Champions of the Apocalypse

by Michael G. Thomas

  “How much longer?” asked the nervous Jonas.

  “Patience, it will open when it’s ready,” he said almost at the same time as the lock clicked and the door swung open.

  Thrax looked behind them, checking for signs of trouble. It looked clear.

  “Get inside,” he said quietly.

  Jonas entered the building first and Thrax followed quickly, pulling the door shut behind them. The two pushed on inside, both looking in awe at what they could see around them. The building was a single room, like a large storage depot and decked out with shelving on all four walls as well as three rows running through the centre, also packed with shelving. Thrax took the left whilst Jonas went down the centre, looking at the equipment. Most of the space was taken up with edged weapons and there were hundreds and hundreds of items. The majority of the weapons were the simple and crude curved and straight blades used by the Raiders. They were simply made and hilted in cloth and leather. Next to them were dozens of crossbows and bows and even half a dozen of the powder weapons. The end wall was taken up with box after box of supplies including arrows, bolts, lead balls and powder.

  “They’ve got enough for an entire army here!” said Jonas.

  Thrax knocked the lid off a wooden crate and pulled out a well-crafted metal helmet. He placed it on his head and was pleased so find it fitted.

  “You’ve got that right, my friend, I suggest we put it to good use.”

  “How can we get the prisoners here though?” asked Jonas.

  “Did you see the building a little further along, the one with the cylinder outside?”

  “The one with the two guards outside?”

  “Yeah, that one. Did you smell the naphtha? That place will burn and burn well. I suggest we start a fire to get their attention. The naphtha will spread around very quickly. Once they start panicking, we break out the prisoners into two groups. One to secure the train, the second will come here and grab everything they can carry. We will meet back at the train.”

  “What about us?” asked a confused Jonas.

  “Well, without engineers we aren’t going anywhere are we?” he asked rhetorically.

  “What if they aren’t there?”

  “We have to take that chance. Anyway, I’m not leaving without Synne.”

  Thrax grabbed one of the large canvas packs and started to load in knives, maces and small swords.

  “What are you doing?” asked Jonas.

  “We need to give the prisoners a fighting chance. They can’t take and hold the train with just harsh language now, can they?” he asked with a grin. “Come on, grab what you can and let’s get going.”

  They continued to fill two packs until they carried over forty weapons between them. Lifting the heavy sacks, they approached the door that led back outside and towards Eric. Thrax opened the door a crack and looked outside. He paused for a moment before turning back.

  “It’s okay, let’s go!”

  The two left the building and walked past Eric and back onto the path. It was hard to look nonchalant as they walked through the town but luckily, the only other people wandering about looked more worried of the guards than they were. Some were workers and others looked like they were the lower echelons of the Raider’s organisation and running menial errands. In less than two minutes they had reached the prison buildings and were inside. They dumped the weapons on the floor and the people inside eagerly grabbed them.

  “We need to get you to the train. I need volunteers to get more weapons from the armoury, the rest of you will wait here until we can arm you,” said Thrax.

  A chatter started and before long it turned into a heated debate. Jonas, sensing trouble stood on a chair to get their attention. One of the ringleaders called out to him.

  “Why can’t we go to the train now, we have weapons?”

  “All you will do is draw attention to yourselves. Wait here until we are altogether and then we will get to the train in one group.”

  Thrax joined in, “It is pretty simple, we need those with combat experience to go first. They will secure enough weapons for you all and meet back here. If we go early all we will do is draw attention to our plan,” he explained.

  “Won’t they see us going for the armoury?” asked one.

  “What are you going to be doing,” asked another.

  “Listen, we don’t have time for this. Jonas and I have more prisoners to rescue from the Citadel. You will all wait here until you here a blasting sound. That is the diversion and the signal for all of you to get going. Once you hear it the combat team, that is you,” he said as he pointed to the armed volunteers waiting at the front, “will get to the armoury. Don’t dawdle, get what you can, get back here and then secure the train and the sheds. We will be back soon. Understood?”

  The group nodded and started chatting to each other excitedly. Jonas jumped down and walked over to Thrax.

  “Come on then, we have a job to do.”

  “No kidding, let’s go,” replied Thrax.

  * * *

  Synne was strapped down on a large wooden table and surrounded by four men, only one of whom she recognised, the traitorous Cainon of the Brotherhood. Above her hung a series of lamps, each one adding to the dull yellow glow that pervaded the room. She looked over to Cainon who stood to one side with a sneer on his face.

  “What do you want?” she asked.

  Cainon turned to the wall and removed a tool with a short, razor sharp looking blade fitted to the end. He moved towards her and stopped a few feet away from her face.

  “First, I want you tell me all you know about your library. Where are all your books, little girl? Even more important though, we’re going to have a little fun with you,” he said with a laugh.

  The other three men all started laughing, enjoying her squirm and no doubt looking forward to whatever plans they had in mind. He moved closer and ran the blade lightly along her leg and towards her thigh.

  “Tell me then, where are the books?” he demanded.

  Synne tried to move but the thick leather straps held her firmly to the table, she was totally helpless.

