A/N: Here we go, back to the long chapters that take ages to edit. Sigh.
As promised, this chapter is where the next phase of action begins. As you may expect, the results of Opal's experiments back in chapter three are going to make an appearance here.
-Kio
Chapter 8; Cursed
LEP Forward Operating Base, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia
Because of its size, Opal Koboi's cell didn't fit in a normal LEP shuttle, so the LEP forces in Atlantis had ended up using a hastily adapted cargo shuttle to transport it. The cell itself was secured in the hold, surrounded by LEP commandos with their weapons trained on the three doors.
The shuttle flew fast and low over the wastelands of northern Siberia, shielded from human eyes by its skin of cam foil. Several heavily armed combat shuttles circled it constantly, invisible arrows doing their best to make it hard for any attacker to get a clear shot at the cargo shuttle.
The pilots stayed in constant contact both with Galadhon's forces at the LEP forward operating base and with Police Plaza. Every minute, they sounded off in sequence, confirming that they were all still in the air and hadn't seen anything suspicious. It would be nigh impossible, everyone reasoned, for anyone to actually hijack the cargo shuttle and rescue Opal.
That didn't stop every single fairy involved breathing a sigh of relief as the mountains concealing the FOB came into view. The LEP had learned the hard way that just because they didn't think something was possible didn't mean someone with Opal's intelligence couldn't find a way to pull it off.
Galadhon couldn't help but smile as he watched the cargo shuttle unshield above the FOB and begin its final descent. He had been far from confident in this entire venture, but he was already starting to feel better now that the most precarious part was out of the way.
Artemis joined him at his shoulder to watch Opal's cell be unloaded. The elf was briefly surprised to see the boy without Holly, but he dismissed the feeling. Artemis's apparent dependence on his elfin friend was none of his business.
"You seem relieved, Captain," said Artemis, a trace of smugness in his voice. "You didn't believe me that Opal wouldn't attempt an attack while the shuttle was airborne?"
Galadhon didn't have time to mess around with Artemis's ego. "Do you have anything of interest to say?" he asked bluntly, his face showing no signs of emotion.
Artemis ignored his tone. "This, of course, leaves the real question unanswered. When actually will she attack? I don't suppose the LEP have had any thoughts…?"
Galadhon gave a noncommittal shrug, but didn't say anything.
Artemis bristled. According to Holly, he was valuable asset to the LEP. After all, they had specifically requested his help. He had been expecting to at least be kept in the loop.
"Excuse me, captain, the sole reason I am here is to offer my intellect and past experience with Opal as a tool to help you defeat whatever scheme she has set in action. I can only do that if I am kept informed of any and all developments."
"I didn't ask for you to be here," said Galadhon, still not looking at him. "If you are required, you will be informed."
Without waiting for a response, the elf set off to ensure that Opal Koboi was secure. Artemis simply stood and stared, too surprised to do much else. He watched as, once it was confirmed that the pixie was still in there, Opal's cell was transferred onto a makeshift cluster of hover trolleys and carried away.
Since their arrival, the LEP forces had been working tirelessly to expand the FOB, constructing a plethora of additional structures. Some defences had even been added; fortified positions with mounted plasma cannons had been established around the perimeter and there were several camouflaged sniper nests in the slopes of the surrounding mountains.
In the centre of the growing encampment stood the largest structure. More permanent and fortified than any of the others, this was to be Opal's new home. As Artemis watched, the pixie's cell disappeared into the structure along with its entourage of guards.
He knew from what Holly had told him that a layer of concrete had been added as a base for the structure, making tunnelling in from underneath it impossible, even if a dwarf was able to navigate the rocky terrain. The cell itself was to be kept under constant surveillance. Artemis had to admit, he didn't see how Opal was going to be able to free her future self.
The camp was a veritable fortress, bristling with advanced technology. It would take hundreds of soldiers to overwhelm it, perhaps even more. Any kind of bombardment to soften up the defences was out of the question because it would risk harming present Opal. Stealth wasn't an option either – even if Opal somehow managed to sneak past all of Foaly's detection measures, the moment she tried to release her future self she would be compromised.
Annoyingly, Artemis was starting to understand why Galadhon didn't feel as though he needed his help yet. As long as Opal was here, the LEP seemed to hold all the cards.
