The Syndicate's Journey

by Nicholas Bogucki

  “…Which I’m not afraid of doing.” M’leezenah boasted while she spoke, “I have more than you do.”

  “This isn’t a numbers game; don’t you recall the Battle of Sli’voria and Saroulzell?”

  “No, I don’t study the past, I only focus on the future.”

  “That’s too bad,” J’uhleesa smirked. “The past repeats itself.”

  “What did you need us for?” Major General Solbrig asked as he interrupted their conversation.

  “Well, we saw that thing in the sky, and it stopped by you two. It was quite frightening, to say the least.” J’uhleesa admitted.

  “What are you talking about? It was terrifying!” M’leezenah remarked. “I hope I never see another one again.”

  “What was that thing?” J’uhleesa asked.

  “Well, our leader sent us some supplies.” Major General Reingle explained.

  “Your leader? Who is your leader?”

  “General Koba Deschner of Nuwurth.” Major General Solbrig stated.

  “Who and what is that?” M’leezenah asked.

  “General Deschner is the one who is in charge of every transhuman on Nuwurth, which is where we came from.” Major General Solbrig spoke and looked around them. “Just like you are in charge of all of your Snargde, he is in control of every transhuman.”

  “I would be in charge of all of them, too, if J’uhleesa will give up.”

  J’uhleesa shook his head. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “We’ll see about that,” M’leezenah remarked.

  “What did your leader send you?” J’uhleesa inquired.

  “Well...” Major General Reingle looked down and saw his hand still holding onto the HAFR, and he raised it up to show them. “He sent us two of these.”

  M’leezenah was curious about what it was as she walked a few steps closer to get a better look at it.

  “Stand back, I don’t want to hurt you with this.”

  M’leezenah asked. “Oh? What does it do?”

  “Well, we believe it can instantly blow up anything in a matter of milliseconds.”

  “What do you mean?” J’uhleesa asked.

  “Well, I wish I could show you, but there’s nothing around here to show what it is fully capable of.”

  “I know of something that we can test it on,” M’leezenah smirked and turned to her right towards her followers, and said something in unintelligible which sounded like a mixture of hisses and hand movements. The group of Snargde shuffled back and forth as if something was in between the group. The Snargde that appeared was the same Snargde from earlier that had only one arm. The Snargde walked closer to them and stood there a few feet away, expecting further instructions. The Snargde stopped a few feet away. The Major Generals continued to look befuddled by the Snargde’s presence here. M’leezenah turned towards the Major Generals and smirked as she spoke.

  “You said you needed something to test it on, yes?”

  Major General Solbrig turned to look at Major General Reingle, and he shook his head. Then Major General Solbrig looked at J’uhleesa, and he looked down towards the sandy ground.

  “Where do you want him to stand?” M’leezenah asked.

  “No.” Major General Solbrig demanded. “I won’t shoot him.”

  “Why not?” M’leezenah asked. “I have a perfect example of shooting here...why don’t you finish what you started on him?”

  The Snargde was standing there and looked down at the sand and closed its eyes. The Snargde was standing there and looked scared and nervous.

  “Why would I shoot an innocent Snargde?” Major General Solbrig asked. “I didn’t mean to hurt it earlier.”

  “What you did to it earlier, this Snargde will forever remember what you did. It will never have its arm again.” M’leezenah explained. “You either shoot him or leave this area and don’t come back.”

  Major General Solbrig walked closer to Major General Reingle, and he whispered. “Reingle...What do I do?”

  “As much as I hate saying this, we have to stay here and lock down this area for General Deschner.” Major General Reingle added. “I don’t like the situation that we’ve gotten ourselves into, but we need to do this.”

  “I thought you were going to say that, but I just can’t take an innocent Snargde’s life away from him all because what? Its leader wants me to?” Major General Solbrig shook his head. “I just can’t do it, Reingle.”

  “You’re going to have to. J’uhleesa doesn’t seem to deny us from doing so. Maybe it is a cultural thing?” Major General Reingle inquired.

  “I hope not. I can’t kill innocents. If that’s the case, I definitely don’t like their culture.”

  “You said it yourself though Solbrig, we have to act like nothing is changed. I liked it better when J’uhleesa was just with us.”

  “How would she know how we act if it is any different than before?”

  “Maybe J’uhleesa told her?” Major General Reingle asked. “Who knows what they were talking about before we walked here.”

  “That’s right.” Major General Solbrig looked down at the HAFR in his hand and then looked up towards the Snargde standing by himself.

  “Remember Solbrig, we need a way out of here.”

  Major General Solbrig shouted towards M’leezenah. “Fine. You got yourself a test subject.”

  M’leezenah demeanor change as she perked up and asked. “Oh, good. Where do you want him?”

  “Well...” Major General Solbrig walked a few feet closer as he talked until he stood in front of M’leezenah and J’uhleesa. Major General Reingle stood a few feet behind Major General Solbrig. “He will have to walk away from us. This is very powerful, and it should not be shot anywhere close to us.”

