July 6, 2076
Western Nebraska
Central Territory
United States of America

Pain arched through Alex’s body as he regained consciousness. His right thigh pulsated with a hot stabs of agony, underscored by a dull throbbing ache. He tested moving the leg and was rewarded with lancing pain that coursed up and down the length of his thigh. He wiggled his fingers and toes and breathed a sigh of relief that they all seemed to be intact and functioning. The last thing he needed after the day they had had was to be compromised by paralysis. He cracked his eyes open and was greeted by a new pain, this one in the back of his eye sockets as he was momentarily blinded by the bright, midday sunlight.  After a few minutes of carefully leaking light between his eyelids, Alex was able to peek them open and get his first view of the wreckage.

The cabin of the VAULT, or what was left of it, lay embedded in the dirt of the field they had crashed in. The cockpit had been torn apart in the crash. The left wing was a twisted heap of blackened metal where it had taken the direct impact of the surface-to-air missile. He saw a few more figures lying on the ground, but the intense light of the cloudless day made it difficult to make out any certain identities.  

Alex put aside the thoughts of who was still alive and focused instead on assessing his own condition. It wouldn’t matter if anyone else lived if he couldn’t get himself up. He slowly drew his arms up toward his chest. They hurt, but the absence of the searing pain associated with serious wounds reassured him that at least his arms were intact.  He set both his palms down on the ground near his ribs and tentatively pushed himself up, first onto his elbows and then into an upright position. His body resisted, tired and sore, but he pushed through the pain.

As he sat up, he finally took a moment to look down and examine the wound to his leg. His vision swam and he almost fainted as he saw the deep gash along his left thigh. He steadied himself a moment and focused his attention once again on his legs. His right leg seemed fine, a fact he was even more thankful for. One leg, he could handle, assuming he wasn’t the only survivor of the crash. With that thought fresh in mind, Alex took a second look around the crash site.  Cassie lay on the ground off to his left. She looked worse for wear but was also beginning to stir, groaning at whatever pain accompanied consciousness.

"Are you two going to just sit there or do I have to pick you up myself?" Alex heard Shawn shout from somewhere behind him. He turned to see his friend limping across the crash site, Jimmy’s unconscious form strung between himself and Jorge. Jorge had a bandage wrapped around a scalp wound, though Alex guessed it was probably more to keep the blood from running into his eyes than any real worry about injury. Scalp wounds were messy, but rarely life threatening.

"Yeah, I’d love to join you two, but It looks like I’ll be a little on the slow side for a few days," Alex smiled, though it was both forced and pained. 

He moved his body to the side so that Shawn and Jorge could see the damage. They both grimaced and Shawn motioned for Jorge to gather whatever medical kits they could. He lay Jimmy down against one of the disengaged emergency doors from the VAULT and then moved over to Alex’s side.

"Jeez, man, what’d you do, pick a fight with the engine after they shot us down?" Shawn half-joked as he peered down at the cut in his friend’s leg. "But not to worry, Jorge got top marks in field dressing back in basic, you remember?" 

Alex did remember, but neither he nor Shawn acknowledged the fact that a wound so severe could mean Alex would never walk correctly again, and certainly wouldn’t be moving much in the next couple days.

"If I slow you guys down too much, you’re going to have to leave me, you know that right?" Alex said quietly as he looked at his leg.

"No one is leaving anyone else behind," Cassie said from behind him. “We’ve lost enough people already, we aren’t going to start giving up on the few of us who are left.” 

She had finally pulled herself up and, like Shawn, seemed more shaken than injured. She did have an impressive welt forming under her right eye, but otherwise she seemed no worse for wear.

"Yeah, Cassie’s right," Justin chuckled as he suddenly appeared behind her, leaning against the side of the fuselage. He also bled from a gash to his side and he limped severely. "We already lived through a plane crash, that should give you plenty of good karma for this." 

