CHAPTER 38: REINFORCEMENTS
"Run!" Robert pushed Rose in front of him. The two dashed toward the Quidditch pitch. He checked over his shoulder. The reptilian centaurs broke into a gallop, waving their swords over their heads. His stomach twisted when he recognized them. Posleen, the vicious alien race from the series of recent movies based on the John Ringo novels. Icy dread spread over his body. Anyone who'd seen those movies knew what the Posleen were famous for.
Eating humans.
"Stupify!" He cast a Stunning Spell on the run. It flew wide right. A second one missed. He cast a third just as Rose turned and fired off her own stunner.
Two Posleen spasmed and fell, rolling across the ground before ending up in an unmoving heap.
The remaining four aliens continued to gain on them, their four legs propelling them much faster than Robert's and Rose's two.
Robert looked to the pitch, then back to the Posleen.
They'd never make it.
Unless . . .
He stopped and pointed his wand to the ground.
"Robert!" Rose screamed. "Come on!"
He cringed as the Posleen bore down on them. He could count all the teeth in the maw of the lead one.
"Freezium!"
A sheet of ice coated the grass in front of him. The Posleens' hooves shot out from under them. One tumbled right at him. He jumped out of the way just in time. Robert hit the ground and rolled. He came to a halt and scanned the downed Posleen. One of them rolled from side-to-side, a raspy wail rising from its throat. He wondered if the thing broke a leg. The other three appeared a bit dazed.
"Robert! Come on!" Rose appeared over him, offering her hand. He took it and let her help him up.
"Thanks." They started running.
"Don't mention it."
He looked back at the downed Posleen. "Well, that should give us a chance to get . . . to . . . oh crap."
"What is it?" Rose turned around.
Robert heard her gasp. Hell, he wanted to gasp, too. Even cry in terror.
The silhouettes of at least thirty Posleen stormed across the grounds toward them.
"MOVE!!"
They ran faster. Robert tried to ignore the burning of his lungs, the leaden feeling in his legs. But they couldn't stop. To stop meant to die. To be eaten. He shuddered, thinking of Rose in the hands of those monsters, screaming in terror as a sword fell on her. The Posleen lowering their jaws and . . .
No! No damn way I'll let that happen!
He clenched his teeth. They couldn't run forever. Fighting was out of the question. Robert doubted two 15-year-old wizards could defeat thirty Posleen.
"Over there!" Rose pointed to a wooden shack abutting the stands.
Hope swelled within Robert. The equipment shed. They could hide in there.
And what if the Posleen decide to look inside?
Robert snorted. Right now this was their only option.
They ran alongside the stands, hoping the Posleen would loose sight of them in the shadows. When they reached the shed, Robert threw upon the door and waved Rose in. He hurried inside after her and shut the door.
The pair stood in the darkness, staring at the door. Robert held his breath, concentrating on not moving a muscle.
Heavy footfalls filtered in from the outside. They grew louder by the second. The sweat covering his skin grew cold.
Please don't look in here.
Something clutched his hand. He glanced down to find Rose's fingers intertwined with his.
Someone whimpered behind them.
Robert tensed. He felt Rose do the same.
They both spun around, wands raised.
"No, please," a quivering voice pleaded.
Robert narrowed his eyes, studying the darkened form sitting between a couple trunks. His brow furrowed. The voice sounded familiar.
"Wembley?" Rose asked.
The figure trembled. Robert clenched his jaw and shook his head.
So this is where he got to.
His shoulders heaved in anger as he stared at the cowering form of Uptight Wright. An urge flared inside him to walk over and kick the son-of-a-bitch. The guy was a Gryffindor, a prefect no less! He should be helping the other students back at the castle. Instead, he ran out of the Common Room to save his own worthless skin. The guy was a disgrace to their house.
He was about to voice that thought aloud when the pounding hooves of the Posleen shook the ground beneath them.
"They're gonna kill us." Wright hugged his knees. "They're gonna kill us."
"Shut up," Robert hissed. Merlin's beard, what possessed the Sorting Hat to put this spineless piece of crap in Gryffindor?
