StoryTeller—This may be flash fiction, or something else. I am going to try to post about 1000-word episodes as best as I can. It will be raw, may need spell check, but this is me just writing out of pure thought between my longer novels. Maybe I will post the current draft of the novel I am working on as well. But for now, enjoy.
A link to Chapter 1 can be found here.
Chapter 2:
They poured out of the woodwork so to speak. Hundreds of Spore-Beast Children scattered out of the forest, and it was apparent why.
Smoke rose from the woods. The wind shifted sending the billowing haze toward our direction. We hopped out of the vehicles and maintained a perimeter.
They were children, I tell ya. Small animal hybrids of human and beast. One small Spore-Rabbit girl approached me crying. I unwrapped my scarf and placed it over her mouth to keep the smoke from choking her out.
“Fire. Spirit,” the girl said. I lifted her up into the truck.
A loud rancid sound from the forest drove goosebumps into my skin.
“What was that?” Tech-Sergeant Burrows said taking position in front of the humvee.
Lieutenant Matthews stood in front and raised his weapon. “Devonte, Michaels. Get those children out of here. Sanchez, Dante, take point. We found our target. Gordi, Port City did not mention a fire spirit.”
Gordi, a Spore-Bear of incredible size, raised his necklace from his chest. The crystals inbeded in the rope turned blood red and it dripped like venom onto the rocky dirt. “The Summoning is too late. The Elemental Spirit is rogue. We have no choice but to destroy it.”
The LT shifted his weapon. “Destroy it. That wasn’t our orders. We are to contain the threat and bring back for study.”
“By all means, visitor,” Gordi replied. “You can most certaintly try to keep your mission. But you will lose more than what you gain.”
A small hesitation, followed by another roar in the forest. The LT knelt beside Devonte who held the his weapon from one empty target to another. He grabbed the communicator from his backpack and tapped him on the shoulder before turning it on. “Covenant 6, Force 8.”
A chirp replied. “Covenant 6.”
“Objective change. Fire Elemental on sight. Proceed on trajectory?”
Static. Followed by another roar in the forest to answer the LT.
“Negative,” a new voice on the communicator. Sounds like Colonel Ray. “You are not equipped to handle a Fire Elemental. We are sending Resonance Crystals to your position. Once the threat is neutralized, continue toward your target. Then find that bastard.”
“Understood. Force 8 out.” The LT returned the comm back to Devonte.
“Hey,” Dante said standing next to me. His heat licked my skin causing me to sweat. “How big do you think it is?”
“Who knows,” I replied. “Probably no bigger than these children. What are they doing here?”
“I dont know bud,” Dante replied. “But it got them running for cover and this smoke is starting to cloud the area.” He turned to the LT. “LT, do you think we can stay here any longer with this smoke. I can’t see a damn thing.”
“Jeezus Corporal you whine too much.”
Michaels tied a bandana around his nose and mouth. “He has a point boss, the fire is getting worse there. How long before the supply drop?”
“I know,” LT replied. “Devonte, let them know we are changing positions—“ he checked his coordinates, “35 points north, around the base of that forest wall. Let’s pray that smoke doesn’t shift. Everybody, back in, we move out.”
The team poured into the vehicles. I opened my door and in my seat was the small Spore-Rabbit huddled looking out the plastic window. LT jumped in his seat, turned to the child. “Sanchez, quit playing and get that child out of the vehicle.”
“Come on friend, you can’t stay there,” I said to the girl. She raised her hand producing a greenish glow swirling from her paw. A force of wind blew me back onto the ground.
Devonte raised his weapon and Gordi pushed it back down. “Stop, she is favored by the Spirits. Do not harm or touch this child.”
“What the—“ LT replied. “Fine, either you carry her but we have to move before the—cough…” The smoke poured through the vents. “Let’s go!”
I made a second attempt to hop into the vehicle. She raised her paw again but this time I pushed her hand up, grabbed her around the waist and jumped into the seat. She squirmed but I held her tight. Devonte floored the petal and we pulled out of the smoke.
We traveled for ten minutes, half of them through the dark orange clouds. The girl calmed down after the smoke cleared and we were on the far side of the forest wall. The fire raged harder from this position. Whatever caused it was deep inside pushing animals and birds out of the area.
Devonte pointed his weapon into the forest. Each vehicle lined up next to each other, and what he saw before all of us did challenged my nerves.
A large raging fire tornado, with arms and a twister of fire wind for its body. It moved slowly through the area, the loud roars increased, breaking trees and carving a path of destruction.
Behind it, our target. Sabercon’s Victoria. The woman that brought one of our cells to their knees with her maniacal experiments.
LT grabbed the radio, “Covenant 6, Force 8. Eyes on target. Engaging—“
He didnt finish that statement. In all honesty, I wouldn’t have either. A huge circle of flame coned out in our direction.
“Get down!”