Justin looked around as he stood up. Jimmy was still out cold, but even if he woke up, that would still only account for about a third of those who had been on the VAULT with them. He seemed to focus in on something behind the wreckage, or someone, though Alex couldn’t see from his angle.

 Shawn headed off towards whatever he was looking at, saying grimly, "I think I’ll go see who else is still with us."

As Shawn disappeared around the hulk of the wreckage, Alex suddenly felt Cassie’s arms around him. She hugged him fiercely several moments before pulling back to look at him. He grimaced again as the shifting irritated his wounds.

"I’m sorry about everything that happened, Alex, I hope you know that. I’m sorry I lied to you, I’m sorry about what happened at the Convention Center. I thought we could all get through this in one piece, that your dad’s plan would work out, but now, I don’t know if it was worth it at all,” she whispered, almost on the verge of tears. 

Her eyes held a far off look in them, a sadness that was deep and wounding and Alex knew she felt responsible for the loss of the nearly forty Lionheart members who had perished in the aftermath of the attack on the conference, not including anyone else who hadn’t survived the crash. Alex took her hand. He still had mixed feelings about what had happened, but he was finally beginning to understand why his father had done what he had, why he had secretly contracted Cassie for the job.

"You did what you thought was best, Cassie," he said quietly, holding her hands in his. “This isn’t your fault, or my fault, or even my Dad’s fault. This is the Council that did all this. They’re the ones that are responsible for this. We’ll get through this, and we’ll bring it back to their front door, I promise.” 

He grinned, half to cheer her up and half a twitch of pain. Then he found her lips suddenly covering his and his eye’s shot wide open. He didn’t even have time to respond in turn before she drew away, a small smile of her own on her face. He felt his heartbeat flutter as her pretty face stared down at him, those purple eyes bright and happy, if only for a moment.

“Hey, you two, I thought Lionheart had rules about internal relationships,” Dempsey said as he limped into view, half dragging Rock. Shawn came behind, with Jorge and the medical supplies. Several of the others followed them. Cassie flushed furiously and stood, but her smile didn’t go away.

“Sergeant, you just interrupted that young man’s first kiss,” Justin joked. 

Jorge and a few of the others chuckled, but it was all good natured. They had all known that Alex and Cassie shared a connection. Knowing that, mixed with the events of the last few days, had caused more than one of the men to look at Cassie as something more like a little sister. Not to mention only four of the male members of the company were her age, and those four were Alex, Shawn, Jimmy, and Jorge.

“You can kiss all you want when we get through this,” Dempsey yapped as he dropped Rock’s still unmoving form onto the dirt at Alex’s feet with a dull thump. Then he looked at Alex’s leg and his good nature dimmed a bit. “You look worse for wear, Commander.”

Alex was about to reply, but stopped short when he heard the rank Dempsey used. He looked around, hoping that maybe Blake or Yoshido had appeared out of the wilderness and he hadn’t known, but he only found faces looking down at him expectantly. 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me, Sergeant,” Alex said. He shook his head and looked up at the older man. “You’re the senior officer, you should take charge.”

“I’m a Sergeant, Scope, and when you’ve been in my position as long as I have, you stay there,” Dempsey said, grinning ear to ear now, the same mean look in his eyes he’d had during basic training. “Darren Blake picked me because I’m loud and mean and I’ll kick your ass if you step out of line. But I’m no commander. He knew you had potential, and he was right. Now’s the time to prove it. I think we are all in agreement with this.” 

He looked around critically, as if daring any of the others to contradict him. Nobody raised any objection, and a few had grins to match Dempsey. Alex noticed Shawn was one of those. He motioned for his friend to help him to his feet. Jorge had just finished wrapping his leg and he wanted to see how it was working. He groaned as Shawn and Jorge lifted him to his feet. 

“Alright, I’ll do it,” Alex said, though he felt awkward taking command while having to be supported by two others. “Sergeant Dempsey, I’d like you to remain in your position, though you’ll have to live with heading everyone up as Master Sergeant. You know this business better than anyone and you probably have the most wilderness experience, so you’re in charge of supplies, fortification, and shelter for the nights.” Dempsey just kept grinning, nodding a slight thanks for the battlefield promotion. It didn’t mean much, but it showed Alex cared about Dempsey’s advice and knowledge.

