Kin of Exile

by Tyler Bunyard

  “AAAAAAAAAAAH!” Angel hollered as he shot out of the destroyed window, the collapsing buildings cutting through the trail of black smoke that followed him. Angel had wasted the rest of his energy, and he began to plummet toward the ground. Landing hard, Angel rolled onto his back, dropping Karrel along the way, who skidded to a halt.

  “Where’s Puck and Johnny?” Karrel scanned the area. With a loud thud, Puck crashed into the ground. His face was bloody, but he had Johnny with him.

  “Goddamn… glass… everywhere…” he panted, cleaning up his face as best as he could.

  Johnny rolled himself back onto his feet. He pointed toward the middle of the city. That portion of Flarepoint had yet to be destroyed. Karrel was thankful, especially considering what was there.

  “The truck’s about a block away,” Johnny assured them, “no time to stop!”

  Ignoring the intense deathtrap, they had just escaped, the boys got to their feet again, pushing themselves to sprint the final stretch as fast as possible. They rounded the corner and were met with the most beautifully surprising image they had all ever seen. There stood the armored truck. Perfectly untouched, and ready to go.

  One by one they hopped into the armored vehicle, Puck taking the driver’s seat. He hit the ignition, pulled a one-eighty, and floored it in the direction of the Infernum encampment. Their minds froze as they watched the streets beneath them pass by. For a few moments, they could hear nothing but the burning rubber. Another half-a-minute and they were out of the city. The armored car handled surprising well on the unpaved landscape of Infernum.

  Just when they all thought they were free and clear. A booming voice echoed through the skies. The crippled-looking demon hovered just outside of the city’s borders, watching the armored vehicle make its escape.

  The thunderous voice chuckled, filling the air with its grumbling laugh. “It has been fun toying with you all,” it announced, “but I shall let my other playthings deal with you!”

  Karrel and the others watched as just outside of the city, a massive surge of orange energy began to tear its way through empty space. The energy cracked and sparked violently. It was as though the air itself was opening up. It grew and grew until its height rivaled that of Flarepoint’s highest tower. Finally, with a burst of energy, it grew to its full brightness. A thousand tiny specs began to appear in the portal, slowly growing bigger and bigger. It took a moment for Karrel to focus his vision, in order to make sure that what he was seeing was real. Rapidly, by the hundreds, demons poured out of the gigantic orange streak. Pyretiffs, zweichars, umbrabats, alphas, and many demons Karrel did not recognize, all rushed out of the orange light.

  A wall of demonic creatures began charging after the armored vehicle. They all had one simple thing on their minds: their next meal.

  Puck forgot how to blink, watching the wall of creatures in his mirror appear from thin air and make chase. He gulped down a breath, flipped the glass out of view, and pressed the pedal to the floor as hard as he could.

  Chapter 29

  Fixing an Escape

  The soft rumble of the armored truck, hypnotic in its rhythm, only served to add more weight to Karrel’s eyes. Had it not been for the chaotic scenery behind him, he could have easily found himself passing out during the ride. Peeking his head out the side of the truck, he saw that nothing had changed in the past hours. A wave of demonic foes was still hot on their trail, showing no signs of slowing down. Occasionally one of them would spit an attack their way, but so far, the armored vehicle had been able to maintain a safe distance away from the oncoming horde.

  Johnny, Angel, Karrel, and Puck, who was still in the driver’s seat, had been scorching across the plains of Infernum for hours. Flarepoint was long gone, and given the speed they had maintained, and how long they had been traveling, Karrel estimated that they were getting close to the portal encampment. Keeping it hidden was out of the question. They needed to leave.

  He hoped that the girls, Kailey, and her squad had been successful in their duty to guard their way back home. If not, then all hope was lost. It was a miracle that the truck had been able to maintain its top speed for so long without breaking down, and that was without even considering their dwindling fuel supply. With no way back to Earth, and the army of teeth behind them, the truck would be their only means of escape. When it busted, their death sentence was assured.

  A loud popping sound burst next to the side door that Karrel was sitting by. The vehicle shook violently for a few seconds.

