Hey guys. So just as the title say, this is my entry for this year's writing competition. Didn't want it to just sit inside my computer so why not post it here for everyone's enjoyment .
Travis Cavendish. A name known throughout Takhanis, a city located on the planet of Leoan. The reason for Travis’s widespread fame is simple. Every year in Takhanis Stadium, a martial arts tournament is organized to see who the best fighter was. Martial artists from all over the planet would come every year to pit their skills against one another, to see how good they were. For the past five years, the title of best fighter has belonged to one man alone, and that man is Travis Cavendish.
Everyone had laughed when Travis first joined the tournament. He was only fifteen years-old while every other participant was in their twenties or thirties. So it was natural that everyone was stunned when he defeated every other participant that went against him, including the previous year’s champion. By the time he had won the tournament, there were only a few who did not support Travis, however in time even they began to support him after seeing him perform better than any other competitor that came before him.
Everyone thought that Travis would defend his title for the sixth time when he was twenty-one. Everyone thought that they would see another rousing performance by him again. However, that year, no one saw Travis fight. No shouts of joy or cheers of support were heard from the stands of Takhanis Stadium on the date of the martial arts tournament. For that was the year when Takhanis, and all the other inhabitants of Leoan were invaded by the Zerg…
***
It was the twenty-first summer of Travis’s life, ten days before the martial arts tournament. After convincing his trainer that he needed time to relax, Travis was finally out of the gym and in the middle of the hustle and bustle of downtown Takhanis. He stretched his arms and legs in the mid-afternoon sun, the sun’s warm rays relaxed him after his strenuous training sessions over the last few days. After consistently training with only a few breaks in between, it felt great to get out.
Travis took in the sights and smells around him, everything seemed so much more wonderful after seeing the same gym scene the past few days and smelling the body odour of him and the others at the gym. Travis breathed a sigh as he finished his stretch, “Ah I’ve almost forgotten how the outside world was like,” he thought to himself,” I wonder what I should do first. I’ve only got a couple of hours before I have to return,” he pondered for a few moments before realising that he was still in his training suit, which was half torn after sparring many times,” People who see me must think I look like someone off the streets! I better hurry up go buy some new clothes before someone recognises me; just imagine the rumours that will spread.” With a sigh, he ran down the street, glancing now and then at the shop windows, hoping to see something interesting.
***
Above Travis, a small cargo ship by the name of Thunder Rose had just exited Leoan’s atmosphere and was en route to a neighbouring planet to deliver its goods. Only two people were on board, Captain Arnold Craft and his assistant Louis Carse.
“How is the old Thunder Rose doing, Louis?” inquired the Captain.
“All systems are working at full capacity sir. We should reach our destination in roughly five hours,” Louis replied, not looking up from the row of green monitors which displayed the ship’s status.
“Good. I want to get our business over and done with to return home as soon as possible.”
“Likewise si-“
Suddenly, the ship rocked wildly, cutting off the assistant mid-sentence. The emergency warning system immediately went ballistic, switching all the lights to blood red and causing the klaxons around the ship to go off.
“What the hell was that? Louis! Give me a status report now!” yelled the Captain over the klaxons.
Louis fumbled with his keyboard, shifting through page after page of the ship’s current status.
“We’ve been hit sir! Engines are now operating at only twenty-five per cent! Our hull is almost breached and the life support systems are only going to last for a few more minutes!”
“Damn it! What the hell hit us?”
“I don’t know sir! I don’t know!”
“Well our ship can’t have just broken by itself! There must be an explanation for what is happeni-, “the Captain grew silent, he walked straight up to the window of the ship and peered outside.
“What is it sir? What’s out there?” Louis questioned fearfully.
Captain Arnold merely continued staring out the window.
“Louis, we are going to die here,” replied the Captain, no emotions in his words,” There is no escape.”
“What are you talking about sir? We can get out of here! We just need to go back to the port now!”
“You don’t understand Louis; there is no way that we can survive.”
Before Louis could ask any more questions, the Captain shifted his body such that Louis’s view was no longer blocked. It was then that Louis understood what the Captain meant when he said that there was no escape.
Beyond the window Louis saw a terrifying sight. In the distance, mutilated and horrifying creatures, seemingly out of the fiery pits of hell appeared, and they were all headed straight towards the Thunder Rose.
