Blinding light; his hand reflectively moved forward to cover it. He looked around at the translucent sight of the very bright environment of death. He was still leaning on the pillar sitting down. He breathed in, the air felt sore across his throat as it was reaching his lungs. To his pleasant surprise he only felt some mild pains contrast to before, where each successful breath was a huge feat.
He got up with barely any strain, by this point he started wondering if all that he experienced was a dream; his injuries, his squadron dying and finally the spectral.
He took another big breath and dared to look at his left arm. He almost fell over again by the sight; his arm was there, in a bad state but nonetheless it was there. Part of his muscles was missing, half of it was scorched and there was pain in even attempting to lift it. He almost sat down again but instead he just chuckled with himself. He brought his attention to the sky through the open cove of the cave. It was morning, the first sun already stood at 12 o'clock right above him.
Putting the numbers through his hazy mind made him conclude that at least 10 earthly hours- 5 planetary hours has passed since losing consciousness.
None of what he was experiencing so far made any sense. How did he heal to that extend? Or rather, how is he still alive? He could do nothing but wonder if his meeting with the spectral was the reason. Was the spectral actually spoken the truth? Did he really have another chance? So far, his miracle healing was enough to convince him of that.
He painstakingly took a few steps. His legs felt fine aside from the itch and the muscle pain on his thigh. He grabbed the small pouch that he had brought along and looked through it maniacally, until finally he felt with his finger the slimy item of his desire. He brought it out and looked at it flopping around in his hand; he delicately unraveled the plastic exterior with his good hand and with a big gulp downed its contents. He immediately felt relived. His coarse throat was rejuvenated and his stomach was full. A soldier's ration; it was one of the most fulfilling nourishments, both his hunger and thirst was substantially reduced. But for the first time in all his time as a soldier he felt he needed more, much more.
He walked among the corpses of his team solemnly, till he finally found what he was looking for, two corpses of the black suited squad; one man and one woman. He knelt down and looted their rations; he wouldn't dare defile his squadron's dead soldiers, not even taking their ration which they needed no longer. He couldn't believe that their own people left those two traitors behind, he recognized one of them. They were part of the squad that was left behind on the mother-ship. He started working on the male's suit. He slowly unscrewed the safeties and took out the protective helmet along with the rest of the suit, which was a grueling process; dead bodies were substantially heavier than living ones and his bad hand was not making it easier. But his good hand had more strength than he was giving it credit for.
He took out his own suit which was heavily damaged and threw it down with a thud, raising dust all around. Normally he wouldn't dare expose his body to foreign planet's atmosphere, but he was already as contaminated as 10 hours of exposure can give you. Thankfully the planet's pressure was similar to Earth's.
He downed the contents of another two rations and finally his mind was clearing up. He leaned on another column and looked around, the bodies were everywhere like in his dream, everyone was dead. But he was searching for the one person he needed to be alive more than anything. Till he finally found him, he stumbled to the edge of the cavern within a small hollowed out room protected by two stony walls of the cave.
He fell to his knees; he tenderly got his hands around the body of his dear friend. His glassy, wide eyes were fixed to the rocks above them. He took off his friend's helmet and with his fingers brought down the eyelids shutting them forever.
He sobbed silently for a while holding his battered body. He felt tired the moment he let him go but continued to kneel above Reremos thinking of different scenarios, what could have been done and why.
'Ah, this is just terrible' a voice said with not an ounce of sympathy but rather just pity.
Tera looked behind him only to see the, all familiar by now, spectral called Sien.
"No, I…"
'You thought that everything was just a dream; a mere fantasy deriving from the weakness of the humane mind? Was any of it real? Because from your reaction it is for you', Sien said whilst leaning above the body of Reremos.
"I thought I won't have to see you again" Tera said coldly.
'But we made a deal'. The spectral said playfully.
Tera turned his head away from Reremos to observe the spectral. Its form has changed; it now had a human form, with ears, eyes and the body of a male human. He was still translucent but now everything on him seemed more familiar.
