CHAPTER 12259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7W8AsSPjkJ
ONE SHOT ONE KILL259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsikzbtpGFG
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Her hand slid down my back, with gentle touch, until it became first playful and then sassy, coming to rest between my groin and knee. "Are you feeling it?" she asked softly. Those eyes penetrated my soul and made me feel naked and helpless. My body was going for it, yet I remained motionless not knowing what to do and panic unfortunately got the better of me.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡifsyb4fzPt
"I-I think that's enough for tonight," I replied suddenly embarrassed. I got up and sat back down. She did the same, only she sat down in front of me looking out to sea, took my arms and wrapped them around herself like a shawl. She laid her head on my chest. To feel her breathing was a magnificent feeling. "I'm sorry is that I don't...," I awkwardly tried to justify myself.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cgqxzqVyt
"Take it easy," she said understandingly. "One step at a time. How strange." "What?"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPxN41U31G
"I always hear that strange noise.... But ... is it coming from ... inside you?" she asked puzzled.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4BVEhT2og
"It's my other heart," I explained naturally. "My diplocardium."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiOG7Ozpmxq
"Your ... diplocardium? You have two hearts? For real?" the girl widened her eyes. "I thought you were joking."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItZ4Q2BADV
"Let's make it a secret, okay? However, it is inaccurate... My heart is connected to another organ that pulses with it. Under the right conditions, it secretes a very strong doping substance into my system. Kind of like when the brain secretes adrenaline to soothe pain or get intoxicated before danger."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2hPbAGUdxO
"Doping substance?"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFd2G6oBkWY
"Me, John, our father-we carry this genetic anomaly with us. It's not some kind of top secret military experiment if you ask me. By the way, it seems that only our body metabolizes the serum it secretes. When we are in a high-stress, life-threatening situation, this little trump card goes off. Unlike John, however, I cannot consciously activate it, just as you cannot decide when to make the pancreas secrete bile. It is unconscious-but timely. If I get injured, depending on the severity of the injuries and the amount of nutrients available, the serum is put into my bloodstream. If I need more strength, more speed or reflexes, the mix of substances changes, it adapts to the situation. If I need my muscles and joints to withstand, for example, a rather high fall...."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQP5mdAcNwA
Nothing more needed to be added. Deena understood how we had saved ourselves from the fall at the Jaurès in Paris. "What about that blue light?"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15ck2mYdiu
"Side effect of the healing process. Apparently there are naturally fluorescent substances. Mixing with the blood coming out of the wounds, well you see a little chilling effect in the dark. I guess that's pretty bizarre huh? I told you, family gift."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeX7ubyAFj0
Deena laughed. "And I thought Christelle was strange."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgql5SVyOHn
"Would she be strange, miss glowing eyes in the dark?"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5dNFuP8Nb6
"Exaggerated, they are not so shiny," he minimized with strange hesitancy.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdmKG4OZHhn
"But if it's two light bulbs," I observed them. "We're all pretty weird in this group. Fate put us all together on this island, I wonder why."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWjnk04ffv
"I know why," she said, kissing me tenderly on the neck. I was happy that she had taken that story so well. The fear that she couldn't accept me, that she saw me as some kind of bloodthirsty monster, was unfounded after all. "Do you have any other superpowers?" "Superpowers?", I repeated amused. "But no but no! But what superpowers! If they can259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKyCuvqKMsz
synthesize it, you'll find it in the energy bars you buy at the mall." "Didn't they lock you in some lab to find out what this is all about?"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMBAUvWc0k
"No." His question reflected all his distrust of Humanity. "Some things you only see in movies. Occasionally they take samples from me to study it but nothing more. My family has been working for Mankind for years and this peculiarity has been known. Also, the real interesting specimen should be John. As I told you, he is much stronger than I am." That night the silence became a melody. The crackling of flames was all that was needed between us. "What are you thinking about?" he asked, observing me.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3afHy8b4mH
"To nothing. I try not to think right now. Okay, I can't - I think about the later." "To the later?"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxx9CUNho6X
"Sooner or later, we will leave this island."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1t6SP1Gyr9
"Oui. What will become of us?"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQvFpw36y1
"You will be protected. That is certain. I'm sure of that," I said with some determination. "I will go through some trouble once I get home, but considering everything I've discovered I should manage somehow. I imagine you will be transferred to a secure facility until this is all over. The Navajo crew, on the other hand, will go straight to jail." "When will I see you again then?" she asked as she lowered her gaze.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtOuwQBbooW
"Who can tell," he said appearing disinterested.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFumHLDJmIu
