Blaze (The High-Born Epic)

by Jason Woodham

  “ATLAS Corps, this is Archangel. It’s time to hold the sky! These bats do not get by us! Come to bearing one-eight-zero, I repeat, bearing one-eight-zero, and hover. Give me four, ten by ten vertical phalanxes, fifty-meter spread, diamond configuration. Yaw guns... zero degrees... pitch guns... forty-five degrees up. Switch to frag spikes, and fill the western sky on my command. Air Artillery, release seven SWARM’s to the following coordinates... Angry Angels, the incoming SWARM’s will be in a holding pattern just behind the ATLAS Corps, initiate remote link up. Angels, Two, Three, and Six, start your attack run twenty miles southwest of the left flank, ten mile spread. Angels, One, Four, and Five, start your attack run twenty miles northeast of the right flank, ten mile spread. Push them into the ATLAS phalanx’s field of fire. I’m coming from above, right down the center. Angels, execute attack pattern delta seven on my mark. ATLAS reserve, get here on the double and shore up the flanks. Air Artillery, ATLAS officers are authorized for SWARM deployment.”

  Though Harold could not see outside, he could hear a few aircraft thundering by them, heading back toward the battle. A bright flash of light flickered from the windshield of the airplane, and he turned to look out of the window in front of the plane. He could see the sky rapidly changing colors and it quickly settled into an orangish hue.

  Something in the foreground of the auburn sky covered with purple clouds caught his attention, and he realized that there were several large jets far in the distance. As his eyes were still focusing, he caught a glimpse of sparkles just beneath them. He saw the air ripple around the glimmering objects, and they suddenly became seven bright points moving at break-neck speed. In just a few seconds, they grew in his vision to become seven of the large missiles, and they flashed out of sight above and behind them.

  Harold then watched as the sky instantly filled with several dozen more ATLAS units, closing the distance so fast that he had trouble even recognizing what they were. As they began zooming by in groups of six or seven, flying back towards the city, their blue thrusters traced the sky and the plane rattled in the wake of their incredible speed.

  For several more moments all that any of them could hear was Gabby’s groaning and the medical chatter of the people in white suits. Out of the front window, Harold noticed the water swiftly passing under them.

  “Ha!” a voice called. Harold thought it was Angel Five. “Looks like these flying rats don’t want to fight if we can see them!”

  “Roger that, Angel Five,” the one called Archangel said. “They saw the ATLAS Corps waiting on them. We would’ve slaughtered them had they not disengaged. They knew they were outgunned without the main battle group. They’re bugging out. I repeat, the bats are retreating. I’m staggering the release of the SWARM’s. That should cover our withdrawal. Angel Five, set the LAMPP over the city for seek and destroy on a three minute countdown. Set secondary LAMPP for seek and destroy with a five minute countdown. All units, return to base. Excellent job, ladies and gentlemen... Excellent job.”

  Raucous cheers echoed through the speakers, and the three pilots at the front of the plane hit one another’s hands again.

  Chapter 50

  Harold sat up in the bed. River and Stone were both sitting beside him, and she seemed dazed while he seemed jovial. Harold did not feel great, and he yawned, but he felt well enough to look out of the front windshield while he relaxed. They were not flying very high, and all he could see in front of him was water rapidly passing under them.

  “Well, Fire,” Stone smiled. “I’ve got say that you have my respect. Who else carries a sword to fight the whole High-Born military with?”

  Stone held up his sword.

  “I didn’t even realize that I had lost it,” then Harold smiled. “But I guess it’s better than throwing rocks at them.”

  Stone’s head shot backwards as he laughed loudly, “That was a good one, Fire. I knew I was going to like you.”

  “How did y’all find me and Gabby?”

  “Rat-Trap and D-Con brought me and River in early,” Stone answered. “They dropped her off on the northern end of the city, and me on the southern end. The two of them took the eastern and western ends of the city. Then we all started moving to our right. I happened to be the closest to you two, so I held out for help.”

  “What’s y’all’s story, and who are these people?” Harold asked.

  “I’ve only been with them for about two and a half days,” then he pointed at River. “And we just picked her up the night before last. This was actually mine and her first mission together. They didn’t even want us to go, said we were too important to risk. But me and her talked about it, and we knew we had to help you, and didn’t really care if they wanted us to stay out of this fight.”

  “You’re just like us,” River said. “We’re meant to fight them. It’s why we’re here, and I wasn’t going to sit around and watch them kill you two.”

  Harold just nodded, and the three of them were silent for a moment.

  “As for who they are,” Stone said. “They say that they are the last free Americans, and they say that the four of us are too. But I don’t really understand what they mean by it.”

  “I think Americans are from one of the Forgotten Nations that the High-Born always talk about in the history books and Vista,” River answered. “Stone and them saved my life.”

  “They pulled my tail out of some serious trouble before we got you, River,” Stone replied as he turned his attention to Harold. “Last night they showed us some video of you two, because they have been looking for you two for a while, and that is really the only reason they found us. I thought it was only right for us to help them find you.”

  “How did you find us?” Harold asked.

  “Well,” Stone laughed. “It wasn’t real hard. Y’all made a mess of things–”

  “—And I could feel you,” River interrupted.

