by Samuel Small
Some sort of primitive instinct led Jake to raise his head. All of his sense flared up and he became aware of his surroundings in a way he’d never encountered before. The position of every person, the feeling of the damp autumn wind against his skin, as well as the distinctive pitch of each and every conversation hit his senses, backdropped by a sharp white noise. He looked around, scared of his own perception, before everything made sense.
Just then the world seemed to explode.
The dull whine of the white noise escalated into a scream of destruction that left his ears ringing. He hunched over and grasped them, then winced upward to see if he could make anything out. Everyone faced north, so he followed them to make out an unreal amount of smoke. And it wasn’t just filling the sky, it raced across the street toward him. He shut his eyes as it enveloped him then coughed and waved a hand over his mouth to clear it. As fast as it had come it dispersed, the only remnant of it being a few trails snaking around his feet.
Once the initial shock had subsided, the crowd of people that filled the street tore away from the smoke. Jake couldn’t blame them exactly, it had to be coming from incredibly nearby, but he had to go in that direction. The crowd of people pushed and shoved against him as they all clamored for escape and threatened to sweep him away. Jake persevered, however, and nudged, elbowed, and wriggled his way through. He managed to get to the other side without being stomped to death and popped out like a freshly laid egg. When he was done exerting all that effort he hunched over, panting.
As Jake drew breath his vision panned upward to the tower that the smoke originated from. “The welcome center?” Jake asked no one in particular. That’s a weird target for an attack, he thought as he stood up straight. But that didn’t matter, he was apparently the only guard patrolling the area today, the only one who could arrive on the scene first. This was his chance. Jake kicked at the concrete and rushed toward that smoking building, no longer eager for the thrill of action but afraid of what he would encounter when he got there.
Upon arrival, Jake could barely make anything out. The building was mostly intact, with the exception being a glaring hole about halfway up. Jake looked to either side to see if he could find any debris, but there were none. He narrowed his eyes at the smashed brickwork and waited for the smoke to change from a thick black to dull gray. He wasn’t certain as the smoke was still thick enough to limit his vision but it looked like the building had melted. Not blown up as if in an explosion, but melted like a candle exposed to a blowtorch. The edges ran downward and looked like some kind of solidified liquid.
Then Jake’s eyes widened. Within the thinning smoke he could see the silhouette of a person. They held some kind of thin square object in both hands, studying it intently. As the smoke cleared more features came into focus: sneakers, blue jeans, orange hair. The thing in the person’s hands was paper. It looked like an unfolded map.
The head dipped down to the map then glanced at something just behind Jake. He turned around to catch their eye but was only met with a green street sign above him. Still, it was unmistakable that it was what the figure was focused on. He looked down to the map then to the street sign. Back to the map. Then the street sign. The map. The sign. The map again.
Finally, he folded the paper calmly and slipped it into their back pocket. After a few seconds of scanning over the area, hands placed on hips, the person directed their attention to the sky. Jake could’ve sworn there was an odd pride to the movement before that person placed a hand to their forehead, titled their head up, and uttered a bellowing, “Awwwwwww fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!”
“What the hell—” Jake began before the person standing in that gaping hole moved once more. He swung his arms back and forth as if gathering momentum. When he squatted and extended a hand out Jake knew what they were doing.
“No, don’t!”
But it was already too late. The person at the top of the tower jumped off the edge, the tails of their green jacket soaring upward as the wind thrashed it. As the body plummeted toward the hard city street Jake thought of the different ways to save him but all were improbable. Catch them? No, that would just get him crushed too. Tackle them just before they hit the ground? How would that break the momentum? Come on, think! Jake clenched his teeth in fear, the body rushing to the ground faster and faster. And the posture wasn’t the plunge of a suicide attempt, the arms were stretched out as if ready to hug the pavement.
Just before they hit the ground the person shot something out of their hands that shifted their momentum, allowing their feet to hit the ground first. It was evident that it wasn’t enough however, as the boy – he could now clearly see that it was a boy – mumbled a few obscenities with his legs bent, an obvious indication that the fall had hurt to some degree. Still, he seemed fine as no more than a second later he began tapping his feet against the ground, apparently checking to see if they still worked. Jake broke from his confusion and approached.
“You know where the hell we are?” the orange-haired boy said.
“Just outside of the welcome center but—”
“The welcome center?” the boy said with a grin. “Irony.”
“What do you mean—” Jake began but the boy shut him up with an extended hand that indicated he should stop talking. It wasn’t the hand that made Jake obey. It was the callous look in the green eyes that were narrowed at him.
“Do you know where the admin thing is?”
“You mean the administrative building? Why do—”
“Yeah, that place. I need to know how to get there, and fast.”
“No, no, no,” Jake said and pointed at the boy. “I’m the one who should be asking you questions. First off, what were you doing up there?”
“Up where?” the orange-haired boy said. Jake pointed to the gaping hole in the building and the boy glanced up at it. “Oh that? I blew it up.”