"And you don't mind?"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImNtDDMmnZ
"Don't get me wrong Deena-I don't want to abandon you. Now that I am here I realize that there is still a lot about me that I want to understand and.... there is a lot about you that I want to learn about. Yes a little voice inside me insists that I am doing wrong in going along with these feelings.... But I want to ignore it for a while. I want to keep being with you, I want to keep feeling your presence, your voice, I want to look at the light in your eyes again."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBsGuaJrnrs
Deena squeezed into my shoulders, pressing her head against my chest and snuggling259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPqHbisDDf
down, smiling. "See?" she said. "Now you're really cute. And you're a virgin." I mumbled a couple of disoriented vowels.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKKpliAWd8
The girl laughed still amused by my candor and embarrassment. "Don't worry! Someone like you, with the life you've led, is normal.... I'm lucky, it will mean I'll have you all to myself, brand new," she explained in a persuasive voice. The proposal ignited my imagination and led me to suddenly warm up.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkKHFeiPNLP
'Lucky,' I repeated, losing myself in observing the flames. 'Lucky,' I thought again. I could not believe that she would think that of me. My existence was rooted in blood, I was serving a power that wanted to rip her off the planet and that sooner or later in exchange for salary would exaggerate my own life. How could this be true? How could he really love me? Incredulous, with a pulse, I held her tightly to me. I was going to protect her. No matter what the cost.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOJyKslYvs
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The morning air was the same as always, cool and humid. I slept peacefully under a palm tree a few meters from our shelter, wearing my coat. The dawn had gently accompanied me as I woke up, felt the wind ruffling my hair and the sunlight warming my lips. I needed some time alone after the night spent with Deena, and after the descent from the mountain amid smiles and chatter, hand in hand, I asked to stay there. She regretted my choice but respected it.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiUsFaqmCut
I was filled with peace. You know child, it may sound like a trivial thought but for someone like me at that time, it was really a new feeling. Living inside a cage of prohibitions, commands and duties, for a boy of that age was not easy or healthy.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9dGOroInRs
There was always someone who expected something from me, someone who demanded obedience, results, scores from me. The lives of my comrades always depended on me in some way, the reputation of the academy, that of my family. Duty. It was always and only duty, in first place even when I had my headshots. Until then, I had only had that. But even that was a lie. I had chosen to put that first, because knowing that that gilded cage would still give direction to my life basically comforted me. I had chosen to be a cadet at the Seattle Military Academy and nothing more. No friends, no feelings, no distractions, just duty. Under that palm tree, on that rock in the middle of an unknown sea, I was free of all that. I had found someone who, despite my masks, understood me. Who even said he loved me for the person I was deep down and not for the person I had chosen to be in everyone's eyes, including myself. I smiled in the dawn, full of enjoyment.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSbF80h6gP
I squinted an eye to look around: two dark, stocky figures, armed with rifles, were moving ape-like not far from me. I almost cringed at catching sight of two Diĝir-ga-šum guards. A cold shiver went down my spine and I barely tried to catch a glimpse of more, but to no avail. I could try to get rid of them: I jumped to my feet and, after quickly drawing my knife, killed them from behind by slitting their throats. The two fell dead on the sand, dropping their weapons. I took possession of them and without delay went to look for Deena inside the house but up the stairs I saw that both girls were not there and neither was the rest of the group. I dressed completely in my uniform wearing the uniform shirt and pants, used the inside pockets of my coat to store the magazines taken from the demi-humans and rifle on the hunt went in search of my friends.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmsJnLRBh4
Meanwhile, the officer who had custody of the demi-humans I had annoyed earlier became aware of the deaths of two of his subordinates. If I had understood correctly, the men in black were controlling them almost directly, through mental contact. Killing them therefore meant instantly alerting their commander. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8VjbTyeNDZ
It was not long before a squad of demi-humans led by the slender officer emerged from behind a crumbling apartment building heading marching toward me. I noticed them through the window and immediately rushed out of the house. Without thinking I began to fire. Three of those things fell to the ground lifeless, while the others responded to the attack by firing a swarm of shots. I could only retreat and disappeared into the bush. I ran making my way through the shrubs, running wildly and heading for the mountains of the island. Suddenly a dark, muscular arm grabbed me by the collar of my inseparable duster and dragged me violently to himself. "It's me!" the voice of Asif reassured me. "Follow me, we are holed up in a hole nearby," and he started running. I followed him without speaking, and soon we both found ourselves at the entrance to a small cave half-hidden by broad-leafed climbing plants. It was indeed a hole. A narrow dark burrow that widened slightly after about ten steps. It was a real surprise when in front of Asif leading the way I saw a rusty, metal door embedded in a gray brick wall. Asif knocked three times and the door creaked open, then beckoned me in. I followed him looking over my shoulder and stepped through the doorway. I found myself in a low-ceilinged room, illuminated by a flashlight resting on a rusty crate. The "bunker" was rectangular, just over four meters wide but more than twenty meters long. It looked like some kind of warehouse. There were large iron crates stacked on the side walls and at the back of the room. I looked carefully for one particular face: I saw Hank and Jake talking animatedly and Agatha who had come to open the door. Christelle was standing near the flashlight with a worried look on her face.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyK3Tlnl5dG
