Future

Chapter 12: Destruction

Note: The following chapter contains some gore-y content that may or may not be disturbing to some. Viewer discretion is advised. 

"Things are bad," I explained to the group, "From what I saw it looks like they're losing. He practically begged for our help."

"So..." Ebony began.

"Should we go and support them?" Gael finished for her.

"It sounds like they really need us..." Kail began.

"You said one day," Pipe growled, making a big show of looking at the sky and charting the sun, "And it's barely the afternoon."

"Is one life, most likely already lost, worth hundreds of lives of our siblings that we still might be able to save?" Raine chipped in.

"We. Can't. Give. Up. On. Her," Pipe hissed through gritted teeth, tears sliding down her face again.

"Pipe, Raine's right. We have to go help, there's a possibility we could still save lives. We're going," Kail put his foot down.

Pipe wailed loudly and sank to the ground, beating it with her fists. We all stood around and watched, awkwardly, unsure of what to do, as she clawed holes into the ground, screaming her rage, helplessness, and loss. Eventually, her hands fell to her sides, and she quieted. She muttered something.

"What did you say?" Ebony asked gently.

"I'm staying," Pipe said, her voice husky and raw. She stood up, dusting herself up and squaring her shoulders. "I'm staying here, to keep looking for Holli. I can't give up, and I'm just holding you back. So go on without me."

Kail looked helpless for a minute. "I can't-- I-," he stammered.

"It's okay," Pipe smiled at him fondly. He continued gaping for a moment, until he and Pipe hugged each other so fiercely I'm pretty sure I heard his spine break. Pipe went around the circle, hugging everyone in turn. We all cried a little. Okay, a lot.

"Go save some lives, K, darling," Pipe pushed gently on Kail's shoulder as Ebony and Gael transformed into the dragon.

And then we were off to save the world, waving furiously at Pipe as she faded from a face looking up at us, to a red-headed point in the scenery, to nothing.

*

After a while, we alighted on the field that was the location Waylen had given me. Shock, horror and disbelief rolled off of us in waves.

"Oh,"

"My,"

"God," Ebony and Gael completed for each other.

"We were too late," I was unaware of the words leaving my lips, the carnage and devastation before my eyes taking up all of the space in my brain.

The fight had taken place before we arrived, and it was clear that the soldiers had won. Dried blood coated the ground. Random limbs were strewn about, ripped from their bodies by giant robot hands. Lifeless eyes stared towards the sky, colored hair dulled by dirt and blood. Flies buzzed in the air, birds circled. I dimly heard the sound of Raine throwing up behind me, but it barely registered. The words I had just spoken ricocheted around in my brain, repeating themselves over and over again, growing into a cacophony that almost mocked me. We were too late. How could we be too late? We had hurried... We tried... We failed. We were too late. It was my fault. If I was a better prophet, if I had more training, I could have received the cry for help earlier. This could have been prevented.

A loud noise behind me broke me from my thoughts. A group of black-clad figures in the distance had spotted us, and was moving in quickly.

"RUN!" Kail pointed me towards the cluster of buildings at the edge of the field, shoving me forwards. In my panicked state, I barely noticed that Kail wasn't running with me, he and the others had stayed behind to fight the soldiers.

As I reached the buildings, my hands began glowing brightly. Shit shit shit shit. Why does this always happen?! I hurriedly found a small alley, tucking myself into it and pressing my hands to my head.

"Too late," Waylen shook his head at me,sadly, like he already knew his fate. Almost in slow motion, a giant robot landed behind him. He whirled and fired a blast of colorful light at it, but slightly too late. The robot lunged past it and ripped Waylen in half. I felt his blood spattering me, I tried to tear my eyes away from the gruesome sight but couldn't. A girl's agonized screaming echoed through the air. The other prophet, Valencia, was screaming in anger. The soldiers nearby clutched their heads and cried out in unison, until the same robot that had killed Waylen stepped forwards and silenced Valencia for good. Finally, I was able to look around. Similar scenes of carnage were reflected. Suddenly, I was aware of someone standing next to me. I turned to see Waylen, but he was faint and glowing, almost like a ghost.

"Don't feel bad," He told me, "It was inevitable. Even if your team had been here, and we would have won, who's to say about the next battle? Or the next? Our luck has run out. I just hope those who were captured aren't tortured too painfully."

"What happened?" I asked. The scene rewound around me, to earlier that morning. A flood of colored-hair people raced into the open, screaming war cries as they rushed at the group of soldiers in the field.

"At first we were winning," Waylen said, a soft smile on his lips. We watched as the soldiers fell, the first robots were killed. But quickly, more and more soldiers and robots swarmed the scene, gifteds fell to the ground more and more. Occasionally, the robot would put out a bubble like the one that had been used to try and capture me, grabbing a particular person and taking them away.

"But then... They were too much," The pace of the scene unfolding sped up, hundreds of gifteds captured and hundreds more killed. The ground was painted red. The soldiers and robots left, and I was now watching my team land on the field. There was me staring, there was Raine puking, all in super-fast motion. Kail and the others fought the soldiers, but they were captured, roughly handcuffed and shoved into a vehicle. A couple others filed into the buildings to look for me as the vehicle took off, taking my friends away.

"I need to get out of this vision, please, I'm going to get captured!" I pleaded with Waylen.

"You are going to be captured. You are captured. You were captured. Past, present, and future all are coexisting, it's inevitable," Waylen sighs. I see myself being dragged, kicking and screaming across the field, where another vehicle is already waiting. The scene skips forwards, faster and faster. I watch animals scavenge the bodies of my siblings, nature taking it's course. More soldiers show up to the scene. They start piling the bodies into large, truck-like vehicles. I watch one pull something shiny out of a dead girl's pocket and discreetly tuck it into his pocket. I am livid, wishing I could break free from this vision and punch his stupid face. Waylen doesn't seem bothered, the same stupid half-smile on his face.

"Even their death is not death. The bodies will be stripped of anything valuable, the bodies themselves sent to labs where they'll be put through experiments. The same fate as the living victims, just a little less fun for the scientists. They enjoy the screaming," Waylen said in a soft voice, like it barely bothered him. He seemed no more concerned than if he was watching a bug climb up a wall, not worried if it succeeded or not. It didn't matter to him.

"Waylen, please-" I begged, only to be cut off by him, his eyes suddenly urgent.

"Give them hell for me, Sumner. Make their fucking lives miserable," Waylen grabbed my arm. "Promise."

"I promise," I said. Waylen's face relaxed, he looked peaceful again.

"Goodbye," He smiled, and the vision dissolved.