Argonaut - The Vestige (Part III)

Chapter 5 - Coming Home

Chapter 5 – Coming Home

1st Sep 1:07 AM

I looked in the rear-view mirror, waiting for the Scorpion to come barrelling around the corner. Instead, I saw one of my brothers sprinting at top speed. He was moving almost as fast as we were, and he was drawing back his arm to strike.

“Turn!” I shouted, cranking the window’s handle as fast as I could.

Gallagher obliged as I vaulted out of the window, catching my hands on the top rim to send myself onto the Humvee’s roof. I took a moment to gain my balance, standing at my full height and drawing the Gladius. The crimson blade shot out of the handle as my brother’s blast of energy raced by us, missing us by a metre. A repetitive set of vibrations was drawing closer, and I barely had time to turn my eyes skyward as the monstrous Scorpion shot over the top of a low building. It had bypassed the corner, intent on cutting us off before our escape got any traction.

In the millisecond I had to react I threw my hand towards it, sending a hail of parked cars in its direction. They slammed into the hull in rapid succession, knocking it backwards through the air. One remained perched on the top, sending a powerful wave of energy directly at us as the Scorpion landed. I drew black the Gladius, parting his blast with a more focused one of my own.

The road exploded on either side of us, obliterated by the attack and leaving a narrow strip for us to drive along. The visor paused momentarily as he looked at the Gladius, and I could tell that a memory was being triggered. The Humvee shot forward while he was distracted, giving me time to tear the road underneath them to pieces. The Scorpion’s mechanical feet sank in the churned roadside, working to get free as my other brothers advanced. I could make out the numerals of Two and Four as they sprinted along parallel rooftops, and I prepared myself for a combined assault.

Wielding the Gladius in my right hand, I reached my left out to a car by the side of the road. One of the doors ripped itself free and rocketed to my hand, where I held it by the handgrip. The door formed a makeshift shield as my brothers launched themselves at me, and I braced myself to weather the coming attack. I pointed the Gladius at the airborne Four, and he blasted back into the old brick of an apartment building. I made sure the impact wasn’t enough to kill him, but it would still hurt like a bitch. Two landed on the Humvee beside me, grabbing the shield with both hands and trying to wrench it out of my hands.

“Five!” he shouted, “Just stop! Come back and we can sort out this mess!”

“I can’t do that,” I shook my head, pulling back on the door as we struggled, “They’ll kill me, you know that!”

“Did you kill that kid?” he asked, studying my face.

My eyes flickered away, unable to meet the visor he wore. It gave him all the answer he needed. While he was still reeling from the shock of the answer I drew back the shield, barging it forward to knock him from the roof of the Humvee. He fell, landing roughly on his feet as we pulled away.

I shot my hand towards the Scorpion as it clambered free, directing a powerful blast of energy that would take it out of the fight. The black metal vibrated as the wave of energy connected, but it advanced as if nothing had hit it.

“Gallagher,” I yelled, “I need you up here!”

There was a commotion in the driver’s seat as he changed with the geek, climbing out of the window to meet me on the roof. I held on tight as the car swerved waiting for Gallagher to gain his footing.

“I need some help taking out the Scorpion,” I called, “There’s something about that metal it’s made of that’s affecting my powers.”

“Energy absorbent?” I heard my own voice call, followed by spectral gunfire. I snapped out of the vision before I could get too distracted.