Chapter Twenty-One:
The few rays of dawn began peaking up over the horizon. Its orange glow touched the side of Sam's face that was exposed to the outside air. He flinched from the incoming sunlight. He opened his eyes slowly only to be greeted by bright light and cold air. He shivered. He smiled seeing Annu cuddled tightly against his chest. He looked around to see Elvis sleeping by him as well as Marcelo and Finley sleeping together. He sniffed sitting up all the way. Annu stirred feeling Sam stir. She yawned glancing up at him. "I take it it's time to wake up eh?" He gave a nod of his head. "Wake up guys!" he shouted. One by one each member of the group slowly woke up. Dooms' day was finally upon them. Sam got to his feet. Annu slid down his stomach landing on hers. She took a quick peek outside and gasped. She tugged on Sam's sleeve. She pointed to a pillar of smoke that was rising from where the base once sat. "Sam look at that." She whispered. Sam felt a thick knot grow in his stomach. All the color drained from his face as he fell to his knees. His brother, his friends, had all been at that base. The thought of them potentially being dead hung heavily in the air for what seemed like minutes. "those. Bastards!" he spat through his teeth. Annu put a hand on his shoulder. "today they're going to pay Sam." She said. "we'll make them pay for what they have done."
Daylight was what greeted Ben and company once Hoshi had opened the last hatch. Water came down from the sewage drain above them. Hoshi wrinkled his nose in disgust. "we picked a hell of a place to get out." He commented putting his finger underneath his nose to block out the smell of raw sewage. Ben tried his best not to gag. He noticed a ladder off to the side. "this way." He stayed behind them. He watched Charlie and Hoshi go down the ladder one at a time. He soon joined them. "okay where to?" asked Charlie. Ben looked at Hoshi. Hoshi glanced down at his map again. "okay so this drainage ditch leads to a bridge. If we follow it down further, we'll see a ladder that will take us up and over the wall. From there we should be pretty close to the woods." Ben nodded. The three of them began their trek again. An Eroian space craft flew right above them. Ben motioned for them to duck as it came barreling past. The skies echoed with the sound of its afterburners. Once the coast was clear, they continued their trek. "I have a bad feeling about this." Muttered Hoshi. The skies overhead rocked once more as the clouds were torn apart by a much larger vessel. It was being escorted by a small fleet. "Look at that." Whispered Charlie. Ben pulled out his binoculars from his bag. He lifted them up. He zoomed in to get a closer look at the larger vessel. The center of the vessel appeared to be glowing with some sort of orb. The center began opening more. Beams of bright light shined down onto the orb causing it to glow brighter. A beam of light was then discharged from the orb. It landed on the ground in front of it making the horizon glow for a minute. The ground underneath them groaned in reply. "get down!" yelled Ben. Charlie shoved his son to the ground in front of them. A fiery inferno grew from where the beam of light had hit. Glass formed over buildings and houses. "that's a glassing vessel. They must have found what they were looking for." Whispered Ben.
Sam saw the horizon light up. Annu gasped. "that's a glassing vessel. They've come to glass the rest of your world. Once they do they'll leave it to die like they did mine." Sam nodded. Annu shivered feeling the artifact's power grow stronger. "we're close. Just over this hill. They've got their base set up in an old mining facility. We must hurry though. I can feel it's power getting stronger." She whispered. Sam carefully climbed up the rock face. The rock face was getting narrower and narrower each time they climbed up it. Sam felt Annu adjust herself a bit better on his back. He could feel a strong presence nearby. Before long, Sam was lifting them up one by one onto the cliff edge. He got up from his belly dusting himself off. The top of the mountain appeared to be covered in volcanic ash. There were tire tracks from heavy vehicles marking the ground. Annu pointed at a small set of portables. "there." Sam looked at her. "you sure? I wouldn't think the Ero would bother having a facility that small." She shook her head. "that's where your wrong. It's all underground about thirty levels down." Finley smirked softly. "how about we blow the place up then? If we blow the facility downwards then there will be no way for them to retrieve the artifact." Suggested Finley. "I'll check the portables to see if there's any explosives." Murmured Marcelo. He walked away from them. Annu sighed. "we need to get the artifact out. Once we do then we can destroy it." Elvis gulped painfully. "Sam, I'm coming with you and Annu." Sam nodded. He let Annu down from his back so she could lead them to the artifact.
