by L. Fergus
I don’t understand, but maybe if I help, it will help me to understand. Grab her body. There is a medical scanner in the control room on the top floor. More of those tanks are awakening, even if their contents are not ready. I suggest you let the others know so they can guard us.
Thank you.
Kita picked up Snowy’s body and jumped to the control room. She leaped up the ladder well to the top floor. Kita found the circular medical scanner platform and placed Snowy’s body on it. She kissed Snowy’s bloody lips. The workstation computer connected to the medical scanner was locked. Kita shoved her finger into the biometric scanner and forced it open.
This will take time. The facility is infected with a virus. I’m going to firewall us so it cannot download to you. You’re going to have to go offline while I do this.
OK.
Kita drifted off, as if going to sleep, but her body remained standing. Weird sights and images came to her like dreams. She could see and feel the intense battle raging in the computer as Omega fought for control against the virus. Zidin, Cowboy, and Bart entered and left. An explosion of color spectrum swept across her mind. Her mind was racing faster than light. In the distance, she saw a blue orb hanging against a black starry canvas, a silver disk peeking out from behind it. She heard a voice calling her to come home. With a sudden mental snap, she awoke.
That proved more difficult than I calculated. Her genetic modifications are well done. It was almost impossible to tell where her human genes stopped and her snow leopard genes began. I almost lost her a few times, but I did as you said. I kept trying, and I succeeded. There was one problem.
What was that?
Because her genetic map is unique, I relied on a human map and an ancient snow leopard map to tell the computer how to make repairs. I believe there is a ninety-nine point nine, nine, nine, nine percent chance that everything will be fine.
That sounds like a good chance.
Kita looked at Snowy’s body and smiled.
Damn, something did slip in on that chance.
What!
Her markings won’t be the same as before. I’ll know more when she’s scanned.
I think she’ll get over it if that’s all that’s changed.
I did make a few body modifications.
I don’t know if she’ll like that idea.
Nothing that will affect how she looks or feels. There weren’t any nanites on this computer, and this facility doesn’t have the necessary materials to give her many of the ones you have. But I was able to make do.
Her claws are now metal. They’re sharper and longer. I tweaked her genetic code in her muscles and tendons. She’ll be stronger and faster. Her tooth structure has been upgraded to make them stronger. Combined with the muscle enhancements, you might want to be careful what you stick in her mouth. I made a modification that will help regulate her body temperature better. Even with all that fur, she won’t overheat in a hot and humid climate.
I don’t think she’ll mind any of them.
There are no nanites at this location, which is strange.
You think someone claimed them?
It’s possible. Someone else is here. They are one floor beneath us. I also discovered one other thing on the computer that you might find interesting.
What’s that?
The controls to the floodgates that held the water back while this region was under construction. If we open them, it will flood this area and get rid of the army waiting outside.
That sounds better than having to fight them. If we flood the area, how do we get back?
A series of catwalks and underwater tunnels connect the spires. It was designed so visitors could see the reefs without getting wet.
OK, let’s do it.
The workstation flashed different screens as Omega went through the procedures to open the floodgates.
It’s finished. Millions of gallons of seawater are pouring in as we speak. The catwalks have been extended, and the underwater tunnels have been raised.
Excellent. How long until Snowy’s finished?
It’s going to take a while. Why?
We’re going hunting. I want whoever did this to her.
I’m positive the dinosaur was killed.
I want the person in charge of releasing that dinosaur.
I understand. Retribution is sweet, as they say.
Not retribution, punishment.
Kita flipped her hood up, wrapped her cloak around herself, and turned her skin invisible. She knelt next to Snowy and whispered, “I’ll be back, love.” At the door, Bart bounced off her as he came rushing through the door.
“Why in the stars did you leave us to fend off all those insane monsters? And where are you going?” Bart said in a huff.
Kita lifted her hood.
Bart recoiled and bounced off Zidin. “What the blazing stars happened to you and your eyes?”
My eyes?
I understand theatrics is important in your chosen profession. I took the liberty of modifying your eyes so they glow red. I turned them on. You can turn them off and on as you like.
Nice.
Kita grabbed Bart with her invisible hand and held him above her. Her voice came out a hollow rasp. “I’m going hunting. You are to guard her.” Kita turned him so he could see Snowy. “If anything happens to her, I will hold you responsible.” She dropped him in a heap.
“You can't go back there without us,” said Cowboy.
Zidin nodded his agreement.
“What I hunt is not your concern, the Legion’s, or the Arconians’. This is mine. The retribution is mine to impose. Now step aside or it’ll be you I come for next.”
Kita’s glowing eyes met Cowboy’s. Did I just see a flame in his eyes? Slowly, he stepped aside. Zidin refused to move. Kita looked up at him, and her eyes met his.
“Your objection is noted,” she hissed. She grabbed Zidin and flipped him over her. Kita went to the ladder well and jumped down.
Deep inside the facility, Kita stepped into the overseer’s room. It was large and empty, except for a table of papers and a panel. A figure in black armor with a sword and shield on its back stood at the table. The figure turned when the door opened.
