The Warriors: The Beginning - The Warriors (best ebook reader for ubuntu .TXT) 📗

said, “Go on then!”
“Oh, ok.” He took off his lab coat and laid it on the chair. He stood for a moment and then spread his arms out, violently. In that one, swift movement, plates of bark armour emerged from his skin. The armour curled over his clothes and bark grew over his head and majestic branches grew from the top, making it look like a crown.
“Really?”
Georgia sighed. So Daniel was entirely clad in thick bark armour that looked like something from The Lord Of The Rings. He raised a hand and the bark began to move around his head, creating a helmet crowned with spiky, angry looking branches. “Ta-da!”
“Are you serious? I am not wearing a uniform!” cried a cold voice from behind them. Georgia turned and saw Verity, dressed in a tight, black suit like hers except it stopped shortly before the knees in a skirt fashion. Beneath this she wore skin-tight black leggings and black boots. In a thigh holster was a knife and around her body was her bow and her quiver.
“Morning, Quiva!” Nicki winked at her.
“Quivachi.” growled Verity.
“Whatever.”
“So, shall we be off?” asked Georgia. She made for the door, flicking her car key and hearing her blue mini unlock itself.
“We’re seriously not travelling in that?” snarled Verity.
“I call shotgun!” yelled Nicki and darted to the front door. “And the dog’s not coming!”
Bruno had followed her to the car- he’d taken a liking to Nicki and proceeded to annoy her by following her.
“That means we’ll be squished in the back! And I don’t want to get leaves in my hair!” moaned Verity.
“Tough tittys!”
Georgia hopped into the front and waited for Holly, Verity and Daniel to manage to fit in the back. Nicki lounged in the passenger seat, commenting on all the leg space while Verity, Holly and Daniel fought over seat belts and tried to sit in any position that didn’t cause branches to jab them in the back.
“To the battle field!” yelled Daniel, excitedly. “We need theme music!”
“Well, we’re having Metallica.” Nicki pushed a CD into the player and turned up the volume.
The journey to Trafalgar Square was long and gruelling; the only person who actually enjoyed it was Nicki, moshing to her heavy music.
As soon as the five left the car once Georgia had parked, they were bombarded with odd looks and raised eyebrows, but the fact that they were in London meant that people wouldn’t give them a second thought unless the happened to be in fancy dress themselves. Which made it alright. Kinda.
“Right, when’s she getting here?” Nicki asked.
Georgia paused. “Em, well, i didn’t really get a time...”
“So we’re just gonna wait here for god knows how long?”
“Well, I s’pose...”
“Wait, how do you know if it’s even today?” asked Nicki, bemused.
“I’m telepathic, i don’t decide what i get and what I don’t get!” Georgia snapped. “We just need to be ready.”
“I have a plan!” declared Daniel. “And it’s a darn good one too! I’ll grow a cage out of trees and we can use Nicki to lure her into the trap! Then, Verity can pelt her with arrows and Holly can electrocute her!” he smiled.
Nicki, Georgia, Verity and Holly all looked at him, utterly astounded.
“No.” Muttered Verity. “Here’s the plan. I’ll take position up there,” she pointed at Nelson’s Column. “ and Georgia will be below me. Holly, you’ll be bait, so you’ll stand sentry in the centre of the square while Daniel will be stationed behind you. Nicki, you’ll get me up there and while we wait, you will stand on that building in human form.”
“Wait, where should I turn. I ain’t turning into a dragon in front of everyone!”
“We’ll go down an alley way somewhere. But we’ll all be able to see when the Red Queen will get here because Holly will engage her in conversation.”
“Oh, what about my plan?” asked Daniel, sadly.
“We’ll put it aside for future battles.” smiled Verity. She turned swiftly and strode away, leaving Georgia to take her place beneath the column and Daniel to sit on a bench opposite. Holly stood in the centre of the square and Nicki followed Verity.
As Georgia sat on the floor, leaning against the cold stone of the column, she watched Holly, wondering what she was about to get herself into.

