Chapter I

Abandoning the Manor

Charlie Sparrow the twenty-seven-year-old scientist stands in front of the now broken doors to the manor, it’s walls cracked, windows shattered in on themselves and roof rapidly falling in, looking out at the recently extinguished manor grounds, after the most recent battle. The manor however seemed to have gotten the better end of the deal, compared to the imperial city out towards the west in the distance, where the first fires have also started to get going. The high-pitched shriek of The Ravens rouses Charlie to her sense’s and she walks back into the crumbling manor and into the dining room where the survivors have gathered.

Charlie looks around at the ragged group; The old butler Vernon, The five remaining soldiers Dmitri, Commander Codsworth and Lieutenant Barca, along with his two remaining troops, all soot covered and in the case of Barca and his troops, blood soaked from the previous engagement, the four now recently orphaned Wolfrick brothers Jack, Dave, Nick and Martin, the even younger scientist Jimmy sitting coughing by the broken fireplace, and a half dozen of Dmitri’s bots who stood guard by the doors. As Charlie looked around the group, she wished that they had a doctor, the closest they had had was Deryn and his body was still lying on a table next to Alan’s, after the manor’s east wing had collapsed, which left Jimmy and herself. The two scientists had tried to stem the bleeding on the wounded, especially Barca who had sustained a pretty nasty head wound, but neither of them was trained medics, and she had her doubts about the group’s survival without one. Charlie then addressed the group.

“We have no time, we must leave.” Charlie said looking around, urgently of she was correct, and she feared that she was. They were almost out of the time that Xyla had given them.

“How?” Martin said, the six-year-old looked around the group.

“We can use the jet; it should still have fuel in it.” Dmitri said, getting up and hoping that Alan had not used to much of it during his last mission.

“Yes, but where are we going?” Barca said, he got up with help from Codsworth, his head was bandaged up, but he still shook slightly, the injury to his head had been enough to kick him off balance, but he steadied himself and looked around. “I thought you said there was no-where to retreat to.” He finished looking at Dmitri, but before he could answer the fifteen-year-old Jack got up. And remembering how the kid had reacted a few hours ago, Dmitri instinctively went into defence mode, both for himself, and for any that the boy would turn his wroth on to.

“We’re not going yet, not until we’ve buried… him.” Jack said, looking around at the group.

“The time for those kind of rituals has passed lad.” Charlie said, and whilst she understood where the Jack was coming from, as well as glad for the fact that the lad seemed to have gotten his emotions under control. It didn’t change the fact that they needed to leave, and quickly. Jack glowers at Charlie with nothing short of loathing in his left eye. The young scientist instinctively readied herself but fortunately Vernon spoke up in her defence.

“Charlie’s right my lad. We’ve got to leave this place.” Vernon said. Jack continued to stare stubbornly around at the group, before Charlie picks up her courage and speaks to the stubborn teenager.

“If we stay here any longer your brothers are going to die. Is that what your farther would have wanted.” Charlie said, looking into Jack’s green eye. This at least seemed to make him relent as he backed up slightly.

“We won’t survive another attack, son. This is the only way. We have to leave.” Codsworth said, he looked in an almost worst condition than Barca, who then spoke up again.

“Again, where are we going?” Barca asked, looking around at the group as Vernon speaks before anyone else can.

“West. To Bartazer, from there we can find a mountain passage to the north and then onto Normanguard.” Vernon said. he had decided that th Kingdom of Normanguard was probably the safest place for them now. Although they could no longer just fly there, which would almost certainly alert The Shadow to their plans, instead they would have to head west and then fly north.

“Into Bartazer airspace. The country we’ve been at war with for the past twenty years. Yeah, that sounds like a great idea.” Barca said scoffing slightly.

“With any luck we should be able to pass unnoticed.” Charlie said, though she too had her doubts about the route, their luck had also been remarkably thin up to this point and she wasn’t entirely sure how much further it would stretch, but it was the only way to get to the north now and they had no choice.

“Right then.” Dmitri said. “Gather as much as possible; food, water and weapons. Then head for the cave. We take off in twenty.” Dmitri finished and the group dispersed in every direction. He turned to Charlie as the group began to depart. “I’m going to need your key to the vault.” Dmitri asked and Charlie nodded in response. But before that, there was something that he had to do.

Walking up to one of the Bots he began giving them, his last instructions.

“You will hold here and protect our retreat, if anyone comes within the grounds of this manor, you are to blow them to the gods. Understand.” Dmitri said, trying to hide the sadness that was rising in him. The Bot looked at him, saluted and went off to inform his brothers in arms about their final mission. With that now done, he could return to the matter at hand, and followed Charlie down towards the cave.

