Chowsin left the room, brushing past the other two Yakopiz who stood at the door. They hustled in, played with the computer for a moment and then left again. The door closed behind them and the green fluid started to drip down the tube. With each drop that reached his arm, Patrick felt a slight tingle. At this rate, there was no telling how long it would take for him to fully recover.
Patrick had tried to go the diplomatic route, but that had failed. He knew it was time for action. He looked down at his hands and called on the power of fire to melt his restraints. The strain on his body was incredible yet all he managed to produce was a small flicker.
He sighed deeply and dropped his head into the pillow behind him. He was a helpless prisoner, with no way out.
◆◆◆
“We’ve picked up a small magic anomaly on the radar.” A Plutonian sitting in front of a large computer turned to the one sitting at the head of the command center.
“What kind of anomaly?”
“Looks like a large source of magic. Similar readings to the ones our team was hunting down for the King.”
“Well, aren’t we lucky.” The General flashed a crooked smile at the soldier sitting in front of the computer and turned to the room behind him. “Looks like we’ve got some magic to get our hands on! Let’s release the zargon on them.” His eyes went wide, I’ve always wanted an excuse to use this!
“Sir, are you sure we should be utilizing the zargon?”
“Did I stutter?” He turned to his soldier and punched him in the gut.
As the soldier doubled over, the General picked him off the ground and sat him in a chair. He patted his head softly as the soldier struggled to catch his breath.
“Anyone else think the zargon is too much to use?” He looked around the room to blank stares. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get moving!” He clapped his hands and waved to everyone around him.
The soldiers jumped into action as the General walked back to his chair. This will definitely get me promoted.
◆◆◆
Patrick had been sitting there for a few hours, watching as the green liquid dripped into his arm. He had been wracking his brain for an escape plan and finally had something. It was a shot in the dark, but Patrick had been wondering for hours how the green liquid would impact his fire power.
He had been counting the seconds between drops to time his actions perfectly. Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, now! He focused on the injection site and called on his fire power. There was a small flame that entered the tube, just as a drop of the green liquid fell from the machine. It landed in the flame and the reaction was instantaneous.
The fire raced up the tube, hungry for more of the green liquid. It reached the end of the tube and entered the side of the machine where it found the reserves of liquids. Patrick realized what was happening but it was already too late. The machine exploded, tossing Patrick and Zinta across the room.
◆◆◆
“Who is he though?”
Chowsin was anxiously pacing back and forth across the open floor in front of his desk. His wife was sitting in a small chair a few feet in front of him, clicking her fingernails rapidly against the armrest.
“Does it matter? We have to get him on our side before it’s too late.” She looked up to her husband, a worried look in her eyes.
“I know. We both know we can’t win the war without him.”
“But Chowsin, how are we going to manage that? There’s something about him that doesn’t sit right with me.”
“My dear, Yanel,” Chowsin stopped pacing to place his hands tenderly on his wife’s face, “trust in me. How long has it been since I took power? And in that time, how many have died?”
“None, but…”
“No.” He placed a finger over her lips. “There is no but my dear. I have always done what is necessary to keep our people safe. And I will continue to do so.”
“I know. And I love you for all you’ve done for us.” She sighed as she placed her head on his chest. “I worry about our boys. Times are changing, I can feel it.”
“And with that in mind, I know there is no alternative. I must get him on our side. You know better than most the importance of taking our home. I want our boys to grow up in a free world. I want them to run on the ground, not hide in this rolling city.”
“And you think this all hinges on Patrick? One who claims to be from a dead planet?”
“Don’t forget, we once thought this planet was dead.”
“Regardless. How is it that you believe he is the missing factor?”
“You’ve heard the stories by now I’m sure. He was able to call on fire in a way we have never been able to. It’s half of the missing variable. And there’s this!”
Chowsin opened a chest that was lying on the table and pulled Patrick’s battle-ax from it.
“Look!” He pointed at the green flecks in the handle. “I don’t know how, but he already has fragments of the kuat!” His eyes were wide as he ran his fingers gently over the handle. “There are more questions than answers when it comes to the boy.”
A radio in the corner pinged loudly, pulling Chowsin’s attention.
“Isn’t that radio only to be used for emergencies?” Yanel pulled her hands close to her chest.
“It better be an emergency if they’re interrupting us.” Chowsin tossed the ax back in the box and slammed the lid shut. “What is it?” he yelled into the radio.
“Chancellor, there’s a large cluster of unidentified objects hurtling towards us. Early reports are indicating they may be ballistic in nature.”
