Rebirth (Game of the Gods Book 1)

by L. Fergus

  PL touched the door. “We need authorization.”

  “Too bad,” muttered Kita.

  PL returned to the commander’s door. The unlock light flashed, and PL touched the open button. She stepped inside the small room. It contained a bed, desk, a computer, and shelves containing personal effects. In the bed, a woman lay cuddling a bear wearing just her underwear.

  “Damn,” Kita whistled. “It’s not often you bump into a guard commander that’s hot.”

  PL’s cheeks flushed.

  “You like her.”

  “She’s nice…But we’re supposed to like men.”

  “Says who?”

  “Everybody.”

  “Everyone else can go slag themselves,” Kita said, disgusted. “Men are hairy, prickly, chauvinistic, disgusting to touch, smell, and can get you pregnant.”

  “And women are better?”

  “Soft skin, pretty faces, nice bodies, soft hair, we like to smell good, and a girl can’t get you pregnant. I know it’s a pick-your-poison kind of deal. Girls can be bitchy, nasty, moody, needy, and emotional. But, I’d rather rest our head on a nice set of boobs, than a hairy chest.”

  “Why do you say girls instead of women?” said PL, confused.

  “Our mother was a woman. We’re never going to be that old.”

  The woman in the bed stirred.

  “What do we do?” said PL.

  “We could crawl in next to her,” Kita said playfully.

  “Ew, no,” PL whined.

  Kita sighed. “Then just grab her.”

  “Won’t that wake her up?”

  “Yes, find something we can tie her up and gag her with.”

  PL turned around, and the lights came on. “What happened?”

  “Slag, motion sensor,” said Kita.

  “Who’s there?” the woman said, sitting up. She saw PL and screamed.

  “So much for stealth,” Kita muttered. “Knock her out.”

  “Sorry,” PL said to the woman as she went to hit her.

  The woman sidestepped the strike and kicked PL in the ribs. PL hit the shelves, knocking the contents to the floor. The woman punched her in the face. PL shook her head as the woman sidestepped her and yelled for help. PL used the distraction to spin and hit the woman in the jaw. The woman spun, collapsed on the bed, bounced off, and landed on a small statue, with its sword pointing up.

  “Oh, sorry,” PL whispered.

  “Why do you keep apologizing?” said Kita.

  “You said you liked her. I thought I’d try and leave you a chance.”

  “With us? Oh, please. She’s way out of our league,” Kita huffed.

  “I thought you said to…”

  “I mean she’s not good enough for us. I might sleep with her to make her feel better about herself.”

  “Wow…” PL whispered at Kita.

  “Commander, are you ok?” a voice called from a nearby door. “Jess?” a man came into the corridor and saw PL. “Alarm. Intruder!” he yelled.

  A siren sounded, and red lights began to flash.

  “Because that’s helpful to anyone,” Kita muttered at the blinding lights and deafening sound. “Duck,” she yelled at PL.

  PL took cover by the door. “What do we do? What are they shooting at us?”

  “Disabling rounds,” Kita answered. “The good news is, they don’t want to kill us. The bad news is they know it’s us.”

  “What do we do?”

  “Sit tight. Eventually, they’ll get tired of shooting at us and will come to us.”

  A canister of gas landed next to PL.

  “That makes it easier,” Kita cooed. “Just lie still until they come for us. Then get up and beat them.”

  PL lay against the door waiting for the guards to enter the room. The air circulation system came on and pulled out the gas. Over a dozen sets of footsteps rushed the room.

  “Oh, no,” PL said panicking.

  “What’s wrong?” Kita asked.

  “There are too many. I can’t beat that many. We’re dead. They’re going to kill us.”

  “Calm down,” Kita said gently. “It’ll be fine. Focus. Think. Relax.”

  “I can’t. I can’t. I can’t.”

  Boots stopped next to PL.

  “Come on,” Kita said. “Pull it together. We’ve come too far to lose it now.”

  A hand touched PL and she screamed. She tried to crawl away, but a hand grabbed her foot. She screamed again. “Let go of me.” She kicked her leg back and forth trying to shake him.

