The Answer to Life
Chapter 8
"Hmm?
David blinked repeatedly at the unexpected scene.
It was another human, a human girl specifically.
Besides the children, she was the only other person he'd come across.
'Does that mean there's civilization nearby?'
To say the girl was clothed was an overstatement. She was barely clothed, nearly nude if it wasn't for her choice of frisky attire. All she had on her was some sort of silky, black abdominal covering and shorts that rode up far too high. Even baby doll lingerie seemed to have more covering than her choice of fashion. Her long white hair delicately framed her elegant facial features. This, in combination with the graceful and confident way she walked made her a sensual sight as her hips noticeably swayed with every step. She looked mildly curious, intrigued as she slowly made her way over. Though he could see a glint of interest in her eyes, it was only a minor spark. Her pale blue eyes looked tired, as if she had seen too much in her life time. They reminded David of a couple military veterans he had worked with in the past.
He could tell she wasn't one to express much emotion outwardly, if the air of apathy he felt coming from her was anything to go by. Despite the grime that stained the surface of her porcelain skin, he had to admit that she was a very beautiful girl, almost like a doll. David would have felt nervous around her as a shy but healthy specimen of the opposite sex if he hadn't picked up on other concerning details.
The attractive young girl who couldn't have looked older than twenty, had a massive blade behind her paired with another sword that looked like a fancy katana. Both blades had intricate designs and clear, crisp engravings. The scratches on their bodies declared to the world their part in countless battles.
They were also both hovering in place, with golden halos around their hilts
David had witnessed many unreasonable things so far, but the improbable sight before him was bordering on sci-fi and video game territory. Sure, he could handle advanced robotics, no problem. After all, David had seen the news and other documentaries regarding the latest in AI technology as well as other fascinating robotic concepts. This on the other hand defied physics.
Cleverly designed cosplay props perhaps? He was first introduced to anime and comic conventions during his first year in college. A classmate of his had brought him to the engineering wing once, so he knew just how ingenious some cosplay designs could be.
Then again, it was a far-fetched idea considering their setting.
'A cosplay convention in the middle of bumfuck nowhere? Please.'
David mentally scoffed at the mere idea. Whatever the case may be, it didn't change the fact that she was possibly a dangerous lunatic. No one with a sound mind would be almost naked taking a stroll in the wilderness while toting around fantasy swords on their back. This however wasn't what concerned him the most.
Another machine.
The fact that there was a floating metal box with arms and a blinking indicator light following closely behind the girl immediately landed her in David's "potential enemies" list.
'I won't let my guard down. I've already done so twice. There won't be a third time, not another fuck up. Cosplay or not, this girl isn't normal. Especially when there's another blasted machine following her…'
"Miss, please stay where you are."
Direct and polite. The request wasn't too harsh or authoritative, but diplomatic enough to not seem confrontational.
"What are you doing out here in the middle of the wilderness? Don't you know that's dangerous?"
The girl paused midstep and gave him a strange look. She opened her mouth to say something, but it was in a language David didn't recognize. It sounded like a mix of different languages garbled together. When she decided to close the distance once more, David cautioned her again with a lower and sterner tone.
"Please stop. Stay where you are and don't take another step. I'm warning you."
Due to the language barrier, both parties were unable to come to an understanding. Communication was the key to defusing many potential conflicts, David knew this especially well. He was much better now, but there were many times he was misunderstood by others in the past for his borderline antisocial behavior.
Maybe it was his unfriendly tone just now.
Maybe it was because he had a firearm pointed at her.
Maybe it was his naturally antagonistic facial features.
"Resting Asshole Face" was actually a thing after all.
…
Maybe it was all of the above.
Without proper context or comprehension, putting those facts together did not paint a welcoming image, especially for a newcomer who couldn't understand what you were saying. This was evident when the girl's face hardened as she drew the katana from her back in response to David's threatening tone.
"Drop your weapon!" David commanded.
