Ana couldn’t believe that Andrew was going to charge their position. She ordered her knights to remove their belts and make ready for Andrew’s attack. He was truly a fool to take them on. These were the best of all her knights; her elite guard. Ana let her belt drop as well and drew her own blades.
Andrew gave his battle cry and jumped up into the air. As he came back down, Andrew hit the first two with devastating kicks. Their heads snapped back with a sickening sound and they flew to the ground dead. Andrew landed and with his swords struck two more even before they could raise their own swords in defense. Andrew was in a fight to the death. The anger raging inside Andrew made him strong and unstoppable. The clashing of steel and the sounds of cracking bones echoed across the walls of Gothica. Two more knights charged into the melee. Andrew twirled about and drove his blades into their chests. Blood flowed and covered the grayish stone of Gothica. Andrew smashed and kicked his way amongst Ana’s elite. Finally, the last knight tumbled down and joined the rest of his fallen comrades. Andrew stood tall amongst the bloody and broken heap. He looked up in the sky just in time to see a barrage of steel tipped bolts fly towards the helicopter. Andrew recoiled when one of the bolts slammed into the rear rotor. It exploded, sending pieces of metal flying amongst streams of black smoke. Andrew saw the helicopter plunge towards the forest below.
Ana stood still. She was in shock. Andrew had defeated her knights; her very best! There Andrew stood victorious amongst the bloody heap he had created. Andrew Knight had to die!
Ana readied her pearl handled swords and charged at him. Andrew was distracted and it gave Ana the advantage. She was nearly upon Andrew and flew in the air and smashed into his back. Andrew sprawled to the ground. Ana brought both blades down but Andrew rolled over and blocked with his own. He jumped to his feet and swung at Ana, who blocked and twirled with a spin kick. Andrew blocked and drove his blades at Ana. She blocked with one and attacked with the other. Andrew met each with his own. Ana spun and hit Andrew with a powerful kick to the back. He fell forward, dropped, and rolled to his feet. Ana, with her blades ready to strike, rushed towards him. Andrew was ready. With one sword he slashed through the flesh of Ana’s leg and with the other, thrust it into her shoulder. Ana stumbled and let loose her swords which clattered to the stone ground. She rolled over to see Andrew towering above her.
“The Knights of VanHelsing will live on,” Ana was defiant. She closed her eyes and waited for Andrew to strike her down. Andrew rendered Ana unconscious instead with a blow to the head.
Hours later, after the battle with Ana and her knights, Andrew finally had the courage, and took Talia’s body into his arms. He looked up and searched the parapets. There was no sign of any knights. Andrew carried Talia inside the castle. He ascended the stairs to the third floor of Gothica and looked for a place to lay Talia’s body.
Andrew soon found an unoccupied bedroom chamber. He opened the door and stepped inside the room. There was a beautifully adorned canopy bed. Andrew walked over to the bed and laid Talia on her side. He swallowed hard and grasped hold of the first arrow. Andrew breathed deeply, emotionally for several seconds. His hand trembled, and Andrew closed his eyes as he removed the first arrow. For each arrow Andrew took out of Talia, the anguish and tears built to an emotional crescendo. And as the last arrow was withdrawn, Andrew slumped to the cold, harsh floor. He stared at the bloody object in his hand for a moment, and tossed it away. Andrew pulled himself up and pulled back the covers. He gingerly rolled Talia on her back. Andrew drew up the covers to her waist and folded Talia’s arms across her chest. It looked as if she were only sleeping.
Andrew tenderly kissed Talia’s lips. He would come back for Talia’s body and bring her home. Andrew knew that her knights would search for Kara and Wyatt. Andrew hoped he wasn’t too late.
The passageways of the Gothica were empty. Andrew walked alone, a shadow of his former self.
Chapter 15
Andrew drew into the clearing among the forest and was met with a strange and unexpected sight. It was a graveyard of rusted heaps of war birds from the past. And there among those deteriorating carcasses was the newest addition, the black helicopter. It was still relatively intact and rested on top of a cargo plane. He was amazed that somehow Kara had managed to land the helicopter.
