“It doesn’t exist, kid,” yelled Hawk, “Now activate your cocoon!”
Comet
touched the forearm-panel of her mega-suit. The dark face shield sealed her
from the world. The last thing she saw would haunt her for the rest of her
life, Lorin punching her panel frantically.
Please, please, please let Lorin be
okay, she thought while hearing the hard drops of liquid pelt her suit. Ringing
ears listened to the echoes inside her cocoon as loud as bullets on the metal
exterior. Bullets would do less damage. How she hated this part, if only
they could travel at night, they wouldn’t have to deal with the toxic rains.
In full protection
mode, the mega-suit conserved energy, letting the special tyleum-coated metal
protect its inhabitant. This seclusion took away the ability for teammates to radio
each other, which drove Comet crazy. How am I supposed to know if Hawk and Lorin
are okay?
Several hours after the last drop
hit her suit, Comet came out of the cocoon. Adjusting to the late afternoon
light, her eyes saw Hawk kneeling next to a lump of metal that used to be a
mega-suit.
“Lorin!” she shouted.
Hawk
shook his head, “Sorry, kid, the suit malfunctioned.”
Comet
leapt to where she last saw Lorin. A half-melted, empty mega-suit lay like a
mound of flesh, its gaping holes mocked her.
Hawk
stood up in the unofficial ceremony, looking away from the scene. He had no
interest in grabbing any of Lorin’s possessions. Comet reached into the shell
of a suit, knowing all too well that she wouldn’t touch Lorin. The toxic rain dissolved all organic material
while leaving everything else behind. The
enemy designed it that way to strike terror into the humans.
Unlike
Hawk, Comet wanted to gather something that would remind her of Lorin. Her fingers,
probing into the ruined suite’s gaping holes, touched something. She held it
high as it dangled from a thin gold chain. A simple heart-shaped locket
reflected the evening sun.
“This
hung around her neck just a few hours ago,” said Comet.
“Yea,
kid, makes you realize how reliant we are on these suits. I’m gonna personally
rip someone’s heads off when we get to Avalon over this one. Let’s get moving,”
replied Hawk.
The
two companions walked through a maze of decaying steel beams and broken asphalt
streets that used to form one of the biggest cities before the enemy came. Hawk
led them, dodging back and forth picking the safest path.
“Isn’t
Avalon south?” questioned Comet.
“Yep,
we’re takin’ a detour,” replied Hawk. “I know someone who can help us, both our
suits are damaged. We’ll make it through the night, but when the morning rains
come again neither of us will survive.”
“The
only place in that direction is Star House, where he lives. He’s one of them.”
“We
don’t know that. Razor said he’s a traitor to his kind and he’ll help humans,”
said Hawk in a desperate tone. “You know we won’t make it to Avalon without his
help.’
“That’s
bullshit, Hawk! He helps no one but himself. Besides, Razor is dead, probably
killed by that psycho.”
“We’re
going, period.” Hawk hoped he’d put an end to that conversation.
As
much as Comet hated to admit it, Hawk’s intuition kept them alive more than once.
Lorin,
what should I do? Comet put the heart shaped locket around
her neck, then put her helmet back on. “Well, if we are going to see him, we’d
better bring it all.”1
Hawk
nodded and headed toward Star House, continuing to pick the safest route
through the shredded steel beams that surrounded them.
Rays
from the dim sun touched the edge of the city as they reached its border. As
they rested, eating the last of their food, Comet tried to make conversation.
“You
think he’ll know about the gateway?”
“Your
black bangs are creepin’ in your ears and damaging your brain, kid. I’m telling
ya, it doesn’t exist.”
“Lorin
talked about it all the time. She believed in the gateway. Of the three of us
she had the most brains.”
They
spoke no more. Although the mega-suits partially helped them walk, traveling in
them made their muscles ache. Hiking out of the city and through the woods
changed the landscape from the twisted metal and building rubble to charred
trees. The hills still existed but the enemy destroyed most vegetation. The lack
of trees made the air heavy and hard to breath. As much as she hated the
cocoons, at least they provided fresh air with one of the few systems that continued
to run. Leaving the city far behind, the rolling hills became their only
constant.
“Look,”
said Comet as she pointed to a bright beam on the horizon that streaked into
the sky and beyond. It could be seen in the dark night for miles around. “What
is it?”
“Star
House,” replied Hawk. “Getting’ closer.”
“Are
you kidding me, you dumb oaf!” she shouted.
“He is communicating with them, this proves it. I refuse to go there. If
you were smart, you’d turn around and come with me.”
“You
can go, kid, but you won’t make it far,” Hawk turned and pointed to the pale
light of the sun coming up from their east.
“Morning sun means the first rain of the day. Star House is our only chance.”
“Damn
you Hawk! We’re dead either way. If we somehow live through this, I’m going to
kill you.” Comet stomped off toward the large beam as Hawk shook his head.