"Daith!" the person I was looking for called to me. I turned and found Deena intent on hugging me. I took her in my arms and kissed her without reservation. I felt relieved. She was all right.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHfQ3CB2BW
"When I didn't see you, I was scared to death," I whispered to her. I couldn't stop hugging her.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkZ7mtUIBh
"Take it easy, I'm fine. We are all here now," he reassured me.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwYuWEazXRm
"Cute you are, but this is no time for purring. We're in deep shit," Jake broke in. That voice that had become less annoying to me over time brought me to reality. I loosened my grip.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzqxB7t9SX
"Demi-humans everywhere," said Asif, who distraught had gone to sit next to Christelle.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9BYRvLufTA
"How is this possible? They only found us now after weeks?" I asked.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFvdJUrAoJ
"Did you turn on the beacon last night?" asked Christelle.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhthorpZgP4
I nodded and put two and two together. "Fuck," I blamed myself. "John was keeping an eye on the emergency frequency." 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWeM50cufH
"They're here now, let's focus," Hank began. "They landed this morning not far from the airport in a shuttle of a class I've never seen. There are at least 40 of them." "Levane five," I interrupted him gravely.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxvXn9o0AA
"Anyway, they patrolled the island and arrived here in town. They didn't see us, Jake who was mounting guard woke us up and we escaped. We didn't reach you in time but you're here, so it's okay. We'll need all the guns we can get to get out of here alive. Especially now that they've seen you."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9K6NPzsnZP
"Assuming we kill them all, more will come," Asif said. "He must have hundreds if he attacked Hobson's Rock, right?"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9KlxlR7Gw6
"True, but we still can't hide here forever," Jake became nervous.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLC545ZOSmU
"He is here," Christelle suddenly said. Everyone looked at her without understanding.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ50AjljO3xP
"He who?" asked Hank.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9lcqsYyG4Z
"John," said I, easily guessing what the girl was feeling at that moment. She looked terrified. "Charon is here. Some of his men don't have the device and I can hear them thinking. They know we are here, but they don't know where yet. He is looking for us and will not leave until he finds us. And once he finds us...," Christelle interjected. "He is furious."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUxoQVJTq8
"It's okay. She has to catch us first," I reassured her. She could read the insecurity I felt at that moment anyway, so it was of little use. I had never seen her so scared.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHxw02x7r1
"The fact that Charon is here is not necessarily a disadvantage, on the contrary," Jake suggested.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVF88lQCGP9
"He will be well escorted," Hank observed, sensing his companion's intentions.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XeWIN73TZ
"Forget it. On DGS I wounded him by sheer luck, we will never kill Charon by fighting him on the ground. He's too good," I said, swinging my head and crossing my arms.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzajwhYStS
"So are you," Deena encouraged. "You can beat it."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhV1Ypwg5R
I appreciated that confidence and it had some effect. I used to fear John more than anything else in the world. I looked Deena in the eye and realized that losing her made me much more afraid. "Killing the leader. Once he is out of the way his people will be confused and those in charge will have lost a key pawn. It will take time for them to return. We may even try to steal their shuttle."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRM1k7gn84P
"I repeat, he will be well escorted. It is impossible to take him out by assaulting him directly," Hank insisted.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8dVHIoglf
"Jake, you can center it from a distance," Asif proposed.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopjfwyeDec
"But it will always be on the move. We have to take it where we want it and keep it at bay for a while," Jake explained. "Sort of like a kill zone."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5oVi8mnt9
"I have an idea!" continued Asif. "We can use the jeep!"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlO1TiIkqYu
"Asif, you've come up with a couple of right answers now shut up okay," Jake silenced him. "No no. We assault them with the jeep and make them retreat to where we want, maybe near the airport which is flat and has few trees. You stand in a tree and shoot them. You have a few tries but you can do it," Asif insisted. "His demics are all over the island looking for us there won't be that many with him."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB7KJx8tGFp
