Were Apocalypse
Chapter 10: A Crocodilian Turned Friend
The company traveled southwest for four days. Faolan went over the plan to save his father from SEER's clutches in his head and to finally meet the man who helped give him life. Seemingly, they had found some food along the way and had not heard from anyone except the occasional wildlife. But even here, the destruction SEER caused was evident and almost impossible to ignore. Faolan looked at the arrowhead necklace as he walked and said, "I hope you can fix things."
Suddenly, Faolan felt a soft bump on his shoulder and looked up to see Pip smiling at him. "Not getting stuck inside your head again, are you?" Pip teased.
"Trying not to, but there is a lot of pressure. I want to do right by everyone, and honor my father," Faolan said as Pip took his hand.
"You're already doing that kid. Just keep going," Atlas said as Faolan smiled.
"Was that a compliment, Atlas? I never knew you were capable," Lyall remarked.
"Oh, I am. I just didn't find anything to compliment until now," Atlas said coolly.
"Ow, what a burn. Lyall, do you need lotion for that?" Ayden said as Lyall chuckled.
"I think I'll be all right," Lyall said.
"MOMMA! LOOK, I FOUND PRETTY ROCKS!" BEBE chirped loudly.
As the company neared BEBE, several quartz crystals protruded from the ground, ranging in size from small to large. Giant spikes towered over them like sparkling sentinels, beautiful in the sunlight, but also terrifying in a way that Faolan did not understand.
"If only we had the materials, we could make a great weapon out of those," Pip said.
Atlas stooped to the ground, picking up a piece of crystal and tossing it to Pip. "Put that into your bag. We might find a use for it later," Atlas said as Pip looked at it. To Faolan, it was almost shaped into an arrow point.
"That looks…" Faolan started but stopped; the crystal in Pip's hands began to vibrate and emit an awful tone.
Suddenly, the whole crystal vein started to pour out the same horrible song of dismay as everyone covered their ears. Then, without warning, BEBE and Row short-circuited with electrical arches dancing around their bodies before they collapsed to the ground. The crystal vein in front of Faolan vibrated violently and exploded, sending everyone flying back. Faolan had just enough sense to flip himself right side up and land in a crouch. But he did not escape without receiving several cuts along his body as blood flowed into his shirt and shorts.
"Is everyone all right?" Faolan asked but did not receive an answer. Faolan looked around and saw all of his friends lying on the ground as three drones dropped from the sky, shifting into robotic warriors.
"Wolf! Designation: Faolan. You will come with us!" The lead drone said as Faolan snarled.
"I will not," Faolan said as he attacked the lead drone. He managed to dent the armor as the drone's head turned almost backward. However, the drone smiled as the dent disappeared, and its head slowly turned back, with glowing red eyes. Suddenly, it grabbed Faolan by the throat and slammed him repeatedly into the ground. Pain exploded across Faolan's body like he had never felt before. The drone lifted its foot and stomped on Faolan's arm, breaking it with ease as Faolan screamed out.
"SEER said take you dead or alive. But I think some pain will do you some good," The Drone said as he lifted Faolan up by his head and began to squeeze. "Let's see if your head pops like a cherry."
Faolan screamed out, but then several things happened that Faolan could not explain. First, he heard someone shout, "EARTH HAMMER!" Next, he saw a stone hammer hit the lead drone in the side of the head, knocking it off entirely as the body went flying with it. Thirdly, Faolan dropped to the ground, looking up at Bog through watery eyes.
"If you want him, you go through me," Bog said as the drones attacked. As Faolan witnessed Bog fighting, green energy danced off of him with each hit he made. As with Pip, no move was wasted as Bog quickly took out another drone while the other tried to stab him in the back. Bog smacked the drone with his tail, knocking it off balance before bringing the full might of his hammer onto the drone, flying up into the sky, far away in the distance. Finally, the lead drone returned with its head attached, but Bog was ready for it. Bog quickly turned around, his hammer glowing a blinding green light, and hit the drone, which disintegrated into nothing.
"Don't ever touch Faolan again," Bog said as Faolan finally lost consciousness.
