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It cut through her like a knife.
She felt it slide through her skin like a saw, drawing blood as she wobbled.
Wobbled and almost fell over like a sack of potatoes; had she have done so, it would've been over for her. She dreaded that thought once, but it was almost welcome now. But then the world turned upside down.
Her blade finally ignited, heat blazing against flesh and slicing through it with a single swipe. She was determined that death would not catch her out today, frantic swipes of her wrist turning into strategically thrown blocks and cuts.
Part of her mind continued to scream for her to stop, begging and pleading for her to not harm them. She ignored it. She ignored every single thought in her own mind; she had gone numb.
She kept moving backwards, quick enough for them not to catch but slow enough not to fall over. One wrong move is all it took, just as always and she would be dead.
The screams grew louder and louder, more and more desperate.
The last remaining member of 02 found her back against the wall.
Agony of a soldier as their teeth sank through her skin and into her flesh, just like the saw. But it had worse implications, and she knew that.
This was it.
But as if God himself had answered her call, there was light at the end of the tunnel at least for now. The sound of bullets ran closer and closer until it was practically bursting her eardrums. Not one of them remained standing after the onslaught, her gaze meeting one from steely baby blue orbs.
"Mira-" The pain in her voice was unmatched, not even by Mira's own. The woman fell to her knees. It was only a matter of time now, and Mira knew that as the tears threatened to spill.
Just like them. Just like every single one of those bastards. "Sphinx, look at me." Mira had to be brave.
Be brave for one more person.
Be brave for one more.
One last time.
With the contact of a midnight glove on the cocoa skin of Sphinx's cheek, the woman was forced to look into Mira's own irises. "Mira, do me a favour. You'd listen to a doomed woman's last wish, right?"
Mira nodded, her facade nearly to pieces, her face bloodied, beaten and blood seeping into her eyesight. It had blinded her almost entirely in one eye. Mira could only hope it was not permanent.
Mira swallowed her own spit as she listened carefully. "I want you to do one thing, do not die. I might be dying, but that doesn't give your sorry ass an excuse to give up..."
"Are you listening? Do not die, let this be my final command to you, Volkova! DO! NOT! DIE!" She screamed the last bit with the last of her energy, agony consuming her and confusing her. Her stomach lurched violently, but nothing would be expelled.
Death had never felt so real, but Mira envied her fellow supersoldier at the best of times. It stung more than an open wound to be letting her go.
Letting her go at their hands, their mutating, rough, world-killing hands.
The hands of death itself.
The moment that Mira snapped back to reality was the moment she realised the approaching wave. The same thing that was bound to take Lockheed Sphinx's life, was now at her front door.
She'd be the worst damn supersoldier if she didn't avenge the fallen members of both fireteams. She was a doomed woman herself at this point, and she knew that was for certain. That almost made it worse; Mira had to carefully wander the days whilst waiting and waiting for death.
"Sphinx, I cannot stand to see you suffer." Mira's voice was almost a forced whisper. She had no energy herself to speak the words she sought, but she would not let Sphinx down. And as Sphinx cried out from the sharp pain as the shock died down, Mira felt a numbness herself, her mind broken beyond repair. She felt exhausted, but she could not relax unless she wanted her own death to come sooner.
The least she could do was try. "I am going to finish the job for you. Rest easy, Sphinx. I'll see you someday."
Mira did not believe in God, but if there was any time to believe it was now. All that escaped Sphinx was the cries, until even those passed as acceptance came to her fate. Cries of shock and pain, but now those were both numb.
Mira raised herself to her feet, the difficult challenge easier as the adrenaline raced through her body. Mira ushered a shaky hand forward, clasping onto the bloodied dog tags around Sphinx's neck. With a gentle tug for someone of her calibre, Mira had the dog tags which she stuffed hastily in her backpack. She knew another wave would be arriving soon, so she'd have to hurry.
The pistol she had at hand would be the last thing Sphinx ever saw.
BANG!
"Rest easy, Jane." After the croak came the tears. They spilled down her cheeks and no matter how hard Mira tried, didn't stop. She had barely time to process anything that had happened leading to this moment. But she had little time to dwell as footsteps drew nearer and nearer. She took one last glance at the lifeless body on the floor, deathly pale. A single entry wound rested in the centre of Sphinx's forehead. A bitterness grew from the pit of her stomach, and the guilt rose up and bubbled in her throat.
Jane 'Sphinx' Walker had fallen. Taskforce 02 had been eliminated after a long and perilous fight. The only remaining member of Taskforce 08 was bound to die soon, as well.
But she wouldn't go down without a fight. She yelled at the lifeless body as she shot into it, firing all she had left in her magazine at the lifeless body. She searched the room, preparing for the oncoming wave as she unclipped her makeshift flamethrower from her front, preparing it for her use and her use only. Her pistol went back into the designated holster on her hip, and the last remaining Lockheed searched the room for an exit.
For someone who was about to die, she walked slow.
Her footsteps were not rushed as she took a slow stroll down the corridor. She pressed down momentarily on the trigger to ignite the front of the flamethrower, acting as a light source; something they could follow, but something to guide Mira too. She needed weapon at hand knowing there could be more of them at any corner.
She could see the blood stains on the wall clearly, a solemn reminder of all she had lost. Each and every footstep was accompanied by a thud, a familiar thud of the metal boots she wore. The power armour whirred with every step, Mira's head practically spinning by this point. Her mind was processing nothing and the entire existence of the universe at the same time.
Mira continued walking, even despite the stinging that had cut through her eye. She couldn't see now in one eye, and she could do nothing about the fact she now was permanently scarred with another solemn reminder. She then heard the footsteps approaching once more.
