The Santoran Chronicles

by C. O. Amal

  Before long, Xhilarian ships surrounded Victoria. They just hovered around Victoria.

  Captain Miller stared at the control panel with a worry. He quickly pressed the panic button. An alarm ringed inside the ship.

  Suddenly, high calibre laser bolts rained from the Xhilarian war ships, damaging ship Victoria. A few people managed to climb outside. But suddenly small pod ships emerged from the war ships and they shot down each of the humans.

  Boom! Boom! Bang!

  Multiple explosions occurred from various parts of the ship Victoria. And finally, with a bang, the ship exploded into pieces.

  Then, just like that, the Xhilarian war machines retreated into the distant sky.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 40

  Samson couldn’t believe how things are turning around him. They are now stranded in this planet with no escape options. And according to Isaac, aliens and Wolfdogs aren’t the only things they have to worry about. There are crazy men out there who would burn them alive.

  No matter how hard he thinks, no solution is coming inside Samson’s mind. If ship Victoria is really compromised, his entire troop inside the ship must be dead.

  “Now what would we do?” Finally Lucy asked.

  “I have no idea, Lucy.” Samson said. “Let the Santorans worry about that now. Isaac, do you know a way out from here?”

  Isaac and Robin thought for a moment.

  Then Isaac opened his mouth. “There are a large number of men and woman inside this cave. We can fight back if we get there.”

  “But, you said that area is filled with the crazies.” Samson said.

  “Yeah. That’s the only problem.” Isaac said. “... Or, I have another plan.”

  “And what plan is that?” Samson asked.

  “We could infiltrate one of their base.” Isaac said.

  Samson wished Isaac haven’t said that. They now have only that option. It’s just plain and simple – fight or die. And they have to take the fight to their doorsteps.

  * * * * *

  Book Three

  Chapter 41

  A.D. 2077, Somewhere on Earth

  Middle of a forest. Birds chirped from the trees and a herd of deer grazed through the small grass land. There are many multi–story buildings scattered through the land. Most buildings are covered with vines and small plants.

  There are piles of glass shards throughout the foot of the buildings. There is a black road which is filled with dry leaves running through the forest. And there are many unusable vehicles scattered on the road. Trees thrive here and sunlight can be seen seeping in through the tiny pores on the tree canopy.

  Inside one of the buildings, on the fifth level, nearby a window, stood a man of age about thirty. His face is filled with hair and he have a long moustache. He is now analysing a herd of deer which are on the nearby road. He then took a piece of sugar cane from the side of the window and he began to chew it.

  A moment later, a young woman appeared behind him from the nearby staircase.

  “Edgar, are you seeing anything good?” The woman asked.

  “Katie, there is a herd of deer outside.” Edgar said. “If you want, we can cook deer meat today.”

  “Nah, let them go. They deserve to live longer.”

  Edgar smiled. Katie came near him and she watched the road outside.

  “We haven’t seen them for two months. Do you think they are gone?” Katie asked.

  “I don’t think so. I think, they are preparing this world for something.” Edgar said thinking something.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because, if my visions are correct, they are going to drain every juice our planet have. And so far my visions were true. So, they are not going to let us go.”

  Katie for a moment wished Edgar haven’t said that. But the truth is, this planet is on the verge of death. Even though here in this forest trees are healthy, things in other nearby forests aren’t the same. There are withered trees everywhere.

  Now it’s been two years since the aliens first arrived here. And ever since their first encounter, forest began to reclaim the land quickly. It’s like someone sprinkled the growth hormones all over the place. The monkey plague must be the reason why the forest reclaimed everything. Whole cities got covered in forests.

  Then, it was recently that Edgar spotted the withered trees. A whole forest withered and died. And the interesting thing is, Edgar is having visions about a young girl who called herself as the Mother Nature. She showed him so many things about the enemies. And if it isn’t for his visions, they would have been dead long ago.

  It was last year that Edgar found Katie inside a crazy territory. He saved her and ever since that incident, they have been together. There are crazies everywhere. After the release of the monkey plague, the aliens released another plague. As the result of the second plague, most survivors turned into crazies. Crazies are crazy people who would definitely kill any survivors they see. They could be anywhere, waiting to slit your throat. If you’re really unfortunate, they will burn you alive.

  The aliens are actually killing and destroying the humans because, humans are the only thing standing against whatever the hell the aliens are planning. Certainly, if the aliens win, this planet will die. The only hope the planet have is the resistance fighters. Resistance fighters are all over the world stalking aliens whenever they can. They say that, they have even destroyed an entire fleet of enemy battle ships.

