The New Dawn – Part 2

The engines were buzzing loudly. The wheels were turning quickly. The sand was swirling. No light was turned on.

The Shaxes weren't dumb. They were preparing themselves on the horizon. An indistinct crowd of deformed creatures was waiting.

In their rows were hidden the three people they were supposed to save.

"Sir, are you sure that risking our troops for three people is wise?" asked the Captain to Pyramus

"In a way or another we have to free them"

"What would our Leader do?"

"He wouldn't budge nor retreat"

"What if the ones we're supposed to save have chosen their side?"

Pyramus didn't know how to answer it. In fact, the question never got to his mind.

"Are we…going to win…this?" asked one of the troopers who had his face hidden behind a mask like all the other people there, like Pyramus.

"I don't know, I just hope that it'll be quick and easy, like last time"

"Too long has passed since then. We don't know if the Shaxes have learned anything new. Our chances aren't the highest" stated the captain

"What if we're going to lose…this battle?" asked the trooper

The captain looked at Pyramus, waiting for him to answer that hard question.

Silence followed.

Longer than expected.

"We would try again and again. Whatever happens we will have to save them" said Pyramus

"What if they're not prisoners? What if we've been dealing with the Shaxes the wrong way?"

Pyramus looked at the trooper.

He thought that probably the young lad was new to all that. To war, death, and mutants.

Meanwhile.

They were moving closer to their enemies.

Gluskap opened the door. Mabdil was standing in front of him.

"Commander, what brings you here?" asked him without a clue

Mabdil didn't answer and got into the room.

"Mabdil?" Malsumis couldn't understand what was going on

The Commander put two pictures on the table. One had a mask on it and the other a face.

"What are those?" asked Gluskap

"Don't you recognize them?"

Gluskap gave them another look. It wasn't the first the time he saw those pictures. One was Pyramus's picture, and the other was the lost mask's one. They started a flow of thought which made him a little tense.

"What are you playing at Commander?" asked Malsumis

Mabdil ignored his question. He didn't lose eye contact with his target

Gluskap was speechless.

"Do you know how many shops have masks like this one?"

Silence.

"There is…one" answered Gluskap

"You both know about it. Isn't it right, is it?"

"I know nothing about a shop which sells stuff like that"

"Ever heard about the Antiqua Larva?"

"Yes…yes. I mean…"

"We don't know about that" cut Malsumis short

"My question wasn't for you. It was for your brother"

"He doesn't know. Don't you Kap?"

They were both waiting for any kind of answer from Gluskap.

"I…I…"

"It was the only place which used to sell your crap"

Those words pierced Gluskap like a storm of arrows. He couldn't believe that his favorite place was no more.

"I know who you are" stated Mabdil

Tithon ringed the bell. He was hoping that the room was the right one. Standing there with a bottle of the finest water was starting to be boring. At last, the door opened.

"Hey Thon, please come in. Just take off your shoes"

Alastor's friend did as requested while handing him the water's bottle.

"You didn't have to. We have enough water here. Thanks anyway"

Tithon felt a little flattered, but he appreciated it. Once water used to be a rare pleasure for him.

"Please, show me what we need to discuss about. Tomorrow I'll have an important meeting. I don't have a lot of time"

As Tithon said that Alastor and him moved to the table. The PC was still open on the windows about the city's new transportation's vehicle blueprints.

"So, what's the matter?" asked Tithon

"Look. It has been four hours, almost five and I've not been able to find a way to solve the fact that there won't be enough space for all the passengers. I've tried to expand the cabin but by doing it I've reduced the structural thickness which could be an issue going forward. How can I solve it?"

"Have you tried changing the seats or the engine position?"

"No"

"Alright, let's see"

They started working on the issue then. They did it for hours, while drinking water and joking.

One hour passed.

The issue was harder to solve than expected.

Alastor noticed that his friend was getting tired.

"Hey Thon, I just wanted to tell you that I was wrong about you" said him to change the subject

"Really? Do you remember that you used to mock me for being a Guel?"

"Yes…but it was the past. I mean, I think that you're more Halars than Guel right now. I don't even think that you have anything which keeps you bonded to the slums now"

"I used to have someone but they're…the past"

"You can't wait to meet Lilith again, right?"

