CHAPTER XXXIX
OCTOBER 28TH, 12:57 P.M.
BATTLE OF ST. GRAD, PART II
“C’mon, c’mon!”
Laurel ushered a mob of civilians, directing them to the port. Multiple aircraft carriers were docked with ramps down, ready to take in the refugees. She maintained a close eye on them, keeping everyone orderly and efficient. Something, however, seemed off. Artillery fire started to land inside St. Grad. The usual overlay of smoke clouds in the air was greatly diminished, replaced with smoke clouds rising from the ground instead. The defenses were down.
“Hurry!” she panicked. “We don’t have much time!”
Rebel soldiers aided her, directing the refugees to the proper ships. One approached, wading through the river of people to reach her.
“Where’s Lieutenant Reeves?!”
“I don’t know!” Laurel answered. More refugees came flocking over. Which could only mean one thing. They got pushed back to the inner city. Tommy and Frank were nowhere to be seen.
“How many more are coming?” the soldier asked.
“Hundreds, probably thousands! Can you take all of them?!”
“As long as we-“
His radio buzzed. Frozen mid-sentence, he listened to the communications. His eyes went wide.
“Missile launch! Everybody get down!”
Hysterical screaming ensued. The cluttering of refugees went completely awry as they ran in every direction. Above Laurel, hurdling through the sky as a volley of rockets, burning like comets and heading straight towards them. It would completely annihilate everyone and the ships if it wasn’t stopped. She had to do something.
Laurel mustered the strength she had, pouring magic in her palms. Facing them towards the sky, a semi-translucent pink bubble formed around her. With an outstretch of her arms, it expanded, encompassing all of St. Grad and reaching to the clouds. She strained, veins bursting from her neck as she channeled all her willpower into the shield.
The missiles struck, sending blast waves rumbling through the city. They shined like stars, spewing fire through the atmosphere. More missiles continued to pound at the barrier, sending cracks through its façade. Laurel held but was losing control. Blood streamed from her nose and out the corners of her mouth. Each impact threatened to strike down her ward and expose the civilians to danger. She couldn’t let that happen. She won’t let it happen.
Finally, the barrage ended. The raging inferno spread outwards, dissipating in the wind. No more attacks threatened them, allowing her to drop the shield.
Its release shattered with a deafening crack. Ethereal shards of the bubble floated weightlessly, creating a floating river of magic. For a moment, the sky above St. Grad looked like the expanse of a galaxy, but slowly faded as it drifted away like balloons in the wind.
Laurel collapsed to her knees. She gasped, searching to refill her lungs but was struggling. Others came to her aid, including the terrified refugee, Emilia.
“Are you okay?!” she asked, visibly worried for her safety. “Please be okay!”
Laurel managed to regain a little of her breath. “Don’t worry about me honey.”
Bullets cracked through the crowd. More hysterics ensued. Just as they reconvened, they scattered again. Emilia fell to the ground, landing on top of Laurel along with many others, dropping prone to avoid the gunfire. Some refugees were struck, blood spraying over their bodies as they dropped dead.
One louder gunshot boomed, and it finally ceased. Overtop the sea of people, Laurel saw Tommy, standing over the corpse of the lone gunman. He shouldn’t have been able to get in. They were lucky it was only one, but it reveals that the inner city is compromised, further pressuring them to evacuate quickly.
Emilia suddenly broke out in a blood curdling scream. Besides her, her partner lay dead on the ground. Laurel saw the source of her despair, covering the girl’s eyes and pulling her away.
“Don’t look, don’t look,” she pleaded. Laurel checked her for injuries, making sure her belly wasn’t struck. The refugees resumed their dash to the ships, no longer bothering to maintain an orderly fashion. It became pandemonium as they clawed over each other, desperately urging to reach safety. Laurel brought the pregnant girl to her feet, keeping her eyes away from her partner.
“Don’t look, honey. We have to go.” Her heart broke for the poor girl, but she didn’t have time to process it. She had to stay strong for them.
Tommy ran up to them. “We have more coming in!”
“Where’s Frank?!”
He paused, holding eye contact with her. Laurel immediately knew. Her teeth clenched, desperately trying to hold it together. She prayed this didn’t happen. Laurel had just met him, and already saw him as a great friend. He was a gentle soul and deserved more than what life gave him. Her heart threatened to break even more.
