By now, the siblings really should’ve learned to do as I say in these situations, but I catch both of their expressions pulling into stubborn frowns.
Lalia says, “But—”
“He’s looking at me, not you, he will kill you,” I hiss. “Just do as I say.”
Zane is silent, and the amount he’s been utterly quiet is freaking me out. I glance his way, and his eyes catch mine, and I don’t feel as if I’m looking at the same person at all. Both of them feel like strangers, even as we’re trying to get out of this alive together. Maybe it’s me, but I bet it isn’t. Well, that’s that then, I suppose. Things change when people don’t get their way. Of course, they aren’t looking at me the same, but I just didn’t expect it to piss me off so much I’d dwell on it in the middle of a problem like this. It shouldn’t bother me. It should push its way into my thoughts while I’m trying to keep myself and all of them alive, but my vision feels fuzzy for a reason that doesn’t even have to do with my broken eyes. Sometime soon, that rage is going to simmer into pain, I know it, and I want to punch one of them for it.
Now is not the time.
The female steps up alongside the male, grabbing him by the shoulder and forcing him down—well, at least we’re being protected by other numbers this time—while we continue our forced-casual walk away. I risk a glance over my shoulder.
He slams her head into the side of the platform.
“Dammit,” I hiss as he scrambles out after us, zeroed in on me. I can’t believe we’re doing this again. Lee’s ship feels like minutes ago. “Run!”
Small blessings, Zane and Lalia actually listen and bolt back into the cluster of buildings, away from me. I take off down the platform at a dead run, not wanting to head into the heart of Zar again and leave my ship’s sight. Getting lost and trapped in crowds won’t be helpful. Momentarily satisfied the number is after me and not the siblings, vague panic crawls its way up my throat the next second.
Don’t be smug, Aaron, you’re about to die.
“Bat, crazy cyborg after me, go one level up!”
“Can you do two? There’s a big damn freighter right above you!”
Glancing overhead, I find the shadow of a larger ship looming over the next platform. Lucky that thing didn’t get involved in this whole mess, it would probably take out the entire set of platforms if it crashed into anything.
Well, I guess I’ll have to. “Doing it!”
I find the nearest set of stairs leading to the next platform and pick up my pace. A glance thrown over my shoulder confirms it’s still after me, not catching up fast, but catching up. The dead rage in its expression freaks me out almost as much as that ForceZero number smiling as it stalked me.
Spinning around the stairs, I yank myself up, shouting at a human trying to come down until the man practically flings himself over the railing to get away from me. The metal steps shiver as the number catches up, slamming into them and following. Grabbing my remaining gun, I take the moment to slow down just enough to turn and shoot him right in the kneecap. He doesn’t deserve to die. Really, I feel bad for him, his chip malfunctioning on him, his brain probably sending him a mess of living nightmares. He hasn’t done anything like Kel did, never came after us for a grudge, never got my brother nearly killed—
No, not my brother. I turn and keep up at a run.
At the top, I glance back only to find him still coming, albeit slower than last time. You gotta be kidding me. When he draws his weapon, I shoot it out of his hand in a shower of sparks and keep going. One death is enough for me for one day, and I don’t think he’s going to catch up. My pity is a little too strong to put him in too much pain—as long as I can outrun him and we can get out of here, there’s no reason to torture him.
“Zane, Lalia, meet us two levels up, you gotta get over that freighter!”
“Got it!” comes Lalia’s garbled reply.
I trip on the next set of stairs up, still unsteady from nearly taking a dive off the ruined platform. Gunshots are ringing below and I try not to pay too close attention. They’re not my problem, and I have my own crazy cyborg after me.
I am so going to mention this to Captain if I’m ever unlucky enough to see him again—he is not perfect at making us, and I’m going to take a page from Yvonne’s book and mock him for it.
One of the other numbers—hopefully saner, this time—skids to a stop at the top of the stairs. She levels her gun at me and pauses in confusion.
“He’s trying to kill me, I don’t know what I did!” I yell perhaps a little too dramatically, continuing up the stairs—I’ll be dammed if this number gets in my way of running from that thing.
She frowns past me, then levels her gun directly at my face. “You shot him.”
“He’s trying to shoot me—”
Something explodes a level below us. It doesn’t take the platform out this time, but the whole place quivers again.
“You might wanna get more reinforcements,” I grumble since we’re not the ones causing problems.
The female number glares past me uneasily, looking like she doesn’t know whether or not she’s supposed to keep her gun leveled on me. But I can hear the other number catching back up, and I’m not getting involved.
“Get someone else shot,” I say, and try to elbow my way past her.