Louis was stunned, his mouth hanged wide open. He had seen these things before, but only in pictures and horror stories which his parents had told him in his childhood.
He looked at his Captain, stumbling over the words he tried to say, “S-s-s-si-sir? Is that what I think it is?”
Tears began to roll down the Captain’s cheeks, but his face remained emotionless.
“Yes Louis. It is as you and I both fear. It is the Zerg.”
The moment the last word had been spoken by his Captain, Louis slumped back into his chair. His heart felt heavy and burdened.
Suddenly a relatively small, winged organism broke from the Zerg fleet and raced its way towards the Thunder Rose. As it drew closer, Louis recognised it. It was a Scourge. The suicide bomber drew closer and closer to them at a frightening speed. Louis knew that the Captain and he had at most a minute, before the organism made contact with their vessel.
Louis realised that the damage caused to their ship had been another Scourge, he knew that this one had come to finish the job and would spell the death of the both of them. The thought sank in, there was only one last thing he could do. He rose from his chair, walked slowly to his Captain of over ten years and saluted,” It has been a pleasure to have worked with you sir.”
Captain Arnold wiped the tears from his face and returned his assistant’s salute,” Likewise Louis. Likewise.”
Whilst the two were in mid-salute, the Scourge made contact with their ship and detonated, the impact caused the ship to explode, killing the crew instantly and every single biological creature within a range of twenty metres. The Zerg fleet continued unhindered, passing the ruins that was once the Thunder Rose, and headed towards its true target. The planet of Leoan and all of its inhabitants.
***
After walking down five streets and passed dozens of shops, Travis finally found a clothes shop which sold clothes suited to his taste. He strolled in, thanking ‘Lady Luck’ for not having been recognised while he was walking around. The shop was relatively small, empty but for a bored looking man, sitting behind the cash register. He strolled through aisle after aisle and shifted through rack after rack of clothing, trying to find clothes for his size.
Finally in the corner of the shop, in one of the last rack of clothes, he found a plain white t-shirt and a pair of black jeans that suited him. He turned around, looking for a changing room however; there was none to be seen within his field of vision. Although he did not wish to bother the man at the cashier, Travis poked his head above the rack of clothes and questioned loudly, “Excuse me? Do you have a changing room around here?”
The man sluggishly swivelled on his chair towards Travis and sighed,” Its right behind you idiot.”
Travis sheepishly turned his body and found himself right in front of a curtain, above which read ‘Changing Room’. Although irritated at the man’s rudeness, he sucked it up and grudgingly laughed it off,” Oh that’s where it was, didn’t see it there, haha.”
As the man returned to his activities, Travis was undoubtedly annoyed and wanted to confront him but he knew that that would only serve to ruin his day off. He closed his eyes and breathed slowly while counting to ten, and felt his anger dissipate before he stepped into the changing room, drawing the curtains close behind him.
The room was small, with only a full length mirror and small clothes hook inside. Feeling slightly claustrophobic, Travis swiftly removed his tracksuit, hung it up and changed into the clothes which he had picked out earlier.
Barely a minute after Travis had gone into the room; he changed his appearance from someone from the streets to a respectable member of society. As Travis stood in front of the mirror admiring himself,” Yeah, now that’s the Travis Cavendish I know and love,” he chuckled to himself.
Just then, screams pierced through the silence of the shop. It was so sudden that it nearly caused Travis to jump. He wondered, “What in the world could have caused someone to scream like that? I’ve got to see this.” He poked his head just barely beyond the curtain to catch a glimpse of what had happened. He immediately regretted his actions when he looked onto the streets.
It was then Travis saw the horror of the Zerg for the first time in his life. Five Zerglings rampaged along the street, indiscriminately attacking men, women and children alike. Digging their sharpened teeth into their victims’ bodies and flailing their claws in all directions. They showed no mercy. Most people fled or cried out for help at the sight of them, praying that the Zerglings would not choose them as their next target. Some knelt on the ground; clutching dead loved ones in their arms as they cried. The ground was littered with bodies; blood flowed from them onto the ground freely.
Travis could take it no longer. He retreated back into the changing room and curled up in the corner. He knew that if he went outside now it would be tantamount to suicide. So he sat in his corner, terrified, secretly hoping that the monsters on the streets would carry on past the shop so that he could guarantee his own safety.
