Kin of Exile

by Tyler Bunyard

  Angel, swiftly and silently, crossed the doors sightline. The conversation inside the room continued as normal. He waved at Karrel, as though to say, “come on,” but Karrel put his hand up in a stopping motion. He pointed to his ears, then pointed to the inside of the door. Angel realized that Karrel was suggesting that they listen in on the conversation, and shook his head, pointing to his wrist, suggesting that they didn’t have enough time, but Karrel was steadfast in his decision. Angel gave in, and the two of them took the risk of peering inside of the room, through the crack in the door, and listening to what was being said.

  It was incredibly hard to make out any details inside of the room, as the slit of an opening was incredibly small. However, Angel and Karrel could see a few things inside of the room. There was a humanoid figure, a man, dressed in a button-down shirt and slacks. Though they could not make out any further details of the figure, he was clearly a UWP government official, and the first human Angel and Karrel had witnessed to be present inside of the complex. He was speaking to what appeared to be a computer console. Unfortunately, at the angle they were watching from, Karrel and Angel could not see who was on the monitor.

  The conversation continued. “How nice of you to send one of your flaming storms our way,” the UWP official stated calmly. “If it wasn’t for the shields, I believe I might have had to buy some cleaners for this week.”

  A powerful, grumbling voice answered back through the console’s speakers. It sounded displeased with what the official had said. “You reap what you sow,” the steadfast voice filled the room.

  “We’ve discussed this many times before,” the official answered, his voice rising slightly, “The fault was not ours.”

  “Fault, does not concern me,” the thunderous voice responded. “You failed to deliver.”

  “Yes, yes… but you needn’t send your reminders our way.”

  “I care not for where my insects bestow your punishment,” the ominous voice grew angrier. “You neglected to send a sacrifice, and for that, your world’s skies will burn, and its air will flay your people’s skin.”

  “It’s been half a decade,” the official ignored the anger that was thrown at him, “why are we still discussing this? The city was destroyed before we could deliver it to you. Your sacrifice takes five years to prepare. There was nothing we could do!”

  “Ah yes, the black death. Your excuse holds no meaning to me. I demanded payment. You did not pay. The time comes for you to settle your debt once more. Fail to do so again, and the punishment shall be much more severe than strong winds and a few falling rocks.”

  The sharp noise sounded, and Karrel and Angel new that the transmission had been cut. The two of them looked at each other with shock in their eyes. Karrel started to get up, but the official could be heard typing on the computer, and it seemed like he was going to begin a new transmission, so Angel held him back down.

  “What the hell are you doing!? Let’s get out of here!” Karrel whispered.

  “We can’t!” Angel protested as quietly as he could, “Not after what we just heard. Strong winds? Falling rocks? That was a friggin’ demon this guy was talking to.”

  “All the more reason to leave. I just wanted to collect intel on their squad locations, but that? That was HUGE! If we stay too long and get caught, we won’t be able to pass this information on.”

  “Yes, but the first transmission dropped a bomb on us. What do think the second will do?”

  Karrel had no answer for Angel’s question, and he reluctantly kneeled back down. He noticed how visibly shaken Angel was after hearing the conversation. If this got too dangerous, Karrel had the feeling that Angel would know when to run.

  Inside of the room, another voice came through the computer console’s speakers. The voice was masked with heavy static. It was hard to make out, but it was definitely a human voice.

  “How’d the conference call go?” the staticky voice asked.

  “None of your concern,” the UWP official answered in a firm tone.

  “That bad?”

  “Leave it be…” the official sighed. “Give me an update on your pet project.”

  “It’s all green, I suppose,” the voice was still being masked by static, but it sounded more disgruntled now. “I’ve been keeping tabs like you asked. There’s another member now. He’s just as weird. Uses a book when he fights…”

  Karrel felt his heart stop. A person who uses a book to fight… he could not possibly imagine that they were talking about anyone other than himself.

