HUMANITY: A Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Novel (17 page)

“No…” Tamor creaked, sitting his bloodied body up the best he could. “He has a chance.”

Mich threw the gruesome character a questioning glance, and the others glared at him with contempt.

He motioned with a shaky hand for Mich to step closer and spoke with a trembling voice. “It was odd to see a human manipulate his life force, but the fact that there is also another proves to me that I was wrong about the potential of your species. I thought I was guarding the Queen, when in reality I was working against my own goals. Please take this as a thank you for saving my life.” He motioned towards the side of his face, then extended his hand.

“Your tattoo?” Mich asked.

“Take it. Please save the Queen.”

“But I thought you had to kill a Keeper to take their tattoo?”

Stryker coughed and grimaced before he spoke. “It’s can be done, but probably never has, since only a dead Keeper would give up his koridiam.”

Tamor motioned his hand again, and Mich approached nervously. Even though the large man was covered in his own blood, he had seen enough inhuman things in the last few weeks that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Keeper just jumped up and went at everyone again. Seeing his giant sword sitting a few meters away gave him some form of comfort.

When Mich’s hand was in reaching distance, Tamor grabbed him by the wrist and pulled his palm to the side of his face. “Now channel your energy into your hand, and feel the koridiam beneath your palms. Then pull everything back at once.”

Mich turned his head towards Stryker, and Stryker gave a slight nod. Mich closed his eyes and focused the same that he had done numerous times before. He fell into a dark void and willed an entity of energy in front of his eyes. But this time it came stronger, wilder, and slid into view with little resistance. He instinctively tried to blink from the brightness of it all but quickly adjusted. He pushed the energy towards his hands as Tamor instructed, and when he did, his hand felt so powerful that he thought he could crush the fallen soldier’s skull with a squeeze of his fingers if he wanted. Then he willed the energy back into him, and he could feel the koridiam seeping through his pores like a strange, illicit drug.

He inhaled deeply and pulled his hand back, gripping his fists tight as the sensation of koridiam creeped up his arm, passing his shoulder, through his neck, and then finally towards the side of his face. His cheek burned in the area that the image of the dragon settled, and when he opened his eyes, he felt powerful.

His heart was pounding.

“Wow,” Mich said. “I feel incredible.”

“That’s your energy waiting to leap out of you. Focus some of your life force towards the tattoo when you’re ready for it to be amplified,” Stryker explained.

Mich dipped his head in understanding and turned back towards Tamor. “Thank you…” he said. “I’ll return this to you after we’ve saved the Queen. And if I die… You know where to find my body.”

Tamor’s splattered eyebrows wrinkled. He wasn’t expecting the gift to be returned or that someone would offer to do such a thing. He sat in silence as he continued to try to understand the human’s ways.

Tristyn stood and sauntered to Mich. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

Mich nodded and returned his sword to his back.

They both said a quick goodbye to the others, possibility their final goodbye, and headed for the mines.

W
hen they arrived
to the entrance of the mine, Mich tasted bile when they caught sight of the two dead guards, with fly-like creatures swarming them.

“Looks like Snake is here, alright,” Tristyn said. She lifted the neck of her cotton undershirt and pulled it up so it was over her nose and advised Mich to do the same.

“I don’t have an undershirt.”

Tristyn shrugged and continued to pass through the entrance to the dusty mines. Mich wished he had an undershirt as soon as they entered.

They continued down several floors until they reached the main of the mine, and Mich felt like he had been brought back to the poor quarter of Rashada, only 100 times worse. The sight of the decrepit humans, working silently, resolved to breathe in the harmful air made his heart ache. If there was any doubt in his mind as to why the rebels were fighting before, now he knew. Had he not met the rebels, he too might be condemned to that place.

The workers ignored the pair as they continued into the mines, and each time they passed a dead overseer, they knew that they were headed in the right direction. Tristyn had been to the mines several times and figured that Snake would be using the control room as the most logical hiding place. There weren’t many other habitable areas in the unground cesspool.

When they arrived in front the control room, Tristyn turned to Mich. “I’ll do all the talking. I don’t suppose we’re going to be able to lie our way into this, so just stay calm and look for an opening to kill Snake. Whatever you do, don’t say something to set him off. He’s a loose cannon.”

“Kill him? I thought we’d just subdue him and get out with Lena and the Queen.”

Tristyn lowered the undershirt from her nose and stared Mich directly into the eyes. “Mich, listen to me. Snake carries blasters. He’s ruthless. If he’s still alive when we try to leave, he’ll kill us without question. If you don’t kill Snake, we’ll die.”

Mich’s heart was leaping out of his chest, and he felt like he was going to piss himself. He had never killed anyone, and wasn’t sure how he felt about doing that now–even if the victim was hell-bent on killing him first. From what he heard, Snake wasn’t really a bad guy. He wanted a better life for humans but was just going about achieving it the wrong way. Maybe if he could talk to him–

“Mich… Are you listening to me? You must kill Snake,” Tristyn interrupted his thoughts.