“Cassie, until further notice, you’ll take over Yari’s team. When Jimmy comes to, I want the two of you setting up a perimeter so we can get an idea of any company we might have, is that understood, Captain?” Cassie smiled and nodded. “Justin, if you’re staying with us, I’d like you to join Cassie’s team, when you’re able.” Justin nodded, though they both knew he would be as out of commission as Alex for the time being. 

“Shawn and Jorge,” he addressed his two most able bodied friends. “Grab three of the guys and start salvaging weapons and ammo, you’re both promoted to the rank of Corporal, effective immediately.” 

Dempsey stepped over to take Alex’s weight of Shawn and Jorge. The two grinned, saluted, and set off, dragging the first three men in the group with them, who slapped the younger two on the backs as they began sifting through the wreckage. Alex looked around and saw Rock was just coming to, looking up at the group with a mixture of disorientation and relief.

“And you, Rock my friend, are being promoted to Staff Sergeant,” Alex grinned. “You’ll be providing me with personal security until I can walk for myself.” 

Alex’s smile was mirrored by Dempsey and Cassie as they looked down at Rock, who stared up at the three, completely confused by the whole situation.

“Hey, Alex,” Jimmy said from behind. He had apparently revived at some point while the rest of the group was laughing at Rock. “Someone is coming and they don’t look friendly.” 

Jimmy glanced over his shoulder at Alex, and waved them over to where he leaned against the husk of the VAULT.  Alex, Dempsey, and Cassie made their way over to the smaller boy. Jimmy handed Alex a pair of binoculars with a smile, plastered in place to hold back the obvious fear he felt from what he had seen. Alex choked on his own spit and coughed as he saw the convoy for himself.

Four APCs and two Humvees, all in matching black with the Pride Security logo stenciled on the sides, ground to a halt a hundred yards from the crash site. Men swarmed out of the vehicles and took up positions of cover behind open doors and portable barriers they dragged into the open. A quick headcount told Alex over 100 fully armed mercenaries now had them pinned down. Then he saw one of the black clad men casually stroll out past the barricades, flanked by two others.

“Surrender yourselves now and I promise you will be given a quick death,” Richard Malwood shouted as he stopped ten yards in front of the staggered line of barricades. Rock moved Alex over to a gap in the wreckage, to get a better view of the field.

“We’re in trouble guys,” Alex said without looking back at the others.

“Yeah we are, we’ve only got twelve rifles and five pistols,” Shawn said breathlessly as he ran crouching to where Alex and Rock watched the field. “Even if we were fully armed, we wouldn’t stand a chance against them.”

“We need to balance the teams,” Alex said quietly as he analyzed the situation. “There’s really only one way out of this.” He turned and motioned for Jorge to move to their position. “Do you have any localized morphine syrettes?” Alex asked.

“Just one, figured I would save it for you when we bugged out,” Jorge said, drawing the small tube from his pack.

“If you give me that, will I be able to walk?” Alex asked.

“Nope, it’ll immobilize you, that’s the down side of it. You won’t be out, but  you won’t be moving,” Jorge replied in a measured tone, unsure of why Alex was even asking.

Alex shook his head and swore silently. He didn’t want to ask anyone else to do what he had in mind, but at this point he didn’t really have a choice. He hoisted himself up higher, using Rock’s arms to steady himself.

“We’ve got Justin Malwood,” he shouted. “He’s alive for now, but unless the rest of your men leave the area, he’ll be in a body bag at your feet, I promise you that.” 

Alex turned to regard the rest of the team. Justin looked shaken, Cassie had a wide-eyed expression of shock. Shawn and several of those in his team took a more aggressive stance towards Justin, ready to follow any order Alex gave them. Alex looked at Justin and gave him a smile and a reassuring nod. The group relaxed at the expression.

