Serial
109: The Long Run of No Return
August 11th, 38 S.D. 20:02 Mandal Range, Angali
They could make it, Losha thought. It would be a simple run straight to the south. Two kilometers or so was under two minutes at their top speed in this terrain. All they had to do was dash and they’d make it to safety. Powered by speed-steps, the horses charged forward as short bursts of light beneath their hooves propelled them. These kinetic series pushed the creatures far faster than normally possible, launching them into the forest depths.
Their steady, desperate sprint brought WOLFGANG ever closer to the edge of the ominous ring. Overhead, they could see the luminous band, a halo above the night. The very sight chilled Losha in an inexplicably familiar way, as if this was a terror she’d known before. She shook these notions off. It was probably some subconscious dread that meant nothing, perhaps the remnant of a nightmare some time ago. At any rate, they made it halfway to their goal without incident, however, their fortunes soon turned.
All at once, the earth trembled and shifted underneath their feet. A powerful quake jolted the whole area, as a sound like constant thunder ripped the air. Their valiant steeds managed to keep themselves upright even as the ground violently tossed about. Nevertheless, on instinct, the animals slid to an abrupt stop. The serialists wondered why the horses had done so when part of the woods ahead dropped away. Like a hungry maw, a chasm opened up right before them, devouring trees, shrubs, and dirt into its jagged mouth. The gap sunk endlessly it seemed, disappearing into sheer darkness.
“Shrieks!” Faima cried out, peering into the abyss. “That could have been us.”
As the rumbling subsided, Losha steered Izel along the edge as she measured the distance.
“We can still cross it,” she judged, turning back to her team. “It is not that far. One strong speed-step will do it. Just remember to-” Cutting into her words, light erupted from the chasm, spewing and roaring upwards. It was a veritable wall of seras, rushing out like a geyser.
“What the hell?” Denze blinked, glaring at the brilliance.
“Damn! What now?” Faima scowled.
“Looks like seras from the artifact is seeping into the land itself,” Hart concluded.
“Even all the way here, it is starting to rend the range,” Losha said. “Probably just a taste of what will happen if we stay here any longer.”
“The plan?” Denze asked as more shocks ran through the region. Losha saw flocks of birds take to their wings. Around them, deer and rabbit fled, seeking refuge from the coming disaster. Back at the mine, a pillar pierced the sky, hot and intense, as if a laser aimed at the heavens. The beam raced onwards to an impossible height, appearing to leave the very world it rose from. Every one of them could feel the mounting seratic energy emanating from over there, like a pulse threatening to crush the Continent itself.
“We need to go!” Losha shouted, spurring Izel to action. “Follow us!” She led the way, tracing the chasm to the west in hopes of finding an opening. WOLFGANG went for a while, chasing the detour, but at last they found an opportunity to swing around the gap. Just as they did so, they saw something on a distant hillside. The curve of the slopes spontaneously blew open as more white light jettisoned outward. At first, only one or two streams came from the earth, but then dozens broke the surface, obliterating the environment. Where one hill fell, others began the process as well. Shrieks, Losha thought, seeing this startling development. If that continued, it would surely catch up to them.
“Quickly!” Losha cried as they turned and resumed their original path. Now, however, they were pursued by the light as it sundered whole sections apart. Another quake began, lowly at first, but soon growing in ferocity. They’d have to give it every bit of seras they had if they hoped to make it through.
“Everyone, put your all in it!” she yelled to her team. “I mean everything. Go as swiftly as you can by any means!”
Faster and faster they pushed, increasing the efficiency of their speed-steps and pressing their horses forward. In a matter of moments, they’d gained a steady speed of some 100 kilometers an hour. At that pace, they soon closed upon the ring’s edge. Yet things were not to be that simple for the serialists. The searing light of the artifact caught up despite their hurried efforts. WOLFGANG only just barely kept ahead of the fatal glow; the land collapsed into jets of wild seras as soon as they passed it. To make matters worse, the forest in front of them continually terraformed.
