Chapter 9
I heard a steady beeping sound again, and sat up in bed. I frantically looked around. I was in my room, and not at the hospital. That was a relief, I shut my alarm off. Then I remembered it, my dream. I leaned forward and rubbed my temples. I was there again, in the limo, helpless and alone. The gun, it saved me, but only temporarily. I saw the blood again, it was all over me, I couldn't get it off. Those terrorists dragged me out, and they beat me until I was weak. A viper came over and... I don't want to think about that. They're still not going away. How long has it been now, a week, maybe longer? Will they ever go away? I looked around my room again, and let out a sigh. They're just dreams, they can't hurt me now that I'm awake. I'll go and get some water.
I threw on the first thing I found, which was a white t-shirt and shorts, and left my room. I didn't take in my surroundings as I walked, I was completely focused on getting a glass of water. There was something playing on the TV, but I didn't hear it too well. I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with some water from the dispenser on the fridge. I watched the level of water steadily rise in the glass as I held it against the button. Once it was full, I drank it slowly, savoring that cool sweetness sliding down my throat. It was comforting, reminded me I was awake now. I felt someone tap on my shoulder, so I turned around.
There was a viper in front of me now. I felt my fight or flight reaction kick in as it spoke to me. "Lucas, can you help me?" She had a confused look to her.
I relaxed slightly. It was the Viper I knew. Can't believe I got scared like that. "With, with what?"
11-7 crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "The - showering facilities. I asked you the moment you left your room, but you ignored me."
I rubbed my eyes with my free hand and took a deep breath. "Sure, can you... give me a minute."
Her tongue flicks slowed and she squinted her eyes. She leaned her head forward, closer to my face and examined me. "Are you alright?"
I looked at the glass of water I was holding and blinked my eyes slowly. "Yeah, I just woke up. I need a minute."
She still looked slightly concerned, but she nodded her head and slithered off to the bathroom.
I turned to face the fridge and continued to stare at my water. These dreams aren't going to go away on their own, are they? I guess I'll have to keep trying to forget, there's not much else I can do. Well, besides going to a clinic, but if I wanted to live in a chemically induced fantasy I'd smoke crack. At least then the tap wouldn't be controlled by Advent. It would end up becoming another way they'd control me. I finished off the rest of my water and made my way over to the bathroom.
My head was tilted downwards as I walked in. I looked upwards once I was standing on cool floor tiles. I saw the grey tiles, passed my bathroom mat, saw the bathtub, then I spotted creamy white scaled plates accented with orange at the sides. I followed those plates up. I almost made it to her chest before I realized she was not wearing a shirt.
Suddenly I was no longer tired. I slammed my eyes shut and exclaimed the first thing that came to mind. "Woah! Why in god's name are you naked?"
I could not see her, but the sassiness was palatable. I could almost see her putting her hands on her hips as she spoke. "I asked for your help using the shower. I can not use it if I am clothed."
"Wait a second, if you don't know how to use the shower that means you haven't used it since you got here."
I heard her chuckle. "Yes, well I am not shedding hair - and skin - everywhere - all the time, like you. I shed cleanly once a month, so I do not get filthy as fast as you do."
"I'll take your word for it, just put on a shirt - please. I can show you how to use the shower and then I'll leave."
I heard her claws scratch the bathroom sink's counter. Her voice sounded semi-muffled as she spoke. "You humans are such prudes, I don't understand why. But it was humorous to see your reaction."
I didn't appreciate being mocked. "Your - tits - are hanging out. People don't just do that out of nowhere."
"Why not?" I'd assume she was fucking with me, but her tone sounded geuninly curious.
"It's uh, more of an intimate thing..."
She was silent for a few moments. "I do not understand. How?"
She couldn't have picked a better time to ask me about this. Oh who am I kidding I wouldn't be comfortable talking about this with her anytime. "Look, I uh. I don't exactly feel - comfortable discussing that with you right now."
I heard her snort. "So prudish, can't even say why. Maybe you are scared. My body is not scary, - you can look if you want."
While some parts of her were scarier than others, I was more interested to take her up on that offer than I cared to admit. " - Can you just put on a shirt, so that..."
She cut me off with a laugh. "I put on my shirt a long time ago. See for yourself."
I slowly opened my eyes, prepared to shut them if I didn't see any fabric. I saw the crinkles of fabric and the shadows it cast, so I fully opened my eyes. There in the tub was 11-7. She was wearing a white T-shirt and a smug look. "Thank - you." Was all I could think to say as I walked up to the bathtub.
