The Gauntlet of Possession (The Teracian Chronicles Book 1)

by Christopher Lambert

  “This place is beautiful.”

  For miles, the dense forests surrounded the temple in every direction. Each tree carried a brilliant blue hue like a vast and choppy ocean that fluttered with life. Several winged creatures scattered from the trees off in the distance and formed a circular pattern. They dipped below the canopy and were gone from sight. Rustling bushes to her left revealed a group of small creatures that appeared to be foraging for food. Each one had ribbons of color on their backs. Dyed light green, the sky seemed luscious with clarity, and she could see some of the same galaxies and nebulas still visible from last night. The faint outline of the moon was like a watermark in a painting. She climbed down from the top ledge and made her way to the far western side of the temple. Anya squinted to try and focus her sight and saw faint buildings towards the end of the forest. They were curved and different colors, but the sun made it hard to see as it soaked onto her face. The air around her remained crisp and fresh, unlike the air she was used to, frequently presenting itself as dry and stale.

  “Where is the space station?” she whispered to herself as she recalled what she saw during the night. She brought her hand up to her face to block the sun. The spherical station was nowhere to be seen, and no evidence of any ships could be tracked. “There’s no way it was an illusion.”

  Something caught her attention, and she examined her hands and arms. They were extremely red. She felt her skin, and it was a little warm. With worry in her eyes, she tried to climb down but everything was too much to take in, and her senses were suddenly overwhelmed. She started to feel dizzy and decided to close her eyes for a few seconds. Pools of sweat accumulated on her body and her pulse increased drastically. I need to get down. She climbed down from the temple and felt lightheaded. Everything around her started to spin, and eruptions of exploding noises and ringing rebounded in her ear. As she reached the last step, her foot grazed the broken stone, causing her to fall onto her back. Anya cried out and cursed under her breath. A sharp pain surged through her chest and all throughout her body. She struggled to move but found the strength to get back up and brush off her pants.

  All of the strange feelings had departed as she let the air circulate through her lungs. A violent cough escaped her lips. Letting out a sigh as the pain in her throat subsided, she walked back to the clearing. I’m falling apart here. When she circled back around the perimeter of the structure, Anya started to hear voices coming from the other side. They were choppy and incoherent.

  “They…over…. the…Amethyst Temple.”

  “...what have they done...Dazshra…”

  “We…plan…stop...destruction…”

  She turned her head around the corner and saw no signs of anyone, save for a few of the bugs from earlier. Her hair became draped into her eyes, and she pushed it to the side. Must have been imagining them. This place is starting to have an effect on my head or something.

  Anya returned to the clearing and checked on her hoodie. The rabbit print on the front was dry to the touch, but the arms were still damp. With tired eyes, she sat down on the ground.

  Her loss of balance startled her as she realized she had dozed off again. As she opened her eyes, a searing pain erupted, causing her to panic. She flailed to the ground and grabbed ahold of her head. Every inch of her body screamed, and no one was there to hear it. The heaving feeling in her chest grew deeper, and she struggled to inhale. With all of her strength, she screamed out for help.

  “What’s happening…arrrghghhhhhh!”

  “Someone is over there. Could it be the humans?”

  The voices in her head blocked out all thoughts. Several shadows scurried out of the corners of her vision. She opened them against the pain and saw that she was completely surrounded by a multitude of different creatures, ones that looked similar to the other two they had followed. Her vision slowly started to fail, and the voices commenced again.

  “She…Spectrum…Emitter…we will know soon.”

  “Is that her? The One Mind has graced us with her presence.”

  A bright golden figure came out from the forest off to the side and approached her. The beating of her own heart sounded like crashing waves in her ears.

  “Just relax. It’ll be over soon,” said the voice as a feeling of warmth overtook all her senses.

