The Judge

As the distant sun slid down the sky, it illuminated the atmosphere with its multicolored splashes of orange and red. An ominous sandstorm wreaked havoc on the desert’s serene afternoon. It soon passed, but the face of the landscape was forever disfigured. A breeze changed into a strong gust, hoisting small clusters of sand into rough swirls that resembled tiny tornadoes. Small kangaroo mice retreated to their burrows to hide from the fickle winds.

  Darek felt sick. The meals he had been forced to ingest over the last few days were far from delectable. The menu had consisted of roasted lizards, bugs, and a few other things he couldn’t identify. Azura was an expert on determining what would be safe to eat. But even if the things they ate weren’t poisonous, he had never felt so disgusted in his life, so much so to the point of vomiting whenever Azura cheerfully said, “All right! Time to eat!”

  It was also never enough. It was impossible to fill his stomach from such nasty little critters. Every night he’d go to bed hungry. He regretted rejecting Azura’s first invitation at a filling meal. If only he had known he was going to be eating nothing but gut-wrenching oddities, he would have filled his stomach in the first place.

  But it was not all bad. Occasionally, he’d find some nice succulent cactus fruit to hold him over. That was the only highlight of his day, and while they walked on, he kept on praying for more.

  Darek followed Azura the whole time and could barely keep up with her rapid pace. Though they divided all the food and water equally, slept the same amount and walked the same distance, Darek could not comprehend how she kept on going without even looking tired. Even so, he still had his pride. If she was not going to take a break, there was no way he would suggest it. But that didn’t keep him from watching her movements closely, waiting for her to make a stop. Then the unthinkable finally happened: it was not time to sleep or rest but she stopped walking regardless.

  “What’s wrong? Tired?” wheezed Darek, as he crouched over, catching his breath. “Don’t push it. It’s been a long day. You don’t look so good. I can see you’re sweating like crazy. Maybe you should take a break. We have a long way to go, you know.”

  “Look over there.” Azura pointed to the horizon. “What does that look like to you?”

  “Look at what?” Exhausted, Darek straightened up and tried to match his view with the direction she pointed at. “What are you talking about? I don’t see anything special.”

  “You don’t? But it’s right over there—clear as day. That thing that stands right out on top of that sand dune.” Azura squinted her eyes. “It looks like a large city.”

  Darek squinted at the same spot for a minute but the best he could see was a little black dot. “Are you sure? That could be anything…”

  “But look at all those structures,” said Azura, “I don’t see how it could be natural.”

  When she turned back, she found him already passed out on the sand, snoring deeply. She shook her head in disappointment. “You should have waited until we reached the city before going to bed. Kids these days are just too impatient.” She took hold of his ankles and, dragging him across the sand, went about her way toward the city.

  By the time they entered the city the sky was dark. The evening was young yet no one was on the roads. The only voices around were the whispers and howls of the wind. The only faces were the blank stares of abandoned buildings. The city was an empty shell.

  The city, in spite of its death, still was a wondrous sight to behold. Covered in dust and ashes, the city’s towers were like majestic giants. Untended gardens were strewn along the rooftops of apartments. The grandiose roads and buildings, elaborate in design, were impressive feats.

  Azura walked through an empty boulevard, marveling at the sight. She was awestruck by the complexity of the architecture. She had been to several worlds and had seen many cities along the way, but this was one of the most elegantly constructed cities she had ever laid eyes on.

  There was one thing that stood out in particular: a large waterway. It was still running. “Amazing,” she muttered. “A system of transport using water, and it’s connected to the river. Water must have played an important role in this civilization. This system is so large and extensive. I bet it could transport small homes.” She looked around. “I wonder how far it goes.”

  She reflectively gazed at the city. By all accounts and considerations, the civilization on this planet should have been primitive, but judging from what she could see, this was not the case. How could such an advanced civilization have collapsed without a trace?

  “Are we there yet?” Darek shot up and stretched. His back was aching and sore, though he wasn’t sure why. Then, when he looked around, he was stunned at the masterpiece of a city. “Looks way nicer than the slums. What do you suppose happened on this world? A genetic experiment gone awry, or maybe a crazy evil dictator left everything in ruins?”

  Azura was not amused by his questions. “Let’s look for survivors.”

