AL CLARK - Avalon -: (Book Two) Page 17

  The watchers had been useless because of the fog, and it was the fog that kept the security officers from seeing the predators until it was too late. Riktors, dogs, and birds attacked all at once. The birds dropped rocks, and the dogs herded the humans toward the Riktors, leaving the security team guarding the perimeter without a chance. The men put up a gallant fight, managing to take down two Riktors and a dog, but, in the end, they were overrun.

  The beasts overturned one of the buggies and the two men inside never made it to safety. They didn’t know what happened until there was a dinosaur screaming in their faces.

  Terror and his pack ran rampant through the village, roaring, stomping, biting, and swinging their tails; affecting as much damage as possible. The time they had been waiting for had finally arrived, and it was open season on the arrogant invaders.

  Kira was visiting friends in the village when the attack started and found herself face to face with a devil dog. She managed to kill her attacker when fear helped her discover she could make her legs run. She ran headlong into the dog, driving her spear all the way through before she realized stopping was a problem.

  She bowled the two hundred dog over and came out tumbling on the other side. For an instant, a smile formed on her lips, and then she, like everyone else, headed for the building at the center of Camelot. She reminded herself that she must start stopping sooner when she arrived.

  Toji had heard the commotion coming from the Kuthra village and could think of little else except that Kira was there. As quickly as he could, he rounded up five warriors to accompany him. It was a spur of the moment decision that took a little time to implement, but when they were finally ready, they ran through the tunnel connecting their caves to the Kuthra village, to be stopped by the still operational fence.

  “We must go around and find the opening. The monsters must have gotten in somewhere!” exclaimed Toji.

  Following the white posts, they ran the fence line and were just reaching the broken post when Terror came running from the village. The two enemies stopped, and faced each other; the native warriors tiny compared to the angry giant.

  Toji started the tactic that had worked the last time he and Kira faced a Riktor. They kept the beast confused with harrying strikes, stabbing and running back out of reach. Almost immediately, the Riktor’s swinging tail caught one of the warriors and threw him thirty feet away. He did not get up. One by one, the beast took down his friends, leaving only Terror and Toji dancing in the fog. When Terror tired of the dance, he reached down and bit off the top half of the petrified warrior.

  Toji had wanted to save Kira, to make her see how much he cared. What he had not considered, was the hunting party that won the battle previously had twelve members while his had only six. That they would run into the biggest Riktor in the valley, was just another piece of bad luck.

  Like the inner keep of a castle, the villagers retreated to the community center. The building was secure, made from native timber, and the doors reinforced after the last attack. With room enough inside for all, it was Camelot’s inner sanctuary.

  It took the Overlook exploration party twenty minutes to get back to Camelot. They dropped Al off at the outskirts and made for the landing pads behind the community center. The bright lights used to illuminate the outside of the compound were going out; smashed by the rampaging beasts. The sounds of death and destruction were getting closer when the captain landed, and someone held a back door open to the community center while they rushed through it, slamming the thick barrier closed behind them.

  When the captain and his party entered, the place was in chaos. Elizabeth, Ana, and Kayla followed the two doctors to see if they could help with the wounded. The captain and Chris went to get an update from security. Al’s second in command Sid was coordinating the retreat, his men getting people to shelter before seeking it themselves.

  The captain talked to Sid above the noise of the crowd, “How many creatures are we talking about?”

  “Our last count was six Riktors, two or three dogs, and a couple of the big birds, sir.”

  “They are not kidding around are they?”

  “No sir, they came from everywhere at once. The men could have done better if it weren’t for the fog—.”

  “Never mind all that right now. Casualties?”

  “Unknown at this point Captain, but I haven’t heard from any of the perimeter guards for ten minutes. I am assuming the worst. We are doing a headcount right now, to see who made it to the center, but so far, there are a lot of names that are going unanswered.”

  “Are you sending anybody out?”

  “No sir, I told the security team to clear and retreat.”

  “The captain nodded in agreement. “That’s good Sid. Well done. Let me know when you have more details.”

  “Will do Captain.”

  He turned to Chris and asked, “Want to go with me to help Al?”

  “Can you see well enough to fly?”

  “No, but we can use the radar.”

  “That’s not dangerous?”

  “Only if you hit something.”

  ****

  Al Clark changed before leaving the shuttle, making the transition from normal mode to enhanced in a hurry, the anger in him increasing the feeling of power. He kissed his wife, grabbed a rifle from the rack, and jumped from the shuttle at ten feet off the ground, his improved eyesight allowing him to see well enough to be scared. Now was not the time for fear. It could render you useless, so he filed it away for later.

  A wide debris field marked the creature’s path, with a straight line of destruction pointed at the center of the village. Al ran to catch up.

  The trail led to the biggest Riktor Al had ever come across, and it was tearing holes into somebody’s house. Inside he could hear a woman screaming and a man yelling. Al surprised the beast when he silently came up from behind and grabbed his tail. Turning around, it roared, and Al moved back—quickly.

