Broken People

Chapter 1

Broken People
Introduction:
The world is dark after the war. Survivors are small in number and scattered. They have all learned to defend themselves.

Chapter one
His breath is harsh, it's reminiscent of coughing blood. Broad shoulder muscles bristled from sprinting all this time. Paces behind him in the unearthly mist emerged the foe. A group of uniform Nazi soldiers. Energy weapons poised for the exhausted figure. They’ve been chasing him like wolves.

Every drop of energy wrenched from his body, and every step lead; he churned from his chest yet another breath to keep going.
His eyes fell and he saw a chance, his absolute last hope. The ground is piled with wreckage.
He dived.
Bricks and mortar crushed and tore his skin. Droplets of blood appeared from abrasions, clouding his dark olive skin. Without breath, he looked between the rock fissure.
Still they came. Dust and dirt made muttered hair all the more tangled.
He let out a breath, and aimed at the nearest soldier. The enemy was clear in his sight, the young Nazi wasn’t more than seventeen years old. Jarred’s fingers pressed against the trigger; as he looked into the incandescent eyes of his enemy, he could not move to kill. Jarred’s eyes averted for an instant.
“The skyscraper” he mouthed.
as he saw the derelict building, hope breathed into his soul again. In one fluid motion he set the gun to overload. Then he aimed at the half fallen skyscraper. The gun was a firefly, burning up. He waited and looked calm, but his hands were as tumultuous as the sea.
His lips twitched
“Come on,” he breathed, as a bead of blood fell from a cut from under his bright brown eyes. All of his focus was on the position of the soldiers position. The gun trembled in his callused hands.
The enemy group was adjacent to his target, grasping at the trigger he let the overcharged bolt fly.
“Fall, fall, fall to the earth!” he hissed.
A spark of energy flared, then nothing. The skyscraper stood defiant. The short distance was covered; the closest soldier leaned over looking at Jarred, holding a sick smile. From the direction of the skyscraper Jarred saw movement.
The soldier crossed his eyebrows, and looked stunned, then his face went blank and he fell; there was a hole in his head.

The surrounding soldiers stopped, but only for half a breath. Then their movement was a blur. Blasts headed towards the skyscraper.
“Move, move damnit!” he thought.

