Rue was prepared. However, she prayed that she wouldn’t have to use her weapon, as did all of her neighbours. However, everyone armed his or herself nonetheless.
Those with the means to leave already had, as some of them owned small hovercrafts, bikes, or ships they’d acquired by chance. Families with transportation used all their available room to fit children of stranded parents, as they didn’t feel comfortable leaving any behind.
By now, many had fled the village. Those remaining hoped that Bahzee was wrong with assuming that Phyllamon was coming for them. Some of the villagers had been praying all day: many asking for God to deliver them to safety if it did come down to a battle; and others praying that Zynathian would arrive long before that could even happen. If only Zynathian had finished those tunnels he went on and on about…or the evacuation vehicles! All of these were still imaginings in the back of his mind, which he’d had no time to get to yet!
In fact, the only safety measure he had developed for the villagers, so far, was a tiny homing device that he injected into their bodies. If there was ever an emergency and they were forced to leave for some reason, this was his means of finding them and coming to their aid. So there was the locator, but that was all. Zynathian had neglected the fact that this device wouldn’t do him any good if his people died before he got the chance to find them! He pushed such thoughts from his mind, assuming Rhameeryla to be a place they could reside for a very long time. His optimism about the unwavering secrecy of Rhameeryla would soon prove to be a most foolish error.
The last of the villagers had finished loading their weapons. Most of them were now packing light sacks of clothes, food, and water just in case they were forced to make a run for it. Dozens of those remaining now sat outdoors, waiting and conversing about the day’s events.
“Did any of you hear the shots earlier?”
“Yeah, but I ain’t think nothing of it…I just thought somebody was out training with a new gun.”
“Apparently, Asha tried to kill Felix!”
“Problem is, she ain’t hit nothin’! If you’re gonna’ put all our lives in jeopardy, make sure it’s bloody worth it!”
“She at least coulda’ killed the bastard!”
“Oh, c’mon, people…it’s not like Asha was trying to miss! You all know what a good shot she is! It must have all happened really fast!”
“I ain’t blaming her for nothing. It just woulda’ been nice if she’d at least nicked the bastard! That coulda’ been one less for us to worry about at a later date!”
“Woulda’, coulda’, shoulda’… Hell, the past don’t matter anymore. What does matter is the fact that Phyllamon is on his way here!”
“I tell you what, I been dyin’ to get me a piece of that Phyllamon for the longest. I, for one, hope he shows! I’ll take my guns and shove ‘em somewhere uncomfortable for ‘em,” babbled Rufus, a crippled man in his mid-seventies. He was the only one of their group that wasn’t the slightest bit afraid of a fight (his neighbours often joked that it was his age getting in the way of his good sense).
Rufus floated back and forth in his hoverchair, playfully tapping the triggers of his weaponry. They were attached to directional control sticks welded to the arms of his chair. If he were to hold down the triggers for more than a couple seconds, small cannons would emerge from steel caps at the base on each side, and laser-firing rotary pistols would unveil themselves from underneath the chair’s arms.
Rufus looked around at the faces of the others, all much younger than he. In fact, the one with the fewest years couldn’t have been more than ten. Nicolas was the only child left behind, for the boy wouldn’t be parted from his mother, Rosa Lee. Nick held his handgun so delicately, it was clear he’d already mastered its use. Asha had instructed the villagers well. If it came down to a fight, they wouldn’t easily be thrown aside.
“I agree, Rufus. Things need to be set right. If the opportunity came, I would kill every last member of the Xyecah family. It’s because of them that we must live in secrecy!” Rosa Lee said, continuing. “I can’t let my son out of my sight, as I hear Phyllamon has no sympathy for children and will set his beasts upon them as if they were dog toys! The man must be done away with!”
Though frightened, the others couldn’t help but agree with Rosa Lee and Rufus. Asha had always thought the villagers lacked the conviction of their words. However, if she saw them at this moment, she would’ve been very proud of her pupils, geared and ready for combat.
