Alive
Chapter 1
The morning sun brought terror. Rhun felt fear grip at his heart, not due to the fact that there was an army outside the walls of city two, but because of who the army was.
He had never seen creatures like this before. This fact made where they came from easy to guess. Rhun had met survivors from all six cities, with the exception of city three. The view on the top of the wall gave him a good look at what had been festering inside the silent city for all of these years: monsters.
Great hulking beasts, seven to eight feet tall, made up the bulk of the force. Their skin was varying shades of dark green, and their armor and weapons were crude in every sense of the word.
They wore an assortment of metal vests and dented helmets; their weapons were notched blades, barbaric clubs, bows, and axes. Their weapons didn’t necessarily worry Rhun; it was the sheer size of their numbers and the giants that walked among them.
A dozen or so much larger enemy soldiers roamed the ranks of the opposing force. These beings stood shoulders and heads over their unholy brethren. It was difficult to place their exact height, but if Rhun had to guess, they were nine to ten feet tall.
The army surrounded the city, making sure to stay out of range of any of the weapons King Orsik and his men would be able to mount on the top of the wall. Their numbers were in the thousands.
“I don’t think they’re interested in talking,” Lierna said from Rhun’s right. The red-headed woman leaned against the battlements of the wall, biting her lower lip. “You don’t rally a force this large hoping for peace.”
“No, I don’t think you do.” Rhun pursed his lips as he listened to the low rumbling an army of this size made. “I think we’ll see bloodshed before this day is through.”
As soon as King Orsik had seen the force in the night, he had jumped to action. Rhun gave the young king credit. For as torn and undecided he was about following the codex, he was decisive and a true leader when it came to protecting his city. Balon Longoak was reinstated as chief weapons smith and ordered to the forge to see that the weapons and Mecha they would need for the fight were ready.
Likewise, General Vondal was already organizing the city’s fighting force at the gates. Rhun’s body was in dire need of rest. After the events of the blood sled, he had been more fatigued than he could ever remember. A few hours of sleep during the night was all that could be afforded. There was a war at their doorstep.
Sounds below made Rhun turn his attention from the battlements to look down at the gathering force inside the city walls. General Vondal was there, leading a force of heavily armored soldiers. The colors of city two were midnight blue and black. A fierce animal Rhun had never seen was etched into their armor as their sigil. The creature had pointy furry ears with a long snout and sharp teeth. Its eyes were narrowed as if it had heard something that truly angered it.
“I want the Long Shot Corps on the wall!” General Vondal shouted to his men. “Infantry at the gates and the Mecha unit will fill in the rear.”
A chorus of “yes, sir” echoed down the line as the men under General Vondal jumped to obey.
The general looked up to see Rhun and Lierna on the wall. He motioned them down with an open hand. “If you’re going to fight, you’ll need armor as well.”
Rhun nodded. He and Lierna made their way down one of the two watchtowers. They traded nods with the men General Vondal had referred to as the Longshot Corps. These soldiers wore lighter armor and carried long-barreled weapons that seemed as though they would be just as tall as the soldiers if stood on end. With them, they also carried pieces of technology Rhun had never seen before. Something like multiple barreled weapons on a base that would act like a swivel.
Rhun and Lierna reached the bottom floor a few minutes later to feel the ground shake beneath their very feet.
“They attack so soon?” Lierna asked, looking over to Rhun for consensus.
You shouldn’t have wasted time getting your hands on a weapon, Rhun chided himself. It’s time.
The cheer that went up from the men assembled in front of the gates told Rhun the enemy wasn’t attacking just yet. Rather, there was a symbol of hope and inspiration approaching that he had not yet seen in the city.
The ground continued to tremble. Huge machines could be seen making their way down the main road toward the gates. Behind these metal giants, more men trotted, leading beasts that brought wagons full of supplies and armor.
Rhun could feel his jaw drop at the sight of the Mecha. The iron giants were a true marvel. He could understand why the infantry men would find a reason to chant the names of the pieces of war.
“Mecha! Mecha! Mecha!” they roared, stomping their feet and bashing their weapons against their shields.
The Mecha towered twelve feet into the air. They were shaped like armored soldiers. A heavy midsection in their chest was where Rhun guessed the pilot would be. They were painted the same kind of dark blue and black as the rest of the army. The same menacing creature was emblazoned on their chests, as if there were any question as to what army they represented.
The weapons these great machines bore varied from ones Rhun was familiar with, like sharp blades and axes, to others he had never seen. Long and short barrels were held in their massive hands.
When the six Mecha units stopped in front of Rhun and the infantry unit, steam hissed from their mid-sections. The giant machines went down to a single knee. A compartment opened in the middle of one of the Mecha’s mid-section, revealing a cockpit. A stocky man Rhun recognized jumped from the seat to the ground below. He wore a tight-fitting battle suit and thin armor.