Be careful, he warned himself, Opal is not to be underestimated. Just because the LEP seem to hold all the cards, does not mean they actually do. Opal had a reason for setting all of this in motion; she believes she holds an ace that we are unaware of, and she will not play it until she thinks it is too late for us to respond. I must be vigilant.
"Captain Short."
Holly turned away from the sunset to see Galadhon standing behind her. She raised a questioning eyebrow in response, privately wondering how he had managed to approach without her hearing.
"Opal Koboi has arrived and is secure," Galadhon told her. Holly nodded; she had seen the shuttle land. "I'm taking a team to investigate the village. I'd like you to join us."
Holly frowned. "Didn't Opal say that the village was to remain a neutral zone?"
The other captain shrugged. "We're not going inside, and we'll be shielded. Foaly's pulled a satellite into position to give us a visual, but I want to see it with my own eyes."
Holly understood how Galadhon felt. Seeing something on a screen wasn't quite the same as getting up close and personal.
She smiled. Her day had been an uneventful one, consisting of a long shuttle ride and then sitting around the camp, worrying about what Opal was planning. She wasn't going to turn down the opportunity for a little excitement.
"I'll come. It beats being cooped up around here."
The chosen team was a small one, just six fairies. Holly, Galadhon, another captain she didn't know well, and three sharpshooters that had been commandeered from what was left of the strike team units, all running hot and well-armed. The plan was to travel light by foot, using their shields and the cover of darkness to get a good look at the ghost town without being detected.
Once had Galadhon had updated Police Plaza on the situation, they armed themselves, keyed into a single communications channel and set off. The six disappeared as one as they neared the edge of the camp, fading out of the visible spectrum in perfect unison. Combined with their shimmer suits, they were now completely invisible to both the naked and mechanical eye.
Holly felt a few familiar nerves tugging at her mind. It was same every time she started a new mission. It was almost comforting after all this time. This was what she was born to do. What she loved doing. What she was best at.
Beneath her helmet, she smiled. K'Azir was right. This was the perfect opportunity to sort out of the Opal Koboi situation once and for all. Holly couldn't wait to see the pixie's face just before she was sent back in time after having failed to liberate her future self.
The six ultra-fit fairies quickened their pace once they had left the FOB, comfortably entering a quick jog that was faster than most people's running speed. The distance to their target wasn't a long one – less than ten kilometres. It didn't take long for mountains to give way to foothills, then to flat ground.
They stuck to cross-country, avoiding the few roads that were available. The dry Siberian earth was hard and cracked beneath their feet, but they didn't care. Their minds were all on Opal Koboi.
Once they were nearing their destination, Foaly's voice came over the speakers in their helmets.
"Ranger," he said. Ranger was their call sign for the scouting mission. As she bad been considered the second most senior fairy in the team, Holly had been designated Ranger-Two. "We have you on Scopes. You are approaching target location; you should see it in the distance. Acknowledge."
Scopes was the nickname of the shrouded trackers that the LEP had installed on human satellites, allowing Foaly to borrow them whenever he wanted. All LEP uniforms had trackers that could be accessed from Police Plaza and synched with a live image from Scopes, displaying the LEP operative as a red dot on the screen.
Galadhon squinted into the darkness, just able to make out the silhouettes of buildings.
"Ranger-One acknowledges," he said. "Advise."
"We have no heat signatures in and around the target location, so you should be clear to approach," Foaly told them. "Visibility is poor in this light – advise switching to night vision or thermal optics. Be careful out there, though, we don't know what little presents Koboi has left for you."
Holly's expression was grim as she flicked a switch on her helmet, activating her night vision and bathing the world in eerie green light. The last thing she needed was to step on an anti-personnel mine left behind by Opal and lose both her legs. There were some things that not even magic could fix.
"Copy that," said Galadhon. "We are commencing our approach. Ranger-One out."
The fairies slowed their pace considerably as they drew nearer to their destination. The abandoned mining town was undeniably creepy, especially shrouded by darkness, illuminated only by the sickly green light of their night vision. Half collapsed buildings stood like fallen sentinels at the outskirts of the town, blocking their line of sight into the inner areas.
Quickly but carefully, the fairies crept forward, keeping clear of the road into the town. They spread out into a v-formation, weapons up. Everyone took a great deal of care with each step, keen to avoid any surprises left behind by Opal Koboi. An eerie silence clung to the air, leaving each fairy alone with their thoughts. None of which were very cheerful.
