෴Raz෴
෴Hex෴
෴Stilt-Ivaldison෴
෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴
Unwanted Reunion
෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴
“I need you to understand what’s happening. I need you to say it.” Hex repeated with an urgent tone at the older woman.
Dr. Stilt-Ivaldison nodded. “We’re going to run for it. Across the desert where the giant bugs are. Try to avoid getting eaten, try to avoid being shot by whoever is attacking, and hope like hell we don’t wake up the anchor beast out there.” She looked from Hex to Raz and then back at Hex. “Does that about cover it?”
Hex started to shake her head then stopped. “What’s an anchor b—actually never mind. Yes, that pretty much covers it.”
Raz spoke up from where he crouched looking out the window. “No, two things missing. First, I’m going to climb that dark guard tower and see if I can tell where the attack is coming from. If we’re surrounded that's another problem. Second, when we know, then we need to go fast. No stopping, no looking back, no hesitation. Whoever sent that sneaky type might already know the surprise is blown. Best case, we don’t have long before they wonder what happened.”
Raz took a longing look at the aluminum skinned case under the bunk and slipped out the door.
Wish I had time to get geared up. I wouldn't mind not being so naked out here.
He looked around the camp, sensoria open for trouble. All he got for his trouble was a strong whiff of shit from the latrine, with an undercurrent of blood in the air.
Whoa guys, been having taco Tuesday every night or what?
He kept to the shadows and slipped through the camp. As he neared the barracks, the scent of feces grew both strong and fresh. The scent of blood grew stronger as well.
[CRITICAL WARNING: Evacuate the area immediately. Highly toxic airborne particulate detected.]
Raz backpedaled immediately, then turned to go the other way.
Let’s hope it’s something that goes inert fairly quickly, or it’s going to be a bad time if the wind kicks up.
[Chemically it appears to be highly reactive with oxygen.]
Short-lived compound then. Gotta get out of here anyway, who knows how long it will take to be safe.
The alternate route took him along the other side of the outpost past the active guard tower. He ended up having to walk right past it. The scent of blood was strong there. Against the wall, next to a stack of pallets, a deeper patch of shadow turned out to be a smooth-walled hole bored right into the outer wall of the camp. Raz warily peered inside. He could see the moonlit sand right outside the outpost. There was a thin bloody trail along the smooth bottom of the tunnel.
Well, that wasn’t here before. Something just burrowed out, or in. Doesn't matter now, no time. This might be our way out.
Raz used one of the boards to prop up the pile of pallets against the wall, over the hole. This created a passage they could crawl through, and then drop the pallets over the hole from inside.
With any luck, they won't even think to look for anyone. I hope they’re not here for Stilt, that would be just my luck.
{Send Hex a message to come over to this tower.}
He glanced up at the guard tower and made his way along the wall toward the front gate. A wheezing gasp caught his ear. Raz glanced around him for trouble then knelt by the soldier. The uniform was soaked in blood from what appeared to be many puncture wounds.
“Hang on, I’m going to fix you up.”
Diagnose 2 pulsed into the soldier. Before anything popped up, two error messages appeared under a newly created Diagnostics window.
[Malformed ability structure. Ability
Missing support structure.
Missing foundation.
Missing safety interlocks.
The target system is dangerously unstable. Risk of self-inflicted damage: certainty.
To partially alleviate these conditions, acquire one of the following known abilities: HUD: Repair, HUD: Respec, Somatic Restoration: Recode.
To fully resolve these conditions, acquire one or more of the following known abilities: HUD: Reforge, Somatic Restoration: Custom Abil—]
The names of those unfamiliar listed abilities caught his eyes, but in the haste of the moment, Raz cleared the errors away.
Yeah yeah, I can’t fix everything. Injuries only!
The list of errors collapsed and tucked away
As soon as the long list of injuries was cataloged, Raz went to work from most to least serious. It was soon clear that every stab wound was from the same singular blade. The exact shape of the short curved blade slowly formed as an image in his mind while the injuries were cataloged.
He repaired the internal bleeding. Sealed up the pleura so the man could breathe again. He sealed up the external wounds next. Before worrying about the other internal injuries he moved to the more serious issue of what felt to him like tissue corruption.
The septic infection already setting in where the soldier’s bowels had been slashed open turned out to be harder to fix than all the physical injuries had been thus far, combined. In the slow time, it felt like a long time performing careful, delicate repairs and encapsulations of infected tissue. Soon, a lump not unlike a sebaceous cyst or lipoma appeared on the soldier's abdomen, just under the skin.
Whoops, too bad I already healed up the outside of the stab wounds.
