Chapter 33: EDEN

Date: November 25, 3007
Time: 09:00
Location: Navasota Island

The sun started its daily routine of mundanely beating down on the earth with intolerable heat. Below the sickly rays, the island of Navasota stood firm like a stubborn child, unwilling to yield. The green sea of trees was surrounded on all sides by the infinite ocean. But there was something else; a sea of black…

Maldran Argali’s head jerked upwards. For a moment, he thought he felt the ground rumble. But just then, the floor below him began to shake. Pebbles rumbled in undefined patterns on the ground and fell ultimately off of the cliff. Something was coming…

A black sea engulfed the green; wave after wave, crashed through like the tides of the ocean. Maldran saw them come, and felt a smirk etch itself upon his face. For the ruler of the entire world, the tactics they employed were much too predictable. But something else was present. An odd chill ran down Maldran’s spine, something he had not felt in a long time. The black tide was endless, rising out of the ocean to merge onto land.

The bushes and vines whipped across his face as he ran, sprinting back to the hide out to alert his captain. The long march had come at last, as anticipated by Rena’s report two hours ago. Nexon was moving, closing in for the kill. In Maldran’s mind, he knew that General Nezzy realized the squad had turned sides, a sudden change of heart.

Bursting through the underbrush, Maldran suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He took a few steps back, flinching in shock and bewilderment. Before him, in the clearing in front of the hatch, stood 300 Warriors of Eden. Mikhail walked forwards with a hearty laugh, “Sergeant, we know this island better than you do. The very moment an invader steps foot on it, we know.”

He took a step past Maldran and whipped around, his red cape fluttering around him dramatically in an unknown breeze, “EDEN! TODAY, WE SHED THE BLOOD OF OUR ENEMIES. NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO DIE! YOU WERE TRAINED TO FIGHT, AND TODAY, YOU WILL PROVE YOURSELVES WORTHY OF BEING A WARRIOR OF EDEN!” A massive upsurge engulfed Maldran as each Eden raised their right hands simultaneously and let out an earsplitting cry.

Mikhail turned back to Maldran and Michael, who had just walked up, “Have no fear, brothers. We don’t know how to fail.” With a sly grin, he trudged into the trees. As he advanced, the Eden marched forwards, making no sounds on the soft lush grass of the clearing floor.

Suddenly, Michael shouted out, “Wait! What about us?” Mikhail halted dead in his tracks. Maldran thought he heard a snicker when Mikhail turned around, “You’re a Captain aren’t you? Command your men!” With that, he about-faced and continued into the wilderness to meet his foes in combat once more.

Michael turned back to his squad, each bearing a unique expression of befuddlement on their faces. Maldran could not help but admire the uniformity in the way Eden worked. It was as if they were a single unit, one body. It made him jealous of them, but it also scared the hell out of him.

“Sergeant,” Michael said, switching on his communicator, “We will be with Mikhail on the front lines. We will show them just what we can do in combat.” Maldran’s ears flinched at Michael’s orders. There seemed to be some fire in his words that Maldran could not see. Something in his captain’s voice seemed maniacal, almost insane. But an order was an order, and it was his sworn duty to follow it to the end, even unto death.

Michael straightened himself up and brushed stray dirt off of his black uniform. Yesterday seemed to be years ago. Everything seemed surreal, as if Maldran was dreaming. It wasn’t possible that all of this happened in one night. But then he realized he had been on the island for weeks on end. All sense of time had disappeared with his own feelings. He did not know what to think anymore. With the untimely death of Ryan, and their capture for two weeks, Maldran’s soul had left him. He had once said the body is the soul’s home. Bullsh**…

Date: August 16, 2997
Time: 00:30
Location: On the Boat: To Orbis

Maldran was falling into the darkness. Wisps of cloud in the night sky disappeared as he fell through, speeding towards the black waters of the ocean below. His life flashed before his eyes, but the image of a burning ship remained dominant. Above him, the last dying thrashes of his ship came to a finale and then died down all together. He watched in horror as both ships finally started their descent towards the earth. Flaming boards and steel plates rushed past him, racing him towards the sea of death.

He didn’t know how he did it, but once he opened his eyes, Maldran was on the surface of the water, kicking as hard as he could to stay afloat. Pondering how he had survived the tremendous fall, he kicked towards a floating piece of wreckage and clung to it for dear life. The oaken board opened its arms to him like a personal savior, and he climbed on top of it, thanking God for letting him live.

