Chapter Two: The Last Safe Place
An Original Story By: Pizzachu
“You won’t find any survivors. Believe me, they’re all dead.”
I jump to my feet and whirl around to face the strange voice’s owner. Standing before me is a young man who looks harmless enough that I don’t feel threatened, despite his harsh words. It’s difficult to make out who he is because of all the dirt and ash covering him, but I recognize him as a new recruit Kimara had picked up while doing a supply run on the distant planet of Laekka a few days ago. Geez... this kid’s only been around a few days, and this happens? He must really be glad he joined the resistance now...
“We can’t give up on our friends so easily.” I walk towards him, looking him over for serious injuries as I approach. He’s covered in bruises and cuts, but I don’t see anything fatal.
“Suit yourself.” He drops down on what’s left of a support column and buries his face in his hands, looking as if he’s already abandoned all hope.
He just stares at me for a moment before shaking his head like he’s trying to be rid of a bad thought. “Kieron Dahl.” He pauses for a moment, seemingly unsure of himself. “You’re one of the people who was on stage today - one of the leaders, right?”
“I’m not a leader, but I was on stage today.” He nods, looking thoughtful. “I’m Senna Thorn.”
He holds his hand out, and I accept the polite gesture and shake his hand. It’s an oddly formal gesture for our surroundings, and Kieron can’t seem to help but crack a smile at it. He looks around like he expects to see something other than the same burning ruins. “So... what are we supposed to do now?”
“We keep looking for survivors. Surely, we can’t be the only ones to have gotten through.”
“Even if we aren’t, everyone else is long gone by now.”
“What do you mean?”
“After they finished bombing the place, those soldiers came out of their ships and took anyone they found still breathing. It’s not likely many others got away.” “Then how did we?” His story is too suspicious for me to just immediately accept as truth...
“I saw you crawl out from that wreckage, and trust me, no one would ever have guessed there was someone under there - especially someone alive. And I guess I just blended in. Got caught by the first bomb to hit us and was so dizzy after that, I still can’t make sense of what was going on. First clear memory I got is me lying on the ground, dead people all around me, and a bunch of soldiers walking through picking up or shooting anything that moved. I closed my eyes, tried to stay still. I don’t know how long I laid there... breathing in the smell of death, and hearing the soldiers walking all over us, listening to the pleas for mercy or cries of pain of survivors being hauled away, and knowing at any time it could be me...”
I can see the panic in Kieron’s eyes and know he’s been through a lot more than is expected of a new recruit. He’s holding together well considering the terrible shock he must be in, but I know better than to expect it to last. Too often I’ve seen a recruit think they’re ready to take on battle, only to end up broken afterwards. We should find somewhere to take shelter and rest soon.
“Come on.” I hold out my hand to help him up. “Let’s get out of here.” He nods slowly and takes my hand. We wander through the devastated city for nearly an hour before we find somewhere still stable enough to shelter us. We stumble through the doorway of a burned out building, which was probably once some sort of small business. It’s not exactly comfortable, but it will serve it’s purpose until morning. Tomorrow, Kieron and I will have to walk to the resistance’s main camp. I know Anthony’s forces were thorough, but it’s not likely that they would go so far as to bomb the entire planet, even he is not so bold. The camp is about twenty miles from the capital city’s outskirts, so it was probably safe from the deadly blasts. There may be a few rebels still there, but nearly all were at the disastrous mission briefing, and I would not be surprised to learn that those who had remained in the camp had fled when they saw the great fires ravaging the city. This is a dark day for the resistance...
* * *
It’s past noon, and yet the sky is dark. Ash hangs in the air like a blanket, making it difficult to see, difficult to breathe. We’ve walked all morning in the wretched heat, and only now is the resistance camp even faintly visible in the distance. Hours pass as we trudge across the Wastelands. There better be something left at the camp to make this worth the trouble.
The only good thing is that I’m not alone. It’s always nice to have a friend watching your back, and while I haven’t known this kid long, I trust him with my life. I trusted Kimara, and if she thought he was good enough to follow her in the resistance, then he’s good enough to follow me now.
We have no way of measuring time out here without being able to see the sun, but I can tell it’s getting late. The awful heat has been replaced by a creeping chill. But thankfully, we reach the camp before the uncomfortable chill could turn into the freezing cold of the Deyjan nights.
