Fan Fiction ❯ Fission ❯ A New People ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 4: A New People

Wolfen had no idea where he was going; all he could do was hope this man did know and hold on to Ambrose. It seemed to him that they had been running for miles, and his legs were beginning to tire. All about him was darkness and dry black ground. The clouds above continued to roll about, occasionally emitting their low roars.

As they ran Wolfen pondered his situation quietly, never taking his eyes off the man in front of him. Who was this person? Who were the people that attacked the turban -men, and who were the turban-men, for that matter? How did they get on this planet? They had weapons he had never seen before; clearly these people had been here for some time or their weapons wouldn't be so different from the Space Navy's. Yet that just didn't seem possible; Gevangenis had never been witnessed by human eyes before. How did they get there?

Perhaps they… weren't human? Wolfen recalled the strange orange eyes of the leader. He'd never seen eyes like that before, of such a strange hue and intensity. But then he recalled an important fact: they could speak English. They had to be human… didn't they?

Wolfen realized the man was slowing his pace. Before long they were moving at a walk, not too fast but certainly not slow. Wolfen thought the man's weird, backwards method of holding Ambrose couldn't be comfortable, yet the man didn't stop moving, never uttered a word. He wasn't even breathing hard. Wolfen, on the other hand, was sweating from the exertion of having to carry Ambrose's bulk, even the lighter half of it, so far.

Finally the man stopped walking, and the two bent down and carefully placed Ambrose down. Wolfen plopped down in the dirt himself, breathing heavily. The man turned to him and knelt down, holding something out. It looked like a bottle.

"What… is it?" Wolfen breathed, giving the bottle a suspecting look.

"Water." The man claimed in a deep voice, moving the bottle closer to him. Wolfen still looked skeptical, so the man opened it and took a long swig. "Satisfied?" He asked, offering it to him again. Wolfen hesitated for a moment, then gradually took the bottle from the man's hand and drank. It tasted horrible, but he was too thirsty to care.

As he drank, the man crouched down next to Ambrose and began to study him. Wolfen took one last gulp and closed the bottle, setting it down next to him. He studied the man quietly for a moment, wondering who he was. The man was, like Ambrose, of African complexion. He wasn't very tall, but he still dwarfed Wolfen (he often wondered if there was a soul in the entire universe who was shorter than him). The man was built heavily, his muscles more than apparent. He was young, too, probably in his twenties; he might have been Wolfen's age. His dark hair was made into a ponytail that reached just below the neck, and his eyes were a light blue. He wore a pair of gray pants with no knees and a dark brown shirt with one sleeve missing. He was very dirty, his entire body seemingly coated with dust and grit.

"Who are you?" Wolfen asked the obvious question. The man eyed him for a moment, his hand on Ambrose's leg.

"Icarus Foolwhine." He answered, returning to his study, "You?"

Icarus. Wolfen stared at the man curiously. He wondered what thought came upon the man's parents to give him such a doomed name. Unless it was an alias, maybe? Still, he saw no reason not to give away his own name. What possible usage could it be to this man? "I'm Wolfen Grey Fallion. Private, Earth Space Navy, American Sect."

The man didn't seem too impressed at first, but then he heard the name 'Earth.' The man looked up at him wide eyed for a moment, his jaw dropped. Wolfen was taken aback by this reaction. "Did you just say… Earth?" Icarus asked. His voice had changed to one of wonder. Wolfen nodded in perplexity.

The man stood up and looked down at Ambrose. "And… he's from… from Earth, too?"

"Is that a problem?" Wolfen asked, standing up and walking to the opposite side of Ambrose. He bent down and examined the wound in the man's leg, suddenly worrying that their method of transporting him had caused further injury.

Icarus stared at him as if the words were completely absurd. "What do you mean? Earth…? You can't be from there." Wolfen looked up at him for a moment, wondering why the man seemed so amazed at this news. But the man seemed to come back to his senses. He looked up suddenly and got into a fighting position. Wolfen, seeing this, braced himself and looked about, wondering what the man had seen. Or heard?

