After the plagues and the burning, after the War of Angels, in the harsh new climate of Earth, only the strong can survive. Humanity is evolving to adapt, but not all due to the same reason, and that is a problem for those who want to have control...
I sense the girl's hesitation to leave me alone with my opponents, who greatly outnumber me. Her aura pulses with courage and determination as she fights alongside me. I've never seen anything like her before. Her aura is purity and light in this dark world. As I command them to go, the older woman urges the girl to move, and finally I hear their rapid footsteps as they sprint towards their only shot at safety.
Once they are safely away I make my own break from the group of affected I've been holding off. I command them to turn and engage the ones now rapidly approaching. As one they change directions to take on a new group of opponents, hopefully delaying the enhanced long enough for the women to make a clear escape. I swiftly climb the side of a dilapidated building nearby and crouch out of sight on the roof where I can watch everything.
A trio of soldiers come tearing around the corner right into the nest of aggravated affected. Now that they have been riled up they will not be pushed off. They engage the soldiers with a vengeance, teeth and claws ripping and tearing whenever they can make contact with flesh. Sounds of snarling, grunting and cursing fill the air. The combat is too close for the soldiers to use their guns as anything other than clubs.
The fighting is fierce and brutal between strong and bold adversaries. From my perch I watch closely, taking in how each side reacts in battle. The soldiers use every limb of their body as a weapon, not only fists and feet but legs, arms and even heads are used to bash and damage an opponent. There is no trace of fear in their auras, only detached calculation. Even in the fury of a fight they employ cold logic to decipher the best strategy against their adversaries.
One draws a machete from his belt and wields it proficiently against the onslaught of teeth and claws. A hand is chopped off, then a head bounces to the ground, rusty blood flying in every direction. Before his comrade can draw his own weapon I watch as the affected work together in unison to bring him down, attacking from all sides simultaneously so that the superior strength of the enhanced soldier is neutralized. The third soldier tries to pull some of the attackers off his companion without success before he too is overcome by the snarling, vicious group.
The soldier with the machete goes on a hacking frenzy over the fall of his two compatriots. He is the fiercest of the trio and several affected fall to his wrath, but he is no match the the frenzied few that remain. As the final soldier succumbs I hear the growl of an engine fill the air and a Humvee drives into the fray. As soon as it rounds the corner one of its front guns begins shooting flames. Some of the affected are set on fire. Their screeches fill the air along with the acrid smell of burning rotted flesh. The others take off in a loping run as they seek escape.
The vehicle bulldozes over a pile of bodies as it heads toward where the women are trying to make their escape in a battered gray van. I follow in a sprint, hurtling smoothly from rooftop to rooftop as I give chase. I come to the end of the block and slide down a tree to continue pursuit on the ground.
The van the women are attempting their escape in comes into sight roughly a mile from where I am. It is moving with great difficulty over the pitted landscape, the wheels spinning, kicking up sand and spraying it in a high arc. The back of the vehicle fishtails bringing it dangerously close to the edge of a steep hill and it leans precariously on two wheels.
The Humvee lurches to a whining stop and the driver steps out with a huge weapon in his hands. He lifts a rocket launcher to his shoulder and sights it on the jostling van moving too slowly over the ragged terrain. He is just out of reach as I race forward, filled with disbelief that he would take this course of action. Does he not know what the girl is? Is he unaware of her value? As swift as I move there isn't time to prevent tragedy. In horror I see the soldier's finger press against the trigger.
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The burning missile shoots from the rocket launcher, flying sure and true straight at the van with a loud whistling hum. The seconds of time from when it leaves the weapon until it reaches its target seem suspended in the air, until BOOM! Contact! And everything fast forwards as the van twists and leaps into the air from the impact with the missile. A second passes before it goes flying over the edge of the hill with a metallic screech.
I leap onto the soldier as a war cry rips from me. My machete is already slashing as I fly through the air. The soldier whirls towards me and swings his weapon in defense. It clangs against the blade with unexpected force, knocking it from my grip. A large fist follows smashing into my jaw and forcing me to stumble several steps backwards. The soldier curses foully as he takes a determined step closer and swings his giant fist again. This time I duck low under the swing and pull a dagger from the sheath on my thigh. I thrust up, driving the small, sharp weapon under the soldiers rib cage to where his spleen should be, the point of the dagger and the force of the hit causing the organ to shatter.
The enhanced buckles over in pain. I withdraw the dagger and plunge it into the man's neck, severing an artery. Blood sprays out taking the soldiers life force with it. I am aware of two other soldiers trying to climb out of the Humvee. Shaking with rage I push the lifeless body to the ground, confiscating one of his weapons. The high powered rifle feels like fire in my hands as I point it at the soldiers and pull the trigger. I move the rifle from side to side, spraying both men in a barrage of bullets until they collapse in a mangled heap. The final enemy has been dispatched. Now I must make sure the girl has survived.
The missile has knocked the van over the edge of the hill and out of my sight. All I can see is black smoke rising, a signal that will draw more enhanced. There isn't much time. I toss the gun down, pick up my machete and sprint in earnest. As I approach the twisted wreck I see the aura of death rising from it. One has died already, and one is close to death.
