‘Of course,’ came two voices at once. Cragmore bent his knee so Bronwyn could climb onto his back. With a dexterity borne of much practice, she vaulted into place astride the bull’s neck. Micah and Strider followed suit, with Fea and Treetis joining them to ride on the bulls’ heads.
“Why do they do that?” Bronwyn asked.
“No one knows, but Brandt allows the Golden Warrior, so everyone else follows suit. It’s a fad.”
“Like when the men wore long hair pulled into a bun?”
“Exactly like that.”
Faramor trotted to a place by the trail to await the arrival of the others. The cow Aurochs told the rest of the herd to go back the way they’d come until they found better grazing. She would contact them when she knew more. Cragmore, Gable, and Tally started to run, past the fields where the trail disappeared and toward the forested hills to the east.
‘Holly,’ Micah said, hanging on while accessing her implant, ‘I’ll keep the window open so you can help guide us. We want to set up a blocking position without them knowing that we’re there.’
‘An ambush, yes. I am unable to calculate where they are going because their track is inconsistent, but I will guide you.’
‘And keep me informed about Braden’s attack.’
‘Yes, Master President.’ Holly projected a map showing the distance they needed to cover before they were close to the four men away from Dunk’s Town. Micah adjusted the image until the village was centered and then overlaid Braden’s position. They were close, and she was not.
Faster, she thought. We wasted too much time…
Fight Fire with Fire
“Please. Imagine being able to run freely again, climb all those stairs yourself!” Tom used the lightness of his tone to convince the ‘cat to submit to the procedure. “We went through all of this for you. Micah and Braden have been here, and they said it was safe and you wouldn’t feel a thing.”
Neeson’s wide eyes stared back at Tom, his claws embedded in Tom’s shirt as the human hunched over the table, neither letting go.
Until the ‘cat did. ‘I guess it won’t be over unless it starts.’
“The sooner the better. I’m ready to feel solid ground under my feet.”
Neeson retracted his claws and laid back. The Android swooped in and started to hook the ‘cat to a number of machines. Neeson pinched his eyes closed and yowled.
The ‘cat relaxed as the procedure started by putting him to sleep.
“You should probably wait in the corridor,” the Android said. With Neeson out, a surgical device descended to his hip, cut the ‘cat open, and started reshaping the leg bone.
Tom gasped in shock. Zeller moved between her partner and the Android. “You make sure no harm comes to him. I would not be very happy if the ‘cat was injured.”
“I can assure you, this is the first step in the healing process. Once the injuries are repaired, the creature will be put in that tank—” The Android pointed to a clear cylinder containing a gel-like fluid. “—to expedite the healing process. It shouldn’t take much time at all, maybe a few hours.”
The medical machine continued to work on Neeson. Zeller pushed Tom toward the door. They went through and it closed behind them. Tom stared at the door with his arms limp at his side.
“You wondered what was behind the doors. What do you say we go take a look?” she offered.
Tom nodded numbly. Neeson’s ever-present voice was gone. The blacksmith hadn’t realized how soothing that had been, most notable now that it was gone. Tom pointed to his head.
“I know, he’s gone. I’ve felt that way about Arnie ever since we went underground at New Sanctuary.”
“You didn’t say anything,” Tom stammered.
“Whining wasn’t going to change anything. I hate this place, but this is something we agreed to do, for Neeson. When we see him again, he’ll be the ‘cat he used to be, not burdened by a poorly healed injury.”
“I’m whining?” Tom replied softly, guilt written across his face.
“Just a little, but I’m used to it.” She pushed him playfully.
“Hey! I don’t always whine. Sometimes, I put a lot of feeling into it.” Tom shook his head and smiled. “What do you say we take the elevator?”
It took the combined strength of both humans to move the massive machine blocking the elevator doors. They left it in the corridor as they hurried in before the doors closed.
“Next floor down,” Tom told the elevator, enunciating clearly as the paper instructed.
