Chapter 4, Sacrifices
Light shown bright from the ceiling. His eyes hurt from the sudden light. Sitting up he took in the surroundings. It was a white room, and he was lying in what he could only assume was a hospital bed. The light from the ceiling seemed a little bright for his tastes. His mouth was dry and he could feel the hunger growing inside him. -Garali- "Well, I guess that was Dementia. I'm glad to be finally done with that." He continued to notice more things in the room. There was another bed to his right but no one occupied it. Those words that his parents had given him had stuck in his mind even now. He doubted that they would ever leave him. His eyes seemed to adjust and his vision fully returned. He turned his body to get out of the bed and he accidentally knocked over a tray from the table he had not noticed immediately to the right of his bed. It didn't seem to make sense at first but something felt wrong with what had just happened. It came to him as if a bullet to the head. He had not heard the tray fall. His hearing had not returned yet or else he had lost it all together. Someone else must have heard the sound. A man ran by the doorway, but stopped just long enough to notice he was awake, and the tray now on the floor. The man's lips moved, as if trying to speak, but he couldn't hear his words. Garali pointed to his ear. -Garali- "I can't hear anything!" The man wore a lab coat, as if he belonged in an all white-painted environment. He moved as if he was in some sort of hurry. He approached Garali and took an object from one of his coat pockets. Garali didn't have time to analyze the device before it was inserted into his arm. He assumed it must be a shot of some kind. Suddenly his hearing returned. He almost wished it hadn't because the first thing he heard was the sound of sirens blaring. -Man- "We must hurry. The base is being evacuated. You are a warrior right? I will take you to the docking bay before I leave for the transport." He didn't have time to reply to any of what was said. The lab dressed man bolted for the door and he was left with the only option of fallowing him. They ran through many long corridors. Many with glass windows to rooms he didn't have time to look in to. Lights and colours flash around him as he turned corners. -Man- "Normally it takes days to get your hearing back after dementia. That shot I gave you brings it back immediately, but you might become sick later." They turned another corner and he finally recognized the room. He was within the docking bay. Katana and the Silver knights stood, as if waiting, in their suited forms. -Katana- "Oh, thank god you made it. I'll take him from here sir, thank you so much." With those words the man left back down the many halls. -Garali- "What is going on? Why are we evacuating?" He hadn't noticed at first, but all of the devices that normally lined the walls here had, for some reason, been removed. There stood only one device now, but it seemed different then the others, and the fact it didn't have a pair gave him even more questions. -Katana- "I don't have time to explain right now. You have to suit up." She pointed to the lone device. -Katana- "Quickly, into the Tamer." He decided it not wise to question her authority. The sounds of the sirens only increased his pace. Once positioned inside what she called, the Tamer, Katana flicked the switch that was to the right of him. He didn't feel the sucking this time. Instead it was more of a gentle cooling on his entire body. The heat started at his feet and it rose through him. He looked down and to his surprise, instead of being put into an android; it was being constructed around him. Once it was finished, he felt the same as he had before. The metal still felt like the skin underneath. -Garali- "I don't understand?" -Katana- "I'll explain on the run, we have to leave." He heard as the large hatch he had, what must have been six months ago, flew through to enter this building, now slide open. The knights streamed out of the new opening. -Katana- "We must go now." Taking his hand, she guided him out, into the sunlight. He saw, as many daemons were trying to run towards the base, but were stopped by what he could only assume was the Black stallion wall. -Katana- "Okay, listen good, this is very important. We are leaving the base because the dampeners were knocked out during the last electrical storm. We are all heading for another base not too far from here. The entire base, including the commander, are now on the transport. We warriors will be sensed by the daemons if we are airborne, but to take to the ground would delay our arrival. The transport has a heaver version of the dampener. It will not be detected by the daemons and anything within about 20 meters won't either. That is the important thing. You cannot leave the protection of that dampener. If you do, you are as good as gone. The daemons will swarm you if you try to take to the air again." He felt the seriousness in her voice. