《Fallen World (The Dark Enemy)》


 Chapter 1: Fallen World

    The sky on Earth was said to be blue, but Xavier didn¡¯t really believe it. He¡¯d tried for a long time to picture a blue roof stretching out over the horizon, but it seemed ridiculous to him. Why would the sky be any different to the green of Vermasse?


    Not that many had ever seen Vermasse¡¯s true sky, but Xavier had. It had broken through the clouds like small lasers. It was something he would never forget. He had climbed Venendi¡¯al mountain many times since in the hope of seeing that brilliant green once more. He shot a glance at the gray clouds above and furrowed his brow. Today would not be the day.


    Drifting his eyes down the mountain, he took in the town below. A thousand small domes sprouted from the valley floor. Somewhere down there his parents would be working, whilst his sister started her morning at the academy. Instinctively he looked over at the great collection of curves and spheres that was Vermasse academy and a moment of guilt took him.


    His classmates would likely be studying cybernetic systematization about now. Or something equally boring. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head slightly at the pointlessness of it all. He, nor anyone else in his class, ever had, or ever would see any sort of deep space communication arrays. There was a communication hub on Vermasse, of course, but it was only ever operated by outsiders. Men and women who would come for a year at a time and then depart as hastily as possible. Vermasse was a dumping ground for the sub-par. Those who were destined for mediocrity and needed to be stashed away somewhere on the outskirts of human space.


    He didn¡¯t blame the spacers for not wanting to stay on Vermasse. He didn¡¯t want to stay on Vermasse. It was just too boring. With ninety-five percent of the planet being uninhabitable, the entire world was one small community. Xavier reckoned every single living person on Vermasse was currently in his field of view.


    He sighed and adjusted his body, placing his arms behind him he leaned back, determined to enjoy the quiet whilst he still could. He knew his parents would find out he had missed class again. Sooner, rather than later most likely. And they would be angry. Again. He debated making up an excuse but dismissed the idea. The truth would be better. Xavier was old enough for a posting in the military or even to serve on a galactic runner. That¡¯s what he would tell them. That he wanted off Vermasse. And they will say no, said a voice in his head. He swore out loud.


    Not for the first time he considered just boarding the next ship to dock on Vermasse. The Union ships wouldn¡¯t take him, but there were others. Xavier had seen them. Bulky cargo vessels and smaller merchant craft came to Vermasse for the kulit crop that grew so easily on the planet. Cramp began to build in his arms, and he leaned forward, staring out over the valley once more.


    Even as he saw the town, he knew he would never be able to escape it. The Union monitored the movements of every citizen on Vermasse. Even now his absence from the academy was likely being uploaded to the town¡¯s Daylog. He picked up a loose stone and threw it, watching it arc into the air before spinning out over the ledge and disappearing completely. He wondered idly if the Union even monitored the movement of the planet¡¯s stones, before laughing bitterly at the absurdity of it all. Digging his fingers into the rocky soil, he sent a shower of smaller pebbles trailing over the edge. If life in the Union meant a life on Vermasse, then he would leave the Union he resolved. Or more likely the Union would disown him when they learned of all the classes he had missed. He smirked. They probably didn¡¯t even know he existed. His sister was the prize, not he.


    He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device. ¡°Protean,¡± his voice sounded strangely hollow in the light mountain air. ¡°Bring up the record for Nuria Albion.¡± Almost immediately the Protean unfolded into a hand-held tablet and a freckled face beneath messy blond hair flashed before his eyes. Her pale skin was a stark contrast to the light brown he shared with most of Vermasse¡¯s other settlers, but her school record was what really set her apart. Genius. Exemplary. Generational. The superlatives leaped out at Xavier and he suppressed a feeling of jealousy. Just as his school record had gradually slipped, his sister¡¯s had only improved. With a flick of his fingers, he dismissed the Protean before re-pocketing it.


    He sent another stone tumbling down the mountain and breathed in deeply. With the fresh air in his lungs he closed his eyes and thought back on happier times. A time when his sister and best friend would have joined him on his climb. Nuria jabbering excitedly about her latest classes.


    ¡°Hey Xav, did you hear about Colm? The garden planet, they called it! No? What about Palosia? It¡¯s like Colm, but my instructor told me¡­.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t care about Colm,¡± Bellec would interrupt with a wink. ¡°He only goes to class for Alau¡­¡±


    Xavier could never retaliate. Thoughts of Alau made his mind go blank and his mouth dry. Her big white teeth and welcoming smile were the only reason he bothered with class, and he hated that Bellec knew it.


    He opened his eyes and turned back to the clouds, willing them to disappear, to see the sky behind them and the stars even beyond that. There was adventure out there, he just had to find it. Puffing his cheeks, Xavier blew out some air, watching the thin cloud of mist. He followed it up into the air, arching his neck as he did so. He froze. Pushing a hand to his brow he squinted. The cloud he had been watching only a few moments before was moving!


    It shifted, bulging and warping like nothing Xavier had ever seen. He found himself holding his breath. His heart beat faster in his chest and he risked a glance back into the valley. Even there the cloud was breaking. A thrill of anticipation ran through him.


    Rising to his feet, Xavier waited. And then waited some more. His brow creased. Was the cloud getting darker? This isn¡¯t right, a voice in his mind warned. He ran a hand over his shaved head, just as the cloud exploded outwards. A great block of deep black emerged from its insides. Xavier took an involuntary step back as the shape grew larger and larger. A ship! he realized. What the Pasht was a ship that big doing on Vermasse?


    As more and more of the vessel emerged from the cloud, Xavier was able to make out the giant markings engraved across a hull of contorted black. Oh no. He swallowed. His breathing rose and, eyes wide, he stared fearfully down into the valley. Somewhere down there his parents, friends, and sister were all blissfully unaware of the terror slowly revealing itself above them.


    He cried out, fear twisting his voice into an animalistic scream. He tried to urge himself forward, but his legs refused to move. The huge behemoth and fear it inspired locked him in place, and all he could do was watch as the ship grew larger. He tried to blink away the horrifying truth, but with every passing second the craft became more and more real.


    The Vruhr had arrived on Vermasse.


    With a trembling hand, Xavier pulled the Protean from his pocket and held the device to his mouth. ¡°Telescope. Twenty magnitude.¡± It was an effort to voice the words.


    The device quickly adjusted, turning itself into a small circular tube which Xavier attached to the side of his head, pulling the Protean¡¯s lens down over his eye. Vermasse¡¯s town grew larger and clearer until it was as if he were standing in its streets. He could make out the townspeople, see individual expressions turn to horror. A burning ache flared within him, as if his heart had become lodged in his throat.


    At that moment the valley-wide warning was triggered. An alarm sounded in the back of Xavier¡¯s mind, soft, urgent and repeating. Just as it would be for all Vermasse¡¯s citizens. A second later the protective dome was fired. A wall of blue rose over the valley.


    As the shield flared to life, he held his breath, hoping it wouldn¡¯t be too late. The perimeter of the dome spread from a dozen different locations, attempting to converge in on itself at a central point. Xavier knew that, in practice, a defensive dome should be up within no more than four-point-three seconds. Just as Vermasse¡¯s would have were it not for the giant vessel obstructing its progress.


    Maybe, he thought, the Vruhr will flee from the dome¡¯s current before it strikes their ship. The hope was extinguished almost immediately. Rather than avoid the shield, Xavier watched as a white belt of energy pulsated around the ship. He stood, hopeless, as a great charge left the Vruhr destroyer and struck at Vermasse¡¯s primary source of defense.


    ¡°Please, no,¡± he whispered.


    A moment later, a huge wave of power ripped through the dome. A bright light flared, forcing Xavier to look away. Turning back, he watched in despair as the shield sent out one last defiant ripple, before collapsing in on itself. The light faded away and for a merciful moment, all was still. Then the Vruhr guns opened fire.


    ¡°NO!¡± With a shout, Xavier launched himself into a run. ¡°Protean! Drone mode!¡± Almost immediately, a small ball of whirring electronics detached itself from the headset Xavier wore, shooting up into the sky. The images it sent back to Xavier¡¯s eyepiece were scenes of chaos.


    One eye focused on the terrain in front of him, he skipped over rocks, loose pebbles rolling out from under his feet. In his drone eye, he watched as Vermasse¡¯s automated defense guns whirred to life, firing upon the great ship in silent, rhythmic defiance. Xavier knew it was a hopeless gesture. The guns were a left-over relic from more than a century ago. They weren¡¯t designed to combat a ship as large and advanced as the hulking Vruhr vessel. Despite it all, Xavier hoped.


    Please. He repeated the single word in his mind, a mantra that followed his frantic descent.


    By now the Vermatian garrison were in the streets, their deep blue and white uniforms easily identifiable in the crowds. They did their best to regain some control over the mob of people, directing them to the Union cantonment or the Vermatian academy, the two largest and strongest buildings in the area. They were just starting to have some success in instilling order when the first Vruhr soldiers touched down on the ground. Immediately, they brought up their powerful weapons. Xavier came to a halt, watched horror-struck as living, breathing people were cut down under the Vruhr barrage. He wanted to look away, to tear off the headset but fear gripped him too tightly. People Xavier had walked past, maybe even shared a few sentences with, were rounded up. He watched as one fell into the mud, another tossed effortlessly into a huddled group. Fear and death ran rampant.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The Vruhr assault was met with return fire as Vermasse¡¯s few soldiers made to intercept the invaders. The planetary defense guns, having made no impact on the great ship, instead turned on the Vruhr soldiers. Energy beams tore up chunks of earth and limbs alike.


    ¡°Come on!¡± shouted Xavier, as Vruhr now began to fall. He stumbled again as his attention was caught entirely by the unfolding battle. Cursing, he righted himself and turned his uncovered eye back to the mountain path. But still, the augmented horror that the drone showed him hovered over his vision.


    He grit his teeth as more and more dropships fell from the sky, disgorging legions of the enemy. He saw one brave security guard lose his left arm to an explosion, before taking down an enemy combatant with a shot from his rifle. The man¡¯s victory was short-lived as a great Vruhr warrior tore the man¡¯s head from his body with a single swipe from a wickedly bladed weapon. The pulsing edge tore through muscle and bone with ease. Xavier ordered the drone to look away.


    A host of emotions battling for control, he breathed in deeply. Remember your training! He screamed at himself. He could hear some of the lessons taught to him by his martial instructors. If you rush, you die.


    He ran faster.


    The base of the mountain grew closer and Xavier began to slow. Coming to an overhanging ledge, he dropped to his stomach and crawled to the edge. Lifting the headset from his eye, he scanned the bottom of the mountain for any sign of movement. Satisfied it was quiet, he locked the headset back into place over his eye. The drone above was still sending images and he called it back, instead choosing to use the Protean¡¯s telescopic lens.


    Attempting to focus on the laboratory where his parents would be, Xavier¡¯s attention was instead drawn to a single human, cloaked in a heavy coat. The figure held a narrow alley against a group of oncoming Vruhr. Behind the lone soldier, Xavier saw a huddle of people running to a temporary safety. Turning back to the man in the coat, Xavier was amazed to see him gone, where he had been standing were instead the bodies of three dead Vruhr.


    He wanted to cheer the small victory, but everywhere else was a slaughter. Those who weren¡¯t dead and dying were being rounded up in their scores. He looked away, calming his breathing he tried to collect his thoughts.


    He had to get to his family. Nuria would be closer, he knew. The academy on the eastern side of the valley was only a few kilometers away. And then it would be only a few more kilometers to his parents¡¯ laboratory. A few kilometers and a few thousand Vruhr.


    Think Xavier! He studied the Vruhr closely, trying to see some pattern in the chaos. He tried to recall everything he knew about the Vruhr, but it wasn¡¯t much. Despite the ongoing war, all reports stated the Vruhr rarely ventured outside of their own space, preferring to defend their borders with brutal efficiency.


