The Choice by J Barrett - HTML preview

                                                                8

T’kai and B’nal greeted the dawn with the knowledge that Enaj and S’ana had left during the night to take their places in preparation for the coming battle.   T’kai and B’nal had many years to prepare a battle plan in the event the Kraki returned.  They used this time to plan for every possible contingency, every twist and turn and then formed a solid plan.  They and their fellow brothers of the sea would herd the creature into the Marianas Trench where Enaj would block its escape.  S’ana would rise up, slice it in half, and take the head down with her to the bottom of the Challenger Deep where Enaj would then blast both to oblivion.  The power it would take to destroy the creature completely would pull on all the reserves Enaj possessed; it would leave him half his size.

T’kai and B’nal woke their charges and gave them the news.  B’nal’s soldiers were all given the golden Girdles of Battle along with their Tridents.  These girdles contained the power source for the tridents when in battle.   As Rain came into the lagoon on B’nal, he looked very much the commander Josh had seen in his dreams.  Rain raised his Trident in the air and his soldiers rallied about him. 

A large humpback whale, carrying a message for B’nal, asked permission to come into the lagoon.  Rain winced when he saw the huge welts that circled the whale’s body.  The Krakei was approaching the Pacific Ocean; it had lashed out several times and they had lost about a hundred sharks and at least twenty to thirty whales; three of them were sperm whales.  B’nal ordered the sperm whales off the hunt.  There were only about twenty of them left in the world and they could not afford to lose any more.  The humpback was given his orders and departed quickly.

B’nal called his soldiers to order and joined up with the Dolphin band.  T’kai came forward and addressed them all about the battle plan. 

My children, we leave for battle this morning.  If all goes well, by this time tomorrow we will be free of the menace forever.  The sharks and whales are herding the monster into the Pacific.  It will try to balk when it realizes that it is being herded to the Trench.  We will be the rear guard; it will be up to us to stop it from breaking out. 

You all saw the marks of battle V’tol bore upon his body; the Kraken will be even deadlier for us.  Make each of your strikes count; be constantly aware of its tendrils.  We must keep it moving to the Trench.  Once there, S’ana will rise from the Deep and cut it in two.  She will then take the head down with her and Enaj will obliterate it.  We must then destroy the other half before it can feed.  If it feeds, another head will form and we will be right back where we started. This must end here and now. Sha’el’s courage my soldiers, Our Father’s protection be with you all!

Wolf woke his dragons and riders and informed them that the Orcas and Dolphins were on the move.  They would require cover as soon as they reached the California coastline and headed out to sea.  They listened silently as he gave them the details of T’kai’s plan.  Then he added his own; they would meet up with the Samurai Clan of Japan once they were finished with this task. 

These dragons were to be treated with the greatest respect, as in the old times.  All were female dragons, warriors from long ago skilled in the Samurai Jujitsu of eons past.  They were twenty-two in numbers and had no riders.  Wolf cautioned his dragons; these dragons viewed riders as a hindrance; they were unaware of the strength gained from a link with a human rider.  It was a lesson the Blues were meant to teach them.  Wolf warned his dragons and riders not to interfere with these dragons in any way.  They knew how to fight and regarded the Dragons of Light as mere helpers in the coming battle.  Their arrogance would be dealt with by example.  Their leader was Miomi, of the fabled Osaka Dragon Family; the protectors of Asia.

About two hours later Wolf received the call from T’kai and he and his warriors mounted up took off.  Amanda, Terry, Robert and Jeffery were prepared and eager to begin; Dimitri and Diana flew scout position.  As they flew over the coastline of California the riders got their first look at the damage done by the black fire dragons.  San Francisco was burned to a cinder; The Golden Gate Bridge was damaged so badly that they doubted it would be repairable.  Los Angles was unrecognizable; the once beautiful coastline was a drab black scorched plain.  Further down the coast they began to see some areas were coming back; and along a stretch of beach, much to their surprise, they saw people waving and cheering them on.  

They turned out to sea and began the flight to the rendezvous point.  About an hour later they began to see signs of battle.  There were two large humpback whales floating belly up in the ocean below them.  Their bodies bore the marks of the beast they had fought and their wounds showed the force of the monster.  Great red welts covered them and patches of skin were completely removed in some areas.  One lone sperm whale limped along with two grey whales steering it to safety.  The large mammal’s back was a testament to the fierce struggle it had had with the ominous monster from the deep.

As they continued on their way they spotted five black dragons beginning a dive on the ocean below.  They could make out a churning in the water and realized that there was a battle going on just below the water surface.  Wolf called for attack formation and the Blue Dragon Squadron was sent to join the fight.  They came in with the sun at their backs and attacked the black dragons who never saw them coming till they were upon them.  The Blue Dragons made quick work of the monsters and then took up their positions above the ocean.

