by Maia Starr
“I am with you,” Jex said.
“I am with you as well. Let's do it,” Azlo said.
“Are you absolutely sure you want to do this? Tell us how to do it, and we will go do it for you,” Karik said grabbing my hand.
“No, it has to be me. The keddle will not open for you. I have a feeling it will open for me because I have already been connected to it,” I said.
“I can't believe we are going to do this. Let's get going then. The longer I think about it, the more I won't want to do it,” Karik said.
“King, I have a ship standing by. A small but fast speeder,” Azlo said.
“Perfect; lead the way,” Karik said as he scooped me up into his arms and flew down into the village following the other two soldiers.
We landed in front of a small white ship. I had never seen a spaceship up close before. It was spectacular. The door opened, and I stepped inside. Everything was a stark white. There were flashing lights all over the place.
“Buckle in. It is going to be a bumpy ride,” Karik said to me. I strapped myself in in the back of the ship. The rest went to the front of the ship. Soon we were off the ground and flying chaotically in the air. This was it. I was really going to do this. I had to find all of my courage.
“We are almost there. We are coming around the back of the army,” Karik shouted over his shoulder to me. He was piloting the ship. Was there anything that he could not do? He was a king. He was a soldier. He was a magnificent lover. He was a dragon shifter. He was amazing at almost everything he did. He was my rescuer.
Boom!
The ship both jolted! There was a flash of light. Then I felt the sensation of falling. I could barely open my eyes. I was falling, falling, falling. Boom! I hit the ground hard. I open my eyes. I was still strapped into my seat. I realized then that the ship had been blown apart in the air. I was in the back part of the ship, and it had hit the ground. I was in shock. I could hear a loud piercing ringing in my ears. I shook my head back-and-forth, trying to figure out what had happened. I unbuckled my belt and fell out of the seat onto the grass. I quietly and carefully walked around the ship. I felt into my pocket. The drive was still there. I was relieved.
“Karik?” I whispered. “Jex, Azlo,” I whispered. I didn't want to shout. I would just alert Clenok cyborgs to my presence. I could not see the rest of the ship. My heart felt like it was going to explode as I realize that perhaps they did not survive. It would be all my fault. An entire race would have lost their king because of me. I had to make this count. I had to get to that keddle no matter what. Everything relied on it. I would not let the death of these dragons be for nothing. Especially the one that I loved so dearly.
I walked in the direction of chaos and noise. I knew it was the cyborg army. It was complete suicide for me to walk in that direction. But I had to find the keddle. I snuck around in the brush, and as I got closer, I got on my belly crawling forward like a soldier. Then I stopped and looked around. I could see it. I could see the keddle. It was not guarded. I thought that was surprising. But there were so many Clenok cyborgs in front of it between it and the village they were not expecting to be attacked from behind. I stood up quietly, trying to not make any noise. Then I calmly walked toward it. I knew that if I ran, it would be too obvious and it would cause Clenok cyborgs to look in my direction.
I walked looking directly at it. Then a cyborg stepped in front of me. I stopped. It raised its gun at me but did not fire. I held my breath. Maybe it was computing that I was the one hooked up to the keddle earlier. Maybe it had no sense of time and thought no time had passed at all, and it would hook me up to the keddle again.
Then the cyborg was lifted into the air. The gun was pulled from its arm. I looked up to see Karik pulling the cyborg away from me. I smiled. He was alive. I was happy. But I could not savor this moment Long. The Clenok cyborgs would've noticed one of their own in trouble. I continue to walk straight to the keddle. I went to the side that opened, and I put my hand on it.
Suddenly it opened. The hydraulics are allowed. I could feel Clenok cyborgs turning toward me. I acted calmly, like this was normal. The keddle opened, and I took the seat that I had taken before.
I sat down and pulled the drive from my pocket. I knew exactly where I was going to put it. I saw a cyborg walking toward me. It did not have a gun in his hand, and I knew that it was going to hook me up to the keddle. I had to be quick. I plunged the drive into a port. The light on the drive began to blink. I looked at the screen and saw the code that I had written flashing on the screen. It was taking the virus. I guess it thought that it was hooked up to my arm and it was willingly absorbing the information.
The cyborg continued to walk toward me. I didn't know what it was going to do when I realize that I was not plugged in. The needle was close to my arm, but it was not inside of me. But I couldn't move. If I took off running, then the keddle would know that it was not connected to me and that it was somehow getting information from something. It would reject it. I couldn't let that happen. The cyborg started a couple of yards in front of me. It was looking directly at me. The head turned to the screen. The sound of the mechanical head was frightening. Then it turned and looked at my arm. It was processing. Any second it was going to figure it out. I held my breath.
Chapter 19
King Karik Korinth
The ship exploded into pieces. We had been hit. All I could think about was Vanessa. I hit the ground hard inside of the piece of the ship that I was in. I could hear growling. I unstrapped myself and got to my feet.