I can tell she’s about to fire a moment before she attempts it, and it’s a fraction of enough time to drop sideways around her in the small space. My ears crackle with the sound of the gun and somewhere on my arm burns—not serious, but it sure as hell pisses me off. I yank the gun out of her hands…rather, I attempt to, and it drags both of us to the platform floor. Someone’s hands grab around my neck—definitely not Amerov protocol—and I kick at the larger, unhinged male screaming something I don’t understand. At least the female finally realizes what’s happening and tries to grab him and haul him off me, but she’s smaller and by the looks of it, less augmented. She says something into her own comm I don’t catch.
I get my leg around the big number’s neck, pressing my back and attempting to twist him off me, using the railings of the stairs as leverage. I can lift small spaceships, I should be able to push him off me. But there’s a good chance this one can do the same, and he’s got some size on me. I manage to get him to release my throat, coughing without meaning to, and try to kick him back. He slams me back against the side of the stairs, the edge of the top step grinding into my back, before the female elbows him in the face, surprising him more than hurting. Trying my best to scramble up, he catches my leg anyway as he shoves the smaller female out of the way. I kick him in the nose, searching for my pistol and my knife at once.
Someone fires a gun. Blood splatters along my face, but whoever shot the big number didn’t phase him. If anything, I think it made it worse. I glance sideways and think I glimpse Zane’s jacket, but I can’t be certain. My hand finds the handle of the female number’s weapon, and I smash him in the face with it, frightened it won’t fire with my incorrect fingerprints.
The platform shudders, a scream crackles my ears, and the insane number going after me stops long enough to stare at his fallen partner plummeting off the edge.
What the hell is going on?
“Aaron—” I hear Bat trying to say something into my comm, my ship still hidden behind the others trying to navigate away from the chaos.
Something snaps and my stomach drops as the platform gives. Vaguely, I think I see the large freighter pass by before it actually occurs to me I’m falling. I slam back into the platform below, eyes flickering out and ear screeching momentarily before various points on my body begin screaming at me. My implants in my temple ache and I’m certain I have bruises deep along my spine and shoulder blades. Everything is still shifting and I grab onto the metal as my feet fail to find purchase.
I’ve had just about enough of nearly falling off these things.
The body of the big cyborg crashes into me a moment later. Somewhere above, I hear Lalia screaming my name as I’m knocked into open space.
By now, the siblings really should’ve learned to do as I say in these situations, but I catch both of their expressions pulling into stubborn frowns.
Lalia says, “But—”
“He’s looking at me, not you, he will kill you,” I hiss. “Just do as I say.”
Zane is silent, and the amount he’s been utterly quiet is freaking me out. I glance his way, and his eyes catch mine, and I don’t feel as if I’m looking at the same person at all. Both of them feel like strangers, even as we’re trying to get out of this alive together. Maybe it’s me, but I bet it isn’t. Well, that’s that then, I suppose. Things change when people don’t get their way. Of course, they aren’t looking at me the same, but I just didn’t expect it to piss me off so much I’d dwell on it in the middle of a problem like this. It shouldn’t bother me. It should push its way into my thoughts while I’m trying to keep myself and all of them alive, but my vision feels fuzzy for a reason that doesn’t even have to do with my broken eyes. Sometime soon, that rage is going to simmer into pain, I know it, and I want to punch one of them for it.
Now is not the time.
The female steps up alongside the male, grabbing him by the shoulder and forcing him down—well, at least we’re being protected by other numbers this time—while we continue our forced-casual walk away. I risk a glance over my shoulder.
He slams her head into the side of the platform.
“Dammit,” I hiss as he scrambles out after us, zeroed in on me. I can’t believe we’re doing this again. Lee’s ship feels like minutes ago. “Run!”
Small blessings, Zane and Lalia actually listen and bolt back into the cluster of buildings, away from me. I take off down the platform at a dead run, not wanting to head into the heart of Zar again and leave my ship’s sight. Getting lost and trapped in crowds won’t be helpful. Momentarily satisfied the number is after me and not the siblings, vague panic crawls its way up my throat the next second.
Don’t be smug, Aaron, you’re about to die.
“Bat, crazy cyborg after me, go one level up!”
“Can you do two? There’s a big damn freighter right above you!”
Glancing overhead, I find the shadow of a larger ship looming over the next platform. Lucky that thing didn’t get involved in this whole mess, it would probably take out the entire set of platforms if it crashed into anything.
Well, I guess I’ll have to. “Doing it!”
I find the nearest set of stairs leading to the next platform and pick up my pace. A glance thrown over my shoulder confirms it’s still after me, not catching up fast, but catching up. The dead rage in its expression freaks me out almost as much as that ForceZero number smiling as it stalked me.