  The rifle in Al’s hands went up, ready to fire, but this creature knew better than to present his head as a target. It backed up and turned around, trying to reach him with his tail, and keeping his vulnerable head safe behind its body.

  He attempted to get the beast to turn around; and fired a shot into its back, which only proved to increase its anger. But instead of turning to confront Al, the twelve-foot Riktor took three quick steps backward and swung his tail, catching Al by surprise with the spiked tip and sending him into the nearby trees.

  This was not the behavior Al had expected. It seemed to know what he wanted and had developed a strategy to combat it. This creature was special, and he thought this might be the leader of the hunting party terrorizing his village.

  Al picked himself up, adjusted his thinking accordingly, and tried circling. The beast would cut him off, all the while keeping his back to Al.

  Okay—this is getting ridiculous.

  He bent his legs and jumped, and he took a shot while he sailed over the beast. Faster than he would have thought possible, the creature moved his head away from the beam and jumped to the side. It was a sizable leap for one so large, and it put the two of them sixty feet apart.

  Terror faced him and roared. Al heard a modulated scream his audio systems automatically adjusted to, but all of Camelot heard him. It was a roar that screamed of anger and frustration.

  He did not get another chance to form an attack before Terror decided he had endured enough. He knew a losing battle when he saw one, and the biggest, meanest, beast in the valley ran. He had accomplished what he wanted and knew the invader’s pack would be much smaller when Terror returned. That was good enough for now.

  The door of the habitat house crept open, and a head popped out; looking around.

  For a moment, Al was too astonished to move—he had never had one run away before. He quickly recovered and without wasting time, gathered up the people from the house and made a run for the community center. His highest priority was to get them to safety, and then he woul
d deal with the monsters.

  ****

  There were places where the fog thinned, and with the help of a powerful spotlight, Chris and the captain could see down to the ground. Paths of destruction left nothing untouched, leaving broken pieces of houses, trees, glass, and mangled humans littered in its wake.

  The first animal they found was a large Riktor busy finishing a meal of human flesh. The captain hovered overhead while Chris took a shot, but the beast moved its head. The second and third shots did not, hitting it in the neck. It stumbled, and the creature tried to dodge the laser bolts, weaving its head back and forth as it broke into a run.

  A thunderous roar made the animal stop and tilt its head, making it appear confused. It bellowed back and made like it was going back to the fence, at which point Chris got a clean shot, and it fell before it completed its cry for help.

  Chris and the captain didn’t know they just killed Terrors mate, but the big Riktor did. He had heard her scream, and how that scream had ended.

  Another loud roar echoed through the village, and the surviving attackers ran for the break in the fence, leaving with full bellies and the invader’s home in ruins.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The village leadership was huddled together inside one of the classrooms of the community center. Al arrived and left two exhausted and panting citizens in the care of the medical staff and joined them in the classroom.

  When Chris and the captain could find no more targets, they landed just outside the landing pads and made their way inside; winding their way through the debris of two shuttlecrafts scattered across the landing area.

  Al was standing by the door and noticed a subtle change in the level of noise in the room. “I think they might be gone.”

  The sound of scared and upset people filled the room and made it difficult to hear, so he stepped outside into the dark. He blocked the commotion by closing the door and was pleased to hear nothing but the sound of rain. What had been a light drizzle had grown stronger and become rain, and the fog was dissolving. It appeared the attack was over.

  With a nod from the captain, Al had his men do a sweep, to check for predators that might not have run away. On their return, they entered quietly, still trying to deal with the scope of what they had seen. They reported the bodies of four dead Riktors, two devil dogs, and countless humans.

  Chris asked Al, “How many do you think got away?”

  “The original estimate was eight, so more than likely half of them got away…and I think one dog. I don’t believe anybody even got a shot at the birds.”

  Hearing that, the captain made a suggestion, “I think we should stay here tonight, and do the damage assessment in the morning.”

  Everyone agreed, and the leader of the colony requested the podium be set up in the center of the auditorium. It was his job as the mayor to address the frightened people gathered in the auditorium. They needed information on the tragedy they had just experienced. Some were crying, some were resolutely doing what they could for the injured and consoling the relatives of those still missing. Some were in a state of shock. By the scant number of people in the bleachers, many had not made it to safety.

  “Attention everyone! We will be staying here until morning. Only trained security personnel are to go outside. They will be searching for survivors and making an initial assessment of our situation.”

  “Why can’t we go outside? My wife is missing, and she might need help,” yelled one distraught man.

  “The information we have so far suggests they attacked with no less than eight Riktors and three large canines. We have found the bodies of four Riktors and two dogs. There is still a hole in our fence, and those that escaped could come back. It is too dangerous right now to go walking around outside.”

  “I will not wait until—,” a young woman started to object.