She couldn’t lose sight yet. Once everyone was safe and this was all over, she could process. Their mission was not yet done. She passed off the girl to a rebel soldier, loading her onboard and finally allowing her to focus on other matters.
“Where’s Leo?!”
“I thought you knew!”
“No!” Laurel exclaimed. “Rayshe ambushed me, and Leo pulled him off so I could get the refugees to the ship!”
“Fuck! I knew Rayshe was going to be here!”
“I’m going after him!”
“No, let me go!” Tommy rebutted. “It’s me he wants!”
“I can get there faster, Tommy! A quick grab then we go! Stay with the civilians!”
Her mind raced a mile a minute. How would they escape with Rayshe here? She saved the ships from airstrike, but their biggest threat was on the ground. There’s nothing stopping him from climbing aboard and continuing the fight on sea. He had to be stopped here. But how could they possibly do that?
“Here,” she said, handing Tommy her Piece. “Take this! I’ll be right back!” Tommy took it, now burdened by the safety of the Piece, but accepting the responsibility to keep it safe.
“Be quick about it!”
/
Leo grappled with Rayshe, fighting for control before ultimately losing and getting thrown through a table. They fought on a rooftop bar, destroying all manner of furniture and decorations as they thrashed about. He was holding him off, but he couldn’t keep going for long.
Rising to his feet, he swung high with his axe, aiming for his neck. Rayshe ducked, slicing a deep cut across his abdomen. A swift kick followed, sending Leo tumbling across the roof.
He rose to his hands and knees, sputtering blood from his mouth. He pushed through his injuries, but they were amounting fast. His healing could only do so much. Leo wouldn’t last much longer.
“It’s a shame you’re making me do this!” Rayshe taunted. “We could have been powerful allies!”
Leo spit a chunk of blood. “Never.”
“I’m trying to save the world!” Rayshe claimed. “What don’t you understand?!”
“You don’t want to save the world! You never wanted that!” Leo fired back. “That’s the disguise you hide behind. The lie you parade with. You want control. You crave power. You want the world to bend the knee to you. You want to be god. And you’d kill billions to do it. You want people to see you as their savior, when really you are their slaver.”
“And who told you that? Hmm? The machine after he murdered my daughter?”
“We never meant to hurt your daughter!” Leo yelled, pushing himself onto one knee. “It was out of our control!”
“YOU MURDERED HER!”
“SHE WAS GOING TO KILL THOUSANDS!”
“I don’t care,” Rayshe muttered. “I don’t care. I would’ve rejoiced. I would have celebrated her. I always knew she had the potential to be great.”
“You’re sick.”
“Yes. Yes,” Rayshe agreed, his voice terrifyingly monotone. He slowly approached Leo. “I’m sick. I’m different. I’m not like the rest of you. I am something else entirely. And I will make the world feel my strength. Starting with you.”
Leo swung his axe at him in desperation. Rayshe easily deflected, knocking him away. The Piece dislodged from his gear, sliding openly across the roof. His eyes lit up while Leo’s heart dropped.
Rayshe made a sprint towards it, but intercepted by a golden white, translucent duplicate Leo sent out, laying its shoulder into Rayshe. Another one grabbed the Piece, returning it to Leo’s hand before disappearing.
“Give me what is mine,” Rayshe demanded.
“I’ll die before I let you take this.”
Rayshe lunged again but was again knocked down by a duplicate appearing in his way. Leo jumped, flying through the air with his axe primed to strike down. Rayshe parried upwards with his swords. The impact of the two powerful weapons leveled the surrounding area, sending Leo soaring off the rooftop while Rayshe was smashed down into the building.
Leo tumbled through the window of an adjacent building, barreling through the interior before exiting out the other side, skidding to a halt on a large helipad on an empty roof. He groaned in pain, collecting himself and checking for the Piece. Still there. He sat on his knees, grimacing from his injuries.
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Someone touched down near him. Their boots lightly pattered on the helipad. Leo looked up to identify the individual.
“Boone?”
Their missing friend returned. His face was dull. Expressionless. But something churned behind those eyes.
Leo heaved, recovering his breath, but relieved at the arrival of backup. “Take the Piece,” he said, holding it out to Boone. “Keep it safe. I’ll hold off Rayshe as long as I can.”
