Part 5: Confined
Am I alive? It was bright; her vision was impaired like she had been drugged. Everything around her was a white blur. Her head hung weakly on her neck, it swayed from one side to another. She had lost a lot of blood, maybe that was it, she was dead. She tried to move and pain crippled her, she had to be alive, there was still pain.
After a minute she found that her vision was getting slowly better. She was strapped to a vertical table with thick straps. Three overhead lights shone down on her. She moved her shoulders but she quickly stopped when the pain in her side went into throbbing spasms. She groaned in agony and relaxed her muscles.
She hers talking from the shadows of the room, she strained to see past the glaring light. It was ooman's, OOMAN'S! She had been captured. She rested her head back, all her years to gain in the ranks, in respect gone. If she ever did escape she would be dishonored and banished. Her eyes rested on a reflexion of her in a mirror across from her, Just come kill me now!
A female ooman had come day after day to see her, she talked to her in her language, and Dahdtoudi didn't know much of it. The female kept looking at the massive slash in her side. And as Dahdtoudi observed when the female was gone they had bandaged up the wound and her aching ribs.
Dahdtoudi's head hung low. Every once and awhile she would try and pull her arms free but to no prevail. The female stood beside her and pulled back the bloodied bandages. Dahdtoudi growled in pain as the dry blood was peeled back from her wound.
I'll kill her! Dahdtoudi started to slam her right shoulder on the strap. The woman backed off hurriedly her arms raised, and then said something in ooman. She thought it was 'settle down' in some context. She went limp again and the woman started to pull off the rest of the dressing and replaced it with new ones.
The ooman female acted with such care toward her. Dahdtoudi was puzzled, personally she had hunted ooman and got the impression that they were dangerous and hostile but this one treated her like one of her own. The leaders always said that ooman would torture you if captured but she was taking care of her wounds, talking to her, it was amazing to her.
Over the week the female talked more to her, like a one-way conversation. The smell of the woman became every familiar and the female greeted her in her own language, she weakly gave a welcoming hiss back. When she left she would put a flat hand over her mouth and lower it, a sign of good-bye she guessed.
The female examined her naked body, she looked at the wounds on her side and told her that it looked better, or that's what Dahdtoudi thought she said. Her ribs had stopped hurting after the second day, the female had given she some kind of painkillers. She was grateful for that after one night of the pure ache.
Her mouth was dry; she needed the nitrogen in her mask. She started to wheeze violently. I need my mask!
The woman looked concerned. Dahdtoudi forced herself to stop the fierce gasping. She needed the woman to understand, I need my mask! Dahdtoudi thought franticly for a word to use, a word she would understand, her master taught her the word for mask. What is it!
"Maa'cak." That wasn't it, no; it was something with more hissing. Then it hit her, "Ma'ssk"
The woman looked shocked then hurried to the door. Had she understood her? She hoped she had. She started to wheeze again and it made her ribs ache once again and her whole abdomen burn. The woman came back quickly holding the mask. She understood!
The female pressed it to her face. The filters on the mask giving her rich nitrogen air. She breathed in deep breaths. She looked at the female as she gasped in long breaths. She knew this word well, "Thank you."
The door to the room opened and a big male came walking in. The female that had just moments ago saved her looked terrified of him. He was acting violent toward her, yelling and waving his arms around. She backed up away.
"She needed it." She got that from the female. They're fighting over my mask! This was proven when the male started to yell louder and pointed at her mask. He was too aggressive, the statistics came across the eyes of the mask, she heartbeat was fast and his skin temperature was high.
SLAP! The female dropped to the ground as the big male's hand went over her face. She hit the small table and if flipped as she fell.
Bastard! Her arms flexed under the straps and they snapped effortlessly, the others snapped quickly after it. Her clawed hand gripped around the male's jaw. He was in shock as he was lifted of the floor and slammed into the mirror, it cracked. Her long nails dug deep into the male's flesh till blood dripped out of the wounds. Die!
The male's screamed in pain and clawed at her exposed forearm. The naked Dahdtoudi pulled the male off the glass and slammed him back with more force, it smashed and he toppled through. She let him go and he hit the floor gripping his bloody jaw.
She turned quickly around, the ooman female standing in fear and astonishment till a red light started to flash from inside the room behind the mirror. A loud alarm blared. She had saved her life now the favor was returned, at least in Dahdtoudi's eyes it was.
