Alex did the math in his head onest time.
If he didn''t act now, he''d lose his only shot at surviving. With a firm tug, he
deployed the backup parachute.
Overhead, his pursuer fumbled.
Clearly, the enemy hadn''t expected a second chute.
cke
Stuck in freefall with no way to close the distance, the attacker could only re, fury scorching his gaze, as Alex floated safely to the ground.
If Alex had used the reserve chute too soon, the bastard might''ve swooped in for another strike.
Now, all the enemy could do was watch, fist''s balled tight and rage contained only by the desperate need to stop the poison creeping from his right arm''s wound.
Alex''s feet hit the earth with a thud, knees nearly buckling in relief
The wet soil clung to his boots.
He bit down on a bitter healing pill, the burn of it fierce against his throat, and fired up hismunicator.
"Move out!" he rasped, voice raw with adrenaline. "Head for the nearest Kingswell station. Don''t bunch up! We can''t handle that monster together-trust me."
Over the crackling line, the scattered survivors obeyed, tracking their own GPS signals under the moonless sky.
But Alex took off in the other direction, every stride drawing the attacker away from his friends.
He ran until his lungs zed and the horizon began to glow.
Dawn found him stumbling through dense forest, sweat cold on his skin.
He leaned against a tree, trying to catch his breath.
The air felt stifling, the scent of damp leaves clinging to him.
Then he heard the voice, low and menacing.
"Didn''t think you could run this far," it said.
Alex spun to see the attacker streaking at him with inhuman speed 2
In less than a second, he felt the iron-like force of the man''s left fist smashing into his guard.
The impact crunched Alex''s forearms and ribs,unching him through a nearby tree in an explosion of splinters.
He hit the ground hard, gasping, pain twisting through every nerve.
"You''re a damn nuisance," the old man snarled, his right arm crudely bandaged at the stump where a hand should have been.
“Because of you, I had to cut off my own limb. I''ll make you pay with your life."
Alex spat blood and shoved another pill between his teeth, pain throbbing with every heartbeat.
He forced himself upright, discarding what was left of his shredded shirt.
In the first light of dawn, his battered body gleamed with sweat and injury.
He leveled his short knife at the old man. "I''ll take the other hand next."
Deep lines of scar and fury marked the attacker''s face, his gaze like a hawk''s.
Med the
"Damn level ny-nine," he hissed. "If I''d been prepared, you wouldn''t have touched me." Alex''s knuckles whitened around the knife handle.
With a grunt, he threw himself forward, channeling thest of his strength into one powerful strike.
The old man, a warrior beyond level one hundred, brushed the attack aside like swatting away a fly.
In a heartbeat, Alex felt an onught of force m into him.
The blow hurled him backward, through one tree after another, until he finally crashed into the dirt.
Bones rattled; bruises red; every breath came raw and ragged.
.
He reached for another precious pill, but the old man was already here, driving Alex''s face into the ground with a savage punch. Blood filled Alex''s mouth, and his knife ttered out of reach.
The attacker''s cruelughter tore through the morning hush.
He kicked Alex''s body again and again, savoring each muffled cry of agony.
Atst, Alex hacked up a mouthful of blood, his limbs limp, vision swimming.
The old man grabbed Alex by the throat and hoisted him upward, like a child with
a broken toy. A twisted grin stretched across the attacker''s lips.
"You''ve got your father''s face," he snarled.
"If not for you, I wouldn''t have rotted in this cursed ce for decades-waiting for some whelp to show up. But now-" His fingers tightened, choking off Alex''s breath. "I''m putting an end to it. Finally!"
Heughed, drunk on vengeance. But midugh, his body jerked. His eyes widened in shock.
Behind him, Kelly stood trembling, her grip steady on Alex''s lost short knife.
She''d driven it deep into the old man''s back. Her face was ghostly pale, but her resolve burned bright.
"Die you bastard!" she hissed.
“FUUUUUCK!” the old man bellowed, the sound rattling the trees.
He hurled Alex aside and whirled on Kelly.
Poison surged in his veins.
He swung with a backhand that cracked like thunder.
Kelly tried to dodge, but her level was too low-his blow caught her clean, sending
her spinning through the air.
She hit the ground in a sickening heap.
Bones snapped. Her breath came in wheezing gasps, blood painting her lips.
Despite everything, Alex forced himself to crawl, then stumbled upright in a blur of
pain.
He dashed to Kelly, catching her just as she was about tond face-first again.
Carefully, he fished out hisst pill and pressed it to her mouth.
“Take it,” he whispered, voice ragged. “It''ll help.”
Kelly''s eyelids fluttered.
Her gaze, clouded with tears and agony, still shone with unbreakable loyalty. With
a feeble gulp, she swallowed the pill.
Alex straightened, trembling from head to toe, adrenaline spurring him on.
He locked eyes with the attacker.
"This is where it ends," Alex said quietly. "Rest now, Kelly. I''ll kill him
Aguttural snarl rose in the old man''s throat. "I''ve never been so fumiliated!" he
spat.
His teeth ground together, fighting off the poison ravaging his body.
Then he barreled forward, aiming a lethal blow at Alex.
exy
Alex roared back, channeling every flicker of strength, every shred of will, into one
final counterstrike.
They shed with a crack that thundered through the forest.
The instant they made contact, Alex knew he was done for.
A dying elephant was still an elephant; Alex was nothing but a wounded goat.
The old man''s strike ripped through Alex''s arm, snapping bones like twigs.
Alex flew backward, mmed into another tree, and slumped lifelessly. No more healing pills to save him.
No more strength to rise. Death loomed.
In the dirt, Kelly''s eyelids fluttered. She pushed herself up just enough to meet the
old man''s re.
Her bloodied lips twisted into a faint, defiant smile.
"You''re already dead, bastard," she whispered, voiceced with fierce satisfaction.
"For killing my mother."
Her words hung in the gloom, and for a second, even the forest seemed to hold
its breath.
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