Ch. 6:
We stood by the piers, waiting for the ship that was bringing in the supplies Terminal City desperately needed. Max and Logan stood a good distance apart, even though Logan had come readily equipped with rubber gloves. I stayed away from Logan, keeping close to Alec and Jeremiah. The boys spent their time glaring at each other. At least that was slightly better than beating the crap out of each other. While we waited, I looked down at my arm, which was regaining its normal chocolate brown color.
Jeremiah tapped his foot as he growled, "What time did you say this thing was coming in?" His hands were stuffed into his pockets. He looked like he was itching to whip out another cigarette.
"At midnight," said Max, looking tiredly at my CO. "Logan's contact said this ship would be bringing in clothes and food for TC."
"Logan's contact?" Jeremiah snorted in disgust. "Why don't we just put a bullet to our heads? It'll be quicker."
"609, Logan knows what he's doing," said Alec, with a forced smile. "If Max trusts him, so should you. Besides, you might learn a thing or two before you go back to New York."
"Aren't you coming with me?"
Max gave Alec a startled look. Alec ignored it, in favor of inching closer to Jeremiah with his hands balled tightly into fists. I stepped between the two of them, pushing them away from each other.
"Guys, cool it," I warned. "We can't blow this mission just so you can satisfy some alpha male thing."
Jeremiah smiled grimly, "Sure, Bobbie. Whatever you say." I looked up in the distance. Using my zoom vision, I saw the ship's hull come into view. Looked over to Max, Alec, and Jeremiah who were also looking in my direction. Logan squinted his eyes to see what we were seeing.
"Ship's coming," said Max. "Everyone know what you're doing?"
"Yep," said Alec with a grin as he bounded over the crates to rest upon his position as a lookout. Jeremiah slinked into the shadows just a few feet behind Max and Logan, keeping an eye out for them. I took off my shoes and placed them behind a stack of boxes and jumped into the water. I let the water rush over my head, embracing the utter silence that greeted me in the depths below. I let my eyes take in the ship as it moved into the pier. Swimming quickly, I leaned against the ship's side, waiting tensely for any change. I didn't have to wait too long.
In tight black scuba diving suits, two men swam to my side of the ship. I tensed, waiting for their next move. The taller of the two swam towards me, his eyes glinting pure hatred. Swimming to the side, I grabbed his arm and pushed him against the ship's hull. The sound of his head hitting the hull was a ghostly crack. A pair of hands grabbed me from behind, to which I used my legs to kick him in the groin. The hands fell away and I turned to see the shorter scuba guy float to the bottom. Almost without warning a hand gripped my throat and began squeezing. Instinctively, I began to flail and start to open my mouth. Self-preservation kicked in and I kept my mouth closed, only allowing some saltwater to be swallowed. I let myself go limp and I could feel tall scuba guy letting go of my sore throat. My right leg shot out and pushed him into the small propellers towards the back of the ship. Since the propellers were still moving, the sea turned red with my opponent's blood. Quickly, I swam towards the underside of the piers to get some air.
I could hear something happening on the surface, but wasn't sure what when I rose from the water, gasping and shuddering for air. Pushing my hair out of my eyes and cursing the fact that I would have to do some serious washing to rectify the damage to my follicles, I listened and there were sounds of punches being thrown and bodies hitting the ground. I peeked out from under the pier and there was Alec and Jeremiah fighting for their lives against a group of tall, well-muscled men and women. Logan was hovering over Max as she threw the man she was fighting into the water, where he had landed right beside me. I took that as my cue to join the fray.
"Hey guys," I said, twisting my hair free of water. "Need help?"
"Bobbie, these guys are familiars!" Alec cried as he threw a punch at a female familiar who stumbled backwards.
"Okay," I said, pulling myself onto the pier. Just then, a lady with dark red hair jumped in front of me with a sharp smirk on her face.
"Transgenic filth!" She spat, her normally pretty features twisting into an ugly snarl.
"You know, if you're not careful, your face could freeze that way." The female familiar looked confused, then growled.
"When The Coming arrives, you will die and I will dance upon your graves!"
"Ookay," I said. "Aren't we getting a little melodramatic?" I was greeted with her fist plowing into my face.
"Hey!" I shouted, wiping the blood from my split lip. "No fair! Now, I gotta punch you!" With that, I punched her face, to which she only shrugged and grabbed me. I felt myself sailing into the air and crashing into a pile of broken wooden crates. I winced as a couple of splinters dug into the palm of my hand.
"Damn! There's no end to this day." I grabbed the splinters and yanked them out of my palm. Wiping the blood away on my wet jeans, I looked around for something to give me some leverage with these crazies. I saw Alec struggling with the female familiar who was wailing on him with no mercy. I winced as I saw my little brother sink to the floor under her beatings. I grinned with pleasure when he kicked her legs out from under her, forcing the familiar to land on the ground with a heavy thump. Alec stood up shakily, holding his shoulder and gave me a smirk. The female familiar growled and as Alec and I stared at her with raised eyebrows, her leg swung up and stomped on Alec's family jewels. He groaned aloud as he sank to the floor.
