Savior Part 3: Legion of The Godhand (The Savior Series) Read online

  “I’m sorry, what was that?” I taunted as I pulled his severed hand from my throat just as he fell to his trembling knees in front of me. “I believe you were saying something about us suffering at your hands,” I mocked as I flung the hand forward and hit him in the face with it.

  “You’ve got incoming, Ace! Stop showboating and get the hell out of there!” Director Wells suddenly barked as the other Anokian ship descended from the sky and landed forty feet away, in the middle of the deserted street to my right.

  My heartbeat tripled as the hatch of the spaceship opened and six massive Anokian Knights stormed out into the streets. Even with my blood lust still in full effect I knew better than to attempt to take on six of them at once. I cradled my horrendously broken right arm with my left hand and raced toward a dilapidated building to my left whiled the Anokians fanned out and moved in my direction. Luckily, instead of storming after me, most of them went straight to the aid of The Redeemer who was still lying in a puddle of his own blood in the street where I had left him. I wasn’t sure if he was dead or simply unconscious, but whatever the case I was grateful for the temporary distraction.

  I quickly sheathed my sword at my hip and reached for my wormhole beacon as I stormed into the dark lobby of the decayed office building. I whipped out the small device and was seconds away from punching in the jump sequence when one of the gigantic Anokian Knights crashed through the entrance of the building and rumbled after me like a silverback gorilla. My heart nearly leapt out of my chest as I turned and scurried across the lobby as fast as my broken body would allow. Blood rushed to my temple as the Anokian’s thundering footsteps indicated that he was gaining on me as I raced towards the entrance to a nearby stairwell.

  I reached the door before him but my heart skipped a beat when I tried to yank it open and realized that it was locked. I instinctively slid into a center split as the seven-foot-five-inch behemoth fired a high-tech pistol at me from behind. His bullets whizzed right over my head as I slid to the floor and instead of obliterating me they decimated the metal door in front of me. I whipped out my sword and tried to slice his arm off as I leapt to my feet. He was quick enough to pull his arm back in order to avoid dismemberment but not quite fast enough to keep me from reducing his weapon into scrap metal. The warrior within me wanted to stay and finish the fight but the excruciating pain pulsating throughout my crippled right arm strongly compelled me to run. I sheathed my sword at my hip once again then turned and scrambled through the hole that he had blown into the door behind me, but it didn’t take long for the raging giant to crash through the door as well as he continued his relentless pursuit.

  “I’m gonna need some help with this one, Echo!” I yelled as I dashed up the stairs.

  “Oh now you’re willing to listen to me?!” Howie barked as I continued to scurry up the stairs for dear life.

  “Now’s not a good time for sarcasm, Howie!” I yelled as I ducked a large piece of debris that the Anokian had thrown at me from below.

  “Whatever. What do you need?” Howie grumbled.

  “I won’t have time to punch in the jump sequence with this guy so tight on my tail. I need you to access my beacon remotely and open a wormhole for me ASAP!” I shouted as I started to pull away from The Anokian racing behind me due to his massive feet continually crashing through the stairs as he chased after me.

  “He’s falling behind a bit but you’ll still need to create more space, Ace. If I open a wormhole and that Anokian makes it through behind you there’s nothing up here that can stop him!” Howie warned.

  “Tell Wells to get the men down to the observatory right now,” I ordered as I continued up the stairs with the furious Anokian Knight tearing after me.

  “How many do you need?” Director Wells suddenly asked over the radio as the Anokian began to leap after me, covering twelve steps at a time.

  “All of them!” I yelled as I fought harder to ignore the stabbing pain in my injured right arm.

  “They’re on the way,” Wells confirmed as the raging Anokian closed in on me.

  “Good, and whatever you do, make sure Tango and Charlie are at the front of the line!” I exclaimed as I finally reached the top of the stairs and scrambled towards a nearby metal ladder that led to the roof of the building.

  “I’m already on the way, Hoss! Whatcha got for me?” Charlie chimed over the radio as I stormed onto the rooftop and dashed forward as fast as I could.

