Lives of Future-Past (The Chronicles of Max Gunnarsson Book 1) (18 page)

     Outside of the village the recon team marched forward, continuing on with their mission. Both Max and Jennie started noticing some strong odors in the air - familiar scents, to say the least.
     “Garlic!” exclaimed Max. “They planted garlic out here!”
     “Ooh, I love garlic,” said Jennie. “It’s so yummy, especially in a beef stew.”
     Donus glanced at the two with a curious look on his face, saying, “It is standard procedure to plant fields of garlic in the outlying areas of a village, as it does a fair job of repelling vampires. It is not a perfect defense, but certainly helps to slow down the putrid creatures, especially those of the lower castes.”
     Jennie looked surprised, and while making small bounds to keep up with the troops, asked Donus, “Huh? You don’t eat it?”
     “No, but if you say it adds body to a stew then I would be willing to sample it. As you are a woman, I am sure that you know how to prepare a hearty meal.”
     Being from a modern world, Jennie was slightly miffed by Donus' assumption that, as a woman, she would naturally know how to cook. The fact was that yes, she did know how, but not because she was a female – it was simply that part of her military training required her to have knowledge of the preparation of meals from local flora and fauna, in case she ran out of rations.
     “Um, yeah, I do, but it’s not really my strong suit, but when we get back I’ll make us something that I’m sure you’ll like.”

     Once the group had adequately scouted the northern borders, the turned left and went westward. Max and Jennie were anxious to get out and run, and after marching for a while Jennie asked the lycan leader if they could break off from the group and explore a bit.
     Donus looked pensive for a moment, but then said, “Are you aware of the castle’s location and confident in your ability to return safely?”
     Max looked at Jennie for a second, quite pleased that she wanted to run off with him and have a bit of fun, responding, “I’m sure, yes. Plus, my magical skills enable me to map out entire regions, so there is no chance of us getting lost.”
     After momentarily considering the request, Donus gave them a courteous nod, and then announced to his soldiers that the two would be splitting off for a bit of
special recon
, with Max and Jennie bolting out of sight before he had finished speaking.
     Grinning, he looked over to his lieutenant who said, “Commander, he truly is a lucky one.” 
    “We must be happy in our hearts for them. They came a long distance to train with us, and have done their teacher quite proud.”
     “Sir, I agree with you completely, but that was not the meaning of my statement.”
     “I know, Lieutenant, I know,” Donus replied with a smile to his face.
    
     Running as fast as their heavy battle armor and weaponry would allow them, Jennie and Max bounded over fallen trees and large boulders, and upon entering a wooded area began to navigate through the trees, almost like monkeys. Then, from up in the branches, they saw some rabbits casually munching on grass.
     Jennie looked over at Max mischievously, wiggling her brow. “Hey Gunnarsson, are you hungry?”
     Max thought for a moment, and decided that if he were to become closer with the lovely dega, he would have to bend a bit in her direction.
     “Sure,” he replied, but before he could begin his next sentence she leaped down to the ground, and scrambled around madly, trying to capture one of the creatures. Before Max had even left his tree she had skillfully acquired two of adequate size. Dropping to the ground, he gathered some sticks to make a fire, which he would have easily ignited with a simple cantus. However, before he could do that, he saw Jennie hungrily munching away on one of the rabbits, holding the other out to him with an outstretched arm, her eyes wide with glee.
     “Oh my God, Jennie! Raw?” he exclaimed, completely mortified.
     She giggled, her mouth full, while occasionally spitting out pieces of fur.
     “Come on, Gunnarsson! You need calories. Have you checked your levels lately?”
     She was correct in her assumption, as he had not been paying attention to his HUD, as he called it, and upon analysis saw that his energy levels were low. He graciously accepted the small, dead creature, whose neck she had quickly broken upon its capture, and started to tear into it just as she was doing. Once they had finished and had wiped their faces of warm blood, they laid back on the fertile earth, looking up at the darkening sky.
     Jennie pointed up and said, “It’s weird, isn’t it? There’s only one moon. I’m so used to seeing two in the sky.”
     Luna and Sienna were tidally locked to Azul and always maintained the same distance to each other, thereby always appearing the same in the sky of their home world. The two kept relaxing while listening to the birds, as they digested their meal and watched the sun set over the horizon, when Max suddenly sat up, alarmed, his eyes keenly scanning the through the woods.
