I sped up, moving within a length behind Aurora. It was close enough to see small pebbles and debris being tossed into the air by her rear tires. Thoughts of a presence, of such a formidable enemy still on the planet raced through my head. Thoughts of an actual invasion made me uneasy. “Heads up, we’re approaching the road.” Aurora’s voice interrupted my concentration. The country road was approaching quickly, and I could see a massive field not far beyond it. “Roger Roger”, I replied quickly. Aurora laughed, “What’s on your mind twin, I know you usually have more to say than that of a Star Wars Battle Droid.”

I couldn’t help but crack up. Oh Star Wars… The film that, made everyone on the planet over 150 years ago, wonder what could be out in the vastness of the cosmos. Little did they know, the story of their own backyard was much more interesting. “Oh Aurora, you love your B movies don’t you?” I asked, trying to catch my breath in-between my laughter. Aurora joined in the humor, “Hey Mister, everyone knows those pesky Sith, always had to promote invasions and start trouble!” She replied with authority. “I suppose you would have been one of the first, to join the Jedi Oder to stop them then.” I baited her with a question, knowing how’d she responded.

“Hold on Romeo…. We’ve reached the road… Gun It!”. She shot back at me. I increased my speed again, and Aurora and I hit another dirt incline in unison, launching our ATVs into the air over the narrow country road. Landing a few feet on the opposite side. I was now looking a large open field, with what appeared to be a small forested trail in the distance. Roughly 300 yards and closing. The field itself was matted with tall grass and water, making Aurora and I slow down considerably.

Now moving at what felt like a snails pace, Aurora decided to pick up the conversation. “Ok You” she started, “I’d join the Jedi, but I’d get booted because I get caught riding your personal Light Saber in the Jedi Archive room.. And you’d love it!” Her response made my pants tighten around my waste. “Aurora!” I gasped, “You’re so naughty at times”. She laughed, “You know you love it!”. I had no choice but to admit, I did. “You know it!” I chuckled back.

An Invasion Of Mass Casualties

The forested trail was not more than 50 yards from us, when Aurora stoped suddenly. I had been so close to her, that I had to slam on the breaks to avoid a collision. By the time I had re-situated myself on the ATV, Aurora had gotten off hers, and was standing facing with her back towards me. “What’s wrong A?” I asked, getting off my ride, and moving to her side. She didn’t need to respond, I saw what the issue was. In front of us were dozens of dead animals, all with the same look as the deer we had previously come across.

The scene was menacing, as there was a dead silence that went along with it. No birds, no insects, nothing at all. Just a dead overcast sky, with cracks where the slowly lowering sun could pierce through every now and again. I felt my heart race in my chest, as the silence began to overwhelm me. I reach over and grabbed Aurora’s arm spinning her around to face me. She pushed me back lightly, freeing her arm from my grip. “We need to keep moving!” She shouted, her tone being uncertain.

Before I could respond, a piercing sound crashed through my head, a high pitched squeal that echoed across the large filed, and was loud enough to bring me to my knees. “Aurora..”, I managed to mutter just as a large black vortex of energy started forming, not 30 yards from us.

Aurora knelt down my by side, trying her best to comfort me. Just as I couldn’t bear the sound any longer, it stoped, and was replaced by the collective chatter of a dark nature. “What do we have here? Wandererssss perhaps?” The voice had a long drawl, and emphasized the “s” on wanderers. “Go No Further!” The telepathic message continued, “There will be no other warnings, free will hasssss been satisfied! The voice bellowed before quickly dissipating with the vortex, leaving Aurora and I struggling to stand back upright.

It took us another minute to fully recover. The psychic attack was powerful, catching us off guard. “A. are you ok?” I asked quickly. Aurora nodded and put her arm on my shoulder. “We need to connect when we reach the meetup point.” She responded. Aurora meant we needed to center ourselves, and connect to each other in a meditative session. It was a way that Wanderers could reach out, and prepare themselves for potentially extreme situations. It was often done in pairs, that way there was always companionship during the process.

