Dex Warrior (Libertas Online)

20: The Visitor Comes To Grier

Ducking low beneath the cover of abandoned cars and trucks, Cassie dashed up the ramp much quieter than her counterpart. Behind her, Mr. Bean's footfalls were heavy and loud. The black boots on his feet must have been steel-toed, and the oil stains on his blue mechanic's jumpsuit were easier to see in the light of day. His duster jacket trailed behind him as he clomped after her, arms cradling the black Culicidae gun in his arms.

At the trunk of an SUV, Cassie paused and waited for him to catch up. They had managed to reach the third level of the parking garage without detection. Alien soldiers were wandering all around the complex, sweeping streets and alleyways, but they had yet to run into any resistance inside the concrete building, a sign that her plan to draw the aliens out had worked. She had also not found Dan and Scout yet. Hoping that her companions had not abandoned the top level, Cassie took a deep breath and pushed onward.

Staying hidden, they snuck their way through the final floor of the building and cautiously peeked out over the rooftop. The blue vehicle they had siphoned gasoline from rested on the far side, half melted and spilling a column of smoke into the air. Knowing the Culicidae space craft was still resting on the street below, Cassie led the way to the vehicle and rounded the heat-warped plastic bumper to find Dan sitting on the ground with his legs stretched before him.

He jolted in surprise, brought up the barrel of his shotgun and pointed it at her. Coated in a shining layer of sweat, he paused and eyed her in confusion before relief sagged his fearful expression when he finally accepted that it was her standing in front of him. Dropping the gun back to his lap, he said, "Cassie. Thank god you're all right. But what are you doing here?"

Scout whined and came up to her, licking her hands as she knelt to pet his gray fur. She said, "I drew them away to save your life, thank you very much. I'm going to rescue you."

Dan frowned. "Yeah, and now we both have to figure out how to get out of here. You should have ran away like I told you."

Cassie rolled her eyes. "As my gutter-rat ninja master said, 'sometimes you must follow your heart even when others tell you not to'."

The quote made Dan smirk, and he only shrugged in response.

"Besides," Cassie continued, "there's three of us now. I'd say that's a fifty percent increase in our chances of getting out of here. Dan, meet Mr. Bean." With a beckoning motion, she instructed the big man around the car and into Dan's view, who looked the stranger up and down with a confused expression. Scout growled in a low tone, seemingly untrusting of the big eye-like lenses of Bean's gas mask as he looked down upon him.

"No. Be nice," Cassie instructed the dog. To Dan, she explained, "Bean saved me. I ran down into a basement but the Culicidae followed after. He killed both of them."

"Well," Dan said hesitantly, "thank you Mr. Bean... for protecting Cassie. She's a good kid, but more trouble than she's worth." He winked at her. "Tell me, where are you from?"

"Oh, he doesn't talk," Cassie said. "I don't think he can. Bean's mute, and I gave him the name in case you're wondering."

"Well that explains things... All right," Dan said with a groan as he repositioned himself. "Thanks anyways, Bean. Now, I don't mean to be a let-down, but how are we going to get out of Cleveland with this?" Lifting his left leg with his arm, he crossed it over his other knee, revealing the most gruesome stub of a limb Cassie had ever seen. Raising her hand over her mouth, she gasped. Dan's leg ended at his ankle. No shoe. No foot. Only a charred stub.

Cassie had to look away. She remembered the moments after she had zip-lined to the street below, remembered seeing the green light of a disintegration blast blooming underneath Dan's feet. She hadn't thought it got him after he shouted down to her. He said he was fine. What hurt the most was that she wasn't even observant enough to realize he was wounded until he pointed it out to her.