He pulled Rose over to a stack of trunks. They squatted behind them and watched the door. His throat went dry as footfalls and growls filtered into the shed. Every few seconds, little sobs escaped Wright's lips. More than once Robert turned around and sharply waved him to be quiet.
They're gonna hear him. They're gonna come in here and kill us.
The footfalls and growls grew softer, more distant. Robert's muscles unwound. He took a joyous breath. They were moving on! He couldn't believe they didn't check in here.
Maybe they didn't see us at all. We were a good distance away when we spotted them.
He and Rose got up and moved toward the door.
"Wait." She squeezed his hand. "Let's wait a bit. Make sure they're really gone."
They watched the door for a good five minutes. Neither of them heard anything that sounded like Posleen.
"We're going to have to find somewhere else to set up the vid-card." Rose still whispered. "I'll wager the Posleen and who knows how many other monsters are swarming all over the grounds."
Robert nodded. He looked around the equipment shed until his gaze fell upon a rack of brooms. He walked over and grabbed one. "We can fly to the other side of the lake. There's some clearings there near the Forbidden Forest."
"That might work." Rose grabbed a broom for herself. "I'd imagine the aliens would want to stay close to the castle to make sure no one escapes." She turned to Uptight Wright. "Wembley. Come on."
He shook his head.
"Wembley, please. We could use your help."
Wright responded with a sob.
"Forget it." Robert scowled. "Let him sit here and wet his pants."
He turned away from Wright and made for the door. He slowly opened it and checked outside. No sign of Posleen or any other bad guys.
"Coast is clear. C'mon."
Robert carefully stepped outside. He'd gotten a couple feet from the shed when he turned around. Rose was right behind him.
A huge shape leaped out from behind the side of the shed. Robert opened his mouth to scream a warning.
The Posleen barreled into Rose, knocking her to the ground.
Robert brought up his wand. The alien lashed out with its front right hoof. A sledgehammer blow struck his side. He flew through the air and slammed into the ground. Pain knifed through his ribs and back.
He stared up at the starry night sky, wheezing for breath. Fire ripped through his insides.
How the hell did I miss that thing?
Fear blasted through his pain. His eyes widened. Rose!
He lifted his head. Ice pierced his spine.
Rose screamed as the Posleen raised its blade and brought it down. She rolled out of the way just in time. The blade slammed into the ground, chopping her broom in half.
The Posleen shifted its body toward Rose, who scrambled back on her behind. It stepped toward her, hefting its big sword again.
Robert went to raise his wand. Shock and fright collided within him.
His wand was missing.
No time to find it. He forced himself to his feet, his gaze never leaving Rose or the Posleen. The creature towered over her. Oh God, could he reach them in time?
"NOOOO!!!!"
Robert's head whipped in the direction of the cry. A figure burst out of the equipment shed and charged the Posleen.
Wright?
The alien turned just as Uptight Wright reached its hindquarters. The prefect battered it with his fists, a primal roar erupting from his throat.
Robert scanned the ground for his wand. No sign of it. Then he caught sight of the two halves of Rose's broom. He darted over to them. Out the corner of his eye he saw Rose scrambling to her feet, also searching for her wand. Wright now pounded at the Posleen's mid-section.
Robert picked up the top half of the severed broom, noting the rather sharp point at the end where the blade made its cut. He sprinted toward the alien, who had its back toward him. It had Wright by the collar and shoved him down. The prefect cried out and tried to get to his feet.
The Posleen blade flashed in the moonlight.
"NO!!" Robert screamed.
The blade struck with a dull, wet thud.
"NOOO!!!"
All emotion vanished from Robert, save one. Rage. It filled his soul, buried all traces of humanity. He barely felt the spittle flying from his mouth, hardly noticed the savage howls coming from his throat. His legs pumped harder. The Posleen turned to face him.
He ducked past the thing's blade and raised the wooden stake over his head. The alien froze in shock for a split second.
It was all the time Robert needed. He cried out and plunged the stake into the Posleen's throat. He flexed his muscles, driving it deeper into the alien. A sticky wet substance flowed over his hand. He sensed the Posleen grow limp and waver. Robert let go of the stake and backed off. The Posleen's legs gave out. It collapsed and didn't move.