  M’leezenah waved towards the Snargde and hissed at him as he walked further away from the group. As he was about twenty feet away, M’leezenah asked, “Is this far away?”

  Major General Solbrig looked at Major General Reingle, and he shook his head. “No, he has to be further away.”

  M’leezenah once again waved her hand and shouted foreign words to the Snargde. He moved further away from them, and M’leezenah turned once again and asked Major General Solbrig if he was far enough away.

  “I believe so.” Major General Solbrig looked around. “You two might want to stand back.”

  They listened to him and stood back a few feet. Major General Solbrig held the HAFR up and aimed at the Snargde in the distance. He exhaled and focused on the Snargde; he closed his eyes for a few seconds, then opened them, and then he pulled the trigger. A white beam of blinding light exited from the barrel, and the beam hit the Snargde. Instantly the Snargde had vanished, and nothing was left. A small explosion scattered the sand all around where the Snargde was standing.

  “Did you see that?!” exclaimed Major General Solbrig.

  “That is amazing,” M’leezenah shouted. “That’s the kind of power I need!”

  J’uhleesa watched her as she walked slowly towards Major General Solbrig. She was moving her tail back and forth, and she bent down on all four legs. J’uhleesa ran after her, but he was too late. M’leezenah had pounced onto Major General Solbrig and had pushed him face-first into the sand.

  She scratched his shoulder blade and down his back. Major General Solbrig twisted and turned, trying to get M’leezenah off of him. J’uhleesa was able to tackle her and push her off of him. Major General Reingle ran towards Major General Solbrig and helped him stand up while J’uhleesa and M’leezenah were clawing at one another. Major General Reingle dropped his HAFR and picked up Major General Solbrigs’. The Major Generals walked back a few feet to get out of their way.

  Major General Reingle looked towards the Snargde to his left and saw that M’leezenah’s followers were running towards them. Then he looked to his right and saw that J’uhleesa’s were doing the same. Major General Reingle held out the HAFR towards M’leezenah’s followers and closed his eyes. Some of the followers stopped running,
but by the time that they managed to halt, Major General Reingle had fired a shot from the HAFR. A handful of Snargde instantly was decimated. The sand flew every direction, which gave Major General Reingle enough time to walk out of the area with Major General Solbrig and help him get somewhere safer.

  They barely escaped as they saw the Snargde from both sides meet one another with their claws, their teeth, and their tails. Dark blue blood gushed from their bodies and squirted all over the sand. There were pieces of flesh scattered throughout. Snargde were being trampled over, killing and crushing those in the way.

  “Are you okay?” Major General Reingle asked him.

  “I’ll be fine just as long as I don’t lose too much blood.” Major General Solbrig replied. “How does it look back there?”

  Major General Reingle placed him on the sand and looked at his back and saw that his shirt was ripped to shreds, and the scratch that M’leezenah left now had produced a little blood.

  “Well, I’m not sure if it is Snakardekus’ atmosphere or what, but there’s barely any blood there.” Major General Reingle explained.

  “Really?” Major General Solbrig was surprised. “That’s strange. It hurts a lot.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure it does!” Major General Reingle looked towards J’uhleesa and M’leezenah while they rolled around on the sand, clawing and attacking one another. As they watched, M’leezenah scratched J’uhleesa, but it seemed as if he didn’t wince at the pain. She swung her tail and hit him in the abdomen. J’uhleesa didn’t wince from the pain. M’leezenah continued to swing her tail and once again struck his leg.

  Once again, he stood as if nothing had hit him. J’uhleesa looked at her, and now it was his turn to fight back, he used his tail to push himself towards her as he extended his arms out and scratched both of her arms. He fell on top of her, and they continued to scratch each other. M’leezenah moved her head underneath his neck and bit it. J’uhleesa let out a shriek. When her mouth moved away, she pulled some Azuard from his neck and spit it out.

  She noticed where she bit him did not leave a mark. He then moved his head bit down her neck, pulling a piece of flesh off in the process. He turned to his left and spit it onto the sand. M’leezenah cried out in pain.

  Her throat started to secrete dark blue blood on the sand beneath her. M’leezenah tried to scratch his back, but her claws kept grabbing the Azuard that was all over his body instead.

  He felt her claws and teeth on his body but could not feel the pain. J’uhleesa grabbed her claws and held them to the ground and smiled. Then he felt something grabbing his legs and his tail, and then he looked at his arms and was being lifted up.

  The Snargde that picked him up were her followers. Six Snargde held him up as M’leezenah stood up from the sand. She moved her right claw to her left side of the neck and felt her warm blood seeping out. Major Generals Reingle and Solbrig were too far away to know what she was saying, but her mouth was moving as if she was speaking to J’uhleesa.

  None of J’uhleesa’s followers paid attention to what was going on. M’leezenah stepped forward and shouted something as she touched her neck once again, then moved her hand and rubbed J’uhleesa’s face with it. She stepped back as J’uhleesa was squirming about, trying to get himself free. M’leezenah pointed towards the Major Generals as she was speaking and then pointed to J’uhleesa.

