by Greg Ramsay
“That’s just great. We have to warn Black and Grant!” Steele said.
“There’s no time!” Lia said.
She immediately focused both the kynari’s tips into energy blades as the first shifted could be heard coming toward them. John stood while Steele crouched in front of him. John fired one round, dropping the first shifted as more starting pouring into the base. Lia could hear the bursts of bullets leaving John and Steele’s weapons as well as the deep blasts of Grant’s shotgun and the popping of rounds leaving Black’s pistols. The battle surrounded them.
In the maelstrom of combat Lia couldn’t discern Barton’s presence from that of his hordes of shifted. Steele and John were to the left of the hangar, so Lia ran up the right side. She cleaved through the shifted like paper as she spun her kynari in her hand. She killed shifted to her right, then gestured for Steele and John to move toward her. The two made their way to Lia firing as they went.
“Hurry before they push us back!” Lia yelled.
Lia started to make her way out of the hangar as Steele and John drew closer, then suddenly two alphas jumped from the roof of the hangar, landing in front of them. Lia spun and swung her kynari toward the alphas. One of them was about to strike Steele, but Lia said, “Release” and her red energy beam flew through its head. As the smoking alpha dropped to the ground John and Steele focused their fire on the second alpha. Bullets ripped into its body and head. It dropped, nearly dead. Lia focused an energy blade to quickly sever their heads then ran toward the other hangar. Steele and John halted at the huge mass of shifted in front of the second hangar.
“Let’s go!” Lia yelled, then they all ran toward the hangar. Lia yelled, “Release” and a huge red energy beam burned a vicious path through the mass. Steele and John fired their weapons with her, but still the shifted continued to impede their progress. Lia thought, I need you to join with me now! The Leader’s mask formed across her face; in the same instant, her kynari morphed into the katana. The Leader gave Lia control as she ran straight into the group of shifted. She moved so fast she disappeared and reappeared among them. As a shifted tried to strike her, she sliced through its body in an upward arch, severing its arm and head. Lia yelled, “Release” as she spun in a half circle. The katana’s crimson energy exploded out in a raging wave of fire that incinerated all the shifted in its path. John and Steele ran past Lia into the bunker. Lia held off the shifted as the others made their way out of the bunker. Suddenly, three shifted attacked her simultaneously.
A swing of her katana killed two, but missed the third. As its claws arced toward her a round struck it in the temple. Lia turned when she sensed a great power behind her just in time to see the huge concrete wall of the bunker blown apart. Lia watched as a massive alpha charged into the bunker careening toward them. Its huge scimitars slammed down toward Black. She backflipped clear of its attack, dropped her pistols, and drew her katana. She blocked another strike from the alpha, angling her blade down so its power slammed harmlessly into the ground, then she brought her blade up to sever its head. As she brought her katana down on the alpha it slammed its arm into her and sent her flying into the wall of the bunker. Considering her defeated, it stood and ran towards her to finish the job.
As Black sat helplessly slouched against the wall it swung down its arm to finish her. Black regained her composure, rolling just in time to avoid the alpha’s scimitar. She stood, then swung her katana up toward its head, feigning another attempt to decapitate it. The alpha attempted to block with its right arm, then Black swung her blade into the arm. Its arm fell to the ground. Black immediately aimed her next attack toward its unguarded midsection. Her katana carved a deep gash before the alpha jumped back. Tendrils shot from the alpha’s shoulder for its severed arm. Black deftly brought her katana’s blade down, slicing through the tendrils before they connected. The alpha swung its other scimitar arm toward her and Black was forced to jump back. Black tried another swing, but the alpha blocked her blade. She parried its next attack then dove below it on her back propelling herself off its leg. She swung her blade in between its legs as she passed underneath it.
