ALL NOVEL Dawn
Orion and Cole walk in the complete darkness, not saying much.
Orion leads Cole near the edges of the water, past sharp rocks and trees that feet can barely cross.
Soon, they find themselves at the very top of the island.
Back in the day, it was something. With the rising tide, it really is not far from the water at all.
But the view still takes Cole's breath away as he sees it.
Dawn breaks over the ocean and the islands before them.
Extravagant formations, radioactive waters, and large ships and flying things that have crashed around them are their landscape.
Orion squints, looking for the aircraft carrier far away.
Cole brings up his menu.
SURVIVAL XP - 75 %
KNOWLEDGE XP - 50%
COMBAT / FIGHT / DEFENSE XP - 60%
LEGEND XP
"Where your stats at?" Cole breaks the silence as the atomic skies warm up before them.
"All at 50. Yours too?" Orion asks.
"Yeah," Cole lies.
Orion keeps looking out.
"That meeting? The community center? That is what the old world was like. Always. All noise. Assuming the worst. Hating one another. So much hate. It led us here."
Orion looks around their surroundings and then the atomic sky.
"There was an old song that said they paved paradise to put up a parking lot. I'll try to explain it to you later," Orion laughs to himself. "Parking lots. Songs. God help us. It is all gone."
Orion becomes emotional. Not crying, but tears start. A lump in his throat forms that will not leave.
Cole just watches.
"What are we going to do, Orion?"
"We're going to have face them. Go to their island. Or back to the ship. Something."
"Can I come with you?" Cole asks after some time.
"I was hoping you would. Whatever is in you, coming out, could turn the tide."
"How long have I been here?" Cole asks.
"Years."
"Why now? These skills? Making new memories?" Cole asks, frustrated.
Orion shakes his head and looks at Cole.
"It doesn't really matter. Now is now. Now is what matters. We always want answers to things we'll never know. The sooner you realize that, you stop fear in its track."
Orion is done speaking, and starts to walk back into the jungles. Cole wishes he could stay, but runs off after him.
In the waters where Trix had her boat gently go through, three beings slowly swim.
One leads in the front. Skin burned and torn, but the human shell remains.
A long gun is wrapped around their back. They swim past the tree trunks and rooftops, slowly and surely.
They dive past the strange fish and wildlife, which all try to get away from them.
This small group of fallen are expert swimmers, and know where they are going.
The other two fallen members, both female warriors, have handmade swords and spears strapped to their bodies.
Soon, the lead in front waves his hand, telling them to slowly ascend.
They come up out of the water, by the trees, looking up at Orion's hut.
Orion and Cole are both sleeping the day away after their night of hiking and day of warfare.
The sun is starting to set many hours after their hike, and the gold light shines in the small hut through the windows and torn American flag.
Orion is snoring.
Cole stares at the ceiling, then back to the picture of Christ the Redeemer, then back to the ceiling.
He then looks back to the photo again.
"I'm sorry."
Cole doesn't know why he says it, but he does.
He gets up out of his hut and stretches, and walks out on to the porch surrounding the hut.
As he comes out into the air, he freezes, pretending he doesn't see the three beings swimming towards the hut slowly.
INCOMING
A warning flashes over his eyes.
Cole takes a deep breath and leans over the porch like nothing is going on.
Suddenly, Cole sees something on his display.
MESSAGE OPTION
Cole's eyes flick to it and open it.
He sees an outline and chart of ORION in a hazy glare over his eyes, while watching the fallen slowly getting closer.
MESSAGE ORION
Suddenly, Cole's eyes flick around a glowing keyboard.
ORION, WAKE UP
He sends it.
Nothing.
Cole sees a microphone on his display.
AUDIO MESSAGE
Cole clears his throat and then whispers. "Orion, wake up. There are fallen outside."
Orion is hard asleep.
His eyes clear from the menu and stats and hell of it all.
But in the darkness, the message flashes. Like an email message in a dream.
Orion's display opens, even though his eyes are closed shut.
ORION, WAKE UP
"What the...what is that?" Orion says to himself in a strange in between cycle of sleep and wake.
He opens his eyes, and looks for Cole.
Suddenly, his menu goes into full display...and an audio waveform appears before him.
The waves move as he hears in his brain and ears, "Orion, wake up. There are fallen outside."
