The Planet Without A Sun (Sinesol Universe)

by Jeremy Collier

  The smell of smoke caused Aegion to stop writing and look up, screams from Bal and Cherryl followed soon after. He jumped to his feet and rushed towards the sounds, seeing flames grow and spread throughout the house and barn.

  Between the house and barn he saw Henrik with his blade to Cherryl’s throat and Duffey holding Bal up by his neck, both helpless.

  “If you tell me where she is, we’ll let you live. We’re already searching the house and barn, so we’ll find them, the longer you wait the worse it’ll be for you,” Henrik said in such an unnatural calm.

  Bal couldn’t speak with the man’s massive hand against his throat, so Cherryl answered, “We don’t know who you’re talking about! Please, just let us go. We’ve never harmed anyone.”

  “I’ll repeat myself one last time, we’re looking for a girl, about 11 years old, traveling with the Scourge of the Wilds. We know they’re here.”

  “N-no, I swear! They-”

  “Henrik, we found her. She’s hiding inside the barn, climbed up into the rafters but she’s there,” O'Brien said, coming from the far side of the barn.

  Without warning, Henrik slit Cherryl’s throat and gave Duffey the nod to do the same to Bal, both of them dropping to the ground lifeless.

  Memories of his childhood flooded back and froze him in place. He saw his whole family being assaulted by soldiers, burned alive in their home. He dropped to his knees and tears began to form, the same thing was happening again and he felt powerless to stop it.

  It was his fault that Bal and Cherryl were dead, it was his fault that Anadilcia would be taken and probably have a fate worse than death. It was all his fault.

  “Henrik, look!” Duffey shouted, “It’s him! The Scourge of the Wilds!”

  “Take care of him! I’ll get the girl.”

  The shouts and footsteps of the brutes coming towards him brought him back to reality. It wasn’t just the four of them this time, they were joined by three more smaller but still massive men, all armed with pistols that looked to be far more advanced than anything he’d ever seen.

  He rose to his feet and realized that these three men wore the emblem of Malos, they were soldiers, or at one time had been soldiers.

  No, this isn’t my fault. None of this was my fault! I didn’t kill Cherryl and Bal, I didn’t burn down the house my family was trapped in! I may have been helpless then to save them, but not anymore. I will not allow them to hurt Anadilcia, I will save her!

  This new found realization drove him to move faster than he’d ever moved before. He felt his strength grow and took out the first few men with ease, despite his lack of weapons. He dodged their attacks with a grace that even surprised him and even managed to miss the first round of bullets by covering himself behind Duffey, who died instantly.

  As he reached the three soldiers, he knew they wouldn’t be as easy to take down. They’d have been trained in close combat, and he was right.

  More men joined the fight and Aegion’s adrenalin started to wear off. Fatigue set in, but he kept fighting.

  As he fought his way through the relentless group of men, the unthinkable happened and the barn collapsed from the fire.

  The momentary lapse in concentration from Aegion gave the brutes a chance to tackle him to the ground. They began to hit him hard and all hope began to drain away. Anadilcia was dead and he couldn’t save her, it was all his fault, and he deserved the same fate.

  “No! Let me go!” The screams came to Aegion’s ears almost as a whisper. “Father! Please, let him go. FATHER!”

  It was Anadilcia, her voice fading off into the distance. She was screaming for her father, but he couldn’t…

  The truth hit him harder than the men pounding him with their fists. She had found her father, and she had begged him to accept her and allow her to be part of his life. He was her father and that made all the pain fade, even if only briefly.

  The men continued to beat him hard and his consciousness was fading. They would kill him here, before he had a chance to tell his daughter how much he loved her. He was happy of the brief time they’d spent together, but wished for more, oh so much more with her.

  The last thing he remembered before giving in to darkness was gunshots, at least a dozen of them rang loud throughout the night and then everything stopped.

