Hello wonderful readers,
I just want to say thank you to those who have been helping push the story forward. I am very pleased that people seem to enjoy this one. Keep in mind I do have other various works of fiction that could use some love as well. I do enjoy writing for you guys and like I've said I am sorry that updates have not been quick. I am a very busy fellow but on some days, I lose my ability to write.
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Chapter Twenty:
The eve of war was just on the horizon. Everyone could feel the tension rising in the air. Sam stepped out of his hut. He looked at the weary skies above him. His spine prickled telling him that he may end up not coming back. It was a fate no man wanted to really face but if it was what kept the rest of his friends back at base safe, then he was willing to put his life on the line for them. Elvis stood next to him. "I'm scared Sam." Whimpered Elvis. He trembled at the thought of never seeing his friends again. Sam put a hand on his shoulder. "we'll be okay Elvis. If we stand together we can drive the Ero out." Marcelo came running up to them. "I've managed to find out a location of that artifact Annu was talking about. It's an Ero facility several miles from here." Sam nodded. He grabbed his axe from the door frame. "right. We better get going then. With any luck, we'll make it there before daybreak." His heart pounded softly in his chest. He felt someone take his hand. "I'm coming with you Sam." Said Annu. Sam shook his head. He knelt in front of her. "your place is here. I don't want you getting hurt." She clung to him. "I'm coming with. I'm not going to let you fight alone." He sighs. He looks at Elvis and Marcelo for some sort of backup. Marcelo just chuckled. "the girl has spunk. I would let her." Sam scratched behind his head. "alright, you can come. Just try to stay behind us." She beams at Marcelo who smiled back. Finley limped up to them. "I'm coming with you guys as well. You'll need an archer." She leaned on Marcelo for support. She was really starting to show with her pregnancy which concerned Marcelo. He kept an arm around her waist. Sam nodded. "alright let's move out."
Just outside of them at the Irish Naval Base, the skies above the base were quickly filled with panic. Ero space cursors appeared right above them. Civilians were being herded into the hangars for safety while soldiers rushed to their jets. Hoshi got into a hangar with Ben and Charlie. They felt the roof above them rock from an explosion not too far off. "what are we going to do?" questioned Hoshi. Ben looked at Charlie. "I'm lost, you got any ideas?" he asked. Charlie thought for a minute. "we need to find a way out of here. I remembered one of the soldiers talking about a tunnel system that leads out into a ditch. That ditch happens to be close to the forest that my brother is currently hiding in." Ben nodded. Hoshi carefully poked his head out from behind the stall wall. He noticed that the hangar doors were beginning to close slowly. Outside of doors was chaotic so it really didn't leave them with too many options for escape. Hoshi then looked to see a set of stairs leading down into the basement level of the hangar. "we need to get to those stairs. They must lead to a Maintaince sector of the base." Charlie got up. "on the count of three." They all got ready to race across the hangar floor. "three!" Hoshi took off ahead of his boss and his father. His legs cleared the area in long strides. He waited for his dad and Ben to show up. The doors to the hangar were blown in by a Eroian tank. Ben pushed Charlie down onto the ground as the door came flying past them. He helped Charlie get up. "Go! Go! Go!" shouted Ben. He kept Charlie ahead of him. Ben watched their backs while Charlie and Hoshi ducked down into the lower levels of the hangar.
Ben was the last one downstairs. He closed the hatch locking it. The roof above them quickly rocked once more. Bright red lights flickered on as the main power was knocked out. "Sarah…James." Whimpered Charlie. Hoshi cussed softly under his breath. "there's no time to go back." Said Ben. He found a flashlight that someone had dropped. He picked it up and turned it on. "let's keep going." The base rocked once more. Ben lead the both of them through the underground sector and down another set of stairs. There was a Maintaince access tunnel just below them. Ben closed the hatch once the other two caught up with him. "that should keep them from us." Hoshi panted leaning against the wall. "now the question remains, does this lead out to the ditch?" Ben shrugged. "I don't know. Once you've rested let's keep going."
