by Brian Fisher
Chapter 29
T'Sula Mir awoke screaming from the raging fire that coursed through her broken body. She fought through the pain as she tested the bonds that held her, hands and feet, bound by time tested leather to a crumbling wall somewhere in the depths of Olcai. Warmth, not that of the shattered puzzle box of her body, but of something else, entered and radiated from her leg, helping to fit the pieces back together. Slowly, T'Sula opened her eyes to see a small creature removing its fangs from her calf.
Near the far wall, a dim dust covered light hung on a frayed cord, as it swung in rhythm with the raging battle on the surface. The movement of the light cast dancing shadows across the room, giving depth to the entirety of T’Sula’s new world. There was no door that she could see, only crumbling walls and a floor littered with a broken table, and the debris that came from years of neglect.
Feeling a sense of urgency and a surge of strength, T'Sula tested her bonds again. The aged leather gave a little, but still refused to break.
"Why do you resist?" a pleasant voice came out of the darkness. "Why do you not welcome the embrace of death?" the voice continued. "I have watched you, here on this abomination of a planet." the voice was closer than it had been a moment before. "Though I confess that you do intrigue me. You are better than them, yet you try to help and protect them. Why bother?"
"You and I are not as different as you might think." the voice stopped in front of her. The darkness shimmered and then materialized into the form of a man. He stood slightly shorter than T'Sula, with a medium build. The man was completely covered in a fabric that glistened in the darkness with energy all its own.
"We are nothing alike." T'Sula forced her voice to work. She tested her bonds. Her throat was dry, making her voice crack as she spoke.
"You waste your time T'Sula." he shook his head. Taking two fingers, he pressed them behind his right ear. The glimmering fabric made a popping noise, as it rolled itself down to the collar.
T'Sula gasped when she saw him. His hair was the same unruly black mess that she remembered. A scar, that she had given him, ran from the corner of his right eye, down his cheek to the corner of his mouth. The subtle ridges along the bridge of his nose and the gentle point of his ears clearly marked him as a Bakeeron.
"Hello Nom." T'Sula managed. "I thought you were dead."
A sickening smile crossed his face. "I was dead. I seem to remember that you went out of your way to kill me." Nom licked his cracked lips. He reached out and grabbed her face in hand, and squeezed. "You failed to kill me then, just as you will fail to stop me now. You are a failure." he spat the words at her as if they alone could kill her.
"Give me the information that you are hiding." he hissed through clenched teeth as he released his grip.
"No. I can't give you what I don't have." T'Sula smiled mockingly at him. "Besides, I wouldn't give it to you if I had it."
"Give it to me now!" he screamed as he slammed his fist into T'Sula's stomach. T'Sula convulsed, and then vomited blood, barely missing Nom.
"You certainly have a way with women." T'Sula ignored the pain, as she sneered at Nom. "I don't have what you want. I lost it before I wrecked the air car."
"You lie." Nom backhanded T'Sula across the face. Her head snapped to the side. She took a deep breath, then looked Nom in the eye and spat in his face.
He reared back and punched T'Sula hard enough to crack her mending ribs. "If you don't have it, then tell me where it is!" Nom screamed.
"No." T'Sula coughed. "You can beat me as much as you want. I won't tell you anything."
Nom screeched in frustration, and pounded his fist repeatedly into the wall next to T'Sula.
"You have to beat up on an injured, restrained woman? You're pathetic Nom." T'Sula laughed. "What are your Masters going to do? Spank you for being pathetic?"
"My Masters gave me life from death. A death that you gave Me." he hissed. Her grabbed T'Sula by the hair, and slammed her head against the wall.
"Give me the chance, I'll do it again." T'Sula grinned with blood dripping from her broken lips.
Nom drew close, their faces nearly touching. His once bright eyes were now alive only with hatred. His breath stank of death.
"You will die painfully as I extract the truth from your mind. I will enjoy this." he whispered.
T'Sula closed her eyes and drove her forehead into Nom's nose. He stepped back, holding his face.
