Fallen Gods II

by Nick S. Thomas

  “How the hell does Hades have so many of these?” Aaron asked the other two calmly as if nothing had happened.

  Luca wasn’t surprised, but Ava was almost in shock as he handed the blade to his partner, who tucked it through his webbing. Gunfire rang out, and they ducked back in to cover as Aaron returned fire. Luca did the same from the other side of the archway. They fired several bursts each, but could not find their mark.

  “We can’t afford to slow down,” insisted Aaron.

  Luca nodded in agreement as they moved out together, advancing along either edge of the corridor. One of their opponents stepped out ahead of them but was lit up by a burst from each as they continued advancing without hesitation. They continued on and took a bend, as Ava desperately tried to keep up.

  She couldn’t understand how they could keep going forward so fearlessly, but something was driving her on, too. She heard a noise behind her and turned around quickly. A hulking figure was charging toward her. She lifted her rifle, but the man’s blade struck down and cut the barrel off clean. He barged her with his body so that she hit the wall hard. A sharp pain surged through her body, and for a moment she wondered if her spine had been broken. But her survival instinct kicked in, and she forced herself to get back up, ripping her Olympian blade from its sheath. That was when she recognized her opponent.

  “Rastus,” she said with contempt.

  “You’re a feisty one,” he said with a smile as he kept his distance.

  She had some idea of just how dangerous he was. She looked up the corridor for Aaron and Luca, but they were long gone, and she heard more gunshots as they continued moving forward. Even if she screamed, she doubted they would hear over the echo of the shots.

  “It’s just you and me now. I’m going to enjoy this,” he said lecherously.

  But that only spurred her on to want to do him harm and try harder.

  “You sure you know how to use that?” He mockingly looked at the blade she held at her side.

  “Come and find out,” she snapped.

  Rastus came forward angrily, as if desperate to prove his superiority. He cut wildly at her, and she parried it as she moved off into the center of the corridor to gain some distance between them.

  “Come on. Don’t make me work for this,” he complained.

  “Why, you not up to the task?”

  “More than!”

  He came forward again. He thrust, and she parried. She returned a thrust to his stomach, but he parried it off with his bare hand on the flat. She overreached, and he punched her in the side of the face. She was rocked and fell a few paces, but the wall stopped her from falling. It was a hard blow, but not as hard as it could have been. He was toying with her, and she knew it. But she was angrier with herself as Aldred’s words echoed about her head. She shouldn’t have overstretched, nor been hit by such a simple strike. She was over thinking, just like he’d told Aaron.

  Now more than ever she had to belief in herself and her abilities like she never had before, because it was life and death. She was scared of her opponent even though she tried to hide it, but she knew that was a mistake. She could imagine Aldred standing beside her, criticizing her pointless and damaging emotions, her negative mentality to the fight. She knew it was a hard fight, but that didn’t matter, because she didn’t have a choice.

  “Not again,” she whispered to herself and stood up tall with a newfound confidence drawn from the will to survive, and the will to win. She would no longer worry about her own abilities. They were what they were. She stopped worrying and controlled her breathing, letting her mind take over and the muscle memory do its work.

  “I’m going to enjoy this,” sniggered Rastus.

  He went forward again and feinted a thrust at her face, but she didn’t respond. Everything appeared to slow down, and she could pinpoint his movements. He began to transition into a cut on her other side, but she would not respond to his initial feint, and was ready to pounce. She turned her blade, lashing out at his forearm as he moved between actions. The blade bit into his arm, and he cried out in pain, pulling back in horror. He looked at the wound in surprise and then disgust.

  “You bitch!”

  He came at her even more furiously, cutting back and forth with powerful but controlled blows. She parried each of them but could not find a safe opening to riposte. He kept up the pressure until finally, she had nowhere to go. Their blades locked, and he lashed out with a punch to her face. She moved at the last moment and took the shot, but most of the energy had already gone from it, as his fist struck her at the full extension of his reach. It still hurt, but she recovered quickly, cheekily striking him back with a sharp back fist to his jaw. As it struck, her fist rolled and one of her rings cut deeply into his cheek. He staggered back in shock. He touched the side of his face and looked at the blood on his fingers in anger.

