CE 65
Sarik continued typing on his computer, despite the fact that the cellular phone on his desk continued to beep in a most repetitive and annoying fashion. In this instance, it was acting as a pager, probably one of his parents attempting to inform him that dinner was ready. Apparently, it was too much of an inconvenience for one of them to make the short walk to the other end of the estate to tell him personally.
Sarik continued to look over the information in front of him, assimilating the article as it quickly scrolled down the screen. The data before him was a presentation of the official police report and subsequent investigations regarding the assassination of George Glenn, the first of all Coordinators.
This man, though with good intentions, had begun all of this, hadn't he? If he had simply remained silent for a decade or two longer about the circumstances of his birth, perhaps the entire world would be different, its inhabitants more open minded. But instead, he had to simultaneously inform the entirety of Earth about what he truly was, and his blunt views on the implications of such. As a result, organizations such as Blue Cosmos now reigned unchecked in their subtle race war, which was quickly gaining popular support.
Sarik abruptly ended his typing as his right arm cramped up. This happened often. In fact, it seemed that he was always in pain somewhere. If it wasn't an arm, it was a leg, or his chest, or his head. The doctor had told him that it had something to do with deficiencies in the maintenance process, and that it might be years before all of the bugs were weeded out.
When the pain did not subside, Sarik reached over to a small case that set on his desk next to the computer. He popped the cover off, revealing four extremely small syringes, each filled with practically a drop of pain medication. It seemed that every time he used them, his body grew more resistant to the effects of whatever particular drug was being used. All but this latest treatment, an ancient remedy commonly known as "morphine". According to Walters, this was most likely because the fluid was derived from completely natural sources, rather than purely synthetic compounds.
Sarik let out a sigh as he pressed the tiny autodermical to his arm, the morphine's effect noticeable almost immediately. He was about to return back to skimming over the report when time seemed to slow in a peaceful kind of way.
Sarik stared distantly at the computer screen for a moment, remembering Sarah, and everything that she had done for him. It seemed that, for the past year, she had spent more time with him than either of his parents put together. In fact, she was the one who had helped him procure the parts for this computer, and was even kind enough to assist him in the assembly. Afterwards, she had helped him to learn how to modify the operating system, the entire reason for constructing it, as every prior machine they had tested proved to have an agonizingly slow processing speed for Sarik.
As the initial high passed, he pondered over what had happened a year ago, his reawakening. The anniversary for that was coming up soon, wasn't it? He would have to find something to give to Sarah, something nice. He had been anything but cooperative for the next few months afterwards, mostly due to what Doctor Walters had explained to be a massive imbalance of hormones, even exceeding the effects of diseases such as the now-extinct Bipolar disorder. As the man tweaked the maintenance settings over time, everything progressively improved, though Sarik still occasionally had violent streaks.
Sarik felt tears begin to form in his eyes as he thought about that day, though he quickly quelled them. He had done and said things to Sarah that he continued to regret in the fullest, even after all of this time. Sarik owed her so much, much more than even that man who called himself his father. What saddened him the most was that he had meant every word and blow. He WANTED to hurt her as much as he had, and then some. Even now, a small part of him still believed every bit of it.
Sarik stirred as he heard footsteps echo up the hallway. From the fashion that this person walked in, he figured that it was someone Sarah's size. Sarik waved his hand over the computer's flat monitor, causing it to slide down into the desk and shut down.
"Sarik?" called Sarah's voice after a pair of knocks. "Your parents would like you to join them for dinner."
"Coming," the child replied dryly. Another fun night at the dinner table. What was his father going to spring on him next?
* * *
Sarik poked boredly at his remaining food, already full. It seemed that even when his parents requested his presence, they practically ignored him. At least by eating in his room he could get something done.
"Sarik, did you hear me?" the boy's father asked.
"No," Sarik replied honestly in a blunt tone as he glanced up from his food.
"Your mother and I were just speaking about your education," the middle-aged man informed him.
