A single shot. That's all it took. One shot to break the silence, the dread, the secrets, the lies, everything! And all for what? Just to learn that the person I trusted the most was a liar and a murder. As I watched Stella's lifeless body lie on the floor, I wondered to myself, was there anything I could have done to prevent this? Could I have? Honestly I don't know the answer and all I can do is focus on the task at hand.
Darrin has pulled the trigger. I need to act fast, but I don't know what to do. Shit! Shit, I don't think I'm going to make it! Suddenly, my body weight shifts in one direction, straight toward the balcony window. I crash through the glass door and land on the ground. As I come to, Soul stands over me. A myriad of bullets crash into his back, sending dozens of sparks into the air but he continues to stay on top of me.
"Soul, what are you...?"
"You need to get out of here, Demi."
"But I can't."
"I already have a plan, but you must trust me."
"Ok, but what about you? What about Melena?"
"Don't worry about us. Take cover behind the wall on my signal."
I nod my head and he looks back for a moment, and waits. One of Darrin's men enters the balcony. Soul jumps to his feet and attempts to disarm the man, grabbing the rifle right out his hand, but he wont budge. Soul instead, pushes him forward, causing the soldier to lose his footing and fall to the ground. Soul then picks him up and hurls him over the balcony wall. The man screams on his long fall to the ground.
I take advantage of the moment and get in position next to the doorway. Soul takes cover on the other side. We then proceed to return fire back into the doorway. Multiple bullets ricochet and crash into the walls and door frame around us. Dust flies into the air, so much so that visibility has become almost impossible. The balcony starts to shake and the sky warps and bends around us. Something is exiting jump space, something big.
As the the object exits through the atmosphere, a large bubble expands outward, smashing through buildings and mountains. The towers closet to the impact disintegrate upon impact. The glass shatters for the rest for the buildings.
Appearing out of the rubble is a ship, one I have never seen before. Its massive, at least twice the size of the Stellar Flare. I have no idea what it is, but all its guns are turning our direction.
"It's time to go, Demi." Soul says.
"What?"
He places both his hand under my shoulders and lifts me off the ground, then walks me to the edge.
"Wait, wait, wait! What are you doing?" I ask
"Find your captain, Demi. Tell him it's time."
"Captain? You mean Phoenix? What are you talking about?"
My feet are left dangling over the high fall. There was no water down below. There was only solid ground, thousands of feet below me. I can feel my heart beat out of my chest as panic settles into my stomach. This bot is trying to kill me!
"Trust me, Demi. Good luck, we'll meet again."
"Wait? Wait a minute!"
As the pressure on my shoulders is released, the weight of the moon takes over, and I begin to fall. I slowly notice a sadness filling Soul's eyes. I know he's a robot, but I can read exactly what he's emotions are telling me. I've seen the look before. The one my father gave me. One where he full expects that he may never come back. Reactively, as my shoulders fall ahead of my feet, leaving me nearly upside down, I reach out to him, yelling his name. He nods his head, smiles, and turns away. Shit, what was his plan? Did he just kill me?
Suddenly, My right shoulder crashes into a hard surface. A zap of pain shoots up my aim.
"Dammit!" I yelled, rolling around the hard surface.
As I look around me, I notice I haven't fallen far, maybe only a few feet. I also notice that I seem to be moving. Wait, I am going back up? I look between my feet and see a large engine with two flaps pointed up. Two wings at on both sides of me and a long glass dome in the front. I am on a ship.
A hatch opens beside me and out pops Marcus.
"Demi, get in!" He yells
"Marcus? Why are you here?"
"We need to go! I'll explain everything but there are anti aircraft weapons everywhere!"
An explosion pops above us, then two more, then ten. I crawl across the ship toward the hatch and climb down, closing it behind me. Marcus runs the front of the ship and takes back the controls. I sit in the co-pilot seat behind him.
"Are you ready?" he asks
"No."
"We are getting out of here. Hang on!"