The End of Our World

Emergency sirens were thirteen minutes too late to warn us of our fate. Our sky twisted into a swirl of gray clouds with a blood red sunset, thunder and cracks of explosions indistinguishable in the distance. Even the air that surrounded us peaked with electricity as I pulled my sister’s hand, feet pounded the earth eager to grab each step. It was the tiny details that seemed so memorable: the smell of smoke, the sweat of Isabelle’s small hand fighting against our grip, the burning air in my lungs, and the nausea that forced me to finally stop running once we had made it to the edge of the forest. Isabelle was shell-shocked. I could tell as she dropped to her knees next to me, not a single word while I vomited. We were both plastered with blood, actual blood. Blood from people that we saw every single day and said hello to. People who lived real lives and had dreams, goals. They were gone now. If not now… they would be by the time this was over. 

“Where’s Lee?” She finally spoke. Her voice was so small with a trembling breath. She stared at me the entire time and I finally noticed that she was still gripping my hand. Isabelle was seven. She was seven and she had just watched as her classmates and teachers were massacred. I wiped my mouth with my other hand. What was I supposed to say? 

“I’m sure he’s with Wendy. He wouldn’t leave her behind.”

This answer obviously didn’t satisfy her.

“He’s dead, isn’t he?” Tears streamed her dirty face. Another explosion sounded in the distance and we both jumped at the sudden jolt. She squeezed my hand, still waiting for my answer. 

“I know he’s still alive. Leon can’t be killed that easily,” I forced a soft laugh that I hoped would calm her. It didn’t.

“How can you be sure?” she demanded. 

“He’s our brother. And look at us. We’re still here.”

She sniffled and finally nodded. 

“You’d know if he was really dead, right? You would tell me,” she asked. It was my turn to nod. 

“Right. I would know…”

“What are we going to do? They’re here because of us! We can’t beat them all… what are we supposed to do?” 

I glanced back at the path we had taken to come here. I felt no approaching energies so I was confident that we were safe for the time being. We were far enough away to where we could still hear the screams and the popping of fire billowing from the campus. We had escaped a battleground, and that battleground was our school. 

“Listen to me. We have to stay together no matter what. We are going to make it through this. Do you hear me?” I pulled her hand to grab her attention. Her eyes, they were so wide. Terror seemed permanently carved into her face. What I would do to take this pain from her, but I was helpless. I hated this feeling more than anything! I was the Heiress, I had trained my entire life for this moment. But at fourteen I was still too young. We all were still too young. And we were helpless to do anything more than run because if we died that day… no. I refuse to think what would have happened. 

“Yes… I understand. Do you think Mom and Dad are coming?” she asked while tears began to stream her cheeks again. This time I felt my own eyes well. I could feel my lips press together tightly and I shook my head. 

“Berkley is likely on lockdown at this point. And if they are attacking the school I’m sure there are hotspots throughout Hopscotch to spread the Guard thin,” I explained.

“So, we’re trapped. We can’t make it out,” she sighed. I squeezed her hand again.

“We will make it out. Do you remember what Grandmamma always told us to do if we found ourselves in a Check position?” 

She took a moment before she spoke again.

“Regroup in safety. If not safety, regroup in necessity. If not three, hold fast until ground can be gained.” It was stated by verbatim. We heard that line all of our lives, through our training and studies. We had no choice; our childhood was spent in preparation. 

My siblings and I were the target of this massacre, this much was certain. The reasoning behind it will take a moment to explain, as I’m sure it might come across strange for a human to read about the battles of… well, beings like us. Biologically we are an evolutionary offspring from homosapiens. Most of our organs are relatively the same and we often do not look any different from that of a typical human being, but we contain nystha, a genetic component that gives us unlimited kinetic energy which flows in a different route of veins entwined with that containing blood. Within our species, there are six races. Race is specified by the dimension and region the species originated from and therefore adapted their nystha to specialize in. Pioggia are dominant to water. Plamya are dominant to fire. Alam are dominant to earth. Zuheilen are the healers. Then, there are the twin races – the Meridians and the Leviathan. Both Meridians and Leviathan are the universal races, containing a greater amount of nystha in order to facilitate the other four types which are generally called the regional races. In a sense, they could easily be considered the same race, if it were not for the fact that the two have battled against each other since practically the beginning of time. There is legend and lore that I can go on and on about, but in the end, one thing matters the most – the Leviathan will stop at nothing to obtain complete dominance over the Meridians in order to become the one and only universal race. Meridians and Leviathan have been compared to the light and dark sides of the same moon, but this does little to change the bloodshed of our never-ending war. Myself, Leon, and Isabelle are the youngest Meridians: the latest and perhaps final generation of our endangered race. We are also the three sides of the Reign. We’ll talk about that part a little later.

“I don’t hear him anymore. I don’t feel him… he’s dead, Emmy. I know he’s gone.”

I glared at her. I’m not sure if I realized what I was doing at the time, but I remember holding back the desire to slap her as hard as I could. I wouldn’t act on it, of course. My sister had the gift of keen awareness and nystha recognition, something not even I could replicate. What she did not seem to understand was that our brother had shifting nystha which made it difficult to track him down. That was part of his own gift. 

“You need to stop using so much energy trying to locate him, you will exhaust yourself and get us killed. Remember we are their soldiers –”

“I never agreed to be a soldier, none of us did!”

This time I did slap her.

“Do you want to end up like the twins? Or Mr. Hawson?”

“Or Nate…” she muttered and with those two words I felt my blood rush. She was right. He was gone now, too. My first love, a remarkable being in every way… he was gone forever. All for stepping between me and the blast that allowed the milliseconds needed for Isabelle and me to run away. 

