by Alan Bard
Hunting Mode activated, I sensed a huge alpha Wolf and his pack standing in the woods and observing. The beast watched the burning Mutants as they whimpered in agony but he didn’t rush to get his treat—he smelled danger still.
I got into his mind and told him that the two-legged creatures were going to kill his pack. I made the beast think that it should find and kill their leader.
It worked with the goats… Maybe it works this time, too?
Come on, believe me… The alpha moved through the bushes… Calm and quiet so as not to reveal himself too early…
The enemy was moving past us, it couldn’t see us, couldn’t smell us… Our nostrils flared. A roar was stuck in our throat, but we held it back… Closer… Don’t miss our prey. We sensed a lust for blood, a savage desire to rip and tear… We roared and jumped. I felt a warm body, and then pain.
The severe pain threw me out of the Wolf’s mind. Even with his stomach ripped, he still tried to tear the humans apart.
Transformation Progress: + 1.15%
Will: + 0.07%
Intelligence: + 1.5%
“Hey, let’s go!” Ksandra shouted, running toward Dana who attacked her with a shuriken. Ksandra dodged the first one, but the second hit her chest. Joe appeared out of nowhere, kicked the blonde, at the same time shooting at Hans from the crossbow, and then attacked Zeke. The bolt broke through the barrier and hit his chest, knocking him to the ground. Joe rolled aside.
“Run! Faster! I’ll hold them back!” he yelled. “I’ll take my revenge on them for An!”
Overcoming pain, Ksandra raised her hands, and they shone with light.
“Portal!”
Nothing happened. The jammer was gradually weakening, but it was still strong enough to thwart her efforts. I had no idea how much time we had left.
As if answering my question, a giant silhouette emerged from the hole in the wall.
He really was a big fellow.
Name: Nick Earthfury
Age: 19
Status: Sergeant
Cohort: [Alliance]
Specialization: Telekinetic Mage
“Don’t stand still!” I yelled, using Pistol Fire. “Run!”
They moved just in time to avoid stones that Nick sent in their direction. I hit him in the chest, activated Pistol Hook, and stepped to the side. The giant didn’t even twitch from my blows. Grinning stupidly, he turned his head to look at me.
Somersault. Jump. Two rocks missed their target. I was floating like a butterfly, but wasn’t really stinging like a bee. Nick quickly lost interest in me, casting a glance at Ksandra, who had fallen and couldn’t get up. He had figured out that she was the most important person in our squad and that our lives depended on her. Using his powers, he levitated a huge stone into the air.
I had to stop him—the Knife in my pocket was scorching hot. I sensed the trunk with the abyss pulsating, saw the green ring created by the Cultivator, which was connected to other energy channels of my Contour. Time was slowing down. The stone that should have killed Ksandra froze in midair.
I grabbed the Knife. By sheer force of will, I directed the flow of Deformation along the Contour and into the blade. I almost lost consciousness from pain—poison was flowing along the lines of force; gold was replaced by brown, burning me from the inside. I could let it pass through me! My body was burning, but all my pain turned into the brown, muddy liquid inside the Knife.
Aiming at Nick’s neck, exactly where the skull was connected to the spine, I sent a bunch of gold energy from the Core along the Contour to my right hand, putting all my strength into the blow. My hand pushed forward so hard that it almost got ripped off, and the joints of my shoulder cracked loudly.
Contrary to the laws of physics, the Knife managed to dig deep into the thick neck. At the moment of contact, the blade seemed to explode. A greenish-brown liquid rolled over Nick’s body in waves. His legs gave in, and he fell to the ground.
You have dealt lingering damage to Sergeant [Nick Earthfury]: 79%
I felt a gigantic emptiness forming inside me, as if all the air, blood, and liquid that my body consisted of had been sucked out of me for a moment. There was a wild, uncontrollable hunger in me, which quickly turned into euphoria and an influx of strength. The Deformation was like a sore inside me, a cancerous tumor that I had just torn out, freeing some of the energy that I had previously spent on keeping it in storage. How fast would it start piling up in me again?
