Reddened Wasteland

by Kyle Perkins

  “…and that is?” Alerik asked.

  “All of our androids will go live. An entire army of robots, all built for the sole purpose of protecting those within The Union. They will pour out of the building like a flood and crush Liberty’s Hammer. They feel no pain and they have no fear. They are perfect warriors, and that terrorist sect has no idea what they are up against,” Aldain practically giggled before tossing back his drink.

  Alerik knew it would be a slaughter, but as much as he hated The Union right now, they weren’t the ones who killed Velar. So he didn’t care if Liberty’s Hammer was wiped out, he’d be happy to see it. Plus, the fighting would surely weaken The Union for a time, making it easy to end them once and for all. Alerik knew at that moment that he needed to warn the Children of Old.

  “Until then, I suppose I just keep capturing members of Liberty’s Hammer and weakening their forces?” Alerik asked as he swigged down the rest of his drink.

  “Yes, and we will call upon you when we receive word that they are on the move. Until then, just go about your business like you have been. We do not want them to suspect that we know of their plans. Only a handful of us actually do.”

  Saskia and Lucius had been quiet thus far into the conversation, but finally Saskia stepped forward, “We will do what has been asked of us. Thank you, Aldain, for considering us as prospects for the family. You will not regret your decision,” she said as she moved to stand with Alerik. She gave Aldain a bow.

  “Oh, I know you won’t disappoint me, and that is exactly why you two were chosen. You can keep the android; he may be of use to you. Now, get out there and get us some results,” he said with a smile.

  ***

  While the group was heading back to the apartment, Alerik looked over to Saskia to gauge her mood. Her face was somber, not excited as he would’ve expected her to be. He wondered if she was as repulsed by The Union’s plan as he was. They had grown to trust each other in the last few weeks, but he still wasn’t sure if she could be trusted enough to be let in on his true opinion on the Union’s utopia.

  A pregnant silence filled the vehicle for the entirety of the trip, even Lucius was quiet. When they arrived at the apartment, they all wordlessly stepped out of the vehicle and walked inside, carefully avoiding each other in a grand display of awkwardness. Alerik was the first to break the silence as he pulled his flask from his jacket.

  “So, thoughts everyone?” he smirked and took a sip.

  Saskia sat down on the couch in the living room and sighed loudly. “I honestly don’t know what to think. It is a great honor that Aldain has bestowed upon us, but…” she trailed off.

  “But what?”

  “But, everything I know, everything I thought I knew… is a lie. I thought that The Union were out to help people. To bring order into this world so that future generations could prosper. I had no idea that they planned to kill off an entire group of people in order to do it,” her voice was shaky and she hung her head.

  “I always knew something was off with The Union, but assumed it was all for some greater good. They are no better than Liberty’s Hammer,” Alerik decided to confess his thoughts as he sat down on the couch next to her.

  “I can’t say that I am against a world full of androids, since we are better than you in every single way imaginable,” Lucius said with a chuckle. “However, I would consider both of you as friends, and I can tell that this plan that Aldain has for your race troubles you. So, what is the next step, here?”

  “Well first off, fuck you,” Alerik said, laughing. “Second, I’m not sure yet, but that is the last time I report in to The Union. Saskia, you can do whatever you feel is right. I won’t hold it against you, but I have no intention of doing any more work for them. I have had a hand in helping them for too long. Who knows how many innocent deaths I will have on my hands because of the work I’ve done to help them,” his voice grew distant as the potential consequences danced in his thoughts. “All this time… I was just making them stronger…”

  Saskia rose from her seat and moved towards the door. “I need to be alone for a while… I need some time to think,” she hurried outside. Alerik watched her hail a car, then disappear quickly from view.

  Lucius shrugged, “I suppose she has a lot to think about. Keep in mind, she is worse off than you, she grew up believing in The Union, without a doubt ever in her mind.”

