The Raven Gang (Noble Animals Book 1)

by Brendan Walsh

  A loud BANG echoed through the roof of the building as a black figure with its fangs furiously bared hurled through part of the glass ceiling, causing sizable shards to shatter upon their impact on the floor. Before any of the other creatures could so much as look up it collided into the large gryphon called ‘The Time Keeper’ like an enraged linebacker, successfully knocking the behemoth on its side. The winged creature looked exactly like a giant vampire bat, which thankfully it was.

  “Yes!” Gary beamed as he recognized Edgar. A chorus of cheers followed from the others as they were able to resume their attacks.

  With the time keeper sent toppling on the ground, Gary heard a slight jingle as it was struggling to rise back to its feet. His eyes found the neck area of the gryphon, where the source of the sound was. It was like two keys being flopped together. They were two bright circular objects, held by a long chain just north of its spine. It didn’t even take half a second for Gary to recognize the objects as the pocket watches that started the whole thing. His and Patrick’s.

  “The watches.” Gary sounded to himself in awe. “He’s wearing them, and they’re glowing.”

  Patrick had started off the fight by charging forward and maneuvering a slash diagonally across Elder’s left side, but the man didn’t have trouble defending himself, he had more than a decade of experience. At once he countered with a forward jab. Patrick sliced it out of the way and rapidly lunged with an attack to the doctor’s shoulder, which again was properly parried.

  “You’re not so bad at this.” Elder smiled.

  He ignored the scientist’s comment and steadied his attacks evenly between lunging and advancing. The doctor did the same, and he successfully kept appropriate space between them. Whether it was intense fright or he was actually a natural swordsman, Patrick was doing all right.

  He jumped forward, but his blade was shunned aside by Elder’s quick hands. “How much longer am I going to do this? When will I rejoin my friends?”

  “When you realize we want the same thing.” the doctor replied with hard determination.

  Patrick steadied his sword, waiting for a surprise attack. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “What you said earlier, about people not accepting Edgar, I want to change that too.” he stared Patrick straight in the eyes, his arrogance from earlier was completely gone. “Have you seen what I’ve created? As I said while you were behind bars, I just want people to believe again that great stories can come true.”

  He wasn’t aware his arm was lowering his blade. Patrick’s sword was pointed at the ground. “But look what you’re doing in the process! What’s your end game? To take over the country? The world?” he shifted forward a few feet in the villain’s direction. “You can’t force it. It needs to happen on its own.”

  “No, not possible.” the doctor replied wearily, dropping out of a fighting stance. He turned away toward one of the big screens on the wall. On it was a map of the entire country, with every major city illuminated in a blue highlight. “I must see it in my lifetime. I have worked too long and hard to not have my results soon.”

  Elder’s enemy took a few curious movements to get a good view of the screen. It reminded him of something from Call of Duty or some other war game where you are about to bomb the enemy, which he sincerely prayed was not what the madman was hoping to do.

  “What is this?” Patrick asked, feeling like a confused third grader.

  “This? This is how I’ll get the nation to kneel before me. Thanks to yours and Gary’s watches, I can easily command all my pets and soldiers to attack, from any of my bases in all major cities.” With a small flick of his wrist Elder controlled the monitor and zoomed in on San Francisco. It cut to an underground room that looked just like the one he and Patrick were currently occupying. The monitor cut to shots of gryphons steadied still like drones, and human soldiers cradling futuristic weapons in their arms. “Look at them, all so loyal to me. And they’re everywhere in the country. Every city will fall at my command.”

  Patrick felt a violent chill filter down his spine. Whether it was because of his shoulder injuries or an overload of stress onto that particular area of his body, he could hardly maintain a calm posture.

  Amidst his astonishment, he managed to get out a few words. “What do the watches do? Why are they important?”

  “They contain a power you couldn’t even begin to understand. A substance only I am gifted with knowledge of.” Elder combated tightly. “Let’s look at something that actually matters, shall we?”

  With another twist of his hand the images of his San Francisco base was minimized and several small videos sprang into view. They were all various media reports from MSNBC, ABC, FOX, and countless others. They displayed on-the-scene clips of several riots and other events, all triggered by the nationwide spread fear of the raven gang.

  “Once we found a way to make everyone fear for their lives we knew taking over the country wouldn’t be difficult. That’s where you guys came in.” he turned away from the screens to face Patrick, whose face was glazed. “After tonight, once the eyes of the world have seen the wonderful things I’ve created and how I defeated the raven gang, the source of their biggest fears, they won’t have to worry anymore. They’ll trust me with their lives, and I can show them a better world.”

  “But many people will die in the process!” Patrick felt his grip tighten on his blade.

  “So be it! It’s for the best!”

  “Forcing a better way of life in the name of safety and security through fear and killing isn’t any way to govern, regardless of how safe it makes people feel. That’s not liberty, that’s terrorism!”

  After finally gaining enough courage, Patrick made his way up in front of the screens. He saw everything the doctor was talking about. The country was in the shredder, and the events of the night so far in Washington DC would surely send whatever stability was left toppling over the edge.