White-hot rage enveloped me as I yelled, "Hey bitch!" Alec and the female familiar looked up at me. I looked around me until I found a heavy chain. I held it in my hand, "Want to go around the world?" I flung the heavy chain like a lasso and knocked that evil familiar into the water.
Alec grinned at me through his pain, "Thanks, Bob." I jumped down beside, him, taking a quick look to see if he was seriously injured. He wasn't, except that the wound on his shoulder had opened again. I winced as I saw his blood seep through his dark denim jacket.
"Son of a bitch!" he muttered, gritting his teeth as he struggled to get up. Wordlessly, I put my arms around his waist and pulled him towards a haggard Max and Jeremiah. Logan, the bastard, looked like he was in the pink of health. Max gave Alec a look of concern before focusing on Logan, who was telling her that the exo didn't seem to be making the proper whirring sound it was supposed to make after a vigorous fight. I could feel Alec stiffening against my shoulder and I whispered, "Easy there, soldier."
"So, do we have the supplies?" Jeremiah asked, massaging his leg, which had a large cut, bubbling forth blood.
Logan looked at him with some hostility and replied, "Yes, my contact came through." He gave us a smirk. Ass.
"Oh joy," I said, shifting Alec's weight against me. "So, what are we going to do now?"
"I suggest you three head back to Terminal City to be patched up. Max and I can make the official deliveries." Alec looked as though he was going to protest, but he fell silent. He and Jeremiah gave me sharp looks and I sighed. Once again, I had to be the mediator.
"Look, Logan, that's awfully nice of you." The man beamed with pleasure. Dear God, kill me now. "But, the boys and I will patch ourselves up at my place. It's only a few blocks away from here and we wouldn't want to interfere with the cure."
Max looked at me with some surprise, "How did you know…"
I waved my hand away, "Never mind how I know. You guys just go and make sure TC gets the stuff it needs." Logan began picking up the crates of supplies and putting them into his ancient Aztek and Max gave us a quick look before following him.
"Story of my life," Alec muttered. "I get injured and he comes out the hero."
"Come on, Alec," I said. "Let's get you and Jeremiah cleaned up."
We stood by the piers, waiting for the ship that was bringing in the supplies Terminal City desperately needed. Max and Logan stood a good distance apart, even though Logan had come readily equipped with rubber gloves. I stayed away from Logan, keeping close to Alec and Jeremiah. The boys spent their time glaring at each other. At least that was slightly better than beating the crap out of each other. While we waited, I looked down at my arm, which was regaining its normal chocolate brown color.
Jeremiah tapped his foot as he growled, "What time did you say this thing was coming in?" His hands were stuffed into his pockets. He looked like he was itching to whip out another cigarette.
"At midnight," said Max, looking tiredly at my CO. "Logan's contact said this ship would be bringing in clothes and food for TC."
"Logan's contact?" Jeremiah snorted in disgust. "Why don't we just put a bullet to our heads? It'll be quicker."
"609, Logan knows what he's doing," said Alec, with a forced smile. "If Max trusts him, so should you. Besides, you might learn a thing or two before you go back to New York."
"Aren't you coming with me?"
Max gave Alec a startled look. Alec ignored it, in favor of inching closer to Jeremiah with his hands balled tightly into fists. I stepped between the two of them, pushing them away from each other.
"Guys, cool it," I warned. "We can't blow this mission just so you can satisfy some alpha male thing."
Jeremiah smiled grimly, "Sure, Bobbie. Whatever you say." I looked up in the distance. Using my zoom vision, I saw the ship's hull come into view. Looked over to Max, Alec, and Jeremiah who were also looking in my direction. Logan squinted his eyes to see what we were seeing.
"Ship's coming," said Max. "Everyone know what you're doing?"
"Yep," said Alec with a grin as he bounded over the crates to rest upon his position as a lookout. Jeremiah slinked into the shadows just a few feet behind Max and Logan, keeping an eye out for them. I took off my shoes and placed them behind a stack of boxes and jumped into the water. I let the water rush over my head, embracing the utter silence that greeted me in the depths below. I let my eyes take in the ship as it moved into the pier. Swimming quickly, I leaned against the ship's side, waiting tensely for any change. I didn't have to wait too long.
