Nightlights
Something is wrong.
It beats like a drum in his ears, against the pounding in his skull. Ben feels cool metal against his spine and bare feet. There are crashing sounds and a loud bang from outside the hull. His whole body shakes, juddering against the forces that rock the craft. The ship stretches out in both directions, but he only has eyes for the left-hand tunnel, towards the cockpit. From the left, out of sight, someone issues a string of profanities.
"Sith-kriffing-hells! Yes, they've definitely spotted us!" A voice announces. "Could they not have just sat with their thumbs up their asses for five more karking minutes?..."
There is another bang, and the ship shakes.
"Yeah, we get it!" The voice shouts, "You've made your damn point! However, allow me to retort..."
There is a dizzying sense of motion, and the ship turns. The owner of the voice must be flying.
"Anytime you want to pull yourself together, Master, and get up here..." The voice continues "They are right on our tail, and I could actually use a little help. Yes, that's right, I asked for help. I'm sure you were running low on ammunition for mocking me, so as you current look like shit I'm giving you that one for nothing."
The ship shakes again at another near miss, and time slides away from Ben for a while. It distorts itself around him, folds up, and then is suddenly settled by a physical sensation; the drip of blood onto his lip. He opens his eyes and gazes out at a sea of stars. The viewscreen is right before him now, and seeming almost close enough to touch is a pale green planet, like a marble of seaglass. He is in the cockpit. He has been moved and didn't even notice.
The blood is dripping down his chin now, and he reaches up to wipe it. He tries to, at any rate, only to find his arms are bound. He is seated in the cockpit, and his restrained. Without ceremony, Ben takes a deep breath and goes off ther deep end.
He has been struggling frenziedly for less than ten seconds when there is a shout from his right, and someone is at his side.
"Whoa! Careful, careful, you'll hurt yourself. It's all right."
Ben sees the blue-eyed man crouch down at his side. He throws his head back, wrenching his shoulder against the restraints.
"It's okay," says the man, reaching for his arms. "You're not a prisoner anymore, remember? I just put the seat-harness on you because you looked like you might pass out and end up face-first on the durasteel. Here, stop struggling, and I'll..."
The other man disentangles the blanket wrapped round him enough to reach the harness, and slaps the release button. The straps fall away. Ben fumbles at the other man for a second and then shoves him away, bolting out of his seat and across the room.
The man stumbles at the shove but quickly regains his balance. "What, is the chair on fire?" He jokes, but feebly. Ben's bad leg gives out as he tries to put weight on it, and it pitches him into the wall. He puts his back to it and stills, watching the man with the blue eyes carefully. The man, in turn, is watching Ben, his scarred face torn between consternation and uncertainty.
"You're starting to worry me here," the man says. "I need to know if you can just hold it together until we get back to the fleet. They've lost sight of us for now, but we're not out of the woods yet."
"What sort of ship is this?" Ben asks, just to test his voice. He thinks the man looks pleased.
"Refuse Collection Mark VI, G-class. It's the best I could do at short notice, although it's the sort of subterfuge I normally rely on you for. Got me right up to the station completely un-noticed on the way in, shame the way out wasn't quite so smooth. We'll have to ditch it as soon as we can for another ride now. Though no matter how soon we end up dumping it, I expect the smell will probably cling to me for the rest of my life."
There is a moments' silence, before Ben says;"I don't know you. Where are you taking me?"
The man shoves his hands through his hair in a clear sign of frustration. Ben's heart-rate spikes. He has no idea what the man is going to do.
"Look," the man starts, losing the fight to keep his tone level. "I understand that something weird has happened to you. We will figure it out, okay? You're going to be all right. But this is not the time or place to keep going over it. You just gotta trust me to get us back."
"You made me go with you." Ben says, remembering. "I didn't want to, but you...made me."
"Fierfek!" The man curses again, and then sighs and looks away. "I knew that was going to bite me in the ass. I am sorry, but I had no choice. We had to-"
He is cut off as an alarm suddenly bursts into life. A bright light bursts past the viewscreen. The man's gaze turns away from Ben, just for a moment, as he looks towards the console.
This is the chance he has been waiting for, and Ben seizes it. He pulls his arm out from behind his back and the silver cylinder in his hand gleams in the half-light. Ben's thumb finds the button as if by instinct, and the blade ignites with a sound like a shriek. The blue-eyed man's head whips round. His eyes widen and his hand slaps at his hip where the weapon should be hanging. It comes up empty; Ben had snatched it from the man's belt during that artfully-distracting panic attack. Ben holds the weapon still, the blade pointing straight at his captor. He remembered that blue blade light as soon as he saw it. Remembered how it had burned him.
There is the sound of a small explosion somewhere, and the deck rocks.
The man raises his hands. "That's really not a good idea" he says, voice impatient. "Where are you going to go? In case you hadn't noticed, they've just caught up with us. Those crashing sounds are very, very bad people shooting trying to shoot us out of the sky. I've got a lot on my mind right now, and I could really do without this as well."
Ben ignored him, keeping the sword trained on the man's face. The weapon gives off an intense heat, and the hilt in his hand is humming and alive with energy.
The man watches the wavering blade. "Do you even know what you're doing?" he asks.
"Even amateurs get lucky," Ben answers, more boldly than he feels. "Move back."
The man steps back, up against the console, hands still raised. He is starting to look anxious.
"Don't follow me," Ben says, and then darts back, out of the hatch slamming it shut behind him. He sprints up the corridor. There is another explosion, and he stumbles. A second alarm sounds, louder than the first. He hears the man in the cockpit yell a muffled curse, but he doesn't stop. He has to find a place to hide, a way to escape…
He sees a shadow in the corridor wall on his right; another hatch. Limping to it, Ben sees a panel on the wall. He breathes out a desperate sigh; it says "Emergency Escape Pod." He deactivates the weapon, just as the ship gives two violent shakes. The man has not followed him yet, too busy trying to fight off this new attack.
Ben slaps his hand down on the door release. His mind might not remember how to launch the pod, but his hands dart over the panel and he just hopes they know what they are doing. The hatch slides open and he throws himself in. He just has time to hear another siren join the ringing alarms, a mechanical voice stating; "Thirty seconds to Emergency Escape Pod launch." Closer, a man's voice yells out.
"No!"
Ben slams the hatch shut behind him.
Six seats. The waste disposal ship was small; this will be the only escape pod. That means the man can't follow him if he gets away. Everything starts to spin. He drops the weapon onto the floor, forgotten, and falls into a seat, ramming his arms into the crash harness. Lights and panels are bursting into life around him; his hands swipe at them. Ben is thrown to one side as the whole craft shakes violently; echoing death throws from the ship above. There is a voice calmly counting down, a hiss and a crack, and a feeling of brief weightlessness. Then the pod bursts from its restraints and away into the black, and he knows he is falling.
