Clouds of Tyranny (16 page)

By early afternoon, Locke’s party had made
it to the swamp. “ Stay at least a dozen feet from the swamp’s
edge,” ordered Locke looking at Terra. She nodded and the three of
them went around the swamp. Terra looked at the top of the water;
the swamp was green and blue with steam rising from its surface
with bubbles ballooning up before popping. This is nothing like my
pond, thought Terra as they reached the other side of the swamp.
BZZZZZZ! Terra heard a loud buzz that hurt her ears. She turned to
see the source of the noise; a gigantic wasp flying towards them.
Ruthie slammed her knuckles against one another and her thorns
erupted from the gloves as she ran toward the wasp half her size.
She jumped and planted her foot into its multi-eyed face pushing it
into the trunk of a large tree. She punched the bug in its body
with her right fist and a white puss oozed from it as it squirmed
in desperation. Ruthie pressed her left foot against its body and
pulled out her ‘claws’ and the bug fell to the ground squirming
slower and slower till its movements ceased all together. “That’s
one big bug, Ruthie,” gasped Terra. “Get ready!” yelled Locke at
the both of them. “What?” said Terra confused. Ruthie looked up in
the treetops where Locke’s eyes were fixed. “Trouble,” muttered
Ruthie. Terra looked up and saw a few dozen four legged spiders
descending from their webbings. Locke pulled his sword from the
sheath and held it with both hands like a baseball bat as Terra
gripped her .45 with both hands for a steadier aim. Ruthie put her
fists up waiting for the dog-sized insects to get within range.
Terra saw that they were several feet above their heads and began
firing at them into the sky. As she shot they dropped one at a
time; Ruthie ran to the squirming bugs and stomped each one that
fell; killing six before hearing CLICK! The gun was empty and the
half-arachnids were just above them now. Terra scrambled for one of
the spare clips, forgetting which pocket she had placed them.
“Terra,” yelled Locke looking to the closest bug, “Flame ‘em!”
Terra nodded and threw her gun to the floor and concentrated on the
ones furthest from them. Locke sliced threw the one nearest to him
cutting it clean in half, the upper part of the bug’s body still
suspended by it’s wire. Three surrounded Ruthie as she kicked one
so hard it flew over Locke’s head and into the swamp; the swamp
bubbled with movement beneath the water and she punched another
insect with her leather and steel claws. She pulled back her arm
and thrust her fist forward to get the third threat, but as her
fist flew the bug released it’s thread and dropped to the floor;
her fist hit nothing but air. She looked down as the bug leaped
onto her left leg wrapping it’s four thin legs around her, then a
dagger in its side caused it to release and drop dead. “Got ‘em,”
said Locke as he once again put his knife throwing hand back on the
Damascus to guard Terra as she worked her abilities on the distant
bugs. Fireballs flew through the air causing the insects to catch
fire and drop on the ground as they let out a screech as they
scrambled around. One of the flaming bugs had a last moment of
vengeance and ran towards the cause of his pain, Terra. Ruthie
noticed and ran in front of Terra and kicked the damn bug like a
soccer ball, it disappeared before they could see where it landed.
The three of them looked around for more fight and more fun. “I
think that’s it,” said Locke re-sheathing his sword. Terra let out
a sigh of relief as she kneeled to pick up her pistol, then she
stood to her feet emptied the blank magazine and placed it in her
pocket. She searched her pockets for a spare and placed it within
the gun and cocked it before placing it back in its holster. They
heard movement in the water; the three of them turned to see a
thirty-foot crocodile come from the water and slowly crawled toward
them. Locke grabbed Terra’s left arm and threw her in the other
direction to get her away from danger. Ruthie held from behind
frozen in fear. The crocodile’s mouth flew open exposing a tunnel
of death that Locke looked into. Locke heard a loud object fly past
his head as he saw the top half of the croc’s head, including its
upper jaw fly backwards into the center of the swamp. The
crocodile’s body flailed around for a moment before it’s legs fell
out from under its weight and laid lifeless. Locke turned around
grinning as he saw a man in a black bodysuit and black mask
catching a round buzz saw like weapon in his right hand. The man
hooked it onto his belt and nodded at Locke. “Thanks,” said
Locke.

Alex and Ray were at the livery in Harmon
trying to obtain two additional horses for the trip home when Pearl
joined them. “I think I got everything I need,” said Pearl to Ray,
“Got blueprints of each house including the attics and basements.
Got a headcount of all civilians and the points on the roof for
surprise attacks.” “We were able to acquire two more horses,”
smiled Alex. “Good, Ray?” said Pearl widening her eyes. “What? Oh,
right. I got some supplies. Weeks worth of pasta, scotch,
ammunition, and some canned fruits.” “Good,” said Pearl, “Alright,
lets head back. How much for the animals?” “On the house,” grinned
the man at the stables. Pearl smiled and bowed in appreciation.
They all hopped on their horses and trotted out of the town.