  “PL, calm down,” Kita said sternly.

  “No, I can’t. I can’t do this. I can’t,” PL said aloud.

  “Come here, you little prim bitch,” a voice growled.

  “No!” PL shrieked.

  “We need to get out of here alive and free,” Kita told her.

  “We’re dead,” PL wailed to the room.

  Kita huffed. “Yes, we’re dead. It’s over. We failed. They’re going to take us and lock us up, beat us, rape us, and if we’re lucky they’ll put a bullet in the back of our head. But, they’re not going to do that. They’re going to keep us alive forever. We’re forever going to be their toy, just something to watch and laugh at. That’s what we are to them—a toy, a clown, something to laugh at. Is that what you want? To be laughed at and treated like we’re nothing?”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Are we nothing?” Kita yelled. “Do you want to be their toy?”

  “I don’t know…I…” PL screamed and kicked wildly.

  “Are we a toy? Are we going to be their slave? To be raped whenever they want us? Is that what you want?” Kita snarled.

  “No,” PL whimpered.

  “Louder,” Kita yelled.

  “No!” PL screamed.

  “Say it like you mean it. Like you’ll kill to prevent it. Like you’re willing to die rather than go back.”

  “I won’t go back,” PL snarled as her vision went red.

  The world around PL slowed to a crawl. She noticed everything. She kicked her attacker in the face with her boot and flipped to her feet. She sprang forward, slamming her attacker and the man behind him into the doorframe, grabbed him, spun, and threw him into a third guard, before taking the heads of the second and third guard and smashing them together. Picking up a rifle from the hands of a downed guard, she stepped into the hallway, slamming the butt into a guard’s face and then swung it like a bat at a second guard. She threw it end over end at a guard appearing around the corner.

  She turned the corner, putting the rest of the guards in the complex down, then returned to the commander’s quarters and collapsed on the bed. Different emotions came crashing down on her. Time caught up with her. The bodies of all the guards in the hallway collapsed as one. She covered her eyes and began to weep.

  “It’s ok,” Kita whispered. “It’ll be fine. Take time to cry it out. Nothing is wrong. You did great.”

  “What did I do? What happened to us?” PL said through her tears.

  “We’re a berserker. We can channel emotional energy and use it to increase our strength and perception. The cost is a lot of crying and being emotionally drained.”

  “You knew about this?”

  “I’m surprised you didn’t. It’s hardwired into us. It’s not something that can be blocked. Obviously, you’ve never been that scared before.”

  “Only when I first got here, but I was more confused. I’ve never been so terrified,” PL said through her sobs.

  “It’s ok, love,” Kita said in a motherly tone. “We’ve been here before. We’ll get through it. Don’t worry. This isn’t anything unnatural or weird. Everyone gets scared. The big thing is, you overcame it and saved us.”

  “I did, didn’t I?” PL said with a sniff. She wiped at her tears.

  “Yes, you did. You should be proud. Let’s go find our ring.”

  PL slid off the bed and nearly stepped on the commander. “Oops, sorry.”

  The woman flailed an arm wild
ly at her. “Help me,” the woman gasped.

  “I think she’s hurt,” said Kita.

  PL knelt down next to the woman. “What do I do?”

  “Roll her on her side, very gently.”

  PL did, revealing a statuette with its sword in the woman’s back. “Ouch, I bet that hurts.”

  “It’s between her ribs and probably punctured a lung. She might live if someone gets to her in time.”

  “We need to help her.”

  “We’re not a doctor.”

  “We need her to get into the secure lockup,” said PL. “And I won’t drag her around to cause her more pain.”

  Kita sighed. “Fine. Ask her for a medical kit or something like that.”

  “Hey, do you have a medical kit or something?” PL asked the woman.

  The woman fought for air to speak. “Medical station.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Take me.”

  “Ah…” PL hesitated.

  “Just do it,” said Kita. “She should be damn glad she’s slagging gorgeous.”

  “I thought she was just pretty,” PL said aloud.

