William
“It’s a girl,” he heard a voice as the gunfire stopped.
“Sam,” Will tried to call out quietly, as looked for her but couldn’t see anything. Gunfire in the distant forcing him to jump in his skin. He couldn’t see her. The large rear hatch hug open, the cool air filling the cabin. It was dark, and he couldn’t see anything that moved.
“He must be inside,” another voice came. “Check it out.”
Will felt his eyes dark around. He brought his pistol forward, and held it towards the hatch. He tried to look for Sam, but his eyes kept bouncing back to the open hatch. ‘No, no, no,’ he thought has he saw a pair of legs on the floor near the hatch. “Sam,” he forced out a whisper.
There was no answer, and Will felt his heart in his throat. He had to get to her. He had to. A shadowed figure stepped into the dull lights of the craft. Will couldn’t make out any of it’s features. He pulled the trigger on his pistol. His head rang as the pistol deafened the noise inside. The armed figure stepped back in a rush, it’s rifle shooting into the craft wildly as the figure fell to the ground.
He was breathing heavy as he stared down the sights of his weapon. Before the figure had hit the ground, Will was forced to hit his body again as shots rang back into the craft. He watched blood shot out of the dark figure, and the blood spatter against the surface of the craft on the inside, and himself as those outside shot through their comrade.
Will closed his eyes for a moment, as the rounds continued to rip the inside apart. His body jerked as rounds found their home close to him. The sounds of gunfire increased, but it took Will a moment to realize that they were no longer falling inside. Non stop the fire continued outside. He could hear it close, far away in the distance, everywhere.
Almost as quickly as it started, the gunfire quieted down nearby, but Will could still hear pops in the distance. He had no choice he told himself. He had to get to Sam, she could be hurt. He stood, the pistol clutched so tight in his hands that they hurt. He couldn’t see any movement outside he hatch from his view. I the entrance lay the twisted figure. He could make out the same trench coat on his attacker as had been on the others in Greendown.
“Will,” a voice called out from outside the Craft. He knew that voice. He had heard it many times before, and always hated it, until now.
“Alyn?” Will shouted, his voice cracking.
“Don’t shoot,” Alyn called out.
Another figure stepped into the dull lights of the Craft. Will watched as he looked down as the dark figure on the ground, rifle pointing at it. Alyn stepped over the body slowly, his own covered in light military arm. He stepped forward with ease, but as though each step was planned out.
Alyn moved his rifle to his left, and Will followed with his eyes as the light on his rifle lite up the inside of the Craft. He saw the legs again, and knew in the light they belonged to Sam as he saw the shoes. Unmoving. “No, Sam,” he said tears falling down his face, and rushed forward.
Alyn Surged forward, letting his rifle fall free from one of his hands. He grabbed Will, and easily pulled him against him. Will tried to fight, and push him off, but he was too strong, and couldn’t.
“I’m sorry,” he heard as he felt Alyn’s massive hand grab him by the back of the head and pull his head into his shoulder.
Will cried out, and dropped his pistol as he struggled. He could barely move as Alyn held him. “No,” he muttered to himself as teared soaked his face pressed against Alyn.
Will didn’t know if time passed fast or slow. All he could feel was pain, and wanted to wake up.
“I’m sorry Will,” he heard Alyn say. He realized he was out of breath. His eyes stung from the tears, and it was hard to breath from his nose. “We have to go Will. There are more.”
Will didn’t think he had ever heard Alyn’s voice as gentle as it was, and it made the pain worse. “Sam,” he managed, and tried to break free, but Alyn held him tight.
“You don’t want to see her like this,” Alyn told him. “Trust me.”
He allowed himself to breath for a moment as his body felt numb. The prick into his shoulder shot his eyes open. Will could feel his heartbeat, feel the way the blood pumped throughout his body as the pain drifted away. Everything felt more real, and not real at the same time. Will watched as Alyn pulled something from him before tossing it.
“That will help with the pain,” he told Will. “Come on. We have to find your mother.”
Will looked up at Alyn’s bearded face. He felt himself go weaker. “My mother?” he asked, and was finally able to pull back.
“Your father sent me to bring you back to the family,” Alyn replied.
