by Alex Fall
I pulled my long fleece lined coat closer to me for warmth. The distant sound of air conditioning systems and generators added a certain ambience to everything. My crew was content to quietly talk amongst themselves, currently recounting to each other a story about some guy that wrecked a skiff because of a rat trapped inside with him. And then...a noise. Something nearby.
With a quick shush and a raise of my fist, the people around me fell silent and still.
The noise that caught my attention sounded like the shifting of someone's foot on concrete. But now, there was just something high pitched. Something powering up? Also, there were holes in the right wall. Bullet holes? Suddenly this alley seems like a bad place to be.
With a hand signal, I ordered my crew behind cover. I pointed at Wyatt, and signaled for him to protect Sharon. My crew dispersed promptly. I quietly climbed up into a second story window.
Weapons were drawn and I held a pistol at the ready. I also took my coat off and set it aside for added stealth. After creeping my way onto the roof, I found the source of that high pitched noise. Bolted down on a tripod was a motion-sensitive Tackwire gun. It wasn't meant to kill, but to trap, by firing a tough cord with mounting spikes on either end of the cord. When fired correctly, the spikes sink into a hard surface and the cord between them tightens and pulled the target between the cord and surface, effectively trapping them.
I moved forward cautiously to disarm the trap. The glint of a scope on the building just north of me had me drop down. Unfortunately, my movement alerted the turret. The gun whirled around and a green LED turned yellow on the side. With a sound like that of a nail gun, two shots fired off, one pinning me to the ground across my legs and the other from under my left arm to over my right shoulder. Oh no you don't, you worthless piece of junk!
A small concentrated fireball from my hip tore its way out of the side of my pants and melted through swivel joint of the tripod. I gritted my teeth as the pain of what felt like being branded hit me, but the initial wave quickly passed. The turret slowly toppled on its side, rendering it useless even though it was still running.
"Hé! C'est Sapphire Eyes!" A voice yelled a ways off.
Have to move fast! Have to move PERIOD! I reached up and worked on releasing the cord from the spike above my shoulder. Is it push in, then twist? Just push in? Was there any pushing at all? It's so hard to move, this thing is so tight! Hurry!
The cord released and I immediately worked on releasing my legs. Where is my crew? Who am I fighting? Are there any more traps? I heard the sound of something freezing, a couple gunshots, yelling. What is going on?!
I sat up to gain my bearings. And yet, at that moment, a bolt of electricity struck me, causing the world to fade away. I lost consciousness…
* * *
My head...so much aching. So much noise.
"Hey beautiful, wake up," Fake Arty's voice said.
"What?" I mumbled.
"Wake up!" A new voice barked. This was not Fake Arty...
A quick jolt of electricity in the neck jerked me to attention and made me gasp. Where am I? What's going on? Why can't I move? Am I frozen?
I AM frozen! In a sort of sitting position, I was encased in ice, down on the ground of the alleyway that me and my crew originated from. All that was exposed to the air was my neck and head. My body hurt and ached from being frigid. In front of me were two Benevolents wearing red bracelets, and a third stood off to my side. Somewhat behind me and to my left, a massive bulb of ice clung to the the side of a building and spilled out onto the ground, the main bulk of which seemed spherical in nature. To my right, the third Greater stood over a partially armored, partially frozen Lori. That greater, a thick white man with a heavy jaw, wore a black sleeveless shirt, thick pants, black combat boots, a belt with various gear, and carried a strap across his shoulder with two guns attached on his back, while currently holding a third. The Greater that was in front of me and to my left, a thin, tan skinned man with thick dark hair, wore a loose gray long sleeved shirt, sturdy pants, a small backpack with a camel back built into it, and wielded an SMG, though he seemed confident enough to have it lowered.
"Right here," the Greater directly in front of me said, gesturing for me to look him in the eyes. This one wore all black as well, though a thin red stripe went down the length of his long sleeve shirt. He had various gear on a belt, as well as an SMG hanging at his side from a strap across his shoulder and a pistol at his side. But this man seemed different. He looked rough, and his blue green eyes were focused intently on me, as if to express resentment or wrath. Even still, I sensed weakness in his gaze. Ugh, it's so cold. And my head hurts...