“Bl-blew—”
“Fuck are you looking at me like that for? You said it was the welcome center, yeah? Well, they didn’t make me feel very welcome.” He scanned Jake’s awestruck face and shrugged. “Your bedhead ass doesn’t look like he knows what he’s doin’. Guess I’ll hafta get my answers elsewhere,” the boy finished and began to walk away. Jake seized the cuff of his jacket. The boy stopped abruptly but didn’t turn to face Jake.
“Destruction of government property on this scale is a felony. You’re under arr—”
As the words left his mouth Jake felt a slight tugging sensation on his shirt. Not as if someone had grabbed it, but like it was full of static. It made him want to hesitate but he couldn’t while effecting an arrest and he put more emphasis on his words. Just before he finished his sentence his body suddenly flew backward. Pain flashed along his spine as he slammed against a building, then fell to his knees. He gripped the concrete as he tried to shake off the impact but the skinned palms, dull throbbing in his head, and pulsing on his raw knees kept him rooted to the spot. His mind flashed to the situation at hand and it all seemed to fade into the background. Jake got to his feet and prepared to give chase to the boy, whose figure was beginning to fade down the street.
“Trainee Jake. Come in, Trainee Jake,” the device on Jake’s hip said.
“Major Miles! I just—”
“Trainee Jake. There’s an enemy at the west gate. You’re to report imm—”
“Major Miles, I just encountered the enemy at the welcome center and talked to him but he got away. I’m going to pursue—”
“That’s impossible, trainee.”
“What?”
“This enemy does not speak.”
Does not speak? Jake became aware of the words, but he wasn’t sure if he mumbled them, shouted them, or thought them in his shock. What kind of an enemy—
“Report to the west gate immediately. You’ll be fine, they go down easy enough.” The box in Jake’s hand clicked, an indication that Major Miles had nothing more to say on the matter. Based on what he said, the enemy there was entirely separate from t
his guy, who might be entirely separate from the rebels. Jake supposed he could just tell the Major when he got there, as the boy was long gone by now.
Still, Jake thought as he glanced up at the hole in the building. The entire thing looked like it had been melted from the inside out, the explosion so hot that some of the debris had been welded to the wall.
I can’t help but be a little worried.
Chapter 2
By the time Jake reached the street by the west gate the area had already been evacuated. Not a single person lined the road and the area was abnormally silent as if time had been frozen.
Then there was a slight disturbance, so slight that Jake ordinarily wouldn’t have been able to hear it. Since everything was muted it reached his ears. There was another and he knew for sure it originated from one of the vacated buildings. Major Miles said the enemy was at the west gate but was it possible that one or more had made it into the city? Jake slowly inched his hand to the sword that lay on his back, ready to pull it out and swing if anything charged out of that building.
But nothing did. The door opened slowly so that Jake knew it was no enemy and Sara stepped onto the street, looking at Jake like she was perplexed by his being there.
“Jake?”
“Hey, I’m supposed to help suppress the enemy. What about you?”
“Make sure that the area is evacuated,” she said with a sigh then dropped to a sitting position on the porch step. Her palm rested against her cheek, raising her skin slightly.
“Well it’s not like he can just throw you into harm’s way, I mean—”
“I know that, but how am I supposed to improve diplomatic relations between our countries if I never do anything of note? As far as everyone’s concerned I’m just a spoiled little princess…”
“Er, I’m sure they don’t think of you that way,” Jake began as he took a step back. He just wanted a status update, not one of her infamous homesick rants. If he didn’t get to Major Miles soon he was bound to get another lecture so he had to end this conversation now. As he mumbled hopeless sympathies, wondering if Sara would get the point and let him be on his way, she shot up. A smile crept onto her lips that would make most guys in the academy’s hearts melt, but Jake knew her well enough to be very suspicious of it.
“Why don’t I come with you to engage the enemy?”
“No way. Major Miles would kill you if you left your post and me for letting you. You’re supposed to make sure nobody’s here so—”
Sara stood up, extending her arms out to the empty street. “You see anyone?”
Jake shook his head.
“They all left. Some rumor about a terrorist attack had them jittery to begin with. Once we said they needed to evacuate they were more than happy to leave.”
“About the terrorist attack…”
“Forget about that rumor! Just let me come with. It’s not like Major Miles is gonna punish you for something I do anyway.”
Jake let out a sigh, knowing that arguing any more would be pointless. The stubborn Sara had made up her mind, so he’d best go along with it before her infamous temper came into play. “Fine, let’s go,” Jake said.
It wasn’t long before they made it to the west gate, a large metal contraption that had already been raised for their exit. Through it, Jake could see the open field that led into a forest. The way was blocked by the silhouettes of guards fighting against something, although it was too far away for him to make out anything for sure. The distance, coupled with the erratic movements of several dozen people fighting, meant Jake couldn’t get a good grip on who or what this enemy was. Their silhouettes looked human enough but something in the way they moved seemed different. Lethargic maybe or—
“Trainee Jake, I see you’ve arrived.” A figure removed itself from the cluster of combat and began to stride toward them. As Major Miles got closer the many badges and medals on the front of his uniform glittered in the sun, leading Jake to turn his head away. When he did, he took notice that Sara’s body was slightly behind his own. It seemed she regretted her decision now that the Major was upon them.
