Aftermath_The Armorian Chronicles

by Courtney Beals

  “You didn’t, did you?” Come to think of it she hadn’t noticed them at all when they were approaching the bunker. “We use a special glass that allows us to see out, but doesn’t allow anyone to see in. In a way, it’s like a two-way mirror, except from the other side it’s as if it’s completely invisible or transparent. As for the tall tower, we used trees to camouflage it.

  “Well it looks like the Demorites you were warned about are turning back toward the city.”

  “Good! That is what I wanted to see.” He stood beside her and stared out toward the city. “Sometimes I look out this window for hours, wondering what Akina is doing, or if she is even still alive.”

  “We can’t afford to think like that. All we can do is get in there and save them, and we will.”

  “I failed her as a brother, and Damien will pay for what he has done.”

  Lyla said nothing, and instead stared out at the view. Tonight, they would be out there. They would enter the city and end it all.

  Lyla had gone back to Sector B-2 to wake the others, but when she got there, they were already awake and fully dressed in fighting gear. Giselle looked like she had just awoken and wanted to go back to sleep. She was sitting on her bed with her back against the wall with weary eyes. Lyla could tell she was fighting to keep herself awake. William was sliding a jacket over his shoulders, and she wondered if he thought he would get cold. Thomas was adjusting his weapons belt, and looked up at her as she walked in, but did not say a word.

  William and Thomas stood out in the hall while Lyla changed into her gear. She pulled on a pair of black pants with a burgundy shirt. With the season change into fall, she followed William’s lead and pulled on a black leather jacket, followed by a pair of combat boots, and her weapons belt, which was fully equipped. She pulled her hair up, so it would not obstruct her view in any way during their soon-to-be battle.

  By the time she was finished, Giselle had fallen asleep, and she had to wake her up again. She understood that she was exhausted from the long journey from the cottage, but they were about to be in a major battle. Lyla’s adrenalin was beginning to rise just at the thought of the battle, which kept her alert and well aware of her surroundings. She hoped Giselle would be ready when the time came, but of course she would. Giselle was a great fighter and would not allow a bit of exhaustion to overcome her.

  She pulled Giselle out the door and the boys followed suit as they made their way upstairs into the kitchen. She suggested that they grab something to go for energy, and made Giselle a coffee, which helped tremendously. By the first five sips she was awake and fully prepared. Lyla felt a rush of relief flow through her body. She wanted everyone to be focused.

  Rows upon rows of people, young and old, lined up in the weapons area, baring arms, ready to fight. Lyla had to remind herself that these people were no longer ordinary citizens. After years of being frightened and vulnerable to the Demorites, these people were ready to make a stand and fight for what they love. They were all ready to win their homeland back. Before leaving the bunker, Lyla returned to the blacksmith. He handed her a small cloth that was folded around the item she had asked for. She shoved it in her back pocket and left.

  All the members of the Alliance relocated above ground, remaining in the same formation, fully prepared to march into the city. There was a cool breeze, which made Lyla grateful that she’d put on a jacket. She joined Ryan in the front of the group, along with William, Thomas, and Giselle. They were going to lead the Alliance together. Ryan was standing tall and strong; his confidence could be seen from a mile away. His voice was strong and unwavering.

  “Let this be a night of remembrance,” Ryan said. “Let this be a night of victory.” The members of the Alliance began to cheer. When the cheers subsided, he began again. “This is what we have been preparing for all these years. All our training and hard work will show tonight as we march into the city and fight for what is rightfully ours. Our homes, our people, our freedom. Let God be your guide tonight. We shall look to Him for strength if we become weak, hope should it become dwindled, and light in the darkest of places. Through Him we will not be moved. Through Him we will become victorious.”

  Lyla was very delighted with his speech. It was one of the best she had ever heard. It was very powerful and motivating. She noticed Thomas was less enthused. Did he not believe in God, or did he just despise Ryan? She had never asked about his beliefs, nor had he asked about hers. Her grandma had always read Bible stories to her and Lilly, so it just seemed natural to her.

