Southern Region of the Deadlands: 936, December 31st, Monday, 3:00 AM.
Arriving at her destination in a blink, Atalanta planted her boots firmly in the ground to stop her rapid sprint across the hellish zone—raising a trail of dust in her path. Once in the spot, she noticed a group of cobalt uniformed soldiers treating the wounded and forming a perimeter around the area—afraid of the demons that lurked within the crimson fog. Her presence was quickly noticed by the busy officers, as they turned their necks to look at the tall and attractive figure clad in gold. All became hypnotized by the gorgeous azure of her eyes and the soft golden locks of her hair, stopping their tasks to wonder about the mysterious figure that had just arrived.
The disruption Atalanta caused in her surroundings brought the immediate attention of an older man dressed with fancier clothes than the rest, wearing a military cap in his bald head, and decorated with many badges in his cobalt vest. His beard was somewhat long and gray, having lost its color with the age, also displayed in the man’s wrinkled eyes and mouth.
“Identify yourself, civilian.” He demanded while calmly approaching The Golden Lightning, his voice rough and tired sounding. “I don’t know how you made it this far into the Deadlands, but this is no place for someone like you.”
“You are all in danger,” Atalanta replied. “Something called Lerna is on its way here. I suggest you all leave immediately.”
“What?”
“Did she say…”
“Lerna? But…”
Her words caused a greater commotion among Hydra’s officers, whose murmuring words joined together to become a loud whisper that reached their general’s ears—frustration him even further. The old man silenced his troops with a simple command, calmly demanding silence while raising a fist at eye level. He looked at the blonde knight in the eye, somewhat shaken by the glow in her eyes, yet able to hide any sort of emotion behind lowered brows and a flat lined mouth.
“Our orders are to remain in position and wait for reinforcements,” the general said. “You have no purpose being here… return to the walls.”
“I am the Golden Lightning,” she introduced herself. “A gladean knight, and an old warrior from the order. You are all in danger, and I here to save you.”
Once again, the blonde knight raised a loud group of whispers from the officers that listened in her conversation with their general. Her stature, strong figure and azure eyes acted as proof of her words, but the stubborn old man refused to listen to her claims, and silenced his troops a second time with a quick command.
The general snorted with a scornful expression, leading one hand inside his vest to take out a single cigarette. He gently took the object to his mouth and held it steady between his lips, utilizing a stainless-steel lighter to light up the cigarette with a trembling hand.
“I’ve heard about the rumors,” he told the knight while putting away his lighter to enjoy a quick smoke. “But that’s all they are… it will take more than fairy tales and unreliable information to move me and my men from this post.”
“You want to stay here and wait?” Atalanta protested, raising her voice slightly as the approaching threat loomed in her mind. “I told you about this Lerna!”
“The Lerna plan was dismissed,” the general claimed. “Reports about the specters retreating further towards the center has reached the head of command already… we are just waiting for reinforcements and supplies.”
“Dismissed? I saw that th—” Atalanta began to protest, but her sentence was rudely interrupted by loud rumbling sounds in the sky.
Its horrifying growls immediately caught the attention of every soldier in the area, making them all lift their heads towards the crimson sky. Their eyes widened and their lips parted with shock, dropping whatever task kept them busy to listen at the rumbling that approached them from the distance.
Unlike before, the old general did not instruct his troops to continue with their tasks, and simply enjoyed his cigarette with a serene expression in his wrinkled eye—ignoring his troops as they dropped to their knees, held their heads, or just stood petrified in place while looking at the sky. Atalanta took a hold of the man’s arm with a cautious grip, afraid to crush his old bones by accident before speaking.
“Now you understand,” she told him. “Let’s get out of here before its too late, who knows when the specters might come back too.”
The old general raised his head with a puzzled expression, moving the cigarette away from his lips before gently moving away from the knight’s clutches. “Do you know what the Lerna is, young lady?”
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“I heard it was a weapon of sorts,” replied The Golden Lightning. “But that’s not important right now, let’s take you somewhere safe. Anything else can wait.”
Raising his trembling hand, the old man tried to smoke his cigarette before realizing that he held nothing in between his fingers. He looked at his empty hand before turning his eyes towards the blonde knight, who shook his cigarette in hand before tossing the object away. The general watched with saddened eyes as it hit the dirt, turned immediately into ash at contact with the Deadlands.
“I don’t like that smell…” claimed Atalanta.
With an exasperated sigh, the general dropped his head before raising it back to meet the blonde knight’s azures with his tired eyes. “It may be too late for introductions, but…” he said, proceeding to introduce himself to The Golden Lightning. “My name is Benneth Lee, brigadier general of Hydra, and the one responsible for the men and women that you see here.”
