The Uprising

by L. J. Suarez

  The dark-furred creatures shook their horned heads and made a collection of snorts as the humans dismounted, with the Monads following suit.

  Ionne took another step closer.

  “Doctor, come back,” Rylan called out.

  She ignored him, not paying any mind to the humans’ rough appearance. Ionne stopped halfway through and noticed each human carried with them some kind of handcrafted, primitive weapon. It was a testament to the improvisations they had surely needed to make to deal with the dangers the Outlands presented.

  Aaron met her in the middle. They reached out for each other’s wrist and gave a friendly shake. “It is good to see you, my friend,” Ionne said.

  “It is.” Aaron studied her face. “Incredible. You haven’t aged a single day since I saw you last.”

  “It is our NIs we need to thank. They keep us looking youthful.”

  “So I see.” Aaron looked down at himself and said in a half-joking way, “Can’t say the same for myself. You wouldn’t happen to have a spare NI I could borrow?”

  Ionne beamed brightly. “You look wonderful.”

  “You Monads were always terrible liars. But I’ll take it.” Aaron studied the golden lines stretched throughout Ionne’s face. “Speaking of your NIs, they looked to have multiplied.”

  She passed her hand over her face.

  “It’s a nice look.”

  Ionne’s smile remained, and then noticed a younger human adult moving toward them. He had long, dark hair and a bow strapped to his back. She instantly recognized him. “Mason?”

  A smirk formed on Mace’s lips. “Hey Ionne.”

  He gave her wrist a good shake. Ionne’s eyes brightened. “You have grown, little one.” Ionne scanned through the group as she realized there was one human missing. “Where is Sarah? Is she back at your settlement?”

  Aaron and Mace exchanged glances. Swallowing hard, Aaron said, “Ah, she’s not with us anymore.”

  Ionne tilted her head, unsure of what he was saying.

  “She died,” Aaron finished. “A few years after settling in the Outlands. Gave her a nice burial on a hilltop overlooking the valley. Picked out the spot myself. She would have loved the view from there.”

  Mace broke eye contact and lowered his head.

  Ionne’s mouth was left agape. “Forgive me…Aaron. I did not know.”

  Aaron passed a hand over his gray beard. “It hasn’t been easy living out here. We’ve lost a lot of people along the way. Encountered dangers we weren’t prepared for. We learned that the hard way.”

  Mace wipe a tear from his eye.

  Aaron went on. “But we learned from our earlier mistakes and built a thriving community. Blows away the old one we had back in Empyreum. You should see it sometime. It amazes me even to this day what we’ve accomplished out here.”

  “Of that I have no doubt,” Ionne said. “Aaron, I am so sorry for your losses. You could have contacted us through the transmitter if you were in such danger.”

  Aaron waved a hand. “It’s alright. We managed to get through it. We’ve learned a lot in the first few years of building New Lazarus. In a way, the struggles brought us closer together as a people.” He looked proudly at Mace.

  Ionne shook her head. “I understand.”

  Rylan moved to stand next to Ionne. “Hello Aaron.”

  “Constable. It’s been a while. Have you been watching over Empyreum for me while I’ve been gone?”

  Rylan nodded with a grin. “I have.”

  “Good man.” Aaron pointed at the disk pistol on Rylan’s belt. “What’s with the piece?”

  Ionne nervously tried to get the words out. “It was not my intention. The Inner Council insisted on it.”

  “Well, judging by our appearance, I can see why. I’m sure the Council thought that maybe we had turned into a bunch of tribal carnivores or something.”

  Ionne was about to respond to that, but Aaron waved his hand as he let out an old chuckle. “Ionne, relax. I’m kidding. It’s ok, really.”

  Ionne felt relieved to hear that. The joy of seeing Aaron and Mace again, and hearing of the losses they’d endured, had made her almost forget the reason they were standing in the Gray Zone border in the first place.

  Aaron followed Ionne’s gaze toward the survivors. “You probably want them back now.”

  “That would be appreciated.”