But then he realized it. Caleio was gone. It was a miracle he had survived the impact with the water. If she had lived the fall, the night would have experienced enough miracles for an age. No, he was sure she was dead. Maldran collapsed and wept for her. She was so young, full of joy and happiness. But everything had been taken away from her, leaving Caleio no choice but to ascend into heaven without him. Death was a lonely path.

Imagining Caleio’s beautiful figure as a specter soaring into the moon-lit sky, Maldran closed his eyes, never wanting to open them again. His body had started to ache, no doubt from the shock of the impact wearing away. But he was much too tired to care, and soon, he found himself with Caleio for one last time.

Date: November 25, 3007
Time: 09:30
Location: Navasota Island

“EDEN HIDE!” Mikhail’s voice reverberated through the forest’s trees. In a whirl of wind, each soldier had flipped behind a tree, invisible to all that moved in front, leaving Mikhail, the squad, Rena, and Nova out in the open. The Dominion was up ahead. Maldran could see their warriors checking the actions of their standard issued M-4 Maple Assault Rifles. The sleek black design reflected the pounding sunlight from above like a thousand mirrors. A sea of black in a sea of green…

A man stepped forwards from the lines of the Dominion. Through the numerous trees that still blocked the way in between the two forces, Maldran could see a Major’s insignia stitched onto the man’s right shoulder. “Major Fleo,” Maldran muttered under his breath. He always knew the major was an asshole: a major pain in the butt.

“Shale!” Fleo shouted across the one mile expanse of trees in between them, “Come quietly. We do not wish for further bloodshed. Surrender now and your sentence will be shortened considerably.” There was a pause; Maldran had the suspicion that Fleo was trying to see if Mikhail had anyone else besides them to fight for.

“We have you outnumbered!” Fleo continued, “Come forwards with your hands up and your weapons down!” Maldran took a quick glance at Mikhail’s ridiculously large machine gun. If anything, his grip tightened on the weapon. “Throw down your weapons!”

Like a lion proclaiming his kingdom, Mikhail roared back, “COME AND GET THEM!” With that, a sharp crack of what seemed like condensed thunder rang through the trees, shuttering the leaves above. Fleo’s eyes suddenly enlarged in shock as he grasped at his chest. Fresh blood oozed like a waterfall out of a gaping hole in his heart. Maldran smirked as the man fell down, drawing his last breath as Deirdre lowered her A-3 Asianic Sniper Rifle.

Immediately, the forest was engulfed in fire. Flames from muzzles licked the bushes as they ejected thousands of bullets across the dead zone into the other side. But as every single shot fired by the squad held true, the Dominion’s guns hit nothing but wood and grass. The constant racket of the automatic weapons blocked out all other noises, blanketing the island with the devil’s symphony.

Maldran dove to the side and landed behind a tree. To his right, an Eden sprang from behind his own tree and seemed to fly supernaturally through the air while strafing the Dominion. Ejecting a spent magazine, Maldran watched in bewilderment as the man landed and rolled over, already slamming another clip home.

Locking and loading, Maldran stepped out from behind the trees and squeezed the triggers of his Dual R-13 Redemption Sub-machine guns. They made a series of profound arguments before shutting up again. Each one of their words had the power to kill.

Maldran side-stepped and fell back behind a tree. The bark right next to his left eye blew apart just as he managed to hide his body from view. Pieces of wood careened through the air with deadly speed, lodging themselves into anything and everything. Maldran felt a jagged piece of a tree bark dig itself into his forearm. He emptied the rest of his clip into the Dominion before twisting the wood out.

Suddenly, a burst of wind engulfed the tree next to him. Maldran snapped his head right and saw Duck straighten himself up quickly and fall back to the safety of his tree. His M-2 Maple Rocket Launcher was smoking as he reloaded another rocket into the tube. Damiver was on Maldran’s other side, clacking away with his LF-9 Lions Fang Machine Gun. The ugly shaped rifles worked beautifully in his skilled hands. The cries of falling men on the other side brought to them, good news.