“My son was seen armed and accompanying you and the rest of the traitors out of the base,” Richard Malwood shouted back. “He’s already dead to me. He’s already betrayed everything he swore to protect.”

That seemed to hit Justin much harder than the thought of Alex executing him as a bargaining chip. Alex pitied the young man who’d helped them escape, but he had to worry about more than another soldier’s feelings. He was in charge now, it was his duty to get as many of them out and alive as possible. He looked up at the large man who supported him.

“Rock, I need a favor,” he said quietly.

“Whatever you need boss, I’m up for the job,” the larger man grinned.

“I need you to put a gun to Justin’s head, drag him out there, and make them leave,” Alex said evenly. “They saw Justin, but we have to convince them he’s our hostage. It’s the only way any of us will get out of this is one piece.” He looked around silently at the rest of the team. “Unless anyone has a better idea?”

“I’ll do it,” Cassie said quietly. All eyes turned to her as he withdrew one of her two ever-present sidearms. “I’ll take him out there. It’ll be more convincing if I do it. I did betray them, I was the double agent. I’ll bring out the anger in Napalm, I know I will. And the fear. He’ll be more convinced Justin is in danger if I’m the one with the gun.”

Alex stared at her, then looked around slowly at the rest of those assembled. The team, or what was left of them, was dirty, tired, and almost uniformly injured enough to be considered walking wounded in a normal combat situation. Many of them nodded agreement with Cassie’s reasoning, though he could see in their eyes they didn’t want to.

“Cassie’s the best you’ve got, Alex,” Justin said, breaking the silence. “And she’s right about making Dad angry. Believe me, he meant what he said, but you put a bullet in my shoulder and a gun to my head and he’ll change his mind pretty quickly. My family puts a lot of stock in honor, but you can’t have an honorable family if they’re all dead, right?” 

Before Alex could nod, Justin pulled a pistol that must have been slipped in his belt by Shawn or one of the others distributing arms. But he didn’t aim at the rest of the group. Instead he put it to his left shoulder and pulled the trigger. Despite being at a close range, the shot wasn’t muffled and it echoed out across the dusty plains. The gun fell from his hand as Justin staggered back in pain, grimacing as tears ran down from his eyes. But he pushed through and sagged towards Cassie.

“Let’s go, Gemini,” he grunted. “Duty calls.” 

Alex didn’t know whether Justin was still grimacing or if he was genuinely smiling at his own wit. Cassie just nodded, slipped her right arm under Justin’s right good shoulder and up across his now bloodied chest. The two walked out, giving Alex and the rest of the team confident looks. 

“We’re coming out, Napalm,” Cassie shouted. Her voice carried unnaturally far as the pair stepped out from behind the wreckage. “Lay down your weapons or the next bullet goes through his temple.”

Alex felt a chill run down his spine. This was the Cassie who had tracked him down in the ruins of Chicago. This was the ruthless killer that hid behind the stunning young beauty. He wasn’t sure he liked that her darker side had to come out, but he knew there wasn’t really any other option. He noted with detached curiosity that there was a slight ripple in the line of soldiers behind Richard Malwood. They clearly recognized Cassie, and as she moved closer to the line, he knew they could see Justin was indeed her hostage. 

Or so they thought.

“I’m not kidding, Napalm. Drop the weapons or he dies,” the cold voice that sounded like Cassie’s said. She pushed the barrel of the gun harder against Justin’s temple for emphasis. “I already put one through his shoulder, don’t think I won’t but one in his head.”

“Gemini, put the gun down and let him go,” Richard Malwood shouted back, not budging even an inch at seeing his bloodied son being held at gunpoint. The two figures at his side clearly had other ideas and Alex could see them tensed to rush at Cassie if given the order. Both wore masks that covered their faces, but Alex knew it was Sebastian and Jeremy. No one else would even be allowed to walk that close to Richard Malwood; his vanity dictated only family and close friends could be part of his inner circle. 

