Kin of Exile

by Tyler Bunyard

  Karrel looked to the portal. The orange light that had filled its center had almost entirely disappeared. Only a small portion remained, shooting from side to side, flickering uncontrollably. The gateway had become unstable.

  It didn’t make any sense… Everyone else had made it through the portal; he had seen them go through. Why was he and Angel the only ones who did not make it through?

  He got his answer. Two metal seats lay directly behind him, affixed to a large scrap of steel with two armored wheels attached to either side. The opened-metal surrounding the two chairs was red-hot, heated by the friction of sliding against the metal surface it lay upon. It was the back half of the armored truck. More accurately, it was the tail end of the steel vehicle where Angel and Karrel had moved to, in order to free themselves from the alpha. As though a knife had gone through butter, the tiny rear portion of the armored truck had been sliced in two. An overwhelming realization came over Karrel. Only eighty percent of the vehicle had made it through the portal, and he and Angel had resided in the other twenty percent.

  “You’ve got to be kidding!” Angel threw his fist against the metal surface beneath him, recognizing what had just happened. “We were so fucking close!”

  Karrel felt his blood freeze. The skies were flooded with winged-monsters. Hordes of demons were now pouring up the ramp, inching their way closer and closer towards their prey. There was no escape. Angel and Karrel were beaten and tired, and even if they weren’t, there was no chance they would be able to hold out against the ensuing mob. They were stranded, with no way home, and a swarm of hungry beasts that saw them as a delicacy. If there ever was a worst-case scenario, this was it.

  However, Angel was not ready to give up hope yet. He jumped to his feet, grabbed Karrel by the arm, and yanked his friend up with him.

  “The stabilizers!” he called out. “If we can get one back online, maybe it’ll regain the connection.”

  Karrel took another gander at the now unstable portal. A portion of the orange light was still there, barely. It was flickering uncontrollably, and there was no way of knowing when it would disappear. Still, it was their only option.

  Karrel nodded his head in agreement, and the two desperate friends took off running toward the recently disabled stabilizer. The demons had finally reached the top of the platform, but Angel and Karrel did not care. They leapt from the top of the structure, down toward demon-infested dirt and gravel. A ravenous group of pyretiffs awaited their descent.

  Before they slammed to the ground, Angel grabbed hold of Karrel, pulling up as hard as he could. Black smoke erupted from beneath him, and with his airborne capabilities he slowed both of their falls. Karrel prepared their landing spot, pointing both of his palms at the demons below. He had had time to rest in the armored truck, but he was still wary of his fatigue. He did not know how much more fight he had in him, and consequently how much longer he would be able to use the variables he had only recently recuperated. He needed to make every shot count.

  He focused his energy into his palms, and the red text he had wrapped around his wrists on the way down dispersed immediately. A surge of purple and blue energy shot forth like lightning, connecting with the demons below. Two of the pyretiffs below erupted in an explosion of concussive power. The surrounding pack recoiled from the pressure wave caused by the attack, and Angel and Karrel took advantage of the newly formed landing spot.

  Their feet touched the ground and Angel and Karrel burst into a sprint. Karrel wrapped the red texts around his wrists, and black smoke began to coalesce around Angel’s arms and legs. They attacked together, covering each other’s back, as the hordes of demons pounced at their now-grounded prey.

  Two zweichars leapt in front of Angel and Karrel, preparing to swing their large, rune-engraved swords in a sweeping motion. Karrel pressed his feet hard against the ground, leaping over the oncoming strike, while Angel extended his arms, firing two large blasts of pitch-black smoke at the two demons. The zweichars swung their swords, and at the same time recoiled in pain as they were consumed by Angel’s assault. Karrel managed to get enough height over the blades, while Angel simply shifted the lower half of his body into a dark cloud, letting the sharp strike slip straight through him. They pushed past the beasts, neglecting to finish them off, as they had more important matters to deal with.