Boone remained silent, slowly retrieving the artifact from Leo’s hand. He gently held the corners, examining its powerful glow. Leo studied Boone’s actions, looking at how he held the Piece, how he stared at it. He held it with a certain curiosity, but his inaction was unnerving. He had no urge. No effort to help him. Something was wrong. Leo quickly reached out, trying to take it back. Boone ripped his hand away, backing up with the artifact.
“Boone? What are you doing?” No answer. “What are you doing?!”
He continued to slowly retreat. Leo stared with shock and rage as who he once called friend turned against him.
“You’re making a mistake, Leo.”
“No…” Leo said, looking at the ground in defeat. He was already too far gone.
“We’ve been looking at this wrong.”
“NO! Boone… Fuck!”
“This isn’t the way,” Boone tried to explain. “The world is hurting. People are dying. Life is a struggle. We should be trying to fix this, not stop it.”
“Rayshe has an army murdering innocents in the streets and you call that fixing?”
“They’re stopping people who want to stop us.”
“So you want to kill me now too, is that it? You’re going to follow Rayshe around like his little lap dog?”
“I don’t want to kill you, Leo,” Boone clarified.
“You’re fucking insane,” Leo huffed.
“Please,” he continued. “Let it go. I don’t want to do this.”
Leo looked at him, teeth bared, blood dripping from his mouth as anger swelled within. “Why?”
Boone sighed. He looked at Leo longingly, still holding out hope that he would come around. “It’s what she would have wanted.”
Leo launched his axe, striking Boone in the chest and catapulting him off the rooftop. The Piece flew from his hands, popping straight up in the air. He quickly caught it before it hit the ground and began frantically brainstorming his next move. Rayshe was blood lusted, on a mission to tear him down along with everyone else. Boone had taken his side. The ships hadn’t departed yet, and the team was still waiting on him. They wouldn’t make it. Not with the both of them on their trail. They will never get away in time. They need someone to buy a few minutes, or else… it would all be for nothing.
Laurel touched down beside him, visibly distressed at his condition.
“Oh my god, Leo!” she ran to him. “Are you okay?”
“Boone’s betrayed us.”
Laurel’s eye went wide. She was lost for words.
“Rayshe is still coming after me. We won’t make it.” He held out the artifact to her. “Take it. Get back to Tommy.”
“Wha, what are you talking about?” she stammered.
“Once the ships get clear of the harbor, get on a helicopter, plane, something. Separate from the refugees and get out of here.”
“No…” Laurel shook her head.
“Go somewhere far from here. Doesn’t matter where. As long as it’s safe and Rayshe and Boone don’t know where you’re going.”
“No, Leo, not without you.” Laurel said with a trembling voice.
“Laurel, you won’t make it away. If the two of us start running together they’ll just catch up and then it’s over.”
“We can still get you out of here.” Tears started to well in her eyes. “Leo don’t do this. You promised.”
“Please,” he urged. “I can’t let them get you.”
“No! Leo, I’m not done! I’m not done having you in my life! You promised!”
“Listen to me,” he said, pushing the Piece into her hands. “This can’t all be for nothing. Please… Just go. Let me do this.”
Laurel’s chin quivered as tears streamed down her face. Her hand shook, clutching onto the artifact. She kept looking down, unable to face him. Leo’s heart ached. He felt tears of his own build, but he quickly blinked them away. It tore him apart to see her like this. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He made a promise. He broke it. But it can’t all be for nothing.
“Let me do this…”
She finally looked up at him. Her whole body shook. She looked on at her lover, knowing this was the last time she would get to see him.
“I love you,” he said softly. “Tell Tommy I love him too.”
Laurel’s eyes shut hard. Her lips strained, holding back sobs. Finally, she nodded weakly. She grabbed him by the collar, pulling him in for a brief kiss before pushing him away. She walked backwards, artifact in hand, leaving Leo to face his end.
/
Rayshe finally located the alien, scaling the side of the building with superhuman speed. Leo turned, bloodied and beaten but still pushing. Boone touched down next to Rayshe, officially declaring his new allegiance. Leo hunched, over, clutching onto his side, nursing injuries that were healing, but much too slow to save him now.
