The Grangen roared in pain and fury, lashing out at Danny with its uninjured hand. The one that had been holding him moments ago was now burned and blackened. Danny danced out of the way, energy singing in his blood.
This was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It was beyond the panic reactions he had felt, past his fits of anger, his outbursts of emotion. He could hardly feel himself breathing. His heart beat so fast it felt like a constant thrumming vibration. It was like being dead, but he had never felt so alive.
The hallway swelled with light as he launched an attack against the Grangen. But it was prepared now. As he hurtled forward, it dodged with surprising agility, letting Danny's momentum carry him too far. He stumbled and almost fell. Just before he could turn around, a massive blow crashed into his back, slamming him facefirst into the floor.
He felt his nose crack and hot blood started seeping into the carpet. Danny tried to get up, but the Grangen had planted a foot squarely on his back, keeping him pinned.
Danny reached behind him, caught hold of the foot, and pulsed with everything he had. Heat flooded up his arms, through his hand, and into the body of the monster. It howled in pain, its foot leaving Danny's back as it staggered away from him. Seeming to realize that the close quarters did not help its fight, the Grangen fled down the hall and out of sight.
Danny got to his feet, glowing green blood dripping down his chin.
"D-Daniel," a hoarse voice whispered.
Danny looked down, almost forgetting who else was here. Vlad was on all fours, struggling to draw breath into his crushed throat.
"Please," he rasped. "I need... blood stores... can help."
Hot rage overtook Danny's controlled fury. He raised his hand, glowing with power and light and prepared to strike at Vlad's heart. Vlad looked up at him pleadingly. His red eyes were scared and sad, but not surprised. He deserved to die and he knew it. Danny clenched his fist. He had the power. He could end it all right now, kill Vlad and then the Grangen.
He trembled, frozen, pulsing with light and power.
He wanted to make Vlad pay for what he had done! He wanted to strike the killing blow! Why couldn't he just do it?
Confused, angry tears welled in his eyes as he weighed a man's life in his hands.
"I'm sorry," Vlad choked, looking away as he braced himself for the strike.
Danny screamed, slamming his fist deep into the floor. A wave of glowing light flooded over the ground, washing over Vlad's pitiful crumpled figure. The glow from Danny's skin faded. He sat with his hand embedded in the floor. His and Vlad's shaking breaths were the only sounds in the now pitch dark hallway.
"Th-thank you," Vlad coughed. Danny could hear him getting unsteadily to his feet. He couldn't look up. He couldn't stand to look at him, even if he couldn't kill him.
"I need... blood. You need to go... memory room. Safer." Vlad gasped, every word clearly causing him enormous pain. Danny heard his staggering footsteps recede down the hall, leaving him alone. Danny shook in the darkness, feeling very cold and small. Nothing felt right. Nothing made sense. Vlad should be dead. He should have been the one to do it.
So why did he still feel like he needed to help him?
YOU ARE READING
Split Between Stars
Science Fiction(Sequel to Half Life) Danny has lived his whole life thinking he was the sole survivor of Halpha's destruction. Space Corps has hunted him and his kind for years, making it almost impossible to survive. But after being saved from their clutches at...