In tight black scuba diving suits, two men swam to my side of the ship. I tensed, waiting for their next move. The taller of the two swam towards me, his eyes glinting pure hatred. Swimming to the side, I grabbed his arm and pushed him against the ship's hull. The sound of his head hitting the hull was a ghostly crack. A pair of hands grabbed me from behind, to which I used my legs to kick him in the groin. The hands fell away and I turned to see the shorter scuba guy float to the bottom. Almost without warning a hand gripped my throat and began squeezing. Instinctively, I began to flail and start to open my mouth. Self-preservation kicked in and I kept my mouth closed, only allowing some saltwater to be swallowed. I let myself go limp and I could feel tall scuba guy letting go of my sore throat. My right leg shot out and pushed him into the small propellers towards the back of the ship. Since the propellers were still moving, the sea turned red with my opponent's blood. Quickly, I swam towards the underside of the piers to get some air.
I could hear something happening on the surface, but wasn't sure what when I rose from the water, gasping and shuddering for air. Pushing my hair out of my eyes and cursing the fact that I would have to do some serious washing to rectify the damage to my follicles, I listened and there were sounds of punches being thrown and bodies hitting the ground. I peeked out from under the pier and there was Alec and Jeremiah fighting for their lives against a group of tall, well-muscled men and women. Logan was hovering over Max as she threw the man she was fighting into the water, where he had landed right beside me. I took that as my cue to join the fray.
"Hey guys," I said, twisting my hair free of water. "Need help?"
"Bobbie, these guys are familiars!" Alec cried as he threw a punch at a female familiar who stumbled backwards.
"Okay," I said, pulling myself onto the pier. Just then, a lady with dark red hair jumped in front of me with a sharp smirk on her face.
"Transgenic filth!" She spat, her normally pretty features twisting into an ugly snarl.
"You know, if you're not careful, your face could freeze that way." The female familiar looked confused, then growled.
"When The Coming arrives, you will die and I will dance upon your graves!"
"Ookay," I said. "Aren't we getting a little melodramatic?" I was greeted with her fist plowing into my face.
"Hey!" I shouted, wiping the blood from my split lip. "No fair! Now, I gotta punch you!" With that, I punched her face, to which she only shrugged and grabbed me. I felt myself sailing into the air and crashing into a pile of broken wooden crates. I winced as a couple of splinters dug into the palm of my hand.
"Damn! There's no end to this day." I grabbed the splinters and yanked them out of my palm. Wiping the blood away on my wet jeans, I looked around for something to give me some leverage with these crazies. I saw Alec struggling with the female familiar who was wailing on him with no mercy. I winced as I saw my little brother sink to the floor under her beatings. I grinned with pleasure when he kicked her legs out from under her, forcing the familiar to land on the ground with a heavy thump. Alec stood up shakily, holding his shoulder and gave me a smirk. The female familiar growled and as Alec and I stared at her with raised eyebrows, her leg swung up and stomped on Alec's family jewels. He groaned aloud as he sank to the floor.
White-hot rage enveloped me as I yelled, "Hey bitch!" Alec and the female familiar looked up at me. I looked around me until I found a heavy chain. I held it in my hand, "Want to go around the world?" I flung the heavy chain like a lasso and knocked that evil familiar into the water.
Alec grinned at me through his pain, "Thanks, Bob." I jumped down beside, him, taking a quick look to see if he was seriously injured. He wasn't, except that the wound on his shoulder had opened again. I winced as I saw his blood seep through his dark denim jacket.
"Son of a bitch!" he muttered, gritting his teeth as he struggled to get up. Wordlessly, I put my arms around his waist and pulled him towards a haggard Max and Jeremiah. Logan, the bastard, looked like he was in the pink of health. Max gave Alec a look of concern before focusing on Logan, who was telling her that the exo didn't seem to be making the proper whirring sound it was supposed to make after a vigorous fight. I could feel Alec stiffening against my shoulder and I whispered, "Easy there, soldier."
"So, do we have the supplies?" Jeremiah asked, massaging his leg, which had a large cut, bubbling forth blood.
Logan looked at him with some hostility and replied, "Yes, my contact came through." He gave us a smirk. Ass.
"Oh joy," I said, shifting Alec's weight against me. "So, what are we going to do now?"
"I suggest you three head back to Terminal City to be patched up. Max and I can make the official deliveries." Alec looked as though he was going to protest, but he fell silent. He and Jeremiah gave me sharp looks and I sighed. Once again, I had to be the mediator.
"Look, Logan, that's awfully nice of you." The man beamed with pleasure. Dear God, kill me now. "But, the boys and I will patch ourselves up at my place. It's only a few blocks away from here and we wouldn't want to interfere with the cure."
Max looked at me with some surprise, "How did you know…"
I waved my hand away, "Never mind how I know. You guys just go and make sure TC gets the stuff it needs." Logan began picking up the crates of supplies and putting them into his ancient Aztek and Max gave us a quick look before following him.
"Story of my life," Alec muttered. "I get injured and he comes out the hero."
"Come on, Alec," I said. "Let's get you and Jeremiah cleaned up."