Worlds Without End: Aftermath (Book 2)

by Shaun Messick

  “I know,” Nichelle replied with tenderness in her voice. “Let him go, Celeste.”

  Celeste let go of her grip, and Skip dropped to his knees, clutching his chest. “Celeste, I didn’t mean to upset you. But search your feelings. There is a connection between you and Jake. Ask yourself why you have such a strong connection to him. You knew from the moment you first saw him that you two were meant to be together.”

  Celeste turned and walked back to the gurney. She had no idea why she was so upset. She loved Jake more than she had loved anyone before. But she also knew that there was no possible way that she would have a child in the middle of this war, especially with her father still alive.

  She turned to face Skip and walked back toward him. She knelt down, meeting his eyes. “I am sorry, Skip. Please forgive me.”

  Skip, still clutching his chest, stood to his feet, and pulled Celeste up with his free hand. “No need to apologize. I understand your fears and doubts. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Celeste lowered her head again, with the tears still flowing from her eyes. She looked back up to meet Skip’s contrite gaze and spoke, a hint of distress in her voice. “You swear that what you are telling me is true? That the prophecy down there in that temple has something to do with my future son?”

  Skip nodded, then proceeded to tell Celeste about how a feeling so overwhelming overcame him when he saw Celeste walking to the back of the shuttle. It wasn’t a voice that told him; it was a premonition.

  Celeste now could not control her emotions. She leaned her head forward onto Skip’s shoulder, her shoulders heaving up and down in deep sobs. She and Jake had never discussed the prospect of having children. She didn’t want to talk about it with him. After all, it was just too dangerous to have a child when her father had so much power. Yet, something told her that Skip spoke the truth. Could it be that the same spirit that testified to Skip about the truthfulness of the prophecy also bore witness of that truth to her as well?

  Skip wrapped his arms around her, and she buried her head into his shoulder and continued to sob. Everyone else on the shuttle, including the former slaves, watched in silent reverence. They all knew now that they could not let the Gnols destroy the temple of Talead.

  After a few more minutes, she pulled herself away from Skip and began to walk slowly through the hundred plus slaves crowded into the compartment of the shuttle. Every Terrestrian’s eye was fixated on her. They almost seemed to look at her with a divine reverence. Some had tears flowing from their eyes too. She continued to meander her way toward the cockpit. Just before she reached the cockpit, she turned and looked at the faces of the Terrestrians before her. “I know all of you have been through an unbearable experience, but we are going to land this shuttle and help save that temple. The six soldiers we have onboard, along with Skip, Sean, Nichelle, and me, will attempt to prevent the Gnols from destroying the temple. All of you please stay within the safety of the shuttle.”

  She then looked up and met the eyes of Ariauna, whom she had thrown to the side just a few minutes before. “Ariauna, I am truly sorry. Would you stay and help protect the Terrestrians?”

  The anger and distrust on Ariauna’s face didn’t fade, but she nodded in agreement.

  “Thank you,” said Celeste.

  She then began to walk back toward the back of the shuttle when several Terrestrian men stood. Every able-bodied Terrestrian male rose to his feet. Celeste stopped, tears still running down her face. She looked into the eyes of the men who just a day earlier had been slaves – their minds completely under the influence of an Enforcer. Their bodies looked frail, too weak to fight. Yet, here they stood. Some women stood as well. As she scanned their faces, she stopped, meeting the eyes of a young Terrestrian man, no more than 18 years of age. “We will help,” he uttered.

  Celeste nodded her head. “Thank you … All of you.” She turned and looked at Skip. “Do we have enough guns in the weapon’s locker for these volunteers?”

  “Yes,” Skip replied with a nod.

  “Good. Then let’s get down there and protect the prophecy about the truth of my son.”

  * * * * *

  Celeste watched through the cockpit window as the pilot banked to the right back toward the temple site. She could see the three Wildcats already laying down cover fire from their plasma cannons. She pointed ahead, “Look … just past the temple, there is a clearing behind some of those pine trees that should give us cover.”