  It was a long run, and every other living entity wanted them dead, but Angel and Karrel managed to push their way past the demons. They slid to halt, arriving at the broken stabilizer. It was still sparking every so often, though much less than before. A hole had been blown out of the outer shell, and the electronics inside had been exposed. But, that was it. The insides did not seem to have been harmed much, and upon further inspection, the damage that had been done was mostly superficial. Karrel did not know much about the inner workings of Johnny’s devices, but by the look of the undamaged equipment, the stabilizer should still be working.

  “You see anything?” Angel shouted, still firing balls of black smoke at anything that approached.

  “I can’t see what’s wrong!” Karrel answered. “I’m not Johnny, I don’t understand all of this advanced crap!”

  A group of small, glowing balls crashed down from the skies, leaving small craters at Angel’s feet. He swore, leaping back toward Karrel and the stabilizer. He waved his arms, discharging large amounts of black smoke onto the ground before quickly raising them. An orb of black smoke formed almost immediately. It wrapped itself around Angel, encasing Karrel and the stabilizer along with him. The lava-colored ping-pong balls erupted in a series of massive explosions right as the dark orb finished its construction.

  On the inside of the defensive sphere, Karrel and Angel felt the ground shake. Angel dropped to a knee, his arms still extended and expelling black smoke into the surrounding orb. Karrel observed the protective surface surrounding them. A large crack had formed where the explosions had occurred.

  Angel turned his head toward Karrel. “Better hurry up,” he gave a worried smile. “I’m getting sleepy.”

  Karrel frantically began searching through all of the exposed electronic parts. He had no idea what he was looking for. Johnny was meticulous when it came to organization, twice-over when it came to any of his inventions, but Karrel simply lacked the knowledge necessary to discern what was wrong with the device. He tried to calm himself down. A steady vision would catch more than a panicked one. He took in a deep breath, and searched once more.

  Back and forth, his eyes scanned the innards of the cubic stabilizer unit before he finally glanced over something he had missed. An infinitesimal imperfection showed itself. Three small wires, perfectly colored-coded by Johnny’s obsessive nature, hung freely, severed from their other halves. The tips of the split wires were only scarcely visible, but Karrel could see the exposed, anti-caustic silver inside. He did not know what electrical reason they had for being there; all he knew was that they needed to be reconnected.

  To his side, Karrel watched the shadow of a zweichar slam its two-handed sword against Angel’s sphere, and he caught glimpses of several shadows climbing over the silhouette of the portal structure. He needed to hurry. Grabbing both sides of the three wires, he carefully lined them up before attempting to pull them together. The wires tugged against him and he let out a string of curses. Karrel held the wires in his hands, each side mere millimeters away from their respective partner. He was fearful of snapping the cables if he pulled any harder, but there was no other choice. With a hard tug, he felt the wires give. The tips of the conductive strands still could not touch, but electricity began to arc between the wire’s color-coded halves.

  The remaining light of the portal flared immediately. With a crackling burst of energy, the structure rebuilt the immense orange gateway. Their way home was open once more. There was only one problem that remained…

  “Angel!” Karrel shouted, an explosion cutting off his words. “Angel! I need something conductive!”

  “What!?” Angel now had b
oth of his knees on the ground and was panting heavily. The sphere surrounding them had begun to look like cracked glass.

  “Something that conducts electricity!” Karrel continued to hold the wires in place, keeping the portal alive. “These severed wires are too short for me to tie back together, I need something to connect them with!”

  “I don’t have anything!” Angel cringed as several massive bodies slammed against his orb. The protective black sphere surrounding him and Karrel was no longer whole. Several small openings had begun to appear in the dome, revealing through the tiny crevices the masses of teeth and claws that surrounded them.

  “We’re both dead if I can’t connect these together!” Karrel yelled.

  “We’re both dead if a lot of things happen!” Angel painfully barked. “Figure it out!”

