Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"It was also said that Liever Johnson was as kind and caring as he was brave and headstrong; for those who knew him well, knew that he had always been kind and caring, before the terrible day he decided he would avenge her; and it was this love that led him to understand and, yes, even love his enemies.

But in his world, one where men killed mindlessly, killed as though they were created that way, to kill, his love for his enemies would never be a love for his kind."

-Liet Jacobs

Planet Rynadon

6.08.40185

Under the hot sun of Rynadon lay a small glade, surrounded by a quiet and peaceful jungle. Soft grass moved lightly in the breeze blowing from a distant sea. In the trees chattered native squirrels, and a few birds flitted in the afternoon rays. A small leather satchel lay on the ground, its contents spilled on the whispering forest of grass. Several shaded pencils littered the ground, as well as the remains of a purple guavanna fruit, a plant native to the jungle world of Rynadon. A sketchpad and one of the pencils were held delicately in the soft touch of a young boy.

Liever Johnson slowly traced the outline of an upright, curious squirrel. His hands barely seemed to move as he drew the animal on the rough paper. He squinted and tilted the paper slightly. A miniscule touch of his hand added a gleam to the gray squirrel that would never move. He shifted his weight slightly. A twig snapped.

The small animal twitched and looked up. It doubled back as if to run, quavered for a moment, and then scampered of into the thick jungle undergrowth.

Liever shaded his eyes and looked through the thick underbrush. He stared off, trying to catch one last glimpse of the small rodent, but it was gone.

He leaned back and gazed off into the horizon. On Rynadon, the hours were short, text and he could already see the sun beginning to descend into the horizon. It would be dark in an hour or two.

Suddenly, Liever squinted into the bright sun. He might have been imagining it, but he thought he saw something falling to the ground a few miles away, falling from space. To him, the only thing they reminded him of were gigantic specks of pollen…spores…

He sighed. He must have been imagining it. He slowly picked himself up.

The young boy was about 15 years old, and lean but muscular. His short wave of brown bangs accented his hazelnut eyes that gazed with a strange intensity. His face was long and slightly angular. He carried a small tattoo of the Khalanian Trinity – the sign of the native religion, the Khala, on Rynadon – on his neck, three bright stars encircled with a serpent's tail. The name Alicia and a small heart were written below it in neat blue letters.

"Leaf!" came a voice from the side of the clearing.

Liever turned and watched as a beautiful girl emerged from the trees to his right. Her long black hair was thrown over her face in a mess, and as he watched, she flicked it impatiently over her shoulder, and then gave Liever a stunning smile.

"Why d'you always have to stare at me like that, Leaf?" she said playfully. "It makes me think you're plotting something devious."

Liever – alias Leaf – grinned and said in a moderately low voice, "Definitely, Alicia. I'm planning a conspiracy with the butterflies to get you. Where've you been, anyway? Wrestling snakes again?"

She flashed him another brilliant smile, this time accompanied by a light giggle. "I told you, that was an accident. I swear some of these wild animals are out to get me."

"Do I count?" he said, attempting to pull off a straight face and failing miserably.

Her laughter filled her eyes, ringing crystal clear and bright through the hot, lush forest.

Liever walked to the edge of the clearing toward a cleverly concealed car, hidden in the trees. It was a small, open vehicle, room enough for two or three, with a large bed in the back. They tossed their things in the car, and then jumped over the sides – there were no real doors.

Alicia sidled into the front seat and turned on the car, while Liever literally hopped into the seat next to her. For reasons he could not quite fathom, Alicia had always insisted on driving. He suspected it had something to do with the way he tended to jump out of his seat when she drove – she had always been a thrill seeker, where he tended to worry if they went more than 40 kilometers per hour.

Liever glanced at the speedometer as they set off. It was broken.

The small vehicle bounded across a narrow road, bumping erratically. Ferns lined the side of the road, as abundant as weeds on the jungle planet. Small animals leapt into the underbrush as the car sped by. A high cloud of dust obscured the back window in a magnificent rising plume. A few loose items in the bed of the car rattled.