"Yes. You said it right"

"And what will happen after it? I can't believe that you would settle for that"

"I won't. In fact, I will do anything to stay at the top"

"Ok. But your aspirations are limited to the city. I think that we should think bigger"

"Like what?"

"Do you know what's beyond Drekavac?"

"No. And why should I care? My present is in the city. I don't care about unknown places"

"Because…what's the point? For how long you want to be stuck in this endless loop?"

"I'm not in a fucking loop Al. I'm just trying to make my existence meaningfull"

"You're looking for meaning. Are you even free?"

Tithon didn't know how to answer at first

"I think that I am"

"Have you ever ki…" started asking Alastor

"What the fu…" Tithon cut him short but knocked the water's bottle on himself and wetted his clothes in the process.

They were still waiting. All out of their caves. Armored and ready to fight. A large column of smoke was coming up from the city in a block which was unknown to Kurban.

"Are you sure that being defensive will help us win against them?" asked him to the mutants King

"Now, I'm noyt. Butt thiss isd ours onlyd choicey rights nowe"

"What if they're going to take the Graveyard? Where're we going to stay next?"

"Thatt's ay questions ford anotherid timey"

"Is there anything beyond this sand's grave?"

"Yess, buyt wed donn't talky aboutd thats. Anywayd, thiss isin't whatt wed havey tos worryd aboust righty nows"

"What are you talking about?"

In the sky the stars started moving and blinking, unnaturally.

All the mutants looked scared.

A beeping. Its sound was coming closer. With the falling stars.

That beeping wasn't new to Kurban. An old memory was trying to emerge.

The star felt down.

Nothing happened.

Then he saw them. Pyramids, like the one used in the Alusta's bombing rolled a few feets from them.

"Get down," shouted him and jumped back

The King followed and gave the same instruction to the other soldiers.

The beeping increased its frequency. Like the blinking.

Boom.

The pyramids blew up to smithereens the mutants who didn't take cover.

After it followed a short moment of silence.

Deadly silence.

The Mutants King screamed, and all his army followed him. It wasn't a simple scream; it was a loud and roaring battle cry.

"What are you going to do?" asked Gluskap, worried

"Too many times I had the chance to bring you both down. Not this time" said Mabdil as he took his gun.

He was holding it with shaky hands.

"So, this is your plan, Commander. Do you think that no one will notice our disappearance?" asked Malsumis

"No one will care. Your clones are already ready to take your place"

"I don't think that this is your plan. I don't think that you're acting moved by your own will"

"Why that?"

"Because you are afraid. You're scared by what will happen next"

"I….am not afraid"

"Seriously, look at your hands. You're trembling like a rookie on his first day" joked Malsumis

"Do you really trust Lady Gehenna, after everything she has been doing to us?" asked Gluskap

"I had…no choice"

"We were a few but only three of us decided to be free of her. Why did you join her?"

"I was protecting myself. I was desperate. After the war she gave us the only way to endure in this system"

"Like slaves"

"No, like a people. Restored"

"Yes, sure. A people made of copies of a few survivors. That's not what People means"

"We survived. Our economy survived. Our life still had meaning"

"So, why do you want to kill us?" asked Gluskap

"I don't…" said the Commander as he moved the gun toward him, while having Malsumis behind him

"Pull the trigger then. If you want to kill me"

Mabdil put his finger on the trigger

"Do it"

The Commander was still shaking

"Do it"

The finger started moving

"DO"

"IT"

The trigger started moving under its pressure.

"DO…"

Bang.

A long and wide lab showed itself. Blue lights on the roof and red led on the ground to mark the path to the eight different rooms placed on the left and the right, each with its own number. In the center there was another room without a number. Just a shiny door made of steel.

Her mother moved forward, and she followed.

"Where are we?" asked Lily

"You don't remember, do you?"

The girl didn't know what to say

"This is the most relevant place in the entire city. Without it everything wouldn't even exist in the first place. Just look around and you will understand"

She nodded and wondered with her eyes.

The first room on her left was made mostly of water tanks containing multiple corpses of men and women who were naked, and their mouth was attached to a tube. A couple of scientists were moving around them with pads in their hands.

