Earthborn Awakening

by Matthew DeVore

  “Friends,” he said.

  Aleena’s eyes sprang open. She was sitting in Eric’s alcove again. He was groaning slightly and gripping his thigh. Vivid dreams often bleed over into life. She knew that whatever was causing Eric this much fear, there was one likely source—the Guard.

  With the way Eric was shifting, he would wake at any moment. She stood and made for the exit.

  Eric’s eyes burst open, fear running rampant through every part of his body. He could still feel the dull throb of pain in his thigh muscle, a residual effect from the dream. He turned just to see someone’s heel disappear through the entrance to his room.

  Someone was here. He was frozen in terror, lying perfectly still on his bed. Did they come? Are they really here? He pushed his hand into his pocket and found the small communications device just where it should be. His hands shaking, he pulled the device from his pocket.

  He gasped as the tremors made him lose his grip and the small object dropped to the floor. It began rolling away from him down the shallow slope in his room. Without a moment’s hesitation, he lunged from the rock ledge, throwing himself to the floor, and reached out to clasp the device. He cried out in pain as his leg smashed against the floor, but to his relief, he felt the cold metal of the bead caught in his grip. He lay there in agony, shaking, tears rolling down his cheeks. Why me?

  Aleena had just exited the room when she heard a loud thump and a muffled yelp from behind her. She didn’t turn around to see what happened, just ran as fast as she could away from the room. Getting caught now would bring up too many questions.

  Allison and Ethan caught up with her, and the three of them went back to Aleena’s chamber, where she described the dream and the appearance of the Guard.

  “So, is he working with them?” Ethan asked.

  “I don’t know,” Aleena said, “but someone gave him that chip, and I’m going to find out who.”

  “How?” Allison asked.

  “All Urlowen Council palaces used to have a link into their intelligence systems, and I’ll bet they still do. If they found Valaan’s chamber, there should be a record of it.”

  “You want to break into the palace?” Ethan said. A mixture of disbelief and excitement shown on his face.

  Aleena grinned devilishly. “Is there one nearby?”

  “There’s one in Madison City. I’m in.”

  “No,” Aleena said firmly. “You aren’t ready. I’ll have a better chance on my own for this one.”

  Ethan looked hurt.

  “But you don’t know where it is,” Allison reminded her.

  “Can you get me close?” Aleena asked.

  “Of course,” Ethan assured her, some of his previous excitement crawling back into his voice.

  Chapter 21

  Ethan and Allison led Aleena through the forest as quickly and quietly as possible. There was little conversation along the way as each was anxious of the coming task. Sneaking through the dense forest at night was not terribly difficult, but Madison City, which lay ahead, would be a different story. At that time of night, curfew patrols would be numerous, and avoiding them would be difficult if not impossible.

  Ethan tried to convince Aleena to wait until morning to make the excursion into the city, but she was so excited by the prospect of finding Valaan that she was insistent they leave immediately. Once Aleena had set her mind on something, he knew it was near impossible to change it. Though, he had to admit that if another Elf was alive somewhere, and if the Urlowens knew where to find him, then time was not on their side. Still, Aleena’s behavior struck him as a little rash. Rushing straight toward the most secure Urlowen facility in Madison City without a plan made him nervous. Though to be honest, even with a plan, he would’ve been nervous.

  The forest was nearly pitch-black with rays of moonlight only rarely breaking through the canopy. On more than one occasion, they nearly ran straight into a tree or tripped over a large rock. Once, Allison walked directly into a thorn bush, which ripped little holes in her blue jeans and black tank top.

  When they finally reached the edge of the forest, they’d hiked twice as long as they would’ve in daylight. Fortunately, they hadn’t run into any predators during the trip, although Ethan was pretty sure a pack of coyotes had followed them for at least ten minutes.

  From the edge of the tree line, a small field lay before them, standing in stark contrast to the high-rise condominiums that marked the outskirts of this portion of the city. The streets were empty, and there were no lights showing through the windows of the homes.

