“Did she say get hurt?” Flux gulped and turned to Al, who simply shrugged and began to follow after Marcie.
She led the way through the trees as if there were a path under her feet, but not one that Alfred could seem to make out. After a while the brush surrounding them began to grow dense and in the way. Marcie slid a long machete-like blade out of the end of her armor. She sliced as much as she could to make room for the three of them to get through.
“Is it much farther forest-lady?” Aaron called ahead, his shoulders leaned down and he was dragging his feet.
“Not too much, but we can take a short break here.” Marcie replied, slowing up.
“Fine...by...me.” Flux wheezed, sitting down on the long tendril-like grass beneath him.
Alfred stood for a moment, looking around at the forest that seemed to surround them for miles on end. He looked to the sky and found himself gazing at the sun for a moment. There didn’t appear to be anything wrong with it. But Alfred didn’t doubt that in three days’ time it would explode- and it would be his fault if he failed.
Suddenly a flash of movement caught his eye in the heights of a far-off tree. He directed his attention to it and sure enough it looked like there was a figure peering out from the thickness of the leaves.
“Hey guys I think there’s some- waaaAAAAAGH!” Alfred found himself being pulled by the legs upward until he swung upside down by a rope looped tight around his ankle.
He watched, upside down, as the flash of movement from the far-off tree zoomed at an incredible speed toward them. Flux was looking at the hanging Alfred with fear and panic in his eyes. Marcie was doing something Al hadn’t seen before. She seemed to be laughing hysterically, to the point where she even fell to the ground on her back.
The flash that had zoomed towards them now revealed itself. It was a young boy, with his face painted a bright orange-red just like the leaves in the trees. He had tan skin and long arms for his size. The boy had thrown his knee hard into Flux’s back, knocking him to the ground. Alfred watched as the boy then twisted one of Flux’s arms around behind his back and held a sharp knife to his throat with his other hand.
By now the blood was beginning to rush to Alfred’s head, and he was already too confused by the scene that was playing out before him. He went to grab his Rift Blade from his belt to cut himself down, but just as he reached for it something whizzed passed him and stuck into the tree he hung from, very close to his outstretched limb.
“Do not move if you wish to live.” the boy spoke without even looking at Alfred, who allowed his arms to lower back down slowly.
Instead, the boy was staring intently at Marcie who had her legs in the air, still crying out of laughter.
“Marcie, Marcie! Why do you cry, have these men hurt you? Please don’t die, I will avenge your death by killing these two if you do.”
“Um Marcie, do you want to maybe explain what’s going on here?” Alfred asked curiously. Flux appeared to be too nervous to say anything.
Marcie had finally managed to sit up and was able to speak clearly again.
“No Jashi, I’m fine, I’m fine. But wow you sure made these two look stupid!” she let out a few more small laughs.
The boy, Jashi, appeared to be confused. Alfred noticed that his eyes were a bright emerald green, and his skin was a similar tone to Marcie’s as well.
“So, you don’t want me to kill these men?” Jashi asked, loosening his grip a bit on Flux.
“Well Aaron is pretty annoying, but no that’s okay Jashi. They’re with me actually.”
“Oh! I’m sorry Marcie I didn’t know. I was just in the forest hunting when I thought I spotted your armor! And then I couldn’t believe it was you, and when I realized it was, I thought you might be in danger. So I was trying to save you from these guys.”
“Hey sorry to interrupt and all, but could someone please cut me down?” Alfred felt like he was going to pass out soon.
“I’ve got you sir!” Henry announced.
Out of the pocket of Alfred’s jacket a metal material was continuously unfolding, until it reached out and extended upward past Al’s face, reaching the rope around his ankle. A pair of small gold scissors unfolded at the very end and snipped the rope, causing Alfred to fall roughly onto the ground.
Alfred rubbed the back of his head where it had hit the ground before slowly getting to his feet.
“Just now Henry? Really?” he flashed the scissors that were slowly lowering back down into his pocket a dirty look.
Meanwhile Jashi had released his hold on Flux. Aaron took a few deep breaths, gave himself a quick check over, and then seemed content that he was alive and unharmed.
“So who’s the ninja kid?” he asked as they all came to stand together.
“This is Jashi.” Marcie introduced the boy, rubbing her hand on the top of his hair playfully. “He’s a boy from my village. He used to spy on me when I would train and eventually I let him join in.”
Suddenly Marcie’s face furrowed into a frown.
“But Jashi, why do you look as if you’re barely any older than you were when I left? You should be a teenager by now.”
“Yes...well I suppose I might as well tell you now. You see, my old man’s health only got worse after you left. A lot of other people began to get sick too, the scientists say it’s something to do with the sun but I don’t know. My father, he…” the boy’s voice wavered for a moment and he paused before he spoke back up.
“A few years ago he got really bad. They said he only had a few more weeks to live. So he sold our house- sold just about everything we had. And he used the money to get me a cryogenic freeze and be sent off on an outgoing ship, so I wouldn’t be here when the sun explodes. But about a year ago the money my father had put down ran out. It had all been used up in supplying my cryogenic container with life material. So they un-froze me and the ship took off without me.”