  “What books?”

  “Funny!” shouted Cainon.

  He pushed the blade through the fabric of her trousers just above her knee and cut into the flesh. It was a shallow cut but the pain was evident as Synne cried out. With the blade still stuck in, he drew it up an inch, cutting through her skin. Blood dripped from the light wound onto the table and a few drops fell to the floor.

  “We lost the books when you destroyed our library!” cried Synne.

  “No, you know that isn’t true, my dear. Of course we burned the library, we burned everything but all the books were gone.”

  Cainon pulled the now bloodied blade from her leg and drew it gently along her thigh and towards her breasts.

  “Now, I will ask you once more and then we start removing things, one at a time,” he said with a lewd tone.

  A low rumble shook through the room and one of the lamps fell to the ground, the oil running over the wick and extinguishing the flame. Several more blasting sounds echoed through the place and two men rushed in through the open door.

  “We’re under attack, the outer palisade it breached and the naptha stores are burning,” said the first.

  “Who is attacking us? We have a deal with the rest of the clans. Send the signal, all warriors to their posts!” he barked.

  Turning back to the wounded Synne he rubbed the blade along her torso, scratching the black leather of her corset before the sound of the action outside forced him to leave. As he went for the door, he turned back.

  “I will be back soon and we will continue our fun!” he said and slammed the door behind him.

  * * *

  Thrax, Eric and Jonas were waiting behind the inner wall of the compound, the last fortification that stood between them and the Citadel. So far, the plan was going even better than planned. The naphtha had proven easy to spread around four locations and once the fir
es were started the entire storage shed had burned and then exploded. Thick black smoke spread across the town and it provided the perfect cover for their escape. With the alarm raised the prisoners had successfully rushed the armoury, and helped by Eric, had taken a vast quantity of arms with which to defend themselves. A small number had gone on the rampage, attacking any guards or property they could find in a violent orgy of burning and chopping. The majority had stuck to the plan though and were already securing the storage sheds and train ready for their escape. All that was needed, was the rescue of Synne and the engineers.

  A group of Raiders came rushing out through the main entrance and headed off down to the path to the sound of the battle. Over a dozen of them, all armoured and well equipped were on their way and Thrax was certain there couldn’t be many of them left in the Citadel.

  “Come on, we need to get inside!” he said.

  He reached behind and pulled the massive two-handed sword from his back. Even in his hands, the sword looked like the kind of weapon that should be carried by a Titan. Pushing ahead, he moved out into the open space in front of the guarded entrance to the Citadel. As expected the numbers were low, just four men remained and only two were looking towards him. He stepped forward with the weapon low and trailing behind him to the right. To the inexperienced fighter the sword looked like any other and being so low, it looked far from dangerous. He moved past the gate and inside the compound. The two nearest guards drew their swords and moved to block him.

  “Hey!” shouted the first.

  The other two men heard the commotion and drew their own weapons to join their comrades.

  “Get out of my way!” ordered Thrax.

  The four men refused, not that Thrax expected anything different. Though he was a big man, the Raiders were no weaklings. They rushed him, all four at once to increase their chances of success. As the first two came within his range, he stepped back with his left foot and brought up his mighty sword from his lower right. It cut upwards in an arc and slashed up in front of him. The first man he caught just under the ribs and the blade continued through his body and moved onto the second where it struck his arm and head. He rested the sword on his left side, the point almost vertical and waited. The following Raiders were already too close to stop though and they leapt into action.

  Jonas jumped into the open space to help but Thrax was already pushing back the two Raiders.

  “Get inside, find her!” shouted Thrax as he hacked away.

  Jonas ran around the vicious melee and towards the large, grand doorway that led inside the Citadel. The door was open and his instincts told him to check. He moved to the side and peeked around the corner to see what was happening inside. From his position, he could make out several figures in the large open room who were arguing about something. He turned back to see Thrax approaching, the two Raiders dead and in several bloody pieces on the ground.

  “What is it?” he asked as he moved to the doorway.

  “There are more inside,” replied Jonas.

  Thrax, unfazed by what he said, reached down and pulled out a small folding-crossbow from a leather sheath on his side. He tossed it to Jonas.

  “You know how to use this?” he asked.

  Jonas simply nodded and flicked the lever that pushed out the folding side sections. Thrax reached his other side and pulled out an identical weapon that he held in his left hand. He kept the massive sword in his right but held it low so as not to get in the way.

  “Now!”

  They both ran inside and into the wide hallway. It was sparsely furnished, inside the room was big enough to house easily up to a hundred people at a time. In the centre of the room stood the great hulk of Cainon whilst on each side of him stood two equally vicious looking men, both of whom were dressed in the armour of his clan and certainly not as the Raiders. They already had their swords drawn and rushed towards Thrax whilst Cainon took a large, two-handed mace from the rack of weapons on the wall.

  “Now!” shouted Thrax.

