《System Infiltration》
After The End
When you left, the stars went soon after. The end of everything would have been nothing if they hadn¡¯t taken you. But I won¡¯t forget. And I won¡¯t lie down in wait. I will find you, I will make them suffer for every second we were apart.
¡°Five minutes,¡± Kennan said quietly from the forest outside the tent. He had the schedule, and while he was not one of many words, the group treated his speech as gospel. Those who hadn¡¯t were long gone.
I got out of my sleeping bag, and quickly rustled through my backpack for my glasses. I was sick of my mind slowing me down, harboring me with hatred for the Enforcers, rather than a clear head. I unclasped the tent entrance, and covered my eyes as the light of the solid magenta sky burned. This close to a scheduled sweep, and even the best sunglasses we had made it only barely manageable.
To my left, Fern was stomping out a campfire, and to my right Herman had a tarp over his shoulder, on his way to cover any remnants of what Fern left over.
¡°This should¡¯ve been done already,¡± I said, moving to help Herman pull the tarp over the blackened sticks, and smother any smoke that threatened to rise.
¡°Prayer comes first, miss,¡± Herman responded. I didn¡¯t push back on it. It was his source of strength, and I wouldn¡¯t dare take that from him.
¡°Three minutes.¡± Kennan stood holding a ceramic tile, which had something which looked like a star map engraved in it. Kennan was the only one who could decipher it. The schedule. The only reason we were still alive.
Herman and I exchanged a look, and joined the line. I counted thirty of us. Last sweep, there were thirty-two. I didn¡¯t know them before. I didn¡¯t have to. Once we learned how to survive, it became a matter of wanting to survive.
Hatred was useful for that. It was my strength, my purpose, and after everything we lost¡ It was so easy to hate them. Some people couldn¡¯t justify their lives like that, and they found their own way out. It wasn¡¯t giving up, it was their own defiance of how they forced us to go on.
Finally, Kennan¡¯s last call before the sweep came. ¡°One minute.¡±
We looked over the edge, at the water below. It was the only way to avoid detection. I breathed deeply, leading the pack as I plunged myself into the depths. I felt someone else brush against my leg as I forced myself as deep as my body could handle, pushing down and down.
Bubbles raged against my skin as the desperate peddling down of thirty people disturbed the water. My lungs started to burn, but I noticed it was easier this time.
Then it came.
One could not adapt to the sweep. First, the sound. A planet wide ping at both a rumbling bass that shook the crust of the Earth itself, then a higher screeching which shattered glass. The noise that turned cities to shards. Even so far under the water, my eardrums ached.
Next was the light. Like all the stars of the universe which had disappeared on that day condensed and crammed into a single ray. I had my sunglasses on, the makeshift band around the back keeping them tight, and my eyes shut. Yet everything in that moment burned in brilliant terrifying brightness.
Lastly, and worst of all, a measure the water had no effect on, was our minds. The Enforcers spoke to us during the sweeps. They called with lures and promises, images of desecration and beauty and terror. A war so grand that we were imperfections in the bloodspill. They told us we were avoiding our fates, that there was so much more beyond our existence. If only we would just give ourselves up. No words were said, but the meaning was searing.
I swam further down still. I fought and I kept kicking, and when I felt like I couldn''t take another second, I kicked again.
And like nothing had ever happened, it was over.
When we broke the surface, the sky was blue. I swam for the shore, and accepted a hand from Henry, who¡¯d made it out first. A minute later, I did a recount of the numbers. Thirty strong. I let out a breath I didn¡¯t realise I was still holding. We were okay for now.
After the sweeps, I usually tried to keep myself occupied. Letting one¡¯s thoughts wander was too dangerous, especially so after the invasive thoughts that the Enforcers planted.
So when Herman proposed a fishing trip, I gladly obliged. It was our only real source of fresh meat, since the animals on the surface had all succumbed to the first few sweeps. I gave some more slack as I waited impatiently for feedback from the rod. Behind me, Herman was going through the basics with the mute kid, Ollie.
¡°Worms are about as good as we¡¯ll do for bait. The fishies love em¡¯,¡± he said. I looked over, and he had the kid holding a worm, and showed him how to thread it on the hook.
I shook my head at the absurdity of it. Herman and Fern had taught them all how to survive out in the wild. They were both rangers, before. Herman was on the older side, and together with the kid, it looked like a father son fishing trip.
