by D C Tullis
“Finally… I can’t hardly even imagine leaving this place.” She bit her lip before continuing. “What is your world like?” Irithril asked us.
“I can’t really say since we’ve only experienced Earth before, but it is quite different from here. Most people on Earth aren’t trying to kill you, that’s for one,” Ellie responded.
Irithril listened intently as Ellie went on.
“We have war with diplomacy. On Earth, it’s not really an either or. We also have sprawling forests, and desolate deserts. Hell, we even have an entire continent of ice.”
“Ice?” Irithril asked, this time mockingly.
Ellie giggled.
“Seriously, I thought you guys knew everything about Earth? Damn, you guys have so much to learn. Um... it’s like very cold. We have an entire continent which is pretty much uninhabitable just because it’s too cold. I can say that much.”
Irithril shook her head in amazement before glancing back to Khail and then back to us.
“This is all so intriguing. We must speak more on this later, but for now you should come meet our leader while we discuss our plan of action,” she said.
I nodded in agreement as we followed her deeper into the facility. The walls were no longer bland concrete. A clean, burnished steel adorned with yellow text took their place. Beyond that, there was the occasional beeping from flickering blue consoles beaming their lights into the mostly deserted rooms, and scrolling walls of alien lettering projected on different surfaces. We took several lefts and rights until we came to a stairwell and descended down into a hallway lit purely by red orbs on the ceiling.
“When did we hit backup power?” Irithril called to Khail.
“While you were gone. We have only a day’s power left beyond the reserves, and only a week left of clean air,” he replied.
“Jesus…,” Ellie muttered.
After that, they were silent for the rest the walk until they reached another large, steel door. Khail paused to draw a glowing rune upon the wall next to it and the door immediately slid open. Before us lay an elevated bridge going on for what must have been around thirty feet. Below it lay a graveyard of machinery. They lay dormant, almost as if waiting to be issued a command and awoken.
When we crossed to the other side, Khail spoke, “We are here. Make yourselves at home.”
A door opened without any need for interaction. On the other side lay a dark room illuminated by the glow of active consoles. There was plush blue seating built into the floor all surrounding a central podium. A few Fae were scattered around the room. One occupied a plush blue seat, two chatted by a large glowing vat, and one in a strange blue robe occupied a console on the farthest wall. He was tall, elderly, and held gentle features. He turned his head and smiled at our entry.
The blue robed Fae made his way over and shook both of our hands.
“My, my what a surprise to see humans here. You’ve both come at a particularly poor time though. You see, this world is dying. It is being consumed alive by the Eldritch hordes. Unfortunate really. Anyway, I am most eager to hear the stories of your arrival. Oh dear, I nearly forgot to introduce myself. My name is Eldevui and I am overseeing this group of refugees,” he declared. Eldevui paused for a moment as he noticed the filth that had accumulated on us during our short stay. He pointed at four tall, cylindrical glasses of white liquid that were stored on a table by us. “Have some Elgoos, it will soothe your parched throats after what must have been an unpleasant journey.”
Ellie picked hers up before mine and then immediately beckoned me to try some.
“It’s like tea with honey,” she said in a mocking British accent.
I wasn’t so sure I agreed with her description, but my throat had been dryer than a barbecue in the Sahara so I kept my trap shut. Irithril then moved forward to introduce us.
“Eldevui, meet…,” she turned to us with a look of shock. “I suppose I never really did ask for your names, children of Earth.”
“Jason,” I added.
“Ellie,” Ellie replied as she took another sip.
“Yes, yes. Meet Jason and Ellie, Eldevui. They are my servants. I spotted a blip of violet light in the sky and tracked them down following their landing. They were nearly slaughtered by jackins. I couldn’t allow such a thing to happen to walkers,” Irithril spoke.
“Well, Jason and Ellie of Earth, I must say that I am quite surprised you chose to visit us at this time. I was under the impression that our Council of Defense, before their untimely demise, sent out word that our world was under invasion. Did the news not reach the Earth and the other walkers?” Eldevui asked.
