The Key

by Brian Fisher

  Chapter 20

  T'Sula watched in horror as the sky darkened with Ta'Reeth landing crafts. Each craft looked slightly different, though all were blocky, and ungainly, but effective none the less. The ships hurled toward the cities, not slowing before they crashed into the pristine surfaces.

  The city shook under the devastating impact of the landers. As the ships slammed to the ground, they burst open, each releasing dozens of hulking Ta'Reeth soldiers upon the defenseless people. The Ta'Reeth were double the size of a man, with a mottled dark gray and black exoskeleton for armor. Bone spikes protruded at the knees, elbows, shoulders, and shins. Four large, black eyes sat equidistant around the crown of the head. Two narrow slits that served as a nose were in the center of their faces, above the vacant space where the mouth should have been. Each one carried a plasma cannon in its right hand, ready to dispense excruciating death at a moment’s notice.

  "Run!" T'Sula yelled to the crowd of people that stood and watched as if transfixed by the sheer power being displayed.

  Buildings swayed, the ground rippled, and the ocean exploded into a cloud of blue haze. "T'Sula, we need to get to the Commissioner. Valche can help..." Kamira started before being knocked flat on her back by a massive explosion that did its best to level the city.

  "That was no lander." T'Sula looked around as she climbed to her feet. She couldn't help but smirk as she watched Ta'Reeth soldiers struggle to pick themselves up from the trembling ground. "You're right Kam. We need to get to the Commissioner now."

  Buildings crumbled from the impact of plasma cannon fire, and crashing landers as the women raced toward the city center. Time seemed to slow as they ran. Life almost stood still for T'Sula. In her pocket she carried a secret that she herself did not know. She only possessed the knowledge that what she had was of tremendous value to the Ta'Reeth, the probable reason for the invasion, and she could not allow them to have it. It was war, and even the price of her life was insignificant compared to the freedom that the galaxy might someday obtain.

  The city suddenly lurched to one side, throwing T'Sula and Kamira sprawling. "What was that?" T'Sula asked, picking herself up off the ground.

  "I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that that huge explosion damaged the planet's superstructure." Kamira replied, dusting herself off.

  A burst from a plasma cannon ripped through the air, just above their heads, and slammed into a building, showering red hot rubble into the street. Smoke billowed from the gaping hole that was left in the side of the building. Kamira sidestepped, barely avoiding a smoldering stone that would have neatly removed her left leg. T'Sula was not so lucky. She screamed as a superheated shard of metal pierced her right shoulder, dropping her to her knees. The jagged shard buried its point deep in her shoulder, and stuck out the back. Blood and flesh sizzled against the burning metal.

  "T'Sula!" Kamira screamed, reaching for her cousin. She helped T'Sula to her feet an instant before a ball of plasma impacted where T'Sula had been kneeling. "Can you run?" Kamira asked.

  "Yeah. Just keep this away from the Ta'Reeth." T'Sula grimaced, handing Kamira the tiny object that had been removed from her hand. "Don't let me slow you down. If I fall behind, keep running and don't look back."

  "Fine." Kamira scowled. "Run." she shoved T'Sula forward. "I won't look back. I'll be right behind you, now go!" tears streamed down her face. She watched T'Sula for a split second, and then quickly followed. Debris and bodies littered the streets. Massive cracks formed across the roadways, blocking the route to the city center.

  T'Sula skidded to a stop at the edge of massive crack in the street. "We can't cross this Kam." she shook her head. The crevasse starred back, daring anyone to try to cross it. "If it's this bad on the surface, it has to be worse below."

  "Probably, but there shouldn't be any Ta'Reeth down there." Kamira peered into the crevasse. Broken pipes hissed and popped, releasing steam into the air. Severed cables crackled with electricity, leaving scorch marks on the cracked and crumbling walls. Pieces of rubble fell into the crevasse. "That's a long a way down."

