Gunship - The Series

by John Davis

  Sasha opened fire, letting a swarm of angry lead loose with intention to kill. The Hunter Elites were faster than both normal man and normal Hunter however, dodging the gunfire long enough to seek cover of their own.

  “Hold them back while I turn him!” Vladris said, laying Roman's lifeless body onto the deck in front of him and pressing his hand firmly to the dead warrior's chest.

  Several minutes passed as both groups continued to exchange gunfire, when finally Roman's body began to show signs of the transformation. Opening his eyes slowly, the most noticeable trait was the milky white pupil of his eyes, a clear sign that the Hunter Elite's venom had done its job.

  Roman had become one of the undead monsters that he had spent a lifetime hunting down. He was now the enemy, a fact that Adam and his crew had yet to discover. As fanged teeth began to slowly push their course into Roman's mouth, his previous wounds reversed; healing themselves in only a matter of moments.

  Adam was the first to notice, quickly joined by the others. A Colonial marked shuttle making its approach into the landing bay. They were outgunned and not long removed from a painful death at the hands of Hunter Elites. Still, Adam's world seemed to stop as the Colonial shuttle slowly touched down onto the deck, steel connecting with steel. Standing there without breath or words, the grip of Adam's revolver loosened as he held the pistol at waist level by his side. His eyes had not caught sight of Sarah Blaine, but his heart already knew. His own death was no longer of any concern to him, just seeing her one last time.

  Bullets continued to zip strategically through the air as Dalton and Sasha remained focused, exchanging gunfire with the Hunters. The Colonial strike team was first to exit the ship, closely followed by Lassiter. Sarah Blaine walked slowly down the ramp under the heavy escort of two Goliath soldiers and her loyal Husk warrior Samuel. Her own eyes immediately locking onto those of Adam Michaels. Sasha slowed her own gunfire, glancing deep into the heart of Adam as Dalton's shotgun continued spending large shells, its shooter cursing in the process.

  Sarah nervously ordered her own Goliath escorts to the fight in an attempt to save Adam and what remained of his crew. The mechanical warriors quickly sprinted across the long deck of the landing bay, passing the Colonial strike team just before arriving to the fight. A fight began to ensue of epic proportions, the Hunter Elites holding their own against such an incredible force.

  When Roman rose to his feet, it wasn't obvious to most that he was a Hunter. Or that it was even Roman Raines. So many bodies were slaying, firing weapons and yelling that the confusion distracted almost everyone from the fact. Almost everyone.

  “Roman's a goddamn Hunter!” Dalton yelled loudly, nearly stretching the beard from his face in the process.

  Whiskey began to bark without pause, Dalton holding him back with a free hand by his collar while blindly firing his shotgun with the other.

  Adam and Sarah continued a stare of fate. An unspoken communication of sorrow, apology and above all, forgiveness. The stare was finally broken by Adam as Dalton's words rang true. Adam turned abruptly, looking over his shoulder as Dalton sprinted past. Already having thrown his weapon to the ground, he was now carrying Whiskey with both arms and running as fast as he had since boot camp more than a decade earlier.

  “Roman's a 'mutha fuckin' Hunter!” Dalton added wildly as he ran past.

  Adam caught sight of him. Roman stood there at the side of Vladris, the warrior's skin already beginning to turn chalk white. While his eyes milked over to merely void of any color, Roman could still see unhindered. His first sight being that of his brother in arms laying dead on the deck of the ship. His heart continued to feel. And his hatred remained. His hatred for the Hunter race. He reflected back to a time when he was a young child, the Hunters slaying his family as he stood helpless. As he watched Dalton sprint away, Adam and Sasha preparing for their own deaths and the Hunters pushing to them, Roman remembered two important things. His new family was still alive and at the mercy of Hunters. And he was no longer a helpless young boy.