They weren't far from edge of the village when Galadhon spotted the figure on the road to their left, standing at the mouth of the village.
"Contact! Contact!" he shouted into his helmet mic, immediately grateful that its inbuilt soundproofing would prevent his raised voice from carrying. "There's someone on the road. Get down."
The six dropped to the ground as one. It was true that they were shielded, but that didn't mean they were impossible to detect. Better safe than sorry was a mantra that every operative learned early in their career. At least, the ones that were still around.
"Foaly!" Galadhon was saying into his mic. "I thought you said this place was deserted?"
When the centaur's voice came back over their speaker's, his confusion was evident. "We don't have any heat signatures on Scopes. Are you sure there's someone there?"
Galadhon opened his mouth to tell Foaly that of course he was damn sure, but Holly cut in before he had the chance. She was thinking of the goblin revolution several years prior, when Opal had used human fire suits to fool Foaly's sensors.
"With respect, Foaly, it wouldn't be the first time your tech has been foiled by Koboi. Standby, I'll check." She flicked her own night vision to thermal. The figure stood on the road turned grey along with its surroundings, more or less disappearing from her view. She switched back to night vision. "D'Arvit. I don't see it on thermal either. Must be using some kind of camouflage."
From back in Police Plaza, K'Azir, who had no doubt been monitoring everything that had taken place, came over their speakers.
"Copy that, Ranger-Two. Your team is clear to approach and get a closer look, but stay shielded. Do not engage."
"Roger that," said Galadhon, turning to his team. He gestured for them to follow him. "Stay silent. Let's get a closer look at our friend over there."
Catlike, the six fairies crept towards the road. Holly, who was on point, was the first to get a good look at the figure on the road. She could see now that he was tall, and stood with his back to them. It looked as though he had a hood pulled up over his head. He didn't seem to be expecting them.
"Contact appears human," she relayed into her helmet mic, continuing to move forward, weapon up. "And he seems unaware. I have a clear shot, should I take it?"
"Negative, Holly," said Galadhon immediately. "We not engage. We're here purely for reconnaissance." He paused for a moment to think. "If he's just a human, we don't have to worry about him. Let's go around and get a closer look at the village."
But Holly was a lot more interested in the figure up ahead than the ghost town. There was something about the human that was unsettling her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what.
He hasn't moved, she realised. It was more than that, though. The figure had remained perfectly still, like a statue. And as far as she could tell, his clothes, although a little dirty and tattered, were just regular human clothes. They certainly didn't look capable of masking of his heat signature.
"I don't like this," she said. She wasn't far from the human now.
The hand on her shoulder almost made her jump. "Come on," said Galadhon. "Ignore him."
Holly nodded, making to join the others and head towards the ghost town. But she stayed turned towards the unnerving figure, weapon up, covering it. Just in case. She noticed that she wasn't the only one.
Careful not to make any noise, the team skirted the figure. Holly was the last to pass him, drawing level with him as the others reached the outermost structures of the ghost town. He was barely five metres away now, still utterly still and silent. It was as though he wasn't even breathing.
Holly paused. It's a cold night. I should be able to see the cloud of breath as he exhales.
Then the figure turned to face her, as though sensing her growing fear. Holly couldn't suppress a gasp as she saw its face.
It was obviously human, but somehow different. The skin clung hideously to its skull, stretched and chalk white. The yellow glow of its sunken eyes was eerily amplified by her night vision.
For an impossibly long second, the two simply stared at each other, the thing seeing straight through Holly's shield. Then it gave a guttural, animalistic scream that was unlike anything Holly had ever heard.
The other fairies spun, weapons up, shouting for Holly to get down. But the elf stood rooted with terror, transfixed by the atrocity facing her.
A neutrino charge caught the figure in the shoulder as one of the other fairies reached Holly, putting himself in between her and the danger. The scream turned to a howl of fury as the laser blast sunk into the figure and it charged forward, moving with incredible speed.
The officer in front of Holly only had time to widen his eyes before it slammed into him, launching him to the ground. It went with him, narrowly avoiding a second laser burst. Climbing on top of the downed officer, it began trying to scratch at his protective uniform.
Released from her trance by the drama, Holly leapt into action, sprinting towards the figure and throwing a hard punch. The fist connected perfectly with the back of its head, knocking it off the fallen LEP officer. Holly stepped forward to deliver another blow, but it had already recovered, now throwing itself at her instead.
