Blaze (The High-Born Epic) (34 page)

             
He searched for it...

             
...It was faint...

             
...Its noise was covered by a myriad of other sounds...

             
...but...

             
..He recognized it...

             
The elevator that had brought him and the children to the surface was active... and it was bringing something up from the depths of the flaming prison. 

             
He turned to the children and brought his finger up to his mouth, shushing them.  The children’s slight movements stilled, and he even was aware of their breathing changing rhythm.  He focused on the shadows flickering about on the landing pad, and he saw something cresting the plane of the pit below the pad. 

             
As it came into sight, he could see that it was shaped like a head, and it seemed to have two eyes that glowed red.  Armored shoulders rose above the surface to reveal an armored chest and long metallic arms.  Mixed in with the dark colors were reflective metallic cylinders, and he could see some sort of guns attached to its forearms.  As its hips came into view, he could see several other heads topping the pad.  There were about ten High-Born soldiers standing around it, all armed with weapons that he had never seen.  But what he noticed the most was that the soldiers came up to its hips.

             
It was nearly twice as tall as an elite High-Born.

             
Mixed in with the High-Born elites were more than a dozen robotic mechanoids like the ones he had fought at Colonel Foxx’s mansion.  Harold could hear many of the children take deep breaths and some of the smaller ones began crying at the horrific sight.  He knew he was supposed to be scared, but he wasn’t.  It only filled him with greater resolve, because this was his destiny, and he knew it.

             
His eyes flashed orange, and blue and red flames crackled to life around him as a nearly-white fire whirled around his sword.  Then he aimed for a spot about 150 yards in front of the High-Born elite, and pulled on the air, burning it at the right moment…

             
…A burst of wind rushed outward from The Blazing Knight as he thundered into sight in full view of the giant and his mixed group of mechs and elite High-Born.  The group stared at him for only a moment and the giant moved with surprising speed, firing rail spikes from its forearm-mounted cannon.  The High-Born and robots also fired, and several missiles streaked from them.

             
But the knight had already disappeared; however, the missiles automatically adjusted and sped towards him.  But there was something that the High-Born did not know.  Even though they could control fire with their machines and chemicals, they failed to realize that he
was
fire.

             
The missiles detonated around the knight, and the shrapnel melted against his heat-shield as the flames washed over him.  He fed the flames his power, and the explosions only redoubled.  From within the inferno, he spun, weaving his hands back and forth, grappling with the flames, bending them to his will.  Fireballs and heat lances sprang forth from the walking explosion, and four of the robots fell while three of the elite High-Born burst into flames.  The giant blasted off into the sky, a flaming lance barely missing him.  It fired a volley of rail spikes into the center of the strange explosion that seemed to feed itself.  The other High-Born all spread out, firing rail spikes and missiles as they ran, trying to flank around the knight.

             
The missiles spun and twisted as they streaked towards the strange never-ending, yet never-expanding explosion.  The missiles impacted...

             
...only to have the opposite effect...

             
The seemingly stable explosion only increased in size and intensity.  From within the confines of the forest several of the children pointed at it.  Some said that they could see a large man made of fire standing within it.  They even said that they could see his arms lashing out like whips, scalding the ground as they melted the High-Born and their mechanoids. 

             
The red-eyed giant leading the High-Born flew in a circle around the walking explosion sending a furious volley of rail spikes into the center of it.  Inside the flaming vortex stood the knight, molten remains of rail spikes splattering across his armor as the flying giant tried to stop him.

             
Two of the remaining elites had some sort of large weapon that they had to carry and fire from atop their shoulders.  A bright red glow burned from the cannons towards the living explosion.  The knight felt the impact of some kind of intense heat strike his heat shield.  He nearly laughed. 

             
The High-Born simply did not understand what he was. 

             
The children in the forest began jumping and pointing at the billowing flames.  From within the rippling explosion they could see a creature that seemed to be made of pure light.  It was shaped like a man, but it walked like a monster…

             
It leveled its palm towards its enemies and a beam of white energy shot through the scattering elites, and they began popping from existence in clouds of ash and dust.  The mechanoids fired more missiles and rail spikes while the flying giant continued to pulverize the center of the flaming vortex.

             
But a white-hot lance of energy scalded the rest of the mechanoids from sight, and the last High-Born shooting the shoulder-fired weapon.  The white creature in the flames seemed to dissolve back into obscurity.  But a runnel of flames spiraled from the explosion towards the flying giant who twisted and rolled, skillfully avoiding it.  Another jet of fire shot out, and the giant dipped under it as well.  The walking explosion had decreased in size and the giant hovered, regarding the flames, but not firing.

             
Flames roared towards the giant, and as they approached it, they seemed to pull over the knight like a sheet until only he was standing there.  The fireball rocketed towards the giant who made another maneuver and avoided it.  It raised its guns, but did not fire.  It seemed to think about firing, but decided to not shoot.  Then its thrusters stopped and it dropped to the ground with a loud metallic thud.