¡°Now Ollie, watch how Ava does it, and then you have a go,¡± Herman announced, tapping me on the back. He then leaned in to whisper, ¡°You alright, miss?¡±
I realised my fist was clenched around the pole. Ollie had no parents anymore. This was his childhood now. In time, this life would be all he knew, the time before a faint dream. They¡¯d taken that from him. I calmed myself and just nodded.
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The line in my hand jerked, and I pulled up. It was a good sized trout. I let myself smile, and handed the pole over to Ollie. ¡°Now, Herman, don¡¯t give credit for that one to the Lord. I worked for that¡±
He laughed. ¡°I know when to keep my trap shut, miss.¡± He looked at the boy. ¡°Now you just put the pole here, and hold it steady, like that. She''ll do the rest.¡±
I gutted the fish while I watched the sun set over the lake. We still had that, at least. All the other stars had vanished but ours. It was the most peaceful afternoon we¡¯d had in a while, and successful, too.
As Ollie reeled in another fish, and I packed up the equipment, a shadow loomed overhead.
¡°Shit,¡± I muttered, dropping to the ground as a ship passed by, leaving the trees shaking violently in its wake. The angular crafts were far less common to see these days.
It didn¡¯t stop at our camp, but we all knew what it meant. Someone nearby had been found by the Enforcers, and they would be taken. We had a few hours to pack up.
I got to my feet, and rushed to Herman, who was looking into the direction the ship had flown. His expression was dark.
"That way is the East Coast, ain''t it?" he asked.
I nodded. ¡°Thought that region was dead. But they¡¯ll look harder for remnants now.¡±
Ollie tugged on my trousers, and signed annoyance. He was dripping wet, having jumped into the water as soon as the ship came. I ruffled his brown unkempt hair.
We¡¯d have to move at least ten miles to be safe. I looked over the lake, as the orange rays shone back at me, almost taunting. I only hoped that maybe we could cycle back once the Enforcers were done. At least now we had good food for the journey.
We marched well through the night. Fern took the lead. She held the only gun of the group, and we were in bear country. I was right behind, map in one hand, compass in the other.
As far as we could tell, there were two main ways of attracting Enforcer attention. One was to be on the surface during a sweep. It worked to be in a cave, a building or in a tent, but then you went blind or deaf from the scanning. Second was any form of technology. So GPS was unfortunately off the table. I was navigating us towards a decent sized lake, out the way of any city. Cities were death traps with the amount of circling Enforcer crafts.
¡°We need to do a tick check next time we stop. I swear I can feel them biting me all through my pants,¡± Fern said, ¡°How much further is it, anyway?¡±
I consulted the map. ¡°Still a while. There¡¯s a smaller body just beyond those hills. We can stop at the top for a bit, and get some water too. There isn''t a river on this side, so we boil it. That sound alright?"
She grunted in response. I dropped pace a bit, and let myself get caught up by Kennan, who was on the outside of the group. He was odd. There was no other way of saying it. I didn¡¯t know what he was like before, but I knew he was in a city when it happened. When we¡¯d found him in the woods, he¡¯d been wandering aimlessly, almost catatonic, grasping the schedule.
"Hey man. You doing alright? I didn¡¯t see you eat dinner. I¡¯ve got a couple of cereal bars left if you want one," I offered.
He stopped and turned his head toward me, as if considering. He nodded, and I turned my backpack towards him, stopping to let him reach in and grab one. He was always on the edge, and his ears bled regularly.
¡°So,¡± I said, ¡°When does it say the next sweep is?¡±
He stopped and looked down at the stone, and traced a finger over the engravings.
"I think... four days? Not sure," he said, his voice strained, "Maybe three? Or... or five. Sorry. Sorry."
"Okay, man. Don''t worry, you''re doing great," I said, trying to reassure him. He could be hard on himself too. Besides, that was long enough away that it didn¡¯t matter yet. The chart became clearer to read the closer the sweep was anyway. I had no idea how it functioned, or how he could decipher it at all, but I wasn¡¯t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
¡°Hey,¡± Fern called, ¡°Everyone look sharp. Water¡¯s just here, but I¡¯m also seeing footprints in the mud.¡±
Suddenly, she pointed her gun at a point up on the hill between a couple of trees. Everyone froze.
I moved beside her, and followed her gaze. Two girls, no more than sixteen years old. I put a hand on Fern¡¯s gun and lowered it.