The elf saw the movement and made to duck out of the way, but it moved impossibly fast, leaping into the air and smashing into her before she had a chance to react. Holly Short went down, hitting the ground hard. Something cracked. The impact drove all the air from her lungs, and suddenly her desire to fight back seemed to have abandoned her. She could already feel her magic kicking in to heal the broken bones, dulling her senses as it did so.
The thing on top of her slammed down a fist onto her helmet. The reinforced visor held firm, but the impact rattled Holly's brain in her skull. Her vision blurred. She was vaguely aware of someone trying to wrestle it off her, but it was too strong, violently throwing the other fairy off.
It turned its attention back to Holly, clawing at her uniform where it met her helmet, searching for a gap that would give it access to her throat. Through watering eyes, she saw it bare its teeth. She could feel panic starting to take hold of her. She tried to push it away, to fight back, but she was too weak. She didn't even see the twin flashes as it absorbed another two laser bursts.
Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the ordeal was over. It slumped sideways, apparently dead. Holly saw Galadhon ripping a knife stained with black blood out of its back before reaching down to offer her a hand up. She took a calming breath and tried to collect her emotions and grabbed the hand, pulling herself to her feet.
"What in Frond's name was that?"
The voice came from behind Holly. One of the other fairies. It was shaking. The speaker was scared.
Holly was almost afraid to look at the thing that had attacked them. It wasn't human, she knew that. Not anymore. What had caused the transition to frenzied animal, however, she couldn't even begin to imagine.
"It…" Galadhon started, but then his voice petered out. Holly glanced at him; his mouth was moving soundlessly, as though he didn't have the right words to express what exactly it was.
Before he had a chance to continue, Foaly's voice came over their helmet speakers.
"Ranger! Ranger! Report," he ordered. "What is your situation? Are you under attack?"
Galadhon seemed to regain some of his composure. "We were, but the threat has been eliminated."
"Threat? What threat?"
No-one seemed to have an answer for that.
"I think it used to be human," Holly supplied, her voice quiet. Subdued. "But it was… different." She searched for the right words. "Like an animal. There was no logic to how it attacked. It just wanted to kill me. It was like it was in a frenzy or something."
Galadhon nodded. "It was manic. Crazed. And our weapons didn't affect it." He took a steadying breath and glanced at his recovering team, using the outermost buildings in the village to stand against while they collected their thoughts and healed their injuries. "We almost lost a few there."
Foaly didn't seem to know quite how to respond to this. "That… that doesn't make sense. How can it be immune to a neutrino blast? And how come it didn't come up on thermals?" He sounded oddly outraged, as though the whole thing was an insult to his technology. "There are certain rules for living creatures – it can't just break them!"
Holly finally brought herself to look at the thing that had attacked her. The former human. She looked carefully at the skin, deathly pale and decorated with scars. She thought about how it had stood so still, how she hadn't been able to see its breath.
"Foaly," she said quietly. "I don't think it is a living creature."
There was a moment of silence as everyone processed what Holly had said.
"Absurd," said one of the other fairies once he had considered it. "Dead things don't move." He moved over the former human and fiddled with his wrist computer. "I'm sending you a picture, Foaly. Standby."
There was a muted flash from the officer's helmet camera, and he turned back to his comrades.
"So what do we do now, Captain?"
The movement was fast; so fast that even if he had been able to see it, he would never have been able to react in time. The former human's arm shot out, fingers wrapping around the officer's ankle in a deadly vice. With a single movement, it yanked his legs out from under him, bringing him to the ground.
A fairy leaning against the wall of dilapidated a house as he caught his breath was the first to react, sprinting to his comrade's defence. Holly saw the second former human emerging from deeper within the village and shouted a warning, but it was already too late for him to do anything. The second creature leapt into action, slamming into the running elf and grabbing him with both hands. It lifted him off his feet and hurled him back into the wall he had been leaning against a moment before.
The delicate elfin body met bricks with impossible force. Things broke. Not the bricks. It was all Holly could do not to look away as she heard the sickening impact. The officer didn't get back up.
There was a flash of shining steel in Holly's peripheral vision, and suddenly Galadhon's knife was embedded deep in the former human's skull. It stood for a moment before falling to the ground, as though taking a moment to realise that it was supposed to be dead.
Dead? a voice in Holly's head asked cynically. If your hunch is correct, it was already dead. How do you kill something that is already dead?
