Reddened Wasteland

by Kyle Perkins

  Alerik held up a tiny piece of wiring, “Another component of some kind. Lucius will know what to do with it,” he said, placing the part inside the backpack.

  Suddenly, they could hear footsteps approaching from off in the distance, along with loud whistling. Lucius was warning them. His eyes darted around, searching for an alternate exit, but there was nothing. He and Saskia were stuck, surrounded by eight to ten feet of trash in all directions except the path that the footsteps were coming from.

  Four men appeared off in the distance, approaching quickly. Alerik lit his pipe and just waited. Either they were there to help them or hurt them, there was no real in-between during these times.

  “Alerik Jacobs…” one of the men said from the darkness just as they came closer into view. They were all Union soldiers, all tall and well-built, all clad in elite armor. “We have been looking for you for quite some time,” the man in the front said, he seemed to be leading the pack.

  “I’m guessing you are here to take me in?” Alerik blew a puff of smoke out.

  “That would be a correct assessment of the situation,” the man confirmed as he and his men moved in closer.

  With her uninjured arm, Saskia raised her gun and zeroed in on a man towards the back of the group, “If any of them takes another step, I’ll put one straight through each of their chests,” she bit out angrily.

  “Oh Saskia, how the mighty have fallen. Aldain had you on the fast track to success, and now look at where you are. Standing with the garbage of our society. Right where you belong.”

  “Wait… I know your voice. Elias?” she asked.

  “Correct, so now you know how grave the situation is for you and your partner,” his smug smirk was visible under the visor of his helmet.

  “You know this guy?” Alerik asked.

  “Yes, he was in training with me from the very start. We were both top of our class, always neck and neck. This guy is dangerous, Alerik,” she said in a hushed voice.

  “Well, seems we have a standoff,” Elias said as he pulled out two pistols, aiming one at Alerik and the other at Saskia.

  “I don’t suppose you’d take a bribe of booze?” Alerik chuckled as he inwardly prepared his next move.

  “Not a chance,” the man said before firing his weapons.

  Alerik and Saskia rolled to opposite sides, bolts whizzing by them as they moved. Saskia jumped behind the control panel and returned fire as Alerik tucked himself away behind some old metal junk.

  “Saskia, are you okay?!” Alerik shouted.

  “Yeah, he didn’t hit me!” she shouted as she peeked around the control panel and squeezed off a few more shots, “They have us pinned and their reinforcements will arrive soon. We have to get out of here.”

  Alerik weighed out his options and decided he had to make a move, a big one if they wanted to get out of this alive. The Union guards were focused on avoiding Saskia’s gunfire, so Alerik decided to try to sneak up on them. He crept against the barrier of garbage, moving closer to Elias. He glanced back to check on the spot where Saskia was crouched, and it was taking heavy fire. Sparks were raining down all around her.

  “I can do this all night; how much time do you think you two have?” Elias cackled as he continued his onslaught on Saskia.

  He knew that the control panel wouldn’t hold much longer, the thing was taking a real beating. He had to act, and fast. He was now within a stone’s throw of Elias. He started to lunge for the man, but a loud cracking sound stopped him in his tracks. He looked out from behind the garbage to see that Lucius had managed to smash two of the men’s heads together. Elias and the remaining soldier turned and began firing into Lucius.

  Saskia, seeing her opening, fired a bolt clean through the head of the soldier next to Elias, then leveled her gun at Elias’s back.

  Alerik ran over to Lucius and kneeled down beside him, checking his injuries. He had several holes through his torso, and part of his face had been ripped off.

  “You’ve seen better days,” Alerik laughed to mask his worry.

  “There is enough junk here to fix me, I just won’t be as pretty as I used to be,” Lucius’s smile was odd with only half of it there.

  Alerik smiled, “Wait here, I have to take care of something.” He stood up, pulled his pickaxe off of his back, and started walking towards Elias.

  “Alerik, be careful! He is not a joke!” Saskia yelled.

