by Lyra Shanti
“Well, look at what we have here,” came a voice from behind one of the boulders, which made Kren and Axis jump.
“You two must be Kren and Axis,” said Reese as she hopped on top of the boulder with a confident smirk on her face. “You know, you boys really ought to be back at your camp. Your parents are really worried about you, and this is no place for a nighttime stroll.”
Confused, Axis said, “Who are you?”
Kren chimed in by adding, “Yeah, who are you? And just so you know, we're not taking a stroll. We're hunting a monster!”
“We are?” blurted Axis. “I thought we were just finding your sister and leaving?”
Kren shrugged. “Whatever comes first.”
Jumping down from the rock, Reese walked up to Axis and Kren. “I'm General Reese from Kri,” she said with her hands on her hips. “You're familiar somehow, Goldy. Have we met before?”
Axis shook his head, his eyes shifting in embarrassment.
Reese smiled, amused at his evasive behavior. “Anyway, my troop and I can handle it from here, boys. You better get back home now. Your girlfriend, whichever one of you she belongs to, is pretty worried too.”
Kren and Axis looked at each other uncomfortably for a moment, then back at Reese.
“Look,” said Kren, folding his arms, “General Reese, or whoever you are, we're fine. I am a Sirini Warrior, perfectly capable of fending for myself, and my friend here is... um, well... he's a warrior too. We don't need your help, nor do we need you to tell us what to do, or call us boys. We are not boys, we are men, thank you.”
Reese smiled wide, tickled by Kren's bravado.
“That's great,” she smirked, “but with only a spear at your side, what do you intend to do to this monster of yours; poke it with your pointy stick? From what I've heard, this thing isn't so easily killed.”
Kren was about to defend himself against the outspoken redhead when Axis said, “We have much more than sticks.” Not really knowing what he was about to say, Axis added, “We have... our minds!”
Reese couldn't help but release a small laugh. “Yeah,” she said, “that's good and all... for playing chess maybe, but from what your elders have told me, you're gonna' need a lot more than your minds to defeat this animal.” Reaching to her side, she pulled her Viha from her personally designed, dragon-painted sheath. Smiling, she said, “Now this, on the other hand, might just do the trick.”
Awed by the glowing, silver sword in front of him, Kren asked, “What is that?”
“It's a Viha,” she replied, “and it's my baby. Wanna' touch my baby?”
Kren gulped, feeling a little unhinged by her loaded question.
Reese smirked, then said, “Come on now, boys, do yourself a favor and go home.”
“We're not going anywhere,” Kren replied defiantly.
“Fine, die if you want,” she replied sarcastically, “but don't say I didn't warn you.” Reese then turned to her troops. “Men, I want you to survey this entire area. There should be a cave entrance somewhere nearby, possibly about ten feet to the north of here.”
Looking at the Lirhan army's shiny, gold and black battle-suits, Kren envied them. He didn't like being talked down to by Reese, but he loved the idea of being part of a force for good. He had heard of the legendary Krian Lirhan, but he'd never seen them up close. He especially liked their flashy swords and guns.
“You wouldn't happen to have a spare gun, would you?” Kren asked Reese.
She smiled, then handed him her gun. “Knock yourself, kid... but not literally, of course.”
“Plasma-guns won't hurt it,” said Axis with a serious expression. “Swords probably won't either.”
Reese turned to him and said, “Really now? What makes you say that? Do you know something we don't, Goldy?”
Ignoring her apparent nickname for him, Axis slowly shook his head and said, “No... but I can feel it. This creature is different somehow.”
Reese sighed and shook her head. “Well, whatever it is, if it's of this universe, we can kill it, trust me. This is what we're trained for. Please, I can't stress enough that you need to get down from this mountain and get to safety.”
“For the last time, I'm not leaving until I find my sister!” yelled Kren.
“Well, then you can leave now, Nephew,” said Vuntu, walking toward them as he carried a young woman in his arms. “She's very weak, but she's alive.”