  The pilot accelerated the shuttle over the temple and through the plasma fire that the Gnols were returning with their own rifles, the shots sparking off the armor of the fuselage. He reached the clearing, pulled back on the accelerator, and fired the repulsors, landing softly on the ground. He turned and looked up at Celeste. “Let me know when you are ready, and I’ll open the aft bay door. Be ready for a fight because I am sure some of those Gnols will be waiting for you when I open it.”

  Celeste nodded. She turned and ran through the compartment holding the former slaves, through the medical bay, and into the back end of the shuttle where the volunteers had gathered. She made her way through the Terrestrians to the door where Skip, Sean, and Nichelle were waiting. Sean and Nichelle held their own plasma rifles. Skip held his new sword in his hand, ready to ignite the blade’s charge. Celeste, however, held no weapon. She had complete confidence in her telekinetic abilities over her Gnol counterparts.

  She turned and ordered the volunteers to the side of the bay. Sean and Nichelle moved to one side of the door, while she and Skip waited on the other side. She pressed the button on her earpiece. “We’re ready, Captain.”

  She heard the locking mechanism unhinge and the hiss of the pressure from the hydraulics. The door slowly began to open. Rays from the sun peered through the cracks. Sure enough, when the ramp of the door hit the ground, she saw several Gnols charging their way toward the shuttle, firing. The plasma blasts skipped off the side of the shielding of the shuttle. “Steady,” she ordered.

  Several Terrestrians, inexperienced in battle, began to unravel. One volunteer jumped out from the protection of the wall into the center of the bay, raising his rifle to shoot, but a blast from the gun of a Gnol hit the man in the head before he could get his own shot off.

  “Stay back!” Skip commanded.

  Celeste watched as the Gnols got closer to the shuttle. She counted eight of them. She held her arm up to hold everyone else in the bay. “Now!” she yelled, throwing her arm forward.

  Celeste and Skip led the charge, followed by Sean, Nichelle, and the rest of the volunteers. Surprisingly, Skip ran ahead of Celeste, despite his injuries, slicing down three Gnols; the buzz of his energized blade cutting through the air. Several other Gnols were picked off by plasma blasts. Celeste herself invisibly locked onto two Gnols directly ahead who were taking aim directly at her. She thrust her arms forward and then flung them backwards, sending the Gnols hurtling over the charging rebels and into the tail of the shuttle.

  Skip charged ahead through the pine trees out into the open behind the temple. Celeste and the rest of the combatants soon followed. They all skidded to a halt. The grounds around the temple were completely still. Several dead Gnols lay strewn throughout the battlefield. On the other side of the entrance, she could see the three Wildcats firing their repulsors and landing. There was an eerie silence emanating throughout the grounds.

  Celeste turned to Sean. “Check to see if any survived.”

  Sean sprinted back through the cover of the pine trees.

  “I swear there were more when we passed by the temple the first time,” said Skip.

  Celeste didn’t respond, nodding in agreement.

  “Maybe the rest of the survivors went in to the temple for cover. They weren’t prepared for an air raid,” Nichelle added.

  Celeste continued to scan the grounds when she saw Jake and the other two Wildcat pilots running around the temple toward them. A feeling of relief ran through her. Jake reached her, grabbing her in a tight h
ug.

  Jake then turned toward Skip. “You had better be right about this prophecy, Skip.”

  “You’ll see, Jake.”

  By this time, Sean had returned from his errand. “They’re all dead.”

  “Okay,” said Celeste, turning back to the Terrestrian volunteers. “Go back to the safety of the shuttle.”

  The same young volunteer that had taken the lead of the Terrestrians earlier spoke up, “With all due respect, your Highness, we would all rather stay and help. There may be more Gnols than we anticipated in the temple.”

  “He’s right, Celeste,” Jake muttered before Celeste could object.

  “Okay,” Celeste said, looking at the young Terrestrian. “You’re in command of the rest of the volunteers. Take up positions around the perimeter of the temple. Sean will stay and help. Jake, Skip, Nichelle, and I will go in.”

  “What about us?” one of the Wildcat pilots asked.

  Jake responded before Celeste could. “Both of you get airborne. They may have gotten a message off for air support. Be ready and radio me if you spot any incoming enemy fighters.”

