"'ATOI!' I summoned. A thick green aura surrounded me as I encased my hands forming a superheated green energy ball and fired at the Velociraptor. The blast knocked the beast along with its rider off balance burning the creature's face off knocking off its rider to whom he was murdered by the Vendor when he struck his blade through his neck, leaving his sword glued to the floor.
"'Was that necessary?' I asked.
"'As necessary what do you mean?' he asked.
"'Never mind?' I said. The Vendor swiped his blade from the deceased man's neck, I dodged when I though he was going to kill me, but instead he sliced a Neoman in half with a clean cut down the middle. My heart thumped from fear, but it was expected. You could never tell from the Vendor.
"He was numb to everything; he replaced emotion with logic. Everything to him was an equation.
"A Neoman was above him about to slice him in half. I charged my badge and let out a powerful green blast that burned the potential murderer to nothing but a charred skeleton.
"'I was about to get him,' he said in his typical monotone, cold voice.
"'Your welcome,' I ended it. Suddenly, the ground shook. We heard a low, tremendous thud. It was coming from above us, from the top floors. Water sprayed on the cracks. The room was engulfed in a sudden silence.
"Water droplets fell on me; it felt like light rain pelting me. I looked up and moved.
"'What's going on?'
"'Can you swim?' The Vendor asked. I took a double take at both him and at the walls creaking. A T-Rex was about to charge at us until the water exploded from above pouring down a hell of weight, bringing down its creatures.
"'Can you swim?' The Vendor asked. I took a double take at both him and at the walls creaking. A T-Rex was about to charge at us until the water exploded from above pouring a hell of weight, bringing down its creatures.
"The T-Rex was washed away. A giant shark, having just eaten a creature from above it seemed, rode the waves. Its mouth was opened revealing a dark portal. I saw rows of its exposed teeth shaking; its mouth wrinkled on hunger as its last meal's arms hurled out from its mouth. Blood was present on the shark's teeth.
"'Time to run!' The Vendor shouted. I joined with him as we dodged the dinosaurs as the waters behind us washed them away; the shark landed on top of a Velociraptor and its rider, swallowing them whole. The shark wiggled and roared as the cake, now soggy, broke in two burying the hungry shark under tons of weight. Closing in, I pulled out my Iota Badge.
"'Grab on!' I instructed the Vendor. He hopped on my back; my Badge powered up. My arms flattened into hollow bones, feathers exploded on my arms; my head stretched, my mouth became hard and solid; All of my teeth fell out, and I felt lightweight. In no time, I was the glowing green bald eagle, The Iota, flying across the chaos of the Vendor on my back.
"In the air I was looking for Pappy to save him from the chaos. Wait, did I say that? Save him? If there was a God, he would have punished me having uttered such an action. Saving him would mean I would feel so dirty as a woman - no, as a human being breathing the same oxygen as this idiot. But...he was a Sky-Titan, one of the oldest. So I had to save him...if he needs it. And I'm saying IF! And that's a big if.
"Turned out he did needed help. Pappy and Georgia were fighting on a long board broken off from the floor above them.
"'Nya needs you!' the Vendor said all of a sudden."'What? What about Nya?'
"'Turn to the left!' he said. I turned, and I saw a strange guy facing Nya and Susie. He had a murderous look. He looked familiar. Wait...oh dear God.
"'Got it!' I yelled.
"'Just throw me down there!' he pointed to the board where Georgia and Nya were fighting. I arched my back launching the Vendor to the board only for him to slice off one of Georgia's hands.
"Now to go save Nya.
...
The Duke of Washington carried the strange young woman with us as I and Mr. Dalton hurried to the front. We hurried to the dark hallway; we heard a screech. A terrifying screech. I pulled out my Badge just in case out of fear.
"What the hell?" I said.
"Quiet chap," Mr. Dalton said, "Ghosts haunt these walls."
"And what the hell does that even mean?" I asked, "Last time I check, ghosts don't screech they moan!" I whispered passionately.
The Duke hushed me.
Silence.
Grave silence.
