Rise of Aen (24 page)

When it struck a few seconds later, it absolutely obliterated a third of the building itself and letting the chaotic sandstorm loose inside the hangar. That’s when a new aspect of his newfound power hit, and time itself slowed down! Rising up from cover, Aen began to notice he was moving at a normal pace, but everything around him was noticeably
slower.

He watched as one of the soldiers made from his blood was in mid-flight and heading towards the back wall, his body engulfed in flame. As it impacted, a large piece of the metal wall followed him and sliced through the man’s torso and skull, cleaving the dying man nearly in two pieces and killing him
instantly.

Without pause, Aen focused on the true objective—the captured ship—and began to make his way through the carnage towards it. Reaching a pile of debris, he picked it up with his mind and flung it in all directions to cover his approach and catch any of his adversaries off guard as they began to rise from cover. The sickly crunch of bone and a squish of flesh and blood let him know that at least one of the projectiles found a
victim.

Then pain hit him like a sledgehammer as a couple rounds tore into his right side followed by one through his left thigh. Aen realized that he was right in the kill zone the soldiers had set up with no cover whatsoever! Round after round struck his body, ripping right through his body armor and tearing his flesh apart. Gritting his teeth, he used the pain to drive him forward, propelling his body towards the ship in a telekinesis-assisted
lunge.

He struck the fuselage of the ship with such force that the craft slid a few feet across the concrete floor with a screeching metal sound. Falling on his back, he thrust some debris nearby and flung them at his assailants; striking three of them and killing them all. There was a body of a soldier beside him and Aen pulled his microphone and earpiece off as to get a better read on his enemy’s position. He dragged himself along the floor and into the back hatch of the craft to
safety.

Back in the here and now, he felt his side and took note of the damage to his body. Holes and torn flesh were strewn about his frame, but with no blood to speak of there was little to show for the shots he had taken. But he felt every one of them—despite being immortal, he wasn’t immune to the pain that these attacks left and his body was riddled with immense
pain.

He reached up and pulled off his helmet, letting it drop to the floor—the clunk of it hitting reset his perception of time and he looked around the ship for what he was after. Breaching the airlock, Aen ventured inside and searched the controls for the communication terminal. But all he found were stripped controls and loose wires. The assholes had torn the interior
apart!

In rage, he reached out with his mind and flung some debris outside the ship towards the bunkers and resumed his search with more urgency. And that’s when something out of place caught his eye: a giant wad of C4 clumped under one of the control shelves. Looking around, he saw more and more explosives set in the ship. He had walked right into the real teeth of the trap! Instinctively, his heart raced and he drew up a telekinetic barrier to brace himself for the
inevitable.

“You fucking asshole!” he muttered. “This isn’t over
yet!”

He heard the telltale beep of the blasting caps receiving their orders to fire and his surroundings disappeared in a bright white light. The ship blew apart around him and was gone and the blast echoed in the darkened remains of the building, blowing the better part of the roof away in the process. Smoke and small bits of debris were carried away by the storm, revealing the Harbinger standing in the crater left behind. Aen was angrier than he could ever remember, and now he searched the rubble for survivors. Quickly, he slunk into the shadows and waited for movement. He would wait for his assailants to reveal themselves so he could go in for the kill, once and for
all.

—

“Wilson, do you copy?” Taylor groaned as he lay face down on the concrete, his body covered with debris and sand. Dehydration had taken its toll on his body as his muscles screamed with every tiny movement. Instead of revealing his position by getting up, the General chose to stay where he was and wait for
help.

“Wilson? Anyone? Is anyone still out there?” he called out into his
microphone.

“Fuck me!” came the
response.

“Who is this?” Taylor
barked!

“It’s me, Wilson.” The voice said quietly. “We are all still
here!”

“Are you in position to see anything? Did we get
him?”

“Stand
by.”

A few anxious moments passed as Taylor began to shuffle off his chest and raise up against the remains of one of the
barriers.

“No sign of the target; the ship is completely
destroyed!”

“Can you confirm the target is killed?” Taylor asked
frantically.

The response came not from Wilson, but from the last being the General could possibly want to hear
from.

“You missed asshole!” a voice growled over the channel. “Now it’s my
turn!”

Taylor felt the wind lessen on his skin as a new sensation crept over him. A static like charge filled the battlefield and debris and rubble began to rise from the ground. Terror gripped his heart as he realized that all his efforts to kill this creature had failed, and now he was at its
mercy.

The sound of gunfire echoed, but seemingly from a distance as a precursor to screams of pain and agony. Taylor watched as a Private was lifted from his hiding spot and strewn out to show all who might be watching. Then, chunks of metal and rock began to slice and batter him to death before his body was flung at the feet of the
General.

One by one his men were plucked up, cut and pounded, then piled up before him. Soon there was a pile of eight bodies lying just feet in front of where he sat. Then it was Wilson’s turn to be dragged out—something he fought with every fiber of his
being!

“Just kill me like a man!” he screamed at the hidden figure. “Let me die like a soldier
should!”

“Why?” the voice from the darkness boomed. “Did you have mercy on me when I was at yours? Did you let me die like a
man?”

Taylor shifted from his position and grabbed an assault rifle from one of the bodies. The creature had made its first mistake by speaking aloud; a few more words and he would figure out its hiding spot and take him by
surprise.

A piece of metal struck Wilson in the shoulder, slicing him clean through to his back as the shard stuck out covered in blood. Wilson screamed in
pain!

“Did you consider me a man or a lab rat when you snatched me from my life and tore my family apart?” The voice spit with hate and venom. “And now you ask for the honor of dying like a soldier, now you throw yourself at my
mercy.”

