by Rishi Sriram
narrate to you some of the events happening on this forsaken place. There are
many of you who have resisted to such an extent, by not only using the fallen
Ravas’ weapons against themselves, but as well as creating weapons from
building debris. There are people who have actually broken off pieces of the
roof to create makeshift weapons. This doesn’t mean that the Ravas are going
down, either. I still have one more trick up my sleeve, and after that, I’m
going to have to change things tremendously for the next batches of colonists.
I will implore you to continue to fight, to continue to rebel, and all for my
personal entertainment. You will soon find that it will only bring you
misery.” The voice ended.
A smile crept on Nathan’s face. He had an idea. The announcement had
only encouraged him all the more. There was no point fending off the Ravas
individually. They had been in the wrong all along. They had to stick together
with the other colonists and fight as one. That was their best bet. It wasn’t
going to be easy, but he was determined to get it done. They were going to
start a revolution.
He stood up, facing the others, and spoke: “I have a plan. It’s a last resort
but it’s all I got. We’re going to need to work together with the other
colonists to fight the Ravas. It’s our only chance, and from what this guy is
telling us, they’re quite the formidable people.”
Kara agreed. “I’m with you,” she said. “The odds are better with all of the
other colonists then us standing alone. What do you guys think?” She
directed the question to Nemiah and Emily.
Nemiah nodded. “I think that’s a solid plan. Let’s do it.”
Emily seemed hesitant, but she knew it was the best option. “OK. What
do we have to lose?”
Nemiah responded casually, “Our lives?”
There was an awkward silence, and they chuckled. Picking up a few
packages, Nathan was ready to move. “Alright then, so we’ll move together
and rally up the other colonists. They have no reason to protest—I mean it’s
clear that this is what we have to do to escape.” The others picked up some
resources and they followed behind Nathan. They strolled down the streets
slowly.
Emily wasn’t patient, and ironically enough she was the one who spoke
out. “Yeah, I know I’m injured and all, but this isn’t working. Can we pick up
the pace?”
They hustled through the streets, near broken-down buildings,
construction areas, research sites, and even resource reserves. That was until
they had finally found some people. There was a huddled group of around
forty people up ahead. They noticed the teenagers walking toward them
immediately, and perceived them with apprehension in their eyes. In the
front, there were a few of them who brandished long Litracon planks, as
sharp as a knife at the tip. Directly behind them, they could see three people
who wore the same getup as the Ravas, the complete enhanced equipment,
the paralyzing gun attached to their holster, and they all had hostile looks on
their faces.
Nathan pulled the enhanced gloves off of his hands, and handed them to
Kara. He stretched his hands to his sides and whispered, “Stay back. I’ll talk
to them.” He walked toward the other group carefully; once he was in close
proximity he spoke loudly. “I come with a proposition. My friends and I want
to join ties with you, to help each other take down the Ravas. We are trying
to get all of the other colonists on our side as well. Are you with us?”
“No. It’s a suicidal thought,” a short woman answered from the back.
Nathan was surprised at the quick rejection.
But he persisted. “What other choice do we have—fighting independently
or in small groups will take you nowhere.” His tone tensed further.
“In all honesty you’re just prolonging your deaths. We’re better off
working together than in smaller groups.”
The woman paused, and whispered something into the ears of the people
around. After some silence and thought, they nodded.
“Alright, we’ll do it.”
Nathan smiled at the approval. “Alright then, that’s good to hear.” He
relaxed a little, at how quickly that had worked.
“Do you want to split up or something to find the other colonists?”
“That sounds good, I’ll take my group one direction, and you take yours
the other. We’ll spread the message and be back here shortly.”
Nathan nodded, and walked back to the others. Placing his hand on
Nathan’s shoulder, Nemiah chuckled, “Well said. Brutal, but well said.”
“And now we have to spread the message to everyone else. So we better
get moving.” Both groups split apart from each other, and rapidly searched
for other people. Everyone agreed to join ties, some required a little more
convincing than others, though at the end of the hour; everyone was together
near a secluded field.”
Nathan felt reassured knowing that five hundred other people would be
backing him up, fighting by his side. Before things got dysfunctional and
unorganized, he stepped forward and gathered everyone’s attention.
“I have a simple plan, and that is to destroy the research lab and leave the
colony. I say destroy the research lab because it has proven to be the central
nervous system for the entire colony. It is some sort of a power hub. If we
could destroy all of the dangerous machinery, the Ravas’ drug, and other
things, we increase our chances of finding the mastermind behind all this, and
taking him down. Another thing is, if we could avoid fighting the Ravas I
would, but I know that it isn’t a possibility. I have an antidote for the Ravas.
