WritersShowcase

Chapter 1 – FROM THE SKY

‘Come on Adalith, Greth! Tea is ready!’ cried a voice from inside the house.

I was outside on the field, tending to my chores. My brother was giving me a lecture on how to cut the grass.

‘No no, Adalith! Not like that! You have to cut at an angle!’ groaned Greth as he tried to take the knife off me to demonstrate how to do things properly.

‘I am doing the best I can! You try cutting down a whole field of grass with a single knife!’ I shouted.

‘I can do it in just a day!’ Greth gloated.

‘You do it then!’ I sneered and I gave him the knife. ‘You show me how it’s done!’

He held a bunch of grass in his hand and pulled it up slightly. Then with a quick swing of the knife, the grass was cut neatly and quickly. ‘See!’ he said.

‘Come on you two!’

‘Its mother,’ said Greth and he turned to the house. ‘We’re coming!’

We both marched up to the house and rushed in to sit at the table. I didn’t know about Greth but I was especially hungry. On the table were two plates full of food that steamed nicely and gave off many great smells.

‘Where’s yours, mother?’ asked Greth.

Our mother came in view and looked at us. She was a tall woman with a friendly face that always smiled. Her dress was long and her white apron too.

‘I’m not hungry,’ she replied.

Greth was a bit older than me at fifteen, whereas I was only thirteen. Still, it did not take me much to realise that she was going without so we could eat properly.

I got off my seat and went to a cupboard for a plate.

‘Yeah,’ said Greth, ‘pass it here!’

I gave the plate to Greth and him and I both placed some of our food onto the plate.

‘You two both need to eat properly!’ said mother. ‘You have been working all day, now don’t be silly and eat up!’

But we refused. ‘You need food too!’ argued Greth.

I pulled out a chair for her and she gave up and sat down with us.

‘How is the field?’ asked mother as she looked at me.

However, Greth was the one who answered. ‘He can’t cut the grass properly! I have to teach him everything!’

‘He is only starting to do chores. You have to help him but don’t pester him!’ said mother with a frown.

‘Well, I wouldn’t have to if father was back!’ said Greth.

‘He’ll be back in two days,’ said mother.

‘How much food do we have left until then?’ asked Greth.

‘Enough for tomorrow and if we stretch, probably enough to last until your father gets back with the supplies,’ answered mother.

‘What about you?’ asked Greth.

‘Never mind me, just eat your tea!’ said mother.

When nightfall had enveloped the sky with darkness, Greth and I got into our beds. Greth’s was above mine.

‘Hey, Adalith, are you awake?’ Greth asked.

‘No!’ I grunted.

‘I’ll be glad when father gets back,’ Greth went on, ‘I wonder if he got some animals. Maybe even a horse!’

‘They’re too expensive!’ I said.

‘Yeah I suppose so,’ said Greth. ‘I wonder what he will get.’

‘I don’t know,’ I mumbled.

Loud rain began to clatter on the walls and windows.

‘Oh no, what if father gets caught in the weather?’ said Greth sounding very worried.

‘He knows what to do if it rains,’ I replied. From what we knew, father never had any shelter to take with him and so if it rained, we knew he was going to be in it. A little rain was easy to cope with, but now and again, the weather would grow hazardous, rivers would flood and many plants would drown. We had recently suffered a week of heavy rainfall, which had put us in short supply of everything. Father had gone out to buy some food from the nearest market, which was about a two day journey to get there and a further two days to return. The trip was to sort our supply shortage out.

There was a rumble in the sky but it felt very close, too close to be thunder.

‘That’s something outside!’ said Greth.

‘Can you see anything?’ I asked. The window of our bedroom was right next to his bed.

‘I can’t, it is too dark to see a thing!’ he replied. ‘I can barely see the grass!’

‘I’ll come up and have a look!’ I said and I climbed out of my bed and went up the ladder to his bed. There I looked through the window. Rain was heavy, but there was no thunder or lightning.

‘Do you think it is father?’ I asked.

‘Don’t be stupid, he won’t be back for a couple of days, remember!’ said Greth.

Another loud rumble, this time it was even closer. I thought I saw something move this time too.

‘Did you see that?’ I shouted.

‘See what?’ asked Greth, looking out the window attentively.

I couldn’t see anything further. ‘It’s gone.’

‘Let’s go outside and have a look!’ said Greth excitedly.

‘Okay!’ I said.

It couldn’t be anything bad, as apart from the weather, we had never had any trouble with anything. People lived too far and animals were too valuable to be let loose.

I followed Greth out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. On the table was the knife that we used earlier to cut the grass. Greth took it. ‘Just in case!’ he said.

I picked up a lantern and asked Greth to light it for me.

‘Don’t you know how to light things?’ he asked looking at me oddly.

I shook my head.

He searched the cupboards until he found a peculiar glowing stone. ‘This is a stone which makes the oil in the lantern catch fire.’ He took the lantern from me and touched the oil in the lantern with it. Fire instantly appeared and so Greth returned the stone to the cupboard.

‘Cool!’ I said in awe as I took the lantern back.

‘Cool?’ questioned Greth. ‘It’s only a lighter stone! Actually, I hope father has got another one as that one will run out in a few weeks.’

We went to the front door and Greth carefully opened it as we did not want to wake mother. We went outside slowly. The rain still hammered down and we were not wearing our coats.

‘Can I get my coat? It’s freezing!’ I complained.

Greth grumbled but agreed. He waited for me until I returned with both of our coats. They were quite thick and had a shiny material stitched into them to help stop the rain from soaking us. We put them on, each taking it in turns to hold the lantern and the knife.

‘All right,’ said Greth, ‘follow me!’

