STRIKE: THE HERO FROM THE SKY (STRIKE TRILOGY, BOOK 1)

by Charlie Wood

  “Hey, what the hell, O,” Keplar yelled. “Let the damn kid stay. Let’s see how he likes it tomorrow when he—”

  A Hoplite dropped from the sky, landing on Keplar’s back and sinking its teeth into his blue fur. With a grunt, he reached back, threw the bug to the ground, and blasted it into goo.

  “Let’s see how he likes it,” the husky finished, “when he’s lying in bed tomorrow with a couple of broken legs and a whole lotta regret.”

  Orion turned and fired at a distant Hoplite.

  “You stay near me,” he said. “Do exactly as I say. Do you understand?”

  Tobin nodded. He watched Aykrada; a Hoplite was charging at her, but she used her stone fist to squish it into the ground. Then, reaching up, she grabbed another Hoplite out of the sky, before flinging it into the far off woods.

  Tobin decided he better do something to earn his keep. He looked for an easy target.

  He found one: a lone Hoplite, standing away from the battle and using a burning tree branch to set a house on fire. Its back was to Tobin, and it was completely distracted.

  Tobin took a deep breath. He gripped the wooden bo-staff, clenched his teeth, yelled in battle, and ran at the Hoplite. When he reached the bug, he brought the weapon down, smashing it over its ugly head.

  But the Hoplite simply stood up straight. It turned around. It wasn’t even dazed—only annoyed.

  Tobin looked at his mop handle, wondering what went wrong.

  The Hoplite approached. As it waved the burning tree branch at the boy, he could feel the heat of its fire singing his face. He turned away and closed his eyes. “So this is how it ends,” he thought. “Burnt to death by a three-foot-tall—”

  But then there was a blast of blue light and a snap of electricity.

  Tobin opened his eyes. The Hoplite was gone, and in its place there was now a puddle of yellow-and-black slime. Sparks of electricity were zipping through the slime, crisscrossing it from one end to the other.

  Tobin held up his hands. They were faintly glowing blue, and hissing and popping.

  “Huh,” the boy said, waving his hand in the air. He watched it leave a trail of blue light behind it. The light hung in the air before fading away.

  Tobin had an idea. He closed his eyes again.

  He thought about electricity: a power plant, a warning sign, a broken power line, snapping and twisting on the ground. An electric plug, a generator, a cord powering a machine. A lightning bolt, scorching down from the sky and—

  The blue flash again.

  Tobin opened his eyes; wild, blue electricity was now coursing over the bo-staff, flowing through it like a river.

  Tobin grinned. “This is awesome.”

  As Tobin ran back to the battle, Keplar noticed that the boy’s hands and the bo-staff were now both glowing bright blue.

  “Well, look at that,” the dog said with a grin. “The little boy is all growns up.”

  “Not hardly,” Orion replied. He shot three arrows from his bow, nailing all three of his Hoplite targets. “Tobin, I told you to stay near me. Do not do anything unless I tell you to. You hear me?”

  A Hoplite was swooping toward the group, so Tobin swung his staff and sent it tumbling to the ground. “Yes, sir,” he said, twirling the bo-staff in a flashy show of victory. “Loud and clear.”

  Orion grumbled. “Oh, great. Another cocky one.”

  Keplar laughed. “He’s just like me!”

  Orion readied another arrow. “Don’t remind me.”

  Nearby, two Gallymoora children were running away from a murderous Hoplite. The bug was laughing as it chased them, and it was just about to grab one of them with its spindly hands when—

  CLANG! A metal wall sprang up in front of the bug, causing the wasp to smash into it with a SPLAT! Hearing the noise, the two children turned around, seeing the bug’s face contorted into the metal. When the wall receded, the Hoplite stood there a moment, dazed, before falling to the ground.

  “Have no fear, citizens!” the wall exclaimed. With the sound of a piece of steel being wobbled in the air, the wall morphed into Scatterbolt, who stood in front of the kids with one fist on his hip and the other in the air. “Scatterbolt is here!”

  Realizing his heroic pose wasn’t accomplishing much besides making him look cool, Scatterbolt quickly morphed into an even bigger wall—this one was as wide and as tall as a small truck. The two children ran behind him, finally finding a place to hide among the violence.