Amazed and overcome with emotion, Kren rushed to see his sister. “Kuva?!” he shouted.
“Shh,” Vuntu hushed. “The monster will hear us and realize we've taking his meal.”
“I'm sorry,” said Kren, “but I can't believe she's alive!”
“She is, yes, but just barely,” Vuntu replied. “Take her and get out of here! Do you understand me, Kren? Go, and never ever come back!”
“But I want to fight!” Kren argued.
“No,” Vuntu said firmly, “you will take your sister and get her to safety. That's an order, my nephew!” Vuntu then gently handed Kuva to Kren and nudged his shoulder. “Now go!”
Kren looked at his sister and saw that her face was dirty, but she had no obvious sign of injury. She seemed to be unconscious, however, and he had no idea if her body had been harmed or hurt from the inside. He knew his grandmother would know better and that he had to get Kuva to the camp right away. He hated when his uncle was right.
Heading for the pathway to take him back down the mountain, Kren looked behind at Axis and said, “Are you coming?”
Axis shook his head. “I should stay here and help,” he said with a frightened, unsure expression.
Kren didn't know what to say. All he could think was he may never see Axis again, or his uncle, for that matter. It made his heart ache, but there was no time to think. All that mattered at the moment was his sister.
“May the Gods be with you,” he said before heading down the mountain with Kuva in his arms.
“And you,” said Axis in return. He then gulped as he turned around and watched The Lirhan scouring the mountain.
“So you found its cave?” Reese asked Vuntu.
“Yes, but it was very hard to see. I used my sense of smell to find my niece. There were other bodies in there, but I couldn't tell if they were dead or not.”
“Well,” she replied with knotted brow, “we better get all of them out of there, just in case.”
“I agree,” said Vuntu. “It seems as if the creature is away right now, which means it must be hunting for fresh food, so we have a small window of time before it returns.”
“Captain Jayse,” said Reese, “I want you to stay here and keep watch while I go with Vuntu into the cave to retrieve the rest of the victims. Call me immediately if anything happens.”
“Yes, General,” replied Jayse with a quick nod.
“Come on, Vuntu,” she said with her Viha held in front of her, “let's see if anyone is alive in there.”
Vuntu nodded with a determined squint in his eye. He didn't have a brightly shining sword to guide him, but he had his spear, which had been handed to him from his father, and his father before him. He could only hope his ancestors, and their Gods were with him as they headed for the cave.
When Reese and Vuntu came closer to the cave, which was half hidden behind the moss and vine, they heard a disarming sound. It was sounded to Reese like a shriek of pain, and it came from behind.
Swiftly turning around, they saw nothing except the rocks of the mountain in the darkness.
Reese then willed her Viha to glow stronger so they could get a better look.
“Jayse?” she said into the plasma-transmitter on her collar. “Are you there? Report! What happened?!”
There was no answer.
“Captain Jayse!” she called again on the transmitter. “Damn it,” she added, following where the shriek had come from.
Just then, she heard footsteps coming toward her. Grabbing whomever it was by the shoulder, she rammed the person against the mountain's wall near
the cave.
Grunting, Axis winced, then looked at Reese, confused at why she had pinned him so hard.
Realizing it was only Axis, she released her grip on his shoulder. “What are you doing here, kid? You're going to get yourself killed!”
Axis grimaced and looked her stone-cold. “They're all dead, Reese.”
“Who?!” she asked with a sneer.
“Your men... the warriors you came with. The monster came and... I closed my eyes for a second, but it came and killed them. I don't know how it did it, but... they're dead!”
Not able to believe Axis' words, she ran back to where she had left her men. As she approached the clearing, she saw them, lying on the ground in their gold and black armored suits of leather. They had looks of horror on their faces as they lay motionless on the ground with some of them contorted in strange positions, as if they had been thrown around by a wild animal. Some of the soldiers had large, gaping wounds on their stomachs and legs with blood spattered all over their uniforms. Others had no wounds whatsoever, but were just as dead.
Anger turned quickly to rage as Reese yelled into the silent air of night.
