Descent of The Watchers

by D S S Atkinson

seraphim did not watch them go, his focus remained upon the trees from which the screams and cries continued to drown the air around him. He heard the footsteps, the vegetation beneath the tree bark coming alive, and amongst the light pads of humanoid steps the almighty thuds and grunts of what he had dreaded coming into contact with for so long.

  Bursting from the entangling tree line an enormous gangly entity slobbered from its slack jaw. Its bulging muscles throbbed beneath pale skin, hurtling towards Azazel the deformed monstrosity grunted wildly. Behind the being masses of humanoids began to appear, fleeing from further hollers and calls from the woods.

  Before Azazel could react the bloodthirsty giant rushed at him causing the seraphim to instinctively raise his arms to protect himself. Immediately the stillots of his bodysuit came alive, enclosing about him in the same motion his arms attempted to, his suit detected his stress and came alive. The slavering beast coursed into the slender bronze being throwing him meters backwards through the air, with a whimper Azazel crashed violently into the ground, as he fell his head struck the artificial tree amidst the woodland. The seraphim attempted to level himself, moaning in pain he grasped daintily at the stillot in his hand.

  The brilliant being watched in horror as the abomination switched course, it grabbed a fleeing humanoid lifting it cleanly from the ground and without hesitance shook violently at its neck silencing the screaming prey. Another was bounded upon as they scattered without hope in any direction.

  “Stay together!” Azazel called to his subjects without success, he felt flustered beneath his suit, struggling to breathe for the pain that wracked him. With an explosion of branches another huge beast burst from the foliage. It roared, glancing all about at the fleeing humanoids though the giant’s attention was suddenly caught upon Azazel.

  It charged the seraphim who now rest slouched against the disguised pod. He breathed awkwardly, holding his ribs in pain with his spare hand. Noticing the nephilim that rushed towards him the seraphim gripped his stillot firmly, the rod became rigid, burning alight with a furious flare. All there was time for was to stand up straight before the monster was upon him, it lunged with a feral grunt colliding into both the bronze entity and the tree. With an agonizing squeal the monstrosity recoiled bounding about the open space with flailing arms, Azazel huffed, glaring at the searing rod which had become embedded deep in the nephilim’s abdomen. The beast grasped at the stillot scorching its enormous hands as the rod burned it from the inside out.

  He watched the nephilim fall limply to the floor, the flaming stillot still embedded deep in the being’s body. There was no time to retrieve the weapon, for a brief moment Azazel attempted to stabilize himself. The first of the beasts had been lured by humanoid screams back away into the forest ignoring the majority which now returned to Azazel’s side.

  “More come.” A humanoid whimpered, Azazel nodded, breathing awkwardly, his ribs throbbed in agony, “come,” the humanoid male helped the seraphim to his feet yet struggled to support him for the entity’s sheer size. The rest of his suit’s stillots fell limply from his back, the seraphim could feel the last of his suit’s life support failing as his intense breathing drained its resources.

  “We must travel west, to the river flowing through this land, there we will meet the Adams, we will leave the garden.” The humanoid nodded without question. He and many others helped carry Azazel through the undergrowth. The seraphim glanced back, the blazing rod which remained embedded inside the nephilim’s corpse had set the vegetation around it alight, the land surrounding the artificial tree began to burn spilling flames wildly up and outwards. Azazel could not contain his sadness, he blubbered beneath his life suit at the sight of all he had built coming to such a horrific end. It will soon be dead. Struggling to breathe the seraphim and his humanoid followers began their trek west, ushered on by the sound of rampant cries and crunching flora far in the distance.

  Together they dragged the seraphim with haste far into the woodland and beyond towards a small open pasture, here the waterway cut through the garden, formed from four conjoining rivers which flowed from Eden’s mainland down to the ocean’s gulf. “We must cross the river,” the seraphim panted, “it will deter our scent.” Without hesitance the subjects coursed forth down the river bank, still dragging Azazel between them. They heaved him through the waterway and began to follow the river bank to the outskirts of the garden.

