Untrustable

Chapter 15: Sacrification

  Sven hid among the thick forests, spying upon the Arbiter Station, the dim lights illuminating the station's surroundings. Sven breathed hard, the pain from his stomach had not yet subside, instead it rose to a deeper agony.

  "People of God are we, who can defy us. Basking under the lights of a thousand suns of hope, with steely resolve and fearless steps, together, we will write our destiny." Sven murmured under his breath. He clutched Julian's pendant in his hands, then fits the copper between his lips, it calms him down. Sven tasted the smell of metal.

  He rose from his cover, the pain from his stomach worsen but that was almost the least of his concern. Sven proceeded towards the main doors of the station, guarded by two Arbiters. His shadow casted on the ground, drawing attention from the patrols. The Arbiters ran forward, handcuffs ready to seal both the hands of Sven. A quick draw of steel from its sheath instantly beheaded the incoming Arbiter, blood sprayed on the face of the killer. The second patrol drew his rifle, Sven unsheathed his revolver and squeeze the trigger, he never hesitate nor blink upon the loud bang.

  Three Arbiters stormed from the main entrance. Sven took aim with his rifle, two bullets in a row which successfully and severely injure the two Arbiters. The last one repositioned himself and took aim. Sven swung his blade to his right arm, replacing his rifle which was thrown onto the ground. He parried the first few bullets swiftly, then rolled to another location to empty the clip of the Arbiter. His stomach screamed in agony as he make his dive, which he responded with a grunt.

  The loud continuous bang disappeared into a faint clicking noise, the clip was emptied. Sven instantly performed a dash, the edge of the blade piercing through the thick body armor without fail, the steel stained with bright red blood.

  "Reinforcements!" Sven heard a distant roar. He quickly disarm the dead Arbiter, equipping their suits and weapons for a deadly disguise. Sven proceed into the departments of the Station.

  Blinding white lights and gray carpets welcomed his arrival. He acted tired and sleepy once the gaze of Arbiters working in offices threw upon him. An Arbiter was walking towards him, his equipment chimed as the metal strike against each other. Sven stopped the proceeding Arbiter and asked.

  "Sorry for disturbing but, where are the kids? I'm rather interested in them." Sven questioned, his identity concealed behind the tinted glass of the Arbiter helmet. "Right within the nerve labs, zone C." The Arbiter answered. "Thank you." Sven spoke. The Arbiter nodded and proceeded down the long hallways. The map of the whole Arbiter Station was memorized by Sven in and out, every single location was just too easy to reach, unnoticed.

  Sven crept into the restricted areas, sneaking into was so successful, until he felt he was being watched. He turned back, glancing through the empty hallways, there were no place to hide, must have been his imagination.

  More labs were present at the far end of the corridor, with glass windows for observations. Sven dropped into a prone as he inched his way forward. He stole a glance into the first lab and quickly retreated to his hiding. No one was present within. He did the same to the second and third lab, but none gave him his desired results until he reached the fourth.

  The stolen glance was almost too much risk, he was almost spotted by the Arbiters within it. Going through the door would be very much too dangerous and life risking, and his mission would fail. Smashing through the glass wouldn't be a good plan either. The vents on the walls caught Sven's attention, he smiled and crawled his way into the gray tunnel. Sven never studied the vent systems of the Arbiter station, so finding his way through the vents and to his desired location was a hard task. All the tunnels looked familiar, he had to move slowly in the vents to avoid attention.

  It had been around half an hour Sven counted until he found his way into the right lab and spied the young children of his best friend and what the Arbiters were going to do to them.

  Seth was called by an Arbiter, which he was asked to sit on a chair with attachments patched across his body and head. Sven insert the pendant between his lips again, this would be his grave, for the better future, there must be sacrifices. Seth drew his rifle and took aim at the bolts that screwed the open vents tight. He took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger.

  Gun fire echoed loudly in the tunnels as the vent burst open with smokes erupting from it. Sven quickly scan the surroundings. Seven Arbiters. He never expected this many people. Aiming at the flinched Arbiters, Sven drew his revolver, two shots in quick successions instantly took down one per bullet. He felt a large impact on his shoulder, thank the body armor.

  Sven swung his blade towards the nearest leg he could find, severing the lower leg, the sharpness of the steel penetrated through the white bone with the efforts of its wielder as a scream of pain boomed in the room. Sharp pain exploded across his body, one was intercepted by the Kevlar, the other two find their marks, one on his upper left arm, the other on his right thigh. Sven winced in pain.

  He swung his blade again but now only piercing thin air, his vision blurred upon the pain. He quickly arm his combat rifle and another sharp pain hit his right lower leg, there was not much time. Sven squeezed the trigger until he empty his clip, but only one Arbiter was killed in the messy lines of gunfire.

  Two more bullets found their marks on both his legs, forcing him down to his knees. He drew his last resort, the revolver and squeezed his fingers on the trigger, but after two shots, the faint click of an empty barrel rained despair over him. An Arbiter approached him and press the barrel of the revolver on his forehead, the feeling of cold steel on his skin signifies defeat.

  The finger of the Arbiter rested on the trigger of the revolver. Sven put the pendant between his lips again, this time not for bravery that he always wanted, but calm, and peace in the afterlife.