***
“Should I go out now? Or should I continue staying in here?” wondered Travis as he looked at his watch, it had been over an hour since his view of the street, and a little over fifteen minutes since he last heard even the faintest of screams. It was four o’clock; Travis knew that he could not hide forever. He had to leave the security of the changing room and find help, and he had to do it soon or else it would turn dark. The mere thought of roaming the streets filled with Zerg in the pitch black darkness of night made him shake in his boots. Who knows how proficient these creatures were at seeing in the dark? He stood up and gripped the curtain, steadying himself to face the outside world. However hard he tried, he could not pluck up enough courage and sat back down,” I’ll just wait a little bit more,” he thought reassuringly, “Just to be safe.”
***
Travis waited for another fifteen minutes, the more he toyed with the thought of going out, the more scared he became. He knew that he had to get out and find help as soon as possible. He had to ignore the Zerg outside. He just had to think of getting out of the shop and into the streets, after that it would be a lot easier. He leaned back against the wall and began to breathe slowly, calming himself. He sighed,” One,” he whispered softly to himself,” Two,” he braced his hands against the ground,” And… Three!” With a sudden jolt of energy he pushed himself up and dashed forward. His mind hesitated and tried to pull him back into the room however, it was too late.
The curtains flew apart as Travis broke through and finally grew to a halt. He stood there for a moment before nearly jumping for joy, jubilant to have finally taken the first step to getting to safety. He stopped himself however, for he knew that celebrations would come only when he was safe and sound. He looked around the shop, it was almost completely untouched. Everything was exactly the same before he had gone into the room, with the exception of the grumpy cashier who had of course, fled for his life. Travis turned towards the doors but had to avert his eyes from the light. After all, he had been in a dark room for a long time and his eyes needed time to adjust. Covering his eyes with his hands, he slowly walked out of the shop and onto the streets.
Travis stopped just pass the shop’s doors, not daring to go any further. He lowered his hands, allowing his eyes to fully adjust to the light. When his sight had returned back to normal, the scene before him was just like one of those horror movies.
Bodies laid all along the street, all their faces showed the same thing, fear. The ground was covered with the blood of dozens of people, the smell of metal rising from the ground as vehicles were overturned. Some cars were still smoking even after four hours, showing the amount of destruction the Zerg caused. The evening sun painted the sky red, fitting the bloodshed which had occurred. It looked as though the beginning of the end had finally arrived.
Seeing the place he called home in such a state of disrepair made Travis choke. Hundreds of thousands of people were dead and the Zerg was still out there, causing ever more destruction. Travis felt crushed and he could feel the urge to crawl back into the changing room gnaw at him. How could he, or anyone, hope to survive the Zerg invasion? He turned back towards the shop, feeling utterly defeated. Suddenly, the city wide PA system crackled to life, stopping Travis just as he was about to step back into the shop.
Hearing the PA system start up, Travis immediately turned back and gazed towards a speaker mounted on a nearby lamppost, hoping to hear some form of good news.
A gruff voice came through, “Attention all surviving citizens of Takhanis. This is Sergeant Darren McKenzie of the marine battalion stationed in Takhanis. We are currently evacuating people off the planet at the barracks on the east side of town. Transport ships will be leaving the planet every thirty minutes, with the last one leaving in three hours. The Zerg have surrounded us, making us unable to looks for survivors. If you can hear me, if you are still alive, make your way to the marine barracks on the east side of town. I repeat. The marine barracks on the east side of town. If you do not reach us within three hours I’m afraid that we’ll have to leave you behind,” the Sergeant went silent for a minute before finally adding,” Good luck everyone.” The PA system powered down once the last word had been spoken, and almost everything returned to the way it was a few minutes ago, almost. One thing had changed, Travis had hope once more. Hope that he could survive.
With his hope rekindled, Travis began to plan his next course of action, “The marine barracks. I know where that is,” he thought to himself,” I went there for a field trip, years ago in school. From here it would take roughly an hour to get there on foot. However, the journey will bring be directly into the heart of the Zerg attack so I’ll definitely have to tread carefully and make detours around the Zerg forces. All in all, it would take me roughly two hours to get there,” He looked down the street, the direction the Zerglings had gone,” I guess I had better get going then.” With that, he took off running down the street, where salvation laid at the marine barracks or where a horrible death awaited him along the way.