2
The dusk brought tones of yellow and red to the treetops. All the cottages were dark and empty, and their shadows grew longer every moment. Already having packed and chosen their hiding spots within the forest, many now sought nourishment and were roasting potatoes and little cubes of meat over fires. Others were too nervous to eat and had already vomited with anticipation.
As the sun completely hid itself, many had begun to relax in hopes that Bahzee had been overreacting. Some of them had gone to sleep with full bellies, resting in the grass. A man, named Daum, stood up to stretch his legs, pacing as he slung his pulse rifle over his shoulder and cracked a smile.
Looks like Phyllamon isn’t going to show. Thank God you were wrong, Baz! he thought, looking to the others. “Some of us will take turns keeping watch, but I think we’re okay for now. Let’s take a night’s rest and maybe think about heading out on foot tomorrow…I don’t know if it’s such a good idea for us to—”
Then he felt the ground vibrating as a deep growl emerged from the forest. The commotion called the attention of the others, and they got up to gaze at the masses of dancing trees that moved in rhythm to the cracking noises of their foundations. In fact, some of the trees took on such awkward poses that it seemed they were…
…FALLING!
“Take cover, they’re here!” Rufus yelled, darting towards the opposite end of the dense forest.
They scattered, and the last of the villagers had just disappeared when several large trees at the north end of the town plummeted forward. They landed with a loud crash and revealed the hovering tank that had done the damage.
Phyllamon wasn’t in the tank but in a small pod with Murlach, a hundred feet to its rear. There wasn’t a need for them to be any closer, as they weren’t here to explore or anything of the sort. This was a kill mission. At Phyllamon’s command, the infantry would destroy everything in sight.
Now Phyllamon took Felix’s binoculars from the control board and peered closely at the town. It seemed deserted, for there were no lights on in any of the houses. Murlach sighed.
“I doubt you’ll find any out in the open, Master. They must know that we’re here! I mean it wasn’t exactly like you tried to make a discreet entrance.”
Phyllamon growled through a bloody, toothless grin. His nose was set with a monstrous heap of white tape and gauze, held together by a metal clip. His unibrow arched at the ends, as he threw the binoculars aside and gave the command.
“Leave nothing standing!”
All the infantry except for Zu exited the tank and quickly spread out, covering the perimeter. Zu had orders to hang back awhile. If, by some miracle, the villagers were winning, then he would make his entrance. It made no sense to Phyllamon or Murlach to put their prizefighter at risk earlier than necessary. Why not let the pawns go first? It wasn’t likely that they’d need help anyway.
Now the captain of the first wave of soldiers stood in front of Asha’s abandoned cottage, towering two feet above the chimney. In theory, he could’ve beaten the entire place to rubbles with his bare hands, but excess was necessary to make Phyllamon’s point. He raised a flamethrower to the door of the cottage, and he knew the others would follow his lead. As he moved to pull the trigger, a hollowed shell went into his head. The beast stood dead on his feet, and blood seeped down his front side.
Nicolas’s aim had been dead on. He loved Bahzee and Asha very much, and there was something about their house being picked first for destruction that infuriated him. He react
ed. Nick’s mother, Rosa Lee, and the others glared at him, astonished at his marksmanship. He nodded at them all, as if to say: “Not yet…on my mark.”
Since Nicolas’s gun was silenced, and the troops never heard any shots fired, they were bewildered at the lack of productivity from their captain. One second, he was ready to torch the cottage, and the next…
One of the infantry came forward to inspect the matter. “Sir?” he called, oblivious to the heavy puddle of blood that was forming on the ground between his captain’s legs.
At that moment, Nick stepped out from behind a tree some thirty feet away, firing two more shots into the captain’s head. The captain toppled backwards, and the fall made his flamethrower go off, setting his closest six underlings ablaze! As the burning infantry beasts ran about, Nicolas turned and nodded to the others.
Now!
Rosa Lee came out and picked off two of the six burning monsters. Her neighbours felled the other four not long after. The other creatures took cover behind the cottages, looking about to see if they were only being attacked from one direction. However, they were soon disheartened when they saw a hovering object emerge from the trees. It darted towards them, letting loose of a hellish rain of firepower.