He stared at the dead alien, shoulders heaving with fierce breaths. Then his eyes caught sight of Wright.
Robert stopped breathing. His stomach clenched when he noticed Wright's head and shoulders a couple feet away from the rest of his body.
Oh God. Oh God.
Once again he felt the wet, sticky substance on his hand. Blood. Posleen blood. Blood from the Posleen he killed.
I really . . . killed something. And Wright's dead. And he's . . . he's . . .
He trembled violently and bent over. His muscles strained as everything he'd eaten today exploded from his mouth and splattered on the ground. He coughed and drew ragged breaths, his mouth and throat burning with the aftertaste of bile.
"R-Robert?"
He turned to find Rose, holding both her wand and his. He took his and nodded, noticing Rose's glistening eyes drifting toward Wright. Robert stepped in front of her. No way should she see that.
"I can't believe . . . I never thought . . ." Rose's jaw trembled. "Why?"
Robert clenched his teeth. He couldn't explain it. He remembered how Wright reacted during the attack on Hogsmeade and when Umbridge tripped the security wards inside the castle. The guy practically froze up. But here he'd taken on a Posleen with his bare hands . . . and paid the price.
What would make someone change like that?
"Robert?"
He barely heard Rose's whisper. Swallowing, he looked into her tear-filled eyes as she continued.
"We . . . um, the vid-card. We have to . . ." She bit her lip and turned away.
"Yeah. Yeah, I know." He gave her a short nod. They had to get inside the vid-card and get the Argo into the battle, otherwise more people would end up like Wright.
He closed his eyes, trying to push Wright's death from his mind and focus on their task. All he could picture was the boy's severed body.
God, how can I do this?
He forced himself to think of his friends. James, Albus, Cynthia, Hugo, Lily . . . Lucida. All of them were back in the castle. All of them were depending on him.
Drawing in a slow breath, he walked over to his fallen broom, making sure his eyes did not catch sight of Wright's body.
"Let's get going." He picked up the broom.
"I think I should fly."
"Huh?" He cocked an eyebrow at Rose.
"It makes sense, Robert. Seekers are generally better fliers than Beaters. If anyone starts shooting at us from the ground, we're going to have to do some rather deft maneuvering to avoid being hit. Maneuvering better suited for a Seeker."
"I can maneuver just fine myself."
"Robert, this isn't the time to get all macho."
"I'm not being macho. I'm just -"
"Thresh!" A raspy voice cried in the distance.
Robert stared over Rose's head. His shoulders tensed when he caught sight of three Posleen just beyond the Quidditch stands.
"Get them!"
The aliens raced toward them.
"Okay, you win." He tossed the broom to Rose. She caught it and mounted it. Robert got on behind her.
"Hold on!"
He wrapped his arms around Rose's waist. His heartbeat picked up. A tingling sensation began in his stomach and spread further down his body.
This actually feels . . .
Robert felt his stomach tear away from his body as Rose rocketed off the ground. Wind screamed past him. He checked behind him. The three Posleen stared up at them, stomping around in anger. He grinned, and found he couldn't help himself. He unwrapped his right arm from around Rose's waist and flipped the aliens the bird.
Rose jerked the broom right. Robert gasped and nearly fell off. He quickly wrapped his right arm back around Rose's waist.
"I said hold on." Through the terseness of her voice, Robert also noticed a hint of playfulness.
They streaked over the lake. He looked around Rose to the opposite shore. He spied the dark outline of the Forbidden Forest. They should be across in another minute.
A bolt of blue energy shot past them.
"What the hell!?" Robert whipped his head around. His eyes widened.
A sleek, rectangular object hovered over the lake. A dome sat in the middle, supporting a huge gun. He shivered when he recognized it.
A Posleen hovertank.
It fired again.
"Look out!"
The words barely left his lips when Rose jinked left, then right. Robert closed his eyes and hung on for dear life as Rose twisted and turned. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as more energy blasts whizzed past them.
Rose dove close to the water and began to zig-zag. A laser bolt flew past them. A second one connected with the water. A huge, steaming fountain erupted less than ten feet away.
Robert released his right arm from around Rose's waist and pulled out his wand. He twisted around, aiming for the tank.
