Renegades (The Slingers Trilogy, Book 3)

Chapter 14

Andress tumbled to the side as the Skraarback landed just a few feet away from her. Then, just as it was about to swipe at Elicia still lying on the ground, she heard a few familiar-sounding shots from a repeater, and looked across the clearing to see Nolun shooting at the head of the giant creature. "Hey! Over here you overgrown fleabag!" The Skraarback roared, then began to chase Nolun deep into the jungle. "Nolun!" Andress shouted, and heard Trace stirring behind her. As she ran towards the clearing, hoping to catch up with him, she felt the ground shift beneath her feet. Suddenly, the dirt and soil gave out from under her, and she began to fall through the new sinkhole that had appeared in the floor of the jungle. As she fell dow, she landed on a slope of dirt and mud, and began to slide down. Looking behind her, she saw Trace falling down as well, and she had landed slightly behind her, sliding as fast as she could to keep up. As they kept sliding, they saw something troubling ahead of them. It was a wall, composed entire out of loose rocks and soil. Slamming into it would hurt, and it might also bury them alive. Thinking quickly, both girls pulled out their guns, Andress rapid-firing her rifle, and Trace shooting with both her pistols over and over. The bullets from both weapons struck the wall several times, and the rocks slowly began to move, and then finally, some collapsed, opening a small hole in the barrier ahead of them. Andress and Trace maneuvered into the path of the hole, then barely managed to slide through before falling and landing on a pile of dirt, the soft pile of soil cushioning their fall. As they both slowly staggered up, Andress shook the dirt out of her hair, and looked back up at the now sealed path that led back up to where they had been. "Damn it."

"Andress! Andress talk to me! Are you there?" Bunker had been trying to raise Andress on her comms unit ever since the beast had run away, and the two girls had disappeared. They had inspected the spot where they had been, and noticed a large sinkhole that was blocked off by a large pile of rocks and dirt. Even with Bunker's suit, they wouldn't be able to get in. Dante and Elicia were watching Bunker, then Elicia came up and put a hand on his shoulder. "Bunker...I'm sorry. You know Andress better than anyone. She can handle herself. She'll be fine." Bunker looked worried for a second, then nodded. Dante stepped forwards, examining the hole. "All things considered, I think we should contact Koil and ask him to do a high-level radar sweep of this area. My guess is that this sinkhole is just the entrance to a series of connected tunnels. If we find another entrance to it, we'll be able to locate them." Bunker nodded, and began to contact Koil. As he did, he kept thinking about how Andress was on her own, how she could take care of herself...and the promise he had made.

5 years ago...

Bunker stood in the small room in the infirmary, looking over the beds of both of his comrades. Koil was currently lying in the bed on the left, both of his legs wrapped up in bandages, now just reduced to stumps. Andress was on the right, an IV tube in her arm, providing her with some much-needed morphine to help her sleep. God knows she'd do it willingly. Bunker thought to himself.  He looked down at his arms, and saw how skinny they had been getting. Without the suit...he was worthless. Scrawny. Weak. "You've been using that thing too damn much." Melinda used to say. Melinda...that's what he had been thinking about this whole time. What she had said to him before they had been deployed. She had pulled him aside in the hangar, and spoken softly to him. "Bunker...listen to me. If anything ever happens to me...I want you to take care of my little sister. Never leave her no matter what. Understand?"  It was like she had known... Bunker looked at both of his friends, then sat down in the chair next to the beds, intending to keep that promise.

The small ship landed on a hill that was overlooking the jungle on the south side of one of the mountains. The cockpit opened, and a man in a tattered jacket with a long sheath for his sword stepped out, looking out into the distance. Zero had never been to planets as beautiful as this one. Now that he was free, he could admire the majesty of the galaxy like he never had before. He knelt down and examined some of the moss-covered rocks that were lying on the ground. He pulled one of his gloves off, and noticed his hand. The skin on it was flaking off, revealing the red, shiny muscle underneath. His fingers were weathered and worn, the skin right down to the bone, giving his hands a skeleton-like quality. He picked up the rock, and winced when the rough pebble touched his bare, unprotected skin. He looked over at it, examining the different textures that made up it's exterior. Then, the pain shot through his eye again, making him drop the rock. Zero covered his patched-up eye, gritting his teeth. That's where it had all started. A few months ago, he had noticed his body was beginning to deteriorate. He felt weaker at sometimes, and the cuts and bruises that usually healed so fast thanks to his genetic design weren't healing at all. He was...expiring. That was the only word he could find for it. His left eye had almost completely gone, and he couldn't see out of it anymore. His hair was falling out, and he found himself moving slower than he normally could. Zero shook his head as the pain slowly went away. He couldn't worry about that now. He needed to focus on what he needed to do. What he was here for. As Zero stood back up, he heard the loud roaring of a creature somewhere deep in the jungle. He looked out into the distance, and could see faint rustling of the trees somewhere close. Knowing who he was dealing with, he knew that the man in black and his friends would be there. Sealing the ship, he started to swiftly make his way down the mountain, his mind focused, and ready to kill.