“Vanessa?” I whispered.
“No, it is just me,” I heard Azlo say. I quickly moved around the back of the ship that I was strapped in. He was strapped into another part of the ship. I quickly unbuckled the belt and helped him to his feet.
“Are you hurt?” I asked, looking at him in the darkness.
“No, I just got the wind knocked out of me,” he said as he put his hands on his knees and took a minute.
“Did you see Vanessa or Jex?” I whispered.
“No. I didn't see anything. It was just a flash of light. I didn't even know what happened until I looked around a second ago lying here,” he said.
“All right. I am going to fly straight up keeping with the tree canopy to see what I can see. You stay right here and stand guard. Whistle if you see any Clenok cyborgs in our direction,” I said.
“Got it,” he said standing straight up and scanning the area. I flew straight up. I could see another piece of the ship; we had to get to it. I flew back down to the ground.
"To our right between those trees. There is another piece of the ship. Let's go quietly. If you see a cyborg use, fire first. We do not want gunshots going off to warn other Clenok cyborgs of our presence,” I said.
“Understood. Fire first,” he said.
We quietly made our way to the other piece of the ship. Jex was strapped into it, and he was unconscious.
“Is he dead?” Azlo asked.
“No, he is just unconscious.” I lightly slapped Jex on the cheek over and over. His eyes slowly opened.
“We were shot down. Be very quiet. We are in enemy territory surrounded,” I said. He nodded his head yes. Azlo helped me get him out of the ship. Jex stood on his feet, getting his bearings back. I looked around but could not see the other piece of the ship. I hoped that she survived. I could not be without her. Not now. I would blame myself for allowing her to talk me into this foolish mission. Then I saw her. I couldn't believe it.
“Will you look at that,” I whispered pointing in her direction. Jex and Azlo both looked. We watched as she calmly walked toward the keddle. There were Clenok cyborgs near her, but because she was going so slowly and calmly, they did not detect her presence.
“Damn. She's got more balls than all of us,” Jex said.
“It's courage or stupidity,” I said feeling angry that she was being so careless. But also feeling extremely proud that she was so courageous, brave, and alive. My mouth wa
tered for her.
"The mission has not changed. We must give her a cover. Azlo how do you feel?”
“I am good.”
“Good. I want you to fly up to the top of this tree. You are the sniper. If any try to shoot her or any of us, take them out. But as a last resort. We do not want to alert them to our presence,” I said.
“I understand,” he replied.
“Jex, you will stay on the ground. I want you to go around to the right. Use fire first if you can. I am going to fly directly over her. I'm going to pick them off from the air if they come near her. Make sure that she and I are clear of your firing,” I said.
“We understand,” Jex said.
“Good, go,” I said.
I saw a cyborg going toward Vanessa. I am mediately flew into the air and over. I grabbed the cyborg just as it was about to aim its gun at her. I picked it up into the air and broke it. She looked up at me. Then she continued on her mission. I carried the cyborg to the brush and quietly dropped it. Then I flew back over her and watched her from up high. She was sitting inside the keddle just as she was before when I rescued her. I could see that she had plugged in something. This was good. It was going well. I looked at Azlo and Jex in position. Maybe we were going to get away with this. I hoped that this virus worked.
Then I noticed a cyborg standing directly in front of her a few yards out. It's seemed to be locked onto her. Then it began to take steps toward her. What should I do? I didn't want to fire at it. I didn't want the keddle to close with her inside of it. I noticed the cyborg look to the left and then the right. Then it picked up its gun, aiming at her. But then it lowered the gun. I think it realized that shooting at her meant shooting at the keddle. This was a good thing. I was relieved. But I needed to buy her some time and get her out of there. I could no longer be quiet. This cyborg was going to be on her in no time.
“Hey, you,” I said to the cyborg as I landed beside the keddle. It looked at me. Then it walked toward me, aiming its gun. I went directly behind the keddle. It followed. It couldn't shoot at the keddle: I had already learned that. As soon as it got around the corner, I was ready with fire in my belly. I opened my mouth and shot fire at it. It melted.
But this must have alerted something inside the keddle. I could hear the hydraulics go into action and it slowly began to close. I went around the corner just in time to see Vanessa running out of it. I moved into action. I grabbed her and flew in the direction of my soldiers.
“Go, go,” I said to them through my radio. We flew in the direction that we had come from around the back. “Keep it low. They shot us down, so they have guns on the side. Stay inside the tree canopy,” I whispered. “Move fast. Be a blur,” I said to them.
Soon we were out of range. I landed on a large outcropping of rock on a cliffside. I put Vanessa down on her feet. Jex and Azlo landed beside me.
“Are you all right? Are you hurt?” I asked scanning her body.
