HUMANITY: A Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Novel (8 page)

Less than an hour a later, they reached a small village composed of many large hardened-dirt buildings and houses. The homes were literally built around the trees, as most of them had trees pushing out through the roof.

Throughout the village, the green miholos could be seen going about their daily lives. Women with long, flowing hair were washing clothing inside large buckets, children were kicking a small leather ball, and others were sitting around chatting and laughing with each other in their native language. As the four newcomers passed by, they would stop their activities and stare at Mich with wide eyes of surprise and confusion as it was rare for anyone but a miholo to enter their village.

The leader of the band brought Mich to a small building and lead him inside. He pointed to a small cloth and grass bed that had been fashioned in the corner of the room. Inside of the building was a huge tree growing out of the center, and a miholo woman was sitting on a stool near the bed.

The girl had a similar appearance of a human in her early 20’s with smooth, light green skin, and long, straight black hair which fell down past her waist. She was wearing a short fur skirt, tall fur boots, and a leather top which held up her large breasts but exposed her midriff. Her face and body was covered intermittently with a red and white powders, and in the center of her forehead was a small, red jewel.

She threw the leader of the band a questioning glance as he lay Mich down on the bed, and the leader simply gave her a nod of approval.

The girl proceeded to unwrap the cloth from Mich’s waist and clean the wound with a watery liquid. Mich squirmed and moaned faintly as she did this, but she simply made a soft, comforting sound and lightly tapped his arm to assure him everything was okay. The wound had swollen greatly and had turned a black and purple color around the opening.

The leader lay the sword that Mich recovered down on a table near the bed, and seeing the type of sword that it was, the girl simply asked, “Keeper?”

“A Keeper is what did this to me,” Mich replied.

“You’re lucky to be alive,” the leader said. “If it was a Keeper, energy from the sword may have cauterized part of your gash, preventing you from an immediate death.”

The girl asked Mich to give her his hand, and he complied. She placed her other hand on the wound and closed her eyes. Within a few moments, her hand started glowing, and Mich felt a tingle of energy pulsating outward from the injury. Several seconds later, she removed her hand and the swelling had reduced dramatically, the opening of the wound showing the beginnings of a scar. The black and purple discoloration was still there, but not as intense as before. Further, Mich did not feel the same level of cinching pain that he felt before. He was feeling more alert than he had since he fell into the river, and most of his vigor had returned.

The girl continued to smudge a white paste over the wound. “The wound is deep, but you should heal within a week.”

“Amazing…” Mich shook his head in disbelief. “Thank you.”

The girl smiled.

“It’s amazing that a Keeper would attempt to kill a human in our jungles, further that you would survive the encounter,” the leader said. “What is your name, and what level of crime did you commit?”

“My name is Mich, and I’ve committed no crimes. The Keeper that did this said he wanted to kill all the humans, especially me, as I’m a… special case.”

“Special case?” the leader queried.

Mich told his dreadful tale from when he stepped into the cryonics chamber 70 years ago, and up until the moment he fell into the water. He told of the Keeper’s accusation that humans were a threat to the Galaxy and needed to be wiped out to avoid another
Cleanse
.

“…He asked the other Keeper to join them. He said he wanted to destroy Rashada. He said it was the only way to protect the galaxy from us humans,” Mich finished.

The leader looked down with concern on his face. “This is troubling news. Rashada is not only the home of humans. It is our home as well.”

T
amor stood
tall next to the Queen and frowned at his friend that was standing before them.

“Kryle Yago, you stand accused of disobeying a direct order from the Queen and disregarding the decisions of the Galactic Council,” the Queen bellowed loudly.

The Council had been summoned to the Queen’s halls, and all seven of the other members were lining the benches as Kryle stood trial.

“I would never do such a thing, my Queen,” Kryle smiled with an air of confusion. “Your word is the law.”

“Tamor,” the Queen said.

Tamor reached into a bag that sat beside the Queen’s throne, lifted out the severed head of the krawl he killed on Rashada and tossed it near Kryle’s feet. The milky white eye of his dead friend looking up at him startled Kryle, and the council members gasped.

“I believe this is Graul, a Keeper of the galaxy, and your subordinate for many years,” the Queen said. “He was found on Rashada, kidnapping the human that was recovered on E-17.”

The krawl stood in silence.

“Please explain what happened, Tamor,” the Queen requested.

Tamor took a step forward and cleared his voice. “After I ordered him to stop and release the human, he attacked and tried to kill me. He insisted that Rashada must be destroyed to save the galaxy from the human fallacy.”

The chatter amongst the seated guests grew louder.