¡°Just kids, Fern, and they¡¯re not armed,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to them, see if there¡¯s any others.¡±
Three others came to the front, obviously intent on making contact too. I didn¡¯t argue. The girls didn¡¯t run as we approached, but they did look nervous, skittish. I noticed they were skinny, terrifyingly so.
¡°Hi, we came to get some water. Is that okay?¡± I asked slowly. The last thing I wanted was to scare them even more than they already were.
The girl on the left stepped forward to respond. ¡°Are¡ are you one of them?¡±
I looked at my companions in confusion. It quickly turned to horror as I ran through the possibilities. We hadn¡¯t run across any large groups yet, only stragglers who¡¯d joined us. But we weren¡¯t stupid. There would be people out there who would do anything to survive, even people who took pleasure out of plundering vulnerable people like these girls.
¡°One of them?¡± I asked, as I signaled back to Fern to look out.
¡°They found our camp. There were so many people¡¡± she said, tears suddenly streaming down her face.
A man on my right, Henry, quickly knelt down before the girl and placed an arm on her shoulder.
¡°Who did this? Are they still here?¡± His voice was soft but firm.
The girl sniffed, and nodded. I looked back, and signaled the group danger. They formed a formation we hadn¡¯t really practiced, only discussed. Makeshift knives came out of packs, machetes too. Fern stood in the centre of what now resembled a circle, hunting rifle on a swivel. Herman took the three kids of the group, and ran the opposite direction. They would hide until the area was safe.
Henry and I gently guided the girls back to our circle while we prodded them for more information. They were too shocked to give helpful answers.
¡°How many exactly were there that raided your camp?¡± I asked, loud enough that everyone could immediately understand the situation.
¡°Ten. No¡ twenty.¡± One of them responded.
The other quickly butted in. ¡°But we couldn¡¯t see all of them¡ they were¡ quick¡ and they wore weird suits.¡±
I suddenly had a sinking feeling. ¡°Suits? What do you mean by that?¡±
¡°White ones. Like¡ astronauts, but slimmer.¡±
No.
Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at the girl, horror playing across their faces. At the same time, a blaring siren blasted from above, along with a shadow. The girls¡¯ camp hadn¡¯t been raided by a group of humans. The Enforcers had taken them, and now they¡¯d followed the trail right to us.
Fuck. I steeled myself and shouted, ¡°Run! Split up and run!¡±
Not On Their Terms
A flash of light¨Cthen the world ceased to exist. I had never felt nothing before. The sudden absence of feeling was much worse than any pain. For a few brief moments, I willed myself to move, and I got no response. It was not dark, it was void. The difference couldn¡¯t entirely register in my mind, which was already processing the utter silence. My consciousness was entirely isolated from reality.
Hours, or years, or seconds passed in that state. Time had no meaning without reference.
Then, I was once more. But everything felt off, blurry. It was like I was drugged. Where am I? Am I dead?
A ringing persisted in my ears. Probably not. Vague images of before came to me, but my memory was fractured. Others. There were others with me. Are they okay? I suddenly panicked. I tried to move, and I still couldn¡¯t, but this time I felt something. There was a resistance to the motion. I had a body, but it was restrained.
Okay, calm down. I¡¯m alive. Now where am I?
I strained myself to piece together what had happened. The ship had¡ shit. We¡¯d been taken by the Enforcers. That could mean anything.
Particles drifted at the edge of my vision, like dust, and I blinked rapidly to clear them. I squinted, and I could almost make out something before me. A vaguely humanoid figure, in all white.
One of them.
My anger swelled, rage at these beings who¡¯d destroyed the world, who¡¯d separated me from my husband. If I could just wriggle out of¡ something clicked. My right arm could move. I raised it to my eyes, wiping away a sooty substance I hadn¡¯t even realised was there.
I could see properly now. My body was covered in needles, and I was hanging at an angle from the ceiling. Belts and wires strapped across random parts of my body, restraining me from doing anything. The Enforcer turned to regard me, face obscured under that damned suit.
I mustered up all my strength, and spat at it.
It stared at me for a moment, before the door slid open and it left the room. I hung there, suspended, for a while. Hundreds of questions assaulted my mind, all as pertinent as the last.
The Enforcers spoke to us in their weird way during the sweeps. They talked about how it would be better on the other side. I¡¯d never even considered giving in to them. But we still had no clue what they really were, what they really wanted, why they took everything from us. I¡¯d always assumed it was just a lure to kill us all.
