by Kyle Perkins
The vehicle finally came to a stop out in one of the fields. There was a strange, tall plant growing out of the ground. Alerik wanted to call it a flower, but he didn’t want to look like an idiot. How would he know, anyway?
The group began walking towards a farmer who was clutching a strange weapon. It was a long metal pole, with a curved blade at the end. It didn’t seem too practical for a fight, though it looked intimidating. The farmer was a bigger guy, broad and strong with an ordinary and forgettable face.
“Eden Velyni?” Saskia asked.
“Yeah, that’s me, what do you need?” Eden responded.
“I am with The Union, we are here to question you about your role in Liberty’s Hammer,” Saskia said bluntly.
The man bolted instantly, vanishing into the field of tall plants.
“Fucking great,” Alerik grunted as he pulled out his pickaxe. “Maybe try for a more delicate approach next time!” he called over his shoulder as he gave chase. Saskia and Lucian followed right behind him.
Alerik zipped between the plants, looking for a straight path or one with less resistance, but it was all like a giant maze. As the others caught up with him, he used hand gestures to tell them to split up.
Gun drawn, Saskia took the path to the left. Lucius went right.
Alerik moved slowly through the crops, carefully listening for footsteps while brushing the plant life out of his way. There were no footprints to follow. He assumed the man had cleaned up his tracks. He hesitated, surveying the rows for signs of movement.
Suddenly, the same blade the man was carrying sliced through the air and almost took off Alerik’s nose. Alerik jumped back quickly, swinging his pickaxe in a sudden blind rage, only for it to strike against the man’s weapon. Eden moved in close and threw all his weight behind shoving his weapon forward. The force knocked Alerik back and he stumbled trying to regain his footing on the uneven soil.
Eden raised his weapon and prepared to bring it down on Alerik’s chest, just as Lucius appeared seemingly from nowhere. He tackled the man to the ground.
Eden quickly recovered and swung his weapon at Lucius as soon as he was upright. The blade sliced open Lucius’s chest and he fell, landing face down in the dirt.
Alerik palmed his pickaxe and prepared to charge Eden, but stopped when the man’s kneecap exploded in a mist of red. Eden dropped to the ground, shrieking in pain. Saskia stood behind him with her gun drawn.
“Thanks… But I had him,” Alerik said sarcastically.
“I believe you,” Saskia smiled, then kicked the man in the ribs.
The man’s howling intensified as he writhed on the ground. He actually looked quite pathetic. It was a bit of a contrast to a few moments earlier.
“Not so fucking tough now, are you?” Alerik spat as he sat on the man’s chest. “Now we have some questions, and you’re going to answer them.” He began dealing blow after blow to the man’s face with his fists. He knew he was losing it, but he didn’t care.
Blood began pouring from Eden’s nose and he begged Alerik to stop, but every time Alerik considered quitting, he saw Velar’s face and he just hit the man harder. He finally had one of the guys responsible for her disappearance, laid out in front of him. He kept hitting the man, almost in a trance, as Eden’s teeth began loosening and cutting through his lips.
“Okay Alerik, we still need him to talk. It’s time to pull it back a bit,” Saskia said impatiently.
Somehow, she got through to him. Alerik stood up, leaving Eden in a bloody puddle on the ground. His clothes were soaked in red, and face was bloody and already swollen.
“You ready to talk, yet?” Alerik asked.
The man spat blood onto the ground and stared up at the sky. “Do I have a choice?” he wiped his mouth.
“I want to know where the girl named Velar is. I know your group is responsible for taking her. I want an exact location of where I can find her,” Alerik demanded.
“You mean you want to know where we buried her, right?” the man gurgled a laugh.
“Buried her?” Rage flared inside him, rage like he had never known before. He could actually feel his body heating up.
