Raid

The group enters the Dark God's city

Darren turns back around and leads us out of the Great Hall in silence. I walk next to Solution for a while, but become uncomfortable and jog to catch up to Darren.

“Where are we going?” I ask him.

“The garage.” He answers.

“Yes, but what is that?”

“You’ll see.” He turns to me and chuckles, “You’re gonna flip out, I just know it.”

I am about to reply, but think better of it and straighten the knives at my belt. They are simple tools, sharp but weak, made from iron with short leather-wrapped handles.

We near the end of the cave, and Darren stops right in front of the wall.

“Darren,” I start, “What is…”

He slaps his hand on the wall, and a door opens in front of us, just as with the Great Hall entrance. In front of us is a narrow hallway carved from roughly hewn stone of a dark brown coloring. Network is clearly not in this part of the cave, for the only light in here comes from behind us.

“After you.” Darren says, standing aside and waving his arms at the cave.

“Much obliged.” I mutter, stepping through the entrance. When the others come in after me, the door closes itself, sealing us in the darkness.

“Okay, who grabbed my a*s?” Darren shouts, and immediately afterward yelps, “Sorry, jeez, it was a joke!”

“Get serious.” Solution says. “We’re trapped in here without light. Why is that?”

“Whoever set up Network didn’t get to this part of the cave.” Darren says. “Oh, Network is…”

“Barth made me familiar with Network.” I interrupt.

“Oh, cool. Now then, what are we gonna do about it?”

Nobody speaks for several moments. We all just stand together in the darkness, pondering our choices. I wish it were lighter in here, the darkness is starting to make me feel uncomfortable. Just when I think that, a long corridor is illuminated before us.

“What the hell?” Darren shouts, stumbling backwards.

“I thought you said Network wasn’t in this part of the Fox-Hole.” Solution says.

“It isn’t.” He replies.

“Should we really be questioning this?” I ask. “Or have our priorities changed?”

“He’s right.” Darren says, “We should get moving.”

That was odd. As soon as I thought about wanting light, the cavern brightened. Was it because of me? No, that is impossible; nobody can just will light to appear. And yet…

I am lost in thought, and barely notice the several dozen turns we make. Eventually I bump into Darren, who has stopped.

“What happened?” I ask, startled.

“We’re here.” He answers. “Behold our fleet.”

“I don’t think six cars qualifies it as a fleet, Darren.” Solution says, moving past us.

“Whatever, you get my point.” He responds, following her.

In this place is the most bizarre arrangement of…things I have ever imagined. They look something like chariots, but are made entirely of metal, and have four wheels rather than two. In the hollow area there are four seats, made of hard leather. Darren instructs me to sit in one of the back two. I am hesitant but upon sitting find it unexpectedly comfortable.

“Hey guys! There’s light here!” Lucas calls out. Behind him is Sammy, and next to him stands a boy who looks virtually identical to Lucas. “When did that happen?”

“When we entered.” Darren answers, putting his hook swords in the chariot.

“Or maybe when he entered.” Lucas responds, pointing at me.

“What are you implying?” I ask.

“Don’t worry about it.” Lucas says.

Sammy goes to sit in another of the chariots, while the other boy stops in front of me.

“Todd, I assume.” I say.

“I am.” He answers, “Lucas told me he couldn’t get through to you.”

“I do not know what you are referring to.” I reply.

“Doesn’t matter,” He shrugs, “It’s weird, but kinda funny, so good job.”

“Thank you.” I say slowly, confused.

“Where’s Zayin?” Solution asks.

“He didn’t wanna come.” Todd answers, “He said, ‘I’m not a field guy, I equip the field guys’.”

“Sounds like him.” Darren says, getting into the vehicle behind the wheel. “Oh well, it wouldn’t be good for any of us if he got hurt.”  

Solution tells Todd to get into the ‘driver’s seat’ next to Sammy, and then gets into the seat next to Darren. I silently feel elated about this, traveling with her.

“Let’s get moving Darren!” Lucas yells, all but jumping into the seat next to me. Lucas is somewhat off-putting; I cannot decide how to feel about him coming with us. I do know that I am uncomfortable being in such close proximity to him.

“If this thing works, we’ll get goin’ soon, alright?” Darren says.

“Why would it not work?” I ask.

“Because these things are, like, a hundred years old.” He answers.

“A hundred years?”

“I’m over exaggerating. Point is, they’re old.”

“How does it work?” I ask.

“If it works, you’ll see.”

“What sort of chariot is this anyway?” I say to myself. “What pulls it?”

Darren starts laughing loudly, bellowing, in fact. He shakes his head and digs into his pocket, producing a key. He then shoves it into a keyhole and turns it. A powerful rumbling noise erupts beneath us, making me jump in the air.

“Is that supposed to happen?” I ask in fear.

Darren gives a strange little chuckle and yells out “Oh hell yeah! That’s exactly what’s supposed to happen!” To my surprise, the vehicle starts to move forward at a high speed very suddenly. It stops as quickly as it starts and Darren turns around to face me.

“This is no chariot, my friend.” He says, “This is a car, with it, we can travel at speeds you can only dream of.” I am unsure how to respond to that, and so don’t. Darren turns back around and yells out for somebody to open a hatch. Todd gets out of his ‘car’ and pulls a lever on the far wall. Ahead of us, a bit of the cave rises up, revealing a sky darkened by clouds black as ink.

We shoot out of the tunnel and start moving even faster. I scream at first, but then start to enjoy the speed and the wind blowing through my hair.

“So what do ya’ think?” Darren asks me after a while.

