Noah prepared to act. He waited until the Aelve in the yard started yelling again, then scraped a small pile of shavings from his ferro rod, right on the roof. Next he placed the soaked cloth of all three Molotov cocktails in the powder. He organized his other weapons and mentally nodded. Everything was ready.
His plan was probably not perfect, but time was not on his side. This was the best he had. His guts roiled in fear, and he couldn’t help but think about the Aelve he’d killed. The monster had been distracted and hadn’t really taken him seriously, but Noah had still only won by the skin of his teeth.
He breathed deeply, as silently as he could, using every stealth skill he had. If anyone noticed him on the roof now, and made a ruckus, his plan would be ruined. Every human in the neighborhood might die—including Noah.
Time seemed to crawl, and stress made Noah feel cold, even in his armor. Finally, about five minutes later, he saw the distortion in the air, where the other Aelve must be. It dragged another person, actually two into the yard. This window of opportunity wouldn’t be large, so Noah prepared to act.
After manhandling a helpless young man and a little girl to the fence, the hidden Aelve moved back. Noah had been hoping that the second alien would stop and talk to the other Aelve again, but he had no such luck.
The anxious, focused teen called upon several more skills, including [Ricochet], [Fire], and [Throwing]. He hoped the surrounding, ambient sounds would cover what he was about to do, and used his ferro rod to spark the pile of magnesium shavings he’d created. The little mound immediately caught fire, and lit the Molotov cocktails.
Noah immediately grabbed all three bombs, said a silent prayer, and without popping his head fully over the roof, threw each glass bottle in quick succession, arcing high into the air.
The first firebomb slammed against the patio near the house and broke, throwing flammable liquid everywhere, including against the camouflaged Aelve. Unfortunately the weapon’s fire had gone out, doused by the liquid. Noah silently cursed. The visible Aelve crouched and turned, quick as a cat. He whipped his head in multiple directions and held out an arm, probably a weapon. A flicker ran through the light distortion where the hidden Aelve moved to the side and began, “There is—”
The next bottle’s aim was off and hit the roof, throwing liquid and shards of glass everywhere. A portion caught fire, but only on the top of the house, not the spray that had hit the yard. Noah suddenly realized too late that he might accidentally set the captive humans on fire, and his throat tightened in terror. Uh oh.
Both Aelves flickered back and forth, searching for the threat as the last bottle descended. Between fear of hurting the hostages, and terror at just how fast the Aelves could move, Noah couldn’t breathe.
The last Molotov cocktail hit beautifully.
After shattering against the edge of the roof, the weapon’s burning cloth caught some of the liquid on fire, and the blaze on the rooftop helped, resulting in a wave of crude, burning napalm and motor oil that cascaded over the male Aelve. Some of the fire splashed against the hidden monster as well.
Both aliens screamed, and the male Aelve frantically beat at himself. As the cloaked Aelve began losing optical camouflage, Noah took the initiative, using his power to rip the concealment away. The second Aelve was female, one leg on fire, frantically throwing handfuls of dirt on herself.
Noah hoped the flames wouldn’t spread too much. The captives must be beyond terrified at this point. As he grimly aimed his dazzler, he thought about the salty advice he’d gotten from some of the dangerous people he’d trained with over the years.
Never fight fair, but especially against a superior foe.
With a heart full of terror, anger, and regret, but a mind full of ice, Noah began pulling the trigger. Powerful, tensioned rubber bands launched bolt after bolt at the screeching aliens—luckily their armor seemed ill-suited against fire. Unfortunately, though, it seemed to do well against dazzler bolts.
Two of Noah’s projectiles slammed into the male Aelve, but bounced off, ineffective. The Aelve must have felt the attacks even through his confusion and agony. The big, armored alien blindly held out an arm in random directions, firing balls of crackling violet energy before running into the house, trailing a comet of fire and smoke in his wake.
Noah shifted his aim. Two more bolts bounced off of the female before she realized what was happening and began spinning in circles, searching, continuing to bury the fire on her leg with dirt. Why do they have to be smart? Why can’t they be like movie villains? Noah thought savagely. He quickly fired his remaining bolts and didn’t even wait to see them hit before ducking down, reloading another magazine of seven projectiles, ready to go.
