Catastrophe

“Jesha, you’re going to get caught!” Erit whispered frantically at his dark-haired sister. He could see the curiosity burning in her eyes as she peeked over the concrete barrier surrounding the Gagazan outpost.

“Don’t be a chicken. The Lathe never pay attention to anything.” Her calloused hands gripped the rough stone, while her trained eyes scanned the row of troops marching through the large, chain-link gates. These were the newly enlisted troops coming from the northern reaches, fresh off the crystal machines. Her heart hurt with fear that her mother would be walking among them. With a sigh of relief, she eased back down next to her younger brother. “Mother isn’t here. She must still be at the warehouse.”

“What are we going to do? We can’t get into that place. It's going to be guarded by the Warlocks.” Erit said, with a quiver in his voice. “We should just go back home and wait for Dad.”

Jesha fought the lump forming in her throat. She knew they couldn’t go home. Dad wouldn’t be there. Memories flashed before her eyes of the Warlocks coming to take her parents away, while she and her brother had hidden in the basement. Through the rose bushes, she watched in horror as both her mother and father fought against the magic-wielding demons. Her father seemed able to resist the magic. Through sheer force, he managed to strike one of them down, but in the same beat was struck by a blackened spell, which turned his very body to dust. When she and Erit ascended from the basement, all they had found was the half heart locket their father wore around his neck. The other half was hopefully still dangling from their mother’s.

“Dad’s not coming back,” Jesha said softly. Her brother’s eyes were wet with tears.

“But he wasn’t with the truck that went north. We saw Momma, but Daddy wasn’t there. He got away. He’s looking for us.”

“Come on, we need to move. The Gagazan guards will be patrolling through here soon.” She grabbed his hand, and they both waded through the thick underbrush, back into the pine forest ahead. Gagazan was only a few miles from the north warehouse, where her mother had been taken. If they were lucky, they could free her before her brain was scrambled in the crystal machine. If they weren't lucky, they would be caught and join their mother and the hundreds of other mindless soldiers the Empire had created to fight the Drowl.

Six months of navigating the woods and learning to read maps had truly helped Jesha find her way amongst the fallen towns and overgrown roadways. If they followed along Highway 45, they would reach Spring soon. As long as they stayed quiet, they could avoid rogues, a nasty human experiment that didn’t take well to their brains being mushed into a pile of obedient sludge. To Erit and Jesha, they were dangerous, but to a Warlock, they were nothing more than a minor inconvenience. Silently, they moved around trees and abandoned cars, which had years of overgrowth trying to take them back. It was the smell that told them they were getting close. It was like smelling burning rubber and tar pitch in the same disgusting barrel. Glittering dust floated above the warehouse, as it was ejected from a chimney. Each puff of orange smoke meant another person had lost their mind.

Jesha’s father had often told her of everything that went on in the world, at least everything he knew. He would say, “You and your brother need to understand the world we live in now. It’s the only way to keep you safe.”

In the early years, Jesha had always had hope that one day, everything would go back to normal. She could remember playing in the backyard of their suburban home with her neighbor and best friend. She also remembered the news stations talking about the discovery of magic, and how they could use it to cure cancer and keep America safe from both the threats of this world and beyond it. Now, 13 years later, Jesha knew that was a farse. Millions of dollars were dumped into researching these sub-earth crystals, to use and harness their powers. But what the government failed to discover sooner was that some humans had innate abilities to control the crystals. Of course, it wasn’t long till an underground criminal organization of such talented individuals got their hands on the crystals, and completely toppled all sense of government we’d had within three months. Other countries soon jumped onto the bandwagon, and found new leadership or new weapons. But all the newly discovered power being flung around caught the attention of beings we had never known existed. The Drowl. Tall, four-legged creatures that stood upright like humans, but were thin, with pale blueish skin. They had six white eyes surrounding their bald heads, and four arms that could carry things three times their size. They were incredibly fast, strong, and smart. At first, they had come just to harvest some of our magic crystals, after quickly learning our languages. However, they must have decided that humans were delicious, because they began to eat us. The world had fallen into complete decay, as half of the population was turned into mindless soldiers who knew no fear, and obeyed without question, while the other half were magic-wielding monsters, who saw themselves as gods and saviors of a superior human species.

Jesha and Erit moved to the fence around the warehouse, careful to avoid any guards who patrolled the perimeter.

“What's your plan?” Erit said. Jesha looked at her dark-haired brother, his chocolate skin dried from the constant heat. He was just a few months past his fourteenth birthday, but looked much older.

“Go in, find Mom, get out,” Jesha said, trying to learn the guards' patterns and patrol routes.

“Are you going to try for a distraction, or sneak and grab?” Erit said, pulling the bolt cutters from his backpack.