  “Oh, nothing— just a seven-foot-five-inch tall Knight of Eden who’s about ready to tear me in half with his bare hands,” I said sarcastically as the Anokian crashed through the rooftop entrance and galloped after me with alarming speed.

  “Hell, Hoss, that ain’t nothin’ but a light snack!” Charlie quipped, bringing a slight smile to my face despite the dire circumstances.

  “Oh, but you haven’t heard the best part yet!” I shouted as the Anokian and I crossed the middle of the rooftop and sped toward the edge of the building.

  “Oh yeah?” Charlie asked.

  “You bet! I forgot to mention that he’s wearing a full suit of Anokian-Steel armor and the only place that’s vulnerable is his visor!” I explained.

  “So, you mean to tell me I got no choice but to plug that sucker right between his dadgum eyeballs?!” Charlie asked excitedly as the Anokian and I raced closer and closer to the edge of the building.

  “Damn right, Chuck! Think you can handle that?” I joked.

  “Does a one legged duck only swim in a circle?” Charlie retorted.

  “I hear ya, Charlie, just make sure you make it count! By the way, has Tango made it there yet?” I asked as the skyrocketing pain in my shattered right arm made it increasingly difficult to maintain my top speed.

  “He’s in route but he’s not there yet,” Howie replied. “Ace, I hate to tell you this man, but you’re running out of roof and that Anokian’s right behind you!”

  “Then do it, Echo! Put the wormhole up but put it in the air!” I ordered as I gritted my teeth and fought to accelerate despite the pain.

  “You can’t be serious, Jason! You could fall to your death, man!” Howie protested.

  “Just do it, Howie!” I insisted as I prepared to leap from the building.

  “But what if you miss the wormhole?!” Howie asked.

  “I won’t!” I said firmly as I reached the rooftop’s edge and leapt high into the air before the wormhole had even appeared. Without breaking his stride, the gigantic Anokian Knight leapt after me and extended his massive arms toward my outstretched body as we both sailed through the air, several stories above the streets below.

  Where’s the damn wormhole, Howie?! I thought, as I glanced down at the street below us, but just as I was about to radio Howie, a spinning orb of light and energy suddenly crackled into existence in the air before me and ballooned outward in all directions.

  “I hope you’re locked and loaded, Charlie,” I said as I braced myself and plunged headfirst into the spinning globe of light.

  2. TAKE THE SHOT

  CHARLIE:

  I HAD SEEN QUITE A BIT OF EXCITEMENT IN MY DAY BUT I’ll tell you what, the few seconds we spent standin’ in the center of that observatory room, waitin’ for God knows what to pop out, were probably the most intense moments of my entire life. That room was just about as big as a dadgum warehouse and ol’ Echo had me and about two-hundred of our boys surroundin’ one particular spot, smack dab in the middle of it. As always I was wearin’ my usual long brown duster coat, my favorite black, ten-gallon hat and my daddy’s revolver, The Fat Lady, was holstered on my right hip. Director Wells’ boys were strapped from head to toe with some kind of fancy schmancy body armor and apparently we was waitin’ for Ace and one of them big ol’ alien boys to pop out. Even though we had only been there for a few seconds it seemed like we had been waitin’ there all day.

  I ain’t usually one to git all excited when the crap hits the dadgum fan but I’ll be dog if my heart didn’t start thumpin’ at damn nea
r top speed when that big ol’ ball of light suddenly popped up in the middle of the room. I had the Fat Lady locked and loaded in my right hand and my intent was to plug that big sucker right between his peepers before his feet could even hit the ground but I’ll be dog if Ace wasn’t right in front of my shot when the two of them came flyin’ out of that light ball thingy.

  “Dammit, Ace, you’re blockin’ my dadgum shot, Hoss!” I yelled as I hauled my butt to the right just as a swarm of Director Wells’ agents closed in on the big fella. Wells’ boys had that sucker outnumbered by about two-hundred to one but I’ll be dog if the son-of-a-gun didn’t tear into them boys like a mountain lion on a billy goat. They were tryin’ their best to hold him back but he just kept slingin’ ‘em in the air like they weren’t nothin’ more than a pack of Chihuahua’s tryin’ to take down a gorilla.