  “You sound disturbed…” the UWP official questioned. “What is it?”

  “The book-wielder,” the staticky voice continued, “He bears the name of Kerstabest. Thought you might like to know.”

  Karrel and Angel went wide-eyed as they stared at each other. The only people that knew about Karrel’s last name were the guys, the girls, Kailey, and Dane. Kailey or Dane, being in the Survivor’s Guild, most likely let slip Karrel’s lineage. Now, it had become obvious that the UWP had spies working inside of the guild.

  The official pulled slightly away from the console, and began thinking aloud to himself, “One of the children survived!? This could be… problematic.”

  “So,” the voice came through the console’s speakers once again, “have I convinced you that this project is worthwhile?”

  “Yes,” the official answered, “I’ll see to it that you’re allowed more freedom with your actions. Anything else to report?”

  “Yeah. Turns out that–” the voice halted abruptly. There was a short pause, and the eerie silence of the complex returned, only to be broken by the staticky voice once more. “I’m sorry Sir President–”

  Angel and Karrel froze. The two friends felt their muscles cease to function, and their brains shutdown. Their stomachs clenched, and in that moment, they forgot how to breathe. They were standing only a few feet away from the current head of the UWP government.

  They listened in fear as the voice coming through the computer continued, “I’m sorry, Sir President… Elizabeth seems to believe you have a nearby problem.”

  The UWP President turned around to face away from the console. “Do I?” he seemed to be talking to someone else.

  Angel stood up, and Karrel knew that it was time to get the hell out of dodge.

  “Well then,” the UWP President continued in a calm manner, “by all means Executive, solve the problem.”

  Karrel and Angel were only seconds away from starting their sprint, but it was too late. With a thunderous crash, the door of the room was blown off its hinges. The collective blast knocked the two friends off the ground, slamming them into the side of the corridor. Karrel fell to his knees, unable to catch his breath, while Angel remained attached to the wall, his feet off the ground, held only by the cracks in the shattered surface behind him.

  The doorway was now caked in white smoke from the explosion. Walking out of the room, and appearing through the fog of debris, the UWP President walked past Angel and Karrel, who were still unable to move.

  Karrel’s head had hit the wall pretty hard, and as a result, his vision was blurred. He couldn’t make out any details of the man walking through the smoke. All that he could see was the fuzzy silhouette of a well-dressed man.

  The UWP President seemed to pay no attention to the two of them. He began to walk down the hallway, away from the incapacitated boys. “Speak of the devil,” he said. “I’d like to thank you for making this so simple for me.” He then glanced over his shoulder before exiting. “Elizabeth, feel free to have some fun with these two.”

  As the well-dressed man disappeared behind a corner of the hallway, another human figure walked through the slowly dissipating smoke. It was another human being, and this time it was female.

  She had long brunette hair that was neatly tied into a ponytail. A pair of glasses rested comfortably along her eyes, which she adjusted with her red, perfectly painted nails. She looked to be a young adult, barley into her twenties. Kar
rel felt himself overcome with an insurmountable despair. He remembered the advice he had been given before coming on this mission. His vision had returned to him, and he took notice of the woman’s apparel. She was dressed in a well-tailored suit, and wore a moderately short black skirt.

  Angel popped himself off of the wall, landing on his feet and screaming out, “Oh shi–” but Elizabeth was already on top of him. Her hand began to glow a bright teal color, as though it was filled with pure energy, and she slammed it against the side of Angel’s head. Angel returned once more to the wall, further cracking the surface while navy blue smoke leaked out from his temple.

  Karrel wanted to move but found himself unable to. He was told to find Angel if he ran into a woman dressed in a suit, but he was already with him. And now, Angel was slumping over to the ground in what looked like an unconscious state.

  Elizabeth slowly turned around to face Karrel, who was still on his hands and knees. A light smile was on her face, and her posture implied that this was “simply business” to her. Her hands began to glow with teal energy once more.