“I feel as though I am flying.” I respond.

“Good answer.” He says.

“One question.” I say.

“What’s that?”

“How did you learn how to control this thing?”

He pauses for a moment, as do the other two. His head falls for a moment and he sighs, as if recollecting sad memories.

 “It was Julian, the previous leader. He was a week or so away from heading off on a raid, he wasn’t sure how it was gonna go down, so he figured he should teach us kids how to drive. Ya’ know, in case anything happened to him.”

“Did something happen to him?” I ask.

“I’m getting there.” He says curtly, “Anyway, we learned how to drive these in that time. Solution, myself, and a few others.”

“Zayin and the other blacksmiths, for example.” Lucas says. “And of course, me and my brother.”

“Yeah,” Darren says, smiling sadly, “It was a really fun couple days. The most fun of my life. Anyway, when he figured we had all but mastered driving, he headed out with twenty guys. Only three of them returned.”

“He was not one of them, was he?” I assume. Did I hear this story before?

“No.” Darren answers, “No he wasn’t. Julian; that was his name. He always hated it, being named after someone else and all, but I thought it was cool, appropriate. He was a great leader. We were told that he lead that raid like he was born to do it. But then he tried to fight the Dark God alone. The idiot didn’t stand a chance. The only detail we got  about it was that he checked out heroically.”

I look at Darren with the mirror, he is smiling, but tears are collecting in his eyes. He takes a hand from the wheel and uses his unarmored sleeve to wipe them away. I look over at Solution and see her do the same. Even Lucas’ face becomes somber.

“He was very special to you all.” I observe.

“Yeah,” Solution says, “He helped raise us. He was like and older brother to us all.” She does not speak for a moment, and almost chokes on her words, “He loved wolves; and had a pendent shaped like one, wouldn’t take it off for any reason. He insisted it was alive, and called it Iapetus.”

“Piercer.” I whisper without knowing why.

“Anyway, yeah, he taught us to drive.” Darren says.

Conversation feels like a bad idea at this point. So I decide to stare out the window at the black world that screams at me for help. Looking down, I see grass passing beneath us, but it is grey and dead. I look up and see nothing but black clouds and not a shred of sky behind it.

“It should be blue.” I say without realizing it.

“What should be blue?” Darren asks, his voice still rough.

“Huh?” I respond, did I speak aloud? “Oh, the sky, it should be blue.”

“Really?” Darren asks, “How do you know that?”

“I am not sure. I just do.”

“Well, you’re right. It should be blue, that’s why we fight.”

“Erebus,” I whisper, I am going to bring you down. The sky shall be brightened again.

 

ɂɂɂ

 

When did I fall asleep? At some point during the drive I wake up with a start. Around me the landscape has not changed, more grey grass against a black sky. The car is silent; next to me, Lucas has fallen asleep as well. Solution and Darren are not speaking. She is staring out of her window, and he keeps his eyes forward, focusing on the landscape ahead.

“How far are we from the City?” I ask.

Darren yawns, “Solution.”

“Roughly three hours when we started, so about thirty minutes now.” She says.

A foreboding comes over me suddenly, as though a shadow is descending over me. I scan ahead and the feeling now makes sense.

Even against the dark sky, The Dark God’s Tower commands the horizon, an impressive building, albeit the evil feeling it gives off. Two months ago, Darren found me here.

‘I will kill you.’ I had yelled at Erebus.

I rub my now aching temples, wondering why I wanted, no, want to kill him. Why do I hate him? A shadow comes over my mind; I can feel the darkness all around me now, closing in on me. I clasp my hands over my head, trying to block out the claustrophobia.

“You okay?” Darren asks from above. “You’re shaking the car.”

“The darkness.” I say, “I can feel it, closing in around me, seizing my sense of ease.”

I need light. I cannot stand this constant darkness any more. The only light is coming from a tiny bulb in the roof of the car. I seize the feeling the dim light gives me, the feeling that I am in a dark tunnel and finally see the smallest pinprick of light to signify its welcome end.

Without warning I feel an explosion underneath me, the car jumps and then slams down and skids across the ground, tearing up the already dead grass. It hums for a moment, but then the sound is killed, and we come to a stop.

 “What the hell was that?” Darren screams, and he hits the wheel several times. He screams ‘no’ over and over again, and then slumps back in his chair as the light goes out.

No, the light. The light is gone! Where did it go? I cannot see my hand in front of my face! I start to hyperventilate, wishing against all sense for a light to shine through from somewhere.

 A light illuminates Solution before me. In that moment she looks more beautiful than I have yet seen her. In her hand is a thin tube, light at the end of which brightly shines. It allows me to see a ways around us. My breathing returns to normal, and I calm myself.

Another light shines from behind us, and I can hear the other three pulling up in their car. Darren gets out of our car and holds up his hand, gesturing for them to stop.

“What happened, Darren?” Sammy asks, climbing down from his side.

“What did you do?” Todd adds.

“I didn’t do anything.” Darren growls, “Everything was fine and then there was, like, an explosion under us and the car just went kaput.”

I get out of the car and scan the horizon. The light is not really as bad as I had first felt, there is a dim circle of almost light coming from behind and through the clouds, making the world grey rather than the black I had found so unsettling. I breathe in deeply a few times to calm down, then stand with my thumbs in my belt loops, listening to the others.

“What do you suggest we do?” Darren asks Solution.

Solution looks at the Tower for a good long while before sighing and saying “It’s at least a good two hours away on foot, and that’s if we run the whole way. We can’t fit anyone else in the car and still move supplies out of the city. Which means we’re going to have to walk the rest of the way. there and back.”

