Daniel continued studying the figure approaching the starting point, a grim satisfaction flowing through him at the knowledge that another piece of human garbage would soon take their last breath.
His hand hovered impatiently over the red activate icon, waiting for the Program to acknowledge the candidate. Seconds ticked by as the figure approached the point of no return and with an annoying, but satisfying, chime, the icon turned green.
With an expectation for a good show, Daniel pressed the activate icon just as the man tripped over a railroad crossbeam, falling flat on his face. Daniel broke into hysterical laughter, holding his sides as he leaned back, prepared to enjoy the show.
*********
Millions of sparkling stars exploded before Trent's eyes, like a galaxy had just been born within Earth’s atmosphere the moment his head struck the unforgiving gravel. He lay motionless, recovering what little wit he had left, before rising to his feet, wiping away the tiny stones that still clung reluctantly to his cheek.
“Damn railroad,” he muttered, kicking at the track he was most certain had purposely moved to trip him. He missed his target, losing his balance in the process, and tumbled into the dense growth of thorny bushes that lined the tracks edge.
“Son of a...” His vision spun when he tried to curse, causing his stomach to tense.
He quickly swallowed down the rapidly increasing saliva, fighting his bodies urge to expel the excessive tequila that filled his belly. But the urge was just too strong. He hastily rolled over, aiming towards a gap in the bush in which he was tangled.
After his convulsions finally ceased, and the meager contents of his stomach were no longer staring ominously at him from the ground below, he began untangling himself from the bush’s grasping branches. Once clear, he stumbled back to the center of the old railroad, returning his gaze to the object that had held his fascination, an old silo, now only 30 meters ahead. He'd been wondering for a time what it was, and now that he could clearly see it, a strange thought appeared in his muddled mind, which he had to voice.
“I wonder if it’s full of booze?” his questioning words were slurred, his reasoning, that of a drunk. But the idea did revitalize him. He had just finished his last bottle of booze a few kilometers back. Steadying himself, a new resolve washing over to clear free any doubt, he started trotting forward.
When the last of the dense growth paralleling the railroad track cleared, a grouping of dilapidated buildings came into view, barely holding at bay the encroaching forest.
On the opposite side of the tracks from the silo of booze stood a large square building with a slightly slanting roof, rusting away, the years having not been kind. Beyond this building stood an old style train maintenance bay, abandoned countless years before, rotting away, massive holes in its roof and collapsing walls. Surrounding the maintenance bay stood many foundations, full of rotting wood and debris, no longer holding any clue of what their past purpose may have been.
Movement caught Trent's eye, originating from the base of the silo. He stumbled to a stop, attempting to steady his swaying with hand, while shading out the blinding sun with the other.
“What on Earth is that?” Trent slurred with wonder, his mind unable to fully grasp the sight he now beheld.
At the base of the silo, twitching its massive limbs, stood a towering, grayish-green insect that looked eerily like a praying mantis. Atop its long, skinny neck stood a tiny head with one giant, multifaceted eye. The head swiveled back and forth, turning towards the slightest sound or movement, seeming unable to determine if the rustling leaves and clinking metal that the slight breeze created were actually threats. Its elongated abdomen, like that of an ant, glistened in the afternoon sunlight, as if its skin was made of a metal alloy. Two arms, that looked to be razor sharp, flicked straight out at an unbelievable speed, slicing a pigeon in half that just happened to fly too close, before slowly retracting back into the torso. Six, spider-like legs, but with four joints instead of two, lined the abdomen, skittering across the dirt covered ground, the creature ready to attack at the first sign of prey.
More baffled then fearful at the sight of the giant, insect-like creature, Trent's drunken mind reasoned an explanation beyond any logical understanding.
“There must be booze......only explanation for guard...” Trent garbled as he swayed, pulling a carbon nanotube rod from his sack, then proceeded to charge the beast.
*********
Daniel stared in utter disbelief, unable to fathom the hobo's reaction when presented with the robotic representation of a krakllian, the most feared species of the Anti-Sapien Unification. In his experience, no candidate had ever survived when faced with the krakllian, all having fled at first sight to be hunted like the trash they were.
What sane man would charge an unknown beast such as this? Daniel wondered, but shook off the thought, knowing this man was most likely not sane.
Feeling a rising disgust at the mere thought that an insane hobo may be able to survive the first trial, Daniel considered a quick solution, deciding to test how much leeway the Program in charge of recruitment would provide him.
He entered a new aggression algorithm into his projected input station and waited with grim anticipation. After a few moments, the Program beeped approval. Daniel grinned wickedly, selecting the activate icon to integrate his alterations, before leaning back to again, enjoy the show.
*********
The mighty beast fled before Trent's drunken charge, scurrying towards the rusting metal building situated across the tracks in the hope of escaping his wrath. Trent ignored the fleeing beast, his unprotected destination now within reach, sliding to a stop next to the silo.