  “Any of you guys happen to have a giant roll of flypaper lying around?” Scatterbolt asked, spraying his BUG-BE-GONE can at the oncoming Hoplites. “No? Okay, just checking.”

  Near the Gallymoora city fountains, Tobin, Keplar, Aykrada, and Orion were standing in a circle, finally making some headway against the invading hornets. Running toward one of them, Tobin swung his bo-staff and sent it flying upward, where it crashed into another wasp, causing them both to fall out of the sky.

  “Not bad, kid,” Keplar said. “Not bad at all.”

  “Thanks,” Tobin replied. He spun his weapon in front of him. “Kinda reminds me of a video game.”

  Because he wasn’t paying attention, Tobin didn’t notice the Hoplite approaching him from behind. Luckily, though, Orion was paying attention, and he fired an arrow that whizzed right past Tobin’s ear. The boy spun around, startled, as the bug exploded in a POP!

  “Funny,” the old man said, taking another arrow from his quiver. “I must have missed when this became a time to congratulate each other. Stay alert, both of you. Enough talking.”

  “Sorry,” the boy replied.

  But Orion didn’t have to worry about their focus for much longer: soon, Aykrada reared back her stone fist and squished the very last Hoplite. Finally, the four heroes could relax.

  “And that,” Keplar said, “is that.” He raised a boot, stomping on a barely-squirming Hoplite. “You know, they’re actually kind of cute. In a hideous sort of way.”

  Aykrada reverted her stone body back to flesh and blood. “Well, that was exhausting. I should go back and check on my family—let them know that I’m not, you know, dead.” She ran toward City Hall. “Come and see me when you’re ready—let’s see if we can make a plan to clean up this mess.”

  Keplar watched her go. “I hope she has about 500 gallons of anti-itch lotion back there,” he said, scratching a huge welt on his arm.

  Tobin was leaning on his staff, catching his breath. “Maybe her daughter can help you put it on.”

  “Ha! Good call, bro. Actually, now that you say that, I think I’ll head up there right now…”

  Tobin laughed and sat down, light-headed but exhilarated. Nearby, Orion was listening for something in the air.

  “I gotta say,” Keplar said, “you did pretty good, Tobes. How’d you know how to use your powers like that so fast?”

  The boy shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t even know what it is that I just did. Me and Scatterbolt were up at City Hall, so I asked—”

  “Quiet!” Orion snapped, spinning toward them. “Enough! Both of you!”

  Tobin and Keplar looked at each other.

  “Uh, Orion,” Keplar said, “relax, buddy. We won, remember? We made like a giant fly swatter and smashed ‘em all. Bugs: zero, us: one thousand.”

  Orion waved his hand, motioning for the dog to stay quiet. Then he knelt down, lowering his hear to the ground.

  Not far from them, Scatterbolt was still morphed into the wall, shielding the two Gallymoora children and a few other people.

  “Um, Orion?”

  “Yes, Scatterbolt.”

  “I’m picking up something weird.”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s…I’m getting life signs from the Hoplites.”

  Tobin looked to Keplar, shocked. Orion stood and dusted the dirt from his pants.

  “How many?” he asked.

  Scatterbolt waited a moment to answer.

  “All of them.”

  There was a low buz
zing…and then every single dead Hoplite suddenly sprang back to life! The hundreds of carcasses, now chattering and growling madly, rose up into the air, creating a deafening swarm above and around the heroes.

  “Well,” Keplar said. “This kinda sucks.”

  After dashing into his tent, Orion returned to the group carrying his last bag of arrows. Then, as he, Keplar, and Tobin stood in the middle of the city, the Hoplites began to fly together in a donut shape, like planets orbiting around a sun. Gradually, as they moved their bodies closer together, the air in the center of the circle disappeared.

  Keplar spoke from the corner of his mouth. “Are they doing what I think they’re doing?”

  “Yes,” Orion said. “I’m pretty sure they are.”

  Tobin watched as the hundreds of Hoplites lowered themselves and floated in front of him. They were becoming less like a swarm and more like a giant ball of bugs, crawling all over each other like they were building a nest. When the boy looked closer, he realized he could no longer make out each individual Hoplite—they were now simply one slimy, pulsating, yellow-and-black mass. He felt relieved, because surely this blob couldn’t hurt him, not like the hundreds of swarming Hoplites could. But then he noticed something growing out of the bottom of the blob.