  “I was going to make this quick. Now I’m going to take my time. You’re gonna wish you were never born,” he said furiously.

  “Yeah? Big words from a little man being beaten up by a girl,” she replied confidently, knowing it would infuriate him further. She couldn’t match his strength, but she was sure she could outpace him if he was angry enough not to control his temper.

  “Ahh!” He rushed forward with murderous intent like a bloodthirsty berserker.

  * * *

  Aaron fired as he rushed toward one of the enemy, hitting him several times before his magazine ran out. He dropped the weapon and continued forward, drew his pistol, and fired two more shots in succession. He finally went down as a shot struck the man’s neck. He turned as he spotted another and fired several times as they rushed toward him. The first two went into his attacker’s body armor, and he quickly lifted the muzzle to make a headshot, but as he squeezed the trigger, he was tackled from the side. He felt something sharp penetrate his side.

  He collapsed under the weight of another of the soldiers, and his weapon flew from his hands. Pain struck his side as his attacker pulled a narrow bladed knife from it. His armor had stopped it going deep, but blood still spurted out from the wound as it was pulled out, and the tip plunged down toward his head. He caught the hand wielding it, and his attacker growled at him, foaming at the mouth like a wild animal. Aaron’s vise like grip held the blade firm as all the training he’d been doing paid off. He’d never felt so strong as this in all his life.

  They were locked in combat, fighting for control of the blade, but Luca struck his attacker over the head with the butt of his rifle, and he slumped down over Aaron. He took the knife as it dropped and drove it in to the semi-conscious man’s throat. It was a gruesome scene, although he didn’t feel bad about it. These soldiers knowingly fought for Hades and what he was fighting for. He pushed the body off as he saw Luca parry a cut with his rifle, which partly caved in from the power of the blow. But it was enough for his partner to gain the initiative, and he drove his heavy boot into the man’s knee, causing him to cry out in agony. Luca drew his sword and hacked down with one brutal blow onto his collarbone. The blade sunk deep, and he was dead within seconds.

  It was grim work. Neither of them had ever expected to be involved with anything like it, and now it seemed as natural to them as walking the beat as cops. Aaron knew that should worry him. That killing had become as easy as breathing, and yet it didn’t. He had to be that way to achieve what they had to. What they were doing felt raw and animalistic, but they no longer had a choice.

  Are the warriors we idolize this way? That at least is reassuring. It’s a necessary evil I can live with.

  * * *

  Theo edged forward with a blade in one hand and a pistol in the other. She still didn’t care much for firearms, but she fully appreciated their usefulness. She looked back expecting to see Aceso by her side, but remembered how hurt she was, and in no condition to even walk, let alone fight. She went from corner to corner cautiously and found nothing. She finally sighed and frustratingly stepped out around another corner without any concern
. She found two of Hades’ soldiers striding toward her. They had rifles in their hands, but they were slung low as if without a care in the world. They were looking for the last survivors in the building to finish off, and clearly not ready for her.

  They paused for a moment in surprise, as did she. But she smiled before rushing toward them, firing with her pistol as she charged them down. Her accuracy wasn’t the best as she sprinted for them, but it was enough to make them panic. One leapt for the cover of a doorway while the other ducked down and took aim at her. He got two shots off, but she weaved from side to side. One shot went right past, and the other glanced her armor, and then she was on him. She knocked his rifle aside and delivered a brutal knee to his chin, driving her sword through his body armor as he collapsed back.

