The Santoran Chronicles

by C. O. Amal

  Isaac took a deep sigh. “Let’s rest then.” Isaac stopped moving. Others also stopped moving.

  Suddenly footsteps came from nearby. They all quickly became alerted. Someone is running towards them.

  “Run ...”That someone shouted on the way.

  “Who will it be?” Robin asked.

  “It can’t be anything good.” Isaac said.

  Then they saw it. A big line of men with torches are approaching from all four directions. Isaac and team are surrounded by those men. Then Isaac saw the running man. His clothes are all torn and he finally stopped near Isaac. Then the man took heavy breathes.

  “Run ... Run .... Run ...” The man said in between hiccups. Then the man broke into a laugh.

  “Where are you all coming from, bitches? Are there more of you out there?” The man asked.

  Isaac quickly moved his hands to retrieve the gun. But the man was fast. He took a knife from his waist band and he instantly shoved the knife on Isaac’s neck.

  “Drop your weapons, or this bitch is going to die.” The man said.

  Then Isaac saw it. All those approaching men reached near them and they surrounded Isaac and team. All the crazies are wearing torn clothes. Ruby and his team dropped their weapons. Then Isaac saw Robin retreating into the dark. She must be slipping away.

  Crazies quickly restrained Isaac’s and his men’s hands and they pushed them towards the darkness. Some of the crazies started laughing on the way.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 23

  The crazies led them deep inside the forest. A few minute later, Isaac saw a big camp in the middle of the forest. There are five large tents around a fire, and there are also tree houses on the nearby trees. The crazies forced Isaac and his men to enter inside a tent. Then they forced them to sit on the cold ground. Isaac and his team obeyed without any question. Then the crazies quickly restrained Isaac’s and his men’s legs and they left the scene.

  Isaac stared at the doorway and he lost in thought. These crazies have no idea that this planet is going to die. Somehow, Isaac need to get out of here to destroy the tower. But, what can he do? His both hands and legs are restrained. He could barely move his hands. The same is true for Ruby and his men. Then Isaac noticed that Robin is not with them.

  “Ruby, did you saw Robin?” Isaac asked.

  “No. I thought she was with us.” Ruby said.

  A hope kindled inside Isaac. May be Robin have after all a plan to save them all. She has to do something fast. These crazies probably burn them alive in the morning. Isaac stared at the doorway and he again lost in thoughts.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 24

  Robin slowly climbed out of the small pit under the tree. The roots of the tree are all over the pit and she got outside without much problem. It was a fortune she fell in this pit as she retreated back when those crazies came. She could see the crazies leading Isaac and others deep inside the forest.

  She has to do something quick or there would be nothing to save for tomorrow. Crazies will probably burn them alive in the morning. Robin retrieved her small hand held gun from her waist band. Then she saw Isaac’s gun on the ground. She placed her gun in her waist band and she took Isaac’s gun.

  There are also bows and arrows on the ground. But she couldn’t take all of them. She left the bows and arrows, and she quickly paced towards to where the crazies have gone with her friends. All around her is pitch darkness. Navigating through this forest in this pitch darkness is pretty difficult for her. She hope that there won’t be any other pit in front of her.

  Then, a few minutes later, she began to see fire flies. Then she saw a whole pack of fire flies. The light from the fire flies was greater than she was expected. Before long she saw a narrow dirt path which is passing through the forest. The crazies must have took this path.

  She ran rest of the way. Then suddenly she stopped. In front of her, she saw five large tents. And there is a fire going on in the middle of the cluster of tents. Then she saw a few crazies wandering around the tents. There aren’t many crazies, but she is certain that she saw a huge number of crazies earlier.

  Robin quickly counted the crazies, in her mind. There is only ten of them here. She then looked at the tents. Isaac and others must be inside a tent. She have to find the right tent. Robin then trained her gun at the crazies and she moved forward. She quickly reached near the boundary of the crazies’ camp. Now she has to do everything carefully, only then she could be certain that they will have a chance against the aliens.

  She has to draw these ten crazies away from here. She then thought about a way to draw them off. Then the idea came in her mind. She took a stone from the dirt path and she stood behind a tree. Then she threw the rock at a nearby crazy. Direct hit! The rock struck on the crazy’s head. Suddenly the crazy turned towards the darkness beyond, in Robin’s direction. The crazy slowly approached Robin, but he haven’t seen her, yet.

  Then the crazy cooed at other crazies. Then all the crazies nearby joined the first crazy.

  “Someone threw a rock at my head.” The first crazy said to others.

  “There may be more of them out here. Let’s check.” Another crazy said.

  Like Robin have guessed, the crazies are pretty dumb.

  Then all the crazies returned to their camp and they came back with lighted torches. Robin quickly stayed pretty much away from the dirt road. A moment later, all the crazies moved away from nearby. This is her long waited opportunity.

