War of the Fathers – Chapter Thirty

This week’s episode features Chapter Thirty of War of the Fathers. Click here to download it or press play below. Here is an excerpt from the show:

Jorad tried to ignore his pain as the rain pelted his bruised face but it wasn’t working very well. He stifled a grunt as he looked out from behind the overturned cart at the thirteen Hunwei that were congregated around the alley that led to the Arches. Two of the monsters were snarling at one another and had been for the last several minutes. If there had been one or two, Jorad would have taken his chances and used the blaster, but not with thirteen. As he studied the Hunwei, racking his brain for a plan, he wondered how Adar was doing. Had he gotten to the tablet before the invasion had started? Jorad wished Adar was here. He could have used a measure of his father’s confidence to handle the situation before him.

Unfortunately, from his vantage point, he was unable to tell if the arch was still open. If Xarda hadn't been able to close it in time. . . . He didn't dwell on the thought. She had most likely closed it, but not before the Hunwei saw something that made them want to investigate further. This was probably the reason that there was a group of them arguing. Perhaps one had seen Xarda and the others as the arch had closed and was having trouble convincing the other Hunwei about what had happened.

As he ran his hand through his hair, he grimaced when he realized he’d just smeared blood from his hair onto his hand. He tried wiping it on his pants, but his hand seemed more bloody afterward. That effect was hopefully caused by the pouring rain and not because his pants were soaked with blood. If it was the latter, it wasn’t his own blood on his pants. The look on Thon’s face as Jorad had stabbed the man came to mind and he was almost overcome with paralysis. Maybe Thon would survive; perhaps Jorad had missed the vital organs.