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the transport rise into the air from the other side of the base. -Katana- "We must go immediately." He never had time to ask any of his many questions. He just assumed he would have time to ask later. They moved to the transport and he felt the dampener pass by, as he got closer. The Silver nights also came within the transport's protective barrier. Someone else was there, another android. This android was already next to the transport and it was larger then the others. It seemed to be maybe two and a half times bigger then any of the others. The metal of this one had a brown tint to it. He knew, almost instantly, that it must be Maverick. The transport began to move, and they all moved with it. It wasn't moving too fast for him, but he always had the fear of falling behind. -Garali- "I don't understand. Why are the suits surrounding us?" -Katana- "I told you before about the model of the Tamer that Dr. Slate gave us, right? Well, we could never really rebuild it. The last one of its kind is in the transport. We couldn't use that version because we don't have time to set them up after moving them. What we did was make these modified versions. They allow the spirit to manifest around the body. It puts your body into a state of rest, so that you can focus on your spirit. It is the only way to use it as transport as well as for combat. This version is somewhat less efficient, because it is a lot more dangerous. If you are killed now, you will die. There is no more Dementia. You can't even get hurt now, because you body won't clot or heal while in this state of rest. Try not to take any unnecessary risks." He was about to ask her another question but he noticed that some of the flying daemons had arrived on their rear. -Katana- "What!? How did they find us? Okay, we need to defend the transport. Remember, don't fall out of the dampener's radius." He was about to charge into battle, but Katana motioned for him to wait. She then pointed to behind him, where Maverick had moved into the open. He put his left arm in front of him, and pointed his palm toward the daemons. His entire arm seemed to light up and a beam flew from his hand. The daemons, still bobbing back and forth as they flew, took the blast with no attempt to move out of the way. Large, bloody explosions filled the air and he watched as the wounded fell to the ground. To his surprise, for every daemon that was obliterated, there was still countless fallowing them. -Garali- "Hey, I can do that too. Let me help!" She turned to him and have him a look that would freeze water. -Katana- "No, you will over do it and injure yourself!" He didn't want to have her think he was nothing, so he pointed both of his palms towards the daemons. He felt that same tingling he had felt when he had hurt Katana six months ago. This time both his arms felt that same feeling as they began to gather their energy. The light came from his hands now too, and more daemons were destroyed, thanks to his efforts. The recoil of the blasts knocked him back and his arms felt like fire. They looked like busted circuit boards now, instead of the sleek metal that once covered them. -Katana- "I told you!" He was about to reply, but another beam from Maverick glistened towards the daemons. There were more explosions and more fell to their deaths, but their numbers didn't seem to lessen. -Katana- "That was the last one. They are too close. We will have to fight hand-to-hand." He didn't like the sound of that, but he felt it his duty to stay strong. A daemon charged at him. He could see its look of death in its eyes. He moved quickly though and was able to get out of the way, moving to the side of it. As it past by, he hit it with both his hands, balled into fists, directly into its back. When he turned to see more on coming daemons it was already too late. Another daemon was already on top of him, and he was plummeting towards the earth. It watched him, and he put his hands onto its underbelly. The light flew from his hands again, forcing the daemon from him. With great discomfort, the force of his attack also caused him to hit the ground. Another daemon was coming at him now. He tried to move, but his arms hurt too much. He braced himself for the impact that never came. The daemon was knocked away, only inched from where he lay by a purple blasts. -Katana- "Need a hand?" She stood over him now, with an outstretched hand. -Garali- "Thanks. Wait! Why did you do that? Now we are both done for." -Katana- "Yes. This is defiantly not looking good. We will have to take the rest of this trip on foot now." -Garali- "On foot? Can we really do that?" -Katana- "It won't be easy, but I'm not giving up yet. There are three towns still protected by dampener between here and the new base. I am sure, if we pace ourselves, we will be able to make it to each in time to recover." -Garali- "What if we run into daemons?" -Katana- "We most likely won't, but if we do, I will take care of them. Now come on. The ship is gone and the only thing we can do is move. Every second is important, so lets not waste time." With that, Garali rose from where he lay and fallowed Katana. She looked as if she knew where she was going so he trusted her. -Garali- "Are the Black stallions going to be all right?" Katana turned to face him. -Katana- "They gave their lives for us. We wouldn't have had time to save the Tamers or the faculty or even you, if it wasn't for them. I will never forget their bravery." -Garali- "I pray for their souls" He bowed his head, and said a little prayer to himself. -Garali- "I just have one last question for you. Why are there so few women? So far, I have only seen you." -Katana- "I guess you wouldn't know, huh? Well, since the human population is so low, the government, what is left of it, has decided it law to have all women within proper age, to spend at least five years repopulating the planet." -Garali- "Well, it has only been two years so far, so you couldn't be done. Why aren't you doing that?" -Katana- "See, I am an exception. I am barren. I can't have children, so my contribution to the war effort is this." -Garali- "Oh, I'm sorry" After that, he felt uncomfortable asking her any more questions.
