RIOT DAWN_Attack of the Space Druids

by Anthony Thackston

  “Well,” Hick went on. “Yours is to stop the merging. Mine and ours is to encourage it.”

  “Hick!” Jessica yelled.

  “You switching sides?” Riot asked.

  “Not switching. Switched,” Hick corrected. “And let me tell you, it’s quite the feeling.”

  “Why?” Jessica shouted.

  “It’s hard to explain to a denier but…Why don’t you all join me in the center of it all? My and our friend can better explain it.”

  “Lino, can you find where that voice is coming from?” Riot asked.

  “No need for Lino to scan anything. The path is very clear. But, in case you get lost. I and we can provide you guides.”

  The sound of grinding stone echoed in the front hall and a light appeared from around a corner.

  Riot raised her gun.

  Three robed figures stepped out from around the corner. Riot didn’t hesitate and fired at all three. None of them tried to attack, phase-shift or defend themselves. They just collapsed in a heap, dead on the floor.

  Hick sighed. “There you go, doing it again. You keep taking away what is mine and ours.”

  “You want to guide us to you and whoever your friend is, you can come out here and do it yourself!” Riot shouted.

  “That is the saying, isn’t it? Wanting things done right and doing it yourself?” Hick suddenly appeared behind Jessica. He had one hand around her waist and another clawed hand at her throat. In addition to his new talon-like fingers, there was something else different about him. Something beyond the dull decayed color he had elected to keep. It was his eyes. They had taken on the same melted look that Sarc had.

  Riot jabbed her gun forward, threatening to shoot. “You’re not Hick.”

  “Come on, now, Sarge. We both know you won’t shoot. And, really, do you think it would work anyway? As far as who I am—I am very much Hick but I’m Sarc, too, so…Sarchick. Hicksarc? Well, I and we guess it doesn’t matter. You took those three from me.” He motioned toward the three dead druids. “Now, I gotta take something from you.”

  “Sarge?” Jessica asked, fearful for her life.

  “Hick, don’t.”

  Hick only smiled and vanished in a puff of black smoke, taking Jessica with him.

  Chapter 29

  “Lino, trace that signature!” Riot ordered.

  “Scanning. Traces of sorcery detected in the center of the structure. Topographic readings of the citadel enabled.”

  “Save the details.”

  “Copy that. The central citadel is far larger than the others. There are a series of tunnels leading to a central area… Sarge.”

  “What?”

  “There is something in the central room. It is unlike any other part of the structure.”

  “Can you tell what it is?”

  “Only that its shape is spherical.”

  “Hey, Sarge!” Hick called out from somewhere they couldn’t see. “Do you remember that last mission we all had five years ago? Back when Weaver was still around? Remember how you were the only one who made it outta there? You think you can do that again?”

  Riot glanced back at Lino when suddenly a group of lighting tendrils shot up from the floor below Lino’s feet. The arcs coursed throughout the android’s body causing sparks to fly out from him.

  Lino’s frame shook and smoked. The passing light in his eye faded out as the electrical current fizzled away. The android remained standing but slumped, taking on the appearance of a sad statue.

  “Lino?” Riot asked. Striding to his side, she tried shaking the burned out android but it didn’t respond. “Lino. Come on, that’s not…You can’t be…” Riot’s real hand tightened into a ball. ”Not again,” she whispered. “Not this again!” Her voice echoed off the stone walls of the front hallway.

  The former Marine dropped to her knees. She pounded the floor with both hands. Sparks flew up from the clash of metal and stone. “Hick!” she yelled.

  “Guess he forgot to insulate his feet,” Hick said. “Relax, Sarge. You still got Me and Jessica. Of course you’ll have to set aside this mission and join us. And there’s more good news, I and we might even be able to include Weaver. Doesn’t that sound nice? One big happy—”

  “Why?” Riot asked. “Why are you betraying us? Betraying the whole planet?”

  “Step into my office,” Hick said.

