Georgina doubled her attack. Then tripled it. She moved closer, focusing on pinning Zeke down. Something had snapped in her over the course of the battle.
She looked enraged at his very existence, and stopped attacking everyone else. She had killed her own family and for Tyler’s brother to have survived was something that she simply could not fathom. All she wanted right now was for Zeke to die, and as he was slowing down, letting more attacks hit him, she was close to accomplishing her goal.
“I don’t know how you survived that night, but this time I’ll make sure that I finish what Tyler failed to do.”
Readying a spear above her head. She folded it over and over, increasing its thickness and penetrating power. This spear would hit harder than the other arrows, and break through Zeke’s defence and Zeke himself.
Georgina’s power lay in her long-range attacks and defences. She had trained her Godspark to be able to handle anyone from a distance, and with her savage focus on Zeke, she had gotten him pinned down and unable to move. She would kill them in the next move. If she had been more alert, she would have heard the soft footfalls behind her, and the sounds of a staff being swung through the air, picking up speed.
Rachel’s staff struck out, hitting with a near ton of force.
Half-Ton Crash!
White hot pain seared through Georgina’s back as she was thrown forwards, her spear dropping. Even while Georgina had retained full consciousness, she sensed that she would not be able to walk again unaided, if she survived.
Zeke had begun to dash towards her as well.
“Let Amadioha strike you down!”
A surge of power erupted from his Godspark as it responded to his will.
SwiftSword: Lightning Flash!
As she struggled to concentrate enough to form a defence, Zeke shot past her. Static electricity surged through his sword, born from the sheer speed. Georgina gasped, and then it was over. Blood splattered, coating Zeke’s sword and torso as Georgina was cut cleanly in half. Her last confused question as she passed out, was why her legs were so far away.
The Thunderdome rolled up, its doors open.
“Hurry,” Derek waved from the inside, “We need to get out of here.”
Zeke and Rachel dashed into the van, the former making sure to cast stealth Runes to cover their tracks. They would have to find a new hiding place, their battle would surely attract attention, and if Georgina was who they thought she was, nowhere in the town would be safe for them.
* * *
Unbeknownst to them, eyes tracked them as they escaped.
“What are your orders, madam.”
“Until we hear from him? Nothing. Just observe and fall back for now.”
Chapter 18 - Richard: Head of Security
“What’s your name?” Douglas finally asked the boy. They had been waiting in silence for hours until nightfall, then they had started moving towards the outskirts.
“Max.” He replied.
“That’s a cool name.” Douglas smiled reassuringly. ” Don’t worry. I’ll get you home safe, and then we’ll see what we can do about this Purge tomorrow. I promise you, no harm will come to you.”
The Purge had come as a surprise. He had thought he knew everything about Karn from his earlier research, but to think that he had missed something this big. However, it did make sense to think about it. There was no way at all that anyone would talk willingly about such a thing, in case it leaked out. The tourist cards probably also served as listening units, and the communication embargoes placed on the town would keep anyone from getting the information out by other means. It was a clever scheme. The people from Karn had no doubt been brutalised into accepting it, as no one was revolting or up in arms about it.
The Nephilim really were something special.
Max smiled and wiped his eyes. He had been convinced by Douglas’ earlier display of power and would need no further prodding to follow the man. Now, they walked through the suburbs unopposed. Douglas had kept an eye out for any more Order Squadron members, but none were spotted, so they kept on going. Past the trees, past the shops, into the outskirts of the town, just a mile or two from the border walls and over a river. There was a rather shaky bridge and a shack just on the other side. From Max’s body language, Douglas guessed that his family lived near the bridge.
Just by the shack, he could see a boat and some weaving baskets. The uncle and grandmother’s tools he figured.
“See, I promised you you’d get home,” Douglas said.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” a cold voice came.
Max had started to run towards his shack when Douglas grabbed him by the shoulder.
Dammit. He had been careless. He had assumed that because there was no Order Squadron presence, that no-one else would have taken an interest in following him. His head snapped around, his eyes resting on another man who had seemingly materialised out of nowhere.
The man made no sound, his sour demeanour only matched by his clothes. A dark suit sat on a broad body. Eyes obscured by sunglasses, and hair cut down nearly to the scalp. This man was all business and radiated menace.
“Richard…” yelped Max, going slack with terror.
“Richard?” Douglas repeated, “Who’s Richard? Who are you?”
“Georgina had been carrying out her own investigation after reports of people without tourist cards came around,” Richard continued, “I found you a few hours ago, and kept an eye on you. Perhaps there was a spy around here or someone high up soliciting the help of outsiders. But it was just a mistake. There is no one of note here. Just a child with a fanciful imagination.”
Douglas pushed Max behind him. Whoever Richard was, he was giving off a different vibe from the men he had taken care of earlier.
“So, now that we’ve established that there were no spies here,” Richard spoke, “what is the infamous Douglas ‘Invincible’ West doing here? Are you here for our most famous parade? You needn’t fraternize with the riff-raff. Surely you should have announced your arrival, and we’ll have had you set up with the choicest accommodation.”