  Aaron smiled as he motioned for one of his human counterparts to bring the survivors forward. “Safe and sound, just as I promised. I gotta confess, I don’t think they were in too much of a rush to leave. They all seemed to enjoy the home-cooked chow we’ve been feeding them.”

  “I have no doubt that…”

  Before Ionne could finish, she spotted a red, glowing projectile racing toward them from the corner of her eye. She had no time to react, as the projectile collided with the ground inches away from her and Aaron. The wave from the blast forced her body back. Ionne felt herself suspended momentarily in the air before crashing hard onto the ground.

  Her world was in a daze, and dark smoke filled the air. A high-pitched ringing raged inside her ears. The last thing Ionne remembered before slipping out of consciousness were the muffled sounds of screams and plasma fire.

  Chapter 13

  Mace felt the wetness of the mud dripping down his cheeks.

  The ringing in his ears had started to dissipate by the time he rolled on his back. His head spun as he attempted to get to his feet. All Mace could see around him was smoke and chaos.

  The new environment he now stood in could only be described as hell.

  Faint moans and explosions echoed in the air. A huge crater had formed on the ground only inches away from his last position, where he, along with Aaron and Ionne, had stood. The same spot where a red, glowing bolt of light landed.

  Bodies were spread out everywhere; it was hard to tell amidst the smoke which were human and which were Monad. More red bolts hurtled in their direction, picking up dirt and splattering it everywhere.

  Mace spotted Rylan carrying an unconscious Ionne over his shoulder while using a plasma shield being generated from his arm. Some of Ionne’s staff were running back to their ship in utter panic while the lone Monad guard provided cover. A disk pistol materialized from the guard’s hand and began to fire at the red projectiles as he led the scientists toward the ramp of the airship.

  Mace’s New Lazarus guards and even the leebacks were being vaporized one by one by the red plasma bolts, leaving only piles of dust in their place. The rest of the human guards took cover against a boulder, sticking their heads out to fire arrows from their bows in the direction of the incoming fire. The weapons fire was coming from somewhere in the eastern direction. With all the pandemonium going on, it was hard to tell who the shooter was. Whoever was firing the shots was clearly only targeting humans. The weapon being used against them could only be from a pulsar rifle, and it was set at its maximum setting.

  The smoke was clearing up as Mace staggered across the field without any concern whether he was being fired at. He was still shell-shocked from the initial attack. His only concern now was finding Aaron in this nightmare thrust upon him. That was when he saw a single Monad helping one of the New Lazarus guards off the ground. Squinting his eyes through the smoke, Mace realized it was Damari. Their eyes locked for the briefest of moments. Damari’s face had a look of determination; he would put his life in danger to help out a member of Mace’s kind.

  Without warning, Damari and the New Lazarus guard he held onto by the shoulder were disintegrated into nothingness by the red bolt that landed between them from behind.

  Mace couldn’t move a muscle. All he could do was stare at what was once Damari and a fellow human settler on the ground.

  Now, they were a small hill of ashes.

  “Father!” a yell came from behind Mace, jolting him from his trace-like state. Jarzon ran past him and dropped to his knees in front of the pile of ash that was his father. The plasma fire continued to rain
down all around. Jarzon called out for his father again as tears ran down his massive eyes. He kept doing so over and over, as if merely calling his name would somehow summon him back from the dead.

  Mace pulled Jarzon up, but the boy immediately broke free of his grip. “He’s gone, kid!” Mace called out, his voice drowned under the rapid explosions. He picked up the boy and handed him over to another New Lazarus guard. Jarzon was crying out for Damari this time as he was carried to the nearest leeback.

  They mounted the creature, who galloped its way into the bushes. A few of the other New Lazarus guards gathered the remaining Monad civilians and mounted the leebacks before making their way out of the area.

  Mace carefully move throughout the smoke-covered field as his eyes scanned for any more of his comrades. He nearly tripped over the body of a human male lying on his side. It was Aaron. His face was covered with both mud and blood. “Dad!”