On my approach I got a strange feeling, a primal feeling. Not - that - kind of a primal feeling. I felt like I was being stalked, hunted even. I looked up at her and she was studying me closely as I walked up. It felt like she was purposely hiding her body language from me. She was planning something, something - mischievous I think. The tub was too big for me to reach the knobs from the edge, so I had to climb in.
Once I stepped into the tub it felt like I had entered the lair of a great beast, and there was no turning back. Her body was lazily laid out around the edges of the tub, and she moved so I could make it to the shower knobs. It was hard not to notice I was surrounded on all sides by her. She moved up close to me as I explained how the knobs worked, and how to plug up the tub if she wanted to have a bath. I showed her how to use the detachable shower head, and I even pointed out where I kept the towels. The whole time she didn't say much, just nodded her head mostly. I wanted to say it was my mind playing tricks on me, but I could swear she was repositioning her body as I was talking to her. Against my better judgment I ignored the warnings my instincts were sounding off.
It didn't take me long to finish that up, I mean it's a damn shower, not a rocketship. As smart as I thought she was, she apparently needed to be shown how to use everything in this house. "Well that about sums it up. Pretty easy to figure out. If it gives you any trouble let me know. Sometimes the water heater can be finicky."
She didn't respond, but her body started to move. I kept talking to hide my nervousness. "Uh, heh. I keep asking Advent to replace it, but they're really dragging their feet..."
She still wasn't responding, and kept moving. She had a focused expression on her face, but I couldn't place the intent behind it. My discomfort had reached its peak, I got spooked and tried to jump out of the tub. I was stopped short by her body, she had raised part of it in front of me, and now I was lifted in the air slightly by her tail. I leaned backwards and slid off of it back into the tub on my feet. I looked at her. "What are you, uh - doing?" I laughed nervously.
She smiled and looked me up and down. It almost felt like she was appraising me. She wasn't coiled around me, but she had positioned her body so I could not leave the bathtub. I waited, time ticked by and she didn't say anything. After she had examined me for a bit her expression changed. The focus in her eyes petered out and she seemed disappointed. Then, just as I was about to try to jump out again, she spoke. "Still scared of me?" I was about to respond to that, but I felt something smack me on the back of the shoulder, and she yelled. "Friendly slap!" I looked over my shoulder and saw the tip of her tail hovering there. She wiggled it in a waving motion when I looked at it. Just like that the tension in the room was gone and she moved her body out of the way.
Not taking any chances I scrambled over her and got out of the tub. When I turned around she had a hand over her mouth and she was snickering. I started laughing a little too, now that I realized she was just fucking with me. I pointed at her. "You knew exactly what you were doing. I'll get you back for that."
She kept laughing as she spoke. "You - are so jumpy, I didn't - have to touch you, didn't have to say anything. There's no need to be afraid."
I shrugged. "Hey, lets see how uncomfortable you'd get if I was twice as big as you, and surrounding you in a bathtub." I laughed after saying that.
"Yes, you are not long enough for that." She stopped talking for a few moments and quieted her laughter. Then she got a cheeky look in her eye. "Want to see something - interesting?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Sure, what?" I saw her hands shoot towards the bottom of her shirt and begin to lift up. I spun around 180 degrees, walked out of the bathroom, and closed the door behind me. I could still hear her laughing as I sat down on the couch. I chuckled to myself as I thought about that. What a weirdo, guess that's what I get for being friends with an alien. That was such a strange interaction I don't even know what to make of it. Probably just her trying to prank me or something, I have to get her back for that.
What to do today, I should probably stretch my legs a little since I've been inactive for 3 days. I went to go get some breakfast, but I heard my doorbell ring, so I went to answer the door instead.
I wonder who it could be. I looked through my peephole and saw someone unexpected. Standing on my porch was my neighbor from across the street: Franklin. He was pretty plain looking, greying hair combed to the side, black framed glasses. A blue button up shirt paired with khakis. He looked chipper, so I opened the door.
He smiled once he saw me. "Mornin Lucas." He looked around. "Nice weather today."
"Hey Frank. Yeah, I was thinking about going on a walk. You know, stretch my legs a little."
He nodded. "You should check out Slader Park, it's real nice this time of year."
I rubbed my chin as I thought. "Slader Park, I've heard of it. I just might go."
