Revelation (M/F) (F/M) - A sequel to Devastation
Finally caught up after falling 2 weeks behind. This story is to good to stop reading until you have caught up
Sasha finishes coiling the last of the lines from the parachutes and gently shakes Nikita's shoulder and whispers to her, "Niki."
Nikita wakes slowly, relishing the warmth of the sleeping bag against her skin. She mumbles incoherently and rolls over. Sasha looks down at her sister with regret, "You look so peaceful, it is a shame to wake you. I'm sorry, babe." She whispers, shaking Nikita's shoulder again.
Nikita opens her eyes sharply and rolls around confused, unable to remember where she is, until her gaze falls upon Sasha. "Did I actually sleep?"
"As soon as you laid your head down, you went out like a light." Sasha whispers, "How do you feel?"
Nikita thinks about the question and with a look of surprise, whispers, "No aches, no pains, I dont feel tired at all. I feel pretty good."
"I am sorry to wake you, but it is your watch now." Sasha says, sadly.
"Oh yeah, of course. You get some rest." Nikita says, unzipping her sleeping bag slowly. "Do you want to use my sleeping bag, it's already warmed up?"
"Cheers. That would be good, it is quite chilly." Sasha says with a smile, slipping into Nikita's bag as soon as it is vacated. She notes Nikita only dressed in t-shirt and shorts and asks, "Will you be warm enough?"
With a dismissive wave of the hand, Nikita whispers, "Ah don't worry, I dont feel the cold." She reaches down and helps Sasha with the zip for the sleeping bag, before placing a gentle kiss on her cheek, "Sleep well, babe."
"Thanks babe, see you in the morning." Sasha says, turning over and closing her eyes in the warm cocoon.
Nikita lights a cigarette and stares out across the plain from the lip of the bowl that is home for the night. She savours the cool air against her skin. Stretching her back and relaxing, she turns her gaze sky ward with a gasp, seeing stars, as she has never seen them before. She stares up at the sky, filled with a sense of wonder. She feels her eyes moisten with tears, thinking, "I never knew the world could be like this."
She closes her eyes and focuses on the heartbeats she feels all around her and gasps, "I can feel everything, every insect, every rodent, bird, everything. When I focus on a heartbeat, I get a flash of the creatures appearance and where it is looking."
Nikita's glances at her sisters and focuses on Dani, noticing the cut on her forehead from the crash. "I will sort that out in the morning." She thinks, with a gentle smile.
She stares at Dani and slows her breathing, "I wonder." She whispers aloud as she visualises, what will happen when you gives Dani her blood. She moves closer to her sister and keeps focused on the cut above her eye confirming nothing is happening. She shakes her head and chuckles softly, "Dumb ass."
Nikita retakes her seat and reflects on the injuries she has sustained since meeting her sisters, touching the site of each injury in turn before realising, "A body doesn't heal one part at a time, it heals as a whole." She closes her eyes and focuses on Dani's heartbeat and Imagines that she reaches through the pulse of her life and snatches out any blockages impeding its rhythm.
She opens her eyes with a slight headache and looks at Dani's forehead, seeing the wound slowly close before her eyes. She touches her own head and feels the cut open up and then slowly close once more. "I took her injury into myself and then my body healed it." She lights a cigarette and sits in numb silence trying to work out what that means.
"Sasha's arm healed fast, but not as fast as I would have healed. What if it is not just about my blood, but something in me?" Nikita wonders, before looking at Dani and whispering softly, "If you were me, you would have worked it out by now." Then she smiles and looks at Sasha and thinks, "If you were me, you would just instictively know."
She leans back resting on her elbow and arching her back to look at the stars. She exhales a plume of smoke straight up and nods to herself. "Give yourself credit for a change. Try a few things out while it is quiet."
Nikita focuses on Sasha's heartbeat and examines it closely and then compares it to Dani's. "Sasha's seems brighter somehow." Nikita observes with a frown. "I thought it was their heartbeat I sensed, because of the pulse, but what if it is something else? What if I am not sensing heartbeats, but sensing life instead?"
