It was too much to take in all at once. The multitude of impressions was overwhelming. Bitsy nimbly turned around, and with a single flap of her huge leathern wings, she slipped over the edge of the precipice, and flew away. His hand still on my elbow, Madias said, "Let's go Guardian!" We folded space, and arrived back, out in front of Kathy's house.
His hand still tightly holding my elbow, Madias told me, "You have much to learn Guardian! I realize that as humans go, you are old. Compared to me, you are a babe in arms. Know this Guardian! I was old when human's ancestors first trod this world! We see time differently. When I say you have much to learn, you should listen!"
It was beginning to sink in he was probably right. After a moment, I said, "I don't mean to be disrespectful. I've never seen a dragon before. I'd say it's obvious there are many things I don't know about. Please try to be patient with me."
Madias just started to grin as the door to the house came open, and Koda stepped out. She smiled, and waved as she started toward us.
"Are you aware how much you're influencing her?" asked Madias.
"I'm trying not to," I replied truthfully. "I've made too many mistakes in my life to have anything profound to say to a young person!"
"I will say this only once, Guardian," Madias said, lowering his voice as Koda approached. "It's important you try to curb her bloodlust! Her respect for you will grow as time goes by! With your help, she may yet survive what's coming!"
I didn't like the sound of that, but Koda was almost upon us, so I let it drop. She stepped up to us, and quietly said, "We've been wondering when you'd get back. Did ya have a nice trip?"
"It was great," I replied. "Madias makes one hell of a tour guide."
As I was speaking, Koda must have been scanning my mind, because her eyes widened suddenly, and she yelped, "You saw a real dragon?"
"Well, yes," I hesitantly agreed. "It's still sinking in, but I believe that's what just happened."
I could see she was shocked with what she was seeing in the scans. After a moment or two more, she asked, "What do you mean, survive what's coming?"
Madias gave Koda an odd look, and said, "Part of seeing the future, is learning that talking about it, changes it. You’ll quickly find that I’m adept at blocking your standard scans. If you wish to know the future, live it!"
"That's very helpful, I'm sure," growled Koda.
"I must go, before the child grows angry!" joked Madias. I thought flames were going to shoot out of Koda's eyes, but she managed to remain quiet. Madias focused back on me, saying, "I've got to leave you for now. Please consider my request."
I simply nodded. As Madias folded space and disappeared, Koda looked at me, and said, "He's starting to annoy me!"
"I get the feeling it's part of his job description," I responded. I stood looking at her for several seconds. Then I said, "You've talked to me about training you before. Are you sure you really want this? It's not going to be some walk in the park!"
"I know that," she growled back. "I've been training for three years ya know!"
"Now a whole new world of warfare is within your grasp! You'll be the ultimate killing machine!" I quietly observed.
"No," she said quickly. "I'm getting the message. You want me to grasp the concept that killing is wrong! I really do get it Mike. It's just that for years now, I've wanted revenge. Now I've gotten it, and a whole lot more. I understand that there's more here than just the ability to go to war. I can only imagine what effect all this will eventually have on Earth. Simply eliminating the Madness alone may have some earthshakingly profound effects."
"Like the Chosen," I acknowledged. "The very concept that Earth could be free of violence, is something profound to strive for!"
"I get that," she agreed. "I'm sorry! I just know the forces that put Hetrus in power, are still out there! I see us developing all these abilities. I want to go after these people."
"Here's the deal," I said. "If we're going to work together, you're going to have to listen to me! I get the feeling that we're all going to be going through a lot of changes."
"It's just so amok," she observed. "It's like the rollercoaster to Mars!" Her mind was wandering badly. She was talking to herself more than me as she said, "I just need something to keep me moving forward! If I stop and think about what's happening, I'll lose it!"
"I'll keep you moving forward," I said. "Just remember that I tried to talk you out of it!"
"Do you have any kids?" she asked abruptly.