But there was no time to consider the dilemma. The other former human seemed have learnt from its earlier encounter with Holly; instead of trying to penetrate its victim's protective gear itself, it had a new strategy. It got to its feet and placed a foot on the LEP officer's chest, reaching down and tearing his helmet off.
Holly's realised what was about to happen a moment before it did.
"No!" she shouted, raising her neutrino to fire, knowing it would have no effect, but unwilling to stand by and do nothing.
The former human ignored her, raising the armour-plated helmet high above its head and bringing it down on the officer's now unprotected face like a hammer. There was a splash of blood and an agonised scream. Shrugging off the pair of neutrino bolts that Holly sent its way, the creature raised the helmet for another blow. This time there was a much bigger blood splatter. The screaming stopped.
Holly simply stood and stared, too shocked to move. Her eyes flicked between the bloody mess where there used to be the face of a fellow LEP officer and the former human, the savage thing that was responsible. She knew she should do something – run, fight, anything – but her legs didn't seem to want to respond to her brain's instructions.
Galadhon gripped her arm. "Holly. Get back to the FOB. Now. They have to evacuate and get Opal back underground ASAP – we have no idea what we're dealing with here."
Holly shook her head absently, unwilling to leave him.
"That's an order, Short!" Galadhon turned to the other two fairies that were still standing. "That goes for you as well – get the Hell out of here. Tell Foaly I'm pulling the plug on this whole thing. They have to evacuate the FOB now!"
He got three shaky nods and his comrades turned to start sprinting back towards the forward operating base. Galadhon switched his attention back to the former human.
He was rare among LEP officers in that he still carried a real melee weapon – the vicious combat knife that was currently resting in the skull of the other former human. He was the only one of their team that wasn't entirely reliant on the technologically advanced weapons like neutrinos and buzz-batons that seemed to have no effect on the former humans.
Beneath his helmet, he smiled grimly, looking at the hilt of the knife emerging from the former human's body. The only weapon he had was halfway between him and his foe.
"Come on then, you freak," he shouted at the demonic creature, starting to run full tilt at it. If it was surprised by his unorthodox tactic, it didn't show it, doing the same as its target and careering forwards, a shrill screech escaping its lips.
Galadhon had got a slight head start, but the creature was faster. It was going to reach him before he could reach his knife.
"D'Arvit," breathed Galadhon, realising the truth. At the last moment, he ducked low, putting all of his momentum into a brutal shoulder charge. There was no time for the former human to respond, and the impact knocked its legs out from under it.
It stumbled to the ground, landing hard, but immediately scrambled back to its feet, apparently unfazed. Already it was running back towards Galadhon. But the elf had kept moving, ignoring the sudden pain in his shoulder and continuing to its fallen comrade, deftly reaching down to snag the hilt of his knife. Now he clutched the blade ready, braced for combat.
The former human gave no indication that it was afraid of the weapon, sprinting straight at Galadhon. The elf grinned dangerously, waiting until the beast was almost on him before stepping to the side and burying the blade deep in its throat, driving up into the base of its skull. Hopefully, the head wound would be enough for it to stay dead this time.
Even as the body fell to the ground, Galadhon thought he spotted movement in the shadows of the ghost town. He was already running by the time his brain caught up with his eyes – he wasn't keen on the idea of waiting around for reinforcements to arrive.
He ran hard, no longer worried about subtlety, footsteps thundering out as his feet slammed into the pitted tarmac. He couldn't make them out in the darkness, but his heads-up display assured him that Holly and the others weren't far ahead of him. He had to reach them. There was no doubt in his mind that they were being followed, hunted by more of those creatures. He didn't bother looking behind to check. He just ran.
Holly fiddled with her wrist computer as she ran, re-establishing her link with Foaly.
"Police Plaza, come in," she shouted. "This is Ranger-Two. We have multiple fatalities. We are heading back to the FOB but we'll never make it. We need urgent assistance."
"Holly?" Foaly sounded worried. "What happened? Are you-"
"Later!" the elf snapped back. "Just get us those reinforcements. And tell the FOB to prepare for immediate evacuation. Galadhon's abandoning the operation, it's too dangerous. We have to regroup and respond once we have more information."
All the way back in the safety of Police Plaza, Foaly recognised the tone Holly was using. It was her lots of people are probably about to die, so do exactly as I say right now voice. The centaur didn't have a visual link, but he knew the accompanying expression well. For once, he didn't question what was asked of him. He simply did as he was told.
