by Noah Michael
We’re almost there! It’s working!
The Shifters on the bridge began moving into a formation, huddling together. They transformed their bodies to an elastic material and linked arms, creating a trampoline.
What are they doing!?
The crowd of Shifters at the entrance to the fortress moved aside, making way for someone. A man stepped out from the entrance. He towered over the others, his steel head matching Ganger’s height. His iron muscles bulged from within his body. In his hand he held a massive, spiked, iron flail.
Their warlord had arrived.
“David! Do it—now!”
The warlord raised his flail and, with a roar, sprinted towards the bridge. The rest of the Shifters flooded after him, all running at the Shifter-trampoline. They jumped in droves, bouncing off the trampoline, and soared through the air above the battlefield.
Ganger fell to the ground, overwhelmed with laser wounds, just as the bridge exploded. Rocks splintered and flew in every direction. A massive boom echoed throughout the valley. The trampoline of Shifters collapsed down into the abyss along with the bridge. The Shifter warlord flew through the air screaming, followed by the swarm of Shifters who’d managed to reach the trampoline before it fell. The valley grew dark as the sky was covered by a sheet of iron. When they landed, Alia and her men were surrounded. The Shifters in front, a deadly fall in back. The valley was scorched with the burn of battle. The ground was overturned, inside out. The walls of the valley were burned black. The floor was littered with fallen men. Alia looked around, her face drenched in blood and sweat. David staggered beside her, staff in hand, breathing heavy.
Ganger was down.
Bane was down.
Apion was down.
She looked at her three remaining Burners. Gospin stood beside them covered in burns, limping on his right leg. She looked at the Shifters. Brass and Pisker were down. Ramon and Aron looked exhausted, their metal cracked and splintered. Pierce stood in the mountaintops, his arm dangling, wounded. Beside him stood the remaining two Absorbers, their energy dwindling. Spade rooted his arms into the Earth, trying to keep himself standing.
The enemy army stood strong, their ranks refreshed and ready for battle. Their leader grinned viciously, his eyes throwing Alia a challenging stare. Alia closed her eyes.
I have failed.
“Have you?” A voice intruded upon her thoughts. The same voice that had spoken to her before during the dinner, telling her where to find James and Marcus.
Who are you?
“The question is who are you!? You are Alia! You are a champion! You do not give up!”
Alia opened her eyes, looking at the enemy leader, his scarred face smug with victory. He looked at her like she was weak, like she was worthless. She’d seen that expression so many times before, and she was sick of it. It fueled her with anger, reigniting her spirit.
“Why have we stopped!?”
Alia looked toward her demoralized troops, voice flaring.
“Why have we stopped!? Are we burnt out!? Have they defeated us!? Is this how heroes fall, their hearts still beating, their lungs still breathing!? WE ARE NOT FINISHED YET!”
Gospin’s hands clenched into fists. The Absorbers’ eyes glowed. Spade drew his roots from the ground, replacing leaves with thorns. The Burners lifted their hands, flames sparking from their fingertips. The Shifters polished their armor, replacing their cracks and splinters with solid steel. David straightened his posture, standing tall and strong. Alia’s heart beat with tenacity. David moved close to her. “They believe in you.”
“And you?”
David paused, locking his eyes with hers. “I will stand by you.”
“Then let’s finish this.” Alia walked to the front of her men. “Finish this!”
The Shifter warlord cried out in agreement, lifting his flail into the air. The Shifters surged forth, iron fists at the ready. Alia ran straight at the metal army, her faithful soldiers following behind her, David by her side.
David plunged his staff into the ground, shouting in fury. The ground shook as dozens of massive stone golems emerged from the earth, moving towards the enemy, smashing any Shifter in their way. David steered one of the golems toward the warlord. The golem swung its massive stone at the warlord’s head, but his head dissipated, allowing the arm to pass right through. The warlord’s head reformed and he swung his flail, shattering the rock to bits. As the Shifters smashed their way through his rock army, David continued to summon more golems, his staff planted into the ground. A Shifter charged at him, trying to put an end to the golems, but David swiped his feet into the Shifter’s legs, knocking him to the ground. He took another rock from his wrist, turned it into a hammer, and bashed it into the Shifter’s iron skull. As more Shifters targeted him, David blew up the earth beneath them like a minefield.
