Sisters of the Sands

by Villinger, James

  She turned back to us. “We need to find him and kill him.”

  “Or capture him?” I suggested, and the others groaned.

  Maya’s face contorted. “Sacet, can you not sense the danger we’re in?”

  Something had stirred the creatures below. Did they hear Maya? They all rushed to our building’s side and began scaling the wall by puncturing it with their massive claws.

  A soldier pulled on my arm. “We need to move!”

  Maya jumped through the open window and we all followed. I could hear the Necrolisks squealing and slashing the building from inside. Maya busted down the nearest apartment door and scanned the room for any signs of life. The other soldiers ran down the corridor and did the same with the other rooms. This was going to take too long; the Necrolisks would find us before we found this Acolyte.

  I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself. My perception darted around and through the floors of the apartment. I sensed women and children hidden in their rooms, dead bodies throughout the corridors, and Necrolisks hunting through the lower floors.

  Farther down the corridor and on the floor above, a single male soldier was looking down at the gardens through an apartment window. Like other Male Dominion soldiers, he wore dark armour and his helmet was a mask that covered his face. Only his eyes could be seen through it. He was thin, lanky even.

  I focused behind the man and opened another portal. Leaving the other soldiers in the corridor, I entered with my blade drawn and snuck up behind him.

  I didn’t want to kill him, so I jabbed the tip of my sword into his back. “Call them off. And turn around, slowly!”

  The man didn’t say anything but did start to turn around to face me.

  I jabbed at him again. “And hands up, too!”

  I couldn’t give him the chance to try anything. He complied with my instructions, raising his hands as I brought my blade to his neck. His calm eyes looked back at me through the slits.

  A stream of fluid shot from his fingertips and straight into my visor, obscuring my vision. I swung at him with my blade but he ducked. My feet gave way and I landed on my back on the floor. Moments later, I heard a crash of glass. The man had jumped through the window.

  Some of the other soldiers had entered through the portal to assist me.

  “Was it him? Where is he?”

  I sprung to my feet and took off my acid-covered helmet, throwing it to the floor. It sizzled and splattered as it rolled, for the corrosive fluid was eating through the armour.

  I ran over to the balcony and looked down over the edge. He had landed on one of his Necrolisks one floor below. It had been scaling the building’s side. It wasn’t the only one; the other Necrolisks clambered along the walls towards him, too. The creature he stood upon stayed still to ensure its master did not fall.

  He looked up at me as he balanced, but then looked back at the window in front of him. Maya crashed through it, flinging water and broken glass everywhere. The Necrolisk didn’t know what to do. Maya flew towards it and reached out to its head. Its head exploded, and Maya and the man grabbed onto the creature’s body for dear life as it plummeted off the side of the building, down through the trees in the garden and onto the ground.

  I opened another portal to the ground by their side and stepped through, and the other girls followed me.

  Maya and the man were fine, for they had used the Necrolisk body to cushion their fall. They both struggled, and Maya ripped the man’s helmet off, drew her gun from her waist, and pointed it at him. The face of a pasty, gaunt, frightened young man stared back at us.

  He put his hands up, but it wasn’t long before hundreds of Necrolisks had latched off from the building and surrounded us. They all came in close, but stopped, as if knowing their master was in danger.

  Maya stood on his stomach and pressed her weapon closer to his cheek. “Make them leave or they won’t have a master to serve anymore.”

  The pale man, looking to be in his early 20s, was wheezing. “You FD trash … if you hurt me, there will be nothing to stop my family … tearing you to shreds!”

  Realising the standoff was not in our favour, I sped over to him. “Let me try something,” I said to Maya before dipping down and grasping his collar.

  A glimpse of a smile appeared on the man’s guise, clearly not intimidated by either of us.

  Remembering the sky overhead, I opened a portal underneath his upper frame, with the destination high above the city. The wind picked up, and the Necrolisks squealed again, frightened for their master’s safety.

  As the man’s body began to fall through the impressive pitfall, his eyes widened in genuine fear. His arms flailed in a panic as he lent back. With my squatted stance firmly planted in the garden, and my hands clutching his neck, I was the only thing keeping him from certain death.

  His eyes darted about. “Don’t drop … don’t you dare drop me!”

  “Send … them … AWAY!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

  The Necrolisks edged forward, tightening their circle.

  I shook him, causing him to desperately grab onto my wrists. “Do you think I’m playing with you?” I screeched. “Send them away now! Otherwise we’ll both drop through with you, and I guarantee we’ll live and you won’t.”

  “Alright, alright!”

  The frightened man locked eyes with me and then over to the creatures. They shrieked and hissed as he raised his hands towards them. They started to retreat, scurrying back through the gardens and up the steps. Many more burst out of the windows above and joined them. When there wasn’t a Necrolisk in sight, he lowered his arms again.

  “There. No need to, erck!” he said as Maya’s shock dart hit him in the neck and rendered him unconscious.

  “Thanks,” Maya said, holstering her weapon.

  “Who is he?” I asked, pulling him back up and closing the portal.

  “His codename is Colony,” Maya said as the other soldiers jumped out of one of the windows on the ground floor.