“I saw your friend,” Rayshe said. “That big, hulking shapeshifter. I saw his corpse, battered and broken.” Leo grimaced at his words. Boone acknowledged them too. There was a semblance of sorrow behind his eyes, but he was too far in to second guess himself now. He ignored the feeling, staying focused on the current situation.
“Are you eager to join him?”
Leo didn’t answer.
“I wish it didn’t turn out this way,” Rayshe continued. “I really mean that, too. We could have worked together. We could have been great. A real difference is going to be made, and you had your chance to be a part of it. Boone was smart enough to know this. He joined the winning side while he still could.”
Rayshe made a sly glance at Boone. He didn’t return it. He had made up his mind, but he still felt remorse for his friend. He didn’t feel that he betrayed him, but rather he was misguided. And his stubbornness leaves him with no choice.
“You had a chance,” Rayshe resumed. “You sealed it when you took up arms against me in this.” He turned his palms to the sky, referencing the now ravaged city of St. Grad. At this point, the fighting was over. All that could be heard was the humming of fires that were left in the aftermath. They were all that remained.
“It’s too late for you though,” Rayshe said. “Too late for the witch. Too late for the robot. You have all sinned against me.”
Leo remained silent.
“You do still have a chance. For a quick death. If you hand over the artifact now, I will promise you that.”
They began to grow anxious from Leo’s unresponsiveness.
“Where are your friends? Huh?”
That got him to react. He shifted in his stance, clutching onto his axe.
Rayshe put the pieces together. “You’re think you can hold me off so they can get away?”
Leo yelled, dashing forward and cleaving into Rayshe’s knee. He screamed in pain as the axe dug deep at the joint, deeper than he had been able to cut through the powerful enemy. With a powerful stomp, Leo broke his leg backwards. Boone retaliated, blasting him in the back with a burst of energy.
Leo tumbled away, sliding along the surface of the helipad. Rayshe growled, standing on his injured leg, barely able to put weight on it. Leo jumped to his feet quickly, turning his attention towards Boone. He sent out a duplicate, delivering a blow to his stomach, then to his face. Disoriented, Leo reared back and swung down. Boone put up his arm, letting it take the brunt of the axe. It sliced into his arm, cutting deep but enough to stop it.
Rayshe struggled. He limped, attempting to run but stumbling to the ground with his shattered leg. He started to crawl, determined to not let the traitors get away. Leo caught him before he got far; a duplicate warping to him, grabbing him by the leg and tossing him back like a discus.
Boone pushed Leo in his distraction. Fighting them both at once would be his Achilles heel. He cannot hope to defeat one of them in combat if he has to divert his focus constantly.
He paced back and forth, eyeing down his adversaries. Boone clutched his injured arm, while Rayshe climbed back to his feet. His leg was too badly damaged to run after the others. But that wouldn’t stop him from trying. He just had to distract the alien for long enough.
Boone fired bolts of energy at Leo, to which he put up his arms to absorb the impact. Rayshe seized the advantage, gripping his wrist and pulling his arm out. With his chest exposed, he stabbed straight through his shoulder. Leo gritted his teeth, roaring in agony as his axe dropped from his hand. With a sweep of his feet, Rayshe knocked Leo to the ground and attempted to run again.
Leo didn’t relent, somehow lifting the destroyed shoulder to grab the axe, throwing it past Rayshe and having it take out his ankles on the way back, once again pulling him to the center of the helipad.
Boone flew over to him, lifting him off the ground from underneath his arms and slamming him face first into the rooftop. The impact cratered the concrete before Boone threw him, making him streak blood in his wake.
“Go after them!” Rayshe commanded Boone. “I can’t make it. Go after them!”
Boone stared off into the distance. At the back of St. Grad, a port filled with ships transporting hordes of refugees started to depart. Somewhere over there was who he used to call his friends. He stood motionless, just looking on as Rayshe grew more furious.
“Go after them! KILL THEM!”
Leo struggled to his knees, looking on with a bloodied face. Rayshe limped towards the frozen man, ripe with rage. He didn’t want to do it. He couldn’t.
“They don’t need to die,” he said.
“Yes. They do.”
“Leo has the Pieces,” he mentioned. “That’s the goal. Take it from him and let’s go.”
“He doesn’t!” Rayshe boiled over. “Why would he have the Pieces if he’s here distracting us! They’re getting away with them!”
