It was Ezra's idea to spend the night at Jai's Shack; the tavern being the only one that was open and not deserted. Early the following morning, the men would wave goodbye to Shedahr, and hit the road for the next part of their journey.
The rest rooms at the tavern were dark and musty, beds damp and lumpy, so they dropped their bags and went for the Inn.
The men ate from a giant plate of wild meat pie, covered in lashings of sweet gravy. Chicken legs surrounded the platter
They fed and watered and warmed their stiff bones next to the big open fire that was crackling in the centre of the inn, ghostly silhouettes flickered about the interior décor. The others lay back, deep into their worn seats with weary bodies and tired eyes, as Ezra chewed on a huge greasy chicken leg.
"I think I get an early one, aye." Raygar rose to his feet, stretching his limbs like a cat. "See you early." He said, as Ezra dropped the remainder of his bony carcass into his food bowl with a clink, licking his slimy fingers as he watched the dark figure take his leave for the evening.
"I don't trust that one." The big man leant on his elbows, eyeing the exit over his interlocking knuckles as the door slowly closed on its hinges.
Logan sat forward. "What's wrong with him, Ezra?"
"I think he's lying to us." His chair creaked as he relaxed, pressing his body against the back rest. "And I don't know why, but he's been trying to slope off early all evening."
"What do you think he's been lying about?" Logan asked.
Ezra twisted in his chair, looking towards the bar. He thrust an arm into the air, clicking a fat finger and thumb. "Another round of ale over here." The bartender gave him a curt nod, then he turned back to Logan. "I asked him all sorts of questions about Uscarix. He gave the impression he barely knew the place."
"Don't forget he was only young when he escaped, Ez." Symon added, in the man's defence.
"Yeah I know," He removed his black bandana, revealing a tightly-shaven head underneath. "But there's definitely something shady about him. I ain't sure what it is yet, but I'll find out soon enough."
"Don't go busting his balls just yet, we might need him tomorrow." Logan said.
Symon was cleaning one of the lenses from his glasses on a napkin. "Yes, I don't expect the Professor to roll out the red carpet when we arrive."
"Don't worry. I won't upset the apple cart just yet." Ezra conceded, as the bartender emerged, delivering three heavy mugs of ale with froth slopping over the rim as he placed them on the wooden table top. "I'll square up with you later boss." Ezra winked at the man as he gently scraped the spillage onto the floor using a beer mat.
"No problem mate." He returned to his post at the bar as Ezra clutched the big handle on the side of his mug, lifting his ale to his mouth, and pausing momentarily.
"To the Goddess." He declared, grinning over the white scum at Logan, then he threw the thick brown contents into his mouth. A trickle ran down his chin, navigating a winding path through his rough beard and dripping onto his chest. Logan and Symon watched as he drained the entire contents of the mug in one go, slamming the empty mug down onto the table as he released the pressure in his stomach with an almighty belch. "Damn good ale! Shame they don't got none of this local shit back home, instead of the sour piss that they sell," His body twisted in agony as he struggled to release another belch from the depths of his gut. "Although I may never leave the pub if they did."
"It's a bloody zoo you should be in." Logan commented on his animal mannerism, then took a swig from his frosty glass.
"Ha! They'd need a damned strong cage to keep me behind bars." He beat a fist against his chest.
"Or just a big bunch of bananas." Symon added, grinning sheepishly. Logan's chuckle was smothered as the deep base from Ezra's lungs burst into the air, in a booming fit of laughter.
"Hey, throw in a pretty female gorilla and I'd even leave my boots at the door!" Ezra added.
"They're called greybacks." Symon added.
"Greybacks, bluebacks, if they got titties like your momma, even a humpback will do!" As Ezra leant backwards laughing, a creaky old chair leg abruptly snapped beneath his great weight, dumping him flat on his arse with a clatter. All the nearby bar patrons turned to look at the incident and joined in with the merriment as Logan and Symon began the chorus of laughter. Even the shocked Landana joined in, guffawing at his own predicament as he lay in a pile of splinters and wood stumps.
"Come on Ezra." Once he had removed the tears from his eyes, Logan offered an arm for the downed man to grasp.
"Get me up jackass," Ezra almost pulled Logan down on top of him as he hoisted himself up to his feet, dusting himself down with his hands. "Bunch of punks." He shot a playful grin at Logan and Symon.
