Trapped in Time-Extinction (20 page)

Rory looked at John and he lifted one shoulder, “I just wanted to see if they were all that much better than I am.”

“What did you find out?”

“It wasn’t easy. But after a few hours, I found I could do it and land standing up. I wanted to feel good about my skills and I did after learning how to do it.”

“What about you, Mindy?”

“I could land in one of those circles standing up and then retract my glider. Or I could retract it and land standing up. The point is that if we do this, John and I will have to land between the humps in the tarp to avoid falling and alerting the guards.” Mindy looked at John, “Can you do that?” John snorted and nodded.

Rory looked at Mindy, “So what happens when you land?”

“I pull my hand blaster and take out the ten warriors with a quick sweep.”

“The beam will be seen from the cliffs.”

“Only if they’re looking directly at the island when I do it. The chances could go either way. However, even if they see it, they’ll wonder what it is and there might be a delay before someone investigates.”

“How does this change anything?”

Mindy raised an eyebrow, “Rory, where is the gunpowder for the cannons?” Rory’s eyebrows came down and he stared at Mindy. “Come on Rory, I know you can still remember what you saw when you flew by them.”

Rory lowered his eyes and said, “I didn’t see any around the guns.”

“Then where was it if you had to guess?”

Rory stared at her and Johnathan smiled, “It has to be under that tarp with the spitters.”

Mindy smiled, “That’s where I’d keep it to prevent it getting wet in the sea breeze.” Mindy paused and said, “Once the ten warriors are removed, I lift the tarp and place a delayed explosive on several of the powder kegs. I activate them and that’s when the dangerous part starts.”

John tilted his head, “Dangerous part?”

Mindy nodded, “Before we fly away, we pull out our cutters and slice the barrels of the cannons.”

Rory shook his head, “You don’t think blowing up the gunpowder would destroy them?”

“The blasts won’t be contained but out in the open. I’m sure the cannons will be moved some by the concussion but they’re so heavy and the metal is so thick that I can’t be certain they’d be put out of commission. We have to cut them.”

John shook his head, “Mindy, to cut through those cannons will require turning up the cutters to their highest setting. It will light up the entire top of the island. It will have to be seen by the defenders on the cliff.”

Mindy nodded, “Which means you won’t have very long to cut them and get out of there. But it can be done if you jump from cannon to cannon and cut them as you go.” Rory stared at Mindy and she saw what he was thinking. “Rory, it’s either do this or possibly call off the attack and I’m willing to guess that the flyers have already left to land in the forest.”

Rory sighed and said, “We can support your effort.”

“Not until after the cannons are cut.”

“We could fire on the ten warriors from a glider.”

John shook his head, “And the beam will certainly be seen by the other defenders.”

Rory looked at John as Mindy said, “We will move in directly behind them and take them out with a beam fired at ground level toward the open sea. If we do this right, there will only be a small flicker that could be seen by the other defenders.”

Rory turned back to Mindy and then to Johnathan, “Do you really think you can do this?”

“That’s where you may need to support us. If either of us is killed, then you’ll have to land on the cliff and cut the cannons. I suspect we’ll lose the warriors that have to do it if it comes to that.”

“What about the spitters in the face of the rock?”

Mindy smiled, “They won’t have anything to fire at. The ships will stay outside of the range of cannons on the cliffs and the spitters to launch the flyers that will attack the city. If Tyler’s attack is successful, they won’t have to go near the two islands.”

“We can’t just leave them.”

“No, we can’t. We’ll clean them up later. We might even use the cannons that survive on the cliff to make it happen.”

Rory sighed, “The rest of my fliers are going to be disappointed.”

“They can take part in the attack on the city, if Tyler is successful.”

“I guess everything is dependent on him.”

“And taking out those cannons.”

Rory , “Do you think Tyler might think our attack has begun if we set off those kegs of gunpowder?”

Mindy shrugged and Johns said, “I doubt it.”

Rory and Mindy looked at him and he shrugged, “He knows he has to wait to start his attack until the Defenders on the coastal wall open fire at our fleet.”

“How will he know the difference if they open fire on the islands?”

