by Phoebe Nix
Jocelyn could see herself at this very moment, as if she was watching from above. She could see the veins on her skin turning purple, her face flaring crimson as she rocked back and forth in pain.
Am I dead?
And although she was still in pain, still feeling the swaying and squirming of her body against the floor, she could somehow see herself getting up. She looked like she was no longer in pain. She said something to Fareej and pointed ahead, seemingly gesturing to the seats that had been in front of their eyes all along.
She looked frantic and excited as she walked toward the seats and sat on one of the seats in the middle.
“Human girl!” he called out as her vision faded into real-time.
His face was an inch away from hers. Jocelyn could see his pores, every line in his face, and feel the warmth of his breath on her skin. She threw her head the other away as the pain slowly subsided, and she could finally take a breath.
“I…have…a…name,” she mumbled in intermittent breaths as she pushed herself off the floor, her knees wobbling as she rose to her feet.
“What did you see?” Fareej inquired, suddenly disinterested in her wellbeing.
“An end to the war,” Jocelyn breathlessly muttered, staggering toward the seats across the control panel.
Just like her vision, she paced to the theater seats and bent down to check if there was a hidden door underneath. She pursed her lips in a pout, trying to give the seat a shove from all possible angles, while Fareej tried to do the same from the other side.
“Now what?” Fareej was shaking from excitement. “Nothing is working. Why isn’t anything in your visions working?”
Jocelyn furrowed her brows as she took slow steps closer to the fourth seat from the left.
“Maybe it’s something I can see from this angle,” she said in a whisper as she thought to herself.
Fareej let out a frustrated sigh. “I think I’ll fly back to the palace. You can come with me if you wish, or you can live the rest of your days in this city if you like it so much.”
“Wait!” Jocelyn pleaded. “There must be a way,” she huffed slamming her hand on the armrest.
Her eyes widened as she shook the armrest gently before wrapping her fingers around it and lifting it upwards like a lever.
The walls and floor began quivering, dust falling in trails from the ceiling.
“What have you done?” Fareej shouted over the sound of the seemingly collapsing building.
A section of the wall and floor where the theater seats were nailed spun to fling Fareej and Jocelyn into a hidden chamber. Strong fluorescent lighting flickered from white to blue, burning her eyes in retinal mayhem. She shielded her side with an arm and groaned, slowly peeking to see what hid behind that wall.
Jocelyn couldn’t stop blinking as she tilted her head far back, her eyes running along the wall which travelled upwards into infinity. The light stopped flickering, and all she could see was a bright light surrounding her.
“Where on Lookar are we?” Fareej said from behind. “Is this what you saw?”
Jocelyn shook her head. “No.” She was as confused as he was.
The room looked spacious until Jocelyn bumped into the wall when she moved a couple of feet to the right, then once more when she moved to the left. She traced her fingers along the slits in the walls, trying to find an exit. Her hand stopped at something squared, and her lips curled in a grin.
“Found it,” she said.
“Found what?” Fareej snapped, firmly clasping her shoulders to pull her back from the walls. “Find a way out of here. Is this a trap?”
She freed herself from his grasp and walked back to the device, lightly pressing her fingers on the scanner.
Jocelyn slowly blinked as a gentle breeze emitted from the ground, levitating her a few feet from the floor. It was reminiscent of that day she was sucked into the wormhole, when she felt herself freefalling indefinitely, but it wasn’t as terrifying; in fact, it was liberating. It only lasted a few seconds, but the air flow slowly lessened until she descended back to the floor.
The white light dimmed until the dimensions of the walls surrounding them were visible. The room was empty, save for a support stand ahead of them where an artifact was erected.
“What is that?” Fareej asked.
“It’s the monolith,” Jocelyn said softly. “It’s the monolith from my vision.”
“But you said it was a building.”
“I assumed it was,” she replied, heading to the stand. She tried picking up the object, which looked like an incomplete construction model, but it was secured to the stand. She pulled it toward her with one hand and felt it move. Grabbing it with the other hand, Jocelyn pulled the lever, which slid open one of the floor tiles in the room, revealing a basement.
“Now it looks like my visions,” Jocelyn whispered, mesmerized by how surreal this all felt.
Fareej quickly followed her.
The basement was cloaked by complete darkness, except for a faint blue light emitting from a computer screen. Jocelyn was relieved that she had finally found something she could recognize.
“Finally! An actual keyboard,” she shouted, rushing to the device.
Fareej was silent as he watched her frantically swatting the keys, her gaze darting from the screen to the keyboard.
“I think, Fareej,” she said, continuing to browse through the settings on the screen. “this is how you save a Vogel city,” she declared before pressing enter.
A muffled whirring sounded in the basement, before the basement lit up one section after the other, revealing an underground navigation room. Flat screens lined the round walls, underneath which were control boards with swivel chairs for seats. Ahead of them were massive glass rooms displaying spaceships of different shapes and sizes, some of them as small as a drone, others as humongous as the spaceship that sent Jocelyn to Lookar.
Jocelyn grinned proudly as she regarded the technology of her people. It hadn’t all been demolished as they had thought, and perhaps even if it had been found, the current human generation would have no clue on how to utilize them.
