It is nearing sunset on route 108 California. A blue transport bus is driving across the road, carrying a handful of people. They carry packed bags or luggage. There are also others trying to comfort their babies while others are trying to sleep in peace. Six soldiers on guard with their M4 rifles are among the people inside as well.
Among the passengers is a tan-skinned man who is sitting next to a window. He isn't sitting properly, mostly slumping downwards. He looks neat yet timid, his slicked back hair is proof of it. The only thing that is unusual about him is the brown ahoge that stands above the seats. Other than that, he's more or less someone you could find anywhere.
His eyes are puffy, almost dull and distant, looking down.
He looks at his iPhone, which contains a photo.
It was him smiling alongside what it looks like to be his parents.
Next to his parents was an elderly person wearing a military officer outfit from the Navy, having a cane. He was wearing some medals, which his father shared.
He uses his thumb to swipe to the right, changing the picture into another one. This one had him standing in front of his students in a classroom while they smiled, mostly young teens and adults. The billboard behind them reads: "A THOUSAND THANKS FOR YOUR TEACHINGS!"
He swipes again. This time showing a picture of him holding two trophies, one which has the figure of a rapier in his left hand, and the one in his right being a figure of a Katana. They had inscriptions which say: "First place winner of European Fencing/Japanese Arts Tournament".
He then looks at his left hand, staring at it for some seconds. He's looking carefully, like a gift he really liked was suddenly away from his arms.
All he has...is himself.
He eventually closes his hand, then puts it near his chest while putting his phone in his pocket. He presses it, a bit roughly.
His eyes close down. Some small tears fall down from his face.
My own blood, the shared blood...all left undone. For my unseen future...I'll do my best...to start anew. he says internally while pressing his hand and trying to hold back his tears. He lost everything close to him just recently.
He wipes away most of them while trying to stay firm.
The bus then stops near a bus stop on the road. One of the doors then opens, allowing a middle-aged lady to enter. She goes to the nearest seat, most of the seats are already taken.
She sees one near the row with the young teacher and tries to go to it, but next to him is a bald man with a rugged face. When he saw the woman trying to sit, he puts his foot in the seat.
This catches the lady off guard, as she fixes her glance towards the rugged man.
"Excuse me mister...am I doing something wrong?" she asks.
"Yes. Your presence here is not good for the well-being of the others, so I suggest you go somewhere else to sit," the man says.
"But...I've just arrived here. I came from a long way to look for a bus to take me to the safe zone and right now this is the closest seat I can find. I just want to sit down and relax, I just want to be away from all the violence that's happening out there, that's all."
"Sorry, I'm not comfortable with you here sitting next to me," the man says.
"But, why?" the lady asks in a sadder tone.
"Now listen to me you stupid kike, just shut up and find another seat. You're bothering the good men around here!" the man yells back.
Those words sets off a reaction from the young teacher, who then grabs the man's hand and starts pressing it roughly. This makes the man wince in pain.
"What the hell are you doing?!" he asks as he looks at the young teacher who's holding his hand without even looking at him.
"That lady is just a lady, just like everyone else. She needs her own time as she says, there's nothing wrong with her race," the young teacher replies with a cold tone.
The rugged man tries to get his hand away from the young teacher, but almost to no avail. His grip is too tight and strong to let go of it.
"Well, I have the right to my own personal-"
"This is a land for everyone, mister. If I ever hear you being loathsome one more time..."
This scuffle gains the attention of a soldier who notices the quarrel and goes to it in an effort to stop it.
"What. Is. It. Gonna. Be?" the young teacher asks once more, his voice becoming sterner and even menacing.
"What's going on here, you two?!" the soldier demandingly asks.
The rugged man proceeds to lower the foot from the seat which was blocking the lady, eventually allowing her to sit on it.
The young teacher then releases his grip from the bigot's hand and puts it back in place, all while the man tries to hold them together from the pain.
"My deepest apologies, soldier. As an advocate for the rights to any sort of public service, I strongly condemn any sort of violation of such right," the young teacher says.
"I see. But you could have simply called and let us handle the situation instead of yourself. Not to mention, the way you did it to solve it."
