The First Attack

Chapter 10

The First Attack

 

             Fred was lost in a nightmare.

            It started out fine, with the moment that Fred first saw his new mansion. But it was no flashback, because nothing happened the same. It looked the same on the outside, but when he walked inside, it was as if a tornado had ripped just the inside of the house to shreds. Window shades were lopsided; curtains were torn and lying on the ground; cobwebs hung from the corners; and worst of all, all the glass was shattered and laying everywhere. In his dream-turned-nightmare, Fred walked slowly through his house, wondering why he was seeing what he was seeing. Then the scene worsened. A figure floated down the hallway, draped in a light-gray cloak. It looked like it had been white but the dust from the house had stuck to it and discolored it. It came right up to him, and his expression was one mixed between happiness and depression.

            Then it got freaky.

            The ghost’s expression changed to sheer anger. “You invaded my personal space, and now you must pay,” the ghost screamed. He turned, and his hand instantly produced fire. He threw it down the hallway, and the house rocked from the explosion. The fire spread so fast that Fred had no time to react. In a matter of seconds, the entire mansion was engulfed in flames. Fred had no idea where he was, and he was running out of oxygen fast. He just needed to find an exit.

            Fred ran for where the front door should be, but it had disappeared. He turned at the surprising sound of cackling laughter. Behind him stood a large creature with wings, a long snout, and short but very sharp teeth. He wore a sash covered it what looked to him like alligator skin, decorated with tiny spheres. He held a dagger in his 3-fingered hand, but it had 2 daggers coming out of 1 hilt. He approached slowly, his dagger raised. He stopped right in front of Fred and raised the dagger above his head. “Long live King Ultio!”

            Fred twitched and woke with a start, sitting bolt upright. He felt hot, even though the mornings in Anera were quite cool, and the temperature rose considerably during the day. He found this odd and climbed out of bed. He walked to the window and looked out upn his front lawn. Fred immediately turned on his heels, donned his bathrobe, and flew down the stairs. Fil was sprinting to the front door, a look of panic stricken across his face.

            Fred flung open the door and Fil was about to knock. “Fred! Thank the heavens. Yu have to come to the square. Quickly!”

            “Fil, what’s happened? What time is it?”

            “It’s the middle of the afternoon Fred! The Sneilians are on the move! We have to go now. The men need their orders,” Fil said rushing out every word like there were only seconds before their planet imploded.

            Fred bolted up the stairs and changed in 10 seconds. He and Fil were in the car within 2 minutes of Fil’s arrival and speeding along the Skyway at top speed. No cop was gonna pull the King over now.

             They arrived at the city square, where the army was standing around, obviously in confusion. He spotted Anerian citizens rushing down alleyways and into homes as more army men arrived. The car descended into the middle of the square where the COT was standing with Nas and Ty. Next to them was a telescope, pointing skyward.

            All three watched as the car hovered six inches off the ground and Fred and Fil exited. They walked briskly over to the threesome.

            “What’s going on? Who are you,” Fred asked questioningly of the COT.

            “My name is Astlop, but you can call me Al. I’m the Chief Operator of Technology for the Command and Technology Center.”

            “Okay Al, what’s happened in the time I overslept?” Fred was half-asleep still.

            “Well sir, the Sneilians are on the move and should arrive within the hour.”

            Fred cursed under his breath. Fil had told him the truth, and he had heard him correctly.

            Everyone was silent. Nobody moved, except for some anxious soldiers who were shifting from foot to foot. Everyone was awaiting Fred’s next words.

            “Well let’s get a move on. F-Squadron will be led by Nas after I debrief him. Fil, you’ll lead the M-Squadron. I’ll give you directions.

            “Yessir,” Fil saluted and back a few feet away.

            “I will lead the S-Squadron to the perimeter and set the shields. Let’s move!”

            The S-Squadron positioned themselves near the square exit while Fred briefed Nas and Fil on what their jobs were. The F-Squadron would hide in the forest, while the M-Squadron would hide in the mountains. The three split up and went to their respective stations.

            While walking his squadron to their outpost, Fred thought about his nightmare last night. He was still trying to fit all the pieces together, but he thought he had an idea…

            Just at that moment, he stopped. The squadron following him stopped as well, wondering why their leader (and King) had stopped. He was looking up at the sky.

            “What is it?” asked one of the squadron members.

            “They’re here.” In the sky, Fred could make out a black spot in the sky. And it was moving quickly.

            Fred turned to his squadron. “Alright everyone. We don’t have a second to spare. Grab your shields and set up in the positions. And move quickly!” The squadron split up and sprinted to their positions. They set up the shields, adjusting them to the proper alignment.

            “Now!” Fred yelled. All at once, a burst of blue electric energy shot forth from the shields. The air surrounding them was smoky, and it smelled like the world’s largest barbeque. It reached high into the Anera sky, high enough that the Sneilians wouldn’t be able to get over it without passing out from the altitude changes. The air in the upper atmosphere on Anera was so thick that if you tried flying through it without protection for more than 3 seconds, you’d fall to your death.

            So now all that had to be done was wait.