"How did Cole..." Orion starts, but then realizes the message.
Orion jumps up, grabbing his long rifle and a small pistol and runs out.
As he runs out, he tosses Cole the pistol, and leans over the balcony and immediately opens fire.
The lead fallen leaps out of the water on to a tree, then pushes off that and sends themselves up to the hut.
The fallen warrior slams into Orion, knocking him on to the ground.
Cole opens fire at the two fallen behind in the water.
One is shot dead, but the other dives down quickly.
Cole turns to help Orion, but the diving warrior then explodes out of the water with a forceful push, coming all the way up to the hut.
The woman lands on the deck, snapping it. All nearly fall into the water.
Cole aims and fires. Click. Click. Empty.
The woman fallen, who was once a beautiful angel like creature, snarls and runs at him with the spear.
Orion gets up, ready for his fight with the fallen warrior.
The warrior stands before him, not moving.
Orion sees he is strong, and in a strange way, a new fallen. The burns and flesh are recent. Younger. Made new.
"Like what you see?" The fallen warrior says finally.
Orion stops.
"No. No. Please. No."
Orion lowers his gun.
"Koda," Orion starts. "Please. No. You didn't let them."
"What do you want, Orion?! All of my shipmates eaten and tortured. Some of the others gave in too, but they died. I survived!" Koda screams back.
A new fallen. From the lost ship.
"And Goliath sent me to finish you."
Koda is done talking to his former friend, and opens fire with his gun.
Orion jumps off the deck into the water below.
Koda screams and jumps off and follows him.
The woman warrior kicks Cole into the hut, knocking a wall out.
She swings her spear, stabbing and swinging and turning, as Cole crawls, rolls, and jumps out of the way.
The creature slams the spear into the wood floor with a brutal stab. Stuck.
Cole slides across the room towards Orion's side.
He reaches for an ammo clip, slams it into his pistol, turns and fires.
The female fallen warrior screams as the bullets hit her.
She looks down in horror at the wounds, and almost seems human again. A new fear goes across her face, and she falls over, dead.
Cole doesn't move at first. He just watches.
Orion swims towards the shore as fast as he can.
His heart beating through his chest. Gasping for air.
Koda is right on him, pull after pull in the water.
Orion falls out of the water on to the ground, as his rifle bounces away from him, but Koda is right there.
He begins to pummel and tear at Orion.
Orion does a cheap move and kicks the fallen between the legs, gasping for air, then stands up punches Koda across the face.
Koda falls back, splashing back into the water.
Villagers up on the hill can see the scene, and start screaming and pointing. Some go running for others.
Koda looks up, seeing his old world.
"Koda," Orion begs. "Look at me. Look at this. Look at your home."
Suddenly, an older woman comes upon the hill.
She screams. She wails. She curses.
Koda has tears in his eyes and clinches his deformed teeth at the sight of the woman, and her wails of agony.
"Get her out of here!" Koda screams.
Other villagers try pulling her back.
But his mother is stronger than them all. "Koda!!!Koda!!!"
Finally, she is pulled away.
Koda then looks back to Orion.
"There is no good fallen, Orion. We cannot be changed. It is too late."
"Try," Orion says. "Be the first."
"You don't understand. We are hell's finest."
Koda then changes back to his fallen self and screams and laughs and begins to pull his rifle up.
"Hey Orion. I don't see the words anymore. I see other things. I don't see that menu. I see - "
Orion picks up his rifle first from the ground and opens fire.
What is left of Koda falls over into the water and drifts away.
Cole comes swimming up to the shore.
"You okay?"
"No! You lied. You are on another level," Orion says, pointing his finger. "How did you do that?! The messages?!"
"I don't know! It was just there. We're upgrading. Evolving. I don't know. A new dawn."
"Dammit," Orion says, falling to his knees. He punches the ground. "Get out of my head! My eyes! I can't even sleep now!"
As Orion screams, his KNOWLEDGE and SURVIVAL go up, adding insult to injury.
Villagers watch up on the hill.
Cole looks at them and back at Orion.
"You knew him?" Cole finally asks.
Orion nods.
"He was on that ship. He was part of the force that protected this island. He was like you, Cole. He was my friend."
Orion slowly stands.
"He had the menu too."