  * * * * *

  When Aegion came to, he found himself walking across what looked like the Wilds, but something was different. Where there had once been thorny bushes now stood trees with flowers of brilliant color. Where once a murky stream, a fast moving one replaced it, water cleaner than anything he’d ever seen.

  He stopped and took a drink, it’d been a long day and he could use the water. As he got closer, the stream seemed to get further away, grass now filled his vision. It wasn’t the sharp dull brown grass of Gallia, but instead a brilliant green color as he’d never seen in nature before.

  Two figures laid in the center of the meadow.

  As he got closer, he smiled to see Emma and Anadilcia laying there, enjoying the golden sun as it shined down on them and illuminated the clear blue sky.

  “Dad!” Anadilcia exclaimed as he approached, “You’re finally here!”

  “Oh good! Now we can eat!” Emma said, standing and taking his hands into hers. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and looked deep into his eyes, “I missed you so much, you’ve been gone for so long.”

  “Sorry, I was doin everythin I could ta get here, but part of me had a hard time,” Aegion said, although it felt like someone else talking.

  “Well, all that matters is you’re here now, Dad. Look! I made this for you!”

  Anadilcia jumped to her feet and presented Aegion with a halo of beautiful flowers in colors he’d never imagined could truly exist. He gladly bent down and allowed her to put it on his head.

  Before he could raise his head again, the ground began to shake and the earth opened up below Emma and Anadilcia’s feet.

  “Daddy! What’s going on! Please, help!”

  But he couldn’t. An invisible wall separated him from the two people he loved more than anything in life. He watched as they were swallowed into the earth, flames shooting up and turning the beautiful landscape into ash.

  “DADDY! NO! PLEASE HELP ME!”

  Just as fast as the beautiful landscape had appeared, it was gone and replaced by darkness once more.

  Chapter 6

  “I’m tellin ya, Ekron, this is him. This is the one Malos is up in arms about. They call him the Scourge of the Wilds! We need to do the right thing, send for Malos and get him out of our town. He already caused two deaths, not to mention the damage from the fire.”

  Aegion stirred awake and pain instantly shot through his whole body.

  “Quiet, he’s coming to. Go get Mia.”

  “But-”

  “I’ll be fine, he’s in no condition to fight right now, go get her.”

  Aegion heard one of the two men walk out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He opened his eyes and was surprised to see he was in a bedroom that looked as if it was decorated by a six year old girl.

  The walls were covered with colorful paper and the blanket he laid on, now stained with his blood, was fluffy and pink. He had no idea where he was, but the name Ekron brought back what Cherryl had said about him.

  Poor Cherryl and Bal. I never meant ta bring them any trouble an now they’re dead…

  He couldn’t feel his right arm nor parts of his left leg. That’s not good he thought, trying to sit up with more pain than it may have been worth. Most of his body was numb from the pain so it took him a few seconds to realize he was tied to the bed. He wasn’t surprised to see Ekron’s gun pointed straight at his head.

  “Don’t make any sudden moves and we’ll be okay.”

  Aegion nodded. Even if he wanted to, he was in too much pain to move quickly, or move parts of his body at all.

  “Lets start by you tellin me your name.”

  “I go by a lot of different names. You
r friend knew one of them.”

  “So it’s true then, you are the Scourge of the Wilds.”

  As much as he hated being called that, now wasn’t the time to fight back.

  “What happened back there? Cherryl and Bal are- They deserved better and if killin you is the way to give it to them, that’s what I’ll do.”

  Aegion took a second to collect his thoughts and then told Ekron everything that’s happened since they came to Avignon the day before. When he came to his realization that Anadilcia was his daughter, he had to fight back tears.

  “That’s some story. You know there’s a rather large bounty on your head that I’d love to collect. We may look well off out here, but what you’re worth would keep us going for years. Even dead you’re worth more than all the money we have.”

  Aegion didn’t say anything. He knew how much he was worth, dead or alive, and didn’t want to be the one to tell Ekron his numbers were outdated, they had doubled the bounty only a few months back.

