Sons of the Earth

National Artifact Research and Development Compound, February 2nd, 2020, 12:51

     The final doorway was open. The Swordsman followed close on the Wizard's heels, racing into the room. They'd finally found Joel Mason.

     A still figure rested on a fluid-air pressure relief bed within a glass enclosure. Mason was of Asian descent, which showed in his features, but unusually tall, six foot one and 150 pounds. He was fit without being overly muscular with short hair. His eyes were closed, his skin pale from lack of sunlight. Wires and tubes snaked around the bed, protruding from the patient's nose, jutting from his neck, trailing down from veins in his arms, attached to electrodes on his head and chest, and snaking from the bottom of the hospital gown. Padded manacles caught his limbs, tying him securely to the bed with heavy chains. The glass was glazed over security wire that reached from floor to ceiling. There was a single door, bolted shut with a heavy metal lock fit for a maximum-security prison. But for that and the chains, he would have looked like an intensive care patient, cared for by the watchful medical staff surrounding the enclosure. The team, two men and a woman in hospital scrubs, looked up in alarm at the intruders.

     The Swordsman wasted no time. He stormed over to the three, pointing his blade menacingly at them. "Let him go. Now!"

     "You don't understand." The woman spoke, even as her face grew pale and her voice shook with fear. "If he wakes up, he'll kill everyone in this compound."

     "We already killed most of them trying to get in here," the Swordsman explained, glowering as he tried to control his temper. "I have no issue with adding the three of you to that number."

     The Wizard placed a restraining hand on his friend's shoulder. "There's no need for anyone else to be hurt," he reasoned. "Just let Mason go and get out."

     "No, you're not listening," the woman insisted, growing bolder as she raised her hands in supplication. "He's kept in heavy restraints and sedation to protect everyone here. If he wakes, you'll die, too."

     "We'll take our chances." The Swordsman swung his blade, slicing through the metal table next to the three. It fell apart, and the computer equipment it supported crashed to the floor in a shower of sparks. "Final warning," he called as the wind suddenly started blowing papers around. "Let him go!"

     "It's them," one of the men whispered. "It really is... But you don't understand! The work we're doing here can save so many lives!"

     Seeing his friend stiffen with irritation, the Wizard's hand tightened on the Swordsman's shoulder. "The keys," he insisted. "Mason is the only thing we're interested in here, not whatever products you're creating. Unlock his chains, remove those lines, and let him go. Then you can leave. We won't stop you. But if you don't move right now? You won't have to worry about what Mason will do. If you know who we are, then you know my friend's temper. Would you like to witness mine, as well?" In warning, he darkened the lights in the room.

     That finally got the three moving. They raced to unlock the door of the glass enclosure and rushed inside, where they fumbled to unlock Mason's restraints. Finished, they started towards the door.

     "The lines," the Wizard ordered, blocking the door with the tip of his staff. "Take them out."

     "That will mean he's not getting the sedative," the woman warned. "He'll wake up fast!"

     "I said take them out," the Wizard barked, losing patience. "Take all of them out, and then get out!"

     For some reason, this seemed to terrify the three even more than the two threatening them. All three were shaking as they removed the lines. When they lifted the hospital gown to remove Mason's catheter, the Swordsman turned red and quickly turned away. The Wizard hid his smile behind his hand, keeping a watchful eye on the three to ensure they were doing as instructed. Finally, the only thing that remained was the line protruding from the vein in Mason's throat. But the three hesitated, looking from Mason to each other and back at the two aggressors. "That as well," the Wizard ordered, indicating the line.

     "What are you waiting for?" the Swordsman asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Get that thing out of him!"

     One of the men moved forward, shoulders square even as sweat ran down his terrified face. "No," he said. "You can kill us if you want, but it won't be any different than if we let him wake up."

     The Wizard rapped his staff sharply on the floor. Immediately, shadows rose and covered the man. The man screamed, causing his two companions to scream as well. Then, the two screamed more when the shadows collapsed and dissipated, leaving no trace of the man.

     The Swordsman pointed angrily with his sword. "Get. It. Out!"

     Whimpering in terror, the two quickly snipped the sutures holding the line in place, pulled it out, and applied a dressing. Then they bolted for the door, shoving each other in their haste to get out.

     The Wizard and the Swordsman wasted no time moving in. They stood over Mason, looking down excitedly as he twitched in the bed. "Remember," the Wizard called softly, "he'll likely be confused. They were right about him being dangerous when he wakes up. Especially after what they put him through, his first instinct will likely be to lash out with all his strength."

     The Swordsman nodded, growing abruptly somber. "We need to let his first look at us be of our human forms, but I understand the need for caution. Shall we proceed as we discussed? You shield us, I hold us up?"

     "Precisely." The Wizard stepped closer to the Swordsman, putting his arm around his friend's shoulders. He felt the Swordsman's arm go around his waist. They waited, watching impatiently as Mason showed the first signs of waking. When his eyes fluttered open, they immediately passed into wind and shadow.

     Even with the Swordsman's steady support, it was a blow. Mason abruptly sat up, screaming, and immediately transformed into a living column of frothing water. But it wasn't any physical blow that struck his two would-be rescuers. Far from being dampened by his ordeal and the lingering effects of sedation, his power lashed out and hammered at the two, knocking them both back before they managed to stand against it.

     "We are not your enemy, Mason!"

     It wasn't clear which of them had spoken, but it didn't matter. Mason was beyond listening. He screamed again. Another wave of power crashed against the two, and this time, they both went down.