  Ryan turned away from them and began marching toward the city with everyone in full pursuit.

  It took thirty minutes to reach the city limits through the tough terrain. They had a plan and with any luck it would work. They would take Thomas’s suggestion and look for Demorites that they could ambush and steal their cloaks. Not all of them would be able to do this, so Ryan, Lyla, William, Thomas, and Giselle went forward, leaving the members of the Alliance standing by. Once they had safely infiltrated the castle walls, they would signal for reinforcements.

  Entering the city, they passed all the abandoned buildings. Lyla thought it was sad knowing people once lived in these houses. Now the windows were cracked and some of the doors were busted open from burglars seeking supplies. She would have loved to have seen the city before it became a barren wasteland.

  She found herself imagining her grandparents taking her and Lilly to the city to stay with them at their nice home. They would go shopping and eat at nice restaurants, and then they would go back home to their mom and tell her all about it, but Damien ruined everything. They would never go home to their mother because he had killed her. They would never visit the home in the city that their grandparents had once resided in because they now lived in the cottage to care for them. To make things worse, they would never come home to the smile of their grandmother and the warm hugs she would give them on a regular basis.

  Damien and his army had ruined her life, and they would pay for it with their own.

  “Lyla, are you okay?” Thomas whispered.

  She had been staring at the ground thinking to herself as they walked.

  “Yes, I’m fine.”

  She wanted to tell Thomas that she wasn’t fine, but she couldn’t. Instead, she added a slight smile and looked away.

  A group of Demorites were patrolling the grounds farther in toward the castle. There were just enough for each of them to attack and steal a cloak from.

  Thomas volunteered to be the first one to take down a Demorite. He was sneaking forward, ready to take one down with calm, steady breaths. As he got closer, he crouched low and waited behind a large piece of a concrete slab next to a large building for the Demorite to turn his back. Once he did, Thomas ran forward, ready to pounce, but the Demorite turned toward him. Before the Demorite could yell anything to raise any alarms, Thomas put his arms around him, snapped his neck, and stabbed him in the heart to make sure he was dead.. He dragged his body closer to where everyone was waiting so it would not be found, and pulled the cloak off. It fit him perfectly, and with the hood up, it made Lyla’s body tense up. She stepped back as he neared her.

  “What’s wrong?” he laughed.

  “Nothing,” she murmured. “You just look like them is all.”

  “Isn’t that the point?”

  “Yes, I suppose it is.” She paused for a moment, biting her lip. She noticed him watching her and his smile had faded. She did not want him to be disappointed or think she was not capable of accomplishing what they had set out to do, so she changed her mood. She turned to him with a smile. “It was a great idea. I guess I’m just a little nervous.” He didn’t seem too convinced and wrapped his arms around her.

  “You are one of the best fighters I know. You will do great and I will be by your side every step of the way, so I can keep you safe.”

  “Um, hello,” Ryan said annoyed. “We have work to do.”

  Lyla pulled away from Thomas embarrassed. Her cheeks became re
d. They needed to stay focused on the task at hand. William and Giselle had already taken out two guards and retrieved their cloaks.

  Ryan walked two buildings down before coming to a stop. The last two Demorites had disappeared, but they couldn’t have gone very far.

  He slid into an alleyway and they lost sight of him. It had been several minutes when they saw one of the Demorites come out from around a building to the north.

  Lyla saw a flash of movement, and the next moment the Demorite was down on the ground. Ryan must have been waiting for him. He came out and hit him on the head. The Demorite was struggling to get up on his feet. She tried to remember if she had told him about Armorian blades and that no other weapons could kill them.

  They were not invincible, however. It was all a matter of knowing where and how to strike. According to Ryan, pulling them limb from limb seemed to do the trick. It was something Lyla and Lilly had never tried because it seemed to be such a ruthless way to kill.

