momentum carried me forward, and
in my weakened state, I almost fell.
But then something curious happened. I can't recall ever feeling this way before, and it's difficult to fully describe the emotions bubbling inside of me. It felt as if something primal woke inside of me. The pain assaulting my brain seemed to melt away as pure aggression gripped me. It was almost like I was a dormant volcano and something deep within the caldera changed. I erupted. I wasn't Rose anymore. I became a raw engine of destruction. I moved without thinking, without consideration of my actions; I simply acted and reacted.
Plowing into the Trolls, my arm shot out and latched around the nearest blue-skinned monster's throat. With an angry twist, I snapped his neck. Using the dead Troll as a shield, I spun him around my body to intercept one of the broadswords.
Tossing the dead Troll away, I felt my claws rip from my fingertips. I spun into the Troll carrying the battle axe and slashed his chest open. As he fell back, I snatched his weapon and buried it deep in the skull of the next Troll. With little more than a whimper, the Troll's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell. Once I slid my foot under the hilt of one of the discarded broadswords, I kicked it up and snatched it out of the air. The final Troll, the one with the gunshot in his stomach, took an uneasy step back as my black gaze settled on him. He had just seen me dispatch his three companions in a matter of seconds. He turned to run.
Coward.
But it was too late to escape. I'd had enough. Bringing the heavy sword above my shoulder like a javelin, I unleashed it with every ounce of my aggression. The blade screamed through the air and sliced into the Troll perfectly between his shoulder blades and erupted from his chest, burying it up to the pommel. The force of the blow carried him out of the hallway and into the machinery. As the blade and Troll hit, a shower of sparks was ejected into the air.
"I nearly have it, Rose,” Karl assured me. Turning back to the door, I snatched Karl into my arms. Gritting my teeth, I felt a roar of anger clawing up my throat. Unleashing it, I kicked the door hard. The metal door exploded amidst a shower of splinters from the doorframe.
Stepping in, I felt my anger deepen.
Dozens of gray sacks, appearing like cocoons, were attached to the ceiling via a network of cables, hooks, and some kind of organic material. Inside them, the bodies of the copied Seekers were completely naked and in the fetal position. Though the skin of the pods was mostly opaque, I could see cables running into the top of them and down around and into the bodies. The roughly rectangular room was filled with sophisticated equipment designed to monitor and maintain the pods above. The two Maryut working the devices keeping the Seekers in stasis, turned and shrieked at me. Keeping their backs to the controls, they snapped open their black claws like switchblades. They weren't going to let me in without a fight. I grinned. That was fine with me. "Stand down.” I saw my clone emerge from the rear of the room and stop before the Maryut. “Hello,
But then something curious happened. I can't recall ever feeling this way before, and it's difficult to fully describe the emotions bubbling inside of me. It felt as if something primal woke inside of me. The pain assaulting my brain seemed to melt away as pure aggression gripped me. It was almost like I was a dormant volcano and something deep within the caldera changed. I erupted. I wasn't Rose anymore. I became a raw engine of destruction. I moved without thinking, without consideration of my actions; I simply acted and reacted.
Plowing into the Trolls, my arm shot out and latched around the nearest blue-skinned monster's throat. With an angry twist, I snapped his neck. Using the dead Troll as a shield, I spun him around my body to intercept one of the broadswords.
Tossing the dead Troll away, I felt my claws rip from my fingertips. I spun into the Troll carrying the battle axe and slashed his chest open. As he fell back, I snatched his weapon and buried it deep in the skull of the next Troll. With little more than a whimper, the Troll's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell. Once I slid my foot under the hilt of one of the discarded broadswords, I kicked it up and snatched it out of the air. The final Troll, the one with the gunshot in his stomach, took an uneasy step back as my black gaze settled on him. He had just seen me dispatch his three companions in a matter of seconds. He turned to run.
Coward.
But it was too late to escape. I'd had enough. Bringing the heavy sword above my shoulder like a javelin, I unleashed it with every ounce of my aggression. The blade screamed through the air and sliced into the Troll perfectly between his shoulder blades and erupted from his chest, burying it up to the pommel. The force of the blow carried him out of the hallway and into the machinery. As the blade and Troll hit, a shower of sparks was ejected into the air.
"I nearly have it, Rose,” Karl assured me. Turning back to the door, I snatched Karl into my arms. Gritting my teeth, I felt a roar of anger clawing up my throat. Unleashing it, I kicked the door hard. The metal door exploded amidst a shower of splinters from the doorframe.
Stepping in, I felt my anger deepen.
Dozens of gray sacks, appearing like cocoons, were attached to the ceiling via a network of cables, hooks, and some kind of organic material. Inside them, the bodies of the copied Seekers were completely naked and in the fetal position. Though the skin of the pods was mostly opaque, I could see cables running into the top of them and down around and into the bodies. The roughly rectangular room was filled with sophisticated equipment designed to monitor and maintain the pods above. The two Maryut working the devices keeping the Seekers in stasis, turned and shrieked at me. Keeping their backs to the controls, they snapped open their black claws like switchblades. They weren't going to let me in without a fight. I grinned. That was fine with me. "Stand down.” I saw my clone emerge from the rear of the room and stop before the Maryut. “Hello,