Losing a Limb
“Bulletproof shields, ready. Emergency medical unit, ready. Exoskeleton is in working order. Wingsuit, ready. One minute away from destination. All units, ready up! Ready up!!”
I got up and tapped the individual in front of me. I tugged his exoskeleton to ensure it wouldn’t come off. The plane had a dangerous flashing red light. Nobody spoke – not that there was a need to. Everyone was waiting for the cabin door to open.
When the light turned green, the cabin door opened. We took turns jumping out and opening our wingsuits. The violent winds literally tore our skin. All I could hear was the wind’s whistling. If it weren’t for the goggles, I wouldn’t have been able to open my eyes. Our comrades red smoke was a warning to put some space between us. I wore an exoskeleton and combat uniform, two layers of protection, yet the cold air still made rendered me numb.
Once we got out of the clouds, we dove down. A Sangvis Ferri camp was right below us. The camp was located in a valley with only one path in. Furthermore, due to the terrain’s limitations, we couldn’t use large and heavy vehicles. The attack squad charging in through the front already engaged Sangvis Ferri. We were tasked with assisting their offence. That wasn’t my task, though. I only had one task: kill Agent.
“Prepare to land! Prepare to land! Reduce speed! Reduce speed! Reduce speed!”
We opened our parachutes. Sangvis Ferri’s forces spotted us and began firing at us. I had no clue how many of us were shot down, but I had to ensure I wasn’t one of them. I adjusted my posture to land feet first. The metal exoskeleton reduced the massive impact. I ripped out my rifle. The drone in the sky sent us a view of all the silhouettes in the vicinity so that we could see the entire camp behind our goggles.
We landed at the top and took out four automatic machineguns in addition to several Sangvis Ferri humanoid snipers. There was no time to check on our wounded and dead.
I rushed to the best location we found in our plans and planted explosives on the concrete rooftop. A soldier behind me tapped me on the shoulder: “We have our own mission. The rest of the job will be in your hands! Break a leg!”
I nodded, and then removed my gas mask. I crouched down and turned away before triggering the explosion. The explosive wasn’t the type to explode right away. It melted the concrete first, and then exploded inside the concrete.
I threw a smokebomb down then jumped into the camp interior. I landed on a metal staircase. I looked down to see a gate with flashing red lights right at the bottom. I didn’t know where I was. Nevertheless, there was only one option: forward.
I carefully approached the gate with my rifle in hand. I gave it a little nudge. It wasn’t locked. I opened it all the way and threw in a small robot spider to check for enemies. It seemed to be Sangvis Ferri’s repairs shop. I saw hardware and limbs.
Suddenly, a massive explosion went off outside. Presumably, the army had conquered the front and were pouring in. I had to locate Agent before they could kill her. I raced forward.
Unlike where the intense fighting outside was taking place, the interior was particularly empty. I didn’t encounter any hostiles. They also had signs. Judging from that, I think it was safe to assume the place was originally occupied by humans. I followed the directions on the signs to the commander’s room. If Agent was around, she’d be directing Sangvis Ferri’s forces from the commander’s room.
The commander’s room was on the middle floor. I sped up the stairs without encountering a single Sangvis Ferri robot. I reached the room without any hurdles. It resembled the room Griffon had. The heavy metal door was shut. I planted explosives on the door. I took in a deep breath and blew it up. The door blew apart. The door frame shook.
I peered inside. It was very quiet. I thought I saw someone sitting in a chair. In front of him were monitors that provided a view of the entire camp.
I carefully approached and poked him with my gun. His body slid onto an angle and landed on the ground with a thud. He relaxed his hands and a grenade rolled onto the ground.
“Fuck! Booby trap!!” I exclaimed.
I immediately lunged away and dropped prone on the ground. The shockwave generated by the explosion blew me out. I experienced flying through the air yet again. I crashed into a wall. I felt my organs rumbling despite wearing armour. My pain had only just begun, nonetheless.
Before I could land, a dark figure appeared before me. I instinctively rolled onto my side, taking the blade with my left shoulder instead of my neck. The blade pierced my exoskeleton and pinned me to the concrete wall. Before I could groan, my assailant grabbed my arm and ripped it off as if she was ripping a chicken wing apart.
“Argh!!”
“You shouldn’t have come here, damn human.”
The pain was insane. I never screamed that way in my life. My blood sprayed into the air. Agent pulled me off the wall and slammed me onto the ground. My goggles informed me my life was in danger. My emergency medical unit on my back activated, injecting me with a heavy dose of pain suppressors and adrenaline, allowing me to keep my rationality intact while living through the horror.
I desperately kicked Agent as I struggled to draw my handgun at my waist to open fire. Agent quickly regained her balance and slammed her fist into my face.
The punch broke my goggles and nose. I blacked out for a split second. I fought back. Agent drew her blade and slashed at my neck.
I had nowhere to run, but a sudden explosion down below threw Agent off balance. She crawled to her feet and exclaimed, “Damn it! The data room!”
Agent dashed out instead of killing me. The data room was far, far more important than me, apparently. I tried to get up, but the combination of blood loss and pain rendered my vision dark. The emergency medical unit on my back gave my left arm the most basic of basic first aid. The nano bots sewed my veins and disinfected the wound. I had to bandage myself, however.
I attempted to sit up from the puddle of blood I left behind. Annoyingly, my exoskeleton pinned me firmly to the ground and contacted my closest ally and drone to assist. I’d be fine if I just lied there and awaited help, but screw that. I needed to kill agent.
With only one arm, it was a struggle to remove my exoskeleton. The metal armour equipped me with the strength to fight robots. Without it, I was cannon fodder to robots. Nevertheless, that wasn’t going to stop me.
I slid out of my exoskeleton, took out the bandages from the medical unit and did what I could to bandage the wound. Then, I wobbled to my feet, using the wall for support.
Relegated to being handicapped with one arm, I couldn’t use a rifle. I picked up my handgun from then puddle of blood and loaded it with a new magazine. Eyes on the direction Agent went, I staggered after her.
My entire body quivered. I was cold. I was exhausted. My cells screamed at me to run; they tried to defy my will to go forward. My legs were weak. I had to use the wall to stay on my feet.
I heard my body yelling at me to not forge forward. However, I saw Springfield’s smile in my mind. She killed Springfield, so I had to kill her. I could accept dying, but I was only going to die after I killed Agent.
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