She gets to her feet and begins to stretch her legs, "That would explain how I wiped Dani's pulse clean and healed her by using my pulse to interact directly with hers, to take her pain into me. But why would Sasha's pulse be brighter than Dani's?" She walks to the edge of the camp and stares at the moon. "Sasha overdosed on PCS and probably still has some of my blood in her system, but what if it has changed her permanently, enhancing her co-ordination and prowess?"
Dani stirs in her sleeping back and Nikita focuses on her sister's pulse and thinks, "Rest." Over the next minute, Dani settles back down and slumbers soundly again. Nikita frowns, before chuckling to herself "Behave yourself, you twat. That was just a coincidence."
Nikita climbs up onto the lip of their camp and looks across the moonlit plain, feeling the hair on the back of her neck rise, "Something is here." She whispers, focusing on the pulses around her and feeling a pulse she hasn't sensed this evening. Something smaller than a crocodile, but land based and powerful.
She scans the plain and sees a fast moving shape approaching. "No time to wake the others. Here goes nothing." She leaps towards the shape and begins to run, as hard as she can to intercept.
As they close on each other, they leap as one towards each other. The lioness slams into Nikita's chest, throwing her back. She rolls backwards and spreads her arms wide and bears her fangs. "You should have got Dani and Sasha."
Nikita and the lioness circle each other warily, predators in a fatal dance, waiting for a sign of weakness from their counterpart. As Nikita side steps, her foot twists under her and she stumbles. The lioness leaps, as Nikita drops backwards. She barely holds the lioness's neck with both hands, struggling to keep the beasts snapping jaws at bay.
"Shit. If she bites me, she will have PCS in it's system." Nikita realises, "Then she will go after Dani and Sasha."
Nikita heaves hard, shoving the lioness off of her. She barely has time to recover and rolls to the side landing hard on her back, before the lioness is on her again. Nikita scoots herself backwards on her behind using her hands to bat the sides of the big cat's face and deflect its claws, preventing it from landing a bite.
The big cats musk fills the air, as the enraged lioness is relentless in its attack, raking Nikita's arms and legs with powerful claws and thrusting her jaws at Nikita in a frenzy. "I have been killed all kinds of ways, but I am not sure I would survive being eaten." Nikita thinks, trying not to panic, "If it half eats me, and I start to heal it would have endless food and I will never recover."
She feels her back touch a rock, as the lioness lunges forward. She feels the hot breath of the beast blast her with each snarling snap from the lioness' jaws. With tears in her eyes, she lashes out blindly, striking the big cats jaw with a crack, sending it spinning into a rock with a crack from one of its powerful forelegs.
Nikita crawls to her feet and stalks over to the stricken lioness, heartbroken. She stands over it seeing the big cats ruined face and shattered lower foreleg. A tear forms in her eye, as she gazes at the once majestic creature, brought low by her actions. She looks into the cats eye as it softly moans and whispers, "You were just defending your home, looking for something to feed your family." Nikita swallows hard, trying to fight her rising nausea. "I never wanted to hurt you, I just wanted to drive you away. We are just two girls out on the plains. You don't deserve this."
The lioness breathes hard through a ruined mouth, dripping blood and barely responds to Nikita's touch on it's fur. Nikita whispers softly into the big cats ear, "I am so sorry, I never wanted this to happen." She closes her eyes and reaches into the big cats pulse and snatches out the blockages in its flow. She doubles over in agony from her face and limbs and passes out from the pain.
She wakes with a start and stares at the slumbering lion at her side. "Well at least she didn't eat me in my sleep."
She smiles to herself, "I am glad that worked.", noting that the lioness' mouth appears back to normal and its legs are no longer bleeding.
She raises a hand to her face to wipe away her sweat, but stops at the last minute to stare at the wicked looking three inch claws, protruding from the ends of her fingers. "What the hell?" She thinks, examining them closely. She opens her mouth and explores her teeth with her tongue and stares at the lioness. "I have teeth and claws like her." She thinks to herself for a moment. "Ok focus. When you reached into her pulse, and took on her pain, you took on her features."