If I inject it inside them, they should turn back into humans. Although there
isn’t much of it, so I would like to conserve it as much as possible in case we
ever have to make more of it. I have a feeling the Ravas will be coming after
us pretty soon, so I suggest we take the fight to them first, and head to the
research lab.” The other colonists were agreeable, though they didn’t seem
awfully motivated.
He had to raise their spirits, and so he spoke louder: “Come on! Who’s
with me? We can do this, and I know for a fact that each and every one of
you is more than capable of completing our mission. We just have to put our
minds to it. Shall we move?” They responded in a roaring cheer. Weapons in
their hands, equipment on their bodies, motivation bursting through their
souls, they charged onward to the research lab. The Ravas seemed to be
expecting them, and emerged from all around the outside of the research lab.
And hence the final fight began.
The Ravas fired at the colonists, who fired back with whatever guns they
contained. Flanking around the gunners, those armed with Litracon weapons
rushed toward the Ravas and fought wildly. At this point, everyone’s feelings
were bursting, and their compassion had ceased. The only thing on their
minds was to fight, to fight the Ravas and destroy the research lab, by
whatever means necessary. A Rava maneuvered through the battle, came to
&nbs
p; the side of the building, and dug its arm through. The Rava tore off a large
chunk of a Litracon brick, and swung it around like a weapon, keeping
everyone else at bay. And then the Rava threw the layer of Litracon brick at a
row of colonists, sending them flying, buried under rubble.
Nathan’s heart grew heavy, worried that the attack would hurt the
colonist’s morale. So he thundered, “Don’t give up! This is our fight to
rightfully take back our lives! For humanity!” He reared his arms back and
exploded his fists into the chest of a Rava, sending it directly into the front
passageway of the building, making a large opening.
He bellowed, mustering up energy, “Through the opening! This is…our
chance!” He pushed past the other Ravas and ran through them. His
movements were restricted, surrounded by people, enemy and allies alike.
Nathan’s mind was a swirl of disarray, he wasn’t sure what to do, there were
so many things going one at once. Narrowly spotting a Rava, he moved in
quietly and slammed his fist into its face.
It was Pierce, who sneered at him with disgust. This time, Nathan wasn’t
afraid. He tightened every muscle in his body, and slammed his knuckles into
Pierce’s stomach; who wasn’t prepared for the attack. They could barely
move around. Pierce promptly doubled over, clutching at his sides. Nathan
used this moment to his advantage, and rushed through the opening in the
building. The inside of the building was nearly empty, and he bolted down
the halls.
Nathan made it in. He noticed that the other colonists had a sudden boost
in morale, and they began pushing inside as well. Some made it past the
Ravas, while others had been hit by a direct shot from the paralyzing bullets,
falling to the ground in pain. Pushing through the opening, a small group ran
inside and kicked everything around, throwing liquids and other things to the
ground, letting it spread from the floor. They destroyed the lights, tables, and
even the stretchers.
Evading the onslaught, Nathan moved past the other colonists, and
opened the secret door. He moved aside, making way for others to go inside.
They stormed in. He squeezed through the crowd and ran back outside to
check up on the others. There was a row of colonists who took it to
themselves to guard the opening to the building, even as they were repeatedly
shot by the paralyzing bullets. One by one, they went down, and soon the
odds were less and less in their favor. Hiding behind the fallen bodies,
Nathan rose up and fought two Ravas head-on. He was entirely out of breath,
and they could easily overpower him. But things were different now, he felt
stronger, more confident. His instinct was kicking in, and he fought with all
of his might, weaving around bullets and helping other colonists. A bullet
whizzed past his ear. Out of pure instinct, he pushed off the side of the
building, and propelled toward the Rava, knocking it down. Nathan was
entirely focused, nothing could stop him now. That was when he went
berserk, storming at the enemy and taking them down one by one. His attacks
seemed to get stronger and more focused as he moved on. He was determined
to save the people. They had ideally become his people at that point.
In short time, the odds were back in their favor, and the numbers of Ravas
were dwindling, their superhuman strength and other abilities no longer
seemed to have much of an effect. The dome suddenly crackled, and the man
spoke gruffly.
He was furious: “I don’t…believe it.” His voice broke down. He sounded
like his life’s worth had been leveled, and it sort of had been.
Then he quickly recovered, and was back to his usual self.
“I guess it’s time to pull out my final card, the last trick.” They anxiously
fought, fearfully curious as to what was going to happen.
