1 THE ELEVENTH BATTLE
"Get down!"
This cry from behind made the group of children at the forefront of the battle immediately drop their bodies to the ground. Immediately, a bolt of lightning struck the army of people running forward.
Howls and screams could be heard as the bolt hit its target.
The smell of charring, the smell of burning flesh, emanated.
The five teenagers lying on the ground turned their heads in the direction a few meters behind them. Earlier, a dozen or two people had come galloping after them, but they were already gone.
"All right, there's a lightning Queen up ahead," one of them hissed.
"Come on, move!" shouted another.
They hurriedly crawled forward, along with the other infantrymen, who charged while opening fire. As the enemy counterattacked, who knows how many lives were wasted.
"Ants!" one of the boys pointed at the enemy troops moving so quickly forward.
The five teen immediately stood up and fought back. Bursts of fire, gusts of wind, lightning, and water. The young people unleashed their attacks to repel the enemy. But the enemy troops seemed endless.
"We have to run."
The hoarse voice came from Elijah's lips. The short-haired, hazel-eyed seventeen-year-old quickly scanned the area. His instincts told him that the longer they stayed there, the chance of survival might never come again.
"Where?" his friends asked in unison.
Elijah pointed to the thick trees on the left, but it was a slope that way. It was too dark, too. The others shook their heads quickly, no one knew how deep or steep the slope was. They had received orders to stay away from the left side of the forest because it was a steep slope.
"We'll die if we stay here!" cried Elijah in anger and despair.
The young man got up and ran half-bent into the left flank of the forest. The rest of his companions looked at each other, but decided to follow Elijah. There was no commander, no more lieutenant, no telling where the men were.
"I don't know what's better. Being killed by aliens or being punished by our commander later," one of the boys complained.
"If we survive," the other replied.
They ran quickly up the side of the forest. When they reached the edge, Elijah threw his body recklessly down the slope. His body rubbed against the ground, the bushes, and he tried to maintain his speed, but to no avail. Behind him came the moans, the screams of his friends who were also sliding free.
They didn't know how many minutes they had been sliding down, but it felt like an eternity. Until they reached the end of the slope and found themselves on a flatter surface. Down there, the sounds of the battlefield were still clearly audible. Though not too loud or full of gruesome sights.
"My back," complained one of the boys.
"It's so dark," said a girl with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail.
"Are you all right?" asked Elijah.
The others replied in unison, "Yes."
After a few minutes, the five young people just stood there. They didn't know what to do, since their previous plan had fallen apart. The enemy troops were really strong and had even destroyed a considerable number of the human troops.
However, the human commander's estimate was wrong. Apparently, the enemy had two to three times the number of humans. It would be impossible to eliminate the enemy, except for killing the leader.
"We have to destroy the Queens," Elijah said later.
"How can we get close? While you see for yourself, what are the troops like?" The girl shuddered and was on the verge of tears. "I can't take it anymore."
"Be strong, Bernice," said the young man next to the blonde girl. His name was Lucas, and his hair was short, black curls. "We've survived these last few months. We can make it."
Three months, to be exact.
During those three full moons, they had killed ten Queens, the main leaders of the alien invaders. However, it was by no means an absolute victory, as the human casualties were not comparable.
Elijah and his friends were recruited as frontline troops because they were special children. In fact, all children on Earth are considered "special" because of their powers.
"We walk the path, then we attack the Queen from behind," Elijah said.
"Easy for you to say." One of the blond youths crossed his arms. "Don't even try, Elijah. We're trapped!"
"Can't you trust Elijah? We already defeated ten Queens thanks to him," Lucas argued.
Isaac, the blond hair one, just snorted quietly. "Fine. Show me the way to death, Eli."
One of them, with slanted eyes and yellow skin, said nothing. He just shoved Elijah's back to show him the way. Then he let out a light from his palm, like a flashlight.
"Thanks, Josh," Elijah said.