  The captain cut her off, “It is raining and dark outside, with most of the outside lighting destroyed. We have a list of names and have checked off everyone here. Security will be looking for those not checked off the list, so please remain calm, and try to get some sleep. I am afraid tomorrow will be a difficult day.”

  ****

  It rained all night, washing away the blood from the slaughter. The sun came up, and the rain stopped as if on cue. In the clear light of day, the colonists could clearly see how much they had lost. There were bodies everywhere. Some were caught as they ran along the paths leading to the center, and only partially eaten. In the trees, they found bodies thrown there like dolls. One couple didn’t make it past the door of their own home, and a few tried to fight back with fatal results.

  They lost close to fifty percent of the population that night. In a small village such as Camelot, there were few strangers and nobody was left untouched. They organized a funeral detail, but it was mostly friends and family that carried the bodies of the dead to a designated place next to the community center for a short ceremony. With so many to be buried, a large hole was dug, and the bodies placed gently inside. A mass grave for a failed community.

  The captain assigned a team to repair the fence, and Chris and Edward took a shuttle to Overlook to fabricate parts for the fence and perimeter lighting. Jesse Alvarado volunteered to fly them, and because the captain needed to stay in Camelot, they gladly accepted.

  They had two working shuttles, and a team was assigned to make one working shuttle out of the two damaged ones. Each craft was capable of transporting twenty-five people, so their functionality was considered critical.

  Al was on his way back from briefing his men and on his way to check on Kira when he got the call. “It appears we have some native casualties Chief,” reported Sid. “We found six bodies, and I think one of them is Toji—that friend of Kira’s. They had spears sir, and it looks like they were trying to help.”

  Al did not know Toji well, but it sounded like something he might do. Poor Kira, he thought, this is going to be hard for her. Someone had to tell her, and since he was on the way there, he decided it would be him. It was just one more unpleasant duty on a list of unpleasant things that he would have to do in the days to come.

  Walking through what the beasts had destroyed, a searing anger rose within him. It seemed the beasts were there not only to feed but to kill and destroy. Along with the anger came a growing sadness, when he began to realize that Camelot might not be defendable against predators that were capable of plotting against them, and why the Sansi had so long ago opted to make their homes in the stone caves.

  ****

  He found Kira at the clinic, trying to help save the people she once thought of as gods. She was in her wheelchair next to a patient and changing bloody bandages when Al walked up to her.

  “Hello, Mister Clark,” she said with an upturned face and a tired smile. Then the smile grew, and she added, “My legs worked! I was running, and I even killed a Devil Dog!”

  The smile she gave him was contagious, and he grinned himself, only to have it fade. This twenty-year-old girl did not deserve what he had to tell her. She had slowly integrated herself into their society, her awe eventually replaced with familiarity, and, in turn, she had lost the closeness she once shared with her people.

  She was a child caught between two cultures, without belonging to either. Then she lost her legs defending his people. Now he had to tell her of Toji and the other warriors. He put it off, if only for a little while.

  “Why the wheelchair? I thought you said they worked?”

  “Doctor Florida said I must rest. He seemed quite positive.”

  “Positive?”

  “Yes very positive.”

  “He was mad at you?”

  “No, not mad—he was positive. He said I should not have been running, and his voice was quite forceful.”

  Al grinned and then asked, “What did it feel like to run?”

  She appeared thoughtful for a second and said, “It was kind of like my legs were doing everything, and I was only trying to hang on. I need to practice mak
ing them stop.”

  Now he laughed. He could not help it. “Yes Kira, it is vital that you learn to stop.”

  He briefly considered waiting to give her the bad news, but inevitably he would have to tell her, so he blurted it out, knowing when they laid Toji to rest she would need to be there.

  Afterward, she lost all expression on her face and stared into the distance for a moment. Then she looked back up, with fear in her eyes. “Toji?”

  “Yes Kira, I think he was coming to help you.”

  “My Toji?”

  Al said nothing, giving her a little time with her thoughts.

  “I must go home,” she said.

  “Yes, Kira, I think you should. I’ll take you there myself.”

  Ten minutes later, they were on their way to the tunnel leading to the Sansi caves.

  ****

  Later in the afternoon of that first day, the village leaders gathered at the mostly undamaged captain’s house. They were all tired and emotionally exhausted, but a course of action was required, and decisions needed to be made. The ruined village outside the picture window reminded them of the urgency. Robot Nine served drinks and was assigned to record the proceedings because what they decided here would affect everyone on Avalon.

  “Are they going to be able to fix the fence?” the captain asked Al.

  “I think so, but it will be getting close to dark.”

  “Lighting?”

  Chris answered, “We put together ten high output mining floodlights, some headlamps, and twenty charged flashlights.”

  “Do we have a final list of casualties?”

  Cody said, “As of right now, we have four hundred and thirty-eight deaths, with two in intensive care that I believe are going to recover.”