The First Dawn (The Sci-Corp War Saga Book 1)

by Justin Alexander

  Once again she could feel herself sink into the profound murk, the weight of the ocean upon her and the dead her only companions. She fights for breath, yet only water fills her lungs. Panic and dread erupt within her.

  Then the music begins afresh and she finds air again within her chest.

  “Remember what I have told you child, it may well be a long time till I get to see you again and you must keep your spirit burning. Never let go of your hope, don’t let it be consumed by your pain. You have a great responsibility now. I wish I could help you carry the burden, however that is not how this works and you must bear this great weight alone.”

  She barred her eyes and felt her body drifting deeper down into the shade. Yet it wasn’t fear that she felt, it was peace, as if for the first time in many years she was safe. She allowed the ocean to take her and sleep overcame her mind.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Karolina awoke with a start, she didn’t know how long she had been slumbering, although it felt like days. She sat up and stretched her waiflike body dreamily. Absentmindedly she brushed off some of the powder that had covered her, and got to her feet sluggishly.

  She glanced over towards the shield and her instincts stirred. She narrowed her gaze, and tried to look through the murk. Something was coming, she could feel it, and once again she prepared herself for battle.

  It was then they appeared tearing through the gloom, at least twenty, sleek, arrow shaped bombers. They dived low in perfect formation and followed the contours of the land closely. Preparing to unleash another round of flame and death upon what was left of the city.

  She stood statuesquely, her face ashen, teeth gritted, nostrils flared, like some kind of primal hunter observing its prey. She felt a surge of wrath rise within her, it was shortly followed by a tingling in her fingers. She could feel the hairs stand up on the back of her neck, as she drew forth the dormant power long buried within her mind.

  She wanted to destroy these Dark Ones, to watch them burn, to watch them suffer and to watch them die. Her memory flashed the faces of all those that had died, all those who she had seen beneath the ocean. She wanted revenge for them and some form of payback for the suffering they had endured.

  Then an image flickered in her mind, her step father peering down, his fists clenched, blood smeared over knuckles and hatred in his eyes. Slowly she calmed herself, and she felt the energy dissipate. The sensations lessened in her fingers, her respiration became ragged and she was suddenly so tired.

  She buckled to the ground and stared out through the mist of tears. She surveyed smoke buffet over the planes smooth frames, as they prepared to rain down more destruction upon this already scarred place. Then it was as if the shield itself sensed her pain and responded. Silently it reached out, extending itself towards the bombers, before they could react the lead ship collided with the aura; instantly it crumpled like a tin can, sending waves of effulgent flames in all directions.

  The remaining ships were caught within the horrific firestorm, inflamed hulks fell to the ground, and within her mind she could almost see the Dark Ones inside consumed in fire, suffering just a small amount of the pain they had inflicted on this and countless other worlds. Yet instead of relief or pleasure all she felt was disgust. She shifted away from the destruction and shuttered her eyes.

  She sat for a while in silence, then she remembered the old man. Her eyes burst open and she sought him out. Yet all that was left of the mysterious stranger, was a set of footprints in the cinders leading off towards the distant vista.

  “What are you doing out here Karolina?” A soft, high-pitched voice, purred

  “I wanted to see for myself,” She whispered. Lost now in the hollow between, dream and reality.

  She was back home at the breakfast table, her stepfather reading the sport pages on his tablet, while he poured himself his first whiskey of the day. She could still feel his ire and temper even now, so many billions of light years away. Her mother stares out through the window, eyes glazed, a cigarette clutched tightly in yellow stained fingers. Her step brother sits next to her oblivious and thankfully too young to understand. He eats his cereal with one hand while in the other he grips a toy car gently, a broad grin lighting up his soft features.

  She arched her body, and peered out through the dirty glass to the deserted beach beyond. Once again she could feel the sun against her bare skin, as she runs along the soft sand, clothes torn, crimson fluid daubed across her face. Behind her the dawn breaks, and the first rays of light burst forth over the crystal clear ocean. She thinks she is free, she thinks she has escaped, yet she is wrong and only more suffering awaits her.

  Words awaken her from the daydream, “You know you should not be here, it is dangerous. Every day the shield grows weaker, it is only a matter of time before it fails and the dark ones are loosed upon us.”

  “Yes,” Karolin replied laconically. As she pulled herself up and wiped away the tears. She must keep the fire within her soul burning and she must not give into the darkness.

  She swung around and studied the stunning creature that stood before her. Lessai was the last of her race a Kelianes, in the right light they would appear quite human, yet on closer inspection the differences would become apparent. Skin that was pale almost ashen, except for a soft lavender hue, as if some sort of light was emanating from somewhere within them. Her own body was athletic and ethereal the result of years of fighting and rationing, this combined with high cheek bones, thin lips and long fiery red hair gave her a striking if distinctly alien beauty.

  “The council wish to see you,” Lessai spoke the words slowly, as if each syllable caused her difficulty. It was not the language that troubled her, as she spoke her native tongue and a neural implant at the base of Karolina’s skull translated it. Instead it was the meaning of the words which caused the discomfort. She had known Lessai for nearly two years now and could read her moods clearly, at least most of the time.

