Chapter 12: If Only I Could Cry
Amun rested in the field below the mountain that Abby was now exploring for the rock that he had hidden the day before. He was pretty sure that he had found a spot that even Abby would not find, although he has said that before and been proven wrong. He rested his head on his crossed hands and let out a long breath in happiness. It had been a few weeks since Scarlett and Rowena had emerged from their cocoons and everything had been perfect. His daughters were happy, Emilia was happy which made him happy. Everything was perfect, so he rested in the warmth of the sun.
"Found it!" Came a voice that cut into his fuzzy mental state. Abby had proven him wrong once again.
"Dear lord, how on earth did you find it this time! I buried it in the dirt!" He said baffled as to how his daughter had located the red stone.
"When you came home yesterday, I saw that your claws were covered in dirt. I also had an idea where you would hide it, so I checked that area first. You always did like running water to cool down." It was true, because of his size, he did enjoy moments to cool down in the fresh waters in the mountains. He thought the waterfall he had found on this mountain would make for a good hiding spot. Apparently he had been wrong.
"You are too clever girl, you know that?" He could feel her mentally blush even at the great distance that separated them. It was then that Amun felt a weak feeling of worry from a mind back towards their home. He was a bit too far to tell who it was, but it did not feel too serious. He slowly stood up from his patch of grass and looked towards the mountain."Come Abby, I think your mother is being annoyed by some of your sisters again." He felt an agreement from his daughter before turning back towards home. Abby would easily catch up to him at the slower pace he was doing.
Through the trees he went, weaving his large head between branches and taking the only paths he could fit through. It was a few minutes later that he felt Abby fall from a tree and land upon his back and made her way to his shoulder. She purred quietly and enjoyed the ride, it made Amun mentally smile. His smile was taken away quickly as something hit his mind like a truck, causing him to wince. Fear and pain flooded his mind from so many minds that it almost caused him to pass out. It was Abby that kept him awake.
"Father, father what is wrong!" She screamed, beyond concerned. He could almost not hear her mental words he was so disorientated. He staggered into a tree that kept his balance. "Father, please! What is wrong?!"
Amun took a moment to mentally shift through all the mental connections that had hit him to dampen then. As he regained much of his focused, it was then that he realized it was his daughters, screaming out in fear and pain.
"HANG ON!" He screamed before taking off at full speed through the forest, strait towards the cave. He dodged as many trees as he could, but the ones that he could not, he lowered his head and blew right through them as it they were paper. As he ran, he heard more and more of his daughters screaming out to one another. Some were commands of attack, others were words of agony and concern. He reached out to anyone that he could. "Daughters, what is going on?!"
"Amun! They are, it-it-its them, th-they are here!" It was Emilia, she was to terrified she could barley talk.
"Who?!" Amun yelled.
"The company! Hurry!" Pure terror and anger struck the king and he then pushed his body to the limit to gain speed. He felt Abby clutch to him with suck force it broke his exoskeleton. "Please Amun, our-our daughters the-they ar-" Her words were cut short and Amun feared the worst. It was only a few second after when he hear a massive explosion from the direction of his home and his fears were confirmed. He then looked to the distance and saw a cloud of fire and smoke rise high through the trees of the forest. As he ran he let out a roar of anger, thinking his Queen, his love, his family had just been killed. He was so close to home! He had to get there, he had to save his family.
As he approached the large boulders that acted as the entrance to their hive, Amun was horrified to see that most of the area had been turned into a crater of dirt. No trees stood in the area that was once their home. As he scanned the area he did not slow his speed as he rounded the large, shattered boulders and came to a scene that made his freeze in his tracks.
"No..." As his gaze fell upon the scene of horror, it was all he could say. As he looked out over the destroyed ground, The bodies of his daughters littered the ground, acid blood eating into the vegetation and dirt that now acted as their death beds. Amun froze as he saw five, ten, twenty of his beloved hive laying on the ground covered in bullet holes, missing limbs or destroyed beyond recognition.
