Here I stood, whole before William. My feet planted firmly, both my arms raised and ready. I had processed, understood, and analyzed. My victory was now going to be algorithmic. Yet, the term victory failed to register within my databanks.
Killing him was never in the parameters I had set. In truth, I had already—
I heard the all too familiar sound of snapping. Then, William was before me. His left fist flew forward in a crisp motion, I parried the jab aside. I leaned to my left and evaded the right straight that he followed with.
He readied for my counter, so I feinted both hands upwards and threw a low kick. My shin dug into his thigh and made his leg buckle. He leapt away, but I didn't chase him. My wings clicked back, and I formed rocket pods on my shoulders.
I unloaded the salvo. William gasped, then dove to the side and swerved around like a race car. He ran toward me on all fours, evading the explosions that blossomed behind him. I jettisoned the pods as he approached me, and I surged forward.
I dove under a desperate claw swipe. I dug into his side with two short uppercuts. He tensed, his other shoulder starting to lift as he sprang into a right hook. I was faster, I kicked out his already injured leg and then thrust my knee into his nose.
His body was launched back. He tumbled before flipping back and stopping his momentum with his claws. The sharp digits left long gouges in the tarmac.
Slowly, William straightened up. He spat a glob of blood against the floor and spoke. "You think you have me figured out? Bastard."
I cracked my metallic knuckles. "When you bite down, you move to wherever you are looking. After seeing it so many times, even a monkey could figure it out."
He chuckled, then returned to his stance. "Ay, space is like a flexible sheet. I pinch it between my jaws and displace myself."
"You shouldn't have told me that." I subtly approached. Slowly, I closed the distance.
He grinned, bronze teeth catching the setting light of the sun. "It's only polite." Then, he stepped forward.
I swung a long, roundhouse kick aimed at his head. He leaned back and returned a cross. I crossed my arms to block, the bones of his knuckles dug into my armor, both my arms flying back as my guard was smashed wide open.
His jaw snapped shut. I followed his eyes and aimed my counter. He reappeared a foot to my left, and as he did so, my fist slammed into his jaw. I felt his body lurch back. I felt his teeth break and shatter.
He grumbled, then bit down again. This time he was behind me. I slammed my elbow backwards and crushed his nose.
He roared in fury, his form crumpled, and he swiped away madly with his claws. I stepped away from his wild attack and formed a block of C4 in my hand. I tossed it at his feet and watched his expression shift from rage to panic.
He bit down as I pulled the detonator. But I cared not for the explosion, instead my blade clicked free from my forearm, then ran across his chest as he manifested to my right.
He put a hand to the wound, trying to stem the flow of blood. Pathetic. It was shameful to think scum like this could make me—no. This was a victory. They weren't all dead. He would be soon.
He tried to block my attack with his forearm, but he was only reacting to a feint. My fist carved itself into his nose, as I pulled it back a geyser of blood escaped his sinuses.
He opened his mouth wide, ready to move again. I caught his eyes, focused behind me. His claw raised, no doubt a feint.
I heard the snap and turned around, ready to counter—
His hand was through me.
My armor was in pieces, crumbled like gravel against the floor. Blood and clear fluid slowly pooling away from me as his claw pulled away. I tried to turn around and attack, for whatever reason I was on the floor. Immobile.
My parameter was never to kill him. I had already lost. I had lost the second Roland was killed. How could I expect to win by fighting him when it was never the point?
My voice grated through, "What… happened?"
He took in short, shallow breaths. He still cupped his wounds. "Just because I close my mouth, it doesn't mean I am using my power." He fell to one knee. "'Twas nobly fought."
"Kill him." A woman's voice rang out. Kiara leapt over me, wielding a rusty pipe. "In the name of the God King."
I heard a thunk as the pipe slammed into William's already broken nose. He fell back, landing on his elbow.
Another soldier, wielding a hand axe, came in from behind. His axe fell, William tried to block it with his forearm only to have the blade sink deep into his muscle.
Then more piled around him. They rained down a cascade of blows, striking him with clubs and blades. The katana wielder came in from the back, his blade reflecting the sunlight as he brought it down.
William wouldn't go gently. He thrust his hand out and pierced the young man's skull. He then swept his arm out and sent the body flying. The force crushed another soldier, the two bodies striking the far wall and leaving a red trail as they slid down.
William got up in a flash. He ripped the axe from his arm and backhanded its wielder. His body spun in the air like a fidget toy, rotating on its axis without budging an inch before it landed in a boneless heap.