  But, earth is losing the war. If you kill one alien, two more will take its place. One can often see their space crafts in the sky. They are pretty organised and they are technologically advanced than any humans.

  Among the resistance fighters, there is a popular story about some men who went to the Andromeda galaxy. Those men are the one who first encountered the aliens. After the war began to worsen, the whole communication system went down and every communication with the men who went to Andromeda also went down.

  Edgar hopes that those men would return here with a better plan to save earth.

  Edgar and Katie quickly lost in thoughts, looking at the herd of deer who are enjoying the young grass.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 42

  Edgar stood near the window, looking outside, whole day. When night began to set, he got inside a nearby room. Katie was already there. The room have no windows and as soon as he entered inside, he closed the door. The light from the candle shone everything inside the room.

  He sat down on a blanket which is spread across the floor. And he slowly lie down. Katie also lie down beside him. She then placed her one hand on top of Edgar.

  Suddenly, Edgar’s stomach began to growl. A moment later, Katie’s stomach also growled. They now eat only one meal per day. And the morning meal wasn’t anywhere near a good meal. Edgar is not that hungry since he was chewing sugar cane all day. But, that’s not Katie’s case. She eat only a little and she sleeps with a wild hungry stomach.

  Even though there are forest resources outside, they are mostly afraid to go outside since there are gigantic Wolfdogs outside. They could be lurking in the shadows, waiting to get a taste of human flesh.

  “We can’t sleep like this anymore.” Edgar said.

  “Why?”

  “Why? We need food, baby girl.”

  Katie’s mouth widened. Then her smile quickly faded. “You know, we can’t go outside all the time. Those dogs could be anywhere. Yesterday, I saw one of them on the back of this building.”

  Wolfdogs are quite common here. They almost forget where and when was they last seen one of them.

  “We have to go for a supply run tomorrow.” Edgar said.

  “Hello, didn’t you heard what I have said. They could be anywhere.”

  “Don’t worry about it. We can’t always be in fear. Tomorrow, I am going for supplies whether you’re coming or not.” With that Edgar closed his eyes.

  A drop of tear oozed down from Katie’s eyes. She actually hates this world. She sat up and ble
w out the candle. Then she slowly lie down. For some time, she listened to the sounds of the night. During night, one can often hear growls and shrieks. But, tonight, there aren’t any growls or shrieks. Tonight, there is only the song of grasshoppers.

  “God, save us from this mess.” Katie uttered her usual prayer and she slowly fell asleep.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 43

  As soon as the dawn broke, Edgar and Katie stood near the window and they examined outside. So far no danger. Edgar went back inside the bedroom and he came back with a long knife.

  Katie took a long metal rod from a side and she stood near the staircase.

  “So, you’re coming with me?” Edgar asked.

  “If I die, I want to die with you.” Katie said.

  Edgar smiled. “Then, let’s get going.” Edgar first climbed down the staircase. Katie closely followed him.

  Before long, they exited the building and they started their walk through the dark road.

  “So, what are we looking for again?” Katie asked.

  “There must be canned goods in that convenience store.” Edgar said pointing at a small building far away.

  Katie nodded. They quickly pushed forward.

  “There might be fresh fruits in the woods.” Katie said.

  “We can look for fruits. But first things first. We need canned goods.”

  “Okay.”

  Before long they covered a great deal of distance from their hideout. The road is filled with fallen leaves and leaves crunched as they walked over them. It’s been too long since the last rain. But water is plenty here. For Edgar and Katie, there is a healthy well near their hideout.

  A few minutes later, they both reached near the store. There is a big name board on top of the store stating its name. But, the letters on the board are covered with mosses. The roof of the store is filled with vines and there is a pile of vehicles in front of the store. Edgar and Katie navigated through the maze of the vehicles and finally they entered inside the store through the intact glass door.

  The carpet inside the shop is filled with mosses and there is a dampness on the carpet. And there are vines all over the ceiling. There are all sort of food products scattered through the shelves, but, most products must have expired long ago. Edgar went near the far corner and he spotted canned goods there. Edgar took a plastic carry bag from a nearby shelf and he began to put all sort of canned goods in it. Katie went near another aisle and she began to take bottled juices.

  “Katie,” Edgar called.

  “What?”

  “Don’t take those juice. It must have been expired long ago and its use can result in food poisoning.”

  “Okay.” Katie dropped the bottles.

  “Come here, and take these canned goods.” Edgar called.

  Katie came near Edgar and she too took a plastic carry bag from a shelf. And she began to put all sort of canned goods in her bag.

