Ninja Apocalypse

15: The Way Home (edited)

The skeleton Army never made it to the other side of the city. The explosion that tore the city apart, had scattered the troops. The team started their journey back to the Temple and hoped they would make good progress before the hoards regrouped.

Across the debris littered terrain, four hulking serpentine warriors carried Cole and Kai on stretchers. One Serpentine warrior brought up the rear as lookout while the Shamen and Zane took the lead. With expertly bound reinforcements spliced into his mangled leg and foot, Zane was now walking upright and with a literal spring in his step.

Before starting their journey, the Serpents had motioned for Zane to sit and began work on his battered leg without a word to explain their actions. Zane tried to enquire politely but found he could only sit and wait to see what they were doing to him. He calculated that it couldn't be much worse than what had already happened, so he stopped asking after a while.

The serpents worked systematically, making Zane stand to take measurements; they held his leg, flexing it at the knee every now and again to test the work until they were satisfied and Zane managed to finally get a good look at what they had crafted. Splints of wood, metal rods and wire, scavenged from a rich supply of wreckage were woven in through the remaining skeletal elements, all tied in and linked with some kind of fine string, of which they seemed to have an abundant supply. The many small knots staggered between the moving joints gave great flexibility and the strands that were plaited down the length of his shin made up for the lost suspension. It looked a lot like a leg stuck in a spiders' web and Zane marvelled at the precision. They had judged the length of the leg well and it gave him a strange bouncing sensation when he walked. But even with his revamped leg, the way home still proved long and arduous.

The hazardous terrain threw up obstacles and hidden dangers making it difficult for the stretcher-bearers. Cole had regained consciousness along the way, but Zane implored him to stay on the stretcher, he could not afford to squander the strength he had left so Cole did as he was asked.

The day felt long, as if it would never end, only for night to fall too soon and they had to stop. They made camp for the night and Cole rose from his enforced rest. The Black Ninja stood by the campfire; his silhouette showed Zane the truth of Cole's state. It was as if his friend was withering before his eyes and he went to him 'rest a while longer Cole. Sit by the fire and take in its heat, I shall take the first watch' and he left to find a good sentry point.

Settling atop a collapsed building Zane had a good view all around. As the sun dipped lower and night fell he saw one of the warriors extinguish the campfire below. A good thing too he thought. Skeletons probably don't sleep and the fire could attract them to our location. He sighed. It would be a long night and he looked out in the direction of their home. The atmosphere was thick with an eerie haze, making the view difficult. He had hoped for a glimpse of the floating island with their Temple home atop, but not even the sunlight that dipped beyond the horizon revealed the Islands shadow in the haze and he feared what that meant.

Zane heard someone approach and saw it was Cole and a warrior. Zane shifted over so Cole could sit beside him as the warrior stood alert, directing his piercing eyes out into the half light. They both stared out too 'Are you thinking what I'm thinking?' Cole asked.

Zane slowly nodded 'It could just be the haze'

'Perhaps' replied Cole 'I truly hope so'

They lapsed into silence until Zane spoke again 'How is Kai?'

'In and out of consciousness... He's muttering stuff, but y'know, it's not making any sense' worry was etched on Cole's face 'he's not great. His fever is high, real high'