"Three full shots of rum please bartender!" Logan shouted with an arm in the air. The man behind the bar waved in acknowledgement, a happy smile on his face.
"Ha! That's my boy!" Ezra swiped his arm through the air, landing a meaty hand on Logan's shoulder. "I'm glad I met you kid." He said, pulling him into a tight, manly embrace, smothering his face against his ale-soaked sweater and laughing as Logan fought in vain to free himself for breath. The trapped man quickly swung a cupped hand towards the groin of Ezra as his body gasped for air, firmly grasping his huge ape-like balls in his hand. Ezra squealed like a pig as he roughly lifted Logan off the ground in an attempt to free his throbbing testicles. "Ha! You fight like a girl!" He shrieked. Logan squeezed tighter as he felt his legs swinging vertically above his head in a circle, almost knocking down a low hanging light bulb, the tight grasp of his hand eventually dropped Ezra to his knees as he buckled under the pain with an almighty roar. Both men landed in a crumpled mess, laughing hysterically together. Ezra cupping his swollen manhood.
"Fight like a girl but still felled the mighty Ezra!" Logan replied to the taunt.
"Ha! Get me that rum!" Logan pulled himself to his feet and staggered to the table where the bartender had left the round. He gave a glass to Symon, and turned to Ezra, waiting for him to get to his feet. It suddenly dawned on him, as he stood holding the rum that they may never get another opportunity like this in the future. Where they could relax in a beer shack, teasing each other over a round of ale, with barely a worry in the world. The following few days were destined to change the world for every one of them, one way or another. Good or bad. Right or wrong. With a warm heart, soaked in alcohol, he smiled at Symon. The gentle natured electronics genius wouldn't swat an annoying fly that was buzzing around his head, or stamp on an ugly bug that had just shat on his dinner. And there was no doubt in Logan's mind that he was terrified at the forthcoming events. He wasn't a fighter or a warrior, he was a geek. But he had never faltered or shown any consternation. Ezra was his family, and he could see from the look in his eyes that he would happily go to the grave with his partner if it was for a cause that they both believed in. And then there was Ezra himself. Logan watched as the giant took Raygar's empty seat, swiping the proffered shot glass from his grip, wondering how this extremely powerful one-man-army could have such a gentle soul. He smiled at the memory of the first generator that they bombed. He lowered his head in a respectable nod towards the big man.
"To you Ezra. I'm glad that I accepted your job offer." Logan momentarily held his glass in the air, before throwing back the throat burning spirit.
Ezra stood up honourably. "To you Logan, and to our successful revolution." He tilted his head back, swallowing the liquid that he thrust into his gob. Symon stood slowly, clearing his throat as he prepared for his addition to the speeches. He held his glass out in front of him, looking first at Logan, then Ezra.
"After seeing the way that you two have just rolled around together on the floor, I'm amazed that I never realised it before. I would like to propose my toast to you two love-birds." They all laughed, as Symon coughed and grimaced in reaction as his mouth caught fire from the drink.
"Alright boys," Ezra cut in. "Let's get some rest. We go to work after sunrise."
He settled the bill at the bar, leaving a generous tip, before the three men retired for the night to their separate rooms.
***
It was cold, far colder than yesterday's journey to Shedahr. Raygar had the buggy heaters on full blast and the four men's teeth were still chattering as they entered Alundra Village. For a while Ezra had thought that they were being watched, or followed, or perhaps even both. But even after doubling back on themselves twice, and attempting to throw any pursuer off track with a few dog-leg maneuvers, they still never found a sign of anyone.
Crow's laboratory was stood hauntingly dormant, fifty yards in front of them. The engine had idled for almost thirty minutes, and there had been no movement in the area. Despite the cold climate, it was a beautiful sunny morning in Alundra. The village glistened as the suns gloriously bright rays reflected off every surface. Ezra looked cool and calm with his trusty shades resting on the top of his crooked nose, his fur-lined hood pulled up.
"All happy with the brief?" The others nodded in unison. "Alright. Let's bag this hussy and send her on her way." The wheels on the snow buggy slowly crunched their way over the frozen snow to the building, Raygar braked when he was at the main entrance. "Logan, once I put the door in, you lead us in." Logan nodded to Ezra's command. "Let's go."