Venu had really done a great job on these weapons.
He popped up again, took aim, and fired, his first bolt hitting the Aelve scout in the shoulder. It bounced off, but the force rocked her. She suddenly turned, looking directly at Noah. He swallowed and fired again, shooting as fast as he could pull the trigger. The Aelve scout moved her head to the side, avoiding one deadly bolt, and slashed her arm forward, blocking another. Noah fired everything he had, but the Aelve stared him down as she calmly blocked or evaded the rest of his attacks, then bent down, picking up a bolt to study.
Noah felt equal fear and determination as he ducked down again, but this time, he grabbed the last dazzler magazine before sliding off the roof to run away. He had a half-formed plan, crazy and risky, but the dazzler wasn’t effective. As he ran, he glanced back and gulped, spotting the Aelve where he’d just been on the roof. Her leg smoked, but was no longer on fire, and she looked furious.
As she jumped down from the roof, as easily as a mountain lion, Noah somehow turned on more speed. People from the neighborhood gaped at him, either from windows or outside where they’d been talking. He was probably quite a sight, dressed in armor, bloody, and frantically reloading a strange wooden weapon.
“Noah!” somebody called.
“Everyone get inside! It’s dangerous!” Noah yelled.
Up ahead, old Ms. Abernathy goggled. “What is going on! Why are the cars stopped? Who is that back there?”
Sprinting as fast as he could, Noah noticed more residents coming out of their houses, and his heart sunk. The Aelves had probably already killed plenty of people, but Noah wanted to prevent any more loss of life. He sucked in the largest breath he could and screamed, “Terrorists! They have guns and bombs!”
All around the street, nervous, curious people vanished, and Noah allowed himself a bit of relief…until he glanced back again. The Aelve had already almost caught up—she was ridiculously fast, even with a noticeable limp. With a [Running] skill of five and top physical condition, Noah had been timed at barely below Olympic running speeds. He’d also had a one hundred yard head start, but the injured Aelve had already almost caught up. She didn’t even look like she was trying her hardest.
Luckily, Noah had reached his objective, a pink kick scooter at the top of a huge hill. He had a friend in this neighborhood he’d visited, and knew that little Lucy Smith loved to ride down the hill from her yard. She usually kept the scooter outside—Noah had seen it multiple times in the past. He silently thanked the little girl who unknowingly had saved his life.
Noah slung his dazzler as he raced forward with the scooter, then kicked off down the steep hill, quickly reaching screaming fast speeds.
There would be no traffic today, and no slowing down.
A quick glance back showed the Aelve was running faster now, but Noah was slowly pulling ahead. The little pink scooter vibrated and trembled under Noah’s armored weight and the breakneck speed, but somehow held together.
In the distance, at the bottom of the hill, Noah spotted his destination—a local equipment rental company.
As he raced into the yard, he felt massive relief that there were no workers around. He was sure that an employee or two was still around, but if they stayed elsewhere, they might not get hurt. Using the mome
ntum from the hill, Noah rode the abused scooter directly into a large warehouse on the company’s lot.
The moment he made it past the door, Noah ran to one side of the huge metal building, using [Parkour] and [Climb] to scale high shelves full of heavy construction equipment. He made a lot of noise while moving, his armor jangling, but managed to reach the top and lie down, hiding, before the Aelve came tearing into the warehouse. She breathed heavily as she ran to the other end of the warehouse, realized that Noah likely had not left, and doubled back. The dangerous alien scout examined the scooter, one wheel still spinning, and growled.
Noah thanked himself for all the physical conditioning he’d done. The ride down the hill, while terrifying, had actually let him catch his breath. He stayed silent as the Aelve began prowling through the warehouse below.
Noah really hoped she didn’t have heat vision or something. His only hope against the Aelves seemed to be catching them off guard or being sneaky and underhanded. He could live with that.
The Aelve began muttering to herself as she stalked through the warehouse, carefully moving around equipment on pallets, and searching among the rows of tall shelves. A knife vine detached from the Aelve’s armor and began poking into crevices. A couple long, grass-looking blades extended from her wrist.
