Chapter 34
Karen was ready to go by the time Marcus arrived. Isaac and Liz both jumped off a hundred feet in the air as always, but some of the men below them did not know that it was the norm. Isaac and Liz both ran to the command tent where they were to receive their maps. As Marcus took his time landing, he looked around the base. It was a large field of green with twenty by fifteen tents scattered around the area.
Over a thousand men came to aid in their departure, and many of them were both afraid and exited. Marcus landed at the south side of the camp where no tents could hinder his landing. As soon as he touched the ground, a boy Marcus recognized as the child who led him before ran up to him. This meeting was different, as the boy was not nearly as nervous and he seemed to be in a good mood. He yelled to Marcus so he could hear over the commotion, “We gotta go to the western tents. Once we get your radio fitted, we go to the north tent where Colson wants to talk to you ‘bout some stuff. Last, you go to the eastern tents to pick up the angel.”
The boy’s last statement reminded Marcus of the boy from Mitch’s island. It seemed every little boy saw Liz as an angel and Marcus as a guardian. They were right, to a point.
Marcus walked over to a large tent with the boy both ahead and behind him. Three engineers walked out of a tent with a large black box and a lot of wiring. A fourth came out with a seven foot long antenna with three rings of similar diameter to his horns welded to the side. Marcus lowered his head and the engineers stopped walking. Marcus said, “Do not be afraid. I am your friend and companion as long as you do not prove otherwise.”
They stated to walk forward again and they placed the antenna on his upper left horn with the black box placed at the tip of his ear. A wire went from the box to a small red orb that one of the braver engineers spun around his left fang (which happened to be thicker than the engineer).
When the radio was on his head, Marcus could hear a broadcasted emergency service announcement followed by static and a man’s voice saying, “Can you hear me now?”
“Loud and clear.”
“Good.”
The engineers inspected the radio again and ensured Marcus that it would definitely maybe not break and electrocute him. After another few tests, one of the engineers handed the boy a radio and sent them on their way. At the second tent, Colson was yelling at a group of young soldiers about how to follow orders. he brandished a weapon and tried to fire it at the group. Marcus moved his tail into the line of fire to avoid any unneeded casualties and he turned his attention to him. he said, “What the hell was that for? How am I supposed to teach these dogs discipline when you come in and save their asses every time?”
“I will not let you kill an innocent human. Death is a release, not a punishment. Have them do a full circuit around the island, and ask Dragoon to keep pace.”
Dragoon, who was lying in a corner with Mish on top of him, sprang to life and threw his wife to the side. He said, “Alright, last one to the first checkpoint is lunch.”
The men broke ranks and ran as Dragoon gave chase. Marcus knew that he valued human life and would not be so quick to kill one. Mish turned invisible and Marcus saw her outline slide off to the side. She would no doubt make haste to the other side of the island to raise her own kind of hell against both the poor soldiers and her husband.
When Mish was gone, Marcus turned to Colson. Colson said, “Wait for Karen, I will only tell you this once, so I’ll only say it when both of you are here.”
Karen ran over with her own headpiece in place. The antenna ran all the way down to the end of her giant silk tail. Marcus looked down the length of the antenna and Karen said, “What are you looking at?”
“Nothing, I was simply wondering how they were able to make the antenna match your feathers.”
Colson said, “Yeah, yeah, you both would make a wonderful couple. We have some important information to cover, so please pay attention.”
A large map was presented of the world. Colson drew a red line from San Francisco to Hawaii, and then from Hawaii to Australia and then to India and the Middle East to Baghdad. He said, “Karen, you and Isaac will take this path and stop at Baghdad until Marcus and Liz arrive. Marcus, you and Liz will follow this path.”
Colson drew a line from Hawaii to Japan, and then from there to China. The path then moved from China to eastern Russia. Colson said, “There are over a thousand small defensible fortresses in Russia, so you will probably take a more jagged path than Karen. Only help the larger fortresses and leave the lesser ones for the larger to aid. After you hit this point, start to go south to Baghdad. When the two of you meet head for Sicily. That is where most of the fighting is taking place. If they haven’t already, create a ceasefire. If they refuse…use your imagination. Now both of you go pick up your riders and be out of my sight half an hour ago.”
