Kusanagi Part 3

18
The feeling that something was wrong grew stronger in Reese by the moment. Her heightened senses told her that something moved toward them, something big. Reese had warned the officers, but Amori had laughed. She had an uncontrollable urge to run. Suddenly, a large growl echoed through the forest, shaking Reese to her core. Then, she saw it. Its long slithery body floated through the air like a slimy tapeworm through water. Its silver and green scales covered its body like armor. The creature had the flowing black wings of a swan and the tail of a scorpion, but the creature’s jaws were the most terrifying feature, long and sharp as sabers. Poison dripped from its fangs. The Koritsuka officers stared at the creature, unable to move. Then it attacked. Its jaws clamped over one of the officers, eating him whole. The man became a lump in the creature’s throat. Amori began to fire at the serpent. The other officer tried to run away, but the creature used its tail to chop the man in half. Then it turned to Amori. Reese took this chance to get away. She knew that running was the worst thing you could do. So, gingerly, she walked the direction the second man had started running to. Using the trees as a shield, she hoped she was headed in the right direction.

***
Hakuro’s father worked feverishly to untie him. Outside, Hakuro could hear screams. A shadow passed over the hut.

“Hurry!” Hakuro said to his father.

Suddenly, the serpent smashed through the hut, throwing skulls everywhere. nagas swarmed everywhere like a school of fish.

“You’re untied,” Muriyaki said. “We have to get out of here!” He gave Hakuro a phaser. The two jumped over the shattered skulls and raced through the camp. Hakuro saw five nagas flying overhead. They dived into huts and equipment.

“We have to find Reese!”

“I can’t guarantee she’s still alive, but I know where she is. Come on.”

Muriyaki led Hakuro to the outskirts of camp. Hakuro’s heart pounded in his chest. Panic welled in him. And then he saw her.

“Reese?”

“Hakuro!” She gave him a tight hug.

“We have to get out of here,” Hakuro said.

“Whose this?” Reese asked, indicating Muriyaki.

“My Father.” Hakuro answered, then turned to Muriyaki before Reese could answer.

“Do you know where the air cycles are?”

“Yes.”

“Then lets go.”

***
Muriyaki stood watch as Reese and Hakuro got the cycles ready. Hakuro, fearing he would forget something in his panic, replayed the names of the equipment over and over inside his head. Each of his movements seemed to take forever. Sounds Hakuro hadn’t noticed before, beyond the shuffling of men, suddenly became vivid in his ears. The wind, the grass, and worst of all, the deadly silence in which the nagas attacked. A footstep broke the tense atmosphere.

“Phasers!” Muriyaki yelled.

Amori emerged, phaser in one hand, an activation button in the other.

“Don’t move. All I have to do is push this button and she dies.”

“What do you want?” Hakuro all but whispered.

“The sword of course. It can stop all of this.” She seemed so calm, so serene.

“Amori, you must not do this,” Muriyaki said.

“Muriyaki. I knew you were a traitor the moment I laid eyes on you.” She pointed her phaser at him.

A soft, swishing sound came to Hakuro’s ears. He recognized it immediately. “Amori! Move!” She jumped out of the way just in time. A naga flew over her, slithering through the air, taking a long, hard look around. Hakuro watched transfixed as the seconds went by, as the creature came into the clearing. The viper almost looked translucent, like white steam billowing in the wind, carrying an aura of death. The serpent stopped, and looked at Hakuro’s father with intelligence and recognition. Then, it seemed to smile as it swallowed him whole…

Shock froze every aspect of Hakuro’s body. The man Hakuro hadn’t seen in years, his father, had been alive, and in a matter of seconds, he had been killed.

The naga began to move again. He grabbed a dagger stored in one of the cycles, then flipped around to face the monster. Hatred raged through his body. Reese yelled at him, but it was too late. Hakuro threw the dagger into the reptile’s head. The naga turned to attack Hakuro. Hakuro ran up a log and used it to leap onto the creature’s back, then, its tail attacked. Reese used a stunner to throw Hakuro off. He rolled on the ground. The snake’s tail stabbed into it’s own back with a sickening crack like crushing an egg. As it died, the creature gave out a long, cold-blooded scream, which ran through the forest and sent vibrations running through their bodies. The other serpents came to see what had happened. One came and nudged the body, moaned, then headed back to the mountain. The others followed.

The earth started to cry, soaking the ground. Hakuro crawled over to the creature that ate his father. Amori walked over to him, ready to shoot.

“Wait!” Hakuro yelled at her. “Remember our deal. I can still take you to the sword.”

“Fine,” she said, her phaser still trained on him.

Hakuro picked himself off the ground. “We should follow them. They will take us to the sword.”

Hakuro and Reese took one cycle and Amori took the other. The ride was lonely and quiet. Hakuro stared at Amori venomously. They followed the nagas north from the camp to a nearby mountain where the serpents disappeared into some rocks.