When he reached them Major Miles looked at each in turn, his eyes narrowing further as he went over Sara. He jerked his thumb at the battlefield. “Jake, get in there. Niflheim, you stay with me.”
Jake gave a playful salute to Sara as he ran into the melee. She scowled back at his excited attitude.
From a relatively close distance Jake could make out the creatures the guards fought, although only vaguely. There were a lot of them, each pure white and humanoid in form. Their heads appeared to be bloated, as did the rest of their bodies. There were way more of them than there were guards, but the guards cut through them well enough. As Jake ran to the scene one of the creatures broke from the crowd and hobbled toward him unevenly, one leg dragging behind.
Jake unsheathed his sword. He held it at his side and wound up for an attack before the creature pulled its arm back. It looked like it was trying to lash out a fishing line or something but Jake was sure it wasn’t holding any weapon, so there was no way it’d hit him from this range. Whatever it was it wasn’t very—
The arm suddenly launched forward and began wheeling toward him, stretched out into some kind of whip. Jake clicked his tongue and rolled over his shoulder, being sure to keep the sword within his grip. He heard the thing’s arm snap as got to his feet. The whip-like arm reeled back toward the creature’s extended hand, which seemed to contort at the elbow. Once it hit, the creature’s shoulder jerked back into place. What remained there bubbled and twisted into the bloated shape of the creature’s arm. It looked up and seemed to take Jake in, the sight of which made him take a step back.
Its eyes were nothing but whites, stretched so wide that they took up nearly the entirety of the top of the creature’s head. Its jaw was agape so far that it looked nearly unhinged. Jake could make out no human features through the opening: no teeth, no tongue, no uvula, no indication that this thing ate at all. It looks like a monster straight out of demon mythos, Jake thought. The creature pulled its arm back again, leading Jake to tense up and prepare to leap out of the way.
That pale white whip sailed past Jake, so close that the air that accompanied it ruffled his uniform. Jake’s feet hit the ground and he ran for the creature. This thing was content with striking from a long range but Jake knew how to deal with opponents like that: he’d read plenty of combat books on the subject. All he had to do was close the gap between them, then the whip would be effectively useless.
As he pressed forward the creature’s arm locked back into place and it cast the other out. Jake leapt out of the way but didn’t allow his momentum to halt. He doubted the creature could let out its whip more than twice before he got within striking range. The creature pulled its arm back and Jake was ready: he’d have to dodge as soon as it launched forward. It did, and Jake took the opportunity to transfer his forward momentum into a roll. The whip cut through the air no more than a few inches above him as he got to a crouch and assessed his situation. The creature’s feet were in front of him, bloated toes scratching at the grass.
With a wince Jake rose to his feet and brought his sword up along with him, slicing diagonally through the creature’s torso. The top half flew into the air, those gaping white eyes staring into him. It hit the ground with a thud and bits of it seemed to melt away into an ash-like mist. But that wasn’t due to the fall. The legs, still firmly planted and no more than a foot in front of Jake began to suffer the same fate. It was like a black plague slowly ate away at it, turning every inch of the thing into particles of ash. After no more than five seconds the creature was gone, turned into dust that was carried away by the autumn wind. Jake watched the mass of particles that made up the creature drift away over the tops of the trees.
“Corrupt motherfuck—” Smack! “Fuckheeeeeeaaaaaa—!”
Jake jerked his head to the sound but there was no one he didn’t already recognize. Major Miles was surveying the field, holding hi
s nose like someone had punched him, Sara at his side with a hand on his shoulder. Jake brought his attention from side to side, seeing nothing but the empty field, then he looked up. Above him was the silhouette of a person, still yelling the drawn-out obscenity at everyone and no one. The dark figure landed in the center of the battlefield, where flashes of blue light began to stream out in ferocious shards. Guards were knocked down by the attacks, and the blasts also eliminated several of the pale creatures. Jake started to run toward the field, but Major Miles appeared at his side. He placed a hand on Jake’s shoulder then pointed back to where he came from.
“Trainee Jake, return to Trainee Niflheim. I’ll handle this guy,” he said, then ran toward the combat. Jake could tell his nose was bleeding from whatever that stranger did to him. He wanted to assist but orders were orders. Just before Major Miles disappeared into the chaos of combat he brandished his rapier overhead. Once Jake reached Sara he pointed to the battlefield, which at this point was just a cloud of dust, neon blue energy, and aggressive swearing. “Do you know what that was about?” he asked.
“Um,” Sara said as she folded her arms. “Some guy in a green jacket called Major Miles a corrupt… something, then punched him in the face. Before Major Miles could do anything he looked at the battle and yelled… something, and blasted himself way up into the air. I think you know what happened after that.”
The description and the profanity, coupled with the brash attitude and quickness to lash out. Jake glanced over his shoulder at the cloud of dust and smoke. “It couldn’t be, could—”
The boy from earlier twirled out of the cloud, landing only a few feet in front of Sara and Jake. With his absence the shroud of smoke dwindled, the last of it swept away by a soft wind. Major Miles stood in the center of the field, holding his rapier at the ready. The limp bodies of guards lay all around him.