Chapter Five

     The attention was torn from the low flying ship by a deadly screech. Linus flinched back, scanning the trees for any sign of what it could be. A large, mechanical figure stumbled forward, knocking trees down in its wake. Its long, spider-like legs were bleeding with the muddy earth, leaves and thorns sticking to them possessively. At its top was a large dome with a flat top. The machine was no doubt sturdy on regular roads, but here it bumbled into the mud, the screeching more-than-likely result of mud getting between the gears.

     Upito was of moderate size, and them being on the coast gave the tectonic military an upper hand. There could be a hundred troops hidden among the colourful forest. They were cornered.

     Linus turned round. His lips formed the words 'turn back!' before his mind formed around the thought. The call was drowned out by another chorus of greedy shrieks. Linus didn't have to look to know that there were more than one.

     The water pirates turned on their heels -- as well as a few skymen it looked -- hoping to retreat back to their boats. Stonely was calling orders to men that pushed past Linus in their own attempt to side-step the terrifying metal creatures and get to the airships. A shoulder decked Linus in the side, throwing him down to the mud. He bit back a string of curses as a he rose and continued his path hastily to shore.

     "Linus!" Someone called. Linus looked over his shoulder to see Vint rushing towards him. He had clumps of clay sticking to his face and a dangerous cut on the side of his neck that he gave no bother to. "Linus, don't go that way!" he continued, coming to rest beside Linus anxiously.

      "What do you-" a new round of squeals tuned ominously with prying screams. Linus turned, horrified. There was an accumulation of five of the metal dogs. Two of them had cornered off a group of skymen who, arrogantly, challenged the metal tanks with the contraptions they had pulled from their bags. The animals hadn't backed down. In a moment two large guns revealed themselves from the sides, spitting fire at the group of skymen boredly.

     "Linus-!" Vint screamed, grabbing his forearm in attempt to shake him from his daze. "Linus, did you hear me? The mission!" The boy's tone had risen an octave. Linus turned back to him, noting the swelling on the side of the boy's face. Linus wondered if the boy's jaw had been broken.

     "Where's everyone else?" Linus countered.

    "Some went with the crew, others are already going with the sky pirates, and the rest--" he cut off. Linus nodded.

"Alright. Mission, right." Linus swallowed and Vint removed his grip. A loud scream tore into the air, drawing attention to Stonely. A young lad, protecting his captain, was lifted into the air. A dog's long leg had impaled him through the middle, the boy a meer obstacle to the large and unstable machinery. The boy choked and screamed and pawed at the metal arm dumbly. Stonely stepped back, pure terror printed on his features.

Someone -- the captain -- pushed Stonely forward in the nick-of-time. The captain then pulled the skycaptain to his feet and the two of them tore through the soil together. They were running away from the airships and towards the waterline. What was the captain planning?

"We're surrounded!" Someone announced from the coast.

Linus had never heard of such an active military. More ships whipped in from the coast at dangerous speeds. Linus recognised them as a new model -- planes they called them -- that Amartha was well known for. Suffocating steam breathed over them as the slim ships zipped overhead. A blast from one of the bulkier ships burst into the air, shooting one of the planes down.

"Vint -- Vint!" Linus breathed heavily. The two had been stuck dodging bodies and slipping through the mud as they attempted towards one of the airships. "They're fighting each other!" Vint didn't need the update. It was obvious he had caught the action as well.

Suddenly, a new groan roared above them. Another plane plummeted to the earth, Linus's heart falling with it. The groan was too familiar. His intestines clumped in a violent knot.

He had seen a bomb dropped before, when his parents died. And now it was to be his fate as well. He couldn't breathe, his vision blurred, and the mud beneath him sturdied -

"Didn't Miss Simons say that they stopped sending the Tectonic Air Force out?"

"What are you going on about?"

"The air Force."

"Uh - I think so, I dunno, why?"

