Never Say Die

by D J Sternowski-Korzec

  Meanwhile, Raider has received the alert about Sarah and her comrades being trapped inside of the basement. He sees this as a perfect opportunity for him to prove he is on humanity’s side in the war. With no time to waste, he heads down to the armory and gets ready for combat. For now, he is going to pretend he is on his father’s side of this battle, but he will quickly betray him and allow Sarah and her comrades to escape. However, they must take him with them.

  Raider arrives inside the armory and immediately spots Sarah and her comrades. Synx’s soldiers are not attacking them, because they are hoping they will surrender. The leader of Synx’s soldiers steps in front of his men and says to Sarah and her comrades, “Well, well. It seems as if the World Army is here to do some damage.” The leader points one of its claws at Sarah and begins to walk towards her. Sarah orders her soldiers, “Nobody make a move, fire when I tell you.” The leader grabs Sarah by the throat and says, “This bomb is not going to do shit for you. In fact, I’m going to give you a chance to…” The leader is interrupted by Raider. Raider teleported behind the leader and stabbed him in the back and through its chest. The leader drops Sarah and falls to his knees. With Raider’s claw in his body, the leader says to him, “You have made a big mistake, you will pay for what you have done. Attack!” Sarah orders her comrades, “Open fire!” Everyone is attacking and fighting for their survival. Fortunately, Sarah and her comrades are somehow winning this fight. However, they need to find a way out of here and fast. The bomb is just minutes away from going off.

  Raider pulls his claws out of the leader’s body as he is fighting off Synx’s soldiers. He does not regret betraying his father and fellow comrades, because he wants to help out humanity in this war. Raider helps Sarah and her comrades find a way out. Raider walks up to Sarah and says, “If you trust me, follow me. I know how to get out of here safely.” Sarah does not completely trust Raider, but he is their only hope to escaping this place before the bomb goes off. Sarah replies, “Fine.” Sarah orders her soldiers, “We are going to follow him out of here. We hardly know him, but he is our greatest hope when it comes to escaping this place before the bomb goes off. Please, follow him and never let your guard down. Never say die!” Raider leads Sarah and the remaining of her comrades into a tunnel that leads far away from the fortress. Unfortunately, Sarah loses another comrade in battle. As they are heading into the tunnel, a demon grabs the young man by his throat and rapidly stabs him in the chest with its razor-sharp claws. However, he is not dead just yet. Sarah wishes to save him, but the young man wishes them to carry on. The young man says to Sarah, “Do not worry about me, save yourselves and never say die!” The demon opens its mouth as wide as it can and bites the poor man’s head completely off. The demon chews up his head and swallows it. Sarah and the rest of her comrades make it safely into the tunnel.

  Raider, Sarah and her comrades quickly crawl through the tunnel before anyone else comes in to attack them. Fortunately, Raider locked the trap door leading into the tunnel when he entered it. Raider was the last one inside of the tunnel. He doesn’t need to give them any orders, because the tunnel only leads in one direction. The direction is in or out of the tunnel, depending on where you’re coming from. Unfortunately, the bomb goes off and they are all in range of the explosion. Raider shouts, “Get down to the floor!” Everyone lies down on the floor. Almost everyone comes close of dying from the explosion, but luckily everyone survives. After the bomb has gone off and everyone is confirmed to be safe, they continue down the tunnel.

  Raider, Sarah and her comrades reach the end of the tunnel and are far away from the fortress. Raider explains to everyone, “This tunnel leads north outside of the fortress. I created this tunnel by myself, so no one else knows about where we are at the moment. It is best you all get going.” Sarah replies, “If you don’t mind, I would like to speak with my fellow comrades in private.” Raider turns around and walks far enough for them to have their own privacy. He takes a seat on the ground and waits for them. Sarah asks her comrades, “This thing saved our lives, should we bring him back to our base and allow it to join us? I don’t see any problem with him joining. So, is everyone in agreement.” Everyone nods their head yes. Sarah marches over to Raider by herself. Sarah says to Raider, “You have earned our respect and you may join us, if you would like?” Raider replies, “I would be honored to join you. In fact, I was hoping this would happen. You don’t need to worry; I am against my father’s wishes. He is evil beyond your belief. Trust me, it would be my pleasure to take him down.” Raider stands up and marches alongside Sarah and her comrades.

