Legend Of The Apocalypse

Chapter 11: Too Late...

Andrew stammered, trying to find the right words. He refused to back down from what he thought was just some average "freak." Mariel then spotted Micah in his chained state. "Save it, Doc. I heard everything. You really think I'm some airheadded slut you can just treat like a puppet on a string?" She cornered Andrew, but he still refused to let his guard down. Luckily, Micah had managed to move one of the bandanas from his mouth. "Mariel! You need to leave now! I'll be fine!" He shouted. "No, Micah. I can't let your dad treat you like this! Its never too late to break free..." Mariel retorted. Before Micah could interject, Andrew made an attempt to stab the heroine with a butcher knife, but it just barely hit her in the arm. "Oh...You wanna tango?" she chuckled in a shaky voice before grabbing the nearest item from the counter. And while it wasn't much, she managed to grab a smaller sized knife compared to Andrew's weapon. 

Micah tried to get the two to break up as they fought, his shouts echoed through the lair. Each passing second felt like a thousand years to him and Mariel. The young heroine had luckily knocked Andrew against a wall, leaving him knocked out. "Wha- How? Wh-" Micah stammered as Mariel hushed him while untying him from the trap. "What happened to you?" She whispered. "Give me a minute to grab my stuff and I'll tell you outside." Micah responded stepping out of the chains. Without another thought, they darted out of the room before Andrew could wake up. Micah gestured to Mariel to climb out the window of his bedroom while he grabbed a bag of food amongst other belongings. The two quickly escaped before falling into some bushes, just as they were about to get up, Mariel ran into someone. "Ow...What the!" Joseph moaned, rubbing his head. "Mariel! Where have you-" Matt shouted before being hushed by Micah. "We don't have much time." Micah whispered before he lead the group far away from his father's establishment.

It took many hours, but the group made their way to Millstone. "So...Micah is it?" Inez asked. Micah nodded his head, "Yes. So I'm assuming this is where you guys live?" He then scanned the plaza before locking eyes with the formerly closed off building. "But I-" He was cut off by the door opening. Rowan stepped out and saw Mariel and her friends standing outside, he quickly ran up and hugged Mariel tightly. "....Nice to see you too, Sir..." She said, gasping for air. "I'm sorry, Mariel. I was just so worried about you guys! But thank the stars you're ok!" Rowan exclaimed. "Hey, Rowan! I'd like you to meet Micah!" Inez said shoving Micah towards him. Rowan scanned Micah up and down, "Aren't you Andrew's kid?" He spoke in a deep monotone. "Y-Yes, Sir. But I come in peace!" Micah replied back, his voice cracking with nervousness. Rowan furrowed his eyebrows and nodded his head slowly, "Alright....You may enter." He responded, letting everyone into the lab. 

"Alright, take a seat..." Rowan said walking towards his computer. "So...Any updates?" Jackie asked before her eyes suddenly met a picture of the meteor from earlier, with a group of gasps in response. "Does anybody know what happened?" Rowan asked. Mariel took a deep sigh and stood up. "I know what happened, Sir. I went out to look for Snickerdoodle this morning, but she was missing. And when I went to look for her, the meteor had just landed. Luckily, as you can very obviously tell, we all made it out in one piece." She explained, Rowan raised an eyebrow, "And how did you come across Micah?" He asked. Micah stood up as well, "I'm....Not supposed to tell you this, but my father took the dog. He came back to capture Mariel later on. And since she didn't know much at the time, she couldn't give my dad any good answers on the existence of this meteor. So as a way of letting her go, my dad let her work the night shift as a waitress at our restaurant before letting her go shortly after." Micah then bowed his head in shame, with very mixed reactions with the rest of the group. "So YOU took Snickerdoodle from us?!" Inez shouted, tears stinging her eyes. "Yes...And I'm sorry..." Micah responded. 

"Well according to my calculations, that meteor is the start of many headed to destroy all of Millstone!" Rowan explained, trying not to go off the deep end. "WHAT?!" The group yelled in unison. "Yes, I know. But I will do all I can to make sure everyone is safe." Rowan reassured. "Sir. I will do anything in my power to make up for my affiliation with my father." Rowan could tell the boy was remorseful and put a hand on his shoulder. "Micah. You don't owe me anything. All you should worry about now is getting you and your friends here to safety." Micah was shocked, he lifted his head slowly. "Are you sure, Rowan?" He asked in a shay voice. "I'm sure, son." Rowan replied, he then turned to the rest of the group. "I've set a course for shelter in Wrathford, it wouldn't be my first choice exactly, but its the safest option for us all." Rowan then handed Joseph a map with directions to Wrathford. "Oh! I know where this place is!" Micah said pointing to the map. "Before I forget, this place is pretty far out... So...." Rowan said opening the door to reveal a large wagon with a white horse pulling it. "Well, Micah. Its time for you to take the reigns." Rowan said holding a chuckle. Micah quickly understood the pun and climbed in. Mariel and her friends quickly got in the back before the wagon took off. 

"By the way Mariel, here's your stuff from earlier. I checked before we left and everything seems to be in order." Micah said handing Mariel her backpack. "Wow, thanks Micah!" Mariel responded pulling out her phone. She checked for any signals and there seemed to be one. "Let's not question anything and set a path for Wrathford!" She exclaimed, Micah gesturing the horse to move faster. And off they went... "Now all I can do is hope for the best..." Rowan sighed before entering his lair again. Little did he know, Andrew had heard the ENTIRE conversation. "Keep talkin, Doc... You and my son are none the wiser...." He pulled out a monitor of sorts and did what looked to be a tracking sequence, "Wrathford, eh? This will take a while to figure out..." Andrew put the monitor back in his coat pocket, and just as he was about to venture into the woods, a chorus of barks and meows were heard as stray dogs and cats flooded the town of Millstone. "MY SPECIMENS!!!" He shouted before being hit with a taser. Rowan came out and looked at Andrew. 

"Finally caught you, dear brother...."