Snippet 5: Welcome to the Light Ages, Challenges #0

The all-consuming darkness and frigid conditions became unwitting allies in Ella’s quest against a formidable adversary, one that sat securely sprawled across the summit of the range. Nightfall was an ominous event in these parts, made more so by the deserted roads and ruthless sentries that manned the many trails that wound its way up to the summit.

Ella crouched in the shadows of the western face, shielded from the bitter cold and invisible to her adversary’s eyes. Here, she waited. There was no plan afoot, only the certainty that opportunity would present itself. When it did, she was ready to strike and retrieve her compatriot from the clutches of evil.

Her destination sat on the summit, now hidden behind the icy clouds that hung low in the sky. It was a long way off from where she stood, up the windy roads that snaked the side of the cliffs. A compound in name but a fortress in function, Ella had to use every ounce of her gifts to get in. Getting out would be a different matter. She would need more than that.

Fear reverberated within her in a way she had never felt before. She had faced Sintila in the past but this time was different. This time it was in her own compound - her stronghold. It’s where her sentries were based, and where they were made.

They did her bidding, regardless of life or limb, which made them fearsome adversaries. The minions of Ella’s nemesis were programmed to give their life if necessary to accomplish Sintila's objective. They were relentless and effective.

She crouched, compressing herself in preparation to launch. She needed to switch from seeing with her eyes to seeing with her mind. With one explosive bolt, she began her journey toward the summit, flashing from one point to the next, traveling in straight lines of one hundred and sixty paces, faster than light. Her line-of-sight movement, from origin to destination, looked like a flash. Particles of light had to get out of her ways as she moved, causing it to warp the same way a projectile disrupts the airstream in its wake.

Each flash required significant amounts of energy to accomplish and left her drained, requiring a moment's pause to recuperate. Each flash began with an observation of the destination and the track that would lead her there. Proper calculation of her path was integral to the journey. Ella could flash into anything. It was flashing out that needed forethought. She needed to attain critical momentum before encountering a solid wall or else she wouldn't be able to get past. One false calculation and she would be amid her enemies and unable to flash out.

The first flash took her from the tree line to the first post, at the base of the outer perimeter, and first checkpoint on the road up to the compound.

“There was a momentary burst of light, do we need to check it out?” Four Two Two, one of the sentries on duty, asked his partner. Sentries were synthetic life forms designed and built by Sintila’s labs to look like Methulans. Thousands were built. Some were on active duty, others were stored. Each was known by their number, performing various functions around the compound.

“Check the perimeter sensors,” Six Five Eight advised.

“Looking at the sensors now,” the former replied. “No movement is detected.”

At the base of the tower where Four Two Two and Six Five Eight sat, Ella rested. Here, she occupied a blindspot, beyond the visual range of the sentries and the sweep of the movement sensors. In preparation for her next flash, Ella crouched once more.

With another burst of light, she was gone. None of the sentries had seen her that night as she made her way up to the summit. Reaching the final gate, she looked back. Only darkness, dotted with the lights from each sentry’s post looked back. The good news was that no one was following. The bad news was that that was too easy.





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