This is chapter 1 of the rewrite/reboot of my previous story the Guardians of Light. I felt the original was headed in a very unsatisfying direction. So I went back and rewrote the whole thing along with new chapters. The story has the same characters and some things are the same but a lot of things are different. Think of it like a major Final Mix.
This series is going to be a quadrilogy and is now titled The Guardians of Life. I also have a three prequels in store and the first installment will be posted next month.
Valin Horn, his brown eyes roaming the campsite before him, stood and wondered only one thing: what…happened?
Mining equipment was lying all around and there were also a few mining helmets dented and mangled on the rocky surface. The forty-two year old veteran Jedi strolled over, stopped, and picked up one of the helmet. Despite all the dents, one thing caught his eye and that was a long streaking claw mark that was cut straight through the helmet. His eyes squinted when he noticed a few dried blood stains around the edges of the mark.
Valin scanned the area again to see if there were any dead bodies. But there was nothing. No bodies. No remains. No sign of life anywhere.
"Master!" cried his apprentice.
He turned around and saw the young eighteen year old girl run straight to him.
"Did you find anything, Cassie?" asked Valin.
Cassie shook her head causing her long blonde hair to sway back and forth.
"Nothing. I did however see a few blood marks on some rocks and equipment." said Cassie.
"Well…I found this." Valin said, handing his apprentice the helmet.
Cassie studied the damages to the helmet closely.
Valin looked around the area and said. "Whatever did this…It wasn't human."
"Then what was it?" Cassie gently tossed the helmet aside and added. "And if the miners are all dead, how come there are no remains?"
"I don't know. Let's continue towards the outpost. We might find some more clues along the way." said Valin.
Cassie gave a nod and followed Valin. They walked northeast for ten minutes and still found no sign of life. At this time of day, Pollis Massa was usually active with miners drilling into the rocky ground, travelers passing by, and security troops patrolling on swoop bikes.
But now, there was nothing except an eerie silence.
Cassie looked over at her master and asked. "I don't get this. Where is everybody?"
"I don't know, Cassie." Valin replied in a low and serious tone.
"You think we'll run into that strike team that the Galactic Alliance sent?"
"Hopefully."
Valin stopped and so did Cassie. They spotted, a few feet away from them, four chopped up blaster rifles lying on the ground. The two Jedi approached the rifles and immediately began investigating.
Valin picked up two halves of one of the blaster rifles and said in an almost whispered tone. "Sliced in two."
They looked at each rifle hoping to find more clues…they didn't find much. The two Jedi were about to leave when suddenly, from the corner of her left eye, Cassie spotted something…something red.
She looked and gasped. Valin immediately took notice and looked over to see what had startled his apprentice. He saw, just a few meters away, a tall rock that had a huge smear of blood from top to bottom.
While Cassie just stood still in horror, her master took a few steps towards the rock. He eyed the bloody rock for a second then noticed that there were more tall rocks right next to the bloody one and that they all blocked the view from the other side.
He turned around and said to Cassie. "Cassie, stay here for a minute. I'm going to see what's behind these rocks."
"Okay." said Cassie.
Valin slowly made his way around the long line of tall rocks. A part of him was dreading to see what lied behind. What horrifying image awaited him?
He walked right past the last rock and stopped dead in his tracks. It was just as he had feared.
Scattered all across the area were dead mutilated bodies. Men, women, and a few other types of species were all lying dead on the ground or sprawled out on top of rocks. Valin shook his head as he slowly walked through the rocky graveyard examining some of the bodies. He saw that all of them had deep claw marks driven across their flesh.
He sighed and turned to make his way back to his apprentice only to find her standing right next to the last tall rock. The expression on her face summed up the sickening and horrified feeling that he felt at the moment.
Valin walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder for comfort.
"Are they all?" asked Cassie.
"Yes." Valin replied.
Cassie just shook her head slowly and didn't say another word.
"Something is going on here." Valin looked to his left at a grayish structure in the distance. "And I get the feeling that the answer is at that outpost."
He looked at Cassie and added. "Be on guard. Whatever we're about to deal with obviously doesn't know the meaning of mercy."
Understanding his words, Cassie nodded. Valin however could see the worry in her eyes so he reached out with the Force and used it to help her relax a little. He could feel from her the gratefulness towards him for providing her such comfort. The two Jedi then turned and headed in the direction of the outpost.
Five minutes they walked and saw the same thing: dead bodies. Everything was silent until…a masculine scream echoed across the area.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Valin and Cassie stopped in their tracks and looked ahead at a man running towards them. The man, panting and flailing frantically, collapsed to the ground and the two Jedi rushed to his aid. The man was shaking, his breaths were rapid, and terror dominated his face.
He grabbed the arms of both Jedi and looked them in the face. Valin could tell by the man's uniform that he was a member of the strike team that the Alliance had sent. He also noticed that the uniform was ripped and that the young soldier had deep slashes all over his body.
"What happened?" asked Valin.
The young man opened his mouth to say something but not a single word escaped his lips.
"What did this to you?" asked Cassie.
The man looked up at the sky and his breathing was now heavier and even quicker.
Valin and Cassie looked at each other and then back at the soldier. They saw that the man had a severe gash near his lung area.
"How's his pulse?" Valin asked Cassie.
She touched the man's cut up wrist and replied. "Very faint."
Valin looked back at the soldier and asked. "Sir, we need to know…What did this to you?"
The man opened his mouth again to speak and Valin could hear the poor man struggling to get a word out. Valin was definitely beginning to wonder what in the name of the cosmos could have frightened a brave soldier to the point he could barely talk.
He soon got his answer…but it wasn't what he was expecting.
"The...shadows...the shadows...are alive...the shadows...are ALIVE!" cried the soldier.
And that was the man's last words before death claimed him. Valin and Cassie frowned and slowly turned their gazes to the outpost. For a long time, they just stared at it like as if they knew that some unknown terror was waiting for them.
Chapter 2 coming very soon.