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Dashuan was too slow to stop the next experimental bullet that struck the female Aberrant's eye.
Her body jerked violently, her remaining flaring eye widening in shock before flying back as she collapsed into a nearby building. The sight kindled primal feelings within Dashuan.
"No!" he yelled with spittle flying from his mouth, voice carrying over the sound of encroaching tank treads.
The army, emboldened by their successful strike against one Aberrant, turned their full attention to Dashuan. A hail of bullets peppered his body, most ricocheting off his durable skin, but some managed to draw blood as many switched to the same slug that had pierced The Other.
He stumbled back, more from shock than pain, as crimson streams began to trickle down his arms and chest from his chest and wrists. "Please!" Dashuan begged, his voice breaking.
His words fell on deaf ears.
The soldiers continued their assault, no compassion in their eyes, no recognition of the humanity Dashuan was desperately trying to convey with his single booming utterance.
To them, he and the unconscious woman were not people--Not even worth the effort of trying to not create more collateral damage in light of the expected eradication of their very existence.
The realization hit Dashuan, bringing fat tears to his eyes but not allowing them to fall.
This was the world he lived in now; a world where his kind was hunted. Where people like him were shot down without hesitation or remorse as the right of the taxpayer and citizen of a country that Dashuan realized he was not a critical component of.
A tank shell whistled through the air, and Dashuan barely had time to brace himself before it exploded against the debris near him; the force of the blast sent him flying backward, crashing through the wall of a parking garage.
White-Hot Pain radiated through his body.
As he lay there, surrounded by remains of his fight and dust of the military's attack, his vision fell on the prone form of the female Aberrant; laying there, completely still among the detonations and repeated fire of the army.
She looked so vulnerable, so incredibly human in her unconsciousness.
He couldn't leave her to this fate, Dashuan could not resolve to let them kill them or worse. It was wrong.
With a groan of effort, Dashuan pushed himself to his feet. His body screamed in protest, but he forced himself to move, staggering towards the fallen woman. Another tank shell exploded nearby, showering him with debris, but he didn't falter.
Dashuan reached the woman just as the military was closing in for a final bombardment.
He stood over her, his body a titanium shield against the forces of man. Bullets pinged off his skin, drawing more blood. He felt the dozens of lead fragments flattening and falling to his feet as his heels dug deeper into the cement below.
"Stand down!" a voice boomed over a loudspeaker. "This is your final warning!"
Dashuan's reaction was to crouch down and scoop the unconscious woman into his arms. He cradled her ever so carefully, acutely aware of how it felt to be alone and feeling the warmth of her staggered breath against his exposed skin.
The atmosphere was suddenly filled with the booming rumble of tank cannons whirring to life.
He saw the shells detonate from the barrel of the large armored vehicles, five of them, fired in rapid succession in hopes of finishing them off entirely.
There was escape without sacrificing her for speed; even with his untrained skills he knew the limits of his power.
Gritting his bleeding teeth, Dashuan turned his shirtless back to the incoming shells, using his body to shield the female.
The impacts were devastating.
Each shell ripping fresh gashes down his spine and neck, spraying dark blood all over the roadway.
But he remained standing.
Stolen story; please report.
As the smoke cleared, the soldiers stared in disbelief.
Dashuan stood amidst the molten crater, his clothes in tatters, his body a mess of welts and bloody wounds--
but still very much alive, and still holding the unconscious woman at his full height now.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then, with a defiant gleam of his over-illuminated lilac eyes, Dashuan launched himself into the air; sending a wave of air that blasted past the still tanks and hovering helicopters.
The sudden movement seemed to snap the military out of their shock, their training taking over.
Helicopters gave chase, their rotors spinning rapidly as they pursued the fleeing Aberrant menace. Dashuan pushed himself harder than he ever had before, his flight erratic as he tried to dodge the incoming fire from the side machine guns and mounted guns.
The sound of a jet engine sliced through the air, and Dashuan looked back to see a fighter plane rapidly gaining on him; its ebony paint made it nearly imperceptible as it screamed into focus. His heart pounded as he witnessed a sharpy missile detach from the jet's swaying wing, blazing towards him with lethal pursuit.
Dashuan forced himself to focus, he could handle another aberrant, this would be as simple as not causing more harm than good.
He waited until the last possible moment before making a clumsy but effective dodge.
The missile streaked past him, exploding in the distance and raining shares onto the soldiers beneath their aerial struggle.
The maneuver had cost him speed, however, and the jet was now almost upon him with its menacing pointed make-up. Dashuan could see the pilot in the cramped cockpit, his blue eyes meeting for a brief, surreal moment that made him pause in thought.
With a burst of speed that surprised even him, he shot upwards, positioning himself above the jet as it passed beneath him in the next half second. Then, in a move that defied all logic and reason, he dropped down onto the aircraft's slick exterior.
The jet's metal skin crumpled under his feet as he landed firmly.
