Chapter 3

Unceremoniously, two armed escorts lead me through the maze of foul smelling tunnels and crumbling corridors. The Ghee capsule had completely lost its effect. In order to conserve my energy, I had to abandon any efforts in trying to memorize the twisting and turning passages. After several hours of traveling, we finally reached our destination. At first it appeared to be nothing more than a rusty, unsightly, metal wall with several tall pillars guarding the front. When I took a closer look, I noticed several intricate control switches camouflaged with a coloring agent to blend them in with the rough eroded concrete surroundings. One of my escorts walked towards the metal wall. His presence activated a beam of red light from the ceiling. He switched on his communication device and spoke in a low synthesized voice.

“Request for entry into the compound. This is Privet YH217.” Several seconds of scratchy static followed until another unfamiliar voice transmitted through the communicator: “Access denied! We are currently under attack! We don\'t...” The transmission became abruptly severed.

“Severed communications means that the enemy is within the city limits.” The escort next to me called to the other. “Under the circumstance we should destroy the prisoner and return to our posts.” Just as those worlds became an echo, the ceiling above us began to rumble causing large boulders of concrete to come crashing down. Grasping this opportunity, I immediately armed my X9. Before they could regroup, I released a blast towards them. Using the plum of smoke and dust as camouflage, I quickly ducked behind one of the nearby pillars.

They responded with brutal force, sending blinding blasts toward the pillar, slowly eating it away piece by piece. Knowing that the pillar would eventually collapse under this constant fire, I scanned the room trying to find a way out. It was then that I caught sight of a series of strange metal bars impaled within the side of the walls near the entrance of the corridor. They were evenly spaced and resembled some form of a ladder. My eyes followed them up all the way to the ceiling where they lead to a round metal disc. I bet if I can push up that metal disc it will lead me to the out side!

Suddenly, one blast came towards me. I was quick enough to escape with only a few strands of burnt hair. Damn it! How am I going to get to the ladder with these guys firing at me! The pillar was down to it\'s metal core and I could hear it groaning under the stress of all the weight. It was then that I noticed my opponents were both wearing Duran R8 armor. As luck would have it, those types of armor were rejected from use because they had one serious design flaw. The energy core used to activate the energy shield was placed just underneath the breast-plate. The designers thought that it would be the safest location due to the thick alloy. However, when armor was hit on a particular spot, just above the energy core, the pressure would cause the plate to deform slightly. This slight depression was enough to destabilize the energy core. A destabilized energy core would only mean one thing, massive explosion!

I only had one shot. If I missed there would be no time to escape from their retaliatory fire. Suddenly, another blast made a direct hit upon the pillar causing it to groan and sway. Now or never! I quickly adjusted my armor to high energy explosion mode and my X9 from maximum damage to precision shot. Taking in a deep breath, I jumped out, aimed my X9 at the center of one of their armor and released one quick shot. With no time to assess the quality of the shot, I immediately bolted towards the entrance of the corridor. Suddenly, a massive blast shook the whole corridor. Excellent! It worked! My excitement was very short lived as the shock wave from the explosion rushed towards me. It was so massive that, had I not set my armor to high energy explosion mode, I would be crushed mercilessly against the concrete wall.

After the rumbling of raining concrete and dust ended, I began to stand up slowly. Before I was fully upright, a powerful surge of pain engulfed my body. Crap! The impact must have been slightly too much for my armor to withstand! I allowed myself to resettle down upon the ground. But I could not stay for long. From a distance I could hear the echoing of approaching foot steps. Clinching down upon my teeth, I hauled my broken body towards the wall ladder.

I did not know how I managed it, by all probability calculations I should have died. But even under excruciating pain I willed myself to keep climbing. My limbs felt as heavy as lead and shook uncontrollably like dried leaves against a harsh wind. Just as I was about to reach the top, my body suddenly gave out. I can\'t hold on any longer... I... I\'m not going to survive this... As I was about to let the weight of my body drag me down, my mind suddenly recalled my last encounter with Orlas.

“... I am giving you a choice. Choices are the greatest power given to humans and it is what truly governs their lives. And so, I give this power to you.” His soft and candor voice filled my dying mind. That is right.... I made a choice... I can\'t die now... have to give the amulet to Annon!

A strange burst of strength took hold of me like a Ghee capsule. Gently, I hooked my legs around the metal ladder and pushed hard against the metal disc. At first nothing happened but I continued to push. Eventually, it let out a low groan and slowly began to slide away. A warm rush of sandy desert air brushed against my face. Cautiously, I peered out into the city streets. At first there was a strange eerie silence covered by the cloak of darkness. Then, a great gust of wind carried the scents of burning flesh and blaster smoke, followed by sounds of rumbling heavy artillery. A pack of Etherian I-GA machines rolled in across the street sending X9 cannon blasts throughout the city; demolishing everything in sight.

Why are the I-GAs attacking? I thought the counsel ruled against their usage for simple crowd control. Unless... they are planning a full force invasion! I could not believe the carnage before my eyes. The once deserted street was now filled with flames and demolished buildings. I witnessed one of the I-GAs, with their teeth-like wheels, flattening an entire building full of people. There were chilling screams and shouts everywhere. No... I am wrong... this is not an invasion... They are simply annihilating the entire settlement! It\'s strictly forbidden for Etherian military to attack a weaker alien race like this! How could the Council agree to this... this massacre?