I shook my head, and told her, "Nancy couldn't have kids! It was probably for the best! I was on the run, and in the end, kids at this point, would have been a nightmare!"
She was looking at me intently, and softly said, "You’d have been a good father." I couldn't imagine what she was thinking. In perfect response, Koda told me, "You remind me of my real father. He was a grizzled old soldier, but he had a heart of gold."
"My heart's always giving me grief," I said without thinking,
"Not anymore!" Koda noted. "I've been keeping track. You've stopped taking the nitro!" I could tell she was on the edge of breaching a new topic. She looked down at the ground and said, "For so long, I took for granted I'd be dead soon. Now the whole world has changed. I just wanted to say thank you. If you hadn't given me a chance, none of this would have happened."
"I'm glad you're here!" I said. Even as I uttered the words, I realized I really was glad. Glad she was safe, and the evil villain was dead. Madias was right. Down deep, I suppose I was a do-gooder. It pleased me to no end that Koda was out of harm’s way for now.
"Mike! I gotta ask!" She wouldn't look up and make eye contact. "You're not really going through with this, are ya?"
I smiled at her, and gently said, "You already know I'll follow this through to the end. Even I can see it's the right thing to do." I could see she was mentally dancing around, try to find a way around this. I reached out, putting my hand on her shoulder. She flinched, and I realized how really on edge she was.
She looked back up at me, and said, "Don't think for a minute any of us will let you just go off and suicide yourself!"
I almost burst out laughing, but caught myself just in time. In a more controlled voice, I said, "What did you think all of this training was for? Every time you go out, you know you're in harm’s way!"
"It's not like this! Not for the rest of time!" I could hear the frustration in her voice. It's a hard lesson to learn. I had to keep reminding myself this was just a young girl. Sure! She had been in training. But everyone else here was a grizzled veteran, with over twenty years of service.
There are no words to make this sound reasonable. I finally said, "Even I can see it was meant for me to do this. I want to do this Koda! Don't try to stop me. Please."
Her emotions are too close to the surface. It's a problem she'll need to work out if she wants to lead the life she professes to desire. She gave me an angry look. Then she turned and quietly walked back into the house, leaving me standing there alone. Madias told me I should try to help her. I have no clue what to do! She's so full of anger, it just oozes out of her.
Chapter 17
Amazon Attack
I was exhausted that night, and fell asleep early. At about three in the morning local time, I sat straight up in bed listening. I swore I heard a scream.
Over the years, I’ve gotten used to not ignoring "a feeling" that something is wrong. I got up, and started to get dressed. As I stepped out into the hall from my room, I saw lights on down at the command center. Stepping out into the room, I realized the entire team was awake, and silently getting armed up.
I could sense that I wasn't the only one who heard something. We prepared in silence for perhaps thirty seconds before Shooter asked, "Does anybody know where we're going?"
"Dona's in trouble," said Koda as she chambered a round into the UZI she held. "I got a fix on her position before she went silent!"
"Any idea what we’re getting into?" asked Harold.
"Some
thing bad!" answered Koda. She looked around at us, and asked, "Are we ready?" Everyone nodded, Koda said, "Follow me!" and we folded space as a group.
We went from the dark of night to dawn in an instant. We were in a heavily wooded jungle, and the first thing I saw was Guardian and Critz bodies all over the place. A horrific battle had been fought here, and I mean recently! Bugs and Lisa were checking the Guardian bodies, but it appeared they were all dead!
Before us was an entrance way to some form of old temple. The ancient building appeared totally overgrown, and I'm sure was invisible from the air. While the building might been long abandoned, it wasn't now. I could see light dimly coming out from deep inside the structure. Somebody was moving around inside.
I glanced over at Koda, and she said, "She's in there somewhere!" I debated what to do, and finally said, "Lisa! I want you and Bugs to return home and contact Madias! Find him! Tell him what's happening! Tell him to send help!"
