306) The Salvation of Eden, Chapter 70 — As glory fades

As the Commander neared the spider statue, he shouted in a language none of them had heard before (except Reilly, but she was too far away). A thunderous cracking split the air as the statue exploded in a shower of cement dust, rapidly expanding, expanding, until it towered above them, an enormous metallic spider. It was at least as high as a 3-story house, multiple eyes gleaming red, its eight armoured legs tipped with vicious spikes.

The Commander ran under the creature’s body, between the legs, heading for the forest. Dominic took one quick shot at his back, but missed.

Reilly, pounding up the trail to find Lenny, found her still sitting in the dirt, no longer in disguise, cradling the Archer Captain, the Commander bearing down on both of them.

Frantic, Reilly raised her Wand, but nothing happened. “LENNY!”

Lenny didn’t respond, didn’t even look up. In that moment, she just didn’t care.

The little girl and the armoured swordsman locked eyes, both at the end of their endurance, both angry, defeated and desperate all at once. He reached for a dagger to throw, but had none left. His right arm hung limp, bleeding heavily, Dominic’s arrow still embedded in his bicep. He swayed. Reilly swayed.

He took a deep breath, raising his sword with his good arm.

Reilly took a deep breath too, and a flaming sword burst to life between her hands. “RRRRAAAAAHHHHH!!!” she screamed, and charged straight at him, teeth bared and snarling, like a wild animal.

The Commander, surprised, backed up, then turned and ran. He’d had enough, his army gone, the cavern in shambles. None of this was worth it. It was time to find a different job. To Hells with Graxia.

Reilly stopped, watching him, the flaming sword burning bright in her hands. At the wooden bridge, he broke into a full sprint, heading for the river, for freedom. Reilly laughed. “Coward.” Then her sword petered out and she collapsed in the middle of the path.

Lenny hadn’t budged, or even looked up, still cradling the Archer Captain and stroking her hair.

* * * * *

Gorb shook Melkorn furiously, shouting in his face, waving his spice-packet under his nose. “Melkorrrn! Come ON! We need ya! MELKORRRN!!!”

As the gigantic metallic spider scuttled toward them, rapidly closing the distance, Grok downed her Healing Vial, strength filling her body in a warm rush.

She faced the beast, her cloak flying open, wands levitating all at once. The first, Paralysis, had no effect. The second shot a thick stream of acid, hitting one of its legs. The metal smoked and bubbled, but the creature didn’t seem to even notice, let alone slow down.

The third bathed the creature in a shaft of milky white light. No effect.

Telekinesis? Too heavy.

Force wall? It’d just step over it.

Two left.  She discharged them both, silver-orange beams and crackling green energy blasting its body. The metallic nightmare stumbled, seeming to lose its balance for a moment, but quickly righted itself, and advanced, unscathed.

Dominic's arrow pierced one of the glowing red eyes, milky fluid squirting out. It didn’t even flinch.

Gorb threw his Exploding Potion and hit its midsection. The explosion shook the entire cavern, blasting off two of the spider's legs. But six seemed to be more than enough, and then it was on top of them. Grok stepped up to take the brunt of the attack, keeping its attention on her, dodging and twisting side to side as huge metallic spiked legs stabbed viciously, impaling the ground, spraying fountains of earth into the air. Dominic kept firing for its eyes while Gorb got back to his feet and rushed in, leaving Melkorn unconscious.

Devona, still hidden between the barracks, screeched, “The arrow! Dominic! The ARROW!!”

He hesitated. Would it work? Was this actually a spider, or a machine, or even a golem? What if he wasted it? What if he missed?

“DOMINIC!!”

He reached for the “magic arrow” Lenny had procured so long ago, the psychic in Annuvin assuring them they would need it someday. Grasping the cold metal, he nocked it and drew.

Grok was writhing and twisting for all she was worth, but one of the stabbing sword-legs glanced off her shield and she staggered, off balance, like she’d been hit by a falling tree. She reached for her Special Wand, her family heirloom. She had always wanted to use it before she died, and now was the time. But before she could punch in the code, a brutal metallic spike impaled her chest, piercing her breastplate, slamming her body into the ground. The Wand fell.

Dominic released, aiming for the body, knowing it was his only shot. The black shaft streaked forwards, transforming into a beam of bright green light, searing a tiny hole right through the beast’s body. Waves of green and white lightning rippled across the carapace, and the spider convulsed, twitching. It staggered to the left, then crashed to the ground with a grating crunch, smoke and dark liquids pouring out of its carapace.

Miraculously, it was over.

For about 3 seconds.

For some absurd reason, it was at that moment that Melkorn finally woke up, rising to his feet, staring around at flames and death and a huge smoking metallic spider. Nothing made sense. All these people were yelling at him. Some bald man with a beard had a war-hammer! Melkorn roared into action, thinking he was about to be attacked, swinging straight for Gorb from only a few steps away.

Gorb, exhausted, tried to dodge the blow, but he wasn’t fast enough. Luckily, Dominic was, leaping from behind and tackling Melkorn in mid-swing, grabbing hold of the axe handle and, with the entire weight of his falling body, knocking his strike into the dirt. Melkorn spun, punching him in the shoulder. It was like getting kicked by a horse, and Dominic plowed into the dirt himself, the wind knocked out of him. But he had bought Gorb enough time, and the old Klliik swung with all his might, clobbering Melkorn right in the back of the head.