Alia’s Shifters fought valiantly, punishing the enemy soldiers with their iron fists. The Absorbers rained down energy from above. Spade hailed down spear-like thorns and burning acid. Gospin read his enemies with rapid speed, dodging blows before they hit him and landing each strike with perfection, wielding an iron hammer. The Burners sent flames pouring from their arms, consuming all the enemies in their paths. A Shifter approached Nero from behind as he was busy fighting an enemy in front of him.
“Nero, watch out!” She launched one of her blades toward the Shifter, planting it into his wrist just as he was about to strike a blow to Nero’s head. Nero spun around, flames bursting forth from his wrist, burning the Shifter black. He spared time for a quick nod to Alia and continued.
Alia turned in time to see the warlord smash through two golems on his way towards David, his face raging with the fever of war. David realized too late, helplessly lifting his staff in defense. The deadly flail smashed through the staff and straight into David, sending him flying, smashing into the valley wall where he lay limp.
Alia ran at the warlord, her blade in one hand, gun in the other. His flail flew at her ribs. She fell to the floor, the flail flying above her and tearing the back of her uniform. She pushed off her hands, flipping back onto her feet. The warlord swung again, giving Alia barely enough time to predict. It grazed her right shoulder, ripping off her armor. She needed to disarm him if she was going to survive.
The flail came at her head from the left side. This time, she hopped up into the air, flipping over the flail. As the flail passed below her, she drew her guns and fired at the flail’s chains, weakening them. As the warlord pulled back on his flail, the chains snapped, and the bulk of the weapon flew off, smashing into a Shifter. The warlord roared angrily, charging straight at her. She sidestepped and ducked, his other fist passing above her. She drove her laser blade forward with incredible strength, plunging it deep into his stomach. He staggered back, roaring in pain as the knife burned through his flesh. He pulled the knife out from his body, throwing it onto the ground and covered his wound with a new layer of iron.
Dammit! I just need to hold off for a little longer now! He can protect his wound, but he can’t heal it! He can’t last much longer!
She aimed her gun at the warlord and took two shots. The warlord allowed the blasts to pass right through him, doing no damage. He ran at her.
It all comes down to this, the last move. It may hurt, but if my luck plays out right, this should finish him off.
As he surged towards her, Alia pushed off her left foot and spun into the air. Her legs seared with pain as they smashed into the warlord’s iron stomach where he’d been stabbed. The warlord landed a punch at the same time in Alia’s upper chest. They both tumbled backwards onto the floor, landing in a cloud of dust.
Pierce saw Alia fall from his position on the mountaintops. “Commander!”
The shout drew Gospin’s attention. He looked over in the midst of fighting and saw Alia lying still on the floor.
He instantly took command of the battle. “Their warlord has fallen! Let’s finish this!”
Alia’s troops increased t
he intensity of their attack as Gospin fueled their rage with his words. Spade and the Absorbers continued to snipe down from the mountaintops. One of the enemy Shifters sprinted back, fleeing the valley. Another one followed. And another. Finally, the Shifters fell into a full retreat out of the valley, fleeing for their lives. The Burners chased after them, caught in the heat of the battle. Spade grew long vines from his arms, throwing them down the mountainside. The Absorbers used them to climb down into the valley, followed by Pierce. When they had all climbed down, Spade used his watch to change form, feathers sprouting from his skin, and great, brown-feathered wings growing from his back. His nose hardened into a sharp beak. He flew down from the mountain, landing next to the Absorbers, and then returned to human form.