The ground at the soldiers feet exploded in energy fire, the soldier's legs disappearing in the erupting earth and rock. But as they were consumed in the explosion, Jarred saw a plasma grenade topple towards the building. After a bright flash the building collapsed under itself, as it fell his stomach fell with it. Right until everything was enveloped in fire he saw the people on the top floor. Breath would not touch his lips, the shock had driven it away. Concrete and debris pelted the ground, but all he felt was numbness.
*********(Must severly edit from here on)*************
For a long time he lay there with no feeling. In his first waking moment there was a time of confusion, all he felt was dust and ashes on his lips and skin. Slowly he felt the hard concrete and rubble. When he finally opened his eyes, and as the blur from his vision cleared the memories came back.
He had been stealing food; That is why they were after him. For a long moment he knelt on the ground, steadying himself.
“What to do…?” he wondered.
It was his job to find food, but he had not gathered much before he was spotted. He would not go back to the settlement empty handed. He scrounged through the pockets of the dead soldiers, fortunately he could not see their faces. He did not wish to remember their eyes staring at him… Suddenly he was sick, it was just too much, his eyes watered as he vomited bile and leaned over spitting out the taste. The air was a whirlpool of stench; like a septic tank with a rotting sheep floating in the mire. Finally he took the guns and equipment that the soldiers had.
As he ran away his ribs hurt like a cramp from the bruises.
On the way back to the camp whenever he slowed down he argued with himself
“What are you doing?... Ha?... won’ a get yourself killed?... Just another step, almost there, another flaming step,” He muttered to himself.
Finally he could see the landmark that meant he was home. He didn’t know how he did it, but he ran the last few meters like a bat out of hell.
*******************************************************
“Jarred,” said the old man.
“Jarred, your back! I thought you were caught… or dead.”
Tearigra led Jarred into a separate room, used as a dining room. The base was in fact an old abandoned sky-scraper. The top most levels were totally inaccessible, but the bottom floors were still useable.
“hay Tearigra, where is everyone” Said Jarred.
“Oh, most are out on hunting parties…”
“But it’s almost Dawn, if they get caught in broad daylight...”
Tearigra silenced him, with one look. In the look Tearigra saw much pain and fear.
“Hush now,”. Jarred almost collapsed on a chair, closed his eyes and talked the stress from his mind.
Tearigra just listened, watching with his deep grey eyes.
“I’ve got the supplies & also new guns.”
Tearigra examined the guns, his face was stern and he put them away quickly.
“Now, your wounds” said Tearigra “I couldn’t do anything before, you were hurt in the mind”
“Picture your bruises and cuts,”
Jarred closed his eyes and formed a strong mental picture. He saw himself strong, with olive skin and no dirt smeared all over him.
“The injuries are shrinking, they are disappearing, the pain is being absorbed…”
He imagined the deep contusion breaking away, the purple and green fragments being carried off and eaten up. With the cuts he thought of them stitching up, there was only a scab where gashes had been.
He opened his eyes, in that short period of time his cuts had grown scabs and the bruises were merely dots. Jarred no longer felt so weary, but his appetite had grown. After he walked through the meandering corridors of debris and ruin to his room. Like he always did, he slept with his weapons still in their pouches; of course the safety was put on.
*******************************************************
It wasn’t deep into the day when commotion disturbed Jarred’s sleep. That was not so uncommon, but just as he settled down to return to sleep, he heard it; a rigid groaning. Sitting up, he turned his head and listened.
The sound of silence, is all he heard. After a time the haze of sleep enveloped him and he through no more of it. In the morning he felt he’d forgotten something important, but he just couldn’t remember.
Jarred walked through the derelict building in the early hours of dusk. He was tired, do he didn’t notice much. With optimal efficiency he would have heard the change in the gentle growing of the building. It was not until he heard commotion however that he realized something was wrong. Screams were erupting from the main rooms of their base. For a moment he was startled as his friends ran passed him to get to the uproar. Finally getting to where the attack was, he quickly looked around the door frame, for a second. Most of his friends lay dead. Their limbs in twisted unnatural shapes. There weren’t many guards left either. The Germanic government seemed to think all their people were superior. They still became cannon fodder when they went to war. It appeared their was one Germanic soldier left. He hadn’t noticed Jarred.
“We have been hit bad, we need bak…” The Guard never finished his sentence.
Taking his gun from the pouch, Jarred just turned around the corner and sprayed him with fire. He stood there a second after he had murdered the man. He didn’t feel good. He expected that it would feel like justice. But it didn’t.
Looking around, bodies lay everywhere.
“Oh, oh,” he couldn’t talk, or think.
“All, all, there… dead, gone killed...”
From a pile of rubble and broken bricks, he heard a moan.
“Eeerrr,”
Jarred rushed over to the pile of debris and clawed into it with his bare hands.
“Egta, thank God! You’re alive,” Tears were wilting from Jarred’s eyes.
“Can you get up?”
“Don’t...know, I...try” moaned Egta.
Egta’s normally soft white face was smeared with dirt. Jarred helped his battered friend get up.
“We have to hurry, there will be a swarm of soldiers soon!” It was a drain of his strength, but Jarred carried his only friend. He carried him out of the building, years of living in the night allowed him to to navigate easy to navigate through the derelict buildings, but he had to watch out for patrols of soldiers. Even rival gangs of survivors would kill him if there was a chance he had a scrap of food. By the time the first rays of dawn were touching the sky, Jarred’s muscles felt like a wet sock. Jared was one of the residents of an old earth city. There is never any light, only eternal darkness. Clouds of ash flicker through the city.
Gently he lay his friend onto the ground. He had found a relatively safe place to rest – for now.
Then he attempted to cure Egta. The immune system of the old earth survivors is hundreds of times greater than before the war. The thing is, you have to consciously activate it for the particular area you want healed. Otherwise the immune system would use up too much energy and it could even attach good bacteria. Talking tenderly he helped Egta cure himself. Before long Egta was alright, all he needed was a rest.
“Egta,” whispered Jarred; “Egta.”
Egta opened his eyes, a fraction.
“Ooor, y-yes”
“How are you feeling?”
Egta smiled, “Actually, I only feel tired, other than that I’m ok.”
“I’ve heard that there are survivors, outside the cities. The entire city will be crawling with flaming soldiers before long; I recon we should leave.”
Egta thought for a minute before answering; “There are some strange stories about those survivors, but your right.”
“I’m just going to get us some food, you’ll be safe here.”
“Jarred,” said Egta, “thanks.”
“I’ll be back soon, stay here.”
* * * *
He wormed his body through a tunnel of rubble. Poking his head out of the trash like a possum in a tree, he saw an armored car in front of him. The cloaking device – known as ‘gel netting’, had disguised it well; he knew how to look - Its rippled outline gave it away.
“Ah” they are getting ready for an attack to get more slaves. He waited until they embarked.

