Chapter 7

Infiltration

I was startled awake, I lay there for a moment trying to decide why I had awoken so suddenly. Screams filled the air, the gong rang out. I jumped out of bed, the cold air chilling my half naked body. I grabbed my bow, ran to the front door and yanked it open.

My heart stopped.

The trees were engulfed in flames, my people were running along the ramps that connected our homes up in the trees.

As i watched in horror large missiles were hurled at the fighters in the skis striking them down.

"Humans" I breathed. "They have turned on us."

"Kayson?" my wife whispered behind me. Her eyes filled with worry and fear.

I spun around and closed the door. "You must leave. Get dressed, grab some food." I said grabbing my coat and pants, i hurriedly put them on readying myself for the battle ahead of me. After a few moments she came out of the kitchen small bag in her arms. She noticed i was dressed in my military gear.

"What? Without you? What's going on?" she asked standing beside me i could tell she was shaking.

"Yes, i will meet up with you soon. You must take our egg away from this place." i looked at her again. Burning her memory into my mind. "The humans have turned on us my love. The trees are aflame. I must go and save who i can"

Loud bangs came from the front door. "Kayson! We need you out here!" our neighbor yelled at the top of his lungs, panic very evident in his voice.

"I'm coming!" I yelled back. I walked to our bedroom and picked up the large egg nestled on the floor in a pile of blankets. I tipped my head and kissed it, hoping it could feel how much i already loved it, how i wished i could see it grow. How it pained me to leave it behind hind and not go with them to the rondevu point.

"Grow strong my child. May the wind always be beneath your wings, the sun on your back and courage in your heart. May you have blue skies above you, open air before you and green grass below you."

I carefully wrapped it in one of my coats. I walked over to my wife and using the arms of the coat I tied our only, unborn child to her chest. "Take our child away. Don't fly, take to the ground as soon as you can. They are shooting us out of the sky" i brought them both close to me. "Don't worry it won't hatch till you are safe. You know where to go right?"

"I know" She whispered into my chest. I lifted her head and kissed her. I tasted her tears on my lips. Her hands gripped my shirt. "Come back to us" she commanded.

I let her go and gave her a small push to the back of our house. "Go now. Don't look back."

I turned my back to her and opened the front door to venture into the flames, i was immediately engulfed in smoke and the screams of my neighbors. I launched off of our platform and up into the sky. My arrows taking down many humans as i headed to the medic tent. Flames licked at my wings and arms as i flew as fast as i could.

I flew into the tent, folding my wings as i landed, i rushed to the first man i could reach and began to tend to his wounds.

His eyes were wild as he looked at me. "The humans, they are slaughtering us! They should not have found our home. They are killing us with speed that should not be possible!" He shouted as he tried to get up and go back to fight.

"Stop!" I said pushing on his chest "Let me tend to you first. We must asses this camly" I looked at him very worried. He was right, they should not have caught us off guard like this. I could hear shouts behind me on the other side of the tent as more of my people were taken down from the sky. We would not win this fight.

Listen to me my son. I thought, there is so much i want to tell you. So much i want you to learn from me. It looks like the Gods have decided that my time here on this earth is coming to an end. Find someone to protect, men fight better with someone to fight for.

More men and women were dragged in, there was so much blood i could not tell who was injured and who was not. Children who were not lucky enough to have escaped screamed in terror, it was pure chaos.

Don't hate the humans for this, don't blame them for my death. By the time you are born this generation will have long perished. Be kind, patent, loving. Mind your mother, don't cause her to worry to much, you are our only child, my son, my blood is your blood.

The heat from the fires made me sweat as i tried in vain to save as many people as i could. I wiped the sweat from my brow but i only smeared the blood from my hands onto my face. I moved to the very back of the tent now, a little girl was sobbing, clutching her small toy in her arms. She was asking me something but i could only hear the shouts and screams of the dying.

If you become a warrior, don't take lives needlessly. My mind went blank, there was more. I know there was so much more i wanted to tell him. The tent burst into flames. I could hear laughter from the humans as more screams filled the air. They had doused the tent in gasoline to spread the fires. I held the little girl in my arms as the fires closed in around us. I covered her with my body and wings hoping i would be able to save her. As the flames scorched my body, the smell of burning flesh and feathers reached me and i remembered.

Oh yes, I love you my son. I will see you in the great beyond.