  Move. Move! I need to move! Karrel’s thoughts did not reflect his actions, as he peered up at the formally-dressed woman. She raised her hand high in the air and brought it down upon Karrel.

  The explosive attack echoed throughout the hallways, as debris bounced and ricocheted at every angle. Pieces of floor turned into bullets, puncturing holes into the nearby walls. Karrel stared at where he had just recently been and saw nothing but destruction. He knew that, had he not rolled away in time, he would most likely be dead.

  “Angel!” Karrel screamed out. “Wake up! I’m gonna need your help with this one!” Karrel equipped himself with his green book, which had already been opened to the pages containing the symbols “F.Aura.” Karrel wrapped the runic letters around his hand and slapped himself in the chest. A familiar transparent, orange glow surrounded his entire body.

  Karrel had to fight. If he fled as he had been told to do, he would be leaving his friend to die. It would be a lie to say his fears did not make him want to run anyways. But, he had never faced this enemy before, which meant there was a possibility that he had a fighting chance. His ignorance of the situation was the only thing keeping him from mentally breaking down.

  Elizabeth paid no attention to Karrel’s book, or the fact that he was now glowing. She began to approach Karrel nonchalantly, her hands shining with teal light once more. She leaped toward her target.

  Karrel dropped his book and let it float next to him. He took a defensive stance and readied himself for hand-to-hand combat. Elizabeth lashed out with the first blow. She was wicked fast with her strike, but Karrel narrowly dodged the jab. A second blow followed, but Karrel parried it with his own hand. He could feel the weight behind the punch and knew that his opponent was well versed in the martial arts.

  The first shred of emotion escaped Elizabeth, as she seemed surprised that Karrel was able to dodge and block her assault. However, she did not falter, even appearing excited about the challenge that was at hand. She approached Karrel once more.

  Karrel struggled with the onslaught of blows that Elizabeth was throwing. Jabs, kicks, and feints followed one another, and Karrel parried and blocked to the best of his abilities, but he was unable to organize any counterattack of his own. Elizabeth had the advantage in both speed and power.

  Finally, a blow slipped by. Karrel did not catch the feint, blocking incorrectly, and taking a solid slug to the solar plexus. The teal energy in Elizabeth’s hand exploded with power, and Karrel felt his eyes go white from the pain. He was blown backwards, rolling along the ground and leaving dent marks in the floor.

  The orange light around his body flickered, but luckily, it did not fade. Karrel knew the protective shielding around him was the only thing that had kept him alive. He struggled back to his feet. Because of how far he had been blasted, Karrel felt he had time to use his book once more. He flipped through the pages as Elizabeth approached, found the symbols resembling “Discharge,” and wrapped the symbols around his right hand.

  Elizabeth surged forward, her fist at the ready to come down upon her opponent, but Karrel was ready. He blocked the downward strike with his left arm, and shot his right palm forward. He felt his blow connect with Elizabeth’s stomach and, in that instant, he released his attack.

  The usual surge of purple and blue energy had no space to show itself, as the lightning-like attack fired at point-blank range. The resulting explosion rocketed Elizabeth back down the hall, bouncing her off the side of a wall before she eventually came to a stop. Karrel felt as though his elbow had been shattered from the recoil of the strike.

  Breathing heavily, and satisfied with the results of his attack, Karrel walked back to Angel and Elizabeth to make sure that he had finished the job. He only got halfway before he noticed his opponent standing back up.

  Karrel watched, dumbfounded by the sight in front of him. A slight teal hue had surrounded Elizabeth, much like Karrel’s orange light. It had not been there before, while he was fighting her, but now it had surrounded her entire body. As she stood up, she brushed broken floor pieces from her clothes and adjusted her glasses back to their appropriate position. Her outfit and body remained untouched. She had a furious look on her face, and Karrel could see that she was not happy that she had let him land a blow. She began to charge forward, and as quickly as he had seen it, the teal light that surrounded Elizabeth’s body disappeared, as though it had rescinded back into her skin and clothes.