"It's just...something that is provoking me to do it. Something I've been trying to control..."
"Well, no matter, all is settled. In the meantime, we can all continue the trip to reach the safe zone in Carson City, and I hope you two will behave better this time around, understood?"
"I do."
"I'll try..." the man replies begrudgingly.
"Good," the soldier says as he goes back to his post.
The bus door then closes, allowing the bus to continue its trip to Carson City.
After a brief period of silence, the young teacher leans forward near the driver's seat to ask him something.
"Hey...mind if you can turn the radio on?"
"Sure thing," he says as he pushes a button near the radio, which activates.
Initially, the sound was some static, which the driver pushes some buttons to find something with the signal until he eventually settles with one channel.
A news channel to be exact, with a female's voice heard talking.
"In the latest reports from military and war correspondents, the outsiders recently known as the Zlocu has been making rapid progress in their U.S conquest. Texas, Florida, Maine, and Vermont have been overrun with California, Nevada, Colorado, and Kansas to follow suit.
The Zlocu race has also been reported in Africa, India, Siberia, and China. The massive exodus of refugees from the countries Russia, Mexico, and various countries in Africa have put a strain on the current systems of surviving nations. Massive casualties have been reported in the contested zones.
"One week later in the Gulf of Mexico, the Philippines, Argentina, and Canada is what many consider to be the most dangerous threat to have ever occurred in mankind's history, called something deadlier than the Spanish Flu and WWII combined.
With their rapid progress in their conquest and reports of surprise attacks coming left and right, one who can only wonder when and where the Zlocu will strike to keep on to install their fear to the population of Earth, which all military commanders advise to stay aler-"
PHEEEEEEEEWWW!
A huge red laser blast pierces through the bus and then splits it in half, with the force of the blast causing it to derail both, with the forward part crashing near a tree, and causing all passengers to fall down and get injured.
Some of the people near the blast lie around the street, most of them dismembered and gravely injured from the blast. Many lifeless bodies lie around the road, while others try to reach to safety almost to no avail.
Cries for help, wailing, and screams of pain can be heard around the area.
The young teacher, lying down on the floor, tries to crawl down outside the bus while trying to know what happened. He uses his strength to get up from the impact while trying to keep on going outside.
And just before he could think that the time to be the hero is now, he couldn't be more wrong.
As he exits the bus, he then sees something he would never expect to see again soon, something far worse than his nightmares.
Zlocan walkers and Knights have arrived, having dropped off from cargo ships. The Knights all look a bit like medieval knights, ones from the Holy Roman Empire to be exact. All with metallic breastplates, gauntlets, helmets, and tassets with red and black coloring around them.The Walkers are bipedal-like machines with high-impact armor, a pair of heavy cannons on the front and just like the armored knights, all colored with black and red lines around the vehicle. The Walkers have also been stationed there in secret, fully cloaked while being prepared to strike any transport coming by. They all start to pick up the survivors, rounding them up and putting them in cages built by them. All while the battleships started to appear in the sky.
The cages would be then picked up from the cargo ships and then transported to another place.
The young teacher then uses the energy he just gained to stand up, but not before he's knocked out harshly by a Knight.
He tries to get up, but the Knight stomps him on his chest, causing the teacher to wince in pain.
"I bet you'll be a perfect specimen for our new way to recruit people for the Inquisition...enjoy this new trip, Human..."
But before the Knight could put him in a cage to be made prisoner and being transformed into something much worse, he gets tackled by none other than the man who refused the seat from before, who tries his best to beat him down.
"YOU. DON'T. SCREW. WITH. US!!!" he says as he tries to pound the knight into submission.
He tries to continue in punching the Knight, but his weakened state makes him completely vulnerable to the Zlocan's skills, quickly grabbing his arms and then break them painfully while pushing him to the ground.
The man stares at the young teacher, whom with his last breath, gives out something he won't expect.
"RUN, YOU FOOL!"
Which he does, and not something he may have wanted.
He wanted to help others...but he's too weak to do it.
All he can do now is run deep into the woods.
The Knight notices it, but he's too busy restraining the man while trying to keep the others in their work.
