Ori and the Stranger

Chapter 27

     Blitz wraps the bandages around the metal pole, keeping it fastened in place in Helm's body. Helm grits his teeth a little bit, but then speaks. "Blitz, why did I hear a gunshot?" he rasps. Blitz freezes, but then continues bandaging. "Don't worry about it," he responds. They'd have to move before the smell gets too bad.

     Once he is finished bandaging as best he can, he lifts Helm up and over his shoulder once more, making sure to be extra careful. Helm gasps as the metal pole brushes against Blitz's shoulder, causing him considerable pain. Blitz ignores it, climbing out of the bunker and starting to move once more.

     Mud squelches beneath his boots as he wanders aimlessly across the surface of the rotten, scarred planet. His legs scream for him to stop and take a break, but Blitz doesn't listen. He will move until he finds something, or his legs break. He listens to Helm's groans and moans, feeling his heart skip a beat every time the interval becomes a bit too long. He wanders close to the sounds of gunfire and artillery, but not close enough to be spotted. He hopes he will run into a field hospital, or maybe a friendly airfield.

     He knows he is close to a battlefield, as he can see the flashing of artillery strikes. He grows worried. If he is on the Volks' side, then he will be basically defenseless unless he abandons Helm, which he does not intend to do.

     Suddenly, he hears the humming of a starship's engines. He quickly runs as fast as he can, knowing that he is approaching an airfield. However, as he gets closer, he spots the jagged, harsh, black infrastructure that the Volks use all too commonly. He instantly drops to his knees, sneaking up closer to the edge of the airfield. He tries to avoid the harsh green spotlights that cut through the fog, and he presses up against a watchtower. He peeks around the corner to look at the airfield.

     It's not as busy as he thought, a few patrols here and there, with large cargo ships landing, dropping off supplies, and leaving for orbit, with a few smaller ships on various landing pads and runways. This seemed to be a supply depot, not a garrison. Good.

     Blitz looks across the airfield, and spots a target: a relatively small cargo ship near the outskirts, which seems to be guarded by only a single Volk. He sneaks across the airfield, avoiding patrols as best he can and not taking any risks, knowing that Helm is slowing him down. After a few close calls, he reaches the landing pad of the cargo ship. He lays Helm down on the side of the ship, out of sight, and goes to deal with the guard.

     A blade protrudes from Blitz's gauntlet silently, and he creeps up behind the guard. He grabs the guard by the mouth and stabs him in the back. However, the guard doesn't drop immediately, and actually fires a couple random shots from his rifle before going limp. The shots are completely random, so no trouble, except for the fact that the gunshots were pretty loud. Blitz curses loudly, as the airfield seems to go silent. Then, he hears several Volks speaking in concerned Latin, and footsteps rapidly approaching. He quickly bolts to retrieve Helm, but it's too late. A green spotlight illuminates them both, and an alarm begins to blare. They've been spotted.

~~~~~~~~~~

     Ori lifted his head with a groan, getting to his feet. As usual, his head hurt and his ears were ringing, but both quickly subsided. As Ori got up and looked around, he found himself in a beautiful forest, filled with tall trees and surrounded on virtually every side by sheer rock walls and cliffs. Okay. Time to find this "Tatsu." He scanned the nearby foliage for any sign of her. He saw nothing.

     He began to walk, searching between the trees for signs of the spirit, growing slightly more impatient with every minute spent searching. Eventually, a small pile of dust and pebbles landed on his head, shaken from the arch above. He looked up, and sure enough, found a spirit. She was climbing the underside of the arch, somehow able to stay attached to the seemingly loose rock.