    ¡°Clearly those reports were fucking wrong,¡± Xavier swore loudly. He adjusted his lens, zooming in on a group of Vruhr apart from the rest. It was unnerving, seeing one so close and Xavier had to fight off the urge to zoom back out.


    He had seen Vruhr before, in holo-simulations at the academy. They had become a myth to the giddy group of teens enrolled in the Union¡¯s security program. Something to scare each other with, tell stories at nighttime when the dark was closing in. Xavier never thought he would see one in the flesh. He found they were the same and yet somehow much more than the images he had seen. More imposing. Terrifying.


    Their armor was blacker than a Vermatian nightfall. Yet some of the soldiers wore no helmets, revealing charcoal black skin and cloudy green eyes. He zoomed in yet further, noting the thin, almost delicate translucent lines that traced their hairless faces and the strange colored markings they bore. The Vruhr he was watching pointed. Xavier followed the direction of the long, thin appendage.


    The laboratory! The alien pointed at the laboratory! A deep dread threatened to root him once more but he leaped to his feet with a burst of energy. Scanning the battlefield, he watched as the Vruhr battalions began to regroup and descend on Vermasse¡¯s science facility. Panic wrapped a tight fist around his chest.


    He had to warn his parents somehow. But how? The Vruhr were everywhere and his planet-wide communicator was in the academy.


    ¡°You idiot, Xavier! You pasht-loving idiot!¡± He raged at himself, furious that his desire to escape the academy had led to him not taking the one device that might allow him to help his family.


    Despair threatened. He forced it back.


    Think! Xavier knew the mountain trails better than anyone but, even if he could get into the town, it would be impossible to move unseen. And he would be useless as he was; alone and unarmed.


    He needed a weapon. He scanned his Protean over the valley. The academy, he saw, was still relatively unharmed by the invaders. If he could get there, he could not only get to Nuria but also a weapon. Even now he imagined the military recruits equipping themselves from the weapons¡¯ training armory. He thought of Bellec. His friend would already be wherever the guns were, he knew. If he could get to Bellec and Nuria, maybe they could find a way out of this. He looked back, involuntarily, at the behemoth in the sky. Still more dropships disgorged hordes of Vruhr streaming through the town.


    There would be a way. There had to be a way.


    He closed his eyes, said a quick prayer, and opened them just as the explosion lit up the valley. The light pierced his skull first, then the noise rolled over him as a cloud of black and fire erupted from the earth. Skull pounding and his eyes streaming Xavier clawed at the lens, yanking it from his face. His vision a stream of bright lights, like bursting stars behind his eyelids, Xavier fell to his knees.


    And then he kept falling.


    He felt the air seething, hissing around him and he screamed. He hit the ground and then everything fell into a merciful black.


    Xavier opened an eye. Then another. His vision was blurry, his eyes full of moisture. He struggled to focus on the stars above him. They seemed close. Too close.


    Stars?


    Awareness slowly filtered back. There were no stars. The glowing lights came into focus as a robotic face stared back at him. He made to scream, but an armored hand clamped onto his mouth. He struggled and kicked but the Vruhr holding him was too strong. Blind panic overwhelmed him, and he clawed at the arm manically.


    Suddenly a voice. ¡°Stop it, kid.¡± Human? Did the Vruhr have language translators? Why hadn¡¯t they killed him already? He squeezed his eyes shut.


    ¡°Kid. Kid!¡± The voice became a loud whisper. ¡°Look at me, damnit.¡±


    ¡°He thinks you¡¯re one of them, Isais,¡± said a second voice. Deeper than the first. ¡°Your helmet.¡±


    Helmet? Xavier opened his eyes and focused on the robot in front of him. The front of the robot disappeared to be replaced by a pair of eyes. Then the entire helmet withdrew in on itself and Xavier found himself looking at the face of a man.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± the man spoke.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Relax. We¡¯re the good guys.¡±


    ¡°The Union is here? The army is on Vermasse?¡±


    ¡°Not quite the whole army.¡± The man laughed. ¡°It¡¯s just us. But trust me, we¡¯re enough.¡±


    Xavier pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked around at his surroundings. He could hear movement but struggled to make out anyone in the darkness. He tried to put together a time frame. It was dark already, but then on Vermasse that was the norm. He twisted his head, scanning his surroundings for some sort of reference. Usually, the city¡¯s lights and sun-gens would create an aura of daylight. But many of those lights had gone, leaving a growing black on the landscape. He reached for his Protean but saw it had been destroyed in the fall. The wave of anger and pain that had been threatening for so long boiled over and he cried out in frustration, tossing the useless device at the floor.


    ¡°Calm down. At least no bones were broken. Ladislav here already checked you out.¡± The soldier flung a gloved hand behind him, but Xavier couldn¡¯t see who he pointed at.


    Isais saw his confusion and shouted into the night. ¡°Ladislav, glasses!¡±


    Someone in the darkness grunted and Xavier saw something flash through the air. Isais caught the item and handed it to Xavier. He put the glasses on and suddenly the world around him became a little more visible, the glasses¡¯ night-vision giving a dull light to his surroundings. Xavier could make out Isais and another man, standing behind him tall and imposing.


    ¡°What did you see? Can you tell us what happened here?¡±


    Xavier considered the question and used the time to study the two men. The first, Isais, was slim but everything about the man''s athletic frame screamed speed and power. The second soldier was perhaps the largest man Xavier had ever seen. Both men were encased in armor, though to Xavier¡¯s eye it was difficult to tell the color. It seemed to constantly shift between black and gray and deep green. The men were armed, too. Heavily. Xavier lost count of the number of gun handles and blade hilts melded into the men¡¯s suits. Whoever they were, they weren¡¯t from Vermasse. That much was obvious.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± he whispered again.


    ¡°Enough. Time is of the essence here. The Vruhr attacked your planet. There was an explosion. Now we¡¯re here. Fill in the gaps. What happened? What do you remember?¡±


    ¡°They attacked the town. My family are still there, you have to help me get to them!¡± He pushed himself to his feet, as memories began to flood back.


    ¡°One step at a time,¡± Isais said.


    Something, the night air perhaps, caused Xavier to shiver.


    ¡°What else can you tell us?¡± This time Ladislav spoke.


    ¡°If I tell you, will you help my family?¡± Xavier pleaded.


    ¡°We¡¯re not here to make bargains.¡± There was a flatness to Isais¡¯ tone when he spoke.


    ¡°They came out of nowhere.¡± Xavier was careful to keep his voice calm. ¡°They landed in the town. Hundreds of them. Thousands maybe. They killed¡­they killed¡­people. Lots of people.¡±


    ¡°We know that. Do you know what they were looking for? Did you see anything strange, something that could help us?¡± Isais pressed.


    Xavier pictured again the tall, helmetless Vruhr. Saw once more the dark skin and long limbs as it stretched towards...


    ¡°The laboratory,¡± Xavier whispered. Then louder. ¡°They centered on the laboratory. Whatever they want is there.¡±


    There was a slight glance from Isais towards Ladislav, and Xavier saw something unspoken pass between them.


    ¡°OK.¡±


    Ok. That one little word gave Xavier a fluttering of hope.


    ¡°Do you think you can get us there?¡± This time it was Ladislav that spoke.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Xavier responded immediately. ¡°My parents work there.¡±


    A look flashed across Isais¡¯ face then, but before Xavier could understand it, the look was gone. He was left wondering if he had merely imagined it.


    ¡°What are their names?¡± Isais asked.


    ¡°What?¡± Xavier responded, puzzled by the unexpected question.


    ¡°Their names,¡± repeated Isais.


    Xavier felt the hairs on his arms raise.


    ¡°My mother is Adrijana, my father is Tanner. Albion. Adrijana and Tanner Albion,¡± he said, ignoring the growing sense of unease that he felt. ¡°They are scientists, just scientists. They help grow crops.¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡± That word again. ¡°You get us to the laboratory. We¡¯ll see about finding your parents.¡±


    Xavier knew he should feel relief at Isais¡¯ promise, so it unsettled him that all he felt was unease. A fear that he had missed something important in their conversation nagged at him.


    Before he could say anything, two more soldiers flowed out of the dull night. Xavier blinked. They wore the same fitted armor as Isais and Ladislav and moved like phantoms, quiet and menacing. Their armor, too, constantly shifted between grays and greens, as if trying to blend with the ever-changing shades of Vermasse.


    ¡°We can¡¯t take him, Isais. He¡¯s untrained,¡± the smallest of the group spoke. A woman, Xavier realized.


    ¡°He knows the way,¡± Isais responded dismissively.


    ¡°It will be dangerous.¡±


    Isais didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°I¡¯m a military recruit. I can handle a weapon.¡± Xavier¡¯s voice cut through the silence. He regretted speaking almost immediately, but he had no desire to be left behind. ¡°I can show you how to get to the laboratory and I can get you in. I have security clearance," Xavier lied.


    Isais looked at him, his face once more hidden behind smooth armor, decorated with soft glowing orbs that seemed to turn on and off at will. Xavier fought down the urge to look away and kept his eyes locked on that robotic face.


    ¡°There you go. You see Rada?¡± Isais spun to face the smaller woman. ¡°He has security clearance.¡± He turned back to Xavier. ¡°Oh, and one more thing. If you fall behind, we leave you. If you make a sound, we leave you. If you get caught, we leave you.¡± Isais didn¡¯t wait to hear Xavier¡¯s response.


    ¡°Paavo, take point. Rada, Ladislav- sweep a perimeter. Keep quiet. Keep hidden. If you see any scouts or outliers, take them out. Quietly,¡± he emphasized the last word.


    Without so much as a glance back, Isais and his squad slipped off into the night. Xavier stumbled after them, amazed at the stealth and speed with which the four moved. He had been hiking these trails for as long as he could remember, yet he struggled to keep up with the commandos. Conscious of Isais¡¯ warning about remaining quiet and nervous of losing the man and his ever-shifting armor in the darkness, Xavier upped his pace, following into what he feared would be certain death. In front of him, flames from the burning town threw up a sinister inferno on the skyline.


    ¡°Please be safe,¡± he whispered softly into the night.

 Chapter 2: Through Ashes

    CHAPTER TWO


    Through Ashes


    Ash settled on the rifle¡¯s barrel. It lingered in the air, coating the world immediately around the hooded man. Somewhere, during the explosion, a sun-gen had ruptured. Light had begun to seep from the great artificial light generator, picking up particles of ash and dust in the air. It reminded Kjeld of sunrays in the sky, back when he had lived in a world where the sun was not hidden behind layers of cloud.


    The dust in the rays started to create twisting, swirling patterns, giving the illusion that somehow the particles were trapped and looking to escape the glare. On a happier day, Kjeld could have sat and watched the spectacle. It had been a long time since he had seen the sun, real or not. But this was not a happy day.


    He remained still. Ash continued to fall, obscuring his goggles, finding the creases in his hood and coat and settling there. Yet still, he didn¡¯t move. So much ash had covered him that he was almost indistinguishable from the rubble around him. The Vruhr, two hundred yards away, hadn¡¯t seen him, though he knew their eyesight was considerably better than his, especially in the gloom. He had hunted Vruhr before.


    He followed their movements through the rifle¡¯s scope as they wrestled with human prisoners. There were seven of the aliens, their black armor sleek against their long, odd limbs. Despite their slim forms lacking visible muscle, they manhandled the prisoners with ease. Kjeld watched as a group of soldiers left with the prisoners, leaving just two of the invaders behind to dig through the collapsing rubble of the laboratory.


    Kjeld inhaled. The rifle, a fifty-year-old Copperhead, let out a slight burst of energy. It was a rifle that had been with him throughout the decades, the scrapes and dents it bore were a testament to that. The red-rust barrel reminded him of a woman he once loved.


    A small, silent beam leaped from that barrel and sped across the open ground, taking the first Vruhr in the back of the neck. It fell without a sound. The dead Vruhr¡¯s companion spun, raising its weapon as it did so. Kjeld inhaled, and a moment later the second alien dropped dead beside the body of the first.


