Rebellion (Zero Series) (5 page)

I couldn’t take it anymore. I pushed until a
singularity opened behind Hades and resembled a black hole. All of the land
started to crumble and disappear into the black hole. Hades began disappearing
as though he was made of powder. He started laughing as he vanished completely.
Everything crumbled and disappeared until there was nothing but blackness.
Everything I knew was gone.

I awoke lying in a crater in the clearing in which I
had encountered the flower. Everything hadn’t been eaten up in the black hole. It
must have been a hallucination caused by the poison from the barbs. I hadn’t
been that close to Hades. I was almost sorry that it wasn’t real. I would give
my own life to end Hades and give the Insurgency a chance to take back the
city. I looked up at the trees. There was light filtering through. How long had
I been out? I could have been missing for a long while. I sat up and looked
around. I was still groggy from the poison. I couldn’t remember how I had
gotten to where I was now. I stood up and stumbled around until I found a tree
for me to lean against. I had to decide on a direction to go and hope that it
was correct. I made my way through the brush stumbling and falling into the
foliage. I couldn’t stop thinking about how badly I wanted Hades to die. I had
never hated somebody as much as I did him. I heard animals rustling around me
as I walked blindly. I began to panic after a few hours. I still hadn’t made it
back to the entrance to Sanctum and it was getting dark. My head was pounding
and my limbs felt like noodles. I couldn’t figure out how I would get back. I
felt myself stumble into a clearing and hit the ground. I lifted my head just
enough to see that I was back in the clearing where I had originally passed
out. I felt a wave of hopelessness wash over me as I was pulled into
unconsciousness again. Just before I was completely out, I saw a few pairs of
legs approaching the spot where I was laying. There was nothing I could do. I
was sure that Kraken agents had found me and I would be publicly executed. I
knew it was likely the end.

I awoke in a room that was surprisingly not a Kraken
jail cell. It looked like a medical ward, but not a tent like we were
accustomed to in the city. There were no hospitals in Marsh City. There were
only illegal medical facilities that people who had any semblance of first aid
training operated. Kraken issued an order to shut down all functional hospitals
because they thought that if you got sick, you deserved to die. They said it
was natural selection at work. The death toll was high in the city. The people
lived in such squalor and eventually would get sick from something. If it
wasn’t malnutrition, it was from bacteria or some sort of pollutant in the air.
I tried to obtain medical supplies as often as I could and I would give them to
the shop that Flare worked at to distribute them to people in need.

I had no idea where I was at this moment though. I
sat up and felt a stabbing pain in my ribs. I put my hand on them and felt a
bandage wrapped around my torso. My shirt was gone and my pants were shredded
at the bottom. The last thing I remembered was passing out in the clearing and
being picked up by someone. I forced myself to stand up. The pain was intense
in my chest. I must have really done a number on myself while I was stumbling
around. I noticed a window on the other side of the room. I shuffled over and
looked outside. I was taken aback. I was in a city in the trees. Someone
entered the room behind me and said, “Ah you are awake.”

I turned and saw a man wearing earth toned clothes.
They were brown and dark green and made of some sort of leather. His hair was
short and black and stood up straight. He had a black goatee that was nicely
trimmed. He wasn’t very tall and had a bow strung across his back. His skin was
tan and rugged. His shirt had no sleeves and revealed his tattoos. He had many
strange markings all along his arms.

“You should take it easy. Your ribs are possibly
fractured and you are severely bruised,” he said.

“Thanks for the heads up. Where am I?” I asked.

“You are in Bosque City. We have built our city in
the trees. You are the first outsider to come here,” he said.

“Why are you in the trees?” I asked.

“Our ancestors took to the trees after the gravity machine
was activated and the land was unlivable. This forest remained untouched by the
magma so they built houses high above the ground. We have survived by hunting
and picking fruit from the trees,” he said.

“How have you remained hidden this long?” I asked.

“We have implanted some agents inside the city to
spread rumors about how dangerous the forest is. They also inform us of what
goes on within that hell hole. I know that you are the leader of the rebellion.
What were you doing this far outside of the city?”

“We had to flee the city. I attacked Hades after he
executed a family friend. We have a hideout that we are staying in near the
edge of the forest,” I said.

“I see. You were poisoned by a plant called the Death
Vein. Luckily we found you. We heard an explosion and came to see what it was.
You must have used your power while you were hallucinating. What did you see?”
he asked.

I stared out the window for a moment and said, “I saw
Hades.”

“Hades. The tyrant who named himself after the lord
of the underworld. It must pain you to think that you were so close and find
out that it was all a farce,” he said.

“He is the reason my parents and many people I know
are dead. It is my sole purpose in life to end Kraken’s reign,” I said.

“His grip on the city is too tight. It will be a
dangerous undertaking,” he said.

“I know. By the way, who are you?” I asked.

“My name is Pan. I originally was a hunter before the
people of this settlement named me leader,” he replied.

“Well, thank you for patching me up,” I said.

“We did more than patch you up. If you had been out
there much longer, you would have died,” said Pan.

“I am grateful but I need to get back. My friends are
probably wondering where I am,” I said.

“I will escort you back. You have sustained a great
deal of damage. I can give you some healing herbs that will help curb the pain.
I can also show you where to find some of them in the forest in case you are in
a sticky situation again,” he said.

“Thank you. I will probably need all the help I can
get,” I said.

“Let’s get moving then. I do not want to be away from
the city for too long,” he said.

“Alright. Do you have my clothes?” I asked.

