by Marcus Sloss
The sound of the roaring river arrived before the sight did. The waters were black with ash, dead, charred logs clogging sections of the rocky rapids. I saw the water level was low, causing extra turbulence. I leaned left to execute a turn before reaching the riverbank.
“I found the lurrol. They are fighting a whole lot of crixxi. The scale of the battle is epic. Thousands of crixxi are trying to stem the tide of nearly a thousand rolling giants,” Peterson said into my ear.
“Assessment?”
“Oh, the lurrol are easily winning, to the point they are toying with the crixxi. I see from a higher altitude where they stopped clearing the forest. There is a fresh trail to the combat zone. It’s as if the crixxi were luring them into a fighting zone,” Peterson said with a questioning tone. “Found it, I figured they were up to something. There is a dam that is about to be broken. I guess a lot of water would hurt the lurrol.”
“Indeed it would. Their skin becomes slick from the touch of it and their lava hardens quicker, reducing its ability to consume,” a voice said that was not part of our team. I shuddered. We were on an encrypted shortwave radio frequency.
“Hello, Lilith. Are my troops outside the Xgate okay?”
“I am outside of Denver, but yes, their Gpad vitals are perfect. No, you cannot achieve what I can. So don’t bother asking me to explain it. We are on our way. The rhinotaur mission is over. Release the gate and have your humans follow it for now. We will let you know when to lock it back down.”
“Uh, Cap? Was that Lilith, the sixty-foot amazing creature, on our secure comms? I am asking for a friend,” Mitchell said. He obviously had read the report I sent out about my interactions with the divine-ape.
“Cap, divert left a little. You notice how that river is low on water even with the constant jams from the fire debris? Yeah, the crixxi are going to unleash a hell of a lot of built-up lake water soon,” Peterson said in a warning tone.
I adjusted while still driving as fast as I could. I needed to decide what we were going to do. Did we help save the crixxi and kill some lurrol?
“Lilith, do you want our help? I do not want to anger divine creatures. I came to—”
“You will shoot the brains of the ones peeling off our fight. They will kill your portal team holding the buttons. Hence why I told them…” She paused in frustration. “Yes, fight the lurrol.”
I sensed she was aggravated, but I was not certain it was because of us. I continued to drive north slowly while clearing a path often. The edge of the scorched jungle opened up visibility dramatically. I diverted for the ash-covered remains of the forest floor. The trail I created was filled with dips, curves, and a few straightaways. I saw sections of the blacked dirt exposed. Pockets of steamy lava bubbled from within. I sure hoped I didn’t drive into one of those. The trip across the crispy remains was harrowingly intense. I was extremely focused on our path to ensure we were efficient while still remaining safe.
“Cap, this is Javier. I went back and warned Slister. She warned Aspen to avoid angering Lilith and her friends. Aspen is requesting to provide backup,” Javier said in a huff. You could tell he was running. “They are not far from the Xgate.”
“Tell them to guard the gate. The ATV will not fit through the corridors I have created, so no use in reinforcing us on this world. And Javier? Get Slister to use a different runner. You guard Peterson with your life. You understand me?”
“Yes, sir. Javier out.”
The trip northwest was much quicker now. At times I managed forty miles per hour. The barren charred landscape was depressing to see. The lurrol were efficient, if nothing else. Ten minutes of hard riding resulted in us finding an injured lurrol missing an arm. The creature was rolling our direction while… crying. I think it was crying, because orange liquid streamed from its eyes.
I slammed the brakes causing the bike to enter a skid. My left hand braced my sniper rifle while my right shoulder leveled it. The delirious lurrol failed to notice us in its depressed state of mind. I waited for the dot to find the eye. When it flared red I discharged the largest round I could. A softball-sized orb of nitrogen energy belted forward in a rush. My aim was perfect.
The round slammed into the orange eye with enough force to snap the head back. The lurrol was lifted off its circular ball and sent flying to crash onto its back. I thought he was dead until the lurrol flailed in anguish. Shit, I loved this weapon, but that was a kill shot with even a .308.