Nikita remembers the feeling of calm she felt when Dani freed them on the plane and feels her teeth and claws retract. She smiles to herself and begins to practice, extending teeth and claws, then just teeth, then just claws, finally just hand claws and then just foot claws. "Oh boy." She whispers, her mind racing.
She takes a deep breath to steady her nerves and senses the pulses around her. "Good, no other lions and Dani and Sasha still have a resting hartbeat." She looks down at the lioness and gently strokes her side. "Live well beautiful, I am sorry that you were hurt."
In a moment of inspiration she runs to the river and wades into the water up to her knees, bent over, with her hands trailing in the water. "Come one, where are you?" She whispers, softly. She focuses on the pulses around her and zeroes in on one a little way upstream. Still as stone, Nikita waits, letting it approach slowly. In a flash of motion, she grabs and flips the five foot long catfish onto the shore.
The big cat opens it's eyes and gazes at Nikita, watching her lay the fish in front of her. With lightning speed, the cat is on its feet and bares it's teeth at Nikita. "I really hope this works." She thinks, locking eyes with the predator, "Easy girl, take the fish and go your way in safety."
The lioness bows it's head, taking the fish between its jaws and then turns tail and rapidly runs away, leaving Nikita alone on the plain. She lights a cigarette with shaking fingers and holds it between adrenaline charged lips drawing smoke deep into her lungs. "Why do I get the feeling, that this is going to be one of those days?"
Nikita stares out over the plain towards the jungle, until the moon touches the tips of the mountains. She reluctantly rises from her perch and puts some water on to boil. She reaches into her backpack, taking out two of the coffee bags she took from the plane at the same time she got the wine and adds them to the water. She makes three mugs of strong coffee and places them near to the sleeping area.
She holds one cup under Dani's nose, letting the rich aroma gently wake her. Dani wakes slowly "Morning." She yawns, wiping sleep from her eyes. She takes the cup from Nikita and tentatively has a sip of coffee, "That is so good. You're a legend."
She wakes Sasha with a cup of coffee and a nudge. "Amazing." Sasha sasys taking a sip, "Wine last night, coffee this morning. I look forward to what you have planned for breakfast."
Nikita lets Dani and Sasha ease into the day, whilst she puts on some rice for breakfast with some left over fish.
"Anything happen on your watch?" Sasha asks, with a yawn.
"Quiet night, stars were beautiful though." Nikita shrugs, wanting to have a little longer to think about the events of her watch, before sharing them with her sisters.
Nikita wakes slowly, relishing the warmth of the sleeping bag against her skin. She mumbles incoherently and rolls over. Sasha looks down at her sister with regret, "You look so peaceful, it is a shame to wake you. I'm sorry, babe." She whispers, shaking Nikita's shoulder again.
Nikita opens her eyes sharply and rolls around confused, unable to remember where she is, until her gaze falls upon Sasha. "Did I actually sleep?"
"As soon as you laid your head down, you went out like a light." Sasha whispers, "How do you feel?"
Nikita thinks about the question and with a look of surprise, whispers, "No aches, no pains, I dont feel tired at all. I feel pretty good."
"I am sorry to wake you, but it is your watch now." Sasha says, sadly.
"Oh yeah, of course. You get some rest." Nikita says, unzipping her sleeping bag slowly. "Do you want to use my sleeping bag, it's already warmed up?"
"Cheers. That would be good, it is quite chilly." Sasha says with a smile, slipping into Nikita's bag as soon as it is vacated. She notes Nikita only dressed in t-shirt and shorts and asks, "Will you be warm enough?"
With a dismissive wave of the hand, Nikita whispers, "Ah don't worry, I dont feel the cold." She reaches down and helps Sasha with the zip for the sleeping bag, before placing a gentle kiss on her cheek, "Sleep well, babe."
"Thanks babe, see you in the morning." Sasha says, turning over and closing her eyes in the warm cocoon.