John’s eyes narrowed and he said, “I doubt they’ll open fire on those two islands at night. But even if they did, it wouldn’t be a massive salvo from the entire defense forces on the wall. Tyler is smart enough to wait until he’s sure.”

“What about Gordon?”

“Mindy, both Tyler and Gordon know the attack is supposed to start during daylight. An explosion at night should be enough to make them wait to see.”

Mindy smiled, “John, are you in this with me?”

“I think it’s like you said earlier. It’s not a question of what I want but who else could do it. When do we do this?”

“We’re a day and a half out from the city. We have to do it tonight.”

John looked at Rory, “Do we have the explosives?”

“That is not something you’re going to do.” Mindy jerked her hear around to Rory and he said, “As soon as you ignite your cutter, the game is up. I’m going to have flyers circling those tarps with oil bags. They’ll start dropping them as soon as they see you fire your blaster at the guards. They’ll watch for you to make your escape and then they’ll fire a hot arrow into the tarps.”

Mindy’s scowl turned into a smile, “That would make this happen a lot faster. That’s a good idea. Who is going to drop the oil?”

“The fliers that failed Gordon’s training.”

“Do you think they can do this if they failed?”

Rory nodded, “The timing is much easier and the target a lot larger. They can do it.”

Mindy looked at John, “You and I need to get some sleep. Tomorrow night is going to come quickly.”

John nodded and said, “Rory, will you hold a meeting with all the flyers and tell them what’s going on? You should also select those going with us and let Andy know about the change in plans.”

Rory nodded, “I’ll handle the details. Both of you get some rest.”

Rory left the room and knew Mindy was right. They had intended to just kill the warriors operating the cannons with their red beams. But if there were hundreds more in the interior of the island, just killing those on top wouldn’t prevent the others from using the cannons. And if they continually flew over the island firing the red beams, the Destroyers would have advance warning of what was coming. No, this plan was actually better than the original. The warriors wouldn’t learn about the red blasters until the very last moment. Cutting the cannons was a good idea. However, as he thought about it, firing an arrow into the tarp was also a bad idea. That would give away that it came from the sky. He decided to place a delayed explosive on the oil pouches to start the fire. He smiled, the plan was improving with every moment that passed. He prayed Mindy would make it out safely but he knew she was the one best suited to make it happen. He forced himself to focus on what had to be done. There would be time enough to worry later.

• • •

Tyler saw the land rushing quickly by under him and took a quick look behind to see that the flyers were falling far behind the powered glider. He watched the horizon and, after two hours, he saw the city lights ahead. He pushed the front edge of the glider’s wing upward and it immediately responded with a rush upward. He kept it rising until they arrived over the northern edge of the city. “Olivia, guide me to where I need to go.”

“Stay over the wall and head directly south. Look for the tallest buildings; they should be closer to the forest wall than the coastal.”

It was still dark and Tyler was forced to use the lanterns along the road paralleling the wall to stay on course. To complicate matters more, there was a low-hanging ground fog covering the city. “Olivia, I’m going to need more than looking for the tallest buildings.”

“Look for where the wall bends slightly toward the city’s interior. You should be able to see the road also curve slightly at that point.”

Tyler turned off the electric motor and the silence was immediate. The motor wasn’t loud but with it turned off, Tyler realized it was a good thing he had flown to a higher altitude. He couldn’t see the lanterns anymore due to the fog and the sun was still forty-five minutes away. He shook his head and turned his attention to the forest. He could see the tops of the trees above the dense fog and he saw the tree line move toward the city. That had to be where the wall curved, “Olivia…”

“I see it. About a half a mile south of that bend is where the city’s center is located. We’re getting close.”

Tyler followed the tree line and he suddenly saw several buildings sticking up out of the fog. He made an abrupt left hand turn toward the forest and climbed higher. He kept the buildings in view as he circled over the forest. He saw light on the horizon long before it fell on the city. He also saw the hundreds of fliers moving in the distance behind him. The main body turned and began moving toward him. He flew out away from the wall and then turned and began taking the glider down. He turned on the electric motor and felt it push him into the westerly wind blowing against him.