"Do you want to bait the jeep? And how long do you think you'll last sorry? Just shut up for a minute okay?" the impatient friend scolded him. Hank was hardly even listening to them, immersed in his own thoughts looking for a way out.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jh0rzL8ba
"But no bait. I'll mount one of these on it," Asif said, smiling. He got up from the ground and walked over to one of the crates and opened it. Then both Jake and I walked over and looked inside. Hank looked up lost from the ground and stared at us doubtfully.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2pBzze9EB
"Am I not a love?" asked Asif, smiling.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDcS2kHPLm
"Fuck yes," Jake exclaimed. Instead of slapping the fellow as usual, he clapped a hand on his shoulder smugly.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8CcuMgE5Q
"What?" asked Hank, who was no longer on edge.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqSeWqhmq3y
I turned and began to smile. Deena had already seen that expression and began to worry. "I'm in," I said, "but on one condition." "Which one?" asked Asif.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpkElFhbmlW
"I stand in the fifth wheel."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDApqYBbd8S
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"Jake is in position," communicated Hank a few hours later.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6GVYpJVK6
"Are we really endorsing a plan of Asif's?", I asked with some second thoughts.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrkxP98tgL
"The situation is this," Hank summarized. "You and I and Asif will get to point A, mount the tool on the jeep, and head to point B where it looks like Charon has set up some sort of base camp. At this point we will open fire at those monsters and try to keep them engaged as much as possible. That is, until Jake manages to shoot Charon. Only then will we retreat, pick up Jake, and rush to the shuttle. And that's where it's going to be tough. We will have to be flawless. Once we get the shuttle we will fly here and then go!" "Not bad Hank, but what do you mean by away?", I asked.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBEnZqh3Ahc
"Far away. As soon as we are safe we will dump you somewhere."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgFPr03Ohog
"And will you keep the shuttle?"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJl4Ks4lTVE
"Of course. Ours was lost."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiYB8kP6WhO
"It may contain important information about the technology used by Charon's organization," I objected.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKULcXlEVF
"Take it or leave it, kid," Hank said immovably.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkfeS1Ott1g
"If it were just for me, I wouldn't be into it. But I have other lives to think about," I relented.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUzJYUmaaB
"We agree then."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBMJ8srSJz
"What technique will we use to distract the soldiers?", I asked then.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEog2X5pmTe
"While Asif mounts the tool, the two of us will attach iron plates so that they cover the wheels, to protect them as much as possible from bullets. We will do the same with the three sides of the body on the engine. We will go back and forth while staying apart and in perpetual motion. It will be risky, especially for you."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUcudHDfH7
"Iron plates? They won't hold if they use perforants," I warned him. Hank was well aware of that limitation and looked at me in silence. "At least demi-humans have bad aim," I sighed. "Let's move!" said Asif, taking our secret weapon over his shoulder. Hank picked up a bag with some tools in it found in that strange storage facility, a secret bunker dating back to the war. Who knows when they had discovered it and why they had never told me about it. I banished unnecessary thoughts from my mind, put on my raincoat and closed it tightly. Both guns under my overcoat were unloaded but I counted on the weapons I had stolen from the dead demi-humans. Asif and Hank had just left. Agatha, Christelle, and Deena remained in the room, and they were to await our return aboard the shuttle. I greeted all three of them, then headed for the exit. As soon as I walked through the door Deena called my name, "Daith wait!" I turned and let her hold me.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5Ok47LaE1
"Take them out," she said with a tone and resolve that I never expected from her. I nodded my head accompanied by an affirmative sound, squeezed her hand for a moment and then pulled her away from me, freeing myself from the embrace.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0sQQgEGnuQ
"I'll do it right away," I said as I ran out of the cave without looking back and went to join Asif and his boss.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDJDzgsBIVC
We ran back toward the resort and it was really exhausting, especially because of the equipment and ammunition crates we were carrying. Every so often we would stop and trying to hold our breath we would remain silent to try to intercept any enemy patrols. We had no such displeasure fortunately and arrived at the buildings without a hitch. On the ground near our apartment were still the demi-humans I had killed, whose blood had stained the dusty asphalt red. Hank observed the area around the building for a long time. He was the leader of the mission, and since he had sounded them off to me a few days earlier, I no longer felt like contradicting what he was saying. The jeep was intact where they had last parked it and it was also in a fairly sheltered place. We ran low to the vehicle and got right to work: I loaded the crates with ammunition on the back of the jeep and helped Hank fix the iron plates with hammer and nails to "armor" the car to the best of our ability, while Asif skillfully secured our secret weapon to the jeep's roll cage. In all, it took us twenty minutes. We were quick but not exactly quiet. Between Asif's hammering and cursing we were lucky that no one noticed us. Sure the "armor" was pathetic, those plates were thin enough that a slingshot would have passed them, but they were hard enough to deflect the blows that would have come from the side.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNsrYWadkOY
While I was working I kept thinking about her. It was a new thing for me: usually, my blood was warmed in those situations. I had more enthusiasm than fear; I was focused, cool, eager to fight. Instead, I was experiencing a lot, perhaps too much fear. Was this perhaps John's fault? At first I wanted to think it was his presence that scared me.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQ1JaABJyp
The job finished, we mounted aboard the vehicle, started the engine, and hopefully headed for the attack. Asif was in the driver's seat while Hank and I were the operators of the stupendous machine gun the man had unearthed in the bunker. Actually, I had reserved the firing duty for myself, while Hank crouched on the floor of the vehicle provided reloading and at most a replacement in case of my sudden departure.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeI0lYFXIet
We traveled down the road flat out headed for the airport. Jake had told us where he would more or less stand but we had not set any signal. It would have been enough for him to hear with his ears. Eventually we saw the airport and also saw Charon's spacecraft in the distance. The base camp as they had called it was nothing more than the landing site itself, and that made me anxious. Jake's reconnaissance was already unreliable. I noticed that the shuttle was a commercial transport model, nothing as alien or sci-fi as Diĝir-ga-šum's interior seemed. I was reassured: surrendering it to Hank and Co. would not be such a major malus. All around us was a wild savanna-like plain, with tall yellow grass beaten by the sun. To our right rose the island reliefs, where the very high cliffs were also located. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3NA9iMchfX
The hatch of the ship's hold was open and touched the ground acting as a loading ramp. All around the ship were about 20 demi-humans and a few officers. Those little monsters were carrying curious shields, similar to riot shields but made of metal alloy and greatly exaggerated in size when compared to them. As soon as they saw us some sort of alarm sounded and those horrible things coordinated by their masters arranged themselves at battle stations arranging those shields to form well sheltered positions.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAYSXfmh9y4
"Not bad for little monkeys," I commented.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7i1607cKO6
"Now Daith!" ordered Hank.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNQvWAufTK
"Yes, sir! Eat shit you bastards!", I shouted elatedly and began to machine gun. That barrel took to singing like a charm and I rained hell down on Charon and his thugs. This was finally beginning to intrigue me.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gsavhgmhG
Charon's shots bounced off the plates, splintering them but not piercing them. We were too far away still for the demi-humans' rifles to penetrate them, yet the bullets were able to pierce us, even from further away.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW031rGLo8B
"And seven!" I shouted elatedly, hearing for the umpteenth time a whistle close this time to my left ear.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡndsZXYTZ9m
"Asif curves less quickly or you will capsize us!" ordered Hank.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXPXqMLcFpM
"Yes boss!" shouted Asif, who despite the risk was having the time of his life. The man curved and we completed our fourth lap around the spacecraft. I could see Charon laughing as he shot us along with the officers. He was the only one who did not throw himself to the ground as I machine-gunned. By now about fifteen of those monsters were dead but it seemed that the fire against us was always constant. Our ammunition, on the other hand, was beginning to run low.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMhO4MXeNf
"I don't like Hank at all! Your man must have failed!" I shouted.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7TGlz3mP6
"Daith we are dry here. You have about ten seconds of fire!" the blond warned me, then turned to Asif. "When Daith stops firing make half a turn to give Jake as much time as possible, then we have to retreat!"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQuHFf63xSy
"Charon is not moving from his position, why doesn't Jake shoot?", I shouted. A bullet hit my chest causing me to scream in pain and fall to the floor of the vehicle.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSG9Ee8475
"Shit! Asif I'll replace him do as I say then fall back to the cave!" ordered Hank taking my place at the machine gun. He fired short, controlled bursts at the shuttle for about twelve seconds, but it was useless. One shot went through the door on the driver's side, wounding Asif in the leg.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUWjmM8HoB
"Enough is enough!" shouted Hank and we backtracked. That improvised plan had gone terribly wrong.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcx5xoqDpq
Asif stopped the car about a hundred meters from the cave entrance and parked it inside the jungle. Hank helped me out and left instructions for Asif to camouflage the vehicle somehow. Once inside, the girls and the doctor stared at us in terror. Deena whitened as she saw me being supported by Hank with a pained expression.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ijkxHEpXI
"It's okay quiet!" I reassured her. "Just a scratch. The coat worked well. The bullet didn't even go in but the rib maybe.... Doctor...."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgpsTk98ghb
"Yes," Agatha answered promptly and set to work immediately.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUjrQcp0Zh
"It went bad, very bad," cried Hank. "How to fix it, how?"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM58etdyqAL