  Roman turned to glance at Vladris momentarily, quickly following with a witching backhand that put the leader of the Hunter group to his back. Adam had drawn his pistol, but didn't fire. Instead his body fell into shock as he held his hand out, leading Sasha to quit firing her weapon as well. The remaining Hunter Elites and Goliath units both turned their attention to the newly born super killer. Roman's freshly clawed handed swiped with intent, gouging the throat of an elite, ripping with it vital organs for survival as the Hunter fell face down. One of the Goliath units had aim on him, its rules of engagement clear. Leave no Hunter standing. However its mechanical arm was violently jerked from place, sparking wires flashing as the swinging arm now held by Roman planted flush into the face of another Hunter Elite. As the elite stumbled back, his head was aggressively pulled to its side, snapping the neck of the so called immortal.

  Roman's flesh was hit several times by the stout slugs of the remaining Goliath's chain gun, only hurting enough to enrage the newly turned monster. Roman jumped onto the mechanical work of art, butchering him quickly by ripping away the parts needed for operation. Both Adam and Sasha stood silent, not knowing where their friend's heart was at by this point. They were both prepared to shoot if need be, though it would have little effect.

  “Roman's a goddamn hunter!” Dalton screamed, finally making his way to Sarah, Lassiter and her large Husk protector.

  Samuel had drawn his sword, standing in front of Sarah Blaine in case his destiny ended here.

  “Did you hear me? I said Roman's a...” Dalton yelled almost like a screaming child before turning to see the wake of destruction in the near distance.

  Vladris stood to his feet, his hell hound having backed off a bit and watching from the shadows. He had taken the time to turn Roman Raines, given the man a gift of immortality and now he would have to end the man only recently turned. Vladris drew his sword slowly, walking in a circle as Roman turned to face him. Both had been great warriors in days gone by, in a previous life led by mortal standards. Both had life ending skills now that were unmatched by anyone, alive or otherwise. It was unheard of for a Hunter to turn on his own kind by free will. And though Vladris was shocked at the mortal will of Roman Raines, he knew only one Hunter Elite could walk away from what would be a barbaric display of slaying in the moments to come.

  “Go my brother. It is not your day to die,” Roman said in a low but stern voice. “Tell your queen I will be coming for her soon enough.” he added.

  “You do not dictate my fate or that of our queen.” Vladris replied, his sword still at the ready.

  “Search your soul, it will tell you otherwise. Your queen is weak, I have seen it. She relies on the true warriors to do her work. Go back and tell her I am coming. There will be a place for you in the future.” Roman replied, acknowledging that Vladris had given him the gift of life.

  Vladris knew Roman's words were true. He had known for a while that his queen had grown arrogant, weak even. As his mind stuck to the fact, he soon found himself more concerned about dealing with a substandard queen than slaying Roman Raines.

  “Our day will come soon enough,” Vladris said, pointing his sword directly at Roman before backing away slowly. “Scucca...come!” Vladris added, motioning the hell hound to him.

  Instead, Scucca slowly approached Roman Raines, sitting down at his feet and making public his new owner. Scowling at his recently lost pet, Vladris glanced back to Roman. “Soon.” he said, his stare never faltering. Moments later Vladris turned to slowly jog away, into the shadows which led to the heart of the riot.

  Adam and Sasha both stood there silently, trying to make sense of Roman having become one of the immortal Hunters; not to mention Sarah's arrival. “So are you still Roman enough that...” Adam had started to ask as Roman turned to them both.

  “Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you.” They both breathed a bit easier, approaching him with a great deal of caution.

  “Goo
d. Didn't much feel like getting killed. At least not today,” Adam said with a grin, his words never phasing Roman. “With just a little time I'm sure the Colonials can fix this. Have you back to normal.” Adam added. Roman turned directly to him, the newly born Hunter Elite only feet away from both Adam and Sasha.

  “I'm not going back. This is the end of our journey together.” Roman said. “There has to be something we can do to help you.” Adam replied.

  “I don't want to be helped. I am what the Hunters fear now, and I will bring their race to its knees. Don't try and stop me, it's taking everything I have this very moment to suppress the Hunter inside of me.” Roman said abruptly, his voice altered a bit with demonic dialect.

  “I'm not trying to stop you Roman. You're my friend, hell you're like family to me. I just want what's best for you. That's all.” Adam replied.