"Yes?" Sarik acknowledged, sitting erect in his seat.
"Well, your mother and I recently toured a boarding school in Berlin that we thought you might enjoy in the fall," Derick informed his child. "It's one of the most prestigious institutions in Eurasia, and they have a number of classes that I would think you could find useful. Advanced mathematics, computer construction and programming, and even basic engineering courses. Even you should find their curriculum challenging."
"I didn't realize that I was doing so bad here," Sarik remarked.
"You're not," his mother complimented. "You've completed in the past year what would take a normal child three years. That's what we're worried about. Perhaps you have too much time on your hands? We think it would do you well to get out for a while, see places, meet people."
"Not to mention how well it would look on your resume for college," Derick informed. "Ninety percent of the children who graduate from that school are accepted into the world's best universities."
"And they're all Naturals, right?" Sarik questioned rhetorically.
"Yes," his father answered.
"Then we already have a problem," Sarik informed. "I wouldn't fit in. I can't pose as one of them."
"I have already taken care of that," Derick told him. "As of today, you are officially a Coordinator."
"So now you're looking to kill me?" Sarik questioned, his voice rising slightly in hysteria.
"Sarik!" Laura scolded.
"Have neither of you heard of Blue Cosmos?" Sarik inquired.
"They're an organization of insignificant fanatics," Derick remarked. "They won't last much longer."
"In the past year, Blue Cosmos has been linked to several hundred Coordinator's deaths," Sarik quoted drably. "Their leadership now consists of some of the world's most influential politicians, and their membership has nearly doubled in the past few years. How do you know they won't be waiting for me at this school's front gates when I arrive?"
"Sarik, you are going to this school," Derick told him adamantly. "It's already been decided."
"I see," Sarik said in contempt. "May I be excused from the table, please?"
"You may," Laura got in before Derick said something else, shaking her head.
Sarik practically jumped out of his seat and walked briskly towards the dining room's exit.
* * *
Sarah was returning to her room from her private meal as Sarik rushed past her, brushing her slightly before he ran up the stairs. From the way the boy held himself, Sarah could tell something was wrong. He was almost always fanatically alert. Now, he seemed distant, distracted as he stared at the ground.
"Sarik?" Sarah said, trying to catch his attention. "Sarik!"
But he continued his advance, either having not heard her or ignoring her call. Sarah darted up the stairs after him, hoping to catch up before he arrived at his room.
But the sudden sound of a door slamming shut caused Sarah to slow. She was a bit late in that respect, so she advanced more slowly, hoping Sarik would settle down during the delay.
"Sarik, can I come in?" Sarah asked as she stopped in front of his room. There was no response, but she could hear furious typing on the other side. She knocked loudly. "Sarik!"
"You can come in," Sarik's emotionless voice informed her.
Sarah turned the knob, surprised that the door was unlocked. As she stepped inside of Sarik's room, she realized that he was once more at his desk, the back of his over-sized office chair blocking any view of his body. However, the typing continued, and Sarik seemed to pay no heed to her.
"What are you doing?" Sarah questioned considerately as she walked up beside Sarik, now able to see his computer's screen. He appeared to be in some sort of command prompt, text streaming down at a rate that she found to be too fast for her to put together any one sentence.
"I'm going over my logs," the ten-year old replied.
"Of what?" Sarah inquired. She took note that Sarik's eyes had an almost fanatic gleam to them, and his normally graceful motions were jerky and agitated.
"I've been recording my daily actions and interactions onto my computer since we finished building it," Sarik replied almost machine-like. "I'm trying to figure out which aspects of my behavior have proved to be inadequate."
"Inadequate?" Sarah asked in a disgusted tone.
"I had to have done something wrong, because my parents wish to send me to a boarding school in Berlin," Sarik informed her. "It must have been some time in the past few weeks, because they have displayed no apparent form of displeasure until just now. In fact, even tonight seems to be an anomaly..."