  “Neither am I,” Alerik said under his breath as he reached Elias.

  Elias had his hands in the air, still holding his guns over his head. Alerik swung his pickaxe at Elias’ head, and Elias dodged to the right with inhuman grace.

  “That’s one free shot. You only get two more,” Elias said with a smirk.

  “Okay, smart ass,” Alerik said as he threw down his pickaxe, “Thing was slowing me down anyway,” he threw a right hook towards Elias’ jaw.

  Elias ducked under the punch and giggled like a child, “That’s it?”

  Alerik stumbled forward after missing the punch, then quickly regained his balance. With his anger from the taunts building inside of him, Alerik pulled his arm back as far as he could.

  Before he could complete his swing, Saskia fired through Elias’ kneecap, causing blood to spray out onto the ground. Alerik frowned down at the blood flowing from Elias’s knee, and when he looked up, a fist was flying towards his face.

  The punch sent him sailing backwards, he landed on the ground with a loud thud. Lights flashed before his eyes and sounds were distorted as he attempted to sit up.

  “Sit still, Alerik,” Saskia’s voice was soothing as she held her hand on his chest, keeping him in place. He frowned. How had she made it to his side so quickly? Did he lose time?

  “What happened?” Alerik asked as Saskia came into focus.

  “Well, you got your ass kicked. Pretty quickly. Knocked out, cold. Oh, and Elias got away,” she rolled her eyes, “Should have just let me shoot him,” she laughed.

  “That guy is quick, what the fuck?” Alerik climbed to his feet with Saskia’s help.

  “I told you to be careful. Don’t feel bad though, he is just about as good as me,” she said with a smile.

  “Just about?” Alerik said in disbelief.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you next time,” she giggled.

  “Oh, fuck off. I could have taken him. You distracted me!” Alerik said defensively.

  “Sure, Alerik. Sure,” she said, taunting him.

  “Shut up and help me with these bodies,” Alerik said in a huff as he began walking over to the men lying around.

  “I thought you were very brave,” from off in the distance, Lucius chimed in. He appeared to be in the midst of repairing himself with scrap metal, welding bits and pieces to his frame.

  “You, too?!” he couldn’t believe even the android was giving him shit, “Neither one of you talk to me for the rest of the trip back,” he said in an annoyed tone. Lucius and Saskia just snickered.

  They moved the bodies into the pit and Lucius finished up his repairs. They started the incinerator before they left the junkyard. The sun was rising over the settlement, they needed to get back to the cover of The Den before they were spotted. They had the pieces now, all that was left was putting it together. That, and getting to the tower at the top of The Union building in order to use it. Piece of cake.

  ***

  Back at the hatch, they were greeted by Cinine and Valek, along with the entire Children of Old army. They were all wearing their pieced-together combat armor, and looked ready for battle.

  “Cinine, what is going on?” Alerik asked warily.

  “Alerik, today we strike fear into the hearts of every member in The Union. Today, we make our stand and end this once and for all. We have word that Liberty’s Hammer is moving as well. While they distract our enemy, we will get you as close to the radio tower as possible,” she said, mace and shield in hand.

  Alerik honestly didn’t think Cinine would be joining in the fight, he
rself. She was so… old. He didn’t like that she was counting on a pack of fanatical murderers like Liberty’s Hammer, but he could see the appeal of using the assault to their advantage. Still, it wouldn’t stop him from killing any of those murderers he saw along the way.

  “So this means you have shut off the water?” Alerik asked.

  “We shut it off shortly after you stepped out of The Den. Our men have a supply of water that we collected before turning it off, we even have some for you and your partner. The rest of the settlement, however, will surely be feeling it today.”

  “I don’t like that this will affect the common people, the ones that have nothing to do with this fight,” he sighed, “But, I suppose it is a necessary evil, considering what’s happening…” he frowned, “You know, we haven’t built the radio device yet. We ran into a few problems during our scavenger hunt. We only just recovered the last piece.”

  “It’s alright, dear. Have your android build it on the way,” she smiled.