"I am not even sure what that deal pertains" Tera gently put Reremo's body down from his lap. The metallic clanging was the only sound echoing across the cave. Dried blood was covering most of Reremos suit, spilt down from his neck wounds were the bullets must have found him.
'Do you want me to show you, how he died, what his last moments were like?' The spectral said breaking the silence.
"what?"
'I have recorded everything, from the moment everyone entered the cave' Tera looked at the spectral shocked, he apparently knew nothing about this being. He considered its proposition for a moment and shook his head no. It would be too much to bear.
"I need some explanation, would you be around a lot?"
The spectral laughed 'Yes, of course. As I said before, we made a deal. Our fates are binded.'
"How did I heal? How did my arm grew back? None of this makes sense." Tera asked unsure.
'That is simple; your healing abilities are greatly improved. I told you will have another chance. And this is the result'. Sien said stoically.
He heard a primping noise, and looked around condemning his stupidity. How could he forget, they had placed explosive devices all around the cave. He run- as much as his leg allowed him to- to the nearest pillar and for the first time noticed the small metallic device outlined by a small screen with a timer on it. He sighed visibly. He had 30 more minutes. But it was still barely enough time, he had to carry as much as he could and get out of there.
His eyes locked at his sniper rifle. He picked it up with care and brought it around his back. He walked among the bodies once more till he realized that all these man, his brothers would be left behind and will be buried beneath this rumble.
'There is nothing you can do about them, besides you've seen it yourself. They no longer reside inside those lifeless corpses.' Sien said.
"That doesn't make it ok. I will be back one day, to give them the honors, it's the least I can do". He stopped for a minute holding another tear that would not come, and hesitantly begun to make his exit from this terrible place.
One foot after another he was getting further and further away. Tera was doing everything he could to stop thinking. Everything was weighting a ton and his back was strained. The arduous journey to the base, where only disappointment awaited him, was a long one for one man to do, his mind begun to fall into a deeper trance. Each step on the rough surface of the caves felt heavier than the last; again and again he woke up from his bubbliness only to see that he almost veered off his path on this complicated cave. But even then he wasn't sure he was heading the right way.
Moments later he was completely drenched in sweat. He was tired, saddened and most importantly fearful of the future. He fell to a flat rock, his suit jingling from the metal hitting the ground forcefully. He dropped his rifle next to him, a puff of smoke rose from the impact. He took another inspection on his current state. His leg still felt stiff but he could move his arm normally, his healing ability continued to impress him. He sat there for a few moments; till he gathered the last of his courage and got up.
A sound pierced the air. He turned to look behind him and before he even got the chance he was swept from the dusty air hurtling towards him. He got knocked upwards and landed on his knees and hands. He didn't feel much, the black suit was impressive, even more than his standard military one. But before he could thank his luck, a crack appeared on the cave's ceiling and it spread with overwhelming speed along the cave tunnel in front of him.
Sand begun to fall in small doses; he took too much time moving around the caves, He was still within range of the explosion. The collapse was inevitable; Tera cursed silently and rushed to the side avoiding the boulders that were rushing to the ground next to him. He continued to rush towards a safer path, limping and straining with each step. Till he finally saw an opening, the crack stopped spreading at the end of the tunnel's pathway and Tera jumped inside the huge crevice in front of him. Dust and rocks continued to fall. And Tera looked as his familiar path which was now blocked from the massive rock slide that took place.
"Great". He said whining. "That's exactly what I needed". He tried to get up but a shadow caught his attention, he looked up only to come face to face with a huge animal, it looked straight into Tera's eyes. Its jaws were massive and had spikes all along its back with a rough skin thrown like a blanket above the spikes. It looked like a cross between a very uncomfortable camel with a huge dog. Its pant was heavy and was blurring his helmet's glass.
He took a deep breath and stood still, his sides still hurt with each big breath but he didn't dare show any weakness. The animal was observing Tera with focus. A voice broke the stare and made him Jump. He went for his rifle and the voices only got more intense and fearful. Behind the huge dog like creature there were two Nevulers, they were holding their guns with anxiousness but they hadn't turned them towards Tera yet as he hadn't either.
