Atlantis - Return of the Nation

Atlantis - Return of the Nation Page 14

by Steven Cook

  With a satisfied snort he spotted the darkness of the ditch and started running towards it. The rest of the creatures followed at a slower pace, letting him examine the ground.

  Once again he dropped to all fours and sniffed around. He dropped over the edge and landed on his feet in the ditch. He quickly noticed slight disturbances in the banks of the ditch. Sniffing again he let out a final snort.

  ‘They are heading to the canal. Follow them,’ he announced.

  At once the Minoans leapt to his instructions and started to run parallel to the ditch towards the canal. M’Varak drew his sword and followed. The hunt was on.

  And M’Varak was an excellent hunter.

  *

  The Canal Bank East of the Fort 23rd May

  Coran and Saraph conferred quietly. They were a short distance from the gating system that allowed fresh water to flow into the irrigation channels. A small copse of trees had been allowed to grow amidst the fields to provide shelter for birds and insects necessary for the ecosystem.

  Beyond the copse they could see the gates. Tethered to the gates was a pair of strange, shallow drafted boats.

  ‘Can you see Dingo?’ Coran whispered.

  Saraph looked carefully down the ditch to the landing area.

  ‘There is nobody there,’ replied Saraph.

  ‘That’s because I’m here mate,’ said Dingo, raising himself up from beyond the lip of the ditch.

  Saraph jumped a little, surprised by the ease in which Dingo had got so close undetected.

  ‘Mate, you better get everybody into the boats. There are a pack of nasties not far behind you.’

  Coran tracked back several yards to where the rest of the group were resting.

  ‘The boats are ready. We need to go now; there is a group of Minoans following us,’ he instructed.

  The group stood up and started moving towards the boats. As they passed Saraph he motioned for the remaining warriors to pause. After waiting a while for the sailors and rangers to pass out of earshot he spoke to them.

  ‘We need to slow the Minoans down. I need you to stay.’

  The warriors looked at each other then nodded.

  ‘We’ll have none of that,’ said Fisher, walking up behind Saraph, Dingo close behind.

  ‘It is necessary. It is the warrior way.’

  ‘Yeah, and it’s the Ranger way not to leave anybody behind,’ said Dingo.

  ‘We need to slow them so the rest can escape,’ Saraph stated.

  ‘We have one last trick up our sleeves,’ Dingo showed them something, ‘this hasn’t been tried yet.’

  He referred to the single action allowed before the strange field surrounding the island took affect.

  Fisher took charge.

  ‘Get to the boats.’

  He grabbed Eraz by the arm and propelled him towards where the sailors were standing. One by one the rest followed, leaving Saraph alone.

  ‘Thank you. I’ve lost enough men today.’ he nodded in thanks.

  Saraph followed his men, looking over his shoulder every few yards to see what the Rangers were doing.

  Fisher stood up, looking down the ditch back towards the fort. He soon saw the Minoans jogging towards them, some in the ditch, and some in the fields to either side.

  ‘Aim high, and do it quick,’ he whispered down to Dingo, who was crouched in the base of the ditch.

  Dingo scooped together a pile of the rich earth to raise the item out of the slow trickle of water then extended a set of legs. He set the device on top of the mound, took a quick look up, made a final adjustment then stood.

  ‘All done.’

  The two Rangers slowly tracked back up the ditch, trailing a pair of wires until they were fifty metres from the device.

  ‘Ready?’ said Fisher.

  ‘Aye sir,’ replied Dingo, dropping to his knees.

  ‘Yoo Hoo!’ called out Fisher, waving his arms above his head towards the Minoans.

  ‘Yoo Hoo?’ said Dingo, looking up in surprise.

  Fisher pointed in the direction of the Minoans.

  ‘Worked didn’t it?’

  The Minoans had stopped their running and were now slowly walking towards the Rangers.

  ‘I think they’re close enough. Don’t you LT?’ said Dingo.