“I really haven’t the slightest idea. I didn’t even know till a few hours ago that I was a ‘walker’. There was this mirror in my home. All I did was examine it for a bit, and then the next thing I know it pulls us both into this hellhole. No offense by the way,” I replied.
“None taken,” he said as he stroked his chin with a perplexed glare. “That mirror was likely one of the many objects our kind left you portalwalkers when we finally left your world. Now, I have known only a few portal walkers. However, from what I have heard it seems odd that you never knew you possessed this power. Our research has proven it to run through several human bloodlines. Did your elders never teach you of such a gift?”
I clenched my fist a little at the thought.
“No. My mother is…,” I began.
“You don’t have to tell them, J,” Ellie cut in.
“It’s fine,” I replied. “My mother is dead and my father is institutionalized. There was no one to teach me.”
Eldevui put his rough hand on my shoulder and gave me a genuinely empathetic look. It wasn’t the look someone gives a stray puppy. No, it was a look that could only be given by someone that had been through similar circumstances.
“I offer my sincerest condolences, Jason. I too lost my mother when I was young…,” he began.
“Can we cut the ‘raan already,” butted in the Fae who had been resting on the seat.
He was the shortest Fae in the room and held a scraggly white beard which was long and unkempt. His beady, yellow eyes were unblinking, and he looked about ready to stab anyone that came within a foot of him. The size of the stick up his ass must have been massive.
“Relax, Nim, the beasts are not at our doorstep. There is still time to have conversation,” Eldevui responded. “Especially when guests have arrived.”
“I care little for guests. We have waited for Irithril’s return long enough. We must spring into action while we still have an opportunity.”
Eldevui’s smile breathed a hint of sorrow, but he nodded in agreement.
“Though you may be impatient Nim, maybe you are in fact correct. Come now all,” he called to the two Fae on the other side of the room and Khail who had wandered off to clean his weaponry.
Khail grumbled as he strode over. Soon, the two other Fae followed. Chestnut hair drooped behind both of their shoulders in extravagantly bound manes. They were clearly siblings; a brother and a sister. Identical tall heights, similar freckles, and they both seemed to hold a natural ease around each other. Though, the sister seemed a bit disgusted or uncomfortable with our presence. She tried to subdue her snide glare, but I could see through her mask of innocent elegance. Her eyes were those of a predator.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” announced the young man as he bowed. “My name is Enell and this is my dearest sister Anairen.”
“It is good to see new faces around here,” she spoke as she bowed as well.
Despite her good show, the pretension leaked through her voice. I shot Ellie a look and she nodded knowingly. What the hell was this chick’s deal?
“Okay, now that introductions have all been made, we will discuss the details of the raid. As you all know, we located the functional gate on Mt. Estellus last week and have since then been waiting for the remaining hunting parties of Eldritch to migrate East of the facility towards the last Fae bastion stil
l occupying the city. They left early this morning and detection has picked up no traces of stragglers. Therefore, it is in our best interest to recover the source now,” declared Eldevui.
He turned to face us briefly before continuing, “The source, by the way, are cylinders of nuclear energy. So, we shall…”
“Wait, you’re asking us to retrieve nuclear energy? That shit will poison you, or blow up in your hands or something,” Ellie butted in.
Eldevui’s pursed his lips at the question, before widening his eyes with realization.
“No, no do not be concerned,” he chuckled. “Humans may not be at a stage to safely contain nuclear energy, but for we Fae it nearly runs our entire society. Everything uses nuclear energy in some format. Especially devices such as the gate. They require great power indeed. For smaller needs, we use radioisotope thermoelectric generators which power devices such as… my transport.”
Ellie didn’t look completely convinced but chose to back off the issue anyway.
