by R. Brown
A vehicle pulled up beside them. The doors opened, swinging upwards. One of the officers led the way, getting into the backseat. “Get in prisoner 413,” said Orion-1693, ordering her to enter next. Ash scooted into the middle seat as the second escorting officer entered the backseat, after her. Orion-1693 took his place in the front passenger seat. Oddly, though there was a steering wheel, there was no driver. The doors lowered.
The vehicle rose fast, going straight-up thousands of feet into the air. Once it was above the city, the thrusters kicked in, and they rocketed over the skyscrapers, heading out of the city.
Out of eyesight from the populace, the city far behind them, the vehicle began to descend. They landed quietly, no one saying a word. The doors opened. The escorting officers exited.
Ash sighed. Exiting the vehicle, she took a few steps away. “So what now? Shoot the prisoner in the back while trying to escape?”
“You are to be terminated. You are a threat to the peace,” said Orion-1693.
Ash saw the beacon of light from the distant mountains and the accompanying time wave.
“Orion-1693, before you kill me, I have a question for you. Do you see anything on the horizon? Do you see the wave along the base of the mountains coming toward us?”
All three of the droids rotated, looking toward the mountain range. Orion-1693 finally answered, “I do not.”
“That’s what I thought,” said Ashlyn. “And what will happen to Agnes, the librarian?”
“The memories of all who saw you will be erased. As will anyone who knows of your existence,” said Orion-1693.
“Erased. You mean killed!” stated Ashlyn.
“No. They will not be killed. They will be reborn,” stated Orion-1693.
“Killing their memories is the same as death, Orion. They will cease to be who they were,” said Ashlyn.
“It is our way. It is a necessary precaution to protect the peace,” said Orion-1693.
“I am no threat to your peace. And if the memories of those who saw me are erased—why kill me? Why not just let me go?” asked Ashlyn.
“Because it was your people that started the war against us long ago. If we let you live, we risk the war happening again,” answered Orion-1693.
“I understand,” Ashlyn took a cross-legged seat on the ground. “I ask for a final moment of reflection.”
“Granted. We give you a moment of reflection,” said Orion-1693.
Ashlyn looked at the distant wave. “Thank you. Orion, if I can give you proof that I am a god—will you reconsider the fate of those who know about me?”
“You are not a god, therefore, no such proof can be given,” stated Orion-1693.
Ashlyn gave a smile. “Still, if I could?” Ashlyn played the hand that Agnes had recorded for her in the distant future. “I have seen the future, Orion. I’ve seen that you will become a great leader, a champion of the people. And it is people like Agnes with her vast knowledge of history that can help you.
“Your fear of the past has robbed you of the true meaning and experiences of living. You’ve forgotten what it feels like to be alive. I saw in the records that there has not been a single major event in your society for hundreds of thousands of years. The mutant war was the last recorded event. You’ve enjoyed peace, but no growth. You’ve had no achievements. Your society is stagnant, dying.
“The suppression of knowledge and truth has killed all of you. I ask you—isn’t life without growth, the same as death?”
“We exist, we live,” said Orion-1693.
“No, you don’t. It’s not enough to merely exist. There is a universe to explore. There are wonders to be discovered. It is bred into us to seek out adventure. It is the desire for knowledge that drives us to great discoveries, to understand the mysteries of the universe. Have you even explored the oceans? Have you thought about the stars, about going to see them? Have you ever sat and enjoyed a sunset?
“Don’t you see? When you suppressed knowledge, you suppressed the spirit that drives us. It is the experiences that provide the foundation for happiness.”
“I—I am but one man. I would be erased,” said Orion-1693. “Such thoughts may even lead to war.”
“You just made my point,” said Ashlyn. “Why should war ensue because of a thirst for knowledge? If that isn’t a sure sign that your people are dying, what is? And remember what I told you, that I have seen the future. The eons of history have proven one thing, that for a civilization to endure, it cannot rule by force. Force leads to revolt. I ask you to find another way, a way of goodness. Seek out a way of peace. It can be done. I believe in you. And for the good of your people, it is the right thing to do.”