"You called me beautiful," I growled to him.
"This is the first time we've met, yes?" He asked, ignoring my remark.
I gave him no reply, other than staring him in the face.
"You burned my brother."
"I burn a lot of people. Tell me something more memorable and important."
I saw him grit his teeth behind his closed lips. This man is very angry with me. He should go bang his head on a wall while I think of the fastest way out of this.
He stood and grabbed my hair to yank my head back. "You hurt my family, so I hurt your friends, then you."
"He's a Snowflake," I said looking at the tan skinned man. "That's a brute," looking over to the one standing over Lori. "And you...you're a sniveling pity job, AKA a Red." I knew this last man to be the Bolt that knocked me out, but I didn't want to let him know.
He knitted his eyebrows.
"I remember you," I continued. "You were there that day at the school. Too bad I didn't have time to burn you."
"Captain? Any ideas?" Lori asked.
The man glared at me. "Break that one," he told the Brute, in reference to Lori.
"Only the man in my dreams can call me beautiful." Turning my head as much as the man's grip allowed, I called out, "Roll away!"
Though the three did not discern the meaning of what I said immediately, Lori did. Though her hands and feet were frozen together and pinned, she threw threw her weight and rolled out of reach from the Brute. And though I pretty much couldn't move, I planned on destroying some people.
Botches. This is going to hurt...
A burst of fire streamed away from the side of my head, embracing the Brute's chest and singeing the Bolt holding my hair, burning my neck and lower part of my right ear. At the same time, I charged up and burst fire from all over my body, exploding the ice off of me and leaving small burn knicks all over me. I lunged out of my icy throne and heated my fingers up before eye gouging the Greater in front of me. From the suddenness of everything, he had the presence of mind to rear back, so instead of striking his eyes, I struck and burned into his cheek bones. He simply fell to his knees, clasped his face, and yelled out.
Ice immediately began to re-encase me as the Freeze began to aim at me. It hurt like an entirely new kind of burning. My unharmed hand slipped past and plucked the pistol from the man that threatened me. The pain from the burns and ice burns caught up with me and blurred my vision, but I forced my body to do my will. I'll have time to hurt later. I shot at the Freeze twice prior to swinging my arm around and firing upon the Brute. Ice had already begun to block the way, so I'm sure the shots I fired didn't make it through. With some suddenness, the ice formed pillars and spikes, stabbing into and shoving me back against a metal post meant to keep vehicles out of the alley. The pistol fell out of my hands and away from me, putting me in a sort of annoyed panic. Why do I have to live with fresh burns ALL the time? I lit up the area in front of and around me at the cost of a patch on the left side of my belly, stalling the ice from doing any further damage. The ice was pressing in on my chest, constricting my breathing. I pulled an explosive charge from the belt and chucked it over the ice wall. The ice stopped growing before the explosion went off, likely meaning the Freeze protected himself, but the blast still cracked the wall, freeing me enough to slip away on all fours, gasping f
or air.
After stumbling back, I felt my hand brush something. A weapon? I pulled the tackwire gun from under a chunk of ice that broke off the wall. Did it fall when I melted its stand? Did it fall from the shock of the explosion? Doesn't matter, saving Lori does. The Brute was back on his feet. Seems these guys were wearing body armor (when are they not?). I knelt down, switched the turret gun to manual mode, and fired a tack line at the chest of the Brute. It had enough force to pin him to the nearest wall, but it surely wouldn't hold him. A chain wrapped around the gun, followed by an enraged roar that had me turn and fire another tack line at the angry greater. An electrical charge hit my arms, causing me to involuntarily fire again. The first line caught his left arm and tripped him, as he was charging me, but the second line didn't land correctly. One of the spikes sunk into his chest and yanked him back when the other sunk into the wall. He clung to the spike in his chest with withering strength. A new wave of ice spikes left me with only 0.6 seconds to react, so I threw myself down on the ground. The clear sound of a gunshot sounded off, and the ice stopped forming.