Marcie looked as if she were holding back tears. Flux wept madly.
“Wow, kid. Well it looks like you’re tough then- you’ve made it all this time on your own.” Alfred gave the boy a nod, and Jashi smiled.
“But Marcie you’ve returned! That means you can save Hemphion, right? Come on, the people of the village will be thrilled!”
“Well Jashi...I don’t kno-”
Al cut her off, “That’s right kid, we’re going to get this planet a new sun. Now come on, show us to the village!”
Marcie shot Alfred a thankful look, but he paid it no attention and the three of them followed the boy, who led them through the brush until they came to a dirt path. They followed it for a mile or two until they came to a small compound. There was a wall made of plasti-crete, basically a durable material that many people on poorer planets utilized in building their structures.
They approached a large metal door that was in the center of the wall in front of them. A man stood guard out front with a fully-automatic energy gun.
“Hey Jashi, who are these- is that you Marcie?” the man seemed suspicious at first but as soon as he noticed Marcie’s armor he grew more and more excited.
“Hey Ardmon! Good to see you. These two are Rift Resolvers, they’re here to help.” she replied, seeming to perk up a bit at recognizing yet another familiar face.
“Of course, your return! It must mean you’ve found a way to save our planet! Come on, the others will be thrilled to see you’re back.”
Ardmon opened the door and led the way through the plasti-crete wall. Alfred followed closely behind and an entire village opened up in front of him. Most of the homes and buildings were made of the same material as the outer-wall, as he had assumed would be the case. Another guard replaced Ardmon’s spot outside the main doors and exchanged a similar excited greeting with Marcie as he passed by. Alfred continued to follow close behind their new guide, walking in pace with Jashi.
Ardmon appeared to be a bit on the hefty-side, but Alfred could tell it was mostly made up of muscle. He wore pants and a robe of the
same orangish color that seemed to make up most of the nature in the forest around the village. Al noticed a strange rash on the back of the man’s neck and wondered if it could be a sign of the disease that the boy said his father and others had died from. Ardmon appeared to be leading them to a building larger than most of the others. It looked to be some sort of house for the needy. As they walked through the doors they came into a courtyard where many older people sat around talking amongst one another. There were children as well, and while Alfred expected them to be playing- they too seemed to be just sitting around.
“Say Jashi, what’s the name of your village anyway?” he asked the boy beside him.
“Bratvia. Probably an unfamiliar word to you, it comes from the ancient language of our planet. Few besides the Gazers bother to speak it anymore, but our village’s name translates to Land Of The Brave.” the boy answered as if he were proud of his village’s name.
“Everyone seems so down…” Alfred commented absent-mindedly.
The boy’s expression grew fierce, capturing Al’s full attention as he spoke.
“Yes, the morale is low. Most have given up hope of being saved and have prepared themselves for the worst. But our village has always continued to stand against the Huck Family, we put our faith in Marcie- because she risked everything by betraying him just for a chance at us being saved. And you’re here now, you can help save us. There is hope.”
Alfred met the boy’s eyes and nodded in agreement. He would do everything he could to save the people of Bratvia and the thousands of villages like it all across Hemphion. The group walked through the courtyard turning heads and gaining the attention of the despondent villagers. Their hushed tones picked up in volume and growing enthusiasm as they noticed the newcomers.
They reached the other side and entered through another pair of doors. Ardmon took them into a small lobby where there were several couches and chairs.
“Please sit, I will get Mother Via. She will be glad to see you Marcie. And the rest of you too I suppose!” he added with a hardy chuckle.
Alfred, Marcie, and Aaron took a seat while Jashi walked around a nearby counter that looked to be part of the kitchen. He opened one side of his robe, similar to the one Ardmon wore, and revealed a small furry creature. The boy tossed it onto the counter and began to skin it with a knife. Alfred watched, somewhat repulsed, until Ardmon walked back into the lobby. An elderly woman wearing a long primitive red dress followed closely behind.
“Mother Via!” Marcie sprung up and the old women met her with a warm embrace.
“Marcie, you have returned after all. And it looks as if you’ve brought some new friends with you as well.” the woman smiled at Al and Aaron who stood up as Marcie introduced them.
“Yes, this is Aaron Flux and Alfred Moreno- Rift Resolvers who have come to help us.
The two men shook her feeble hand lightly and then everyone sat back down. Ardmon walked into the kitchen to assist Jashi in preparing his catch.
“A pleasure to meet you both. Now, Marcie- is it true then that you have returned with the Crystal of Gosia?”
“Yes well, we do have the crystal. And we have an idea of how to get Hemphion a new sun- but we aren’t exactly sure…” she trailed off, looking to Alfred as if she didn’t know what more to say.
“I believe I know a way in which I might be able to duplicate your planet’s sun, but I require some guidance on how exactly to do it. Marcie mentioned something about an ancient group known as the Gazers, perhaps you could point us in their direction?”
“The Gazers...it is true they have much wisdom and the people in rural villages across Hemphion once put their faith in the group and the god they worship. But I’m afraid many members of the Gazers have abandoned the god they pray to for understanding and knowledge, and as a result have remained silent for the last few months as the destruction of the sun has grown ever closer. And now…we’ve only three more days.” Mother Via’s voice grew softer toward the end, leaning back on the desperation Alfred had felt amongst the other villagers.
