The Davik Kane Files/Long Road to Ruan

The Maynian Rover’s engine squealed, sputtered and eventually started. I knew the drive to Ruan would be long as it was one of the furthest cities to wave the Par flag with pride. From what I’d been briefed on, the city was small and had been attacked by a group of unknown origin. Reports said that the weapons they used were many times more powerful than that of the rebels that constantly attack our homes on a constant basis.

“Private Kane, wipe that expression off your face before I smack it off of you,” my commanding officer, Captain Fargo, threatened in a far from threatening tone. His muscled practically tore through his red and blue uniform. He didn’t need to yell, we all knew what he was capable of doing.

“Yes, sir,” I finally said, shaking the spindell webs from my head. Zoning out like this in battle would not just result in my death, but the death of everyone in my squad. We continued the ride in silence. To my left was Macvaun, a tan skinned grunt who was the biggest slob I’ve ever met. Every time the man opened his mouth, spittle and fragments of his previous meal shot out faster than a power blast. To my right was Tracila, a young and beautiful woman who was forced into military service by her father. She often made long rides like this bearable, but this time she didn’t speak. Not one word.

“Tracila, are you OK?” I asked putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “That’s Private Kula to you,” Fargo said to which I ignored.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Tracila whispered. “I have family in Ruan,” she looked forward and paused. “I just hope they’re OK.”

“If they have any ounce of the fight you’ve displayed throughout your service, then they’ll be fine,” I said softly nudging her. We continued the trip without speaking, though at some point our fingers intertwined. This was going to be a long road to Ruan.

---

We were nearing Ruan when we were first hit. I couldn’t see, smoke had entered my lungs and covered my eyes. I could hear Fargo was barking orders, orders I couldn’t hear and didn’t care to hear. I grabbed my gun and pushed my way out of the Rover. There was a small squad charging us. They wore plain white armor and helmets that looked as if they were the monsters you tell children about. It was not the most pleasant sight, but better than only seeing grey smoke. From behind them, I saw a man in a grey uniform emerge. He had dark hair and white skin. As they drew closer I could see a permanent frown on his face.

As they approached and their weapons became visible, Fargo opened fire while the rest of us looked on with dumb expressions on our face. It took me a very long while to notice, but they had a ship. A ship unlike any I had seen. I was shot back into reality the second Fargo was shot down. From his high pitched scream, I drew the conclusion that the shot had been fatal. Seeing this, Macvaun charged and began to erratically fire. The soldiers shot him down before he took six steps. This left Tracila, me and some young guy who was just added to the unit. “Retreat!” I yelled to them. I started running backwards into the forest behind us. There is one thing about Maynus, there is almost always going to be a forest to your left or right. Though, in this case, it was behind us but I’m not one to complain. It seemed the further back we ran, the safer we were as the monsters that attacked weren’t that accurate and the forest helped even more.

Eventually, we turned our back to them and tried to run deeper into the forest. That was until I heard a cry of pain. I turned about and saw Tracila rolling on the ground holding her ankle. “Are you OK?” I asked as I ran to her side. “I twisted the damn thing,” she said in reference to her ankle. “You,” I said pointing to the new guy, “help me carry her.”

“What are we going to do?” The young man asked with a shaky voice as he picked up the girl.

“We have to make it to Ruan,” I said as the three of us walked in the direction to the city under fire.

“Yes, sir,” the man said. “My name’s Deacon, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, Deacon, I’m Davik, and I think we should shut up.” I didn’t want the monsters from the other side hearing us.

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” we continued walking in silence for a moment. “Who do you think these guys are?”

“Didn’t I just tell you to shut up?”

“You’re right, I’m s—” The young man’s apology was cut short by weapon fire. The white-clad soldiers had found us. They opened fire on us. T heir aim was off, but one of their shots had hit Deacon. His lifeless body crumpled to the soil beneath our feet.

Doing the only thing I could think of, I dropped Tracila, grabbed my weapon and returned fire. I jumped out of the small clearing we had found ourselves in and hid behind a tree. I could feel the heat from their bolts hid the tree and warm my back. I knew my cover wouldn’t last long and I was right. I could feel the tree turned to ash and I blindly fired on my opponents. They had the numbers, but after all this time not one of them could hit me or Tracila, who had scooted to a tree opposite of me.

“Hold your fire!” I heard someone bellow. Seconds later, their final bolt was fired. I looked at Tracila, who nodded. It was safe to show myself. I stepped away from the tree revealed myself. I now looked on my enemies once more, they were still dressed in their white armor and their guns were still pointed at me. “Fire!” their leader yelled. The soldiers didn’t need to be told twice. I watched as blaster bolts zoomed past my face. It took me a moment, but I eventually brought my weapon back up and fired on them. I was lucky to shoot one in the chest but the soldier was able to fire off one last shot. I watched it zoom past me, which would have been fine, but what happened after was sickening. The shot had found a target, Tracila. Tracila let out a pained moan as her left leg disappeared. Fragments of bone and her burnt uniform exploded in all directions, leaving an empty feeling in my gut. My voice reached a pitch I had never expected possible as I turned toward my enemy and fired again. I knew I was going to die here, the numbers were not what one would consider even but I didn’t care. For a while it appeared that the only way soldiers could hit a target was if they were shot, but their aim was beginning to improve. I started to think of back home, of Belaham. My friends who had not been called to battle would probably never know my fate. In one week’s time, I’ll be classified as MIA and soon be just a memory. As I thought of home, the monster’s continued to fire. That was until three men emerged from the trees. They all carried long swords and wore green uniforms. I immediately knew who they were, rebels. The real question was which ones? There are two kinds of rebels here on Maynus, the Maynians and then there are those who side with the former rulers of Maynus, the Gevorians. Truthfully, I didn’t care who these were as long as they killed these other freaks.