     “Jennie, do you smell that?” (*13*)
     Jennie sniffed the air, her amazingly enhanced lycan nose enabling her to detect a faint, rotting odor that was quickly growing in intensity. The two stood up, and taking no precautions, drew their katanas, moving to back-to-back defensive positions. It was no sooner than they had maintained their stances when four vampires - two grotesquely malformed and two looking more human - appeared from out behind a small hill, wearing protective black cloaks that kept the sun’s harmful rays away from their skin.
     The most normal-looking one stood in place, glaring with a look of utter contempt, and said in a gravelly voice, “They don’t have any tequila here, so I guess I’ll just have to make due with your blood, bitch.”
     “Johnson! You prick!” yelled Jennie. “Draagh said you probably survived the crash.”
     One of the lesser-caste vampires got an extremely alarmed look on his face, and backing away, blurted out, “Draagh? No one said anything about Draagh! What does he have to do with any of this?”
     The other, more normal appearing one of the group gave the two lycans a look of pure, unadulterated hatred, but responded to his underling.
     “I have no fear of that feeble old blood-sack. Once we are done with these two, we’ll march right into that pathetic hut that Krynos calls a castle, and drain the old fool before the very eyes of his oh-so-obedient followers.”
     Max stared down the new arrivals, his sword at the ready.
     “So you’re this Lt. Johnson that Bagatelle was talking about. I gotta say, your flight skills suck ass. My cousin could have done a better job landing without power, and he’s blind and confined to a grav-chair.”
     In reality, no one on Azul was sightless, nor confined to grav-chairs, as Azul’s advanced medical technology could repair nearly any sort of damage one might suffer, with some minor exceptions. Max was simply practicing his insulting skills, and knowing what Johnson had done to the Revolution, wanted the former lieutenant to know he didn’t think highly of him at all.
     Jennie stared the traitor down, mortified by his changed appearance, and wanting to throw up in her mouth just a little bit.
     “To think I actually thought you were potential husband material, you slimy bastard.”
     Johnson laughed maniacally, responding to Jennie’s taunt by saying, “Surrender, and I’ll make sure you enjoy my new look a bit before I drain you, dega whore.”
     Max was aware that Jennie and Johnson had served together, but was mildly surprised (more like highly concerned) with her comment to him.
     “Jennie, is there something you need to tell me about this walking corpse?”
     “Um, we were kinda… dating. Sorry, Gunnarsson.”
     Max got a feeling of nausea in the pit of his stomach while thinking about his beautiful friend dating another guy – especially one who smelled like a garbage dump.
     Three of the vampires then started to methodically move about, in an attempt to surround the lycans, with the remaining one (who had been alarmed upon hearing Draagh’s name mentioned) yelling, “I cannot fight those allied with Draagh. He only brings death,” as he started to back away.
     Johnson looked over to his more normal-looking counterpart and said, “So Ladros, this is how your supposedly superior soldiers behave in the field?”
     In a crass display of sociopathic superiority, Johnson leaped over to cut off the fleeing vampire, decapitating him with his broadsword, the unfortunate deserter’s detached head landing to the earth with a small thump, even before the body started to fall.
     “You would kill your own? You guys would get along really well with the Vrol,” taunted Max, who was keeping his back close to Jennie’s as they slowly rotated, keeping all three remaining invaders in their field of vision.
     Looking at his HUD, he noticed that all levels were high, but as he was about to consume a serious amount of energy, he needed to make it quick and get back to the castle. Johnson sneered and spit on the ground, slowly waving his broadsword in small motions to his front.
     “The Vrol? So, you have learned their true identity. Hahahaha! Yes, we have more in common with them than you would ever realize, you idiot. I am going to seriously enjoy this. They say the best thing about lycan blood is the color it makes in the dirt.”
     Suddenly, the remaining subservient vampire screeched and jumped out at the two young lycans, causing them to quickly separate, and Jennie stating calmly, “I’ve got this one,” as he flew at her from the air.
     Before his feet even touched the ground Jennie had spun around and elbowed him in the face, knocking him back five meters. Crouching low, she waited for his follow-up attack, as Max moved out and in-between Jennie and the two remaining vampires - Johnson and the one called Ladros.
     “Ryder Johnson, fall back - this one is mine,” rasped Ladros, who then cautiously approached Max, sidestepping as he did so.
