The Hunt for the Dragon King, page 12
As Jason recovered he heard something thud on the ground beside him. His heart nearly stopped when he saw that it was a grenade! Without thinking he grabbed it and threw it back at the Soolians. The little bomb exploded right in the centre of the Shock-Troopers, killing most of them. But within moments their places were taken by more soldiers from the pit below.
Jason took a moment to collect his thoughts and process what was happening. In the distance he could hear explosions and bombs. He could see more columns of thick black smoke rising into the now darkening sky. Soolian fighter planes and heavy bombers were starting to swarm overhead. A huge zeppelin lumbered into view over the horizon. War had returned to the Agro-Caelestis. A war that the Soolians didn’t intend to lose.
A thought came to Jason’s mind; it was the only thought that mattered now. As his comrades continued firing at the Soolians in the tunnel’s mouth he turned and rushed off, running as fast as his long legs could carry him.
“Jason, where are you going?” Ricochet shouted after him. “We’ve got to plug up this hole and regroup with the others!”
Jason didn’t answer. He never even looked back. He ran and ran until his lungs burned and legs ached. There was only one thought in his mind:
‘Myra? Where’s Myra?’
‘*~~~~~~~~~~~*’
Myra never reached Mr. Goatmen’s tower. She rushed back the way that she had come the moment she realized that the Agro was under attack. The air above her was filled with dragons. All of them were panicking, screeching and roaring. The sound of them was deafening. Myra couldn’t see Amaron, Twizel or the little Whelpling but she assumed that they were fleeing with the rest of them.
Her legs ached and her heart felt as though it was going to burst. But she didn’t stop. She didn’t dare. She ran and ran until she flew through the front doors of her house.
“Beatrice!” she called out. “Daniel! Where are you?”
There was no answer. Myra rushed upstairs and again yelled for her friends. No reply. Fear began to grow in her heart. Where could Beatrice and Daniel be? She looked out of the window into the backyard. Something disappeared through the doors of the old grey barn.
Myra hurried down the stairs, out the back door and into the outbuilding. Its weather-beaten wooden walls, full of holes and covered with chipped paint, creaked and moaned as if they were in constant pain.
There was no one to be seen inside the barn.
‘I must have imagined it,’ Myra thought.
She turned to leave but was surprised to find Beatrice, blinded with terror, about to hit her with a shovel.
“No, Bea!” screamed Daniel, jumping out from behind his hiding place. “It’s Myra!”
Beatrice looked at Myra and slowly lowered the shovel. She saw fear in the young she-elf’s eyes.
“Myra, I’m so sorry,” said Beatrice. “I thought that you were one of them!”
“What’s happening?” Myra asked. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” answered Beatrice, “but I know what we’re going to do. We’re going to wait here until Jason comes to get us. Then we’ll go somewhere safe!”
“Someone’s coming!” Daniel hissed.
Myra and Beatrice looked out the open door to see a group of shock-troopers walking towards the barn. They were laughing and joking with one another.
“Quick, Myra!” Beatrice hissed. “Hide!”
Daniel and Beatrice dashed behind a pile of crates while Myra dove into a horse stall. The Soolians strolled into the barn, still conversing with each other. Myra couldn’t understand a word that they were saying. When men joined the armies of the Soolian Empire their minds were wiped and then reprogramed to speak a language that only soldiers spoke.
Myra’s heart raced with terror as the shock-troopers began to search the barn. Some went into the hayloft while the rest stayed on the ground floor. They looked for plunder and souvenirs but found nothing valuable. The soldiers started to leave the barn until only one remained.
He was a young man, not much older than Jason. He looked in vain for treasures but found none. Myra watched him and waited for him to leave. She had never stayed so still in her entire life. Finally the young Soolian shrugged in disappointment and turned to go.
Myra let out a quiet sigh of relief but knocked over a piece of wood that fell with a loud clunk to the floor.