  ‘You got it.’ The two Rangers dropped to the bottom of the ditch. Dingo activated the trigger.

  Fifty metres along the ditch the first Minoan had come across a strange box sitting on the hastily gathered mound of soil. The box had shorts legs, which had angled the box slightly upwards. The Minoan crouched to look carefully at the box. Strange symbols covered the front. If the Minoan had been able to read English it would have made out the words ‘Front Toward Enemy’.

  The claymore mine exploded, sending seven hundred steel balls out in a sixty-degree arc at supersonic speed. The Minoan didn’t have time to register the explosion and was vaporised.

  The steel balls passed on, unimpeded by the dead Minoan and continued to rip into those several yards behind it.

  Fisher and Dingo waited for a few seconds to give it time for secondary missiles to stop flying around. Standing up they looked at the Minoans and were surprised to see that a couple were moaning in agony and moving slowly.

  Realising there was no immediate threat they turned and moved quickly along the ditch towards the boats. They came to a small purpose built loading area. To one side was a jumble of equipment that Dingo and Coran had transported through the jungle and across the fields.

  The sailors had picked through the equipment, selecting pieces of armour and various tools that had accompanied the deceased Rangers in their parachute drop.

  The two Rangers found that the two boats were fully inflated and almost ready for casting off. Carrick had been loaded into one of the boats and the stretcher had been tied down. The rest of their scant equipment had also been stowed aboard.

  The warriors had examined the boats, surprised at their buoyancy and light weight. One by one they climbed aboard the boats whilst Fisher and Dingo held them steady.

  Craig and Carl settled into the boat with Carrick strapped across it, and then helped two of the warriors over the gunwale. Finally Fisher hopped in and took his place. They took up oars and moved a few metres into the river to give the others space.

  Danny, Fitz and Warnett joined Eraz, Coran and Saraph in the second boat held by Dingo. Soon they too were settled and dug their oars into the river.

  ‘Saraph, you take the lead. You’ll be able to talk us past any guard stations.’ Fisher suggested.

  Saraph nodded and dug his oar deep into the river. Slowly they started heading up river. Fisher took station several metres behind them. He looked back at the bay and the abandoned equipment and paused, considering if there was anything that he should have taken with them.

  A movement caught his eye. A Minoan was running flat out towards the riverbank. With a leap he hurtled through the air towards Fisher’s boat. Fisher threw his oar high in defence.

  The Minoan landed heavily on the side of the boat, causing the opposite side to lift out of the water. He flailed around with his arms to keep his balance. One wild swing of his arm, and the sword held in his hand, smashed through Fisher’s oar and tore into his body armour. The force of the blow lifted the gravely wounded Ranger out of the boat and into the deep water.

  M’Varak fell forwards, making the boat splash down. His sword slashed back, whistling over Carrick’s head to decapitate one of the warriors before lodging with a meaty thud in the neck of the second.

  In desperation Craig and Carl attempted to draw the swords they had been given. Unused to the action and distracted by the proximity of the Minoan they were unable to clear the blades from the scabbards.

  M’Varak gradually regained his balance and coolly c
onsidered the two men. Rolling unsteadily with the motion of the boat he slowly extended his broadsword until it rested against Craig’s chest.

  Craig and Carl looked at the blade and quickly stopped wrestling with the swords and raised their hands.

  ‘Back to the shore,’ the perfectly formed words coming from the creature’s mouth shocked the two sailors and the shook their heads before picking up the oars and paddled towards the shore.

  Craig took a despairing look over his shoulder at the other boat that was holding position halfway across the river. All faces were turned in their direction.

  ‘We have to go back.’ Danny started to dig his paddle into the water.

  ‘Danny, we can’t.’ Dingo took hold of his arm.

  ‘We have to save them.’ Danny struggled to release his paddle.

  ‘Danny, look.’ Dingo’s voice was quiet and filled with sorrow.

