The Beast

The Beast - Part 42

He walked to Chip's workplace without acknowledging Elle's comment. His distaste in the treatment of the prisoner was impossible to hide but his conviction that Taro was a better person than Aina didn't waver.

He reached his destination but his mind was still occupied with processing how such a healthy looking person transformed into a broken mess within one night. How could Taro do such a thing?

Chip caught him off guard by jumping down from a cargo container in front of him: "You look so shit I almost think someone shot you with an anti-tank gun. Twice. What's up?"

Gabriel responded baffled: "Nothing. It's just that I asked Taro for permission to get a bigger gun and..." He couldn't describe the feeling of desperation hearing her quiet crying caused in him.

Luckily Chip got the hint: "And you saw the captured princess.", her voice lost its energy after she gave him a soft punch in the rips, "I get you don't like seeing that kinda stuff but you have way bigger issues.", the calmness in her voice vanished as fast as it had appeared, "I have reviewed the footage of your attack in detail all night. At first because it's amazing to see you rip somebody in half with your bare hands but I noticed something halfway through the night. Your suit and body claim that none of the armor penetrating rounds injured you but the video shows that blood sprayed out of your suit for just a fraction of a second before the plates closed the gap."

"So, what?"

She started walking circles around him: "Your suit is ancient and your origin is unknown. Taro is a businessman, who got rich by weighing risk against reward. How do you think he'll react once he finds out ancient technology reacts to you? I'm so sorry, please relax."

He turned around to face Chip only to find her wearing a gas mask. Confused, he answered her: "I have done everything he asked me to do. Why are you wearing that?" A blanket of tiredness fell on him. He paralyzed in shock when Elle screamed: "GAS!". Panicked, he looked for Chip. She hadn't only retreated between two containers but was also holding a shotgun. He had been betrayed. Rage overcame him. Elle ordered him to run for the door but his eyes were set on Chip. The ship shook.

Blinded by rage, he charged forward. Tears blurred his vision, the betrayal hurt so much more than any injury he had suffered. An improvised warcry turned into a desperate whail. The distance between him and the two containers had disappeared, chip stood only a few meters away from him awaiting him with the shotgun dangling from her right arm. When his feet touched the floor between the containers it happened. Two small explosions triggered next to his legs. Next thing he knew, he was lying on the floor unable to move his legs. Blood dripped from a cut on his forehead into his eyes. He looked down to his legs. What he saw made him vomit. Dozens of long iron rods stuck out of his legs. He tried moving them, expecting pain but he didn't feel them. In fact, he barely felt anything at all. Instinctively, he screamed but no air left his mouth. He felt cold liquid blocking his throat, but despite that he could still breath as if it wasn't there. A kick hit his head forcing him to face up.

Chip was standing over him, shotgun in one hand, nanos in the other. She pressed the shot gun against his stomach and pulled the trigger. The pellets went straight into the floor below him ripping through countless organs on the way there but Elle was unfazed. He watched the black liquid repair his flesh within seconds. His vision shifted back to Chip.The Gasmask covered her face but he could still see the fear in her eyes as she watched Elle work. She pressed the shotgun against his chest. All he felt was the heat from the shot. A black wave forced the barrel out of the hole that had formed in his torso. She raised the shotgun to his head, waited for a second and dropped it. He reached for it but Chip's robotic hand caught his forearm. They made eye contact for a split second but it was enough for him to realize what was coming next.

Electricity flooded his body.