  Ryan picked up a concrete slab that was light enough for him to lift and rammed it into the back of the Demorites head several times. The Demorite fell and did not get up again. It was a brutal kill, but it got the job done. His body was dragged back, and Ryan wore the biggest grin on his face, as if no one could have made a better kill.

  Lyla was the last of the group to retrieve a cloak. She clenched her fists and let out a deep breath. This was just like killing them in the woods she told herself. It would be simple. She made her way closer to the buildings as quietly as she could. Glass was crunching under her feet, which made it hard to accomplish. She found a Demorite turning the corner from a building and ducked behind a bench. This was her chance, all she had to do was wait for him to get a little bit closer and then…

  A loud sound emerged out from the distance. It sounded like a horn and it was coming from the direction of the castle. Did the Demorites know they were there? Had they been noticed?

  She covered her ears to defend them from the obnoxious sound and watched as the Demorite casually walked in the direction of the castle. She made her way back to everyone, who all looked concerned.

  “What’s going on?” Giselle asked.

  “I don’t know,” Lyla said.

  “They must know we are here,” said William.

  “No,” said Lyla shaking her head. “I don’t think they know we are here. The Demorite I saw didn’t seem like he was being warned of any potential dangers. Maybe they are expecting something at the castle? Maybe…” her voice trailed off.

  “What is it, Lyla?” Thomas asked.

  “Tonight, is the deadline. I’m supposed to give Damien my crystal and ring. He must be planning something big, whether I meet his requests or I fail. We need to get in there now.”

  “But you don’t have a cloak,” said Giselle.

  Giselle was right, because of the horn she’d been unable to acquire one.

  “With all the Demorites heading to the castle we might just have a clear passage through,” said Lyla.

  “If they are expecting you already, I’m sure Damien will keep some of the Demorites behind to keep watch, whether they are seen or not,” said Ryan. “I don’t think we need to take the risk of getting ourselves caught. We will find another way.”

  “There is no other way,” Thomas growled.

  “How would you know, wizard?” Ryan spat. “You are not from here.” He said the word like it was poison. Lyla was not used to thinking of Thomas as a wizard. He was a wizard, but just like anyone else in Armoria, he did not have special powers.

  Thomas had tightened all the muscles in his body. He lunged forward, but stopped when Lyla spoke.

  “Wait, that’s it.” Completely ignoring Thomas and Ryan’s altercation. “People used to get around the city in many different ways, right?” She was asking no one in particular, but continued before anyone could speak anyway. “And one of them was through the subway. My grandma told me all about it. They won’t know we are coming if we sneak up from underground.”

  “That might actually not be a bad idea. I say we go for it,” William said.

  “The only problem is I have no idea how or where to get into the subway,” Lyla said shyly. She knew this could work, but she had never been into the city to know anything about it. She had only gone to the city limits with Lilly.

  “Come on. I’ll lead the way,” said Ryan. Everyone was happy to follow him, except Thomas. He knew this was a great plan, but Ryan thought he knew everything. He didn’t want Lyla getting any ideas about him or thinking Ryan was better than him. She wouldn’t think that, would she? He knew they’d been friends when they were young and Lyla wanted to mend their friendship, but Thomas saw the way Ryan looked at her when he thought no one was looking, and he hated him for it. He thought Ryan’s tough-guy act was all for show, and he would somehow expose it.

  Lyla looked all around her as they walked to the nearest subway. Although all the buildings were overgrown with plant life, she was amazed at how tall they were. Every street had buildings that were back to back. They came in all different shapes and sizes. Big and tall, skinny and wide.

  They stopped in an area of ruin and destruction. The pavement was torn to pieces and concrete and glass covered the ground. They could not see ahead of them because of how dark it was.

  “What happened here?” Giselle asked.

  “Most of it is from the invasion, but the rest is the result of our people being forced to work,” said Ryan. “Damien made them do this.”

