and got your magical black bag?’ Troy said.
‘We come back for these people,’ Harl said. He guessed Kane would want to leave immediately on the flyers and find the reactor part. To his surprise Kane didn’t look put out, but nodded.
‘And we do this when?’ Troy asked.
‘As soon as the next battle starts,’ Kane said.
‘What if Grakka is in his office?’ Troy said.
‘That’s why we need the battle,’ Kane said. ‘He’ll be too distracted watching what’s going on. More so if the janitor made it out. I just feel sorry for those who have to fight.’
‘Why?’ Damen said.
‘You think it will be normal battle when Grakka finds out that both armies have united, got rid of their collars and renamed themselves the bronze army? It’ll be a slaughter if any survive at all. Time is against us gentlemen.’
Harl expected Damen to want to stay but he said nothing more.
‘Who knows what Grakka will do,’ Harl said.
‘Well,’ Troy said, ‘we’ll be long gone by then.’ He caught their looks of disapproval. ‘I mean we’ll be too busy trying to get our gear back so we can save them. I suppose we’ll be trying to distract the watchers while the fighters get away?’
Damen gave a bark of half mad laughter.
‘What?’ Troy said.
‘We’ll kill them all,’ Damen said.
Chapter 44
I’m going to do it one day I know it. I can’t live alone lie this forever. There will be new cities to found and economies to be worked out. Perhaps my AI work could help with that. I intend to finish it before I go to dreamland along with the others.
Once Damen had broken down the door to the janitors quarters they all filed in to the sumptuous space. Gold and Silver had joined them, joyful at their joint victory and together they stared around at the wood panelled room. It was a long hall with dozens of doors leading off to smaller rooms and apartments. Plush chairs surrounded small fire pits, dotting the dark parquet floor. Chimneys hung over each fire pit and scooped down from the ceiling. Between the vents, orange silk banners were strung across the roof. It was a stark contrast to the dingy living conditions in both the gold and silver areas.