Aeon Legion: Labyrinth

by Beaubien, J. P.

  It smelled the air again before groaning. It put its head back on the ground like a dog too lazy to greet its master. Terra let out a long sign. “Guess I'm too small to eat,” she said. She walked away from the beast. It ignored her as she left.

  “Damn you Lycus,” she said once she was far enough away. “I can't believe you dumped us in the cretaceous of all times.”

  An hour later she finally found the river. She hid in brush for a long while watching for other tirones or predators. A pack of smaller feathered dinosaurs loitered nearby, busy eating underbrush.

  Terra walked out to the river. After getting herself a drink of water, she wondered how she could make a canteen.

  The dinosaurs shifted their focus to Terra. Terra glanced to the creatures as a few of them walked towards her. They were big and stood several heads taller than her. As they drew closer, they began squawking and charged right at her. Terra ran.

  They chased her and gained ground until Terra climbed a nearby tree. Flocking around the tree, they tried to push it down several times. After a few minutes they grew bored and a few of them laid down next to the tree while the rest of the herd congregated around them. Every once in a while, one pushed at the tree, trying to knock it down or shake her out of it.

  Hours passed. In her boredom, Terra spotted the saucer timeship in the sky. It moved on after lingering in the area for an hour. Thankfully when the sun set, the herd move on elsewhere.

  Terra climbed down, grumbling as she went. “I can't believe the stupid T-Rex could care less, but the herbivores try to kill me on sight. And what's with the feathers?”

  She felt hungry in addition to thirsty after several hours stuck in a tree. Terra avoided the river bank and found a nearby creek instead. After double checking for tracks to be safe, Terra finally could drink.

  ∞

  Over the next few days Terra put her survival knowledge to practice. By the second day she had a hand made canteen and a host of sharpened sticks for spearing fish. She also learned that crocodiles of the cretaceous were huge and fast, so she took extra care when going near water.

  At the third day's end she had figured out the dangerous species from the passive. The T-Rex wasn't interested in a small creature such as Terra and did not perceive her as a threat to its territory. Most of the large solitary creatures didn't pay her much mind either.

  Terra was careful to hide from both native species and a group of three tirones that passed though the area. They did not find her and continued on without incident.

  By the fourth day she had gathered an extra water skin, a dagger made of sharpened obsidian and vines, a few weeds that could be milked for ointment, and a single piece of fruit. Terra wanted to gather more food, but she was running short on time. She needed to find her strike team. The highest landmark was a nearby mountain. She hoped to find Zaid there with the others. Topping off a canteen she had made from the husk of a small plant, Terra left the creek and ventured into the forest.

  As she set out, a loud explosion sounded in the distance. She looked up and saw a trail of smoke leading to the ground, but couldn't see what had happened. After a moment Terra continued on until she heard something else.

  Four nights in the cretaceous period taught to her identify the sounds of the various dinosaurs and other animals that moved through the forest. These footsteps were human and there was more than one.

  Terra ducked, finding cover in nearby thick green foliage. She struggled to see the group through the numerous leaves, but Terra could tell they were not tirones.

  They wore dark gray, almost black uniforms and moved through the forest in a line formation sweeping the area. As they passed by several paces away, she could hear their radio chatter.

  “Tiger one clear.”

  “Tiger two clear.”

  “Panther one clear.”

  “Panther two in pursuit of lone target.”

  “Tiger five confirms Pearl Raven is down. Repeat, Pearl Raven is down. Recovery teams, sweep and secure.”

  One figure stopped paces away from Terra though a tree stood between them. She could just make out an arm touching a device on his head.

  “Tiger three pursuit update. Trail has gone cold. Going to do another sweep then return to base,” the man said into the radio before he moved forward again.

  “Confirmed Tiger three,” came a response over the radio. “Once sector three is clear move to sector four and assist Panther two. Use caution. Gunships for phase two pursuit will be ready in two days. Until then, continue ground sweeps.”