  The seraphim felt numb, he felt his conscience fading with each limp step. Azazel recalled his first sights of Eden from so high above its beautiful landscapes, before his kind had landed and ravaged its organic life forms. “We should never have intervened.” He whispered to himself beneath his protective suit. For much time the brilliant entity felt his conscience fade in and out, scarcely being able to stabilise himself whilst his humanoid creations dragged him north towards the garden’s boundaries.

  “I see the Adams!” At last a subject yelled out with excitement. The words immediately dissolved some deep regrets consuming Azazel despite his delirious state, perhaps there is still hope. The groups conjoined at the fringes of the sanctuary where a colossal wall of intertwining thickets and towering tree bark blockaded the humanoids in, keeping them safe from the dangers of the outside world.

  “Where do we go from here?” Adam spoke to Azazel, looking into his reflective visor, still appearing captivated by the slender bronze entity. Leaning against his humanoid companions the seraphim pointed down at the river, where it flowed beneath the garden’s entwining barricades.

  “We must follow the water beneath the brambles,” as Azazel spoke a chorus of terrifying groans and wails filled the air, scarcely visible, though growing with each moment a number of beings advanced upon the horizon. Past them a tower of black smoke consumed the sky, doubtlessly from the fire that spread around the pod at the garden’s heart.

  “They’re coming!” Azazel had little time to ponder on what could have been avoided if he had acted sooner.

  “Do not fear,” the seraphim spoke to all present. “Listen to me, the river water is not deep, travel beneath the foliage, there are air gaps along the way. Adam, remember these things I tell you. Follow this river until it separates into four. Do not wait for me. One will flow east, another west, two will flow north. Follow the north west river, do not stop until you have reached its most western stretch. You will know you have for it will take another sharp turn north. From there travel south west until you reach a mountain range, and when you arrive, ascend the mountain until you find a cavern, inside is a seal to enclose yourselves from within. Be sure you find this cavern, humanoids, for the nephilim will be relentless in their pursuit. Remain there until my people return. They will return, Adam, they will know where you reside.” Another chorus of grunts thundered into the air, the ghastly beasts were now clearly visible. “Go, be safe, I will be behind you. I will be watching over you, Adam.” The bipedal subjects fled with haste, delving into the water they each disappeared beneath the garden’s walls.

  The seraphim retrieved a second stillot from his back, he clutched at the device again causing it to come alive with an enveloping inferno. The towering bronze entity thrust the blade down into the vegetation at the base of the watcher made enclosure, it’s aged wood caught alight with ease spreading across the garden’s interior barricades at tremendous speeds. It was all he could think of that might deter the monster’s endless pursuit. Without hesitance he limped down the steep bank and delved beneath the river water.

  Absent of coherent thought he swam, barely concentrating for the lightness that consumed his mind. The water relieved his aches as he became weightless, bringing a moment of serenity to his troubles. He coursed through the river, feeling his suit drain with each weak breath he took, until the brambles above gave way to light and the stream’s banks became visible. The seraphim crawled out of the water struggling to pull himself up the muddy verge onto a desolate plateau. The planet appeared lifeless outside of the garden.

  Resting upo
n hands and knees he glared north, Heaven, when do you return? He mumbled, watching his subjects disappear beyond the horizon, urgently he spoke into his headset, transmitting his words to a communication satellite orbiting Eden. The nephilim rebel against us, they are too strong.

  An abrupt splash and enraged roar drew Azazel’s attention back to the garden’s walls. He released a deep sigh as one of the abominations burst from the river water beneath the enclosing vegetation. It screamed wildly for the fire within the garden had clearly singed much of its skin, though it did not stop the beast scrambling up the river bank towards Azazel with bloodlust in its eyes. Before Azazel could react the monster careered into him, hurling him across the floor. The seraphim collapsed into the dirt with a cloud of debris, his fears no longer prominent in his mind, a haze began to swamp his vision as he felt the last of his suit’s support give out. The nephilim are free, I could not stop them. He sent his final signal to the ark with light breaths, bracing himself for the gargantuan monster that charged him down once more.

   

  Descent of the Watchers

  1.

