Omega Squad

by Kurtis Eckstein

  I continued to reach out even further, beginning to pick up animals along the way in every direction. It was the same with them too. The animals were such a low threat, that once I had moved past them far enough, they just vanished from my perception, even though Trinity stayed sharp in my mind.

  Unexpectedly, I sensed a threat that was much further away than I had sensed thus far, except it wasn’t directed at me. Abruptly, I bolted straight up and jabbed my finger over Trinity’s head. “Ava!” I shouted, forgetting to use her codename, and not even trying to be quiet. But it was too late, I urgently jumped around Trinity, turning towards her to act as a shield.

  Just before I was fully in position, crouching down to be at the same level as her, two metal rods pierced straight through my chest and head. I felt the first one stab my heart, sliding right through the bulletproof vest in the back and front like it was nothing. The second rod stabbed me in the back of the head, sliding through my eye socket. I had instinctively shot my hand out over Trinity’s face, and the sharp point had finally come to a halt buried deep in my wrist just over her red eye.

  The other red eye widened in shock at is registered my suddenly impaled face. Her hands shot up to the sides of my head, like she was trying to prevent me from falling over. Her grip was ironclad as she held me in place, her fingers curling behind my neck, her thumbs on my jawline.

  Ava had disappeared as soon as it happened, rapidly traveling underground to the source of the threat. I could feel her even though I was facing away. Zane had disappeared too, growling viciously as he took off on all fours. It only occurred to me a few moments later, after I had noticed all this, that it was weird I hadn’t lost consciousness. After all, I had metal rods impaling my two most vital organs. How was a I still thinking with a piece of metal in my brain? These weren’t arrows. Instead, they were like giant rebar-wire stakes with sharp points.

  “Jake,” Trinity whispered, fear in her voice. “Jake, are you alive?”

  I realized my good eye was unfocused. I looked at her now as I tried to respond, coughing instead.

  “Jake,” she said urgently again. “What can I do to help?”

  I honestly wasn’t sure myself. I wasn’t in any pain, but I was extremely uncomfortable. I tried to talk again, barely managing a few words since one of my lungs had collapsed. “Pull…out…”

  She nodded immediately, yelling at one of the men. “Hey! Get these out of him!”

  The soldier hesitated, unsure since they were still on high alert, before quickly running over and grabbing the rod impaling my ribcage. I felt his boot press into my back as he tugged, although I knew I wasn’t going anywhere from Trinity’s grip alone. I glance down and saw that the one going through my heart was right over her heart, barely piercing the bulletproof vest covering her chest.

  The guy really struggled with it, but before long he had yanked it out and started working on the one sticking through my skull. By the time he got the second one out, the hole in my chest was already gone, but it left me feeling cold. I had to admit that my eyeball reforming and giving me sight again was the most surreal sensation I had ever experienced in my life.

  Now, as I looked into Trinity’s intense crimson gaze, her hands still holding my face firmly in position, I waited patiently for her to say something. Her eyes seemed to glow just slightly in the dim twilight.

  “Did you know you wouldn’t die?” She whispered after a long minute.

  “Of course not,” I replied in a low voice. “Trust me, no one is more surprised than I am. I barely know anything about myself.”

  She seemed to consider that for a moment, before abruptly letting me go and leaning away. I was confused by her reaction, but then realized that Ava and Zane were back. “I got him,” Ava whispered holding her hand up to her chest. “Luckily, you can’t impale a shadow.” She then glanced at me, seeing that I was kneeling next to Trinity instead of lying dead on the ground. “You’re alive?!” She exclaimed in a low voice.

  I nodded. “Seems that way.”

  “Damn,” Zane exclaimed. He looked over at Zayden, who held his gaze for a moment and then looked away. I had no idea what nonverbal communication had just occurred between them. Maybe they had taken bets at how long I would last, and Zane won. He didn’t seem like he had necessarily won a bet though. He seemed more relieved, like he had just realized they might make it through this alive after all.

