The Rescue - pt. 2

The sunset over the horizon reminds me that everything has a rise and fall, even a bright star is susceptible to that. We pass by the shambles of the once-glorious Headquarters, which is no longer much distinguishable from the other places in the area. It’s all become ruins. Even though the windows are closed, the smell of burning still penetrates. The fact this scent is coming not only from the city’s infrastructure, but scorching flesh, is too horrible to even process.

“Don’t look, Jasper.”

He makes a gagging sound like he’s about to throw up.

“I said, don’t look,” I say, sharper this time. He finally listens by staring down at his feet, refusing to even glance at anything else around.

With the trauma still fresh in his mind, this wouldn’t be any good for him. Ezri is truly insane.

I’m going to be sick.

Charred corpses lay upon the streets. It’s a sight far worse than the Convention – at least at the Convention, you didn’t have to assume the bodies were human. The gruesome condition of their remains indicates a Mangler was used, no doubt.

The Mangler is a type of turret first created throughout the Unification Period over 200 years ago, back when the world still had more than one country. Its ability? Exactly what the name suggests. Even if a Mangler’s laser glazed you, it’d cause an intense chain reaction throughout your cells – in the end, which would only be after seconds, every organ violently ruptures. Essentially, you explode from within. The result is a disfigured mass of insides.

I’m going to be sick.

I never— never thought I’d witness the aftermath of one being used in person. We were never even allowed to learn about it during history class without special supervision. “Don’t look at it! It’s dangerous!” are the words from Mom that pass my mind. I know this is corruptive, but I can’t look away from the road, and I can’t abandon Shiloh.

Dang, is it tempting though, to shield myself from the scene surrounding us and retreat. That’s what any smart person would do.

…

I’m going to be sick!

“Is it over now?” Jasper asks meekly.

“We’re in the middle of the Capital’s city. What do you think, the place was somehow empty when Ezri attacked?” I say a little more harshly than intended. Sorry, Jasper.

We approach the turn that leads into the street Aspire Heights are on, Shiloh’s apartment building. I feel my heartrate quickening, preparing myself to be horrified as the car gets closer. This is different than the Convention, because there, I could escape. For the first time in my life, I’m afraid – this is what fear is, right? The urge to run away and hide? How do people deal with this?

“Dang it, of course,” I grumble.

Half a tower had fallen in our path, blocking the way to Aspire Heights, which is right up ahead. The impact caused its material to become jagged and protrude out from its frame in some parts, just enough for us to be able to climb over it, if we’re careful enough.

I open the car door, further greeted by the strong smell of flaming debris and – other things. Ignoring the apprehension continuing to form inside me, I say, “Wait here, I’m going to the other side.”

“Can’t we just try another route?”

“That’d take longer, and we still don’t know where the ship landed. It’s not safe to wander too much.”

Behind me, I hear the other door opening. My head jerks around, and pointing back, I say to him, “Get back in. I told you, you can’t see any of this—”

“You expect me to just leave you alone?”

“If you have another breakdown, it’s not like we could call a hospital.”

He sighs, stepping over to the cement mound in front of us, but shivering every time he sees the carnage. “Have some faith in me, Calla… Okay?”

Fine, if he insists. Gripping onto the edges and hoisting ourselves up, we make our way to the top of the broken tower. I don’t pay attention to the growing distance between us and the ground. One slip from here, and we’d end up as the only two identifiable bodies around.

“Good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?” Jasper asks from the top as he peeks over the ledge.

“I don’t know, good news.”

“Well, Shiloh’s place is… Perfectly intact, believe it or not.”

“You’re kidding, that’s impossible!”

“It is,” he says with a chuckle. “If Shiloh was at home when all this happened, she’s alive.”

That couldn’t be more comforting. I smile and exhale with relief, my anxiety subsiding to an extent. We’re still in a perilous situation, but at least there’s a greater chance this isn’t all for nothing. I can’t get my hopes too high, though.

“What about the bad news?”

“Bad news is, uh— I found the ship.”

When I finally reach his level, my jaw drops. Right next to Aspire Heights sits the battleship in the middle of the road. The Liberation encircles it, some standing stiffly as if on alert, others lounging about and conversing. They had to stop here? Seriously?

“They’ll see us as soon as we drop down,” Jasper whispers.

He's right, unfortunately. This structure is the only thing keeping us out of view. Unless they’re egregiously incompetent, it’d be impossible to sneak past them.

Not without a distraction, that is.

“Jasper, to be honest, we’re just assuming Shiloh was around here during the attack. Which means, we’re taking a huge risk based on an unknown.”

“Yeah… How does that help?” He raises an eyebrow skeptically.

“The question is, how much more of an idiot are you willing to be today?”

“Something tells me I’m not going to like where this is going…”

Ezri should still have that target on my back. If I showed myself, they’d come after me and give Jasper the opening needed to run to the apartments. The task force is nowhere near ready, so I’m not dumb enough to actually try and get caught. But if I’m fast enough in that car and they choose to chase me on foot, there’s a fair possibility I could get away.

“No, that’s insane! Think of another idea!” Jasper says, struggling to keep his voice low.

“There is none,” I motion to a crevice within the tower. “When I yell, you hide in there, then go when the coast is clear. Got it?”

“Calla—!”

He's too late. I’ve already leaned over the platform, and waving out my arms, I scream, “Hey, morons!”

The soldiers react immediately. As soon as their feet move, I swiftly climb back down the tower, catching a glimpse of Jasper’s distraught face as he reluctantly does as told. When it's safe to do so, I jump the rest of the way, then rush into the car. By the time that happens, a long line of soldiers are already on the tower – thankfully, Jasper’s hiding spot is adequate enough to keep him unnoticed.

Putting the car in reverse and practically crushing the accelerator, I speed down the street, creating skid marks as the car curves and sways. Looking through the side mirror, I brace myself, fully predicting to see the battleship in the air at any minute – but to my surprise, the skies remain clear. They really are pursuing me without it. Extremely impractical, but hey, I’ll accept my luck instead of questioning it.

The car vrooms at top speed, leaving the Liberation in the dust. All the sudden, it looks like they’ve stopped trying entirely – they just stand there in the distance, watching me drive away. Maybe I’m not as important to them as the task force assumed. A pit’s in my stomach – did I just make a mistake and leave Jasper vulnerable?

But then, just before I’m tempted to turn around— How?

“Crap!” I yell, stepping on the brakes and causing them to squeak. Holding a gun in her hand is none other than Ezri, who has just sauntered into the lane from the sidelines, against all my expectations. She aims the gun at the bumper, a blue glow emitting from the barrel.

The next thing I know, the gun has been fired, and I’m blinded by a burst of light.