  “I know,” he sighed, then after a moment, he turned to Lucius, “So why are you helping me?”

  “For a very long time, they locked me away in that room to crunch numbers and to make sure operations went smoothly. Not just myself, but hundreds of us. Now you have shown me an entire world that I was missing out on. The Union gave us emotions to help us blend in with your kind, and that will be their downfall. What they did to me and countless of my kind, I would consider torture. The other androids may not understand because they are lulled by their tasks. Over these past few weeks, you have shown me a side of reality that I cannot ignore. I won’t be going back to that prison. If I am being completely candid, I honestly planned to sabotage them — with, or without you — before Aldain even spoke to us. I’m just happy that you are finally onboard with my plans,” he laughed.

  “You know Lucius,” Alerik clapped Lucius on the shoulder as they both stood up, “You’re alright.”

  “So, what did you have in mind?”

  “I say, we go get some support from the Children of Old, or find out what is at the locations on the map,” Alerik said with a smile right before all of the windows to his apartment shattered, sending glass flying in all directions.

  Lucius tackled Alerik, knocking him to the ground to block the shrapnel from hitting him. Two vehicles pulled up to the dock and four flashbang grenades rolled into the room, exploding and leaving Alerik in a daze. He stumbled through his living room in a stupor as he watched eight armed guards enter the apartment. Two of the guards shot Lucius with some type of electrical dart that immobilized him, dropping him to the ground. The drugs immediately took effect and though he was conscious, he was too woozy to do defend anything. He managed to push himself up to his elbows and knees, and he started to crawl forward as his ears rang loudly in his head. A guard approached him, in his peripherals he saw the butt of a gun swinging towards his head and then…

  Lights out.

  ***

  Alerik opened his eyes to a blurry vision of Aldain, sitting at a desk in front of him. He felt the cold steel of, what he assumed to be, a gun pressed to his right temple. Aemon was standing beside Aldain with a wicked smile stretched across his stupid face. Alerik managed to turn his head and he saw that Lucius was in a similar situation as him. Aldain stood from his chair and walked around the desk slowly.

  “Alerik, you have betrayed me,” he clicked his tongue as he sat on his desk, looking down at Alerik. “I bring you into the family, give you an offer of a better future, and you spit on it. I have to say, I am disappointed in you.”

  Alerik looked up at him and smiled, “Did you really think that I would go along with this madness? You’re planning to kill countless innocent people! How did you expect me to be okay with that? These are people that I have known my entire life. If I had turned on them that quickly, how could you ever expect to trust me?”

  “Oh, I never trusted you. That is why we watched all of your activities. Do you still not realize that we are The Union? We have eyes everywhere,” he let out a condescending chuckle. “You were going to be executed the second we were done using you to defeat Liberty’s Hammer. Did you really think that we would allow your kind to breed with our women? Your weak genetics have no place in our future. We would have given you a hero’s death, but now you will be executed as a traitor.”

  “Lovely. Are you going to do it yourself, or have someone else do it for you, like the complete coward that you are?” Alerik asked with a grin.

  Aldain looked over at Aemon who quickly moved forward and hit Alerik in the face, snapping his head to the side.
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  “That’s all that you have, Aemon? I’m disappointed,” Alerik snickered. He could feel the warm trickle of blood running from his nose.

  Aldain moved back behind his desk and poured himself another whiskey as Aemon towered over Alerik, staring him down.

  “Alerik, it has been a pleasure. You have helped us in ways you will never realize,” Aldain said with a smile. “And do not worry about your little girlfriend, Saskia. She will be joining you as soon as we locate her.”

  “You may kill me, Aldain. But one day, your luck is going to run out. One day very soon. There are far more of us than there are of you,” Alerik growled. He spit on the ground in front of him, spraying a slimy red patch onto the polished marble. Childish, maybe… but the thought of dirtying Aldain’s shiny office gave him a small bit of satisfaction. It’s the little things.