A skeleton—or someone who wants to appear that way. The armor floats above the bones; something must be between them. I bet on flesh.
“Who are you?” the skeleton said in a high-pitched, rattling voice. “You don’t look like anyone from the group that broke in here."
Kita didn’t answer.
“What do you want? I’m busy.”
Kita still didn’t answer.
“Listen, if you’re here for the report, you’ll have it. I’ve been trying to make up for a setback caused by that fool, Gilles.”
Kita remained silent.
“Dammit, say something,” the skeleton demanded as his jaw rolled. “What in the blazing suns are you supposed to be anyway?”
Kita pulled back her hood.
“Not very impressive. Complete camouflage nanites are a dime a dozen. Did they run out of the good ones? The eyes are a nice touch, though.”
Kita drew Dawn and Dusk.
“So that’s your game. The Master sent you to replace me? Never. Go back and tell him I’ve done nothing wrong—it was that fool, Gilles. He’s the one who kidnapped the Cat Queen. I told him it was a bad idea, but he thought he could control those damn cats. I knew they’d turn on him. I’ve already started replacing the lost army. I have two thousand units ready. I just need another commander. Tell The Master to send me another. Even with Gilles’s failure, we’re still on schedule. The other armies are preparing to move into the tubes to finish destroying the Legion. The mercenaries will attack from the far side.”
Kita shook her head and pointed at him with Dawn.
“Fine. Your death, my pathetic friend.”
The skeleton strapped on his shield, drew his sword, and charged. Kita sidestepped and spun, her cloak twirling behind her. She thrust Dawn into th
e skeleton’s back. Continuing her spin, she sliced off his shield arm. She ducked under his sword, withdrew Dawn, and kicked him in the back, sending him to the ground.
The skeleton staggered to his feet. He chattered in laugher. “A worthy challenger at last. Those pathetic legionnaires and soldiers didn't even know how to fight. You, I will kill slowly and savor your death. I will mount your swords on my wall.”
Kita swung at the skeleton with a punishing fury and drove him into the wall. The skeleton pushed off and charged. She dodged with a graceful handspring striking him as he went by.
The skeleton was breathing hard, and his severed arm oozed blood.
I’ve had enough of this fool. Kita performed a tumbling run and vaulted over his head in a full layout. As she passed over him, she grabbed his boney head and twisted. The visible spine twisted and broke, and the skeleton collapsed.
Kita looked down at him.
“Don’t stand there staring, you idiot. Kill me. If you don’t kill me, I will come looking for you.”
Kita knelt next to the skeleton’s head. “You’re already dead.”
“Ah, I don’t know about you, but I can regenerate. Even a broken spine.”
“Broken spines take time to regenerate.”
“Yeah, even so, you won’t be able to get far enough away.”
“Do you think you can regenerate it in twenty-four hours?”
“What does that matter? I’ll chase you to the end of The Mass if I have to.”
“In twenty-four hours, you will be dead. The venom flowing through your veins will dissolve the flesh from your bones. Then you will be what you pretend to be.”
“You’re bluffing! I never felt anything, and you never had anything.”
Kita moved her hand in front of his face. Her barb became visible and dropped a droplet of acid on his armor. It sizzled with a small tendril of smoke.
“What are you? You’re not human.” The skeleton’s annoying voice shrank to a scared male’s voice.
“I am the hunter of the wicked. I am the cursed evil that walks in the light. I am the deliverer of punishment for those who harm the innocent. I am a fallen angel. I am your destiny. Nothing can save you now. You will die.”
Kita stood up and walked toward the door.
“Wait! Just kill me! Don’t leave me here like this. Have mercy. Please!”
Kita turned. “You expect mercy from me? Did you offer mercy to the legionnaires you killed or to the King of Yorq’s troops as they broke and fled?”
The skeleton didn’t answer.
“Then you have your answer.”
A shot rang out leaving a small bloody hole in the middle of the skeleton’s forehead. Kita spun around.
Cowboy stood with his revolver drawn. “What makes us better than them is we believe in mercy.”
In a flash, Kita grabbed Cowboy by the throat and slammed him against the wall. He dangled inches off the floor.
“I am no better than they are. They’ll suffer the same fate as their victims. If you ever interrupt me again, you will join them. Last warning.” Kita flung Cowboy across the room.
Zidin, Bart, and Snowy waited by the room’s exit. As Kita approached, no one tried to stop her. Snowy ducked behind Zidin.
Kita dropped down the ladder well to the third level, crossed the control room to the broken catwalk, and jumped over the dead t-rex to the bay doors, hitting the open button. In the threshold of the door, she stood silhouetted against the lights of the station as her red eyes burned like tiny suns. Four hundred ravagers turned to look at her.
“Hello, boys,” Kita whispered as the red berserker’s halo closed around her eyes.
Snowy and the others found a field of bleeding and broken ravager bodies. Their sounds gave the disturbing scene a haunting soundtrack that brought grim silence to everyone.
“Did we get reinforcements?” said Bart sounding hopeful.
Zidin shook his head. “No. This is all her.”
“That’s impossible.”
