"Have you lost what little mind you have left starlight! Sending me off like I'm some old bitty that needs to be protected while you charge head long into a horde of evos! Anything could have happened to you and it looks like something did! Did you get jumped by a whole pack of thrads when you sent me and your Grandpa off?" Grandma Lulu fussed in Torapos.
"It wasn't evos…" I muttered then flinched when I saw my grandma's eyes grow wide.
"ARE YOU TELLING ME PEOPLE DID THIS TO YOU?!" She screamed.
'Oh fuck a duck…' I thought. Grandma Lulu cupped my cheeks in her palms and looked at me woefully.
"Chase tell me who did this to you and I'll make their last moments on earth a living hell for hurting my grandbaby." Grandma Lulu said. I grabbed her wrists and collected her hands in mine and shook my head.
"Grandma no. Right now we need to focus on getting out of here and somewhere safe. We're lucky right now that the thrads get sluggish after dark but that won't last for a couple more hours at most." I said hoping to dissuade my grandma from a murderous rampage.
While under normal circumstances I don't think my grandmother would kill anybody the look in her eye and the fact she became a little irrational when I was concerned made me rethink that a little.
Grandma Lulu looked me in the eye then her expression softened a little.
"Your brother was involved somehow, wasn't he?" She asked. I didn't respond but glanced away. Grandma Lulu sighed and shook her head. "We'll finish this conversation later…I'm just glad you're alright."
Grandma Lulu gave me a tight hug and whispered a small prayer in Torapos then stepped back and looked at the others. We were taking shelter inside a gun store at the edge of town. Inside the back office to be exact. Angie and Louie seated on a couch in the corner so Angie could rest and hold the baby comfortably. Louie smiled proudly as he whispered and cooed at his son. Haws was leaning against the owners desk watching the happy couple though really he was only using that as an excuse so he wasn't nosy and listening in on grandma's and mine's conversation. Not that he could understand Torapos.
"So what's the plan?" I asked switching back to English and getting everyone's attention.
"To get out of here." Grandma Lulu said. "As much as I want to tell you to get on that flying evo and head to safety neither of us would be able to live with ourselves if anything happened to Angie or that baby."
"Wait…what are you thinking?" Louie asked.
"You want to send Louie and Angie ahead on the aivard so the baby's safe, then have the rest of us try to get to safety on foot?" I guessed. Grandma Lulu nodded. Louie shook hos head in rejection.
"Nope! No way! Angie just had a baby! There is no way that she can fly so soon afterwards!" He exclaimed.
"It's the safest way to ensure that Angie and the baby are safe." Haws argued.
"It's not safe though! She's weak and could fall off easily!" Louie shouted.
"Louie!" Angie said sternly and grabbed her husband's elbow. "They're trying to be selfless here. If they let us fly off on that evo they know the chances that they'll survived long enough to get to safety is low. I know that you are worried about me but please…trust that I can be strong long enough to get our baby to safety."
Louie looked at the three of us then back at his wife. You could see the gears in his head start to turn before he let out a exhausted groan.
"Fine! I trust you Angie." He said then turned to the rest of us. "Thank you."
"My son died on his third day Louie. I want yours to see many more than that." Haws said softly. The two men shared a look that I can only describe as mutual respect then Louie turned and helped his wife to her feet.
"Chase, go outside and get Vax'erah ready to go." Grandma Lulu said. I frowned and turned to face her.
"What's a Vax'erah?" I asked. Grandma Lulu looked at me incredulously.
"The evo that you sent me and your Grandpa Seamus away on." She said arching a eyebrow at me.
"You named him Vax'erah?" I breathed. Grandma Lulu smiled proudly and nodded.
"Why not? It means Winged savior in my home country and given the circumstances the name fits." She said.
"She's right about that actually…" Haws said. I threw my arms up in defeat and headed towards the entrance.
"Fine! I'll get Vax'erah ready to take Louie and family to safety." I said. I made my way through the store then poked my head through out the door to check of there were any sluggish thrads but the coast was clear.
Magnus was resting calmly in the alley beside the store, no longer hitched to the tore up carriage.
I stepped out into the street then turned around and looked up at the buildings roof. Vax'erah was perched on top scanning the streets and alleyways for any sign of thrads. When it noticed me in the street it's tongue lulled out of its mouth and it barked happily.
