My friends were all dead. I let go of the door in numb shock, and it swung away from my hand. New Hope City was decimated. I saw movement. In a flash, I was back in the closet, holding my breath. There was a tense moment, then the door swung open.
I jumped out at the attacker, but he grabbed my wrists and flung me to the ground. His red eyes came close to mine, and I saw the hate that festered within him. One of his friends checked the closet, and remarked "Hey, there's one Signette left! We're not dead meat after all!" Their soldiers swarmed around us, and grabbed us by the arms.
They led us through the carnage, down the wrecked hall, and out the blasted door. The heat was like an oven. A few citizens of New Hope were being led into an iron cage: they were all Draals. A lone Signa, wearing only a king's robe, his nudity a mockery of that office, was in command. He saw us and turned. His face lit up.
"Excellent! You have managed to restrain yourselves this time. Good. Bring her to me."
Lemlia struggled in vain as she was brought to the mock-king. He fingered her wedding gown, and cocked his head in bewilderment.
"They have been underground too long!" he cried, "They have fallen into perversion and unnatural acts. Look, how they desecrate the royal bond! A Signette, married to a Draal! I will remedy this shameful situation. This lovely creature shall be our new Queen!"
Lemlia's shriek of outrage was drowned out by the triumphant yell of the evil army. My beautiful bride was roughly brought to a waiting Dolkorr, and lashed to its flank, like a prize catch. I yelled my objections, and the mock-king took notice of me. He picked up a nearby sword, took a step toward me, and laid its dull edge against my neck.
"Lemlia will never marry you willingly" I spat, "You will have to take her by force, and that is a far greater offence against nature."
The usurper seemed to consider my point, but shrugged as if it were meaningless. He casually drew back the sword, and brought his face up to mine. His emerald eyes held no remorse, no conscience, and no compassion.
"Death is too good for you" he said dully, evenly, "You shall live in my dungeons, and you shall watch the inevitable tide of my success. You shall watch your friends die, you shall watch your enemies triumph, and you shall watch your Queen bear my children."
I struggled to get free, but our captor was no longer interested in me. He turned to Master Zoran, and put the blade to his neck. Zoran was cool, refusing to allow his enemy the satisfaction of a struggle.
Without a second thought, our captor thrust the blade into Zoran's thorax. I pulled forward, screaming my objection, but the Draals who held me were firm and unmoving. Zoran took one last look at me, as his eyes went lifeless. I remembered the day he hatched me- the love in his eyes as he helped me end my metamorphosis. I yelled in anger, pain and grief, but no one seemed to care.
They left my master's body in the dust, and pushed the few captives into a giant iron cage. Several huge indigo Dolkorr pulled the entire caravan off to its destiny. I continued yelling, pounding on the bars furiously, until the heat got to me. I gradually sat down. Eventually, as with everyone else, my discomfort won out over my modesty, and I took off my wedding robes. The suns were wreathed in dirty black clouds. The heat radiated up from the ground, and down from the hot red sky. It was hard to believe that one weapon could almost destroy an entire planet.
The heat was strange and oppressive. The dust from the journey, cast up by hundreds of Dolkorr feet, got into every eye and every joint. My fellow captives chose, mercifully, not to talk. The pain was too fresh. I worried about Lemlia: I was sure she couldn't endure this heat, and she couldn't take off that gown- she was lashed down.
The journey took days. We never stopped. Oddly enough, the heat seemed to get even worse during the night. Our captors never talked to us, and we never talked to each other. I thought about New Hope City: was this the end of that dream? Was the only cry for freedom on Arlia to be snuffed out by circumstance and bad luck?
When we reached our destination, it didn't seem to have been worth the journey. The black, ruined heap of a castle perched sullenly on the barren landscape. It looked like what used to be East Challani City, but time and the new environment had dealt so roughly with it, it was hard to tell. The Dolkorr were stabled, and our cage was wheeled out to the castle arena. Scuff marks and dark green dried blood showed that only one sport was played here: mortal combat.
The trip had taken a lot out of us, so we were unresisting as they led us out to stand before our new 'King'. He looked at each of us in turn, ending with me. Remembering Master Zoran's dignity, I stood straight and looked him in the eyes.
"There is a new order of things." he said, "The weak has perished and the strong is born pure. Six months ago, the great storms swept across our world. Only a scant few survived. Of these, I was the only Signa. I was the only one worthy of leadership. I conquered this harsh terrain, and created this great monument to myself.
"I am the undisputed leader of these people. I am their Mother and their Father. I am their beginning and their end. I am their only hope in this wasteland.
"We heard rumors of your barbarous pseudo-civilization. I had assumed the stories were only legend and exaggeration, until our scouts found the doors. My conquest of your people is complete. I have killed your citizens and taken your female.
