Chương 150: 63 - CHILDREN OF THE STORM

The evacuation boats were miles from the battle. The feeble, children, and those otherwise unwilling to fight drifted calmly in the ocean. The night seemed too serene for what they knew was happening to their homes. Occasionally they would feel the shockwaves, displaced water from that direction causing monumental waves that pushed a few off course. Though no one was lost, thanks to the water looters guiding the boats. They were able to land safely on the shores of a distant coastline.

There they would wait until the Redeemer teleported to them to tell them that it was safe to go home. Or they'd wait until they all forgot they were here in the first place. Ellie helped to guide the boats inland, waving down and helping the elderly gain their footing in the sand.

"Thank you, miss." One of them said. She nodded with a distant smile.

"So are we really just supposed to wait here for word on whether our friends have survived?" the old man held on to her hand. She nodded again, no longer pretending to smile.

"Have faith. That's all we can do from here." But that wasn't what he body told her. She had been with T'balt and the others all the way to this point, and being out here felt like abandoning them. Desperately, she wanted to be there fighting with them, but she had to remember that her body wasn't hers alone anymore. She rested a hand on her stomach. Still thin. Barely showing the bump of her guilt, bringing a child into this world. If things went wrong, she wondered if she would ever know she was pregnant.

Would she remember the love she prepared to give this child? Would T'balt ever tell her, or would he hide it in his little book of secrets? If he did tell her in another life, would she believe him? It was all too confusing. She could only put stock in the things that were real right now and pray that things would work out. A woman was frantically pacing around the beach.

"Ollie!? Ollie!?" She looked panicked, eyes bulging out of her head as she searched all of the docking boats.

"What's the matter?" Ellie asked her.

"My son," she said, frantic.

"Have you seen my son? His name is Ollie. He's about 6 years old." One of the boat guides spoke up.

"All the children we left with are accounted for."

"That can't be right. He isn't here."

"Where did you last see him?" Ellie asked.

"He was on the beach at home, in line for the boats. I had to care for one of my patients, so I had to suddenly move to a different boat."

"You don't think he could've run off, do you?"

"I don't… I don't know. Oh god. You don't think he's still back there…" Ellie rubbed the woman's back, trying to prevent the panic from setting in further than it already had.

"If he is, someone will find them. Don't worry. The Redeemers will take care of everything. Believe in them." Ellie's heart started to crack as soon as she said it. In her mind, it was unlikely that anyone fighting would be able to spare the time to notice a missing child in the midst of everything.

"A missing child…" she thought to herself.

"A missing child…" And she looked around the beach, realizing there was another missing child.

"Cannon, watch the ice below you… Hurry. Get to higher ground… Take cover in the kitchens nearby." German was shouting orders in rapid succession. Or whatever his rushed thoughts sounded like to people on the other end. He was their only hope. Their leaders were not fighting for them, and so the only thing that stood between them and destruction was German Casas. And just days ago, he would've been on the opposite side, seeing their destruction along with the hunters, alongside Corlander.

But when he agreed to come to this side, he promised to fight for them. And if a man could not fulfill his promises, then a man could not do business.

"What are you talking about? What kitchen?" Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. That didn't mean this situation wasn't getting overwhelming.

"Wrong mind." He then switched to the correct recipient of the order.

"Hurry. Take cover in the…" The mind was gone, leaving a corpse on the ground and lost in the thick mist. German's jaw tightened. He needed to take a moment. Take stock of the circumstances and formulate a plan around it. However, this was nothing like a boardroom meeting or a negotiation. This was live combat. This was war.

"I need to refocus. Prioritize only what's important. Sacrifices will be necessary." It was that thing that Corlander brutally drove into his psyche.

"To do good requires sacrifice. To do great requires great sacrifice." That even meant if that great was defeating Corlander. And he was determined not to lose to that man or his minions. Though there was something that he noticed in the corner of his wide vision. Something on the edges of the island, in one of the residential areas. It was a child. They were hiding in a two-story duplex, clutching a stuffed animal. They stared at the door, terrified to open it. The Skull Eater wasn't far.

It sniffed around the area, searching for prey, having already eaten the heads of over two dozen men. Emil walked behind it, letting its massive frame guide him as he whistled, his frame a black cloud within the mist. The child quivered as the sound of the whistling slowly approached his home. It was coupled with monstrous footsteps and the crackling of green fire.

