Stargate: Fallen

The End of Days

His lungs burned as he clambered over the rocks, moving as quickly as he could manage, his mouth was bone dry and the taste of the acrid, choking air was all consuming. He staggered forward nonetheless, he'd been running for so long, he could scarcely remember what it was like before he wasn't. Had he stopped to think about it, it might have broken him, but instead he pushed on, subconsciously forcing himself, repressing this nightmare.

Nehred was ragged, bloodied and bruised, he was still a boy, as far as his people were concerned at least, who now found himself cowering behind a rocky outcrop at the top of a steep slope. Exhausted, his lungs begging for more oxygen than the atmosphere of his dying world could give him. Struggling to haul his body up the rock, propping himself up to allow for a better view back down the route he had dragged himself up, his face was caked in ash, streaked with tears and the blood from scratches and cuts. He willed himself to keep his heavy eyelids open, scanning his surroundings for danger.

How long had it been like this?

With a jolt he awoke, had it been hours, or just a moment? He wasn't sure. Nervously, and with a noticeable degree of effort, he turned, pulling himself further up the rock that had been the closest thing to a bed he'd had in weeks. Peeking over the top, he was able to see across the valley below. The valley that was his home, the home of his family and his people for generations.

It was beautiful. Thick forests stretched to the horizon, rivers of crystal blue water weaved through it, heading for the great sea beyond. In a clearing, the simple dwellings that formed the village he lived in stood out, the silvery thatch that covered the roofs reflected the sunlight, shimmering like little stars from this distance. Squinting, he saw smoke coming from the chimney, his chimney. The scent of home cooking filled his nostrils. His eyes closed, savouring the sensation.

With a shake of his head he opened his eyes, dark clouds of noxious pollution hung in the air, their stench washing away the memories of better times. Not a tree remained, not even a stump. The lush and verdant landscape had been replaced with one of nightmarish horror, the land bleak, dry and cracked. Great chasms had been torn into the earth, unimaginably deep, a mysterious red glow shone out of them in a way he couldn't comprehend. Great constructs of metal emerged from the depths, like a gigantic spider's web. He strained his vision, focusing intently on the shuffling shapes that were moving up and down them, disappearing into the chasms. His people? Why were they doing this if it was? Had they been enslaved by the monsters?

He'd been away when whatever this was had began. Sent on a pilgrimage with the other youngsters from the village, to travel to the Circle of the Gods and return a man. He'd been so excited to go, the sights he had hoped to see, not least the Great Circle itself. He clutched the small circular sliver of metal that hung from a string around his neck, not much else of the things he had left his home with had survived his ordeal. Why had the Gods allowed this to happen? Had he angered them?

What if this was the Gods…

He let go of his pendant and shook his head again, no, of course not, why would the Gods do such a thing? To destroy, well, everything? No, he was certain of it.

The thought of going down into the valley filled him with dread, but if his family was still there, his friends, he had to try and rescue them. He may not have returned a man as they hoped, but he was determined that he would try to save them.

The path linking where Nehred was to where he wanted to go didn't seem like the safest strategy, but as he started to climb down the cliff face he'd been at the top of, he wasn't as certain he'd made the smarter choice.

Anything to avoid those, those… things, he thought, and carried on climbing.

Suddenly, there was a rush of air around him, in a panic, he pushed himself into the rock face, hoping his body, covered in dirt, might provide sufficient camouflage to throw off any passing monsters. Slowly, turning his head, he caught sight of it. A huge… something. His mind couldn't comprehend what he saw; it was a large, dark grey block, drifting through the sky towards the former site of his village. His brow furrowed in thought, trying to process what it was. It floated through the air like a leaf or a skyrat, but it looked like some sort of giant canoe?

A sky canoe, he decided. His feeling of horror subsided slightly at having given it a name, whatever this beast truly was. It came to a stop above several large piles of rock, then seconds later, it moved on, the piles having disappeared. Perhaps this monster had enslaved his people to feed it… rocks?

No creature eats rocks, but then, no creature that big floats through the air like this.

Once the sky canoe was a safe distance away, or at least, what Nehred had decided was a safe distance away, he resumed climbing down. His already exhausted state hadn't been improved by the length of time he'd spent frozen in fear, muscles burned as they filled with lactic acid, and, almost inevitably, with just over 10ft to go, his foot slipped and he fell. Tumbling towards the ground, his body disappeared into a pile of ash and burnt plant matter more than a foot deep that had collected at the base of the cliff.