  Aldain ignored it, “Aemon, take our friend to the prison. Set his execution for first thing in the morning. We also need to recycle the android, so just put it in the same cell,” he gestured for them to be removed from the office. “See, I’m not completely heartless. You and your robot will have time to say your goodbyes,” a wicked grin split his face.

  “Fuck. You,” Alerik bit out, just before receiving another shot to the head from the guard. Again, lights out.

  Chapter Six

  Velar sat in the library, reading a book on the history of the samurai, when Thorin walked in, though she didn’t notice him. He’d do that a lot, just stand in the doorway and watch her as she hungrily flipped through the pages, soaking up every bit of knowledge that she could, completely oblivious to the rest of the world around her.

  The library had become somewhat of a new home for the Velar as of late. She definitely spent more time there than anywhere else in The Forge. The books made her temporarily forget all that was wrong with the world, and that she was missing her other half.

  Her friendship with Thorin had been another helpful distraction from her loneliness. Maybe too helpful. He was new and always exciting, not to mention charming, and extremely handsome. She hated herself for allowing feelings to emerge, but when Thorin was around, she just felt different. Like the way she felt when she was around Alerik. Maybe she had these feelings because he reminded her of him, Maybe Thorin was just filling a void in her life where Alerik used to be. Regardless, she couldn’t help but feel bad for both men, and feel awful for her role in it all. Here she was constantly fantasizing about both of them, and she knew it would lead to trouble, but she couldn’t stop it, no matter how hard she tried to disengage those thoughts. Thorin had been so kind to her, he had helped her in every way imaginable. Alerik, on the other hand, had been there first. He was with her from the beginning, and she loved him with all of her heart. She knew eventually one – or all – of them would get hurt if they made it through this thing. She was in a bind.

  “What are you reading?” Thorin said, making his presence known.

  Velar jumped as he startled her and slammed her book shut as if she were in trouble. Old habits die hard.

  “I…Uh… It’s about samurais. They were a race of warriors that once lived on Earth. They are fascinating,” she looked up and her heart skipped a beat at the sight of his trademark smile.

  “Oh yes, I have read that very book many times,” he said, as he made his way over and sat down beside her. “They lived by the sword, much in the same manner that we do. They are bound by honor, and it is impressive to know that such a thing far predated our own beliefs.”

  “It’s a good thing to live by… but, it says here that they were defeated, and eventually phased out, by better technology. Maybe a lesson could be learned here?” she raised a brow.

  “Perhaps…” he said, looking at the ground. “On that note, I have something to show you. Something to even the playing field. Those books can be really helpful at times,” he said, as he helped Velar to her feet. “Our preparations are nearly complete. In one week’s time, we will ride out of this place and have our final showdown with The Union.”

  “I can’t believe it’s finally happening. The Union are finally going to be gone for good. It’s hard for me to even imagine a world without them in charge,” she breathed.

  “I can imagine it, but I’ve had more practice. I’ve been imagining it since I was a kid,” a wistful smile pulled at his lips.

  “Well, what are we waiting for, then? I’m ready to see what you have in store for these assholes.”

  “Alright. Let’s go,” he nodded and grabbed her hand, locking his fingers into hers.

  It still was odd, having another man hold her hand, but she had warmed up to it. Reports had come in, there were many sightings of Alerik with another woman lately, a pretty one at that. Velar was beginning to think the two were an item now. She didn’t blame him… she really couldn’t. For all he knew, she was dead. But, it still hurt. It felt like a kick to the stomach every time she read those reports.

  The two of them made their way through a couple of brightly lit hallways, before stopping at another massive room. She was surprised, this one she had never seen before and after all her time there, she thought she had seen them all. It had to have measured half the size of the building they were in... how had she missed it? The room contained several rows of vehicles, along with strange devices that she didn’t recognize.

  “What is all this stuff?” she asked in curiosity.