I opened my eyes as the vision ended, my body shook and my face was wet as tears cascaded down my face. My chest hurt as if i had too been breathing in the smoke from the fires. I wiped my face and tried to slow my rapid breathing. Using Tankande took a mental and physical strain on me. Slowly i moved, unwrapping myself from my wings. I tucked them behind me pushed open my makeshift door made of twigs and leaves. I needed to get out of my nest for a little while.

When i had first followed Rachel out here, i had not expected her to stay for an extended period of time. At first i stayed in the trees, sleeping under the stars, but when the rain came pouring down i had needed a place to keep dry. I had made a small alcove in a very very old tree my home.

When I had found the home in the massive tree is had been very small and cramped. Barely big enough for my to crouch in, but it was warm and dry.

In my boredom and out of necessity I had continued to hollow the rot out. I had not expected Rachel to actually stay here for 2 years.

At least it would be usable until she moved from this blood soaked place. Once i was completely outside on a large branch I stretched my arms to the sky and spread my wings as wide as they would go to ease my cramped muscles. It was not the first time i was able to connect to my father's past nor was it the first time i had seen that night. But it did not get any easier.

I took a few deep breaths to clear my head. It was not often i channeled my father's memories, everytime i did i learned something new. Tonight was no different, to know the words he had used to bless me before he sent my mother and I off, to feel his grife first hand. He had known deep in his heart that he would never see us again, would never see me hatch.

I looked up at the stars to jude the time.

"Almost midnight" i said to myself as I hopped from one branch to another using my wings to glide effortlessly. My legs and wings happy for the stretch after being crammed into my makeshift shelter. After a few minutes of gliding i reached my observation stop were i watched the building in the clearing. I shifted a few times and perched on the tree branch my bow sung across my shoulder. This was probably the most blood soaked, cursed place Rachel had been. The bunkers had been completely cleaned out of the Raseri living here back during Slakdagen or as the humans called it The Cleans. Since then the humans abandoned the place for a long time. It had almost been forgotten to the short lived humans. That is until someone stumbled upon it and claimed it for themselves.

"Let them rest in peace" I whispered to the bunker full of restless humans who desecrated the land. "May the Gods rain their devind judgment on you all."

I watched the stars sink slowly and the sun rise for the 942nd time since I had followed her here. I shook my head "That makes me sound like a stalker" i stared at the bunker, vaguely i could see men moving around as they woke up and began to start their day. "Guess i am a stalker" I scanned the nearby woods instinctively for any dangers. I touched the arrows in my quiver lightly, absentmindedly counting them. "A stalker with permission"

I scoffed at myself "Does that really make it any better?" i asked myself.

Hours passed with no change except the sun, i leaned against the trunk of the tree and closed my eyes. I needed to rest for a few moments, eleven seconds was all i needed.

The screams and gunshots woke me, almost knocking me from my perch. I knocked an arrow, ready to defend myself if necessary. I looked around for the source of the screams. I looked towards the bunker, the front windows were splashed in blood.

Seconds later a naked female fox Raseri burst through the front doors. She was covered from head to toe in blood. The only thing that was not completely covered in blood was her blond hair shining in the noon day sun. She was breathing hard, her teeth bared ready for a fight. For a brief moment i saw into the bunker, she had left bloody footprints in her wake and a dead body near the door. Who knew how many people she had killed to fight her way out. She paused for a moment taking in the fresh air. She then sprang into action running past my tree and deep into the woods. I watched her go, something about the patterns on her fur reminded me of someone i had lost. I snapped my attention back to the bunker.

"Rachel" I breathed, i knew all too well how many humans a single full grown Raseri could take out. She had looked angered as well which did not bode well for anyone inside.

My mind raced, i needed to know if she was okay. I hesitated only for a moment, then i rushed back to my nest. I yanked open my makeshift door and stripped off my bow and quiver. It would only hinder me at this point. I stashed it away and grabbed a human coat pulling it on over my head, knowing it would conceal my wings just enough for me to pass as human. I then hastily rummaged in my pack for my contcas. Unable to find them in my haste, i dumped my bag and its contents out so i could really see what i was rummaging through. Finally i found them buried amongst my things.

"Always on the fucking bottom of the bag." I snarled angrily. I didn't want to waste time here. Since my eyes mimicked a birds i could not pass of as human without them. I took out my tribal earrings and looked at myself in my small mirror i carried for this kind of situation. My light hair stuck out like a sore thumb, back into my bag i went until i found a small tube of gel. I put some of its contents on my hands and then ran my hands through my hair mixing the color to darken it. After a few seconds i looked back in the mirror and nodded with satisfaction. I looked more human than i'd like to but it would be worth it.

