Blaze (The High-Born Epic) (51 page)

             
“All right,” Harold said.  “You ready?”

             
Gabby nodded and he touched her shoulder and they flamed out of sight...

             
...And appeared in the woods just behind Aunt Nean’s house.  He checked for onlookers, and they blasted from view...

             
...And they were in the barn, looking at his mule.  The mule glared at him and pushed her head into the side of the barn.

             
“You’ll never change, will you?” Harold said as he gave her a pat on the neck.

             
As he and Gabby walked to the house, the smell of cooking turnips wafted in the air.  Harold opened the door and stopped in his tracks when he saw Sarah standing at the stove.  She was stirring a boiling pot and tending to a baker of cornbread.  He looked at the table and Scott and Cooper were sitting there drawing in Aunt Nean’s sand box.  Sarah had only a moment to give Gabby a sharp glance before Scott jumped up, and ran to him.  Harold squatted as the little boy ran into his arms and gave him a hug.

             
“You shoulda’ seen it, Harold!” Scott shouted as he stepped back and held his hands up high.  “It was like a whole ‘nother sun up in the sky!”

             
“Yeah,” Cooper interrupted.  “And you could see all of these things shootin’ at each other over the city!”

             
“Whoa, guys,” Harold said.  “Slow down.  Another sun in the sky?”

             
“Yes,” Sarah answered.  “It was right above the city, and I don’t know what it was but it turned the entire sky orange and made the night almost as bright as day.”

             
“What could you see?” Harold asked.

             
“Well, some of ‘em was those High-Born gunships,” Scott held out his arms and began making shooting noises.  “And some of ‘em was like...” Scott scrambled for a word.  “Like... like... these... big flying knights!  They had these guns stuck to their arms and ever’thing!”

             
“And they was tearin’ those High-Born up!” Cooper said.

             
“Really?” Harold asked.

             
“Yeah,” Sarah added.  “And there were also some fighter jets that I’ve never seen before.”

             
“They were fighting
against
the High-Born?” Gabby asked.

             
Sarah gave her a look, “Yes, they were.”

             
“And they were winning?” Harold asked.

             
“They were givin’ as much as they were gettin’,” Sarah replied.

             
“Yeah,” Scott said, holding out his arms and making shooting sounds.  “And some of those knights even flew over Foxx Hole fightin’ against some of those High-Born gunships!  And there was some other knights too!  They weren’t as big as the flying knights, but they were runnin’ all over Foxx Hole!  And they had guns like the High-Born!  And they were fast like you!”

             
“Really?” Harold asked.

             
“Yeah, they was teachin’ them High-Born a lesson!” Cooper spoke up.  “I think they were those AI robots– ”

             
“—I’ve already told you that they weren’t no robots, Cooper,” Scott said as he shot an imaginary gun.  “They were knights dressed in armor.  Their visors kinda’ looked like High-Born, but they weren’t as big.  And they kinda’ sounded like robots when they ran, but they weren’t robots.  But they were really fast.”

             
Harold and Gabby looked to Sarah.

             
After a moment, Sarah answered, “Yes.  There were dozens of them running all around town going from house to house.”

             
“Did they hurt anyone?” Harold asked.

             
“No,” Sarah said.  “Didn’t lay a hand on anybody.”

             
Harold and Gabby glanced at each other.

             
“What were they doing?” Harold asked.

             
“They had to be looking for something,” Sarah said.

             
Harold glanced at Gabby and then he turned and walked to the window.  He propped his hands there and peered out into the darkness.  He looked out towards the woods where he had seen that large metallic man a few months ago.

             
“Their guns were ‘stuck’ to their arms, Scott?” Harold asked.

             
“Yeah,” Scott said as he pointed to his forearms and motioned up and down his arm.  “They were right here.  But it was just the big knights.  The little knights carried their guns next to their shoulders.”             

             
“They were probably looking for me,” Harold said and turned to Sarah.  “What about those other ones?”

             
“The bigger ones seemed to be helping those fighter jets, and some of them even flew around town a few times,” Sarah said.  “One of them must’ve gotten hit in the fight over the city, because I could see it smoking and sputtering, and it landed in the woods not far from Scott’s hideout.”

             
“Is it still there?” Harold asked.

             
“No,” Scott said.  “Me and Cooper and some other kids watched two other ones land and help it fly away.”

             
The group then sat there in silence while Scott and Cooper shot their imaginary guns.  Footsteps echoed from the hall and they all looked to see Ollie walking around the corner while rubbing her eyes.

             
“Hey, girl,” Harold said as she ran to him and jumped up in his arms.

             
“Y’all woke me up, but I’m so glad that you’re back,” Ollie said.  “I’ve missed you so much.”

             
“I’ve missed you too,” Harold said as he kissed her on the cheek.

             
Sarah smiled lightly at him and then a puzzled look came over her.

             
“But,” Sarah gestured.  “How did they even know about you?”

             
“Who knows?” Harold shrugged.  “I think they knew about me a while back.  They just now came for me.”

             
“Why?” Sarah asked as she walked to him and grabbed his hand.  Gabby rolled her eyes and looked the other way.

             
“I don’t know,” Harold said and looked around, puzzled.  “Where is Aunt Nean?  And why are you and Scott here?”