He was horrified as he scanned the area and saw body parts scattered here and there from whatever caused the blast he had heard. Nothing moved on what now looked like a battle field littered with the dead. He began to shake, in anger or sadness he did not know. His mind snapped and he was not there, he felt noting from the shock that had taken over his body and mind.
"No..." Amun took a few staggered steps forward, looking from body to body. Sadness filling him with everyone of his daughters he looked upon. He looked upon the dead and could tell that some had died attempting to protect one another, other had been killed in what looked like organized attacks. His anger grew as he did not come across one dead human, his daughters had been slaughtered in a surprise attack. With numbers that probably vastly over took their own.
"Fa...father..." Came a whisper from below. Amun looked to his feet and let out a quick road as he saw Thea slowly crawling towards him, her lower body missing.
"Thea! Thea! O god no! Please no!" He began to shake rapidly as he watched his daughter crawl closer to him. He lowered himself and gently touched her head to his. Amun moved to scoop his daughter up, but pulled his hands back not wanting to injure her further. He could do nothing but get as close to her as he could to her. He was now laying on the ground in front of her, letting out a soft moan of concern and saddness.
"It-it's ok...Da-daddy. We...we did good. Save...saved mom-my. She...ssshe..." He words grew weak as her head slowly made its way to the ground. Amun had to watch as he felt the mental touch of his second born slowly fade from his mind as her life left her body.
"No no no. NO! Thea! THEA!" He screamed as he picked up his dead daughter and held her close. He roared in anger as he held the lifeless body of his beloved daughter. As he held her he quickly looked out over the field of dead, hoping to find others who were still alive. He mentally reached out as far as he could but sadness over took him as he was meet with no other mental touch. Not one of his daughters were alive. He reared his head back and let out a monstrous roar of pain. He did not care who heard him, his pain was too great. Louder and louder he got with each of his daughters flashed through his mind.
Sara, Emma, Jean and Hanna. His mind went through all twenty eight of his daughters as he let out his pain. His mind came to Emilia, his queen, and it grew even louder. His thunderous voice rang out for far too long as his pain grew and grew. When he finally ran out of breath, he collapsed to the ground.
As he laid in the dirt with the rest of his family, he curled into himself and his sadness. His mind slipped away, into darkness and despair as he began to feel cold. His beloved daughters, his family, his Queen, they were all gone. He was would he do now, the company had once again taken everything from him. Leaving him with nothing but pain. Older memories began to flood his mind, pulling him further into the darkness.
"Jolene...Jolene, I miss you. Why...why did they have to take you from me. I...I loved you so much. E-Emilia...now you. My Queen...my love. O god not again. I've lost you both." His thoughts were laced with sadness and hate. "If only...if only I could have you all back. If only they could leave me alone. If only I...if...I could only cry!"He went completely still, frozen within the blackness of his mind. He was lost, stuck hard by the memories of pain and hatred that he had know. It all seemed to flood back to his mind in an instant, overwhelming anything else that his mind could muster. And there he stayed for what felt like a life time, with the faces of all he had loved now just shadows of his happiness.
Suddenly something drew him back, some small voice of reason or light. It rang through his mind only as a whisper until it grew louder and louder as it repeated.
"Father please, come back to me! They need us! FATHER!" A sharp strike of pain to his face snapped Amun back to reality. His vision was greeted with the field of bodies once more, but this time someone stood in front of his face. It was...someone he knew. He suddenly recognized his daughter.
"Abby, Abby my daughter." He lifted his head to look at her better. He felt his acid blood run down his face, she must have struck him with her tail in a desperate move to bring him back.
"Father! I know you are hurt, but please! They need our help!" Amun froze in confusion. They needed help? Had someone survived that he had not felt?
"Who Abby? Where are they?" He quickly go to his feet and looked around for who Abby was talking about. He was still meet with no one.