A rock hit Avery square in the chest—the sound of his ribs cracking was heard by Taylor from twenty feet away. Blood poured from his lips as his lungs were punctured and filled with fluid. He was then thrown across the remnants of the building and skidded to a stop against a wall. Wilson lay unmoving, and Taylor presumed he was
dead.

Taking aim at where he thought the creature was, Taylor began to squeeze the trigger when an RPG sailed over his head towards the darkness before exploding! Looking around frantically, he saw the last remaining hybrid soldier limp out of the shadows towards him holding an assault rifle with an RPG attachment on it. The man was almost recognizable; his features masked by horrible burns and scarred flesh. His fatigues were soaked with blood and were burnt black, but it ambled forward and launched another round. Taylor stood, taking aim to where the RPG rounds were striking and squeezed the trigger. Round after round of modified incendiary, alien metal bullets poured forth. The general smiled as he heard the rounds hit flesh and bone—soon his nightmare would be
over!

—
.

The RPG round hit him square in the chest, knocking him against the wall ten feet behind him. Aen was taken by surprise so much that he barely had time to deflect most of the blast with a telekinetic barrier, but the round did do damage to his bullet riddled body. Most of the chest plate of his body armour was gone; shards of its remains were imbedded in his chest, and his skin was charred
black.

Then came the gunfire; bullets made from the Lyarran ship’s hull tore right through the remnants of his armour, piercing his flesh painfully. Aen reacted instinctively and grabbed a piece of metal to shield him from the barrage. Round after round of bullets and RPGs hammered him in the shadows leaving him scrambling to think of a way out. Then he saw
it!

Off to his right was an overturned jeep; its tires smouldering from the two explosions. With all his concentration, Aen tensed his body and reached out with his hand to lift the vehicle. As if responding to the gesture, it rocked gently and started to move. His heart began to race—his body was preparing for a massive explosion of
energy!

The weight of the metal shield slowly faded as his telekinesis took over; his body pulsed energy in waves around him. Glancing down, he could see his heart glowing in his chest; pulsating as it produced the massive energy output he was going to need. It was hypnotizing; the heart seemed to rotate like a blue star within his tattered chest! Aen shook his head to snap himself out of his daze and refocused his attentions on the jeep which was now hovering about a foot off the ground. A quick glance over at his attackers and he confirmed that they were unaware of the building danger in the shadows, too wrapped up in the idea of having the upper hand. The time was right, so Aen struck out at them with full
force!

With a push, he launched a concussion wave that circled out from his position outwards and it struck the two soldiers hard. Both were thrown backwards and upwards, carried by the wave until they would strike something solid. Aen ignored the General and focused on the other one—the last of his ill-fated kin. Quickly figuring out his trajectory, Aen flung the jeep towards the point where the man would strike the
wall.

With a thud, the soldier struck the wall hard followed by a crash as the jeep struck him dead on before he could fall to the floor. The impact of the vehicle and the force of the shockwave were too much for even the enhanced physiology of the hybrid—his body exploded under the pressures involved, splattering across the wall as the metal bent and groaned. One down, one to
go.

With his heart still racing, Aen slowly got to his feet as energy poured from his core making it seem like ghostly blue flames were encompassing him. He staggered forward as the tremendous pain gripped his battered body, and began to search for his final
target.

“Come out and play, General Taylor!” his voice echoed in the darkness. Aen was filled with rage; his revenge was so very nearly
complete!

The staccato of gunfire rose from the open front of the building; the muzzle flash gave away his prey as he fired aimlessly in fear. Aen stalked him carefully, knowing that this man was far more dangerous than all the others combined. Another burst of gunfire in his direction made him pause and realize that it had come from the exact same place—his enemy was unable to move! This changed
everything.

Slowly circling around the rubble strewn about, Aen studied the environment. What remained of the hanger was very little, and what was left moaned and groaned as its structure strained to remain standing. He heard the whine of metal and turned to watch the jeep that was embedded in the wall fall to the ground with a resounding crash! A sadistic grin rose on his lips; his teeth gleamed in the glow from his
heart.

“There’s no one left to protect you Taylor!” he shouted. “All your little monsters are gone; now there is just you and
me!”

“Come and get me!” a wheezing voice called back followed by coughing. “I’ll take you to hell with
me!”

Aen reached out with his hands in front of him, palms pressed together. With hardly any effort, he felt the weight of the rubble in front of him and as he spread his arms apart, the debris followed, making a clear path to the fallen general. The man was pinned up against a beam—a steel rod piercing his chest near his shoulder held him there. His left arm was bent backwards and his fibula stuck out of his left leg; blood ran from his wounds in an expanding pool beneath him. His rifle was held loosely by his right hand as the man was clearly struggling to remain
conscious.

“Finish it!” the dying man demanded. “But you won’t win. You can’t call your friends to conquer the Earth. You are stuck here by yourself and we will hunt you to the end of time!” Taylor coughed some more; blood coated his teeth and lips as he smiled hatefully at
Aen.

Aen was now right in front of the General and he quickly kicked the rifle from the dangling arm. “My only reason for being here is right in front of me, and the plan went perfectly. It is amazing what one is willing to do to save his own ass.” He said with a
chuckle.

Taylor looked back in utter confusion; the pain of his injuries and the fatigue from the heat had taken a huge toll on his
body.

“You didn’t guess it was your mentor that sold you out today?” Aen said, somewhat surprised at the level of hate that had left Taylor blind to the otherwise obvious. “I wasn’t here for the ship, but it would have been a bonus had you not destroyed it. I planned this for this exact moment; when it was I who decided your final moments. You were blinded by fear of the one who crashed, not knowing it was her intention to be captured and used to create me, that she was the one manipulating you to do what she
wanted.”