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LIAM, ANN, AND Dyran led a group of fifty into the cave. The rest of the battle’s survivors waited at the base of the mountain. Debra and two other pilots hovered inside their Z56s ready to destroy the cave at a moment’s notice. They all hoped a deal could be made, but who knew what to expect.
The cave was dark and empty. They used flashlights to make their way down to the steel door. Ann briefed them on the city that lay beyond and what could be waiting for them on the other side. For all they knew an entire army may be anticipating their intrusion.
The side panel was lit up, giving off an eerie green glow. Liam pulled from a bag he was carrying a hand they removed from a deceased soldier and placed its palm on the scanner. The door opened.
The extraordinary city shined brightly, but no one was in sight; the roads quiet and empty.
They loaded on the two service elevators and Dyran assisted them with which button to press to reach ground level.
Creepy was the first thought that passed through Ann’s head when they walked into the empty city. Hundreds if not thousands of Proximians walked and drove vehicles through here the last time she saw it. Now what vehicles they did see sat abandoned. Where did everyone go?
Street after street was deserted. But they noticed in the details that the residents appeared to have left in a hurry. Half-eaten food sat on tables and some of the vehicles’ doors were left open.
When they rounded a corner to a new street they froze. A single Proximian stood feet away in front of a stairwell that descended into darkness.
“Dyran, you’re up,” said Liam.
Their Proximian friend walked up to the city resident. Dyran spoke first, but his translator picked up both sides of the conversation loud enough for them to hear it.
“I am Dyran of the Wrykes.”
“I am Elora of the Rayn.”
“Where have the Hyerans gone?”
“Are you not Hyeran?”
“My ancestors were. I am from Earth. We came here to bring home the people you were enslaving.”
“I see.”
“What purpose were they serving? Where are the residents of this city?”
“I was assigned to stay behind and warn you of the consequences to your foolish action.”
“What action?”
“Interfering in our plan to escape.”
“Escape the mountain?”
“The planet. Seven hundred thousand are all that’s left. After your ancestors abandoned your home planet a war broke out.”
“Yes, between those who wanted to live with technology and the others who wished to live as one with nature.”
“No. Did the two sides disagree? Of course. But that was not what caused the war. When the wormhole drive was activated as your ancestors left the planet, its signature was picked up by another space-faring species called the Othaul. They are a frightening and demanding species. They wanted things from us. Not to rule us, but to take. They took our food, our supplies. They thrived on our fear of them. One day we decided to fight back. We shouldn’t have bothered. The war was over almost as fast as this one. But a deal was made. Either live in the wilderness with nothing or move to a central location where they could keep an eye on us from time to time.
“Some chose the simpler life, but many were addicted to technology and a convenient lifestyle and chose to migrate here. For generations we built this city. But every few cycles the Othauls return. We have no choice but to let them inside the city where they do what they want. They take. They kill. Over time we had enough. We knew we were in no position to fight back and they did not allow any research on space travel so we couldn’t escape. If they found out we were building ships to leave the planet then their retribution against us would be swift. Which is why we’d been waiting on the humans to arrive with fully functioning ships of their own. But their ships are too slow.
“We took control of their computers quite easily due to their inferior technology and landed them here. We knew we only had a limited time before the Othauls discovered our plan so we had to move quickly to install wormhole drives on their ships so we could escape where they couldn’t find us. The humans knew their ships better than we did so, yes, we forced them to do it. Time was running out.”
“Was running out?”
“Correct. When your ship arrived with the wormhole drive there is no doubt the Othauls picked up on it. I’m certain they’re on their way now.”
“Wouldn’t they pick up the wormhole signature wherever you ended up after leaving Hyera?”
“Only if we were unfortunate enough to end up in a place within their range.”
“Where are the Hyerans who live in this city?”
“This stairwell behind me leads to a transport system that goes to our safety bunker. Between the battle outside and the impending arrival of the Othauls, it seemed safest to send them away. I’m afraid I must leave you. Perhaps when they see the humans, the Othauls will show mercy on us.”
The Proximian, or Hyeran, left them as it disappeared into the dark.
Dyran turned to face Liam, Ann, and the rest.
“We weren’t told,” Ann said. “The Past Keeper never mentioned this.”
“It sounds like we have to go,” Liam said.
They raced back through the streets to the elevators.
“Dyran, how many people can your ship hold do you think?” Liam asked while the elevator carried them up.
“If everyone crammed in taking every available inch...I don’t know. It’d be close.”
“Not sure we have a choice.”
Through the cave they ran back out to the mountain. Then a voice sounded on Liam’s radio.
“Liam, it’s Debra. We have company.”
At the mouth of the cave they saw it. The ship that floated high above them made the mile-long STS ships look puny. An extremely bright spot light beamed down from the bottom of the ship sweeping across the battlefield. It found an area that was relatively void of bodies and stayed on that spot.
A singular craft disembarked from the side of the colossal ship and menacingly came down to a landing where the spotlight was settled. It was pitch black and featured wings that had a razor sharp apex with what appeared to be a weapons system underneath. Even when landed, the top of the craft was fifty or sixty feet off the ground. There were no windows that they could see, only a black shiny surface that reflected the battle’s aftermath underneath.
The Othauls had arrived.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chase Hildenbrand lives outside Charlotte, NC with his beautiful wife and daughter. They have two cats, and a crazy yellow lab named Bella.