by Jay Riverton
A rumbling sound filled the sky. They all looked up and saw it: a ship was landing.
“Corporate,” Madison said. She didn’t hesitate. She fired at the Scouts. Mike, unharmed, dropped to the ground, defensive, and crawled away, as the battle commenced.
“For the Unwanted!” Madison screamed.
“For the Unwanted!” Troop 10 chanted. Yellow lasers exploded from their guns. Lycanere quickly joined, a smile on his face.
The Scouts retaliated immediately. They fired back, and they fired hard. They had the numbers and they could shoot. Lycanere’s group was inexperienced, smaller, and nothing compared to the Scouts. Lycanere’d been preparing for this for a long time now, and it was time to show the universe who he is.
Yellow and red lasers illuminated the already desecrated field. Bodies of both sides fell as if they’d never been standing.
Lycanere looked at his people and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Surround them! Shoot and move! Shoot and move! Don’t stay stationary!” They fanned out, though their numbers began to dwindle even before they started. Sixty turned to forty, and their bodies fell faster than the Scouts.
“Run through!” Madison yelled at him, moving alongside as they circled the Scouts.
“That’s suicidal!” Lycanere yelled.
“This whole thing is!” Madison screamed. She rushed towards the Scouts, firing and stunning one with a headshot. Lycanere followed, running into the group of Scouts and shooting them from up close. Some others followed his lead, but less survived than he’d hoped.
The ship landed, and the earth shook. The ramp fell and Lycanere looked back as someone ran out. It wasn’t Corporate, but Benjamin. And he was by himself with a gun in his hand. He ran to Lycanere like a madman, despite the overwhelming red lasers flying by, and reached him within seconds.
“What are you doing?” Lycanere asked, shooting a Scout down.
“Saving you guys. I told you I’d be right back.”
They shot at Scouts and swapped positions.
“I left to get help, but noticed it was probably too late, so I came back. I came right on time I guess.”
“Well, you ought to get back to the—”
Something smashed into his shoulder and pain rang throughout his body. Lycanere screamed and fell to the ground, looking up to see a Scout over him. The Scout aimed her gun and zap, she fell. Kakine was over him now, offering a hand down to Lycanere as she shot down another Scout. He took it and she lifted him up.
“Don’t lose focus. Be careful,” she told him.
“Look. It’s Benjamin,” Lycanere said.
She saw him. “Great timing. Next time, don’t leave your friends.”
Lycanere didn’t give them time to argue. Their numbers were nothing compared to the Scouts who had only lost half of their army. They could not win. “RETREAT!” he yelled over everything at his troop. “RUN TO THE SHIP!”
Benjamin was first to take off, followed by those who had heard Lycanere.
Lycanere spotted Madison across from him on the other side of the Scouts. They locked eyes for a quick second and then both took off. He was still holding Kakine’s hand.
They moved together, rushing towards the ship. Benjamin had already disappeared back inside of it. Lasers flew by them, just missing. Lycanere saw his army aiming back at the Scouts who were running after them.
“Don’t bother with them! Just run!” Lycanere yelled.
Lycanere heard the screams of his people as the Scouts pushed on, taking them down. The Scouts shot them and lowered their numbers, filling Scouts Honor with the smell of burning flesh and death. Don’t look over your shoulder, he thought to himself, his hand clamping around Kakine’s. Don’t look over your shoulder. He did. There was a Scout running full speed at him not too far away. The Scout stopped and aimed and… BANG! Mike smashed into the Scout from the side.
“Shit,” Lycanere said. He let go of Kakine’s hand.
“Lyc—”
“I need to help Mike,” he told her. “Go to the ship. Now.” He aimed at approaching Scouts and shot them.
“You’re going to die,” she said.
“I’ll be fine. Go.” She stalled and looked him in the eyes as if this was some romantic moment, as if she could kiss him and it would mean the world. But it didn’t. It wouldn’t. “I love you,” she said, and she ran to the ship.
He had to admit, he loved her too. But not in the same way.
He ran to Mike who laid on the ground, wrestling the gun from the Scout on top of him. Scouts were running at them, less worried with Lycanere than the escaping Troop 10. He shot at them, headshot after headshot, until he reached Mike who kicked his Scout off of him and shot him in the head.
“Lycanere—”
“Let’s go.” Lycanere reached out a hand to his friend.
Mike grabbed it and they moved off quickly together.
“I can’t believe you came back for me.”
“We’re brethren. Why wouldn’t I?”
They ran, Lycanere hoping luck would be on their side for once. Mike aimed behind them, shooting. Lycanere watched Kakine make it into the ship, followed by Pirelavs and Martia. He watched Genevieve be shot down, then Erinza and Vyana. Madison stopped before entering the loading ramp. She turned around, aimed, and released the clips of two guns at the Scouts, tearing through their army before her own body was decimated by others from afar.
Mike and Lycanere pushed on as fast as they could. The ship was close, but the Scouts behind were closer. He could hear their lasers behind him as he and Mike launched themselves towards the ship.
Three feet away.
Two feet away.
One foot away.
Down.
A laser ripped through Lycanere’s oblique and he fell to the ground. Mike looked at him, desperate. He went to pick Lycanere up only for a laser to fly right between the two.
“Go!” Lycanere screamed as lasers shot by them. “GO!”
Tears rolled from Mike’s eyes as he ran into the ship.
Lycanere used his last bit of energy to push himself up and stagger forward. He saw Kakine on the ship looking at him. Then Benjamin, Pirelavs, Martia, and Scout Master Mike. He reached for them, and felt his insides start to slide out. He fell over.
He heard Kakine’s cry followed by the ramp rising. The ship rumbled, then rose into the air. Lasers continued to shoot at it as it flew high into the sky. Scouts ran past Lycanere and shot with all of their might, but their actions were futile.
Lycanere rolled onto his back, tasting blood in his mouth, and looked up to the sky. He smiled as he watched the ship leave the atmosphere. They may not have won this battle, but they had escaped, and that was all that mattered. This was just the start of a revolution to change the universe for the better, and he was happy to have been part of it.
Now, all that was left on Scouts’ Honor were him and the Scouts, and he’d be damned to let them take his life away as they had always planned.
Lycanere fought against the pain in his body and his urge to scream as he lifted the gun to his head. His finger was weak, and his will weaker, but that didn’t stop him from pulling the trigger.
His family would’ve been proud of the leader he’d became.
About the author
A writer and math guru, Jay Riverton is a writer trying to make his mark on the world. Born in Poughkeepsie, New York with an immense love for fantasy, science-fiction, and horror, Riverton is a screenwriter and novelist who wants to spread love and acceptance to the world.
Check out more of Riverton at Wordpress, Wattpad, and Booksie under the name Mythos9 and at his website www.johnrossthompson.com.
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