“Ja-Jask,” Nait said, biting his lip. He edged forward, glancing at Kurt and Felicia. Scout extended her hand farther and he took notice, stepping back. “It’s…really, uh, good to see you. Really.”
“Didn’t come here to watch a reunion,” Kurt said, reaching for his holster. “Set the woman free and you’ll all walk out of here alive.”
Scout scowled, touching her side in an attempt to locate her pistol. “Not happening. Give Jaskia to me and you can leave. Felicia stays.”
Kurt shook his head, pulling out his own pistol. “I don’t take orders from children. Last warning.”
“Scout,” Nait said, lowering his voice to a whisper and nudging her as he stepped closer to her side. “He already took Jaskia down. This guy has to be good if—”
“She didn’t have three trained soldiers to help her,” she said, grasping her gun and beginning to slide it up. She narrowed her eyes at the mercenary, who looked almost as stoic as Bettina. She couldn’t get a read on him, so she had to jump to worst-case scenarios. Rescuing Jaskia called for extremes.
Kurt clicked off the safety on his pistol and aimed. Scout felt a pull on her shoulder and glanced at Naos, who shook his head with wide eyes. “Jaskia could get hurt worse. She’s still chained to him! Stop and think.”
She scowled at Naos’ indignation, yanking away. Any serenity from the oasis or that kiss had vanished. Did her brother and friend really think that little of her? She’d had thought about this for hours, and the bottom line came down to saving Jaskia and not playing Felicia’s game. Why didn’t they see that?
“Wait,” Jaskia said, rushing in front of Kurt’s line of sight. He grimaced, while Felicia held up a hand. Jaskia’s demeanor still seemed way too calm. “Let her go. It’s the quickest way to finish this.”
Scout tensed, leaving the pistol at her side. Jaskia didn’t understand, either. She didn’t understand the anger and the need for justice. She figured that Jaskia would understand it better than the guys, but maybe not. Maybe she needed to remind her.
“You don’t know what she’s done. She’s almost as bad as Bettina,” Scout said, pointing at Felicia. Felicia appeared unbothered by the remark. “You deserve better than being her pawn. We don’t belong to Bettina and we don’t belong to Felicia. I won’t let her use you.”
Jaskia smiled. “Pick and choose your battles. I didn’t survive this long by chasing down every villain, and I bet you didn’t, either. I’m physically exhausted and I have people to get back to. I need this to be over, Scout.”
Scout pushed the pistol back down but didn’t release it. Jaskia’s words reminded her of the water. They caused her to flash back to the Bombard when she’d stared at a wounded Naos. The needs of her friends had taken priority over her desires. She glanced at Felicia and Jenn.
Then again, she had needs too. She needed to protect her friends and end the terror that Felicia and Bettina brought. She couldn’t ignore that forever.
“Enough,” Kurt said, pulling Jaskia back and aiming his pistol again. “Talking’s ov—”
“Alright, let her go,” Scout said, feeling her throat tighten as the words escaped. She scowled and released her pistol. “Let Felicia go and let Jaskia go. Get it over with.”
Felicia smiled, while Jenn pressed a few buttons next to her cell. Kurt lowered his silenced pistol, nodding. “Smart choice, kid.”
Scout gritted her teeth and suppressed the shudder that wanted to invade her muscles. The purple force field disappeared and Felicia walked out, carrying the same grace that she would if she just conquered Etionapa. She flashed a smile in Scout’s direction, before putting a hand on Kurt’s shoulder. Judging by his face, his whole body tensed underneath the armor.
“Release her. We haven’t much time,” Felicia said, lowering her voice and walking in the opposite direction.
Kurt bent down and pulled a key out from his boot, proceeding to unlock the chain from his ankle. He stood and removed Jaskia’s handcuffs. Scout watched the awkward eye-contact between the two, noticing that it didn’t seem as awkward to Jaskia. They both just tossed stoic looks at each other and Scout didn’t get it. This man hurt and captured her, and yet, Jaskia didn’t try to take revenge.
Not exactly the Jaskia that Scout remembered.