  Chapter Nine

  Over the last few days, Velar had learned that Alerik was still alive. She was immeasurably happy about that news, but the guilt from her make-out session with Thorin consumed her. She tried to reason with herself, after all, what was she supposed to do? She thought Alerik was lost to her, indoctrinated by The Union. But then, in an instant, she finds out that he wasn’t part of them, but it didn’t matter because he was going to be executed. He was as good as dead. Skirting a Union execution was thought to be impossible… up until Alerik did it, that is. She was ashamed in her lack of faith… she should have known better, should have known he would find a way out of that. But now, she was in a mess. She cared about Thorin and Alerik, and had loyalties to both. And she had so many questions, now. If he was a traitor to The Union, and he wasn’t with Liberty’s Hammer, then who was he working for? Just himself? Probably. That seemed like Alerik. She was a shaky bundle of emotions as she walked through the halls of The Forge.

  Everyone had been ready for days, but Thorin hadn’t made his move yet. Velar wondered what was holding him back. Reports coming in said that the settlement was on the verge of total anarchy, everybody was unhappy and restless. It looked like their propaganda was paying off, after all. The Union certainly had to be feeling the disruption that Liberty’s Hammer had caused. Velar wondered if she had something to do with Thorin stalling the attack, but then shook the thought away. What an ego she must have to think Thorin’s feelings about her might influence his decisions as a leader of thousands.

  One thing that made her nervous was the fact that The Union were actively hunting Alerik, now. They seemed to be even more focused on him than on Liberty’s Hammer. He was all alone with no support, as far as she knew. She wanted to get out of there and find him, and bring him back to The Forge… but to leave the compound would be a death sentence for both of them. Alerik had made it clear that he could hold his own, though. He’d proven that, time and time again. He continued to impress her, even if miles away.

  Thorin had been standoffish in the days following their kiss, so she had no way of knowing where his head was at. She was relieved he finally requested to speak with her alone, but was put-off that the invitation came in the form of a summons carried by one of his underlings. She reasoned that perhaps he felt just as embarrassed as she did, so she let it go. The way she reacted to the broadcast about Alerik’s execution had to have hurt his ego, but, maybe she wasn’t giving him enough credit. He was a good guy, and probably understood that she had a life before coming there. If he didn’t, he probably wasn’t the man she thought he was, and that would be a shame. All that was left now was to wait until the time they were supposed to meet, and find out straight from Thorin, himself.

  She started towards the library to squeeze in the last few hours of reading she may ever have. When she neared the entrance to the room, a man stepped out into the hall, blocking her path.

  “Velar, Thorin needs you to get ready,” the man said.

  “Ready? For what?” She asked.

  “For war. It is finally time. We are attacking the Union building in the morning. Gather what you will need, tonight may be the last time we ever see this place,” his tone was deathly serious.

  Something about the man’s tone, and what he said, resonated especially loud within her, clearing out the fog of all of her other ridiculous, petty thoughts. She already knew this was going to be a particularly dangerous outing, but the thought of never seeing the people she had grown close to again suddenly hit home. It was real. It was happening. She, and all the people she cared about, could be dead after tomorrow.

  She nodded, then began to walk through the halls towards her room, reminiscing of her first time in that place. The fear, the uncertainty… all kinds of other emotions she had yet to learn the words for. It was strange, the series of events that brought her to where she was in that moment. When she arrived, she had all but given up hope, thinking she was doomed to die. She wanted nothing more than to be anywhere else. Now, she felt so comfortable in The Forge, and the thought of not returning weighed heavily on her heart. She still might be doomed to die. That part hadn’t changed, really. But, at least it would be a noble death, something worth dying for.

  As she approached her quarters and entered the room, she pushed down the premature feelings of grief. They couldn’t win this thing if she went into it assuming failure. Plus, if this was the last night she was to see this place, she could rest easy knowing she would make a lasting difference. Even if they failed, The Union would suffer.