 

•••

 

            King Ultio and his Sneilian minions entered into Anera’s atmosphere. Ultio donned his helmet and snapped down his visor. It was s specially made helmet and visor for the special atmosphere Anera possessed. Over a helmet intercom system, he advised his army to do the same. As they neared the surface, Ultio picked out a prime spot for a landing of an army of 400,000: a large opening in a forest. And from the looks of it, there were Anerians down there already. Perfect.

            “I have the target landing in sight. Follow suit. Over.”

            He turned on the wing thrusters and sped for the surface.

            Then something unexpected happened.

            Out of nowhere, a wall of blue electricity shot out of the ground and high into the air. It was too high to fly over. Yes, they had the special helmets, but the Anerians would gun them down for sure once the crossed over.

            And Ultio did not like his chances of going through.

            “Vir, front and center!”

            The Sneilian right next to Beeorx flew forward. “Yessir,” he said, trying to appear confident. But there was no hiding the pessimism in his voice.

            “Fly to their shield and inspect it.”

            Vir knew better than to disobey direct orders from the king. He flew to the shield, and the Anerians below took aim. They looked ready to fire at a moment’s notice. Vir inspected the shield, wondering how it could have been made. It was an electric current for sure, but there was something else mixed throughout, and he couldn’t make out what it was. He flew back to the group. “It’s an electric current sir. But there’s more, and I’m not sure what it is exactly. Nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

            King Ultio popped his visor up and looked toward the shield. Only one way to find out, he thought. He pulled a regular grenade from his tool belt and heaved it toward the shield.

 

•••

 

            As the Sneilian approached the shield, Fred was having doubts. If the shield failed, they’d be able to come right through. But his doubts were relieved when the Sneilian got no closer than 5 feet then retreated back to the army. And the army was enormous: much bigger than the Anerians’. It had to be at least twice as big. Fred watched carefully as the Sneilian faced the one at the head of the army. Ultio, thought Fred. He’d tell Nas later.

            Then Ultio did something unexpected. He threw a grenade.

            Fred had expected the Sneilians to pummel full force toward the shield and attack. But the single grenade throw threw Fred off a little. He watched it sail toward the shield.

            He got a pleasant surprise.

            When the grenade hit the shield, it completely was tossed straight back toward the Sneilian army. The reaction was similar to throwing something into a ceiling fan, and the fan just knocking it away, but about 50 times stronger. The Sneilian army scattered as the grenade shot past them and into the distance, toward the mountains. Fred hoped everyone was okay…

            Fred heard King Ultio yell to his troops as they turned and fled. The Sneilians were gone in a matter of minutes. The Anerians seemed too stunned to give even the slightest battle cry.

            “Alright men, back to the square,” Fred said in an uneasy tone. He was still looking toward the mountains.

            Back in the square, Fred and his S-Squadron arrived first, shortly followed by the F-Squadron.

            The M-Squadron never returned.

            “Nas, bring your F-Squadron,” Fred said. “We’re going to find them. S-Squadron, you stay here in case the Sneilians return. Let’s move!”

            The Anerians didn’t have the fancy mechanical wings like the Sneilians had, so they had to book it on foot to the mountains. They weren’t too incredibly far away, but it still took some time.

            When they finally arrived, Fred led Nas and the F-Squadron up a gravel trail leading to a clearing.

            When they got to the clearing, something from a war movie stood before them.

            Fred knew it had to be bad when he saw the smoke halfway down the path. But what he saw was worse.

            In the clearing were tents, soldiers, medical equipment, and weapons: all in horrible condition. The tents were either in ashes or torn to shreds, and some were still on fire. Bodies littered the ground, bloodied, moaning, and screaming for help. Injured soldiers rushed to their sides as quickly as possible, bandaging and carrying them.

            Then Fred saw Fil.

            Fil was sprawled on his back up against a fallen tree trunk, blood spilling down the right side of his face. Fred raced over to him and knelt beside him.

            “Fil!” Fred cried. “Fil are you alright?”

            “Y-yeah, I’m good,” Fil said weakly. His voice was raspier than it normally was. “A little shaken, but not broken.”

            “Fil, can you tell me what happened? I saw the grenade flying toward you and-

            “Fred, I’m sorry. I couldn’t move them fast enough. I tried to get them to safety but I just…” Fil sat upright and coughed so hard it made Fred jump. Fred thought he was gonna cough up a lung.

            Fred sat him back against the tree trunk. “You rest here, Fil. I’m gonna radio back to the S-Squadron and tell them to bring the paramedics. You’re gonna be alright Fil, just hang in there.”

            “Fred,” Fil said, grabbing Fred’s arm, “it’s my time. You can’t save me now.”

            “Fil, don’t talk like that,” Fred said, taking a hold of Fil’s arm.

            “Fred, listen to me. The others are more important, especially Nas. Listen to him. And tell him that he has returned…” This time Fil coughed up blood, and he slumped back against the tree trunk dead. Fred laid his head against the trunk, sobbing quietly.

            Nas walked briskly over to the scene of Fred, still clutching the dead arm of Fil. He bent over and patted him on the shoulder. “Fred, what should we do? The paramedics have arrived.”

Fred lifted his head and turned to Nas. His eyes were bloodshot red from crying. He wiped them away and stood. He placed a hand on Nas’s shoulder and said, “Nas, we have some things to discuss. But right now, I need some sleep.”