Chapter 22 — The Importance of Flying

  The nearest town was almost thirty miles south, through endless thick forests and over steep hills. Alden wasn't totally out of shape, but it was going to be a hard run. If he was even still travelling south. He'd known the train station was the north end of town, and tried to keep it behind him as he went, but who knew if he was still running in a straight line since he'd plunged into the trees?

  It didn't matter in the end. There was no way he was setting foot inside Rallsburg ever again. He had to escape. To stay was suicide, or worse. He hadn't brought any food or water. He had left all his clothes and things back at the apartment. He knew full well that fleeing in a blind panic was foolhardy—and yet his legs kept pumping.

  A particularly thick tree root at an odd angle managed to trip him. His mind hurtled into the pool of energy he recognized as magic, and he grabbed his entire body. With a heave that rattled his bones, he flung himself upright again, changing direction in mid-air. Alden didn't fall. He just kept running.

  Alden wasn't even sure there was a town in thirty miles. He was relying on the vague memory of a few satellite maps on the internet. It could be just a patch of roads or a named intersection that never had anything built. At this time of night, he wasn't likely to flag down a passing car, so neither of those did him any good. He'd have to keep going. He could run a six minute mile on a good day, but this was longer than a marathon. Already, the distance seemed incredibly daunting, but with the adrenaline pumping through his veins, he felt like he could make it.

  He never had a chance to find out.

  As Alden passed a tree, he tripped yet again on an unusually large dark lump jutting out of the ground. He was about to catch himself, but the lump moved. He heard a familiar grunt of pain. Alden was so shocked he crashed heavily into the dirt.

  "...the fuck?" Viper hissed, twisting around slightly to look at him. He was wearing dark green modern military camouflage and his face was dabbed with dark paint. He'd been laying in a concealed position, watching across a moonlit expanse in the trees. His one good arm held a pistol.

  Alden started to scramble away, but Viper grabbed one of his ankles.

  "No, stop, I have to get away from here—" Alden stammered. He was practically begging at this point. Anything to let him keep running.

  "Be quiet."

  "Let me go!" Alden shouted.

  "Kid, shut the fuck up!" Viper snapped under his breath. It was too late.

  A pile of loose twigs and branches in the center of the moonlit area began to rise up from the floor, as if the ground itself were erupting underneath them. A hulking, faceless golem slowly emerged. Silently, it rotated on the pillar of material where its legs should have been, and it began to slide toward them.

  "Shit." Viper clicked a small cord that was attached to his hand in the sling. "Weapons green."

  A rifle crack echoed through the forest. The golem's torso was flung violently to the side. It toppled over—but only seconds later, it was already pulling itself back up.

  Viper scrambled to his feet. "Goddamnit."

  "I'm sorry," Alden sputtered. He watched the golem warily as it approached. "We can just run though, right?"

  "Can't run forever. I was tryin' to get the actual owner of these fuckers," Viper spat. He thumbed his radio again. "Lure it to two-one-zero and blow it."

  A pause, then another rifle shot rang out—from a different location. It was further to Alden's right, from the direction he'd been running. The golem, apparently not spotting them behind the tree, lumbered toward the sound of the gunfire. It took it a minute to vanish from sight.

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  Alden let out a deep breath. A second later, Viper pulled him back down to the ground.

  A massive concussive blast sent the tree shuddering. Alden had never heard something so loud. The forest behind them erupted in a ball of orange and black, smoke billowing out in every direction. The golem was utterly annihilated.

  "Well, at least that works," Viper grumbled. He got to his feet, while Alden recovered from the force of the explosion. His ears were still ringing, and the headache he'd felt back in town had returned threefold. "Now where the hell are you runnin' off to?"

  "Anywhere but here."

  "Fair enough, but I'm pretty sure you were supposed to get something for me. Where's the damn Scrap?"

  Alden didn't dare lie to him. "We were told it was somewhere north, and then the entire town went crazy. There's a riot, and your source was attacked by Omega, and—" He cut off. The most recent revelation was was still too much for him to process, let alone voice aloud.