  And then there was the possibility that she wouldn’t die, and they would succeed, and Liberty would be forever changed for the better. She smiled to herself at the possibility.

  She walked slowly towards her bed and grabbed her armor and uniform. After she put it all on, she glanced around the room one last time, burning every detail into her memory… just in case.

  The armor fit perfectly and felt nice against her skin, as if she were destined to wear it. It made her think that Thorin may know her body a little better than she thought he did, which only made her sad as thoughts of Alerik resurfaced. The feeling of dread returned as she remembered that Thorin wanted to speak to her in private. She knew what he wanted to talk about. He wanted to talk about the kiss, and what it meant. She didn’t know if she could even give him a straight answer. She both regretted it, and didn’t regret it. Her anxiety began to climb as she started out of the room.

  The halls were colder than ever and everyone was inside their dorms, making their last preparations before the morning. Velar deliberately walked slower than was necessary to get to Thorin. Even though a war was about to be fought for the freedom of the settlement, she couldn’t put it into perspective when he was nearby, couldn’t shake the discomfort of being face-to-face with him. As she advanced closer to the door, she felt her stomach twist into knots. She’d have to get this unpleasantness over with sooner or later, and it would be better to clear things up before the battle. A distraction like that could get her, and thousands of others, killed.

  As she stepped inside the room, Thorin had his back turned towards her. He had a tattered red cape draped across his back with the Liberty’s Hammer symbol burned into it. His bright silver armor shined like the sun as the light in his room danced off of it. He casually turned towards her, “Hello, Velar. I wasn’t sure you’d make it,” he grinned.

  “Oh, fuck off. You knew I’d come. Thanks for the heaps of anxiety before the big day. Nothing like a clandestine meeting with the man in charge to rattle your nerves,” she smiled back before she realized she had. Good to know that she still couldn’t keep a straight face around him.

  Thorin let out a hearty laugh as he took a few slow strides and stopped in front of her. “Okay, I confess. I did have a hunch you might come, seeing as I didn’t leave you with much choice.”

  “More of that Thorin brand of charm,” her smile grew.

  “Okay, well let’s get to business shall we?” he said, pulli
ng out a couple of metal chairs for them to sit in.

  “Business?” she wrinkled her nose as she sat down, “Was the kiss a transaction?”

  He must not have expected that, because he stumbled over his words in a very un-Thorin-like manner, “I… Uh… No… I mean yes. The kiss,” he paused, taking a beat to find his words again after she threw him off, “I wouldn’t say it was a transaction, as much as it was a mutual agreement.”

  “I knew this was coming, to be honest the whole thing has me a bit freaked out. I assume you want to know where we go from here, what it meant and so on. Truth is, I don’t know. It just kind of happened. I’m not saying I regret it. I just don’t know what it all means. I have someone, you know that,” she frowned.

  “I know you keep saying that, but where is he? I am the one that is here, protecting you, taking care of you, training you…” he said with a sigh, “Look, I don’t want to be selected like something off of a shelf or anything, and I don’t want to be a last option. I understand the kiss was in the heat of the moment, we both had a lot going on emotionally. I didn’t bring you here to force you to choose me or anything… I brought you here to tell you that the kiss meant something to me. I just want to be able to explore that in the future once this is all over without some absent boyfriend looming over us,” he said as he placed his hand on her thigh.

  “He isn’t absent, though. Everything we have heard from the settlement says he is still out there, and have you forgotten the reason he’s not with me is our fault. We intentionally allowed him to believe that I was killed so he would lead the Union in circles, for the sake of the mission and all the lives that are at stake. I know you don’t understand the connection I have with him, I’m not sure I even understand it, if I’m being honest. But he and I have each other. It’s all we ever had before now. Trust me, I would love to explore these feelings with you. You’re an amazing man, and anyone would be lucky to have you, including me. The truth is, however, if I were to do what you ask, I wouldn’t be the kind of woman that deserves you or Alerik. I already have enough explaining to do to him. Please don’t add to that list,” she said as tears clouded her eyes.