Chapter 30 - Tiago Lawton - Meltdown
November 17, 3040 4:32 AM
I'm hiding behind a flipped over metal table and I see the human and his canine companions entering through the front door, guns drawn cautiously. I immediately fire at them with my pistol. They split to the sides, the human and dog go right, the wolf goes left. I try to hit them as they scurry away, but they're too fast and within seconds they find something to hide behind.
I empty my gun at both targets, as does Alex. Candy hides behind a table, per my instructions. I tell her whatever happens to stay there, I can't afford to lose our family prodigy. They return fire promptly and we both duck and wait for them to recharge. They have heavier weapons, like the human's hand cannon, but our fort is remarkably sturdy. Back and forth it goes for five, no, ten minutes. Our fortifications are strong, but our weapons are too weak. Their weapons are too strong, but there's too much clutter to do any damage.
We're at a standstill.
It's not dark like it was a few minutes ago. The bulbs now glow, making everything visible. Candy's many compcubes, food, clothes, and our other belongings can be clearly seen. Before they barged in, the station was almost fully charged and power started to flow throughout it. As a result, the lights turned on. My eyes had to adjust, as we'd been working in the dark the whole time. Yet it's nice to see things lucidly when it was so difficult earlier.
"We have to do something," Alex says as the shots continue to rain in.
I take a look at my surroundings to formulate a plan. About fifteen feet to the right is the teleporter, our ticket out of here. It's a twelve feet high pod that has a sliding door made of teleranium, a special metal used to handle teleporting. A faint glow leaks from the outlining of the door, signaling that it is powered and ready to go. To teleport, all one has to do is set the destination at the control panel, and when it is ready the door will slide open. Once you step in, the door closes, and in a dash you're in a new city, country, or even the Moon. You see a flash and you're done.
But there's one complication that prevents us from busting out of Primm: the control panel is on the other side of the station, right in firing range of our enemies. Candy was working on getting the teleporter fired up before they arrived, but once the battle started and a bloody Ace fell through the door, she had to abort her mission.
Ace, my loyal brother, didn't deserve such a gruesome death. When I saw him crawling in agonizing pain towards the trip wire, I knew what he was going to do. I wanted to go out there to tend to his wounds, but he looked up at me and shook his head. He let me know it was okay, he had a plan. I gave him a sneer. If things worked out, Ace would trigger the blast and we'd be rid of these hunters forever. Candy, Alex, and I would be free. My smirking face was the last thing I wanted that human to see, a final "fuck you, we made it."
I watched him crawl, and all I could do was think about the times when we were young. He tried to win my admiration. Whether it was by taking my side in fights or doing anything at the whim of my command, I could only think of one word to describe him: devoted. There hasn't been a moment when he wasn't looking for my approval, when he wasn't trying to make me proud. Well, brother, you did.
"We have to get the teleporter running and make a break for it or Ace's sacrifice will be in vain," I say to Alex.
"Obviously, but there's no way we can get it started in all this chaos," he says. "We'll be killed on the spot. And Candy is the only one who knows how to operate the thing."
"Wait a minute, something is off."
I hear something that I haven't heard since the assault started - silence.
I stand up to see that there has been a cease fire. The human, dog, and wolf are still hiding behind their cover, but nothing is happening. That is until the human pops up from his position and uses his right arm to volley something in the air. It's small and hard to see, but he launches it far enough for it to come flying in our direction. I reach up in the sky and catch it, plucking it like a low hanging fruit. I open my hands and in my paw I see what it is. Oh, shit!
I throw it back in their direction and, like rats, they flee from it. It explodes right when it lands. Broken bits of concrete, metal, and wood erupt into the atmosphere.
The three are still alive, though. They've moved forward and hunkered down behind some more fortifications, away from the blast, but closer to the control panel. They start to fire again.
"They're moving in closer," Alex says. "It'll only be minutes until they come close enough to kill us. We're out-powered and out-matched. We have to make our escape now."
"And how do you suppose we do that?" I ask Alex. "Whoever is going to start the teleporter is embarking on a suicide mission!"
"I know," Candy says. Her hallmark smile and her uplifting demeanor are nowhere to be found. It's been replaced by a no nonsense attitude and grave stare. She's serious about it.
"No, Candy, you don't have the same stake in this as Alex and I. You're too valuable and intelligent to sacrifice," I say. My tone is stern. I really don't want her to go.
"It's not a sacrifice," she says. "It's a choice. None of you know how to operate the controls, only I do. If I don't do it, then we're all dead. It's better that two of us make it than none."
"No, Candy," I say harshly. I'm hoping I can scare her out of it, but she doesn't budge.
"She's right," Alex says. "She's the only one who can get us out of here."
"Shut up, Alex!" I yell. Wave after wave of ammunition continues to hit us. I start to see holes and cracks forming in our stronghold. We won't last very long if we wait around. But this is a choice I do not want to make. Candy has done so much with so little. Her future holds so much greatness. I could never live with myself if it was thrown away.
"I'm sorry, Candy, but the answer still is no. We'll figure something out instead," I say.
She looks disappointed by my decision, but abruptly lifts her head up and says, "Tiago, there's nothing left to figure out."