  Meanwhile, Synx has received the news about his own son joining the World Army and betraying him. Synx is outraged. He screams and slams both of his fists on a table. The table crumbles from his rage. Synx announces to everyone in the fortress, “The little boy must be brought back here alive. Whomever brings him back to me alive will be awarded like royalty.” Synx has put a bounty on his own son to be brought back alive. Synx says to his wives, “Our son has betrayed us. He is no longer a son to me, but an enemy and a threat to our power. Let’s make him regret betraying us by bringing him back here alive and making him wish he never did what he did.” All of his wives agree with him and get ready to bring him back. However, he is going to give this opportunity to his spy. Synx says to his spy, “My son has betrayed us. He is going to be your next target, but I want him back here alive. I am not done with him, just yet. Also, you failed to kill Sarah. Do not fail me, again. Kill her as well.” The spy replies, “It would be my pleasure, but how would you like me to gather up your son?” Synx replies, “Make him suffer as much as possible before you bring him to me. I will be heading out in a week to come and collect him. You are free to do whatever you like to Sarah, but make sure she is dead this time.” Synx disconnects from his spy and takes a look at the damage done to his fortress. He is outraged by what he is seeing and screams, “Raider!!!” Synx cannot wait to get his hands on his own son and torture him to death for treason. He is hoping his spy will not fail him.

  Meanwhile, Sarah, Raider and her surviving comrades are heading back to the military base. As of right now, they are passing through a desert which is known for being very threatening to wildlife. The weather here is unpredictable and can cause mass destruction upon anything in the desert. This is going to be a huge threat to the mission, because they do not know if they are going to survive or die while they are stuck in the desert.

  Sarah is not sure how the General is going to react when they bring home a member of Synx’s family. Sarah asks Raider, “So, why did you save us back there? Aren’t you afraid they will come after you and kill you in ways I cannot even imagine?” Raider replies, “I am a little worried he will send out somebody to kill me, but I can take anyone back there. Unless if it is my father himself coming after me, I can’t be too worried. The reason I saved you back there is because I wanted to join you and take down my father’s reign of terror. He is unbelievably evil and powerful. He needs to be taken down as fast as possible.” Sarah replies, “Okay, I can see what I can do about you joining our army. However, I don’t think the General will be too happy upon your arrival. In fact, I myself am not certain about you joining us as well. You have my trust, but not completely. You still have a knife to your throat. Don’t make me slit it.” Raider replies, “Yes, ma’am.” Raider, Sarah and her comrades continue to make their way through the desert. So far, everything is going good. But they know better not to feel completely relaxed, because it can turn around at any moment.

  Meanwhile, the General is curious to know how Sarah’s mission is going at the moment. However, he is not too worried about it. He sent some of the best out there, including Sarah. The General heads into the building where Lieut. Col. Robinson’s body is located. The General takes a look at him and says, “Whatever happened to you along the way must have been tragic to make you do something like this. I pray you are able to rest in peace. Your family and all of us will never forget you. You
were a strong and powerful soldier with a heart made of platinum. This is goodbye, for now my old friend.” The General kisses Lieut. Col. Robinson on his forehead before heading back to his office.

  Meanwhile, Raider is very nervous to be heading into the World Army’s military base. He knows for a fact he will not be greeted or welcomed by many people. This is going to be a new experience and a new environment for him. So of course he is going to feel uncomfortable and unwelcomed. He is going to be an outcast of human society. Raider says to himself, “This is it, this is the moment you have been dreaming of ever since this war has started. I am certain my father has placed a bounty over my head. Not for me to be killed or murdered, but to be brought back alive so he can do the killing and suffering. Let’s just hope everything goes well when we arrive at the military base. If not, they probably will kill me and not allow me to escape. However, it is the risk I am willing to take. My father needs to go down as fast as possible. This war needs to come to an end.” Raider continues to travel with Sarah and her comrades. They will be arriving at the military base by tomorrow night. They still have a long way to go.

