The Break (The Aesir Saga Book 1) (18 page)

                      Marcus was a mile out when he saw the pillar of smoke rising from the safe house. Pushing the suit faster he tried to gain comms with Kyle. "Kyle, its Marcus. What’s going on over there?"

There was no return, and as Marcus flew closer to the safe house he knew why. While the smoke bellowed out of every window there was, flames were dancing on the roof, opening holes, which only fed the flames with more oxygen. Marcus flew through one of the supporting walls, causing part of the building to collapse. 

              Inside, the building was filled with smoke, making it impossible to see. Engaging the heat vision did little better, except he could see a vague outline of the area around him. As he walked through his garage, he continued to try and get Kyle on the communicator. If he was inside the building, there wouldn't be much time. 

              The building wasn't designed for the Maiden to be walking through it, so Marcus was forced to make his own doors, destroying the already fire weakened walls. Inside the main room he got a faint heat reading of what looked like a person. Moving quickly he snatched up the unmoving body, shouldering through the nearest wall, getting back to the smokeless exterior. 

              Marcus was prepping to use the Maiden's Taser system as a make shift defibrillator when he saw the face. 

              It was Kyle, but his face had been burned in the shape of a hand. The eyes were gone, and the body did not move. Marcus was in shock looking at the face of his former teammate. Not knowing what to do, he laid the body on the ground, and watched as the safe house collapsed into itself. 

              It took him about ten minutes to fully process what had happened. By then he had alerted the local police and fire department. He had tried to get in touch with Williams, but there was no answer, so he was forced to leave a voicemail to inform him of his friend’s death.   

              Once the police had taken care of Kyle's body, transporting him to a morgue, Marcus lifted off. The message left for him couldn't have been clearer. He knew exactly who had done this. Now all he had to do was find him. And when he did, he would make sure they begged for death.

              Gabriel extinguished the last bit of the grass before walking over to Brock, who was sitting on a rise in the dirt. Gabriel had ditched his sweatshirt for just a regular t-shirt. He knew that there was going to be a fight, and he didn't want to ruin one of the few things he had left from his old life. Gabriel sat down next to Brock, who still hadn't said anything.

Gabriel had picked the most secluded area he could, but he needed a large open space for the plan to work. He chose this spot because the grass was knee length, and was big enough for what he needed. Gabriel opened the cooler that they had brought, pulling out a beer apiece for Brock and himself. He opened them and passed one to Brock, who took it without saying a word, and drank. Gabriel didn't want to have to bring him into this with him; feeling like this was his responsibility. But he knew that after he killed the Agent at the safe house, he was going to need help with the mech. Now the hard part came, hoping the pilot saw the sign, and trying to not chicken out as they contemplated the possibility of their own deaths. 

******

Marcus had been in the air for thirteen hours straight. From the time he had seen the handprint burned into Kyle's face, he hadn't been out of the Maiden, searching everywhere for the little shit that did that. 

              Williams had called, asking what he could, and was now on his way back from the capital. Marcus didn't ask what he had been doing down there. At this point he didn't care. His rage toward the kid focused him on one goal. Marcus was starting to get tired, his lack of sleep was something he thought his anger could roll over. He knew he would have to sleep soon, so he resigned himself to thirty more minutes of flight before finding a place to sleep in the Maiden. As he banked west he saw the field with smoke rising from its center. Turning on his heat vision he saw the only thing he needed to. Sleep was no longer at the front of his mind. Burned into the field was a crude outline of a hand. 

******

              Gabriel and Brock heard the COSMOS before they actually saw it. Gabriel stood and looked at Brock. He gave a heavy sigh then stood, walking away from Gabriel, taking his place in the distance. Gabriel just stood in the middle of the field, looking to the sky as he saw the metal monster coming closer to his position. As it touched down into the soft earth of the field, Gabriel ignited his hands. 

They stood for a minute, both not wanting to make the first move. The Maiden’s height and obvious strength made it an imposing figure in the empty field. Finally the silence was broken when a voice came from the hooded face. 

"I'm glad you picked a secluded area for your place to die. I wish that your predecessor would have been as thoughtful."

              Gabriel didn't respond, just staring at the mechanical adversary, trying to focus on what he was supposed to do. 