Nikita lights a cigarette and stares out across the plain from the lip of the bowl that is home for the night. She savours the cool air against her skin. Stretching her back and relaxing, she turns her gaze sky ward with a gasp, seeing stars, as she has never seen them before. She stares up at the sky, filled with a sense of wonder. She feels her eyes moisten with tears, thinking, "I never knew the world could be like this."
She closes her eyes and focuses on the heartbeats she feels all around her and gasps, "I can feel everything, every insect, every rodent, bird, everything. When I focus on a heartbeat, I get a flash of the creatures appearance and where it is looking."
Nikita's glances at her sisters and focuses on Dani, noticing the cut on her forehead from the crash. "I will sort that out in the morning." She thinks, with a gentle smile.
She stares at Dani and slows her breathing, "I wonder." She whispers aloud as she visualises, what will happen when you gives Dani her blood. She moves closer to her sister and keeps focused on the cut above her eye confirming nothing is happening. She shakes her head and chuckles softly, "Dumb ass."
Nikita retakes her seat and reflects on the injuries she has sustained since meeting her sisters, touching the site of each injury in turn before realising, "A body doesn't heal one part at a time, it heals as a whole." She closes her eyes and focuses on Dani's heartbeat and Imagines that she reaches through the pulse of her life and snatches out any blockages impeding its rhythm.
She opens her eyes with a slight headache and looks at Dani's forehead, seeing the wound slowly close before her eyes. She touches her own head and feels the cut open up and then slowly close once more. "I took her injury into myself and then my body healed it." She lights a cigarette and sits in numb silence trying to work out what that means.
"Sasha's arm healed fast, but not as fast as I would have healed. What if it is not just about my blood, but something in me?" Nikita wonders, before looking at Dani and whispering softly, "If you were me, you would have worked it out by now." Then she smiles and looks at Sasha and thinks, "If you were me, you would just instictively know."
She leans back resting on her elbow and arching her back to look at the stars. She exhales a plume of smoke straight up and nods to herself. "Give yourself credit for a change. Try a few things out while it is quiet."
Nikita focuses on Sasha's heartbeat and examines it closely and then compares it to Dani's. "Sasha's seems brighter somehow." Nikita observes with a frown. "I thought it was their heartbeat I sensed, because of the pulse, but what if it is something else? What if I am not sensing heartbeats, but sensing life instead?"
She gets to her feet and begins to stretch her legs, "That would explain how I wiped Dani's pulse clean and healed her by using my pulse to interact directly with hers, to take her pain into me. But why would Sasha's pulse be brighter than Dani's?" She walks to the edge of the camp and stares at the moon. "Sasha overdosed on PCS and probably still has some of my blood in her system, but what if it has changed her permanently, enhancing her co-ordination and prowess?"
Dani stirs in her sleeping back and Nikita focuses on her sister's pulse and thinks, "Rest." Over the next minute, Dani settles back down and slumbers soundly again. Nikita frowns, before chuckling to herself "Behave yourself, you twat. That was just a coincidence."
Nikita climbs up onto the lip of their camp and looks across the moonlit plain, feeling the hair on the back of her neck rise, "Something is here." She whispers, focusing on the pulses around her and feeling a pulse she hasn't sensed this evening. Something smaller than a crocodile, but land based and powerful.
She scans the plain and sees a fast moving shape approaching. "No time to wake the others. Here goes nothing." She leaps towards the shape and begins to run, as hard as she can to intercept.
As they close on each other, they leap as one towards each other. The lioness slams into Nikita's chest, throwing her back. She rolls backwards and spreads her arms wide and bears her fangs. "You should have got Dani and Sasha."
Nikita and the lioness circle each other warily, predators in a fatal dance, waiting for a sign of weakness from their counterpart. As Nikita side steps, her foot twists under her and she stumbles. The lioness leaps, as Nikita drops backwards. She barely holds the lioness's neck with both hands, struggling to keep the beasts snapping jaws at bay.
"Shit. If she bites me, she will have PCS in it's system." Nikita realises, "Then she will go after Dani and Sasha."
Nikita heaves hard, shoving the lioness off of her. She barely has time to recover and rolls to the side landing hard on her back, before the lioness is on her again. Nikita scoots herself backwards on her behind using her hands to bat the sides of the big cat's face and deflect its claws, preventing it from landing a bite.
