The story so far:
---- Aija is a Volunteer at the Pristine School at Innermost. She works along with Zuri and Ze, who are her friends. Aija witnesses a strange event one night – light emanating from Rez's body. The kidnapper is after her soul, next, but he leaves her alive and goes away. Another man finds her, he wants to take her somewhere else - Aija though wary of him agrees. Aija learns of the existence of the aliens – the Ytai. Also, about the R'ies and H'eon, Harvesting and Àvo from Etrie. Etrie tells her that the man, who Harvested Rez (Thieron), will now go after her. He tells her that the spy/kidnapper's name is Luka. Etrie asks her to work along with him. Aija agrees to work along with Etrie on Harvest Stopping Missions.
---- Thieron and Nala check out a new target, and realize that Etrie's team was trailing the same target.
---- Aija's parents tell her that she has received the notice for engagement from The Leadership. She hates the idea of it, but there is no escape. Aija meets Quinn and likes him. Kuna confronts her about Quinn; he seems visibly upset about it. Zuri goes to her place when Kuna is there and she tells him she knows all about them. Kuna is angry with Aija for telling about them to Zuri, who is now insisting that she too, joins them.
---- Goldstar preps for the Transfer to the South Land.
---- Goldstar and the Transfers are attacked by the Savages and Creatures in the Open.
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****14.3 - Goldstar****
"Daniel!" Goldstar shouted as the Savage got hold of him by his shoulders and pulled him out with ease.
Another Savage caught hold of his feet. Gold kicked at it, and it shrieked in its inhuman voice. Gold managed to hold the rifle steadily as he wriggled in the Savage's grip. He shot at two Savages at his feet and a Creature now running towards him. He turned the rifle backward and shot at the Savage holding him by his shoulders. The Savage shrieked and let him go. He fell to the muddy ground.
Goldstar sat up and saw the car he was just in. Daniel had managed to crawl out, and he was now shooting at the Creatures and Savages. They hissed and shrieked circling the car. He hoped the three Scientists were alright in the car.
One of the Savages circling the car turned around as Daniel shot at it and spotted Goldstar. It ran to him, and seeing it, many others were distracted from Daniel, and they ran towards him.
"Shit!" he mumbled as he stood. He shot at them. It only kept them at a distance, but they had him surrounded.
He hoped the Gale squad at Landing 5 would arrive soon. The rifles would be of no use if they ran out of bullets.
There were at least thirty Savages and Creatures together, and around ten were surrounding him. He shot at them, and they only hissed at him; their sharp teeth revealed as their sinewy mouths parted.
A Savage managed to get close to him as he shot at another. It leaped on to him and brought him to the ground. He groaned as he hit the muddy ground hard face first. The Savage scratched his back with its sharp nails in an attempt to remove his coat. He yelled in pain as he felt its sharp nails through his clothes, deep in his skin. "Damn!" he cursed; it was his favorite coat.
Goldstar heard rifle shots, and the Savage shrieked, letting go of him. He would have to sanitize the wound – if he even survived this. It won't matter if he became food for these mutant beasts.
Goldstar turned around and caught sight of a Creature that looked like it might have been a tiger before it muted. It leaped at him, and he shot twice at it from the ground where he still lay, his back stinging from the pain. The Creature retreated from him, whining.
"Damn this!' he cursed. He wished he could put Mike Wiet, Representative of the Leadership, smack in the middle of the Open among these muted beasts. All Mike did was speak of a better Earth from his sheltered home at Innermost. He never sincerely did anything to help the situation. He wouldn't survive for a single minute in the midst of the Creatures and Savages.
A siren sounded at a distance, and Goldstar sighed in relief. The Gale squad had arrived. The Creatures and Savages looked in the direction of the sound, distracted. Goldstar shot at several of them and heard Daniel's rifle in action as well. The beasts stepped back slightly from him; their sharp teeth bared, their eyes glowing as they hissed and shrieked.
A ball of fire came catapulting into their midst. The beasts shrieked; their inhuman voices shrill at the sight of the fire. They scattered as more balls of fire landed around them.
"Gold!" Daniel shouted. "Run!"
Goldstar managed to get himself off the ground, his back hurting, and he turned around. Daniel had managed to pull the three Scientists out of the overturned car. The Gale squad's jeep was in sight behind their vehicle. It skidded to a halt near them. Daniel ushered the three men into the jeep. A Gale member – Arc – helped them in. Goldstar went to them as more balls of fire were launched from the jeep onto the fleeing muted beasts.