“God damn it!” Darren yells and kicks the wheel. He whirls around, yelling obscenities to nothing, and then starts kicking the car more. I lean over to Solution and ask “Is this going to be okay?”

She looks back at me and says “Darren or the mission?”

“Both.”

“Darren will be fine once he gets the swearing out of his system. As for the mission, well, I don’t know. I thought about the potential of this happening, but couldn’t find a way around it. The way I figure it, our only alternative is to use the car to store the supplies while the others walk.”

Wide-eyed, I say “Wait a minute, why? I mean, do we have to make the others walk? How many do these cars fit?”

“Four.” Solution says. “But I was counting on the extra space to store extra supplies. It actually makes it a good thing Zayin didn’t come. As it is we’re only going to get enough for a couple of weeks. That was before our car broke down.”

“Why not make separate trips?” I suggest, “You said that it is another, what, half hour in the cars? We can just let the others go ahead in the car, then drop those few off, and come back to get the rest.”

“Won’t work, what if the people in the first group get spotted? They’ll be killed on sight. Besides, that doesn’t solve the issue of getting the stolen supplies out.”

Hmmm, “Well, is it possible to hook the cars together? That way we could let the first car pull the second one.”

 Solution raises her eyebrow for a minute, then looks at me, smiles, and says “You know, you’re smarter than you look. That could work, but do you know how to hook these things together? Because we don’t.”

“What?” This cannot be true. “You guys have no idea how these things work, do you?”

“Well, with all the fighting and trying not to die and stuff, mechanics have never really been something to think about.” Todd tells me. “I mean, we rarely have to leave the Fox-Hole, and when we do, we usually don’t have to go far enough to warrant using the cars. So no, we never took the time to figure them out.”

“I thought you conducted raids regularly.”

“No one ever said that.” Solution says. “Raids are rare, and for a good reason. There’s a definite possibility that we could all die on this mission. The chance of getting some coffee out of it isn’t exactly a fair trade for the risk. So we don’t use the cars that often. Zayin and the other black smiths took a look at them, but couldn’t really figure out too much. They were trained in making weapons and working Network, not anything as complicated as a car.”

“Well, they cannot be that complicated.” I say.

“Have you ever dealt with a car before?” Todd asks me.

“Well, no, but I know exactly how a chariot works. These cannot be very different.”

“What’s a chariot?” Sammy asks.

“It’s like a car, but with only two wheels, no motor, and no seats, so you have to stand and try to avoid falling off.” Solution answers.

“Why would you have to avoid falling off? And with no motor, how do they go?” Sammy asks.

“They are horse-drawn and open at the back.” I say. “However, they were typically used for war and for racing, never meant for daily use, and scarcely for long-distance travel. They couldn’t hold up to long distances because they were never made sturdy enough. Solution, how do you know about chariots?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing.” She replies.

“Must I even say that I do not know?” Honestly, it is getting tiresome.

“I guess not. We’ll just put that down on the increasingly large list of things you don’t know.” I let that slide, since it is not wrong. “Anyway, I know about chariots because I found a scroll once describing them in detail. It’s not like it matters, because knowing everything about chariots isn’t going to help us figure out how to solve our car problem.”

“Maybe.” I say. “But maybe not. The whole idea behind a chariot is to have a raised platform on two wheels pulled by another force, usually horses.”

“Yeah, it’s obvious that we just need to find a way to hook the cars together.” Solution says, “But we still aren’t sure how to do that and make it stand the pressure of this distance.”

Darren stops yelling, takes a few deep breaths, and turns back to us. “So, what do we think?”

“We are going to find a way to hook the cars together so that one can pull the other.”

“That could work, come on, we can figure this out. Dude, Solution, come help me with this, you guys, um, find us a rope or something.”

It only takes about twenty minutes to hook the cars together. When it is done, we get back into our car and pray that it will work. Todd’s car starts pulling forward slowly, until the rope connected to our car snaps taut, and we move forward.

About an hour passes with all of us just waiting for the rope to snap. However, we are lucky enough that it does not happen. We approach the city slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible.

About sixty feet from the nearest building, the cars come to a stop and we all get out.

“Now then,” Darren says, stretching, “All we have to do is make our way across the city without getting spotted.”

“One question.” I say.

“What’s up?”

“Sammy’s idea to use the rooftops was pure brilliance.” I say, “But I cannot help but wonder, how do we get up there?” I point up to the nearest building, where there are no foot- or handholds to be seen.

“Oh yeah.” Darren says, looking where I point, “How are we gonna manage that?”

“This is an unexpected problem.” Solution says. “The only way to get up there is to go through the building and climb the stairs to the top.”

“But we can’t do that without getting spotted.” Lucas points out.

“Hmm,” Darren says, musing. He grins, then laughs loudly, “What’s the worst that could happen? Let’s go!” He starts running to the building.

“No you idiot!” Solution yells. “The goal is to not get spotted!”

Darren does not slow down when he reaches the building, instead crashing through the door.

“I have been wondering, not that he is unqualified, but why is he the leader?” I ask.

Solution narrows her eyes and says “Sometimes I wonder that too.”

“Does that mean you are not going to answer me?”

Todd moves up next to me and tightens his weapon holsters, “When a leader dies, the whole Resistance gets together and elects a new one. Darren seemed like the best for the job, so he got elected.” What an interesting way to gain a leader. Chosen by the people. Pragmatic, I think. 

“We should probably get going.” Solution says, and takes off toward the building. We all head off after her, and enter the building without hesitating. When we enter, something catches my eye. I stop in my tracks as the others run past me.