  Giselle began to walk forward into the darkness.

  “Giselle, I don’t think that is such a great idea,” said Lyla. “Not being able to see ahead of you could be dangerous. You could…”

  Before Lyla could get another word out, the earth caved out from under Giselle’s feet and she fell into darkness.

  Chapter 24

  Lyla realized she was holding her breath. Ryan was closest to where Giselle had fallen, yet he did nothing to help her. He had pressed his back against a building, both eyes wide and terrified.

  William and Thomas were stunned and had not moved a muscle. They were shocked, leaving Lyla to assess the situation, because clearly no one else would.

  She carefully walked into the darkness in the direction where Giselle had been swallowed up by the earth. She swallowed hard. Her mouth was dry and her forehead was sweating. If she was going to die, at least it would be for someone she cared about. With that in mind, she pressed forward.

  Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness, and saw the ledge where Giselle had fallen, and peered over. Below she saw rushing water and her heart sank. Had she fallen in? If she had, there was no way she could survive it. Was she dead? She couldn’t even bear the thought.

  She looked closer, her eyes were still adjusting. Hanging onto a piece of metal that was emerging from the earth was a small silhouette, Giselle. It must have been a part of the bridge, which was extensively damaged. She looked terrified as she had both hands holding on for dear life. Lyla yelled her name, and Giselle looked up at her and squeaked her name back. She was too far down for Lyla to reach her, so she would have to find something that she could pull her up with.

  Lyla snapped William and Thomas out of their shocked state so they could help her. She had yelled for Ryan to help, but he didn’t move a muscle.

  They searched and searched, but found nothing.

  “Hey, guys. Over here!” William said. He was standing beside an enormous building. “What about that?” He pointed up to the vines that were weaving themselves along the building’s exterior.

  “That’s brilliant,” Lyla replied. Without another word, she climbed the ledges of the building until she thought they would have enough to reach Giselle. Giselle was at least six feet away, so if she cut the vine at eight or nine feet they would have plenty. She yelled for Thomas to throw her an ax. He pulled his ax from his weapons belt and threw it up to her. She caught it perfectly and began chopping at the vines. As soon as it fell to the ground, she
jumped down and ran to the ledge. She tied the end of the vine so Giselle could slip it over her body.

  Giselle was still dangling from the metal piece. Lyla was surprised she had held on that long, but she was also glad she had.

  When Giselle felt the rope––or vine, she observed––hit her, she hesitated. She had been hanging for so long her arms were growing numb, and she was afraid if she let go she would fall to her death.

  She took in a deep breath and tried to forget the numbness in her hands and the rushing water beneath her.

  She let one hand go and slipped it into the circle of the vine before returning it back to the bar. Her heart was racing and sweat was dripping down her forehead. She released her other hand and copied the same familiar motion. The vine was now circled around her waist. She yelled for Lyla to pull her up.

  She felt the vine tighten around her waist and she released her hands from the metal bar and placed them firmly on the vine to hold herself up.

  She felt relieved when she reached the top. She had never been more scared in her entire life, never so close to death. Lyla had firmly grabbed her arm and pulled her up the rest of the way. Afterwards, she pulled her close and squeezed her tightly.

  “I’m so glad you are safe,” Lyla said.

  “All thanks to you,” Giselle said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better sister.”

  “William and Thomas helped me.”

  “But Ryan was no help at all,” yelled Thomas. His frustration began to rise in the pit of his stomach. He got up and rushed toward Ryan who was no longer pressed against the building in horror. He was walking in the direction from which they’d come.

  “What is wrong with you? You could have helped her and you did nothing. She could have died.” Thomas had reached him by the time he finished yelling.

  “I-I’m sorry. I should have helped her.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  Ryan took a long moment before answering. He ran his hand through his hair and rested it on the back of his neck. “I’m afraid of heights,” he mumbled. “And I can’t swim.”