  A few minutes later, Edgar and Katie have four carry bags full of canned goods.

  “Let’s get out of here.” Edgar said.

  Katie nodded. They quickly exited the shop and they started their return journey. They haven’t covered much distance when all of a sudden, a series of swooshes came from the distant sky. Due to the presence of large tree canopy, the sky is barely visible. A few minutes later, sound of something being landed came from a distance. Edgar quickly went near the wall of trees and he looked at from where the sound is coming. Nothing is visible since there are lot of trees present here.

  “Edgar, let’s go.” Katie worriedly said.

  “Let’s check what it is.”

  “No. Let’s go. It can’t be anything good.”

  But Edgar didn’t listened to Katie. He went deeper into the woods. Katie saw no other choice but to follow him. A few minutes later, they reached near a grass meadow. Then they saw it.

  Two Xhilarian ships are on the ground and the aliens are laying some kind of odd machines on the nearby ground. The machines looks like a metal cube, but with four robotic legs. They placed four machines in a square fashion. Then they placed solar panels all around the square. A moment later, with a rumbling sound, the machines began to operate. No movement can be seen, but the machines are continuously emitting a rumbling sound.

  Edgar watched everything curiously.

  “Edgar, let’s go.” Katie whispered.

  “Okay.” Edgar sighed.

  They quickly retraced their steps and before long they saw their hideout in a distance.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 44

  Edgar and Katie finally reached near their building. Suddenly a growl emanated from deep inside their hideout. Edgar and Katie went a little away from the building and they worriedly peered at the higher levels. Then they saw it through the windows. There are two Wolfdogs inside their building. Suddenly, one of the Wolfdogs glared at Edgar and Katie through the second level window.

  “Run,” Edgar managed to say. They dropped their canned goods and they bolted into a silent run. Sound of something breaking apart came from their hideout, followed by a series of sharp screeches.

  Edgar led the way in the front line. Katie closely followed him. Then pursuing footsteps came from behind them. Edgar stopped for a moment and he glanced at his rear. Then the horror struck him. Both the Wolfdogs are rushing at them.

  “Edgar, this way.” Katie called from nearby. Edgar followed Katie’s voice and then he saw her near a manhole. She already removed the lid. As Katie saw him running towards her, she jumped into the man hole. Edgar closely followed her and he too jumped into the manhole.

  They both landed in the drainage water.

  A moment later the dogs arrived at the scene. One of the dogs poked its head inside the manhole, but the manhole is too small for it. Then the Wolfdogs made a sharp yelp and they ran away from the scene. Edgar and Katie took a deep sigh.

  “Now what?” Edgar asked.

  “You’re asking me, now what?”

  Edgar took a deep sigh. He know where this conversation is going and he is tired of fighting with her. Edgar climbed on top of the concrete side lane and he walked towards the other end of the sewer. Katie said nothing. She followed him closely. They didn’t covered much distance when all of a sudden a laughter came from in front of them. Someone else is inside this sewer.

  Edgar and Katie followed the laughter. Then they saw it. At the end of the sewer, there is a wide room made by removing the sewer walls. And there are a few dozens of men and woman sitting on the floor.

  Edgar and Katie took a deep sigh. Finally fellow survivors. Edgar approached them.

  “Help,” Katie without knowing uttered.

  All the men and woman suddenly shifted their gaze at Edgar and Katie. Then Edgar saw that, all the woman and men are wearing torn cloths. Suddenly the men drew out knives from their waist band.

  “Shit ...” Edgar then realized their mistake. “Run, Katie.”

  Katie too realised their mistake. They both turned towards from where they have come from. They could take the other end of the sewer. But, they are really unfortunate. From the other end of the sewer came a dozens of crazies with drawn knives.

  “Where are you going, lads?” One of the crazy asked with a giggle.

  Edgar didn’t said anything. He and Katie are too scared to move their lips.

  “Ahh ...” Katie screamed. Someone hit her on her head using a piece of log. Katie blacked out and she dropped unconscious.

  “No ...” Edgar quickly drew out his knife and he turned towards the unconscious form of Katie. “Ahh ...” Suddenly someone hit him on his head using something. Edgar too blacked out. The crazies suddenly broke into a laughter.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 45

  Edgar woke up with a sharp, surging, pain on the back of his head. He slowly sat up. Fortunately he and Katie are alive. Katie is lying down nearby. Edgar looked at the floor carefully. The floor is filled with dirt and there is a dampness everywhere. Edgar then went near K
atie and he began to shake her.

  “Katie, wake up.”

  Katie slowly opened her eyes and she sat up, massaging her head.