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“Good. It’ll remind you to obey me if I give you an order today. Don’t disappoint me again,” I said, and she nodded softly, if a bit petulantly. Her cheeks pinkened in a soft blush and her eyes dilated.
I tried not to lift my eyebrow in reaction to her response. It was clear though that she liked me telling her what to do, almost as much as she enjoyed being punished in the first place.
Noted.
In no time at all, the two of us were ready to leave and we walked out of the cave together. The sun was warm as it caressed my skin and I breathed in the clean mountain air before I lifted her off the ground and threw her over my shoulder. She protested for a moment, but once I laid my palm on her ass, she relaxed.
I almost chuckled in response.
Quickly, I flipped her so that she lay against my chest, my arms twirled underneath her legs and her shoulders.
“I can walk, you know,” she murmured quietly.
“We’ll be able to move faster if I carry you,” I replied, grinning. She hardly weighed anything at all. I was strong, built to be agile and powerful, despite carrying heavy combat gear. I’d trained all my life, built up my strength as much as I could. At that moment, I almost felt like it was all in preparation for this day. In preparation for meeting her.
My eyes skimmed the horizon, looking for any sign of Saleos and found nothing. Echelon 67 was quiet, undisturbed but I knew better. I knew he was out there waiting, watching and if I wasn’t careful, I’d step right into his trap. I’d have to keep my guard up at all times.
I couldn’t sense any aircrafts in our immediate surroundings either. If the controlling governments were dropping a bomb, it would seem that they were following their announced timeline that Cosima had overheard, but I was still wary, especially if Saleos decided to act early. We had to move, and we had to do it now.
The temperature was warm today, with only a slight chill on the wind. The border of Echelon 67 was quite a distance away from my cave, and would take me several hours to get to, even if I ran the entire way. I gritted my teeth, resituated Cosima in my arms and sighed softly when she wound her arms around my neck, enjoying the feeling of the warmth of her skin. Then I began to move.
The first part of the journey was uneventful as I worked down the mountain. I couldn’t hear anything other than the normal sounds of nature, be it the wind, animals, or the sway of the trees. It was peaceful, but still, I was on my guard.
I enjoyed the feeling of her body in my arms, her arms around my neck. I savored every last second of it.
Just as I was descending the last bit of the mountain, I heard a rock skid off in the distance to my right. I paused, listening and trying to sense my surroundings, to see if Saleos had wandered near or some kind of animal had climbed the mountain, but I picked up nothing.
The wind had gone uncharacteristically calm in that moment. Totally silent. Unnaturally so.
My instincts told me something was wrong, and I tensed. In my arms, Cosima stirred, looking around herself.
“Is something wrong?” she asked. I didn’t respond. Instead, I just continued to listen. The entire world seemed to have gone still. Something was definitely wrong.
Then, in the same direction I’d heard the rock skid nearby, I heard a small clicking sound.
Instantly, I reacted, dropping to the ground and covering Cosima with my
body. She gasped with shock, but then the explosion I had been expecting burst beside us. Fiery hot electrical pulses shot up into the sky and around me. It sucked the oxygen right out of the air for one long moment and she struggled beneath me. I covered her mouth with my palm, knowing that if I didn’t, the bomb would force the air right out of her lungs and they would collapse from the sudden change in pressure. She’d die simply because she was human.
It wouldn’t hurt me. My bulletproof skin protected me in diverse ways, although it still stung like hell. It felt like the top layers of my flesh were searing away.
The air burned with heat and had I not covered her as I did, I knew that her skin would have peeled off from the intensity of the engineered bomb. The bomb pulsed once, twice, and then a third time and I gritted my teeth, my own skin set ablaze by its power.
I knew what kind of bomb it was. The scientists here had created it as a way to kill everyone in a small, immediate vicinity with little effect a short distance away. It was the most effective, controlled crowd device I’d ever seen. And I knew Saleos had set it up, stolen it from the humans’ weapons store. He had known the path I would take, so he set it up just at the bomb’s very limits. He’d been prepared, had buried them in a location just far enough from the path I used fairly regularly. Fucking bastard.
He knew that the bomb wouldn’t affect me, knew that it would only hurt me if I was closer to the target. He was trying to get to her. He was sending me a message. He wanted Cosima and he wanted me to bring her to him.
I growled with my anger. Saleos was going to kill her if he wasn’t careful.
When the mountain breeze finally picked up again and blew the ions away, I uncovered Cosima’s mouth. The bomb had run its course and it was safe for her now. She glared at me for a moment, before looking around.
“What the fuck was that?” she asked, her voice trembling with fear even when her eyes blazed with courage.
“My brother,” I grumbled in return. I could feel my epinephrine levels beginning to rise and I took a few deep, calm, steady breaths. I lifted her off the ground and started running again, faster this time.
A short distance later, the wind went still again, and my instincts took over once more.
I dropped to the ground, hearing that telltale click sound again. Cosima didn’t fight me this time, closing her eyes as I covered her mouth. The bomb went off much closer this time and I could feel the top layers of my skin begin to burn more harshly this time. It wasn’t enough to truly hurt me, but it was enough to make me roar from the pain. I curled over Cosima, ensuring not a single inch of her was exposed to the dangerous ions from the bomb. I had to ensure she was safe, even at my own expense.