Strange sensations; spiralling weight, distances and time, and bright lights on all sides blinking and dancing. His head is so heavy.
The pod is out of control. It's all going wrong. He lost consciousness, just for a moment, and now he is crashing. In just a few moments he will be smashed to pieces on that beautiful sea-green planet rushing up to meet him. He tries to reach the controls but his hands twitch uselessly, his head is filled with a rushing noise like boiling water and distant bells clamouring. The ground races up towards him, he closes his eyes, and-
Ben opened his eyes, and bolted upright with a start. He was breathing hard, heart racing and head pounding. It was a dream, just another dream. No...another memory? It must be, could only be, the crash that had brought him here. He struggled to maintain his calm, to claw back who and where he was. After a few moments, the pure panic started to drain away, and he could breathe again. Head in his hands, Ben knew there was little chance of him falling asleep again that night, not after the shock of the dream impact. As he climbed to his feet in the dark of his room, a sudden realisation struck him. The panic of the dream had faded, but the sense of foreboding, of peril, had not. Indeed, now he was aware of it, every sense was alert, strung out. Something bad was going to happen very soon. Danger, danger, danger…
He scrambled to the door, and out into the dark house. There was nothing but peaceful silence. The family slept, quiet and untroubled. Ben limped to the main entrance as quickly as he could and put his shoulder to the huge door. With an effort, he forced it open, and stepped out of the house.
Everything was cold, and so still. Ben stood out in the yard, waiting. The darkness was intense, with only a few distant lights of the village casting the ridge into a pale silhouette. The cliffs were a deeper black behind him. There was profound silence, with only a light rustle of the icy wind disturbing the frost-tipped grasses at his feet. Danger! whispered his senses.
A bright flash in the distance suddenly caught his eye. A trail of red light silently flared up, arching against the black canvas of the sky, before dropping without a sound out of sight behind the ridge. Ben blinked the after images from his eyes, and waited, pulse racing. The light did not come again.
He turned and went back into the house. He closed the door firmly behind him, and found it did not have a lock. Ben had not yet seen the Kheelians sleeping rooms, but he knew which one Shaarm shared with her husbands and went directly to it. He knocked quietly, but the compelling voice inside whispering danger, danger is coming made him push the door open before waiting for an answer. The room contained little furniture apart from a low sleep-mat similar to Ben's own bed. On this the Kheelian trio were sprawled, limbs tangled together like sleeping wookiee pups. Ben found a paw he thought was Shaarm's, and gave it a shake, calling her name softly. He heard her mutter something from under the pile of fur, and he graciously backed out of the room to allow her to rise in peace.
After a minute or two, Shaarm followed him out into the main living room, pulling the door to behind her. She was fastening a long blue robe, and yawning.
"Ben, what is it?" she asked, yawning again. "Are you ill?"
He shook his head impatiently. The delay had not helped his feelings of anxiety one bit, and he found he was pacing.
"I have a very bad feeling," he said. "Something is about to happen, or maybe has already started. I can't explain it, I just know we have to do something. Right now."
Shaarm looked at him in silence for a beat or two. "Is this to do with your powers?"
Ben shrugged, and then nodded.
"What sort of bad thing?"
The human frowned. "I don't know. An attack, perhaps. Something is coming. Also, I just saw a red light in the sky. I would call it a warning flare, if you have a similar technology."
Shaarm went from sleepy to alert in half a second. She grabbed his arm.
"Someone lit their flares? Where? When?"
"In the hills, in the direction that the largest moon rises." Ben answered, "A moment or two before I woke you."
Shaarm left his side and trotted over to the main door of the house, throwing it wide. He followed her silently, and they looked out into the dark and quiet night. The sky was black and endless and unsullied by lights. They stood, silent and still together for several minutes under the dome of night, but nothing happened. Eventually Shaarm sighed, and lead him back inside, closing the door on the dark. She looked at Ben and he felt himself being fully scrutinised as if every moment of their interactions together analysed and considered. After a while Shaarm nodded slightly, as if to herself. Then she said;
"I'll wake the others."
Ben let out a sigh of relief. She believed him.
"I'd better get dressed then," he said.
It was the work of a few moments to pull off his sleep shirt and exchange it for yesterday's clothes, and of a few moments more to tie on his make-shift boots. Yet by the time Ben returned to the main room, all four of the Kheelian adults were awake, and fully dressed. As Ben entered the space, Pakat came back in from outside. Chana and Grandmother were consulting a holomap of the valley. The Kheelians were quiet, but far from panicked. Ben was forced to remember that they had, until far too recently, been embroiled in a devastating war. He didn't know how long ago it had ended, but it seemed to be within the memory of the adults at least. Perhaps his hosts had endured many of the tribulations of war. Perhaps the threat of attack was nothing new to them.
"What's are our options?" He asked as he climbed up at the table.
"We used flares in the war to warn of imminent attacks," Chana explained. "Some of the more remote areas still keep them stockpiled, just in case of accidents or natural disasters."
"We haven't seen any more go up," Shaarm clarified. "I would be more willing to believe what you saw, Ben, was a comet or a trick of the light or even another crashing ship, were it not for what you sense. Your 'bad feeling'. It has not abated?"
"No. If anything, it's getting worse."
"Then we must assume it was a flare, and someone is in trouble out there," Pakat concluded. "It must be one of the eastern farmsteads. Niko and her people, perhaps."
"Then I certainly must go," Grandmother said, "and make sure my people are safe. It's my duty."
"I will go with you," Ben volunteered, but Shaarm was already shaking her head.
"No, I think not, Ben. Not that I do not think you perfectly capable should the situation call for it, but you must not forget that it was little more than a ten-day ago you fractured your pelvis and six ribs, and they are not yet healed. In all honesty, you would only slow us down, and may re-injure yourself."
Ben sighed. He sincerely objected to being treated like an invalid, particularly as they were going to be travelling by Shaarm's landspeeder and not walking, but he had also learned that little would sway Shaarm once her mind was made up.
"I will be going," Shaarm declared, "In case someone has been injured and they are calling for help."
Chana and Pakat glanced at each other, and the former nodded. "I will go, too," Pakat said.
Without any further discussion, the trio donned their warm outer cloaks and coats. Shaarm had a large bag, medical supplies perhaps. Pakat had a long duralumin staff, similar to Ben's, but apart from that, the group carried no weapons. Chana and Ben saw them to the door.
"We will head towards the eastern farms," said Shaarm, loading her medical bag into the large speeder while the others climbed in. "And see what is happening. I hope the flare going up was just an accident, or a teenagers' prank, but we must find out."