  “This is how we will win this war!” he boasted, as he began leading her around. “These vehicles will help get our troops to the battle, and will provide massive cover for our men.” He pointed to a line of large, armored vehicles.

  “How did you make all of this?” she asked in wonder, looking all around her.

  “Our Union scientists have reverse-engineered not only the new guns, but their vehicles as well. And then we thought, why not combine the two?” he said with a chuckle, “We have been working on this for years, and they are all nearly complete. That is why we let our presence be known.”

  “But why before they are complete?” she frowned. Seemed a bit overzealous, and dangerous.

  “To instill fear and panic in the masses. It will put the general population on edge, while shaking up The Union soldiers,” he smiled, “When the time comes, the people will have been primed. They’ll be quick to take up arms against The Union, after the last few weeks of paranoia and tightened restrictions.”

  “Very clever Thorin, I like it,” she said with a devilish smile.

  “See, we have it all figured out. You don’t have to worry your pretty little head. Soon, this entire settlement will thank us for what we are about to do,” he said, leading her over to some of the strange devices.

  “So what is this?” she asked, running her finger along the cold metal of a device nearly ten times her height.

  “That is a trebuchet. They were used on Earth to fling giant stones and other various objects into castle walls.”

  “And what’s a castle?” she asked, “I think I’ve read about it somewhere but I can’t remember what it is…”

  “Eh, not important. Just know that many were thought to have been impenetrable structures before these trebuchets came into the picture.”

  “Alright, and this one?” she pointed to another device.

  “This is a battering ram; it was also used during those times. This is a key to the front door. We won’t have time to fool around with their pass codes and scanners, so we will just knock the door clean off,” he grinned as he leaned against it.

  “I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces once they realize they are outmatched,” she laughed.

  “Well, they have guns, don’t forget that. We only had enough resources to build large ones for the vehicles. Not enough to supply our troops. So, using these vehicles and a lot of stealth… that’s how we win this thing. Head on, we’d surely lose… even with all this fun stuff. We can’t be overconfident… who knows what other tricks Aldain has up his sleeve?” he frowned as he began walking towards the do
or. “Hey, do you want to go somewhere private with me?”

  “Sure—I mean, why?” she asked.

  “I want to talk to you about a couple of personal matters and I don’t think we should involve everyone in the room,” he laughed, as he grabbed her hand again to lead her out.

  “Yeah, we can do that. I’m actually starving, maybe we could grab a bite to eat?” she asked.

  “Of course,” he flashed her a smile as they continued through the halls. “How do you think your training coming along?”

  “It has been… invaluable. I’m not sure how good I am yet, though. I suspect that you’ll need to ask my trainer about that,” she winked playfully at Thorin.

  “You are doing spectacular. I’m impressed at the speed in which you are advancing. You have blown the other recruits away,” he said as they reached the dining hall. The room was very simple, and had an assembly-line style to it. It was lined with empty metal tables that had a polished appearance.

  “Well, I appreciate the vote of confidence,” she said as they both sat at a table to wait for the cooks to bring out some food.

  “My question to you, Velar, is this: Do you believe you are ready for the task we’ve assigned to you for the final battle?”

  She sighed, leaning back in her chair, “I’m as ready as I’m going to be, in all honesty. The skills I’ve learned here should help me defend myself if I get into trouble, but I assume speed and stealth will be my allies.”

  “We will get you as close to the radio tower as we can, but then you’re on your own. Getting to the tower will be hard enough, but climbing it will be just as dangerous. I assume there will be guards surrounding the radio tower, so you will need to take them out quietly,” he said as the cook brought out a couple of Life Bars and sat them on the table.

  “I am hoping to avoid the guards, altogether… but should I run into any problems, I will handle it. I will get the job done.”

  “That is what I wanted to hear. I cannot stress enough that if you fail this mission, we get no backup. We will all be completely screwed,” he bit into a Life Bar.