All of a sudden, the ground rose up on their left, jutting into the sky like a cliff. It forced them to veer to the right, changing their course ever so slightly. Even so, another shelf shot high above them, once more causing them to turn. The pattern continued. From then on, it became a battle for their escape, swerving one way or another with only a fraction of a second as warning. With Losha at the lead, she guided their lot between trees, rocks, and mountains of moving earth, flying along at a blur. Though they snaked here and there, deviating from their planned route and costing them valuable time, it was their only means of reaching an exit vector
Glancing up, squinting against the whipping rain, Losha saw the blasted ring nearly over their heads. All that remained was one final run and then they’d be free. Without any advance notice, the land they were on spontaneously flipped up, yanking itself straight above the forest canopy like a lever. The change in elevation happened almost immediately, tossing WOLFGANG several meters upward. Losha and the rest found themselves flailing through the air as they lost control. The horses kicked and struggled, but they soon fell haphazardly. Acting shortly, she, Denze, and Faima worked silently in concert, synchronized without so much as a word.
Casting kinetic series, they balanced their steeds for a somewhat harsh touchdown. They still sustained some damage, but they’d leave those concerns for later, after they’d survived this ordeal. Undeterred by the shakeup, they rode onward, ever nearing the finish. The land yet angled steeply, like a ramp with a sharp cutoff, but beyond that was the end of their journey. Losha saw that they’d be forced to jump from a height now at least 80 meters or more. Fate had given them no other choice. Behind them, the forest was being shredded, pierced by blinding light and a terrible heat. It were as if the sun were on their heels.
Now, altogether, side-by-side, they bolted close to the ledge as annihilation swarmed towards them. With the fury of death burning at their backsides, each serialist poured the best seras they had from their souls, putting the very power of their beings into the speed-steps. And then at last, the final stretch bounced into view.
“Jump!” Losha howled.
In unison, all five of their horses vaulted into the open expanse. For a moment, sailing on inertia, they were briefly weightless, lost in flight. The Wolf looked to the right, eying Denze and Faima, then turned to the left and spied Virel and Jun. They were safe, she thought, seeing the ring pass by. Soon they’d be taken by gravity and crash somewhere in the woods. That didn’t matter; each of them still had enough seras to form a barrier and protect themselves from the impact. Soon they’d all be done with this mission. Destiny had very different intentions for WOLFGANG on this harrowing night. The danger was far from finished.
Just as Losha took her gaze off of her youngest students, just as they were about to make their way downward, she saw something black streak towards them on her peripheral vision. Everything seemed to slowdown; time turned stale as each instant became infinite. It were as if she was supposed to remember everything about this event, for the rest of her life.
The dark mass shot towards them like a missile, straight and unstoppable. As her head whirled to the left, she saw the incoming object perfectly against the radiant light to their rear. It was an automata, nothing more than bones barreling towards them. Somehow, it had remained functional. The skull was somewhat deformed, as if it had been molten just a bit... With its arms wildly extended, its jaw wide open, it collided with Jun before anyone even realized what was going on. The automata snatched upon him, tearing him from his horse. It almost hit Virel, spinning her into the others.
Losha recalled raising her hand, but not fast enough, crying Jun’s name. As they started turning without control, she caught a glimpse of him captured by the automata. The light engulfed everything before they tumbled into the rushing treetops. And then there was but blackness...
“...sha!”
A voice rang out, warbled as if underwater. Who was reaching out to her and why? What had happened? Was it Jun?
“Losha!” said the same voice, still remote from her. Losha knew at once she’d lost consciousness. She was no stranger to the darkness that wrapped around her mind, the void that swallowed all thoughts. Serialists healed quickly from their physical injuries, so it was no surprise that she felt herself coming back to her senses with such clarity. Though unable to see, she wheezed, trying to acknowledge the voice. Who was it? Jun? Did he make it? And the others, what of them? Carefully, as herself returned piece by piece, she listened.
“Losha! Come on, you have to pull yourself together!”