  It was a pair of giant legs, which stretched down from the blob and touched onto the ground. Next, two massive arms emerged, sliding out from the sides with slow, quivering slurps. Finally, at the top of the mass, a head formed: it looked just like a Hoplite head, except it was bigger, slimier, and the owner of a mouth filled with the black stingers of the hundreds of smaller Hoplites inside of it.

  A thirty-foot-tall monster was now standing on the street, towering over the heroes. As it lowered its head, it stared at Tobin and blinked, before letting out a shrill scream. The boy covered his ears and cried out, feeling the warm garbage breath of the monster blasting over him.

  Enraged, Keplar leapt in front of the monster.

  “Rarrrgghh!” he growled, firing his plasma cannon in quick succession: BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

  The green blasts created a great deal of smoke, and when it cleared, Tobin could see that the Hoplite now had a huge hole through its chest. However, the hole was quickly filled in with the bodies of the smaller Hoplites.

  “Uh-oh,” Keplar said.

  Reaching down, the Hoplite swiped at Keplar, sending him flying. The husky smashed against the pavement, skidded wildly, and ended up lying underneath a building. Before he could regain his bearings, the Hoplite stomped over and toppled the building on top of him, covering him in debris.

  Tobin spun to Orion. The old man was firing his bow at the monster, but most of the arrows were zipping through its body with no effect.

  “Tobin!” Orion shouted. “Focus your lightning and fire it at the monster! Now, before it gets any closer!”

  But Tobin turned, sprinted across the city, and hid behind a half-destroyed building.

  “Dammit,” Orion whispered. He fired another arrow, then ran to Tobin and hid with him behind the building.

  “Tobin,” the old man said, his voice labored. “Jump out. Now. Fire your staff. We don’t have any time.”

  But Tobin couldn’t. He could only think about hiding.

  Orion peered over the wall; the Hoplite was approaching. The old man tried to string an arrow in his bow, but his fingers slipped and contorted into a painful claw. Clutching the hand against his chest, he knelt on the ground and looked up at Tobin.

  “Please,” he said. “Do something.”

  The boy and the old man were found—the wall was ripped away, and the Hoplite swung a mighty backhand that sent Orion careening into the surrounding woods. Tobin watched as his body crashed into a tree and disappeared out of sight.

  With the Hoplite now only a few feet away, Tobin had no choice but to run. He sprinted to one of the city fountains and pressed his back against the marble, but his new hiding spot was quickly demolished. As the monster reached down and grabbed him in its giant fist, he could feel each of the individual Hoplites that made up the fingers squirming against him. Without knowing if anyone would hear, he screamed.

  A safe distance away, Scatterbolt was watching Tobin and the Hoplite, but he couldn’t move from his spot—everyone behind him would be exposed. Looking across town, he saw Keplar, still lying underneath the rubble of the toppled building.

  “Keplar!” he shouted. “Over here! Keplar!”

  Hearing someone call his name, the dog pushed the debris off him and rolled over. As he stood, he reached up and felt the stream of blood running down his forehead.

  “Keplar!” Scatterbolt shouted. “Over here! Hurry!”

  The dog turned, seeing Tobin flailing in the Hoplite’s grasp.

  “Oh, krandor,” he swore. Then he ran at the monster, with no idea what he was going to do when he reached it.

  Stretching out, Scatterbolt grabbed Keplar’s plasma cannon from the ground. Unlatching a hatch on its side, he removed its ammunition—a glowing green orb.

  “Keplar!” he shouted, heaving the orb across the street. “Take this!”

  “Got it!” the husky replied, catching the ammo. As he sprinted toward the Hoplite, he carried it underneath his arm like a football.

  But the dog didn’t have much time: the Hoplite was raising its arm, and bringing Tobin toward its open mouth. As the boy looked into the gaping cave, he could see all of the slimy, hissing hornets, and their black stingers waiting for him.

  “Hey, fat and ugly!” Keplar yelled. “Chew on this!”

