For years now, the Forces have been under control of the Kingdom. After the entire royal family had been assassinated and the Kingdom had fallen, the Forces have taken control over everybody's lives. It wasn't until a Retaliation group had been formed did people begin gaining their hope back once again. As the years passed by, members of the Retaliation began dying off slowly until there was hardly anyone left. Ashe was one of the very few people left to survive and yet, she is being attacked around every corner she turns. It is only by a miracle she is able to escape so far, but just one person can't evade the Forces forever.
RETALIATION
By Sydney JohnsonAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2009 Sydney Johnson
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4490-0516-0Contents
Raid.................................1Exposed..............................4Escape...............................14Lost Soul............................26Left Behind..........................47Hostile Takeover.....................61Faded................................74Poisoned.............................94Separation...........................118The Essence..........................138Origins..............................154The Vision...........................177New Beginnings.......................198
Chapter One
{RAID}
Ashe crept along the Force's camp silently as she lurked in the shadows. She knew that if she got caught before it was time for her to show herself, she would be the one with the disadvantage. The time was perfect to stage the attack. The sun had just barely fallen so the soldiers would be dining around the campfire. They would not be aware of what was going on around them until it was too late.
She kept her hand held tight to her sword handle as she waited in the darkness for an opening. These camp raids were her specialty. She knew exactly what to expect in the raid and she also knew of the Force's weapons. It would be easy for Ashe to sneak into the camp and do what was needed and then be out before the Force guards could call for reinforcements. Now was her chance.
Springing out of the shadows, Ashe unsheathed her sword and charged at the guards as they sat around the campfire. Many of them were cut down before any of the others were able to spring into action. Once the soldiers had realized what was happening, they scrambled for their weapons and came at Ashe with a look of determination in their eyes. It was a rare opportunity to fight a member of the Retaliation and the guards would take any opportunity they could to defeat one of them. They would not pass up this chance.
Ashe was easily able to block blow after blow, but that was when the unexpected happened. A taser spear was shoved in her side and she fell to the ground in agony as electric pulses shot up her spine. Immediately, Ashe forced herself to her feet and resumed fighting in desperation to stay alive. The guards began to surround her when suddenly one of them, located in the back of the group, raised his laser gun. Ashe saw the laser trained on her and instinctively jumped out of the way before the gun was fired. Instead of her being shot, the guard behind her was struck and immediately fell to the ground.
Where had all of this new technology come from? Merely weeks ago the Forces didn't have any weapons like this. It was her job to know about the Force's weapons and to be up to date with all the latest weaponry that had been created. So how were the Forces able to construct new weapons in secret right under her nose?
One of the soldiers threw something down at Ashe's feet and the guards around her cleared a circle around her. She tried to jump out of the way and was just barely quick enough to dodge the impact of the explosion. Although she was able to escape most of it, she was still sent hurtling into the trunk of a tree, falling limply to the ground.
The remaining guards came at her from the other side of the camp with their weapons raised. Ashe knew that if she didn't act now, this was the end for her.
Taking out the gun from the holster around her waist, she aimed at the guards but didn't shoot. Instead, she shot at the great Gummi ship located behind them. The bullets from her gun blasted the ship in its weak spot where the engine was hiding behind a scrap of metal and it began to slowly tilt forward. When the guards saw the ship falling towards them, they stopped their quest for Ashe's life and began to yell and attempt to get out of the way before they were smashed. Some of them were able to avoid the collision, but a lot of them were crushed by the ship's massive metallic body.
If the remaining guards had looked for Ashe, they wouldn't have found her. She had slipped into the shadows during the distraction she had created and just barely got away. She had finally gone up against something that she couldn't handle and was lucky enough to have escaped with her life.
{EXPOSED}
The road was bumpy and frost bitten early in the morning. The sun was just beginning to peek over the mountains while crisp, fresh air filled Ashe's lungs. It felt as if she had been walking the rugged terrain for weeks and she could feel her feet beginning to ache.
The wind plunged down from the skies, flipping her hair over her face. Ashe's stomach growled in protest at the lack of food for the past few days. Her sword lay in the sheath around her waist while her gun was placed in a holster in a similar fashion. Ashe was very beautiful for her age of nineteen. She had light brown hair with bangs that swept over her face while it was also long and straight that reached all the way down her back. Her eyes were ecstatic bright green in color against her smooth ivory skin, nearly freezing anyone in their tracks who dared to look into her eyes. Ashe was wearing a dress that flowed down to her lower thigh while long brown boots hugged her legs up to her knees. She wore a belt around her skinny waist with a sword hanging from its sheath and a gun placed in its holster. Despite all of her hardships in the past, her inner spirit still had hope and fire which came through in her everything she did. Everybody would know what she stood for and that she wasn't going to let anybody get away without a fight.