  Danny stopped struggling and looked towards the shore. The other boat was slowly paddling back to the landing where and ever larger group of Minoans had accumulated.

  ‘We can’t do anything to help them.’

  ‘Craig.’ Danny shouted in despair.

  ‘Go Danny, get away,’ Craig shouted.

  M’Varak looked over at the other boat and realised it was beyond his reach.

  The two sailors paddled the boat until it touched the landing. M’Varak stepped quickly onto the land and turned to drag them off the boat and into the waiting arms and binding of the Minoans. He walked to the edge of the landing and looked up river to watch the progress of the boat.

  In the captured boat Carrick looked up from his position tied down on the stretcher. One of the Minoans considered him for a moment, turned and looked back at the fort and then approached the boat. Reaching down he took hold of the prow, and with a heave, lifted it high.

  Carl and Craig immediately deciphered his intent and wrestled with the Minoans holding them.

  ‘No, you can’t,’ Carl shouted at him.

  The Minoan looked back at them, still holding the prow high.

  ‘We have our orders,’ it said.

  With a throaty growl of effort the Minoan heaved the prow higher and flipped the boat over. It teetered on its stern for a second, before slowly falling backwards, upside down, with Carrick trapped on the stretcher underneath.

  With his foot the Minoan pushed the boat away. It drifted slowly out into the canal. Once out of the lea of the landing the current caught it and started to take it down towards the sea.

  ‘Take them back to the Fort,’ instructed M’Varak to the two Minoans holding Craig and Carl. He watched the overturned boat float away.

  ‘The rest of you with me,’ he said wearily.

  The Minoans climbed out of the landing area onto the bank. As the Minoan who had tipped over the boat strode past he grabbed him by the arm.

  ‘When you are in the field with me you take my orders.’

  ‘Minotaur said to kill the injured.’ It shook itself free.

  ‘Kill but not torture. Follow my orders or you will regret it.’

  The Minoan stared at M’Varak for a few seconds before lowering his gaze from the smaller creature’s furious stare.

  ‘I understand.’

  ‘Move,’ ordered M’Varak.

  The Minoan followed the rest of the Minoans. M’Varak turned to watch the overturned boat drift out of sight then considered the boat slowly heading upstream.

  He climbed out of the landing back into the fields and led the Minoans on a course parallel to the boat.

  In the boat the mood was tense. Each man had felt completely useless and ineffectual, as they had watched the Minoan capture the other boat.

  Saraph took charge.

  ‘We need to get paddling hard. There is another bridge half a mile or so up river. If they are sneaky they will be able to grab us before the guard post can react.’

  The six other men took a collective deep breath and buried their paddles into the water, driving the boat steadily upriver. On the west bank the Minoans easily kept pace.

  ‘We’re never going to beat them there,’ said Dingo.

  Saraph saw that Dingo was right.

  ‘How fast can they run?’ asked Danny.

  Saraph thought for a moment.

  ‘They have the stamina to run for long distances, but over a short distance they can be beaten.’

  ‘Then let’s head for that landing and run for it.’ Danny paused in his paddling and indicated a landing on the east bank.

  ‘Let us do it,’ said Saraph. The others dug deeply into the water and drove the boat swiftly across the current.

  On the far bank the Minoans paused to watch.

  The escapees reached the landing and disembarked. Gathering up their equipment they looked across the river to see the Minoans standing watching.

  Danny raised his middle finger at them.

  ‘Bastards!’

  Coran grabbed him by the arm.

  ‘Come on.’ They climbed up onto the fields and started to run.

  On the far bank M’Varak watched them start running. He looked in the direction they were running and saw the bridge. With a bellow he started pushing at the group around him and got them running towards the bridge.

  The heavy Minoans got into a ground-eating lope quickly, easily keeping pace with the humans across the river that had to struggle with the variations in the surface.

  However, it was the men who reached the bridge first. As the approached it Saraph started bellowing orders towards the smaller guard post.