  Terra watched the figures, the soldiers she guessed, move away. She waited a short time before continuing on, thankful she had read up on the evasion section of the manual and practiced on her own.

  The shadows grew long. Terra felt her stomach twist before looking inside her food pouch and grimacing. After putting distance between herself and the unidentified soldiers, Terra searched for food again.

  Terra felt a surge of excitement when she found fruit bearing trees. They hung near the top of a tree, but she knew it was edible from her studies on temporal biology. After stretching, Terra climbed the tall tree. She reached for a piece of fruit when someone on the opposite side grabbed it before her.

  Hikari peeked around the tree. “Oh, it's you,” she said in a disappointed tone.

  Before Terra could respond, Hikari kicked, snapping the branch Terra held. Terra yelled as she slid down the tree. Thankfully she rolled with her fall when she hit the ground. After dusting herself off, she stood and glared at Hikari. “What was that for?”

  Hikari snatched the fruit before jumping and landing gracefully on the ground. She held a half eaten fruit in her other hand. “Survival,” Hikari said, tossing the half eaten fruit in front of Terra before taking a bite of the other.

  Terra narrowed her gaze. “No. That's called being a jerk!”

  Hikari looked up to the next tree. “Jerk? Is that an insult?”

  Terra frowned. “Yes. It means th–”

  Hikari turned her back to Terra before Terra could explain.

  Terra scowled before letting out a slow breath. She would not let Hikari make her angry. Instead she climbed another tree that with one piece of fruit at its top. Once again just before she reached it, Hikari raced past Terra, grabbing the fruit before her.

  Hikari stood above Terra. “After you beat me at the cliffs, I practiced my climbing,” she said before shoving Terra down again.

  Terra stood after hitting the ground. “Stop that!”

  Hikari jumped down before pocketing the fruit. “No. This is survival. Survival is competition even if the competition you provide is meager.”

  “We are on the same team!”

  Hikari stared at Terra. “Team?”

  “Yes,” Terra said, feeling her anger flare hot. “We need to find the others.”

  Hikari turned and began climbing another tree. “I don't need them. Go find them yourself.”

  Terra then saw what Hikari sought. A large bundle of fruit hung high on this tree. Terra looked around and found a fist size rock on the ground. Aiming carefully, Terra slung the rock at the bundle, sending it falling to the ground where Terra caught it.

  Hikari halted her climb and glared down at Terra.

  Terra grinned while she hoisted the fruit over her shoulder. “Weakness depends on the situation, Hikari. Sometimes being alone is a weakness.”

  Hikari jumped down and faced Terra. “I could show you how weak you are. I could take that fruit from you.”

  Terra waved a finger at Hikari. “Yes you could, but you know that while I am not good at winning sparring matches, I am good at enduring them. If you fight, then you risk injuring yourself and without your shieldwatch to Restore you...”

  “What do you want?”

  Terra tossed Hikari a fruit. “I want you to help me find Zaid. Unlike you, I like Zaid. He actually listens to me. So I will pester you until you come with me.”

  Hikari's burning glare locked on Ter
ra. “No.”

  “Too bad. I am not going to leave you alone.”

  Hikari turned away from Terra and walked into the forest.

  Terra followed behind, eating the fruit she had taken. “I don't get you,” she said between bites. “Everyone wants to be your friend. Some of them keep coming back even after you insult them. You could be really popular if you wanted.”

  Hikari hastened her pace, trying to out walk Terra. She made her way to a small flat that rested of the side of a hill. It was surrounded by thick vegetation

  Terra matched Hikari's pace. “Why insult everyone?”

  Hikari shot Terra a sidelong glare, but said nothing.

  Terra noted obsidian in the exposed stone as she drew close. It would explain the thick foliage in the area. The soil was rich in nutrients due to the volcanism. Thick vegetation combined with the elevation made this an excellent place for both concealment and as a lookout point. This must be Hikari's camp, Terra thought.

