by Travis Hall
“We’re dead,” Katie announced, still shocked after seeing what had happened to the elf.
“So who wants to be the bait?” Allora asked sternly.
“Nose goes,” Katie said, touching the tip of her nose.
Everyone mimicked, except for Tanner.
“Oh, come on.”
“Tough break, buddy,” Dax said, patting his friend on the shoulder.
Tanner sneered and got to his feet.
“Look, we only need enough time to get to the locker and retrieve the Eye,” Katie said, getting to her feet.
Allora faced him and placed her hand on his chest. “Hey, don’t do anything stupid.”
“Never do,” he answered, grabbing her hand.
Allora rolled her eyes as Tanner opened the door and walked out to face the creature.
“Hey, you big, dumb lizard,” Tanner yelled, his heart beating rapidly. “Come and get me!”
The dark-green eyes stared down its next victim, and then it launched itself toward Tanner. He took off, sprinting around the corner with the dragon in hot pursuit. The other three quickly ran in the other direction. As they turned down the hallway, three drow elves were ascending the stairway.
Allora paused. “Go!” Dax yelled, giving Katie a nod and pulling out his sword. Dax and Katie stared down their opponents. “We’ve got this.”
The drow elves ran forward, attacking with daggers. Steel clashed as Allora kept running and ducked into the supply room. The cuffs that had secured Marcus to the drainage pipe were dangling, and he was nowhere to be found. She left the room and made it to her locker. She then sparked the back wall, and turned her hands in the specific pattern that she had remembered by heart. Placing her hand through the liquid material, she pulled out the obsidian orb. It felt warm, like it was alive. Dax and Katie were fighting back the short elves. Dax shot a hadron burst at one, and it took a tumble off the stair balcony and was knocked out cold as it crashed down onto the ground. Allora placed the orb inside her pants pocket just as she saw a body fly through the air, crash into the lockers, and fall onto the ground. The dragon sprang forward with its teeth bared. Tanner placed his sword in both hands, stopping the jaw from clamping down on his head. Allora quickly pulled out an arrow as Tanner screamed. The dragon clawed at the metal lockers, causing an earsplitting sound. Allora let the arrow go. It streaked through the air and pierced the dragon’s scales, causing it to howl. Smoke escaped the dragon’s nostrils as it targeted a new prey. Allora stood defiant with wide legs, readying for a face-off. She took off the quiver and dropped the bow, feeling the animalistic power within herself.
The dragon moved forward, blowing a sheet of fire toward Allora. She remained steady with arms outstretched, feeling the warmth of the heat become pure energy as the molecular structure of the fire changed. As if she were supercharged, Allora sent a salvo of fireballs that burst into the creature. Knocked off its footing, it flailed against the lockers, thrashing violently. Allora ran toward its vulnerable belly.
“Throw me the sword,” Allora yelled as Tanner got to his feet. He grabbed the hilt and threw the sword underhand toward Allora as she leapt on top of the writhing creature. She timed the grab, swinging the sword around with the tip pointing down. With two hands, she thrust down, piercing the heart of the malevolent creature. An earsplitting screech caused Allora to turn and cup her ears. The legs of the dragon snapped, knocking Allora into the air, flying into Tanner. They watched as the dragon’s movements slowed to a stop. A red liquid escaped the wound, dropping onto the carpet and engulfing it in flames.
“Whoa,” Tanner said, clutching onto Allora as they lay on the ground, panting.
“Yeah, my thoughts exactly,” Allora said, looking at the oddity of having a dead dragon lying in the middle of their school.
Having defeated the drow elves, Katie and Dax peered over the body of the dragon, looking on in disbelief.
“You are one bad-ass chick. You know that?” Katie said, causing Allora to smile and roll her eyes as she got up off the ground.
“It’s not over yet,” Dax said, hearing the rumbles from the battle outside. “You get it?”
Allora pulled the orb from her pants pocket and then put it back.
“Ready to go again?” Tanner asked as they ran down the hall toward the front entryway.