"It's great, I still go up there with Maggie sometimes." He paused for a few moments. "It's good to hear that you're ok. Some of us were worried about you. Saw you get carted off in an ambulance a few days ago, and haven't heard from you since. I saw you got back yesterday, and figured I'd come over and check up on you."
"Oh that, yeah. I had an accident, had to stay in the hospital a few days. Nothing too serious."
He looked curious, but didn't press me. Probably out of politeness. "I see, seems like you're ok now, if you're planning on going on a walk."
I nodded. "Doing a lot better now."
He looked behind me and into my house. "Where's your new bodyguard? Jim and Judy mentioned you got a new one to me this weekend at the bonfire they were having."
Word gets around I suppose. "She's busy with - something - at the moment."
He looked slightly disappointed. "That's too bad I was hoping I could meet her. Another time then. - Is she really a, a snake?"
"Yeah, they're called Vipers. You've seen them around haven't you?"
"Sure, sure, I've seen them around, just never up close... I know some people gave you a hard time in the neighborhood when those rumors about you came out. I wanted to let you know no one here on street q12 believes that garbage, and neither do I." He looked kind of angry and he pointed behind himself at the neighborhood as he spoke, but that's just how he was when he was being serious.
That made me smile. "Thanks man. It's been tough these last few days."
He looked back at me. "You're welcome. I'll tell you though, and I'm sure you've already thought about this. But, if you got a new girlfriend people would stop telling these lies."
I chuckled and shrugged my shoulders. "I mean I'm keeping my eyes open but that's easier said than done."
He laughed. "I hear you. I'll tell you what, you'll never know where you'll meet her until you do, and it'll be in the strangest place. I met my wife at a garage sale, we both wanted the same rug. I let her have it, if she'd let me come over and see it sometimes."
"Yeah, you're right, maybe I should go rug shopping. I bet I'd run into plenty of women under 50." Frank laughed at my joke. "But, It's not a big deal anymore. I've been feeling much better since I did the interview."
"Good, I didn't catch it, but my daughter told me about it."
I didn't really want to be talking to Frank all day, so I tried to end the conversation. "It was good to hear from you, but I got stuff to do..."
He nodded, but as I was shutting the door he had something else to say. "Oh, I just remembered what I wanted to ask you. I'm having a barbeque this weekend. My kids are back from college for spring break and I wanted to celebrate. I'm inviting everyone on the street, like I always do. Did you want to come?"
That piqued my interest. "As if I could say no to free barbeque. When is it?"
"Saturday at noon, but you can come down whenever. I'll start cooking at noon. And uh, you're bodyguard - is she..."
I answered the question he was taking too long to ask. "Yeah she is more lively than the troopers; I don't think she'd start any trouble either. - I don't have to bring her if you don't want me to, but I'll probably bring her back a plate."
He looked around for a few moments in thought and rubbed that back of his head. "Uhh, if you think she'll be a good guest you can bring her. I trust you."
I nodded. "In that case, I will. You probably won't have any leftovers though."
He chuckled. "That's fine we always have too many anyway." He turned to leave and waved at me. "I'll see you saturday."
"See you then." I shut my door.
As I walked back into the livingroom I heard 11-7 yell from the bathroom. "Lucas! How do I shut off the shower?"
I laughed and walked up to the bathroom door. "If you can't figure that out yourself, you don't deserve to use the shower anymore." I heard her giggling in there after I said that. I sat down on the couch and watched some TV, I'm sure there's something decent on.
I wasn't sitting there alone for long, eventually she came out of the bathroom and joined me, donning a black tank top that had Advent written across her chest in white text. I went to the bathroom soon after she left it and saw there were like 5 towels hanging up.
Once I finished my business I yelled from the hallway. "Damn, how many towels do you need to use?"
She put a claw up to her chin and pretended to think about it. "I believe it was five."
"That's a lot."
She snorted and gestured to herself. "For you maybe. I was being modest, I could have used more."
I chuckled. "I believe you, just make sure you wash them because I don't want to accidentally use one of yours."
"Worried you'll get a disease? I should ensure I don't use yours; you are the one who sheds skin everywhere."
I chuckled and sat down on the couch. "Speaking of which, you should let me know when you do shed, maybe I can make a pair of snakeskin boots, or a hat." She crossed her arms and cocked her head as I continued. "Oh, who am I kidding. With how big you are, I could probably get an entire outfit, jacket, pants, belt, and all the rest." She rolled her eyes. "Don't look so glum, I'd let you wear the jacket and the hat sometimes."
