Chase unloaded an entire round from each pistol into the hideous, twisted face of the creature as he ran. It was like a dog, bigger, uglier, and refused to fucking die. It slowed and stumbled but it continued to follow the trio of mercenaries as they ran for the next building.
"What the hell are these things?" Cole Reed asked, pausing to aim and pull the trigger of his shotgun rifle. The bullet embeds itself into the creature's face but it snarled and continued several more feet before collapsing. Kaia finished it off and they took off again, trying to take the outskirts of the main fighting. All Chase wanted to do was get out of here. He was pissed and quite frankly trying not to freak out. He needed to get out of here to think of their next step now that Tyler was dead. There were other trackers in the world, true, but he was sure that Tyler and Kenneth had been the only ones that would have actually helped a gang like his.
Around them the soldiers of High Rock were fighting for their lives against creatures that were stubbornly difficult to kill. He saw a few men lobbing grenades and other explosives out a window but even while on fire the creatures fought on. They were demons. Some walked on four legs like dogs, others ran like apes, and then there were the flying bastards that appeared to have been indecisive if it wanted to be a squid or bat. Chase thought those were straight from his worst nightmares. And the others? The big ones were the worst and were currently busy destroying every house and building they could with their tails. High Rock was doomed and he only hoped he could escape it. At least Kenneth had been smart enough to get most of the women and children to the caves below. He only hoped that these creatures didn't head there after it was done with the village. Those people would be like cattle in a slaughter pen.
And his gut told him they would.
There was a pause in the air, like some great monster had taken a long, deep breath and held it for a moment. Chase whirled along with Kaia and Cole, eyes settling on Kenneth's house. He didn't know why but it was as if he could see, or feel, the energy gathering there, focusing on that spot. The monsters around it were waiting, as if they were dogs waiting for a bone. The explosion ripped through Kenneth's house in a dome of expanding light like an atomic bomb. Chase and his friends went flying into the wall behind them when the shockwave hit. Screams rose and every creature that was in the vicinity let out a high-pitched wail. Recovering, Chase looked up just in time to see the golden creature spread its wings over the remains of Kenneth's house.
A human figure was running away, and the great rex-sized beasts were stumbling to their feet to try to flee. Chase watched for a brief moment, his eyes glued to the golden bird as it screamed, rose into the air like a miniature sun. Higher and higher it rose until it's light bathed the entire village in its glow. The creatures shrieked and began to run. The woman caught one of her black beasts as it rose to its feet and turned it, fleeing.
"Chase!" Kaia screamed.
A demon-dog was coming toward them and chase rose his pistols only to have them click when he pulled the triggers. Shit! He had forgot to reload.
Kaia shot, hitting it right in the middle of the eye and it dropped dead.
Chase blinked.
Above the golden bird let out a piercing scream of rage and dove at the retreating creatures.
"Run," Chase breathed, scrambling to his feet along with the others.
High Rock was now in utter chaos. People dove for cover from the great golden bird that swooped over High Rock, grabbing demonic creatures in its talons and rising high into the air to drop them. Soldiers suddenly found the beasts easier to kill and, after reloading his own pistols while on the run back to the Bridge Gate, Chase found that it indeed took only one or two well placed bullets to bring the creatures down.
That's new... he thought, glancing at the bird. So, the beasties were scared of a little light? Maybe that explained why they had attacked at dark. Then again, fire hadn't seemed to do much to them so perhaps there was something different about the sun and that bird's light.
The Bridge Gate was in disarray when they reached it. No one stopped them when they entered the stables and grabbed their mounts. Their horses were sittish and prancing as they lead them into the courtyard of the small, rundown stable and mounted.
"Chase!" Cole called out, pointing as he swung up on the muscular black stallion. Chase looked ahead of them. There were creatures at the other side of the bridge but Kenneth's men were keeping them at bay, barely. The great golden bird flying above seemed to be focusing on the main village and not the rest of the plateau. He grimaced, cursing quietly before swinging up on his own blood-bay. The stallion pawed and pranced, its muscles quivering in anticipation and primal fear. Kaia's own mare, a pretty gray, was also dancing around. Kaia had never been one to like the more doncil horses and her breeding program had produced some of the fastest horses with great stamina until some asshole group had raided her and Cole. Sahara was the only one of Kaia's breeding program that had been saved, and Cole's black Kyros was the last of his. The rest of their herd had been either killed or stolen.
"We're trapped," Kaia said, her eyes flashing as she spun her impatient mount around, the mare flipping her head in annoyance.
Chase gripped the reins of Scout, looking for an opening. The chances that the men at the gate were going to open it for them to run out was pretty unlikely given it was the only thing keeping the land bound attackers from entering the rest of the village.
