Against the Tide - A New Elysium Story [Complete]

23. The Scorching after the Sodden

He only had one chance.

Dixon charged forward, ready to bring his fist down on her face and make her spit blood one final time. But his fist never made contact. She dodged to the side, grabbed his arm and twisted it around behind his back painfully.

She was strong, thanks to her augments, but he was still taller, and she was clearly in a bad shape. He jerked his elbow back and hit her chest. He could hear her make a choking sound, and whirled around. She stumbled backwards, and another shot rang out. This time, he was hit, but it was only his left arm. He could still beat her to death one-handed.

"Fuck my orders," he growled, "You're going down."

She stood before him bent over, spitting on the floor, and he made his move to blow out her lights for good. But then she raised her head again, and for a split second, their eyes met. She wore a wicked smile on her bloodied lips.

Because he killed me.

She blocked his fist with her hand as if it was nothing, gripping it so tightly that he could feel the bones in his fingers break one after the other. She forced his hand down and a scream of pain escaped him. She grabbed his other arm and dug her thumb into the bullet wound, and the flash of pain that surged through his body forced him down on his knees. He missed his augments. If he still had them, they would nsend a surge of adrenaline through his body that would keep him going. But now there was no surge of anything but pain, and nothing was left to keep him going.

Now on his knees, he looked up at the girl that had subdued him, and wondered what kind of chems were flowing through her body to get her fired up like that.

"Well, well," Amy Larsson said with a devious smile. "Looks like the tides have turned, asshole. You know what they say. You always meet twice in life."

"Twice?" he put forth, through teeth gritted in pain.

Because he killed me, her words echoed through his mind again.

"What's wrong, little bitch?" she sneered.

And suddenly, he remembered.

"You- you're that girl from Thanatos 3!" he realized, staring at her organic eye in disbelief. "The little scientist bitch whose rich boyfriend bought her corpse! I can't believe it, you were dead! How did you-"

"Shut it," she growled.

"No, I recognize you now!" he exclaimed, "How is that possible? You were dead! Deader than dead! Your head was fucking pulp!"

She punched him in the face, and he recoiled. He fell back and stumbled away from her, suddenly afraid on a very basal, fundamental level. This woman was dead. He had beaten her to death with his own hands, he had bashed in her skull and then broken the rest of her, just to relieve his anger at her words. Yet there she was, right before him, looking ready to return the favor.

"How is that possible?" he whispered.

"I have a bad habit of coming back from the dead to settle my scores," she hissed, and with one last punch, she did.

~ ~ ~

"Amy? Amy!"

She stood before the lifeless body of Lieutenant Dixon of Orion's Reach, and seemed completely catatonic. Phil grabbed her shoulders and shook her softly.

"Amy, dear?" he called her again. "Are you okay? All that blood..."

She snapped out of it and shook her head.