by C. O. Amal
“Are we dead?” Katie asked.
“No. But, soon we will be.”
A drop of tear oozed down from her eyes. “Now what?”
Edgar didn’t answered. He stood up and analysed the room. There is a metal door nearby. He tried the knob but it is bolted shut from outside. Edgar tuned his ear for any sound from outside. Then he heard footsteps coming and leaving from nearby.
Katie went near the door and she uttered, “Please, let us go. Please.”
“Katie, we can’t argue with them. You know better. You once spent an entire week inside their cell and you know how this works.”
Katie nodded. “I was just looking for my luck.”
Edgar smiled. Then Edgar saw it. On the nearby wall, water is seeping into the room. Edgar went near the wall and he patted on the wall to see whether it would be hollow.
“What is it, Edgar?” Katie came near him and asked.
“There is another room nearby. And look. The other room must be filled with water.”
Edgar then searched the floor for something.
“What are you looking for?”
“Anything that can be used to make a hole on the wall.”
Katie too joined the search.
Then Edgar spotted it. Nearby the door, there is a loose concrete piece. The concrete piece is longer and thicker and it is sharper on one end. Edgar took the concrete piece and he went near the damp wall. He quickly began to remove the soil from the wall. Suddenly water began to pour out from the other side. Edgar didn’t stopped digging. He removed more soil. Suddenly water burst into the room, and a wide hole formed on the wall.
The room quickly got filled with water and water slowly began to flow out through the gap between the door and the floor. Edgar and Katie swam outside the room through the hole on the wall. Then they saw it. It was not a room. On the other side of their prison, it was a well. The well is a little deep but it was full of water.
Edgar and Katie floated on the water and they looked up. They could see sunlight seeping inside through the mouth of the well. Then they saw vines hanging along the walls. Edgar and Katie quickly held on to the vines for support. Then they began to climb up. Suddenly, sound of the door to their prison being opened came.
“Quick, Katie, quick.” Edgar said on the way.
Before long, they both hauled themselves outside. They took deep breaths.
“Get them,” Someone yelled from nearby.
Edgar and Katie quickly stood up and they peered around them. Then they saw the crazies rushing outside the sewer through a nearby manhole.
“Run,” Edgar managed to say. Then they both bolted into a sprint.
* * * * *
Chapter 46
Somewhere in Planet Zera
Samson opened his eyes and he found himself in a grass land. He looked up and saw a pack of birds flying in the sky. Then he saw a woman standing nearby a tall tree. Her dress is glowing in a vibrant colour. Samson quickly recognised where he is – inside a dream.
Samson slowly walked towards the woman. As soon as he reached near her, she turned towards him. Then Samson saw that, her face is filled with black spots. Her black hair is whitish at several places, and her skin on her hands and legs are also filled with black spots. Samson can guess that she had been a beauty before.
“Samson,” The woman said.
“Yes,”
“I guess you know who I am.”
“You’re the Mother Nature.”
The woman smiled. “My name is Juna. And I am sorry to tell you that, I am dying. And soon, all my children will die with me.”
“We could help. We could defeat the Xhilarians.”
Juna did a weak smile. “Thanks for cheering me up, but I am sorry, Samson. Now it’s time for you to get out of here. They are very strong. Go to your planet, Samson. Your mother may need your help. This planet is beyond help.”
“But,”
“Go ...”
Suddenly light seeped in from all directions. Samson closed his eyes due to the high intensity of the light. When he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting on the foot a tree. Sandy, Lucy, Isaac and others are also here. The morning is still hours away.
Samson tightened his grip on his plasma gun and he stood up.
It’s time to go.
* * * * *
Chapter 47
Samson and his team stood on top of the hill and they peered at the cube shaped Xhilarian base below. There are dead trees all around the base and there is also a crystal tower nearby. Samson could see a few Xhilarians wandering around the base, armed with big laser guns.
A moment later, a huge Xhilarian ship landed nearby and a battalion of Xhilarians led a few human monkeys to the ship.
“Are you sure you can fly that thing?” Samson looked at Sandy.
“I am pretty sure.” Sandy said. “It was I who moved one of their ship from near Saxonvilla space research centre.”
Samson nodded.
A moment later, that ship flew up and it flew away from the scene.
“Let’s do this then.” Isaac said.
Everyone nodded. They started their crazy mission by climbing down the hill.
* * * * *
Chapter 48
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Samson and team opened fire at the Xhilarians.
