The Chronicles of Silverwolf: The Dawning of a Hero (17 page)

“And we don't have enough people on our side to walk in and start a battle,” Peter said as he sat down next to us at the table. “That place is crawling with soldiers.”

“Then we need to get to work on freeing the people in these other cities before we attack,” Jonathan suggested.

“I agree with you. Luckily, our numbers here our slowly growing since we left San Francisco,” said Peter.

“The people are ready to follow you, Silverwolf,” said Justin.

“Me?”

“Ever since our success in San Francisco, rumors have started to spread about a hero dressed in sliver coming down from the heavens to free them and give them a sense of hope for their future,” said Peter.

“Good because I can't fight this hybrid elite army alone,” Jonathan smiled.

***
 

It was working.

With every city we freed more people took up the fight against the elite. The name Silverwolf was spreading. Their enemies were starting to get nervous. But they would not back down.

Many still died to protect their freedom but Jonathan knew they would rather die free than live a life of tyranny and enslavement. It gave him a sense of hope knowing that his mission to come to Earth was not in vain.

The more hybrid soldiers they took down, the more weapons and equipment they were able to acquire and use against them. And thanks to the ships Gwork and Jonathan brought from their planet they were able to teleport many of the people directly onto the ships from the ground without the elite knowing.

Two months had finally passed. The newly formed alliance was ready to make their move on the city of Houston. In a large underground complex inside the base, that was turned into an auditorium, sat hundreds of people waiting for Colonel Caldwell and Jonathan to start to the briefing. Those who couldn't fit watched it from the confines of their living quarters or wherever there was a video screen available. Everyone quieted down as the Colonel started the briefing.

“For those who don't know me, my name is Colonel Caldwell and I am happy to be fighting along side you in this war that will hopefully guarantee us our freedom on this planet. We've come along way in winning this war. Now comes the hard part,” he said when a map of Houston appeared on the projection screen behind them. “This is the enemy base camp in Houston, Texas. It is heavily fortified and swarming with elite soldiers. This will not be an easy victory for us. Our mission is to infiltrate the city and give Silverwolf the time to make it into Shadowgate's headquarters which is here, in the old building that used to belong to the Enron Corporation. The rest of us will hold the soldiers at bay until Shadowgate is defeated.”

“Are you sure you don't want to do this?” Jonathan asked Justin who was standing next to him as Caldwell continued his speech.

“What? Face my father?” Justin said.

“Yeah.”

“Yea, I'm sure,” Justin sighed.

“Your father has turned to the dark side,” Jonathan reminded him.

“I know but I don't think I can bring him back. Besides if I fight him again I could risk killing a lot of innocent people around me and I don't want that on my conscience. He is my father after all, Jonathan. I'll do what I can to help on the ground,” he said.

“Are there any questions?” Caldwell asked. When no one raised their hand or spoke up he said, “Good. That is all I have for now. Good luck and May God be with you.”

***
 

High above the city, cloaked from all who could see him, Jonathan took an overview of the landscape, using his heads-up display, which was then transmitted to Peter, who distributed the images to the rest of the resistance, who were waiting patiently back at the base.

Just as the Colonel and Peter predicted, the city was swarming with Elite soldiers and tanks. The three airports had their fair share of craft. Some were ready to take off; others were already coming in and going out of the city.

“It looks like the south side is the easiest way in,” I said to Caldwell, who was listening in.

“Copy that, Silverwolf. We're on our way,” he said.

“I'll hold back and wait for you on Galveston Island until you arrive,” Jonathan said doing just that.

After landing on Stewart Beach, away from prying eyes, Jonathan waited patiently for the resistance to arrive at his location. Galveston wasn't heavily guarded at all. In fact, very few soldiers were seen in the vicinity of the city, from what he could gather after flying over it.

It was obvious, from all of their previous battles that the Elite wanted to keep the population under control by isolating them in the major cities keeping those that lived in the smaller cities and towns. It was also a way to keep them from dealing with pockets of those who resisted.

Jonathan had waited for about thirty minutes when the cavalry finally showed up in spacecraft and were beamed down to the surface. It took awhile to get everyone organized while Justin took out the soldiers that were on the island.

“Are you sure you want to be part of this? You’ve been through so much already.” Jonathan asked Sarah as she approached him.

“I'm positive,” she replied checking the ammo clip in her rifle then giving him a kiss on his cheek.

“Sarah is the General's daughter. I'll bet you she can hold her own out there,” Caldwell said as everyone got ready.

“Speaking of which, I'm surprised you haven't mentioned him since you saw me again after two years,” Jonathan noticed.

After all of their battles thus far, Sarah's father had yet to show up which was odd to say the least.

“I haven't seen him in over a year,” said Sarah when Justin returned.

“The island is clear,” he said.

“We'll find him, Sarah,” Caldwell told her.

“Let's move out. I'll be your eye in the sky, Colonel, and report to you what I see,” Jonathan said as he took off into the air cloaking himself once again.

“Good luck,” he replied.

Flying ahead of the rest of them, Jonathan followed the bridge off the island, as they followed him from a distance. He couldn't spot any danger just yet as he approached the Beltway that wrapped around the city. Then his heads-up display noticed several black craft approaching him.

On the ground the Elite's troops started to head south.

“They're headed your way,” Jonathan told Caldwell.

“We see them. Thanks,” he said when he felt a laser blast hit him from behind.

