The Artimus Reynolds series

Artimus part 2

Emily and Callahan ran up to the church. The damage and destruction shocked them both. The smoke still rose into the air. They both looked around for Artimus. Callahan went to the left around the church ruins. Emily went to the right around the smoking remains of the house. Emily walked back to the street shaking her head. Callahan walked back looking lost for words.  An elderly woman walked up to them and said “ Are you looking for Artimus.” They looked at each other. "As a matter of fact we are.” Callahan said trying to turn on the charm. The woman blushed a little. “Well he got into a limo with a glamorous looking woman and with a giant driver.” Callahan nodded. “Thank you for your help.” He said to the woman who shuffled off to talk to other shocked onlookers. “I know who took Artimus...it was his mother Evangeline.” Callahan said rubbing his tired face. “Why would she take him?” Emily asked. “To turn him against us is my best guess.” Callahan said looking up in the direction of Midas Avenue. “That place is like Fort Knox...we aren’t getting in easily.” He said walking away from the Church. “We need an Army or at least some upgrades.” Emily said walking quicker to catch up to Callahan. “I know a few guys who might be able to help us.” Emily said.

The room was dark and cold. The cold hung on the walls and seeped in through the hard concrete floor.  Artimus sat slumped in the corner, cuffs on both wrists attached to the wall with a length of chain. He tried to break it when he woke up but now he just sat, defeated. He refused to eat and drink as he didnt trust Evangeline to not put drugs in the food or water. The lock on the door clicked and the large oak door creaked on its old black hinges. Light entered the room and assaulted Artimus' eyes. He closed his eyes but it was relentless in its brightness. A lone figure stood in the door way. Artimus knew it was Evangeline from the sound of the heels click clacking on the concrete floor. She leant down and touched his face. He recoiled from her touch. “My boy my dear sweet boy...” She said reaching past him and she unlocked his restraints. He leant forward and turned away from the harsh light of the door way. The room went dark for a second. Then back to light. Evangeline’s giant bodyguard had walked in. Artimus rubbed his wrists. He was tired sore and hungry. She said “Come on up we get.” as she put a hand under his arm pit to help him up. He grabbed on to her and stood up. They walked to the door and the body guard shut it with a bang. The three of them went up a set of concrete steps and through a door. They were now in a ornate and fancy hallway. He knew he couldn’t hear classical music but it was the kind of place that would have it playing. He thought about making a run for it but his legs were too stiff. He decided to do it anyway.  He took one step and a vice clamped down on the top of his shoulder. He squirmed but the bodyguards hand was enormous. The bodyguard pushed down and Artimus' stiff legs gave way and he crumpled to the floor. He groaned and let out a scream. His shoulder was on fire. This mountain of a man was incredibly strong. “Oh Arty...you won’t do that again will you?” Evangeline said with her hands on her hips. Artimus shook his head. She nodded at the giant man who also nodded. He let go and Artimus grabbed his shoulder. He rolled around the floor. “Oh get up...you are part Latrobe...act like it.” She said in a firm and hard voice. She shocked herself with how much she sounded like her mother, Father and grandparents. She brushed the thought aside. Artimus got up off the floor and looked embarrassed. He had fought a fire creature and had easily beaten the anti Avian men in the Cafe car park. But he couldn’t even throw a punch right now. He was exhausted tired and hungry.  Exactly how Evangeline wanted him.

Callahan and Emily walked up to the small cream brick house. It wasn’t anything special. The lawn was patchy. More brown sections than green. Callahan went to go towards the front door but Emily crunched over a garden bed filled with red crunchy rocks and headed for the back shed. He caught up to her. “Are we sure these two are going to be awake?” he asked as the pushed through a side gate. She smiled. “Its 3am on a Saturday morning...of course they will be!” They both came to a large double garage. She did a special knock. 4 locks clicked. The door opened a crack. “Yeah?” A voice said. “Wheeler let us in.” Emily said. “Us? Whose us? We don’t know an Us!” the voice said as the door banged shut. Emily cursed. She special knocked again. The door opened a crack again. “Yeah? It better not be that unknown us again!” Emily was frustrated at this point. “Wheeler Maryanne Smith...you open this Goddamn door or I will start telling stories of the time you got dressed in the dark and wore your sisters underwear to school!” Emily said. The door opened. There stood a tall and thin boy wearing a Doc Brown Enterprises tee shirt. “Its bad enough that I remember that story let alone you.” Wheeler said glumly. She walked in to the brightly lit shed. Callahan went to follow her but Wheeler stood in His way. “Sorry Chief I don’t know you so you will have to wait out side!” Wheeler said puffing his chest out as much as he could. Callahan stuck out his arms and grabbed Wheeler under the arms and lifted him into the air. He walked Wheeler out side and said “Sorry Chief I don’t have any clue who you are so you will have to wait out side.”  He put Wheeler down and shut the door. Wheeler banged on the door. “Let me in!!” He said panicked. Callahan smiled. “Me? Whose Me? I don’t know a Me!” Emily and Lokan laughed. “Lokan this is Callahan Black he is a big deal in the Avian community.” The two men shook hands. They exchanged pleasantries. “So Lokan what do you have for us?” “Well my friends Wheeler, who you locked out which was awesome...we made two crow suits for you.” Lokan said with a big smile on His face. “Crow suit?” Callahan asked looking puzzled. Lokan smiled. “You’ll see in a sec.”

Evangeline was fed up with Artimus’ defiant attitude. She sighed and made a throat cut gesture to Sergei. He in turn nodded as she left the room. He unbuttoned his suit jacket and removed it. His dress shirt was incredibly tight and sleeveless. His enormous  arms were covered in tick marks. Artimus could only stare. Sergei pointed to the 20 black tattooed ticks on His right arm. “Dis is how many peoples I fights that still breathing.” He pointed to his left arm which had 10 red tick marks tattooed on it. “Dis is how many peoples I fights that don’t breathing.” He said in calm broken English that was more menacing than yelling. Ok Artimus thought he’s only killed a third of people he has fought. Then the giant of a man  unbuttoned his shirt. Artimus’ eyes nearly fell out of his head when he was the big man’s chest was full of red check marks. To emphasize the point, Sergei turned around to show his entire back was also full of red death markers. Artimus’ heart started to pound. He knew He was going to die but he had to fight back some how. He thought of feathers and his arms became covered. Sergei smirked. “Pretty bird....come and I make stop breathing.” He said pounding his meaty fist in the palm of his other hand. Artimus shot feathers directly at Sergei’s mouth. The same tactic that he Emily and Callahan had used to defeat Dion the fire monster. The first wave of feathers went into Sergei’s mouth but he closed his lips and turned his massive back to Artimus. He spat out the feathers. He turned back to see Artimus running at him. Artimus jumped and reared his fist back to hit a flying punch. As Artimus' fist neared Sergei's face, the giant Russian grabbed the first, spun around and flung Artimus into a stack of crates. The impact turned the wooden boxes into splinters. Artimus groaned. “Oh wow this  was a bad idea....a terrible idea!” Artimus said propping himself up on His knees and elbows. Sergei muttered in Russian as he stomped towards Artimus and kicked him hard in the ribs twice. On the second kick Artimus heard and felt a crack. He fell to the floor. Sergei grabbed Artimus' collar and belt and threw him across the room. He flew through the air and hit the concrete with a splat. He started to laugh. A giggle at first the  it changed into an uncontrollable laughing fit. The Russian frowned. “Vhat is dis...vhy you laugh?” Artimus pulled himself to his feet. He was wobbly but he was hoping the big man would make a mistake that he could take advantage of.  “Is that all you got?” he said breathlessly. Without responding the big man charged. Artimus bent down put his hand on the floor and threw his leg over his head like a some kind of Circ De Solei/gymnastics hybrid. Both of his favourite Sneakers crashed into Sergei's face. He stumbled back, blood gushing from his nose. Artimus landed with his feet screaming in pain. Sergei’s head was harder than concrete. "Nobodys makes me bleeds!” Sergei said as blood ran from his nose and dripped off his square chin.