"What are you three doing?" a gruff man demanded, glaring as he walked toward. He wore a combination of medieval and modern armor. He had a helmet that covered most of his face and the colors of his uniform were the rich blue and gray of the wall guard. "Get up on the wall and..."
"We're not here to help you," Chase snapped. "
"Well you are now," the captain growled reaching for Kyros' bridle. Cole glared for a moment before, with a small smirk, touched Kyros' flank and the stallion reared on command, tossing his head so that the man's grip released. "I don't have time for..."
"Open the gate," Cole said.
"You're insane," Chase cried. "The moment you let those creatures in we're..."
"Bait them to the village," the other mercenary snapped, pointing back the way they had just came. "That creature, whatever the fuck it is, is weakening them with its light. It hasn't come to the gate and unless its light touches them they will be hard as fuck to kill. Evacuate the men, go to the village and fight them there."
Chase wanted to argue, and from the look on the captain's face he did, too. But Cole was right even if his plan was not going to be as simple as it sounded.
"Open the gate," Cole said again, "and let us pass. Unless you're going to pay us a pretty hefty amount, I ain't fighting your battle."
The captain glared at them. He looked toward the village and back at the gate. "Mercenaries," he finally grumbled. "But you're opening the door."
Cole smirked. "Fine by me."
Chase rolled his eyes. Cole was always the more daring of the three of them. He was also the brains. Kaia was their eyes. Chase was their leader but only because he had the charisma and personality to charm a raptor's feathers off if he tried. He could also shoot and rarely missed.
Leaving Kyros with Kaia, Cole ran off toward the gate. Chase cursed but followed Kaia back against the buildings. Both pulled out their weapons, made sure they were loaded, and waited. It wasn't long before the main gate opened and the beasts poured in. Some turned toward them and fell after their ammo was depleted - Chase and Kaia alternated who shot while the other reloaded. Most went after the retreating soldiers. Chase only hoped they would make it to the gate. To his relief, the eagle seemed to see that he had forgotten about the gate and came barreling down the gate road with a defiant scream. As it flew past, causing the horses to rear in fright, Cole came skidding to a halt in front of them.
"What'd I tell ya. Piece of cake." Kaia snorted, flipping her guns back into her belt. "Lets go before they come back," he said, taking the reins from Kaia and leaping onto the saddle.
Chase was the first out of the gate and he didn't look back. The only thing he wanted to hear was the thunder of the hooves of the three horses behind him. It wasn't until they had reached the ridge that he halted and turned. Below he could still make out High Rock, the lights of the remaining torches still flickering like fireflies at this distance. Next to him, the other two watched as well. There was no moon. No stars. The night was pitch black save the golden glow of the great bird that rose into the sky, turned, and would dive back toward High Rock. Even from here he could still hear it's screams. He couldn't tell if it was in pain, pissed, scared, or all the above.
"At least Kenneth got the women and children and other residence out," Kaia said quietly.
"Yeah."
Far off a wolf howled and Chase shuddered. It was a long way away perhaps in the mountains that boarded Dag Rock Valley, but the mournful sound reminded him that he was covered in blood. This led him to be reminded as to whose blood it was but he quickly stopped his mind there. He turned from the scene below as the glowing bird screamed primal rage in the distance. His gut was twisting now that he was out of the battle. The realization of what just happened was starting to dawn on him. He didn't want to think right now. He just wanted to run as far and as fast as they could away from this place. Turning Scout, he kicked the stallion hard in the ribs, harder than he had meant. Tossing his head, the red stallion took off across the plateaus. The other two followed, the only sound was the hooves striking the rocky ground as they rode through the darkness, leaving the fate of High Rock to other men.
It was early morning when Scout began to stumble and Chase called a halt. They had ridden their horses hard but had put significant distance between them and High Rock. There would still be several hours before dawn but he knew better than to push even their mounts any farther.
Slowing to a walk they found a place to make a camp. They were in the valley where small pools fed by underwater streams had built up. Very few trees provided shelter but the cliff was all they needed. Cole started a fire, Kaia brought out their packs of food, and Chase tethered the horses nearby to let them graze. He pulled off the saddles and their bridles, leaving the simple rope halters. By the time he brought the saddles to their camp the fire was crackling and Kaia was setting up a kettle with water to boil. Without a word he went to the edge of the pool and pulled off his duster and shirt. Taking a handful of the gritty soil from the edge of the pool, he began to scrub the blood with vigours, angry enthusiasm.
