by Maia Starr
“You can call it stubborn. I call it strong,” she said.
“Fine. I will take you to your house. But we will not linger. I need to be here on this wall,” I said to her.
“I am ready,” she said.
I put my arms around her petite body and scooped her up. I held her against my chest.
“I will return in ten minutes or less,” I told my lieutenant. He nodded.
I flew off of the wall in the direction of her home. I flew low along the tree line in the village so that we were not at the same height as my ships. I moved fast. We got to her home in less than sixty seconds. I put her down on the porch.
“We are here. What is so important?” I said. She opened the door and ran inside. I ran after her. We descended the stairs to her basement.
“A virus. That is what is important,” she said.
“A virus? What do you mean? It is not wise to handle a virus. You could get many humans sick, possibly even my weredragons,” I said.
She chuckled a bit. “Not that kind of virus. This is a computer virus,” she said, opening a drawer and pulling out a small computer stick.
“What?”
“I made it myself. I have been studying computer code for a long time. I created a virus. I think that it can bring down the keddle,” she said.
"Think? You are not sure?” I asked.
“No, I am not sure. But after being hooked up to the keddle, I think that it will work. I have a feeling. I think that if I plug this into its console, then it will inject the virus and debilitate the keddle.”
“Whoa, whoa, stop right there. If you plug it in? You are not getting anywhere near that thing. Have you lost your mind? I only just rescued you from it not too long ago. Now you want to go back? There's no way in hell,” I said.
“It might be our only chance. You saw the fence out there. Your army is spectacular. But we are outnumbered. It is obvious, is it not?” she said.
“Yes outnumbered, but they are machines. We will just double our efforts. I do not need you to be putting yourself in this crazy danger.”
“I know it will work. But I can't do it without you. I can't exactly walk out there. I need you to fly me to that keddle,” she said.
“Say that I get you near that thing. How will you get inside of it to plug it in?” I said.
“It will open for me. It will just think that I have returned and it is going to continue running the same test that it was running on me before. Then I can plug it in. Then I need to get out of there,” she said.
“That is a very bold plan. But I can't let you do it. I am sorry, I just can't. Now come on; we are going back to the wall,” I said, getting to the bottom of the stairs.
She talked the computer stick into her pocket.
“Fine. But promise me if the fence goes down that we will try this plan of mine?”
“I promise. But it is not going to go down. We will be victorious,” I said.
We walk together at the stairs and back out onto the porch. I picked her up into my arms and we flew back to my command post.
The fence was still electrified and frying Clenok cyborgs as they threw themselves at it. But they were piling up. It was a complete onslaught of machines. They just kept coming and coming from both directions. I was glad that they could not fly. Otherwise, we would not be able to hold them.
"Get me a report from the other side,” I said to my lieutenant.
He nodded and radioed into his armband and got me a status report. I listened in. I looked at Vanessa. She looked like she was very worried about the progress. I did not want to let her down. And I definitely did not want her going down onto the battlefield to find this keddle. I would not risk losing her again.
Chapter 18
Dr. Vanessa Lopez
I stood on the wall watching the king direct his army. I loved watching him. It turned me on. I should not be aroused during a battle like this, but I could not help it. He was in his element. Seeing him in dragon form made my mouth water. I was glad that I was able to be with him again. It was bittersweet considering it could be the last time that I was ever with him. Watching him, I wanted to burn his memory into my mind and keep it there forever. He was such a beautiful specimen to watch. He was tall and commanding. He was very dominant, and every one of his weredragon soldiers obeyed him and hung on his every word.
Then a noise brought me out of my fantasy of staring at the king. It was a loud boom. We all looked down over the wall just in time to see a large group of Clenok cyborgs throwing themselves into the electric fence. The electricity burned a bright blue, causing the explosion. Then it died. Suddenly Clenok cyborgs that were at the fence were not getting burned.
“It's down! The fence is down!” I heard shouts.
"Try to get it back up!” another shouted.
There was complete chaos on top of the wall. Dragons and humans were running around trying to adapt to this new reality. I looked at Karik. He looked at me and frowned.
“You promised,” I said.
“I know. But just give it a chance. Maybe the fence will come back on. Give it one minute,” he said.
“Dragons, full fire assault,” he said into his armband. I watched as a large group of dragons flew off of the wall directly down to the group of Clenok cyborgs and shot fire at them, melting them. Then they swooped up into the sky and came back around and did it again. It was good. It was holding back the very front line of the Clenok cyborgs, but there were thousands behind them. It wasn't going to be enough. I knew that the keddle was on the other side of the wall. I needed to get there. I needed to see if it was with that group.
“Karik…” I said.
He growled. He was pissed.
“A promise is a promise,” I said.
“Lieutenant! Take over. Keep the front line of Clenok cyborgs away from the wall. We are going after the keddle. We are going after the source,” he said.