***
Travis had run for about ten minutes when he heard screams in the distance. Realising that he was drawing close to the Zerg forces, he slowed his pace to a brisk walk. Within another twenty minutes, Travis encountered Zerg for the first time since he first saw them from the changing room. These however were not Zerglings, but Roaches. Three of these large, heavily armoured creatures stood along the road, except for the occasional fidget, they were completely motionless. Luckily for Travis, they did not notice him and he was able to make a detour around them.
***
Soon an hour had passed since he heard Sergeant McKenzie, by then Travis had almost gotten used to the sight and smell of the streets, almost. The metallic smell hardly registered anymore and the sight of bodies was no longer a shock. However, just because he was used to the sight of corpses did not mean that he did not notice them. Every once in a while he would look down, right into the eyes of someone who had died. Their dull grey eyes never ceased to spook him and cause him to hurry on down the street.
***
After an hour and a half of sneaking around Zerg, running or walking, Travis was only a few kilometres away from the barracks. Although in his mind he kept telling himself to remain vigilant until he had reached the barracks, Travis could not help but feel slightly complacent. “I’m almost there.” he thought out loud, barely able to contain his excitement, “I’m going to live! I’m going to get out of here!” Travis absentmindedly rounded the street corner, and almost ran straight into a Zergling!
Travis immediately froze, his excitement completely gone. His eyes widen with fear, cold sweat began to form all over his body. Luckily for him however, the Zergling had its back towards Travis and did not notice him, yet. Travis remained silent. His body frozen in fear. He was so close to the Zergling such that he could even hear it breathe.
Seconds felt like days to Travis, fear made his mind more alert than ever. He knew he could not stay like this forever; He had to get away from this monster! With his hands in front of him and his eyes focused on the Zergling’s back, Travis slowly backed away. Adrenaline pumped throughout his body, and strength coursed through his veins. Each step took nearly half a minute each. But with each step, Travis got further and further away from the creature in front of him, and that was enough for him. After two minutes however, the worst possible thing happened.
‘CRACK!’ The sound echoed in Travis’s mind. His entire body shook with fear. He had stepped on something! He looked beneath his foot and found a half crushed soda can laying there. Travis reassured himself nervously,” M-m-m-maybe the Zergling didn’t notice the noise?” As he looked up from his feet however, his wishful thinking was instantly destroyed. The back of the Zergling was gone. Only to be replaced by its face. The creature breathed heavily, its massive jaws lined with rows of vicious-looking teeth covered in its saliva. The two stared at each other for the briefest of moments. Then without a single hesitation, the Zergling roared and lunged for Travis.
Most people in Travis’s position would have died right then and there, unable to react to the threat in time. However, Travis was not like ‘most people’. He was a five time martial arts champion. As the Zergling launched itself at Travis, he instinctively side stepped. The Zergling’s razor sharp teeth clamped down where Travis’s head had been less than a second ago, barely missing him by a few centimetres. The unexpected ‘disappearance’ of its target surprised the Zergling, causing it to stumble right into a pile of rubbish.
Travis saw the Zergling’s mistake and knew that he now had a few extra seconds to escape from it. He did not hesitate, knowing how fast Zergling were, and ran straight into the nearest building.
Inside, Travis scanned the interior of the building, searching for a route to take which would give him the best chance of survival. The first thing Travis saw was a large red door, the sign above it revealing that it led to the building’s stairwell. Before he could search for any other possible routes however, Travis could hear the Zergling pull itself from the rubbish pile.
Travis could not afford any more time to search for another exit and immediately ran towards the red door, hoping that the stairwell would lead to safety.
Travis ran straight through the door with his shoulder in front of him. The door slammed against the wall with a crash but Travis took no notice of it, his thoughts were only those of getting further away from the Zergling. He ran up the stairs three steps at a time. He had a good lead ahead of the Zergling, but he knew he could not slacken his pace. If he slowed down even the slightest amount, he would undoubtedly be caught up to and killed.
Suddenly, the door at the bottom of the stairs crashed once more. The Zergling had reached the stairs! Travis had only reached the third level and was alarmed at the Zergling’s speed. No creature on Leoan was this fast!
Travis was stumped. He could not outrun the Zergling. He was nowhere near safety and knew of no place which he could hide from the Zergling. As his mind took in the situation, his body movements began to dull. “Why should I tire myself some more when I know that I cannot escape this monster,” he thought. He looked down; the Zergling was dashing its way up the first flight of stairs. Upon seeing this Travis was even tempted to just sit down and wait for the Zergling to come.