  I kept movin’ around the room lookin’ for a better shot but with everythang that was goin’ on it was startin’ to look like it’d be damn near impossible for me to hit him without runnin’ the risk of shootin’ one of the boys by mistake. That’s not to say that I wasn’t confident in my ability to hit my mark. Hell, everybody knows ol’ Charlie had the best aim on both sides of the dadgum Mississippi, but when you have that many bodies flyin’ every which-way ain’t much you can do except wait for a line to clear up.

  “Where’s Tango!” Ace suddenly hollered as he moved through the crowd and tried his best to get the hell away before the big’un could get his paws on him. That big sucker was knockin’ out about ten to fifteen of them boys at a time as he moved through the crowd but it was pretty obvious that the one he really wanted was Ace. I ain’t never seen ol’ Ace have to run away from a fight but once I saw that his right arm looked like a dadgum grizzly bear had gotten a hold to it I knew exactly why he was runnin’. Hell, I had seen that boy go toe-to-toe with Tango and live to tell the tale so I knew what he could do when he was healthy, but even a fighter with his kinda skills couldn’t do much if he was fightin’ with an arm that was about as useless as a fart in a hurricane.

  My heart started pumpin’ overtime when that big sucker started closin’ in on Ace a hell of a lot faster than I was comfortable with. I closed one eye and held my breath as I stared down the iron sights of my revolver but there was still way too much goin’ on for me to line up a good shot.

  “Dammit!” I cursed as more and more of Wells’ boys bumbled into my line of sight.

  “Take the shot, Charlie!” Director Wells suddenly barked in my earpiece as the big guy swung his fist and almost took Ace’s head off.

  “I ain’t got no shot, Hoss! There too many of them suckers in the way!” I yelled back as I kept on searchin’ for a clear line.

  “I don’t give a damn who’s in the way! You take the shot and you put him down! Do not let him get his hands on, Ace— do you hear me?!” Wells hollered as Ace barely dodged another big swing from the alien.

  Wells’ boys started jumpin’ on that big ol’ alien’s back to try to keep him away from Ace but despite their overwhelmin' numbers he just kept slingin’ ‘em into the air like they weren't nothin'. I still didn't have a good shot but Director Wells kept on hollerin’ in my ear as the big guy fought his way closer and closer to Ace. I was just about to squeeze off a shot when the double doors to the room suddenly slid open and my heart nearly jumped right out of my dang chest when I saw who stepped in.

  “It’s about dadgum time!” I shouted as Tango flexed his bulgin’ muscles while he wrapped white tape around his hands and forearms.

  “I was takin’ a shower, Chuck. You should try it sometime!” he joked as he strolled toward the big alien, who was about thirty feet away from him, still chunkin’ Wells' agents left and right as he worked his way towards Ace.

  “Quit messing around and get in there, Tango!” Wells barked over the radio.

  “What do you think I’m doing, Jack?” Tango grumbled as he suddenly broke into a dash towards the big alien.

  “Just keep him busy and turn him my way, Hoss!” I shouted as I gripped the Fat Lady's handle and thrust the giant revolver forward.

  “I'm gonna need that sword, Ace,” Tango barked as he leapt over Ace and drop kicked the big alien in the face. The alien stumbled back a bit as Tango kicked off of his face and flipped backward just as Ace tossed his sword into the air. Tango caught the sword in midair and started twirlin’ it at damn near a thousand miles an hour as soon as he hit the ground. He normally worked the two swords that were still strapped to his back but it was no secret that the only thing in that entire base that was sharp enough to cut through that alien’s thick armor was Ace's sword.

  Ace tucked his bum arm against his side and scampered away as the big alien came chargin’ in like a dadgum armored bull. Luckily Tango was quick enough to flip to the left and dodge the alien's grip, but to my surprise that big sucker was also quick enough to yank his hands back before Tango could chop ‘em clean off with Ace’s sword.