Terra examined the cabin she was in with
Ruthie, Locke, and this stranger; it reminded her of her cottage
only smaller and with less furniture and poorly maintained. There
was a bed, a cupboard, and a coal oven. “So, that’s Smith’s
proposal,” said Locke after explaining that they would need him for
a single battle. The man raised his hand slightly up and rubbed his
index finger and thumb together asking ‘money?’ “Don’t worry,” said
Locke pulling the sack from his pocket, “Sadly, this is his only
offer.” The Retriever took the sack and emptied the gold coins into
his hand; when the gold touched his gloved hand the hand turned the
exact same color as the money. Terra was awestruck. “He’s a
chameleon basically,” whispered Ruthie into Terra’s ears. She
nodded in amazement. The Retriever made a ‘drinking’ motion with
his hand. “Sure, I’ll get it,” said Locke going into the cupboard.
“How are you Triever?” asked Ruthie. He put his pal up and shook it
saying ‘so-so’. “This is Terra.” He put his right palm on his
stomach and bowed saying ‘Pleasure to meet you’. She curtsied
trying to speak his language. She could tell by his visible eyes
that he was smiling. He curved his right wrist and pointed at it
with his left index finger saying “How long?’ “She’s been with us
for almost a week now,” answered Ruthie. He nodded in
understanding. “Here ya go,” said Locke handing Ruthie and Terra a
small highball glass half full with a green liquid, then turned
around to get the other two for him and The Retriever. He handed
The Retriever his drink and clanged his glass against his, “To a
successful mission.” The Retriever pulled down his mask that
covered his mouth to reveal scars around his lips then took a sip
of the liquid before pulling it back up. He poked himself in the
heart twice at Terra saying ‘Sorry’. “Everyone’s got scars
somewhere,” she replied. He nodded his head thankfully at her and
pressed his fist against his chest saying ‘Thank you’. “This is
really good,” said Terra after taking a sip, “Where do you get
this?” The Retriever mimed stirring a cauldron in the air. “You
make it? Can I get the recipe,” giggled Terra. The Retriever
grinned beneath his concealment and waved his index finger from
side to side saying ‘Uh uh, my secret’. After the four of them
finished their drinks Locke picked up his Damascus and headed for
the front door, “Okay, we gotta get back. Don’t forget, nine days,
Harmon.” The Retriever saluted in agreement and pointed to a
painting on the wall and made a walking motion with his left hand
as he pointed to the door with his left saying ‘I’ll walk you
through the forest’.

Alex and the two Returners were the first to
return home that evening, the orange setting sun was dipping behind
the hills to the west. Pearl led Alex and Ray into the entrance
seeing as how she was the one in charge for the mission having the
most seniority. When walked through the entrance corridor and into
the dining area they saw the young women setting the tables for
dinner and the young men cleaning the floors and wiping the tables.
The only person in the room that was not involved in some type of
chore was Lars who was pacing around the room; hands behind his
back looking at the floor until he heard the three of them enter.
Lars’ head popped up in expectation with a smile, but quickly
slumped his head and frowned when he saw who had arrived. Ray saw
this and was confused as usual. “Ray, go see the doc,” ordered
Pearl. “Why?” “Cuz I said! How’s that for a reason? And, they could
have gotten bacteria on you. “Fine,” sulked Ray, “See ya later
Alex.” “Bye,” smiled Alex. “I’m gonna go rest,” said Pearl, “Meet
me in the meeting room in one hour.” “Alright,” nodded Alex as she
turned and walked back to the dorm. Pearl went over to Lars who
looked like a nervous wreck, “Hello young man,” smiled Pearl. “Hey,
glad you made it back safe,” he said looking at the rear door
hoping for someone to emerge. “Yeah, it was successful. I think
your good for her,” she said smiling at him. “What?” asked Lars
turning his head to look at her. “Lars. Honey, Its very obvious.”
“It is?” “Yes, and it’s incredibly sweet that your worried about
her. That means you actually care for her safety.” “I do, I can’t
explain it but there’s something about her that makes me nervous
whenever she’s near me. I felt it the day I met her and when I was
away she was all I thought about. How she was adjusting, that she
was sleeping okay, and that no one gave her any trouble.” Pearl saw
the love in his eyes when he talked about her, “Trust me, she can
handle herself.” Lars chuckled, “Yeah, I heard about what happened
in the training room. I hope I never make her angry.” “I don’t
think you’re capable.” “You think she’s okay?” Pearl’s eyes strayed
over Lars’ shoulders, “Ask her yourself,” she whispered. Lars swung
around to see Locke walk in with Terra and Ruthie on his coat
tails. Terra looked around and saw Lars standing in the center of
the room as she walked over to greet him. “Lars, were you waiting
for me?” “Yes.” Terra smiled wide and wrapped her arms around him
for a big hug. “How are you?” asked Lars. “Pretty good.” “Not a
scratch on her,” said Locke as he approached, “We are even.” Locke
winked at Lars and started walking to his room. “Huh?” questioned
Terra at Lars. “Don’t be mad, but I asked Locke to stay close to
you and protect you from danger. I’m sorry.” “Why? That was very
nice of you. Maybe next time YOU can protect me.” “I’d like that,”
smiled Lars. They shared a long stare into each other’s eyes.
“Hello!” yelled Ruthie. The two of them looked over at Ruthie.
“Welcome back Ruthie,” said Ruthie sarcastically. Lars smiled over
at Ruthie, “Sorry, just…” “Blinded by looooove?” teased Ruthie.
“No!” choked Terra and Lars simultaneously. Ruthie rolled her eyes,
“Great, two shy people. At this rate you’ll be dating by your
golden years. I’m goin’ for a nap.” Ruthie walked away and Terra
and Lars were blushing while they looked at each other.

