by Zy J. Rykoa
* * *
When Jaden woke, the compartment smelled fresh and clean, and there was daylight shining in through the window. He stretched uneasily as all of his muscles seemed to have lost their elasticity, and then he opened his eyes.
The compartment of the truck, the lone dirt road and Oldenwa were nowhere to be seen. He had almost asked out loud what Oldenwa had done to him, but now all he saw were black pillows, dark red bedding and the black metal frame of the bed he was lying on. There was a wooden door to one side of the room, the walls around it were made of smoothed rock, and on the other side was the window that let the light in.
Jaden stood and moved to the window. The sun was high, without a cloud in sight or breath of wind in the air. He wondered why there was no wind at first, but then saw what was ahead of him. Three mountainous rock formations were blocking sight of anything else save for the real mountains behind them that were five times their height. The rock formations were large mounds, smoothed over by the centuries so that they almost appeared as giant bubbled tents. Hundreds of windows were carved into them, most likely the living areas for the people. Jaden guessed he was in one such mound, and he looked down to see he was four storeys above ground, with three sets of windows below him.
‘Welcome to Corsec, Sentinel,’ came a masculine voice from the doorway.
Jaden spun around to see a man with long blondish brown hair standing there, and he almost believed that his father had made it out alive and had somehow reached Corsec before him.
‘Ryan?’ asked Jaden.
The man wearing a sandy-coloured uniform moved over to Jaden and ruffled his hair playfully with a smile. ‘You’re grown.’
Jaden couldn’t help but smile as he pushed his brother’s hand away and made a quick effort to fix up his hair.
‘You look like father,’ he said.
Ryan laughed. ‘I prefer to think he looks like me.’
‘Funny,’ said Jaden.
‘Always. I see you’ve become something more,’ said Ryan, indicating Jaden’s new clothing.
‘You, too,’ said Jaden, hinting back toward Ryan’s chest where many decorations and a triangular medal dangled.
Ryan nodded, ‘I am a Resistance commander now.’
‘How did you manage that?’
‘I could ask you the same,’ said Ryan.
‘You first.’
Ryan inclined his head toward the bed so that they would both take a seat.
‘It is a small story. I don’t know if you remember, but grandfather wasn’t pleased with the idea of me becoming a soldier. He took mother’s side, and rightfully so. This is not the safest place at the best of times. But he had friends here, a general by the name of Tom Bernard. I was apprenticed to him in a way, to keep me out of trouble and off the battlefield. He taught me everything he knew of war. He had been fighting since the beginning and was a great teacher.
‘Unfortunately, last year we were hit by a freak missile attack by the Alliance. Tom lost his life, and I received this scar,’ Ryan moved his collar away from his neck to show an area of raw, twisted skin. ‘With my training taken into account, I was promoted, and now, well, let us just say that I am respected.’
Ryan tapped the triangular medal, and then leaned his right shoulder forward so that Jaden could read the badge on his arm. The badge was a circle of dark red with a black symbol inside of it that looked like a double-stemmed tee.
Jaden read out loud the golden writing around the symbol. ‘Ryan Daiyus, General of the Resistance.’
Ryan leaned backward. ‘I am the third highest ranked here. My experience is small compared to the others, but I manage. They will probably assign me the simplest task, but …’ Ryan shrugged.
Jaden sat back, in awe of his brother. Ryan saw this and reminded Jaden quickly of his own position of power.
‘What about you, Sentinel?’
Jaden looked down at his clothing with a smirk. ‘This is Grandfather’s doing as well,’ he said. ‘I was coming here to join you. I just wanted to be a soldier.’
Ryan shook his head mockingly. ‘A Daiyus as a common soldier? You should know Grandfather would never allow that.’
Suddenly Jaden’s smile left him. ‘I wanted revenge against the Alliance,’ he said. ‘They destroyed our home. Our people are dead. Mother—’
‘I’ve heard,’ said Ryan, interrupting his brother. ‘I have not seen them in so long, I almost don’t remember who they are, but I know your pain must be great.’
‘I don’t know anymore,’ said Jaden. ‘It all just seems like a dream. Every time I wake up I expect to be back in Callibra as if nothing changed. I dream of playing tennagen sometimes, or going for a swim near the waterfalls. It’s hard to believe I am so far from home.’
‘Give yourself time. It’s not easy to accept.’
‘I don’t know,’ said Jaden. ‘I gave up a long time ago.’
‘I understand,’ said Ryan. ‘At least you are still alive, and now you have come to join with me.’
Jaden looked up at his brother. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Is that not why you have come? You said yourself—’
‘That was before I became a Sentinel,’ said Jaden. ‘I’m expected to be elsewhere. I am under their command.’
‘I see,’ said Ryan.
‘If I can, I will stay here, but first I have to get back to Waikor. Can you help?’
Ryan nodded. ‘I can, but you have only just arrived. Can you stay a while longer?’