“My father?” Will asked again. Everything was a blur. He couldn’t think, he didn’t want to think. “Where is he?” he asked before shrinking into himself as more gunshots popped into the air, but Will could tell they were further away.
“I’m sorry,” Alyn said, and grabbed him by the back of the neck again, and pulled him tight. “We have to go and find the others.”
“No,” Will said, “We can’t leave her here.”
“We cant help her if we are dead,” Alyn told him as gunshots continued to be heard in the distance, but ever closer. “Once we are safe, we will come back for her. I promise.”
Will closed his eyes tight, his face twisted in pain before nodding.
Will sobbed louder as Alyn turned him in their embrace, and guided him down the craft. Alyn kept his hand on the back of Will’s head, pushed against him. He could see just enough to know where his feet were walking. They walked through the middle of the craft. Will could see just enough of the twisted figure to make his way over him.
Will stepped over the figure, and his eyes found Sam’s feet, and tried to look over to her, only for Alyn to force his head to look away.
Once they cleared the tangle limps of the figure, Alyn forced them faster. The light of the moon and Stars dimly lite between the trees where the Craft came to a rest. A bright light from a nearby craft lite up the area.
Six, seven bodies littered the ground in front of the hatch. Twisted and bloodied they lay about. Will stopped when his feet hit he earth. Again and again he could hear gunfire in the distance.
Alyn let him go, before bending down to pick up a rifle. He tossed it to him. He reacted quickly, and caught the gun in the air with both hands, and realized that he could move his injured arm with ease, as though the pain were gone. It felt sluggish, and not right, but he could move.
Alyn pulled the trench coat off the dead figure, and once again Will realized on you his attackers were. They couldn’t have been older then himself.
“Here,” Alyn said, and handed him the coat.
“What do I want with this?” Will asked him with contempt.
“Put it on,” Alyn continued. “Low grade tech, but it will help mask you on sensors. All we need is them tracking us on sensors from orbits.”
Will pulled the coat on, ignoring the splatter of blood which covered it from the head of it’s owner.
“Come on,” Alyn said before disappearing into the darkness outside the beam of light of the other craft, and into the woods.
“Wait,” Will called out, as he finished pulling the coat on to follow Alyn into the darkness. “What about the that craft?”
“We’d be knocked out of the sky with ease,” Will heard as he quickened his pace as more shots rang out.
The sounds of distance gunshots continued as Will followed Alyn through the woodlands which surrounded Lakehall. The underbrush was thick with branches and small fern likes shrubs. Will followed as close to Alyn as he could as they made their way down one path or another.
Not for the first time he heard a branch break under his foot, and he winched. The rifle shot up, and Will darted about wildly as the shadows of the woodlands played tricks on him. He couldn’t make anything out but vague images. Everything looked like someone pointed a weapon at them.
Alyn didn’t react, and contined. His head moving side to side as they moved. He never seemed to walk on anything that would make a sound. When Will stumbled he was a unmoving statue, as though he already knew that Will had faulted and it wasn’t a real threat.
It had to have been at least an hour since they hiked from the Craft. The sounds of battle never died down, or when they did, they quickly flared up again, filling the night air.
Alyn rose his hand again, and Will stopped, and dropped low again, following Alyn. In front of him Will could see the trail appear to y off. He had been in these woods a hundred times before, and knew them well, but in the dark it was hard to get his bearings. It felt like being a child and lost in the dark again.
Alyn slowly raised, and then motioned them forward down the right path. Will was sure they were close to the house. He stopped for a moment before picking up his pace to catch up with Alyn.
“I think the house is that way?” Will said when he caught up to his uncle, his voice low.
“It is,” was all Alyn said as he continued forward.
“Then why the longer way?” Will asked, and stopped.
Alyn stopped, and Will saw the giant’s shoulder slump for a moment, before he turned.
“You hear that?” Alyn asked as gunfire went off. “We don’t have time for this. Lakehall fell.”
Will felt dizzy, and felt Alyn’s hands on his shoulder shaking him.
“The area is crawling with them. What is left of the security teams are trying to draw them away from the house, so we can get inside, and find the family I the safe room.”
‘The safe room, Will thought, relive.
