Page 21 of Semi-Human

The following day is hot and dry, with barely any clouds in the pale blue sky. We march in our usual long formation, humans mixed with Semi-Humans. I love seeing how natural we’ve become as a single group. Our leaders will be the ones to determine if and when we’ll go to war, but none of them are here to divide us.

Around noon, River grabs my hand and stops walking. “Something’s happening.”

Across the column, other Semis stop as well.

Lyla, who’s standing next to us, points to the west. “It’s coming from that direction.”

I shift my rifle in front of me and turn to look, but all I see are rows of hills in the distance.

Caden comes over. “What is it?”

“People,”

Lyla says. “A settlement.”

“They’re scared,”

River adds.

The rest gather around us. Caden asks, “How far from here?”

Lyla narrows her eyes. “About an hour’s walk if we’re quick. We should have a better view if we climb those hills.”

Caden hesitates, and River says, “Aren’t we here to look for settlements?”

He’s right, but I understand Caden’s hesitation. Something must have made those people scared, and we’re supposed to stay away from trouble.

Finally, Caden raises his voice to say, “Okay everyone, let’s make it quick. Keep your eyes and ears open. We’re going to check it out so we don’t get any surprises later.”

When the rest of the force begins to walk toward the hills, Caden asks quietly, “Do you sense any giants?”

Lyla shakes her head. “No.”

“Okay. Let me know if that changes. Let’s go.”

The sun beats down as we march. Finn and some of the others ride ahead to make sure the road is clear. After almost an hour, we reach a six-hundred-foot hill and start to climb, leaving unnecessary gear behind. There’s a faint sound of people shouting in the distance, growing louder the higher we climb.

“River, can you hear what they’re saying?”

Caden asks.

“I think there’s about to be an attack, and the people beyond the hill are evacuating, but not all of them are willing to leave.”

Caden wipes sweat from his brow. “How many are in that enemy force?”

River narrows his eyes, as if trying to hear something in the distance. “I can’t tell from this far, but they have heavy vehicles with them.”

“Buggies?”

“Heavier.”

I remember the tanks I saw during my conversation with Mother. We have nothing that can stop those steel monsters.

We reach the peak a few minutes later and crouch near the edge, where we can see the town below us. It's surrounded by a wall, but not the kind that would likely hold against a massive attack. Four watchtowers are spread across town. On the streets, people run in panic, dragging bags and carrying children.

Caden hands me his binoculars and points ahead. About two miles from town, a force has gathered. I count three massive tanks and about a hundred armed soldiers. At least I don’t see any giants. The force is moving slowly as if they have all the time in the world.

I look down to where armed townsfolk are directing people toward the main gate, but the time for evacuation is running out.

Lyla crouches next to us. “What’s the word?”

Caden watches the panic below with a tight jaw, and I don’t envy the weight of his decision.

“We help,”

River says impatiently. “Their force is small, and they won’t likely use the tanks if they want to collect slaves—they could have fired by now.”

Caden snorts. “They’ll sure use the tanks once they realize we’re here.”

“Then we won’t give them time to realize. My people will take out the tanks once they get a bit closer. There are only three.”

I stare at him. Only three tanks?

Lyla nods. “We can do that. Our best chance is to flank them. We’ll continue on the ridge and climb down once we’re far enough.”

She tells Caden, “You’ll need to make everyone below push back toward the hills and away from the wall. If the enemy breaks through, your best chance will be to take them out between the structures.”

Anger flashes in Caden’s eyes, and I can almost hear him grinding his teeth. “This is a surveillance mission.”

“They’re going to fight regardless,”

I tell him, because the determination in the Semis’ eyes is unmistakable.

Caden glances at the approaching army with tension in his jaw. “Fine. Take out those tanks as fast as possible. The rest of you, we climb down with our weapons raised above our heads. Leave whatever you don’t need up here. Come on, move it!”

As the rest begin to spread, River grabs my hand. “I’ll destroy a tank for you.”

“I’d rather you be careful.”

He nods. “I’ll destroy it carefully.”

He kisses me hard, then he and the rest of his people run across the ridge.

Caden tells Finn, “You’re not coming with us.”

“I can fight.”

“We don’t want to lose the horses. Climb back down and watch them until we get back.”