“Khail and Irithril, you will navigate through my old place of work and find the storage lock-up. I’ll guide you via comms, of course,” Eldevui resumed.
He then looked at us again and continued, “You will do with your newfound servants as you must, but I recommend bringing them with you. The gifts of those who possess the portal walking gene are, in my experience, quite useful.”
My left eyebrow raised. What did he mean by that?
“Though I don’t have direct access to the defences of the facility, I can navigate you through them if they remain active. Regardless of the outcome, you must all remember that this is our last shot at escape. If this mission is compromised, then the lifespan of everyone here will likely be no more than a few days longer.”
Irithril clenched her fist at the thought. I could only imagine the fear and the drive she felt. I felt some of it too. This entire experience just felt so surreal. Maybe that was why I felt almost numb to the fear and adrenaline. I turned my head. Ellie, however, was certainly experiencing the adrenaline. Her eyes were directed, and her hair was caked in sweat. I put my hand on her shoulder.
“Take a breath, Ellie. We’re gonna be fine,” I declared.
She didn’t respond at first, but then slowly muttered,” I hope you’re right, J.”
I took a deep breath too. It was unnerving to think about. Not the situation, but really how numb I felt to a fear that seemed to be overwhelming Ellie. Her arms were rugged with goosebumps, and her breathing was unstable. It hadn’t seemed this bad on our trip here, but something had finally come undone.
“Sorry to interrupt your emotional breakdown, but you will need to be equipped with weapons if you are to be accompanying us. That is if you are accompanying us…?” Khail asked me.
“They absolutely are,” Irithril replied for me.
“Perfect,” Khail declared as he removed a four inch metal cylinder from his pocket and stuck it in between his teeth. He snapped his fingers and a tiny floating ball of flame appeared. He then lit the cylinder, waved his hand to dissipate the floating spark, and beckoned us forward with the other hand.
We followed him to the other side of the room and down a two-story spiraling metal staircase into an equilateral room with a ceiling of pure bone white, and walls of tinted glass.
He rapped on one of the walls with his right knuckle and they all began to open. Each revealed an extensive weapons cabinet of every type imaginable.
“Dude, this is way cooler than the weapons wall at my aunt’s range,” Ellie awestrickenly declared. It seemed that the sight of an overwhelming amount of weaponry was just what she needed to begin returning to her normal, fearless self.
Some of the selection was so advanced that I couldn’t even recognize their origins. Others resembled guns, bows, and grenades. There was even a motherfucking flamethrower mounted on a center rack. It was compact, storing its tanks on the sides of the tube. It was also seriously sleek, but even still looked like it could pack a punch. I shot Khail a glance and immediately found my response.
“No, you can not use the Burning Bellen,” he declared as he exhaled a cloud of smoke.
“So these weapons don’t all have like weird alien Fae names?” Ellie asked him.
“No, that’s a gun,” Khail replied as he pointed at a gun. “...And over there, that is a grenade.”
“I get the idea,” Ellie responded with a grunt.
As she turned away, I could see the edge of a smile emerge on Khail’s lips.
“I like this one,” Ellie spoke as she pointed to what must have been some sort of sniper rifle with a transparent barrel and curling tesla spires twisting under its grip.
“No, you’ll take this one,” Irithril spoke as she emerged from the shadows.
She had pointed to a gun that looked much like a M1911 semi-automatic, but with an extended barrel cut with intricate grooves.
“Oh come on, that looks so damn boring,” Ellie retorted.
“It may, but it’s what you’re using. And as long as you’re under my protection you shall do as I say.”
Ellie’s face turned into that of a defeated child. Thinned lips, and flared nostrils. It was all there.
“Look here,” said Khail. Taking the weapon he ejected the magazine. “This magazine will accept bits of metal, stone, even dirt. It then processes what is poured or pushed into it and converts the material to small darts. There are readouts on the side of the magazine that can direct you to add specific types of material. When the magazine is inserted, this weapon can fire the darts at hypersonic velocity. Finally, the darts are smart. Once fired at a target they pop out tiny fins and can alter their direction so that they can hit a designated target that is moving.”
