by A. L. Svartz
Razing Pel
Title Page
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
Razing Pel
By
Addison Svartz
Copyright Addison Svartz, 2014
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents in this publication are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, or locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. The moral rights of the author have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 THE RESCUE 11
CHAPTER 2 THE NEWS 16
CHAPTER 3 THE RETURN 20
CHAPTER 4 THE CRASH 26
CHAPTER 5 THE GUARDIAN 34
CHAPTER 6 THE SECOND HELP 45
CHAPTER 7 THE CAVE 52
CHAPTER 8 THE TRUTH BEHIND IT ALL 65
CHAPTER 9 THE OUTSIDERS 87
CHAPTER 10 THE UNPLEASANT TURN 94
CHAPTER ONE
THE RESCUE
"Kaj!” a voice shouted out. "Kaj! Kaj! Get up!" The wooden floorboards creaked as hard footsteps hit them. A middle-aged man ran up the steps and into Kaj's room. He quickly went over to where Kaj was sleeping and viciously shook him until he got up.
Kaj quickly jumped to his feet, facing his surprised uncle. "Uncle, what's the problem?" The late teen asked. Before his uncle said anything, he pointed to Kaj's sac. He went over and slipped the strap over his shoulder, across his chest.
"There's trouble again," his uncle proclaimed. "Three men were seen picking on the same older man from a few days ago. Go down there and help him!" he nodded. Kaj zipped past his uncle, but was quickly halted when he placed his hand on his shoulder. "If worst comes to worst, use the dagger." Kaj nodded and quickly ran down the stairs.
Kaj ran out onto his wooden porch that overlooked the entire village. The whole village was in an underground cave, while Kaj's house was nudged up in the corner of the cave. His only way down to the village was a long wire that hooked up from the roof of his house down to a small fish kiosk. Kaj unzipped his sac and pulled out his dagger. It had a short, curved handle that extended out and formed a circular base from where the blade curved out. Kaj left the cover of the blade on and lifted the dagger over the wire, grabbing the other side. He then jumped off his porch as he zipped down the wire. Zipping down to the ground below, he tried to spot the area as to where the trouble was.
As Kaj neared the bottom, he let go of the one side of his dagger, and he dropped to the rocky floor, landing on his feet. Kaj looked around until he saw the three men, kicking the older man while he was on the ground. He dashed through the short alleys and leaped at the bigger one of the three, knocking him to the ground.
The other two noticed that their friend had been knocked down and quickly left the old man to go after Kaj. They went over and each grabbed Kaj's arms and threw him back. The two men helped their injured friend up. He dusted off his knees and arms.
"Ok! What the heck man!" the bigger goon said as he wiped the blood from under his nose. The three walked over to Kaj as he was down on his back. "Oh, well if it isn't this little twerp again." Kaj quickly jumped to his feet, but the three men quickly surrounded him. "Nowhere to go now."
As Kaj knew that he was in trouble this time, his uncle's wise words appeared in his head, If worst comes to worst, use the dagger. Kaj slipped the cover off the blade and swung it around at the three goons.
They all stepped back, with their hands in the air. "Alright, alright," the bigger goon said. "You're lucky that dagger saved you again Kaj. If the Galactic Soldiers knew that you had a weapon down here, you'd be banished to the surface. Come on guys, let's go." The three goons took off.
Kaj knelt down to pick up the cover from his blade, sliding it back on. Placing it back in his sac, he then jogged over to the poor old man who was lying on the ground in pain. Kaj lowered down and saw the older man's face, blood oozing from his nose and his left eye swollen.
"Are you ok?" Kaj asked as he pulled out a rag and started to wipe the fresh blood from under the man's nose. He didn't respond. "Hey, are you alright?"
The older man opened his eyes to see Kaj with a bloody rag. "Oh, it's you again," the older man proclaimed. "Please son, help me over to that bench." Kaj helped the injured man up and over to the bench. Kaj handed the older man the rag as he continued to wipe the blood away. "Thank you again young man. If only more people like you lived here. When I was young, and before the Oce attacked, my friends and I used to play on the surface of our planet - filled with green grass and lively plants, with the two suns shining down on the surface. And that sky, I can see it now, those fluffy clouds and the animals flying around. It was a wonderful time. I feel sorrow for you young man. You seem like the kind of boy who would enjoy that, but unfortunately cannot."
Kaj leaned forward, his hands together as he looked down. "I hear ya," Kaj said. "My life has changed since my parents went missing. I barely remember living in United City. At least there you could still see the sky."
"United City you say!" the old man blurted out. "That's where I grew up. I hear it's the last surface city on Pel. There's some type of shield around the city that prevents the Oce from getting in. I believe the Galactic Soldiers set it up."