  “But, on the other hand, I can’t lie. I took an oath to protect this little settlement and by turning you in, I’d be doing a disservice to not only the memories of Cherryl and Bal, but all the other people you saved so many years ago.”

  Aegion looked up at Ekron again and noticed that he had holstered his gun at some point during the conversation.

  “Ya knew who I was the second ya saw me, didntcha?”

  Ekron laughed, “I knew who you were before you even got here. Good ol’ Dawson set up surveillance points along the road and we’ve found ways to get a message back here faster than any person can travel. After that little incident ya helped them with years ago, he didn’t want to take any chances.”

  This gave Aegion hope for Anadilcia, maybe they had known where she was taken.

  “Now, I can tell by your eyes that you’re looking for revenge and to save your little girl, but that might not be the best of ideas.”

  He paused while he unclasped the ties around Aegion’s hands and then continued, “Even if you were in any condition to walk, let alone fight, those thugs you got yourself mixed up in are no joke.”

  “I have to go after her, I owe it to her. I owe it to her mother!”

  “At least promise me you’ll wait until you see Mia, she can help get you get back on your feet fast, and even give you a fighting chance.”

  Aegion nodded, “Do you know where they took her?”

  “I can guess they took her to the Caves. They’re a ways from here, maybe half days walk. But before you get the idea to just barge in there, let me tell you who you’re messin with.

  “It’s said they number in the hundreds, all living in a maze of caves that go deep below the surface. Their boss, though no one has ever seen him, is supposed to be a very powerful channeler. I assume you know what that means?”

  “I’ve ran into my fair share of them channelers, walked away in pain every time.”

  Ekron nodded and continued, “He’s supposed to be a real nasty fella, avoid him if you can. Anyway, they’re a bad group, some say they’re so well connected with their tunnels, they can get from one side of Gallia to the other without ever setting foot above ground. Just rumors, of course, I don’t think they’re true, but reports of similar groups seem to pop up all over the place.”

  This caught Aegion as interesting.

  “How ya know all of this?”

  “I used to be like you, wandering across Gallia with no place to call home. Came here one day and never looked back. Met Mia, the love of my life, and we just had our first kid not too long ago, a little girl.

  “Look, I know your going after your daughter and there is nothing I can say to change your mind, heck I’d do the same, but once you have her back you cherish her and never let her go. Find a place you can call home. You’ve done so much good for the people of Gallia, you deserve it.”

  “I get the feelin we’ve met before, am I right?”

  Ekron smiled, “Is it that obvious I’m a big fan? Yes, we met when I was a boy. I didn’t realize it at the time, you were almost completely naked and had more hair on your body than a brawn, but years later I put two and two together. The so called Scourge of the Wilds saved my life, along with my brother, when we were stupid enough to get caught unprepared in the Wilds.”

  “Well I’ll be, never thought I’d find the boys dumb enough ta travel that far into the Wilds unprotected,” Aegion said, laughing.

  Ekron shook his head, smiled and laughed, “Yeah, well I’ve learned a lot since then.”

  A knock at the door interrupted them and Mia walked in.

  “Mia, I’d like to introduce to you the Scour- no. The Hero of the Wilds.”

  Mia was like nothing Aegion had ever seen. She wore some sort of machine on her head that covered her eyes. Her legs seemed to be covered in a similar type of machine, gears and other contraptions working together.

  “Nice ta meet ya! Ekron’s always told me his biggest wish in life was to meet you again.”

  “Mia, stop it!”

  “No, I’m serious! To have you here is amazing, let alone for me to have the chance to work on you.”

  Ekron interrupted her, “Mia is a machinist, one of the best when it comes to enhancing the body. When she was young, she was in a bad accident that left her without the ability to walk. Instead of feel sorry for herself, she took to machines for her solution and came up with a suit that she could use to walk around with.

  “Of course her machines have come a long way since then, and she doesn’t have to use a astrum aggregate each time she wants to move. In fact, she’s agreed to build one for you.”

