Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 22:12:51 -0700 (PDT) From: Gene McEnnis Subject: Infected Heartstrings - Chapter 4 Disclaimer: If you are not permitted to read stories of this nature please refrain from reading further. No part of this story may be sold or replicated without express permission of the author. ************************************************************************ Ch 4 - An old flame Blood continued to pound in his ears as he crouched but he kept his body still. He heard footsteps to one side. 'Just the one', he thought mere moments before he launched himself around the corner and delivered a swift kick across the man's neck, knocking him into the dusty brick wall. The man slumped to the ground and didn't move. The sound that he made as he fell must have alerted the others as Wade could hear the sounds of the man's comrades fast approaching. Quickly, he leaned over and removed the knife and plasma rifle from the ground where they had fallen from the man's grip. He bolted down a dusty open corridor only to see a blind alley straight ahead. Wade kept running, tucking the knife and plasma rifle against his body as his legs propelled him into the air. He kicked off one side of the narrow corridor only to rapidly kick off the other, gaining a bit of air. As he climbed higher with repeated hops, Wade could hear the men were almost on top of him. Clearing the top of the wall and hoisting himself over the side in a split second, he rolled and lay perfectly still atop the flat roof. He could hear the men below. "The target was here a moment ago," one said. "Gonzalo's out," another replied. "Fan out and retrace our steps," a gruff voice said, "He can't have disappeared." Wade rolled to his feet, clear of the ledge and bolted along the rooftop. Racing over the expansive roof, his footfalls were silent and calculated. As he reached the edge of the roof he flung himself, without a second thought, into the air. With the rifle on his back, Wade stretched himself taunt in midair, grabbed a raised ledge and vaulted forward like some kind of jungle cat on the run. Hitting the ground in mid-stride, Wade had enough time to roll behind some cover as he heard the nearby wood framed door creak open. Dust scattered the rooftop as he heard three, possibly four, men cautiously begin to sweep the rooftop. Wade lay in hiding and counted his silent breaths in and out. A smirk covered his face before he burst from his hiding place and leapt at the three men dressed in black jump suits. With their awkward tinted visors, they didn't have enough time to react to the blur of motion in front of them. Using this to his advantage Wade spun in place and delivered a crushing back kick into the jugular of the man in the middle sending the helmet and visor back in pieces that seemed to suspend in the air as the man fell backwards. Wade's torso was bent forward at just the right angle to avoid the first shot by the startled man to his left. Both men raised their plasma rifles and Wade could see the small blue flash only seconds before both weapons fired. He dropped, his legs reflexively sliding along the rooftop, leaving both young men toppled over with plasma round residue over their chest-plates. The fading hum of the rifles seemed to hang in the air. In a moment Wade was on his feet and running towards the rooftop door as he heard shouts from more men below, closing in on his location. Instead of using the door, the wiry young man flipped rapidly from his hands to his feet and back again, leaping high above the door and through the open structure just beyond the door. Wade landed in front of the open stone window that looked into the building. He could see the men now, scrambling to cross the expanse below, eager to reach the rooftop. With expert precision Wade unhooked the rifle and one of the two grenades he had scavenged from his fallen assailants. He squeezed a grenade and turned the rotating trigger function on the top before tossing it lightly into the room below and onto the stairs. As the grenade fell through the air, he gripped the rifle and fired on the men below. Many of the unsuspecting soldiers were caught in the grenade's blue and violet starburst and thrown clear across the room. Slumping forward, their bodies fell still. As the last man gasped and fell to the ground Wade dropped the gun on the building top and vaulted into the room. He crossed his arms as the last man dissolved in a translucent film that hung in the air for a brief second before fading from sight. He smiled to himself. Right before his heartbeat returned to normal, he felt something. A stirring - something wasn't right. He waited and heard a dull rumble from somewhere outside the building. With a bright flash, the stony wall to his side exploded. Debris sprayed through the air and caught him across the shoulder, spinning him around. He winced and dropped to one knee as two gargantuan spider-like robotic units crawled inside through the cloud of dust kicked up by the explosion. Standing at least three times his height, their cold mechanical arachnid faces turned in unison, their mandibles chittering madly. He bolted, rolling across the floor and managed to grab a rifle that one of the men had dropped only moments before, before jumping to his feet. With the frag grenade, he had destroyed the only two viable means of escape except for the newly created hole in the wall. Getting through that hole involved slipping past the eight-legged freaks with razor sharp talons. Wade swallowed hard but kept running. The nearest robot charged. Two of its legs were poised to sever Wade's head in only a second or two. His eyes widened. As the limbs came down, Wade leaped into the air. He landed on the first leg that was now stuck in the stone wall. As the mechanoid monster struggled, Wade ran along the narrow length