Straining every muscle, he inched closer to the vehicle. Minutes went by as he weaved to his target. There was one guard. He charged forward and knocked the guard off balance, the enemies weapon fell from his hands.
Jarred fiercely whispered “Don’t move, don’t scream, or I’ll squeeze the trigger,” He held his gun close to the mans face. Before long he had the supplies and was walking away, feeling good. That was the mistake of his life. For all of those precautions he forgot the marauding band of solders. They had come back with another horde of slaves just in time to meet him. They jumped in front of him guns un-slung.

Shock grabbed him. The realization of capture was overwhelming then the shock gave way to anger as they laid hold to him.
“Noooo,” Yelled Egta as he blindly ran out, with watery eyes Egta tried pitifully save him. All Egta did was fire a row of random bullets, as they trained their guns at him. The only thing he did was knock out some gel-netting (the clocking device)
A pulse shot hit him and he fell. Jarred felt it as his friend hit the ground.
His friend was lucky, if you call lucky being captured. A few more centre meters closer to his heart and he would not have woken up, he was lucky if you call the enemy firing a stun shot because they were hunting for slaves. Lucky if you call his life wrecked and forever being a slave.
Lucky.

Sweat, as rain covered his face. The air was thick & moist. Rarely did light penetrate the clouds. Even the ground was clogged like soup. Thousands of slaves worked, their life was intrinsic with pain. Under the Germanian government. More than two and a half centuries have passed since Hitler won the war. Technology had advanced – because it had to. If the people didn’t advance they would all have died. But Hitler didn’t want that – who else would build his cities and monuments. The ‘superior race’ couldn’t do the dirty work could they! In reality most of the German people through it was an abomination. They didn’t want all this cruelty to happen, but when they said something, they were killed.
“Ha-ha, look at you!”
The wicked guard drove along on his motorbike. Jared muttered to one of his friends when the bike was out of earshot.
“Danger”
“What” he said, eyes wide.
“The empty vacuum inside that guards head might go super-nova!”
His friend gave a bit of a smile, but it was quickly wiped off his face,
“Oh no, ‘Brain drain’ is coming back!”
The guard swung around and lashed his whip at the slaves.
“Keep working! You slackers!”
The whip kept up its bombardment, like drops of rain in a storm
Jared smeared the mud trying to wipe some off his face, then wiping his hands clean on the potato-sack that he was wearing. Bones stuck out of their skin, they were walking skeletons. Jared and his pal still smiled sometimes – they were recently caught; but like everyone they too would become depressed and weak and soon, die.
Finally the breath of day ceased. Streaks of people on their way back filled the horizon.
The heat of day had disappeared & there was the smell natural to rain. Finally back in the building they called home. He sank into the soggy lump of a bed that felt like porridge left in a pot.
His eyes opened for a second, then he closed them & cursed, he realized that he had fallen asleep, and it was already mourning.
*******************************************************
“What do you think this is? Bush week?” He worked twice as hard as before,
but the guard was furious. Something was wrong with the guard, he was yelling like a demon, his face was completely red. Maybe he had been demoted, or someone else could have taken the position that he wanted. Lifting the weighed whip he swung it in one long fluid movement. Anger was in the pit of the guards stomach, and he had power over the slaves. Like a 3 year old pulling the wings off a fly’s back. Just because he could do it he did. Jared’s eyes were wide & his breath steep as the metal balls ruptured his back. Back muscles bruised; he shielded his face desperately with bony arms. Jared was a tight ball, beaten purple & green. But the guard stood over him and flogged him all the more. Jared thought as the metal balls cut and stung, ‘I am going to die’, he no longer felt pain, just an enormous sadness that he would not be able to stop all this. His back was ripped to bloody ribbons raw nerves and muscles bare. He was left in the blood stained slime for a long time. Everyone was scared that they too would become the next victim. As the day heated up someone finally bent over Jared and lifted him from the mud.
*******************************************************
His eyes slowly opened, he eased his tender back to the side. Sweat oozed off his for head. ‘My mouth fells like I’ve been sucking on my sock all night’ He thought to himself. “Isss theeeR anyyy wat-ter?”
His throat was like sand paper. A hand guided a grimy mug of water to he mouth. Stagnated water with floaties in it gurgled down he’s mouth. “Mmmm, that’s good!”
“Jared… Do you hear me?”
Jared opened he’s eye’s for a moment. The tent was full Egta was there, and some friends that he had made in the camp.
“Jared… we are planning an escape – do you want to be apart?”
“What and get past laser sensors, 12 foot fences, watchmen guards with electric and radiation guns as well as proton blasters?”