  “I lied,” Kita admitted. “I’d sleep with her in a heartbeat.”

  “My bad half said she’d sleep with you in a heartbeat,” PL told the woman as she picked her up.

  The woman cried out.

  “Take it easy,” said Kita. “Gently.”

  “Ah,” PL protested. She carefully stepped around the bodies.

  “I’m really impressed,” said Kita.

  “About what?” said PL.

  “You took them all down without killing any of them. Impressive, but it might lead to trouble later.”

  When they reached the medical station door, PL touched the scanner. The door opened, revealing a room with a large table in the center. Cabinets and a desk lined the walls.

  “On the table,” said the woman.

  PL laid her down. “Now what?”

  “Computer, Political Bureau Captain Jessica Rabbit. Combat injury,” the woman whispered.

  The table lit up. Blue rings appeared and began to move up and down the length of the table.

  “Foreign object detected,” said the medical VI. “Unable to remove the object. No medical staff present and are not responding to alert. Substitute identified. Kita, please remove the object while I instruct.”

  “Why does it know your name?” PL asked Kita.

  “Because we’ve been in their system before. Go ahead and remove the statue.”

  “Ok, what do I do?”

  The VI gave PL step-by-step instructions to remove the statue. Once she finished, the VI went back to work. PL went and stood by the door, watching and listening until the VI finished.

  “Process complete,” reported the VI. “Captain Rabbit, the major injury to your lung and back has been repaired. Several minor muscle and skin contusions have been repaired. Please see Lieutenant Bean when he arrives for follow-up treatment. Will there be anything else, Captain?”

  “No,” the woman replied painfully.

  “Do I knock her out?” PL asked Kita aloud.

  “Stay away from me,” Rabbit warned, rolling off the table. Still off balance from the surgery, she missed her footing and landed on the floor.

  PL giggled. “Do I need to put you back in the blue hoops?”

  Rabbit stood up, her fists ready. “You just need to stand down, put your hands up, and get on your knees.”

  “Tell her you like this sex game,” said Kita.

  “Ew, I’m not going to tell her that,” said PL.

  Kita sighed.

  “I want my ring,” PL told Rabbit. “Give me back my stuff and I’ll leave quietly.”

  “Stand down,” Rabbit ordered.

  “I’ll thump you again.”

  “Tell her you’ll go willingly if she strips naked,” said Kita.

  “Is that all you can think about?” said PL.

  “With her standing there like that, yeah.”

  “So, if I told her to put some clothes on, you’d concentrate?”

  “More, she’s still got a pretty face.”

  “You’ll just have to get over that part. I doubt she’ll put a bag over her head.”

  “Who are you talking to?” Rabbit demanded.

  “Myself,” said PL.

  Rabbit gave PL a concerned look.

  “Don’t look at me that way. I’m not crazy. Take me to my stuff.”

  “I told you, it’s not here. But, if you come with me I can contact the person who has it.”

  “I want into the lockup. You either come willingly or I’ll drag you there.”

  “You’re not the one in control here,” said Rabbit.

  “I’m not the one standing in my underwear, with a toy soldier’s sword freshly removed from my back, and all my guards unconscious on the floor.”

  “This isn’t going to look good on your report,” PL said, repeating a comment from Kita.

  “What did you say?” demanded Rabbit.

  “I said you’re in trouble.”

  “Who are you talking to?” Rabbit demanded again.

  “What do you know of our psychological profile?” said PL, repeating a question from Kita.

  “Nothing.”

  “What do you know about us?”

  “Me,” Kita corrected.

  “What do you know about me?”

  “You’re just a citizen of Angelica. You wandered into my guard station drunk. We let you sleep it off, that’s all,” said Rabbit calmly.

  “Stop lying!” PL yelled. “The voice knew who I was. That means you know who I am. I want my things.”

  “You didn’t arrive with anything,” said Rabbit.

  PL jumped over the table and grabbed Rabbit by the throat. She picked the shorter woman up with ease. “You’re going to help, or I’ll cut off the parts I need and leave the rest of you here.”

