Myrna

by Vandam, Vivian

  Off in the far room, she could hear running water.

  ◆◆◆

  Alfred pulled the last piece of combat gear on Agatha’s body. Her eyes were closed again, and her head bowed forward. She didn’t even breath. Alfred snapped his fingers; Agatha lifted her head her eyes taking on a deep glowing blue. “Project Wolverine ready sir.”

  He stood in front of her and crossed his arms. Her eyes staying focused on him. “Wolverine, find Emmett, Yellow Cat and Ace. Exterminate them and come back with their heads. I don’t care how you do it. Just kill them your god demands it.”

  Agatha bowed her head in a nod, “Yes my lord, I’ll bring you, their heads.”

  ◆◆◆

  Myrna took the lead; she didn’t even bother with her gun. It would’ve been too noisy. Fayth stayed between her and Ace, she kept her eyes forward.

  The further they went into the library, the strong the smell of blood grew. Blood stained the walls, covering the floor and up to the ceiling. These weren’t monsters.

  They were regular humans.

  Humans that were caught in the crossfire between a mad man, and his goal.

  “What’s that smell?” Fayth asked, “It smells like pennies.”

  Emmett replied without thinking, “Its blood kid. We’re in a hall of death.”

  Fayth made a sound between surprise and disgust, Myrna kept going. The sound of running water was growing the closer they got to the end of the hallway. “We’re almost there.” Fayth spoke up, “I can hear it.”

  A deep rumbling sound came from underneath their feet. Myrna raised her hand to still them. The water fountain was right in front of her, the water stopped flowing as the bottom portion began to rise. Her eyes widened in surprise. “There’s no way Alfred would just willingly hand himself over.” Myrna whispered, “What the hell…?”

  The final ring of the water fountain opened; two long legs stepped from the sudden light. The only sound that Myrna heard, was the soft gasp from Emmett.

  ◆◆◆

  Alfred was watching everything happen from Agatha’s eyes. He had waited for this for so long. To see his perfect weapon be used. His archangel, strike down those who didn’t deserve to be in his new world. “Kill them good my hand of death. Bring me their heads.”

  The taller, rougher looking man pushed Myrna to the side and removed his mask. He could see the desperation on his eyes and hear it in his voice. “Aggie?! Aggie it’s me, Emmett. Are you alright? Talk to me! Say something!” The moment that man placed his hands on his angel, she reacted.

  He couldn’t see the man’s body be thrown. But he heard his bones breaking as he struck the fountain behind Agatha. The very sound of it made Alfred groan. He sat back in his leather swivel chair and rubbed the syringe he had in his hand.

  “Fayth! Run!” Myrna shouted off screen.

  Agatha’s eyes moved up from the crumbled body, and he watched as Myrnas eyes shift to that golden color that got her, her name. He rubbed his thumb over the perfect virus and leaned back. “Let the show begin.”

  ◆◆◆

  Emmett’s body flew to the large fountain behind Agatha. Her eyes glowed a deep neon blue. She had a similar suit on, almost like theirs. Agatha held a deep scowl on her face. She took slow steps to her, and she backed up. “Ace, go protect Fayth.”

  “No. I told you, I’m staying by your side.” He came forward and readied his gun. Agatha’s eyes moved from Myrna to him, she had a much deeper scowl on her face.

  Ace pulled the trigger twice, Agatha easily dodged it. His eyes widened in shock. “What the— “

  Agatha appeared in front of him, and Myrna reacted. She grabbed the other woman’s arm and forced her back, she pushed the other woman hard against the cement wall, causing it to shake. The longer Myrna stared into her eyes, the more of herself she saw in her. Agatha growled, grabbing Myrna’s mask, and pulled it from her face. Her sharp nails scratching Myrna’s face.

  “Agatha, I know you’re still in there. You came here to help the Scarlet Corp. You got caught and made into this monster.” Myrna tried to speak to her.

  But there was no recognition in her eyes, Agatha roared grabbing Myrna’s throat forcing her back. The sharp nails digging into the sides of her throat. Myrna grabbed the woman’s shoulders and used the leverage to lift herself up and kick her square in the chest.