There were only three left. I tried to reach out, to beg them to retreat. But Kiara screamed over me. "You, you are an enemy to all that is good. We who die before you do so with curses on our lips and faith in our hearts."
He leaned back and evaded a sudden swing of her pipe. "Look at you." He uppercut another soldier. Their body was atomized, turned into a fine red aerosol. His legs, the only part left. "Your god sent you here to die. Mine rewards me with life everlasting."
William casually tossed a pebble, it pierced the penultimate man's skull like a bullet. "Power courses through my veins." Kiara's face went pale. She was now alone, face to face with him. The detached focus Roland had instilled had long faded. The faith she wielded was meaningless now.
Yet, she gripped the pipe tighter and swung. William let her hit him one last time. The pipe clanged against his brow, leaving a shallow cut. "Stop." He whispered. "This is senseless."
But she didn't listen. She wound up for another blow. William sighed, then he reached out, grabbing her head in his massive palm and snuffing her out. He tossed the lifeless body aside.
William looked towards me. My body desperately tried to reassemble. Frayed wires fusing back together, plating closing up and rebuilding. He shook his head, then began walking away.
Suddenly, William stopped. He looked down at a corpse, a young man, mauled to death. He listened in and heard the sounds of his comrades as they searched the buildings, ripping apart whoever was left hiding, devouring the bodies with gusto.
Then, William looked down at his hands. They started to shake, blood dripped from his fur and he watched it, watched as it fell, watched as it splattered. Abruptly, he retched, dry heaving as he supported himself against a wall.
He stayed like that, breathing in and out, in and out, until eventually his breathing steadied and he straightened up. He whispered to himself, softly, solemnly. "I simply wanted to share a meal with you."
He shook his head again. But before he could leave, we heard it, the pattering of footsteps against the blood slicked ground. A young man, he had emerged from beneath the husk of a car. He had covered himself in a layer of mud and bowels in order to mask his scent. He held a spear tightly in his hands. The look of rage in his eyes was searing, smoldering like the sun.
Steven had hidden. He had never intended to strike, but now he had nothing to lose. William's ears swiveled like a cat's as he heard the footsteps. He caught Steven's spear with little effort. Without missing a beat, Steven threw himself at William. His shoulder slamming into the hulking monster before him.
William stood like a tower, unmoving, his hand slowly raised but he didn't strike. "Just leave, I can't today."
Steven only roared in reply. He struck William with his fists till his knuckles bled. "Murderer." He roared between blows.
William sighed and gently pushed him back, his arm moving like an unyielding bar as it forced space between the two. "I am sorry."
Steven howled in desperation, drawing a dagger and sinking it deep into William's arm. William's eyes widened in shock. He swatted Steven aside like a gnat. The man tumbled beside Roland's grave. Blood filled his mouth, ribs no doubt broken.
Suddenly, Steven laughed. It was a low, rueful cackle. Like that of a scheming advisor at the side of a stern king. I saw the flash of iron in Steven's hands. I heard metal coils as they powered. I felt the hum of electricity in the air as Steven cocked back Roland's revolver, still with one shot left.
William noticed it in the corner of his vision. He snapped his jaw shut and appeared before Steven. Fist raised as he prepared to crush him before he could pull the trigger.
Both moved. Both may die. The fist flew, the trigger sank. Then—
A corpse blasted through the wall. It was one of William's horde, a crater through its chest as if it had been struck by a cannonball. It crashed into the pair and sent them tumbling. William managed to regain his footing first. He caught the revolver and tossed it aside.
He flicked Steven's forehead and sent the boy flying. He landed against the hood of a destroyed car, unconscious.
I heard the sound of impacts. Occasionally, a corpse would crash out a window or smash through a wall, all killed the same way. I felt a cold chill run up my spine. I could tell William had felt the same, his fur stood on end.
I managed to rebuild myself enough to stand up. The second I did, I found myself stepping backward, escaping some bizarre radius around the building. My combat data, my instincts, they came to an irrefutable conclusion, the second I enter the range of whoever is in that building, I will be killed.
William stepped back too. He had the gall to look towards me as if asking for some clarification. I shook my head and focused my sensors through the building. I sensed two life signs, then one as another blast rang through the streets.
Finally, the figure inside headed downstairs. I saw the form of a man stepping out the doorway. He spoke in a voice, playful yet predatory. "You guys got anything to drink?"