  “Then leave me be. You once told me I was free to leave, and now I am. Adam, it's taking everything I have left inside of me to not continue killing here. The Hunter side of me is strong. It's not safe to be around me now.” Roman replied, a man torn between immortal and mortal in his eyes as they began to tear slightly.

  The biggest battle to come for him would be the battle within.

  Adam understood. His friend wasn't leaving because of a lack of friendship, he was leaving because of his deep respect for the crew. It was for their own good.

  “Well then, It's been an honor.” Adam finally said calmly, extending his arm. Roman fought it.

  The inner urge to kill for the sport of it, an urge forced onto him by the Hunter DNA. His soul was still strong, at least strong enough to extend his own arm and shake hands with the Captain of the Gunship.

  “Goodbye old friend.” Adam said as Dalton yelled loudly, clapping his friendship and gratitude.

  “Until we meet again.” Roman replied, quickly breaking his grip and turning into the direction of the Hunter shuttle that Vladris had arrived in, hell hound following closely behind.

  As Adam watched Roman pull the Hunter shuttle from the ship's deck and slowly exit into the backdrop of stars, it suddenly hit him. Sarah Blaine was waiting. Adam quickly spun around, his eyes locked onto the stare of Sarah as she stood by the Colonial vessel. Dalton cautiously began making his way back to Adam and Sasha, this time forcing Whiskey to follow on foot. After several deep moments of exchanging apologies through their stare, Adam turned slowly to Sasha.

  “Go Adam.” Sasha said with regret.

  “But I don't know what I'm supposed...” Adam replied, unsure of which woman held his future in their hands.

  “The look between you both just answered every question I had. I love you Adam Michaels, and I want you to be happy no matter what. So go, please.” Sasha replied.

  Adam wanted to plead with her, maybe ask for time to think things through. Deep down he knew that his time was up. He had to choose between his love for Sarah Blaine or his possible future with Sasha Riley.

  Sarah stood there, her beautiful red hair swaying slightly as tears filled her eyes. She had prayed for a second chance with Adam, her one mistake having forced her into nearly a year of regret.

  “Just tell me what we had was real Adam? That's enough for me.” Sasha said. A lie of course, she loved Adam from the pit of her soul. But she wanted him to be truly happy and had seen a look between Adam and Sarah that was undeniable.

  “More real than you will ever know.” Adam replied, nodding as he slowly turned to begin walking to the woman who had waited so long for the return of his embrace.

  Sarah began crying a bit from happiness, her hands shaking as she prepared to once again hold the man of her dreams. Meanwhile, Sasha started to cry just slightly, her Benzan toughness standing in the way of her true feelings.

  Adam had walked nearly mid-way when he stopped for a moment, realizing that these last fifty or so feet would lead to the rest of his life. Everything he was, everything he would ever be was tied into this very decision. It was in that single moment that he felt it. He thought about a life without Sasha Riley and his breath evaporated, body numb from the thoughts of leaving her behind. He had felt this way about Sarah Blaine as well, but not anymore. As he looked into Sarah's eyes, he knew she would be best loved through the memories they had shared.

  “I'm sorry.” Adam said in a very faint voice as he stared at Sarah for a moment, turning back to Sasha and moving with a touch of haste.

  “I forgot one thing,” Adam said as he walked close to Sasha. “I can't live without you,” he added, holding a hand out as he waited for her own. Sasha immediately burst into heavy tears as her heart tried to make sense of things. “My life changed the moment we kissed in the rain. I care for Sarah, and I always will. But I love you. I've loved you every since the moment we first kissed, and I can't go back from that. I just can't.” Adam added, grabbing Sasha tenderly into his arms.

  “I'm not the leader of a mighty military force Adam. Honestly, I don't even know where my life will go from this point forward.” Sasha said, her body trembling as Adam continued to hold her with a comforting calm.

  “I don't care. I just want us to go there together.” Adam replied.

  Sarah Blaine stood there, devastated. Her life had just been ripped from her from only fifty yards away.

  “Get her onto the shuttle. Fire up and wait for me.” Lassiter said commandingly, the Colonial Husk nodding and slowly helping Sara Blaine up the ship's ramp.