  Hikari had dug a pit to start a fire. It had a small chimney to dissipate the smoke. Dense vegetation surrounded the flat, save for a long wall of obsidian on one side. Most of the exposed ground comprised of obsidian and dirt. Terra noted that the fire pit was too close to the dry foliage.

  After sizing up her surroundings, Terra faced Hikari and frowned. “You can't make me mad, but others might not react as well though. You ever think that maybe your rudeness might backfire on you one day?”

  Hikari bent down to start the fire with flint and tinder. With a couple of flicks the fire started. Terra sighed at seeing that as it had taken her forever to start a fire her second night.

  Hikari looked up at Terra. “If others take offense–”

  Several tirones ran out of the forest into the campsite, cutting Hikari's response short. They surrounded Hikari and Terra. There, a dozen of them had encircled both her and Hikari, though Terra couldn't see all of them well enough to count. All wore their Legion training uniforms and most carried makeshift weapons made from whatever they had recovered from the forest.

  One tiro stepped forward. “Hikari, we have decided it is time for you to dust out.”

  Hikari's expression remained calm. “Really?”

  Another tiro nodded. “Yes. First we are going to be–”

  Hikari attacked. Three tirones were on the ground, bleeding, before the rest even reacted. When two more hit the ground, Hikari's movements became even faster.

  Terra had little time to watch Hikari fight. A few of the tirones went after her. One Terra knocked out when he left himself open. The other was more cautious as he attacked Terra in quick bursts of speed she had difficulty blocking. It was then Terra realized how much she missed her shieldwatch. Likely the instructors had disabled it to prove a point. Never become overdependent on technology.

  Terra had taken two more punches when the other tiro turned pale faced after looking around him. She took a quick look around as well and saw that the camp site lay littered with beaten tirones.

  Hikari still stood with the campfire blazing behind her like an aura. She panted near exhaustion as the flames reflected in her eyes.

  The other tirones fled after gathering their wounded. Hikari moved to follow when Terra grabbed Hikari's arm. On reflex, Hikari struck Terra, but Terra took the punch with grunt before shaking Hikari.

  Terra stared at Hikari. “Hikari! You beat them. Let them go.”

  Hikari glared at Terra while still panting. “I don't need you to hold me back.”

  “No. You are exhausted. Besides,” Terra said, pointing to the campfire which had spread to the dry foliage. “If we don't stop that, then we will both be running for our lives from a firestorm.”

  With effort they both stopped the fire from spreading, but Hikari had to sit while Terra finished containing the fire.

  “I still don't get you,” Terra said as she moved the last stone into place around the campfire, keeping it contained. “Why are you even here? You don't seem to like anyone.”

  Hikari reached to draw her aeon edge. “This is why I am here.”

  “Why do you want an aeon edge so bad?”

  “it's the perfect blade,” Hikari said, as though it were obvious, while regarding her aeon edge.

  Terra sat across from Hikari and began rubbing the bruises she took from the fight. “Okay? I guess that explains why your being so protective of the thing. What about that other sword you carry?”

  Hikari drew the other blade. “This?” Hikari asked before tossing it to Terra.

  Terra almost missed the sword being thrown to her. Hikari had been so protective of her aeon edge that Terra hadn't expected Hikari to toss her the other sword so casually.

  Hikari leaned back, facing the fire. “That was my father's old blade. It's broken now. Worthless. Still I find myself holding it, for nostalgia I suppose.”

  Terra inspected the sword. Something had cut the blade cleanly near the guard, but what drew Terra's eyes was the blade itself or rather the metal. It was not shiny like a polished iron or steel sword, but had dark wavy ripples through the metal. “Damascus steel?”

  Hikari looked at Terra with a furrowed brow. “What?”

  Terra met Hikari's gaze, speaking in an excited tone. “Damascus steel. It's what others called this metal. Most in my time consider it a lost art of metallurgy. Where did your father get this sword?”

  “He made it.”

  “He made it? Your father knew the secret of Damascus steel?”