  “That’s right! You got a nasty break on that right arm. Chances are even if we set it, you’ll never have full use of it again, and that just won’t do!”

  Mia’s peppy attitude couldn’t help but fill Aegion with confidence, despite the bad news.

  “What exactly will ya be doin ta me?”

  “I think in your case, I can install it mostly under the skin. It’s gonna hurt, but you’ll actually be faster and stronger with your right arm and, from the looks of it, part of your left leg as well, than you were before.” She turned to Ekron. “You didn’t tell me he hurt his leg! I’ll have to work over night to get something ready for him.”

  “I don’t have a lot of time, whatever ya can do now I’ll take, but after that I gotta go.”

  Mia looked disappointed. Ekron filled her in, “It was his daughter that was taken, a daughter he didn’t even know existed until recently.”

  “Oh, my. Well I’ll get that arm fixed up and even do a bit with the leg. If you don’t mind the pain, It can be done within a few hours and you’ll be able to be on your way.”

  Aegion nods, not liking the sound of ‘dealing with the pain’, but didn’t want to waste another night.

  * * * * *

  Mia helped Aegion down a set of metal stairs that lead to a room like he’d never seen before. The walls were metal, the ceiling and floor were metal, the door was metal, even the cabinet in the room was metal. In the center sat a metal slab. At first he thought it was a table of some sorts, but it was tilted and had some sort of straps attached. He quickly realized this was where she did her work, and he was the next victim.

  Don’t think like that, they seem like good people, no reason to worry he kept telling himself as she walked him over to the workstation, at least that’s the best way he could describe the area.

  “Alright, that shirt needs to come off, and the pants too. Do you have anything on under?”

  He shook his head, feeling more vulnerable than when he had fought four brutes naked in front of Anadilcia. But he knew the only way he’d be able to save her, to save his daughter, is to get this done, whatever it was.

  “Well, I hope you’re not modest, and it’s gonna be a bit cold. Just cover yourself with this after you lay down.”

  She handed him a blanket that must have been made for a small child, it wouldn’t cover much but it was better than nothi
ng.

  Once she turned away, he stripped down and sat on the metal slab. Instantly the chill of the metal shot through his body and he yelped out, causing Mia to look over at him with concern.

  “I’m alright, just a bit more colder than I expected.”

  She laughed as he laid down and covered himself, making noises as each part of his body hit the metal.

  Once he was comfortable, or at least as comfortable as someone could be on a metal slab, Mia’s whole demeanor changed. She went from smiles and giggles to serious and direct. Aegion admired this in her, she knew when to have fun and when to get down to business, and this somehow eased his nervous stomach.

  “I have anesthesia if you want,” she paused, almost as if she was unsure she wanted to continue, but did so anyway, “but it’ll take a few extra hours to recover.”

  “What is anesthesia?”

  “Oh, it’s a gas that puts you to sleep and numbs your whole body so you don’t feel the pain. But like I said, you’ll be asleep for a bit longer after the surgery, plus it takes a while for you to be able to walk properly again.”

  “Is there any other option?”

  “Let me think,” she said as she rummaged through the cabinet. “Well, I do have some topical stuff that could numb the area a bit, usually reserved for much smaller procedures, but could help.

  “I also have some ethanol solution that would probably keep you from feeling the procedure, but wont help with pain afterwords.”

  “Is there any downside ta that?”

  “It does take a bit of time to wear off, but it’s mostly dizziness, impaired judgment, and might leave ya with a slight headache but should go away before long.”

  “Lets go with that then.”

  She nodded excitedly, poured some of the solution into a beaker and handed it to him, motioning for him to drink it.

  He took a sip and almost spit it out, shivers running through his whole body. It took all his will power to swallow, and even then his gag reflex told him it just wasn’t right.

  “I shoulda warned ya, it doesn’t taste good. It’s best to drink it all at once, if ya can manage it.”