His wife’s eyes went wide as she let out a gasp and quickly covered her mouth.
“How long until they reach us?”
“Calculations give us fifteen minutes.”
“And our defenses?”
“We’re putting everything up, but we don’t know what kind of attack this is.”
A sudden blast shook the room. Chowsin and his wife were both thrown off their feet. He fell to his knees, smacking the side of his head on the edge of a shelf as he fell. She fell backward onto a chair, which slipped from under her and sent her to the ground. Chowsin grunted as he stood and reached for the radio.
“I thought you said fifteen minutes!”
“Chancellor, that wasn’t one of the ballistics. The explosion came from within the city.”
“Where specifically?”
“One second, pulling the data together. Looks like medical wards.”
“Patrick.” Chowsin dropped the radio, grabbed Patrick’s ax, and rushed for the door with blood trickling down his forehead slightly blinding his left eye. “Get the boys and go down to the bunker.” Yanel sat on the ground, frozen in shock. “Now!” She jumped at the sound of his voice and sprang to action.
◆◆◆
His ears were still ringing but at least the room had stopped spinning. Fires still danced around the room, green liquid dripping from the ceiling and covering the walls continuing to feed them. The supply cabinets that had lined the walls were blown open, green liquid mixing with other materials that were now spilling out.
The mist that now hung in the air stung Patrick’s eyes and lungs badly. He reached up to rub his eyes and realized that in the explosion his bed frame had snapped and his arms were now free.
“Zinta!” Patrick saw him lying in a heap, tossed from his bed and lying only inches from a large flame.
He began to drag himself across the floor, both of his legs still chained to the bed frame. There was no regard for the path he took, pushing through flames and puddles of the green liquid. He felt his adrenaline kick in as he went. Each pull was easier than the last. It was only when the frame of his bed got hung up that he stopped. Looking down at his body he was in shock. He was no longer wasting away but was now larger and more muscular than he had ever been. He reached for the frame around his legs and snapped the metal chain that was holding him, well then. He stood and picked Zinta off the ground, tossing him over hi
s shoulder with ease.
“Think I should do something about these fires?” Patrick looked back to Zinta, still unconscious. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
He gently placed Zinta to the side of the doors where the fire had not yet reached and then turned to face the chaos behind him. Patrick walked to the center of the room where a tube of green liquid was steadily pouring into the room and hatched a plan.
He stepped forward into the liquid, I hope this works. Eyes closed, both hands stretched out, Patrick called for the fire. He could feel as each flame leaped from the room around him to answer his call. It was a slow process at first, the smallest of the flames the only ones responding. But the longer he stood beneath the liquid, the longer he called the fire, the stronger he got, the greater his pull was and soon the flames were springing at the opportunity to join him. Convinced the room was safe, he opened his eyes and dispelled the fire.
“It’s true.”
Patrick turned, having yet again not heard Chowsin enter the room. He saw him on his knees, looking up to Patrick with wonder in his eyes.
“We have waited a very long time for you to come here. Almost my entire life has been spent working the equations. And along you come, a boy who can consume fire.” He hung his head. “I wish I had believed the stories.”
“A boy who can consume fire? You have got to be kidding me right now.”
“Something that has to be seen to be believed! Science has drawn you to our doors.”
“Science has nothing to do with it. It was an accident that I got these powers! And then you locked me up!”
“This was no accident. You were meant to hold this power and it will be the thing that saves us. Please, follow me. You have work to do.” Chowsin stood and began walking back out the door.
“I,” Patrick almost laughed, “have work to do?”
“Please, I must ask you to see past my misguided interrogation and trust me.”
“Trust you? What is going on here! Are you taking crazy pills?”
“It is plain and simple. Without you, our city is going to fall. My home is under attack, and I have reason to believe it is not your people who are attacking. I will place the full might of my army behind you, but you must lead them if we are to survive.” Chowsin held out Patrick’s ax which had been sitting outside the door.
Patrick stared at the ax, grappling with what to do next.
“I’ll do this, but not for you. I do this for all the innocents living in your city.” He paused and scanned the room, eyes falling on Zinta. “Have someone see to my friend, and when I’ve saved your city we are both leaving.”
Chowsin stepped forward and embraced Patrick in a firm hug. When he pulled away there were tears at the corner of his eyes.
“Thank you.”
Patrick took the ax and the pair began running down the hallway.
◆◆◆
XIV: The Rolling City
Chowsin led Patrick through a maze of hallways with several rooms branching off. They hurried past rooms full of screaming babies, some loaded with computer equipment, others with weaponry far beyond human technology. They were now standing back on the surface of the rolling city, eyes pointed skyward as the missile alarms rang throughout the city.