  Robin quickly ran towards the tents, pointing the gun into a distance. She then opened the first tent she saw. It was empty. She quickly searched other tents. Then on the third tent she found them. Isaac stared at her with open mouth. Isaac’s back pack is still on his shoulders. Robin took a deep sigh of relief.

  “You all okay?” Robin asked.

  Isaac nodded at her. She quickly drew out a knife from her boot. She then cut down all the restraints.

  “We have to run. They might return soon.” Robin said.

  “Okay, let’s go.” Isaac said.

  Then they bolted into sprint. Before long they exited the camp’s boundary and entered into a forest.

  “Stop there, bitches.” Someone shouted from behind them.

  Robin and team didn’t turned back. They just ran and ran.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 25

  Isaac and his team ran through the forest in the pitch darkness. Footsteps of their pursuers came from behind them.

  “Ahh ...” One of the Thibarians screamed as one of the crazy jumped on top of him. Isaac stopped running and he glanced back. But it was too late. In the crazy’s torch light, Isaac saw blood rushing outside from the Thibarian’s neck. Isaac for a moment froze at the scene.

  “Run, Isaac, run.” Ruby yelled.

  Then Isaac saw a river of yellow light approaching them – crazies carrying torches. Isaac quickly began to run. Before long he reached near Robin and others. They didn’t stopped to take a breath. They just ran and ran. Isaac quickly became tired. Isaac could see that others are also tired.

  Suddenly, with a snarl, a few crazies rushed at them from a side. They already jumped in the air at Isaac’s team.

  “Ahh ...” Men screamed as the crazies landed on top of them. One of the crazy nearby rushed at Isaac. Isaac quickly trained his gun and he pulled the trigger.

  Boom!

  That crazy went down. On the ground, Thibarians and the crazies are in the middle of a hand to hand combat. One crazy is slashing widely in the air to kill Robin.

  Boom!

  Robin dodged the slash and she instantly shot down the crazy. Isaac and Robin quickly rushed towards Ruby and his men. Isaac clubbed at one of the crazy’s head using the butt of his gun. That crazy quickly blacked out. Suddenly, the torches the crazies were carrying rolled towards the dry grass, instantly the grass caught fire.

  Finally the Thibarians somehow defeated the crazies. Crazies are struggling on the ground with broken limbs.

/>   “Run ...” Isaac yelled at others. Then more crazies came to the scene. But the rising fire blocked their path. Isaac and team for a moment stared at the crazies who are looking at them agitated. Then, Isaac and team ran away from the scene. A moment later, a big river came in front of them.

  “This is the river I talked about.” Isaac yelled.

  “Are we jumping?” Ruby asked.

  “The hell we are.” Isaac said.

  Then they jumped into the cold water. The slowly flowing river allowed an easy passage. Before long they reached on the other side of the river. Then Isaac looked back. The sight before him horrified him. The side of the river from where they came is burning down in a big wild fire.

  “I am sorry, mother.” Isaac mumbled.

  Now, there is no way the crazies would cross the river. If Isaac is fortunate, all the crazies might die in the fire. Suddenly, a maddening wind blew towards the forest which is burning down. Fire quickly expanded to more places. In the wind, nearby trees violently swayed. Leaves did a maddening dance on the tree branches.

  At least, mother knows that they are here to destroy the tower.

  “Ahh ...” Probably a scream belonging to the crazies came from the other side of the river.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 26

  Samson, Jenny, Lucy and Sandy stood just outside the ship and they looked at the engineers who are working hard to fix the hangar door. In a side, nearby the forest, the dead bodies of Wolfdogs are piled, soon to be burnt down.

  A moment later, soldiers drove trucks and gun mounted Humvees to outside. They quickly positioned the vehicles around the ship and they made the place more secure.

  Five men and three women are dead in yesterday night’s onslaught. Samson can’t allow this thing to happen again. A few minutes later, engineers fixed the hangar door. A few more minutes later, a group of twenty soldiers came near Samson. Samson turned towards them.

  “So, are you ready?” Samson asked.

  “Yes, sergeant.” Everyone said together.

  “Then, let’s go.” Samson said.

  Everyone nodded.

  Samson quickly switched on his tab which is strapped across his wrist. It quickly began to show directions. Samson, Jenny, Sandy and Lucy walked in the front line. Others followed Samson. In the west, there are many trees cluttered together here and there. But, there is a narrow dirt path passing through the forest here. Samson and team slowly moved forward through the dirt path. There is a thick growth of grass on both sides of the dirt path and the grass is filled with water droplets.

  Far away, they could see a huge hill. Their drone was last contacted from somewhere near that hill.

  Suddenly, with a shriek, two wolfdogs rushed towards Samson and his team from behind a group of trees. The dogs were eating something when they saw Samson and his team.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Soldiers instantly shot down the dogs. Samson and team took a deep sigh. Here dogs are a little big and they have large fangs which are protruding out of their mouth. Samson for a moment stared at the dead wolfdogs with a little fear. The aliens are really onto something big with this kind of huge dogs.