Before me is a scene that makes me sick to my stomach. Three people, bone-thin and ghostly pale, sit at a table wearing rags that do not look like they could possibly handle any more wear. On the table before them lay wooden bowls filled with meager portions of filth that I assume is meant to pass as soup. That is not the worst part. Trails of fresh blood flow down their faces and drip onto their tattered clothes. Impaled through the center of their foreheads are knives, knives that look exactly like Darren’s.

I take a moment to honor the dead. When I do, I see a figure standing behind the three, it is a vaguely human shape, comprised of shadow. I cannot tell if it is male or female, but it has something of a calming presence. It waves its hands, and I see ghostly versions of the people stand, and turn to follow it.

“Who, or rather what, are you?” I ask it.

It turns around and I hear a genderless voice say, “Peace.”

“You seem more like death.” I respond.

“Those things are one and the same in me.” It replies, and then vanishes.

That specter… peaceful death? Now is not the time. I turn and make my way through the house that is falling apart at the seams, until I find a broken wooden staircase. I climb it quickly, finding a door at the top. I go through it and see the others, apparently waiting for me.

“What kept you?” Darren asks, a large smile on his face.

I put my head down, my white hair falling in my face. “You killed them.” I whisper.

The smile falls off of Darren’s face, “I’m sorry?”

“You killed those people!” I yell. “They were sitting at a meal, probably the first meal they had had in a long time, probably the last meal they were going to have for days, and you threw knives into their heads!”

A dark look comes over Darren’s face. “It was necessary. They would have gotten in our way.”

“That is your justification?” I ask. “They would have gotten in our way? That is all you have?”

“What else do you want?” He asks, frighteningly calm. “Did you see them? They were probably gonna die soon anyway. They were probably wishing for death. I bet they saw me as a savior. They’re dying thoughts were probably praise to me for ending their pain.”

“They should not have died like that.” I insist.

“You would have preferred they die from starvation?” Darren challenges. “Or maybe exhaustion. Oh, wait, maybe you would’ve liked for them to die from being beaten to death by the slave drivers they’re forced to live under!”

“They should not have died at all!” I look around at the assembled group, the same apathetic look on each of their faces. “None of you care, do you?”

“Why should we?” Todd asks, “They were slaves who were tortured all their lives. They probably considered death a blessing. A release. Like Darren said, their dying thoughts were probably ‘thank you for the peace’.”

“Peace.” I repeat; peaceful death. I look at Sammy, he is looking down at his boots, “Sammy?” I plead.

“Death is to be expected in war.” He says.

I back down, defeated.

“Are you about done?” Darren asks, “Or would you like to preach some more?”

“No,” I mumble, “Move forward.”

“Thank you.” He says, and turns around to face the edge of the building.

This building is small, lying under the shadow of the one Darren now faces. He gets down in a runner’s pose, preparing to…what?

“What are you…” I ask, but then he takes off, running and jumping straight for the next building.

He soars through the air, flailing his arms and legs, until he starts getting close. He grabs onto a pipe, clinging to it for life. Once his momentum stops, he begins climbing the pipe, getting up to the top of the building quickly.

“Are we supposed to…?” Before I can finish, the others take off as well, mirroring Darren’s jump, each finding their own place to land on and cling to. When they begin climbing, I decide I must do the same. I walk to the edge of the building, looking down. The other building is a good fifteen foot distance. How they made that jump I cannot fathom.

I back up to the other edge of the building, and start running. This is insanity! How can a person possibly make this? I do not slow down at all, and jump, using the edge of the roof as a kickboard. As I soar, I try to aim my body for the pipe that Darren landed on. I somehow manage to steer towards it, and slam against it painfully. I almost fall to the ground, far below, but manage to grab the pipe.

Once my breath slows, I look up and see Solution kneeling at the top of the building, watching me. I sigh, feeling how crazy this is. Despite my muscles starting to scream at me, I begin to climb. Solution grabs my arm and helps me pull myself over when I reach her.

“That was graceless.” She comments.

“I am just happy I made it.” I respond.

“Yeah, us too.” Darren says. “Okay guys, all the rest of the buildings are of equal height and distance from each other. You all know where to go, so get going.”

They all do as instructed, except for Solution, who remains behind, standing next to Darren. I fall down and sit on my knees, rethinking morality.

“If it makes you feel any better,” Darren says, “I’m not happy that those people died.”

“I understand.” I say, “This is war, death is inevitable.”

“That doesn’t make it okay for those people to suffer.” Darren says. “I tried my hardest to make their deaths quick and painless.”

Solution goes over to him and puts his head on her shoulder. “It’s alright,” She says, “For them and for us, it’s better this way.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He agrees.

“Have you killed before?” I ask.

“Yes.” He says nonchalantly, “Many times.”

“For the same purpose? Or at least the same end?”

“Sometimes.”

“What else is there?” I ask.

“It doesn’t matter; we’ve got storage centers to raid.” He turns and starts running away from us, following after the others.

Solution turns to me, “You seem very bothered by this.”

“Because the idea of what those people must have lived through bothers me. And then to die like that?”

“Like you said, death is inevitable. Life isn’t happy; it’s cruel and cold. The only way to make it worthwhile is to find something to believe in, and fight for it.”

“And what do you believe in?” I challenge.

“I believe that this isn’t how the world is meant to be. And I believe that we can fight our way to a better future.”

“And what is that?” I ask, “Say we succeed, what happens then? What do we do with our lives?”

“We rebuild society.”

“Just like that?”