Finn’s about to argue, but I give him a hard look. He grunts, “Fine, but please don’t do anything more stupid than this.”

“He’s right,”

Caden tells me once we’re alone. “It is stupid.”

“We’re Defenders.”

“Of the Hive.”

He shakes his head. “Fuck it. Everyone’s ready?”

The thirty armed men and women around us nod, though many seem reluctant. We raise our weapons above our heads and follow Caden down the winding path leading to town. We’re halfway down when we’re spotted. In less than a minute, ten armed townsfolk aim their weapons at us, shouting for us to drop our weapons.

Caden swiftly moves to shield me—an instinct I know he can’t help. He gives the command, and we all lower our weapons to the ground.

“We’re from Colorado!”

Caden shouts. “Not here to hurt you!”

An armed man with a blue hat shouts back, “Then why are you here?”

“We’re on a surveillance mission, trying to learn more about what’s been happening around these parts. We noticed the commotion and came to check. We want to help.”

The people below exchange looks, some suspicious and some hopeful. “How do we know you’re not working with the enemy?”

“We wouldn’t have been walking with our weapons raised if we were with the enemy, and we have Semi-Humans with us who have already spread out to help.”

It’s the riskiest thing he could have said, but keeping it a secret might blow up in our faces later.

“The fuck you just said?”

the man with the blue hat shouts.

“Semi-Humans! They’re trying to flank the enemy, and they are our best shot at taking down those tanks before they flatten your town.”

Still aiming their weapons at us, they talk among themselves, then the man with the hat shouts, “Come down! No funny business!”

We pick up our weapons and follow Caden down the rest of the path. The one who has been doing the talking is a middle-aged bulky man with long, messy gray hair. His dusty blue hat has a print of an eagle. He shakes Caden’s hand. “I’m Ben. If you’re fucking with us—”

“We’re not. How many people live here?”

“Close to a thousand. Most have fled, but the rest know there’s nothing better waiting out there, and they want to protect our home. My scouts told me the enemy doesn’t have more than a hundred fighters, but those damn tanks…”

“Our Semis seemed confident they could handle those. What I need is for everyone close to the wall to move deeper into town. Send the weakest ones up the hills if you can.”

Ben spits on the ground. “Listen here, junior. We’ve spent a lot of time and resources on that wall, and now you want us to simply give up on our main line of defense?”

“If those tanks can do what I think they can, a single shot should be enough to breach your defenses. Let them enter, then we’ll give them hell where we can use cover.”

Ben exchanges glances with his men, and they reluctantly nod. “Okay, we’ll get everyone into town and spread our fighters in the streets close to the gate.”

“Good.”

Caden points to the watchtower closest to us. “I have three snipers with me. I want them up there.”

“Alright.”

“They’re getting closer!”

someone calls.

“Use what you can for barricades!”

Ben calls back.

“We can help with that.”

Caden turns to face us. “Everybody but the snipers, follow Ben and help out with the barricades. I’ll join you in a moment.”

Once they hurry off, Caden tells the other two snipers—one from Mercy and one from High Hope—to reach the watchtower and take position. With them gone, he looks at me without speaking. I can practically see that horrible night on the hill playing in his head; his squad members dying before he was forced to leave me behind.

“It won’t happen again,”

I say, even though I have no right to make such a promise.

“It better not. If you just sense someone targeting your position, you climb down like your balls are on fire. You get me?”

“Yes.”

He kisses my forehead. “Blow some heads off, Private. That’s an order.”

*

I see them marching closer through the scope of my sniper rifle. The wall—guarded until five minutes ago—is now deserted. They clearly put a lot of work into constructing it, but Caden was right—it wouldn’t withhold anything more powerful than bullets. I hope that taking the fight to the streets will work in our favor, but a lot will depend on how well-trained the approaching army is.

The closer they get, the more dust rises in their wake. There are no paved streets outside of town, just sand and dry vegetation. It’s getting harder to see through the dust, but I spot looks of confusion from the enemy soldiers. They clearly expected to face some sort of resistance by now, and they’re likely wondering if the town was completely evacuated.