Goldstar staggered to the jeep, the pain across his back, growing intense and beginning to gnaw at his senses. Daniel and Arc helped him climb onto the jeep, and Clara, who was at the wheel, sped away, leaving the overturned car behind.
Daniel helped Goldstar remove his coat and shirt. He was clearly bleeding profusely; the blood streaked down onto his chest and stomach.
"Oh, damn!" Mr. Martin cursed, looking at Goldstar's back.
Arc brought a first-aid kit and cleaned the wounds. Goldstar flinched in pain as Arc stitched his torn skin in the moving vehicle. Goldstar held the rifle closer, the pain threatening to drive him insane. His eyes blurred from the tears, and he clenched his teeth.
"How bad?" he asked.
"It'll scar terribly," Arc mumbled through his air-purifying mask, focused on closing the gaping wounds.
Arc finished stitching the wounds and bandaged them. Goldstar let go of the rifle only once they reached Landing 5.
Clara dropped them off inside and went to drop the jeep off at the Parking Area. Arc helped Gold into the waiting area and went to bring him new clothes. Daniel sat by him the entire time. Arc arrived with a new set of Gale uniform and handed it to Goldstar.
Goldstar changed in the bathroom and washed his face; he was sad that he had lost his favorite coat. Damn those Savages! Arc had given him a new one, but he really liked the old one, he had had it since the day he had joined the Gale. He looked at himself in the mirror; there were a few minor scratches on his face. But other than that, he was good. They had been fortunate that day. Goldstar hadn't had such a terrible encounter with the beasts until now; the grotesques were getting desperate.
He walked out and thanked Daniel for saving his life. He'd be dead if Daniel hadn't shot at the Savage attacking him. Daniel handed him his backpack; he had picked up from the car. Goldstar had forgotten about it. He placed his torn coat into his bag. He felt slightly better as he walked into the Terminal, where the three Scientists were seated. They were gawking at the private aircraft almost as if they had forgotten the attack.
Arc arrived and handed him a pain-relieving pill and left to notify Core at Pristine One and Four of their 'safe' arrival. 'Safe' sounded stupid to Goldstar; they had almost been eaten.
"Is that...?" Mr. Pestin asked.
"Yes, an aircraft," Goldstar replied. He tried to stretch, and his back stung. "It'll take us to the South Land."
"Really? Does it work?" asked Mr. Brown.
"Yes, it definitely flies." Goldstar was starting to get annoyed.
"What?" the three men asked in unison.
"I thought these didn't exist anymore." Mr. Brown added.
Goldstar explained to them how it worked and how the Gale had found them, while they waited for Iyler and the other three Transfers. Planes weren't used anymore since the Wars, and people only learned of them in DigiBooks. The Gale had discovered them about fifty years ago in the abandoned far Open and had started using them to transfer people to the South Land, making it easier to cross the ocean.
"Are you sure it is safe?" Mr. Brown asked, eyeing the plane with disdain.
"It's safer than traveling in the Open," Goldstar mumbled, and Mr. Brown flinched.
"Why are those Creatures like that?" Mr. Martin asked, finally acknowledging what had happened to them in the Open.
"It's the effects of radioactive residue from the Wars and also the side-effects of the biochemical weapons," Goldstar replied.
"What's the Leadership doing about it?"
"Nothing..." Goldstar yawned, starting to feel drowsy from the pain relief pill Arc had given him. "They purposely ignore this, as if ignoring it will make the problem non-existent."
The three Scientists remained quiet.
***
A while later, Iyler arrived with the other three transfers. She maintained her distance from him until they were all settled in, and the plane took off. All the Transfers were scared and didn't as much as stand up. Iyler left her seat next to one of the Transfers and went to sit next to him.
"I've missed you," she whispered as she sat.
Goldstar smiled, feeling drowsy. They updated each other of their lives till then. He told her of the attack, and she looked horrified. They hadn't any of the beasts on the way, and he was glad about it. Iyler fussed for a while about his wounds, but he assured her he was feeling better.
Goldstar loved the feel of her next to him. She fell asleep, her head resting on his shoulder.
He brushed golden strands of her hair off her face; she was beautiful.
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