Awake (19 page)

Kevin clenched his fist in triumph and
exclaimed, “Yes! It worked!” Smiling, he turned around to see the
others’ reactions. His smile disappeared upon seeing Andrew’s
horrified look.

His eyes fixated on Kevin’s, Andrew gasped,
“S-she’s asleep. Katie fell asleep…”

Kevin placed his hand on Andrew’s shoulder
to comfort him. “Don’t worry. She’ll wake up soon. We’ll make sure
of it.”

- Battle for Mankind -

Andrew and Kevin ran desperately from the
rising flame.

Andrew said, “It’s a good thing Katie’s
being taken far away from here. That fire could probably burn down
all of Korgen if left alone.”

“Yeah,” Kevin agreed, “I didn’t really think
things through. I can only hope we wake everyone up soon and get
those firefighters to deal with it.”

Andrew said briskly, “So what was your plan?
Why make a huge fire?”

Kevin said breathlessly, “I knew we didn’t
stand a chance against their whole army. I decided to get caught so
that they would bring me safely into the center of their forces.
From here, I wanted to split their forces up—throw them in a bit of
chaos. I thought a fire would do the trick.”

“Even if you hold back half of their
forces,” said Andrew, “what do you plan to do about the rest?”
Kevin looked at the dogs as a hint. Andrew raised a brow and
wondered, “What is that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll figure it out,” said Kevin, smiling.
Kevin fell silent as he gawked ahead. Another large group of forest
animals were charging at them. “Here we go!”

“Here we go, where?” asked Andrew. “Are we
going to rush through them?”

“To the side!” Kevin veered right rather
quickly. Andrew followed him into the music store. Right at the
entrance there were guitars, drums, amplifiers, sheet music and
music books. Classical instruments were more toward the rear,
though there were violins on display at the cashier. Kevin slammed
the door shut.

“Help me hold the door,” said Kevin,
grabbing some of the unfortunate instruments.

“Wait,” said Andrew, “those are expensive!
Who’s going to pay for this?”

“The same people who’ll pay for all the
damages to the city,” Kevin replied, stacking the instruments
tightly together. “The taxpayers. Hey, we’re saving their lives.
They better not complain when they wake up.” He said to Andrew,
“Hurry and pass me something heavier.”

The pile of instruments scattered clumsily
as the door rattled. Andrew hid behind a piano. Through the main
window they could see the fearsome mug of a bear as it huffed and
puffed hot breath upon the glass.

“I don’t think we should be here…” Andrew
searched for another door, but the door that led to the back was
locked. The animals pounded fiercely against the thick glass,
cracking it. “This looks bad! They’re going to break in! Why did
you choose this place?”

Kevin spat back, “It’s not like I had time
to weigh the options and decide!”

The window shattered, showering bits of
glass all over.

Kevin pushed several display stands to the
floor. “Quick, throw stuff at them!”

Andrew flung violins and violas by their
heads. Kevin tried to keep the animals back by kicking drums all
over the place. The entire place was soon littered with broken wood
and glass. The floor looked so dangerous with the sharp shards that
the animals were afraid to set foot into the store.

“Good. They can’t come in,” said Kevin.

“And we can’t go out,” snapped Andrew,
folding his arms.

“Well, the important thing is that we’re
safe,” Kevin replied.

“Safe…” said Andrew, frowning. “But was that
the point?”

Ignoring him, Kevin looked at his watch.
“Five more seconds…”

Andrew asked, “Until what?”

There was a loud rumbling. The animals at
the front of the store suddenly whirled around. They looked
distressed and started running away.

“The cavalry has arrived,” said Kevin with a
big grin.

Andrew looked out. The coast was clear for a
moment. Then he saw shadows coming up the street. An army of dogs
and cats now flooded the street. Many of the cats even rode upon
the dogs, using them as steeds.

Andrew said, “So that’s what you mean by
cavalry. Where did they come from? I thought there was no one
left.”

“They were rounded up and imprisoned inside
a hotel, but Genesis and Luna helped them escape. Now come on,
let’s head out.” Kevin took some books, mostly beginner books for
people learning to play instruments, and threw them all over the
floor to cover up the glass. “Watch your step.” He cautiously made
his way to the door and opened it with a click. The glass tinkled
as he forced the gap to be large enough for them to edge
through.