Noah carefully peeked over the top of his hiding place. The Aelve glanced upwards, probably because of the earlier ambush, but thankfully didn’t see him. She kept walking through the large warehouse, looking behind and under things before she must have finally lost her patience. The Aelve leveled their arm before loosing a cone of violet fire. The magical attack demolished a large jumble of welding gear, scorched the concrete, and charred a few shovels. Some of the damaged equipment fell over with a crash. Noah wondered how the flame burned without catching things on fire.
Then his heart dropped.
“Hey, what are you doing!” A grizzled man jogged into the warehouse, waving his arms. His ruddy complexion and glasses didn’t jog Noah’s memory at first, but [Community] told him the man’s name was Greg Campbell. He’d had a beard a before. Mr. Campbell said, “Get away from there! What are you doing?”
Too late, the older man realized that the person he’d been talking to wasn’t a person. The Aelve whipped her head around as her vine knife slashed forward. The rental company employee fell back with a cry, and the Aelve took two quick steps, raising her wrist blades to strike. She attacked, and Noah put his head down before he could see the rest.
Sorrow warred with his determination to exterminate the Aelves. He wasn’t Worm anymore. Sitting by and watching people get hurt was unbearable, but he had a plan, so he gritted his teeth and stayed silent.
As he hid and listened, he briefly wondered why she hadn’t just killed Mr. Campbell with her flame weapon, then answered his own question. They ate people, which meant they had to leave the bodies at least somewhat intact.
New disgust and hatred flared in Noah’s heart.
Sounds of the alien female moving again came from below, as if she were moving to the other side of the warehouse. This was Noah’s chance. He silently fished in his pockets for something to throw, and regretfully settled on the ferro rod—he didn’t really have much else to toss. He breathed in and out deeply before holding his breath, and threw the ferro rod to the far side of the warehouse. Now he knew he would need to act fast.
Luckily, the plan seemed to work. As soon as the object landed and made noise, the Aelve ran to that part of building, away from Noah.
He quickly but silently stood. Then bracing himself against the roof, he pushed on the shelves beneath him with his legs and the full weight of his body. Noah had noticed this group of shelves months before when he’d come to get a propane refill. Someone had removed heavy machinery from the lower shelves, but a lot of weight remained on top. This wouldn’t normally be a problem…unless a determined, armored teen were to climb to the top and try pushing it all over.
After a few seconds of straining, the shelves creaked and began to tip. Noah kept pushing until the very last second, jumping backward to another group of shelving.
As he watched, the heavy structure of wood, steel, and machinery he’d set in motion fell, slamming into the next set of shelves, creating a domino effect. Noah suddenly caught sight of the Aelve female, and they locked eyes at the same time. She snarled, showing her teeth, but it was too late.
Thousands of pounds of shelving and equipment slammed down, generating a messy, dusty, hammer of destruction. Noah quickly used a number of mundane skills, including [Wall Climbing] to shimmy over and jump to another shelving unit. The one he’d just been on wobbled after getting hit with a cement mixer.
Noah lay down as the rubble continued to crash beneath him and stayed that way for a while even after it settled. [Listen] picked up voices of other workers at the rental yard. They hadn’t gone home yet. They were probably waiting for the power to come back on. People didn’t know about the Shift yet.
They would soon.
Noah was exhausted, but at least he was still alive. Two Aelves down, one to go, he thought.
Then he heard screaming in the distance, back in the direction of the houses he’d just come from.
Oh no.
Chapter 26
Noah ran. A couple men jogged towards him, pointing at the warehouse, but he ignored them, not even registering what they said.
People in the neighborhood were screaming.
He drew the dazzler from where it’d been hanging off his shoulder to run faster, and began ascending the hill he’d ridden down earlier on the pink scooter. Worry tied his guts into knots, and time kept moving—Noah could practically feel the seconds passing. Rushing up such a steep hill while weighed down with weapons and armor wasn’t the easiest thing Noah had ever done, but compared to the guilt, stress, and underlying terror he felt, it was nothing.