  The pilots nodded and then took off back to their Wildcats.

  A few minutes later, Celeste, Jake, Skip, and Nichelle reached the entrance to the pyramid. The others took up defensive positions around the temple. The door was slightly ajar. Skip flicked his sword back on. Electrical energy sizzled through the air. Celeste and Jake took up defensive positions on the open side of the door, Nichelle and Skip on the other. Skip grabbed the open door and nodded to Jake. Jake motioned for Skip to pull the door open. Skip did, and Jake dropped to one knee ready to fire. Nothing. The entire entrance was pitch black.

  “Careful,” Celeste whispered as they entered the dark corridor.

  The darkness of the hallway was quickly abated from the plasma and electric light emanating from Skip’s sword, which was clutched tightly in both of his hands. They made their way slowly down the corridor to the end, which then split into a T. On one end was the waiting room with the fountain and broken statue, and at the other end were the steps leading up through the large oak doors that were no longer there because of the grenade blast that took them out when Skip was captured. The room beyond was pitch black as well.

  Jake motioned for all of them to move into the fountain room. Skip went in first with his sword, lending light to lead the way. He quickly checked the room for any Gnols who may have been hiding. Skip and Celeste then took up one side of the room behind the three-foot wall jutting out from the main wall, while Jake and Nichelle took their positions on the other side of the entrance behind another three-foot barrier.

  Celeste knew that the Gnols would most likely have taken up defensive positions within the room above the stone steps. She signaled Jake. Jake reached down into a pocket on his flight suit and pulled out a flare. He was about to break the flare and throw it into the room above when they heard the clank of metal on the floor behind them.

  Instantly, Celeste knew what it was. “Grenade!” she shrieked. Jake leapt across the entrance to cover Celeste, with Skip jumping to cover Nichelle. Celeste, however, pushed Jake back slightly with her telekinetic power and then thrust her right hand out in the direction of where the grenade landed. In one swift motion, she invisibly sent the grenade back to where it came from. They all ducked for cover from the explosion. Debris rained down upon them.

  After a few minutes, they heard someone coughing and then a voice. “Celeste! I know that’s you! Who else would be able to react that fast!”

  Celeste looked at Nichelle. The recognition and fear in Nichelle’s eyes was unquestionable. “Vlamer?” she asked.

  “Yes … And since you are here, I assume my daughter is as well?”

  Nichelle shook her head. The fear on her face told Celeste everything. She knew that Nichelle would not want to face her father again, especially after their last meeting where she paralyzed him with a plasma blast to his back.

  “No!” Celeste retorted.

  “You’re a bad liar, Celeste! I know she’s here. I can sense it.”

  Celeste looked at her dear friend. Nichelle stumbled backwards, falling to the ground. There was no way Nichelle was going to face her father again. Tears began to roll from her eyes.

  “I’ll tell you what,” Vlamer continued. “You send my daughter up here, let us leave in peace, and I will release my hostage.”

  “Hostage?” Jake questioned with a baffled look on his face.

  “Ah, your boyfriend is here too! Your father would be so pleased! I know there are only four of you. Who else is with you?”

  Celeste ignored Vlamer’s question. “We know there is only you and your hostage, Vlamer! Why else would you try to negotiate your way out of this?”

  “You are right, Celeste. I know when the deck is stacked against me. I’m trapped in here. So what do you say? Send my daughter up, so that we may leave in peace.”

  Nichelle shook her head vigorously, her hands trembling with fear.

  Celeste looked back up into the dark room. “How do I know you won’t kill her?”

  “Kill my own daughter? Even though she left me to die? You know me better than that, Celeste!”

  “No, I do know you, Vlamer. If you have become anything like my father, the moment you see her, you will kill her. So no, you can’t have her,” said Celeste, looking at Nichelle.

  The fear on Nichelle’s face disappeared for the moment.

  “Very well!” Vlamer shouted. “Then my hostage dies along with the rest of you.”

