Victernus - Chapter 15
Athius picked up a long, thick stick
and then charged at a creature that was boring a hole in Namara's leg. It used
the sharp ridge on its forehead to tear at him. The animal looked like some
sort of cross between a bat and a lizard, with its thick skin and folded legs.
He whacked it on the head and it jumped away, skittering off into the trees.
But, as he bent down and grabbed Namara's legs to pull him out into the road,
he saw five more latched onto the trees around him. Each one blended extremely
well with the trees, but their slight movements allowed Athius to see that they
were ready to tear him apart.
Readying the stick, he pulled Namara
out slowly. None of the creatures budged. He tried to make sure that little
noise was made by dragging the werewolf from his resting place. Once he got
Namara out into the road completely, three of them launched from their
respective trees and zoomed towards Athius. He swung his stick in an arc, missing
each one magnificently. But, to his surprise, they all scattered and ran away.
The two that were still on the trees before him had disappeared.
Looking down the road to the
facility, he saw a bright light approaching them. Darn it, they sent out a Sweeper! He lowered himself again and
grabbed Namara's legs, pulling him to the other side of the road to hide. The
light grew brighter and a low-pitched humming reached his ears. Shaking his
head as something tried to infiltrate his mind, he ran backwards and then
plugged his ears when they were hidden among the trees.
A large, winged hovercraft with a gigantic light
fitted to the front floated towards them. It was going very slowly and seemed
to be scanning the area for something. The humming became stronger and Athius
felt as if the very bones in his skull were vibrating. His fingers lost their
grip and seemed as if they were coated with a warm, wet substance. Pulling them
from his ears, he saw that they were covered in blood.
Namara opened his eyes, still half-awake. He mumbled
something, but his voice sounded distorted and robotic. Two markings that
glowed blue surfaced on the left side of his face and in the center of his
chest. His eyes changed from yellow to that same blue, and they were filled
with thin, mechanical rings.
Athius held his head as the
vibrating worsened. When the hovercraft passed them, it turned around and flew
back faster than it came. The humming stopped and they were left in silence for
mere moments before the screeching of their attackers was heard again. Blinking
his eyes, he tried to regain his focus. He glanced beside him and saw that his
counterpart seemed more conscious than he was earlier. "Hey, can you get up?"
Namara sat up slowly and nodded
after examining his leg, "Sure. My leg's not too bad."
He stood up and held out his hand, "Wow...
What's your name? I'm Athius."
Namara took it and then got to his
feet clumsily, still seeming a bit dazed from the tranquilizer. Using a tree as
leverage, he tested, "Would you kill me if I told you?"
Athius shook his head and then
headed out into the street, "No. I just saved your life..."
He sighed and followed, stepping
through the grass. "Right... My name's Namara. Where am I, exactly?"
Athius continued, "We're in the forest
just outside of New Selania." He pointed, "Down the road is a research
facility. I can't go there myself, but I can show you the city if you'd like."
Namara stared at him with surprise,
"You don't think the people would be... afraid?"
He smiled assuredly, "I'm not. The
people there are used to seeing new things - we are a society dedicated to science,
after all. Though I must say, I was a bit surprised to find you lying out here."
Namara shifted his eyes back to the
ground and walked along the edge of the road to the city as if he had forgotten
who he was talking to. Athius followed, unsure of how to respond to the
behavior. He figured that the tranquilizer had something to do with it, but he
was still unprepared. He watched the trees to make sure none of the creatures would come back.
The notion of intelligent life outside of the city
was a hard one for Athius to accept, and the thought that it would come here
was an even harder one. In the School, they were always taught that it was
impossible for life to exist outside of their cavern because of a nuclear war
that took place over a century before. With the arrival of the beast walking
beside him, he couldn't begin to imagine what it would mean - especially since
he was probably going to fail his studies.
It wasn't long before they were out
of the dim forest light and walking in the open. The road wound down into a
rocky valley that was home to the main city. Flying lights shaped like rings
littered the air above the roads, spaced apart evenly. They never really turned
off, although they did get dimmer during the night. Athius still didn't
understand what powered them, but he was always forced to put those thoughts
aside. They would never be resolved.
Namara
seemed to come out of his daze when he questioned, "I heard of some 'great
demonstrator' person... Who are they?"
Athius shrugged as they crossed the
metal bridge that led into the city, "I've never seen him, but I know that he
oversees everything. We're told that he knows best for us in school."
"I see..."
He stopped by a streetlight just
before the main archway and then returned, "You know, I've been meaning to ask...
Why are you here in the first place? Where are you even from?"
Namara smiled and gazed towards the
city. "I'm searching for some people. I don't know if they'll be here, but if
they are..." He sighed before continuing, watching the cavern and the city in
awe, "My goodness, I haven't even been awake for a day!"
"I'm sorry?"
He laughed, "Sorry... I was from a
place that was far away from this one. You wouldn't know about it. I led a sort
of... research team... that was trying to find the answer - the answer to humanity
itself. Or rather, we were trying to decode it. I was given the answer when I
was young, and I was told to safeguard it as best I could. I became part wolf
to express myself more openly, for the most part."
Athius rested his back on the
archway and asked simply, "What is it?"
Namara grimaced, "I can barely begin
to tell you. It's so complex... It is sort of like... a base desire that every
person starts out with. What everyone wants is their interpretation of it
unless they've been warped by greed."
He nodded, "I understand."
"By making it known, people could finally be in
harmony with each other while staying unique." Namara paced forward
reflectively, "It's kind of funny... You see, the time that I was from - I was
put into some kind of stasis thing about a hundred and sixty years ago -
everyone had their own views about how the world worked." Putting his hands up
expressively, he emphasized, "So many people were waiting for heaven to come to
them and welcome them in, without making things right first. They expected a
free ticket without any effort on their part. But no... in order to find any sort
of peace, they had to bring 'heaven' here first. Nobody saw that." He nodded
and clenched his fist, assuring himself, "Yes... I have come to find the friends
I left behind and then make this known to your society. Science alone won't get
you there. Not in a million years. An unrestrained focus on science will turn
humanity into a mindless collective. By what you've said, I have a feeling
something has already gone sour here."
Athius agreed and walked to the
other end of the gate, peering into the city. Two streets branched out before
them and the corner of a tall grey building pointed towards them. "That's true.
I've had that feeling for a long time, and I'm about to become a victim of it."
Namara joined him at his side, "I'll
be leaving if they don't listen. I've spent too much time waiting. I must
accomplish it myself, or else I'll always
be waiting for everyone else to do it. You're welcome to come if you like."
He sighed and looked up at his new
friend. "I might have no other choice. But, if I do go, is there anyone I can
bring?"
Namara smiled, "Bring whoever thinks
that this will work."
Athius returned his smile and then
began to walk into the city. He turned back to Namara and said, "Well, do
whatever you need to. I need to go home... I really
don't want to be home late. I'd show you around, but I'd probably get in
trouble. I would like to hear more about that thing though..."
He nodded back and gestured for him
to go, "That's fine, we can talk some other time. I need to find my friends.
Just, if you ever come across someone named Mahalia, tell her that I'm alive."
Athius acknowledged him and then
turned to leave. He walked on the empty sidewalk and headed to his house,
ignoring his surroundings to think about what Namara had told him. He wasn't
sure if his family would agree, but he had never felt something so powerful in
his entire existence.