The street was full of cats and dogs as far
as their eyes could see. Kevin decided to introduce some of the HPC
to Andrew. He led him to a small group of distinguished-looking
pets. “This here,” said Kevin, pointing at a German shepard, “is
Rusty, my head general.” Rusty nodded proudly. Kevin petted a
skinny white cat and said, “This is Sophie, one of my commanders.”
Kevin quickly touched the animals on the head as he went. “And here
are some Lieutenants…Buddy, Patches, Lucky, Lilly and…” Kevin
stopped and stared uncertainly at a yellow collie. “I’m sorry. I
forget your name every time.”

The collie said, sounding slightly annoyed,
“I’m Shadow.”

“Oh,” said Kevin, clasping his hands, “yeah.
Shadow.” Kevin paused. “Now that we got the pleasantries out of the
way…”

Kevin paced back and forth before his army.
“Before we go, I have a few words…so just hear me out.” He raised
his voice so that it could be heard. “This is the final stretch.
There is only one opposition. The forest. We won’t let them have
their way. I will say that I agree that mankind has always caused
trouble. But we can’t judge everyone as a whole. We too were born
on this planet…we too are a part of this planet, for better or
worse. In this next battle…I want you all to think of your family
and friends. I want you to think of the humans who cared for you
and loved you. All of your strength and cunning must be used to
win. You’ll be fighting against those that are stronger, faster and
more dangerous. However, the most important thing is
willpower—desire. Your desire to protect must be greater than their
desire to destroy. Your desire to love must be greater than their
desire to hate. Every last speck of life in your body is for the
victory. And remember, your goal is not to defeat them—but to hang
on. Fight, but run away if you have to. I will wake everyone up.
And when I do, the war will end.” Kevin’s eyes were red. “I will do
my best to end this war. All I need for you guys is to give me
time. That is all.”

Kevin shot a solemn glance at Rusty.

Rusty nodded and barked, “Move out!”

Rusty led their formation. They marched
steadily forward. The two boys stayed close behind the army because
they were not expecting any more forces to come from behind.

Then came the sound of a heavy roar that
echoed into the intersection as they crossed it. It was frightening
and loud. But it was not a dragon’s roar, much to Kevin’s
relief.

“Look over there!” a cat meowed.

Everyone looked at the cars parked ahead. A
lion was standing upon the roof of a car. It hopped off the car and
approached the HPC’s front line. Rusty went to meet the lion face
to face. He approached the stout feline with utmost caution.

The lion said, “I come in peace. Let me
speak with the leader.”

Rusty said, “You will speak with me.”

“No,” said Kevin, pushing his way through
the crowd. “I will speak with him.”

Andrew tried to hold him back. “Wait! Don’t
you realize how dangerous a lion is? He could kill you in a
second!”

“If I don’t have the guts to face him, I
can’t call myself the leader,” Kevin said. “This doesn’t look like
a trap and I have faith in the others that they will protect
me.”

Kevin met with lion and asked, “What do you
want?”

“We want to join you,” said the lion. He
motioned with his head toward an alleyway. Many zoo animals came
out from the shadows: zebras, apes, gorillas, rhinos and even an
elephant. “All of us want to join you.”

“Why the change of heart?” said Kevin with a
hint of skepticism.

“We’re doing this for ourselves,” the lion
answered. “We are far from our homes and could never hope to reach
there in our lifetime without the aid of humans. Though we are
angry to have been taken away from our homeland, there does not
seem to be much choice for us but to stay and be cared for. We will
not survive in this land. And I’m sure Kain will not care for us.
And so we ask of you, will you let us be a part of your
alliance?”

Rusty whispered to Kevin, “It’s too great a
risk. They could turn against us.”

Kevin nodded and replied, “But this is a
great opportunity…if we play our cards right.” He turned to the
lion and said, “I will let you guys join on one condition. You guys
must listen to me. Whatever I say, you must follow my
instructions.”

The lion hesitated but agreed. “If that is
the only way…”

Kevin forced a half-hearted smile. “I’m very
sorry to have to do this. And I apologize in advance.”