  She rolled on her shoulder and came back up breathing hard, Ace started to shout, “Myrna!”

  Myrna didn’t allow herself to get distracted, Agatha swiped at her face, and she ducked underneath her arm. She pulled her knife from its sheath and brought it up at an arc catching the woman underneath her right arm.

  It cut through the under armor and struck the soft flesh, it wasn’t blood that she smelled, it was something else. something new…

  “What are you?” She snapped.

  Agatha didn’t say a single word. Instead, she dropped down and swiped her foot underneath Myrna, she almost knocked her down, but another shot rang out from behind them. The bullet struck Agatha in the shoulder, it staggered her nothing more. Her eyes turned to look over, “Don’t you dare--” Ace’s voice floated in the hall.

  Agatha stood upright, completely ignoring Myrna. She saw where the bullet had caught the woman. What surfaced wasn’t normal blood, but some sort of green liquid. Ace pulled the trigger again, Agatha taking each bullet as she strolled over to him.

  Myrna took off at a sprint, her vision hyper focused on the back of the woman. She reached out, about to swipe at her, “Ace run!” Myrna screamed, but it was too late.

  Agatha disappeared as she swiped at thin air. She was face to face with the end his gun, his finger quickly lifting from the trigger. It was sudden, but she saw the flash of black behind him—

  “Ace!” She bellowed.

  Everything was in slow motion; she watched the figure cloaked in shadows. He was too slow; the metal fingertip caught the light in the hallway just right for it to glimmer. Myrna could see Ace’s reflection and the sheer surprise in his eyes turn to horror.

  ◆◆◆

  Alfred couldn’t stop smiling, Agatha was quick, agile, and perfect. She attacked with swiftness and was able to take a good beating. He caressed the metal tube in his hand, and saw the blood splatter onto her face, obscuring his view in red.

  In that hue of red, he could hear Myrna scream in horror.

  ◆◆◆

  Blood.

  There was so much blood.

  Ace didn’t make a sound, but she saw the tips of the metal claws sticking out of his stomach. Her body went numb, her heart stalled, and she couldn’t breathe. Her stomach tightened and the world turned to black and white around her.

  Everything she had known, everything she had loved.

  Was bleeding out in front of her.

  Agatha retracted her claws, and she could hear the sucking sound. Ace dropped his weapon, as his hands went to his stomach, he backed up against the wall, his blood staining it black.

  Her eyes went to the woman in front of her.

  “D... Don’t kill her!” Emmett cried from above her.

  Myrna’s lips curled up and exposed her teeth, “You...fucking...CUNT!” She roared, the pain over coming everything else she had felt. Her lover, her world, her Ace laid against the wall gasping for breath. “FUCKING DIE!” She roared, taking off at a sprint.

  Myrna pounced; Agatha used her razor tipped fingers to dig deep into her sides. The pain was nothing compared to what she was feeling, she opened her mouth and dug her teeth deep into the woman’s throat, her windpipe breaking at the sheer pressure.

  The hot liquid rushed into her mouth, and she pulled, ripping Agatha’s throat out in one pull. She heard the whistling of her windpipe, as Agatha pulled her razors out of Myrna’s side and dug them deeper in her.

  Myrna lifted her fist and punched right into the woman’s chest, her fingers finding the beating of her heart. She grabbed it and pulled with all her might.

  Agatha spasmed twice
underneath her before she settled, letting out one last breath. “Aggie!” Emmett howled, “Aggie say something!”

  Myrna dropped the organ next to the dead woman, she pushed herself off her. “Myrna…” A hard cough. “Myrna…?”

  She got to her feet, ignoring the radiating pain through her body she went to Ace’s side. He was white as a sheet; she dropped to her knees and pressed her hands against his stomach. He groaned in pain, “Stay with me Ace. Stay with me.” She kept pushing her hands into the wound, but his blood stained her hands.

  He was bleeding too much.

  Myrna tried to keep calm, but she was already hyperventilating. “You’re going to be fine. I promise.” She forced herself to look at his face, she watched the color fade from his lips. Ace reached out to her, his bloodied fingertips touching her face. “I promised I would protect you.”

