by Max Jager
Korzen cut off the radio and returned it under his coat. He then looked out the way Alerius took off. He was, in someway, impressed with the agent. He kind of smiled and then turned around and began to walk the opposite direction. He had some things to take care of if he would ever hope to see the young rouge again.
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(So, I hope you have been enjoying the story so far. I have yet to receive a single review yet. Also, I will not be updating this story for awhile. See my profile for details.
Please let me know how the story has been going so far for you. It can be favorite charcters, favorite chapters, favorite anything. Also, dislikes about anything, style, description, world-building, the obscure profanity here & there. Please let me know what you think. In vivid, rich detail. I would love to know. As always, thank you so much for reading. I really hope you are enjoying it. It was, is, and always will be what was I put on this Earth to do.)
Planet Scalobore: Escape from Dead Grave
The desert sand blasted into huge waves as Alerius sped across the Scalobore planet surface. The hover bike raced at tremendous speed and Alerius now was on a mission to find the Leyline. That was his mission before but now everything was going wrong! Alerius was now driven by pure instinct and training. He had no idea what he was going to do next. All he knew was that the Leyline was somewhere in the swamp and he had to find it!
As he approached the huge bridge, he heard a strange humming noise from behind. He looked back and just coming into view was a group of hover vehicles coming after him. It was Yellow Korzen's group. There was the four board/shield crafts. Then, the hovercraft, with the four huge barrels on the vehicle!
Alerius was now nervous. He had no idea how he was going to get rid of this posse of pigs! He streamlined towards the bridge and thought as he approached it, there was no way he could evade them even with a bike this fast. Not on a straight line bridge. There was only one way to do this. He would have to go under the bridge.
He turned the bike sharply and was now heading for the drop-off which would send him right into the water. He revved the bike and flew towards the drop-off. His bike spewing dust out of the back as the fire from the exhausts exploded. He flipped the bike upwards and flew right off the cliff.
He hovered in mid-air for about a second but then plummeted right down to the water. The bike landed on the surface of the water and spewed the water creating this massive wave from the exhausts. The bike however stayed about an inch above the surface and did exactly what it was suppose to do. It hovered above the water. Alerius finally got level and took off in a straight line racing past the bridge's under structure.
The hover pig posse also fell right onto the water and continued the pursuit after him on the ocean surface. Alerius looked behind himself once more to see how close they were. Suddenly, three shots barely missed him as he flew across the water's surface. The shots blasted out his glass window and sharp jagged pieces flew at him. He ducked most of it and returned his attention to the front. He heard more shots fired as two of the scalbs from behind him were closest and were firing at him with assault rifles. Alerius ducked as the shots came in, ripping up the water around him.
Alerius looked to his left as he was still ducking the oncoming fire and saw the bridge's huge support girders. He swung the bike to the left and began to weave around the girders making it all the more difficult for them to hit him.
The two closest scalbs hovered a little down and flew under the bridge after him. The other three vehicles stayed on the outside and were waiting for Alerius to be forced out from under the bridge.
Alerius swerved through the steel beams as he tried to avoid the gunfire of the two scalbs. He dodged left and right and flew through the water. The two scalbs were having a difficult time catching up to him. They were having an even more difficult time trying to hit him. The bike was so fast and Alerius handled it so well.
Alerius then ripped his rifle from its position and held it up to him. He then turned and began to fire at the scalbs one handed while still keeping his other hand on the throttle. He swung around the girders and was firing at the scalbs at the same time.
As the hover shields that the scalbs were driving also maneuvered around the girders, Alerius managed to get a couple shots in on one of the scalbs. The bullets went right into the bottom engine and it exploded from beneath sending the scalb and the damaged vehicle headlong into one of the support girders. The vehicle blasted in a huge fiery wave and about made the other vehicle crash. The other scalb kept steady though as his comrade's remains burned and trickled into the water.
Alerius swung in and around the girders as now the big hovercraft lurked just to the right of him. Alerius figured it had seen the explosion. The scalb behind him was slowly catching up and this big mechanical monster was not going to help his situation. Alerius was now worried. The hovercraft was capable of staying with the speed of the hover bike and would be more then capable to rip it to shreds with its big massive guns. The craft was facing the bike and was hovering sideways. Something that was hard to do for too long. The swine creature driving though was able to keep it steady and straight as it blasted through the water keeping pace with Alerius's bike. Alerius could tell the two scalbs inside knew how to control the hovercraft extremely well.
Suddenly, Alerius heard this funny noise and he ducked instantly knowing exactly what it was. The guns roared to life from the hovercraft and were punching holes in the metal of the bridge! The bullets ripped shards of steel from the girders and Alerius was caught in a hellacious storm of debris! He fired his rifle at the hovercraft a couple of times but couldn't get a good beat on it because of the storm of bullets it was producing.