  He shook his head and tried to squirm, trying to break free from the Snargde holding him. M'leezenah ran towards J’uhleesa with her arms extended as if she was about to slash him. Major General Reingle looked down at Major General Solbrig sitting on the sand looking at J’uhleesa, then he looked back at Major General Reingle, and he nodded.

  As M’leezenah stepped forward, a flash of light hit her, she disintegrated, and the sand around her, and the Snargde that was holding J’uhleesa were pushed in the air from the explosion. Major General Solbrig smirked, and Major General Reingle saw J’uhleesa as he knew exactly what had happened. He fell on the sand, rolled over, and was able to run away.

  J’uhleesa ran towards the Major Generals hoping to catch his breath for a moment before he had to deal with the rest of the Snargde. He stood next to Major Generals Solbrig and Reingle and began to speak.

  “Reingle. Thank you for saving my life.” J’uhleesa handed him the HAFR that he left on the ground. “You left this there.”

  Major General Reingle admitted, “I just couldn’t stand here and not help, I’m sorry...” He grabbed the HAFR from his hand and extended his hand, holding the other HAFR towards Major General Solbrig to take.

  “No need to apologize,” J’uhleesa smirked.

  “This HAFR wasn’t loaded, so even if a Snargde got ahold of it, nothing would happen.” Major General Reingle continued. “The one that Major General Solbrig used, the one I just gave him can be fired… but thank you for returning it, J’uhleesa.”

  “Don’t thank me.” J’uhleesa looked down towards Major General Solbrig while he sat on the sand. “How are you doing?”

  Major General Solbrig groaned before speaking. “Yeah, I believe I’ll be alright. I’m not bleeding as much as I thought. I can still feel the pain of her nails, though.”

  “I believe it. I’ve never met anyone that got in a fight with M’leezenah and walked away from it.” J’uhleesa stated.

  “Well, Reingle here helped me away, so technically, I didn’t walk away from it myself.” Major General Solbrig chuckled and then asked, “Aren’t you going to do something about this?” He pointed towards both groups of Snargde fighting one another.

  “Yes, I will. I just needed to make sure I was in good health before I did anything. Becoming the leader of the entire Snargde takes a lot.” J’uhleesa explained.

  “Oh, I’m sure about that!” Major General Reingle spoke, “We’re here for you if you need us.”

  “Thank you, Reingle, and thank you, Solbrig.” J’uhleesa smiled, “There’s something I must do.” He crouched and got on all fours as he ran towards the group of Snargde. He stopped a few feet away from all the fighting and raised his arms in the air and started to shout something for all the Snargde to hear. Major General Reingle bent down and helped Major General Solbrig stand up, and they walked towards J’uhleesa as he was speaking.

  “There is no reason to fight anymore, we are all one now.” J’uhleesa continued to speak as the Snargde slowly stopped fighting one another. “M’leezenah is gone, and the leader of the Snargde has prevailed. Let us stop fighting. The Snargde that once was following M’leezenah is starved and weak. I do not know what happened to you, but you are safe now, and we will take care of you. I will prove to you that under my care, you will prosper and live a better life compared to M’leezenah.”

  As J’uhleesa continued speaking, Major General Reingle turned to his left and talked to Major General Solbrig. “He really is trying to prove to them that he’s better than M’leezenah, huh?”

  “I’d say so, I mean, I think that’s a universal objective, though.” Major General Solbrig explained. “Becoming the new leader is hard, transhumans are prone to defy a new leader too… let’s hope this transition is smooth.”

  “Agreed.”

  J’uhlessa continued his speech as he moved his arms down to his side and moved his head left to right, looking at the remaining Snargde that was left on the sand. “No more fighting amongst any of you. You will be healed with food and rest.” His eyes darted at the Snargde that has perished, which are lying in the sand. Almost all of the Snargde that had died were under M’leezenah. Only a few of the Snargde were followers of J’uhleesa.

  “Snargde, look around you; the numbers have changed, and there are far less of you than before. Do they deserve to be laying there on the ground?” He shook his head. “I think not. They need a proper burial, and we will give them one. Before we do that, follow me Snargde to the Azuard.” J’uhleesa turned towards the cave and proceeded to walk to the entrance of it, and the Snargde followed him.

  The Major Generals watched as t
he group of Snargde followed J’uhleesa as the new Snargde ruler. Major General Reingle turned towards Major General Solbrig and asked him. “What do you think J’uhleesa is planning on doing?”

  “I have no clue. Should we move closer?” Major General Solbrig asked.

  “Sure, I’m curious what he might say.”

  “You can leave me here, don’t worry.” Major General Solbrig uttered.

  Major General Reingle looked at him. “What? No way, Solbrig, we’re in this together!” He bent down and helped Major General Solbrig stand up as they walked towards the Azuard.

  “You know, you don’t have to help me up, my leg isn’t the thing that hurts it’s my arm and back.”

  “Oh, I know I’m well aware, but I’m sure this helps you deal with the pain, though.”