Animus

Chapter Ten - The Letter

Central was bustling with people, the sky shined brightly and the ray touched down on the city, warming the hearts of many. Hovercars cluttered the city's skylines, people on the ground walked to various destinations and Overlord - the building I was quite familiar with now - was shining in the distance.

In an instant it was all gone.

Thick, dark clouds rolled in over the horizon, blotting out the golden sunlight. Moments after, what appeared to be meteors fell from the sky crashing through building and some knocking hovercars right out of the sky. Buildings ignited, some catching fire instantly, some exploding on impact. From my perch, I could hear the screams of people down below. This was true terror.

The smell of smoldering ashes and the sight of the burning city caught my attention as I gazed down at the destruction below me. Shiner was beside me, his arms crossed and black wings fluttering ever so slightly.

I looked down again at the city. From the meteors that crashed into the city, there were Ing inside. Some of the likes I had never seen before, they looked fearsome and deadly. They immediately began to attack the people in the streets. I could see that a few Chiron who knew how to use the Animus drew their weapons to defend themselves, but they were no match for the overwhelming numbers of the Ing.

I could see from the Overlord building, men and women in black rappelling from the building. They wore the same overcoat as the Garrison but in black and hoods covered their faces. There were only twelve of them, three squads in all. By the way they moved, and how coordinated they were, I could tell they had to be Echelon  They landed in the streets battling the Ing one by one, they proved much more effective than civilians killing a third of the unknown Ing in the process.

"Fools," I heard Shiner say, teleporting from my sight. I looked over the hill and he was in the middle of the city before the twelve soldiers. Just appearing caused a shockwave to ripple through the air, throwing a few soldiers off balance.

Shiner grinned and burst forward with amazing speed. He summoned his scythe and sliced through the soldiers as if they were standing still. There was only one solider left; she appeared to be a woman judging by her figure. I couldn't hear them talking, but Shiner uttered something that made the woman remove her hood.

Long, silver-blue hair was the first thing I could see. But the face was hidden from me, even though it was in plain sight. It was similar to mental noise I experienced while using my Soul Perception for the very first time.

I blinked and I was holding the woman above my head, strangling her. I could feel her life force draining away quickly as I tightened my grip. Her blue eyes burned into mine, they pleaded for me to let her go, as if her eyes knew mine.

*** 

My eyes opened for real this time. It was still dark, the clutches of night still gripped on to me tightly. I turned to my left and read the clock, 2 a.m. I turned to my right and was startled when I saw a figure over my bed. It turned a light and the face was revealed to me.

"Liara?" I said.

She nodded. She was in her nightclothes and her hair was tied messily behind her head. "I sensed something was off so I came to check up on you." Liara paused, she looked at me with her deep blue eyes, and they read me. "Are you feeling alright? You were crying in your sleep."

I looked away and didn't answer. I felt my eyes and moisture rubbed off on my fingers. She was right, I was crying in my sleep...but why?

Liara hummed a tune under her breath whist she moved a layer of sheets from my side of the bed. She climbed into bed with me causing my heart rate to skyrocket. It felt like my heart might beat out of my chest any moment.