Harald
“Move,” Hyrum shouted at them as Harald and the others moved as quickly through the tunnels as they could. They carried what they could in their hands, their packs filled with supplies as they had been for weeks.
The sounds of battle of loud behind them. It had died down in recent weeks, and most days those couldn’t hear anything, and they moved from storage room to storage room less and less since Harald had encountered the Echo of Isca. That had ended in the night though, and it had only gotten worse, and closer.
Joslyn tripped, and almost fell, but both Harald, and Gwen helded her.
They came into a large opening in the tunnel, several sealed doors connected to it, and it was filled with dust and debris like much of the tunnels.
“Which way?” Iris asked.
“That one,” Nena replied, and pointed to a door off to the side.
They moved to the sealed door, and Iris hit the door panel to open it.
“Inside, quickly,” Nena said as Iris moved through the freshly opened down.
Harald was the last through the door of the kids, behind him were only Nena, Quincey, and Hyrum, but as soon as the door slammed shut behind them, Harald heard the gasps from the others, and moved to look around the room.
There was blood everything. Bodies, or at least parts of bodies, and what remained of them lay about the large hangar bay which must have been buried deep into the rock. The sight of a lone Bot stood in the middle, it held a pistol in one metal hand, and a bloody pipe in another.
“Fuck,” Harald heard come from Hyrum at the sight of the carnage.
“Do not fear,” the bot said calmly. “I have been sent by my father to defend the lord, and these threatened the lord and his companion,” the bot replied with a monotone voice. It tilted it’s head. “I cannot allow the lord to be harm.”
“Echo?” Harald asked. He had seen him several times since their first encounter, but he was so covered in blood nd gore that the simply marks that had allowed Harald to identify him were gone.
“Echo?” Nena asked?
Harald winched, he hadn’t told anyone. “He is an Echo of Isca,” he told them, and stepped forward.
“I am,” the bot said calmly, and tilted his head again. “My father says it is time to go, they are coming, and his defenses are almost down.”
Harald looked at the room filled with landcrafts, once already with the doors opened.
“This way,” the Bot said with the wave of his metal arm, and than turned around and walked towards the landcraft. “My databanks inform me that Iris Stackhouse,” the bot stopped and turned to the group, and than looked at Iris for a moment, “That is you. Is an excellent pilot, and can operator this antique.”
“Um yes,” Iris said.
“We don’t have time for this,” Hyrum said as fresh sounds of battle rang out.
“Inside, now,” Nena said, and they all piled in.
Echo stepped up, and made his way in as everyone watched him, and stood by the door as it closed behind him.
“You are coming with us?” Quincey asked with a nervous look.
“We don’t have time for questions,” Hyrum grunted.
“Buckle up,” Iris told them, as she brought the craft to life, and pushed it through the large opening.
Harald watched as the large hangar bay turned to rough rock and a long winding tunnel.
“Hurry,” Hyrum grunted again as the craft weaved back and forth through the rock, and even Harald felt like he were going to be sick as the craft dodged solid rock walls.
It must have taken them minutes before the craft flew out of the tunnel through some makeshift holographic cover and light material that blew apart on the craft to the gasps and shouts of the kids inside. Bushes flew over the craft as they emerged in the forest, and Iris weaved back and forth as they dodged trees, rocks, and other objects.
“Do not rise above ten meters off the ground, or you will be detected,” Echo said in his monotone voice.
“No fucking shit,” Iris grunted, as her hands moved.
“Zero,” Harald heard Hyrum say as he looked back out the craft, and Harald followed his eyes as a large blast ripped through the sky from space, and torn apart the mountain that Stonehill Hold had crowned. Smoke, debris, rocks, and trees feel apart and up.
The screams were loud in the craft as everyone saw what must have been a weapon from one of the ships in orbit, and the destruction of their home.
“He is dead,” Echo said quietly.
“Who?” Gwen asked, and Harald realized their hands were gripped together.
“His father,” Harald said softly. “The World Mind of Isca.”