Finally, a pair entered the room. These two were different, unnaturally short, but still clad in the same stark white. One moved directly towards me, whilst the other hovered at the door.
Every inch of my skin burned and the more I concentrated, the more I swore I could feel the holes torn open by the equipment I was hooked up to. How long had it been, living on the surface of the planet evading these fuckers? A year, maybe.
I thought of my husband, who I saw them take in front of me. I¡¯d vowed to get him back. I¡¯d vowed to make them pay. It occurred to me then that he might still be alive. After all, I was alive. For now.
If there was a way I could find him¡
The leading Enforcer reached out, holding something that looked like a small syringe. I waited a moment for him to get close enough, and I swung with my free arm, aiming for its head. To my surprise, it actually landed, and the syringe went flying, the figure staggering back, looking up at me as if surprised.
¡°I¡¯m not a medical experiment,¡± I growled, ¡°And you will not treat me as one.¡±
The Enforcer wavered, but it wouldn¡¯t hesitate for long. The second figure at the door just stood there, unmoving. I strained desperately against the restraints, each movement sending the wires deeper into my skin as I twisted.
A sharp crack echoed as a brittle cable snapped under my struggle. In that instant, a piece of shattered metal clattered from the ceiling¡ªa small, jagged shard that glinted in the harsh light. I caught it instinctively with my free hand. The Enforcer lunged forward, but I now had something to fight back with.
The metal shard sparked against the suit, denting it and drawing a grunt of pain from the being. I felt a surge of satisfaction.
I¡¯ll show you the pain you put us through.
I watched as it stepped back, cautious now. I couldn¡¯t waste a moment. I took the shard to the buckles around my other arm, then started rapidly unplugging all the needles. A moment later, and the lights shifted to a purple hue. An alarm had seemingly been raised. The Enforcers exchanged a glance while I did this, and left the room.
I grimaced as I cut through the last leg straps before the floor embraced me with a thud. I finally properly examined the room they had me captive in.
A cell would be a more apt description. I was hung against the wall on one side, and the door was only a couple meters away on the other. Sterile white ceramics tiled across the floor walls and ceiling. Well, less so with my blood now dripping everywhere. The tubes were everywhere, leading into disorganized clumps. I noticed that etched into the tubing and the tiles was that odd star map like language they used, the same as on the schedule.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
I took a second to pick up the syringe that the Enforcer had dropped, and moved to the door.
Of course, I couldn¡¯t see a mechanism to open it. Instead, I slid my shard into the seam where the door would split apart, and pried as hard as I could. With an intense effort, I cracked it ajar a few inches.
And then, just as I slipped through sideways, a distinctive click sounded behind me, followed by a familiar voice.
¡°Well shit Ava. And here we were trying to rescue you,¡± Fern said.
Fern¡¯s words echoed in the sudden quiet, and for a moment I just froze, half in disbelief. I turned to face the end of a gun barrel. Behind it, five others accompanied the ranger, including Kennan, Herman and Henry.
¡°Is this everyone?¡± I asked with a mix of relief and dread. I had no real memories of the fight that broke out, but by all accounts, we had lost. The only thing that kept anyone safe was that the Enforcer ships had a small hold capacity.
Herman stepped forward to answer. ¡°No. Most of the others are still on the ground. We decided that a suicide mission shouldn¡¯t involve everyone, even if they volunteered. We found Henry tied up in the last room. Fiora and Diane are still somewhere here.¡± He paused for a second. ¡°Ollie too.¡±
¡°Time,¡± Kennan said, tapping his foot nervously.
¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Fern said, ¡°They don¡¯t die, they just keep coming. There¡¯s a big group a few corridors back.¡±
Henry chucked something at me. My backpack. I pocketed the syringe I''d picked up inside, and pulled out a proper knife. I brushed a smear of blood and grime from my face and grimaced. The taste of metal coated my tongue. ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s move.¡±
Apparently, the group had been navigating the ship using the Enforcer inscriptions. Kennan could read them, and he would occasionally point a certain way. We followed without question.
Our path was free of hostiles, and everything felt just slightly off. There were no guards anywhere, despite the alarm being raised. The ship was still grounded. If the Enforcers in the control room decided to fly off with us still inside, we¡¯d be screwed. Another cell passed by empty. We¡¯d found both Diane and Fiora near mine, comatose but breathing. Henry was carrying her across his shoulders.
We approached a fork, and Kennan indicated we should go left. But I could faintly hear a sound that way¨C
I put up a hand and everyone stopped. ¡°Only one pair of footsteps,¡± I whispered.