Coughing and spluttering he dug himself out and rose to his feet, starting to shuffle forwards, his left leg burned with each step, a jolt of pain shooting through his nervous system alerted his brain to something not being right, but then nothing about this was right, and he didn't have time for it. It was almost an advantage that the sheer psychological strain he was under somewhat helped him to be detached enough to block out some of the pain and carry on.

He could see people now, clearly. They were working their way down paths cut into the strange gouges that had been torn into the ground, or via the even stranger metallic structures. More were doing the reverse, but pushing carts filled with rocks back to the surface.

More food for the sky canoe?

He couldn't tell them apart, like him, tattered clothes and a thick covering of ash and soot made spotting his family an impossibility from the distance he was at. He'd have to get nearer.

Walking closer, with an ever more noticeable limp, Nehred passed the first of the gouges, it started as just a crack in the ground, but quickly grew until it was wider than the rivers that used to flow here. He peered over the edge at the strange golden red glow at the bottom, but quickly withdrew. It was hot! Whatever it was seemed to be moving, like it was still a river. Hot water? He shook his head. There was so much he couldn't explain.

Navigating his way through the gouges and cracks, since he couldn't see any bridges over any of them, he made his way towards the one that had people queuing to head back down towards the hot rivers.

They were stood silently in a line, single file, heading from the platforms the sky canoe had fed from, into one of the great gouges. Slowly, they moved forward, one step at a time, in perfect unison. He couldn't hear any talking, no noise at all in fact, suddenly becoming aware of how eerily quiet the valley was compared to how he remembered.

The hell with it.

He started shouting at the people, they didn't even flinch, just carrying on walking slowly back towards the gouge. He could almost touch them now, dragging his injured leg as best he could, he was getting increasingly desperate. Finally, he got within touching distance, he reached out and grabbed the nearest person, he still couldn't recognise who it was, like him, they were covered in dirt, soot and ash, unlike him though much of the person's skin was blackened, crusted and… hot. Perhaps the hot river and burnt them he reasoned, where they in too much pain to talk? He pleaded with whoever it was that he had in his arms, the first human contact he'd had in weeks, but all they did was stare blankly ahead, as if they didn't even know he was there. Overwhelmed, he started to shake them, screaming, demanding, but still, nothing.

Nehred dropped to his knees and sobbed. The thought of getting back here, the hope of seeing his loved ones again was all that had kept him going, and now here he was, he couldn't save them, for all he knew, that person was his brother, or a friend, they were all like that, shuffling away from him in silence like he didn't exist. With the last of his energy, he took his hands from his face and outstretched them, raising his head to scream out the last of his frustration and rage.

But all he saw was a monster.

White light, everywhere. It was so bright and disorientating he couldn't tell whether his eyes were open or closed, it didn't seem to make much of a difference either way. At first Nehred assumed he was dead, but as he slowly acclimatised to wherever he was, he was sure he could feel himself moving his head, though he started to become aware that while he could move a bit, something was stopping him from moving normally.

He moved his eyes around as best he could, it was still bright, but he thought he could make out walls. Was he in a room? How could inside be so bright? A noise to his right seemed to kickstart his senses, straining against whatever was stopping him from moving, he looked in its direction, at the corner of his vision, he could see what looked like beds, each with person lying on them. In a sudden panic, he looked to the left to see more of the same, then, still struggling, he looked downwards, making out his own body, still as battered and dirty as before lying down too. This bed was cold and hard, but it was still better than a rock. He tried to call out, his throat was still raw, his mouth dry. The best he could do was a moderately loud whisper, which is what he was sure the others were doing, but not loud enough for him to be sure, or to discern what they were saying.

He was uncertain whether to be more terrified than he already was, or start to relax. This place was so strange, but it's brightness made it feel like such a contrast to where he had been. Perhaps this was the realm of the Gods? He had been told the Great Circle was incredibly bright.

His internal debate was interrupted by more noise. Strange ones, metal clicking against metal echoed towards him from the right. Once again he looked as best he could, but now his view of the next bed was obscured by what looked like a tiny metal spear attached to more metal. His eyes widened, one by one, each person started to scream, till the occupant of the bed beside him started to scream too. As soon as they had started, they stopped, their mouth still open for a moment, but no sound came out, before it slowly closed.

Suddenly his head snapped back into place, fixing his gaze straight upward. He thought he could feel the spear getting closer and closer. Right on cue, he too found the ability to scream.

The white light returned.