“You may kill me, but when I die, three more of us will sprout up. We are everywhere. We are in your Union, we are in your mines, and we are in your farms. You can’t beat us, we have already won. That girl of yours, she’s been dead. They killed her as soon as they got her back to base.” Eden cackled and blood poured out between his cracked lips.
It was more than Alerik could take. Without a word, he grabbed his pickaxe and began slamming it down into the man’s face. Over and over and over. He swung his pickaxe until his arms got tired and nothing was left of the man’s skull except bits of bone and flesh a few feet in diameter around where his skull used to be.
Saskia looked on without saying a word, it was the first time she had seen this side of Alerik and she didn’t really know him that well. There was no telling how far this anger would carry him and she had no intention of becoming a target.
“SHIT!” she shouted when she noticed Lucius on the ground a short distance from where Alarik had restructured Eden’s face. She ran over to check on him. He was motionless and she couldn’t feel a pulse so she carefully rolled him over. She gasped.
He was still smiling. That wasn’t the strange part, though. A long gash ran the length of his chest, the layer of skin had peeled back to reveal an open cavity filled with… circuitry and wiring?
“What are you?” she whispered.
Chapter Four
The constant dripping was enough to drive anyone crazy. That was all Velar could register, her sight was gone, though she was starting to regain feeling in her limbs. Where was she, and why? Last thing she remembered was the driver dropping her back at the apartment, then... nothing.
Why was it that whoever had taken her, hadn’t hurt her? Not intentionally, at least. She winced as she started to feel the cuffs around her wrists cutting into her flesh. How long had she been there? She could feel cloth over her eyes… a blindfold. Even with her eyes wide, no light slipped around the fabric so it appeared that the room was completely dark. She strained to hear something – anything – other than the incessant dripping, but there was nothing. She wondered if she was dead, and maybe this was what death was like… Nothingness.
Except, the pain from her bindings hinted at her existence. There could be no pain after death. She had to be alive.
“Hello?” she shouted as she rose to her feet.
There was no reply, just the echo of her voice reflecting the size of her prison.
“Anyone there?” she yelled louder.
Still nothing.
She started to pace, walking the length of the room until she collided with a wall. It felt cold and wet like the walls in some of the deeper parts of the mines. Was she underground?
She changed her course and walked forward, cautiously this time, until she came upon another obstacle. A set of bars, it felt like. So she was in some sort of cell. It wasn’t much of a revelation, but it was something.
She rubbed her head against the bars, carefully sliding her blindfold off to reveal only more darkness.
“Can someone tell me what is going on?!?!” she pleaded as she leaned her head against the bars and let out a sigh.
She began thinking of Alerik, wondering if he was okay. Had they captured him, too? If not, what did he think? Was he looking for her, or did he assume she was dead?
Her memory started to come back to her in flashes. She remembered a struggle in the apartment… strong hands dragging her away… brief moments of consciousness as they brought her to a vacant building. The men had all worn masks and hadn’t said much, at least she thought they hadn’t from what little she could remember. She began pacing again, wondering what would happen next. Did they plan to kill her? Seems like it would’ve been easier to do it while she was unconscious. Unless they hoped to get information out of her.
She didn’t know anythin
g, but even if she did, she wouldn’t tell them a fucking thing.
Deciding she didn’t have any choice but to try to wait it out, she sat on the floor with her back propped against the wall and began to whistle. It was the song she had been listening to on the record player before they attacked, one of the only melodies she liked out of the music The Union authorized for the settlement. She whistled louder and louder until it began echoing through the entire room. Anything to drown out the deafening noise of that dripping.
Finally, a door swung open and bright light poured into the room. It was a shock to her senses and Velar had to shield her eyes from the sudden brightness flooding her cell. She could make out the silhouettes of two men.
“Move back against the wall,” one of them ordered. She complied. Even more light filled the room and she realized one of them must’ve flipped on a switch. She blinked a few times as her sight adjusted to the sudden bombardment of light.