Fern and Herman stood on either side of the corridor, weapons ready. I nodded, and they both stepped forward, ready to attack.
Instead, a young boy emerged from around the corner. Ollie.
¡°You¡¯re okay!¡± Herman called with relief. He ran to the boy and hugged him. I heard him thanking the Lord under his breath.
Fern was still staring at the end of the corridor. I felt the same suspicion I knew she did. It was all too easy. Ollie cried loudly, sniffling. He tried to sign something, but his hands were shaking and couldn¡¯t.
¡°Exit. Now,¡± I said. I looked at Kennan, who had a strange look on his face. He shook his head before pointing.
We made a run for it, winding through endless corridors. The white ceramic clanked loudly under our feet, betraying any stealth we might have had. Still, no Enforcers showed. After a few minutes, the purple lights gave way to something else. The sky, shining through an open exit hatch.
I had a hundred different thoughts running through my mind at that moment. Every possibility that could¡¯ve gone wrong. What I never expected was that none of them happened. We made it out, jumping the short few feet to the ground from the hatch. I felt the grass beneath my hands, and it was heaven.
I looked back, and saw a single Enforcer staring at us, as we stared at it. We all waited, breaths caught, but it did nothing.
It didn''t follow us.
"We can''t rest," Fern said, breaking the tension, "We need to meet up with the others. Once we do, we can figure out what the fuck just happened."
Burning embers crackled up as the night bore on. It hadn¡¯t taken long to reunite the group, but once we did, we¡¯d spent the next few hours distancing ourselves from the abduction site. Now, we huddled all together around a sizable fire. I subconsciously counted our numbers. Twenty-nine. I hated myself for not even recognising who was missing.
Next to me, Fiora and Diane had their hands on each other''s backs.
¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe you, but it was a high stress environment. Just go through it one more time, please,¡± someone said.
The question was posed towards the two women who¡¯d only woken up a half hour ago. They¡¯d been injected by the syringe I¡¯d narrowly avoided, and had some strange claims.
Fiora answered. ¡°They spoke to us. Properly, not the images they send us during the sweeps, but words. Their language. They told us the injection helped us understand their words. I asked them what they wanted with us. They said that we were warriors, that they needed our strength as theirs.¡±
Diane cut in. ¡°But not before the other voice. And the text. It was like¨C there was something in our eyes, a wall of text. It¡¯s still there, just at the corner. If I think about it¡ Yeah. It appears in front of me, like hieroglyphics that I can for some reason understand.¡±
Ollie jumped up, waving his arms in exasperation. He saw it too, he¡¯d signed. He¡¯d heard them too.
This was all too much. I got up and paced a few steps. Everyone went silent when I did. I didn¡¯t know when it happened, but they looked up to me sometimes. Not always in a fight, we had Fern for that. Not for morality or emotional guidance, not with Herman around. But when a hard choice had to be made. One that no-one else could bear the weight of.
¡°They could¡¯ve captured all of us with ease,¡± I said finally, reasoning aloud. ¡°But they let us escape because we showed that we could fight. That we were willing to fight.¡± I looked to Fiora, who nodded in agreement.
¡°What are you getting at, Ava?¡± Henry asked.
I thought for a moment. ¡°They don¡¯t want us dead. I don¡¯t know about you lot, but it pisses me off that we¡¯re alive on the whim of our oppressors. In fact, I can think of nothing that angers me more. So here is the choice. We can lay low and wait. Try and build ourselves back up, and maybe in a few years, make a stand. If we do that, we lose slowly. A couple people at a time. Or we can go out there and make them regret letting us live.¡±
A log shifted in the fire, letting out a large flame. I heard a couple murmurs, saw a couple nods of assent, one or two people who looked at the floor. Only Fern met my eyes, the same fire in her eyes.
I continued. ¡°Fiora, what did they say about where they took the rest of humanity?¡±
¡°Um¡ a training ground. A different planet, I think. One with monsters and awful things.¡±
¡°So we could grow stronger? And fight for them?¡±
¡°Yes. That¡¯s the end goal.¡±
I shook my head. The exhaustion hit me all at once. I was still covered in scars from the machine, blood soaked my skin. ¡°We will fight. But not on their terms.¡±
I grabbed my backpack, and without consideration for how stupid of an idea this was, pulled out the Enforcer syringe, and injected myself in the neck.