rise of the saviors

by Stella Samiotou Fitzsimons

  “You could have just told me you wanted to see me,” he says.

  “And you should have known that without asking,” I say losing my patience. “Are you mad at me?”

  “Must everything be questioned? There’s more at stake in the universe than you and me, Freya.”

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” I say, quieter than I intended.

  He rolls his eyes and shrugs. “You know I can’t handle two overwhelming emotions at the same time. Don’t act hurt. Daphne is no threat to you.”

  Yes, I know that. He’s made a point of telling me on several occasions. “Do you want me to go?” I say.

  “Such drama,” he teases. “Of course I don’t want you to go.”

  He grabs his notebook from his back pocket and sets it on the little stand by the bed. My eyes focus on his hands. They are beautiful, strong and delicate at the same time. Hands you can trust.

  “Damian, I’m worried. You’ve been hasty in your decisions because there’s a chance Daphne is back.”

  “A chance?”

  “Yes. You don’t know if it’s truly her, nobody does. Didn’t you find the way she behaved in the dining hall a bit disturbing?”

  He considers my words. “She’s been through a lot. She doesn’t even know what’s happened to her. There will be plenty of adjustment needed.”

  “Yes, I agree. But she shouldn’t be doing her adjustment in public. She should be in a safe environment with people who can help her.”

  From the look on his face, I can tell he’s hiding something.

  “Damian? What is it?”

  “She doesn’t want to go,” he says. “The idea of leaving this planet is just too much for her to handle. She’s not familiar with the concept of living on a space station like we are.”

  “There’s a first time for everything.”

  “I will get through to her.”

  “You’d better. Cause she’s going one way or another.”

  “Do you ever stop with the orders and ultimatums?”

  His blind devotion is getting on my nerves. “I need to know if I can count on you, Damian.”

  “Of course, you can. It’s nothing you ever have to ask.”

  “That’s all I needed to hear,” I whisper.

  He pulls me closer locking his arms around my waist. “I want you to put your animosity for Daphne aside.”

  I break from his embrace. “That’s not it at all. I have nothing but love for Daphne. I’m not sure this is Daphne. I hope I’m wrong. But what we saw today was not very reassuring.”

  He works this through his head. “I knew Daphne better than anyone. It’s her, Freya. I feel it.”

  “Our minds must remain open,” I say frustrated.

  “Will you stay?”

  “No,” I say. “We need time to organize our thoughts.” Any affection would feel forced if I stayed.

  “Tomorrow I might leave for Exodus,” he says plopping down on the bed.

  “Do you really have to be the one to do it?”

  “Don’t you think it’s right? She trusts me.”

  “Yeah, I know. It’s just that I will miss you.”

  A smile forms on his lips. “I will miss you, too.”

  We kiss and then Damian rests his forehead against mine. There’s something about this moment that I don’t understand, something deep and unfathomable, an omen about the future. I pull my head back to shake the subterranean, creepy feeling and return to the clear reality of my life.

  “Try not to do anything crazy while I’m away,” he says before I go.

  The night world is silent. Only the stars in the sky watch over me. Tonight’s dark moods could be tomorrow’s salvation. Nothing alive stays the same. Each breath delivers us into the ever changing unknown.

  Shadows fall onto the murmuring leaves under the soft touch of moonlight. In this moment I will decide nothing. Every last thing is connected. The moon, the shadows, the wind and the leaves.

  The greater good is all around us. The destiny of my world and my kind will be realized soon enough. Tonight I am just two feet walking alone. I have loved Damian since the moment he decided to love me. It was his will, not mine, that created our connection. I let go and became one with his energy, his love, his hunger in the night. A sweet surrender.

  There are still new paths to follow. My two feet need to echo down different trails before I settle into being anyone’s treasure. I sense his suffering. He hides it inside his distressed soul but I cannot lose focus of who I am, where I come from, what and who I’m fighting for.

  As I stop outside my door, the answer hits me.

  I know who I am. I know what it is that I have to do. I am my mother’s daughter. It’s time I returned to the place where it all began.

  9

  We turn south when we reach the borders to the deserted district where Zolkon’s castle used to be. Once we get to the mud crater, we will have to abandon our vehicle and walk the rest of the way to the plantation district and, ultimately, to the village.

  Kroll insists that he will carry me across the mud but that doesn’t sound very dignified to me. On the other hand, there are the mud snakes to take into consideration as well as the deep holes that could get me in the mud all the way to my chin. But if I managed to cross the crater once with Wudak, I can do it again.

  I didn’t intend for Kroll to go with me but once he heard about my plans, there was no stopping him. In the end, having him with me could prove to be the prudent thing to do. He can come in handy in a tough situation.

  Damian and Daphne left Spring Town late last night. They arrived safely on Exodus L21, so at least there’s one thing less to worry about. It remains to be seen what the lab tests and scans will discover about Daphne.

  The drive has been uneventful and tedious with Kroll concentrating on the wheel like Tobi can concentrate on a stuffed giraffe for hours. However, compared to the desolation we will have to go through in this district, the first part of the journey could have even be considered pleasant.

