SciFi Files

Part 3 (Hapless Hero): Twin Knights Without Armour

"What are you doing here, Leo?"

I all but jumped out of my skin. Then breathed. Please stop, adrenaline rush. Just stop. "A better question would be what you are doing here, Doubter. Turning innocent children into Crime-committers?"

Michael's son looked at me. "No. As you just observed, she was very sad, and I cheered her up. Tis'that not a good thing?"

"Not if you take her and tell her to steal more things for you, which is one of the greatest Crimes our Holy Book states, jus' so you can make machines to destroy the shield the Lord Creator kindly made to protect us from whatever's out there-"

"But what is out there?" he insisted, "what if there are resources and land and places to explore? What if there are cities? Mechanisms beyond our imagining? We c'd make life so much better, but you narrow-minded fools are too complacent in your own ordinary lives to imagine such a thing! I must take advantage of every chance I get to make stronger machines."

"You're out of your mind. The shield-" There was a loud explosion from the west side of town. "Was that-"

"Ohhhh, you see? I'm testing out newer mechanisms. Did you enjoy that one, Leo? It's from your precious Holy Book, actually, as well as some ancient texts." He was reading the forbidden texts stated as evil in the Holy Book? "D'you think it'll be strong enough to break through the shield? Go look. How powerful was it?"

I ran towards the smoking area and hated him for telling me to run to it. The town was sure to have been busy at that time of day. Had the Doubter been planning to kill someone?

Was this the true power of Doubt?

Homes were scattered into black rubble, and the road through the area was scattered. Clumps of grass and broken wood ran through the street. Fires were running over nearby buildings and catching fast, and at the center of it all were a couple metallic shards. His exploding mechanism.

I did not go closer to the scene, and despaired in this. There were children crying from the burning homes, people trapped under rubble. But I was frozen in my place and couldn't move closer or farther away.

But I saw people moving towards the flames, and recognized them.

Adaiah and Achor, Children-of-Raphael, were born two in one birth. According to our Holy Book this was a very auspicious thing, and the two were held with high regard in the Village. They attended Hope School with me, although they were in the eldest class and I in the youngest.

"There're children in there! They could die if we don't do anything!" It was Adaiah, pleading with her brother to help her save them. Achor lifted his face to the wind.

"Saltpeter."

"What?" Adaiah asked, yelling over the crackling flames and crying villagers. The noise was like thousands of scraps of fat in a thousand deafening cooking pans.

"There's saltpeter in the air. And....something else. It's probably what caused this explosion."

"Think about'et later," Adaiah commanded, "We're going to rescue them."

"Do you not see those flames? That's called danger, and the best course of action would be fetching water."

"No, we don't have time. Save people and get 'em to do something to put out the fires, but the people will die before we douse them at this rate."

Achor appeared uncertain.

"The Holy Book tells us in no uncertain terms that life is precious. Now we must go protect it!" Adaiah took Achors arm and they ran towards the fiery buildings.