"Who is it?" Icarus called cautiously. There was a short pause before an answer came.

"It's me, Icarus. It's okay." It was a deep, female voice. Out of the shadows appeared the woman Wolfen had helped in the fight. Wolfen realized then, quite happily, that the woman was about his own height, maybe shorter. She was Asian with short curly hair that couldn't have been longer than an inch. She was quite pretty and clearly younger than Wolfen, though he guessed she was no teenager; she had a responsible look. She seemed uninjured, excepting a tiny cut on her cheek. Icarus noticed it and walked up to her to examine it. She pushed his hand away with a slight smile. "It's just a little scratch, Icarus. Bullet got a little too close for comfort."

Suddenly out of the darkness emerged several more people, at least two-dozen, who encircled them. They all had the same dusty, dirty look, and some were bleeding badly. Wolfen, suddenly worried, knelt down next to Ambrose and waited cautiously. The woman noticed this and stepped over to him. He couldn't help but think that there was a definite air of authority to her, despite her tiny height.

"It's okay." She stated in a soothing tone that went well with her deep voice, "We're not going to hurt you."

Wolfen gazed into her grey eyes for a moment, wondering whether to trust her words. He hesitated, then slowly stood (he was disappointed to realized that the woman was at least an inch taller than he was). The woman looked him up and down studiously, and then turned to look at Ambrose. Seeing his wound, she turned to Icarus. "Where's Kevin?"

One of the men stepped up to her and shook his head. "He was caught. There's no hope for him, now." The woman stared at the man for a moment, and then bowed her head sadly. There were murmurs amongst the men, but they all went silent when the woman turned to Wolfen. "I'm sorry, but our doctor is… gone. We'll take care of your friend as soon as we can."

Wolfen looked about at them all and crossed his arms. He had a lot of questions, and he didn't know where to start. Looking into the woman's eyes, he finally decided to get the basics down. "Who are you people?"

The woman hesitated and looked around at the men for a moment. "My name's Amaroris." She finally replied, "Amaroris Somni Defecnor. And we," She waved her hand around at the others, "are just a bunch of desperate civilians." She gave Wolfen a pointed look. "You should thank us. It's a rare thing for people to willingly fight the Wolke Augen, and even rarer for them to survive."

Wolfen stared at her uncomprehendingly, and, realizing he didn't understand, she explained. "You were just attacked by the Wolke Augen, the Lord's secret police." Wolfen just continued to gape, his mind desperately trying to piece together what she was saying. She tilted her head at him in concern. "You really don't know about them?"

"Amaroris," Icarus stepped up to her timidly, "He claims… to be from Earth."

This elicited murmurs and amazed sounds from the people who surrounded them. Everyone spoke in hushed whispers and made strange gestures at Wolfen, and he began to feel embarrassed at all the attention. Some of them cast wondrous, hopeful eyes at him, others looked at him with disbelief, and still some cast dark glances. Amaroris herself stared at Wolfen in wide-eyed wonder.

"What are you all gawking at?" Wolfen barked agitatedly, "It's not like I'm some alien."

"But…" Amaroris stuttered, "Earth is just a legend…"

Wolfen tilted his head at her. Just a legend? How long had these people been on this planet? "Earth isn't a legend…" He muttered, "I'm from Earth. I was born, raised, and trained there."

There were more mutters amongst the men. Amaroris shook her head in disbelief. "Well, he did come from that giant ship from the sky…"

"You don't suppose…" Icarus put in, his eyes shining, "Maybe he really is from Earth? Where else could that huge… thing come from?"

"You mean the Explorer?" Wolfen asked, finally grasping something concrete. These people must have witnessed the crash! "That was our spaceship! We came here to study this planet for habitation purposes." He glanced around, feeling rather foolish. "I guess now we know."

"Habitation purposes?" Icarus asked, looking doubtful. "This blasted place? Why would the Earth people of legend investigate this place? Surely they knew how inhospitable it is; that's why we are here."