With her hands brushing her waist, as she took a few steps back to admire her surroundings, jerking as she bumped into Fareej, who was standing right behind her.
As she turned around, she felt the sharp tip of his sword precisely at her throat.
Chapter 23
Karlol had already lost many of his men before the battle began.
The words of his father echoed at the back of his head, but he couldn’t find it in him to take his guards and flee. His people were already threatened by extinction, and if he cut and run, it would mark the end of their species.
The birds that shielded them were shot down, their feathers strewn across the grassy ground beneath him. Although it was challenging for a human to launch an arrow straight to the eye, it was equally difficult for Vogels to evade when they found themselves flying through a swarm of sharp weapons launched in their direction.
Many of his men had already perished before they plummeted to the ground, others were injured and killed on the battlefield.
He felt the warm blood of his men on his talons as he discreetly descended behind a tree, his guards at his sides. He leaned to the side to take a peek before he flew forward, wincing at the dozen heads that were scattered around him. The grass was now stained in crimson. The anguished screeching of his men blended with the cries of battle, making the ground shake. He could feel the vibrations of his people’s agony running through his veins, and it at first struck him with shock, but it quickly welled up into an unrelenting ball of fury burning in his chest, begging to be unleashed.
The Prince glanced at Lore, who nodded at him, letting him know she was ready to back him up. Drawing his sword, he spread his wings and darted ahead, knocking down tens of human as he whipped his wings strongly enough to send them flying across the forest.
In the distance, he could see Narmer eyeing him with a grin, impat
iently awaiting the victorious moment he would collect the Prince’s head and wings. Before Narmer launched at him, Karlol ascended, spinning in the air to repel the many arrows shot his way. A dozen or so Vogels swirled around him, sending ripples only strong enough to make the hundreds of spears swerve into another direction.
Karlol could already see the sense of defeat in the eyes of his men. He closed his eyes, shutting out the deafening screams and clashing of metal to compose himself. He felt a hand grasping his shoulders.
“Karlol,” Lore’s voice said. “We need to go down there before we lose our men.”
The Prince nodded. This was the first time he’d ever led a battle, and the result was nearly a half of his battalion already dead. The stench of blood permeated through the air. He glanced beneath him, spotting Narmer and Lia, striking their swords through the flesh of his men. Some of the human soldiers stomped on his men’s injured limbs, fascinated by how quickly they healed. Vogels were restrained and tortured, their wings severed.
Karlol pursed his lips, signaling to his surviving men with a whistle to disperse and perform a repelling spin. They all exchanged glances, perplexed by his command, but nodded. Karlol bent his knees, and as he kicked himself in the air, he cocooned himself with his wings, twirling fast enough to be seen as a white pillar. Any arrows shot their way were not repelled, but broken in half.
This was a dangerous stunt, as it was draining for a Vogel. The winged species were designed to be able to fight for days on end, and this would cut their stamina in half. The battalion followed their leader’s lead, and it went on for what seemed like an hour until their enemies seemed to give up.
Vogels then dispersed and landed back on the branches. An arrow and a spear were launched here and there, but nothing they couldn’t easily evade. The humans had run out of resources and were now compelled to fight with their swords.
Karlol shot Darneel a glance. His guards were now smiling and his men seemed to be more confident.
Karlol sent another signal, commanding his men to avoid attacking in groups. Just as the humans had surprised them with this ambush, Vogels descended in breakneck speed, snatching the weapons of their enemies and tossing them across the forest. Other Vogels flew in duos, severing dozens of human heads in a flash before they flew back up to safety.
The humans were now frantic and seemed to panic. Karlol’s eyes scanned the ground to search for Lia and Narmer, but they were nowhere to be found. It seemed they had retreated to a hiding spot, or had perhaps fled the battlefield. But from where he stood, he would see them running in the distance. He didn’t.
Lore led a group of five, commanding them to keep the humans distracted, focusing entirely on tiring them out before the Vogels descended into the battlefield. Hundreds of humans were killed, but more were called.
“Stay here,” Darneel authoritatively said, gesturing for Karlol to stay hidden on the sequoia tree.
“Where’s Lore?”
“Doing her job,” the guard swiftly responded.
“And Lia?” Karlol added.
Darneel shrugged, scanning the field beneath him. “I haven’t seen her in a while. I think she might have fled.
“We would see her fleeing from where we now stand. She’s still down there, hidden somewhere.”
“Do you want me to search for her? And do you want her dead or alive?” Darneel asked casually, as though asking him how he liked his tea.
“No, stay here. And I didn’t want Lore in the battlefield either. Not yet,” he said with concern in his tone.
“Here she is!” Darneel shouted, gesturing to his sister who landed beside them. All five of the Vogels she led flew to safety.
Lore shook her head. “More of them keep coming, but they’re easier to kill without their flying weapons.”
Karlol nodded. “We cannot wait for more of them to come.”
“We’re doing our best to take them down,” Lore replied. “A hundred-and-twenty-three of our men still live.
Karlol seemed to pay no heed to her report as his gaze travelled to the palace in the distance. “Are they still down there?”
