Andrew Mackay - Pink Symphony

The mercenary pulled out a Rez-9 from his boot and fired at Moses. The charge hit him in the shoulder, breaking the skin and sending a charge down his body.

Handax closed his eyes, hearing a bunch of footsteps enter the room. “Okay, now.”

He jumped up from behind the console and fired off a round of bullets at the USARIC militia.

Thraa-a-tat-a-tat !

At least seven armed mercenaries returned fire, their random bullets smashing the furniture and walls to pieces.

Leif screamed and launched herself sideways, firing at them. Her bullets caught two USARIC militia in their legs. They dropped their weapons to the ground and screamed blue murder.

“Reloading!” Handax unbolted a side magazine from the machine gun’s housing and thumped it into the grip.

“Come out, now!” screamed a USARIC mercenary as bits of the console pinged and burst apart from the gunfire.

“No! Put down your weapons!” Handax screamed as he witnessed Leif try her luck. She launched her behind onto the console and blasted ten successive shots at the five remaining USARIC mercenaries, hitting two of them in the chest. The latter of them swung his arm to the console and pulled the trigger.

BAMM-SCHPLATT !

Leif’s forehead opened out like a flower as the bullet careened through her skull. The back of her head thumped against the console, killing her instantly. Her dead eyes stared at Handax as her grip loosened on her firearm.

“Leif, no,” Handax screamed and hulked the machine gun over the console, yanking on the trigger, “Die, you scumbags.”

Pow-pow-pow-pow-click-click-click-click.

Blind-firing got him two kills on the spot, leaving two injured USARIC mercs backing away from their fallen colleagues.

Handax threw the empty machine gun aside and reached for his handgun. He daren’t peer up from the console for fear of getting hit in the face by a stray bullet.

He slowed his breathing in a futile attempt to decelerate his heartbeat – the organ in question ready to jump up through his throat and shoot through his mouth.

“Is that all of them?” asked one of the mercenaries.

“I think so. That guy on the console. Headshot on the girl.”

“Good. Check the corners and clear the area.”

Handax kicked himself against the back of the console and checked his gun. He was so close to hyperventilating and giving himself away.

“What do we do about these damn cats?” a mercenary pointed to the petrified kitties cowering behind the debris.

“They’ll be here in ninety seconds. Mark the area as clear, then we execute.”

“No, no, no, no—” Handax whispered through the sweat forming on his lips. He turned to his left and saw a congregation of terrified cats look to him for rescue.

Clomp, clomp, clomp…

“Oh, God…” Handax knew it was a matter of seconds before the mercenary found him hiding. He took a final breath and booted the chair next to him away from the console. It provided a distraction as he jumped out from behind the console and unloaded his magazine.

BANG-BANG-BANG !

The approaching mercenary opened fire on the chair without compromise. The bullets tore through it, breaking it into sections across the ground.

Handax spotted his opportunity. He slid over the console and blasted the man in the back, busting apart his shoulder bone. The mercenary dropped the gun and hit the floor, dead.

“Oh, God . Moses,” Handax saw Moses’ corpse sprawled across the console. By his sneakers, Leif’s body had fallen to the ground. Both his friends were dead. “I… I…”

“—Sucks, doesn’t it?” came a voice.

“Huh?” Handax double-took and turned to a mercenary chuckling to himself at the entrance. He’d lost his weapon and wasn’t quick enough to reach the discarded firearm on the floor.

“Wh-what?”

“Both your friends, there. Dead. And then you go and kill one of mine.”

“But, but…”

“I guess that’s your buddy barbecuing out on the airfield, too, right?

Handax didn’t know how to respond. He stood still, flummoxed, and lifted his gun at the man’s face. He wondered why the mercenary wasn’t firing at him.

“You’re not going to shoot me,” the mercenary said. “Do you know why?”

Handax’s nerves got the better of him. He could barely keep the gun lifted. The anxiety reflected in his voice when he spoke. “No, why?”

“Because there’s only one way out for you. And that’s in a body bag with your friends. And, of course, all these furry little turds.”

“What…” Handax closed his eyes and shook away the sweat. “What is USARIC doing with these cats?”

“I dunno. Who cares,” the mercenary kicked himself away from the wall and approached the console. “I don’t ask questions. USARIC pays my wage and I get to feed my family. Do you know what they’re paying me to do, now?”

“What?” Handax kept his pathetic hold on the man as he got nearer.

“Kill you stone dead,” he smiled in the face of execution and nodded at Handax’s gun, “You gonna use that on me?”

Handax glanced at the shaking cats and created a compromise, “Will you let me go if I walk out of here?”

“Your two buddies did it. I never saw you. You’re wearing a mask. ”

Handax thought over the offer for a few seconds. Freedom beckoned.

“Go on, get out of here.”

Handax kept his gun aimed at the man and gripped the top of his balaclava with his free hand.

“Hey, no. What are you doing? Don’t show me your—”

Off came the balaclava, revealing Handax’s tear-strewn face.

The mercenary thumped his fists together in a state of fury, “You imbecile. I’ve seen you, now.”

“Yeah, you know what this means. Don’t you?”

The mercenary held up his hands in shock, “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

“I have to do this.”

BLAM!

Handax shot the mercenary in the chest, killing him. He blinked a few times and attempted to process what he’d done. “I can’t run,” he muttered and accepted his fate. He turned to the cats, “But it means you guys can. Go on! Get out of here. Quick.”

The cats stood looking at him, suspended in disbelief.

“Don’t just stand there staring at me, you morons. Run.”

Still no response. Any moment now, USARIC would breach the compound and terminate anything turning oxygen into carbon dioxide without question.

Handax did what he had to do. It was for their own good. He ran at them barking like a dog as loud as he could, “Woof, woof!”

The cats shrieked and jumped into the air. Most of them bolted toward the door and down the corridor.

“Go on. Go, go,” he shouted after them and waved the few that remained toward the door. He stomped forward, acting the violent beast, “Grrr.”

The final few startled kitties chased after their counterparts and vacated the compound, leaving a thoroughly disheveled Handax to take a deep breath.

Leif and Moses were dead.

Handax would join them thirty seconds from now. He stepped up to the console and lifted Moses’ left arm. The absorption process was so close to being complete. The data that had successfully transferred was useless in the body of a dead man.

Handax carefully set his friend’s arm to the console and took a seat in the chair. He rolled up his sleeve and swiped the three inked lines across his forearm.

“Individimedia, access. Enable broadcast. Handax T. Skill.”

The ink formed a row of dots across his skin. His thumbnail lit up a soft green and pink, throwing a shaft of light at his face.

A screech of tires slamming to a halt barreled from the far end of the corridor. The worry vacated his mind. He looked at his forearm and moved his thumb to allow the light emission to his eyes.