Chapter 44 — Ghosts of Rallsburg

The guns shouted death, a war cry echoing through the forest. Brian's people were raining chaos through the camp of so-called "awakened", but it wasn't enough. He'd shown they weren't wanted, how they brought terrible tragedy to good people, but still they insisted on their self-destructive ways. It was… disgusting.

Brian couldn't focus on the many running scared, though he surely dreaded their escape. Like rats, they'd burrow into the crevices of the land, biding their time until they emerged once again lesson unlearned. His people, brave crusaders picked from his most dedicated followers, would stop as many as they could, but the forest truly was chaos that night.

Bodies. Bodies everywhere, dead and alive. In the shadowy moonlight, Brian could only see shapes. They were outlines of people, fleeing and tripping over detritus scattered through the huge clearing, yet it seemed fitting. These were not truly people, so why should they have such human things as faces? Some of his people were still reluctant to go for the kill on those who looked so outwardly normal—Brian was grateful that nature itself seemed to be aiding their cause that night.

Of all places, of course this clearing is where they made their camp of decadence.

Brian knew this place, far too well. The abandoned RVs still stood—some co-opted by vendors, others slowly reclaimed by nature—and toward the far end, the most fateful of all quietly lay. In that small, ruined home, Brian had first seen the truth. In there, Jackson had shown him the folly of magic, the inevitable fate for those who dabbled with powers far beyond their understanding.

In that place, Jenny Wilson had died, and with her, the town of Rallsburg.

It should have been destroyed.

"They're getting away," snapped one of Brian's lieutenants.

Brian couldn't respond right away. He'd been concentrating on his golems, commanding them to tear down structures and smash the RVs flat. These were once good people's homes—he would not allow the awakened to steal them. He simply grunted in response, his mind sharp and focused on the monsters he controlled.

"We should just shoot 'em all," added a man nearby, prone with his rifle propped on a tree root. "Either they're goddamn witches or they're helping the fuckers. All of 'em are guilty."

"No," said Brian firmly.

"But—"

"If one innocent person dies, we've failed." Brian held the golems in place for a moment, shooting a cold glare at the hapless man. "You will be sure of your target or you will not fire. Use a stone or see them use magic, but don't kill anyone who might yet be saved. We're not murderers."

"You heard the man," added the lieutenant, frustration gone from his voice. Brian's commanders were well-chosen—they might be inexperienced in combat, but they understood his cause and they were beyond motivated. Brian himself had no professional experience, but he had waged a one-man war before, and he could do so again.

They will never have my home.

Brian's control over the golems was suddenly broken. He snapped his attention back to the camp. The faceless monster wasn't gone—it was frozen in place. Slowly, without Brian's ordering, it turned around and faced him, its blank face accusing him as it had so many of the hated awakened. For a split-second, Brian thought it might have finally come for him, having used their power for so long at the cost of his own soul.

But they were not to judge him. No, he was using his power for the betterment of humanity. This golem had been corrupted by evil magic. As Brian turned to look, he saw a familiar face, a ghost from his past—Hector Peraza, holding the hand of the young red-headed grey cultist.

"Shoot them!" Brian shouted, pointing at the pair.

A rifle quickly turned—whose, Brian couldn't tell, and didn't care—and opened fire, but the shots went wide. His men were motivated and armed, but they were not professionals, and landing a shot in the dark chaotic forest was no easy feat. Worse, as Hector and the girl realized they'd been targeted, a second golem from Brian's control was converted away and moved into place as a shield. Brian knew full well they could not be pierced by bullets. He needed another strategy.

How many can they withstand?

He diverted every other golem he had created. Some had chased the strange moving wooden barrier, a construction of torn-apart trees as a makeshift shield, but Brian pulled them all back in. If Hector and his little friend thought they could handle the monsters of Omega himself, then let them test their mettle.

The golems converged toward Hector and Ruby. Brian couldn't see them any more, but he imagined their terrified faces. Once, Brian had been friends with the timid shopkeeper, but the man had chosen his side. Brian regretted his fate, but resigned himself to the task. He would end Hector's life as swiftly and painlessly as he could.

But he could not get past Hector's control.