It was female... Faima? Yes it was her. Gradually, Losha opened her eyes. The world was nothing more than colored smudges, dripping and smearing like an alcoholic dream. Focus, she commanded herself, find details, simple ones, hold your head straight. She was on her back, lying flat against the grass. Her hands came into view, resting idly on her chest.
“She is coming around,” Faima said. She was kneeling over Losha, gazing into her face. “There she is, there is our Wolf... Virel, keep it up.”
“Sa.”
Losha looked to her left and saw Virel kneeling as well, holding out her hands, glowing in silver. She was bombarding Losha with her seras in an effort to heal her.
“Wha... Sa, I...” Losha mumbled.
“Hey, do not try to talk right now, sa?” Denze said as he walked behind her. “Just... take it easy. We need to get our strength back, both in terms of stamina and seras.”
“N-no...” she protested. Out of nowhere, Losha fully regained herself. She pushed up from the ground. “No... I... tell me what happened...”
“Just rest for now,” Denze insisted, gently grabbing her by the shoulders. He tried to pull her back down, but she refused and jerked away. Heavy pain coursed through her side. It was only then that she realized she’d been stripped shirtless. Over her chest and down to her stomach, bandages tightly wound around her body.
“Gnnnh!” she grunted, gritting her teeth as a splotch of red appeared underneath the wraps.
“Broken ribs, internal bleeding, numerous lacerations, and head trauma,” Denze said into her ear. “You saved us, casting that barrier as we fell, but you took the brunt of it on yourself. Try not to move.”
“The situation?” she asked. It hurt to talk, to breath, but she’d live. The seras flowing through her would fix her health regardless of whatever abuse she subjected herself to. She wasn’t worried about living, however.
“It is over; the artifact blew itself up,” Denze explained.
“We made it beyond the blast zone. Hart was right after all...” Faima said.
“And Jun? Where is he?” Everyone held their peace, at first unwilling to say anything.
“Losha...” Virel began softly. “He...”
“Just tell me what happened!” the Wolf demanded. Despite the pangs gouging into her sides, she raised her voice. “I just need to know if he is alright! I saw him, I... one of those things attacked and then-” She fought to stand up, brushing off both Faima and Denze as they tried to calm her. Denze sighed as he came to his feet as well, frowning grimly.
“Just... relax for a second, alright?” he said, but she never turned around to him.
“One of the automata... they got him, I saw it. But... Where is he? I cannot find his seras frequency.”
“Neither can we,” Denze said, tugging at the cloth tied over his left eye.
“Well... I saw him just before we fell. He should still be close-by. Enough about me; we... we have to find him.” She could hardly talk without gasping on every other word, but still, she made herself go on. Faima shook her head.
“Losh, we already looked. We already searched. There is... nothing.”
“Faima!” Losha growled. “We... we still have the whole forest around us... I shall not quit until I have scoured every bit of this land... We simply... do not leave our own like that.”
“Losha,” Denze said. “Jun did not make it. I am sorry, but that is the truth...”
The Wolf curled up her fists as they trembled at her sides. She could feel the blood building up behind her face. “Do not speak like that! How dare you speak like that! We have not searched well enough at all! We do not leave until we find him, anything of him. I-”
“Losha, look at me,” Denze said. All this time, she’d been facing south, the original direction of their escape. Now, however, twisting to see Denze, Losha turned to the north. Beyond him, the forest outright vanished. In fact, everything disappeared. An enormous, empty crater sat in the center of the Mandal Range, a hole charred blacker than midnight. Even now, a full half-hour after the artifact’s seratic detonation, steam rose from the ground as rain pelted down. There wasn’t much to see, it was utter desolation, a barren waste.
“Jun is gone,” Denze finished.
Losha simply stood there for a while, unmoving. Her brows arched up as if confused; her lips parted slightly as if wanting to speak. Eventually, she walked past Denze and placed herself before the crater. Everything was simply reduced to zero, vaporized from existence. Not even the mine or the artifact remained. It was a sudden flashback of the war she’d fought years ago when Govan’s serasword devastated the Sventa-Henron border. This time, however, there was no cloud of dust, just an eerily perfect circle of destruction.
