The golden-armored Krakoshan stepped over the girl's body, casually flicking red droplets off his blade as he swung it to the side. A pool had formed on the ground at his feet, dark crimson that ran off the ramp in rivulets. Slowly, he began to advance toward our ragtag party, every step filled with a dangerous grace.
I stood still, transfixed by the approaching Krakoshan. The image of the fallen girl flashed through my head, her face contorting in pain as the blade passed through her chest. This wasn't happening, I thought. The Krakoshan continued to approach steadily, his face expressionless as if he were resigned to the task.
Suddenly, a blur flashed through the hangar, striking the golden-armored Krakoshan and carrying him all the way to wall, crashing hard enough to dent the metal. By the time I registered what had happened, the scarred boy had the Krakoshan hoisted into the air with one hand, anger marring his twisted features.
"You killed him!" the scarred boy shouted, trembling with fury. "You-"
The Krakoshan snapped his knee up, striking the boy in the chin. He stumbled backwards, shaking his head as he dropped the soldier. Before the scarred boy could recover, the Krakoshan raised back his armored fist and rammed it into the side of his head, spinning the boy to the ground with a single blow. When he tried to get back up, the soldier kicked him in the head, this time knocking him down for good, leaving him groaning on the floor.
Amala broke me out of my stupor.
"Lian!" she screamed. "Damn you!"
At this, the Krakoshan glanced back up, his eyes narrowing. Then, he was charging toward us, rapidly closing the distance between us as his long legs flashed across the ground. At the same time, the earth beneath my feet began to quake, as if the floor of the hanger had come to life. I looked back just in time to see one of Amala's friends leaping onto a rolling wave of dirt, riding it like a surfboard. He roared angrily, thrusting a fist in the air as he ripped pockets of dirt out of the ground around the golden-armored Krakoshan.
"You'll pay for Lian!" he shouted.
"Garth, no!" Amala cried, stepping forward, but the stocky boy was already too caught up to pay attention.
The crackle of plasmafire cut through the air, searing rounds ripping into the ground around us and burning holes everywhere. I let out a strangled cry as one of the shots whistled overhead, sizzling with heat as it went past.
"Get down!" Amala barked.
Before I knew it, she was shoving me in the direction of a nearby vehicle, diving behind it to escape the plasmafire. My heart thumped in my chest, a dull roar rising in my ears as I tried to swallow down the panic that rose inside. The girl on the ramp flashed through my head again. Someone was dead, someone was dead, someone was dead...
"We need a barrier!"
Amala's voice cut through the haze of my thoughts. I could barely understand her, as if hearing her words underwater.
"Someone has to get to Garth!" she shouted. "Keep that Krakoshan at bay so he can raise cover for us!"
"I can do it," Bekah called out.
I glanced sharply to my left, surprised to see that she was crouched beside me. In my confusion, I'd lost track of everything that had been going around me.
"I can help," I chimed in.
"No, you can't," Bekah said firmly. "You're in no shape to fight and you've lost your gun. Stay with the others and make for the ship when you get the chance."
YOU ARE READING
Trial 017 - 2019 Wattys Sci-Fi Winner
Adventure***2019 Watty Award Winner - Science Fiction*** Charlie has always been the one left behind. It isn't because there's something special about him; in fact, there is nothing special about him at all. As one of the few unlucky members of Terran societ...