  Aaron lay unresponsive. He looked to be in bad shape.

  Mace dropped to the ground and pressed his fingers to the bottom of Aaron’s wrist, then moved to his neck. To Mace’s relief, he had a pulse, albeit a weak one. Fresh burn marks ran down his neck and all the way to his exposed arm underneath the torn sleeve of his shirt. Another red projectile landed several feet from him.

  Mace darted his eyes toward the direction the last projectile came from. Standing on a hilltop a hundred meters away was a figure wearing a dark cloak that covered its head. The figure was kneeling, holding what was clearly a pulsar rifle at its shoulder. It was now shooting randomly across the field, then changed position on the top of the hill from a tree log to the back of a rock. The figure never stayed in the same position, and always remained just out of sight. More shots were fired, this time landing much closer to Mace.

  Out of the dusk came one of Mace’s warriors running to him. “We gotta go, Mace!”

  Mace lifted Aaron’s unconscious body from the ground and hoisted him over his shoulder. The New Lazarus guard took the lead as Mace followed.

  Behind them, the airship was lifting off the ground, causing a gush of wind to spread sand and dirt in every direction. Its landing gear retracted as it rocketed out of the area at full speed.

  Mace carried Aaron’s body all the way to his leeback and, with the help of the guard, carefully laid Aaron sideways on top of the saddle. Mounting himself on the leeback, Mace called to the remaining guards firing at the figure. “Move!” The last guards mounted their leebacks. Mace pulled on the reins, and with a push of his hips forward on the saddle, the leeback lunched uphill and into the bushes along with the other settlers.

  The firing had suddenly seized behind them. Before entering the foliage, Mace shot a glance in the direction where he’d last seen the figure; it had vanished without a trace. He then looked back to see Aaron’s body bouncing on the saddle like a doll from the leeback’s momentum. He hoped the doc would be able to patch him up good by the time they got back to New Lazarus.

  There was no doubt that this was an ambush. And it was obvious that the Monads had planned this all along. The question Mace had was: why? Aaron had come out here in good faith to deliver their people back safely, only to be attacked for no reason. There were many other questions Mace needed answers to when they returned home.

  His prior animosity toward the Monads had just been reinforced. Mace wouldn’t make the mistake of letting his guard down again.

  Chapter 14

  “Dr. Ionne?” a distant voice called out.

  Ionne couldn’t tell who it belonged to. The ambient hum of an ion engine echoed within her ear drums. Her vision was returning, and the silhouette of a tall figure hovered over her.

  “Ionne!” the voice repeated, more forceful this time. The face that came into focus was Constable Rylan’s.

  “What…happened?” Ionne finally got out.

  “We were attacked. You are on the transport. We are now en route back to Empyreum.”

  Ionne lifted herself up with Rylan’s assistance and sat on a bench situated against the transport’s compartment wall. Rubbing the back of her neck, she scanned the main cabin, and her heart skipped a beat. The Institute staff were all accounted for, but the people they had come to rescue were nowhere to be seen. “The survivors?” Ionne said, turning to Rylan.

  He shook his head. “We were unsuccessful in retrieving them. When the attack occurred, we were preoccupied with getting you and your staff to safety. Before we knew it, the humans had retreated back into the woods, taking the survivors with them.”

  Ionne rested her face on top of an open palm. Just as she feared, the entire operation had turned disastrous. Then she asked the obvious question. “Who attacked us?”

  “We could not identify the attacker. However, we do know that the weapon used was a pulsar rifle. And they were targeting the humans.”

  Ionne gulped hard as the realization of their situation unfolded. “Could it have been someone from your team?”

  “Impossible. I can vouch for every member of Empyreum security.”

  “It would not be the first time there was a traitor within Empyreum security,” Ionne said.

  Rylan looked offended by the accusation. He chose his next words carefully. “What incentive could there be to commit this act?”

  “To reignite a long-lasting feud between our two races, perhaps?”