  “Anyways,” Stone gave River a glance, “They said that your next most likely target was a city called Atlanta. They were monitoring it when you guys hit it. Rat-Trap and D-Con then brought us in as soon as the fight started. Then those satellite things they have started sending us video of what was happening. I don’t think that Rat-Trap and D-Con’s bosses are gonna’ be happy with them about it though. They were supposed to wait for the full attack force– ”

  “– Task force,” River interrupted again.

  “Whatever. It’s the same thing,” Stone said to River. “Anyways, they decided to trust us, and brought us in early.”

  “I’m glad they did,” Harold answered. “I would’ve been dead in just a few more seconds if you hadn’t got there when you did.”

  “By the way,” Stone smiled. “Everyone really liked it when you two made out after you stomped the first wave of lab rats.”

  “Y’all saw that?” Harold said as he rubbed his face. “Ohhh... I’ll never hear the end of this.”

  Stone and River just grinned lightly, and they were quiet for a moment and Harold glanced back at the front, and watched the water rapidly pass underneath them for a moment.

  “How did y’all get your powers?” Harold asked.

  Stone and River looked at each other, and Stone motioned for her to speak first.

  “It happened after the High-Born took my little sister,” she said. “I went after her to help her, but a High-Born threw me back, and knocked me out. When I woke up, I was in my bed, and I was just so sad and mad that I started crying. After a few minutes, I realized that my tears had frozen on my face. I went to get some water from the well, and when I tried to wash my face, I saw that the entire pail was full with a solid chunk of ice. Then, I screamed. And this is hard to explain, but I just felt all the water in the air around me, and I pulled it to me and slung ice spikes everywhere. After that, I taught myself in the woods how to use it better. Then, I started sneaking out at night and fighting them. I was in a big fight, and I thought I was going to die, but the people in those suits showed up, and he did too,” she motioned
to Stone. “They saved me.”

  Harold looked to Stone.

  “My story isn’t really much different from hers,” he replied. “The High-Born, but I like what these people call them better. Lab rats. Anyways, the lab rats took my two little brothers and my little sister too. I was mad and wanted to save them, and I managed to get over the fence to help them, but the soldiers smacked me with the butts of their guns. I woke up a little bit later, and wasn’t even bruised all that bad. Later that afternoon, I went outside and started punching the ground. And I noticed that my house started rattling. Over the next few weeks, I grew really fast, and my skin started looking like it does now. I also did like her, and learned to use it and practiced in the woods where no one could see. After that, I decided that I would do something about all of these lab rats. I snuck out at night to fight them. Anyways, I got in some deep trouble, and these Americans saved me.”

  “How did it happen to you?” River asked.

  Harold then told them story about Ollie and the pytheel. Then he told them how it had happened to Gabby, and just as he was finishing with that story, one of the co-pilots got up from his seat and walked towards them.

  “We’ll be landing in about a minute,” he said, he seemed nervous and excited. “So please stay seated.”

  They all nodded as he returned to his seat, and he began pressing buttons on his screen. The three of them looked out in the distance, and all they could see was water zooming under them. They could hear the pilots talking, but could not really understand what they were saying. Then, just a few miles away they saw a huge black spot suddenly appear from the air in front them. Harold realized that whatever it was could become invisible like the High-Born.

  As they neared it, the plane began to slow. Then, he realized that the black spot was a massive boat of some kind. It just kept getting larger the closer they got to it and the sheer size of it baffled Harold. A horizontal line of light appeared on the front of it as they continued moving towards it. The line grew into a square of light, and Harold could see a large corridor and he thought he could see people walking in it. It was as high out of the water as some of the High-Born buildings stood from the ground, probably somewhere between six and seven stories from the surface.

  The plane had now come to an almost complete standstill and it was inching forward now. He noticed that the pilots were watching their screens and not the ship. One of them pressed a lit symbol, and Harold thought he felt the plane move slightly to the left. As they entered into the ship, Harold felt something that he was sure he had never felt before. He thought about this curious feeling for a moment, and came to the conclusion that he actually felt safe. Then he closed his eyes and let his head fall back on the pillow as he smiled.

  He felt a hard bump heard a loud bang. As he yawned, he heard a motor whirring and a light shined across his face. He opened his eyes, and looked toward the door. There were several people in white suits pushing beds onto the plane. The people who had been looking after Gabby called the first bed to them. Harold saw them move her to it and then they pushed her away.

  Another team lifted him onto a second bed and began carting him down the ramp into the confines of the huge ship. He felt very sleepy, and he just let himself drift into a restful sleep as they pushed him down the ramp of the plane.

  Chapter 51

  Harold opened his eyes.

  To begin with, he didn’t know where he was, and then the memories of the previous weeks and months passed through his mind. He was in a very dim room, and it was very cool. He felt so good that he just closed his eyes and let his head fall back on the pillow.

  After a few more minutes, he looked down. A white bed sheet covered him, and he was not lying completely flat as there was a slight incline. One of those strange monitors was next to his bed. There was a wavy line moving across it and two numbers in the top right of the screen and a single number in the bottom right. 112/72 was at the top, and 50 was at the bottom.

