Monica Turner - March 2121
We hold them off for as long as we can, the road quickly turning into a complete mess of smoke, bodies and shattered pieces of whatever vehicles were unlucky enough to be caught in the attack. By the time there doesn't seem to be anyone else alive down there, I finally take the chance to fall back towards the school.
The place looks like hell, but at least it isn't completely destroyed. Smoke drifts across the grounds while chunks of debris are scattered everywhere, and the shockwave from the missile has left half the people around us struggling to get back onto their feet.
Me and Daniel manage to turn that into an advantage, moving the second the enemy starts trying to recover. I don't give them enough time to get their bearings before sending an explosion into one of them, while Daniel takes down another.
I'm still catching my breath when I turn back towards the field, expecting to see everyone regrouping.
Instead, I freeze.
Kai is fighting 002.
Even from this distance, I can tell he's struggling. Shadows tear across the field around him as he tries to keep 002 away from the school, but every time Kai manages to force him backwards, 002 comes straight back at him. Kai keeps trying to break away long enough to stop the other troops, but 002 refuses to give him the opening.
And everyone else is taking advantage of it.
Enemy soldiers are advancing towards the school, using Kai's fight as a distraction. They move through the field while he's occupied, getting closer and closer to the buildings before anyone can intercept them.
Kai sees them too.
He sends a wave of shadows across the ground, catching several of the soldiers and throwing them backwards, but 002 immediately comes at him again and forces him to defend himself.
I start moving towards him, but Daniel catches my arm.
"Go," he says, already turning back towards the road. "I'll protect this side."
I look at him for a second before nodding, then take off across the field.
The ground is a nightmare beneath my feet, thick mud sucking at my boots while smoke rolls across the battlefield and makes it difficult to see more than a few metres ahead. A group of soldiers spots me coming and immediately changes direction, their weapons swinging towards me.
Perfect.
A grin pulls across my face as sparks begin crawling across my fingers.
I slam both hands into the ground and the explosion tears through the field beneath me, throwing mud, dirt and smoke into the air. The blast isn't enough to take them all out, but that's not what I need. I just need them blind.
I disappear into the smoke before they can react, catching the first silhouette that moves towards me. My knife is already in my hand as I close the distance, driving the blade into his neck before pulling it free and moving straight towards the next target.
Another figure appears through the haze. I duck beneath his swing, drive my elbow into his ribs and grab the front of his jacket before pulling him closer.
"Wrong direction."
The explosion erupts between us and sends him flying backwards.
I don't stop.
My body is running almost entirely on instinct now, every movement feeding into the next as the familiar pressure beneath my skin grows stronger. Sparks jump between my fingers as I blast one soldier backwards, slash another across the throat and duck beneath a third before sending a short-range explosion straight into his chest.
By the time the smoke begins clearing, there isn't anyone left standing near me.
I spot Gerald near Edmund's office and sprint towards him, wiping some of the dirt from my face as I go.
"You okay?" I shout.
Gerald turns towards me, breathing heavily but still standing. "Yeah, I'm fine, but I think we're in trouble."
I glance around at the battlefield. "That's a pretty vague statement."
"I think we have some Awakened on the way."
My stomach drops.
"Shit."
We both look towards the field where Kai is still fighting 002, completely unaware of what's happening behind him.
"How many?" I ask.
"Four."
I stare at him. "Four?"
"Two coming from the main road," he says quickly, pointing towards the distance. "One from each side of the forest. They're spreading out."
I look towards the trees and immediately understand what they're doing. They're trying to split us apart, forcing everyone to deal with a different target so nobody can concentrate their strength in one place.
"Fine. I'll take the two in the forest."
Gerald looks at me. "Are you sure?"
I give him a sharp grin.
"No."
Before he can say anything else, I turn and start running around the side of the building.
"Daniel, two Awakened are heading your way," I say into my radio. "Hold them off as long as you can."
Static crackles before his voice comes through.
"Roger."
I shove the radio back into my jacket and pick up the pace.
The forest on the cliff side is darker than the rest of the battlefield, the trees packed tightly enough to block out most of the light. Smoke drifts between the trunks, making everything look distorted, while snow shakes loose from the branches every time something explodes in the distance.
I slow down slightly and listen.
Nothing.
Then a branch snaps and my hands immediately begin sparking.
A figure steps out from between the trees. The uniform gives him away before I even see his face, he's Special Ops.
Black tactical gear, weapon at his side and that same posture I've seen a hundred times back at the facility.
As he steps further into view, I recognise him immediately.
