The Last Outcasts

IV

My right arm formed into a medium sized sword. The blade itself could cut the hardest of material. Even diamond. It had plasma running around the edges, adding to the lethality. I readied myself to meet the attacker if they went in for a strike.

I couldn't see his face, but when he spoke, I knew he wasn't human. He was way too mechanical, more than me. "You should be dead.. My shots hit you.." It was a quiet yet piercing voice. "I'm not your ordinary human. Trust me, if I was I would most definitely be dead." I then tilted my head just a little and made it look like I let my guard down. "Who are you exactly?" I asked with a tone full of curiosity.

I looked directly at the glowing eyes that gleamed behind the shadow his hood cast over his face. He stared right back at me unblinkingly. It was like he knew what was behind all my armor. "I'm nobody. Just as simple as that..." He sounded like clockwork. It was like he was a clockwork droid straight out of the books. Wait. Clockwork! I heard rumors through the base about a bounty hunter of sorts who was dubbed "Clockwork." I never knew why they called him that, but now I think I do.

"Are you who they call 'Clockwork'?" I asked. He didn't answer, I knew then that it it was him. "You're pretty infamous around here." "You're new blood, huh?" He said back and continued. "You know who I am, but I don't know who you are." "That's because I escaped my prison." I replied.

"Why did you do this though?" I asked slightly distressed. Despite our 'calm' conversation, I was still hot blooded. "They were humans. They cannot be trusted.." I stared at him in disbelief. "Not all humans are bad!" I yelled at him. My helmet made my voice sound just as processed as his. "You see, it's people like you who give the humans a reason to hate us!!"

He simply laughed at what I said. "You think the Humans hate us because of people like me? They hate us because we're different than them. It's human nature to fear the unknown." My sword started to glow a deeper, darker red. I was feeding it my rage. "You're a disgrace.." I said to him. I readied my stance once more, and charged at him.

My blade met his. Our swords hissed as they collided. The edge of mine seemed to spit fire as it moved effortlessly through the air. The red plasma from my sword and the blue from his created a purple glow as they struck each other. "You're good.." He said as he went for another strike. I blocked it and pulled it out of his hand. The sword went across the floor and then stuck upright in the floor Excalibur style. I then aggressively swung towards him, cutting the armor on his torso. A light stream of smoke came from the gash.

He looked down at his armor and then raised his head and I locked with his eyes again. He growled a little like a cornered wolf. I dashed toward him and kicked him in the stomach and he flew back and crashed against the wall. He let out grunt when he collided with the wall. His stomach started to bleed through the cut along with a hole in his armor. I had punctured his breastplate with the blade on my foot.

He slid down to a sit and leaned against the wall. I walked up to him and kicked his sword away. "Not so tuff are you now?" I said with a heavy tone of hostility. I pulled his hood down and ripped of his mask. He was definitely human. But his eyes let out a glow, the same glow that the mask had. He grinned at me and struggled to get words out. "You haven't beat me yet.."

His eyes grew increasingly brighter, I realized what was going to happen, I immediately extended my shield and held it out in front of me just in time.A beam of hot, blue light struck my shield with incredible force and it knocked me across the room and through the wall. I crashed against the back wall of the next room and fell down. I let out a large grunt when I made contact with the floor.

When I looked up, I could see Clockwork getting up, obviously in a huge amount of pain. He grinned at me, those same glowing eyes made me feel something that I haven't felt since before the Collapse. Fear.. Adrenaline pumped through my body as he made his way over to me. When he got to me, he bent down and winced in the process. At this point I was already in fight or flight. And right now, I wanted to run. I was afraid of this guy.

I closed my eyes and waited for something to happen. After a couple of seconds, I heard a loud scream of pain right in front of me and I felt heat. When I opened my eyes, I saw Clockwork on the floor in front of me. He was unrecognizable due to the fire that was still engulfing him. I looked up and saw Scarlett a couple of feet in front of me with hands filled with fire.