It is Time

BLAM!

“Nice attempt but you missed by a lot.”, Ted reassuringly states to me.

“I’m a medic not a soldier!”, I exclaim with a voice full of annoyance as I set the handgun down. “I’m not gonna be some crack shot!”, I add.

“We don’t expect you to be. We just need to make sure you can shoot and not injure yourself or one of us.”, The tank sized officer says with a tone like a caring parent to their injured child.

BLAM!

“That was surprisingly accurate.”, Chief Benterro says to the doctor. “Are you sure you don’t practice in secret all the time?”, He asks jokingly to Conti as he playfully nudges the doctor’s ribs like they are brothers just playing around.

“I was part of an exploration group before I came here.”, The doctor responds with a sigh. “Handguns are a lot lighter than rifles.”, He quickly adds with a chuckle. The doctor never told me about his time before he came to New Yuma. But I suppose that makes sense since I have never asked him.

-- -- --

BLAM!

“Nice shot!”, Ted exclaims with joy as he looks at the target I had just fired at. “You hit it!”, he adds as I set the handgun down. I squint my eyes at the target and notice a small mark on what I presume is supposed to be the left shoulder. I feel, happy. Even relieved. I am not exactly ecstatic that I feel anything positive about this accomplishment.

“Sorry that it took me so long.”, I apologize to the massive security officer with my head lowered.

“Nothing to apologize for.”, He responds. “You might not be a natural,”, He continues. Was this supposed to be reassuring? Because it sounds like he is just insulting me. “But you’ve got a good sense and eyes. Must be your medical training helping with that.”, He finishes with an optimistic smile.

“Next time you can leave out the part about not being a natural.”, I say to him with a smile of my own.

-- -- --

I am knocked from my sleep by a loud knocking at the door.
The booming voice of Ted yells from the other side of the metal sheet, “Lawson! Ingrid! Get up!”

Ingrid opens her eyes from focusing on her bed and rapidly stands up. In contrast, I am rather slow to my feet from a mix of grogginess and exhaustion.

“We’re awake.”, Ingrid replies as she tosses me my shoes. I barely catch them as the taller teen opens our door to the sight of the tank of a security officer Ted towering over the frame of it.

“Raiders can be seen in the distance heading this way.”, Ted says trying to not let his own fear creep into his voice.

“How long do we have?”, Ingrid inquires as I put on my shoes and walk to the door as well.

“Only an hour or two.”, Ted answers. Ingrid rushes past him and off towards the gate. “I brought this for you.”, He says as I walk up to him. In his hand is a metal helmet. I wearily meet his gaze in confusion.

“What’s this for?”, I ask still relatively sleepy.

“So you don’t get shot in the head.”, He answers bluntly. Well that is one way to wake someone up.

“Thank you...”, I respond as dread consumes me and I grab hold of the helmet.

“We better hurry!”, Ted states as he turns away and runs off after Ingrid.

-- -- --

I finally make it to the gates to see Sarah and Ingrid along with what I can only assume is most of the security staff of New Yuma. And even the mayor. Why was he here? I know he used to live out in the wasteland but that was before I was even born!

“So where’s Cal?”, Ingrid asks Sarah seeming quite nonchalant.

“Flying about.”, Sarah responds. “Won’t be back for awhile.”, She continues as the pair walk up the stairs to the walls, “Either way this battle goes. He’s gonna be feasting.” What a pleasant thought.

I close my eyes and try to control my breathing so I do not hyperventilate.

“We’ll be alright.”, I hear Doctor Conti’s words as his hand gently touches my shoulder. I open my eyes and look at him. Without a word I put a hand on his and try to steel myself for what is to come.

“The scout teams have already been ordered to keep their distance from the raiders until they, that is the teams, are close to the gates and then to provide us support.”, Chief Benterro says to all of us gathered.

“What is that!?”, I say as I notice a massive metallic object in the distance as I reach the top of the walls. Is it moving closer!?

“That is a golem.”, Sarah answers.

“So that’s what they look like.”, Ingrid says with surprise, “I thought they were smaller to be honest.”

“Is that the siege weapon they have?”, I ask with urgency as somehow even more fear enters my small frame.

“Got it in one.”, Sarah answers seemingly in jest as she points at me with a finger gun. “It’s honestly the worst thing for us that they could’ve found.”, She adds with the first hint of emotion I have ever heard her use. Unfortunate that the emotion seems to be merely annoyance.

“Basically,”, The chief begins to explain the plan, “We just focus on the raiders themselves.”

“Okay…”, Ingrid looks at the chief dumbfounded as she speaks, “But what about the golem?” The chief looks at the teen with a raised brow.

“Can’t you or Sarah deal with it?”, He finally manages to ask.

“I definitely can’t.”, Ingrid swiftly shoots the idea down.

“Golems are notorious for having near impenetrable defenses against magic. So I can’t either.”, Sarah answers before Benterro can even look her way.

A deafening silence falls over all of us as doom seems to finally be setting in all of the rest of them.

“I’ll think of something.”, Benterro finally lifts the weighty stillness away with his words. “Until then,”, He continues as he draws his large pistol, “Thin the raiders numbers.”

An earsplitting cacophony of voices can be heard as the front of the raider forces reaches the gates.

“You gonna open-”, One raider begins before the mayor shoots him dead. A few raiders point their various guns up where the mayor fired from and begin to fire. We all duck down behind the battlements. The security officers begin to return fire.

“I’m going down there.”, Sarah stoically states. I would be surprised if I was not already too focused on staying alive. I really hate combat.

Sarah’s already tan skin begins to turn to stone as she leaps off the wall. She can turn her body to stone? Can Ingrid do that too?

I am knocked out of my thoughts by a sickening squish.

“Not No Nuts!”, A few voices yell over the din of battle, “You bitch! You’ll pay for that!”

It turns out the payment was their own lives because the area becomes oddly silent. That is until a loud thud almost like a clap of thunder resonates near by so loudly I can feel it reverberate through my entire body.

“Well damn.”, Sarah says as she clings to the railing of the wall. “I was hoping the main force would take longer to get here.”, She finishes as she slides next to me her body returned to its nature tan.

“Does that mean what I think it means?”, I ask. Sarah does not say a word, she merely turns to me and nods. The golem has arrived.

“Well well well!”, A voice booms through a megaphone. I look over the battlement to see a garbage heap of a man standing next to a towering man shaped thing that I can only assume is the golem. “You ready to give up?”, The raider leader yells into the device. In response Ted fires a bullet at the disgusting man. It should strike true. But it stops about half a meter short as it seems to hit an invisible wall. “I see.”, He says with glee, “Time to show you what a golem can do!”

The massive construct slowly steps towards the gate. Shaking the very base of the walls with its thunderous steps. I notice one of the officers has been shot and I crawl over to him, making sure to stay out of the line of fire.

“Where are you going!?”, Sarah yells towards someone I cannot see.

“I know how to deal with the golem!”, Benterro yells back.

“Just be quick!”, The mayor yells in response as he shoots a raider.

What is he gonna do? I think to myself until I notice the security officer I am trying to help has passed on. All sound eludes me as I focus on this corpse before me. You never truly get used to seeing death. I feel the chill of failure begin to ride down my spine.

“Kelly!”, Ingrid’s voice breaks the deafness and drags me back to reality. “I’m sorry.”, She says to me as she grabs hold of my hand. Even with all the horrors happening around us it now feels like time stops and it is just the two of us alone in a bubble of bliss.

And that is when her lips meet mine.