He could tell things were about to go south. Normally, he'd try to gently defuse the situation when it came to an armed assailant. He found it uncharacteristic of him to take on such an aggressive disposition. Perhaps he was still high strung and riding off of the adrenaline from before or perhaps it was more than just his life on the line should things go FUBAR.
The girl swung her katana and pointed it at him. Her voice was calm as she addressed him once more in that alien language of hers, but there was no mistaking the hard edge that came with it. When David continued to stare at her and gave no indication of acknowledging her words, the girl stepped forward again and spoke more assertively, like she was demanding something.
"I don't know what the hell you're saying, but I'm not going to take your shit you crazy bitch. Drop. Your. Weapon. Now." David snarled.
Even though she couldn't understand David either, his unruly tone must have set something off within the girl as she began shouting something at him.
'No doubt obscenities. Crazy and a psycho. Just great.'
David's attention was redirected to the floating machine behind the girl as it emitted a monotonous, robotic voice. The odd humanlike hand gestures it made with its mechanical arms suggested to him it was trying to placate and reason with the girl, only to be brushed off in a coarse manner almost immediately. Silenced by its more fiery companion, it floated away from the girl next to the stream and remained idle. The pale girl turned towards him once more and struck a stance, saying something in a questioning tone once more.
When David answered with silence, she sighed and abruptly charged at him, sword in hand glinting in the sunlight.
"Oh shit!"
Surprised at the sudden speed, David panicked and pulled the trigger on his 1911. The girl stopped her advance and raised her sword as if to guard against the attack.
*Click*
…
A cold sense of dread was now swelling up inside of David.
A misfire.
'No! Shit! Why now of all times?!'
She shot towards him.
"Fuck!"
He tossed his pistol aside and quickly drew his knife to meet her. He sidestepped and evaded a slash from her blade and reciprocated with a stab of his own towards her gut. With nimble, refined movements, she danced around him and struck again.
"Ngh! Do I have to tell you again?! Hide somewhere!" David yelled to the children as he continued to defend and weave around her attacks, nearly tripping over many times as he overextended himself to compensate against the reach of her sword. His anxiety was reaching a new high as he felt the blade of his knife begin to rattle loosely in its handle from the brute strength of the girl's strikes.
'How the hell is she swinging her sword so hard and fast?! She's like a freaking twig!'
Jolted out of their reverie, Kate once more herded the children away. She was visibly concerned and rightfully so, as she could tell David was struggling immensely to keep up with the stranger.
The white haired girl spared them a glance, as if she forgot they were there in the first place. Seeing her distraction, David redoubled his efforts and lunged forward. Her eyes widened with surprise as he grabbed her hands, twisted them, and used them as leverage to deliver a hard kick to her midsection which caused her to stumble a couple steps back.
Bewildered, she gazed down at her now empty hands. Looking back up, she could see her katana was now in David's possession.
He had managed to disarm her.
Now feeling confident, David ran up to end the fight with an overhead swing, intending on whacking her with the broad side of the blade. Just before the sword managed to make contact, it vanished from David's hands, leaving behind motes of ethereal golden light.
"What the?! Oh, come on!" David exclaimed in disbelief.
The katana had somehow relocated itself right back into her hands. As there wasn't any time to contemplate on whatever just happened, David continued his attempt at subduing his opponent. Not missing a beat, he grasped one of her legs and tried to slam her down with a grappling move before she could do anything else, only to find he couldn't make her budge at all.
'How much does this girl weigh?!'
"ACK!"
David's train of thought was interrupted as he bent over in pain when he felt like a heavy sledgehammer had just smashed the wind out of him. The girl had took hold of his vest and yanked him down to drive a sharp knee into his chest. Thankfully, the trauma plate in his body armor had absorbed most of the damage. However, he could tell it was now heavily warped due to the painful way an inward bulge was gouging into his chest. The nausea he felt before was now making itself known once again.