The big cats musk fills the air, as the enraged lioness is relentless in its attack, raking Nikita's arms and legs with powerful claws and thrusting her jaws at Nikita in a frenzy. "I have been killed all kinds of ways, but I am not sure I would survive being eaten." Nikita thinks, trying not to panic, "If it half eats me, and I start to heal it would have endless food and I will never recover."
She feels her back touch a rock, as the lioness lunges forward. She feels the hot breath of the beast blast her with each snarling snap from the lioness' jaws. With tears in her eyes, she lashes out blindly, striking the big cats jaw with a crack, sending it spinning into a rock with a crack from one of its powerful forelegs.
Nikita crawls to her feet and stalks over to the stricken lioness, heartbroken. She stands over it seeing the big cats ruined face and shattered lower foreleg. A tear forms in her eye, as she gazes at the once majestic creature, brought low by her actions. She looks into the cats eye as it softly moans and whispers, "You were just defending your home, looking for something to feed your family." Nikita swallows hard, trying to fight her rising nausea. "I never wanted to hurt you, I just wanted to drive you away. We are just two girls out on the plains. You don't deserve this."
The lioness breathes hard through a ruined mouth, dripping blood and barely responds to Nikita's touch on it's fur. Nikita whispers softly into the big cats ear, "I am so sorry, I never wanted this to happen." She closes her eyes and reaches into the big cats pulse and snatches out the blockages in its flow. She doubles over in agony from her face and limbs and passes out from the pain.
She wakes with a start and stares at the slumbering lion at her side. "Well at least she didn't eat me in my sleep."
She smiles to herself, "I am glad that worked.", noting that the lioness' mouth appears back to normal and its legs are no longer bleeding.
She raises a hand to her face to wipe away her sweat, but stops at the last minute to stare at the wicked looking three inch claws, protruding from the ends of her fingers. "What the hell?" She thinks, examining them closely. She opens her mouth and explores her teeth with her tongue and stares at the lioness. "I have teeth and claws like her." She thinks to herself for a moment. "Ok focus. When you reached into her pulse, and took on her pain, you took on her features."
Nikita remembers the feeling of calm she felt when Dani freed them on the plane and feels her teeth and claws retract. She smiles to herself and begins to practice, extending teeth and claws, then just teeth, then just claws, finally just hand claws and then just foot claws. "Oh boy." She whispers, her mind racing.
She takes a deep breath to steady her nerves and senses the pulses around her. "Good, no other lions and Dani and Sasha still have a resting hartbeat." She looks down at the lioness and gently strokes her side. "Live well beautiful, I am sorry that you were hurt."
In a moment of inspiration she runs to the river and wades into the water up to her knees, bent over, with her hands trailing in the water. "Come one, where are you?" She whispers, softly. She focuses on the pulses around her and zeroes in on one a little way upstream. Still as stone, Nikita waits, letting it approach slowly. In a flash of motion, she grabs and flips the five foot long catfish onto the shore.
The big cat opens it's eyes and gazes at Nikita, watching her lay the fish in front of her. With lightning speed, the cat is on its feet and bares it's teeth at Nikita. "I really hope this works." She thinks, locking eyes with the predator, "Easy girl, take the fish and go your way in safety."
The lioness bows it's head, taking the fish between its jaws and then turns tail and rapidly runs away, leaving Nikita alone on the plain. She lights a cigarette with shaking fingers and holds it between adrenaline charged lips drawing smoke deep into her lungs. "Why do I get the feeling, that this is going to be one of those days?"
Nikita stares out over the plain towards the jungle, until the moon touches the tips of the mountains. She reluctantly rises from her perch and puts some water on to boil. She reaches into her backpack, taking out two of the coffee bags she took from the plane at the same time she got the wine and adds them to the water. She makes three mugs of strong coffee and places them near to the sleeping area.
