by Steve Voake
Krazni walked across to the door and opened it.
‘So tell me, Sam. Where is your precious faith now?’
But Sam had no answer. And as they dragged him from the room, he stared at the woman who had betrayed him, thought of all those who would die because of it and his mouth fell open in a soundless scream of despair.
Twenty-four
The robber fly had been set up almost exactly like a small passenger jet. Rows of comfortable seats were arranged in groups of three on either side of a central aisle stretching from the rear of the fly to the cockpit door at the front. Small oval windows had been fitted at intervals along each side of the abdomen and through one of them Sam could see the snow-covered mountains a thousand metres below. He looked down at the plasticuffs that bound his hands tightly together and then glanced around to establish the whereabouts of the guards. The one next to him on the aisle side was engrossed in a glossy magazine about guns and explosives. A couple more guards talked quietly in the row behind and two others sat directly in front, discussing the relative merits of wearing a second pair of gloves during winter operations.
Craning his neck, Sam could see that Firebrand was similarly hemmed in over on the opposite side, while Krazni sat next to Alya Blin at the front of the plane, poring over various maps and documents which they had spread out on a table in front of them. Sam felt his lip curl in disgust, unable to conceal his hatred of the young woman who had taken him into her confidence and then betrayed him without a second thought.
Perhaps Krazni was right. Maybe strength was all that mattered. In which case, he would use whatever he had left of it to try to save his friends.
Sam slowly raised the handcuffs up to his mouth and pulled at them with his teeth, partly to relieve the pressure on his wrists, and partly to see if there was any way of freeing himself before they reached the base. But an elbow in the ribs from the guard next to him suggested that it would not be easy.
‘Do that again and I’ll blow your head off,’ he snarled. Then he returned to reading about which gun would be best for the job.
Sam lowered his hands and looked out of the window again. The squadron of robber flies was flying in formation and he counted nineteen of them alongside, flying so close that their wingtips were almost touching. Several of them had been converted into transport aircraft and he could see the hard faces of Vermian special forces troops, staring at the clouds from behind rows of tiny glass windows. Sam glanced at the windows across the aisle and saw a similar number of flies on the other side of the aircraft, making about forty in total.
He knew that you didn’t put a force like this together unless you really meant business. There was no doubt about it – Krazni was intent on locating the airbase and destroying it. Once that objective was achieved, he planned to use Sam and Firebrand to gain access to the high security areas so that he could destroy them too.
Well, when it came to it, they would have to kill him, because there was no way he was going to co-operate. He knew that Firebrand would feel the same way. If only he could figure out a way to cause some kind of disruption, to at least give the people on the ground a chance…
The fly banked left and Sam’s attention was caught by a flash of colour from somewhere down below. He pressed his face against the window and his eyes were drawn to a patch of yellow, shining brightly against the snow. As the fly began to lose height, Sam suddenly realised what he was looking at. A squadron of thirty or forty wasps was laid out on the mountain in neat rows, polished and gleaming in the winter sunlight. Sam’s heart sank as, for the first time, he took in the geography of the area and realised that they had finally arrived in the skies above the base. They were actually flying over the very last wasp squadron in existence. And instead of being protected by their high security shelters, the wasps were laid out like ducks at a shooting gallery, defenceless against the killers whose dark shadows passed over them like clouds across the sun.
As Krazni pulled Alya to her feet and pointed down through the window, Sam buried his head in his hands. What were they thinking of? They must have been about to launch an attack of their own. And now they were all as good as dead.
The other robber flies began to peel off now, breaking formation and streaking out of the sky at great speed towards the ranks of yellow and black insects below. Sam could see a few tiny figures running for cover as the first flies struck, slamming into the wasps with such ferocity that many of them simply disintegrated upon impact, fragments of legs and wings tumbling down the mountainside in an avalanche of destruction. One by one, the wasps were torn apart until the whole area was littered with the wreckage of their broken bodies.