The young shock-trooper spun around and readied his rifle. Myra ducked back under cover but her long red hair betrayed her presence. The Soolian walked up to the horse stall and saw the she-elf cowering in the corner.
“And what do we have here?” he asked.
“Please don’t hurt me!” begged Myra.
“Hang on a second!” the man said as he examined Myra more closely. “You’re a Pointy! What’s an elf like you doing out here?”
“Please don’t hurt me!” Myra repeated.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” the man said. “I’m going to kill you. Don’t worry, I’ll make it quick and painless.”
He aimed his rifle at her and was about to pull the trigger when a militiaman burst into the barn. It was Jason! He charged at the shock-trooper. When the Soolian heard him coming he spun around and aimed his rifle directly at him. Jason stopped in his tracks and stared down the rifle’s barrel.
“Die, you dog!” growled the Soolian.
He pulled the trigger but there was no shot, only a loud click. The weapon had misfired!
Seizing his only chance, Jason swung his rifle at the Soolian with all his strength. The shock-trooper deflected the blow with his own gun and returned the attack. The two young men fought with the butts of their rifles until both weapons broke into pieces. They grabbed one another and rolled on the ground, punching and biting each other like animals.
“Help!” screamed the shock-trooper. “Someone help me!”
Another shock-trooper ran towards the barn. Jason could see him coming through the open doors. He knew he wouldn’t be able to fight both of them at once. He punched the first shock-trooper in the face as hard as he could. The young Soolian fell back, stunned. Jason then pulled out his Colt .45 and took aim at the second man. He fired all seven shots into the charging Soolian who dropped dead. The first shock-trooper groaned as he sat up. Jason ran over to the dead man and picked up his rifle. He saw that there was a bayonet fixed to the end of it. Without stopping to think, Jason charged at the first Soolian and drove the blade into the man’s chest.
Jason looked down at the young man that he had just killed. He felt sick to his stomach when he saw the blood slowly oozing out of the wound. Jason looked up at the horse stall and saw Myra staring at him. Her shy-blue eyes were filled with disgust and horror.
“They were going to kill you, Myra,” panted Jason. “They would have killed all of us…”
Myra didn’t say anything. She just looked at her legal guardian in total dismay. She knew that Jason had killed people in the last war but to see him commit the act of murder right in front of her was almost impossible to comprehend.
Beatrice and Daniel slowly emerged from their hiding place. Jason looked at his cousins but didn’t say anything.
“Are you okay?” Beatrice asked him.
He just shrugged.
Another militiaman, Ricochet, rushed into the barn with a panicked look on his face. He saw the two bodies but simply ignored them.
“Hawkeye!” he blurted out. “We’ve got trouble! The Imps have got tanks with them! They’re coming down the road right now!”
Still dazed, Jason looked at his friend and asked, “What kind?”
“The BIG kind!” screamed Ricochet. “Tigers, King-Tigers, Panthers and Half-Tracks. You name it, they’ve got it! We have to get out of here right now!”
Jason just looked at him stupidly and didn’t move. Ricochet slapped his young friend across the face as hard as he could.
“Jason, do you want to die here?” Ricochet yelled at him. “Do you want your friends to die here? We have to go!”
Jason snapped out of his daze and rushed from the barn. The others followed as he went. The five of them ran into the little hamlet of Diana’s Crossing to avoid an encounter with the war machines. When the group turned to flee out of the settlement, however, they found five massive Panther Tanks directly in front of them.
Myra heard one of the group yell, “LOOK-OUT!” but it was too late. The lead tank’s machinegun fired a burst that hit Ricochet. The veteran militiaman cried out and fell to the ground. Jason shouted for the rest of the group to run. Beatrice grabbed her brother and Myra by the hand and took off with them. The young she-elf looked back and saw Jason carrying his friend over his shoulders. Glowing green bullets snapped and cracked over their heads.