Raz finally looked at the soldier’s face and met his gaze, realizing it was Sgt. Higgs from earlier that evening. “Listen, I’m healing you. You’re going to be ok, but I need to make a small incision. It’s going to hurt, but then I’ll heal you right back up. I need you to try and stay calm.”
The young man shook his head violently when Raz took the combat knife out from the soldier's vest sheath.
[Remember he has durability and strength enhancements, if he fights back in earnest this will become a problem.]
I know!
Raz brought his face right up to Higg’s, filling his whispering voice with as much urgency as he could muster. “Relax and hold still! I’m trying to help you! It's just going to be a small cut to let this infection out.” Without waiting for the soldier to agree, he pressed the tip of the knife through the skin just next to the lump.
There was a moment of strong resistance to the tip of the knife, then with sudden shocking ease, the blade slid into the soldier, slicing through his skin under the raised lump. Higgs clenched his teeth and groaned.
A pulse of somatic restoration pushed the lump out and sealed the wound almost before Higgs realized what had happened. Raz used the back of the blade to flick the encapsulated ball of pus and feces away from them both. He dropped the long-bladed heavy combat knife to the ground and grabbed Higg’s by both shoulders.
“Listen up, you’re out of danger now, but I want to finish healing you. Are you going to make a problem for me if I do that?”
Higgs shook his head no.
“Good, I’ll patch up your internal injuries now. After that, you need to do whatever you should be doing about an attack on this place. I don’t have anything to do with it, but I have to get my people out!”
Higgs nodded, his face betraying his pain.
Raz dove into restoration again. Mindful of the time, he pushed hard and sealed the severed tissues wherever he found them as fast as he could. The young soldier’s body had some kind of chronic joint issue. It was concentrated on his limbs and spine. The condition looked more like damage than sickness. A new Diagnostic error popped up, Raz didn’t have time for that and swept it to the side. With a short but intense burst of effort, he was able to heal the joint damage before wrapping up.
The damage is one thing, no idea what the cause is, so I can't even begin to address that. Probably related to that error, and this isn't the time to get bogged down reading HUD messages.
Pointing at the guard tower where he’d left Hex and Stilt, “That tower there is still manned, the others were all taken out. Sorry, I can’t do more. Good luck.”
Getting up, Raz could feel the drying blood on his pant legs already getting stiff and sticky on his legs. The blood-soaked front of his pants moved oddly now, with an unfamiliar weight to the fabric. Raz looked the soldier over and helped him to his feet. Higgs muttered something unintelligible and headed toward the center of the camp.
I hope you know what you’re doing.
Raz crept back to the guard post to find Hex and Stilt waiting for him. Dr. Stilt looked like wanted to say something.
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
Raz raised his hand to his own mouth for silence. He waited a few seconds, then heard Higgs calling out an alarm. The guard above them spun around, looking for the threat. Without warning the heavy machine gun in one of the other towers came to life. It seemed Higgs had climbed the tower and taken over the weapon emplacement. The tower he was in opened fire as well.
From that angle, it looks like they’re aiming for something pretty close.
The impenetrable wall of noise made hearing each other impossible. Both guns were facing the same direction, spitting a spray of tracer rounds out into the desert to the northeast. Raz couldn't help but notice that there was no response from the rest of the outpost to the pair of machine guns firing.
No one else left? The gunners were shooting all over, as though they had a lot of targets, or something f—oh no.
A masked man came sailing over the wall into the guard tower Higgs was manning.
{Send to Hex, get yourself and Stilt in the hole. We’re out of time.}
A single heavy thud accompanied the Sgt. Higgs flying out of the tower to land on one of the buildings. The gunner in the tower above them tracked the machine gun fire toward the masked figure in the other tower. The second gunner got on target just a little too slow. The masked attacker ripped the heavy weapon from its mount and hurled it end over end across the outpost. It hit the guard tower above them hard enough to knock the top right off.
Raz turned to Dr. Stilt, peering out of the dark hole. “Go!” he mouthed loudly, pointing and gesturing.
{Send to Hex: Get going now, we’re out of time.}
He watched until Dr. Stilt turned and started crawling through the tunnel. He remembered his case tucked under the bed back in the civilian housing.
{Send to Hex: getting one more thing, I’ll catch up. Just get to the gate as fast as you can.}
He picked his way around the edge of the large open courtyard, glancing back and forth between the civilian housing and the main gates into the outpost. He could feel Hex and Dr. Stilt getting further away.
Looks like they got away clean. Now to get my stuff and catch up with them.
He was passing the reinforced glass anomaly viewing port when the main gates slammed open. Enemy combatants rushed into the outpost, weapons at the ready, looking for resistance.
Raz sprinted back toward concealment behind a nearby structure. As he turned the corner, he came face to face with the man who had been leaping around the camp, destroying the defenses. Even with the half-mask on, Raz instantly recognized him. The short, well-built Russian man didn’t hesitate. He reached out toward Raz.