  A shot rang out beside her, clipping her forehead and deafening her. She turned around in time to see the muzzle of the rifle held by the other soldier taking better aim at her head. She ducked down as another bullet left the barrel and fired a shot into his knee. She rose up and drove her sword into his jaw. She looked pleased with her own work as she drew it out. She knew she shouldn’t feel good about killing humans, not after the friends she had made, but these were servants of Hades, and she could think of them as something else entirely. Theo drew out her bloody blade and rushed on, but a burst of gunfire at her back forced the rest of her team to duck down for cover on the far side of the opening she’d just past.

  “Go on. We’ve got this!”

  She didn’t hesitate to rush on, knowing what was at stake. She had to reach Hades, no matter what, even though she wasn’t strong enough to defeat him alone. Gunfire raged at her back as she continued, and the corridor opened up to a large conference area. She slowed and froze. Standing at the center was Hades himself. He turned around as she arrived and spotted her immediately.

  “What a wonderful surprise, Theodosia, so many enemies I want to kill in one place,” he growled with a wicked smile.

  She felt terrified, knowing she could never defeat him alone, and yet was fully prepared to die trying. She lifted her blade ready to fight, and Hades just laughed at the sight of it. But as he did, Aaron and Luca burst out through a doorway not far from her. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was not so long ago that she’d have not considered Aaron anything more than another human, but something had changed, and she knew it.

  Hades laughed again, but Aaron was not amused nor shaken at all, and Theo watched in disbelief as he strode up to their enemy with his sword low. He was confident and fearless as he approached Hades in a way that not even an immortal enemy would dare.

  * * *

  Ava ducked and weaved and moved nimbly away from a series of vicious attacks. She’d not done Rastus any serious damage, but was gaining in confidence as she dodged each and every one of his strikes. She was not even thinking about them anymore. Her mind was on the endgame, her body reacting as it needed to for her to stay safe. Her opponent’s expressions were the polar opposite. He moved and weaved with precision and skill like he’d done it a thousand times before. He was getting more and more frustrated as he backed her into a doorway, trying to close her off and use his strength and power at range.

  He finally boxed her in, going in for the kill with a thrust that would skewer an elephant, but it was his rage she took most advantage of. As the blow came in, she stepped into it, pushed it aside with her offhand, and drove her blade up into his flank, driving it home. He keeled over, gasping for air as blood trickled from his mouth. He dropped onto her, and she pushed him away, but he held onto the blade stuck in him, dropping his own and staggered back. He let out a howling cry in pain, looking at her with an expression of contempt and shock. He turned and took a few paces, looking like he was going to collapse, but found his footing and cried out in pain as he ran away.

  Ava breathed a sigh of relief. As much as she wanted to see him dead, she was glad it was over, and she picked up the blade he had dropped. She studied it for a moment. It was similar to the one she’d stabbed him with, but bore a personal inscription she couldn’t understand. A scream rang out, and that was a reminder for her to rush on. Gunfire still echoed through the building as skirmishes persisted. She went to follow on after Aaron when she heard a mumbling scream for help. She rushed to a doorway and found Grace tied up inside. She thrust her sword into the lock, ripped it off, and kicked the door through. She rushed to the doc’s aid, removed a wrap around her mouth, and ripped off her restraints.

  “Are you okay, Grace?”

  “It’s him. It’s the shape shifter,” she said in a panicked tone.

  Fear overcame Theo as she realized what they were walking into.

  “You weren’t taken by Hades?”

  “No! Why?”

  Her heart sank. “Come on. Come with me. Quickly!”

  She ran on after Aaron. She’d lost track of the direction he’d gone, but soon burst out through a doorway to find him and Luca facing off against Hades. They were too focused on one another to notice her arrival. But a screen flickered to life moments later. It was above a thickly armored doorway, and Maximón appeared on the screen, as if protecting himself from both sides.

  “I’m sorry, Aaron, but I have not survived this long by taking chances.”

  Aaron saw Grace with Ava and was starting to put the pieces together. He looked back at the screen with disgust.

  “I won’t forget this,” he declared.

  “Good luck,” he replied before the screen cut off.