  As we get closer to the crater, fog starts to form above our heads and then slowly descends all the way to the ground until it turns so thick we can barely make out the surroundings. It’s a strange phenomenon as temperatures throughout the district have been high enough to dry out any humidity.

  We leave the vehicle behind when the foul stench of the mud crater makes it hard to breathe. Memories of the first time I came upon the endless sludge come to me sharply like a needle piercing my heart. Of course, back then I started at the opposite side, not having a clue what I would find at the end. At least now I don’t expect any surprises.

  Still, the memories are painful. Zolkon’s castle, the wine he used to drug me with, the threat of being used as an incubator. Wudak’s death and Damian’s capture. How I had to save Rabbit’s life when all I wanted was to die myself. How I came to realize I cared deeply for the big brute that I thought had hated me since the beginning of time.

  And then I think of Rabbit and Scout by themselves out there. The Dark Legion guards have left already with Sirku, Kroll’s brother, leading the operation. By now they should be scouring the area, spying on one village after the next, taking pictures and collecting information. We could be shooting in the dark but I have no idea what else to do.

  At the edge of the crater, Kroll and I stop to calculate our position. Kroll takes out the light sensor that can measure toxicity in the mud. We have to make sure this is a clear path and not one of the rare instances where acidic trimphonites have been mixed in with the mud.

  I turn my head around in an effort to see through the wisps and tresses of mist that fly about like cloudy phantoms. I cut through them with my right hand opening my fingers wide and then closing them in a fist as if to trap the strands of thick steam. As I lose focus, Kroll sees his chance. He picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. My protests leave him indifferent and soon I stop fighting him as I realize it’s pointless, plus the fact that it keeps my boots and pants clean
.

  The fog starts to lift as we move across the crater and by the time we reach the opposite side it’s almost completely gone.

  Kroll puts me down. He shakes his legs to get rid of some of the sludge.

  “We’ll find a creek soon,” I tell him, taking in the familiarity of the scenery with the honeysuckles and the red trees that are growing only yards away from the crater. I get a weird feeling of homesickness in my chest that makes no sense at all. Nothing good ever happened in this district and it should be a reminder of all that has been lost.

  “Let’s go,” Kroll says. “We have a lot of walking ahead.”

  “Will you carry me some more if I get tired?”

  “No, you have to toughen up a bit.”

  “You’re a walking contradiction,” I say smiling.

  We soon find ourselves by a creek in the woods. He takes off his boots and soaks them in the water before he washes his hands and face.

  “What do you expect to find?” he says when I offer him a towel out of my backpack.

  A thousand answers come to my head but none of them ring true. Redemption, homecoming, retaliation, a remote chance to find Rabbit and Scout. They all sound good but the truth is just as likely to be that I wanted to run away from things that were frustrating me. I don’t know of any good way to explain that to Kroll, so I shrug. “I’ll know when I see it,” I say drily.

  We walk quietly, saving our breath, staying attentive and contemplative. Kroll has never stayed so quiet before. It’s not like he’s a chatterbox, but usually he forces himself to be somewhat verbal around me.

  As the vegetation thickens, the heat subsides and I can breathe better. Kroll walks ahead of me with long strides. I have to scurry to keep up, so when he comes to a sudden halt, I literally smash into him.

  “What is it?” I say.

  Kroll brings his index finger to his mouth. He moves aside a little to point at a gigantic creature only a few yards away, rubbing its back against a tree.

  “Is this…?” I say, too stunned to finish my sentence.

  “Yes,” Kroll whispers. “A bear.”

  I take a few steps backwards and then one more step to the left, looking for a way to escape the scene without disturbing the beast. Kroll remains still.

  “I want to fight it,” he says.

  “What on earth do you mean?”

  “It’s not every day I come upon such a creature. It would feel rude to ignore it.”

  “Are you out of your mind? I’m sure it will forgive you.”

  My words can’t reach him. Kroll is focused on this unexpected enemy, his body aching for some action. Kroll was created to be a warrior and I have turned him into an obedient protector.

  “Kroll, I forbid you!” I whisper when he takes a step towards the bear.

  But he won’t listen. He stopped listening to my commands a while ago. He only responds to the orders I give him when he wants to. There’s no denying that something fundamental has changed between us since I lost the receptor.

  The bear senses Kroll’s presence and turns to look at him. Kroll bows gracefully as the bear rears up on its hind legs with bare teeth. The beast looks huge now, more menacing than anything I have seen walking on Earth.

  I cover up my eyes with my hands, unwilling to be a witness to what is to follow: a battle of giants. When the sounds start, with roaring, hissing and clanging all blended in, my curiosity gets the better of me.

  I peek through my fingers, only for an instant at first, then for a few seconds and then I decide to watch. Kroll has the bear by the neck. The bear gets loose. Kroll beats down on the bear’s back. The bear grabs Kroll’s arm with its teeth.

  Kroll dances around the bear. I am flabbergasted by the sight. Yes, Kroll is performing a weird dance, frustrating the bear to no end. The bear sees its chance and slashes at Kroll’s back with its claws leaving nasty lacerations across Kroll’s right shoulder blade. Kroll turns around swiftly and punches the bear hard on the nose. The bear shakes its dazed head before stumbling away into the woods.