It was only then that his mind started reliving the scene in Kenneth's house and he felt tears streaming down his face. Angrily, he brushed them away. It wasn't like he had never killed a man before, or had the blood of someone else on his cloths. So why was Tyler any different. It wasn't like Tyler had ever really liked him, or made an effort to be nice. So, he had beat Tyler a few times using some questionable tactics and the guy had made it a point to pick on him for it. No, it was more than just Tyler's death. Tyler had it easy. He had gone into shock and had died quickly. And Kenneth...He had called the man a coward. Chase had hoped Tyler dying would trigger the man to go out and fight but he had pushed them all away. I have...something. It will buy you time...
Those weren't the words of a coward. Those were the words of a man who knew the stupid thing he was about to do would kill him and that, in doing so, would save hundreds of lives.
And the last words I ever fucking told him was that he was a coward and his best friend was a pig, Chase thought, scrubbing as hard as he could against the largest blood stain. He hadn't meant it, but he would never be able to apologize now.
"Chase," Kaia said, her hands closing over his firmly to stop. "You're going to scrub a hole in it." Gently she tugged on the duster and he let it slip from his grasp, not moving or caring. Her presence caused him to deflate. Closing his eyes, he bit his tongue to at least try not to cry in front of her. Her small, warm fingers touch his face and he melted. "It's ok, Chase. You know Cole and I would never..."
"I called him a coward. I called Tyler a pig..."
"I know..."
"I didn't mean it...I really didn't I was just so angry he was going to just stay in his house and not try to help and..."
"Chase..."
"I didn't mean it..."
"I know, Chase...Chase, look at me. Please."
He did. The firelight behind him made her hair look like curls of fire and her eyes were soft and gentle. It was sometimes hard for him to believe that this woman could become the fierce little fighter that he and Cole had turned her into. "Nothing back there is your fault," Kaia said, running her thumb over his face, drying the tears. "There was nothing you, or Kenneth, could do to save Tyler. It was to fast, and I'm pretty sure Tyler was in shock up until the last moment. He didn't feel much, if anything. I'm grateful with that. I know you hated him but I..." Her voice broke. "He was a good guy, Chase. You know that."
He did but he still didn't want to admit that. Not yet. Admitting that would make him admit that Tyler was dead and with it their best shot at finding Richard. Not to mention the multitude of other issues their deaths would cause. Not all would see it but there were those that were not fools to what role High Rock and its Rangers played in the world. Chase closed his eyes.
Kaia moved next to him, her hands rubbing his back and Chase let her. There were few people in this world that really knew what went on between the three of them. Kaia was married to Cole, yes, but she never used his last name. As far as she was concerned, both him and Cole were 'her boys' and she cared for them both. It had made for some interesting nights but in the end, Chase had had to agree with her that the three of them were stronger because of it. They were a team, family, lovers.
"I remember the first time I saw High Rock," Chase said quietly. He he had finally opened his eyes and stared over the nearly smooth surface of the pool, the fire was dancing on the ripples. It moved, just a little, from the underground river that fed it but other than that it could have been glass. "It was not long after news reached us confirming that Morgan and her team were not coming back, that whatever had happened she had been caught up in and killed. Kenneth came, with Tyler and the other Rangers to tell us. We were given a choice; find our own way or come to High Rock." He smiled a bit remembering that first time he had seen the overconfident man around his age and his 'shadow'. "Most went to High Rock, others didn't. I did at first, just long enough to get on my feet and some gear then head out. I think that was one reason Kenneth has always been so hard with me. I did take advantage of that but at the time I didn't care. What impressed me the most was, despite how short of a time it had been since the crash, about a week or so, that High Rock was already well on its way of recovering. People had homes, the fields were being plowed in preparation for bigger crops. There was even an inn already." He laughed at that. "No one wanted for food or clothing or anything. Everyone was busy and I never heard a single person complain. They trusted him, and Tyler, to get them out of that disaster, and all the ones to come. Sometimes I wished I had stayed but..."
"I'm glad you didn't," Kaia said, her hands around his waist as she leaned on his shoulder. "You never would have been there to help us that day those jerks attacked our farm." He smiled a bit. "Do you think the survivors will rebuild High Rock?"
"Not without Kenneth or Tyler. You were there. Kenneth told them to get out."
"That doesn't mean they'll leave, Chase."
He snorted at that. It was possible that the people would try to rebuild but something told them the people left alive would leave. There was no telling how many casualties there were among the defenders and without a solid leader or a strong fighting force he didn't see High Rock lasting long if it did. There were plenty of bandit tribes out there that would love to loot the place. He only hoped that none of those creatures made it to the caves. And there was that giant glowing bird now, too. He frowned remembering that. "Kenneth said he had something...something that would buy Rayno time."
