Soldier

Chapter 22: Jace

The explosions are only half our problem. Huge bird like things filled the air as they swooped down at the ships as night finally fell. Not long before gunfire started to ring out across the night. I barley saw the figure of a machine in the shape of a raven hurdle itself at me and Willis.

I jumped out of the way as the bird past me, and nearly crash into the cannon behind me. I hardly caught a better glimpse of it.

I checked around for Willis, to see him running towards the door. He held it open once he reached it, and yelled to me,

"Come on! Get in, Now!"

Another explosion sounded off after he finished. I picked up my pace as I ran to the door. The machine from earlier came back for more as it swooped in front of me; it's metallic wing cutting me slightly on my arm as I came to a sudden stop.

I froze at the shock of almost dying. Heh... hehehe...

A rage built inside of me.

In a matter of an instant, I grew angry. I grabbed the pistol out of my back pocket and fired at the monster as it tried its nose dive again. I jumped quickly to the side as soon as the machine flew close to my position and let out exactly five bullets into its face. The sound of impact smacked the robot, as the bullets forced it out of control. It forced the large piece of scrap to spin-dive into the side of the deck and slide off into the ocean.

I smirked in success and ran to where Willis held open the door. Willis looked at me in amazement, a touch of fear in his eyes. Good. Hopefully I ruined their little moment together. I can't afford to grow too close to those I don't know or really care about anyhow! They would just leave me in the end anyway... they would just...

I walked down the steps as fast as I could, and opened the next door at the bottom. A large group of students fully dressed in military ware, are running through the halls. Wonder when they had time to change? Hehe, guess it doesn't matter. I quickly checked my gun. I had forgotten to put it back into my pocket. I took out the cartridge. Better check his ammunition...

Almost empty. I put back the ammo cartridge into the pistol, and slid it into my back pocket...

I started to jog behind another group of students as they passed by. A voice on the intercoms came into earshot, and continually ranted,

"All crew and soldiers! Prepare for combat! I repeat prepare for combat! All gunners repeat to your stations! Protect the ship at all costs!"

Another blast rocked the ship and knocked me off balance, into the wall next to me. The vibrations stopped.

I looked to the side and noticed someone that looks familiar... Evangeline.

I ran to her as she noticed me. She looked at me cautiously. Yet oddly shy. Her entire outfit changed from casual to a helmet, thick camo cargo pants and a camo jacket. She looked at me fiercely.

"Jace! What are you doing?"

Wow. Even in the midst of a bloody battle, I have my own agenda.

I grabbed her by the hand and pulled her down the hall. She followed me, hardly resistant at all.

I led them to another door that looks like the other one I had used to go up deck. I opened it quickly and walked through it. Evangeline pulled away from my hand for a moment. I looked back at her with soft eyes. "Don't worry. I'm not doing anything wrong. Don't you trust me?"

My own word made no sense to myself as I said them, but Evangiline only blushed and kept following me. Man is it easy to keep her his!

•••••••••••••••

The upper deck is full with gunfire and bursting lights. The sounds of bullets flying through the air is all I can hear. The main cannons fired somewhere out into the distance with a loud boom that sounds as if it can blow out my ears, every few minutes. Small turrets fired at the metallic birds that swooped down at anything alive. Other students ran around trying to shoot at the birds, as they tried to perform tasks assigned to them.

I pulled Evangeline with me towards one of the small circs at the far side of the ship. Or at least that's what I'll call them. Never really learned the military lingo. The circ is a little circle of sandbags with a mounted machine gun in the middle, even if this one didn't have the gun.

Another person sat there as we came close. He looked at me with a mean look. His pupils are small and his eyes are deluded. He stood up from the circle and tried to rush me. Quickly, I sidestepped from the punch.

"Evangiline, stay in the circ and wait for me..."

I let go of her hand as she stepped into the cir.

Quickly I punched the other student in his stomach. But even that didn't make him give up. He straightened out to throw another punch at me. Before he knew it, I dodged and swung hard with my other fist. I threw my fist hard into his face. He fell to the ground nearly unconscious. I pushed him near a broken part of the railing. With a kick, I hit him right off the edge of the ship, or almost at least. The student caught the edge of the ship with his hands, and tried to climb his way back up.

I grinned at him and walked close to the edge where he is. Using my boots, I stepped on his hands, hard.

The student let go with a scream and fell into the ocean with a splash. The only thing that I had even noticed about him being his brown hair. Too late now to remember or notice anything else though, he's gone. Dead.

I turned around to see fire, bullets and explosions and walked slowly back to the circ where Evangeline sat. Today just keeps getting better and better... DOESN'T IT!