CHAPTER TWENTY: Green fire.
Branwell, Edrea and a small group of Elf warriors proceeded silently along the corridors towards the nuclear reactor where they knew Adzaq to be. Branwell knew his physical prowess would be no match against the dark magic of such a powerful wizard. But the Elves he had with him were all strong magic users; he was hoping the magic of the Elves would thwart his dark magic along with Edrea’s. Whatever the odds they had to perservere. He wasn’t happy with putting Edrea in this much danger, he was sure Adzaq would want to punish her treachery. But he respected her wishes to be involved. He knew she felt the need to prove herself to the Elves. But he hoped he would not loose her when he had just found her, she had brought a calm and contentment into his life, which he had not had before. She had stilled the frantic thoughts and nightmares he had been plagued with.
They turned a corner into a wide corridor and Branwell could see the door at the far end of it, everything was quiet. They approached, Branwell looked round at his followers, they were all alert and grim faced. He looked back to the door. Quiet snarling noises could be heard in front of them. Branwell drew his swords and heard the faint sounds of sharp metal being drawn over leather behind him. Otherwise silence from the Elves, but he could sense muscles tense in readiness. Suddenly from the corridors either side of the door appeared first brutal, jagged swords, followed by green, warty arms and then ugly, sneering Orc faces. Branwell advanced towards them calmly, he had fought many Orcs. He swung both his swords in a complicated pattern in front of him; you could not see the swords anymore just spinning, razor sharp wheels. The first Orc stepped towards him, confidently, Branwell brought both swords in a cross formation to slice the Orc’s head cleanly off with both blades. The Orc quickly brought up his brutal sword to where Branwell’s crossed and blocked them. They both held their swords in place, the Orc sneering through the three swords at Branwell. He remained unresponsive, not letting his emotions show. He was surprised. No Orc had done what this one had just done before. No Orc he had met had ever been as quick or as strong as this one. Branwell looked at him more closely, he looked slightly taller and stood straighter than any Orc he had seen before too, he also had a faint green glow around him. He became aware of the other Orcs, they too were as this one, all with the same green glow. These Orcs would be an interesting challenge, and one he felt he would relish if he were not as pressed for time. He kicked the Orc in the chest, knocking him away, spun around, coat swirling, and brought his swords around to slash at head height. The Orc blocked the first sword, but not the second and his head fell from his shoulders. The other Orcs the smell of blood in their nostrils let forth a fiendish cry and descended on the group. The Elves were outnumbered and hard pressed by these new and improved Orcs. They managed to drive them back to the end of the corridor to allow them more room to fight, but it was a long and pressing battle. Eventually the Orcs stopped coming and Branwell, Edrea and the Elves stood amongst their corpses. Their swords were covered in black blood and they were breathing heavily, but they had succeeded without serious injury to themselves. Branwell glanced down the three corridors they were now in the centre off, but they couldn’t see or hear a sign of any more Orcs. He turned his attention to the door, which Adzaq had locked securely after him. Nothing could be heard or seen behind the door.
“Edrea,” he called. “Can you open it?”
She stepped towards the door. Branwell noticed she had a rip in her sleeve and a trickle of blood was coming from it. He felt angry that any Orc had dared hurt her and angry with himself that he had not been able to prevent it. He had one more look around for any more Orcs to take his angry out on, but he was disappointed. Instead he tore a strip of fabric from his shirt and wrapped it around her arm to stop the bleeding.
“It’s only a scratch,” she said to him with a half smile. “That’s not really necessary.”
“It might not be,” he replied. “But it makes me feel better.”
She turned back to the door.
“It’s been sealed with magic as well as the conventional locks, this might take a little while.”
“I know you can do it.”
