“Hey Siggy. D’you know why the boss always gets twitchy when one of the guards is late to check in?”
“A’course I do, ya dumbass. Didn’t nobody ever tell you about that shit what went down a few years back? It was that damn Ghostrunner kid. Fucker kept comin’ onto our turf and eighty six’n folk. We only got one vid on him, and guy was scary as hell. You wouldn't even know folks was dead ‘til it was all over with. Shit, got to the point where any time someone didn't check in we went lookin’ to see how many folks been knifed.”
“Dang man, how many guys did it take to catch ‘im?”
“Man, we didn’t ever catch the kid. One day it was just over, nobody else was dead. Think the boss made some deal, probably a corpo. Hell, maybe even one of those damn Samurai. All I know is one day, poof, he was gone. Like a damn Ghost.”
* Overheard Conversation between two members of the Motor Runners MC outside of Mega City New LA
The last M3 still in the building didn’t give me much time to prepare. With a powerful leap it skipped over its dead brethren, aiming straight for me. I swung the pan, hitting it straight in the side of the head. The hit didn’t kill it, but it sent the thing stumbling.
Not far behind it, the next one came rushing through the door, quickly followed by the last of the ones I had gotten the attention of. This was the wounded one, and it was limping heavily. Good, at least that meant I would have a slightly easier time.
Before I had time to reposition or look for a better weapon, the last unwounded Three came rushing towards me, the one I had smacked also quickly recovering. It left me in a very tricky spot, having to defend against two at the same time. The lid helped, although by far not as much as I would have liked.
Both aliens reached me at roughly the same time. Banking on my ability to block the weaker attacker, I swung the pan into the direction of the newcomer, managing to hit it with the edge straight across the head. It didn’t stop, its momentum too great, but I at least managed to divert its attack. And I had to have wounded it at least a little, alien goo sticking to my impromptu weapon.
The second one pushed into me, and I let it, not wanting to end in a situation where I’d have to fight its strength with my own. That was a fight I knew I couldn’t win. Instead, I let it push past me, utilising the lid to keep the claws and fangs away from my flesh. Swinging the pan with the rotation, I smacked it again, although I hadn’t managed to build up enough force to really hurt it.
I was now standing next to the counter, both aliens behind it. It would allow them to push me into the open on their terms, and that was disadvantageous for me. Dropping the lid, but keeping the pan, I darted away from them, angling myself just enough to keep out of reach from the wounded one. The seating area still had a lot of tables and chairs, and both had turned out much sturdier than I would have thought. Something I could abuse.
Because of the relative position of all combatants, the wounded alien reached me first. I didn’t try any fancy tricks, just swinging the pan at it with as much force as I could muster. My strike wasn’t as strong anymore, the wounds on my arms taking their toll, but it was still enough to flatten it to the ground. Before it could try to get up, I hit it again, then one last time to finally put it out of its misery.
Four down, two to go. I might even survive this.
The thought was laughable. At the moment my adrenaline was pumping, but I knew my body well. Even if I’d be able to get out of this scrap without any more wounds, I wouldn’t be able to keep it up long enough to rush after the group. At least not if they were as fast as I was hoping they’d be. Too much blood loss. As helpful as my self-inflicted wound had been to get their attention, I was paying dividends for it now.
No matter. I’d still take down these stupid fucks.
One of the aliens was slightly stumbling, probably hurt far more than I would have expected. The other seemed pretty fit, though, just angry. If they even could be angry. I didn’t know, I never checked, nor was it part of my training, but it didn’t matter.
Stepping behind one of the tables, I threw it to the ground, using it as a makeshift barricade. The alien crashed right into it, pushing it closer to me. I tried to stop it, but it only worked partly according to plan, and I had to take a few steps back. Those steps cost me, when the alien snapped at me over the rim of the table.
I tried to smack it with the pan, but the angle was awkward. In a moment of distraction, I didn’t pull my hand back fast enough. Claws dug into my fingers, making me lose grip on the pan, and I screamed, unable to push it down.
It clattered to the ground, the stupid shrub redoubling its efforts to get to me. I didn’t have the strength to win a head to head against it, so I simply let it push. The table fell in my direction, the legs on its side slowly giving in, before they finally cracked. Throwing myself backwards, I just barely managed to keep myself underneath the table while the alien crashed into it.
I could hear the remaining two table legs groaning in complaint at the weight, and I hurried to get out from under it. And not a moment too soon. I just barely managed to clear it, before it all came apart, and the table crumpled to the ground. With nothing else available, I grabbed a nearby chair, turning and swinging with the motion.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Again I found myself underneath an alien, a chair all that was between me and its maw and front claws. Its hind legs were unblocked, though, and they found purchase in my legs and sides. I grit my teeth, stars playing at the edge of my vision from the pain. With every last bit of strength I could still muster, I pushed back. It was just barely enough to force the damn thing to the side.