I did so closely and looked around carefully. The field before the house was flat so we could see quite far but only up to the next fields as they were made up of tall yellow crops and they were much taller than ourselves.

‘Okay, we will run to the crops, but then we have to be careful not get lost,’ said Greth informatively.

I nodded in response.

We swept up to the crops and I waited a moment before Greth said to go further. He still held the knife and I now held up the lantern. Rain continued to pour and the sounds of our footsteps were demolished by the harsh winds blowing about.

‘What do you think we’ll find?’ I asked curiously.

‘I don’t know,’ shrugged Greth.

We moved on until a man shouted out. ‘I think I’ve found something!’

We both looked at each other in fright.

Another shout sounded from a distance in reply. ‘What is it? Something to do with the temple?’

The first man replied with a shout. ‘No! But I think someone is out here!’

‘Dangerous?’

‘I don’t think so,’ said the first man.

‘Then come on! We haven’t got time to be fooling around. Her ladyship wants the item quickly!’

The clatter of metal could barely be heard over the rain and wind, but it sounded to me as if they must be wearing metal boots of some kind. It was a thing unheard of, very outlandish. There was no sense in it, not here at least.

‘I think we should go back home!’ I whispered.

Greth nodded but stood still with his ears held out.

‘Come on!’ I ordered with a tug of his arm.

‘Okay,’ said Greth.

Greth and I rushed back to the house and just as the door slammed shut and Greth had placed his knife onto the table, we found mother standing there in wait of our arrival. ‘What are you doing outside in the middle of the night? Playing in the rain or something? If your father heard of this, he would be very worried as I am!’

‘We heard bangs and we went to investigate!’ said Greth defensively.

‘I don’t care if people were out there shouting! You must not leave the house at this hour or in the weather!’ shouted mother.

‘But there were people out there!’ protested Greth.

She looked at him as if she was scanning his mind to find out if he was lying or not. ‘Where did you hear them?’

‘In the crop fields,’ I answered.

‘Okay, Greth, get me the knife and Adalith, give me that lantern!’ ordered mother. Greth passed her the knife and I gave up the lantern. She gave us both a serious look as if we were up to mischief. ‘If I find out you have been lying, I will make you start chores without breakfast!’

‘We’re not!’ said Greth. ‘They were talking about a temple or something.’

‘I’ll go and have a look. You two will remain here until I come back!’ said mother. She went to the door. ‘I mean it! Stay here!’ Then she went out. Greth and I rushed to the door to watch her.

She had gone up to the crop field just ahead and had a look around before she glanced at us with a frown and went into the crops.

Just then, thunder rumbled in the sky and flashes of lightning jolted about like yellow forks stabbing at anything.

‘She’ll think we made it up with the thunder here,’ sighed Greth.

‘Do you think she will be all right?’ I asked in worry.

‘I’m not worried about her, I’m worried about us!’ replied Greth. ‘If she finds no one out there then we are in trouble!’

It wasn’t for a long time that mother came back. She was soaking wet and had a disgruntled look on her face. Greth called out to her. ‘Did you find them?’

‘No! Now get to bed, the pair of you!’ commanded mother angrily. It was really strange to see her act like this, it scared us and we went to bed without saying a word.

Morning came slowly and when it did, it came silently. Mother did not starve us of our breakfast but she did not speak to us either. Greth asked many questions about what had happened, but she remained silent and we were left to attend chores. The field needed cutting still and I was to finish it, but this time Greth was willing to help, instead of lecturing me.

‘What do you think happened?’ I asked.

He thought for a moment and glanced at the house. ‘Maybe she found them and they scared her off, or maybe they never saw her, but she saw them and ran away.’

‘She might have seen something else,’ I suggested.

‘Like what?’ snapped Greth.

‘I don’t know, but it’s creepy, isn’t it?’

‘Father should be able to sort it out,’ said Greth.

Not much more was said that day. We tended to the field and to some of the crops. And when we were there, neither of us looked around as we feared mother would be watching.

The next thing was the picking of fruit from the few trees that had survived the week of bad weather. I went ahead with a basket and began taking any ripe fruit from the trees but for some reason Greth did not accompany me. When I realised he was not with me, I looked around and searched the area. ‘Greth!’ I called. ‘Greth, where are you?’

There was no reply. I panicked and dropped the basket. ‘Greth!’ I cried.

He appeared from behind a tree.

‘Why were you hiding?’ I demanded to know.

‘I wasn’t hiding,’ he said, ‘come on, I found something.’

I followed him until he stopped and pointed to the crops. Smoke arose from inside the field.

‘What have you found?’ I asked.

‘Come on!’ he said hurriedly. He led me through the crops and to an opening where the smoke originated from.

There stood a metal device on the ground. It was a round-shaped metal floor with a metal stalk standing on its centre. It had something on the top of it, a small metal board of some kind with little metal pebbles that had numbers written on them. There was a red one and a green one too, but they didn’t have numbers on them. The smoke came from the metal board as if it was damaged.

I was cautious to keep clear of it; however, Greth followed his curiosity and stood onto the metal floor. He surveyed the board and touched it with his hand. ‘I think it’s broken whatever it is.’

I moved closer to it and looked around too. ‘What do you think it is?’

‘I have no idea,’ said Greth, ‘it could be some kind of weapon for all I know.’

‘I’ll tell mother and she can tell us,’ I said and I was just about to go but Greth barked at me. ‘No! If we tell her, she’ll put us in more trouble and when father comes home, we’ll end up having to do everything! We’ll have to plant all the seedlings and put away all the food and stuff by ourselves! No! This will be our secret. It will only scare her if we tell her.’

‘Scare her?’

‘Yeah! You don’t wonder why she was angry? She was scared!’ explained Greth.