  “Is everyone else okay?” I asked as they walked over to join us.

  “We lost our corporal,” one of them said. “But it could have been worse if you hadn’t warned us. What tipped you off that it was an ambush?”

  “One of their claws was sticking out of the ground,” I lied.

  “Where’s your helmet?” Maya asked.

  “This guy shot something corrosive at me,” I said as I looked back down at his fingertips. There were small pipes leading down to them from his back. “I had to get rid of it – it would have melted my face otherwise.”

  “Alright, fine. But pay attention to what I tell you,” Maya said, turning to face the other soldiers as well. “I’m the highest rank here now. We need to get to the factory for our next orders.”

  Maya pointed at another soldier. “You three, take the prisoner to the pickup zone for extraction and then catch up with us afterwards.”

  The soldier nodded and began dragging Colony’s body back towards the terrace at the top of the stairs.

  We made our way through the garden again, going from cover to cover. As we paused behind one of the benches, Maya faced me.

  “Good kill by the way,” she said and nodded over at the nearby burrow where the dead Necrolisk lay in two pieces. “And I must say, I’ve never seen that side of you. Colony was practically wetting himself.”

  “Thanks. Maya, are you and I … okay now?”

  “I don’t know yet. And now’s not the best time for this discussion.”

  We both stood up and ran for the next bench with the other soldiers following behind us.

  I sighed. “Look, I’m new. I’m trying to understand, I promise. How can I make it up to you?”

  “None of that matters while you’re out here. Just make sure you have our backs.”

  I nodded. “Alright.”

  She gave a small laugh. “You know, I was thinking of kicking you out of my apartment, and sending you to live in the barracks, so count yourself lucky I�
��ve changed my mind.”

  We reached the far edge of the garden where the large facility towered over everything in the area. In front of the entrance was a set of stairs with numerous pylons along its sides. We moved closer to the building and started climbing a staircase.

  As we ran to the entrance, there was an explosion and the doors burst off their hinges and hurtled through the air over our heads. We ran to the side of the stairs behind the pylons for cover. There was a bright red light coming from within the facility. A familiar heat drifted through the doorway and onto my face. A high-pitched humming noise and a sickening burning smell saturated the air. The distant screams of agony had frozen me in place.

  20. Untouchable

  Maya gestured for us to follow. “Keep low and stay close!”

  I could barely hear her voice over the sound of laser fire and high-pitched blare. I didn’t need to use my second perception to know who was on the other side.

  Maya continued up the stairs and entered the facility and we all followed close behind. We were on a large catwalk that overlooked the factory floor beneath us. Colossal machines were suspended from the ceiling via large lifting mechanisms.

  There were pieces of steaming bodies scattered throughout the room and on the catwalks. There was plenty of cover in the form of metal pillars that were interspersed through the factory. On the far side of the enormous area there was a gunfight.

  Aiding the males were the two men I saw back in Pilgrim’s village. The source of the energy weapon, a tall muscular man, was again shielded by his partner. As the red beam left the shield that was surrounding them both, the hexagons making up the shell in that area disappeared to allow the laser to pass through unhindered. The energy travelled towards the women and melted through their cover and armour. It then continued through their now disintegrated bodies to the other end of the room.

  “Sacet!” Maya said. “Get over here!”

  The others were sitting with their backs up against the waist-high catwalk wall. I rushed over and knelt down with them.

  “Contact command!” Maya said to one of the soldiers, who brought her hand up to her helmet and pressed some a button near her faceplate. “We need new orders, inform them of the situation.”

  A picture of another soldier came up on her screen. “AS03! Have you reached the factory?”

  “Affirmative,” our transmitting soldier replied, “we have encountered Noor and Tetsu. Our squad is outmatched. Please advise.”

  “AS03, engage all hostiles! Once they’ve been taken care of, proceed to the central hub. Reinforcements will be with you as soon as possible. Central command, out.”

  “How do we beat them?” I asked as the others stared at the catwalk floor in despair.

  One of the other soldiers moved in closer. “I saw a MASU Mech over there. If it’s operational, I could pilot it?”

  Maya looked back at her, impressed. “Good. Here’s the plan then.” She shifted closer and we huddled together. “We need to lure them under that hanging drone that’s still under construction. When they are below it, I will liquify the supports from above and drop it on top of them. You pilot the Mech, and you five will approach through the middle using the pillars as cover.” Maya pointed at the soldiers as she spoke. “You three will provide suppressing fire from this catwalk on my signal.”

  “What about me? What do I do?” I asked.

  “You? Get me on top of that drone, teleport yourself behind them, and do whatever you can to disrupt their fire … I don’t know. Crush them or something. Everyone clear?” The others nodded in approval.

  I peeked over the railing of the catwalk at the unfinished machine hanging from the roof. Focusing on the top of it, I opened a portal as the other soldiers started moving into position, staying low. Maya and I both entered through the portal and then peered over the edge of the drone. The firefight was still raging below us.

  “I’ll stay here. See over there?” Maya said, pointing at another catwalk on the opposite end of the chamber. “Use that vantage point. Go!”