He pulls his hand on the intercom inside him.
"To the Xelgea division, there's an escapee heading towards the forest! Your new orders are to find and capture the human, no killing unless authorized!"
"Understood!" They say as soon they give chase to the young teacher.
The young teacher runs faster and faster as he can, all while noticing the arriving Zlocan troops everywhere.
And who knows what will happen to him once he finds out the salvation he needs...or everyone needs.
--------------------------------
High above in the skies of California, near the same place, a G650 plane is flying above the clouds, all while the sun shined on the plane's bright coat of paint.
Inside there are 10 people aboard, each sitting near the windows and alongside other people.
Either they're sleeping, awake doing their own business while some few were comforting others over what happened.
Whatever had happened to them beforehand, they truly needed to be away from the horrors.
There's also a TV screen near one of the windows showing the news. No sound can be heard from it, meaning it's likely muted for the sake of the sleepy passengers.
The TV's showing a news anchor talking about the recent events while images of the Zlocan invasion around the world are shown.
Among the headlines shown are: "Outsider force expanding, Humanity's judgment day?" "4% of millionaires reported missing in the US following the invasion." "UN Summit: Emergency meeting in UN headquarters from remaining nations in response to the invasion." among others.
Near the front seat with a window next to passengers, there was a particular dark-skinned guy who was sitting next to someone else sleeping with a table in front of them. He appears like someone for a new generation of scientists, as his short spiky hair, unusual yellow eyes and a neat pair of glasses show.
But as what many say, there's always something that can hide a seemingly perfect exterior.
He's staring at one of the TV screens in front of him with the news shown, looking almost nonchalant about it, while breathing unusually.
Is it just a matter of having seen everything he just learned? Or something more?
He picks a glass of water in the table, but as he tries to raise it, his left-hand start to shake, almost to point of spilling some of the water to the floor.
The scientist clutches to the glass, trying to keep his hand steady, but almost to no avail.
Then, a guy wearing a neat, tidy tuxedo notices his plight while hanging up the phone he had in his hand.
"Hey hey, is there something concerning you?" he asks.
"No...just trying to relax, Salim." the scientist says
"Are you sure about it?"
"Y-yes, I am." He replies while his head and shake almost uncontrollably.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Salim won't bulge as he leans his head forward to him and places his hand near the scientist's shoulder.
"Hey...I know you've just experienced some hot shit back there in Harvard, but I assure you that whatever Carson City may bring, you'll get a second chance in who you can be."
"But what about...the aliens?"
"Eh, the military will find the way, I presume."
"...I-I see."
"But, even so, what you did back then in Boston was surely something worth for heroics, maybe if they were alive at the moment, your baby brother and parents would be proud of the brave action their own child just did, like a good boy."
Then, the scientist's expression changes into something much more. His neck stiffens, he starts to hyperventilate and he tosses the glass to the floor, breaking it into pieces.
He gets up from his seat while pushing aside Salim, rushing to the nearby bathroom.
He enters, his hands terribly shaking while trying to turn on the water from the sink.
He then takes his glasses off and puts them in his pocket, almost falling down because of the force of the shaking.
Sweating, on the verge of tears, almost out of breath, it all feels like his life is being drained away in a matter of seconds.
He wets his hands from the sink and starts splashing it on his face while trying to breathe normally. He tries again and again almost to no avail.
After a moment or two of washing his face. He stops to look at the mirror while still trying to keep himself steady.
His eyes as wide enough to show the whites, his blood almost flowing down in the extremities and clutching his left fist harshly, truly in need to let it out.
He quickly punches the mirror in the sink while roaring in rage.
He calms down while trying to breathe normally, looking at his left hand that now looks messy and bloody, almost embedded with the glass shards.
After a moment of silence, he sobs from the sight of it while trying to clutch the wounded hand.
Whatever Salim was trying to mean "good boy" to him, it was something like the forbidden words of a certain group.
And like with these rules, they're met with severe punishment.
He ends up clearing his tears after what happened, quickly grabbing an aid kits box near the bathroom as he exits.