After they had taken refuge in a ditch by the road, Jason and Beatrice attempted to save Ricochet’s life by plugging his wounds with their hands. All three of them were soon covered in red stains. Myra had never seen so much blood in her life! She couldn’t take her eyes off the dying man.
“Forget… it… Jason…” Ricochet slurred to his friend. “It’s… too… late…”
“Don’t you dare say that!” Jason screamed. “We’re saving your life!”
“I’m finished… you know that…” Ricochet protested weakly.
“SHUT UP, RICOCHET!” roared Jason. “YOU CAN’T DIE WITHOUT MY PERMISSION! I WON’T LET YOU!”
Ricochet smiled up at his young friend. The man looked very calm and peaceful.
“You take care of yourself, Jason,” said Ricochet. “You get your friends out of here! I’ll see you later…Good-bye… and good luck…”
Ricochet uttered a spluttering cough and a painful rasp. He died with a smile on his face.
“NO!” screamed Jason as he fought back tears that were welling up in his eyes. “NO! NO!”
The ground shook as the five large tanks slowly rumbled towards the ditch. Enraged by Ricochet’s death, Jason jumped up with a roar and fired his tommy-gun at the lead tank. It was a pointless display because the bullets simply bounced off its armoured hull.
Shock-troopers followed closely behind the tanks. They surrounded the ditch and aimed their weapons at the four remaining friends.
“Come out with your hands up,” a Soolian captain called. “Your deaths will be quick if you do!”
“Damn you, Sooly!” Jason shouted.
He fired his last bullets towards the officer but the shells missed their target.
“Slaughter those indignant pigs,” the captain ordered.
Myra’s heart raced with fear as she crouched in the ditch. She covered her head with her hands and braced herself.
‘I’m going to die!’ she thought as she listened to the shock-troopers approaching. She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.
As the Soolians edged their way closer to the ditch, Jason, out of sheer desperation, began to throw stones at them. When there were no more rocks he resorted to tossing his empty weapons and even his helmet at the enemy. But again it was to no avail. The Soolians just laughed as they readied their weapons.
“Fix bayonets!” a shock-trooper called out. “Stick ’em to death!”
Jason looked at Myra and his cousins. His face was ashen grey and his eyes with wide in terror. This was the first time that Myra had ever seen Jason truly scared in her life.
“I’m sorry…” was all he could say.
As the shock-troopers drew nearer both Daniel and Myra crouched down as low as they could. Both Beatrice and Jason did their best to cover the children with their own bodies.
“I love you,” said Jason. “All of you.”
Myra wanted to say that she loved him too but she couldn’t speak. Her voice had died in her throat. All she could uttered was a whimper. As the sound of the Soolians footfalls drew closer Myra could feel both Beatrice and Jason brace themselves.
‘This is it!’ thought Myra as she closed her eyes.
Suddenly a deep and powerful voice boomed out, “I AM AMARON! HEAR MY ROAR AND DISPAIR!”
Myra open her eyes and looked up to see the young dragon bull that hurtling out of the sky. A great river of fire exploded from his maw as he uttered a deafening roar. The flames engulfed the shock-troopers and their tanks. The men flailed wildly as they turned to ashes. The tanks exploded as their ammunition and fuel caught fire. The few remaining shock-troopers threw down their weapons and fled screaming into the surrounding grasslands.
Amaron landed with a great thud that shook the earth. He threw back his massive horned head and roared in victory. Moments later, Twizel and her little Whelpling alit close by.
“Amaron,” Twizel called to her brother. “Let the teacher down. He’s getting airsick.”
“It’s not my fault that he can’t stomach flying,” snarled Amaron.
The gray dragon lowered his body to allow a hooded figure to jump to the ground.
Myra couldn’t believe that the two dragons were speaking to each other in words she could understand. She had only heard them growling and roaring when they had previously conversed. Then the hooded figure removed the cloak and Myra saw who had been riding Amaron.