  “We have to be careful.” Jenny said.

  Samson nodded at her.

  “Okay, everyone, be ready for anything.” Samson yelled.

  Soldiers nodded. They quickly moved forward by training their plasma guns into a distance. The size of the hill slowly, relatively, increased as Samson and team moved towards it.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 27

  They haven’t covered much distance, when all of a sudden, a pungent rotten smell punch through their nose. The horrible smell almost made them puke. Samson quickly drew out a kerchief from his pocket and he covered his nose with that. Then he and his team moved forward.

  Then they saw it. Not far away from them, beyond a tree line, there is a small barren wasteland. There, there are many dead trees scattered on the land. And nearby the dead trees, there are a few piles of rotting dead bodies. Samson and team quickly entered into the wasteland.

  “What the hell is this place?” Jenny asked.

  “We will find out soon.” Samson said.

  Some of the dead bodies are lacking several limbs and there are even fresh dead bodies among the pile. There are trails of fresh blood on the nearby ground. And there are some kind of droppings all over the place. Lucy quickly took a small stick and she poked a small dropping.

  “This is dog’s poop.” Lucy said.

  “What kind of dogs?” Samson asked.

  “I ... I don’t know.” Lucy said.

  Suddenly, with a screech a Wolfdog arose from a nearby pit.

  “Shit, it’s their lair.” Samson said. Now they know what kind of dog’s poop was this.

  Boom!

  One of the solider quickly shot down the Wolfdog.

  “More will come. Let’s get out of here fast.” Jenny said.

  They all quickly paced across the animal’s lair. One thing is certain – there are human survivors somewhere here and they are struggling to survive here.

  Suddenly, with a roar a few dozens of Wolfdogs rushed at them from the nearby forest.

  “Run ...” Samson yelled.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 28

  Samson and team quickly exited the Wolfdogs’ lair and they started running through the forest.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Some of the soldiers stopped frequently and they pulled the trigger at the approaching horde.

  “Ahh ...” One soldier screamed from behind Samson. Samson stopped for a moment and he shot down a nearby Wolfdog. Then he ran again.

  A moment later, more Wolfdogs came to the scene from the nearby forests. All dogs have large fangs which are protruding out of their mouth. And these dogs are pretty taller. Then Samson saw a way out. Not far away from them, near the foothill, there is a small tunnel. Samson and team ran towards the tunnel. Before long, they entered inside the tunnel. Samson quickly glance at his pursuers. The Wolfdogs are almost on them. Samson quickly armed two grenades and he threw it towards the tunnel entrance.

  Boom! Boom!

  Grenades exploded and the mouth of the tunnel collapsed. Now there is a pile of rocks in between Samson and the Wolfdogs. Wolfdogs made sharp yelps from outside. Then Samson heard retreating footsteps. Samson took a deep breathe.

  “Now, what?” Jenny asked.

  “Look there.” Samson said pointing at a place inside the tunnel where sunlight is seeping inside. “There must be another way out from this tunnel. Let’s look.”

  Jenny nodded.

  Samson for a moment analysed the dark tunnel. It has to be a mine of some sort. There are many wooden poles near the walls which supports the roof. Samson and team quickly moved deeper into the tunnel. They could see sunlight seeping inside through the tiny pores on the roof. The whole tunnel is pretty cold. And there is a constant flow of cold air inside the tunnel.

  They haven’t reached much from the tunnel entrance when all of a sudden, a series of hisses came from in front of them. Then they saw it. A few dozens of snakes are rushing at them. In the faint light, they could clearly see the black snakes. Samson and team suddenly froze where they stood.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 29

  Fortunately, none of the snakes tried to bite or attack. They all crawled away from the scene to another part of the tunnel through the tiny holes on the lower part of the walls. Samson and team took a deep sigh. Something must have drawn the snakes. Maybe the explosion might have shook their hideout.

  Samson then saw a white light washing inside the tunnel from the other end of the tunnel. Samson and team followed the light. Then they saw it. There is a large open area on the roof and sunlight is seeping inside through that area. Then, Samson saw that the tunnel is not ending there. It is going to another part.

  “Let’s see where it takes us. There must be a way out from here.” Samson said.

  Everyone nodded.
Samson could see that Jenny and Lucy are really tired of running and their faces are filled with panic instead of the expected gutsy. Samson smiled at Jenny and he led them deeper into the tunnel. Sandy and rest of the soldiers closely followed them.

  Then, they began to see white crystals. There are marvellous crystals all across the tunnel walls. And several crystals are on the ground, possibly fell down from the walls during the grenade explosion as the ground shook. Samson hunkered down and he took a crystal in his hands. Even though the tunnel is partially in dark, this crystal can be clearly seen. There is an unexplainable light coming out of this crystal.