The rest look on him with worried concerns. All wondering the state of such a young man.
What happened back in Harvard to him? Just what happened?
All these kinds of questions met with certain doubt in what to believe.
He pulls some bandages while carefully removing the shards from the hand.
In the end, in an effort to conceal the shameful wound, he pulls out some green gloves from his bag near him and wears them on his hands.
With them, he now knows when to feel secure from something shameful.
Salim approaches him once more, but before he could say anything, the scientist lifts his index finger to him, as if to indicate an order.
In this case, to stop him from asking anything.
"I. Do. Not. Want.To." he says with a raspy voice. This startles Salim briefly, but he puts his hand near the cheek.
"I guess what I said was really foolish on my part...but I can assure you that as long you can stick together with someone and know who you are, then you'll make it fine. Just be sure that you keep control of what you do."
"...But what if I don't?" the scientist says with an almost somber tone in his voice.
"You'll still find a way out. Trust me."
"OK..."
For a moment or two, it seems that tranquility has finally returned to the scientist himself.
He could then try to enjoy the airplane trip with no trouble at all, as he then pulls some pencils and piece of paper, containing some algebraic equations in which he starts to solve immediately.
A few minutes passed by, and just when everything seems calm, the flight is going well. Nothing seems to disturb this gentle flight towards the safe zone.
But, the best things sometimes have to come to an end.
The plane starts to stagger as if there was a turbulence nearby, even though there are not that many clouds around them or even a storm.
Then, loud knocks could be heard simultaneously in both the forward and back part of the plane. Everyone gets up to notice what's going on.
Salim then tries to calm down the masses while trying to find out the origin of the situation.
The scientist goes to the window on the left side of the plane.
Leaning closely as far as he can, he noticed something he couldn't ever imagine.
An electric cable attached near the plane, coming from something above. He notices another behind.
This means that there are others on the right side as well, he deduced immediately.
The cable hoists upwards, starting to pull, making the plane's tail lift, tilting the plane downwards.
The entire cabin upends, causing many of the people inside to fall down helplessly. Others like the scientist guy hold to the wall near the gate, holding steadily while trying to help others in getting to the safety.
He notices that the wings are then torn down by the pressure of the lift.
Then, the tail of the plane starts to get cut down by a quick laser strike, causing it to be taken off as well.
Now they could see clearly what was going on.
A huge Zlocan assault ship flying above them is holding the electric cables that captured the plane.
Then, five figures start to jump down from the assault ship, with their backs drawing some purple ignition that makes them rush towards the plane.
They're Zlocan Commandos, lightly-armored but deadly, equipped with jetpacks. They all start to shock the passengers into unconsciousness while grappling them into other ropes from the ship above.
One by one, they're taken outside to the other ship as the plane continues to be torn apart.
Salim quickly grabs a parachute, the only one from the plane. He quickly tosses it to the scientist who confusingly grabs it while puzzled by his action.
"Dude! Whatever's going on, I just want to ensure you'll be safe from further harm, all you need to is to escape now and try to find a safe zone as fast as you can!"
"No! I'd rather stay than-"
"Listen to me! Do you think you will live for much longer if you keep on going like that!? Just for once, be safe instead of trying to do something foolish!"
"I'd rather die trying then!"
Salim slaps him while quickly opening the passenger door, releasing it in the middle of the air while it starts to tear down as well.
He then pulls the scientist on his shoulder as he holds him near the door. The scientist tries to fight him off to no avail.
"LISTEN TO ME!!" he shouts while holding him as tight as he can.
"JUST FOR ONCE, DON'T BE A HERO! TRY TO RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! AND TRY STAYING ALIVE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!"
"BUT DO YOU-" the scientist protests back.
"GO!!!" He shouts as he soon kicks him out of the plane.
He initially panics in what to do, not knowing what to control while spinning around in the air and feeling in a state of chaos while seeing the arriving Zlocan ships as well. He dangerously comes close to the ground. Then, in a matter of rationality, he pulls the ripcord of the parachute, releasing the huge chute from the backpack. Starting to descend near the Stanislaus National Forest.
Zlocan knights in the ground notice him, enabling one, likely the CO, to signal his troops to go after him.