“I don’t suppose it’s a coincidence that your subordinate would be on Rashada, committing these crimes and giving Tamor a similar lecture to that you gave the Council and I, would it Lord Yago?”

Kryle Yago bit his lip and paused a moment while all eyes in the Queen’s hall looked upon him. “I do only what is best for the galaxy. That human should not be left alive to potentially spread the kind of ideas that once destroyed Earth.”

“The human is dead,” Tamor chimed in. “When Graul saw that he could not defeat me, he impaled him with his sword, and the man fell lifeless over the Great Falls.”

The commotion in the room grew to a roar.

The Queen stood from her throne and spoke loudly, “Kryle Yago, you are hereby removed from your seat on the Council, and all government positions and power are now stripped. Do you have any words?”

“If the human is a dead, then I consider myself a hero, and Graul is but a martyr. Shall he be remembered for his deeds,” he said calmly.

Salil, the neander stood from his seat on the bench and yelled, “Graul was a murderer, as are you!” The people in the benches chattered and shook their heads in agreement.

The Queen raised her hand, and everyone grew silent.

“Kryle, your father was a hero of the galaxy, and you have long served the Council well, therefore I have given you a very light sentence for your treason. You would do well to live the rest of your days as a citizen on your home planet and forget about your ill-hearted will against the humans. If you’re found guilty of another heinous act, I will not be so kind.”

The krawl stood in silence, his jaw clenched tightly. After several seconds, the Queen nodded at one of the guards, and he was escorted out of the Queen’s hall.

M
ich looked
on in awe as he sat beside Vishi, the same girl who had healed his wounds a few weeks earlier. The whole village had gathered in large circle, surrounded by torches, and in the center of the circle were two miholo men fighting viciously with each other.

Both of the men looked very much alike and wore the generic miholo garb, but the larger of the two appeared to be winning the fight and had a long ponytail that extended far past his waist.

“Soot hasn’t lost a fight in ages,” Vishi whispered to Mich. “He’s one of the finest warriors in the village.”

Mich nodded in acknowledgement.

As the men fought, blue sparks of energy occasionally formed around their fists, feet, and other points of contact, and if a blow was landed with a glowing fist or kick, it seemed to cause a tremendous amount more damage. Subsequently, blocking with the glowing extremities, seemed to nullify attacks.

“How are they able to do that?” Mich asked. “It’s much like what I saw when the Keepers were fighting without the swords.”

“It’s no different really,” Vishi said. “It’s their life force. Their emotions. They’re able to project their energy outside of their bodies in order to do miraculous things.” Vishi reached for Mich’s shirt and tugged it upwards to reveal a barely visible scar across his abdomen. “It’s the same life force that I used to heal you.”

The smaller miholo landed a clean sweep kick on the larger Soot, causing him to fall down to his back, and the crowd held its breath in anticipation. As the man jumped on Soot, he countered, by blocking with two glowing blue hands and then reversed their position, forcing the smaller miholo to be in submission. Soot knocked the defender’s hands away and slammed his fists into his abs, causing his opponent to cough and spit blood.

Soot stood, grabbed the long braid of the other miholo, then let out a roar as he raised a hand in victory. A bystander tossed Soot a curved sword, which he quickly used to cut the braid of the beaten warrior’s hair. He again let out a roar and raised both the sword and the severed braid in his hands. The crowd cheered and clapped for the winner.

Soot handed the sword back to the bystander along with the braid, and he went to attend to his fallen opponent. He offered an arm and helped the smaller miholo stand, before shaking his hand and giving him a forceful hug. “Rak Shae Me Roowa! Jem Jem,” he said as he patted the loser on the back.

“What did he say?” Mich asked.

“He said, ‘You fought bravely, brother. Well done.’”

“After nearly killing the man…”

“Oh, he wouldn’t have killed him. Not on purpose at least. Miholo fight for strength and honor. We never kill our own. Even though he’s lost part of his braid, we still view him as a great warrior for simply having the courage to fight.”

Mich nodded. He had been enjoying himself with the miholo people thus far. They seemed to be humble and down to earth individuals who had made Mich fell more than welcome since he arrived. Every day, he learned something new about them that made him feel a closer bond with them. They allowed him to stay in the village to finish his recovery, and he didn’t feel anxious to return to the city where his assailant may still be lurking.

“Would you like to fight?” Vishi asked.

“Me?” Mich laughed. “I… I’m not a fighter.”

Vishi eyed him curiously. “You’ve got more muscle than the typical human. If you’re not a fighter, why do you look strong?”

