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 – 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 – Rada – 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.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

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—” 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—” he pointed to a dial “—and 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.