Khail then handed the weapon to Ellie, who’s face had widened into a bright grin.
“Khail,” Irithril called out.
“Yes?” Khail replied.
“Choose Jason’s weapon for him,” she declared.
“With pleasure,” Khail replied again.
His face was no longer subtle in its enjoyment. He scoured the wall for a good moment before finally taking the futuristic cigar from his lips and chuckling to himself.
“This will do quite nicely,” Khail finally spoke before throwing his hand over his shoulder and beckoning once more.
He took what appeared to be a modified falchion from the wall, however, this was no regular blade. Thorny grooves ran up and down its worn sides. Each projecting a sort of hypnotic glow that wrapped the blade with a presence of power.
“Watch this,” he called out as he moved into an aggressive stance.
Suddenly, the sides of the blade burst alight with a glow of burning teal. It illuminated the blade and expanded off of it for a few inches. However, there was something strange about the light. It almost looked tangible, touchable in a three dimensional sense.
“Touch the rim of the light,” Khail commanded.
“Why,” I asked?
“Do it,” He replied. “But… cautiously.”
I inched gradually up to the blade. Slowly, I moved my right index finger towards the teal and touched it with the gentlest bit of force.
“Dammit,” I yelled as I fell backwards onto my ass.
It hurt like a bitch. It was like having seventeen electric eels electrify you as they sliced your already burning body with countless razor blades.
Khail left the stance he was in and the blade immediately lost its glow.
“Apologies, kid, but it is better you know now instead of later,” Khail said.
“That still stung,” I replied.
“Oh, I know. I have had someone take a swing at me with that blade before. Let us just say they were not living long enough to get a second hit,” he spoke.
“Excellent tricks,” Irithril called out from the other side of the room. “However, I think it is best we get armored up and then get a move on. We are losing light.”
“Let us move then,” Khail responded as he handed the blade to me
hilt first.
He offered me a hand to pull myself up, which I promptly took, and then headed over to the stairs to begin his ascent.
Ellie poked me from behind and I turned to face her.
“Hey, J?” She inquired as she nudged me.
“Yeah,” I replied as I wiped the sweat from my brow.
“What in the fuck is going on?” Ellie asked me.
✽✽✽
When Ellie had asked me that question in the hideout, I hadn’t had an answer. I wasn’t quite sure I had one even now. That didn’t stop Irithril from stringing us along in some kind of elaborate heist on a scientific research station.
“And why are they speaking English?” I muttered to myself, finally noticing just how odd it was. Maybe it really was the most unifying language, even on another world.
Khail overheard me and answered, “We have had cultural historians on Earth for a long time. We know the dominant language on Earth is English, and so most of us on this colony world have learned English as an elective in our training. Some of us, such as Eldevui and myself, speak it fluently as we have spent time as diplomats on Earth. For others, our battle suits translate for us.”
Ellie and I suited up in similar armor plating that resembled futuristic, gray, full-body, skin-tight kevlar. It had been described to us as breathable nano-ximesh; whatever the hell that meant. Pulses of orchid and seafoam electrified stretches of the long, veiny material that made up the suit’s outer layers. The armor certainly won all the points for style. We also had boots which adjusted to our feet, and gloves.
We then exited the armory and made our way to the surface.
I glanced over to the right wing of Irithril’s hoverboard, for lack of a better term, and saw Ellie now returning a bit to her usual cheery self. A smile had cautiously climbed to her lips as we raced through the ravaged streets of the city. Its towers of classical aesthetic now lay toppled in the streets. Rubble, trash, exposed pipes, wires, and dried blood coated every corner of the urban landscape. The temples, consortiums, and high courts all had failed to vanquish the Eldritch menace. A sad idea to ponder, yet one that truly shows the monstrous power of these beings.