  Five

  The Blind Eyes of Truth

  “Everyone, switch your Harmopnizers to Beta 7717 and prepare for an immediate sweep and clear,” said the rugged, young major as the harsh wind swept through his bearded chin. The gold stripes on his chest and shoulders stood out against the dark green uniform. Several hoverships brushed the surface and landed, clamping down into the soft soil. With little resistance, the sapphire trees danced to the beat of the bladeless thrusters that were housed on the back and sides of the aircraft. Twenty heavily-armed troopers began exiting.

  The Teracians could only watch with trembling legs. The smaller ones cradled around their elders with screaming minds. The chorus of stomping boots quieted every thought and whisper. In unison, each soldier turned the dial on their chest clockwise once and counterclockwise five times, causing all of their bodies to jolt. “You heard the Major. Do an outer perimeter sweep and clear,” they all said in unison as they rushed to cover every corner of the area. The thinly armored Teracians began to shift positions and gathered into a group, leaving the collapsed and fragile body of Anya Rose lying untouched.

  Major Jace Sorehn cautiously examined the area. The scar below his left eye was all but covered by the tactical lenses attached to his skull. Extending out from the left frame was a small antenna, and a red light pulsed on the right. “An emergency containment alarm has sounded, and we’re to secure this area for possible threats. Any and all forms of conflict will result in unrestricted detainment. We cannot afford to fail in our mission, and so long as you remain calm, you will all be safe.”

  With a grunt, each trooper removed a steel bolt from their backpacks and smashed them into the ground, forming a circular perimeter. With a high-pitched squeal, each rod began to blink, and a plasma-like barrier encapsulated everyone in a protective dome. A breath escaped Anya’s lips as she peered up into the sky with watery half-closed eyes.

  “Where am I? What is going—” she said as her vision blurred from the bright sun.

  The young army official knelt beside her, “Relax. You were hit with a delayed response from the emitter. I’m here to help.”

  “Trevor is that you? What’s going on here?”

  “You’re mistaken. My name is Jace, and I’m from the Septune Station. You probably have a lot of questions, and we will answer them in time. You passed out from the Spectrum Wave Emitter. It’s how we communicate with the Teracians.”

  “Teracians?”

  The major flipped several switches on his plasma rifle. “I’m sure you’re aware of this, but we are no longer on Earth. If you hear voices just know you aren’t going insane.”

  It took her a second to gather her thoughts and for her vision to appear before she spoke. The area had a foreboding silence as the squad of soldiers worked on securing the area. With renewed strength, Anya rubbed the dirt off of her forehead and peered into the pair of cotton-white eyes in front of her. With a shriek, she backed away and quickly stood up before feeling her body give out. Jace shifted forward and caught her in his arms as if she was weightless.

  “Let me go,” she said as she tried to tear her way free.

  “You’re still weak from your fall! You have to calm down and listen. What did you and your friends do in that temple? Do you understand what just happened?”

  Calming down slightly, she said, “I don’t understand anything right now. All of this is too much and wha-what do you mean I can now hear the…who?”

  “You can now hear the Teracians. They are the inhabitants of this planet, and they communicate telepathically. I’m sure you know what that means?”

  “It means to speak through your thoughts. Yes, I know. Are we really on a
n alien planet?”

  “Well, technically speaking, we’re the aliens here, but affirmative. This is all real. Are you hurt?”

  “No, I can stand. What happened to Earth?”

  As if she were weightless, the commander lifted her from the ground and eased her into a seat on one of the hoverships. Taking a deep breath, “I’m sorry to say that Earth was destroyed over 400 years ago.”

  “What? What do you mean it was destroyed?”

  She saw the major scratch at his beard and let out a sigh. He pressed his finger on the screen planted on his left wrist and began typing. A faint picture appeared on the screen.

  “This is what’s left of our planet. See these black swirling clouds in the atmosphere? That isn’t just a passing storm. That is electro-nuclear debris. No one could have survived the aftermath.”

  Anya started to feel her arms and legs tremble. She grabbed ahold of her arms and started to breathe heavily. “If what you said is true then why am I here? Why are any of us here and not at home? Was it terrorists or was it-” She trailed off and began to feel a pounding migraine form in her head.