"Reducto!"
The Redactor Curse missed badly.
"Redu-whooa!"
Rose snapped hard left. The bolt flew from his wand and exploded into multi-colored sparks over the lake.
The hovertank fired. The bolt struck the water fifteen feet in front of them. Rose flew threw the curtain of watery spray, then turned left.
Robert looked behind him. The breath caught in his throat. The tank's gun was aimed right at them.
Blue energy glowed in the barrel.
"Protego!"
The tank fired.
A shield formed in front of Robert.
A brilliant flash burned his eyes. He yelped as tremors racked his body. His right hand spasmed.
The wand flew from his grip and into the lake.
"Dammit, no!"
"Were almost there!" Rose cried out.
He'd have to take her word for it. Swirling white dots blotted out most of his vision.
"I'm gonna fly right into the Forbidden Forest!" Rose banked sharply right. "That tank's too big to follow us in -"
A thunderclap engulfed Robert. He cried out as he flew forward. A sharp jolt wracked his body. An invisible flaming knife drove deep inside him. He tumbled to a stop, pain hammering his body. Somewhere in the distance came a high-pitched scream.
"R-Rose?" He croaked. The white dots faded from his vision. He looked around for her.
Instead he saw the Posleen tank. It slowed as it approached the shore, its gun pointed at him.
He shivered. Would they kill them outright? Would they capture them and make them dinner?
He tensed, praying Rose got away, praying that . . .
Two huge tentacles shot out of the water. Robert jerked in surprise. His eyes locked onto the scene as the tentacles wrapped around the hovertank. The vehicle whined, trying to pull out of the grip.
The nose of the tank rose. Its rear slipped below the water, followed by the turret, the gun barrel.
Moments later it vanished altogether.
Robert blinked and shook his head. He couldn't believe it. The giant squid took out the tank! The squid! He'd never heard a single story about the squid committing any act of violence. Hell, Professor Creevey told him once how the squid plucked him out of the water after he'd fallen out of his boat his very first night at Hogwarts.
Well, everyone says the squid looks after the students. I guess this would qualify, too.
A tortured wail pierced his ears. He snapped his head left.
"Rose!"
She lay on the ground, crying and clutching her right leg.
Robert pushed himself to his feet. He started to run.
Pain burned through his body. His mid-section felt like a combination of fire and knives. Taking a simple breath made him grimace. He had to have broken ribs. A vice also crushed his left hip and knee.
Rose's cries of pain made him forget his own.
"Rose." He knelt beside her. "Are you okay?" He closed his eyes after asking that question. Does she look okay, you dumbass?
"I think I broke my leg."
"Okay. I'll grab some branches and transfigure them into a splint and . . . dammit!"
"What?"
"I lost my wand." He scowled. "It fell into the lake after that laser hit my shield."
"Use mine." Rose grimaced as she turned on her side and pulled her wand from her back pocket.
Robert took it and headed to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He quickly found a couple fallen branches and picked them up.
"We're set, Rosie." He turned around.
Something snapped behind him.
He froze. His heart slammed into his chest.
A growling, clicking sound carried through the air.
Slowly, he turned around.
A Velociraptor charged out of the forest.
"Shit!" Robert broke left.
The dinosaur screeched and rushed past him. It turned and whipped its tail. Pain exploded across his back. His arms shot out as he fell. The branches flew from his hands.
So did his wand.
He hit the ground. Groaning, he pushed himself onto his back.
The Velociraptor stood over him. It emitted a reptilian purr. Its head moved from side to side.
The dinosaur roared and lifted its left foot. Robert's eyes locked on its razor sharp claws.
"Hey! Hey! Over here!"
The Velociraptor's head snapped right. Robert followed its gaze.
Rose sat up, shouting and waving her arms. "Over here! Over here!"
"Rose! No!"
The Raptor looked back at him, then swung its head toward Rose.
She shouted again, and started crawling away.
The dinosaur stalked after her.
"NO!!" He clenched his teeth, remembering what he'd learned in his Care of Magical Creatures class about predators. Be they magical or non-magical, they all followed the same basic principal. When hunting, always go after the weakest prey. The youngest, the oldest . . . or the injured.
