Crystal Heist

Save the Children or Save Humanity?

There was no way he was going to reach the crystals before the Xl'ti activated the device. The demon facing in Sam's direction motioned to the other being, who turned and looked toward Sam.

The Xl'ti were tall and powerful. Their skin glistened, making it look as though their bodies coursed with electricity. Sam spied around the corner, looking for any way to reach the ornate device in the center of the room that held more than a dozen, gleaming, red crystals. The two Xl'ti were standing next to the device. Their six-fingered hands tuned the crystals using what appeared to be glowing symbols in the air. Sam had never seen anything so beautiful in his life. But also knew the destructive power contained within the device.

In a crouch, Sam turned into the hotel's kitchen, searching the counters and shelves for a knife or other kitchen implements he could use as a weapon. He had a gun, but he knew that if he used it, he would attract every Xl'ti on the block to his location. If he did that, there was no way he would get out alive. It was critical to the Resistance that he secured as many of the crystals as possible. He didn't understand how they worked, but he knew that they were the key to defeating the demons.

A loud hum, like electricity burning the air, sounded in Sam's ears, and he knew that the device had been activated. The ground began to shake. The walls of the hotel vibrated, and the building groaned as though it was threatening to collapse. Pots and pans rattled in the kitchen and cutlery moved toward the edge of the counter until falling to the floor. Sam reached out and grabbed a large knife that had fallen to the floor next to him. He resumed his crouched positioned and made for the door at the far end of the kitchen.

The sounds of crying wafted in the air, barely audible over the sound of the device's hum. Sam's heart, already beating too fast, skipped a beat as he realized the Xl'ti must have children locked away in the rooms of the hotel. What could he do to help them? He was only one man! The realization that he could not save them made his stomach churn and he tasted bile.

He peered around the edge of the door, toward the hotel's lobby where the device sat. The crystals were glowing, energy pulsing outward from the device in spherical waves. One of the Xl'ti was walking down the hallway toward the sounds of the children. With one eye, he surveyed the rest of the room. Where was the other demon?

Knowing that this would be his only chance, Sam left the relative safety of the kitchen doorway and moved out into the lobby. As he approached the device, he could feel the waves of energy, pushing against him like a strong hand. Determined, he forced himself to get closer to the device until he could reach one of the crystals.

Sam snatched the crystal from its cradle in the device. Relaxing for a moment, the waves of energy now knocked him backward. He turned over to his hands and knees and used a pulse of energy from the device to help propel him forward. He took off at a run toward the stairwell. The hotel was only a modest three stories tall, and the waves from the alien device helped push him up the stairs, two at a time. As he rounded the second corner and began to ascend the second floor, he risked a glance back down the stairwell. One of the demons was passing through the doorway into the stairwell, slowly and calmly ascending the stairs, two of its six wings open behind it.

A burst of adrenaline urged Sam to bolt up the remaining stairs. He burst through the door at the rooftop and ran to the edge of the building. He struggled to wrap his mind around the scene he was seeing unfold before him.

The Xl'ti device generated a spherical globe of energy that cut an entire city block out of the ground. The hotel was located at the edge of the area that they were lifting into the sky. Sam was thinking that there must be other devices in buildings around the perimeter of the floating island when the demon reached the rooftop and proceeded toward Sam, a brass object in its hand. Sam turned to face the Xl'ti, his feet at the building's edge. He stole a glance down the side of the building again and this time he could see water gushing from pipes and sewer lines.

As the Xl'ti approached it activated the brass device and it became a sword of flame. It was close enough to Sam now that the heat of it brought beads of sweat to his brow. With a pang of guilt at not being able to rescue the children, Sam reached over his shoulder and released the crystal he still held in his hand. As though drawn by magnetism, the crystal seated itself in a cradle in the center of the pack Sam wore on his back. The fiery blade was now inches from Sam's face. Sam took a deep breath as though he were about to plunge into deep water, and stepped off the edge of the building, which was now a thousand feet from the ground.

The crystal in Sam's pack hummed to life. Waves of relief pulsed through Sam in time with the energy now pulsing from the pack down past his feet. The device he wore on his back acted against the pull of gravity and lowered him gently to the ground below as the island above continued to ascend.

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Today’s story was written for Fictionista’s May “Let’s Write Together” prompt:

Your enemies have backed you against the edge of a cliff. Far below you is a treacherous torrent of water. What happens next?

May's Let's Write Together

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