Then two of them glided through the air silently. Callahan took the lead as he had been inside the Latrobe mansion before and Emily hadn’t. They glided in over the back wall. Callahan was surprised that there wasn’t any guard dogs. The screen built in to the sleeve on Emily’s Crowsuit showed that Artimus wasn’t too far from here. She pointed to a large roller door. “He’s on the other side of this door...im going to let him know we are here.” Emily said popping off her black Crow helmet. Lokan and Wheeler had done a fantastic job with these suits and the helmets were crow heads. She closed her eyes and called out to Artimus. “Artimus we are here...just outside the big roller door...hold on...” Artimus heard Emily in his head as he kicked at the big man who grabbed his right leg. The he kicked with his left and Sergei grabbed that too. The Russian lifted  Artimus up by his ankles. Sergei moved his hands so They were behind Artimus' knees. Artimus swung forward and crashed his the back of his head into Sergei’s face. The big man let Artimus fall and he screamed in pain. “My face....ahhhhh.” Artimus grabbed a chunk of wood and hit the back of the big man’s legs. He went down in a heap.
Emily and Callahan heard the scream and realised that Artimus wasn’t alone in that room. Artimus ran from a screaming Sergei and hit the up button on the roller door. It clattered to life. As it rumbled up to waist height, two figures dressed in all black complete with helmets that looked like Crow heads stepped into the room. One of the figures pressed a button on its wrist and the beak of the helmet opened to reveal it was Emily. The second figures beak opened and Callahan stared back at Artimus. “I’m so happy to see you two...but what are you wearing?” Artimus said noticing how amazing Emily looked in this tight leather looking outfit.   Emily leapt forward and hugged him. It surprised all of them. It sent a tingle down Artimus' spine. “I’m just glad you are safe.” She said stepping back from Artimus. “Good to see you could hold your own against this lump of a man!” Callahan said pointing a thumb at Sergei. “Holding my own is being generous...I should be dead 4 times already!” Artimus said getting into a fighting stance.
The big man screamed as he got to his feet. “I crush all three of youse!” He bellowed as he charged at the three Avians. He was faster than they expected. For a huge man he had sprinter speed.  He hit Artimus with his concrete hard skull and a fist went into the chests of Emily and Callahan. The three of them flew backwards and hit the ground hard. “Game ends now.” Sergei said spitting blood on the concrete. He wound up to punch Emily but Callahan extended a wing from the Crowsuit and got in between them. The massive fist  and the force behind it hit the wing and it bounced back sending the force of the punch back in to Sergei. The mountain of a man flew back and hit his head on the ground. All three Avians were stunned. Callahan stared at the wing of the Crowsuit in disbelief. “We need to tell Wheeler and Lokan that they have done an incredible job with these suits.” Callahan said. “Awww I want one!” said Artimus.  Emily just nodded as Sergei forced himself up. His eyes were spinning and he couldn’t focus. He stumbled as he tried to take a step. They all rushed at him. Even when he was groggy he still caught Emily and Callahan by the throats. He lifted them up as Artimus hit him with body shots. Both of them clawed at his hands. Their legs flailed. Artimus took 5 steps back and charged. He jumped at Sergei with his two fists out stretched in front of him. Emily called out to Callahan in a breathless voice. “Elect...rical....char....ge" they both let go of Sergei's massive hands and pressed a button on their wrist control. They each stuck Sergei with their hands and he started to convulse and shake. He let go of their throats. Artimus slammed into his midsection, knocking him onto his back with a whapp. Callahan and Emily kept their wrist zappers firmly placed on Sergei’s chest until blood ran from his ears and his body began to smoke. The three of them fell to the floor exhausted. After a minute or two of silence Callahan stood and said “We have to get to the tent city and move everyone to a new location...lets get moving.”  Emily and Artimus stood up. He offered his hand to help her up and when their hands touch the spark shot through the both of them. Callahan saw it too. He smiled. “Why don’t I start walking and you two catch up!” He turned and ran at the security wall. With one bend of the knees he cleared the wall and landed easily. Emily and Artimus did the same thing. They walked  next to each other. Awkwardness filled the space between them. Artimus could fight a fire monster and a giant Russian bodyguard but trying to talk to this girl who he had liked for a while from afar was more terrifying than both of those put together. He decided to stop being an idiot and just talk. “So...when did know you were an Avian?”  She smiled. “I was about 9 when I got my first feathers...it was awesome...then I learned that some people want us Avians dead so I learnt to hide it.” Artimus nodded. “That’s rough on a 9 year old...” he said. “It was but it helped me prepare for situations like this.” She said running her hands through her hair. Artimus nodded “Yeah this Avian life is anything but boring!”

Angle grinders sent sparks into the air. Welding torches shot out flames. Drills whined and hammers banged on sheet metal.  The work shop was a hive of activity. Dillion watched it all form the work shop office. He grabbed a walkie talkie of the deal and said “Recon team? Any sign of the tent city?” After a few moments of silence the walkie talkie crackled to life. “Negative on that boss man...but We think there might be three Avians in the area...should we engage?” Dillion thought about it. “Yeah go on...bring me one of their heads!” He laughed. The work shop went quiet. Dillion turned around to see a woman walking through the workshop. She stuck her head into his office. She was early forties  with short hair and so many necklaces. “Chief...I think we could help each other.”
The gravel crunched under their feet as the sun rose. “How much further Callahan?” Artimus asked. The older man turned. “I would prefer if you called me Dad.” He said shifting his Crow helmet to his other hand. Artimus smirked. “I’ll call you that when you earn that title.” He said not making eye contact with Callahan. “Yeah I deserved that!” he said nodding. The forest was quiet. Their voices echoed through the Rocks and the large pine trees. They all pushed up a steep rise. As they got to the top they all took a minute to catch their breath. “We are...here....” Callahan said still getting his breath back. He pointed to the bottom of the hill. Tucked under the trees was a series of tents. The smoke from campfires rose onto the forest air. Callahan started making his way down the steep hill. He was home. His beautiful Avian sanctuary.
He watched them walk down the hill. He stayed out of sight. He bent down and rummaged through his bag. He pulled out a black box. It had a red read out of the coordinates. He hit the project button and it transmitted to the frequency that the Anti Avian Brotherhood used. He radioed in that he might just observe for a day or so. The radio crackled to life with a female voice that said “Good idea solider...we will be mobile within the hour...will let you know of our ETA.” More sparks flew and grinders continued to work. One of the workers ground to close to a fuel source and was roasted alive. The rest of The mech caught fire and was an inferno in seconds. What was once a Avian killing machine was now just a blackened mess of spare parts and junk.
Two black SUVs pulled up outside the cream brick house. Evangeline, Dillion and 3 heavies each 5 foot across the chest popped out of the first car and 5 nerdier looking men came out of second SUV. The group walked up to the shed at the back of the yard. Evangeline nodded and the three heavies kicked the door in with crash and a bang. Lokan and Wheeler ducked down behind their work benches. The heavies ran in and restrained the two teens. Evangeline walked up to Lokan and said “You two are going to make me something...” “We will never help you...” Wheeler said. The third heavy pounded a fist Into his stomach. He didn’t talk much after that. The 5 nerdy looking goons walked in each carrying cases of tech. They all buried themselves setting up the gear. “I want two suits just like the ones that the girl and that rat Callahan had but better.” Evangeline said stepping up to Lokan’s face. “I want mine to shoot fire...” Dillion said excitedly. “Yes yes you will get your toy...” She shook her head. “Boys and their toys.” Lokan looked at Wheeler, who shook his head slightly. Evangeline saw the head shake, she smiled. Quick as a flash she went in to her purse and pulled out a gun. She shot Wheeler twice In the stomach.  He expression was complete shock as he fell to the ground and his white tee shirt changed to a dark crimson.  Lokan scrambled free from the heavy holding him to hold Wheeler. He cradled his dear  friends head. “Hey buddy stay with me ok.” Lokan said with a shaky voice. Wheeler stared past Lokan. “I should...have...been...nicer to...people...” He said as he fell silent and turned his head. Lokan furiously checked for a pulse but found nothing. He looked up at Evangeline. “I won’t help you...i just won’t...” He screamed. She rolled her eyes and shot him between the eyes. He slumped on top of Wheelers body. She looked over her shoulder to the tech guys. “You five can make a suit from the materials here can’t you?” She asked. They eyed the gun in her hand and the wild look in her eyes and they all nodded. “Good boys.” 