"Do not be concerned," Grandmother told Ben. "We will be back soon."
Ben merely nodded. "May good luck be with you."
Pakat gave them both a firm hug, and then the engine hummed into life, echoing in the quiet night, and the speeder was gone. As he and Chana turned back inside, Ben closed the door as firmly as he could behind them.
The pair sat down to wait. They drank their tea, and another cup after the first, and looked out through a high small window at the dark sky. Half a standard turn passed in quiet conversation, before they eventually fell silent again. More time passed. Ben looked at the clock and realised two turns had gone by since the others went out. It was not late enough to start being worried. There was no reason why they would have got in touch. No reason to expect a call. Or a flare.
Just as the thought passed through his mind, another light burst the darkness as the small screen on the telewire system lit up - an incoming call. Chana jumped, knocking over his cup in his hurry to get to the panel. A faint, quiet voice issued from the crackly speakers. It was a Kheelian woman, but it was not Shaarm or Grandmother.
"Shaarm! Chana! Please answer...Shaarm!"
Chana was at the communications box in a second.
"Yes, this is Chana, I'm here. Is that you, Niko? What's happened?"
"Oh, I give thanks! We're under attack, I can't tell how many. We've barricaded the door but I don't know..."
The line crackled for a moment and her voice dropped out.
"I can barely hear you," Chana said, urgently. "Niko, who is attacking? Is it Pechnar?"
"What? No!" Niko's voice sounded puzzled."Why would Pechnar... No, it's the narms. There's dozens out here. They are throwing themselves at the doors, climbing on the roof, but we saw more heading out into the night."
"We saw your flare," Chana said. "About two turns ago. Did Shaarm reach you? Or Pakat?"
Niko's news was not good."We did not light any flares. Ours got spoiled by damp and wouldn't light. Someone else must have been attacked too. We have not seen Shaarm, or anyone."
"What are you going to do? Is anyone hurt?" Chana's voice sounded oddly hollow.
"They attacked one of the boys… he is badly bitten but we will be fine, as long as we can keep them out until morning," Niko said. "Don't go outside, just warn the-"
The line crackled loudly and Niko was gone. Chana depressed the speaker button several times but there was only a dull, buzzing sound.
"The line has gone dead," Chana said. "That's what they used to do in the war. Cut the lines."
He looked at Ben. "Shaarm and Pakat are out there. What if..."
Ben shook his head. "We can't worry about them now. They will look after themselves. We have to focus on the moment - do what we can until they get back." He crossed his arms, rubbing his chin as he thought quickly. Pictured the sprawling layout of the house that he had seen looking down from the meadow above.
"Chana, how many entrances are there to the house?"
The Kheelian considered. "Five I suppose….no, six, if you count the garden door."
Ben's heart sank. "I do. And how many windows? Large enough for someone my size to climb through?"
"Um...Eight."
"What about roof access? And is there any underground areas like a cellar?"
"Two hatches, one in here, one in Pakat's office. They go up onto the roof panels. There's no cellar."
Sixteen entrances into the house, if Chana had counted correctly. Even if all five adults had been present, they couldn't hope to properly defend half that number.
"Very well," Ben said. "It's a lot, but it can't be helped. We have to block off as many of those entrances as we can. Use furniture to block doorways, lash windows shut, wedge bars across the hatches. If they attack and get in, I want to be able to limit the number of fronts we have to fight on."
"You cannot even reach the door handles," said Chana, with a faint ghost of teasing to his tone. "You had better let me start. In the meantime, you go and wake the girls."
The children's bedroom, when Ben located it, was similar in design to the adults, but had wide brightly-coloured cloth hangings on the walls. The girls were tangled together in sleep on a low mat. Tiki sat up the moment he entered, sucking her thumb and rubbing her eyes sleepily. He quickly crossed over to them, and knelt down at the edge of the mat. Tiki held out her hand to him and then curled up at his side when he took it. He gave her a nudge.
"Come on Tiki, Ooouli. Wake up."
There was no response from the older girl but for a slight twitch of her ears. Ben had to lean over and give her shoulder a gentle shake. "Ooouli, darling. You need to wake up."
Finally she stirred. "Ben?" The girl yawned, drowsily. "What is the matter? Am I late for school?"
"No, it is still night time," he said. "I'm sorry to wake you, but you both have to get up. I need you to help get Tiki dressed."
"What's happening?" Ooouli asked again, sitting up and looking more alert. "Where is Mama?"
"She had to go out, with Grandma and Pakat. We think someone might be hurt on one of the farmsteads. I'll tell you the rest in a minute." It was a lie, but only a small one. "Where are your clothes? In here?"
Ooouli pointed him to the wardrobe while she climbed out of bed. "Are we going somewhere? What do we need to wear?"
"We might be," Ben answered, noncommittally. "Better choose something warm for you and Tiki. Hurry now."
While Ooouli pulled on her own clothes and helped her sister with the difficult buttons and fasteners, Ben searched the wardrobe for the children's coats which he laid on the bed. He also found a small backpack, into which he quickly stuffed warm scarves, a blanket, Benben the doll and a couple of the children's favourite books. Anything to keep them distracted so they wouldn't have time to get scared. Whatever happened, the girls must be kept out of danger.
"I'll just see how your Dada is getting on," Ben said, as he backed out of the room. "Don't forget your coats! I've got your backpack ready."
He half ran to the main room, taking a moment to grab Chana's backpack from the main bedroom on the way past. Then he climbed up on the work surface and raided the cupboards in the kitchen followed by the tool shelves in the storeroom, throwing down anything that might be useful in an emergency, and then packing it all into the bag. Ben was just adding some food and candy bars to the children's backpack when Chana reappeared from the rear of the house. He was looking concerned.
"I have jammed the doors and windows at the back of the house, furthest away," he said. "But there are three I cannot seal at all, and the windows are just plastoid or glass. They would be easily broken. There are too many entrances, and we just do not have enough furniture here to block them up with."
Ben sighed, as the Kheelian came to the same conclusion he had. "I know," he agreed, heavily.
"What are we going to do?" asked Chana, quietly, as Ooouli and Tiki emerged from the side corridor. "Unless the others come back soon, we cannot keep the narms out."
"If we can't secure the building, we can't defend it." Ben concluded, matching his low tones. "We have to leave. I don't see that we have another option."
"And go where?"
Ben thought for a mere moment. "The fence. The village. You said it had held against attack before."
"And if the narms follow us?"
"Then we run," said Ben, calmly.
"Dada?" Ooouli, holding Tiki's hand tightly, had appeared at their side. She didn't sound upset, just disconcerted and a bit curious. "Where have Mama and Papa gone? Ben said someone might be hurt."
