Assault - pt. 4

Gosh, this hurts. The pain from the laser wound travels through my leg, only worsening the more it gets dragged forward. But I can’t let it slow me down, not when the other golem is so close. When I hear it lift its buddy off itself, I roll onto my back, pointing the gun at its core. A single beam shoots out, but nothing more. Out of power, are you freaking kidding me?

The one shot is enough to stall him, only temporarily. I continue onward into the cockpit, the door halfway open. When my eyes land on the medicine cabinet, I scrabble on over, using all my might to make it there before the golem gains back its senses. My hands grip on the countertop as I haul myself up, grinding my teeth in pain. Clanking out the door, it sounds like the golem is moving.

Wait a minute— Crap, how did I forget?

There’s a keypad attached to the cabinet. That’s right, I remember Ezri putting in a code. Darn it! Why have I become such an idiot? Did I seriously do all this for nothing?

The golem is closing in. I bang the back of the gun against the tough glass, but no matter how hard I go at it, it won’t break. Not even a crack. The door is blown off and thrown across the cockpit. The golem enters. Even though it looks just like the other morphs of its kind, this one is somehow the most intimidating. Probably because I have no way to defend myself, and no way to run.

But Shiloh and Jasper are still out there bleeding to death. The golem lifts its arm to shoot, and I respond by doing the first thing that comes to mind – chucking my gun at its own to throw off its aim. It works at keeping me alive. For now, and at bare minimum. The laser has instead hit my side, making me stumble back and sink onto the floor.

My mind fills with terror. No options left for me. Can’t move, can’t fight, can’t even think of a plan. The demon steps closer. Its eyes, that I once saw as unfeeling, grieve me with a sense of malice.

Well, so much for everything… I never expected to die so young, all while failing the people that need me. All these goals of mine too, out the window. Didn’t even graduate university. Mom will be devastated— no, Dad too, what am I saying?

The golem raises the gun to my head, only to be whaled by an onset of multiple lasers from the doorway. “Phew, don’t worry, Calla! I got you!” Petra chimes with a salute, a cloth hanging over her shoulder. Looks like it was torn from a tent. For once, I’m actually glad to see someone from the Liberation. She continues shooting down the golem, until it tumbles over, holes across its whole body.

“Oh my, you don’t look too good,” Petra says, noting my leg and right side. “But you’ll live! Just hang in there for a bit,” she bends down after she tears the cloth in two, then starts to secure my wounds with each half.

“How did you know where I was?” I ask weakly, and while looking at the makeshift bandages, “And that I was hurt?”

“The Admiral told me, of course!”

“Okay – and how did Ezri know this— Ow!” Her tightening a piece around my leg sends a sharp pain.

“Oh, she knows everything.”

She finishes swathing me up, the bleeding effectively stopped. Still hurts like nothing else, but it’s suffice for now. I feel woozy, lightheaded – yet it’s not enough to distract me from my objective. “You must know the code to this, right? Shiloh and Jasper need medicine,” I mumble out.

“Sure do, but we gotta focus on getting you out of here first.”

“No, you don’t get it – they fell from the top of the Spearhead, they need help now!”

“I know, I know, the Admiral’s taking care of it. Now, if you don’t mind me!”

Petra suddenly picks me up, letting my arms and legs wrap around her body. For someone of her stature, she’s surprisingly strong. With the golem writhing on the floor, she carries me off into the corridor, even humming a tune as she does so. Don’t know if it’s because she’s actually enjoying the “thrill” of war, or if it’s a calming mechanism.

But what I understand least of all, is why do they treat me like this?

Why did Petra come all this way?

Why was Ace willing to stay injured just so I’d live?

Why was it so important for me to use a gun to defend myself?

And the biggest question of all – what does Ezri really want with me? She said she wanted to “show” me something. How major could that “something” be to warrant all this?

“Wow, did you do that?” Petra asks, referencing the golem I had shot as we rush past it. “Nice. Must be because of your memories!”

“My memories?”

“Ezri told you already, didn’t she? You’ve lived through a lot of these things before, all of us have.”

So, that’s where the feelings come from. They’re not some strange form of déjà vu – they’re me remembering. And here I was thinking it was pure luck I knew how to shoot a golem. But what about everyone else? I haven’t heard anybody talk about it – then again, neither have I.

Just a few minutes later, we’re away from the ship’s shelter, back out into the chaos – which hasn’t calmed down in the slightest. How are people even still alive? Petra holds me tighter, then lifts her chin towards the northside. “See those vehicles the M-droids brought in? We’re going to use them to our advantage.”

Without delay, Petra dashes through the battleground, even in the midst of beams and energy burst attacks. My heart races like crazy. I can hardly breath, the air becomes too thin. What’s the matter with her? She’s going to get me killed! Fearing she’s lost it, I attempt to squirm my way off her, but her grip is too firm, and my limbs are too faint. Maybe it would’ve been better to just have the golem finish me off after all— and great, there’s one charging straight at us, drenched in blood from head to toe.

“Hey! Cover, cover!” A soldier yells and waves his hands, catching the attention of nearby fighters.

They all gather around Petra’s path, placing themselves on every side of her. Engaging in combat with the incoming golems, they prevent us from being harmed – but in the process, each step taken by Shiloh places another grave. It doesn’t deter any of them, they keep lining up as willing sacrifices. One of them even goes the extra mile to shield me from a laser by letting it hit him instead. His blood splatters on me, and I almost faint.

“Sorry, Calla! Need to drop you for a second,” Petra says before carefully setting me on the sand – the nauseatingly moist, scarlet sand. Her gun in hand once more, she gets rid of the M-droids ahead, using the same tactic of pummeling them with dozens of rays. Much easier to take out than the golems, especially since they can’t fight back. They all lie flat in an instant, and judging by her laugh, she had the time of her life.

“Alright, let’s go! To freedom!”

How can she still sound so dang happy?

She hoists me back up before lying me in the back of the truck. When she jumps into the front and starts it up, it dawns on me – Jasper and Shiloh. I sit up and grasp onto the edge of her seat to say with urgency, “Hey, what about my friends? They don’t get to escape?”

“Like I said, the Admiral has that under control! Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m not leaving here without them—” Dizziness swarms my head and causes me to flop down. I guess all the blood loss and stress of everything is finally catching up to me – but I can’t pass out now, I need to stay—

“Oh, not feeling well?” Petra says, her words dimming out as I struggle to keep myself awake. “Can’t give you more Re:Pills, we need ‘em for those on the field – sorry! But you’ll be okay.”

Please, no… Stay up. I can’t leave them behind…

The inside of the truck turns into darkness, as exhaustion gets the best of me.