‘All right,’ I said, ‘I won’t tell.’

The next night came quickly, but this time there was no rain and no wind either. But there was a bang and it woke us both up! Greth peered outside excitedly and I looked around anxiously. There wasn’t anything out there to be seen so Greth decided that we both should go outside and see if we could find anything that our eyes couldn’t discover. We hurried stealthily to the kitchen to get the knife and the lantern and we both crept out of the house.

‘I wonder if mother will know we are up this time,’ I mumbled.

‘It doesn’t matter if we find something, right?’ said Greth confidently.

He skulked about the area and held his knife out. His eyes seemed to cover the land as they darted to every direction, scanning every inch of the ground before him. He went into the crops and I followed with a forced sense of courage.

There was movement, footsteps of some kind. Greth moved forward quickly and I went after him. Suddenly, Greth went out of sight and I lost my bearings. ‘Greth! Where are you?’ I whispered.

A hand touched my shoulder and dragged me out of the crop field. It was father. He looked awful as if he had had no sleep for days. His face was all rough with hair and he seemed to slouch as he stood.

‘Adalith, Greth!’ he said and he turned to Greth who stood next to him. ‘What are you two doing out here?’

I answered. ‘We were looking….’ But Greth interrupted me. ‘For you, father. We have missed you!’

He suspected something but pulled us both to him anyway and hugged us with his thick arms. ‘I have missed you too, you monsters! How have you been behaving?’

Neither of us answered.

He looked at us judgingly. ‘What have you been doing?’

‘Just coming out at night to look for you,’ said Greth.

‘Your mother won’t want that,’ he said, ‘is she asleep?’

Greth nodded and said. ‘I think so.’ Then he changed the subject. ‘How come you came back so quickly?’

There was a snort of some kind from behind our father. He moved aside and introduced us to a horse! ‘His name is Kindaquick,’ said father.

‘Why is he called that?’ I asked.

‘Because he is kind of quick,’ answered father simply. ‘He halved the journey.’

‘What about the rain?’ asked Greth. ‘How did you manage?’

He presented a new wagon behind the horse. His old one had no top and so if it rained, there was nothing to protect the supplies, but this was more like a moving house. It looked a bit old and tattered but we were impressed by far.

‘Where did you get the money from?’ asked Greth in awe.

‘They were gifts from a friend of mine,’ he saw our suspicious faces and so he carried on. ‘You see I always save my friend some of my foods, especially the good ones, that way he always get what he wants. This week he decided to give me his old horse and cart as a gesture of good will.’

‘So they are ours?’ asked Greth excitedly.

‘Yes!’ said father happily. ‘I will teach you how to ride a horse once we get settled and I have had some rest. That means you two also!’

We sighed but agreed and followed him to the house. He took the horse and cart away to the barn at the back of the house. The barn had been there ages but we had never had the animals to put in it.

‘I had to buy a lot of hay and trade some supplies for some apples and other fruits, but don’t worry,’ said father, ‘I have everything we will need for quite a while.’

We went into the house and went to our beds. We were glad that our father was here and it had made us both forget about the strange happenings outside.

There was a shaking of the ground. I could feel the bed tremble violently. I wondered what it could be. I could see that morning had only just begun to arrive as light was still quite dim outside. I wondered if Greth could see anything so I called aloud. ‘Greth! Are you awake?’

The shaking intensified extremely so much that Greth’s bed was threatening to fall onto mine. I quickly scrambled off my bed and shouted at Greth to get him to wake up.

‘What’s happening?’ he groaned as he yawned with a stretch of his arms. Then he noticed the ground was shaking. ‘Adalith?’

‘I don’t know,’ I said as I quickly got dressed and put my boots on.

Our father stepped into the room and ordered for us both to get out of bed and follow him out of the house.

‘What’s going on?’ Greth complained, he sounded more alert now.

‘You’ll find out when you come out,’ he replied oddly.

Without another moment wasted, Greth and I followed our father into the kitchen. There he passed Greth the knife, but he didn’t give me anything except a brief worried gaze of his eyes. For himself, he took out a large axe from a cupboard. It was generally used to fell trees but I suspected he had it for different purposes.

‘Where’s mother?’ I asked.

‘She is out sorting the wagon!’ said father in a hurry. ‘Greth, get a bag and fill it with any food in the house.’

Greth got to work.

The rumbling stopped.

‘Father?’ I spoke in a questioning tone.

‘We are leaving the house. It’s not safe out there,’ he said.

Greth had a leather bag ready and slung it over his shoulder.

‘Good work,’ said father quickly. ‘Follow me!’ He led us to the barn where mother had prepared the wagon and Kindaquick.

‘Get into the wagon!’ shouted mother.

We did so and father sat onto the horse.

The horse began to walk slowly out of the barn and into the outside. Crop fields were at our left and right so we only had to worry about our front. Of course, as we were in the wagon, none but father could see what was going on.

‘Keep quiet children, your father knows what he is doing,’ said mother. She sounded worried, no, petrified.

‘Mother!’ growled Greth. ‘What’s happening here? Why won’t you answer us?’

A sudden roar of fire blasted from outside. It seemed very close.

‘You lot all right in there?’ called father from the horse.

‘We’re fine. Keep going,’ replied mother who still sounded terrified. She looked at Greth. ‘We think we are being attacked but I can’t say who or what is behind it. It’s strange. They are like nothing we have ever seen! They have been coming from the sky in metal things that have water surrounding them.’

‘Water? I saw no water,’ said Greth.

‘You saw one?’ shrieked mother.

‘Yeah, there was one in the crop field near the fruit trees,’ replied Greth truthfully.

‘Did you see anybody standing on it?’

Greth shook his head. Mother looked to me and I gave the same reply.