The elevator traveled for a total of three seconds before stopping, and the doors slid smoothly to the side. The corridor beyond was dark, punctuated by flashing lights. Cables and hoses hung from the overhead. Trash littered the corridor. Zeller pulled her sword as she stepped out. Tom found a small pipe with wires protruding that he picked up to use as a club.
The doors closed, and the elevator went away. During one of the strobe-like flashes, Zeller pointed to the wall. “Blaster marks. There was a fight in here.”
“If they have blasters, we might want to think about leaving,” Tom suggested.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Zeller replied into the moment of darkness. She turned to wave her bracelet in front of the pad. “This could be a problem.”
The pad had been ripped from the wall.
“I guess we do it the hard way. At least we only have one landing’s worth of stairs to climb.” Tom headed down the corridor toward the Livestock Level, moving during the light flashes. Zeller hurried to stay close, following his path while also trying to watch to their rear.
They had covered part of the distance when they heard the drumming. “Wait,” Zeller cautioned. The flashes showed movement behind them. The sound of feet hitting the deck.
Androids. “RUN!” Zeller yelled. Tom took off, tripping and stumbling as the flashes revealed more debris than he could safely navigate.
“Stuck,” he shouted back. “Come on!”
He helped her over an obstruction and then started throwing more mechanical parts and pieces into it as he tried to build a barrier, buy them more time to reach the door at the end of the corridor, the door to freedom.
An Android ripped one of the heavier pieces away, tossing it behind like a child’s toy.
Zeller screamed her war cry and stabbed the creation in the face. It fell back, but another took its place. She jabbed her sword into its throat. With both hands, it grabbed the blade and pulled. Zeller slammed into their hasty barricade, but didn’t let go. Tom grabbed her and pulled.
A third Android pulled another part of the barricade down. Tom broke its arm when he slammed his hammer across it. He followed up by hitting the one holding the sword. It released the blade and Zeller fell back.
Tom swung again, but the Android was ready and slapped the weapon from Tom’s hand.
The artificial life form reached for Tom, arms outstretched. A sword flashed in front of his face, hacking the arms away. Tom kicked the Android into another. Zeller pulled Tom away and they ran down the corridor while the Androids regained their feet and pounded after them.
A gully to the east of the village had provided an avenue to get close without being seen. It was also filled with untainted vegetation. The King of the Aurochs ate noisily as they approached, much to Braden’s chagrin.
‘Could you eat more quietly?’ Braden demanded, using his thought voice to limit adding to the noise.
‘I’m trying, but I’m a starving-level of hungry.’
‘How is that different from any other day?’ G-War quipped.
Aadi floated along serenely. The Hawkoids were hidden in the trees, watching the area between the gully and the village to warn Braden if anyone was headed his way. They confirmed the positions of the village guards.
‘Does everyone know the plan?’ Braden asked. They said they did. He made each of them recite their part, and then talked through contingencies. What if…
They didn’t have long to wait. The sun
had already disappeared behind the mountains to the west. The twilight faded and G-War slinked away. Aadi swam slowly out of the gully, staying close to the ground to maintain the appearance of a shadow.
Braden and Bounder climbed from the gully, spread out, and crawled slowly toward the village. Everyone needed to be in position when the moon rose. Holly assured them that they had time.
Crawling across the ground was time-consuming and challenging. Both Braden and Bounder discovered that burrs grew on the surface, embedding themselves in hands, knees, and paws. They kept stopping to remove them, which greatly slowed their progress. The more they crawled, the more pain they suffered. Finally, Braden stopped.
‘If this keeps up, I won’t be able to hold my blasters,’ Braden complained to Bounder.
‘My left hand is burning. I don’t know if I can aim my spear, not effectively anyway.’
‘We’ll run the last bit as soon as Brandt does his thing. Skirill and Zyena might be able to provide an additional distraction.’