  “I am ready,” Karolina proclaimed confidently. The end was close now, and both of them knew it. She craned her neck around and hoped to catch one last glimpse of the mysterious visitor, whose music and words had held both hope and fear in equal measure.

  Lessai beamed with such warmth, Karolina actually felt her heart skip a beat and when she spoke the tone was tender. “You already know what they are going to tell you though. I can see it in your eyes.”

  “We both know each other too well my friend,” Karolina retorted, with her own grin.

  “This war is over,” As she spoke, her gloved hand gripped the hilt of the broadsword that swung from a bejewelled scabbard on her hip.

  “Then we will see it out together,” Karolina’s voice was robust, even if her heart was breaking. “I am not afraid of death, its shadow has haunted me for too long now. I have seen the great ocean, and it no longer holds such sway over me.” Impulsively she rubbed her hand across her face, wiping away both imagined and real blood.

  “What do you mean the great ocean?” Lessai asked inquisitively.

  Karolina glanced over at the bodies of the creatures she had slain, partially covered now in embers. She wanted to tell Lessai about all that had taken place, yet she wasn’t sure that she was able to fully articulate it yet. “I saw myself, sinking down into the pitch black depths and within the murk I saw the faces of all those that had died here.”

  Lessai drifted over to Karolina and placed a hand tenderly on her shoulder, the touch sent a jolt of electricity through her body.

  “There is a tale told by my people, my mother used to tell it to me, as her mother had told her, it is about the great sea of souls, a place where all life begins and where all life ends.” Lessai took in slow, relaxed breaths, “They say that only a few people are ever allowed to see it before death takes them.”

  “I think it was just a bad dream,” Karolina sighed, knowing it was a lie.

  “You have suffered so much already, for someone so young. I wish I could offer you some peace, or at least som
e solace.” Lessai paused as if choosing her next words carefully, “there is much I cannot tell you, as much as I want to. I am still a soldier and have my orders, but you must know that this is not the end, life will continue, and you must have hope.”

  Karolina twisted to her, and bathed in her beauty. Once more the words of the old man sang within her soul again. “There is always hope, we must keep that fire burning.”

  Lessai’s lips curled sensuously, “Yes we must, because without hope we will all be lost.”

  Karolina took one last look at the ravaged landscape and then Lessai took her hand and led her away from the carnage. They marched into the cavernous ruins of what had once been a habitation block. Around Karolina the remnants of lives extinguished or abandoned lay, blackened books, torn clothes, a holographic landscape painting half buried under a pile of stonework, and finally a scorched stuffed toy. The cuddle animal was not one that she recognised, to her it looked much like an octopus, yet it only had three legs. She knelt down and picked it up, cradling it softly in her arms as you would a child.

  “Nothing can be done, can it?” She whispered more to herself.

  Lessai replied tenderly, her voice tinged with sentiment. “No, the war is over, we cannot defeat the dark ones, while our numbers have been decimated they continue to increase. The foul magic or science that gives birth to the fiends continues unabated, hundreds of thousands of them wait now abroad ships in orbit. I don’t know when the final attack will begin or when they will finally be able to break through the shield, but the Council cannot be saved, and this war cannot be won.”

  “But we will keep fighting,” Karolina retorted.

  “We will, it is all that we can do. We must have hope that the council can live on, that we can continue.”

  “Perhaps we will be able to slow them down enough to let some of the civilians escape this slaughter?”

  “I will let the leader tell you what is to happen, it is not my place to say.” Lessai replied, quietened now, “However my people believe that this is the cycle of life, the river will continue to flow and all of this will happen again, in another place and at another time.”

  Karolina took one last glimpse at the desolation, “There has been so much loss here, so much death.”

  She envisioned the old man again and his talk of hope. Tears began to well in her eyes as waves of feeling pommelled her. Within her mind the image of the dark ones, shifted to be replaced by the demon that still haunted her, the stink of whiskey heavy on his warm breath, the stench of body odour, fists, the familiar metallic taste of iron in her mouth.

  His eyes, icy and calculating, that had so quickly turned, to be filed with a sickening yearning. Even now she could still feel his hands pulling at her clothes. She felt bile rise in her gullet, as if years of resentment and vitriol were forcing themselves up from her very soul.

  For an instant she thought she was going to be sick but instead a strange, warmth began to permeate her body, starting at her fingers and toes it spread quickly until it embraced her completely. Like a heated blanket, pulled taut against the cold. She closed her eyes, wetness stung her cheeks, and soon she could taste salt on her lips. For only the second time in her life she felt safe, cocooned within this bubble of energy. She allowed the memory of the demon to be excised, along with the nights of torture, shame and fear.

  She opened her eyes, and peered down to see she was floating about three feet off the ground. Next to her Lessai was frozen, a look of shock etched on her tender features. In the distance she heard a voice calling her name, soft, gentle, like a lovers whisper. Before she could respond though, she felt the energy, slowly drift away from her and serenely she floated back down to the earth. As her feet touched the ground it was as if time restarted and began to flow again.

  “What just happened?” Lessai asked in a shocked, hurried tone.