Rufus took down several of the beasts instantly, blowing them to smithereens. Flustered (as they were now being attacked from two directions), the remaining soldiers inadvertently scuttled out from behind the cottages, out in the open. The villagers saw the opportunity and took advantage.
3
They’re sitting ducks! Phyllamon thought as he observed the flying assailant flank his troops to unleash deadly spells of artillery.
“ZU, GET OUT THERE!” Phyllamon commanded.
Zu ran from the tank and began sprinting across the field. Despite his size, Zu was deadly fast, jumping right and left as he evaded the attacks from above. He knew that the quicker he made it to the villagers, the sooner his assailant would think twice about shooting at him, lest he injure neighbours.
Sure enough, as he neared the edge of the forest Zu felt the laser fire behind him cease. He now found himself facing a small squadron of villagers, who immediately open fired on him. Zu caught several shots in the arm and chest before he killed all but one with a wave of his fist. The one he’d missed was knocked dead as he slung his gun off his shoulder and struck the woman across her back, breaking off the ammunition clip in her spine. As the slain villagers fell to the earth, Zu darted into the forest, knowing much firepower would be aimed at him now. As he made it in, he found another and grabbed him up by his neck and snapped it like a twig.
Eyes fixed to the binoculars, to Phyllamon it seemed that Zu was the only one who had sustained just minor wounds. The rest of the soldiers, however, were dropping one by one. Aside from the man in the flying chair, a slightly elderly woman (who held a cannon of some sort upon her arm) did the most damage. She carved holes in his underling’s bodies as if they were blocks of cheese!
Phyllamon now saw her aiming at a particular minion, who had a little boy in his sights.
4
Rue panicked, as she beheld Nicolas on his knee reloading his weapon.
“Nick, stay down!” she yelled.
Quickly lying flat, Nicolas covered his head with his arms. Rue then unloaded a reservoir of explosive ammunition above his head. The creature was lifted into the air and dismembered.
Nicolas looked up to thank Rue but was silenced as Zu sped past him, heading straight for her.
“Rue, be careful!” he shrieked.
Too late.
Zu rammed her with his shoulder, crushing her torso as he pinned her to a tree. When a new flurry of blasts lined his spine, he took off running again.
Nicolas’ size had worked to his credit. He was so small that Zu didn’t notice him. He now ran to his friend, not even bothering to pretend. Nick was a realistic boy, and he knew she wouldn’t make it.
“Sorry, Rue. I didn’t mean to let you get killed…I was too slow,” he whispered, helping her to a soft spot in the dirt.
Rue shook her head in disagreement. “Not…your fault,” she said, spitting up blood.
With her remaining strength, she raised Nicolas’s hand to her lips and kissed it. Then she died. Nicolas’ head sunk, and he held her tightly, shielding her from the surrounding madness. Although the fight had been taken out of him at the moment, his gun never left his side.
5
Rosa Lee had seen the incident with Rue and was hell-bent on keeping anything from coming in the direction of her son. She stepped out more into the open, cutting down a few more. Rosa also thought she might’ve landed a few shots in the side of the gigantic creature which was darting back and forth, crushing everything in its path. Two of her neighbours caught elbows in the face from him, and blood showered the earth as they fell backwards with large concave dents in their heads. Even if they managed to kill Phyllamon’s other troops, Rosa knew it would be a miracle if they survived Zu’s wrath! Once they finished with the others, they’d all have to take this beast at once…if there were any of her neighbours left by then!
She saw Daum crouched behind a large tree stump, reloading. (Obviously, like Nick, he had nothing laser powered. Normal guns discharged all their ammo quickly.) He was fighting a centipede-like enemy, who was the only other beast on the field with a flamethrower. It raised its arms, firing at a downward angle, and the blue fire singed the top of Daum’s shoulder. Daum dropped to the ground and rolled around to extinguish the flames, which had now spread to his ponytail.
