WARRIORS HIGH
ISLAND OF THE LOST
CHAPTER FOUR
TRANS-CONTINENTAL TARGETS (PART II)
Dusty was skilled at many things. Running long distance, however, was not one of them.
A year before the bombings, he had been pressured into a big race for the field day his junior high put on for the last day of school. He did alright, finishing in the middle of the pack, but was so out of breath that he had downed four water bottles before he could even slow his breath enough to speak. Comedically, he had proclaimed that he would not be trying out for the track team the following spring.
But now here he was, running for his life through a tangled, jungle-like thicket for his life while holstering a thirty pound console against his chest. They had run almost a mile from the explosion and Dusty was concerned that he was about to faint.
Spotlights focused on the back of the fleeing group, sending their shadows into a frenzied, uncoordinated dance among the erect limbs of wood.
"We need a diversion!" shouted Seashell, her voice just barely standing the threatening growls of the motorcycle engines.
"How?!" snapped Jaywhisker, "We're literally in the jungle and everything we're carrying is something we can't lose! There's no way we could possibly-"
"Don't worry, guys!" shouted Ashtooth suddenly, "I have a plan!"
If Ashtooth said anything, then it was drowned out by the intense blasts of a minigun spraying through the trees and sending bark flying through the air. Seashell yanked Jaywhisker and Dusty aside, sheltering them behind a trunk while Mallowleaf took position behind another, desperately loading her pistol.
"ASH?" shouted Seashell, "WE COULD REALLY USE THAT PLAN ABOUT NOW!"
Dusty looked around, alarm burning his chest when he couldn't find either Ashtooth or Coalstrike in the harsh white light coming nearer and nearer.
The minigun fired again, its bullets piercing the trunk of Mallowleaf's cover and causing her to clench up behind the tree, praying that the tree would hold.
This is it! screamed Dusty inwardly, This is where we die!
BANG!
The minigun was silenced, and shouting occurred from the drivers moments after.
BANG!
A scream of shock. Dusty heard blind gunshots amid the second motorcycle's revving as it lagged close behind.
The boy dared himself to peek out and saw the third driver, aiming his gun blindly amid the dead bodies of his fellow drivers. IN the blink of an eye, he saw a throwing knife pierce the tense air and the back of the driver's skull as a slow, painful death ceased his sinful life.
Coalstrike walked out, casually strolling to the body, ripping out the knife, and slashing the man in the back to make sure he was dead.
Everyone, even Mallowleaf, was shocked. "How the hell…?'
"Misdirection," said Ashtooth curtly, emerging from the tree in front of the cowering group. "Miniguns require focus. They thought they were being smart by being this aggressive."
"But...you disappeared just like that!"
Ashtooth smirked, "Magicians never reveal their secrets, don't they?"
It really wasn't that impressive, how he sneaked away. It was a rare error on the part of ARS that gave them the opportunity. The selection of a minigun, a very aggressive rapid-fire choice, required focus to aim. To avoid hitting the drivers or unwanted targets, the driver with the gun focused solely on the trees that Mallowleaf and company were hiding behind, allowing Coalstrike and Ashtooth, both of whom were flanking the group, to slip away unnoticed. It was almost like a miracle or a stroke of plot convenience in a bad novel.
But ARS had screwed up. This was now their shot to get out of this mess.
But they first had to deal with the second revving of an engine and spotlight shining through the trees.
"Guys!" shouted Jaywhisker, "There's more of them!"
Mallowleaf and Daffodil began to load their pistols, but Ashtooth called them off. "We've got this."
He walked up next to Coalstrike, standing still as the lights drew closer.
"What the hell are they doing?" hissed Dusty to Seashell, who was for some reason smiling.
"Just watch."
For she knew that when it came to combat, Coalstrike and Ashtooth worked together like a machine. As if on cue, they reloaded their guns with near identical motions, cocked them, and aimed.
The moment the motorcycle came into view, they fired.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Six shots were fired so in sync it sounded to Dusty like three. The only sign he saw of their success was the spotlight diverting to the side and remaining still. He peeked out to see the two standing still, waiting to confirm their success.
"All right, on your feet everyone!" said Ashtooth turning and clapping his hands, "Get up and stretch! We got a long drive ahead of us!"
Dusty and Jaywhisker exchanged relieved looks, now just happy that they were alive, while the adults met up. "How are we gonna get there? Our ride is kind of exploded by now." said Mallowleaf.
Ashtooth gestured to Coalstrike, who was propping up one of the motorcycles that ARS had used.
"Why do you think we didn't aim for the fuel tanks?"
What followed was probably the most uncomfortable drive Dusty would ever be on.
Keeping the motorcycles intact was a smart idea, he didn't dispute that, but they now had to figure out how to cram seven people onto two motorcycles when their maximum capacity was meant for four people total.
Between Jaywhisker and Dusty, the two flipped a coin. Unfortunately, Jaywhisker was stuck with the cramped four-person ride while Dusty got a little more leather to sit on. He'd probably take it out on him the next time they played video games, but he didn't really care at this point.
And so all throughout that longest morning, the group drove through roads crossing forests fields and forgotten towns. All were exhausted by the early morning scare, but they had to keep moving. They had no time to allow ARS to catch up.