Faolan awoke and found himself lying on a warm bed in an unfamiliar house. As he stared up at the ceiling, the pain and painful memories came flooding back to him. Faolan was angry at himself for being so weak. He did not have the strength to beat those drones, who seemed to flick him away like a fly. Faolan had several bandages wrapped around his head and body, and his arm was put into a sling.
Suddenly, he looked down and saw Pip at the foot of the bed with his head resting on the bed, his arm tucked underneath. Faolan could see the tears streaming down his face, and it looked like Pip was in an uneasy dream. Faolan could hardly move, yet he felt his strength returning slowly.
"Faolan, my lad. We need to teach you how to fight," Lyall said off to the side as Faolan looked over and saw Lyall sitting in an armchair, sunlight spilling through an open window that cast an almost angelic aura around him.
Suddenly, Pip bolted upright and looked at Faolan. The deer moved up and pressed his face against Faolan's chest and said, "You dumb wolf!" The tears reformed again as he kept repeating the phrase.
"How are you feeling, my lad?" Lyall asked, but Faolan found it hard to speak. Even with the fast healing, this was going to take some time before Faolan fully healed.
"Where… are… we?" Faolan managed to croak out.
"In the last place you'd expect," said a deep, rich bass voice.
The door opens, and Bog walks into the room, followed by BEBE and Row. Faolan's shock rose as he tried to move. "Faolan, calm down. Bog is now fighting with us. We all saw how he saved you, and we had a long chat with him. It seems he is not happy with SEER either," Row said.
Faolan relaxed slightly but still felt on edge. Despite Bog saving him, Bog was responsible for numerous tragedies, and one good act did not fully make amends. “What… do… you… want?" Faolan asked in a whisper as Bog smiled.
"You have nothing I want, little pup. I am not going to apologize for my past, nor am I begging for a second chance. SEER has threatened my family and there is something way worse on the horizon," Bog said.
"Maybe we should let him rest before he hears this new information," Row said, but Bog just shook his head.
"No, he needs to hear it now because time is not on our side and I fear that if we don't act quickly, what precious world we have left will be destroyed," Bog said.
Faolan took a moment to absorb the meaning of Bog's words and said, "What do… you mean by destroy?"
"I believe SEER is corrupting the power of the anchor points. He only sees them as raw power, something to be harnessed. However, the anchor points are what keep nature in balance. SEER doesn't know it, but he's sitting on a bomb that will destroy the Earth. Nothing will be left if he misuses that power," Bog said as Faolan froze. The thought of the entire world dying was something he was not ready to face.
"There's… something you're… not telling… me," Faolan said in a whisper.
"SEER made a clone of me," Bog said.
Everyone froze upon hearing this information, and the room went deadly quiet. The implications of SEER cloning a living soul were terrible enough, but to somehow harness the power of an anchor point was beyond Faolan's understanding. "So, you mean he somehow copied your power, too?" Faolan said.
"Yes, I'm not sure how and that is what I've been trying to discover," Bog said.
"But stealing someone's power would almost certainly kill the original host. How did you survive?" Row asked as Bog smiled.
"Because he didn't steal my power. SEER merely copied it. That AI is messing with forces that could get us all killed," Bog said as Faolan closed his eyes; the realization of what Bog revealed weighed heavily on his heart.
"Then… we… need to… stop him," Faolan said as Bog smiled.
"I love how this kid thinks. Even with all his injuries he has a one-track mind," Bog said.
"And a healthy libido," Atlas said as Lyall looked at him.
"All wolves have that or have you forgotten," Lyall asked.
"Oh, no. I have not forgotten," Atlas said with a smirk.
"Okay, we are off topic. What do we do now? Faolan is injured and possibly cannot move for a while," Ayden said as Bog smiled again.
"Well, Faolan needs training. There is no question about that. I can't tell him how to control his anchor power because that is something he will need to learn himself. But I can show him how to fight," Bog said as Lyall nodded.
"I shall assist. Wolves have a different fighting style than most," Lyall said.
"Hang on guys. Y'all are forgetting one crucial detail. Faolan is critically injured, how is he supposed to train like this," Pip said.
"I do have an answer for that. Faolan heals quickly enough on his own from injuries, but I have found an even better way. Although, it is a little rougher, and there will be pain, but within two days Faolan will be cured of his injuries," Bog said as Row looked at him.
