Genesis : Knights of Salvation Series

Enyo said it would be easier to remain unseen without our horses and easier to move around so we leave our horses tied up in the once mesmerizing glass building. The smaller team of me, Talon, Harrison, and Orion set out through the underbrush out through the building. I duck under the various leafy branches and finally push through the last of the underbrush.

The site is consuming, what looks like a major city layout on the right-hand side of us, we stand on a small cliff, in front of us, and we will have to carefully slide down the rocky side of the cliff to get to the ground. The tall towering building still stands high, with old power lines fallen onto the building. The glass building’s complete sides are shattered and some buildings lay flat on their side over smaller ones. Even from here, I can hear the ear-bending screams of hundreds of the forsaken lingering in the city. I follow a large road with my eyes as I lead over a bridge rolling over a more isolated area of the city. The right side of the bridge is where I would say old houses once sat but only the crumbled and burned down remnants of them exist.

Just outside of the deserted houses is where the facility sits. I can’t make out the building from here as trees have begun to take over that area, obstructing my view of the building behind in. From this view, it will take about an hour to walk our way to the facility, but maybe even longer depending on the amount of forsaken we have to find ways around. Each of us is totting our weapons and bags on our backs ready to fight if need be. Harrison carries the first aid kit on his back.

Orion sits on the edge of the small cliff getting a better fitting as he slowly slides and carefully steps on secured rocks to get down the side of the cliff. Each of us follows suit trying our best to keep any rocks from falling down and creating noise. I slide the rest of the way down on the loose dirt and rocks, Talon’s firm hands catching me carefully. I give him a warm smile as we move through the high weeds growing around us. I look up one last time to see the other team watching us from the top of the cliff. Enyo is in the very front and I look at him. Our eyes connect, my heart drums and a cold sadness hits me. I take in every detail of his face, the way his eyes always conveyed his emotions when his face cant. At this moment I can see it in his face. Yet he has a little hope that I will return, but I know I won’t. So I take in his handsome heart-melting brown eyes for one more moment then I turn away and focus on these next few hours.

My last hours alive. I can’t believe they are here already no matter how many times I’ve thought about this day, I had never thought I would be so hesitant to take the virus. For so long I’ve known I was going to die yet there’s so much hope around me that I won’t. I can feel the hope and the sad truth fighting each other inside my own heart.

We step onto the cracked old pavement a little way up from the bridge to the city. We quietly walk, our feet careful to not hit a rock or any glass from the old cars on the road. Some sit burned, with bone carcasses laying in their seats. Others sit on eh road old and rusting with blood stains inside them. I follow Orion as we snake our way through the cars on the road. We come up to a large truck that looks to have once been a new white truck but sits in the middle of the road, burn marks from inside. Marks from the flames licking outside the rusted truck still show on the greyed peeling paint. We make our way around the side, I glance inside for a sad mournful feeling to come over my heart. On the seat next to three burned carcasses is a scorched half-melted teddy bear.

Taking in the area, I finally really understand what the government is wanting to do. All those people within the walls would be going about their day, sitting in their homes peacefully only for it all to be ripped apart when hordes of forsaken attack. There would be nowhere to hide for them. I look at the toppled remains of a house on my left. Children would be playing in the street and the next a monster ripping out their throats.

My mind can’t help but focus on those morbid thoughts when suddenly Orion stops ducking behind a tattered car. The rest of us followed his actions. I look under the car to see three tottering feet pass by the other side of the car. The forsaken lumbering feet away from us unknowingly. As the forsaken moves around the car, we do the same, getting to the front of the car as Talon moves around. Talon gets right behind the forsaken slamming his sword into the forsaken head, stopping it from even moving its grotesque mouth to scream. The forsaken drops to the ground and we quickly get moving.

For an hour we make our way down the road, weaving our way through cars and even slipping off the road to get around a small group of forsaken. We crouch as we slip through the back of a house just outside the trees blocking our view of the facility. An uneasiness setting in my gut that my new beginning or death is just past the trees. Orion peaks past the corner to see if any forsaken lurk nearby. After a moment he leans back and nods his head that we are going. Our feet move quickly as move from the cover of the house into the tree line.

We push through the small cluster of trees quickly, lining up on the break of trees. All of us were frozen at the sight in front of us. A large paved area holds a dozen cars but the facility’s towering walls are no longer standing. I stand up taking in the burned-down building. The three floors of the facility are completely burned down, and the remnants of the walls are a large burned pile of ashes. Some burned wood piles on top of the ash pile, I push back the urge to throw up at the sight of it.

“Oh, greek gods...” That is all Harrison can say at the sight of all our burned-down hopes.

“What do we do?” Harrison speaks up. I swallow hard.

“We got to see if we can get to the basement,” I say forging ahead. I push the last bush aside and crouch as I run towards the cars. I duck behind the first black car and peak out watching for any forsaken, with no signs of movement I run across to the next car. look back quickly to see the others following behind me. I check for forsaken again and move to the third line of the car careful to not actually touch any cars. Clare had told me that some of them are still locked with alarms on them before we split up. The pavement separates the cars and the facility right ahead of me. Clare had me study the presumed layout of the first floor of the facility before we even embarked on the mission.

I push off my feet jogging to the burned-down rubble of the facility. The team was right behind me. My boots step into the ash of the building, some of the dusty ash on top wafting up as I walk through. Time to find the door.