She was being hunted, but not just by anybody. The Forces were after anyone who was part of the Retaliation. The Forces had already successfully killed off most of the Retaliation's members and now only a few were left. . For years, Ashe has been hunted, and just last night, she had almost been caught.
The Forces were cruel with a desire to exterminate anyone who would not follow their command. About eight years ago, the Forces had attacked the Kingdom, killing nearly everyone that would not bow down to them. They had taken over, and, now the world was in turmoil. Nobody was safe anymore while there was danger lurking around every corner. Many people were getting killed everyday and because she was loyal to the Retaliation, it was Ashe's job to try and stop that from happening. While she could never take on the entire Forces alone, she could fight against the raiding parties that came to attack innocent people in their villages.
Ashe was a decent fighter. Ever since the evasion of the Kingdom which she herself had barely survived, she had been teaching herself how to fight and now she was well accommodated with the sword and gun. But only if she had known how to fight eight years ago, then perhaps she could have saved Prince Reylic ...
Ashe turned her head and pushed the thought from her mind. It didn't matter anymore. It was a long time ago and he was gone. The Forces had killed him.
As Ashe entered the perimeter of the nearby village, she placed a hand on her sword handle casually, but if any danger should approach suddenly, she was ready. She had chosen this little town to travel to because it was much safer than any of the bigger cities. There were no guards stationed around almost every corner and she would blend in well with the crowd. As long as she was here, she would be under no one's suspicion.
Every street in the town was filled with bustling humans working hard just in order to survive, but even towns as little as these couldn't escape the Force's sight. There were guards roaming about, keeping things orderly in the raging markets. Everyone kept as much distance from them as they could but if they did happen to pass by, eye contact would be avoided at all costs. If anyone was brought to a guard's attention, that person would surely pay. As long as there were guards stationed in the town, Ashe had to keep a low profile and try her best to not be noticed by anyone.
What was even more horrible was that if a guard happened to be bored, they would find somebody to torment. Even in a small town such as this, guards were tormenting the market people. One guard in the market streets towered over a woman and blocked her path. Ashe was too far away to hear what he was saying, but she could see that he was yelling at the woman. With one foul swoop of his hand, he sent the basket of fruit that she held flying out of her hands and the fruit was scattered all over the ground. The guard growled menacingly down at her as she bent to pick up the spilled fruit. Ashe tightened her grip on her sword's hilt. She couldn't bear watching the guard be so unkind to the woman, but Ashe just couldn't make herself known here and now. She was in no shape to fight seeing that she was starving and exhausted. As long as the woman was in no immediate danger, then Ashe would not bother pointing herself out to the Forces. She had barely escaped with her life only yesterday and there was no need to put herself in that kind of danger again so soon. If she had to make herself known, she would at least wait in order to give herself a little time to rest.
Reluctantly, Ashe turned away from the incident and continued walking down the street. She needed to find an inn to stay at. Either that, or the other choice was to sleep out in the forest again, but that definitely wasn't a very pleasant experience. There wasn't much food in the nearby forests and many of the guards' camps were out there. It wouldn't do her well to be seen.
Ashe leaned against a wall as fatigue and hunger took hold of her body once again. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to go away but her eyes automatically fluttered back open when she heard a voice addressing her.
"Excuse me, miss. Don't mind me by saying, but you look exhausted. My wife and I run a place not too far from here. Please, come to the inn." The man who was speaking to her was short with graying hair and his tone sounded kind and sincere.
"Thank you," Ashe said as she followed the old man through the market place. He seemed nice enough to trust, but she would keep her guard up just in case.
They seemed to walk through streets they wouldn't likely be noticed and then finally through a back alleyway and into the backdoor of the inn. How strange that he would take such great precautions for people not to notice them.
Upon entering through the back of the inn, they found themselves inside the kitchen. A woman rushed forward and put her hand on Ashe's arm. She turned to the man and asked, "Is this the one?"
The man nodded.
Ashe jumped back and withdrew her gun from its holster.
"Wait!" the woman cried. "We've been waiting for you. For a long time, we've been hoping that we might someday be able to help one of the members of the Retaliation in return for the service that they do for us. We want to give them aid, not harm them."
With a suspicious glint in her eyes, Ashe asked, "How did you know that I was part of the Retaliation?"
The woman smiled. "Oh, a young man contacted us not too long ago and told us to keep watch for a girl that looked like you. He goes by the name of Fury. He's also a member of the Retaliation."
"How did he know that I would be coming?"
The woman shrugged. "No one knows. He just seems to know things."
"Where is he now?"