Andrew scanned the snowy ground. There were several boot prints that came in from the north, the direction of Gothica castle. Andrew followed them until he was at the cargo plane. It was at the plane that Andrew saw two more sets of boot prints. He crouched down to examine them more closely. One set was not as deep as the other. That must be Kara’s. The others must be Wyatt’s, for they were deeper. Andrew deduced that Wyatt was injured by the way his left boot dragged as he walked. Also, Andrew saw a perfectly round hole next to the boot print. Wyatt had to use something to support his injured foot or leg.
Andrew rose and began to follow their tracks. When he was some distance from the cargo plane, Andrew saw that the knights picked up the trail and were following Wyatt and Kara. Andrew continued on until all but the knights’ tracks disappeared. He could see that the knights continued their search in the surrounding woods. Andrew stopped. He deduced that the knights’ thinking was only one dimensional. They would assume that Kara and Wyatt would continue on through the rough terrain in order to escape. So therefore, the knights’ would simply search for them until they finally would just give up. However, Andrew thought that if Wyatt was injured, there would be no way for him or Kara to do that. Kara and Wyatt would have to find some place to hide and wait out the knights. It would have to be some place close by. Andrew turned and ran back to the war bird graveyard.
Andrew stopped at the set of tracks by the cargo plane. This time he knelt down and examined the boot prints more closely. A slight smile spread across Andrew’s lips as he came to a realization. Both sets of prints were made by the same person. Andrew further deduced that first one set of booth prints were made up until they disappeared. Then Kara grabbed a stick and used it to support her as she walked backwards. That was why the other set was deeper and the stick mark was next to them. Andrew stood up and walked over to the side door of the cargo plane. The door was slightly open. Andrew leaned closer and peered through the crack. He saw a taught string rigged to the door. Andrew stepped aside and flung the door open. An arrow flew safely past him and buried itself in the snow. Andrew jumped inside the plane and tucked and rolled as another arrow zoomed overhead. Andrew sprung to his feet and blocked a kick meant for his face. He grabbed the person’s leg and pushed them down.
“Kara!” Andrew called out. The attack ended.
Kara jumped up and threw her arms around Andrew. She gave him a full, on mouth, fervent kiss. Andrew gently pushed her away.
“Sorry,” Kara apologized. “It’s just that I thought they had killed you, and with the crash and all, well, I just got carried away.”
“It’s okay,” Andrew reassured her. He came up to her and put his arms around her. Kara rested her head on Andrew’s chest. “I thought you were dead too. But we’re okay now.” Kara looked up at Andrew, “How did you know we were in here?”
“I followed your tracks,” Andrew answered.
“If you did, then…” Kara started to say.
“Don’t worry your rouse worked on the Knights,” Andrew reassured. “They believe that you two are somewhere in the forest.” Andrew glanced down at Kara, “By the way that was pretty ingenious of you to make both sets of tracks.” Andrew now looked around the interior of the cargo plane. There among the deteriorating wooden crates, was a sleeping area made up of old parachutes and canvas tarps. That’s where Andrew saw Wyatt, who hadn’t woken up during all the commotion.”
“What’s wrong with Wyatt?” Andrew asked.
“He was knocked cold,” Kara answered.
“Let’s sit down and then you can explain it all to me,” Andrew suggested. Kara gave him a squeeze and took hold of Andrew’s hand. She led them over to Wyatt. She and Andrew sat down on the cushioned floor.
“The last thing I saw was the helicopter out of control,” Andrew said. “How did you manage to gain control?”
“It was part of my training,” Kara explained. “We used a simulator to learn how bring a helicopter out of crash situations just like that.”
“What happened after you landed?” Andrew asked.
“During the landing, which was still quite rough, Wyatt was knocked out,” Kara answered. “Fortunately there
