The look in his own eyes was all the answer she needed. Love, apology, and steely resolve. Maybe if he was the hero she thought he was, he would have stayed. What she did not know was that he had killed more people than any of these monsters. He had sent countless more to their deaths. Again and again, he had made difficult, blood-drenched choices that men and women of conscience would balk at. He had committed atrocities for his Federation, for his people, for his government.
He was no hero.
That was why his government had always called on him. He was the one who would always look at the bigger picture and then just wash the blood from his hands when he was done. Now, however, there was no bigger picture. There was just a child he could help with the fading life that was still in his body. Preserving decades of potential in exchange for the few pain-filled days he had left was a good deal, plain and simple.
He didn’t tell her any of that. Honesty and truth had never been major priorities. Instead, he just spoke the words that his mother instilled in them their entire lives. Words he knew that would comfort her.
“We stand.”
Hearing that, something almost physical broke inside of her. She let go of him, in body, mind and heart, just as he knew she would. Tears began to form, but she didn’t let them fall. If her brother could be brave, she thought, then so could she.
For his part, Remy didn’t waste any more time or breath on goodbyes. Instead, he took that second step out of the bunker and raised the rifle to his shoulder. Focusing, he poured his will into the weapon and brought the stock up to his cheek. A now-familiar overlay appeared in his vision as he accessed his Sure Shot skill. Reticles appeared over each enemy in his view and greatly increased his accuracy.
With a second exertion of will, each bullet in the rifle was infused with gold-white light. He had no idea how it worked but, thanks to a skill, he could pour “mana” into each bullet. It made his shots hit harder. That was necessary because the monsters and invaders seemed to be able to shrug off normal bullets. In the past few days, Remy had had plenty of time to shake his head at the insanity of these new “natural laws.” All he cared about in that moment though was bringing the pain.
Activating his skills took barely any time at all. In fact, it was done by the time he took his fourth step away from the bunker. Despite his speed, he’d unknowingly just spent a major portion of the life he had left.
69 breaths remaining.
After triggering Ammo of Light, his mana had plummeted by more than half. It gave him a headache, but Remy pushed it aside. His focus was on the enemy and the innocents. The former soldier sighted through the ACOG scope and squeezed, never pulled, the trigger. Three rounds shot from the end of the barrel in a second. Each tore through the air, trailing white light. All three exploded into the body of one of the cats.
Fifty yards away the bullets entered the monster, the kinetic damage amplified by Remy’s use of Light mana. He didn’t know it, but the cat was at least partially a Dark creature. The opposing nature of his attack greatly magnified the damage. Three grievous wounds appeared in its body. It dropped to the ground, dead. Remy had already sighted on another and three more white tracers filled the night.
With his increased accuracy and damage, the closest members of the pack were soon dispatched, giving his people precious seconds. Even as he replaced the mag, his breath came in heavy gasps. Sure Shot increased the likelihood that he hit his target, something absolutely necessary with the agile cats, but it drained his stamina every second he used it. His mana had also bottomed out when he used Ammo of Light on the second mag. The magic depletion brought on a splitting headache that made it harder to think. When he fired again the bullets glowed, but didn’t have the white tracing of magic. He just hadn’t been able to put as much mana into the second round. Because of that, the bullets did considerably less damage. It didn’t matter to Remy. He kept firing.
57 breaths remaining.
Under his cover fire, survivors made it into the bunker, including the mother and her child. The woman actually increased her pace somehow and made it to the bunker ahead of some of the others. Seeing her run past him brought a smile to his lips. The whole time he never stopped firing, advancing all the while.
When the last living member of his group finally ran by, hope surged in his breast. It was another suburban mom, Jenny. She was still wearing the ripped and filthy designer track suit she’d had on when the world ended. At some point the rhinestones on her bottom had probably spelled “PINK,” but now it just read “IN.”
Jenny had clearly been a Buckhead Betty, one of the young trophy wives who looked down on Publix and only shopped at Whole Foods or the farmer’s market. Now though, her cheeks were sunken and her face was gaunt from weeks of near-starvation. Sweat drenched her body and made her skin shine in the fading light. She looked him in the eye as she passed, her gaze filled with both fear and gratitude. Remy just nodded, keeping his rifle trained on the cats that were coming ever closer.
“Keep going!” he shouted, while he started backing up. “I’ll hold them back.”
“Thank you,” she cried. It was more sobbing gasp than pronounced words, but she did as she was told.
Remy kept firing as he retreated. His eyes were on a swivel, trying to keep track of the shadowy bodies of the predator cats. Not an easy task as they all but disappeared when they stepped into shadows. When his mag ran dry, the monsters slowed to an aggressive stalk. They all glared at him malevolently but didn’t rush forward.
He kept his gun raised but didn’t fire. This was his last mag, and he didn’t have any mana to use his skill again. Remy had managed to kill more than ten of the monsters, but they just stepped over their fallen without a glance. The man pointed his gun at one of them, then another, hoping they were smart enough to be afraid but not smart enough to know that his stamina and mana were almost at zero.
39 breaths remaining.
For a moment, he allowed himself to think that everything would be okay. That his foolish gamble would pay off and he would make it safely back to the bunker having saved some lives. That was when he heard the scream. Risking a look behind him, he saw Jenny lying in a pool of her own blood. Two cats had circled around behind him and caught her before she could make it to safety. He looked past the duo now feasting on the woman’s flesh and saw more shadow cats running toward the entrance to the fortified structure only thirty yards away.
Remy looked past Jenny’s mutilated body and locked eyes with his sister. She was still standing in the doorway, her one good hand on the knob. She silently begged him to somehow run faster than the bounding cats. To make it back to safety and to not leave her. He gave her the smallest shake of his head, and his face communicated a simple request.
Close the door.
22 breaths remaining.
Her heart broke, but they had both been raised by the same strong woman. Neither was afraid to face the truth, and neither shied from difficult tasks. With a fractured cry, she slammed the heavy door shut and threw the bolt just in time. One of the shadow cats threw its body against the door so hard that it fractured its spinal column. The impact made a bone-cracking crunch.
The other monstrous cats immediately began scratching at the wood. Their claws gouged deep furrows in the door, but only the outer door was made of oak. The inner door was solid steel. She closed that as well, and locked it seconds after the first. The only light was the faint red from the hazard bulbs. In near darkness, she stared at the chrome metal door as if trying to see through it. Trying to let her brother know that he wasn’t alone even though he was. A thick strand of spider silk drifted down and caressed her tear-streaked face. After yanking it away in shock and disgust, she noticed there were a good number of webs farther down the corridor, still thick even after everyone had walked down it.