Chapter 10

"This way, young ones. Stay close".

Master Bora had cobbled together a small group of Jedi and Padawan who were unaffected by whatever had hit them; they were mostly younglings, a few not even in their teens, and they were all terrified. Bora tried to keep up an air of confidence, trying to calm the others down, but in truth he was just as frightened.

He thought back to the moment that it had hit; a horrifying sensation had simply… invaded his mind, delving into the darkest places of his soul and dragging them to the forefront of his mind. Things which he hadn't thought about for a long time he suddenly couldn't get away from; the death of his wife and child, almost a century ago, was foremost among them. He kept seeing his wife's face staring up at him, begging him to help her. And he didn't… he couldn't, and he has regretted it ever since.

He shook his head, hard, trying to bring his focus back to the here and now; this definitely was not the time to worry about the past. The present was enough for them to worry about.

Immediately after he had fought off his first attacker, he had still been in a daze; he wandered around the grounds, seeing things that had seemingly come straight from a nightmare; students that he used to teach he'd seen eaten alive, teachers he used to respect he'd seen ripping through flesh with joy on their faces. When he had come across a rare survivor, he had simply gathered them in. It had been perhaps an hour and there was now a small group of them – perhaps seven or eight.

But they didn't have a plan. Bora knew that staying out in the open was a mistake; if he'd been thinking clearer earlier he probably would have headed straight back into the temple instead of wandering around the Academy grounds. He still believed that the temple was their best choice; it would be full of people, most of who, Bora thought sadly, would now be monsters. But at least inside they could lock themselves away in a room and hide.

This wasn't an ideal plan; the temple was located at the centre of a wider open area, separate from the rest of the buildings which made up the Jedi Academy. This made it a kind of centrepiece – an attraction that many people would travel half-way across the Galaxy to see. It also made it impossible to sneak into – there were no hiding place. If they were going to get inside they would have to cross maybe fifty yards of open space.

Bora knew this. He also knew that if one of those… monsters caught sight of them then they would be swarmed quickly.

They were sneaking between the dormitory buildings, working their way through the maze formed by those cracks. It had allowed them to stay hidden, so far.

"M…master", one of the younglings said nervously from behind Bora, who was leading the way. "Where's my mom? Are we going to go and find her?"

Bora closed his eyes; he had been dreading the moment when he would have to explain to them what was happening. The boy's mother was likely dead, or worse, she might be one of the turned. He hated himself for it, but he felt the lie form in his mouth before he could stop it.

"Waiting for us, she is", he mumbled. "See her soon you will". The older students looked nervously but knowingly at each other. Bora could sense their disapproval, but none of them volunteered to tell the boy the truth. Which came as a relief, as Bora knew that they were approaching what might prove to be the most dangerous part of their short journey.

He raised his hand, motioning for the others to stop. He peered out across the temple grounds – even now, with the horror of what was happening, it still looked beautiful; there was a large lake just in front of the building, with a fountain at the centre. The area was covered in the greenest grass you could ever hope to see, and trees which swayed in the breeze.

Most importantly, it appeared devoid of any life, and devoid of any threats.

Bora turned to face the others. "Listen closely", he whispered. "It appears empty, but dangerous it still is. Follow me exactly, you must; if I run then you run, if I stop you stop. Do you understand?" The older students nodded vigorously – their faces were masks of fear, and Bora silently worried that if they panicked they could endanger everyone.

The youngster who had asked about his mother started to cry. Bora moved slowly over to him – even though the child looked barely eight, Bora stood eye to eye with him. "Shhh…" he whispered. "Calm yourself, youngling. What is your name?"

The boy sniffed, and rubbed his eyes. "J… Jake", he managed.

Bora smiled, trying to put Jake at ease. "Well, Jake", he said. "A Jedi, you are, hmmm?" Jake nodded slowly. "And Jedi do not fear, do they?" Jake shook his head. "So steel yourself and follow, and safe you will stay. Okay?" Jake nodded again.