“I’ll be glad to be fighting by your side instead of against you this time.” Harbeck extended a meaty hand to Rhun. “Although I wish we hadn’t tried so hard to murder each other back in the pit. Still, I suspect we have more than enough to deal with, fighting the army outside our walls.”
Rhun gripped the man’s hand with a smile on his lips.
“I didn’t know you served in your city’s military, but I guess I should have suspected,” Rhun said, looking over the man’s shoulder at the giant kneeling machine. “I’m glad we have those on our side.”
“You and I both,” Harbeck said, nodding over to Lierna. “We should get you two fitted with what gear you’ll need. We can’t have you wading into battle with nothing but your fists.”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” Balon Longoak, the newly reappointed chief city forge leader, said as he hopped off one of the wagons that followed behind the Mechas. “I’m here. I’m here.”
Rhun and Harbeck exchanged a grin as they looked over to the excited Balon. The man’s eyes were bloodshot. It was clear he had worked through the night to get both the Mecha unit ready and whatever it was he carried in the train of wagons behind them.
“Colonel,” General Vondal said, greeting Harbeck with a gloved hand. “A word to go over the plan of attack.”
“Certainly,” Harbeck said to the general. He looked over to Rhun and Lierna. “Excuse me.”
“Of course,” Rhun said as the two military leaders began discussing tactics.
“Okay, let’s get you two fitted and ready for battle.” Balon looked them up and down, a frown on his face. He started mumbling and making comments to himself as he did so. “Mmm hmmm. Mmm hmmm.”
“Oh for goodness sake, what is it?” Lierna asked, throwing her hands into the air. “Give me a spear and a shield and I’ll account for my fair share of enemy corpses.”
“Oh, it’s not that,” Balon said, waving the pair over to the lead wagon. A group of men were already unloading and dispersing the wagon’s contents around the open area. “We’ll just have to make a few adjustments to the armor. Even our largest suits will be too wide for you and not long enough.”
Rhun’s eyes widened as he witnessed Balon’s smiths take up a section of the square inside the city gates and begin to set up tables and workbenches. They moved like a well-oiled machine, first erecting their station before going to work honing blades and checking and rechecking armor pieces.
While most of the armor looked the same both in design and color, there was a wide range of weapons from spears and shields to long-barreled weapons Rhun could only guess at, and everything in between.
“If you two will stand over here.” Balon beckoned to them to a spot between a pair of workbenches. “We’ll have the craftsmen fit you in no time.”
Rhun took up the position to which he was directed. Three stout men and a woman just as hardnosed as the others began looking him over and taking measurements. They were all a good head shorter than Rhun, but that didn’t seem to bother them. They ignored speaking to him altogether. Instead, they elected to talk amongst themselves, comparing notes and wonder of his stature. It was their first time being so close to a stranger from beyond their own walls.
“Tall drink of water he is,” one of the men said with a measuring tape he used along Rhun’s left leg. “We’ll need to add a few inches to the breastplate.”
“And take in the chest,” the female craftswoman said. “He’s tall but not as muscular. We’ll do a good job, but it may not look pretty, Forge Chief.”
“Do what you can,” Balon said with a nod in her direction. “Looks will have to wait for the time being. We need to focus on them being protected.”
As much as Rhun would have liked to pay attention to how they crafted his gear, his eyes were drawn to the military force gathering in front of the city gates. The army’s infantry was a few thousand strong already formed into lines. They filled the area inside the city gates that reminded him so much of his home city.
The Mecha units knelt behind them with their pilots going over last-minute checks both inside and outside of their units.
The Longshot Corps on the battlements were fastening a pair of the turret-like weapons on the wall. They wore cloaks with hoods to shield themselves from the sun above.
“King Orsik!” a voice Rhun didn’t recognize shouted.
Cheers went through the crowd as the city’s king appeared. He was pulled in a two-wheeled cart behind a pair of the beasts of burden. The king was clad in brilliant sparkling armor with a dark blue cape behind him. In his right hand, he carried a war hammer, and in his left, a shield nearly the size of his own body.
Not to Rhun’s surprise, Councilor Delg was nowhere to be seen. The politician who was so insistent that he insert himself in the goings-on of the city just the night before had vanished like smoke on the breeze.
King Orsik walked past the Mecha units, exchanging hellos with his men. He made his way over to General Vondal to go over the plan.
A strange noise soon silenced the group inside the city walls as thousands of monstrous throats began to roar outside of the gates. The enemy army was preparing their attack, Rhun was sure of it. They were working themselves into a frenzy at the moment. The noise reminded him of what he imagined actual monsters would sound like as a small child.