Inserting two new clips, Maldran leaped from his position forwards and to the left. Rolling up from the ground, he made sure his cover was adequate enough, for most of the trees had been blown to their very cores. It was Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest at its best. Only the thickest, sturdiest trees now remained standing.

A rocket whizzed by Maldran’s head and impacted a tree not far from his own. He ducked just in time as the explosion hurled branches and shrapnel right over his head, cutting deeply into the bark of his tree right where his head used to be. Cursing under his breath, he stepped out of his cover and unleashed another volley of bullets into the Dominion. Their men seemed to be closer, but whether they were retreating or that Eden was advancing, Maldran didn’t have the slightest notion to.

In the corners of his eyes, Maldran spotted Michael run forwards, his S-16 Scarab Assault Rifle ablaze with a fury that matched his eyes. He disappeared behind another tree with a terrifying yell. Another rocket rushed by but hit the tree directly next to Maldran. The force of the explosion threw him out of his cover and into the open.

Maldran’s head hit the ground with a dull thud. Rolling over in agony, he saw stars swirl around his head. Everything was muffled and blurry like a slow-motion dream. But then, a sharp crack snapped Maldran’s mind back into reality. He turned over just as the blown up tree fell down next to him. Maldran thought he saw Deirdre jump out of the tree, searching for another one to perch in.

Then, it hit him. The Shadows were no where to be found. But the very thought was driven out of his mind, replaced by a sharp pain in his right leg. Maldran suddenly noticed he was out in the open, and soon found himself dodging bullets like the rain. Releasing the rest of his magazine, he jumped back behind a large tree that was still mostly intact. Splinters flew through the air as bullets ricocheted off of the sturdy black bark.

Fumbling through his pack for extra ammo, he heard the roar of Mikhail muffled against the chattering of the fire, “EDEN, REGROUP AND FIRE!” The din was suddenly increased exponentially as a stream of fire erupted from their side. Catching a quick glance, he saw that every single one of the 300 had stepped out, completely unfazed by the horrendous amount of fire missing them by mere millimeters. But the Eden’s tactics proved to be as deadly as they were uniform, for when their clips emptied, the Dominion’s fire seemed to be diminished greatly.

A rush of wind brought the putrid smell of ash and smoke into Maldran’s nostrils. It was only then when he realized the carnage they had induced in the once lush and green forests of Navasota. The patch of trees had been reduced to an enormous clearing dotted with a limited amount of trees still remaining upright. Numerous little fires dotted the land before him like the candles of hell.

Though the Dominion’s numbers were overwhelming compared to Eden’s, Maldran thought they were giving one hell of a fight. All the stories he had heard about them seemed to prove true: not one was down yet. 300 versus thousands. It was a battle against all odds.

“WATCH OUT!” Maldran jerked his head up at the sudden intrusion and saw Damiver leap across to his tree. “One hell of a fight eh Mal?” he panted as he hastily reloaded his weapon.

“Yea,” Maldran replied in a false tone of sarcasm, “I can’t believe you’re still here!” With a chuckle, Damiver leapt away, his gun blazing with rage once more. Maldran watched him defy all laws of physics and run half way up the trunk of a tree, flip over side ways, and land behind another. The bullets followed him in an arc, but only managed to hit thin air. That crazy bastard…

As Damiver dashed away, Michael ran up to join him. He took a grenade from his pack and lobbed it around the side of the tree. Five seconds later, an enormous fireball enveloped the tree directly in front of them. “See you on the other side, Mal,” Michael grunted and sprang up once more, dashing into the smoke and flames.

Straightening himself up, Maldran heard Mikhail’s voice roar again, the 300 pairs of feet stepping out, the 300 assault rifles clacking away, and the hundreds of men falling down for the last time. 300 disappeared again, leaving only extra bullet casings as evidence of their presence. Maldran looked up at the sky. It was almost noon; the battle had been raging for almost two and a half hours. Surely the Dominion’s supply of men would have been exhausted by now. But in his mind, Maldran knew better. There were no ends to the forced conscriptions into the Dominion’s army.

It was what they were fighting for: to free the world from tyranny and oppression. For the first time in many years, Maldran felt a sense of hope overcome him. As the Eden all uniformly dived forwards from their cover to another line of trees closer to the Dominion, Maldran took the time just to soak in the moment. Through the intense hail of bullets and screams, he felt an eerie sense of peace creep over his long-forgotten soul.