Blaze (The High-Born Epic)

by Jason Woodham

  “I tan’t wait to see my daddy,” Maggie smiled and squeezed Harold’s hand. “I’m so gwad ‘dat eww came, Hawold. I missed my daddy.”

  Gabby shot a glance at Harold as he rubbed Maggie’s head. Harold noticed Gabby looking at him and he glanced up at her, but she quickly turned her head back towards the front. He stared at her for a moment and he saw her wipe her nose and take a deep breath.

  Harold looked behind him at the children of Foxx Hole.

  He knew most of them by name, but was not very close to any of them. However, they all had the same look in their eyes that Scott and Cooper had the day he had saved Ollie from the pytheel. He smiled at them and they all returned his smile and a few of them even waved. He lightly returned their wave and turned back to the front.

  He settled back down into his seat and watched the scenery rapidly passed beneath them. It was a clear morning with white clouds hanging low on the horizon. Everything below him looked the same and the low-level flight obscured his vision of the immediate area somewhat.

  He called fire into his sight and scanned the landscape. Off to their right he could see the city of Teos, and he could make out several distant air taxis darting back and forth. He squinted and looked hard, but he thought that he could even see the subtle signs of cloaked gunships all around them on the horizons.

  “Don’t worry about them,” Gabby said with a knowing look. “They can’t see us at all.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Harold asked.

  “First of all, the High-Born aren’t like we are, and they can’t do the things we can,” she smiled. “Secondly, I fixed the problem with their invisibility system.”

  “How do you know how to work on their machines?” Harold asked.

  “I don’t know how to work on their machines yet,” she said as she turned her eyes to his. “I used my powers to fix the shimmer in the air. We’re totally invisible.”

  “That’s great,” Harold said. “How long can you keep it up?”

  “It’s not easy, and I can’t hold it forever,” she paused as she thought of the right words. “It’s like walking really fast for a long time, it’ll eventually catch up with you. But it’s not too difficult.”

  “I know exactly what you mean,” Harold grinned knowingly.

  “It’s nice to have someone who understands,” she replied, grinning and looking into his eyes.

  Harold stared back into her gaze for more than a few moments, and felt a flush of heat hit his face. He noticed her grin widen as she turned back to look out of the windshield.

  “I can’t wait to tell mom, dad, and Sarah about how you showed those High-Born who was the boss,” Scott said. “She will be so happy to see you.”

  “I’ll be glad to see them too,” Harold replied.

  He noticed Gabby cut her eyes toward him and then back to the windshield. As Harold settled down into his seat, he looked across the ever-changing treetops below them. All of the children behind him babbled aimlessly about how he and Gabby had saved them all. He let his eyes drift to the grid display of the cities and communities. He could even see the icon marked Foxx Hole noticeably getting closer. Given the distance displayed on the grid and comparing to the outside scenery, Harold could tell that they were moving very fast.

  The time passed quickly while he, Gabby, and the children talked back and forth. They passed over several rivers and edged around the outskirts of a city called Pela. Though it was difficult to tell, both he and Gabby agreed that they came within a couple hundred yards of a patrolling High-Born gunship at one point during the trip.

  Soon, they arrived at the fringes of Foxx Hole.

  Gabby circled a couple of times, and both she and Harold agreed that there was nothing suspicious about the surrounding air. Nothing in Foxx Hole itself seemed to be out of place, and Gabby easily slipped the detection grid, landing them in the woods just north of town.

  “I’m going to go make sure that everything is safe in town before we unload them,” Harold said.

  “That’s a good idea,” Gabby nodded.

  Harold flashed from sight...

  ...And appeared in the top of a tree. He enhanced his vision and studied the surrounding area. He could see people wandering about, up and down the streets, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He quickly air-burned around the entire perimeter of Foxx Hole and scanned the area well enough to feel safe about bringing the children out of hiding.