    Kjeld stood, his movements slow and calm so as not to disrupt too much of the ash that had camouflaged him so well. His heavy coat hung over his frame, the hood drawn to cover his face. The goggles, all that could be seen inside the depths of the hood, were tinted black. A keen observer may have glimpsed the deep-blue insignia on the breast of Kjeld¡¯s dirty uniform. But any sign of that insignia was quickly covered in the same dust and cinders that blanketed everything in the vicinity.


    Without a sound, Kjeld moved through the remnants of Vermasse¡¯s great laboratory, his light boots carefully picking out a path that would leave little sign of his passing. Despite his efforts, if the Vruhr came looking for him, they would find him.


    He didn¡¯t much care. Kjeld was a hunter, and he had found his victims¡¯ trail. The Vruhr had come to Vermasse in search of prisoners and for that, they would pay. Or he would die. Most likely both of those things would happen before the night was out, he surmised grimly. The human resistance had collapsed almost before it started and the Vruhr no doubt thought Vermasse was theirs. Kjeld pulled his coat tighter, slinging his rifle over his shoulder. With a crack of his knuckles, he set off in pursuit.


    ¡°We need to stop at the academy.¡± Xavier tried to hide his fatigue. It wasn¡¯t easy. Sweat poured down his back, despite the cool night air. He had strained hard to keep up with the four soldiers. Though for all he knew, he had only kept up with one of them. He had not seen or heard from the other three since they began their descent into the town.


    ¡°No,¡± Isais spoke barely above a whisper. No weariness in his voice, despite the commanding pace they had set.


    ¡°There are weapons there.¡±


    ¡°We have weapons.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t. Besides, there¡¯s also a whole lot of important Union intel in there.¡± He fought to keep his voice steady, afraid it would betray his desperation and true intentions.


    ¡°I doubt that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to the academy.¡±


    ¡°No. You¡¯re coming with us to the laboratory.¡± The tone in his voice had barely changed, but something told Xavier not to argue the point further. Isais set off once more and Xavier watched him leave. Bending over with his hands on his knees, Xavier fought to control his breathing. And then he ran.


    He had barely made it twenty paces when the material of his shirt jerked back. He lifted off his feet and fell heavily to the floor. The masked face of Isais loomed over him.


    ¡°If you do that again, I will kill you.¡± The casualness with which he spoke sent a shiver through Xavier.


    ¡°My sister is there,¡± he pleaded.


    Isais glanced at the academy, tall towers standing defiant against the night. ¡°Then she¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Xavier balled his fists. ¡°The academy is a fortress with its own armory and trained military personnel,¡± he said, forcing a note of calm into his voice.


    ¡°And does your sister also train for the military?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a terra-tech, like my parents. Top of her class.¡± Doubt began to filter into Xavier¡¯s voice. Despite her brains, Nuria didn¡¯t even have it within her to hurt people with words. Violence was alien to her. He recalled the ruthlessness of the Vruhr invasion and tried hard not to picture his sister caught in the middle of it all.


    To Xavier¡¯s surprise, Isais spoke once more, ¡°Your sister. What¡¯s her name?¡±


    For a brief moment, Xavier considered lying. Something about Isais¡¯ quick change worried him. ¡°Nuria,¡± he said finally.


    There was another long silence. Isais didn¡¯t move, though Xavier could still feel the grip on his shirt like an unbreakable magnetic bond. He found himself holding his breath. A faraway scream was cut short by distant weapons¡¯ fire. He hoped against even his own common sense that the weapon had been human.


    Finally, Isais spoke, his voice startling Xavier with the suddenness of it. ¡°We go to the academy.¡±


    As they walked, Xavier found himself constantly straining into the night for any sign of the others. For some reason, the image of Ladislav, Rada, and Paavo, stalking through the night, their masked faces blank and cold didn¡¯t reassure him as it should. He suppressed a shiver.


    Part of him, the naive part his academy instructors had never quite been able to drill out of him, wanted to see these four soldiers kill the Vruhr. All of them. To see the exchange of gunfire, the vengeance of the human race falling down upon the invaders in the form of four deadly warriors. But then he thought back to the carnage he had seen earlier in the day and realized it was only a very small part of him. The constant hammering of his heart, the slightest sound in the night forcing it up into his throat had quickly killed any longing he had harbored for adventure.


    The green haze offered by the glasses he wore made his home even more alien. Each rolling hill or lump in the ground was an enemy. Each time he looked right, the enemy came from the left; each time he looked left they would surely shoot at him from the right. His imagination brought the world closing in on him, suffocating his reason. He slowed his breathing, fixed his gaze to Isais. There was something assured about the Union soldier. He moved as if he were the most dangerous thing on the planet. And though he had never seen him in battle, Xavier was beginning to think he just might be. He looked down at his hands, willed them to stop shaking, tried to make his legs adopt the same confident stride of Isais.


    Xavier stopped. He had lost Isais. He spun nervously, peering through glasses at the gloomy, wide-open world around him. Fuckin wonderful. Idiot! He was still busy cursing himself when he caught the slightest glimpse of movement up ahead. He squinted his eyes harder, but there was nothing. Something hinted at danger. His senses flared, his eyes shot back and forth frantically. There! A blur of movement, coming from the south side of the hill. He focused on the spot. It looked as if a line of tall men were marching in file. No! Not men, he quickly realized. They were Vruhr.


    Xavier dropped to the ground instinctively. He had no idea how well the Vruhr could see in the dark, but he assumed it to be well enough. As if to confirm his belief, a smaller group of Vruhr broke off from the main column and trotted towards him, their gaits long and steady. As they grew closer, he leaped up from the ground. And ran.


    Behind him, he could hear the steady thud-thud, thud-thud pattern of a dozen Vruhr feet striking the ground in quick succession. He looked around frantically for a hiding place, but there was nothing. Panicked, he ran faster, his legs carrying him downhill, all thoughts of Isais gone, replaced only by fear and the desire to survive. Too late he realized he was moving carelessly fast. His legs began to shake, and then he was falling.


    When he finally stopped rolling, he discovered himself lying on his back. Groaning at the throbbing that had sprung up on his body he turned his head carefully ¨C just in time to see the Vruhr descend on him.


    He screamed as the first Vruhr reached out a long hand. Before it could grab him, the creature stopped. Its helmet bulged outwards and it staggered, before falling to the floor. Two soldiers flickered into view, blending in and out of the night, illuminated only by the vibro-blades they carried. A thousand collimated, compressed particles of light, sharper than any metal. Xavier saw the smaller soldier ¨C Rada ¨C pull her blade from the helmet of the fallen Vruhr and jump out of the way, as a flash of light from the weapon of a second enemy whizzed past her.


    The small battle illuminated the darkness. Rapid flashing gun barrels and the dull illumination of blades would occasionally highlight a warrior against the night. Scrambling to his feet, Xavier spun, desperate for a gap in the fight, but the lights were all around him now, whirring and threatening.


    Something landed at Xavier¡¯s feet and he was knocked back by a burst of white. When his eyes recovered, he saw the area lit with a yellow hue. Somehow, another Vruhr fell as a third commando dived to the floor, turned and fired in one smooth motion. Blade in one hand and pistol in the other, the commando arched his body and jumped to his feet. Dodging a hail of weapons fire, he then returned to the fray. Rada whirled into view, caught in a dance with a taller Vruhr wielding a vicious double-ended weapon.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Rada, smaller and faster moved like a cat, always just out of reach of the Vruhr¡¯s longer weapon. She had succeeded in evading the alien¡¯s attacks so far, yet her small blade couldn¡¯t pierce the Vruhr¡¯s defenses. Before her companion could reach her, Rada slipped and the Vruhr moved in to strike. Xavier called out, running at the Vruhr as he did so. Just as he reached her, Rada caught the pole of her foe¡¯s weapon under her arm, locking it against her body. Spinning around the back of the Vruhr she jammed her own weapon deep into its side, splitting the creature¡¯s armor. It fell, and Rada turned to him.


    ¡°Duck,¡± she said, simply.


    Xavier ducked. Something flew over his head and he threw himself into a roll. Coming to his feet he found one the aliens looming above him. This close, Xavier could see the creature¡¯s eyes reflected in the yellow light. Green. He remembered thinking, as the alien¡¯s rifle rose to meet him.


    Without thinking, Xavier hurled himself at the Vruhr. The two fell to the ground in a blur of limbs. He felt the alien lashing out at him, and Xavier did his best to strike out with blows of his own. His head snapped back and a shock of pain tore through his eye-socket. Another blow and pain exploded his nose. He realized the Vruhr was ramming its head into his face. Desperate, Xavier rolled, attempting to kick the creature from him. But the Vruhr was stronger and faster and Xavier found himself pinned beneath the alien.


    Hands wrapped themselves around his throat and a new wave of panic swept through Xavier as he found his breath cut off. He lashed out weakly with his hands, but the Vruhr merely shrugged off his blows. Something in the corner of his eye caused Xavier to turn his head as much as his adversary¡¯s grip would allow. The Vruhr¡¯s rifle! He reached out, fingertips grasping at the weapon. As he clasped it, he felt the grip around his throat tighten and bright lights began to flare in his vision. With one last attempt, he swung, felt the weapon strike something solid. The grip on his throat fell away and he breathed in a sweet gulp of air. Relief flooded him momentarily before the Vruhr lunged at him once more.


    Xavier lashed out with his feet, felt a kick connect with the alien as it staggered back. Seizing his moment, Xavier leaped to his feet and brought the alien rifle to bear. He pulled the trigger.


    Nothing happened.


    He tried again, and again, but still, the strange weapon did nothing.


    If the Vruhr could smile, Xavier felt the one facing him would probably choose that moment to do so.


    It leaped forward.


    ¡°Shi¡ª¡± Something struck him in the chest, and he fell once more.


    He instinctively threw an arm over his face, tensing for the finishing blow he knew would come soon. A blow left his arm numb and another lit up his face with pain. Something warm and wet settled on his lips and cheek. With a cry, he realized it was blood. Rada stood above him, the Vruhr dead at her feet.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± he stammered lamely as he rose, but she was already gone.


    He scanned the ground for a weapon, something that he could use to help the smaller group of humans. With nothing else to hand, he picked up the mysterious Vruhr rifle and gripped it like a club, before searching for an enemy.


    But, he quickly saw, the ground was already littered with Vruhr dead. A commando on the edge of the battle seemed to flicker from one place to the next, firing into the enemy. Two more soldiers battled blade to blade, whilst Rada quickly dispatched enemies from behind.


    In the midst of all the madness, Xavier could not help but marvel at the choreography of the humans. Just as the thought crossed his mind, Rada stumbled. Xavier hurled himself forward, swinging the makeshift club wildly above his head. A spasm shot up his arm as the gun connected with a Vruhr. It turned to him, green eyes deep and empty. Xavier swung again but his weapon was knocked away. It paused, rifle raised halfway, and spun. Xavier followed its gaze and saw the Vruhr were all down. All save the one in front of him. Before the Vruhr could react, Xavier gripped the muzzle of the weapon tight and swung. It struck with a satisfying thud and the Vruhr collapsed. The four commandos were there then, surrounding the fallen alien.


    ¡°No wonder this planet fell so easily. Idiot.¡± Isais grabbed the rifle from Xavier¡¯s hand, studying the weapon momentarily before tossing it into the night.


    Isais¡¯ words quickly dispersed the adrenaline that had been coursing through Xavier, and as it left, he slumped to the floor, noticing once more the blood that stained him. It was black. His nose was beginning to send shocks of pain into his skull and he could taste the coppery flavor of his own blood on his tongue. He wiped at his nose with the back of a dirty sleeve.


    ¡°Where have you taken them?¡± It was Isais again.