A sudden flash of movement among the dust catches my eye through the scope. I squint until I see it again, but the marching soldiers remain oblivious. They must barely hear a thing with those tanks rolling close by. On the far left of the force, a soldier suddenly disappears as if he’s sucked by the dust. The soldier next to him turns to look, only to be pulled away as well. It happens too fast for me to identify who’s responsible, but I see a glimpse of copper hair.

It takes a few more vanished soldiers before the rest catch on, and then all hell breaks loose. Shouts of alarm run through the confused force, followed by gunshots that strike their own forces by mistake.

Not the easy fight you were expecting.

The tanks suddenly stop, and I use the opportunity to take my first shot. I miss the head of the soldier I’ve been aiming at, but his throat is good enough. He goes down, either dead or dying.

As the chaos on the battlefield continues, it dawns on me that despite their appearance, those are not well-trained fighters. I don’t let that affect me, though, since overconfidence is the deadliest enemy. I take down two more soldiers while the snipers next to me add kills of their own.

My heart drops at the sight of two bodies with copper hair lying among the soldiers. I hold my breath as I use my scope to check each one, selfishly relieved neither is River or Lyla.

“Shit, look!”

I follow the direction the sniper next to me is pointing at until I see Lyla standing on top of one of the tanks. She uses a rifle to shoot down the few soldiers unlucky enough to stand close by. Once the coast is clear, she begins to punch down at the tank’s top hatch. It seems insane until I see the metal denting.

Then River enters my line of sight, rushing toward the same tank. There’s blood on his clothes, but he doesn’t seem injured. He reaches the gun barrel and latches onto it. I have no idea what the hell he’s doing, but it becomes clear once he bends the barrel sideways. Firing through that will undoubtedly blow up the tank.

River moves to help Lyla break down the top hatch, but there’s apparently more than one way to go in and out of the tank. Without them noticing, a front hatch opens, and three soldiers sneak out.

Panic seizes my chest. I can’t take down all three before they open fire. With no time to think, I aim and fire at the tank, hitting less than three feet from River. He and Lyla sharply turn to look, making them notice the threat and giving them a chance to jump down and take out the three surprised soldiers.

My mouth drops at the sight of River’s fist smashing through a soldier’s skull.

Seconds later, the other two tanks begin their attack.

One blows up a part of the wall with a single hit, the impact like roaring thunder that rattles my spine. The second tank hits a watchtower about 300 feet from me, sending people screaming as they fall to their death. I’ve no doubt they’re about to target my tower next.

“Down!”

I shout and rush to the ladder. The two others follow suit, and we barely manage to reach the nearby street before a shell hits our tower, destroying it and sending debris flying everywhere. We rush into the highest building we can find—a three-story structure with a restaurant on the first floor—and run upstairs to reposition ourselves. By the time we find a window with a good enough field of view, enemy soldiers have started storming through the breach in the wall. There are about half of the original force left, but they are well-armed and clearly desperate.

We shoot as many as we can with our limited vision while Caden and the rest give them hell down on the streets. Whoever passes the wall is gunned down within seconds, until a pile of bodies begins to form.

Another shell hits nearby, making the floor beneath me shake. The scent of smoke is thick, slipping in through the windows and into my lungs. I cough and shake my head to refocus, but before I can aim, an explosion booms from across the wall. A ball of fire and smoke rises into the air, then another one follows.

I’ll destroy a tank for you.

I look through my scope for more incoming soldiers, but I see none. The air is quiet and still, as if we’re all holding our breath, waiting to be sure we’ve won. Cheers of victory begin to rise across town, but I’m too worried about River to join the celebration. Through the cheers, I catch a sound in the distance. It’s like an engine, but it hums where the tanks roared.

“What the hell is that? Do you hear it?”

the sniper next to me asks.

I nod and raise my eyes. Unless there’s something wrong with my ears, I can swear the humming is coming from the sky. Through the dark trail of smoke from the burning tanks, I spot a shape coming closer. I hurry to put my eye to the scope, zooming in on what seems like a flying machine. It’s hard to tell how big it is, but my gut tells me it’s bigger than a tank, and it’s approaching fast.

“It’s a chopper,”

the guy next to me says in awe. “I’ve heard about them!”

I have too, and that is how I know we don’t have much time. I shout as loud as I can, “They have a chopper! Take cover!”

Down on the streets, people echo my words. I catch movement from the wall, deeply relieved to see the Semis running inside, River and Lyla among them, neither appearing injured.