Xhilarians also fired back. Laser bolts and plasma bolts danced in the air. Before long, all the Xhilarians nearby the base went down for good. Suddenly, a battalion of Xhilarians rushed outside the base, all armed to the teeth. But they all are walking right into the trap.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Flash grenades exploded creating a white light everywhere. When the light faded, Samson and team saw all the Xhilarians pretty much dead. These Xhilarians are pretty stupid. They never deploy Wolfdogs anywhere near their base. If Wolfdogs have been here, they wold have crushed this uprising quickly.
Samson and team cautiously entered inside the base. Inside the base, one Xhilarian is hurriedly doing something on the computer screen.
Boom!
Samson shot down that Xhilarian.
“Search around. No one should leave.” Samson commanded.
Soldiers quickly split into a number of groups and they ran away in different directions, looking for any Xhilarian scums.
Gunshots came from here and there. A few minutes later, the base fully fell under silence. Suddenly, a swoosh came from the distant sky.
“Everyone, this is our chance.” Samson yelled.
Everyone nodded and they all braced for the second part of their crazy mission.
* * * * *
Chapter 49
Samson placed his soldiers near all the windows. The middle sized Xhilarian fighter ship landed just outside the base and a battalion of Xhilarians rushed outside.
Samson nodded at his soldiers. As soon as the Xhilarians reached near the base, Samson and team opened fire.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Too easy. Xhilarians dropped dead without even firing their guns. Samson and team quickly discarded their cover and they ran towards the ship. A few Xhilarians inside the ship opened fire using small handheld laser guns. Samson and team hid behind the nearby dead trees and they fired at the Xhilarians.
A moment later, everything fell under silence. Without further thought, Samson and team rushed inside the ship. Inside the ship, they saw only dead bodies. Sandy and a few soldiers rushed towards the control room of the ship.
Suddenly with a shriek, a few dozens of Wolfdogs rushed towards the ship from the nearby forest. Samson and team braced for the attack. Suddenly with a loud thud, the boarding ramp of the ship slid in position and the Xhilarian ship flew up.
“Good bye, Juna.” Samson muttered.
* * * * *
Chapter 50
“We can’t abandon the Thibarians.” Isaac said.
Samson took a deep sigh.
“Sandy, land somewhere near that cave.” Samson said pointing at the waterfall shown in
the control panel. Sandy said the command through the translator and suddenly, the ship moved towards the top of the waterfall. On the control panel, they could see the cave entrance at the top of the waterfall.
Fortunately the ship is fully automated. It need only voice instructions. The ship’s artificial intelligence is capable of recognising any type of instructions which are in Xhilarian language.
The ship landed on top of the hill and Isaac and Robin stood near the boarding ramp. A moment later, the boarding ramp slide down. Isaac and Robin quickly exited the ship and their foot touched the roof of the cave.
Suddenly, an arrow came out of nowhere and it struck on the metal wall of the ship. But ship remained intact.
“People, don’t shoot. It’s me, Isaac.”
Isaac and Robin slowly approached the cave entrance.
“Stop where you are. Where is Ruby?” A voice asked.
“He is dead. They killed him.” Isaac said.
“What are you doing in their ship? Are you trying to trick us?”
“No.” Robin yelled. A moment later, Samson and rest of his team exited the ship and they stood in the light.
“People, we need to leave this planet right now.” Samson yelled.
“See,” Isaac said. “We stole their ship to escape from here. You all should immediately come with us.”
“How do we know you’re not tricking us?”
“We are not tricking you guys.” Isaac said. “Because, you must have had a dream in the morning telling you to abandon the planet. We all had the same dream.”
Then all the Thibarians stepped into the light. Isaac and Robin took a deep sigh.
“People, hurry.” Samson yelled and he entered inside the ship.
Before long, all the Thibarians entered inside the ship. As soon as everyone is inside, the boarding ramp slide in position and the doorway closed. Sandy manoeuvred the ship in the air and the ship started to leave.
Suddenly, with a swoosh, a Xhilarian fleet approached the ship in which Samson and his team are in.
* * * * *
Chapter 51
Somewhere on Earth
Edgar and Katie ran through the jungle shrubs and the maze of vehicles. Crazies closely followed them with a series of inhuman screams. There are many buildings nearby. But all buildings are in ruin and there is no time to get inside one building to hide. The crazies are that close.
Edgar and Katie breathed heavily and sweat uncontrollably oozed down from their body. The crazies looks like aren’t tired. They are really inhuman creatures.