She holds one cup under Dani's nose, letting the rich aroma gently wake her. Dani wakes slowly "Morning." She yawns, wiping sleep from her eyes. She takes the cup from Nikita and tentatively has a sip of coffee, "That is so good. You're a legend."
She wakes Sasha with a cup of coffee and a nudge. "Amazing." Sasha sasys taking a sip, "Wine last night, coffee this morning. I look forward to what you have planned for breakfast."
Nikita lets Dani and Sasha ease into the day, whilst she puts on some rice for breakfast with some left over fish.
"Anything happen on your watch?" Sasha asks, with a yawn.
"Quiet night, stars were beautiful though." Nikita shrugs, wanting to have a little longer to think about the events of her watch, before sharing them with her sisters.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
"This is incredible. Between Sasha taking the lead and pointing out trip hazards and Nikita, steering us away from predators, we are making good time and doing well." Dani reflects at the edge of a clearing.
She clicks her tongue twice and holds up a fist. Nikita and Sasha both stop and crouch, as discussed before they set out into the jungle on the way to the crash site.
Dani looks up at the stars, and using the North Star as a reference, orients them on course. She gives a thumbs up and points to one side of the clearing and the trio silently set off again.
"With the moon shining through the trees, we have enough light to do this." Dani thinks, watching Nikita hiss a warning and Sasha catch a snake as it lunges for her. "For the first time, I really believe, that we can do this."
Sasha keeps a brisk pace, beginning to feel the air cooling, while they climb, as she leads her sisters through the jungle.
"Nikita is so capable, she just doesn't see it. I wish we had more time to help her believe in herself." She thinks, gliding through the jungle, pointing out hazards as she goes.
Dani and Nikita struggle to keep pace, as Sasha picks her way through the jungle, with the grace of a dancer on stage for the thousandth time. They place their feet in her tracks trailing in her wake, following her effortless path, as she cuts through the dense brush, always finding a path. Sasha crouches and holds up her fist, indicating a stop.
Dani and Nikita flank her and follow her gaze to see the problem. Dani curses under her breath at the site of the gorge carved through the jungle, before turning to her sisters, "Any bright ideas?"
The gorge has been carve over thousands of years in the solid rock, easily twenty metres across, with sheer rock walls going all the way down to a raging torrent below. Overhead the trees part, allowing the scene to be bathed in moonlight, casting an eerie glow over the gorge.
Sasha takes out the coiled lines from her pack and ties one end around her waist. Checking the knots are secure, she looks out over the edge and passes the end of the rope to Nikita. "Keep hold of this." She says, preparing to jump.
"What are you doing?" Dani asks, looking down into the gorge.
"I will jump from here and hit the wall the other side, just above the water line then climb up the other side and once you secure the line this end, you can climb across." Sasha explains.
"Hell no that is far too risky." Dani says, tossing the line back to Sasha, "You hit too hard, land badly or hit the water and this goes bad, in an awful hurry."
"I know it is risky, but we are against the clock. We have no time for anything else and you know it." Sasha pleads gently.
Nikita leans back against a tree and leans her head back on the truck. She looks up towards the canopy and puts her hands behind her and unsheathes the claws of her right hand. She digs them into the truck and rips a chunk of wood free. "This could work." She thinks, with a nod.
"Er, guys. If we could bring a tree down, could we use it as a bridge?" Nikita asks, awkwardly.
Dani and Sasha turn to look at her, thoughtfully. "That could do it. Trouble is we have nothing to bring a tree down." Dani says, running her fingers through her hair.
"Ok, cool. Erm, give me a minute." Nikita says, turning to face the try and unsheathing the claws on her hands and digging them into the tree and tearing out chunks of wood.
Dani and Sasha, silently look at each other and mouth the words, "What the fuck?"
Wooden shards and splinters fly freely as Nikita attacks the tree. She is breathing hard by the time, the tree starts creaking and raises her hands for another strike, before Dani places a hand on her shoulder. "Hold up. Go around the other side of the trunk and take a chunk out there and then we will all push."
Nikita nods, sheepishly and walks around to the other side of the tree and pulls her hand back, then relaxes for a second, "Dani? What is the best spot to hit it?"