  She did not get far, however. A thick mass of darkness smashed against the side of Elizabeth’s body sending her flying back into the room with the computer console. Karrel, once again, saw the teal light flicker all around Elizabeth’s body as she disappeared into the room.

  Angel was now standing up with a gigantic sledgehammer in hand, entirely composed of his black smoke. From the look of his stance, he had put every ounce of his strength into that swing.

  Karrel wearily ran to meet up with Angel, who himself was panting. The black hammer disappeared into a dark mist, and Angel put his hands on his knees.

  “Careful, Karrel,” Angel huffed, “our fight is nowhere near over.”

  “This is crazy!” Karrel exclaimed. “I mean, can we even damage her?”

  “She’s an Executive. A government operative. She’s equipped with a Bio-Mechanical Augmentation.”

  “You mean like Dane’s BMA?”

  “Yeah, but hers works. And she’s been trained to use it. It does a good job of shielding her from attacks, as long as she’s got energy.”

  “So, how do we beat her?” Karrel asked.

  “We don’t,” Angel responded, readying himself once more for a fight. “I’m going to hold her off. You are going to go get the fusion core.”

  Karrel was about to protest, when he saw a blueish teal orb propel itself out of the computer console’s room. Angel attempted to yell, “Get down!” but there was not enough time. Karrel watched as the luminescent orb burst in front of him. He was sent soaring down the halls and was in the air for a full three seconds before he bounced to a halt. Angel was once again familiarized with a nearby wall.

  Karrel’s vision blurred, and his head was throbbing from the pain. The orange light that surrounded him had started to dim. He brought his head up from the floor to survey his surroundings. The hallway that they were in had been blown to pieces, with burn marks and puncture holes at every corner. It took him a moment to focus his eyesight and find Angel.

  Angel was on the floor, with Elizabeth on top of him. She was throwing illuminated punch after punch at Angel, who was only able to block around half of the strikes. With each hit, the teal energy in her hands would burst, and the crater that was holding Angel would deepen.

  Karrel was about to stand up and help Angel, when he saw the black smoke seep out from his body. The floor around him turned black, and in an instant several pointed black spikes shot forth from the ground. The spines smacked into Elizabe
th, pinning her against the walls, and the teal hue around her flickered once again. The attack would have pierced through rock and stone, but against her shielded body, she remained largely unharmed.

  Angel propped himself back up and pointed down the hall. “Get what we came for!” he screamed.

  Karrel hesitated for a moment, and Elizabeth broke herself free from the shadowy spikes. Angel’s form billowed smoke from its body, but the well-dressed woman did not seem to care. She charged straight for Angel’s body, grabbed him by the throat, and slammed him against the ground.

  She raised one of her hands inches above her head and positioned her fingers as though she was holding a pole. Bright, teal light began to form in her hand, and within a second, she was gripping a long, luminescent javelin.

  Angel shouted at Karrel once more, “GO!” as Elizabeth thrust her teal javelin downward upon him, and the hallway filled with explosive light. Karrel turned, and ran.

  Chapter 19

  Fight or Flight

  He’s still alive; he has to still be alive, Karrel thought. He had witnessed his friend reform himself after being blown to pieces, but the fear that was in Angel’s eyes as the vibrant teal javelin smashed into him made Karrel’s knees shake. He needed to act fast. The longer he took stealing the fusion core, the longer Angel had to keep the UWP Executive, Elizabeth, busy. There was a sickening feeling in his gullet that the woman dressed in the well-tailored suit and skirt had every capability to put his smoke-wielding ally down for good.

  With that dread in mind, Karrel had been sprinting for a couple of minutes, and knew he was close to the energy core room. He checked himself for damage, noting that his clothes had been torn near to pieces. The orange, protective glow around him had dimmed slightly from his recent scuffle. Finding his wounds insignificant, he progressed through a few more turns and vacant hallways and found himself walking into a reinforced doorway.