Whatever he may do next, it may not be fully bright for him, right choice or not.
--------------------------------
Bumblebee Creek, a piece of green beauty of American forests. Full of tall trees and other plant life, it's quite a place to travel when camping or trekking around the nation. The sunset certainly helps as well.
And surprisingly, it's still looking well as ever, holding beautiful wildlife.
But right now, it has some peculiar wildlife. Something that hasn't been seen by a common human yet, but at least by animals.
Deep inside the forest, a squirrel's climbing a tree while picking up their nuts from it.
As the squirrel tried to climb again, a piece of wood in the trunk dents, causing the squirrel to lose balance.
After some desperate attempts to climb back, the squirrel falls down into the ground, seemingly to its death.
But then, just before that happens, the squirrel lands safely into a hand.
But a very peculiar hand, it's one in grey color. It was hard to notice the rest due to the dim sunlight.
The figure holding the squirrel then releases it away.
After some moment of silence, the figure spoke.
"Such interesting creatures...this planet does indeed hold a life, something like the expanding stars," the figure says, sounding feminine.
She quickly steps out from the shadow where she was hiding from the sunlight.
Her looks are one of pure enchantingness like no other, as pure as the angels who seek out and protect all of Humankind.
Her body looks almost slim yet with a noticeable large bust on her chest, like the one of a beautiful and fitting princess, especially a Human one.
Her alluring clothes are also proof of it. Her hair as long and green like many gardens, her droopy low ears, noseless face, eyes as red as the most gorgeous looking emeralds and lastly, a pair of green wings in her back.
She indeed looks like a very charming being from another place, another time, another ideal.
A visitor it seems, a special visitor.
The Alien girl then touches the trunk of the tree, tilting her head side to side.
It's like she wants to examine every bit of beauty in it, after all, she's on Earth.
She stops touching it and proceeds to crouch, looking at most of the plants in the ground, and seeing if there is one that catches her interest.
"Hey, sis! You finished now?" a voice says, this time it's a male one.
But it wasn't something that it could be audibly heard by anyone nearby to hear it. Rather, it was inside her head where she listened to his words.
"Yeah, coming back now."
She then uses her wings to fly away to the location of her brother where he called her out. Quickly jumping inwards, she could fly as fast as a bald eagle.
With her flapping wings, she could keep inflight while maintaining the serene demeanor she has.
She eventually locates her brother, sitting atop in one of the branches of the tall tree.
He has the same looks like her, but he has a mullet instead, and some decorated brown armor, meaning a high position in the force he served.
His sister then lands next to him on the branch, carefully landing near him.
He has a pleased yet firm expression on his face as if she had something that could absolutely please him very much.
"So, took a good peek at today's study?"
"I guess so, my dear brother."
He chuckles in response.
"I see, probably some good animals worth checking for here after all."
"Yes...but what's more interesting is that the beings here don't have an advanced mindset as the creatures in the galaxy."
"Hmm, primitive life forms it seems. At least compared to other planets."
"Or just maybe they're just the beings that seem to evolve very slowly...aren't they?"
He then pats her shoulder. She smiles back.
"You'd probably need a bit more checking on them if you want to seek the answer you desire, sis."
She giggles in response, while he smiled back.
Whatever species they are, maybe they can hold the best secrets a Human being could know.
But of course, one also doesn't know if it can apply in a social way as well.
Learning for Humanity is still out there, and these beings may just be proof of something beyond in what they can expect.
While the birds chirped around the forest and they shared a nice little hug, the sister then wonders something.
"Brother...I don't know if this is..."
"Something wrong?"
"I don't know how to put it...but it's something I've been wondering for some time..."
"Go on...don't worry, I'm all ears for it."
"Well...it's about the inhabitants of this planet..."
The brother's face then turned one into puzzled confusion, as he didn't expect that kind of question.
"Hu-humanity...? Are you truly sure?"
"What else do I need to learn? I've already studied the majority of lifeforms on this new planet, but I really want to know about these Humans as well."
"Oh no, not that, please. You know how well our uncle fared when he tried to visit this planet. And what they do to each other, do you honestly expect they'll welcome you with open arms?"