Brian was a master of the golems. He'd controlled the monsters through dozens of conflicts, and each time, he found it easier. He could summon more, control them from further away, could send them on several tasks at once. Defeating two awakened should have been easy, particularly when they'd never shown any ability to summon or control golems themselves.

Yet this high school girl and a grocery store owner from Mexico were keeping Jackson's monsters at bay.

He roared in frustration, startling his subordinates. One of Brian's lieutenants looked back with concern, but Brian ignored him. He'd realized a trick, something they wouldn't expect—Brian was still the source of the golem at its root, and he could simply cut it off.

The golem shielding the pair began to disintegrate.

"Get ready to shoot them," Brian grunted through gritted teeth.

Movement behind the crumbling golem as they ran. A hail of bullets followed, but Brian saw no satisfying puff of blood, no indication they'd been taken down. He sighed, but it didn't matter—the threat to his weapon was gone. He took a breath to steady himself, then began to summon his army once more. They burst from the ground, one by one like the undead, and Brian sent them out into the encampment once more to wreak havoc.

He turned his attention back to the wooden shield, which had just been tossed away. Behind it, a young man and a girl, fleeing for rocks piled at the end of the clearing. For a split-second, Brian panicked—he thought he'd seen his daughter in that girl, but it was all wrong. The proportions, the clothing, even the way she moved seemed nothing like Natalie. From a distance, Brian couldn't be sure, and he dismissed it as a mirage.

When I am done, Natalie, I will find you, and I will apologize for leaving you every hour until I die.

Natalie reached the rocks and ducked for cover. Lani, a few steps behind, dove to the ground right beside her, while a couple bullets cracked off the rocks above them, chips flying off and nearly hitting her in the face.

"What the hell—" gasped the man hiding there, who they'd been sent to rescue.

"Are you Malich?" asked Natalie. Lani was breathing a little heavy from sprinting across the field, but she felt totally fine. I guess this whole body ritual thing was a good idea after all…

"...Yeah." He shook his head in disbelief. "Guess you're my backup, then?"

"I guess so."

"What are we doing?" asked Lani. "Flanking harder or getting out?"

"Well, those fuckers don't seem to be leaving," grunted Malich, nodding toward the line of flashing guns where Natalie's father was. "I'd feel bad if I left first."

Lani grinned. "Jeremy said you were an asshole. Not seeing it, personally."

Malich coughed out a laugh. "Ashe is the real asshole, but I deserved that. I learned a fuckton since then." He glanced around. "You seen my man? I was out here looking for him."

"I'm not su—"

"He's dead…" said Natalie quietly. "I heard it happen."

"You… heard it," muttered Malich. "You sure?"

"He had one of your radios. Somebody cut his neck open." She winced. "I'm sorry…"

Malich took a long, deep breath. "...Fuck…"

Lani patted him on the shoulder. "Nothing you could've done, man."

"Yeah." Malich didn't look convinced at all, but he shook his head again and turned back to face toward the gunfire. "So what's the plan?"

Lani turned to Natalie. She hesitated. Why do they keep thinking I'm in charge?

Because we are the most powerful, and you are a leader. They are not leaders. Take command, as we were meant to.

But I have no idea what I'm doing! I've never been in a fight like this.

...Can we really do this?

We can. We must. We will.

"Okay," murmured Natalie.

"Huh?"

"Lani, can you get him and my friends out of here?" asked Natalie. We can't protect everyone at once, and it will be easier if my friends are safe with Lani and Riley. "I'm gonna keep going. If I can get close to them, I can take their guns."

"You can do what now?" Malich looked at her like she was insane. "Girl, how old are you?"

Natalie ignored him. "Lani, if you go kinda that way," she said, pointing roughly toward the town, though in a way that wouldn't take them anywhere the guys with guns, "you'll find a tree fort. Can you keep them safe there until I come back?"

"What about you?" asked Lani.

"I'll be okay," said Natalie, trying to force a smile on her face, but it didn't quite make it. "I'll meet you there."

Lani nodded. "I'll get them there, but we're going to need cover getting out of this clearing. They're still on the other side."

"Yeah…" Natalie got on her knees and moved up to the rock, next to where Malich still lay. Golems were once again pushing into the town, flashes of gunfire popping out from both sides and the non-stop banging still pressing on her ears. "I can do that."

