ODIN'S WAR

The Surprise Attack

“What are they doing!!?” Spurion shouted at his advisors standing around him in-the Archangel’s boardroom. “They’re attacking an auxiliary post? Lunacy!”

“It is no doubt a diversion”, said a well-dressed archangel.

“Of course it is, you mindless idiot!!′ Spurion bellowed at the man. Suddenly the desk intercom beeped. “The auxiliary post is emanating a high level of radiation,“-said an electronic voice. “It appears that the life support system has been contaminated.” Spurion switched the knob on the intercom. “Reroute the system! Shut off all connections to the auxiliary plant immediately!” A short moment later, the voice responded. “It cannot be done. Someone has used the emergency system, which is only connected to the northwest auxiliary plant. We have no means of rerouting our emergency system.” “How long before the radiation enters the complex?” Spurion was anxious. ’“Approximately two and a half minutes,” came the reply.

“Jensen!” shouted Spurion, “Give me the device to destroy him!”

“It will do no good,” said the Reverend Hollow calmly. “Jensen died a few hours ago.” Cheated of his demonic satisfaction, Spurion was momentarily confused.

“We must commence our attack from outside the complex,” said Hollow, still calm. “MUSIC must be in their positions by now. When we break with our troops we can crush them from behind.”

“Yes,” said Spurion, gathering himself. “There is still time.” He switched to a channel on his desk communicator.

“B squad!” he parked. “Yes sir” came the reply.

“Move in on the south side immediately.” Yes sir” came the reply again.

Spurion: switched the channel again. “A squad!” “Yes sir.” “Move in behind MUSIC’S forces entrenched outside the garage. When I give the order, advance with heavy stun.” “Yes sir.”

Spurion placed his palms flat on the table in front of him and leaned forward with a glaring and slightly wild look. “Well, gentleman and fellow Archangels,” he said, “Time for us to leave this very unpleasant party.”

He gave the order for all guards to exit with stuns ready, with all personnel to follow according to plan. Spurion, the eight Archangels and several guards made their way down a narrow corridor, toward the exit reserved only for their ‘holinesses’. But when they broke into the open, and started for the specially designed rocket car, the crack of rifles split the air, and two guards and an Archangel dropped to the ground. The small party hurried back inside. “How did they get by the stun screen?” said one of the Archangels. “They were firing over it, from the hills,” said the Reverend Hollow.

“How did they know about it?” said another. “I don’t know,” replied Hollow. The party moved through the halls at a strained walk to the front.

“A squad”, Spurion said into his communicator.” “Yes sir” came the reply. “Advance on MUSIC with full stun ray immediately. Take them by surprise, and allow no chance for a reprisal.” “Sir,” came a disconcerted voice in response, “Full stun is ninety percent lethal. . . ”

“I know it, you idiot:” bellowed Spurion. “Just do it! They have already murdered an Archangel” “Yes sir,” came the mild reply. “Out.”

When Spurion and the Archangels emerged from the main doors a minute later, there was a full scale attack in the garage and yard. Nestled in the dunes just above the garage, Grunchek and Frederickson were caught in the middle of a cross fire. Five of their men lay senseless just over the next dune, while they were pinned down. The crack of several rifles split the air at regular intervals, while the whirr, thump! of the stun fire responded accordingly. I.C.C.E:’s guards were easily spotted in their blue suits, especially since they were completely untrained in warfare. They were falling quicker than MUSIC’s men, leaving deep red stains in the soft white dunes as they rolled and writhed into the Williams amid the shout of men and the snap of rifles. MUSIC was nonetheless very hard pressed, and pinned down in their little pockets of cover.

When the Archangels, Guy Hollow and Spurion emerged from the complex, several of MUSIC’s men turned and opened fire on them, but the bullets did not penetrate the stun field. On the other side, the stuns did penetrate the field, and the guards fired without fear from the other side, and dropped a couple of MUSIC’s men unconscious to the ground.