She could see that she was in an empty room lined with many cells like the one she was in. It seemed that she was their only guest, which wasn’t surprising considering how quiet the room had been a few moments before. The walls were lined with metal siding. It was old… she could tell from the holes in the metal where rust had eaten through. Everything in the room looked wet, a shimmering film of water over it. Her observations were useless. Nothing gave her a hint as to where she was.
She turned her attention to the men who had entered the room. They were both large men, tall and broad, but that wasn’t really what stood out to her. Their armor was particularly unique; she’d never come across anything like it. The finest she had ever seen in her life, for sure. It was solid and intimidating as most armor is, but the style was strange. It reminded her of the old stories her grandfather used to tell her of warriors on Earth called “knights.” Apparently, knights used to fight dragons and other incredible beasts that existed in the old world. She wondered if these men were capable of such feats, or if they were simply playing dress-up.
The two men dressed as knights entered the cell. One held the door while the other snatched at the chain that connected her cuffs and ushered her out of the cell.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
Neither of the men responded.
They led her out of the room and into a dingy hall. She tried to note the paths they were taking, just in case she’d need a mental map later. The men didn’t stop moving long enough for her to retain much of it, though.
After quite a bit of walking, they continued through a set of double doors and into a massive, spacious room. The area was paved with fire. There were torches along the walls, giving perspective to the huge size of the room, and down the center there was a path illuminated by hollowed cans with fire flicking out of the tops. A whole army of men were lined up on either side, all wearing that same armor.
At the end of the path, a man stood. His position in the room and the way he held himself indicated that he was very important. He was also very gorgeous. A man whose admirers would rival Alerik’s if the ladies back at the mine had a glance at him. His armor was the shiniest of all, a bright silver bulky set, but he was not wearing a helmet like the others. Understandable. With a face like that, he probably accomplished much more with the helmet off.
She continued down the flame-lined path, as she neared the man she could make him out more clearly. He gave her a warm smile, not a hint of malice or deception on his features. She looked into his green eyes and saw a decent man. She always thought she could tell a man from his eyes. He had those kind eyes, and a chiseled jaw line, and remarkable cheekbones. His appearance and demeanor was disarming, she suddenly felt safe and more at ease. She inwardly scolded herself, reminding herself that pretty people could be dangerous, too.
“Velar. So we finally meet,” the man said, as he gave a courteous bow.
“Where am I? Why did you kidnap me?” she demanded.
“You are in The Forge. Liberty’s Hammer headquarters,” he said with a smile. “As for kidnapping you? I don’t like using words like that… How about from now on, we say that we rescued you. Doesn’t that sound better?”
“Better if you’re on trial, but let’s call it what it is. I am still in cuffs, after all,” she snorted.
The man nodded to his guards, who quickly uncuffed her. “My name is Thorin. I am the leader of this age-old tradition. We are warriors, following the ways of old. We stand for freedom from tyranny. We are here to set all of humanity free from our binds. Free from The Union, and free from any men that seek power after,” Thorin said, as he moved gracefully towards Velar.
“You can’t really preach freedom, then keep me locked in a cell. Especially after kidnap—I’m sorry—‘rescuing’ me. Against my will,” she huffed.
“Velar, we have been watching you and your friend, Alerik. We want the same things as you. We know that you report to The Union, but your heart isn’t with them. Your heart is with the people. Everything you two have done thus far has been for the good of humanity,” he squeezed her upper arm in a friendly gesture.
She resisted recoiling at his touch, “Yes, we do want what is better for humanity. Terrorist attacks aren’t the answer. Neither is kidnapping,” she said flatly.
“What is a terrorist attack, exactly? The Union can label anyone who opposes their tyrannical policies as a terrorist. Don’t tell me you buy all that,” he smirked.
“When innocent people die for a cause they have no part of, it’s a terrorist attack. We know you are virtually the same group as Liberty’s Flame. The same group responsible for 2231.”