Chana sat back on his haunches and hugged his daughters tightly. "We are not sure, but we think there might be someone...some bad people or perhaps the narms...who are causing trouble at the farmsteads. Mama, Papa and Grandmother went out to fix things, and we are going to go and meet them. Look at you two! Up and dressed in the middle of the night? Quite an adventure, isn't it?"
He stroked the girl's fur, and then added, "Tell you what, I think you should both have a chaal bar, as a special treat. Adventurers need their energy. Just do not tell your mother."
The girls scampered off to the cupboard where this treat was apparently kept. Chana rose back up onto his four feet, and then noticed the two backpacks on the floor.
"What's this?"
"I took the liberty of packing some supplies," Ben said. "Just in case of emergencies. Bottles of water, blankets, rope, fire-lighters, a torch, whatever medical supplies were in the cupboard, and whatever food I recognised."
Chana was nodding, approvingly. "Good. We'll take our flares too," he added. "They're in the store outside. We can get them on the way past."
"We ought to light one when we go," Ben suggested. "To warn the others not to come back h-."
He stopped. The air around him had suddenly twisted, and the nagging sense of danger pooled into his stomach as cold, heavy dread. He looked at Chana, eyes wide.
"Danger is coming. We have to go. Now."
Chana leapt into action, grabbing up the backpack and throwing it onto his back. "Girls, quickly now. We have to go."
He urged the girls towards the door. Tiki pulled back against Ooouli's hand, looking distressed. "I need Benben..."
"I've got him already; he's safe in Ooouli's bag," Ben told the younger girl. He caught up the smaller backpack he had prepared, and held out the straps out to Ooouli. She slid her arms in and he did up the buckle about her waist.
"Quickly now," Chana beckoned them over, taking her shoulder. "Wait by the door."
Ben threw on his coat and grabbed the duralumin staff. Chana dashed over stuffing a few more forgotten items in his pocket, and then reached for the light switches.
"Leave the lights on," Ben said, as the four of them gathered by the door. "It'll give the impression we stayed. It will take them time to break in, and hopefully once they've figured out we aren't here, we'll be well away."
Chana nodded. "Good idea," he said, putting his hand on the door handle. "Are you ready?"
Ben pulled the children to his side. They tucked in beside him, still and quiet. Ben met the Kheelian's gaze and nodded. Chana took a deep breath, and slowly slid the door open.
Quiet. Stillness.
Ben tensed, ready for an attack, but there was no spike of imminent threat in the steady warning that hummed in his consciousness. He couldn't feel anything nearby. He stepped into the doorway beside Chana, senses strained out into the night. All was still and utterly dark outside the circle of light from the house. Only one moon was yet visible, a huge low disk hanging heavy and swollen on the horizon. The cold breeze whispered past, bringing with it a bitter chill. Ben waited another few seconds until he was certain.
"It's safe for the moment," he said.
Chana nodded. "I'll get the flares," he said, and loped out into the dark towards the store huts.
"Come on, Ooouli," Ben beckoned the girls out of the house. "Quickly, can you help me with the doors?"
The children, reluctant but obedient, stepped out into the night. With Ooouli's help, the main front door was closed, and they wedged it shut as best they could. Within a moment, Chana was back with a wrapped packet under one arm and something silver in his hand. He thrust this towards Ben.
"Here,"
Ben took a silver cylinder from the Kheelian. Metal, heavy, with black raised detailing. The lightsaber. He let out a long breath.
Chana, meanwhile, had torn open the package and was holding a handful of small tubes. He was frowning. "Ben. If we light these, it is going to do the opposite of keeping the others away. If Pakat sees flares go up from the direction of our house, he will be back here faster than a skrallrat on a hot rock; Shaarm too."
Ben considered for a moment, clipping the 'saber onto his belt. "How many flares do you have?"
"Three."
Ben nodded. "Okay. Light one now, to get their attention. Then let off the second, and I might be able to do something."
Chana didn't waste time arguing. He stuck the end of the tube in the ground, lit the fuse, and stepped back, calling; "Girls, close your eyes!" There was a spark, a smell of sulphur, and the blinding red light burst out with a hiss, and shot up into the air. Ben squinted, focussing on it, on the shape of the rocket, the chemicals burning inside, its speed and direction….
He could do this.
The first flare hung in the air for a long moment, and then slowly faded out.
"Okay," Ben instructed, holding up a hand. "I'm ready. Light the second flare."
A spark, a chemical smell, and the second flare flashed into life, streaming up into the night sky. Ben concentrated, felt the power he controlled wrap around the object and start to move it. He twisted his hand, manipulating that bright light until it streamed a pattern across the sky. 'THET', read the burning light. And for good measure, he added a pointing arrow too. They could not possibly miss that. The flare flickered, and went out.
"That was the word for the village," said Ooouli. "The symbol for Thet."
"Indeed it was," Ben gave her a smile. "You taught me that."
"Let us just hope Pakat or Shaarm was looking in the right direction when we lit them," Chana said. "Come, we have to go. Quickly and quietly now."
They crossed the meadow of black grass, which led up to the lip of the dell where the house was nestled. It was as they crested the ridge that they got their next unpleasant shock of the evening. The night was not wholly dark. Out in the distance to the east, a farmstead was burning. It was too far off to make out any more details, but the orange flames were like a beacon in the darkness. Ooouli gasped, and Tiki hid her face in Chana's jacket.
"Come on," said the older Kheelian, grimly. Without a backwards glance, he led them out of the dell and onto the earth path. The welcoming lights of Shaarm's house disappeared below the top of the ridge, and they were left in the dark.
They moved as quickly as they could. Chana led the group at the front, with Tiki stumbling at his side. Ooouli came next, and Ben brought up the rear, moving as fast as his more limited stature and injuries would allow. The night remained cold and quiet. Ben's senses were stretched and over-extended, straining into the dark for any sense of approaching danger. Chana, too, was tense, ears twitching this way and that, listening for a threat, but there was nothing.
Ben couldn't tell how much time had passed, long enough for the adrenaline of their escape to wear off, before he became aware that Ooouli was crying silently. He moved up to her side and ruffled his hand through her mane of hair.
"Oh, dear one, don't cry," he murmured, aware she was trying to keep her tears hidden from her sister. "It will all be all right."
"I'm frightened," Ooouli whimpered, dropping her head.
"Of course you are," Ben whispered back, fiercely. "That's because you are clever, and therefore are probably thinking too much about what might happen. I'm frightened too. But you are also brave. And that means not letting the fact that we are afraid stop us doing what we need to do, isn't that right? And what we need to do is to make sure that Tiki and your Dada are safe."
"But what about Mama and Papa?" She sniffed. "No-one is looking after them."