"Keep going, Holly. A shuttle will be with you shortly, ETA three-hundred."
Beneath her blacked-out helmet visor, Holly's face was a mask of grim determination. Three-hundred seconds. Five minutes and they might just make it.
Another voice crackled over her coms. A far more urgent one.
"Holly, come in, this is Galadhon. I'm not far behind you guys, but those freaks are breathing down my neck. Requesting assistance."
Holly made a split-second decision, raising a fist to indicate that the other officers should slow down. Stopping to help Galadhon would slash their own chances of survival, but she knew she couldn't just leave him. The elf deserved a better death than one at the hands of those… those things. Those animals. And he deserved better than being abandoned by his own.
"Roger that, Galadhon, keep running. We'll be in position to assist."
Now that they had stopped, the other two survivors were looking to Holly for instructions. No doubt there were frowns hidden beneath their visors. Holly took a breath, knowing they wouldn't be keen on engaging the former humans again.
"Captain Galadhon's on his way but he's not alone. We need to help him."
"Are you crazy?" exclaimed one of the other fairies. "If he's bringing us company then we need to get as far away from here as possible!"
Holly rounded on him. "Absolutely not an option. One of our own is in trouble; we're going to help him." She could see that they were going to try and argue, but the other captain was lying dead back in the ghost town, meaning that of the three, she was the most senior. "And that's an order. Don't even think about disobeying it."
Perhaps it was Holly's superior rank that made them acquiesce, perhaps it their sense of duty. Or maybe there was a hint of steel in her voice that made her difficult to ignore. Everyone in the LEP had heard about Holly Short's temper.
They didn't have to wait long to Galadhon to arrive. The elf appeared out of the darkness, running full tilt, but the dark shapes behind him were clearly gaining on him.
One of Holly's comrades crouched down at the side of road, grabbing a fist sized rock. He tossed it from hand to hand a few times, feeling the weight of it. He smiled. The other fairy did the same, arming himself with a small chunk of concrete, presumably left behind decades ago when the road was under construction. Holly herself didn't have time to find anything more substantial than her fists.
Galadhon had almost reached them now, and the former humans were only metres behind him. Now that they were closer, Holly could get a better look at their approaching adversaries. There weren't many, but it would still be more than enough to kill them all if they weren't careful.
She adopted a combat stance. "At least five contacts," she said into her helmet mic. "We strike hard and fast, on my mark." She waited until Galadhon was less than a metre away from them before giving the signal. "Mark!"
The three fairies surged forward, meeting the oncoming creatures with the speed and aggression that Holly had ordered. The speed and aggression that might save their lives.
The fairy on Holly's left was the first to make contact; taking advantage of his and the nearest creature's combined momentum, he lashed out with the rock in his hand. The stone smashed into the former human's jaw with incredible force. Skin and bone came apart with sickening crunch. The creature went down and didn't get up.
To her right, Holly saw the other fairy attempt something similar, but he missed his target and ended up colliding with the former human itself. She saw the pair roll of the side of the road, but there was no time to focus on it. She concentrated on the former human she was running at, preparing to strike. Once it was close enough, she leapt into the air, bringing up her foot and sinking it into the creature's chest.
The target was relatively soft, but the velocity of the impact still sent a sharp pain jarring up Holly's leg. The former human was launched back, colliding with another.
Holly glanced around her, searching for another target. She had counted five – four were occupied, for now at least – but where was the fifth? Then she spotted it, face down in the dust, a knife hilt protruding from under its jaw.
"Didn't think I was going to let you have all the fun, did you?" said Galadhon from behind her.
Holly smiled, but didn't respond – the two former humans she had knocked down were already returning to the fray. Galadhon retrieved his knife as they approached and moved to engage them. Holly went with him, knowing that taking them both on would be a challenge, even for him.
"I'll take the left one," called Galadhon. Holly nodded even though he was in front of her, readying herself to take on the other former human. She bent low, bringing up her armoured shoulder and ploughing into it, bowling it over.
In her peripheral vision, she caught a glimpse of Galadhon easily dispatching his target, slashing at the former human's throat before ducking behind it and burying the knife in the back of its head. Once it was down, he ran straight over to Holly, using his knife to finish of the one she had just brought down.