Light shown bright from the ceiling. His eyes hurt from the sudden light. Sitting up he took in the surroundings. It was a white room, and he was lying in what he could only assume was a hospital bed. The light from the ceiling seemed a little bright for his tastes. His mouth was dry and he could feel the hunger growing inside him. -Garali- "Well, I guess that was Dementia. I'm glad to be finally done with that." He continued to notice more things in the room. There was another bed to his right but no one occupied it. Those words that his parents had given him had stuck in his mind even now. He doubted that they would ever leave him. His eyes seemed to adjust and his vision fully returned. He turned his body to get out of the bed and he accidentally knocked over a tray from the table he had not noticed immediately to the right of his bed. It didn't seem to make sense at first but something felt wrong with what had just happened. It came to him as if a bullet to the head. He had not heard the tray fall. His hearing had not returned yet or else he had lost it all together. Someone else must have heard the sound. A man ran by the doorway, but stopped just long enough to notice he was awake, and the tray now on the floor. The man's lips moved, as if trying to speak, but he couldn't hear his words. Garali pointed to his ear. -Garali- "I can't hear anything!" The man wore a lab coat, as if he belonged in an all white-painted environment. He moved as if he was in some sort of hurry. He approached Garali and took an object from one of his coat pockets. Garali didn't have time to analyze the device before it was inserted into his arm. He assumed it must be a shot of some kind. Suddenly his hearing returned. He almost wished it hadn't because the first thing he heard was the sound of sirens blaring. -Man- "We must hurry. The base is being evacuated. You are a warrior right? I will take you to the docking bay before I leave for the transport." He didn't have time to reply to any of what was said. The lab dressed man bolted for the door and he was left with the only option of fallowing him. They ran through many long corridors. Many with glass windows to rooms he didn't have time to look in to. Lights and colours flash around him as he turned corners. -Man- "Normally it takes days to get your hearing back after dementia. That shot I gave you brings it back immediately, but you might become sick later." They turned another corner and he finally recognized the room. He was within the docking bay. Katana and the Silver knights stood, as if waiting, in their suited forms. -Katana- "Oh, thank god you made it. I'll take him from here sir, thank you so much." With those words the man left back down the many halls. -Garali- "What is going on? Why are we evacuating?" He hadn't noticed at first, but all of the devices that normally lined the walls here had, for some reason, been removed. There stood only one device now, but it seemed different then the others, and the fact it didn't have a pair gave him even more questions. -Katana- "I don't have time to explain right now. You have to suit up." She pointed to the lone device. -Katana- "Quickly, into the Tamer." He decided it not wise to question her authority. The sounds of the sirens only increased his pace. Once positioned inside what she called, the Tamer, Katana flicked the switch that was to the right of him. He didn't feel the sucking this time. Instead it was more of a gentle cooling on his entire body. The heat started at his feet and it rose through him. He looked down and to his surprise, instead of being put into an android; it was being constructed around him. Once it was finished, he felt the same as he had before. The metal still felt like the skin underneath. -Garali- "I don't understand?" -Katana- "I'll explain on the run, we have to leave." He heard as the large hatch he had, what must have been six months ago, flew through to enter this building, now slide open. The knights streamed out of the new opening. -Katana- "We must go now." Taking his hand, she guided him out, into the sunlight. He saw, as many daemons were trying to run towards the base, but were stopped by what he could only assume was the Black stallion wall. -Katana- "Okay, listen good, this is very important. We are leaving the base because the dampeners were knocked out during the last electrical storm. We are all heading for another base not too far from here. The entire base, including the commander, are now on the transport. We warriors will be sensed by the daemons if we are airborne, but to take to the ground would delay our arrival. The transport has a heaver version of the dampener. It will not be detected by the daemons and anything within about 20 meters won't either. That is the important thing. You cannot leave the protection of that dampener. If you do, you are as good as gone. The daemons will swarm you if you try to take to the air again." He felt the seriousness in her voice. