Blind Hero

by Nix Whittaker

  Megan frowned as she asked, “Aren’t they patrolling or checking houses?”

  Warren said, “Nah, are they supposed to?” he turned to Toa when he said the last.

  Toa answered, “Yeah, it’s sloppy to not check out the locals. The General is getting lazy in his old age. And that is to our benefit.” He started towards the mansion.

  ___

  Natasha motioned for Natia to get up on the tattoo chair.

  Megan said, “I take it she is suited for the lot?”

  Natasha was fiddling with her inks as she said, “Actually I’ll be putting the sight atramento in as well. And you know how particular that atramento is.”

  Megan was surprised by this revelation. The sight atramento would mean Natia could put the atramento on others once she learnt how. They hadn’t met many who were able to have the atramento at all let alone the sight atramento. So far Hal had only ever found one person who was suitable to receive it.

  Megan leant over Natia. “You are in luck. You are getting the full lot. I would also recommend the speed atramento as well. I’ve seen how that works on Rawiri, an agent in the city, and it can be very useful.”

  Natia shifted until she was comfortable. “I’ll take them all if they are what makes Toa’s able to do all those cool things.”

  Natia glanced at Megan and added, “And as strong as Megan is.”

  Natasha finished with her preparations. “We will start with the balance atramento as it seems to make everything easier.”

  Natia asked, “Where did you get all these atramento things?”

  Megan jumped to sit on a stool to watch the whole thing. “My brother managed to get a book from a fellow professor who was studying the language. It is apparently what humans spoke originally many, many years ago.”

  Natia sighed. “I would love to do that. I mean study the ancient world. But being on the islands and then in the camps, you don’t get very much in the way of schooling. Mum has tried but she can’t remember much of what she learnt in high school. There were some in the camps who tried to start a school but I’m afraid I knew more than most of them.”

  Natasha started with the first atramento. “Well, you are in luck. Warren was a professor of Anthropology and he is holding a symposium here next month and he has invited the greatest minds in ancient history.”

  Megan chuckled. “I take it you have decided it’s a good idea to let this place be invaded with Brainiacs.”

  Natasha sighed. “It’s inevitable. I might as well get some use out it. I have invited some architects like you suggested. But we won’t have a symposium if we can’t get those bloody soldiers out of Edge.”

  The mood changed in the room. Natia was brave enough to break it and asked, “How long is this going to take by the way?”

  Natasha said, “A while but what is the rush? We can only make our move when it gets dark. As long as soldiers don’t come searching through the buildings, they won’t know you are here.”

  Natia tilted her head so she could look back at Megan and asked, “We are sorry that we brought this to your town.”

  Megan waved it off. “Not your fault. That General would have come this way soon enough anyway. Toa said the army is falling apart and Murphy was cashing his chips in. We are a small town and he would have looked this way. If it wasn’t him, it would have been another army. Once we kick their butts, no one is going to try take on Edge again. Not unless they have a literal army behind them. Not this band of misfits.”

  Natia settled down. It was a good thing as Megan didn’t want her to see the look on her face. She wasn’t lying completely. A group would have tried to take Edge sooner or later but with The city so close it would have taken a desperate lot. An unlikely occurrence on a good day.

  ___

  They had used some of Natasha’s grease to blacken their faces and hands so they could move almost unseen through the streets of Edge.

  Megan was with Warren and Natasha as they headed for the tower. Toa was with some of the others with atramento to take the gate. That was where most of the soldiers were. There was only one way into the tower so they would have it covered but Megan had another idea. Since the soldiers only had semi-automatics, they should be fine if it didn’t exactly work out how she planned. They just needed to be sure to get to the hostages before the soldiers realised they were there.

  The gate on the other hand had other weapons. Ones that scared Megan when she thought about it. Megan knew now the atramento couldn’t handle them and Toa wasn’t completely recovered either.

  Megan had other things to worry about as they approached the tower from the side which didn’t have the door. She motioned to a ridge by a window.

  Natasha stepped forward and swung a rope with a hook on the end. It had been decided her eye and aim was better than anyone else. Megan glanced at Warren. Natasha was lucky to have him. He never thought it strange it was the women who would be more physical than him. Megan hoped she could eventually convince Toa she was just as strong as he was.

  The hook connected the first time with a clunk. They were still as they waited to see if anyone noticed the slight noise. With their extra senses they could never tell what normal people could hear.

  They scrambled up the rope easily even her scholarly brother. Once inside they moved to the stairs.

  There were soldiers at the bottom of the stairs playing cards while they guarded the door and what they thought was the only access into the building. Warren set down caltrops on the floor made of some junk out of Natasha’s workshop. They didn’t say a thing but motioned to each other to move back up the stairs. Megan wished she knew a few of the signals they taught soldiers as it was difficult to figure out what everyone wanted when you couldn’t make a sound.

  They moved up the stairs to find the hostages. There were a few conference rooms in the mid-levels and it was likely the hostages were being kept there. The guard at the door was completely surprised by the fist to his face. He went down with a clatter but it was loud enough they could hear the soldiers downstairs start to move to investigate.