“Do we really have a choice?” Allora said with a smirk.
Chapter
TWENTY-SEVEN
Battle City
Dax swung the double doors of the school wide open and ran out into the foggy parking lot. Allora saw her first target: a man in a battle suit who was swinging a sword down at Principal Winters. She pulled in the hadrons, focused them forward, and shot two strong glowing purple orbs of energy that knocked the malevolent agent of the royal guard and rocketed him into a red minivan. Principal Winters got up from one knee. She was completely disheveled and exhausted. Dax and Katie ran off to fight, while Allora and Tanner helped their principal to her feet.
“Thank you, children,” she said, her voice hoarse and pained. “I guess I’m not as fit as I used to be.”
“We need to get her back to the school,” Tanner said, surveying her wounds.
Suddenly a hadron burst exploded next to them, sending everyone to the hard concrete. Allora shook her head, focusing on three men running toward them. Allora grabbed her sword, pulled Tanner up, and the two of them met the swords of the advancing attackers. Steel clashed in the foggy mist. Tanner skillfully took on two of the men, having perfected the art of sword fighting. Allora swung underneath the slicing steel, pulled out a hadron burst, and sent her enemy flying into the window of the school. Tanner cut down the two other opponents and met back up with Allora and Principal Winters.
“We’ve got to get you two out of here. We are outnumbered five to one,” Principal Winters said.
“Where is the rally point?” Tanner asked, searching in vain through the fog for anyone familiar.
“It was supposed to be here,” Principal Winters replied.
“Let’s go this way,” Allora said, pointing west toward where Katie and Dax had gone.
They moved slowly through the dense fog, grasping their weapons firmly as they awaited anything that should leap from the mist. A sudden burst of orange showed in the distance, followed by the boom of an explosion. Then Allora heard the scream of her best friend. Quickly moving through the fog, she came upon a man with a blade above his head. Anger filled her petite frame and burst out in a ball of flames that sent the man shooting through the fog, engulfed in fire. Another man came out of nowhere and almost clipped Allora on the neck, but Dax caught the attack and shot a green hadron burst into the attacker.
“Thanks, Dax,” Allora said, helping Katie from the ground.
“This doesn’t look good,” he replied, looking worried. “They are coming from every direction.”
They were now on the edge of the parking lot, near the old wishing well. From the depths of the forest came a billowing sound, followed by crashing trees. Through the fog, a large shadow appeared at the edge of the trees. It was twelve feet tall, fat, and grunting emphatically. Another shadow took form behind it as they moved closer.
“Oh, crap,” Dax said. “We’ve got trolls.”
The mutated giants were wearing torn, brown-and-green clothes, large leather boots, and baggy fur pants. Their heads were cone-shaped with matted brown hair, crossed eyes, and large, crooked teeth. They smelled of rotten eggs, rancid meat, and dirt.
Everyone backed up slowly, trying to stay hidden from the advancing trolls. Katie accidently backed into a car that had an alarm. The wailing siren caused both gargantuan beasts to growl and look down. The troll in front swung around his club, bringing it down on the car windshield and shattering glass in every direction. Katie was able to roll out of the way at the last minute, but now the trolls were aware of them. Allora ran back into the parking lot with Tanner, Katie, and Dax right behind. They headed east toward the football field. The trol
l again swung his club, splintering the large oak tree in the middle of the parking lot and crashing it down on a row of cars. There was no escaping. The swinging clubs smashed the concrete ground. Allora rolled between the troll’s feet, causing the creature to look between its legs. The troll behind saw the girl and swung toward her. She rolled back and forth, trying to dodge the constant club swings and smashing feet. Tanner tried to take a chop with his sword on the troll’s arm, but got a fist to the chest, which sent him flying through the air into a car. Dax and Katie took turns with throwing knifes and hadron bursts, but the attacks were futile. The fog was slowly dissipating, allowing the trolls better visibility to squash them.