"Captain? Captain?!" Reggie shouted in panic.
"You're always late!" I yelled in return.
I heard him sigh and tell himself "Thank god."
Crawling out from under the ice, I helped myself stand. Lori was just breaking the last bit ice apart in order to free her hands, and the Brute stood nervously nearby, aiming his rifle.
"Where's everyone else?" I asked Lori.
She pointed at the giant, bulbous ice mass. "Gar’s stuck in there with Sharon and Vick." She turned to the Greater and rubbed a bruise on her cheek. "You. Run away like the coward you are."
He glanced at me, then back at Lori, before turning around and fleeing. She might have told him to run, but they wouldn't have offered that opportunity to me. I raised my pistol and aimed to kill.
Lori gasped and shoved the barrel towards the ground. "Captain! What are you doing?"
"Isn't it obvious? The less Usurpers, the better."
"Erin! He's not going to bother us anymore! Leave him be," she pleaded.
I glared at her. "That's what you think..."
I yanked the pistol out of Lori's hands in an admittedly aggressive manner. She stood by warily, probably because I looked like I wanted to pounce on her. God, I hurt so much...
"Hold on," Reggie's voice distantly tickled at my ears. I staggered over behind the ice wall to find him patching up the nearly unconscious Freeze.
"What the *cuss* are you doing?" I asked.
Reggie looked over his shoulder at me. “What are you talking about?"
"Why are you bandaging him?" I asked very directly.
"Um..." He began, taken aback by my bluntness. "I shot him, so I'm trying to make sure he pulls through."
I felt my face harden and my eyes narrow, which made my neck and ear burn sting, effectively heating my irritation. The pain only made my appearance intense....or at least, more intense than usual.
Reggie raised his eyebrows. "Uh...am I doing something wrong?"
"Leave him."
"But what about the bullet wound? He'll die."
"That's the idea!" I said even more bluntly.
"Captain?" He asked in surprise, turning to face me while still crouching.
I raised my pistol and aimed to kill. Reggie reflexively pulled his own firearm and aimed at me. "Captain?! What are you doing?"
"Captain, I need your help breaking the ice," Lori called.
"Move," I ordered.
Reggie paused. "Captain...I can't. People are a rarity in the world."
"That's no person. Move."
"Captain!" Lori repeated. She's getting on my nerves. I'm beginning to think she's calling me just to get me away from the Freeze. I locked onto the bleeding man, who watched me with certain fear. I tried to push Reggie aside but he prevented me from getting closer.
"You tell you're fearless leader that I'll be waiting to kill him whenever he decides to stop wasting his groupies on me," I whispered. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"
The Freeze stared back at me without reply.
I glared. "Speak or nod, before you lose your teeth."
I felt a weak nod pull at my hand. Right afterward, Reggie tugged slightly at my tattered sweater shirt. I'm getting very tired of people handling me...
"Come on Captain. Leave the man alone," he asked of me.
I shirked his hand and ventured back to Lori. She stood waiting for me, leaning on the bulbous ice mass.
"I don't want to shoot through the ice in case we hit someone. We could chisel through with knives or something, but that would-"
I cut off her statement with a roaring wave of fire that melted a vertical a slot through the ice, partly because I was feeling very peeved. The pain distracted me and fed my anger at the same time. Once the flames and steam dissipated, we saw Wyatt kneeling, aiming an energy handgun at the fresh hole in the ice. He relaxed a bit and powered down his forcefield, after which Vick peeked around the ice. He was holding Sharon protectively. The pain attacked me intensely, making me angry all over again. Why do I keep burning myself? Even I admit that was stupid...
"There, problem solved," I spat at Lori.
"Well...that was exciting," Wyatt commented as he climbed out of the frozen dome.
"This is why I kill," I added. Probably shouldn't have said that in front of Sharon.
"No excuse," Lori retorted.
"I didn't need to," Reggie said, pointing out that his approach was different than mine. "I'm going to patch up the other guy. He needs help too."