Verity strode into an alley way between two tall buildings. She turned behind the buildings, well out of sight of people. She was well aware of Nicki following her. She hoped that what Nicki had said was true. If not, she’d be getting an arrow in her head.
“Now, show me the dragon.” She said, bluntly.
Nicki paused. “It’s a bit narrow...”
Verity turned and strode down the alley way a bit, looking for some sort of courtyard or wider space, to no avail. “Well, there is nowhere, so make do.”
“Right.” Nicki stood for a moment and then her body jerked suddenly. There was the sound of bones breaking and then it was like a huge shadow burst from her body, the scales she wore changing, growing and shaping themselves. It happened so fast, Verity almost missed it! And she didn’t miss much. Huge wings scraped the buildings on either side, causing deep grooves in the brick walls. Nicki stood before her, a huge, magnificently scaled dragon with a crown of horns and a tail with razor sharp spikes on the end. She sat on her huge, muscular hind legs, her deadly claws digging into the ground and her wings folded at her sides, cramped by the buildings. Claws curled off the joint in her wings; the almost resembled fingers, and the thick leather of her wings were almost translucent, casting green shadows.
Nicki growled softly, smoke wafting from her nostrils. Verity stood, half amazed, half annoyed for being proven wrong.
“Right, now, get me on top of Nelson’s Colum.” She ordered. Nicki lowered her head and Verity stepped up to her long neck. She hopped onto Nicki’s back, between the neck joint and the spine, taking care to avoid the sharp plates that lined her spine. Verity held on as Nicki shifted her body so that she could spread her wings down the alley way. She kicked with her back legs and rose into the air, spreading out her wings to their full span and burst forwards from the breast of the buildings.
Once in their air over London, Nicki soared over the buildings and homed in on Nelson atop his column. She slowed slightly, obviously not going to stop, so Verity crouched on her back and leapt forwards, perfectly timing her jump so that she landed, roughly on Nelson. There, she watched Nicki fly away, a huge, dark shape in the blue sky that disappeared into the shadow of a rooftop. Verity looked down; she’d never been afraid of heights and she smiled as she saw people’s shocked expressions as the pondered the huge dark shape they’d just seen.
Verity crouched next to Nelson and took out her IPone and checked Face book; one of the rare novelties she’d had in China. A video of a strange UFO appearing over Trafalgar square had already got over 1000 hits on YouTube. She smiled and looked down to where Holly was stood with her arms crossed and a pair of white sunglasses on. Verity took her bow from over her shoulder and rested it on her knees, feeling the cold ebony.
It was soon midday and The Red Queen was still nowhere to be seen. Verity looked over to where the huge dragon was sat like a gargoyle, smoke rising from it’s nostrils. It saw Verity looking and let out a low growl that carried on the wind. Verity sighed and looked down to where Holly was now sat on the floor, sunbathing. Daniel was sat on a bench on the other side of the square, licking at an ice-cream. Verity craned her neck to look at the top of Georgia’s head. Georgia looked up, probably sensing Verity’s thoughts.
She’ll be here.
Georgia’s voice echoed in Verity’s head. Damn that woman and her telepathic idiocy. She hated the thought of someone intruding her mind and getting their grubby fingers on her thoughts.
She’s here!
Georgia’s voice was a yell in her head and Verity stared in the direction of Holly. The Red Queen was stood in front of her, her red hair glistening in the sun. Verity grabbed her bow from her lap and she stood, leaning against Nelson. She slid an arrow into the bow and aimed at The Red Queen’s neck. It was a perfect shot.
Verity let the arrow fly. A huge, dark figure exploded before her and blocked the arrow. It lodged itself in between the thing’s black scales. Blue goo oozed form the in-between the scales, it’s skeletal, black legs flailing. Verity stared at it as it hovered with it’s insect wings, and when it turned in her direction she stared in horror at it’s sunken eyes and it grotesque horns. The Beatle!
Me and Daniel have got Holly, you and Nicki get the Beatle!
Georgia’s voice yelled in her head and Verity drew another arrow from her Quiver and aimed at The Beatle’s eyes. Letting the arrow fly, Verity watched it wedge itself into the Beatle’s eyeball. The Beatle cried out in a high-pitched, inhuman howl and blue goo exploded form the injury. The Beatle swerved violently, knocking the Column with one of it’s many legs, knocking verity form her position and sending her plummeting to the ground...


Part 5: The Epic Conclusion

Nicki saw the tiny figure falling and was in the air in seconds, soaring towards it. She felt the tiny figure fall, softly onto her back and she soared away, giving Verity time to recover. She circled The Beatle, glancing at The Red Queen on the ground, facing Holly who was flanked by Daniel and Georgia.

“You have no idea what your actions could trigger. I could give one word and my minions would destroy the whole of London!” Lorna smiled at Holly, who was stood before her.
“You will never destroy this world!” replied Holly, raising her fists.
Georgia looked around at people running, screaming and yelling at the two, huge shapes that hovered above Trafalgar Square.
“I can and I will! If you give me what is rightfully mine, then I might spare it.” Lorna gave a coy glance at the dragon that circled The Beatle and then back at Holly.
“You will never have dragon DNA!” shouted Holly.
“Then give me father’s power.”
“You will never have that either!”
“Well then, watch London burn!” Lorna yelled and she turned to look up at the Beatle. The Beatle turned to Nelson’s column and spat at it. Blue goo covered the statue and immediately began to dissolve it. The Beatle spat at buildings that surrounded the square and smoke and ash rose from the carnage. An almighty roar came from the other side of the Square and Nicki came spiralling out of thin air, lashing out with her claws at the Beatle. As Nicki flew out of range, she started to circle the Beatle again to confuse it and spit flames in it’s remaining eye. Verity was now stood on Nicki’s back, pelting the Beatle with well-aimed arrows, lodging them between the Beatle’s scales and into the soft, fleshy parts of it’s under belly.
With the Beatle occupied, Lorna growled and she raised her hands. Around them, the cars parked on the edge of the now-empty Square rose into the air. She flexed her fingers and the cars fell to the