"there's an elevator building just ahead. The artifact is going to be located on the twelfth floor." Sam pulled out his axe. "Lead the way Annu. I have your back." Sam followed Annu to the elevator building. She pressed the call button for the elevator. The old engine groaned to life. A bright red light just above the door began to flash. Elvis already had a bad feeling well up in his stomach. He just stayed behind his mate. The elevator doors opened. Sam was the first one in. He held Annu and Elvis close. They watched the old, nearly rusted doors close in front of them. The bell dinged to let them know that they were beginning their descent into the depths below. Sam gripped his axe tightly. The odds of them being attacked were high. The glass that surrounded the elevator gave them a clear view of what the facility looked like underground. Each level was heavily guarded. The center of the facility opened on an uncovered magma chamber. "how original." Grimaced Sam. "not like I haven't seen that in every movie ever." Elvis laughed softly. The levels of the facility were made of metal. Sam saw one floor in particular. He saw knights loading Buck into a cell. Buck had been badly beaten and tortured by the Eros. He remembered what Annu was telling him about Eros not taking betrayals lightly. The hero in him was screaming for him to go and rescue Douglas.
The elevator reached the twelfth floor of the facility. Annu and Elvis exited out of the elevator. Annu turned around noticing that Sam wasn't behind them. He was still in the elevator. "you guys go and get the artifact. I have to rescue a certain space spotter from certain death." Elvis nodded. Sam tossed Elvis his axe. "take this. You'll need it. Keep Annu safe Elvis." He stepped out momentarily to give Elvis a small kiss. "I'll meet you guys back here. I promise." He pulled away from them. He punched the floor seven button with his fist. The doors quickly closed. The elevator began rising again. Deep down Sam knew that leaving them was a bad idea. As much as he hated Buck, he wasn't going to let him suffer for much longer. It wouldn't have been right of him to do so. He arrived on the seventh floor. The guards weren't around making it easier for him to maneuver quickly to the jailhouse unit. Buck heard someone moving around outside. "is someone there?" he asked. He heard a set of bootsteps walking down the hall. They stopped outside of his cell. He spotted Sam standing outside of his cell. "well if it isn't the Hero Next Door himself. Come to kill me?" sneered Buck weakly. Sam shook his head. He broke the lock off the jail door with his fist. "Killing you would be against my morals." Whispered Sam. He snapped the chains that had Buck bonded. "you're coming with me." Buck rolled his eyes. "it's either you come with me and the cops can deal with you or you can die by the hands of the Eros." Buck growled softly at him. He followed behind Sam hesitantly.
Buck had other plans for Sam. He smiled seeing a pipe just above Sam. "the elevator is through here." Whispered Sam. Buck nodded. He grabbed a crowbar and smacked the pipe until it burst. A sharp puff of steam struck the back of Sam's neck causing him to call out in pain. Buck jumped on top of Sam. He pushed Sam up against the railing. He held the crowbar high above Sam's head to knock him out. Sam kicked his legs out from under him. Buck tumbled backwards dropping the crowbar. Sam got back on his feet. "you think by you showing me mercy that that's going to stop me from killing you?" Buck laughed. "I don't think so." Buck grabbed the crowbar. He tossed it at Sam's head. Sam dodged it and watched as the crowbar get stuck in the pole behind him. Buck charged at Sam ramming him over the edge. Sam grabbed the edge of the floor. Buck raised his foot. "it's light out for you hero!" he yelled. He brought his foot down on Sam's hand. He put press on Sam's fingers causing him to howl in pain. Sam grabbed Buck by the scarf on his neck. Buck struggled to breath. Sam growled at him. He yanked Buck over the railing chucking him as hard as he could over the top of him. Buck began screaming as he fell. He grabbed onto Sam's foot. "I'm taking you with me!" he snarled. He climbed up onto Sam's back. Sam struggled to get him off. Elvis heard his mate crying for help. He peered over the edge to see Sam trying to get Buck off him. Elvis climbed up onto the railing. He tossed his axe into Buck's spine. Buck howled in pain feeling the sharp blade cut deep into his skin. He then pulled the axe out of his back. He smiled devilishly at Elvis. He raised it over Sam's head. Elvis gasped. His heart was pounding in his chest. He knew what he had to do in order to save Sam. He closed his eyes. "Annu, stay here. I have to save Sam." Elvis then jumped down. He landed on top of Buck dragging him down. He made Buck let go of the axe. The two of them began fighting. Buck pushed Elvis off him. "Elvis!" yelled Sam. He watched as his mate was being shoved to his death. He yanked the axe out of Buck's hand. He put the blade down on Buck's head cracking it open. He felt Buck let go of him. He began plummeting as well. Sam reached out for Elvis.