"No one knows that either. He manages to stay hidden very well."
When all of Ashe's suspicions finally melted away, she put the gun back into the holster.
"My name is Senya by the way, and this is my husband Dai." The woman motioned to the man by putting a hand on his shoulder. "You can stay here for a while, no charge."
Ashe smiled in relief. "Thank you. You are so kind." When another wave of hunger pain left Ashe clutching her waist, Senya rushed around and put together a plate of food with a glass of water and set it on the table.
"You can eat here," she said. "It will help you stay unnoticed and just upstairs are a few separate bedrooms. One of them is yours. These rooms are separated from the guests' for safety issues."
"Again, thank you," Ashe said gratefully as she sat down at the table and started eating the food that had been set out for her. "But you don't have to do this for me. It puts your lives in danger and risks you getting caught for treason."
"Nonsense dear, if we didn't want to do this, then we wouldn't have. Your room is up the stairs, first door to the right. I hope you find it to your liking." At those words, Senya and Dai exited the room, leaving her to herself. Despite her hunger, she took her time eating the food.
Someone knew that she had been coming, yet their location remained anonymous. From what Senya had said, apparently this guy, Fury, was a member of the Retaliation. But how had he known that she was coming? There were such things as people with magic. She herself has a telekinetic ability to move objects with her mind but it wasn't likely that this Fury had any magic. Magic was rare among humans. This ability of Ashe's helped her fight and it was the main reason that she has been able to stay undetected from the Forces for so long. It made her able to fight her way out of trouble relatively unscathed.
She was deep in thought for a long time, just pondering the situation at hand. The whole thing seemed very confusing. How could somebody know she would be coming?
Sighing, Ashe finished the food, slowly dragged her tired body up the stairs to the room offered, and then dropped down into the soft bed. It was only moments before a deep sleep overtook her and dragged her under.
She awoke the next day early in the morning to the hustling of people in the market streets. Ashe rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up in bed. Had she really slept that long? She could tell that it was morning by the crisp air and the slight draft that snuck in through the window. She was feeling much better, her hunger pains were gone and her body was well rested. At least she was able to sleep in a comfortable bed instead of on the forest ground. It would be nice if she could go back to how life used to be eight years ago. She wouldn't be constantly fighting or constantly running away from the Forces. It was no wonder what would happen if the Forces actually got a hold of her. What would they do? Would they kill her immediately or torture her until death?
Ashe shook the thought from her mind. She would never allow that to happen. There was nothing to worry about.
Quietly, she made her way downstairs and found Senya working in the kitchen. She was probably getting breakfast ready for the other people that were staying at the inn.
When Senya saw Ashe, a smile formed although it was trying to be repressed. "How was your nap?"
"Fine, thank you."
"I'll admit that I was quite worried. It seemed as if you were never going to wake up."
Ashe sighed and sat down heavily in the chair. "I've just had a rough week, that's all. The Forces are after me, but what's new? Sometimes I wish that things could go back to the way they used to be."
"Don't we all, dear." She set out another plate of food for Ashe and then resumed her work around the kitchen. Ashe was only halfway done eating when she heard a faint scream outside. Her thoughts immediately turned to the Forces.
Her chair almost tipped over as she jumped up, running out the back door and into the streets outside. Everyone was pushing past her, trying to get away as quickly as they could from a central point in the streets. Ashe was able to dodge her way close enough to see and hear what was going on.
One of the Force guards had withdrawn a sword and held it up against a girl about the age of fifteen. "Do you know what the punishment is for stealing? Death! But don't worry. I will make it quick."
Ashe was finally able to squeeze through the last of the people and withdrew her sword just in time to block the guard's weapon from stabbing into the girl. The guard's sword flew out of his hands and clattered noisily to the ground just a few feet away, giving Ashe the chance to hold her own sword up to the guard's throat.
"What's going on here?" Ashe demanded, pressing the blade even closer to the man's throat.
"She was stealing! That is a crime worthy of death!" the man squealed, afraid of his own life being taken away.
Glancing over at the girl, Ashe saw that she was slumped on the ground with a loaf of bread in her hands, her face pale white with fear.
"How can you call her a criminal when you are to blame? You accuse her of a crime in which you made her commit. The Forces starve these people by taking most of the food for themselves. How dare you try to kill someone that's only doing what is necessary to keep herself alive." Ashe motioned with her head for the girl to leave and with fear still in her eyes; she scrambled to her feet and ran away. A large crowd had assembled to watch the spectacle. Ashe knew that appearing like this would make it so she had to be on the run again, but it was necessary in order to save someone else's life.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from RETALIATIONby Sydney Johnson Copyright © 2009 by Sydney Johnson. Excerpted by permission.
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