The alpha howled and spun around to face her. It brought its scimitar down on her as she tried to evade. The scimitar sank into her thigh. Black screamed in pain. John turned from the shifted advancing on the hangar and started firing on the alpha. The alpha withdrew its scimitar from Black as it recoiled from the sudden projectile onslaught. Black dragged herself back from the alpha as it turned toward John. Tendrils shot from its shoulder again slowly starting to reattach the severed arm. Black struggled slowly to her feet as blood poured from her leg. She managed to limp to the alpha’s side. Its attention was still focused on John. Black took one more step while yelling a war cry as she brought her katana’s blade down on the tendrils. The blade severed the tendrils swiftly. The alpha roared in rage as it turned toward Black with speed usually reserved for fighting other alphas. It slammed its other scimitar arm into her gut. The scimitar passed straight through Black’s midsection. Black coughed blood while more of her blood dripped from the scimitar that the alpha ripped out of her body.
John screamed, “NO!” He fired on the alpha as Black staggered, her body failing. With a gargling cry, Black swung her blade with the last of her strength, and her katana decapitated the alpha. John watched helplessly as Black fell to the floor, lying still as her blood pooled below her.
Grant yelled, “COVER ME!” as he ran to Black. He knelt down beside her, rolled her over, and gently supported her in his arms. He called to her, getting no response, then grabbed her wrist to check for a pulse. He checked multiple times, looking at her face, as tears began forming in his eyes as the fight left him. He said, “Goodbye Suzan”, then laid her body back down softly. Grant stood rigidly, slowly turning to face the horde of shifted. Enraged, he ran toward the shifted with his shotgun blazing. He blew apart the skulls of every shifted he could. His only goal was to destroy and inflict the greatest pain on those that killed his best friend. Grant pushed forward through the shifted while the others tried to cover him. He didn’t care if they got him, but he was determined to kill as many as he could.
A dark shadow reappeared over the horde. It grew darker as its caster descended. The horde in front of Grant suddenly parted in front of him.
Lia yelled, “GRANT GET BACK, IT’S BARTON!!”
A pulse of power shook the ground as Barton touched the ground. His body had reformed, and he stood with a cold smile, his black wings folded at his sides. Grant reloaded his shotgun, then stared at Barton.
“What are you supposed to be, the devil? I ain’t impressed.”
Barton scoffed, “No, I’m not the devil. I’m the master of the devil’s world.”
Grant grimaced. “So you created all this shit?” he said as he cocked his shotgun.
“I did indeed.”
“Then for Suzan and humanity you will die!” Grant aimed his shotgun and fired point blank at Barton.
Barton’s wing shot out and blocked the blast then his hand formed into a blade. His arm blade shot out with amazing speed to slice the barrel off Grant’s shotgun. In a final movement, Barton impaled Grant. He smiled menacingly at Grant. “For the girl you challenge me, now you will die as she did.” Barton yanked his blade arm out of Grant and left him to collapse to the ground. Barton laughed “Weak idiot,” he said to Grant’s body as he turned away.
Barton looked at Lia coldly. “So, what will it be? Will you attempt to stop me or will you let the rest of your friends fall before you?”
Lia turned to look over her shoulder at John and Steele. She gave them a cold glare as she started laughing darkly. She turned back to Barton. “My friends?” she said. “These people aren’t my friends.” She stared at Barton angrily. “What made you think I ever cared for these people? They’re nothing! Just weak remnants of their weak, useless, selfish race. I only kept them alive and acted like I cared to lure you out so I could kill you rather then play by the rules
of your cowardly game.”
Barton laughed. “You expect me to believe that little speech? You expect me to believe you used the only other people you’ve found since you woke as lures?” Barton began laughing harder until his laughter resembled a mad hyena. “I watched you travelling with these people; I saw you defend them, saw you nearly give your life for them. I saw you kiss that man.” He pointed a rigid finger at John. “Thanks to the birds I even heard your little breakup speech of how you feared caring for him if he was gone. You really think I buy this farce now?!”
Lia smirked. “I have played you, you incompetent fool. But apparently you couldn’t see that despite all of your ‘thorough observation’. Allow me to prove it.”
