The Sinner King: Book of Fire

by D. R. Crislip

  Morlan looked around for another path as Iah began to scamper up the debris that stood about seven feet high. "Come on," Iah said, "it's not that bad."

  Rebecca followed him and stepped onto the first big rock and then up to the next while Corbin covered the rear. Morlan followed behind.

  There was a low rumble that became audible as Rebecca reached the top of the pile and next to Iah. Below was a long tunnel that looked like it was carved out of the earth rather than blown out. It led right through the building and into the wall. Rebecca looked into the hole it carved and saw that it ran deep. "What happened?"

  Iah said: "I don't know, but we have to keep moving." He then turned around and slid down the other side. Morlan huffed and puffed as he reached the top. Rebecca then shimmied down the other side of the debris and into the trench. The tunnel carved into the wall appeared to run into another series of tunnels. "Should we go down it?"

  "No," Iah said. "The hangar is this way," he pointed up the next side of debris and beyond. The wall seemed a lot steeper than the last. Corbin came up the first one as Iah started to climb the second. Morlan clumsily slid down the first mound. Once he reached the bottom, he looked up at the second and then bent over. "I don't think I can make it up another wall," he said through heavy breaths.

  "Iah, wait!" Rebecca called out to him. "Morlan needs help!"

  Iah stopped and looked back. "What's the problem?"

  "I'm an old man," Morlan said. "That's the problem."

  Corbin slid down the first as Rebecca said: "We have to go around."

  "Not down the tunnel," Corbin instructed. "That's how the Ministry is getting in. We'll have to go onto the walkways."

  "Fine," Rebecca said. "Then we'll do that."

  "I'm sorry," Morlan said. "If I were a bit younger—"

  "No need to apologize, old friend," Corbin said. "We'll take the walkway."

  Iah lifted his burn rifle as the low rumble increased in the distance. Rebecca and Morlan followed him into the ruined building.

  There was a gut-rattling roar that came from the outside. Chunks of what remained from the ceiling came crashing down onto them. Rebecca and Morlan were hit hard and collapsed to the ground.

  The world grew hazy.

  Rebecca's head ached as she felt the large chunks of plaster and wood resting on her upper body and head. Her eyelids felt amazingly heavy and her eyes burned with sleep. All she wanted to do was lay there. She didn't notice that the two bags she was carrying had fallen from her shoulders. They too were buried under the plaster.

  A high pitch noise filled her ears for a few seconds and then disseminated while the volume of the world around her increased. Get up, she ordered her body. Rebecca slowly opened her eyes and saw hazy images before her: smoke, snow, red lights, blue lights, and green lights filling the air. They were beams in actuality and at first they appeared pretty, like some kind of lightshow her parents would take her to see when the Ministry used to perform them. But this wasn't a light show. Rebecca quickly remembered what was going on. I'm in danger, she told herself. Rebecca shook off the remaining cobwebs clouding her head and recalled where she was. Don't sit up! she ordered her body. A burn-beam came slicing overhead and through the walls. The corpse of a building she was laying inside groaned with stressed agony. Morlan, she remembered. The chunks of plaster from the ceiling weren't too heavy and she was able to slide them off. Rebecca rolled over to her side and looked for the old man, but she couldn't see him. There was only rubble where he last stood.

  Then a horrific scream came echoing inside. Rebecca rolled toward the direction it came but only saw a shadow of a man being wrestled down by an even larger shadow. It was a figure she had seen in her nightmares. The figure she had fought in her apartment.

  Stalkers had arrived.

  The time for resting was over. Rebecca scrambled to her knees and stood upward. She ran back toward the direction she had originally walked down, toward the tunnel in the cave wall. Fighting had filled the air all around her. The humming and sizzling of burn-beams went off in sporadic patterns. Rebecca looked back and saw the Stalker crawling along the ground like some four-legged beast. It had spotted her.

  Rebecca ran harder but tripped over some of the rocks. She kept her balance just enough not to fall. The Stalker galloped behind and then sprung upward. Rebecca looked back just in time to see it fling its body into the air and down toward her.