Where was Peter? Where was Martin? "Vint - get down!" Linus practically cried, pushing Vint to the ground near a fallen tree. He was readying himself to fall himself, but a sight that threatened to stop his heart broke fourth. Peter stood, staring into the sky, watching the bomb as it fell.

"Linus-"

"Peter--!"

Linus knocked into the shell-shocked boy. They slid through the mud, Linus digging his fists into the soil in attempt to halt their movement. Tear smoldered blue eyes staring at him like he was a ghost.

The explosion seemed to set the smog itself aflame, drawing everything into a blinding light before the lustful flames died out again, leaving everything darker than they'd originally been.

"Linus?" Peter croaked, bringing Linus back to the present.

Linus cleared his throat, ignoring the faint wails of medical hoverers and warning bells. Now all that screamed were-

"Linus?" Peter echoed with a tongue of confidence.

Linus nodded. "Pete - you -"

"C'mon, Pete, we gotta get home."

"Where'd you disappear to? No one heard anything! We-"

"Linus!" Vint came rearing from the side, sliding into the mud and grabbing up his shirt to pull him off of the young boy he'd cut off. "Linus - you dumbass - Linus, come on. Who is - no, come on. Linus!" Vint shook his shoulders as if he were dealing with someone in shock. Was he in shock? "We have to go, now!" He reinforced. Linus nodded, shaking violently as he grabbed a Vint's shoulders.

"Yes. Yes." Linus muttered, tearing his eyes from Peter's and shaking his head. "Yes, yes. Yes, yes, yes." He couldn't find any other word to say. They had to go. Yes.

Peter stood beside them. Linus looked on, wondering where the bomb had hit. Bodies that hadn't been killed rose, looking just as shocked as he felt.

The bomb had been different from the one that had hit his parent's. This was nowhere near as destructive. Trees were smothered in fire, their dogs had been knocked down and were in the process of picking themselves up, and at the base of one of the mountains a destroyed pirate ship sat. It had been the farthest from them.

Why would they go for the furthest ship? The closest would have taken the most casualties. Unless...

"Are... are we the target?" Linus managed.

"What?" Peter and Vint asked simultaneously. There was a rough bit of tension between the two boys, as if they were trying to figure out who the other was.

"I don't think they came for us," Linus decided. His voice may have been too soft to be heard - over shrilling screams and leeching flames and the cataclysm of ships - or perhaps the two didn't care much to respond.

They were almost there. A handful of crew that had successfully dodged the blast clambered up the sides of the closest ship. They shouted around, motioning wide and running to help one another. Peter quickened his pace. "Come on," he said to Linus.

Linus and Vint shared a fleeting glance. They nodded, each pulling together their composures. Vint managed a more convincing face, but Linus felt his was well enough off.

"Get over - no! Start it up!" Someone yelled. He stood on the top deck. His hair was shaved close to the scalp. He was lean, the muscles in his arms and legs the only thing keeping him from being a stick.

The three of them broke into a run. They stopped at the ship's base. A large group had accumulated, hands gabbing from the ship's deck in attempt to help as many as possible up. An angry screech sounded from behind. The dog's were getting up. "C'mon, man!" Someone shouted down to Linus. Linus grabbed his hand, allowing the powerful force to pull him up.

"Thanks," he coughed.

The man nodded, clapping him on the shoulder before moving to help Vint and Peter. A loud blast rang through, dropping the main blocky airship to the ground. Oars flew from its sides, swashing towards them. A man cried out, having no time to duck as he was pulled away from an outstretched hand and into the mud; now motionless.

"Prepare for take off!" the man in charge yelled. He threw his bag onto the ground, digging through it desperately. Many others followed suit, including Peter.

They all pulled out similar masks. Linus had seen them from in photos from his school days. They were made from a stiff leather, with glass eyes and a circular, protruding snout. Peter hesitated with his, throwing a glance up at Vint and Linus. "You two better hold your breath." He muttered, slipping the mask on over his head.

The ship lurched into action. Linus and Vint locked eyes.