“Mr. Goatmen?” she cried out.
“Yes, Myra, it is I,” replied her teacher with a smile. “I believe I owe you an explanation or two…”
Chapter 5
All In Due Time…
Myra and the others sat tensely in the observation room of Mr. Goatmen’s tower. The grasslands were burning outside as the shock-troopers set fire to the settlements and the surrounding fields. Huge columns of pitch black smoke rose into the sky, blocking out most of the sunlight. Darkness had fallen on the Agro-Caelestis.
The shortwave radio was currently broadcasting a message from the Soolian Empire that justified its sudden invasion.
The announcer said, “The Agro Confederation has refused to remove its armed forces from the vicinity of our embassies and sovereign territory. Its blatant disregard for Imperial law has forced our hand. The many acts of aggression committed towards us can no longer be tolerated! Therefore we take possession of the Agro-Caelestis and frankly abolish the former government known as the Confederation!”
“That’s horse hockey and they know it!” snorted Daniel. “What did we ever do to them?”
“Agreed,” said Jason. “They’re lying through their teeth, as per usual.”
The broadcaster continued to rant, “In spite of overwhelming odds our gallant heroes have met the enemy and are even now driving them into the sea! The armies of the Agro Confederation are falling before our legionaries like wheat before a scythe! Our shock-troopers are driving the militia before them like cattle! Our panzer divisions are crushing their tanks with ease! Our airmen are shooting down their warplanes like flies! The Soolian Empire is invulnerable! The Soolian Empire is undefeatable! The Soolian Empire conquers all who stands against it! Long live the Soolian Empire! Long live our glorious armies! Long live our invincible commanders! Long live our immortal God-Emperor! All hail Emperor Sablanca the 26th! All hail the Master-Race! Hail! Hail! Hail!”
“Mr. Goatmen,” growled Jason, “either you turn that damn thing off or I’m going to chuck it out the window!”
Mr. Goatmen paid no attention to Jason but continued listening to the broadcast.
The national anthem of the Soolian Empire began to play over the shortwave.
O Soolia
O Soolia
How sweetly your name sounds!
O Soolia
O Soolia
For you we shall win renown!
O Empire
O Empire
Forged for mankind’s sake!
O Empire
O Empire
The whole world we shall take!
Soolia is everything!
We shall kill her enemies!
And the whole world will bow before us!
Our power we shall keep in sacred trust!
“That does it!” snarled Jason as he stood up. “Out the window you go!”
“Please don’t destroy my radio,” Mr. Goatmen said. “I had a difficult time getting it.”
“Then turn it off!” said Jason as he sat back down. “I’m not listening to that garbage any longer!”
“Very well,” said Mr. Goatmen as he switched it off.
“Are you going to give me some explanations?” Myra asked.
“Oh dear me, where do I begin?” said Mr. Goatmen. “How does one express one’s entire life’s work in the space of a few minutes? The best place to start is with the beginning, I suppose.”
“Stop asking yourself questions,” Jason interrupted, “and tell us what exactly is going on here!”
“I was just about to start,” Mr. Goatmen replied.
“Myra,” he said to his student, “you and your friends have known me just as a teacher. But you do not know my other occupation. I am a member of an organization that has dedicated itself to fighting the Great Enemy.”
“You mean the Soolians?” interjected Jason.
“We fight them as well,” answered Mr. Goatmen. “But our true enemy is far more powerful than they are! In fact it holds the entire world in its grasp. The organization that I work for is also dedicated to finding and protecting you, Myra. The real Enemy that the organization is fighting is known by many names: The Great Darkness, The Malice of Wrath, The Evil One and The Great Deceiver. This Foe is the source of all the evil, darkness and despair that have corrupted the beauty and innocence of the world. This secret society and I have fought it with all our strength to prevent it from destroying the world entirely. My brothers and sisters in this fight have searched for you for over 12,000 years! We were told to search for you until we found you.”