I laughed at my own joke, and she shook her head. "Would you wear clothes made of your own dead skin?"
I shrugged and kept laughing. "I might, if that were possible."
She grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on the tv, but I saw her crack a smile. I started messaging Manny on my phone. I told him I was alive, and well. He was pleased to hear from me and apologized for 11-7 almost killing me. He sent me this huge message that I skimmed through. But, what he said next surprised me, he offered to replace her if I wanted to, and assured me he would understand if I did.
I looked up from my phone and at her. She was lounging on the couch like she usually did. Most of her body was on the couch, but she was too - long - to fit it all on, so some of it was on the floor. The tip of her tail was swaying back and forth while she watched tv. Kinda cute, well in a giant alien snake sort of a way, I guess.
As I was looking at her she looked back at me. We stared at each other for a few moments, I saw confusion in her crimson eyes at first, but then she smiled at me, I smiled back. No words needed to be exchanged, replacing her wasn't something I'd even entertain. She turned her head to watch tv, and I gave my manager my answer. He was fine with it, after all it was less work for him to do, and he approved my outing to Slader Park.
0-
We hung out in the house for an hour or two before we left. 11-7 was interested in going to the park. It wasn't too far from my neighborhood, so I decided to hoof it. We made it through the checkpoint and were on our way to the park. Traffic on the way there wasn't too bad, so we didn't have to wait long at the cross walks. Some people looked at her, but no one was looking at me. I guess being in a coma for two days made me old news, and I was perfectly fine with that. Soon enough I saw the sign for Slader park.
It was an oasis surrounded by a concrete desert. Green grass, flowers, trees, a lake, and plenty of open space. It would probably be some nice scenery for a walk. As we entered the park I realized I was a little short-winded from the journey there, and I saw a perfectly placed bench under a tree in some shade.
I pointed over at the park bench. "Let's have a seat for a bit."
11-7 looked at me and nodded. We both made our way to the bench, and I sat down. She stayed standing, well standing as much as a snake could anyway. I noticed my sunglasses had a smudge on them, so I cleaned them off with my shirt and watched her as I did. She was constantly scanning our surroundings, laser focused on finding potential threats, taking extra care to analyze the people passing by us. They, of course, kept their distance. I don't think most people would want to get close to anyone brandishing a plasma rifle, much less a giant armored alien cobra holding one. It was so strange, she is always like this when we leave my neighborhood. It was a stark contrast to how calm she seemed at home. I wish I could tell her to relax, but I'm not so sure that would be a good idea. I could still talk to her at least.
I put my cleaned sunglasses back on. "Anything out of place?"
She didn't look at me. "Nothing, yet."
I waited for her to say something else, but she didn't. I gestured in front of me. "Nice day isn't it? Not a cloud in the sky, and there's a nice breeze."
I saw her nod, but she was more interested in everything around us. "Yes."
She's really not giving me much to work with, is she? Whatever, guess I'll just think out loud. "It's uh, crazy the things you take for granted. When I was younger I could go outside and get scenery like this whenever I wanted, but there were no people and no noise pollution. Just the wind blowing through the trees and the birds tweeting. Though this is still nice."
11-7 caught me off guard and spoke up. She looked at me over her shoulder while she spoke. "Do you miss it? Being on your farm."
I chuckled and leaned forward. "So, you are listening."
"I am always listening, Lucas." She went back to facing forward.
Not too closely I hope. "Okay. Uh yeah, sometimes I miss it. Things were simpler there, more serene too. Didn't have to worry about the future back then, well - before the liberation anyway. Now I gotta be worried about being killed every time I leave my neighborhood it seems."
She kept scanning the area. "That must be difficult."
"It is, - but seeing you doing your job makes it a little easier to relax."
She nodded, but didn't respond. I stood up. "Well, I've been sitting long enough, s'pose I should walk around, like I planned to."
We walked around for a bit, I was trying to find an area that had less people in it so our conversation would be a little less one sided. As we walked around most people only gave us passing glances. It was normal to see Advent troops patrolling around the city, so seeing one in the park did not interest anyone. Eventually I found an area that no one was hanging around in. It was the area surrounding the statue of General Slader at the center of the park. It was a nice area, all things considered. There were some flower beds, and a few benches. The statue itself was modestly sized, and was bronze in color. Guess it was a coincidence no one was here. 11-7 seemed to calm down slightly once there were less people around. I walked over and skimmed the plaque under the statue.
