Return of the Fallen Angel: Book 1

5

  A large blue and green cloud hung over the enemy's front line. The cloud obscured the carnage on the ground. Sarin and Anthrax flew above it looking for survivors, specifically exo-soldiers, but found none alive. Sarin had hoped they'd find a few so they could prove themselves to Kita. She knew their outing against Demon hadn't been great and Kita had been disappointed. Disappointing Kita was the last thing Sarin wanted to do.

Slowly the cloud dispersed. Neither she nor Anthrax produced a persistent agent. As the cloud went away, the bacteria and chemical agents would break down when exposed to sunlight.

A hail of bullets surprised Sarin. She looked around confused.

"I see them," said Anthrax.

"How?" said Sarin.

"Switch to your thermal lens."

Sarin did, and a group of figures in the gas appeared. The two Angels looked at each other. A bullet struck Anthrax in her upper left wing. She fell and hit the ground hard. Sarin landed next to her.

"What do we do?" said Sarin.

A group of soldiers wearing black uniforms appeared out of the cloud, surrounding the Angels.

"What's on their faces?" Sarin whispered.

A leather mask with glass eye pieces covered each soldier's face. A hose went from the mask to a bag on their hip. Each thickly padded uniform left no skin exposed.

"I don't know, but we have to something fast," said Anthrax pulling a metal tube from her belt.

Sarin drew her zai and stood back to back with Anthrax.

"This doesn't look good," said Sarin. "I have fifteen in front of me. I don't think we can take them all."

"I've got an idea. You remember Kita's lesson on concealment?" said Anthrax.

"No...I think I was too busy looking at her." Sarin admitted, embarrassed.

"Damn girl, how did you ever get this far?"

"I—"

"It was rhetorical. When I tell you to, start producing as much gas as you can. Then get airborne and start circling to spread it out. Once we have them in the cloud start attacking."

Sarin took off. She pulled out her light pistol and started firing at the colorful blobs in her vision. A soldier collapsed after she shot him.

"I got one," she yelled to Anthrax.

"Keep gassing until I say so."

The two Angels built a dense cloud of gas, while dodging the occasional bullet.

"That looks like enough," said Anthrax. "Let's go get them."

Sarin watched her enemies stumbling in the fog. She continued to produce her blue gas. Anthrax appeared next to her. The other Angel took the cylinder that hung from her belt and extended the ends to create a metal bo. Each end glowed red or blue.

Anthrax attacked the nearest soldier. She missed him completely, but the red end of her bo touched the hose coming from his mask. He collapsed.

"Whatever they're wearing is protecting them from the gas," said Anthrax. "We need to make a hole in it so the gas will get them."

Sarin moved around the perimeter, firing as she went. Most enemies died after a hit or two. Anthrax's bo whirling around her as she struck down the soldiers. She was jealous of Anthrax's ability, she couldn't handle her zai that well. It wasn't her fault, Kita was a lousy teacher.