Alan Price and the Colossus of Rhodes (The Nephilim Chronicles) (14 page)

Chapter 41

Sunlight now streamed in through
the plane’s windows. The warm rays had woken him from his slumber.

Alan stretched and made his way to
the cockpit entrance with Danielle. “Good, you’re awake,” Jacob said. “Now that
I have you all here, let’s go over our strategy. First and foremost, he cannot
allow them to raise that statue from the ocean. At all costs, we have to stop
them. We can count on Dominic being there and I’m sure there will be others.
We’ll all be in radio contact with Danielle and each other the entire time
through our earpieces. Arther, you and Alan—we really do need a chosen name
for you, Alan.”

“Still,” Arther said with one of
his smiles, “we can’t be running around shouting ‘Alan’ when we have cool names
like Guardian and Valkyrie.”

“How about Spartan?” Danielle said.
“You are always reading those books on ancient Greece. I think you even had one
in your hand when we first met.”

Alan was about to protest to the
name when Jacob’s stern tone commanded everyone’s attention. “We’re nearing the
coordinates Michael gave us. It should be a few miles off the coast of the Greek
island of Rhodes. Somewhere in that direction.” He pointed with an outstretched
hand to the plane‘s front window and towards the open sea. They were headed where
the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas met. Just off the coast of Rhodes where the Colossus
stood several eons before.  

The bodies of water were massive. At
this altitude, it took Alan’s breath away. Growing up in the city, he had never
seen the open sea. Only a few years ago when his gift of speed allowed him the
monetary ability to make a trip had Alan witnessed the true vastness of the
ocean. Still it was an awesome sight to witness as the massive body of water
spread away from the coastline in every direction.

He could hear Danielle let out a
breath beside him, “Well, I guess they haven’t found the spot where the statue…”
Her voice trailed off. Alan followed her line of sight out the plane’s front
window. He had to make a strong effort to stop his mouth from dropping to the
floor.

“We’re too late,” Arther said.

Angelica and Jacob motioned for
Alan to follow as Danielle hit the rear door release button of the their plane.
Air burst in first through the cracks then the larger opening of the rear hatch.
Alan felt goose bumps prickle his skin as the cool air hit him in gusts.
“Remember,” Jacob yelled over the rushing air, “we need to find whoever is
raising the statue and stop them. Alan, wait for Arther; when the plane lands
then go in.”

Within seconds of the wheels
touching the ship’s metal deck, Arther was beside him. “Let’s go, my friend.”

Alan followed Arther onto the large
rusted container ship. His sneakers made contact with the ship’s hard steel
frame in light taps. More than anything they wanted to run, Alan refused them
the right. He knew he needed to stay with Arther. Jacob and Angelica were
already lost to sight. Arther must have noticed the same thing. His pace
quickened as he made his way across the quiet expanse of ship.

The explosion rocked the ship
sending vibrations from stern to hull. The force threw Arther and Alan from
their feet. At the same moment Jacob and Angelica’s bodies appeared, catapulted
from a level of the ship somewhere below.

Alan ignored their situation and
instead turned to help Angelica and Jacob. Jacob was not wounded thanks to his
stone skin. Angelica on the other hand was a mess of bruises and cuts as she
struggled to stand on her own.

Chapter 42

As the thought came and went Alan
found himself calling on his speed to dodge the multiple energy beams directed
at him. Each beam shot forward with the speed of a bullet and exploded with a
sizzling crack.

Alan’s speed was saving him for the
moment, however not every member of his team could call on the same ability for
assistance. A quick glance in their direction proved him right. Arther stood
over Angelica protecting her with some kind of invisible mental barrier. The grey-skinned
Nephilim leader stood feet shoulder width apart with his hands extended.

Jacob sprinted forward into the
mass of Infinity clones that rushed to meet him. “Get her to Valkyrie,” he
shouted as he ran across the ship deck.

Danielle must have seen the events
transpiring from her view in the cockpit because she was just reaching the
plane’s rear hatch as Alan approached.

Alan came to a spot next to
Danielle and gently laid Angelica at her feet. Inspecting his human cargo for
the first time made Alan wince with sympathy. Angelica was not only bruised and
bloodied, but a large portion of her torso was burned as well. She coughed as
Danielle cradled a mess of blonde curls in her arms. “I need to get back in
this fight. I can’t go out like this. Not like this. Danielle,” Angelica turned
her head so she could look in to Danielle’s eyes. “You have to get me back in
there, you—“

More than anything, Alan wanted to
stay. He wanted to make sure his combat instructor would make a full recovery.
He wanted to shield both of them from anyone who would approach during their
time of vulnerability. A deafening boom that rocked the entire ship made him
remember he had friends that were still fighting, friends that very desperately
needed him now.

Alan hesitated only a second longer
before he sped into motion. Rounding the rear of their plane, his eyes took in
how much the events of the conflict had changed. To the left of the ship Arther
was throwing copies of Infinities left and right with his mind. Clones of
Infinity flew through the air either to land roughly on the ship's metal frame
or plummet to the frothing water below.

Alan took off at a sprint. A voice
in his head told him to stop and assist his friends but neither of them was in
any immediate harm. Alan’s eyes raced across the frame of the container ship.
Ninety percent of the boat was a flat surface intended for storage space. Only
one structure on the boat stood towering over the deck – a two-story
building that sat at the rear of the ship. Alan guessed that he would find
whoever was raising the statue there.

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Finally finding his voice Alan took
a tentative step forward. “You have to stop. I can’t let you do this.”

Alan took another step closing the
distance between them. She was only yards away now. “That is far enough,” she
said. Despite Alan’s arrival, Ardat had not lowered her hands or taken her eyes
from the large glass windows that provided her a view of the ocean.

Alan was unwilling to remove his
eyes from Ardat not knowing what she had planned. He felt someone brush by his
left arm as the person came into view. Kyle Brown moved to stand between Alan
and Ardat.

Ardat broke the uncomfortable
silence with a grunt of exertion. “There,” she breathed. Both Alan and Kyle
broke their stare as they glanced out the control room’s windows.

The sight was mesmerizing. The
amount of mental strength it was taking to bring the entire statue to the
surface was boggling. Alan tore his eyes away from the scene, “Stop, you have
to stop now! This will cause a war.”

Alan turned to Kyle. “You have to
let me stop her. You don’t know what they are going to do.”

Alan took a step back as though
Kyle’s words were a physical blow. “You know? They told you all of this and
you’re still going to side with them?”