Thankies for reading, appreciate your comments, hope you enjoy the rest not long to go now :)
Part 16
The bar was quieter than Harper had remembered, but he recognised the bar keeper immediately and hurried to him.
"You are not welcomed, you should leave," the bar keeper immediately spoke on spotting Harper approach.
"Why?" Harper asked with surprise, as Dylan and Beka stopped behind him.
"The yobs have been telling folks around here for the past couple of hours about the young fool who supports the Magog, and tries to protect them," the bar keeper pointed to a crudely drawn picture, that only partially resembled him. "Already since that has gone up three young blond men have been beaten by the locals, not the yobs, in mistaken identity."
"What gives these 'yobs' the authority to do these things?" Dylan now asked.
"We do not question those who have the ability to make our lives hell," the bar keeper simply responded.
"Mob rule," Beka remarked, with a look of disgust.
Harper strode purposely over to the poster and tore it down. "Now they won't know what to look for."
"You shouldn't have done that," the bar keep moved towards Harper, intending to retrieve the poster but Harper quickly ripped it up. "They are looking for you, they have been ripping this drift apart for the past hour." The bar keeper seemed nervous now. "You really shouldn't have done that, I told you to ignore them, warned you that they target people like you," he stressed.
Harper narrowed his eyes. "I thought you were warning me about them recruiting me when you said that," he offered, glancing at Beka and Dylan.
"Then you should have just taken my warning, instead of mistaking it," the bar keeper stressed. "Now leave."
"I can't, I need to find a friend," Harper stated.
"The Magog?" the bar keeper checked. "So the yobs were right?" he added when Harper didn't deny his question.
"Do you know where the Magog is?" Dylan now stepped forward to stand with Harper.
"Who are you people?" the bar keeper backed away now with horror. "Just get out of here already, leave me alone," he stressed. "If they find you here, they'll trash this place, I need this business, my family," he continued with panic.
"Ok, ok," Dylan gestured defensively. "We'll leave but just give us something, a location, anything, and we'll leave," Dylan added, and to emphasise his words he encouraged Harper, and then Beka to slowly start to back away towards the door but before the bar keeper could speak, the doors behind them swung open.
Harper, Dylan and Beka turned around quickly, as nearly twenty of the local youths rushed into the bar, surrounding the three of them.
"Well, well, look what we have here," a voice spoke up and Harper spun around recognising the youth, but not sure why.
"Piper," Harper remembered his name suddenly, and Piper just glared at him with intent. "These are the idiots that captured me and Rev, but I'm sure you'd figured that bit out already," Harper spoke quickly, and his panic was clear in his voice.
"Hey, maybe they know where Rev is?" Beka quipped, but her fear soon became apparent when the yobs started to close in.
Dylan prepped his force lance, and it only momentarily stopped them as Beka was grabbed before she could arm her own weapon.
"Dylan!" Harper gestured, seeing Beka being grabbed and a hand now roughly covered her mouth. Immediately the high guard captain relaxed the force lance, before it was snatched away.
"Let her go," Dylan ordered, still standing his ground, with Harper close by.
"Give us the fool, and we might," Rossi now stepped forward, Harper recognising him immediately, as he gestured to him.
"Why do you want him?" Dylan asked.
"We had so much fun with him last time, we miss him," Piper smirked, and his colleagues all laughed loudly now, trying to intimidate their catch.
Harper looked around at the faces, his memory still not completely returned but he suddenly had a bad feeling, similar to pain and he absently put his hand around his stomach protectively. "Do you have Rev, the magog?"
"Do you still feel inclined to help him, that Magog?" Barton now walked forward from the mass of youths, finally revealing himself and Harper instinctively tensed, and it didn't go unnoticed by Dylan, sensing the superiority from the new face.
Harper glanced at Beka who even in the yobs hold still seemed to be a little surprised by the remark the leader had made about him helping Rev, but was trying to hide it. "Yeah," he answered, whilst staying close to Dylan.
"Good," the leader declared. "Because right now, we don't know what to do, he has three of my men trapped."
"What?" Dylan checked.
"Rev?" Harper checked.