  Celeste turned and looked back up into the dark room. She was about to respond when blinding light from two floodlights erupted through the darkness. For a moment, Celeste could only see light. Through her impaired vision, however, she was able to see a man with his hands bound behind his back thrown through the air toward them; his body smashing into the far wall of the fountain room. By the time Celeste regained her vision and turned back, Vlamer was descending in his hover chair down the steps; his arms raised out toward them.

  Jake managed to get a shot off, but it missed just past Vlamer’s head. Vlamer lurched his chair forward, catching Jake in an invisible grip. He then sent Jake’s head into the wall he was hiding behind.

  “Jake!” Celeste screamed, rushing to his side. Jake was out cold, blood trickling from his head.

  Skip jumped out toward Vlamer, his crackling sword swiping through the air. Vlamer flung his right arm forward, freezing Skip in mid air. Skip was unable to move. Vlamer held Skip in place, seeming to enjoy the easiness with which he was able to subdue the human as an arrogant smile curved along his mouth. “You human fool,” he said. Then with a flick of his wrist, he sent Skip hurtling down the long dark corridor near the entrance. Skip landed with a bone-crushing thud to the cold stone floor. Celeste worried that he would not survive the impact.

  Vlamer charged forward. Celeste stood up, raising her own arms directly in front of her. But before she could get a mental lock on Vlamer, he had already hit her in the abdomen with his knees and accelerated his hover chair to the back wall of the fountain room. Celeste’s head hit first and then her back, the air rushing out of her lungs. Vlamer backed away, and she fell to the ground trying to regain her wind.

  “Here we are again, Celeste. If I remember right … the last time you were in this position, I was about to kill you, but my daughter . . .” Vlamer hissed as he hovered over to Nichelle who was still leaning up against the fountain, trembling in fear. “… my own flesh and blood, intervened.”

  Celeste, still trying to regain her wind, watched as Nichelle tried to scurry away. Using his powers, however, Vlamer lifted Nichelle into the air, levitating her to within inches of his own face. Anger flushed through his face, his lips curling into a snarl. He clenched his teeth together and with seething intensity said, “Yes, my own flesh and blood, you have betrayed me, and have betrayed what it means to be a Gnol! You are no longer worthy to be my daughter, and for that … you will die!” Vlamer balled
his left fist tightly. Nichelle clutched her throat as her father pressed the life-source out of her.

  Celeste finally regained her breath and staggered to her feet. She raised her arms to intervene, but Vlamer thrust his right arm out toward her. The force of his invisible power hit her directly in the chest, sending her backwards again and into the wall. She fell to the floor next to the unconscious soldier that Vlamer had thrown across the room earlier. The impact from Vlamer’s telekinetic power and from the wall disoriented her for a few minutes. She could hear Nichelle struggling for air.

  Just then, she heard the blast from a plasma rifle. Jerking her head up, she saw the blurred image of Jake, still lying on the floor, holding his rifle aimed at Vlamer. Nichelle dropped to the floor, choking for air. The hover chair Vlamer sat in sputtered and careened out of control into the fountain. The fountain shattered into pieces with Vlamer and the hover chair heading directly toward Celeste. She scrambled out of the way just before Vlamer and the chair hit her, which would have surely crushed her to death. Vlamer’s knees hit first, sending him headfirst into the hard stone wall.

  Celeste jumped to her feet, leaping over the rubble left over from the stone fountain, and slid to a halt on her knees next to Nichelle. “Nichelle!”

  Nichelle’s face told it all. The pain was too much to bear. Nodding her head, she pointed to her throat. Celeste reached up and traced her fingers along her larynx. Sure enough, it was crushed. Nichelle’s face was beginning to change into a sickly shade of blue. Her wheezing became more pronounced as she struggled for air through the swelling. Without immediate medical attention, she would suffocate in a matter of minutes.

  By this time, Jake had groggily made his way next to Celeste. Celeste looked at him, pleading with her eyes for help.

  Jake was about to respond, but before he could get the words out, his eyes went wide with fear as he looked past Celeste. Spinning around, Celeste looked up and met the bloodied face of Vlamer. Vlamer levitated himself three feet above the floor. With a forward thrust of his arms, he sent Jake with ferocious velocity out through the entrance of the room.