They spoke again, softer this time. Tera couldn't understand anything. Behind them stood another Nevuler; taller with more relaxed face. His uneasiness didn't go away, their distorted faces -due to radiation of the brown Nevulers made it only harder for Tera to understand their intentions.
The relaxed Nevuler on the back spoke. His tone was hashed but Tera listened intently. "Now, now, we mean no harm. We were just scouting the caves".
Tera lowered his weapon but his muscles were still tense. The nevuler knew human language, but how was the bigger question. He put his hand on the side of the cave. The nevuler continued to speak now that he had his attention. "Are you separated from your team? We found a few others. Maybe you should come with us now. You look like you need some help".
The other two, looked around nervously. He spoke again but this time in his language. That seemed to calm the other two nevulers who spread around the crevice looking around the rumble behind Tera.
He wondered if he had a choice. Was the nevuler's worlds a suggestion or an order? The fact was that Tera wouldn't win against 3 of them. He holstered his weapon. "I think I am going to wait for the rest of my team in case they come this way".
"With injuries like that, you can't go far, but we can help you" he said again reassuringly. Taking notice at Tera's inability to hold his rifle steady and the scorch marks around his neck. This time Tera was certain that this was more than a suggestion. Their glare told him so; they wouldn't allow him to roam around in their tunnels.
"Very well, please lead on". He suggested with the hopes of not having them on his back. The nevulers did as they were told and they began to move together as a team. The Nevuler in front spoke again in his language. "My name is Berb, what is yours human?"
"I am Tera" he said stoically.
"And why did your friends leave you behind inside this place?"
"They didn't, I was lost when I was scouting these caves." He lied blatantly.
The nevuler didn't answer; he simply continued their march silently, till Tera broke it.
"What happened to my squad mates you found?" he hoped that the ones they found where still alive, whether they were wearing the black suit or not.
"They are fine; you will meet them quite soon. I am sure they would be glad to see you" The nevuler said absentmindedly.
He found that hard to believe. Anyone who would be on his side has already died. But even if those survivors were part of the black suited soldiers he could still get some answers before ending their miserable lives.
The nevulers' pace was slowing down. They were approaching their destination. They were still within the cave but a different complex of the cave that the one they investigated. This one seemed to have been used often; a pathway was formed from dirt being stepped on. Few lights were hanged around the cave. The light emanated from a few flying little orbs made of a material that Tera couldn't distinguish.
"Was this explosion your doing?" The nevuler asked without a warning.
"It was my captain's orders, it was the reason I lost my team, they are probably looking around this cave system as we speak" Tera said bluffing, hoping whatever plans they had with him, they would consider twice before ending him.
The leader of the group simply nodded silently. They continued to move at a slow pace, every now at then the Nevulers would exchange words with each other in their own language. Finally the group stopped in front of a white stone with small engravings. Tera almost pumped to the Nevuler's pet in front of him. The creature and turned roared in response. Tera didn't move, the creature ignored him and turned its head in front.
The nevuler's leader pushed his deformed claw-like palm against the white wall and shouted something on its language. The nevuler next to him pulled out one of the light orbs that Tera was seeing around the cave system, and put it in a small gap inside the white wall near the bottom. It was barely visible but the orb disappeared almost right away.
Tera's eyes widened as he watched the wall split apart. A path made of white sand and a small flattened stone was laid before them.
The nevulers stepped inside the path and Tera followed shortly after. There were two guards on the other side who immediately pushed the two stony doors back into place using a pushing mechanism. Tera followed through the secret cave tunnel till outside light found its way inside the small tunnel. The end of the tunnel opened up on a massive cove. It was beyond Tera's expectation; inside the cove A civilization and its cogs were turning.
Small little pockets were dug inside the walls of the cave. Thousands of groups of Nevulers resided within them. In front of Tera there was a whole mass of people, with shops and markets build out of stone lined the bottom of this massive cove. The Nevulers have survived and they were building from the ground up literally.