An Intervention of Angels: A Free Science Fiction thriller of eternal war on a distant planet by J Battle

Author:J Battle [Battle, J]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2013-12-14T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 39

D tore at the ground with his bare hands, his fingers bleeding as he ripped chunks of rock from the earth. He panted with the effort of maintaining a semblance of physical integrity, of holding the unnatural forces within his frail human body, of not just giving in and following his twin into the deep, dark grave.

He barely noticed the soft hand on his shoulder.

‘Enough, Daniel. That’s enough. You can stop now. It doesn’t need to be any deeper.’

He dropped his hands to his sides, his fingers dripping red flowers onto the dirt.

‘I can’t… How can I..?’

Pi wrapped her arms around his shaking shoulders, in a gesture of comfort. But it was no more than a gesture; her real purpose was to discover how his body was responding. She could feel that the physical pain was lessened and, with a final squeeze, let go of him, confident that he would survive. His mental torment meant nothing to her.

An hour later, with J’s body buried and the earth and rocks piled up above him, she led him away.

‘You must do this for Jason, now,‘ she said, gently, her eyes never leaving his face, ’he chose this path, and now you must walk where his feet would have walked, carry his burden together with your own. Can you do that, Daniel?’

D stood up straight and took a deep breath.

‘How long do we have?’ The words came out slowly, as if ripped from him, syllable by syllable.

‘Not long, we think. They will reach our shores in a few days, and you have a lot to do before then. Be reassured, we do not expect you to do this alone. We are seeking out other candidates to support you in this task.’

‘To replace J?’

‘Yes, Daniel. I see how hard this is for you, and I will not hide the truth from you. It is right that you grieve for you brother, but you still have to fulfil the task you agreed to take on. And there is no time now for tears.’

D turned to her. His eyes were dry and blank. But she could see the tension building inside him and took a step backwards, for safety’s sake. Then he closed his eyes and raised his clenched fists to his chest and somehow blocked her perception of him. She could no longer see what was going on inside his head; when she reached for him, the wall was as impregnable as the great Wall behind her.

For a second she knew fear, then he opened his eyes and nodded at her.

‘Alright. What do you want me to do?’

‘Come with me. We have to travel to the land of the apes. It’s not far, perhaps five leagues from here.’

D knelt and placed one hand on the dirt covering his brother. Then he straightened and nodded to Pi.

Together they ran across the rough ground, their feet kicking up the dust in the dull evening light.

A few minutes after they left, there was a click-clacking sound and a line of black discs marched from the wall to the new grave.

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