I was in a lot of pain, but I still forced myself to get up, grabbing another chair with trembling hands. The aliens' claws didn’t immediately find purchase on the flat ground, and by the time it was getting up, I was already swinging the piece of furniture down on its head.
It took four hits to crack its skull.
The last alien was still tumbling, slowly coming closer. Whatever I had hit, it didn’t seem to have full coordination of its limbs anymore. The problem was that I wasn’t in the best of shapes either. Walking hurt like a motherfucker, and my arms were covered in scrapes and gashes. My right hand was wounded, and I could feel the blood leaking out from the cuts in my sides.
With stumbling steps, my breath coming ragged, I made my way over to the last alien, carefully keeping my distance. I couldn’t afford any more missteps.
Sticking behind another of the big tables, I pushed it over. It took way more effort than it should have, but at least it worked. The M3 was still trying to get to me, not quick enough to dodge the wooden rectangle. With a crunch the table landed on top of it, trapping the stupid fuck underneath. Raising the chair in trembling hands, I smashed it into the aliens face again and again, until it finally lay still.
The silence that followed was almost deafening. Breathing hurt, and I knew I was wounded pretty badly. The stench of blood and dead antithesis were all around. How long did I have before more of those things found me?
The kitchen. I had to get to the kitchen. There should be a first aid kit there, maybe I can fix myself up enough to get out of here. It would at least be safer there than it was here. Maybe I could barricade myself in?
Getting to my feet proved more difficult than I thought, and I stumbled, leaning onto another chair. Every step hurt more than the last, but I didn’t stop, even if I wasn’t able to suppress the groans of pain. Just a bit more. I could get there.
Stepping through the doorway, I nearly collapsed against the kitchen counter. I could feel my strength leaving me, and I willed myself to stay upright. The first aid kit wasn’t far, I could see it. I just had to get over there.
Unable to keep myself upright any longer, I fell to the ground, groaning in complaint.
Fuck.
Over the many years of my training, I had long since learned to understand what ailed my body. It was an important skill to have for the life that I had lived. And right now, I could feel the blood seeping out of my wounds in rivulets.
I knew I was done for. There was no way in hell someone would get to me before I bled out.
That realisation was a lot less painful than I had expected. I had already stood at the precipice of death multiple times, most recently four years ago, when I had been ready to put a bullet through my brain. Zuri had found me just in time, able to convince me to give life another shot.
In retrospect, I don’t think I had the words I needed to convey how grateful I was for that. She had given me another chance, and with it, the four best years of my life that I could remember. Something I wouldn’t have ever thought possible, and wasn’t sure I even deserved.
At least she would be safe. That was the only truth that mattered to me, the reason I had taken this massive risk. She and the others would be safe. Maybe I had managed to do some good before I went out after all.
Bleeding out in some corner of some kitchen, somewhere within a pizza place in a park in some megacity, located in a country I wasn’t born in, nor one I belonged to. Alone and left behind.
Maybe this was the fate that I deserved. If it was… I wouldn’t complain. Hell or high water, I had done what I could to help Zuri and the others. Whatever fate awaited me, I could live with it.
The only regret I had was being unable to visit the Kami shrines back home just one more time. I would have loved to show them to my new family. The only place from my memories that didn’t have some bad emotion attached to it.
With a pained smile, I sighed. My life sucked. I had done things I never wanted to. Committed Sins I never asked for, and only after I met Zuri had I truly felt happy. But at least I had gotten that chance, that glimpse at a future. That was enough for me.
Something happened, a moment of pain. It was nearly lost to the cacophony of agony that was already ringing through me, and for a moment I thought this was it.
System startup sequence initiated…
Loading auxiliary systems…
Personal security protocols engaged.
Class XII Vanguard Communication Implant installed.
Connection to Class XII Vanguard Personal Assistant AI established.
Unit designation: Σ-349672-445982-971012 STRYX
User designation: Yurei Neylan
Finalising uplink…
Link integrity confirmed.
System active.
System initialised!
Greetings, Ghostrunner. My name is Stryx, your new guide and personal assistant. I have chosen you as my new Vanguard, a Samurai, tasked with the protection of your species and the hunting of the invaders that threaten your planet’s peace.
It is my duty to prepare you for the challenges that are to come, to help you uplift your species, and to protect them from those that are determined to extinguish them.
Rise, Yurei Neylan. Rise and become the silent blade in the dark, so that you may protect your species from the antithesis threat lurking around every corner.
Words rang out, a soft voice that I didn’t know. I was barely able to concentrate on anything that was said, mind light and muddled, but there was one word that stood out. And even though I was almost convinced that I was hallucinating, that word was enough to send a shiver down my spine.
Your vitals show quite the extensive damage. Let us begin with healing the wounds you have suffered, shall we?