Wolf cautioned all his dragons not to get to close to the surface of the water, as they were unsure of how far the creature could reach with its tendrils.  Unfortunately the warning came too late for Hilda’s dragon Hirohita.  A long red tendril burst out of the water and wrapped itself around his leg burning and pulling the dragon down.  The alien poison burned the large dragon like nothing on this earth; the pain was excruciating, Hirohita screamed in agony.  All turned and looked his way at the sound of his screams.

Wings out stretched he held his own against the tugging tendril.  From below suddenly Rain burst out of the water on Ba’nal’s nose.  Up, up he came pointing the golden trident at Hirohita’s leg.  A beam shot out of the trident that sliced thru the tendril, freeing the dragon.  Just as quickly they turned in mid-air, dove below and were gone, only seconds had passed. 

Hilda leaned over her dragon and hooking her foot in the stirrup stretched out and tried to remove the remaining tendril.  There were huge red welts on the dragon’s leg where the tendril was wrapped.  She managed to remove it at the cost to her hands.  They too were covered in red welts, and she also screamed at the stinging effects of the poison. 

Wolf directed her to return to the island and seek out a large plant that resembled a century plant.  Cut the leaves from the plant and boil them well.  It will produce a thick salve that will neutralize the poison and give immediate relief.  Hurry Hilda, Hirohita is in much pain.

Hilda and Hirohita raced back to the island.  She begged help from the remaining crew on the Glacier Queen explaining what had happened and what she needed to do.  Mr. McMullen quickly agreed and set about building a huge fire on the shore.  He sent his men with Hilda and once she found the plant they began to cut the large thick leaves from the huge cactus.

They chopped them up and threw them into the boiling water.  The mixture began to thicken and soon they had their first batch of salve.

Hilda reached into the mixture to scoop it into a large bucket and she felt instant relief from the pain in her hands.  Realizing how quickly the salve worked she ran to Hirohita and began to apply the salve to his damaged leg.  The large dragon sighed in relief and thanked her for the respite from the agonizing pain he had been in for the past two hours.  Hilda knelt by her dragon and cried tears of relief that he would be okay. 

Leaning against Hirohita, she looked out to the large lagoon and spied a sperm whale in the center; his huge body was covered in large red welts.  She was sure she could feel its pain, and hear it moaning.  Moved by his pain, (which she herself knew only too well), she was empathetic to the whale’s plight.  Rising, she asked Hirohita if he was able to speak to the whale.  She explained that maybe she could ease the poor creature’s suffering with the salve.  Hirohita said he would try and flew out over the lagoon and called to the large creature and explained what his rider proposed.  The whale answered that at this point any help would be most welcome.

A short time later, Hilda was on Hirohito’s back hovering over the whale.  She politely asked permission to step on the whale’s back to administer the salve - he agreed quickly.  She went about her work and spread liberal amounts of the salve over the wounds and rubbed it in gently.  The worst injuries were on the large mammal’s head and around his blow hole.  There was a huge sigh of relief from the whale when she began to work on the area.  He thanked her profusely saying he would remember her kindness always. 

Hilda quickly surmised that there would be many injured animals coming to the lagoon and she went to Mr. McMullen and asked him to prepare more salve and make extra.  She explained her reasoning and he quickly agreed.  He set his men to work right away and started two more fires to accommodate the amount of salve they would need.

Not long afterwards the large whale called to Hirohito saying two grey whales were approaching and they were in pain also.  With the sperm whale acting as go-between, Hilda went to work on them quickly.   Soon the lagoon was filled with Orcas, Dolphins, and even a large whale shark; all seeking relief from the terrible pain.   The large whale insisted that he be by her side when she treated the whale shark saying that his presence would insure her safety as they were very unpredictable emotionally.   She and Mr. McMullen worked tirelessly for hours bringing relief to the injured. 

And then Tristin and T’kata came into the lagoon.  Tristin’s legs were scarred by the red welts and he was screaming in agony.  As he came closer they all saw the large red welt circling his upper chest.  T’kata was also covered in the red marks of battle; but his concern was for Tristin.

Hilda went to work on Tristin immediately, she covered his chest area first fearing his breathing would be in jeopardy.  His relief was immediate and he cried tears of thanks to her for her kindness.  She continued on and applied copious amounts of the salve to his legs.  Watching her as she worked, Mr. McMullen went to the large Orca and nodded holding a handful of salve before him.  T’kata understood and turned bringing himself closer to the red haired man.  McMullen covered his wounds in the salve easing his pain immediately.  The Orca turned and gave him a slight nudge of thanks producing a look of sublime happiness on the large man.

During all this time Hirohito kept Wolf informed of his brave rider’s efforts to ease the suffering of their brothers in the sea. 

In the end, the final battle was anti-climatic.  The huge beast was herded to the Trench and as predicted by T’kai, the creature bolted to hide in the Challenger Deep.  S’ana was waiting and rose up and cut the beast in half just as T’kai had planned.  She held onto the writhing mass and took the head below.  T’kai heard her final conversation to her rider.