‘Well then,’ said mother, ‘the water must be to protect them or something. It’s strange; it just seems to hang around them like clear cement, suspended in the air.’

There was another explosion, then another, then another, then wood splintered before my eyes and for a moment, I was floating in the air. Then I landed with a thud with bits of wood littered everywhere. Father jumped down from Kindaquick and set his axe onto the floor as he tended to mother who was laid still.

‘Come on, Katrina, wake up! Please no!’ he cried.

‘What’s wrong with mother?’ I asked.

He looked at me with tears in his eyes. ‘Nothing, Adalith. Now, I will get you on the horse.’ He picked me up and sat me onto the horse’s back. Somehow, Kindaquick was unscathed by the explosion.

Father turned to Greth and moaned at him. ‘Come on Greth, get up!’

But Greth neither moved nor answered. ‘Oh no! Greth!’ he howled. He picked him up but he wasn’t making a sound or a move. Still, father sat him down onto the horse.

‘Hold him steady, he’s just a bit shocked. He will wake up in a moment,’ said father.

‘What are you doing?’ I cried.

‘Your mother needs me here,’ said father with tears streaming down his face. ‘Now hold onto the horse’s hair!’

I followed his command. Then he slapped the horse’s side and in shock, the horse raced forward in a rampage.

I looked back to see father on the ground next to mother. Then from the sky, a blaze of fire swept down. I shouted warnings, roared for him to move, but he didn’t. Smoke engulfed the area around him and the horse was now too far away for me to see if he was all right.

The horse ran and ran and ran. It seemed like it was going on forever as if father was hitting it over and over to make it go further and further. Even still, Greth had not woken up yet. I was terrified of what was happening, worried about everyone.

More explosions raged about the place. Fires spread across the fields, burning the crops and grass in an instant so that the land glowed orange with furious flames.

Kindaquick had reached a far distance and my house had disappeared from my sight. I began to cry and looked ahead to see where Kindaquick was going. I saw a man stood before us. He wore grey metal armour that covered his whole body. On his belt he had a sheath with a sword held. I noticed he was carrying a backpack also; it seemed to be made of grey metal too and attached to it were two items. One was an axe, the other was something like a gun, only the kind I had seen were long and fired only one shot at a time, whereas his seemed shorter but very fast and rapid.

He lifted the gun to his hands and raised it up. A bullet shot from its tip hit the horse. Kindaquick stumbled and both Greth and I fell off it.

The man in armour ran up to us and held his gun at us, gesturing it ominously. ‘Where is it? Where is the temple?’

I remembered that the other men were talking about a temple. ‘I have no idea what you are talking about!’

He looked at Greth and prodded him with his gun.

‘Leave him alone!’ I cried.

‘He’s dead anyway,’ said the man and he raised his gun before me. ‘You’ll be dead too if you aren’t too careful! Now tell me what I want to know!’

I looked at Greth, he couldn’t be dead! Instead of answering the man, I sobbed over Greth.

Another man appeared at the scene. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘This kid won’t tell me where the temple is!’ replied the man.

‘Well isn’t it obvious why?’ asked the man.

The first man shook his head so the second man answered. ‘Because he is a kid!’

The second man crouched down next to me. ‘What’s your name?’

I couldn’t reply, I wasn’t going to reply! I was full of sorrow and rage!

‘Shall I kill him?’ asked the first man.

‘No of course not!’ snapped the second man.

‘But Captain!’ cried the first man.

‘You will not! In fact, I will bring him in as a soldier of the empire!’ said the Captain.

‘This scrawny thing?’ laughed the man.

The Captain adamantly stated his answer. ‘Yes Turris!’

The man picked me up and carried me over his shoulder.

‘Get off me!’

‘You will have to launch him to the Laizar world. There he’ll be all right,’ said the Captain.

‘He’s a human I suppose. He might even make it to our Grey ranks,’ said Turris. ‘Pity.’

‘Send him away from this, I will report to the Elites and tell them there is nothing here to help them in their search for the temple,’ said the Captain.

‘What are they after anyway? And why go after a whole world when they could come here discreetly?’ asked Turris.

‘I believe they are after some kind of amulet. I don’t think it is of great importance but her ladyship wants it and I think the Elites have decided to get it regardless of what would happen to the people of this world,’ said the Captain.

‘What’s this world called?’ asked Turris.

‘Zecklon I believe, though I am not certain if our ruthless Queen will want it to remain that way,’ said the Captain. ‘Now go, I have things to do here.’

‘Yes sir!’ said Turris. The man took out a folded bit of metal which he opened up to form the device that Greth and I had seen earlier. ‘This here is a launcher and will transport us to the Laizar world. Now you better have your wits about you, there are all sorts of creatures that lurk in the Laizar ranks, and none of them are friendly.’

‘Leave me alone! Get away from me!’ I screamed.

Turris threw me onto the launcher and he stepped onto it too. After pressing down the numbered stones and the green stone, a watery veil went over us both like an eggshell. Then satisfied with what was happening, Turris pressed the red stone. The launcher began to rise from the ground and gained speed as it climbed the air, higher and higher up the sky. Then fire blew against the watery veil and bashed and crashed upon it as if it was trying to get in. It frightened me but Turris just stood there as if it was a normal occurrence. The fire stopped waging war with the veil and the sky and flames both vanished and were replaced by darkness. The darkness was vast, wide, bigger and larger than anything I had ever seen. There were rocks of many colours dotted about, some shined like balls of fire, and others swirled and twirled around. There were groups of rocks that seemed to form belts or fields that floated around ominously. There were colourful whirls of light and mystical holes of shadow. But even all this could not compare with the vastness of loss that dwelled in my heart. My hate for Turris and all of his people was extreme. I had lost everything, everything I had, everyone I knew.

