Intergalactic Affairs [FINAL CHAPTER OUT NOW!!]

The End of Something

Michelle staggered towards the door and her instructor's prone body, her legs numb. Blood squelched beneath her feet as she got closer until she was slipping around with each step.

Beside Sergeant Knight's body at last, Michelle fell to her knees, not caring as the warm, sticky liquid soaked into her pants. She stared at the blood still slowly bubbling from his stomach, sickened and helpless. For a moment, she sat there, unsure what to do, blood soaking into her clothes and pooling out of the body before her. At last, she moved, instinct taking her body as she lifted her arm to search desperately and hopelessly for a pulse in the Sergeant's neck. His skin was still warm beneath her fingers, but as they wandered over his pulse point, she felt nothing. There was no beat of life beneath the skin.

A sob built in her throat as she stared into the man's lifeless eyes. She closed her eyes against the sight before her, but crimson stained the inside of her eyelids the same way it stained the concrete floor, her clothing, Sergeant Knight's pale skin. A hot tear slipped from her lashes, tracing a path down her face until it fell with a barely audible splash into the blood.

And suddenly her eyes were open and her face was flushed and rage was in her eyes, not tears, and a scream was building, no longer a sob. General Maine had taken so much from her, too much. This war had taken everything she cared about. The scream burst out; anger and pain and all the things that had been locked away pouring out at once. She screamed until her voice was hoarse and her throat hurt and she couldn't catch her breath.

No. No, the war hadn't taken everything. Nikolas was still in the base, Nikolas was still alive, Nikolas was still there for her. Nikolas needed her. Michelle could only guess what he'd been through, and Maine might still take him. No. Michelle would not let him take anything more away from her. She stood up, ignoring the blood that dripped off her clothing and hands. She was going to stop Maine and save Nikolas from whatever horrors he'd faced, and anyone who got in her way... well, she'd make sure they'd regret it.

Michelle took one last look at the body of her instructor, then opened the door into the base. Cold air rushed out to greet her, but she didn't slow as a shiver worked its way down her spine, instead running as fast as she could manage down the corridor.

Her ankle throbbed, but she ignored it, focusing only on the sharp breaths pulling through her lungs, the concrete floors and metal walls that she knew so well, each upcoming turn that was saved in her mind's eye. Her hair whipped against the back of her neck with each pounding step, moisture gathered along her hairline, and every breath was a little more ragged than the last.

The first guards came with the first turn, and Michelle was ready. She pulled out the small bottle she had taken from the dorm back at the other base and prayed that it would work quickly. She popped the stopper off as she rounded the bend and tossed the bottle into the air, before skidding to a stop and backtracking as fast as possible.

Shouts and coughing coupled with weapons firing filled the air as thickly as the powder, but only for a moment. In less than a minute, silence fell through the corridors once again, broken only by a few faint snores and, soon after, one set of hurried, if a little uneven, footsteps.

Another small posse of guards awaited Michelle's faltering jog about halfway down the next corridor, at the entrance of an adjoining corridor. Grimacing, Michelle braced herself for a fight. She could take the five men fairly easily, and the adrenaline coursing through her gave her the strength she needed.

At her approach, a shout was once again raised, and this time, Michelle figured the rest of the guards would be alerted to her presence before she was able to dispose of the ones before her. Rather than slow down as she drew closer, she sped up as much as her leg could take. Reaching the first guard, Michelle grabbed his outstretched arm and the gun held within the extended hand, causing him to fire straight, rather than at her. She pulled his weight around and flung him to the ground, taking his gun in the process, and landing in a crouch beside him.