Chapter 3

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Mitano asked.

"Not really but I need to stop this. If they are as bad as you say and from what I saw, he needs to be stopped. And if it's not me, who would?" Hush answered.

Mitano floated around contemplatively. "Remember, he won't die unless his ghost dies too. And if anything happens to me, I won't be able to bring you back and that would be the end of both of us. So…make sure that doesn't happen."

"Don't worry. I can take care of him."

"Despite the fact that he has more experience than you, has been around longer and learned to control his light better, and has several men likely coming with him to support him?"

"You worry too much." Hush was perched in a tree watching over the valley. The village was behind him about a day's journey away. He was sure that he would be able to see the group moving through the valley in front of him once they approached. He was perched in the tallest tree at the edge of a large forest. Rolling into the valley before him was a barren land full of scorched remains of the woods, a horrible scar from a fire that burned some time ago. He scanned the horizon through the scope of the rifle. There was a cloud of soot and dirt being kicked up in the distance.

He scanned the horizon and saw seven fast moving objects with people riding them. These objects were like motorcycles but they hovered over the ground. They were made up of simple panels with bright colors except for the one in the middle. The one in the middle looked like an old chopper motorcycle but front forks ended in three spiked blades and flames shot out the back. The handles were attached with chains and flames engulfed the front forks as it burned across the land. Hush guessed this is where the forest fire had come from. If the land hadn't been burned, hush wouldn't have his vantage point.

"Alright little buddy, here we go." They weren't heading straight for him, they were heading toward the village, but Hush would make sure they didn't make it. He took a breath and let his instincts sit in. He wasn't sure if it was training from a previous life or a natural gift but he knew he wouldn't miss. He squeezed the trigger and the rifle slammed back into his shoulder. The crack of the rifle chased the solar round across the field where it connected to its target.

The front forks of the flaming ride slammed down and to the right hitting the dirt and catching. The machine whipped end over end, the rider flung into the air and trampled by the tumbling machine. The carnage was lost seconds after it started due to the cloud of dust and soot catching up and downing it in obscurity like a natural censor. The remaining 6 individuals had continued on for a second before stopped just on the edge of the cloud, turning back to see the fate of their leader.

Hush pulled the trigger three more times and the rifle cracked three more times. The rounds flew true and three individuals fell to the ground, new holes in their glistening pristine helmets. The remaining three slammed on the throttle of their machines and began to scream across the land heading straight for Hush. He had to reload but wouldn't have time.

He dropped from the tree he was hiding in and quickly swapped his sniper rifle for his assault rifle and made sure it was loaded. He was ready. The three individuals made it into range and skid their machines sideways, hopping off to use them as cover against Hush. Hush was using the thick tree trunk as cover. He peeked around the tree and saw the three crouching in their cover. He could just see under the hovering craft from where he was.

He took aim and fired a burst from his rifle. The rounds slammed into the machine but one penetrated through and the woman crouching on the other side cried out as she fell. As she fell away from the machine her head was exposed and one more burst riddling her helmet and she was still. The man on the far right called out her name though Hush couldn't make out what it was. He turned his machine towards the tree and hit the handle. The machine roared to life and soared at the tree hush was using as cover. He jumped to the side just as the machine hit the tree trunk and exploded out. The tree was blown in half and fell with a deafening thud a small distance away from him.

The machine was fully destroyed and metal shrapnel was scattered around. Hush scrambled to use the fallen tree trunk as cover. He peaked over and a spray of bullets slammed into the wood and whizzed around him. Two rounds would have hit his helmet but the protective shield disintegrated the rounds right before impact but the energy bar at the top of Hush's display in his visor showed the shield drop slightly for each round.

He dropped to the ground, peeking just under the trunk as it was resting at a small angle. He could just see the man's torso. He pulled the trigger and a red mist filled the air as the man fell back and the bullets tore through his body. As he hit the ground Hush stood up to see what had happened to the third soldier as they hadn't fired at him as of yet. And as soon as he did, he knew why.

The third soldier had taken off her helmet and tossed it to the side. In her arms she lifted a massive belt fed machine gun she had just finished loading. With a satisfying and horrifying clack-clack she pulled back the charging handle. She screamed as she pulled down the trigger and the weapon exploded to life.

Bullets tore through the forest as trees and grass were cut in half as the spray of bullets tore through the forest. Hush slammed his body to the ground and screamed as a deafening roar pierced the air for several seconds as the shooter held the trigger down hoping to hit Hush. After a few seconds the log that he was using as cover split in half from the rounds piercing through. Three rounds came through and hit Hush but the assault rifle was in the way, taking the rounds and lessening the impact, sparing Hush's life. He managed to slide into more cover and let his shield recharge and look at the damage to his rifle.

The rounds punched clean through, completely destroying the weapon. Hush could feel the tree he was leaning against vibrating and thumping as the rounds continued to slam into it. He tossed the broken assault rifle to the side and pulled out his hand cannon. He took a deep breath and prepared to step out. The thudding got stronger and began to hurt and take energy from Hush's shield as the rounds began to push through the tree. A second or two longer and it would punch through and even his shield wouldn't be able to stop them for long.

