Black Hole Heartbeat

Rusalka - 15

Ana, Querius and the Ang were not the only ones in the lab.

High up on the steel beams, hidden in the darkness, Rusalka was watching. She was an Umbra, a race that had been a part of the galaxy long before even the Jahlder. They had shaped history; the hands above the puppet strings, the silent blade in the shadows. Rusalka channeled those centuries of evolution to remain undetected here. Her body was covered in a sensitive blonde fur, giving her a constant radar on everybody in the room. Her sharp ears could hear an ant cough and her bright eyes could see him politely raise a hand to cover his mouth. Quickly, silently, her long legs carried her over the beam, cape fluttering behind her. She heard one of the Ang talking. "Where bomb?" She smiled with satisfaction. Her whisper had blossomed into fruit, and it was ripe. She hung from the beam, toes curled under it in a strong grip. Wrapping her cape of velvet all around her, she plunged into the invisibility of darkness. One Ang was standing with the two hostages, the other four stood in two groups of two.

She let go of the beam and landed lightly, body turning in mid-air. She touched down on all fours then sprang upright. A floating feather becoming a viper. She drew twin knives, curved like cutlasses. The razz of metal as the blades unsheathed sang harmonies in her finely tuned ear. It would be silent to the Ang. Skulking up to the closest pair with muted footsteps, she kept a watchful eye on the other three. Her cape flitted as she leapt into the air, cleaving the head of the first Ang open with the blade in her right hand. Her left slit the neck of the second. She caught them both as they fell. The oily sludge of black blood coated her hands in wet warmth. She wiped them dry on the fur of her stomach and jumped up onto the wall again, limbs moving swiftly to climb the flat surface.

The next pair of Ang were standing directly under a bright light. As slow and as dumb as the Ang were, it was foolish to attack them head on with no shadows to swim through. She took a moment to prepare a new plan then bolted along the beams again, her body a blur. The light protecting the Ang had a metallic lampshade, swathing the surroundings in its glow. Rusalka pounced at the wire, grabbing it high to avoid swinging the bulb wildly. It shook from side to side gently, but the Ang were too stupid to notice. She slid down the wire and rested on the lampshade. It was burning hot, but she was able to flatten her feet and withstand it, soaking the warmth up against her splayed pads of flesh. The telltale click of an energy canister being loaded exploded in her ears. She would have to move fast. Her long shadow stretched on the floor in front of the Ang. She drove down on them, twisting her body so her feet wrapped around both of their necks. They were strangled before they hit the ground. Their gasping moans of terror altered the one Ang left and Rusalka heard the loud buzz and pop of his canister. Ready to fire. Lightning quick, Rusalka whipped one of her blades towards him, impaling the back of his head, right in the centre.