Suddenly, the creature had most of his tail blown away, with only six of its legs remaining. Rosa Lee looked above and found Rufus was still zig-zagging back and forth, covering them whenever he had a clear shot. Not a bad distance shot, herself, Rosa Lee finished off the centipede man, burning holes across its midsection. As the flamethrower fell, the beast set himself ablaze.
Daum rolled off the rest of the fire and got up to help the others. He ducked behind a cottage as Zu raced by him. Although injured, he was so massive and powerful that it would take much more to bring him down. Daum watched him kill a few more of his neighbours as he ran amongst the cottages. When Zu was far enough away, he decided it was safe to come from behind his cover.
When he did, Daum found a girl (whom he didn’t know) being strangled from behind by the tail of something that looked like a miniature dragon. He ran around the reptile’s backside and unsheathed a large machete, cutting its tail off. The girl dropped to the ground and reclaimed her weapon. As the beast turned to face them, bleeding and furious, he had an argument with separate shots from two shotguns. He lost the debate miserably.
6
Meanwhile, a hundred feet away, Phyllamon paced back and forth, swearing under his breath. He was unsure of what to do, because his infantry numbers were nearly depleted. When Zu wound up being the last of them standing, was he capable of taking the remaining townsmen all by himself? Adding to Phyllamon’s worry was the fact that Zu wouldn’t be starting fresh…he was already injured!
Phyllamon let out a howl and grabbed Murlach, having one of his violent fits.
“Master, calm yourself!” Murlach choked out through the headlock he was in.
Rather strong for his size, he managed to pull one of Phyllamon’s hands away. Thinking that pain would bring him to his senses and make him focus, Murlach bit the thumb on Phyllamon’s right hand down to the bone.
Phyllamon grunted and fell to his knees, glaring at his bloody thumb. He leered at Murlach in fury.
“Think, Master! What’s your decision?”
“Goddammit!” Phyllamon growled. Just as he made to call off any remaining infantry, he and Murlach had to hit the deck.
7
A girl named Sonji, who’d fled to the trees in order to evade Zu, had just rejoined her neighbours. Rosa Lee had finally stepped out further as well, and the two of them stood side-by-side, helping the others pick off the next to last of Phyllamon’s soldiers. Now only one remained,
and their group quickly huddled together, knowing it would take their combined firepower to stop him…if they could do it at all!
As they heard a shrill cry come from the end of town, they turned to find Zu had another of their own stretched horizontally in midair. He yanked their neighbour apart and began bolting towards them. They open fired.
Zu could hardly move without his body crying out in pain. Were it not for his size and strength, he knew that he’d have long been dead. His plight wouldn’t have been so bad were it not for the fact that he had no body armour! Murlach was having an impossible enough time finding a weapon that was suitable for him, so attempts to obtain armour for something his size (on short notice, no less) was really a stretch.
Once again, Zu found himself fleeing Rufus’s assault. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the barrels on the hoverchair glowing white with heat. This was a huge worry, as Rufus had a near perfect angle of attack and, combined with those villagers in front of him, Zu was now being pummeled with ammunition! He leapt side-to-side in attempts to avoid the blasts, but he wasn’t doing well at all.
Unsure of how much more he could take, Zu was determined to make it near the people soon. This would at least stop the fire from above, affording him the chance of escape. Dismissing the pain, Zu increased his speed tenfold.
When he came upon the townsmen, he once again took on a bull-like charge, bent on killing as many as possible before retreating. Zu gave an explosive stretch with both arms, batting the villagers out of his way. Nine of them took flight, and three others were tromped upon as he plowed his way through the crowd, quickly disappearing into the trees.
Rosa Lee, who was lucky enough to only have sustained cuts and bruises, climbed slowly to her feet. She staggered a bit, for she’d been knocked aside by Zu’s muscular thighs, and this was easily the most jarring collision she’d ever felt in her life. Rosa imagined that this was what being hit full on by a speeding hover would’ve felt like. Incredibly surprised that she wasn’t dead, she looked about, inspecting the casualties. Sonji and Daum, as well as others (injured but living), slowly got up to join her.
The Gift of Volkeye Page 13