  Karrel attempted to tie the wires together, but it became infuriatingly obvious that they were just too short. If he could find the pieces that were severed off, maybe he could repair them. Another millimeter of length and this problem would have been solved. He twisted his head back and forth, observing the failing defenses around him. Angel was at his limit, and the stream of black smoke he emitted into the sphere had decreased to that of a thin line. If he still had a heart, it would have been beating a thousand times minute. He was out of time and out of options. When the wires became detached, they would only have seconds to get to the portal. Something needed to hold them together. Someone did.

  Taking in a deep breath, Karrel turned to Angel. “Go,” he said. “Make a break for it. I’ll hold the wires together, just get out of here.”

  Angel cracked his head back toward his friend, the shock creeping its way through his blank facade. For a moment, there was silence between the two companions. Karrel’s resolve had been established. He continued to stare at his weakened comrade. The friend in front of him was worth sacrificing every–

  “SCREW THAT!” Angel roared. “I’MA JUST THROW YOU!”

  Karrel’s entire body vibrated in shock. “Throw me!?”

  “When you let go, we’ve got a few seconds before the portal close, right?” Angel asked. “I’ll just throw you through it!”

  The idea was not entirely stupid. Angel would have to be accurate, but Karrel knew he had the power to make the shot in time. There was just one thing Karrel needed answered. “Can you make it there in time?” he gulped.

  Angel gave a bloody smile. “Where’s the trust?”

  The black sphere cracked once again, and a new opening appeared. Half of a pyretiff’s face was shoving itself through the hole, and with the way it was smashing its body against the walls, it looked ready for its next meal.

  Karrel twitched his head to the side and closed his eyes. With only a moment’s time, he made his decision. He gave one final war cry, letting out all of his fear, uncertainty, and desperation.

  “DO IT!” Karrel screamed.

  Dropping the wires, Karrel ran toward Angel. The black smoke that had been oozing from Angel’s hands reverted, coalescing back into his palms. Karrel jumped into the air, straight at his friend. Angel caught both of Karrel’s legs and took aim at the portal. The black sphere surrounding them shattered into pieces, and thousands of pounds of demonic flesh began to pour into their position. Angel locked onto his target, summoned all of his strength, and launched Karrel through the air.

  The black smoke around Angel’s arms exploded with power. Karrel felt the concussive force push against his body, and from the pain that followed, he was sure that both of his legs and feet had been broken. In an instant, he was soaring through the air, high over the mass of ravenous demons below. The wind battered his face, but nonetheless, he struggled against the air-resistance to glance back at Angel.

  Every single demon located in the encampment engulfed Angel’s position. For a split second, Karrel was no longer able to see his dark-clothed friend. A burst of pitch-black smoke erupted from underneath the growing pool of flesh, a tiny figure soaring out of the carnage. It was Angel, and he had used all of his might to launch himself directly toward the elliptical structure.

  With Angel flying behind him, rapidly catching up, Karrel turned his head back toward the portal. The wind around him tore at his face, peeling his eyelids open and searing his retinas as he sailed through the air. He had only been flying for a little over a second, but if a few more passed, the portal would lose its stability and close once again. It was a race against time: Angel’s throwing arm versus the clock, and Karrel could do nothing as the projectile.

  The orange light of the portal got closer and closer. Karrel could feel that the upward force of the throw had diminished, and he was beginning to fall to the ground. There was no way of knowing if Angel had launched him accurately, or if he had put enough power into the toss. For all Karrel knew, it was possible that he would simply miss the structure entirely and splat against the ground. His stomach dropped as he began to plummet toward dirt, the sideways force still rocketing him to the entrance. The wind-resistance was heavy, and his vision blurred as it was bombarded by the wind. He could make out no details other than the massive elliptical device, and the orange light within.

  Don’t close, don’t close, don’t close… Karrel thought to himself as he closed his eyes.