"Dammit!" He turned around, noticing one of the branches nearby. Was the wand near it? Did he have time to search before . . .
He looked back at the Raptor. It was closing on Rosie.
His breathing increased. Pain crushed his ribs. He didn't care. He had to save Rose. He whipped around again, hoping to see his wand.
That's when he heard a scuffling sound from inside one of the pockets of his robes. The Blazing Butternuts Uncle George gave him at Platform Nine-And-Three-Quarters. He'd been carrying them around all term, waiting for the right moment to use them. Not that they'd help here.
Or maybe . . .
He sprang to his feet and sprinted toward the Raptor. Only a few feet separated it from Rose.
"Hey!" He pulled the small box from his robes. "Hey! Hey!"
The Raptor ignored him and advanced on Rose.
"HEY!!!" He plucked out a Butternut and hurled it at the dinosaur. It hit the back of its neck.
The Raptor swung around to face him.
"Yeah! That was me, you ugly son-of-a-bitch! C'mon! Do something about it! C'mon!"
The Raptor stood there gazing at him.
Screw this. Robert unleashed a war cry and took off toward the Raptor.
It roared and came at him.
He grabbed all the Butternuts out of the box.
Ten feet separated them. The Raptor opened its mouth.
Robert hurled the Butternuts into the beast's maw. He jumped to the side, hit the ground and rolled. Pain battered every muscle. Groaning, he pushed himself to all fours.
The Velociraptor furiously swayed left to right, its jaws snapping. It growled, clicked and gasped.
Suddenly steam rose from its mouth and nostrils.
Robert winced as a horrid screech ripped through the air. The Velociraptor raised its opened mouth to the sky, jerked around, then dashed back to the Forbidden Forest, still wailing.
"Thank you, Uncle George." He let out a long sigh. The next time he saw him he'd give him a bearhug and not be embarrassed about it.
"Robert! Are you all right?"
He turned to see Rose waving to him. His head shook with anger. He got to his feet and stomped over to her.
"What the hell were you thinking?"
"I was trying to save your life."
"How? By getting yourself killed?" He dropped down next to her. "Crap, I expect this sort of thing from James, not you."
"I'm not going to just sit around and scream while you're in danger. I'm going to do something about it."
"And what if you got killed? What would I do without . . ." He bit his lip and stared at Rose. Her face stiffened in determination.
Robert reached out and hugged her. Rose wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a crushing embrace. He squeezed her just as tight, shoving his face into her hair. He didn't know how long they stayed like that. Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Forever? He just wanted to stay right here. Forget about the battle. Forget everything.
"Robert." Rose whispered into his neck. "We'd best get a move on."
Urgency flooded through him. He released Rose, taking in her tear and sweat-stained face. Despite everything, she still looked beautiful.
Dude!
He cleared his throat. "Um, yeah. Let me get that splint."
He headed back to the branches and picked them up. A minute later he recovered Rose's wand. When he returned to her, it took just a couple minutes to transfigure the branches into a splint and wrap it around Rose's leg. Had he known any healing spells, he could have fixed the break right there. This, however, was the best he could do.
When he finished with Rose, he turned to the lake and used a Summoning Spell to retrieve his wand.
"There's a clearing just down there." He pointed down the shoreline. "There should be plenty of room to bring the Argo into our world. C'mon."
He helped Rose to her feet. She leaned against him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and proceeded forward.
Rose groaned with each step. Several times they had to stop when the pain became too great. A lump formed in his throat. He stared at Rose's face. She bared her teeth and groaned. God, what he'd give for a spell to take Rose's pain as his own.
"C'mon. You can make it. It's not that far."
He took a step forward.
"Leave me."
He blinked and turned to Rose. "What?"
"Leave me here. I'm slowing you down."
"Leave you? Yeah right. There's a better chance of me wearing a Yankees ballcap than leaving you. Now c'mon."
"Robert, I'm serious. We've got to get the Argo here as quickly as possible. The longer we take, the more people could die. Our friends. Our family."
"For piss sake, Rose. There could be more Raptors or Posleen or who knows what else roaming around here. You want me to leave you here, hurt and alone?"
