Genesis #44

*Hehehe*

_______

A flash of light lit up the sky, a brilliant orange pillar reaching to the sky.

Then it was gone; without a single person seeing it. The few eyes which remained focused elsewhere; they focused on war. Young and old eyes alike, were brimming with horror and desperation. Slanted, cat-like eyes burned with defeated fury. Round, human eyes bore determination to win; to be free. Both sides of the vain war felt as if they were losing, each side with very few soldiers left, exasperated by the death and ruin around them. Little did the sarsh soldiers know of the checkmate that neared them.

____

Rune hit the ground as he fell from the portal, he somersaulted in the dirt and came to a spinning stop. He recovered and stood, taking in his surroundings; green hills surrounded him, and trees covering the knolls like a furry blanket. In the distance, gunfire met his ears. Rune took a deep breath and steadied himself; he glanced at the glimmering ring on his finger. Then he vanished, his feet pounding the ground as he ran towards the din of battle.

__

The Beacon slowed as he climbed a hill; he dropped to his stomach, invisible hands gripping the grass as he laid eyes on the devastating view in the valley below. Hundreds of men and women lay still, and as the sarsh saw the amount of soldiers remaining, he gasped for breath, horror choking him. Artemis’s original two and a half thousand rebels were reduced to ten times less, and Gallas’s men a similar number. Pure, livid rage poured into Rune’s body and he stood, honing his eyes in on Gallas, the eight-foot sarsh was easily recognizable and he stirred unfathomable anger in Rune; the Beacon slid down the grassy hill into the battlefield. He became an invisible streak, knocking his people aside as his furious feet carried him towards Gallas.

No one saw him coming, only an inexplicable force taking down a dozen sarsh.

No one expected him, having presumed him dead when he disappeared.

It was the last turn of events anyone expected.

Gallas fought furiously with Artemis; both men an even match. Suddenly, Artemis was tossed to the ground and before the Admiral could react, an icy arm wrapped around Gallas’s neck and a rock-hard foot kicked the back of his knees, bringing him to the ground. Artemis climbed to his feet in a flash, eyes wide as a person, long assumed dead, appeared before his eyes. It was Rune, almost unrecognizable. The young sarsh had gained muscle, height, and the fury transformed him into some kind of dark demon.

“Gallas,” He hissed. “Call your men off.”

The Admiral’s eyes stretched wide as he recognized Rune’s voice; the older sarsh hid his surprise and sneered. “So the turncoat has returned after all this time. What have you been doing, napping? Don’t you realize the fate of your people is at hand?”

“I’m more than aware. Now call off your men!”

“No!”

“Fine,” Rune snarled. “I’ll do it.” The Beacon morphed into an anarii, pinning Gallas beneath his paw without crushing the Admiral. Then, Rune released a deafening, primal roar. Instantly, both sides’ eyes were on him and, everyone, seeing the chance, regrouped on opposite sides of the battlefield. The rebels reformed in neat lines behind the slight hill where Rune stood; the sarsh reestablished their ranks before the giant creature.

When the tiny valley went silent, Rune transformed back to himself, resuming his hold on the stunned Admiral Gallas.

“MY PEOPLE!” The Beacon bellowed. “WHY DO YOU FOLLOW THIS MAN? HE IS BLOODTHIRSTY AND TWISTED. DID HE EVEN TELL YOU WHAT WE OFFERED INSTEAD OF WAR? DID HE?”

Silence followed on the heels of Rune’s question. Then one sarsh spoke, breaking the dam for a flood of voices. They all said no and shook their heads. Gallas, realizing what the rogue sarsh was trying to do, struggled, his fists striking Rune’s legs in a vain attempt to get free; the younger sarsh was much too strong and barely acknowledged the Admiral’s struggle. When the sarsh soldiers’ voices died down, Rune called out again.

“A HOME! ARTEMIS OFFERED HIS DEEPEST APOLOGIES AND A NEW HOME PLANET! PEACE INSTEAD OF WAR! AND GALLAS REFUSED! HE’D RATHER SPILL THE BLOOD OF HIS PEOPLE THAN FORGIVE THE HUMANS! I’M ASKING YOU NOW, IS THAT WHAT YOU WOULD HAVE CHOSE? TO DIE IN BATTLE RATHER THAN LIVE IN PEACE?”

A cloud of voices rose from the army as they processed this new information. Then, slowly and stunted at first, but rising to great volume, the battle-battered soldiers chanted; “PEACE! PEACE!”

Gallas spat. “TRAITORS!” He screamed, veins rising to the surface of his face. “BLOOD FOR BLOOD! THAT’S WHAT WE WERE TAUGHT!”

Rune, disgusted, released the Admiral and pushed him forward onto his face. “Go back to your side, Gallas. Surrender and let us have peace.”