“Where did they go?” Amori asked Hakuro.

“I don’t know.” Hakuro got off his cycle and walked over to the rocks. He touched the rocks, and then his hand disappeared into them.

"The enterance." she hissed.

“We should wait for them to settle down before we enter.” Hakuro said. “An hour should be good.”

19
They returned to the camp to retrieve man and supplies. Many of the dead were buried at this time. As the rain settled, Hakuro, Reese, Amori, and a few Koritsuka officers entered the mountain, into the empty shell of a once great city. Large holes in the walls and ceilings allowed you to see many stories up. Loose wires and cables hung down along side vines. It was obvious that after the humans disappeared, the nagas took over. Hakuro grabbed a cable and used it to climb to the next level. The rest of the company followed. They went to the end of the corridor, which break off abruptly. The nagas had dug out the pit of the mountain, creating a large open chamber. Hundreds of nagas coiled and twisted in an unsynchronized dance in the bowels of the chamber.

“Where do you think the sword is?” Amori asked.

“Muriyaki said it was in a secret chamber in the back of the city. It could still be there.” Hakuro said.

“That’s not very accurate,” Reese said. “Look on the map.”

Hakuro took out a small hand-held computer he had retrieved off his cycle. He accessed a picture of the map Reese had taken at the tram station. “Someone, find a land mark.”

One of the officers pointed to a sign on the frame of the causeway.

“Entrance 57.” Hakuro read, then began to study the map meticulously. “Here.” Hakuro pointed at the map. “Which would be over there.” The sword rested on the other side of the serpent field.

“We’ll have to go across carefully.” Reese said. “Most of the corridors on this map are probably destroyed.”

“I say we should climb to the bottom of the pit, move stealthily across to the sword’s chamber, and seize the sword,” Amori said. “Once we have the sword, they won’t be able to hurt us.”

“That’s too dangerous,” Hakuro said.

“I think it’s a good idea.” Reese said. “Going to the bottom of the pit is the fastest way to the sword.”

“Then it’s agreed,” Amori said. She turned to her men. “Get the ropes. Tie them to the edge so we can climb down.” The men did as she said.

“It will be too dangerous to send what’s left of your men with us.” Hakuro said. “Let only the two of us go.”

“Hakuro!” Reese hissed.

“Fine.” Amori said. “But the girl comes with us, as insurance that you do not disobey me.”

The three of them went down as quietly as possible, stopping whenever a naga flew within 20 yards. The descent was strenuous, and they had to be extremely diligent, for they could be eaten at any moment. Luckily, they made it down in one piece. Hakuro led the girls across the pit, hugging its wall. A naga came toward them only once. It almost seemed to come out of its dormant state, but then it slithered away.

“The sword is three stories up.” Reese said.

They waited until most of the serpents weren’t in the vicinity, then climbed up the stories. Hakuro let the girls stand on his shoulders to get to the next story; they in turn pulled him up. Finally, they reached their destination. The walls of the sword chamber were made of a bluish metal Hakuro had never seen before.

“There’s writing over here,” Reese whispered.

Hakuro walked over. “It says; those who enter will fill the wrath of the masses.”

“This appears to be a panel of some kind.” Reese pointed to a small black square, then touched it. The panel started to change colors, but that’s all that happened.

“Let me try.” Hakuro placed his hand on the pad. The door opened to a strange white room. The room seemed to have no boundaries, it was never ending. Many yards off, sat a ling a long wooden table. On the table lay the sword.

No sooner had they entered the room, than the sound of growls reached their ears from behind them. The serpents knew they were there.

Amori took out her phaser. “Don’t move. The sword is mine.”

“Not a chance!” Reese yelled. She took out a dagger from her sock and threw it into Amori’s shoulder. Amori collapsed to the ground. Her phaser skidded across the room.

“Damn you!” Amori yelled. Then, she pressed the detonation button. Reese’s collar exploded.

“No!” Hakuro screamed. He ran over to what was left of Reese’s body. Hakuro screamed in agony. Tears streamed down his face. Her life had been extinguished at the push of a button. Hakuro became enraged at Amori, who sat clutching her shoulder, and charged at her. She dodged him and ran for the sword. Hakuro grabbed her ankle, causing her to fall. Amori kicked Hakuro in the head, nearly causing him to go unconscious. She ran from his grasp for the sword. Her fingers almost touched it when a growl directly behind them stopped her in her tracks. Hakuro used her hesitation to grab the sword. He faced Amori, sword in hand. “You have lost!” He sneered as he sliced her throat. By now nagas filled the room. They began to slide around him, encircling him like a mouse in the jaws of a snake…

“Enough!” He yelled. One of their tails came within a yard from chopping him in half. “I don’t want the sword,” His voice lowered considerably. He dropped the sword and fell to his knees. Tears ran down his cheeks. “I want nothing. I am finished.”