Bora moved back to the front of the group and cast one final glance over the empty space in front of them. It was definitely empty, he decided, and there didn't appear to be any threats. He glanced back at the others and motioned for them to follow him.

He moved out tentatively at first, glancing all around, convinced that something would leap out at them from behind a tree or a building. Ten seconds passed without incident, and they had moved perhaps five yards. Then twenty seconds passed with no threat presenting itself. Bora increased his pace, the others following suit. Then, barely a few seconds after, he broke into a run.

They reached the Great Archway and passed through without slowing down. Once they were all inside, Bora waved his hand and the temple doors, which had stood constantly open since it was rebuilt, closed with a loud thud.

Bora allowed himself a moment to relax; they were inside the temple. They were safe.

But even that moment proved too long. He heard a screech from behind him – high pitched and terrified. Bora knew who it had come from before he even turned around. It was Jake, and they had him.

Perhaps a dozen of them had moved up behind them, quietly, and grabbed Jake. One of the monsters – a woman who used to work in the gardens, though Bora had long since stopped thinking of them as people – had dug her nails into the boy's face, causing deep scratches which seeped blood. Jake twisted and struggled to escape her grasp, but he couldn't escape.

The other students began to scream, and Bora had already raised his light sabre and begun to move towards the woman, but before he got two steps she lowered her hand from Jake's face to his neck and, in one swift movement, tore a large chunk of flesh away. The wound exposed Jake's oesophagus, and he made loud wheezing noises as he tried to take breaths.

Bora's light sabre tore through the monster's skull, and sliced away the top half of her head. It hit the ground just after Jake's lifeless body, and Bora was already screaming. He rounded on the remaining monsters, who until then had been content to stand back and watch. He dived towards them, rage in his eyes, and cut away at them. None of them stood a chance. Some of them tried to escape, but Bora dived on them and put them down.

When the last of the monsters had died, leaving nothing but a pile of bloodied remains, Bora stood for several moments, breathing heavily.

He turned, still raging inside. He had never struck out in anger before – not even when his wife and son were killed. That had been the most difficult time of his life, but still he turned away from the Dark Side. But this… this was beyond anything he had ever experienced. He felt powerless to prevent the deaths of those around him, and his frustration had reached boiling point.

But when he saw the frightened faces of the students who were still alive… he felt ashamed of himself. He was meant to give them hope, to be a role model for the Light. But he had succumbed to his inner rage; how could he then tell them not to?

He simply looked at them, and they avoided his gaze as though frightened that he might strike out at them. He sighed and moved over to where Jake's lifeless body lay. One of the… monsters… had fallen on top of him, and Bora struggled to roll it away. Jake was surrounded by a pool of blood, his face contorted in shock and pain, as though he were still trying to comprehend what had happened to him. Bora knelt beside him and gently closed his eyes.

This seemed to relax the others, and one by one they moved forward to join Bora beside their fallen colleague.

After several moments of silence, the sound of more footsteps echoed along the corridor, along with the now familiar growling that told them that they were enemies. Bora stood quickly and ushered the others along another corridor. After taking one last look at Jake, he hurried after them.

He led them towards his own room. The door was made of flimsy wood, and he knew that it would not hold them off on its own. He opened the door and told them to get inside, which they did in a hurry. Then, unseen, he took the key from his pocket and closed, locking them inside and himself out.

Within a few seconds he heard banging from the other side, and frightened voices. "Stay calm", he called through the door. "Safe, I will keep you".

He turned away to face the oncoming attackers, and he raised his glowing blue light-sabre high into the air and prepared for one final battle.

Close by, down beyond the lake, where the Academy grounds ended, there was a small gap in the fence. All was quiet, eerily contrasting the chaos that was unfolding in other parts of the Academy. Still, that is, until the fence rustled and a figure emerged through it. It stumbled forward several yards before collapsing to the ground.

It was Jad.

A sandstorm was raging just beyond the wall, and Jad had walked through unshielded; the skin on his face had been worn away by the sand, and blood trickled from the open wounds. But he didn't flinch, or act like he was in pain. He simply laid on the ground, staring up into the blackening sky, a distant look on his face.

