Heaven Falls

Chapter 9

Damien

"Hey, Damien"

"What?"

"See that bright spot over there?"

"Uh huh, that's Venus, what's wrong with it?"

"No, just...wonder how it looks like upclose, I've been watching it for ages and wondering the same thing over and over again"

"Don't get so upset. Listen, um...dad used to have a large telescope at home, and...uh...if you want to, I can get you a look, when dad finishes works here, of course"

"Sounds like another great thing to add into our 'To do' list"

"Yeah, definitely..."

***

Ouch. I think my body is fractured in two pieces, my ribs are protesting against any movements and screaming in agony, and my head...well, the helmet is completely cracked, my forehead is bleeding quite badly, blood leaks out and covers my left eye, making only right eye functions. I clumsily remove both the helmet and the oxygen mask.

But the thing is, I'm still alive.

Through the broken once-bulletproof glass, I see almost nothing but smoke and dust, craft's pieces scatter all around, making a hot mess. I'm struggling to get out, these seat belts are too damn tight, it got stuck. I try to reach to my left pocket and touch the cold surface of a knife. It takes me two minutes to get it out and start cutting the belts with my trembling left hand while my right hand stays quietly under the control panel, now is just a cube of metal lays heavily on my palm. By the time I finish cutting, the vision is cleared again, and I can see the Tharsis, sitting lifelessly among debris and burning junk, its head was brutally crashed to distorted.

The Tharsis...

Something knocks me back to consciousness, I think of the theory I've made just earlier and grab the hand gun next to the control panel. I grit my teeth, try to pull my right hand as forceful as possible, then my left leg, then my right one. My ribs are burning in every movements. I turn my head opposite the exit door, letting my soles face it. With all the strength I have left, I manage to push the metal swings open, each gasps per tries, three times in total. My left hand squeezes the hand gun, I shut my eyes, take a deep breathe, and slide out. A shard of glass has pinned into my arm, I pull it out, blood flows like stream, I tear a piece of my already-torn shirt and  use that as a temporary bandage, even though it merely stop the bleeding for a while, not the pain. I touch the ground with a slight ache from the ankles, along with the dizziness from my head, which is also bleeding quite badly. I look around, nothing here is big enough to use as a head bandage, not even I have to use all parts of my shirt and be half naked, so instead I carelessly wipe all the blood on my face using my right sleeve. My left hand never leaves the gun.

As I walk slowly (but mostly limping) toward the enemy's aircraft, I raise the gun up with both hands, the forefinger and the middle finger of the preferred hand on the trigger, while the rest of the hand and the opposite one hold and steady the gun so as to aim more precisely, I machinally repeat exactly what have been taught. Steadying the gun is one matter, calming my nerves is another, I can't let myself tremble, even a slight move of shaking or quivering can make the bullet miss its way and put me in danger. I'm about two miles from the target, surprise that no single moves have been made so far, it's completely...quiet, which is rather strange and makes my stomach churn even more. I don't think that war goddess can easily surrender, after all that frantic attacks and strikes, although I did hear her sob just earlier, she's probably calculating something, perhaps for a sudden fire, that's why I have to be careful in every steps. Can't cross out the case that she has buried some mines underground while I was blacked out, who knows what's inside a Tharsis?