  The three had arrived much farther south than Ethan had intended. Beyond the condominiums, the buildings became increasingly dense for several miles, all the way to the heart of the city. The towering skyscrapers at city central could easily be seen from their vantage point at the forest’s edge, the moonlight dancing off the sleek glass windows.

  “There it is,” Allison said, pointing to a gap between the largest towers at city center. “The councilwoman’s governing palace. It’s in the space between the buildings, but too short to actually see from here. After the city fell, they ripped down two sky scrapers and built the palace. It was the fastest construction project I’ve ever seen.”

  “Most of it had already been built,” Ethan added. “They flew in the parts with massive ships and assembled the pieces.”

  Aleena did her best to hide the disappointment that ran through her. Madison City was nothing like Avenfall. If the construction of this city was any indication, Human technology was only in its infancy. She couldn’t help but wonder why the Urlowens had not completely obliterated their opposition; they were far more advanced than these Humans.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said, mostly to avoid hurting their feelings. She was afraid that honesty would undermine their motivation to continue fighting.

  “It was beautiful,” Allison replied. “It’s too dark to tell from here, but most of the city was devastated by the battle. Buildings lie crumbling, food is scarce, medicine is controlled by the new regime, and it’s only getting worse.”

  “At least they aren’t systematically slaughtering your entire race yet,” Aleena said.

  Allison’s face flushed. She’d forgotten the stories Aleena had told them about her people. “I’m sorry.”

  Aleena put her arm around Allison, giving her a small hug. “Me too. That was an unfair thing to say. My people may be gone, but maybe we can stop this. Maybe Valaan can stop this.” Aleena struggled with her own words. She wasn’t convinced that anyone could actually stop the Urlowens—not Valaan, not the Earthborn, and certainly not her.

  Outside the cover of the trees, the moonlight bathed the grassy field in silver light. It would make the run from the forest to the city risky, but they didn’t have a choice.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Ethan asked Aleena. “It gets a lot trickier from here on out.”

  “I’m sure,” she responded, determination in her eyes.

  “All right, then let’s go.”

  There was a white picket fence just beyond the trees that marked the start of the field. The paint had largely peeled, and the amber color of the wood was visible. The fence was waist-high and climbable. On the other side, the grass was long and unkept. Patches of weeds grew knee-high sporadically. The ground was uneven, and gopher mounds made the dirt weak. At the far end, beyond the encompassing fence, was a paved road that led into the city.

  They followed the street for several blocks. Hiding places were scarce, making a sense of dread grow within Aleena. They hugged the edges of the buildings as they went, trying to minimize their exposure, but that wouldn’t stop a patrol from finding them if it happened to travel down their road.

  “Aren’t there any alleyways around here?” Allison asked, clearly also disturbed by their vulnerability in the open.

  “I haven’t seen any,” Ethan whispered.

  After ten minutes of half jogging, half walking, they approached a stone statue of a soldier on horse
back marking the start of a city park. The statue had fallen off its pedestal and the horse and rider were upside down, the horse’s legs leaning against the top of the pedestal. They were in a brick circle lined by a black metal fence that ran around the back and off to surround the park. The fence rose to form a gate and archway behind the statue with the words ‘Madison City Municipal Park’ written into the arch. The park itself was run-down and had large trees lining cracked concrete pathways.

  “The park will give us a little cover,” Ethan announced, although both Aleena and Allison had already been thinking the same thing.

  Walking through the park was strange. Before the war, you would inevitably find a few homeless sleeping on the benches or against the trees, but now this park, like the streets that led to it, was completely empty. The Urlowen patrols had long since cleared the city of the homeless. What had been done with them, no one asked.

  The park was large, about a mile and a half in length, and took them another fifteen minutes to cross. As they approached the edge, Aleena could hear the voices of several patrolman.