I glanced around the field again. “We need to take a moment to honor these poor animals”, I said softly before kneeling down again. Aurora knelt down with me, closing her eyes along side me. We put our hands on the earth, guiding our energy to connect with the planet. Then in unison, we started to speak.

“We call on the beings who honor all life. We ask for your help to purify this place, and provide service for the animals who have perished here. Help them find peace, and seal any doorways that may allow the dark to enter.” With that we bowed our heads and continued “In service and respect to the one infinitely powerful creator of all things, thank you for help.”

By the time we opened our eyes, there were fireflies rising from the field, encircling the remains of the Animals. The remains of which slowly ignited to a soft powerful glow before disappearing into the ethers.

Another voice echoed in our minds, this one sang a different tune. “We honor you Wanderers, we are here, always watching. Proceed knowing you are safe”. With that the soft voice faded out, and a warm ray from the sun pierced the clouds bringing feelings of relaxation and joy.

Onward to Andrez

Aurora looked at me, now with a more cherry look on her face. “Let’s go love, the fuel supply is not that far now”. I smiled back, “Good because I’m down to 30%, moving through this field was a fuel hog”. Aurora smirked, before extending her hand and pull me to my feet. We mounted our ATVs, through them into gear again and continued on.

It didn’t take more than a few minutes before we finished crossing the field, and passed onto another forested trail. This one being much narrower, but surprisingly clear from any kind of obstruction. We accelerated steadily, but keep the speed below 45 kph to avoid taking a turn too quickly.

“So love”, Aurora started, “are you ready to try out this insane tent I have?” Aurora went silent, as it had been a question on her mind for some time. “Oh I certainly am, my favorite Twin.” I chuckled. Aurora giggled, “I’m your only twin you dope!” She yelled at me.

We both laughed over the comms, and were having too much fun when a neat little blob came up on our HUD. “There it is!” Aurora shouted excitedly. It didd’t take more than another minute before we were pulling up next to a hidden thicket of shrubs that surrounded a small structure. It was actually cute, and I could tell Aurora put some thought in it.

We powered off our ATVs and Aurora dashed into the small room of the structure, that couldn’t have been half the size of her shed. She reappeared a moment later handing me an old 10 gallon jug of gas. “Here you are love, gas up”. I took the can, and quickly began refueling. My ATV took every drop of it. “Wow, I was getting low.” I thought. Aurora heard my thought and responded, “Me Too.” I looked over and saw her with another can filling up.

She then took both cans and put them back into her hideout, before coming out again and tossing me a large protein pack. “Try this, you must be hungry”. I hadn’t even thought about it, but I was. It didn’t take me long to tear into the pack and devour it. Aurora did the same, and laughed when she saw we both had the same thought.

“Aurora, did I ever tell you how bad ass you look, when out in nature?” I asked, with a smirk on my face. She smiled back, “All the time mister.” She playfully responded. We both laughed as we sat on or ATVs relaxing for a little bit. It was late afternoon, and the sun was getting lower in the sky. I couldn’t believe an invasion into this area had occurred. I was thinking more about it, when Aurora tapped me on the shoulder and pointed at another trail close to us. This trail had a decent incline, that looked like it didn’t give up. “This is the last leg of the trip. 10 Kilometers in an upward incline.” Aurora chuckled. I gasped, “Good grief! At least we are close”. I quipped. Aurora nodded, before powering on her ATV again, “Ready Lover?” she asked.

I powered on my ATV, and looked at its status. The fuel level was back hovering around 100%. I looked up giving her a thumbs up. Aurora nodded in approval, revved her engine a final time, and launched herself onto the trail. I followed suit, thinking to myself, “Onward To Andrez!”

Author’s Note:

Hey All, I hope you enjoyed Episode 7 of Taran Ascending. If you missed the last episode you can check it out by clicking here.