“Come face me!” she yelled. If the monster was still around, she was going to slice out its heart and shove it down its throat!
Axis and Vuntu had followed her and saw the carnage as well.
“How could the monster attack so quickly?” asked Vuntu. “Didn't you see anything at all?”
Axis shook his head with a terrified look on his face. “I couldn't see it,” he replied, “but I... could feel it. It wants nothing but death, Vuntu. It's... insane.”
“Face me, you son of a bitch!” Reese commanded into the dark of night. “You think you can kill my entire troop and not answer to me! I know you're there! Show yourself!”
Suddenly, Reese saw a face in the darkness emerge. It wasn't at all what she expected, however. It wasn't a monster, but her own face! In fact, it was a replica of herself, which completely threw her off balance.
Stumbling back for a moment, Reese coughed and said, “What the hell?! Who are you?”
“I'm you,” said the doppelganger.
“No, you're not,” said Reese as she thrust her Viha forward.
Catching Reese's sword between her hands quicker than Reese could conceive, the doppelganger smiled a twisted smile and said, “You're too slow.” It then threw Reese's sword to the ground and grabbed her by the neck.
“Get away from her!” yelled Vuntu as he rushed forward with his spear. Again, Reese's copy grabbed the spear and threw it to the other side of the clearing.
Without warning, it changed shape in a matter of seconds as it became something even more frightening than Reese. It was a huge, dragon-like creature with a scorpion’s tail and a lion-like head with sharp fangs of gold.
“Do you dare fight me?!” it screeched as it grabbed Vuntu in its left claw, then Reese in its right. They wiggled and squirmed, trying their best to free themselves, but to no avail.
The creature laughed, then growled, slowly squeezing its prey, seeming to enjoy their torture.
Axis stood, terrified, but well aware he had to do something soon or they would both die.
“Stop!” he yelled up at the monster. “Please! Stop!”
Looking down to find where the voice was coming from, the monster stopped squeezing Reese and Vuntu, then tilted its head.
“You dare tell me what to do, little boy?!” it growled.
“Yes! I do!” Axis replied as he began to change shape. Soon, he was a full Sarax and more of a formidable foe, though he was much smaller than the monster in front of him.
Laughing, the monster thrashed its clawed tail against the ground, doing its best to squash Axis against the ground. Axis, however was fast as lightning and evaded each blow. It annoyed the monster greatly.
“What are you?” it asked as it released Reese and Vuntu from its grasp. As it approached Axis, it said, “Oh, I see the truth now. You're not like the others. You're... Sarax!”
“Yes,” said Axis as he flew up to face the monster head-on, “I'm like you! Well, somewhat like you. I mean, you're not really a Sarax, are you? You're some sort of relative though, right?”
Axis thought he saw the creature grimace, but then it opened its huge, fang-filled mouth and let out a deafening scream. It nearly crushed Axis' ribs from the inside out!
“Stop! Please!” Axis begged as he fell to the ground, holding his ears in pain. He didn't understand how, but there was plasma inside its scream, and it was making Axis feel like he'd implode from the power.
Nearby, Reese felt like her guts had been squeezed out, but she somehow managed to crawl past Vuntu's passed out body, then over to her Viha. Gripping it with all her remaining strength, she thought of her fallen Lirhan nearby, then threw the Viha, aimed straight at the monster's heart.
The sword hit its intended target and the creature screamed, this time even louder than before. It turned and looked at Reese, instantly aware of who had thrown the sword.
“YOU WILL DIE!” it yelled as it raced over to her in the blink of an eye, swooping her up into its claws.
“No!” yelled Axis as he watched the monster open its giant mouth.
Reese could see nothing but teeth the size of her own body.
So this is the way I'm going to die, she thought as she smiled. At least it's a warrior's death. The Gods will be pleased.
Reese closed her eyes and said a silent goodbye to everyone she had ever loved: the parents she hardly knew, Mair, Hynfir, Ona, Atlar, Baran, Iliya, and last, but not least, her beloved priest.