Almost an hour later, the necessary people
met in the conference room; Alex, Locke, Pearl, Lars, Smith, and
Chuck. “Okay first thing’s first, the Retriever?” asked Smith to
Locke. “It’s a go. He’ll meet us in Harmon before dawn on the day
of,” answered Locke. “Good. Pearl! Do you have information on
Harmon?” “Yes sir!” answered Pearl, “We have to evacuate close to
thirty civilians, a dozen children; none with special needs. Also,
I have blue prints here.” Pearl removed several folded papers from
her pocket and slid them over to Smith. Smith picked them up and
began scanning through them. Pearl patted Alex on the back, “Alex
suggested that if we were somehow unable to extract the town’s
people than we could place them in the attics or basements, which I
have blueprints for.” “Yes, I can see that,” groaned Smith, “How’d
the set-up look?” “Not bad,” started Alex, “I’ve been there before,
so I knew what to look for. You can position a surprise attack on
the rooftops; they have a sharp arch so they’d be unseen. There are
three entrances: Front, west side, and a small rear entrance. The
front would be perfect for a surprise due to its low visibility
from outside the town, basically hide behind the wall bordering the
entrance and no one could get through. The side door could be
barred, that’s simple. And the rear looked a perfect place to set a
trap; pendulums, explosives, pits, what have you.” “Yes,” agreed
Pearl, “Not to mention in the center of town is a large courtyard
with zero obstacles for a full scale fight if need be.” “Good to
have a back up,” nodded Smith, “Charles? What do you suggest for
traps?” “Well,” pondered Chuck, “I’ve got a new one I just created,
but it’s difficult to acquire the ingredients, so after I use these
five we are out. But, the bright side is that it explodes on
contact without being set by fire or lever. And I could rig a few
pipe grenades to the side door so when they finally do break
through that barred door they get a rude awakening. Granted I’ll
need to see the town for myself, but it sounds good so far.”
“Agreed, Lars and yourself can go for your own reconnaissance two
days prior to set up traps and begin the extraction, then the rest
of us arrive the night before the empire’s attack.” “Yeah,” began
Lars, “But I will do a few late nights in the meantime. Just to
look around, I won’t be seen.” “You never are,” smiled Smith’s
wrinkly face, “So, we should be able to succeed.” “We?” smirked
Locke from across the table opposite of Smith, “So, your coming?”
“Sorry, can’t make it. Too busy protecting our home.” Locke scoffed
and crossed his arms waiting for the meeting to end. “Alright, I
think that’s it. Lars and I will work on these blueprints and we’ll
all talk again tomorrow.” Everyone got up, Pearl left the room
immediately followed by Chuck; they were both hungry. Lars went
across the hall to his room to wash up. Locke walked to the door
where Alex was standing, “I’ll be in my room,” he said loud enough
for Smith to hear then left for his room. Alex waited a moment and
began walking down the hall leading to the dining area as Smith
went to his room. Alex passed Locke’s room, which had the door half
open, she was almost to the door leading to the dining area when
she heard Smith’s door close from down the hall. She turned around
sharply and speed walked into Locke room and shut the door. Before
the door finished closing their lips were pressed against each
other and their arms groping each other’s body. Locke began kissing
the side of her neck and she let out a pleasurable moan, “I missed
you,” she whispered erotically. “Me to baby,” he said in between
kisses. “I’m afraid we don’t have time,” sighed Locke. Alex put her
palms on his chest and pushed him back, “When are we gonna have
time?” “A few days, I promise.” She smiled and walked to him and
gave him a powerful deep-tongued kiss and walked to the door, “Just
something to think about,” she grinned devilishly and left the
room.