Lia turned around, raised her kynari katana above her, and slammed it into the ground. Lia channelled tendrils out of the ground at the feet of Steele and John. John and Steele stared at Lia incredulously, their expressions immediately turning to agony. The tendrils ripped into their bodies until they penetrated through to their other side. Blood dripped from the tips of the tendrils as more dark tendrils rose from the ground to surround the impaled figures. Soon the lifeless figures of Marks and Steele were nearly encased in razor tendrils. Lia smiled at their pained lifeless expressions darkly until the last of their visage was covered by the spiked tendrils that now dragged their bodies underground. Barton’s laughter abated as he observed the humans being impaled. He stood rigid, his face taut, his hands clenched, vibrating at his sides.
Lia turned to face him, smiling at his appearance. “Not used to being beaten at your own game are you?” Barton’s teeth clenched. He raised his right arm and his wings formed around his body as armour, then a jagged longsword formed from tendrils that seethed from his arm. “Your little show doesn’t matter once you’re dead; no one will be left to tell the tale.” He rushed at Lia head-on.
Lia braced her katana to block his attack. He swung his longsword down with amazing speed toward Lia’s katana. As his blade connected with hers, Lia’s knees were forced to bend. The ground cracked below her as she strained to remain on her feet. Lia ducked backwards, stepping sideways as his blade glanced just to the left of her armored side. She swung her blade sideways under his blade seeking his undefended midsection. She said, “Release”, just as he spun the longsword and swung it upward in an uppercut to parry her blade. Crimson energy exploded into his chest, sending him reeling backward a few paces.
Lia disappeared in blinding speed to reappear behind him with her blade raised to strike him down. Barton recovered his composure in time to mirror Lia’s movements, attempting to end her in a similar fashion. Lia spun around parrying his blade. In that moment, she noticed the slight cracks in his armour. Barton saw that Lia had noticed the weakness of his armour, so the speed of his attacks increased. Lia struggled to block all his attacks. Barton thrust his blade into hers so she couldn’t defend herself, then kicked her in the chest. Lia was knocked backward and was sent sliding along the ground. She swung her hand backward, using her momentum to flip back onto her feet. She swung her blade down as Barton appeared in front of her.
The katana’s blade missed Barton’s head as he just managed to angle his neck. Instead, it ripped into the armour on his right shoulder. Barton elbowed Lia in the jaw with such force it sent her into the air. He disappeared, reappearing above her, then brought his blade down on her back sending her careening back down to crater the ground on impact. Lia lay on the broken earth below, breathing heavily.
Barton landed beside her. He lifted her up by her neck to face him. “You call this a fight?”
Through the Leader’s mask, Lia laughed. Barton growled angrily. He bought his blade over her head and held it there for a second. Then he brought it down with blinding speed. Suddenly a bullet slammed into his cracked chest armour. A plate severed from the rest of the suit and fell to the ground. Enraged, Barton turned his head toward his new attacker. Lia seized her opportunity and raised her katana. Before he could stop her, she rammed her blade into his unprotected chest. Barton roared in pain, releasing her from his grasp. Lia pulled her blade from his body. Barton swung his blade for her which she easily dodged. Barton tried again to strike her, but she was too fast.
Lia laughed. “I was right, you really can’t heal, can you? That’s why your armour never reformed, and why your attacks grew more urgent when you saw that I’d noticed.”
She kicked him in the back of his right knee then brought her elbow down on his back. Lia drew her blade across the armour on his neck. “Release,” she said, using her katana’s sharpening ability to cut through the armour, leaving his neck exposed.
“You’re right,” Barton said, “I can no longer heal, the ability didn’t reinstate when my form regenerated. I’m helpless now... So why don’t you just kill me already?”
Lia smiled. “I wanted you to see something first.”
John stood from his prone position on the roof of the base’s command building, with a rifle in hand, and Steele stood with him. Steele waved her rifle at Barton in mock greeting. Lia tightened her blade on Barton’s neck.
“H... How are they... alive?!?” Barton managed to ask.
“You’re referring to my having killed them, right? You saw it with your own eyes; you watched my tendrils destroy them and drag then under, right?... Wrong, see here’s what really happened. Yes, I dumped John. That wasn’t an act, but their murder by my hand was. While my tendril seemed to impale them, I merely ran smaller tendrils along their bodies under their clothes, making small little cuts so they wouldn’t have to act out pain. And when the tendrils ‘emerged through their backs’, I merely reformed them like larger spikes that dripped the blood they collected. Then I had larger tendrils encase their bodies and carry them down into a tunnel my tendrils pre-dug. When it seemed as though I was barely fighting you I was just buying them time to get through the tunnel which led to our vehicles. I did all of that so they could quietly set up in a position to surprise you.”
