Legend of Kataria (Draft Version)

Chapter 15

Two things happened in the seconds before the bomb went off.

The first was Greeny unknowingly triggering the wire as he went to block whatever hack had been made through his firewalls. It was a simple mistake, really. He had been so intent on making sure that he could stop whoever it was invading his devices that he didn't even consider the possibility of an attack. The second didn't come from him. It was a sensation of danger, like a scream from inside his mind, so strong and persistent that he almost dropped the laptop in shock. It might have been a warning from Leah or it could have meant she was in pain and had latched on to the first, most familiar, mind that she could.

Of course, neither of those mattered now as the room was sliced apart at the seams and he was ruthlessly thrown backward and the walls were engulfed in white light and fire. His body slammed into a mountain of racks and electronics and his sudden impact caused the entire thing to collapse underneath him. He threw his arms protectively around his ears as the fire whooshed past him and he felt its tongues lash out at him, hot and sharp. He squeezed his eyes shut, biting back a scream.

The massive blast lasted only moments and then was extinguished to nothing more than the smallest of flames and the remains of what had once been a great mansion. Cinders rained down from the now visible sky and he lay there, gasping against the smog that the explosion had created. It felt like every nerve in his body was on fire. It hurt twice as much as his first injury and he briefly wondered if he'd reopened the wounds. He didn't want to move, couldn't move, and just below his heart, something had cracked.

The others! his fuzzy mind screamed at him. Find the others!

He groaned, turning his head slightly to the side, struggling to open his eyes against the pain. His glasses sparkled with blue light as words attempted to form on the side of the lenses. It was a moment before he realized that they were detecting heat signatures. Multiple. Coming his way fast. And they weren't the team.

Morto's goons, coming to make sure they finished the job.

He groaned again. The feeling was just beginning to return to his limbs. A large metal brace had fallen upon him, pinning him from the waist down. He tried to heave himself back across the ground with his arms but found he couldn't. The pain was just too great.

He coughed, shifting direction and curling himself against the metal sheet as footsteps became audible. He pressed himself against the beam and held his breath, praying there would be enough debris to shield him. His glasses flashed warningly as four soldiers appeared from the smoke, clambering over the rubble, guns trained for even the slightest movement.

The footsteps came to a halt right in front of his hiding spot. He could see the thick leather army boots just feet from his face, and his heart rate spiked tremendously. Did they know he was there? Did they know he survived the explosion? Were they about to kill him?

"See anything?" came a cold voice from right overhead.

"Negative. Looks like we got them."

As Greeny watched, he felt the tickle come in the back of his throat and he quickly grabbed his nose in a panic. One of the soldiers must have a cat. Great. He squeezed his eyes shut and begged himself not to sneeze. Think I'm dead. Please. Just walk away.

"How many did His Majesty say there should be?" spoke the first voice, a bit nervously.

"Five," was the response. "But we saw the one leave yesterday. That means there should only be four. Remember, the King wants the prince alive."

"But how are we supposed to know who the prince is?"

Gravel crunched a short distance away, telling Greeny that the soldiers were moving off now. He waited until he could no longer hear their voices before he began to squeeze his way out of his hiding spot. He rolled over to begin moving--