From the looks of it, I had become a distant memory to the soldiers as they began firing on the three rebels. One soldier had been lucky enough to fire a shot that would have killed their evident leader, but the man dodged it at a speed that left me with my jaw on the floor. I wasn’t sure what these men were, but I didn’t wait around to ask. I grabbed Tracila and carried her out of the forest. We found ourselves in a clearing but with no one around, we were safe. Well as safe as one can be.

I continued carrying Tracila even though she passed out or maybe even something worse. We needed to reach Ruan. Not for us to save them, but for them to save us. My arms quickly grew sore from carrying Tracila. She wasn’t heavy, but a day’s worth of action had made my arms sore.

As I contemplated setting the still breathing woman down and resting, I heard branches shake and snap from the forest. The grey uniformed man sprinted out from the forest line, determination spread across his face. Not far behind was the leader of the rebels. He was without a sword and was running at a normal speed. He reached his enemy in no time, tackling him to the ground. The rebel sat on top of the other man, his right forearm firmly pressed against the other man’s neck. I decided to take this time was run on, but I did see the rebel reveal a small blade. I’m not sure what he did with it, but I do know that blades are meant for cutting.

---

We reached Ruan as the sun was setting. Culor shined over our heads, casting a beautiful purple glow on the path ahead. Tracila let out a pained moan, a common occurrence during our long walk. I walked through the mostly destroyed city, stepping over bodies and toppled building. Reaching the city’s center, I saw a building unharmed and lit up. I slowly climbed the steps, hoping to not lose my balance and drop the one legged soldier. When I reached the top of the steps the door opened and I met the barrel of a large, and I mean large, gun. “Who are you?” The man had the decency to ask.

“I’m Davik Kane, and this is Tracila Kula. We are soldiers in the Par army,” the man’s body tensed as I said Par. He immediately dropped his gun and helped us inside. It was rare to see outlying cities still loyal to the Par. “How can we help you?” The man said shutting the door behind us. “Tracila needs medical attention, and I need to contact Belaham and warn them about those...” I hesitated, trying to think of a word. One word that could help me explain their monstrous nature.

“Say no more,” he signaled for others to show themselves. One by one, people piled in to the cramped hallway. Some had cuts and bruises, others with larger gashes on their face and neck. A group of them took Tracila from my arms and guided me onward. The building was plagued with the injured. It consisted of one large room with several windows that were now covered by layers of dusty cloth. I was guided to a small cot where I was sat down. A man in a white jacket approached me, “How are you, soldier?”

“I’m good, is there any way I could get in contact with Belaham?”

“Well there is the communication tower on the other side of town, but we lost contact with our scouts on that side of town. I have no way of knowing if it’s safe for you.” He told me.

“I’m a soldier, sir. It’s my job to go into unsafe territory.” I replied as I stood up and patted him on the shoulder. “Just give me my gun, some water and I’m good.”

---

I stepped out of the building, immediately regretting my decision. I had no clue to if the beasts were back and I didn’t want to find out. Walking down the steps was easier without holding another person, so that was nice. Once on solid ground, I turned right, following the directions the doctor had given me before I left. As I walked toward the other end of the city the roads cleared up and the tower came into sight, along with something else.

A large group of hooded men stood in my way. They looked nothing like the foreign soldiers or the rebels I had encountered. These men were different. They wore white cloaks and had long bladed staffs in their hands. These were the rebels I had feared I would be seeing.

“Excuse me,” I said in a commanding tone. “Please put down your weapons and leave,” I knew these freaks wouldn’t listen to me. Instead, they charged at me, damn Maynians.

One against seven is never favorable odds, but I was lucky enough to be facing those who felt guns were bad. I shot at the group, knocking down many in a spray of death. They continued marching on me, though, they seemed not to care for their fallen brothers and sisters. Trying not to think about all the lives I had already taken, I shot some more. Within minutes my enemies were on the ground, dead.

Patting myself on the back, I could barely hear the footsteps to my right. Eventually looking to my right, I saw a shirtless man in a loin-cloth. I would have screamed if it weren’t for being pushed back at an excessive speed. Everything went black when I eventually hit a wall.

Eyes fluttering open, I saw the same near-nude man battling the rebel that had killed the leader of the monsters. The shirtless man tried to push his enemy away but failed. The magic man then pulled a small blade and began battling the man with the sword. At this distance I could finally see the age of the man. He was old, like in his forties. His hair was long and graying, the Gevorian looked a lot like the pacifists in Belaham.