  Riot clenched her teeth together. Even she thought they would crack, her jaw was so tense. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. It wasn’t the time to lose her cool. Regardless of Hick’s betrayal or reasons for it, there was still a mission to accomplish. And while she couldn’t see them, there was little doubt that more towers were appearing on Earth.

  Riot checked her ammunition. It was low. A fact that wasn’t very surprising. She took a look at the talisman. The liquid in the stone was completely gone. She flexed her metal hand. “You better not screw this up.”

  Riot holstered her gun and made her way toward the open door.

  The hallway was better lit than the front foyer. The torch lights had less space to illuminate in the narrower corridor, making their luminance that much brighter. Riot strode through, with revenge on her mind. It wasn’t a tactical move but she figured if Hick was inviting her, there was little chance for opposition.

  The swipe of clawed fingers was unexpected. Riot’s upper body leaned back, narrowly avoiding the sharp nails of the druid. It had come out of nowhere.

  “Stunner!” she yelled. The cyber arm made a sound like a small motor trying to start but nothing came from it. She blocked the next claw swipe, breaking the nails of the druid. The next attack came just as fast, forcing Riot backward. As the druid came in for one more, Riot turned the tables and snapped her foot forward, plunging it into the attacker’s torso. The druid doubled over. As alien as they were, Riot was glad to know they weren’t so different from humans that simple maneuvers wouldn’t work.

  She put an arm around the druid’s neck and twisted, snapping it. The robed figure dropped to the floor and Riot continued forward, mentally kicking herself for not being vigilant.

  The path turned, leading farther in. Riot kept her eyes focused ahead. Now that she knew surprise attacks were a possibility, she had her guard up. Just because Hick invited her to the center didn’t mean he was going to make it easy for her.

  One of the lights flickered blue and a flame of the same color shot out of it. Riot spun out of the way but was caught in two robed arms, which wrapped themselves around her. Her metal arm easily broke through the druid’s grasp. With it, she then grabbed the back of the attacker’s head and pulled it over her shoulder, slamming the druid on its back. They obviously weren’t used to hand to hand combat. The druid blinked, surprised at the move but Riot didn’t give it any time to sort out what had happened. She slammed her metal fist into the druid’s face. The sound of bone cracking between her hand and the stone floor was grotesquely satisfying to her.

  Riot rose back up. The druid did not.

  “Clock’s ticking, Sarge,” Hick said.

  “Damn you,” she replied, continuing forward.

  Two more Space Druids blocked her path but Riot dispatched them with two swift kicks between the legs and a metal fist to the face. She didn’t have the strength for much else and the real fight was still to come.

  Riot turned down one more hallway where she could finally see the other end. There was a single figure sitting on the opposite side of the hallway entrance. Riot pulled her gun and aimed as she continued forward.

  Her eyes shifted side to side for any sign of another attack. None came. Despite what was ahead of her, Riot was glad for the break. Minuscule as it was.

  She stepped to the edge of the final hallway and shifted her back to the wall, aiming just off the side of the opening. Then she spun down and took aim at the other side. As far as she could tell there was only the one figure sitting on a stone slab on the other side of the room.

  “Nice of you to finally join me,”
Hick said.

  “Where’s Jessica?” Riot demanded, pointing her gun at her former teammate.

  “Would you believe me and us if I told you she was safe?”

  “I wouldn’t believe anything you say. Not now.”

  “Well, we guess that’s to be expected.” He turned his attention to his right.

  Riot kept her eyes on him long enough to realize he was literally not paying attention to her. She finally followed his gaze.

  The first object of her notice was a massive black ball, slowly turning within a clear bubble. But her shock was met by the even larger Space Druid holding the bubble. It towered over the merged one they’d fought before.

  “Sarge, Sarc. Sarc, Sarge. Sarc is all and all will be Sarc,” Hick said.

