Chapter 2: Desperate Moments
1300 Words
Hilda Muller, Markus White, and a group of House Rashid security guards exited the lift at the top level of Rashidium Tower. They walked towards the courtroom where the sentencing of Keila Eisenstein posing as Alicia White, took place.
Hilda Muller saw Ibrahim Rashid through the doorway at the end of the corridor. Ibrahim Rashid was scolding the imposter Keila Eisenstein for vandalising the Cheops Pyramid. Hilda Muller gave the signal to follow her, and the group headed towards the courtroom. 'Alicia' noticed the approaching troops, and she jumped towards Ibrahim Rashid. Once on top of him, she pushed his hand towards a control panel, to close the courtroom door. Hilda realised that there was no time to lose, she rushed towards the door to get in, but she was too late.
Hilda's skin burnt from colliding with the force field that protected the bullet-proof glass door that sealed off the room. She had got there too late, and the madwoman Alicia was holding the Terran Council leaders’ as hostages. What Hilda saw next shocked her and her crew. The Terran Council leaders collapsed, and 'Alicia' transformed into the infamous Keila Eisenstein!
“Get those doors open now!” Hilda exclaimed, and the security guards requested reinforcements with appropriate equipment. Hilda looked at Keila. She noticed that Keila was activating The Terran Council Blood Encryption machine. This machine was rarely used, and Hilda could not figure out what the damn terrorist intended to do with the device. Regardless of what it was, it wasn’t good news!
Hilda kept studying Keila. Keila had managed to access the Blood Encryption Machine, but Hilda wouldn’t know what Keila had done until she had access to the machine herself. Hilda watched, as Keila bashed the skulls of the unconscious Terran Council leaders with a metal sculpture. Considering the amount of brain matter on the floor, it seemed unlikely that they would be able to resurrect any of the fallen leaders.
“We’ll break through the doors in 20 minutes”, one of the Rashid soldiers said. “Good, make sure to wear protective equipment, we don’t know what gas she has released in there!”, Hilda replied.
Hilda examined the situation. It would be a public relations nightmare, to explain how Keila had accessed a Terran Council meeting and murdered all the faction leaders. There was a risk for potential uprisings among the civilian population, in the chaos that would follow. This event would put the power of the Terran Council into question, for the second time in just a couple of months.
But in the situation, there was also an opportunity for Hilda. Hilda had suspected that Joachim Muller had something to do with the assassination of her father, Matthias Muller. Hilda had lacked the proof, and she wouldn't accuse the leader of her faction without any evidence to support her claims. With Joachim Muller and Benjamin Muller lying dead on the floor, things were looking better for Hilda's position in House Muller. With the two of them dead, Hilda was second in line to leadership after Joachim’s third son Michael Muller. Michael Muller was an unambitious family man who did not seem to care much about power and ambition. Hilda was confident that she could persuade Michael to give up his position to her, as long as he could live in wealth and abundance.
Hilda stopped her succession planning when an intense blue light appeared on the horizon. The blue light was so intense, so it blinded her temporarily. When Hilda had regained her eyesight, she saw something that shocked her. A blue portal had opened on top of the Great Pyramid, and out of it came a massive horde of alien species.
A severe migraine struck Hilda, and the world became blurry and stopped making sense to her. This was because the Xeno invaders had brought stolen Zetan technology. Some of the Zetan technology disrupted the bionic microchips that Hilda had in her brain. Hilda could hear unintelligible chatter on the soldiers' transistors.
Hilda realised that her bionic microchips had broken as she could no longer understand Arabic, the language of the House Rashid soldiers.
Fortunately, Hilda had learned some English using her brain, and she spoke to the petrified Markus White.
Hilda Muller, speaking with a firm German accent:
- Stay close to me, Markus. We are under attack by alien life forms.
Markus White:
- What are those things? We are all going to die!
Hilda Muller:
- No, we are not. The army will get here shortly and sort out this mess. Fight to stay alive until then!
Markus White:
- Fight with what? We don’t carry any weapons.
Hilda Muller:
- The Rashid soldiers will have to give us weapons!
Hilda Muller tried talking to the Rashid soldiers to get weapons for her and Markus. This didn’t work as the Rashid soldiers only spoke Arabic, and they were too agitated to make any sense.
Suddenly, Hilda heard a thundering shriek and turned around. The scream had scattered the fortified glass to the boardroom. Hilda studied the source of the howl. A two-metre tall humanoid-like monstrosity with shiny purple eyes. Several three-metre tall beasts accompanied the monstrosity!
Rangda, knocked Keila unconscious, grabbed her, and jumped out of the building. The other beasts, however, attacked.
Hilda pulled Markus towards the floor, and thus, saved his life when a Xeno beast jumped towards her. The Rashid soldier behind them was not as lucky, and he got decapitated by the fearsome creature. The panicking Rashid Soldiers shot towards the Xenos but to a limited effect. The Xenos had ballistic energy absorbers and thick skin that was hard to penetrate with the weapons that the guards carried. “Use your plasma knives!” Hilda shouted to the Rashid guards. But the guards didn’t understand her. Instead, they panicked and the Xenos decapitated them one by one with their razor-sharp claws.
Hilda picked up the plasma knife from one of the fallen soldiers. She took a leap and saved Markus White through piercing the skull of a Xeno Beast with the plasma knife, slaying the beast. Hilda dragged Markus to the boardroom where the dead Terran Council leaders were lying on the floor. Since they were at a high altitude, the room was very windy. Hilda and Markus ran to the window.
There was no way out. They heard the Xenos behind them roar. The beasts had killed off the Rashid guards, and they had turned their attention towards Hilda and Markus.
Markus White:
- What do you say, Hilda? Should we end our lives jumping off the building, or would you rather be alien food?
Hilda Muller:
- You do whatever that pleases you. I am a soldier; I’ll stay and fight.
- Get down!
Hilda pulled Markus to the ground and behind them came their salvation. It came in the form of a House Muller combat helicopter, that blew the remaining four Xenos to shreds with their autocannons and rockets. Hilda grabbed the Blood Encryption Tablet and got on the aircraft.
Hilda Muller:
- The city is overrun with Aliens. Let’s get out of here!
Helicopter Pilot:
- Hilda! What about Joachim and Benjamin?
Hilda Muller:
- They are dead beyond resurrection. Murdered in cold blood by Keila Eisenstein. Now let’s get the f**k out of here before those monsters come back!
Helicopter Pilot:
- Jawohl Fräulein Muller!
As the helicopter left Rashidium city, Hilda studied the c*****e that the Xeno invasion had caused in the city. Reinforcements would arrive, but it was too late to save Rashidium’s inhabitants from the destructive alien invasion!
- Writer