A rock of spherical shape came closer in sight. ‘All right, we’re almost here on the Laizar world. Prepare yourself for anything,’ said Turris. No matter who he was, that advice was something I took to heart, but I wanted them to also be prepared for me. They were not going to get away with this.

Chapter 2 - LIFE ON THE LAIZAR WORLD

The launcher travelled towards the spherical rock and soon began its descent through fire then down into sky. I could only see a bright blue sky beneath us with a few clouds hung around like floating sheep. But soon the ground came into view quickly. Mountains of huge size stood about the place, they looked terrifying, especially those that spewed liquid flame from their tips. Trees and fields were nowhere to be seen, there was only a dry wasteland and it was wide and stretched forever across the land. Buildings of many different sizes and of a variety of materials stood randomly on the ground. None were splendid or graceful but there did seem to be variant levels of class and quality.

The launcher landed softly on the ground and the watery veil vanished allowing Turris to pick me up and fold his launcher away.

‘You’re a human so you’ll get through this fine. I know I did. Most of these creatures do not excel beyond these ranks, but they do gain control of the leadership around here,’ explained Turris.

‘I want to see my brother! Let me go back!’ I shouted as I punched and kicked him.

It took a few moments to realise that many eyes were looking at me. Some belonged to people dressed in dark robes, hiding whatever inhuman qualities they had. Some didn’t have robes to hide their grotesque appearances.

‘What are they?’ I mumbled.

‘They are all part of the Laizar ranks as will you be for the next few years. They will train you up and equip you with armour. You will end up fighting in wars, mostly against the Highers or sub-Highers,’ explained Turris. ‘Sub-Highers are weaker versions of the actual Highers, but neither one can be taken lightly. Both kinds have powers beyond you and I or any of these for that matter, except of course, our Queen. She has powers, dark powers and she uses them to rule this vast empire.’ He placed me down onto my feet. ‘You promise not to run? You will only get hurt otherwise, maybe even killed.’

‘I don’t care!’ I spat but in truth I was scared.

I think he noticed as he added. ‘I won’t leave you for a few days. If the Captain thinks you are worthy of becoming a soldier, then you are worthy!’

‘Why do I have to?’ I wept.

‘Because you would only end up dying on that planet. You are on this planet for your own safety. As the old saying goes, if you can’t beat your enemies, join them,’ replied Turris.

He took me before one of the robed men.

‘He is joining your ranks. Train him, feed him. He’ll be Grey rank quality,’ said Turris.

The robed man replied with a snarl. ‘Another? Such pathetic little creatures. Humans are a waste of space!’

‘Humans are what rule this empire!’ growled Turris. ‘Now treat him right or else I will report you to a dark mage!’

This seemed to trouble the robed man immensely.

Turris turned to me. ‘This here is called a Vudran. They are very skilled in magic and thoughts. Never trust one.’

The robed man slung back his hood to reveal a beaked face with eyes wide yet deadly, with a red glare about them. ‘Never trust me and never defy me!’

Turris placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. ‘He can defy you all he wants! He’s human and you are a monster!’

‘We’ll take care of him. But perhaps the Fonberocks may not!’ cackled the Vudran.

‘He will not go near one. His eyes will never see one!’ snarled Turris in a threatening manner.

‘Well, he’ll still be around Laizars, probably Najeska soldiers; they come close to his kind. A Few others too,’ said the Vudran.

Turris crouched before me. ‘I will remain here to look after you like I said. But you have to be strong!’

‘I want to go home,’ I cried.

‘I know. But your home is beaten, your family is gone. I’m sorry,’ said Turris. ‘I don’t like this job at all but I have to do it as well as everyone else. Now, let’s get you started.’

The Vudran led Turris and I into a tall building with a slanted roof and red and grey brickwork. The windows were wide and seemed to shine brightly with the bright sky. A Vudran came out of it with a young girl of crimson hair and passed us. She was crying and the Vudran had to push her away from him as she would not stop hitting him.

We went into the building. The interior was full of Vudrans, some were taller than the first, some shorter. As Turris and I entered, all of them looked at me, glaring with unseen eyes.

‘This way,’ said the Vudran as he gestured to a large door. Through the door was a small room with a tiny table and five chairs stood around it.

‘Sit down,’ said the Vudran.

I sat onto the chair, Turris sat next to me. The chair was uncomfortable as if it was made of stone. Turris didn’t seem to mind at all.

On the table was a piece of parchment and a quill with an ink pot next to it. ‘Hmm,’ muttered the Vudran as he picked up the quill, dipped it into the pot and looked at Turris. ‘What foods?’

‘Whatever I ate,’ said Turris irritably. ‘Except for the… strange food.’

‘Best skill?’ asked the Vudran.

‘Probably blades. Put all down anyway,’ said Turris.

‘Life statistics?’

‘He looks about thirteen, fourteen, I reckon,’ said Turris.

‘Thirteen,’ I muttered.

‘Follow sizes of the clothes he is wearing now,’ said Turris. ‘He’s an orphan, err, he seems capable of working in fields, that sort of thing. But no mining!’

The Vudran grunted as if he was disappointed to hear the last part. ‘Standard of living?’

‘He has no money so just give him basic human quarters,’ said Turris looking at me.

‘Name?’

‘Adalith,’ I said.

‘Well then,’ said the Vudran, ‘welcome to the empire of our Queen Demonette. The wonderful Queen, the ruler, the Empress! Maybe one day you will see her! Such a fine leader!’

The Vudran seemed to be in awe of the Queen he spoke of.