  “We need to move,” Trinity suddenly announced.

  Reynolds, the leader of the other team, agreed and spoke in a gruff voice. “Right. Shadow, any signs that our mission has been compromised?”

  Ava quickly shook her head. “He didn’t have any communication devices on him, which was weird. However, that doesn’t mean they haven’t been alerted. There are other ways to communicate after all.”

  “What do you want to do?” Reynolds asked, looking at Trinity.

  “We won’t get a chance like this again,” she replied. “If Weaver finds out he’s being targeted, he’ll disappear and won’t let his guard down for a very long time, possibly never.”

  The guy nodded in agreement. “Right, then we proceed. Alpha, you do the reconnaissance. Shadow and Succubus, you focus on stealth kills. We need to try to neutralize as many of our targets as possible before the rest of us get openly involved, including Devil.”

  They all nodded in agreement and then we moved out.

  Chapter 4: Triggered

  The second part of the trip in the dark was much more tense. Zane ended up with a steady stream of various predators coming up to him as we cautiously walked the last mile and a half. Everything from wolves to bobcats to weasels came up to him at regular intervals to share what they had experienced. By the time we were close, he had a pretty good idea of where most of their enemies would be located.

  I was surprised to discover that I actually could see in the dark – at least much better than I had been used to. It was almost like my brain was stitching together the limited information from my eyes with the information from my sixth sense. In the end, I felt like I was visually very much aware of everything in my immediate vicinity, despite the limited light. It was sort of like everyone and everything was sharply outlined for me in spite of the lack of colors.

  Once we reached the compound, the plan was for Ava and Trinity to sneak through the area alone to pick off targets while the rest of them waited. I wanted to go to protect them, but they were against it.

  “You’ll just get in the way,” Trinity told me, speaking matter-of-factly. “I’m not just strong, I’m really fast too. You wouldn’t be able to keep up. And you certainly can’t follow Shadow through a wall.”

  “But I can tell you exactly where everyone is.” I protested.

  “Yes,” she agreed, tapping her ear gently. “With this, you can.”

  I had forgotten about the earpieces. We had all been so close this entire time that they hadn’t been necessary. However, now I realized we could still talk to each other even if apart. I would be able to sense her in the distance and give her the exact location of her next enemy in relation to her current position. However, I still wanted to go, having an irrational desire to protect them. Trinity cut me off again.

  “No questions asked, remember?” She said with a meaningful look. I sighed and nodded. I was surprised she didn’t respond with her familiar ‘Good boy’ comment, but clearly no one was in the mood for teasing, including her. Based on the body language of some of the other soldiers, I suspected she was being a lot easier on me than was standard. It probably was strange to them to see her humor me by even allowing this type of argument in the middle of a mission, no matter how short.

  Once the plan was clear, three of the soldiers also left the group to set up positions as snipers. None of them actually planned on shooting unless it was a headshot on Weaver, since a gunshot would be too loud, but they still intended to keep a lookout in the event the opportunity arose.

  I just sat on the ground and focused on my earpiece.
There was a tiny microphone installed on the wire that ran from the earbud to the inside of my shirt. As I focused on my powerful sixth sense, I waited patiently for an opportunity to give them some direction.

  Much to my surprise, they really were fast. Both Trinity and Ava were dropping bodies left and right at an alarming rate. I ended up getting a really good idea of Trinity’s radius, as she snuck close enough to enemies to snuff out their lives. The idea of it being seventy feet was a little abstract for me – I wasn’t great with distances, so ‘seeing’ her range helped. It also gave me a general perception of distance in my own mind, as I compared the hundred and forty feet diameter of her reach to the rest of what I sensed.

  I suspected she must have some ability to sense targets like I did, although to a significantly lesser degree. Maybe she could just sense their life energy if they were within her field of perception. She didn’t always kill them as soon as they were in range though. It appeared she would sometimes double check to make sure she wasn’t dropping a body right next to someone else who was just outside her reach. I assumed it was whenever she didn’t have a visual on her enemy, but it was definitely a smart move. The last thing we needed was for the alarm to raised – assuming it hadn’t been raised already and we just didn’t know it yet.

