Stone Soldiers 4: Shades of War (14 page)

They were falling, and the tactical goggles showed their altitude scrolling away very fast.

The Colonel had shifted his grip on Josie, turning her around so they were face to face. He had his legs around hers, his arms around her back, holding her tightly.

"Josie- listen to me carefully," Mark Kenslir said. He was now leaning in close, his cheek against hers.

Josie nodded, her arms looped around the Colonel's neck.

"There isn't enough time to put you in my harness. Wrap your legs around my waist and hold on as tight as you can."

Josie moved her legs as the Colonel spread his out, slowing their descent somewhat. She looped her legs around his waist, crossing her ankles behind him.

"Slide your arms through my harness straps!" he called out.

Josie did so, barely able to squeeze through between his sides and the heavy harness straps.

The Colonel now spread his arms out- his forming his body into an X-shape, controlling their descent.

"When I hit the release, it'll only slow us," the Colonel said. "But whatever you do, don't let go!"

Josie nodded her head and closed her eyes. She couldn't stand to watch the rapidly dwindling numbers on the tactical display anymore.

After a moment, the sound of fabric cracking in the wind could be heard, followed by a tremendous jolt that almost made Josie lose her grip on the Colonel. She felt their bodies swing down vertical, suspended from the parachute she knew had just opened.

Josie opened her eyes and looked around as best she could. The tactical display was under three thousand feet now, ticking down rapidly. A little too rapidly.

"This is just a braking chute," Kenslir said, seeming to sense her unasked question. "It's not meant to slow one jumper- let alone two- all the way."

Josie leaned back, letting the oxygen mask she had held in placed with her chin against Kenslir's shoulder fall away. It hung by its hose from the oxygen bottle on his back- just under the now-empty parachute pack.

"I'm going to cut us loose before we hit the ground," he said. "You've got to go limp and let me take the impact."

They were much closer to the earth now, and Josie could tell they were over farmland. She hoped they weren't too far from the battle raging with the ghosts- without Kenslir, the stone soldiers would just be another power source for Kerrick. She pulled her arms out from the straps on Kenslir's body and looped them around his neck.

"Ready?" Kenslir asked.

"Yes!" Josie said, squeezing her eyes shut and tightening her grip on her grandfather.

She felt a sudden release, then they were in freefall once more.

***

He wasn't sure how he'd done it, but Victor had actually managed to dodge the attack from Kerrick. The flying man had swept toward him, both fists out, flying through his own ghosts army- scattering the specters with his passage so that each exploded like puffs of smoke as he passed through them.

Victor had pivoted at the last possible millisecond, and felt the parahuman brush past him at great velocity. He then shrugged off the ghosts grabbing at him and leapt into the air.

Kerrick was faster then he imagined though, turning at an impossible speed and arcing back around- smashing into Victor at the apex of his leap.

The duo crashed down to earth, splintering several small trees that grew to the north of the road. Victor lashed out with both hands, feeling the crunch of bone where his stone fists met flesh.

Kerrick kicked and punched back, breaking free and rolling away. He seemed to sway for a moment, then any weakness or pain he had passed- his internal injuries fully healed.

The parahuman swept in, grabbing at Victor. But the stone soldiers had been ready for this. Every inch of their bodies, save their faces, had been swathed in thick cloth. Without skin to skin contact, Kerrick could not draw power from the stone soldier.

Victor grabbed at the hands of the man attacking him, interlocking his fingers with Kerrick’s. His thick gloves shielded him from the parasite-like touch of the super terrorist, and he tried his best to force his enemy backwards.

Kerrick was surprised at this turn of events. He couldn't break the grip of the stone man, and his hands were being bent backwards ever so slowly, his wrists bending back almost painfully. They were almost evenly matched in strength.

He glanced at the nametape of his opponent, sewn into the gray-and-black camouflage uniform. JANUS. Beneath the oversized goggles the stone soldier wore, Kerrick could make out some of the details of this Janus' face. It was different from that of the one that had been called Hades. Meaning these were indeed men, but somehow petrified.

Kerrick swept up a kick, driving the ball of his foot into Janus' groin. He doubted the move would cause his stone opponent any pain, but it would catch him off guard.

The move worked. Victor couldn't resist the urge to try and dodge the kick- even his grip relaxed on Kerrick's hands. This gave the parahuman the break he needed and he pulled free. Before Victor could recover, Kerrick rammed his head forward, smashing his forehead into the oversized goggles.

The impact shattered the plastic communications device and staggered Victor back a step. Before he could fully recover, Kerrick struck again.

The air between the two men shimmered and caught fire- two thin beams of ionized gas, leading from Kerrick's eyes to Victor's body. The streams of super-heated air swept up and around- igniting cloth, plastic and metal wherever they struck. In just the blink of an eye, Victor found himself engulfed in flames.

The stone soldier swatted at the flames, panicked- but only for a second. While he could feel the heat of his clothes and equipment burning, he realized it was having no effect on him. He was immune to the heat.

He looked up, ready to attack Kerrick. Just in time for a large hand to grab him around his throat.

Kerrick winced at the pain of the flames, then inhaled sharply as he began drawing power from the stone neck he was holding.

***

They hit the ground with terrifying force. Josie was sure she heard the breaking of bones, even as she felt herself flung upwards. She seemed to hang in the air for a moment, weightless, then plummeted back down. When she landed, the wind was knocked from her lungs and she rolled onto her face.

Gasping for breath, she lay still for a moment, then pushed off from the long grass she lay face down in. She was sore all over her body- and briefly wondered if this is what it felt like to get hit by a truck. She clawed at the oversized goggles covering her face and pulled them off. The sun was bright after wearing the tinted goggles for so long.

