MIST: AFTER THE APOCALYPSE

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Saving Aya

On the night before Aya's eighteenth birthday, the Black Beauty docked at its destination... or so Captain Black said.

"Captain, I have some questions, if I may," Flame asked Black, who nodded. "How does your ship move so swiftly on becalmed seas and with the strength of one man?"

Captain Black did not answer. The ship halted, lurched forward and started to sink.

"What in blazes?" Dom cursed as the ship sank below the surface. However, before the trio could pray for salvation, the ship reemerged as if nothing had happened.

"It is not a normal ship? You could have simply said so!" Flame berated Captain Black with a scowl. Seleen laughed at the water dripping from the men's clothes. She had cast a protective spell on her and the Captain, but not on the newcomers.

Dr. Kayden gritted his teeth. "When are we arriving?"

"We already have," Black replied, the sight of the familiar mountains and meadows bringing comfort to his heart.

As soon as the Beauty's anchor was cast, a rain of arrows hurled from above. To her annoyance, Seleen had to stop them.

"An army of archers?" Kayden said as he slipped on his mask. "I thought this mission was confidential!"

"It is," Seleen mumbled to herself, letting the arrows drop away from the ship and bringing one into her hands for inspection. "I have never seen this before..."

While Seleen was distracted, a wave of bigger arrows almost pierced through her telekinesis. Hastily, Flame produced a barrage of fireballs to counter them. The arrows burned to a crisp, the ashes coating the ship like snow.

"Was this necessary?" Dr. Kayden rolled his eyes.

"I did not see you take any corrective action!" Flame bit back before tensing as the third wave began.

Dom jumped off the ship, his landing cracking the ground below. He picked up the jagged rocks and threw them at the arrows to deflect them.

"They are firing from the forest. Dr. Kayden, investigate and report." Captain Black looked at the doctor, who nodded and set out. "Dom, stay behind and protect the ship. Your strength will be valuable." Dom didn't like the idea, but since this was the Captain's first order for him, he could not disobey. "Seleen, Captain Flame, come with me." The trio took a different way through the forest.

***

"Tch. Where is... the army...?" Kayden panted, hiding behind a tree.

Were it not for his fast reflexes, an arrow would have pierced through his brain. He dodged the rest in a similar fashion, thankful for the moonless sky that cast a shadow on the world.

It took some time for him to notice the shooter. He climbed the tree he had been leaning on, but to his dismay, nobody was waiting for him. "What is this? I am sure there was someone here! Is it a ghost?"

Even merging with the shadows revealed nothing.

The final arrow seemed to aim at the ground. The doctor wondered why, until his shoulder erupted into pain, making him shriek. Whoever was attacking knew his capabilities; shooting his shadow while he resided within would harm him.

This was fruitless. He had to step out of his shadow dimension. "What the hell are you? Alien forces?"

"Alien forces? That is you!" Kayden couldn't pinpoint the location the voice was coming from.

"Untrue! But if you are not a beast, why are you attacking me?"

"State your identity and your purpose!"

"I am looking for a girl." Kayden was hesitant to speak. "I don't know the details because the Captain doesn't speak—"

Someone jumped off a tree and landed on the ground. "A girl, you say? What do you want from her?"

A hooded figure with a bow in hand appeared, a tail swinging behind their back.

"Should I assume you are the leader of the archer army?" Kayden raised an eyebrow, dropping to the ground himself.

"Answer my questions!"

"I... Captain is here to fetch her before the alien forces arrive, since today is her eighteenth birthday! Anything else you want to know?" He had to stall until he could pinpoint a weakness in the figure's body.

"Do... do you mean Captain Spectro? Are you part of his crew?"

Who? "E-er, yes, I believe...?"

To the doctor's utter surprise, the figure dropped their hood to reveal a beaming youth. "Then I am Degon, Lady Aya's personal guard. We have been waiting for the Captain."

"Such a young fellow! And to lead an army of archers at such a young age?"

"Army?" Degon frowned in confusion.

"Yes, the army of archers that..." Kayden shook his head. He had priorities to attend to. "Ah, nevermind that, may I see Lady Aya?"

Degon refused. "I must wait for the Captain's arrival first."

The doctor groaned in frustration, making the young guard sigh. "What a pain... Alright, I believe he's in the west. Tell your men to follow us."

"What men? I am alone!" Degon's tail thrashed behind him.

"You... that barrage of arrows came from you? No, no, forget that. We need to hurry and meet with the Captain."

As they moved, Degon prayed under his breath for protection. Kayden wanted to ask, but they had stalled enough. Hopefully, the journey will go uninterrupted.

Meanwhile, Captain Black and company headed for the house Aya grew up in. The path was free of guards and beasts, to Aradag's relief and disbelief, but he knew he had to keep focused.

"This was much easier than I expected," he said, startling his companions. "This island was once packed with TDI soldiers. I had to sneak past them to stay updated on Lady Aya."

"Quiet!" Seleen hissed. "There is something in the woods!"

"I will make quick work of it," Flame said, and he did, much to Seleen's horror; the trees had become ashes where they once stood. "I have never used my powers this frequently. A... pleasant change."

He almost missed the movement within the forest fire. "Something is... moving in the fire. That should be impossible!"

"Captain! It's a flame hound!" Seleen couldn't believe her eyes. The Captain was gone, presumably off to kill the creature.

"What is happening?" Captain Flame, on the other hand, was lost.

"Doesn't matter, he may have spotted something else." Seleen made quick work of her backpack and pulled out her journal. "Focus on the hound. Distract it while I look for a weakness."

"My pleasure."

Flame was thrown back to the young woman as fast as he leapt into the fire.

"If you want to distract a Rank Eight monster, you should do better."

The man could only wheeze out a response. "Rank... what?"

"Eight," Seleen spat. "And it feeds on fire. The key is in the name, you airhead."

"Mind your tongue while I think of a new strategy," Flame replied.

He ignited a flame in his hands and clasped them together. His face and hair reddened, his veins bulging. Flame's steps melted the ground as he dashed forward, and in little time, he collided his fist with the flame hound's face. The impact sent the six-meter dog flying into the forest ashes.

"About time," Seleen called to him. "You know I could have ended it long ago—"

She cut herself off, her eyes widening. Before Flame could blink, the flame hound's body tumbled into his, squashing him under its weight.