A look of irritation crosses her face and she gets closer to me, mere centimeters away. Though she only stands up to my nose, I cannot help but feel intimidated. “This is how our lives have to be, that is our goal. Get on board, or get the f**k out.”

“I will support whatever I believe is right.” I object. “What I believe is that Erebus must be brought down.”

“Then shut up and help us accomplish that.”

“Just because we share the same goal, does not mean that I have to condone your methods.”

“And what makes you so high and mighty that you have the right to condone anything? You don’t even remember your name, how dare you try to tell us what’s right.”

“Morality is not determined by what one experiences. Morality is something that we gain naturally.”

“And yet think of all the evil in this world.”

“I am not claiming that evil does not exist, nor do I think people cannot be corrupted. That is obvious, but when you look down inside, what you believe is right is there for your entire life, from creation to destruction.”

“And what of Darren? Do you think that his morality is screwed up?”

“I think that he acted against it to murder people.”

“Because he had to.”

“He could have knocked them unconscious.”

“True, but he…” Solution trails off, and she looks down.

“Erebus is sure to know that we were here.” I continue. “What harm is there in keeping innocent people alive? What is the worst that they can do? They surely would have no desire to harm us.”

“We don’t know that.” She says weakly.

“So what is it, ‘do unto others before they do unto you’? Is that your philosophy?”

“We aren’t here to discuss philosophy,” She all but growls, “we have work to do.” She runs off, jumping the short distance to the next building and continuing on.

I groan inwardly, “Sore loser,” I mutter. That was unfair of me. I look around the city. All of the tall buildings, including the one on which I now stand, are the same height and build. All of them are made up of grey brick and black iron. Few windows can be seen. No color, no individuality. Nothing to say which building is which. This city is bleak, and cold. I put it out of my mind and hurry to catch up to Solution.

 

ɂɂɂ

 

“It’s definitely a storage building.” Lucas says.

“I thought that too.” Darren says.

“Could it be because it’s the building we’re looking for?” Solution says.

“Yeah, it was marked on the map as storage.” Darren says. He stands up from his crouch.

“You made that marking, though.” Todd points out.

“Irrelevant. Anyway, we have another issue; that building is across the street. And we’re standing on the last building on this side. Our only option is to go down and cross the street.”

“Good plan.” I agree, and turn to find the door. However, there is not one to be found. “Problem.”

“Yeah, looks like a major one too.” Darren says.

“How do we get down there?” I ask.

“Jump.” Lucas says.

“After you.” I retort.

“Very funny.” Darren says. He goes to Solution and reaches his hand into the bag she is carrying.

“Can I help you?” She says.

“Nope.” He answers. He pulls out a crossbow, and reaches in again. This time he pulls out a rope, and attaches it to the arrow.

 He stands up and aims the crossbow, arm outstretched. His arm is going to be hurt holding it that way, I think to myself. He pulls the trigger and the arrow lodges itself into the building across the street. The others, save Solution, all gape at it in disbelief. Meanwhile I look at Darren and see him cradling his shoulder. He stops when the others turn back, regaining his usual grin. I chuckle at this, and then recall the argument I had with Solution. I sincerely hope that my time with the Resistance continues to be fun.

“We can just zip line across.” Darren says proudly.

Darren fixes the crossbow to the edge of the building, I am unsure of how well that will work, but Darren seems sure. He goes to Solution’s bag and pulls out something else, a small metal frame with two wheels inlaid inside it, and two bars coming from the sides that look like handlebars. Darren clips this to the rope, and pulls on it, perhaps testing to see if it can hold his weight.

“One problem.” Todd says. “How are the rest of us gonna get across?”

“Easy.” Solution answers, “We attach another rope to the trolley and pull it back up to us once the other side is reached.” She takes another spool of rope from her bag and ties it to the ‘trolley’.

“Good thinking.” Darren says, sitting down on the side of the building and grabbing onto the trolley tightly. “Wish me luck.” He says, and slips off.

Miraculously, the crossbow holds his weight, and he zips across to the other building. Just before he reaches the edge, he lets go of the trolley and lands on a balcony. Once he steadies himself, he turns to us and bows.

“Dork.” Todd says. He pulls the trolley back to us and takes his turn, zipping across as easily as Darren. The rest go in this fashion, until only Solution and I are on the building.

“After you?” I suggest.

“No, I’ll go last.” She says. She does not meet my eyes, and the look on her face is darker than usual.

“Are you angry with me?”

“Extremely, but now is not the time.”

“How do I do this?” I ask her.

“Just hold on tightly.” She instructs. I sit down on the edge of the building and grab the trolley. Looking down at the street far below, I cannot help but wonder what the people here would think of a corpse lying in the middle of it. Most likely, not much.

“So what do I…” I start to ask before I feel Solution’s boot on my back. Before I know what is happening I am soaring through the air. My stomach is flying, jumping up and down throughout my body in such erratic patterns I fear I may vomit. The distance, however, is short. When I come to my senses I am standing on the balcony with the others and they are standing openmouthed.

“What?” I ask them.

“You made one hell of a jump.” Darren says, “Like, you should not have made that.”

I jumped? Odd, I do not recall. I hear the trolley being pulled behind me and turn to watch Solution as she grabs it and sits on the building, readying herself. She zips down to us rather gracefully, and when she lands on the balcony (right in front of me) she immediately turns and cuts the rope with her knife, and we watch it fall back to the other building.

“Now then.” Darren says, turning around. “Todd, Lucas, you two are coming with me to find any guards. Sammy, Solution…” He waves his hand, “Dude, you guys search this floor for the supplies we need.”