  “Wait a minute.” Darek looked at her strangely and waved his hands, gesturing for her to look across the cityscape. “Why bother? There’s no one here! Look at how old this place is. Even if there were survivors, they would’ve moved on by now.”

  “As a Hero, it is my duty to make sure no one is left behind.” Azura ran to windows of the buildings, checking each one to see if she could find anybody inside. Azura opened up one of the doors and motioned for Darek to follow. Darek didn’t budge. She asked, “Now, are you going to help me or not?”

  “Help you?” Darek sat down defiantly. “I’m staying here. Those buildings look like they could collapse any moment. I don’t see why I need to risk my life for nothing.”

  Azura shrugged. “Fine, suit yourself.”

  Azura disappeared through the entrance of the building. When she was no longer around, the city fell completely silent for a few seconds. No chirping, whistling, howling or any other nocturnal noises could be heard anymore. Had it not been for the sound of his own breath, Darek would’ve believed he had gone deaf. The city started to seem like a much scarier place. Colossal shadows waned left and right along the front of vacant residences. Speeding objects zoomed overhead without a sound. Enigmatic lights flashed chaotically in the sky from time to time. There were so many strange things going on around him, yet he couldn’t tell what was causing all those unexplainable events to happen. It could be nothing…but then again, there could also be some humongous, ferocious man-eating monster just hiding around the corner! Darek gulped. He could feel the hairs on his neck—and maybe even atop his head—prickling up.

  He glanced left and right, twitching at every single thing that moved. Frightened, he called out, “Azura? You still there?” There was no response—aside from a cricket chirp that enjoyed answering him.

  Because of the near-absolute silence and the impenetrable darkness, his senses became highly responsive. He believed he was hearing the footsteps of beetles marching on the fence behind him. In the corner of his eye, he thought he caught sight of several shadows running amok through the windows. Darek plugged his ear and shut his eyes. He figured he might be going crazy. But by covering his ears in this eerie silence, he could hear the incessant drumming of his heart. Fearing for his sanity, Darek got up and ran to the door where he last saw her enter.

  Darek scanned the dark hallway from the outside. He didn’t really want to go in, but he’d much rather be inside with Azura than outside alone. Taking in small breaths of courage, he slowly tiptoed into the building.

  “Azura,” Darek whispered several times as he went along, “where are you?”

  It was too dark to tell where he was going; keeping one hand along the wall, he headed straight down the corridor. The floor was littered with debris, which brushed against his feet. He wondered what all the stuff on the floor was. Since he couldn’t see anything at all, his curiosity was piqued. He tried stepping on whatever was on the ground, and it made a loud crunch. Bugs? The thought unwillingly crossed his mind, but the shape didn’t seem right; it
felt more like plaster or hard wood. But as long as he couldn’t see it, it would be for the best. He would probably feel better if he stopped thinking about it all together.

  Darek walked past each room, peeking inside each one as he went. She was nowhere to be found. He took one deep breath and then boldly shouted, “AZURA, WHERE ARE YOU?”

  Azura slapped him across the face. “You don’t have to be so loud, I’m right behind you!” She tapped his shoulder to show him where she was. “You almost blew out an eardrum.”

  “You were here the whole time?”

  “Yes, I was.”

  “Why didn’t you answer me the first time?”

  “I did. I nodded and waved my hand to show you where I was. You looked right at me.”

  “I can’t see anything at all!”

  “Well, I’m checking upstairs.”

  “Wait! I’m coming with you.” Darek chased slowly after her, following the wall. He waved his hand steadily ahead to avoid bumping into things. “I won’t be able to keep up with you if you move too fast. Azura? Did you hear me?” She didn’t reply.

  “Oh great,” grunted Darek. “Left me all alone again.” He groped around in the dark and found the railing that led up the stairs. Ascending the stairs was a shaky experience because every step he took made the boards creak. He stayed along the very edge of the stairs, fearing they would break at the middle.

  When he reached the upper floor, he inspected the nearest room. At the window he saw the blurred silhouette of a person. But when he blinked, the person disappeared. Startled, Darek reached into his bag for his daggers. His trembling fingers lifted them out of his bag, but they slipped out of his hands and onto the obscured floor.