  The Hoplite spun around—Keplar was running toward it. As it opened its mouth even wider, it let out a ROAR!

  But, in that same instant, Keplar leapt into the air and hurled the ammo toward the Hoplite. With the accuracy of a star quarterback, he hit his target—the green orb soared right into the Hoplite’s open mouth.

  The Hoplite dropped Tobin. It gagged. The orb was now a huge lump in its throat, glowing through its skin. As it clawed at its neck and choked, Keplar ran underneath its legs, grabbing Tobin by the arm.

  “This is the second time I’ve saved you from a giant monster,” the dog said. “Don’t think I’m not keeping count.”

  As the monster swiped at them, Tobin and Keplar ran to the center of the city. When they were far enough away, Keplar pushed Tobin ahead of him, turned around, and reached for one of the laser pistols on his waist. Closing one eye, he aimed the pistol at the monster’s neck and pulled the trigger.

  KA-BOOM! The ammunition exploded, sending Tobin and Keplar soaring through the air! They hit the asphalt, rolled underneath a tree, and came to a painful stop on top of its roots. In shock, Tobin turned back to the monster.

  It had been completely blown away, but its remains were now raining down on Gallymoora. As hundreds of pounds of yellow-and-black chunks splattered the streets, the people of the city ran for shelter, saved from the monster but now in danger of being drenched in its guts.

  Still sitting where they landed, Keplar leaned against the tree and pulled himself up. But, as he was standing, a hunk of goop fell inches away from him, splattering him from head-to-toe. Groaning, he tried to wipe the sludge away, but it stuck to his hands and fur.

  “Son of a bremshaw,” he muttered.

  As the dog walked into the forest, Tobin sat underneath the tree and stared ahead blankly. When he heard voices, he turned and saw Keplar reemerge from the forest with Orion. The old man was leaning against the dog, and using his bow as a cane.

  “It’s a big, scary world, kid,” Keplar said as they passed. “But being afraid of it ain’t gonna get you crap.”

  Orion looked to the boy. “We’ll talk about this later, Tobin.”

  As the old man and the dog entered a doorway, Tobin was left alone, sitting in the dirt, as the last of the goop dripped off of the trees around him.

  On the top floor of the Trident skyscraper, Vincent Harris was sitting in his office and watching Tobin on a hand-held monitor; the boy wa
s sitting underneath the tree in Gallymoora. The Hoplites hadn’t been able to beam back much footage from the battle, but what Vincent had seen was enough.

  “Well,” he said with a smirk. “That was unexpected.”

  Rigel was standing by the door. “I agree. I thought his powers would push him much further than that. What happened?”

  “I don’t know, but whatever it was, it was very…strange. He’s not nearly as far along as I thought he’d be.”

  “Should we act now, then? Move ahead while they’re so unprepared?”

  “No—we stay with what we mapped out: we only have to be concerned if we know Tobin can be sent after us. If he’s not strong enough yet to make another trip through a portal, then we still have plenty of time, and we can move ahead as planned. If he is strong enough to make another trip between worlds, though, we may have to reassess our schedule.”

  “We could figure that out somehow,” Rigel said. “Find out if he’s able to travel through portals.”

  “Yes,” Vincent said. “We force their hand—with something small, but something that deserves attention. If he’s able to survive the trip, Orion will have no choice but to send him after us. Then, we’ll know he can go between worlds, and we can begin.”

  Rigel walked to a shelf and picked up a file.

  “Sir, I think I know exactly how we can figure that out.”

  He placed a photo on Vincent’s desk.

  “Their names are Jennifer Robins and Chad Fernandes,” he said, pointing to the teenagers in the photo. “They are Tobin’s closest and oldest friends.”

  Vincent studied the photo.

  “Yes,” he said. “Make the first move.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  THE MORNING AFTER THE HOPLITE battle, Tobin was standing at a sink in the Gallymoora City Hall and scrubbing his arms with a bar of soap. He had been at this for nearly an hour, but his clothes and skin were still covered by the yellow-and-black sludge. As he resigned himself to a life where he would forever be blotched with giant Hoplite monster guts, he heard someone in the doorway.

  “Good morning, Tobin,” Orion said. “If you’re ready, we should get going. The Sky-Blade’s waiting for us.”