  "So much for this fuckin' town," Viper shrugged. He thumbed his radio. "Rook, regroup at delta. You get your wish. We're bailing." He grabbed up Alden by the neck of his shirt and pressed him against the tree. "Do I have to drag you the whole way there?"

  "I… what?"

  "Two people with magic's better'n just one. You're coming with us."

  Alden shook his head. "I have to get out of here."

  "Well lucky you, that's where we're goin'." Two clicks of the radio, then another long press. Alden struggled, but Viper had him firmly pinned to the trunk. Even with only one arm, the man was hellishly strong. "Snakecharmer, python."

  Pause.

  "Snakecharmer, evac at el-zed delta in ten mikes. Drop us a line, tree cover's too thick. Over."

  Pause.

  "Ack, Snakecharmer. We'll see you in fifteen. I'm buying drinks. Out." Viper yanked Alden around and pushed him forward. South again. "Move it, kid. We've got a ride to catch."

  Alden hesitated. "Where are you taking me?"

  "Back to base. And don't think stallin' will do you any good. All that means is a pissed chopper pilot who I'll owe a few extra bottles when we get home."

  Alden began a more deliberately paced trek through the forest. Despite his newfound captivity, he felt much more at ease than he had a few minutes ago. Viper was a known quantity, and he was taking control of the situation. Alden didn't have to think again for a while. He could just do as he was told, walk forward, and he'd survive.

  Or would he? Doubt was creeping in. Viper didn't exactly seem like the merciful type—or the legal type. Alden could be loaded into a black box, interrogated and then killed off without a second thought. No one knew where he was or who he was with.

  "You're taking me to Malton, right?"

  "How's a shrimp like you know that?" he asked. Alden stopped to answer him, but Viper elbowed him in the back. He pressed on.

  "Heard it around that you worked for them," Alden tried to answer as casually as he could.

  "Yeah, no, you heard it from someone specific. That Jap chick, probably. Well, yeah, that's where you're going. End of the line, kid."

  "You're gonna kill me?"

  "Probably not. But they're gonna want to study you, and me too. You cooperate, you'll probably live a lot longer."

  "And what if they want to open both of us up?" Alden asked.

  "Then they open both of us up. They'd better find out somethin' useful though, if I'm gonna die in a fuckin' lab instead of out in the field."

  Alden fell silent in dismay. Viper wasn't going to be dissuaded. He'd answered so indifferently that Alden was totally convinced of his loyalty. They walked in silence for a few minutes, until Viper finally spoke up again.

  "Look, I'll put in a word for ya. You don't seem like a bad kid. Might be I can make your life a bit more comfortable."

  "Thanks," Alden replied bitterly.

  "Or not. Just offerin'."

  Uncomfortable silence hung around them once again. Alden was following Viper through the forest with his head hung low. He didn't even bother trying to run. What hope did he have against a trained military operator like Viper? He was just a kid, no matter what he'd thought.

  "I wasn't special at all," Alden mumbled.

  Viper laughed. "Kid, none of us are special. Even this son of a bitch poppin' out monsters is just another guy. Dies to a bullet in the head, same as you or me."

  "You were just gonna shoot him?"

  "Me? Fuck no. Malton will want him alive. I was gonna dart him, but you showed up and scared him away. First time we'd managed to get the drop on him, too, after dancing around for weeks out here."

  "So Malton knows about magic?"

  Viper shrugged. "I have to tell him sooner or later. He's gonna want to get a leg up on the competition before this blows wide open."

  "And you'll just give yourself over and let them experiment on you?"

  "I was supposed to be dead ten years back. As far as I figure it, Malton already owns my life. Anything I've done since then is on his dime."

  Alden shuddered. "I couldn't do that."

  "Well lucky you, you don't actually get to choose. That's on me."

  Alden was starting to get desperate. "Wouldn't you want someone more powerful? I can barely do anything."

  He shook his head. "A catch is a catch, and I ain't stayin' in this fucking place another minute. Everything's gonna blow up soon, I can feel it."