Ava and Aphrodite: The First Human in 8000 Years (Featured)

End of Part 4: Hell

The Serv ship orbited around Europa, a moon that was now nothing more than a ball of floating ash, it trailed through space like a crumbling piece of coal that looked like it could shatter at any moment. Perpetual fires, ruin, explosions and lightning storms roamed the lands. Aphrodite stared at the monitors that lined the walls of the ship, all of them showed close up views of the cities on the moon, and the dire state they were in.

All this was caused by an uprising? It looked like Europa had gone through hell and brought a chunk of it back with it.

"How could my father survive in something like this?" she asked through her gasps of shock, "it's a living nightmare!"

"Lin and Rin said he was hiding in an underground bunker. Looking at this map, it doesn't seem like the factory where you were born is what they were talking about," Ava pointed to one of the screens, which showed what state the factory was in. It had long since sunk into the underground oceans. "In which case I'll have to land the ship somewhere and investigate. You guys can orbit Europa when I'm on the ground investigating, keep Ava-11 on ice."

"What? Are you kidding me!? Europa is a hell hole!" exclaimed Aphrodite,

"No other choice," Ava shrugged,

"We should be smart about where we search at least." Sylvie added, "not everyone on Europa has been taken over by the Heretic virus. That means finding a small colony of Evos would be the best first step."

"Dammit, we should go with him at least though!" Aphrodite frowned,

"But our bodies are limited, we'd be holding Ava back. Besides we need to look after Ava-11s head, right?"

"Tch."

Ava continued looking at the screens,

"This area," he pointed to one of the screens, "I think I can see tents and stuff among the ruins of the buildings. That might mean there are Evos hiding there. It's pretty clear of danger and ruin compared to other parts of the moon."

"Well, moreso it looks like it was the first area to be steamrolled, and now it's calmed down." Aphrodite chimed in, "not one structure there is still standing."

"Sure. Well, either way I'll land it."

Without another word from Ava, the ship started to descend.

****

A light pitter patter of snow, Ava walked out of the ship surprised at how oddly beautiful the city of ruin was. Despite the mass destruction, the decoration caused by the soft snow somehow managed to make it look quite... pretty.

He was probably the only person in the world who would think something dumb like that..

Ava waved at the ship before he sent it back up to space. He wasn't sure if Aphrodite or Sylvie noticed, but it was a goodbye he needed to say, something to remind him there were people who would come back for him if he would get in trouble.

He already had a beacon enabled, meaning Sylvie could detect him if he needed help. If everything went to plan, he'd be able to get the info he needed in the next couple of days.

This kind of stuff, collecting information, was his specialty, even though he was quite rusty.

The tents and settlements he saw were a few miles south. He'd decided approaching the Evos there by foot would be less imposing than landing right next to them by ship. So, onwards he'd go.

And onwards,

And onwards,

And onwards...

The snow was getting stronger. Even though it was a few miles, the journey was proving to be more troublesome than he'd thought. The weather was beginning to get wilder and wilder.

Soon, the wind was starting to really pick up, the snow was making it hard to see anything in front of his face, most of the structures before him were nothing more than silhouettes. He had no idea that the weather would be his first enemy in this investigation.

And then.

His instincts kicked in.

In the snow he could feel the presence of several other beings around him. He couldn't see them, but their existence was obvious. The ruins of the buildings around him, and in front of him too, they all had at least a few of these entities.

He detected at least twelve in all. What were they?

"Are you lost?" a voice shouted through the snowstorm, a hint of mockery in the tone of voice,

"Who the hell are you!?" Ava shouted back,

"I'm not an Evo if that's what you're asking Ava," the voice sounded familiar,

"Just tell me who you are dammit! How do you know my name? Are you here to help or what?"

"I'm the one that owns this place." a malicious smile could be detected behind that voice, "And no. I'm not here to help. None of us are."

The snow began to clear, it became easier to see Ava's surroundings. He was in the middle of a wide open main road, he was surrounded by crumbled buildings, and standing atop the rubble were beings he didn't expect.

Twelve Servs, all wearing black masks, directly facing him.

In front of Ava stood a Serv with a tattered red cape, standing on the top of the tallest pile of wreckage. He was the one speaking to Ava, for sure. He too was wearing a black mask.

"Welcome to hell Ava," the Serv shouted, "no time to repent."

Author's note: Ok guys, I'd say I'm about past the halfway point in A&A at this point, yay! Been loving the feedback so far, but I was wondering if you guys could give me your sincere thoughts in the comments of the novel up to this point so far. Any characters you'd like to see more of? Anything you think should be made clearer? Maybe even some advice for edits done to earlier chapters? I'd appreciate the feedback!

Of course the language and grammar of the story is poor because I don't proof before I put up, so I'd prefer if comments were largely more about the plot : )