He spun in place, studying his surroundings, searching for additional guards that may be protecting the treasure, as he caught his breath. Finding none, he nodded to himself, satisfied that the sight of his fanatical charge was enough to strike terror into any threat. He turned his attention to his reward, unable to stop licking his chapped lips as he stared upon the silo full of booze...his silo...or so he thought.
Swiftly, he shuffled to the rusted ladder that led to its peak, grasping the first rung. He tumbled to the ground hard as it broke free. Wiping the dirt from his backside, he carefully swayed back to his feet, barely noticing the charging beast from the corner of his eye swipe at him with one of its razor sharp claws.
Unconsciously, he raised the rusted ladder rung before him, somehow blocking the unexpected attack. But the force of the blow was enormous and the rusted rung bent inwards as he was thrown through the air, his drunken limbs flailing like he had no bones as he bounced, rolling to stop on the gravel covered ground adjacent the splitting railroad tracks. Being only slightly fazed by the guardians return, Trent forced himself back to his feet.
“I knew the guardian of the booze....wouldn't give in so easily...” Trent shouted with a slur, finding the creature unfazed. “Very well,” he raised the carbon rod in one hand, and the now bent rusted ladder rung in the other, and again charged the monstrosity.
Trent's movements were driven by instinct.
He threw the carbon rod at the right side of the beast, which it easily deflected with a flick of its razor sharp arms, giving Trent time to dive to the beast's left, rolling under the slower defensive swipe of the already extended razor sharp arms. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he completed his roll, the maneuver temporarily clearing the drunkenness from his mind.
He expertly recovered his feet, and in one smooth motion, he swung the rusted iron ladder rung with all his might. A defining crack echoed from where he struck, having caught one of the creature's leg joints with the rungs sharp end. Without even a sound, the giant insect turned and awkwardly scurried back towards the metallic building, dragging its broken limb behind.
*********
Daniel sat on the edge of his seat, watching the insane hobo, who minutes before couldn't even walk straight, block the krakllian’s surprise attack, then land a clean hit on o
ne its few known weaknesses.
It’s unthinkable! Daniel’s mind cried, unable to fathom how the hobo could battle the hardened shock troop of the ASU, a terrifying krakllian, on equal ground.
“Just who is this damn hobo?” Daniel muttered as he accessed the Earth’s combined corporate human resource database, requesting information based on the DNA gathered by the Program controlling the robotic krakllian.
He usually didn't care to study the history of dead men. But by the way phase one of the trial was progressing, he needed to be prepared for phase two, which required him to delve into the candidates past. Hastily, he glanced through the hobo’s corporate records that scrolled through the air before him, finding nothing distinctive.
The hobo, named Trent Marcello, appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary middle-class citizen who had fallen on hard times. His early life record was surprisingly vague, as if he didn’t actually exist until his college years, where it told that he graduated as an underachiever from a technical corporate university. Nothing from that time period caught his eye, besides a note of him having visited an abuse councilor during his first year, but nothing concrete for Daniel to use. After graduating, however, his life record became most intriguing.
The first eight years he worked at one of Earth's larger mega-corporations, Motapplesoft Trust, was standard fair, but Daniel’s eyes lit up as he read through the compiled history over the last few months of his employment.
“Seems like somebody made some powerful enemies...” Daniel whispered, unable to stop grinning as he read the reason for the corporate blackball on his personnel file. A note amended to his corporate record that would forever make him unemployable...the same as being dead in the backwards Earthen society.
The note started innocently enough, stating that Trent Marcello, Daniel found the name hobo more to his liking, was involved in a relationship with a coworker at Motapplesoft Trust. This coworker, named Samantha, was widely known to be the fiancée of the current CEO's son. Trent, in his lust for power, was then said to have seduced Samantha in hopes of creating a scandal for the current CEO, while improving his reputation among the company's elite, who opposed the current management. This terrible plot had been uncovered when Samantha came clean and the facts of this most heinous act of blackmail by Trent Marcello was brought to light. Trent was summarily dismissed and the report of his apparent unethical behavior and blackmail attempt were permanently included as the first line of his compiled pre-employment background check record. Trent, for all intents and purposes, life on Earth was forever over.
Daniel smirked, finding a sick kind of glee in the suffering of others.
The report was bias, that was more than obvious to Daniel, and as he read further, he found the descriptions of Trent’s behavior didn't fit the companies own annual performance reviews. The reviews stated Trent had little motivation for advancement and would perform the minimum amount of work required for his job. They also stated, quite clearly, that he kept an unhealthy distance from his coworkers and lacked motivation, with clearly written recommendations, from three different managers, that additional motivational training should be provided.
Daniel thought for a moment, working out his own, more likely scenario to what had probably befallen Trent.
Samantha, he imagined, must be the type of woman Daniel loved, an immoral and unfaithful child of desire, who must have decided to have a long-term fling before she finally tied the knot. Finding a coworker, Trent, who was isolated from those around him, allowed her to pursue a relationship without the knowledge reaching her fiancé. It was the perfect plan.