“Back off, Welish,” I heard the clothed rebel say.

“Why, Tarvis, ‘fraid I might win?” His opponent said as sweat glistened off his toned chest…I feel weird for saying that.

“I’ve defeated you every time you come to challenge me, what makes you think I won’t kill you this time?”

“Kill me? You’ve grown crazy in your old age.” The scarcely clothed man then thrust his blade into the older man’s stomach. In an attempt to help, I fired my gun at this so called Welish. Surprisingly, I missed my shot. Though, I think I did succeed at saving the man’s life as Tarvis fled when Welish turned to face me.

At this distance, I thought there was nothing this man could do to harm me. Boy was I wrong. In seconds, my throat began to tighten, preventing air from entering my lungs. My vision blurred as I began scratching at my throat. I needed to breathe, and I needed to do it quickly. I saw that my hands had reddened and I could feel my eyes bulging. Tears forced their way out, this was the end for me, I just knew it.

My eyes began to close; I could feel blood trickling into my collar from my throat. Just then, my throat reopened and air entered my lungs once again. I could hear shots being fired and I looked over. Par soldiers had reached the city and were shooting at Welish. I was saved.

Par soldiers ran to my aid. Jonah, a good friend of mine, pulled a bandage from his medic pouch as he kneeled next to me. He pressed the rag into my throat and I clenched my teeth as even more pain engulfed my body.

“Go, help Tracila” I said pushing him away. He left me with the rag and within minutes more soldiers and come and carried me to a Rover. The Rover drove off as I drifted into unconsciousness.

---

Six months later and I still wake up to nightmares of the day. This morning was especially tough, in a short amount of time I would be meeting with Homer Cassil, the head of the Par military. Not some representative, the actual leader of the Par’s military. I’m not entirely sure about what I’m supposed to talk about, but I’m pretty sure it has to do with the “incident”. I mean, someone of his stature wouldn’t just talk to someone like me about the weather.

The drive took me to Belaham palace, a place I’d never imagined I would ever visit. When I arrived I was met with a very intrusive search by palace guards but after that I was let through. Well not entirely, I was guided by a haughty security officer who stared at me with an upturned nose.

“Military man, I take it.” I stared down at my fatigues and looked back at him. “What tipped you off?” He didn’t seem to hear me.

“I could have done that, but palace guard has better benefits. I mean I saw this chick earlier that had a metal leg. A metal leg! If I lost my leg, I would’ve at least gotten a semi-real looking one.” Immediately Tracila entered my thoughts, I had heard about the leg but had avoided seeing her. I feared that seeing her would’ve sparked even more memories of pain from that day. “Not a speaker, are you? All brawn and no words?”

“I don’t see the reason to waste my words on someone like you, that’s all.” “Hey, you better watch…” the man walked into none other than Homer Cassil. “Uh, sorry, sir,” he sputtered.

“Just watch it next time, kid.” Cassil said as the young man practically ran off. “Sometimes I wonder where they get those guys,” Cassil said holding his hand out for me to shake it. Obviously, I took it and shook it firmly. “I’ll guide you to my office from here.”

The two of us walked down some corridors, following each corner with ease. We eventually reached a large door and before Cassil’s hand touched the handle, the door opened and a young woman emerged. She was beautiful, as beautiful as the last I’d seen her. Tracila avoided my eye contact as she limped past us. I watched as she walked by and saw her leg. Pounds of metal and wires were exposed by her shorts. A pained feeling entered my gut as I realized she lost so much while all I lost was sleep.

“Anyways, in here,” Cassil said guiding me into the room. “Take a seat.” I obliged. “I asked you here to ask you a few questions regarding the incident that happened not too long ago.”

“OK, shoot.”

“Not literally, I hope,” Cassil said in an attempt to lighten the mood. He saw my face unchanged and decided to continue with the questions. “While in Ruan, or the area surrounding, did you encounter any rebel resistance?”

“Yes, sir,” I answered.

“Can you describe them?”

“Yes sir, there was a large group of white cloaked men and women.” I answered truthfully but I felt I just couldn’t bring myself to tell him about the others, the ones that saved my life. “Is that all?”

“Yes, their attire was bleak and I tried to make sure they didn’t get close.” “What about the encounter you had with the,” he paused and looked at a sheet of paper he grabbed when I wasn’t looking. “Bare chested man, that sounds weird. Care to explain?”

“Sure, he wasn’t wearing much and nearly killed me. Does that quench your need for knowledge, or should I expand?”

“Expand.”

“I thought you were going to say that. Hmm, let’s see. I was attacked by the man and he nearly killed me.”

“Did he possess any powers?”

“Powers? Like the ability to push me into a wall or choke me to death?”

“Exactly, did he possess those or are you being sarcastic. You know, you’re the only soldier I’ve met willing to treat me with this much disrespect.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just a touchy subject.”

“Don’t apologize, it makes this decision tougher for me,” he said with very little emotion.

“What decision?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Kane.”

“Mr. Kane?”

“Yes, I’m sorry to have to inform you that you’re service in the Par Armed Forces are no longer needed.”

“No longer needed?”

“Have a nice day, Davik Kane.”