But he didn't need to worry about that. Just as he was prepared to move from the broken cover he heard the satisfying click following the roar of noise and then silence, empty, perfect. Hush spun around the tree raising his hand cannon to this eyes. The woman was mid reload when she saw Hush pull around the corner. She dropped the machine gun and pulled a shotgun up that was hanging from her hip. She brought it up and fired a round but she was too far. The few pellets that connected with Hush were dissipated by what was left of his shield. His shield was down but it wouldn't matter, she wouldn't get another shot.

One lone crack followed the blast of the shotgun as the hand cannon fired and the woman fell. Hush walked over to her body while he waited for his shield to recharge. He grabbed the shotgun off her body and slung it across his back. After that he picked up the machine gun and inspected it. It was a nice weapon but it had no ammo. He had it stored away with the sniper rifle for now. As he turned to go make sure that the warlord was dead he noticed the high pitched whine coming up on him fast.

Hush whipped around just to see the flaming ride flying right for his head, fast and driverless. He dropped to the ground landing on his back as the machine passed over him. As it cleared his body and slammed into a tree, Hush looked up just to see a flaming hammer coming down right for his chest. He rolled quickly to the left and the hammer slammed into the ground where he just was, dirt and rocks flying out from the impact point. Wielding the hammer was the rider of the flaming machine, Mindan Kull. The armor gave no impression of the sex of Mindan but as they spoke they betrayed her gender.

"You killed my lieutenants. You sacked my village. You are a thorn in my side, wannabe warlord. And now, I will prune that thorn!" She screamed as she brought the hammer down again. Her visor was black so he couldn't see her face but he saw her eyes glowing softly behind the dark glass as the light flowed from her body. Hush had to act quickly, he needed to fight back. He is unsure why but he put his hands up to block the hammer and allows the light to flow from him. Blue arcing energy connected between his hands and extended beyond them both.

The hammer slammed down on the blue staff and a flash of light burst between them and the hammer stopped. The arc staff held. Hush pulled one side down while pushing the other up, creating a slope for the hammer to slide down. As Mindan pitched forward from the shock of the change in balance Hush put his foot up connecting with her stomach and kicked hard. Mindan's feet left the ground and her body pitched over Hush as he tossed her over his head. She hit the ground with a thump and Hush scrambled to get to his feet. She did the same and they were both standing, staring at each other, her wielding a flaming hammer and he wielding a lighting staff.

"Clever," she said. "But it won't happen again. Let's see if you can stop me now!" She pulled her arm back and threw the hammer at Hush. He wasn't sure what took him over again, instincts or training, but he spun the staff quickly creating a round shape in front of him as the hammer struck. The staff deflected the hammer off to the side where it dissipated. A new hammer appeared in her hand and she threw it as well. Hush kept spinning his staff as hammer after hammer was thrown at him. As every hammer hit he could feel his body draining. He wasn't going to be able to keep this up for long. He had to end this.

Every time he attempted to stop his defense a new hammer slammed into him. He couldn't stop, not without being hit. Maybe that was it? Maybe he needed to lose in order to win? He waited until a hammer hit and he stopped his defense. He held his staff in such a way that the next hammer that hit would work as a weight slamming down on a lever, springing the other end of the staff right for Mindan's head. The hammer slid down and connected with Hush's leg just as the staff hit the side of Mindan's head. Hush first saw the hammer melt his shield before feeling it hit his leg. He felt the bones shatter and the skin char as the fire began to engulf his body. He was going to die, but Mindan was going to die first.

Mindan's body disintegrated just a touch faster, whether it was from the faster speed of lightning over fire or because he hit her in the head he didn't know. But as he collapsed after his leg was consumed he saw a little ghost appear, not far from where Mindan just disintegrated.

"Wait," said Mitano having appeared as well. "Don't bring her back. She is not a good light bearer."

"She protects the people in her territory. She keeps marauders away. She saves those she loves. My loyalties and respect are with my guardian, always." With that the shell opened and light began to flood the area. A loan boom echoed through the valley as the shotgun Hush had fired. The ghost was torn apart by the blast and a massive wave of light flew across the valley, laying down grass and bending trees in a circular nature away from where the ghost was in all directions. Hush was thrown across the ground as he felt the rest of his body burn away, drifting into the black.

A second later he fell a foot to the ground and took in another breath. "Let's not do that again." Mitano said, hovering in front of Hush.

"What you didn't think that was any fun?" Hush replied with a smile.

"That's not funny."

"Okay, Okay. I can't promise I won't do it again. I'll always stop evil where ever it lies, but I'll try to be more careful. And I mean hey, we lost an assault rifle but we got a shotgun and machine gun so I call that a win."

"I call that more tools to be reckless."

"Semantics. Either way, it looks like we got a ride too." As Hush said this he threw his thumb towards where the flaming machine was resting after it crashed into the trees. It was still in an okay condition and there was no sign of the shot from Hush's rifle.

"I've heard of these, they are called Sparrows. I can store them for you while not in use and save their schematics so that if one were to be destroyed I can create a new one. That must be why this one is still in fair condition even after getting shot."

"Fair enough, Mitano won't need it anymore so why don't we take it for a spin?" Hush grinned as Mitano scanned not only the flaming sparrow but one of the standard ones as well. He got a fresh new standard sparrow so he didn't burn the rest of the forest down and he zipped across the valley back towards town with some fragments of Mindan's ghost to show proof of death and let them know that they were free once again.