Chapter 24
Z’Keni led Dylan and Norm farther up the mountain in one hour than they had gone in almost an entire day. With a lifetime of knowledge, the diminutive warrior made it his job to keep them safe from whatever other murderous creatures hunted them and guide the new Scion on his journey.
“We are almost there,” Z’Keni said. The sun continued its path westward, ushering in a new wave of shadows.
“So, you’re still gonna keep us in the dark about who this friend is?” Norm bent over for a quick rest.
“Yes.” Z’Keni chuckled and halted. “Get down,” he whispered and placed his ear against a tree. “Run! Now!”
“Here we go again!” Reluctantly, Norm broke into a sprint, his legs aching from his toes to his butt. Dylan glided effortlessly beside him; his eyes fixed on Shasta’s peak.
Already exhausted, Norm looked back for Z’Keni. “Hey! Where’d the little guy go?”
“I don’t know, but I can feel what he’s talking about! It’s bad, like really bad!” They ran for only a few seconds, when a low-pitched screeching noise rattled the rocks around them.
“What the hell is that?” Norm stopped, the metal-on-metal sound coming from all directions.
Dylan slowed his pace, listening, when a distorted, rustling whir broke to his left. Branches and rock cracked and snapped like a demolition site. A pair of trees shook and were obliterated, a storm of dust, sticks and rocks swirling in the air. The turtle-like beast spun through the destruction like a tornado, slurping up whatever it shredded, tearing a path toward the boys.
“Go! Go! Go!” Dylan pushed Norm up the incline. The creature’s screech was deafening, disorienting. They ran for only a few steps when Norm came to a dead halt. “Why are you stopping?” Dylan yelled over the cacophony.
“That’s why!” Norm pointed to another spinning creature closing in from the trail above them. He picked up a branch, though he didn’t think it would do much good against the thing destroying it touched like some demonic lawn mower. Wider than it was tall, the gray mottled carapace with spike-tipped tentacles whipping like unmanned fire hoses ripped across the mountainside. A dizzying bedlam to behold, the abomination resembled a giant turtle crossed with a squid and weed whacker.
“Tasm-alien-octo-turtles?” Norm drew the branch back. Ready to swing.
Dylan almost laughed, but in the face of danger, he balled his fists, igniting a surge of white-blue flame down his arms, displaying more control of his new ability. They stood back-to-back, each facing one horror.
It tore through the trees, wildly writhing tentacles destroying whatever they touched. Dylan barely dodged the blood-gutter’s first flurry when a second tore into his chest, snapping one of the backpack straps, splattering blood across his shirt. Too many tentacles. He dove to avoid another blow and rolled awkwardly, losing the backpack in the process. The creature moved in front of it, blocking Dylan. He abandoned the pack when the beast came at him again. Trying to evade another hit, he side-stepped into a wildly writhing arm. Dylan clutched the beast’s spike, avoiding the tentacle’s underside covered in rows of tiny whirling metal beaks. There was no time to wonder why a living creature would have metal in it. Another spike stabbed at his face. He snatched it with his other hand, holding fast.
Norm dodged to the side and stumbled over a root. He sprang, swung the branch, smashing the tentacle into a splinter storm. The beast rushed him, knocking him hard to the ground, ready to turn him into hamburger meat, when a wisp of light flashed. Su’So spinning above him. He smashed the creature’s carapace with his staff, its tentacles trembled and fell limp. The stunned beast drew them in like a retractable hose, locking itself in an impenetrable shell.
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“Up the hill, now!” Su’So ordered.
“What about Dylan?”
“We will protect the Scion. Go!” Su’So barked. Z’Keni materialized behind the creature, striking it with his staff before the tentacles slithered out again. Norm slipped by it carefully but couldn’t resist wailing a softball sized rock into the monster before heading up the trail.