             
The giant sprinted towards the knight who brought his flaming sword up to his shoulder.  Thrusters on the giant’s back and legs propelled it forward with frightening speed, and two blades as long and thick as grown man popped out from its forearms just beneath its guns. 

             
It was on the flaming knight almost before he had time to react.  A loud, robotic shout came from the giant as it swung at the ducking knight.  It swung downward with its other arm, dirt and grass flew into the ripple where the knight no longer was, and he thundered behind the giant. 

             
But it kicked him almost immediately and the knight flew through the air, bouncing and rolling as he plowed up dirt and grass with a trail of fire tracing the ground behind him.  The knight quickly rolled to his feet, but the giant was amazingly swift and the knight barely had time to react.  He pulled up his sword just in time to deflect the blow into the air, but the giant’s swing was so powerful that the knight’s feet were actually driven several inches into the ground.

             
Thunder clapped and the knight vanished as the giant stomped the ground where he had just been.  The giant spun, finding the knight immediately about 100 yards away and behind him.  Both of its cannons raised and began cranking out rail spikes.  Clods of dirt jumped all around the battle field as the knight bounced in and out of sight, getting ever closer to the giant.

             
The knight appeared, swinging at the legs of the giant who had already blasted off into the air, narrowly avoiding his deadly flaming sword.  But the knight reappeared in the air just above the giant, and brought down his sword, cutting through one of the thrusters on the giant’s back.  As the knight fell to the ground, the giant streaked out of control through the sky.  It seemed to nearly gain control but it was too low to the ground and it crashed, digging up dirt and grass.  But it agilely rolled to its feet, only to find the knight already there.  The flaming katana tore through the other main thruster on its back, but it turned and swung.

             
And its left arm flew through the air, exploding as the knight’s blade cut it in two.  The thrusters on its legs fired, but the bottom of its right leg streaked through the air like a wounded insect and the giant tumbled and rolled across the ground again.  It pushed itself up with it right arm, but it fell into the dirt again as the flaming sword cut through its blade and gun.  The giant spun on the ground and its left foot hit the knight causing him to stumble backwards.

             
In that moment the giant’s chest opened and a High-Born in some kind of advanced battle gear shot into the air flipping and twisting.  Miniature thrusters on his armor seemed to aid his natural athleticism.  The knight could see lines of light tracing paths along the surface of the armor.  The High-Born landed on his feet and drew a pistol from his hip and began firing at the knight.  Friction trails reflected from his tinted visor as the knight flashed in and out of sight all around him.  After an impossible number of shots, he began reloading his pistol, but the knight knocked it from his hand before he could resume shooting.

             
The knight appeared in mid-air, leveling a powerful kick to the side of his head that cracked his tinted visor and sent him thudding to the ground.  The High-Born tried to rise, but another kick put him on his back and his visor and helmet lay in pieces around him.  The knight looked at the left side of his chest and he could see a name written there.

             
Col. G. Foxx.

             
The colonel rolled to his feet and pulled up his arms in front of his face, tucking his chin as he kicked at the knight.  The miniature thrusters attached to his armor added to his already immense strength.  Metal clanged against metal as the knight blocked with his left arm and then kicked the inside of Colonel Foxx’s other knee.  The internal mechanics of his battle gear saved his knee from serious injury, but a loud pop sounded as sparks shot out from the knee’s motors.  However, the colonel seized the smaller, flaming creature by the throat with both of his hands and lifted him as high as he could.  With a shout, Colonel Foxx violently slammed the knight into the ground.

             
In spite of everything that the colonel was, the knight had to admit that he was a warrior born.  Foxx growled as he pinned the knight to the ground and straddled him, and the cybernetics of his armor whirred as he leveled three quick punches to the knight’s helmet.  The knight caught his fist on the fourth punch and pushed back.  Foxx’s strength was incredible and the knight actually had several moments of difficulty, but the cybernetic armor began popping and sparks flew from it and the legs of it were beginning to take on a red glow.

             
The knight knocked Foxx backwards, and though the colonel rolled to his feet, he quickly stumbled back to the ground.  The lights on Foxx’s armor flickered and then went out altogether, and he fell to his knees.  He screamed in agony and anger as he tore off his half-melted glove.  He looked up at the knight who doused his flames, and stood there, silent.

             
Foxx sat there on his knees, grunting in pain as he looked at the knight who took off his helmet and Foxx’s eyes opened wide.

             
“I know you,” Foxx said.  “You’re my slave.”

             
“No,” Harold said.  “I was never your slave.  You’ve just lied to yourself this whole time.”

             
The colonel just sneered at Harold, “I’ve always wanted to test myself against one of you. Make no mistake, Pure Blood.  This fight is not over.”

             
“Yes, it is,” Harold said and then Colonel Foxx fell before his flaming sword.

