I woke before the first rays of sunlight touched the cave. My body ached, numb. My arms tingled. Sensation slowly returned.
"Was just about to wake you." Kiara sat beside me. The holomap appeared above her wrist. "Pay attention."
I rubbed my face, shaking off the grogginess. Focus. Time to commit everything to memory.
"Five floors." Red dots lit up on the map. "Thirty guards. They operate in quadrants." She enlarged the projection. "Two weak points." The first glowed. "There's an opening here. We can hide inside this structure." The second lit up in yellow. "Another option: follow the low wall to the main door. Two guards along the way. Another two at the entrance."
An orange dot blinked at the center of the map. "Our objective's here. Still don't know what's inside, but it's small." Kiara deactivated the hologram.
I swallowed hard. Repeated the information in my head. I needed to remember everything.
Anxious as I was, I had to get it right.
S-2879 • L9 Fluxluna • D07 Abeli
"Fluxluna flows clear, a thread of living water. Abeli kindles a bud of radiance above. The tide draws signs in soft silver. The story weaves a steady step in growing light."
The day dragged on. Sunbeams fell across the sandy mantle covering the Citadel. The waters of the Mediterranean Sea shimmered. Points of light on the horizon.
I woke beneath the sunset. A lilac and orange sky. Clouds like a painting.
Night fell. The faint glow of two stars. A sight I had never seen before.
I smiled. Imagined Maia beside me. Beneath the same sky. My smile faded.
The memory of her warmed me. But she was gone. It hurt at my core. I was on this journey to truly know her, because she had been my breath of life. Maia awakened feelings I had never known. First through an unease that made me question my life. Whether that solitary path would bring me fulfillment.
Confused as I was by those new feelings, something changed forever. She made my heart race. Gave me butterflies. Filled my thoughts. I fell in love. Everything I wanted to do. The life I wanted to lead. The experiences still ahead of me. I wanted to live them with Maia.
A dream cut short. What was left for me to do?
Dawn broke.
Kiara stroked my arm. She must have seen that I had cried myself to sleep. In silence, she watched me with gentle eyes.
I smiled at the gesture. Sat up, feeling sorer than before. Stretched to ease the numbness.
Kiara sat across from me. "Finished the analysis. The guards change shifts twice: once at noon and again at ten at night, when boat traffic stops. We're going in tonight at ten. This area will clear out for two minutes. Enough time to reach this wall."
The route glowed on the map. "I'm gonna need you. While I clear the way, follow this corridor. Hack the power box. Use this nanomalware." She sent me a file, Noluz.exe. "I'll have hacked the cameras, so you'll be invisible. Then come back to me. The malware will cut the power after one minute. That means we'll have three minutes. We'll go down into the warehouse, grab the object, and head back to the ground floor. The power will be back by then. Probably every guard will be on alert. We'll already be gone."
She gestured. "Stay behind me. Watch my back. You can avoid killing, but if a guard comes our way, neutralize them. You're a doctor. You should know the vital points."
"I-I'll try." I cleared my throat.
The thought of shooting someone was unbearable. Even without intending to kill. I trembled just imagining it. I pushed the thought aside. Focused on what I needed to do to terminate my contract. Find out who had commissioned it. I still had to face that fact. I was being hunted. Soon, I would understand why. I also had to become independent of Kiara. Had to learn to be strong. To protect myself.
"We move at nine. Any questions?"
"No, but there's something I need to tell you."
Ever since we arrived in Netheria, my intuition had told me this was the right decision. My Maiden trusted Kiara. Maia did too.
I took the compass out of my pockets. The watch. The phone. They weighed more in my hand than they should have. "They were in the envelope. What do they mean?" My heart pounded. I felt they were important. "I have a feeling. Think they should stay with you. At least for now."
Kiara studied the three items. "Maia left these with you? She gave me the envelope sealed." Kiara turned the objects over in her hands. Her smile came quickly, as though something had fallen into place, but soon disappeared. "She…" Her tone changed.
"What?" I bit my lip.
"Had no idea." A pause too brief. "I mean, I knew that…" Kiara ran her fingers through her hair. "Anyway, that can wait." Yet something strange clouded her eyes. "Sure you wanna leave these with me?"
I nodded, confused.
"All right." She quickly pocketed them inside her coat.
Curious as I was, I understood our situation. I focused on the mission.
Time to Infiltrate
I took FamineFix to settle my stomach and CaloraX to go undetected.
Kiara adjusted the machine gun on its sling. Ran her fingers along I'll Devour You. "I'm a sniper and a strategist," she murmured. "If Maia were here, she'd handle the infiltration." A faint smile escaped.
Hearing her speak of Maia, however vaguely, made me smile too.
Kiara put the gun away. "All right. We're ready. I mean, are you?"
I nodded. I wanted to avoid thinking too much about it.
The descent was steep. A natural path down the mountain. We used our hands and feet. Kiara climbed down easily, helping me keep my balance. The ground drew closer. My hands burned. Blood mingled with sweat.