  He came into view just in front of the gunship. He looked at Gabby and motioned for her to begin unloading the children. As he walked around to the side of the gunship, a door seemed to emerge from the air itself and the children began walking out into the forest. Harold quickly organized them into two lines. Many of them were giggling and laughing as they pointed at Foxx Hole. After just a few minutes, the entire group was standing and looking at Harold. Gabby walked to the rear of the two lines and looked at Harold.

  Harold nodded to her and turned the children back towards town and began walking. After a few steps, Harold felt someone grab his hand. He looked down and saw Ollie’s smiling face looking up at him. Right beside Ollie he could see that Maggie was holding her other hand, merrily skipping along. On his other side, Scott and Cooper walked quickly around to the front of him. Scott began high-stepping, and Cooper soon followed his lead. After a few more steps, Scott raised his hand to his forehead in a salute and after a quick glance, Cooper raised his hand as well.

  As they walked toward town, Harold led them towards road number twelve. He found it hard to believe that he had actually won, and now it was time for the people of Foxx Hole to see that it was not hopeless. After several minutes, the edge of town grew closer, and he could see a man at the end of the road stop and look at them. He quickly ran back in the house and in just a few moments, a woman appeared on the porch. She put her hand over her eyes, and stared for a moment. After a few seconds, her hands covered her mouth. She gathered up her dress and both her and the man ran down the porch steps and began running toward them.

  “Momma! Daddy!” a girl’s voice shouted from behind Harold.

  He turned to see a brown haired little girl in dirty overalls about Ollie’s age sprinting from the middle of the line, running as fast as her little legs could carry her. Harold watched as she ran by him, arms and legs pumping furiously. Her father’s straw hat flew off of his head as he began outpacing her mother.

  “Haley!” he shouted as he ran.

  Haley’s hair flowed behind her as her head tilted backwards. Her father stopped, arms reaching out for her. She ran into them, throwing her arms around his neck and he spun around with her. His cries of joy echoed as he held her face close to his, just hugging her. Her mother soon made it to them and enfolded Haley in between her and her husband. Then they just stood their crying and hugging one another.

  Their joyful weeping stirred something deep inside of Harold, and he let the emotion settle over him. He tried to fight back the tears, but he couldn’t. He was the one who was responsible for their happiness. He was the one who had changed it. He was the one who the future rested upon. He was the one who had the power necessary to make a difference, and silent tears ran down his face as he continued walking toward Foxx Hole.

  Soon, he came face to face with the man, woman, and little girl.

  “Thank you, Harold,” the man said with his eyes full of tears and voice quavering. “There is nothing I could ever do to repay you... so you just let me know whenever you need anything.”

  “I was sure that Willie had done turned loose of his head when he said that you were going to bring back the children,” the mother said, nearly unable to speak with emotion.

  “It was my pleasure,” Harold replied as he rubbed Haley’s head. “Your name is James, right?”

  “Yes, sir,” he replied. “James Ross. And my wife Pam thanks you too, sir.”

  “Daddy,” Haley excitedly interrupted. “You should’ve seen Harold when he fought those High-Born! They couldn’t do nothin’ to
stop him! It was just like Scott and Cooper and Ollie said! He burned ‘em all up!”

  It wasn’t much longer before he stepped onto road number twelve and began the walk to the town circle. James came running around him, Haley on his hip, and Harold watched as he ran down the road shouting at the top of his lungs.

  “Harold brung ‘em back!” he shouted. “Harold brung ‘em back!”

  People began walking out on their porches as James ran down the road shouting. To begin with, the watched him, dumbfounded. Some of them even scratched their heads, but then they began turning towards Harold and the crowd of children. Mothers and fathers alike began running down the steps of their porches, sprinting towards their children.

  Harold watched as several children all began running around him.

  A little boy ran into his weeping mother’s arms... a little girl was scooped up by her hobbling grandfather... two sisters ran into their crying father’s hands. It all seemed surreal to Harold. He almost seemed to be outside of himself, watching the emotional scene from afar. All around him the air filled with cries of joy as various children ran into their parents’ arms. He just continued walking leisurely down the road, and watched James move ever farther away.