It is a good day to die my prince, she purred, as long as you are with me.

Yes my sweet, were the final words spoken by Leslie, I will always be with you.

Enaj waited till she was far below before he let loose with a blast so powerful that it completely disintegrated them both.  The huge effort left him spent and half his size.  Two humpback whales dove below and positioned themselves under his wings/flippers and brought him to the surface quickly.

The other half of the beast was now more dangerous than ever.  With blasts from their tridents, the Orca army was able to push the swirling mass into the Trench where Ian was waiting with the golden ship.  He quickly made use of the powerful weapons that Sha’el had created and destroyed the mass entirely.  They searched the ocean floor for several hours to make sure that every piece of the creature was gone. 

Then Ian began his long journey to the pit where the beast had been imprisoned.  Once there he searched the area carefully.  Drawing on his instincts, he slowly covered the area peering in every nook, every cranny.  He searched the massive cave inch by inch not wanting to miss anything.   After many hours, and the help of the many lantern fish he found what he was looking for. 

Hidden deep inside the cave was a small mass of the creature wrapped about a gelatinous mass.  Instruction from T’kai told him what to do and he immediately used the weapons Sh’ael had provided.  The creature would leave a small mass behind to insure the continued survival of his species.  Ian disintegrated the small writhing mass that the beast had left behind and continued to search.  After many more hours he was sure there was no more of the mass to be found.

“Now it is truly over!” he said forcefully.

Hours later T’kai and B’nal led their tired and spent army back to the island.  Several of the humans and many of the mammals were injured and in pain from the lashing they taken from the tendrils of the mad beast. 

Hilda was waiting for them and quickly went to work administering to their wounds. 

Tristin was there by her side helping her as she went from rider to Orca, to rider, to Dolphin.  Only when she was sure that all had been cared for did she finally agree to her dragon’s request to rest.  Exhaustion finally overtook her and she slept for 10 hours straight.

T’kai learned from the large sperm whale all that took place in the lagoon while the battle was raging.  Sperm Whales do not care for humans, and rarely even acknowledge their existence; but this one was very impressed by Hilda’s untiring efforts to ease the pain of the suffering. 

He introduced himself, (which sperm whales never do), Orion of the D’omi Pod.  He told T’kai that Hilda’s empathic care of the injured mammals impressed him greatly and he was indebted to her for her kindness.  It was large praise coming from one who had been hunted by humans, almost to extinction.  T’kai discussed this with Wolf at great length and praised him on his choice of dragon and rider.

Hilda finally awoke and rejoined her fellow riders, she was surprised at the praise they heaped upon her.  T’kai asked her if she would accompany him to the lagoon.  The sperm whale wished to speak with her.  He quickly explained that this was a great honor as sperm whales consider most humans to be unworthy.

In her mind she heard Wolf’s voice; you are to receive a gift for your selfless act of kindness.  Sperm whales rarely give gifts, and never to humans.  Accept it with humility Hilda, it is a great honor.

T’kai took her out in the lagoon and told her to swim to the side of the whale by his eye.  She did as instructed, and suddenly felt his large fluke come up under her.  As she sat there she stared into the eye of the whale and suddenly heard him in her mind.

You saw my pain and it moved you to tears. Came a voice of such magnificence  that Hilda was in ecstasy.  Unafraid you wanted to ease my pain; so you came to administer to my wounds. A selfless act of kindness and a remarkable one for a human. I give you a gift small one, so you may always be in contact with the sea, and with me, Orion of the D’omi Pod. 

A bright light suddenly enveloped Hilda and the whale.  Suddenly, softly at first, she became aware of the sea around her; she began to hear the sea.

How wonderful for the healer.

She is different from most humans.

Yes, she is kind and gentle.

I am thankful for her healing, I was in agony…

Hilda could suddenly differentiate the many sounds and knew which species were saying what.  She turned to the whale with tears in her eyes and thanked him for his generous gift saying she felt unworthy of such an honor. 

The large whale chuckled, precisely why you have earned it little one. Return to your people; and if ever you should need my help, simply send a message.

He released her to the water and she swam around to his head and kissed the large area around his eye.  There was a deep rumble as she impressed him even more.  Then she turned and swam to T’kai and he returned her to the shore.  Only T’kai, Wolf, and Hirohito were aware of the gift she had received.

Wolf remained on the island for three weeks.  T’kai offered him the use of the Tridents and Girdles in the battle he would be facing.  He thanked him but declined.  His dragons and riders were prepared and knew what they were facing.  This must be accomplished in the old way, he told him.  T’kai understood and wished him well and good hunting.

The ‘children’ all said they wished to remain on the island with their ‘brothers of the sea’.  They explained that they preferred the company of the sea, and asked their parents to accept this decision.  They asked them to return when the battle was finished and regale them with all the details.

Three weeks later Wolf and the Blue Dragon Clan rose over the island and headed off into the thermals to face their fate.

And that will be the final tale of the early years.