Into the Fire

The following is an excerpt from a story idea I've been working on. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Star Keepers: 
Into the Fire
by
Paul Adams

Aghri awoke to a flash of light just outside his hovel tree.

BOOM!

His eyes snapped open. Bright light glowed through the thin membrane of the tree surrounding him.

BOOM!

Another flash of light. The sounds of his people screaming and running penetrated the tree. Aghri dug his claws into the bark, the rubbery material separating easily beneath them. A blast of heat washed over him as he stuck his head out into the open air.

The jungle around him was awash with flame. Hundreds of trees burned. Several had been snapped in two and lay smoldering on the ground. Hovel trees were melting under the intense heat, dissolving into gummy, hissing lumps. A group of Witani ran past, none even glancing at Aghri as they rushed to save their families from the horror.

Aghri scrambled out of his tree, a wave of panic gripping him as he stared at the towering flames. In his religion, Vask was the god of fire, a cruel and vindictive god who often killed on a whim and sometimes wiped out entire forests at a time. The only reason the other gods allowed him to live was because of his flame’s restorative powers. In those horrible orange tendrils ravaging their way through Aghri’s home, he felt almost as if he could see Vask’s face in them, cackling with sadistic laughter.

“Aghri!”

A pair of long arms emerged from the darkness and wrapped themselves around Aghri, pulling him away from the flames. His mother held him close. She nuzzled him with her mouth, sniffing slightly. Her long, thin arms belied surprising strength, pressing him flat against her large, protruding belly.

Loosening her grip on Aghri, she gazed at him with her yellow eyes, wrinkled around the edges in a pattern that stretched down and around her snout. Beyond her, Aghri’s father stood with another young Witani nearly identical to Aghri. Aghri’s uncle Masqa stood nearby, watching the skies with a grim expression.

“What’s happening, A-Ma?” Aghri asked, looking up at his mother with concern.

“It’s going to be okay, Aghri,” she said. “It’s just . . .”

Unable to find words, she turned to her husband for help. Aghri’s father tore his gaze from the sky and looked at his wife and son. He stood over eight feet tall. His long and lanky arms dangled past his knees, ending in bony, clawed fingers. His thin neck stretched to almost a foot long, allowing him to gaze over the heads of other Witani around him.

“We’re being invaded, Aghri,” he said.

“Why?” Aghri asked. “Are the gods punishing us?”

Aghri’s uncle Masqa made a grumbling sound in his throat. Standing side-by-side, he and Aghri’s father were almost as identical as Aghri and his brother. Masqa’s body hair and tunic was a little more unkempt, though, and he lacked a few inches.

“Not likely,” Masqa said. He glanced at his brother. “These are Woraugenns.”

Aghri followed his gaze as he continued to stare into the sky. Hanging in the sky over the forest, six large metal objects hung in the air. They were greenish-gold in color and they seemed capable of holding themselves aloft like a bird. Bright red fire spewed from their faces, and wherever they hit, more fire appeared, accompanied by that same loud noise.

“What are they doing here, A-Pa?” Aghri’s brother asked.

“I don’t know, Sarbek,” his father replied. “But the United Worlds won’t stand for it. I need to get down to the consulate and call for help. Masqa, get Zhoka and the boys to the shelter.”

“Aye,” he said.

Aghri’s father knelt and pulled both of his sons toward him. “I need you to be brave and listen to your uncle. Take care of your mother and her eggling.”

“Yes, A-Pa,” they both said.

Their father got to his feet and faced his wife and brother. Placing his right hand on the left side of his stomach, he said, “Vanash carry you.”

In response, Masqa placed his right hand on his left shoulder. “Akaris protect you.”

He hurried away through the woods. Another flash of light illuminated the trees around the family, accompanied by another loud noise. “Come on,” Masqa said. He placed his hand on his sister-in-law’s shoulder. He pointed to a nearby hill. “The bunker’s on the other side of that ridge. We might make it if we run.”

The family took off up through the trees, using their clawed hands and feet to clamber through the trees with ease. Aghri stayed close to his brother, looking back at the orange flames behind them every few moments or so. “Don’t worry, Twig,” Sarbek said, patting Aghri on the arm. “Uncle Masqa says these guys are just big old snotlumps.”

