CHAPTER 21: THE MEASURE OF A MAN
O'Bannon tensed, holding his breath as two spells shot past him.
"Evasive maneuvers!" Tonks shouted.
Everyone jerked their brooms left or right. A stunner bolt missed him by a foot. Artimus jinked left just in time to avoid another stunner.
"Dammit, no!" O'Bannon clenched his broom handle and banked sharply. He wanted to hit something, scream at the top of his lungs. They'd accomplished their mission. They only had a few miles to cover before they could Apparate to safety. Now they had to deal with more aurors? Hadn't they taken care of these bastards at Hogwarts?
Yeah, we did. We just never thought about any aurors stationed in Hogsmeade.
Another spell shot over him, so close it made the back of his neck tingle. O'Bannon dipped, banked left, then right. The others also flew in erratic patterns, trying to throw off the aurors' aim. Tonks and Jared fired off occasional spells. Rosa appeared to have problems conjuring her spells. No doubt her broken nose prevented her from properly uttering the incantations.
O'Bannon cast a couple Stunning Spells. He didn't come close to hitting anyone. The aurors bored in on them, flying in a V formation. Spells streaked around him and his friends. They kept jinking to avoid getting hit.
The aurors gained on them. O'Bannon kicked up his speed. He dove left to avoid a spell.
The aurors drew closer.
O'Bannon fired off another stunner. It missed. His eyes flickered between the aurors and his friends. Less than sixty yards separated them.
He scowled. The aurors certainly had faster brooms than they did. Also, while their twisting maneuvers prevented them from being hit, it also cut down on their speed.
How many miles did they have to go before they cleared the Anti-Apparation field? Did they have a chance to make it?
O'Bannon glanced over his shoulder. The aurors were now fifty yards away and closing.
We're not gonna make it.
No! This couldn't happen. They'd overcome so much already. They succeeded in warning the Order of the Phoenix about the Longathian Tunnel. They'd broken out of Hogwarts. This was the start of their journey home.
They can't get captured now!
What can we do? Think, dammit!
O'Bannon cast another Stunning Spell and missed. He looked around at his friends. They also missed with their spells. How the hell could they hit anything with all their violent turns?
The aurors were now forty yards away.
He lowered his head. They wouldn't make it.
Or maybe . . .
An idea formed. An idea that caused him to shiver. How the hell could he do this? He didn't want to wind up in Azkaban. He didn't want the Dementors to turn him into a shell of a human being.
O'Bannon took quick glances at the others. Rosa, Jared, Artimus, Tonks. In a flash he imagined all of them in Azkaban, Dementors sucking out their emotions, their very beings. The thought turned his stomach to lead. He didn't want to imagine his three best friends, friends who'd become like family, tormented by those monsters. And Tonks. He recalled her smiles, her laughs, the feel of her body against his when they made love.
He certainly didn't want her to endure the horrors of Azkaban.
He wouldn't let any of them endure it.
O'Bannon banked toward Tonks. He waved to get her attention.
"Tonks! I have an idea to buy us some time!"
"What is it?"
O'Bannon tightened his lips. Part of him wanted to tell her, knowing she would call his plan insane and talk him out of it.
For that reason, he kept it to himself.
"Just trust me. I'll delay them. You guys keep going. I'll join up with you later."
"What are you talking about? How can you delay -"
A Stunning Spell flashed over their heads.
"Tonks, just do it!"
"I'm not leaving you to face six aurors."
O'Bannon glanced over his shoulder. The aurors were nearly thirty yards from them.
"If I don't do something, we'll all wind up in Azkaban. You told me what made me qualified to lead this group. Well as leader I'm telling you I will delay them! You make sure the others keep going and don't come back for me. I'll catch up to you. Got it?"
Tonks scowled at him.
A spell flashed by them.
Jaw stiffening, Tonks gave him a curt nod.
O'Bannon nodded back. He looked behind him and noted the aurors' formation. Drawing a deep breath, he drifted away from Tonks.
"Good luck," she called out.
He whipped his head toward her. "You just keep everyone going!"
Sweat coated his palms. My God, was he really going to do this? To hell with Azkaban, he could get himself killed! The faces of his parents materialized in his mind's eye, joined by Rosa, Jared and Artimus. He glanced at his three friends. If he only had time to say good-bye, to tell them how much they meant to him.