“You tell everyone but you three to pack up and head back to base. Then you let the rest of my team bug out. Then, if you ask nicely, you can have your first born back,” Cassie nearly spat, challenging Richard Malwood. “If not, well, you get the picture.”

Richard Malwood stared at her, naked hatred in his eyes. Alex understood his rage, not that he had any sympathy for the man. If he let them go in exchange for his son, he risked the wrath of the Council, despite being one of the founding members. If he challenged them, in his eyes, his son’s life was forfeit. Then his features changed, growing sly, his eyes narrowing and a smile spread on his lips.

“I see we are at an impasse here, Gemini,” he said, palms held up towards her. “I have another proposal. Let’s have a little contest. You and Samuelson fight these two young men at my side. If you win, we will withdraw and give you a three day headstart. If we win, you will come peacefully. Deal?”

Cassie stared back at him, then turned slightly to give Alex a questioning look. He nodded back. Then he patted Rock on the arm, indicating he would limp out of the wreckage himself.

“Don’t do it, Alex,” Shawn said, clearly concerned about the proposal. “You can’t trust the Malwoods, they’re as bad as they come, you know that.”

“Nothing for it, Shawn,” Alex said with a knowing smile. He knew perfectly well what he was getting himself into. “If we don’t make it through this fight, give ‘em hell. I’m just trying to stall them. Try to slip out if you can.” 

Alex flashed the team a confident smile that didn’t match the anxiety he felt at the coming confrontation. He’d fought Sebastian and Jeremy once before, with Jimmy during basic training. He’d won, but Jimmy had not fared so well. Not to mention the fact that Alex had been at peak health at the time. With the gash in his leg, even bound, he would be hard pressed to match Sebastian or Jeremy blow-for-blow.

“Commander,” Dempsey said before Alex turned towards the coming confrontation.

“Yes, Master Sergeant,” Alex replied formally. He was still ill-used to being in command.

“You remember your first fight with them, back during training?” Dempsey asked.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about that actually,” Alex said.

“You remember what I told you after you put Malwood in a hospital bed?” the older man asked.

“You said my temper got the best of me and that people would end up dead if I didn’t watch my anger, or something like that,” Alex replied.

“Yeah, forget everything I told you that day. Don’t hold back,” Dempsey said, a mix of grim humor and genuine care for Alex showing through his rough features. “Give ‘em hell, Scope. We’re behind you to the end.” 

Dempsey snapped to attention as he said the words, back straight, heels together, fist over heart. The rest of the team was only a moment behind in the salute. Alex knew they all felt the way Dempsey did, and they meant it when they said ‘to the end’. Alex just nodded silently and grinned with the corner of his mouth. Then he turned and slowly limped toward the coming fight.

Minutes dragged by as Alex carefully made his way across the open space between the two groups. He could see many of the soldiers behind Richard Malwood had assumed more relaxed stances. They clearly thought this would be over quickly and Alex thought he saw a few placing what looked like currency down on the hood of one of the trucks from the convoy. He doubted anyone was taking a bet that he and Cassie would win. More likely how long we will last, he thought grimly, but pushed on. Suddenly he found himself next to Cassie and Justin. A reassuring smile flitted across her face. Justin winked briefly, though Alex thought it looked more like an involuntary spasm. 

“Let’s do this,” Alex said heavily, dropping the pistol he’d brought for protection, not that it would have done much against the firepower of the group Malwood had brought with him. The weapon hit the dry earth, sending a small flurry of dust skyward.. “Let him go, Gemini.” 

Cassie released Justin and gave him a shove forward. Justin made a good show of hitting the dirt face first, then struggled up and limped over to his father’s side. Richard Malwood gave his eldest son a hard look, followed by a brief nod of his head to leave the front line. Justin slowly retreated, nodding greeting to several of the others. Alex thought he saw a look of relief on the old mercenary’s face, but whatever relief he had for his son being safe evaporated as he refocused his attention on the two combatants in front of him. Cassie still held her weapons, not ready to put them down until she knew he would honor the deal.