The two of them flailed around in circles as they both fought to gain the upper hand. David was having a hard time prying one of her hands off his vest while simultaneously keeping her sword arm at bay by maintaining an iron grip on it. The girl's abnormal strength betrayed her dainty, delicate appearance and it dawned on David that a contest of strength was not in his favor. As he continued to avoid additional strikes from her knees, he knew it was only a matter of time before he slipped up.
Feeling desperate now and unable to free himself, he decided to take a gamble.
David let go of her arms, quickly clutched her shoulders, and reared his head back.
With as much force as he could muster, he dove headfirst and bit into the tender meat of her left shoulder as hard as he could like a rabid dog, giving it a few rough jerks for good measure to deliver as much pain as possible. He could feel her body go rigid as she let out a cry of pain. Feeling her grip on his vest slacken, he swiftly ducked a bladed thrust and rolled back to gain some distance between them.
"Oh, what the fuck!?"
Suddenly, the sound of retching could be heard as David choked on a disgusting taste filling his mouth. He spat out as much of the oily, bitter, and spicy tasting fluid as he could. Feeling sick and dry heaving at the same time, he studied the girl through tearing eyes, now seeing her in a new light.
Not human.
That was all the proof he needed.
'What the hell is she?'
Human blood didn't taste or smell anything like that and it certainly shouldn't remind him of industrial chemicals. He could see her cupping her shoulder as a red, blood-like liquid oozed down from the wound. The girl was now gaping at him in astonishment, like she had encountered some kind of wild animal she'd never seen before.
She also looked extremely pissed.
Lifting his knife up in preparation, David began to circle around her. He searched for weaknesses, openings, anything that could allow him to end this fight. He actively struck at her, but each swing was either parried or avoided. He didn't know why, but instead of attacking back, she was attentively observing him.
David was starting to tire as his breath became more and more ragged with each agonizing second. It was at this moment he realized and understood exactly why he felt so unnaturally drained.
Atrophy.
It would certainly explain his sluggish motions, reduced stamina, decreased muscle mass, and the lightheaded feeling of bodily weakness.
He had noticed it earlier before while climbing the tree, but payed no mind to it in favor of more pressing matters. The fatigue had finally accumulated to the point he could no longer dismiss it. His joints stung sharply with exertion and the hand that held his knife was starting to spasm in protest. If atrophy was indeed the cause of these ailments, he and the children were asleep for longer than he thought. David concluded that the reason he was even able to stand let alone move around was because of the pods. They were likely designed to not only aid in their survival of whatever occurred, but to also preserve their physical integrity to some extent. Continuous mild electrical shocks perhaps?
'Damn it. I need to put an end to this fast. I can't keep this up for much longer…'
The situation became even more dire as his rhythm was broken. His increasingly wild slashes were interrupted when the girl finally decided to strike back. Her attacks had started slow before quickly reaching speeds that made her blade blur, forcing him on the defensive once again. David had to circle around many times to evade her lest he be forced onto unstable ground. The physical demand on his body was starting to take its toll, as his footwork became shoddy. David was panting heavily at this point trying his best to fend off her blitz and his side stitch under his left rib was becoming unbearable. However, he noticed that even though the girl was shifting at insane speeds, her movements were stiff, jerky, and awkward. Her expression was tinged with frustration, no doubt due to the fact she hadn't landed a single hit in their overblown game of cat and mouse. It was more than that though.
'It's almost like she's struggling or holding something back. Is there something wrong with her? Is she on drugs or something? Oh wait, she isn't human. Whatever, this is my chance then. I really can't go on anymore. It's do or die now…'
David's body could no longer take the strain and was about to succumb to exhaustion. Going all in, he carefully timed a swing aimed at his neck and ducked. With all of his remaining strength, he countered immediately with a vertical slash. He didn't care if he ended up killing her at this point, he just wanted this violent altercation to end.
"HAHHHHH!"
As he swung down with all the force he could muster, David was suddenly filled with a sense of vigor. The fog in his head cleared and his aches disappeared. He felt strange and empowered.
He felt invincible.
He felt like he could do anything.
He felt giddy with sadistic glee.