"Just tell me when."

Okay… how do I distract them? The only way I know how to beat golems is lightning… but if I use lightning, then everybody's gonna know it was me. They'll arrest me and take me away.

Ruby and Hector were able to take control of them… what if we can do that?

I gotta get Ruby to show me how to do it, so that doesn't help right now. As long as I don't show myself and take out the golems, I should be okay. So… I gotta make sure nobody sees me. But this means Lani's gonna know… well, I think he's a good guy.

We must act soon. Our side is losing.

The voice was right. Golems were pressing into the camp once more, and the gunfire from there had significantly decreased. Ruby and Hector seemed to be gone, and though Natalie saw a few more bursts of magic, she couldn't tell if anyone was even fighting back anymore. Worse, people seemed to be running toward the guns now, so Natalie assumed someone must be attacking them from the other side now.

"I'm going up in the trees," said Natalie. "You'll know when it's time to go."

"Never stay in one spot too long," said Lani as she stood up. "They'll shoot you if you do. Keep moving." She nodded, and he smiled weakly. "Good luck."

Natalie jumped up into the nearest tree, a wide-eyed Malich watching her go. She leapt forward, branch by branch, using bursts of Movement magic on her flight to make sure she landed exactly where she meant to. Her balance was perfect after learning to modify that part of her brain. I'm like a monkey up here… this is amazing!

We have a fight to win. Be careful, Natalie.

I know. I'm just… this is really cool.

Natalie slowed and stopped, landing at a tree much closer to the battle, where she could see the golems clearly. Far into the camp, she saw people huddling behind cover, while more golems slowly pressed in from the opposite end. They were trapped, and the jaws were closing ever tighter.

Time to change that.

The fire in her heart roared to an inferno. Natalie gathered up her energy and sent it crackling into her arms. She threw out one hand, and from it, a massive burst of pink lightning snapped forward. It crackled and danced through the air… and jackknifed to the side, melting a steel pole and completely missing the golem she'd been trying to take out.

...I forgot about that…

Natalie rubbed at her eyes from the bright flash of light. She quickly jumped three trees down, remembering Lani's advice, and found another golem—this time one not near anything metallic.

Another crackling pink bolt zig-zagged through the air. The upper half of the golem disintegrated, and a tiny fire kicked up in the grass behind it. Natalie could just barely reach it from her spot. She smothered it, then jumped away to her next tree.

The gunfire nearby had slowed. She heard shouting and confusion, and suppressed a strange urge to giggle. They were so confused—the lightning was coming from above them! Natalie settled into another tree and decided to try something new. She snapped both hands forward, fingers splayed out wide, and fired a new bolt, trying to shape it in mid-air.

Pink electricity arced over the entire camp, a thick and dangerous bolt of crackling energy that forked through the air and struck three golems on the far side. They vaporized, the remaining material breaking down and crumbling to dust where they stood.

Perfect.

People started running out the newly opened escape path. Nearer to her, with Brian's men no longer firing, Lani and Malich were sprinting back to Riley's position. Natalie smiled—her plan was working.

A helicopter blade beat the air, sending a burst of fear into her heart. Natalie looked up. The only time she'd ever heard a helicopter so close was the night of the riot, back in Rallsburg. She stayed hidden in the tree she'd leapt to after the forked lightning. More helicopters were emerging now, dark green things with men hanging out of them.

Are these dad's guys too? It can't be… Maybe they work for that Malton guy?

They have flags on their vehicles. These are soldiers.

So… these are the good guys?

The same who have blamed Rika for murders she did not commit and would arrest us if they found us.

Engines were rumbling in the distance. Boxy-looking trucks were rolling into the camp now, with more soldiers hopping out, and a tank trundled in behind them. Natalie watched from her little nook, while below, she could hear her dad's men panicking. They were scared and running away. Natalie couldn't blame them—she wanted to run away too.

Lani and her friends had gotten back to Malich's rocks. To her relief, every one of them looked okay. They ran back into the forest. She turned and hopped out into the trees, calling Percy down to her from the sky. She'd meet them at her castle back home, returning to memories she'd left far behind, returning to where everything began.