Forgotten Stars

Elijah jerked backward as a burst of plasma from his red armor propelled him away from a mutant’s claw that nearly tore his neck apart. “Avoid a frontal assault!” an AI warning reverberated in his ears, while his HUD mapped the enemy’s attack path with a yellow line. Without hesitation, Evelyn darted out of the ash-filled haze like lightning. Her energy knife spun into a blue-hued circle as it slashed through the mutant’s torso. Thick green fluid spurted out, yet the creature was not finished—its severed head still lunged at Elijah, jaws moving like a malfunctioning machine.

“Head off, too, Ma!” Elijah shouted, as the energy sword emerging from his plasma wings flared red. With a sweeping, circular motion, he split the mutant’s head in two. The headless body finally crumpled, though its fingers continued clawing at the ground, raking the asphalt until they left deep gouges.

But the remaining five mutants roared in unison. Two of them leaped onto the roof of a burning truck, their metal claws shredding through steel as if it were paper. One mutant—armed with three branched arms—sprinted toward Elijah, while two others fanned out; one circled Evelyn in a twisting motion and two more flanked Elijah from the left and right. Their metallic talons scraped against the asphalt, leaving concave marks, while radioactive dust swirled about like toxic mist.

“Don’t let them corner you!” Crowe bellowed through the comm as his small drone fired a laser at the nearest mutant’s eye. A red beam struck its yellow pupil, only causing the creature to shake its head as if swatting away an annoying fly. Its facial skin blistered momentarily but quickly regenerated as new flesh replaced the scorched tissue.

Evelyn danced among the assaults, her silver armor gleaming each time her cloaking device activated. When a mutant swung its claw, she appeared suddenly behind it; her energy knife plunged into the joint of its leg. “Elijah, now!” she cried, her voice breathless.

Understanding her cue, Elijah surged into the air with a plasma-powered kick, his red wings unfurling wide. Two energy swords detached from his armor, spinning like boomerangs as they slammed into the backs of two mutants encircling him. Green fluid sprayed from wounds on their shoulders, yet they continued moving—each mutant’s spine regenerating within seconds, new bone spiking out like metal thorns.

“They regenerate!” Elijah gasped as he landed beside Evelyn, his breath ragged. His HUD energy indicator dipped to 80%.

“Find their weak point!” Evelyn ordered, flipping her energy knife into a spear and thrusting it into the chest of a crippled mutant. But the creature only let out a hoarse laugh as its three-branched arm clutched the spear and yanked it away. Evelyn staggered forward, nearly impaled by another mutant’s swiping claw from the side.

Elijah lunged in; his energy sword flared brilliantly as it severed a mutant’s arm cleanly. Yet the wound sealed almost instantly, with fresh flesh growing back like an accelerated cancer and muscles writhing like living worms. “Can’t they just die?!” he roared, stepping back.

“Try smashing its brain! Or burn it to ashes!” Crowe grumbled. His small drone dove, targeting a mutant’s head with its laser. But before the shot could detonate, the mutant’s long tail slammed into the drone, shattering it into splinters of metal that rained down, puncturing the automatic energy shield that Elijah’s armor had just activated.

“Damn it!” Crowe’s voice stuttered as he lost his camera feed. “I… I can’t… help…”

Elijah and Evelyn fell back, backs pressed together, as five mutants encircled them—their wild yellow eyes glowing and heavy, fetid breaths filling the air. One particularly bulky mutant stamped its foot, causing cracks to ripple toward them.

“Mom, I’ve got an idea,” Elijah whispered, his fingers dancing over the control panel on his armor’s arm. “Distract them! I need ten seconds!”

Evelyn nodded. Her cloaking device deactivated deliberately, and her silver armor shone brightly. “Hey, ugly monster! I’m here!” she shouted, hurling a chunk of concrete at the bulky mutant.

The mutants roared and surged forward. Two leaped into the air, their claws aimed at Evelyn’s head. Just as they were about to strike, Elijah pressed a button on his back. His red wings discharged a burst of searing plasma onto the ground, creating a shockwave that flung three mutants into the air. Evelyn sprang up, her energy spear impaling one mutant’s throat and striking another in the chest.

Yet the two largest remaining mutants evaded the onslaught. One slashed at Elijah’s arm, tearing through the outer layer of his metal plating. “Damage: 20%,” his AI warned, as blood trickled from the wound beneath his elbow.

Elijah growled, and his energy sword transformed into a massive hammer. With a bellow, he brought it crashing down onto a mutant’s head. The skull shattered, but the creature’s body kept moving—its fuzzy, malformed hand striking Elijah and hurling him against a wall.

