Accidental Healer-Chapter 141 - 55 - Where’s Kevin?

Martin huddled with a group of builders all pointing and chatting around an interface screen. The screen displayed the finishing touches needed to complete the interfaction teleporter they hoped would become their salvation.

"It's the mana nodes that will take the longest." Bob informed the group, pointing at what looked like one of four sconces that sat at the corners of the teleporter itself. "The details need to be exact and our crafters risk critical mistakes if we rush them."

"Is it going to be a problem?" Martin questioned the portly builder that he'd assigned as foreman.

"Not a problem." Bob smiled. "Give me a week and we will have this entire building up and running."

"We're not out of the woods yet my friend." Martin slapped the man on the back. "But this is incredible work."

Their voices echoed through the marble plaza, blending in with the footsteps of busy construction workers going about their many jobs. The group shared smiles and exchanged congratulations on the incredible work they'd done. After months of backbreaking labor and worry Martin was finally starting to feel a sliver of hope.

A disturbance at the plaza entrance drew Martin's attention and he patted Bob on the shoulder once more before breaking off to investigate.

He cocked his head and jogged over to see a red faced Janette speaking animatedly with two workers.

"He'll be out any minute Janette he's in a meeting." One of the workers was saying while guarding the entrance from the small middle aged woman attempting to force her way past. Tears streaked her gaunt cheeks.

"Janette?" Martin called concern evident in his voice. "What's going on here?"

At the sound of Martin's voice the two workers relented and Janette forced her way between the men.

"I'm sorry Martin, I didn't know where else to go."

The woman looked like a total mess. Her long brown hair was a mangled mess of tangles and her khaki capris and green t-shirt were loose and disheveled.

She nearly barrelled into him and Martin grabbed her by the shoulders to slow her down.

"Janette, what happened?"

"It's Kevin." She covered her face. "He's gone."

"Alright, Janette. You need to slow down—what do you mean gone?"

"I thought he was out on the roof, that's where he always goes at night." The words came out muffled from behind her hands. "But when I went to find him this morning he hadn't come back. I've looked everywhere—he's gone!"

The last of her words broke into sobs.

Martin, unsure of what he should do, glanced around at the construction workers passing by.

"I'm sure he's around here somewhere—"

Janette's head shot up, eyes bloodshot radiating heat. "He's not here Martin. I can feel it. He's gone and you need to find him!"

Martin rubbed his eyes. He really did not need this right now. There was still so much left to be done and—

"Please Martin, please. If not for me, do it for Ronnie?"

Twenty minutes later Martin and a man named Stuart were circling Ronnie's old home where Kevin and Janette still lived.

"So?" Martin asked.

"He jumped off the roof here." Stuart said, pointing at a very normal clump of dirt.

Before the change Stuart made his living running a highly profitable outfitting company in the Rockies. His class was literally called "tracker". With Stuart's help Martin expected they would be able to find Kevin in no time.

Together Martin and Stuart jogged in silence through the crowded streets of New Boise. At every turn Martin expected Kevin to pop up, and each time he didn't his heart sunk deeper and deeper into his chest.

After a few miles of following Kevin's trail with no Kevin in sight, their journey eventually led them to the edge of town and atop the city's perimeter wall.

"The tracks keep going?" Martin asked.

"That's right." Stuart replied.

"Son of a—" Martin looked up at the grey storm clouds overhead. "Where is your boy off to Ronnie?"

Stuart and Martin shared a look and then dropped themselves down off the wall.

***

Kevin waited atop the pyramid next to Boretek overlooking the clay city of the Gree-Cek.

Just below them hundreds of thousands of humans filed through the city gates congregating in the wide square at the foot of the pyramid over a hundred feet below.

"WELCOME TANNERITES!" Boretek's deep voice boomed. "WHERE IS TANNER!? COME! JOIN ME!"

The crowd parted and a handsome blonde man in chainmail and leather pants stepped forward. Two large Gree-Cek soldiers appeared at each of his sides and they began the long walk up the steep clay steps of the pyramid.

"Are you prepared?"

Boretek's whisper sent a cascade of tremors down Kevin's spine and he clenched his fists, squaring his shoulders. The answer to the question was no. He wasn't even remotely prepared for what was about to happen. But this was the choice he'd made and there was no going back from that.

So in defiance of his trembling hands and shaking knees he nodded resolutely.

"We'll see…"

Boretek might have his doubts about Kevin's resolve but he was certain this was his only path forward. There was simply no other way. It's not like the Tannerites were any better.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Tanner climbed the last few steps to join Kevin, Boretek and the rest of his entourage.

"Well Boretek, I'm here, as promised." He glanced in the direction of Kevin and narrowed his eyes. Kevin could read in Tanner's eyes the same guilt that he felt.

"So you are. Come to join hands against your own people." Boretek chuckled softly. "Must be a human trait."

"That's not how we see it." Tanner argued. "We made a strategic decision that secured the safety of our faction. That's all."

"You could've joined the other humans." Boretek offered with a glint in his eye.

Tanner leered at him. They'd already had this discussion. Joining Martin in New Boise was never an option for Tanner and his people, Boretek and the Gree-Cek were simply too powerful. If he sided with Martin he would be dying with them.

It was a gamble of course. There was no guarantee Boretek would accept their offer of alliance against New Boise, it took some convincing, but in the end Boretek had to admit it would be impossible to conquer New Boise without the help of Tannerites. Did Tanner embellish New Boise's strength? He had to, otherwise what would be the point of them joining forces?

Tanner knew that Boretek was just trying to get under his skin.

"What? No answer to that?" Boretek prodded.

"I made the best choice I could for my people." Tanner responded through gritted teeth.