I return my gaze to the chopper in time to see it fire two missiles. My brain urges me to flee, but I remain frozen, knowing there’s no escaping what is heading our way.

The world trembles from the impact, shattering windows and throwing me backward, slamming me onto the floor. Through the deafening ringing in my ears, I hear screams from outside. Dust and thick smoke slip into my lungs and cling to my mouth. I struggle to my feet and stumble to the shattered window, assessing the damage outside. The street below is covered in debris and black smoke, but I can’t see any people, injured or dead. The missiles seem to have hit east of us.

I shake my head as the ringing in my ears begins to fade, raising my eyes to the sky. The fucking chopper still hovers about a mile from town. I grab my sniper rifle and look through the scope, trying to figure out if the chopper has more missiles and whether I can shoot the pilot from such a distance. Before I can decide, someone jumps from the chopper. It happens so fast that I can’t see the ground where he lands, but I do know that whoever it is just jumped from 500 feet—and even from such a distance, he looked enormous.

“Giant!”

I scream, my throat clogged with smoke. Coughing, I lean on the window, zeroing in on the breach in the wall where the giant will likely try to enter. As I watch the breach with cold dread, I hear a loud thud from another part of the wall. I swallow what little saliva I have as a second thud follows, louder than the first.

Part of the wall crumbles, sending smoke and debris flying. The giant pushes through after breaking in with just his fists.

At about 13 feet, he wears dark metal armor, leaving his head the only exposed part of his body. His skin is as pale as his short hair and brows. His face is square and angular, as if carved from a rock.

I reach for my sniper rifle and aim, my determination pumping harder than my fear. Not wearing a helmet is the last mistake this so-called New-Human is ever going to make. I squint to take my shot, but my finger freezes on the trigger. He’s looking straight at me with a toothy smile as if he’s aware of my intentions and finding them amusing.

I’m paralyzed under his gaze, positive that my shot will be futile.

Then the Semis attack. They charge from different directions, bringing the giant to his knees with a storm of nasty blows. Dark purple blood flows from his nose onto the ground. And still, he smiles—a chilling expression I’m bound to revisit in my nightmares.

“Brothers and sisters!”

His voice is as deep as at the bottom of a well, rumbling in my ears. The Semis stop to listen. “Why do you fight for the unworthy? For this pitiful flock? Father welcomes all his children. Lay down your arms!”

They ignore his plea and charge again. I tell myself he cannot possibly win this fight, no matter how strong he is, but he’s about to prove me wrong. Faster than seems possible, he shoots his hand out to grab one of the Semis by the neck, holding tightly as he rises to his feet. It’s a young man named Leaf who rarely speaks but has a booming laugh. With one effortless twitch of his wrist, the giant snaps Leaf’s neck, letting his lifeless body slump to the ground.

I stare in shock, wishing I could communicate with River and beg him to run for his life.

“Is this what you wanted? So be it!”

The giant’s booming voice vibrates down my spine. He raises his foot and smashes it down on Leaf’s skull.

The sniper next to me throws up on the floor, and I stop myself from doing the same.

The battle continues, but the giant deflects every incoming attack, his limbs moving too fast for me to follow. When the Semis shoot at him, he covers his face, and the bullets bounce from his armor. They give up and resume hand-to-hand combat.

Every time River attacks, a rush of dizziness washes over me, but he’s quicker than the rest, dancing out of the giant’s reach while managing to land some brutal blows—though they seem to have little effect.

I can do nothing but stare in horror as two more of the Semis I’ve grown to know are gruesomely killed.

“Retreat!”

Caden shouts, and the five remaining Semis give up on the fight. But Lyla isn’t fast enough. The giant takes two long steps and grabs her by the back of the hair, lifting her up. She screams in rage and tries to break free, but his arm is long enough to keep her from hitting his body.

My blood boils, red filling my vision. I have no doubt that River is seconds away from returning to fight. I raise the sniper rifle and take my aim, not wasting a second because there’s no time. I fire at the giant’s head, hitting my target and expecting to see his skull shatter. God knows I’ve shot enough heads in my life to know what to expect.

The giant staggers back and releases Lyla, who rushes away from his grasp.