But then just as all hope was lost, the Zergling crashed against the wall, stunning itself for a short moment! Travis perked up immediately, “The Zergling’s speed works against it here! It moves so fast that it cannot stop itself from running into the wall at the top of each flight of stairs and stunning itself!”
The Zergling pulled itself together and gazed upwards. Travis’s eyes met with the Zergling’s. In his chaser’s eyes he could see pure killing intent directed at him. The Zergling would stop at nothing to kill him. The walls may stun it but it would continue to chase after Travis.
The two paused for a brief moment, eyes locked. Then the Zergling roared a ferocious roar and resumed its chase. The roar reminded Travis of the reality of his situation. He still had a Zergling chasing after him! He turned back to the steps in front of him, with his movements no longer dulled and his hope revived once more, he ran.
Travis literally ran for his life. He raced his way up the stairs, his mind fixed on the steps in front of him and nothing else. The only thing that penetrated his focus was the noise of the Zergling whenever it crashed into the wall at the top of each flight of stairs. But he continued onwards, running with all his might. Never looking back once.
At the tenth floor a large red door, similar to the one at the bottom of the stairwell, awaited Travis. Without even the slightest of hesitation, he reached out to the door and ran through, the door leading to the roof of the building!
Although Travis was a little bit taken back at the sudden change in environment, his survival instinct kept on functioning. He ran around the roof, searching for an escape route. However there was no safe way out. The only way out was to jump to the next building!
Travis looked over the edge of the roof. The closest building was a little shorter than the one he was currently on, it being nine storeys high. However, although the building was a little shorter, it was still quite a distance away; a long way down should he fall short of it.
Travis stepped back from the roof’s edge, giving himself ten meters to run before he jumped. His mind was racing, fear built up in his mind. He tensed his muscles and breathed slowly. Readying himself for what he was about to do. Suddenly from behind him he heard the stairwell door slam open. He turned around and he immediately saw the Zergling, its eyes fixed on him!
Fortunately, even as Travis hesitated, his fear of the Zergling led him to only one conclusion, jump or die. Travis ran with all his might towards the edge of the roof, he could hear the Zergling behind him, catching up to him. His mind completely forgot about his fear of jumping across instead, it focused on getting as far away from the Zergling as possible.
Travis’s foot planted itself on the edge of the roof and he jumped! He soared through the air, screaming his lungs out. Only one thought kept running through his mind, “Will I make it?”
The adrenaline made everything go ever so slowly for Travis. The roof of the building in front of him slowly grew closer and closer. His mind raced and his heartbeat was quick and hard. As he reached the maximum height of his jump, Travis could feel gravity take him and pull him down. The roof was so close. Five meters… Three meters… One meter!
As Travis was but a meter away from the roof, time seemed to suddenly speed up. Everything seemed to go so quickly that Travis could no longer think about what was going on. The roof sped its way towards him, and Travis instinctively tucked his arms close to his chest and head. He came into contact with the concrete floor of the roof and rolled, breaking his fall.
Travis’s body grew to a halt and he uncurled his limbs. Sprawled on the ground, his face was that of utter disbelief. He had done it! He had escaped the Zergling! He had reached the roof of the building! He was not dead! Travis jumped to his feet and felt joy fill his heart.
Travis turned around and looked up at the roof of the building which he had jumped from. The Zergling was nowhere to be seen! “It probably went back down the building after I jumped off,” Travis thought optimistically,” It’s probably given up on chasing me!” Travis grinned at the thought and began to look around,” Now, where is this building’s stairwell?”
Suddenly, a loud ‘thump’ came from behind Travis. He turned back bewilderedly. His eyes grew large and his grin disappeared from his face. “I-I-I-It can’t be,” he stammered. But it was. The Zergling had not given up on chasing Travis. In fact it had jumped after Travis. Now it stood only a few meters away from him. Its eyes fixed upon him.
Travis could not run anymore. He had to face the Zergling. He had to fight back. His eyes darted around, while his body remained still, searching for any weapon to use against the Zergling.
In the corner of Travis’s eye, about two meters to his left, a broken iron pipe laid on the ground. Travis was tempted to dash to it and grab it immediately but he knew that the Zergling would be on him if he made any sudden movements.
