EVERMORE ─ marvel

IX. The Accuser

Chapter Nine
Steve

A lot of our soldiers have been sent to protect the White House and Capital building, Lee, Dad, and I among them. We've been fighting off Kree soldiers in front of the Capital building for what feels like hours. It's been one soldier after the other; a horrible, disgusting, and kind of tedious task. I see a Kree soldier, I attack them, I kill them, I move on. My body is so fueled with adrenaline, my breathing deep, my skin slick with sweat, my muscles aching. Exhaustion is weighing down on me, but at the same time, I've never felt more awake. It's exhilarating, the fighting. I hate how much I like it, not the killing, just the physicality of fighting, the tense atmosphere, the urgency. It's no wonder to me now that all my family have said this life is hard to get out of. Not only is it hard on your soul, but you get used to the thrill this life gives you. You begin to like it.

The three of us are fighting on the steps leading to the actual building, not the field in front of it, which is so filled with fighting soldiers that you can hardly see the grass. Even without the soldiers you wouldn't be able to see the grass, or any part of the ground here in the city. There's a thick layer of blood, dirt, rubble, and ash covering every surface of this city. Even the Capital building, the white stone pathways, the steps, the intricate archways and statues, have been turned into a crimson and blue Jackson Pollock painting.

A lot of the more skilled Kree soldiers are up here, away from the larger crowds, itching to kill anyone who dares come challenge them. One of these skilled warriors is a Kree accuser. When he locks eyes with me, he smiles, beginning to run towards me, getting his hammer ready to strike. Something tells me he knows who I am, it's the only explanation for his interest in me. He's giving me the same look the Emperor gave Luke Skywalker before he started electrocuting him. It sends a chill down my spine.

I shift into a bird and fly away from his swinging hammer, landing on the opposite side of him, amused upon seeing his fuming face. The accuser swings again, this time with more force. I don't have any more bullets in my gun, so I have to rely on my shifting to beat this guy. I shift into a leopard and dart out of the way, pouncing towards him, shifting in mid air into a tiger. The accuser sees this coming however and knocks me to the ground. Thankfully he didn't hit me hard enough to break anything, but he certainly knocked the wind out of me. I feel dizzy as I sit myself up.

The accuser and I are fighting at the bottom of the steps. Lee and Dad are towards the top, it will take them a bit to make it down to me. I have to fight this asshole on my own. I jump up and shift into a rhino again, charging towards the accuser with full force. The accuser doesn't look too scared as I ram into him. He simply grabs onto my horn and holds on tightly with one hand, his hammer firmly in the other. I shake my head and try to wiggle him off, but he doesn't budge. I shift back into human form and watch him drop to the ground, a smile still on his face. I shift into a wolf and charge at him, claws and teeth out. My claws scratch his armor but make no mark. My teeth sink into his shoulder and he lets out a screech of pain, getting Dad and Lee's attention. Out of the corner of my eye I see them running down the stairs towards me.

With a yell of determination, the accuser shoves me off of him by head butting me and hitting my side with the hilt of his hammer. This gets me off of him and makes me fall to the ground. I move to pounce again but the accuser kicks me hard in the head, then once again hits me with the hilt of the hammer, this time in my chest. I fall onto my back hard, hitting my head once again, still in wolf form. I try to sit myself up, but I think I've taken a few too many hits to the head. I feel too dizzy to move, to think. I manage to lift my head enough though to see the accuser stand a foot away from me, his figure towering over me.