At around 9:00 AM, they stopped for gas. They pulled up to a destitute-looking gas station lying next to a small, run-down motel. As Seashell filled the tanks up, Jaywhisker ran right in, grabbed as many adrenaline shots as his two hands could hold, and dropped it in front of the cashier, who couldn't help but give him a look that was some combination of amused and worried.
"All of these?" he asked after scanning the eighth of about twenty-five, "You sure that's a good idea? This shit ain't healthy, y'know."
"I've had a long night, okay?" he growled.
"Okay, okay. I'll stop pushing."
Dusty stood in front of the microwave, waiting as the seconds ticked down before his ham sandwich was heated up, until a glimmer from the sun caught his eye.
He caught himself before a gasp slipped out of his lungs as he caught eye of what he saw.
Three guns. All of them mid-range. All of them semi-automatic. All of them taped under the table with masking tape.
He looked away as the cashier finished bagging Jaywhisker's head of adrenaline shots, tapped the microwave anxiously and and brought his food out to pay when it finished.
"You don't look to be from around here," said the cashier, ringing up the sandwich for him, "Where you from?"
All sorts of alarms went off in his head. It was then when he realized he was the only one in the store.
"Uh…"
"Ey, don't worry about it. As long as you ain't from that Lindisfarne shithole, we're cool. Those people crossing the borders with their weird-ass names and trying to extort sympathy out of us. Fuck the lot of them, honestly."
Of course.
Of all the people they could possibly run into.
"I...gotta go. My folks are waiting on me."
"Aight, well, I won't stop you."
Dusty bolted out the door, stuffing the sandwich in his pocket.
"You seem riled up," said Ashtooth, "What's wrong?"
"We need to get the hell outta here."
"Jesus, kid. We're going as fast as we can, aren't we?" snapped Coalstrike.
Dusty glanced back.
The cashier was staring at them very intently.
His hand reached under his desk…
"Go, go, go, GO!" shouted Dusty, "He's got a gun!"
Instantly, everyone rushed to their ride, barely getting on before the drivers, Coalstrike and Mallowleaf, roared the engines and drove out of the station as fast as they could.
Back in the station, the cashier smiled, letting his hand drop.
He grabbed his phone, dialed a number written on the empty cigarette box next to him and waited.
"Yeah...the boy and their entourage you told me about? I found them."
A pause.
"Yeah, no problem. So when can I get my cash reward?"
Another pause.
"What do you mean 'my services are no longer required?'"
It was only then that he noticed the laser pointer on his forehead.
Moments later, the man fell to the ground, the phone dropping from his hand and blood pouring from the bullet hole in his forehead.
"I got them," said the man on the deck of the motel's second floor across the street, unlocking his sniper, "They're on two motorcycles, egregiously violating the weight capacity."
"YOU SHOULD AT LEAST TELL THEM TO EXPECT VISITORS."
"I'm not going to do that, KARAI."
"AND WHY NOT?"
"It's better for them to not know about this one. I've taught them to keep their paranoid noses out of my stuff, so it shouldn't be that hard-"
"WOW. YOU REALLY ARE STUPID."
Foxleap turned to the AI, leaning back on an office chair. "Stupid? Me? I have access to all the money I want. I can create defense devices in less than an hour! I CREATED YOU, DAMNIT! HOW THE HELL DO YOU THINK I'M STUPID?"
"BECAUSE YOU THINK EVERYONE ELSE IS STUPID. SIMPLE AS THAT!"
"I DO NOT-"
"Whatcha doing?"
Foxleap was immediately closing tabs as fast as he could. "NOTHING! NOTHING!"
The intruder, a tall boy of about 17 or 18 with long, curly gray-silver hair in a loose ponytail and potent blue eyes, raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Please don't tell me you're trying to work with explosives again. The last time that happened."
"Didn't we agree to never discuss that incident again?"
"I don't remember me agreeing to that. I know you did, though."
Foxleap threw an empty can at the boy, which he let fall to ground about a foot short of him.
"I have to finish making preparations for Dovewing and Tigerheart's wedding, remember?" he lied smoothly, "They want me to keep the theme a surprise, so I can't tell you what I'm working on."
"Geez, I thought you were all 'not interested in love' after you broke up with Ivypool."
"For the hundredth time, we didn't break up! I...we needed a break after the Scourge ideal. I wanted to give us time to-"
"Yeah, yeah, okay. Whatever."
"Now can you please leave me alone?"
"Since you asked nicely…Hey, Midnight."
"NICE TO SEE YOU, JAYFEATHER."
When he left, Foxleap let out a sigh of relief. "WELL, I MUST ADMIT, YOUR LYING GAME IS GETTING BETTER."
The redhead nodded. "That's how you get to keep the fun missions."
He pulled up an airline website and checked in on a specific flight; MSP to Forrestlake.
The flight leaves in about two hours now, he thought. Let's hope nothing goes wrong now.
*explosion noises*
I'M BACK BITCHES.
Goddamn it's been a while since I've recommitted to a series. You can probably tell that this chapter was mainly cleaning the rust off. I'm sorry for the unannounced hiatus. My grades have been slumping recently and I guess I needed to walk away from writing for a while.
And don't you think it's convenient that I come back just after I'm ordered to put myself into quarantine?
Fuck you coronavirus.
But now that I have time to write, I just might be able to bring the gang to Forrestlake. And that's where I leave this crap behind and get into the events I have planned for a long time.
Thanks for sticking around. I hope I can make it worth your time in the near future.
Best,
~Res