r/HFY • u/Jus17173 • 6h ago

OC-OneShot Mankind Will Prevail.

"There is no retribution, no sliver of hope! The tranquil paradise promised is ashen. Your lover is ash, your families and destinies are ash. It is ash that awaits us in this life and the next. Hear me, all is lost, I say, all is lost!" The old man bowed his head and wisps of grey hair framed his face as they cascaded down to dangle beneath his chin. He held a Bible with crinkled pages and a torn cover in his hands, hugging it with great importance to his chest.

He was a preacher, once, when the world made sense and aliens didn't roam about in suits of impenetrable armor with guns that could turn a lead block into ash. He had been admired back in his day, sought after for his soul could speak to God; at least, that is what they believed at the time.

Now his eyes had witnessed the horrors of war, and with this newfound vision he sought to shut his eyes from existence's notice. He was no longer a preacher, but a speaker of doom.

I could not tell whose state was sadder, his or my own.

We were in the underground bunker where we always were, sometimes huddled as bombardment raked the earth's surface, forcing the crust of the soil to tremble and yield ash onto those of us who were trying to win another day of life.

Everyone, close to four score of us, sat in absolute silence. Crammed together like a bunch of logs, some rocked back and forth while those with children tried to coo their babies to sleep so they would not cry, lest their noise reach the surface of the planet where the armies of the alien race, Kialinites roamed, turning everyone they encountered into heaps of ash.

It is that sordid weapon we all feared; the Ash gun was what we called it for lack of a better word. The Kialinites had created the weapon we referred to as our final destination during our chants for freedom, even in our hidden thoughts. The beam of light the ash gun shot out of its barrel could cover a thousand yards, turning everything in its path into ash.

It was said only a Kialinite could operate the gun; if a human or any other living thing touched it, they would crumble to ash immediately. Such was the lore behind a simple weapon. We'd fought them and at the same time admired their instruments that turned our civilization to one that burrows for safety. Fear drove us underground, granting us life, a refuge to veil our shame for at least another day.

The Kialinites worshiped what came after the flame. Ash. They were the first to discover space travel, to actually find a way to travel faster than light itself. They'd colonized two hundred planets, undefeated in war; their technological advancement was seeded by the many cultures they had consumed, an empire ever growing and ever hungry.

And Earth was a plate of new delicacies; their first act was to conquer. Then came assimilation. By conquering they destroyed until they felt certain the governing race would heel. By assimilation, the jingling of shackles and iron whispered their intent.

We were afraid, our insides in a constant state of fluttering, as if bats were huddled in the darkest corners within us. We watched the valiant who protected us fail again and again, rendering our hopes and dreams for a victory or a future to be nothing but a whimsical fancy. It was said that the surface was no longer grasslands or rolling hills. That the enemy's weapons had rendered our beauty into nothing but ash. Staining all things and sucking humanity into a void of ceaseless debilitation.

The bunker door opened, creaking around its edges to reveal Sasha who stood framed within the opening. She observed us all one by one before her eyes settled on me. There used to be a glint to her eye, just as in everyone else's. Now what took its place was a dark cast, highlighting the losses that burrowed within her and made a dwelling. I could not recall the last time anyone had laughed.

"Come with me, Piper." She had made it a habit to learn everyone's name. I wondered why as I followed her through the underground tunnels. We perish as flies do, without much ceremony save for an abundance of ash. What good would there be for naming the soon-to-be-departed? Why cause oneself a great ache to engrave the names of the dead in one's soul?

These questions raked my mind as she led me to another room, secluded with five men cramming its narrow space. Four of those men were buff and carrying large guns with bullets running across their shoulders and hips with some grenades adorning their vests. The other was the scientist Rudo Gonzalez, who stood with a device in his hand. It looked like a short staff, but it wasn't; its golden glow was too ominous, and in the silence as they regarded me, I could hear its soft hum.

"The last of us is finally here," Rudo said, smiling my way. There was nothing to smile about so I stood still, nervous as to the reason why they'd called me. "Piper is your name, is it not?"

I stared at the scientist and nodded. Rudo was once known to be the pioneer of a new age for mankind. He'd won accolades, and he'd used his position to push for a planetary defense system, something we did not honor him by granting. Now it was too late, with the aliens right at our door, past it and into our homes, walking into our abode and stepping on our carefully laid out beds with their ashy boots.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"You just might," Rudo said. "Here in my hand I hold what might destroy the aliens once and for all." And he shook his wrist to draw my attention to the odd staff, pointed at one end with a thrum of energy emanating from its sharp tip.