Soon, the family were standing at the top of the hill, which went down a little then rose at a steady pace up to a high ridge. Aghri could see a domed metal structure just beyond. Behind them, they could see that almost their entire ravine was engulfed in flames. Thousands of trees were burning to ashes. All around them, Witani were running through the trees, trying to escape with their lives. The strange metal objects in the sky loomed over the flaming forest, observing their work like Vask’s personal angels of destruction.

Masqa cursed under his breath. “Even with Kiba getting word out, it will still take a day or so for any reinforcements to get here. The Woraugenns will have decimated half the planet by that point. How did this happen?”

Aghri and Sarbek looked at each other in fear. Their mother hunched over, her swollen belly weighing her down. Masqa let her rest on his shoulder. “What’s that?” Sarbek suddenly shouted.

Aghri and his family looked up to see a silvery object whisking through the sky toward the Woraugenn ships. This one seemed much smaller, with a sleeker, more triangular design to it. Bright, white lights flashed from the object’s nose, slamming into the nearest enemy object and making it shudder.

Masqa smiled. “I don’t believe it,” he said. “It’s a United Worlds ship. How did they get here so fast?” His eyes scanned the sky for more objects to appear, but none did.

“This one must have been in the area,” Aghri’s mother said, breathing slowly.

The sparkle that had appeared in Masqa’s eyes dimmed a little. “Yes,” he said, “Yes, that must be it. Which means we’re still in danger. Come on.”

The family ran again. All around them, red fire set their world ablaze, the loud noises they made sounding to Aghri like the giant feet of Vask stomping after him. They loped through the trees, watching as more fires sprang up in neighboring valleys all the way out to the horizon. They were about to crest the top of the ridge when Aghri’s mother caught her foot on a rock and stumbled.

“Are you okay, A-Ma?” Aghri asked, he and Sarbek rushing to her side.

“Yes, I’m alright,” she said. She stayed on her knees for a second, the Tears of Akaris dripping from her forehead. She clutched at her large belly, a strained expression on her face.

Uncle Masqa crouched beside her. “Can you go on, Zhoka?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said, taking his hand and allowing him to help her up.

“Come on,” he said. “Hurry.”

They ran some more. Now the bunker stood out on the side of the opposing cliff. They just had to get to the other side, but no matter how far or how fast they seemed to go, the strange metal objects in the sky remained right behind them, bombarding the world with their red fire. The other object was still there, lighting up its foes with its white light, but it seemed to be having little effect. Suddenly Masqa stopped, tilting his head as if listening. Aghri and Sarbek listened too, picking up a faint whistling sound growing louder and louder. Aghri’s eyes widened.

“Move!” he shouted.

Something black and heavy slammed into the ridge, throwing us from our footings and down the hillside. Aghri rolled through the grass and trees, coming to a stop in a small ditch. Masqa landed beside him.

Masqa shook his head and rolled over. “Are you alright, Aghri?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Aghri said. He sat up out of the ditch and looked around. His mother and brother were a few yards away, Sarbek helping their mother to get up off the ground.

“A-Ma! Sa!” Aghri shouted, crawling up out of the ditch.

“No, wait, Aghri!” Masqa shouted, scrambling after his nephew. Aghri heard what he heard just a second too late. A second heavy object slammed into the ground right in front of him knocking him back with the sheer force of the crash. Masqa’s arms wrapped around him and they fell together in the torrent of rubble and earth. For a few seconds, everything went black.

When everything settled again, Aghri opened his eyes, his vision blurred by warm tears. No sound reached his pointed ears but a harsh ringing that echoed through his skull. After a few seconds, the ringing lessened and he could just barely hear the sound of his mother and brother calling my name.

Aghri tried to sit up and look toward them, but found himself pinned under the full weight of his uncle’s body. He could see his uncle’s face from where he was, his eyes closed and his breathing labored. Red, glistening scratches covered most of his face and his hair was full of dirt. Aghri did his best to shift out from under his uncle and saw his mother and brother scrambling around a big, black orb to reach him. Behind them, a pair of bright, green cracks in the orb’s side.

“A-Ma!” I shouted, desperately trying to shout through all the rubble. “Sa!”

The orb cracked open, bits of shell flying everywhere, thick, wet slime oozing from the hole. A pair of thick, green limbs appeared over the edge, followed by a grotesque, deformed head. The figure inside stretched upwards, reaching to a height taller than any Witani. The creature wore a thick carapace around its torso and the top of its head, while a pair of eyestalks ending in sickly yellow eyes sprouted up from a pair of holes in its makeshift helmet. Up above them, another creature had emerged from the first orb. The creature held out its right arm. From the center of what passed for a palm on the creature sprouted a long flat blade of the same material as the creature's carapace.