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the transport rise into the air from the other side of the base. -Katana- "We must go immediately." He never had time to ask any of his many questions. He just assumed he would have time to ask later. They moved to the transport and he felt the dampener pass by, as he got closer. The Silver nights also came within the transport's protective barrier. Someone else was there, another android. This android was already next to the transport and it was larger then the others. It seemed to be maybe two and a half times bigger then any of the others. The metal of this one had a brown tint to it. He knew, almost instantly, that it must be Maverick. The transport began to move, and they all moved with it. It wasn't moving too fast for him, but he always had the fear of falling behind. -Garali- "I don't understand. Why are the suits surrounding us?" -Katana- "I told you before about the model of the Tamer that Dr. Slate gave us, right? Well, we could never really rebuild it. The last one of its kind is in the transport. We couldn't use that version because we don't have time to set them up after moving them. What we did was make these modified versions. They allow the spirit to manifest around the body. It puts your body into a state of rest, so that you can focus on your spirit. It is the only way to use it as transport as well as for combat. This version is somewhat less efficient, because it is a lot more dangerous. If you are killed now, you will die. There is no more Dementia. You can't even get hurt now, because you body won't clot or heal while in this state of rest. Try not to take any unnecessary risks." He was about to ask her another question but he noticed that some of the flying daemons had arrived on their rear. -Katana- "What!? How did they find us? Okay, we need to defend the transport. Remember, don't fall out of the dampener's radius." He was about to charge into battle, but Katana motioned for him to wait. She then pointed to behind him, where Maverick had moved into the open. He put his left arm in front of him, and pointed his palm toward the daemons. His entire arm seemed to light up and a beam flew from his hand. The daemons, still bobbing back and forth as they flew, took the blast with no attempt to move out of the way. Large, bloody explosions filled the air and he watched as the wounded fell to the ground. To his surprise, for every daemon that was obliterated, there was still countless fallowing them. -Garali- "Hey, I can do that too. Let me help!" She turned to him and have him a look that would freeze water. -Katana- "No, you will over do it and injure yourself!" He didn't want to have her think he was nothing, so he pointed both of his palms towards the daemons. He felt that same tingling he had felt when he had hurt Katana six months ago. This time both his arms felt that same feeling as they began to gather their energy. The light came from his hands now too, and more daemons were destroyed, thanks to his efforts. The recoil of the blasts knocked him back and his arms felt like fire. They looked like busted circuit boards now, instead of the sleek metal that once covered them. -Katana- "I told you!" He was about to reply, but another beam from Maverick glistened towards the daemons. There were more explosions and more fell to their deaths, but their numbers didn't seem to lessen. -Katana- "That was the last one. They are too close. We will have to fight hand-to-hand." He didn't like the sound of that, but he felt it his duty to stay strong. A daemon charged at him. He could see its look of death in its eyes. He moved quickly though and was able to get out of the way, moving to the side of it. As it past by, he hit it with both his hands, balled into fists, directly into its back. When he turned to see more on coming daemons it was already too late. Another daemon was already on top of him, and he was plummeting towards the earth. It watched him, and he put his hands onto its underbelly. The light flew from his hands again, forcing the daemon from him. With great discomfort, the force of his attack also caused him to hit the ground. Another daemon was coming at him now. He tried to move, but his arms hurt too much. He braced himself for the impact that never came. The daemon was knocked away, only inched from where he lay by a purple blasts. -Katana- "Need a hand?" She stood over him now, with an outstretched hand. -Garali- "Thanks. Wait! Why did you do that? Now we are both done for." -Katana- "Yes. This is defiantly not looking good. We will have to take the rest of this trip on foot now." -Garali- "On foot? Can we really do that?" -Katana- "It won't be easy, but I'm not giving up yet. There are three towns still protected by dampener between here and the new base. I am sure, if we pace ourselves, we will be able to make it to each in time to recover." -Garali- "What if we run into daemons?" -Katana- "We most likely won't, but if we do, I will take care of them. Now come on. The ship is gone and the only thing we can do is move. Every second is important, so lets not waste time." With that, Garali rose from where he lay and fallowed Katana. She looked as if she knew where she was going so he trusted her. -Garali- "Are the Black stallions going to be all right?" Katana turned to face him. -Katana- "They gave their lives for us. We wouldn't have had time to save the Tamers or the faculty or even you, if it wasn't for them. I will never forget their bravery." -Garali- "I pray for their souls" He bowed his head, and said a little prayer to himself. -Garali- "I just have one last question for you. Why are there so few women? So far, I have only seen you." -Katana- "I guess you wouldn't know, huh? Well, since the human population is so low, the government, what is left of it, has decided it law to have all women within proper age, to spend at least five years repopulating the planet." -Garali- "Well, it has only been two years so far, so you couldn't be done. Why aren't you doing that?" -Katana- "See, I am an exception. I am barren. I can't have children, so my contribution to the war effort is this." -Garali- "Oh, I'm sorry" After that, he felt uncomfortable asking her any more questions.