“Technology can do wonders at this time and age. With a simple touch of
a button I was able to send poison gas through your dorm vents. That killed
most of you. And now, with another touch of a button, I can send electricity
from your bracelets, and that should seriously harm the rest of you. It’ll hurt
the Ravas as well, but that doesn’t matter. I’ll just make more of them when
the next batch arrives.” There was a pause and then the current hit Nathan.
The shock wave sparked from the bracelet, and spread across his right arm,
his every muscle tingling. He groaned, his arm was burning, and he could
barely move. He felt his energy leaving his body, and he almost gave up. And
then he remembered everything that was riding on this fight. He thought of
all of the lives that would be lost, because they couldn’t stop the source of the
issue right then. There was no way he was going to let that happens. Surging
together all of his willpower, he braced for the pain, and smashed the bracelet
with his left fist. The enhanced gloves had the needed power required to
destroy the bracelet. The metal cracked, and the tiny pieces fell into a pile.
His arm still hurt, though the electric current was seeping away.
He heard the screaming of the other colonists, as well as the Ravas.
Nathan rushed over to the other six, who were clutching their wrists in
blistering pain. One by one, he held their wrists up and carefully smashed the
bracelets. Now all that was left was the other colonists. He turned to see that
many of the other colonists had already managed to destroy the metal
bracelet, while others still struggled desperately. In the distance, he spotted
one colonist down on his knees, clutching his wrist with all of his might, to
no avail. The burning electricity was scorching his skin, and the colonists fell
to the ground. Dead.
The Ravas dropped quickly, and soon there were only three of them left
who were up against a large horde of colonists. The tides had been reversed.
Ravas or not, they were completely outnumbered, and would be easily
overpowered. They observed the situation and knew that the odds weren’t in
their favor. The Ravas’ eyes suddenly flickered, and they ran away from the
scene. The colonists had won. Victory was theirs; or so they thought. Over
half of the colonists they had started the battle with were already dead, and
the two hundred and fifty remaining were absolutely beat. They could barely
lift a finger, they had given their all in that battle, and it had paid off. The
colonists thought they could finally return home.
Without uttering a word, all of the colonists slowly drifted away from the
research lab, resting as much as they could. An elderly man gathered
everyone’s attention and spoke in a weary voice.
He looked terribly weak, and was covered in blood. “Let’s return to the
landing dock and see if the SS Noah is still there. Maybe we could figure out
how to get it started, en route back to Minneapolis. No one spoke, yet it was
clear that they agreed, as they all started walking toward the landing pad.
Even amidst blistering pain, Nathan smiled a little. He felt like he could
do anything with the help of the other colonists. In a short time, they
approached the landing dock, and to their surprise the shut
tle was still there.
Nathan assumed that the man orchestrating everything didn’t think it was
time to send the shuttle back, considering the resistance the colonists were
putting up.
But the doors were closed. And they could only be opened by a facial
recognition scan from a crew member. Understanding the situation, a crew
member from the back rushed forward and looked directly into the scanner,
which voluntarily made a clicking noise and opened the door. Nathan was the
first person to walk inside, and the people behind him filed in, walking to the
nearest seat. Nathan felt like a large weight had been lifted from his
shoulders, that nothing could stop them now. It was all over, they were sure
that they had won. He rushed toward the door, grasped the handle and pulled
it taut. The pilots weren’t there. There was a strange feeling in the air; Nathan
felt as if he wasn’t the only one there. He walked a little further, turning his
head to the side, and was greeted with a punch to the stomach, sending him
staggering back. The people walking in caught him, and helped him back to
his feet.
In the corner of his eye, a silhouette blew past, and Nathan was picked up
from behind. He heard a deep growl in his ears, and could feel warmth
creeping on his neck, the ends of his hairs sticking up. There was a low snarl
and he was thrown into a clutter of seats. There was a lot of shuffling around
and talking: “What? Ravas? How did they get on the ship?” Kara followed
behind him, and was soon attacked by another one. The three who had run
away snuck onto the shuttle, and now the colonists were being ambushed. He
found it highly doubtful that a Rava other than Pierce was able to understand
that a crew member’s facial scan was required to open the door. That meant
someone from inside had to have opened it.
Gripping the edges of the seat, he pulled himself up, insides feeling
distorted. He had no energy to continue, he was about ready to pass out. Kara
stood up and ran at the enemy, ready to deal a swift kick, but was simply
swatted aside like a wasp. Thrown aside from the attack, she was slammed
into the sides of the shuttle, her back aching.
The colonists were crushed; all of their hope had been crumbled up into a
ball and thrown far away. Resisting the pain, Nathan didn’t give up—his