The Scrap Knight Ch.11

Nic was still alive.

How this was possible he did not know. People didn’t tend to do well when standing next to large explosions, certainly not two in the same day. Combined with the truly irresponsible number of near misses he’d experienced in the last hour, one would expect Nic’s supply of lucky breaks to be long exhausted.

And yet alive he remained, stumbling down the slope of a scrap pile, sliding as often as walking, coughing at the taste of blood in his mouth. His vision swam with tears, blinded by the sudden return to bright, afternoon sunlight. He took that one as a positive, being outside again, even if he was too dazzled to appreciate it.

Reaching relatively level ground, Nic collapsed in a mostly controlled manner, exhaustion settling heavy across his shoulders. He took a moment to just breathe, enjoying the taste of fresh air after so long underground. He felt the tension slowly leave him, though that brought an array of new pains as muscles relaxed. He was going to feel this in the morning, that much was certain.

Looking back, he saw for the first time just how much damage his improvised bomb had done. The entire side of the mountain had been blown open, smoke billowing from the opening in a great black plume. His wounds seemed almost trivial in comparison, given the kind of power it would have taken to blow a hole that size. Didn’t make them hurt any less but perspective was important.

More worrisome was the Knight’s notable absence. The last thing Nic remembered was the armored figure using its own body to shield him from the blast. While certainly more durable than himself, even the Knight would have their limits and Nic feared the business end of an explosion might have done to them.

One thing at a time. He was outside and that meant he had options. Even with his tablet dead, the yard’s front office was within walking distance. That stupid Eddy program might be useless for most things but even it couldn’t fail at being a phone. He would be able to call someone, preferably many someone’s who all had the first clue as to how to deal with this. Simple and easy. What could possibly go wrong?

Nic almost, almost, managed to stop himself from having the thought. Had he been less dazed he might have even managed it but that wasn’t the kind of day he was having.

Instantly, the very second the thought crossed his mind, a deafening roar sounded behind him. Nic looked up at the sundered mountain, watching in resigned horror as a familiar shape rose from its depths. The Beast had not escaped the blast unscathed, a plethora of burns and deep lacerations serving as testament to that fact. Most of its spines were damaged, cracked or snapped off entirely, and a good deal of its fur burned away to the scorched skin underneath.

Yet for all the damage, it still presented a fearsome sight as it burst out into the light. Freed of the confines, the Beast seemed to grow even larger, its bulk unwinding in all directions to loom over the yard. Even broken, the creature was a true terror to behold.

“…oh screw you,” Nic said.

Above, the Beast turned its many eyes to stare at him. It roared in renewed rage, lashing out with long, serrated limbs. Nic was already on his feet, all but leaping his way down the rest of the mountain as the attack fell behind him. He landed hard, fresh hurt blooming in his side as he scurried to stand, only to find his legs unresponsive, broken or simply spent he couldn’t tell.

It was all he could do just to roll over and watch as the Beast approached, low growls of triumph issuing from between its many teeth. Nic could feel the weight of its menace bearing down on him as it coiled, spined tendrils rising like snakes to strike in tandem.

Nic screamed at himself to run, to rise, to do something, anything but lie there but nothing happened. He couldn’t even find it in himself to cry out, paralyzed as he watched death bear down upon him. He would probably have been mad about that, had the fear not been so overwhelming. Nic could only screw his eyes shut and brace for the inevitable.

An inevitable that never came to pass. Instead, there came a second powerful crash of metal, followed soon by the sounds of the Beast roaring in pain. Confused, Nic opened his eyes and beheld the most wondrous sight he had ever seen.

A figure stood between him and the Beast, a familiar one in most respects as he had come to know that armored figure quite well in their short time together. Granted it was even bigger now, having grown to the scale of a small building since last he’d seen them. A towering mass of metal and plastic that shone brilliantly in the sun, heavy limbs like the trunks of ancient trees, torso thick with overlapping armor plates and a helm the size and colour of a cathedral bell.

Moving faster than seemed possible for such a giant, the Knight charged the Beast, closing the distance with two thunderous strides. The Beast hissed, dropping its head to meet the attack but too slow, caught wide open as the Knight drove an armoured fist into its head. A sickening crack rang out, Nic able to feel the force of blow on the air as the Beast flew back from the impact. Before it could recover, the Knight’s other hand shot out and grasped the creature’s neck, pinning it in place. A flurry of blows followed, each one like a hammer that cracked bone and pulverized flesh with their unrelenting force.