“You bastards!” Fromo could stand it no longer, and screamed from his dune. Several stuns thumped into his area, and he ducked his head down. He was down only a second, however, and soon stuck his shaggy, hoary head up and waved his rifle over his head.

“Animals! Murderers! Butchers!” he screamed and ducked back behind his dune as several stun blasts shook the sand.

Most of the staff of the complex were already in the cars, and were waiting for the stun field to drop, so they could speed out to safety. They were all anxious, and some of the women shrieked as they climbed into their ears. Meanwhile Frederickson held onto his sound wave device, and watched the whole business with a near expressionless face, waiting for the moment to trap them all. He watched intently as Spurion and the archangels climbed into their cars. Hollow got into the same car with Spurion, the last one to emerge. “Push it,” said Gruncek.

Frederickson pressed the black button on the device.

“Wait!” said Gruncek, “Hollow is out!” It was too late. Hollow had left his car and walked to the control terminal just inside the garage, apparently to-shut off the stun screen.

“Too late”, said Frederickson, “they’re all trapped. They can’t move their cars, they can’t get out, and no one can get in.” At that moment, Hollow ran out and attempted to reenter the sonic car, but without success. He didn’t panic, though Spurion was screaming and pounding the glass in a torrent of frustrated fury. Hollow started to back away from the car when a shot cracked and the impact of a bullet whipped his body around as he fell to the ground. Fromo let out a victory cry and dashed down from his dune, brandishing his rifle. He ran to Hollow, who was just getting too his feet, and grabbed him by the shoulders.

“My friend, you are dead,” said Hollow in a calm and even tone despite pain that showed in his deep blue eyes as he stared into Fromo’s mad and wild face.

“No, not me!” said Fromo in response, “But you!”

“Yes,” said Guy Hollow, “I am dead too.”

At that moment, screams came from near the dunes. Some of MUSIC had tried to follow Fromo, but flashes of fire and smoke flared up when they got near the garage, and their burnt bodies crumpled to the ground. Fromo dropped Hollow, who sprawled on his back, blood coming from his chest.

“What!!” he screamed “What’s going on??”

“They are dead before you,” breathed Hollow, now coming into great pain. “I dropped the stun field, and activated the death field. You can pass out, but not in”. “But what about me?” asked Fromo urgently.

“You …… were lucky,” Hollow pulled himself up to lean on one elbow. “The death field takes …… thirty seconds to activate. You got in too quickly.”

Fromo’s eyes grew, and he looked rabidly about him. A large group of guards with stuns were moving in on the small party in the dunes from each side, as stun, blasts were still coming in on the backside of Gruncek and Frederickson. The remaining members of MUSIC were now grouped in the center around their two leaders and were answering the blasts with rifle fire in three directions. Meanwhile, the entire complex was frozen---dozens of sonic cars were parked, packed with people, but unable to move. Suddenly, a voice came from Hollow’s breast pocket.

“Hollow! Hollow! This is Spurion answer me...” Hollow reached to his pocket, pulled out his communicator, and switched a button. He did not answer Spurion but regained some strength to speak in his most noble tone. “Everyone, who can hear! This is Solomon Hollow, Your Preacher, and the voice of the Archangels as you have heard me in the past. I know all of you can hear me on this signal, even though you are trapped in your cars.”

He paused a brief moment. “You will all be freed soon. I will be dead, Spurion, chief of the Archangels, will be in charge of our world. I have a few last words---I will die soon.”

“As it is the Will of God, you will all be saved,” he continued, “The rebels will not survive. It is a horrible tragedy that death has struck again, and so many times. It is my message to you that it must stop at all costs.

There can be no murder, and in the name of God and all our forefathers who were hideously burned in the Blast, you must never let it happen again.

All that I have said to you before must be. God will not let his religion die with His first prophet---another will surely take my place. This day is a reminder of what will happen to you all if you revert to the barbarity of the Untaught Man.” Hollow paused for a deep breath.