It said something about on this day August 15th, 2015 General Douglas Slader, under orders to fight against the Elders, commanded his army to stand down, saving countless lives. There was more written, but I didn't bother reading it.
I heard her say something once I finished reading it. "Anything interesting on that plaque?"
I turned around to face her. She was still looking around, but she really did look a lot calmer. I noticed her tongue was flicking out more now. "Not really, just some General not listening to his orders during the liberation."
She kept looking around. "It is interesting that he would disobey his superiors."
I chuckled and shrugged my shoulders. "Yeah, well, some of us are pretty good at that. For better or for worse."
She nodded. "I agree, it would be situation dependent." She didn't speak for a few moments. "Do you think he did the right thing?"
That question caught me off guard. I didn't want to lie, so I just spoke my mind. "He probably saved a lot of lives, both human and alien, but it wasn't very honorable of him to just surrender like that. Course - how much honor is there in death, really."
She smiled and held her head high. "There is much honor in death. I would sooner die, than surrender to the terrorists."
I can't imagine thinking like that. Does she really not value her own life? "You'd throw your life away, just like that?"
She looked confused for a few moments and then her expression changed to a serious one as she spoke. "It would not be -thrown - away - as you say. I have a duty and a responsibility to Advent, and to you, Lucas."
That took the wind out of my sails. "Oh..." I was trying to think about what to say next, but I noticed her skin was glistening. At first I thought it was a trick of the light, so I walked a little closer. As I did I saw droplets on her face. "Are, are - you - wet?"
She looked at me and cocked her head slightly. "Yes, the temperature is high." She gestured towards the sky. "I am perspiring. You are doing it as well?"
"You can sweat? I thought you were a reptile?"
She turned her head side to side and didn't see anyone around us. She dropped her rifle to her side, and gestured at me and to herself while she talked. "Lucas, I am not from earth. The evolution of your - reptiles - has no bearing on my sspecies'ss evolution." I giggled a little as she messed up the pronunciation of species, and she frowned in response.
"Hmm, that makes sense. It's kind of hard for me to not make comparisons though."
She put her free hand on her hip. "I could compare you to other things as well, but I won't unless you give me a reason to."
I laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."
I saw her tongue flick out and hang in the air in the direction the breeze was blowing for a few seconds. She tensed up and gripped her rifle. I turned around to see what she was looking at. After a few seconds I heard the sound of bikes pedaling. Then some guy and a girl rode past the statue on bikes. They didn't even look at either of us, they were too busy looking at each other.
I looked back at 11-7, she wasn't as tense anymore. "Wow, that tongue of yours is pretty handy. You could smell them before I could even hear them."
She nodded. "It is when there are not so many of you around. You have a - strong scent." She paused for a few moments and looked around. "Is this all you do at a park?"
"You mean, like hang out."
"Yes, - hang - out -. Do nothing?"
I shook my head. "No hang out means to like be somewhere, usually with other people. You can do things, but you don't have to."
"I - understand."
I smacked my lips and realized my mouth was a little dry. "I don't know about you, but I'm thirsty. Is there a water fountain around here?"
She pointed at something behind the statue by a flower bed. "There."
"Nice." I walked over to where she pointed. It was a standard water fountain that had a button right on the dispenser, this one was made of stone though, and actually looked kind of nice. Advent probably didn't build it. As I was getting my drink, it was my turn for a mischievous idea. I realized there may be a way I could prank 11-7 for this morning. I stopped halfway through my drink and pressed lightly on the button. The water didn't come out enough for me to drink.
I pretended to examine the dispenser. "I think there's something blocking the dispenser, could you come take a look. You probably have better eyes than me."
I looked back at her and she snorted. "I can." Once she slithered up to the water fountain she dropped her rifle to her side and I moved out of the way, still holding my finger on the button. She looked at the water fountain, but did not get close to it. "I don't see anything."
I pointed at the dispenser. "Look closer, I'm pretty sure I saw something. She leaned her head forward and looked into the hole of the dispenser. She had brought her face close enough to the water fountain, so I made my move. I pushed down on the button and it squirted some water on her face.
She jerked away from the fountain and turned her head to the side as she wiped the water off of her eye with her free hand. She looked back at me and frowned.
I smiled and made a finger gun gesture with my hand. "Hey, I warned ya. I told you I'd get you back for this morning."
She lifted her chin up and snorted. "Clever, but I will not fall for it twice."
I laughed. "It only had to work once."