  It wasn’t until Trinity was stalking one individual in particular that I finally spoke up. “Succubus,” I whispered urgently. I realized she was starting to trust me, because she immediately retreated to a location where she could safely respond.

  “What is it?” Her voice whispered in my ear.

  “I think you should skip that one. They seem…exceptionally dangerous, even to you.”

  It was quiet for a moment, before she replied. “We have to kill all of them eventually. Better to take this guy out one-on-one than to face him with a group.”

  I was quick with my response. “Then let Shadow do it. But you need to get away, and fast. Please just trust me.” My voice sounded panicked. I hoped they didn’t think I was trying to sacrifice Ava in her place, because that wasn’t it at all. For some reason, I didn’t feel like this guy was a threat to Ava…but I had no idea why.

  Trinity was quiet again for a moment before she responded. “Fine, I’m retreating. Shadow?”

  Ava’s voice was immediate. “Copy. I’m already headed in that direction.”

  As I sensed Ava draw closer to the target underneath the ground, before entering the building and climbing through the floors, I realized that Trinity still wasn’t far enough away. “Succubus, you’re still too close.”

  Her voice sounded irritated now as she responded. “What do you mean I’m too close? I’m not even the one att–“ But she didn’t finish her statement as an enormous explosion erupted in the building they were in. The sound was deafening as the entire structure in the distance went up in flames. Dread filled my chest as I searched frantically with my sixth sense for her presence.

  Everyone was stunned, but Zayden recovered the fastest, a small grin appearing on his face. “I guess the stealth part is over. Time to have some fun.”

  I just gawked at him in disgust. He didn’t even seem remotely concerned about Trinity or Ava. I wasn’t sure what to do as he took off, when suddenly Zane grabbed me by the arm with a furry hand and lifted me to my feet. I looked up into the face of a wolf with a massive snout, shocked to be seeing his werewolf form for the first time. His fur was almost black, and his eyes were bright yellow. His voice was a lot deeper as he spoke. “You need to stick with Devil. Now go.”

  I nodded and took off running after Zayden. I wasn’t going to argue at a time like this. The other five soldiers were on the move too, although they took a more cautious approach, despite the fact that our presence had been compromised.

  Much to my surprise, Zayden wasn’t just running aimlessly into enemy fire. He made a beeline straight for the blazing building in order to regroup with the others. I got to see firsthand his ruthlessness as he snuck up on one distracted guy and made his head burst into blue flames. I don’t know what I had been expecting, but it surprised me to see flames so hot they were almost white. Even the guy’s skull was incinerated.

  Once we got close enough to the building, we saw Ava helping a limping Trinity across an open area at the side of the hellish structure. Trinity had lost her hat and her vivid blue hair blew in front of her slightly from the wind created by the raging flames. They had successfully escaped the fire, Trinity’s clothes singed and smoking, but now they were trying to get into hiding. I was surprised to see Ava completely unharmed, but then I remembered what she had said about not being able to impale a shadow earlier. Doubtful that an explosion had much effect on a shadow either, or ghost for that matter. I was also shocked that Trinity wasn’t hurt too badly. I knew she was really strong, but I didn’t know how much that translated to her physical durability. She did say she was really difficult to kill.

  A group of thugs with machine guns were just coming around the side of the building, getting ready to fire. I realized Trinity and Ava weren’t going to make it in time, and there was nothing I could do. I didn’t know what would happen to Ava if she was shot while in her physical form, but I doubted Trinity was bulletproof – otherwise, why have a bulletproof vest?

  Just as I feared I was going to watch them both die right before my eyes, Zayden cried out. He reached his hands up and seemed to pull part of the fire out of the building and onto the group of assailants in the distance. I had forgotten that he could actually control fire. The men began screaming as they burned alive, and Trinity took a second to stop and suck up a couple of their lives.