The three Avians walked In to the camp. Heads poked out from tents. They could hear the whispers. A voice called out “Callahan’s back!” and so many people rushed out to greet him. He hugged all who approached him. He was smiling, laughing and lifting little children into the air. Artimus felt a small prick of jealousy. He never knew Callahan was loved like this. The camp members seemed to adore him. Callahan looked over to see Artimus and Emily standing to the side. He was about to introduce them when a tall athletic teen ran up. “Dad?” he called out to Callahan. His eyes lit up. “Reed!” He said as he ran to Hug the boy. Artimus could only stare as this person was hugging his dad. Who was this guy? The two men separated from their hug. They turned to see Artimus and Emily giving them a curious look. Emily's look was curious. Artimus’  look was more ‘Who the Fuck is this clown?’ Callahan saw both looks and nodded. He led Reed towards Artimus and Emily. “Reed this is Emily and this young man is Artimus...my son.” Both boys stared at each other. Not really knowing what to say. Artimus stuck out his hand and Reed just stared. After a few tense moments he said “This is the kid you had to go save...i get it...he looks like he couldn’t save himself!” Reed smiled smugly. “I do just fine don’t you worry...” Artimus replied holding back the feathers. Reed stepped up into his face. He was a lot taller than Artimus and a he had bigger muscles too. But Sergei was enormous and Artimus had helped put him down.  “I won’t worry about the likes of you...I’m the chosen one around here...so if trouble starts...get behind me!” Reed said just inches from Artimus' face.  An older lady with a head full of grey hair shuffled over and interjected into their confrontation. “Actually...I’ve had visions since Artimus' awakening and I believe he is the Chosen One...not you Reed.” Reed shook his head in disbelief. “Dad is this true? Have you had any visions about this idiot?” Reed said pointing at Artimus. Callahan sighed. “Yeah Reed I have and Emily did too.” He said knowing it would crush Reed. “So I was just A fill in? A surrogate son and chosen one until you found your real son?” Reed said getting angrier with each word. “No Reed it’s not like that.” Callahan said trying to deflate the situation. Unfortunately that was the case. Callahan had Artimus taken from him while he was sleeping and he didn’t know where Evangeline had hidden him. So when Callahan helped form the tent community and a little orphan boy needed a dad Callahan stepped up and told him he was the Chosen one. Reed stomped off to the woods leaving the others behind. “You are terrible at having conversations about real issues!” Emily laughed. "Not now Emily.” Callahan said. “He you aren’t my dad/father figure so don’t tell me what to do.” She said with a I don’t give a shit tone.
All the adults gathered for a meeting just after lunch. The camp was all low tech. It gave Artimus vibes of one of those theme parks where they showed how they lived in the Old days.  The little kids were fascinated by Emily’s Crowsuit which she had turned off to save the battery. A small boy wandered around with her Crow helmet on making his friends laugh.   All the teens hung around the fire pit. Artimus sat  on a log with Emily. He had a pile of sticks next to him. He would snap one into small pieces and then throw the bits into the fire. Emily watched the fire crackle and dance. It reminded her of camping with her family before they disappeared. She turned to Artimus and said “I’ve never seen you be all macho before...not sure how I feel about that.” “I haven’t ever acted like that ever...its just that guy was a jerk.” Artimus said throwing a pile of little sticks into the fire pit. “True but his world kind of got turned upside down when you showed up being the Chosen one.” She said throwing a stick in the fire. “Fair call I guess but... Oh yeah what’s this about you having visions of me being the Chosen one? You never told me that!” Artimus said turning to face her. She went red. She undid her pony tail and let her hair fall around her face. She hid from Artimus. Just like she did at school. She sighed. “I was about to paint one day at school and I saw you with Kayla Anne...what happened with her?” Emily said. Artimus rolled his eyes.  ”Turns out my loving mother paid Kayla to hang out with me and try to get me to fight for Evangeline...enough about that back to your vision!” Emily felt more comfortable with Artimus and she put her hair back in a ponytail. She turned to him and said “I was about to paint when every thing went black...And I woke up in front of an eight foot by eight foot canvas of you and I standing back to back fighting off hillbillies and we had crowns on our heads.” She said putting her hand in the hair tie, ready to hide again. Artimus lightly grabbed her hand. “Leave it" he said smiling. The spark he had felt on the football field had returned.   Emily felt it too as her ears picked up a whine and a whistle. The tent that all the Adults were meeting in exploded as a second missile hit eliminating the hope of there being any survivors. Canvas, dirt and wood flew everywhere. Emily and Artimus were flung across the campsite.  The rumble of a large  machine got closer. Emily's ears were ringing. She couldn’t hear what Artimus was screaming but she figured he was calling out to Callahan. He looked around trying to see his dad. Nothing but destruction. He ran to Emily, whose hearing was just coming back. "Em...get the kids out of here then come back..." Artimus said before being cut off but a third missile. It hit the trees above them sending wood shrapnel raining down on the once peaceful camp.  A large chunk of pine tree struck Artimus in the back, knocking him forward. Emily was knocked on to her back. Artimus pulled himself up on to his elbows and turned to see Reed picking Emily up off the ground. Emily pointed to Artimus but Reed just looked over and shrugged. Emily picked up her Crow helmet.  Screams of terror came from beyond the camp. A cold shiver ran down Artimus’ spine. That’s where they had sent the teenagers and kids. Reed Artimus and Emily ran through the decimated camp to the clearing. The sight brought Emily and Reed to tears. Thirty bodies lay in the ground as if they were sleeping. Some had covered themselves in feathers but many had been killed before they could. Some of the bodies had been burned. The three Avians looked up to see Two figures hovering in the air. One was red with the head of a dragon and the other was a light brown with the head of a hawk. The two suited assailants lowered themselves to the ground. Their helmets opened. Evangeline and Dillion glared back. “This is what happens when you defy me!” Evangeline said. Artimus stepped forward. “Defy you? You killed innocents because I didn’t do What you wanted?...what is wrong with you...you monster!” “Hey Don’t speak to your mother like that boy!” Dillion said. “The priest didn’t raise you to talk like that!” He winked at Artimus. That hit him hard. So much had happened in a short space of time that he hadn’t grieved for Father Reynolds. “Just know that even with his last breath...Reynolds wouldn’t turn you in...” “So it was you that killed him! I knew it!” Artimus covering his arms in feathers. “Hey i didn’t kill him...his body couldn’t deal with the torture...thats on him!” Dillion said snapping his dragon helmet shut. Emily pulled on her Crow helmet and snapped the beak shut. Reed pushed past Emily and Artimus. He ran at Evangeline.  She side stepped his kicks and punches. She landed a series of punches and kicks of her own and she threw him at a tree. He hit the trees with a splat and hit the ground. He lay there motionless. Artimus and Dillion squared off and Evangeline ran straight at Emily. She started attacking Evangeline who walked backwards in defence. Dillion pushed Artimus back wards towards the forest as he threw punches so hard that knocked himself off balance. He threw a huge right hay maker which missed. His left foot slipped on the carpet of pine needles. Artimus saw an opening and kicked down on Dillions left knee. The crack was sickening. Dillion screamed as he fell and grabbed his knee with both hands. Artimus showed no emotion. But on the inside his brain was a mess. This man screaming in the Dragonsuit killed the man who raised him. Dillion took his hands off of his knee and shot flames at Artimus. He dodged the 4 blasts. He started flapping his arms like he did at the church that night. The 5th and 6th shots of flames didn’t extinguish But they went right back towards Dillion. He screamed again as he burned. His suit melted.  His skin blistered. He pushed himself back on His elbows. His mask was open and his lips were blistered. He tried to talk. A raspy voice surprised Artimus. “Please...i have a son...” Artimus lifted his right hand and it sprouted more feathers. They grew to a point. He turned it, looking at both sides of his hand. The feathers were sharp and hard. He placed the point under Dillion’s chin and pushed up. The ex fire chiefs head fell back and Artimus shook the feathers and his fingers were visible again.  He walked over to check on Reed.