But Nick somehow found the strength to rise again. At least to his knees. He was incredibly strong! He pulled the Knife out of his neck and threw it at me, but the throw wasn’t strong enough for it to reach me, and I crushed the giant with my next attack. I could even see the swirling slime spread inside him, poisoning his organs. He fell forward, landing face-first into the ground.
The Knife fell at my feet. I bent over and picked it up, cleaning the blood off it. At that moment, Ksandra waved her hands and cast the spell again.
“Portal!” she whispered.
A flower of blue energy bloomed above the bowl. The air quivered with a bluish light as the flower unfolded its trembling petals.
Eli hurried to Jelena, who jumped out of the hut armed with a bow. She didn’t pay attention to him, as she was focused on shooting. An arrow flew toward Zeke, who was standing with his back to her, and hit him between the ribs.
“Die, you freak! Die!” she shouted.
Eli grabbed her and dragged her to the portal. Victoria elbowed the wounded Zeke in the face, picked up the motionless Rio, and followed.
I helped Ksandra up. We ran to the portal, but her legs refused to obey, and she kept falling all the time. I took her in my arms and continued to run.
The last thing I saw before jumping into the portal was Joe being captured by Hans. Silhouettes were standing in the hole above Nick’s lifeless body, and a drone was hovering over our crumbling fortress.
I also sensed a steady, cold gaze—someone was watching the fight from the Totem at the edge of the courtyard.
Chapter 25
THE OUTCOME
The portal collapsed. I fell face down on some stones; Eli was swearing nearby, someone was breathing hoarsely. Jelena, like in a trance, kept saying the same thing over and over again, “Die, die, die…”
We ended up in an unfamiliar, dense forest. My eyes got used to the darkness and I finally saw the rest of the squad: Rio was lying under a tree, his ribs broken, Jelena was weeping in Eli’s arms, and Ksandra was wheezing, raking the ground with crooked fingers. Victoria ripped her shirt open with a sharp jerk of her hand, exposing her round, small breasts. Carefully, with shaking fingers, she pulled out the shuriken and threw it aside. Luckily, the wounds, although near her ribs, were shallow. She would live.
Kneeling down, she put Ksandra’s head on her lap. Patting her cheeks, she said, “Come on, honey. Open your eyes. You’re gonna be fine…”
“She’s foaming from her mouth,” Eli muttered. “What’s going on?”
“She overstrained herself. She used up too much energy. She just needs to eat and get something to drink. Jelena, take a look at her.”
Jelena came over, squatted down, and inspected Ksandra’s wounds. She held a palm over them for a few moments, and then got up and took a step back.
“This looks like poison. She needs an antidote.”
“Do something!” Victoria shouted, continuing to pat Ksandra’s cheeks. “Ksandra! You can’t die! Please!”
Jelena paced up and down for a while and then she tried to pour water from her flask into Ksandra’s mouth, but to no avail. The wounded girl started twitching and wheezing and she ended up spitting it out along with the reddish foam. Victoria lay down next to her, shuddering silently.
Is she crying? Is our Iron Lady shedding tears for someone else?
Name: Ksandra
Rank: Private
Age: 18
Status: The player has been disconnected from project [Lost].
Reason: Death<
br />
Cohort: [Dominant]
It was supposed to be me crying over her body. We had become close, but all I felt was this burning sensation in the pit of my stomach. Somewhere in the depths of my soul, the old Nick lurked; flashes of lightning sparkled around him, tornadoes rose and died, and storms rumbled. I felt like a spectator.
It was ironic that Ksandra, who was very afraid of death, died first. The taste of her lips still lingered on mine. That was the only memory I had left of her.
I promise to remember you, Ksandra. I promise to avenge you.
Eli stomped over to Rio and touched his shoulder.
“Hey, four-eyes! Are you alive?”
“I’m not sure,” he wheezed.
“Let me examine you.” Jelena walked up to him.