Sam viewed the scene of devastation in utter despair. They had spent so long protecting their precious wasps and now they had lost them all without bringing down a single robber fly. They hadn’t even managed to get airborne. How could they have been so stupid?
As the robber fly touched down on the mountaintop, Sam was pulled from his seat by the guard who pushed him roughly towards the door. Sam looked down at Krazni who was already descending the ladder and then turned back to the guard and raised his hands in the air.
‘I can’t climb down with these things on,’ he said, nodding at the handcuffs. ‘What do you want me to do?’
The guard glared at him.
‘Maybe I’ll just push you out,’ he said. But Sam could tell by the way he looked around for someone in authority that he was unsure of what to do next.
‘Look, why don’t you just cut the cuffs off and let me climb down. I mean, we’re stuck up a mountain surrounded by a whole bunch of robber flies. I’m not exactly going anywhere, am I?’
‘Well, OK,’ said the man, frowning uncertainly. ‘But if you try anything…’
‘You’ll shoot me,’ Sam interrupted. ‘Yeah, I know. You said.’
A look of anger crossed the man’s face and he grabbed Sam’s cuffs, pulling him forward so that they cut into his wrists and made him cry out.
‘Don’t get smart with me, kid,’ he hissed, and pulled a knife from his belt.
Before Sam could say anything, the man sliced neatly through the plasticuffs and pushed Sam away again. ‘Go on,’ he said, ‘get going.’
Sam quickly scrambled down the ladder and found himself standing next to Firebrand, who had also had his cuffs removed and was rubbing at the sores on his wrists. Most of the robber flies had now landed on the mountaintop and were crowded so closely together that they formed a canopy of wings over the whole area. The wreckage of broken wasps was strewn all around them and heavily armed special forces were now fanning out in a wide circle, securing the landing zone.
‘You OK, Commander?’ Sam asked quietly.
Firebrand nodded. ‘Yes. You?’
‘I guess so. What now?’ He glanced over at Krazni who was pointing to the stretch of rock which concealed the entrance to the base. ‘Do you think we can take him?’
‘Not yet,’ said Firebrand. ‘Wait until they stick a gun to my head, then make a break for it. Run as fast as you can and don’t look back. Go down the side of the mountain.’
Sam shook his head. ‘I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying with you.’
Firebrand turned to him. ‘They’re going to kill us, Sam. You know that don’t you?’
Sam put a hand on his shoulder.
‘Keep the faith, Commander.’
There was a click and Sam felt something cold on the back of his neck.
‘You must have some kind of death wish, kid,’ said the guard behind him, pushing the gun barrel further into Sam’s flesh. ‘Now get away from him.’
Sam moved back a few paces as Krazni turned and looked in their direction. ‘We’ve located the entrance,’ he shouted. ‘Bring the boy over here.’
‘What about the other one?’ the guard called back.
Krazni paused for a moment as though considering his options. Then he seemed suddenly to reach a decision.
‘Miss Blin,’ he said curt
ly. ‘Follow me.’
Sam watched the two of them pick their way between the shattered remains of the wasps until they stood facing Firebrand.
‘I want you to take a good look around you, Commander,’ said Krazni. ‘This is what happens to those who stand in our way. You and your people are history now. Do you understand? It is over for them.’
He pulled a pistol from the holster on his belt and snapped off the safety catch.
‘And now, Commander, it is over for you also. On your knees.’
Firebrand remained standing, staring defiantly into Krazni’s eyes until two soldiers seized him by the arms and forced him to the ground.
As Krazni pointed the pistol down at the top of his head, Sam shouted ‘No!’ and tried to run at Krazni but he was pulled back by the guard who pointed his own gun at Sam’s temple.
‘Go on,’ he said when Sam continued to struggle. ‘Make me shoot you.’ As he put a thick arm around Sam’s neck and held him fast, Sam saw Krazni turn to Alya and smile.
‘I’ve got a better idea,’ he said and handed the pistol to her. ‘You do it.’