We stayed catching our breath until Agatha finished giving me an excellent compression bandage. I quickly dressed myself, ignoring the twinges. However, as soon as I fastened my belt, we heard a bang coming from outside the cave. Hank and I rushed out the door and circumspectly peeked out of the cave through the vines. There where we had stopped the jeep a column of black smoke was rising. We ran to see.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡruEcPzHivW
"There were three of them on board, let's go see in the direction of those buildings!" ordered the officer, and immediately the demi-humans followed him meekly. We waited until we saw the last of those monsters disappear from our view and immediately went to the site of the explosion. Asif lay a few meters from the burning jeep lying prone in a pool of blood. Hank's eyes widened and he took his comrade in his arms. His body was ravaged by the explosion; there was nothing more he could do. Hank was desperate and overwhelmed with pain. He knew that Jake might be dead and now Asif had left him as well. At that moment, Hank revealed his whole human side.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ885BQQZATk
"That officer was an idiot. Charon will come back here and discover the cave. We have to move and fast. Let's head for the town to the west. Hank! Hank pull yourself together!", I said. He looked at me in pain. The fire was burning noisily devouring the remains of the jeep.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ycAKEy18e
We had to leave quickly. So I ran inside and found Christelle in the most desperate cry while Deena and the doctor tried to figure out what had suddenly gotten into her. I explained that Asif was dead, and without giving her time to recover, I dragged her by the hand out of the bunker and took all three of them to Hank. He had not yet moved, yet I did not allow Christelle to see Asif's remains because of how badly tanned they were.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6lg6CaFjkG
"Move Gage!" I shouted again.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwSOVS3UREH
"It's over. It's every man for himself," he said. I almost didn't recognize him. I grabbed him by the shirt and punched him in the teeth, which made him sprawl on the ground, yelling at him to wake up. He stood motionless staring at me for a few moments, then looked at Agatha, changing his expression. He stood up sharply, then punched me in the stomach.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXnoqvaF5w
He bent me in two mainly because of the shotgun blast embedded earlier.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHUHlUZzjky
"We need to find Jake," he said shortly afterward.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZiMtsROvW0
"First we have to hide. Jake is smart and they are not looking for him. We have to escape!" exclaimed Agatha with very little camaraderie.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCiPpWjvsZu
"All right. Hurry up kid!" he ordered and started running followed by the doctor. I went to pick up the girls left on purpose a few meters behind. I took poor suffering Christelle by the hand and dragged her on Hank's trail. Deena ran nimbly and followed my advice by getting ahead of me. Thus it was that we were separated by about ten steps. We ran through the jungle without having a fixed direction. We ran but I soon realized that Hank had lost his bearings. I called out to him. I heard gunshots a little further on and some leaves around me exploded with some hissing sounds.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLA2kyb8azY
"Get down," I said to Christelle, who promptly ducked. I reached the head of the group. Hank was shooting at a patrol of demi-humans who had intercepted us. I ran to back him up, put my hand to my rifle and fired almost blindly at the silhouettes moving through the bush. Christelle was trying to take cover behind me. I had lost sight of the doctor and Deena. Suddenly a few shots implanted themselves within inches of my right foot; I lowered my gaze to the ground and did not notice a demi-human popping up to my left from behind a bush.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡerwQe9FdLJ
"Daith no!" cried Christelle suddenly, pushing me hard. The girl fell backward avoiding the monster's blows and I was able to set him up for the holidays by shooting him in the neck.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkPuJF46DP
At that moment Hank took off running without offering us any more help. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5eVosSWm24
"How are you? Are you all right?", I asked looking at her worriedly.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCu2P19N42O
"It's okay, hero," he smiled. "You're here to protect us!"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqH9NjYQGJl
"Of course," I smiled in turn reassuredly. I wasn't going to let anything happen to that meddling angel.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3TdE673GSe
I took Christelle's hand again and tried to get back on Hank's trail. My ribs were hurting a lot and I was breathing hard. I didn't have enough breath to tell Hank to stop and inevitably in the heat he detached us again. Bullets grazed us from all directions. The jungle ended and we finally came out into the open on a clearing and I finally saw the group standing still, motionless.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqo4LOCNMy
"The game ends here!"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNTZayeZ0S
"Shit!", I exclaimed in disbelief at the sight of John arriving very quickly in a strange aircraftlike vehicle without a canopy, shaped like a disc and chock-full of demi-humans. He dismounted with a leap and stood in front of it. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUY0GldY0Y
"What happened to Jake?" asked Hank shaken and shrugged.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tQssRaDFE
"That kind of sniper? He's dead," he replied coldly. "Diversionary and hitman, seriously gentlemen I might as well have turned you in right away. Daith, I expected to find you already dead after our last, shall we call it, meeting?"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHmSaAEOgL
"What are you talking about?" I asked confused and disinclined to conversation. He examined me for a few moments. "You think it was all a dream, don't you?"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMAgIPjbh7m
I assumed an obviously stupid air, and John shook his head in disappointment.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3HdiYKNtE
"Charon, the huri is on board, we are ready to move," reported one of the officers aboard the vehicle.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡScItU6pc3T
"The what?", I asked as I looked at Hank.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgh5jGM8nUs
"He has your girlfriend," she replied.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQptNn7G5Mw
"Well well," Charon resumed. "What is that look?"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ85msYnG21Y
I looked at him confused, then realized he was not mad at me. I followed the imaginary line between his predatory eyes and his target, and at the end of the walk I found Christelle standing beside me.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDafST57Odr
Charon removed his ESP device and looked at the girl who faded in returning my brother's glance. I realized that she was now reading John's mind, accessing his most hidden secrets. She trembled with fear, her gaze as frightened as ever. Christelle, even in captivity in Diĝirga-šum, had always had a stoic awareness, an impeccable poise that seemed rooted in an unshakable faith that things would work out.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNDWqzDA21
That faith was as if gone, blown away by the wind sweeping the plain around us. "You're getting it, aren't you?" continued Charon, forking the device again. "You have lost. I will sweep you all away. I will hunt you down like the animals you are. Starting with you." It was a flash. Charon drew his gun from his holster, pointed it in less than a second at the girl and fired. The back of Christelle's head exploded in a cloud of blood and the girl fell backward, dead.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡej33QqCfID
I came wet even in the face from those tepid vermilion drops. I had seen everything as if in slow motion and yet my mind simply refused to accept the last two seconds.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrqVFlBQOP
I looked at that angelic face, the last look imprinted forever was full of fear. The entry hole, precise and tiny, perfectly in the center of the forehead, leaked just a drop of blood. The platinum blond hair, like strands of gold scattered on the ground, soaked in an infamous pool of blood among the dry grass.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfm3Vd6GCgx
Charon holstered his gun, never changing expression for an instant. I stared at him with a gaze charged not with anger, not with sadness. Loaded with tremendous despair.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXCqcrVp3G
At that moment, only at that instant, John came back out showing me a human pain even in his of face. He turned his back to me, as if his work was done there. "We can go. Fire up the thrusters, we are leaving immediately."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9p4aUwcer
"Let go of Deena!" I shouted, partially lifting Christelle's body, closing her once light-filled eyes.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxNBAVEJiYI
Charon stopped and turned away for a few moments. I knew that look. He was making an important decision. "Kill them," he ordered coldly and made to walk away, turning his back on me again.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjNUJdbG2I
"Coward!" I yelled at him. "Kill me yourself if you have the balls!" He paused for a moment, then resumed walking. The demi-humans gathered in a semicircle around us pointing their weapons for execution.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWfauTr8Je
A series of bursts originated behind us and a barrage of bullets tore the air. With pinpoint accuracy the shots went into the bodies of the demi-humans, smashing them into at least two pieces each. Charon threw himself to the ground and the few survivors among his men followed suit. Crawling he managed to take refuge in the bush along with the few survivors as the vehicle was riddled with fire eventually falling to the ground, raising a tide of dust and igniting the grass around it. We threw ourselves to the ground as frightened and surprised as our enemies. With my body I tried to protect Christelle from the blows raining down all around. But it was all in vain, for those blows were not for us. I ventured to look in the direction from which the shots came and could not help but smile.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBWOpV0X9y
With their heavy footsteps jolting the ground, the combat exoskeletons of the Humanity assault regiments prepared for the attack on Charon's forces. Their blue exoskeletons glowed in the sun and their large-caliber weapons blazed as they advanced recklessly and accurately. Their combat armor consisted of a heavy exoskeleton made of multilayered armored alloys, slow and clumsy especially on Terra but virtually immune to every kind of light weapon in existence, real tanks on two legs.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡssmpqUUjLe
"Feds! Ag, get out of here!" said Hank and took off at a breakneck pace toward town followed by the doctor.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5FaM6Nc4x
I didn't mind him. I went back to focusing on Christelle cold and motionless in my arms. My eyes filled with tears. The brain refused to accept the situation. I screamed. "Christelle answer me! Say fucking something! Say something...Medic!", I shouted in the direction of the soldiers. A couple of them noticed us and headed toward us pointing their rifles and holding us at gunpoint. I got up annoyed by their righteous distrust and headed toward them. "Stop sir! Identify yourself!" one of the two said to me in the typical voice altered by the microphone inside the helmet.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKorRiNb3dV