Evangeline threw a left, right punch  and then a right roundhouse kick. They all landed. Emily stumbled backwards. Evangeline’s suit was far superior. Emily went to sweep Evangeline’s legs. The older woman jumped and Emily missed. Evangeline hovered and laughed at Emily. “Your suit is rubbish...” Evangeline said as she back flipped in The air laughing again. "I’ll get my friends to make me a better one...” Emily said trying to keep her composure. “That will be hard as I shot them both!” Evangeline said. This hit Emily hard. She had known Lokan and Wheeler since they were kids. Tears filled her eyes and her breath caught in her throat. Evangeline smiled. This was the opening she needed. She swooped in and hit Emily with an electrical charge. She drove the young girl back until she hit hard against a thick pine tree. Emily splatted on the pine needle carpet. Evangeline flipped backwards and hovered in the air again.  Emily didn’t move. Artimus ran up to see Emily laying motionless on the ground. He checked her pulse. “Em? EM?” he said shaking her gently. Evangeline swooped again and shocked Artimus the same way she had with Emily. Artimus flopped to his knees but he didn’t go down. She floated down and landed in front of him. She reached behind her back and pulled out a sword. She smiled. Artimus tried to move but his body wouldn’t listen.  The sword came down. Artimus closed his eyes and accepted his fate. A black shape spun towards Evangeline’s sword. It hit it and knocked it from her hand. It cannoned into a trunk of a nearby pine tree. She looked at the black shape as it spun on the floor. It was a Crowsuit helmet. She looked over and Emily was still wearing hers. Evangeline looked like she saw a  ghost when she saw where the helmet had come from. A hobbled Callahan  hopped towards her. His left leg was missing. As was his right arm to the elbow. Half his face was charred. He had a stick in his left hand to help him walk. “Ugh...you were ugly before but this is ridiculous!” Evangeline said mocking an injured Callahan. "Come and finish the job!” He slurred trying not to fall over on the uneven forest floor. “Gladly!” She flew straight at him. He shakily held his ground.  She got to him and he leapt over her and stabbed his walking stick into the cpu/ battery pack that was located on the back of her neck. He hit the ground with a thud. She landed and turned to face a panting Callahan. Jumping over her had taken everything he had.  “You didn’t even hit me in the head...You are a lousy...well everything!” She said laughing. He pulled himself up to his one leg. “I wasn’t aiming for your head.  Artimus hit another stick into the one Callahan had stabbed into Evangeline’s suit. The read outs in her helmet visor flickered and disappeared. Her Hawksuit powered down with a slowly dying whine.  “No...this isn’t possible.” She said as she frantically clawed at the stick behind her head. Emily and a freshly recovered Reed walked over to Surround Evangeline. Callahan’s ears picked up something nearby. It was a faint click clack. He hopped over to Artimus as the shot rang out. The snipers bullet hit him and he fell to the forest floor. Reed Emily and Artimus rushed to his broken and battered body. Emily screamed. Artimus cradled Callahan. Evangeline saw her opportunity and made a run  for it. “This ain’t over.” She called out as she ran away under her own power as the suit was dead. Reed started to chase her but his foot screamed in pain. He stared  as she ran off zig zaging Through the tall trees. Reed limped back to the others. Artimus said with tears in his eyes “Dad...Dad stay with me...” Callahan smiled. “You...called me...Dad.” He said With a small smile. “The three...of you...are the Avian...future...fight back and grow...” He trailed off as the end grew near. “...together.” He stopped talking. His head dropped to one side. Reed squatted down to be closer to his father.
Another bullet ripped through the air. It struck the tree just above where Reed was standing. Emily said “We gotta Get out of here.” “We cant just leave him here” Reed said as another shot rang out. Artimus stopped  hugging Callahan’s body and stood up as it covered itself in feathers and magically turned into a flock of crows. The  three teens stared In Amazement as 20 crows took flight and disappeared behind some trees. They squawked and squawked. A man screamed. The birds got louder as the man came towards Emily Artimus and Reed. He was shooing the flock of birds. The birds led him to the teens. The birds flew off when the man was at their feet. He stood up sheepishly. With out a word Reed threw a right punch which landed on the man’s jaw. His eyes rolled back in his head. He flumped to the floor. “That felt good!” Reed smiled smugly. “We better keep moving and setup a new camp.” Emily said taking charge. The two boys nodded. “I’ll be at the front...you two have a lot to discuss.” She said. She was right. They had so much to talk about but the were reluctant to hash out the big issues. They started walking slowly. Artimus coughed. Reed walked with his arms crossed. Emily looked back as she powered down her suit. “Come on guys let’s see what we can salvage from the camp...” She said as she turned to away from the boys and pushed ahead. Artimus sighed. “Look Reed I think I over reacted...I think we both did...” He said.  Reed nodded.  “You did overreact...I was fine...” Reed said in his traditional smug tone. “I’m doing this because Emily wants me to and we need to be on the same team.” Artimus said almost pleading with Reed.  Reed’s turn to sigh. “Yeah...I know...I overreacted too...” Reed said extending his hand. Artimus smiled as they shook hands. Emily peered around a tree and saw the boys shaking hands. She smiled. Her care for Artimus was growing by the day. She picked up a few bits and pieces but the camp was pretty much destroyed. The boys caught up to her. “I think we head back to town and see what’s happening and see if we can gather some allies.” She said. Artimus and Reed nodded.
Evangeline stormed into Latrobe mansion. She unzipped her suit and stepped out of it. She set the hawk helmet on the banister of the sweeping staircase.  She walked to her office and rang her next in line. “Chet here...” The voice said down the line. “Chet...those damn bird kids are tougher than we thought.” Evangeline said running her fingers through her hair. “We need to turn the world against them and take them out....I’ll Get the police after them.” “Good call boss...I’ll Get the boys here to finish the mech and I’ll await further instructions.” Chet said clicking off the call. Evangeline rang the police chief and told him three teens terrorised a village. “Are you sure?...how do you know that?” Police chief William Blane asked. “Because i know things...like a certain police chiefs opioid addiction and embezzlement activities.” She said calmly. Silence from the other end of the phone. “I’ll send a crew after them.” Blane said as she hung up the phone .
Kayla sat in her bedroom. Grounded. She had never been grounded in her life. Evangeline spun a yarn to her parents about catching her spray painting the remains of St Barts church. Kayla denied it but her  parents listened to Evangeline.  That woman was diabolical. The door was locked and They had taken her phone. Her parents had just gone out to the farmers market. The lock on her door clicked open. The door creaked open. It was her brother Chase who was a year older than Kayla. He walked in carrying a backpack. He smiled. She didn’t. He held out her phone. “I know you didn’t graffiti that church.” He said. “How do you know that?” She asked getting off the bed and taking her phone from Chases hand. “I rode my bike over there and there isn’t  single bit of graffiti anywhere!” He said. “Really?” She said. “Yeah...it’s not fair that you are locked up when you did nothing wrong.” He said handing her the bag. “Its got food, water, a change of clothes and some extra cash I had lying around!” He said as she looked through the bag. “Oh and a phone charger.” He said as she launched at him with a hug. “Thank you Chase...you have no idea what this means to me.” She said with tears streaming down her face.  “It’s not a big deal...just go before mum and dad get back.” He said pulling back from their hug. She smiled and kissed his head. And with that she was gone. Down the stairs and out of the farm house. She went down the back of the yard that didn’t have a fence. It was dense bushes that backed on to a walking track. She crawled under the thick bushes and out on the track. Freedom. She rang Artimus' phone and it rang out. She sent a text. I miss you and I’m sorry...where are you...I want to see you.  A reply pinged through. It was Artimus. Her heart fluttered. Cant talk now. Emily and I are on the way back to town. Emily? As in that girl who paints? Why is he with her? She instantly felt jealous but also knew she didn’t have a leg to stand on as she had taken money to spend time with him. She headed down the track at a good pace. She heard a car approaching and she hid behind a thick tree. It was just a farm truck using the track as shortcut between farms. She waited until the faded light blue truck had gone around the bend. She left her hiding spot and headed for town.