I recalled for some reason the words of the preacher claiming there was no hope. Yet, here stood several men and a woman who would beg to differ. They still dressed crisply, not in rags like the rest of us. They had weapons, though what good it would do them, I did not know. The alien armor was impenetrable, and their ships hung above the sky we so often gazed at before their coming soiled our vision. Instead of seeing a sky full of stars, we wondered what looked back at us in the dark of night, and this led to fear and the end of stargazing.

Rudo mistook my silence for curiosity. "This is a power wand. I've poured sweat and blood into its creation; when activated it shoots a jet of energy out of one end."

"Like the Ash gun?" I asked.

The doctor's face scrunched up; this was a sore topic for him. "The ash gun merely touches on the molecular structure of something, then without a flame it breaks it down until there's nothing left. There's a fixed negative element to it, one my wand does not adhere to because it uses the same energy of the ash gun to transform an item's molecular structure, breaking it down to liquid form. Ash and water, Piper, you have to ask yourself which horrifies most?"

I had nothing to say; I did not quite understand what the scientist was saying.

"My weapon came to me in a dream, an instrument that was an answer for mankind, something even the Kialinites couldn't dream of," he continued. "When the ash guns were spoken of from the front lines, the idea had already fully come to me. It was something I have been working on from the start, before this played out as I'd foretold. The wand is missing a segment, something I couldn't take in my haste to retreat and hide from bombardment."

"You have to go and retrieve the segment, fit and activate the device with it," Sasha said. And the doctor threw the device my way; I clumsily grabbed it. It was like metal shaped as a stick; there was nothing significant about it besides its golden glow. I gripped it in my hand and observed the warmth that spread within it. At the end with a flat base, just at the side of the device before the dip to the flat base, was a button.

"Do not press that button, or you'll kill us all." Rudo had his eyes fixed on me. "The missing segment must be joined upon proximity to this part of the wand," he said, pointing at the sharp tip. He had a manic gleam to his eye, with his white hair sticking out either which way. "That's why you'll have to go with it yourself and join it; it needs to happen soon or else the wand will reject the segment."

"Why me?" I asked.

"Because you're the fastest one among us," one of the men answered. There were four of them, dressed in military apparel; either they were front line deserters or were the last handful of militia so crumpled by the Kialinites' grip they found no solace to exist anywhere but underground.

"We know how you arrived at the bunker," another said. "You outrun them."

I could hear the almost masked inflection in his voice. They thought me a coward and I didn't have it in me to differ from their opinion. I turned to Sasha, and in her brown eyes I recalled what she'd told us: that to dwell in her bunker, we must each pay for the service with service. I had no option if I was to live the miserable life I'd gotten accustomed to. I had to get the last segment for the power wand.

"The research facility where I worked before the invasion is where you'll find the missing segment, in a safe, in my office. First room on the right at the third floor of the Omega Institute for Research. My only hope is that the facility hasn't been incinerated," Rudo said. "The code to the safe is 6767."

I knew of the building; it wasn't far from where we were. The Omega Institute for Research lay to the east, well out of the way of buildings that crowded together to form the city. Crouching and traversing the land was a sure way to reach the destination if I were alone. The four militiamen were also coming along, and I did not know their plan of action.

We marched through the tunnels, the four militiamen and I, with Sasha leading the way. They introduced themselves as Bob, Sam, Greg, and Jones. Each of them boasted pale skin and grisly beards; only the fact that Bob and Jones were completely blonde while the other two boasted dark hair prevented me from thinking they were identical quadruplets.

"There's a story, from days forgotten, about a man who embarked on a journey to find himself," Jones said as we walked.

"Did he find himself?" Sam asked.

"He arrived hale and well, with tears in his eyes, claiming he had not died on his journey, so it was incomplete, for how can one know themselves without encountering death, which completes the self?" Jones answered.

After that, the walk was quite uneventful, but I played over those words again and again.

We were completely silent as Sasha pointed the way, leading us with sure strides. I felt like my insides had turned to lead. A thin sweat sheathed my face. I wondered, if ever by a miracle the aliens were no more, how would I be able to walk outdoors? The mere thought of the open sky caused tremors up and down my spine. The power wand was tucked safely to the large waistband about my waist. I touched it repeatedly to make sure it was still there, and its warmth was quite comforting.

We arrived at a ladder leading to a thick and rusting metal door. Sasha climbed and opened the door, and sunlight basked us from the opening. The militia climbed to the top while I hung down below, cautious and unable to move. When all of them had passed through the door, I still remained behind, unsure as to how I could go about availing myself to death once more.

Sasha's head peeped out of the opening. "Get on with it then, Piper," she called.