Mich grinned shyly. “Before I woke up in this new world, I worked out pretty frequently. Exercise, lifting weights.”

“If not for fighting, then what was the purpose of training your muscles to such an extent?”

“Ummm…” Mich was at a loss for what to say. Somehow telling a non-human who wasn’t from Earth made him feel more uncomfortable about his human ways. “To look good, I guess.”

“Appearance only?”

“It wasn’t uncommon in my world.”

Vishi began to giggle.

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s just that you’re still in the same world. You’ve just moved forward in time a bit and are able to see the world as a whole. It’s strange to think that humans once thought that they were all alone in such a vast and expansive universe.”’

Mich shrugged and turned away. It all did seem naïve now that he was on Rashada.

“Here,” Vishi said as she placed a hand on Mich’s knee. “Give this ‘new world’ a try.” Vishi stood up and looked through the crowds before spotting a distant figure. “Lupshed! Lupshed!” she yelled.

A smallish boy, thin and lacking the muscle of the adult miholos, who Mich judged around the age of 13 came walking quickly towards the Vishi and threw her a questioning glance.

“Would you like to battle the human?” Vishi asked the boy.

Mich’s eyes shot open, and he immediately started to protest. “Hey, I can’t. He’s just a boy.”

Lupshed grinned a bright white smile and appeared to holding in a laugh.

“Don’t worry, Mich. Miholo of all ages are strong. I doubt that you’d stand a chance against even a young miholo like Lupshed, but you might put up a decent challenge.”

Mich shifted uncomfortably and then looked the thin boy up and down. His braid was barely past his shoulders, so surely he wouldn’t be anywhere near the same level as Soot. “Alright... I’ll give it a try.”

Vishi smiled and then scuttled off to find their leader.

After a short while, Vishi returned to Mich’s side, and Grim, the same miholo who had found and rescued Mich, appeared in the center of the circle. He clapped his hands loudly and the crowd grew silent. He began speaking his native language and grunting as he paced the circle and Mich could feel the anticipation building in his loins. Grim pointed a hand toward Lupshed and the boy walked casually into the circle with his fist raised, causing the gathering to wail. When the cheers died down, Grim pointed his alternate hand in the way of Mich, and Mich stood up and waved his hand, blushing brightly and giving an embarrassed smile.

The crowd was quiet for a moment as if expecting some further explanation, but when they realized that the human would actually be fighting the boy, chatter erupted everywhere. A few people were chuckling, while a few more seemed unamused at the idea. Grim grunted and said a few words, and the crowd returned an approving grunt.

Grim turned towards Mich and asked, “Are you sure you want to fight, human?”

“Not really,” Mich replied, “but Vishi seems keen on the idea. The boy looks harmless enough.”

Grim smiled. “Don’t hold back. If you do, he might hurt you.”

Fear washed over Mich’s body when he heard Grim’s words, but he tried to push his uncertainty away. He had never been in a fist fight before, and the idea that he was being watched by an entire village made him feel self-conscious.

Mich shook his hands and began jumping up and down to loosen his body and clear his nerves as everyone cleared the center area to make room for the fight. He stretched his arms and legs and tilted his head from side to side while he looked at the boy standing at the other side of the circle.

The boy stood there silently, not making the slightest bit of movement. His eyes burned a hole in Mich.

Grim raised a fist up high and spoke loudly to begin the fight, and both the boy and the Mich moved towards to center of the circle, squaring off against each other.

Mich had his fist raised, but was hesitant to throw the first blow. The boy was nearly half his size, and he felt certain that if he connected with full force, he would surely cause an injury. The boy raised his hands in a similar fashion with open fist, and moved his body snakily around the larger human.

The crowd began to chatter as the two orbited around each other, and eventually the young boy struck out with Mich backing up, dodging the quick blow by a fraction of an inch. Mich could tell that there was strength in the strike by the force of the air that blew in his face.

Again the boy struck out, this time closing his fist right at the last moment to land a quick punch to Mich’s abs. Mich gasped and backed away as far as he could. For a quick moment, he thought to raise his hands and give up, but then his eyes caught sight of Vishi, looking on with encouragement, standing beside an unreadable Grim with his arms crossed.

Mich ignored the pain and moved forward again, this time determined to be more offensive. The boy lashed out, and Mich dodged the blow, countering with a punch of his own that landed square on the side of his face. The boy’s body leered back and his head turned from the force. A few members of the crowd gasped in shock more than anything, and immediately Mich felt bad for hurting the boy.

Lupshed gently touched the side of his jaw and then turned back toward Mich with a surprising smile on his face–an approving smile. It was an honest blow. Lupshed rushed quickly towards Mich and the two started exchanging blow after blow with each other, Mich landing several swift punches and absorbing many that a few audience members thought would take him down.

