Chronicles of the Unknowns: Intervention

Chapter 9

"I don't think their friendly. We should get out of sight," Ken said.

"Maybe we can just talk to them," I said.

Ken gave me a look that made me think he thought I was crazy.

"Right now the path of least resistance is to shoot first and ask questions later. We're not here to negotiate until we show them who has the real power here," he said.

I didn't really get the chance to respond before Ken used his powers to propel us up onto the first ship we came across.

We didn't make it far before getting noticed. I heard the navy men shouting in their own language and they did a lot of pointing. There were a few moments of silence between us as they clearly shouted demands neither Ken nor I could understand. I felt awkward. We were about to attack sailors that we couldn't even communicate with.

Then they got tired of the stand off and drew their guns. A feeling of unease washed over me as they leveled and aimed them at us.

Shit.

We only had a split second to act before they pulled their triggers. Mentally, I used my powers to whip ocean water onto the ship. The navy men were soaked along with their guns. Before I could freeze them in place, I heard gunshots ring out.

Ken reacted instantly. The air immediately around me became completely still, but the wind on the ship was whirling about wildly. It was like we were in the eye of the storm, where it was the most calm. He'd used the air to create a barrier between us and them. I watched as Ken brought his hand up and then used his finger to point at any sailors he could see nearby. With each point, a sailor dropped to the ground in a heap.

That's when I realized he'd used the wind, not only to make a barrier, but also took advantage of the momentum to capture and propel the bullets right back where they came from.

"If we are going to overthrow a military, casualties are a given," he said, then went right into the action.

Sometimes watching Ken fight was mesmerizing. While I and the others had been basically been trained to street fight, Ken grew up around genuine martial arts. So, even though he could easily control the air with his mind alone, he prefered use his fists and feet to create powerful blasts with each blow.

He made a large leap toward a new group of about six soldiers who were coming to investigate what all of the commotion was about. They surrounded him as he landed nimbly on his feet. One of the soldier's hand went for his weapon but Ken did an uppercut. His fist never made contact, but the force of the blast sent the man flying.

The sailors looked amongst themselves, first in shock and then in rage. They knew what we were now. We were Unknowns, the scourge of the earth in their eyes, invading their ship.

Ken did a backflip to give himself a little more space and then lit into the remaining five soldiers before they knew what hit him. A sweeping kick, fueled by the wind, knocked them all airborne. He brought his foot high up into the air before bringing it down one. I was shocked that he actually made contact.

Sometimes I didn't know if it was worse to get hit with Ken's actual hands and feet or to get hit by the blast of wind that followed him punching and kicking the air. Each option hurt like hell.

The rest of the sailors were trying to get onto their feet as Ken went back on the offensive. I watched as the wind picked up and the began to rise into the air yet again. Then Ken stepped back, taking aim before doing a spinning roundhouse that knocked them overboard into the cold ocean water.

I was so absorbed with him fighting I barely noticed that a group of sailors were approaching from behind. I turned around to face them head on.

Although their reaction was hostile, I was confident (thanks to Ayana's idea) they didn't know who we were even though they knew what we were. And even if someone did happen to recognize me, they wouldn't be expecting me to be able to control fire which would definitely throw them off. A few random Unknowns causing a ruckus was one thing, but the infamous girl who could control water? If they knew it was me then they'd lock up the entire coastal area tighter than a drum and search every inch of the place trying to take us down.