“Who are you?” Douglas asked. He was growing tired of Richard prattling on.
“Didn’t your boy tell you?” Richard smirked, “My name’s Richard. I’m head of the security here at Karn County. I oversee everything. Those men you just wiped out? They were mine.”
Douglas had been so preoccupied with Max that he had failed to recognise Richard’s name at first. Aside from Tyler, there were four others who served under Timothy. Richard, Annabelle, Julian and Georgina. He kicked himself for not being more alert.
“I don’t want any trouble.”
“That’s fine,” said Richard. “Just hand over the boy, he’s a famous thief and liar. We’ll hand him over to our juvenile division, and we’ll see about getting you set up with the proper documents.”
“I don’t think so.” Douglas shoved Max behind him. “I’ll be holding on to him if you don’t mind.”
“Well I do in fact mind,” Richard began to move closer to Douglas. “That boy is already in trouble with me, and if you push it…I’ll have to punish all of you together.”
“Because he talked about the Purge.” Douglas and Richard’s eyes met. A conversation without words.
“Very well. You’ve made your choice — ‘Invincible’,” Richard said, “No one is allowed to mention the Purge, and we’ve enforced that strictly for a few years now. Just him would have been enough, but you’ve pushed it.”
“Max, get to your family and get them out of here” Douglas yelled. Max ran as Douglas spoke. Full of fear, he didn’t need to be told twice.
“Did you think I’ll let you run away?” Richard moved menacingly towards the fleeing child.
“It’s not up to you,” Douglas dashed towards the security man.
Butterfly Style: Fluttering Strikes!
His legs lanced out like whips, crashing into Richard’s body. Three solid kicks to put him down. The other
man couldn’t dodge them in time. He didn’t. Neither did he go down. He just stood there and took the hits without flinching. Then he reached out a hand, grabbed Douglas’ foot, and tossed him aside.
Douglas skidded on the ground, bouncing over the rocks and debris. Rubbing his head, he muttered to himself. “Ok, that was unexpected.”
Richard smirked, his bloodthirst showing, and Douglas knew that from the start he had never been planning on doing anything but killing them.
“This is why you all need to be punished.”
Douglas stood up again.
“I won’t let you harm them.”
“Who said it’s up to you?”
Douglas rushed forward again, leg arced. He kicked at Richard but missed this time as Richard dodged under his attack and weaved to deliver a punch of his own. Douglas’ arm shot up, catching the punch, his reflexes compensating. His arm wobbled slightly, and he noted something.
The punch hurt. Not like a normal dull pain, but one that burned him on the inside. It was inexplicable, the man had just jabbed out.
Richard swung again, catching Douglas in the head, breaking the skin. Another punch caught him in the stomach, sending him flying backwards and onto the bridge.
Richard nursed his fist.
“You’re quite hard. So that’s why they call you Invincible.”
Douglas struggled to get to his feet. None of his blows seemed to have any effect on the man, but he was getting tossed around easily. Richard was clearly a Godspark user.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get to you later,” Richard stomped on one end of the rickety bridge, shattering it and causing the rest of it to swing out of control, Douglas held on, waiting for his chance to leap back towards the other side. Not for his life, but for the others who were now trapped with Richard.
Max’s grandmother came out, and seeing Richard stalking and Max running, screamed. His uncle rushed out, picking up an axe. It had been just them living together after Karn became under Timothy, and he had been the one to protect them.
Though he didn’t know what was going on, he knew menace when he saw it, and Richard was oozing it.
Racing towards the man, he swung the axe at his head, it landed without a sound. No, it seemed to have just stopped, like he had gently laid it there. Richard grabbed his head and squeezed. For a second, his hand appeared to grow purple. There was a cracking sound as he struggled, and then silence. His skull crushed barehanded.
The grandmother grabbed Max’s hand and ran, the best she could at her age. She had suffered through the first attack, she had lived her life, she would be damned if Max was denied the chance to live his own life.
She needn’t have bothered. Richard appeared in front of her. He reached out a hand, but Douglas was there suddenly, he kicked Richard in the face as hard as he could. If he was hoping for a reaction, there was nothing. Richard struck him again, and again, and again. Then kicked him aside.
He struggled to stand in time to see the old woman drop to the ground.
Max was the last one. He was shivering, shaking, his legs had turned to jelly. He wasn’t moving, simply frozen in terror.
Richard reached out his hand, and Douglas grabbed Max, tossing him aside.
“What is wrong with you people? What did they ever do to you?” He was yelling now. “If you want to punish someone, then does it not make sense to punish me instead?”
“Oh?” Richard replied, “Am I not doing that now?”
Douglas was sent flying once more. The ground shook behind him. He didn’t want to look, but he needed to look, to see Max’s broken body on the ground, with the corpses of his family around him.
He gritted his teeth, swallowed his anger, and then he ran away at top speed. This fight was getting nowhere, he had to clear his head. Then radio the others.
He made a vow to himself, he would not be leaving until he had avenged the memory of the fallen.
The air around him seemed to glow for a second, then it shimmered, shook and exploded as a shockwave picked Douglas up and dumped him feet away.