In their confusion Barton gestured to his men, and they easily secured Dylan and Harper who put up very little resistance. "It's been almost two hours now, and it's why we've been searching for you," Barton stated, checking his watch. "If my men die at the hand of that Magog, so will all of you," he added, as the yobs led the three of them away.
Memories crashed through Harper's mind as he was pushed into the main building of the energy compound, and he stumbled slightly. The goons holding him roughly steadied him, but he was remembering everything now and more about how these same goons had tried to get Rev to attack him, and how Rev had responded to their efforts and he panicked, almost feeling Rev's claws on him now.
"Harper?" Beka had seen Harper's sudden fearful reaction with concern.
"Quiet!" Barton snapped towards Beka, and Harper recovered his composure enough to signal to Beka that he was ok, although deep down the pit of his stomach couldn't shift the uneasy feeling he remembered of Rev responding to the smell of his blood.
Barton gestured for everyone to stop, and Harper saw the area ahead of them, an open circular walkway that seemed familiar. Then he was pushed forward to the railing, and he suddenly saw the room below him that they had trapped him in with Rev. He now stood where the goons had watched and taunted them; had thrown stuff upon him. Looking down he saw Rev, but focused on the gang members who looked terrified and unmoving, Rev stood between them and the exit and Harper could see it was their fear, rather than Rev, preventing them leaving.
Harper clutched the railing as he continued looking down below, and soon the memories returned as clear as day, so lost in his mind however Harper failed to hear Barton speaking, until he felt himself being roughly pulled around to face Barton.
"You will go down there, and distract your friend so my men can escape," Barton instructed, and it sounded like he was repeating himself.
"Ok," Harper stated, snapping his attention back to the present, and he glanced over his shoulder back to the room below, seeing Rev in a meditating pose quietly chanting. "No problem," he added shakily, though fairly confident that Rev had some focus for the moment, enough not to be a threat.
"Let me go and talk to Rev," Dylan now spoke up.
Barton slowly turned to the high guard captain. "Did I ask you?"
"I am the Magog's captain, if anyone should go down there it's me," Dylan stated, but then Beka stepped forward.
"I've known Rev the longest, old family friend, it should be me if he truly is a threat to your men," Beka announced.
"I said I'd go," Harper protested lightly.
Barton only appeared amused by the requests. "I have no idea who you guys are," he gestured to Beka and Dylan. "I wasn't even looking for you, I was looking for this guy," he put his arm around Harper.
"Get off me!" Harper snapped, and shrugged Barton away but the gang leader grabbed hold of him and lifted him up, pushing him back against the railing, so much so that Harper's head now hung over the edge. Rossi and Piper were now stood either side of Barton, preventing Harper from retaliating, as they secured him arms.
Harper grimaced, feeling his lower back painfully pressed into the safety railing and nothing but air beneath his shoulders and head. "I said I'd help!" Harper managed through his initial panic.
"I heard you," Barton confirmed with a grin, and before Harper could respond he felt his shirt being tugged, and then ripping away to reveal the dressings that Trance had put over his injuries. Barton soon roughly ripped the medical dressings away to show the now almost healed marks that Barton had inflicted on Harper.
"Hey!" Beka protested, and attempted to move forward but was restrained.
"Harper has said he will help there is no need for this!" Dylan supported Beka's protest.
"Gag them both, they distract me," Barton ordered not even looking at them, and both Beka and Dylan soon found some crude tape being placed over their mouths, and Harper just stared as best he could at the concerned expressions on the two captains' faces.
Harper then panicked as he felt Barton lift him up again, and he found himself perilously hanging over the edge of the railing now. His hands were free, as Rossi and Piper released him and he desperately reached for the railing, as Barton threatened to throw him over the edge. In his fear, Harper could hear the muffled protests from Beka and Dylan, and daring to look down at the hard floor below that he was in no doubt now he'd soon get to know better. Before Harper knew what was happening he felt the sudden rush of air, and then the inevitable sudden impact of the same ground as he landed heavily upon it, his right shoulder and hip taking the impact and his head whip lashed forward connecting with the ground under his own momentum of the fall.
End of part 16