The word was put out about 3 young Avians who murdered fire chief Dillion, a high ranking Avian camp leader and massacred an entire camp of Avians. The brotherhood advertised it as a man hunt. Whoever brought them in could collect a massive bounty. It was even passed on to hunters. The brotherhood marketed the hunting idea so well that they managed to get #Avianhunt trending on Twitter.
Artimus led the other two through a gate and up the garden path. The small house looked sad and unloved. It had taken a battering from the elements but still it stood. Just like Emily, Artimus and Reed. They walked up on to the wrap around porch. Artimus walked to a hanging pot plant and put his hands inside. He pulled out a key with a smile. Emily smiled too. Reed didn’t emote any thing. He was tired, hungry and sore.  All he wanted to do was eat and go to bed. The lock clicked and clacked and the door opened. The house smelt musty and had been closed up for a while. “Tell me again how you knew about this place?” Emily asked as they walked inside the house. Artimus closed the front door as the rain started to fall. “I used to help Father Reynolds deliver food to the old lady who lived here...she passed last year and left the house to the church.” Emily nodded. Reed immediately walked into the kitchen and looked through the cupboards for something to eat. He found a packet of biscuits. He ripped it open and stuffed 2 into his mouth. He found Emily and Artimus in the lounge room and offered the packet to them. “Have one.” He mumbled with a mouth full of biscuit. Artimus grabbed one and thanked Reed who had put 3 more into his mouth. Emily looked at him with a playfully disgusted look. He laughed and spat biscuit on to the floor. That made them all laugh.  “I’ll go see what we can do for dinner.” Artimus said as He walked into the kitchen. He checked the pantry and found exactly what he had hoped for. Rice, pasta and tins of soup.  That was a win. He even found instant coffee. Happy days he thought. He plugged the kettle in and it rumbled to life. “Em? You want a coffee?” Artimus called out to the lounge room. “I’d love one.” She called back. Reed smiled. “I’ll have one too please...or are you only making them for girlfriends?” Reed asked holding his hand out mouthing the words wait for it. Emily rolled her eyes at Reed. He laughed. Artimus walked out smiling. “You gotta work harder than that to get me brother!” He said walking back to the kitchen. He looked out of the window to watch the rain falling. The grass in the back yard was long and over grown. The rain drops made the grass look so bright.Something at the back of the yard caught his eye. He opened the back door. He ran out into the rain to see a large over grown vegetable patch. There were tomatoes, pumpkins, potatoes and leeks. Various fruit trees lined the fence. This would do nicely. They could use this house as base camp. Emily came out side as Artimus stepped back under the shelter. She held up her phone. It was Twitter. His eyes bulged when he saw the tweet. The Anti Avian Brotherhood had invited all Avian haters to come and hunt them for sport. His heart sunk then it started racing. "What are we going to do?” Emily asked. Artimus stared at her. After the ordeal they had been through with Sergei and the fight with Dillion and Evangeline  she still looked beautiful. He took a step towards her. He had wanted to kiss her for a year or so. She stepped closer too. Nerves made him shake. He was already shaky from the tweet he read. They both leant in. Their lips touched and They both felt the zap of excitement. The smiled at each other and kissed again. He didn’t care about anything other than this amazing strong and beautiful girl he was kissing. They were about to be up against almost insurmountable odds but They had each other. Reed came outside and saw them hugging. He started a slow clap. "About damn time!” He said as They both blushed but didn’t separate. Reed looked past them and saw the veggie patch. “Oooh tomatoes.” He said as he walked out into the rain to get a tomato.  Emily’s phone blipped. It was a Tweet from the Avian Nation saying they were going to bring as many Avians to Eastview to fight back against the Brotherhood. This was amazing news. She showed the phone to Artimus. He nodded and smiled. They needed tech and They needed weapons. He gave her another kiss and walked to the garden shed. He opened the rusty green door with a creak. He pulled the string and the single bare bulb flickered to life. It shone it’s yellowy glow on to the shed contents. He scanned for anything they could use as a weapon. He found a dozen fence poles, a bunch of star droppers and a milk crate of mismatched screw drivers. “ We can work with these.” Artimus said as he unloaded his finds on to the back veranda.  Once that was all moved He went back to shed to do a deeper dive.
Emily was inside the house checking the battery power of her Crowsuit. She fiddled with the wrist display and a thin cord came out. It had a USB end. It was the charger cable. How had she not looked there? She plugged in the charger to the USB and the wrist display said it was 45% battery.
It was a normal day so far at James Robb airport. It had gotten busier and busier in the afternoon but security guard Dave Peabody wasn’t too worried. He found it strange why so many people had decided that today was the day to go hunting. In the security office they had a running tally on a white board recording how many people were traveling with guns or hunting weapons. The count was at 435. One colleague had said there was a hunting event in the town of Eastview but he didn’t really give it a second thought. He sipped his over priced coffee and ate an equally overpriced dry cookie as he watched the people mill around. This was one of his favourite things. He always had his coffee break in this cafe. The prices were high but The view was great. He always found it funny that people because super self important in an airport. Manners, decency and common sense seemed to be left at the door. He took another bite of dry cookie. A hand touched his shoulder. It snapped him out of his people watching trance. He spun around to see a beautiful brunette standing there. “Hey Dave how are you today?” she asked. “Hey Gail...how are you today?” he asked brushing of the crumbs from his grey security uniform. “I’m ok...now I wanted to ask you if you were interested In getting dinner with me tomorrow night?” she asked.  He was genuinely surprised. “I would love to...i was building up the courage to ask you but...” He was cut off by some raised voices in the terminal. He got out if his chair and said “Sorry Gail i have to see What that’s all about...but I’ll message you about dinner.” She smiled. “Awesome... can’t wait!” She said. He grabbed his coffee cup, pushed in his chair and ran out of the cafe. He saw the problem right away. Two large men in jeans and black tee-shirts with the “AAB" logo on the front had a young woman backed into a corner. They were hurling abuse at her and she was clearly in distress. She had tears streaming down her face. Dave walked up and said. “Alright folks what seems to be the problem?” The first man wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and said “She’s one of them Avians...no place in this world for ‘em!” Dave rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t matter what she is she is not hurting anyone by existing.” He said getting in between the woman and the two men. “What a surprise... you side with her.” The second man said spitting at Dave. Dave frowned and wiped his face. He grabbed his shoulder radio and called for some help. “You can’t kick us out, we have a plane to catch.” The first man said. “Keep harassing this young woman and I’ll throw  you out two out on your asses!” Dave said with his hand on His Taser holster. “That ain’t no woman...she’s a bird person.” The second man said.  Dave motioned to the woman to move as he watched the two men like a hawk. An arrow whistled through the air and struck the wall with a thwang! The two men got the ground as another arrow hit the wall. Dave grabbed the woman’s hand and made a run for it. One more arrow brushed her hair as they rounded the corner. He could hear more screaming and now gunshots. A small scale war had broken out in the airport. Dave tired get to some cover but an arrow to his leg stopped that endeavour. It pierced his calf and he screamed so loud it scared the woman he was trying to help. She ran for it but was hit in the back by two arrows.  Dave called out “Nooooo!” That was the last thing he would ever say as a figure dressed in black walked up to him. Dave wriggled and squirmed but it was no use. The figure raised his gun and fired. The gunman heard feathers rustle behind him. He turned as two Avians ran to tackle him. They got to him faster than he thought. Their bodies were hard and strong. He crumpled beneath their weight and strength. His head bashed against the airport tiles. The world became fuzzy and out of focus.  He dragged himself to his feet. He tried to take a step but his feet wouldn’t listen. He didn’t even put his hands up when the Avians jammed their razor sharp feathers into his throat. He flumped to the floor. More gunshots rang out. Avians called out a battle cry. Others screamed as they were gunned down. What started as a normal day at the airport had turned into a war zone.