Turris stood up and took the parchment from the Vudran. ‘I will pass it along,’ he said and he left the building with me at his side. He took me to a group of men in thick black armour, but it didn’t cover their entire bodies like Turris’s did, instead it merely covered their shoulders and legs, and a piece was on their chest too. They wore red ragged clothes to cover the rest of themselves.

Behind them were five wagons and each had a horse leading them. It reminded me much of home and what had happened when the fire came.

‘Come on you Najeskas or are you going to stay there standing?’ grunted Turris.

The men became alert of our presence. ‘Got a new one?’

‘Yes,’ replied Turris, ‘take us both to the slums.’

Two went to a wagon, opened the door so that we may enter it and then as one went into the wagon with us; the other one went onto the horse. The wagon started moving almost immediately.

‘What are the slums?’ I murmured.

‘Not a nice place at all,’ said the Najeska soldier.

‘You’ll be all right there. I lived through them and I’m fine,’ said Turris with an unconfident grin.

‘What work will you be doing?’ asked the Najeska.

Turris answered for me. ‘He’ll start with trees then to blacksmithing.’

‘Nah, he’ll end up in the mines,’ said the Najeska soldier.

‘He won’t, I already said so!’ said Turris and he looked at the parchment. ‘Oh no.’

‘The Vudrans want everyone to work in there. It seems they are running low on launcher supplies,’ said the Najeska. There was something odd I noticed about the Najeska’s armour, it seemed to be fused to his skin!

I looked away in disgust.

The Najeska chuckled. ‘This is nothing! You want to watch out for what is in the mines. Nasty things down there.’

Turris mumbled something but I didn’t hear him.

It took a long time for the wagon to stop and by that time I had fallen asleep. I had dreams of my family and for a while I thought that the chaos I was in now was in fact a dream but when I awoke, the reality was still there. The Najeska opened the wagon door and let Turris and I out.

‘Welcome to the slums,’ said Najeska. With his arm, he presented a wide span of dilapidated buildings. There were still inhabitants and I was surprised by that fact as the stench was almost enough to knock me out. I stood there, gazing at the barren land and wishing that I could go back home. It was still sinking in that I was now an orphan and without my brother either.

‘I’ll take him to his house,’ said Turris and he took me away from the wagon and towards the slums. The ground was dry and dirty, a thousand smells seemed to swim up my nose with each step and all were awful, like a rotting carcass, a thousand rotting carcasses! I held my breath as much as I could, but it didn’t help, my tongue could still taste the horrible stench.

There were other people working around. Some were fixing the buildings, others doing their best to clean anything that was around them. I was quite happy that all were humans but there were still the mines to fear.

Turris was talking to himself whilst looking at the parchment and houses. He stopped suddenly and directed me to a small house that looked more like a broken shed than anything else. An old woman with a boy of her own looked at me with a wicked smile.

Turris approached her and he seemed to move cautiously, as did I.

‘I have brought you a young man who will be becoming a Grey rank soldier. He’ll be living with you over the next few years,’ said Turris as he passed her the parchment.

The boy looked at me with sympathetic eyes as if he knew what I had been through.

The old woman introduced herself and her boy. ‘My name is Maureen and this is Kenott. You will call me Mrs Terror.’

I didn’t say anything but instead I turned away.

She slapped my face and snarled. ‘You will call me Mrs Terror!’

‘Mrs Terror!’ I snapped. ‘I’ll beat you up you old hag!’

She slapped me again. I wanted to hit her but Turris held me back. ‘Let go of me!’

‘Boy! You better be more polite or I won’t be feeding you!’ said Mrs Terror.

I stopped, knowing that this woman would probably starve me, not like my mother at all.

‘He is not to work in the mines and he is to eat proper food!’ said Turris.

‘Yes, yes! I know how to look after boys!’ she growled.

‘Well, I have to be off,’ said Turris.

‘You said you were staying!’ I stated.

‘I am not leaving this world for a few days and I will be checking up on you many times during these next few days. But if you are to stay out of the mines, then I will have to sort things out for you,’ said Turris calmly.

Turris left me with Mrs Terror and Kenott.

‘Kenott will show you where you will be sleeping!’ said Mrs Terror.

Kenott stepped forward. ‘Come on, I’ll show you the way.’ He looked a little younger than I was but I followed regardless.

He led me to a pile of rags in the shed and said. ‘That will be where you are sleeping.’

‘Not on rags!’ I stated harshly.

He pointed to another pile. ‘That’s where I sleep.’

I sighed.

‘Where are you from?’ he asked.

‘Zecklon, my world is Zecklon. I live… lived on a farm with my mother and father and my brother Greth,’ I said. ‘They’re all gone now.’

‘I lost my family too! My world was called Nuth,’ replied Kenott. ‘I have been here for two whole years. It feels like forever.’

‘What happens now? He said I had to stay here for years,’ I said.

‘Well,’ Kenott started, ‘if you survive long enough, you become a Laizar soldier, then after that, you become a Grey rank soldier. Grey rank soldiers live somewhere else, somewhere nicer and cleaner.’

‘What are all these creatures doing here?’

‘Well,’ Kenott began, ‘they come from other worlds too. They are all gathered here by the soldiers of the empire. Well, all the ones that they think should be here.’

‘But why?’

‘Because their great Queen tells them,’ said Kenott. ‘They all serve her like she is a Goddess or something. I don’t understand it, but I do know that even though they say they like her, they really fear her greatly.’

‘I want to see her and tell her about my family!’ I snarled bitterly.

‘So do I, but the chances of us ever meeting her are very slim!’ said Kenott.

‘I don’t care, I want revenge!’

‘So do I.’

Mrs Terror stepped into the shed with two bowls in her hands. ‘Here is some fine porridge! Kenott, dear, here you are,’ she said as she passed one to Kenott.