"Well they will be looking after each other, of course," Ben replied, giving her ears a tug. "And Grandmother is with them. I can't imagine anything scary trying to take her on, can you?"
Ooouli smiled a little through her tears, and shook her head.
"That's right," Ben encouraged. "So no more tears. Let us focus on this moment, and the task we have. Help me listen out for anything that you might hear on the road behind us. I am sure your young ears must be better than my old ones."
More time passed, and they moved on in silence. The second moon, a narrow waning crescent, had risen beside the first, dim and unsubstantial. The cold wind whistled chill fingers through Ben's clothing, and carried with it a smell of smoke. From the anxious glances that Chana was throwing over his shoulder, Ben could tell they were not making good time. He was significantly slower than the four-legged Kheelians, even Tiki, and the worst of his injuries, his hip and thigh, were starting to ache at the punishing pace. Each breath of the icy air into his lungs made his healing ribs burn. But they must nearly have reached the village by now. The security of the fence could not be far ahead.
He was just stumbling up from a slip into another unseen pothole as a wave of threat, the strongest he had felt so far, flooded over him. He lunged for Ooouli's elbow, pulling her back. The road turned around a large rock outcrop ahead and out of sight. Chana was at the corner.
"Stop!" Ben called out, urgency making his voice louder than he meant. Chana paused, looking back, anxiously.
"Stop," Ben said again, tense with cold dread. "They're ahead of us."
"What?" Chana darted back over to Ben, pulling Tiki along with him as he ran.
"Over here," said Ben, leading them off the path to the far side of the outcrop. "Look."
They peered around the rocks. Further off, in the distance, were the dim electric lights and scattered torches of the village. The road stretched up to it like a grey ribbon. The light of the dying moon lit an area of the road that seemed to heave and swell with motion, and they saw their attackers for the first time; a pack of dark bodies, a dozen in number, slinking along the edges of the road in the dark. Chana swore.
"They're blocking the road to the village," he breathed, holding Tiki close, "It's an ambush. How did they get ahead of us?"
Ben shook his head. "I don't know. We only guessed that they would only target the outlying farms...I wonder..." He though back to the flare he had manipulated to flashing the name of the village across the sky. "Surely they cannot read..."
"Of course not," Chana whispered, "They're just animals. What are we going to do?"
"We have to get to the village," Ben said. "Can we cut across the fields?"
Chana nodded. "It will be a longer way around, but I know a way. Come on."
A rough tangle of bushes forming a hedge bounded the road where they stood. Chana stood up on his back legs and lifted Ben over, followed by Tiki. Then he and Ooouli pushed their way through the undergrowth and they were out in open fields.
"Quickly now," the Kheelian whispered. "We have to be fast and quiet."
The girls nodded, faces pale and wide-eyed. Their white fur stood out ghost-like in the dark.
They set off across the uneven frozen mud, the Kheelians moving at a fast lope. Ben had to run to keep up. They had crossed two fields before they heard a barking, snapping noise split the quiet of the night behind them. It was taken up by two other narm calls, off to their right.
"Oh, that can't be good!" Ben panted, out of breath. He thought he could hear a distant engine, and shouting voices.
"There's a house ahead," Chana had Tiki up on his shoulders now. "It's Kadat's place. We can hide there." He leapt across a ditch dividing two fields. Ben followed, scrambling through the freezing water. His make-shift boots slipped on the cold mud, and he dragged himself up the other side. He took two steps after Chana.
Danger! his senses flared, and then something huge struck his shoulders and threw him forward. In the space between falling and hitting the ground, he heard one of the girls scream and Chana give a yell. Then he struck the floor, hard. He lay winded for a fraction of a second before teeth snapped by his ear, and his instinct to survive burst into life. Fight!
He rolled, throwing the weight on his back aside, and kicking out. The narm on his back unbalanced with a snarl; Ben punched at its face, knocking slavering teeth aside. He kicked hard again and teeth came for his throat, hot foul breath on his skin. He brought his arm up, turning his head aside as the teeth snapped shut over the duralumin staff in his hand. He shoved hard, his left hand wormed to his belt and closed over the lightsaber hilt. The ice blue of the blade split the night brighter than the flares had done. Eyes watering, he kicked out hard with both feet, and slashed blindly with the blade. He barely felt the blade's impact, just a soft resistance as it skittered off the hard spines on the creature's back, but it worked. The narm yelped and the weight of it fell away. Ben rolled again, shoving himself up onto his feet. He darted forward, slashing again at the dark shape and striking it across the muzzle. The narm gave a howl, and disappeared into the dark. The smell of burnt keratin and skin filled the air.
Ben turned and sprinted towards Chana, his fur glinting golden in the blue light. He was up on his back legs. Two dark shapes were throwing themselves at him, and Ben could sense a third running up from the right. He couldn't see the children. Ben sprinted forward, throwing up his hand and pushing. The force of the push was sloppy and barely controlled, but two of the narms were hurled aside, yelping. Ben swung the lightsaber up and leapt forward. The blade struck the third, who was hanging from Chana's arm, across the back. The creature dropped to the floor and turned on Ben, snarling. He spun around smoothly, reversing the 'saber, and the blade flashed out like lightning. The narm gave a barking howl, and slumped sideways, before falling still.
Chana had dropped down onto all fours. Ben was at his side in a second. The girls were hiding behind him, huddled together.
"Ooouli, are you hurt? Tiki?"
Tiki just stared, eyes wide and shocked. Ooouli shook her head. "We are okay, Ben," she said. "Dada?"
"I am fine, Ooouli," the Kheelian answered, though his voice sounded strained. In the blue 'saber light, Ben could see blood staining the fur of his arm and darkening the side of his tunic. Chana met his gaze and shook his head quickly.
"Come on," Ben said, trusting that the Kheelian knew when he was able to keep going. The human waited for a moment to sense that there were no more narms nearby, and then deactivated the blade. It would draw too much attention. The darkness seemed even more absolute without it; his night-vision completely burned away. Chana pushed the children ahead of them, and they set off again, stumbling through the mud.
Ben kept up at first, but soon his own pain began to break through the curtain of adrenaline that had numbed him. He had hit the ground hard with the full weight of a narm behind him, and his ribs and pelvis were on fire with pain. It felt as if he had jarred every break and burn the crash had left him with. He gritted his teeth and ran on.
He had just killed a narm. A living creature. As far as he knew, it was the first time he had ever killed anything. They were just animals, blast it! They could not help the millennia of evolution and instincts that made them what they were. He had no desire to kill them, to kill anything. But he knew, quite clearly, even as the horror of the death poured through him, that it had been a decision he did not regret. Kill, or be killed. And he would not permit the Kheelians in his charge to be killed. He had an obligation, and he would do what he must to see them through this.