"064."
He stops and looks at me.
"016," he replies calmly. "Always knew you would be trouble."
He rolls his shoulders and cracks his knuckles.
I can't help smiling.
"Well, you always knew I hated following orders."
The sparks crawling across my fingers grow brighter.
064 smiles and then he's gone.
I barely have time to register the movement before something tears past my left side. A blade flashes towards my throat and I jerk backwards just in time, feeling the cold edge skim close enough to my skin to make every nerve in my body scream.
"Fast bastard."
I spin around and throw an explosion towards the space he'd occupied, the blast tearing through the trees and sending bark, snow and dirt flying into the air.
But there's nothing there.
Of course.
I hear movement behind me and I turn, but there's nothing there. Another sound comes from my right, but there is still nothing. Then footsteps rush past my left ear and I swing my knife through empty air.
064 has already moved again.
"You're going to have to do better than that," he calls from somewhere behind me.
I slowly turn towards the sound, sparks dancing across both hands as I scan the trees.
"You're going to have to stand still first."
A blur suddenly cuts through the forest.
I throw myself sideways just as 064 flashes past where I was standing, his blade slicing through the air. I hit the ground, roll through the mud and come back up on one knee, barely having enough time to look before he's already turned towards me.
Too fast.
I fire an explosion straight at him, but he disappears before it reaches him. The blast tears through the forest instead, ripping branches from the trees and sending chunks of snow crashing down around us.
I stare into the smoke, breathing harder now as I try to track him.
My heart is pounding and every muscle in my body is tense, but beneath all of that something else starts building.
Excitement.
Finally, someone who might actually be a challenge.
I grin as sparks crackle across my hands.
"Come on, 064."
I tighten my grip around my knife and stare into the trees.
"Let's see how fast you really are."
064 doesn't answer, and for several seconds the forest falls completely silent. I know better than to think he's gone. He's waiting for me to get impatient because that's what I do. I charge, I attack and I make the first mistake.
Fine.
Let him think that.
I flex my fingers as sparks crawl across my knuckles, slowly backing away from the trees while keeping my eyes fixed on the darkness between them. The cliff is only a few metres behind me.
Perfect.
"What's wrong?" I call out. "Getting tired already?"
A blur suddenly tears through the trees.
I throw myself sideways just as 064 flashes past me, his blade slicing through the space where my neck had been. I hit the ground, roll through the snow and fire an explosion towards him, but he's already gone.
Before I can catch my breath, a gust of air hits my back.
I turn just in time to see him coming from the opposite direction. His fist slams into my stomach, sending me stumbling backwards as the air leaves my lungs. Before I can recover, he's gone again, leaving a sharp cut across my shoulder.
"Stop bloody moving!"
I fire another explosion, then another, deliberately spreading the blasts across the forest to limit his options. Trees splinter around us, smoke rolling across the ground, but 064 keeps slipping through every opening.
He's fast.
Really bloody fast and it's starting to piss me off.
I let another attack miss and stumble backwards, catching myself just before reaching the cliff edge. Through the smoke, I see his attention flick towards my feet.
Then towards the cliff.
There it is.
He's realised I've run out of room.
I straighten and wipe the blood from my mouth. "Come on, 064. You wanted me, didn't you?"
He steps out of the smoke, walking towards me instead of running.
"You've run out of space," he says confidently.
I glance over my shoulder before looking back at him.
"Looks like it."
He smiles and suddenly launches himself towards me.
I wait as he gets closer then I grin.
"Got you."
I slam both hands into the ground. The explosion erupts beneath the earth rather than directly at him. The frozen ground fractures violently, sending chunks of dirt and stone towards the cliff edge.
064's momentum carries him forward.
His foot lands on the broken ground and it gives way.
His expression changes as he tries to stop himself, but he's moving too fast. He stumbles over the edge and reaches for anything he can grab. I lunge forward and catch his jacket, his weight nearly dragging me over with him.
"016!"
"You planned this," he snaps.
Despite the strain in my arm, I grin. "Obviously."
He reaches for his knife.
"You've got to be kidding me."
The blade flashes towards me and slices through my sleeve. I instinctively jerk backwards, my grip slipping and 064 falls.
I hit the ground and look over the edge, watching him crash through the rocks below before disappearing into the sea.
I wait, but there is Nothing.
"You're a bloody pain in the arse."
A distant explosion rolls across the battlefield, reminding me that this fight isn't the only one happening. I sprint back across the field, sparks still flickering across my fingers.
Kai needs help.