The second one on her right was a lab, where everything was white and cold as ice. Long rows of tables with circular cases were different kinds of meat, fish, fruit, any kind of food was being injected by different syringes.

As they moved on the next labs showed their content.

Lab 04 on her left contained a lot of steely tanks which were fuming and shaking. They were attached to long pipes which carried water to the other labs.

The one in front of this one has purple lights and an Ankh symbol near its number. Scientist in tight suits were moving around monstrous corpses and a black gooey substance was flowing in a large tub linked to a system of cruets.

The next, Lab 06, was greenish and a thick layer was set between her and what was inside.

"What's in here? What's that symbol?" asked Lilith

"In the past it meant that you must keep off because the level of radiations is too high inside it. I think that you'll find Lab 07 to your liking"

"Why? Wait, what's in the yellow lab?"

"Just the rebooting lab. You don't have to worry about that. Follow me"

They went into Lab 07.

Pitch Black.

"What's going on?"

"We're almost there"

Lilith was following her mother by tracking her steps with her ears.

Suddenly she stopped.

A dim light turned on. Slowly increased its intensity and revealed a huge arena full of creatures like her sister. The corridor surrounded most of it and terminated in a wall were was situated a golden hole with a symbol of two crossed fishes.

"I…thought that she was the only one"

"All of them, to be honest most of them, are like you and your little project called Tithon"

"Where are my sisters then?"

"You'll meet them. I just wanted to show you something"

Suddenly, the mutants crowd started moving.

"What are they doing?"

Lady Gehenna tilted her head and smiled.

After a while a familiar face emerged from the Shaxes herd.

Her sister was standing in front of her. She was speaking. She was trying to tell her something.

"Why can't I hear her?"

She was crying.

Lily couldn't understand what was going on.

"I want to talk to Resheph. Please mother. What is going on? Why is she here?" insisted the girl

Her sister was punching the thick glass which was between them.

Desperation.

Fear.

"I'm so sorry about that, I should have placed it somewhere else" tried to apologize himself Alastor

"Don't worry, it's just water"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It's nothing. Fortunately, this isn't my best suit" joked Tithon

"I think that I can give you a pair of mines. Would it work for you?"

"Thanks a lot man"

They moved to Alastor's bedroom, and he went for the drawer, the big one. He started looking for the right pair of pants. He was moving the clothes in a rapturous and tense way.

"Are you ok Al?"

"Just…you know. This situation is so embarrassing" while shaking his head

"As I said before, this is just water. I'm certainly not going to kill you for that. Chill, alright?"

Tithon's words didn't have the desired effect and Alastor didn't calm down. Not even a bit.

After a while he stopped and took a pair of striped pants. Their colour was the one of sand, shiny and warm.

"Try them on. I'll leave you the room to change. Let me know if…"

"I will. Thanks anyway. You're kind Al"

Alastor left the room and closed the door behind him.

Tithon tried them on.

At first it looked like they were perfect, but they felt too tight on the hips.

He took them off and started looking for an alternative.

There was too much choice. It impressed him. He wasn't poor anymore but in front of that drawer felt like she still was in his first house, the one he bought with Endymion. It felt like an eternity.

He was moving the clothes quickly when he hurt an object. It was hard and cubical.

He looked for it with the other hand too and found another side of the cube.

Then he moved a dozen of clothes and, after putting them on the bed, he managed to look at the object. It was a box.

He took it and dragged it out of the drawer. Then he turned it and found a familiar symbol on its side.

His hands started shaking and itching.

That symbol.

It was impossible. He couldn't believe it at first. Alastor was too loyal to be one of them.

He opened the box.

Alastor knocked at the door.

"Hey Ti, is everything alright there?"

The battle was infuriating in the desert. Two groups of soldiers were leading the advanced by firing against the Shaxes who were running toward them. Even though the mutant's number was overwhelming, the Hummingbirds were holding up well. The technology was on their side, but biology was their weakness. Not used to the desert and unable to see in the sandstorm without googles, their abilities were limited.

Pyramus was on his feet. Punching and shooting every mutant who approached him. By his side there were five soldiers.