Star
House appeared after they struggled over a few more hills. By time the
brilliant white light that radiated from the walls of the house could be seen,
the beam that streaked toward the sky had stopped. The two soldiers approached
the massive structure, mouths gaping.
“This
damn place is bigger than the entire city we just left,” Comet said.
“Yea,
I hear he is big, so its fitting he lives in a big place,” laughed Hawk.
Still
some ways off, the familiar sound of thunder came. They broke into a run toward
Star House as the rains drenching the hills behind them. The winds rolled up and
bit their backs. The mist from the toxic rains caught up wafting around them.
“Cocoon?”
Comet shouted in a question.
Before
Hawk could answer a whirring sound from above made both adventurers tumble. The
mists and winds cleared away from the hovering saucer. The powerful push from
above pinned them. From the ship came another beam, similar to the one they saw
coming from Star House, but this one pointed at them, not the sky. The warm
light moved over the soldiers. They sensed their bodies being lifted. Traveling
through the beam, vibrations surrounded the pair. Every cell in their bodies
moved as if each had its own life.
Comet
attempted to twist and see if she could touch Hawk but instead the vibrations
from around her threatened to rip her cells apart if she didn’t cooperate.
Complying, she laid back giving into the beam as it lifted her into the craft. A
pulsing became so strong that Comet fell into unconsciousness.
Deafening silence woke her. Comet
sensed Hawk close by, both in a large room. Her dry mouth croaked through the
silence as she attempted to call his name. Hawk ran through the massive room to
her side.
“You okay, kid?” He gave her some
water from a small pouch.
“I’ll live. Are we in Star House?”
“What gives that away, the thirty-foot
ceilings or the fact that the room is so wide we can’t see the walls?”
“Oh, is this place that big to you?”
asked a soft androgenous voice.
Searching
the massive fog-filled room for the source, the two adventurers saw him
approaching from a distance.
“I must apologize for the,” he
paused “uncomfortable ride to my abode but those rains the brutes created were
about to overwhelm you. I had to do something desperate and the drones and
their beams were the only way I could think to get you to safety.”
Hawk and Comet looked at the large
humanoid in front of them. From his fifteen-foot-tall slender frame sprouted
four appendages that seemed like human arms and legs, but his arms hung much
lower than a human’s. The fingers almost touched the ground. A bald, narrow
head with large, black, lifeless eyes stared at them.
Comet heard herself blurt out, “Does
the gateway exist or not?”
“Ah, the primitive knowledge you possess
is quite becoming. This gateway, as you children of dust call it, exists. My
race is searching for it, that search is what brought us to your planet. The
gateway is an entrance to wormholes. With command of the gateway, my race could
travel to any time and space we want. You see, our leaders want to conquer the
entire universe. As much as I disagree with their ethics, I certainly love
their knowledge and drive.”
“How do I get to the gateway?”
questioned Comet.
“You are dealing with stuff we don’t
understand, kid,” said Hawk. “Let it go, let’s just get to Avalon.”
“No, Hawk, she has a valid question.
It’s closer than you think. Wouldn’t you want to get out of this hell that was
once your paradise?” the alien questioned.
“There is no way I’m trusting you.
We made a mistake coming here. You can let us go,” replied Hawk.
“No, actually we need you and your
race. Your unique essence can provide us what we need in our search for the
gateway and eventually the wormholes. Of course, your kind are destroyed in the
process. A necessary consequence.”
“You aren’t a trader to your kind
then. You collect humans and experiment with the wormhole. Is that it?” asked
Hawk.
“You are smarter than the average
child of dust. Smarter than Razor ever was,” said the grey as he stepped
forward, reaching out to Hawk and Comet.
Hawk jumped into action tapping his
forearm-panel. In response a large gatling gun popped from his shoulder, firing
at the tall enemy. A small movement from
the grey and several drones appeared, two creating a shield that protected the
grey and three that sprayed Hawk and Comet with a mist that dissolved their
suites.
“Accept your role in life. You are inferiors
put here to help us. You are stripped of all your defenses and weapons,” calmly
stated the grey as he stepped toward them again.
Just then a hot sensation burned
through Comet as her hand instinctively went to Lorin’s locket, still hanging
around her neck. The grey noticed and for the first time he showed emotion.
“That’s it!” he exclaimed as he
quickly covered the ground between them, reaching for Comet.
Like Lorin’s death, the next thing
she saw would also haunt her for the rest of her life. Hawk jumped between the
two and blocked the giant from his attack on Comet.
“Open it kid!” he screamed. “The
locket!”
As her thumb popped the heart-shaped
locket. The room trembled. A quiet hum grew to a loud roar that matched the
vibration. A bright white light engulfed the room and blinded her. Both Hawk
and the grey fell to the ground. In what seemed like a quick moment, the light
dimmed as the sound dissipated.
The crisp air washed over her body as if to cleanse her,
as the rays of the sun gently danced on her exposed skin. Comet wiped her long
black bangs away from her eyes as she looked around confused, surrounded by
trees and people who stared back at the woman who was not there a moment ago.
