AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Without the distraction of a fight, that sense of impending doom returns. Things have been too easy so far. The laws of the universe state that the moment you let your guard down is the moment it all goes to shit.
And the laws of the universe once again are proven to be immutably true.
When we reach the facility, we walk the perimeter while still under the cover of the forest. The entrance marked by our CO is near the south end. As expected, it’s largely unguarded.
We hustle across the open area in front of it and to the door. Trel and Hux begin hacking the system while Danel and I cover them, keeping watch for any guards.
With a triumphant sound, Trell opens the door and steps inside with Hux close behind. Danel hears the click of the landmine first.
“Garet, look out,” he shouts, throwing himself bodily against me and knocking me out of the way of the explosion. Trel and Hux aren’t so lucky.
Looking at what’s left of them isn’t pretty, so instead, I focus on listening to Danel’s words over the ringing in my ears. He helps me to my feet, and we draw our weapons.
Finally, my hearing clears enough for me to understand him. “We’re surrounded. How juiced up are you right now?”
I concentrate on the energy pooling in the spines around my back. “I’m good. You?”
“Been saving my energy in case something like this happened. Ready to kick some ass and get our guy?”
I grin. “Ready.”
We silently but mutually agree to make a break for the still open door. Sprinting to the left, I dodge plasma blasts as they whizz past my ears. I bury my ax in the guts of a Vakutan soldier before he has time to reload, pull it out, and decapitate the one beside him.
My brother and I move in a synchronicity that could be a dance if it wasn’t for the blood we were spilling with every blow. Growing up together, training together, and sparring together gave the both of us a sense of the other’s rhythms, strengths, and weaknesses. Our deadly whirlwind allows us to easily break through the lines and into the prison.
But then the rhythm falters. Danel cries out and falls to the ground, a plasma wound bleeding sluggishly from his leg. Fuck.
I fight my way back to him, and helping lift him up, drag him further into the facility while still shooting behind me, hitting anyone who comes too close. We need to hide and regroup.
“Leave me,” Danel grunts as we limp through the halls. “Finish the mission. Find Arn and get out of here.”
“Shut the fuck up. There’s no way I’m abandoning you here.” We’ve broken free from the main group, but they’ll be following the trail of blood coming from his leg. Still, we should have just enough time to catch our breath.
Grabbing the emergency med kit from my pack, I spray the wound with a disinfecting localized anesthetic and then wrap it in a pressure bandage. Danel bites back a growl from the pain. “Garet, you know how this will end.”
“You’re right.” I bite my lip, the shape of an idea coming to me. “You’re right.They’re going to capture us. I say we let them.”
He blinks. “What?”
“Look, I don’t know where to find Arn, so I can either wander around until I find something and get captured or killed that way, or we can let them capture us to buy us time to find him and come up with a plan for everyone to escape.”
He sighs, looking unnaturally pale. I don’t think the bullet hit anything serious, but he’s still losing a lot of blood. If we’re lucky, this place has an infirmary willing to patch him up. “I hate it when you make sense.”
I shake my head. “Yeah, I know. I always thought you were the one with the brains and I was the one with the beauty.”
With a weak laugh, he slowly slides to the floor with his leg stretched out in front of him. “Really? I always thought I got both.”
I wrinkle my nose. “With that ugly mug? Nah. You’re barely the one with the brains, let alone the beauty.”
“Put your hands up and drop your weapons,” a guard shouts, aiming his blaster at me. We’re quickly surrounded by other combatants.
I sigh, annoyed. “Which is it?
He blinks. “What?”
“Which do you want me to do: drop my weapons or put up my hands?”
“I—uh—” The guard takes a moment to collect himself. “Drop your weapons and then keep your hands where I can see them.”