  “I was the kid that drowned his fears in stories.” he started slowly, with growing fearlessness. “I was the student that dreamed of an easier existence. And I was the last little boy to stop believing in magic.” he looked at Elder, anger slowly brewing in his eyes. “And I am the son of a great storyteller. I can tell you for sure that this plan will never work. You can’t win!”

  The scientist sprung his arm forward, the sword eager in his palm. “Then I’ll do it anyway! This world deserves to watch itself implode!”

  “No, I won’t let you!” with surprising agility his blade was nearly at Elder’s neck within a second, but the doctor was more than prepared for his angry outburst.

  “I was afraid of that.”

  Slate and Detective Guajardo combated their enemies side by side while Lindsey helped get her father away from danger. When they made it to a walled-off staircase her father weakly raised his weapon, urging Lindsey to take it.

  “You’ll probably have better luck with this.” he advized as he massaged his lower back.

  “Thanks, dad.” she leaned down and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. “I won’t be too far away.”

  Springing back out, as if she had done it thousands of times before, Lindsey tossed away her blade and opened fire on their flying adversaries. Several of the bullets thundered through their wings, causing them to make unexpected landings and take a rest. After Edgar effectively collided with the largest gryphon he smashed into a crouching wolf before it could leap and bite Gary’s arm off by surprise. It was thrown hard against a wall, leaving behind a canine-shaped dent as it fell unconscious.

  Elder’s captain, Patane, was visibly irritated by the unexpected return of Edgar. The bat’s purpose was to secretly kill anyone in and out of their project who somehow knew too much or would pose a threat. And now, he had long overstayed his purpose for existing.

  “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this.” he growled. He turned his focus to the Tim
e Keeper, who was shaking its head, trying to recover from the bat’s collision. “You know what to do. Bring backup!”

  Everyone halted their attacks to watch the spectacle unfold. Now it wasn’t just Gary who noticed the lead gryphon was wearing their watches. The two objects glowed a blinding, colorless blaze, forcing everyone to turn their heads away. In another couple moments the illumination from the pocket watches was gone, and in its place was another brigade of gryphons and wolves, nearly tripling the enemies they already had.

  Slate nearly let go of his weapon from sheer astonishment. “What the-? Where did they come from?”

  Before Gary could respond to his friend’s question a loud gasp came from the thin side hallway. At the entrance to the main room was a bony, intelligent looking man in his mid-forties, who was looking at everything and everyone in still disbelief. Upon hearing his small cry of astonishment the closest gryphon sprang up, charging straight at him.

  Gary barely had any time to react. By the time the beast was ten feet away from the man he swung his blade as if he were trying to hit a home run. The blade made stinging contact with the gryphon, slicing just below its neck. It recoiled in pain and collided with the side of the wall, which caused large clumps of debris to hail down. Gary dove out of the way, covering his head with both hands and keeping the blade safely tucked under his chest. When he opened his eyes he saw that his sword had split in half. The top half of the blade was stuck in the side of the gryphon’s neck.

  Now that his weapon was barely the length of a dagger, Gary tossed it away and returned to the frightened man. He was no longer on his feet, as he was now sitting helplessly on the floor. A stray large piece of the wall had found his leg, and now the middle age man was lying on the ground, hugging it to his torso.

  “Are you alright?” Gary rapidly spoke. “What’s your name?”

  “H..Hullway. Lenny Hullway.”

  “You couldn’t have stayed outside like everyone else?”

  The scientist looked away from him and with his free arm pointed to the air, where Edgar was hovering, preparing to attack an enemy. “I wanted to see where that thing was going.”

  The battle seemed to be getting heated up around them. Gary helped Hullway onto his good leg and settled him over by a table that was clear out of view, for both their safety.

  “This is all Elder’s work.” Gary informed him. “He’s been planning this here for God knows how long. He has to have more weapons somewhere.” he briefly turned around, a loud crash echoed through the whole hall. “Do you have any idea where they would be? Like a safe or something?”

  Hullway hastily reached into his pants pocket. His arm still shook from fright, so he struggled to keep it still. When his hand exited his clothes Gary saw he was holding several keys, all wrapped around a copper ring.

  “The basement.” Hullway coughed. He found the right key of the bunch and gave it to Gary. “He probably has a lot of stuff down there. Be quick!”

  The only way to get to the basement was to take the small staircase under the main stage, which meant Gary had to rush through all the fighting and hope nothing stopped him along the way. Taking a deep breath, he bolted down passed the toppled tables and chairs like a meth-hazed marathon runner. He made sure to keep clear of Guajardo and Lindsey’s shooting and Slate’s jabs. As he got to the stage he saw Edgar latch on to a gryphon’s back, sinking his fangs below its skin, causing it to cry out. A wolf was suddenly in the air, flying straight for the bat.

  “Edgar, watch out!” Gary warned.

  His friend heeded his call and twirled a 180, slapping his quarry in the snout with a wing which made it fall to the ground. Edgar gave him a thankful nod and Gary slid down below the stage, looking for a weapon that would make their victory easier. Loads of questions were swimming though his mind: why were the watches glowing? Did they make more werewolves and gryphons magically appear? After seeing what the Time Keeper was doing with them, they were appropriate questions.