But with Melkorn’s potion-toughened skin, he merely paused, confused, as though curious as to why someone was poking him. Gorb smashed the back of his head again, a blow that would easily kill a man. Melkorn grabbed him by the throat with both hands, face contorted with rage as he squeezed. Gorb flailed uselessly, gurgling, as his eyes rolled back into his head.

“Sorry friend,” Dominic muttered, picking up the battle-axe, and swinging. The blade hit Melkorn right in the temple with enough force to easily cleave his skull in two. It was like hitting stone.

But finally, Melkorn collapsed, he and Gorb falling together, neither moving at all.

Grok's breath had become bloody foam as her life force slipped away. But a drop of something hit her lips. Then another. Another. The foam turned back to breath. A vial was tipped into her mouth, and she drank eagerly, once again feeling the warm rush of Life filling her body. She opened her eyes long enough to see Devona above her. “Thank…you.”

Standing nearby, Kohra downed her own potion. She was woozy, her shoulder bleeding heavily from that dagger. She gasped as this incredible, warm rush filled her like every cell in her body was soothed in a warm, healing bath. Within seconds, the wound disappeared, strength returned, and she was alert, ready for action.

But…she just stared. The cavern was an absolute disaster. Fires were everywhere, the entire storage building, the mess hall, and three of the barracks shooting flames and pouring smoke, choking the cavern with a thick, acrid cloud. The huge Spider-machine leaked hissing green fluids into the ground, bubbling and smoking. Ashes fluttered all around like a black snowstorm. And every single member of Graxia’s defence-army was dead. Only the Commander had escaped; she had noticed him just moments before he hopped into one of the boats and disappeared through the river’s outflow-hole, far underneath their little cave, where all this had started.

Dominic and Gorb took hold of Melkorn’s armpits and half-carried, half-dragged him across the cavern, over the first bridge, past the circular meeting area, then across the second bridge. Lenny and Reilly were supposed to be up here somewhere. He hoped they were okay. The others followed, Kohra supporting Devona, who was completely spent, with Grok shuffling, exhausted, behind them.

As they approached, Lenny dully registered that the fight was over. Gently, she laid the Archer Captain’s body down, leaving it on the pathway. She took off her cloak, laying it overtop. She didn’t look at anyone, didn’t smile, didn’t crack a joke, didn’t say anything. Her eyes looked dead, like a light that was supposed to shine from inside had been extinguished. She bent down mechanically, and picked up Reilly, who hung limp in her arms, sound asleep.

Together again, but each person feeling a million miles away, they moved unsteadily into the little forest, not even caring where they were going. After a minute, Lenny stopped; she didn’t care if this was a good spot; she didn’t care about anything. She activated the Wand of Secret Camping one more time, and they all slumped to the ground, nobody speaking, nobody looking around, nobody keeping watch, nobody doing anything.

* * * * *

As they lay on their backs, looking up at the sliver of morning sky brightening through the pine needles, each person went through their own personal arc of feelings, from guilt and horror, to pride, to gratitude for still being alive. But mostly horror, their minds echoing with screams.

Except Melkorn. When he groggily opened his eyes to find himself staring up at pine trees, he had no idea what had happened. He remembered charging into battle, and then pretty much nothing. But he had a mean headache. He must have taken a bad hit. It was a good thing his friends had saved him.

He was so proud of his friends. It was the first time in his life he’d had friends like this. They were the first people he’d ever been close to, who didn’t make him the butt of all their jokes. They even respected him! He grinned up at the trees, grateful to be alive, watching the faint pink of the faraway night sky slowly fading as the day began.

* * * * *

Kohra was thinking of home, of how much they had all changed. How many months had it been now? She’d lost track. It was early spring when this all started, just before Planting. Now it was…she wasn’t actually sure anymore. Late fall maybe? Early winter? Less than one year had passed, and she felt like a totally different person. She had killed people. Almost been killed herself. She’d been shot. Sliced open. Been attacked by a Demon. Twice.

But they had also, somehow managed to accomplish more than seemed possible. She’d had a whole career as an entertainer! They’d met some astounding people, seen powers she’d never imagined possible. Stopped Time. Stolen a legendary weapon. Defeated an army. Fallen in love. (Twice.)

And to think she’d once stood frozen in terror at a single soldier peeing on a tree.

Still, the screams haunted her. She wondered if those soldiers missed their families, wondered if they actually were “evil,” or maybe they were just regular folk who got caught up in unfortunate circumstances. Maybe they were lost, the downtrodden, the abandoned, just trying to make their way in the world.

She shook her head, trying to expunge the guilt from her heart. It didn’t matter, she reminded herself. It didn’t matter how terrible the circumstances you come from; you still have choices to make. You can side with those who are working for power and destruction, or you can side with those who are working for life, and beauty and protecting the world from the depravations of the greedy.

That’s the truth, isn’t it? Sometimes, the ends do justify the means, don’t they? She remembered once a “spiritual teacher” who came to Ms. B’s class, and tried to teach them that this philosophical conundrum was a mis-framing of true ethics. As he put it, “There are no ends; only means.” But she didn’t agree. Not then, and certainly not now. If you don’t stand up sometimes, fight for what is Right, fight for those who cannot, then Destruction wins, Evil wins. To think that “there are no ends” seemed naive.

But she had never wanted to kill. She wanted to live a peaceful life. Have a family. Enjoy the company of friends. Laugh. Sing.

If only everyone felt that way, THEN maybe there’d be no difference between ends and means.

Kohra breathed deeply, and looked up at the delicate pink that remained of the night sky, peeking through the pine needles above them. She didn’t know what this all meant, but they were still alive, still together.

Those were her thoughts as she fell asleep.