Wilted Garden II

  FADABIDA

  “This area is off-limits to any and all Echoes or the Demi-Human Anomalies if you prefer that term. You see one, you shoot them, not fatally, we want them alive. They look young, around college age, but don’t let that fool you; some of them are older than our youngest men.” The head of the AID continued with her debrief, . “We have word that the targets known as The Ivory Garden and The Blu Shadow are planning to make their way here; the Silver Circuit has been spotted moving sporadically throughout the hotel; it is assumed that she is doing reconnaissance. So be prepared, stay alert.”

  "Recon; yeah right," Blu said with a grin.

  “You think she’s just the officer for this squad or…?”

  “No way,” Blu corrected. “She would be on the Second or Eleventh Index if that was the case. If she’s followed us here, she’s on a mission.”

  “So, she’s not fuckin around then…” I summed up.

  Blu pulled up his mask and peered out farther into the lobby. “Yeah, well, neither are we. Getting Nova home is what matters to me right now, so no chance am I gonna give up on that.”

  “I understand. How do we move forward?"

  "Well, I imagine that since the floodlights and BDs are on the balcony, pointing downward, they won't expect us to come from up there." Blu Shifted us once more. Unfortunately, we appeared just behind a soldier who happened to turn at the exact moment we resurfaced from the shadows.

  Blu and I reacted without a second thought to swiftly silence the man. I drew my scythe, and Blu kicked the man in the back of the knees, and as he fell, I dragged my blade across his throat. All while retaining the majority of the cold silence in the room.

  I moved to deactivate the nearby floodlight, but Blu ripped my hand from the switch.

  "Don't turn off the defenses yet; they'll know where we are and call backup. I want to take out the top layer, turn off the machines, and then we can work in our element without hindrance."

  "You want the left or right side? I asked.

  He smiled wryly. "Why not take them together, it's more fun like that, anyway."

  We took silent steps the left side of the balcony and crouched against the corner, only three guards were visible to us around the corner, two of which were armed with machetes, the last with a riot shotgun. All the guards I could make out also had sidearms, if there were more here, I couldn't see them. I can't sense human life forces as well as I can an echo's, but even less so with the soldiers. They were masking the CE supplied from their souls, something they shouldn't even be aware of.

  "Blu, I can't feel them."

  "It's all good, they can't conceal their shadows, so I can sense the two others they have in the hall on the left side. The bunch of three are looking this way right now, so It'd wouldn't be smart to go for them first, the only problem is that the other two are in a spot with too much light for me to Shadow Shift into; their shadows aren't dark enough either."

  "Let me think for a minute," I whispered back to him.

  Five enemies, two concealed from us and three looking in our direction. The group of two, despite being the weaker pack, are inaccessible to Blu, and if he Shifts behind the group of three, the duo will spot him. I can't summon any plants without them dying immediately, and I can't kill them with my will when their souls are shielded. If we caused a distraction of some sort...

  "Blu, what about knocking out a light?" I suggested.

  He shook his head slowly, as he played out the events in his head. "I would have to disrupt the lights in the entire hall to be able to shift into the room with the two guards. And even if I did, I wouldn't have the strength to fight efficiently."

  "No, wait and listen. Just take out one, the flickering should be noticeable enough to cause a distraction."

  "That might distract the soldiers in the hallway, but we still can't get past the ones closest to us."

  Shit. That was a good point, however, being just as stubborn as Blu is, it's inevitable for me to come up with a work around.

  "Can you switch the flickering from one light to another without expending extra Concept Energy? If there is that large of a disturbance, they should bring the other three in the hall, expecting us to arrive."

  Blu's eyes widened in realization. "To make it look like they are all flickering. Which they would be, but not in synchronization with each other. Yeah, I can do it. They won't call anyone else if the disturbance is that small, most likely."

  The Echo of Darkness closed his eyes for a count of three and spoke softly.

  "Subtractive Concept: Starless Night."

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  When he opened them, they were shiny and black with no distinction between pupil and white, true darkness is what set aside the black in his eyes from those with emptiness in their souls.

  As planned, one of the soldiers came to retrieve his allies.

  "They're here," he said.

  Blu gave a superior smirk and peaked once more around the corner. "They've turned their backs, it's over."

  "Dude, watch the phrasing." I pushed past him and tiptoed towards the hall the guards went into.

  Blu Shifted and popped into view across from me on the opposite side of the entrance.

  "Which ones do you want?" I asked smugly.

  "I'll take the three on the leftmost side."

  "Wait, why do you get three?" I hissed at him.

  "Because I'm bored as hell? Duh."

  "No, that's bullshit, let me have three. You do want a break, don't you?"

  "Nice try,” he said flatly. “Besides you can't have three, I want the guy in the middle; his hair is stupid, and it upsets me."

