Pocket Legends: Neo Mages Episode 2: Anti Dragunov Chapter 3: Fiasco
Pocket Legends: Neo Mages
Episode 2: Anti Dragunov
Chapter 3: Fiasco
Voice: “Hey, wake up!”
My eyelids began to open slowly, a blurred figure turned out to be Marksman.
Angela: *groans* “Mark? Where are we?”
Marksman: “We’re near to the airbase, near to Dragunov.”
A murky river appeared, while I was lying in the dark dirt, surrounded by bits of yellow grass. The sky was mixed with a bit of blue and orange, with the sun lying in the mountains. Next to me, a platoon of Neo Mages and the resistance crouched on the slope, ready to start another battle. I noticed Rose and Tom were lying in front of the rebels.
Angela: “What just happened?”
Marksman: “Long story, come on.”
While crawling towards to my friends, Tom looked and gave me a surprised look.
Thompson: “Angela?! Thank God you’re alive. We all thought you were dead.”
Rosella: “Hey, what time is it?”
Thompson: *looks at his grey watch* “Quarter to six. We’ve got 15 minutes left to finish Dragunov once and for all.”
Marksman: “Those miles (soldier in Latin) better arrive…”
The weather gradually became warmer, but the sky had a little bright color. If 15 minutes have passed, there will be a second battle. More casualties, more influence.
Thompson: *looks at watch* “It’s time!”
Rosella: “Guys, grab your weapons!”
The Neo Mages started drinking their mana potions, while the resistance loaded their guns. Four of us equipped our weapons; Thompson had a flare gun.
Marksman: “Where did you get that?”
Thompson: “Got it from the United Alterran Armed Forces, thanks to one of my buddies.”
After Thompson loaded the flare gun, he held it into the air. POK!
Thompson: “GO! GO! GO!”
We quickly got to our feet and ran as fast as we could. The others had to stay until I breached the electric fence. With my dark gloves, I formed a glowing orb of lightning as my long fingers pointed to the fence. CRACK! KA-BOOM!
The bright sparks from the electric wires began to leak while it crackled. Most of the wires near to the hole were bent and tangled, while some were coated with a burning color. Four of us passed the fence while the gauge flare coughed out a trail of scarlet smoke. Behind us, it seemed a battalion of Neo Mages and anti-communist guerillas had surrounded the airbase. The alarms began to shriek with fear and confusion.
Loudspeakers: “Vragi gosudarstva pronikli v zapadnuyu stenu. Eto ne drel'! Povtoryayu, vragi gosudarstva pronikli v zapadnuyu stenu!”
50 Rushian airmen wearing light brown and blue uniforms and visor caps marched quickly while carrying submachine guns and rifles. They cocked their weapons and prepared to take aim, but we can manage to jump over these small fences easily. Using my elf ears, I heard a loud shrieking from the orange sky. It can only mean one thing.
Rosella: “GET DOWN!”
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT! All of the airmen quickly got their bodies blown and ripped while blood absorbed the grey cement. Out of nowhere, a silver plane passed the bloodbath and flew into the sky. I’m telling you, it was so quick that a dragon can’t even catch up!
Thompson: “It’s the P-51 Mustangs! The Elf Queen hears our message!”
Marksman: “Looks like our Majesty has already declared war on Dragunov!”
While we got up to our feet and kept running, we saw those planes shredding up those fresh Crimson fighters that were on rows. A hundred bullets made those red planes transform into flames and smoke. They weren't done yet, because one of the steel watchtowers began to fire at the planes with their machine guns. RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT! The yellow flashes from the plane gave the machine gunner a swift death. Another machine gunner in the other watchtower met his unfortunate fate. The watchtower was already blasted into smithereens because the fighter must've released one of the bombs that were attached to its shiny wings.
Marksman: “They're leaving! Looks like we're on our own.”
What was strange is that not one of the planes have been shot down. I guess the military were in a rush that they were even confused. The fighters headed to north; that was the last time I saw those courageous Alterrans.
Thompson: “There's the hangar! Dragunov is gonna fly off to Wyldwood!”
Rosella: “We better stop him before it's too late!”
Marksman: We’ll deal with the reds!”
I knew what I had to do. I ran as fast as I could and stopped at the middle of a long runway that faced the huge hangar, covered in black. An opportunity to finish Dragunov.
Rosella: “It’s coming out! Angela, do it now!”
The green beast came out from the hangar with its wings wide open. Two giant propellers rotated swiftly like tornados, while roaring deeply. The blunt red beak looked like it just recently devoured an animal without having its mouth cleaned. It kept walking towards to me slowly while I began to form a huge electric bolt. The creature gradually became larger, so did my colorless orb of lightning. Suddenly, it began to fly into the orange sky while roaring. It's white, huge belly passed through while gusts of wind landed on my masked face. Dragunov wasn’t going to get away with this.
Thompson: “Angela, why did you?!-”
ZAP! KA-BOOM! The white lightning bolt struck at the right propellor, transforming into a red explosion of a thousand burnt pieces. The plane slowly tilted to the right and landed on the cement runway. CRASH! A group of flames released from the wounded propellor as chunks of black smoke rose into the air from the slain beast. I didn’t notice that the plane had a dome on its back, until it released some bright flares, giving me a few, heavy wounds. Crashing on the ground, my hand became wet while grabbing my bloody stomach.
Rosella: “ANGELA!”
KA-BOOM! The plane suddenly transformed into explosions of red and black, incinerating the whole crew. Now Dragunov is dead, all of Alterra will know that the Novi Zakaz has been obliterated.