  And then in a flash of a brilliant light beam, the Stalker was severed in two just before its top half landed on Rebecca's back. The weight of the beast brought her to her knees and then onto her face. She felt her skin rip off on all the places that slid against the rocks. She cried out in fear and pain.

  The Stalker groped her torso and tried to sink its claws into her skin. Rebecca elbowed, smacked and punched herself free from its grip. Even though the thing had no lower body, it still lived. It made gnashing sounds even though it had no mouth. It crawled toward her with incredible determination. Rebecca regained her footing and felt a strong hand collapse around her arm. "Are you okay?" Corbin asked in a hurried breath.

  Rebecca was standing now and looking into her biological father's eyes. There was genuine concern in them. "I'm okay."

  Corbin decapitated the Stalker with a burn beam and then began tossing rocks away in a single fluid motion. He called out Morlan's name. There was no reply. Iah was gone too. Rebecca had no idea where. She then joined in on the search; moving heavy stone after heavy stone. And then, finally, it was Corbin who found him. He called Rebecca off. "He's gone."

  The words didn't hit her right away and there was no time to think about it.

  They began to run down the tunnel and far away from where the severed beast had attacked . . . and from where Rebecca had dropped her bags.

  When they reached the end, they had to make a decision on whether to go left or right. Corbin made the decision for both of them; they went left. Rebecca ran down the rounded out tunnel until she needed to stop for air. Her lungs burned and she was beginning to sweat somehow in the midst of the freezing temperature. Corbin allowed for a brief rest, which was enough time for fear to return. Rebecca realized how much trouble she was truly in. Not only were they in a freezing tundra, being hunted by the Ministry, but now they were being tracked by Stalkers.

  They continued running but at a much slower pace; Rebecca's wounds had become more noticeable with every step. Her previous ankle injury had been re-aggravated and now her upper back and legs were aching too. The tunnel veered left and appeared to have an opening that led back into the cave. They continued down it until they reached the end. And to Rebecca's horror, they had arrived right into the midst of a battle.

  Burn-beams flashed all around, cutting into the cave wall, buildings, and people—yes, they were cutting right through people—she was seeing it happen: bodies toppling over and limbs falling free. Some looked like MSF agents but most were not. It was horrific.

  Corbin told Rebecca to duck back into the tunnel. The hangar looked like it might have been a hundred or so yards to their right, but was under heavy attack.

  Rebecca's eyes caught something else: a ladder.

  It stretched from the ground to the cave ceiling, where there was a closed hatch: a way out, she thought, a way out of the horrific misery surrounding them. "Look!" Rebecca called to Corbin and then pointed. He took notice of the ladder but seemed to disapprove. The problem was that they would be exposed to the fighting going on all around.

  Rebecca looked again to the hangar. Burn-beams were slicing it to pieces. There's no hope in there, she told herself. The ladder was the only way to go. Corbin seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

  They ran full speed to it. When Rebecca hit it, her momentum carried her almost past. Her hands gripped the bars and immediately began finding their way upward. Rebecca's tired feet followed. Before she knew it, she was already a quarter of the way up with Corbin right behind. Sizzling and cracking continuously filled the air. Cries, ye
lls and howls filled in the breaks. It was about halfway up that a burn-beam had hit the ladder, cutting the right vertical bar in half. The ladder, however, was fastened to the cave wall every two feet. The damage done by the beam was minimal.

  Rebecca climbed past the sizzling red metal section that was severed and felt her right knee bump into it. The hot metal burned a hole through her padded pants. She didn't hesitate, however, and kept on climbing upward.