The valley was quiet. Slowly, silently, Gospin began walking back towards where Alia and the warlord lay still. The other soldiers followed. They crowded around their fallen commander.
Gospin began to lead a quiet chant. “Alia, Alia.”
Pierce began to chant with him, followed by Brass. “Alia, Alia.”
Spade joined in as well. Their voices grew louder and louder, stronger and stronger. “Alia! Alia! Alia!”
Finally, the entirety of the troops began to cheer. “Alia! Alia! Alia!”
Their voices filled the battle-struck valley with a rumbling call of victory. They cheered for the battle won, for the challenges overcome. They cheered for their leader, who lay silently on the floor. They cheered for the vigor she’d instilled in them, the will, the motivation, the courage, the might.
The valley vanished.
Alia opened her eyes. To her surprise, she was met with a round of applause as she exited the simulator. She was surrounded by twenty men. Her men. She was their commander. She glanced through the joyous faces of her men, her heart filled with excitement and pride. But when she got to David, her eyes stopped, her excitement died down. He stared back at her solemnly for a moment, then turned and left the room.
◆◆◆
Marcus snuck out of the simulation room. He couldn’t stand the cheering. He would have to move to more “complicated” measures. The girl was a quickly growing threat that needed to be properly dealt with, and soon. He moved his watch to his face. “Call Stone.”
The watch rang. Stone answered the call, his voice deep. “Yes, Marcus.”
“I accept your proposal.”
“Gratitude, Marcus.” Stone hung up.
Marcus took the elevator to 141. Moving swiftly down the hallway, he made a left towards a door labeled “Siper’s office” The room was small, stuffed with computers and machinery. A man sat on a wheel-chair in the middle of the room, surrounded by a circle of a dozen active computers. He wheeled from screen to screen, typing things into the different keyboards and jotting things down onto a notepad on his lap. The man was skinny, with long, disheveled black hair and dark, horn-rimmed glasses. He wore a white lab coat.
“Siper.” The man continued to work. “Siper!” Marcus hissed.
Siper looked up quickly, surprised. “Marcus! As much as I enjoy your company, I would appreciate a civil knock on my door before entering.”
“If you want privacy, lock your door.”
“There is no need. Roko forgot me, he has much bigger people and issues on his mind. I am nothing to him. Just a helpless cripple. He doesn’t even follow up on security checks anymore. I could be building a bomb to blow up this place and he wouldn’t have a clue. Which is why, of course, you have come to me, I am assuming.”
“Has your research shown any promise?”
“Oh, it has shown more than promise. It is almost ready. It should only be another-”
“Stop!” Marcus commanded, and Siper shut his mouth. “Do not tell me when it will be ready. The girl would be able to read it from my face. If and when it is done, bring it to me while I am in the middle of overseeing one of her simulations.”
“Very well. I will bring it to you in its proper time.”
Marcus walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Chapter Fourteen
The Queen’s Lair
Northern Greece
July 18
8:00 p.m.
“The journey is taking longer than expected,” Maximus said. “I hadn’t foreseen needing to rest in both Greenland and Iceland. Though we’ve made it to Greece, we will need to make another stop in order to sleep and gather provisions. We are out of food and water.”
Raiden gazed sullenly at the surrounding clouds, as he’d been doing for the past hour. The last few days had been gloomy. The sky was grey, and their remaining balcon was weak. There was a slight drizzle of rain, the sound of thunder from a distance.
“We don’t need food or sleep. We need Sarah, and we need revenge.”
“You speak like a fool. You wish to confront the Shadow Chief himself when you haven’t eaten for over twelve hours?”
“I’ll be fine.”
Maximus sighed impatiently. “Raiden, that creature gave its life for you. But it’s gone now, and you must move on.”
“Is that what you’d do if I were killed? Move on, just like that?” Raiden scoffed. “Well some of us can’t do that. Some of us actually have emotions.”
