Guardians of Rhea by Jose Rodriguez Page A

minutes jogging, Sara asked.
“How often do you run into those things?”
    “This is only the second time I’ve ever had
to kill one.”
    “Only the second time?!”
    “Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't
normally travel this slowly through the forest. I would have just
run away if I was alone.”
    Sara was beginning to get winded. “Yeah, I
saw how fast you moved. That was insane.”
    “'Insane' is walking through this
forest.”
    “What can I say? I trained for it.”
    “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m
hardly impressed with human survival skills. Sometimes it just
seems like desperation.”
    “Okay, slow down,” Sara insisted.
    Leon stopped. “Sorry.”
    Sara took a few deep breaths. “You're like a
machine or something. How do you not get tired?”
    “It's in the blood,” Leon said. “As long as I
have enough, I won't go crawling around like a drunkard.”
    After a few seconds, Sara composed
herself.
    “Should be safe now,” Leon said. “We can walk
from here.”
    They continued on side-by-side in a casual
stroll.
    “What are these Pelasgians like?” asked
Sara.
    Leon pushed through some brush. “Let's just
say you've got about as many different types of Pelasgians as
Vesuvian Houses. You've got ones with wings, ones with horns and
even ones with four feet, but that’s getting into specifics.
Generally their skin is a pasty light grayish color and everything
else is black. Except the eyes – those are green with a faint
glow.”
    “Any weaknesses?”
    “As far as anyone knows, sunlight.”
    “Like a Vesuvian?”
    “It won’t kill them, but they don't seem to
like it. Besides that, they're vulnerable to any weapon you've
got.”
    “Do they have any special abilities?”
    “Usually not.”
    Sara scratched her neck. “Sounds like they
shouldn't be too much trouble.”
    Leon chuckled. “Most of Rhea thought the same
of you humans. The Pelasgians fight like they live for it. They’re
physically imposing and their numbers are anyone's guess. We barely
managed to drive them back.”
    “They invaded Rhea before?” Sara asked.
    “Yes, and they would have won if every Rhean
hadn't joined together. We lost a lot of good people in that war.
Many call it the Dark Era.” He paused for a moment. “You could say
we got lucky.”
     
     
     

CHAPTER TWELVE
     
    After a few hours of traveling, Sara noticed
that night seemed to come much sooner than usual. Before long, she
and Leon finally emerged from the forest. They stood at the edge of
a huge valley.
    Sara couldn't believe her eyes. A city much
bigger than any she had ever seen or heard of lay within the
valley, with an enormous cloud blocking out the sun. At various
points in the distance she spotted what looked like the tallest
watchtowers on the planet. Further off, she could barely see the
silhouette of the massive, taller buildings.
    “Welcome to Vesuvia,” Leon said.
    “How big is this place?” Sara asked.
    “We need to get to the center. Walking, it'd
take about three days.”
    Sara grabbed Leon by the arm. “Three days
just to reach the center?! Gaia’s largest city is just a day from
one end to the other.”
    “That's because you humans like to spread
yourselves around, but lucky for us we aren’t walking.”
    “Horses?”
    “Don't have anything like those. You'll see.
Follow me,” Leon said, leading Sara to a nature-made path into the
valley. Several Vesuvian guards watched as they passed by and
entered the city.
    For Sara, it was entering unknown territory,
and it was a little exciting for her. Vesuvians stared at her as if
it was the first time they'd ever seen a human, and for most, it
was.
    The area had a country-like feel to it, with
animals Sara had never seen before wandering around pens just off
the dirt path.
    A Vesuvian farmer, a woman with tattoos on
her arms and face, stepped out of a small shack nearby. She had a
strange device in her hand and stuck it onto one of the farm
animal's neck. The