He watched as the clouds crept slowly across the sky, and wondered briefly why he had never looked at the sky before. He wonders why his head hurts so much… what had he just been doing? Where had he been? Everything was hazy… and when he tried to remember his head throbbed like nothing he'd felt.

There had been a… garden… in a cave? No, there couldn't have been; there's nothing outside the Academy by devastation, and plant life out there is impossible. He must have imagined it. But then… why was he out there? He rubbed his face, and felt the sting as his hands pressed against the worn away flesh. He pulled his hands away, and stared at them, looking at the blood as though he couldn't understand it.

He heard the sound of a body moving along the grass nearby, but his mind didn't register it. He let his hand fall to the floor, and started to cry. The sounds came closer – it sounded as though something was dragging itself along the ground, and it was punctuated by the sound of raspy breathing. But still Jad did not register it – he was in a daze, still staring at the sky.

A face appeared in his vision; first the tip of its head, and then slowly its features came into view one by one. Jad frowned, and tried to look around it, mildly irritated that it had blocked his view of the sky. He felt warm liquid hit his face, and for the first time he looked at the face above him – drool had fallen from its mouth. He recognised that face, didn't he? The snout was familiar… it was master Yushaf. Or what was left of her.

Jad raised his hand and gently stroked the side of her face. He didn't know why he did it, it just felt right. He savoured the warmth of her breath on his cheeks, and for a moment he thought he saw a look of recognition in her eyes.

Jad saw a burst of light hit the side of her head, and it exploded in a shower of blood. Her body fell limply onto his. Jad closed his eyes, wrapped his arms around her body, buried his face in what remained of her neck and began to weep uncontrollably.

He heard voices then; distant, unimportant. "What the hell is he doing?" one of them said in the distance.

"He must have lost his mind…" another said, with pity in their voice. "What shall we do with him?"

Jad heard footsteps approaching then – coming closer and closer until he could sense them right by his head. He moved his tear filled eyes away from the remains of master Yushaf and stared upwards at the figure stood by him. He thought that he recognised the man, but his mind wouldn't let him remember.

Whoever it was, they stared down at him with disgust and contempt in their eyes. "It's only the Yuusan Vong", the man said coldly. "We should just leave him here. Maybe this monster will slow down the other monsters".

"Master…" the first voice protested. "We… we can't just leave him here! We're Jedi, for God's sake! Just because all hell's broken loose doesn't mean we can forget that…"

Jad watched as the man who had been stood over him turned and walked away. "Fine", he said as he walked. "Then you can carry him".

Jad felt hands grasp his arms and pull him upwards. He let them carry him – it didn't matter who they were or where they were dragging him. His head was still pounding – he moved his hand to his face, and felt the blood which had covered it. Green blood… from what was left of Master Yushaf. He moved his fingers gently down his face, savouring the feel of them and leaving a green streak. And then he blacked out.

When he awoke next he was no longer being carried. Instead he lay on hard floor, curled into a ball. Someone had draped a robe over him to try and keep him warm. He allowed his head to fall sideways, and he realised where he was; the Great Hall in the Temple. It made sense, he knew; the Temple was the easiest building to defend, as it only had one entrance which was reinforced. He saw two figures in moving nearby – one who he didn't recognise, and another who he unfortunately did. It was master Draven, and he was staring straight at him with a look of open hostility. It was Draven who had suggested that they leave Jad to the monsters.

He sat bolt upright suddenly, startling the young boy who was sat next to him.

"Crap!" the boy yelled, before realising what had happened and calming himself. "Man, don't do that to me. I'm close enough to having a heart attack as it is!"

Jad's eyes didn't move from Draven – he met his gaze and returned his hostile look. "Sorry", he mumbled.

"Woah, and you're talking too!" the boy said in surprise. "Seriously, we all thought you'd lost it. Hell, who could blame you. I'm Jake".