Ero Knights noticed a closed hatch near a corner of the hangar. One of the knights motioned for their superior to come close. He spoke in a low raspy tone to him. His superior nodded and the knight began cutting through the hatch. Ben and his group were only resting for about several minutes when they heard someone walking outside. Ben motioned for them all to hide. Hoshi ducked into a small crack with his dad. The knights kicked the hatch open. Their sensors were high alert for any survivors. Hoshi tried his best to keep still. One of the knights paused as it had locked onto Hoshi. He turned his head. Hoshi dared himself not to breathe. The knight drew out his weapon and reached for Hoshi. "no!" yelled Charlie. Charlie tackled the knight to the ground. The knight cussed loudly grabbing the other twos attention. They noticed Charlie was on top of their comrade. One of them drew out their weapon. Hoshi changed forms. He tackled the armed knight ripping it's arm off with his sharp fangs. It howled in pain trying to dispatch Hoshi quickly. Hoshi twisted its head feeling it go still underneath him. Ben came up from behind the last one and stabbed it between its neck and its head causing it to die suddenly. Charlie got up dusting himself off. His heart was pounding. "let's keep going in case more of them show up." Muttered Ben.
Sam and his crew made it up to the mountain path by nightfall. They decided to set up camp in one of the nearby caves. Marcelo got the fire going for them while Finley got their beds sorted. Sam watched the cave entrance for any signs of trouble. "to think our last day may be tomorrow." He whispered. Elvis sat by him. "I can't bear the thought of one us not coming back." Elvis leaned against Sam gently. "I doubt any of us are going to die Sam." Sam sighed. He took Elvis' hand in his. "I hope your right Elvis." Elvis and Sam sat in silence for a while. "Sam, your brother told me of a small girl you tried to save. Can you tell me a bit about her?" Sam sat up. "It happened a few years ago back in PontyPandy. I was responding to a house fire that happened to a family who had just moved in. The little girl was named Janice. She was a very sweet little girl. She used to come by and visit me whenever I had the day off. Anyway, she was trapped in her room upstairs. Fire had blocked off any hopes of me getting to her so I did the unthinkable. I tried to jump over the fire but risked having a terrible accident and…I lost her. I remembered waking up in the hospital and being told that she tried to save me. She tried to put the fire out that was hurting me." Sam unbuttoned his shirt. He let it fall past his shoulders revealing a long, dark colored burn on his back. "if she hadn't of put out the rest of the flames I would have died." Sam redid his shirt. He looked back out into the sky again. "I could never forgive myself for letting her sacrifice herself for me." Elvis turned Sam's head till he faced him. He kissed Sam deeply. He climbed into his lap hearing Sam moan softly. He pulled Elvis close to him as the two began to make out. Marcelo watched Sam and Elvis have their make out session. Finley smiled looking at Marcelo. "are you jealous?" she teased. He looked at her. "No I just wish they didn't do it so loud that the county could hear them." Finley laughed. She kissed his cheek. "let them have their session dear. Besides you have something you need to be focusing on." She put his hands on her belly. He smiled at her. "just think you'll be a dad soon." She whispered. He nodded. He kissed her holding her tightly.
The group soon fell asleep apart from Sam who was still up. He kept watch over them. The fire had soon fizzled out leaving glowing embers. The wind blew through the entrance of the cave. Sam lifted the collar of his coat to keep the wind out. He heard Annu stir. "Sam?" He looked at her. She crawled over to him. "your worried, aren't you?" she asked. He nodded. She sat down in his lap. "you know that once we find the artifact tomorrow, we'll be able to end all of this. I promise you." She touched the side of his face gently. "I'm worried for my friends back at the base. We may never be able to see them again." She shakes her head. "you will. Now get some sleep. You have a busy day tomorrow."