The creatures studied their surroundings for a moment. The closest gave Aghri and Masqa a passing glance where they lay on the ground. Deciding they were no threat, it turned on Aghri’s mother and Sarbek. It grabbed them one in each hand, throwing her to the ground roughly and demanding something in a language that seemed half-spittle and half-gibberish, holding his sword to their throats.

“Leave them alone,” Aghri shouted, fighting to get out from under Masqa.

The second creature placed his hand on Aghri’s shoulder just as he was making headway pulling him with a mighty yank out from under his uncle. Aghri struggled and fought, sinking his claws into his captor’s skin, but to no avail. The monster’s flesh seemed to be as jellylike and moldable as the bark of a hovel tree. The second he removed his claws, the skin simply grew back.

“Leave him alone!” Aghri’s mother demanded. “Why are you doing this?”

The first creature shouted something at her and struck her across the face with the back of its hand. The creature stood over his mother, shouting at her in its strange tongue. It raised its sword over its head.

“A-Ma!” Aghri shouted. He opened his mouth full of sharp teeth and bit into his captor’s arm. It tasted like rancid mucus. The monster growled, shouting at Aghri. Its other hand grabbed at Aghri’s ear and pulled at him, its claws digging into the flesh and making Aghri’s eyes well up.

 “No!” Sarbek shouted. He used the distraction Aghri had caused to break away from the monster and ram into the one holding Aghri, causing it to not only drop Aghri, but also tear away a good chunk of his ear. Aghri fell to the ground, hot blood running down the side of his head. He felt his mother at his side, scooping him up in her arms. Nearby his brother was attacking Aghri’s captor with everything he had, clawing and biting like a rabid animal. “Sa, stop!” Aghri’s mother yelled.

Aghri looked up at his mother in confusion, before noticing the other monster approaching Sarbek from behind. Before Sarbek could process his mother’s warning, the creature grabbed him by the nape of his neck and pulled him off its companion. The creature raised its sword. Aghri’s mother screamed as the blade cut right through his brother. Tears filled Aghri’s eyes and he cried out, a peal of anguish he felt more than heard through his ruined ear. Sarbek’s body fell to the ground in two pieces, not moving, blood pooling around him, his eyes open and staring blankly into space. Rage filled him and he struggled to get free of his mother’s arms, but she held on to him as tightly as possible. The pain in his ear forced him to collapse again. He stared up at the monsters with hatred, wanting nothing more than to make them suffer.

The creatures rounded on Aghri and his mother. They raised their swords in unison.

Two things happened at once. A bright flash lit up the world around them, while Masqa leapt over their heads and tackled one of the creatures. The other creature’s head exploded in a splatter of green goo. Its body fell to the ground, revealing a strange, new creature standing behind it. This creature stood shorter than any adult Witani Aghri had ever seen, but still a head taller than Aghri was now. This creature had a short neck, a flat face, and softer hair that draped around its shoulders in a wild, unkempt fashion. It had clear, blue eyes that seemed to dance in the firelight. The creature wore a strange, silvery uniform just like the ship in the sky above and it held a small object in its hand that glowed with the same white light being fired from the ship.

The creature moved with surprising grace for its awkward frame, pulling the monster off of Aghri’s uncle, despite being nearly half its size. The monster screeched and turned on its new opponent and raised its sword to stab him, but the new creature pulled a small trigger on the object in its hand, blasting the creature’s chest with white energy, leaving a gaping hole in its chest and armor. The creature gaped at its opponent for a second before toppling over next to its companion.

The new creature dropped its weapon to its side and turned to Aghri and his family. It bent and offered Masqa a hand, helping him up. It spoke something in a language Aghri didn’t understand, but to his surprise, Masqa replied in the same language. The creature then bent over Sarbek’s body, feeling his vitals, while Masqa helped Aghri and his mother to their feet. Aghri’s mother pulled away from her brother-in-law and flung herself onto her son’s body while Aghri clung to his uncle.

“Masqa,” Aghri started, but he couldn’t find any more words.

Masqa bent to look his nephew over. He tore off a patch of his tunic and pressed it against Aghri’s destroyed ear. “It’s going to be okay, Aghri,” he said gently. He gestured at the creature standing nearby. “This is a Human from the United Worlds. He’s here to help us. His name is Orion Kent.”

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