Isolation

Chapter 02

Their katanas have a secondary function that allows them to fire back sonic blasts at an enemy from a large distance. Putting a thumb on the pommel makes the hilt detach and fold out into a pistol-sized sonic blaster. The ammo regenerates when it's put back in its sheath to recharge. The sheath recharges when it is put away. It can easily hold two hundred bursts.

Mark was exceptional when it came to swords, but a gun? He sucked. James hit the target every time, and Sara was about average. He was the worst. He didn't like them. Neither did Blaez.

He let himself get distracted. He wasn't focused today. His mind was wandering, which was dangerous during a fight. He stepped out too far, and his opponent kicked out with the black show of his suit at his ankle. He faltered slightly, giving him the opening he needed to disarm Mark. When he grabbed Mark's wrist, Mark reached out with his left shoe and spun. It knocked the guy to the floor. The mat saved him a concussion. Their instructor looked at Mark with a pleasing look in her eye.

"Very well done, Mr. O'Connor."

"Thank you, ma'am," he said.

That mistake would have cost him his life in battle had James not shown him that. Of course, he showed him by doing it himself just to see how effective it was firsthand.

The second half was the simulation training. Lately, he had been subjected to encounters with wild animals, alien species, or the Drax themselves. With his sword ready and Blaez by his side, they trekked through the holographic landscape. Sometimes it was a tundra or a desert. The temperature and everything in it felt real.

In this particular simulation, it was an old Earth city called "Chicago." The Drax had set up new research facilities throughout the world, and this happened to be the location of one of them. At least, that was the lore presented to him before the sim started. He had to infiltrate and download data onto a portable chip inside the cuff of his communicator. It was essentially recon. Everything in the sim was almost perfectly real except for receiving a fatal blow. At that point, the world turns red and ends as a failed mission.

The building reached high in the sky, now covered in holes with the glass long gone from them. Vines climbed the buildings like corpses rising from their graves. Old cars littered the roads, giving a perfect cover from Drax patrols. Mark checked his map for his objective. The Drax had hidden their facility underground where the subways used to run under the city. He looked up from the car and checked the perimeter for hostiles. Seeing as the coast was clear, he dashed off with Blaez on his tail over the crackled street around a corner.

They came into what looked like a grocery store. The smell of rotten food filled his nostrils as they went between shelves of expired food in boxes. On occasion, he would see a human corpse, mostly just bones. Outcasts of LEDGE were a common occurrence. None of them were alive.

Mark stopped when they reached the back exit to look at the corpse of a woman. There were large marks all over her body oozing fresh blood. Whoever the poor soul was, Mark thanked the sim for the easy giveaway. There was a large bite mark on her neck. It wasn't the Drax. From the claw marks still visible on the body, it looked like something feline. He could smell the fresh blood.

"Blaez, guard," Mark said. The simulations were becoming too predictable.

Blaez growled in a low tone as the wolf looked around for the source of the threat. His ears came up and faced a certain direction. A low growl came from the corner next to the bathrooms.

It leaped out of the shadows, a nasty shade of red freshly painted on its nose. It had its claws extended and tapping on the linoleum floor. They were ready to sink into some flesh. Mark rolled out of its way and unsheathed his katana in one swift motion. Blaez was standing in front of him, guarding him from the mountain lion. The lion hissed, and Blaez snarled.

But Mark already knew it didn't want to eat him. It already had a fresh kill to consume before it wanted him.

"Blaez, retreat."

Slowly, without taking his eyes off of the lion, Blaez backed away. Mark kept his katana pointed at the animal as they backed into the exit and shut the door. He breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed Blaez's head.

"Good job, Blaez," he praised him.

"Freeze!" A Drax's gruff voice came from behind them.

Mark judged it to be about three feet behind them. He quickly released the hilt from the blade and unfolded the blaster. He ducked as he did to evade any shots the Drax tried to take at him. It didn't fire, which was normal for a Level C difficulty, but he prepared for it, anyway. He turned, the weapon now ready to fire, and pulled the trigger. Being about three feet away, the shot wasn't going to miss. It flew back about five feet with the weapon now clattered to the ground.

"Get him, Blaez!"

He didn't need to be told twice. He was already on the Drax in a flash, knocking it over again. The Drax roared in their strange roar. It sounded like screeching tires but distorted. He put the hilt back onto the blade and unsheathed it. He ran for the Drax just as it was about to reach for the rifle.

"Incoming!" Mark shouted.

Blaez moved just before the sword came down on the neck of the Drax. It hissed one final time before the head rolled away from its body. Sparks radiated from the open wound.

"Freeze simulation," his instructor said

The simulation froze in time.

"Save and end simulation," he said.

The twelve-by-twelve meter room appeared in place of Chicago. A door opened, revealing Mark's instructor on the other side. His black wolf, Edon, stood at his side.

"Good job, son," his dad said with a smile of approval.