The base shook, followed by a stampede of footsteps several rooms away. Nait ran to Jaskia’s side. She stumbled as she walked, recovering from whatever injury Kurt had given her, but Nait grabbed her and escorted her to her friends’ side. Scout frowned at her friend as she took one step at a time, barely able to put one foot in front of the other.
“Not so tight,” Jaskia said, scoffing at Nait. “I’m still on two feet and I’m not dying.”
“You can barely move,” Scout said, looking from Jaskia to Naos. He grimaced at Jaskia’s frail form and stepped forward to help Nait. “Guys, Jaskia can’t be here when the soldiers show up. Contact Sora and let’s get her out of here.”
Naos grabbed Jaskia’s arm and she rolled her eyes. Scout eyed the bandage again, analyzing its size. It didn’t look big, but somehow, it did this much damage to her body. Jaskia tried to hide the pain, but as she took another step, Scout noticed the small wince on her face.
“Thank you, Tian,” Felicia called. Scout looked up to see Felicia, Kurt, and Jenn nearing the main exit. Felicia glanced back, flashing another smile. “Once again, you’ve come through for me. Remind Sora that this was a mutual deal, would you?”
Scout gritted her teeth and reached for her pistol again. Felicia did this to Jaskia for the sake of a ‘deal’. Kurt did this to Jaskia for the sake of a job. Jenn allowed it all to happen because she didn’t see Felicia as her prisoner. All this manipulative crap and no one thought about Jaskia. No one cared what this did to her.
If she let Felicia leave, she wouldn’t stop. She’d do this to someone else, probably someone who she cared about. Her friends needed her to stop Felicia. Her friends needed her to stop Bettina. Maybe their needs and her needs for justice aligned more than what everyone thought.
Felicia stepped through the rusted door, followed by Kurt and Jenn. Scout saw the crumple that she’d given it earlier and it only made her throat tighten again. She needed to use that anger now. No more fighting past it.
“Scout?” Naos said, pausing and reaching for her. Her three friends stood at the corner that led to the emergency exit.
“Get her out of here,” Scout said, sprinting for the main exit. She saw the shock and horror on Naos’ face but she refused to acknowledge it, looking in the direction of her targets. She couldn’t let Naos pull her back this time, as much as they both wanted that.
“No! Scout, soldiers are everywh—” Naos started.
“Go!” Scout said, raising her voice to a shriek. She still didn’t look back.
“There’s no way that you c—” Nait started.
She raised her voice again. “Go! Now! She needs you to go!”
“Scout!” Jaskia yelled. She wanted to turn back, but she kept her focus on the new opening as she ducked and ran through it. Jaskia’s voice carried across the holding facilities. “Stop! He uses—”
Scout slammed the rusted door behind her, cutting off Jaskia and shielding them from any potential danger that may come from the next hall. The gunfire sounded clearer and Scout saw the intersection that split off in the directions of the docking bay and the command center. The carnage toward the command center indicated that it had the soldiers’ current attention. This corridor sat empty except for her three opponents.
Scout continued her approach, jumping on a box to her right and using it to launch her over Kurt. She aimed her pistol at Felicia and put her finger on the trigger. Felicia looked in Scout’s direction, still carrying her smug expression, but splitting pain interrupted the exchange. Scout hit the ground chest-first as her leg erupted with pain.
She screamed, rolling on her back and examining the wound. A foreign object lodged itself inside her shin and limited its movement. Scout yel
led again, attempting to sit up. She failed but kept her eyes on the object, taking in its shape.
Kurt’s gun clicked. Scout turned her head back to see the pistol hovering inches away from her face, along with the same blank facial expression. “Should’ve quit while you were ahead.”
“Bullets,” Scout said, finishing Jaskia’s sentence and touching the blood that streamed from her shin. “You use bullets.”
Bettina’s training never included anything on bullets. An outdated ammo, but apparently, still able to neutralize both Jaskia and Scout. Jaskia’s injury made sense.
Scout saw Kurt’s finger tap the trigger, but Felicia came into view, putting her own finger in front of Kurt’s face. “Don’t. It’s needless. Queen Bettina may arrive any minute, and she would not be as easy to shoot.”
Kurt kept the gun to Scout’s face, growling in Felicia’s direction. “She could call in back-up, and I’m trying to keep this as clean as possible.”