20
The serpents stared at him, seemingly with understanding in their eyes. They left, leaving the sword, and closing the door behind them. Hakuro turned around, finding the girl from the mural painted in the shrine sitting in a chair that hadn’t been there before. The table the sword had rested on was gone.

“Bring the sword and sit down.” She had an unusually high voice.

Hakuro sat in a chair that appeared out of know where. “Bring them back.” He pleaded. “Use your magic.”

“I can’t, Hakuro. I have no magic.”

“You brought my mother back!” He yelled. “Do something!”

“Stop your crying! We cannot bring back the dead. Your mother wasn’t dead. Disappearing is different than being dead. No more questions. I have much to tell you.”

Hakuro nodded, knowing his behavior to be useless. He wiped his tears away and took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

“For years your people have believed me to be some kind of god or divine being, but this is not true. I am nothing more than a hologram or image.”

Hakuro looked confused. “How is that possible?” He touched her face. “You feel real.”

“I will explain. The metal ship, which landed in the desert, is an alien spacecraft from another planet. Those vipers, as you call them, were the aliens on the spaceship. They created me to communicate with your species. I consist of light molecules. Although I am solid to the touch, in essence, I am not real.”

“Right now, I’m talking to a computer diplomat for those things?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell people this in the beginning?” his voice choked.

“We did. Listen and I will tell you everything. It was quickly discovered that they feared and despised us. So, the vipers as you like to call them hid and sent me out. If we had been found, you’re people would have killed us or studied us. Another mistake they made was taking me to be a real person. We tried to convince them otherwise, but to no avail. Communication was difficult at that time because I was still learning your language. We thought if we gave your leader our technology, he would understand and teach his people. I don’t know it he understood what I explained to him, but his greed for power caused him to use the sword for corrupt reasons. We had to take the sword away. Many people followed us. We welcomed them. They followed me into the desert, back to our ship to get supplies and the aliens. We discovered that your emperor had sent an army after us to get the sword back. The people suggested we go to the jungle to live in peace. We agreed and went. We founded this city and began construction. When the emperor’s army arrived we defeated them quickly. We built the city and educated the people inside. Then, centuries later, your father came along. Your mother fell deeply in love with him, and so kept him here against our commands. And, as I’m sure you’re father has already told you, caused all the jungle people to disappear.”

“Yes, but I still don’t understand how you brought the aliens and my mother back from where ever they were.”

“They were in the place you go before you’re born. We have the technology to travel through that place. When we saw your mother, we knew it was her destiny to live, so they took her back. You should feel privileged, for that is something we rarely do.”

“What about the curse on my father?”

“It’s not a curse, but an illness, rather like your cancer. It is a slow and painful death. We inflicted him with it for punishment. He deserved more than an instant death.”

“How is it that I could open the door, and the others couldn’t?”

“Our computers are set to open only for specific people’s DNA. Being your mother’s son, you were permitted.”

“This is difficult to accept.”

“Death is difficult to accept, but if one cannot accept death, then how can one accept life? And if one cannot accept the truth, then how is one to learn knowledge?”

Hakuro signed and looked down at the ground, tears lining his cheeks. “I’m sorry.” He whispered. “For everything,”

“No, we are sorry,” she said, then pulled the sword from her side. “Here, take the sword and learn how to use it, but don’t go near anyone until you do. Try to teach others how to use it. That is your reward for your pain.” Hakuro took the sword and left the room.

Everything looked blurred and misty due to his tears and despair. He felt like he had just woken up from a nightmare and was trying to find his way back to reality. He climbed down the stories to the bottom of the cavern, and began to make his way across, back the way he had come. The serpents flew along side Hakuro as he made his way out of the bowels of the underground city. They didn’t seem like the fearsome creatures he had seen a few hours earlier. They were much more subdued and found him curious, often flying in front of him and behind, though a good distance away.

Hakuro looked at the serpents with sad, wary eyes. He began his journey across the cavern, a cavern that was— in many ways— a pit of demons. At first he walked unsure of himself, with the sword held limply in both hands, but by the time he reached the other side, his pace quickened and he held the sword more confidently. After he climbed the rope back up, he discovered what became of Amori’s men. Apparently the nagas felt they needed to be killed as well. Hakuro found he didn’t really care. It was one more tragedy to add to a long list of tragedies.

He soon walked out of the underground city. His tears left him, just as everyone else had. All that remained was an empty shell devoid of sense and feeling.
Dawn began to touch the sky in a bright orange glow, bringing a sense of silence and renewal. Hakuro went through the Koritsuka camp and gathered supplies. He loaded everything onto a cycle, took one last at the place that had ruined his life, and left the jungle. He headed north, to the desert, where his new life awaited him.