  ‘To arms, to arms. Minoan attack!’

  As well trained soldiers the unit of guards emerged from the small building fully armed. The ten men and their officer saw Saraph pointing across the bridge.

  The Minoans had started to cross the bridge in a staggered line. Immediately the warriors formed two lines and faced them. They braced their heavy spears in preparation. The survivors lifted their javelins and joined them.

  The six Minoans regarded the wall of spears facing them. The Minoan who had tipped the boat looked at M’Varak apprehensively, silently asking for the order to retreat. Catching lightly armed scouts in ambush or escaped prisoners was one thing, attacking heavily armed and armoured warriors who were in the open and prepared was something else.

  M’Varak jabbed his sword towards the waiting warriors.

  ‘We have our orders,’ he rasped.

  Hesitantly the Minoans edged forwards.

  Realising that retreat was not an option M’Varak resorted to drastic tactics.

  ‘Move,’ he stabbed the point of his sword an inch into the back of the boat tipping Minoan.

  The creature bellowed in pain then strode forward, fearing the threat behind more than the gathered humans. When it reached a point about twenty metres from the warriors it thrust its head forward and roared at them.

  Eraz was waiting for the moment and cast his javelin. The throw was true. The blade of the javelin smashed past the Minoans teeth, through its mouth and lodged in the back of its neck. The creature collapsed, splintering the shaft of the javelin. It started to panic as blood started to pour down into its lungs.

  The remaining four Minoans had followed behind slowly, prompted by M’Varak. They looked down at their companion, then at the humans.

  Eraz was grinning wildly as he hefted another Javelin taken from Danny. He invited them to attack with a waved invitation. The spearmen took a step forward and set their weapons.

  The Minoans looked at each other, then at M’Varak. Realising that the smaller Minoan could not stop them they turned and ran.

  M’Varak caught the arm of one of the fleeing Minoans in an attempt to prevent a rout. With a roar it shook its arm free. It faced him, then wildly jabbed the head of its axe into M’Varak�
�€™s face.

  The blow snapped M’Varak’s head back. He stumbled back then tripped over the body of the fallen Minoan. Flailing madly he fell backwards. His head hit the roads surface, stunning him.

  He came to shortly afterwards to find himself surrounded by the guardsmen. He swept his hand around, attempting to find his sword. He stopped as he felt the tip touch his chest. Looking up he saw Danny looking down at him, holding the hilt in both hands.

  ‘You are in deep shit arsehole.’ M’Varak relaxed as realisation hit him.

  Danny moved back, letting Saraph take his place.

  ‘Get up slowly, and don’t try anything.’ Saraph held his sword ready as the Minoan slowly rolled over and got to his feet.

  ‘Arms behind your back,’ he instructed.

  M’Varak complied reluctantly. Two guards handed their spears to a colleague and moved in with some rope. They quickly secured his arms tightly behind him. They also looped ropes around his ankles, moved back, and held the free ends ready.

  ‘Move,’ Saraph indicated the guardhouse.

  M’Varak started shuffling towards the building, wondering what fate would befall him. He cast one final glance over his shoulder to see his squad pause at the point where the bridge met the bank.

  One of the Minoan warriors took one look at him and a bovine grin spread across its face. It then loped after the other three.

  ‘Honourless cowards,’ M’Varak whispered to himself.

  *

  The Canal 23rd May

  Fisher plunged deep into the water and started sinking as the heavy combination of body armour and Orichalcum strips dragged him down. The cold water was a shock to his system. Resisting panic, he released the latches and stripped the armour off. He released it into the depths and started to rise as it drifted to the canal bed.

  He kicked hard for the light above and finally broke the surface. Gasping he gulped a breath of air deep into his burning lungs. Resisting the urge to cough he looked quickly around.

  While he had been underwater he had been carried several hundred yards downstream in the strong current. He kicked out to start swimming back upstream but pulled up as a pain shot through his chest.

 

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