  A sensation of nothingness overcame Karrel. Even though there was no sensation, he felt his body plunge into the orange, gel-like light. His vision returned. He was floating through the transdimensional gateway of the portal. He attempted to twist and turn himself in mid-air, but the unexplainable space he was in had maintained his entrance velocity, and Karrel was still in the air. He managed to glance behind him, finding Angel in the same situation as him, hot on his trail.

  Suddenly, the air returned to the area, and Karrel felt his stomach drop once more. Gravity had been reengaged as Karrel exited the portal on the other side. He plummeted downward, reorienting himself to land feet first. It was a terrible mistake. As he readied himself for a tuck and roll, Karrel’s feet hit the ground. A surge of pain rippled through his legs, disabling any of his other motor skills, and Karrel felt both of the bones in his limbs shoot sideways. It was confirmed: his legs were definitely broken. He slammed against the ground, bashing his head against the tiled floor.

  Disoriented, and in a lot of pain, Karrel was still in survival mode. He perked his head up and surveyed his surroundings. His heart began to race. The corpses of a few demons had littered the area, their blood smeared against the walls. However, electrical wires and computer consoles were scattered through the area, and the room he was encased in started to look more and more familiar as his vision returned to him. He was in the underground base, the portal room to be exact. He had made it back home.

  A few demons must have made it through the portal, but that problem had already been solved by the sight of their remains. A few of the consoles had been torn apart and a desk had been melted. Overall though, the room had been secured. For a brief moment, Karrel let his guard down. His entire body trembled with fatigue, and he was close to cutting off his own legs the pain was so intense, but in the end, he had survived the suicidal mission. That was something to be proud of.

  Karrel felt a heavy thump against the side of his body. Through the cuts and tears in his clothes, the warm feeling of flesh on flesh embraced him. Krystalyn had wrapped her arms around Karrel in a tight hug. It would have been a godsend, had she not clipped his legs as she slid into him.

  “Aah! Damn, girl!” Karrel yelled, pain surging though his lower legs.

  Krystalyn’s expression, which was that of pure joy as she had slide-tackled Karrel, had immediately switched to that of worry as she saw his extensive injuries. “Oh, my!” she put a hand to her mouth. “Sorry sorry sorry! Woah, those are totally shattered! Worse, even…”

  “Yeah, and you just put the finishing touches on them,” Karrel moaned.

  “Hey!” Krystalyn slapped Karrel on his shoulder. “It’s not my fault you went and got yourself broken! You even dragged my
sisters into the mess! You should be thanking us!”

  “I would give y-you all a standing ovation, b-but…” Karrel pointed to the broken bone that was attempting to project itself through his skin.

  Krystalyn smiled, shaking her head at Karrel’s wisecracks. She embraced him even tighter, bringing his head up to meet her own. “Don’t you worry,” she said softly, her smile shifting to that of a coy grin. “I’ll make it all better.” She lifted Karrel’s head and pressed her lips against his own.

  It was a feeling of pleasure that Karrel had forgotten he craved. Warmth washed over him and for the moment he forgot about everything else. Krystalyn was the only thing on his mind. He sat himself up, embracing the demonic girl that he had come to truly care for. Had it not been for all of the deadly events that had transpired, this moment would not have been possible. He was strangely thankful for that, but even more so, he was happy to have been introduced to this band of misfits.

  All of Karrel’s worries and troubles drained away, along with something else he had forgotten. He couldn’t quite remember what it was… Common sense made its way back to him, and he remembered the consequences of indulging himself with Krystalyn. He tried to push away but felt that he no longer had the strength to move his arms more than a few inches.

  Krystalyn, still locked in the moment with Karrel, felt the weak shove that he had attempted. Her beautiful eyes flashed open, and she broke away from the kiss.

  Karrel let out a sigh of relief. Having just undergone a life or death situation, and given his current exhaustion, he was surprised that Krystalyn’s kiss had not taken his life. “I think you made it worse…” he joked, barely able to speak.