" The cave father! It's Bobby, I can feel her!" She said as she moved into the crater that was once their home. " I think she survived in the back of the cave! Hurry!" Amun did not question his daughter, he moved into the hole and began digging. Rock after rock, inch after inch he moved the earth with hope that someone had survived. Handfuls of dirt were flung in every direction as he dug with speed, wanting to get to his first born. His hands stopped moving when he felt something mentally reach out.
"Fa-father? Is...that you?" It was Bobby, she was alive!
"Bobby! O god, hang on, we are coming!" He said as he began to dig once more. He knew he had to be fast, her words were weak and had pain behind them. "Bobby just hang on, we are coming. Are you alright?"
"I hurt...Father, it...it hurts." He could feel his daughters pain through their link. He could tell that it was not life treating, but it was still severe.
"It's ok Bobby, it will be alright, I will get you out soon!" He dug. Ten, fifteen, now twenty feet into the earth. Following the mental touch that he knew was his first born daughter. His claws came upon something that did not move so easily. He quickly cleared away the dirt to revile a very large boulder that was blocking his way. It must have been part of the cave roof that fell. It was the only thing keeping him from his daughter and his possibly his queen.
"Move it Father, you must!" Abby exclaimed from the ridge she was watching from, he had almost forgotten she was here. He looked up to her with fear. She was now one of his only daughters left and he had to make sure she was safe." We have to get to them soon!"
"Abby, on my back, now! They might still be here!" He snapped, perhaps a bit too sharply. She did not question and made her way quickly to the protectiveness of his back. Abby curled around one of his back tubes and stayed quiet. Amun turned back to the obstacle that lay before him, but it was one he would conquer no matter what. His clawed fingers searched the sides of the rock face until them came upon good edges to dig onto.
"Father..hurry. Mother...she needs help. I can just feel her." The soft, weak mental voice of Bobby came to his mind as he held onto the large rock. His muscles flexed, his claws dug into the rock and the earth shifted. The boulder was the size of a bus and perhaps twice as heavy, but it did not matter, he had to move it. With all his might, he began to lift the massive rock out from where it was secured. His muscles protested and began to shake, but he did not let go, his family needed him. His Queen needed him. He let out a long roar as he gripped tighter around the boulder and began to lift with his legs. They too protested as the full weight of the object came upon his limbs.
He now had the boulder two feet from where it had been, and another, then another! He kept his roar loud as the boulder moved higher and higher. His hands wanted to let go so badly, but he knew his family needed him, so they could not slip! After another few feet into the air, he was able to slip his tail underneath the massive rock and used it to help push upward. He felt the rock slip a bit, he was going to lose it!
"No no no! I cannot! Emilia...Bobby... I cannot lose you too!" He screamed to himself in attempts to motivate his body to continue. He felt the rock slip again, it did not go unnoticed.
"Mother needs you, you will NOT drop that boulder Father! Lift! You are King! LIFT!" Abby yelled from his shoulder, her words not only covered in motivation, but fear as well. His daughter was afraid she would lose the rest of her family. He would not allow this.
With one more mighty roar Amun shifted his weight to one side and pulled the boulder into the space where he had just been. As it moved, he shot his arms into the space behind it to continue it forward, pushing with all his might. His tail pushed from behind as well giving him the extra pushing power he needed to move it out of the way completely. With a earth shaking thud, the giant piece of stone impacted the ground, flinging dirt in every direction.
Amun paused to take a few deep breaths, getting oxygen to his hurting muscles. He did not pause for long. He snapped his crowned head towards the hole he had just made, hoping to see his queen and first born. Instead, he saw large parts of what looked like building resin. It had been cracked and destroyed when the cave had collapsed, but Amun could only guess why it was there. He did not question for long before moving once more to dig.