"Sir, I think that we need backup" shouted one of them

"Not…yet" said Pyramus

"We need to hold the line till sunrise"

One mutant attacked them and killed two of them. It was insanely big. Bigger than the others.

Him and his fellow fighter turned and fired their guns to it.

It didn't go down. It was stronger than expected.

Two of them weren't enough to bring it down.

"Where are the pyramids? I've ran out of them" shouted Pyramus

The soldier looked around and then found four on a deceased comrade.

"Take them. I'll deal with him" ordered Pyramus as he took out his dagger and started fighting the mutants with it and his bare hands

Meanwhile his companion ran toward the lifeless body he saw before. He reached it and threw himself on it.

Not far from him there was another creature who was feasting upon a soldier who was dripping in blood and screaming.

The Titanic Shax was giving Pyramus an hard time. He managed to wound it, but it wasn't enough. His armor was too thick.

Suddenly, it disarmed him with a strong uppercut which let him fall on his back.

He was struggling down. Just his hands between the monster and his breast.

"Anytime mate," shouted him

The soldier hurried up and found the bomb. As he did it, the feasting Shax near him saw him and roared.

Then he threw the pyramid toward his boss. It fell a few inches from his right hand.

The huge mutant saw it and decided to limit his ability to move by scratching Pyramus's right arm with his fangs. He screamed but forced his arm to reach the bomb, nonetheless.

The other, meanwhile, was running toward the defenseless soldier.

It was closer.

Pyramus pushed the explosive artifact in the Shax's mouth, who swallowed it.

The other one was ready to jump on his mate, who was too afraid to face it.

As his adversary was blown to smithereens, he stood up and took his gun with the left hand, which was still able to use.

The creature jumped on the soldier.

He fired.

The creature felt down. One shot in the right spot. One kill. One soldier still alive.

Gluskap was still standing. A short scar on the right cheek. The wall behind him had a small hole in it. Like a moon's crater.

Malsumis was speechless.

Mabdil was still holding the gun.

Gluskap looked him in the eyes.

The Commander was in tears. He knew, deep in his heart, that it was wrong.

"I'm not able to kill any of you. I've never wanted to do it. Lady Gehenna ordered me to do it," told him

"Put the gun down then, Commander" said Gluskap with a calm tone

Mabdil wasn't sure at first, but it threw it away.

He was crying.

Malsumis was oddly silent.

"I…I did a lot of bad things. I…I…had no choice"

"You were just misguided. Now you can redeem yourself"

"But how? How can I…do…do it?"

"Just trust us"

Gluskap moved towards him and, carefully, hugged him

"I…I'm sorry. I've also…ordered the burning of… Antiqua…"

"We know. Don't worry"

Then he detached from him and turned toward Malsumis who was thinking. He was a bit aloof.

Then.

"Come here. I think that we both need to show you how understanding we are of your situation" told him while showing Mabdil his arms

Gluskap found it odd. His brothers never liked hugs. Probably he was changing.

The Commander walked toward him.

One step.

Two steps.

Malsumis moved a little.

Three steps.

Something was drawn out of his pockets.

The teary-eyed man opened his arms.

Four…

He stopped. He looked powerless.

His body collapsed on his knees.

Gluskap saw red drops falling on the floor.

A dagger in Malsumis left hand.

"Ti…why are you not answering me?" asked Alastor

Tithon was still shocked.

He took the mask in the box and then remembered. He also understood Alusta's bombing. He was the target, not the workers. The Hummingirds were the one who wanted to make him miserable.

"Ti…open the door. For God's Sake. What's going on?" insisted his friend

He didn't know why him, but he didn't care. What mattered was the fact that now he had a new goal. An objective which he would've accomplished by becoming the most powerful citizen in the city, not just the wealthiest.

"Do not force me to take the door down" threatened Alastor

He didn't flinch. Instead, he touched his scar and remembered what he gave up being there. It would've been just like last time. He stood up, took off his jacket and started slowly rolling up his sleeves

"Alright" said Alastor after a while

He stepped away from the door.

Tithon stopped rolling his sleeves.

He was waiting.

Alastor ran against the door and uprooted the door, which cracked under his strong kick.