  Karolina said nothing at first. She wasn’t able to verbalize what had just happened. Even her own consciousness was struggling to comprehend the event, the one thing that she did know was that she felt lighter, like a weight, which had been dragging her down, had suddenly been lifted.

  “I don’t know if I can explain it,” she managed to cough, “I don’t think I have the words.”

  “Maybe you should try, one minute I was talking to you then you were crying and then you were floating off the ground. I don’t think I have even seen spell weavers do that.”

  “It was like my body was letting go of all the pain I had suffered,” Karolina’s beam was one of pure relief. “As if I was washing it away, not forgetting it, perhaps just allowing myself to move on.”

  Lessai suddenly lurched towards her, and embraced her tightly. “Well whatever it is you look better,” she whispered “Even your smile looks broader.”

  “Thank you,” Karolina replied as she felt the warmth of Lessai’s body next to hers. For so long she had hated to be touched, it reminded her of that night and of the pain. Yet now it felt different, not comfortable quite but at least not unwanted.

  Eventually Lessai broke the embrace and edged backwards, she seemed abruptly shy and unsure of herself. “I’m sorry,” she uttered, once again the soldier.

  Karolina chuckled slightly, “You don’t have anything to be sorry about it. I liked it.”

  For a moment neither spoke, they just stood staring at each other, finding the briefest instant of peace in this time of bleakness.

  It was Lessai who finally broke the silence, her hand back on the hilt of her weapon and once more she appeared every inch the warrior princess. “We have to go,” her voice flexed as if she was fighting to contain her own emotions.

  “I know, the Leader wants to see me,” Karolina replied. She pulled the soft toy close to her heart and she looked around at the surface one last time. Within her mind she offered a silent prayer to whatever God or being still listened, for all the souls that had been lost here, that they may find some peace. “I am ready.”

  “Then let’s go.” Lessai activated the transportation device and almost instantly they were both enveloped within a vivid lime-green light. Even after the hundreds of times she had used the transporter, Karolina’s heart still quickened and she felt beads of sweet pool on her forehead.

  She had no real idea how the transport system actually worked, one of the council’s scientists had tried to explain it to her, yet she had quickly become lost, after all physics had never really been her forte. What she had managed to gleam was that it involved, some sort of quantum mechanics, about striping you down to a molecular level, and then sending that information in the form of an energy beam, to the destination and then finally being recreated there.

  In her mind she imagined, she was made of Lego, being disassembled piece by piece and then moved to another place and being built again. Apparently there were actually few accidents involving the technology, yet the fear still remained, after all there was a first time for everything. She tried to put the doubts from her mind and barred her eyes as the blinding illumination shot them down through the ground.

  She opened her eyes slowly, half expecting as always, to be buried in some rock or metal. Yet after the haze that shrouded her vision had cleared she found herself back in the familiar dimly lit tunnels of the Councils defence bunkers.

  “I don’t care how many times I do that, it never gets any better.” Lessai smirked and rubbed her eyes.

  “That makes two of us,” Karolina added as her legs felt like jelly. Her hand shot out and steadied herself on the wall.

  “Follow this corridor down, the leader will meet you in the room at the end of it. I must go and prepare, but I will see you once you’re finished.”

  She peered into Lessai’s shimmering, emerald eyes and was almost lost, “I will see you then my friend.”

  It appeared that Lessai was going to say something, then she seemed to think better of it and pirouetted gracefully as a dancer would, and strolled away.

  Karolina watched her move off into the shadows
and was once again alone. Her mind was racing, thoughts crashed like waves against the rocks. She envisioned again the demon, the man that had haunted her since childhood and of the scenes she had witnessed on the planet’s surface. Of a world set to flame.

  Then she visualized the old man, his soft, gentle features, the kindness behind his eyes and his message of hope. Had she dreamt of him, had she fashioned him from her subconscious, some attempt to perhaps find a high power or at least some answers. No, she couldn’t believe that, he had been real and he had saved her.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Karolina set off into the gloom of the dimly lit passageway. Eventually she came upon a blast door and before she could say anything, it slid open silently. The room she found herself in was similar to most of the others she had encountered in this vast underground city. Its walls were metallic, and seemed to gleam and shimmer as if they were neither solid of liquid but constantly transitioning between both. It was sparsely decorated, as she would imagine most military installations would be, this place had not been built with comfort in mind after all. A clear glass table and two chairs the only furniture, while a translucent projector screen hovered gracefully next to it.

  She stood in silence for an instance, synapses flared and memories were called forth. She was back on Earth, the night the Council had come for her. The fetid stench of garbage filled broken sinuses and made her gag. Frigid rain stung her exposed skin, while she tried in vain to pull the tattered clothes closer to her emaciated frame, and yet it did no good. She no longer felt the cold and for the first time in her life she wasn’t afraid of death. She was just so tire, all she wanted was for the pain to stop and to find some peace.

  She had thought that morning she had escaped the clutches of her stepfather that she had found freedom, yet instead she had been delivered into a World that not only didn’t care about her, but failed to even acknowledge her existence. People would literally step over her as she lay in the streets, a few had cared enough to offer her food, some warm soup and bread, yet she was uneasy around people and refused most help.