Marcus and Karen walked to where Liz and Isaac were standing. They were all more than ready to go. Liz said, “They wanted to give us a course on safety of flight. Can you believe that? They wanted us to give you seatbelts.”
“Safety Sam Says!”
“Safety Sam is a pedophile,” Isaac remarked, “that’s why he wants your children to be safe.”
When Isaac and Liz were both in place, Karen and Marcus took flight. Marcus looked down and saw a piece of gold fly down a street at an excess of fifty miles per hour. Demetrius was carrying Marcus’s father on his back. When they reached the shoreline, Dem howled and his father waved his goodbyes from atop Dem’s massive hairdo.
An hour later, when dry land was nowhere in sight, Karen landed on Marcus’s back and Isaac walked up to Liz. They both had identical computers. Each one had their individual map markers for major cities and smaller markers for lesser settlements. When their lesson was completed, Isaac wished Liz good luck and moved in to kiss her.
Before they made contact, Marcus did a barrel role and kicked Isaac with a building-sized foot and sent him spiraling through the air. Karen caught him and his computer and Liz caught hers. No other event of consequence occurred on the trip to Hawaii. They reached the island by midnight, and the fires were an obvious sign that all was no well in paradise.
A hundred cannons fired at them and they steered clear of the island. Karen and Marcus parted ways. They had to save not a small group of survivors in a remote location, but hundreds of millions of people fighting for their lives every day. Every person they save is a living soul, and every one of them, as Marcus thought, deserved to live. For adventure, for hope, for survival, and for each other, they flew off into the wild blue yonder.
Back at San Francisco, hundreds of millions of undead blood sank beneath the waves of the bay. Much of the flesh stayed live because of the water’s warmth and much of it still wished to feed. By some unknown force with strength and will greater than anything to ever live, the flesh came together and the blood filled the undead veins. A great kraken was born within the deepest cavern of the underground military complex. It bore hundreds of great tentacles with arms for grabbing prey. When the beast was completed, it took up the entire mile-wide chamber.
It was hungry for flesh, and a small crack in the wall was the only sign that food existed. It pressed every fleshy tentacle into the crevice and pulled apart. The hole began to widen as the only true foe of its creator left this domain for another.
Over a thousand men came to aid in their departure, and many of them were both afraid and exited. Marcus landed at the south side of the camp where no tents could hinder his landing. As soon as he touched the ground, a boy Marcus recognized as the child who led him before ran up to him. This meeting was different, as the boy was not nearly as nervous and he seemed to be in a good mood. He yelled to Marcus so he could hear over the commotion, “We gotta go to the western tents. Once we get your radio fitted, we go to the north tent where Colson wants to talk to you ‘bout some stuff. Last, you go to the eastern tents to pick up the angel.”
The boy’s last statement reminded Marcus of the boy from Mitch’s island. It seemed every little boy saw Liz as an angel and Marcus as a guardian. They were right, to a point.
Marcus walked over to a large tent with the boy both ahead and behind him. Three engineers walked out of a tent with a large black box and a lot of wiring. A fourth came out with a seven foot long antenna with three rings of similar diameter to his horns welded to the side. Marcus lowered his head and the engineers stopped walking. Marcus said, “Do not be afraid. I am your friend and companion as long as you do not prove otherwise.”
They stated to walk forward again and they placed the antenna on his upper left horn with the black box placed at the tip of his ear. A wire went from the box to a small red orb that one of the braver engineers spun around his left fang (which happened to be thicker than the engineer).
When the radio was on his head, Marcus could hear a broadcasted emergency service announcement followed by static and a man’s voice saying, “Can you hear me now?”
“Loud and clear.”
“Good.”
The engineers inspected the radio again and ensured Marcus that it would definitely maybe not break and electrocute him. After another few tests, one of the engineers handed the boy a radio and sent them on their way. At the second tent, Colson was yelling at a group of young soldiers about how to follow orders. he brandished a weapon and tried to fire it at the group. Marcus moved his tail into the line of fire to avoid any unneeded casualties and he turned his attention to him. he said, “What the hell was that for? How am I supposed to teach these dogs discipline when you come in and save their asses every time?”