"You will suffer for this!" he screamed, and pounded wildly at T'Sula and the wall with both fists. T'Sula flinched away from the blows and felt the wall crack near her right hand. She forced all of her strength into her arm, and broke free of the wall. She swung her fist in a wide arc, catching Nom on the side of his jaw. He staggered back, dazed for only a moment, giving T'Sula barely had enough time to free her other hand before Nom attacked again. She blocked a frantic punch with her right arm, while holding onto the left restraint for stability. Straight from the block, T'Sula backhanded Nom across the face.
Nom spun around and delivered a devastating back kick into T'Sula's stomach. She doubled over, nearly losing her grip on the restraint as she reached down and frantically tried to unbuckle the restraint on her left ankle, leaving only her right ankle strapped to the wall.
Bent over, T’Sula’s back was too vulnerable a target. Nom exploited the moment, and drove a powerful hammer blow into T'Sula's back, dropping her to the floor. He then grabbed her and tore her away from the wall, snapping the leather strap under the immense strain. Nom picked T'Sula up, off the floor, and hurled her across the room.
T'Sula slammed into the far wall, her broken body crumpling to the floor before she lost consciousness. She twitched slightly as she finally came to rest near the broken down table. Underneath the table, the small animal cowered as she collapsed to the floor. Its eyes darted back and forth about the room. It hesitated for several moments before touching T'Sula's fingers with its nose. When she didn't move, it crawled to her arm and sank its fangs deep into the tissue.
T'Sula gasped as the healing warmth started at the animal bite and spread rapidly through her body. Her cracked ribs healed in the space of a heartbeat. The deep bruises covering her body disappeared. She felt tired, but refreshed.
"Stop that you insignificant little traitor!" Nom yelled at the animal as he tried to kick it, but the creature scurried under the old table before he could connect.
"Now, as for you," he turned his attention back to T'Sula. "You will either tell me where it is, or you will die." Nom struck at T'Sula with a vicious kick.
T'Sula blocked the kick, and spun around on the floor, powering her legs through Nom’s, and toppling him to the floor. She sprang to her feet, ready to fight. Her arms hung loose from the shoulders, with her hands in front of her chest. She kept her knees slightly bent, ready to move in any direction. T'Sula was light on her feet, and her eyes were locked on her adversary.
Nom quickly stood; his feet shoulder width apart with the right slightly behind the left. His fists were held in front of him, just below his chin. His intense gaze never left T'Sula Mir.
Nom moved first. A quick jab with his left missed T'Sula as she sidestepped to the right. Punching hard with his right, Nom over extended. T'Sula grabbed his wrist and pulled sharply. Her knee drove deep into his ribs before she drove an elbow into the back of his head.
Nom freed his wrist then leapt up the wall. He crouched on the wall, sneering at T'Sula as the fabric of his suit covered his face. The fabric sealed itself at the back of his head, a moment before he disappeared into the darkness.
"Coward." T'Sula muttered. She closed her eyes and focused on her other senses. The floor was cool under her bare feet. A soft whimper came from under the table. T'Sula knelt next to the table.
"You should probably stay hidden." she whispered to the cowering little animal. It blinked at her and moaned softly when she gently scratched it behind its tufted ears.
The hairs on the back of T'Sula's neck moved with the brush of
air. She ducked, barely missing the deadly kick that was aimed at her head. Her right leg shot out behind her, catching Nom in the groin. He doubled over then collapsed to his knees, sending a small cloud of dust into the air. T'Sula quickly stood and walked over to the dusty silhouette.
She found his face then reached behind his ear and pressed the tiny button to release the suit. The fabric rolled down into the collar, revealing Nom’s face. Pain and anger filled his eyes.
"You deserve worse than this." T'Sula told him just before she snapped his neck.
T'Sula turned toward the table and knelt down. She stretched out her hand and waited for the little creature to come to her. The animal sniffed at hand, then turned and scurried away.
"Have it your way." she smiled sadly as she looked for the door.