A furious display but the Beast refused to sit idle. It lashed out with its many tendrils, slicing and wrapping around the Knight like a living net. With a roar, the Beast spun, raking its ensnared prey across the nearby scrap, sending sparks and debris flying in all directions. Some landed near Nic, raining down like lethal hail, the young techne barely able to scramble out of the way in time.

When it ran out of mountain the Beast wheeled about, pushing the Knight to the ground and tightened its grip like a snake. The Knight resisted but could not break free, the screech of metal beginning to sound as their armor began to crack and collapse. Nic could only watch, helpless when it mattered most, as the Knight was killed by slow, agonizing inches.

Or so he believed until he noticed the surrounding scrap was moving. Like ripples on the surface of a pool, gathering towards where the Knight lay trapped. The Beast noticed too, hissing a warning even as its grip loosened, preparing to retreat from this strange new phenomenon. A critical mistake as it gave the Knight just enough leeway to free one arm, their hand shooting out to plunge into the heart of the shifting metal. From within it, the Knight pulled a sword. A massive weapon to match its wielder, the blade as long as the Knight was tall, formed of dark steel and gleaming with a keen razor edge.

The Knight swung at the Beast, slicing through two of its grasping tendrils in a single blow. The creature roared in pain, twin sprays of blood dousing the ground in sickly pale red. It tried to regain its grip, but the Knight was too quick, severing the remaining tendrils in short order.

Wounded, the Beast retreated several steps, head lashing from side to side as it roared in mingled pain and rage. The Knight rose but did not pursue, instead driving their off hand back into the shifting scrap. This time when it pulled back, the Knight held an enormous shield, the curved metal shaped perfectly to fit against their side.

The Beast hissed in reply, turning to square off against its most hated enemy. Though battered and bloody, it still presented a frightening image, its gaze no less venomous, its wide maw no less terrifying. It coiled low, giving one last roar before it leapt with all its terrible might.

The Knight met the attack like a brick wall, catching it head on with their shield. The Beast sunk in its claws, trying to wrench the barrier away but the Knight was too well entrenched. They stood like unmoving stone, the Beast exhausting itself as it searched in vain for an opening.

The Knight did not waste the chance, throwing the creature back in a single great heave, opening enough space to take a swing. The blade found its mark, sinking deep into the creature’s neck, blood flying from its mouth as it cried out in pain. The Knight kept the initiative, slamming the edge of its shield into its open maw. Teeth cracked and bone shattered, the impact sending the Beast staggering back even further.

The Knight did not relent, their sword a blur as it slashed again, severing first a paw, then an entire arm. An overwhelming wound that was still somehow not enough, the Beast roaring in a blind, single-minded rage.

In reply, the Knight struck one last time, a horizontal slice straight across the creature’s neck. Its roars were cut short in an instant, replaced by a low, gurgling choke as the head tumbled free from its shoulders. The rest of it followed soon after, collapsing in a cacophony of metal and bone.

Nic didn’t know what to do in the stillness that followed. He rose from his hiding spot, everything feeling strange and unreal. He would have wondered if he’d dreamed everything, were it not for the ample evidence left behind. The deep rents in the mountain, the steaming remains of the Beast lying where they had fallen. And, of course, the armoured giant standing over it all.

Nic looked up at the Knight, finding their eyeless gaze looking back at him. For a moment the two just watched one another, one inscrutable, the other thrown for a great many loops. It was only when the Knight raised its sword in salute that Nic managed to find some equilibrium, a small smile spreading across his face.

“Nicholas!”

Nic turned towards the voice to find Master Orlin cresting a nearby hill, hovering on a shimmering cloud. Zephyr and Elmcroft followed close at his heel, all three zeroing in on where Nic stood.

“Are you alright?” his master demanded. “What in Sharpe’s name is going on here?”

“That uh, that’s a very long story.” Nic said.

“It usually is,” Orlin said. “Speak.”

“Fair,” Nic said, raising a hand to gesture behind himself. “So, I met this-”

His words died as he turned to discover they were standing alone in the yard.

The Knight was gone.

*

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