Alyn continued. “We get the family, and we get off world, but first, we got to live to make that happen. Which means evading the patrols, and letting the rest of the security teams do their jobs. Understand?”
Will nodded.
Slowly they made their ways to the woods. Here and there Will noticed landmarks more often, as they circled behind the house.
The trees began to clear as Alyn took a knee. Will knew where they were. They were at the garage. Will took a knee by Alyn to scan the area.
The trees came closer to the house then any other part, but there was still a large clearing between them and the edge of the cut stone rising out of the ground.
Lakehall would normally be masked in darkness at this time of night, save for the odd night when the path light system would be left on to cast a warm glow. Now, it was basket in lights, and Will could see almost as if it were day.
The building was surrounded by crafts of all types, a few in flames. Will could mark out the small holes of damage, and broken windows thought what he could see of Lakehall. Bodies were everywhere.
‘They didn’t even have time to get the security defenses in place,’ Will realized. It would have only taken a word for the House Bot to actiavte and turn the whole house into a safe place. It must have happened so fast.
“You sure?” Will heard Alyn say to himself?
“What?” he asked. “Who is that?”
Alyn only moved to put his finger in his ear. He stayed silent, waiting until he finally turned to him. “Friends,” he said before standing. “We fast, and stay low. When we reach the entrance you grab the back of my vest, and you stay behind me. Understand?”
Will nodded.
“Go,” Alyn said before darting away.
Will tried to keep up with Alyn as they navigated their way through the maze of craft and bodies. Broken chunks of the crafts, and Security Bots smashed about the remains. He stretched his legs as far as he could, but kept falling behind Alyn who had to stop and wait several times.
He tried not to look at the bodies thrown about. Most of them wore the same trench coat he did, but not all. Many of the faces he didn’t know, but a few he recognized. Owen, Fredrik, Lydia. Members of his father’s security or staff.
By the time they reached the main entrance Will was out of breath. The scattered remains of a dozen Bots littered the steps, along with two trenched wearing bodies.
Alyn stopped before the stairs, his rifle aimed at the doorway. He tapped his back with the hand that normally held his barrel, but his head refused to move away from it’s gaze at the entrance.
Will reached out and grabbed the back of the vest Alyn wore, and took a couple deep breaths.
“Don’t shoot me in the back,” Alyn muttered before he moved them forward.
Will held on and let his uncle guide him. His uncle kept a quick pace, his rifle moving around as he led the way. Inside looked like much the same chaos. The great hall opened up to them. Alyn didn’t stop, and Will look down to step from time to time.
Alyn kept forward heading door to the center of Lakehall, and the giant spiral staircase which connected everything. They were half way down the stairs when Will looked down and saw his aunt next to too small bodies. He stopped and let go of Alyn.
“We can’t help her now,” Alyn said beside him. “Move,” she said before starting back down the stairs.
Will closed his eyes for a moment, and then looked forward and opened them. He grabbed the barrel of his rifle and fell in behind Alyn. They continued to the lowest basement. The blast doors had been closed Will could see. It hadn’t stopped them though. The blown hole in the door and bodies on either side showed. Even still, it gave him hope. They were able to get this far and close the doors before they reached the Safe Room.
They entered through the breached door, and Will could make out the signs of heavy fighting. Alyn didn’t stop, he was like a dog with the scent of something, and moved only for that. Quick and silently he moved, but his body seemed slow and controlled.
They made their way through the twisting halls of the lowest basement. His father had told him it was the most secure place within Lakehall, that it was designed to fall back and live for years if need be. It had been used by his ancestors in the past in times of war.
Will could remember exploring the tiny rooms were full of old supplies, and took up most empty space. Old rations, military gear, and locked weapons were in most rooms. Small cots and clothes as well. A last resort, his father would say. It was designed to fall back and regroup.
They stepped over bodies in the small halls, coming on where another security door was, but this one remained open.
Alyn stopped. There weren’t any bodies. Where were the bodies, why wasn’t the door closed.
Will dropped the rifle in his hand. He pushed forward to get pass Alyn, but he stopped him. He pulled Alyn’s arm off him before rushing through the door.
Will dropped to his knees next to his mother’s lifeless corpse, and pulled her into his arms. Tears fell down his face as he cried, and looked out over the bodies of his brothers and sister.