Although Maximus kept a straight face, his eyes reflected a hint of pain. He paused for a moment, allowing the tension to settle. “There are tragedies in war. If you dwell on them too long, they will drag you down to a dark place, a place very difficult to return from.” Maximus paused, allowing his words to sink in. “It’s a lesson I learned when they killed my father.”
Raiden sighed, looking ruefully at his bulky friend. He remembered the little boy from Gil’s vision being torn away from his dad. “Sorry, I didn’t really mean that. I’m just sick of it. I’m sick of Roko getting away with everything. I don’t talk about it much, but Roko killed my father too.”
Maximus remained silent.
“I just wanted you to know that I’m not in this war just for you. After Roko took my dad, I spent my whole life trying to avenge him. I failed miserably, but I never stopped. The night they killed my Dad, a Burner tried to kill me too. Before he had the chance, a man appeared, saved my life. That man inspired me. I wanted to be like him, to be able to fight back. The day I met you, I was finally given that chance.”
Silence settled between them until Raiden’s attention was drawn by a noise below. It sounded like music. Looking down, he saw nothing but the color of rock. But when he peered more closely, he noticed an array of camouflaged pipes leading into the ground.
“What are those?”
Maximus looked down. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t you hear that music? And see those pipes?”
Maximus looked more closely, noticing the pipes. He pulled on the balcon, signaling it to glide lower down.
“Wait, why are we going down?”
“This is where we shall spend the night.”
“Where? Sleeping on pipes?”
“Those are not just pipes. There is a village underneath. I’ve been told of it before.”
The balcon landed with a thump, surrounded by the pipes. The music was louder now and more discernable. It was beautiful, with harmonies matching those of the greatest orchestra halls.
“Where is the music coming from?”
“We find ourselves just above the village of the Artists tribe.”
“Just above?”
“This pipe complex is a ventilation system. The tribe of Artists live underground. They have no abilities to aid them in battle; they have only the gift of art and music. Throughout history, they were hunted and captured by the ruling Enlai for entertainment. In order to defend themselves, they hid in underground cities.”
“I’ve never dreamt of them before. Would they mind us crashing by them?”
“The Artists are a quiet, hospitable people. They were most likely supporters of my father.”
“Alright, so how do we get down there?”
Maximus
lifted himself onto the pipe, standing on its edge. “Like this.”
“Wait-!” But Maximus had jumped. Raiden stepped onto the pipe, feeling a bit uneasy. He peered down into the hole. Maximus had already crawled out of site.
How hard can this be? It’s not too deep, I can see the floor.
Feeling slightly more assured, Raiden hopped in.
The pipe was very dark, with only a bit of light entering from the opening above. There were two different tunnels-one to the right, and one to the left. Raiden had no idea which one Maximus had gone through.
“Maximus?” No answer. “Well, left is always lucky,” Raiden said, and he veered left. Classical music echoed through the pipe, raising in crescendo as he fell. The pipe shifted directions and he slid rapidly on an incline. He screamed as he accelerated in pure darkness. Suddenly, he plopped through an opening and crashed into the belly of a large drum, smashing through its skin covering, and was struck on the head by a drumstick. Struggling to get to his feet, he pulled himself out of the drum. As he brushed off the dust from his clothes, he noticed the music had stopped.
He looked up into the bewildered faces of twenty men, each of which was staring wide-eyed at the redhead who had just fallen from the ceiling.
“Hey...you must be the Artists. My name is Raiden, and I was hoping to find a place to crash. No pun intended.”
No response.
Maximus popped feet first out of the opening, landing on the ruins of the drum.
“What took you so long!?” Raiden grumbled.
“I had to push myself through.”
“Are you kidding!? It was a roller coaster! I won’t be able to feel my butt for another two weeks!”
“You should have taken the path to the right.”
Before Raiden could utter another complaint, Maximus turned to the dumbstruck crowd. “I am Maximus, son of the guardian Armolin. My father was a friend to your people, and I hope to follow in his ways. We seek shelter for the night and would appreciate if you could give us a place to stay.”