  1256 Eden years later

  Amidst the vacuum of space a titanic vessel rest suspended. Beyond its obsidian textured hull two figures enclosed upon an artefact, their bodies each enveloped in metallic suits. A deep static hum distorted the entities’ senses. Silently they drifted into the ark’s open chamber, its dim bronze interior fully illuminated by the burning star at the heart of the solar system.

  I could not stop them. The scarcely distinguishable signal funnelled through Samyaza’s headset. Some desperate words echoed before falling to silence. “Be careful, commander.” Tamiel whispered in her tongue, drifting wearily into the satellite’s heart. Samyaza looked back, briefly, though her face was hidden by a reflective visor.

  A quill of independent tendrils pluming from the spines of their suits explored the furthest corners of the cavernous structure’s interior. Again the static reverberated. Heaven, when do you return? The nephilim rebel against us, they are too strong. The resonance of the voice faded for some moments before returning. The nephilim are free, I could not stop them.

  “Azazel?” Samyaza nodded slowly at her friend, remaining silent. The calm ambience of space returned before the message crackled again. Together the females drifted deeper into the ark’s bowels, coursing towards its midst and the source of the relaying message. At the satellite’s heart a spherical chamber opened out. The darkness within gave way to light as sensors registered the commander’s presence.

  “Heaven, this is Samyaza, we are in the communication chamber.”

  “Have you made contact?” A clear voice immediately sounded into her eardrums, Tamiel joined her commander in the sphere and together they looked over the small communication device. Upon it a blank panel lay dormant, at Samyaza’s touch some symbols lit up. “Yaza? Is there contact?” The females stared at the digits, frozen in confusion.

  “How can this be?” Tamiel whispered.

  “This is Heaven, Samyaza? Tamiel?” With a press upon the panel the message was relayed to her people. From the static, in the background, an erratic voice yelled out.

  “We must hurry! He may still live!”

  “No,” Samyaza said, “he died long ago.”

  “Yaza?”

  “His distress signal faded over a thousand years ago, Zebub. The ark has been transmitting his final message.” Tamiel answered Heaven, for her commander was stricken.

  “Impossible.”

  Heaven was quiet.

  “What will you have us do, Zebub?” Samyaza said, drearily.

  “The ark is dangerously close to falling into Eden’s atmosphere, if we lose it, we might never understand what has happened here. Seraphim Yahweh orders the ark be taken down to Eden’s surface to extract the data and search for possible survivors. You may return to Heaven, commander.” What she had come to know as home fell dead on her ears, yet Azazel’s haunting voice continued to trouble her mind. The nephilim are free. I could not stop them. It sounded as though his words were uttered with his last breath.

  Samyaza shivered and signalled Tamiel to leave the ark. They would return in probes to guide the structure down through Eden’s ozone. The satellite’s severe negative orbit had puzzled the commander of the watchers upon first sight, but the data within was unexplainable.

  “What do you make of this, Yaza?” Tamiel said, mimicking the commander’s movements. Together they floated effortlessly back into deep space. Samyaza shook her head, she looked back once more at Tamiel, reflecting the great blue globe upon the panel of her visor.

  “I couldn’t predict, Tam. Someone knows something, the seraphim will find out.”

  “I hope so,” her friend replied. Samyaza’s attention was elsewhere. She stared at Eden’s beauty, the first planet her people had come across that harboured genetically similar life forms to her own. A glimpse into the ancient past, and perhaps, a new hope for the future. The prospect of touching down upon its fertile planes stirred her anxieties for Azazel’s message, what’s happened down there?

  “Preparing entry.” A voice from Heaven buzzed through her headset, she turned back to face Heaven. The antennae on her back were programmed to guide her into the ship’s boarding depot, a small room protruding from the vessel’s gargantuan hull. With precision, minute combustions of fuel spouted from the modified stillot tips, delicately forcing Samyaza and Tamiel into the open bay. The outer doors sealed once the two were within, and with a potent hiss the room’s atmosphere was stabilised to that of Heaven’s.

  “Decompression complete. Opening interior doors.”

