I freeze. Jade Army. No, no, no. I should've known she was Jade Army, the power, the artillery. How didn't I see it?
I shove her back. She doubles over, startled. "Hey!" She shouts.
"Get the fuck away from me." I say grimly. My entire past comes back to me in a swoop. Life before the wall, having to kill whatever I see, and seeing all the morbid things I did when I encountered the Jade Army. The words sting. 'The Jade Army'
"What are you talking about?" She says, confused. "What do you have against the Jade Army?"
"Everything." I say. I gulp. It's not just what I saw and what they did, it's what I did. What I had to do to those psychopaths just to get away, the things that still haunt me whenever I hold the rifle. "You don't know what I had to do."
I don't wanna think about it. I can still remember the taste of blood in my mouth.
She looks angry. Probably about how I'm in such shock at the thought of the Jade Army.
I look down at my feet, trying to silence the frantic terrified thoughts that swarm my head at this very moment. "Don't think about it, don't think about it..." I mutter under my breath.
She tries to read me, but she still can't figure it out.
I drain out the shock, and whip together some rational thoughts. "Alright..." I look up at her. "I came across the Jade Army ten years years ago, and when I did they kept me prisoner. They told me I should never have got in their way, and they hurt me." That's an understatement. They broke nearly every bone in my body. They tested DM effects on me for gear, I had nerve damage for two and a half years. "So I hurt them back." Also an understatement.
She steps back, the colour draining from her face. "You're..." she stammers. "You're Leo Crossford."
Oh fuck, she knows about me. She's going to want to hurt me, drag me back there and do God knows what to me.
"Wait, n—"
"You're a legend!" She says. "You overthrew the commander, and killed all of the leaders. You changed us."
That's definitely not the response I thought was coming. "Wait, what?"
"Nate Cahlrose, the commander, he was obsessed with death, and domination. You spat in his face, and the better of us rose up." She says. I search her face for any hint that she's kidding, but she seems honestly excited. "We're an offence legion, we work with Hunter Killers to keep DM away from the wall."
They work with Hunter Killers? But they were so morbid. I have heard from Lars about an encounter with a group of people on the other side. I thought it was just a small party of survivors giving some tips to the HTs about DM activity.
"You mean you aren't just ravenous killers that murder survivors?" I ask, the static in my mind dulling to a hum.
"God, no." She rolls her eyes and smiles. "That was years ago. We're gonna save the world."
I step back. With their power, their weaponry, they could light the world on fire in one night. They could save the world, and I'm sure they'd need all the help they can get. They could use me. Normally, I'd never volunteer to join a war, but Dark Matter took everything from me and from everyone else too. I'd give anything to get my hands dirty for the greater good.
I smile. "Think you could use any help?"
A row of booths behind us explode, flying into pieces. Two Mantacts and a Scantact charge out from the rubble. The woman grabs me by the shoulder and flings me to the left. I fly a good four feet out, and roll three more. I stumble up to a crouched position and watch the woman fire again and again at the beasts.
She turns to me. "It was good meeting you Lee, I gotta get out of here. And so do you." She smiles. I can't let her go yet, she hasn't answered my question. She turns to me again, and time slows to a crawl. "And my name's Jil."
Fuck it, I can't run away now. I know that name, from my dream, and it suddenly spreads to me that this is the same situation.
She turns around again and lifts her arm. Her gauntlet glows a blinding purple, and the realization hits me. She's going to teleport.
I get to my feet on an impulse and run toward her, tackling her to the ground. I close my eyes, shielding myself from the bright purple glow.
I lift my head and find myself in a silver cylindrical room, with no hint of the market.
YOU ARE READING
Tenebris' Light (Part 1 in Telestai Timeline)
FantasyA man named Leo Crossford tries to live his life in a world of death and monsters. The world has rebuilt, but the dread slowly seeps back into the human world. Leo suspects this, and slowly fights his way to what is at the center.