  After several minutes, he could see a crowd gathering at the town circle. He turned and looked behind him, and noticed that the crowd of parents and children were still walking with him. He could hear the chatter of the excited children as they recounted the story of their rescue to the adults. He looked back to Scott and Cooper who were still high-stepping like little soldiers and Ollie and Maggie were smiling like little girls always seemed to do.

  After a few more minutes he entered the town circle to the sound of applause, whistles, and cheers. He almost immediately found Willie, Annie Jane, and Sarah. Children began running into the arms of more waiting parents. Willie, Annie Jane, and Sarah all fell to their knees as Scott sprinted towards them. Tears ran down Annie Jane’s face as she put her cheek on his and began squeezing him hugged him close. Sarah beamed with pride as she knelt and hugged her younger brother along with her parents.

  “Cooper! Ollie!” a voice in the back called. “Cooper! Ollie!”

  “Momma!” Cooper and Ollie shouted in unison.

  Just then, Aunt Nean breathlessly tore through the front of the crowd. Cooper and Ollie sprinted towards her and she knelt down as her children ran into her arms. Harold watched as she hugged and kissed them feverishly.

  “I always knew you were going to be special, Harold,” Aunt Nean said, barely able to contain her emotion. “Thank you, so much.”

  “I love them as much as you, Aunt Nean,” Harold replied as he reached down and hugged the three of them. “I wasn’t going to let anything happen to them.”

  As Harold stood up, he watched as the children melted into the crowd. As he looked across the crowd, his eyes met Sarah’s. They both smiled as they ran into one another’s arms, and Sarah jumped off the ground while Harold spun with her. He sat her down on the ground, and she grabbed his face. Harold felt himself flush when she kissed him. He expected to hear gasps of disapproval from the townspeople. However, the crowd erupted into applause, whistles, and cheers. When they pulled apart, he expected Mr. Willie to slap him, but instead he just clapped Harold on the back and laughed loudly. Sarah stood by his side, holding his hand.

  But amidst the jubilation a parent burst through the crowd and quickly took Harold’s hand away from Sarah.

  “Where is my Emma?” she asked.

  “What about Ben?” a man called.

  Several people began shouting out different names at once, and Harold held up his arms and slowly lowered them.

  “All of the children are safe,” he said. “We didn’t have the room to bring them all at once! But by this time tomorrow, they should all be back!”

  The crowd calmed somewhat, and Harold felt something else grab his right hand. When he looked down, he saw Maggie clasping it. Harold cringed when he thought about how Phil looked the last time he saw him. Suddenly, another hand reached down and took Maggie’s, and Harold saw Aunt Nean’s teary eyes look into his. For a moment, Harold’s heart sunk.

  “Phil will live,” Aunt Nean whispered into his ear. “But Maggie shouldn’t see him right now, I will take care of her. You have enough to deal with.”

  Aunt Nean scooped Maggie up and put her on her hip.

  “I want my daddy,” Maggie said.

  “I know you do, baby,” Aunt Nean replied. “We will see him soon... I promise.”

  Maggie regarded Aunt Nean almost suspiciously for a moment, and then hugged her while silently laying her head on her shoulder.

  “How is Scape?” Harold asked.

  “I think he’s going to live,” Aunt Nean said. “He’s eating and drinking, and he’s almost always asleep, but he’s making it.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Harold caught a glimpse of nearly white hair, and he turned to see Gabby standing right beside him. Harold noticed a wave of silence ripple through the townsfolk of Foxx Hole as they looked at the beautiful stranger. Harold nodded at Gabby, and then looked back to the crowd.

  “I have found a powerful new friend,” he said. “If it had not been for her help, I would have not been able to save the children. She is just as responsible for their rescue as I am—”

  “—People of Foxx Hole!” Gabby interrupted. “I am Aireon! And I am just the same as you! I have grown up under the rule of the High-Born! They lord over us as if we are their property! But no more!”

  “That’s right!” a man in the crowd called.