  Natasha and Warren took the door as Megan went inside. There was a dozen or so of the most prominent citizens in Edge tied up on the floor. Including Josh and Sergei.

  She released them first so they could release the others.

  Megan whispered to Josh as she cut his bonds, “Go upstairs and turn on the defence system.”

  He studied her for a moment then whispered back. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you about Noah. He gave them the codes for the defence system. He opened the gates for them.”

  Megan shrugged it off. “We both made mistakes.”

  She had realised it was Noah as there were few who knew the codes for the defences or the fact it existed. She hadn’t wanted to believe it when her brother had said he was working with the soldiers. As it meant this was all her fault.

  Megan motioned for Josh to go while she released the others.

  She leant over Sergei and asked in a hiss, “How the hell did they get you?” She meant because he had the atramento, he should have been able to fight against them.

  Sergei gritted his teeth as she cut his bonds and said, “There were too many of them and they took me by surprise. It isn’t every day you have an army march into your home.”

  Once he was free, Sergei went to Natasha and Warren where they were fighting the soldiers who had come up the stairs. There was shooting and many of the people in the room cried out and flattened themselves to the floor.

  It didn’t last long. But Megan couldn’t stay there. She dashed to the door. A soldier was coming up the stairs. She acted fast. She grabbed his arm and then his head and threw him against the wall. He clattered to the ground unconscious.

  Megan checked his body and found the cable ties they had used to tie up the hostages and fumbled with his wrists. One of the hostages touched her shoulder and motioned for her to go and finished tying up the soldier. Once the soldiers had been seen to and tied up as well
, she went upstairs to the control room.

  Megan heard the commotion before she finished climbing the stairs. It sounded like a couple of bulls in a china shop. Megan shoved past Warren and Natasha who were tying up the last of the soldiers. Megan got to the top room where the controls were kept as well as the root of the shield plant.

  Josh was fighting with Noah. They rolled on the floor, trading blows but neither gaining the upper hand. Megan swore. She shouldn’t have let Josh go on his own. He didn’t have the same advantages as they did. She picked up a piece of broken chair which must have been broken in the struggle and wedged herself between Josh and Noah. They stumbled to their feet. Josh huffing with the exertion.

  Noah grabbed her arm and swore. “Megan, what the hell?”

  Megan hit him in the chest with the heel of her hand but he only staggered back. He held his arm close to his chest and she knew she must have done some damage.

  Noah glared at her. “What happened Megan? Why did you have to go off with that refugee? We could have been something together.”

  Megan dropped the broken chair. She knew the fight was out of him. She motioned to Josh and he went to the controls.

  Megan said to Noah, “You don’t see people Noah. You only see labels. When you look at me you see money and fame and when you look at Toa you see an invader. Guess what? He is more human than you and if you want a label for yourself, then it is loser.”

  Josh said, “They are turned on. They should deal with the soldiers on the outside but not so much the guys on the inside.”

  Megan didn’t need him to tell her as she could hear the commotion from outside the shield. Metal screeched as it was crunched in large traps. She had Hal design traps which would deal with large vehicles even if they were the heavy reinforced vehicles favoured by the military. She didn’t think anyone who was outside the shield would want to deal with them when their biggest advantage was made into cubed scrap metal.

  Now it was up to Toa and the others to make sure there weren’t any more soldiers in Edge.

  Josh came to stand next to her and they glared at Noah. He was still standing with his arm cradled against his body. He seemed like a sulky four-year-old.

  Josh shook his head. “You really are a loser. Take that ticket the boss offered you and leave in the morning.”

  Josh glanced at her to see if she agreed. She nodded. It was better if he left. He didn’t belong in Edge. With the xenophobia in the city he would fit in a treat. She wanted more than anything to have him locked up but she knew the people of Edge didn’t have the facilities or the inclination to imprison him. Megan would give Misha a head’s up and they would keep an eye on him while he was in the city.

  Josh asked as they went down the stairs and he saw the bound soldiers. “How did you guys do all this? They had guns.”

  She said, “You know those atramento we have been trying to get you to put on?”

  His eyes widened and he asked, “Seriously? Are they that effective?”

  Megan grinned. “And you know those materials which come from Hal in the city?”

  Josh nodded and she added gleefully, “Stronger than normal. Didn’t you think the numbers were wrong?” He had brought it up once and then had forgotten it when clearly the material was strong enough.

  Megan moved to the window to see if she could see what was happening by the gate and the train station. That would be where most of the soldiers were. She could hear the commotion and she hoped Toa was alright.

  Chapter Eleven

  Edge June 2097

  Toa turned to his sister when he realised Natia was walking next to him.

  He said, “You should go back. I can handle this.”

  She simply said, “I have the atramento as well.”

  “But not for very long. They have to gather power.” Toa growled wishing he could stop and make her go back to Natasha and Warren’s place. They didn’t have the time and Megan was counting on him to get rid of the soldiers. Soldiers he had brought to this town.

  Natia didn’t even struggle to keep up even though he was much taller than her.