Leaf sat in the passenger seat and slowly snaked his arm around the slim form of Alicia. She was focused solely on the road in front of her, navigating the hairpin turns at breathtaking speed. She cut through a fern hanging low over the road, and then spun the wheel tightly to compensate for a hairpin bend. The back wheels lost traction, and for one grim second Liever felt as if they were going to spill over. But then they caught, and the car swept up a large hill.

Liever had a sudden sick feeling in his stomach. This was the worst part, always right here. Alicia always insisted on taking this most dangerous path, and it had always ended up going right here. He squeezed Alicia's shoulder tightly as they zoomed forward and crested the hill at an incredible speed.

Liever gasped. He couldn't help himself, even though he had been here a thousand times and had been expecting it. The car was rising.

Twisting backwards, he saw what he already new from a thousand such trips. The hill was not really a hill at all, but a small cliff. Its face was nearly vertical, pitted and scarred by ancient volcanic action. Tops of trees on the cliff were almost at eye level, and the ones below him were at least thirty feet below. Birds were shrieking in alarm from their nests in the trees below at this giant, noisy invasion of their privacy.

Liever felt a jolt and the car began to drop sickeningly. He began to turn back around and brace himself. This would be the worst part, the impact. He couldn't stand this, not now not ever.

But as he felt himself begin to rise in his seat, a flash of light lit the corner of his vision. A small part of the horizon had lit up with a nearly blinding white light. Instinctively curious, despite the imminent crash, he began to turn back.

And then the car hit the ground.

Not prepared, he slammed into the ground, Liever momentarily blacked out. His head sagged on the headrest and his arms fell limp to his sides. Then he woke up and started. He looked around at Alicia, who had clearly not noticed anything.

"Stop!" he tried to yell over the roar of the engine.

Alicia glanced sideways, but did not relax her foot. She just looked inquisitive.

"STOP!" he screamed wildly again, gesticulating forcefully.

Alicia got the message this time. She nodded and slammed her foot down on the brake and they swerved wildly to a stop.

"What-" she began, but Liever had already jumped out of the car and was scanning the horizon. He could not see anything at first, but then a golden contrail flared to life in the sky. It streaked across the orange and red tinges of the mid-afternoon rays, contrasting fiercely against the soft evening colors. It sailed closer and closer to the ground, and then landed with a huge explosion only a few miles from where they stood. The sky lit up with a magnificent orange and white glow, then faded back to normal.

As flames licked the sky, the tops of trees seemed to bend over, as if a high wind were coming. But Liever knew that no wind was that powerful. Something much worse was coming.

He shouted out a warning. "Behind the car! Now!"

Alicia did not hesitate to obey. She leapt right over the bed of the car, followed closely by Liever, who scrambled over the seats. They both leaped down and huddled in each other's embraces.

Nothing happened for about thirty seconds. Liever picked his head up just a little. Maybe, he thought, just maybe-

And then the shockwave hit.

Time seemed frozen for Liever. He could see plants ripped up by the roots and flung as if at hyper speed; he saw the ground swelling and cracking here and there; he could see Alicia's hair whipping around his chest, her face buried in his jacket; and he could see the car, tossed inches over his head off the road. It looked dangerously close to him.

Then something clipped his temple, and all went warmly and pleasantly black.

Liever woke up with Alicia bending over him, peering anxiously into his face. Her face was peppered with small cuts, and her hair was disheveled. Her nose seemed to be bleeding slightly, but otherwise looked none the worse for the wear. He blinked, and she smiled with obvious relief.

"You have very pretty eyes, you know," he said.

She smiled ever more broadly.

He tried to smile too, but it turned into a grimace at the pain in his mouth. He tasted blood, and spat. Two white teeth came out onto the ground along with a nasty-looking mixture of blood and saliva. Liever groaned.