Suddenly we heard dull footsteps. We huddled together; The Duke slowly pulled out his badge. It wasn't before long when we saw a heavily built humanoid dinosaur with 17 bony plates along its spine and a powerful spiked tail. He had blood red skin and a bulky build. It carried with him a large, two double edge sword similar to Lyca's weapon but heavier. It gave us a cold, bloody stare with its black, beady eyes. He gave us a dark, twisted smile as he chuckled lowly.
"Well, well, well. Four humans for the price of one? Fantastic," he spoke in a dark, menacing voice, "At least it beats listening to the Earl barking orders around. Well, why not shake the stress by killing a few insects."
"The Earl?" Mr. Dalton said suddenly, "He's behind all of this?"
"So you know him? That means you four must be part of the Sky-Titans. That's wonderful! Now I get to kill and take you guys home as trophies. How great is that?"
"You sure want to fight us?" The Duke stepped forward with his badge at hand, already powered up, "Because it'll surely be your last."
"Unless you're Pappy, and newsflash, you're not so cut the crap, you're unworthy to fight me. The only thing you are worthy of right now is being plant food," he said.
The Duke smiled, "Surely, you do not know who I am," he said.
"Mince meat?"
"Nope," a black aura exploded from the badge as the yellow vertical rectangle on the center shone brightly blue. Black fire encased in him, "I'm your Grim Reaper. Prepare to die."
I tapped on his shoulders trapped in a web of confusion, "What the hell are you doing?"
"Buying you guys time," he said, "Mr. Dalton, take Michael and Nya home. Mr. Stegosaurus and I have business."
"Mr. Stegosaurus huh? So you got jokes?"
"I got plenty," he said.
"Well I have you know I am Sahani Pepo, the Soldier of the great Neoman Race!" said Sahani.
"And you are one racist-carrying bastard are you?" I said.
"Well maybe so, but I can't be a racist against a race that doesn't exist!" he said with a twisted.
"Then show me what your 'master race' taught you, Pepo," I said getting into my kata.
"Will be happy too human. And once I slice you to pieces, I'm selling your meat to a supermarket. How's that of a joke?" Pepo threatened.
"Needs work, troll harder," he said, "Oh and by the way, I'm the Duke. And you're in my house," he ended it with a scowl. Pepo chuckled.
TWENTY-EIGHT
"I STOOD MY ground against Pepo here. From the looks of it, he'd be hard to beat. Michael, Mr. Dalton, the girl, and myself were cornered. There was no way out. His sinister snickering was all but annoying if not terrifying. This could be exciting.
"I concocted a plan for them to escape to pick up Susie and Nya from the bedroom. Thing was it was tricky. A thought came; there was another passageway back in the courtyard. It was risky. Perhaps too risky I might add. Pepo blocked us so he could satisfy his hunger for blood and carnage. I could not have that.
"'Mr. Dalton,' I began, 'Take Michael and the Girl back to the courtyard.'
"'Why on heavens would you...?'
"'There's another path to get to Susie's Room. You of all people should know that. Leave and hurry!' I warned. Mr. Dalton nodded and took Michael to the back.
"'Sacrificing yourself to save your friends? An honorable deed, but foolish,' Pepo stated.
"'It's not foolish to sacrifice for a cause you believe in,' I said, 'Unlike you, I fight to protect; you fight to quench a thirst for the blood of the innocent.'
"'Humans are an archaic, frail race of monkeys,' he continued, 'A weak, dying bree
d of mammals rotting the planet; I will be glad to rid you all from this planet.'
"'Then show me what you got,' I said pulling out my Badge.
"'Gladly,' Pepo charged at me; he swung his giant blade. I dodged his attacks as he kept swinging. He chopped through the hallways as I ran to gain some distance for me to power up. The Kappa wasn't exactly known for its speedy charging times. Once it charged up, my aura expanded, glowing a raven black hue. The quaking ground tripped me up rocketing me to a nearby wall.
"Pepo was closing in, his arm holding his blade was ready to swing, 'Only human.'
"He struck his blade at me; I caught it. I stared back at him, my eyes flaming black. My smile, bigger than his ego, dilated his eyes. I snapped the tip of his blade.
"'You made an error about that buddy,' I said. I flipped back up; I kicked the blade from out of his hands, caught the hilt of the blade and swung it at his neck.