"You were late!" I replied to him, ignoring his statement about the Bolt.
"Sorry! I was avoiding being caught. It's not like I wasn't going to come back and help out."
"Either way, what's done is done. It worked out fine," Vick interrupted.
I cast my glare at him, but the look he gave me suggested that he meant no trouble by his words. Reggie grabbed an aid kit and trotted off.
"Come on, let's find a safe place to stay before it gets dark," Vick added. Was he trying to switch the subject? Once he helped Sharon out of the ice, he gave me a head to toe look over. Sharon also stared at me wide eyed. "Captain, you don't look so good."
"I was thinking the same thing," Lori agreed, rubbing her right eye as if she were worn out.
"I'm fine," I grumbled. Honestly though, my body hurt all over. Huge bruises ached on me, and my burns screamed in protest. I'm pretty sure my reflexes are shot for a while. But I can't let anyone know that. I'm not weak right now...even though some of the muscles in my back are trying to lock.
"Wyatt, get Reggie when he's done and go find us a place to spend the night. Don't make it too far," Lori said as she grabbed my arm to support me. Physical contact hurt.
"Captain, you are shaking," she said to me.
"That happens when you get burned..." I growled in irritation.
"That's a sign of overexertion."
"*Cuss* it Lori!" I said, reaching for my stash of sleep medicine.
"I'm not trying to annoy you. And it's not me that caused the stress, you know that."
"Has she always been so..." Wyatt whispered to someone behind me.
"I'm scared," Sharon said to Vick.
"It's ok, you're safe," he replied. "Where's that campsite?" He yelled out.
"Hold on!" Reggie replied. "Man I'm hungry..."
"Oh hey, I found the Captain's coat," Wyatt chimed.
"Captain, breath," Lori told me. Then she had the audacity to grab the sleep meds from my hand. In the process, she rubbed the giant bruises on my back, sending pain deep into body. It hurts so bad! I'm in so much pain! There's so much noise! I'm so cold! I'm so hungry! I need sleep! I need meds!
I snatched the pills back and threw my crew mate's hands off me and shouted, "Everybody! SHUT! UP!"
Silence fell along with stillness. Everyone just stared at me. Stop looking at me! Everyone just leave me alone!
What the *cuss* is w
rong with me?!
* * *
"And if that wasn't bad enough, the crew is constantly, CONSTANTLY second guessing me! How the *cuss* am I supposed get anything done with that?"
The weather in my dreamland was ideal, and my surroundings were so sculpted that is was surreal. But I was too angry to notice. Fake Arty was listening to me rant my irritation out as he leaned back and seemingly napped against a moss covered rock. The only reason I knew he was awake is because he would occasionally interject and say, "don't cuss." It was annoying.
"Don't cuss."
I hate it when he does that.
"Sorry! I need to vent!"
"I know. I can tell you're not feeling good. Did you knock yourself with sleep pills again?"
I looked off at the horizon. "...yes."
He sighed and a moment of silence passed between us. But with eagerness, the figment picked up again. "I've got an idea. Do you trust me?"
"No!...maybe. Why?"
"You can keep talking. Just use me as a pillow."
I blinked hard. "Use you as a what?!"
"Try it."
"No, I...what?" I bumbled, still processing the "idea."
"Please? I won't touch you or mess with you while you do, pinky promise," Fake Arty said, holding up his pinky like a child.
Sighing, I looked around, partly for an excuse to ignore him. I can't believe I'm doing this.
I knelt down and slowly lowered my head against his abdomen. I felt his warmth immediately. I could feel his calm aura trying to bleed off on me. I could hear his heartbeat and his rhythmic breathing. I could smell his clean clothes, mixing with the "scent" of Arty himself and nearby grasses. This feels so mushy. I would never have done this a month ago. Why am I doing it now?
"Continue," he urged. The rumble of his voice sent a tickle down my neck.
"I can't. This is too weird."
"Then just lie down for a while. That's what I'm doing."
"Wait, you knew this would happen didn't you?"
"What do mean?"