“Use the large-caliber projectile weapons. They will kill them,” Lilith said.
I watched the lurrol cry out while it pounded its single fist on the ground in tormented anger. “My eye, my eye,” the lurrol cried out over and over.
“Okay, approach it slowly. Mitchell, kill it when able,” I said.
My dirt bike flung clots of charred debris when I sped for the downed lurrol. My team followed me until we were less than a hundred paces away.
“I surrender! My mother ripped my arm off for being weak. Now you’ve destroyed my eye. I surrender,” the lurrol cried out.
“Don’t you dare, it's a trick. He will burn you alive if you get close enough. Leave him alive. I will rip him limb from limb myself,” Lilith said with an eagerness.
“Backup is here,” Peterson said.
I glanced back the way we came. Trees were flung hundreds of feet into the air in the distance.
“Get around this thing, we need to set up a defense line,” I said, shifting my torso to gaze north.
Crack!
The sound of the coming army was deafening. It was overridden when a fifty-caliber round split the air as it erupted from a barrel. The lurrol was dead, the stiff body stuck in a morbid, final pose. At this range, the back of his skull exploded in a fan of orange blood.
“Sorry, Lilith, he was raising his hand at us,” Mitchell said hesitantly.
I knew we were running out of time before the lurrol would turn to face the true threat. Toying with the crixxi would fade rapidly now that the divine-apes were here.
“We’ll use his body for cover. We go east into the trees if we have to,” I said, spinning my bike to point for the dead body. My thumb smashed the go button.
“Humans, lock the gate down. Additional lurrol are wanting to come through,” Lilith said.
“Got it,” Peterson said. “Xgate secured, forty-two minutes on my timer since we let it go.”
I parked my dirt bike facing east, kicked the stand down, and left the bike. I reached into a cargo pocket for a shredded shirt. A quick toss of the shirt into the orange blood leaking out did not combust the material.
“I think the blood is not lava, just orange blood. If that’s the case, we get right up on the body!” I yelled as loud as I could.
The crashing of the divine-ape army storming our way was deafening. I glanced over my shoulder. A sixty-foot-tall creature leaped the last of the trees to land into the open. A spray of charred landscape was sent flying from the impact. The divine-ape on point diverted away from where the lurrol were toward the river upstream. Our bodies bounced with the ground from each impact of its feet. A high leap sent the creature up and over into the forest. It faded from sight as quickly as it had arrived.
“The water will descend over this area. Get on your bikes. Okin is breaking the dam now. The crixxi are too slow.” - Lilith
I sighed. We had just set up a defensive position. I ran for the electric dirt bike and hopped on. I guessed we would ride the wave and hold on for dear life.
The run was horrid from the jarring of the ground. The lurrol were not idiots. They had spun to greet the new threat. A hundred divine-apes leaped into the clearing in ones and twos. They formed battle lines when they arrived. I saw the weapon-carrying troops form two rows. The first lying down, the second standing. There was no roar or call for opening fire. Yellow energy cracked out of long rifles the size of telephone poles the moment they were able to fire.
I indented the accelerator to full speed for the eastern tree line. We we
re caught between two arriving forces. The battle of the giants started with lurrols exploding whenever a round hit an eye socket or exposed neckline. The majority of the yellow beams deflected harmlessly. Well, that is not good.
I focused on driving until we arrived at the tree line. We set up on the south side of the massive trees while peeking north. I did not need to give the order. Our rounds joined those of the divine-apes. I nailed a neck shot causing an explosion of orange. Ah, so my rounds would do impact damage like a hammer, but not piercing. My next rounds were all aimed at the neck.
The lurrol were hesitant to charge, but their hundreds of rolling troops were taking casualties. The leader was cut off. Another example of why you locked the Xgate. You never knew what would come behind you.
As one, the divine-apes bellowed out roars in a challenge of war. I felt my eardrums pop, then blood trickle down my lobes. I covered my ears. My Gpad was blaring a red alert.