Both of them started to speak at once. I told them, "You better be getting ready to say 'yes sir!' or you can just shut the hell up and get out of here!" They both folded space and were gone without another word. Looking over at Koda, I said, "This is your call! You take point!"
She nodded her head, and stepped in the temples single entrance. One by one, we each followed her in. The place was a wonder to behold.
It looked abandoned on the outside, but on the inside, the place looked almost modern. The first hundred feet of tunnel were simply neat and clean. At that point, lights had been mounted on the walls. The tunnel opened up into a large, well lit chamber. A dozen dead Guardians, and about a hundred dead Critz, littered the floor. Blood was still seeping from the open wounds, so this had occurred very recently.
The chamber emptied into a broad corridor that ran down deeper into the mountain. Our team just kept finding bodies. We went through another large complex of chambers that fed off of a large central room. It was probably two hundred yards across, and appeared to be cut right out of the mountain with some form of laser. The walls were polished smooth, and reflected us as we moved past.
At this point, we had seen about a hundred dead Guardians, and probably ten times that many Critz. Suddenly Koda took off running. She ran over to a pile of bodies, and started pulling at it. Almost at once, Dona's face appeared. There was a frantic few seconds as we all dug to get her out. Then we were pulling her out into the open. She groaned, and started to wake up.
For just a second there was panic in her face. I could tell her last memories were of fighting. There was no time for words, I took the story from her mind.
We were at a secret base on the Amazon River. It hadn't been used in years, but was guarded all the same. Once, long ago, this had been a Guardian contact point. The local natives had supported the Guardians, and even now, the local population were aware that the Guardians were here.
More than that! There was a base twenty miles upriver. It was going to be hit next. Dona hadn't spoken till now, but she abruptly stammered, "You've got to warn them! Local villagers live at our old base. The Critz will slaughter them all if you don't do something!"
She started to struggle, trying to get up. Kathy, kneeling next to her, pushed her back to the ground gently, saying, "Just sit still for a second!"
Looking up at Harold, I said, "Get Dona out of here, and back to Kathy's! Try to get help, and get back here!" I glanced around the rest of the team, and told them, "Get them out of here, and to safety! Then join me at the village!" Everyone nodded their understanding.
"You're going ahead?" asked Koda.
"I can get through the mountain we're under!" I replied. "Warning them without waiting till we're at the temple entrance!" Dona started to protest, but I ignored her, simply saying, "Let’s get to it!" Then I folded space, and teleported to the place I had seen in Dona's mind.
The place looked so serene, I found it hard to believe it was under any threat. If it hadn't been for the mounds of bodies I had seen a moment before, I’d have believed it was a mistake.
The river ran peacefully along the side of the village. I could see that dugout canoes lined the riverbank. The sun must have just risen, because the village was still waking up. Several of the villagers seemed startled at my presence, but nobody ran away in fear. Camouflage netting effectively hid the place. The place was obvious from the river, but invisible from the air.
A few seconds passed, and I could see what appeared to be two sentries walking toward me. One had a spear, and one had a rifle. They didn't seem frightened at all. I’d say more curious.
I had been counting cook fires since I arrived. I could tell there were several thousand people in the camps. It would be a bloodbath if the Critz attacked here. The men smiled as they stepped up to me, and I could see that they had no idea what was coming. I quickly realized I was in trouble. I could read the lead guards mind, and see that he didn't speak English, German, Russian or any of the other languages I can manage to understand.
I had no ready way to communicate with him. He was a simple Earther, still blinded by the Madness. He couldn't see my thoughts. Desperate to warn them. I led them to the canoes, and mimed me begging them to get in, and row away. They looked puzzled for several seconds, and then I saw that were understanding my message. They each left me standing there with a growing crowd of onlookers, and ran off for help.
Just a minute later, another man with a rifle walked out of the growing crowd. In broken English, the man asked, "Help you can I Guardian?"
"This place is about to be attacked!" I practically barked. "You've got to get your people, and get out of here!"