‘When the moon rises, we’ll be able to fly,’ Skirill assured them.
Braden tried to crawl forward, but with his first movement, two more burrs embedded in his hand. ‘That’s it. I’m staying here until it starts.’
The moon rose reluctantly, fighting its way past clouds that had snuck in under the cover of darkness. It was much later than Braden wanted when Brandt jumped from the gully and ran in front of the village. His hooves hammered the ground as he made a wide arc away from the town.
Braden jumped up, happy to let his boots deal with the burrs. He started running toward one of the guards on this end of the village. Bounder was headed for another. They arrived together and lowered shoulders drove into the midsections of the men, the full-speed body blocks easily separating them from their spears.
Braden picked his up and used it to club the man into submission. Bounder slammed the butt of his spear into the face of his enemy. The flapping of wings told them that Skirill and Zyena were on their way to deal with their targets.
Aadi’s thunderclap resonated as he dispatched a third guard.
Someone raised the alarm. “We’re under attack!” the shouts rose into the cool night air. Braden used the power of his boots to accelerate as he ran through the village. Bounder headed for the building where the spears were stored.
G-War’s scream told him that someone had arrived before him. He knew before he arrived that the first blood had been shed. The ‘cat only made that sound when making a kill.
Holly informed Micah that Braden and company had engaged the raiders.
‘The attack is under way,’ Micah told the group through the mindlink. ‘And we’re close.’
The Aurochs had been walking for the past half-hour to limit the sound that would carry.
‘Three appear to be static while one walks in circles,’ Holly reported.
‘One guard and three sleeping. We need to hit them, now!’ Micah exclaimed. They dismounted and started to run. The moon was fighting with clouds to provide enough light to see by. Strider took the lead with the ‘cats to the side. Their night vision far exceeded that of any human.
‘Left. Right,’ Micah gave instructions as she was pulled along, watching with one eye while holding the end of Strider’s spear. Bronwyn ran behind her, carrying Zeeka. ‘Not much farther.’
Zyena crashed into the head of one guard when Skirill raked his claws across the last. The men screamed and lashed out with their lightning spears. Skirill and Zyena dodged low past buildings as the men fired the spears into the sky. Braden slid to a halt, diving behind a hut before the lightning spear’s bolt found him. He pulled his blaster in time for a body to slam into him, seizing his hand and trying to rip the weapon away.
Braden elbowed the man in the face and fired, point-blank, blowing the man backward. Braden grabbed the fallen spear to keep anyone else from picking it up. ‘Brandt, I could use you to intimidate the locals while we put these last two to bed.’
‘On my way,’ the King boomed.
Braden dialed a broad flame and fired into the ground in front of a growing mob of villagers lining up against him. Skirill swooped past their faces. Braden bolted with the distraction. He held his blaster in front of him as he turned the corner. The lightning had stopped and the last two guards were nowhere to be seen.
Brandt thundered in his approach. From Braden’s left, a bolt of lightning lashed toward the King, narrowly missing. Braden snap-fired with his blaster, the setting still on wide.
The flames washed over the man, setting his hair and clothes on fire. He screamed in terror and agony. The lightning spear sparked and flashed while the man started running, but only a few steps before he fell to the ground and the flame consumed him.
One more. Braden ran at an angle away from the fire. A lightning bolt scorched the spot where he’d been standing. A Hawkoid cry signaled Zyena’s arrival. She grabbed the lightning spear in her talons and tried to yank it from the man, her wings beating his face as she tried to fly away.
He fired once, twice, harmlessly into space. Braden couldn’t get a clean shot. He accelerated, holstering his pistol with one hand while bringing the spear to the front. Braden held it tightly with both hands and stabbed it into the man. The point embedded into the man’s body, tearing it from Braden’s grip. Zyena lifted a spear into the air as the man let go. He fumbled with the shaft projecting from him, before dropping to his knees and falling over.