  People of all of the different races ran in confusion while the Ta'Reeth killed at will. Handheld plasma cannons incinerated their targets. A Caldonian burst into flames as she ran screaming past T'Sula, and plummeted into the depths of the crevasse. Air traffic had been light, but what there was now crashed to the chaotic city streets.

  "We need to get off the street. Come on." Kamira took T'Sula by the hand and led her into a nearby building. Dim light shone through the open doorway, revealing the remnants of a middle class hotel. A large wooden desk covered in dust and debris, sat at the far end of the foyer. Comfortable looking chairs surrounded a cluttered table that was nearly knee height.

  "Oh Gods!" T'Sula exclaimed, collapsing against the desk. Blood ran freely down her back and right arm.

  "Stay put for a second. I'll try to find a first aid kit." Kamira quickly circled to the other side of the desk. She swept books and tablets to the floor in her hasty search, before she found a first aid kit buried at the back of a drawer. "Got one." she quickly set the first aid kit on the desk, and opened it. Inside was the normal array of items. Anesthetics, various pills, spray bandages, and antiseptics filled the kit.

  "T'Sula, this is going to hurt. I'm sorry." Kamira walked around the desk to her cousin. She took out one of the anesthetic hyper sprays, and pressed it against T'Sula's wounded shoulder, releasing the powerful painkillers into her system. After a brief moment, Kamira grabbed the shard of metal, and pulled it out of T'Sula's shoulder. The shard was covered in blood, and bits of flesh clung to the tiny barbs that ran along its half meter length. Kamira then washed the wound out with an antiseptic.

  "Ahh!" T'Sula screamed, collapsing to the floor. Blood pooled by her side. Kamira quickly sprayed a thick bandage over T'Sula's shoulder, and helped her to her feet. She then placed the bottle of spray bandage in the folds of her robes.

  "Take two of these; they'll help you with the pain, and loss of blood." Kamira gave her cousin a couple of pills, and pulled her towards a door at the rear of the foyer. T'Sula popped the pills into her mouth, chewed them, and swallowed them without saying a word.

  The hallway beyond the foyer held little interest for the women as they quickly passed through it. Only the air car that they could see through the open doorway at the end of the hall held their attention. It looked small, but large enough to hold two people. From a distance the little red car seemed to be in good repair, but as with anything else, appearances could be deceiving.

  A loud crash echoed through the hall as the women reached the far end. The sound of a heavy wooden object splintering against a wall reached their ears a moment before a ball of hot plasma destroyed the wall next to them. T'Sula grabbed Kamira and threw her into the air car, then flung herself into the car beside her.

  "I hope you can hotwire this thing." T'Sula mumbled, pulling herself upright.

  "I'm already on it." Kamira replied, pulling a fistful of wires out from under the dash. She tore open a couple of wires, and twisted them together. A moment later the car was off the ground, and racing out the open garage door, and into the daylight.

  Ta'Reeth landers were still streaking through the atmosphere, and crashing to the surface. No other air cars could be seen. Once they reached altitude, Kamira steered for the city center, and the Commissioner’s office.

  "How's your shoulder holding up?" Kamira asked.

  "Could be better." T'Sula forced a smile. "Some vacation, huh?" she looked over the side of the car at the ground below. People were dying by the thousands, and not for any discernable reason. Ta'Reeth soldiers took lives at will, as if life were something to be thrown away recklessly. It was as if life was a meaningless, trivial item that could be easily replaced. A tear rolled down her bloodstained cheek. Her mind raced back to her childhood, and the last time that she had seen her parents alive. It was her fourth birthday. Her mother had fixed her favorite dinner of fruit salad in a sweet crea
m. Father had just returned home from work, and wished her a happy birthday, when the Ta'Reeth came. There had been no warning. One moment they were eating dinner, and the next, her parents were dead. They had barely had time to hide T'Sula before the Ta'Reeth burst through the door.

  "I can see the city center." Kamira spoke up, interrupting T'Sula's thoughts. "Oh no." smoke curled out from beneath the air car. "Come on you piece of junk!" she yelled as the car quickly lost altitude, and crashed into the street below.