  Meanwhile with the excess of enemies, the gang could no longer hold them all off by themselves. A few of their flying enemies rocketed to the roof of the hall, making just about all the ceiling fall relentlessly down. The loud concert music generated by Johnny and Jane couldn’t keep the crowd from hearing those massive crashes, along with the roars from the monsters. They all turned around, and as if they were all a liquid, spilled away in different directions. Everyone was running down the streets in fear. What was happening was no longer a secret.

  Johnny and Jane paused on stage, the music stopping as their eyes caught a glimpse of the mayhem occurring inside.

  Johnny groaned. “I guess our show’s over.”

  Back in the computer room Elder deflected yet another lethal jab from Patrick. The latter was much more on edge now, so he figured he would attempt to cool him down with more conversation.

  “Rage is never a way to win a duel. You’ll forget to defend yourself.”

  It was as if his opponent wasn’t listening, and the amateur fighter continued swatting away, with Elder easily countering every time.

  “Tell me who your first target is!” Patrick snapped. “Tell me and maybe we can negotiate some kind of plea deal.”

  The doctor leaped back several sword-lengths, so Patrick wouldn’t be able to slice him as he extracted a small remote out of his coat and aimed it at the screens. The several news reports being simultaneously displayed switched to various camera shots of the same location. The young man looked at what the scientist was showing him. On the largest screen was a brown mahogany stand holding a microphone, with a large seal of an eagle holding arrows and branches in its talons. In the background was the most widely recognized building in the nation. The White House, where President Gregory Gear would be giving a speech in only moment’s time.

  But the most surprising thing was the camera shot that was focused right where the President will be standing. A menacing red light flashed about once every second. Considering the circumstances it didn’t take Patrick long to realize what it was.

  “It’s a bomb. You’re going to kill the President!”

  “That is traditionally how you start a colonial conquest, by taking out the leader.” Elder replied much too casually. “Don’t worry, many other leaders will die right after too.”

  Patrick fumbled for a argument. “The secret service will find out before anything happens.”

  “I don’t have anything to worry about. You’d be surprised with the kind of connections I have.” he added with a nasty grin.

  Suddenly he didn’t want to fight anymore. A sense of bitter futility overcame Patrick as he visualized what would surely unfold on the screens before him. He didn’t want to fight Elder anymore. All he wanted to do was warn as many people he could.

  “No.” he commanded softly. “I need to warn everyone.”

  “And what good would that do? It’s too late. Everything is already in place.”

  Patrick moved forward, within blade’s reach of the doctor. “There must be some way your plan can fail!”

  “My plan?” Elder retorted with surprise. “This was all mostly your father’s idea. I’m simply carrying it out.”

  “Are you trying to make me angry?” the raven gang member boomed. “Let me tell you something, doctor, you may have known my father and Gary’s father well, but you know nothing about me. If what you say is true then I am nothing like him!”

  “Oh? I think you’re wrong. I know all about those strange dreams you’ve been having lately.”

  He could feel his heart drop like an unhinged elevator.

  “How do you know about those?” Patrick demanded.

  The villain cackled lightly. “Not telling, kid.”

  “Okay, then answer me this: what happened to you, Elder? What could have gone horribly wrong in your life for you to become a psychopath that kills millions?”

 
“Many years ago my wife and daughter were killed.” he replied, as if replying to the question had become routine. “And it didn’t take me long after to realize how terrible things were, and that me, Samuel Elder, can do something about it.”

  “You’re really much more cliché than I thought. I don’t know if you told me to make me sympathize with you, or to try to get me on your side, but it’s not going to work. I’m running to the White House to warn everyone. If I can stop the first death from happening, maybe the whole thing will collapse.”

  The doctor eagerly fiddled with his blade. “Don’t take a step towards that door! You’ll regret it!”

  But it was too late. As Patrick was turning around, just about to face the exit door something stopped him. Something metal and sharp. He felt a powerful jab bang him from the back, and it rippled through the center of his body and out through his chest. In a mad panic he looked down and saw the pointy end of Elder’s blade sticking out from his chest, the end doused with blood. The red substance began to filter out from his throat, and dripped out softly like a leaking faucet. The scientist carefully slipped the blade out of his opponent’s back, and Patrick collapsed onto the floor, unable to breath with only a few moments left of consciousness.

  With the duel now done, Elder returned his attention to the screens and tampered with a few of the switches. “Now the commander and chief. Soon the world, with the power of the watches.”

  “This is highly unorthodox.” the President commented as he observed the crowd that had formed outside. “I haven’t even properly prepared a speech. This is going to be a disaster.”

  “It doesn’t need to be the Gettysburg Address.” his chief aid replied. “Just let them know that the raven gang is your number one priority, and that the safety of the nation’s people should come first in the minds of all leaders.”

  Gregory Gear took a deep breath, and opened the front door. Displayed before him was a neat pathway straight to the podium. Several secret service men were huddled close at his side, giving him an extra sense of security, even though it was fully pointless. Stepping onto the small stand, the crowd grew silent. He had the urge to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but that would only let everyone know how nervous he was.