Chapter 29

             
Harold appeared a few yards from the treeline.  As he walked into the forest, he saw something peek from behind a tree.  The moment he recognized Cooper’s smiling face looking at him, he saw many more children glance from behind several more trees.  Little boys in grimy overalls and small girls in dirty dresses all began walking towards him.  As Harold looked across the growing crowd of children slowly surrounding him, he peered into their eyes.  He saw something there that almost disturbed him.

             
He was their hero.

             
The reality of that fact settled over Harold and it was a responsibility that he didn’t know if he wanted.  As he quietly looked over the silent, wide-eyed children, he could feel something else touching him.  It was a strange feeling that gripped him when he realized that they believed in him.  It steeled his heart to upcoming impossibility of getting them to safety and keeping them from harm once they were there.

             
He began reorganizing them into lines.  After a few moments, along with Cooper and Scott’s help, they quickly got the job done.  He positioned the older children in the outer lines and the younger ones in the center lines.  He put Cooper and Scott at the backs of the lines on either side.  After a few minutes, everything was ready and he began marching the children deep into the wilderness.

             
As they walked, he wondered how much longer they had before the High-Born reinforcements would arrive.  If what Colonel Foxx had said was true then they had less than a half hour before the skies would be swarming with gunships. 

             
He began making the children run.  He tried to turn it into a game and the children seemed to like it.  Even with all of the danger around them, they still somehow retained an air of joy about them.  Their attitude both touched and bothered Harold though he couldn’t exactly understand why.  As they ran, he air-burned back and forth between the front, back, and sides, making sure that everyone stayed close together.

             
Their progress was painfully slow and he was worried about what would happen if the High-Born arrived.  As the group ran, large gaps began to form in the lines, and even though he gave clear and concise instructions, the children could not keep their formation together.  He picked a spot in the distance, and ran to the center of the lines and grabbed two of the little ones.  He flashed from sight and reappeared about 200 yards farther in the woods.

             
“Run that way,” he pointed.

             
The boy and girl nodded and smiled and ran.  Harold flashed many more time over the next few minutes, alternating between young and old children.  He did his best to keep the younger ones in the center and the older ones on the edges.  For the most part, it worked, and the children held a loose formation that he had to constantly struggle to maintain.

             
Between their running and his air-burns, they made rapid progress for a group of that size, but he knew it was nowhere near fast enough.  It would only take a High-Born gunship a minute or so to cover the distance that took them in ten minutes.  But he did not let up, and he kept the rhythm of air-burning and running with near-perfect efficiency.  After a few minutes, he could hear something approaching from the direction of the lake and he called the children to a halt.  He flashed into the top of the tallest tree in sight and looked around.

             
It was faint, but he could discern the outline of a gunship barely more than ten feet above the treetops coming towards him.  He watched as it deactivated its cloak and came into full view.  He heard a loud click.

             
“Alright, hottie,” a voice called over the speaker.  “Start bringing them up, there’s nowhere to land around here.”

             
“Cooper!  Scott!” Harold called to the ground.  “Round everyone up into a group.”

             
Harold flashed from the treetop to the ground, and grabbed two children.  He appeared in the gunship and ushered the children to the back wall.

             
“Stay here and don’t move,” he told them.  “You will get hurt if you accidentally get in my way, okay?”

             
The boy and girl nodded with bright smiles.

             
“Hey, hottie,” Gabby called from the front.  “We’ve only got about fifteen minutes before the reinforcements get here.”

             
“How many?” Harold asked.

             
“Hard to tell,” she answered.  “But I’ve heard them over these speakers saying that two dozen gunships are on the way.  I don’t think they know that we have this gunship, so we have some advantage.”

             
Harold nodded and flashed from sight. 

             
In less than two minutes, he had somehow jammed nearly forty children into the gunship.  They were standing shoulder to shoulder and were tremendously uncomfortable and some even began crying.  Gabby activated the cloak and turned the gunship towards the lake.

             
“How long before you get back?” Harold asked.

             
“Ten minutes or so,” she answered.

             
“I’ll try to cut that down,” he replied.  “I’ll move them closer.”

             
“I hear you,” she said as she pushed the control stick forward.

             
Harold then disappeared.

             
And he was back on the ground.  He reorganized the lines as best as he could, and began herding them towards the direction that Gabby flew.  He banged in and out of sight, moving the children rapidly.  He settled into a rhythm and they made good time.  Before long, he heard Gabby returning, and they quickly refilled the gunship. 

             
“I’m not going to be able to turn off the cloak next time,” Gabby said as she turned the gunship.  “They will be close enough to see me by then.  Thankfully, they’re approaching from the north, so they won’t pass us.  Also, I don’t think they know that we’re moving the children.”

             
“I’ll keep them moving, so we may be able to get another load or two,” Harold said.  “If it comes down to it, I’ll fight them, just to give y’all time.”

             
As they moved towards the lake, Harold flashed from sight.  When he landed back on the ground, he began running with the children.  He was so focused on his task that he scarcely noticed anything else.  Soon, Gabby had returned and was hovering invisibly above them.