“So? Were any innocent people truly harmed that day? Of course not. Our forefathers went into the mines and slaughtered the guards in an orchestrated attack to free the miners from oppression,” he shrugged.
“Well, good job, dipshit. We only got more oppression. Really, well done,” she stared at him and did a slow clap. His nonchalant attitude annoyed her, but she was relieved to hear that no innocents were hurt in 2231. Well, according to this new story. She still wasn’t sure if he could be trusted. She did know it was in The Union’s nature to doctor stories and propaganda, so she was inclined to believe Thorin.
“Admittedly, the attack didn’t go as planned and most members of the old group were hunted down,” a sly smile formed on his lips, “But they didn’t get everyone. So, here we are, newly reformed. We won’t make the same mistakes as before, and we will finally rid this dusty red rock of The Union and any of their successors.”
“I hate to keep beating on this, but you kidnapped me, for fuck sakes! How are you any different?” She asked.
“We are willing to do whatever it takes to set humanity free. To live a peaceful life and coexist. Sure, at times that can make us look like the bad guy, but sometimes, bad things are necessary to achieve good things. Once we win this, everyone will be treated equally. There will be no class system, and everyone will have a choice as to what they want to do. Eventually, we will even travel back to Earth, and reclaim her,” he said, as he put his arm on the small of her back to guide her to walk with him.
Still on edge, she flinched at the touch, “Very ambitious Thorin, but I think you are forgetting that some structure is necessary. Is there not some happy medium between what you are, and what The Union is?”
“Not in a place like this, love,” he said, as they moved through the enormous room.
“So, am I an official prisoner, or am I free to leave?” she asked, looking up at the tall man.
“You are free to leave at any time, but something tells me that you won’t, just yet,” he said with an amused smile.
“Yeah? Why is that?”
“Well, because I am the reason you were hired. Don’t you want to find out more about us? What your part in all this is, should you accept it? Don’t you want to see what we are about? This long journey to find us, all the questions you must have. And now, you’re here. I don’t think you want to leave, not right this second, anyway.”
‘Well fuck, he has me, now,’ she thought. Whoever supplied this guy with information had done a bang-up job. It was as if Thorin knew all about her, what made her tick. He knew there was no way she could just walk away from all these answers just waiting for her. Plus, she could bring all this back to Alerik, she reasoned. He’d want to know what Liberty’s Hammer was all about.
“Fine, I will stay under one condition,” she finally agreed.
“Oh? What’s that?” he arched a brow.
“I don’t go back in that cell.”
He let out a hearty laugh, “Very well. We have plenty of bunk space, anyway.”
“Good. And I’m not sleeping with any of these guys, either,” she jerked her chin towards one of the guards.
“You can bunk with the other women. We have a ton of them,” he said as he led her to a small room with a chair in the center. A television with a strange device connected to it rested on a small table in front of the chair.
“Women are fine. I just don’t want to be stuck in a room full of smelly, hormone-filled men,” she mumbled, looking at the strange device. “So, what is that exactly?” she pointed to it.
“We don’t really have a name for it, but our scientists — you know, the same scientists that defected from The Union — they built it. What it does is, when we get the device close to anything that receives a broadcast, this little device projects what we want onto it, whether it’s radio or TV. It only works a few blocks at a time, and The Union is none the wiser.”
“So what do you do? Block out Union transmissions?”
“Even better. We transmit the truth. We tell people what The Union won’t,” Thorin said, as he flipped on the TV to show some of their propaganda.
“That is pretty nifty, but aren’t you worried someone will report your broadcasts to The Union?” she asked. “And how exactly do you stay hidden so well?”
“Any reasonable human sympathizes with our cause after seeing the broadcast. And those who choose to remain loyal to The Union… there’s not much they’d accomplish by reporting it, anyway. We’d be long gone before anyone could follow up,” he smiled. “And as far as staying hidden… Well, we have early detection systems, in the building itself. Not to mention, many faceless entities out in the world working under our banner.”