I went to accept the second bowl but she pulled it away and slapped my face. ‘You will eat when you start working!’

‘But I haven’t eaten in ages!’ I cried.

‘I don’t care!’ snapped the old lady.

I kicked the shed wall and sat onto the rags. ‘My mother never let’s me go without food!’

‘Your mother is most likely dead!’ laughed Mrs Terror.

I got up and charged at her in anger but Kenott stood in the way and pushed me back. His back was to Mrs Terror and he said loudly. ‘Stay back!’ But I noticed he whispered too. ‘Please!’ I was surprised the old hag didn’t hear. She did watch me though, eyeing me carefully.

Reluctantly, I sat down and glared at them both, especially Mrs Terror.

After they had eaten, Kenott got up and walked up to me. ‘Come on, we have to start work!’ he said.

I looked at him and he seemed scared of my response. I took a deep breath then followed him out of the shed.

‘Why do we have to put up with that?’ I growled.

‘Keep your voice down!’ said Kenott. ‘She can’t hear very well, but she can still hear if we speak normally!’

‘So all we have to do is whisper?’

‘Yes,’ said Kenott.

‘What about food?’

‘I have some under my rags, I will give you it when we come back,’ said Kenott.

‘Thanks,’ I said, though I feared what the food would be like.

Just then, Turris came back and he wore a saddened look. ‘I’m sorry but you have no choice but to work in the mines!’ He knelt before me. ‘Here,’ he said and he passed me a small knife. ‘Use it to fight them back.’

‘Fight who?’

‘Shh!’ said Kenott.

‘What do I need it for?’ I asked.

‘Simply to fight back,’ said Kenott.

‘Here, you can have one too,’ said Turris.

‘No, I’m okay. I have my lucky stone,’ said Kenott. He presented a small worn stone.

Turris insisted upon Kenott taking the knife and eventually Kenott took it. ‘Thank you very much! But I don’t have anything to trade. Maybe the stone?’

‘You keep it kid,’ said Turris.

Kenott seemed very happy.

‘I’m sorry Adalith but I have to leave. I have just received an order from my Captain. My sincerest apologies,’ said Turris.

‘But!’

‘I cannot ignore orders. Look, if I am able to come back, I will, but until then… I’m sorry!’ said Turris and he darted off.

‘Come on, I will show you to the mines,’ said Kenott.

I ignored him though and my eyes followed Turris as he ran out from the slums and left me to this hellish place. I slumped down and wept. Now I was truly alone.

Eventually, I willed myself to follow Kenott. We went across the slums and past the damaged housing until we came to the edge and saw a dark and depressing land where deep holes were dotted around and heaps of soil sat by every one.

‘Be careful down there and hide your knife!’ said Kenott.

I hid it into my trouser pocket, it was in a sheath, but I still had to be careful not to stab myself.

‘Don’t put it into your pocket!’ warned Kenott. He showed that he had stowed it away into his boot, I did the same.

‘The creatures down there are called Poats,’ explained Kenott, ‘they are small, but they have muscular arms and tough skin. They like stealing and hurting things, especially humans. If ever they try anything, just shout me and I will sort it out!’

He moved to the closest hole and stepped down into it. I looked down it and saw that Kenott was climbing down a ladder. I exhaled a deep breath and went after him. The hole snaked deep and far into a tunnel. Light came from small torches held up with iron brackets on the walls but it was only dim light as according to Kenott, that was all the Poats needed to be able to see.

I had to crouch to get about; the ceiling wasn’t high enough for me to stand. Kenott found it easier as he was shorter than I. Growling, cackling and snarling sounded up ahead.

‘Don’t worry, Adalith. You have to be firm to be recognised here. There’s no room for weaklings here,’ he said.

A small monster with thick arms and small stocky legs appeared from the darkness. Its skin was a pale pink with blotches of yellow and green patterned all over its body. Its belly was as round as its face and about as large too. Its eyes were triangular and were squinted together right next to its long snotty nose. Its mouth was the most sickening part of as it wasn’t just large but it had many teeth and a long tongue, almost as long as its arms in length.

‘Is that you Kenott?’ the Poat barked.

Kenott said. ‘Yes, and I have a friend called Adalith too. He’s new!’

‘A new worker? A new human in the mines? What are those Vudrans up to?’ it snarled.

‘His name is Glance because that’s all he needs to know you,’ said Kenott, introducing the Poat.

Glance wobbled over to us and stared at me but his eyes seemed to go through me and look at something behind me. ‘What an interesting boy,’ said Glance at last.

‘What do you mean?’

‘What did you read?’ asked Kenott excitedly.

‘He has a long future ahead of him, plenty of battles, and ties with all the powerful people of the galaxy,’ said Glance.

‘That’s rubbish!’ said Kenott oddly.

‘Why?’ snarled Glance.

‘That’s what you said about me!’ said Kenott.

‘Oh yes, maybe I am getting a bit old to read people,’ said Glance. ‘Humans are an odd sort after all.’ Glance looked at me more closely. ‘But there is something about his future that I can find.’

‘What is it?’ I asked.

‘You will be working in these mines for years!’ laughed the Poat.

‘Don’t worry,’ whispered Kenott, ‘I’ll make sure you’re all right.’

‘Kenott make sure someone is all right?’ chuckled Glance. ‘What a first!’

‘All right Glance,’ said Kenott, ‘let’s show him the job!’

Glance moved back into the darkness and urged us to follow him. There were more cackles and snarls which meant there were more of them.

‘They are a tough crowd,’ said Glance, ‘but they won’t hurt you… much. If you be nice to them, they’ll be less bad to you!’

I sighed.

‘Chin up, kid, you cannot work with that grumpy face, or is it fear? Have people been telling you that we are a dangerous sort? If they have, they would be right. But not to our own!’ said Glance.