“Elijah!” Evelyn screamed, but another mutant blocked her as its metal claw nicked her silver helmet, causing a small crack.

Staggering to his feet with blood trickling from his lips, Elijah checked his HUD; his armor’s energy was now at 65%. But the crescent pendant at his neck shone ever brighter, as if emitting its own energy. The pendant fused with his armor, sending a blazing surge of energy through his system. His sword lengthened, glowing like molten lava. With one sweeping strike, he cleaved a mutant’s body in two—and this time, regeneration failed. The green fluid evaporated into smoke, leaving only tiny crystals behind amid the wreckage.

“Mom! Grab the crystal from their bodies!” Elijah shouted, slashing at a mutant that lunged at Evelyn.

Evelyn decapitated the last mutant, retrieving a hidden crystal from its chest. “What is this?!” she exclaimed.

“Explanation later!” Elijah pulled his mother’s hand. “We need to get out of here!”

They fled the battleground as clouds of ash and the dying screams of mutants haunted their steps. Elijah sprinted ahead, his energy sword dimly lighting the way, while Evelyn trailed behind, occasionally glancing over at shifting shadows amid the ruins. The streets were littered with overturned, rusted cars, the pavement cracked like the skin of a giant serpent. The air reeked of burning iron and rotting flesh, nearly making Elijah retch even though his helmet filtered some of the stench.

“Turn left!” Evelyn commanded, pointing toward a narrow corridor between two leaning apartment buildings. The right building’s roof had partially collapsed, spilling debris onto the street. Elijah vaulted over a concrete beam as tall as himself, while Evelyn slashed through barbed wire obstructing the path with her energy knife.

At the corridor’s end, they found a main road littered with the carcasses of school buses. Their shattered windows and scattered seats resembled plastic bones. In the distance, a neon sign reading “SUPERMART” flickered erratically—the letters “U” and “T” long dead, leaving a blood-red “S PERMAR.”

“Not far now!” Elijah drew a deep breath, his pendant pulsing in rhythm with a crystal in his pocket.

But the path was not so simple. Before reaching the supermarket, they had to cross an open plaza filled with stagnant, moss-green puddles that bubbled like sores. Evelyn raised her hand to signal Elijah to stop. “There’s something in the water,” she whispered.

Before he could react, three gaunt mutants leaped from the puddles. Their skin melted and their rib cages jutted out like the framework of a broken cage. Elijah swung his sword, but Evelyn was faster. With an acrobatic kick, she sent one mutant plunging into the water, while her energy knife sliced off the heads of two others. Thick green fluid sprayed out, evaporating instantly on contact with the stagnant water.

“Run!” Evelyn shouted, pulling Elijah’s arm.

They raced through the wreckage of a supermarket parking lot, where an overturned delivery truck lay in front of the entrance and corrugated cardboard boxes filled with cans were strewn about. Elijah pushed open a cracked glass door and entered the dark building. Inside, disarray reigned—shelves were toppled, neon lights on the ceiling flickered erratically, and the humid air reeked of mold.

“We’re here,” Elijah said as he leaned against a wall, his helmet now removed. His face was pale, yet his eyes shone with determination. “But is it finally safe?”

Evelyn activated a flashlight on her silver armor, its blue beam cutting through the dark corridors. “For now.”

Within the supermarket, the humid air reeked of mold and decaying metal. Rows of steel shelves stood like dinosaur skeletons, partially collapsed onto heaps of rusty canned goods. Elijah nudged an overturned shopping cart with his foot—the screeching of its stuck wheels broke the silence. Emergency lights on the ceiling blinked, casting distorted shadows on the cracked ceramic floor.

“Let’s check the back aisle first,” Evelyn whispered, her silver helmet still cracked at the cheek. Her energy knife illuminated the dark corners.

They moved cautiously, passing aisles of once-pristine milk and cereal boxes now turned into clumps of mold. In the frozen foods section, an open freezer yawned wide, its contents melting into a slimy brown puddle. Elijah raised his hand; the red crystal in his pocket glowed faintly. “No sign of mutants here,” he murmured, though his eyes remained alert.

After ensuring the area was secure, Elijah sat on the floor near a looted checkout counter. From a small pouch at his waist, he produced seven red crystals, each marble-sized—remnants collected from the mutants earlier. “Absorb these, Mom,” he instructed, placing the crystals on the dusty floor.

Evelyn frowned. “Absorb? What do you mean?”