“I’m not paying you to murder Tian Gash,” Felicia said. A firm expression replaced the smug one. “I’m paying you to get me off this planet.”
Kurt growled again, shook his head, and pulled his gun back. He turned and marched forward, side-by-side with Felicia and Jenn. Jenn looked back in her direction and Scout saw the fear on her face, but she didn’t want her compassion. She didn’t want to acknowledge that Felicia Malone spared her. She groaned, crawling toward the wall. The escaping trio disappeared toward the docking bay.
Everything blurred. She fumbled for her comm and repeatedly hit the keys, hoping that she would enter Sora’s frequency. Darkness took over her eyesight every couple of seconds but Scout forced her eyelids to remain open. She punched the keys on her comm.
As black overpowered her eyes again, she heard his voice. “Scout? Scout?! We just heard from Naos, where ar—”
Her eyelids disobeyed her and closed. Her heart beat so fast that it hurt.
“Scout! Answer me!”
Her eyelids opened again, but hearing became the most prominent sense. She recognized the stampede of footsteps from before, but now, they sounded closer. They approached her from the command center. Once again, darkness blocked her vision.
“This unfortunate sight looks familiar. Ever pitiful.”
That didn’t come from Sora. Scout’s eyes allowed her to see again and she only saw the black body armor. All that she needed to see.
“Sora,” Scout said, coughing. Her vision left once again and the comm rolled to her side. “Bettin…”
Her hearing stayed long enough to allow her to hear Bettina smash the comm. As the soldiers picked her up, all other senses left.
6
Selas thrust the spear forward again, causing Anziar to leap backward. He landed on the staircase that sat at the back of the walkway. He glanced back, noticing the growing distance between him and Fi. Below, she stabbed the closest soldier while shooting the farthest and ducking from another stream of lasers. Kossk still laid behind her, unconscious. She held her own, but he spotted more cuts and burns on her back.
She only remained standing because the laser hadn’t penetrated any critical points. Suspicious, considering that the Queen’s men usually had better aim than that. Captain Nelson crouched behind cover on the other side of Fi’s walkway, firing stray shots.
He needed to get to her. He moved his left foot in that direction, but the movement to his right stole his focus. Anziar swiped at him again and his sword came inches away from his chest, barely blocked by the spear.
He needed to get to Jekk, as well. He needed to awaken him.
“You’ve made a mistake, Anziar,” he said, raising his voice as thunder tried to interrupt. More rain pounded him and his surroundings. “Through raising his body, you’ve given him a chance to come back. I’ll break through to him, just like Fi did to me.”
Selas smiled at the thought. Indeed, Fi taught him much.
“Fool. You know that I give life to nothing,” Anziar said, stabbing again and cutting his shoulder.
Selas grunted but ignored the ache, rushing forward and pushed the spear toward Anziar again. This time, he deliberately didn’t aim. As expected, Anziar blocked it, but that allowed Selas to exert more strength. He shoved the spear again and kept it connected to Anziar’s blade., matching his resistance. He leaned in, inches away from his opponent.
“Release him. It’s a useless fight.”
“Perhaps I overestimated you,” Anziar said, using his own force to make another push on Selas and the spear. “You know nothing.”
Selas’ feet slid back but he held his position. He pushed again, regaining the little ground he lost. Leaning in again, he took in the details of Jekk’s face. Scars lined the deformed side. As he analyzed them, he noticed that the lines came directly from branches. The trees had sunk Jekk’s cheeks and likely destroyed the bones underneath, but the scars formed and survived. Selas put more pressure onto the spear and glanced at the sunken eye, which contained red marks and didn’t look whole. The eye twitched.
Selas’ instincts called him back to Nash, but the twitch called him back to the Bombard. When Fi overcame Anziar, she spoke to Selas. She saw the man underneath the surface and beckoned him to reality. The twitch showed Jekk, not Anziar.
“Jekk, we can stop this,” he said, gritting his teeth as Anziar applied more pressure. Selas barely retained his position but gave another shove. “I’ve waited far too long to face you. I made that decision out of fear, but you deserve more than that. I am sorry, Jekk. Let me make this right.”