"But, what if there's still a good heart inside them? What if-"
"No. You should know well of what we've learned from the books or any stuff we've watched and learned from them, this race is both unworthy and too violent to become part of the galactic community even if the Zlocu don't reach the place and lose the war. Now all I want you is to learn that regardless of what you believe, Terra is classified as hazardous for a good reason, and no way the Humans are gonna bulge even with that presence of yours, because right now, we don't want the last of the Soranians being killed by the worst of the worst compared to the Zlocans, understand?"
The sister falls silent for a moment, maybe she clearly wanted to know more about the Human race herself, but her brother clearly is one that doesn't need any of it.
Perhaps sadly, Humanity may never be ready to evolve beyond to the stars.
But that alone is something that can be challenged.
The brother notices her crestfallen demeanor, now with her head tilted downwards.
Maybe indeed he went too harsh in his thoughts of the Human race.
Maybe they do deserve a second chance.
"Look, I'm deeply sorry if you didn't like it...it's just..."
But before he could continue speaking, a bolt of electricity then strikes from behind, quickly paralyzing him completely.
The bolt then turns into a long rope as it starts to pull him away to somewhere.
She quickly notices another one coming her way but she swiftly dodges it by jumping off the tree branch.
"What the?" she says with an extremely worried tone.
Could it be? she wonders.
Did the Humans...?
She quickly turns back and sees what happened.
It's something she never asked for, as her eyes widened and bulged, her mouth trembling, breathing heavily.
Zlocan battleships arriving near the forest. And Varris being taken to a nearby assault ship.
They thought they could be safe for a long time.
They thought they could never find them.
They were wrong.
Very, horribly wrong.
"No...NO!!!!" She screams as she then starts to jump again to fly.
However, it doesn't last long as the nearby assault ship, the one that captured her brother starts to fire at her wildly, almost knocking her off balance.
Eventually, she has to settle in going ground as she lands hastily on the ground.
"This can't be happening...this can't be happening...this can't be happening...This CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" she says to herself as she starts to run away deep into the forest. Luckily, the tall trees, manage to provide some cover for the alien to escape.
Inside the ship, the Zlocan gunners face a hard time in tracking her down, while others pick the unconscious brother while injecting something to him.
"That filthy Soranian is getting away from us!" a gunner says.
"If there's something else that can equal to her determination, then we could repay her with equal measure. Drop it."
The ship then drops a figure to the ground, something almost animal-like, which then starts to chase her.
It's said that there are some nightmares that can't be turned off... even this one, a long one for any survivor.
--------------------------------
Cow Creek, same place, same time.
In there, there are four people walking by, each looking distinct from each other.
One is a tall man with a mullet, almost looking like a rock fan, the other is a blonde as beautiful like Goldilocks, the other is a youthful looking man with gel hair, and lastly, a curious looking girl with the appearance to match every schoolgirl people can imagine.
She has a slender body yet also with slightly big breasts. Her hair brushed like some girl who likes some fun, a nice, tiny blue hairband in the back of her hair, with some nice red rose near her open vest.
She's walking happily alongside her supposed friends, who have some clear discomfort in their faces.
"Oh man, never thought we could get a trip as long as in Niagara Falls. I hate this kind of things you know!" the youthful guy says.
"Hey there Freddie, this one should be mandatory enough for you to know if you want to live." the blonde girl replies.
"You said like it's a good thing, Amelia." the tall man says.
"Oh shut it, Ted, you always side with him!"
"Whoa whoa hey! I mean come on guys, don't you think we've at least lucky enough to get away from a furball like in good ol'Dallas to bring this far? You can bet for sure we can get some hot stuff in Carson City as well!" the schoolgirl says.
"Well, that city's already packed anyways so I think it doesn't matter anyway," Ted says.
"But it has the necessary elements for all the escapees around the nation guys, plus it's a humanitarian thing to help others because it's the right thing in the long run," Amelia says.
"Oh yeah...but let's hope not too many, we're too low on anything anyways," Freddie says.