They walked quickly through the forest, ducking their heads occasionally when they heard an explosion from above. Who knew what the fate of the human army would be, Elijah just hoped they could hold out a little longer until Queen was taken down. That is, if the five youngsters could get close to the queen who was leading the battle.
"Can't you fly us, Bernice?" Isaac complained.
The girl shook her head and said, "My energy seems to have run out. It's so hard to even walk."
"The enemy forces are too many," Josh said. "They are increasing their numbers and attacking us in a big way."
"Are they hiding something?" asked Lucas.
Josh shrugged. "Maybe it's one of their strongest Queens. Or several Queens, I don't know."
"Or maybe they know humans are not to be underestimated," Isaac said.
[Warning]
The voice echoed along with the holographic screen before Elijah's eyes. Only he could see and hear it. Elijah was immediately alert as soon as the holographic screen disappeared from view.
"Turn off your lumen, Josh!" Elijah ordered in a hurried whisper.
"What's going on?" asked Bernice.
"Keep your eyes open. There's something behind that slope," Elijah said, pointing to the hillside a few meters ahead of them.
They walked very carefully so as not to make any noise. As they approached the slope, a bright glow came from behind it. Sometimes the light was white, then bluish, alternating with other colors.
Lucas peered cautiously, his eyes widening. Then he went back into hiding. "That's Queen."
The others just gulped.
"She looks different from the previous Queen," Lucas continued.
"Should we—"
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion that hit the slope. The hillside instantly shattered, sending the children hurled. To the sound of their moaning and groaning, Lucas looked down at the girl lying next to him.
"Oh, no, no, Bernice," Lucas said in panic.
Bernice fell unconscious with a nasty cut on her forehead.
"Get her out of here," Elijah ordered.
Lucas pulled Bernice up and carried the girl away. From beyond the hillside, which no longer existed, came the dashing figure of an alien named Queen. Her body glowed with colorful lights, and she was about ten feet tall.
"She's like carnival lights," Isaac hissed.
"I was just about to say that," Josh chimed in.
The two nodded at each other, then ran toward the Queen from two opposite directions. Isaac immediately shot a burst of fire from his hand and attacked Queen. From the other side, Josh made the same attack. He shot a bolt of lightning at the alien.
Meanwhile, Elijah just stared at Queen, whom he had never seen before. Suddenly, a status appeared in Elijah's vision.
[Warning]
[βασίλισσα καταβροχθίζω Ͱ 15]
[αέρας Ͱ 2+]
[γη Ͱ 1+]
[Φωτιά Ͱ 5+]
[κεραυνός Ͱ 0+]
[τηλεκίνηση Ͱ 0+]
[νερό Ͱ 2+]
[επαναφόρτιση Ͱ 5]
This status indicated that the Queen they faced was a formidable opponent. One of the alien leaders who would not be easily defeated. In fact, they wouldn't be able to defeat her. Meanwhile, Josh and Isaac had acted rashly by attacking openly.
"Stop! Run!" shouted Elijah. "She's no match for you!"
Isaac glanced back at Elijah, then a blast of fire struck the young man. Elijah saw Isaac's body bounce and crash into a tree. Smoke billowed from his half-burned body.
"Oh my God!" Elijah ran over to Isaac.
Isaac was still alive, although his condition was quite serious. His breathing was short and he was unconscious. There were burns on his arms and other parts of his body.
"Shit, Isaac!" cried Josh.
Josh's eyes were wide with rage as he lunged blindly at the alien, who was only a few feet away.
"Josh! Don't!" warned Elijah.
Queen lunged at Josh, seizing the opportunity when the young man was caught off guard. Then Queen's hand gripped the young man until he couldn't move. Within seconds, tentacles emerged from her back and wrapped around Josh. She immediately drained the energy from the young man.
Elijah didn't know what to do. All of his friends were down, and they were the only ones there to face the high-class Queen.
'Why?' Elijah thought. 'Why did this have to happen to us?'