  Ace smiled, blood staining his white teeth. “And you did. You protected me, and Fayth.” He let out a light laugh. “You know you never answered my question, Minna.” Ace laid his head back against the wall, Myrna kept pressing on the wound, trying to keep the pressure up.

  “Ace--” She breathed, her throat growing tight. Ace touched her chin and forced her to look at him, his blue eyes losing light. He still had that boyish charm on his face, and he still held strength. “Ace you promised me.” Her voice dropped to a whisper.

  “I know.” He winced, “Fucker hurts.”

  The pool of blood was growing underneath him, and she did the only thing she could think of. She let go of the wound and grabbed the bag he had dropped. Unzipping it, she grabbed the filling foam. It was used for deep wounds, that was supposed to cauterize it upon contact. She shook it and uncapped it.

  Myrna pressed the end to the deep stomach wound and squeezed.

  A puff of white spread over it, Ace groaned as he grasped her arm. His grip was growing weak. He had a sickly complexion, and he was starting to sweat and breath rapidly.

  Even with the coagulant, he still bled through it. Myrna kept shaking her head, “No...no! Come on work!” She pressed the tip against the wound and hit the button again.

  Nothing else came out.

  “N...no!” They can fell out of her hand, as she returned her attention back to his face.

  Ace let out a soft chuckle, “So, this is how it ends eh?”

  Myrna’s bottom lip turned down and her chin trembled. “You can’t.” She breathed hard, “You can’t…”

  He softly rubbed her arm, “You knew this could happen, we both did.”

  Myrna swallowed, trying to keep the tears away. It was getting harder to breathe, blood trickled down the corner of Ace’s mouth. “I love you Ace, you can’t...you can’t…” A soft sob came from her lips. The urge to scream was too much.

  Ace softly rubbed her arm, “Myrna...you’re a strong woman. You can do this; I believe in you.”

  Her vision doubled, as she never broke eye contact with him. “I love you; I love you so much Ace.” She placed her hands on his chest, Myrna could feel his life slip from her hands. “You promised you’d take me to the mountains; we would drink wine and listen to smooth jazz.”

  “I’m sorry...I’ll see you later.”

  Myrna leaned forward, placing a soft kiss to his warm lips. She could feel his final breath leave as his chest didn’t move again.

  Chapter Eleven

  It was time.

  Alfred took the syringe and placed it to his neck.

  Myrna was coming.

  She wouldn’t let him leave alive.

  He should’ve known she was the perfect one. He had pushed her through her final stage. He killed the last thing to ever make her feel real. He watched the young girl run over to Myrna, and hand her a necklace. Emmett had finally joined Agatha and was caressing her hair.

  While he, sat in his laboratory his thumb on the plunger ready to take the final step into becoming what he had always wanted. Myrna went to the elevator and used the necklace. He could already hear the rumble of the descent. She would be there in minutes.

  “Then I’ll face my judgement.”

  ◆◆◆

  Her body trembled in anger; her heart full of grief. Ace’s blood still lingered on her lips. She had no time to mourn, all that was left was an empty whole in her chest where her heart once was. She had wanted to tell Ace she accepted his proposal. But she was just too scared.

  Tears still tumbled down her cheeks, as the elevator stopped. The bars opened and she was face to face with Alfred. He was standing before her, his white coat splattered with blood, a needle threatening to puncture his throat. “I see you finally made it.” Alfred’s voice was strangely calm, for someone who was about to die.

  Her hands kept shaking, as she stared at him. “You killed him…” Was the only thing that came from her lips.

  Alfred only smiled at her, “My dear, dear Yellow Cat. He knew what he was getting into. You’ve known since a very young age; people die around you. Have you ever wondered why?” He took a step to her, “Because you, are my perfect archangel. My perfect weapon. We can change the world. We can choose who we want for our new world.”

  Myrna couldn’t hold back the scream anymore; the sound was nothing but pure agony. “I HATE YOU!”