  He rubbed his eyes, and yawned. He felt great, but he just lay there for a few more minutes, enjoying a sense of relaxation that he was not sure if he had ever known. He looked down, and realized that he was naked except for a thin gown that did not feel like it entirely covered his butt. He let a laugh escape his lips, and pulled back the sheets as he slung his legs over the side of the bed.

  Then he realized that he was in a small room with no windows. As he hopped down to the floor, a beam of light shot from behind him. He turned to see the silhouette of a woman standing there.

  “Hey there, Blaze. I’m Doctor Carter,” she said. “You must’ve been very tired. You’ve been asleep for almost twelve hours. How do you feel?”

  “Pretty good,” he replied.

  “No aches or pains?” she asked.

  “Not really,” he replied.

  His eyes had adjusted to the light now and she had come into focus. She was older than he had expected when he heard her voice. All of her hair was gray and she had some wrinkles on her face, but Harold could tell that she had a nice figure, and her blue eyes were striking. He also noticed that she was holding a data-pane, and he could see the outline of a man on it. She held up the data-pane and regarded it for a moment.

  “You’re as healthy as a horse, young man,” she said. “Do you have any questions before I send you to Command?” she asked.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said as he pulled the flaps of his gown over his butt. “Do y’all have a pair of overalls I could wear instead of this thing?”

  She laughed heartily, and said, “I don’t know if we have overalls, but I can round you up something.”

  She walked out of the room and returned in a few minutes. She gave Harold a pair of black pants with more pockets than he thought they needed, and a black button-down shirt, and a pair of flimsy shorts. She also had a pair of socks and shiny black boots. He noticed that the shirt had the same red, white, and blue emblem on it that Rat-Trap and D-Con had on their shoulders. He didn’t know what it meant, but he liked the way it looked.

  “What are these?” he said as he held up the flimsy shorts.

  She appeared flushed, “You put those on first, and then your pants over them.”

  “Oh, okay,” he said. “Ummm... Where’s the outhouse?”

  Dr. Carter gave a good-hearted chuckle, and pointed toward the back wall, “Just walk through that door over there, and you’ll find everything you need.”

  As he dressed he asked her, “Where’s Gabby?”

  “She’s in the next room,” Dr. Carter answered. “But I think it’s best that you let her sleep. I know you probably want to see her, but she needs sleep right now. I promise you that she is okay, and that she will be fine in just a few days.”

  Harold looked at her as he put on his shirt.

  “I tell you what, Blaze,” she said. “I’ll let you look at her on the monitor, how’s that?”

  “I’d be grateful if you would, ma’am,” he replied. “I’m awfully hungry too, ma’am.”

  “They’ll take care of that when you go to Command,” she said as she exited again.

  Harold walked to wall where she said the door was, and he could not see a doorknob. He looked, and he saw something that looked like it need pressing. He did and the wall just seemed to slide back. He looked inside and saw a toilet, shower, and sink. There was even a toothbrush and toothpaste. He turned and waved to Dr. Carter as he pressed another button inside that made the door slide back into place.

  After about fifteen minutes, he walked back into his room and then out of the other door. He was in a fairly wide metal hallway that had a relatively low ceiling. He thought that Stone would almost have to duck to walk comfortably. He noticed two men in black uniforms similar to his standing on either side of the door.

  Then he saw Dr. Carter walking down the hall toward him, and she stopped just a few steps from him and motioned for him to walk to her. He walked to where two more men in uniform stood, and Dr. Carter pointed at a monitor on the metallic wall
in between them. The doctor pointed at the image on it, and he had to look closely, but he could see that it was Gabby laying there. She was on her stomach, and seemed very peaceful.

  “Okay,” Harold said. “What next?”

  Dr. Carter pointed at the two men behind him and said with a bright smile, “Just follow them.”

  “Hello, sir,” the man on the right said and started walking down the hall. “I’m Sergeant Thomas Reynolds and I’ll be your escort today, sir. Behind you is Private Jerrod Pierce. We’ll be going this way, sir.”

  Harold followed him while the other man fell in behind both of them. As they walked, Harold looked around. Everything around him was made of metal, and there were monitors with blinking lights and flashing numbers all around him.

  “Where are we?” Harold asked the two men.

  “Right now, we’re in the hospital wing,” Sergeant Reynolds answered. “But, we’re actually on a very large carrier-submarine named the USS George Washington, but most of us just call her ‘The Whale.’ And we’re very, very, deep underwater. Active stealth is also engaged. As for exactly where we are? I don’t really know, but by now we’re probably somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.”

  “Y’all folks must be pretty smart if you can make things like this,” Harold said as he careened his head around, looking back forth.

  Both of the men laughed, and the man behind him said, “We have our ways.”

  The three passed through several more hallways, and dozens of people moving to and fro. Everyone had on a uniform similar to the one Harold was wearing. The hallways all looked exactly the same and Harold wondered how they could even keep track of where they were. Eventually, they stopped in front of a set of double doors. Sergeant Reynolds pressed an arrow that was pointing up, and the doors opened. He stepped inside and Harold and the other man followed.