The man's face had become as serious as mine. He grunted, nodded his head, and started yelling commands to everyone around him. In seconds, the camp came to a frenzy as everyone poured out into the open. I was seeing a lot of women and children. I tried to ignore what was happening, and focus my mind on the jungle just a few hundred yards away.
Waves of birds were streaming by. Along the river, over and through the camps, masses of them were flocking past us, making an awful racket. Abruptly, an animal that looked like a small dear, bolted from the woods, and ran past us as fast as its short little legs would carry it. I reached down and pulled the charging handle on the little M-16 I held, jacking a round into the chamber.
The man I now realized was a village leader was screaming at his people to leave. I couldn't understand exactly what he was saying, but I could see the effect of his words as the departure grew more frenzied. Canoes were pulling away now, and the entire village appeared to be in a boat, or trying to get in one. Abruptly, one of the women getting into a boat started screaming. I looked where she was pointing at the edge of the camp, and could see a Critz standing there panting.
The thing stood waiting. Another, and then another appeared. Hundreds began to form at the edge of the camp's clearing. They seemed to be waiting for something.
Two men dressed in grey stepped out, and stood observing the scene. They were almost two hundred yards away, but a doable shot with an M-16. I leveraged the gun to my shoulder, and squeezed off a round. A full second passed, and the grey on the left seemed to fly backward several feet through the air. His partner started screaming commands, and the entire wall of Critz surged forward. Just as I squeezed off another round, the grey disappeared in the mass of creatures, and I saw a Critz go down from my shot.
Subtle time was over! I keyed the gun over to full auto, and let the lead fly. In just a few seconds, the weapon was empty, and my ears were ringing. Dropping the spent thirty round clip from the gun, I reached for one of the four remaining clips I had. I was startled as I heard the report of a rifle next to me cut through all the other noise. I glanced around, and saw about a hundred men from the village holding spears. Perhaps a dozen of them had guns, mostly old rifles and shotguns.
Racing for us was what looked like thousands of these creatures! There was no time to think! I reloaded, and opened fire. The M-16 roared to life, but it seemed useless. Per
haps a hundred men might have slowed them, but I could see I was about to be overrun. I emptied the second clip, and heard it clatter to the ground as I released it, and reached for the third clip. Again, I heard the sporadic gunfire around me.
Then a new sound came to life! My team arrived, and opened fire. I could hear the long scream of the minigun as Shooter opened fire with it. Tim, Kathy and Koda all opened fire with their M-16s. I jammed in another clip, pulled back the charging handle, and opened fire again.
The closest Critz were within a hundred yards. They were starting to slow. It appeared obvious we were messing them up badly.
With a loud snap, I heard the sound of the handheld minigun suddenly running dry. The sound of the electric motor that ran it continued for an instant, and then even that stopped.
I dropped my last clip to the ground, and threw the rifle at the nearest Critz. Then reached for my sword. Looking back at my people, I was shocked to see what looked like over two or three hundred Guardians just standing forty feet behind us, waiting.
Abruptly! One of the Guardians screamed, "Guardians! Stand by me! I command you! Defend this place at all costs!"
The wall of Guardians surged forward. I was enveloped by them, and as I watched, the armies plowed into each other, and a melee broke loose. I had never seen swords used like this in battle. The Critz were armed with swords as well, so it was a really bloody mess. The Guardians were impressive warriors, but the Critz swarmed like ants. There were just so many of them. I could see we were doomed if something didn't happen quickly.
All around me, countless small battles were being won, and lost. Screams of command, and cries of pain, rang loudly through the forest. It was bedlam everywhere. I don't know why, but out of all this mayhem, three young Indian warriors stood out. They were armed with spears, and all around them laid dead Critz. A wide circle of dead Critz bodies lay around them, but they were cut off, and it looked bad.
The Koda Files Boxed Set - Books 1 & 2 Page 15