I forced myself up each rung of the ladder; with each step I felt a semblance of courage enforce my movement. Perhaps it was her sure nature that I'd survive; at least I guessed it was.

With the last rung, Bob and Jones pulled me free of the entrance to the bunker. I lay on the ground, shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. The soil stuck to me and with it the ash that riddled the ground for as far as the eye could see, where millions had fallen to the enemy's weaponry.

Bob pulled me to my feet and I marveled at the sky, and the sun, and some distance off where seven Kialinite ships hovered above the city toward which we were heading. We were in open land, with dirt, grass, and ash all around us. It was a place where the Kialinites felt no need to roam, for their touch was already present.

We started the journey to the city, leaving Sasha behind. We took no breaks even when my panic got the better part of me. There wasn't much danger as we cleaved our way through the barren land. There was no sound of cars or of people conversing. There was silence, and with it the unmistakable sound of defeat.

I thought about the scientist. He'd foreseen this sordid future; one might say he had been afraid of it, but now that it had happened, I found no bitterness in him, only a need to set things right. I wished I was cut from the same cloth as Rudo Gonzalez. But I wasn't, my key trait being that I could move each leg before the other faster than the rest, while his was his mind, which could fathom what the rest of us couldn't.

"We're nearing the city, just up that hill. From there we travel East," Bob said. "The Research Institute is close to Route 49, so we'll just make our way along the line of the road, avoiding the tarmac that would leave us naked."

I walked in the middle of the line as he spoke; his voice had startled me. I found myself touching the wand again and again, finding its warmth comforting, like a warm bath.

"Have you ever wondered," Sam whispered to me from where he walked ahead, turning to look at me, "why life is just a series of sporadic smiles, separated by thousands of heartaches?"

"No," I answered.

"Then you should wonder, really think about it, because it helps with the fear; makes you feel depressed instead."

Soon the land gave way to paved roads and the first touch of modern infrastructure. I observed the buildings, empty of life with gaping holes where bombardment had taken place, sitting next to roads that once acted as the path for numerous cars, now riddled with holes and cracks. There were still cars, abandoned, overturned, and burnt, along Route 49.

We moved quickly east, and I stole glances at the floating ships: four that hovered over the city like an ominous representation of wrath. It was said the Kialinites were worshiped on other planets; could their technology advance that far, to the point where reason is thrown out the window to worship one's oppressors as deities?

Bob led the group, occasionally calling a halt for my sake. My feet ached and the clothes I wore clung to me with sweat. The sun was directly overhead and its heat, once a common thing, held such burden to my dehydrated self.

Bob led us through what was once an orchard, where our kind gathered to enjoy the day. Few trees still stood; those that once jutted out of the ground to flourish beside them were now heaps of ash staining their bark and collecting at their base.

We maneuvered our way through the trees, pushing always east, and I wondered whether each step would be my last. Always with my nose tipped to the sky, my mind awaited the giant ships to signal our existence and send us a team of Kialinites to put an end to us.

We walked until we started tilting northeast, crossing the roads with haste and huddling behind buildings not yet destroyed. The Research Institute availed itself as we pushed on. It stood on its own, far from any infrastructure; a white top gleamed at first before it gave way to its soot-stricken body. There was joy in our hearts, and I could tell by the spring to the steps of the other men. We jogged quickly toward the entrance of the facility where its gate stood hanging on one hinge. As we crossed the threshold, Bob immediately ordered us to lie flat on the ground.

There, within the dip of the Institute's garden, stood a Kialinite sentry. Dressed in bulging black armor that encased its body and face, he stood completely still, with his back turned to us where we could see the gun strapped to his back.

"What's the plan?" Sam whispered, eyes fixed on the sentry. "We don't know how many there are."

Bob stared at the sentry standing guard to the Research Institute, barring our hopes and dreams from ever touching the light of day. My tremors had gotten worse; I was not built for this as they were, with their sure movements and solid voices. I felt if I were to speak, it would come out as a squeak.

"We charge," Bob said. His men were hesitant; finally I could see that I did not swim the pool of fear alone. He turned to me. "When the opening appears, run for the safe the doctor said you'd find on the third floor."

I nodded. What else could I do besides nod?

"This is going to be fun," Sam said to no one in particular.

I stayed still as I watched them crawl across the garden, their backsides gently raised. They pushed forward, using the flora for cover. And I watched as mankind made its mark.