Suddenly, Katie tripped over something. Edgar stopped and he ran towards Katie. He quickly helped her to regain her footing. Then they ran again. Crazies are slashing in the air, agitated, using their knives.
Edgar and Katie rounded a block of building and they got inside a nearby building through the crumbled back door. They both quickly began to climb the stairs. The building they are now in is four storied and before long they reached the fourth level of the building. They peered outside through the window and saw the Crazies running away from the scene.
Suddenly, a movement caught in the corner of Edgar’s eyes. Edgar looked back and saw five men standing before them with assault rifles.
Then Katie too saw the men. She was about to scream when one of the men placed his index finger across his mouth indicating at Edgar and Katie to keep silence. Edgar and Katie obeyed. The men came near Edgar and they analysed everything through the window. All these men are wearing a grey coloured shirt and blue jeans.
“Who are you, guys?” Edgar whispered.
“I am Andy.” One of the men said. “We are the resistance fighters.”
* * * * *
Chapter 52
Edgar and Andy peered outside through the window. A few minutes later, they saw the crazies retreating to whence they came. A few more minutes later, all the crazies disappeared from their vision. Edgar took a deep sigh.
“That was really close.” Katie broke the silence.
Andy smiled. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Edgar and Katie nodded.
They quickly exited the building and Andy led them deeper into the forest.
“Where are we going?” Edgar asked.
“To our base.” Andy said.
The other men with Andy are very silent.
“So, who is winning the war?” Katie asked.
“Them.” Andy said.
“Do we stand a chance?” Edgar asked.
“We can’t say anything at this moment.” Andy smiled.
“In the morning, we saw several of those aliens placing some kind of machines in a grass land.” Edgar said.
“What kind of machines?” Andy asked.
“We don’t know. It looked like a metal cube but with four legs.” Edgar said.
“Oh, that,” Andy quickly recognised it. “They are for building crystal towers.”
“What crystal tower?” Edgar asked.
“They are building crystal towers all over the world.” Andy said. “And for that they drain our Mother Nature’s energy. I guess you have had dreams from the mother.”
“Yes, I had those dreams.” Edgar said.
“The Xhilarians are actually draining her energy. These crystal towers are for terraforming our planet. Those machines you saw are for draining the Mother Nature’s energy.”
Edgar went silent. He forced a nod.
“So, what are you doing here?” Katie asked.
“We were on small lookout mission.” Andy said.
They passed a maze of cars and they entered into a land where trees thrive. A few minutes later, Edgar saw a huge building on the middle of the forest.
“That’s our base.” Andy said.
Edgar and Katie nodded. They increased their pace and in the doorway of the building, they are met with a dozens of resistance fighters. All are men and they all have assault rifles in their hands. As soon as everyone are inside, one of the men closed the front door.
Edgar and Katie took a deep breath. Finally they are safe.
* * * * *
Chapter 53
Andy and every one of his men sat around a huge table.
“So, any news from the scouts?” Andy asked.
“Nothing yet.” One of the men answered.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Suddenly a series of knocks on the front door shifted their gaze. Andy and his men quickly took their assault rifles from the floor. One of the men slowly went near the front door and he peered outside through the peek hole. Then he took a deep sigh.
“It’s the scouts.” The man said.
Andy and team took a deep breath. The man near the door opened the door and five scouts entered inside.
The scouts came near Andy.
“They called a meeting in the north base. They said it is important.” One of the scouts said.
“When?” Andy asked.
“Tomorrow. We could get there in time if we leave today.” The scout said. “And, who are they?” He looked at Edgar and Katie.
“They are Edgar and Katie.” Andy said. “Some crazies were chasing them. I brought them here.”
The scout smiled at Edgar and team.
“Okay then. When are we leaving?” The scout asked.
“We will leave after the lunch.” Andy said.
A moment later, two men came forward and they placed two baskets of apples and oranges on the table.
“This is lunch?” Edgar asked.
“Yeah.” Andy said. “Is there any problem?”
“No. I am just surprised.” Edgar said.
“Okay, then. Let’s eat.” Andy said.
* * * * *
Chapter 54
Andy and his team started their journey to the north base right after the lunch. Andy gave guns to Edgar and Katie and Edgar is pretty happy now. Andy says that, even though they have guns, they don’t stand a chance against the Wolfdogs. The bullets won’t damage Wolfdogs much. But, fortunately, the nu
mber of Wolfdogs in this place is pretty low.