Kaj hardly paid attention to what the older man was saying. Thinking about his parents brought back dark memories.
As the two continued to talk about their memories, they hadn't noticed that two Galactic Soldiers had walked up to them. They both wore shiny white suits that covered their bodies. The two wore dark helmets, from which their faces were blocked out.
"What's going on here?" the one Galactic Soldier said.
Kaj got up from the bench. "This older man was attacked again by the same three goons."
The one Galactic Soldier looked at the other and said, "Take this Daj to the medical facility." The soldier walked over to the older man and helped him up and over to the facility. "And as for you, the curfew is coming up. It'd be smart if you went home."
Kaj looked up into the Galactic Soldiers' helmet, trying to see a face. The Galactic Soldier looked back at him over his shoulder, challenging him to defy his orders. Kaj spotted the "GS" engraved on the back of the Galactic Soldiers suit - glowing a neon green color.
Kaj watched the Galactic Soldier walk off and go back to his base. He then turned and looked up at his home. The jumble of stairs he had to climb to reach back to his house was a mess. Brushing off his shoulder, he proceeded home.
CHAPTER TWO
THE NEWS
Kaj angrily walked back into his home, his uncle, sitting alone at a small table, listening to the radio.
"Ah, Kaj you're home," his uncle said. "So, did you help that old man out?" Kaj remained silent. His uncle got up from the table and walked over to him. Kaj just stood by the window next to the front door, looking over the village. His uncle came up behind him and placed his hand on Kaj's shoulder. "Kaj, what's wrong?"
He looked over at his uncle. "Why us?" he asked. "Why did they have to choose our planet? Those things have been here for fifteen years now uncle! Fifteen years!"
"I know, Kaj, I know," his uncle said as he fixed the glasses on his face, patting him on the back. He glanced over at the radio as the announcer's voice got excited then quickly looked back at Kaj. "Come, I'll get you some dinner."
Kaj nodded and walked over to the small wooden table by the radio and sat down. His
uncle went into the kitchen to get Kaj's food. As Kaj sat down, he let out a long sigh. He closed his eyes and imagined how his life would have been if the Oce never attacked. He pictured him, his mother, father, and his uncle walking around outside United City. The sky was beautiful, and the air tasted fresh.
"Here ya go," Kaj's uncle said, dropping the plate on the table, disrupting his daydream. What sat on his plate were Canyon Worms – a fat worm that lives in the deep underground of the canyon. About six dead ones sat in front of Kaj. He sat there, watching the steam escape from their corpses.
His uncle sat down on the other side of the table. He reached over to the radio, which was sitting in front of the window, and turned the volume up.
"Breaking News! I repeat Breaking News!" an excited yet fearful voice shouted over the radio. He went silent for a second.
Kaj and his uncle both looked over at each other before looking back at the radio, waiting for what all the commotion was about.
"I have just gotten word from the Galactic President that he has announced the withdrawal of Galactic Soldiers from planet Pel. I repeat, the Galactic President has announced that he will be withdrawing the Galactic Soldiers from planet Pel. This will be the fifth planet in our solar system that has fallen under the control of the Oce. The Galactic President says that it is his priority to make sure that the soldiers come first in safety if he wishes to continue the fight against the Oce. All Galactic Soldiers are being told to gather all equipment and make their way to the planet's capital, United City. Galactic Soldiers will be brought aboard a ship along with a few residents from the planet to make sure that the species of Daj do not die off completely. The Galactic President has given 48 human hours for all soldiers and Daj to get abroad. Once again, breaking news, the Galactic President will be withdrawing all Galactic Soldiers from planet Pel."
Kaj's uncle slowly reached over to the radio knob, turning down the volume. He looked over at his nephew. The expression on his face was of one he had never seen before. His eyes wide open, face frozen.
"Kaj?" his uncle whispered across the table. "Kaj?" He still sat there, motionless. His uncle got up from his chair and walked over to him. He gently shook him, waking him from his daze.
Kaj quickly got up out of his seat and quickly headed to his room, his uncle following close behind. When his uncle finally managed to make it to Kaj's room, he was already in a daze again. He sat there on his bed, with the same face he had on before. His uncle sat down next to him.
His uncle let out a sign before getting off what he had on his mind. "Go Kaj." He quickly snapped out of his daze. Kaj looked over at his uncle in confusion. "Go. Get off this filthy planet. You are young. You don't deserve to rot along with this planet. Just because I might die on the outside, doesn't mean you have to die on the inside."
There was a long pause. Neither of them looked at each other. Both were soaking in what had just been said.