“Leon is alive. I guarantee it. Now it is our turn to push through and survive. All we have to do is make it to the edge of the woods,” I stood up and together we began our trek into the trees. Almost instantly the environment around us distorted and we stopped, our feet nearly slid into the leaves and ice. We both knew to stop and not move a muscle.

“We slipped into a portal. Damn it…” I grumbled to her. The absolute last thing in the world we needed was to fall into one of their traps, and it looked like we had simply walked into this one. Isabelle inhaled deeply. She was finally her usual calm again. She was extraordinary when emotion didn’t cloud her judgment.

“I feel him. He’s here, too.” She whispered back.  

“Never mind that, is the opening locked?” I asked, standing perfectly still as to try not to be sensed. If they couldn’t sense that we entered, it was possible to back out into Berkley territory. 

“I – I can’t tell. It’s too fuzzy,” she breathed.

“They planned this all perfectly,” I chuckled.

“Someone is approaching.”

“I know. Keep looking for an out. I’ll handle this,” I said, pushing her into a snow covered bush. This reality was warm with snow and ice blanketing the ground. It seemed to be the work of an upper class Leviathan. We had our work out for us.

He appeared from behind a group of trees ahead. With a casual stroll and hands tucked in his pockets, he came closer and stopped a few feet away from where I stood. I wondered if he could sense my fear disguised terribly as cocky courage. My arms were crossed and we glared at one another.

“Little Heiress. Where are your iron towers and copper guards now?” he asked. This one wasn’t much older than me. Which made sense. Most attacking Leviathan were young adults. Any older had no use in playing the field. That was what the rats were for. 

“Sorry to disappoint, but I won’t be staying for long,” I shot back. 

“You are mistaken. The triangle wondered into our hold. The Warrior is contained all ready. We only need the Innocent and… well, of course, you, lovely princess.” The jerk sneered. His hair was slick with oil and his forehead shined with dripping perspiration.

“Tell your master that his princess died a long fucking time ago and that I’m no one’s prize.” 

Before he could answer, his head slid from his shoulders and dropped into the snow with almost a comical plop. After only a moment his body hit the ground. My nerves were on fire. What in the hell just happened?

And then, it all made perfect sense when I recognized the energy. I opened my eyes in time to see Leon wiping his blade on the Leviathan’s jacket.

“I’ll be damned if he rusts my only good knife…” he mumbled as if this were just another day to him. Isabelle ran from her hiding spot, knocking him onto the ground. She sobbed and hugged him tight.

“I thought we had lost you forever,” she cried and he dropped his weapon to hold her back. 

“It’ll take a little more than an organized assassination attempt to take us out,” he assured her with his usual crass humor. He moved his sight up to me.

“Are you okay?” he asked seriously. 

“Of course. I’m glad we found you. Your sister is dramatic.” I smiled. He laughed as he stood up and dissipated his weapon.

“Which one? Both of you can be pretty insufferable!”

“Did Wendy come with you?” I looked around, not feeling her near. Wendy was Leon’s girlfriend. She was a powerful fighter, a pretty unique quality given her Zuheilen roots, which were mainly gentlefolks. Wendy was certainly an exception. 

“She stayed behind to help with the wounded,” he answered in what sounded like relief. He and I both knew that she would be much safer there than fighting with an actual Leviathan.  

“Any ideas on how we cut through?” I changed the subject quickly when I noticed the air was becoming thicker. It would increase the longer we were in this reality. It wasn’t actually designed to properly sustain life. It was created as an illusion to disorientate and trap. Portal creation was the Leviathan specialty. 

“Nah, I tried to slice it but that didn’t work. This one is up to Isabelle,” he nudged her. She shook her head.

“I… I tried. It isn’t dissolving. It’s too thick,” she admitted softly. Leon and I glanced at each other before looking back to her.

“But… dissolving these things is sort of your calling, Glitz,” he laughed half-heartedly in an effort to break the tension. If Isabelle couldn’t cut through, we were pretty well stuck. Perhaps the Leviathan planned for this all along. It would only be a matter of time before we would suffocate. And worst of all, no one would be able to find us. It would be as if we had vanished into thin air. 

“Imilon. You might need to step up on this one,” Leon said after Isabelle shook her head again. 

“You know our bond was severed the last time they attacked,” I declared. The last attack was not nearly as severe as the massacre that happened that day, but it was enough to where I no longer held the link to my gifts as the Heiress. And because of this, I was pretty well useless to aiding in anything requiring a deep connection in energy use. 

“Well, I hope you two are ready to have your innards crushed in an otherworldly pressure that will most likely kill us within the next ten or so minutes,” Leon shrugged nonchalantly. 

“Look who’s dramatic now…” I grumbled. 

Closing my eyes, I focused on the pressure. How tightly it seemed to stretch across the skin and fill the lungs. I once had a tutor that tried to teach us how to focus energy to disintegrate these traps. I wasn’t sure if in my state it was possible, but it was worth a try. 

I felt a click and a shooting pain in my temple. Something must have gone wrong. I was terrified to open my eyes. 

“Holy shit… Emmy, you did it!” 

I heard Leon gasp and it was also then when I realized the suffocating pressure had released. The air once again smelled of smoke and the wind still blew with the scent of blood. I opened my eyes and the sun was nearly set. The guard had broken through and order would finally be restored. A calm seemed to envelope, despite the horror of the remnants.

It would be said that the attack lasted thirty-six minutes. Eighty-four lives were lost that day and what would later be called The Battle of Berkley would be recorded in history as one of the most violent acts on civilian grounds ever noted. Aside from that, many survivors would make the difficult decision to leave our realm altogether to seek peace amongst humanity, which in many ways proved to be even deadlier than the Leviathan. 

This day would forever change the direction of our path. Though the world did not completely end, we could no longer pretend that we were safe within the sanctity of our allies. 

This was the beginning of a different end.