I was starting to worry that she wasn't gonna be a good sport about my little prank, but she smiled and let loose a laugh of her own. "You understand I will have to - get you back - now."
I nodded at her. "Good luck."
We walked around the park some more, and after a while I got tired, so we decided to go home. We ended up exiting the park at the other end because that's where we happened to be when I wanted to leave. I ended up taking us on a weird route home, and got us a little lost. 11-7 suggested we should cut through the train station to get us back on familiar territory, which sounded like a great idea.
The train station wasn't very big, Advent didn't use these for transporting people, just on loading and off loading cargo. There were plenty of sensors around, but since we weren't going near the train we didn't need to go through any checkpoints. As we walked through I got a strange feeling, the area was being heavily patrolled. There were a lot of troopers, a few sectoids, some vipers and even an Advent Mech.
One of the troopers walked up to us and addressed 11-7 in Advent. She responded and he walked back to where he was before.
I started to get nervous. "Heh, lotta soldiers around here, huh."
She nodded at one of the train cars. "Important cargo. We are free to pass through."
"Good. Let's pass through, a little faster. I don't want to hang around here and get arrested."
There were some other people here too. They were standing in a group over by a bench chatting, and there was an old woman sitting on a different bench by herself. She looked bored and her eyes lazily drifted around. As we were walking past them I felt someone grab my hand, and I heard gunfire. There was a sectoid like 20 feet in front of me, I watched as its head exploded into lime green chunks and its body flopped onto the ground like a limp fish.
11-7 yanked me over the benches and got low behind it. "Keep low! Don't make yourself a target!"
The Advent troops all sprung into action and started shooting. That group of people that were talking made themselves scarce, but the old lady stayed right where she was. I saw some rebels poke out from the rooftops, and a few were on the ground. An explosion went off, and 11-7 started to return fire with her plasma rifle over the bench.
I just sat next to her, trying to keep myself from panicking. I felt it again, that dark shadow over me. Before, when I was in the limo I didn't notice it, I was numb to it because I didn't know how to react. But I was feeling it now, death looming over me. It was happening again, why was it happening again. Why now? My heart rate increased and I got the urge to just get up and sprint the hell out of here. To get away from this bloodbath as fast as possible and to forget I was even here. It sounded like a good idea until I realized if I did that I would probably get shot immediately. I've got to keep ahold of myself. I have no combat experience whatsoever, so I have to stay here and listen to 11-7, it'll be my best chance. But one stray grenade is all it would take, I wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time.
I looked at her, she was entirely focused on combat. As far as I knew she didn't even know I was here anymore. I am so fucked, and I don't even have a gun this time. I didn't even have the illusion of being able to defend myself. I peeked through a slit on the bench to see what was going on. I watched one of these rebels vault over the cover he was behind, charge a trooper with a machete. He had on the standard grey armor they all wear, and it was stained with orange splatters as he brutally cut down the Advent trooper. This guy swung his machete at least 12 times. The whole time he had this manic look on his face, wide eyed with a big smile, and he was laughing the whole time he was chopping. He ducked behind cover when he was finished. All this advanced tech Advent has, all these alien freaks with psychic powers that they command, and I just witnessed one of their soldiers get chopped up with a machete like a fucking cartel victim. The only way this would have been more insane is if he used a wooden club like a damn caveman. These terrorists are nuts.
The Advent mech let loose a volley of rockets at one of the buildings the rebels were on top of, and destroyed half of it. It crumbled in on itself and coated the surrounding area in debris, spreading fire everywhere. I was in shock, one mech was able to destroy that much in like 12 seconds. Advent clearly doesn't care about property damage, so long as they killed all these rebels. I saw an RPG get shot from one of the other buildings, and the missile hit the mech right in the chest. The shrapnel produced by the missile shredded the Advent trooper and the viper that were near the mech.
The old woman that was sitting on a bench watched this all unfold, completely unfazed. After watching that trooper get hacked up, she stood up and calmly walked over towards the rebel with a machete. When she was about halfway there, I - well - she fucking shapeshifted into a monster. It was like 8ft tall and looked like something out of a goddamn horror movie. It was giant and pink and, and goopy looking, like it was made out of wet clay. It had these long black gruesome claws - three on each hand. The rebel stopped laughing, and dread spread across his face as this freakish thing hobbled right up to him. The monster slashed at him with its claws. They cut through his armor, and the metal barrier he was next to, like a hot knife through butter. I saw blood leaking out of the tears in his armor and some of it had splattered onto the ground, staining the light colored concrete red. He pulled out a shotgun and pumped a few rounds into it. The bullets ripped chunks off of it, and when pieces of that thing hit the ground they dissolved into a liquid. It seemed unfazed by the damage and raised an arm to slash at him again. He held up the shotgun to block its attack and it ripped one of his arms off. It soared through the air and landed outside of my vision. I turned away from the carnage. I - I'm going to die here, aren't I? And if the rebels don't kill me, the giant shape-shifting monster will.