The Shift had been the worst day of his life. His second Shift seemed to be living up to its legacy.
At the top of the hill, Noah didn’t need to go far to see bodies. His throat went dry. Lungs working like bellows, sweat rolled down his back and he wasn’t sure where to go. Despite smoldering rage for the Aelves driving him forward, Noah wanted to cry. Sorrow made him tremble, not just for the people in this community who had been cut down, but for the millions, maybe billions of people all around the world who would die in the next few months.
It was horrible, all of it. And it was all because of the Aelves! Noah snarled, and ran toward a new scream.
He found the last Aelve, the big male, two streets over. As Noah closed the distance, a man from the neighborhood pointed a rifle at the burned, smoking Aelve. The bearded man’s ballcap had a salmon on it, his rifle clicked again and again while the man worked the slide. With an air of finality, the Aelve pointed an arm and tensed. When he’d been on fire before, the monster had quickly shot several balls of violet energy, but this time, seemed to be struggling to create one. The Aelve’s armor must have been badly damaged.
Noah knew what was still about to happen. “No!” he screamed, and fired two dazzler bolts, but they had no effect. He’d been too late. A burst of energy from the Aelve’s weapon took the man high in the chest and he fell backwards. Noah loosed every remaining dazzler bolt he had.
The Aelve turned, but didn’t otherwise move. He just looked away, and all of Noah’s projectiles bounced off the charred, leafy armor on his body and the sides of his head. Noah threw the empty dazzler to the side, drew his sword and donned his shield before crashing into the Aelve…or tried to.
A damaged vine knife whipped out, diverting Noah’s rush. The sharp head of the Aelve’s weapon had been damaged, and instead of cutting into his shield, it just left a nasty gouge. Noah barely heard all the new screaming around him. The neighborhood’s residents were obviously all terrified at this point, probably trying to dial the police over and over again on phones that wouldn’t work. Their fear helped Noah deal with his own, and he spun, slashing with his fa
lchion.
The Aelve danced back, or tried to. His legs had been too badly damaged, and he narrowed his eyes, blocking the attack with an armored arm. This close, Noah saw the extent of the Aelve’s injuries and took sick satisfaction from it. Part of the alien’s face had run like wax, and only one eye seemed to still be working. Some of his lips were gone.
Parts of his body had been more severely burned than others. The Aelve’s other vine knife must have not worked anymore, if he’d even had another. His armor had saved his life, but had been badly burned itself. The creature was slower now, its body ravaged, but it was still faster than Noah.
With a low hiss, grass knives like the female Aelve’s extended from the alien’s wrist. The monster punched, and it was all Noah could do to divert the blow. Luckily, his shield held, but even with the glancing attack, and blocked at an angle, it felt like he’d been hit by a truck.
Noah retaliated, delivered a succession of lightning-fast cuts that would have made any of his trainers proud, but the Aelve blocked or evaded all of them with almost contemptuous ease. The monster grabbed Noah’s shield with his other hand, fingers badly burned but still strong. He yanked down so hard, Noah’s arm was almost wrenched out of its socket. Suddenly, new pain flashed, and Noah woodenly realized that the vine knife had slammed into his shield shoulder.
Luckily, his chainmail held against the damaged weapon, but the force of the blow knocked him back like he’d been hit by a sledgehammer and the entire side of his body lit up, nerves protesting.
Armed and armored like he was, Noah would be like a walking tank against normal people, a wrecking ball of destruction. Even against several men armed with knives or machetes, he would have been untouched. However, the wounded, burned, half-dead Aelve was picking him apart in seconds.
Noah gritted his teeth and chopped at the arm holding his shield. The attack must have done something through the charred, organic armor, because the Aelve winced and let go. His flat, remaining grey eye narrowed. In his alien language, the big male said, “I assume you killed Dirak somehow. That means along with Reemeht you have ended two Unaleshi. The Voice was right to warn us of you, and to hunt you. The Voice’s word is law, and reward for killing you would be leaves and seeds from the garden, but even without that, I now see you are far too dangerous to live. It will be an honor and a service to end you. How did you get an orb? ”
First Song Page 31