Alya’s face was white now; as white as the snow that lay across the mountaintop.
‘I – I can’t,’ she stammered.
‘You can,’ said Krazni, ‘and you will. Let us see where your loyalties really lie, shall we, Miss Blin?’
‘Please,’ pleaded Alya, ‘don’t make me do it.’
‘Take it,’ hissed Krazni, thrusting the pistol into her hand. Sam watched Alya take the gun and, with her hand trembling, point it at Firebrand’s head.
‘Miss Blin,’ said Krazni, ‘I am ordering you to shoot him. So do it. Do it now.’
Sam saw the fear in Alya’s eyes, watched her finger tighten around the trigger and then suddenly she pointed the gun straight up into the air and fired it three times in quick succession. As the sound of the shots echoed around the mountaintops, Alya turned and flung the gun into Krazni’s face, knocking him backwards into the snow.
Krazni put a hand to his mouth and stared at the ground as droplets of blood fell from his lips, staining the snow a deep crimson.
‘So,’ he said, ‘that’s how it is.’
He got to his feet, picked up the gun and aimed it at Alya. But then, suddenly, he stopped and began pointing at something on the edge of the mountain. His expression quickly changed to one of extreme terror and he began gesticulating frantically to the other soldiers, shouting and screaming to them at the top of his voice. But his words were abruptly lost in a roar of beating wings and as Sam turned to see where the sound was coming from, a hundred giant hornets rose up from the side of the mountain and descended upon the Vermian forces like a host of avenging angels.
In the confusion, Sam felt the guard’s grip loosen and he slammed his elbow back into the man’s stomach. As the man stumbled backwards, Sam managed to run a few metres but was quickly blown over as the wind from the wings of the attacking hornets swirled around the mountaintop. The sudden blizzard of snow made it virtually impossible to see and all around was the deafening buzz of hornet wings and the crunch of their jaws as they tore the robber flies into a thousand pieces. Sam staggered blindly through the snow for a short distance, but every few seconds a powerful gust of wind caught him and flung him to the ground again. He lay in the snow and listened to the crackle of machine guns spitting flame and hot lead into the air. Bullets whined overhead and he heard the shouts and screams of a fierce, hard-fought battle. Explosions reverberated loudly around the mountains, but in spite of the danger and destruction that surrounded him, Sam pressed his face into the cold snow and smiled.
She had done it. Skipper had made it back with the hornet eggs. Maybe now, at last, the tide was turning…
And then, as suddenly as the battle had started, it stopped. Where seconds before the air had been filled with the chatter of bullets and the roar of wings, now there was only the sporadic shouts of officers barking orders at their men. As the smoke cleared, Sam was astounded to discover that not a single robber fly was left standing. In all directions, huge hornets crouched above the smoking remains of robber flies which had obviously been no match for their powerful jaws and fearsome stings. Mixed up with the debris was the tangled wreckage of Brindle’s wasp squadron which had been destroyed during the first assault, and scattered all around were tiny fragments of the robber flies’ compound eyes that had exploded from shattered cockpits. As the sunlight caught them, they flashed and glittered like diamonds and Sam found it strangely uplifting to find beauty in such an unexpected place.
From somewhere nearby, a frightened cry cut through the air. Sam jumped to his feet and saw a woman calling to him from the wreckage of a robber fly. The fly’s eye-screen had been blown out by an explosion, pinning her to the ground beneath its heavy, reinforced metal frame. Now smoke billowed from a hole in the fly’s thorax and the woman was trapped behind a wall of orange flame.
‘Help me,’ she cried. ‘Please, help me!’
‘Hang on!’ Sam shouted. He sprinted across the snow as fast as he could, ducking down beneath the fly’s shattered wing until he was standing only a few metres away from where she lay. The heat from the flames was so intense that he had to shield his face with his arms. But as he peered frantically through them in an effort to find a way through, he suddenly caught sight of the woman’s frightened face.
It was Alya.