Travis slowly turned his body such that his back faced the iron pipe; his eyes were always on the Zergling, looking out for any signs of it attacking. The Zergling, thinking that Travis was trying to run away, moved such that it would always be in front of him. This however worked to Travis’s advantage; it would not see what he was trying to do.
Without turning around, Travis backed up one step at a time towards the iron pipe. The Zergling cautiously followed, maintaining the same distance away from Travis at all times.
Soon Travis was only a step away from the iron pipe, it was almost within reach. The Zergling however, began to show signs of impatience. It began to fidget around, growl at Travis and even brace itself against the floor. Travis knew what the last one meant. The Zergling was going to pounce on him soon.
Travis had no more time, he breathed deeply and exhaled. It was now or never. He slowly whispered out loud,” One,” he focused his mind,” Two,” he readied his body,” And… Three!” Travis whipped himself around as fast as possible and jumped forward for the iron pipe.
The Zergling reacted almost instantly and sprinted towards Travis, barring its fangs. Its prey had nowhere to run now. The chase was going to end now. In fact, the Zergling was right. The chase ended right there and then. But just not in the way which the Zergling thought it would.
Just as the Zergling reared its head, about to bite down on Travis, Travis gripped the iron pipe tightly in his right hand and swung it towards the Zergling. It was completely caught off guard by Travis’s action and had no time to defend itself. The iron pipe smashed into the Zergling’s head with a loud crack! The chase had ended. Now a fight to the death had begun.
The Zergling keeled over. The blow had almost fractured its skull, almost. Pain coursed through its entire head. Travis did not hesitate and quickly took the offensive, hoping to finish off the Zergling before it could even attack him. He jumped onto the Zergling and rained down blow after blow at it.
The Zergling was furious. It wanted nothing more than to kill the human which was attacking it. It ignored the pain and pushed itself up from the ground, throwing Travis off of it. Travis did not expect this much power to come from the Zergling and flew through the air. However, he recovered himself mid-air and landed on his feet.
Even as Travis landed, the Zergling was already charging him. Travis rolled away quickly, narrowly missing the charging Zergling by a hair’s breadth. Travis pulled himself back onto his feet, brandishing his makeshift weapon towards the Zergling in front of him.
Travis stared at the Zergling, astonished,” Even after I dealt so much damage to it, it is still able to attack me with such force!” he thought,” What a monster!” Travis knew that he could not win in a straight up fight. He would just be overpowered. He glanced around ever so slightly, searching for a way to beat this monster.
Suddenly, Travis found the answer to his problem. If he could not defeat the Zergling himself, maybe he could trick it into falling off the building, but he would need to lure it into attacking him. It was risky but he had no other option. He slowly made his way backwards towards the edge of the roof. The Zergling followed him every step of the way.
From the corner of Travis’s eye he saw a shadow dart around the roof, around the Zergling and him. However, he dismissed it as a trick of the mind and focused back his attention to the fight at hand.
Soon Travis’s foot came into contact with the roof’s edge. Now the next part of his plan would take place, the risky part. Travis looked straight at the Zergling and did the unthinkable. He dropped his weapon! The Zergling, seeing what Travis did, immediately charged forward.
As the Zergling charged, Travis held his ground. He did not move even a single step. The Zergling came closer and closer. When it was one meter away from Travis, it lunged at him. At the last second, just as the Zergling was about to grab hold of Travis, he pivoted his body away. The Zergling had no way to stop itself and continued forward, falling off the building.
However, the Zergling had one last trick up its sleeve, for just as it passed by Travis, it lashed out at him. Its razor sharp claw dug into Travis’s right arm and yanked him from his position, dragging him with it!
The pain was excruciating. Travis’s arm felt like it was on fire. The Zergling’s claw dislodged itself as the Zergling fell down to the ground, but the damage had already been done. “I will not die here!” Travis thought as he felt gravity take hold of him,” Death will not take me without a fight!” With his good arm extended out, Travis immediately grabbed hold of the first thing he felt in his hand.
Luckily for Travis, he was able to somehow grab hold of the ledge of the roof. However, Travis could still feel his arm strain with the effort of just hanging on. In this situation, it would be impossible for him to pull himself up. Below him, Travis heard the sick sound of bones cracking as the Zergling hit the ground.
Travis’s hand began to lose its grip. Each finger slowly dislodged itself from the ledge. His ruined right arm hung uselessly by his side unable to help him. “Well this seems like the end of the road for me,” sighed Travis,” At least I took down that stupid Zergling with me,” he chuckled. Looking up at the sky, Travis could feel tears begin to form at the thought of dying.