Her lungs ached and her head was spinning, but she managed to push herself up off the ground- drawing in great lungful of air. Then she smiled.

She had made it. She was on the ground- alive. Rolling over, she sat on the ground and looked around her.

She was in tall grass- nearly over her head as she sat there gathering her wits. Her legs ached, but they seemed fine. Gingerly she lifted each foot and moved it. Her left ankle sent out shooting pains, but she recognized it as nothing more serious than a sprain. She'd live.

"Colonel?" she asked, looking around. "Mark?"

"Over here," Mark Kenslir said. She recognized pain in his voice- something the supersoldier rarely exhibited.

Moving cautiously, Josie rose to her feet- careful not to put too much weight on her sprained ankle. She looked around her, turning in nearly a full circle before she spied the matted grass nearby where the Colonel had landed. She then realized what had happened- at the last possible second, the Colonel had thrown her up into the air, the sudden movement cancelling out most of her downward velocity. It was a cartoon-like move, but it had worked. When she had fallen, it had been with far less velocity than she'd had after the braking parachute had opened.

Stepping cautiously, favoring her ankle, Josie moved closer to the Colonel. She gasped when she could finally see her commander- her grandfather.

Mark Kenslir was laying on his back, breathing deeply, his goggles pushed back up on his head. He seemed to be concentrating, or catching his breath. Which was no wonder, given the condition of his legs.

Jagged shards of bone poked through tears in the Colonel's pant legs- marking the compound fractures in both of his legs. Josie had to look away for a moment from the jagged gray ends of petrified tibia and fibula projecting out of the Colonel's legs.

"You all right?" the Colonel finally asked Josie.

"W-What are we going to do?" Josie gasped walking over and kneeling beside Kenslir- careful to avoid looking at his legs.

Kenslir planted his hands on either side of him and pushed off from the ground, sitting up. "Damn. I thought that's what it felt like."

He seemed to notice Josie trying to avoid seeing the injuries. "Relax- I've had way worse."

"But... the battle..." Josie said. She was feeling panicked again.

"We're not that far," Kenslir said. "Gimme a hand..."

Josie cocked an eyebrow, bewildered. "Doing what?"

"I need to straighten these out," Kenslir said. "It'll be hours before they heal on their own otherwise."

Josie's face paled and she looked over at the broken legs, then glanced away. "I don't think I can..." she said quietly.

"We don't have a lot of choice here, Josie," Kenslir said. "The team can't hope to stop Kerrick on their own. I have to get over there. Now."

Josie nodded and slowly moved around to Kenslir's feet. She looked at his boots, again trying not to see the bloody bones sticking out of his legs. "What do I do?"

"Just hold my left leg immobile- I'll do the rest," Kenslir said.

Just nodded quietly, and reached out with shaking hands. She grabbed the large boot and held it as tightly as she could.

"Don't be alarmed if I scream," Kenslir said.

***

Victor could feel his limbs shrinking, the strength being drawn out of him by the hand wrapped around his throat. The same hand now holding him off the ground. His body had almost wholly reverted to flesh now. Only his lower legs still felt petrified. It was a strange sensation and he wished he could fight it.

Kerrick watched him with a gigantic leer on his face. He was grinning from ear to ear, his toothy smile a horrible gap in his beard. His eyes seemed to glow more than they should and he trembled with excitement.

Victor closed his eyes. It would be over any minute now. He just hoped he'd wake up back in the Fountain Chamber again.

And then it stopped.

A jolt went through Victor's body and he was flung through the air- knocked from the parahuman's draining grasp. He struck the ground hard- his sides burning at the impact. Like a ragdoll he tumbled and rolled, from grass onto scratchy pavement.

Lifting his head up, Victor looked around.

Kerrick was twisting in circles now, almost dancing in place as he writhed in pain, screaming. Blood was pouring down the side of his neck- leaking from the mouth of Laura Olson who had leapt onto his back and clamped her fangs down on his carotid artery.

The vampire clung to Kerrick like a tick. Her legs were wrapped around his waist, her arms up, under his armpits, her long nails dug into his shoulders. Her red hair was tossed about as the leader of the ghost army bucked and whirled trying to dislodge her.

He began striking her in the head, over and over- his punches landing with great, bone-cracking sound. The third punch finally did it and Olson loosened her grip. With both hands, Kerrick grabbed her by the head and ripped her free, throwing her away from him. A great spray of blood erupted from the parahuman's neck and he staggered for a moment- the ghosts nearest him flickering in and out of view.

Kerrick clamped a hand to his neck and closed his eyes. Several ghosts faded away- the bulk of the army having stopped their mad scramble to attack the stone soldiers at some point. Directionless, they stood in ranks, unsure of what to do- like puppets with their strings cut.

A great, blue-white light flashed through the air- lightning fired from Phillips' stony hand. Victor closed his eyes and turned his head, wincing at the painful flash. When he opened his eyes again, he was staring down at his hands- once more stone- where they held him up, on his knees, on the pavement of the road.

Wide-eyed, Victor stood slowly, looking over his body. He had turned back to stone again. His limbs were weak, but once more stretched and swollen by the transformation he had undergone twice now in his life.

He looked quickly back at Kerrick.

The parahuman had just caught another blast of lightning from Phillips. This second blast ignited his shirt and beard and he stumbled backwards, raising his hands as if to defend himself.

The army of ghosts, now a good third of their number depleted, swirled and faded, rushing toward their master. They surrounded him, fog like, then resolidified into their human forms.