  Chapter 30

  The massive druid said nothing. It didn’t even acknowledge Riot or Hick’s presence. Still, Riot got the distinct feeling that it was aware of more than just those in the room. The giant emanated the energy of thousands of beings. It suddenly occurred to her why Sarc and Hick had spoken as individuals and a group.

  “You really are a hive mind,” she said.

  “Bingo,” Hick told her. “Well, they are. And now I am, too, except that I still got my personal charm.”

  Riot quickly snapped the gun back toward the traitor.

  “Easy, now. Let’s not do anything we might all regret,” Hick told her.

  She changed targets and aimed for the giant.

  “Well, that wouldn’t be smart of you,” Hick warned. “Not to mention the waste of a bullet.”

  “Why?” Riot asked.

  “Well, cuz Sarc is really big. You think a tiny bullet is gonna—”

  “Why?” Riot shouted.

  Hick popped up off the stone slab. “Oh, that. The answer to that ain’t as complicated as you might think.” He started walking along the perimeter of the room, forcing Riot to move the other way to maintain their distance.

  “It made me curious, at first.” Hick went on. “See, you and Diaz didn’t get it. And Lino, of course, couldn’t, but me and Jessica…we’re different. I won’t pretend to fully understand it. Let’s just say resurrection has a strange effect on the brain.”

  “Your brain was always strangely affected,” Riot said.

  “You’re probably right. I think that’s why they reached out to me.”

  “Reached out?”

  “Back on that meteor, when Sarc first showed up. The room was full of fog— you remember that. Me and ‘ol Sarc had us an interesting conversation. He said I was still hollow. That there was something missing. He told me he could fill it and give me a little taste of immortality.”

  “So you made a deal with the devil for what? Living forever?”

  “Not quite a devil. As far as living forever goes, I think I got that covered. Needless to say…” Hick held out his hand and it burst into flames. “I think I know why Weaver was so obsessed with this stuff.”

  “Power,” Riot said. “You joined them for magic power.”

  Hick closed his fist, extinguishing the flame. “Not just power. I and we are gonna rule it all. You’ve already seen the other worlds show up in place of the towers. And I can say for a fact that, right now, ten more of those things are on Earth with three heading their way on meteors. And here you are with your little squad— well, you were with a little squad— one gun and a robot arm.” He shrugged his shoulders. “How did you think this was gonna play out?”

  “If you hadn’t betrayed us—”

  “Now, cut that out!” Hick shouted. “Even if I hadn’t, how much farther do you think we would have gotten? I’m good but it’s a planet, Sarge. One that’s full of Space Druids all looking for the same thing. There never was a win here for you. But that doesn’t mean you have to die. Join me and us. At the very least, it’ll mean you, me, and Jessica back together. It ain’t the whole team but it is part of it. And isn’t that what you really want?”

  “Jessica,” Riot said as if suddenly remembering.

  Hick held out one arm and Jessica appeared out of thin air, wearing a druid robe.

  “Sarge,” she said, her eyes wide and uncertain.

  “Get behind me!” Riot ordered.

  Jessica shook her head. “No. He’s right, Sarge. I’ve seen it. There are so many and their plan is…We would all be one. No more fights. No more wars. No more death. All of us would share one life and all of the power that goes with it.”

  “Jessica, don’t—”

  “And just think, once Earth has merged with them, we’ll go to other planets throughout the universe. Throughout existence and we’ll merge with them. All will be Sarcleexurthan.”

  “I can’t do that, Jessica.”

  Jessica stepped toward Riot. “Please, Sarge.” She placed a hand on Riot’s metal arm. “We can heal this. Make you whole again.”

  “See-SID said the same.”

  “And what did that get you?” Hick asked. “And you know it wouldn’t have taken them long. But we can do it with a simple snap of our fingers.” Hick snapped and Riot’s arm was normal, again.

  She stumbled backward, in disbelief at the sight. It really was her arm. Right down to the same freckles. Nothing was out of place or missing. She touched it, feeling the skin as though for the first time.