  I slowly made my way toward them as what was left of Wells' boys backed off and allowed Tango and the big boy to square off in the center of the room. The big guy was slingin' his fists at Tango hard enough to punch a hole through a dadgum submarine but I’ll be dog if Tango wasn’t puttin’ on a show of defense that I ain’t never seen from him before. He was usually by far the most aggressive fighter that I had ever seen but, truth be told, Tango was also one of the smartest fighters I'd seen— plenty smart enough to know that aggression didn’t add up to hill of a beans when it came to takin’ on an alien that could damn near bench press a semi-truck. I kept my revolver held forward and patiently waited for my shot as Tango continued to hop over and under the alien’s powerful attacks.

  Wells’ boys started creepin' back in as the alien’s attacks got closer and closer to catchin’ Tango off guard. I wanted to tell them to back the heck up and let Tango work but that big sucker was gettin’ so close that I didn’t know what to think. My heart skipped a beat as the big guy threw a perfectly timed right jab just as Tango drew back Ace’s sword. For a second I thought Tango was a goner for sure but I'll be dog if he didn't plunge Ace's entire sword into that big boy's arm before he could land the punch. The big alien hollered louder than a baboon with his tail caught in a snare as the blade of the sword cut into the front of his fist and sank deep into his arm. He was still screamin’ to the top of his lungs when he used his other hand to catch Tango off guard with a huge back handed uppercut that sent him flyin’ across the room. Tango was already unconscious before he even hit the floor but Wells’ boys immediately rushed back in and cut the big guy off before he could do any more damage.

  Bodies started flyin’ every which way once again as the big alien started swattin’ them boys away like they wasn’t nothin’ more than gnats at a dadgum picnic. Ace’s sword was still stuck in his bloody right arm but even with him usin’ just one hand Wells’ boys were clearly no match for that big sucker. I still didn’t have a clean shot but I knew I was gonna have to settle for whatever I could get at that point. I ain’t never been one to spray and pray but Tango was the closest thing I had ever had to a best friend so I knew I had to do somethin’ before that big boy got a hold to him.

  I was still linin’ up my aim on the alien’s visor when, Ace suddenly came rushin’ in from the left like a bat outta hell. The alien raised his big ol’ foot and tried to stomp a mud hole in Tango’s unconscious body but despite his crippled arm, Ace was able to dive to the floor and push Tango away just in the nick of time.

  “Over here, boy!” I yelled as I let one fly from the Fat Lady’s barrel just as the angry alien glared upward. The armor piercin’ bullet ripped out of my daddy’s gun and tore across the room before the big guy could take his next breath— and as my bullet crashed through his tinted visor and drilled him right between the eyes it was pretty clear that he wouldn’t be doin’ too much more breathin’ anyway. Their skin and bones were about as thick as Kevlar so the bullet didn’t explode his melon like it would have done to a reg
ular fella but about half of the slug had managed to punch through his forehead and it was tipped with a lethal dose of that yella stuff that them alien boys didn’t take too kindly to.

  It didn’t take long for him to start twitchin’ and carryin’ on as the poison worked its way into his system, and after about fifteen seconds of that, that big ol’ joker just dropped dead to the floor like a two-thousand pound rock. Ace and Tango were still layin’ on the ground a few feet to the big guy’s right and they both looked about as lively as my great aunt Earlene who had been dead for about forty years by that time. Course I knew they was just restin’ after almost gettin’ their hind parts handed to ‘em but I couldn’t help but feel worried as I watched ‘em just lay there.

  Just one of them big suckers had dang near tore his way through two-hundred of Wells’ boys and he had even managed to dang near kill two of our best fighters in the process. I could only imagine what kind of damage a whole dadgum army of ‘em could do. Suddenly I began to realize that if we wanted to stand a chance at fightin’ a whole bunch of them aliens at once we was gonna have to figure out a way to get ol’ Reaper back into the mix. Of course it didn’t help none that we didn’t even know if he was still alive.

  I tried to talk myself out of the gloomy feelin’ that was creepin’ up in my stomach but the more and more I thought about it, the more I started to realize the truth— in the end, even if we got Reaper back, there was still a chance that even he may not be enough.

  3. WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY

  HOWIE:

  WHAT IN THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW, I THOUGHT as I walked down a long narrow hallway within our moon base and headed to the infirmary to check on Jason. Tango had already been cleared and released with nothing more than a mild concussion, but the injuries that Ace had sustained in his fight with The Redeemer were far more serious.