  Sorehn reached into his chest pocket and brought out a metal tin; a capsule fell into his hand. “Here take this. It will help you to cope with everything, and it has no side effects.”

  She looked at him with suspicion before letting it fall into her hand. The capsule released a liquid as it went down her throat, making her cough. After only a few minutes she began to feel like herself again.

  Sorehn saw her eyes dilate and a small smile formed on his face, “You’d be surprised how much medicine has evolved.”

  Anya brushed off her coat and rubbed her head, “Thank you. Did you say earlier something had happened? Are my friends okay?” A cough similar to the one earlier shot through her throat; it took several seconds to stop, and a speck of blood collected on her palm. Her eyes widened.

  The last remaining infantry formed a line in the center of the shielded forest. The heavily armed soldiers were outfitted with black and white tactical armor spanning their entire bodies; the skin-tight suits seemed to fit each one perfectly. Rotating plasma coiled around their guns with an intense glow, giving off minor traces of heat. Major Sorehn supported Anya as they walked over to the same rock where she had sat only hours ago. Its surface still gleamed from the damp rain.

  “Just know that you’re safe here. My men will soon be entering the temple. Tell me, did an individual dressed in a robotic suit happen to pass through here?”

  Anya shuddered as she remembered the encounter, worrying about the blood on her hand. “He disappeared into the temple a while ago, and my friends followed these alien creatures into it. It was raining and too hard to see any other details.”

  “What did these aliens look like? Did they look like them?” Jace said as he pointed to the group of Teracian villagers. Since the Teracians had arrived, they hadn’t made one sound, and she forgot they were even there. There were swirling colors on the chest plates of the smaller ones, and dark hues in the rest. Only a few of them had a gauntlet at the end of their wrists. She scrunched her eyes to try and focus on their forms. The skin pigment of these Teracians held a pale blue or green and resembled the two she saw during the rainstorm.

  “Yes. They looked exactly like these, but they were gray and silver and had these tubes coming from their sides. What do they have to do with this?”

  “There are reports of possible opposition spies, but we can’t confirm anything at this time. Something powerful was sealed away in that temple.

  An audible gasp escaped Anya’s lips as her face continued to turn a lighter shade of white. William, please tell me you’re okay.

  “Commlink,” the major said as he held up his arm. An advanced holographic overlay appeared. Several symbols and data raced across it as he began to speak. “Sorehn to Lieutenant Miller. We’ve secured the entrance to the Temple of Amethyst. I’m hearing claims of the Inquisitor and two Windenfall Elites, possibly with allegiance to the Therak’tow, entering the temple, as well as the humans that Janice brought here. I have Anya Rose secured, but no sightings of Allen or the others. Should we proceed to the temple?”

  “That would be a negative, Major. You are to hold your position until further support arrives. Continue to monitor activity and set up a channel to Actavian,” said the frustrated voice of Lieutenant Miller.

  “Acknowledged. Standing by.”

  Anya watched as Sorehn tapped onto the screen. He let his arms fall, ending the communication line.

  “Could I ask you something if you don’t mind?”

  “As long as you don’t ask my age,” the major said as he smiled back.

  “Are those glasses there to help you see?”

  “That is their exact purpose, yes. I was born with a birth defect that took my vision when I was only 15 months. This was all they had at the station for me to see with. The station module with a significant portion of our technology was damaged hundreds of years ago.”

  Behind the transparent visor, she saw his eyes narrow.

  “Troops! Switch Harmonizers to Beta 1800 and stand by for further order.”

  Anya suddenly saw a shimmer of someone coming out of the temple. She turned her head and witnessed the exhausted form of Brenda Harrison with Allen cradled on her back. A smile appeared on her face when Brenda came into view of the force field. A smooth set of electricity trailed around the dome as it circulated around to the other side. Brenda stopped dead in her tracks as the armed troopers shifted their stance

  “Anya, what the hell is going on? Are you alright?”