Kaia sat up, looking at him. She didn't say anything but her face was twisted in thought and she was biting her lower lip. "What are you getting at?" she finally asked, uncertain.
"I think Kenneth figured out how to use an Artifact as a weapon."
She laughed, shaking her head. "Thats..."
"Possible," Cole said, walking up to them. He had a bowl in one hand and a shirt in the other. He tossed the shirt at Chase then sat down next to Kaia and took a spoonful of the food.
"Cole! It's not done cooking yet!"
"I'm hungry!" he whined back, moving the bowl away from her when she went to grab it. "Hey, don't make me spill it!"
Chase grinned as they argued. By the time he had pulled the clean shirt over his head Cole had won and was eating the beans semi-warm like they were the best meal he had had in awhile. "So, you really think Kenneth figured out how to use those stupid things?" Cole asked, looking at Chase and ignoring Kaia's glare. She picked up Chase's duster and blood-stained shirt and turned her attention to scrubbing while she listened. "Because that would change so many things..."
"It has always been a rumor that Kenneth had one," Chase said quietly. "But I never thought he would actually be stupid enough to keep it even if he did get one. That would put his precious High Rock in considerable amount of danger. And I've never seen anything that he could hide it in. If I'm right," and Chase partially hoped he was wrong, "then he kept it in his house. Where? Don't know. But I never bothered to really look either. He didn't leave with us. He stayed behind...and that explosion came from his house."
"Do you think the eagle is..." Kaia started, her eyes wide.
Chase was already shaking his head. "No. I mean, maybe but there is no telling what that eagle thing actually is. Or what it did to Kenneth. Or...what it took." He sighed, groaning and rubbing his face while pulling his knees up to his chest before resting his chin on them, his hands over his head. "Fuck..." was all he could mutter. "It did something...and he knew it would...but why.
"Well, I'm pretty sure the guy is dead regardless of what the Artifact did," Cole said, slurping more of the food as if to annoy Kaia on purpose. "I mean, the chances of living through an explosion like that..." He shook his head, whistling softly.
Cole was right about that. Regardless of what the Artifact did there was no way Kenneth survived it. Chase felt his stomach knot up again. You fucking bastard, he thought. You knew it would kill you and you did it anyway. He glared at the water again.
"So, either the Artifacts kill you and turn you into something that glows, or," Kaia said, holding up Chases' shirt to look at it in the dim firelight, "when you activate one it blows up and releases a giant animal of light and most likely kills the user."
"Light that weakens those dark demon things," Cole added, holding up the spoon he had just cleaned off in emphasis. "Either way, those Artifacts are pretty powerful, more so than anyone suspected during the Tribe Wars. Word gets out of this, which it will if there are survivors, then..." he whistled long and low, shaking his head. "Yeah, Tribe Wars II is on the horizon."
Chase winced. "Great, because the first one wasn't bad enough..."
"History repeats it self," Cole shrugged then waggled his spoon at Chase. "That war you fought on the Old World was only the first Great War. Thirty-ish years later and the Germans started a new one. Though I think the first was the worst, not that was any good with history."
"Don't remind me," Chase muttered, rubbing his face. He prefered to forget his Earth life as much as possible but after he had told Kaia and Cole his story, and they in turn theirs, he had got a history lesson about the future he had never lived to see. He had only been fifteen and, like his friends, he had lied about his age to join the British army. It was going to be fun, they thought. They would be the ones to turn the tide and, in a few months, they could go home in time for Christmas. The horrors of the trenches quickly killed that dream and Chase had watched his friends die or be carried off with horrible wounds. Some lived. Most died. Men don't cry, his father had told him. So, he had tried to be brave but when the moment came, he had hide, like a coward. He had killed, and he had cried. And after the war he had been called a hero. All because he had lived. Because he had fought. But he had never been the same. He didn't remember much past that. The ARK had taken most of his memories of the after-the-war trama away but he could still recall bits and pieces, like turning pages of a book but skipping several pages at a time. He knew he had been depressed, drunk, and there had perhaps been women but that was foggy. How he died he didn't know. He didn't want to know. All he knew is he was a coward. And here, on the ARK, he had vowed to not be one ever again.
For the most part he felt he had succeeded. But now, after washing Kaia scrub Tyler Sherwood's blood off his clothing he wasn't quite sure. There were few decent men left in this world that could take up Kenneth and Tyler's crown and lead an army against this bitch. If anyone would have been able to rally an army to take her out it was them. A sense of doom settled in his gut but Chase clenched his fists and pushed it away. He was no hero. But at that moment he wished he could be. If anything, to shove a spear right through that woman's smirking face. Killing Tyler had been nothing more than as if he had been a pig. Kenneth had been her true goal - that next spear had been going right for Kenneth before the door had closed. She knew who to target.