  At first, I thought she was being merciful, but then when she stood up straight and patted off her clothes, I realized she had just healed herself with her ability. I should have known better. Ava spotted us, pointing in our direction, and they both ran over.

  Trinity didn’t even look at me, instead just nodding at Zayden as she ran on past us – a streak of blue hair and red eyes. He turned on his heels and followed after her, prompting me to do the same. I couldn’t believe how fast the three of them were. They sprinted far ahead of me and I struggled to keep up. It was clear they weren’t going to spend time babysitting me now that their cover was blown, even if I was essential to take on our final target. We ran in an arc around a few of the buildings, quickly taking down assailants that we came across along the way. So far, everyone we ran into was a normal person who was no match for Ava’s blades, Trinity’s life-suck, or Zayden’s flames.

  As we neared the mansion, we ended up running into a werewolf Zane again who had a team of bobcats, wolves, coyotes, mountain-lions, and even a bear. There were at least fifteen of them altogether.

  Zane spoke in a deep bestial voice. “So what happened?”

  Ava was the one to respond. “The guy had some kind of explosion ability. When I sliced his throat, he basically turned himself into a suicide bomber.” She then looked at me. It was the first time someone had really acknowledge me since it happened. “It was a good call, Incubus. He would have still been able to explode while Succubus was doing her thing.” I realized she was being vague on purpose.

  I glanced at Trinity to see that she was still ignoring me, her expression neutral, which made me concerned. Was she angry? Did she feel embarrassed? Or was she just focused on the mission? I looked back at Ava and just nodded to acknowledge that I appreciated the praise.

  Zane continued. “Weaver and the Shield Maiden appear to have disappeared beneath the mansion. There aren’t any blueprints of escape tunnels, but we need to hurry or else we might miss our opportunity.” He then looked at Zayden. “Devil, you and me are up for a frontal assault.”

  Trinity chimed in then. “And Shadow and I will try to sneak Incubus into the building.” Zane nodded in agreement, and Trinity unexpectedly grabbed me by the wrist and began dragging me along. It took me a moment to fall in step with her. She was already running so fast that I was sure I was going to trip over something only to h
ave her drag me along.

  Ava was at my side, keeping pace easily as if I was the weakest link in our little race. I briefly dared a glimpse to my side when I saw giant bolts of electricity flying into the air from the ground. I then saw a pillar of blue fire erupt in a similar manner. It appeared that Zayden was fighting someone really powerful.

  Stumbling just briefly, I felt Ava’s hand reach to grab my free one as I reflexively stuck it out to catch myself. Trinity slowed for a second to let me rebalance. I was thankful she didn’t look annoyed, but it was obvious she was completely focused on the mission now.

  As we came up on the side of the mansion, I sensed a threat on the balcony. “Up there,” I said urgently. Trinity immediately let go of me and took off like lightning – she had definitely been holding back. At the same time, a small skinny guy appeared at the ledge and opened his mouth wide. A stream of corrosive fluid shot out of his throat straight for Trinity. I watched helplessly as she barely dodged the acid, some of it hitting her in the shoulder. She stifled a scream as she kept running, and was quickly in range to use her ability.

  The guy’s head suddenly shot towards the sky, his eyes rolling back in his head, and his entire body went rigid as a board. Then, after a few more seconds, he dropped to the ground lifeless. However, it hadn’t been enough to completely heal Trinity. The acid was still on her clothes and skin, eating its way through. She slumped to the ground, gasping as she tried to get her vest and black jacket off. Ava was quickly at her side, helping her strip down to her dark-gray sports bra.

  As I approached, I saw bone sticking out of her shoulder, as well as the muscle completely exposed on her upper arm. It was a nasty sight. Ava was asking her what she wanted to do.

  “I’ll be fine,” Trinity whispered. “I just need to kill a few people. And we need to get him to our target. Failure isn’t an option.” Ava quickly looked up at me, before nodding at Trinity. She then helped her up to her feet and they were on the move again.