Oriehn

Chapter 25- Alice

Chapter 25- Alice

The attack began. The station itself had landed on Crete, a small, Earth-like moon, to follow the first wave of abducted civilians. But the minute we touched down, the capsules swarmed us like bees.

Screams filled the air, as well as the mechanical whirring of the remote-controlled ships. Lasers shot out of them, aiming for the Oriehns. I quickened my pace from the lunar station, running so Sin, Ian, or Drai would not find me and piece together everything.

I descended the metal stairs and rushed past people. Pushing the doors open, I took in the chaos before me. It looked like a massacre...which it really was.

I heard steps behind me and froze. It was the sound of a gait I knew well, it was Sin's. I quickly ran outside and tried to avoid him. He did not slow down, though. Instead, he picked up his speed and chased me through the courtyard.

"Alice," Sin called out, yet I pretended to not hear him. His hands suddenly grasped my white t-shirt. "Alice," He breathed.

"I-I... I have to go. I am sorry!" I said shakily. He shook his head.

"You can't go. You are in danger, the ships are everywhere, and they are killing people!" He sounded frantic, as if he had been searching everywhere for me. "There is a traitor among us, and until we can locate him, I will stay with you. We can formulate a plan together, and then we can get back at the humans," Sin rushed, clasping our hands together, staring at me earnestly. "I need your assistance."

Oh, Sin. Why must you trust me so much? It makes everything ten times harder.

"Please," He begged, loosening his grip on my shirt. I took my chance and sprinted away from him in no particular direction, just away from him. "Alice!" Sin yelled for me. I felt a lump in my throat and quickly disappeared into the horde of frenzied people. "Alice! Wait!" I was tempted to stay but I knew it would just crush him once he realized everything. That I was the cause of everything.

Running faster, I took one quick glance back at Sin's disgruntled and confused face. Sorry, I thought and blinked back tears. I watched as the machines came and shot my kin with lasers, felling them in an instant.

This was my doing. This was my fault.

I had killed them all.

My hands shook as the magnitude of what I had done reached me. I was not a murderer, yet I single handedly decimated a whole race. Tears filled my eyes as Oriehns fell one by one with a sickening thump onto the ground, their wails echoing off.

Sin then let out a feral roar. I took another peek backwards and saw him being tortured, convulsing on the ground. Tears sprang to my eyes as I hoped he would be okay. The screams stopped, and I could only interpret it as one thing: he was dead.

I could not take it anymore.

My breathing was shallow and quick, completely irregular as my mind raced at the prospect of what I had done.

I wished I had not made this choice; I could not turn back time, and I could not revive those that I had lost. My only choice was to go through with my mistake, otherwise I would be dead next.

Gulping, I jumped around the fallen corpses littering the floor and raced towards a small forest, dense with trees. They wouldn't find me in here, and I didn't want them to. I did not want to see the disappointment and resentment painted on their faces.

No, it was better to wait until they were all dead for the ship to pick me up. As I reached the forest, I felt something land beside me. I had been so distracted that the whirring and whining of an overheated engine did not make an impact on any of my thoughts. It was a rather large ship, and Doctor Prose stood at the door. "There you are, Alice!" He exclaimed.

I gave him a weak smile. "Hello, Doctor Prose. Nice seeing you here," That was a lie.

Doctor Prose chuckled. "I could not miss out on the action. Nevertheless, come on board! I will take you back to Earth safely," He held out a hand to me, but I ignored it and climbed in.

"What is in the back of the ship, Doctor?" I questioned, seeing the hull illuminated by a series of dim lights. I took a step there but Doctor Prose held me back, shaking his head.

"Prisoners. People that survived the first round of torture. We will bring them back to Earth," He answered, and I felt sick to my stomach. That meant I would just hear pained screams all day and night back at the lab. "Do not worry, Alice. They will not be tortured, just chained in."

He said it like it might make me feel better, but it didn't. I nodded weakly and sat down. "Come with me, Alice. I need you to see if you know any of the prisoners and their attributes. It will make it easier for us."

I swallowed and nodded. Doctor Prose led the way down the cells, and I realized there weren't that many people. Probably five or six Oriehns left in total. Five or six of them out of the millions. They were the only survivors.

I did not want to look through the bars at the faces, but a hand had came out of one and touched me. I glanced up and stared into those eyes that I had grown accustomed to.

"Alice," He whispered, eyes wide.

"Sin," I replied in a shaking and whispery voice.

"Oh, so you two know each other, eh?" Doctor Prose asked joyfully. My eyes widened as he walked back to Sin's cell. "Well, well. Are you not the little Oriehn who crashed into Earth a few months ago?"

Sin gritted his teeth. "Yes," He raised his head up high, staring Doctor Prose in the eyes, who did not back down. The tension in the air was brittle, and I grew nervous.

"Wardens. Please chain him and bring him to Room D2. Alice, follow them. I will be outside," Doctor Prose swiftly handed me a clipboard.

"What does he mean, Alice?" Sin asked, furrowing his eyebrows. I winced and shook my head as he was roughly forced out of the cell and brought further down the hallway. He then was shoved inside a room, locked inside a cell again.

"I-I'm sorry, Sin," I whispered lightly. He frowned.

"What are you sorry for? Why are you not chained up? Why was Doctor Prose so friendly to you?" Sin asked, and I bowed my head, shaking it lightly while staring on to the ground.

His eyes darkened as recognition and realization dawned upon him. "You were the traitor," He paused. "It was you all along, wasn't it?"

"Y-yes." I owed him the truth. Sin's eyes closed as he leaned against the bars. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry does not do anything!" He shouted. I jumped back, surprised at his outburst. "Do you know what you have done, Alice? Sorry doesn't cut it, sorry will not heal millions of people, sorry will not revive anyone!"

"I..."

He opened his eyes and stared into mine. "You are despicable, you know that? You betrayed your whole race. You caused millions of deaths. And you call yourself human. Where on Earth is your humanity now?" Sin laughed dryly. "This was the only reason you came, wasn't it?"

"Sin, I didn't mean for it to end this way. It's more complicated than that, Iー"

"Ohtan enah velos canay tou, den eruris chanifa!" Sin lips curled as he shouted angrily, "When an arrow misses its mark, it didn't suddenly turn, Alice. You knew all along how this would end."

Without waiting for me to respond, he opened his mouth to continue but he was cut off by Doctor Prose opening the door. "Time is up," he said, "Great work, Alice." Wardens brought Sin back out of the room again to his smaller cell.

"I wish I had never met you, Alice Proctor. You're a monster, a cold blooded murderer. I hate you!" Sin screamed, and each word felt like a slash to my face.

"Sin..." I blinked back tears that threatened to slip out of my eyes. He fixed me with a deathly glare, one that sent chills down my spine.

"With everything, I hate you!"