We hid among the bushes until we reached the warehouse. Aerial lights bore down on the structure. The vast complex lay concealed among tall vegetation and low walls. Cargo nanovehicles stood parked. Holoscreens pulsed on the concrete walls. The guards were the only movement.
Kiara cut through the fence with a laser.
We waited.
Two guards passed.
We slipped inside. Spotted the opening. Kiara hurried toward it. I tried to keep up, but a guard rounded the corner. The android yanked me toward her. I nearly fell.
Inside the warehouse, a wall separated us from the central area.
A guard passed.
Kiara grabbed him and covered his mouth. Drove the retractable blade into his neck. Blood spurted. She hid the body immediately.
Another guard.
Kiara did it again. Same movement. Same precision.
My turn. I crossed the corridor slowly. Crouched as I passed a window. Bioscreen open. Connected to the power box: Noluz.exe. The nanomalware glowed neon red. Before everything went dark, I activated night vision. Returned to Kiara.
She cleared the way to the lower floor.
Agitated voices rose from the floors above.
Kiara pocketed a small metal box.
Two and a half minutes had passed.
As we were leaving…
"You can do better than that, cabrón." A powerful voice. Carefree. "Gonorrea malparido!" He laughed. Loud. Heartily.
A whip cracking against flesh.
My heart pumped agony through my veins. I shuddered. My chest hurt.
Kiara stopped. Looked at the door. An unreadable expression. What was she doing?
The lights came on. A wall concealed us. Guards poured in.
"Bring it on! No sé quién crees que eres. Pero that little punch de mierda won't bring me down!"
Kiara kicked the door open. Charged into the room. Two shots.
What on earth was that?
I ran after her. Cold sweat. Trembling.
"Denden?" She frowned in confusion.
Before us: a tanned man. Feline eyes. Sharp. Curly brown hair tied in a loose bun. A lock fell across his forehead. Tattoos covered his muscular, bloodied body.
"Kiara? What're you doing here, muchacha?"
"What do you think?" She rolled her eyes. Removed the nanocuffs from his wrists and ankles. How had she done that? Only nanokeys could unlock nanometals.
Denden stood and rubbed his wrists. A blood-red smile. "Was just about to get myself out, muchacha. Only a matter of time."
"Right." Kiara clicked her tongue. "You brought the Matriarch's shipment and got caught, didn't you?"
He picked up a dead guard's gun. "Didn't get caught. Something unexpected came up." Denden spread his arms. "Now you're here. Suerte." He was far too cheerful for someone covered in blood. And beaten to a pulp.
My instinct was to examine him, but I held back.
The mask identified him:
Denden • Mercenary Leader • Cyborg • 38 cycles
He looked at me. "Who's this muchacha?" He headed for the door.
"My apprentice." Kiara followed him. Signaled for me to come.
"Apprentice?" Denden chuckled. "Brought a Class 1 mercenary along for this? She must be good."
They focused on their surroundings. Guards approached the room.
"Wanted to do this quietly." Kiara glared at him.
Denden laughed heartily. "Leave it to papi." He opened fire.
The guards yelled for reinforcements.
"NO!" Kiara snarled.
Too late. Denden was enjoying himself. She wasn't. She turned toward me, toward the chaos around us. I saw it in her eyes: she was about to make a choice.
"SHIT! FUCK!" Kiara drew her machine gun and fired.
Screams. Gunshots.
No. No. NO. What had I gotten myself into?! I WAS GOING TO DIE. I was going to get shot and die. Shit. I crouched. Arms wrapped around my body, trembling.
Kiara pulled me up. "C'mon. No time. We gotta go."
Denden dropped his gun and grabbed another from the fallen bodies.
A sea of blood. Dark stains spread across the floor. Ran down the crates, soaking the bodies' torn clothing.
An overwhelming urge to vomit. How much longer could I take?
The remaining guards waited for us at the entrance. Cacophony. Shouts.
ZAAHH-ZAAHH-ZAAHH! The alarm sounded. Red. Blinding light.
BANG! BANG! BANG! Gunshots.
Kiara's grip dragged me along.
"THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?! PUTOS!" Denden roared with laughter. "You'll regret fucking with EL MONSTRUO!"
My blood-soaked body shook uncontrollably. What the fuck was this? Shit. My head spun. My blood pressure dropped. My vision blurred. No. Easy. Breathe. I tried to think. Stay calm. Calm. I had to focus.
Denden and Kiara fought their way toward the exit. Shot the guards. We would reach the mountains. Gain the advantage. Then leave. That was the plan. Yes. It would work.
"I-I'm okay." My voice trembled.
Kiara fired with vigor. "Watch my back."
I took out the revolver. My hands shook. My finger settled on the trigger, but it was as though my entire body screamed at me to stop. I was about to cross a line. But… if I gave in… I would die. My vision sharpened. Everything happened almost in slow motion.
Guards. More guards.
Almost at the exit.
A shout.
A small ball flew toward us. Greenish smoke.
The air vanished from my lungs. I coughed. It burned. Even with the mask, I was suffocating.
So was Denden. He dropped his guns and clutched his throat.
Flashes of Kiara screaming.
No… I… have to live. Maia…
Darkness took over.