“Roger.” Todd says. They take off into the room and I immediately hear a shout.

“Coffee! Score!”

I enter the room behind Sammy to find a cluttered space of boxes stacked haphazardly around the floor. Storage is not done neatly at all. Darren is still in the room, searching through one. Todd and Lucas are gone, probably going to find guards as instructed. Darren looks up at us and smiles widely.

“They’ve got my favorite.” He proclaims, holding up a red tin can, “French roast with chicory.”

“Chicory?” I repeat.

“Eh, it’s some kind of bean. Anyway, it makes the coffee delicious.”

“Chicory’s a flower.” Solution says. “What you have ground up in there is the root.”

“Whatever,” He replies, “Just stock up as much as we can hold.”

“Shouldn’t you be looking for guards?” Solution asks him.

“Oh s**t!” He says, dropping the can and running off.

Solution shakes her head and picks up the can Darren dropped. She places it back in the box it came from, and looks through it for herself.

“Anything good?” I ask.

“Just coffee. So we should probably be sure to get this one." She answers, grabbing the box and setting in on the floor beside her.

“Agreed.” I say. “What else are we looking for?”

Solution shrugs, “Fruits, vegetables. Meat if we’re lucky.”

“Are we to trust food stored this way?” I ask.

“We try not to complain.” Solution answers. “Besides, we’re mostly here for canned foods; stuff that can be stored dry.”

“Also, if you see something you want,” Sammy says, pulling something out of his own box, “grab it.”

“What is that?” I ask.

“A yo-yo.” He answers, putting it in his pocket.

Solution smiles and returns to her own box, rifling through it hurriedly. Most of her hair had been tied back, but some of it falls in her face as she goes deeper in. The few strands frame her face quite beautifully. She continues for a few moments before looking up at me.

“What?” She asks.

“Nothing.” I reply, turning to dig through a box in front of me. I look up to see her brush her hair back with her hands, then decide to focus.

“Hang on.” Sammy says. “Shouldn’t somebody be watching the window? What if somebody across the street sees us?”

“Good point.” Solution says. She turns to me and instructs me to go to the window to keep watch. I oblige and crouch in the balcony, peering through the spaces between the thick stone bars.

“I found bacon!” Sammy proclaims loudly.

I sit crouched for so long my legs fall asleep; the numb sensation makes me wince. I should probably stand up and get the blood circulating through my legs again. As soon as I stand I all but fall back down. I peer through the small space between pillars and see a horrifying sight.

Below me, at street level, is Erebus himself. He is walking through the street with several people following close behind him. A cloak black as night is draped around him, so I cannot see his clothes, but the hood is down so I can see his face. It holds the same kind of malice and cruelty as the air around him. Not ugly, per se, but unpleasant nonetheless. Shoulder-length black hair is swept back to his shoulders in much the same style as mine.

I crawl back into the storage room and urge everyone to get down. At some point during my watch, Todd, Lucas, and Darren had returned to the room. They all look at me inquisitively, not moving an inch.

“Erebus is in the street below!” I whisper. Six sets of eyes go wide and then they all slowly set down whatever they were carrying and get down on the floor.

Darren and Solution make their way over to me, and look out from the balcony. They both reel back, and Darren sits panting, holding his chest.

“What is it?” I ask.

“Nothing.” He answers, “Just had some kind of attack. Probably the dust from in there. It’s nothing.”

Solution and I share a glance and then look back to Erebus.

“I hate to say it,” She says, “but the Dark God looks like he could be your older brother or something.”

“Do you think so?” I ask, looking at him again.

“Yeah, take away the evil look and he’s almost your spitting image.”

“She’s right.” Darren says. “He looks just like you.”

I take another look and my earlier fear is confirmed; I do look like him. However, something else occurs to me. The shape of his eyes and mouth. Hold on, his hair color is exactly the shade of black Solution has, and his eyes are the same emerald as Darren’s.

“He actually looks a lot like you two.” I think aloud.

“He what?” Darren says.

I realize that Erebus is speaking and shush my companions. He seems to be giving them a speech about something.

“I want all of you to keep about your business here,” I instruct. “I am going to follow him and find out what he is planning.”

“No!” Solution whispers harshly, “That is not part of the plan!”

I look down and sigh, “My sincerest apologies, Solution, but I care a hell of a lot more about figuring Erebus out than I do about collecting supplies.” I stand up and look to the building next to me, where another balcony stands out. I back up to the edge of our balcony, and sprint forward, jumping up with all of my might. Somehow, I make it to the next balcony without injury. I look down at Erebus and his procession of followers. None of them seem to have noticed my jump. A line of balconies follows Erebus’ obvious path to his Tower, so I decide that I have my way. While I jump from balcony to balcony, I eavesdrop on Erebus’ speech.

“It was a sad time when my fellow gods fell,” He says, “my spirit was bonded with a pathetically small statue, where I slumbered for centuries until a wonderfully foolish human found me. So, I was able to rise again in a form I was never able to take before, a human one. The world is now under my command. I rule it all, unopposed.” His servants all nod in agreement.

“What is he monologueing for?” I wonder quietly aloud. He is talking as though his servants do not know what is going on.

“Sire,” the servant to Erebus’ right says, “it is true that you rule the world. So I was wondering, what more could you possibly want?” Who asks a question like that?

“What does a man with power want more than anything?” Erebus answers, “I shall inform you: more power. Power is life’s greatest achievement. In the end, it is what we all desire. And with an immortal life comes an even greater yearning. The other gods are now lost, or so the world thinks.