  “As if our slavery were not enough for them!” Aireon shouted, and swept her hands towards the crowd. “Now they seek to steal our very children! But Blaze has powers unlike anything the High-Born have ever seen... And so do I!”

  Aireon’s eyes pulsed with white light, and the air around her seemed to shimmer as a strong gust of wind rushed over the townspeople. She grabbed Harold’s hand, and nodded to him. Harold looked towards Sarah, and she knew to step away. Harold’s eyes gleamed orange and flames rolled over him. Aireon then pulled his hand along with hers above their heads, as the townspeople stepped back.

  “Together, Blaze and I, along with your help, will bring down the High-Born!”

  Willie began shouting and holding his fist high in the air as Blaze and Aireon’s terrible eyes looked across the crowd. Another father’s hand shot above his head as he began shouting at the top of his lungs, and soon catcalls of defiance were echoing all across the town.

  Sarah clapped and shouted herself, but she felt strangely inadequate when she saw that Blaze’s fire was simply wrapping around Aireon’s hand. It would have burned her to a crisp had she been holding his hand. As the town grew into a frenzy, Sarah saw Aireon’s glowing eyes glance at her, and then back to Blaze, and she could have sworn that she saw Aireon smiling.

  After the rousing speech, Blaze doused his flames and Aireon calmed her winds. The townspeople began gathering around them, and Sarah quickly grabbed Harold’s hand. Gabby held on to his other hand for a moment and then let go, and turned away to talk to a grateful villager.

  “Who is she?” Sarah asked.

  “She’s Aireon,” Harold replied. “But her friends call her Gabby. She’s a friend.”

  Sarah regarded her silently for a moment and said, “Thank you for saving my brother.”

  Gabby’s eyes flicked from her to Harold and then back to her, “You’re welcome. They had my brothers and sisters as well, so I know how you felt.”

  Sarah nodded, extended her hand, and said, “I’m Sarah, Harold’s girlfriend.”

  Gabby took her hand and nodded, “Nice to meet you, Sarah.”

  “I can’t believe that y’all actually did it,” Sarah said.

  “It sure is something, isn’t it,” Harold smiled.

  “Are you going to get something to eat before you go?” Sarah asked.

  “We don’t have time,” Gabby interrupted. “We’ve got too man
y children back at camp to deal with, and the High-Born are all over the place. In fact, we need to be putting some air behind us right now.”

  Sarah glanced at Harold, who said, “She’s right, Sarah. We’re gonna’ have our hands full over the next few days.”

  “We need to go, Harold,” Gabby said as she began walking through the excited citizens of Foxx Hole.

  Harold regarded Sarah, and then pulled her close. He gave her a tender, but passionate kiss, and she pulled herself close to him and ran her hands through his hair. Several of the people in Foxx Hole began whistling and clapping again and soon they parted.

  “I love you,” Sarah whispered into his ear.

  “I love you too,” Harold replied. “Tell the townsfolk about Scott’s secret base. That’s the only place the young’uns will be safe. Keep them there as much as possible and especially during town meetings.”

  “Will do,” Sarah answered with a nod.

  “And Sarah,” Harold said as he turned to leave. “Bring those books.”

  “They’ll be here by the time you get back with the next load of kids,” she replied.

  Chapter 33

  As Foxx Hole disappeared from view, Harold watched Gabby fidget with the monitors of the gunship. He could see that she was referencing the map, and making the necessary adjustments to their flight path. As the treetops below sped by, Harold looked around the compartment, and with the children gone, he was amazed at how quiet the ride actually was. The only thing he could hear was a barely audible humming coming from the various panels strewn throughout the cockpit of the gunship.

  “So what’s the deal with you and what’s her name?” Gabby asked as she continued tinkering with the control screen.

  “We’ve known each other since we were little,” Harold replied. “And her name is Sarah.”

  “Seems like she really likes you,” Gabby replied as she looked towards Harold.

  “Yeah,” Harold answered. “But I like her too. So it works out pretty well for us.”

  “I guess so,” Gabby said as she cut her eyes sharply away.