"Have you found something?" Emil asked his beast. The Skull Eater sniffed around, eventually aiming its empty eye sockets at the house. The kid was already crying.

"I need you to listen to me." German's voice paused the young boy as he looked around for its source.

"Who's there?" he asked.

"Don't speak out loud. Just think. I'll hear you. Nod your head if you understand." After a moment, the boy nodded.

"Okay. Now I need you to go hide in that closet behind you."

"But I—""Do it now!" The Skull Eater was at the door, eerily chewing on nothing with blood dripping down its jawline. Cannon continued his fight with the Glacier Bear in the middle of the city. But the mist was somehow getting thicker. He could no longer see the sky above him. That's where the bear's attacks were coming from. He narrowly dodged a flurry of ice shards coming down from above. However, one of them stabbed through his hand.

"Aghh… German. I'm flying blind here." There was no answer on the other end. Then suddenly one of the bear's massive ice clubs swung down through the mist. It buried itself deep in Cannon's side, pushing him back until it pinned him into a wall. His lungs forced up blood with the impact. German continued to speak to the child. The Skull Eater was in the house, meticulously swiveling its head around the room.

It turned as if it were a globe with the ability to endlessly spin on its axis, turning 360 degrees without moving its body. He could sense the child's heart rate rising. The stuffed animal being choked against his chest was the only thing preventing him from screaming.

"Don't be afraid… Just listen to me. Do you have a favorite food?" The child was confused for a moment and then remembered to think.

"I really used to like the pancakes my mom would make."

"Good. Pancakes are good. A long time ago, I learned how to make excellent pancakes with chocolate chips and butter and whipped cream. Sprinkles too. I can make them for you one day if you'd like." The boy nodded, but he couldn't ignore the footsteps.

"I'm scared." He mumbled as tears welled up in his eyes.

"I know… just keep listening to my voice. And—""No.. Nooo!" The boy screamed, suddenly flailing and pushing himself back against the closet wall. The door had opened. Behind it was a man, dark-haired, in a ripped black suit and dark, soulless eyes.

"A little kid. I doubt they would've given you anything special." The Skull Eater formed behind him, its frame eclipsing him by at least five times. It could hardly stand up straight. When it tried, its head's flame caught fire on the ceiling, quickly lighting the house.

"Run. Now," German commanded. The kid tried, sprinting past Emil as fast as his little legs could take him. But the monster was in front of the only exit, and the house was quickly setting to flame. He ran up the stairs instead. Emil seemed to let him go at first.

"Where do I go?" He asked out loud.

"The balcony. Get to the balcony and scream. I'll alert anyone nearby." But German knew there was no one. That kid was all alone out there. But it was his only hope. He ran out of the balcony door, as the heat began to erupt behind him. The fire was starting to catch up to him. The boy started to scream. That was when the Skull Eater snatched him by the mouth, silencing him almost immediately. It had followed to the balcony, Emil shortly behind.

"I'm sorry about this. I really am. But this is the law of nature. The strong eat the weak. Natural selection thrives. It was your parents' stupid genes that left you out here all alone. I personally don't think those genes should continue on." Emil shrugged as the Skull lifted the small boy several yards into the air. Its mouth then dropped open, more robotic than human-like. Then it pushed the child into its mouth… The child fell on the floor, wide-eyed and confused.

And German let out a measured and dignified sigh of relief. A metal bat had struck the Skull Eater on the arm, causing it to drop the boy. Both it and Emil searched the area for the source of the attack, but the bat had been thrown. And for some reason, it was still flying. It whipped around in the air like a boomerang before landing in the hands of another boy standing on a nearby roof.

"I knew I could run on water… But no one ever cares about my ideas." Acelin Tinker said, flipping the bat in the air using psychic loot to land it perfectly back in his grasp. He was wearing a dark cape and hood that he had flipped over his head, and when Emil finally noticed him, he posed with his sword… aka his baseball bat. Emil didn't appear impressed.

"Is that some sort of cosplay or something?"

"I'm no cosplayer. I'm a knight… They call me Nrv, defender of the innocent, protector of the weak, knight of the Redeemer."

"Right…"

"I took a sacred vow to protect the world from tyranny. You, sir, are a tyrant." Acelin pointed the bat at the Skull Eater.

"So prepare to die."