  “Open.” Silently they slid apart, leading to an empty corridor. Despite the black metals within, lining the floors, walls and ceilings, the ship’s warmth and gravity brought with it a pleasant relief from the barrens of space. Samyaza reached down pressing a release valve upon her thigh, with a light scraping sound her visor shifted apart and fell away from her skull, joining the rest of her suit’s elastic like material. As her helmet shrank away so too did the pluming stillots recoil and rest dormant upon her back.

  The watcher’s long hair and bright eyes were a striking silver, a trait constant throughout the entirety of her dwindling species. Her pale skin lay softly about her oval face, her features scarcely protruded from its surface. She smiled at Tamiel whose space suit had also retreated, a warming, reassuring look that her friend knew meant she was hiding some deep troubles within.

  Samyaza, report to observatory four. The message came thundering through the ship’s interior. She briefly raised her eyebrows at Tamiel who smiled back.

  “I’ll get some rest before we take down the ark.” With those words they went their separate ways, the dense sound of stricken metal clanging away beneath their feet.

  The ship’s fourth deck was dedicated to the watchers, Heaven’s researchers. Observatory four was the largest of the rooms, within an enormous lens protruded from above the ship’s bridge, a second lens too extended from the rear of Heaven, from the seraphim’s quarters. For the watchers’ their purpose was to gaze deep into the voids of space, in search of anything that might help them in the preservation of their species. There was a much darker function of the devices too however, when necessary they were weapons of great destruction, capable of things Samyaza cared not to dwell upon.

  “Focus on the mainland, starting at the garden.” Entering, she heard Zebub yelling out commands to his assistant.

  “Ze -” he raised a stocky arm, interrupting her.

  “Look.” All about the dark room transparent screens projected imagery of Eden’s surface. “No signs of life... nothing. But here, upon the mainland, to the south of Hermon.” Samyaza stood in silence, staring at the view.

  “Amazing.” She said under her breath. The scope panned to numerous areas across the landscape of Eden, each new co-ordinate revealing evidence of an incredible development of culture and society. Crumbling walls outlined and enclosed th
e street ways and structures of abandoned dwellings.

  “We’ve found two others like this spread far apart, all appear dead. We won’t know if anything remains until we get down there. The humanoids obviously flourished in their own ways before they disappeared. If, they’ve disappeared.”

  “And what of these nephilim?” He shrugged without care.

  “Probably some beasts kept in captivity.”

  “Beasts don’t rebel.” Her peer’s silver eyes shifted to meet hers.

  “There’s no signs of life, Yaza. We’ll find out what happened when we land the ark. Heylel asked for you after I’d shown you this, he’s... you know where. By the time you’re back we’ll be ready to launch.” At mention of the seraphim Samyaza’s face flourished with excitement.

  “He did? How long did he speak?” Zebub shook his head, looking down at the observatory’s dull interior.

  “He was not with us for long.” A crimped smile struggled to spread across her oval face. The room fell quiet for some moments.

  “What do you think has happened, Zebub?”

  He shook his head resting chubby hands on a bulging gut, “I think something’s gone wrong, commander. Go, see our kin. Return as quick as you can.” She nodded at Zebub, turning to leave the enclosed chamber.

  It was a disturbing feeling to know that over a thousand of Eden’s years had passed since she had last seen the planet, yet to her it had been but a few deep sleeps. Her confusion continued to develop as she made her way towards Heaven’s sick bay beneath the seraphim’s command centre. On route she passed through the upper living quarters of Heaven.

  An enormous open space covered by a thick dome, transparent from within, its exterior was a highly polished metallic which reflected the undeterred rays of light and radiation travelling at a whim through open space, catching much of the solar radiation distributed across its surface as the ionospheres of planetary bodies did throughout the universe.

  The energy caught by its protection was distributed throughout Heaven via a vast generator which stood high above the quarter’s grounds. The throne spread a constantly recycling power source for the means of its population. At the dome’s pinnacle a cylindrical pressure chamber rest from which funeral vessels were launched, high ranking members of Heaven’s crew were placed within death probes upon passing and projected out into the closest star as an honour to their work and dedication to their kind.

  The zone was supposed to remind its inhabitants of home, and probably did for some. The green waters and