“Sebastian, Jeremy,” Richard Malwood said, motioning to the two young men at his side. “Kill them.” Then he turned and strode aware from the group, turning to watch only when he was safely behind the protection of one of the APCs.

“Sure thing, Napalm,” Jeremy said, confidently striding out towards Cassie and Alex. “I’ve got some unfinished business with Gemini. Time for some payback.”

“I’ll take Samuelson,” Sebastian said coolly, striding out only a few steps behind his friend. “Time to finally repay you for that lesson in Basic.”

Alex lost track of Cassie and Jeremy’s duel as Sebastian let out a roar and charged him. Alex readied himself, knowing this would be a quick fight, one way or another. If he couldn’t incapacitate Sebastian within a few minutes, the wound in his leg would slow him too much to do anything but play punching bag for Sebastian’s fists and feet. He shifted his weight back onto his good leg, keeping his front arm down in a defensive posture to cover the attack he knew would be aimed for his injured thigh.

Sebastian closed the distance between them and lashed out with running kick towards Alex’s injured leg. Alex managed to sidestep the blow, but the injury slowed his normally quick reflexes. He felt Sebastian’s followup strike, an elbow aimed to break Alex’s nose, as it glanced off his cheekbone. 

“You’re slower than last time, Samuelson,” Sebastian laughed, bouncing away on the balls of his feet, taunting Alex. “You know you should never go into a fight with a severe injury.”

“Well, after last time, I figured this was the only way to give you a fair chance,” Alex said with a smirk. 

He carefully tested weight on his bad leg, but the pain was starting to leak through the morphine and he was beginning to feel the effects of the medicine on the rest of his senses. “So are you going to bounce around there like a clown or are we going to fight?”

“Enough!” Sebastian shouted. 

Alex knew Sebastian was proud, and that that was his biggest downfall as a mercenary. He let others get the best of him with words and it made him reckless. Sure enough, his opponent rushed in with a roundhouse kick aimed at Alex’s temple. Alex ducked the blow, but instead of retreating, he dove with all his strength at Sebastian, who had obviously been thinking Alex would react as he had with the first kick. He wasn’t expecting a counter attack and before he could recover, Alex grappled his arms around Sebastian. They both fell to the ground in a dusty mess, rolling and punching, each fighting for an advantage.

Cassie watched the two hit the ground momentarily, then was back on the defensive against Jeremy. He didn’t waste time and immediately sought to close the gap between them. She remembered from his fight with Alex and Jimmy that he had a very aggressive fighting style, favoring vicious punches and kicks, rather than the finesse of the hand-to-hand combat they had been taught by Dempsey. While Cassie was able to block or dodge most of his blows, his wild fighting style was hard to anticipate and she quickly found herself retreating away from him, trying to find an opening.

Moving backwards as she blocked one blow after another, Cassie suddenly realized they would never have a chance of winning this way. Not that it matters much, she thought bitterly. Even if we win, Richard will still just kill us. 

But she was still fighting for her life in an immediate sense and pushed out the pessimistic thoughts. No, they couldn’t win the fight because they weren’t fighting together. When Alex had fought them two months before, they had first descended on Jimmy and then focused on Alex in a coordinated attack. Cassie knew what had to be done, and suddenly found her opportunity flying towards her face.

She weakly blocked Jeremy’s fist. His hard knuckles glanced off her forearm and clipped the side of her head. Cassie let herself fall to the ground, though the blow had hurt more than she had planned for and she was glad to get away from a follow up. As she thought, Jeremy straightened up above her, proud of his perceived imminent victory. Cassie backed up on her hands and feet, as if trying to scuttle away. As her hands propelled her backwards, closer to where Alex and Sebastian struggled on the ground, she grasped a soft clod of soil.