Sarah stared at the computer screen, finally making sense of isolated passages. But everything was still scrolling by so fast that a date change was evident roughly every fifteen seconds.
"Why don't you take a break?" Sarah suggested a few minutes later as Sarik progressively backtracked to a point a few months earlier.
"That's not an option," Sarik responded irritably. "I have to discover where I was in error."
"This isn't healthy," Sarah informed him. "You need to settle down and think this through."
"I AM calm," Sarik assured her, though his tone seemed a bit dry, and his typing grew erratic. The child let out a growl of frustration as he mistyped a command, and the screen returned to the desktop image.
Sarah sighed, then reached over and held in the computer's power button just before Sarik began again.
"Why did you do that?!" they boy snapped angrily.
"You need to stop!" Sarah told him without raising her voice. "You're not going to do anything but add to your frustration by going over these pointless recordings of your life."
"Then let me be frustrated!" Sarik retorted as his hand darted towards the computer.
Sarah, no longer willing to tolerate the child's belligerent behavior any longer, smacked Sarik's hand away with a blow that slammed it into the desk.
"Why are you acting like this towards me?" Sarah asked in a hurt tone. "I haven't done anything to you. I'm just trying to figure out what's wrong."
Sarik glared at her angrily, and Sarah realized that he was analyzing her as he did. The young woman took a step back and tensed every muscle in her body in preparation for a fight.
"Why do you care?" Sarik said coldly as he slowly rotated his chair towards her. "You're just their lackey, aren't you? That's all you've ever been, isn't it?"
Sarah held her ground, keeping her face straight but stern. He was trying to goad her. She wouldn't give in.
"Are my words so right that you can't respond?" Sarik asked as he slowly rose from his chair. "Stunned by the truth?"
Sarah took another step back as he moved towards her menacingly.
"Do you fear me?" Sarik questioned arrogantly as he stepped even closer. "Because the way you're acting, that's exactly what you're showing."
"You need to stop right now and calm down," Sarah warned Sarik.
"Or what?" he taunted, smiling like a brat.
Sarah suddenly realized that he was far closer to her than she had previously estimated. Somehow, he had moved within a fraction of a meter of her without her noticing it.
"Everything is going to be fine if you will just settle down and think this through," Sarah told him. "I'll always be here to help you if you need it."
Sarik's face grew sour, and suddenly, he leaped at her. Sarah threw her arms out to defend herself, but by the time she was able to react, Sarik was already between them. He smashed into her with his entire body's weight, and the woman fell to the floor, landing painfully on her back. Sarah brought her hands up to defend her face, but soon realized that Sarik had fallen into her chest and was crying.
"Sarik?" Sarah asked, confused.
Sarik continued to cry, either ignoring her or unable to hear. She cradled his head for a moment, but quickly realized how HEAVY he was getting to be. He was literally crushing her.
"Sarik?" she said. "I can't breathe."
Sarik's fit ended, and he rolled off of her onto the carpet floor. He lay there for a moment on his back as his tears slowly stopped streaming, and he regained his composure.
"Sorry," Sarik apologized, staring at the ceiling.
"About what?" Sarah questioned, rolling onto her side to face him.
"What I said," he told her. "Everything. I shouldn't have."
"It's fine," Sarah assured him.
"No, it's not," Sarik corrected bluntly. "I have more control than this. I shouldn't have presented myself like that now, not then..."
"Then?" Sarah inquired.
"A year ago," Sarik informed her after a few seconds silence. "I was taking out on you what was meant for someone else."
Sarah stared at him for a moment, truly amazed. She had a hard time comprehending all of this, as before her was a boy physically ten years old, albeit a bit large for that age. But the words that were leaving his mouth...she wouldn't have expected them from most adults, much less him. He really was someone special. There was so much potential, so much strength trapped inside of him, yet he was unwilling or unable to use it. And of course, in the world that they lived in now, he would face persecution and death if he displayed who he was openly, as he should be able to.