"It amuses me, for now, to keep you alive. You will see me with my new Queen, and you will know my might. You may, however choose to act in ways that do not amuse me. Whatever does not amuse me has only one fate."
He led us to a large door, recessed into the floor. A secret mechanism was triggered, and the barrier split away into four pieces. A gaping pit lay below, with a single occupant.
"The new energies in the atmosphere do not agree with most Kattas." our tyrant explained "There was only one young one who did not die. I call him Yedi. Say hello to our new playmates, Yedi!"
At the bottom of the pit lay a scrawny, malnourished Katta- his shell was a very pale brown, and his arms were thin. He shifted position, and I saw the pieces of exoskeleton and armour he was lying on. Green flecks peppered his cheeks. He was a cannibal.
His giant purple eyes gazed upwards, and he scrambled ineffectually to get up the sides of his cavern, falling just short of reaching us. Every Katta in New Hope city had possessed eyes that spoke of love- there was only one thing in this Arlian's eyes: Madness. He was plagued with the kind of insanity that can break rules, walls and heads without feeling the impact. His mouth-guards lifted in naked hunger, and viscous saliva trickled down onto his chest.
I was still numb with terror as they led me down to my new cell. My eyes adjusted to the dark. They locked us all in the same room: dirt floor, stone walls, one bunk, one cistern hole. I fell to my knees with fatigue, then forward onto my face. I pounded the dust and yelled. I yelled at the injustice, at the futility, at the pain, at the death. The others watched until I stopped.
I took a deep breath, tried to compose myself, then walked over and sat on the bed. I looked at my cellmates. They looked back. They seemed to be waiting for something.
There were six of us in total- all Draals. I only recognized one person: Filii, who used to be such good friends with Tiik. Tiik was probably dead. I tried to keep a hold of myself: it was no good losing control now. Everyone was looking to me for guidance.
"Alright", I said cautiously, "This is a setback."
Someone let out a sardonic laugh.
"We've got to get through this!" I said "We have the dream of equality, and I am not going to let that die!" One of the prisoners broke past the others and hit me across the face. I fell back, and he began yelling.
"What kind of freedom is there when you're trapped underground? What kind of freedom is there when you can't see the sky? What kind of freedom is there when you trade one set of dictators for another?" Some of the others tried to hold him back, but he kept yelling. "New Hope City was a weak and unnatural mutant- it existed on stolen goods and unrealistic fantasies. What about when all the Signas and Signettes started having babies, huh? What then? We couldn't hold all those people: we had no egg or larval facilities!
"Maybe Draals were born to be ordered around, did you ever think of that? Maybe we're programmed to perform! Maybe we'd all be happier just doing as we're told! I don't care about who's equal to whom! I don't care if we have the same libraries! I don't care if things aren't fair! It would have been better if you'd just left well enough alone!"
Having voiced his opinion, he stomped off to the opposite corner of the cell, and sat down firmly. I was shocked. Did everyone feel this way? Of course not- they all came… Did I force them? Would they have been happier as they were? Was ignorance bliss? I used to love just picking silla…
Doubt and guilt flooded my mind. I had pressured everyone: once they knew the truth, no one could go back. They had only followed me out of fear and necessity.
The jailer interrupted my musings by delivering bread and water: hardly enough for one, let alone six hungry prisoners- they were trying to starve us! I got up to demand more, but I sat back down without saying anything. No one wanted any trouble. It would be better if I kept quiet. The other prisoners divided up the food evenly- I didn't take any, even though I was really hungry.
We sat in the dark and silence. Time passed: how much, I couldn't say. Bread came and was eaten. Jailers came by, their eyes permanently red with stress and repressed hate, to make fun of us. I learned my jailmates' names, and the name of our cruel king: Taaliann the Mighty. We started catching and eating the kallassa who came in through the cracks in the wall- they were bitter and septic, but better than stale bread all day.
We moved little and talked less. Our eyes became permanently adjusted to the dark. I started using my bread as kallassa bait: I caught a whole lot that way, and got enough energy to walk back and forth, to keep my legs from shriveling up. Shalla's legs had already atrophied that far: he couldn't stand up without help.
Time passed.
The king came down with a pair of soldiers. He looked at us in disgust. He pointed randomly, and his finger selected Tauno. The soldiers walked in, picked him up, and started to drag him out.
"Hey!" I yelled, "Where are you taking him?"
One of the soldiers turned around, and calmly said "Yedi's hungry, and no one's been beaten in the fights recently, so…"
King Taaliann cut him off. "Inquisitive minds aren't the kind of thing we encourage around here. It's hazardous to your health." He opened his hand, and one of the guards put a sword in it. He advanced towards me, and I got ready to fight. I had overestimated my strength, however, and the king simply caught my punch, and hit me on the shoulder with the jasper hilt of his weapon. I crumpled like wet paper. I had a cut on my forearm that squirted gore onto the floor.