Two more fields passed in a blur, before Ben realised he had fallen far behind. Chana was just a pale speck in the darkness ahead, waiting for him to catch up. He had Tiki up on his shoulders now, and Ooouli waited anxiously at his side. Ben struggled up to them.
"Don't wait for me," he ordered, breathless. "Keep going."
"We've arrived at Kadat's house," Chana said, and pointed. "Can you sense anything?"
Ben looked over the dark structure up ahead of them as he crouched, trying to breathe. The house was a similar dome-shape to Shaarm's, but only had one corridor of extensions off its single round structure. It was in full darkness. He concentrated, but could feel nothing in or around the house.
"I don't think there's anyone there," he gasped. "Kheelian or narm."
Chana nodded. "Can you make it?"
Ben didn't answer, but took hold of Ooouli's sleeve, leading her down the hillside towards the house. Chana forced the door open, and the four of them piled into the dark house, closing the door behind them. They did not turn on the lights. Ben scrambled up onto a low table, and peered out of the window for a long count of a hundred. Nothing appeared from the darkness. It seemed, for the moment, that they hadn't been seen.
Chana was kneeling next to the children when he climbed down, his huge arms wrapped around them. Ooouli was shaking hard with cold and fear, and Tiki was crying.
"I want Mama," the little girl was whispering into her father's fur.
Ben saw Chana's backpack by the door. He grabbed blankets first and wrapped them around the children's shoulders. Once their crying had quietened, he got Chana and the girls to sit down. He persuaded the girls to eat another chaal bar each to boost their energy, and while they were distracted, he checked Chana's wounds. They consisted of a nasty tearing bite to the right arm and a gash across his belly from the narm's claws. Ben washed the wounds out as best he could and thickly bandaged them under layers of dressing. The wounds were still bleeding but he didn't have the time, light or supplies to do more now.
"And you?" Chana asked him quietly, as the two of them downed the water they had brought. "Where are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," Ben said. Then, seeing Chana's look, he sighed. "Ribs. Hip. Nothing new. How far is the village?"
Chana decided the village was close, perhaps ten minutes at his usual pace. Ben thought they should double that for his and Tiki's slower speed, and then double it again for their injuries. And there were possibly as many as a hundred narms out there. They weren't going to make it.
"We could consider staying here," Ben suggested, in low tones. "The narms don't seem to have found this place, yet. If we can hold out here until sunrise, we'll have more chance of getting to the village in daylight."
Chana peered out of the window, anxiously. "I do not know what to do," he said. "The children are exhausted. We might be safe here. There is shelter, food, supplies. But it is equally as possible that we get trapped. Also, if Shaarm and Pakat learn that we have not made it to Thet, I know they will leave the safety of the Fence to come back out to search for us. Then we would all be in danger." He looked at Ben. "What would you do?"
Ben considered for a moment, listening to what his sixth sense was telling him, and rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I think...we ought to leave," he said. "The narms that attacked us... I don't think they will be scared off for long. I can sense them nearby. They know where we are and they will be back sooner rather than later, and in greater numbers. I would rather be that bit closer to the village and safety when that happens."
Besides, he could see Chana's wounds were continuing to bleed though the dressings. The Kheelians had impressive stamina, but it wouldn't be long before the big creature started to weaken. Ben didn't think he could defend all three of them. They had to get the children behind that palisade fence as soon as possible.
Chana nodded. "I trust what you say. We will go." The Kheelian made to turn away, but Ben grabbed his arm.
"One more thing," he said. "I can feel the narms getting closer. When they attack us again...if I shout for you to run, I want you to do what I say, all right?"
Chana started to disagree, but Ben cut him off. "Listen! I'm slower and weaker than you. You can get both the girls to safety but not if you are waiting for me. Besides, I have our only proper weapon. I can hold the narms off and give you time to secure the children; we agreed that they were the priority. It may not come to it, but if it does, you run and you don't look back. Do I make myself clear?"
Chana sighed, and then nodded. He gripped Ben's shoulder in silent agreement, and turned away.
Tiki, exhausted with running and with fear, was almost asleep in Ooouli's arms. Chana lifted her and she woke slowly, clinging silently to his fur.
"Sorry to wake you, my darlings, but we need to set off again," he murmured, quietly, stroking Ooouli's hair. The girl nodded. She stuffed their blankets into her backpack, buckling it on. Ben thought she looked scared, but determined.
"Here," said Ben, and held out his walking staff to her. She took it, but looked surprised.
"Ben, don't you need this?"
"Not anymore," he said with a smile. "But I was thinking, I've got my 'saber to scare the narrm off with. If they turn up again, you might need to be able to persuade them to leave you alone. I've found a good bop on the nose helps no end. Here…."
He pushed the pole between the straps of her bag so it was fixed to her side but left her hands free. If they got separated, or Ben and Chana were both too injured to help, it would be unlikely that the girl would have enough strength to seriously deter the narms alone. But Ben felt better that she at least had some sort of weapon. She would have a chance.
"We should refill our water bottles," Chana suggested. "Kadat must have a well at the back of the-"
There was a sound of breaking glass somewhere at the rear of the house. Ben's senses went into overdrive.
"They're here!" He shouted, just as something threw itself against the front door. Barking howls rose up from outside. The door shuddered, but held.
Blast it! They were trapped, just as he had feared. Ben snatched the lighsaber from his belt, putting himself between the shaking door and the Kheelians.
"I can hear at least two. How many are there?" Chana demanded, looking around with an air of desperation.
"Probably more than two," Ben answered, a little grimly. Truthfully he had no idea, but it was at least half a dozen. "They're in the back of the house!" He warned, eyes fixed on the door.
"Just watch the front!" Chana yelled. The Kheelian glanced around, and then rose up on his back legs, pushing at the ceiling. A panel swung down from the dome – a roof-access hatch like the ones he had seen at Shaarm's house.
The door shuddered again. The barking was inside the house now, somewhere behind them. Chana grabbed Ooouli, then Tiki, and lifted them up above his head through the access hatch, pushing them up to safety.
"Stay there!" He bellowed. Ben saw their pale faces peering down at them through the dark.
There was a loud thud followed by a crack, and the front door gave, bursting inwards. A narm stood in the doorway, and Ben ignited the 'saber. The blue light painted the narm's spines grey, and Ben saw a black slash across its flank. This was one of their attackers from earlier. He darted forward with the blade and the creature yelped and slunk back, eyes fixed on the 'saber. He slashed at it again, and it darted out of sight, into the night. He knew it would be back.
There was a tearing sound behind him as Chana unceremoniously ripped a long curtain from the wall of Kadat's house. He tore the fabric free, leaving a long heavy metal pole. A very passable weapon in the Kheelian's large hands.
