The Last Days: A Solaria Galaxy story

Chapter 2

The sun rose, light pouring through the windows. Jael woke up, shifting in his bed. He felt pain splinter through his arm and his head. He groaned climbing out of bed, pushing away the covers. He washed himself before chucking on some different clothes for the day ahead. There were things that had to be done. He was certain that the rest of the city were not yet aware of Soth's death, so things would have to be implemented. New guards would have to be picked to fill the numbers they lost.
Downstairs, Jael found Tyra in the makeshift kitchen. A sweet but faint aroma of cooking hit him as soon as he walked inside. Tyra had made some food for them both, with a second plate laid out opposite her. Tyra was wearing an old white shirt that tucked into trousers. She always preferred wearing trousers to dresses or skirts like her mother, and for many years, it annoyed her, since Tyra was their only child, yet she was desperate to become a soldier. Eventually she gave up trying to persuade her otherwise. One of the things that really changed her mind was the fact that, things were getting worse and people were losing interest in many of the old ways, and vanity was included. She allowed her to wear trousers, even going as far as to handmade a few pairs for her, but she did not want to see her join the guards.
'You were out late last night,' Tyra remarked as soon as he sat down, not even bothering with the greeting any more. Tyra was seventeen years old; she was born when there had been a few more hours of daylight per day, which was becoming more and more a distant memory. Life had never been easy for Tyra, but she was trying. She was trying her hardest to remain positive, and to her credit, she was certainly doing it more than some people. Even after ma's death, she still desperately wanted to join the guards, but Jael had refused it or at least until she was sixteen. She was still a few months off turning sixteen. She had been in the church for a while, thinking that was the right path for her, but she left around the same time as Kalea died as it hit her hard. It hit them both hard, but Tyra was seemingly on the path to recovery, finding a new purpose.
'Are you not listening to me?' Tyra said her voice cold.
'Sorry. Last night was not good, we lost everybody last night even Soth.' He emphasised the last few words.
Tyra's eyes widened. 'What happened?'
'It was really strange, there was like thunder or something and then the wall came down. It was breached.'
'Damn. How did it happen?
'I don't know yet.' Jael said, taking a bite out of a mushroom.
'What are you going to do now with Soth gone?'
'I don't know yet,' Jael repeated.
'Are people even aware of it yet?'
'I only told the guards about it and they let me in. Why you so worried about it?'
'Don't you remember what happened when Lowe died two years ago? People were fighting over who should lead next. Soth finally stepped in, and took over but we lost a lot of people before that moment.' Tyra said.
Even though people were still fighting for survival, people still somehow wanted to keep some kind of control over their lives. They still want some semblance of order no matter how small.
'It won't happen again,' Jael replied, though he was not at all that confident.
'Soth was one of the last of the old world, before the world started to darken, or so they say. People listened to him.' Tyra said, her voice rising with worry.
Jael fell silent.
'You have to do something; there must be a way out of this,' Tyra replied.
'I don't know anymore,' Jael said, quietly.
They did not speak much at all until Jael finally got up from his seat.
'I'll take those,' Tyra said, offering.
'Thanks,' Chay said. 'I'll see you later.'
Tyra said nothing, as she began cleaning the plates.
Jael did not push her for conversation.
Then again, everything out there was going to shit as well.
Jael headed to the door, pulled on his boots and stepped outside. It was cool outside but there was no wind. The sun was glowing in the sky, giving them some rays of light.
Jael made his way towards the city hall building. It was the largest building in the entire city. Though that was not saying much, most of the old buildings had collapsed or been destroyed. Some had been rebuilt over the years but with the rising threat of the ghouls, people stopped.
The town hall was fortunately hard to miss, and at it was at the centre of the city. There were people gathered near the town hall outside in the square. It was swollen with people. Most of the people sat there were waiting for help to be given; some looked like the villagers that had narrowly escaped destruction last night. However, Soth and many others had tried to do their best for people but things were getting harder. Medicine was increasingly hard to get since there was less sunlight and more ghouls to contend with meant less people would go and collect the plants to make medicines.
However, there were other people, outside as well. One of them was shouting. They looked as though they were from the Church of Vigos that gathered in the city. Like everyone else, they were growing more and more terrified by the fact that everything seemed to be on a one-way destination to destruction.
'It hasn't always been like this, brothers and sisters, friends and family,' The man was saying, as he looked at the people. 'Our God, Calin, has left us, he's departed us, because of our sins. The only way to put this right is to repent, to turn away from our rebellion. Turn ourselves back to Calin. He is our creator. Less and less people are going to church and this is why.'
'They say that every day,' Said a new voice behind Jael.
He turned and saw it was Nilo. Nilo was in his twenties, and he was one of the few that had not quite lost all hope just yet. Nilo had been a part of the team last night that had rescued the villagers before the fighting had started.
'They've not got anything else to say,' Jael said, with a sigh.
'Could they be right?'
'Soth didn't get any mercy; a God would still do something surely? We can't all be bad people."
'You survived. You were given mercy."
Jael said nothing and started walking towards the town hall. Nilo followed him at his side. The speaker was not showing any times of slowing down. 'He has shown me a vision, if we continue as we are, there will be a time when the sun won't even shine any more. I have seen our destruction. Our only hope is to repent."