“I don’t think our tactics to steal food are going to work here.” Jesha said, looking at the large metal building, surrounded by people walking in and out. “The best thing is to wait till dark so we have more cover.” Erit nodded, and they both moved from the fence back into the shade of the trees. Soon after a pitiful dinner, the scorching sunset and the sparkling stars emerged. The two teenagers cut the fence and squeezed between it, making sure to keep their footfalls quiet. Jesha pointed to an external staircase that led into the upper levels of the building. Erit nodded and followed behind his sister. With speed and stealth, they dodged a few moving trucks and the watchful eyes of the guards. Creeping up the metal steps, they made it to the door at the top. Jesha gently pulled on the handle, but it didn’t move. Sliding aside, she allowed Erit to position himself in front of the door, and pulled out his lockpicking kit. With deft hands, he twisted and pulled until a soft click was barely audible. Stepping back Jesha opened the door wide enough for her to slip through and her brother to follow.

They arrived onto a metal grate walkway, which overlooked the entire warehouse. A large machine was positioned in the middle, with a giant, sparkling, purple crystal embedded at the top. A dozen cables ran from the crystal down to individual headsets, that connected to chairs. In each chair was a person. Men, women, and even a child, strapped to the cold metal with the headsets digging into their heads. All of them sat there, motionless, while the crystal pumped with magic. Jesha pushed herself against the wall and moved down to gain a better visual advantage of the room. Erit suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop.

“What?” she whispered. Erit just pointed to the far corner, where a large cage was resting. Many people were inside it, most of them trying to rest. But standing at the front of the cage, her dark hands gripping the bars, and tears streaking down her cheeks, was their mother. The other half of the heart locket rested around her neck. “Mom…” like a breath on her lips, she silently cried out.

PSHHHHH

A loud noise rang through the building, causing Jesha and Erit to jump back. A small amount of steam rushed from underneath the machine, and Warlocks dressed in white coats walked onto the platform and individually unhooked the people strapped to the chairs. The siblings could see from their high perch that each headset was rigged with large needles, which had red blood dripping from them. The Warlock spoke to the person checking off a list before directing them to a smaller room. The machine was then sanitized and prepared for reloading. Like rats trying to escape experimentation, the people inside the cages began to scatter in a panic, clinging to the edges and hoping to be overlooked. With a wave of his wand, the guard opened the door and magically began to pull people from their cowering place and hand them off to other guards, who took them to the machine. Jesha and Erit watched in a terrified panic as their mother was pulled by some invisible force. She clung to the cage, desperate to not be caught, but eventually her strength failed. She screamed in pain as the Warlock hovered her out of the cage and toward the chair.

Jesha pulled her bow and notched a string.

“We're going to get caught and join Mother,” Erit said, pulling his knife from its sheath.

“More than likely, but I’m going to take at least one of these magic-wielding monsters out with me,” Jesha said. Taking in a breath, she steadied herself, then fired. Like a moment frozen in time, the arrow flew through the air and landed dead center of the Warlock’s chest. His magic fluttered, and Jesha’s mother fell to the ground. Every eye turned toward where the arrow had been launched, and many made eye contact with Jesha. Her mother stared, but without asking questions, bolted toward the door.

The alarm triggered and sirens rang out. Warlocks spilled from the side rooms, while the ones already present began to throw spells in the direction of the siblings. Jesha pushed her brother back toward the door as they ducked under a large fire stream that hit the building just above them. “Run!” she called out. Flinging the door open, they could see the ground below them alight with people searching for the intruders. Shouts from inside echoed out, and many faces turned to look up toward them. A Warlock with jet black hair began to form lightning between his hands, but it quickly fizzled out. A gunshot had echoed against the trees, and a roar of shouts met Jesha and Erit with surprise. Hundreds of people were charging into the encampment, guns blasting and swords swinging. It was an army. The Warlocks below were distracted by the sudden onslaught, and turned their attention from the teenagers. Jesha and Erit made their move. Running down the steps, they turned back into the building and began to shout for their mother. “Andrea!” They shouted.

“Jesha! Erit!” Andrea’s voice came from behind them. Turning, they saw their mother running towards them, arms open. They hit hard against their mother’s chest, and Jesha could feel a sting of pain in her cheek. Another gunshot rang out, and a large set of hands broke up the happy family. Turning, they could see a giant, pale-skinned male with blonde hair ducking past the barrage of gunfire and spell blasts.

“You have to run. We have a camp to the west!” Andrea grabbed her children and dragged them behind her. Past the broken fence, burning trees, and onto the path that hopefully led to a safe camp. The half heart-shaped locket heavy against her chest.