“Now I have you where you belong, Gemini,” Jeremy huffed, a confident sneer on his face. “Always thought you were more clever, or stronger, or a better fighter. Now we see your weak side. Too bad it’s the last side anyone will ever see.”

“No, Jeremy, please,” Cassie said, raising her left arm as if to halt his attack. “You win.”

“I win when you’re lying dead, bitch!” he shouted, grabbing her raised arm and yanking her up. “Now get up. I want you to watch Sebastian. Watch your precious Scope. Watch him die.” He pulled mightily on her arm and she let herself be carried up.

As she was almost to her feet, she finally swung her fight fist upwards, towards his face. Jeremy seemed to have anticipated some sort of struggle, but he was looking for a punch. Instead, hot, dry soil from Cassie’s hands blasted across his face, peppering his open eyes. Jeremy screamed in pain, releasing Cassie from his grip as he sought to relieve the burning grittiness in his eyes. Cassie didn’t hesitate, delivering a solid right hook straight into Jeremy’s throat. He staggered back, gasping for air as he still struggled to wipe the dirt from his eyes.

“Don’t ever threaten my friends, Reaper,” she said calmly, a note of finality in her voice. “Never threaten them.” 

Her knee exploded upwards and caught her struggling opponent square in the gut, expelling whatever wind was left in his lungs. He fell to the ground, writhing in silent agony as he gasped for air that would not heed the demands of his lungs.

Cassie heard a murmur from the crowd beyond the fighting area, but she ignored it. She ran full ahead, toward her next target. She was within mere feet of Sebastian, his back turned toward her as he sat astride Alex, pummeling the smaller boy with one blow after another. She could see Alex was still fighting back, but his movements lacked his normal clarity and she knew the morphine was kicking in. Then she heard a familiar voice shout out a warning. 

But it wasn’t to warn her.

“Sebastian, behind you,” Richard Malwood shouted. Cassie ignored the warning, and unleashed a running jump kick straight at the back of Sebastian’s head. 

For a few short moments, Cassie felt her body sail through the air, like a knife cutting the wind in two as she flew towards her target. Then her world tilted, the sky spinning above her. She felt a hand lift her leg. From the corner of her eye, even as she fell, she could see Sebastian swiveling away from her, his right hand, covered in blood, gripping the foot that a moment before had been on a collision course with his skull. Time seemed to slow as she glanced past Sebastian.

Alex lay there in the dirt, almost completely still. His face was a mess of bruises and he seemed to be bleeding from every inch of his scalp. His breath was ragged as he struggled to breath and she could see small sprays of blood spout upwards with every wheeze and cough.

Then the ground was rushing up to meet her. His right shoulder struck the hot soil and she felt a vague jarring sensation in the socket. The fingers in the arm went numb for a moment before the rest of her body crashed down on top of it all. Her urge to scream was nearly overwhelming, pain searing the right side of her body, but no sound would release from within. Breath exploded from her lungs and she tried to scamper backwards away from Sebastian who now stood tall and strong like the Colossus of ancient Greece.

Then the terrifying image of the man before her seemed to shrink. Sebastian, who had looked maniacal as he threw her to the ground, suddenly gazed down at her and something seemed to shift behind his eyes. The hard stare left, replaced by something that bordered on repulsion. He gazed down at his hand, opening and closing it, watching the blood drip and fall to the dirt. Past his hand, he looked down at Alex’s almost limp form, bloodied and battered.

“Excellent, Sebastian.” Richard Malwood boomed with laughter as he strutted towards the fallen figures of Cassie and Alex. Sebastian seemed to almost not notice his father until he was standing right beside him. “It’s time to finish this, son.” 

Cassie watched in horror as Richard Malwood drew a pistol from the holster strapped to his chest. He placed in Sebastian’s bloodied hand. Then he backed up until he was again standing behind his troops and their portable barricades.

“I’m sorry, Cassie,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. “I didn’t want it to end like this.”