  “There are people up ahead,” she told Allison and Ethan. “Wait here, I’m going to check it out.” She ran forward without waiting for a response, darting between trees. The journey thus far had been monotonous, and she was still invigorated by the prospect of finding the long-lost Councilor of Magic.

  After watching Aleena’s departure, Allison shrugged and leaned against the nearest tree. “Is she always going to be like this? Running off on her own without discussing it with anyone else?”

  Ethan mirrored Allison’s shrug. “I don’t know. This is the first time we’ve done anything more than go to the clearing to practice. But if there’s one thing I’m certain about, it’s that she can fend for herself. Besides, I run off without discussing it with the others when I think it’s necessary. Maybe Aleena and I are kind of alike in that sense.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Allison replied. “You don’t always think things through either.”

  Off in the distance, Aleena approached the patrol cautiously. There were five of them, two standing next to the back of a white skimmer while the other three leaned against the park fence. The skimmer was large, with a holding area in the back for anyone unlucky enough to get picked up by the patrol. On the top of the vehicle was a floodlight that illuminated the entire corner of the block where they were parked. Their night must’ve been boring since they stopped at a park to waste time and chat.

  She watched the men for several minutes from behind an oak tree. It didn’t seem to her that they were going to move on anytime soon. We still have a long way to go tonight, and this is taking too long. She rubbed her temples, trying to stave off the frustration that was beginning to creep into her thoughts. Peering around the tree once again, a plan began to form in her mind. A terribly brash plan. A plan her Elven mentors would’ve immediately reprimanded her for proposing. But they were all dead, and she had a timeline.

  The patrolmen were so surprised by the sudden appearance of a girl emerging from the park that it took them a moment to respond. The closest of the three, who was leaning against the fence, dropped the granola bar he was eating and reached for his gun.

  “Stop right there, girl,” one of the men by the skimmer commanded. “What are you doing out past curfew?”

  Aleena’s mouth rose just slightly at the corner. She didn’t say anything as she raised her hands and sent two blue-white energy spheres into the outer two men by the fence. The third she pulled backward over the black bars, toppling him to the ground from over ten feet away.

  The two men by the skimmer fired plasma bolts at her. With a wave of her hands, the bolts changed course and burned through the trunk of two park trees. She sent two more spheres into the two Urlowens who’d fired at her, then walked to the man she’d pulled over the fence. He was scrambling to get to his feet when she got to him. With what looked like no effort, she shoved him back to the ground and placed one foot on his chest.

  “Who are you? Why are you doing this?” the man begged.

  “Not so tough without the precious Council Guard around, are you?” Aleena replied. These were the first Urlowens she’d encountered since awakening to find herself an Elf out of time. It was still a sore spot, and she was hoping this might help a little—although deep down she knew nothing, not even time, would heal the wounds the Urlowens had caused her.

  “You won’t get away with this,” the patrolman spat. He tried to push Aleena’s leg off his chest, but it was as unmovable as stone.

  Aleena materialized a small blue-white sphere in her right hand and let it hover just above her palm, rotating in place as the light illuminated her eyes. She looked down at the man under her foot and saw fear in his eyes: fear of death, fear of her. The sphere sputtered and fizzled into nothingness.

  “I won’t be like you,” she said angrily. “I won’t let you make me into a monster. I won’t become the merciless killers you and your people are, but I won’t let you take this planet again either.”

  “Look, kid,” the patrolman said, glancing at the body of his friend lying a few feet from him, “the war is over. Give yourself up before you get killed. The Humans don’t even stand a chance of defeating us.”

  Aleena bent down close to the Urlowen to look him in the eyes. She put her hand flat on his cheek, and a moment later, his eyes rolled into his head. He was unconscious but not dead. “Then it’s a good thing I’m not Human.”

  After waiting for what seemed like half an hour, although Ethan knew it hadn’t been nearly that long, Aleena returned. “Are they gone?” he asked.