The schoolgirl could only then tap on his shoulder, likely a way to cheer him up. He doesn't change his already bored expression.
"Oh Freddie, don't you always love that cutey slape?"
"How can I when we're at war?"
She scoffs at the notion of it, she may probably don't care of what the war entails to them.
"Oh silly Fredito, always worried to the top percent, you know that? Well, I guess that as long as we're together with our fullest hearts and great fun for everything, we may be sure that we'll live longer for it! And then afterward, SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS!"
The whole group could only stare silently at her response, at least Ted let out a small chuckle of it, if only for the joke of terrible taste.
"...You wouldn't mind with some alfredo?" She asks in a puzzled manner as she stands in front of them.
"Guys..." she says sadly as her expression then changed.
"No no! Please, don't be upset. I mean, sure thing my friend but maybe in the case that you should know how all of this looks. Right now, it's not the time to crack jokes, not with those freaks out there."
"Not good?! Ha! As if that will prevent me from not being able to save you at all, I mean, with all of us together, we're all sure to survive this long trip without harm right?!"
"I think you're blocking our-"
"Look, I simply want to tell you how amazing friends like you can be guaranteed to-"
"LOOK OUT!!!"
Ted yells as he pushes the schoolgirl aside, noticing something from behind.
It's a red laser bolt, which then impacts on both eyes, leaving them black marked and scorched.
The group itself stares in shock from the dead body of their fallen friend, as they soon notice where the blast came from.
A battalion of Zlocan troops headed in front of them, emerging from the woods.
"Oh god no! Please!" Freddie yells as he and the rest stand back from the Knights.
A Zlocan Knight then chuckles in response.
"Oh, how kind of you to take good care of your old friend. Too bad that his stupidity was in vain because you won't live for long anyway. Now, say goodbye to your old selves." he says while aiming his rifle towards the gang.
But before he could fire back, a bullet lands on the head, bringing him down to the ground.
The other two checked where it came from, it's from none other than an elderly inspector with a greying balding hair yet with a firm body enough to be part of the competent force, leaning outside the window of a speeding police car, wielding a magnum revolver. He's accompanied by other police officers in their cars.
The Knights start to return fire, the officers do the same while they brake their cars and get out to take cover.
The group then tries to hide near one of the cars of the elderly officer, but before they could fully do it, Freddie is ultimately shot in the back near his heart, dropping dead soon after.
"FREDDIE!!!" the schoolgirl yells in anguish.
They soon continued to take over as the two forces kept on in their gunfight.
Bullets after bullets.
Lasers after lasers.
An interesting showdown it seems.
Then, in midst of everything that is happening, Amelia quickly grabs her friend's collar.
"Listen to me! I know you don't want this, but to ensure your safety, you must flee from this!"
"But...what about you!?"
"Don't worry about me, I'll try to survive with the others! I don't want you to keep on suffering while seeing a scenery like this, so go now please!"
The schoolgirl could only try so hard at holding her tears to no avail as she soon shakes her friend.
"BUT I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!!! NOT AT ALL, NOT AGAIN!!!"
"And how the hell does that even matter!? Do you want to cling on to something you may not even hold forever!?"
"But...I don't..."
"Listen to me ye girl, if there's one thing you need to know is that sometimes one must sacrifice for the good of many, and if any of ye don't try, then this war will be more lost than it should be!" the inspector says.
"But-"
"Just listen to him and me! Run, don't hold back! And remember, always look for the fun as much as you always want! Please my friend..."
After some brief moment of hesitation, she certainly could still try to evade the enemy fire.
But before she could try to answer her long-life friend, a laser bolt strikes near her skull, quickly taking her life away, causing the schoolgirl to scream in terror and in tears.
"GO!!! THAT'S AN ORDER!!!" the inspector yells.
She then takes her fateful choice of running away.
She does as fast as she can, like the everlasting wind she ever wanted to feel.
A Zlocan knight notices the girl running away as they soon press some buttons in his waist, causing some drones from their back and soon start to give chase towards the schoolgirl.
Whatever happens next to all the four souls, it will change their lives forever.
And for Earth and the Universe, is it truly their judgment day after all?