Jad forced himself to take his eyes off Draven and he turned to look at the boy. He was human – blond, tall and with a soft, smiling face. He looked about eleven or twelve. He'd extended his hand, and was waiting patiently for Jad to take it. Jad wasn't used to people smiling at him. He nervously took the boy's hand and shook it, and the smile on Jake's face widened.

"Um…" Jad mumbled. "Jad".

Jad looked around at the others – Draven had now turned away, and was looking at something that was just out of Jad's sight.

"What are they doing?" he asked.

Jake glanced over at them and then back at Jad. "We're trying to get to the back of the Temple", he replied. "Master Draven thinks that they would be the best place to hole up, but something is blocking the corridor. They told me to stay back here… I don't think it's anything nice".

Jad smiled weakly and climbed to his feet. He walked towards where master Draven and the other man were, meaning to confront him, but as he got close to them what they were looking at came into view, and it made Jad stop dead in his tracks.

It was a pile of bodies – perhaps three dozen of them – and it was blocking their path to the back of the temple. Jad stared, mouth open, at the scene of horror in front of him – blood had formed a pool on the floor which had spread out around them, and he could see that Draven's feet were covered in it, leaving red footprints wherever he walked. it suited him, Jad thought.

"Well", Draven said, his gruff voice cutting through the tension like a razor blade. "You're finally awake. And you're not dribbling like an invalid, either, which I didn't expect. Congratulations".

Draven's words went right through Jad, who was still in shock. "What happened here?" he asked. "Did those monsters do this?"

The other man – who was old… at least seventy, with white hair and a massive scar down the right side of his face – turned to look at Jad. "No", he said, his voice old and frail. "These people were killed with a light-sabre – see how their wounds are cauterised? The monsters seem to use their hands… or their teeth". Jad moved forward slightly to look at where the man was indicating, and he saw the wounds. "No…" the man continued, thoughtfully. "These people were killed by a Jedi. And look at the way they're all leaning into the corridor, like they were chasing after something. My guess is whoever killed these people is on the other side of this pile of bodies".

Draven shoved Jad harshly and strolled past him. "We've been moving the bodies, trying to cut a path through", he growled. "Now that you've finished your beauty sleep, how about lending us a hand?"

Jad moved forward slowly – in truth, the thought of touching a dead body terrified him, and he would have done anything to avoid it. But Draven was staring at him… watching him… judging him… If he even tried to worm his way out of this, then he would be nothing but dead weight to him. So he reached his hands out, tentatively, and grabbed the nearest body. He pulled – hard – and the body slid easily out from the pile. Jad dragged it across to another part of the Great Hall, where others had been dragged before by Draven, and he left it there.

It took them an hour to move enough bodies to make their way through. When they decided to move, Jad moved back over to where Jake had been sitting patiently.

"Hey", he said softly, and the boy looked up at him with a smile, though his eyes were tired. "We're moving through to the back of the temple now, where it'll be safer. But there are… things that you shouldn't see on the way through. So I want you to take my hand and close your eyes, and just… trust me. OK?"

Jake nodded nervously, and he extended his hand towards Jad who took it in his. He led Jake over towards the corridor where Draven and the old man were waiting. He followed them through, being careful to lead Jake around the bodies which remained there. Jad noticed almost immediately that there were no lights back here.

"Why's it so dark?" he asked. "Is the power out?"

"No", Draven said quietly. "The power's fine… looks like someone deliberately destroyed the lights back here. Give themselves a better chance of hiding".

Behind them, in the darkness, shadows moved unnoticed. A figure emerged, ready to attack, and Jad heard the familiar sound of a light-sabre extending. He swung around, his hand moving quickly down to his side where his own sabre should have been. All he felt there was empty space – where had he lost his own weapon? He couldn't remember.

But there was no time to think about that now. Draven had already drawn his own light-sabre, its blue flame helping to partially illuminate the figure that had been stalking them. Jad saw a familiar figure, but with eyes aflame and drenched in the blood of his enemies.

"Master Bora?" Jad said, in shock.