Hard and Fast

Chapter 3

The thugs marched up the stairs in quick succession, their guns out ready to fire. Carly held her breath, hoping that her aim would be enough. She only had a clip left, and had to make every shot count. Her Angel needed her now and she wasn't going to let him down.

Carly had a clear shot of one of the thug's head and took it. It was a clean shot right through his head. Carly exhaled hard and the spent bullet ejected out of the gun. The other thug was now alert that someone from that direction was firing upon them. Carly aimed again and the shot clipped the side of the thug's head, taking his hear. Damm that's two shots.... Only six left... The thug shot wildly hoping to hit something, unknowing whereabouts the shooter was. Carly aimed again, hitting him in the chest causing him to fall backwards onto another thug. Another thug pushed his way past the fallen and shot wildly into the thick smoke. Five bullets left.... Carly aimd for the chest again and shot twice. She couldn't afford to waste any more time and bullets. The room was now thick with black smoke and she could barely see the passage way anymore. There was one thug that she knew of left.

The fire was raging higher against the wall and onto the ceiling, the smoke thick that Carly was now coughing. There was no sign of this other thug getting up and no appearance of any other thugs coming. Carly slid out under the bed and crawled slowly to the passage way, her heart hammering in her chest, sweat riveting down her face. The ceiling collapsed above her, hot embers fell from the wooden beams as Carly jumped away, trapping her leg. She screamed with pain. Crawling out, she could feel something embedded in her leg. It was torture and as she pulled herself out, feeling that object cutting her leg. She picked up her handgun... and slowly crawled further out until she was clear. Looking down the passage way, she that the thugs were not moving and sighed a relief, despite the roar of pain from her leg.

Looking down, her once whole leg was a bloody mass with a deep cut running down the length of it. She was going to lose blood and fast. Tearing of a section off from her pants, she tied it tightly around the wounded leg to stop the bleeding. Crawling over to Setg, she managed to roll him over to see where the blood was coming from. It was everywhere; his whole front was glowing green... Carly sobbed and cradled Setg's head. Unable to find a pulse and not knowing what to do, she cried as she ran her fingers down his face... Setg, my heart, please please don't die... The timbers of the roof cracking under the weight gave way, the room almost fully collapsed and a raging inferno.

Something hard pressed into Carly's head and she turned cold in the stifling heat. Turning slowly, there was that thug she had missed, blood pouring from somewhere with his gun against her head. Carly looked down upon Setg's face, continuing to stroke his face, searching for him to open his eyes. Tears splashing down upon his face... I once thought I couldn't cry anymore... she smiled slightly. Oh god.... Please don't let it be like this.....

Carly looked up at the thug just as a pair of blades past through the thug, lifting him up from the ground as it tossed him to one side. Carly looked with tear stained face as this new angel emerged from the smoke. With blades still drawn he approached Carly. Carly now ash pale from so much blood loss, struggled to raise her hand, instead found it stroking her beloved Setg face.

"Please save him" she whispered as she passed out, everything turning black falling onto Setg wounded body.

The new angel, Nei'hin Setg'Thwei crouched down and ran his finger over his brother's pulse in his neck. It was strong, but he was in a coma. The human appeared to have lost too much blood. Activating his scanner on his wrist, the computer scanned Setg, diagnostics confirming his pulse. A syringe slid out from the scanner and Nei'hin administered it into his fallen comrade. That should hold him. Activating the scanner again he scanned the human. She was going to die, unless he helped. Another syringe slid out and Nei'hin applied in, hoping that he may save her. Nei'hin activated a beacon... Help will be here soon...

Walking around he surveyed the damage. So far, all enemies were dead. The ones in the car park were unaware of his arrival. His computer blipped that a comrade would be there in a minute to assist. Nei'hin took off Setg's wrist computer and activated the self destruct. He timed it for 15 minutes before throwing down the passage way. More then enough time, but just in case of an altercation.

Another yautja appeared. "Nei'hin, you requested assistance?"

"Yes, get my brother on board. I will take the ooman. Please advise the Lord that self destruct has been activated for 13minutes."

The other yautja nodded and they both picked up the injured, walking up through the fallen timbers from the roof, the ship hovering above, invisible.

As they walked up the ramp to the ship, Nei'hin looked down upon the ooman's face. So this is the reason his brother has been acting so strangely lately. Nei'hin sighed. It wasn't usual for his twin to be doing something crazy or upsetting the elders in some way, but lately he had been good. He must have been behaving this way to cover up his new acquisition. Nei'hin suspected a ooman interest, but disregarded it, what his brother chose to do was up to him. He was not his mother. Examining Carly further, he saw that she had white pale skin, paler then most oomans he had seen and white blondish hair. Ha, a good match for Setg, that pale bastard! Where Setg was born paler then most Yautja, Nei'hin was as black as charcoal. Night and Day... So different, yet so the same... both had the same father and shared the same womb even though Setg would joke that Nei'hin was found on the doorstep. Twins were uncommon for Yautja, which made Nei'hin feel closer to his brother then all the other half brothers he had. He could count on Setg.

Nei'hin escorted the Yautja into the med room still carrying Carly. He placed her gently onto an occupied bed, activating the scanners. It scanned her and identified the major wounds. Trauma to the face, lacerated leg wound, infection, the list was endless. Nei'hin pressed another button and watched as the medical equipment start to mend her leg, pulling the skin together, as another robotic arm appeared with tubes attached insert itself into Carly's arm, injecting life saving plasma and nanobots into her. The nanobots will help purify her system, healing the wounds that the scanner can't attend to.

Once satisfied that everything was in order with Carly, he moved onto his unconscious brother. Activating the same resources on the bed, he watched as the computer repeat the same process on his brother. Stupid twit, what had he gotten himself into this time? Setg woke and looked at his brother and smiled. Nei'hin... he could always count on him. How many times had he saved his ass? Glancing past him, he saw Carly on the bed next to him.

"How is Carly?" Setg was hoping she was ok. She wasn't awake yet and this concerned him.

"She is on the knife's edge. She was dying when I found you both. She was protecting you. She killed oomans... " Nei'hin looked back at Carly. She was strong, and obviously felt something for his brother. Nei'hin felt a pang of jealousy but brushed it aside. She was ooman, she did not appeal to him. Nei'hin concentrated back on his brother. "You must rest now and now that we have her, we can return home."Nei'hin started to walk out of the room, Setg called out after him... "She is Paya." Nei'hin stopped in his tracks and looked back over to Carly. He thought about it and slightly nodded. "Perhaps she is. We will see." With that, he walked out the room, the door closing behind.

Setg looked over to Carly, still unconscious. He thought about her smiling at him, her tender touch on his face. How brave she must have been to kill those oomans with such a deep wound. Brave little knife.... He closed his eyes and remembered her looking up at him the first time, bathed in moonlight, glowing in the darkness. Her eyes filled with hope.... She was beautiful... breathing in deep, he smelt her musk... He prayed....By Paya please come back to me....and fell asleep... and dreamt of her standing at the temple glowing in the light....her arms reached out to him, calling him.....