Alerius knew he wouldn't survive long if he couldn't do something and do it fast. He had to do something they wouldn't expect and totally unthinkable. He figured the only way to escape the firestorm was to go under the water. He pushed all of his weight down on the bike forcing the front into the water. Suddenly, the whole bike was submerged and Alerius was under the water.
The two scalbs stopped the hovercraft and brought it to a steady standstill. The firing guns came to a calm and the two scalbs looked at each other. The gunnery scalb looked at the driver and said, "You didn't tell me he could do that!"
The driver looked at the gunner and said with worry in his voice, "I didn't know he could do that!"
The hover scalb under the bridge shot out from underneath and also was hovering still right next to the craft. The other two were keeping their distance for fear of their lives. They were all looking around for Alerius but he was nowhere.
"How long can he stay under?" The scalb gunner asked.
"Not long, I know that! The bike's propulsion system won't let him!" The driver answered.
He was right. Alerius blasted out of the water and high in the air with the bike perfectly vertical. The three swine looked to the right of the hovercraft and Alerius just jeered right back at them with his gun directly aimed at the two scalb vehicles. He fired on it, sending a spray of bullet right onto the big vehicle. He killed the two scalbs inside and ignited the engine. The whole hovercraft blew up in a blast that rocked the bridge's own foundation and sent a fireball in the air three times as big as the hovercraft itself! The explosion was so massive that the hovering scalb above the destroyed craft crashed into the side of the bridge and also exploded into a fiery mess!
When Alerius landed back on top of the water, there was just two smoke bellows flying high into the sky as the water danced with the raining metal from the two destroyed hovercrafts. Alerius raced off in the direction he was going before and kicked up a huge wave of water as he sped off.
The last remaining pig posse members came flying through the smoke, rifles blazing! Alerius was now concentrating on getting rid of these two. He zigzagged around like a fly in the air keeping the scalbs confused. He was driving with one hand and firing up at the hovercrafts with the other like before.
The last bullets emptied
out of the gun and Alerius now heard the gun click empty. He brought it close to him and looked at it confused. He was irritated that he had used up all of his ammo. He had no weapons now! He had to get one and the only way to get one was if he could get one off of the scalbs!
He threw the gun into the water and began to fully concentrate on dodging the fire. The two scalbs up in the sky realized he was out of ammo and hovered down closer to him for the kill. They still were far away because of the bike's speed. Now with no gun on him though, they would be able to aim more thoroughly.
Alerius saw from behind that they had indeed hovered down to his level. This gave him an idea. The bullets were flying by him more closely now and his death was more imminent but he was not ready to die yet. He still had a job to do!
He suddenly stopped the bike and let the ugly scalbs race close to him. He ducked as the bullets flew over his head as the two shield boards flew right next to the bike. As they were about to fly past, Alerius grabbed both of the rifles from the scalbs and let them race off. The pigs had no idea what had happen until they were about fifty feet from Alerius.
They swung their hover vehicles around and stared at Alerius. Alerius stared right back at them with both of their rifles pointed directly at them. Alerius then let loose with a storm of bullets from both guns! The bullets hammered into the hovercrafts and a couple bullets got one of the scalbs directly in the head! The other was so overwhelmed by the bullets he jumped into the water before one got him in the head too!
After both scalbs were down, the vehicles just stayed there hovering an inch off the water. Alerius placed the two rifles in between the exhaust pipes and raced past the two vehicles and out of the surviving swine's sight.
Alerius was almost at the end of the bridge when he stopped the bike suddenly. He heard from behind him this high pitch rumbling sound. It was high in the air. He turned around to see what it was. He looked in the sky and there, flying his way, was a star fighter!
They were like fighter jets. Used for both outer space combat and aerial dog fighting. They had two big engines on both wings and had a small stockpile of missiles in front of the twin engines. They had no tail like ancient fighter jets though. These had bigger cockpits and where much more bulkier. Not to mention the heavy artillery. Four big Gatlin guns on the front, a huge bomb underneath, and missiles galore on the front of the wings right above the engines. Alerius could tell that this one was made for multi-purpose combat. Both air-to-air and air-to-ground.
Inside the cockpit one lonely flyer was inside. He was no scalb either. He was a certified demon. He was reptilian looking and had orange colored scales. Kind of resembling lava. A volcanis. A zealot demon.
Volcanis were the infantry of the hellion forces. Used for suicide missions and dug-in warfare. They were from the very bowels of Hell and not really used for anything except mundane, trivial goals. The only reason they were used was because there was a lot of them. Nobody was sure how many but millions of them could be dispatched to any planet at any time in the known universe.
This one, lone pilot volcanis had on a helmet with a radio in it and he began to talk into it. His voice was dark and sinister. Not quite as dark as the voice that had talked to the Yellow Korzen but close. "This is Dragon Fire 2. I have The Red Firius in my sights."
The crosshairs on the display inside the fighter were closed in right on Alerius's face!