Jun... That automata had taken him backwards, into the light, into oblivion. Though she’d been strong enough to stand just a moment ago, now her legs wavered. She sank to her knees, and for a bit her arms went limp. Numbly staring into the ruined landscape, Losha fell forward on her hands. Too tired for tears, she could feel nothing even as the shock gripped her heart. Instead, the rain quietly enveloped her, kissing her but coldly as it ran over her body.
“There... there was little we could have done,” Denze spoke again, looking over his shoulder at her.
“It happened so fast, none of us really had a chance. You cannot blame yourself, Losha,” Faima added.
“It... would have been painless,” Hart said. Until then, the scientist had stayed out of sight. “I am... sorry for your loss. I had no idea that this would happen...” In their flight, she’d lost her glasses and banged up her arm, which now hung in a sling. Losha’s hands tightened around the grass as she snarled. In an instant, she whipped herself upright and practically sprang at Hart. Despite her injuries, Losha moved faster than anyone could stop her. She grabbed Hart by the collar and slammed her against a nearby tree, raising her a quarter-meter above the ground.
“Hak!” Hart sputtered. Denze and Faima both reacted to this display of violence, but Virel motioned for them to halt.
“It will be alright,” she whispered softly, though her face remained serious. “We must let things play through.”
“Why are you so shrieking obsessed with those things, those ‘giants’ as you say? What the hell do you want with serastone?!” the Wolf demanded. Hart’s mouth quivered, but she failed to answer right away. Losha pushed her harder against the tree.
“I need to know what exactly you hoped to find messing around with powers you hardly even begin to understand. None of this would have happened if you had not poked your nose around serastone, if you had never made those accursed abominations, those damn automata. What could you possibly want to know that is worth the risk, that would steal so much from others? Everyone else at the mine lost their lives, and we just lost one of our own!”
“I-I... I just want an... an answer,” Hart said brokenly.
“To what?!”
“Th-there are inconsistencies about... about the Continent, the history of our world. I-I think... maybe you, and I, and every person out there... We are missing something, something big, like a memory, a-a record of the past. Th-think about it. S-someone had to build that artifact, but... who? For what purpose? And-and serastone, where did it come from? If these things have existed for centuries, why are they buried... and-and why are there no written accounts about any of this? Losha... Listen, there is something... something wrong with the world we live in. Like, like we were supposed to forget about the way things were...”
Losha growled again but dropped Hart.
“You are just rambling on with excuses,” the Wolf accused as the Gandian woman slid down and took a seat. “Time and again, it has been people like you, people who have no clue what they are dealing with that send us to hell. Serastone is a dangerous substance, not a mystery, and certainly not fit for anyone’s hands. I do not know where it comes from nor do I care. I only know that as soon as anyone gets it, we all lose, somehow, some way. The stone always gets misused. Henron, Angali, whoever; it matters not. Maybe they just want power. Maybe you simply want knowledge. But all of you are no different, just damn fools.”
Hart could say nothing as she looked down and held herself. Losha walked back around to the crater and stared into it for a while. Only Denze broke the silence after a few minutes.
“Losha,” he said, yet he never got any further.
“How are the horses?” she interrupted.
“The... horses? They are all fine for the most part... even his. Mine has a bit of a stiff leg, but we can ride.”
“Sa. Prepare to move out in that case.”
“Move? Right now?” Faima wondered. “We can wait until morning. Losha, you are in no condition to leave.”
“You are right, I cannot go like this. Where is my shirt?”
“Are you listening?” Denze shook his head. “I know you are upset. We all are, but you have to take things rationally. Acting impulsively will not help anything.”
“Are you injured?” Losha questioned. “Are any of you seriously wounded? No? Then prepare to leave. The whole Continent likely saw the explosion. The Angali will come snooping soon. I want us - and her - back in Sventa immediately.”
“Losha,” Denze started again.
“If you want to see me cry, tonight is not the night. If you want to cry, save it for the road. We still have a job to do... Getting home.”
Share This
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Read Request
My Library
Subscribe
Flag Writing