Future Winds by Kevin Laymon Read Free Book Online Page B

wondered.
     
    ***
     
    Leon and Kaito walked back towards the original landing site at a much slower pace than the one from when they left. Not only had they engaged in conflict that was debatably avoidable but they also had not found or retrieved their comrade. 
    “So you wanna talk about that cave?” Kaito suggested.
    “What’s there to talk about?” Leon responded coldly.
    I was afraid he would say that, Kaito thought, “Well, what was that bug thing?”
    Leon stopped--turning to face Kaito while Scorpio continued ahead not noticing. “It was just that, a big nasty bug that I squished. I had a moment of fear for both my life and yours and acted on my instinct to survive. Was it the right thing to do? I have no idea but given the scenario again, I would have shot it in the fucking face, ten out of ten times. Any more questions?”
    “Woah man, just asking,” Kaito said raising his hands. “I would have done the same and I am not second guessing what you did at all...just,” he paused. “What was it? Do you think it killed Valerie?”
    Leon faced forward again continuing on. “The girl entered that cave, by her own accord or someone else’s I do not know, but I am sure she entered that cave. My faith that she exited alive simply does not exist. Hell, I don’t think anything gets out of there alive often for that matter and we should be grateful that walking maggot corpse died in there instead of us.” 
    He isn’t wrong. Fuck everything about that cave: its enormous creepy bats, its wretched stench, and whatever the fuck that maggot bug thing was. Kaito thought.
    “Well, look at that,” Leon pointed out, “Looks like our friends have been quite busy in our absence.”
    Kaito looked ahead to see not only a fully constructed warp gate off in the distance but also a citadel of a carrier ship that had been warped in while they were gone.
    “Those things are way bigger in person than they appear on television,” Kaito said in amazement.
    “Yea and just think, we are about two miles out from it. Let’s go,” he said as the two picked up their pace forward.
     
    ***
     
    The gate further from where Kio-Kai sat in the great colosseum of glory, slowly raised and if the crowd cheered before for the rebels of Ikan clan, they now bellowed a thunderous roar of appreciation for the beast that lay behind the lifting gate. He was their champion and a gift from the overlords of gratitude for their loyalty and hard work.
    The rock golem Brutalius emerged. A body of irregular uneven stone from head to toe radiated red as if fire burned within its very soul. He wasted no time thumping his chest hyping not only himself up to kill but the crowd to equally feel a part of what it was he was about to do. The arena was his world and his fans were his family.
    The three Vai-Zik hunters that guarded the smaller weaker one, began to advance towards the Anolem. No sense in delaying the inevitable conflict, they aimed to strike first before the golem could get himself psyched up.
    “It’s a smart move,” Lai-Kai chimed in, glued to the sport below.
    The golem caught on to their ploy for a quick attack and began to advance towards them to cut off their momentum.
    As the two parties gained speed heading straight for each other the three hunters branched out, one fluttering ahead on the right, another to the left, while the third stayed centered at ground level advancing straight for Brutalius.
    Like a bull seeing red, the brute continued its charge for the ground level hunter--passing the two that fluttered by his sides.
    The two in the air double-backed and dive bombed towards the hunter still advancing at ground level. It was a trap and at the very last second the hunter that played the role of bait rolled safely off and to the side.
    Brutalius continued on, gaining momentum, not bothering to stop and re-engage them. The two hunters that dive bombed from above hit the ground empty handed.
    “He could care less about the three