I made sure my kbar was safe in my boot and stuffed all of my stuff back into my pack securely. i didn't know when i would be back to my small nest, i needed everything to be safe till then. The last thing to go in was a small red cracked leather bound journal, that i had kept close to me all these years. It was so old parts of the binding was threatening to come off. Its yellowed pages had seen many hard years, its secrets locked in its pages.

"You are almost to your rightful owner." i said as i put it securely back into my pack. I slid my bag into the driest part of my cramped home.

"Man i miss my barn" I said as i re-checked my knife one more time, it was the only weapon i would be bringing with me.

closed and latched my door and slowly descended down the tree, landing lightly on my feet. I walked across the lawn keeping to the shadows and low to the ground. Finally i made it to the edge of the building and peered into one of the few windows. There was blood everywhere. People were shouting at each other and no one was paying any attention to the mess. I took a few deep breaths to ready myself. I had made a fake ID just incase i needed to do this but it was still nerve wracking.

"They work fast" I said to the window noticing that the body of the dead man was gone. I stood up tall and walked back to the front of the building. I walked into the bunker and stopped short at the blood puddle feigning surprise. Then i walked over to the janitor closet i had seen from the window..

"Sorry i'm late" i mumbled as i started to mop up the humans blood. One of the men walked over to me and grabbed the front of my shirt, i struggled to hold back the urge to yank away, as easy as it would be i was not here to defend myself.

"I don't recognize you" He said glaring at me, who are you?"

"I-i'm h-here to clean up t-the mess" i stammered not making eye contact with the burly man. "T-the boss just c-called me over from the o-other bunker to help. I I-m an e-extra" I said pulling out my ID card i kept on me at all times. My hand trembled as he stared at the ID.

He let go of my shirt and i stumbled back losing my balance on purpose and tripping over the mop. I wanted them to think i was no threat to any of them. They all snickered at how clumsy i was.

"Hurry up with that. There is a lot more than that for you to do. One of those bastards got away. It killed over a dozen of our people. Once you are done here move on to the apartments and then the science lab in the South bunker."

"Yes sir" I mumbled, head down focusing on my work. I focused my ears to listen to their conversation as i mopped the floor.

"I can't believe how many it was able to take out"

"Did that sexy scientist get killed too?"

"I heard she was alive but barely."

"I can't believe it took out so many of our best men"

I finished my cleaning and moved down the hall following the Raseri's bloody paw prints cleaning them as i went. I wanted to run through the building to find Rachel but i had to be patent. If i ran around like a mad man and was found out it would be the end of me.

To make matters worse, I had to stop frequently to empty the red water into the janitor's sink, it was slow going. Her tracks lead into a small room that i guessed used to be an apartment. By the size of the mess she had really gone all out in her massacre, i thought of each life she had taken and sent a quick prayer to the God of the earth and air to welcome their souls into the afterlife. I heard some slight movement in front of me, there was a small closet set into the wall. I walked over to the closet and looked through the wooden slats, staring back at me was a pair of brown wide eyes. Near the bottom of the door was a pool of yellow liquid.

I backed away from the closet, closed and locked the apartment door to give us some privacy.

I stood in front of the closet and slowly opened the door. There kneeling in a puddle of his own urine was a man. His clothes marked him as a guard, his gun lay by his side.

A survivor.

Probably the only survivor of her rampage. I knelt down on the floor in the blood of his comrades and his urine.

Tear stains streaked his face, his body shook from the terror he had witnessed.

"She is gone now" i said quietly. "You no longer have to live in fear"

He shook his head "I was a coward, and she knew it. She stared me down" he shook his head "i should have fought and died with them" he said his voice trembling as fresh tears cascaded down his worn and tired face.

"No, fighting her was suicide, they fought bravely and died with honor but." I took a breath and held his gaze "You are a true warrior to know your limits." i held out my hand. "Stand up. You must face tomorrow bravely. If nothing else, for your comrades who can not."

He grabbed my hand and stood shakily. He held my gaze for a few moments.

"If you keep my secret i'll keep yours" he said.

My heart stopped "And what secret would that be?"

"I know everyone in both of these bunkers. I have never seen your face before."

"Im a new hire" i said trying to bluff my way out of it.

"Your words also gave you away. You are a Raseri are you not?"

I sighed "I have been found out. Yes i will keep your secret"

He smiled and nodded "Then your secret is safe with me." He said, as he moved around me and walked to the door avoiding the puddles i had yet to clean. He turned back to me.

"What is your name stranger?"

"Vakta, Vakta Silven"

"I'm Kline" he said "Be careful" he said walking out the door.