The Admiral climbed slowly to his feet, his back to Rune. Suddenly, he whipped around and Rune’s heart leaped into his throat. Gallas had scooped a handgun off the ground and had it pointed directly at Artemis, who stood right beside Rune. The report of the gun was deafening in the hopeful silence.

The Beacon’s body was a blur as he moved.

Artemis flinched, crouching to the ground.

Sarsh soldiers tackled their Admiral and wrestled the gun out of his hands.

Then, for a moment, no one moved. Rune stood in front of Artemis, the sarsh’s mouth open and eyes staring straight ahead. Like a flower blooming, a silver dot appeared on Rune’s chest and grew at an alarming rate; he glanced down, unable to drag a breath from his lungs.

Artemis quickly realized what happened and scrambled to his feet as Rune sunk to his knees, emitting a terrible rattling gasp. “NO!” Artemis shouted, crouching down by his young friend. “Why would you do that!?” The rebel moaned, wincing at the sight of the silver soaking Rune’s uniform. “Medic!” He screamed frantically. Multiple soldiers, both sarsh and rebel rushed to help.

Panic ripped through Rune as he gasped for breath and fought the darkness that encroached on his vision. “No,” He whispered desperately. “I- made a promise, I made a promise. I can’t. I can’t.”

Artemis leaned closer, tears falling from his eyes. “I’m sorry, Rune. After everything I did to you, why did you save my life twice?”

Rune swallowed and smiled. “You’re my friend,” He whispered, voice barely audible. “W-why would I not?”

Artemis sobbed, gripping the sarsh’s hand. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

“It-it’s not your fault. It was my choice. Bring Gallas here.”

The rebel leader stood, calling for the soldiers holding Gallas to come near. The Admiral’s face was indifferent as he stood over the young Lieutenant. “I-I’m sorry, Gallas,” Rune rasped. “I’m sorry you couldn’t see the right path. I forgive you for what you have done to my people, to my life.” His head fell to the grass, the once blue sky darkened.

“My dust returns to the ground it came from,” He whispered. “And my spirit returns to God who gave it.”

The light faded from his purple eyes and his arms, having been tensed with fear and pain, relaxed. A traumatized silence fell over all present; Gallas’s mouth hung open. Artemis wailed in anguish, bending double on the ground. The calls of the wounded galvanized the soldiers to move and sluggishly, both sides tended to their comrades, and their enemies.

____

On Sulien, Clint and Keila lay in the barracks, their heads resting on their pillows and eyes wide open. Abruptly, Keila sat up; Clint started upright, frowning. “What’s wrong, Kel?” He asked. She looked at him, tears in her eyes.

“It feels like a black hole just opened inside my heart.” She stood and rushed from the room.

_

“Tyrene!”

The stout man glanced up as he heard the young, troubled voice. Keila was running towards him, her face twisted. “What is it, Keila?” He inquired.

“Is there any way you can contact Rune?”

“Possibly, why?”

“I-I don’t know. Can you do it for me?”“... I suppose.”

Tyrene led Keila to the conference/computer room and Clint joined them along the way, watching closely as Tyrene’s fingers flew across the keyboard on the desk in front of the mainframe of screens. “I can’t contact Rune directly; he left his intercomm here even though I told him to take it. I have to find a camera near him,” He mumbled. “A news camera or something. Ah! Here’s one! Give me a second while I hack it.”

“It’s scary that it’s that easy for you to just hack into a camera from a world away.” Clint whispered. In a few minutes, a tiny grassy valley came into view; it was shaky because the camera was attached to a news helicopter, but Keila leaned closer.

“No one is fighting,” She pointed out. “I thought this was a battle.”

Tyrene frowned at the screen. “It was. Look, the humans and sarsh are mingling, but they are caring for their wounded. Where’s Rune?”

Keila swallowed as her eyes searched the screen. A sob escaped her lips and her knees buckled. “I knew it. No, no, no. He can’t leave. He promised.” She sunk to the floor. “He promised.”

Then Tyrene and Clint saw it. The swarthy figure crumpled in the grass, the life gone from his once-vigorous body. A white-haired, uniformed man sat next to the sarsh’s body, even from so far away, Clint could see the grief wracked the man’s body.

“No,” The young man shook his head. “He’s not dead. He can’t be.” He wanted with every ounce of his mind and soul to believe his own words, but the chasm of loss that appeared in his heart made it impossible. Silence fell over them. Tyrene was too stunned to even move. He sat frozen, his vivid eyes fixed on the tiny figure on the screen.

____

Amarillius’s heart suddenly sped up. She sat on the porch of her house on Zenith; the boys were playing below. A feeling of dread and nausea filled her gut and she stood suddenly, inhaling sharply. She blinked rapidly, frowning. “What was that?” She mumbled, slowly sitting back down; she tried to continue reading, but her mind kept straying to her big brother, down on earth, fighting. Inexplicable tears filled her eyes, blurring the words of the book she held. “Rune,” She murmured. “Where are you?”