The Constant Star (78)

THE STORY SO FAR

As he is pushed back his aggressor kicks the tools off the ledge, they fall for a few seconds before making contact and being vaporized by the energy shield. Bear knows he has to turn this fight around fast, whoever is attacking him is heavily modified and unlikely to need a breath. He lowers his guard and takes a hit to his helmet, cracking his visor, but giving him the chance to duck under the blows and grab the man’s legs. He pulls him up and slams him into the ground. The thud is satisfying, and the knife is dropped. Bear wastes no time in jumping on his adversary, raining blows of his own upon reinforced limbs. His gloves are turning red with blood but the man is unperturbed, lifting Bear and pushing himself underneath to come up behind him. Bear is grabbed by the torso and thrown off the ledge, his fast reactions save him as he twists and grabs the edge. His enemy rushes at his grip, but Bear pulls himself back up in one athletic motion. The bodyguard seems impressed and pauses briefly. Bear smiles to himself, “C’mon then. What else you got?”

The man’s arm opens up and he draws another knife. Bear shakes his head, “That’s just cheating.” The bodyguard thrusts forward, but is quickly disarmed. Before the bodyguard can pull that trick again, Bear hammers him with fists and elbows, pushing him back. Realizing he won’t have time to access his mods without being vulnerable to attack, the man rushes again with a flurry of blows, this time Bear catches him in a clinch and begins landing knees into his ribs. The man grabs his leg and pushes Bear onto his back, but Bear carries the roll through and ends up on top once again. He grabs the man by his head and slams his skull into the steel floor, repeatedly. It seems to be working, the man’s eyes are rolling back in his sockets and blood is pooling on the ground beneath them. Bear flips the man face-down and begins tearing at the implants on the back of his neck. One of them seems to do the trick as the struggle stops immediately. Bear flips him back over and sees tear-filled eyes and a trembling mouth looking back at him, “Freedom.” The man whispers, barely audible. The flesh in his right hand opens to reveal a tool. He smiles, tears streaming down his face, “Thank you…for freedom.”

The tool drops to the ground and Bear picks it up, “Is this…?”

The man nods weakly. Bear runs across the ledge and puts the tool to task. The hardware immediately responds, whirring to life it detaches itself and falls to his feet. He kicks the cursed thing off the ledge, watching it fall to the shield, and hears faintly behind him, “Freedom.”

Bear turns back to see the man has pulled himself up and rolls over top of the railing. There is no way to catch him. Bear solemnly watches him fall through the air, whatever peace he lacked in life, Bear wishes it for him in death. Bear removes his helmet and sits down to take a breath. His face reflecting the brokenness of his heart. The man was a slave to the tech that enhanced him, and the one who put it there. He mourns the needless death of the innocent and the sobs make their way to the surface. Bear cries out in mournful agony at the pain of war, of what he has had to do, of what others have done. His head hung low he takes some deep breaths as the sobbing slows down. The adrenaline is calming down and he is starting to feel the fractures, cuts, and bruises the fight has left him. Being hit with steel-modded arms does a lot of damage. Struggling to his feet, Bear knows what he has to do next. The Needle should be rebooting, but Siff is still in danger. He has to get to her and help stop Diana.

“Okay. It’s not over yet.” Leaning against the wall he grunts and pushes off, “Gotta finish this.”

“We’re getting close now,” Grem speaks from behind Lucas, the hundreds of followers have now become thousands behind them, “Only a few blocks to go.” Lucas doesn’t respond, “I got you this, it’s called a microphone. You attach it to your neck like this and it makes it so your voice can be heard across the city.” Lucas takes the gift from Grem and smiles in thanks. His mourning tears have carved rivulets in the dirt on his face. Another destroyed cityscape lies around them, more bodies than he can count have passed by his feet, he still does not speak.

“Do you know what you’re going to do when you get there?”

Lucas turns his head to a pile of rubble nearby and approaches it. The jingling of his staff marking his movement. He finds a small, sharp piece of steel and uses a strap to tie it on the end of his memorial. After several minutes of workmanship, Lucas returns to the head of the procession, jaw clenched and countenance changed. Grem looks at him with curiosity, “What do you need a spear for?”

“To hunt monsters.”

62

Siff has better training, but Macy has more experience. The blows exchanged are brutal. Slashes and fists, kicks and throws, the former best friends grapple and strike their way around the room. Siff realizes quickly that rules of combat don’t mean anything to her opponent; Macy only cares about winning. Well, also causing Siff as much pain as possible. The gashes on her arms from where she has been protecting herself are evidence of that.

“Why don’t you just shoot me? I’m sure you’ve got a better weapon in there than that small blade.”

“This is way more fun than just shooting you,” Macy spits blood on the floor, “plus it passes the time until I can get to the Council.”

“I thought you had control of the Needle?”

“Yeah, but they didn’t just fuse the doors

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