Like Melting Ice
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The pain was indescribable. Nikita barely had the wherewithal to form cognitive thoughts. Nikita was curled into a fetal position on the floor of her cell and used all of her willpower to refrain from whimpering. She bled from her nose. Her sides radiated an excruciating pain that could only stem from refused to give them the satisfaction. Her left eye was swollen shut, her lip was split, and blood trickled bruised and broken ribs. The metal cuffs that bound her hands behind her back dug mercilessly into the flesh of her wrists. The clothes that Heidi had brought her were damaged beyond recognition. The rags barely covered her bruised and broken body.
Nikita cringed reflexively when she heard the familiar sound of metal scraping against metal as her cell door opened. Harsh white light poured into the darkness accosting her sensitive eyes. She clenched her eyes shut, awaiting the feeling of a steel toe boot in her ribs—the customary wake up call. Instead she heard a vaguely familiar, horrified gasp. It was Heidi.
"Oh my God," She whispered. Nikita could not see the tears welling in the young soldiers wide eyes, but she could hear them in her voice. Even in her insurmountable pain, Nikita longed to reach out and comfort the grieving youth. Her jaw ached too much to even try and speak words of consolation. It was at that moment, that she realized how young the soldier was---how young she, herself, was. Nikita missed her family. Not just Elliot, but Julia and her Mother as well. She longed to just set her aching head on her mother's lap. She would dress her wounds and kiss her eyes. She would sing a gentle song while absently stroking her hair. How long had it been since she had felt her mother's comfort? She couldn't remember. Nikita's grip on consciousness was slack, and she slowly began to fade. As she slipped away, she heard a distant altercation between Heidi and her interrogator get interrupted by the sound of explosions and emergency sirens.
"She's in here. She's hurt pretty bad," Nikita heard from outside the cell door. It was Heidi but who was she talking to?
The door swung open, and she heard heavy footsteps in a very familiar gate. Her heart began to race—but this time, it wasn't a symptom of fear.
"Nikita."
The voice was deep and so beautifully familiar that it brought tears to her eyes. Heero. Her eyes were still sensitive to the light, but she looked up anyway. She had to see his face. There was a moment's hesitation before he spoke again; a subtle indication of his worry. Heidi rushed across the cell and began to unlock her shackles.
"Can you speak?" Heero questioned. Nikita tried, but failed. She shook her head.
"Can you stand on your own?" He questioned further. She shook her head again. Heidi tossed the shackles and chains across the cell. The noise startled Nikita, and she reflexively and fearfully flinched. Heero knit his brow in silent fury.
He knelt down and picked her up as gently as he could. She winced in pain. Heero looked over at Heidi.
"Thank you," He stated curtly as he headed towards the door. Explosions thundered in the distance. Heidi's eyes widened, but she instinctively drew her weapon. Heero nodded approvingly, and poised himself to run.
"Let's go." He broke into an impressive sprint and Heidi was at his heels.
Duo heard the series explosions and knew that Heero had less than three minutes to bring Nikita aboard. A cocktail of adrenaline and anxiety shot through his veins. "Almost showtime," Duo announced with a dark grin. He powered up the engines.
Heidi saw the world in slow motion. She didn't even realize that the terrifying, bloodcurdling cry that rose above the sounds of war belonged to her. Her standard issue Glock was empty, and nine men lie dead in a trail down the corridor. The tenth blew past her and made a beeline for Heero. The soldier didn't get very far. Heidi threw he weapon into the air, and propelled it forward with a spinning high kick. The soldier looked back, hearing the loud contact between Heidi's steel-toe boot and the gun. The gun struck his face with such force that blood sprayed in all directions before the soldier fell to his knees, dropping his weapon. He looked up, dazed, and wondered how Heidi got so close to him so quickly. It was his last conscious thought. Heidi kicked high and brought her heel down on the man's skull. The smell of exposed brain and the sound of shattering bone seeped through made her sick. She breathed heavily and glanced over at Heero. He was on one knee at the very end of the corridor. He furiously punched in numbers into the keypad. He had to override the emergency lock that stood between him and his destination. The glaring oversight was going to have dire consequences. He had instructed Heidi to keep the guards busy while he worked. She was a good soldier, she took orders well. Heero glanced at the gruesome scene and corrected himself. She was an excellent soldier.
An extremely shrill, loud alarm sounded. Heidi gasped.
"Red Alert. Red Alert. The facility will self-destruct in 300 seconds. Evacuate the premises. Evacuate the premises."
The voice of the recording was cool, calm and markedly feminine. Heero looked down at the women on either side of him, calculating his options. Nikita released a painful groan, but said nothing. Heidi picked up the assault rifle that last, unfortunate soldier had dropped. She gestured with the gun that Heero should stand back. He complied. She fired a round at the small round, plane of bullet resistant glass. She used the butt of the weapon to clear the cavity of jagged edges.
"What the hell are you doing?" Heero demanded, putting down his space helmet to protect his eyes from the shards of glass. She ignored him and began to climb through the small hole she made. She forced her self through. It took less than 15 seconds. Heero peered through the hole in the door, but Heidi was no where insight. He could hear rummaging and the sound of an engine in the distance.
"Get the fuck away from the door!" She bellowed. Heero scooped Nikita up and ran. He heard the excruciating sound of metal forcing its way through metal. He turned in time to see a very familiar gundanium fist withdraw from the gaping hole that replaced the door he had been trying to unlock. Heero ran and vaulted through the hole. He hit the ground running.
"..55 seconds. Evacuate the premises."
The cockpit of Zero swung open, after Heidi had maneuvered the machine into a kneeling position. Then, in feat that could only be described as divine, Heero leapt from the floor of the hanger to the platform protruding from Zero's chest. The weight of Nikita in his arms put him off balance. He stumbled into the cockpit.
Heero laid Nikita on the floor. The space behind the pilot's chair was cramped, but it would have to do. Heidi cradled the injured woman's head in her lap, and gently stroked her hair. "Don't you die on me," She whispered, "Not yet."
Wing Zero blasted out of the hanger, and Heero manned the angelic machinery towards the rendezvous point. He initiated a transmission with Duo. The wide, dark eyes of Shinigami looked back at him almost immediately.
"02. Be prepared for quick departure. Base will destruct in 33 seconds.
"Roger that 01."
Duo felt Wing Zero rocket into the rear hatch of the mobile suit carrier, and he sprang into action. He closed the hatch and hit the power thrusters. The carrier jetted away from the doomed base and into the silent nothingness of space, where he wouldn't be able to hear the massive explosion. Though he focused on carefully dodging the flying debris, he could not help but worry about Nikita.
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So sorry bout the wait, but college eats my life. I really appreciate those who are patient enough to continue reading and reviewing. You inspire me to continue. Till next time…
~ Syl