    Xavier snapped out of his exhaustion. Isais was standing over the Vruhr now, pistol aimed at a black head. No fear showed on the Vruhr. No sounds escaped its mouth. It merely stared. The moment dragged on as human and Vruhr seemed locked in some battle of wills that Xavier did not understand. Eventually, Isais nodded, said something that Xavier missed, and pulled the trigger of his pistol. Black gore splattered the ground.


    The execution shocked Xavier. Throughout all the violence of the day, despite his burning desire for revenge, something about the ease with which Isais executed the alien put Xavier on edge. And what had he said before the shot. Where have you taken them? Who was them?


    ¡°You injured?¡± A deep voice cut through Xavier¡¯s thoughts.


    Before he could answer, a large hand gripped his face and he found himself being spun to meet a helmeted face; a face so large it had to belong to the towering Ladislav. The soldier peered at Xavier¡¯s bloody nose, poking at it with burly fingers. Xavier tried to flinch away but the hand held firm. ¡°Not broken,¡± Ladislav grunted at last. He thrust a weapon at Xavier, who saw it was of Vruhr design. ¡°You turn this¡ª¡± he pointed to a dial ¡°¡ªand push this, to make it fire. But not this one, it¡¯s empty. Now come, we go.¡±


    Xavier stared at the weapon in his hand, momentarily dumbfounded before tossing it aside and stumbling after the group. This time it was Ladislav that hovered constantly on the edges of visibility and concealment. Xavier matched the big man¡¯s pace, weariness and caution weighing on him After some time, the towers of the academy began to creep into view. Their rectangular shape and hard edges, which had been a part of Xavier¡¯s life for so long, now filled him with a deep fear. What if they were too late? What if all that waited for them was death? Images of his sister¡¯s body lying broken and bloody filled his mind and he struggled to push them out. Please, let her be alive.


    The three other soldiers reappeared when they reached the base of the academy. No words passed between them, but Xavier caught some quick hand movements. A single gesture was repeated by each of them. One hand, two fingers pointing upwards. Xavier frowned, recognizing the gestures from his training. Two enemies, up ahead.


    They approached the academy cautiously, the great perimeter wall looming over them. Xavier listened intently but heard no sound from within the building¡¯s compound. His face struck something hard and he grunted. Ladislav looked down at him and Xavier imagined a scowl beneath that faceless mask. The big soldier lifted a single finger to where his lips would be. Withdrawing his finger, Ladislav used it to point into the distance where the faint shapes of two Vruhr stood at the academy entrance. And then the two black figures were gone, collapsed into the earth. Xavier blinked as two commandos stepped into the space where the Vruhr had been. Ladislav gestured once more and Xavier followed him to the academy entrance.


    Ladislav, Rada and Paavo took up positions in and around the gate, whilst Xavier continued to scan the courtyard for any sign of movement. After what seemed like an age, Isais slipped out of a shadow. He gestured, and the five of them stepped through the large gates.


    Up close, the devastation was terrible. Xavier¡¯s heart sank as fear for his sister threatened to unman him. He focused on the pain of his nose, welcoming the distraction it caused. He stumbled through the courtyard, debris and rubble littering the academy grounds creating unseen traps in the night. In contrast, the commandos moved through the debris like ghosts, their boots creating no sound. He finally caught up with them at a fallen fountain, its collapsed form rearing up from the ground like a broken bone.


    The silence hung heavy and Xavier could feel the tension hanging between the four. It only added to his own fear and he leaned against a large piece of rubble, grateful for the respite on his aching body. And then he screamed. Somebody hissed at him and Xavier clasped his mouth shut, unable to tear his eyes away from the human hand that lay only inches away from his foot. Beyond it lay other bodies, Xavier saw. Cold, and motionless. His people. Military recruits like he was. Had been. He corrected himself. He had deserted his colleagues when they needed him most.


    Swallowing down the self-loathing he felt, he tried to run an expert eye over the battlefield. It was not difficult to see what had happened here, the military and those in training had made a stand, fortifying the main entrance in and out of the academy. There they had stood and died in an attempt to buy time for the others. Xavier tried to scan for faces, doing his best to ignore the grisly horror, but the pale light of the goggles and the blood and debris made it difficult. In his mind, he pictured these brave few forming a resistance, giving the younger students time to escape. Rage burned hot and deep. He welcomed it.


    Isais made a signal and the commandos fanned out through the courtyard, pressing forward with purpose. Xavier followed. As he did so, he did his best to face the fallen. There was an instructor, he recognized. The man¡¯s bearded face pale and glassy, staring into nothingness. Another student lay fallen a little further on, a boy who everybody knew had been in love with Xavier¡¯s sister. Now his young face showed only terror and the horrors he had witnessed before he died. Xavier wished he could recall the cadet¡¯s name.


    He stopped, a low groan escaping his lips. Falling to his knees, he pushed a strand of hair away from the girl¡¯s face apprehensively. Please don¡¯t let it be her!


    But his hopes went unheard as the face of Alau stared back.


    The half of her face that hadn¡¯t been hit by gunfire was still beautiful, her one open eye stared back at him. How many hours had he spent in military class staring at her back? How many daydreams had she been the focus of? His stomach knotted and he found himself choking back something- sobs or vomit, he didn¡¯t know. He tried to push it deep down, to replace it with the anger he had felt, but it wouldn¡¯t come. A rough hand nudged him in the back, and he tripped over Alau¡¯s body.


    ¡°Move, kid.¡±


    Xavier¡¯s hand closed around Alau¡¯s fallen pistol and he picked it up. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± he whispered. With one last look, he pushed himself to his feet. His head felt dizzy as he fell in behind Isais, as if full of smoke. He rubbed at his eyes and shook his head from side to side. Looking up, he saw they had come to a halt in front of the large academy doors. Inside he could see all was dark. A broken glow-globe flickered on and off, giving shadows to the debris. Xavier had no wish to enter that building. The entrance, that he had walked through a thousand times before suddenly seemed hostile and alien. The large, sweeping corridors could house an entire army of Vruhr and they wouldn¡¯t see them until it was too late.


    Isais silently signaled Rada and Paavo forward. Paavo stepped towards the door, the glow globe''s flickering bulb casting him in black shadow. Rada, her silhouette smaller, made for a broken window in a room adjacent to the main corridor. She jumped through with little effort just as Paavo disappeared through the great doors. Then Xavier was alone. He looked around hastily but Ladislav and Isais had disappeared. He scanned the courtyard, but the only people with him were the corpses, their horror illuminated by the rhythmic light of the glow-globe. His imagination ran wild then, the light and shadow playing tricks on his eyes. In the dark, it was easy to see monsters that weren¡¯t there. Vruhr creeping silently through the night towards him. He gripped Alau¡¯s pistol, vowing it would see Vruhr blood before they saw his.


    But the weapon seemed little threat against the dark and his heartbeat quickened as the night closed in on him. He ran, eyes darting back and forth for a safe place to hide. Something caught his feet and he fell, his hands striking the floor sending a new wave of pain through him. He scanned the area, panic-stricken, and saw the body that he had tripped over. Scrambling to his feet, he took shelter behind a statue. And waited.


    Closing his eyes to the death all around him he crouched behind a broken statue and waited until he thought the silence would break him. All around the blackness washed against him like an urgent sea. He felt it enveloping him, swallowing him whole. In his mind¡¯s eye, he would see the bodies rising to take him, pull him down into their own eternal blackness. The hand that fell on his shoulder caused him to scream. A second hand covered his mouth and he struggled, kicking wildly.


    ¡°Enough. Enough!¡± came a voice, then once more with a hint of anger.


    Isais. He recognized the voice and his nerves slowly returned to him. The hands fell away and he breathed in deeply.


    ¡°Follow.¡±


    Pushing himself forward on to unsteady feet, Xavier followed. They approached the gaping mouth of the academy and Xavier stopped. He had no idea what he would find inside that darkened building, but he knew none of it would be good. He calmed himself and thought of his sister. Blonde hair and blue eyes, crooked grin and over-sized nose. She was in there. Somewhere. Alive or dead, she was in there. Xavier stepped inside.

 Chapter 3: Hunter, Hunted

    CHAPTER THREE


    Hunter, Hunted


    Kjeld stopped and crouched next to the second group of dead bodies he had come across. They were all laboratory workers. From the way the bodies were laid out, it looked like they had not put up much of a fight. Why round them up just to kill them? Kjeld knew there were clues all around him, he was just yet to put all the pieces together.


    Only a short time before, the Vruhr had been parading groups of human prisoners towards transport vessels. If the Vruhr were after slaves, it made no sense that they would execute these unarmed prisoners. Which meant they were looking for something else.


    He analyzed the bodies closer, noting their uniforms and security tags. Most of these people were auxiliary staff. Orderlies and assistants and one older man Kjeld knew to be a secretary. There were no senior workers amongst the dead. The scientists had been taken then. It made sense to Kjeld. Vermasse, although an outer planet, was not the closest to Vruhr space. So it had to have been targeted for more than just its weak defenses.


    Kjeld searched the bodies, wiping ash from the face of a woman. Her brown eyes stared lifelessly, almost accusingly back at him. He stared back for a few moments before rising to his feet. The dead were beyond his help. Coughing violently against the smoke, he pulled his scarf tighter around his face before pushing forward. The entire south side of the laboratory had been destroyed in the explosion and the fire was spreading to the remaining wings. With the staff dead or captured and the automated building control offline, the flames had free rein over the remainder of the building.


    A sudden scream punctured the air and Kjeld threw himself against a wall, the heat from the fire behind searing his back. A woman¡¯s face appeared at the glass, thick black smoke surrounding her head. She screamed again, fists hammering at the great window. Lifting his rifle from his shoulder, Kjeld signaled at her to move back. Seeing his intentions, she did so, disappearing momentarily into the smog. He aimed and fired. A crack appeared in the glass, then another. He fired again. The layered polycarbonate was heavily strengthened, designed to contain explosions, amongst other things. He fired again and again, his anger growing as each blast failed to penetrate.


    Just as the woman¡¯s screams fell quiet, cracks started to appear in the window, spreading between the dozens of puncture holes. Kjeld stepped back as the glass shattered. A wave of heat and smoke struck him, covering his face and goggles in a thick black. He cleaned the lenses as best he could with a dirty sleeve and climbed through the window. The woman¡¯s body lay where she had fallen, burned and blackened and already dead.


    Anger filled him. A cracked beaker lay on the floor and he kicked at it, launching it into the far wall. The small explosion of glass satisfied him momentarily before he brought his emotions under control. Throwing his rifle back over his shoulder, Kjeld climbed back out of the room and continued after those who were responsible for the woman¡¯s death and the deaths of so many others.


    He chose his footings carefully. The underground seed bank below him had caught fire; he could feel the heat beating against the floor beneath his fleet as well as smell the sharp citrus of burning kulit. The Vruhr he followed would have come through here some time ago, but Kjeld had been forced to take alternative routes to avoid search parties. He had picked their trail back up numerous times, however. They made no attempt to hide it. Smoke forced itself under his scarf, filling his nostrils and mouth as he pushed through the laboratory.


    He paused as he came to a great circular door. It was the first of many reinforced airlocks that led to the central research lab. If the door had been locked, the research lab would have been protected from almost anything. The whole planet could have burned beneath them, and the research lab would have still stood when the flames had finally burned away. If it had been locked. But it wasn¡¯t, which mean the Vruhr had been this way. Kjeld knew that the central laboratory had only one entrance and exit. To step inside would be akin to snaring himself in his own trap. But Kjeld was a man who had stepped into far worse. Somewhere on the other side of that door, was the reason he had hunted a group of hostile aliens through a burning building. He pulled his hood closer and steeled himself.


    He stepped inside. The first chamber of the research lab still had power. Blue lights lit up panels all over the walls, whilst a metal island harboring a variety of unknown scientific instruments claimed pride of place in the middle of the room. He pushed on further still, one hand beneath his heavy coat gripping the butt of the pistol strapped to his thigh, the other keeping his rifle strap in place on his shoulder. Each room he passed through was as eerie as it was empty, made even more so by the constant low hum of the working equipment all around. Eventually, he came to the last room and it was there that he saw them.