  “He was a blacksmith. Once he showed me the way he folded iron one hundred times over to make this metal.”

  “Wow. I bet it was hard for him to find good iron for that.”

  Hikari nodded. “It was. He would often reject what miners would bring him. How do you know about this?”

  Terra shrugged. “I know a lot about geology and how it relates to metallurgy.”

  There was a long silence between them.

  Terra smiled. “Well I guess there is one thing alike between us.”

  Hikari almost looked as though she would smile back. Instead she turned away from Terra. “There is nothing alike between us. You could not understand what it is like to be alone.”

  Chapter XVIII

  Unfeeling Stone

  Ten years ago.

  “Wake up!” Beth said, nudging Terra.

  Terra groaned, rolling over in her bed and covering her head with the sheets.

  “We don't have time for this. Get up!”

  After more prodding, Terra sat up and yawned. She was eight years old. In her opinion, eight years was too old to be getting up at five in the morning. This was a typical morning though.

  Beth threw a pair jeans and a shirt on the bed. “Hurry and get dressed.”

  Terra stared at the jeans unblinking. “Those are dirty, Mom.”

  Beth stopped to look at the soiled jeans and frowned. “How? I just washed those yesterday. Do you wallow in the mud at school?”

  After more searching, Beth found a pair there were not as dirty and threw them on the bed before walking out of the room.

  Terra dressed and went downstairs. Before she made it to the kitchen Beth shoved a backpack in Terra's arms and a piece of toast in her mouth.

  “Mernch merney,” Terra mumbled with the toast still in her mouth.

  “What?” Beth asked, checking her pocket book before straightening her business attire. She then took the toast out of Terra's mouth.

  “Lunch money. You forgot yesterday.”

  “Sorry. Here,” Beth said as she handed Terra a few bills. “That's my lunch money by the way. You better appreciate it.”

  “Ready?” Fred said as he walked into the room. He was dressed in his factory work-clothes.

  Beth sighed. “God, I don't know. We are doing performance reviews today, and we are way behind our quota.”

  “It will be okay,” Fred said.

  They all walked outside the front door. Beth locked the door before turning to Terra. “You know where the front door
key is?”

  Terra pointed at the front door light. “Behind the light on the rim.”

  Beth nodded. “Good. You may have to let yourself in again after school. I don't know what time I will be home and your father is working two shifts again.”

  “Ready,” Fred said, checking his watch. “I'll see you all sometime tonight I guess.”

  “Right,” Beth said before walking to her car.

  Fred watched Beth go with a disappointed expression.

  Beth then stopped, turned around, and walked back to Fred, giving him a kiss before returning to her car.

  Fred smiled and hugged Terra. “Try not to get your clothes as dirty today.”

  Terra smiled. “No promises.”

  ∞

  Terra hit the dirt hard which soiled her clothes.

  “Dirt girl!” yelled one girl in Val's gang.

  Terra scowled while she laid face down on the ground of the schoolyard. She knew who had pushed her. Not one of Val's clique or Val herself. She probably got a boy to do it for her. Val would never dirty her own hands. With tears forming in her eyes, Terra stood, facing Val and her three friends.

  Val always wore nice dresses and was eager to please the teachers. Terra thought that cute faces and nice dresses had a way of blinding teachers to bullies. Cute little girls could never be bullies, or so the ignorant thought.

  Henry moved to join Val, having completed his task of pushing Terra. Terra didn't hate Henry though. He was another in a long line of Val's minions. Terra hated none of Val's gang, only Val herself. Val dismissed him. She would call on him again if Terra talked back.

  One of Val's gang whispered in her ear. Terra could just hear the word pig.

  Val smiled. “She looks like that doesn't she?”

  Terra faced Val even though Val looked down on Terra who stood in a small ditch. She had been searching for stones, like usual, after finding dolomite yesterday. At least she thought it was dolomite. She was still memorizing the names of stones.

  Val crossed her arms. “Maybe if you didn't spend so much time in the dirt, you might actually make a friend.”