  When she reached the top, Rebecca made the mistake of looking back. Beyond Corbin was the carnage below. It was staggering. There were burned out buildings, bodies and cave debris everywhere. People were rushing all about and fighting still. There was no way to determine which side was which, MSF agents and Heretique were intermixed. The whole scene was dizzying. Rebecca trained her focus on the hatch and found what appeared to be a round handle that needed turned in order to open. Rebecca used her right hand and turned the wheel. It took two full turns before the latch gave free and the lid loosened. She was then able to push upward and flip it open, which revealed a blinding light, which she immediately covered her eyes from. The erratic motion caused her to lose balance. As she swayed on the ladder, Corbin raised a powerful hand and centered her body onto the bars. Rebecca regained her balance and had a moment to realize it was the second time her biological father saved her. She then looked to the light and thought: What is it? But Rebecca already knew: it was the sun.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  After regaining her composure, Rebecca continued upward and out of the hatch. The surface was snowy and cold. She pulled her body out of the hatch and collapsed onto the frozen ground. The sky was so bright. There wasn't a cloud to be seen and the sun was incredibly brilliant, reflecting off the snow and all around her, making it very difficult to see. Rebecca rolled over so that she was facedown. She remained that way until her eyes adjusted.

  Corbin soon appeared through the hatch.

  Rebecca slowly raised her head and felt the cold air slither across her face. Her pupils had shrunk to needle size. The snow on the ground continued for what appeared to be miles. Behind her, and very far away, were craggy mountains—the Southern Point she realized. A gust of wind picked up and whistled in her ears, blowing snow drifts all around.

  "I have to go back," Corbin quickly announced. "I have to help my people."

  Rebecca stood up in the foot deep snow and looked at her biological father. She didn't know what to say. She was still feeling the relieving sensation of being free from the battle far below. But she knew she needed to say something, but what?

  Corbin simply nodded to his daughter but said nothing more. She was safe up there, for the time being. He went back to the hatch and then stopped. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Stay out of sight and—" but then he stopped abruptly. Rebecca waited for him to finish. The wind had died down but the whistling continued. Corbin seemed to be looking past her. Rebecca turned to see where his gaze was going and then realized it wasn't the wind making the whistling noise but something else. Rebecca looked skyward and noticed something she didn't see before. There were MSF hovercrafts circling high above, like vultures. They seemed to be centered over what appeared to be a possible break in the snow. Rebecca realized that it might be the opening to the hangar bay.

  A sobering realization fell onto her: no one was going to make it out alive—or so it seemed. Rebecca looked back to the hovercrafts in the sky, which looked like flying ants, and noticed that one of them had broken away from the rest.

  It was coming toward them.

  Before Rebecca could cry out, Corbin had moved away from the hatch and stepped in front of her. He removed the burn rifle from his shoulder and handed it to Rebecca and then dropped to his knees.

  "What are you doing?" she cried out.

  "Just point it at me!" Corbin ordered. "I'm your prisoner now."

  Rebecca couldn't believe her ears. "Get out of here!" she yelled at him. But he didn't budge—nor was he going to; Corbin was protecting his daughter.

  The engines of the hovercraft whined overhead as it caught up to them in a matter of seconds. Rebecca saw the machine descend to the ground. It maneuvered in front of them and landed. The heavy doors of the craft slid open, revealing three armed agents wearing special snow gear. Behind them were a few more men aiming their burn rifles and covering the three agents running near. Rebecca's hands trembled while holding the burn laser into her biological father's back.

  "Drop it!" yelled one of the agents through his armored mask's voice amplifier.

  Rebecca did as ordered and said: "This is my prisoner!"

  The three agents swarmed them, binding Corbin's wrists and taking Rebecca by the arms. "Who are you? What's your identification number?" one of them said. Rebecca told them her name, rank, and position within the Ministry, as well as her identification number.

  Another agent removed a special notepad and keyed everything she said into it. He then said: "Take them onboard."

  The three men ushered Rebecca and Corbin toward the hovercraft. They were helped inside. Corbin was placed on his stomach onto the floor. The agents closed the door behind them and the engines of the hovercraft cranked up for the ascent. Rebecca looked around at the men surrounding her but didn't know what to say. Her teeth chattered.

  All of the men took their masks off. It was then that Rebecca realized that she knew one of them. "Simon?" She said in disbelief.

  His hair was smashed from the helmet but his handsome face was unmistakable.