              The Maiden began walking slowly toward

Gabriel, "I have waited my whole life for this chance. My life was ruined when people like you took it upon yourselves to rule the world. Now you have killed a friend of mine, and I get to pay you back for all the torment and death you have caused." 

              The Maiden swung its arm, catching Gabriel in the stomach, throwing him back as pain shot through his body. He landed after about five feet, sliding in the dirt and hitting a rock that finally stopped him. Gabriel was getting back to his feet when he was pulled up, the metal arm raising him to shoulder level before it threw him again. This time he tumbled in the air, coming down hard into the grass. Gabriel started to scramble to his knees as soon as he hit the ground, trying to give himself some distance so he could get up and fight. He turned his head in time to see the titan grab his leg, pulling him back and throwing him like a Frisbee. Gabriel was disoriented as he starfished through air. 

              When he finally landed, Gabriel rolled to his back, pulling his arms and legs in, pain stabbing every part of his body. When he saw the metal foot come down next him, he blindly raised his arm, throwing fire into the air. The Maiden stagger back from the flame, Gabriel rolled away, finally able to get to his feet. As he stood, pain shot through his right leg, forcing him to shift his body weight to his left. Without thinking about it, Gabriel snapped two fireballs into his palms and let them loose toward the Maiden. One flew wide to the left, the other splashed of the metal chest, leaving a scoring mark, but having no effect on the advancing wall of metal. 

              When he saw the lack of effect the fireball had on his enemy, Gabriel couldn’t help but think of how his plan was not working. And with no way to slow his target, it didn't look like he would get a chance to try a different one. If he tried to run now, he would be cut down by the mini gun he knew was mounted in the shoulder. All he could think about was why hadn't Brock come in to save him. Gabriel's thoughts were cut short as pain ripped through every inch of him. Forcing his eyes open he could see the Taser cables leading to the metal hand. 

"Don't worry; I won’t be taking you in. I just want you to hurt."

              It felt like he was being shocked forever, time becoming meaningless in this world of pain. Gabriel tried to move, but his body was no longer listening to him. His whole world revolved around the pain, making it impossible to think. Suddenly the pain ended, his body relaxing as he rolled his head back, happy for the end of the torment. Gabriel opened his eyes expecting to see Brock there, but instead saw only the shadow of his metal torturer. The pain returned, causing every muscle to tighten and his brain scrambled. His fist grabbed against something, but he didn’t know what. It felt like a string, barely anything to grab onto. Gabriel tried to see what it was, and in between his spasms he saw it was the Taser cable, running to the hand of the mech. Gabriel focused as hard as he could, the electricity and pain diverting his attention. Finally he was able to ignite his hands, separating the connection, and he relaxed. 

              All he had done was stop the pain. Every muscle in his body was exhausted, as if he had run four marathons. Gabriel rolled over onto his stomach, grabbing at the dirt to raise himself to his knees. He was sitting in shade, and looking up told him why. The Maiden stood over him, unphased by the fight so far, while Gabriel was already drained and too tired to stand. Sitting back onto his feet, Gabriel closed his eyes and awaited the end. His plan had failed, and he had lost. Brock was hopefully long gone by now, coming up with a different plan to save everyone. 

              He sat waiting, time working at an unknown speed. He should have been dead by now, or if he was made to suffer more, than pain should have brought him back. Gabriel opened his eyes to see his tormentor still standing over him, unmoving. As he waited for the mech to dish out his next punishment, Gabriel saw movement from behind, coming in fast. With a loud crash, Gabriel realized what it was, as the Maiden stumbled forward, trying to regain its balance as the car Gabriel and Brock drove here in landed with a thud in front of him. 

              Still in a daze of what was going on, Gabriel hadn’t moved yet, then there was Brock, jumping from the smashed roof of the car, springing through the air toward their enemy. As Gabriel slowly got to his feet, he could see Brock and the Maiden fighting, trading blows as they wrestled. Even though it was four feet taller than Brock, he held his own, landing punches that dented the outside armor. When the goliath threw Brock, Gabriel knew he had to get into the fight, hobbling toward the back of the unaware mech.

As he crossed the twenty feet to get to his target, the soft dirt slowed him down, making his muscles ache with each step. When he was within ten feet he saw the mini gun rise from the Maiden’ s shoulder, the whine of the spinning barrels blocking out any other sound. 