"If High Rock doesn't rebuild," Cole started quietly, breaking the silence that had followed. Neither of the others had said anything given the grave face that Chase had had with the mention of World War I. "...then what do you think is going to happen?"
"Nothing good," Chase said quietly. "High Rock was more than just Kenneth's town of peace and prosperity. It was hope and most people looked to him and his Rangers, land or air, for protection. When word gets out there will either be celebrating, such as from Dag Rock Valley, or pure panic."
"Do you think we should go to Crimson Point?" Kaia asked. She had moved on to finishing Chase's duster. "Caeles should be..."
"If Tyler did his job, which was to warn the outposts and homesteads, then he would have already warned that slimy, backstabbing prince of thieves," Chase muttered. "I heard Kenneth mentioning his allies so I can only assume his allies were warned, or summoned."
"I hope so," Kaia sighed, sounding as tired as Chase did. "Well, I think this is the best I can do. At this point, Chase Collins, you'd better just start thinking of getting a new one. I can't keep scrubbing the blood out of it."
Chase frowned, taking the duster and looking at it. The leather was wet thus it was hard to tell how clean it would look until after it was dried. "I just might after this," he muttered. Then again, maybe not. It might server as a good reminder later on. For what he didn't know.
"Come one, the food should be warm enough to eat now," Kaia said, standing and brushing off her pants. She glared at Cole who grinned, winked at her, then went to go refill his bowl with a hotter version of his previous serving. "I swear that man has a stomach three times the size he should."
Chase returned to the fire and the three finished setting up their bed rolls. Chase only ate a few bites after Kaia made him but he had no appetite. They talked a bit more, mostly about the creatures and what had happened, but mostly it was discussed what they should do next. Kaia wanted to go make sure the villagers were safe in the cave. Cole wanted to to track the witch woman and her army. Chase didn't know what he wanted to do.
One one side he wanted to run. And keep running. Maybe those beasts would die in the desert. Or freeze in the snow. He hated snow but if he could hide from those things...
Coward, he thought, glaring at the fire. He had called Kenneth a coward but in truth he had been the coward again and he knew it. Rubbing his face, he forced the reminder that the man was dead away. He had never really seen eye-to-eye with those two but never once had he wished them dead. And to think only a few hours ago they had been talking.
He was scared. That much he could admit. Not for the people of High Rock, but for himself and his little family. For this world. Those creatures were dangerous and so far, the only thing that had made them easy to kill was the light from the eagle. There was no telling how long that bird was going to be around. It was probably gone now. The Artifact's energy used up and dissipated in the wind once the witch and her army left the plateau. He was just simply scared and he did not like being scared. He didn't like not knowing what to do in a situation like this. Most times he flew by the seat of his pants but this was much, much bigger. The rules had changed. Rules he had never listened to anyway, really, but now he was because this was a very deadly game. This witch had come from the darkness and declared war. Smart move on her part to take out the Viking tribe and High Rock before anyone knew what she was about.
Chase started to think of what he should do. He should go look for Richard. That was what they were being paid to do after all. Find him and, if they were lucky, he would be alive and could sort out this mess. Richard knew everything. If he was a dead it might become a problem but at least he would still get paid. That was all that was important.
Right?
Kaia and Cole had curled up and were asleep. He watched them for a moment then sighed and rubbed his face.
Crimson Point was out of the question. He was sure a handful of people would shoot him on site and ask questions later. There were larger villages to the south that they could go to but he wasn't sure if he was very welcome there either. I have to tell someone, he thought. Someone with more influence than him needed to be warned. About the witch and her creatures, about the Artifacts - on second thought he didn't want that one getting out just yet - and about High Rock and Kenneth. Mostly the last one. People needed to know that their prince on a golden argentavis wasn't coming to save them anymore. They were going to have to find someone else to protect them or learn to do so themselves.
The night slipped away and the first rays of the rising sun painted the tips of the mountains and trees in warm gold. Birds started stirring and Chase watched a few animals move past them, a few blinking curiously at the man watching the fire before moving on. By the time Kaia and Cole roused the new day had dawned. It was easy to forget last night, as if it had been a bad dream but as Chase reached for his coat, he noticed that despite his and Kaia's efforts there was still blood on it. Silently the three broke camp, packed their horses and swung up on their saddles.
"So, you figured out what we're doing?" Cole asked, putting his hat on.
Chase nodded and adjusted the reins. "We're going to the Tower."
Kaia frowned and Cole grunted but they said nothing. As one they sent their horses galloping east.