Barton laughed vehemently. Lia smiled venomously behind the Leader’s mask.
“You understand, don’t you? If not, let me explain it for you. You got played at your own game twice, and now... You’ve lost!”
With that, Lia ran her katana’s blade through Barton’s throat in a quick and final violent stroke. Deftly Lia grabbed his severed head in her free hand as his body fell flat on the ground with a crunching thump. Lia threw his head to the ground. It bounced as it made contact. Proudly, Lia watched as it rolled face up to expose Barton’s frozen expression of death: a maniacal smile. Lia spun the katana in her hand; a gust generated by the spin whipped up a small amount of dust that settled on Barton’s body as Lia walked away.
She met up with John and Steele near the command building. The three of them were silent for a while.
“It’s over,” Steele said.
“For now,” Lia replied. Steele and John both looked at Lia, but neither of them had a rebuttal.
“Well, the only thing I know for sure is as it seems... Is that Black and Grant are gone. They’ll need a proper burial.” Steele looked solemn. Lia nodded her agreement.
“What are we gonna do with Barton’s body?” Steele asked.
“I suppose I’ll just put it in the ground and burn the earth till it’s glass. That might hold him for a while,” Lia said.
“I guess that’s all we can hope for,” John said.
“We’ll attend to Black and Grant,” Steele said. “We’ll wait for you to join us.”
Lia nodded and walked toward Barton’s body. John and Steele walked toward the bunker strewn with the carcasses of shifted laying among their fallen friends. Lia hadn’t begun dealing with Barton’s body because she almost didn’t see the point. Despite that, she slammed her katana into the ground channelling tendrils up to rip open a deep pit in the ground. She then kicked the body and head inside the newly formed pit. Black ooze seeped a trail to mark the progression of his body from her foot such that she failed to notice it seep
ing into her armour. Deftly she directed the tendrils to collapse a section of surrounding earth into it. Once the pit was filled Lia pulled her katana from the ground, reinserted it into the freshly moved earth, and said, “Release.”
Crimson fire flowed powerfully at her will downward into the pit. As the uppermost layers of earth began to form as glass below, Barton’s body began to melt. The glassing continued toward the liquefying form as the substance raced to escape. Half of the body was now glass, helpless as the power of Lia’s katana advanced to seal the rest. Above ground, Lia felt her work was done so she proceeded toward John and Steele.
She used the tendrils to dig two graves, then Black and Grant were placed inside with their weapons. Lia filled the graves so John could flatten them with a shovel he found in the bunker.
“Thanks for your help Lia,” Steele said.
“They would’ve done the same for me, although I wish this could’ve been avoided, but the shifted were too quick.”
“We all do,” Steele said sadly. “What of Barton?”
“He’s glassed,” Lia replied.
“Good,” Steele said. “Well, I think it’s time we move on.”
“Is there anything to move on to?” John asked.
“Maybe not, but for Black and Grant we have to keep trying; at least their deaths won’t be in vain,” Steele replied.
“What’ll we do if Barton comes back?” John asked. “He’ll ensure he’s stronger next time, and he won’t be as easily fooled.”
“You know what we’ll do. If or when he comes back, we’ll put him back in the ground!” Lia said.
“How long do you think we could keep that up?” John asked.
“Well, let’s just hope this time he stays dead; it’s all we can do at this point.” Steele said.
All we can do indeed, Lia thought as she looked over at the glassy pit, a pit that bore a strong resemblance to the crater of MiraiCorp. She found herself hoping he would remain in his pit this time as she followed John and Steele back toward their vehicles. They drove in, loading up on useable supplies then they left in silence, continuing north toward the hope of a shifted free area, a place where they wouldn’t have to constantly face the threat of death and be free to live their lives. That was an aspiration shared by the remaining convoy members, and they made it their only purpose to find that place or die trying.