Book Two Chapter Eight: Amid The Ruins

The civilians are safe and Hemlon is destroyed once and for all! Things are looking up, that is until Nick gets hit with blood withdrawal...

Chapter Eight Amid The Ruins: The old Saja spiraled towards land very quickly, we were coming in too steep. Saja was still conscious, but was flying us towards a lake. We dove in at top speed. Water splashed in a cannonball all around us. We were at the bottom of a natural lake. I held my breath and swam upwards. I surfaced. When I looked around, I saw that we were a good few kilometers away from Hemlon. We were safe from falling debris.

The Cansodin was still exploding, but not as violently. I knew that the new Saja was probably not dead, but I also knew that she was helpless now. We had won the battle, but we were far from winning the war.

“Look!” Saja exclaimed, pointing to Hemlon.

I looked up as well. I saw that it was still an exploding mass of rock and metal raining down, but I also saw a few specks branching off of the cansodin. They flew with more guidance than the debris that the explosion blew off. This had to be the others in the airships! They had done it! They had saved the prisoners! I saw that the airships were growing larger and larger by the second. They were coming in towards us, and fast! They were now about a kilometer away, and I could make out the details of them. They all looked like old fashioned pirate ships with huge balloons strapped to the top to keep them airborne. They all looked like Anara’s ship The Annabelle. The airships drew nearer and landed a few hundred feet away from us. A group of men and women hoped out of each airships with ropes that had pegs on the ends and they drove them into the ground using hammers, securely anchoring the airships. Everyone began dismounting. There were about eight airships in all, and each airship was quite large. I estimated each one could hold a few hundred people. That’s exactly how many streamed out of these airships; hundreds. Finally, I saw my friends making their way to Saja and I. They all had huge grins on their faces.

"Thanks for telling us how to save the prisoners. You truly have come around." Carlos said to Saja.

“We didn’t only save the prisoners, we managed to get several hundred civilians off of Hemlon before the blast!” Fenton exclaimed.

“We got everyone out before debris blocked the hangar door.” Serena said.

“We saw you all go down when the edge collapsed, we thought you two were goners!” Lauren said.

Saja chuckled.

“As you all very well know, I am notoriously hard to kill.” She said with a fanged smirk.

“Oh, I know alright.” I told her with a grin.

“The same can be said for you.” Saja said, giving me a playful shove.

It still felt very weird that Saja was actually becoming my friend, or my ally at the very least.

“All jokes aside, there is no doubt here that the new Saja survived. On the bright side, we slowed her plans down considerably.” Lauren said.

Carlos's expression grew serious.

"Yes, but she is going to do it all over again. And that is why we are here today. That is why the White Reqrium, Tigiti, brought us all back from the dead. We are humanity's last hope. We are the last line of defence for the human race." Said Carlos.

I grinned at Carlos, I liked how he worded that. Fenton spoke up.

"We have destroyed Saja's base of operations, but she will soon find another one. Then what?" He asked.

Lauren nodded in agreement.

"We need a plan before it gets dark. By now, Saja is sure to have started looking for us. She’ll want revenge. After all, we did just screw everything up for her." Lauren said.

"We can go back to look for Saja now, amid the ruins of Hemlon. She had to have been weakened by the explosion. This could be our chance." Suggested Carlos.

"We should. That’s a great idea. We can kill her while we have the chance, while she’s weak." Fenton agreed.

“What about all of the people? Where will they go?” I asked.

“They’re taken care of.” Lauren assured me.

“Don’t worry, I already instructed them to go to the nearest village. They said it was called Sven. They chose a leader amongst themselves and he is leading them all to safety.” Carlos said.

I shrugged.

“Alright then. Good.” I said.

With that, we all face where the ruins of Hemlon were coming down. The explosions seemed to have stopped. I looked up and saw that there was nothing left of Hemlon! The explosions had been so violent that they tore the massive cansodin apart and completely removed it from the sky! We ran the few kilometers to below where Hemlon would have been, you know, if it was still in the sky.

There was debris everywhere. There were kilometers upon kilometers of it. I remember how huge Hemlon was, and seeing it all crumpled and broken, strewn across the ground was truly a sight to behold. Luckily, the ruins didn’t seem to fall near a town. I remembered Fonereth being close to Hemlon, but thankfully it wasn’t crushed. The debris consisted of girders, cement and rock mostly. Most of it shattered from the fall, but there was still some of it intact, just barely. We stepped around a big piece of rock. Nothing to be found here. Serena took the lead, she had her bow ready. I then heard metal moving. On instinct, I yanked Serena back by the shirt just in time. Around the corner there was a massive piece of rock with a turret stuck in it. It was probably the same one that nearly killed Saja and I earlier. Serena gasped as I pulled her back.

“Thanks.” She said, pushing her brown hair over her shoulder.

I ran up with vampire speed and ripped the turret out of the rock.

“No problem.” I said, discarding the turret.

The rock was imbedded very deep into the ground from the momentum it gained from its fall from Hemlon. The turret made a noise that sounded like a hum descending in pitch.