With fists aflame, Dylan blocked the tentacles. His shoulder throbbed, his healing ability already working overtime to mend his wounds from the void. Z’Keni and Su’So leaped into the fray, smacking the creature, causing it to withdraw into its shell. Su’So wedged his staff under the beast’s shell and flipped it over, revealing an insect like underbelly with multiple pairs of rotating pincher-tipped legs. Z’Keni guided Dylan up the mountain with Su’So guarding the rear.
After only a few seconds, the tentacles slithered out and righted the terrapin-beast. The trio caught up to Norm, who was trudging against gravity, fatigue, and hunger. The Menehune, blessed with amazing strength, belying their diminutive size, propped Norm up like a giant doll being carried by children.
“Isn’t there a- tree we can hide in?” Norm huffed, his feet dragging beneath him.
“Our friend-.” Z’Keni’s words were choked off. Clouds blotted the sun. They doubled over, clutching for air. One by one, they fell to the ground, drowning in nothingness.
The void had timed their trap perfectly, leaping like jackals onto the path. Three hissing demons sensed the feast before them and pounced on Dylan, his mouth frozen in a silent scream. He tried to conjure his power, the grip of darkness a tightening noose. The void shrieked with delight at the taste of his life force when a ring of light exploded overhead, bathing them in its brilliance.
“Back to your hole, beast!” A female voice rang from beyond the flash.
Despite his distorted senses, Dylan found a strange familiarity in her tone. The void cowered from the hovering luminescence, retreating into the trees. The sparkling ring of glowing dust fell like mist, encompassing the entire area.
With the void gone, the unbearable screech returned, tentacles blasting chunks of tree and rock into the air as the turtle-mowers come to shred their prey.
“Behind me!” Su’So said, spinning his staff like a propeller until it blurred like a fan blade. He blocked spike after spike, grinding like a metal shop, sparks showering the tiny warrior. They reeked of death and burnt steel. Z’Keni retrieved his staff and joined his fellow Menehune, protecting the boys.
“Up the mountain!” Su’So urged, blocking the rapid fire, whirling tentacles.
“Did you hear that voice?” Dylan asked, trailing Norm over the rough terrain, unable to shake the voice ringing in his mind. “It must be their friend.”
Norm had barely caught his wind when he stumbled to his knees. “I can’t keep-”
“Norm,” The color drained from Dylan’s face. “Stop!”
“What- now?” Norm asked when he heard the armored boots crunch toward him. “You gotta be kidding me.” Vorgan pointed a massive, twisted steel blaster at Norm’s head. Two other raiders aimed theirs at Dylan.
“This could be over by now, Scion,” Vorgan grumbled. “Now we all suffer. At least my blood-gutters will have fresh meat this day.”
“I guess I’ll have mine, too.” Seeing Norm helpless, Dylan’s rage surged, his eyes crackling with energy.
Vorgan smiled, glaring at Dylan, the gun at Norm’s head, his finger tightening on the trigger. “We shall see, Guar-”
A snarling mass of gray and white fur crashed into the raiders.
A bear? The Terovians scattered, protecting themselves from their unknown attacker. Vorgan fired his blaster, cinders exploding from the trees. The gray blur clamped its fangs down on one of the raiders and shook, snapping his neck instantly. Vorgan wheeled to fire when it grabbed his forearm, thrashing him down the incline.
The Menehune managed to flip the blood-gutters on their back and kicked them down the slope. Su’So helped Z’Keni, his leg bleeding.
Disoriented, Vorgan let out a war-cry and turned his gun toward Dylan. A studded staff crushed the Terovian’s jaw, smashing one side of his facial spikes. Vorgan writhed in obvious pain, his targets escaping.
“This way.” The female voice called. They drew on every bit of adrenaline, scrambling toward the source.
Su’So motioned them toward a pile of boulders formed by an avalanche and hurled his staff like a spear into the center. The giant rocks shimmered, revealing another hidden passage. Dylan, Norm, and the Menehune needed no invitation and dove into the cavern, much larger than either of the other passages. The entrance had nearly resealed itself, when two shadows sprang through its translucent veil, joining them in the darkness.