Chapter Ten:
A soft gray mist settled around the war zone. Pebbles of debris continued to fall. Echoes of gunfire were forever entrenched in memory. Black body bags decorated the ground. A crater remained, two lives possibly lost, and those still standing, those untouched by battle were now left with no choice but to pick up the pieces left behind.
"John, you okay?"
Keenex sat at the back of a medical transport van. The android medic adjusted his spare, robotic leg, trying to make up for the loss of the other one. Tears stung his eyes as he looked toward the crater and the Dorians now surrounding it, preventing the military from going down into the abyss below. His gaze settled on one black body bag. He was surprised by a soft hand touching his, and finally, he looked at Detective Stahl.
"John?" She squeezed his hand, drawing closer. "Are you okay?"
"No." He watched an MX lead Anna to a squad car. She looked his way. His heart broke. He couldn't look away. "I'm not."
"John." He finally looked at Detective Stahl. "I'm here for you. You know that. Right?" He forced a smile but couldn't say the words. "What do you think they're doing?"
"Who?"
"Them?" As Detective Stahl said that, the Dorians pushed the military soldiers and police officers and their MX's back. "Something's going on."
John hopped off the back of the van. He fell forward, but she caught him. He paused and then hobbled forward, limping badly. He grimaced but softly pushed the detective aside. He made his way over to the Dorians, who now watched him carefully.
"Back up, detective," they all said.
"That's creepy," Detective Paul said.
"You're telling me," Keenex replied, but he backed away.
The rest of the Dorians now climbed out of the crater. They carried something with them. They gently laid it onto the ground as the others spread around them. Everyone tried to peer in-between, but Keenex had enough. He pushed past them, into the center, and then was seized by two of them, but that didn't stop him from seeing who they were now trying to save. Dorian, his Dorian.
"Is he…" Keenex finally choked, and the other two Dorians softened their hold on him. "Is he dead?"
"Nearly," they all said.
"Knock that crap off! Is he dead," Keenex roared.
"No," the two surrounding him said. "We will save him."
"How? Nigel is dead, so how are you going to save him?"
"Like this," one Dorian said, and then he ripped off his leg, followed by an arm. A moment later, he shut himself down, and the others used him as parts. But he wasn't enough, so two more followed. And then one more.
"Why are you doing this," Keenex asked the two Dorians standing guard beside him. "Why are you sacrificing yourselves for him?"
"Because we were told to do so," one said.
"Our father wanted us to save him," the other replied.
It felt like time had stopped. Keenex was grateful for that and for being surrounded. He heard the squad car take off, but he didn't have the heart to watch. He suffered enough today. They all had. "Hera. Is she down there?"
"No," one beside him said.
"She isn't," the other next to him replied.
"That's not possible," Keenex said. "She should be down there unless there's nothing left."
"She didn't die, John." His Dorian finally sat up. "She teleported." He was lifted up to his feet. He stretched out his new arm and leg. Then, he noticed his partner's leg. "We need to get you a new leg."
"Don't worry about that." Keenex limped toward him. "Do you know where she teleported to?"
"No. I don't. She was badly wounded, though."
"Doesn't mean anything. If we don't find her soon, she could go nuclear like she almost did before," Keenex said. "We have to find her."
"From the energy she absorbed, it's possible that she could now be transmitting some low kind of frequency. We could work together to find it."
"Finally."
"No. Not you, John. We." Dorian gestured to the others still surrounding them. "There are too many of me here, and the Wall still needs protecting." He fell silent.
"Dorian?" Keenex limped closer. "Dorian?"
The Dorians surrounding him now moved away. They marched like an army leaving the battleground. They acknowledged those standing by, but they never looked back. Only ten of them remained behind.
"Dorian, what did you do?"
"I told them to protect the Wall and those in the city."
"You told them?"
"Yes, John. They are programmed to follow me. The rest will help me locate her, and then we must do what my father wanted."
"Unfortunately."
"I'm sorry, John. As you said, she could go nuclear like she almost did before."
"I know, Dorian, but I'm not happy about what has to be done next."
"Neither am I," and his Dorian walked away, followed by the others.
Metal, decayed walls. Rotted, metal floors. Fluorescent lights gone dark. This was where she had awoke. They should never have done that. They should've left her out there in the wastelands, buried deep, but they didn't. And this was all their fault.
Hera's eyes were still orange. The mark was gone. She sat on the floor, in the dark. She didn't need a light. One hand pressed against her side, and the bullet was slowly pulled out. Gripped tightly in hot flesh, it now melted and mixed into red. Hera's eyes flashed a darker orange.
"You want a war," she whispered into the dark. "I'll give you a war."
One hand erupted into fire. She took a deep breath. She cauterized her wound. She screamed a siren scream, shattering the dead lights overhead. A moment later, she was gone.