“Yes, my king,” he said.
Karik scooped me up into his strong arms. Then he flew across the village to the other side of the wall. He landed on top of it.
“We are not going in there without a strategy,” he said to me.
“Fine. First, we need to locate the keddle,” I said peering down into the battle below.
“Azlo, Jex,” he said into his armband. Within seconds, Jex and Azlo were standing beside him. Then I saw it. I saw the keddle. It was at the very back of the army of Clenok cyborgs. We would have to cross the entire army in order to get to it. I felt discouraged.
“She wants to do what?” Azlo shouted. I turned to them. All three of them were looking at me like I was insane. Maybe I was.
“I can do it. But I need you to get me there,” I said.
“It is madness,” Jex said.
“Maybe, but so is all of this. Now that the fence is down, how much longer do you think it will be before the Clenok cyborgs are breaching the wall? We need to do it now,” I said.
“She is just as stubborn as you, my king,” Azlo said.
“Yes. A perfect match. But extremely frustrating. We are doing this. We need a plan,” Karik said.
“I found the keddle. It is in the very back of the army. Look,” I said directing them in the direction to look. Finally, they saw it.
“I think we should take a ship. Let us go off in the opposite direction and go around. It is smarter than flying directly overhead. We will go in the opposite direction and make a big loop and come up on the rear of the army. Then we will land the ship and fly with wings to the keddle. The three of us will give Vanessa cover while she does her work,” Karik said.
“I am with you,” Jex said.
“I am with you as well. Let's do it,” Azlo said.
“Are you absolutely sure you want to do this? Tell us how to do it, and we will go do it for you,” Karik said grabbing my hand.
“No, it has to be me. The keddle will not open for you. I have a feeling it will open for me because I have already been connected to it,” I said
.
“I can't believe we are going to do this. Let's get going then. The longer I think about it, the more I won't want to do it,” Karik said.
“King, I have a ship standing by. A small but fast speeder,” Azlo said.
“Perfect; lead the way,” Karik said as he scooped me up into his arms and flew down into the village following the other two soldiers.
We landed in front of a small white ship. I had never seen a spaceship up close before. It was spectacular. The door opened, and I stepped inside. Everything was a stark white. There were flashing lights all over the place.
“Buckle in. It is going to be a bumpy ride,” Karik said to me. I strapped myself in in the back of the ship. The rest went to the front of the ship. Soon we were off the ground and flying chaotically in the air. This was it. I was really going to do this. I had to find all of my courage.
“We are almost there. We are coming around the back of the army,” Karik shouted over his shoulder to me. He was piloting the ship. Was there anything that he could not do? He was a king. He was a soldier. He was a magnificent lover. He was a dragon shifter. He was amazing at almost everything he did. He was my rescuer.
Boom!
The ship both jolted! There was a flash of light. Then I felt the sensation of falling. I could barely open my eyes. I was falling, falling, falling. Boom! I hit the ground hard. I open my eyes. I was still strapped into my seat. I realized then that the ship had been blown apart in the air. I was in the back part of the ship, and it had hit the ground. I was in shock. I could hear a loud piercing ringing in my ears. I shook my head back-and-forth, trying to figure out what had happened. I unbuckled my belt and fell out of the seat onto the grass. I quietly and carefully walked around the ship. I felt into my pocket. The drive was still there. I was relieved.
“Karik?” I whispered. “Jex, Azlo,” I whispered. I didn't want to shout. I would just alert Clenok cyborgs to my presence. I could not see the rest of the ship. My heart felt like it was going to explode as I realize that perhaps they did not survive. It would be all my fault. An entire race would have lost their king because of me. I had to make this count. I had to get to that keddle no matter what. Everything relied on it. I would not let the death of these dragons be for nothing. Especially the one that I loved so dearly.
I walked in the direction of chaos and noise. I knew it was the cyborg army. It was complete suicide for me to walk in that direction. But I had to find the keddle. I snuck around in the brush, and as I got closer, I got on my belly crawling forward like a soldier. Then I stopped and looked around. I could see it. I could see the keddle. It was not guarded. I thought that was surprising. But there were so many Clenok cyborgs in front of it between it and the village they were not expecting to be attacked from behind. I stood up quietly, trying to not make any noise. Then I calmly walked toward it. I knew that if I ran, it would be too obvious and it would cause Clenok cyborgs to look in my direction.
I walked looking directly at it. Then a cyborg stepped in front of me. I stopped. It raised its gun at me but did not fire. I held my breath. Maybe it was computing that I was the one hooked up to the keddle earlier. Maybe it had no sense of time and thought no time had passed at all, and it would hook me up to the keddle again.