  Darek shuddered. He now had to deal with two fears. Should he face the shadow before him unarmed, or would it be better to search for his daggers in an unknown darkness? He panicked and dropped to the floor, feeling the ground and pushing aside the unknown junk.

  “What are you doing?” Azura turned on the light in the room.

  “Oh, thank God, it’s just you.” Darek was relieved to see her. “I dropped something on the floor and…” Blood drained from his face when he looked down.

  “Bones!” Darek shrieked. He stumbled back and gasped. The floor was literally littered with hundreds of skeletons. Darek kicked them away. “Everywhere! They’re everywhere! What’s going on here?” Terrified, Darek said, “Did the monsters do this?”

  Azura held a skull in the palm of her hand. “I don’t think so.”

  “Why not?”

  “No signs of struggle. No dismemberment. Even their clothes are okay. Their clothes would be ripped if they were eaten. This is…unusual. It’s like they…died on the spot.”

  “Whatever it is, I don’t care! I just want to get out of here!”

  “Are you hearing yourself talk?” Azura placed the skull down gently on a table. “What if there are people still out there? How can we abandon them in this nightmare?”

  Frustrated, Darek said, “What don’t you understand? Monsters are everywhere and everyone’s dead! There’s no one to save!”

  “If you want to leave, go right ahead, if you can. I’m not going to stop you.” Azura’s temper flared as she digested his words. “But I’m disappointed in you. I thought you’d be glad to help, but—” She stopped abruptly. “Stay inside this room,” she said in a hushed voice.

  “Whatever.” Darek was leaving but froze when he noticed something moving outside the window. “I’ve been meaning to ask you this, but were you in here when I came in?”

  “No.” Azura carefully stared out the window until something suspicious caught her eye. “There!” she exclaimed. Azura opened the window and jumped out.

  Darek gestured with his hand for her to stop. “Don’t—we’re on the second floor!” He ran to the window and saw that Azura had landed safely. She then disappeared into the dark alley.

  She survived that without injuring herself? She can’t be human.

  Darek hastily grabbed his daggers and hurried to the stairs, but the moment he stepped down, he heard a loud crack. He screamed. All of a sudden, the wooden stairs crumbled beneath him. He fell through, landing clumsily on the first floor. His head felt woozy. Getting to his feet, he dusted his clothes off. His whole body was in pain. He staggered away from the rubble. Crunch. There was a strange sound. His eyes ran across the broken staircase. Something stirred beneath the broken boards.

  Darek’s eyes widened as a large wolf emerged from heaps of broken wood and stone. Shaking off the dust, it eyed Darek angrily and pounced at Darek with such a force that the both of them broke through the crumbling wall and into the city streets.

  Darek scrambled to his feet and faced the snarling predator. The big black wolf glared at Darek. It grunted and growled while saliva uncontrollably dripped down its gums.

  With his daggers in a cross-like fashion, Darek took a low stance and watched the wolf’s movement warily. Blood stained Darek’s shirt because the claws had scraped some flesh off. It doesn’t look too happy, he thought. But there’s no way I can outrun a wolf. While keeping a close eye on the approaching wolf, Darek retreated slowly. The wolf followed his every step, making sure the distance between them would not widen. Without realizing it, Darek backed into a wall. It was fight or die, and he would much rather put up a fight. Darek wasn’t exactly a student of martial arts, but Slade had taught him a thing or two at the orphanage. Even in the slums, he had his fair share of brawls. A wild carnivore would undoubtedly be stronger, but in the best situation, Darek might be able to scare it off.

  Darek dashed at the wolf. He slashed with his right blade and then with his left. But the wolf danced side to side, dodging his swipes, and then jumped back and away. Darek stiffened.

  Darn, I missed!

  While Darek was occupied in thought, the wolf launched an attack of its own. The wolf leapt a great distance, closing the gap between them in an instant, and charged at Darek. Darek skillfully sidestepped the rush, thinking it would be enough. But the wolf, sensing his ignorance, stopped its charge and used a smooth rotation of its body to launch its foot into Darek’s face.

  Darek responded by blocking its foot with his arm, but the impact still knocked him back several feet. His forearm throbbed from the bloody bruising. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it sounded. The only logical conclusion was that this had to be a bad dream. Regardless, it was undeniable: the wolf had kicked him. The black wolf was standing upright like a man. It motioned with its claws, almost as if to say, “Come and get me.”

