The World Flying Force Rebellion in the Shadows

Chapter 20- The 452

She stood between us and our only way out of here. The gun didn't look right in her hand, it was obvious she had never used one. None of us had, weapons had never been needed before, at least that is what I thought. All I really knew was; they were deadly.

"Notawa?" I had said it soft and slow. The stillness of everything around us was intense. No one moved. Each member of our little group was holding their breath.

"Please don't make me do this Ta'law, just go back inside, he's just keeping us safe, please"

"Notawa, we just want to leave, just let us go,"

"Maybe we should listen to her Ta'law," Zarlique said.

"We can't stay here Zar, we have to leave, she's not capable of hurting us or anyone, she's just trying to protect her family, right Notawa?" She was nodding but hadn't put her hand down.

"I don't have a choice..." she said but her confidence was wavering. Silent tears streaked down her round face. The pain written across it was almost too much to bear.

"You do have a choice! You are much more powerful than you think, that's why he chose you! Come with us, your kids can bring their sherlot and everyone will be safe," I had moved my arm up, trying to stretch it towards her, desperate to show her she could trust me. Zarlique still wasn't moving at all but was ready to spring forward at the slightest provocation. His dark eyes scrutinized her every twitch. If it came to it, he wouldn't hesitate to hurt her. That was something that couldn't happen, she had to make it through this, her family needed her. Slowly, I tried to get closer, but my first step resulted in her pointing the gun more forcefully at me.

"DON'T!" she screamed, causing the gun to shake violently in her hand. Even with her increased resolve, I moved again. My next step was a gamble, but somehow, I knew, she wouldn't be able to hurt me.

"Just let me leave, it's me Notawa, your friend Ta'law, come with me, we can help. Arwago can help," her arm fell dramatically to her side like the gun had weighed hundreds of pounds. This was her admission; she couldn't perform the task Master Guardian had given her.

"I can't, if I go, my family is gone, he's done it before, more times than I can count. Just go, before anyone else comes," She looked completely defeated. The group started her direction, still moving timidly towards the woman with the gun. Briefly, I thought about grabbing her and dragging her with us. I wasn't sure what the consequence for letting us go would be, but she wouldn't be safe. I didn't know how right I was, until we got within twenty feet of the drone.

An explosion ripped through it, blasting bits of the aircraft into tiny flaming pieces that spread everywhere. It had knocked me off my feet. Nothing felt right, I wasn't even sure which way was up. After a few seconds of thrashing on the ground, things seemed to calm down. I had been laying on my side. Swirls of distorted images flashed in my eyes. Blurred objects were all I could make out. A large mass was groaning to my left. Blinking furiously, things came more into focus. Zarlique was on his hands and knees with one hand held to his head. Blood flowing furiously from where he was grabbing. There was a muffled sound that was growing louder. I hadn't realized until right then, that my hearing was ringing, canceling out the other noises. Now I could tell, and blaring alarms were going off everywhere.

Two other bodies were near me. Rando was closest, so I went to check on him first. Standing was impossible, so I crawled over to where he was. I pressed on his calcumat, it showed an alarm and the screen was cracked, but from what my blurry eyes could make out, he was going to be ok. My attention turned to the last person, the one that had been closest to the explosion. Notawa was lying face down. Instinct took over, she had to be ok, I had to help her. Somehow, my legs supported me. As I got closer, my breathing stopped and the beating of my heart pounded in my ears. It was too late. Notawa had a large piece of the drone propeller buried in her stomach. That look on her face told me everything. There was no use in trying to help.