Barks sounded all around them, and two narms ran through the doorway, just as third and fourth burst into the rear of the room from the back of the house. Fighting back to back with a creature easily three times one's own size was no easy feat, but there was no time to consider their tactics. Ben just kept the comforting bulk of Chana at his back as he darted with the 'saber again, trying to hem the creatures against the wall and stop them pushing into the house. One narm went for his wrist while the other attacked his left-hand side. He jabbed at the creature at his left, sending it back with a howl, span out of the reach of slashing claws, and brought the blade back, severing a paw. Pain in his leg as teeth gouged at his calf, trying to reach the hamstring. With decreasing reluctance, he plunged the blade into the narm's soft underbelly, and kicked the dying creature away.
"Get ready!" He yelled, over the thuds, yelps and snarls coming from behind him. "As soon as one of the exits is clear, Anakin, we're going to have to make a break for it."
Chana's replied was drowned out as a narm leapt from the doorway right at Ben's chest, knocking him back. Ben rolled to the side, letting the weight slide off, then scored a long sizzling hit down the creature's body. It stumbled backwards, falling over its own feet, and dashed from the house with an inhuman shriek.
The doorway was clear. Ben paused, glancing back to see Chana knocking his last narm aside. Three others lay around the room, but whether dead or stunned, he neither knew nor cared. Then, the momentary lull of the battle was broken by a chilling sound from outside, one that they had both been dreading. A cry; female, young.
"Tiki!"
Chana turned and charged past Ben, out into the night. Ben was about to follow, then paused. His mind echoed the voice of Niko, the Kheelian who had called them.
They are throwing themselves at the doors, climbing on the roof…
Ben looked up, and saw the hatch in the ceiling above. It was easily five metres above his head, perhaps six. Without another thought, he leapt, using his powers to push at the ground below. The move worked; his fingers closed around the edge of the hatch and he pulled himself though, up on to the domed roof. The cold struck him instantly, and his hands slipped on the ice-coated panelling as he scrambled to his feet. His instinct had proved right. There were the girls, still on the roof, white coats like pale wisps of cloud, teetering on the edge. Prowling in from opposite sides were two narms, their spiny coats oil-slick black. He didn't dare risk pushing them with his powers, not with the girls so close, and then in the moment of his indecision, the nearest creature leapt towards Ooouli with a bark.
The girl, wielding the duralumin staff Ben had given her like a club, struck the narm firmly across the muzzle, sending it skidding towards the roof edge. Ben didn't wait to see more; he launched himself at the second narm, 'saber singing as he activated the blade and sliced down towards the creature. The first blow landed well on the creature's shoulder, just above where the spines gave way to bony plates. The narm was driven back. But when Ben twisted round for another strike, a third narm he hadn't seen ducked under his swing and barrelled into his side. His make-shift boots lost their tenuous grip on the icy roof and Ben was thrown sideways, the 'saber knocked from his hand. He heard Ooouli shout "Ben!" and saw her hand out-stretched; he missed it by inches, and then there was a sudden strange sense of dislocation when his body didn't hit the panels as he expected but continued to fall. He went over the edge.
He couldn't see the girls, didn't know where Chana was. His impression of the house in the dark had been of open grassland around the walls and he decided probably wouldn't land on rock. Ben knew he needed to roll so that the main impact wouldn't land on his spine or head, but really there was no time to consider much beyond the fact that a six-metre fall was going to seriously hurt. Then he struck the ground and found out just how much. Everything went white with agony. Sound compressed down to just his heartbeat and the grinding of bone, and the throb of pain, pain, pain. He never knew how much time he lost lying there in that haze, but it was not long enough to come to terms with the agony. Without warning, he was jolted back out of his daze with a jolt of forewarning. He heard a cry, and his eyes focussed on a distant white shape high above him. Ooouli was going to fall too.
Ben launched himself up and forwards, throwing his hand out. There was a distant shout and she slipped; he saw her drop like a stone. Screwing up every ounce of his will, he shoved all the power he could muster forward and up. His arm tensed under the strain, jolted as if with an impact, and…
Safe. He had caught her. Ooouli floated face down half a metre from the cold ground, arms crossed over her head, face turned away. Ben's arm twitched with the strain, and he lowered her unevenly to the floor. She was safe. He managed a single breath.
Ooouli rolled over, shaking herself, and then she was up and dashing to his side. "Ben!" She wailed, and he could hear her panic. "They threw Tiki down! They took her away! Dada is chasing them..."
He didn't have the time or breath to answer her. He grabbed at her arm with his, and hauled himself up. Everything span wildly and he sort of lurched rather than stepped. His left hand seemed to be immovably pressed to his ribs, so he left it there, concentrating on gripping onto Ooouli with his right. The 'saber lay in the grass at his feet; he summoned it into his hand and they didn't stop running.
"This way!" Ooouli said, dragging him away from the house. He threw his arm across her back and managed to hold himself more or less upright. White specks, like Kheelian children against a dark night sky, darted in front of his eyes. He tried two more breaths, coughing shallowly, and felt his rib cage flex and pop.
Ahead was a large pale shape. Chana had stopped running. A narm, the one with the 'saber burn on its muzzle, was backed up against a boundary wall. Chana was blocking its escape. The narm had dragged Tiki with it; the young girl's forearm clutched in its jaws. Its yellow eyes were fixed on Chana, and the Kheelian circled, curtain pole raised ready to strike. As Ben and Ooouli staggered over, they saw the narm's eyes dart to them. Ben freed his arm from Ooouli's shoulder, and stepped up next to Chana, flicking the lightsaber into life. In the blue light, the narm gave a muffled growl low in its throat, and shrank back against the stone.
"Let her go," Ben said, slow and quiet, throwing as much power into the words as he could. The narm stared at him, unblinking. Its muscles tightened perceptibly beneath its spiny hide and Ben thought for a moment it would attack. Then it slowly opened its jaws and, with almost ostentatious care, let the girl's arm drop. Then it gave a short bark as if announcing yours! and suddenly darted forward, bowling Tiki over. Before any of them could react, it bounded past Ooouli and disappeared into the night.
The immediate threat passed, Chana and Ooouli threw themselves towards the little girl at a speed born of terror and desperation. Ben stayed where he was, but sank down onto one knee, overwhelmed. He could hear Ooouli saying her sister's name over and over, but it was a few moments before their tangle of arms loosened enough that he could see Tiki was moving and talking, and finally could tell that Ooouli's tears were of joy and relief. Tiki wasn't badly hurt. They were going to be okay.