"I'll do it," Kaj whispered out. He jumped out of his seat. "I'll do it, uncle!"
"Well, you heard the man on the radio. You don't have much time. Get packing. I'm pretty sure you can ride along with the Galactic Soldiers."
Kaj quickly started to pack.
CHAPTER THREE
THE DEPARTURE
"Are you finished Kaj?" His uncle yelled. He was sitting by the radio again, listening to the same man from before go on about withdrawing the troops.
Kaj ran out of his room and over to his uncle. He came out fully packed and ready. Kaj wore his blue bandana that covered most of the hair that stood up on his head. He also had on his dirty white shirt, and over it was a black vest. The ripped shorts that he had on were a beige color. Kaj also had on his sandals. On his back he wore a small back pack as well as a small sac.
His uncle stood and gave his nephew a hug. "I'm gonna miss you Kaj. Ever since you were little, I've been taking care of you. Now, it's time for you to carry on the legacy of the Daj." There was a long pause. "Take care, my son."
The uncle let go of his nephew. "I'm gonna miss you too." He kissed the top of his head.
They both walked over to the porch. The two stood there for a minute, overlooking the entire village, as they knew this would be their last moment together.
Kaj pulled his blade out from its little case that was attached to Kaj's back and walked over to the wire. He wrapped the blade over the wire, holding on each end with both hands. He took one last look over at his uncle. Kaj closed his eyes, looked back ahead of him and jumped off. As he opened his eyes, he hadn't realized how long he had been zipping down the wire. He hesitated for a second before eventually dropping off the wire. Kaj dropped to the ground, before rolling a little bit.
"Ah, dammit!" he yelled. As he got up, he brushed some of the dust off of his shoulders and knees. "My blade?" He looked around and noticed that his blade was lying next to a crate. Kaj reached down and picked up his blade, placing it back in its little case.
The village was quiet. Not a soul was present. All the kiosks were empty. The lights in peoples' homes were off. Kaj noticed this and thought it was strange. He didn't pay much attention to it, and made his way over to the Galactic Soldiers' base.
The base defiantly stood out from the surround buildings. It was a large oval dome. The white color that surrounded the building was the brightest thing Kaj had ever seen. Around the sides of the base were large, dark oval windows.
As Kaj approached the base, the doors slid open. When he first stepped in, he was blinded for a second by all the lights that were inside. Kaj rubbed his eyes. When his vision came back, the inside of the base was swarmed with everyone from the village. At the very back of the base was a long desk and a group of Galactic Soldiers.
One of the Galactic Soldiers got on the intercom. "Attention everyone." The loud shouting from all the Daj quickly went quiet. "We realize that all of you want to get off this planet. The problem is that we have a limited amount of room aboard the shuttle to transport us to United City." The shouting started up again.
Kaj fought through the crowd of Daj until he made it to the front desk. "Excuse me?!" Kaj yelled. The shouting from everyone else completely blocked him out from being heard.
Kaj began to grow irritated. He tried several more times to get the Galactic Soldier's attention. It didn't work.
Without thinking, Kaj pulled out his dagger, jumped on top of the desk, and started to yell. All the Daj quieted down. When they noticed the weapon in the young humanoid's hand, the group of Daj started to back up. "Yeah," Kaj yelled.
"Come down, son," one of the Galactic Soldiers said, tapping on Kaj's ankle.
He jumped down from the desk, and placed his dagger back in his case. "I'm sorry," Kaj apologized to the Galactic Soldier. "It's just ... I ..."
"It's alright little one," the Galactic Soldier reassured. "We need brave warriors like you on this trip." The Galactic Soldier pressed a small silver button on the desk. The part of the desk that was in front of Kaj quickly fell to the ground. "Come on."
A smile appeared on Kaj's face. He walked on through to the back. A tall, silver door stood in front of him. Kaj waited as the Galactic Soldiers' were cautiously picking others in the crowd to join them on their adventure.
Four more Daj followed up behind Kaj. The first was an older one with a long white beard. He wore a straw hat and big, dark glasses that took up most of his face.
The second was a younger girl, about the age of Kaj. She wore a purple shirt with shorts, and her red hair was tied up in a ponytail. Her ears were significantly smaller than the average Daj.
The third was another young Daj. Looking a little younger than Kaj, he was the most obese of the four. His round stomach poked out from underneath his grey shirt. He wore a small backpack, similar to Kaj's.
The last was a middle-aged Daj. He seemed somewhat familiar to Kaj. It was then he realized that he was the town mayor. He wore a black jacket and long, dark pants. A tall hat lay upon his head. His nose was long and pointed, and his eyes were
constantly looking down.