“Hold on to your dirt bikes.” - Lilith
I waved to my troops while pointing to my wrist. A shimmering spray of water gave me the tiniest of warnings. I latched onto my bike tightly. Those devilish divine-apes knew the water was coming. That was why they roared. The enemy commander was caught completely off guard. A massive flood of water smacked into the wheeled bottoms of the lurrol. I saw arms rotate in panic. My gaze was torn away when the water arrived.
At first, the water was misting sprays shooting between forest openings. Then the angry advancing tide arrived. Bushes, animals, leaves, and more floated in a surge of water. I watched the base of the tires soak before I was slammed south in an immense, consuming wave that engulfed me. I grunted in pain as I was swept into the torrent of water. My attempts to vacate the water in my mouth were futile. I wish I could have held that grunt in. I opened my eyes, unable to see more than six inches in front of me. Bubbles escaped my mouth that I tried to hold in. My right shoulder flared in pain when I smacked into something solid and unyielding.
When the bike was held in place against the crushing pressure of the water I realized I had smacked into a tree. I felt Big Sploosha’s sling break, tearing the gun from my body. I cried out as my favorite weapon vanished into the murky waters. The pressure of the water pinning me to the tree abated, allowing me to ease toward the forest floor. My front tire jammed in a root system. I was threatened to be sent further south until finally the wave of water ended. I was a few feet off the ground and gasping for breath. A few seconds longer and I felt I would have drowned.
I hopped off the bike and unstuck the front tire. The bike crashed with a thud.
“Fuck yeah!” I shouted when I realized the water seals held. I returned to the bike, propped it up, and jumped on.
“This is Cap, report,” I said.
“This is Mitchell. The majority of us were scooped up by a divine-ape. Only you and Destiny were missing. I am showing her still going south. Firing!”
The crack of a fifty-caliber sniper rifle brought me back to the situation. We would rescue Destiny later if we could. There was a battle for now. I sped west for the clearing. I found my team just inside the opening. The rapid fire of our weapons smashed into the lurrol’s left flank.
The water slimed the lurrol—they were struggling to stay up on their balls. I slid the bike to a stop. I hopped off and took aim at our foes. Every shot Mitchell, Torrez, Willow, and I took were eye shots. Elifer, Daphne, and Razzar were trying. Shooting a new weapon at that distance was difficult. Even with the occasional misses, the lurrol’s left flank was dropping rapidly from our assault. The enemy commander had enough. It ordered their troops forward in a charge.
The yellow blasts of energy never slowed. The exploding foes were creating chaos on top of slimy chaos. I fired without the worry about when my battery would deplete. The flank we targeted was thinning quickly. Mitchell and Willow were not missing while Torrez shifted for the enemy leader. I noticed they started walking in their targets from the far right to the left. This funneled the enemy toward the divine-ape. A guard died for his boss when Torrez fired for a kill.
For a brief moment, there was silence over the battlefield. My eyes caught a flare of red on my Gpad.
“Get to Earth. Now!” - Lilith
I let my rifle drop to hang by its sling, picked up the bike, and spun a turn for the south. My troops followed my lead. My side-eye caught the battle turning into a melee. I was deafened again by the roar of the sides colliding. Air was clapped in sonic booms as the giants went to war. I followed the trail I had carved earlier. With the accelerator jammed down, I raced the bike forward.
The virum healed my ears. I picked out a faint voice saying, “Trapped. Please, help.”
“That’s Destiny! You have command, Cap,” Mitchell said, diverting his bike into the underbrush in a reckless dash for Destiny. Elifer went to join him.
“No, Elifer, stick to us,” I commanded. She went to argue but I cut off her complaint. “I am in command. We are not leaving more people behind.”
The random debris the wave washed onto my path was minimal. I increased the speed regardless of the risks. I was up on the pedals riding over thirty. The jostling left me in the air more than on the ground. I turned at the river, seeing the Xgate in the distance.
“Got her. She’ll live— I said to hold on,” Mitchell said. He left the radio open and muttered angrily, “I don’t care if Elifer will be upset because you are touching me. Hold the fuck on.”