My fear reached its peak, I couldn't think straight. I covered my ears and hoped it would be over soon. I watched 11-7 pop in and out of cover next to me, shooting at things I didn't want to see anymore. She looked stoic as she fought, completely unaffected by the events transpiring in front of her. I wish I could be like her in that way: no regrets, no fear, completely focused on the task at hand. I doubt she'll ever have to deal with nightmares of this day. I turned to my left and saw a trooper say something to her. I wasn't sure what he said because they always speak Advent around me, but I looked over at her, and she was tensing up. I got the feeling he was telling her to move up. I wasn't sure what to do, I couldn't imagine being alone in a situation like this, again. This time it was even worse, I wasn't inside a bulletproof limo with the doors locked, gun in hand. The only thing keeping me from becoming terrorist target practice was a flimsy metal bench and 11-7. One of these things was immensely more valuable than the other. I wasn't thinking clearly anymore, I instinctively grabbed 11-7's arm, like a child. She instantly locked eyes with me, I saw confusion in those crimson orbs.
I stared into her eyes for a few moments, trying to impress on her how fucked up I was right now, before I found my voice. "Please... don't leave me." Was all I could say. I sounded hoarse and quiet. It was probably a pathetic display.
Her eyes softened slightly and she nodded at me. She looked back at the trooper and said something to him in Advent. He pointed behind us to an alley. She looked back at me. "I'm evacuating you, there will be more troops here shortly. They do not require my assistance."
I had never been more happy to hear something in my life. She pointed to the same alley the trooper pointed to earlier. "We are retreating down that alley. The rebels are only attacking from their position on the other side." I nodded. "You'll go first, and I will be behind you. You will run when I say to" I nodded again.
She looked through the slit on the bench for a long time before she yelled for me to move. I didn't wait for her to say it twice. I sprinted down that alley as fast as I could, and I could hear 11-7 right behind me. There was a trash can tipped over in the middle of the alley that I hurdled over like a gold medal olympic runner. I turned right once I was out of the alley. I was on the sidewalk next to a road. The entire area had been blocked off by Advent, and there was no traffic or people to be seen. How long were we in combat for, I wonder?
I turned around to see 11-7 slither out of the alley tactfully. I could still feel the adrenaline pumping through my body, but I was not dead. I looked over myself and patted down my body. "Ha, ha! I am alive, and not a scratch on me! I could hug you, you magnificent serpent!"
A smile spread across her face as she leaned up against a wall. "I'm happy to hear you are ok."
I noticed some yellow liquid dripping down her armor. I followed it up and saw a hole in the middle of a large indent on her shoulder. I pointed at it. "Oh no. No, you were hit."
She calmly looked at her shoulder. "I was. It must have happened while we ran into the alley."
I started to panic again. "Fuck, what should we do! It looks like you're losing a lot of blood."
I heard the sound of metal scraping against metal as she drifted down and sat against the wall. She set down her rifle and grunted in pain as she started fiddling with her shoulder pad. "There's - a medkit in my armor. By my waist." Her shoulder pad hit the concrete sidewalk with a clank, and I kneeled down by her.
I started feeling around.. "Where is it? I don't see anything."
"Push in on my back." She turned sideways so I could see better.
I saw a few gold colored ridge shaped things. They were where, well the butt of a human would be relative to their torso, but this was a serious situation and I didn't have time to worry about such things. I reached out and pushed on them frantically, one of them popped out and a small black object with a nozzle fell on the ground.
I picked it up and showed it to her. "Is this it?"
She nodded and turned her body to face me. "It is, hold the nozzle in front of my wound and push the button on the back."
I went over to her shoulder, there was yellow blood everywhere, and I couldn't see the wound, so I grabbed the bottom of my white shirt and tried to soak up some of the blood. She hissed as I did it, but I tried to ignore it. I was able to soak up enough blood so I could see the wound, and I followed her instructions. As I pushed on the button with my thumb some blue colored spray came out of the nozzle and instantly sealed the wound. It had created some blue colored scab thing over her wound. I heard 11-7 grunt while she was sprayed.