Jael ignored him as well, passing him and everyone else along the way. They made their way to the entrance; two young men stood either side, idly watching as they approached. They did not even challenge them as they stepped on inside. The walkways were plain and undecorated, much like most houses in the city. Jael had grown used to it. Jael could not imagine how anyone could make it look nicer. And when would anyone have the time to do such a thing?
There were plenty of rooms, most of which were unused these days. Many things seemed to serve only as a reminder of a different time.
The sound of footsteps suddenly drew Jael's attention. He looked up and saw two figures walking towards them with purpose. He recognised them both, one as Indra and the other as Seb.
'Where's Soth?' Seb said sharply. Seb was stocky with a lot of muscle, with a shaven head, his face bore some scars from those of the ghouls or training, Jael was not so sure any more. Jael was certain of the fact that Seb had earned his captain's rank.
Obviously, they did not know yet. 'He didn't make it last night.'
Both of them looked shocked. 'Are you being serious?'
'He sacrificed himself to let me go. No one else survived other than the villagers.'
'I can't believe it.' Indra shook her head. 'What happened?'
'We were out in one of the north western villages, and there had been an explosion, like thunder. The next thing the wall was breached.'
'Damn.' Indra breathed. 'What do you think happened?'
'I don't know.' Jael replied.
'What are we going to do now?' Seb said, his voice quivering.
'We just have to remain calm. Where's Marcus?' Jael asked.
The pair of them exchanged a look. 'He's boarded himself up in one of the rooms upstairs. He's having...'
'Take us to him.' Jael said.
'Sure.' They shared another uneasy look. Jael definitely did not like the sound of this at all but he had to see it for himself. He needed to know what was going on.
They led them upstairs and down another walkway. Jael knew all these rooms more or less since he would first come here. None of it had changed during that time. The faces of course had changed.
'He's in here,' Indra replied as they stopped at the door.
'As he actually locked himself in there?'
Indra nodded, sharply, stepping away from the door.
Chay strode towards the door and banged his fist against the wooden door. 'Marcus are you in there?'
No response came.
'Marcus are you okay?' Jael said it twice before finally slamming a fist against the door. He was quickly losing patience.
Marcus had been here for an incredible amount of time, surpassing everyone's expectations including his own. He never thought he was going to live this long and he had made it so far. From time to time, he would experience hearing these voices in his head, telling him to do things. It would make him scream and shout out names. It interfered with everyday duties. However, it was starting to take its toll. It was also starting to happen more and more often. It did not help the fact that it seemed to run in his family either. His mother was just the same but she managed to live a long life. The priests and healers called it, 'trancing' and they had helped him battle it over the years, and apparently, certain medicine on the planet helped or at least had helped. Even that was not slowing it down any more but it did make it manageable.
'Do you think he's dead?' Seb said in a hushed tone of voice.
'Only one way to find out,' Jael muttered. He raised a fist and hit the door again, rattling the wooden door.
Then finally, there was some kind of stirring from inside the room. A grumbling sound came from inside. Eventually the door opened and Marcus appeared in the doorway. He was in a state, his hear very messy, and he smelt as though he had not washed in ages either. Despite that, he was a large man, six foot tall but also very broad shouldered. He was slow but he made up for it in outright strength.
'How did I get in here?' Marcus said, looking around at them, scratching his head. He seemed very confused as always.
'You started to scream again. You came up here...' Indra said as softly as she could.
His face dropped. 'I'm going to have to quit, aren't I? Where's Soth?'
'Soth didn't make it.' Jael said, cutting through the conversation, but he came across more aggressive than he had intended.
He looked flustered. 'Are you being serious?' He stuttered the words out.
'I'm sorry.'
'What happens now?' Marcus said.
A moment of quiet befell them.
'We have to choose someone else to lead us.' Jael replied, shaking his head at the mere prospect of having to do such a thing. 'But we have other things that need doing as well. We haven't heard from the other two cities for a while so we need to send word to them, check up on them and give them the update that Soth has died.' Jael said, looking at each of them then his eyes finally rested on Nilo. Nilo met his gaze then a look of worry crossed his face.
'Don't worry, I will write the message up for you. You should leave at once.'
Jael ending up writing fairly rushed for Nilo, then sent him on his way along to the city of Canidos with one hour of light left, and sent a soldier with him. It meant they would most likely be arriving when the sun had gone down, and the ghouls would be out. He could only hope that by some sheer miracle that they would somehow survive. It was terribly unlikely. He could not see any other alternative.
Jael spent what little time was left the day with Indra and Marcus trying to sort out what they needed to do. Which was too much. There was not enough men for every watchtower and post throughout the night without having some rest. It meant he had to call upon sixteen year olds, to help fill in the blanks. It would not be the first time that they would have done that as Soth had done that a few times, even roping in some of the villagers that could serve if they wanted.
Outside, it was chilly. Tonight there was actually wind and it seemed so far peaceful. He stood on the creaking old balcony of the town hall overlooking the rest of the city. He looked towards the entrance, the priests had long since returned to their homes, no doubt praying and fasting about what they should do tomorrow. Which would probably be the same thing as yesterday. Not that he minded them. However, the other people were still camped outside, huddled together. It was a sad sight. Jael did not know how to help any of them. He wished Soth were still here.