You'll see them again.
O'Bannon had a hard time believing that.
He dodged another spell and took one last look back at the aurors. He turned forward, staring at his hands as they flexed around the broom handle.
Do it before you lose your nerve.
He kept flying straight.
Do it for your friends!
O'Bannon closed his eyes and yanked back on the handle. The Braking Charm activated. His eyes snapped open. Tonks and the others flew on. Rosa and Jared looked back and appeared ready to swing around. Tonks waved for them to continue.
Thank you, Tonks. I –
"Look out!" shouted one of the aurors.
A sledgehammer blow struck O'Bannon in the back. He opened his mouth to cry. Instead all the air exploded from his lungs. The world spun. He caught glimpses of a broom spiraling and a man falling. Another auror used his wand to slow the man's momentum.
A second blow rocked O'Bannon. Robes flapped around him. He rolled end over end, watching an auror flailing, his legs wrapped around an out-of-control broom. Two more aurors collided in mid-air. One tumbled off his broom.
O'Bannon squeezed his legs tighter around his broom. Something crushed his left wrist. He went round and round in a flat spin. He yanked the broom handle the opposite way.
It snapped.
"Shit!" He tossed away the useless piece of wood. Had the tip been damaged in his collision with the aurors?
He didn't have time to dwell on it. He grabbed the splintered end of the broom. Stinging bolts of pain shot up his left arm as he closed his fingers. He groaned and fought to right his broom. The sky became a rapid vortex of blue and white
The spinning slowed. But the broom dipped and jerked erratically. Dizziness enveloped O'Bannon. A wave of nausea swept through him. He tried to fight it off and control his damaged broom.
Trees suddenly appeared before him. A distorted mass of them. Which way should he turn? Left or . . .
An explosive jolt ripped through his body. A deafening crack filled the air. He first thought it was a branch breaking. Then white hot blades of pain tore into his shoulder. O'Bannon let out a piercing wail. He kept screaming until he crashed into the ground. He flew off his broom and tumbled across the ground. Pain hammered his shoulder, burrowing deep into his bones, into his very soul. He rolled to a stop on his back, opened his mouth and cried. Tears streamed down his face. He reached over to grasp his left shoulder.
An invisible force crushed his bones.
He howled until his throat burned.
The dizziness subsided. He alternated between breathing and crying. He'd been hurt before. Got his ankle broken in the Triad/Slytherin hockey game last year. Had a shard of ice imbedded in his leg during the battle in Ovenderburg.
They both felt like paper cuts compared to this.
He continued to lay on the ground, praying the pain would go away, wishing Mom was here. She'd take care of him. That's what moms do. She'd make it better.
Get help. Gotta get help.
He couldn't stay here, not in this condition. How far was he from Hogsmeade? Which direction was it?
Gotta move. Gotta move.
He drew several deep breaths, fighting the pain that ravaged his left shoulder. He rolled on his right side, clenching his teeth. The crushing and stabbing spread throughout his body. O'Bannon cried out again. He leaned on his right arm. That seemed stable enough.
Eyes shut tight, he slowly lifted himself to a sitting position. His left side felt drenched. Not by water, but by something wet and sticky. Something also burned through his upper arm.
O'Bannon rose to his feet . . . and crumpled to the ground. His left knee twisted and burned.
Oh God. What am I gonna do?
Move. Crawl. Don't quit. Don't quit, dammit!
He dug his right fingers into the dirt, groaned and pulled himself forward. He did it again, and again. Dizziness swept through him. He dragged himself forward another few inches. His breathing quickened.
"Over here!"
O'Bannon froze when he heard the voice. Someone else was here. Someone who could help him.
"Help." The word came out of his mouth strained. "Help."
Three robed men darted through the woods, wands extended. A horrid realization filled O'Bannon.
The men were aurors. Probably some of the ones that had pursued him and his friends.
He pushed himself across the ground, pain lashing his body. He grunted and yelped as he pulled himself behind the closest tree.
"Give yourself up! You won't be harmed!"
O'Bannon considered it. Why not? Like he could really fight three aurors in his current condition? Yeah, they'd chuck him into Azkaban, but at least they would take him to a healer beforehand. They had to. Whatever else the Ministry was, they weren't sadistic.