"I dropped his blood-drenched blade and took several deep breaths. I had to rejoin with Michael and Mr. Dalton. It wouldn't be until a matter of time that he comes.
...
Mr. Dalton, and I, with me carrying the young woman, hurried back to the courtyard to search for another route. The Duke was busy fighting Pepo, and god knows how many others were behind him. We had to search for another route, a faster, safer route for us to reach my little sister. God I hope she's safe. We stopped halfway towards the other side of the yard; we lost track on exactly where we were supposed to go. The Duke wasn't exactly big on the specifics.
"Dammit," I said, frustrated, "Where did the Duke say to go when we got here?"
"I have not the slightest idea," Mr. Dalton replied looking as bit as confused as I was, "I will go and check and see where the other passage is. Just stay right there, I'll be quick," he said.
Mr. Dalton rushed to a screen where it showed an image of the front face of the house; I was busy holding the young woman. Speaking of whom, she took a deep breath; she opened her eyes.
"Neomen," she said barely audible. I rose my brow. My patience shifted from Mr. Dalton trying to find a route to where we could hastily reach to my sister to her mentioning beings called...
"Neomen," she repeated, "He's on his way here."
"Who's on his...?"
"I found it, Michael!" Mr. Dalton announced. A door slid opened behind where the screen was, "This is the way to my daughter's room. We must hurry now!"
I nodded. I followed Mr. Dalton to the door. Inside, we ran up the, dark spiral staircase, lit only by a few candles hanging on the walls.
"Neomen," the woman repeated once more, "Neomen, they are coming."
"Neomen? What the hell are they?" I asked Mr. Dalton.
"An intelligent dinosaur race; that's Mr. Pepo's species!" Mr. Dalton explained.
We kicked the door down on our way out and ran in the hallway where we finally came across Susie's bedroom. My Badge shone azure, gaining power as my emotions fired up. I took it out and released a powerful blast at the door blowing it to smithereens. We slowed down as we neared the room.
"Nya?" I echoed. I put the young woman down.
The room looked...different. It wasn't the same rosy white room I saw hours ago. It was completely red pooled with weapons and armor. Mr. Dalton seemed to be not so surprised like I was - however he took a step back. I looked back at him and saw that fear had rapidly trickled up in his spine. Though he did not show it, it was clear just by looking at his face.
"The Neomen, they draw close," said the woman.
"How far are they?" I asked.
"Dear God," Mr. Dalton intercepted.
"What?"
"I know where they are," I said.
"Take me."
...
We hurried to the place where he called the Armory, or what was left of it. Why most of his rooms always had to be made out of glass, I would never know. The room looked a complete wreck. The whole room, or what was, was nothing but a big whole in the wall. Trails of what used to be the floor boards were more like rope bridges without the rope. Some of the walls, or what used to be, fell to ground below, an ocean of glass and wreckage.
"Jesus Christ," I said lowly.
"Well now, more humans," I heard a voice. I followed where the voice was coming from; I spotted a green, scaly reptilian in a black coat over a white vest, and black pants. He had flowing brown hair and carried what looked like a rapier. He looked as if he was serving as someone's Royal Guard. Whoever...whatever he was, he had to have had some connection on what happened to my sister. My nerves were already at the boiling point.
"Who are you?" I demanded.
"Just a man minding my time. If you are looking for the two tiny ones, I'm afraid to say that my pet might have captured them or worse...," he gave me an evil stare, "Alpha."
My nerves evaporated; I was about ready to blow, "What did you do?"
"Oh nothing, my dear boy! That's the thing!" he jumped off a glass wall and balanced himself at a dangling bridge on the verge of falling, "And I see that you have Samantha, the Zeta Werewolf. As beautiful as ever." He blew her a kiss to which she ignored; she instead got on defense. White flames trickled up her arms as her pockets glowed an intense ivory.
"Demon," she whispered, but in a dangerous tone in her voice.
"Who are you? You're nothing like any creature I've ever seen before," Mr. Dalton said his hands picketing to the back reaching for what I could guess, a gun. The demon walked around us; we banded together, the young woman took a protective stance. I had my Badge partially pulled out. I was unsure how this was going to go. This man was connected to Nya somehow and I need to know.