The men dismounted quickly, and watched as Ezra charged at the door, bursting the top lock as his shoulder crashed into the thick wood. He swung the long metallic wrenching bar he held into the opening that was now on offer, and cranked the door from the last remaining security bolt with a crunch. It swung open with the force, crashing into the wall of the foyer behind. Ezra turned triumphantly to the others. "After you kid." He gestured with a hand to the opening as Logan immediately took the lead. Symon followed closely behind with Ezra at his heels. Raygar brought up the rear, scanning the area for any activity.
"It's the last door." Logan pointed at the back of the corridor in the dark distance, as they stepped over slushy mess and broken glass from pictures that were previously mounted on the wall of the foyer. He noticed the dirty old table and chairs set against the wall just before he passed the open library door, taking a quick glance inside as he passed. It looked like a bomb had gone off in there. The large wooden shelving looked like they had been hit by a gigantic wrecking ball. Huge twisted splinters of wood lay uncomfortably on the floor, a book stand had begun to fall, but caught in mid-collapse by another, straining under the extra weight it now had to bare. Broken books with torn covers, and thousands of sheets of papers were scattered haphazardly over the table and floor throughout the room. It was like the scene of a hasty burglary. The door to Crow's personal laboratory was slightly ajar, no light was visible. Logan took a quick glance inside before continuing to the final door.
"This is it." He announced. The meaty looking metallic security door stood aggressively at the end of their path. Symon approached cautiously, opening up the shoulder bag that he carried. He produced his hand-held electronic device and began to analyse the security panel at the edge of the door. This was no simple generic everyday use security door, it was constructed of military grade toughened steel. It looked impenetrable. There were some obvious scorch marks visible, where a previous attempt to open it had failed. The panel was a biometric system, with a slot underneath for a key card. The smooth screen was for hand recognition. It had a crack along the centre of the glass.
"This may take a while," Symon said, as he assembled his computer, attaching wires and leads into the control panel of the door. "But I think I can open it." The men were happy.
Raygar's grin almost looked malevolent. "You think ya girl will have a boat ready, aye?" Raygar asked.
Ezra scowled at him. "Let's hope so eh?" He lifted a hand as if gesturing to halt. "Don't worry though Raygar, I'm sure if Rhea fails, at least your sister will be able to prise a vessel away from one of the locals using her talents." He held the gaze of the man from Uscarix.
"Aye." After realising that he was being scrutinized, Raygar turned his head, breaking eye contact and checking along the corridor for any change. Ezra wanted to probe the man more about his odd behaviour, but bit his lip for now.
"Will they even be at the port yet?" Logan asked.
"They will be by the time we get there. The Cruiser docks in the early afternoon." Ezra replied.
"Great." Logan nodded.
"How we doing Sy?" Ezra turned back to the man at the door.
"Decryption is at eighty-nine percent," He replied. "We have most of the electronic locking numerals that are holding the frame magnet fast. Another minute, and it should be open." Symon watched intently at the display on his computer, which showed a table filling up with numbers and a time-elapsed bar. The digits in the table changed at an alarmingly fast rate as his programme searched frantically for the unlock code. Suddenly, the vault door shuddered. It clicked into life as the powerful magnetic frame lock released, and the huge thick security bolts grated their way back home into the door. The door still remained shut.
"What's wrong?" Logan asked.
Symon was checking the readings on his display with a confused look. He turned to face the others. "Nothing," He shrugged. "I don't understand why it hasn't opened." There was no handle on the door, and Symon couldn't budge it by pushing.
"Move." Ezra ordered. Symon just about managed to get out of Ezra's way as his boot connected with the door in a persuasive attempt to open it. The door scraped free from the decades of dust and grime, swinging until it was fully open. "Shit," Ezra said, sounding almost shocked. He turned back to the others. "It opened."
"Good job Ezra, and well done Symon." Logan smiled at the genius.
"Praise Lunis." Raygar said, in awe of the room that awaited them.