‘I want to get out of here,’ I muttered to Kenott.

‘The old bat in the shed might be deaf, but we aren’t. You have to do your work or you won’t be eating at all,’ said Glance.

I sighed again.

Glance just shook his head and carried on going. Other Poats came into view, most looked like Glance, but some had evil looks about them as if they were constantly angry and bad tempered. All were equipped with axes and pickaxes. Some were hacking at the rock around them; others were chopping rocks up with their axes.

Glance stopped right at the end of the hole. ‘Well, here we are! You lot get to carry on the hole!’ said Glance. ‘Look for the stuff, Kenott will show you, and toss it into the trays.’ He jerked his head over to his right and there sat six wide trays, with five full of pieces of metal.

Glance left us to it.

‘Basically, we are trying to find pieces of metal and make the tunnel deeper,’ said Kenott. ‘Whack all you like as the metal doesn’t need to be perfect.’

Kenott began hitting the rock wall with a pickaxe he found on the floor. There was a pickaxe next to me as well and so I picked it up and started work too. I received a few laughs and a bit of heckling from the Poats. Most laughed at how I was hitting the rock, others just laughed because I was new and human.

Weeks went by and my stomach got used to the food provided by Mrs Terror, even if it did still taste like mud. Working in the mines never became easier, but I started to become friends with the Poats. I learned many of their names. Firstly, Where, someone who knew exactly where you came from and exactly where you were going. He told me that I was heading for Bivradel soon, the Queen’s world, though when he did not say, but When the fattest Poat stated that I was going to Bivradel in later years, when I had at least aged past two decades. So it seemed I had something to look forward to, I was going to be on Bivradel when I had reached twenty or so. Then there was Who, she stated that I was to marry a beautiful woman when I was older, and that I had already seen her once. This I had no idea of as other than my mother and Mrs Terror, I had never seen any women at all. The last Poat to give me a clue about my future was Never, he was the most silent Poat and no one had ever expected him to talk to me, if anyone at all. But he told me I would never serve the Queen with utmost loyalty, that my heart was and would always be, serving only me. Whatever I was planning, whatever I was doing, it was because I wanted to do it. I questioned the fact that I had no desire to work in the mines, which he laughed in reply and said that my stomach thought different and that my heart couldn’t help but agree.

More time went by, months, years, until the day came when both Kenott and I were kneeling beside Maureen and speaking to her with gentle smiles. She was dying. Somehow, she had gained a fever and had been bed ridden for days. Though I hated her, I had become unwillingly attached to her. Never could she replace my family, and never would I forget them, but… I couldn’t help but be nice to her these days, especially if these were to be her last.

‘You’ll be all right,’ said Kenott delicately. ‘You have had worse fevers than this and survived them!’

She had three fevers in total excluding this one. We thought she was going to die from her last one, but she came out alive. That was three years ago though. Kenott and I were old enough now to know when hope was not enough.

‘I would like to apologise,’ said Maureen.

‘Apologise for what?’ I found myself asking.

‘You don’t have to be nice if you don’t want to,’ said Maureen, ‘I know I have been quite terrible to you both over the years.’

‘We all have our reasons,’ said Kenott.

‘Yes we do,’ said Maureen, ‘mine go back before either of you two came into my care.’

‘Save your story for when you are stronger,’ said Kenott.

‘No!’ said Maureen, her voice was strong, but we sensed the fever was devouring her strength. ‘I lived on a pleasant world much like both of yours. Then they came. They were after only men and children of who they could train to become soldiers of this empire. They took my two sons and if it wasn’t for my rage, I would not have been brought here. But as others let fear stop them, I decided to fight them. I was thrown here and orders were given to never let me leave this world. They will be fairly old now, perhaps in their twenties, touching thirties. All I have left of them are two red triangles.’

‘Triangles?’ questioned Kenott.

Maureen pointed over to the shed wall. ‘There is a panel there that comes adrift. I keep my life in there.’

Kenott felt around and found that one of the planks of wood was moveable. He pulled it away and revealed a small bundle wrapped in a cloth. Kenott brought the cloth to Maureen.

‘Open it,’ said Maureen.

Kenott did as she said and revealed two triangles, both red.

‘Resistance,’ said Maureen oddly. At that instance, the triangles flashed yellow.

‘What was that?’ asked Kenott.

‘During their arrival, another force came to the land. These were the soldiers of the Highers, not the sub-Highers, but machines, more like people but they have no minds,’ explained Maureen. ‘A Higher used them to attack the forces of the Queen. The conflict came near where we lived and as soldiers fought the machines, the Higher came to me. The triangles were both items belonging to my sons, but the Higher decided to make them more useful. He cast a spell upon them to make them glow as they just did. He said that it was a beginning of a resistance against the Queen, a resistance made up of her own soldiers. A sort of mutiny. He said that all those who share my rage for their empire shall join and have an item like the triangles to state their loyalty.’

‘But what if someone who was not of the resistance got them?’ asked Kenott, a thought I shared too.

‘The Higher said that the spell would sleep until a loyal member grasped it again,’ answered Maureen. ‘I want you two to both become members of this resistance, no matter how little it is. The Queen is a malevolent demon who does not deserve to rule so many people and creatures. I want to go to rest in the thought that she may take my sons, but she cannot take their souls or their hearts.’

We both took the triangles and held them with a seriousness I had not felt in years.

The fever accelerated over the next few days and took her life. She was laid to rest with help from the Poats. The plank of wood used to conceal her life was used for her grave, to state that she would never be taken by the empire, that the wood would protect her even in death. Kenott and I stood as brothers that day.

  Catherine Allen  Synopsis A Soldier's Path