    Kneeling behind a large viewing window, Kjeld peered into the room. He counted at least twenty-five Vruhr. Huddled around a giant computer were a group of human scientists. Two of the scientists already lay dead, pools of deep red blood staining the white floor. Towering over the remaining humans was a single Vruhr, different from the rest. Its black armor was decorated with swirling reds and whites on the chest. He knew from a lifetime of fighting the aliens that the markings were a symbol of rank.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Strapped to the leader¡¯s helmet-less head was a device, unlike anything Kjeld had seen before. Small and scarab-like, it sat on the Vruhr¡¯s round skull and reached down to encircle its neck. Kjeld studied the device but couldn¡¯t understand its purpose. Circling the rest of the room, like ebony statues, stood another dozen Vruhr. Their armor was almost identical to the leaders, different only in that it bore no markings whatsoever.


    Moving carefully, Kjeld swung the rifle from his shoulder. He was lining the scope up to his eye when he stopped. He strained his ears. A sound rung through the room, alien and yet somehow familiar. He slowed his breathing and focused. He was sure of it this time¡ª the lead Vruhr had spoken. Kjeld was too far away to make out the words, but the sound was undeniable. He centered on the leader once more, sighted it in his scope, saw it beckon with a great hand. Two Vruhr peeled away from the others, manhandling a human prisoner and lifting her easily to her feet. The lead Vruhr spoke once more, gesturing with its arm as it did so. It pointed again and again at the central computer and then back at the female prisoner.


    The woman, her head turned away from Kjeld, simply slumped into the grasp of her alien captors. She looked up momentarily, the back of her head lifting into view and Kjeld felt his knuckles tighten around his rifle. The woman¡¯s hair was red. A deep sense of foreboding began to grow within him.


    At that moment, the lead Vruhr strode across the room. In two quick steps it was on top of the human. With a vicious blow of an armored fist, she was sent flying backward. She slumped to the floor. This time Kjeld saw her face and he recognized her immediately.


    Adrijana.


    Kjeld swore silently. The woman lay unmoving, blood dripping onto the white floor from a fresh cut on her mouth. He narrowed his eyes, the muscles of his jaw clenching and unclenching.


    There was no doubt it was Adrijana. There were few on Vermasse that had hair the color of rusted metal, and even fewer that had the stubbornness to anger a room full of armed Vruhr. Kjeld scanned the room hurriedly, but he could see no way of getting to the prisoners without alerting every Vruhr in the room. And probably a good few dozen who weren¡¯t in the room.


    The Vruhr commander approached Adrijana, as if to strike once more. Kjeld made up his mind. Steadying his rifle on his shoulder, he waited, eyes narrowed, fighting down the growing nausea in his gut. The Vruhr drew closer. Kjeld fired. The white-red heat of the rifle¡¯s projectile cut through the window, leaving a perfect round hole in the glass. The beam sped towards the Vruhr, and Kjeld was already lining up his next target before the lead Vruhr fell.


    But the leader didn¡¯t fall. With astonishing speed, it leaped away from the deadly beam, throwing itself to the floor. Kjeld blinked in surprise but had no time to marvel at the alien¡¯s speed. Already the remaining Vruhr were springing into action, chaos erupting inside the confined room. He turned his rifle on the nearest and fired. The second Vruhr hadn¡¯t responded quite as fast and his new target fell dead. Just as the soldier hit the ground, the Vruhr commander regained its feet and two guards rushed at Kjeld. Another group ran at the human prisoners who were even now rising to their feet in fear and confusion.


    He turned his rifle to Adrijana, saw her slowly push herself up to a sitting position. Her head spun around the room eyes, wide with panic, locked to his momentarily. Something flashed across her face and then she was on her feet and running. Close behind her was a Vruhr. The creature stopped suddenly, raising its weapon. Kjeld sighted the alien, letting out a deep breath he shot. The beam flew past Adrijana¡¯s head, striking her pursuer. Kjeld had little time to savor the shot as returning fire forced him to retreat for cover.


    A volley of projectiles tore through the air above his head as glass exploded all around him. The first of the two nearest Vruhr reached the door, but Kjeld shot it dead with his pistol just as the second rushed through. It struck out at Kjeld violently. He twisted his body, but the alien¡¯s weapon caught him a painful blow on the hip. Rolling away, he turned and fired into the space the alien had occupied. But the creature had already moved, throwing itself on top of Kjeld. Spindly fingers wrapped round Kjeld¡¯s throat and he hammered his fist desperately against the creature¡¯s heavy skull.


    He could feel himself grow weaker, waves of dizziness fogging his head, muscles strained. He struggled, kicking and punching at the Vruhr. He felt himself blacking out when the creature¡¯s great body fell into him, all strength gone from its fingers. He pushed the Vruhr off him and gasped for breath.


    ¡°Kjeld? Is that you?¡± Adrijana panted. She stood above the Vruhr, pulling a long, sharp piece of metal from its body.


    ¡°Adrijana,¡± Kjeld spluttered, pulling back his heavy hood to show his face. He jumped to his feet, recovering his rifle and shooting a burst of fire through the doorway where moments before a Vruhr had appeared. ¡°We need to go.¡±


    ¡°No! Tanner is still in there.¡± Kjeld looked into the room and saw smoke rushing through it. More Vruhr were already forcing their way through the entrance and Kjeld fired again, hitting nothing but causing the Vruhr to retreat momentarily. He fired at another Vruhr, just as his rifle''s power pack emptied. Roaring, Kjeld swung the weapon at the alien¡¯s head, knocking it to the floor before finishing it off with a pistol shot.


    ¡°There are too many. We have to go. Now!¡± He reached out an arm and wrapped it round Adrijana¡¯s waist, half carrying, half pulling her away from the smoke-filled room. In his other hand, his pistol continued to fire bolts of energy at the open door.


    ¡°God damn you Kjeld! Let go of me!¡± Adrijana beat at his arm but he pulled her back through another door before slamming it shut. He punched some buttons on a keyboard and heard the door lock. Through the door¡¯s small viewing window outside, he could see the Vruhr swarming.


    ¡°We have to go. Your kids¡­¡± He let the sentence hang in the air, unfinished.


    Adrijana only glared, her green eyes piercing the tinted lenses of his goggles. A fresh bruise was forming around her eye, whilst blood still dripped from her cut. Setting her mouth in a tight line he watched as she gave a slight nod of her head and set off at a run. Kjeld followed, the look of hatred she had thrown his way lingering in his mind. Together they headed through the burning laboratory.

 Chapter 4: Man Down

    As Xavier stepped inside the academy, he felt the weight of the building close in on him. All around were signs of fighting. The flickering light of a damaged glow-globe showed evidence of laser fire. Walls were singed black where stray shots had struck, whilst he stumbled across bodies bearing gaping wounds scattered throughout. Xavier fought down the urge to vomit as his senses were assaulted by the sight and smell of death that began to stain the air. It seemed inconceivable to him that these bodies were once the same living, breathing people he had walked past daily. He tried his hardest not to imagine the fear and pain they must have felt. The whole scene was like something out of a nightmare and Xavier fought the urge to turn and run.


    He locked his eyes to Isais. If the bodies bothered the hardened soldier in any way, he didn¡¯t show it.


    Weighing Alau¡¯s pistol in his hand, Xavier gripped it tighter, trying not to picture the way her hand would hold it during weapons training. His heart ached, deep and awful. It was a simple blaster, he told himself. Just a blaster. Useless at distance but up close it could kill just as well as any other weapon. Xavier vowed once more that before the night was over, he would use the weapon.


    As they pushed further into the academy, his horror turned to disappointment. He wanted to come across a group of Vruhr, desperate to inflict some small measure of justice upon them. Every dead body they came across only strengthened his need further. They walked past classrooms, tables, and chairs upturned. Slowly but surely, they approached Xavier¡¯s own training room. He stopped in his tracks and hesitated. With a shaking breath, he stepped forward.


    Desks and chairs had been pushed against the door in a feeble attempt at a barricade. The door had been forced open anyway. Inside there were yet more bodies. Xavier¡¯s disgust was lifted momentarily by the sight of Vruhr fallen amongst them. Even unarmed, his peers had proven worthy of their military training.


    He wanted to turn and walk away then. To never see the faces that haunted that room, to never know which of his classmates had lost their lives there. He entered the room. A hand gripped him, and he jumped.


    ¡°Your sister¡¯s class?¡± Isais¡¯ voice was hushed, pressed against his ear.


    ¡°Mine,¡± Xavier replied in a low tone.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what we came here for. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    He pulled Xavier back and shut the door to the classroom. Xavier let him, following Isais further into the academy. Of the other three soldiers, he had neither seen nor heard anything. They turned another corner and froze. Standing in the middle of the hallway were a team of Vruhr soldiers and in their midst, being held by two of the creatures, was Paavo.


    Xavier¡¯s hands fell to his side and he took an involuntary step back before catching himself. His mouth was suddenly dry, his hands dropped to his side and he merely stared. The Vruhr were taller, up-close. Slim, but powerful. Awe-inspiring and awful in equal measure.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    One of the aliens stepped-forward, moving its hands in small gestures that grew gradually more animated. It took Xavier some moments to realize they were trying to communicate. He looked at Isais, who in turn merely stared wordlessly, his smooth helmet adding to the human leader¡¯s illusion of uncaring.


    So it took Xavier completely by surprise when Isais shot at the Vruhr. One moment all was still, an uneasy deadlock, the next Isais¡¯ rifle was raised, and a familiar blue spark was erupting from the end of the weapon. One of the Vruhr holding Paavo fell, whilst in the same moment the human commando threw his head back, his helmet connecting with the face of the second Vruhr holding him. The Vruhr staggered and Paavo twisted again, reaching for the creature¡¯s weapon. Without warning, a great spray of red erupted, covering the walls and the floors.


    What happened next seemed to Xavier to happen slowly, as if he were viewing it from a dream. Paavo¡¯s body fell to the floor, the pulsing blade that had ruptured his chest was pulled back by a Vruhr soldier, its black armor splattered with blood. From somewhere else there was a shout and Xavier saw Ladislav appear. A huge hand grabbed one of the Vruhr as Ladislav rammed his own blade through its plated back. Dropping his blade, he pulled a pistol and fired into the remaining aliens. Many of them spun to meet the new threat, but many more fired at Xavier and Isais.


    Xavier rolled to the floor, watching in horror as a dozen laser bolts sped towards him. A blue ripple lit up the hallway and the laser beams dissipated. Xavier blinked. Another wave of shots struck at the invisible barrier.


    ¡°Get back! The shield won¡¯t hold much more!¡± A voice shouted from somewhere behind him.


    At that, a Vruhr leaped at him. Throwing himself to his feet, Xavier ran in close to his enemy, throwing a fist which the Vruhr dodged easily before lunging at him. Xavier was thrown to the floor, the pistol spun from his grip. He rolled again, narrowly avoiding the Vruhr¡¯s laser fire. Bursting to his feet he shoulder-charged the alien. Wrapping his arms around its waist, he felt the aftershock of the Vruhr¡¯s body hammering into the wall of the corridor. It rained blows down on his back, the butt of its rifle caught him a blow behind the ear and he staggered, his grip falling away. He righted himself, found his gaze inches from that of the taller creature, the noise, and the blood all around fading into the background. Xavier knew then that he was to die. With visions of Alau and his dead friends clouding his mind, Xavier lunged again.


    Somebody shouted. He thought he heard his name. The Vruhr¡¯s fist struck him. A fresh pain exploded in his face, then another in his stomach. He blinked away tears and swung, the Vruhr staggered back and raised its rifle. Xavier squeezed shut his eyes, but a loud noise accompanied an explosion and he was knocked backward. He hit the floor hard, rolled and opened his eyes to take in the devastation the grenade had caused. More Vruhr lay dead or dying, their silence even in the throes of death far more chilling than any scream. Arching his neck, Xavier saw his pistol and he reached for it. Rising to one knee, he sighted the Vruhr with the pistol¡¯s barrel.