             
Sarah gave Harold a look, and motioned her eyes to the children and back to him.  Then she shook her head.

             
“Ms. Nean is with the other parents,” Sarah answered, but Harold could see that she was losing control of her emotions.

             
“Sarah won’t let me see momma and daddy ‘cause they’re sick and don’t want us to get it,” Scott said.  “The secret base is so crowded with the other kids that she brought us here.”

             
“Sarah,” Gabby said.  “What color were their thrusters?”

             
Sarah glanced at Gabby, but then turned to Harold and Gabby rolled her eyes again, “The fighter jets and the ‘flying knights’ both kinda’ looked blue when they were zooming around.”

             
“That’s what we saw the other night when were stargazing,” Gabby said to Harold.

             
“Yeah,” Harold said while Sarah shot them both a look.  “It could’ve been.”

             
“Stargazing?” Sarah asked.

             
“Yeah,” Gabby smiled at her.  “We do that a lot.”

             
Harold looked up and ran his hands through his hair, “You two need to get focused on the war we’re fighting.  We’ve got more important things to deal with.”

             
Sarah crossed her arms and sat down at the table.  Gabby turned away and walked to the window.  Harold glanced at Cooper and Scott who were looking at each other and shrugging their shoulders.  Ollie was just sitting there, smiling at Harold.

             
Then he walked to his room.

             
He opened the door and quickly found his mattress.  It was much softer than he remembered and he let his eyes close.  So much was happening and it was happening so fast that he felt overwhelmed, and for a fleeting moment he felt his courage slip.  And he actually felt tears well up in his eyes.

             
Footsteps clacked down the hall, and Sarah walked through the door.  She closed the door behind her as Harold sat up and wiped his eyes.

             
“What’s happened, Sarah?” Harold asked.

             
She stood there for a moment, trying to control the dawning tears, but then her shoulders began quivering, and her breath came in bursts.  Then, she broke down, bawling as she fell into his arms.  Harold could see her pain and he found himself starting to cry, but he took a deep breath and calmed himself.  Despite her crying, Sarah was being rather quiet and Harold realized that she at least had enough control to keep the children from hearing her.  She laid her head on his shoulder, and in a few more moments she leaned back up.

             
“What’s wrong?” Harold asked.

             
“They took them, Harold,” she said.

             
“Who took who?” Harold asked.

             
“The morning after the city was attacked,” Sarah wiped her nosed, and seemed calmer now.  “The High-Born showed up with a lot of gunships, and called a town meeting.”

             
She started getting emotional again, and Harold squeezed her hand.

             
“They took everyone who is a parent,” she said.

             
“What?” Harold asked as he stood up.  “And left the children?”

             
“I don’t think they knew about Scott’s hideout in the woods and all the children y’all brought back were hiding there at the time.  But they took anyone and everyone who had a child.  Some people tried to fight, but it was no use.  They’re just too strong, and they have weapons.”

             
“But they left the children from the odd-numbered streets?” Harold puzzled.

             
“Yes,” she said.

             
“Why?” Harold asked.  “That makes no sense.”

             
“Not much they do makes sense,” Sarah said.  “They left a note on the pyramid.”

             
“A note?” Harold puzzled.

             
“It says: ‘To Blaze and Aireon’,” Sarah answered.

             
Harold’s mind swirled with emotion and he looked out of his window, grasping the windowsill and squeezing it as tightly as he could.  The wood there splintered and cracked and Sarah jumped in surprise at the noise.  Harold released it and stepped away from it.

             
“Where are Phil and Maggie?” Harold asked.

             
“I don’t know,” Sarah answered.  “They disappeared the night the city was attacked.”

             
“You haven’t told the young’uns any of this yet, have you?” Harold asked.

             
“The ones from the odd-numbered roads were there,” Sarah explained.  “So they know, but most of them just locked themselves up in their houses, and I brought Scott, Cooper, and Ollie here before any of those children could tell them.  But the young’uns from the even-numbered roads were in Scott’s hideout, so they still don’t know.  I was actually going to tell Scott, Cooper, and Ollie after we ate lunch today.”

             
Harold nodded, and said, “Thank you for taking care of them.”

             
“I love them,” she answered.  “And it’s the least I could do for you.”

             
Harold looked around, “How is Scape?”

             
“He’s fine, mostly he just sleeps,” Sarah answered.  “But he’s in Cooper and Ollie’s room if you want to see him.”

             
Harold and Sarah then walked into the children’s room.  In the corner of the room was a wadded up old blanket.  Scape lifted his head when he saw Harold and wearily wagged his tail.  Scape tried to rise, but Harold swiftly walked over to him and squatted.  He half-purred, half-growled as he licked Harold’s hand.

             
“He’s been drinking a lot of water,” Sarah said.  “And the kids have been giving him whatever food we can spare.”

             
Harold looked at his wounded leg and could see that they had made him a bandage out of an old bed sheet.  There was only a couple of specks of blood on it, so it seemed that Scape was being good about not biting his wound.  Scape laid his head in Harold’s lap and closed his eyes.  Harold rubbed his head and in less than a minute Scape was snoring.  Harold gently placed his head back on the bed sheet and stood up.