Up at the Sky Gardens, the chase began. We burst through the gate and sprinted over the first steel bridge. Traversed the adjacent rooftop and caught up with the Technoid fireteam.
Three in total, two regulars and one big one, taking Ann-Lyze hostage.
Wow.
What a sight.
The giant wore dark carapaces with at least twice the plate-coating.
Stomped like an iron statue carrying enough attitude to melt a concrete layer.
My instinct rang on high alert.
"Incoming heavy," Naif said.
He ducked near the crates.
And heavy the Technoid was.
A freaking tank on two legs, marching toward us with a giant gun attached to his arm. An energy orb materialized in front of its barrel and spat a bright beam toward our direction.
The two others gave him fire support.
It went ratatatatata on the rooftops.
My world erupted in flames, part two.
I rolled sideways and witnessed how my cover split in half. By instinct, I leaped to the next spot on the roof and unleashed a volley from my AK-BL8.
The shots hit the giant's armor but reflected.
Like a stone giant, he marched our way and burned our cover with his massive beam weapon.
Naif hunkered down behind the opposite crate and refused to engage with the enemies.
Fury washed my mouth.
"Shoot that sucker. What are you waiting for?"
"It's useless. Your weapons can't penetrate that kind of armor."
What was the alternative?
Become a target practice and wait till they dragged away Ann-Lyze?
No way.
When my new cover spot melted, I waited for the giant Technoid to recharge. Then I jackknifed from my position, chose the smallest rooftop bridge made out of hull plates, guarded by a slim DIY railing, and reached the other side.
"Are you fleeing?"
Naif yelled from my ex-rooftop.
I shouted back.
"Tactical retreat."
When the heavy entered the narrow bridge, I rolled out my last flashbang and watched it cloud the space around him. I reentered the bridge and used the crystalline blade of my AK-BL8 to cut through the ground. The attached sword separated the plates with ease. Five cuts and the tight bridge swung sideways.
Plate pieces collapsed into the concrete abyss.
Me, too.
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Machine God: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller (Final Draft)
Science FictionWhatever happened, it wiped out the world as we know it. A man with no name wakes up in a post-apocalyptic wasteland where military factions wage war on each other. These armed troops capture survivors, harvest tech artifacts from the dark past a...