“Other gods?” I whisper, stopping to regain my balance and focus.

“What are you saying, Master?” the same servant asks.

“They are not lost,” He answers, “No, they are merely hiding from me, sleeping inside whatever element they ruled. Cowards like them to not deserve the title of ‘god’, I am going to find them, and absorb them. In doing so, I will become the most powerful being in existence; I will be the very spirit of the universe! And I will not only rule the Earth, I will rule everything! With that power, I will shape the world how I wish it; I will create an entirely new universe, with me as its ultimate power! I will be GOD! Not a god, no, I will be the Almighty!

“Before we attempt laying waste to the gods, we will continue to focus on the lowly humans. In order to do that, we will destroy the nature spirits, trees, and with that, Gaia will become easy to absorb. Then I will confront the god and those barbaric Titans, after that I will be powerful enough to absorb my other primordial siblings.”

“Primordial siblings?” I repeat. I cannot say why, but that sounds important.

“Once I have absorbed them, the universe will be mine!” The servants following him do not respond, instead looking at each other. Erebus rolls his eyes, “I mean ours.” He says. Then they begin cheering.

I cannot believe this, his plan is just pure evil. I do not fully understand what all he said, but this malevolent force as God would be good for nobody. I will not let him succeed. But then, what can I possibly do to hurt him? He is something of a god, and I am nothing. What is the saying Darren told me before? Oh, yes, ‘desperation calls for stupidity’.

Before I can think of something to do, I hear Erebus continue on.

“…For now, I want the humans put to work again, make it even harder for them now. What do you think of that, Aether?” That word again…

Erebus looks up, directly at me, and grins.

“Well?” He calls out, “What do you think?”

I think that I am about to die, but I should not tell him that. “You called me Aether.” I call back.

Erebus chuckles, “So, you do not even know what you are.” He said ‘what,’ not who. No, I cannot respond to that. I must not let him see how little I actually know. I know I will not be able to say anything good, so I remain silent. Erebus smiles wider and raises his hand at me. With a bemused look on his face, he flexes his hand, and the balcony under my feet turns black and crumbles. I fall to the ground, the rough landing knocking my breath out of me.

“Scatter, cockroaches.” Erebus says, and I hear his servants do so.

When I sit up, I see him take off his cloak, revealing impressive armor. A familiar wooden staff materializes in his hand. That staff looks exactly like mine. I pull it out and analyze it; Erebus’ is almost an exact copy, despite its greater length and grey color.

Erebus laughs, “You made your staff as a model of my own. However, that is a moot point. You see Aether; we do not have to fight. In fact the last thing I want is to do battle with you. I, in fact, want you to join me.” I find that shocking, and clearly my face shows it.

“You need not oppose me Aether.” He continues, “I can help you get your memory back.” Erebus strides toward me. He kneels down in front of me, compassion on his face. “You would like to know what you are, yes? I can show it to you. Stand by me, and you will be reminded of everything you once knew.” A lesser mind would be fooled by his look of pity, but somehow I can see past that compassion, down deeper, where the truth is. He wants to use me for…something. I refuse to join this, whatever it is.

“I already know what I am, Erebus.” I say, standing.

His eyes go wide in mock surprise, “Oh do you? And, if you would, enlighten me?”

“I am the one who will make you fall back to whatever dark, slimy hole you came from!” I yell. Erebus smiles, then starts laughing an ear-shattering, boisterous bellow that sends a chill up my spine. He stands up slowly, his smile going from compassionate to cruel.

“Oh, you are so unwise, Aether. You would have godlike power.” He mutters something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like ‘again’. “Please, help me conquer the universe; I cannot do it without you. Brother.”

 I level my staff and take a deep breath, “Brother,” I scoff, “Shove it up your a*s!” I run at him, this time he raises his staff, and again I fly back. I crash right through a wall. The brick easily breaks behind me and small stones pepper my back as I land.

I look up and sitting at a table is a couple whose condition looks identical to the people I had seen before. I turn onto my other side, and pain flares through my torso. I think a rib may have been bruised.

“Do not worry,” I say to them, “I am a liberator.”

“Interesting,” Erebus says “if that had happened to a mere mortal, their body would have been destroyed. It seems you have retained a little something, after all.”

What? “You know what I am, Erebus?” He smiles evilly before he jumps up and his armored boot rests on my head. He thrusts forward and I go flying back into the street. His kick makes my head throb, and I rub it, trying to remember how to fight.

Erebus runs forward and stops in front of me. He stoops down and picks me up by the throat. He turns and all I see is the grey city flashing by before he hurls me far away. I fly an unbelievable distance and crash through another wall. I fall into warm water. Groggy, I sit up in what I assume is some kind of bathhouse. “Disgusting,” I mutter as I stand in the murky hot water.

 Then Erebus appears next to me. “Had enough, Aether? As I said, it does not have to be like this. You could join me, and you would feel no more pain. You could have whatever your heart desires. You could have Solution. You desire her, do you not?” How the hell does he know? How does he even know she exists? He wades towards me and I jump out of the way just as he brings his staff down.

 I somehow twist in the air and wind up perched on Erebus’ staff. Wondering just how I did that, I strike his head, sending him reeling. I jump in front of him, and strike him again as hard as I can, then another blow to the face that sends him flying. Another hole is created in the wall, and Erebus disappears.

“How did I do that?” I wonder aloud. The water turns dark and I find myself standing in front of Erebus again. He sneers and brings his staff down at me. I raise mine up just in time to block it. Our staffs lock, and we hold them there, each trying to out-strength the other. I look closer at his face and see his nose is spurting golden blood (Golden blood?). Despite the color, his injury makes me smile.