“I wouldn’t have believed it if I wasn’t standing in the middle of it. I’ve seen the aftermath of hundreds of battlefields. I have never seen one where there is no dead, just dying. She wants them to suffer. Spread out and find her, but do not approach her. Come find me instead.”
Everyone spread out to look, but no one found her.
“Where the blazes did she go?” demanded Bart when they regrouped.
“You don’t suppose she climbed up the side of a spire?” said Cowboy.
“Maybe,” said Zidin. “Normally, she finds the closest safe dark corner and cries. Did anyone hear anything like that?”
The others shook their heads.
“Looking for me?” Kita’s voice was ice-cold. “Cowboy, you and I need to go, now. The rest of you are free to go.”
“Go? Go where? What’s going on?” said Snowy.
“I don’t care. Have a nice life.” Kita motioned to Cowboy. “My legion is under attack by the ravager armies as well as human forces. If we push hard, we can make it in less than two days. I have to save as many as I can.”
“I can get there faster if I go alone.”
Kita looked at him, annoyed. “How do you plan on doing that?”
Cowboy whistled, and a thunderclap caused everyone to turn. Out of the darkness galloped a midnight black horse with fiery mane and tail and glowing red steel hooves. Fire burned from his eyes, and flames blew out of its nostrils.
The group turned to find Cowboy in flame. His mask was gone and only his skull was visible. Like the horse, flames burned in his eyes and escaped when he opened his mouth. His hat, coat, boots, and gloves burned in an unnatural flame that didn’t consume them. He reached into a pocket and gave something to the horse. “Even nightmares like sugar.” His voice had changed to a dark and eerie baritone.
“What the suns are you? Are none of you people normal?” Bart screamed as he backed away, tripped over his robe, and fell.
“I am The Rider, a cursed cowboy spirit. This is my penitence for my former life. I hope that God will spare me the likes of her,” he pointed at Kita, “and that he may spare me the punishment of forever riding the Devil’s range and instead turn me out to the pasture of purgatory.”
“Gerald, why?” said Snowy.
“You warned us, and we didn’t realize until it was over that what we had done was wrong. Darla, the night you left me, I realized the best thing in my life was gone, and I’ve led a wicked and evil life. I have spent the last thousand years trying to make up for what I’ve done.”
Snowy took his hands. “You were not alone. I was there the whole time. I am just as at fault as you are.”
“Touching, but that doesn’t explain a whole lot,” Bart interjected.
“Gerald and I, as well as many others, are responsible for much of how the world looks today. We’re responsible for the destruction of civilization. We thought we were superior, only to find we are inferior.
“It’s because of this, I transformed myself into a war cat and exiled myself to the mountains. I knew there I could forget what I had done and live among creatures who would not judge me. Many of the others killed themselves or moved out into The Mass to rebuild what we destroyed. You are their descendants.
“There are a number like us, living to forget or to make up for what we’ve done. There are a few who think we did nothing wrong.”
Cowboy mounted his horse. “I will warn the Legion and meet you back in the village at the base of Razor’s Pass. If I’m not there, I will find you.”
Kita scowled and nodded.
Cowboy’s horse reared and took off at a gallop. Steaming tracks in the wet sand followed him as he rode away into the night.
“How can anyone believe he’s whatever that was?” said Bart.
Snowy sighed. “He’s Catholic.”
“So, now what?”
Kita roared in frustration. She sprinted to the side of the spire and leaped up the side, bounding tens of feet at a time.
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Kita mumbled to herself over how to fix a broken catwalk when Snowy, Zidin, and Bart caught up. “What do you want?”
“We’re here to help,” said Zidin.
“Unless you have a screwdriver and a two thousand-ohm resister, you’re not much help to me.” Kita banged her fist on the rock housing the control unit.
“Can I look?” said Snowy.
“Fine.” Kita stormed off to dangle her feet over the side of the spire. The water filling the Unfinished Wastes was ninety feet away, lapping gently against the rock.
There was a loud electrical pop and the catwalk extended over the water. Kita got up and headed for the catwalk, but Zidin and Snowy blocked her path.
“Get out of my way,” Kita growled.
“No,” said Snowy.
“Move or I’ll cut my way through.” Kita drew Dusk.
Snowy extended her claws and bared her fangs.
“Listen, pussy cat, I don’t have time for this. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you make me.”
Snowy hissed and spat. Kita flicked at her with Dusk. Snowy caught the blade in her claws and yanked it from Kita’s grasp. Surprised, Kita drew Dawn. Zidin stepped forward with Great White drawn.
“I forgot kitty has new toys,” Kita said with contempt.
The three faced off, no one refusing to back down. The ground under Kita encased her. She struggled and swore, but Bart refused to let go.
“I hope you understand this is business and doesn’t interfere with our personal relationship.”
“Let me go, you rockhead,” Kita snarled.
“Not until you tell us what’s going on with you,” Snowy demanded.
“None of your damn business. Let me go.”
“It’s our business when our leader suddenly stops caring about those she leads and doesn’t explain why,” said Zidin in a calm voice.
Kita struck the rock with her fist, but it molded to her.
“You’re not going anywhere until you explain yourself. Consider yourself under arrest.”