  “Roman's a fucking Hunter.” Dalton said as he approached Adam and Sasha locked into an embrace.

  “Yea, I'm well aware.” Adam replied, both he and his lover giggling a bit.

  “I told you not to take that job Adam. I told you.” Dalton added as the two lovers laughed a bit harder, locked into a poetic glance of destiny.

  “Enjoying yourself?” Lassiter asked with a wise tone as he approached Adam.

  “Roman's a fucking Hunter,” Dalton replied, Lassiter answering with a stone carved gaze. “Well he is.” Dalton added, walking away a bit to allow Lassiter time to speak.

  “No hard feelings here Eric.” Adam replied, finally pulling his arms from holding Sasha in order to face Lassiter.

  “Sarah is back there right now crying her very soul out because of you.” Lassiter replied harshly.

  “No sir, she's crying because of the mistakes in our past. I care about Sarah a lot, but I can't live in the past. I have to move on.” Adam replied.

  “Yes. You do. All of you need to move on.” Lassiter said.

  “Now what the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Dalton asked with ill manners.

  “It means you all better move on, far away from Glimmeria and as far away from Sarah as you can possibly get. I won't watch her go through this kind of pain for someone hardly worth the effort twice.” Lassiter replied.

  “Well now,” Adam said, stepping within inches of Lassiter's face in order to look him dead in the eyes. “May want to word things with a bit more caution. We aren't in your usual Colonial comfort zone at the moment.” Adam added. The Colonial shuttle fired its engines, loud torque nearly overwhelming the shouting conversation taking place.

  “No, you're not in Colonial space at the moment. But if you ever venture into it again, I won't put you in prison. That would bring too much pain to Sarah. I'll just have you executed without her ever knowing. Are we clear?” Lassiter said loudly.

  “Are you threatening...” Adam said, his question sharply cut off by Lassiter drawing a pistol and pointing it into their direction.

  “Crystal clear,” Adam replied, motioning Sasha, Dalton and Whiskey to turn and head for the Benzan shuttle. “Oh and just so we are clear, it's a two way street,” Adam said, turning to face Lassiter one last time. “If I were you, I'd make sure this was the last time you ventured outside of your Colonial comfort zone.” he added, turning to accompany his friends to the shuttle.

  It would be the last time Sarah Blaine would see Adam Michaels through human eyes, watching him enter the Benzan shuttle doors through a
window on her own ship. Her Husk protector lay dead as Vladris approached her slowly, his hand extended with clawed fingers gripped her chin.

  “You have fought the Legion valiantly, an effort that is worthy of immortality.” Vladris said, his voice both calm and demonic.

  Sarah cried softly, her mortal life about to come to an end as Adam's ship began to pull from the deck; losing both her love and mortal life in the very same instant.

  Moments later as Lassiter watched the Benzan shuttle leave distant site, he turned to the Colonial ship, only to watch it pull swiftly from the deck. He wanted to yell at the top of his lungs, wanted his ride to hold long enough for him to get aboard. However the shuttle quickly left, a trail of orange fumes scattering behind by way of full burning thrusters. Seconds later he fell to his death, multiple rifle shots plunging into his thin frame as guards had once again taken control of the prison ship.

  ***

  Roman's shuttle slowly fell from the clouds on the planet Cres Nine, along with a heavy rain as the Hunter designed shuttle quickly approached for landing. It was a well known gangster hideout, one that Roman had deep ties with. And it was on the moon planet that Roman would begin building his new family. The Roman Empire. A family that would become large enough to stand against the Hunters and their queen, at least if Roman had his way. The newly born Hunter Elite smiled a bit as his shuttle slowly approached through a curtain of rain, his dagger-like teeth showing crisply as Roman extended his arm down to pet his loyal hell hound.

  As the Benzan shuttle pulled down for its landing on the small mining planet of Antillia, Dalton looked from a window, secretly hoping their faces weren't recognized for events that took place nearly a year before. They had met Roman, beaten several officers of the law and robbed a table full of patrons at gunpoint. Whiskey sat beside Dalton, his head of tangled fur laying on the man's lap as Dalton continued his train of thought.