Ben knew they were still in terrible danger, but just for a moment as he knelt there he lost focus, and everything just sort of faded away. Sharp pain was flaring hot and heavy in his chest and shoulder, and radiating out into his back. Breathing was getting increasingly difficult, and it felt as if there were great weights squeezing his lung. He knew what those symptoms meant all right; he'd re-broken a bunch of ribs and probably lacerated or punctured a lung to go with it. If the latter, he only had a short amount of time left before his chest cavity filled up with air or blood, and then he would be of no more use to anyone. They had to get moving. He shivered, hard.
Someone was lifting him up under his arms, and the additional pressure on his chest jolted Ben back into awareness enough straighten his legs under him. He stood, pulling away from the pain, coughing. It was Chana, of course, shaking him a little desperately.
"We have to go," The Kheelian urged. "How badly are you hurt?"
Ben didn't answer, too busy coughing, trying to get his breath back. There was a lot of blood in his mouth and he could feel his sleeve was wet. He met Chana's gaze and then looked away. Ben could see Tiki over the Kheelian's shoulder, clinging on to his back. She looked stressed and terrified, but she seemed to be all in one piece. Ooouli was crouched at Ben's side, also looking worried.
Ben's left arm was still wrapped around his chest, trying to support his ribs. He shoved the 'saber back into his belt and put his right arm over Ooouli's shoulders.
"I can carry you too," said Chana, stoutly, but even if Ben thought he could, he needed to be on the ground in case they were attacked again, and Chana needed his hands free. Ten minutes, Chana had said. Ten minutes to the village.
"Perhaps later," was all Ben said. "Let's go."
Chana nodded, and they ran.
It wasn't long before they heard the pursuit around them come to life. Distant and not so distant narm barks and howls split the night. The hunt was on. The four of them ran, as fast as Ben's faltering strength could carry him; fields of frozen grass or sharp corn stalks whipping around their legs. Once they crouched low and silent in a ditch as above them two narms passed by. The moons had completely set in the last few minutes. Dawn could not be far off, but at that moment the night was absolute and Ben was all but blind as he let Ooouli pull him along. He thought he was about to pass out as they rounded a corner and specks of light danced in front of his eyes. Ooouli gave a quiet gasp, and he realised instead they were seeing the lights of the village through distant houses. They had made their way back to the road.
They crossed another field and then a garden, slowly approaching the back of a dark building. They paused in the shadow of the house. The road lay just ahead.
"We will have to go along the road," Chana whispered, close at his side. "The only gateway through the fence is there. There will certainly be narms watching it."
Ben nodded, and took a few preparatory breaths. They ducked low, creeping forward to the front of the house. Cautiously, the two adults peered around the corner, looking up the line of the road. Ben could see several more houses and open gardens fronting the street on both sides; all were dark and looked abandoned. A few hundred metres beyond them, the road turned a corner, and he could just see the edge of the Fence beyond the last outlying house, dully gleaming in the lights from the village. The creatures seemed to be expecting their prey to come down the main route; looking to his right, up the road away from the village, Ben could see the shapes of at least a dozen narms, maybe more, prowling dark shadows across the pale road. Looking left, between the Kheelians and the Fence, five narms sprawled across the road, watching.
Chana swore softly under his breath, and they ducked back into the deeper shadow.
"How are we going to get past?"
Ben didn't answer. He wasn't sure he had enough breath left, even if he had been able to think of a way. He was shaking hard and each inhalation was a little shallower and more ineffective than the last. In a moment, he was going to cough again and they would be discovered.
"Have to run for it," he ground out, through gritted teeth.
"But-" Ooouli whispered. Ben shook his head.
"No time. Ready?"
He knew this was a terrible idea. But if they could take the five narms in front of them by surprise, they might perhaps make it to the Fence before the others caught up. Perhaps. Ben took a moment to gather himself together, closing his eyes and trying to draw the last tattered remains of his will together. The power, that incredible force, was still there, strong and unyielding, but his grasp of it was weakening as his strength failed. It was now or never.
"Go!"
They burst out from the shadow of the house, the flash of the lightsaber blade flaring into the dark, burning their eyes. The narms saw them and sent up a great howling and barking and they sprinted for the road; Chana was like an unstoppable avalanche at Ben's side, Ooouli a pale shadow ahead. The five narms ahead of them leapt forward, snarling. Ben thrust out his hand and threw two aside; the third received matching blows from Ooouli and Chana's staffs. A fourth narm fell beneath the lightsaber. The fifth cowered back and they passed it at a sprint. Behind them, the pack of narms were gaining; they could hear barks and snarls, the thud of bodies and scratch of claws on the road.
Then, Ben's own body betrayed him. The torn leg muscles he had entirely forgotten about gave out, and he fell, striking the ground hard. His chest spasmed weakly, constricting in agony, and blood filled his mouth. The 'saber dropped from his nerveless hand and rolled away. The nearest narm was metres from his feet, so close he could see the crest of spines around its head.
"Dada!" Ooouli shrieked up ahead, but Ben didn't turn to look towards her. Not knowing what he was going to do, Ben rolled over to face the pack, held up both hands and felt the force of his power flow out through him. He threw it all forward and commanded Stop!
The two dozen barking and howling narm voices fell silent, one by one. Their mad chase slowed to a trot, and then they stopped where they stood. Fifty yellow eyes stared at Ben from the darkness, as bodies heaved with breath. Slowly he struggled up to his feet, staggering, not dropping his hands or lowering his eyes for a moment. Stop, he thought again, staystaystay...
The nearest narm swayed slightly on its feet as if to take a step. It whined low in its throat, puzzled, and clawed at its head.
"Stay," Ben croaked, staring into its eyes.
"Ben!" He could hear the sound of movement behind him. Chana was coming back, the idiot!
"Go!" Ben yelled, not daring to turn. His arms were shaking, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He could feel his hold over the creatures wavering. Two more started to claw at their heads, growling. "You promised," he managed, with what felt like his last breath. "Go, now! Go!"
At last the sound of his desperation broke through to Chana, and Kheelian grabbed the children and turned away. Ben heard them running behind him, and then Chana turned the corner, and his sense of them faded away. They were gone. Safe.
As if that knowledge had freed him, Ben felt his control crumble, and then dissolve. He dropped his shaking hands, and the spell broke. The narms scattered across the street began to stir, and shake themselves, yapping and whining with confusion. Ben knew he should be running while they were still recovering their senses. He swayed a little, dizzy, and then suddenly he found instead of running he was kneeling on the cold ground. His breaths were nothing more than shallow gasps now. Coughing was agony. Ben threw his hand out to steady himself, and his fingers closed on the hilt of the lightsaber.
The nearest narm let out a low growl and began to stalk towards him. Ben raised the 'saber in shaking hands, igniting the blade. He spat a gobbet of blood onto the roadway, and stared up at the narms closing in, defiantly.
If this was to be the end, he would damn well make it worthwhile.