    It was then that a second light struck, far brighter than that of the grenades. Almost immediately after came the roaring sound and intense heat. A great pain tore through his body, and then he was being flung backward. His back struck against something hard and the wind rushed from his lungs Something heavy scrambled at his shoulder and he lashed out in panic, just as the floor beneath his feet disappeared.

 Chapter Five: Of Fasies and Rexals

    CHAPTER FIVE


    Of Fasies and Rexals


    ¡°This way!¡±


    Kjeld slowed as he heard Adrijana call out. ¡°We have to get out of here, Adrijana.¡±


    ¡°I know. This way. Come on!¡±


    He followed her into a side room and stopped. On the walls were dozens and dozens of see-through canisters and containers. Huge tanks spread out across the floor and tiny vials filled cabinet after cabinet. He looked at some of the closest tanks and saw a thicket of curious plants. Wild and unusual, they grew in a hundred shades and in soil of similarly brash colors.


    ¡°What is this place?¡± he asked.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have time.¡± Adrijana approached yet another side door and lowered her head to the retinal scanner. The scanner beeped and the door slid open. Wind whip through and struck at Kjeld''s heavy clothes as Adrijana stepped out into the darkness of the night. Kjeld swore softly and followed.


    ¡°Where are we?¡± He asked when he finally caught up with her.


    ¡°We¡¯re at a kulit development farm. Come on, there¡¯s a way out on the other side of this field.¡± Adrijana¡¯s sentence was punctuated by the sound of gunfire as beams flashed at the earth beside them.


    ¡°Go!¡± Kjeld roared, pushing Adrijana forward.


    They ran through the field, the tall crops hiding them from the pursuing Vruhr, but whipping at their bodies. Kjeld heard movement not far behind them and turned to fire his pistol blindly into the kulit. The sound of pursuit stopped temporarily, and they continued to run. The night was heavy and dark whilst the plants prevented him from seeing any of his surroundings. He followed Adrijana through the growth, ears strained, listening for any sound that might be the difference between life and death. The edge of the field rushed upon them just as Kjeld saw Adrijana trip and fall. He heard her curse as she fell and a pursuing Vruhr fired another burst in their direction.


    ¡°Get up!¡± he shouted, grabbing at her hand. He pulled and she staggered to her feet. They ran. He could see the door Adrijana had been directing them towards and he sped up, silently urging her to keep up. As they grew nearer, he heard the pursuers closing behind them. He swung Adrijana forward and turned, dropping to his knee and firing bolt after bolt from his pistol. He swore as the weapon¡¯s power pack flashed up a low ammo warning.


    ¡°Adrijana!¡± He urged. Behind him, he could hear her hammering at buttons on the door¡¯s scanner.


    ¡°Got it!¡± she exclaimed.


    He rose to his feet and let off his last few rounds before turning for the door. Adrijana step inside just as the Vruhr bolt hit her.


    ¡°Adrijana!¡± Kjeld ran in after her, dragging her away from the door and slamming the lock button on the wall. The door quickly closed and the sounds of laser fire quietened. Adrijana groaned and looked down at her leg. The bolt had struck the calf, singing the flesh around it. It smelled sickly, as if tainted meat had been roasted on a fire. ¡°Can you walk?¡± Kjeld asked, lifting the goggles from his face and narrowing his eyes to better examine the wound.


    She shook her head, gritting her teeth. ¡°It¡¯s hit the muscle. I need¡­medkit.¡± Kjeld watched Adrijana paling as she spoke.


    ¡°Pasht! Pasht, Pasht, Pasht!¡± Kjeld cursed.


    Adrijana smiled weakly. ¡°You always did¡­ have a way¡­. with words.¡±


    Kjeld threw back his hood, removing his coat and offering it to Adrijana. ¡°Wrap this around you. Elevate that wound and keep yourself warm. Where can I find a medkit?¡±


    ¡°This is a laboratory, Kjeld. There are medkits everywhere. Check that cupboard.¡± She gestured with her chin, one hand holding the coat close to her, the other gripping her thigh and keeping her injured leg in the air.


    Kjeld pulled open the cupboard and grabbed the medkit inside. Taking a small pair of scissors, he returned to Adrijana.


    ¡°I need to cut open your trousers.¡±


    She stared at him but said nothing.


    He crouched down and set to work cutting away the burned material until he had cleared the area around the wound. Reaching into the medkit he pulled out a spray and applied it to the wound. Immediately Adrijana¡¯s eyes cleared as the pain subsided.


    ¡°Shit, that¡¯s good.¡± She sighed, then jumped as a loud banging sounded on the door.


    ¡°Ignore it,¡± Kjeld advised, looking around the room at the plated walls and the thick metal doors. ¡°It looks like this room was purposefully designed to survive an explosion.¡± He stared at her, and she looked away. The unspoken question of what the scientists had been working on hung between them.


    The silence lingered a moment longer before Kjeld grunted. ¡°Give me your leg.¡±


    It was bad. The spray had created a healing residue, but still, the wound was blackened and raw, whilst the skin around it had blistered and peeled away. Removing a regen-gauze, he carefully applied it to the wound. Immediately it set to work cauterizing the burned skin before aiding the rejuvenation of dead flesh. But Kjeld knew a wound as serious as Adrijana¡¯s would take some time to heal properly.


    The banging outside began to grow louder and louder. Kjeld leaped forward as Adrijana attempted to push herself to her feet.


    ¡°You need to rest,¡± he hissed.


    She shook her head stubbornly. ¡°Without the pain, I can walk.¡± Kjeld sighed and thrust out an arm as Adrijana pushed herself to her feet, gingerly testing her damaged leg.


    ¡°The pain may be gone but the damage is still there, Adrijana. You can¡¯t put weight on that leg, you¡¯ll risk worsening the wound before the gauze has healed it,¡± he warned.


    ¡°So, find me something to use as a crutch.¡± Her stubbornness was punctuated by the ringing of laser fire against the door.


    Kjeld scanned the room, but there was nothing. He kicked out at the empty medkit, ¡°Forget it!¡± He shouted in frustration. ¡°That door may hold but that doesn¡¯t mean they can¡¯t find a way around! Give me your arm.¡±


    He saw her hesitate, but the sound from outside quickly made up her mind. ¡°Fine.¡±


    With her arm wrapped around his shoulder and the bulk of her weight leaning onto Kjeld, the two made their way into the corridor.


    ¡°Which way?¡± Kjeld asked.


    ¡°Left then left again. After that take the first right.¡±


    Kjeld followed her directions, ears strained for any sound of danger. As they reached the final door, they stepped outside once more. Outside the fresh night air was strangely silent and Kjeld looked around, trying to find his bearings.


    ¡°We have to go east.¡± Adrijana¡¯s words interrupted his thoughts.


    ¡°No. The Vruhr are east. We should go west, out of the containment barrier. Out of the valley.¡±


    ¡°Either we go east, or I go east, Kjeld.¡± Adrijana¡¯s voice was cold, determined.


    ¡°Damn you, Adrijana. If we go east, we die. There is nothing there, the town is gone.¡± He tried one last attempt, voice heavy with resignation.


    She turned away from him, squinting through the darkness. Kjeld followed her gaze, saw the towers standing defiantly in the distance.


    ¡°Not all of the town. The academy still stands. My children are there.¡± There was fear in her voice. A terror that undercut the firmness with which she spoke.


    Somewhere in the distance, Kjeld heard the frightened shouts of humans. He pulled his goggles down over his eyes once more, zoomed in on the destruction that lay everywhere and the great ship that still claimed the sky. He had seen earlier the thousands of Vruhr swarming through Vermasse and knew they would still be out there hunting in the dark.


    ¡°Okay,¡± he agreed. ¡°We go to the academy.¡±


    Xavier groaned and opened his eyes to a world of dust. It hovered in the air and covered the debris that lay all around. With a great deal of effort, he rolled himself over. Everything ached and he could feel a host of small cuts and painful swellings that now covered his body. An uncomfortable, almost suffocating heat lingered in the air making it difficult to breathe. Forcing himself upright, he propped himself against a wall. The broken lenses of his goggles stabbed at his face and he took them off, tossing them away into the dark. Doing his best to ignore the complaints from his bruised chest, he took a deep breath and almost gagged as the sickly smell of singed flesh hit him.


    The smell brought back images of Paavo, the soldier¡¯s body falling to the floor in a spray of crimson. He pictured a Vruhr towering over him, and then noise. So much noise. Xavier closed his eyes and tried to calm himself as he fought to relive the events, to apply pictures to the noises that still erupted in his head. A lot of yelling. Then a fight, before a deafening explosion turned everything into pain and chaos. Recollection brought with it a new fear and Xavier spun around, searching in the gloom for any sign of human or Vruhr.


    But silence surrounded him. Crawling onto his hands and knees, he dug through the rubble for Alau¡¯s pistol, but after some minutes and with a cry of frustration, he gave up. Paavo dead, the others gone, his weapon missing. Xavier¡¯s situation was almost ridiculously tragic, and he felt a manic laugh building inside of him. He would have let it out too if it were not the outright terror that wrapped invisible hands around his throat.


    Suddenly a piece of rubble beneath his feet moved and he screamed. Hands scrambling he pulled himself over the debris, desperate to get away from whatever new horror threatened below.


    ¡°Get off me, you damned idiot!¡± a voice growled before Ladislav erupted from a pile of floor panels like an angry giant.


    The soldier pulled himself to his feet, towering over Xavier. He looked around, peering into the gloom before checking his guns. Finally, his helmeted face fell on Xavier. ¡°Pasht Xav, you look like a fasie seeing a rexal. Maybe you think Vruhr eyesight is also based on movement? It¡¯s not." Ladislav chuckled, but Xavier stared back uncomprehendingly.


    ¡°What¡¯s a fasie and a rexal?¡± he muttered eventually.


    ¡°Animals, Xav. One is a fierce predator, the other its stupid prey. Guess which one you are?¡±


    Xavier gave no response and Ladislav sighed.


    ¡°I¡¯m saying you¡¯re an idiot, Xav. Sat there frozen like a statue only your bottom lip moving. Were you really in the military academy?¡± He shook his head, then before Xavier could respond, ¡°take this.¡± As he spoke, Ladislav threw a blaster at Xavier, who managed to miss the catch as the weapon fell at his feet. Despite his helmeted face, Xavier thought he could feel, more than see, Ladislav¡¯s eye-roll.


    ¡°If danger comes, you fire. Need you to watch my back.¡± As Ladislav spoke, he pulled two more pistols from his leg armor. ¡°Do you know where we are?¡±


    Xavier, doing his best to calm his breathing which had been coming at him in quick, sharp bursts ever since Ladislav burst from the ground, looked around the room. His mind struggled to focus on anything, the shock and the fear still fresh. It was some moments before he realized Ladislav had spoken again and that he had no idea what the man had said. It was difficult, images of Alau¡¯s still form wrestled with his thoughts. He saw again Paavo¡¯s body fall to the floor, where it fell amongst the glassy eyes of his dead classmates. He pushed a thumb and finger into his eyes and shook his head. That last vision hadn¡¯t been right, he knew. His mind was playing tricks and he had to focus. He tried to push the visions away but, always they threatened, leaping up out of his thoughts as soon as his guard fell.


    Ladislav repeated his question for what Xavier thought was a third time, but now the commando¡¯s voice was louder, edged with impatience. Xavier let out an ¡®er¡¯ of acknowledgment and looked around, doing his best to imagine how the area may look in the light. Finally, he decided it made sense that they would be on the facilities floor, directly below the training rooms. He told Ladislav as much.


    ¡°And your sister? Where would she be?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Xavier whispered.