  “More or less.” Aleena waved them forward. “Follow me. I’ve got us a ride.”

  Allison gasped when the bodies of the patrolmen came into view. “Are you crazy, Aleena! You want to steal a skimmer?”

  “I was thinking it would be more like borrowing,” Aleena said. “I don’t think it’d be a very good idea to keep it.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  Aleena grinned. “We’re moving too slow, and this’ll get us to the palace faster. Plus, we won’t have to worry about getting caught by a patrol as long as we’re hidden in the patrol’s skimmer.”

  “It will get us there faster,” Ethan agreed.

  “You two are too much alike,” Allison grumbled. “Let’s just get this done. If we’re going to do this, then I’m going to drive.”

  “That’s the spirit.” Ethan opened the driver door. “For you, my lady.”

  Allison rolled her eyes and climbed into the seat. It was comfortable and made of something that resembled leather. There was a control system directly in front of her, and a yolk pushed out from the dash that clearly controlled the steering. There were two handholds on either side of the yolk. She grabbed them. “Do either of you know how to drive one of these?”

  “I’m familiar with the basic concept,” Aleena said. “The handholds rotate. One will increase and decrease the hovering height, the other will turn the skimmer left and right. If you rotate the entire wheel, it will bank to the left or right. You push forward to slow down and pull back to speed up.”

  “That doesn’t sound so bad. Let’s see if this works.” Allison pulled the yolk slightly back and they began to slowly move. The front of skimmer dipped toward the roadway.

  “Move the entire yolk up and down to compensate for the dip. I think up will bring the front end up,” Aleena said urgently. “You don’t want the front to hit the ground.”

  Allison pushed up on the yolk and the front end of the vehicle rose dramatically, passing the point of being level and beginning to angle toward the sky. Quickly she lowered the yolk beyond its midpoint, and the front fell back toward the ground. “A bit touchy,” she muttered to herself. They glided along the road with the front of the skimmer rising and then falling over and over again. “If anyone sees us, they’re going to know something’s wrong.”

  Ethan held the back of his chair to steady himself. “Ma
ybe there’s a trim control or something like it.”

  “What’s a trim control?” Allison asked, flustered. It took all her concentration not to smash the front of the vehicle into the ground or flip them over backward.

  “You know, like on an airplane or a spaceship. It helps compensate for increases and decreases in lift created by the airflow over certain parts of the ship from changes in speed.”

  “I’m not sure I’m following, and we’re not going very fast.”

  “Think of it as a way to make minor adjustments that are too small for you to correct easily with the yolk. Maybe it’s those roller knobs by your thumbs.”

  “Which one?” Allison asked.

  “How should I know? Just pick one,” Ethan said, trying to keep himself from falling out of his seat as the nose of the skimmer dipped low again.

  Allison rolled her thumb down over the small wheel, and the skimmer began to slowly bank toward the left side. “Not that one!” She rolled her thumb in the opposite direction and the bank leveled out. When she tried the thumb control on the right side of the yolk, the front of the vehicle began to slowly rise. As it passed level, she moved the knob just a bit in the opposite direction, and the nose came down to level and stayed.

  “Where’d you learn about flying planes?” Allison asked Ethan, relief seeping into her voice now that the bobbing had stopped.

  Ethan loosened his grip on the seat and let his muscles relax. “Video games. I used to play a lot of flight simulators. I always hoped I would need it in real life someday. My mom always said I was wasting my time. Actually, a lot of people told me that.” Ethan grinned. “I guess we showed them, huh.”

  “How long until we get there?” Aleena asked.

  “We’ll get there when we get there!” Ethan said, pretending to be frustrated. “My dad used to tell me that a lot.”

  “I don’t understand,” Aleena said.

  Ethan was slightly disappointed that neither Aleena nor Allison seemed to think his joke was as clever as he did. “Never mind.”