Chapter 24: Amber Knights

"We should make a break for it, they are slow enough that we could easily outrun them." Danta says, but Clair and I both know that these things are actually quite fast. How many times had we barely escaped their metal hands, I had lost count long ago.
"They are waiting for us to do just that, trust me. For now we need a plan." I say, forgoing the obvious fact that I couldn't see.

Clucnk

A metal man lands before me, rises and turns towards us. There is no light behind the mask, only the terrifying abyss into which we would fall were we to be caught by it.
"NOW WE CAN RUN!" I scream, and try to get up.
The amber knight readies his sword to pierce me, and I barely roll out of the way before it pierces the car were I had been a moment before.
I listen for the quick steps of Clair and Danta making their break for it and I take off after the smaller pair of footsteps.
I cry out as I bash into cars all along the path, but the growing footfalls behind me keep me moving forward.
"Hurry up kid!" I hear Danta call from a short way in front of me, followed shortly by the safety of a gun being removed.
I duck my head just before I hear the crack of gunfire and the whizzing bullet above me.

Crash

I hear metal fall behind me and turn my neck to find an Amber Knight lying on the ground. In the same moment I feel a sting in my legs as I crash over a car hood. I scream in pain as red shoots up my legs.
"SETH!" I hear Clair cry out.
"I've got him." Danta says, and I feel a strong pair of hands grab me and pull me across the car and onto the older mans back.
"Lucky you are light." He chides me, and hands me the gun. "Don't miss."

With one arm around his neck, I hold onto Danta, with my other arm, I take aim at the Amber Knights.
For each one I take out, I see three more take it's place. Surely they have a limit, but the crashing sea of metal behind us says otherwise.
"We can't outrun them all." I say, and pull the trigger on the gun once more.

Click

The one sound that I would have gladly taken had our roles been reversed.
Click, Click, Click,
Empty.
"I'm out of ammo." I say my voice cracking under the stress.
"Not what I want to hear kid." Danta says and clumsily reaches for his pack pocket. In that moment I slip and fall off of his back, hitting my hip on the rough pavement.
"Crap!" I hear Danta say, and in a moment more he is down next to me. We can no longer run, the Amber Knights are too close. I feel Danta take the gun from my hands and refill it.
As the first Knight reaches us, its sword crashing down, I hear the blow deflected and a shot fired, leaving a metal mess upon the ground. I listen and watch as shot by shot the Knights go down, but still they close in.
"Only one more bullet kid." I hear the older man say between gasping breaths. "You choose how you want to use it." He says and passes the metal object to me.
He has given me the choice to take my life before the Knights reach us and end us, a final act of kindness. I c**k the gun, and press the nuzzle to my skull, my finger on the trigger. I can feel hot tears on my face, I don't want to die here.
I can't die here.
I made a promise that I would take care of Clair, and I would die trying to keep it.
The Knights are almost upon us. I aim the gun at the closest one and go to pull the trigger, but something catches my eye, the silhouette of a car. A thought forms in my mind, and without thinking I act upon it. I take my best guess as to where the gas tank may be and take the shot.
Instantly the darkness is consumed by a white heat. I throw my arms up to protect myself but I am knocked over by the force. All around us cars begin to explode, the chain of crashed cars igniting one after another.
The Knights, being so close to the blast are vaporized. Being as close as I was myself, I can feel my skin blistering. The heat is so intense that I can no longer take it.


"Oh God, Seth! Danta!"
Clair's voice is the first thing I notice when the ringing stops. The second being the feeling of being half carried, half dragged along the fractured highway.
"He'll be okay, he's quite the trooper." I hear Danta say before I feel him cough violently.
I watch Clair's red footsteps race to meet us and feel her try to hold us as Danta and I collapse to the ground.
"Oh God, Oh God." I hear the panic in Clairs voice as she rummages through the rucksacks.
I try to get her attention, but all I can get out is a groan. I try instead to move my arm, and manage to sign that she should help Danta first. I am certain that he shielded me from the worst of the fire, my pain should be far worse if he hadn't. This man had saved my life, where I had killed his son. The least I could do was make sure he got treated first.


The night air was cool. but the heat from the fire still filled the air.
"There we were, backed against a wall of metal men, with one bullet left, and this young man takes them all out with one brilliant shot." Danta boasts proudly to Clair, who has managed to patched us up quite well.
As they chat, I gaze off towards the white embers of a dying fire. In amongst the wreckage stands an amber figure. Solemn. Its beaked face seems to look aimlessly, but I can feel it is gazing directly at me. We stare across the vast empty darkness, neither of us moving, a strange acknowledgement forming.
As it turns to leave, I give in to my drooping eyelids and fall asleep.

Reviews

[Silent Wolf]

I love this, and the way you described it made it seem almost like he could see again. I can't wait for more!

[Lucy Morningstar &heart..]

GAAHHH!!! WHY YOU DO THIS? Id like moar now plz lol this was awesome and intense and just gahhhh. I lovd the little connections with seth and clair. I ship it so much. In any case...it was really well written and full of suspence and intrigue. I eagerly await the next one :)

100/100