The hundreds of fliers had moved out beyond him over the forest and turned just as he started his descent. He moved the glider’s edge up and down and slowed to almost stall speed but the electric motor kept him moving forward. He lined up a tree fifty yards away from the wall and headed straight for the top. He came in slowly and at the last moment, he turned on the second electric motor, which automatically shut down the first motor. The second motor blew against the direction he was moving and the glider stopped just as it arrived at the tree top. Tyler pulled a cord and the control arm extended ten feet into the tree as he grabbed the treetop and held on. The glider collapsed above Olivia and the two belts holding her to the frame separated and she fell into the tree on Tyler’s Back. He felt the sudden impact and the weight of the glider began pulling them down the tree.

The heavy glider hung from a rope tied to his backpack and it swung down and into the tree’s lower branches where it was trapped against the tree. Tyler felt his metal claws being pulled down the tree as he fought to hold his position against the trunk. Two of the upper branches were broken off but after sliding ten feet, his claws held. Once they stopped, Olivia pulled the two straps holding her to Tyler’s back and she moved down his back and grabbed a lower branch.

Tyler blew out a breath and fought to get more air in his lungs. Holding the glider and Olivia had placed a heavy load on his frame and he could feel his muscles screaming for relief. He moved another foot down and the weight of the glider disappeared and Olivia was now holding on to a lower branch. He put his head against the trunk and drew in air. He closed his eyes and took inventory and didn’t feel anything was seriously wrong. He just ached all over. But…they were down and in the tree. He looked out over the forest and couldn’t see the other fliers landing in the trees around him. He had moved below the top of the tree and he couldn’t see over the forest. “Are you alright?” Olivia nodded and he climbed up to the top of the tree. The last four hundred fliers were landing beyond his tree and in a few moments, they were all down just as the sun broke the horizon. He quickly turned and saw Lance’s group moving over him in a long line and start landing in the second row of trees out from the wall. It was beautiful to see. Five hundred fliers all moving in line and landing simultaneously in the tree line close to the wall.

What made the landing an extraordinary feat of timing was that Lance’s team landed as the sun broke over the trees. The loud screams of the Pterodactyls taking to the air above the forest covered any noise the flyers made landing in the trees. The Pterodactyls were joined by the other carnivores that inhabited the forest with roars that echoed over the forest. Tyler climbed down to Olivia and saw she had already tied herself off to the tree and was holding out a piece of jerky to him.

He smiled, took it, and bit off a large piece of it. He chewed it as he tied himself to the tree. He looked out into the forest and was unable to see, or hear, the hundreds of fliers that had landed close to him. He smiled and settled with his back against the tree’s trunk. He hoped everyone had landed safely but there was no way to know. He settled in and waited for the fleet to arrive and announce their presence with their cannons. Zeck wasn’t sure about how far behind them the fleet was but he felt like it wouldn’t be more than two days from Tyler’s launch. His group would have to settle in and remain hidden until the fleet’s arrival. Tyler saw his old buddy wandering around under the trees roaring up at the fliers hidden in the treetops. Tyler shook his head and wanted so much to take a shot at the T-Rex but just couldn’t risk being seen killing the beast. Fortunately, it stayed a couple of hundred yards out in the forest out of sight of anyone at the wall. Carnivores’ roaring was the accepted norm but this one was getting to be a nuisance. He shook his head and saw Olivia laughing at him. She knew he wanted to take the giant out and she saw his frustration at not being able to do it. “We owe him for last time.”

“Why do you say that?”

Olivia shrugged, “It was him running away from the Spinosaurus that gave us a warning of its approach.”

Tyler stared at her for a long moment and then smiled, “I guess you’re right. He’s paid his debt. But if he causes a Destroyer patrol to come check on him, he’ll be a Raptor’s meal.”

• • •

Mindy and John arrived at the harbor at three o’clock in the morning the day after Tyler’s group had landed in the trees. The fleet was moving in and would arrive during the afternoon. She flew above the island and was surprised to see a lantern was lit next to the bench the warriors were sitting on. She circled above the island as the support fliers arrived and waited for her to make her move. She had agreed to wait ten minutes for John to arrive at the northern battery of cannons and she still had three minutes to go.