‘No,’ said Jaden. ‘I mean, I want to, but Alyssa—my chosen—is at Waikor. I have to get back to her.’
‘Then at least permit me the time to give you a tour. It will take no more than a few hours, I promise, and then I will have you flown back to Waikor.’
Jaden almost refused the offer, but seeing the look in his brother’s eyes, he reluctantly gave in and agreed. ‘Lead the way,’ he said.
Ryan smiled and led Jaden out into a corridor of dark rock. It was cool despite the heat outside and lit by the low glow of luminous tubes lining the walkway. There were many doors leading to more rooms along the way, and soon they descended to the lower floors until they were in an open hall almost as big as the one in Waikor’s great mountain. Unlike the marbles used there, this seemed paved with smooth pebbled tiles. And the gardens of vegetables, herbs and fruits were around the many columns supporting the roof. Hundreds of people roamed this area, and there were as many in uniform as there were not. Those not in uniform wore sand-coloured robes or clothing similar to the uniforms but without any decorations. All talked loudly with only a few stopping to stare as Jaden walked past, and Ryan had to raise his voice to be heard among the chatter.
‘They call this the Underground City,’ Ryan explained. ‘There was a time when it was safe to be above the surface, but with the Alliance so close, we’re never sure when the next attack is going to come.’
Jaden nodded as he struggled to stay close to Ryan as they walked to the end of the hall. After navigating their way through several more corridors, they walked up a stairway and then out into daylight, above ground. Jaden felt the heat hit him as soon as he stepped out of the enclosure, and Ryan signalled for a jeep to come to them. Jaden quickly hopped up on the back while Ryan took the front seat next to the driver.
‘Northern wall, zone twelve, just a quick drive-by,’ said Ryan.
‘Yes, sir,’ said the driver.
The vehicle sped up quickly as it drove around the base of the mountainous rock they had come from, and Ryan turned to speak with Jaden. ‘These were once the streets of Corsec, but everything has been dismantled and moved underground. It’s quite safe, naturally, but if the Alliance were to see us above ground, they would send more attacks. Those homes you see in the mounds facing north are false dwellings. We leave them there for the Alliance to target so they leave the real homes alone.’
Jaden looked over his shoulder back toward the homes he had seen from his window, and now realised that most of
them were badly damaged, with balconies collapsed and giant holes where entire homes would have been.
‘What’s over there?’ asked Jaden.
He had spotted a three-hundred-foot-high wall of concrete in the east between the mountains. Ryan tapped the driver on the shoulder and pointed so that they would be taken to it.
‘That’s our last hope,’ said Ryan. ‘If we ever lost here, that wall would slow the Alliance down enough for us to escape.’
‘What’s behind it?’
‘Nothing. That’s why it’s still there. The Alliance doesn’t consider it a target. Under here is an escape route as well as our hospitals. The sick and injured will be moved out first this way, and the rest will follow soon after.’
Again Ryan tapped the driver on the shoulder, this time pointing north. After fifteen minutes’ drive, they reached the edge of the city and jumped out of the vehicle. Ryan led Jaden to the very edge so that they were looking from a giant cliff a mile in the air down to the ocean, where there were hundreds of grey lumps. Along the cliff top in both directions were turrets like those in Ceahlin and many personnel keeping watch ahead. The ocean was divided into two as a single strip of land, ten miles in length and two in width, ran from one shore to the other.
‘This is the Quartun Land Bridge,’ said Ryan. ‘And that is the continent Tiquan, one of three under Alliance rule.’
Jaden looked all around him with interest, smelling the salt in the air and listening to the seagulls as they swooped around them. This was it. This was Corsec, the most well defended stronghold in the Resistance, where the Alliance had been defeated time and time again. He had heard a lot about this place from the travellers who passed through Callibra, but he had never been able to imagine what it was really like to stand on these giant cliff faces. It gave him a sense of greatness like nowhere else. He was high above the world, untouchable under the blue sky, standing on the red dust and looking out over the dark ocean. But the more he looked at the ocean, the more he began to feel that this place was not as it seemed, that he was not safe, and the strange dreams with the dark-haired boy were not too different to what he saw now. This was a place of war, of bloodshed. No matter the stories of victory, it was a place of death.
‘We spot an Alliance unit from time to time,’ Ryan continued. ‘But they have learned to keep their distance. Our air force is constantly on guard, and while they get off the ground, these missile launchers take care of any incoming threat. The rest is taken care of by the Diadon Navy. They are not of the Resistance, but if not for us, their home islands would be under threat, so they do their part in protecting us.’
Ryan indicated the hundreds of ships anchored below on both sides of the land bridge, and Jaden now understood what the grey lumps were. Some of the ships were enormous, Jaden thought, as even from this height he could now make them out clearly.
‘They have tried many times, but they cannot breach our defence,’ said Ryan. ‘The only way up into these cliffs is by what we call “the ramp”. It’s steep, but you can drive a tank up it easily enough. It comes all the way up and ends a few miles into the heart of Corsec. Without that, the Alliance would have no hope of reaching here.’