Edrea spread her hands out towards the door, threw her head back and began muttering an incantation. Very slowly the door began to open, a blast of heat came through the crack. Branwell was able to look over Edrea’s shoulder to the room beyond. It was a huge room with lots of metal tanks and pipes. He was able to see a grey clad arm outstretched, the hand claw like and glowing with green fire. There seemed to be green fire on the floor all around him and he could hear dark sounding words being spoken in a commanding voice. He reached for his dagger to throw it at the arm as soon as the crack was big enough. He raised his arm, aimed carefully, but before he could throw it, the green fire blazed fiercely and expanded outwards from its centre on Adzaq. The wave of blinding green light hit them before they could react knocking them all to the floor. Edrea fell on top of Branwell and was caught in his arms. They saw the wall of green light shoot along the corridors and away. Branwell quickly put Edrea on her feet and scrambled up diving for the crack in the door, he found he could open it, the enchantment on it was gone. Adzaq was nowhere in sight.
Jude and Ruby in the security office had been watching the battle unfold on the camera. They had sat holding hands tightly as the fight progressed, gasping at every near miss and cheering when an Orc was killed. Jude had seen Branwell and Edrea fight before but a whole group of Elves in combat, each as elegant and graceful as the next, with perfectly timed thrusts and blows. Jude realised quickly that the Orcs were a match for them as they didn’t fall as quickly as he’d seen before. When the battle had been won they both hugged each other in relief, as out of breath as if they’d been fighting themselves.
They searched the monitors for any more Orcs but couldn’t see any. Then they saw a blaze of light on the Elves’s screen, which gradually progressed to all of the monitors. They clung to each other as they realised it was heading for them. The room filled with fierce green light then went. They looked around cautiously, but nothing seemed to have changed, the light continued through the monitor screens and then was gone. Ruby opened the blinds on the window and looked out.
“Look,” she shouted urgently to Jude.
They looked out of the window together. They could see the wall of green light make it’s way in an ever-increasing circle speedily away from the power plant. Following the wall up Jude could see it extended over their heads as well with a green mushroom shaped cloud; it wasn’t a wall but a bubble surrounding them. He noticed something else too; it was starting to get dark. The bubble was blotting out the sun. Jude turned to Ruby, she’d also noticed and was looking at the sky with a crease between her brows.
“You know what this means don’t you?” he asked.
“The Orcs don’t need to wait for night fall now,” she replied looking at him.
They stood side by side, hand in hand at the window watching the green bubble expand further and further until it reached the horizon and engulfed the whole town and surrounding area. Ruby became aware of movement around the power plant.
“Look,” she said pointing. “Orcs.”
Jude looked and could see, through the dimness engulfing them, Orcs creeping out of underground tunnels and heading towards the power plant buildings. Luckily these looked like ordinary Orcs not the supercharged ones they’d seen earlier. But there were still quite a few of them and their weapons were still heavy and brutal. Jude imagined this happening all over the town, Orcs creeping out of the industrial estate, the sewers, anywhere underground to the surface. He imagined all the places he was familiar with in the town, the town centre shops, his college, the sports centre, all full of people at this time of day and the Orcs coming to the surface among them. He could see all the people screaming and running in panic as the Orcs surrounded them and cut them down. No one would have any weapons to combat them or any hope of fighting them off. It would be a massacre; the town would turn into a bloo
d bath. No one from the outside would come and rescue them either; they would all think it was a nuclear explosion. If anyone could actually get into the bubble they would be scientists in radiation suits, not the army with a tank or two which is what they needed. The rest of the country was probably at this moment getting as far away from them as possible, fleeing the country. Jude couldn’t even start to imagine the panic a mass evacuation of England would cause, it just didn’t bare thinking about. Jude trusted the Elves to have a plan and hoped it would work; they were West Haven’s only hope. He just hoped everybody didn’t get confused by the pointed ears and realised that they were on their side. The situation was not going to be an easy one.
While he had been lost in thought Ruby had dialled Branwell and told him about the Orcs and where they were.
The picture on all the monitors suddenly changed to a white screen and then Taule’s face appeared. Jude and Ruby were stunned by it. He didn’t think any of these monitors were actually connected to a television network. But there on all of the monitors was Taule with his pointed ears and pale angular face, with what Jude recognised as the birch tree hall behind him. He looked very unhuman, even more so than normal on the screen, what would people make of him? Would they think he was a friend or foe? Taule began to speak, he was spellbinding to watch.