Emily and Artimus prepped weapons in the back yard as other Avians milled around. Some helped them with weapons. Others  played card games. Some even threw a football on the lawn. Reed came through the  back door panting.  Emily stepped forward. “Reed? Are you ok?” She asked. He nodded. “Yeah I got chased for a bit there but I’m ok...” He said drinking from a drink bottle. "What do you mean you were chased? By who? And did they follow you back here?” Artimus asked as he put down a metal pole with star droppers welded to it in an x at the top of it. “Easy dad...I was too fast for them.” Reed said. “Too fast for who? Please be more careful next time!”  Artimus said shaking his head. “Just a few hunters that were on patrol.”  Reed shrugged. He walked into the kitchen and reached in to the plastic bag and pulled out the loaves of bread, cartons of milk and 4 newspapers. He looked out of the window at Artimus. He was a natural with these Avians. His Avians. He has been an Avian from birth whereas Artimus only had his awakening last week. This pissed Reed off. Artimus clearly was the Chosen one and Reed was a bit of a screw up. He knew that he was faster, stronger and better than those hunters. He  was going to prove it to himself and he was going to show Artimus that he was no screw up. He Would play nice until sundown then he was going to hunt a hunter.
They had all had a beautiful meal. Stories were told. Advice was given and bonds were formed. Those who cooked didn’t have to clean. Reed did neither. He sneakily ate 3 peoples share of dinner and snuck out the back door when the card games started. He ran down the street, keeping to the shadows. He had walked for an hour when He heard two dirt bikes in the distance. They grew louder and he hid behind a group of trees. The two dirt bikes flew past him.  He let his breath out. He for it he was holding it. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. These guys were serious. They had done the same thing he had. Wait for dark and try to catch one of the enemy. He felt stupid and he was mad at how fragile his Ego truly was.  He started to walk back towards what he was calling ‘The Homestead’, he heard the dirt bikes again. They tore around the corner. Again he used trees as cover. The went passed but turned around and parked right where he was hiding. The one in the red jacket popped his helmet off and hung it on the handle bar. “We know you are here...we have a scanner that picks up Avians....you are dead...” He said as Reed shot out from his cover. He sprinted as fast as he could. He covered his arms in feathers and  waited for them to follow. The one on red put his helmet on a and clambered in to his matching red bike. They powered after him.
Kayla drove through the streets of Eastview hoping to find Artimus. It wasn’t her red convertible as she left that at the family farm. It was a big white sedan. She saw a pair of single headlights speeding towards her. Motor bikes she thought. As they got closer a figure ran past her first. It looked like it had an arm full of feathers. “Arty!” Kayla screamed. She turned the car around and set off after the two bikes. She pressed her foot to the floor and the engine roared. She cane up side by side to the blue bike. She pulled the wheel to the right and the front quarter panel of the car hit the trail bike. The shear weight of the 80s sedan was too much for the much lighter bike. It fell to the ground as did it’s blue jacketed rider. Kayla pressed on and set her sights on the red bike. Her heart was pounding and thought back to when she hit that man in the Cafe car park to help Arty when those horrible men wanted to fight him. She had never acted like this before meeting Artimus. She was supposed to help turn him towards Evangeline’s cause but it just turned her toward Artimus. He was the guy she had been waiting for but that was all shattered when Evangeline told Arty why she was really hanging out with him. She shook the memories from her mind. She came up to the red bike. She hit it from behind. The rider fell forward. He looked back to see the front grill of the white sedan ram into his back wheel again. He fell forward again as the bike wobbled. The third hit was the worst as the bike went down and she rumbled the car over him. He didn’t stand a chance as he hit one of the cars back wheels. She felt the bump but didn’t care. She would go jail for Arty. The figure stopped running and turned as she stopped the car. “Arty...Arty..” She screamed as she flung the drivers side door open and she scrambled out. She ran to him and hugged him. With in a second she knew it wasn’t him. She pulled back fast as she looked at the Avians face. “You aren’t Artimus!” She said wiping tears from her cheeks. “Yeah I’m not...but I know where he is.” Reed said as his feathers disappeared. “You do? Oh my god...um I’m Kayla by the way!” She said offering her hand. He shook her hand and said “Nice to meet you Kayla I’m Reed!” They both got into her car and headed for the homestead.
Artimus sat on the porch. He sipped a coffee and he swung his feet back and forth nervously. Where was Reed? Why had he run off? He couldn’t risk sending people after him as these Avians were all out of towners. Only he and Emily were from Eastview. He shook his head at how he was acting like Reed's father. A car rumbled up and stopped at the front of the house. Reed popped out of the passengers seat and walked up the path. The drivers door flung open and she called out. “Arty...Arty!” Kayla scrambled out of the car and up the path. He stood and walked towards her as she ran down the path. She leapt at him and hugged him tight. He hugged her too. They pulled back but she leant in for a kiss. He pulled back. She felt embarrassed. Her face went red and she felt incredibly warm.  “Kayla...I can’t...” He said looking at his shoes. “Look I didn’t know I was going to fall for you when I took Evangeline’s money.” She said looking him in the eyes. He shook his head. “Its not the money thing....Im with Emily....we are destined to be together.” He said looking past Kayla. Emily had come outside as Reed had walked in. Kayla had provided a distraction so He could slip inside the house with out Artimus giving him the ‘I’m not mad just disappointed’ speech. “Destined? What the hell are you talking about?” Kayla asked with her hands on her hips. “Look Kayla I don’t have time for this...I’ve got a war to prepare for.” Artimus said walking  towards the porch where Emily was waiting. “War? I’ll give you a goddamn war!” She said storming off to her car. She put it in drive and roared off into the darkness. Emily hugged Artimus as he watched Kayla drive off. He sighed. He did enjoy the short time he spent with Kayla but he had to focus on the here and now. He kissed Emily on the head. “Do you think she is going to tell anyone where we are?” Emily asked looking up at the clear night sky. “If she does we have to be ready.” Artimus said getting up and stretching. “Let’s tell the troops about this new development.” He said leaning in to kiss her. Their lips touched and the spark shot through the both of them. They both smiled. They walked Into the house and Artimus said “Alright guys your attention please...”

She knew where she had to go. She didn’t want to but she also did at the same time. She powered the car up to Midas Avenue. She wished she could live up here one day. The life she deserved.  She pulled the car up to the gates. She put the car into park and got out. She waved in front of the camera. A minute later the gates shuddered open with a squeak and a squeal. Kayla drove the car to the front door. Evangeline opened the double front doors of Latrobe mansion. “What do you want?” She said as Kayla walked up the steps. “I know where the Avians are!” Kayla said. Fantastic Evangeline thought. Her face didn’t show how excited that news made her. “Where are they?” She asked. Kayla shook her head. “That’s not how this works.” Kayla said. Evangeline nodded and simply said “Cash?” Kayla’s turn to nod. “Cash!” She said with a smile. Evangeline showed Kayla in to the giant entry way. “Take a seat here and I’ll bring you some of your precious cash.”  Evangeline walked to her study and opened her desk drawer. She pulled out a stack of fifties and her black revolver. She tucked it into the back of her skirt. She walked back to the entryway where Kayla was sitting. Evangeline showed the money. “Flicker it so I  can see all the bills.” Kayla said. Evangeline rolled her eyes but did as she was asked. It was a wad of all fifties. She was a Latrobe after all. She knew how to do business. It was in the veins. “Where are they?” Evangeline asked as Kayla stood up. “They are hiding in a house on Moore street....number 7.” Kayla said. Evangeline threw the stack of fifties to her. Kayla grabbed at it greedily. She pocketed the cash. She spun on her heel. She took one step towards the open door before the gun went off. She fell to the floor, her head bouncing off of the  Evangeline rushed to Kayla’s body and pulled out the bundle of notes. Money was everything to a Latrobe.  That and power and respect. She walked back to her office. She put the gun and the money away. She picked up her office phone and pressed 22. It rang for a second. A deep voice said “Yeah.” “Clean up in the entryway...” “Uh Huh.” The voice said and the call went dead. She pressed 1 and the phone rang again. “Work shop.” Was the response. “I found them...they are at number 7 Moore street....when will you be ready?” Evangeline asked as she could hear banging, clanging and the sound of an angle grinder working hard. “I’d say if we work through the night we could be good to go by 6am.” The man said. Evangeline thought for a minute.  “Ok I’ll make my preparations here and you contact whoever you need to and we roll out at 5!” She said hanging up the phone. She walked to her cupboard in the study and opened The door. Her Hawksuit was inside charging. She had replaced the battery that Artimus had destroyed. They had moved it as well. Her tech guys had put in some upgrades which she couldn’t Wait to use.