Gabriel was at the back of the Maiden when the gun began firing, the stream of bullets tearing through the dirt and grass where Brock had been standing following him as he tried to run to the wood line. Gabriel climbed up the back, able to get handhold between the metal plating. He reached up, grabbing onto the support for the mini gun, igniting his hand, and pulling the metal support off like dough. As the gun began to kick wildly without its support, Gabriel reached back up, shoving his fist into the housing, melting everything it touched, causing the gun to seize up. Before Gabriel could get down, the Maiden reached behind it, grabbing him by the shirt, and pulled him to its hooded face. Gabriel tried to slide out of the shirt, but the fabric was too tight to allow his body to get away. 

"Too late" he heard come from the pilot, but Gabriel was already moving his lit hands up to the metal arm. This was where he wanted to be the entire time. Close enough to touch his armored adversary. He put both hands on either side of the bicep; pushing them into the softening metal. Gabriel swung his legs up, planting them onto the body of the Maiden, kicking off, de-gloving the metal form the pilots arm. 

              As soon as he pulled back, the fist released, freeing him from the lost appendage as they both fell to ground. He could hear the pilot scream through the speaker, but Gabriel was already moving to his next target. He scrambled to the left leg, hoping the shock and pain would keep the pilot distracted. He drove both hands just above the knee, pulling the lower half of the leg with him as he moved to the side. There was no human leg hanging from the stump of armor, and Gabriel wasn't sure if he had removed it when he ripped off the armor, but he also didn't care. 

              The Maiden fell forward, making the ground shake when it hit. Before Gabriel could use the opportunity to get a hit in on its back, it rolled itself over with its still powered and intact arm. Gabriel saw his opportunity and grabbed for the shoulder, pulling the entire metal arm off the pilot's now blistering arm. Gabriel heard the screams of the pilot as he took a moment to catch his breath, resting on his knee. Pieces stripped from the COSMOS lay scattered around its body. The pilot inside unable to be a threat with only one armored leg. Gabriel stood up, walking around the body till he came to the now worthless mini gun. He reached down, grabbing the barrels at their base, and pulled them off of the weapon. As Gabriel continued his walk around the Maiden, he separated each barrel from the group, placing each one in the dirt at his feet. Gabriel now knew what the pilot had said by too late. Brock had not shown back up. Gabriel picked up one of the barrels, rolling one end into a point, before jamming it into the armored leg. The hot metal pushed easily through the armor, and Gabriel knew he had pierced the pilot's leg when the screams grew louder. 

"That was for trying to kill me and Madison the first time." Gabriel grabbed another barrel, rolling it into another hot metal spear. This one he took in both hands, sliding it into the abdomen, pushing it slowly till he poked it all the way through the armor. "That one was for killing Stephen." Gabriel could see the pilot’s arms flailing to reach the barrel in his stomach. Gabriel picked up the third barrel, shaping another spear. He walked to the pilots arm, stepping on it and holding it to the ground, he drove the makeshift spear into the forearm, pinning it to the ground. Grabbing another, he walked to the other side, sliding the metal into the other arm. With his victim unable to move and already going into shock, Gabriel grabbed the last two barrels, twisting them together into a braid. 

"I hope you have a recording system in that suit, because I need your bosses to hear what I'm going to say." Gabriel walked over sitting down on the Maiden’s chest. "I didn't want to do any of this. I just wanted to live my life like a normal person. But as soon as I got this power that wasn't possible anymore. You made me do all of this. I promise you right now, I will continue to kill your agents and your mechs until you give me my friends back and leave people like me alone."

Gabriel stood, grabbing the twisted spike. He slid his hand up and down the length of it, making the whole spear red hot. Gabriel raised it above his head, then drove it down into the center of the Maiden’s chest. With that all the screaming and twitching from the pilot stopped, and Gabriel sat down, leaning against the now lifeless armor. As his adrenalin faded from his body, Gabriel felt the weakness of his muscles return, his eyes becoming heavy.

As his eyes began to close, Gabriel saw a car pull up the road that had led them to the field. As the door opened, and out stepped Garret, Gabriel passed out from exhaustion.