Suddenly the ground began to shake as two trolls ran toward them. One of the trolls pulled up its club, ready to strike down on Allora, when a large shadow emerged, launching itself at the troll’s abdomen. It was Bod. The two large creatures wrestled into the cars, crushing metal and glass underneath their massive weight. Mod came up behind Tanner and took out the other troll, swinging fists into its fat belly. Allora was covered in gravel and small cuts. Tanner was holding his back, in obvious pain.
As the fog continued to dissipate, they looked out onto the damage and destruction of the battle. Bodies littered the parking lot, streets, and grass all around them. Allora felt her heart sink when she saw a few familiar faces of Sheriff Newton and Nurse Campbell lying facedown on the ground. At that moment, the reality of war became far too apparent. Above, the shadows of the enemy cruisers were staring down on them. Then Allora saw a light coming from the guns on the bottom of the ship.
“Run!”
A flurry of hadron bursts rained down from above. Dirt, wood, glass, and concrete flew from all directions as the four sprinted toward the football field. Allora pushed Katie out of the way of a hadron burst that exploded between the two of them. Allora flew into a tree and fell to the ground. She remained on all fours, her hearing muffled from the impact of the burst. All around her chaos ensued. Katie helped Allora to her feet, and they stumbled through the fog. Screams and explosions kept their constant song as Milly ran up with Bell, Brandon, and Jenny in tow. The pained, fearful expressions dug into Allora, who knew that this whole incident was her fault. They leaned against a concrete wall lining the exterior of the football field, hiding themselves from exposure to the overhead fire.
“Allora….” Milly’s voice was drowned out by the exploding bursts that littered the school gym. The fog was starting to dissipate, revealing bodies, fire, and debris. “Allora, you need to take your sister and these two and get out of here now!” Milly shoved a metal rod at her and gave Tanner, Dax, and Katie skipper rods as well. “Stay below the trees on the highway as long as possible, and push the throttle to full. Those cruisers will be after you as soon as they figure out that you’ve left the area. When they get closer and launch those skimmers, get into the trees, and keep it on autopilot. The skipper will fly itself.”
“Where are we going?” Tanner asked.
“Go toward Crystal Lake. It’s our only way out of here. I’ll be right behind you.” Milly grabbed Allora and pulled her in tight. “I’m so sorry, baby. Whatever happens, just know that I love you.”
She held onto Allora’s shoulders for a few seconds, staring into her eyes as a tear escaped its cocoon. Pulling a sword from the sheath on her back, she took off toward the field. Allora and the others quickly sparked the skippers and jumped onto them. Bell jumped up behind her sister and hugged her belly tightly.
“Do not get separated,” Dax said as Jenny grabbed onto Tanner and Brandon onto Katie. “If one of us falls behind, then we all do. I’ll take the lead since I don’t have a passenger.”
“Don’t worry, pipsqueak,” Allora whispered, feeling the slight trembling from her sister. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“You promise?”
“Pinky-promise,” Allora said, extending her pinky finger. Bell grabbed and hooked her pinky. “Hold on tight.”
Dax counted down, and they hit their accelerators all at once. Just as they got through to the edge of the football field, a barrage of lights came from behind, crashing into a line of soldiers on the edge of the woods. Dax saw the opening and sent a couple of bursts through, just in case. Sas and Yeti jumped across the fleeing skippers, knocking into a troll that had its club raised above its head. The two warlocks knocked it out and leapt after the four, moving with incredible speed. They increased the throttle, speeding through the middle of town, which exploded in a flurry of bursts that destroyed buildings that Allora had known all her life. The grocery store billowed smoke, and the gas station was fully engulfed in burning flames that shot over forty feet in the air.
As they passed through the city and onto the main road toward the mountain, Allora’s screen lit up with small red dots. Behind them, multiple skippers were in fast pursuit, followed by large cruisers that were firing up their thrusters and launching skimmers. Speeding down the road, they zipped past burning cars and fleeing people. Allora glanced down at the speedometer, which had just passed two hundred miles per hour. Looming in the distance were the familiar whitecaps of Mt. Hood, indicating their destination.
