Chapter 46 And Closer
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"I wouldn't count on that." A low voice from just inside the now nonexistent double doors made her look up to see the man in grey walk through the now hole in the wall.
"Not you again," her shoulders slumped. When was this guy going to stop?
"Look, I need to get to Mal. He needs me." Tamar tried to convince Joshua while backing away from him.
There was no way she was going to be able to take this guy on without a lot of help. But with Malachi as close as he was, to touch their shared power could kill him. On the other hand, not getting to him might kill him as well. There had to be a way she could get to Mal without killing him in the process.
"I'm going through those doors and you can't stop me." She spat, circling to her left.
"I don't know who you think you are, or why you're here, but no one can get past me, not now, not ever." Joshua planted his right foot hard enough to leave a deep dent in the steel of the floor.
"You have no idea what we're become, do you? You will not keep us apart any longer. Now get out of our way or we will go through you, last warning." Tamar's voice sank several octaves, gaining a hint of the electronic resonance Malachi's always had. That fact was not lost on Joshua.
"Who are you? What are you?" He stepped forward and to his left to keep Tamar in front of him.
"Someone your brother needs, right now." Tamar slapped her chest. "I know what's wrong with him. Why he keeps getting worse instead of better."
Joshua perked up at that. "Why, what's wrong with him? I can't let you near him, but if you tell me, I'll tell the doctor so they can help him."
"No one can help him, not you, not the doctors," she spat that last word out as if it had a bad taste. "I have to get to him. I'm the only one who can."
"I have my orders. You will not be allowed anywhere near him. Now I will ask you again, what is wrong with my brother?" He took a series of quick steps forward, lifted into the air in an attempt to land a quick knockout.
His foot slashed through open air, for Tamar was no longer where she'd been a split second ago. Turning, his eyes caught a glance of Tamar's fist just before it collided with his cheek.
The blow didn't even phase him, yet his spinning back fist met nothing but empty air and he was struck on the other cheek.
"Don't make me do this. He's weak enough as it is." The strange girl spoke from off to his left.
"Do what?" He asked, spinning to lock both hands onto her shoulders. "I have no idea how you did that, but you're not going anywhere now."
"This!" Tamar roared, her bottom jaw unhinging, her mouth growing to monstrous proportions.
Reaching up, she grabbed both of Joshua's hands, peeling them off her shoulders with ease. His eyes opened wide in shook, there was no way this little girl should have that kind of strength. No one did, except Malachi. The thought had just entered his brain when a sidekick connected with his shoulder, sending him hurtling down the corridor to crash hard to the deck. When he looked up, she was gone.
"The Captain is not going to like this," he mumbled, picked himself off the floor and sprinted after her.
Where was he? He had to be here somewhere. But this place was huge. When Tamar had though, medical ward, she had envisioned a nice little room with beds lining the walls and surgical suites on both ends. This place, on the other hand, was a labyrinth, stretched seemingly on forever.
Rounding yet another corner, she saw nothing but corridor stretching out in front of her and sighed. She could tell she was getting close, she could feel it. So she continued her mad dash forward until she at last came around one final corner. Before her expanded one of the largest rooms, she'd ever seen. Gleaming white from floor to high vaulted ceiling, the room was the most advance hospital areas she could even think of. The sight made her want to vomit. She hated doctors, with their needles, their tests, their drugs, their promises. Everything about them made her skin crawl. So when she saw the two of them stop and turn their heads to look her way, she growled deep in her throat, her hackles raising.
"How in the hell did you get in here?" A commanding voice thundered from the other side of the football field size room, brought her attention to a large pane of glass.
The voice boomed from a man covered in silver. His suit was the same as Malachi's, yet again a different color. He shot towards Tamar just as she heard Joshua coming from behind her. Instead of trying to fight either of them, she dove to the side. She knew Malachi didn't like is commanding officer that much and had no idea what would happen if she tried fighting him.
Her dive flung her off the narrow cat walk she was on, down into the mass of benches and cubicles that were below. Landing in a crouch, Tamar darted under the nearest set of chairs she saw. Taking a moment to survey her surroundings, she was interrupted when both of the men after her crashed to the floor, not ten feet from her.
"Don't do this, he's dying and you too are just wasting time." She cried, tears welling in her eyes. "He needs ME!" She darted for a gap between two fake walls, but was intercepted before she could get there.
Joshua had her pinned before she could even take a single swing at him. She was twisted around and yanked hard to her feet.
"I am going to ask you this once and once only. What is wrong with my officer?" The man in silver marched up to her while Joshua held her from behind.
Tamar's gaze would have killed the man if it were capable. She wasn't going to give him anything. It wasn't until his hand shot forward and grabbed her chin. He didn't know her very well. If Tamar knew what she was about to unleash, she would have endured his touch, she would have taken anything. Jerking her head back, she wrenched it away from his touch, then shot it forward, managing to grab one of his fingers between her teeth. If he was anything like Mal, she wouldn't be able to get through the suit, but she was not going to let this man intimidate her.
"What are you doing?" He shouted, yanking his finger out of her grasp.
He grabbed the back of her head, his fingers twisting in the thick hair.
"You're very lucky I was taught not to hit females," he brought her face close to his. "But I have no problem throwing you in the brig and throwing away the key. Lieutenant, take her away."
The words had barely left his mouth when the entire starboard end of the medical wing exploded. Debris and shrapnel knocked several of the medical team screaming to the floor, it was only by blind chance that none were at that end of the space when the explosion occurred.
Out of the dust and smoke walked a lone figure. It had to be him, she thought. But his silhouette was all wrong. He was hunched over, and his outline was nothing but a blur. Without a sound, the figure lept out of the concealing smoke to land amid the rubble.
"The lady does not like to be touched." It was her Mal!
He was alive, but something was wrong. He looked wild, unhinged, frightening. Tamar had never seen him like this and a fear crept up her spine, fear of what he was going to do.
All at once she was on her knees, the man holding her from behind gone without a sound. The next thing she heard, the man in front of her vanished with a single grunt. Standing to her feet, Tamar saw the man in silver thrown against a wall. , he hit it with enough force to dent the metal behind him.
"No one touches us, NO ONE!" Malachi roared, the force behind the words bringing the man to his knees.
Tamar ran forward. She had to reach him before he did something he'd regret. Why was he acting like this? He'd never been this aggressive, this menacing, ever?
"What is this Central? You told me he was in a coma." Captain Prey twisted in mid air, turning what would have been a disabling impact into simply a painful one.
"He is in a coma. This is not the Malachi you know, who any of you know. This is his subconscious. You have no idea what he's capable of now. His control is gone. He's acting on instinct now." Central replied.
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