by Greg Prado
As she rose above the crater carefully, her smile morphed into an expression of disbelief. A single red optical sensor looked back at her from the completely immobilized peacekeeper. The camera wildly flitted about, looking for a way to snatch back victory from the jaws of defeat. It’s entire right side was lit by a bright column of fire that spewed outward.
“I have to hand it to you,” she grunted as she struggled to lift the gun a final time and rested it atop a mound of debris and dirt. “You’re a tough motherfucker.”
She pressed down the firing buttons as dust was cast out in a wide cloud. The fiery rounds ignited the grass and a stream of fifty-caliber shot poured into the unprotected peacekeeper. It sparked and groaned as the metal began to collapse under its own weight.
She maintained fire for over ten seconds until the topside of the chassis finally crashed down onto the lower half and snapped the red eye that had been staring her down. As the metal cascaded to its end, a second white column swallowed the remainder of the peacekeeper’s only undamaged face.
Mieke began to laugh hysterically as she fell down on top of the red-hot mounted gun. She moved her hand off the barrel as it began to sizzle with her bubbling blood.
Mieke had done it. She’d killed the unkillable, with a sizable helping of luck, by herself. Thirteen had been eliminated by her skill. Mieke was thought dead by everyone who loved her.
She was free.
Mieke’s guffaws began to fizzle out as she turned onto her back, abandoning the expended gun in the dirt. She lifted her leg and looked down on the shredded hunk of meat. Entirely unshackled from any remaining duty, she shook her head at the absurdity of the situation. She had no transport and would hardly be able to walk for quite some time.
She clapped her hands to the cold clay as she rolled back over to examine the flaming metal fireball before her. She smiled a final time before burying her face in the wildflowers.
“Shit.”
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About the Author
After writing for almost a decade, Greg Prado is extremely pleased to offer his stories to the public. He enjoys writing anything related to Sci-fi, the future, and especially mystery. Greg lives in Apopka, Florida with his wife, daughter, and two mischievous cats. He’s a bit of a space junkie and is unafraid to discuss it with anyone willing to listen!
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Also by Greg Prado
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Entrapment
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A mind-bending thriller in the tradition of J. D. Robb, with throat-clutching suspense that drags you in and won’t let go. Entrapment is a brilliant twisting roller-coaster that is at once sickeningly frightening and starkly human.
Someone—or something—is hunting invited guests at the Arbor Manor.
The exclusive manor under a Martian ice cap, brainchild of reclusive genius and billionaire Alexis Fox, is supposed to be a haven of old-fashioned luxury, an escape from the high-tech modern lifestyle. But instead of rest and relaxation, these visitors find terror as the beautiful house turns into a mansion of murder and monstrosity.
One by one, a cunning evil forces the guests to run, hide, and fight for their lives against a menacing unknown killer, even while they struggle to conceal secrets of their own. In order to survive, they must unearth the truth and turn the game on the murderer before it’s too late. Can this shrinking band of survivors fight a killer who seems to be invincible?