  "Simon?" Rebecca heard herself say again. She couldn't believe it. She wanted him to reach out and grab her, to hold her, to comfort her and say everything was going to be alright, but he did none of those things. Instead, Simon smiled. It was an odd smile, a forced smile. He said: "Word made its way to me that you were in trouble. I had to do whatever necessary to find you." He then reached over and took her hand into his. "Thank goodness you're alive!"

  Rebecca was wary. She couldn't believe he was there. "How did you find me?"

  "Your friend Roland," Simon said. "He told us that you were heading to the Southern Point." His eyes quickly left hers and went to Corbin laying on the ground. "Who is this?"

  There was so much she wanted to say, to explain, but didn't know where to start. She wanted to immediately begin pleading her case about the manuscript: about how it wasn't her fault, how it ended up in her hands, and how it created such a mess.

  "Rebecca? Who is this man?" Simon asked again, not so friendly this time in tone.

  "Why that's the elusive Corbin Byrne," said another.

  Rebecca looked for the source of the voice and saw a very handsome, blue-eyed man. He had wavy brown hair and a young, smooth face. His eyes, however, gave off the impression that they were wise beyond their years. He stood up from where he was sitting and walked around Corbin on the floor and sat down next to Simon.

  "Is that true?" Simon said, astonished.

  Rebecca nodded her head. "He was my prisoner."

  Simon's astonishment grew larger. "You took him prisoner?"

  The man next to him, however, didn't seem convinced. He just gave a half grin and kept to himself.

  "Am I in trouble," Rebecca found herself asking, unable to withhold any longer.

  "What do you think?" asked the blue-eyed man.

  "None of this was my fault! That damn manuscript was a setup . . . I know it!"

  Simon lifted a hand and said: "Relax! No one thinks you're responsible." His tone, however, said otherwise.

  Everything she read inside the manuscript ran through her mind—everything they surely now know. Rebecca felt exposed and embarrassed. She asked Simon: "Did you read the translation?"

  Simon took a deep breath before saying: "No . . . I haven't been given access. The Minister, himself, has given it the highest classification rating. Not even I can bypass it." There was a definite irritation in his voice. "He says that the manuscript is a dangerous Heretique propaganda tool that has the power to devastate the most pure minded . .
. which then leaves me to wonder what condition you are in, my love."

  She didn't know how to respond to that. Was it an accusation? Her eyes began to well.

  The blue-eyed man reached out to her and placed a soft hand on her leg, igniting a tingling sensation all through her body. Rebecca trembled as he said: "It's going to be okay."

  Simon looked down at the man's hand and then to her. . .

  The blue-eyed man slid his hand off her leg and asked: "Do you still have it: the manuscript?"

  She had completely forgotten about the manuscript. At some point during the attack, the workbag containing the original manuscript was lost—or left would be a better way to say it.

  "Well? Do you have it or not?" Simon asked sharply.

  "No," Rebecca finally answered through sobs of tears. "I don't have it anymore. I think it was destroyed in the fighting."

  The blue-eyed man looked at Simon with a glare that seemed to say: Back off. Simon shook his head and said to Rebecca: "Good."

  Corbin lay motionless at their feet. Rebecca tried to see his face but it wasn't visible from her vantage point. She wanted to thank him, to tell him that she was sorry . . . sorry for everything. It was all her fault . . . everything.

  "How did you find him?" asked the blue-eyed man.

  Rebecca wiped tears from her eyes and said: "They found me. Once they learned that I had the manuscript, they came for me. I . . . I just . . ." but she didn't know what else to say.

  "I've spent the better part of my career trying to find this son-of-a-bitch. He was hard as hell to find. If it wasn't for you, we never would have found him."

  Because of me, she thought. "How did you track me?"

  The blue-eyed man smiled and said: "Take your jacket off."

  Rebecca looked immediately to Simon, who nodded sharply. "Go ahead: do it."

  Hesitantly, Rebecca unfastened the jacket and took it off. The blue-eyed man reached behind her and ran his hand along her back. The tingling sensation returned. Rebecca shivered again. She then felt something peel off her back. The blue-eyed man pulled his hand around and held a clear piece of film in front of her. It was a half-inch square and so thin that it was nearly impossible to see. "What is that?" Rebecca asked.