With difficulty, Rio rolled over onto his back. Jelena unfastened the buttons of his shirt with trembling fingers. His entire chest was covered in blue and purple. It was like someone had hit him with a giant hammer. Jelena ran her hand over him.
“Fractured ribs and sternum.”
“That guy was fucking strong,” Eli cursed. “Will Rio be okay?”
“Yes, but he can’t move.”
“Where are we, by the way?” Eli whispered, looking around. “They won’t come for us, right? Hey, Nick! How did you knock that giant out? Jesus, he fell down like a tree! It was awesome, dude!”
“By chance,” I muttered, carefully groping for the Knife in my pocket.
No matter how poisonous and vile you are, my precious, you’ve served me well today. You and the abyss that I have fed you with.
“We’re safe for now.” Victoria’s voice trembled. She was trying to stay strong, but it was obvious that she was struggling.
I began to shake and shiver. I couldn’t stand on my feet anymore. Once I closed my eyes, I saw Joe being captured by that giant.
Poor hippie… Are you still alive? I hope you can avoid sharing Anna’s fate, as poetic as dying like her would be.
“So where are we?” Eli asked again. “Are we still on the island?”
“Unfortunately.”
Victoria folded Ksandra’s arms over her chest and whispered something. I should’ve been the one to do it, but I felt like things would become too real if I touched her and that I’d burst into tears. The moment of silence that ensued dragged on for what seemed like an eternity. Victoria was still holding Ksandra’s hand as tears fell on her pale face. I was about to burst into tears myself, so I averted my gaze and moved a little further away, taking deep breaths.
I had to stop thinking about her. The storm in my soul slowly subsided, leaving hope buried under the ruins. Slowly, new questions began to appear my numbed mind.
“Victoria… Vicki. What Zeke said… It’s true, isn’t it?”
Without having waited for an answer, I turned around. She was silent; her tangled hair stained with blood and soot. But she was indeed similar to Zara. Not by facial features, not even by her figure, but by her demeanor. The way she would raise her right eyebrow.
Now everyone was looking at her. Even the crippled Rio raised his head off the ground.
“I repeat, is it true that Zara is your mother?” I asked.
“Don’t you dare say that I take after her,” Victoria snapped. “If I ever become like her, kill me!”
“Be careful what you wish for—maybe you’ll suddenly really seem like her to me. And then I can finish you off, bypassing the oath.”
“I’m nothing like her. I hate my mother.”
“So it’s true?” I continued. “Zara is your mother? So the rest must be true also—that we’re expendable, and that in case anything happens, you won’t have a hair missing from your head? We’re just pawns, huh? What makes you better than us? Why are you a mage? Why don’t we have the same abilities as you?”
“Yes. Damn it, Zara is my mother! I hate it as much as you do. Let’s talk about the details later, okay?”
Victoria was on edge, and I knew that I shouldn’t push her over it. Ksandra’s death seemed to have… made us closer. Like a grieving family. I threw my head back, looked at the stars, at the white river that was the Milky Way. A message popped up before my eyes.
Name: Joseph
Rank: Corporal
Age: 19
Status: The player has been disconnected from project [Lost].
Reason: Death
Cohort: [Dominant]
Everyone was silent and staring at their feet. Victoria looked at the starry sky just as I did, her lips moving as if she was praying and her cheeks glistening with tears. I felt that it was better not to interrupt her now, but I seemed to be the only one who thought that. Eli wasn’t going to spare anyone but himself and, perhaps, Jelena.
“Well, what have you achieved with all this? You were so self-centered that you thought that you could make a deal with a sadistic psycho. You made an alliance with him, for God’s sake! I bet he’s glad that he had come across an idiot like you. You didn’t only put yourself in danger, but you set us all up. Look—” He pointed at Ksandra’s body. “You killed her. Do you see that?! You did that! You were just a tool. Means to an end! It would’ve been better if you had died!” he shouted, shaking as if he were about to explode.
“Everyone hates you, you treat us like dirt!” he continued. Victoria could do nothing but silently listen. “We’re just a bunch of lab rats to your mother! We are people. People! Do you hear me, you freak?!”
