CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Ethan’s POV
Bullets sank deep into my skin. It hurt like hell I admit, but I knew it wasn't going to kill me or mutilate me in any way. I ran out into the opened and dove, sliding past a fallen enemy as I grabbed for the rifle and shot five men down to my east.
With Ares acing up all my senses and increasing my constitution I felt as hyper as a baby who had five candy canes for breakfast. I could take down almost ten men without a gun and still not break a sweat.
Wait. Hold that thought. I set the rifle standing to one side. I knew this was crazy but it has been a while since I indulged into a battlefield-like fight. Like those epic cliché one man versus a hundred in the strange games Robyn makes me play? Yep, I was going to try that out today.
I ran towards a stack of crates near the entrance just as a new line walked in, I ran up the stacks and kicked off unsuspectingly as the men knelt down and regrouped for formation.
I easily knocked one on the head breaking his spine before arching back quickly to grab the next soldier's head before I used my momentum to spin off on his shoulders so that I instantaneously kicked two soldiers near by whilst breaking this fucker's neck.
The moment I landed, all four men dropped lifelessly to the ground. I should seriously reconsider my new title to be the Breakneck Speed. I better consult Ares on that later, right now I still had six men to bring down to prove my point that I can take them down without breaking a sweat. And so far, I haven't.
The next four came with their guns pointed at me; I was about to make my move when another six quickly came for their comrades back up. I smirked to hide the panic swelling in my chest. At a long range, I was weak. But if I get close enough, they had no chance to even scream.
I allowed them to slowly lead me to a wall to corner, which was pretty stupid because they believed that I was vulnerable with nowhere else to run. Then again, they could also be underestimating me, believing that I wouldn’t harm them like the last time we met. Well that was before I met Ares, and after I did, I can proudly guarantee that these guys are going to have a great time with me. I mean look at the party their former comrades just had with me, surely they couldn’t have missed that.
"Come on Gould, we don't want to hurt you," one of them spoke after a moment of silence, they all had oxygen masks on so I didn't really know who spoke. I didn’t care though, that just made my life a whole lot easier.
"I know," my smile faded. I let my rush of adrenaline take on a new hype as I kicked off the wall from behind me to boost the momentum of my somersault. Launching myself to the first enemy I saw, guns promptly fired at random but all missed, it was so epic.
Whenever I was weaponless, I learned the hard way that the cervical spine was always the key whether or not they had the NIES in them. I punched the first person I launched towards with my right across the face hearing that crunchy crack from his spine. I wasted no time as I brought my legs to catch the nearest enemy by the neck and logrolled in the air as I landed supine on the ground.
Six down, four more to go before I go grab a gun.
I knocked one down as I jumped to my feet and kicked his neck. Unoriginal, I know. When I turned I grabbed two soldiers by their cervical spine and twisted it as both instantly fell limp to the ground. Three seconds has passed and the soldiers were struggling to grab hold of me.
Actually, one did. This guy must be packed with NIES, because when I tried to wrench free, I had difficulty in doing so. In front of me was a guy holding a gun willing to pull the trigger. I swung my weight forth so that my hugger lunged with me, catching the bullet with the top of his head.
"Shit, Coleman!" said his colleague, lowering his gun in pure disbelief. That must be his friend’s name.
“Oh I feel that feel, bro,” I mused, slowly standing straight as the dying man on my back was slowly losing his grip. “But right now, I ain’t giving you a shit,”
"You're gonna pay for that you asshole!" The angry soldier lifted his gun. Just as my dead hugger fell to the ground on my right, I grabbed his rifle before he touched the ground.
"I brought ten men down without a gun, and I barely broke a drop of sweat, beat that!" I boasted before finishing off this guy with a pull of my trigger. I knew there were more, but apparently, the new guys were the smarter ones.
They fell back and took cover behind random crates, quickly I ran towards the line where I knew shouldn’t be crossed because that would be where Robyn was going to help Ares’ team escape. I glanced over my shoulder and she was with two women garbed in white, they were ducking from time to time as they slowly progressed through the back door.