Behind her. She froze, turning around hastily as they grew louder and louder until they were practically on top of her. They were silent, they were stealthy and Mira waited a mere fraction of a second more.
She pulled and held the trigger as a horde of them flashed up in embers of orange. She began backing up, quick enough for them not to catch but slow enough not to fall over. She watched as their disfigured forms shrank as they burned, leaving behind trails of ashes. Smoke seeped into the air, floating upwards until it could go no higher. A layer of carbon dioxide was now coating the area above her, which was not helpful at all.
"Shit-" The screams grew louder and louder, more and more desperate.
The last remaining member of 08 found her back against the wall.
"Not today." She held the trigger down, refusing to let go. She knew she was wasting fuel, but it was down to Mira to protect Jane Walker's legacy. They must know what happened. The dog tags are proof of what happened.
She was human, even though she was a cyborg. Identical to Sphinx, but with one major difference.
"I'm gonna show you what shitter you're messing with!" The flames leapt at her, yet did no harm as they burnt them to the ground. All that remains was ashes and echoes. Mira continued on pushing through, burning down any of the others in the horde she encountered.
This had been one of the times Mira had been thankful to have been a supersoldier; she had armour, she had power and she had strength. She could do right in a world of wrong.
She took a turning to the right, entering an area with marble flooring; it had long since been decorated with rubble and a way out into the dark skies above. Mira had some parkour to do to reach said exit, though. The wave of adrenaline still rushed around her body, and that made Mira more inclined to try and exit via this route than look for another.
Mira had to clamber up a small pile of rubble where the walling had crumbled, grabbing onto some rocks before making a lunge for a metal bar that was going to barely support her weight and movement. She grabbed hold of it hastily to and began to build up momentum before lunging at another rock; it was then she lost her grip for a fraction of a second.
Just long enough to fall back down as her helmet smacked straight into the floor.
But Mira wasn't going to give up because of some slip up. Her heart hammered away in her head, her breaths quick as she tried to cling to consciousness. When her vision was less blurred, she forced herself upright and began hazily searching for another exit.
It was back to intuition and wandering around, hoping to find a better exit that would not cause her harm when trying to leave. She had little clue where she started, which meant Mira's hazy memory would not be of use.
Her metal boots collided with the concrete below as she noticed the destroyed lights above her. She recalled an earlier incident, and one that made sense with what she saw; the lights had been shot at. Mira squinted as it was originally hard to see the bullet holes, but they were there.
It proved as a momentary distraction only, before she turned her attention to more important matters; finding a way out. She had noticed another turning, and began to approach it.
Her heart sank when she spotted something in the said turning; a camp, one that belonged to the deceased members of both fireteams. She raced over without hesitation, trying to ignore the curious mindset she had.
"Curiosity killed the cat." She spoke quietly, a sombre tone seeping into her voice and thus into her words. She made a choice relatively quickly about what she would do with the camp; the idea of running low on supplies made her tremble.
She did not remember she had set up camp here, but it was a welcome surprise; perhaps that is why Sphinx so wanted to get back down here with Mira to begin with? She did not and would never know.
She took a single step forward, the feeling of anxiety rising. Knowing herself well, she knew she never felt anxious normally. She managed to continue on with a second step, then a third and so on as she got closer and closer. She tried to distract herself; it worked.
Mira crouched down carefully. She began examining the camp and taking some of what was behind. Mira hissed and turned to face behind her, shushing something; there was nothing there. Mira hastily turned back.
She found a lantern, medical supplies, ammunition, rations and canteens of water; this would last her a while. It took her a couple of moments to search each crate and collect the supplies, stuffing them into her backpack where she could. It was then she noticed a small neural implant; a recording. It was rusted to a degree, and she somewhat hoped it was not too damaged to listen to. She thought little of the consequences as she listened, in her own mind to the audio.
"Mira Volkova, the zombies are mutating. As a result, the War Council - kzzzt - to glass the planet. You have a - kzzzt - before the Planet Killer arrives and destroys the colony. You had - kzzzt - order; - kzzzt - off the planet."
She was glad she did. It was do or die.
Mira looked down, inspecting the audio recording as she pulled it out. It was addressed to her, with an official document from the War Council underneath its original location; one that denoted a time and place for the Planet Killer to arrive.
She had four days to get off the planet or else she'd be burnt to a crisp. "Right, well. Guess we're not staying here."
Mira picked up and packed away the official document as she heard it again. She spoke, venom on her tongue. "Shut it, let me do my duty."
Mira being at the camp had given the horde some time to approach her, but she hadn't noticed. At least, not until they were around the corner, then she shot up and aimed her flamethrower, backing up. "Shit!"
Mira had one last trick left up her sleeve as she pulled out a grenade. The pin landed to the floor with a clang; Mira waited a moment and threw it.
The zombies blew up into little more than guts, bone, flesh and blood. Mira still burnt their remains anyways. Mira still felt the hammering in her head, but it was less than earlier. She speculated the horde was able to get so close because of her hearing, though. It had been knocked slightly due to the fall earlier.
She turned to leave, having inspected most of the camp if not all. That's when something else grabbed her attention. She noticed a small handheld device, picking it up and reading what the back of it said aloud. "Map, huh?"
The device flickered to life as she turned it back over and touched the screen. It was still functional, a surprise nonetheless but a very impressive discovery. "Incredibly useful." Mira tapped the screen again, entered her details and watched as the map updated.
It was not a surprise she was stated as MIA, presumed killed. She began to zoom out on the map, revealing the surrounding areas. The last update to the map had been two days ago.
After a moment of observing the areas around her location, she had found out she was not too far from a local makeshift evacuation centre. She would have a long walk ahead of her to arrive, however. It was the agony of a soldier.
Determination, grit and resilience alongside the agony of a soldier in an apocalyptic world.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