Both fairies turned to see how their comrades were fairing. The final creature had one of the fairies pinned to the ground and was desperately trying to pierce his uniform, but as Holly and Galadhon watched, the fourth surviving member of their team intervened, bringing the sharp edge of his rock down with all of his strength on the creature's head. It didn't offer much resistance. There was a splatter of black blood and it went down, the rock lodged inside the top of its skull.
"Everyone OK?" called Galadhon as they all surveyed the now calm scene. Except from Holly, who was looking behind them.
"Guys," she said quietly into her helmet mic. "We need to run. Now."
The other fairies didn't bother asking why. They had just seen what Holly had been looking at. The night itself almost seemed to be moving, seething with dark shapes. The former humans were just shadows in the darkness at the moment, but their outlines were growing clearer with every second that passed. They were getting nearer. And there must have been at least fifty of them.
No more words needed to be said. As one, the fairies turned in the direction of the forward operating base and starting running as fast as they could. They knew it wouldn't be enough.
The former humans gained quickly. Whatever conversion the humans had undergone seemed to have granted them enhanced speed and strength, and the fairies, despite their remarkable levels of fitness, were finally beginning to tire after all the night's excitement. Not to mention that a human's legs were a lot longer than an elf's.
It wasn't long before Holly could hear footsteps on the road behind her. She didn't bother wasting time looking behind her, instead focusing all her efforts on keeping moving as quickly as possible. There was a scream from behind her as a former human got a grip on one of her comrade's shoulders, dragging him back into the horde.
Every part of Holly wanted to turn back, to try and help, but she knew she couldn't. All she could do was keeping going. The other officer was likely already dead.
Then the shuttle unshielded in front of them, a hulking metal teardrop aimed straight at them.
"Get down!" Holly yelled into her helmet mic, knowing instinctively that it was the right thing to do. The three remaining fairies dived to the ground as the night exploded in brilliant orange light. Holly felt the heat of the fireballs even through her insulated LEP suit; she felt the shrapnel scrape at her uniform but thankfully fail to penetrate.
Another series of thunderous explosions shook the earth as the shuttle unleashed another salvo of plasma rockets. Then another. And another. Then an earie silence descended over the settling debris.
Holly waited a few seconds before raising her head and surveying the utter destruction that had been left behind. The shuttle pilot hadn't been taking any prisoners – huge chunks had been torn out of the road and in some places the ground was even slick was partially melted tarmac. Rubble and the odd limb littered the scene, but there was no movement. It seemed as though the onslaught had at least dealt with the former humans.
Holly took a shaking breath and got to her feet as the pilot turned around the shuttle so they could get on board. She wanted to be sick. She couldn't help but be reminded of the aftermath of her brief kidnapping at the hands of Amber's henchmen a month ago. Foaly had left such a trail of death and destruction in helping to rescue her that she had been disgusted.
She didn't know what the former humans were. She didn't even know if they were really alive. She didn't know if they felt pain. But it still felt somehow wrong to slaughter them like that. To rip apart their bodies and distribute the pieces among the smouldering wreckage.
"Come on Holly," said Galadhon from behind her. He tried to lay a calming hand on her shoulder, but she shook it off, still appalled by the devastation before her eyes.
"Holly," Galadhon repeated, the urgency in his voice growing. "We have to go. Now. Come on."
Reluctantly, the elf allowed herself to be led onto the hovering shuttle, but her thoughts remained on the sickening scene outside. On the three officers that hadn't made it back. And on Opal Koboi, who was no doubt responsible.
A/N: So now you have some idea what Artemis and Co. are going to be up against if they want to stop Opal. In TLG, Opal gets herself an army by using an ancient ritual to resurrect fairy warriors who then inhabit the bodies of people or animals in and around Fowl Manor, including several corpses. As usual, I wanted to take inspiration from that, but give it my own flavour. Opal has her army, but in a very different way.
And before anyone asks; no, the "former humans" are nothing as cliché or vanilla as zombies or anything like that, although I concede there are certain similarities, especially in appearance. Although it will be explained later exactly what they are, I refer to them as "former humans" or just "formers" here and in the following chapters because that's what Holly calls them, and because guessing that they used to be human is pretty much all the information the characters have about them.
You can probably guess what happens next chapter. Needless to say, the action continues, and then something pretty monumental happens ;)
Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you thought if you want, I always love reading the reviews you guys leave :)
-Kio