  The room fell silent as Hades drew the blade from his side, readying himself for a fight.

  “You know this is just a setup?” Aaron asked him.

  “And yet I still get to kill half the problem,” smiled Hades.

  Footsteps rang out as another joined their party on the far side. It was Theo, and Hades just smiled, as if he wasn’t concerned.

  “Stay here,” Ava said to Grace as she hunkered down by a doorway, and Ava went out to join the other three.

  Hades began to laugh.

  “Not in a million years could you four stand a chance against me,” he roared.

  But Aaron was the first to step forward before him.

  “You don’t scare us anymore.”

  “Really?” Ava muttered to herself.

  For all their training, she still felt terrified. For all of Rastus’ power, he still felt like fighting a strong man, but Hades had something else. An imposing power and presence that was unique. It sent a shiver up her spine, every sense she had telling her to run, but her training told her to stand. Aaron’s defiance only further served to solidify her confidence, however shallow it was.

  “I told you Maximón would screw us,” said Theo.

  “Yeah, but it’s still got us right where we need to be.”

  “Then let’s do this, and finally fight fairly. There’ll be no tricks this time. We fight here until one of us dies, and that can only be you,” said Hades.

  The four of them lifted their blades as they surrounded him. Hades was a monster compared to all of them, a giant. None of them were under any illusions about the threat they faced, and the odds of overcoming it. Theo let out a visceral battle cry before going forward. She cut from one side to another, but Hades’ blade extended out a glaive like weapon. He took a guard and parried with both the blade and shaft, which appeared as strong as one another.

  Aaron was quick to follow her, but he caught a strike of the glaive shaft that threw him back. He crashed to the floor and rolled before recovering. He was back onto one knee in no time, furious at himself for having not voided such a blow. He had to remind himself whom they were facing, and just how dangerous he could be.

  Luca and Ava went forward and attacked strongly and bravely. Luca ducked under one strike and cut toward Hades’ leg, but he slipped it back, and the blade merely cut the fabric of his pants. Luca was persistent and went forward, thrusting home over the glaive, but Hades grabbed the blade with one hand while it was still in motion. An act no mortal and
few immortals could ever do. Lucas’ blade was stuck, and Hades delivered a punch to his torso. It launched him across the room, and he crashed into the wall, dropping to the floor unconscious.

  Ava ducked and weaved under and around several blows before slashing into Hades’ left arm. He cried out in pain, retaliating with a brutal swing from the shaft of his glaive. She dropped lifelessly to the ground just as Aaron and Theodosia reached the battle once again. They attacked simultaneously, cutting back and forth. A dozen blows were exchanged until finally Aaron saw his chance to land a thrust, but Hades was far quicker than he realized and drew back his glaive to deal to fatal blow that could cut a human in half.

  “No!” Theo yelled.

  She leapt into the attack and managed to parry the blow, but it still smashed through, cutting down into her collar. She was knocked to the ground from the weight of the impact. A cut swung back for Aaron, but his body acted on instinct. He ducked away and rolled out of the attack before once again landing on his feet. He was the last one standing and knew it all came down to him now. The words of Aldred came back to him, as if he’d known all along that this time would come. He was breathing heavily and overthinking every move. He slowed his breaths and calmed his mind, thinking of everything he had ever learned.

  “You pathetic mortal, in what world could you ever have defeated me?”

  He swung vigorously, and Aaron closed his eyes for a moment, focusing his thoughts. He reopened them as the blade was coming for his temple, but he’d given over control to his instincts and muscle memory alone. He felt loose and relaxed as if he were meditating, not fighting. He dropped under the blow and returned a cut of his own. Hades looked shocked as he was forced to draw back and narrowly made the parry. But Aaron laid on the attacks with more power and intensity than he’d ever seen on his life. Twenty cuts and thrusts that were unanswered, and yet all were parried, until finally he dropped under one and found his mark. He drove his blade deep into Hades’ thigh, and drew back, his blood-soaked blade in hand.