Rhun took the moment of calm before the storm to think of the wife he had left behind in his own city. If the six cities were in an all-out war now, it wouldn’t be long before he would be able to see her again. This would be the beginning of a domino effect, with the winning cities marching on to the next and the next, to bring an offering of either peace or war.
I’m coming, my love, Rhun thought to himself. My darling, I’m coming.
Chapter 2
The trek from the crashed USS Reagan to the walls of their new city was strangely free of tickers. Jordan wasn’t sure if Eldar had found a way to keep the latest evolved forms of the tickers away from them or something else had caught the machine’s attention.
No matter what it was, Jordan, Argo, and the beast called Ugly made it to the city gates with the supplies in record time. Jordan had fought Argo along the way, arguing that the creature deserved a better name, but Argo was insistent, even calling the four-legged scaly creature to him by using the name Ugly. The beast would run over to him with a lolling tongue.
Jordan had finally given in for the time being. She was too tired to argue further. As the walls of their own free city came closer, Jordan was acutely aware of the number of travelers flocking towards it.
Usually, the desert wasteland was a desolate piece of land free of anything except for the occasional ticker patrol. As Jordan crested a dune allowing her to see her city, still over a mile away, she was surprised to see men and women, even children dotting the landscape. Those who had enough energy ran while others stumbled for the gates.
“The note you sent out to the other cities must have really gotten people talking,” Argo said with a shrug. “Maybe they’re all starting to see the truth now.”
Jordan wanted to agree, but there was something wrong with the demeanor of the people making their way to the city. They didn’t seem happy or relieved; they seemed terrified. Some had wounds over their bodies or wore singed clothing.
Ugly lifted his snout to the air, sniffing the wind with a whine.
“I know, buddy,” Jordan said, reaching down to place a hand on his rough head. “There’s something wrong.”
Jordan made her way forward, getting a better look at the people who dotted the desert. There had to be a hundred of them coming from different directions, their clothing all different. Now that Jordan knew the truth given to them by Eldar, that this was all an experiment to see who the toughest hybrid was, Jordan looked at the people through a careful lens.
Minor changes in their stature and skin tone were the only things that really set them apart. Jordan’s train of thought stopped short as she saw a woman wearing the plain white civilian uniform from her own city stumble toward the city gates from the west.
Jordan was sure she didn’t know the woman. She was middle-aged with a bloody rip in her right shoulder. Her eyes were red, lips cracked.
“Are you from city one?” Jordan asked, immediately realizing city numbers probably meant nothing to the woman, who was still in the dark about the entire experiment. “I mean, the city where Director Patterson leads the population.”
The woman turned to Jordan, studying her face. Her expression went from confused to realization in a moment.
“You’re—you’re from my city?” The woman changed direction, stumbling toward Jordan as if she were a mirage not yet fully realized. “I—I was thrown out just—just before they came.”
Jordan caught the woman, who stared into the sky at the dual planets overhead. “How—how can this be our Earth?”
“Easy.” Jordan gently placed her in a seated position. She lent her canteen to the woman’s cracked lips and dry throat. Preemptively, she pointed out Ugly, who the woman had not seen yet. “No reason to be afraid of the animal. He’s with us.”
The woman’s bloodshot eyes grew wide, but she nodded. Her hands tightened on the canteen like a baby holding its bottle.
Argo gave Jordan space as she searched for the answers she so desperately needed. Memories of the nightmare she had had the night they stayed in the USS Reagan plagued her mind.
“My—our city,” Jordan asked with fear in her voice. “Does it still stand? Who was chasing you? You said you left our city just in time? Just in time for what?”
“Director Patterson is throwing out anyone who even whispers about the notes that fell from the sky.” The woman shook her head. “He’s having Captain Archer and the city guard round up anyone who thinks different than himself and throwing them out of the city. There were hundreds of us released beyond the wall since the notes dropped. I’m not sure how many of us made it this far. I was released just a few days ago. When I was sent outside of the wall, I saw an army approaching. An army of—of—I don’t know what they are. Some sort of creatures. The ones released with me were hunted down. I escaped through sheer luck. I ran into some kind of insect machine. The strange creatures following me decided to stop and fight the machine instead of continuing to chase me.”
Jordan was doing her best to keep up with the story, but there were still too many missing puzzle pieces. She started with the biggest questions first. “Do you know my parents? A Heidi and Michael Shepherd?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t.” The woman handed back the canteen to Jordan and stood on wobbly feet. “I do know that the last time I was in the city, Director Patterson was revealing a plan to the citizens to go outside of our own walls. There were rumors of a military unit being built and weapons being made. When the notes dropped from the sky, it seemed to worry the director. He accelerated the program, moving citizens from their everyday routine to building weapons. You can imagine this sparked a lot of controversy.”