"Vax'erah can you come down here a minute?" I called out. Vax'erah looked like it was about to bounce out of his feathers as he wiggled his tail feathers then jumped off the roof and landed on the street next to me then licked a long wet line up my entire face. I wiped my face clean then petted Vax'erah on hos head. "Yeah, seems you like Grandma's name for you. Well it suits you….I need you to carry my friend and his wife to safety across the river too where you took grandpa. Can you do that?"
Vax'erah barked affirmatively then licked my face again. I smiled at him then petted hos head again. Louie, Angie, Haws, and Grandma Lulu walked outside of the shop onto the sidewalk. Grandma Lulu and Louie were helping Angie stay steady, the baby was held close to her chest thanks to a bolt lf cloth that she swaddled him in then toed behind her back.
"He's ready as he'll ever be." I said to the others. Vax'erah knelt down as Angie and the other approached. Everyone helped Angie climb onto Vax'erahs' back. She looked weak but determined as she held onto Vax'erahs' scruff for support. Louie climbed up behind Angie and held onto her hips to help support her.
Vax'erah stood to full height then looked to me for instructions. I patted his head then looked up to Angie and Louie.
"He'll take you to safety. Where my parents and Granddad are." I explained.
"Thank you Chase…everyone." Angie said softly. "Please be safe all of you."
"We will. Don't worry about us. You just get yourselves and that baby to safety." Grandma Lulu said.
"Before you go…what's the baby's name?" Haws asked. Louie looked down at Haws.
"What was your son's name?" Louie asked. Haws eyed grew wide for a moment before he collected himself and answered.
"Kamden…" Haws replied.
"His name is Kamden Chase Gents." Angie said
"KC for short." Louie added. Haws and I both looked at the couple, stunned. I wasn't sure about Haws but my throat felt like a lump had suddenly formed in it and I couldn't form any words.
"It's a perfect name." Grandma Lulu said. "But please you all must hurry!"
"Y-yeah…" I said finally then snapped my fingers. "Vax'erah get going!"
Vax'erah took off running then jumped into the air and flapped his wings soaring up high at first before leveling our and flying towards the river. The three of us watched until the trio disappeared into the night.
"Lets get some guns from inside then we'll head out." Grandma Lulu said. I turned and saw her already heading back into the gun store. Haws and I quickly followed after her.
Once inside Grandma walked over to once of the glass cabinets that had rifles on display then broke the glass with her elbow and grabbed a rifle out of the cabinet.
She tossed it to Haws and he caught it in the air. The rifle was a Mastruck 73, a heavy hunting rifle that was created in England to hunt elephants in Africa. It used special high caliber bullets that was capable of blasting a hole in a human male large enough for a house cat to jump through. Grandma found the bullets in the display case below the cabinet and tossed then to Haws.
Haws loaded the rifle then stuffed extra shells in his pants pockets. Grandma then grabbed another rifle and tossed it to me. This one was a Orkas 669, a rare and unusual rifle. It was a lever action rifle with twin barrels and a unique mechanism. When the lever was used to fire a bullet out of the first barrel a second bullet was fired out of the second barrel when the lever was reset to its original position. This made it the closest thing you could get to fully automatic. The down side was that it couldn't fire large caliber bullets.
Grandma Lulu tossed me a box of ammo from the case and I started loading the Orkas. Haws looked at the Orkas and frowned at Grandma Lulu.
"That rifle won't pierce a thrads hide." Haws said.
"Aim for the parts without scales and it will. Forget head shots, aim for the joints or furry parts of their bodies." Grandma Lulu said.
"Got it." I said. Grandma Lulu grabbed her rifle then snatched some more boxes of ammo from the display case.
"What's the plan exactly?" Haws asked.
"We need to make it across the river, the bridge isn't an option but there is a way." Grandma Lulu replied.
"Wait there is?" Haws and I asked. Grandma nodded then headed outside. We followed after her until she stopped in the middle of the street then turned to look down the road towards the woods and pointed.
"About a half a mile up the river from the bridge is fallen tree that acts as a natural bridge. We can get to it before sunrise and hopefully not run into that massive evo." Grandma Lulu explained.
"Lead the way then." Haws said.