  “Damn it,” Johnny shouted as loud as his weakened voice could. The injuries he had sustained were beginning to take their toll. “I didn’t want to admit it, but there’s no point in staying in denial. It’s been slow, but they’ve been gaining on us…”

  “Umbrabats, vomiting their explosive ping-pong balls…” Angel moaned. “One well-placed shot and we’ll be flipped on our–”

  Another explosion burst near the armored vehicle, rocking it on its side, kicking it up onto two of its wheels. Karrel felt himself slam against the metal sides of the vehicle, watching as Angel and Johnny painfully did the same.

  Puck maintained his position in the driver’s seat, but only barely. He shouted to the back of the truck, “Do something!”

  They needed to react quickly. Karrel pointed to the now airborne side of the armored truck, and his dark-eyed friend understood what needed to be done. Karrel and Angel scampered up the elevated floor. It was like trying to climb a sanded piece of hardwood, but their adrenaline levels made it possible. Bashing their bodies into the opposite wall, the two friends felt themselves halt the tilt. With a rapid succession of shoulder-slams, they tipped the vehicle back towards the dirt surface. The spinning, airborne wheels crashed back down upon the ground, bouncing a few times before regaining their traction.

  “Thank you!” Puck shouted, spinning the steering wheel in order to correct the now swerving vehicle.

  Karrel slumped down into one of the seats. “Not that I don’t feel like fighting our new fan-club,” he gulped, “but how close are we to the portal?”

  Angel reached into his pocket, collecting a small silver object and a pack of cigarettes. Karrel shook his head in disbelief. Of course, even after the carnage that he had endured, Angel had managed to keep his lighter and smokes safe. With a flick of his thumb, Angel lit the cigarette and popped it into his mouth. Before he could inhale however, Angel let out a disheartened sigh. He flicked the cigarette out of the vehicle, disappointed at the waste, before pointing to the oncoming area with a dispirited gesture.

  There it was. The large portal structure was dead-ahead. Because of the terrain, it was incredibly hard to spot, but they were all familiarized with the area. The camouflaging topography had served them well for many months, protecting the area from sight. Unfortunately, their luck had run out, and Angel’s anxious expression suddenly made more sense.

  As if the swarm of ravenous beasts trailing behind them was not enough, the portal encampment had become overrun as well. Umbrabats soared overhead, diving to the surface below, and zweichars and pyretiffs encircled the entire camp. It was a much smaller group than that of the army that was chasing them, but it was still large enough to incite a sense of worry. The girls could probably handle keeping themselves alive, but Kailey and her commandos may be having trouble against these numbers. Regardless, the two clusters of demons were about to become one once they made it back to camp. They would need to make their escape fast if everyone wanted to get out alive. That was, if the portal was functional…

  Puck expertly swerved around another barrage of the umbrabats’ hellfire, that was now raining down upon the armored truck. Finally, they had gotten close enough to see that the portal was still going strong. Orange light filled its center. One of the stabilizers had been blown apart, but the other two had survived, maintaining the portal’s connection. The sight of the energized structure was almost enough to bring tears to Karrel’s eyes. Barring yet another disaster, all they needed t
o do was make it over the next hill and they were home free.

  “Hold on tight!” Puck screamed, as the truck’s soared over the barren hill. The wheels leapt several feet from the surface and for a moment, everyone knew how it felt to be weightless. The steel carriage began to tip back toward the ground, the front windshield revealing the fierce battle that was happening below.

  Kailey and her squad had bunkered down near the entrance to the portal. Zweichars and pyretiffs stormed their position, a constant wave of demonic flesh and teeth bearing down upon them. They peppered the area with gunfire, lobbing grenades and launching rockets from their weapon attachments. The carnage was brutal. Demonic flesh ripped from the charred, broken bones, as small groups of the monsters shattered and disappeared within the explosive downpour of heavy missiles and hot metal. The occasional umbrabat would try to descend upon the portal or one of the stabilizers, attempting to convert them into scrap, but the trained soldiers were quick on the draw, clipping their wings and bringing the monsters to the ground far before the creatures had intended.