    ¡°Then think, little fasie. She knows the academy; is she a fighter? Will she be with friends? Who might she go to for help? Where would be safe?¡±


    Xavier absorbed the questions and ran them through his mind. Nuria was younger than him, barely sixteen, and a scientist with no martial training. When the Vruhr attack struck, she would have looked for him. But he wasn¡¯t there. Just like he hadn¡¯t been there for Alau, or any of the others when they needed him. Guilt soared through him and he pushed a thumb to his mouth, chewing on the nail.


    A large hand fell on his shoulder. ¡°Calm, Xavier. Think. Your sister.¡±


    Strangely, Ladislav¡¯s own composure helped and Xavier focused on the questions once more, trying to build answers in his mind. She would have gone to his class, but not finding him she would have found¡ª Bellec! Of course. Bellec was Xavier¡¯s closest friend and one of the academy¡¯s finest military students. He would have wanted to fight and to fight he would need weapons.


    ¡°Quickly, Xavier,¡± Ladislav¡¯s voice interrupted his thoughts, this time with a hint of urgency.


    ¡°The combat simulation center. They would have gone there. It has weapons and it¡¯s the easiest place to defend.¡± Xavier was surprised to hear an edge of determination in his voice, driving out the fear.


    Ladislav nodded. ¡°Makes sense. Good work.¡± His hand fell away from Xavier¡¯s shoulder. ¡°So, we go to the combat center. Lead the way.¡±


    As they made slow progress through the darkened corridors, Xavier tried his best to look as if he carried the blaster with purpose. He had been shown the correct way of holding a blaster a thousand times previously, but now that it came to a real-life military situation, he felt foolish. A pretend soldier who jumped at every noise in the dark. Somewhere behind him was a real soldier, a man made for combat. A man that Xavier had dreamed of being, but now began to realize his dreams were merely that¡ª great delusions. When he had played at being a warrior, he had never imagined the gut-wrenching fear that would come with it in a real-life situation, nor the constant feeling of hopelessness that had plagued him ever since he first saw the Vruhr attack.


    They rounded another corner and Xavier stopped. The faint sound of blaster fire reached him.


    ¡°It¡¯s coming from that way.¡± Xavier¡¯s heart skipped a beat as Ladislav¡¯s voice whispered behind him. Collecting himself, he followed Ladislav¡¯s thumb and nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s where the military training center is.¡±


    ¡°Then some students still fight.¡±


    Xavier merely nodded, doing his best to ignore what he felt was an unspoken accusation at his own cowardliness. ¡°What do we do?¡±


    ¡°Do? We rescue your sister. Come.¡± This time Ladislav led the way and Xavier followed. As they grew closer to the military center, the blaster fire became louder and would occasionally be mixed with the shouts of human voices. The shadows of the corridors seemed to hide unseen enemies and Xavier could feel fear returning. He gripped his pistol tight with sweaty hands. As they stopped at a corner, Ladislav peered round before cursing.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Xavier whispered.


    ¡°Not good. There are a lot. Too many, maybe. Is there another way into this training center?¡±


    ¡°No, there is only one way¡ªwait! Yes! There is. The drone-docks.¡±


    ¡°The what?¡±


    ¡°Drone-docks. When we train, we shoot at drone targets. But when the drones aren¡¯t being used, they retreat to a storage room below the simulator. There are a dozen different gaps in the floor that the drones emerge from. If you don¡¯t know about them then you wouldn¡¯t look for them. But I know about them and I know how to get to them.¡±


    ¡°Show me.¡±


    Xavier lead the way, pleased to finally be able to offer some help. They came to a small storage door and Xavier pushed his hand against the scanner. It flashed red. He tried it again, but the scanner showed red once more.


    ¡°No. Pasht you!¡± Xavier cursed, striking out at the metal paneling that hid the door¡¯s circuitry.


    ¡°Problem?¡± Ladislav whispered over his shoulder, his gaze locked on the corridor behind them.


    ¡°It¡¯s locked,¡± Xavier replied, despair returning.


    ¡°Move.¡± Ladislav stepped to the door and put a large armored hand against the scanner. It flashed red once more, but then a soft glow of lights began to glimmer from the palm of Ladislav¡¯s glove. Xavier watched on nervously, as time seemed to drag, each second punctuated by the sound of fighting. Eventually, the scanner glowed green and the door swung open. With a huge feeling of relief, Xavier followed Ladislav inside.


    The room held row after row of small, round drones. There were dozens of them, powered down and sitting in the docking ports that lined the walls. A faint red glow, emanating from the docked drones, provided the only light in the room.


    Xavier strolled past the drones and made for three large metal ramps, relieved to see that they were exactly as he remembered them. ¡°Here! You see! These slope upwards¡ª¡± he placed his hand on one of the ramps as he spoke ¡°¡ªand at the top are small holes you can climb through. They take you inside the simulation room. From there you can easily get to the armory.¡±


    ¡°Xav¡­¡±


    ¡°What? It¡¯s easy. Come on, I¡¯ll show you!¡± There was an eagerness in Xavier¡¯s voice now, as he urged Ladislav to follow.


    ¡°You think I¡¯m going to fit up there?¡± Ladislav replied quietly.


    Xavier took in Ladislav¡¯s towering stature and then looked back at the drone-tunnel that suddenly seemed awfully small. His eagerness quickly fell away.


    ¡°You have to go,¡± Ladislav continued, his voice resolute. ¡°Bring your sister and any survivors back this way. I¡¯ll wait. Oh¡ª¡± he gestured behind him ¡°¡ªhow do I activate these drones?¡±


    Xavier showed him the drone control panel and as Ladislav activated it, a score of the small balls rose into the air.


    ¡°Nice,¡± grunted Ladislav.


    Before Xavier could reply, Ladislav had disappeared back into the corridor, blending into the gloom with his target drones levitating through the air after him. Xavier couldn¡¯t help but wonder what the commando intended, but he forced his attention onto his own task. Fumbling with the gun in his hand, he finally managed to stash it in one of his pockets, though the hilt was far too bulky and stuck out, jabbing him in the hip as he bent over.


    Dropping into a crouch, he began to pull himself up one of the drone ramps with quick, jerking motions. The gun at his side clanked against the metal of the ramp and Xavier cursed it inwardly with each movement upwards, terrified that the Vruhr would hear it. He pushed on, too afraid to look back, instead aiming for the dull light that illuminated the top of the ramp. He felt his shoulder blades begin to itch as he pictured a Vruhr blade piercing them, his body falling to the floor, leaking blood much like Paavo¡¯s had. He was almost surprised when he finally reached the top unharmed and he stopped before slowly pushing his head up through the drone tube. With a squint, he waited long seconds as his eyes finally adjusted to the new light.


    Large crates and blocks were all around him, creating a makeshift scene that, on training days, would hide the drones and offer them some protection from the military recruits. But for now, they did a good job of hiding him. He pulled his body up through the tunnel, though every wound and bruise clawed at him, every aching muscle screamed at him to stop. He ignored the pain, reaching the top and collapsed, out of breath, onto the top of a crate. He lay for a few moments, his heart heavy in his chest, sweat soaking through his clothing, finding its way into every small cut on his body. He pushed a bead of it from his eyes, wincing as his finger brushed a small laceration below his eye. For a few moments, Xavier just lay there as his breath slowly returned to him, wondering what to do next.


    The distant sound of a fresh wave of blaster fire forced him into action and to his feet and he leaped down the crates, landing on the training room floor with a clumsy roll. Rising, he cautiously crossed the shooting practice gallery. No windows lined the gallery, no hidden side doors hid an army of Vruhr waiting to ambush him. Yet sill Xavier¡¯s skin prickled, the same spot between his shoulder blades feeling very vulnerable. With a feeling of relief, he reached the door to the large bunker that was the academy¡¯s armory. He waited, pushing his ear to the wall and listening to the sounds within. Voices sounded on the other side, though muffled as they were it was hard to make out words.


    He called out. Then called out once more, louder. The wait dragged on and unease crept back up his spine. When still nobody replied, Xavier banged a fist against the heavy metal door. It was met by a host of muted shouts and then silence.


    He was about to bang again when the door swung over. Xavier stared down the barrel of a single rifle.


    ¡°Don¡¯t shoot!¡± Xavier shouted, struggling to make himself heard over the barrage of fire from elsewhere in the room. ¡°It¡¯s me! Xavier Albion!¡±


    Xavier waited, heart hammering in his ears when a familiar voice rung out. ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t shoot! Xavier, is it really you?¡±


    The soldier pointing his gun at Xavier let his rifle fall away.


    Xavier stepped inside his eyes widening as he saw Bellec standing tall and broad. Bellec strode forward, heavy eyebrows lifting in surprise, before he embraced Xavier, almost lifting him from his feet. ¡°Xav! Pasht curse you, I thought you were dead! Where did you come from?¡±


    Xavier returned the hug, his eyes scanning the room as he did so. There were more than a dozen people in the small room, most carrying guns, even more carrying wounds. Bellec, he saw, had a small cut on his cheek and a blood-soaked bandage covering a larger wound on his arm.


    Xavier pushed his friend away as he spoke, careful to avoid the wounded arm. ¡°The drone-tunnels. I came through the drone-tunnels.¡± He paused, fearing the answer his next question would receive. ¡°Nuria¡­where is she?¡± As he spoke, he pushed further inside the room, letting his eyes fall over the few remaining humans. Their sunken eyes and poorly dressed wounds suggested they had been holed up in the small room for some time. As Xavier continued to scan the room, the metallic walls and heavy door suddenly seemed more like a coffin than a sanctuary.


    ¡°Is this all there is?¡± he whispered. Fortified storage cubicles lined the weapons room but even from his location, Xavier could see most were empty of people.


    Bellec¡¯s face was grim, but then a smile broke his lips. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Xav. She¡¯s here.¡± Bellec pointed to the back of the armory and gave him a light slap on the shoulder.


    Bellec¡¯s words filled Xavier with hope and he found himself running through the armory. ¡°Nuria!¡± he shouted as he ran. As he reached the last and largest cubicle, he saw his sister¡¯s blonde head rise from a huddled group of younger students.


    ¡°Xav?¡± Her voice was soft, disbelieving as he took another step forward. Then ¡°Xavier!¡± This time she screamed the word and flung herself at her older brother. Xavier buried his face in her messy hair as she hugged him, elation at finding his sister almost overwhelming him. ¡°Nuria,¡± he whispered, tears threatening. ¡°Are you ok?¡±


    He felt her head nod against his arm in response and then she pulled away. Large blue eyes over a freckled nose stared back at him. ¡°Xav...I was so worried.¡± Her voice quivered as he spoke. ¡°Why is this happening to us?¡±


    The fear in her voice cut through his short-lived joy and he struggled for the right words. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Nuria. But we¡¯re going to get out of it. I promise you.¡±


    She opened her mouth and made to speak once more, but whatever she wanted to say was lost to the sound of rifle fire. Bellec and the two large men holding the doorway fell back as a Vruhr tried to push itself inside. Bellec shot it clean through the head and it collapsed into the corridor. The small human trio pushed back into the doorway and launched a hail of return fire. At the sight of the alien, Nuria cried out and Xavier pulled her towards him, gripping her hand tight as he did so.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to get out of this.¡± He told her with a confidence he did not feel. He squeezed her hand again, as much for his own comfort as her own.


    He could see now that a few human bodies had already been laid out in a separate cubicle, though someone had taken the time to cover their faces with Union coats. The Vruhr Bellec had shot still lay on just visible, inky blood oozing from its wound. The remaining humans, teenagers mostly, had scrambled to the far end of their small chamber, desperate to get away from the alien carcass. Some of the teens sobbed openly, but most just stared into space, wild-eyed and silent.


    ¡°Bellec, we have to get out of here!¡± He shouted above the weapon¡¯s fire, clasping his sister¡¯s hand as they moved back through the armory. The fighting fell away momentarily and Bellec swung to face him. At some point the cut in his face had opened further, letting fresh blood trickle down his face. Brown hair, usually combed so methodically, was now matted to his head with sweat. ¡°We can use the same tunnels I came up through.¡± Xavier continued, the urgency in which he spoke causing the words to fall over each other.