“Anyone who was is now dead,” she lamented.
“We need to head to the Palace, then.”
“The battle,” Darneel protested.
“If I can’t find Lia, I’m going straight to their King. I’ll lead everyone to the courtyard.”
Before Lore and Darneel could declare the new plan in decrypted whistles, Karlol felt a sharp, burning pain to his left wing, which reverberated in every vein of his body. His vision was suddenly cloudy before he witnessed a trail of hurtling green and brown. His other wing flapped reflexively, slowing down his descent.
In the distance, he could hear Lore and Darneel shouting his name. The Vogels who had suddenly been confident of winning were now frantically calling out for him in lamenting whistles, many of them foolishly descending to save him.
“No!” Karlol groaned. “Stay up there!”
He pushed himself up to his knees, and felt a sharp pain threatening his nape.
“Fareej never said it would be this easy,” Lia said through a wicked laugh, her sword poking at his nape.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Jocelyn spat, her body trembling and her vision hazed by the blinding reflection that bounced from the sword to her eyes. “I’m not your enemy, Fareej. I’m here to help your people.”
“You don’t care about my people,” Fareej bellowed. “All anyone ever cares about is power. And that is what you seek.”
“I’m not here for power, Fareej. The King said I’m the savior, I’m here to guide, not lead,” Jocelyn said as calmly as she could.
“You think you can guide Vogels? A species far more superior than your feeble race?” he scoffed.
“I can guide you because I’m human. I know more about my people than you do. I know their weaknesses. I can help you,” she gulped. “I promise you that I am no traitor.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” Fareej said, twisting his sword and pushing the tip a little to her throat.
A trail of blood fell down her neck. He had only pierced the surface of her skin, but she felt like she was seconds away from death, which made the surface cut unbearable. She gasped through her teeth, her chest heaving and her pupils dilating.
Fareej smiled at her pain. “I believe you,” he said through a grin. “But I don’t want your help.”
“Your people do,” she briskly replied, her voice faltering.
“My people need a better leader. I was the one to save them. The whole species would have been extinct by now if it weren’t for me,” he proudly said. “Our leaders have valued a vague idea of peace over our own safety, and look where that got us. We should have killed the humans the moment they landed here when we were greater in numbers. I’m not going to wait until we make that same mistake again.”
“And I can’t agree with you more. Kill them all if you have to,” Jocelyn shook her head.
“Did I prompt you to speak?” Fareej hollered.
Jocelyn took a few steps back, Fareej following until she hit the control board across the wall.
“I won’t kill them,” Fareej intoned. “Why kill them when you can control them? Seems to be a much smarter strategy, no?”
“I don’t understand,” Jocelyn sighed.
“Two paths, Jocelyn,” Fareej said.
Jocelyn felt her heart sink in her chest. The Oracle had warned her about the alternate fate. The corrupt leader was not human – it was Fareej.
“The Oracle has spoken to me as well, Jocelyn. Years ago. So you must already know that I, as a leader, will be the most colossal change Lookar will ever see.”
Jocelyn heaved a sigh. She could finally put the pieces of the puzzle together, but feared it was too late. She glanced beside her, scanning the keys on the board in hopes to find an exit. One of the panels between the slits comprised switches with engraved labels.
“The most colossal indeed,” J
ocelyn said. “But it’s not necessarily the best for Lookar.”
“I know it’s certainly much safer than being in the hands of a human,” he replied.
Jocelyn glanced at the panel again. Her eye fell on one of the switches, which was labelled Area 24. The hallway on her left was labelled Areas 1-9, ahead of her gave entrance to Areas 10-19. She didn’t look to her right, but knew exactly where to run.
Those years of running marathons better pay off, Jocelyn. Now you have to outrun a flying Vogel.
“So what now? You kill me?” Jocelyn asked to stall.
“Not unless you tell me how all of this works. Then you’ll be honored as the future King’s advisor.”
“Alright then,” Jocelyn nodded.
Fareej’s grin faded, suspicious of her sudden approval.
“But I have conditions,” she continued, trying her best to think of random things. “I must live in the Palace and have the most spacious room there. More spacious than yours. And I want a Jacuzzi and the latest gaming console that humans have invented.”
Fareej’s expression wavered. “Whatever you say.”
“And that sword is starting to irk me,” she gulped.
Fareej stepped back, sliding his weapon in his scabbard. “My apologies.”
“The lesson starts now of course,” Jocelyn said. “If you want to rule this planet, then we have to teleport to that battlefield before everyone’s dead and there’s no one to rule but ourselves.” She turned around to wink. “Then what would be the purpose of this whole arrangement?”
“Correct,” Fareej nodded.
Jocelyn plodded to the panel labelled Display Rooms, running her finger under the label. “Do you know what this reads?”
“I don’t speak your language, human,” Fareej said. “I can only understand you because-”
“I know,” Jocelyn grinned. “I was just making sure. This here, says Human Spaceships. My guess is, they originate from our biggest city on our planet, Human. Much like Vogel, but instead of trees, it’s spaceships.”
I need to get him further.
Fareej nodded as he patiently listened to her seemingly educational lecture.