“Your words say much—but still, you offer no proof that you are a god,” said Orion-1693.
With the wave almost atop her, Ash smiled at Orion. “Proof comes in many forms, Orion. Remember, I believe in you. And perhaps someday, we will meet again. As for proof?” She rocked her head playfully. “Now you see me—now you—”
Chapter 14
While Ashlyn was thankful for the timing of the wave, she found herself in a place between worlds. It was grey, bleak, and without definition. The ethereal voices surrounded her. A deep, encompassing coldness reached inside her. “Death comes. Yes, it comes for your unborn child. It is by your hand that he dies. Yes, by your hand—he will die. Death will claim him. Die, die he will.”
Ash rose to her feet in defiance. A powerful anger, a dark rage was rising within her. She felt a hunger. A hunger to kill, to silence the voices that threatened her child.
Empowered by the darkness, the voices became clearer, stronger. “Yes, the darkness makes you powerful. Foretold it was. The power grows within you. Embrace it you will. Save your son you must. Only the darkness has the power to save him. It is foretold. You will save him and he will someday rule the galaxy.” The wind dissipated.
The darkness was now inside her. Ashlyn’s eyes were wide, almost maniacal. Her chest heaved as the darkness seized control. There was a part of her that longed for it. The immense power was drawing her like a moth to a flame. It was warm, radiating, begging to be unleashed.
A jolt of agonizing pain doubled her over. Her knees buckled and she dropped to the grey ground beneath her feet. Ash screamed as another jolt of pain raced through her abdomen. It was the darkness seeking control of her child.
She fought to regain control, the effort draining her strength. She felt powerless, faint. The darkness was already fogging her mind, stealing her identity. She was losing herself.
A gust of wind swirled around her. Another voice, soft, comforting, compassionate came to her. “Rise, Ashlyn. Rise to your feet. I command you.” It was the voice of Anu.
“I cannot,” said Ash, struggling past the darkness to speak.
“You must!” said Anu. “You are far more powerful than Ja’kal. And it is that power that the darkness is calling upon. It is crushing you, making you into a servant, a tool to be used. You must resist. For the life of your son, you must—or he too will become a tool. He will become a shell for the darkness to use, never becoming the man he was meant to be.
“You must rise, Ashlyn. You must rise above the darkness. For the sake of your son, you have no choice.”
The more Ash fought against the rising tide of darkness, the more pain they gave to the child in her belly.
“They will kill him,” shouted Ash through the pain.
“Rise, Ashlyn. You, and you alone control your destiny.”
“Is it true? Is it by my hand that my son will die?” said Ashlyn.
“Have you not yet learned that the future is unknown? It is what you choose to make it. You must resist the darkness, or it will consume both of you,” answered Anu. “You must fight if you want to live.”
Gathering herself, though her heart was dark, desperate—she rose.
The pain suddenly vanished. For the moment at least, she had forced its leave.
“You must not let it overtake you again.
With each trial, it strengthens. You must not forget your own words—that it is for two worlds that you fight, not for yourself,” said Anu.
Though she could not form a smile, Ash took comfort in knowing that the gods were watching her.
The wind faded, the grey void disappearing—the time wave taking her away…
***
The nighttime world into which the time wave had placed her was one of thick, jungle foliage. The ambient noises within the jungle went quiet as a large jungle cat growled in the darkness. Instantly it was stilled into silence as it was struck down, killed by something even more dangerous.
Ash knelt, trying to keep her presence hidden. The darkness was intense. Ash looked up, into the heavy canopy of trees and vines that were blocking the light of the moon and stars beyond. Moving shadows seemed to be everywhere. Trees were shaking, bushes rustling. The pitter-patter of soft footsteps seemed to be all around her. In the trees above, she saw a dark shadowy figure moving silently through the branches, from tree to tree.