I don't quit.
But it hurts so much.
I don't quit.
I just want the pain to stop.
I . . . don't . . . quit!
O'Bannon reached under his sweatshirt and pulled out his wand. He got ready to lean around the tree and cast some Stunning Spells. It would be futile, he knew. The aurors could easily block them. But what the hell else could he do to take out three aurors?
He held his breath when the memory flared. His mind took him back a day ago, to Tonks' training session, and the Whirlwind Spell.
Which I sucked at.
But what other spell did he know that could knock out three aurors in one shot?
O'Bannon tried to block out the pain tearing apart his shoulder, or at least work through it. He had to concentrate to remember the proper incantation and wand movement.
Yeah. I got it.
He peeked out from behind the tree. The aurors headed toward him.
"Ventus Tempestas!" He circled the wand over his head twice.
A harsh wind blew around him and died.
"Dammit!" He bared his clenched teeth as another searing pain burrowed through him.
"Ventus Tempestas!"
A gray miniature tornado sprouted ten feet from him and raced toward the aurors. The three men backed away.
The tornado suddenly vanished.
"No!"
A bolt flew from one auror's wand. It struck the tree O'Bannon hid behind. It shimmered and transfigured into a single blade of grass. He held his breath and stared in horror at the little sliver of green.
"This is your final warning! Surrender peacefully or we will be forced to stun you!"
O'Bannon looked up from the blade of grass. The aurors held their ground, wands aimed at him. Why not surrender? That was the easiest thing to do. Let them take him to a healer and end the pain.
Don't . . . give . . . up.
Maybe the aurors would capture him and drag him off to Azkaban. But before they did, he would at least put up one final fight.
He pictured Tonks back in the Room of Requirement performing the Whirlwind Spell. He clearly pictured her wand movement, her tone and the way she enunciated the incantation.
"Ventus Tempestas!"
"Expelliarmus!"
The wand flew from O'Bannon's hand a split-second after wind rushed around him. Waves of dirt and rocks leapt off the ground and plowed toward the aurors. The whirlwind swept over them. One man smacked against a tree and crumpled to the ground. The other two flailed as they soared through the air.
O'Bannon exhaled, then sucked down two quick breaths. He fell on his stomach and dragged himself across the ground with one hand. An icy chill coated his body. For some reason, he started to sweat. A lot.
He made it to another tree and propped himself against it. All the energy drained from his body. He continued to take quick breaths that never quite filled his lungs. The forest around him swirled.
Just gotta rest. I'll be fine in a bit.
His body turned to lead. The pain began to fade. That was a good thing. In a few minutes he should be well enough to go on.
Two figures stalked toward him. O'Bannon narrowed his eyes. He tried to wave at them, but his right arm, his good arm, would not rise. In fact, he couldn't move any part of his body.
His chin dipped to his chest. No more fighting, no more crawling. He just wanted to sleep.
The figures walked cautiously toward him. They had to be . . . O'Bannon couldn't tell how close they were. It didn't matter. He'd be asleep soon. With a little sleep he'd be fine. Or sound as a pound. Yeah, he was in Britain, wasn't he? Sound as a pound. Funny.
His eyes closed all the way.
An electric crackle split the air. O'Bannon's eyes snapped open. A red flash enveloped one of the aurors. The other one swung around. Someone dove at him on a broom and nailed him with another red bolt. The man collapsed.
The figure on the broom landed next to O'Bannon. He tried to raise his heavy head, but let it fall back down.
"Accio O'Bannon's wand!"
Seconds later two hands grabbed him and draped him over the broom. A gust of wind washed over him. He felt the sensation of being lifted into the air.
He felt no pain. He didn't feel anything. For a moment O'Bannon wondered if he was having an out-of-body experience. If so, it felt pretty cool.
"You're going to be okay, Jimmy." A female voice filtered through the haze surrounding his head. Even distorted, it still sounded familiar. Who . . .
"Tonks?" he moaned.
"What can I say? I couldn't let anything happen to that cute arse of yours."
With his last little bit of strength, Jimmy O'Bannon smiled.
A second later darkness consumed him.
TO BE CONTINUED