Warnings blared inside the cockpit as the pilot floundered to rescue control of the craft. Dashuan, still cradling the unconscious woman with one arm at this point, reached down with his free hand with strength born of desperation and adrenaline and tore the cockpit canopy clean off with a clean jerk of his free hand.
The pilot's eyes enlarged in absolute hysteria as Dashuan reached in and plucked him from his leathery seat, yanking out the oxygen lines and communication cables in the process of his kidnapping.
The jet, now pilotless, began to nosedive toward the area that was previously devastated by the duo.
Dashuan loomed in the air, the insentient lady in one arm and the frightened pilot in the other. He watched with a smirk as the jet plummeted towards the earth, exploding in a brilliant fireball as it impacted the ground with no casualties.
Another chasing aircraft had fallen back, perhaps wary of suffering a similar fate. Dashuan used the moment of reprieve to survey his surroundings. They were no longer over the city with the speed he had gained, having flown out into the rural heartland during the chase.
With no clear destination in mind, Dashuan simply skyrocketed on, propelling deeper into the heart of Kansas. The topography below was a patchwork of pastures and undersized towns, stretching out to the horizon over America.
Eventually, his "limitless" strength began to wane.
The toll of the battle, the chase, and the strain of carrying two people for so long were ultimately catching up to him. Dashuan's flight became more strained, his altitude decreasing steadily.
As the orangey sun began to set, casting lengthy shades across the grassland, Dashuan spotted a seemingly deserted cornfield below. The stalks were overgrown and wild, perfect for hiding in after a long day of--whatever had occurred.
With the last of his strength, he descended, crash-landing among the corn with a thud.
The impact was rough, sending all three of them tumbling through the stalks abrasively.
"Holy Shit..." Dashuan grumbled as he came to a stop. He looked around, quickly glimpsing The Other and the pilot nearby, both still out cold but breathing after he had accidentally let go of them in his descent.
Dashuan dragged himself over to check on them.
The pilot seemed relatively intact, just knocked out from the rough landing and high speeds of the flight.
The Other... Dashuan's heart clenched as he looked at her face. Her blasted-out eye was leaking blood but not enough to cause alarm, a stark reminder of the violence they'd endured as he saw the skin of her eyelids hanging to her light brown cheek.
As he looked at her, Dashuan rubbed his hand to his now exposed dreadlocks, rifling through them and twisting some of the escaped strands.
Despite the injuries, despite the grime and blood, she was to die for.
Her skin was a warm tone, light brown, dotted with freckles that danced across her round cheeks and small nose.
Medium-length, crimson, and curly hair hung just past her anguished face, tangled now but still exquisite with its volume and texture.
Dashuan found himself brooding, somewhat deliriously, that she was far lovelier than the news anchor he'd had a crush on for years.
The thought was so incongruous, so ludicrous given their circumstances, that he almost laughed but kept it inside.
The simmered laugh turned into a moan as the last of his adrenaline faded quickly. The pain of his injuries, and the exhaustion of the day's events--all came crashing down on him at once to the point of blackout.
Darkness crept in at the edges of his vision as his body finally gave in to unconsciousness much like the other two had.
As Dashuan slipped into the common oblivion of sleep, his last thoughts were of The Other.
Who was she?
Why had she attacked the city?
Most importantly, what would happen when she woke up?
The questions churned in his sanity as he drifted off, hidden among the swaying corn stalks, two unconscious companions beside him. The future was rocky, sure, fraught with danger even--Complications he couldn't begin to imagine were dominating just beyond his much-needed rest.
But there was a strange peace that beset him, laying there amongst the plants of god's design and held within his winds.
Dashuan's last cognizant reflection was a silent plea to whatever forces might be listening to something like him.
Let her be okay.
Let them both be okay.
Then, finally, almost mercifully, he succumbed to the gloaming forever that rested just beyond sentience.
The grain swayed gently in the evening breeze, hiding the unlikely trio from the world.
As night fell, the stars emerged, twinkling indifferently above the field where two Aberrants and a human pilot lay cozy, their destinies intertwined in ways they had yet to understand but meaning something to the unchanging cosmos above.
Miles away, alarms were blaring in military command centers.
Search parties were being systematized, orders were given to find and capture the escaped Aberrants at any expense.
The incident in the city had not been neglected by the heads of state, and those in authority were scrambling to contain what they ascertained as a serious peril to national security.
But for now, in this quiet corner of Kansas, there was only the rustle of corn and the soft breathing of three exhausted people.
The longest and most eventful day of Dashuan's life.
A day that had started with him as a normal guy trying to keep his powers an enigma, and ended with him as a criminal, responsible not only for his own life but for the lives of two others as well.
As the night deepened, a soft rain began to fall, washing away some of the blood and grime from their battered bodies.
It was as if nature itself was trying to cleanse them, understanding the plight of the Aberrant far better than the wretched embrace of man's call into the void.
In his senseless state, Dashuan stirred slightly, his hand unconsciously reaching out to touch The Other's.
Even in sleep, some element of him recognized a kindred soul, someone who might comprehend the obligation of being different in a world that feared and hated that difference.