“A pleasure, let us leave this place now.”
“I really hope that your claims about being one of the legendary warriors are true, young lady.” Said the old general. “Because there is no escaping from the Lerna now that it has been deployed.”
“Why not?”
The man huffed a quick chuckle, caressing his beard while speaking. “As you said, the Lerna is a type weapon. Unlike a common firearm that we cans carry into the battlefield… this one ignites into a cloud of fire that spreads for miles in the distance.” He explained, closing his eyes with a friendly smile towards the knight. “Even if we were to move away from its area of impact, the radiation caused by the Lerna’s explosion would eventually end us all anyway… it would be slow and painful, and we may not even die the same day... way worse than if we just remained in place.”
“What?” Atalanta tiled her head slightly with a raised eyebrow, suggesting a way out of their dire situation with the innocence of a child. “Then let’s just go before it gets here, I’ve seen those things of yours run at higher speeds than the fastest animal.” She pointed with her chin towards a group of vehicles, most of them crushed and burnt by the horde of specters that the officers fought bravely.
“Like I said, there’s no way for us to escape it now that it’s been deployed.” Insisted the old general. “That’s why I chose to remain here with my men, let them rest their feet a little.”
“You knew? What didn’t you act when you had the chance?”
“Please understand… I did not want to worry my troops with the inevitable.” The old man turned towards his officers, guiding Atalanta to the desperate and hopeless men and women that had surrendered to their fate. “I did not want to see them this way… so I thought I could spare them the wait by giving them something to do instead.”
“That’s…” The blonde knight shook her head rapidly, shaking off the compassion she felt for the troops momentarily. “Is there really nothing you can do? Someplace to hide if you can’t run?”
“I appreciate your willingness to help us, but if you can leave the area before the Lerna arrives… then please, save yourself.”
Surrounded by tears and sorrow, Atalanta looked at the face of every soldier in the area that had lost all hope of ever seeing a new day. Despite her presence as a gladean knight, none had the spirit to stand and believe that their fate could be changed. The blonde knight clenched her fist at the depressing sight, and struck the ground under her with a stomp of her foot—breaking the dirt with an earsplitting thunder that startled all present in the area.
“Ah…” the old general stumbled backwards, almost falling off on his back and the intimidating force of the blonde woman.
“Listen, and listen well.” Atalanta told every officer in the area, making them all turn their depressed faces towards her. “I need you all to stand and move out of here as fast as possible… take the wounded and head south, then never come back to this place.” she commanded with lowered brows. “I will deal with this Lerna thing myself, and ensure the safety of every single one of you. That is my oath to the goddess… to you, and I’ll choose to die before I fail to keep it.” Her athletic body, hidden under layers of golden armor, began to spark with crawling waves of lightning that crackled with intensity—widening the eyes of the spectators that listened intently to her words. “Now stand up, and follow mister Benneth. I want to see none of you in this place once the Lerna is dealt with,” just before finishing her speech, both corners of her lips raised with a friendly smile towards the officers—enough to make their hearts skip a beat. “Now go… this war isn’t yours to fight.”
As if led by a strange force that controlled their bodies, the men and women of Hydra lifted their tired bodies from the ground with a pounding chest, gulping down with worry, but nodding at The Golden Lightning regardless. Their expressions, once devoid of joy, now rose with a smile filled with hope at the sight of a gladean knight. The troops picked up the wounded with care to begin loading them into the functional vehicles they had left, coordinating themselves to save every breathing comrade.
The old general lowered his head while taking his cap off, placing it near his chest while bowing to the blonde knight. “Thank you…” he said, his hand and body trembling with both fatigue and joy. “It is my greatest to honor to meet a gladean knight in person. If not for my men, nobody would believe this senile old man. I hope you can forgive my rudeness from before…”
“Get out,” Atalanta told him with a smile. “I’ll take care of things from now on, make sure to never come back here, got it? Someone like you should be at home resting, mister Benneth.”
Lifting his head once again, old Benneth nodded at the knight with a grateful and tired smile. “Please, just call me Benneth.”
Offering no further reply, the blonde knight left the region with a powerful thunder bolt that struck the earth with a blinding flash. The old man placed the cap back into his bald head, wiping a single tear that dropped from his eye before turning back to face his troops. Despite his age and trembling hands, the old general joined his soldiers as they assisted the injured—placing all their hopes in gladean knight known as The Golden Lightning.
END OF CHAPTER