  Meanwhile, Krystalyn, Alice, Jessica, and Prisca supported Kailey’s squad, dealing with the larger threats. Several alphas had entered the fray, attempting to bulldoze their way toward the portal entrance. No amount of gunfire was going to slow these beasts, and the girls knew it. They charged forward, head-on with the house-sized demons, working with one another, leaping from alpha to alpha, and distracting them with their swift movements before striking whatever weak-points the enormous creatures left vulnerable. Krystalyn leapt over the top of one of the alphas heads, causing it to bring its gaze toward the sky. Alice took the opportunity and brought her claws fist-deep into the throat of the distracted creature before ripping something fleshy-looking out, ending its life with one quick stroke. They quickly moved onto the next target, assisting Jessica and Prisca with their endeavors. It was a beautiful ballet of death, and anything that tried to stop the music, found themselves joining the dance.

  The armored truck finished its flight and came crashing back down to the ground. Karrel felt his bones rattle as the vehicle violently regained its footing. The landing had rocked him and left him in a daze, but he managed to focus himself as Puck began to unleash a string of curses, rapidly rotating the steering wheel around in what seemed like a hundred circles.

  In the front windshield, the image of two well-armed soldiers, firing their military-grade assault rifles in full-auto, grew larger and larger. With Puck’s swift reaction, the picture quickly disappeared from view, as the armored truck began to turn. The wheel’s lost their traction immediately, skidding their scorched rubber across the ground. The tires were now facing one direction, while the metal truck continued to skid in the other, toward the two commandos.

  However, the two Survivor’s Guild members were unphased by the new threat. They continued to track their current targets, keeping one eye on the approaching vehicle. At the last minute, they leapt from their cover, swiftly dodging away from the crushing force of the out-of-control vehicle, only revealing themselves for a few seconds before dipping into a new position of cover. All the while, they never stopped firing their weapons, suppressing the horde of demons that attempted to take advantage of the situation.

  The truck slammed to a stop, bouncing off of the steel frame of the portal’s ramp. The second the vehicle came to a stop, Johnny slammed open the door with his one remaining arm, adrenaline waking him from his crippled state. He hopped out, making sure that the two soldiers were still alive. When he confirmed their relative safety, he began to apologize but was quickly cut off.

  “Don’t worry about it!” one of the soldiers shouted over her gunfire, before pointing to the comrade beside her. “This idiot’s tried to run me over three times now. I’m used to it!”

  The second soldier’s expression turned to disgust, giving an angry retort. “Twice! And both times the brake lines were cut, so you can just eat it!”

  “Whatever!” the first solider smiled. “If we’re done here, I’d really like to collect my case of Puck’s homebrew.”

  Puck hopped out of the armored truck. “We get everyone through that portal, and I’ll be happy to pay up!” he announced.

  As Karrel and Angel vacated the vehicle, taking up positions on opposite sides, Kailey burst forth from her cover, sprinting toward the others without letting up on either of her trigger fingers. She slid into the cover of the armored vehicle, ejecting both clips from her twin-pistols, and reloading them just as fast.

  “Helluva party you guys brought with you,” she exclaimed. The horde of demons that had been trailing the boys poured down the hill, engulfing the forces that had previously been assaulting the encampment. Their numbers were so large that the additional forces did nothing to add to the tsunami of flesh. Kailey was unphased. “We need to leave. Now!” she suggested.

  “I couldn’t agree with you more,” Angel admitted. He took in a deep breath before letting loose an ear-piercing whistle. For a short second, the demonic screams that surrounded them was drowned out by Angel’s high-pitched blare.

  In seconds, the final two commandos of Kailey’s unit slid into cover behind the armored truck. Both of the young soldiers had several blotches of charred skin, and one of them was now missing an eye, but they each had a smile on their face. Obviously, this mission had been challenging enough for them.

  Karrel wondered where the girls were. With their speed, they should have been the first ones to arrive, but he got his answer only moments after the thought formed.

  “WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ARM!?” Jessica yelled.

