by Saxon Andrew
• • •
Rory called Johnathan and Tyler over, “We don’t know what defenses the Destroyers have set up.” He looked at Tyler, “You have directions to the house of the slave?”
“I do.”
“Do not land inside the city’s buildings.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know that this is something to worry about but there is a possibility that they may have determined that we attacked their fleets from the air.”
Johnathan’s eyes narrowed, “You think there might be structures above the city to stop us?”
“I don’t know, John. But we don’t know what we’re going to find. Just don’t take any chances.” Rory looked at Tyler, “You don’t need to worry about scouting. Get in and try to take the slave out. If it can’t be done, so be it. Johnathan and I will scout out the enemy’s positions.”
Tyler nodded, looked at John who nodded, and turned back to Rory, “How long do I have to make this happen. “We’ll be leaving in forty-eight hours. Do not allow the Destroyers access to your glider pack!”
“I understand, Sir.”
“Tyler, this is critical.”
“I’ll prevent it, no matter what the cost, Rory.”
Rory put his hand on Tyler’s shoulder and smiled, “I know you will. Let’s get moving.”
• • •
Tyler watched Rory and Johnathan lift off the stern deck and he waited for them to rise above the ship. He smiled and ran at his fastest speed toward the rail on the opposite side of the rear deck. He jumped and pushed off it with his right leg. He released his glider as he jumped and immediately began rising as he felt the wind blowing in his face.
Tyler weighed a hundred and fifty pounds and the powered glider was larger than the standard gliders. He rose quickly and saw he was rising faster than both Rory and Johnathan. He spiraled upward and turned toward the cliffs. He could see the lights in the distance from his altitude and he moved toward the lights at the north end of the city. He had the map Zeck had drawn taped to the wing above him and picked up speed as he flew toward the huge city. He hoped this slave wouldn’t prove to be a problem. He really liked and respected Zeck and decided that he wasn’t going to let him down. He turned back into the wind to gain altitude and turned back toward the city. There were low-level clouds passing under him as the storm played out and he flew below them to keep the north side of the city in view.
He looked at the map and saw the edge of the forest ran along the city’s eastern perimeter. He turned slightly and flew toward the northern most lights. The slave was located a mile south of those lights. He shook his head and corrected the glider’s path. The larger glider slowly turned and Tyler forced it back on course; it wasn’t as maneuverable as a standard glider. He made another correction and saw the cliffs moving quickly below him. The Storm Chaser was at the edge of the horizon as seen from the top of the cliffs and the five miles quickly passed. He arrived at the city and banked back out to sea. The winds had pushed him a quarter of a mile too far south and he worked his way higher until he was a half mile out from the buildings that marked the end of the city. He looked down at the sprawling city that expanded to the south and focused on the lights.
The streets had covered lanterns lining them and the main street running south toward the city proper was easily visible, even though the storm had blown out many of the lanterns. He flew high over the wide street as he looked for the fifth street that branched off the main thoroughfare and ran toward the forest. He looked closely and turned back twice to take another look. He saw that one of the side streets had all of its lanterns blown out. The lanterns outside the homes on the street were what allowed him to see it.
He turned and moved slowly toward the south manipulating the glider so that it was almost stationary above the city. He finally found the fifth street and he turned and quickly flew its length toward the forest. He banked around and looked on the south side of the street and saw lanterns moving along a small lane. He flew lower and suddenly whipped the glider higher. Something flashed just below him and he reacted without thinking. He kept one of the lanterns in focus and saw the light was flickering. He turned a circle and moved over the lantern again and saw that there was a web of thin metal lines crisscrossing over the buildings. The flash he had seen was the lantern reflecting off the metal wire.
The city was covered with a vast network of crisscrossing cables. He flew back down the street at a higher altitude and marked the third house south of the side street in his memory. He flew higher and flew along the edge of the forest outside the wall that surrounded the city and saw the wires were attached to tall trees located just outside the perimeter. The tree’s lower branches had been stripped off and the wires webbed out from the trunks.
This is just great! Getting the slave out now became much more difficult. He would have to take her through the forest to the cliff and Zeck had told him the forest was inhabited by large predators. He wondered if the predators had been whistle trained. He remembered Andy saying he had encountered predators that ran from his whistle. He held the control arm and pulled his whistle out from inside his shirt. He flew out over the forest and blew his whistle. The roar of the predators was instant and he was thankful for that. However, using the whistle would cause the predators to roar and that might cause the Destroyer Warriors to check out what was disturbing them. He turned the glider back toward the city and lined up on the building he had marked earlier. He saw the forest was dense and landing in the thick undergrowth was not going to be easy. He saw a tall tree behind the tree that had been stripped and he flew into the breeze and stalled his glider close to the top. He yanked the retract cord and felt the wings suddenly lose their lift.
He fell six feet and managed to grab a branch close to the top of the tree. His glider continued to retract and, just as it moved against his back, the branch broke. He fell ten feet before he could grab another branch. It started cracking but he was able to swing his legs forward around the trunk and hold on as the second branch gave way. He hung upside down for a minute as he listened to see if the sounds had been noticed. He couldn’t see any movement so he reached over his head and grabbed a thicker branch. He released his legs and caught himself against the tree.