Travis’s last finger came loose from the roof’s ledge and he began to fall.
Suddenly, Travis felt someone grab his arm and began to pull him up. Travis was stunned, he was sure that he was a goner. He did not see anyone else on the roof. Travis’s saviour grunted with effort as he pulled Travis up.
Soon Travis was back on the roof, as the adrenaline left his body, fatigue began to take over and he laid down. He looked up at his saviour, a man barely older than him dressed entirely in black clothing. Realising that this man was the shadow which he had seen darting around the roof, he questioned weakly,” Who are you? And why were you on the roof?”
The man looked at Travis and patted his shoulder reassuringly,” I’m Nash. I will answer the rest of your questions later. But first we need to patch you up. You’ve lost a lot of blood.”
Travis looked at his right arm; he had forgotten about it when he had been saved, it was a mess. The entire arm was bleeding profusely, with long and deep gashes lining it.
Travis’s stomach turned at the sight of his own arm and he looked back at Nash, who produced a first-aid kit and began sterilizing and bandaging his ruined arm. The loss of blood started to affect Travis who began to fall unconscious.
Seeing Travis begin to pass out, Nash whispered, “Get some rest while I patch you up. You’ve earned it.” Those were the last words Travis heard before he closed his eyes and darkness took him.
***
Travis awoke to the sound of gunfire. He laid on a bare bed, his right arm completely bandaged, with unfamiliar surroundings all around him. He slowly sat up and began to look around. He was in a long and narrow room filled with a dozen or so plain bunk beds lining the walls. “Where am I?” Travis whispered out loud, confused.
“You are in the city’s marine barrack,” came a voice from behind him,” You’ve been out for the last hour or so.”
Travis was startled by the voice and turned back to find who had spoken. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Nash standing behind him,” Don’t sneak up on me like that, you scared me.”
“I’ll take note of that next time,” replied Nash, before taking a seat next to Travis,” I am sure you have a lot of questions and I will answer them now to the best of my ability. Fire away.”
One by one Travis’s questions were answered. Nash had been an ordinary citizen before the invasion. His entire father and mother was slaughtered by the Zerg in their apartment, they died protecting him. After seeing his family killed before his eyes, he was filled with guilt for having survived while they died and so he gathered a small amount of supplies and hid away on the roof. He watched Travis fight the Zergling from afar, too afraid to help. Only when the Zergling had fallen did he approach Travis and help him.
After Travis had gone unconscious, Nash had treated his arm and brought him to the marine barracks where they now were.
Travis sat in silence, taking in what he had just heard. Nash however, thought his silence was because of a different reason,” Ummm, I’m sorry,” he said apologetically.
Travis turned towards Nash and raised his brow,” For what?”
“I did not help you out when you fought the Zergling. I cowered in fear while you fought for your life,” Nash replied shamefully,” I will understand if you hate me.” He began to stand up but was pulled back down by Travis.
“Sit down,” sighed Travis,” You saved my life Nash. If it was not for you helping me, I would have died right then and there. I owe you my life.”
Before Nash could respond, a blue armoured marine came into the room,” You two have been requested by the sergeant to meet him ASAP,” he walked away but returned a second later,” Oh and when I say ASAP, I mean right now.”
As the marine left, for good this time, Nash and Travis stood up and together they left the barracks. Leaving behind the comfort of the beds and stepping back into the chaos of the world outside.
Outside, it was a war zone. The compound was lined entirely with barricades; dozens of marines stood and crouched behind them, defending the place with their lives. A few marines were propped up in various places, injured, while a few medics ran around trying to help them as much as possible. Roughly fifty civilians stood around the barracks, some with faces of joy, for having made it here alive, while others cried, saddened by the loss of loved ones.
Beyond the barricades, all manner of Zerg advanced on the base. Zerglings, Roaches, Hydralisks, even a few Mutalisks, advanced in groups, chipping away at the defence.
The sight of the different kinds of Zerg stunned Travis, his mouth agape. Travis was so stunned that he did not notice a red armoured marine walk up to Nash and him.
“Hmmm, so you’ve finally woken up,” spoke the marine, his voice deep and authoritative, startling Travis,” I am Sergeant Darren McKenzie. The commanding officer of the Marine Corps in Takhanis,” he looked outside the compound, where Travis’s eyes laid a moment ago, “I know how you feel. Even after ten years in the marines I could never get used to the sight of all the Zerg.”