  “I know but that doesn’t mean I’m leaving. You need the backup. The others will get the ones outside the shield. We need to get the gate closed and we need to neutralise the ones inside the shield. You keep forgetting I am a soldier like you.”

  Their father had trained her just as he had trained Toa. But she had been working as a cleaning woman for the last couple of years. Surely she had forgotten most of what their father had taught them.

  Some soldiers saw them approaching and came up to them, marching heavily through the streets. They must have been halfway through a patrol. As it was the first soldiers they had come across so far and they weren’t far away from the gate. One of the soldiers yelled. “Hey, what are you two…”

  Obviously the General hadn’t told the soldiers why they had taken over Edge because they didn’t recognise them.

  Natia rushed forward and grabbed one of the soldiers. She slammed his face against her knee. She then took his weapon from him. She quickly dismantled it and dropped the pieces of the gun to the ground.

  The other soldier simply dropped his weapon.

  Toa whistled. “Okay, you can come along.”

  Natia laughed. “Now tell me why you married Megan? You have known her less than a week.”

  Toa stiffened at the tone. “I thought you liked her.”

  Natia grunted as she took on another soldier but once he was down, she continued. “I do. I think she is awesome. But I know you. You stay away from the girls. Always have. I thought you were a bit of a martyr. So what is the deal?”

  Toa sighed. “I wanted her. I was just being selfish.”

  Natia chuckled. “Finally.”

  ___

  Toa tied the hands of the soldier with a cable tie. He dropped the soldier who groaned though the soldier were mostly unconscious. Toa stood up and rolled the soldier over so he would be able to breathe better.

  Megan came around the corner and barrelled into him. Toa caught her and pulled her closer.

  She asked, “Any problems?”

  Megan was truly asking if he had been injured. He had been but it had already healed up so he just shook his head. He wondered what he would be like when he had his reserves up.

  She asked, “The General?”

  Toa shrugged. He wasn’t one of the soldiers he had tied up and most of the vehicles which had been outside were destroyed or gone. There was a good chance the General had escaped. His father had always said he had the devil’s luck at getting out of sticky situations.

  Megan leaned up and kissed him. She hesitated before she said, “Well, now he knows to leave us alone.”

  Toa nodded but he still wasn’t sure if the General was ready to give up. It left him uneasy not knowing the fate of the General.

  Sergei found them. “Guys, you better get over here. They have Noah and he is spouting some rubbish.”

  Megan tugged on his arm and they rushed through the town. He heard the commotion and knew they were in the right place.

  Josh stood by Noah and was arguing with him loudly. There was a crowd around them. The buzz made it difficult to make out what was happening with his ears alone.

  When they approached Noah must have seen them as he growled out accusingly, “It’s all your bloody fault. If you hadn’t come here, there would never have been any risk to us.”

  Josh snorted. “There wouldn’t have been any risk if you hadn’t turned off the defences.”

  Someone asked, “What defences?”

  Megan growled, “My defences. The one this idiot turned off. You don’t think the army which was occupying Edge just left because a few of us fought back. Grow up. I put in things to look after you. The Weather Shield is important and it needed to be protected. You guys don’t have the manpower like the city to patrol so I put things in place.” Megan stalked up to Noah and said, “He knew about it. What did they offer you to turn it off?”
<
br />   Noah didn’t answer. The silence was thick enough to carve. One of the crowd asked, “Why did they come here?”

  She sighed. “They were looking for treasure.”

  It was honest at least. Noah growled in disagreement, “They said they were here for that Fugee. We should kick him out before he causes anymore problems.”

  Toa wondered if Megan was as angry as he was. Noah was the fool who let them in. If they had just waited the General out, they could have fought him off. There was no reason to have let them in.

  Toa couldn’t stand it anymore and moved forward to stand next to Megan. She confronted the man. “You, Noah are the idiot who let them in, don’t have a say in all of this. I am a citizen of this town. I helped build most of it and Toa is my husband. You have no damn right to say he has to go.” Megan turned to the crowd. “And if that isn’t enough every building in this town is owned by my family. If you really want to argue over who is allowed here, then I think we need to renegotiate people’s leases.”

  She stalked off after that. Toa followed. He asked, “Are you sure that was the right thing to do?”

  Megan huffed. “It should never have been an issue. I know Natasha is going to be mad about this. But Josh will make sure Noah is on the first train out of here so he won’t be an issue anymore.”

  She shook her head and added, “I’m just so angry they won’t accept more people. There is plenty of space here. We had twice the population here while we were busy building. There are actually empty houses in this place. There is more than enough space for more people. It just makes me so mad that people are so small-minded.”

  Toa caught her arm and turned her so she would look at him.

  He wasn’t sure how he could tell his feelings to her but he tried to show it in his face as he said, “It doesn’t matter what the others think as long as you want me here.”

  Megan moved closer to him letting the anger go as she let him comfort her. Her voice was soft as she said, “I want you with me.”

  Toa bowed his head and kissed her lightly. “Then I will stay. It doesn’t matter what the others think.”