"What happened?" he managed to stammer out.

"The car flipped over us," said Alicia. "Just flipped right over our heads. I think the tailpipe must have hit you on the forehead. And a huge branch swept into us. It hit your body, but the smaller twigs and leaves only hit me. You were already unconscious, and I hit a tree and lost it for a few seconds too. When I woke up it was already over, and I found you at the foot of this tree." She gestured to the tall rowan he was lying underneath. "I considered dragging you up into the car, but you seemed to hurt to move."

"I don't feel that bad," began Liever as he tried to push himself up. Enormous pain shot through his ribs, and he gasped at the intensity. He put a hand on his chest and gingerly eased himself back down. "That hurt," he said, once he was lying back down.

Alicia leaned over him, concern on her face. She bit her lip.

"Damn," she said. "I think you've probably broken a few ribs. That's pretty nasty looking." She went back to the car and began rummaging around for something.

Liever groaned and lay back again. A bird glided down to the branch above his head and cocked its head inquisitively. He glared at it until it lost interest and flew off, twittering madly.

Liever stared up at the sky and watched dark clouds move across the purple-red sky. Liever thought about the strange object. He had not seen anything unusual in the afternoon. He had remembered looking across the golden sky –

Liever frowned suddenly. He looked more closely at the sky. Red and purple. But that must mean –

"Alicia!" he yelled.

She looked up questioningly, clutching a bottle of painkiller spray. He motioned her over, and she hastened to the tree.

"How long have I been out?" he asked, dread beginning to curl in his stomach.

Alicia looked surprised, then stared off into the distance. She seemed to be thinking hard.

At last she turned back to him. "I'd say… maybe four or five hours?"

Liever yelped and almost tried to get up, but his chest twinged painfully.

Panting heavily, he turned to Alicia, who had a concerned and fearful look on her face.

"You need to get back to the village, quickly." He said heavily. "I'll be fine here for a little bit. No, just go," he said, as she opened her mouth to protest in shock. "That shock wave will have hit them… you're one of the most skilled medical personnel we have. There could be dozens of deaths if you don't go and assist," he added grimly.

Her mouth tightened. "I can't just leave you here! What if something else happens? There's no way you could stay safe here."

Liever thought hard. On one hand, they needed to get back to the village immediately. On the other, he knew he could not hope to survive in this wilderness on his own. His eyes fell on the bike hooked onto the car where the spare tire would normally be. His mind reached the obvious conclusion.

"Ok," he said. "You take the bike. Get some medical supplies while I stay here with the car. We've got a rifle or something in there, haven't we?"

She nodded tersely.

"Good," he said. "Drive the car over here, and I'll spend the night in the car."

She nodded again and walked over to the car, got in. She turned the key in the ignition, and the car roared to life. She drove it around to the tree he was slumped against. She reached into the trunk and pulled out a rifle. She handed it to him. He took it and put it beside him.

"OK," he said. "Take the bike and go."

She unhooked the small electric bike and swung a leg over it, then turned to face him. "Stay safe, alright?"

He managed a small smile. "I will."

She smiled in return, then turned away. She twisted the throttle and raced off, following the road into the swiftly darkening night. In a few moments she was gone from Liever's sight.

He sighed and closed his eyes. He found the rifle with his hand and held it while he drifted off to an uneasy sleep.

About ten yards from where Liever slept, unbeknownst to him, a small group of strange creatures stole across another clearing. Lizard-like forms ran swiftly and lightly across the grass.

One creature halted and lifted its angular head. A row of teeth was exposed, and a single beady eye glinted in the moonlight. It sniffed the air and cocked its head. Its fellows stopped too, heads cocked. All was still and silent.

A few yards away, Liever's hand, in his sleep, involuntarily gripped the rifle harder.

All of a sudden, the creatures, as one, scampered away in the same direction as before, leaving nothing but a quickly fading footstep in the grass.