Mich nodded slightly. Maybe she was right... Earl was dead, and almost everyone else he knew in his strange, new world had almost died, including himself. If he hesitated to kill Snake, his friends would die and so would many others. The people he knew from Earth was gone, but he was given a second chance. He didn’t want to lose everyone again.

Tristyn pushed open the door to the control room, and as expected, Snake was sitting in a chair with a blaster pointed towards her as soon as she entered.

“Ahh, Tristyn,” Snake exhaled. “I’m glad you guys finally made it.”

Mich followed Tristyn into the control room and after giving Snake a quick smile, his eyes glanced to the body on the floor, then to the corner of the room where the Queen and Lena were huddled together nervously. Lena immediately recognized Mich, but the Queen’s face was blank.

Lena whispered something into the Queen’s ear, and her eyes grew wide with surprise.

“Where’s Walt and Earl? Why are you two alone?”

“Well,” Tristyn’s voice was shaky. “Walter’s leg is broken, and Earl is dead.”

“Earl’s dead? What are you talking about?”

Tristyn’s eyes grew solemn as she remembered her brother, and she fought tears back as she spoke. “We were attacked by one of the Queen’s ships on our way over here. Earl used an escape pod to detonate a missile before it hit the Zatyr. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be alive. Walter was hurt in the crash.”

Snake picked up metal drinking mug that was sitting on a table nearby and flung it towards the Queen. It clanged against the wall right above her head, sending brown liquid everywhere, then fell to the ground with a ting. He stood up furiously and whipped a pistol from his belt as he spoke. “You know, I should just kill you right now,” Snake said, manically, aiming the pistol at the Queen’s face. The Queen huddled closer to Lena, as if her comfort could save them from a blaster shot.

“Walter wanted us to continue with the plan,” Mich spoke up. “He’s on Rashada. Everyone is on Rashada. Injured, but here.”

Snake’s breathing mask hissed as he panted, and he lowered his pistol after a few moments. He spun around and looked a Mich. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.”

“I’m Mich,” he replied and reached out for a handshake.

Snake eyed the hand suspiciously. “So you’re part of the rebellion?”

“No, actually,” Mich replied. Snake tilted his head in a questioning manner. “I’m from Earth. It’s a long story, but I was recovered from E-17.”

Snake laughed, and his hand grew tight around his pistol. “E-17 is uninhabitable. What kind of bullshit are you feeding me?”

“It’s true,” Tristyn insisted. “Something about him being frozen right before
The Cleanse
. He was found while salvagers were mining the planet.”

“I found Walter and the others after I was sent to Rashada,” Mich added.

“And he helped saved us after we were captured by Nerrian soldiers.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Snake chirped, sensing the honesty in their eyes. “So you lived on E-motherfucking-17?”

Mich nodded.

“Maybe you’ll do well to help us build Rashada into something like E-17 used to be. We’ve got books and stories about that stuff, but someone who actually lived it is invaluable.” Snake holstered his pistol and sat back down in his chair. “Sorry, I don’t have anything proper for you guys to sit in, but I suppose we should go ahead and get this show on the road. I’d like to get some fresh air sooner than later. We can talk about E-17 when we’re done.”

Snake pulled the gas mask off his head and sat it on the table. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his transmitter, then motioned for Tristyn and Mich to get behind him. “Don’t say anything unless I tell you to,” he said towards The Queen and Lena.

He pressed a few buttons on the device, and after a moment, an image of Lady Hamm appeared. She stared suspiciously at strange human on the other end of the transmission. “Who is this? This is a restricted–“

“This is Snake Townsend and–” he saw the council member reach to power down her transmitter. “Hey, hey!” he snapped, then turned the device so that the Queen could be seen. “Special transmission from the Queen.”

Lady Hamm gasped, and her eyes whisked open. “What is going on here?”

“As I was saying. My name is Snake, and I represent the humans on Rashada. I have your Queen, and I’m about to make a few demands very clear. Try anything funny and the Queen dies. Get me the other council members now.”

Lady Hamm paused for a moment, then she reached for her device and summoned the other council members. Images of Salil, Kontra and the other councilmen appeared. “It seems we have a problem,” Lady Hamm muttered.

“Snake…” Salil immediately recognized the goggle-eyed man.

“The Queen and her trusted assistant are with me,” Snake hissed. “And today things are about to change.”

“Impossible,” Kontra said. “I don’t know what look-a-like you’ve got there, but the Queen is on her throne in Nerria.”

Snake chuckled. “My agent currently controls the throne, hiding behind the mask of the Queen. And before you get any wise ideas, I’d suggest not attempting any moves that would put your Queen at risk. That would include trying to capture my agent or an attack here on Rashada. If I get even the slightest bit suspicious that something is going on, I’ll kill the Queen and…” Snake turned his head towards the prisoners. “What’s your name honey?”

“Lena…”

“I’ll killed the Queen and Ms. Lena.”

“How can we be sure that’s the real Queen?” Salil asked.

Snake smiled. “Come here, Queen Vashalla.” Snake motioned with his hands. The Queen stood and approached cautiously. When she was in arm’s reach, Snake grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her with enough force to make her squeal. He simultaneously whipped his pistol out and placed it against her head. “You can take your chances guessing if she’s real or not.”