  Kroll is left standing with his arms extended and his face turned to the sky. I run to him feeling more than a little upset and confused.

  “I thought you were going to fight it, not dance with it,” I say.

  “I could never hurt such a noble creature.”

  Sometimes he is more than annoying. “I knew you were going to slow me down,” I say. “I knew it.”

  “You speak nonsense. If it weren’t for me, you’d still be trying to get across the mud crater with your puny legs.”

  I try to compose myself and worry about what matters. “You’re bleeding,” I say as I watch drops of blood drip down his right side and onto the ground.

  Kroll growls. “I’ll live.”

  Typical Kroll. “Just take off your… whatever it is that you call that thing you have on. I’ll try to heal you. Better pray it’ll work.”

  “Last time you used your energy around me, you blasted me with it.”

  “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

  “You’re willing?” he says removing his chest armor and cloak to reveal a black shirt underneath. He folds his half-shredded cloak carefully as if performing a ritual before he slowly unbuttons his shirt.

  “While we’re young,” I say rolling my eyes.

  “I’m not young,” Kroll says.

  “Yes, you are. In Sliman years you’re just a baby.”

  The shirt comes off and I have to marvel at the sight of his sculpted body. The perfection of his anatomy is so striking that it makes me wonder how many extra muscles Sliman warriors have hidden under their skin.

  “Are you admiring me?” Kroll says confused.

  “Hey, I’m only human.”

  “Well, I’m not. If I was human the bear would have killed me.”

  The devil in me cannot let this go. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

  “You are no more annoying than usual,” he says as he begins to feel the injury on his shoulder with his fingers.

  “Have you ever thought about having a girlfriend?” I tease him.

  “It would be a great risk to the girl,” he says. “I would be tempted to snap her pretty little neck.”

  “Now, that’s not very nice. Why would you do that?”

  “I have no patience for the constant bantering of women. ”

  “Ouch. That hurt my feelings, Kroll.”

  “Are you going to fix my shoulder or talk me to death?”

  “Sit down,” I order as I walk around him to put my right hand on the deep, red gush across his shoulder blade. “I thought your skin was impossible to penetrate,” I say curiously.

  “My back is my most vulnerable spot. It takes a lot of concentration to keep my second skin activated there. But only the bear could figure it out,” he says laughing. “Every other fool I’ve ever come across targeted my head or chest. Now you know the secret to killing a Sliman.”

  “Ah, thanks for the tip,” I say as I strike him with a ray of white light. Kroll arches his body when he gets hit, but the effect lasts only seconds. My hands get shaky and the white light disappears.

  I inspect Kroll’s wound. There has been some improvement around the edges, but the depth of the gush has not been altered. I prepare myself to give it a second shot. I steady my hands before I bring them together. The light jumps up at me. I have to jerk my entire body forward to aim the energy at Kroll.

  I ignore the pounding in my temples as long as I can but about twenty seconds later, I give up. I barely have time to check and make sure the wound has been sealed before I fall to my knees and throw up a green, viscous, bitter vomit.

  Kroll quickly puts his shirt on and comes to my side. “This is getting worse and worse for you, isn’t it?” he says.

  “It was getting better, I swear,” I say struggling to get back up.

  Kroll offers me a supporting hand and a bottle of water. “Do you want to wait?”

  “No, we’ve wasted enough time,”
I say. “We need to get to the village before evening if we are to take a look.”

  Kroll nods. I can see he’s not convinced. He thinks I’m nowhere near as tough as I believe I am. He’s wrong. When I pick up my backpack he immediately reaches out and takes it from me. I decide to walk on without putting up a fight. He’s right about one thing. I need to conserve energy.

  When we eventually reach a small hill with a view to the village – my village – we find that the place is in complete disorder. Small children run about the dirt trails among the huts. At first I think they’re running away from something but, finally, I conclude that they’re playing a game of chase. It’s the number of them that’s astonishing, though. Probably every single child that can walk is out running. That could have never happened when I was a child here. All supervision must have been withdrawn.

  There are men gathered at what I remember to be the main square skinning dead animals. They could be rabbits or maybe squirrels. I can’t tell. What strikes me as unbelievable is the fact that the men use big hunting knives. I have no recollection of such weapons in the village.

  I see a few women walking about with their glassy eyes. I can’t see their eyes, but I don’t have to. I know. Suddenly, I’m overcome with fear that I might spot my mother only for that fear to be replaced by an even greater one. My mother might be dead and gone. She could have been tortured because of me. I wouldn’t put it past the Empress.

  I flinch when Kroll puts his hand on my shoulder.

  “I’ll check the perimeter for guards and sensors,” he says.

  He leaves and I stay focused on the activity below. I take out my compact binoculars but am reluctant to use them until I see the first Sliman guard coming out of the small building that must serve as their station. He yells a warning at the children, probably that they should stop chasing each other and making a racket.

  I focus on the guard’s face through the binoculars and attempt to read his lips as they’re moving. I make out the first words – get back to your huts – but then I can’t hear or see anything anymore because a hand grabs my binoculars away from me while another hand presses hard against my mouth.