Jordan nodded along with the woman’s words. She eyed the woman’s shoulder and the cut that looked angry and red. While the bleeding had stopped, it looked painful.
“Thank you for telling me all of this.” Jordan nodded to the city in front of them. “I’ve been selfish with your time. We need to get that cut looked at and food in your stomach.”
“A friendly face is never a waste of time.” The woman smiled wearily and extended a hand. “I’m Sara. Thank you for the water.”
Jordan accepted the hand for the first time, thinking she might have actually seen the woman in her own city before. With thousands of people working in her city, it would be possible she had come across Sara but not likely.
Together, the three survivors along with Ugly made the rest of the trek to the city gates. Other survivors gave Jordan and more so Ugly a wide berth. Their eyes widened when they saw the glove-type controllers on Jordan’s hand and the crates she guided with her.
At the tall gates into the city, a bottleneck started. It seemed like Leopold or Grizla, whoever was overseeing the process of allowing others to enter the city, had decided to set up a log as they entered. The city gates themselves were cracked open just enough to allow a narrow walkway through a pair of armed guards Jordan recognized as Rhun’s men from his own city.
“Please, please.” Grizla’s voice sounded from somewhere up ahead in between the city gates. “Everyone will get into the city. All we’re doing is keeping a log of your name, the city you come from, and what you did in your city so we can place you correctly. There is more than enough room and water for everyone.”
Although the throng of those gathered was too pressed in to give Jordan a view of the older woman, she recognized the strain in Grizla’s voice. How Grizla had decided to say there was plenty of room and water and neglect to mention the scarceness of food.
“We need to get inside the walls,” a panicked male voice said, whose owner Jordan couldn’t see. “I saw them. They’re spreading over the desert like a disease. They’ll be here soon!”
“Who!?” another voice asked.
“You don’t know?” a third voice chimed in.
“Please, we will get you all inside as soon as possible,” Grizla said to the group. She stood up on something Jordan couldn’t see. Her head popped up over the crowd, and for the first time, she saw Jordan. “Make way, make way; our scouts have returned with what looks like supplies for our city if I’m not mistaken.”
Bodies parted and all eyes turned to Jordan, Argo, and Ugly.
“Thanks.” Jordan nodded wearily to the gathered crowd. Her body felt like a balloon that had all the air emptied from it. She moved forward with the controllers, seeing for the first time what Grizla was standing on. It was a dead ticker, the first version of the machine that used a cube for a body.
Grizla’s dark eyes were full of wonder as she met Jordan at the gates and embraced her in a hug. Jordan was going to settle for a simple hello, but if she was honest with herself, feeling the love of another human being in a world so broken was what her soul needed.
“I’m glad you’re back.” Grizla released Jordan then embraced Argo. She looked over at Sara and Ugly. “And it seems you’re not alone. We’ll get you inside and settled.”
“We found supplies and food and—” Jordan stopped herself short before she revealed what she had found out about Eldar. There was no knowing how a mass of people would take the news. She needed to meet with Grizla, Leopold, and Jerrick alone. “Is Rhun back? We should all talk.”
“No, not yet.” Grizla’s eyes so full of hope a moment before were downcast now. “But he’ll be back soon. I’m sure of it. Come inside.”
Grizla gave orders to one of the guards at the gate and handed off a pad of paper and a writing instrument before waving Jordan and the others into the city. Her eyes traveled to the controllers on Jordan’s hands. She didn’t ask questions, not yet.
Grizla led them through the city to a large house on the left where stockpiles of foodstuffs and supplies were being taken and categorized. Eager eyes from the survivors working the warehouse traveled to Jordan and the crates that followed behind her like mindless zombies.
“You can leave the supplies here. They’ll be safe.” Grizla motioned to a worker who hurried forward with wary eyes on Ugly.
“I think I’d better part ways here too,” Sara said, grasping the situation of a very serious talk that needed to take place between the city leaders. “I’ll see you again soon.”
“Get someone to take a look at your shoulder,” Grizla told her, motioning to the workers inside the warehouse. “There are a few from my own city well-versed in medical arts that will help you. Ask for a healer.”
“Thank you,” Sara said, disappearing into the warehouse.
Something itched at the back of Jordan’s mind as to who the woman was. Once again, she was sure she knew her in the city or had at least seen her once before.
“Jerrick and Leopold have been laboring in his workshop up the street.” Grizla motioned Jordan and Argo forward. “They’ve been at it double time since we received the first warning of war in the wasteland. I think—”
BOOM!
All eyes turned to Leopold’s home-workshop combo up the street. Smoke and a red light; something like waves of energy wafted from the house.
Jordan and the others took off at a run.
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