“Don’t worry… it’s much worse than that. If we do escape there will be ground, and air attacks, we will be top on the most wanted list. There will be danger as long as where on this planet & were not just going to run. We are going to take this base!”
“No there is nothing you can say that will make me do it!”
“We need your help.”
“Dam you!”
“Be ready early tomorrow”
He leaned back. “Great!” He sighed.
He wished he could use his back as an excuse, but he knew it would be completely healed in a few hours.
*******************************************************
“So what do you want me to do?”
“Well we’ve all heard your story how good you were at sneaking…”
“Waite a minute! You going to say something I don’t like so just remember I do not want a job with a 90% failure rate!” Said Jared, anxious as to what’s happening.
“No it’s more like 99.” He said smiling. “What you have to do is put this cloaking device on, known as a yowie suite, it will make you almost invisible…”
“Where did you get something like that?!”
“Don’t you worry about that. Now were was I? Oh, yes, while we are making a distraction you find a way into the garage with all the bikes. Place these devices on them and get out – do not let anyone see you! Good luck!”
He put on the yowie suite and set off, glided along, weaving making no quick sudden moves. Behind him a racket was starting. The door to the main building flew open and some guards ran out while the door was open he slipped into the building.
A guard, rushed towards him. Swinging to the side, he felt the rippled air wiz past. Slinking around the corridor & creeping to where the inside entrance to the garage would be. In front of the garage door was two guards chatting.
Time is running out.
He went past the corner to another room, the dining room there were numerous tables in this huge room. Scanning the ceiling for manholes, he found nothing. The next room was a hall that would probably lead to the dormitories.
Wrong way.
Quickly he changed direction; putting his ear to the door, he listened…
Silence.
Touching the door, it creaked open. He shuffled through to the laundry. In the ceiling, there was a manhole. Quickly opening up the wardrobe he found what he was looking for, a ladder. Gently putting it into place, he clambered up the ladder, shifted the manhole and was half way in when he heard talking – someone was coming!
He finished climbing then leaned over the side and grasped the ladder, straining with every muscle; pulling, bit by painful bit it lifted up. Almost there, a few more inches and the manhole could slide back.
Just then, a few things happened at once; the ladder was blocked from the roofs trusses and the washerwoman burst through the door. Holding his breath, Jared was left sweating under the strain of the ladder. He lay still in the cramped position. Below it looked like the washerwoman was settling in. He eased down the ladder, slightly lifting it up further; & taking a shallow breath. His arms being stretched to hold the ladder were bending under its weight; it took all of Jared’s strength to keep the ladder from falling. The woman muttered to herself something and walked out. Quickly he adjusted his position and lifted the ladder into the ceiling. After placing the man hole back Jared rushed to were the garage would be, Scanning the floor with the torch he found it – another man hole (for the garage.) He opened it by just a fraction, the light sprang into the ceiling were he was.
Jared held onto the edge of the manhole and with one hand, lifted the wood over the hole. Just then, he lost his grip, and fell down. For a second he was in mid air then he smashed against the hard cold concrete ground & slammed onto his back.
Closing his eyes, Jared slowly eased himself up. To his horror the yowi suite was ripped - the polarization matrix destroyed. No longer disguised he finished his job quickly. The devices were easily slipped onto the bikes; they would not be seen. The door was now clear so he rushed through the door and into the hall. The door to the dormitory was opening; looking through the window there was someone coming, he couldn’t go that way the only open door was the laundry. Dashing behind the wardrobe door Jared
Waited.
*******************************************************
All he could do was wait.
The immense darkness smothered him, within minutes the suffocating space made the boy claustrophobic.
Gasping for air.
A door swung on its heavy hinges.
The creaking sound of foot’s steps ripper shaded across rigid wooden floorboards. His hair became morning grass. Drips of sweat poured from he’s face.
The pounding steps became closer.
Spears of light were flung into the wardrobe as the doors spread open. The boy became stone frozen still in time.
*******************************************************
Hovering in front of him a woman stood, looking down. At him.
She reacted quickly, sliding her pistol from the pouch in a fraction of a second. The girl wore a Nazi uniform, navy blue and made from nylon. She had the Nazi Swastika on the jacket shoulder. The new air was mountain fresh. He curled into a tight ball of terror.
She glared down at the dogged figure.
The gun was poised, like a viper, tuned to lunge. Her hart swam heavy & sick. Like ropes anchoring a ship, sinking on green frayed waves.
On an impulse, she swiped her card across the scanner. Then motioned him to go.
“You have never seen me… Now get the hell out of here.” She had no idea why she had let him go.

