Machine God: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller (Final Draft)

Mad-Station

Let's hope they didn't end up in slavery.

Hecto's voice interrupted the rapport.

"Do you even have the permission to sit here with us?"

"Last time I checked, yes. Officially speaking, I'm still in recovery mode. Guess I wasn't hurt as bad as I thought."

"What about the rules you violated?"

Hecto went full frontal.

Right into the ring of fire.

Challenge accepted.

"Konforma reminded me of my duties, I accepted, and now I'm back in the game. Hopefully with you, guys."

"Some of us," Hecto said.

That's when it began to dawn on me.

The little aggressions.

The electrified air.

It came down to one person

missing from this conversation

"How's Ceedee doing?"

Hecto's claws almost smashed the glass in his hands. Glitch chimed in before the big guy exploded.

"She's in critical condition, man. The docs aren't sure she's gonna make it."

"That bad? It didn't look that grave."

Hecto's glass shattered. The blue liquid sprinkled on the table and floor carpet. Yuki inched back on her part of the couch.

Hecto boomed.

"You wanna know why she's in critical condition? Because some degenerate idiot wanted to play hero and made us walk into a Technoid trap."

The tension sickened the air, but at least I knew what was going on.

"I made you do it? You're the team leader, it was your choice to listen to me."

"And I regret that choice every single minute of my life. We should have waited for backup before even thinking about nearing their territory."

"Maybe then it would have been too late. The Technoid squad was waiting for their forces after all, what if they had taken the survivors back to their cluster?"

"Then Ceedee would be among us."

Hecto really worried about her. I had no idea the giant carried so much affection.

Too bad he was blaming me for her wound.

Soldiers had to cut emotions from the missions.

Feels and frags, they just didn't go together.

"She is still alive, isn't she?"

Glitch played the mediator once again.

"We all hope she's making it through the day."

Damn. I still remember her smiling back at me, leaning against the wall, with all her unique attitude. I did miss her, too.

"Listen, I'm sorry."

"Shove your sorry up your ass," Hecto said and turned up the heat.

The guests in the bar silenced in a radius of fifteen meters, even the barkeeper stopped wiping his glasses clean.

"I know you're mad, but I can't rewind time, I'm sorry, Hecto."

"You don't know shit. You know nothing about me and Ceedee. All the hardship we went through, the dreadful experiences we shared."

He spat in front of my feet.

"We should have left you in that ruin."

Sometimes, I think the same thing.

"Maybe you should have, but as you say, it's time leave the past behind and focus on the future."

"Fuck you."

So much for appeasement. Hecto launched his massive fist at my direction. I evaded and rolled from the couch. Glitch grabbed his drink before Hecto kicked it to the side. Yuki ducked and Darwin? Chilled on the chair, watching us with rising interest.

Hecto's voice hammered.

"I've had it with you. You and your damn jokes."

He pulled up his sleeves and flexed his knuckles. I turned around and found the other guests barricading the exit. Guess no one was going to call the guards anytime soon.

"Nowhere to run, rookie."

He stomped toward me, itching to punch my face.

"Don't waste your energy, Hecto. Think about the greater good."

I don't know why I was taunting him, but the words kept flooding out of my mouth.

He said,

"Beating you up is for the greater good."

Hecto ran toward me like a tank on legs. I tried to sidestep his brute attack. He grabbed my arm and slammed me into the nearby nightstand. The pieces of wood shredded apart and pierced the furniture. A biting pain tore at my rear but I managed to stand up.

"Beating me up isn't going to help her."

"I know, but it makes me feel better."

Couldn't argue with that logic. The giant brimmed with energy, and I was the punching bag of the day. Still, I wasn't going to cave in.

"I don't want to hurt you."

Hecto laughed, together with the guests of the bar. At least I entertained people.

"Come on and try."

Hecto came at me again, roaring his fist at my face. I evaded his punch, caught his massive arm in midair and went Judo on it. Twisted it around and slammed him onto the ground. No idea where that move came from, but I'm glad my muscles remembered. A whistle went through the bystanders. Looked like no one expected me to counter like that. Couldn't blame them, neither did I.

Hecto shot back up and braced himself for another assault.

"That was your lucky move."

The giant rammed me into the wall and punched my stomach. The pain squeezed my body and caused me to collapse.

What strength.

That wasn't a fist, that was a block of concrete hitting my tummy. I crawled on all fours and gasped for air. Hecto walked next to me and spat on the back of my head.

He enjoyed seeing me suffer.

Even with all the ache he unleashed on me, I understood him. He circled around me like a wolf ready for the final claw attack.

"What now, rookie? Where is your wisecracking?"

Stuffed in my abdomen, with the rest of my pain. I tried to creep away but Hecto fired a foot into my ribcage. My body rolled around like a meat package. Hecto pushed his foot onto my throat and pressed hard. I grabbed his boot but the power left me.

Air escaped my lungs.

I choked.

"Please..."

My mouth couldn't form a logical sentence as the pressure dwindled my last ounce of strength.

"I could smash you like a little roach, right now."

No doubt about it.

The vision darkened. Hecto's mighty shape blended into the dark ceiling of the bar.

I closed my eyes and embraced myself for the end when a sharp female voice ripped through the air.