THE DREAMER - Part I: Awakening [3rd Draft Edition]

Book 1: Chapter III

The team scrambled quickly toward the Hope Building's location, still protecting themselves from the constant pelting of the black, hailing daggers coming down upon them. Their energy shields were holding out fairly well; the thorns splintered and shattered, disintegrating into the intense electrical field created by their intricate wrist devices and handles. During a great many intervals, they would have to jump over the gaps between buildings, which were several flying car lengths apart. The extra strength provided by their armor allowed them to perform these seemingly impossible leaps.

While enacting a few of the jumps, however, those without working jet-packs would have to use their MGs due to the differing heights of the tall structures they were traversing. These were the most dangerous and critical moments. A faulty design in the standard I.A.A.F. suits was that the MG systems were installed into the same arm as the shield systems. The two exceptions to the group were Yukov Mikler, bearing the newest and most faultless design of the army's battle suits, and Andrew Kase, whom had redesigned his own suit to be more aligned with his physical common sense.

The fault present here was that one would have to extend their arm directly at the surface they meant to latch onto, since the MG cord was laced all the way back into the shoulder, and needed a straight shot from the top of the upper arm to the back of the wrist in order to extend untangled. This of course inferred a large problem: the only thing the shield would be protecting was the arm of the user, leaving the rest of the body exposed, seeing as the shield was a barely angled dome only a yard in diameter that ran parallel to the curvature of the lower arm. In order to shield oneself while using an MG, one would have to pull one's body awkwardly up into the shield, but even that would most likely leave some part of the body exposed anyway. At the time, it was the best they could do.

Clyde had come up with some sort of plan for he and Andrew, the only two with jet-packs at the moment, to protect those using their magnetic grapples in order to help them ascend safely. Sadly, they quickly realized that this plan would not work. Even if Andrew wasn't carrying the injured co-pilot Harry Dorman with one of his arms, they would still only be protecting the group two at a time, which was very insufficient and inefficient. They decided they would not follow along with Clyde's idea, but Mr. Wallace did occasionally and subtly provide extra protection for Jenna Barry when he could. He did have a bit of an attraction for her, but he knew she was most definitely out of his league. Besides, right now, there was something else he had to be focusing on.

"How's everyone holding up?!" Kyle shouted loudly over the continuous pattering of the black shards tearing into the battered roofs across which they tread.

"Good up here!" Clyde returned.

Bolt also began to respond. "We seem to be..." His eyes widened and he slowed his pace. "INCOMING!"

A Behemoth bashed into the skyscraper to the left of the building they were about to hop onto next, instantly causing the towering construction to collapse. The runners halted and the jet troopers landed, positioning their shields at an angle to keep the still raining thorns at bay. The Behemoth's momentum had been stopped abruptly after its collision. It looked down, shaking its head violently, before raising its head high into the sky and bellowing an undeniably ferocious and terrifying roar. The beast was much taller than any other Behemoth the group had seen before - except to General Yukov Mikler's eyes. When he blinked, a raging tsunami of conflicting memories rushed through his head: five years colliding with each other, a gelatinous amalgamation of blurred moments.

He opened his eyes, looking once more into the enraged Behemoth's gaze. That gaze - he had seen it before. It was becoming clearer in his mind now.

Yukov Mikler blinked once more, and in that instant, he relived his greatest pain.

***

May twenty-sixth, 3007.