Forgiving Vengeance
Part 1 Chapter 5: Secrets
Hiro motioned for them to stop. "Look carefully over that hill." He whispered.
Trowa carefully glanced over and saw what looked like a military fortress, complete with barbed wire and armed guards.
"With that many guards we're way out numbered!"
"Relax, when they change there'll be almost none, and the rest will be in the barracks which Yassa will take care of."
Quatre looked over and Hiro heard his sharp intake of breath at his first glimpse of the Rykilions. They all stood about seven feet tall, with pasty skin that was a pale shade of gray. Each of them had black rubber tubes that ran from the back of their necks up their noses and they had no hair, the tops of their heads looked oddly like it was cracking, with a thick liquid slowly oozing out of the small cracks. Their eyes were almost completely white with a sliver of black that ran from top to bottom, and from what Quatre had heard, their language was a eerie sounding series of sharp piercing sounds that could best be likened to the sound that bats make, only much louder.
They waited for midnight to come and when it did what happened next seemed to all happen at once. Yassa, along with the rest of Hiro's men jumped out of the small trench that was their hiding place and ran toward the fence, brushing a small brush on the fence it began to steam, eating through the metal. Hiro crawled through first and hurriedly grabbed Quatre, "This way!"
Yassa and the others had swiftly run in the other direction, swallowed up by the cover of darkness.
Hiro quickly and quietly led them to a door that was on the side of the building. Pulling a small computer like device out of his bag that he carried on his side, he entered a small card in the side of the door, the computer instantly gave readout of the lock sequence inside the door. Pulling down on the card, the door opened. Slowly Hiro led them in the darkened corridor.
On each side of the door they had entered there were long, narrow that allowed the occupants of the rooms to be observed. They peered in and what they saw froze the breath in their chests. Rows and rows of humans were in tubes that were filled with some sort of reddish liquid. Some appeared normal, most appeared to be in some sort of metamorphosis that caused their skin to crack and their bodies to be severely malformed, with huge growths that attached themselves to the human flesh.
"Let's get them out of there!" Wufei hissed furiously.
"We can't!" Hiro answered him
"I'll do it then!"
"Wufei no!"
This time Heero stepped in front of Wufei. "I won't let you do this, you're endangering the mission."
Quatre spoke up. "Heero we can't let them die like-"
"They're already dead Quatre!" All five pilots turned questioning eyes to Hiro. "I said all your questions would be answered, now follow me or we won't have time to answer them." He continued down the hall until they came to a vent that was on the wall near the floor. Crawling in, he led them down several airshafts unit he exited through another vent in a separate wing of the lab. The same observation windows lined the walls here and this time when they peered in, shock and rage was the emotion that registered most. Inside they witnessed a human being dragged by two Rykilions to a table. The man was kicking and screaming, his face a picture of pure terror. "No! Nooooo! He struggled and twisted his body, but the two Rykilions quickly overpowered him. He was picked up and carelessly dropped on a table and strapped down. The man's cries became a mixture of frenzied hysteria and shock. "No! I won't let you do this! NOOOO!" After he was strapped down, the table shifted upward so that he was in a standing position, while the table was moving Hiro issued a strong warning. "No matter what happens don't to anything." After the table had finished moving a long, thin metal bar was lowered from above. A Rykilion stepped forward and pulled his head down, the man tried again to free himself but with his body strapped to a table, he was easily overpowered. Suddenly the metal rod plunged downward in the back of the man's neck. The man arched up as far as the straps allowed and screamed in pain. He started to shake and his shaking quickly progressing into convulsions. His eyes rolled back in his head and blood tricked from his ear. The metal rod was yanked back out and the man fell limply back against the table.
"What the hell just happened?" Duo demanded.
"He's been nested."
"What the hell is 'nested'!"
"The Rykilions came here because their race was dying," Hiro paused to gather a disgusted breath. "They couldn't reproduce, so when they came to earth they found a new way."
Trowa looked at Hiro "They use humans as hosts." It was not a question, it was a statement.
"Yes."
Quatre spoke in a shocked voice, "Those humans that we saw, the ones in the tubes…"
"They we Rykilions." Hiro corrected.
"And you guys just let them do that!" Duo whispered furiously.
"We had no choice, they came in several waves by the millions. We were outnumbered. We get as many as we can back. That's all we can do for now, and it's been said that since we've gone underground they're running out of hosts. Our scient-"
An explosion that shook the building cut off what ever it was he was about to say. Suddenly the hallways blared with an alarm and began to fill with Rykilions.
"Shit!" Grabbing Duo he yanked him towards the door and the end of the corridor. Just as he opened it a Rykilion grabbed his shoulder, Hiro reacted instantly, withdrawing his gun and shooting the Rykilion in the head. Blood spattered everywhere and Hiro's shirt became soaked with it. Still pushing the pilots out the door Hiro backed into Yassa. He pointed his gun at him and recognized him at the last moment.
"What the fuck happened!"
"I don't know! The reinforcements were already here when we got to the barracks!"
"Where's Duo!"
"Right here!" Duo shouted.
"Not you!" Hiro snapped.
"He was right behind me!" Yassa shouted over the alarm. Not wasting anymore time they ran down several more series of hallways joined by more of Hiro's men. The building had now become the center of activity. Shooting, yelling and blood were everywhere. Finally they reached the outside only to find it was the same there. Firing three shots in the air Hiro gave the signal to fall back. Hiro and Yassa found Max, together the three of them provided cover fire for as many soldiers as they could. When they could stay no longer Hiro yelled for Yassa to go, then for Duo to follow, but as Duo turned a shot tore through his shoulder. "Duo!" Hiro caught him as he fell to the ground. He dragged him back to the transport ship and yelled for them to take off the minute the door was closed. The ship instantly tunneled back underground the way it had came and as soon as it begun, it was over.
Inside Hiro held Duo's head, and watched as rage built up inside him with every drop of Duo's blood that spilled to the floor.
Duo tried to speak, "W-Where am I h-hit?"
"On your left shoulder."
"That's not that bad." He glanced down at the wound right above his heart, then revised his assessment. "That's bad."
"Don't talk."
He did have to tell him that. He had passed out. Hiro screamed inwardly, he would not do so outwardly. He would not let what was left of his men see that he was scared and furious. He would not tell them that a scab had betrayed them…again, for the second time in three weeks. He had to find out who the this traitor is, and he had to before it was too late.