     The slightly injured foot soldier on the ground jumped up, and then again leaped at Jennie, only to have a most unfortunate collision with her power gauntlet, which effectively destroyed the entire maxilla region of his face, and nearly separated his jaw from the rest of his head - most certainly taking him out of the battle, and leaving him in a heap at the base of a tree. Max moved forward toward Ladros, as Johnson had backed off slightly, but tried to maintain both in visual range, as he didn’t want the traitor to circle around and attack his counterpart. Then with a crackling screech, Ladros ran toward many in a full frontal attack, with Max doing a quick side step and avoiding any damage, while conserving energy.
     “The butt! The butt! Do the butt thing!” Jennie yelled, referring to how Max had used his sword to slap her on the rear after she had charged him during their mock battle earlier in the month.
     Max spun about and grinned at the girl, saying, “Aw Jen, I only do that to the finest of
potos,
” and gave her a quick wink before addressing his attacker yet again.
     Ladros then attacked Max with a lightning-fast series of direct swings from his broadsword, each one being easily parried off by the lycan, sometimes using his katana, and twice using defensive shield cantuses. Once the attack series was completed, Max executed a forward-spinning jump up and over Ladros, and had carved a letter M on the vampire’s back before his feet even touched the ground.
     “Oh, touché!“ shouted Jennie, while still keeping Johnson in her view. This enraged Ladros to such a point that he lost complete control of himself, and started jumping all around, desperately trying to get to Max’s back. The one time he did get back there he let go with a mighty swing of his overly large sword, only to have it stopped; Max had quickly and expertly dropped his blade down over his back, effectively avoiding any damage whatsoever. Still, the limited contact alarmed him, and although wanting to conserve his energies, he pushed himself into his battle form, with his limbs slightly elongating, teeth becoming sharp, and finger and toenails turning to small claws. This, of course, doubled his strength, and he used it to go on the offensive, but at the same time still playing a bit with his attacker.

     Running up, he pressed chests with Ladros, their swords crossed, and got a whiff of the vampire’s repugnant breath.
     “Hey, Ladros, I thought you guys drank blood…it smells like you eat rancid gerbil ass.”
     Jennie giggled furiously, having heard his comment, but failed to notice Johnson attempting to flank her. Max pushed back from Ladros, glad to be away from the vampire’s respiratory exhalations, and then suddenly noticed Johnson’s movements.
     “Jennie, Johnson’s on you!” he screamed, as his vampire opponent attacked him yet again.
     Jennie leaped back, and pointing her katana at Johnson, loudly shouted, “
Undaincantatio ultravita!”
which was the cantus that created a massive blast of ultraviolet light, aimed directly at Johnson’s face. Ladros shielded his eyes, even though he was not the focus of the blast, while Johnson screamed, his face smoking from the totally unexpected magical attack.
     “You bitch! I’ll kill you!” he groaned, as Ladros backed off and yelled at his injured cohort.
     “Ryder Johnson, you are blind! Retreat immediately to heal and I will finish these two off.”
     With his eyesight almost completely eliminated, Johnson bumbled over to their fallen comrade, the vampire to whom Jennie had most effectively given a quite violent form of maxillofacial surgery, and scooped him up, tearing through the woods as he howled in pain.
     Now it was Jennie and Max against Ladros, who had pulled a hood with UV-protective facial netting over his head, knowing that he could be attacked with the same cantus at any moment.
     “Lycan woman, how are you able to perform magic? Are you also a mage?” demanded the Ladros, who had settled into a defensive position outside of the previous battle area.
     “Naw,” she quipped, “I’m just good with gadgets, and I got some more too. You wanna see them?”
     She made a silly grin at Max, and batted her long eyelashes at him, obviously enjoying the fight more than he had previously realized. In any case, Max needed to end it, and quickly, no matter how much fun they were having. If he could terminate the fight quickly, he would be able to go after Johnson, who had fled while practically crying like a little girl.
     Jennie sniffed the area, just to make sure no one was hiding about, and then, satisfied that they were alone, sat down. Leaning up against a tree, she started clapping her hands enthusiastically and cheering Max on.
     “Gunnarsson! The butt thing! Smack him on the butt!”
     “Ladros, why do you attack us? I know Johnson is a tool, and you hate lycans, and you’re evil and smell really bad – no, wait. That’s why you attacked us. You want to end the lycan monopoly on mouthwash and deodorant. Ok, ready to die?”