Looking around her for a place to hide, she spotted a large tree with a heavy root system, twenty yards away. Crouching, she stealthily ran to its base and crawled into a small hole that had been formed by its overlapping roots. She’d now wait until morning, before daring to venture out.
Not wanting to sleep, but knowing she needed to—Ash leaned her head against the tree and closed her eyes. Her thoughts drifted back to Orion-1693. She hoped she’d given him enough courage to change the future, enough inspiration to make a better world for his people.
She also thought of Anu. He had saved her, his words of strength pulling her back from the darkness that had overtaken her. I didn’t even thank him.
The night passed slowly as the constant stirrings within the jungle made sleep near impossible. She could hear creatures running, seeking escape from the predators stalking them. Each time she heard the cries of an animal dying, her heart raced. It was hard to remain still and quiet as the surges of adrenaline begged her to flee.
Worst of all, were the moments of stark silence that alluded to nearby predators. At those moments, even her own breath felt like it was betraying her location. It became a fight to stifle each exhale, as she heard the nearby sounds of rustling bushes and the soft noise of shifting gravel and breaking twigs, underfoot. Some of the animals seemed to be communicating, sending patterned clicking sounds that others returned and responded to. The hunters were prowling.
Ash quickly learned that a loud growl or roar meant that a battle was about happen or that a victory was being claimed. It was not always easy to tell the difference.
It was only when she awakened to the sun’s rising and the chirping song of birds, that she realized she’d fallen asleep. Ash froze as she saw that a small yellow snake had curled up beside her feet. Moving slowly, she slid away. The snake barely seemed to notice.
Unsure of what dangers surrounded her, Ash took a few cautious steps away from the tree and slowly pulled the sword. Unable to see the mountains, she headed east, in the direction of the rising sun. It was all she had by which to set her course.
Using the sword to sweep branches and vines aside, Ash slowly made her way through the dense jungle brush. It was much quieter than it had been during the night. The small birds she’d awakened to were similar to a traditional bird, but were actually more like a beaked, winged squirrel. They were as good at jumping as they were at flying. Seeing them now, jumping from branch to branch in the trees, it was like they didn’t have a care in the world.
Sitting high above in the treetops, Ash occasionally caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a much larger winged creature. She wouldn’t have even known they were there, if not for the occasional loud flapping of their wings that rustled the branches and sent a sprinkling of leaves fluttering to the ground.
Startled by Ashlyn’s appearance as she broke from the brush into a clearing, a small flock of the bird-like squirrels took flight. When she saw the blackberry bush they’d been feasting upon, a wide grin crossed her face. She’d found food. On both knees beside the bush, she ate until she was full. Never had a meal tasted so good. When she rose, seeing her hands stained in berry juice, she couldn’t help but give a small laugh.
The noise of a rustling bush caught her attention. Ashlyn’s senses went on full alert, releasing a surge of adrenaline that sped and intensified her perceptions. She spun around to see one of the mutated humans leaping at her. Its claws were extended, its fangs bared. Even with her heightened reflexes, the creature was extraordinarily fast. Diving to the side, Ash rolled out of its way. In doing so, she had been forced to leave the sword behind. It now lay in the grass near the creature’s feet, unnoticed by him.
Moving slowly, the mutant clearly conveyed that it felt no threat from her as it displayed its razor sharp teeth in a wide grin. The creature assumed a crouched stance and cocked its head back and forth, summing her up. Like a cornered gazelle that the hunter knew was trapped, he was taking his time, savoring the moment.
When Ash took a step back to put distance between them, she saw his thigh muscles tighten in preparation to charge. With the next twitch, Ash took a step toward him and did a spinning jump that sent her hurdling over the top of him. She landed on the ground, the sword lying between her feet. By the time she bent to pick it up, the mutant had already turned and started to charge again. Ash answered the charge by somersaulting to the side. The roll brought her up onto her feet. Spinning, she swung the sword around, slashing the creature across the left side of its abdomen. The cut was deep and its entrails spilled out.