Spinning around the stairs, I yank myself up, shouting at a human trying to come down until the man practically flings himself over the railing to get away from me. The metal steps shiver as the number catches up, slamming into them and following. Grabbing my remaining gun, I take the moment to slow down just enough to turn and shoot him right in the kneecap. He doesn’t deserve to die. Really, I feel bad for him, his chip malfunctioning on him, his brain probably sending him a mess of living nightmares. He hasn’t done anything like Kel did, never came after us for a grudge, never got my brother nearly killed—
No, not my brother. I turn and keep up at a run.
At the top, I glance back only to find him still coming, albeit slower than last time. You gotta be kidding me. When he draws his weapon, I shoot it out of his hand in a shower of sparks and keep going. One death is enough for me for one day, and I don’t think he’s going to catch up. My pity is a little too strong to put him in too much pain—as long as I can outrun him and we can get out of here, there’s no reason to torture him.
“Zane, Lalia, meet us two levels up, you gotta get over that freighter!”
“Got it!” comes Lalia’s garbled reply.
I trip on the next set of stairs up, still unsteady from nearly taking a dive off the ruined platform. Gunshots are ringing below and I try not to pay too close attention. They’re not my problem, and I have my own crazy cyborg after me.
I am so going to mention this to Captain if I’m ever unlucky enough to see him again—he is not perfect at making us, and I’m going to take a page from Yvonne’s book and mock him for it.
One of the other numbers—hopefully saner, this time—skids to a stop at the top of the stairs. She levels her gun at me and pauses in confusion.
“He’s trying to kill me, I don’t know what I did!” I yell perhaps a little too dramatically, continuing up the stairs—I’ll be dammed if this number gets in my way of running from that thing.
She frowns past me, then levels her gun directly at my face. “You shot him.”
“He’s trying to shoot me—”
Something explodes a level below us. It doesn’t take the platform out this time, but the whole place quivers again.
“You might wanna get more reinforcements,” I grumble since we’re not the ones causing problems.
The female number glares past me uneasily, looking like she doesn’t know whether or not she’s supposed to keep her gun leveled on me. But I can hear the other number catching back up, and I’m not getting involved.
“Get someone else shot,” I say, and try to elbow my way past her.
I can tell she’s about to fire a moment before she attempts it, and it’s a fraction of enough time to drop sideways around her in the small space. My ears crackle with the sound of the gun and somewhere on my arm burns—not serious, but it sure as hell pisses me off. I yank the gun out of her hands…rather, I attempt to, and it drags both of us to the platform floor. Someone’s hands grab around my neck—definitely not Amerov protocol—and I kick at the larger, unhinged male screaming something I don’t understand. At least the female finally realizes what’s happening and tries to grab him and haul him off me, but she’s smaller and by the looks of it, less augmented. She says something into her own comm I don’t catch.
I get my leg around the big number’s neck, pressing my back and attempting to twist him off me, using the railings of the stairs as leverage. I can lift small spaceships, I should be able to push him off me. But there’s a good chance this one can do the same, and he’s got some size on me. I manage to get him to release my throat, coughing without meaning to, and try to kick him back. He slams me back against the side of the stairs, the edge of the top step grinding into my back, before the female elbows him in the face, surprising him more than hurting. Trying my best to scramble up, he catches my leg anyway as he shoves the smaller female out of the way. I kick him in the nose, searching for my pistol and my knife at once.
Someone fires a gun. Blood splatters along my face, but whoever shot the big number didn’t phase him. If anything, I think it made it worse. I glance sideways and think I glimpse Zane’s jacket, but I can’t be certain. My hand finds the handle of the female number’s weapon, and I smash him in the face with it, frightened it won’t fire with my incorrect fingerprints.
The platform shudders, a scream crackles my ears, and the insane number going after me stops long enough to stare at his fallen partner plummeting off the edge.
What the hell is going on?
“Aaron—” I hear Bat trying to say something into my comm, my ship still hidden behind the others trying to navigate away from the chaos.
Something snaps and my stomach drops as the platform gives. Vaguely, I think I see the large freighter pass by before it actually occurs to me I’m falling. I slam back into the platform below, eyes flickering out and ear screeching momentarily before various points on my body begin screaming at me. My implants in my temple ache and I’m certain I have bruises deep along my spine and shoulder blades. Everything is still shifting and I grab onto the metal as my feet fail to find purchase.
I’ve had just about enough of nearly falling off these things.
The body of the big cyborg crashes into me a moment later. Somewhere above, I hear Lalia screaming my name as I’m knocked into open space.