Once it was done I backed off and looked at her face. She looked a little worse for wear, but seemed cognizant. "Are you ok? It sounded like that hurt."
She tilted her head up to look at me and smiled. I saw mischievousness in her slitted pupils. "Aww, are you worried about me?"
That was an uncharacteristic thing for her to say. I gestured at her bullet wound. "Well, yeah. You got shot. I don't want you to die, especially now. After you, uh got me out of there."
She giggled and got up after a few moments. I picked up her plasma rifle and handed it to her. "I'll be alright, but the bullet will have to be removed by a physician."
I breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. So, what do we do now?"
She looked over her shoulder at the alley we exited that battlefield from. "We should get further away from the terrorists. We are not safe yet."
We moved away from the alley, neither of us said anything. Eventually we encountered an Advent blockade. They had made a makeshift barricade using two of their patrol cars, and there were some Advent troopers directing traffic. Two of the troopers walked up to us and started talking to 11-7. It was strange that they kept choosing to talk to her, over me, but I wasn't complaining. I wasn't in a chatty mood right now. After they spoke to each other for a few minutes, they stopped and 11-7 looked at me.
She smiled, but her voice sounded uncertain. "They are going to - take you home, and I must go to a physician. Separate."
I didn't want to be alone, and I certainly didn't want her to be alone either. "Can't I go with you?"
She shook her head. "You will be safer at home. I won't be gone for a long time, 6 hours at the maximum."
I still wasn't just gonna let her leave. "I don't care, I just want to make sure you are ok. How can you..."
She gingerly set her free hand on my shoulder, and snaked her head down to be eye level with me. "No need to worry, I will be alright. Go home." She smiled again, but I sensed a hint of something else, maybe she didn't want me to leave either.
I turned away from her gaze for a few moments and looked back at her. Her eyes were pleading with me. I figured it would be easier if I just went along with it. I relented and let out a sigh. "You'll be back tonight?"
She nodded. "Most likely."
"Okay, - I'll go." I saw her eyes soften. She gave my shoulder a squeeze for a few moments and let go. She followed one of the troopers, and I was led away by the other trooper into a patrol car.
0-
The drive was short, but it felt long. I went inside, locked the front door, and plopped down on my couch.
I turned on the tv, but I didn't really watch it. I kinda just stared at it. Before I even knew what happened 2 hours had passed. Is this what it was like in my house before she showed up? It's only been like a week, but I can't even remember what it was like without her. I mean it feels like she's lived me my whole life. And now, my house is so empty. I looked down at my white shirt, there was a large yellow crusty stain on it, her blood. I hope she's ok, I can't believe I'm actually worried about her. It was weird, I was rarely concerned about anything other than myself. Even so, I shouldn't worry, I mean she probably gets shot like this once a week, or something. I'm not sure if that's a good thing though. I looked up to see what was playing on tv, it was the Starship Rangers movie. I saw a scene of my character, Captain Wilkins, leading a squad to clear these mutant bugs out of his ship. He didn't look scared, even as some of his squad members got ripped apart by bugs, he kept going.
My eyes drifted back to 11-7's bloodstain on my shirt. Maybe if I wasn't so useless I could have prevented this. I wouldn't even have needed to pick up a gun. If I had just - put more effort into remembering the route home, this wouldn't have happened. I looked back up at the tv. I saw how stoic Captain Wilkins looked in the face of danger; it reminded me of how 11-7 looked while fighting today. What did they have that I didn't? - They're probably just not massive pussies. I chuckled to myself. I should probably change out of this shirt.
I took a shower and changed into some clean clothes, I scooched all five of her towels to the side on the drying bar to make room for mine. She still wasn't home yet. I sat down on the couch and changed the channel. I already knew how Starship Rangers ended, and I did not want to see myself die tonight, even if it was in a movie. I waited as long as I could, well into the night, but she still wasn't back yet. The whole time I felt like a nervous wreck. I couldn't help but imagine some rebels breaking into my house, and every little sound I heard made me jump. It took a while, but eventually I gave up on waiting and decided to go to bed. As I crawled in I felt uncertain. What would the future bring? Will she inevitably end up dying for my sake? Fighting against some dumb terrorists who think it would be a good idea to kidnap, or kill, a D-list celebrity. I don't deserve that kind of loyalty. Here I am being all pessimistic again, it's not like they were after - me this time. I fell into a restless sleep.