"Well then, shall we?" Ezra hesitated briefly, hoping another would be happier to enter the ghostly room first. Logan came to his rescue, approaching the plastic sheeting that blocked the way to the Goddess. He paused as he swung the sheeting to one side, remembering the vision he'd had earlier. In the dimly lit room and behind the gentle whir of a generator fan, he saw her. The great glass tank with a body floating within a dirty blue liquid, stood just yards away. Exactly as he remembered from his dream. He muttered a prayer to Lunis as he gently stepped inside of the room, slowly approaching the Goddess. An eerie feeling crept over his body as he remembered the fear he had felt when he last visited this room. Time seemed to slow as he crept towards the gigantic bubbling jar, the outline of her suspended body only just visible in the low light. He could hear his own heartbeat pounding faster and faster with every step that he took, with each chest thump effecting his breathing. He looked around the room, left to right, right to left, before making his final approach. Her hair covered her face, and it looked as though her head was slumped down over her chest. She was hanging in a crucifix position, one of her arms from the elbow down was missing. Although it was dark, and the water was murky, it was obvious that she was beginning to rot. Her skin looked like it had melted, and could be wiped easily from the thin bones underneath if handled too violently. His hand slowly reached out, placing his shaking palm against the cool glass that separated the two being's.
"LOGAN!"
The yell caused him to turn around in shock, his hand still resting against the glass chamber of Goddess.
"WE GOT COMPANY!"
As he went to pull his hand away, the room suddenly span in a circle. He felt a terrible wave of nausea sweep through his stomach before he fell to his knees, his eyes rolling back into their sockets, leaving only the whites visible. The tiny light in the distance went briefly out...
***
...then came back on. When he lifted his head, he realised that he was no longer alone. He sensed her presence in the room before he had even looked around. With little hesitation, he pulled himself to his feet and slowly spun to face her. She was stood alongside the glass cage that held her mortal coil.
'Logan,' she whispered. Her golden smile was beautiful. He was unable to understand why, but he felt such a deep love for the foreign entity that stood before him. 'You came.'
Logan nodded.
The Goddess lowered her head into a bow, blowing a kiss to him as she arose. 'Your blood has now truly awoken. You are Eshiea'n.' Logan didn't understand, he shrugged in confusion. The Goddess continued. 'You now follow the time line of the universe. You have made an adjustment.' His frustration began to annoy him, he felt helpless.
"I don't understand!"
The Goddess smiled at his outburst, as Logan realised his words were audible. 'You have always understood Logan, just never believed.'
"Believed what?" His words felt shaky, and he didn't recognise this new, strange voice.
'You are the offspring of Jaered. You are his son.'
Logan froze to the spot. Unable to comprehend what was going on. He was truly baffled. "Jaered's son?" He asked. The Goddess nodded gently in reply. "But..." He began. "...But what about Blythe? Is she my...sister?"
The Goddess shook her head. 'I do not know this person that you speak of. I only see Eshiea'n blood in you. I only see Jaered, in you.' A sad smile appeared on her face. 'You must go now Logan. Your time line has split, it is at an end.'
"I don't know what that means!" He shouted frantically. The Goddess approached him, placing a warm, soothing hand on his cheek. Her smile melted his heart.
'You will Logan,' she leant in and kissed him on the lips, whispering into his ear. 'Tell Jaered, I will await him in Zeru. For eternity if I must.' Logan nodded automatically in response, unsure how he would communicate such a message with a man, dead and buried. 'Goodbye, Logan. And thank you.'
"Wait, I need answers!" He yelled. But her body began to blur, the room began to shake. Gentle at first, then much more vigorously. He reached out to her...
***
...his hand landed on the glass. Confused, he quickly spun around. The room was exactly as it had been before his dream. He was on his feet, and he didn't feel like he had fallen down. The bands on his wrists felt energised and his fingers were tingling. It felt as though something had awoken in him. He spun around to see Ezra, Symon and Raygar watching him from the safety of the plastic doorway.
"You Ok, kid?" Ezra asked.
Logan wasn't sure what had just happened, or even the meaning of it. "Did I just fall?" He asked with a confused voice.
The twisted look on Ezra's face gave him the answer before he spoke. "Huh? What you on about, kid? You've just walked up to that gigantic glass bottle and turned around to us." Logan looked down and nodded in understanding, it had just been a vision in his mind. Suddenly, the memory came back and hit him fast and hard. His eyes quickly darted back to the others.
