That’s it, Seb said to everyone. And again. Three … two … now.
They did the same again. They drove their attackers back even farther this time.
Three … two … now.
Although the next attack worked as well as the other two, opening up a bit more space between them and the insanity rushing at them, Seb felt something shake through the ground, and he froze. When he peered down the alley at what could be coming their way, he couldn’t see for the black smoke from the burning ships. Another thud. In stereo this time. He might not have known what species came towards them, but from the sounds, he knew there were more than one. He knew they were gargantuan.
What the hell is that noise? Sparks said.
Before Seb could reply, they burst through the smoke. The sight of them forced gasps and screams from his brothers and sisters around him. The creatures looked to be made from rock like Owsk, but they were four times the size of him, at least. Trolls like he’d never seen before. Thirty of them, if not more. They moved more slowly than their smaller attackers, but they looked no less insane and taken over with Enigma’s fury. Rubber bullets wouldn’t do anything against them.
Retreat, Seb said. If we can avoid killing them, we should. They’ve done nothing wrong. We can always come back when we’re better armed.
“It’s them or us,” a rookie on Seb’s right shouted at him as it drew its blaster.
“No!” Seb called, thrusting a halting hand in its direction. “Get back to the ships and out to sea. There has to be a way to take them down without killing them.”
The rookie looked at him like it didn’t trust what he’d said, but it had clearly been trained well enough to take an order. It and all of those around it retreated while Seb held his position, sending another barrage of rubber bullets down the alley without looking. He had to let the others get to safety before he went himself.
The emergence of the giant trolls had galvanised their aggressors, and they charged forwards again. Another wave of blaster fire came at the Shadow Order’s retreat from the three alleys, bursting out into the open space beyond.
A glance to his left, Seb saw the white-skinned creature that had been on the boat with him. It hid behind the warehouse on its own. Bruke had already retreated. “What are you doing?” Seb called across at it.
“You can’t fight them on your own,” the creature shouted back.
“I’m not going to fight them. I just want to give the others a chance to escape.”
“I’m staying with you.”
Seb poked his head around the warehouse and looked down the alley at the advancing army. After pulling his head back again, he opened fire from behind the cover of the building.
As their attackers returned rubber with lasers, Seb saw most of his army had now retreated. He called at the white-skinned creature, “We’re going now!”
The pallid beast stepped away from its warehouse too.
His back to the attacking army as he sprinted away from them, Seb watched some of the boats racing out to sea as he got closer to the water. His friends stood there without a ship. “What’s happened?” he called at them.
Sparks threw her arms in the air. “They panicked and took all the boats.” She spat on the ground. “Damn rookies.”
Seb and the white-skinned creature caught up to them and stopped. The Shadow Order soldiers seemed oblivious to those they’d left behind as they retreated. A glance back at the warehouses showed the slaves rushing from the alleys, with blasters, swords, and bats in hands.
“We’ve got to use our blasters,” Buster said.
Even with the insanity twisting the creatures’ faces—masks of horror charging their way—Seb saw their innocence. They were like wild animals. They were panicking, nothing more. None of this was their fault. Hell, he’d nearly been one of them. “But it’s such a waste.”
“It’s them or us,” Buster said.
As more and more creatures appeared, pushing the seven of them back towards the sea, Seb still couldn’t give the order. There had to be a better way.
Chapter 9
“Look out!” the white-skinned creature yelled as it ran at Seb. The brief moment Seb had spent not in slow motion passed, his gift kicking in to show him every gruesome detail as it unfolded.
The pallid rookie leaped towards him with its arms spread wide. Its red eyes fixed on him as it travelled through the air. A second later, it clattered into him, hitting him hard around his upper body, sending both of them to the ground.
The creature filled the space where Seb had been just seconds ago. It took the wave of blaster fire intended for him. Red, green, blue, and yellow lasers tore into the rookie’s body, shaking it with the impact, its blood spraying away from it in a wash of green.
Seb took the weight of them both as a stinging blow to his right shoulder against the concrete ground. The pressure of the rookie’s body drove the air from his lungs. Not quite dead, the rookie looked down through its small red eyes. Green blood leaked from the laser holes it had been filled with, a trickle of it running down his face.
An emerald teardrop formed on the end of the creature’s nose. Before it dripped, Seb rolled the body off him. The oily consistency of its spilled essence coated his fingers. He wiped its hair away from its forehead, leaving a wide swipe of green against its pale complexion.
Immediately after they’d been shot at, Sparks and SA stepped forward, opening up on their attackers with a spray of rubber bullets. Although it drove those in the front back by a few steps, Sparks said what Seb knew to be true. “We can’t hold them back for much longer. We need a better plan than the one we’re using.”
Still on the ground, Seb looked back into the rookie’s small red eyes. It gasped for breath as it clung onto life, its green blood pooling around it. “Next time—” it said and took a breath “—one of the rookies looks like they’re going to drown … leave them. You’re too important.”
Seb shook while holding onto the kid. Because he’d made a decision to save those attacking them by returning fire with rubber bullets, soldiers had died. Whatever choice he made, beings had to die, and he couldn’t continue to sacrifice those fighting beside him. Those willing to die for him.
