by Zy J. Rykoa
Chapter Thirty-One
If one can, so can many.
Date Unknown
Three helicopters had flown low across the ground, over the abandoned city of Ceahlin and toward Callibra. Kobin was sure the Daijuar were here somewhere. They had to be. He was close to finally finding the source of their power. He could sense it.
Since his victory at Waikor, he had been searching for their hiding place, but had so far found nothing. The land was shadowed under a grey sky, making it harder for him to find what he was looking for; a sign, a symbol or a strange formation in the land—anything out of the ordinary.
The Daijuar had to have marked their hideouts somehow. The few stories Kobin had heard had given him little to go on, but as Jaden had managed to find them between here and Callibra, he was sure that he could find them as well. He had one year to do so, with a base at Callibra from which to work. Then he would return to the Alliance and be given an army to use against the Resistance, or whoever stood in his way of taking the power he wanted. He needed the Daijuarn technology to make his army the most powerful in the world. If he failed, he would be forced to live out the rest of his days under the rule of other men, a notion he despised like none other.
He sat back in the passenger compartment, resting his eyes. There was nothing here, just more fields of grass and grey rocks. But he could not think of failure, not now, not after coming this far. He could not let his travel companion to have died in vain. Still, if he failed to find the Daijuar, there was one other hope. His companion’s son had survived and now wielded the Daijuarn power. He could help him find the Daijuar, and then perhaps take control of the world. The only trouble would be in convincing him to help as his father had, especially considering he despised Kobin.
Kobin looked out of the window again, putting his ideas in place as he sifted through his thoughts. His attention became focused when there was a flash up ahead. It took him a moment to respond as green shot up from the ground and struck one of the other helicopter tails. The craft spun out of control downward and the other was soon hit by the same green light. Kobin had leaned forward to ask what was going on when his own craft jolted with an explosion at the rear. Like the others, his craft spun wildly toward the ground, forcing him to lean back and hold onto his harness as tightly as possible.
The pilots did what they could to slow their descent, but it was no use. Within seconds, they had crash-landed, scraping hard against the rocks and tearing the door right off. Those inside suffered serious injuries from the crash but were still alive. Kobin quickly unbuckled himself, blindly making his way out through the newly formed opening, the pilots only a few feet behind. Kobin fell to his knees when he was out, his chest feeling as if it were about to collapse, but continued crawling while the pilots lay sprawled out on the ground, their injuries too severe to allow them to go any further.
Kobin kept on. He knew he had to get away in case of another explosion. He stopped only after he had rolled down a hill and climbed partly up the next. He turned to look back up the grassy slope when he thought he was at a safe distance, and he lay watching as he rested.
There were no explosions. All three fuel tanks had remained intact. But there were people moving at the other crash sites now. He thought for a moment that they were the pilots, but he could see that the pilots were lying on the ground. The people he saw were children, curiously searching the wreckage.
Kobin’s eyes widened as he saw the same green light come from the children’s arms as they neared each pilot, and his eyes widened even further in horror as he realised what they were doing.
They were killing them, one by one, executing them with the green energy.
Kobin had to get further away. He edged higher up the hill, and then using what little strength he had left, crawled as far as he could along the ground. Blood was running down from his forehead, forcing him to close his left eye. He could see little of where he was going, but it didn’t matter anymore. His strength was failing. He couldn’t go on much longer.
When a shadow was behind him, Kobin turned to see a young girl with eyes as black as her hair. She raised her hand to him, and then there was a burst of green light. Kobin raised his own hand by instinct and formed a shield of red briefly. The two energies crackled as they collided, and the girl stepped back in fright, allowing the green light to die away.
The fear in her eyes was the last thing he remembered as he let his head fall to the ground and slipped out of consciousness, and the world disappeared before him as the others began to make their way to where the girl stood.
He had failed in finding the Daijuar.
* * *
As the world disappeared before Kobin, Jaden slipped out of the crystal’s realm and returned to the darkness of his chamber. He remained still in the silence for the coming minutes, thinking over all that he had just witnessed. The memories that he had forgotten were now firmly in his mind once more, and he understood some of what had led to the destruction of the world and him being sealed away here in the darkness.
‘That is a past I would prefer to forget,’ he said aloud.
Michael did not laugh, his strangely content mood no longer apparent after so long spent showing Jaden his history.
‘It is important that you remember,’ he said.
‘There is so much I still don’t understand.’
‘That is because there is much more to your story.’
‘Then why have you stopped showing me? Why did we leave the crystal?’ asked Jaden.
Michael paused, causing Jaden to become impatient and try to stand up. He fell almost immediately and Michael spoke, ‘because you have journeyed far enough for now, you need rest.’
Jaden held his head, as if trying to keep it from exploding.
‘So the Daijuar are not the protectors first thought,’ he said slowly, ‘they have their own agendas.’
‘As all do,’ Michael agreed.
‘And Alyssa, I was right about her, she is something more.’
‘She is like you.’
‘What about Raquel?’ asked Jaden. ‘You said you had the crystal given to me, but it was given to me by her. Who is she?’
‘She is my sister.’
Jaden waited a moment, wondering if he wanted to know the answer to his next question. ‘Is she still alive?’
‘Yes,’ said Michael.
‘Then there is hope,’ Jaden concluded.
‘There is.’
Jaden felt something close to excitement build in his chest. It made him want to get up, break free of this chamber and find Raquel, but as before, as he tried to stand, he fell back down again, clutching his head.
‘Why are we here? Why can’t we go to her now?’ he asked.
‘In time,’ said Michael. ‘You will rest now. I will show you more when you wake.’
Jaden was readying to stand up yet another time, to defy Michael and do as he wished, but almost as if by command, his eyes became heavy and he slumped down onto the cold, hard floor. The chamber became as dark as it was silent as the crystal lost all its glow, and the last thought that went through his mind was of the one he loved, and whether or not he would ever see her again.
Michael left him, knowing that Jaden would not dream or wake for the coming months.
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The Heroes Fall -2- By Fate Or Chance