He was committed now. The only way he was getting out was to walk to the cliff’s edge. He pulled a rope out of a pouch in the glider pack and tied himself to the tree. He unbuckled the glider pack and pulled it around to the tree. He reset the pack’s bonds and moved the release cord to the proper location. He pulled a small pouch off the side of the pack and tied it to his belt. He untied the rope and used it to tie the glider pack to the top of a thick branch he found further down the tree.
The rope and the glider pack were both made of camouflage material and would be invisible from the ground without a head cover. He felt the tree blowing in the wind and felt his nerves take hold of him. He started shaking and knew it had been a close thing. He could have fallen and that would have given everything away. He forced his breathing to slow and after several minutes he forced himself to quit shaking. He was lower than the top of the tree that had been skinned and he could see over the wall. He smiled as he realized he had landed directly beyond the house he had targeted. He reached in the pouch and pulled out a piece of jerky. He began chewing on it and forced himself to remember what Zeck had told him.
• • •
Rory and Johnathan saw the skinned trees as soon as they arrived at the city and saw the cables crisscrossing over the city. Rory started moving south over the coastal wall and looked for other defenses the Destroyers had built. Johnathan flew quickly south and moved out over the large harbor. He flew out over the waters and noted the cannon batteries on each side of the harbor’s entrance. He moved back over the city and circled higher in the winds blowing over the cliffs. He arrived above the huge government center and saw the crossties built into a solid wall more than two hundred yards around the building. The fortifications extended
along the shore all the way down to the harbor. He saw something scattered among the huge X’s and it took him some time to finally determine that they were materials to start a fire. He looked and saw that all of the piles of flammable materials had a ditch running through the wooden crossties connecting them. They had to be channels for oil or some other flammable liquid.
The huge jars holding the liquid were hidden below the level of the wood. He shook his head and almost missed the huge cannons sticking out of the buildings that lined the shoreline. He felt a shift in the wind and felt it suddenly change. The easterly wind had given way to the westerly. He turned and gained altitude and flew out over the cliffs. He oriented on the north end of the city and moved out over the ocean. He moved a mile out and saw the Storm Chaser anchored out at sea. He took off his head covering and the ship disappeared. He pulled the head cover down and headed toward the ship. He had been in the air for seven hours and daylight was not far away. He landed on the stern and looked back at the distant cliffs. He saw a small speck and knew Rory was on his way back.
The information he had gathered was critical and they had to get it back to the community. He didn’t want to think about it but the slave was not as important as he previously thought. He didn’t want to do it but he was going to recommend that they set sail immediately.
Rory landed and saw Johnathan’s worried expression. He nodded and rushed below decks to his quarters and began drawing everything he had seen on a map. He worked on it for another four hours and found that he couldn’t continue. He went to bed and knew the Destroyers had prepared a formidable nut to crack.
• • •
Tyler worked his way down to the ground and walked to the wall. The wall was built using huge tree trunks and climbing to the top of the wall was easily done. He thought about how easy it was but decided that anyone who tried to escape over the wall would have to avoid the carnivores and, from the number of roars he heard when he blew the whistle that would not be easily done.
He sat on top of the wall and stared at the slave quarters against the wall below him. He pulled another piece of beef jerky from the pouch and a small water pouch. He went to his stomach and watched the house and slave quarters. He had to find out where the slave was being kept. He bit off a piece of jerky and settled in. Daylight was coming soon and it would have to be the next night when he’d make his move.
Chapter Four
Zeck was on the deck working the wheel keeping the stern of Storm Chaser pointed in the direction of the northern picket ship. He did it without thinking and watched the smooth efficiency of his crew as they manipulated the small sails. The wind was now blowing from the cliffs and the rear anchor was deployed to keep the ship facing west in the event a fast escape was called for. He glanced at the cliffs and wondered how the teenager was doing in getting Olivia out of the city. He looked to the main deck and saw Rory and Johnathan come up from below deck. They had slept until mid-afternoon. He saw their expressions and knew they were bothered by something. It looked like they had found serious problems in the Destroyer city. Rory came up the steps to the stern and stared at Zeck. “What’s on your mind?”
Rory blew out a breath and said, “Johnathan is of the opinion that we should leave immediately.”
“Tyler hasn’t returned yet. He has until tomorrow morning.”
Rory looked at Johnathan and he said, “The information we’ve collected on the Destroyer defenses must make it back to the Council. That city is a nightmare of defense works and Andy must have this information at all costs. Remaining here is a risk we just can’t afford to take.”
“Would you want me to leave you behind if you were on shore?”
Johnathan stared at Zeck and after a moment he shook his head, “No, I wouldn’t but I’d understand if you did. This is not something we can risk.”
“We’ve not been detected yet.”
Rory nodded, “No, but you said that once the storm clears, they would be sending out more ships to stand guard against any approaching ships. The storm is now gone and you know more ships will be moving out of the harbor today.” Zeck stared at them in silence. Johnathan lowered his head, “I don’t like this either, but I feel it has to be done.”