Leo yelled, jumping at Rayshe from behind and driving his axe into his back. He arched in pain while a several duplicates lifted Boone up and drove him to the ground. They held him there while Leo dislodged his weapon from Rayshe back, attempting for another swing. The president recovered in time, evading his cleave and impaling him through the stomach.
Blood shot from Leo’s mouth as he lost his breath. Immense pain ripped through him as Rayshe kicked him off his blade. The duplicates disappeared off Boone, freeing him to openly attack the alien.
They pressed him, delivering a series of attacks in succession. Boone landed supercharged fists, connected with his jaw and his body while Rayshe followed with a fury of cuts. Leo helplessly absorbed the damage, using all of his willpower to stay on his feet. Finally, he broke the beatdown, sending duplicates into both of them, tackling them away.
He jumped on Boone, gripping his head with both hands and slamming it into the ground. With a clean punch to the forehead, Boone fell unconscious. He summoned his axe, ready to strike the killing blow. Rayshe stopped him just in time, stabbing him through side.
Leo pushed him away, but stumbled backwards, letting his axe fall to the ground. He uncoordinatedly stepped, slowly drifting towards the edge of the helipad until he fell to his knees, unable to continue.
Helicopter blades whirred overhead. Its engines echoed through the city. The ships departed out into the sea, and a lone air vehicle flew deeper into the mainland, fleeing far and fast from the battle. They both knew who was on that helicopter. They got away.
Rayshe stared as it grew smaller in the distance. Unfathomable rage stirred. He looked over at the alien, who started to have a smile creep on his face. A weak, dying smile, but a proud one. It drove Rayshe over the edge with anger.
“What the fuck are you smiling about?!”
Leo coughed, spitting out blood. “You lost.”
A simple, two worded sentence. But one that made him see red. Rayshe roared, impaling Leo through the chest. He heaved in pain, holding onto the sword that ran through his body.
Rayshe put his hand to the alien’s head, trying to flood his mind with torment before watching his light go out. Leo felt the blood-curdling screams of the voices for just a split-second. But immediately after Rayshe’s hand connected, he recoiled. The president wailed in shock, holding his head from what just entered it. Leo huffed, groaning heavily with each breath. Rayshe was stunned.
“What the fuck…”
Leo quickly summoned his axe, chopping down and shearing off Rayshe’s blade arm. He stumbled back, screaming in pain as he held on to what was left of his arm. Blood spewed rhythmically, painting the helipad crimson all around him. The axe lifted off the ground on its own volition and bolted into the air, soaring out to the coast before falling into the ocean.
Leo wheezed, inhaling rapidly, trying his hardest to recover oxygen with the sword still planted in his chest. Rayshe panted, still in shock over his amputation. And what he just saw…
Leo grunted, mustering the last of his strength. He grabbed the sides of the blade, pushing it out slowly. It was caked in his blood, spilling all over his legs and the ground below him. Each inch felt like fire, slicing back through his insides. With a rallying cry of strength, he removed the blade from his chest, letting it clank onto the helipad in front of him.
Rayshe was horrified. How was he doing this? How was he even able to hurt him?
“What the fuck are you?”
Leo gasped. His consciousness was fleeting. He had nothing left to continue. Removing the blade wasn’t an act of continuation. It was a taunt. An exertion of the last amount of will he had remaining. Symbolic of the drive of the rebellion. And it worked.
Everything went quiet. Leo sat on his knees, unbothered by anything around him. He simply waited so his injuries to take him. Rayshe stared in silence. The wind whistled by. The waves gently rolled over the shore. In the unnerving aftermath of something so cruel, everything became… peaceful. A serenity before death.
He wheezed, sputtering blood, dripping from his lips as everything began to fade. Through all of it, only one thing was on his mind. Her. All the pain be damned. She got a chance to keep going because of him. But still he felt… unsatisfied.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He still had more to give. He had people to be with. Promises were made and were not kept. This wasn’t supposed to be how he went out. He had a better ending made out for himself. He thought he made all the right decisions to take him there. Some decisions you can’t come back from.
Leo fell onto his back. The last vestiges of light disappeared as his eyes closed. His lungs exhaled in finality. This was the end of the line. Everything went black. His heart pumped its last as Leo’s life ended.
TO BE CONTINUED