Into the Unknown (A Shortney Story) (Discontinued)

Horizons

"There are monsters in the sky
There are demons in the sea
I have seen them with my eyes
I've seen what you won't see"

Noah:

Dust fell from the ceiling, falling directly into his eyes. Noah jumped with a start, and threw off his sheets. He scrambled to find his glasses, but his hand skittered them across the floor. He fell out of bed, the sheets wrapping around the legs like a chokehold.
Half-blind, he managed to find his glasses and put them on, just as the first bombardment came.
Boom!
His complex shook around him. Noah knew he had minutes to grab what little he could salvage before the foundation collapsed around him.
He ripped the sheets off of him, and scrambled his way to his necessities. Thank goodness he slept in last night's clothes. He grabbed the bag he had prepared and packed as quickly yet thoroughly as possible.
He could hear his roommates fluttering around in panic. He had warned them so many times they were coming, but they never listened.
Now, it was too little too late. They had come. And he was the only one with a plan for it.
He felt it coming before it hit. The next guided missile struck his building. The upper floor ripped wide open, the floor partially collapsing beneath him.
Noah took his bag and slung it over his shoulder. What remained of the floor tilted, causing him to slide to the outside, three stories below.
He would most likely survive the fall, but he might break bones. If that happened, he might not ever be able to scramble away from under the collapsing building.
He was nearing the edge, and he realized too late that the building was going to collapse right now.
His eyes finally fully adjusted to his glasses. Through the dust he could see a window within jumping distance.
Briefly, hope flared in his chest, but his pessimism reminded him that he was as unathletic as they come. He would never make it.
But he'd have to try. If he failed, he would die.
He managed to find his footing just enough, and with his teeth grinding together, he leaped as far as he could.
The window materialized closer, and closer.
I'm going to make it! he thought.
Too late, he realized he should have braced himself. The glass shattered from the force of his leap, and he found himself cascading through, as if it were a portal.
He landed with a large thud, the breath leaving his lungs.
"Uhhhhhh," he breathed, a metallic taste filling his mouth. He realized with numbing clarity that not only did he bite his tongue, but he might have been the only one to survive.
Before he could dwell on the thought, he noticed with startling clarity where he was.
This looks like Sarah Whittle's apartment, he pondered. I hope she made it out.
Noah took a second to glance at the scenery, memories filling his brain.
Screaming from the outside brought him back to Darwin. He had to get out, but he couldn't dive back out the window.
He rolled over, and then winced in pain.
Stupid, he scolded himself.
He snuck a glance at his right hand. He had unfortunately cut himself from the base of his thumb to the base of his pinky.
He didn't have a chance to clean the glass. Noah needed to get out, and fast.
He tucked his injured hand to his shirt and ran out of Sarah's room and out to the hallway.
Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he made his way to the stairs. He took them two at a time down to the next hallway. He threw open the main door just as the next bombardment rocked Sarah's building.
He stumbled from the impact and fell. He lied on his stomach and waited for the impact to end.
Noah stood, careful not to get any dirt in his injury. He packed limited medical supplies. The less he had to use, the better.
He took a step back to his apartment, his mind settling on helping his neighbors. But the sound of laser fire halted him.
His heart traveled up to his throat. His breathing suddenly too loud. He bit his lip and made a decision then.
He turned and ran. As fast as his skinny legs could take him. He skittered through the alleys and past the bustle of panicked people. He settled on the knowledge that he could only do so much to help. They had come, and they had come to slaughter. His research showed that their forces wouldn't arrive in time to help him. He'd be long dead before they arrived.
Humanity didn't belong on Darwin. And the Defy knew it. They would show no mercy, and he understood that if they took you as prisoner, your life was over.
He knew friends, colleagues, even family that had been captured, only to never been heard from again. Only one had escaped and He had told stories. Since no one else could discredit Him, those stories became lore, even Legend. If Legend were to believe, if Noah were to be captured, it would be a fate worse than death.
Noah managed to find a hilltop, the blue grass just high enough to obscure him from any would be pursuers. His trembling hands searched through his backpack for his map.
He withdrew his old fashioned map he made from scratch. With a ballpoint pen he also made, he found his approximate location and traced the path he needed to take for the Hideaway.
The Hideaway was the cave he discovered making his map. He had known this day would come, no matter how much Humanity tried to make peace, the Defy would not be satisfied. They wanted war, and Humanity could only do so much to fight.
He had meticulously stockpiled supplies and necessities at the Hideaway. He wasn't particularly sure his strategy once he made it, but he knew he had to make it.
He had to.
A drop of blood fell on the final trace. It clicked in Noah's brain that he was hurt.
How could he forget that? It almost amused him.
He took his meager supplies out of his bag and bandaged it as quickly as possible, his eyes pricked for any Defy coming his way.
Maybe luck was on his side. He stood up from his hiding spot and scanned his surroundings.
Nothing. He smiled despite himself. It was nice to see a plan working to near perfection.
He glanced at his map as he paced himself down the path. It cut through the Shallow Forrest. It's pink trees and ample red foliage enough to mask him from aggressors.
As he walked, he hoped that the people he knew got away safe. He hoped that they had all secretly listened to him, and made their own reservations. Again, he thought of his old friend Sarah. He had not seen her for a while...
He shook off his negative thoughts. She was, no, IS a tough girl. She would survive.
He veered off his path just slightly. He saw that there was a stream, and his mouth was parched. He took a canteen out of the left pocket of his bag and leaned over to fill it.
Also in the left pocket, he dug out the filter. He extended the rod of the silver, cylindrical technology to reach the bottom of the canteen. He couldn't risk getting a disease.
While he waited on the 3-5 minute waiting period, he listened intently for anything dangerous. He wished he could have a radar sensor or hearing extender (like a hearing aid for the elders, but better), but he knew he would just be tracked. From his research, he knew that the Defy had the ability to track advanced technology.
A loud wooshing sound overhead distracted him. A ship, painted orange, it seemed, soared overhead.
"Pretty strange to land in a warzone," he pondered aloud.
"Stop," a garbled voice behind him demanded. "Or I will kill you."