"I'm taking him out!"
He fired two missiles from the side of his fighter and before they hit, Alerius sped off on the bike. Two huge explosions came from behind him and the water erupted with it. Alerius didn't even stop to look back. He kept on going.
Inside the cockpit the volcanis began talking again, "Damn, I missed him! Don't worry, I'll get him with the next shot!"
Alerius sped right across the left side of the bridge as the fighter came in close. Here was something his speed nor his dodging would be able to stop! His only hope was that the end of the bridge was closer then what it looked. The only way he could lose the fighter was in the thick foliage of the swamp. Question was, how he was going to get back up on land?
Two more missiles came in and nearly got him! The bike flew high in the air from the explosion as the two water blasts blew into the air! Alerius landed back down on the water and was having a hard time keeping a tight grip on the throttle because he was soaked! Alerius sped off again and knew that the next shot would get him!
Alerius had to get on the bridge! There was no way with this much open space he could last for long. Besides all of that, there was no way he could make the bike climb up the surface of the dirt wall he would face if he stayed below the bridge. He had to go on the bridge if he ever hoped of ever reaching the swamp.
The bike may not be able to climb up the big drop-offs at both ends of the bridge but maybe it could climb up the bridge itself! Its propulsion system might allow him to hover right up to the top of the bridge and back onto the road. It was his only hope.
Meanwhile, the four Gatlin guns on the ship had began blazing away at Alerius! The water churned with the spray of lead! The loud guns pulverized the surface as Alerius tried desperately to out run them all!
He swung the bike to the right and leaned back and tipped the front up. The bike went head long onto the bridge but did not hit it. The actual bike, like always, stayed about an inch from the actual surface. Alerius revved the bike as much as it would go and the exhausts blasted fire out of the back. The bike was forced upwards and it was sent right up the surface! It took all of his strength to keep the bike steady because any turn of the bars in the wrong direction and the bike would flip backwards and land in the water upside down!
The bike was at the edge of the road on the bridge when two missiles crashed right into the lower half of the bridge just underneath the bike! The explosion was massive and the fire from it traveled right up to meet the vehicle! The initial blast wave though gave the bike enough torque to get up onto the road! Alerius wasn't sure if the bike would have made it onto the road without the blast or not!
Alerius turned the bike hard and just before he blasted off with another rev of speed, the fire from the explosion came a foot away from him on the left side! Alerius though sped off down the bridge and he hoped that the structure would give him some cover.
The guns on the ship blasted away again, tearing up the road and some of the support cables on the bridge! Huge holes were planted in the street as Alerius did his best to out race the bullets! Alerius then felt another blast and the bike's backend flew into the air! Alerius had a hell of a time trying to keep the thing from going headlong into the road! If he hadn't been a rogue it would have! The back end then flew back down and bounced off the ground! The guns were still blazing as Alerius could now see the swampland just up ahead!
It was a glorious sight to see the top of the trees as they seemed to grow right out of the bridge as he approached. Then he could see the road's end. The bullets getting closer. The ship was having a hard time maneuvering around the bridge just as he had predicted.
Two more missiles slammed into the road and tore out a huge section of the bridge creating a hole about twenty feet long! Alerius was far enough from the explosion though. The bike jumped a little from the blast wave but it still remained steady on the road. More bullets came in.
The bridge was getting torn up and Alerius was now losing faith that he was ever going to make it to the other side. Two more missiles! This time they slammed into two of the higher support rails and rocked the bridge making it off balance for a second. The bike flew almost off the bridge but Alerius jerked it hard and the bike responded. It came back onto the middle of the road and again the bullets pounded the road.
Alerius was nearly there with about fifty feet to go. He could already smell some of that pungent swamp stench as he approached. The bullets ripped up the road on the sides of the bike as the fighter now was swaying back and forth in a desperate attempt to hit him. Alerius had to make it to the swamp, he just had t
o.
He was going as fast as the bike could possibly go and at twenty feet from the road's end, two missiles again hit the road! But this time they almost hit their target! The road caved in and another hole was made! The bike's backend screamed up into the air and Alerius flew head long right into the sky! He flew higher then the highest point of the bridge and landed in the swamp crashing and rolling!
The back end was on fire and the bike rolled about ten times before finally coming to a halt about ten blocks inside the swamp. It was stopped by a tree that the backend caught and Alerius was thrown from the bike and skidded on the warm soft dirt deep into the swampland area.
The bike ignited blowing up the tree and sending burning shards everywhere. What was left of the tree flew high in the sky and also came raining down in black charred pieces. It was a huge explosion and Alerius was surprised that it didn't take out more vegetation.
The fighter saw everything from the sky, except where Alerius had landed. He saw the bike fly into the swampland and then the big explosion inland. He flew over top of the smoking debris. He talked into his radio, "This is Dragon Fire 2. Target has been neutralized. Returning back to base."