“Let’s get moving.” I said.

We kept walking, looking around for the new Saja. I heard a beeping sound. Everyone stopped, trying to listen.

“What is that noise?” Fenton asked, looking around.

I looked around too. I saw nothing out of the ordinary. I walked forwards, still looking around and the sound got louder. I walked towards the sound and I found the source; a small concrete hut. It was probably only around teen square feet, but there was light coming from inside, blinking at the same interval that the beeps came at.

“Should we go inside?” Carlos asked.

I nodded, heading towards the hut. It was very cracked and I briefly considered the possibility of the structure collapsing while I was inside. The door was gone, torn completely off its hinges. I walked inside and had a look at the interior. I saw electrical wires and various panels of all sorts. Most of it was smashed and melted, sparks shot out of the control panels every now and then. There were a few panels that were glowing, although the one that was flashing at the same intervals as the beeping noises caught my interest. I examined it. The panel was about a square foot. It had a blue and yellow background and it showed a check mark and some Xs.

 

�"------X------X-----X

 

This could be the control panel for something. I touched the check mark and it flashed. An image appeared. It was a video recording of the new Saja. I could see her violet eyes.

"Ah, hello Nick. By the time you find this message, Hemlon will be destroyed. I have left this transmission inside one of Hemlon’s bunkers. This concrete bunker can survive just about anything. And yes, if it wasn't already obvious, I am alive and well. I am currently residing elsewhere, rebuilding my army. That you overtook. Yes, I knew that you would overthrow my prisoner army, I had a feeling that you would destroy Hemlon, hence the reason I left this transmission in such a secure place. Although I didn’t expect that you would save all of those people. It seems I underestimated your bravery. I won’t make that mistake again." Saja said.

A beep sounded, signalling the end of the transmission. The image with the check mark and the three Xs appeared. What did the checks and the Xs mean?

***

We had a fire going by the time I gave up thinking about Saja's message. What could �"------X------X-----X mean? I heard someone approach me.

"Nick, you look troubled. What is on your mind?" Asked Carlos.

I shook my head.

"It's nothing. Saja just has a way of getting into your head, that's all." I told him.

He nodded.

"I know, I remember back on Ectoclis at the inn in Libel, when Luna betrayed us. Saja has that arrogant tone, it is antagonizing, but innocent." He said.

"I'm right here." pouted Saja from across the camp fire.

Serena spoke up.

"Well, you deserve all those cruel words." She said with mock anger.

“I’ll second that.” Lauren said.

"You almost killed me on more than one occasion." I added.

Saja nodded.

"Yes, I did try to kill you. I had to know where Tigiti was, and I had to know who the Chosen One was. I figured that if I could kill Tigiti, then the Chosen One would have no courage to oppose me, because Tigiti was dead, and if I killed the Chosen One, which is you, no one else would be brave enough to oppose me. That was my initial plan, but I have turned over a new leaf. I want to help you guide the world back to balance. I know it’s hard to believe, looking back on all the things I’ve done I sound insane to myself, but the world is off balance right now. There is two of me wandering around, one is almost unkillable. The world will spiral into chaos if she is allowed to live." Saja said.

I was stunned. Saja had wanted to kill me just to take away other people's courage? I took happiness out of the fact that Saja wanted to help me put the world back to normal. She has more than atoned for her past.

A thought then crossed my mind.

"Saja, if you didn't kill Tigiti, then who did?" I asked, remembering Tigiti's body in the underwater cave.

Saja nodded slowly.

"I don’t know. My other self, presumably. Who else could have done it?" Saja asked me.

I shook my head.

"I don't know." I said.

And that’s when I felt it. It hit in an instant. The thirst. I had to hunt. The burn came out of nowhere. It wasn't a hot burn, it was a dry burn, then the burn spread to my arms, then my legs. I moaned, then slumped. I was now terrified. What was happening to me?!

"Nick, Nick?" asked Saja.

“What’s wrong with him?” Serena asked in a panic.

“Nick, my friend! Are you okay?” Carlos asked.

I heard people walking towards me.

“Let me take a look at him from a medical perspective.” Fenton said.

"The burn." I moaned.

Fenton was silent for a moment.

“When was the last time you hunted, Nick?” Fenton asked.

I thought about that.

“Back on Earth, before Saja and I were taken here.” I gasped.

It hurt to speak.

Saja shook her head.

"He is suffering a blood withdrawal. He needs to hunt." said Saja.

“What’s a blood withdrawal? I’ve never heard of it.” Lauren said.

Carlos piped up.

"How do you know?" asked Carlos.

There was no answer.

"There is not even a squirrel for a hundred kilometers." Saja said, ignoring Carlos.

"We need blood, and fast." Saja said.

Just then, Fenton grabbed the dagger that he had since Ectoclis and made a small incision on his forearm. Fenton put his arm to my lips. I began to drink, careful not to bite into his arm. I took in the sweet blood and I faintly heard something heavy hitting the ground. I faintly remember something about a book falling on the ground. Then everything went dark.

***

Author's Note

Please tell me what you think!