"I think we've got company. Symon, Raygar, I need you two to release the Goddess," He quickly pulled the rucksack from his shoulder, dropping it to the floor. "There's a padded body bag inside, but wrap her in the clear film first, then place her in the bag, ready to go. Be gentle with her, she's been in there for a long time." The two men looked at each other before cautiously entering the room. "Ezra, get yourself ready." The big man acknowledged the order with a nod, as Logan gently released Harmony from her case. Ezra unzipped the square bag he had brought in, pulling out what looked like a short, single-handed gattling-gun. He fed the long belt of bullets into the gun and clicked the guard into place. He quickly turned and marched for the entrance, Logan followed him closely, scanning for activity. Ezra got to the door and walked outside, there was no movement. Nothing was obvious. He turned back to face Logan who was approaching the doorway, shrugging his confusion at him.
"What's going on kid...?" The gruesome shape suddenly dropped down from the roof above, slicing Ezra's chest open with jagged claws as it landed directly in front of him. Instantaneously, Ezra swung a crunching fist into the face of his adversary that connected hard and span it on the spot, just as the razor edge of Logan's sword sliced down deep into its neck through bone and muscle and artery and organ. Blood spurted and splattered against the doorway, covering the entrance in a sticky black liquid. The beast dropped to the floor, dead. "Fuckin' mother fucker!" He fired two shots into the back of its head. The first bursting it open like a watermelon. "What the fuck was that?" Ezra shouted. Logan grabbed the bloodied jacket of the wounded man and pulled him back inside, away from the doorway.
"I don't know. But I'm guessing Crow sent it."
"Crow? The Professor?" Ezra asked.
"Yes." Logan scoured the visible forecourt for any more of the beasts.
"What the hell was it, some sort of a mutant? It almost looked human!"
"Probably. Maybe an experiment that went wrong." Logan answered.
"Or maybe one that went right?" Ezra wondered.
The thought was terrifying to Logan. It was certainly possible that the Professor could be amassing an army of super-strong mutants with his genetics. He had the financial backing and the intellectual know-how to complete it. "We need to get out of here, and fast."
"That dirty punk bastard!" Ezra cursed, as he uncovered the torn flesh on his chest, with blood pouring from the rags of flapping skin that had been made by the creature's sharp claws.
"Shit," Logan quickly ran along the corridor to his first-aid kit, grabbing a large dressing and a packet of pills from the pouch. "How you doing in there Symon?" He yelled into the darkness.
"Erm, getting there I guess. We've got her out, but she's very...soft."
Logan realised he was referring to her tender, saturated skin. "Just be careful Symon, wrap her in the film as soon as you can, it'll minimise any damage."
"You got it Logan." He replied.
He spun and returned to Ezra, who was hunched over with pain. "Swallow this."
Ezra took the proffered tablet and threw it to the back of his throat at once. "What was it?" He asked.
"It'll ease any pain." He pulled the opened jacket down, and exposed the skin on Ezra's chest. He could see the man grimacing, but he stifled any yelps. He placed the dressing against the skin and wrapped it tightly in place, using a second bandage to help secure it in place. There was a lot of blood. "Stay inside of the doorway and shoot anything that moves, Ok?"
Ezra nodded. "Where are you going kid?"
"I'm getting the buggy ready." He walked to the door to find two creatures waiting for him, typical he thought, as they stood alongside his transport. He took a deep breath, then darted out of the building towards them, hoping no more were waiting on the roof above. He heard something land in the snow behind him as he neared the buggy, preceded by an explosion from the barrel of Ezra's gun. He silently cursed the sneaky creature that had been waiting on the roof to launch itself at an unsuspecting victim again, and prayed to Lunis and the Goddess that the bullet hadn't missed. His prayer was answered as he heard it drop behind him like a sack of potatoes, shrieking as the bullet lodged itself deep within the mutants black heart.