The council members looked shocked. They had never seen the Queen treated in such a way, and the sight caused several of them to gasp.

“Okay,” Salil begged. “What are you demands?”

Mich waited patiently in the background, trying to find the right moment to make a move against Snake. His back was turned to them, but he had hesitated already. Tristyn had tapped him on the arm and looked at him, but he didn’t make a move, still feeling uncertain about striking Snake down. The man seemed to be as crazy as Tristyn had led him to be, but was it right for him to die? Was there no other way?

Even if he did strike now, it was too dangerous with his pistol already drawn and the Queen nearby.

“Rashada will be an independent entity with no affiliation to the Queen or the Council. All non-humans on Rashada will be withdrawn, and I want an agreement that there will be no more military action towards the humans on Rashada.”

“Only the Queen can decree such a thing,” Kontra explained.

Snake released the Queen from his grip and slowly put his pistol back in his belt. A grin creeped over his face. “Of course,” he replied. “But in order to make it official, I want the Council to bear witness.” Snake turned gently to his side and faced the Queen who had created some distance between herself and her captor. “So Queen…” Snake cooed. “Do you agree to the demands or not?”

Mich saw his opening and gulped. He knew that it may be the last time that he’d be in such an advantageous position. His eyes glanced towards Lena, and he could see the fear and desperation in her eyes. He panned to Tristyn and felt like she was asking, begging him for help.

Two different women from vastly different positions, both whom Mich cared for and both whose lives teetered on Mich’s actions. Something about their eyes told him that he was making the right choice. What Snake was doing was wrong.

He took a deep breath of the dusty air and felt his life force spring out inside him. In a split second, he reached behind his back, unfastened the copper sword and brought it out in front of him, crackling with power.

The quick sound of sparking energy is what alerted Snake that something was going on. Before he had even turned his head, his hand found his pistol, and when he whipped around, he could see Mich rushing towards him with a glowing sword. He had no time to aim, but he managed to get a shot off just as Mich lunged out. The sword hit the barrel of his blaster, and the blaster shot hit the sword, causing an explosion of energy that sent both men flying backwards.

The Queen and Lena screamed, and Tristyn motioned for them to follow her. The two prisoners stood and ran behind Tristyn as she slid out the control room door.

Mich’s head was pounding as he picked himself up off the ground. He breathed heavily and wished more than ever that he could get even a single breath of fresh air.

“You fucking bastard!” Snake yelled out, standing to his feet and scurrying to grab his weapon. When he found his blaster, he turned to the disoriented Mich and pointed it at him. “You would kill one of your own kind to save those wretches? I’d think that someone straight from E-17 would know better.”

Mich raised his hands in submission. “On Earth, people of different, races, colors and beliefs killed each other for their differences. It was wrong and what lead to the destruction of our planet. It’s great that human are united now, but I can see that we’re all heading down the same crooked path. Lena and the Queen are just as human as we are. It might take time for the other species to accept us, but we should learn to live together peacefully.”

“Fuck your nonsense!” Snake said and began pulling on his trigger rapidly. The pistol clicked with each pull but didn’t fire, apparently damaged during the hit.

Mich quickly turned around and rushed for his sword with Snake right after him, throwing his broken blaster to the side. As soon as Mich leaned over and grabbed his sword, Snake kicked it from his hands and landed a hard punch to the side of Mich’s head.

Mich stumbled back, his ears ringing and flashes of white strobing in front of his eyes as Snake continued to punch him in the face. Snake kneed him in the gut, causing him to keel over, and right before he fell to his knees, Snake tugged him by the shirt then grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall.

Snake’s hands squeezed Mich’s throat tightly, cutting off his air supply, and pushed with enough force to cause Mich to stand on his tip-toes. He watched as Mich’s face turned red and eyed the dragon tattoo on the side of his cheek. “What are you? Some kind of wannabe Keeper?” Snake snickered. “A real Keeper would know he doesn’t need to light up his sword to kill from someone from behind.” He snorted in disgust. “No, you’ll never be a Keeper. You’re nothing but a piece of shit.” He said it with such contempt, speckles of saliva flew out of his mouth and on to Mich’s face.

Hope was fading away from Mich. He could feel himself getting dizzy from lack of blood and oxygen. His hands grasped at his neck, fruitlessly trying to pry away Snake’s tight grip. Slowly, his own strength began to weaken and he began to fade into darkness.

When the black surrounded him, Snake’s last words echoed out in his mind.
Nothing but a piece of shit.

Nothing but a chickenshit.

How similar that his words had been to Tony’s. He guessed that Snake was right. Why did he “light up” his sword when all he needed to do was strike him from behind? He cursed himself and was resolved to his death.

But something strange was happening. He keep getting the distinct feeling that there was a threat nearby. A trigger to tell him to snap out of the darkness and nullify the threat, the same way that he had so many times when he was meditating. It twinged at him again and again. In response, he searched for his energy, and to his surprise, a small flame appeared.