“There you are.”
Richard kept walking. They were beside the river once more, the destroyed bridge was one way back to the mainland, but Douglas could now see there were others.
“I’m curious,” Richard said, “Why would you try to protect those people? What happens in Karn is none of your business. You didn’t have to die for that.”
“Yeah, maybe I’m just an idiot like that,” Douglas retorted. “And I’m not dying here.”
“The funny thing is - I believe you.” Richard lunged forward, placing his hand on Douglas’ chest. “On the first part, that is.”
Kinetic Shockwave!
Douglas recognised the feeling from earlier. The air seemed to glow, then it shimmered and shook, then it exploded, the force sent him spiralling over the edge into the river.
Chapter 19 - Under the Bridge
Douglas toppled over the bridge, falling into the water. The shockwave reverberated throughout his body, forcing the air out of his lungs and vibrating his insides.
He gasped for air, struggling to swim by instinct alone while only just hanging onto consciousness.
Richard didn’t let that stop him from attacking.
Kinetic Palm Thrust!
The air seemed to explode again, then the water as Richard’s attacks tore through it like invisible missiles.
He attacked again, and again, and again, and again, and again until the water had turned red and bubbled.
When Richard was satisfied that Douglas would not be resurfacing alive he turned around.
“Invincible? What an arrogant name,” He smirked. “Not many have survived an encounter with the Wall. Too bad for you. ”
He walked away, satisfied with his victory.
Under the waves, Douglas’ heavy, unconscious frame was being dragged along by the current.
* * *
Richard returned to the Shining Towers a few hours later. Timothy was in the lounge with Tyler and Annabelle, exchanging ideas about the Purge.
“Richard,” Timothy looked up, “How did your errand go?”
“Fairly well.” Richard sat down next to them, his expression triumphant. “I had to kill a few peasants. Oh, and I encountered Douglas West.”
For a moment, it went so silent one could hear a pin drop. Douglas was quite the famous character, and those in the know had heard about of his exploits.
“What?” Tyler shook off his stupor. “How the hell did someone like that get in here without us knowing? Did you find out what was he doing here?”
“He was looking into the Purge. Apparently, he’s a bleeding heart.” Richard was unconcerned, “He’s no longer an issue.”
“And why’s that?” Annabelle asked.
“He attacked me, so I killed him.”
The others were stunned again at Richard’s casual announcement. Timothy shook his head.
“Do you have his body? Don’t answer that, I can already tell that you do not.” Richard made a face.
“He’s at the bottom of the river, unconscious. I hit him a few more times for good measure.”
“Until you see a body, do not assume they are dead. Even if you believe you killed them with your own hands. I’ve learned that lesson well enough over the years.” Timothy chastised. The nagging feeling that had been gnawing at Tyler began to grow again. He had felt something in the city, and now Douglas appeared on the same day. It could be a coincidence, but there was no point taking a risk.
“If you say that, then he’s most likely on the verge of death. Tomorrow, or the day after, you can go look for him. We’ll find out what he knows before he dies,” Tyler said. He was gripping his thigh so hard it felt like it was going to bleed.
“Are you sure Richard isn’t just making this up to look like he did something,” Annabelle scoffed, “Wasn’t Douglas supposed to be super-badass or something?”
Richard ignored her taunt. “All of us are trained to be more than
human. We are beyond ordinary already, Douglas was just a puffed up legend who believed his own stories.”
“Don’t be so modest,” Timothy said. “Your Godspark is a bit of a cheat against people like Douglas. He would not have known what hit him. A fated encounter like that is how you can tell we are on the side of the angels.”
The doors of the conference room swung open with Julians entry. The normally composed man had his eyes wide open and bloodshot. Everyone picked up on it immediately.
“What’s wrong, Julian?” asked Tyler, “You don’t look so good.”
“Everyone, we have a serious problem,” Julian said.
“Yes, we did,” Timothy replied. “We’ve met Douglas West. His incursion is over for now, but we’ll do a sweep to see if he’s still alive tomorrow.”
“No, that’s not it.” Julian replied. His face distorted as he tried to force the words out. “It’s--it’s Georgina. Georgina has— she has—Georgina has—”
Timothy frowned. “What’s happened to your sister that’s bad enough to freeze your tongue? Speak up, Julian.”
“Georgina has been killed.”
The shock was unanimous. Even the normally sarcastic Annabelle was stunned into silence at this.
“No way.” Now Tyler knew something was wrong. One sign was happenstance, two was coincidence, three times was a klaxon blaring in his head. “Are you OK, Julian?”
“Forget that for now.” Timothy put up a hand, interrupting Julian’s reply. “How did she die? Was it Douglas?”
“No.” He replied, “It was about the same time Douglas and Richard must have met from the logs, but on completely opposite sides of town. She was killed just outside the border, she was tracking those who invaded.”
“It must have been an ambush,” Tyler muttered, then he noticed Julian was staring at him. As their eyes met the other man quickly looked away.
“This is a serious incident.” Timothy stood up. “First Douglas, and then this. We’re under attack, and we don’t know it yet.”
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