  I closed the other portal, opened another to the other catwalk, and walked through it. This time I was behind the enemy. Their regular soldiers were in cover behind crates and pillars, while Noor and Tetsu were moving closer to my comrades out front. My squad mates rushed over to assist the other women in the centre of the chamber, firing back in the men’s direction. When the energy beam countered it obliterated one of the women and the men cheered at the horrific explosion of blood and bits.

  “Great one, Noor! There, another one to your right,” yelled the man maintaining the shield.

  The two men were continuing forward. My face was sweltering. I didn’t want to kill them, but after what they did to Pilgrim’s village, maybe they deserved it? No, no more death. Find another way!

  I concentrated and pictured a portal inside their bubble-like shield, but nothing happened. What was going on? This shield wasn’t just blocking laser fire, my powers had no effect on it either.

  There was a small splash and a loud creak. The colossal mechanical drone came crashing down through the air towards Noor and Tetsu. Noor raised his hands upwards and fired his laser into the falling behemoth, causing it to split in two. The machine’s impact onto the shield caused dust and shrapnel to fly in all directions.

  The catwalk I was standing on shook from the crash and broke off from its supports, and as it fell, I opened another portal to safety. I jumped through it and reappeared on the ground a safe distance from the falling walkway. As the catwalk smashed onto the ground behind me, the cloud of dust dissipated to reveal that Noor and Tetsu were unharmed, their shield remained intact and the other male soldiers cheered again.

  Maya was holding onto a cable that was hanging from the ceiling. I needed to get her out of danger before the male soldiers noticed her, too. Maybe there was another way I could get rid of them? I looked up at the factory’s ceiling and also just below the enemy soldiers’ feet.

  “Up there,” one of the male soldiers said. Noor and Tetsu noticed her, too.

  I opened a portal and frantically moved it under all of the male soldier’s feet. One by one, they all fell through and out on the other side of the room. They flailed their limbs as they fell screaming towards the solid floor. Even from here I could hear snap after crack as each man broke their legs.

  Noor raised his arms and fired at Maya. As the beam came at her, she let go of the cable and started falling to the ground. But she wasn’t quick enough; the beam caught one of her hands, causing it to instantly disintegrate. The beam was following her down intending on finishing her.

  I threw my hands out and created a portal below her path and another to my side behind one of the metal pillars. She went through and smacked onto the floor. Her wrist was steaming, for the wound had been cauterised by the beam. Maya was screaming in agony, and the noise caught the attention of the two Acolytes.

  “There, there! That one!” yelled Tetsu as he pointed at me.

  “I see her,” muttered Noor as he raised his hands towards me.

  I, too, raised my hands and opened a portal in front of me to shield myself. I placed the exit facing down above their heads. The energy blast came towards me and through my portal. It exited and fired onto the top of their shield instead. But the beam split in all directions, having no effect.

  The beam stretched wider than my portal would allow. A fragment of the laser grazed past my shoulder, blowing me off my feet. I opened another portal behind me as I flew through the air, and as I went through it I could feel the widening laser fizzle from behind. I hit the floor on the other side and scrambled for a nearby pillar. I sat against it and grasped my painful, burnt shoulder.

  “Come out! We just want to talk!” I could hear Tetsu say.

  “Hahaha … good one, brother,” Noor said.

  As I sat there trying to catch my breath, I could still hear gunfire from the rest of the squad. They were engaging the soldiers I had displaced. Behind the pillar, I se
nsed Noor and Tetsu still searching for me.

  “Maybe you’re here?” Noor said as he fired on some nearby crates.

  I needed to move or he might fire on me next. I couldn’t think of anything, where could I move to? There was a whirring noise, followed by another loud hail of gunfire coming from where the soldiers were fighting, and then … nothing. Noor and Tetsu also stopped to check out the silence, but their view was blocked by the wreckage of the fallen drone and a cloud of dust.

  But I sensed it: a two-legged mechanical walker forced its way through the debris and rubble, before adjusting its sights on the Acolytes. In place of its arms were two large guns, which now started to spin.

  The machine fired upon the men with a barrage of bullets, but they were deflected. They bounced off the shield and fell to the ground. The men stood still, Noor with his arms folded, as if unimpressed by the assault. A volley of rockets now left the MASU, bombarding the shield with blasts. The smoke cleared; the two men turned to one another and laughed.

  “Are they serious?” Noor jested.

  “I think they are. Show them how it’s done.”

  That pilot was going to get killed if I didn’t act now. But I still couldn’t think of anything. Wait … when they fire, there is an opening of the shield. Although it’s only small, there’s a gap between the shield and the exiting laser. That was it, but they would need to be firing for the opening to be created. I needed to get closer.

  I brought myself to my feet and took a few steps away from the pillar. I created a set of portals, one in front, and one behind me, both facing away. I brought them closer and closer around my body. I didn’t have my helmet, so I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as the portals wrapped around me.

  It was the strangest feeling, for I couldn’t see anything except me from the inside of the portals, although the images of me were warped. Looking directly forward, I could see the back of my head. The portals even wrapped around and underneath my feet, but rather than fall down through nothing, my own body supported them. As I straightened my portals, I accidently bumped my own chest with my back, and so I bent the portals to compensate.