"So, how'd it go?" Eri asked as Finn left the room.
"We're mending." Finn said, unable to resist the urge to let out a sigh. "After everything that happened, it's silly to think it'll all be fixed in a single conversation. Still, I think we can be friends again someday."
Finn eyed Eri. "She had a few things to say about you."
"Me? What did she say?"
"Just she thought you were kind. You've been talking with her for a few days, haven't you?"
Eri shrugged. "Well, I thought she could use the company. I've never met a Neukaraan before; are they all like that?"
"You mean the metaphors?" Finn nodded, saying, "They're a very creative people. If you keep an open-"
Finn stopped in mid-sentence; a Minean had just staggered into the corridor from an adjoining hallway. With a start, Finn recognized her as the doctor who had been treating him. Her white uniform was stained with her silvery blood, and her staggering gait had a pronounced limp.
"Help me!" She reached her arm out toward Finn and Eri, only to suddenly stiffen as a length of metal shot from her stomach. She let out a gurgle as the metal swept to the side, nearly slicing the Minean in half.
As she fell to the floor, Finn realized that the length of metal was the blade of a katana. A brief surge of light flowed irregularly through the air, revealing a woman in light armor that covered every inch of her body. There was a strange mark on her forehead that caught Finn's eye. It looked vaguely like a six-sided crystal held in a sconce.
As the assassin looked up at them, Finn found himself paralyzed. Fortunately, Eri had the presence of mind to grab Finn's arm and pull him back into Xyn's room.
Xyn looked up, surprised at their return. "You are back? Has something happened?"
"Looks like our friends caught up with us." Eri shook Finn out of his shock and said, "Lock the door, genius!"
"R-right." Finn activated his omni-tool and quickly scrambled the door functions. It'd take hours to reassemble the code connecting the control to the door, but then again, the corridor wasn't an escape option for them at the moment.
"I don't understand," Xyn said, her eyes wide as Eri forced open the window.
"We're being chased by some mystery organization because of Billy." Finn said, trying to get it all out as quickly as possible, "And they just caught up with us."
Xyn naturally looked confused. "Who is Billy?"
Finn opened his mouth to answer when the thin metal blade shot through the door, narrowly missing his arm. He leapt back with a yelp.
"Come on, Finn!" Eri said, already halfway out of the window.
Finn started to follow when his eyes fell on Xyn. She looked utterly bewildered by this turn of events, an easy mark for an assassin who clearly had no trouble taking out innocents.
"Can you walk?" Finn asked, holding out his hand.
"W-what?" She stammered, blushing.
"What?" Eri asked, poking his head back through the window.
Finn jerked a thumb at the door as the assassin continued stabbing her sword through the heavy metal around the locking clamps. "They just killed a doctor for being in the way. Do you think they're just going to walk by Xyn?"
Looking back at Xyn, Finn said, "I can't just leave you here to get slaughtered, or I'd be an even worse friend than I already am."
Eri glanced at the both of them for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Fine. Welcome to the team, Xyn. Now can we get moving?"
YOU ARE READING
The Streamer's Edge
Science FictionA repairman and his robot dog live on a small station in the middle of nowhere until a series of events sees them becoming the target of a shadowy organization. Their attempt to escape turns into a trip into a past they hoped to forget. Joined by a...