‘Why don’t you fill it?’ asked Jaden.
‘Because, my naïve little brother, then we would have no means of getting down either.’
Ryan slapped Jaden on the back playfully and led him back to the vehicle.
‘But now the Alliance is coming from the south,’ said Jaden.
‘Yes, we’ve heard. We will be ready. You don’t have to worry about that. The force they bring from the south will not even be half of what they could bring across the Quartun Bridge at any moment. We have fended them off for years; we will not fail simply because they attack from another direction.’
‘General,’ said the driver. ‘There is news.’
‘What is it?’ asked Ryan.
‘Waikor has been defeated.’
Jaden moved quickly forward. ‘What?’ he asked.
The driver continued. ‘The Alliance made a second attack. The entire city is now in their command.’
‘When did this happen?’ asked Ryan.
‘Early this morning,’ said the driver. ‘There was a distress call.’
‘Survivors?’
‘Unknown, sir.’
‘I have to go,’ said Jaden.
Ryan turned to Jaden. ‘Brother, think for a moment,’ he said, signalling for a cool head to prevail in his hot-headed younger brother. ‘Even if they survived, it will not be long before they are dead.’
‘I can’t stay here. I have to go,’ repeated Jaden.
‘Jaden, please, you would be throwing away your life. I can’t let you do it. You have to let it go.’ Ryan became silent as he saw the shudder of pain pass through his brother. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—’
‘I have to try,’ said Jaden desperately. ‘You said you would give me transport.’
‘Yes, if the city was not under Alliance rule but—’
‘Ryan, I have to find her!’ Jaden yelled.
Ryan raised his hands in defeat, showing that he had no intention of fighting his brother on the issue. ‘I will not argue with you, I am just trying to help you make the right decision.’
‘There is no decision, I must go to her, now.’
The two brothers stared at one another, Jaden with piercing intensity and Ryan with regret and pity. But it was not long before Ryan gave in.
‘It will pain me greatly if I am to lose you as well,’ said Ryan. ‘At least be careful. Don’t try to get revenge on your own. We can help you do that when they come for us.’
Jaden nodded and Ryan seemed satisfied, knowing he would not be able to contain Jaden any longer.
‘Driver, take him to the airfield. I will send orders for him to be taken to Waikor from there.’
‘At once, sir.’
‘I need you to come back,’ said Ryan as Jaden hopped into the vehicle once more.
‘It was good seeing you again,’ said Jaden, and with a final bow to one another, the vehicle raced south toward the airfield at the very back of the city.
Almost an hour passed before they reached their destination, and as Ryan had said, a helicopter was waiting there for Jaden. Jaden said nothing as he was taken aboard and seated. He was almost oblivious to what was going on around him, so lost had he become in the possibilities of what may have happened at Waikor.
As the helicopter lifted into the air, Jaden asked the pilots to rouse him once they had landed, but not to disturb him until then. He then lifted the crystal around his neck to between his eyes and entered the city of ruins. He walked straight back into the single door, where a stairway had formed leading upward. He followed it into another room, and as if the crystal had read his desires, he was standing on open planes of red dirt, with countless forces of military personnel and vehicles stationed around him. None moved. He was entranced in his own thoughts of men, women and children lying lifeless—the families of Waikor, slaughtered by the very people who had killed his own family. He moved among the wreckage of buildings that had risen from the ground and then toward the edge of the battlefield. Tears welled in his eyes at what he knew was about to come—the frail, bloodied body of the one he loved, left dead under a crimson sky as fighter jets continued to circle like vultures around the carcass.
He closed his eyes, unable to bear the sight, and tried to contain the hurt boiling inside him. He opened his eyes then to an evil world, of trees without leaves, black and covered in oil, the ground dry and cracked, and the sky as red as the blood that had been spilled before him. Bullets had begun to pierce the tender skin of people who had brought no harm to others, and Jaden felt something inside him break, as if a cord had simply snapped and whatever had been on either end was now flying in opposite directions away from him.
As the military forces began to move in on him, the endobraces ignited brighter than they ever had before, and Jaden was in the centre of wave
s upon waves of red and orange energy flowing out on to the battlefield.
The Alliance would now pay for their crimes.
With a shout of utter hatred, Jaden blocked the missiles being fired at him, causing them to explode on contact with his shield. Bullets disintegrated and artillery shells were vaporised as Jaden’s power came forth. He then raced into the heart of the battle, causing men and machines alike to be sent high into the air as he passed.
To the pilots, Jaden’s face remained perfectly calm, showing nothing of what he was experiencing in the crystal’s realm. For hours he continued to fight against fictitious enemies until the battle finally came to an end. In his rage, he had understood something; something he had missed before, something of the dark-haired boy that had haunted his dreams in the past. With a final conscious breath, all disappeared into nothingness, and the crystal fell from his hands as he slumped back in the helicopter, where he would sleep the remainder of the journey.