The clock ticked over to midnight at the house on Moore street.  The house was quiet as all of the Avians got some rest. More had arrived that evening and Emily had received tweets and texts saying more were on their way.  Artimus was in the back yard checking and double checking the weapon inventory. They knew they were probably going to be out numbered and the definitely knew they would be out gunned. Sharpened sticks and cobbled together homemade melee weapons were no match for high tech suits and whatever else the brotherhood had but Artimus knew deep down that they had to fight. He sat for the first time in hours. He thought back to just two or three weeks ago when he ran from bullies. Here he was preparing to go to war with people who hated his kind. What a turn around he thought. It made him smile. His thoughts shifted to Emily. She was an amazing Avian. She had responded to every challenge. From fighting Dion, Rescuing Him from Sergei, fighting Evangeline in the woods  and taking in Avian soldiers to fight a war that seemed to be Getting closer. So close he could feel it.
The brotherhood marched forward. They were organised. They had cars, trucks and even a tank. And a secret weapon. At 5am they assembled. Half an hour later they ready to roll out. They had specific jobs and purposes. They were going to destroy every last one of those feathered scum. They walked and drove up to number 7. The Archers snuck around to the house behind and got into position. Evangeline walked to the front of the soldiers and hunters. She raised her arms and she lifted into the air.  She looked around from above. What a beautiful site. Hundreds of men and women united by a cause. Beautiful.  Simply beautiful. The eve of destruction. She said on to her ear piece. “Archer’s fire....fire away Archers.”  After brief moment 4 flaming arrows shot through the air and they landed on the roof of number 7.
Inside the house Artimus was woken by 4 thuds on the roof. He thought nothing of it. He rolled over on His thin camping mattress and he shut his eyes.  The next 4 thuds made him sit up. He could smell smoke. He sprang up and called out for Emily. She woke up. She had one eye open and her hair was everywhere. “What’s going on?” She said sleepily. He pointed to the ceiling. “Do you smell that?” She sniffed and nodded. “Definitely smoke...I think they have found us...” She said as a mild panic swept over her body and mind. He put his hands on her shoulders. “We got this!” He said smiling and he gave her a wink. He was feeling just as anxious as she was but he couldn’t let her know that. He walked around the house calling out to his Avian brothers and sisters to wake up. “War is upon us...lets not keep It waiting.” He said grabbing his baseball bat with bent nails hammered in to it. He walked to the back door to see more flaming arrows come over the fence. He ran to the front door and saw some of the brotherhood on the sidewalk across the street, weapons at the ready. He looked up and saw her. Evangeline. The mastermind behind all of this. He ran back to the lounge room where he was met with an amazing sight. 40 Avians all feathered up and brandishing their weapons. Reed stood at the front of the group. He shook Artimus' hand and they hugged. As they separated Emily walked into the room in her Crowsuit. She rested the helmet against her hip. Artimus smiled. He was overwhelmed with emotion. “Speech.” Was the call from the back of the group. A small ripple of laughter went around the group. “I’d love to stand here and motivate you lot but you seem pretty motivated to me...” He was cut short as a Molotov cocktail smashed through the lounge room window. Glass flew everywhere. The Avians all jumped clear of the fire but the carpet caught instantly. They all calmly flapped their feathers and the fire died. Another 3 Molotov cocktails cane flying in. That was the cue to leave. They all charged out of the door to see three men  each holding a lighter and a glass bottle with a rag hanging from it. Reed was too fast for them as he hit all three men with a two by four before they could light the petrol soaked rags.  They all hit the ground. Evangeline saw this from her lofty perch. She raised a wing on her Hawksuit. “Charge!!” was the call. The soldiers on the ground obliged. The silence was shattered. Bullets and arrows filled the air. Artimus and Emily fought off the front line soldiers. Artimus threw punches and kicks. Emily shocked some soldiers with her wrist zappers. She tried to conserve the Crowsuits battery so for the next two attackers she jumped at them with her knees.  They were standing so close together that she hit one with her left knee and one with her right knee. Other Avians weren’t so lucky. Three of them were gunned down as they tried to advance on the soldiers. Evangeline looked down at the carnage. Yes! Yes she thought. She saw Emily kicking a man in the head on the front lawn. She hated that girl. She said “Tank?” A voice filled her Hawk mask. “Tank here.” “Light up the house.” She said seeing Artimus and Emily fighting back to back. Just like that damn dream she had. Silence came from the other end. “Hello? Tank? Blow up the damn house!” She said losing her patience. “But some of our men are up there.” The tank driver replied. “Oh for God’s sake...ill do it myself!” She clicked off the communications and flew down to the tank. She ripped open the door and grabbed the man inside. She dragged him up and out of the tank. She punched him and threw him to the ground. She jumped down and looked at the control panel. She found the fire button and she pressed it. The noise wasn’t as loud from inside the Tank as she thought it would have been.
On the lawn Emily and Artimus heard the noise. They barely had time to call to other Avians as the house that had become a safe haven for Avians was reduced to splinters. The bang was enormous. Debris and glass was every where. Artimus was blown backwards. He hit a tree and then he hit the ground. Emily was blown into the neighbours yard. Artimus raised his head. The explosion had made his ears ring. He looked for Emily. He called out for her but the ringing was all be could hear. From his vantage point he could see a few Avian bodies. His eyes filled with tears. He screamed for Emily again. He tried to drag himself up but he stopped as he saw a familiar pair of boots in front of him. A pair of hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up to his knees. Evangeline. She pushed a button and her mask disappeared. “I’ve had just about enough of you and this pathetic resistance.” She said extending her right wing on her Hawksuit. The ringing in his ears died down. “Why are you like this...” Artimus said looking past her, desperately trying to see Emily.  “That’s none of your concern.” Evangeline pushed a button on her wrist display and a thin blade covered the length of the top of her right wing. “This has gone on longer than I thought it would...but it ends now...” She said noticing that Artimus was twitching. “What are you doing?” she asked. "None of your concern...” He replied in a mocking tone. His shoulders twitched and wriggled. Something was happening. He screamed in pain. Evangeline looked shocked and all she could do was stare at what was happening to her son.
Emily pulled herself up and she tried to get her bearings. Her ears rang and she saw the Avians casualties.  Her heart sank and her eyes filled with sadness. These Avians had come to this house with hope of a victory but that wasn’t meant to be. At this point the odds seemed insurmountable.  She scanned the yard for Artimus but he wasn’t there. It hit her that she wasn’t in the yard of number 7. She had been blown into the neighbours yard.  She limped over and around the debris. She walked around a large chunk of what used to be a wall and she saw the familiar figure of Evangeline. She had a blade on her suits wing and Artimus on His knees in front of her. He screamed again. Emily could hear a shirt ripping and Evangeline recoiled in shock. Artimus stood and he was know the owner of a pair of wings. He flexed his arm feathers and they became like armour. Emily pressed a button on her wrist display and her suit went into armour mode. Evangeline turned to run and she came face to face with Emily. The older woman’s Hawkmask covered her face. Emily pulled on her Crow helmet. “Lets finish this...” Evangeline said as They each threw punches and kicks. Emily closed her eyes and talked to Artimus. Protect the others....ill Take care of Evangeline...i love you... This made him smile. He closed his eyes and replied to her. I love you too...come back to me safe.  Her turn to smile despite being engaged in hand to hand combat with someone whose suit was far more advanced than her own.
