Blackstone

A Desperate Flight

"Val Sol!" David shouted the Ranger Battle Cry and brandished his knife in front of him.

"Val Sol!" Thomas and I yelled back.

The Dra Khan rushed us, swinging and jabbing their power staffs. I remembered Romano's lessons about fighting the Dra Khan – always attack.           

All three of us shifted into Fast Time.

David waded into the first three attackers. He ducked the swing of a Dra Khan, stepped inside and slammed his etheric knife into the reptile warrior's chest. The Dra Khan vanished in a cloud of black mist. Blocking a blow with his knife, David rolled onto the floor, flipped in the air and came down behind the last two warriors. He backed off, circling the Dra Khan, stabbing with his etheric knife.

I faced two Dra Khan warriors. I let loose a fierce war cry. It was time to let the Wend loose and have a little fun. I hadn't killed up close since the Zombies in the park.

Two power staffs stabbed at my head, but I easily ducked and slammed my knife up into the guts of the warrior. Golden fire flared and the warrior vanished.

The last warrior roared and rushed me with his staff twirling in a circle. I backed up against the window, feinted to the right, and dropped to the ground to perform a spinning leg sweep that took the warrior off his feet. Letting the dark power fill my hands, I brought my fists down on the warrior like a hammer striking a nail and disintegrated the Dra Khan completely.

I leapt to my feet and checked to see how Thomas was doing.

He was barely holding his own. Backed up into a corner, Thomas thrust his knife at the two Dra Khan.

"I could use a little help." Thomas cried.

I grabbed a chair and flung it at one of the warriors. With a snarl of rage, the Dra Khan smashed the chair into pieces and charged me. I met the Dra Khan's charge head on, ducked its power staff and slashed a wide hole in the reptile's chest. The Dra Khan collapsed into black mist.

David finished dispatching his two Dra Khan and rushed to help Thomas. He rammed his knife into the remaining warrior's back, disintegrating the surprised creature before it could hurt Thomas.

David and I helped Thomas to his feet. Thomas smiled sheepishly, "Thanks, mates. I was just about to let them have it, but I appreciate the help."

David checked his watch. "We've only got four minutes left. You can make it up to us by defusing that bomb."

Thomas picked up his tracker and pointed it around the library. "Right, it should be down here," he said, zeroing in on a nearby aisle.        

We ran down the aisle, following Thomas who led the way with his tracker held out in front of him. Finally, he stopped at a shelf and pointed at a thick leather bound book that said Maps of Europe.

"That's it," Thomas said and pointed at the book.

"It's just a book," I said.

"Appearances can be deceiving," David said and gently took the book off the shelf. "Come on let's take a look at this thing."

David walked to a nearby table and laid the book down. "Adebayo what can you do with this thing?"

Thomas whipped out his Razor Phone and quickly scanned the book. "It's got a holographic chameleon interface to disguise it. I'll have to whip up a counter program to defeat it."

"Can you do it?" I asked.

Thomas looked at me and grinned. "Hey, you're looking at a professional. I can do this in my sleep."