“People of West Haven, Greetings. My name is Taule and I am an Elf. My people and I have lived in West Haven for many years hidden from you. But now we feel we must reveal ourselves to you in order to warn you. The story you have heard that there has been a nuclear explosion is false, it is a spell, an enchantment, a lie told by an evil wizard. This wizard is hoping to take over this land and rule it himself. He wants to exterminate you humans and us Elves. His army of Orc monsters is about to descend on you to kill you all. They will be without mercy. Do not try and fight them, they are too strong for you, instead run, hide, barricade yourselves into your homes. We will reveal ourselves to you on the streets and fight these monsters. If you doubt my words watch my actions. Remember, run, hide.”
The monitors went white again and then back to the security footage.
“Wow,” said Jude.
“Do you think people will believe him?” asked Ruby.
“When they’ve got over the whole ‘Elves exist?’ thing, it’s hard not to believe anything Taule tells you.”
“When they start seeing the Orcs on the streets they’ll certainly hope he’s telling the truth.”
“I think appearances are on our side too. Orcs really are ugly creatures and the Elves are beautiful,” he replied.
They went back to watching the security monitors.
At the Ravenscar Mental Institute staff and patients alike watched Taule’s broadcast on the television in stunned silence. When it had finished and the stunned silence continued. It was interrupted by a patient jumping up from his seat and pointing at the screen.
“I told you Elves existed,” he shouted at the people in the room. “I told you and you wouldn’t believe me. Oh no Elves can’t possibly exist, you’re mad, you’re seeing things. Here take these pills they’ll make you stop being nuts. Well they didn’t work, because they do exist, and I told you they did. So I’m not crazy and you can let me go now…please.”
Another patient turned to him.
“Don’t you worry. We’ll be saved,” he said. “The Starship Enterprise will save us from them.”
On the monitors Jude and Ruby watched Branwell and the Elves make their way quickly through the corridors to meet the Orcs. They watched the Orcs entering the buildings. Jude noticed they seemed to have a purpose, perhaps a destination in mind. They were heading for the stairs and going downwards.
“Where are they going?” asked Ruby.
“They’re heading for the bunkers,” said Jude in horror. He noticed the later Orcs that had just surfaced were carrying long heavy tree trunks with sharp metal fittings on the end.
“They’re going to break into the bunkers,” he said. “Mum.”
He dialled Branwell and told him where the Orcs were heading and what he thought they were going to do.
“Branwell, my Mum is in one of those bunkers, please don’t let them break in,” he pleaded.
“I won’t.”
Jude and Ruby watched the monitors anxiously. Ruby held Jude’s hand.
“I’m sure she’ll be okay,” she said softly to him. He turned to her and gave her a sad smile.
“I’m so glad you’re here with me.”
They turned back to the monitors; Branwell and the Elves were getting closer to the Orcs.
They watched the camera outside the bunker doors; the Orcs had just reached it. They were trying to open the doors by hitting them with their weapons and trying to pry them open, but having no luck. A group of Orcs with a battering ram arrived and they lined up to drive it into the thick metal doors. They gave fierce cries and then charged at the door. Jude held his breath. They hit the doors with a resounding bang. Jude let his breath out, the doors had held, but there was a considerable dent in them. Jude glanced at the monitor for the end of the corridor and saw with relief, Branwell and the Elves running, swords drawn and raised at the Orcs furthest away from the doors. Branwell’s swords sliced through the nearest Orc with ease, the smooth flow of this sword swings uninterrupted by slicing through him. His stride unhindered he advanced to the next two Orcs the first sword in a sweeping swipe which took the Orcs head off in a clean cut and the second sword at the same time swinging at waist height, cutting the other Orc cleanly in two. Branwell continued to advance, the Elves behind him, clearing the corridor of Orcs towards the battering ram, which could be heard again in another deafening bang as it impacted on the doors. Jude’s heart was in his throat, would they reach the doors and stop the Orcs before they broke through?