Ben Chaney - Son of Sedonia

“Jesus…” Shima sank back into cover and pressed his throat node. “Theta Squad to HQ: What the hell is the ETA on my evac?! I’ve had my beacon blinking its ass off for over five fucking minutes!”

“Be advised, Theta, all friendly aircraft are either currently engaged or flying home to re-arm. A gunship will be dispatched to your location as soon as I’ve got one for you,” the voice hummed in each of their ear implants.

“ All of them? The whole fleet?!” Vaughn’s voice lifted a little louder than it should. Mason hissed and patted the air with a hand. The rookie groaned and leaned up to scan the roofline again.

“Over half my squad is KIA, I’m wounded and immobile, we’re stuck in darkest Rasalla with hostiles closing, and you’re telling me there’s not one goddamn ship?! ” Shima looked like his face would explode.

“Affirmative, Theta. Recommend you dig in, and stay quiet, we are coming.”

Shima clenched his fists and almost punched the wall. He ripped his ammo pouch open, took out a live ammo mag, and dropped the active spur mag out of his SMG.Loaded the rounds.

“Sir? I thought we only had clearance for non-lethal.” Vaughn said. Shima took out a flash suppressor and screwed it onto the barrel.

“T99s don’t give a damn about spurs, but they respect bullets. If we’ve got any hope of holding ’em back long enough we’ve gotta hurt ’em,” said Shima.

Mason and Vaughn changed their magazines. Vaughn finished screwing on his suppressor and looked back through the window. Just in time to be blinded by a flash between two buildings. He cringed and spun back into cover as nearby whoops and shouts broke the silence. Vaughn’s eyes cleared in time to see smoking red lights arcing through the sky, over their wall, and landing in the middle of the shelter floor.

“Flares!” Shima yelled as he lunged toward them, putting weight on his bandaged shin. He landed directly on the wound, yelled, then grabbed at the flares. Threw two of them out. Three more fell in. Then two more. They heaped in a glowing pile as the first shots zipped through the walls.

“SHIT! Fire at will!” Shima screamed. The body heat signals poured out of the twilit slumscape. Vaughn couldn’t hope to prioritize targets. The muzzle flashes looked like the grandstands of the Sedonia Civic Arena during the half-time show. As the brick and concrete flew apart around him, Vaughn shrank into cover, clutching his weapon. He couldn’t think, let alone move.

“Wake the fuck up, kid! Kill or be killed!” Mason’s voice came through low and deep in Vaughn’s implant radio. Vaughn looked to the veteran EXO as the man squeezed a few three-round bursts out of the weapon, each at a specific target. Shima did the same on the opposite wall, blood pouring down his leg as he stood on it to get position.

Flip the switch, flip the switch, flip the switch . Vaughn hit himself in the helmet. His legs wouldn’t budge. Concrete exploded everywhere, making their cover look more like coral. He clamped his eyes shut. Felt his heartbeat in his throat. All sound around him turned to white noise. Then something opened his eyes.

He found himself staring into the burning phosphorous light of the flares. Time slowed. In the space he felt his heart and his breath. His hands and his feet. His arms and his legs. Fear was still there, but it seemed more like another appendage. Something else to work with. The order eclipsed it: Kill or be killed . Gritting his teeth, he leaned out of cover and pumped half a mag into the growing mob.

Matteo sprinted across the rooftops toward the flashes ahead. He jumped over alleys, raced up and down stairs, and swung onto catwalks, movements he’d seen Jogun do a hundred times. Yet now on the way to his own battle, it felt different than he’d fantasized. Part hunter and part hunted. Righteous and terrified. Distant thoughts screamed faintly to calm down and turn back. The drive to listen gripped his chest. No home to run to.

The half-finished shed on the roof of Daigi’s shop glowed blinding red from the inside. Dark silhouettes peeked out of the windows then darted out of sight, each time followed by a pounding hail of T99 bullets. A hazy bloodshot cloud surrounded the building. Through it, Matteo saw the dwellers climbing up the fire escape. It wouldn’t be long now.

The first building to his right had a balcony on the top floor where a few T99s took cover. This close, he could see the sparks and chunks of shrapnel burst from the surrounding buildings. Bullets, not spurs . He crouched low behind a rooftop wall, and waited. The shape of an EXO leaned out from behind his cover and fired at the balcony. The T99s ducked. Some sprayed blind shots over the railing. The shooting stopped a second.

Matteo took his chance. Three huge strides and he pushed off on the fourth, flying down toward the balcony. He grabbed the awning and swung inside, kicking one or two gangsters in the process. They shoved him off and into the corner. His gun skittered across the floor somewhere.

“The fuck you think you doin’, man?!” a voice screamed. Matteo pawed around in the dark for the pistol.

“Left window! Shoot the bitch!” another one shouted. Gunfire erupted. Matteo crumpled into a ball and clapped his hands over his ears. The noise. It felt like the shots were going off inside his skull. The sour smell of gunpowder choked him first, then someone’s hand did it for real. Slammed him against the floor.

“I should kill you too!” The wild stare on Oki’s face was like nothing Matteo had ever seen. A rabid Pit dog ready to rip your throat out with a crooked grin.

“Oki, chill!” Suomo shouted above the gunfire and nearby screams. The T99 Boss crouched at the open end of the balcony, leaning out to fire a burst from his brand new EXO submachine gun. Oki released the choke hold, dropping Matteo gasping to the ground. Matteo felt something shoved into his chest.

“Drop this again and I fuckin’ blast you!” Oki said. Matteo fumbled at the pistol grip then took hold. Another burst from the EXOs made everyone duck again…except one of the younger Nines. The boy took a round full in the face, making a canoe out of his head. Thick wet droplets landed on Matteo’s arm. The shooting stopped and something dragged him up by the hood. He choked himself on the hoodie collar as he tried to stay down.

“ Shoot , goddammit!” Oki’s voice cracked as he screamed. Matteo cringed at the gunfire pounding his eardrums. Oki slapped him in the face.

“SHOOT!”

A flash of rage set Matteo’s mind on fire. He flexed his fingers around the grip as his heartbeat jackhammered over the muffled pops of pistols, rifles, and SMGs. The blood. It pooled on the ground by the T99 boy’s shattered head. Raia’s face appeared to him. Staring. His body trembled as he wrestled with the will to do something. Anything. The wheezing tickle in the back of his throat turned every breath into a saw blade as his knees started to buckle.

Suddenly he was lying back on that rooftop six years ago. Helpless as he watched Jogun shudder and twist with every punch, kick, knee, and elbow. For years he had dreamed of the ways he could have hurt them, should have hurt them. The thousands of things that would have saved his family. His grip on the pistol tightened. Inhale-exhale-inhale-exhale-INHALE . He whipped the gun up, pointed it at the glowing building. The EXOs inside moved in flickering blurs.

Matteo fired a shot and all but dropped the gun as it kicked. The sensation sent needles down his spine. He brought up his left hand to steady his aim. Two more shots. The rounds blasted dusty chunks out of the brick wall.

“That’s RIGHT!” Oki slapped his back so hard it gave him a funny taste in his mouth. The others looked over at him too, all smiles. Matteo managed an insane laugh. Movement in the right window caught his eye. A pulsing shadow that seemed to turn toward him. With a sharp breath, he focused on the shape, looked down the sight, steadied the weapon, and squeezed the trigger. Since he was ready for it, the shot felt more like a little pop The shadow jerked and fell out of view.