The boy then fell limp. After clearing the lump in his throat, Seb said to those around him, “We need to switch to blasters.”
The instruction they’d been waiting for, Bruke, Owsk, and Buster all unslung their semi-automatic weapons. A glance out at those on the boats floating in the sea, the chance to speak to them through SA remained open. Seb said, We’re switching to live weapons now. Put the rubber bullets down and drive this lot back. We’ve given them every opportunity to save their lives. Now we need to save ours.
A roar of engines from the boats in the sea, Seb watched them come back into land, blasters in hand rather than their machine guns. Those not driving the boats pointed their weapons towards the shore.
The kid’s head still in his hands, Seb stared at it for a few seconds before he let it rest against the concrete. His five closest friends between him and the slaves, they laid down enough fire to keep their attackers momentarily at bay.
Seb got to his feet and dragged the rookie’s dead body to the edge of the water, kissed him on the forehead, and slipped him in. He shouldn’t have died. No other creature would fall because of his inaction.
After he’d watched the kid vanish from sight, Seb pulled his blaster free, raised it to his shoulder, and looked at the three alleys. The others had them covered, bodies piling up from where their attackers were dropped the second they showed their faces.
Seb joined the line of his friends and spoke to everyone in his army. We need to drive these back and reclaim Aloo. Hopefully we can save some of them in the process, but we can’t put ourselves in harm’s way to do it.
The pulse of the rifle ran through Seb’s body, shaking his torso with its rapid fire. He helped drop the possessed slaves as quickly as they appeared. One or two got wildly inaccurate shots off in return
, but many of them were taken down before they could even do that.
Hard to watch the creatures fall, but Seb continued to shoot them the second they appeared. He could have been one of them and understood what they’d been through better than most, but he had to protect his people, and they had to take Aloo back.
The crunch of the boats slid onto the concrete behind them for a second time. Seb and his closest friends all stepped forward to make room. The soldiers from the water widened their line of attack as they joined the fight on either side. The slaves didn’t stand a chance.
But they continued to fight, more and more of them bursting from the alleys. Their screams exploded from the tight walkways with them. Many of them were silenced before they had fully let loose their battle cries. It didn’t stop them. Their fear and paranoia were bigger motivators than self-preservation.
Although many of the Shadow Order’s blasts landed and slowed down the slaves’ advances, many missed. Sparks kicked off the metal corners that sleeved the warehouse’s walls. Chips of brick exploded away from the blasts that crashed into the masonry.
Had their aggressors had any thoughts in their heads other than to attack, they might have used their advantage better. They’d driven the Shadow Order out into the open, and they had cover to shoot from. But they continued to rush out of the alleys with just one thing on their mind: the destruction of those they perceived to be a threat.
Then they stopped. The chaos in the alleys quieted. They were still there, but they weren’t coming forward anymore. Maybe they could save some of them. Maybe Enigma’s programming could be tamed. “They’ve realised they can’t win,” Seb said to his friends in a whisper. With a relieved sigh, he smiled for those they’d save. “At last!”
In the heat of the battle, Seb had forgotten about them. When he felt the ground shake with their slow and steady approach, he looked down the line at his friends. They all looked back at him. It took for Sparks to say it. “Or maybe they’re just standing aside for those giant trolls.”
Chapter 10
Not only had his five closest friends noticed the vibrations running through the ground, but when Seb looked at the Shadow Order army on either side of him, he saw they’d all stopped shooting too. Some were even stepping back towards the boats they’d just come in on. Hold your positions, he said to them. We have live ammo now; that has to count for something.
The looks that came back at Seb showed him many of them didn’t share his confidence, including Sparks, who said, “We need something better than lasers if we’re going to take them down. You saw them, right?”
The sound of the giant trolls barrelled through the alleys, their heavy slathering breaths a rumble in the tight spaces. They were unrelenting in their forward momentum, the vibrations through the ground getting so heavy it felt like the concrete would crack.
Although Seb wrapped a tight grip around his gun, he had no idea what he’d do with it. Despite what he’d said to the others, Sparks was right: their blasts would bounce off the trolls as if they were rubber bullets. They needed something nuclear to take the oafs down.
The rumble of the trolls’ breaths and the earthquake running through their feet melded into one. They were going to roll right over Seb and his army if he didn’t do something.
Despite not looking back at the Shadow Order soldiers, it didn’t mean Seb didn’t have an awareness of all the beings’ attention on him. They needed guidance. But with no military training, how did they expect him to come up with a strategy?
The rumble grew louder still.
Because he had no other choice, Seb stepped towards the alleys. He could be a leader. At least he had that in him.
A whine in his voice showed Bruke’s anxiety when he said, “What are you doing?”
“Someone needs to meet them head-on. Maybe when I get closer, I can work out a way to take them down.”
Although Bruke whined again, he offered nothing more by way of response. Seb took off and ran to the closest warehouse.
When he got to the nearest building—tens of dead slaves at his feet—Seb pressed his back against the wall and felt the earthquake shake of the approaching trolls.