"What's bothering you?" Sarah asked considerately. "You haven't acted like this in a while."
Sarik rolled his head to the right, away from her.
"My parents don't want me around anymore," he responded emotionlessly.
"What makes you think that?" Sarah questioned, unconvinced.
"My 'father' wants to send me to some school in Berlin," Sarik informed her. "My grades are more than adequate, so I assume it's something I did at one point or the other. And of course, Mother remains silent, like always."
"That's not fair to her," Sarah told him. "She's done a lot for you."
"Like what?" the boy inquired, raising his voice slightly.
"Well, for one, she kept me around," Sarah reminded Sarik.
"Perhaps..." Sarik agreed in a detached manner, though quickly snapping out of it. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Sarah replied, starting to reach out to touch him, but stopping herself. It wasn't her place.
"Why did you stay?" Sarik prodded quietly a few minutes later, rolling onto his other side in order to face Sarah.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Why did you stay?" Sarik repeated. "After I was safe, there was no logical reason for you to stay."
Sarah smiled.
"Not everything can be explained with logic," the black-haired woman replied. "I care for you a great deal, just like I came to care for everyone else."
Sarik averted his gaze to the floor, and Sarah cringed internally. He did this whenever anyone spoke about them and then. She had seen the tapes of what had happened since she left, and realized that to have to live with all of that must be agonizing. He wasn't even a teenager, and already living life was a hell for the boy. Older men had gone mad trying to live with the memories of having done such things, no matter the reason.
"What does it mean to 'care'?" Sarik questioned. "It seems to be something I've had a hard time understanding lately."
Sarah stared at him for a moment, trying to come up with the best words for the matter. It was a difficult topic. True, one could give the denotative meaning of the word, but that didn't really explain what caring was. In reality, it was something that probably couldn't be properly explained with words.
"Do you mind if we talk about then?" Sarah asked softly.
"If we must," Sarik responded edgily, returning his gaze to Sarah.
"Do you remember Stella?" she inquired rhetorically.
"No, the picture on my desk belongs to a stranger," Sarik responded sarcastically in an attempt to hide his anguish. Whatever mask that he attempted to place on his voice, however, was instantly defeated by his facial expressions.
"Do you remember when you were nice to her?" Sarah asked. "Especially later on?"
"Yes," Sarik replied.
"Well, by doing those nice things that you did for her, you were showing that you cared about her," Sarah informed him.
"Then why haven't I been able to do that since?" Sarik questioned. "Feel that way?"
Sarah stared at him for a moment in concern. That really was something she'd worried about. Everything would often fix itself in time, but not being able to care would definitely stunt one's ability to get along with others.
"Is it that you can't, or that you just don't want to?" Sarah inquired.
"I...don't know," Sarik answered, his voice indicating that he came to a realization of something.
"Maybe we just need to get you out of here," Sarah suggested. "Meet some people. Like you."
"Maybe," Sarik agreed in an unsure tone. Suddenly, his face softened, and his entire body relaxed. The boy quickly jumped onto his feet and ran to his computer.
"Sarah, do you think you could help me with something?" he asked as he waved his hand over the computer screen, causing it to extend upwards.
"With what?" Sarah inquired, beginning to stand.
"I think I'll need some new computer parts," he informed her. "Several."
"For what?" Sarah questioned. "We just got those a few months ago."
"You'll see," Sarik told her. "Please? I promise you won't be disappointed."
* * *
"Mister Ostheim, Sarik would like you to come see him about something," Sarah wearily informed the man as he was about to leave the estate for his temporary office in a nearby town. From the looks of it, the woman appeared to not have obtained much sleep last night.
"Is your attention not adequate?" the middle-aged man questioned irritably. He wasn't in the mood today, as he had been informed after dinner the evening before that a mole had been discovered in the company, under the employ of William. This had to be dealt with thoroughly, to determine how much that his son knew.
"I really think you should see this," Sarah told him. "I don't think you'll be disappointed."