Candy gets up from where she was sitting. Her legs start to churn as she begins her race to the teleporter controls. In a last, desperate act, I grab her foot, but she promptly kicks it away and continues towards her goal.
Energy shots fly past her. She jumps and ducks to avoid getting hit. But it's no use, I see her take one to the arm. She falls over and clutches it in pain. Lucky for her, she tumbled right behind a column and it blocks her from the team's aim.
"Candy!" I yell. "Stop! Come back!"
She peers out from behind. "No, I'm too close to quit now."
Candy gets back up and makes a mad dash to the panel. I see her run, savagely with all her might and, amazingly, she makes it. She only has seconds to fiddle with the panel and she works on the controls in incredible time. I look over to the pod and the door opens. She did it. San Francisco, here we come.
But it will only be two of us. The human and dog circle in on their target and direct all their firepower on her. She's hit with a shower of fiery light, her body jerks around like a puppet on a string. It only last a few seconds but seems like an eternity. Every small flail of her limbs, every agonizing expression she makes on her face, I can see so vividly.
Her violent dance stops and there's nothing left but my sister, torn up from head to toe, leaned against the wall, any life extinguished from her.
As I see her lifeless body slumped against the wall, visions flash in my mind. I see her as a scientist finding cures for diseases that have just been discovered. I see her as an engineer, developing new tech that could revolutionize the industry. I see her as biologist, unlocking the secrets of not only our origins, but of every creature on this planet. She is the future, a mind unmatched in this world.
But, I realize even if she lived, the brightest gem can't shine when people can't see past the rough edges. She'd never do those things and it makes me mad.
This world is ignorant, this world is blind, t
his world is a horrible place. All they see is what is on the outside without realizing the gifts that lie inside. What a stupid place indeed. The anger I feel fuels my fire to make it, to avenge not only her, but all of us who were never given a chance.
"The teleporter is live," I tell Alex. "It's time to leave. Get the final present ready."
He grabs Candy's last bomb.
"I hope when we get out of here, there won't be a trace left of these guys to weep over," he says.
I grab two energy pistols and lead the way to teleporter pod. Its door is still open, all Alex and I have to do is walk in and we'll be gone. I empty sphere after sphere of bright lights at the enemy, creating enough cover fire for us to make a straight dash to it. They duck under their barricades for safety as I lead the way. Alex is right behind me and adds to the pandemonium with fire of his own.
They don't return anything back and I can taste the freedom. We are feet away from the pod and I make a final leap towards it. I'm inside, but nothing happens. I'm confused. I wonder if I'm already in San Francisco, but I look forward and still see the damaged Li station in front of me. The teleportation pod has been powered down, the mesmerizing glow that emits from it has now disappeared. What could've happened?
I scan my surroundings and see the cause, the control panel has been destroyed. The human had his gun aimed at it, but he draws it down and back to me. The fraction of a second before I made my final dive into the pod, he blew it to pieces with his hand cannon. Without the control panel, the teleporter is useless. It automatically shut down. My attempt failed.
I look around to see where Alex has gone to, but he's not in my view. I am alone, left to confront my killers, the ones fighting in the so called name of justice. The game is over. My chance to be at liberty has slipped away from my fingers and now I stare down the barrel of a gun. I close my eyes and think about what I've done. I should've known my greedy ambitions weren't worth it. I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry.
I feel my torso imploding and then exploding. It feels like an anchor has jammed into my stomach and ripped it inside out. Then it burns like I'm being branded, everywhere. The pain is excruciating and I feel the blood trickle from my stomach down to my leg. I smell the smoke emitting from my burning flesh.
I open my eyes and look down to see a large wound encompass the front of me and I stumble backwards in a state of shock. I land ass first into the teleportation pod. It's a fitting way to die. I wanted to reach this stage so badly, risked life and limb, made sacrifices I never thought I could make, and it looked like I was going to spend my last moments here. Karma indeed.
But I am not dead, yet. Despite the agony I feel mentally and physically, I'm still breathing, I'm still aware of my surroundings. I see the human, dog, and wolf approaching me, guns still pointed straight in my direction.
"Don't move," the human says.
"Don't worry," I say, moving my lips slowly. "I don't have anywhere to go."
"Apollo, Fenrir, go look for the other one, Alex. We lost him in the firestorm with Tiago, he's probably hiding?"
A bright light hits my eye and it appears to go through the human. His head swings back and I see a cloud of blood puff from his front cranium. He falls to his knees and his back bends on his legs awkwardly. His arms collapse to his sides and the gun in his hands plunges to the ground. Finally, the back of his head slams on the floor. His eyes are still open, glazed over, but I'm sure he was already dead before he hit the ground.
The wolf and dog look stunned and even I'm bewildered by his sudden death. It happens so fast, I don't even have time to think about what happened.
"Commander!" The dog runs over to his body to see if he is okay, but it's useless. He's dead as a doorknob. I see his snout shaking and lips snarling, but his grief is interrupted by someone's presence. He looks up and I look to the right where the dog is staring.
Things now make so much sense. There I see Alex, smoking pistol in one hand, bomb in the other. Suddenly, I can't help but jeer a little. At least one of us might make it out alive.