She quickly rushed out into the hall of the complex, her side still sore but tolerable. The red light flashed out in the hall also as Dahdtoudi stacked through, people rushing down other halls so she waited till it was clear to proceed. In her mask was a digital map that showed where they were keeping the rest of her armor.
After many close encounters with the hurrying ooman she had come across the room with her armor and weapons. She slammed open the door and inside on three chrome tables were her gear and arsenal.
She picked up the greave armor and quickly strapped it to her calves. Then came the belt that had the cloth with her symbol on it, which she shoved into the belt. The torso armor was next; she clipped on both of the shoulder cannons and the medicomp. She clamped on the wristbands before dragging her prized whip from the last table.
She felt her ribs ache as she was attacked from the side. She hit the ground and the attacked was tossed off. Dahdtoudi quickly leaped to her feet but the aching of the wound made her lean against the wall.
A black monster rose thrashing from the floor. Its eyeless face hissing as its tail whipped behind it. That's what the alarm was for! They had escapes the depths of the tunnels
It hit her again and she was too weak to fight it. It talked her and its jaws opened to reveal the inner teeth. She thrust her fist into its mouth as it bit down, its teeth clasping down on the right wristband. Drool dripped down her arm.
CLICK! The blades inside the wristband shot out and shredded the soft flesh inside. Its head whipped of her hand and it toppled back, acid blood spewed from its mouth as it thrashed about. Dahdtoudi lifted up and took the deathblow, the blades dug deep into the monster's neck and ripped out.
A sound from behind. Her head spun around and her long dreads slapped her bare chest where the thin necklace hung down. More of the creatures poured out of one room and into the hall. The guns fired and the black beasts erupted in an explosion of yellowish blood. It sprayed the walls that began to scorch and dissolve. As one dropped another came thrashing in its place.
Fuck! She turned and started to bolt down the hall. Her shoulder cannons stayed on the mass behind her and shot rapidly at them. The hall came to a sudden stop and turned into a set of stairs that she quickly bounded up as the nails of the monsters clawed at her as she leaped up half way by vaulting the railing.
She cringed in pain as her side was torn open with anguish but she pressed on up the coiling staircase. She gave a quick glance up, the levels continued up. How far underground am I? Sparks flashed as a black monster leaped at her but just missed and hit the blue imitation light that was just behind her. It screeched for a moment then took up chase again.
A door was near the top; thick strips of metal were welded to it. She saw the glow of the ooman sign over it. The metal plated shoulder slammed hard into it and through. The door slammed shut but burst back open as the horde came lashing their way through.
It was a large room, ooman flyers sat in both corners of the hanger. And the ceiling wasn't even visible from where she was; it stretched endlessly up into darkness. Two metal fenced lifts rested at the farthest end. Dahdtoudi dashed over to the fence and ripped it open just as one of the creatures came slamming down. She slammed the fence shut as its clawed fingers came digging through. It hissed and was quickly joined by others.
The hanger was more then the holding of the ooman flyers like she thought. Now that she looked she saw why hordes of the beasts clawed and thrived now. Bodies hung in the gunk over the walls near the door, in the catwalks above and were ripped to pieces over the floor. Explains the blockade on the door.
One creature opened its jaws and clasped down on the fence, its teeth gnawing till the think metal wiring snapped. It pulled back and thrust its hand through, the shredded fence gashed at its arm as the long nailed fingers gripped and scratched at her.
Escape, she needed to escape. She moved swiftly past the thrashing arm and frantically slammed her hand on some buttons; Just take me to the surface!
With a jerk the small box started to lift up. The creature screamed as the fence tore open its flesh as it was tugged up. It ripped its arm free but still clawed at the fence till it was out of reach.
The hanger was infected with the beasts; any catwalks were coated with the gunk and twisted dead bodies. From inside her mask she saw every one. She peered down to the floor that kept growing smaller; the whole floor was glowing green from the amount of Kiande amedha. Many lined the walkways and crawled down to the commotion below.
The box suddenly broke the top and came to a jerky stop. The area around her was bare concrete. The patter of rain on the metal fencing was the only sound. She pulled the battered fencing open and stepped out. Her feet splashed in the numerous puddles till she reached the edge.
Gray buildings towered down below in the shadow of the massive structure she stood atop plus the huge wall that encircled it. The buildings glowed with neon splashes and simulated light. It was welcoming till the near silent echoes of screams pierced the gray urban metropolis.