     Max looked at Jennie, who was giggling and flush in the face from all the excitement, giving her a wide grin. Then, he instantly leaped four meters into the air, but to Ladros’ - and Jennie’s mutual surprise, he remained airborne. He had called a levitation cantus without verbalizing it, and just stood up there as Ladros wildly and haphazardly swung his blade at him.
     “Come down here and fight, you coward! My father ordered us to kill you, and that is what I intend to do. And once I finish with you, I will strip the flesh from your bitch while she still breathes!”
     That was enough for Max, as he had little respect, if any at all, for men who said discourteous things about lovely women. He floated back and downwards, staying out of the reach of Ladros’ flailing sword, and as soon as his feet touched the ground he flashed forward, his katana a blur, as he hit nearly every point of lethality on the unfortunately clueless vampire’s body.
     Finished, with Ladros standing frozen in place, and having suffered far too much damage to his constantly-rotting and self-repairing system for the salubots to have any beneficial effect, Max turned to Jennie and said, “My dear…. head’s up!”
     Max spun around 360 degrees with his sword out, and, dropping to a kneeling position while facing towards Jennie with his arms out wide and head bowed down, Max posed dramatically, as Ladros’ detruncated head fell to the ground with a soft thud.
     They both sat there for a minute – Max with his head bowed, and Jennie sitting cutely up against the tree. Then, out of the blue, they looked at each other and started cheering as if they were watching sports team.
     “Woohooo! Yeah!” yelled the clapping Jennie, as Max did a silly little celebratory dance.
     “Let’s do that again!” Jennie shouted, but both then looked around, and already knowing there were no more opponents, started laughing furiously, with Jennie running up to Max and mock-fighting with him, slapping him in the chest. Max made little effort to avoid her hits (rather enjoying the attention), and playfully grabbed her, the end result being the two of them rolling on the ground.
     Coming to a stop at the bottom of a small embankment, with Jennie on top, she looked at him and smiled softly, while he grinned.
     “Jennie, that was an awesome cantus. You toasted Johnson’s face pretty good.”
     “Yeah, who would’ve thought, ultravita, or ultra life, was the word for
UV rays
?”
     “Well,” said Max, “if you think about it, UV rays provide life, but vamps are basically denied by life, so it’s the antithesis to everything they are.”
     Jennie displayed a kind, affectionate smile while still laying upon Max’s chest, hers pressing into his. She could easily feel his racing heartbeat, even as he struggled to control his systems.
     “You know Gunnarsson, when we first met, well, I wanted to kill you. Now, not so much.”
     She looked at him with her overly large brown eyes penetrating into his soul. He actually had her touching him, lying up against him; something he would have never imagined when they first met (and she tried to blow his face off with her Stinger). Butterflies tickled his stomach, as he felt a surge of energy course through his spine. Then, without thinking, he slowly lifted his face up to kiss her, and it actually seemed like she was going to reciprocate the act, their noses nearly touching and their eyes closed, but then her face suddenly changed to an expression of confusion and apprehension, as she rolled off of him and stood up, adjusting her armor.
     Nervously fidgeting with her hair she blurted out, “Oh, my sword,” and walked over to pick it up where it lay by the tree.
     “Jennie, are you ok?”
     “Oh yeah, why wouldn’t I be? We should get back, really. It’s late.”
     “Yeah, you’re right,” he said, as he turned to leave, but then suddenly stopped, looking at the now completely dead, headless body. Giving Jennie a mischievous grin, Max ran over to a clearing and found an adequately fat and straight tree branch, about two meters in length. Quickly trimming it with his katana, and sharpening both ends, he strolled over to Ladros’ head, picked it up and slammed it onto the branch with a sickening crunch. He then gave Jennie a matter-of-fact look, walked out to an open area, and stuck the branch into the ground.
     “What’s that?” asked Jennie, with a grimace to her face.
     “A trophy, of course!” exclaimed the victorious lycan.
     “Um, Gunnarsson, you bring trophies home, don’t you?”
     Max looked at Jennie, then at the impaled head, and then back at the beautiful dega.
     “Only if they don’t smell like ass.”
     “True, true. Well, let’s get going, Gunnarsson.”
     He really wished she would start calling him by his given name.