“I am fine. Are you hurt? What about the rest of you? I thought that I had lost you. The ship was shot down,” she said.
“Yes, it was. We are all very lucky. What about the virus?” I asked.
“I got it in there. It was uploading. But then it started to close. I had to get out of there, but I left the virus in the port. Hopefully, it is still going,” she said.
“Good.”
“Vanessa, you've got some balls on you. We saw you walking calmly toward the keddle like it was nothing. You are one courageous human female,” Azlo said to her.
“I don't think I have ever seen anything like that. You are amazing,” Jex said.
“Thank you,” she said. “We should get out of here,”
“Yes, let's go. Take the exact same route we took in the ship. Headed back to the wall. Hopefully, it has not fallen,” I said.
We flew off of the cliff and rounded through the back of the area. It was the same way that we had gone, opposite of the battle. Soon we could hear the gunfire and the sounds of battle. I landed on the perimeter wall. So far, the Clenok cyborgs had not breached even though the electricity was out. But they were slowly piling up. I put Vanessa down on her feet, and Jex and Azlo landed next to us.
“I don't get it. It does not seem to have worked,” Vanessa said.
“It was a good mission. We did good,” I said to her.
"But look. They are piling on top of each other against the wall. It won't be long before it is a ladder,” she said.
“My king. The opposite side of the wall is a mess. We are holding them off as best as we could but there are piles and piles of Clenok cyborgs, and they are going to breach the wall within ten minutes. What should we do?” my lieutenant said to me over the radio.
“I am on my way. Prepare bombings,” I said.
“No, if you bombed the wall, it could crack. It could come crumbling down,” Vanessa said.
“We might not have another choice,” I said.
“Maybe the virus is delayed. Just hold them off a little longer,” she said.
“I need to go take a look at that side of the wall. Stay here with Jex and Azlo. It is too dangerous on the other side,” I said.
“Like hell. I am going with you,” she said. I knew not to fight. There was no use. She had already proven herself brave and stubborn.
“What am I going to do with you?” I said.
“You are going to make love to me over and over when this is done,” she said playfully. I admired her for her playfulness in such a crazy time. It made me laugh.
“I can promise I will. Let's go check it out,” I said. I picked her up and flew to the other side of the wall. It was dire circumstances when we got there.
Chapter 20
Dr. Vanessa Lopez
“I don't think I can wait any longer. We are going to have to bomb this pile of Clenok cyborgs that are building up,” Karik said. He was right. There were so many of them and it wouldn't be long before they breached the wall. It was frightening. But I was worried that the bombs would destroy this part of the wall and make us even more vulnerable.
“Okay, I guess you are right. It is not going to work. I guess you have to do what you have to do,” I said to him. He squeezed my hand and looked into my eyes. I know that he didn't like to do this, but it was required.
“Look! Look!” I heard someone shout.
We both turned to see the Clenok cyborgs shutting down. The red glow in their eyes went away. They fell over. They fell on top of each other.
“Shit. I don't believe it. It is working. The virus is working!” I said.
“You did it. Vanessa, you did it, you genius,” Karik said, pulling me to him.
“This is the most wonderful sight I have ever seen,” I said watching the Clenok cyborgs fall.
There was loud and shouts of celebration and victory. Karik pressed his lips against mine for a brief kiss. I wanted to kiss him longer. But I also wanted to watch this victory happen. I had done this. I was proud of myself. Sure, I needed the help of a dragon alien, but I was the one that came up with the idea and did what I needed to do in order to put it inside the keddle.
We looked out at the fields of battle. It was a cyborg cemetery. Karik flew me to the other side of the wall. It was the same thing. Clenok cyborgs were turned off all over the place. I could see the keddle. It was open. It was not moving. There were no blinking lights inside of it.
“All right, dragons! Listen! I want to set these motherfuckers on fire. Let's make sure they cannot power up again. Go at your own leisure,” Karik said into his armband. With whoops and hollers, the dragons swooped down onto the battlefield, lighting the cyborg corpses on fire.
“Take me to the keddle,” I said. He picked me up and flew me back to the keddle. It was completely shut off.
“I am not going to remove the virus stick. What if I do and it comes back online? It is best that I leave it there. But I wanted to get a better look at this. What I wouldn't give for a camera to take photographs of this inside,” I said.
&nb
sp; “I can take care of that for you,” Karik said. He grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the keddle. Then he picked up his arm and into his armband onto it. A red laser light scanned over the entire inside of the keddle. “This is better than a photograph. It will record all kinds of images and information. You can study it. We can study it. You have already come up with a way to stop the keddle. Maybe we can get this all over the Earth to help bring them down,” he said.
“That would be amazing. I have the virus at home so I do not need that stick. After we are done recording this information, this keddle should be set on fire as soon as possible,” I said.