Walking through the rebel camp is like stepping into a ghost town. We walk the deserted street, our hope diminishing with every passing second. Are they really all gone? The worn buildings we pass are all dark and empty; there’s no sign of life here. As we walk down a sidestreet chosen at random, Kieron sees a faint light streaming from an office window of a small hangar bay. With the temperature rapidly dropping we don’t think twice before heading in that direction. I push the heavy door open, only to have a blaster barrel shoved in my face.
“Don’ move, or I’ll shoot.” I take a step back from the door and hold my hands up, showing I mean no harm until I get a better sense of who this girl with the blaster may be. Kieron watches me and follows my lead.
“Whatchya doin’ ‘ere?”
“We’re friends. We come from the capital. I’m pretty sure you’re aware of the attack that’s happened.”
The girl looks us over, from our scorched boots to our ragged clothes. I can see the spark of recognition as she looks me over, and for the first time ever, I’m glad that I was well-known amongst the resistance. But when she looks to Kieron, she frowns.
“You I rec’nize.” She shakes the blaster at me, an indication I wasn’t too fond of. The girl turns the blaster on Kieron. “I ain’t seen ‘im a’fore thoughs.”
“New recruit. Kimara picked him up last week. I saw her bring him back myself.”
Kimara’s word was law, even now. The girl lowered her blaster and stepped aside to allow us entrance to the hangar’s office. She says nothing as she tosses the weapon down on a cluttered table and drops down into the manager’s chair. I watch her closely as I shut the door behind us. “Where is everyone?”
“Bleedin’ cowards ran soon’s the bombs start’d goin’ off.” The girl crossed her arm and scowled at the very mention of her former friends.
“I thought as much.” I pause a moment, still trying to make sense of this girl, no older than myself, still being here when all the others had ran. “Why did you stay?”
“Ya think I’ma chick’n like tha rest o’ them?! I’m stayin’‘cause I’m ready to fight! I ain’t gonna leave just a’cause a bunch o’ folks died! This is a war, ain’t it?”
I raise my hands as if in surrender and laugh lightly. “Good to see someone so fired up for the resistance. I don’t think I’ve seen that for some time now. You’re certainly welcome to come with us to Frysta. Most of us got wiped out yesterday. It’s up to us to rebuild the resistance from the ashes.”
The girl smiles bright, excited by the invitation. “Like phoenixes!”
Kieron laughs along with her now. “I like that. Someone should write that down.”
I smile and roll my eyes at them, both looking like kids who’ve just been given a fantastic new nickname. I won’t deny that it does have a good ring to it though.
“So what’s your name, kid?”
“I’m Milly O’Hara, chief mechanic o’ this ‘ere hangar.” The girl straightens in her chair, trying to look proud and important.
“I’m Milly O’Hara, chief mechanic o’ this ‘ere hangar.” The girl straightens in her chair, trying to look proud and important.
“Oh, really now?” There is no way someone this young is in charge here, especially since I personally knew the man who truly was chief engineer.
“Well, am now e’ryone’s run off.”
I nod at her and suppress a laugh that would probably just offend her. “Any chance you’re a pilot?”
“Nah, I just fix ‘em. I cain’t fly ‘em.” While a mechanic is always good to have, a pilot is what we really need now.
But without wasting any more time, the three of us made our way to the fastest ship in the hangar that could carry us all. It’s small and in good condition, probably new still. I’ve only been in a ship once before, and I was nowhere near the pilot. Kieron’s world jumped more, but of course he can’t fly either. So, I take my chances at the controls. Take off is pretty easy, and once we broke atmosphere it was only a matter of setting the coordinates.
We fly through space so fast that the stars are no more than streaks of light surrounded by a mass of swirling colors. Milly stares out the front viewport with wide-eyed fascination, and Kieron turns away, made dizzy by the dancing lights. I settle down in the pilot’s chair and try to get some sleep. We have a long flight ahead of us, and it’s hard telling what we’ll find when we arrive on Frysta. Hopefully, things will be better there than they are here...
Seven hours later, I am awoke by the sound of the ship’s proximity alarms. We’re rapidly nearing Frysta’s atmosphere. I take the controls as we zip down through the thin layers of air at a speed far above the maximum safety for breaking atmosphere. It’s only now that it occurs to me that I can barely fly a ship, let alone land one...
Unforgiving ice peaks rush up to meet us as we plunge towards the desolate surface of Frysta...
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