  Alfred smiled, “Good. You’ll hate me even more now.” He pushed down on the syringe; the green liquid shot through his neck. “No one said being a god was easy.”

  Myrna took off at a sprint, tackling Alfred to the cement ground. “You will not win!” She screamed in his face; her hands grabbed the sides of his head. “I’ve lost too much for you to win!”

  The muscles in his face started to contort, “If you kill me, you’ll be no better than me.”

  She leaned forward; she was inches away from his face. She could feel the infection running through his body, Myrna didn’t have much time before his body would be overtaken and the changes would start. “I will never be like you.” With a swift motion she twisted and pulled.

  His head popped off his shoulders, his mouth was still agape, and his eyes filled with surprise. She dropped it like it was trash, it bounced twice. Myrna fell back on her but and stared at the corpse of Alfred.

  It was so sudden.

  It was so easy.

  He didn’t even fight.

  He knew you were coming Myrna. He knew he fucked up when he killed Ace. She sat there on the floor, watching the blood pool around the decapitated head. It was the first time she had a moment to breathe, a moment to herself. Loneliness swept over her, and the true feeling of loss grabbed her heart and squeezed it.

  “Oh Ace…” She lowered her head, whimpering. “You promised you would never leave me…” She ran her hand through her hair and grabbed a handful, the agony welled up deep inside her chest. Myrna let out a long scream. She screamed so loud; it burnt her throat.

  Myrna rocked back and forth, her chest aching worse than the scars on her body. It was getting difficult for her to breathe. “No…” She screamed again, the very sound of it echoing through the concrete jungle.

  Get it together Myrna, get Fayth and Ace out of here. Then you can have a breakdown. She wiped at her face, trying to hide the tears of pain.

  The ground underneath her started to shake, the lights of the lab turned a deep red, making Alfreds blood appear black. A gentle male voice spoke through the speakers, “The self-destruct system has been activated. Please evacuate the city immediately. You have sixty minutes.”

  Myrna caught her breath as she got to her feet, something deep inside her gut told her to look Alfred over. When she approached his body, she reached into his lab coat. Her fingers touched something cold and metallic. She pulled it out, and in front of her was a floating embryo. Kicking and moving.

  She held it in her hand, running her fingers over it. Her heart was heavy, and her mind unable to move. She lifted her hand ready to smash it, but something stopped her. “No…” Myrna brought it back down, “No more death.”

  ◆◆◆

  She
rode the elevator back up; her body numb from everything that had happened. Her brain buzzing. When the elevator door opened, she saw that Emmett had Agatha in his arms, and Ace still laid against the wall. The urge to scream filled her chest, so did the need to cry.

  Fayth ran to her and wrapped her arms around Myrna’s waist hugging her tightly. “I’m so happy you’re okay! Did you find what you were looking for?” She kept rubbing her face against her stomach.

  “Yes, I did…” She looked over to Emmett. “Subject has been terminated.”

  There was deep pain in his eyes, “Good, grab Ace and let’s get the hell out of here. Our ride is waiting for us.”

  Myrna gently pulled the young girl away, “I have to carry Ace to our evac unit. Hold onto my suit and follow me. Alright?”

  The young girl made a face that was between sadness and surprise. Myrna was too tired to explain anything, she walked over to Ace’s body and easily put him on her back. He was heavy, but her strength was more than five men put together easily. Fayth reached out and held onto the side of her suit. “Are we going home Myrna?” She asked.

  “Yeah...yeah we are.”

  Epilogue

  Myrna sat next to the tombstone, playing with Ace's dog tags in her hand, her other hand laying on the limestone. She kept watching over the water. Her heart still breaking every day since he had…

  "Why did you do that?" She whispered to the sky. "Why did die? You made a promise that we would get out of this together, we would start fresh and adopt Lyle and Fayth together." Her vision fogged over, as fresh tears tumbled down her cheeks.

  She kept rubbing the lettering on Ace's grave. Silently crying, she leaned over laying against the hard stone. "I've missed you so much…life hasn't been the same since you left." She watched the sun dip, touching the water. "You never said goodbye to me, you said 'see you later'."