The mutated human gave an ear-piercing squeal, staggered, then dropped to its knees. Turning its head, it looked at her, astonished.
Staring down at him, Ash realized just how vile the mutated humans had become. The creature’s fangs were dripping blood from swollen gums. The whites of its once human eyes were black, except for the iris which was deep red. Its veins were raised and pulsing. Something beneath the grey skin on the creature’s arm was moving, wiggling its way up towards the shoulder. Ashlyn’s stomach churned as a worm dug its way out near the collarbone. The mutants were diseased, rotted. Nothing in the holo that Siri had shown her, had prepared her for the horror of the reality.
With a quick swing of the sword, she removed his head, putting him out of his misery.
From deep in the jungle, Ashlyn heard a howl. It was one of its own kind, responding to the high-pitched squeal for help. Ash sheathed the sword and turned, running away from the direction the sound had come. She heard another howl from off to her left. Three more howls came from behind. Then another from her right. They were hunting her, tightening the noose—funneling her into a trap.
Running hard, Ash wove her way through the trees and foliage. Thistles and branches of small shrubs were lashing her at every turn. Each step seemed to find a sharp edged rock beneath her feet. She would have given anything for a pair of Nikes. Jumping over a fallen tree, she slid down an embankment of sand that edged a small river and ran into the water.
Swimming to the other side, she splashed some water on the opposite bank to lead them astray, then quickly dove back in and swam with the current downstream. The coolness of the water helped numb the pain of the healing cuts and bruises on her feet.
The sound of surging water soon filled Ashlyn’s ears as the river led her to a narrow waterfall. Horrible memories of the friends she had lost when going over the waterfall on Hadaesia, filled her mind. I’m starting to hate waterfalls. From behind, above the drone of the fall, Ash heard distant howls along the shore. They were still tracking her.
Aligning herself to go feet first, Ash went over the waterfall, plunging into the water. Gently touching the silty bottom of the large pond with her toes—she took a moment to orient herself, studying the rising bubbles and the current of the fall behind her. Staying underneath the water, she swam, coming up on the backside of the waterfall. There was a narrow gap between stacked boulders, which was just wide enough to
let her slip between them and into a small pocket beyond. It was tiny, but she was well protected from view. She couldn’t have hoped for more.
Above the noise of the fall, she soon heard the howls of the hunting party that had come to a stop on a ledge above her. They were calling the other groups to join them.
Through a small cleft in the falling water, she could see their grotesquely shaped shadows being cast on the pond as they strained to look over the edge. Ash saw one of the shadows raise its claw and strike one of its own, chastising it for having lost track of her. The disgraced creature, lowered its head in shame and backed away—a humble acknowledgement of his failure.
Ash watched as several of the creatures took long leaps over the narrow gap created by the fall, going to the shore on her left side—others staying on the right. The hunting party was separating, wanting to search both sides of the river. Though she was safe for the moment, she also sensed a trap. She could feel that they had left one behind, to watch and wait—likely the one who had been shamed.
It was a waiting game to see who blinked first.
By the time night fell, Ash was shivering from the long hours of being submerged up to her breasts in the icy water. She wouldn’t have thought the mutants capable of such patience, and yet, she felt sure there was still one above, waiting. The only positive was that the berry stains were now gone, and she’d managed to wash her hair, taking out the tangles and more than a few thistles.
Ashlyn’s perseverance was rewarded, as forty minutes later the hunting packs of mutants returned from down river. As they congregated atop the falls, she could hear a sort of dialog, an exchange of patterned growls and clicks. They were the same clicking sounds she’d heard on the night she first arrived. Little had she known then, that it had been the mutants in the jungle all around her.