Braden put his foot on the man’s chest and yanked the spear free. He was angry that he’d been forced to kill. He snarled at the villagers that watched him.
“WHY DID YOU MAKE ME DO THIS!” he bellowed. In a still angry but calmer voice, he continued. “Why did you take the spears? You had to know that we would come after you. Go back to your homes!”
The villagers didn’t move. Brandt appeared from behind the nearest hut, stamping the ground and shaking his horns. The people retreated but didn’t run away.
“I said, go home!”
“But we didn’t do anything wrong!” an older woman claimed. “We weren’t with those men.”
“Then why are they guarding the village?” Braden demanded.
“To protect ourselves from the likes of you!” she retorted.
“GO HOME! And no one else has to get hurt.” Braden pointed the lightning spear at the group and Brandt herded them away.
Aadi swam toward Braden. The villagers fell back further from the strange creature floating through the air.
“Go home,” Braden pleaded with the people.
‘I think Bounder and the Golden Warrior could use some help,’ Aadi said.
“Come on, Brandt. If they want to be out here, they can bury their dead.” Braden waved dismissively at the bunch as he held out the spear for Aadi to hold onto. He started to run and Brandt trotted behind them.
They ran toward disoriented villagers who threw themselves from the path of the human, the Tortoid, and the Aurochs. Braden paid them no attention. He was making a beeline for the hut they were using as an armory.
A ‘cat snarled and hissed. A Wolfoid growled.
Braden arrived to a standoff. G-War and Bounder were blocking the door to the hut while a mob of angry men looked at the lightning spear pointed at them. Braden yelled to get their attention.
“Go home, people. This fight is done.” Braden waved the spear in his hand. The other had burnt. Bounder’s extra spear leaned against the wall behind him. The Hawkoids had collected the last two, keeping them secure in the tree branches above.
“Maybe you need to go home?” one of the men ventured.
“We will, as soon as humanly possible, but we’re taking our property with us, which is the only reason we’re here. Make room and we’ll be on our way.”
“Our property,” the man said confidently.
G-War charged, an orange and black flash in the moonlight. The man stumbled back, but not far enough. The ‘cat hit him mid-chest. The two went down. G-War slashed the hands t
hat reached for him until the man stopped fighting.
The ‘cat put a claw to the man’s throat. ‘He’s one of the raiders,’ G-War said.
Braden stormed into the mob, using the spear to drive them back. Brandt stayed close, knocking men out of the way with his horns. Braden reached past G-War to grab the front of the man’s shirt. “It’s your property because you stole it fair and square, is that right?” Braden picked him up a hand’s breadth and slammed him back to the ground. “Why?”
“To defend ourselves,” the man mumbled.
‘He’s lying,’ G-War stated, showing his claws.
Feel the Burn
‘The men are running back toward Dunk’s Town,’ Holly reported.
Micah pulled on the spear and called, “Hold up!”
‘We saw the flash in the sky. A lightning spear?’
‘There have been multiple discharges. Braden is alive and well, but his pulse is racing. He won’t answer my call.’
‘Of course not. He’s in the middle of a fight. We better catch these guys before they get back to the village. That’s not a surprise Braden needs. Keep trying to get a hold of him and we’ll hurry.’
‘The Aurochs are coming,’ Bronwyn replied. Thundering hooves could be felt as much as heard.
‘We can run ahead, try to catch them,’ Treetis offered.
‘We go together and we’ll catch them. Zeeka, can you fly ahead until you can reach your parents and tell them that the four are coming?’
Bronwyn threw the large bird into the air, not very far but enough for the Hawkoid to get air under her wings. She beat faster and faster as she climbed past the trees and into the open night sky. The moon outlined her.
‘More to your right. I think that will get you close to the village. Fly fast, Zeeka,’ Micah said. She turned and climbed Gable’s offered leg. Once in position, the three Aurochs ran, not as fast as they could but as fast they dared when the moon shown through the clouds.
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