“Yes,” she said in low voice, bewildering Eli. He lost track of his thoughts and stared at her, waiting for her to tell him to shut up. But Victoria remained silent.
Jelena was working her magic on Rio, pretending that she didn’t care about their argument. Or maybe she really decided to stay out of this. Silence fell, interrupted only by Rio’s hoarse breathing and the crickets.
“You’re right,” Victoria said, rising from the ground. “I’m a bad commander; my mistake killed the people who were entrusted to me.” She grinned wryly. “We’re at war, right? I condemn myself to death. You’re all free, I set you free.” She waved her hands over us. “I’ll be grateful if any of you would be so kind to cut my throat if you already hate me that much.” She moved forward. “Well, any volunteers?!”
A bubble burst in my head… The oath had been broken. Eli trembled. Rio jerked his head. Jelena shrugged. I dreamed about this day, imagined how I’d thrust a knife in her back, push her off a cliff… And now, she was practically begging me to follow my dreams and make my fantasies come true.
“What are you waiting for, huh?! I’m too much of a coward to do it myself. Simon and Nick, if he survives, will get me anyway. It’s better that one of you does it. Just make it quick.”
I grabbed her hand. She didn’t resist. I dragged her to the nearest tree and pinned her against it.
“Stop sniveling! Do you hear me?!”
Victoria started sobbing again, and she went limp in my arms. I barely managed to catch her. Common sense was telling me that we needed her because she understood the situation better than any of us, and because she had connections. Zara was a shitty mother, but she wouldn’t kill her child, which meant that we could use this to our advantage.
I found it very annoying that, contrary to common sense, I was this sympathetic—Archie had betrayed me in the same way. I knew that I should confront her, but I couldn’t, even though I remembered very well the humiliation I had been through.
“Don’t even think of dying before you tell us everything you know,” I said. “Do you hear me? I want to know everything there is to know and I want to hear the truth.”
Victoria nodded, wiping her tears away.
“Okay… But… Not now. I can’t. Not now.”
She went back to the guys, fell on the ground, and stopped moving. She looked like a broken doll.
It was hard to say how much time had passed. I looked inside myself, at the lines of the Contour and the Core. I noticed the Seals and automatically reached for them.
Your cur
rent rank prevents you from accessing this feature!
[Power Armor Seals] are available to players of rank $ ..% ^ 7fg ## and up.
What the hell? Last time I checked, the system reported that the Seals could be used by anyone above the rank of Captain. So why is it redacted now? As I pondered, the symbols trembled and changed, but I still couldn’t read them. Then they changed again, but that still didn’t help me. I looked at the Seals and received a new message.
Attention! [Power Armor Seals] were exposed to an unknown effect. Perhaps there has been an arbitrary change in their properties and features. It is recommended to contact a mage-blacksmith for repair.
I binned the message. Giving the Seals another look, I noticed that they had become a bit rusty. There were brown spots here and here… The Deformation had corroded them!
Will I end up losing such a valuable artifact?
A second later, certain spots lightened up on the silhouette in places where Seals should be put: forehead, chest, back, elbows, and knees. Last time, they were highlighted in orange but now they were brown as if rust had corroded me as well. I grimaced; squinting, I rubbed my forehead, and then dismissed the silhouette with sheer willpower, minimizing it into an icon on the edge of my field of view. I couldn’t do anything about it for now, so there was no need to worry about it. I had other things to take care of.
Eli was wandering back and forth for a while and then went to sleep right on the rocks. Rio was also quiet. Another life ended, but the world didn’t stop. Everything went on as usual. A few months, maybe weeks and the image of Ksandra would fade away from our memories…
“You need to eat, otherwise your bones won’t heal,” Victoria said.
She tried to stick her hand in the canvas bag thrown over her shoulder, but she only managed to do so on her third try. She retrieved strips of cured meat wrapped in paper and gave it to us. It was a tiny portion, definitely not enough for one man. I gave some to Rio and had to almost force it down his throat. Having fed him, I sat down near Victoria.