“I think I enjoy seeing you injured, Erebus.” I say. Erebus’ injuries and bruises heal, and then he smiles.

“Do not get used to the sight.” He says. “Soon you shall join me, and we will have no reason to fight.”

“That is not going to happen!” I say and pull my staff away from his. Before he can strike me, I twist around him and land a blow to his back. He arches it, then turns and swipes at me. I duck and land another blow to his leg, taking it out from under him. His heavy armor brings him down harder, and his staff is knocked away.

I stand back up and realize that I am not as injured as I should be. Erebus knocked me through a couple walls, and beat me with his staff. And yet all I have suffered is a throbbing headache and a dull pain through my torso. Erebus was right, I should be destroyed.

Erebus regains his staff and stands before I can react. He brings his staff down at my arm and I manage to block it with my staff, but the blow strikes harder than expected, and I can feel a bone break. Pain burns its way through my arm and I cry out. For some reason, when I shout Erebus goes flying back. As though my yell sent out a physical force.

When Erebus stands, he has white lines burning across his body. As I yell, he comes towards me; from the look on his face, I do not think he is interested in me joining him any longer. “Perhaps I have underestimated you.” He says, the white lines receding. He laughs as they disappear completely. “You believed you could defeat me, didn’t you? You do not realize, none of you fools realize, you are fighting a god! I have far more power than you can even imagine! If you knew how much I have been holding back, oh you would lose your mind.” and then he picks me up by my head and starts to squeeze.

Amazingly, he is not crushing my skull, but it causes serious pain, the screaming must be killing Erebus, but he shows no signs of anything other than sick amusement. Hardly able to focus, I take hold of my staff with my broken arm, and give him a hard blow to the face that sends him flying back.

I jump at him and follow it up with another blow, and another, beating him without mercy. The pain in my arm all but vanishes as I lose any semblance of control. Erebus lies on the ground below me, only moving in reaction to each blow I land, not giving him the time to feel one before I strike another. Golden blood is spurting from his face, covering me. This merciless warrior is not me, and not voluntary, I am not even in control of my movements anymore!

I raise my staff above my head to land the finishing strike, but Erebus raises his staff just as I bring it down. When our weapons meet, a huge grey blast sends us both flying. Erebus actually looks shocked and mutters something I do not here. I narrow my eyes and look at my staff, around my hands a white mist is forming. My arm, which had been bent at a horrible angle, is visibly healing. I look at Erebus and he looks completely stunned. “It cannot be!” he whispers loudly.

“Perhaps not Erebus, but possible or not, god or not, I am going to kill you!” I growl.

“Do you think so?” He responds. His face, which was unrecognizable a second ago, heals completely. He raises his hand and a black ball of energy forms. What the hell is happening? Erebus smiles in obvious delight, “The power of a god.” He says.

He throws the black ball at me and solely on instinct I raise my arms and a white pillar of energy raises and absorbs his blow. I do not know who is more stunned, me or Erebus. I swallow my surprise before Erebus can react and again acting on instinct, I push my arms forward. The pillar follows my movement, and rushes forward to strike Erebus. Before the pillar reaches him, he stands. With a wave of his hand, the pillar vanishes.

“I have grown tired of this fight, Aether.” He says. “And with that, I conclude our first battle. Now, get out of my city!” He spits the words out at me, and with them comes a swift blow.

I fly far away, and roll when I hit the ground. The brunt of my injuries hits me all at once, and I scream in pain. I lay there, writhing in pure agony. I just fought the God of Darkness. How in Tartarus could I survive that?

I turn my head, trying to figure just how badly I am hurt. I see the group I came here with when I do. They are all carrying boxes of various shapes and sizes. Darren turns his head and spots me. He drops his box and runs over to me. “Dude, what the hell happened to you?”

“I fought Erebus.” I say weakly, blood trickling from a cut above my eye.

Darren goes wide-eyed, “Are you serious? You challenged Erebus…to a fight? Are you insane?” He yells. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“It was…unexplainable.” I say, “I just, felt like I had to try.”

Solution walks up to me, and kneels down. “How did you do?” she asks.

“I think my injuries answer that question.” I respond.

“Yeah, they do.” She agrees. “Come on, get on your feet, we’re done here.” She wraps her arm around my shoulder, and Darren gets the other, they help me to my feet, and we stumble our way to the group.

“Wait, my staff.” I say. Darren drops my arm and runs to get it.

“This is your own damn fault.” He says as he sheaths the weapon on my back, “Think about that.”

“I am aware of what transpired.” I answer. “It was my decision.”

“Good,” Darren replies, “So long as you know that.”

“You really fought him?” Solution asks.

“I tried to.” I say, my voice rough, “But I was no match for him.”

“Do you believe he is a god now?” She asks.

“I believe…” I try to consider what I think, “I believe that he has god-like power. But he does not deserve the title of god.”

Solution and Darren scoff.

“He did something.” I tell them, “He formed a ball of black energy and threw it at me. But, when he did, I raised my arms and a pillar of white energy came up and absorbed the blast. What does that mean?” I ask myself more than them.

“I think you may have been hallucinating from pain.” Solution says.

“Perhaps.” I say. But still, that looked…it felt real. Pain flares through my entire body, and as it passes all I see is blackness.

Reviews

[David Ung]

Wow! That was intense. The conversations were all amazingly presented. And the fight was AWESOME. So Erebus is somehow connected to Solution and Darren? I don't know? But I am loving it! Keep up the good work. :)