"You don't have a choice!" A tear rolled down her cheek. "We can't waste any more time. Please."
"Well then I'll just use levicorpus on you. Problem solved."
"No. You need your wand in case you get attacked again. By the time it would take to lower me and disengage the spell you could be dead. Our odds for success are better if you go on alone."
Robert chewed on his lip, staring intently at her face. She's right.
He told the logical little voice in his head to shut up. This was Rose, dammit! How could he leave her? What if another Velociraptor popped up and killed her? How could he live with himself? And what about Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione? How could he ever look them in the eye again?
He thought of all the people back in the castle? How many had died? How many were still alive? How many would die if he wasted any more time?
But Rose.
How the hell could he make this choice?
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"We can make it."
"Robert, haven't you heard a word I said?"
"Rose, I'm not leaving you!" He grasped her by the shoulders. "We either make it together, or not at all!"
"But how can you . . ."
"Levicorpus!"
Rose yelped as she flew off the ground. She came to a halt three feet in the air.
"Dammit, Robert!"
"Hey, you won the broom argument, I won the leave you behind or not argument. We're even. Now let's go."
He stomped along the shoreline. All the while he could hear Rose grumble beneath her breath. He ignored it.
Weasleys and Potters. Can there be any other families as mule-headed as them?
Yeah. Look who's talking.
Rose's concerns started to sink into him as he neared the clearing. His eyes darted in all directions. Every few seconds he'd look behind him. He saw no sign of Posleen or Raptors or Daleks.
And what if I do?
Could he lower Rose and get off a spell in time? Would his little display of machismo doom them both?
Tension crept across his shoulders. More and more his gaze turned to the Forbidden Forest. Any moment he expected something to leap out and get them.
Nothing did. They made it to the clearing without incident. Robert gently lowered Rose to the ground and switched off the spell.
"There." He spread his arms. "See? We made it. And nothing attacked us."
"Something could have."
"'Something could have'?" He shook his head. "Jeez, you're worse than my mom."
"I'm sure she'd appreciate someone trying to hammer some sense into that thick head of yours while she's not around."
Robert's lips twisted as he stared at Rose. She glared back at him.
Then a thin smile traced her lips. A brief giggle followed.
He smiled as well. Within seconds both were laughing.
"You know. Honest to God, you sounded so much like your mom just now."
"Thanks." She beamed at him. "And in keeping with that tradition, how about getting that vid-card set up and opening a portal?"
"Your wish is my command." He bowed slightly to her. Rose chuckled as he turned and walked toward the middle of the clearing. He shook his head. How the hell could he be laughing through all this? After watching Professor Tureis, Bianca Fahring and Uptight Wright being murdered in front of him. After being chased all over Hogwarts by Daleks and Demonic Toys and Posleen. After cheating death who knew how many times, how could he still have it in him to laugh? Did that make him sick? He remembered Aunt Rosa telling him a couple times that aurors, including herself, have been known to crack jokes even in the goriest, scariest situations. A defense mechanism, she called it, to keep from having everything around you drive you insane. Robert prayed that was the case with him.
When he got to the middle of the clearing he pulled the Star Blazers vid-card from beneath his robes. It was intact, thank God. He laid it on the ground and pointed his wand at it.
A whirring sound came from the lake.
He turned . . . and swallowed.
A Dalek hovered over the water.
"WIZARDS LOCATED!! EXTERMINATE!! EXTER-"
Two bolts shot down from the sky. A gusher of flame ripped apart the Dalek.
Robert jumped back. That's when he heard the voice.
"Do not touch my son."
He blinked and shook his head. Was he hearing things? That couldn't be . . .
He glanced up. Several figures on brooms descended from the sky and landed near the shoreline. Robert stared intently at the two people at the front of the group. One, clearly a man, had a lean build. The other, a woman, was tall with long hair.
He stepped closer to them. His jaw dropped in shock.
"Mom? Dad?"
TO BE CONTINUED
AUTHOR'S NOTE: "Thresh" is the term the Posleen use in the John Ringo novels to describe their prey. If you want to read more about these baddies, I would highly recommend picking up "Watch On The Rhine." Excellent book.