“Your boots are by the door but your clothes were
tattered. I have brought some clothes for you to replace the others,” said Pan.
I put on the new clothes and felt how comfortable they were. I put on my boots
and we set off. We exited the hut and I got my first good look at the city. It
was magnificent. They huts were made of logs and they were all connected by
bridges and walkways. It must have taken so long to construct, especially in
the wake of the destruction of the gravity machine. We walked down a stairway
that led to the forest floor. Pan led me through the forest towards Sanctum.

We had been walking for about an hour when I finally
asked, “Why are you helping me?”

“Although we are separated from Marsh City, I despise
Hades and what Kraken is doing to the people there. I try to lead fairly and
justly. He squashes people under his boot at will and sucks the city dry so he
can live in luxury,” Pan replied.

“It seems that nobody really supports him. It’s just
unfortunate that he seized so much power before people realized what he really
was,” I said.

“I was truly saddened when I heard that the original
Insurgency had been destroyed,” he said.

“My parents were in the group that fell. I think
about that day constantly,” I said.

“I can only imagine. We have lived in peace all of my
life,” he said.

“You should join us. Help us reclaim the city,” I
said.

“I’m sorry but I can’t,” he replied.

“Why not?” I asked.

“My people are not warriors. They are craftsmen and
artisans,” he said.

“Well we could use any help. Just think about it. You
know where to find me if you change your mind,” I said.

“I will think about it,” he said.

We approached a small bush and he stopped me. “This plant
is very useful. It is light leaf. It has a painkiller in it and can be used in
many medicines,” he said.

“This is good to know. I will probably need an
endless supply of this stuff,” I said. As soon as I finished talking, there
was a rustling a few yards away. We crouched down and moved silently through
the brush. I peered through the foliage to reveal two Kraken agents walking
along a path.

“This is their monthly patrol of the forest,” Pan
whispered.

“What are they looking for out here?” I asked.

“I don’t think they are looking for anything in
particular. They just patrol to make sure that there is no strange activity,”
he replied.

I noticed a pack on the back of one of the agents. It
was very high tech and had a latch on the back. There was a small label above
the latch that read, “Fusion Cells”. I grabbed Pan’s arm. “I need that pack. It
has fusion cells inside. We need them for some of our weapons,” I said.

Without a word, Pan pulled out a bow and fired two
arrows at the guards. Each guard fell to the ground, dead with an arrow in his
neck. I was surprised by his speed and precision. “Well that’s one way to get
things done,” I said.

“You needed the pack and I doubt they were going to
give it willingly,” he replied.

“Makes sense,” I said. We approached the bodies and I
picked up the pack. I searched the bodies to see if there was anything else
that was useful. I came across an access card on one of their belts. I stashed
it in my pocket so Jet could analyze it at the lab. I kept searching and found
an earpiece. I stuck it in my ear and heard radio transmissions coming through.
They were communications between Kraken agents and the high command.

“What is that?” Pan asked.

“It is a radio transmitter. It has Kraken
transmissions on it,” I replied.

“That will be useful. You can eavesdrop on their
operations,” he said, “We should also hide the bodies. I’m sure they will send
more troops to find them after they’ve been missing for a while.”

“Right,” I said. We dragged the bodies into a cluster
of bushes. We continued on down the path until we reached the plant that Pan
said could be used in medicine.

“This is Stack Vine. It is the plant that I used to
numb your pain,” he said picking a handful of the green leafy plant.

“How do you use it?” I asked.

“You put some in your mouth and chew it up. Then you
have to mix it in with some water and drink it. It usually takes effect
immediately. It can also be blended and injected if the patient is unconscious
like you were,” he replied.

“Thank you,” I said as I loaded a small bag full of
the plant. We kept moving along the pathway and Pan held out his arm to stop
me.

“This is as far as I will take you. Just follow this
path and when you reach the edge of the forest. You can find your way from
there,” he said.

“Thank you for all your help,” I said. Pan nodded and
began walking back towards Bosque City. I walked down the path for another hour
and emerged out of the forest. I let the sunlight consume me. I looked to my
right and saw the city in the distance. I finally made it back to the entrance
to Sanctum and made it inside. Jet, Flare and Frost were sitting around the
table silently.

“It’s like a morgue in here,” I said. They all looked
up and ran over to me.

“Where have you been?” Jet asked frantically.

“I went for a walk in the forest and got poisoned by
the Death Vein. A man named Pan saved me and treated my wounds,” I replied.

“Death Vein?” Flare asked.

“It’s a big flower that shoots poisonous barbs out of
the center,” I said setting down the pack on the table.

“What’s in there?” asked Frost.

“Fusion cells,” I replied.

“Where did you find these?” Jet asked.

“Pan killed two Kraken agents and I found these, a
keycard, and a radio transceiver. I thought we could use the card if we were
going somewhere with restricted access. It would be quieter than blowing a door
open. I also thought we could maybe use this transceiver to find their
frequencies and eavesdrop on their plans,” I replied.

“That’s good thinking. I can take a look at all of
this later. Are you alright? Is the poison in you still?” Jet asked.

“I feel alright. Pan said he cured me. He also showed
me a plant that can be used in medicines that numb pain immediately. He said I
have a few fractured ribs but I don’t even feel it from the medicine he gave
me,” I said sitting down at the table.

“You have broken ribs?” Flare asked.

“I guess so,” I replied.

“How did you break your ribs?” Frost asked.

“I’m not sure. I woke up in Bosque City and Pan told
me that I had them,” I replied.

“Bosque City?” Flare asked.

“Pan is the leader of a city in the trees called
Bosque City. It is a bunch of huts in the trees connected by walkways and
bridges,” I replied.

“How have we never heard of it?” Flare asked.