His claws worked fast as he broke away more and more of the resin. Suddenly he was meet with a beautiful sight. Emilia, who was wrapped around Bobby to protect her, was now before him. Her large crown keeping most of the debris from hitting her daughter. As Amun got closer, he noticed movement and watched as Bobby began to emerge from the dust and rock.
"Fa-father?" She outstretched her slender hand towards him which he gently took in his large claws.
" I am here my daughter, I am here." Ever word was dripping with happiness.
"Mother..she is hurt...alive but hurt." She explained as she began to crawl out from the protective shell that Emilia had created. Abby leapt down from Amun to help her sister, moving rock after rock out of the way.
"We will get her out, do not worry. I promise it will be alright." Once Bobby was free and in the care of Abby, Amun looked to see how he would retrieve his queen. Thankfully the rock had collapsed in such a way that it had created a pocked around her large form. Not enough to have prevented injury, but big enough that it had not crushed her. She had been lucky. Amun very gently placed his hands into the section of her crown that was exposed and began to wiggle her head forward. To his delight, it began to move with ease, reviling more and more of Emilia.
As he slowly pulled limb and body part from the pocket, he was stricken with grief. For he was shown the extent of her injuries. Large cuts on her crown and neck, at least four broken ribs, and her lower right leg was also broken badly. Thankfully her tail had been tucked in tight and avoided being crushed, but her back spikes had not been so lucky. It looked like she had managed to fold them against herself in time, but not before one of them was half crushes. Once he had her completely free, Amun held his unconscious queen in his arms. If only he could cry, he would.
"Emilia...Emilia my queen, can you hear me?" He reached out for her mind and could only find a whisper of it. It was enough to know she was alive, but for how long he did not know. "Emilia please, I can't lose you too..." He rocked her back and forth in his embrace upon the ground, wrapping his tail around her slender waist.
"Father is...is she going to live?" Abby asked as she tended to Bobby's wounds, covering them with resin. He did not know what to tell her, he was unsure what her fate was.
"I...I don't know my daughter...I don't know." He nuzzled his head against Emilia's as he sat. His attention then turned to Bobby. "Is everyone...did anyone else..."
"I... I do not know. I do not know what happened. They came for the cave first, came out of nowhere. Scarlett and Rowena kept them out of the entrance until we could all come out to fight them. They...they had things that spit fire that tore my sisters to pieces. They...they were not interested in taking us. O Father...I can not feel them...I feel so empty." Her words struck a blow to his head because he felt exactly what she did, a echo of nothingness within their minds that was once filled with a loving hive.
" I know, my first born, I know. What happened after?" He wanted to know how his family died.
"After a while, Scarlett fought to get me into the cave to be with Mother, she was hurt just as I got inside. When I meet Mother, my sisters were building her a cocoon to protect her but she pulled me inside and would not let me help. They...they gave their lives to finish the shell that saved us. Then...there was a loud noise and the cave collapsed on them, I...I... felt them die. Fa-father..." Amun noticed that Bobby's body began to shake, in shock or sadness he could not tell. He reached over and scooped his two daughters into his hand and brought them close.
"Father, why would they not take any of my sisters? You said they would most likely be here for us...I do not understand." Abby asked as she made her way to his crown. It was a good question. Why had they been sent here to exterminate and not to capture, it made no sense. And why had they left? They should have still been here to finish the job. It made no sense at all.
"I do not know my daughter, but we need to leave. We cannot stay here. Hold on to your big sister." He moved to place Bobby on top of his crown where she could tend to her. He then lifted Emilia up in his arms but then paused.
"What is wrong Father?" Abby asked as she held onto Bobby. Amun felt an overwhelming feeling of uncertainty. Like he was lost in a sea of confusion.
"I...I do not know where to go..." He heard a soft purr from his daughter.
"The lake...head towards the lake." Amun did not question, he turned in the direction of the hidden lake and slowly took the first steps. Each one was a painful strike to his soul because each one was a step passed one of his dead daughters, a step away from his home and all that had been his happiness. If only he could cry, Amun would be.