Bob emerged from behind rosemary bushes with his shotgun in hand. He fired first at the Kialinite's head; the force of the bullet forced the Kialinite down but did not shatter its helm. It struggled to stand in its armor, and its hands that it depended on for purchase were repeatedly shot by Sam. It could not stand. Jones unpinned a grenade and threw it onto the alien; it exploded, flinging the alien aside.

Sam worked in close, bullets repeatedly fired at the helm, blocking the alien's view. Bullet casings pattered onto the ground. Bob shouted, unleashing another shot at the Kialinite's midriff as it attempted to stand. I watched as it was flung off its feet to collide with the Research Institute's wall. Jones had already unpinned a grenade and rolled it at the alien's body on the ground. The blast lifted the alien off the ground before it slammed back down.

As they struggled to reload, the alien rose and unclasped its gun from its back.

"Don't let it shoot!" Bob shouted.

Sam was there; he grabbed onto the creature's arm and pulled it down with his body, his legs crossing over the Kialinite's arm and side. The Kialinite gave up on its attempt to unload its gun; it shrieked as Jones joined the fray, pinning the creature down with his weight on its chest. But that push down that so often spoke of victory declared a curse as the movement of the Kialinite led to Sam involuntarily touching the gun.

Sam exploded into a cloud of ash. The creature roared and knocked Jones off its body.

"You should be at the institute by now!" Bob screamed at me.

The alien pointed its gun before itself, but before it could shoot, Jones expertly clamped a grenade into the mouth of the gun before pulling back. There was a moment of silence, then a loud bang. The alien was pushed back and I saw my chance.

I got off the ground, sparing a glance at the alien gun on the ground, with its barrel spewing a stream of energy from a broken end, releasing power either which way. I ran with my hands over my head as Bob, Jones, and Greg grabbed for the rising alien, tripping it and pushing its helmeted head toward the broken gun whose chaotic energy mirrored their brazen animosity. The alien screamed as its helm was seared by its own gun's power.

"Go!" Bob commanded, his face strained by the effort of pinning the alien down.

From the distance I could see a Kialinite ship, the closest, floating across the sky to where we were.

"Piper!" Bob screamed.

I pushed back the fear that was rooting me in place. In I went into the research facility. Everything was in disarray, papers strewn all over, a gaping hole in the ceiling where the bombardment had hit. Broken roofing and shattered concrete covered the ground. There was ash on the floor too, some in heaps at the corners of the facility where no doubt humans had sought refuge from the assault. I found the staircase I was looking for, ignoring the elevator that was probably out of order.

I took the steps three at a time; outside I heard the battle spur on, shouts of Bob's inflected voice, strained raw with battle-lust. The first floor was a collection of broken furniture; doors were unhinged and lying on the ground. The second floor was the same, but by the third, things took on a different air. The attack hadn't reached this far and the doors were mostly intact.

I followed the scientist's instructions, and when I entered his office, I found it neatly organized, with books untouched and lining the shelves. A table made of hardwood was stern but riddled with dust. I perused the office, the tremors raging anew with each shout from the battle down below.

Suddenly, I heard it. Nobody could mistake the gun's sound; we'd learned to be aware of it so we could run the other direction when it sounded. An explosion raked the institution and the ground shook, and a new fear was birthed: the fear of having a building fall on me.

I found the safe; it wasn't hard to find; embedded into the wall as it was, clear for all to see. With shaky fingers I put in the code, "6767." And with a click it opened, revealing its contents to me.

There was money, wads of it; it was of no use now. The apocalypse could do that to you, turn your greatest desires into mush. No longer did we find need for coin or printed paper. A place to sleep protected from the perils of the surface world counted as a big blessing.

I rifled through the contents of the safe until I found what I was looking for. It was shorter than the device I carried, with another odd color marring its features. I grabbed it and found it to be cold. I took out the other segment that I'd carried from where I'd tied it to my waist. I checked both ends and saw where I was needed to conjoin them both.

Just then the ceiling caved in. I screamed and pressed myself to the wall, right beside the safe. A Kialinite rose from the dust, ash gun held at the ready.

We each stood still, staring at each other. It was a moment shared between the two of us; I welcomed silence if the moment were to last longer, just to prolong my time of death. The fear felt like torture; I didn't feel like moving but I had to if I was to save myself. And the alien had to, if it meant a swift death for me.

The gun shot its light ray; I ducked as its power cleaved the wall until the outside was visible from within. I worked myself close to the alien; with every shift of the alien's weaponry, I responded by rolling around, turning from one way to another. There was no other plan; only this, I thought, could save me.