Derick sighed. He might as well. Sarik wouldn't be around for much longer.
"Please show me," he complied.
A moment later, Sarah was knocking on Sarik's door, Derick standing impatiently behind her.
"Are you ready?" she courtesied.
"Just a second," Sarik's voice replied. It was far more optimistic than Derick had ever heard in the past two years. Perhaps even giddy. "You can come in now."
"What the...!" Derick nearly cursed as he walked in behind Sarah. Normally, he had far more composure than to want to use such language, but the mess that littered Sarik's room was astounding. Several computer monitors lay around, perched on his desk and the room's floor; stacks of networked hard drives set scattered along the room's back wall; and at least four massive computer towers rested near where Sarik sat on the floor. How did they get all of this here? It must have taken them the entire evening, because the only place that had all of this was HIS office. "What is the meaning of this, Sarah?"
"So you don't want to see what I have for you?" Sarik asked in an innocent manner more acceptable of his age. "I found it just for you."
"What?" Derick questioned irritably. What could this child have found or made in this mess that was even remotely worth his attention?
"Look," Sarik suggested, rotating one of the monitors so that his father could see.
Derick crouched down before it, already forming a response in his mind. Not only was this wastefulness of equipment and money unacceptable, but to bother him with something so trivial...
"Oh my god," Derick said under his breath as he glanced over the screen, for it was dominated with the emblem of Blue Cosmos. "Sarik, disconnect this immediately!"
"Don't worry," Sarik assured. "If anyone managed to catch my intrusion, they would have found me to be an accountant in the Oceanic Union, and after that, a Colonel in the Atlantic Federation Military, and after that, nearly one thousand other individuals. I ensured that we were safe before I attempted anything."
"Sarik, do you realize what you've done?!" Derick yelled as he bolted upwards, searching for the power and data transfer cables. He had to make sure everything was disconnected, and quickly.
"Why, I have produced a gift of knowledge for you," Sarik informed his father poetically. "Downloaded and compressed here is a copy of the entirety of a Blue Cosmos mainframe."
"Don't you realize who they are?" Derick inquired. "Are you so desperate to become their slave again? Or dead?"
"Father, I took every precaution physically possible," Sarik remarked arrogantly. "They have yet to realize that they were infiltrated, and they never will. This is a COPY. I am not connected to their server, and have blocked all access routes to the Internet for this estate, just to be safe."
Derick calmed himself, glancing over the stacks of hard drives. If each individual component held several hundred terabytes, then what Sarik said might have some merit.
"In fact, I think you will be pleased to learn that I've located a Blue Cosmos front office just a few blocks away from your own," Sarik told him.
"I do highly doubt that," Derick remarked. "Allow my technicians to go over any data that you obtained, and we will see."
"Well, you see, we have a problem there," Sarik said, and began typing furiously. "I'm not just going to hand this over to you until we get a couple things settled."
Derick scowled and began walking towards the child, but soon stopped as Sarik held his finger menacingly over the 'ENTER' button on his keyboard.
"I have now programmed a time-release virus into the entirety of this network," Sarik informed. "If I hit this key, every device in this room will erase all forms of storage medium five times over, then overload, destroying all essential components. In addition, if I fail to input a series of passwords every eighteen hours, the data will erase itself and overload any device on which it is stored. And I assure you, you will not be able to crack them, as they're constantly changing in a pattern that no normal Natural could understand."
"Sarik?!" Sarah yelled in a hurt tone. "What is this?"
"Oh, don't get me wrong, Sarah, I am most grateful," Sarik told her. "A thousand thank yous would not be able to fully express my gratitude, nor would a thousand apologies express my sorrow for using you like this. But there are things that need to be dealt with now, and you know as well as I do that Derick Ostheim listens to no one without proper 'motivation'."
Derick smiled.
"What makes you think I have need of this information?" Derick goaded, slowly advancing on Sarik. "What if I told you that you can keep your 'gift', and then simply walked out of that door without another thought?"