Standing out in the open was a very risky thing to do, I admit, heck, I felt naked standing here right now with nothing to cover me. However, this seemed to have its perks. On the far corner of my eye, I spotted a figure aiming a gun at Robyn. I shot him down instantly, a few began popping out from their hiding and I shot several more accurately between their foreheads. Trust me, when you have badass bots spiking your vision high, it was just so easy.
An arm wrapped around my neck, but before it could do any more damage, I ducked and swung, using his weight against him to throw him to the ground. He quickly recovered and spun his legs to get up; I only managed to backflip away with my free hand, knocking his head back with the toe of my shoes. I quickly fired the gun at him, but he drew out a handgun and hit my hand faster than I could react; he knocked my gun away from me! Damn!
I ignored the pain shooting up my arm. I didn’t panic since I knew the bots in my body would eventually push out the bullet. I tried to dive for my gun and roll away to the nearest metal pillar but even before I could do that, the sound of guns cocking caught my attention. I looked around me and observed the hiding enemies step out with bullets ready to fire.
Smirking, I slowly raised my hands.
“I never wanted to believe them,” a familiar voice spoke. I turned to the one with the handgun, the a-hole who knew how to fight. No one could easily disarm me other than Craw; maybe this guy shared the same mentor with him. I couldn’t tell, after all I wasn’t friendly with anyone in the agency other than the General, Craw and Green.
“Do you believe them now?” I asked smoothly, I was surprised to hear myself sound cockier than I intended to be. I wouldn’t blame this guy if that made him hate me more.
“I’d never expect to see the Golden Boy turn against his own,” he said, shaking his head. Actually, the voice didn’t seem that manly at all. I cocked my head slightly to the side, feigning boredom as I tried to work out his voice. “Don’t you recognize me, love?”
I had to refrain myself from cringing, but it was just so hard when there was only one person I knew who would always call me ‘love.’ My skepticism was reinforced with an utter shock of denial as he removed the oxygen mask from his face. Fiery red hair cascaded down her shoulders as she shook them free from tangles. He was a she.
She took out a pair of thin-rimmed glasses and wore them. My breath caught in my throat the moment her bright green eyes bore down on mine. Her red vibrant lips stretched into a cold mocking smile, “how about now?”
“Emily?” I choked out; the realization scalded me so painfully I could feel the pain scorch tendrils of my heart. Slowly, tears began clouding my vision; I tried so hard to fight it back but I realized I was on the losing end. I looked up to this woman like my mother. I didn’t know what to tell her, I suddenly felt so ashamed with the things I’ve done and said. I found myself opening and closing my mouth as I failed to try to find the right words to say again and again.
Heck, I didn’t even know what to tell her. Should I say sorry I let your husband take the bullet for me? Or what about, did you also know a lot about me but kept it to yourself like everyone back in ERA? Maybe I could try small talk and compliment how she put up a fight back there.
“Cat got your tongue, love?” she sighed, folding her arms across her chest before she began clicking her tongue repetit
ively, “I simply don’t know what to say, you’ve been a very bad boy you know?”
She sauntered a few steps towards me and stopped when we were face to face. Mine flushed when I saw disappointment and sadness taint her usual vibrant one. I suddenly understood why she was so full of hate, why she was like a she beast when she fought me back there. She must have known that I let Craw take the bullet for me; she might have hated me for that. I hate myself for that, but after everything that Ares told me, what if Craw also knew?
You know what? I didn’t want to know if Craw was a part of all this anymore. Let the man die with my sliver of respect still intact for him. He took the bullet for me, his actions was more than enough to prove to me that he wasn’t one of them. Let me rephrase what I just back then, this man has all my respect for him intact. Period.
Emily drew back slightly and she commanded her men with a scathing voice, “Taser him off boys, I’m not in the mood for small talk with this one,”
Something painful spiked my nape and I found my knees buckling as I convulsed to the ground. My consciousness slipped faster away from my grip like sand through my fingers, soon my vision was clouded by darkness and I couldn’t even move.
“They’re getting away,” was the last thing I heard.
I just hope Robyn and the rest actually does.