Zeck looked at Rory, “I don’t think Tyler deserves to be left to die.”
Rory knew Zeck was in command of sailing the ship but he was the overall commander of the mission. He saw the determination in Zeck’s face but he knew what had to be done, “Raise anchor and move the ship out of here.” Zeck opened his mouth and Rory said, “Now!”
Zeck stared at Rory and almost defied them…but he knew he was doing it for selfish reasons. If Tyler managed to get Olivia out, she would die with him. Ophelia would never forgive him. He shook his head and shouted, “Raise anchor, get the sails set, charge the cannons!”
Rory shook his head and knew the anguish Zeck was feeling but the community came first. He hoped Tyler’s mother would understand. The Storm Chaser moved forward after the anchor was pulled on board as Rory stared at the distant cliffs. The sails were unfurled and the ship picked up speed moving out to sea.
• • •
Dawn arrived and Tyler remained prone on top of the wall. It was a partly cloudy day and he was thankful for the shade. It was going to get hot soon. He heard voices and he saw a middle-aged man and woman coming out of the house. They took a set of keys off a hook on the wall outside the rear entrance and walked out to the slave’s quarters.
This family only had four rooms behind their home. Tyler had seen homes, when he flew over the city, with elaborate slave quarters built behind them. Some of them were three stories tall and were actually higher than the wall he was hiding on. Those families must have a high ranking among the Destroyers.
The man went to the four doors and unlocked them. The first two to emerge were young men that looked at the man and lowered their eyes. One of them had his arms in shackles and the man unlocked them. The young man rubbed his wrists and ankles as the man said, “Get over to the south edge and start clearing out the weeds.” The two nodded and the man who had been in irons picked up a shovel and looked at his master. The man smiled, “I really hope you try it. If you don’t start behaving properly, you’ll go over the wall.”
The young man saw his master’s hand was resting on his handgun and he smiled as he started walking toward the south end of the garden. The other young man followed him with his head down.
“Andre, I really think you should go ahead and shoot him now. You know it’s just a matter of time until he gets enough guts to attack us.”
“We can’t afford another slave right now, with all the taxes the Commandant has put on us. Once the garden is harvested, I’ll take care of him and enjoy doing it.”
“He’s been staring at Olivia a lot.”
“I know. She’s just going to have to learn to take care of herself. I can’t be here all the time.”
The woman nodded and opened the remaining two doors. Tyler stared and saw a young woman step out of the room on the end of the quarters. He exhaled. He was at the right place. Zeck had warned him that sometimes families moved and there was a chance the slave wouldn’t be where she was when he had made his last voyage. He didn’t have to worry though, this girl was clearly Ophelia’s sister. Her hair, shape, and mannerisms were almost identical to her older sister. The woman opened the last door and a five year old young girl stepped out. Tyler shook his head. So young to be a slave.
“Olivia, go to the north end of the garden and start harvesting the pods that are ripe. Liza, you come with me and start cleaning the house.” The young girl smiled and followed the woman into the house. The dark haired slave went to the side of the slave quarter and picked up two large baskets and moved toward the opposite end of the garden from the two men. She bend down and began picking red and yellow pods from the rows of plants.
“You know it’s just a matter of time until I take you.” Tyler looked at the man at the end of the garden sneering tow
ard the young woman. She kept her head down and he continued a diatribe on what he was going to do to her. Tyler saw the pure evil in the man’s expression and knew that slavery stole a man’s soul. He remained on top of the wall and watched the house.
Around midday he heard something in the forest. He rolled over and shook his head. A T-Rex was moving north along the wall with its nose raised in the air. He knew the giant carnivore couldn’t see him, but it could smell him. It moved close to the wall and sniffed as it continued moving toward him. He pulled out his whistle but knew, if he used it, the ensuing roar would alert the Destroyer Warriors scattered around the city. They would come and investigate.
He was surprised that the giant was coming this close to the wall. The ones around the community would never get this close to the walls. However, if the Destroyers threw bad slaves over the wall for the carnivores to eat, they might not be as frightened. The giant continued moving closer and it stepped around the tree just outside the wall and was now only ten yards from where he was hiding. It lowered its nose toward him and he knew he couldn’t wait any longer. It was obvious the giant had locked in on his smell. He started to blow his whistle when the T-Rex suddenly went to its full height and roared. It turned and ran away from the wall at its fastest speed. Tyler rolled over and looked over the wall. Two Destroyer Warriors were standing at the bottom of the wall with their rifles raised. One of them had a whistle in his lips.
“What was that beast looking for?”
The second warrior took the whistle out of his mouth, “It might have chased a small animal along the wall and then smelled us. Would you like to go over and take a look?”
“Are you crazy?” The warrior shook his head, “However, if it’s coming this close, it’s just a matter of time until we’ll have to go out and kill it.”
“Yeah, but we might not be the ones on duty that have to do it. Go and tell the lady of the house we’ve run it off.”