*******************************************************
A shocking force pinned him to the ground. Like charging cattle, running full power on top of him. He felt the sound of the blast chasing the shock wave.
Falling backwards there was no ground. Time had been destroyed. For an eternal second, slowly, he kept falling. The air above the boy rippled. Dirt and debris showered towards him like a dust storm. He could feel and think but could do nothing, it was like his mind was in hyper-drive; life, all experiences rushed past his very eyes. Realizing he would be hurt in the fall he wondered, “Will I crack my leg?”
Time came back, he skidded a meter along the gravel ground. Burnt out remains of the barracks shimmered after the explosion.
Pointy clods of stone clung to him indented into his skin. Blood mixed with dirt spilled down the shavings of skin that were like chocolate curls.
Fine sand & dirt coated the boy’s mouth.
Platoons of speeder bikes poured from the shed. Diving to reach the rebels. They readied their weapons as they charged. A ripple tossed through the crowd of speeder bikes. The devices that he’d put on had short-circuited them. They fell and skidded to the ground. The rebels were onto them as they hit. Ravaging them like wolfs.
The position was too open. Jared felt exposed to deadly fire. Just the lateral damage from radiation guns can incinerate you! Trudging to his part of the camp, he hoped for safety. Jarred reached his camp; the blasts waved on as rain drops tapping a roof.
*******************************************************
By the time he had found something to use as a weapon, the hail of fire had slowly ceased. Then from the silence of a forsaken, wasteland, a cry of joy sprung forth. Jarred wove through the camp like a feral fox, steeling up to its prey. The camp was trashed. It was like a titanic rubbish dump. Bit’s piled hap-hazed over the place. The buildings were singed and torn from the immense firepower of proton blasters & radiation guns. The people of the camp raced around, happy of their freedom. The stores of the Nazis were opened now they possessed food, weapons and a host of other provisions.
Their leader, Kiyon, announced, “We have supplies and vehicles. Soon we will head into the wilderness to hide but now we feast!”
Jared’s stomach was in a tight knot. He felt something was wrong.
“Kiyon, Kiyon!”
“You did a good job, rest now”
“No! we cant! This place is going to be attacked – Hitler won’t let this challenge go unanswered.”
Kiyon just looked at him skeptically, “you have a bad ‘feeling’”
“Yes, in my stomach I feel something bad is going to happen… Soon”
Kiyon smiled, “don’t worry. It’s just stress, you’ll get over it.”