  “I won’t help you.”

  “Fine,” PL said flatly. “I was hoping we’d be friends since I helped you. Obviously, mercy is wasted on the likes of you and your guards. I left them alive out of courtesy. I have no problem slaughtering all of them. I know people like you. I know what you fear—your superiors and comrades. You’re going to help me, or I’m going to make it look like you helped me.” PL smiled wickedly and ran her tongue over her lip.

  “You can’t,” Rabbit said around PL’s hand.

  PL smiled. “I can and will.” Keeping her grip on Rabbit’s throat, she dragged the woman back to her quarters.

  PL thrust Rabbit into her chair.

  “There’s no way you’re going to fool them,” Rabbit said when she finished choking.

  “Do you want to bet? It doesn’t have to be a master stroke, not with you types. Suspicion is enough. A couple of strands of my hair in the bed, some fluids on the sheets, add a piece of clothing and guess what we were doing. They know my history. So, was it as good for you as it was for me?”

  “They’d never…”

  “Tell her about the VI in the medic station knowing us,” said Kita.

  “What about the VI in the medical station?” PL demanded. “It knew me, and it knows I was with you. Why would I bring you to it after beating all your guards? I don’t need them to believe it, just be suspicious enough to doubt your loyalties.”

  “They know you’re here,” said Rabbit. “They follow you everywhere. They’d know it was a setup in an instant.”

  PL pulled Rabbit to her so they were nose to nose. “So, why aren’t they here to save you?”

  “They have their reasons,” Rabbit whispered.

  “Why?”

  Rabbit kneed PL in the jaw. The woman dashed toward the nearest rifle. Moving in from above, a white light stopped between the rifle and her. The white light grew into a short woman with sparkling white wings.

  She had mousy brown hair and brown eyes. Her skin had a faint glow. She wore a simple white bodysuit.

  “I really wouldn’t do that if I were you.
As one intelligence officer to another, it’s not good to make a spy hunter mad. She has a legendary temper and your good looks aren’t going to keep you alive much longer.”

  “Who the hell are you?” Rabbit yelled.

  “The woman in white,” PL gasped. “You gave me the ring.”

  “What and whoever you are, get out of the way,” said Rabbit.

  “I am an Angel, and I’m Kita’s protector. I won’t let you or anyone else kill her. Imprisoning her like this is injustice enough.”

  “Some trick of yours, you crazy freak?” Rabbit snarled at PL.

  The Angel sighed. “Oh, don’t call her that.”

  “You’re here for me?” PL said quietly to the Angel.

  “Yes. Now that Kita’s awake, I thought I’d lend a hand in getting back what is hers.”

  “Then you’re not here for me, just her,” said PL, crushed. She turned away from Rabbit and the Angel. She swiped at tears forming in her eyes. She tripped over a body and sat down hard in a ball. “No one ever cares about me,” she whispered. “Why does everyone hate me?”

  The Angel smiled. “I’m glad to see the drama and emotional volatility goes across the entire spectrum.”

  Rabbit jumped toward a rifle. The Angel waved her hand. Rabbit hung in the air, frozen.

  “Come here,” said the Angel as Rabbit flew over to her. “You’re going to need to know this.” She went over to PL and knelt next to her. “PL, I don’t mean it like that. You are Kita, at least, a part of her. The good part of her, in fact. The part that everyone loves. You have a lot of people who care about you and are looking for you.”

  “Then why have I been rotting in this slag hole?” PL said through her tears.

  “Kita question,” the Angel smiled. “To put you here wasn’t my idea. Those women you spoke to earlier, this city, was their idea. How and why you’re in their care is a long story that someday you might get to know.”

  “I thought you were supposed to protect me?”

  “I am. Protecting doesn’t mean helping, however. I don’t feel that this is a just punishment for what you did, but I have no say in it. I’m normally here to make sure you are well and don’t die. I came tonight because something was taken from you that I gave you. It wasn’t theirs to take. I’m here to make sure you get it back.”

  “The ring?”