  Meanwhile, Sarah’s roommates are all having a fun time. Scarlet and Abigail are spending some time with each other at a bar. Haley and Chelsea are double dating at a fancy restaurant with their dates. Of course, Abigail is making sure Scarlet doesn’t drink too much. Abigail is not drinking enough to even get a buzz, because she has to watch Scarlet like a hawk. As they are sitting at the bar, someone approaches Scarlet. The man sits next to her and says, “Hello.” Scarlet replies, “Hi.” She takes a sip of her wine. The man replies, “My name is Johnny. What is your name, beautiful?” Scarlet tells Johnny her name. Johnny replies, “So, do you have a boyfriend? I’m assuming not, because you are in a bar with your friend.” Scarlet replies, “How do you know if she is my friend and not my partner?” Johnny replies, “Because a beautiful lady like yourself doesn’t seem like that kind of woman. A woman like you seems like she needs a real man in her life.” Scarlet replies, “So Johnny, are you a real man or just a boy?” Johnny replies, “There is only one way to find out. You need to go on a date with me. What do you say?” Scarlet laughs and replies, “Oh Johnny, you seem like a nice guy. However, I can tell you are just acting this way to try to impress me. I am not interested in men like this. The best advice I can give you is to just be yourself. Goodbye, Johnny.” Johnny walks away from Scarlet.

  Scarlet takes a look at Abigail and smiles. Abigail is very proud of Scarlet. Johnny does seem like a nice guy, but not the right guy for Scarlet. Abigail and Scarlet continue to hang out with each other at the bar. After they have had enough to drink, they head back home for dinner. They do not like eating at restaurants or bars, because you never really know what you are eating unless you are making it yourself. You never know what something truly is made of unless you make it yourself. For dinner, Scarlet and Abigail are going to make themselves jerk chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans.

  Meanwhile, Chelsea and Haley’s double date is going very well. They are all having fun at the restaurant and getting to know each other better. Haley wanted to go on a double date, because she is always nervous when it comes to first dates and always falls into awkward silence. Chelsea is glad to help Haley out on this date. Chelsea and Haley may not be sisters by blood, but they still consider themselves sisters. They are all patiently waiting for their food to arrive. Chelsea asks Eric, “So, do you plan on having kids in the future?” Eric replies, “As of right now, no. But you never know what is going to happen along the way. Maybe it will change? How about you, do you want any kids?” Chelsea replies, “I’m not sure yet, but I have plenty of time to think about it.” Chelsea is happy to know Haley is having a wonderful time on this date. In fact, they haven’t had any moments of dead silence. Jason asks Haley, “How is your father taking the loss of Lieut. Col. Robinson? I know they were very close to each other.” Haley replies, “He is doing just fine. My father is used to losing someone very close to him. My father will be just fine. So, how is your day going so far?” Jason replies, “My day is perfect, because I get to spend time with you.” Haley blushes and smiles. The waiter comes back with their food and they all get ready to eat. Haley and Chelsea continue to have a good time on their dates. They are hoping they can do this again another time.

  Meanwhile, Synx is watching his men rebuild the damage that has been done from the bomb. He has not calmed down ever since he heard the news about his son betraying him and helping Sarah escape with her comrades. Synx heads to his bedroom to relieve some stress and spend some time with his wives.