"Classical Dalton; all priss and prim born in a vast of wealth, helping the Titans fund the extinction of our race, now stand defenseless. Where's your Pappy? If you alone, I can probably take you down without lifting a finger," the Demon said with a smug.
Mr. Dalton, unnerved drew his gun at the Demon and cocked it, "I said who are you? I'm not asking twice."
The Demon sneered, "That's so adorable. But if name's what you crave, you may call me, The Earl."
I was getting impatient, "Where's my sister?"
"Who?"
"My sister! Where is she?"
The Demon was silent. I wasn't sure if he thought that I was acting crazy or anything. But honestly I didn't care. I needed to find her. My gut was telling me that this maniac happened to be the connection to what happened to my little sister. However, what I didn't notice was how carefully he was staring at me. It took a minute for me to catch it. His lips stretched far in his cheeks, nodding his head. He chuckled as if he had found something; or maybe he had. I feared the latter.
"Mopy's boy huh? Interesting," he said walking close to me, "And not a day My Lord has taken has your face equal to that of your Father and here you are taking up the mantle," he continued, "So I knew something was off about you. My gut trickled inside my brain vibrating the cells to activate the corner of my skull to scan you. Yes, I know of you. I have known of you for quite sometime," he finished, "Has the quiet life's been boring? I mean according to records, you are your Father's son before well my hands slipped."
"You killed him?" I asked, "You killed them?"
The Earl nodded nonchalantly, "Yeah. They had to die. They were in my Lord's way; they were in my way."
Samantha's fist glowed white, fire formed around her fist. Mr. Dalton held her back. My anger was boiling up. I faced my parent's murderer, and he slumped as if it was no big deal. This creature was dangerous. I had every right to pull his heart from his chest and crush it. I had every right. My body shook in intense exasperation. My hands reached for my badge, already glowing. His grin grew wider, "What do you want?"
The Earl took a deep breath, he sneered and chuckled, "You're so simple. You see, what you have there is The Badge of Alpha, the same Badge that's a threat to our race. All I'm asking is one thing: give it to me and all of this will be erased."
Mr Dalton caught my hand before I reached my Badge
. I wasn't actually thinking of blindly giving my Father's weapon over to this psychopath, I wanted to reflect. But then, he might've snatched it from my hands.
"How about you go to hell," Mr. Dalton pushed.
"Cute," he slapped Mr. Dalton through a glass wall.
"DALTON!" I screamed. Samantha, the young woman, dashed over to Mr. Dalton's rescue; she pulled out her badge, from what I could tell by her ivory, flammable aura. She jumped off the glass cliff, catching Mr. Dalton.
"I wasn't asking permission. Either give me the Badge or...," he paused walking around me.
"Or what?"
"Or else I will murder the only one you care about...Nya," he whispered in my ear. My blood boiled by the sound of her name. This creep just THREATENED to kill my sister! This abomination had to pay for his crimes for what he had done to my family. I had to protect my sister from this bastard! My body heated up, my aura grew intense. The badge I took out from my hands burned azure flames, flowing wildly, mirroring my hatred. My eyes burned yellow, overflowing with intense energy.
All I felt was pure rage.
"You're not going to touch my sister," I said.
"Oh? Are you going to stop me?"
"Stop you? My Father's been too merciful of you. Me? I maybe my Parent's son, but I am not them. Me, unlike them, I don't wish to stop you. I wish to kill you," I threatened.
He got to my face, "Is that a threat? Boy?"
"No. But it's sure as hell's a promise," I blasted him with raw energy from my badge. He crashed on a glass panel hanging on the ceiling, sliding on a platform. He popped his neck.
"This is going to be fun," he said.
I got in my kata, "Bring it freak."
TWENTY-NINE
THE EARL AND I charged at each other; my Badge exploded in blue light, my fists were engulfed in flame shone blue. I felt the pressure in the air harden; I pulled back my fist rearing my head away from his strike. And just when we finally met, we were introduced to a sonic boom. I was pushed back by this tremendous force through a few rooms to the back. My back splashed into the wall drowning me in a large, red velvet, master bedroom. I landed on the floor, my head bashed on the footboard. The Earl flew and landed on a dresser, crouching like a frog in a pond.
The Son of Alpha (The Legend of the Sky-Titans Book 1) Page 18