“Goodbye, my loves...” she whispered as she entered the monster's mouth of death, “until we see each other in the next life.”
Chapter 12: A New Alliance
Yol stared at her beautiful, olive-skinned face. Even with her eyes closed, Pira looked as if she'd wake up any minute. Yol closed his own eyes and imagined her opening her eyes, then saying, “Oh, my beloved... how long you've waited for me.” Embracing him in his fantasy with tears in her fiery green eyes, she added, “I love you more now than ever before. I'm so sorry I couldn't fight those horrible priests, but it was you I married in my heart. I never wanted Atlar, I swear. You know that, don't you?”
His heart swelled as he imagined kissing his long-lost beloved's lips. “Yes,” he softly replied, “I know. I've always known, in your heart, you were really mine... and now, my love, you and I will finally be together; no one will stop us this time! Now, and forever, we'll be married in our souls.”
“What about our son?” she asked, making his fantasy turn slightly sour.
“We'll bring him to our side,” said Yol, petting her cheek. “You'll see, my love. Our wayward son just needs time to accept that he is indeed ours. It's not his fault he was taken from us so early on. It's none of our faults.”
Pira embraced Yol tightly. He then imagined making passionate love to her in his bed.
Deep inside his fantasy, Yol soon fell asleep and didn't hear Fola coming into the laboratory.
Not surprised that Yol, once again, had fallen asleep in the chair next to his obsession, Fola frowned and cleared her throat.
Waking up abruptly, Yol quickly got to his feet.
“Fola,” he said, gathering his wits, “what is it?”
She sighed, then said, “There is a man here to see you. He says his name is Thotwa, and that he used to be in The Tah. He said you'd remember him.”
“Thotwa?” Yol asked, a little shocked. “I'd heard he died in the Xen war! Where is he?”
“He's in the throne-room.”
“Good, I'll meet him there right now.”
Walking toward the door, Yol looked back at Fola, expecting her to follow him out of the laboratory. When she didn't move, he asked, “Is there something else?”
Gathering herself with a deep breath, Fola said, “We have to talk, Yol.”
“About what?” he replied.
“About Sterek,” she said, stone
-faced. “Where the hell is he, Yol?”
Yol sighed. “Look, Fola,” he said walking toward her, “Sterek was unhappy with me, and he voiced as much last time we spoke, but... there was nothing I could do to make him stay. I'm sorry, but he left... and I don't think he'll be back.”
Walking backwards away from him, her eyes grew wide as she pursed her lips together in anger.
“You made him leave, didn't you?!”
“Of course I didn't,” he coldly replied. “It was completely his own doing.”
“You're lying!” she blurted. “You've always been lying! I can't believe I ever believed in you or looked up to you! First Hynfir left, then my brother, and now you're giving me no choice but to leave as well!”
“Fola, please...”
“No! I'm not listening to you anymore! If you want loyalty, it must be earned!”
“Loyalty?!” Yol broke in, “You dare speak of loyalty?! I raised you and Sterek, saved you both from starvation and slavery! You would be nothing without me, and here you are, threatening to leave while you spit at me about loyalty! How dare you!”
“I dare because you give me no choice! You're lying to me about Sterek. I know you are! He'd never leave without saying goodbye to me first!”
“Believe what you want,” said Yol with a sneer, “but he did leave, and if you want to follow him, go ahead. I'm done begging you for your devotion. I will do what I must to turn our planet around and find a cure for Undaniasis, without any help, if needs be.”
“Oh, please, don't kid yourself, Yol,” she spat. “You're not doing all this to find a cure and help Deius. You're too obsessed with that soul-less body over there to do anything for anyone but yourself!”
“Shut up!” Yol roared at her. “You know nothing of what I've been through or what I'm trying to achieve! You're just a spoiled brat! I should have disciplined you and your brother more instead of letting you get away with your loose tongues!”
“Hynfir encouraged us to speak our minds,” she replied, suppressing her tears, “and once upon a time, so did you.”