Alya Blin.
Sam stopped and took a step backwards.
This was the woman who had betrayed him. The woman who had cared nothing for the lives of him or his friends.
Why should he risk his life to save her now?
‘Please!’ The voice was desperate now.
Staring into the flames, Sam saw her terrified, pleading eyes and knew in his heart that he could not leave her to die.
Cupping his hands, he scooped up some snow and rubbed it over his hair and face. Ignoring the freezing water that trickled down his back, he pulled his tunic over his head and ran forwards into the flames. There was a scorching roar of heat all around him and then seconds later he was stumbling out beyond the fire.
‘My legs,’ whimpered Alya, ‘they’re trapped.’
Sam noticed that her hair was beginning to smoke and, tearing off his damp tunic, he threw it over her head.
‘Put that over your face,’ he urged. ‘It’ll protect you from the flames.’
Feeling the heat searing the back of his neck, Sam grasped the solid frame with both hands and pulled. As his muscles strained against the weight and the hot metal burned into his palms he cried out in pain and frustration, but it was no good. The screen was too heavy. He had barely moved it a centimetre.
‘All right, listen to me,’ he said. ‘I’m going to try and lift this thing up again, OK? And when I do, you’ve got to swing your legs out of there first chance you get. Because I don’t think we’re going to get two goes at this. All right? You ready?’
Alya wrapped the now steaming tunic around her face so that only her eyes were showing and then nodded.
‘OK. Here we go.’
Spitting on his hands, Sam thrust them beneath the frame again and heard the sizzle of hot metal on flesh. He screwed up his eyes and directed all his strength away from the pain and into his arms. With an anguished cry he pushed with all his might, but despite his best efforts it still wouldn’t move. Suddenly he became aware of someone standing next to him. There was a loud creak and Sam felt the metal frame move upwards. Alya swung her legs free, staggered to her feet and gave him a look of utter relief and gratitude.
‘Run!’ he shouted, and as she disappeared through the flames, he dropped the frame with a loud crash.
‘Careful,’ said a small voice beside him, ‘that nearly landed on my foot.’
Sam turned to find a small blonde girl standing next to him, wiping her hands on the front of her jacket. She grinned. ‘Looked as though you were struggling a bit. Thought I’d come and give you a hand.’
Sam star
ed at her with delight and amazement.
‘Skipper!’ he cried, throwing his arms around her. ‘You’re safe!’
Skipper peered over his shoulder at the fire that raged all around them and raised an eyebrow.
‘Is that what you call it?’ she said.
And then, as she stepped back, she noticed the bruises on his face for the first time.
‘Oh, Sam,’ she whispered, stroking his cheek with the backs of her fingers. ‘Look what they did to you.’
She leaned forward and, just for a moment, rested her forehead against his.
Then she took him by the hand and together they ran through the flames.
Sam pressed a handful of snow against the burns on his neck and stared at the lines of Vermian prisoners, cuffed and lined up against the rocks ready to be taken down to the secure areas below ground. He estimated there were at least two hundred of them, possibly more. There was no sign of Krazni, however, and Sam guessed he was probably among the fallen; grey blankets covered the silent forms of those for whom this battlefield would be a final resting place.
He was heartened to see that Firebrand was already taking control of the situation, barking orders and organising everyone as if he had never been away. Six hornets patrolled the skies overhead while the others returned to their underground hangars for repairs and refuelling.
‘Are you all right?’ Skipper asked, brushing the top of Sam’s head with her hand. ‘Your hair looks a bit singed.’ She took a step backward and put her head on one side. ‘It quite suits you, actually. Gives you a sort of… rugged look.’
‘Well, you know. Some of us have it…’ He squinted over at the line of prisoners and noticed Alya on the end of it. She had taken the tunic from around her face, her wrists were cuffed, and she was shivering. Immediately, Sam’s tone changed.
‘If that one had her way, we’d all be dead. You know that, don’t you? Maybe I should have just left her to it.’