He entered into the main building. There he seated himself and loaded the data core to his watch computer. The information he saw confirmed his fears.
“Where is Egta?” he muttered as he scuttled through the building.
“Egta” panted his prickly hot breath.
A sweaty glow covered his face & neck; he leaned over as he drew fresh breath.
Egta lay half dazed with a bottle of firewater clasped in his hand like a child’s security blanket.
He giggled and laughed like a retard.
“Egta… what the hell are you doing!”
Egta had never before drunken firewater, because it is hard to live if you let your brain get stolen. He had only drunken a small amount but because he is small, he was drunk.
“Come on! Get up… LOOK! Were going to be attacked!
Wobbly, like a young lamb, Egta shuffled from the bed. They packed food and tools that they would need. Next, they slipped into the armory put on armor grabbed yowi suits and any other gadget they thought would be of importance. Last, they selected guns, good guns - the ones that were given to officers.
Photon weapons.
Gingerly they slipped them into their pouches.

Now that they were ready, they trekked across the field leading to the storage shed. The storage shed was so immense that the Olympics could be held there and you would still have room to park. The inside of the shed was shrouded in a dark half-light. It was packed full with different cars, trucks & tanks. They scanned the rows of vehicles for a suitable candidate. They needed something fast and strong. There in the far corner was the perfect vehicle. It was a truck, used for troop transport - it is strong like a tank but its swift speed and photon canon make it incredible.