"Because I have located William, along with a number of his newly constructed conditioning facilities," Sarik informed his father smugly. "With everything here, you would be able to destroy his work and cause him to surface."
Derick froze. If this was true, then he could not afford to pass up this opportunity, and Sarik knew this. William had brought shame to this family with his actions. He would be stopped, along with his abominations. The world didn't need anymore Sariks, if the child before him was any evidence of what those children would become.
"Show me a sample of your so called 'findings'," Derick agreed. "If I feel what you have is valid, then you may have what you wish, within reason."
"I'm glad we've finally come to an understanding," Sarik remarked with a smile.
* * *
Sarik stepped off the APC after Sarah, the wind causing rust-brown dust to float off of the concrete below him and settle on his flak vest. The carnage around him was so familiar: bodies of children, doctors, and guards strewn about like rocks in the desert on which this facility was constructed; the barely recognizable skeletons of trucks and tanks lying about in seemingly random patterns; and the occasional sound of gunfire in the distance. It was just like last time, but much worse, as the base had been caught completely by surprise. More of a massacre than a battle.
This was one of three things that Sarik had procured from his father. The man would begin limited operations against Blue Cosmos, for which Sarik knew he had already been planning for months. He simply lacked anything in the way of reliable intelligence. Sarik's first requirement was to able to choose the first target. He had chosen this particular facility because the mainframe had indicated that someone matching Stella's description was being held here. Further prodding confirmed this with the surname "Loussier". Sarik hoped to be able to bring her back, and without either of his parents knowing, initially at least. That was why another part of this portion of the deal was that he be able to visit the site with only Sarah as his chaperon.
Sarik strolled silently ahead of his most patient mentor, though even he felt that he was being particularly bold, as he was completely unarmed. He couldn't shake the sense of vulnerability, even though there seemed to be a weapon lying within a couple meters reach in whatever direction that he turned. It was just something he would have to get over.
Sarah followed the young child silently, though the air about her was tense and angry. However, Sarik knew that she would allow him to do as he wished, so long as danger did not present itself. He felt that part of her wanted something like this, albeit in a form where such blatant displays of violence weren't involved.
As Sarik continued towards the facility, a sense of reverence and sorrow fell over him as he passed by the remnants of one of the many skirmishes that had occurred this day. A young brown-haired girl, probably about his age, lay on her back in the thick dust, the ground caking from her blood. Sarik could invision what had happened after observing the adult bodies that lay unmoving several meters away. Some of the doctors and guards had attempted to use her as a hostage when several mercenaries began to surround them. The girl, taking advantage of her captor's lack of attention on her, had broken free from their grasp and made a run for it. The mercenaries and guards opened fire on each other almost simultaneously, creating a deadly crossfire. All of the guards and doctors fell to the ground along with two of the mercenaries, but not before one of the guards made his last stand, unleashing his rifle's entire magazine in a poorly aimed spray from his dying position on the ground. However, one of the bullets caught the girl in the back just as she made it past the line of mercenaries, cutting through her chest as the surviving soldiers riddled the dying man with the last of their bullets. The girl fell to her knees, then onto her stomach, and began to crawl forward in a desperate bid for survival, the mercenaries either ignoring her, or having not realized her presence in the heat of battle. She would roll onto her back as the pain became unbearable, and eventually bleed to death.
Sarik stood still and looked away from the girl, as her sapphire blue eyes remained open in the most pained, sad expression. Sarah bent down before the child and slid her hand over her face, forcing her eyelids shut, and softening her features. As the woman stood once more, Sarik continued his advance on the facility.
Sarik strolled in through the front entrance, where a most savage battle had taken place. Mercenaries lay dead and wounded all about, their more able comrades providing first aid, or attempting to move those in better condition back to the convoy of vehicles. Sarik walked among them, cold and indifferent to the yells of pain and the thick stench of death. These men had done the job with which they were assigned. Their thanks would be found in their salaries or the pension checks to their next of kin.