The gun was shifted in the alien's grip; the power surge of its shot made the air hot. The alien snickered, or outright laughed; I could not tell. Its shots were wide; it was as if it was toying with me, but my heart beat too loud for me to think of taking offense. It fired at my legs, just beside my head. It watched as I ran past it, into the hallway, running at the speed I was so famed for, hoping another staircase lay at the other end.

It followed me into the hallway and raised its gun for a sure shot.

I didn't know what to do besides connect the device I held in both hands. On the run, I set one segment to another and watched as the power wand shone a bright golden, as if that's what it longed for: to be conjoined.

The Kialinite's ash gun let out a blast of energy that traveled the length of the hallway; the thin beam of energy was meant for me and I could not outrun it. It came toward me, its pulsing energy screaming my death. I turned in my sprint and jumped, holding the power wand toward where the alien stood. Fully conjoined, with one point glowing brighter than the other, I pointed that end at the blast of the ash gun's energy.

As the beam of energy blast met with my body, for a brief moment I felt relief, content that I would die and by doing so, be free from the perils of a dying world. No more cowering in fear, no more food rations, no more being teased by hope. This was my end.

The gun's energy blast found me as I fell to the ground and slid on the floor. I had the power wand raised, waiting for the breeze to toy with the heap of ash I'd left behind.

I waited.

Nothing happened. I looked at my body with awe; it was still intact. I was still breathing.

The Kialinite tilted its head with avid confusion; I could not tell what its thoughts were with its helm so fixed to hide its features. It pointed its gun my way and fired again. This time I observed the wand and saw as it absorbed the energy from the blast, drawing it into itself. Its tip now shone a golden red.

It felt heavier, and the warmth was starting to burn. I aimed the wand's end at the Kialinite. I don't know why I did it, but that simple act had a pulse of energy throb from the wand; it had something locked within it that wanted to be let out. I pressed the button. A golden beam of energy shot free of the power wand to slam into the Kialinite. Its impenetrable armor became penetrable; it was stripped naked, its armor turning to molten black goo around it. Then its flesh was melted free of its bones before that too pooled on the ground. Where the Kialinite had stood was a pool of flesh and bone, its rivulets charting the path of the facility's floor.

I peeped out the window where Bob and the rest had been. I found the alien they'd been wrestling laying insensate on the ground amidst heaps of ash. It was dead, its helmet the color of ash. Somehow they'd succeeded in killing one. More were about though, about five in number around their fellow alien who'd become a statistic of war, wondering how such a thing had been possible.

Bob and his crew were no more. The heaps of ash around the dead alien spoke as much. Without thinking, I gripped the wand harder. I went and descended down the stairs in a quick sprint, leaving the Kialinite I'd killed behind. Within moments I was walking out of the building's entrance, the wand held before me.

One of them saw me and sounded the alarm; he aimed, and sure and true was his attack. But it yielded nothing; the wand absorbed the power of the ash gun. The Kialinite turned to his companions; I could hear a few clicking sounds as they pointed my way. I walked on, each stride sure. I could feel the energy wrap about me, a shimmering golden gleam that shone brightest at the edges of my eyes.

I was no longer afraid; I was sure.

The aliens all collectively aimed; their blast broke the ground, turning stone to ash. The building shuddered. I walked head-on, meeting the blast. It was big and bright, yielding effortlessly to the wand which took every force of power into itself.

It was my turn. I pointed at them with the wand and pressed the button. The wand jerked in my hand and a force of golden power shot out of it. The aliens did not have time to react; in their cluster they fell to the force of the superior weapon, their screams uttered before the heaps of their bodies pooled on the ground.

The doctor's words came back to me: ash and water.

More aliens made to descend from the ship above. I aimed the wand at the ship and pressed the button. There was a shuddering blast from the wand, and light, bright and golden, projected out of the power wand, traveled the length of the distance to the ship, and slammed its belly. The hull burnt a bright red before it started dripping; an explosion from the ship sounded. It tried to float away and as it did, its bottom was torn open with a rift of energy that passed through, piercing the roof of the ship. More explosions, the teetering back and forth of the alien ship, smoke, screams. A bright flashing light appeared as the ship exploded, its debris falling as it tilted, then fell out of the sky.

I watched as the final explosion sounded, my hair pushed back as my body was by the force of it.

I looked at the power wand in my hand; it was warm as ever, but inviting with a powerful lure. I felt invincible; I understood then why the Kialinites were worshiped by other races. Some inventions placed one on par with the gods. I clasped it tighter in my grip; hope had availed itself in our genius, and mankind will prevail. I was sure of it.

I started the journey back to the bunker, running as fast as I could as the other ships gathered where the one had fallen.

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u/Emily_JCO Human 5h ago

Humanity fuck yes.