Jarred was a short distance away searching for paraphernalia perhaps he could use some armor plating from a tank. He stopped in mid stride. The hairs on the back of his head became rigid, like a wild dog. There was no sound or disturbance. Perhaps he heard something on a sub-conscious level. At any rate, the atmosphere of the building had changed. He raced back to where Egta was. He ran as if he was running for his life. Outside the truck stood the German girl that let freed him. She was shivering. Egta had he’s pistol pointed to her. He was going to kill her.
“Egta, what are you doing?!”
Egta just rambled & raved.
“Stop!” he yelled as he pushed forward.
Egta aimed for the girl who was screeching and pleading.
Egta squeezed the trigger. A partial shot sprang forth. Egta winced in pain as his hand buckled up frozen and numb from Jarred’s shove. Egta’s gun bounced to the side harmlessly spraying to the floor. Egta snapped out of his trance like state.
“She let me escape” Jarred was yelling.
Yet Egta did not hear it. He suddenly realized he was a ‘would be murderer’
The girl steadied herself on the truck. She was sick out of nerves. She curled herself up into a ball of horror. Jared lent down and comforted her.
Her head spun back shacking hair out of her face as she gulped down air through sobs.
Egta trotted of into the infinite darkness of the lonely far corners of the monstrous building. The liquid black engulfed him. Stumbling he entered a car. In its seats firm grasp tears built into his eyes. He fell to hallucinations sleep.
******************************************************
“Mine name is Zaya” The girl sat on a box that contained some sort of paraphernalia. Zaya and Jared sat around a small open fire. Zaya sipped a warm mug of creamy rich coffee. A wooly blanket slumped around her shoulders. Tingly itchy blanket hairs tickled her face.
Egta slowly waddled over. Head slumped down. He stood outside the warm ring of fire. Outside he felt not the cold of night. But the chill of loneliness.
“Egta…” Jared called.
After a moment Egta entered the camp. His face was fallen in dark shadow. Zaya froze, rigid.
Egta sighed, “O oh… I’m really sorry, ah! Sorry is so empty! It seems as common as dirt on the ground. Honestly ever since my family was murdered by Germans, I viewed them all as dogs! By I acted like an animal. I would not be surprised if you never speak to me again but If you like you can come with us when we leave.”
Jared answered “Egta, sit down. I know its hard for you. I don’t know how Zaya feels and if I were her I’d probably stay as far away from you as possible but you are my friend also we are a teem and for a teem to succeed it must be united”
Zaya nervously watched Egta “It’s not possible for me to stay here. And I’m not going to help the Nazi’s. So I would like to come along.” Then looking directly into Egta’s eyes she sternly said “You better not touch fire water again!”
******************************************************
In the darkness before dawn, where quiet chill steals you from sleep. Egta lay propped up in a bed under the truck resenting sleep yet tired of being awake. The seconds fell like they were dripping out of a tap. His eye’s fell together like sandpaper chafing. A mental image sprang before his minds eye, once again lost in a ghoulish nightmare.
There was something. Something happening. Gentle wisps of sound were evident. At first, he did not notice it then, finally he realized the peril that had come. In an instant he sat up, knocking his head under the truck. Forehead smarting he shock Jared awake, “Quick” He shrilled “I think the place is under attack!”
Jared lunged out from under the vehicle knocking his head as he rose.
“Careful for you head” Egta warned.
Jared grunted a reply. Opening the door to the back of the truck he quickly woke up Zaya.
“Er? What time is it?!” She mumbled.
“Hush! There attacking!!!”
Immediately she was ready “I’ll give us some cover fire with the flag gun!”
Jared dashed to the passenger seat and started charging the regenerative armor. Egta had already hopped into the driver’s seat. Egta is the best driver amongst the group. Turning on the ignition the engine awoke, lunging to life. Like the roar of the lion the beast’s growl was felt throughout the vehicle. Egta stroked the wheel fondly, and then yelled “LETS RIDE!!!” The truck spun madly to ward’s the wall or the shed. Jared griped his seat. The computer’s voice droned in the background “Armor at optimum level.”
Just as the vehicle flung towards the reinforced wall it disappeared. It was replaced by a wave. The sound of the explosion had not yet even hit them. All in the shed was knocked around like ribbons. The enormous truck was pushed forward left on its back tires. For a moment it appeared that it would be bashed over and destroyed but as the sound wave finally caught up to them, rattling out all thought the truck fell forward riding the wave. In the back Zaya was dazed but she recovered quickly.
The truck had broken through the now non existent wall. All around rebels were rushing, and firing in chaos. Zaya was busy giving the truck cover. Meanwhile Jared was doing his up most to keep the armor from failing. In front of them was a drop ship, the troops has already been let out. But being in the front line it had undergone tremendous attack. A blast rocked the craft damaging the engine, but the craft was still workable, the pilot was not so fortunate; the armor had just given way. The blast fried all in the helicopter drop ship. Without a driver the craft plunged toward the earth, straight onto the truck. Egta swung the vehicle gust before it crunched to the ground. All around the enemy was closing in. “The helicopter” Suggested Zaya. The three friends swung into the half dead craft. Egta piloted them into the air. The ground fell away as the twisted into the air like a drunk wasp. Jared had turned on the last breath of armor. “I think they didn’t see us going” said Egta. Just as they were moving out of range a blast evaporated an engine. Squeezing every last drop of life from the remaining engine Egta was able to make a tottering journey. Finally the ship was unable to move, slipping to the ground it grated to a stop.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief. They had survived

******************************************************
Meanwhile at the extreme side of Earth. Showered in perpetual gray, a fearsome creature lay propped up in a life support system. The creature hardly had enough flesh to be called human. Cybernetic connections were recreating the body of this ancient monster. Being so old almost every part had been replaced. Almost all that remained was the twisted brain of this demon. Hitler cheated death once again. The wicked being had died many times however each time he had been revived. Hart, lung, liver and many more replacements. Currently the ghoul was undergoing another replacement operation. Metal mixed with blood could be tasted upon entering the lair.