  Major Sorehn advanced to the southern perimeter and held up his arm, bringing the hologram to life, “Sorehn to Supreme Commander Actavian. Brenda Harrison and Allen Schraider have exited the temple. Allen appears to be incapacitated. No sign of the Windenfall Elites or anyone else. Requesting immediate backup before conflict arises with the Teracians.”

  There was a brief moment of silence before a deep voice rattled over the channel.

  “Sorehn, you are to secure all of the humans alive and bring them to the station. Do not accept resistance from any party. I’m sending additional troopers to your area. ETA 15 minutes. Deploy any means necessary if DZ065 escapes. Allen Schraider is the primary mission objective.”

  Anya suddenly rose from the wet rock and ran to the edge of the barrier.

  “Brenda! Brenda, what’s happened?” she said between breaths as she began to panic, “Where is William? Please tell me he’s alright!”

  A sudden tremble escaped from the bowels of the Amethyst Temple as if a devastating explosion occurred below. The impact caused the barrier’s energy to fluctuate and one of the metal poles to snap; the resulting damage lowered the shield completely. A series of quakes suddenly shook the ground, causing everyone in the area to collapse. Several Teracians smacked into the metal trees and stones, coating the mighty trunks with blood. An explosion of metallic clangs sounded in the forest, and a fleet of tiny, spiraling insects erupted out of the sea of trees. Anya watched as the temple began to burst and break.

  Major Sorehn was on his feet in seconds, rushing to the collapsed Allen as he lay next to Brenda. “We have to get everyone out of here. Where are the other two?”

  “Trevor was still in there when that thing attacked us. William and the-the,” Brenda said as she saw Anya’s desperate look, “Anya, I’m so sorry…William and the other aliens fell through a hole in the floor during the fight.”

  Everything keeping Anya together instantly broke all at once. A darkening force grew in her heart as she felt it crumble in her chest. William is gone.

  A loud voice pushed its way into her mind, followed by a lone Teracian with turquoise skin crashing into the major. Her muscles twitched with anger as she slammed her fist into Sorehn’s side, “You humans did this. You and your Inquisitor and your filthy violence. We know he’s yours! Do you realize what you’ve done?”

  Without hesitation, two troopers forcefully
grabbed the young Teracian and put their arms around her neck. Anya stared blankly as she witnessed the Teracian shriek; her chest glow with a bright violet hue. I can hear them. Is this what he meant? Her wings erupted and bashed into the armored soldiers causing them to fall to the ground. Major Sorehn quickly grabbed ahold of her, pinning her wings beneath his weight. A burst of energy suddenly appeared next to him and his men, and they instantly jumped back with their captive still in hand. The resulting wave of energy blew Anya’s hair back away from her face. Sorehn grabbed his gun from his back and switched on the plasma coil. It burst into life and began emitting heat. Over a dozen Teracians appeared out of nowhere, bearing the same silver clad armor like the ones in the temple.

  “Let go of her at once or you will receive the worst of consequences,” said the gray Teracian as he lifted his gauntlet against Jace Sorehn’s head. The blue stone housed in the palm of the warrior chimed to life and started to glow.

  **********

  June 16th, 2025. Indianapolis University

  The afternoon sun stood high in the sky as it basked the campus with a natural glow. Anya covered her eyes as she walked outside of the Music and Performing Arts building. She rearranged her violin case and paused to check her S-Wrist. She mindlessly scrolled through school postings and then checked her calendar. Oh shoot, I’m gonna be late for the Senate meeting. She twisted her arm, watching her phone turn off as she started in the direction of the Student Union office.

  Taking a deep breath, she kept her attention in front of her as her mind wandered towards her classwork. The passion she had for music made her world a little brighter. Ever since her grandma taught her how to play the violin, she had always wanted to perfect the art. Long nights of playing and learning every possible song gained her recognition from her classmates. The faculty was astonished by her talent, and Professor Daniels rewarded her with a scholarship. Everything she had ever wanted was finally within her grasp. A familiar voice in front of her knocked her out of the daydream