“I will not let you kill an innocent human. Death is a release, not a punishment. Have them do a full circuit around the island, and ask Dragoon to keep pace.”
Dragoon, who was lying in a corner with Mish on top of him, sprang to life and threw his wife to the side. He said, “Alright, last one to the first checkpoint is lunch.”
The men broke ranks and ran as Dragoon gave chase. Marcus knew that he valued human life and would not be so quick to kill one. Mish turned invisible and Marcus saw her outline slide off to the side. She would no doubt make haste to the other side of the island to raise her own kind of hell against both the poor soldiers and her husband.
When Mish was gone, Marcus turned to Colson. Colson said, “Wait for Karen, I will only tell you this once, so I’ll only say it when both of you are here.”
Karen ran over with her own headpiece in place. The antenna ran all the way down to the end of her giant silk tail. Marcus looked down the length of the antenna and Karen said, “What are you looking at?”
“Nothing, I was simply wondering how they were able to make the antenna match your feathers.”
Colson said, “Yeah, yeah, you both would make a wonderful couple. We have some important information to cover, so please pay attention.”
A large map was presented of the world. Colson drew a red line from San Francisco to Hawaii, and then from Hawaii to Australia and then to India and the Middle East to Baghdad. He said, “Karen, you and Isaac will take this path and stop at Baghdad until Marcus and Liz arrive. Marcus, you and Liz will follow this path.”
Colson drew a line from Hawaii to Japan, and then from there to China. The path then moved from China to eastern Russia. Colson said, “There are over a thousand small defensible fortresses in Russia, so you will probably take a more jagged path than Karen. Only help the larger fortresses and leave the lesser ones for the larger to aid. After you hit this point, start to go south to Baghdad. When the two of you meet head for Sicily. That is where most of the fighting is taking place. If they haven’t already, create a ceasefire. If they refuse…use your imagination. Now both of you go pick up your riders and be out of my sight half an hour ago.”
Marcus and Karen walked to where Liz and Isaac were standing. They were all more than ready to go. Liz said, “They wanted to give us a course on safety of flight. Can you believe that? They wanted us to give you seatbelts.”
“Safety Sam Says!”
“Safety Sam is a pedophile,” Isaac remarked, “that’s why he wants your children to be safe.”
When Isaac and Liz were both in place, Karen and Marcus took flight. Marcus looked down and saw a piece of gold fly down a street at an excess of fifty miles per hour. Demetrius was carrying Marcus’s father on his back. When they reached the shoreline, Dem howled and his father waved his goodbyes from atop Dem’s massive hairdo.
An hour later, when dry land was nowhere in sight, Karen landed on Marcus’s back and Isaac walked up to Liz. They both had identical computers. Each one had their individual map markers for major cities and smaller markers for lesser settlements. When their lesson was completed, Isaac wished Liz good luck and moved in to kiss her.
Before they made contact, Marcus did a barrel role and kicked Isaac with a building-sized foot and sent him spiraling through the air. Karen caught him and his computer and Liz caught hers. No other event of consequence occurred on the trip to Hawaii. They reached the island by midnight, and the fires were an obvious sign that all was no well in paradise.
A hundred cannons fired at them and they steered clear of the island. Karen and Marcus parted ways. They had to save not a small group of survivors in a remote location, but hundreds of millions of people fighting for their lives every day. Every person they save is a living soul, and every one of them, as Marcus thought, deserved to live. For adventure, for hope, for survival, and for each other, they flew off into the wild blue yonder.
Back at San Francisco, hundreds of millions of undead blood sank beneath the waves of the bay. Much of the flesh stayed live because of the water’s warmth and much of it still wished to feed. By some unknown force with strength and will greater than anything to ever live, the flesh came together and the blood filled the undead veins. A great kraken was born within the deepest cavern of the underground military complex. It bore hundreds of great tentacles with arms for grabbing prey. When the beast was completed, it took up the entire mile-wide chamber.
It was hungry for flesh, and a small crack in the wall was the only sign that food existed. It pressed every fleshy tentacle into the crevice and pulled apart. The hole began to widen as the only true foe of its creator left this domain for another.