Rosella: “Guys, we got one of our friends shot!”
Without hesitation, Mark and Tom quickly ran towards to me and Rosella. I held her hand tightly while my head rested on her lap. I began to sweat while breathing heavily as pain began to increase. I felt as if I was stuck in Mount Glacies without wearing any warm clothing.
Marksman: “Crap, she’s been hit!”
Thompson: “We’ll give you guys cover!”
Rose grabbed a single health potion filled and popped the brown cork, acting like a medic in a battlefield.
Rosella: “Stay alive, girl!”
Marksman: “You’re gonna be okay, we promise!”
The red liquid poured into my mouth and into my throat, quenching my thirst. It tasted like swamp juice from the streets of Palus, but very sweet. I could feel the bullet wounds disappearing gradually as the pain began to decrease. The bullets were still attached to my flesh.
Angela: *murmurs* “Thanks, guys.”
Thompson: “There’s gonna be more Crimson reinforcements soon. We better get out of here fast.”
Marksman: “But where?”
Thompson: “To Balefort. We can’t run on road. The SUA can hunt us down easily. We’ll have to use the planes.”
Marksman: “Aviation?! The Mustangs wiped them out!”
Rosella: “Hey, what’s that over there?”
Thompson looked at the two biplanes that stared at us. They looked like those fighters during the Alterran Civil War, except they were painted green and had no armaments.
Thompson: “Scout planes! Come on, we can take them!”
Four of us ran across the runway while heavy clouds of smoke from the burning plane rose above us. Dragunov should be a burnt skeleton by now.
Thompson: “Rosella, you’re coming with me! Mark, take care of Angela!”
The boys quickly got on the biplanes while operating them quickly. Rosella and I just sat down, ready to escape this battlefield.
Angela: “Mark, do you know how to fly this plane?”
Marksman: “Yeah! I took flying lessons when I was in high school. Even Tom took it and passed.”
The green propellers began to rotate quickly like a whirlpool. The biplanes began to move slowly, with the support of the black tires. We hoped for the planes to move a little bit faster, or we would be shot unexpectedly. I felt the wind slapping my masked face softly.
Marksman: “Alright! Here we go!”
The two green eagles began to soar into the air. The airbase began to shrink as the Neo Mages and the resistance grew into ants. Poor soldiers, they’ll just have to meet their horrific fate. The trees above began to transform into black dots. I kept looking below until Mark called me.
Marksman: “Hey, you okay?”
Angela: "What? Oh, yeah. I’m fine.”
As soon I said those words, a barrage of glowing rays began to chase us. I knew what was going to happen next. They’re weren’t finished with us because they want revenge. Tom’s distorted voice appeared from the radio.
Thompson: “ANTI-AIRCRAFT! WATCH OUT FOR THE AMMUNITION!”
Up and down, side to side, my mind went passive to a deranged state. There were no seatbelts. The only thing that would save me is by using my hands as they gripped tightly on both sides to prevent from falling. I thought we would escape this dangerous mission as soon as possible.
SMASH! A couple of anti-aircraft bullets had already penetrated the body of the biplane. As smoke and fire began to grow, we now knew the prediction of our fate.
Marksman: “Mayday! Mayday! We’re gonna crash!”
Thompson: “There’s nothing I can do, but I wish you guys to be avenged.”
This is it! The gates of death have already opened. Our plane began to sink gradually while the sun rose and the sky became a bit light blue. Marksman quickly grabbed the brown parachute bag from the bottom.
Marksman: “Angela!”
Angela: “What is it?”
His face was full of regret. He looked as if he’s about to shed a single tear.
Marksman: “See the control stick below? Pull it as hard as you can! You’re gonna get out of here, I promise!”
He just gave me a little spark of hope. Without any more words, he bravely jumped out from the wounded biplane. Before he became an ant, a huge red parachute was released. I hope he won’t get caught by the Rushians. Looking back at the cockpit, I slowly crawled on top of the biplane to prevent falling over. My bottom quickly landed on the seat and I remembered what Mark said about pulling the lever stick.
Angela: “Where’s the control stick?!”
Death began to pour time into the river, dumping all of the remains until not a single drop remains. I noticed a long, wooden stick that was attached to the bottom. Quickly, my hands held on the stick and with all of my strength, I tried to make the control stick to lean back.
Angela: *whispering* “I love you, Mom and Dad…”
Covered with sweat and confidence, the green biplane began to dive down and scream with dark smokes creating a long trail. The yellow plains became larger and I shut my eyes to meet my death.
CRASH! The biplane kept sliding on the ground as huge chunks of shredded grass flew everywhere and a huge line of smoke kept running. The plane seemed that it wouldn’t stop running, until it stopped in the middle of the plains, surrounded by a few trees. Heavily injured, I slowly opened my eyes and all I have is a quarter of my strength. Any moment, the ruined plane will explode. Landing in a soft patch of golden grass, I kept crawling like a lion hunting for its prey.
Angela: “Must… Keep… Going…”
KA-BOOM! Behind me, the deceased biplane was covered in a blanket of red flames as the body began to rust. Any moment, the SUA’s will shoot me in the head, but at least I will feel a swift death. I began to close my eyes as my body faced the blue sky...
Interrogation Center, Balefort Sewers
Interrogator: “Marksman successfully escaped the UUSR with the aid of his companions. However, you were were taken captive by the SUA and immediately deported to one of the infamous labor camps in Crypta, Camp D.A. It was once known as Glumdoll Cemetery.”
Angela: “The birthplace of Silknight. It was horrible, but I met some new friends of mine…”
To Be Continued...
