Scout team Gamma

Chapter 2: The last city

"A ghost? what's a ghost? where are we? Where, who am I?" I asked the floating creature as it hovered nearby.

"You are my Guardian. I can't explain everything here, not now this is hive territory we aren't safe here. I need to get you to the last city." The creature. The Ghost replied Just then I heard it allowed piercing screech. "that's not good we have to go now! Hold still" the ghost exclaimed as it moved towards me before disintegrating into light. "okay now we can go."

"where? where did you go?" I asked curiously.

"relax I'm essentially in your back pocket. we just need to get moving it's safer this way"

I climb up through the dust, the dark, the rubble, and the bodies skeleton's rather. Until finally I see light, I push my way through the last bits of stone the site that I see shocks me to my very core.

I see earth hovering thousands of feet away I see the planet but not from the surface I'm seeing it from the moon vast empty deserts of silver. There are buildings around Oldham Browns some machines buried I don't see anymore bodies. I hear ghost start to speak "Moon colony Alpha it was an old mining town, the moon itself held a few resources mostly though it was trading post I never expected to find you here no matter." With a glimmer of lights ghost appears before me and starts to look around "There." he moves forward pointing to a large building it's several feet away across a vast open area.

I begin to walk towards it a leisurely pace still keeping a vigilant look out around me, I get the feeling I'm being watched. ghost hasn't disappeared yet he's hovering next to me looking around as well. "How are we here this shouldn't be possible we're on the moon. What are you? why are we here?" I ask impatiently, while walking. ghost turns to me before speaking again.

"I am a ghost I was made by the traveller to bring you back you are a Guardian a defender a protector, you protect the last city. I can't say more not until we get there-"

Ghost is interrupted by a chattering loud nearby. We both turned to the source ghost seems horrified, but I'm stunned a creature, a monster unlike any I've seen, it stands before me hands sharp and razor like, eyeless with a mouth of fangs, white like bone, thin as though malnourished and it looks at me. If you could call it looking. It's like it sees right through me, into my core I can barely register ghosts voice.

"Run! We need to run!" So, we do. We turn and run to the building, the escape. As we do, I hear another screech loud and piercing like it's cutting right through my very being. I turned back just for a second to see what the source was. I'm horrified to see it was the creature we saw, its chasing us, it's fast I didn't think it could move like that it's unnatural jerky. "There" I hear a shout. It's Ghost! "The gun use the gun!" he's hovering over an old assault rifle as I run past I grab it turning and shooting.

It hits. straight through the creature's skull is a hollow empty circle well the bullet just went straight through I freeze breathing heavily I just killed it I didn't know what it was, and I just killed it. I'm shaking I hear ghosts once more this time closer he's right next to me. "we have to keep moving." I breathe out slow and steady before looking at him and nodding.

We run, we run, and we run, and we don't stop not until we've made it to the building. Screeching, chittering, chattering, loud, loud, loud, ever louder. Gaining, gaining, gaining, ever closer. We make it to the door we turn around and I slam it, a pause, then another. They stopped. The chittering and chattering, the screeching. Stops. We breathe a sigh of relief and begin to look around the room.

There's a ship. It's old, worn and familiar. Its burgundy in colour, it's large, very large. A ramp is the only entrance, so we enter.

"It's an old Golden age cargo ship." ghost says amazed "Their rare, extremely rare. Does that console look active to you?" He asks moving to a flashing console in the front of the control deck. He opens releasing a blue beam towards the console. "It's asking for a 'Xernia' Who is Xernia?"

I pat my outfit looking for any pockets finding one in the front when I look inside there's a card pulling out it's an ID card "Xernia Burnside. Cargo Pilot class D." I read aloud moving to the console which has a space for a card. I pull the one I have out of its container and put it inside the console's dock. The flashing stops but nothing happens for a few seconds. Me and Ghost look around before turning back to one another. Suddenly a flash of light appears and theirs a woman sat in the control chair. She has short hair pushed to the side I can't tell about her other features as the hologram is only in orange.

She begins to speak "This is Xernia Burnside. cargo pilot for moon colony Alpha. class D pilot. If you're hearing this, it means I failed I couldn't save them. If it helps you either to help others or escape this hell, then use my ship. You can get more use out of it than me, but if it's me somehow, that's hearing this then we've been given a second shot don't mess up. The world will be unfair allot more than it is than I am here. You have to make a lot of tough choices, but you'll be able to get through them." she's cut off as warning lights begin to sound in the background "Shit they found us. I can't save everyone, but I can at least save the people I have. Use the ship, get to safety, make a better choice. Help people I couldn't. Good luck." she sits back calmly holding a gun next to her a pistol. "This is class D, cargo pilot Xernia Burnside. Signing off for the last time" and the hologram goes dark.

I sit and think for a few seconds before taking a breath turning to ghost. "what are the coordinates for the last city?"

"X 32, Y 50 and Z 729. Why?" He asks cautiously. As I sit in the control seat. I flick switches, press buttons and place my hand on a leaver to my left.

"Because I'm going to take us there and then you are going to explain everything now hold on."

I pull the lever just as suddenly as the ship was dead it bursts to life engines roaring systems coming alive the ramp that was the entrance closes behind us as we begin to take off the creatures were attracted to the noise then I can see them below us but we're out of reach. Oh well. I flick another switch and pull the lever back. suddenly was shooting up and up towards the planet in front of us towards home. We soon enter jump space as the light around us becomes nothing more than the tunnel and we move faster than we thought.

The entrance was smooth coming through the clouds and the atmosphere as we're approaching the area Saint Clair blue skies with the cloud one ahead, we blast through them can see for a few seconds but when I do it's gorgeous. a city standing told I'm proud underneath a giant white sphere go speaks over the radio, though I drowned him out. this is the last city this is where I make a difference, I lean back and take a breath as were brought in to dock automatically let's see where we end up.