Having only seen them from a distance, Seb drew a deep breath before he peered down the alley closest to him. He froze when he saw the first troll. So wide, it took up the entire walkway and had at least three more behind it. Grey-skinned like Owsk, it looked to be made from rock like him too. A slow-motion view of the creature, if it had a weak spot, he couldn’t see it and probably didn’t have the strength to exploit it either. He’d need a jackhammer to even make a dent in the thing.
Although small compared to them, Seb didn’t go unnoticed. The thing stared down at him through large black eyes. Cold and detached, when it opened its mouth, it revealed a cave of red capable of swallowing him whole. As it drew a breath, it pulled Seb from his hiding place. When it roared, the expulsion of air threw him back like a leaf in a hurricane.
Robbed of his cover, Seb rolled over several times before he came to a halt in the middle of the expanse of concrete between the warehouses and the sea. It afforded him a view down all three alleys at once. A troll led the line in each of them, splashes of blood bursting from beneath their feet as they crushed the dead bodies in their path. All three of them had others behind them, each line a death train travelling with the force of a natural disaster.
Nothing for it, Seb spoke to the army while remaining seated. We can’t do anything against them—but before he could finish, he heard them.
Seb turned around to watch a line of chrome mechs land behind him. The slam of their touching down halted even the trolls. Eight in total, each of them stood larger than even the tallest of the rocky giants in the alleys.
As Seb scrambled to his feet, he watched the mechs form a protective line between the rest of the Shadow Order army and their attackers.
The trolls yelled, their roars shaking off the warehouses’ walls on either side of them. The whir of the mechs arming themselves met their cries. Guns burst from shiny chrome arms and turned fists into Gatling guns.
What are you doing? SA said to Seb.
Despite the trolls being distracted, Seb hadn’t moved. Before he could set off, he heard a thwoom and then a hiss of chains. The rush of air knocked him to the ground again as a projectile flew over his head. From where he sat, he watched the large metal cargo net catch the troll and send it stumbling back into the alley with the others behind it. Not only that, but the net clung to the walls on either side, pinning them in like a spider’s web.
Two other mechs loosed their nets, sealing each alley with the trolls still inside them.
As one, the mechs leapt into the air and flew over the top of the warehouses. While getting to his feet for a second time, Seb listened to them land on the other side and loose another series of nets.
The sound of several more projectiles rang out. A different noise than the chains, more a pop than a whoosh. A few seconds later, yellow gas rose from the ground and started to fill the alleys.
One of the mechs came back over and landed in front of Seb. It hit the ground so hard, it flipped him like a pea on a drum.
With a whoosh of hydraulics, the front of the large vessel opened to reveal Reyes. She smiled, her happiness quickly fading when she looked down at the dead bodies on the ground. Some were Shadow Order soldiers, although they were mostly slaves. “Sorry we didn’t get to you sooner. We had to wait for the lasers to stop firing in the sky. We wouldn’t have made it in against those anti-air cannons.”
Before Seb could reply, Reyes looked out at the rest of the Shadow Order army, winking when she made eye contact with Sparks. When she spoke, her suit amplified her voice so the army could hear her. “We have this under control now. They can’t get out of the alleys, and the gas will knock them out cold for hours. You should all get back to the base before the gas hits you.”
But none of them moved. It took a few seconds for Seb to see they were all staring
at him. Well done, he said to them, still talking through SA. We fought a hard and well-won battle. There were more casualties than there should have been on both sides, but I think we have most of the chaos contained now. The mechs will do a sweep of the port. It shouldn’t be too much more work to reclaim Aloo. Now we need to get on the boats and head back to the Shadow Order’s base. There are many more places that need our help.
As the army pulled back, Reyes nodded at Seb. “You did us proud.”
“We wouldn’t have finished it without you. And next time I could do with you beside me; I know nothing about the tactics of war.”
Shrugging, Reyes said, “I think you did okay.” She saluted him. “Well done, sir.”
Although he saw the sincerity in her gesture, it meant nothing to him. Too many had died. Still, he nodded and said, “Thank you.” And with that, he headed back to one of the boats with the others. They might have Aloo back under control, but they had a hell of a lot more work ahead of them.
Chapter 11
Where the conference room in the Shadow Order’s base had been laid out so Moses could stand at the front and deliver his knowledge, he’d since rearranged it, clearing many of the chairs to one side and leaving the few remaining laid out in a circle. It gave Seb a view of all the beings around him. Maybe Moses saw them all as equals now. Even if he didn’t, it looked like he wanted to give that impression.
Seb shivered again. No matter how many times he’d asked him, Moses never lifted the temperature of the room. Although, none of the others complained about it, so maybe Moses never had cause to. Why should their environment be set to meet the needs of just one individual? Seb could always put a coat on. A look at the others, they all stared back at him as he went around the circle. Owsk, Buster, SA, Sparks, Reyes, Bruke, Moses, and Mr. H.
Moses finally broke the silence. “Well done, all of you. You took Aloo back.”
The Shadow Order - Books 1 - 8 + 120 Seconds (The complete series): A Space Opera Page 117