*

He was stupid, he realized. He was too arrogant, thinking it was so easy to escape. He had allowed himself to get distracted by the passing ship, that he didn't even hear a pursuer. He didn't even think of the possibility he would be followed.
He turned slowly and held up his hands. The Defy looked at him, its feminine pure black eyes devoid of compassion. They were only filled with hate.
The Defy were humanoid in appearance. They had light copper skin, barrel chests and bald heads. Defy were incapable of growing hair, considering how warm the natural climate is in Darwin.
This one was skinnier and lengthier, possibly a more agile race. It stood at over 7 feet tall and wearing body armor that protected every part of skin from the collar down, regarded him maliciously. Noah recognized from his studies that this was a Hunter. Now that he realized this, he noticed the subtle glint of pink over the left eye. It was a device known to track footprints.
It had been tracking him all this time. Perhaps since the city. The Defy truly were evil; willing to track every last human and slaughter them all.
"You have two choices," the Defy said slowly. The English language new to their alien mouth. "Death, or Engagement."
Like hell, I'll choose Engagement. It's just a fancy word for life-long slavery.
"Fr swar Cwa huwwat ranh."
The Defy's facial features realigned. Maybe it was a look of amusement. Noah's hand slowly creeped to his head.
"There is no third option. Surrender now, or die."
Noah smirked. He scratched at the right earpiece holding his glasses on his face. From a tiny hidden socket, a ball-like object fell to the ground.
"What was that?" The Defy's razor sharp eyes detected the movement.
Noah sprang into action and ducked. His body falling onto the tiny ball.
The Defy crumpled to the ground. Its hands covering its ear canals.
Noah shot to his feet, grabbed his map and canteen, and darted. The ball let out a high frequency sound that stunned the Defy. They had heightened senses of vision and hearing, higher than that of any human. A high enough frequency, while being unable to be heard by humans, can and will subdue a Defy, for a limited time at least.
He managed to escape, but he would only have minutes before the Hunter would be back on his trail. He prayed he remembered to pack chalk to spread on his shoes. It might be the only thing to save him.
He followed his map to the end of the wilderness. The trees broke through to hell in the horizon. A huge Defy ship, spacing out at least 300 miles filled the morning sky.
Fear filled Noah's belly. He stood in awe for a few more seconds before he remembered he needed to flee.
He took a swig of his canteen before shoving both it and the filter in his bag. He zipped it back up and swung it over his back.
And then he was falling. He had tripped over himself on a fallen corpse. A human corpse.
Bile rose in Noah's throat. He was just a boy, maybe half his age. He had light sandy hair, pale skin, and even paler,  grey eyes.
Well, only one eye. A Defy had blasted this boy's head open. His seared face was still steaming from the hot, burning laser rifle.
"I'm sorry," Noah squeezed out through hyperventilating breaths.
Zwoong.
Noah ducked as the Hunter's laser rifle just missed charring his own head.
His blood froze in his veins. It was one thing to read about, to plan about. It was another thing to see it. To feel on his fingers what would happen if he were blasted.
The Hunter approached him slowly. And if looks could kill, he would be long dead.
He had one more stun ball on him, but he had already used his trick. The Hunter would kill him dead long before he could grab it.
He supposed he had chosen death after all. He closed his eyes and waited to die, side by side with this boy.
Bang!
Noah opened his eyes. It was a sound he had not heard before, it was loud and abrasive. Like fireworks. He glanced upwards at the Hunter. His breath caught in his throat at the missing hole in its side. Purple blood oozed from the gaping wound.
The Hunter fell to its knees. Blood fell like a river from it mouth. It collapsed, presumably dead.
Noah stood on shaky legs and turned to meet his savior.
A dark skinned human male stared back at him, holding some older weapon of some kind.
"You should probably come with us. Kinda looks like there's a war going on."