Travis, Nash and the Sergeant stood in silence for a minute before loud engine noises, from the sky, broke it. The three looked up to see a transport ship descend towards them, immediately cheers and roars of laughter arose from everyone in the camp who saw it.
The Sergeant announced over the noise from the ship,” Well everyone today’s your lucky day because you guys are getting off this planet alive! Now hurry up and get on!” he turned to Travis and Nash, while all the civilians rushed on board the transport, and smiled,” You two had better get going too. It’s the last ship that going to come for you guys so hurry up.”
Travis and Nash began to make their way to the ship when suddenly, exclamations were heard from the marine lines,” They have broken through! The Zerg have broken through!” Travis turned back; to see a few destroyed barricades from which dozens upon dozens of Zerg forces came through. The Sergeant immediately went into action, joining his soldiers in battle,” Hold the line men! We need to buy time for the transport, just a minute or two to load up! We can do it! Fight to the last man!”
Some Marines shot wildly at the enemy, while others began to pull out knives to engage the enemy in close combat. But everywhere shouts of determination and cries of pain came from the marines, fighting to give the rest enough time to get away.
Travis wanted to join in and help the marines but knew that he would be of no use, the only thing he could do was to board the ship and flee. Reluctantly, he turned away from the men and women dying for him, and the others, and ran into the transport.
The ship was packed, with people crammed in every area which they could fit in. After some pushing and fighting for space, Travis was on board, albeit squashed but on board nonetheless. He looked around wildly to find Nash, but could not find him anywhere inside the ship. Travis shouted at the top of his lungs,” Nash! Where are you?”
“I’m right here Travis,” came a reply. Travis looked towards the source of the reply to find Nash standing a few meters from him. The only thing was, Nash was standing outside of the ship.
“What are you doing man?” questioned Travis,” Come on board!”
Nash looked sadly at Travis,” I can’t. There just isn’t enough room for me.”
“Then take my place, I owe you my life,” Travis began to move out but Nash stopped him.
“No, I owe you even more,” before Travis could say anything, Nash continued,” When I saw you fight for your life on the rooftop, you made me realise that no matter what, life is worth living for no matter what happens. If not for you I would have stayed on the roof. Your tenaciousness to live made me want to live as well.”
“Then take my place now and live!” screamed Travis, but Nash just shook his head.
“No. I will not let someone else die for me like my father and mother did. You will be the one to live through this nightmare Travis. Not me.”
Suddenly the ship’s hatch closed shut, separating Travis and Nash. Travis eyes widened and he banged on the door with his fists futilely. The ship rose into the air and soon Travis looked down upon Nash, tears flowing from his eyes.
The Zerg had finally defeated the marines and moved into the heart of the compound. From his height, Travis could see them running straight towards Nash. The two made eye contact for one last moment. Nash smiled melancholy and mouthed at Travis ‘Goodbye’ before the ship flew off, just as the first Zergling lunged at him.
***
Five years later, on the harsh desert planet of Asper 398.
Banshees and Vikings flew overhead the Terran military encampment. In the encampment, a new batch of recruits had just arrived.
Travis and eleven other marine recruits stood at attention in a single, horizontal row as their new Sergeant yelled in their faces,” As of today! You are all part of the Marine Corps and are now under my command! My word is law and you will abide by it! Is that clear?”
Together, the recruits replied,” Yes Sir!”
The Sergeant walked up to Travis and questioned him,” What’s your name soldier?”
“Travis Cavendish Sir!”
“What made you join the Marine Corps son?”
Without hesitation Travis replied,” My home was destroyed by the Zerg and a friend was killed by them Sir!”
The Sergeant inspected Travis’s face, ensuring that he was not lying, before continuing,” Well then! What is your goal in the Marine Corps?”
“To kill every last Zerg I find Sir!”
The Sergeant smiled cruelly at Travis,” Good answer!” he stepped back before addressing all the recruits once more,” Well then! Let us begin your training!”
Btw, the word limit was 7.5k words so I probably didn't elaborate a lot of parts in the story enough... Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading this. Maybe it helped pass the time while at work or during a boring day
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' - is for Boxer
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- is for I have no self respect'
the great ToRZorba hating on chargelot/archon Previous known as ToRBobby
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