Sarik continued deeper into the facility through what should have been a confusing maze of corridors. But they were not for him, as he had been here once before. This facility was an almost perfect duplicate of the one located on that small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He knew where he was going.
As approached a most familiar office space, Sarik slowed to a halt and recomposed himself, straightening his back and raising his chin as his father would. This was where he had lost Stella. Perhaps he could eventually find forgiveness for his weakness in this same place.
"Sarah, have we heard anything from the first team?" Sarik questioned. "Have they found Stella yet?"
"No," Sarah replied. "The labs were empty except for a few guards and doctors. I think they moved her just before we got here."
Sarik felt a minuscule tear drizzle down his cheek, quickly evaporating into the dry air. For some reason, he had known it the moment they began this operation. The nightmare was right, again. He knew he would fail to rescue her, yet he still went through with everything that he had a week ago, practically alienating himself from his father. All he wanted to do was to bring her home with him, save her from William. Now, he didn't know what to do.
Sarik cringed as another, nearly unnoticeable tear made contact with his nose. At least he was getting better at controlling those. Crying was for children, something that he wished to remain for as short a time as possible.
Sarik snapped to when he heard something almost unnoticeable quiet, like the strained breathing of a fearful individual in hiding. He ran between the office's furnishings, finally locating the source of the sound. Just underneath one of the desk's edge were two young girls. Both had dark, crimson red hair and brown eyes, or he assumed so, because both shared an identical physical appearance. Twins.
Sarik's body tensed up when he realized what was wrong. One was laying on the ground, unmoving but for her breath, a gunshot wound through her stomach, while the other was knelt down beside her crying her heart out. Or at least, she was, before Sarik arrived. Now she stared up at him, her eyes innocent, pleading, and yet, somehow still defiant. These girls weren't soldiers, not by a long shot. Why were they here? They had no place among these children.
"Sarah!" the boy cried as he fell to his knees and crawled underneath the desk. He began reaching over to the injured girl, but suddenly, the other snapped, tackling Sarik out from under the desk and pinning him to the ground.
Sarik brought his hands up as the girl brought her fist down towards his face, catching the full force of the blow in his palm. The pain jarred up his arm, but Sarik grabbed onto her hand and held it like a vice. As she tried to pull back, Sarik realized that he was significantly stronger than her, even though she most likely had the more advance alterations. He brought up his other hand and grabbed her free arm as she began to struggle, then pulled her close to his body in an attempt to restrain her movements.
"Sarik!" Sarah exclaimed as she caught up with him in the seconds during which the fight took place.
"I've got her!" Sarik assured Sarah. "Make sure the other one lives!"
Sarah glanced around the floor, soon spotting the wounded child and practically diving towards her as she grabbed her radio from a pocket on the front of her body armor.
"This is Raahl!" Sarah yelled desperately into the device as she began to pull away the bloodied clothes that stuck to the girl's stomach. "We have an injured child! Trace this radio's signal and get us a medical team immediately!"
Sarik held onto the girl as her struggles grew weaker, and her crying stronger. Soon, Sarik released her, realizing that she was no longer a threat, as she now realized that he was no longer a threat.
But as he attempted to back away from her, Sarik realized that the redhead was gripping his vest and crying into it. He felt so much like joining her, but he had to remain strong. He couldn't be weak anymore. Sarik subtly grabbed the girl's hands and broke her grip on him as he knelt down onto one knee.
"Stop crying," Sarik told her confidently. "She's going to be all right."
The girl slowly let herself fall to the floor and continued crying as she braced her back against another desk. For the first time, Sarik realized how truly young she had to be. Despite her well above average size, she couldn't be anymore than seven. After mentally giving the poor child his condolences, he crawled over to where Sarah was attending to the other girl.
"Do not let her die," Sarik said quiet but sternly as their eyes made contact, their cold disposition indicating that this was an order, not encouragement.