  Rylan gave her a confused stare. “Who would gain from it?”

  “I do not know.” She stared through the small porthole across from her, the terrain of the Outlands moving rapidly by. She started to think of Aaron and the other humans on the surface. She hoped they were able to escape without injury.

  Ionne turned to Rylan. “Whoever was behind this attack, we must discover who it was quickly, for I fear a war is imminent.”

  * * *

  Mace paced the hut as Grant worked on Aaron, who laid unconscious on a cot. His hands were clenched up in fists as they hung at either side.

  Ava watched with her arms crossed as New Lazarus’s only physician put the final touches on the bandages wrapped around Aaron’s forehead. Her eyes welled up, thinking about what Mace had told her about the attack at the rendezvous. It had left Aaron severely injured, and killed several of their people. Mace was lucky enough to make it out of there with just a few contusions and minor cuts, which Grant had stitch up.

  Grant had laid a fur blanket over Aaron’s torso. He wore white robes that acted as a sort of a surgical garment. They matched his gray, receding hairline. He was once a physician in his former life. His remains were discovered at the Washington D.C. dig site sometime after the Archivist incident. Luckily, Grant was able to retain most of his medical knowledge after being created at the Science Institute. His skills had proved valuable for the rest of the human settlers living in the Gray Zone’s harsh environment.

  When he was finished, Grant moved to a bowl of water and rinsed as much of the blood off his hands as possible. Turning to Mace, he said, “I’ve done everything I can for him. Cleaned up most of the visible wounds I could find and patched them up. He’s in a coma, but seems to be stable for now.”

  Mace attempted to get out a word without his voice cracking. “Any idea when he’ll come out of it?”

  “No way of telling. Could be days, weeks, maybe months. I just don’t know.” Grant turned to his unconscious patient. “That blast did a number on him. He’s lucky he’s still alive. I’m concerned about possible internal hemorrhaging. I’m used to treating only minor wounds, broken bones. A fever here and there. Nothing like this. If I was in an actual medical facility, I’d be able to treat him more efficiently. I just don’t have the tools at my disposal. All we can do now is keep him comfortable and wait.” The physician turned back to Mace. “Your dad’s the toughest son of a bitch I know. I’m sure he’ll get through this. I’ll give you a moment alone. Let me know if you need anything else.”

  Mace placed a hand on Grant’s shoulder. “Thanks, Doc.”

  Grant stepped out of the room as Mace
moved next to where Aaron lay. “You should have listened to me, old man.” He stared at Aaron for a long moment, hoping to see him at the very least twitch an eye. But Aaron remained motionless.

  Ava joined Mace, wrapping her arms around him. She rested her head against Mace’s shoulder.

  Mace wiped a tear rolling down his cheek as he heard footsteps entering the room. He turned to see Reed standing by the doorway.

  “I came as soon as I heard.” He moved next to Mace and gazed down at the settlement’s injured leader. “How could this have happened?” he said in a low, somber tone.

  “I saw someone wearing a cloak over their head, standing on a hilltop about a hundred meters away from us. They were using a pulsar rifle to shoot at us.”

  Reed shot Mace a baffled look. “You sure?”

  “Very,” Mace said with certainty.

  “So…you’re saying it was a Monad that attacked you?”

  “Looks that way.”

  Reed looked perplexed. “But that doesn’t make any sense. Why would they attack you? We had their people. Why would they risk their lives just to take you out? And why now?”

  “Not to mention that one of their own was killed in the attack—Damari,” Ava added. Her voice cracked slightly as she uttered the fallen Monad’s name. She quickly composed herself. “His son, Jarzon, doesn’t have a father anymore. Whoever fired on you was willing to take out humans and Monads.”

  “We were clearly the target,” Mace said. “You better believe I’ll get to the bottom of all this.”

  Reed stepped closer to Aaron’s bed and held his hand. “If what you say is true, then we must tread carefully. Right now, we don’t have a leader.” He turned to Mace. “Until Aaron can recover from this, you will take his place.”