Except, he couldn't figure out is why Samantha would have revealed the affair. She could have just ended it cleanly, with no one being the wiser, so why chance tarnishing her relationship with a man of power if the lies she told were found out.
I’ll just have to ask Trent if he survives, won’t I? Daniel grinned, knowing he would definitely have his curiosity sated. But for now, that could wait. He needed information for the next phase of the trial, something to make sure that if Trent did indeed survive the first phase to completion, would guarantee his failure in the second.
A devious idea crept into his mind. He lightly taped the proper inputs to request additional information from the corporate human resource database. The new data surrounded him, streamed through the air, providing everything he would need...including a detailed DNA image.
“A beauty...this should be fun...” A childish grin broke across Daniel’s lips as he eyed the projection of Samantha and inputted the commands for the Program in charge of recruitment, requesting it create a programmable matter robot in her likeness.
*********
Overcome by drunken bloodlust, Trent charged after the retreating monstrosity. His instincts told him to stop, to not pursue, but his mind was blank, his vision blurred, and his rapidly beating heart washed away all sound...nothing mattered but his battle with the guardian of the silo.
His toe caught on an exposed root, but he kept his balance, catching his feet just before he tumbled, continuing his head-on charge without pause. The creature, slowed by its broken limb, barely made it into the shadow of the building constructed of rusted metal before Trent struck.
Full of confidence born of his previous success, he swung the bent ladder rung with reckless abandon at an exposed leg joint. But the creature dodged and he missed wide, his strike deflecting off the armor plates covering the creature's abdomen. It was like he struck a metal wall and the ladder rung vibrated free of his grasp, his hands going numb.
In response, the beast flailed its razor sharp arms, catching Trent on the left triceps, slicing cleanly through to the bone. Trent shrieked as he tumbled across the grassy ground that surrounded the building’s base, feeling the pain from the force of the impact more than the actual wound.
Slowly, he swayed back to his feet, ignoring the torrent of blood that gushed from the wound on his arm, only concerned with one thing...his prey. He bellowed a primal cry when he caught sight of the creature escaping into a dark opening set into the side of the building. With little thought of the dangers, his pain and senses dulled by his drunkenness and raging adrenaline, he charged after the beast, fearless in pursuit, bursting into its dark den.
The moment the murky darkness engulfed him, his limbs froze as his mind returned. Too late did he realize his mistake. He spun, finding the opening vanish, blocking the only source of light...and his only escape. Panic set in, horrors attacking from every corner, his eyes wide with sudden terror...his target forgotten.
A bolt of white lightening lit the room, striking him straight in the chest, his body going limp, collapsing to the frozen floor, but not his mind. Trent clearly heard the skittering of the beast and in his mind's eye could see it hovering overhead, its sharp claws ready to devour his locked flesh.
As his mind threatened to fail him, another bolt of lightning coursed through the darkness, allowing only a final thought before everything faded.
Finally...it's over.
Chapter 3
An exquisitely crafted starship of a design Sasha had never before beheld, waited patiently upon Tidelia Castle’s private landing pad; grown seamlessly into the flowering canopy that overhung the castle’s majestic peak. She tried to pause so as to clearly view the wondrous sight, but found it blocked by a wall of blossoming pillars that funneled the passengers towards the starship’s entry. When she tried to weave her way to a gap, wanting to study the starship beckoning from just beyond, she was caught in a wave of guards and servants, who whisked her onto a narrow boarding ramp and into the starship’s interior. Before she could voice her annoyance, they guided her into a luxurious passenger compartment, Tiana, her lady-in-waiting, falling silently into a seat beside her. The anxious servants and guards, seeming to sense her displeasure, bowed deeply, before exiting her presence with all haste.
“Prepare for liftoff,” she barely heard the announcement, her gaze fixated on the view being provid
ed by the projected viewport at her side. Hoping to catch a final glimpse of the farewell party, but finding they were hidden beyond view.
The starship shuddered as it began to ascend, waves of mist rippling past the viewport’s edge, temporarily blocking her view of Tidelia Castle. After a moment, the shuttle cleared the landing pad, where it seemed to pause, reluctant to leave Planet Tidelia behind, like Sasha’s own heart, before again, rising slowly through the fading mist.
A tiny figure rushed onto the landing pad far below, from the direction of the reception area where the farewell party had been held. It took only a moment for her to recognize who it was, even at the increasing distance; Lady Liana, her guardian for these past 26 years.
Sasha forcefully repressed the tears that screamed to be let free, trying her best not to cry again, the emotion filled goodbyes of hardly ten minutes before still fresh in her heart. Though Tiana must have sensed her falter, leaning past to peer at the sight that held Sasha’s attention so, her trembling frame revealing that she could no longer control her own tears, even though she was trying so very hard, having promised her mother, Lady Liana, when they said their final goodbyes. Within moments, the figure faded from view and Sasha could only cradle the sobbing Tiana in her arms, while pondering the unknown future that was hurdling towards them faster than either could have ever expected.
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