Vishi leaned towards Grim and murmured, “Not bad for a human.”

Grim gave a slight node and continued to look on.

Lupshed was fighting well, and now Mich was not holding back at all. He landed a clean shot to the boy’s ribs and a solid punch to the face which caused Lupsed to kneel for a brief moment, convincing Mich that the fight was almost over.

Feeling on the brink of victory, Mich Jump towards the boy’s body with an overhead fist, but one of the boy’s hands quickly raised up and grabbed Mich’s wrist, easily blocking the blow. His hands were pulsating with a blue energy, and as the boy held Mich in a vice like grip, he stood and simultaneously pummeled Mich with quick successive blows with his other hand. A final open hand punch to Mich’s face sent him falling towards the ground.

The crowd cheered, clearly enjoying the fight, and the boy raised his hand in victory. Grim stood silently and slowly shook his head as if something unspoken was crossing his mind. Vishi smiled at the display and hoped Mich wasn’t too badly injured.

Lupshed crossed over towards Mich who was now coughing and trying to make his way back to his feet. The boy smiled at Mich and offered his arm in assistance, but Mich slapped the boys hand away and stumbled towards his feet on his own. He rubbed the backside of his hand against his bloodied lips and spun around, feeling ashamed as all the onlookers watched him stand.

“That was bullshit!” he yelled.

The few people who had still been talking quickly quieted, alarmed at the human’s sudden rage.

“It wasn’t a fair fight. The boy used his magic or whatever it is! I was winning, and he resorted to tricks.” Mich pushed a few miholos aside and stormed through the circle to head back to his hut.

As he left, the villagers began gossiping about the human’s bizarre behavior and anger over the loss. The general consensus was that he had fought like a brave warrior, so they didn’t understand the reaction. Lupshed walked up to Grim and the leader put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Jem Jem.”

The boy had done well.

“The human is very strange,” Vishi said.

“Humans are prideful beings. Jealous beings. Often, winning is the only thing that matters.” Grim let out a sigh. “You should go check on him. He trusts you.”

Vishi nodded and headed for Mich’s hut.

M
ich was brooding
. He leaned back in his bed and his head spun. All he could do was think back to the times in school when he was laughed at for being a loser and how helpless he was when he tried to defend himself from Tony.

He didn’t want to be that boy, and didn’t want to be that man. His entire life he had strived to make something of himself, starting a successful business, making millions of dollars and living as a successful businessman. But just as soon as he made it, it was all taken away, and now he was back to square one. He was just that helpless little boy again with no idea how to succeed at life, no direction, and no idea how to fight back. Now he was living in a world that had “Keepers” that were far more powerful than he would ever be, and he couldn’t even defeat a young miholo boy.

He was weak and he didn’t like that.

“Mich,” a voice came from outside his door. Vishi pushed the door aside and let herself in without giving him a chance to reply. When she made it inside, she sat at the foot of his bed. “Are you okay?”

“You saw that it wasn’t fair, didn’t you?” Mich snapped.

“Not fair, why?”

“You saw his hands turn blue. Just like the Keepers. He used his magic.”

Vishi smiled. “It’s not magic Mich. It’s part of who we are. Everyone has energy inside of them. Lupshed has just learned to harness it.”

“I’m a human, so using that… power… or whatever you call it gives him an unfair advantage.”

Vishi sighed. “Mich, you fought bravely. You did better than anyone thought you could do. Winning is unimportant. What matters is that you went out there and gave it your all. I’m sure Lupshed learned a lot during your fight. Did you not feel anything at all when you were out there?”

Mich pondered the question for a moment. It was the first time he had been in a real fight with an evenly matched opponent and fought without an anger or hatred. It was primal and something about it felt incredibly real to him. He hardly noticed the aches in his jaw and in his ribs. In a way, he had felt a sense of freedom while he was fighting the boy.

“I felt something. I just wish that I had a fighting chance.” Mich’s mind crossed back to the moment when he thought that was going to win the fight and then the seconds after when he was getting pummeled by blows that came swifter and stronger than he thought possible from a teenage boy. “You said that everyone has energy inside of them?”

Vishi nodded.

“Is that something that I can learn to use myself?”

“Humans are emotional creatures,” Grim said loudly as he suddenly entered Mich’s hut. He had listened in on the last few bits of their conversation. “Learning how to tap into the dormant part of your mind and harness your life energy requires tolerance and control. Very few humans have ever been able to learn even the basics of the art.”