Kevin ordered the newly formed Zoo Faction
to go in front. The Zoo Faction went ahead of them into the next
street, slowly marching. The HPC stayed behind. There was a large
distance between the Zoo Faction and the HPC.

“They’ll die out there!” said Andrew,
sounding concerned. “We won’t be able to support them from all the
way back here!”

Kevin replied, “This is the only way to
ensure that they can’t backstab us.”

When the Zoo faction finally reached the
intersection, a horde hopped out of the shadows. Cougars piled up
on the elephant, tearing at its hide; the elephant trumpeted wildly
with its trunk as it was overtaken. Wolves launched an attack
against the zebra, chomping down on its striped skin; the zebra
tried to escape but was held down. The rhinoceros snorted and
glared while locked in a stalemate with several bears. The lion
tried to aid the others but was kept at bay by venomous snakes that
threatened to pierce his ankles with their deadly fangs.

“We’ve got to help them!” Andrew wanted to
run forward, but Kevin held him back.

Kevin said, “No, not yet. This could be a
trap.”

“A trap?” snapped Andrew, pushing Kevin
aside. “I don’t believe this! Look! They’re getting killed out
there! You expect me to just watch this? It’s terrible! Katie would
never let this happen!” Andrew ran to help the Zoo faction.

“Andrew, wait!” Kevin yelled. “Come back!”
In his frustration and worry, Kevin clenched his teeth hard. “He
chose the worst time to be brave.” Then he growled, “Forget the
plan! Everyone—CHARGE!”

The HPC forced their way through. It was
pandemonium. Waves of animals crashed into one another with a loud
impact as they butted heads. Rusty took a group of his toughest
dogs to assist the elephant in beating the ruthless cougars away.
The cougars easily defeated the dogs, slapping them away with their
powerful paws. Even though the HPC outnumbered the enemy, it was a
difficult battle. The bears were tough beasts and were able to swat
away the dogs and cats with a single blow. However, slowly but
surely, they were able to save the Zoo faction from complete
annihilation. The dogs worked hard to pull the injured zoo animals
toward a safer zone.

Kevin watched the fight continue. “We’ve got
the upper hand here. Now if we run, we might be able to—”

“More of them coming!” barked Rusty. “Two
large armies in the North and South!”

“What?” Kevin’s eyes widened. “Why does this
always happen?” He threw his hand forward. “Send word to the
rooftops! Launch the second phase!”

The Forest Army’s reinforcements were coming
down the other streets. First came the faster creatures. They used
their speed to navigate quickly through the length of the road.

On the rooftops, several monkeys opened up
crates, reached in and grabbed tomatoes with their hands. Seeing
that the enemy was fast approaching the main force of the HPC, the
monkeys began their barrage. Hundreds of tomatoes fell from above.
The monkeys threw the tomatoes with all their strength. They were
rather precise with their aim, splattering the red fruits all over
the faces of the Forest Army. Blotches of tomato juice stained the
walls and squished tomato peels littered the floor. The animals
staggered and shook their heads feverishly. They were slightly
blinded by the juices in their eyes. The floor was slippery and
slushy.

“I’ll take over from here,” Rusty said to
Kevin. “You need to get to the lab.”

“If I split up from the main force, they’ll
be suspicious,” said Kevin. “We can’t let that happen. Sneaking
around will be impossible. I’ll let you take over, but first we
have to get closer to the lab entrance.”

Troubled, Rusty replied, “I don’t think we
can push them back far enough.”

Kevin said, “We only have a few blocks left
to go. Initiate a full-scale rush now that they’re blinded. It’ll
be rough—and I’m sure it’ll be very painful—but we have to do
it.”

Rusty nodded uncertainly, “If that is your
order.”

Rusty let out a haunting howl.

The HPC attacked the blinded forest
creatures. The dogs and cats jumped up on the coyotes and foxes.
They assaulted the weaker creatures first and rendered them
unconscious quickly. Then they proceeded to strike the tougher
beasts. The bears retaliated and knocked out a few dogs with a
single wave of their arms. Even though the hulking beasts were
practically blinded, they flailed wildly, attacking friend and
foe.

Kevin shouted over the chaos, “Aim for their
weak points! Attack their eyes if you have to! Don’t let them
recover! Be relentless! ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK!”