  Jonas lifted his crossbow and aimed carefully at the closest enemy. He pulled the iron lever and the steel tipped bolt covered the short distance to strike into his forehead. No sooner had it struck his skull and Thrax did the same. His bolt hit the second warrior in the chest but it wasn’t enough to stop him. Without so much as a second thought Thrax dropped the weapon and grasped the blade of his sword with his left hand whilst keeping his right on the hilt. Doing this shortened the weapon and changed its characteristics into that of a short spear. With a quick jab, he embedded the tip of his sword directly into the man’s chest. The combination of the stabbing motion and the momentum of the running man forced his body along the blade until a good six inches of metal pushed out from his back. Jonas threw his crossbow down and drew his own sword whilst Thrax extracted his blade from the dying warrior.

  “Where is she!” shouted Jonas.

  Cainon moved closer, holding the two-handed mace out in front of him.

  “Poor lover boy misses his girl!” he laughed.

  Taking a step forward, he swung the weapon. It was heavy and the mass of the weighted head could smash chunks from masonry and crush a man’s bones. Jonas only just managed to avoid the strike and ended up stumbling and crashing to the floor in his desperation to avoid the hit. Thrax wasn’t awed by either the man or the mace and he knew from experience, that a heavy swing like that would over balance the man. He judged his charge to time with the weapon just passing its apex and crashed into him. Both men staggered across the room before hitting the wall. Cainon was no weakling though and although he was pinned to the wall, he immediately started to deliver low punches into Thrax’s ribs and stomach. Each strike hit like a hammer and for a moment Thrax almost dropped to the floor. Shear willpower kept him standing though and with much effort, he lifted his left leg and slammed his knee hard into Cainon’s crotch. It was a powerful strike and instantly stopped the rapid punches he had been absorbing. As Cainon dropped from the attack, Thrax followed up with a hammer fist blow to the side of his head that sent Cainon to the ground, stunned and unable to continue the fight.

  “You okay?” asked Thrax as he stepped back, still wheezing from the punches.

  Jonas lifted himself up off the floor and staggered over to him.

  “I’ll live,” he replied with a forced smile.

  As he approached Cainon he couldn’t see him moving.

  “Is he dead?”

  Thrax bent down and checked for the man’s pulse.

  “He’s just stunned, he’ll be back up soon though.”

  He pulled back his jacket to reveal two small daggers, both pushed inside thick leather sheaths. Jonas stepped forward and held his arm.

  “Hey, what are you doing? We need him,” said Jonas.

  Thrax looked down at the man and then back at Jonas.

  “What do you mean? He’s just another thug that needs to be dealt with.”

  “No, he is Cainon, the son of Lar and the leader of his clan. He could be useful,” explained Jonas.

  “Useful? You mean like a hostage?” he asked with a wry look.

  “Exactly.”

  Thrax nodded whilst smiling.

  “Now you’re thinking like one of Galan’s men. Good idea.”

  Thrax moved over to the wall where the weapons were stacked and untied a long piece of rope that had been wrapped around a batch of blades. He tossed it over to Jonas.

  “Here, tie him up, I’ll check for prisoners.”

  As Jonas worked on keeping Cainon under their control, Thrax headed to the back of the room and a small doorway. As he approached, he came to a small corridor with three doors, one in front and one on each side. Each of the doors was fitted with a sliding metal slat about the size of his head. He pulled back the first one and looked inside. It was a dark room but he could make out the shapes of several people tied up along the walls.

  “What’s going on out there?” asked one.

  “Who’s there?” came a voice from the
room behind him.

  “Where are the engineers?” asked Thrax.

  “Engineers? Why do you want to know?” asked the prisoner in a suspicious tone.

  “We’re breaking everybody out, we need the engineers to work the train,” explained Thrax though his tone suggested he was quickly losing patience.

  “In that case we’re who you need. I’m Tom and this is Jac, we’re responsible for servicing and running the engines.”

  Thrax pulled the iron bar that unlocked the door and stepped inside. As he entered, Jonas arrived from his tying up of Cainon.

  “Engines? There is more than one?” asked Thrax.

  Before he could answer, Jonas interrupted.

  “It sounds pretty bad out there. We need to get Synne and the engineers out of here.”

  “Is Cainon secure?”

  Jonas turned and pointed to the prisoner who he had obviously dragged along the floor to where they were. Thrax smiled.

  “Good work, you check the other rooms, I’ll get these guys out.”

  Jonas moved to the room opposite whilst Thrax searched about for the keys to the chains. It didn’t take long to find them hanging from a ring on the far wall. As he released the first man, he was surprised to find the second was a woman.

  “You’re one of the engineers too?” he asked.

  “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” replied an indignant Jac.

  “I, uh, come on, we need to go,” said a flustered Thrax.

  As he helped them up, he remembered Tom mentioning the engines.

  “What did you mean when you said more than one train?”

  “They aren’t trains, they are engines,” said the man who was then interrupted by Jac.

  “They’ve had us working on them for almost a year now, since they got hold of the plans from up north somewhere. They have the main engine that goes down to the Trading Post most days. We’ve also been working on their military engine for three months now,” she explained.

  Thrax helped them to the door before stopping Jac. He made to speak but Jonas appeared from the side room with several prisoners.