of the limb. Once more he propelled himself high into the air, flipping his body upside down above the struggling robot. With the rifle in position, he delivered three plasma rounds directly into the singular eye of the beast at the zenith of his jump. As he landed on the hard earth he heard the sparks and liquid flee from the creature's brains as the gargantuan machine sputtered and finally died; collapsing on the cold floor. Before he could react, another deathly claw swiped at him, shattering the rifle in his hands and throwing him hard against the far wall. Despite being made of cold, calculating metal, the spider-creature almost looked smug. "Son of a..." the creature charged but it was a fraction of a second too late; Wade already rolled under the monstrosity and was heading for his one chance at survival-the hole in the far wall. Pushing himself, Wade leapt through the opening just at the creature collided with the wall behind him. As more stone fell away from the side of the wall, he could see the creature's facial circuits were bare and arcing. Its eye focused hard. It was pissed. The spider creature was right behind him; he could almost feel the cold steel gripping the stone structures as it chased him along the stone pathway. Wade ducked into a side alleyway and then into a small open door. He took the stairs two at a time but stopped halfway, nervously looking behind him. He could no longer hear the monster. Everything was quiet except for the hammering of his heart and the rasp of air as he tried to catch his breath. To his right, an explosion rocked the stairs as the creature once more burst through the far wall; it's mechanical mandibles crushing stray bits of stone. It's singular eye locked onto Wade as the creature leapt into the air and straight for the him. Wade bolted for the door and made it just in time to be knocked outside onto the roof by the force of the spider's landing. Wade skipped along the rooftop like a pebble over water. He rolled over and thought he heard something crack; it might have been a rib for all he knew. Then he saw it. A stone structure on top of the nearest building supported by four pillars like some sort of dusty old stone gazebo. He bolted for it as the doorway behind him exploded with the force of the spider's latest rampage. He didn't turn. He didn't look back. He just ran. Apprehension gripped his stomach as he saw the dark shadow of the spider descend on him from the sky. In desperation, he dove under the stone structure and rolled. With sickening grace, the creature landed where he had been only moments ago. The spider monster howled in rage as it tried desperately to reach him from the other side; its right front claw scraping wildly across the stone. "Come get some you son of a bitch," he spat as he palmed his last grenade. The creature loomed slightly forward but stopped. Wade panicked for a split second. He released the trigger and threw the grenade at the metallic monster. Instead of recoiling, the monster surged forward and let out a soul-piercing howl. The grenade burst just inches from it's face, taking the stone structure with it and crushing the head of the creature with a metallic 'POP'. It slumped forward and was silent. Its red eye flickered for a moment then grew dim. Wade let all of his air out in one relieved gasp. It was over. He turned to look at the expanse of similar buildings made of similar dirty yellow stone and dust. A flash of colour caught his eye. There, across the stone courtyard something moved. He could see a small flicker then nothing more. Straining his eyes, he scanned the buildings for some sign. It couldn't be. There, closer than before, was a blond-haired man watching him from within the maze of buildings. His breath caught. Wade edged closer to the side of the building, his eyes searching desperately. A scream of rage exploded from behind him and Wade spun around to react but... It was too late. The movement propelled Wade forward and over the edge. His eyes grew wide to see the creature looming high above him, freed from its stone prison. A deadly claw lanced forward and pierced through Wade's stomach. He gurgled with pain and confusion as a thin stream of blood dripped from his mouth. Reflexively he clutched the claw that had pierced clear through his gut. The spider creature reared up and screamed in victory, tossing its legs first back then forward. The movement dislodging its victim and sent Wade's broken body hurtling high across the complex. Wade could only barely see into the maze of buildings as he sailed high above the rooftops but even then he could see the familiar face of his lost lover look up at him with cold eyes. As blood droplets showered the sky like a red rain, Wade's mind was fixed on one thought alone. "Allan," he tried to call out to the man but only soft wet gurgles came. He hit the top of a far building hard. No longer was he the hauntingly beautiful raven-haired young man - now he was merely a mess of shattered bones and battered meat. He lay there for few seconds before he too dissolved into a translucent film of white shimmers. ...To be continued? ************************************************************************ Author's note: Again I want to thank Kane for his fantastic help! The next few chapters may take longer to piece together unfortunately, just to give readers a heads up. Also! I got bored one night and drew a quick sketch of an upcoming chapter scene. So if you'd like a sneak peak please check it out. (It's not exactly my crowning achievement lol). http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/5924/infectedhearts1coloras9.jpg (I hope that it works and that you like how I imagined the characters to look) I hope that you're all enjoying the story so far. Again, comments or concerns are always welcome (corporeal09@yahoo.com) Regards, -Gene