"I am Lieutenant Lester from the Seattle Military Academy, and this is a wounded civilian. Give me a weapon and render her aid!" I ordered.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9vplCyJH6
"A cadet? ID scan in progress--negative--sir. We will escort you to the hovercrafts and await orders from our commander. Anderson, take the civilian."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZCMMBKiMf
"Sir, she is not hurt," the other armorer said shortly afterward. "She is dead," he ascertained. He gently took Christelle in his arms and lifted her off the ground, then escorted us both about five hundred meters. Three of the cuirassiers' hovercraft were moored on the beach. Immediately the field medics rushed in to examine us. I sent them all to Christelle. I spoke to the commander but there was no way he would authorize me to join the fight. I informed him of the presence of two civilians missing on the island and immediately alerted the various teams. I was allowed to listen to the soldiers' conversations through a loudspeaker since my SAI was out. I was close to Christelle, still surrounded by medics. I was paying more attention to the battle than to the doctors but as soon as my mind distinguished the word "dead" immediately my attention focused on the girl.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw5Gp7Ma00E
"What's going on?", I asked. I received no answer. "What the fuck is going on?", I shouted louder.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCjDzIXBJh
"Sir this girl died on the spot," a doctor replied. "Is she okay? Did she suffer head trauma?" "Dead nothing! Christelle!", I called to her, lifting her shoulders. Her head remained attached to the bunk where she lay and her neck bent. "Christelle wake up! Christelle no!"259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc9Ai5nuGNu
The doctors thought I had gone mad, and with good reason. Christelle's body left not the slightest doubt about her instantaneous end. I had just suffered a deep psychological trauma, my mind unable to comprehend reality. "Sir it's over," the same doctor repeated to me. "Pull yourself together, can't you see the condition of her head? She was shot in the head lieutenant, she died immediately! Try to be still, we'll give you an injection to calm you down."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvdvmbdYYg
The serene face, the snow-white skin, the eyes closed as if asleep... Christelle had faded away before my eyes. The loudspeaker continued to broadcast the dialogue between the soldiers.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdIlVSx1Am
"...contact!" - "Enemy down! Good shot Fireblade" - "Bravo 5.0 on command. Enemy heading inland" - "Enemy down. This is Bravo 6.2 north beach secure" - "...down! Doctor!" - "This is Bravo 2.0 inland northwest secure!" - "Man down! Where the hell did that come from!" - "Bravo 4.3 on command enemy retreats inside to shuttle, remarkable resistance await instructions..."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7XDVXsREN
"They are running away," I said as the doctor approached with a briefcase.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKUgqse5lG
"Sir be calm they don't escape," he reassured me. "Lie down inside the medevac now, we will take care of you."259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Lv8nX2Bq2
I could not accept it. I pushed him to the ground by running in the direction of the gravibykes (similar to snowmobiles, propelled by a jet engine and lifted off the ground with a small gravitational repulsor, Ed. ) used by doctors to get to the wounded at speed.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0H0WyQ2gpj
"What are you doing? Stop!" someone shouted behind me. I took off at full power blinded by a thirst for revenge. My brother's head was in my mind precariously attached to his respective neck. I covered the road to Charon's ship in only ten minutes. I arrived, passed the Allied front, and without caring for the demi-humans' gunfire I kamikazed myself onto the shuttle. I jumped off the craft a few meters before it exploded against the hull of the DGS transport. I ran and slipped inside the cargo hold. The hatch was closed shortly after, leaving the demi-humans who were still fighting on the ground.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxRxZzdpJp
I had holed up in a sort of hold that only later began to fear was neither air-supplied nor pressurized, as was often the custom in ordinary ships. Fortunately, I was wrong. After takeoff, during which I found myself splattered on the floor from the acceleration, I remembered being completely unarmed except for a knife. Hours passed I think but perhaps darkness, anxiety, physical chest pain and mental pain lengthened the wait. But finally, the shuttle docked. I was back in the wolf's den. Strangely, the EMP shield did not overwhelm me. Maybe their shuttles were shielded but I had to get out somehow. I needed one of those shields. I slipped out as quietly as I could from the cargo hold and went in search of some potential donors. I found two demi-humans intent on heading out of the ship toward the hangar where we had docked. It was a moment. Quickly I disconnected their shields catching them from behind, then ran off with one of them in my hand. They turned around confused, but remained motionless. As Christelle had said, in case some device is suddenly disconnected from their brains they were programmed to stand still and call maintenance. I put on that uncomfortable headband and before the arrival of mid Diĝir-ga-šum I took off running wildly around the hangar. I dived behind some containers and waited to see what happened. In less than a minute came demi-humans, officers and technicians I had never seen before, surrounded the shuttle and then cautiously entered, like a police raid. I was satisfied. Too distracted by the situation to mind a figure ambushed behind crates behind them, I could rest easy. I noticed an air vent spewing fresh air behind me. It was stuck, so with little effort and noise I slipped it out, jumped in, and closed it from the inside. I began to crawl in the dark.
259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgvNLe2xT9
