The Enemies

Guss

Rhea

Some tunnels in Moneree are designed specifically for the cardinals. People rarely notice small insignificant things like wider cracks in the pavement, small indents in the brick walls or extra door with a large sign 'Personnel only'. I had to memorize them when I was little and now that knowledge suddenly came in handy. We exit through one of the tunnels that leads to the Roroch street. The exit is in the small quiet patio with a fountain in the center. The house is of a square form and folds around it. The only escape from the patio is the large archway that leads straight to one of the largest streets of Moneree – the Roroch street. It used to be crowded with people and vehicles, going in various directions. It also has a large air jet station close by, so Karmians often used it to get to the air jets. We do not know where the forces are located now as the fight travels further into the city. It has only been fifteen minutes after the building collapsed and Drellians lost the signal, but everything was planned. It is no wonder Karmians attacked aggressively when they realized we have successfully fulfilled our part.

To our surprise, the Roroch street is littered with fallen Drellian soldiers by now. Some are still trying to put up a fight, but they are outnumbered.

Drawl leads the way when we cautiously appear from the archway. The sunlight falls on the buildings and since most of them are of a light beige color, it seems as if they lit like large concrete lamps. We spot the Karmians immediately. The large group of soldiers surrounds the Drellian squad and is about to execute them. Most of our infantry wearing high tech suits now. One of the Karmians lifts his hand and a red light erupts from the arm of the suit – there is a weapon installed into both arms with various possible options. It heavily depends on the suit purpose – defense or offense. The laser burns the hole in the head of the Drellian soldier as the bullet would but no blood appears from the wound – the high-temperature laser beam burnt through and stopped automatically when it succeeded. They repeat the action to the rest of the Drellians and we stand there watching.

What have I done?

Is there a Karmian soldier pointing his rifle at Oden or is Oden already dead? Before I can process it, the bombing starts – one of the Drellian drones managed to get through the defense and now is targeting the entire street.

They cannot be sure who they hit but I have a growing suspicion Drellians do not care anymore. They lost a war and all they want to do now is to send as much Karmians to their graves as possible, no matter how many of their own they are going to slaughter in the process. One of the small bombs drops close to where we stand, and we bolt in different directions. The bombs are falling everywhere, and I run as fast as I can without looking back. The buildings around me crush and crumble; the construction debris erupting into the air like fireworks. And I run from it. I run as fast as I can. I hear only the sound of air blowing in my face and loud thumps of explosions closing in on me. The blast right behind my back takes me by surprise. I am sure I managed to escape when it hits me, burning my flash and shoving my body a good ten feet forward. The last thing I remember before blacking out completely is how wet the pavement is when it snowed just this morning.

The excruciating pain shots through my head when I open my eyes. As if someone shoved tiny little needles inside the skin of my head and now pulls them with as much force as he can. When my gaze focuses, I realize I am not too far from the truth. I am being dragged by my hair down a small lane, with my body mopping the wet pavement. The snow has melted, and my clothes is soaked with water covering the ground. We are not moving fast so I think I am not strapped to a vehicle - someone in high tech suit is doing the job. I try to lift my head, but the pain is agonizing, and I whimper feeling tears welling up my eyes.

'Who are you? What do you want?'

I shriek, gasping and desperately trying to free myself. But my hands are too short for that and my body aches from the burns. My back took the most of the damage from the blast and I am not strong enough to pull myself up. There is no answer and I am still being dragged on the quiet narrow lane, which my panicked brain cannot recognize.