Just then a stream of light exploded in front of them, shattering the asphalt road and destroying an oncoming car. The skimmer came out of nowhere, positioned to ambush anyone who was retreating. It fired another salvo of bursts that exploded tree trunks, knocking them into the road in front of the group. Allora pulled up on the handles, launching the skipper off the fallen tree. She spun the vehicle to her left, firing off a few of her own bursts, which hit the skimmer, pushing its momentum into a large tree, which left a trail of fire and debris. Allora pulled the skipper all the way around, firing the thrusters below to keep from crashing into the ground.
“Whoa!” Katie screamed over the intercom. “That was sweet!”
“Ah, yeah, where did you learn that move?” Tanner asked.
“Not really sure I meant to do that,” Allora admitted, knowing that the entire thing was an accident.
“I think I just peed my pants a little,” Bell said, causing Allora to burst into laughter.
“Not done yet, guys,” Tanner said, noticing three more blips come up on the radar in front of them. Four other red dots popped onto the screen on either side. They were converging at a designated point a few miles ahead of them in the small town of Zig Zag. “They are trying to box us in. We’ve got to get into the trees.”
“Oh yeah, ‘cause that was really successful the last time we tried that,” Dax said.
“No choice,” Tanner said, as the single red light of the town appeared in the foreground. “Flip on autopilot. Allora, you go with Dax to the right. Katie, you’re with me to the left. Ready? Go!”
Three skippers shot a salvo of bursts down the corridor as they split into the trees, jerked around by the thrusters on the sides as they zoomed through the forest. The constant swishing and rustling of branches against the metal vehicles echoed in the interior of the enclosed capsules as they traveled east through the trees. Two of the skippers followed, pulling closer by keeping on manual pilot.
“Allora, we’ve got to go manual, or else these guys are going to catch us.”
The blips of red were moving slowly toward the center of the screen at the lower right-hand side. A streak of red light shot into a tree to Allora’s left, causing the vehicle to lurch to the right and pushing it toward a large Douglas fir. Allora jerked the handles farther to the left and then back to the right, barely missing another tree. She pushed the throttle as they made it into a long field.
“When I say so, I want you to slam on the brakes,” Allora said, peering back at the two pursuing skippers.
Dax nodded as they got closer to the end of the field. A flurry of red streaks exploded into the ground, shooting dirt and grass upward.
“Now!”
They pulled back on the handles, causing the two skippers to pull up vertically and slow to a sudden stop. The pursuing
skippers had to jerk their vehicles to the sides, leaving them open and vulnerable. Dax and Allora fired bursts of yellow hadrons. They didn’t let up, following the two enemy skippers as they tried in vain to maneuver away. Allora clipped the thrusters on one of the skippers, destroying the propulsion and flinging the pilot out of the capsulated vehicle. The royal guardsman rolled along the ground, crashing into a tree at the edge of the field. Dax was equally successful, ejecting the other pilot out of his skipper.
Allora and Dax had to pull up on the handles as they careened into the forest. Bell screamed as the skipper barely missed a low-hanging branch, spinning uncontrollably through a small opening in the foliage and exploding out of the forest top. Allora turned the handles the other way, trying to stop the spinning.
“Allora, hit your thrusters!” Dax screamed as the skipper started careening down toward the forest. Allora pulled back and to the left, slamming on the thrusters as they skipped across the tops of the trees. The skipper had flipped, leaving them traveling upside down. Up ahead, three more enemy skippers had set up a wall, pointing right at them. Allora could see the lights of their weapons firing up, readying to blow them out of the sky. Bell clutched onto her tighter and closed her eyes.
chapter
TWENTY-EIGHT
Sonora
Just then, as her heart sank into her chest, feeling the helplessness of her situation, Allora heard the crackle of the intercom. “Yee-haw!” Katie said, firing a steady stream of bursts that destroyed one of the awaiting enemy skippers. Tanner followed, catching the other two by surprise.