“Lunacy!” shouted Fromo, standing close over Hollow, his wild, white hair flowing in the gentle breeze, his eyes glittering with a rage of madness that all but ran away with him. He pointed a withered, bony finger at Hollow. “You! You have betrayed the world! It is because of you!

Hell! You are but Spurion’s chief devil! There is no death in your world and no life either! Soon there will be no peaceful deaths, only a slow and miserable one! “I”, Fromo beat his chest with his fist, “I am my father’s son. My father was burned alive in the Blast---But my father was a friend to God. My father loved God, and my father loved me! No one loves you, Hollow, and no one will mourn in your absence. No one really loves in your world.” “You” shouted Hollow, his anger aroused at last, “are a madman!” he slightly lowered his voice, though he still spoke with a fury in his slowly draining veins. “You had some abnormal fixation with your father, and now it has driven you mad. You will not infest our race of heavenly men! You will die a madman!”

“No!” shouted Fromo, “I died in the blast!” You were dead before the blast! All of you in your cars, if you can hear me! You are too weak! Where there was chastity, now there is depravity. Love died with the coming I.C.C.E., honor died, and all of you died with it. We are no longer men, but beasts that feed on the corpse of our former lives, like the cockroach and the carrion beetles!

“No,” said Hollow, “You are sick with the disease of an Umm. You talk of love, while you hold a rifle! If we allow men to destroy each other in barbarism, where will God’s children be then? Is it the Will of God for His children to savagely destroy each other? Does a Father do this to his child? No, it will not happen, as God is my Judge. The Umms will die forever, and the men of heaven will live on.”

“You have already destroyed them, Hollow. They are not men, nor do they live. There is no life without principle, without love, without death.”

“Let them judge themselves,” said Hollow. “They have just lost many friends and relatives, and they have suffered horribly because of men like you. They will be heavenly men, because they are different, they have changed.” “Yes,” said Fromo, “Because their friends and family have died, so they died with them. Because they lost something, they will deny it to all others. The pain of losing is greater than the joy of having, because you have poisoned their minds.”

“They are happy,” said Hollow, “And I am finished.” Hollow coughed and fell flat on his back. “My God!” he gasped, “My God! You children shall not forsake you! They will love you! Love! I have taught them! They will not forget! My God, my ---God!” his eyes rolled up into his head, his jaw dropped open and his head flopped sideways, as gurgling sounds came from his throat.

“Damn!” shrieked Fromo, “Damn!” He reached, grabbed the communicator from Hollow’s pocket, and threw it into the death field, but it passed through and was buried into the sand. Jae pointed his rifle at Spurion’s car and shrieked, “Devil! You damned, dirty Devil!” as gun cracked, and the bullet ricocheted loudly off the car.

Meanwhile, Gruncek, Frederickson, and Swilley were the only three left on the dune, and the Whirr, Thump! of the stun fire was landing all around them.′ “What now?” asked Swilley, a. tall handsome black man.

“We fight” said Gruncek, firing his rifle over the dune.

“They won’t be getting out of those cars for a while, anyway, ” said Frederickson, as he stood up and threw the frequency coordinator against the death field, yielding a shower of sparks and smoke. At that moment, a stun blast caught him squarely in the back, and he was flattened by it. Gruncek and Swilley stared as his body twitched and jumped in a macabre dance. The stun had penetrated the spinal cord.

“Damn” said Gruncek.

Swilley shouted, “Get em, Fromo! Nail that bastard!” Fromo was now smashing his empty rifle on Spurion’s motionless sonic car, screaming insanely all the while. Suddenly, a group of five or six blue suited men leapt from behind Gruncek, who turned just time to fire full in the face of the first man, Knocking his feet out from under him as his body whipped backward. Swilley was struck by a stun, and fell senseless to the ground. The rest of the men fell upon Gruncek, and wrestled him to the ground punching and kicking, until he too was senseless on the blood stained sand.