Oh crap, oh crap!
Instinctively realizing the danger of being grabbed by someone like him, Raz engaged slow time and tried to dodge the attacker’s grasp. As deep as he pushed into the slowed perception of time, he wasn't able to counteract his own inertia enough to alter his course from running at full speed and the masked man managed to grab a handful of his shirt.
He made a ‘hmmf’ sound and snorted. “Greetings comrade. What they say, is so. Truly is a small world.” his familiar Russian accent confirmed Raz’s fears.
Without thinking, Raz shoved back at Fidel. His push did almost nothing to the human tank. The small pulse of white fire gathered on his palm leapt into Fidel with an audible snap. The muscular man shuddered at the impact, clutching at Raz’s shirt spasmodically, then releasing him.
I can’t believe that worked!
Raz hurried past the staggered Russian. A few steps later he spotted two men in slightly ragged desert camo BDU’s carrying old AK-47’s at the ready. Ducking back around the corner, Raz desperately looked around for options. They didn’t raise the alarm, so Raz hoped they hadn’t seen him in the shadow of the building.
He backtracked and peeked around the corner, hoping to see Fidel on the ground. He looked around just in time to see him leaping atop a nearby camp structure.
Fidel spoke into a neck-mounted commlink. “Juan, there is an unexpected person of interest here. White, tall, long hair, short beard, wearing dark clothing. He is not a soldier, and needs to be taken alive.”
No way. You are not getting your hands on me again!
A moment later Raz heard many radios in the area crackle to life, speaking a vaguely french sounding message he didn’t understand.
This is bad. I gotta get out of here.
A burst of rifle fire split the night. The forces that had taken the outpost headed for the source of the gunfire. Another burst, this one accompanied by the grunt and outcry of at least one hit.
Raz stuck to the shadows, looking out for enemies as he snuck his way across the camp toward the hole.
Fidel jumped atop another building. He was facing away from Raz, looking toward the gunfire.
“Soldier! You are the last defender! I have no desire for your death, and no requirement to kill you. Surrender and I guarantee you will not be killed!” Fidel called down.
Raz dashed across an open space, hugging the shadows and keeping the drama across the camp in view when possible.
A voice that sounded like Sgt. Higgs replied to Fidel’s offer. “No thanks! I got plenty of ammo here, and reinforcements are only 10 minutes out!”
Raz reached the empty stockade. He eyed the long stretch of exposed ground between him and the next cover. He could see Fidel atop the Captain’s office building and several of the men in battered desert gear. The chirp and click of radios told him exactly where those men were.
Fidel sighed loudly. “We both know reinforcements are not coming. There will be talk. Perhaps satellite photos, maybe even a drone recon mission. Diplomacy. What is it called, the ‘red tape’ of sending in forces? No help comes to you any time soon.”
Another burst of rifle fire was the only answer. Several rounds struck Fidel directly. He belatedly raised a hand to shield his face but seemed otherwise unconcerned.
Not going to get a better chance.
Glancing around, Raz didn’t see anyone looking at him, and ran for it. Halfway there he felt and heard a heavy ground impact. Two steps later something grabbed him from behind and whipped him across the main courtyard. Slow time kicked in too late to react, but in plenty of time to watch helplessly, completely unable to alter his trajectory as he flew across the yard into one of the two generators. He struck the machine hard enough to knock the industrial engine off its mount. When he hit the sheet metal side of the equipment, things got a little fuzzy for a while.
Raz didn’t know how long he laid there against the uncomfortably warm metal generator base. When he became aware, the HUD informed him he’d been unconscious for several seconds.
[HP: 70%]
[MHP: 1/2]
[Critical warning! Any event that costs an MHP is an otherwise lethal event.]
That really hurt. How messed up am I?
[You’ve lost half of your MHP protection, and sustained some minor abrasions and contusions.]
He channeled Somatic Restoration into himself until the HP reading was back to 100. The initial diagnostic wave told him that beyond all reason and hope, he had no injuries beyond the superficial. Just as he began to heal himself he stopped.
Can't have them figuring out I have a recovery ability. Can I just heal the lost MHP?
[Healing does not restore MHP. I have no idea how you recover them. Suggestion, don’t lose the other one!]
No kidding.
Fidel stood about thirty feet away, speaking into his comms as he looked at where Raz had fallen.
“It is definitely him.–Yes, I know that is an interesting coincidence–No, he hit me with a, uh, laser. No, I am unharmed. Stop intercepting me! Yes, ok, then stop interrupting me. I am asking for your–preference in this matter. I do not know his condition. I threw him halfway through an engine block, it may not matter anyway.”