Tithon didn't move.

"What is…" Alastor noticed the box

"You…you weren't supposed to find it. It was a secret," told him

Tithon moved towards him. His eyes were imbued of rage and bloodlust

"Wait…what are you…"

Tithon punched him in his guts, and he bent down.

A kick to his knees and he felt down.

"What…Wh.."

His aggressor gave him another kick on his thighs

"I…I don't…"

A punch on his nose.

Alastor was bleeding. Unable to defend himself.

"P…Plea.."

Another punch on his cheek.

He felt discobumbulated.

"Jus…"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU SON OF A BITCH" screamed Tithon finally

Another punch

Another

His face was becoming a grotesque mix of flesh and blood

"P…Ti…Hav…"

A strong punch on his forehead

"O…I…"

Tithon stopped and then put his move close to the damaged ear of his enemy, the reason of his pain and sleepless nights

"Feel it. Feel her pain" whispered in his ear

And then threw a powerful punch

Her sister was moving her distorted mouth and still knocking on the glass. She was begging with tears in her eyes. Lily was trying to understand her. In vain.

"Do you think that your sister isn't normal? Do you think that she doesn't deserve to be free like you?" asked Lily's mother

Her daughter didn't know how to answer it. She always thought that her sister was just a product of bad science, an unfortunate mutation, but she never considered her like an underling.

"You would be mistaken, you know?"

"Why? What are…you doing?"

"Because thanks to carefully engineered creature like Resheph that we are going to get out of this city"

"In Drekavac?"

"No, beyond it. For years what our generation left outside has been forbidden to us"

"What's outside?" asked Lily hooked

Suddenly a small window made of metallic drawers opened. Weak and limited, the light started to crawl into the mutants' cage, who started moving.

Her sister looked at it. A bigger fear was building up in her eyes. Bigger than her mother.

Lilith looked at her mother. She was waiting for an answer, but she didn't say a thing.

All the Shaxes were budging toward the wall which was standing in front of the small widow. The distance between them was quite remarkable. Dread was permeating the air.

"What are they doing? Why do they look like…they're running from something?"

She was worried. More than before.

"As perfect as the Shaxes are, everyone needs at least one weakness"

Kurban was watching the battle from the hole's entrance. He didn't want to go against a group of people who didn't understand and know. He had never seen all the violence which was unfolding in front of him. Never in his life.

He didn't know why the Hummingbirds were attacking them and if it was worth it. Too many lives were being slaughtered for an unknown reason.

One thing was sure. Their opponents were struggling to keep up with the insane number of soldiers on their front.

Until then he felt cold but, after three or four hours, a warm feeling started forming on his back.

He turned.

The sky was brightening. The sun was showing his rays on the horizon, rising slowly and quiet. The stars were disappearing, like it was an automation, like they were being moved by an invisible hand.

It didn't notice it at first, but the Shaxes started moving faster. Tension was in the air.

The sand was increasingly changing color from a dark blue to a pale gold.

Some mutants started running back into their holes.

At first, they were just a few but after thirty minutes they became hundreds.

The Hummingbirds were becoming more confident, as the sun was going up over the horizon.

The mutants, which used to be in control of the battle, started losing ground.

Then he saw the King leading what looked like a retreat. A sudden and inexplicable retreat.

"Geyt bacck tod they Gravveyardy" told him to Kurban, who didn't get it immediately.

He was trying to understand what was going on.

A few Shaxes presented what looked like bruises on their back.

The sun was half over the sandy horizon.

"What have you done?" asked Gluskap to his brother

The Commander body was lying between them. Lifeless.

"Saving your life asshole"

Hooters sound was coming in from the nearby streets.

Both went to the window and looked down. Whiskers cars were moving toward their location.

"Run, brother" said Malsumis

"What about you? We need you"

"I can't Kap. I need to be here"

"But you have Mabdil's blood on your hands, they will…"

"I know and I will take full responsibility for it"

The Whiskers started flooding into the building.

"Take your things and go away. We need hope. You give me that a long time ago. I'll give you enough time reach to flee and reach Zerzura"

They hugged. They didn't do it for a long time.