Artimus took to the skies. He was shaky at first. But after a few test flaps of his wings he had a handle on it. He looked at the battle field.  It was getting pretty dire. He could see Maybe 10 Avians fighting but the sheer number of soldiers was overwhelming. He looked in all directions. A large number of vehicles seemed to be heading towards them. Please let them be Avians and not more brotherhood soldiers he thought as he looked down at the circle of Avian fighters which had dwindled to 6 in the time he was in the air. A missile was launched at Artimus. He saw it at the last second. He batted it away. It flew back the way it came and it hit the ground with an explosion. It sent brotherhood soldiers flying in all directions. As he was watching the destruction he cause he failed to see that the brotherhood had thrown 3 grenades Into the circle of Avians. They all went off with in a second of each other wiping out to the remaining Avians. Artimus flew down to help but the power of 3 grenades sent him flying backwards. He was the only Avian left standing. Evangeline was off fighting with Emily. Where was Reed? Artimus thought. He closed his eyes for a second. Where are you Reed? Nothing. He wasn’t anywhere. He opened his eyes and every gun was trained on him. He held his hands up and floated down to the ground. The soldiers advanced on Him. They grabbed him and forced him to walk. They directed him to a car. It was an old police cruiser, with a few post apocalyptic additions. The door was flung open and he was stuffed inside. He wings retracted so he could fit. The door was slammed shut. It was locked with a key. A metal bar was slid across and secured in place like mega barrel bolt. “Escape that you feathered Fuck!” a solider said. Artimus heard him. He banged on the door. “Hey Hey dude is that a challenge?” Artimus asked. The solider smirked. “Go for it big guy!” He said laughing. Artimus thought about his feathers they doubled in thickness. He pushed at the door at budged a little. He looked at the floor. He had an idea. He held his hands up and the feathers grew into a point. He jammed them in to the floor of the car and worked his hands up and down like a saw. He kicked out the circle of metal and he jumped into it. He put his hands under the car and lifted the car above his head. The soldier shit himself and tried to make a run for it. Artimus smirked and heaved the heavy car at the man. He stretched his shoulders and his wings returned. He flew off to find Emily. As he looked around he saw a beautiful sight. Avians in all directions fighting the soldiers. There seemed to be hundreds of them. Artimus smiled. He knew that today was just one battle in war that may stretch on forever. He flew off to find Reed.
A punch to Emily’s midsection left her winded. She dropped to one knee. She was panting and struggling. Evangeline on the other hand was doing amazingly well. Her Hawksuit was doing all the work and she loved kicking this young bitches ass. She ran up and rested her left leg on Emily and kicked with right leg. He foot slammed in to the young woman’s crow helmet, popping it off. It bounced, rolled and came to stop a short distance from Emily. She noticed the right calf on Evangeline’s Hawksuit was thicker than the left one. That must be where the battery pack was. She tried to form a plan in her head but it was hard to think when a mad woman was kicking lumps out of you and enjoying it like a kid on Christmas morning. Emily pulled the sneaky knife she had built in to her boot for emergencies. She kept it hidden in her hand. She crawled on the ground towards a lump of wood. Evangeline saw this and got in front of Emily and kicked the wood away. Emily had a second to act. She didn’t waste any of it. She wrapped herself around Evangeline’s right leg. The older woman looked down. “What are you doing?” She said barely looking down. Emily furiously jammed the knife into the back of the right calf. Evangeline tried to shake Emily free but she was clinging with all she had. The knife got in behind the panel on the suit and it popped off. It clattered on the floor. Evangeline looked down and saw Emily pulling out wires. The read outs on her Hawk helmet flickered and died. “NO...NO YOU CANT DO THIS TO ME!” Evangeline screamed at Emily as Artimus joined her. “Well I just did.” Evangeline pulled off her helmet and threw it on the ground. “Its over Evangeline.” Artimus said as she reached down to her boot. She smiled. “Oh no my dear boy...its never over...its the Latrobe way...either I win or nobody does.” She said as she showed she was holding a grenade. Artimus cursed under his breath. She was slippery as a damn snake and twice as cunning. Artimus closed his eyes and smiled. “Hey open your eyes you abomination...” She said looking nervous. Artimus took a step towards Evangeline and Emily did too. Evangeline instinctively took a step back. “Get back...ill detonate it!” She said with nerves getting increasingly more frayed by the second. Artimus smiled. He shook his head. “No you won’t...you are way too selfish for that.” He said stepping closer. “You only pick fights you can win! You backed  Sergei to kill me, you brought hundreds of soldiers to beat less than fifty Avians and you only took on Emily as your suit was technologically more advanced!” Artimus said getting in Evangeline’s face. She hated to admit that he was right. Emily stepped closer too. “Enough talk...ill show you...” Evangeline said as she pulled the pin. A hand grabbed the grenade from behind. It was Reed. He threw the grenade away and nothing happened. She was bluffing. Reed grabbed Evangeline and held her in front of him. “I’d love to hit you but there are others ahead of me in line.” He said spinning her around to face Emily. She threw an elbow and it connected with Evangeline’s jaw. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she saw darkness.  Artimus took her limp body and said “I’ll return this to the brotherhood and call a truce.” He lifted into the air and flew towards the soldiers. “AVIANS...stand down!” Artimus called as his feathered brethren stopped fighting. The soldiers didn’t fire as they saw He was carrying Evangeline. He landed in a circle of them, all of the guns trained on him. He laid her down and said “I’ve returned your leader....i demand a safe get away and I know we shall resume fighting another day.” Nobody said anything. They just stared. He flew off towards Emily and Reed. The other Avians screamed and followed their new leaders.
An hour later Evangeline came to in a make shift first aid tent. She asked the soldier assigned to her where the 3 young Avians were. “They returned you and got safe passage in return.” He said. She slung her legs off of the bed. “You let them go? Why didn’t you shoot them in the back of the head when they turned around? Jesus you lot are useless!” She said shaking her head. “We don’t play that way...” He said leaving the tent. She followed him out. “I need to walk this off.” She said as she walked faster out of the makeshift camp. She opened a panel in her chest and pressed the red button. She broke in to run. The solider near her exploded. She kept her head down. Another suffered the same fate. One near her thought his fellow soldiers were being shot at by a sniper, so he tried to out run it but he too fell to an explosion. Evangeline got far enough away and turned to observe the carnage. Soldier after soldier fell.  Evangeline smiled. She always had a back up plan.

Willoughby Daniels sat in the front yard of the house behind number 7 Moore street. He had a bloody battle with 3 Avians. He killed them all. He got their blood all over the vest  that the lady in the Hawksuit had given them to wear. He took it off and sat for a minute. Be ran his hands through his grey hair. He rubbed his chin with its 4 days of stubble.  He lit a smoke and he breathed in the flavour.  He heard a noise and grabbed his shotgun. He took a quick look around. It was the wind blowing a chip bag. He walked back to his post and his vest on back of the chair beeped and it exploded. The chair disappeared into splinters. “That bitch set us up!”  He said looking at the carnage that used to be a chair. He walked around the block and came up Moore street. He saw body after body. The road was littered with them. That woman must have filled the vest with explosives and that way she could eliminate the soldiers and hunters if things didn’t go her way. He shed a tear for these men who fought for their cause and that Latrobe woman made it personal.
Six months later
The fire crackled and the flames leapt. The day was young and there were  many jobs to be done. Artimus’ job was to chop the wood. He used that as his workout for the day. He hit the last chunk of wood and it exploded into two pieces. He turned around to see Emily looking at him. “Hey there beautiful!” He said wiping the sweat from his brow. She wasn’t smiling. “What’s wrong?” he asked leading her to sit down in the wood shed. “I...i had another vision...Evangeline finds us...” Emily said unable to keep the tears back. Artimus put his arm around her. “Ok...well We will change safety protocols or change the night guard more often...or...” He said trying to make her feel better. She smiled. They kissed and the spark shot through them and surrounded them. When   these two worked together, great things occurred. They had come along way from staring at each in the hallway at school and they still had a long way to go.
She stood in front of a map. It had close to 50 red crosses on it. The radio crackled to life. “Boss?” The male voice asked. “Yeah?” She said with one shred of hope remaining. “Nah they aren’t out here in Jackson Forest.” The voice said. Evangeline dropped her head. She scrubbed out Jackson Forest on the map. She threw the red marker across the room. She would find them. She  thought of all the ways she would torture them. She smiled that sick smile that meant trouble for the Avian community.