Cyber Hound

Chapter 5: Final Battle

Final Battle

For several minutes Bioclaw and I duked it out in hand-to-hand combat, trading punches and kicks as we got knocked all around the front lawn of the school. A crowd of students and faculty had gathered as we fought for all our worth, the impacts from our blows sending out shockwave after shockwave. Clouds of dust now twisted and billowed in the air currents of our battle, making our conflict almost dream-like as we disappeared and reappeared in different places. Bioclaw had a strength advantage over me, but I was smaller and faster than him, so as long as I stayed out of his grip, I could dance out of the way and strike while he recovered. We bounced back and forth for several minutes, never seeming to tire of the fight. I felt like the suit was making me stronger than ever, and I knew that unless I beat Bioclaw here and now, it was all over for my friends and family.

Bioclaw got a quick shot in under my guard, hitting me in the chin and lifting my feet off of the ground. I flew backwards and landed on the ground, the dust in the air dissipating as Bioclaw stood shakily with his arm hanging limp. I slowly pushed myself to my feet, breathing hard as I held my gut. I hadn't realized he had hit me there, but now the pain screamed at me from under my suit like I had been hit with a sledgehammer. I looked at Bioclaw and was pleased to see he was having trouble staying on his feet, and his breathing was shallow and forced. A cut dribbled blood in his right eye from just above his eyebrow, and he grimaced as he wiped it with the back of one hand.

"You've gotten better," he wheezed, "I'll give you that hero. But that doesn't mean you're good enough to beat me." He stood straight and pulled out what looked like a high-tech grenade. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve just for you." He lobbed the grenade into the air, and it came down behind me, right at Hope's feet.

She looked down at it like it was something that had just appeared out of nowhere, and I yelled for her to get out of the way. She looked up at me with a sad expression, and as I leaped to shield her, the grenade exploded, enveloping the entire area in a ball of fire. My suit protected me from the blast, but as I lowered my arm from my face, I saw that Hope had not been so lucky. She lay in a smoldering crater, her fur burnt off in places and one arm bent the wrong way at the elbow. I knelt down next to her, not believing what I was seeing. I touched her with one hand, almost like she wasn't real, but she did not move under my contact, and I tenderly picked her up in my arms, resting her head on my shoulder. I deactivated the suit's helmet and looked at Hope's face, almost tranquil like she was sleeping. A choked sob broke out of my mouth, and I buried my face in her shoulder fur, crying like I had never cried before. My heart felt like it was breaking it two, the pain excruciating like a knife to my chest as I wept over my loss. I don't know how long I sat there, but as my tears dried, a cold rock formed in the place my heart used to be in, and I grit my teeth as I narrowed my eyes in pure rage. I set Hope down and stood up, my face a frozen mask as I turned to see Bioclaw had not moved, his features showing obvious signs of contained laughter.

I bared my teeth and let loose the most fearsome snarl I had ever attempted, my face contorting with the pure rage twisting my features into those of something out of a nightmare. Bioclaw took one look at my features and stumbled backwards as I leapt at his face. My claws ripped into his unprotected head and opened several cuts along the sides of his head. He reeled back in pain as I hung on, dragging both of us to the ground with me straddling his chest. I landed on top of him and began bludgeoning his face and head with both arms, my servos charging my punches with super strength. I heard multiple bones in his nose and jaw break, but I still didn't let up, my vision red with rage as I turned his head into a pulped mess. Finally, my anger subsided, and I stood up, reeling from what I had just done. I took one look at what I had done to Bioclaw's face and turned around, falling to my knees as I puked up what was left of my lunch. Dry heaves shook my body for a moment, but soon subsided as I shakily stood up.