  Sliding over the top of the armored truck, four beautiful women, their ragged, cloth cloaks covered in demonic blood, joined the rest of the group. Though their attire had been sullied, none of them seemed to have more than a scratch or two on them. Jessica however, was shaking with what seemed like a mix between anger and worry.

  “What happened to your arm…?” she repeated, the sense of worry overcoming everything else.

  “We can discuss this once we’re through the portal,” Johnny replied. He pointed to the inside of the armored car. “Everyone in!”

  Jessica, along with the others began to clamber into the vehicle. “You’re damn right we’re going to be discussing this…” she fumed as she helped the others into the truck.

  Karrel and Angel, who were in the process of firing everything they had left in order to cover the retreat, got in last. Karrel turned to Johnny.

  “What about this side’s portal?” he asked.

  Johnny shook his head. “There’s nothing we can do…” he frowned He was obviously dismayed at the impending loss of hundreds of hours of work. He turned to the battered commando that had taken the driver’s seat. “Time to go!” he commanded.

  “Aye-aye” the soldier called out before slamming his foot on the pedal.

  The armored truck began to accelerate up the ramp, toward the orange light within the portal, when a sudden, massive explosion erupted near the sides of the structure. Sparks flew in every direction, some soaring far enough to shower the steel vehicle with the scorching lights.

  “No!” Puck shouted, pointing into the distance. “Another stabilizer’s been hit!”

  Sure enough, one of the cubic structures that supported the portal’s stability had been blasted apart by a passing umbrabat. It was still intact but was now sparking violently a few times a second.

  “GO GO GO!” Johnny aggressively patted the driver’s shoulder. “The portal’s been running for too long! Without full stability we’ve only got seconds before it closes!”

  The driver tried to further stomp down on the pedal, but his foot was already to the floor. The smell of burnt rubber filled the air, as the tires screeched across the ramp. Yet, they were not gaining any speed.

  Karrel and Angel were quick on the draw, realizing what was happening. They moved to the back of the truck and peeked their heads out of the side door. An alpha had sunk its teeth into the rear of the vehicl
e, and in mere milliseconds, its posy was about to pounce on the stalled vessel. With one rapid motion, Angel and Karrel simultaneously blasted the alpha square on the sides of its face. It howled in pain, opening its jaws long enough to let the armored truck take off once more.

  They accelerated toward the top of the ramp. Sparks continued to ignite from the broken stabilizer, and the portal’s lights had begun to dim slightly. Johnny’s fear had all but been confirmed. The gateway was shutting down, and if they did not make it through, there was no hope of ever returning home.

  Closer and closer they approached their objective. Everyone aboard could feel home within their grasp. As the armored car reached the top of the incline, the orange light of the portal began to fluctuate uncontrollably. It was shutting down. Everyone held their breath and watched as the nose of the armored truck pierced through the vibrant light at an immense speed. Angel and Karrel saw the driver disappear into the veil. Then Kailey, her commandos, Prisca, Jessica, Johnny, and Puck. Finally, the smiling and disinterested faces of Krystalyn and Alice glanced back at the two friends. They watched the girls be consumed by the vibrant orange colors that, in mere milliseconds, would take them off of this accursed world, as well.

  Then, Angel and Karrel felt themselves drop. The sounds of the malfunctioning portal were overcome by the screeching echoes of metal scratching on metal, and the two friends suddenly felt the air push against them. They found themselves coming to an abrupt and violent halt, as tiny lightning-like flickers of light shot up from underneath them. The oncoming barrage of sparks made it painful and difficult to see what was happening. Both of the boys struggled with their balance, as it felt as though the seats of the armored truck had become heavily slanted toward the ground. Finally, the vehicle stopped dead, throwing Angel and Karrel from their positions.

  They expected to be thrown to the floor of the armored vehicle but found that they were now rolling across the base of the portal’s main platform. Confused, and utterly devoid of the knowledge of what had just happened, Karrel’s instincts took over. He surveyed his surroundings. The skies were still purple, red, and green. The surrounding area was still filled with the impure, almost-brown-looking, dark-purple of the dirt and gravel, and rivers of fluorescent orange light still flowed through the cracks in the surface. They were still on Infernum.