"Are you referring to an energy transference?" Row asked as Bog nodded.
"THAT'S INSANE! That kind of transfer could kill him if not done correctly," Pip seethed with anger.
"Well fine, let him wait here for the next two weeks as SEER messes with my facsimile of my power. Hopefully we will still have a planet by then, but you never know," Bog said matter-of-factly.
"I'll… do… it," Faolan said as everyone looked surprised.
"Faolan, please don't do something this reckless," Pip said, taking his hand.
"Pip… please understand! I love all… of you… and I don’t… want to… see this… world… destroyed. As long… as I… have… your strength… I can bare… any burden," Faolan croaked out.
"You dumb wolf," Pip said, but understood Faolan's feeling perfectly. He knew Faolan's need to protect his family, and now that included Pip, and even though Pip hated the idea of Faolan being in pain, he understood that unless they did something, SEER would win.
Faolan looked up at Bog and said, "Proceed."
Bog nodded and said, "I need everyone to clear the room, including you deer."
"If you think I'm leaving you alone with—" Pip said, but Lyall, who had risen from the armchair, walked over and placed his hand on Pip's shoulder.
"Come on, my friend! It will be okay," Lyall said as Pip looked at him, then back at Faolan, and finally at Bog.
"If you do any harm to him, there will be no place on this Earth you can hide from me," Pip said with a certain coldness that Faolan had not heard before. Pip stood and walked with Lyall out of the room.
Bog and Faolan stared at each other for a while. Neither one said anything to the other before Faolan suddenly said, "Before we begin, why did you kill my father?"
For a moment, Faolan saw a moment of grief wash over Bog's face before it hardened back into a stern, almost grumpy look. "I did not kill your father. I couldn't kill him. The information you acquired from Lyall was accurate. That's one of the reasons why I spared his life. However, I couldn't move Alpha without SEER immediately knowing about it. But enough about that. Keep quiet now. I must concentrate."
At first, Faolan noticed nothing. The room was quiet as birds chirped outside his window. Then a slight hum began to resonate throughout the room, causing the walls to vibrate with great intensity. For a moment, it seemed the sound was coming from the walls themselves. Still, Faolan realized that Bog was actually producing it, which grew louder by the second.
Suddenly, the same green energy Faolan had witnessed before began started sparking across Bog's massive, muscular body. Faolan was taken aback by Bog's stature, but before he could view any more, green energy suddenly enveloped him. Searing hot pain ripped through his body as injuries started to aggressively heal, bones snapped back in place, and Faolan felt energy return to his body. Faolan's breath hitched as he gasped in pain but remained grounded. The pain from the energy was not as bad as Faolan thought and felt more like a bee sting than anything else. However, the resetting of the bones was the most painful part.
Suddenly, everything stopped as Bog swayed for a moment, catching himself on the foot of the bed as he slumped over. Faolan saw this and said, "What? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I need to catch my breath. Your injuries were quite severe, and it took more energy than I thought to heal you," Bog said as he slowly walked back to the armchair and lowered himself down into it.
"Wait, you mean you used your lifeforce with this energy transference thing," Faolan said as he noticed his voice was intact again.
"Yes, which is why your deer boyfriend was so angry about it because the chances of it working were less than half. But it worked with Alpha so I figured it would work with you," Bog said as Faolan froze.
"You mean we both could've died," Faolan said, and Bog nodded.
"What was the survival rate of this transference?"
"Does it matter? It worked, that's all that counts. But if you need to know, ask your deer boyfriend," Bog said as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
Suddenly, Pip burst back into the room and raced over to Faolan, who sat up. Pip immediately hugged Faolan, who winced in pain, "Hey! Easy does it. I'm still sore."
"Shut up you dumb wolf," Pip said as Faolan smiled.
Everyone else filed back into the room, and Bog stood, "Get some rest kid. In two days, we start your training and trust me, you will wish you had died."
Bog walked out of the room, leaving Faolan to wonder at his words. However, Faolan noticed the pain underneath the surface, a pain that no amount of time could really heal. Perhaps it was how Bog's parents died, how he grew up in his clan, or a combination of both. But Faolan believed Bog when he said Alpha was alive, which meant that Bog, whether by grief or some connection, could not kill Alpha.