Boretek shoved passed Tanner to stand at the edge of his pyramid and a spear appeared. He used the spear to point below.

"Those people?"

"Of course those people, and the ones still in our city." Tanner turned to face Boretek. "Now are we done with the games? We have a battle to plan."

"We'll get to that." Boretek clasped two of his hands behind his back. "But first, I want you to help me with something."

"Fine. What?"

"You told me Martin and his faction was too strong for me to face alone, that's why you offered your help. Do you remember?"

"That's right…" Tanner said slowly, narrowing his eyes.

Boretek turned back to Tanner. "See—that's where I'm just a little confused. What kind of man doesn't side with his own people if you really felt it was an even fight? Especially if it was your aid to tip the scale?"

Tanner took a step back. "I didn't come to be judged by you, Boretek."

Boretek smiled, raising his spear high above his head.

"True enough. You did come to join us."

Kevin closed his eyes. Those were the words he'd been waiting for. His sword appeared, he stepped forward, opened his eyes and thrust his blade straight through the back of Tanner's exposed neck.

***

"This can't be right."

Stuart's feet padded at a brisk jog. "The tracks are as clear as day, Martin. Kevin went this way."

The city of the Gree-Cek rose in the distance and the pit that had been growing in Martin's stomach felt like a black hole.

"Kevin must've been taken, maybe he wandered too close?" Martin asked between strides.

"It doesn't look that way."

"How can you tell?"

"It's obvious, just one set of tracks."

The whole situation just felt wrong. Why would Kevin risk traveling so close to the enemy city? Martin was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't see it when Stuart came to a halt, and nearly collided with his back.

They had just barely crested a rolling hill dotted with knee high sage brush when Stuart stopped and pointed.

"Look."

Martin did look.

They were still a good mile out of the Gree-Cek city but with the enhanced senses Martin's 32 levels afforded him it was clear what he was looking at. His mind fought the information his eyes were feeding it.

Thousands of Humans filed through the gates of the city.

The two men dropped below the cover of the sage brush.

"Martin, what is going on here!?"

Martin crouched low, eyes wide, thoughts whirring. There was only one other human faction that he knew of anywhere in their region. But it didn't make sense.

Was this why the Tannerites had broken off communication?

Stuart gripped his arm. "Martin?"

"I—" Martin didn't want to believe what he was seeing. "We need to get closer."

He pulled his arm free and began half crouching half jogging through the sagebrush.

"Hey—wait up!"

Martin got within three hundred yards from the city walls when Stuart grabbed him from behind.

"Stop, any closer and they are going to see us."

He pulled away. "Just a little closer."

The city was bigger than Martin would've expected. Everything in the city was built in deep red clay and resembled the Pueblo cities from the history books.

At the center of it all was a tall brownish-red brick pyramid that loomed, domineering, over the rest of the city. Martin dropped to all fours and crept inch by inch until he was resting on his stomach within just a couple hundred feet of the city walls.

"Those must be the Tannerites." Stuart whispered so softly Martin barely heard it. "What are they doing with the Gree-Cek?"

Martin was sure he already knew the answer to that question. Tanner had betrayed them. But that wasn't even the most shocking revelation—because as the last of Tannerites pushed their way into the city, Martin couldn't pull his eyes from the top of the pyramid.

A four armed giant in greek style robes draped over bulging muscles waited and watched over the proceedings like an Egyptian emperor or something from legends.

Chest out, chin raised, every inch of the man screamed authority and dominance.

And who stood at his side?

"Kevin?"

Martin's brows knit.

Nothing was making sense. How was Kevin here? Why was he standing with the man who Martin could only assume was the faction leader of the Gree-Cek.

Martin's suspicion only deepened when a golden blonde head appeared climbing the steps to the pyramid. He'd met the man on several occasions and knew him to be Tanner, the leader of the Tannerite faction.

He'd known Tanner to be a thoughtful man. It was his faction that provided the marble they'd used to build their teleporter. Seeing the man now approaching the Leader of a faction he knew to be outright hostile made his skin crawl. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"I don't understand. What is going on here?" Stuart asked for the second time.

"We're being betrayed." Martin whispered, eyes glued to the top of the pyramid. Unfortunately at this distance there was no way to tell what was being discussed, but he could guess. Their time had just run out. Soon they would be facing the strength of not just the Gree-Cek but the Tannerites as well.

"We need to go." He began pushing himself backwards when Stuart stopped him.

"Wait. Something's happening."

Martin looked back to see the four armed man pointing his spear downwards, somewhere they couldn't see. Tanner turned in the direction and Martin could see his mouth moving but couldn't make out the words on his lips. The leader of the Gree-Cek smiled and responded.

Then, moving as if possessed, a blade appeared in Kevin's hand. Martin couldn't breathe as Kevin stepped forward, lifted the blade—Stuart turned away—but Martin watched the spray of blood as Kevin's sword took the life of the Tannerite leader.

Martin watched from his hands and knees like he was in some kind of waking dream. This couldn't be the Kevin he knew, the young man who would spend hours in his home playing computer games with his son.

The young man who still seemed like such a child in Martin's eyes slid the blade free. Tanner groped at the wound at his throat, eyes wide in shock.

This couldn't be right. Martin knew Kevin. He'd been camping with him and his father, laughed with him, watched him grow, fed him when he played at his house. That Kevin couldn't do something like this.

In a movement faster than Martin could track the four armed man's spear skewered Tanner's chest. He lifted the bleeding body letting the blood stain the white linen draping his body then he swung his spear tossing the ruined body sailing from atop the tower.

Shouts and screams followed.

Martin forced himself. There was nothing he could do here.

He needed to get back to his people. Once the Gree-Cek were done here, he knew where they were coming next.