  "Fine, we take the ones on the sides, and whoever finishes first gets the mullet man. I want them for their Sinner Marks."

  "I'm good with that, I guess. Be careful, I couldn't tell the weapons of the other two, so keep your guard up,” Advised the Son of Shadows.

  The sick pleasure that boy subjects me to is definitely the stuff of nightmares, I was going to love every second of this. The two of us rushed in simultaneously, closing the distance between us and our enemies within seconds, leading with the element of surprise. I brought down my scythe and launched myself by pole-vaulting with its shaft and my foot connected with the back of a soldier’s helmet. I caught a flash of Blu running along the wall, pushing himself off, and bringing his knee into his assailant’s jaw.

  As he died, images of his transgressions flooded my mind: exploiting the weak, extortion of children, and everyone’s favorite—sexual assault. A pretty standard piece of shit. Pretty standard piece of shit whose guilt had consumed him beyond redemption.

  Blu flipped over the man he kneed and threw him over his head by the straps on his helmet. He slammed into the wall and crumpled to the ground lifelessly, neither of the soldiers had a chance to use their blades. By now the guards had noticed us and were raising their weapons to retaliate.

  “Learn to love it.” Blu said in an uninterested voice.

  The man closest to him only had time to give a puzzled look before the shotgun he had was ripped from his hands. Blu slashed his throat with Sifyx, then drove the door breacher on the end of the gun into his eye socket. Smart move to prevent him from screaming.

  The last two soldiers rushed us at the same time; their speed and agility made me realize something about them. The guy with the mullet was not a guy at all, they were both women, each wielded a katana in her hands. I barely blocked the first strike that drove straight towards my heart. Scythes were not good for close combat, like spears, the advantage over one’s opponent was the distance provided by the weapon.

  Blu appeared to be faring well enough on his own, though I couldn’t focus on him close enough with this Black Widow wannabe slashing at me over and over. I couldn’t keep up with her attacks, my weapon was bigger, thus making it slower and heavier. If she got inside my guard again, I was screwed.

  I took a step back and focused on defense, waiting for an opening but finding none. I caught sight of Blu once more; he was doing a lot better than I was, because of his knowledge in standard sword combat combined with the versatility of his weapon, he had more options in the face of battle. The lady attacking him, slashed inward only to find her blade wrapped in pieces of Sifyx. Blu used her momentum and flung her into the ground, giving himself some breathing room as she rolled to her feet.

  Something black and shiny spins my way, so I shift my scythe to block the next strike of my adversary. The moment of space allows me to catch one of Blu’s pistols.

  “Just fire it, I made a shadowsteel silencer on it,” snapped Blu as he strained to fend off another barrage of attacks.

  The next time our blades clashed, I thrusted outward with my blade, driving back the swordswoman. I dropped my scythe and aim the gun without thinking as I pulled the trigger repeatedly. I miss most of my shots but hit enough for her to slow down and switch her katana to her other hand.

  I stick the gun in my cargo shorts and rush forward for my scythe. I snatch it up and block the incoming strike almost effortlessly.

  “I will not be killed by a child,” she snarled at me, making the mistake of lowering her blade when she spread her hands for emphasis.

  “Skill issue,” I chatted boredly as I rushed forward, and nonchalantly shot her in the face at point blank range.

  “And I’m not a child, you vapid shithead.”

  Her body folded messily as it dropped to the ground, revealing that I had sprayed a part of the wall in red mist.

  “You’re really starting to piss me off, you know that!” Blu got out as he was being pressed against the wall, his enemy’s sword dangerously close to his carotid artery. The woman shifted her weight on her blade; the slight movement caused the blade to bite into Blu’s skin and spout a slim river of velvet-red blood.

  I bolted towards the woman and with a swift strike, brought the butt of the pistol to the back of her head. The blunt trauma dazed the woman enough for Blu to kick her off him and push himself to his feet. He lifted his hand as Sifyx molded a blade around his flattened hand, he took careful steps to the vanquished woman.

  “What the hell was that?” I scolded Blu.

  “Fuck you mean, what was that? I took care of it didn’t I?”

  “I mean the fact that I had to step in when you were more than capable of getting her off you, without my help.”

  “I couldn’t think of anything funny to say.” Blu gave the woman a nudge with his toe and crouched before her.

  “I’m not surprised,” I sighed.

  He lowered his gaze to the seething guard.

  “You gonna kill me now?” She snapped.

  “Oh, hell yeah. I just need a minute to think.” Blu said in a loud whisper, drawing back his arm.

  At the same time, we plunged our weapons into her body; a scythe to the neck, alongside a shadowsteel blade to the stomach. The sharp smell of blood in the room was amplified by our last kill, the death of the sinners resonated with me, and my consciousness began to waver.

  “Blu, I have to meet with Mortalius. I’ll wake up soon.”