The rifle fire from Sgt. Higgs sounded again.
Fidel scowled in that direction. “Either way, get in here and deal with this soldier. I suspect he is also enhanced, which should be good for your purposes.” He glanced over at Raz’s still form, halfway embedded in the generator. “No, I fear I may have broken him.”
Raz waited for what felt like forever as Fidel stood nearby coordinating the efforts of other attackers. Finally, the heavy-built man walked off in the direction of the rifle fire, Raz quickly extricated himself from the remains of the generator and got to his feet.
He started toward the nearest building to hide behind when he heard a soft exclamation of surprise. He didn't stop, just looked over his shoulder to see Fidel looking at him in shock, then turning to give chase.
Not again. Those jumps cover ground too fast!
Fidel’s high arcing leap landed him at the corner where Raz had just vanished. Using slow time, Raz reached from the shadow of the building and released another small pulse of white fire into Fidel’s leg as he landed.
Rather than the strong graceful landing he’d planned, Fidel landed tumbling, limbs flopping around. Raz didn’t stick around, just ran for it.
Before he’d even made it to the next building he could hear the Russian man letting out a soft cough and getting to his feet. Raz paused in the shadow of the civilian housing unit and watched Fidel. The muscular superhuman shrugged his shoulders before tilting his head to the side until his neck let out a pop.
“Where is he?”
He must have someone watching!
Raz heard the soft sound of someone speaking coming from the intact guard tower across the camp. Fidel’s head snapped in Raz’s direction. He didn’t seem to see his quarry but clearly knew right where Raz had hidden.
That tower has an unobstructed view of the hole in the walls. Can’t get out that way or they’ll just follow me to the door. Think! There has to be a way out of this!
In horror, Raz realized he could feel Hex coming back toward the camp.
{Send Hex: Go back! Get out of here!}
Trusting that she’d make the right call, he pulled in some of his more distracting outer perceptions to focus on his opponent.
Fidel crossed the courtyard slowly, scanning the surrounding area constantly, heading directly toward Raz’s hiding spot.
Raz backed up, slipping around the corner to find a new place to hide and get a moment to think. A sound from the guard tower and a soft grunt from Fidel followed by the faint sound of air movements were his only warning. He looked up just in time to desperately backpedal to evade Fidel landing on him. Raz spun around to run away.
Fidel grabbed his arm and spun him around, throwing him back across the courtyard. He smashed through the stockade outer wall, coming to a rest against the rear wall of the small detention unit.
[HP: 50%]
[MHP: 0/2]
[Critical warning! No remaining MHP, another attack like that will kill you.]
Raz staggered to his feet and cautiously excited the stockade through the hole in the wall. Fidel was advancing across the courtyard. On his face was a predatory grin. Raz didn’t like that expression at all.
“It seems you have grown since last we met. It will not be enough.”
Retreating from Fidel’s unstoppable form, Raz decided to cut his losses and make a break for the front gates. As if reading his mind, Fidel shook his head.
“You will never make it. There is for you, nowhere to run.”
Raz hated to admit it, but Fidel was right. “Alright then. Come get some.”
Next time I want to hit him hard with White Fire. As hard as possible. No more of this tiny fraction stuff. Gotta put him down for the duration.
Fidel closed in. The powerful man looked unconcerned, supremely confident.
Raz was about to drop into slow time and unleash what he hoped would be a lethal blast of white fire into Fidel when the big man glanced above and behind him and gave a slight nod.
Throwing himself to the side, Raz dropped into the surreal world of the perceptually enhanced increased rate of event experience he called slow time.
A syringe with a fluffy tail flew through the space he’d just vacated at a steep angle. He watched it clatter to the ground, then spun toward the source. The sound of an action being worked and a sharp hiss was all the warning he had of another dart flying toward him.
The secondary aspect of Ballistic Projection kicked in when it was close enough. Already off-balance, the highlighted path to the center of his torso wasn’t something he could possibly dodge in time.
He grabbed at it with one hand and flailed with the other to stay on his feet. Raz staggered in place, looking around at the men with rifles forming up around him. He took a shaky step and leaned against the nearby barracks outer wall.
Fidel raised a hand at the shooter above and said something in Russian accented Spanish.
The heavily muscled man advanced on his prey. Fidel held up his hands and approached as though trying to calm a skittish animal. “No more running. Tired now. Is time to sleep.”
Raz kept his hand clutched over the dart, holding it tight against his chest. He squinted at Fidel, then took an unsteady step back, dragging both feet along the sand. Stumbling again, Raz took another staggering step back and away, sliding along the wall that supported him.
The Russian touched his earpiece. “I have him.”
Raz watched in painfully slow motion as Fidel reached out to grab his forearms.