Both Dmitri and Charlie, walked down into the cave, trusting the others to get the required supplies, as this was far more important. Behind a false wall in the cave, lay a small vault that had been constructed a few years ago especially for the artifact that was inside it. Something that they didn’t want to fall into their enemies’ hands.

As Charlie inserted her key followed by Dmitri, the doors opened halfway, not even big enough for Martin to get into and then stopped, until Dmitri put in the required code, which he did. Which fully unlocked the doors. Inside was a collection of documents and, behind a glass barricade. A pale coloured gem, that even in this poor light glinted gold. The life gem, a prize worth more than the manor’s weight in gold, if it fell into the wrong hands.

Dmitri took a small case, where his own gem was currently stored along with the sapphire gemstone that Charlie had had in her possession. Placing the colourless gemstone between its siblings, which glowed as they came into contact with the newcomer. The captain proceeded to lock the case and stored it inside the plane. A few seconds before Codsworth arrived with what looked like half the armoury in his backpack and looking grim.

“We’ve lost the two soldiers who came here with Barca.” Codsworth said mournfully, he had witnessed the roof fall on top of their heads when they had been raiding the armoury for weapons, what had shocked him more, however, was the fact that the weapons storage didn’t seem to have sustained any damage. He silently wondered how many of the others would meet with similar accidents.

Vernon limps down the hallway holstering his gun to his belt, when he finds Jack staring out of one of the broken windows, looking towards the burning city.

“Come on lad, we’ve got to get moving.” Vernon said as Jack continues to stare out at the burning city.

“Everything he built; it’s all gone.” Jack said. Vernon walks over to Jack.

“Your father did not build this house sir.” Vernon said looking at the teen with slight concern. Before continuing to drive that point home. “The Wolfrick legacy, was never bricks and mortar, sir.” Vernon said, he looked around at the at the manor, its windows shattered, and walls filled with the scars and burn marks of its most recent battle. “Alan Wolfrick’s legacy is standing right in front of me as well as heading down to the cave as we speak.” Vernon finished, looking at Jack. It was something that the lad would have to grasp, especially now. The fact that there were more important things than material possessions and, in this case, buildings, was one of the first lessons that he would have to learn.

“You’re not going to let us give up, are you Vernon.” Jack said turning to face the old butler, realising in that moment that Vernon had been the one constant human being in his life. What with the death of his mother, and his father’s long absence in his early years, the one constant throughout all of that, was standing right in front of him. Vernon looks directly into Jack’s eye and smiles at this statement.

“Never.” Vernon said.

“I miss him Vernon.” Jack said.

“So, do I master Jack. So do I.” Vernon said, there would be time to grieve, and he would. But not just yet. They were nowhere near close to safe, in truth, he didn’t think that he would properly grieve until they were inside the great mountain fortress of the north.

By the time Vernon and Jack get on board the plane, everyone else is already on board waiting for them.

“Bout time.” Dmitri said. “Thought I was going to have to take off without you.” He finished.

“Where are your bots?” Vernon asked looking around. Realising that the huge metal sentinels weren’t on the plane with them.

“They’re going to hold here.” Dmitri said, choking slightly, wondering why he was feeling sad for a bunch of robots, but over the past few years he had become attached to them, strange as it may sound, but it was the truth. He pushed his emotions aside however and continued to push on. “They’ve agreed to from the rear guard.” Dmitri said before heading into the cockpit and takes his place in the pilot’s seat. As he does so a few rocks come down missing plane by inches, Barca who was in the co-pilot seat looks up and sees a new crack in the cave ceiling. “We’ve also lost the two remaining men I brought from the south.” Barca said as he sat very still in his seat, he had found the bodies of his two remaining soldiers under a pile of rubble between here and the armoury. It felt odd, he was now the last survivor of Hawk platoon. Everyone else was dead, because he had brought them with him when Codsworth had called for arms.

Then without warning the sound of gunfire can be heard from the distance, followed by the sound of high-pitched shrieking. The sound of Dmitri’s hastily put together rear guard engaging the enemy once again.

“Time to go.” Dmitri said and begins to lift the jet of the ground. As the plane takes off, the cave ceiling crashes down behind them, crushing both the runway and platforms of the cave. Once clear Dmitri gets on the intercom. “This is your captain speaking, we have just taken off and are now headed right into a war zo…” Dmitri stops mid-way through his little joke and looks out of the window, which was glowing orange, both he and Barca look out to see the city of Metropololis engulfed in flames down below, its rivers and buildings on fire.

“Poor souls.” Barca said faintly before turning away and looking back out to the front of the plane. As it continues to fly westwards into the setting sun, both physically, but also, he thought metaphorically as the sun set on the over two-thousand-year reign of the imperial city.