“You mean to say they’ve disbanded completely?!” Marcie exclaimed in shock.
“Well I suppose they still remain living in their temples across the planet, but they send away anyone searching for answers anymore. I’m afraid they’re completely useless. They, like many others, have given up all hope.”
“I understand it might sound like a worthless effort, but Mother, if you can tell me where the closest temple is I would like to speak to these Gazers- as of now it’s the best chance of figuring this out we have.” Alfred allowed the urgency to come out in his voice as he pleaded the woman for information.
The old woman seemed to grow lost in thought for a moment and stared blankly around the room. Then she looked back at Alfred, her eyes glimmering with the small light of a newfound hope.
“Very well, if you insist Rift Resolver. I am not one to interfere with the actions of someone who serves to do right in the Universe such as yourself. I will tell you the way.”
9 The gazers
The rest of the day went by quite quickly. Mother Via told Alfred where he could find the nearest temple of the Gazers. It was a trip that could be made in a single day if one traveled hard. The first part could be traveled on one of the many dirt roads that connected the rural villages in this area of Hemphion. The second half would have to be journeyed on foot, through the woodlands quite some way.
Alfred had made the decision that he would be going alone, taking only Henry who had the directions memorized. Marcie seemed frustrated that Alfred insisted on the others staying behind.
“You don’t know this land- I do!” she had insisted to Al.
“Look Marcie, I know you want to help but Henry has the path in his system and I need you and the others to stay here in case Sham-Bon and his men try anything.”
She still seemed angry but eventually accepted that he was probably right. Alfred had spent the remainder of the day resting and talking amongst the villagers of Bratvia. He soon came to learn that although they seemed a cheerless group now, they had indeed once been a village of great warriors. There had been much unrest and misdirected outrage amongst the nearby villages in the past few years. Many had disbanded into groups of anarchists, angry at the world and their god for the seemingly unavoidable fate they all faced. These radical bands had attempted to break through the walls of Bratvia many times- trying to ravage, steal, and kill everything in sight simply because they believed nothing they did had any true consequences anymore. Abandoned by their god, they assumed they would end up in a hell when it was all over regardless of what they now chose to do with their lives. The villagers had fought them off time and time again- keeping their faith only because of Mother Via and the hope that Marcie would return some day with a way to save them.
As Alfred lay in his bed that evening he thought about something Ardmon had told them over dinner.
“The people in rural villages like ours, those that didn’t turn to hate and anarchy, have always held more faith in the Gazers than our government. Those who lived in the larger metropolises of the planet evacuated when Parliament declared they had no answer for saving the planet. The rest put their faith in the wisdom of the Gazers who believe that if it is truly meant to be the end for Hemphion, the people of the planet were meant to perish along with it. It must seem foolish to an outsider for people to believe that their existence has truly come to an end...but the Gazers have always been right before.”
Alfred lay awake in a room that Mother Via had offered him to stay in that night. There was a skylight above his cot that he watched the light of the moons pour through. There were two of them- Jashi had said they were called Lax and Luts. Alfred looked at them, thinking that they were set to be in just as much peril as the planet they reflected light onto each night.
“I’ve got to find these Gazers. No matter what. The time of these people is not over yet, not if I can help it.” he spoke softly to himself.
As he drifted into a light and troubled sleep that night his last thoughts were not of the people of Bratvia, nor the planet Hemphion, nor even the sun that was fated to explode in two days time. It was the face of a girl- one with long black hair and emerald eyes that drew him in like nothing he had ever experienced before. A girl who had sacrificed her whole life just to try to save her planet and people. Now he would take on that responsibility and sacrifice whatever it took to make things right.
***
Alfred woke early the next morning to the warm rays of the sun pouring in through the skylight. As he got out of bed he thought it strange that a sun so near death looked and felt the same as any other. He showered and dressed quickly in his clothes that one of Mother Via’s helpers had kindly washed and left folded by his bedside. His ears perked at the sound of children laughing, so he decided to walk out into the courtyard to investigate.
In the grassy lawn before him he saw something which he did not expect. The same children who had sat around gloomily the night before were now engaged in a game of catch- throwing around a small shiny metal object.
“Put me down! Stop throwing me! I insist you little mongrels put me down at once!” Alfred recognized Henry’s voice coming from his device, which was currently being tossed high into the air.
Alfred laughed to himself and approached the children.
“Henry, looks like you’ve made some new friends!” he called out.
“Alfred! Please, please tell these children to stop throwing me!” Henry pleaded.
“Alright, alright kids. As much as I like to see Henry getting thrown around a bit, I need him back now for a mission.”
One of the smaller boys approached him, handing Henry over when he got close.
“Is it true you’re a Rift Resolver? And you’ve come to get us a new sun and save us all?” he asked in awe.
“That’s right kid, I’ll see you all back here in a day’s time and Hemphion will be just fine!” Alfred replied, invoking small jumps and cheers amongst the children.
Al Moreno And the Crystal of Gosia Page 8