The king, not bothering to finish me off, calmly walked out, and the soldiers followed him. The door slammed loudly.
I managed to sit up. If I took my hand off my arm, the blood still squirted. Sharp pain arced through my mind. I should never have made waves, I thought. I should never have got up. All I got for my trouble was a sore arm.
One of my fellow prisoners, Cal, went to the bed and ripped a strip off the sheet, a feat only made possible by the poor quality of the fabric. He sat down by me, and bandaged my wound. He put his arm over my shell in a sign of quiet support. Slowly, everyone else joined him, even Shalla. Without saying a word, I knew what they meant. Shared suffering had made us brothers.
Time kept passing. My sore shoulder stubbornly refused to heal. I showed the others how to use the bread they gave us as bug bait. We all began pacing. We spent nights talking. It helped to keep us from going insane.
I heard the door slide open, and the jailer led someone in. "C'mon, Baldie, get in there." He closed the door firmly. "You'll be glad to know that your cell doesn't have any bugs- the prisoners ate them all!" He laughed mercilessly as he walked off.
The new prisoner mumbled to himself. I turned to look at him. I almost fainted with shock.
Two hideous creatures stood by the door. Their skin was a familiar pink hue, their armour was the same style, they had the same devices on their heads…
"They're some kind of alien." said Filii.
Shalla took one look, and snorted. "Isse Trittnis, they're an ugly bunch, aren't they?"
It was unbelievable. Didn't these guys feel the sheer power in the room? Didn't they know how important these aliens were? I couldn't speak.
Filii grinned. "Maybe they think that we're the ugly ones, did you ever think of that?"
Shalla snorted. "You're sick."
"Be quiet, all of you." I snapped, "It doesn't matter what their size and shape is, they're our brothers, can't you see that? They're victims, prisoners, just like us." I rubbed my injured shoulder.
Our mighty visitors were very different in shape and size: One was large and bald, the other was short and hairy. The big one was probably female- an egg-layer, I thought- perhaps they're even married. I immediately felt a kind of kinship with this couple, a shared understanding of marital love and its difficulties.
"I'm afraid you visitors have come at a bad time." I said, "Our new 'King' is ruthless. He makes a toy out of everyone. He even went so far as to steal my wife Lemlia from me on the day we were married." I looked for sympathy in their alien faces, but found them unreadable. "You can imagine the pain I feel."
The aliens looked at each other. I hoped fervently that their hearts- if they had any- were overflowing with compassion. The big one walked up to the gate, and placed his hands on the bars.
With one fluid motion, he tore them away from the stone wall. The iron bent like limp noodles, and screeched in protest. Calmly, both aliens walked out. They paused in the hall, and the small one poked the big one's arm.
"You told me to remind you," he said, and the bald alien nodded. They walked out to the jailer's office, and there was a sound like a hammer hitting a melon. A few seconds later, they both passed the cell again, headed out.
We were still motionless in our positions. Slowly, Filii got up, and walked out. He smirked, and ran down the hall. We all followed him, laughing with glee. We were free!
Our laughter turned to screams as we ran into a group of red-eyed guards. They yelled angrily as we all bolted. I tore down one hall, and hid behind a corner. I heard more bestial yells, and the sound of other cells being opened. I was still breathing hard.
A guard came running down the hall toward me. He was wounded, and seemed to be trying to get away from the other prisoners. I could see him clearly out of the corner of my eye. I lashed out without turning my head, and my wedding bands caught him full across the face. His head smacked against the stone wall, and he crumpled to the ground.
Instinctively, I rounded the corner quickly, removed his sword, and thrust it into the space between his head and his chest-plate. Pale green blood gushed out rapidly, staining the sword and the floor. The sight made me stop and think.
What was I doing? I had just killed someone! I had committed murder! I had mercilessly ended the life of an innocent Arlian! I dropped the sword, and it clanged on the stones. I took my foot off my victim's chest, and bent to see his face. The look of shock and bewilderment still lingered. I closed his unseeing eyes.
All my life, I had justified myself by saying that I was a good person. I founded New Hope City because I had wanted to do the right thing. I met the alien because I had wanted to do the right thing. I considered myself a good Arlian- not great, but good. Now the proof against that was lying dead on the floor. I had killed a sentient being with my arm bands-a symbol of everlasting love. When push came to shove, I was as bad as any of them.
Lemlia's face flitted through my mind. She was the most beautiful being on this corrupt sphere. She was intelligent, compassionate, sincere, and I loved her more than life itself. In fact, quite a bit more than life itself. She deserved someone better. She was my polar opposite- the violence that apparently flowed through my veins would never get inside her head.
She was pure. She was beautiful. She was smart. She was smart… She was smart and she loved me. She knew who I was; she had to have known I wasn't perfect. She saw something of value in me to love, even if right now I didn't. That was something to live for, to fight for. Lemlia.
Click here for Part Six