13 Chapter 12
Jacob's mind was in turmoil. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He had been frozen with shock as he watched Dr. Amrit examine the body of the guard, a victim of the vicious lizard-like creature that attacked the area. Dr. Amrit had shaken his head sadly. "His chest cavity was pierced by one of the monsters' tails. It's likely he died instantly when it pierced his spine."
The news hit Jacob hard. He stood up, feeling sick to his stomach, and moved away to vomit. He couldn't stop blaming himself. Was this his fault? Should he have stopped people from leaving their homes? He couldn't believe he had been so stupid, not realizing that the predators would come out at night. "HOW COULD I BE SO STUPID!?"
"This is no time to feel sorry for yourself, Jacob," said Adewale, his voice cold and stern. "This man was a guard doing his duty. He knew the risks. You must face the reality that death is a part of life. As long as you are the leader, you will probably have to deal with situations like this again. So, you must get used to it."
Dr. Amrit patted Jacob's shoulder comfortingly. "We'll take care of the rest of the mess here. We've already notified the colonists about the risks of going out at night. Jacob, get some rest."
Jacob couldn't stand to look at the bloody scene any longer. He knew he had to do something, though. "Could we… could we ask for volunteers to help clear the tree lines during the day? Starting with a patch on either side of here, for safety. I'm not sure what to do about his body."
"Don't worry about these details, Jacob," said Dr. Amrit. "We've dealt with this kind of thing before. Maybe not on an alien planet with unknown predators, but I have dealt with death at the clinic many times. I'm assuming Adewale is no stranger to this kind of thing, either."
Adewale nodded in agreement. "Tomorrow we can plan out more details, but for now, we need to clean up this mess and get some rest. The volunteer squad I put together today has worked well. Some of them are sleeping now, and the others will take over in a couple of hours. Don't worry about nobody being around during the night." He tried to reassure Jacob that everything was under control.
Finally convinced, Jacob nodded. He turned to Li and said, "Thank you for saving my life. I don't know how to thank you enough."
"Jacob, Sir," said Li, giving a quick salute. "I'm glad I could keep the leader of the colony safe. However, I mourn the death of my comrade. Let me escort you to your residence, Sir."
Jacob was surprised by Li's sudden change in demeanor. When they had first met, Li had been much more demanding. Now he was speaking extremely professionally, even saluting Jacob. Being a leader was certainly strange.
"Goodnight, everyone. Thanks for all your hard work," said Jacob, his voice sad.
"When I was young, my parents had some people visit and give me a few tests," Li told Jacob as they walked. "I impressed them, and they decided to put me in military school, preparing me to join the special forces. That's where I learned English. Until I can find my home country, I'll help you keep the peace here. So far, you've proven to be an acceptable leader. The people you've chosen have already made a difference and I respect Adewale. Keeping 3000 people fed and calm during a day like this is no small feat."
"Well, tonight I clearly failed in many aspects as a leader," said Jacob. "The first thing I did was run."
"Sir, what could you have done?" asked Li. "That beast was the size of a horse, and its tails killed Ryan from 9 meters away. You had no chance to do anything but die. The choice you made to preserve your own life was the best one possible, for you and for the colony's stability."
They arrived at the square and walked to Jacob's house. "Jacob, sir, I should get back to my rounds," said Li. "I've safely guided you to your residence. Please get some rest. You've done well for your first brush with death. In my experience, many people would be mentally broken right now if they were in your shoes."
"Thank you," said Jacob. "Have a safe night, Li." He waved goodbye as Li left to continue his rounds, disappearing past some apartments as he was illuminated by the moonlight.
Jacob opened the door and walked inside, immediately heading to the far corner. Leaning his back against the wall, he slid down until he reached the cold concrete floor. Closing his eyes, a few tears ran down his cheeks as his body shut down and he passed out, clearly exhausted from such a crazy day.
Population count: 2998 - 2 dead
****
Sarah still couldn't wrap her head around the events of the day. This morning, she had been celebrating her 18th birthday and making plans for the weekend with her friends. Now, she was a leader in some colony on an alien planet? She still couldn't understand what was going on. When could she go home? Where were her parents?