Luckily Silverwolf still had his shield up to protect him. He turned around to see one of the enemies black craft uncloak. Silverwolf immediately opened fire with his wrist daggers then prepared his discs to get ready to slice off the wing.

When the craft shot towards him at high speed, Silverwolf maneuvered out of the way just in time to make a big cut on the side of its wing. It then began to lose control as he watched it descend towards the ground making a big explosion on impact.

More craft came after him. Soon they were dancing around the sky like fireflies. He felt like he was in an aerial dog fight trying to take them out while at the same time trying to avoid getting hit. Thankfully his shield was still holding up protecting him. He just had to make sure the fight didn't last too long before taking too many hits.

Down below, Silverwolf could see a huge battle breaking out. Soldiers, tanks and weapons were being used against each other. Even some motorized vehicles used by the resistance were seen.

In the air, more black craft, being flown by the resistance, joined the fight. This made it a little easier for Silverwolf to take out the enemy craft that were chasing hime by throwing some of the disc that would explode after they attached themselves.

In the distance, he could see what remained of downtown Houston. His mission was to get inside the former Enron building and find Shadowgate, since Justin refused to take him on himself. It was up to Earth’s new hero.

One by one the elite craft were being shot down while the resistance lost two of theirs in the process. It was the opportunity for Silverwolf to head for the old Enron building.

However, that mission was cut short when something struck him from behind. He turned around to see Shadowgate standing near his soldiers looking up at him. It was obvious he wanted to fight. Silverwolf had a plan that would hopefully end this quickly.

He flew up into the clouds and dematerialized into pure electricity before he started following him.

Chapter 32
 

After Peter made enhancements to the suit, it gave Silverwolf the ability to travel at Mach 3 without burning up. That’s how fast he was now flying.

He thought the storm clouds filled with lightning would've fried him but as it turned out they didn't affect him in the least. He would just dematerialize again through the clouds as if he were a part of mother nature then materialize back into human form before he finally caught up to him.

Luckily Silverwolf’s shield protected him from burning up and from the lightning that was dancing all around him, but he feared the power coming from Shadowgate would yield different results. When he finally grabbed a hold of Silverwolf’s legs, he sent a jolt of electricity through the Lyran’s body which temporarily disoriented him, causing him to lose focus on the direction of his flying. Then he pulled himself on top of Silverwolf as we began falling back to Earth.

Down below, Silverwolf could see what looked like the Superdome in New Orleans. He tried to turn his body around to face Shadowgate as it seemed as if they were going to crash right through the roof of the stadium. When they did Silverwolf could feel the force against his body as he tried to kick him away so he wouldn't land on he back.

Silverwolf was successful. It gave him just enough time to roll his body after the hitting the ground so the impact wouldn't break any bones.

As for Shadowgate, he performed the same maneuver Silverwolf did until they both came to a final stop on opposite sides of what was once the playing field of the New Orleans Saints. Silverwolf’s body ached with pain but he knew he wouldn't be able to rest for long.

When he looked down at the other end, where Shadowgate was, he was struggling to get up as well. He also noticed that the stadium was completely empty, which was a surprise. He thought there would be prisoners or Elite soldiers stationed here.

When he looked back at Shadowgate again, his enemy began to fire bolts of electricity at him from his hands. Using all the strength he had, with the help of his suit, Silverwolf avoided every shot he could before ducking behind the bleachers for safety to catch his breath.

When he peaked over the concrete wall that was protecting him, he caught a glimpse of Shadowgate and briefly fired a few of his daggers from his wrist. One of them seemed to nick him in the arm possibly making a cut in the suit but he couldn't tell from where he was.

“This is getting nowhere,” he thought. “I can't beat him here in this stadium. I need a better place than this.”

Silverwolf took off into the air once again and flew into the sky. The clouds were still dark as if the storm stretched for hundreds of miles. He looked down below to see Shadowgate fly up following him again. This time Silverwolf couldn't see his human form but he knew he was up there with him.

He could think of only one way to put a stop to him for good; dunk him in water. He knew that wouldn't be easy. When he looked down he realized how fast he was going. He could already see Florida and was almost over it.

“Maybe I can somehow trick him by forcing him into the ocean,” he thought.

But that thought didn't last long. At that moment Silverwolf felt a sudden sizzling sensation hit him from above. It caused the suit's circuitry to go haywire and he quickly lost the ability of flight as he descended to the ground once again.

This time Silverwolf spotted a more familiar structure that he had once visited with Sarah. It was the famous landmark at Disney's Epcot Park, Spaceship Earth. There was a charred hole at the top of it that was probably caused by the alien invasion Stark told him about.

“That might be a good place to hide and hopefully gain the upper hand by weakening him somehow,” he thought as he tried to head for the opening. But another strike from his enemy caused him to fall into the once popular attraction’s structure.

He didn't land on his feet. Instead he crashed into some old animatronics figures that were part of the ride. In fact everything inside the huge silver ball was decaying as if it hadn't been used in years. The cars that got pulled through the ride were still intact, along with most of the displays from different eras of Earth's time.

As Silverwolf laid there for a moment, trying to rest his aching body, another bolt of lighting shot down into the attraction where Shadowgate materialized into his human form. Luckily for Silverwolf it was very dark and the only light available was coming from the hole in the roof.

Silverwolf switched on his night vision so hecould get a better sense of where he was. Everything became clearer as he looked around while trying to stay silent.

“Come out and face me, hero,” Shadowgate said. “A true hero never hides.”