The Mies Divide (Tentative)

Chapter 11

I'm unsure how Lea and I managed to do so unnoticed by the battalion of Gaian soldiers swarming the area, but we scaled down the trunk of the tree to which our canopy was attached and ducked into the cover of some brush. The battalion had passed us and seemed generally disinterested in the area, aside from one soldier several feet away that I could hardly make out. He was stomping around on the floor and turning in circles. We could have easily fled, but I resisted; it could be beneficial to linger and drop eaves on any conversation they were to have.

"It was here somewhere." The soldier announced, stepping closer to the group again where I could make out some details. He wore his light hair cut short, the angular plated heavy armor of a Brute, and had a fairly large gun strapped to his hip. He swiveled on his heel and started to stomp again some bushes on the far side of the grove the battalion had entered.

"Are you sure you even saw anything?" An older woman asked, her voice was deep and she was built pretty heavy. There was an authority in her voice that made me think she was the Captain. Her back was to him as she scanned their surroundings. I was sure to keep low so that she didn't see us, but she remained facing toward us at an angle after making her sweep. To be certain we weren't spotted I scooted behind the tree and guided Lea. I wanted to catch a better glimpse of this woman, but her gaze had grown treacherously close to us and being discovered was not an option, "You're wasting our time here, Fitz. We need to report back to base." the Captain said after a moment. If the one the referred to as Fitz had responded to her inquiry, it'd been too quiet for me to catch. One of the other members snickered and I nearly jumped out of my skin, they sounded like they were just on the other side of the tree that Lea and I were squishing ourselves up against. I could feel Lea shimmy closer before she grabbed my hand and my gaze trickled toward the noise. My heart seized when my eyes met a pair of legs just a few feet away. I followed the legs upward and met the eyes of the leg's owner and for a second my brain completely forgot how to function. I couldn't breathe or move. I couldn't even think to run.

"Fuck-" Was all I could get out of my mouth. Lea jerked her hand loose from mine, evidently sensing the danger and I could feel her squirming, but I refused to break eye contact with the monstrous being. To our benefit, the squad member intruding upon our hiding spot was a Brute, albeit a rather large one, and not a mage so instead of reaching out toward me with magic, he grabbed at me with a hand and nearly managed to grab me before I threw myself backward. He and I both yelled as he simultaneously yanked a few hairs from my head while I did an about face and ran in the opposing direction which sparked an uproar of shouts from the remaining troops. My head pivoted in several directions as I took my first few steps as I tried to spot Lea before I made a sharp right in an attempt to throw the pursuing Brute off my trail. I thought to glance over my shoulder, but I could hear him grunt when he made the turn, or so I thought, and I briefly wondered why he hadn't drawn his gun when something inexplicable pulled me to a stop. I tried to will my body forward but whatever had grabbed me had a grip on my entire body and I couldn't move; I could hardly even breathe. I couldn't even gain enough breath to make a noise.

"You got this?" I heard a male voice a few yards away, the voice sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn't find where it was coming from in order to confirm any suspicions. I tried to turn my head, but my muscles were as stiff as stone.

"'Course." The Brute behind me answered, grabbing me by the back of the head with one hand. I could feel the grip on my feet loosen and I realized what had happened. The other person was a mage, but I wasn't quite sure what they had done to stop me and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. I kept my head turned as far from the Brute as I could just in case he hadn't recognized me, yet. Because, knowing my brother, he had probably put out a notice for battalions to keep an eye out for me. My effort was fruitless, though, and lifted me off of the ground with ease. I shrieked with more discomfort than anything as he turned me toward him and we measured each other up - better this time than we had briefly before. He was far bigger than I had realized. He was at least seven feet five thousand inches tall and had muscle stacked on more muscle, so much that it couldn't be natural and I found myself wondering if he was another Gaian experiment. He was bald, too aside from a small tuft of golden blond hair at the frontmost part of his head, his eyes, too, were a crystalline blue that I imagined would be gorgeous in any other circumstances. I flailed and flopped like a fish and tried to pry my head loose. In desperation, I began to bicycle kick his chest all while he studied me calmly.