  “And unlike that artificial thing you been carrying around, that one will do everything it’s supposed to,” Hick said. “Of course, that’s assuming you get to keep it.” Hick snapped again, taking the arm away, leaving the cybernetic one in its place.

  Riot flexed the metal fingers. As much as she liked the brief seconds with her real arm, again, there was something almost comforting in the cyber arm. For the past five years it was all she had known. In the beginning, the arm had worked flawlessly. But over time, breakdowns and inconsistencies had become the norm.

  Despite all that, it had become a reminder. A reminder that it was humans who made it.

  Humans for whom she was fighting. And humans… she still was one.

  “This is what you really want, Jessica?” Riot asked.

  The young woman stared at the floor and nodded her head. It was a sign of shame. One that Riot picked up on all too easily.

  “Stand aside, soldier.”

  Jessica turned and walked back to Hick.

  Riot glanced back at the giant Sarc, who still paid them no attention. Its gaze remained fixed on the black mass in the bubble.

  “Well, I guess there’s only one thing left to do, Hick,” Riot said.

  “That’s why I always followed you, Sarge. Cuz you always made the right calls. But now you get to rest. Cuz there’s only one more call to make.”

  “Yeah.” Riot had already made up her mind. She wasted no time firing at Hick.

  The bullet went right through him and hit the wall at his back.

  “I am disappointed!” Hick yelled. “Don’t you get it? Even if I couldn’t phase, that wouldn’t have killed me! I can’t die!”

  Hick lifted his arm and a giant stone pillar rose from the floor, carrying Riot with it.

  Chapter 31

  Riot struggled to maintain her balance as the stone column shot upward, taking her for a ride. The ceiling of the center room was fast approaching, giving Riot two choices. Fall off or be crushed. She went for the former and stepped off the rising stone.

  The fall was farther than she cared for, giving enough confidence in a twisted ankle no matter how she landed. To her surprise, it was a short-lived trip as another pillar rose to meet her. Riot’s knees buckled and she dropped on her hands, rolling off the second column.

  The collision with the floor was as expected.

  Luckily for Riot, she landed cyber arm first. It wasn’t a huge break to her fall but it kept everything else in place. Everything except the oxygen in her lungs. Gasping for breath, Riot rolled to her back and stared up at the two stone pillars that had risen from the floor. Making fire out of thin air was not all Hick had become good at. She glanced at the giant
Sarc who still paid her no mind. He didn’t even look at the new columns in the room.

  What’s it take to get his attention?

  She got back to her feet. A bolt of lightning streaked toward her but Riot spun out of the way and took cover behind one of the new pillars.

  “It doesn’t have to be like this, Sarge!” Hick shouted. “We can both save a lot of time if you just give up and give in!”

  Riot rushed out from behind the pillar, firing multiple shots at Hick. He just phased, letting the bullets pass harmlessly through him.

  “Careful, now. You wouldn’t wanna hit Jessica!” Hick said with a smile. He was teasing her and she knew it. The upper hand was his as long as they stayed far away from each other.

  Riot knew the only way to gain the advantage was to move in close. She changed course and rushed straight for him.

  He could have blasted her with any number of magic attacks. Instead, he cracked his knuckles as though it was a fight he’d been waiting for.

  Her first attack was another gun shot. Hick deflected her arm, clearing himself of what would have been a harmless bullet hit. He played right into Riot’s trap, opening himself up for the upper-cut she sent straight into his chin.

  Hick reeled back but showed no sign of pain. Riot pressed forward, leaping into the air and bringing down her metal elbow at the top of Hick’s head. Hick blocked the strike, not even acknowledging the pain of metal hitting bone. Riot didn’t know if she could actually hurt him. He’d been electrocuted by Lino and shot during their first battle with Sarc. And now he didn’t even have to be hit. It was an easy matter for him to just phase-shift, letting her attacks pass harmlessly through him. It was a fight she wasn’t at all sure she could win.