“It doesn’t have to end here, Sebastian,” she replied, fear giving way to a sinking feeling in her gut. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I told myself the same thing, just before I killed Michael Samuelson. But it’s who I am Cassie. You know it as well as I do,” he replied, sadness welling up in his voice. She could see tears starting to streak through the blood and the dirt that matted his face. “You’ve seen what kind of people they are, what kind of person my father is, what kind of person I am. No, it has to end here. I can finish it now!”

The homicidal light sprang behind his eyes again, but it was more controlled, more measured, than before. He raised the pistol, leveling it at Cassie’s face.

“You can go first, Cassie. At least I can spare you the pain of watching Alex,” he said remorsefully. 

Cassie closed her eyes, knowing now there was nothing she could do but say a silent prayer and wait for the end.

BAM!

Cassie screwed her eyes shut and waited for the pain. She waited for darkness to envelope her. After a few moments, though, she realized she hadn’t been shot.

  Alex! she thought, her heart wrenching. 

No, Sebastian had said he would kill her first. Had he killed Alex? Was this just another way to show his power over her? Cassie swallowed down the mixture of abject fear and hopeful elation as she opened her eyes.

Alex still lay on the ground, though now unmoving. Her worst fears threatened to overwhelm her and she felt the tears begin to well in her eyes. She turned to regard Sebastian, determined not to let him execute her like he had just done to Alex. But instead of a soldier with a gun to her head, she found a scared boy, grasping at his hand as his own blood ran between his fingers.

“Everybody! Drop your fucking weapons, right now!” a voice shouted from somewhere off to her right. 

A chorus of shouts accompanied the voice and Cassie looked up, past the crumpled form of Sebastian. A ring of figures, armed with an assortment of rifles and pistols, closed in around the Pride Security team, who faced their newly arrived adversaries, weapons raised. She turned around, looking for the man who had shouted for them to drop their guns.

He stood a few feet to her right, an older man, in his sixties at least. His face was weathered and his bushy, white mustache was stained and caked with dirt. He was dressed in military fatigues and looked every bit a general commanding troops. Despite his age, his eyes were sharp and intelligent. 

And angry, she thought as she studied the man. 

There was a burning fire behind those eyes, which only seemed to ignite further as he looked down at Alex’s body. He held a rifle, though it was an old hunting model rather than the military issues the men who followed behind him carried. He still had the gun raised, pointed directly at Sebastian.

“That’s the second time I’ve had to shoot a boy trying to kill Alex,” the old man said. 

He waved his hand forward and Cassie realized for the first time just how many men were with him. Hundreds of soldiers poured across the plain, kicking up a mighty cloud of dust, as they formed a thicker and tighter ring around Richard Malwood and his men. He turned his head for a moment to address the Pride Security force again. 

“I said drop them, damnit, or so help me God I will have you all shot here and now and leave anyone who doesn’t die today to crawl back to civilization!” he shouted again. “In case you all hadn’t heard, there’s a war on. No one is gonna blink at a bunch of dead mercs turning into beef jerky in the middle of this godforsaken shit hole! Now drop them!”

That seemed to do the trick as the first three ranks for Pride mercenaries immediately threw their weapons into the dirt and raised their hands. Richard Malwood seemed on the verge of shooting his own men for surrendering, but soon even he threw his pistol into the dirt in disgust. Angry flames burst into life in his own eyes as he regarded Cassie and the strange man who stood next to her.

“Thank you, sir,” Cassie breathed, as she felt the tears that had been welling moments ago now stream down her face, not in sadness, but in relief.

“No, Miss, thank you. If you hadn’t distracted him,” he pointed to Sebastian, “Alex would be dead. You’ve saved my godson.”

“Your godson?” Cassie asked, bewildered that this stranger seemed to know Alex.

“Yes indeed, Miss,” the man said, sticking his hand out towards her. “Randy Rourke, Special Commander of Operations for the Emergency Coalition of the Plains. Now let’s get you all cleaned up and back to base. It’s going to be a long ride.”

Next Chapter: Ch. 19 - Catching Up