Now Wolfen was getting somewhere. He leapt at the opportunity. "How did you people arrive on this planet?" He quizzed, looking at them all, "And for how long have you been here?" Everyone stopped talking and simply stared at him. It felt really strange, having all those eyes looking at him directly. He glanced around, worried; some eyes were still hostile.

"He can't be from Earth." Icarus stated, his voice suddenly dangerous. "If he was a man of legend, he wouldn't have asked that." He balled his hands into fists and gave Wolfen a dark look.

"We shouldn't have rescued them!" A voice came from behind Wolfen, "We should have let the Wolke Augen have them!" Voices rose, some protecting Wolfen, others calling for blood. Now really worried, Wolfen tried to say something over the bustle, but his words were drowned out. What was going on? He knew little more than when he had started with these people, and it seemed some were ready to kill him on the spot!

There came a loud, commanding shout from Amaroris, and suddenly the people quieted once again. She turned back to Wolfen, her face firm but her eyes confused. There was a long pause as she stared into Wolfen's eyes studiously. "Like Icarus said," she glanced at the man confidently, "Where else could he be from? Can anyone else give me an explanation of where this man comes from?" She looked around at the people expectantly. No one spoke. Satisfied, she turned back to Wolfen. "I'm sorry, mister…?"

"Fallion. Wolfen Fallion."

"Mr. Wolfen, I'm sorry. This must all be very confusing for you. It's just that none of us really believed in the legends that much until now. I hate to tell you, but we couldn't rescue your other friend."

Other friend? Wolfen thought back, then realized he had completely forgotten about Dios. "Where is he?" He asked slowly. He didn't know whether he should be happy or troubled that the doctor was gone. Amaroris hesitated, and then shook her head. "I'm afraid the Wolke Augen have him. I don't know how they'll treat a man of legend."

Wolfen shook his head. He didn't understand this whole legend thing they kept talking about. "Would you please explain to me who you people are? Not that I'm ungrateful…" He glanced worriedly at some of the darker faces, "But why did you save me?"

"We told you," Icarus replied, "We're just a bunch of civilians trying to do the right thing." He bowed his head slightly and continued in a barely audible whisper, "We're probably all going to die for it, too."

Amaroris cast a worried glance at him, then stepped up to Wolfen. "We saw the ship crash from Sommer City, and decided to investigate. We thought, maybe, just maybe, someone had finally come who could help us." She looked slightly disappointed. Apparently she was expecting a lot more than Wolfen, Ambrose, and Dios. "We couldn't let the Wolke Augen have you, not until we learned for ourselves who you were."

Wolfen nodded. That, at least, made sense. "We crashed after an accident… I still don't really know what happened." He bowed his head for a moment, memories throwing themselves before his eyes. He shoved them back and continued. "We may be the only survivors, but we were trying to get to the Captain's escape-pod. But…" He felt embarrassed now, "…we got lost. Everything looks the same in this place."

"What," Amaroris asked curiously, "Is an escape-pod?" The people crowded forward slightly, as if they too were curious. Wolfen, starting to get used to the attention, crossed his arms and tried to think of a good way to describe the device to them. "It's kind of like a small ship. You get in it when the larger ship has an accident, and it carries you away to safety."

Amaroris thought about this for a moment, casting her glance in what seemed a random direction. "And your Captain got into this…. Escape-pod?" Wolfen nodded. "I think we may have seen it." She whispered.

Wolfen felt hope rising. "You saw it? Where was it? Was the captain inside?"

Amaroris raised her hands as if to defend herself from a wave. "When we saw your… ship… falling from the sky, it was in flames. Some claim to have seen a smaller flame dropping beside it." Wolfen's hopes dropped. So they only saw something falling from the sky. Maybe it was just a piece of debris. But what if it was the escape-pod? "Did any of you see where it landed?" He asked them, looking around in quickly renewed hope. The people looked amongst themselves quietly, none wishing to speak up.

There was a short pause, then Amaroris said, "I did." Wolfen turned on her. "You have to show me where it is! If that's her I must get to her!" He didn't know why it was so important to him all of a sudden to find the Captain. Perhaps he was desperate to know that somebody else, anybody at all, had survived. "If she's alive I have to know!"