  His courage faltered in front of this strange beast. But even so, Darek forced down his feelings of running away. That girl had already saved him once and he was not about to go to crying for her help. He was going to show her that he could handle his own problems. He readied himself for another exchange. This time, he thought, they were on more equal terms.

  Once more, he ran toward the wolf, no longer hesitating. He slashed several times but the wolf blocked all of his strikes. The wolf tried to chop and claw at him with his paws but Darek blocked its attacks as well. For nearly a minute, they traded blows in rapid succession. Each attack barely hit and both of them began feeling exhausted from the pressure of the attacks.

  Darek was rather impressed with himself. He never knew he had it in him to fight this well. But he was more impressed by the wolf.

  What’s going on here? Darek thought. This wolf only punches and kicks!

  The wolf dropped its guard a little and triggered Darek’s battle instinct. Darek tried to use that opening as the turning point of the fight and, with the last of his energy, unleashed several close stabs. Sadly, Darek missed. Taking a strong stance, the wolf smashed the brunt of its paw against Darek’s chest, launching him several feet in the air. Then the wolf pounced after Darek’s body in midair, grabbed Darek’s arm and tossed him like a rag doll against the ground.

  Darek had the wind knocked out of him, leaving him writhing on t
he road. While the wolf approached him, Darek recovered, but remained on the ground, faking injury.

  The wolf winced, showing a painful expression. Without drawing much attention, Darek glanced around its body and noticed that splinters of wood had penetrated its thick skin. It had been injured from the falling staircase from before. Darek thought, This is my chance! The wolf flinched again; Darek sneakily threw his dagger at the wolf’s unsuspecting eye and managed to graze it just enough so that it bled. The wolf howled in pain and wiped away the blood from his eye while Darek darted away. Desperate for help, Darek scanned the surrounding area with his eyes. What could Azura be doing at a time like this? Why’d she leave me alone with that monster?

  Darek ran into a long dark alley. It was a suitable place to hide. He took refuge there and found some large crates for cover. Ugh, what’s that smell? Darek held his nose. There was a powerful stench that came from inside the crates; though it was mildly revolting, he thought it might help to hide his own scent. While huddled up, Darek heard a loud crash coming from above. Azura jumped out a window and landed right in front of him.

  Darek exclaimed, “So that’s where you were! And here I was thinking you might’ve been doing something important! While you were having fun, hopping out of buildings, this wolf monster nearly killed—”

  “What are you still doing here?” said Azura, furrowing her brow. “Get out of here!”

  Crash! Nearly a dozen wolves sprang from the windows, sprinkling glass and splinters of wood from above. The wolves landed all around them, snarling and growling. Their eyes were red with blood and fury; their rancid breath, steaming from their mouths, was clearly visible in the cool night. These wolves looked a little different than the one Darek had faced. They sported a fuzzy gray coat of fur and were smaller, though they were still about as big as Darek.

  After corralling Darek and Azura into a tight spot, they charged, thirsting for blood. However, they completely ignored Darek. Instead they focused and coordinated their efforts against Azura. In succession, the wolves pounced at Azura, but she deflected them with a strong fist at every turn. Seeing that their rush had no effect, all of the gray wolves stood upright and began to take fighting stances. An all-out slugfest erupted. The wolves launched punches and kicks, but Azura dominated them, crushing them completely with her fast and furious blows. Before the wolves could even respond, she pummeled them into the walls and crates. They rebounded, but Azura smashed them into the ground relentlessly.

  In the middle of the fray, Darek screamed. Azura looked over her shoulder. A black wolf was scaling the building, taking Darek with him. She chased after them, leaping from windowsill to windowsill to reach the roof.

  Azura saw them by the edge. The black wolf was grinning maliciously, holding Darek by the collar over the side. Darek, his feet dangling, gaped down in horror. The waterway was below him—far below.

  “Don’t—” Azura began.

  It was too late. Darek was plummeting toward the water. Azura ran to the side of the roof and jumped. She reached out for Darek and grabbed him as they both fell into the current with a loud splash. Their shouts could be heard echoing throughout the city as they drifted along, struggling to stay afloat.