It also felt very wrong.
David didn't know where he felt this kind of rush before, it was a horrifically familiar feeling that made him sick to the stomach. All he knew however, was that it made him immensely more effective. The proof of this was in front of him as the girl faltered, her arms buckling underneath the blow she shielded herself from using her sword. Looking into her eyes, he could see she was stunned.
Seeing another chance, David tried to finish the fight but found himself paralyzed. The bizarre energy that filled him seconds ago, had left just as quickly as it had come. He felt a wave of vertigo wash over him as his body started to give out. He was forced to drop his knife as his hand started to fully cramp up and his knees began to feel like jelly. Without wasting a second, the agile girl positioned herself to finish what she started.
'Damn, so this is how it ends…'
As he braced himself for his imminent death, he heard a desperate cry filled with terror.
"DON'T HURT HIM! PLEASE DON'T HURT MR. DAVID! STOP! NOOOOOOO!"
David drew a sharp breath as something triggered inside of him, something long forgotten. His mind blanked out for the second time that day and was whisked away.
…
It was too late for these two.
It turned out this family was one of the many that didn't report to health services.
"No! Please! Stop! Don't hurt my mom and dad!" begged the girl as she held on to his jeans.
He could feel her trembling; the gas and electricity had gone out of this district a week ago.
"They're fine! They're just sick right now! Mom said honey and lemon water works wonders! Dad also said rest is good for the body when you're sick! They just need some time to feel better! Please!"
He looked down towards the child, a look of pain lingering in his eyes as he made eye contact.
"Ohh..grAK…haaAHHH…"
Looking back towards the sound of hoarse groaning in the corner of the room, he gently murmured.
"I'm sorry, but it's too late for them. They're too far gone…"
His grip on the pistol tightened as he took aim once more. He had to do this before they turned.
"No! Stop! STOP! I HATE YOU!" she sobbed, tears now freely flowing.
She was struggling now, tugging and kicking to try and stop him. He flinched as a shoe was thrown at his face, knocking his respirator out of alignment.
"I'm so sorry, I truly am. I know you'll never forgive me, but I'm so sorry…"
Two cracks rang out and echoed throughout the room.
He looked back towards the girl and was startled. His gut twisted with guilt and remorse.
He'd never forget the expression on the girl's face, so filled with hate and venom.
Her whimpering only drove the knife even further into his heart.
"No. No. No. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
As his mind rebooted, he gasped in surprise.
"Whoa! What the hell was th-ARGH!"
David was broken out of his trance with a palm strike to his chin before receiving a piercing kick to the solar plexus. The painful strike had launched him into the air four meters back before his body landed with a soft thud onto the grass.
"Fuuuuuuck….." David moaned in excruciating pain. He lay there motionless, clutching his wound and sucking in the humid air at an uneven tempo.
As he was about to get up, his face was greeted with the tip of a sword pointed at it only centimeters away.
The girl, now looking disheveled, glared down at him. Her ice-cold eyes bore into his own dark chocolate orbs, as if challenging him. Still laying face up on the ground, he propped his forearms up and used them to support himself. David slowly lifted his torso up until he his neck touched the tip. Without hesitation he pushed a little further until a thin graze was visible, a tiny trickle of blood leaking out. Coughing, he turned his head aside to spit out a glob of bloody phlegm and simply returned her glare with one of his own.
'Today just isn't my day, is it?'
Author's Note:
Wahhh…I've never written a detailed fight scene before so I'm not sure how this turned out. It took me a long time picturing the flow of the fight in my head and trying to put them into words was fairly challenging.
One moment I'm like "Aha!" and the next I'm scratching my head like "Oh wait…"
Fight scenes are hard yo!
I'm glad I was able to post something before Halloween though!
Anyway, I'd like to hear your thoughts on how I did in this fight.
Was it bad?
Good?
Need improvement?
…
Complete garbage? Haha…
Post a review to let me know! Thanks for reading and see you in the next chapter! (^3^)