“Like this.” Elijah took one crystal and clutched it tightly. Slowly, the stone blazed with light before liquefying into a red fluid that seeped into his skin. For a moment, his muscles pulsed and his blue eyes flared. “I accidentally did this in the car when we fled the bunker. My body… feels lighter, stronger.”

Evelyn grumbled. “This is too risky. We don’t know what side effects it might have!”

“But we have no choice,” Elijah replied, meeting her gaze firmly. “The mutants out there are getting stronger. If we don’t enhance our abilities, we’re done for.”

Sighing, Evelyn retrieved two crystals. “I’ll split them in a 4:3 ratio—four for me and Crowe, and three for you.”

“No! It has to be fair—” Elijah protested.

“You’re still a teenager, son. Your body isn’t stable enough,” Evelyn cut him off sharply.

Elijah grumbled but complied. They sat in a circle with the crystals laid in the middle. Elijah and Evelyn closed their eyes, placing their hands over the crystals, while Crowe monitored them via drone for any unforeseen issues.

“Close your eyes. Focus on the energy within the crystals,” Elijah guided, his voice steady despite his pounding heart.

Evelyn obeyed, the crystal in her hand growing warm. Suddenly, a surge of heat coursed through her arm—like an adrenaline shot straight into her veins. Her breath hitched, but she endured. Next to her, Elijah bit his lip until it bled as four crystals simultaneously melded into his body. A red glow enveloped them, casting strange shadows on the wall.

Several hours later…

Elijah opened his eyes. The world felt… different. Colors were sharper—dust in the air glimmered like golden particles, and Evelyn’s heartbeat could be heard clearly from three meters away. He raised his hand; his skin shimmered red for a moment before fading.

“How do you feel?” Evelyn asked as she stood, her face looking refreshed and free of fatigue.

“Amazing,” Elijah smiled.

Suddenly, the roar of machinery echoed in the distance. Elijah sprang up, his reflexes now lightning-fast. “That’s the sound of a vehicle!”

They ducked behind a collapsed medicine shelf. Evelyn deactivated her silver armor while Elijah activated silent mode. Through a shattered window, they saw a black, armored military truck approaching—its exterior scarred, a bent machine gun perched atop, and a bulging right front tire.

Six soldiers disembarked. Their uniforms were ragged, faces hidden behind makeshift gas masks. Their leader—a short-haired woman with a burn scar on her neck—raised her hand to signal a sweep of the area.

“Keep quiet,” Evelyn whispered.

But one young soldier suddenly pointed his weapon toward the supermarket. “There are footprints here!”

Elijah held his breath, his right hand gripping his dimly lit energy sword. Evelyn shook her head, urging him to stay calm.

The commanding officer advanced, his flashlight scanning the aisle. “Come out! We won’t hurt you!”

Just as Elijah prepared to attack, Evelyn grabbed his arm. “Let’s reveal ourselves,” she whispered. With cautious steps, they emerged from hiding.

The soldiers aimed their weapons. “Identify yourselves! Which unit are you from?!” one shouted, his face hidden behind a cracked mask.

Elijah and Evelyn remained silent, their helmets still on.

“You idiots! Capture them!” a young soldier snarled, finger tightening on his trigger.

“Don’t shoot!” the female leader cried out, her voice firm yet calm. Her face was oval with a chiseled jaw, and her emerald-green eyes were cool and commanding. Though her neck burn was concealed by a grimy bandage, her posture was as statuesque as if carved from stone. “They’re not mutants.”

The young soldier lowered his weapon but stayed alert. Felicia stepped forward, gesturing for her men to fall back with her left hand. Her sleek black combat armor hugged her frame, accented with an eagle insignia on her shoulder—a mark of command. Her voice was soft yet piercing. “I am Felicia Vossard, Commander of Sector 9. We are looking for survivors.”

Without haste, Felicia continued, “We have a safe bunker up north. There’s food and medicine. We’re not the enemy—we’re just looking for those who survived.”

Elijah raised his helmet, revealing his face. “Why should we trust you?” His armor suddenly scanned Felicia’s face. “Verification: No criminal record. Military data is encrypted at a high level.”

Felicia gave a slight smile. “Satisfied?”

Evelyn finally removed her helmet. “What are your plans after this?”

Felicia nodded slowly. “Mutants are mutating even faster. We need forces to fight off the mutant invasion that’s already roaming about.”

“And you think we’d be eager to join you?” Elijah sneered, his energy sword still aglow.

Felicia did not press further. Instead, she tossed a small box to Elijah’s feet. “This is an emergency communicator. If you change your mind…”

Soon the military truck drove off, leaving Elijah and Evelyn behind.