Terran Knights: Chapter 38

“How is there so much traffic,” Cal said leaning back in the passenger seat of the car. Ben was driving beside him and shook his head with a chuckle.

“Patience. We’re almost to the edge of the city.”

“I know just,” he sighed and looked over at Ben and then stared at his finger, the ring staring back at him and glinting in the light. A smile formed on his lips without even realizing it.

“Eyes up here fiancé,” he said teasingly and he just grinned even wider.

They finished packing the previous night and now Ben was driving his way out of the city, going to stay with some friends in the suburbs. And yet when they woke up Cal couldn’t let Ben leave on his own so he was going to ride with him until they got to the edge of the city. But there was traffic all across the street much to chagrin of Cal.

“You know I wouldn’t mind leaving with you,” Cal said softly. “Enjoy the afterglow and all that.”

“I know you would. I would too,” Ben agreed. Leaning forward he stared at the rearview mirror and frowned. “Hey Cal. Do you see that?”

“See what?”

“Behind us.”

Cal leaned back and stared out the back window and he could just barely make out a dark shape in the sky. At first, he thought it was just a plane or something going across the sky at a funky angle. But then he stared closer and the green light flashed across the sky making him flinch so hard he hit the dashboard.

Ben swerved as did almost every other car on the street. He tried to avoid as many as he could but a car behind them clipped their bumper and he tailed spun into another car. Both airbags deployed preventing the pair of them from flying out the car. Car alarms blared and hissing smoke echoed but otherwise there was silence on the street.

Dazed Cal pushed himself off the air bag slowly his head pounding. Touching the dashboard he winced and felt glass digging into his hands he dragged them back. The windshield was cracked in half and his window was just broken entirely. Touching his head he felt the sticky warm liquid and knew it was his blood.

Getting his clarity back he looked over at Ben and yanked his own seatbelt off and rushed to his side. Ben was unconscious but he was still breathing. There were some bruises on his face but otherwise he was in one piece. “Come on Ben you have to wake up. We have to get out of here.”

He reached across him for the seat belt and then heard the first explosion. Looking away from them him he watched as a car was blown into the air. When the car flipped away and landed crushing another he saw shapes moving in the distance. But he didn’t have to guess at what it was, his wrist was vibrating too hard for it to be anything else.

Ben groaned in his arms and Cal’s attention immediately went back to him. “What happened?” he mumbled and half opening his eye he looked over at Cal and saw how bloodied he was and panicked fumbling at his seatbelt but his movements were slow and uncoordinated.

Cal turned back to him and rested a hand on his chest. “Don’t move too much. I’ve gotta take care of those things and then I’ll get you out of there.”

Cal stepped onto the street and he could see the broken and bent cars. Some people were digging their way out of their cars while others were trapped. But anyone on the street was shouting and pointing as the trio of Taq-Law approaching. Two had blades and were cutting up cars and tossing them away while the third had a pair of the rifles. Even from where he was he saw that the blades were coated in blood.

“Alright Cal. This is it,” he said to himself and raised his watch. Letting the power flow over him he donned his armor and then called his sword into his hand. “Everyone get back!” he shouted to the onlookers and when they saw him they heeded his words backing away quickly.

Running forward he jumped over cars sliding his hand over the blades of his swords. In a flash of pink a pair of illusionary clones appeared running with him. Immediately the gun wielding robot faced him and gunned down one of the illusions. Though once it realized the bullets had no effect it turned onto the remaining.

Cal slid under a car for cover as his other clone did the same. He could feel the bridge shaking as the other two made a beeline toward him. Taking a deep breath he heard the gunfire subside and jumped over the side of the car creating a pair of new clones and kept running with all three of them.

One of the ones with blades swung at Cal and he raised his sword blocking it and stumbling back. Pressing his sword against the blade he shoved back hard and managed to deflect it. It swung its other arm and he ducked it, lunging at its chest. His sword stabbed straight through its chest and it spasmed then went limp.

 Another much larger blade sliced through the chest and nearly cut Cal’s head off. He ducked low twisting his arm hard to yank his sword out. Rubbing his arm, he watched as the Taq-Law kept stabbing down at him as he darted out of the way. His illusions ran over jumping in the way but the robot ignored them like the distractions they were.

Rolling to his feet he watched the Taq-Law lunge with both blades. Raising his sword, they clashed against his sword just inches away from his face. He heard the grinding metal and tried to hold them off but his arms shook form the strain. And with a sharp snap his sword broke in half and he stumbled backwards barely avoiding getting his head cut off.

Holding the broken sword in one hand and grabbing the broken blade in the other he felt both halves glow to life. The Taq-Law swung down at him he blocked the giant blade in a cross between the pieces. The other swung at his back and before it could connect it was stopped with a sharp clang. Looking over his shoulder Cal looked and just saw himself at his back.

Surprised for a second, he looked up and watched as the head of the Taq-Law slid down and hit the ground with a crash. He watched the machine crumple over entirely and a third clone of himself stood whipping its sword around and stared at him. Cal stared at them and then at the pieces of his sword. Pushing them together the sword glowed and the edges between them mended.

“I guess I had more up my sleeve than I thought,” Cal and the clones turned as the final machine started forward raising its arms and aiming at them. It unleashed a burst of fire and one of the clones went down but the other two ducked away with Cal. “Alright. Let’s finish this last one off. We’ve got an invasion to stop.”