“Understood,” I said, letting him know he had a hot mic. “Get home ASAP. I expect the divine-apes to retrograde back to Earth. We need to hurry—”
“Too late. We are falling back now. Get your teams off the Xgate,” Lilith said.
“Fuck, Cap. We're not going to make it. I see a tree cutout up ahead. Going to weather the coming storm of giants off the beaten path. Mitchell out.”
Elifer peeled off of our formation. I would fucking lash her later. This is why militaries didn’t allow in-unit romances. I reached the Xgate but the damn thing was moving. I hit the portal at a shitty angle.
My eyes were blinded with blue. A moment later I was nose-diving the bike. Fuck. I crashed and flew off the handlebars. My arms instinctively shot forward to absorb my impact. I smashed into the ground with a tumble while eating the rocky terrain. My face, body, and palms burned in agony. Cuts unleashed blood freely. I tried to shake the damage off but instead swayed.
“Get on!” Daphne screamed at me. My one working eye focused. I hobbled over to her with mostly luck.
She twisted sideways to help me up. We were out of time. The first divine-ape burst through the portal. The impact of the landing caused me to crumple over the back half of the bike. Daphne gunned the accelerator while holding me with one arm. I saw the place we just vacated get squished by a rolling divine-ape. I fucking lost my other weapon in the crash. Even with cables, straps, and proper securing of my weapons, I lost both of them. I was pissed. Could this adventure—
We jostled over a jump. I flew out of Daphne’s hands as I was sent flying at an odd angle. I smacked into a tree, suddenly stopping my momentum. Fuck my life. I couldn’t breathe. The proverbial wind had been knocked out of me. I saw my femur was jutting out of my thigh without any pain. The spurting, projectile blood was life ending. It, however, stopped moments after it started. You have got to be kidding me.
Daphne screamed for my attention while cutting a tight turn for me.
I was hoisted off the forest floor and sat on the front of the bike. My mind was telling me I should be in agony. I was feeling numb, though. Daphne spoke but I heard nothing at first.
“RV3?”
“Yes, please,” I said, and coughed out blood.
She squeezed behind me tightly, gunned the bike, and we shot forward. We exited a section of trees and I gasped. Those sneaky divine-apes. This had been another bait and switch. A thousand divine-apes lined up at the ready as their brethren returned from Crixonia. Siege weapons the width of the portal but fifty feet tall were in their mids
t. I watched the front three lines duck as the returning troops leaped behind the formations. I was stunned until a large hand stopped our bike. Daphne’s arm that held me in place shook with fright. I patted her hand reassuringly.
“Madam Matriarch, you impress me. Your divinity is refreshing to behold,” I said, hobbling off the bike to perform an awful bow.
“Your resilience in combat and capabilities are refreshing to see of the lower species. I think Madam suits me very well. Take this healing boon,” Madam said. A vial was lifted out of a side pouch. The top was sent flying before I was drenched in purple powder that erupted in a blinding light. Within a microsecond, my body knitted back to its previous form. The science of such a powder was none other than magic in action. “Now return to your flank of the battle, Captain Moostache. Have no mercy on the lurrol. The gate worshippers shall reap what they have sown.”
I pushed myself back onto the dirt bike. Since the giants were landing on the backside of the formation, I sped across the front. I grinned with glee as we barreled across the tensing line. I felt fantastic. Whatever go juice she gave me was an elixir of life. I would be hunting the market for more, that is for damn sure.
The Aspen tank was butted against RV3 with our meager troops spreading into a firing line. The last of the divine-apes were exiting the portal. The ground bounced, shaking from the immense pressure applied to it when the formations re-formed to swallow the new troops. I exited the battle line joyful to arrive at our forces.
“Aspen actual for Mansion actual, over,” Reinhardt’s voice came over our command net.
“Go,” I replied.
“Ah, you live. I see you made—”
A tank round silenced his talk. My head whipped to track the target. The crew was on point. A lurrol’s head was removed before it reached the ground. The next lurrol reached the ground to lock the gate. A siege weapon with yellow energy belched a disintegration ray into the lurrol.