The only comfort she had was the two people who came to her, offering their support and telling her they would keep everything under control until help arrived. They suggested she let them make the rules, since they had experience with this kind of situation.
While Sarah waited inside, the two people gave a speech to the town on her behalf. She also received a notification on her "orb thingy" that she had gained 750 GG points, though she didn't understand what that meant. When the two returned, she asked them about it.
They said they could use those points to buy things to keep them safe. However, the two advised her not to spend any unless she asked them. Just to make sure it wasn't a waste.
They even offered to help organize the colonists on Sarah's behalf. All she had to do was provide them with weapons from the store that the "weird orb things" had. Using these weapons, the two men even stopped some bad people from stealing food from the colony. They told Sarah that they had to kill them, or else they would kill her. Hearing this terrified Sarah, so she purchased more guns for the two men.
The men went around the colony, making sure that no one else tried to steal anything, and also sent some people out to find food and water. Sarah was grateful to the two men for their help, always taking care of the hard work and leaving her alone in her room to cry about home.
Population count: 2935 - 65 dead
****
Dean Rich was having the day of his life. The day before, he had lost his entire fortune and empire because of fraud charges, and he had been facing jail time. But now, he found himself on New Eden, and not only that, but he was also the king! The aliens had decided that he would rule humanity. Finally, he could become the richest man in the world, and rule it too!
Although people knew his name, they didn't know his face very well. So, when he organized the colonists, he put on his best sales pitch face and successfully convinced them to follow his rules, earning him 3000 points for maintaining peace during the first colony meeting.
Once he learned about the points system, Dean immediately found a few tough members of the colony with the right skills. He offered them rations, meals, and free rein. So long as they policed the colony and protected him. He told them to call his name was "Dan."
Most of the people agreed to his offer, but those who didn't were swiftly removed. Dean didn't want word getting out about his true identity, and he wanted those who stayed to know that he meant business.
Using the AI orb, Dean sent a message to the colonists under his control, telling them they must contribute labor to receive food. Like wood, metals, water, food itself. And made a protocol in each AI to report any user that did not follow these rules. They would be reported to the guards and executed.
This did not go over very well with many of the colonists who were already stressed to the breaking. They began to protest and complain in the square and entered the storage facility to take HIS food.
Dan could not allow this, so he ordered his men to kill everyone.
He even spawned a smaller futuristic handgun for himself. While this bloody event happened, Dan couldn't help but smile, reminding himself once more.
He was king!
Population count: 2788 - 212 dead
****
Leon was about to get some rest, finally finished with a day of forced labor under their new dictator. But before he could, the building shook, and he heard a loud booming noise.
*RUMBLE*
When he stepped out of his apartment, he saw a column of smoke and flames coming from the storage facility, or what used to be the storage facility. Now, he couldn't see the building above the apartments, just smoke and flames.
*RUMBLE*
He thought he saw a bright light in the distance coming from a small mountain, but it quickly flew past him and landed two blocks away. In an instant, there was a flash of light, and then darkness.
*RUMBLE*
A few moments later, Leon could barely lift his head up, as the explosion had thrown him a couple of meters back.
Another burst of fire exploded on the other side of the colony, the blast wave causing more dust and ash to be blown around him.
"Help… please," a weak voice moaned nearby.
He looked to his left and saw a woman trying to reach for him, but half of her body was under the rubble of the apartment building that he had been standing in a moment ago.
*RUMBLE*
The ground shook again, and through the smoke and flames, Leon saw a silhouette. His eyes couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. It was a massive creature, looking like something from a giant monster movie.
The body was covered in hard, grey, rocky scales, and it walked on six legs. It was as tall as any skyscraper Leon remembered from Earth, with four bright red eyes, each as large as a car, but more rectangular than circular.
These were the last details Leon saw as the beast opened its maw, releasing a bright, fiery light that vaporized him and the remaining survivors of the colony.
Population count: 0 - 3001 dead - colony eradicated.
****
There was one colony for each sponsor civilization in the council. The 1003 human colonies had all collectively lost 100349 individuals. While countless more had died from the colonies of every other sentient race on the planet.
Jacob had a sound sleep that evening, the exhaustion forcing his body to rest regardless of the lack of bed and bedding. Unaware of the chaos and horror on New Eden.