Anziar snarled and pulled his sword back, breaking both stances. “You can never make this right. He is gone—”
Selas stumbled forward after the unexpected move, but again, he thought of Fi. When Anziar attempted to physically overpower her, she still focused on Selas. He regained his footing and raised the spear, clashing with Anziar’s sword again before he could bring it down. He edged closer to Jekk’s face.
“What he’s saying isn’t true, Jekk. If you weren’t in there, you would be dead,” Selas said, allowing compassion into his voice. He felt the tears sneak into his eyes. “Perhaps you’ve been scared, too, and rightfully so. You didn’t have anyone after that day. Now, you have me. You have Caleb.”
Sora’s validating words came to his mind. Support empowered Selas when Anziar became too strong. He edged forward again, keeping his attention on Jekk’s face.
Anziar roared, pulling the sword back again. Selas smirked and dropped the spear before throwing himself against Anziar and grabbing the deformed side of Jekk’s face. Selas touched the first suffering that he’d caused. He didn’t release the first result of Anziar’s darkness, finally refusing to suppress the memory and the guilt.
Anziar froze. Whether that came from Jekk’s weak spot or his words, he didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. He only needed this moment.
“The darkness isn’t as fearsome as I believed that day, Jekk,” Selas said. His own eye released a tear. “I won’t fall this time and neither will you. Let us fight together as brothers.”
Anziar shrieked and crumbled. Selas caught his twin and lowered him to the ground, cradling him in his arms. He didn’t break his gaze as Anziar flashed his teeth, using what little control he still had left. Rain dripped off them both, taking his guilt with it. He only felt peace.
“You have nothing,” Selas said, shaking his head. He wanted his last words to resonate.
Anziar coughed and gestured behind Selas. “Nor do you.”
Selas swerved his head to the walkway below in time to see Fi drop her sword as a laser hit her hand. She recoiled and waved her hand in the air, likely trying to diminish the burning sensation. A soldier took that pause to tackle her. She cried out, kicking his stomach. She lifted her pistol to shoot him as they both rolled to the side and jumped to their feet. Selas growled, preparing to stand.
“Selas?” a new but familiar voice said. Selas looked down to the man in his arms and a confused look greeted him. “Brother
, where are we?”
“Jekk,” Selas said, inhaling in disbelief. Even after coaxing him into reality, hearing his voice still shook him.
Another cry turned Selas’ attention back to the other situation. The tackling soldier had charged but fell back as Fi shot him repeatedly. Behind her, however, Captain Nelson charged. He raised the butt of his rifle and slammed it into the back of Fi’s skull. She immediately lost consciousness and began to fall but Nelson caught her.
Now, Selas roared.
“Selas, I don’t think I can move. What is—”
“Leave the Mizan, we have the target. Let’s get her back befo—”
All the voices blended together and formed a shriek. He cringed but kept examining what remained of the base, hoping to find any source of light. He only spotted dozens of dead pirates and soldiers on damaged walkways and platforms. A shuttle zoomed out of the docking bay. He didn’t even see the Killer.
He kept Jekk in his arms, refusing to abandon his confused and potentially paralyzed brother. However, all peace fled with Fi. Selas fumbled for his comm and quickly keyed in Sora’s frequency, watching Nelson and another mob of soldiers cart Fi toward a transport.
As soon as Sora picked up, Selas spoke. “Where are you?! Sora, they have Fi. They’re taking her. We must—”
“What?!” Sora said, raising his voice. “We’re just getting Nait and Naos onto the ship. We can’t find Scout. Where’s Kossk?”
Selas glanced to the unconscious form of his alien friend and roared again. In the distance, Nelson and the soldiers charged onto a transport as quick as they had charged onto the base. They had no resistance left to encounter. “They’re escaping, Sora. We have no time!”
“Hang on. We’re coming—”
Selas slammed his fist into the metal, leaving Sora’s sentence unfinished. He looked at his brother again, refusing to acknowledge the igniting engines in the distance. Lightning struck again, brightening both of them. Thunder followed, drowning any other sound. Rain still dripped off Selas and Jekk. All of it reminded him of Nash, but that scared Selas no longer. Only today did.
Unleashed Page 9