I exhale in relief, though I’m stunned to barely see blood running from the bullet wound. The giant calmly plucks the bullet from his forehead and tosses it aside like a fly. He raises his gaze and smiles at me, nodding in appreciation as purple blood trickles down his face.

In a heartbeat, he dashes forward and disappears from my line of sight, but I know he’s heading my way.

*

“Out!”

I run down the stairs and exit to the street, my heart pounding in my ears. The stench of fire and smoke is overwhelming, with body parts scattered around from the missile hit. Before I can decide where to run, I hear something smashing into structures and shattering windows.

Gunfire follows. The rest of the force is probably engaging the giant, but if he truly is trying to catch me, I have to lure him away. Can he sense me? Will he know where to follow? The sound of destruction grows louder and closer, making it clear he’s zeroing in on my location. I turn to the two other snipers. “Run in the opposite direction from me.”

Before they can respond, I sprint toward the hill. If I climb it fast enough, and assuming that the giant will indeed follow, it will leave him exposed. I can only hope the others will seize the opportunity to attack, though after what I saw, I doubt we have what it takes to bring him down. Perhaps I can at least give the others time to escape.

I reach the foot of the hill and begin to climb, but my long sniper rifle is slowing me down, so I leave it on the ground. A few feet up the hill, I hear a distant scream. I turn to see a Defender flying through the air, landing somewhere I can’t see. I tell myself it wasn’t Caden as I continue to climb, my breath coming out in sharp whistles. I almost slip a few times, but I can’t slow down.

I’m not even halfway up the hill when I hear the giant’s thunderous voice. “Little sniper, where are you going?”

I lose my footing and stumble onto my hands and knees. He’s standing at the foot of the hill, dents and scratches decorating his armor, while his pale face is bruised and bloody.

I push myself to my feet. Running is pointless by this point, even though there’s still some distance between us. I stand straight and hold his gaze, letting him savor this moment of victory—drawing it out just enough for River to jump from a nearby rooftop with a knife. He lands on the giant’s back, then quickly jumps away.

I hold my breath as confusion clouds the giant’s features. He pulls out the bloody knife from the side of his neck with a grunt of pain. His knees buckle, and he drops to all fours. Even from this distance, I can hear his heavy, liquid breath. He coughs and spits out purple blood onto the ground.

Caden and Dara approach from behind. They shoot dozens of bullets until the giant’s thick skull finally gives in and shatters.

I let out the breath I’ve been holding, my muscles trembling and sweat covering my skin. River looks up at me, his face bloody and bruised. He destroyed a tank for me like he’d promised, but the price wasn’t worth it.

I climb down the hill on unsteady legs. Without the adrenaline in my system, I’m becoming aware of my growing aches and bruises, but I’m sure I had it easy compared to the rest. Just when I’m about to regroup with what remains of our force, I hear the chopper getting closer.

We all watch each other in fear, knowing what that thing is capable of.

Bullets rain down, and we sprint for cover. Some of us fire back, but I can’t help since I didn’t pick up my sniper rifle. We hunch behind a cracked wall riddled with bullet holes. River presses against me, and I hold firmly to his hand to prevent him from trying anything crazy. People scream as they’re hit, and I can do nothing but pray the fucking chopper will run out of ammo soon.

“We need to move before this structure goes down!”

Caden shouts. The moment we can, we run outside to find better cover.

“Lyla!”

I follow River’s gaze until I spot Lyla on one of the rooftops. The chopper is flying low, not yet aware of her presence. Smoke rises from the machine guns as they’re about to fire at us again, but they don’t get the chance. Lyla jumps higher than I’ve ever seen anyone jump, landing inside the chopper from the open side door. We can’t see what is happening inside, but screaming soldiers begin to fall to their deaths. The chopper swings violently, and right when he’s about to crash into one of the buildings, Lyla jumps down and lands on one of the nearby rooftops.

The impact of the crash makes the ground shake. A ball of fire rises to the sky, and nearby structures burst into flames.

“We’re getting the hell out of here!”

Caden calls, and the remaining townsfolk join us as we head toward the gate, running past dozens of bodies. Ben has broken his leg and needs to be carried by two of his men. He’s still wearing his blue eagle hat.

As the town around us continues to burn, my sense of failure is more suffocating than the thick smoke, but I can do nothing but breathe it in.