The two waiting creatures moved forward in preparation to attack the onrushing man, claws ready. The first was flung backwards several hundred feet and the second was helpless without his partner for backup. Logan's sword firstly sliced off the mutant's leg from above the knee, and the following swing took off its groaning head. Leaving the crispy snow spattered in bloody tar. He checked the creature in the distance, it didn't get up. Logan turned as three more creatures jumped down from the roof, accompanied by two more from either side of Crow's building. The two that came from the left of the building were dropped by bullets from Ezra's smoking gun. The two from the right were quickly heading for Logan. The three on the roof had disappeared when Logan re-checked, so he decided he would worry about them after dealing with these two first. The leader flung some sort of a dagger through the air, which Logan quickly intercepted with his mind, flinging it into his partners chest. The monster wailed in pain, as Logan's sword sliced a black criss-cross into the torso of its leader. He could hear Ezra firing a number of rounds somewhere behind him, he counted at least nine or ten bursts before lifting the mutant with the dagger in his chest, up into the air with telekinesis, lifting him to around fifteen feet then slamming him violently back down onto the ground. Blood spluttered from its mouth as Logan ended its grotesque life.
He turned to the sound of Ezra shouting, then an almighty weight clattered into the back of him, sending him flying through the air into the snow face first. He shook the cold from his face and turned to see the three from the roof swooping down through the air at him. Ezra continued firing when there was a shot, but he stopped when Logan was in the way. He was on his own now. One of the creatures touched down, followed quickly by another. They both roared at Logan, an angry alien curse that spat out from their drooling mouths. Logan tried to grab the one circling him with his powers, but missed. Its gruesome bent and twisted wings kept beating, keeping it just out of reach. Logan halted the oncoming approach of one of the ground creatures as they simultaneously came for him. He was almost caught off guard as a hidden weapon was swung through the air from the other, causing Logan to twist quickly, his own attack easily evaded as he concentrated on holding the second creature at bay with his mind. He darted at the armed one as he heard more shots from Ezra's gun. Sword met sword, and the loud clang echoed throughout the empty village. This one was stronger and faster than the others, but couldn't match Logan. As they both took a breath from the blade exchange, circling each other, Logan heard the snow buggy fire up and then it was moving. He hoped that Raygar was getting it prepared to go.
In four quick successive attacks, his sword sunk deep into its belly, almost tearing it in half. It glared deep into Logan's eyes as death slowly took it, dark, evil eyes that would haunt anyone who witnessed them. It spat and roared into his face, its hot, sour breath brought back a fleeting memory. It had the same putrid aroma as that of the Professor, when Logan unfortunately had the privilege of receiving a sickly dosage when he once walked past him. The creature slumped to the ground at the same time as Ezra brought down the pesky fucker in the sky. It landed with a blood curdling crunch, dead on impact. Logan released his grip on the remaining beast that stood bound to the spot twenty yards away. It didn't move, it just stood glaring at him.
"Where's Crow?" Logan demanded. The creature looked at the dead carcass at Logan's feet, then quickly span and took to the skies, frantically flapping its way out of the battle ground. Logan looked down at the dead pile of mutant, wondering if indeed it had been Crow. If so, then that was one sick, twisted Professor. He turned and walked back to the building, attempting to remove the blood from his blade with a wild swing. Ezra stood at the doorway, gun still smoking. The buggy had gone. Raygar, Symon and the Goddess with it.
"You okay, kid?" Ezra asked, one hand clutching his chest wound. The blood seeping out from the bandage.
"Yeah." He replied. "Where's Symon and Raygar?" He asked, breathing slightly heavier than normal.
"I told them to take the body to Port Uscarix." Ezra replied.
"What? You let Raygar take the Goddess?" He asked angrily.
"Yeah, I wanted Symon out of danger. I saw an opportunity to get them out, so I took it. Sorry kid."
"Shit Ezra, I thought you didn't trust him?"
Ezra shrugged gently, grimacing as he did. "Didn't think I had much of a choice. Those things, they kept coming. I didn't think we would get out."
Logan sighed, but despite his anger and confusion, he could understand the decision. "We need to get there fast, Ezra. I think your hunch about him and Blythe may well have been right." The wounded man gave Logan an uneasy stare, his body tensing as worry began to set in. "And tell me this," He went on. "When we opened the door to the lab, Raygar praised Lunis. Why would he do that if the Eshiea'n are his Gods?"
The revelation struck Ezra hard. "I knew there was something fishy bout them two. I just wish I knew what they were up to."
A thousand different thoughts and emotions swept through Logan's soul. Who was this beautiful girl that had recently joined the group? Did she actually care for him? Did she think of him the way he thought of her? He fought with his racing mind, trying to make some sense of it all, hoping that he hadn't just made the biggest mistake of his life, giving Crow back his Eshiea'n biological weapon.