“Those aren’t from your people, are they?”
“No.” Patrick looked up to the sky at the incoming missiles. “How long until impact?”
“Three minutes, if we’re lucky.”
“You said you had an army for me?”
“They’re mobilizing now. But they won’t be ready in time for this.”
“So it’s just me?”
“So it’s just you.”
Patrick looked around trying to form a plan. The city was jam-packed, with just enough room between buildings for two people to walk side by side. He knew that if the bombs fell, there would be a domino effect across the city.
“What’s in that tank?” He pointed to the roof of one of the tallest buildings in the city which had a giant black tank sitting atop it.
“It’s full of kuat, in liquid form. There is a series of pumps and fans up there that mix the kuat with water and then rain upon our city. It helps keep our people young and strong.”
“Is there any way to get up there quickly?” There was a plan forming in his mind.
“Here, take my boosters!” Chowsin bent over and removed his shoes. “There isn’t much time to explain how they work,” he pushed Patrick into a nearby bench and began putting the shoes on him. “You’ll need these too,” he took off his golden cuffs and clasped them onto Patrick’s wrists. “This,” he pulled a small metal rod from left cuff that laid in Patrick’s palm, “is the thrust control. And this one,” he pulled from the right cuff, “is the brake. Trust your instincts with direction.”
“Oh it’s that easy is it?”
“You’ll figure it out as you go.” Chowsin stood and helped Patrick to his feet. “I don’t know what your plan is, but in the name of science.” Chowsin made a fist with his left hand and placed it across his body just below his chest.
“In the name of science?” Patrick tried to mimic the movement. “Here goes nothing.”
He stepped forward and pressed down on the rod with his left hand. His feet shot out from under him as he spun out of control. He slammed into a wall and Chowsin screamed from below.
“Use the brake!”
He pushed down with his right hand and felt himself come to a sudden stop before plummeting back to the ground below.
“Thrust now!” Chowsin was waving his arms as Patrick flailed helplessly.
Easier this time! Patrick pressed the thrust more gently this time and forced his feet below him. His descent slowed and he finally began to climb again. I got this! Now that he was reoriented he pushed harder on the thrust and kept his body straight as an arrow. Up and up he flew, faster and higher. Just like being a bird. When he was a few yards from the top of the building he slowed down to a hover and stepped to the roof.
The missiles were closing in and there wasn’t much time left. He ran across the roof to the tank fire bursting from his neck and down his arms. He pulled back his right fist, channeled all of his energy into a swinging motion and made contact with the side of the tank and kept running. The kuat began to gush out and Patrick stepped just behind it. I hope this works.
He looked up to the sky and sent a wall of fire blasting forward. The flames shot straight through the kuat and out the other side far greater and hotter than they had entered. It was the hottest flame Patrick had ever seen; even the Yakopiz on the ground took a step back as a wave of heat rushed down the alleyways. The wall was growing across the city and Patrick was using every fiber of his being to keep the growing flame under control. He called to the fire, spreading it over the rolling city as a large dome.
Then the missiles began to strike. Each one entered the flames and came out the other side in a cloud of ash. One after another, the missiles were all burned up.
“Ahh!” Patrick screamed out in anguish as he began to lose control.
There was no line of sight to the attack and he refused to let go. He had to be sure that he had destroyed every last missile. He was going to save the city even if it destroyed him.
◆◆◆
”What do you know of the fire?” The voice popped into Gin-us head.
“What fire?” Gin-us looked to the red sea around him, waiting for one to break free.
“The fire that rages in the sky.”
“Do you mean the sun?”
“Let us show you.” The red sea slowly began to move.
“What?” Gneiss stepped back trying to stay on dry ground while the red sea slowly filled the space beneath them.
“They have something to show us.” Gin-us remained calm as he felt the red sea begin to lift him off the ground.
The bubble they were in slowly began to rise. When they had reached the surface, the top of the bubble split open and daylight poured in. Both Gin-us and
Gneiss were momentarily blinded.
“Gin-us!” Xavo was sitting at the edge of the red sea, several feet from where it had parted. “Look!”
Gin-us turned to follow the direction of Xavo’s finger. It was far away, but sure as anything, there was a dome of fire in the sky. Scattering across the top of it were small explosions. If Gin-us didn’t know any better, he would have thought it was a miniature sun shooting off solar flares. Patrick, he thought instantly.
Aliens from Arapholanx: The Burn of Magic Page 19