He realized he was in Amaroris's face, but before he could react to the fact he felt several hands grab him and jerk him back from her. "Let him go!" Amaroris ordered, and the hands obediently, if hesitantly, released him. He gave her an apologetic look, and she nodded as if in understanding. "I can take you to the site." She said, "But you shouldn't get your hopes up. Chances are the Wolke Augen have already been there to take your Captain."

Voices rose in objection. Icarus turned to her. "You can't bring him anywhere! We need to get to Sommer City before the Wolke Augen get here! We should have been on our way long ago!"

"If there are any more survivors," Amaroris replied, "It's probably in our best interest to find them before the Wolke Augen do."

"We can't!" voices cried. Several of the men seemed scared out of their minds. A few turned and were already leaving, others stayed despite fearful glances into the darkness. Amaroris looked around at them all firmly, listening to their complaints and objections for a moment.

"You have to help me!" Wolfen cried, looking at them all. "I can't find it on my own! You've dealt with these people before, haven't you?"

"We're not soldiers." Icarus barked at him, "I still can't believe we fought them at all! We're all lucky to be alive, and so are you. We aren't willing to risk our lives for you twice, man of legend or not. This large group would be spotted and picked off in no time!"

"Then I'll go with him by myself." Amaroris stated simply. Icarus's eyes bulged, and the ruckus only got louder. Wolfen gave her a surprised look. Icarus started telling her that it was too dangerous, that they couldn't trust Wolfen yet, etcetera. Wolfen wondered why she was so willing to help, when everyone else clearly thought it was a bad idea.

"You all can go back to the city." Amaroris spoke loudly, drowning out their voices. Wolfen was amazed at how loud she could raise her voice when she wanted to. "Go back, and take the injured one with you. I'm bringing Wolfen to find his captain." There were murmurs amongst the crowd, but few raised their voices in objection. Most were ready to go back, and wouldn't mind losing Wolfen and Amaroris to do so safely. Icarus, however, wasn't ready to give up.

"If the Wolke Augen get you, you're dead. It's suicide!" He put a hand on her shoulder. "You can't do it. But if you do, take me with you."

Amaroris pushed his hand away. "No, just me and him." She gave Wolfen a firm look. "The fewer we are, the less likely we'll be caught. Besides," She gave Icarus a trusting look, "I need someone I can trust to protect and hide the wounded one."

Icarus looked dumbstruck. He opened his mouth, closed it again, and finally shook his head. He must have realized that there was nothing he could do to convince her otherwise. He stared at her for a moment with eyes that Wolfen realized were far too tender to reflect mere friendship. He turned to Wolfen, walked towards him till he was practically in his face; "If something happens to her, you're responsible." He turned about and walked over to Ambrose's body, leaving Wolfen feeling truly scared.

As if given a secret signal, the people began to fade into the darkness one at a time. Some passed by Wolfen, giving him curious, fearful, or sinister glances. Icarus, with the help of another man, slowly lifted Ambrose up by the shoulders and disappeared with them. In just a few seconds it seemed he and Amaroris were alone, the only people in a strange universe of black.

"Why…?" Wolfen started, but Amaroris raised her hand to silence him.

"Things are happening that few in this world would have ever dreamed." She stated quietly. "I don't know if you're really from Earth." She hesitated for a moment, then continued as if her mind was made up. "I need to know more about you, and you need to know more about us. Besides, it really is safer with just two of us."

Wolfen stared at her for a moment, but she wasn't facing him any more. She was staring in the direction that the people had left, a worried look etching her face. Was she really going to trust him, a complete stranger that came from, of all places, a crashed spaceship? He wondered for a moment what he would have done under the circumstances, trying to find her logic. He couldn't.

Amaroris turned and walked past him. "We need to get away from here. We're still too close to where the Wolke Augen were." And with that she disappeared into the darkness. Wolfen hesitated, glanced about, and then followed slowly. He suddenly felt like a lost child, not knowing where to go or what to do, and having no one to trust except a single, solitary stranger.