Then the cyborg was lifted into the air. The gun was pulled from its arm. I looked up to see Karik pulling the cyborg away from me. I smiled. He was alive. I was happy. But I could not savor this moment Long. The Clenok cyborgs would've noticed one of their own in trouble. I continue to walk straight to the keddle. I went to the side that opened, and I put my hand on it.
Suddenly it opened. The hydraulics are allowed. I could feel Clenok cyborgs turning toward me. I acted calmly, like this was normal. The keddle opened, and I took the seat that I had taken before.
I sat down and pulled the drive from my pocket. I knew exactly where I was going to put it. I saw a cyborg walking toward me. It did not have a gun in his hand, and I knew that it was going to hook me up to the keddle. I had to be quick. I plunged the drive into a port. The light on the drive began to blink. I looked at the screen and saw the code that I had written flashing on the screen. It was taking the virus. I guess it thought that it was hooked up to my arm and it was willingly absorbing the information.
The cyborg continued to walk toward me. I didn't know what it was going to do when I realize that I was not plugged in. The needle was close to my arm, but it was not inside of me. But I couldn't move. If I took off running, then the keddle would know that it was not connected to me and that it was somehow getting information from something. It would reject it. I couldn't let that happen. The cyborg started a couple of yards in front of me. It was looking directly at me. The head turned to the screen. The sound of the mechanical head was frightening. Then it turned and looked at my arm. It was processing. Any second it was going to figure it out. I held my breath.
Chapter 19
King Karik Korinth
The ship exploded into pieces. We had been hit. All I could think about was Vanessa. I hit the ground hard inside of the piece of the ship that I was in. I could hear growling. I unstrapped myself and got to my feet.
“Vanessa?” I whispered.
“No, it is just me,” I heard Azlo say. I quickly moved around the back of the ship that I was strapped in. He was strapped into another part of the ship. I quickly unbuckled the belt and helped him to his feet.
“Are you hurt?” I asked, looking at him in the darkness.
“No, I just got the wind knocked out of me,” he said as he put his hands on his knees and took a minute.
“Did you see Vanessa or Jex?” I whispered.
“No. I didn't see anything. It was just a flash of light. I didn't even know what happened until I looked around a second ago lying here,” he said.
“All right. I am going to fly straight up keeping with the tree canopy to see what I can see. You stay right here and stand guard. Whistle if you see any Clenok cyborgs in our direction,” I said.
“Got it,” he said standing straight up and scanning the area. I flew straight up. I could see another piece of the ship; we had to get to it. I flew back down to the ground.
"To our right between those trees. There is another piece of the ship. Let's go quietly. If you see a cyborg use, fire first. We do not want gunshots going off to warn other Clenok cyborgs of our presence,” I said.
“Understood. Fire first,” he said.
We quietly made our way to the other piece of the ship. Jex was strapped into it, and he was unconscious.
“Is he dead?” Azlo asked.
“No, he is just unconscious.” I lightly slapped Jex on the cheek over and over. His eyes slowly opened.
“We were shot down. Be very quiet. We are in enemy territory surrounded,” I said. He nodded his head yes. Azlo helped me get him out of the ship. Jex stood on his feet, getting his bearings back. I looked around but could not see the other piece of the ship. I hoped that she survived. I could not be without her. Not now. I would blame myself for allowing her to talk me into this foolish mission. Then I saw her. I couldn't believe it.
“Will you look at that,” I whispered pointing in her direction. Jex and Azlo both looked. We watched as she calmly walked toward the keddle. There were Clenok cyborgs near her, but because she was going so slowly and calmly, they did not detect her presence.
“Damn. She's got more balls than all of us,” Jex said.
“It's courage or stupidity,” I said feeling angry that she was being so careless. But also feeling extremely proud that she was so courageous, brave, and alive. My mouth watered for her.
"The mission has not changed. We must give her a cover. Azlo how do you feel?”
“I am good.”
“Good. I want you to fly up to the top of this tree. You are the sniper. If any try to shoot her or any of us, take them out. But as a last resort. We do not want to alert them to our presence,” I said.
“I understand,” he replied.
&n
bsp; “Jex, you will stay on the ground. I want you to go around to the right. Use fire first if you can. I am going to fly directly over her. I'm going to pick them off from the air if they come near her. Make sure that she and I are clear of your firing,” I said.
“We understand,” Jex said.
“Good, go,” I said.
I saw a cyborg going toward Vanessa. I am mediately flew into the air and over. I grabbed the cyborg just as it was about to aim its gun at her. I picked it up into the air and broke it. She looked up at me. Then she continued on her mission. I carried the cyborg to the brush and quietly dropped it. Then I flew back over her and watched her from up high. She was sitting inside the keddle just as she was before when I rescued her. I could see that she had plugged in something. This was good. It was going well. I looked at Azlo and Jex in position. Maybe we were going to get away with this. I hoped that this virus worked.