    ¡°We can¡¯t all go, Xav,¡± Bellec replied, his voice heavy. ¡°We have wounded.¡± He gestured and Xavier saw two men and a girl lying in the corner of the room. The men both had wounds to the right side of their bodies, the skin hung red and torn as if rendered by dozens of pieces of tiny shrapnel. The girl, however, was much worse. One arm was missing at the shoulder and her left leg seemed to be more bandage than anything else. All three of them were lost in the mercy of an anesthesia-induced seep.


    ¡°We can carry them,¡± Xavier said in desperation, though he knew as soon as he spoke that it would never work. They¡¯d never be able to outrun the Vruhr with three wounded.


    A large man pushed himself away from the door and Xavier recognized him as Aldo, one of his own military instructors. ¡°Xavier.¡± The instructor acknowledged. ¡°Take those who can walk and get them out of here.¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°I am not debating you, cadet.¡± The man¡¯s shaven head wrinkled into a familiar frown. ¡°You get these people out of here.¡±


    Xavier swallowed, determined to make one last argument. A tug at his shirt from Nuria and the steely look in Bellec¡¯s eyes changed his mind. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± His head fell, guilt tearing at him. It felt like someone had lodged a large stone in Xavier¡¯s stomach and for a moment he found it difficult to swallow.


    The big instructor turned, and Xavier noticed the limp he carried, the trail of small blood droplets splashing from the leg of his uniform. Part of Xavier, a large part, wished he could find the courage to refuse the order and stand and fight with the rest. But another part felt relief that he had been offered a way out. It was for that last part that he hated himself. His sister¡¯s hand still gripping his own and the terror in her eyes meant it was a hate he would have to live with. ¡°Nuria!¡± He turned to his sister, hands gripping her shoulders. ¡°We¡¯re going to get out of here. Okay?¡±


    She nodded, though Xavier could make out the line of water building on the bottom of her eyelids. ¡°Good. I need you to round up those who can walk and take them into the training room. I¡¯ll be right behind you.¡±


    Wiping away the building tears with a sleeve, Nuria set her jaw and nodded slightly. Xavier gave her a weak smile before she ran off to the storage cubicle where she had previously sheltered and began to speak to the students who still huddled there. Satisfied his sister had momentarily put aside her terror, Xavier spun back to Bellec who still manned the doorway, determined to try one last time to save his friend¡¯s life. ¡°Bel, we have to go. Please!¡±


    As he spoke, Xavier saw in Bellec something that he himself was not. Bellec was a soldier. A hero. Handsome, tall, broad-shouldered and possessing an unwavering belief in himself. He recalled the coolness with which his friend had dispatched the Vruhr moments earlier, and his heart sank as he knew what would come next.


    ¡°Not for me Xav. I¡¯ll be here,¡± his friend spoke, without turning to face him.


    ¡°Bellec¡­¡±


    Bellec finally turned ¡°I¡¯ve got this, Xav. You get out of here and take that annoying sis of yours with you.¡± He gave a weak smile and Xavier knew then that it would likely be the last time he saw his friend. He suspected Bellec knew it too. For the fifteen years, he and Bellec had known each other, Xavier had never known his friend to back down once his mind was made up.


    He was about to argue more, but instead, he merely whispered back in a low voice, ¡°Give them hell, Bel.¡± And, having seen his friend break numerous academy military records, Xavier had no doubt the Vruhr would soon learn why his friend had been given the ¡®Hell Bel¡¯ moniker. With a quick backward glance, he set off for the training room, heart heavy with the hope that his friend would call out his name at the last minute, come running to join him. He stepped through the door alone. Nuria and some eight very scared looking students waited on the other side.


    ¡°Is this everybody?¡± His eyes raked the group. They were all Nuria¡¯s age or younger, Xavier saw to his dismay.


    Nuria nodded.


    He wondered if he should say something to them. A short speech to reassure or calm their nerves, but he could not think of any words that would wake them from the shock. Instead, he settled for a simple, ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s go.¡± He led them quickly back through the training room and down through the drone-tunnels, hoping they would all find the courage to follow. As he reached the bottom, he turned and waited for the remaining students to slide down the ramps one by one, urging them all to hurry as he did so. Nuria was the last to reach the bottom and as she rose back to her feet, she let out a scream. Xavier turned, just as Ladislav crept out of the dark.


    ¡°Nuria!¡± By now the other students had also begun to scream, some looking frantically around the room whilst others cowered. ¡°Nuria! He¡¯s a friend!¡± Xavier did his best to quickly reassure them before their cries could reach the Vruhr. ¡°Please! He¡¯s a friend. He¡¯s here to help.¡±


    Eventually, the students began to calm down and a small boy with a mop of ginger hair took a hesitant step forward ¡°Is he a hero?¡± the boy whispered.


    Ladislav bent a knee and went down on one leg in front of the child. ¡°That I am. A hero who kills Vruhr!¡± As Ladislav spoke, the lights of his helmet flickered on in a burst of different colors. The boy squealed and ran back to shelter behind an older child. It brought nervous chuckles from one or two of the students and Xavier felt some of the tension in the room lift.


    Ladislav rose back to his full height and ran a helmeted head over the group before speaking, his voice that usual rumbling attempt at a whisper. ¡°I was expecting military recruits. We can¡¯t take eight unarmed students.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t leave eight unarmed students either,¡± Xavier fired back.


    The big soldier considered this for a moment. ¡°How many of you can fire a weapon?¡±


    Two older boys raised their hands, along with Nuria.


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t, Nuria,¡± Xavier hissed.


    ¡°Dad taught me!¡± she argued.


    ¡°Enough.¡± Ladislav cautioned angrily. ¡°Xavier, tell me you brought them some weapons from that fancy Union armory.¡±


    Xavier didn¡¯t speak and was about to curse himself for a fool when Ladislav did it for him ¡°Like a fasie cornered by a rexal, Xav. Useless,¡± he muttered despairingly. ¡°You and you.¡± He pointed to the two boys at the front and tossed them weapons. Xavier couldn¡¯t help but wonder where Ladislav was storing all those guns. The big man seemingly had more weapons than the entire Vermatian garrison.


    ¡°As for the rest of you,¡± Ladislav continued, ¡°you pick up weapons when you find them. If you don¡¯t know how to use them¡ª learn. Quickly. And do not fall behind.¡±


    As they left the drone room, Xavier couldn¡¯t help but continuously glance at his sister, worried for her and all she had seen. But there was another fear that clawed at him¡ª the fear that she might ask about their parents, about Bellec. They were the source of his own anguish and he had no desire to put his own concerns onto Nuria. As it was, she never asked. Instead, her eyes stayed glued to Ladislav¡¯s broad back as their small group continued on in a leaden silence.


    A cold shiver of apprehension was beginning to crawl up Xavier¡¯s back as the motley group pressed on. Every sound, every distant ring of blaster fire had them all jumping. Each step brought them a little closer to panic. Xavier could feel it in himself and the young students behind him. He saw the terror written across Nuria¡¯s face, felt it in every squeeze she gave his hand. He tried to keep her close, to reassure her. His thoughts turned to his parents momentarily. He gave a silent prayer for their safety, and for that of Bellec who even now may be lying dead at the hands of the Vruhr. Suppressing a shudder, he forced his attention to the man leading them.


    So far, Ladislav and his seemingly supernatural ability to avoid the Vruhr had guided them without incident, but now something was wrong. Maybe it was the way Ladislav was carrying himself¡ª Xavier was sure he could see some tension in the soldier¡¯s broad shoulders. For Xavier, Ladislav being worried was almost as terrifying as the knowledge that the Vruhr were out there. It was easy to see the giant soldier as an invincible force. Twice they had stumbled upon lone Vruhr, and twice Ladislav had disposed of them silently, calmly. Now, though, Ladislav was concerned. Xavier didn¡¯t know how he knew, but he knew. And he suspected the others did too as the students began to huddle themselves closer together.


    Xavier noticed they were slowing, too. Gone was the urgency in Ladislav¡¯s movements, now it had been replaced by caution.


    Eventually, Ladislav stopped altogether. He turned to Xavier. ¡°We have a problem,¡± warned Ladislav, his voice low.


    Xavier felt his panic rise faster now and he gave a quick glance to his sister who was looking around them frantically.


    Ladislav pointed and Xavier followed the finger to their left most corridor. For a moment he saw nothing, then the briefest movement caught his eye. Had he imagined it? He stared harder.


    ¡°Vruhr,¡± Ladislav confirmed in a grunt.


    ¡°So, we go right,¡± Xavier whispered hopefully.


    ¡°No good there either. More Vruhr.¡±


    Xavier could make out nothing in the dark that filled the corridor to their right, but he had no doubt Ladislav spoke the truth. The hairs on the back of his neck begin to rise and fear settled in the pit of his stomach. His earlier words came back to him. We¡¯re going to get through this, Nuria. He tried to steel himself, weighing the gun in his hand. If he had to, he would stand and die to protect his sister. He tried to imagine himself the hero, but the dark corridor and the feeling of death in the air made it difficult to feel anything but afraid.


    ¡°We can make a run for it,¡± Xavier argued. Glancing behind him, at the dark shape of eight students illuminated only by a distant glow-globe. One of the few that had not been destroyed by the Vruhr. He knew with an anguished certainty that the younger and smaller ones would not make it far before the Vruhr were upon them.


    ¡°Yes, you can, Xav. You can make a run for it.¡± There was a sober note to Ladislav¡¯s voice that Xavier had never heard from him before. The big man weighed up the guns in his hand. ¡°Tell them to run.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Xavier knew what was coming and his pleas were edged with desperation. ¡°You¡¯re coming with us. Please, Ladislav!¡±


    A scream from Nuria and Xavier spun as the first of the Vruhr come into sight, dark, silent and menacing. Ladislav raised his gun, his voice bellowing. ¡°You run. You run now!¡± He fired the first shot, then another. ¡°RUN!¡±


    Footsteps pounded down the halls, growing louder and faster.


    They ran. Xavier grabbed Nuria¡¯s hand and together they made for the northern corridor. Rifle fire sounded behind them and above it all, he could still hear Ladislav¡¯s voice ¡°Run!¡±


    He had no idea if the other students were behind him, he only knew he needed to get to safety with his sister. As they reached the end of the corridor, Xavier spun back. Ladislav still stood in the faint light, larger than ever, defiant in the middle of the four halls. The commando was a statue, arms spread like wings, two blasters in each hand firing into the groups of Vruhr pouring silently from two different sides, surrounding the human. A shot took him in the leg and he fell to one knee with a cry. A Vruhr raised a wicked curved blade above Ladislav¡¯s head, but Ladislav shot him. He tried to push himself back to his feet, but another blow took the warrior in the back and Ladislav fell onto his chest.


    An ache tore through Xavier and grief cracked his voice ¡°No! Get up! Please, get up!¡± But his words were lost amongst the blaster fire as yet another Vruhr fell to Ladislav¡¯s weapons.


    ¡°We have to go, Xav! Please!¡± Nuria was tugging at his shirt frantically, undisguised fear lacing her words. A last look at Ladislav showed the big man surrounded by enemy soldiers. With a moan of despair, Xavier gripped Nuria¡¯s hand tight and they ran. Behind him, he heard the frantic footsteps of the remaining academy students. As they neared the end of the corridor, a distant explosion rocked the walls. Xavier had heard a similar explosion before, just after Paavo was killed. Understanding burned within him and he lashed out, striking the wall in anger before turning to the group that now looked to him.


    Swallowing his emotions, he spoke, ¡°I know you¡¯re exhausted but we¡¯re nearly there. Do not fall behind!¡± He hoped his words would push them on, but he worried they only added to their terror. Xavier lead the small group forwards thoughts warring within. Would they sense that he was as scared as they were, or would they look at him with hope? The gun he carried felt heavier than ever before.