The Gift Issue 9

The dark of the Luna sewers was impenetrable. In the rare instances where a fluorescent bulb was still in working order, it struggled desperately against the unnatural blackness. Athan was amazed at the miles and miles of electrical-work needed to provide energy to this one little bulb before him. He was sitting in the dead end of a tunnel, resting his mind and body. The pale-blue, buzzing light dangled above him as he quieted his mind and a weak sound of trickling water echoed in the passages. Again, he probed the mental space around him in hopes of contacting Elise. This was the eighth time tonight he had tried his plan, and like all his previous attempts he received no response.

When there was no light, which was most of the time, Athan relied on the infrared technology of his helm to help him navigate and probe the foul and dank underground. Athan had pursued many heretics into the sewers before and most slipped away never to be seen again. It was a well-known fact that the heretics and fouler beasts of Semai had developed a complex network of underground hideouts well beneath the city of Luna. Through subterfuge and sabotage the deceitful ones plied their trade and made their attempts to gain converts right under the collective nose of the Brotherhood. It was Athan�s job to root out these evils and put an end to the heresy that was rampant in the city. At this moment, however, his new job had a more selfish and singular purpose.

Athan was wise enough to have left fluorescent markers; visible with a black light, by each tunnel he had entered. It kept him from becoming lost in the myriad of passages and antechambers that made up this enigmatic sewer system. It was apparent after a couple of hours that this was a much larger task than he originally envisioned. He looked down into the container of markers and realized he was running out.

Athan was about to turn and head back the way he came when he heard a noise. It was so faint he couldn�t make it out. Then it came again�but still very faint. It was a familiar sound, but he couldn�t be sure if what he was hearing was real. In this twisting conundrum of passages, sound could be distorted in so many ways. It was hard to tell where it was coming from or what was actually making the noise. As he sat and listened, Athan was almost certain it was coming from beyond the wall beside him. Athan stared at the dead end and second-guessed himself. It couldn�t be from beyond the wall, he thought, his ears must have been playing tricks on him. He�d already tapped that wall and it was solid earth beyond the stone. He leaned closer to the wall and listened intently.

The sounds continued to grow in volume. After a short while it was obvious to Athan that the muffled sounds were the reports of distant gunfire�growing slowly and coming his way. A firefight was occurring close by and he could not find a way beyond the wall. Athan desperately felt along the wall. He probed and pulled at every orifice and crack of the wall trying to find a trigger to open it. He hoped he could find a mechanism to make it spring open. In the speed and fury of his work, he failed to notice the gunfire had stopped. Instinctually he paused. He stood motionless and listened again�straining to hear beyond the stone and earth.

The chaotic sound of several pairs of running feet could be heard as they approached his position. Athan drew his Nemesis from its holster and pulled the charging-pin. The footfalls were louder now and they crescendo�d and then slowly faded as the runners ran down a passage perpendicular to his. He then heard shouts from men�men obviously in a panicked retreat. Their language was unmistakable�they were Mishimen.

Then Athan heard it. The low roaring hum of a heavy machine gun as it spewed hot metal down the hall, passed his position toward the frightened warriors. Athan had never before heard such a powerful sound. It had to be an enormous weapon. The soldiers were returning fire. The pops of their weapons were barely audible between the torrential blasts of the machine gun. Athan had a guess as to what the weapon was, and even a guess at what was carrying it, and he shuddered at the thought. Athan focused his mind and used a talent of the art that allowed him to locate any legion enemies that might be nearby.

After a few seconds his worst fears were realized and his suspicions were confirmed. His heart began to pound so hard in his chest that he could feel the pressure of each pulse in his limbs. A creature of terrible visage and power was only a few yards from where he stood. Its massive body was moving closer to the soldiers of Mishima, intent on killing them all. Athan was torn. If he revealed his position he would possibly be cut down along with the Mishimen. If he did nothing, however, would he be able to live with himself knowing he let soldiers perish at the hands of his ultimate enemy? Something inside Athan snapped. He felt along his belt and retrieved an AP grenade. He backed away from the wall as he loaded the shell into his Nemesis. While at a safe distance, he waited. Concentrating on the creature�s position, he aimed the pistol at the wall and waited for the precise moment to fire. He could still hear the shouts of the men and the hum of the Nazgaroth machine gun.

Athan spoke softly to himself, �That�s it, just a few more steps��

Athan launched the grenade. In an instant the entire passage was filled with a flash of fire and the explosion sent rock and debris in all directions. Athan felt the concussion of the blast as little pieces of rock lightly reflected off his armor. His infrared could pick up nothing through the residual heat and his ears were ringing intensely. Athan quickly loaded another AP shell into the smoking chamber of his launcher, he knew his enemy was not down; he was lucky if it was even stunned. As the heat subsided and the smoke began to clear, Athan watched in horror as a Razide stepped through the hole in the wall. The creature nearly filled the entire passage with in enormous body of twisted muscle and metal. It stooped under the low ceiling and gazed upon Athan. The massive beast let out an inhuman laugh as it sized up its attacker. Athan started to back away. Just as the Razide brought his guns to bear on the mortificator, Athan�s mind screamed �fire!� and he pulled the trigger. A second grenade launched toward the Razide scoring a direct hit which caused the Razide to lurch backward in pain. In the same instant the blast sent Athan sprawling backward and face first into the ground. His pistol scuttled out of reach. Athan rolled over onto his back and felt an agonizing twinge in his left knee. A piece of shrapnel had buried itself in his leg, just above his kneecap and blood was flowing steadily from the wound. He turned to see that the Razide was still standing, but it was bleeding now and bewildered by the attack of its new adversary. The Razide let out a guttural growl and leveled his firearm at the mortificator. Athan closed his eyes�slowly.

Click!

Athan�s eyes snapped open. The Razide was staring down at his malfunctioning machine gun. The AP grenade had done some fortunate collateral damage. In anger the beast pitched the Nazgaroth to the ground and walked toward Athan. The wounded man was frozen in place with fear. As the monster bent over to grab Athan in its massive hands, it suddenly jerked upright and let out a roar of pain and anguish. Behind him stood a trio of Ronin Samurai with ceremonial blades drawn. The closest soldier had buried one of his blades deep into the Razide's lower back. The creature whirled around with great speed striking the man in the head with his powerful clenched fist. The soldier was cast aside by the blow and crumpled to the sewer floor like a broken rag-doll. The two remaining Samurai charged the creature and were upon him in an instant. They both sunk their blades deep into its muscular body and dodged its return blows with amazing agility. The Razide began to lose steam as it received numerous wounds at the hands of Samurai. As it weakened the two men knocked the Razide over with their combined weight. It collapsed to the floor, inches away from Athan. Not satisfied, the two Ronin continued feverishly�impaling the creature with their Katana. After a short while, they stopped. One man dropped to his knees by his fallen comrade and began to weep. Through labored breathing, the standing soldier spoke to his grief-stricken friend in his own language. It was obvious his words were not enough.

After sheathing his blades, he turned to Athan and bowed. Through a smile he spoke, �You have the heart of a dragon, my friend. If not for your bravery, this beast would have been the end of us.�

Athan returned the bow with a nod, but said nothing. The man spoke again, �You are wounded. You cannot make the journey to the surface in your condition. You will come with us.