"I love you brother" told Malsumis to Gluskap

They detached and Gluskap ran away. He took his mask and weapons and rushed out of the door. The elevator and the stairs were both taken. He needed to improvise.

He went to the roof. No one would've looked there.

There was a smaller building beside his one. Eight meters from him there was another roof. He needed to reach the other building. He pulled out a long rope and tied it to one of the skyscraper's spires. The rest of it attached to a grappling hook which was in his bag.

He had only one chance to get the target.

He heard the Whiskers feet on the stairs. It instilled a bit of fear in his heart. He was worried about his brother.

He tried to focus. He chose his target. A medium sized window which was big enough for him to crash into. No one inside. Odd.

He fired his hook.

The mutants and his sisters were overexcited. The sunrays were pouring in from the windows and they were starting to spread in the cage.

"Why are they running from the sun?" asked Lilith

"Well, darling, they have been engineered to stand a certain type of radiation, but it appears like it hindered their ability to live under the sun"

"Engineered? I thought that they were mistakes"

"Ugliness doesn't represent failure"

"What is going to happen to them?"

"Just look"

The first Shax was touched by a sunray and his skin started burning.

The light moved slowly over all the others, Lily's sister too.

They all started screaming. They were in pain.

And flames.

A pungent smell started coming from the cage.

They were all trying to run from it, but it was impossible. There wasn't escape.

"Stop, please. I understood it. There is no need to torture them" begged her

"We're not just torturing them my dear"

Lilith couldn't believe those words.

"What about my sister, your daughter?"

"I have thousand more like her. I don't care if one of them dies, if we keep living"

Lily was without words.

"I want you to remember this day Lilith. I want you to remember what your purpose in this world is"

"Are we going to follow them back in their caves, sir?" asked one of the soldiers to a tired and wounded Pyramus.

"No, let them go back to their holes. Signal the retreat to the others"

"But sir, we're winning" asked the soldiers who couldn't understand his commander's orders

"Perteklinis will survive. His mates will survive. We'll come back to reclaim them when we'll be ready"

"What about the soldiers who perished to save them?"

"We will celebrate them back in Zerzura"

The sun was above the horizon's line. A golden ball of fire. The reason why they were still alive.

While his soldiers were falling back, the truth about the Shaxes problem struck him. It was like he was enlightened by the dawn which saved his life.

What looked like a mess was a well-prepared strategy of defense by the mutants. For ages he and the Hummingbirds has undervalued their intelligence. For too long they didn't understand them. They always tried to solve things with guns and violence.

A new strategy was needed. A new approach.

The Whiskers broke into Gluskap's flat and found Malsumis beside Mabdil's body. All of them couldn't believe to what they were seeing. No one wanted to move close to the murderer. They were scared and incredulous.

"Keep your hands up" shouted one of them

Malsumis did as instructed, with a strange grin on his mouth

"Co-Chief Malsumis, you're under arrest for the murder of Commander Masak Mabdil and treason"

Two of them cuffed him.

"Why did you do it?" asked one of them to him

Malsumis didn't answer.

While they were bringing him out of the flat, a Whisker approached them and showed to the one who was near Malsumis a piece of rope

"Sir, we find it on the roof"

His superior looked at it.

"He didn't go far. Set squads in the blocks, we'll find him. Do you know where did he go?" asked him

Malsumis kept his mouth shot

"Too bad Malsumis. I guess that you prefer to be rebooted rather than being with your brother" joked him

They brought him out and left the other Whiskers tending to the lifeless body of the ex-Commander Mabdil.

The crushed skull of Alastor was lying under his hands. Those were dripping blood. The floor was sprinkled by large spots of red. Tithon's shirt wasn't white anymore.

It was the second time that blood touched his clothes.

Sunrays were coming in from the huge windows, discontinuous.

The light was caressing her face and his body. He felt the sun warmth and stood up. Moved away from Alastor's body and walked toward the window. From there he was able to see the Hara.

Once it felt distant and unreachable. Not now. He felt power in his hands. A new kind of power. He knew that everything was going to be like he wanted from that moment.

He felt in control.

Lilith would have been his again and he would've left the dirty and filthy streets of Haguel.

He closed his eyes and the sun enlightened him.