  Synx arrives in his room with his wives waiting for him in bed. He crawls into bed with them and they all cuddle up with him. Raider’s mother says to Synx, “You don’t need to worry too much about our son. Our spy will take care of everything. Lie down and relax. Our little shit isn’t going to do anything to us. He is no threat, even if he does join humanity’s side of the war. We highly doubt they will accept him anyway, because he is our son. All we need to do is wipe away humanity for good. Even if it does mean we have to take out our own son. He never did appreciate us anyway, so it won’t be a total loss.” Synx replies, “You are right, he never really did appreciate anything we have done for him. He is an ungrateful piece of shit. Let’s hope for his sake humanity does not let him in and kill him before we do.” Synx lies down in bed with his six wives and will check up on the repairs in the morning.

  Meanwhile, Raider, Sarah and her comrades set up base camp and spend the remaining of the night inside of this unforgiving desert. They just hope they will be able to sleep without any interruptions or problems. They just hope they will be able to sleep without them needing to get out of here as fast as possible. Fortunately, they will have no problems sleeping inside of this desert. However, they will run into problems throughout tomorrow. They have a long and dangerous road ahead of him. Luckily for Raider, he will be able to prove himself worthy enough to join the World Army and help them defeat his own father.

  Chapter 5

  Synx’s Son

  Raider, Sarah and her comrades are all sleeping at a very dangerous desert. The weather is what makes this desert so very dangerous. It is highly unpredictable and can cause mass destruction. As they are all sleeping, Raider remembers what was going on before Sarah and her comrades attacked the fortress. Synx and his leaders were planning an attack on the World Army. Raider was just outside of the meeting room. He was getting as much information on the attack as possible. Once he wakes up, he will tell Sarah and her comrades about Synx’s next plan of attack. As far as Raider is concerned, this attack is still going to happen. The World Army has angered Synx, so this attack should happen sooner than planned.

  Moments before Sarah and her comrades attacked Synx’s fortress, Synx called in all of his leaders inside of the fortress to the meeting room. They are going to come up with their next plan of attack. Raider is currently inside of his bedroom, but not for long. He notices some of his father’s leaders walking down the hallway and heading towards the meeting room. Raider is curious to know what is up and carefully makes his way to the meeting room. Synx does not like his children listening to his plans, especially Raider, because they are not part of his military. However, all of his children are ready for combat when there is an attack on the military base. He wants to make sure they are capable of defending themselves and will be able to survive an attack. Raider carefully hides behind a wall and makes sure he will not be spotted.

  Synx waits for all of his leaders to show up before the meeting starts. Once all of his leaders have arrived to the meeting room, they begin to discuss what they are going to do to the World Army. A leader suggests to everyone, “Let’s retrieve back the territory they stole from us. The little village is not too far from here. They can attack us at any moment. Let’s make it not an option for them. How about that?” Synx replies, “That isn’t a bad idea, but how about we attack their main military base. My spy is
currently inside of there. Maybe we can have him help us out from the inside? Do we all agree on attacking their main military base?” Everyone nods their head in agreement. Synx replies, “Perfect, now how should we go about this? I will go over the plan with my spy after this meeting. Only I have control over him. No one here needs to worry about what he needs to do, except for me.” A leader replies, “Well, the World Army is very powerful from up top. We need to find a way to get around them.” Another leader replies, “Maybe we could build a tunnel and tunnel ourselves into the military base? Your spy can help us out with this as well.” Synx replies, “You don’t really need to worry about their towers anymore, because my spy already took out their best sniper. We can just lead an attack above ground. What I recommend we do is have multiple squadrons attacking the military base from every direction. We do not want large squadrons, because it will leave us vulnerable and easy targets. What we need to do is assemble a squadron of tanks and high-speed attackers. The tanks will defend everyone until they reach the walls. The high-speed attackers will climb up the walls and eliminate everyone up top. My spy will help the squadrons get into the military base, but he will have to be careful. They must not know about him being a spy for me. The high-speed attackers will help my spy break open their doorways. Once everyone has entered the military base, we can destroy everything and end this war. Do we have a plan?” Everyone agrees with Synx’s plan of attack on the World Army. Raider immediately rushes back to his room and lies down on his bed.