Dani smiles and relaxes her shoulders, "Hit it where you feel is right, you have done a great job so far."
Nikita bites her lips and studies the trunk and nods to her self, before slamming the claws of her right hand into the trunk and dragging them through the wood. She places her hands on the trunk and as Dani and Sasha flank her, they heave hard. The tree creaks and cracks as they take the strain, but does not yield.
Nikita's shoulder slump and she mumbles, "Sorry, I guess that didn't work so well."
"I have an idea." Sasha says, untying the rope from around her waist and climbing an adjacent tree. She edges along one of the branches until she is almost touching the tree that they are trying to fell. She loops the rope around it then climbs back down. "If Dani and I keep this under tension and you keep stripping the tree like that, it will get to a point where we can pull it down."
Dani nods, taking the rope, bracing with Sasha, "That is good with me. Niki are you game?"
"Let's do it." She says, rearing back for a right handed strike.
"Hit it, count to three and hit it again." Dani instructs.
They stand shoulder to shoulder admiring the felled tree, spanning the gorge. "This is what we can do when we work together." Dani says putting her arms around the shoulders of her sisters.
"We are pretty unstoppable." Sasha says with a grin.
Nikita puts her claws away and stares across the gorge, "I actually had an idea and did it and nothing bad happened." She thinks to herself, before saying, "Thanks guys."
"For what?" Sasha says, re-attaching a line around her waist.
"For not rubbing my nose in it when my idea didn't work at first and you had to help me out." Nikita says, with a grateful smile. "I am not skilled like you Dani, or effortlessly coordinated like you Sasha. I am a blunt instrument with no skill, I appreciate you not treating me like the dumb sister."
"Behave yourself. You took out a boat full of human traffickers, impersonated one of them to throw suspicion off of yourself and escaped from custody. Then after we got loose on the plane, you led us out of the room, and flew the plane here." Dani assures Nikita, "And don't forget the fish, wine and coffee. You have skills, just different skills to Sasha and I. Don't underestimate that."
"I guess I hadn't thought of it that way." Nikita says, thoughtfully pausing.
Sasha climbs onto the felled tree. "Shall we get moving and talk more on the way. Can you grab the rope?"
Nikita gives a gentle nod and then she and Dani take the end of the rope attached to Sasha's waist. "I will run across and make sure it is stable, let the line play out and catch me if I fall off."
Sasha begins her crossing as soon as Dani and Nikita give the go signal. With sure footed steps, she briskly walks along the trunk, hopping onto the bank on the other side and giving the thumbs up. Dani climbs onto the log and walks tentatively along it, much slower that Sasha but with the same result.
Nikita takes a deep breath and climbs up and begins edging along the trunk. She hears the roar of the water below her and breathes deeply, looking up at the stars in the slowly brightening sky. "It really is beautiful around here." She snaps back to herself and continues across the log.
At the edge of the jungle, under a gunmetal grey sky, they pause and Dani and Sasha change out of their shorts into the jeans and jackets that they wore when they were captured. Snow swirls around them, whipped up by a biting wind.
Nikita keeps a silent vigil until Dani asks, "What really happened last night? How come you have claws now?"
Nikita lights a cigarette and hangs her head. "Short version. I traded with a lioness. I gave her a big fish and she gave me the claws and a new set of fangs." She turns to her sisters showing her claws and cat like fangs.
"When this is all over, I would love to hear the long version of that." Dani says, with raise eyebrows.
Sasha looks up to the snow covered vista before her. "I think we need more wine, before that story and the one about how you were able to fly the jet."
Nikita shudders at the memory and tries to change the subject, "How far are we from the plane?"
"Not sure exactly, maybe an hour, if it crashed where it was supposed to." Dani says, calculating the odds.
"Do you have a plan for the cold?" Sasha says feeling the cold.
Dani chews her lip thinking and then pulls out her sleeping bag and opens it out fully. She cuts it in half lengthwise and slashes a hole in the centre of one of the halves, before helping Sasha put it on like a poncho. "Not ideal, but will do." Dani says slashing a hole in the other half of the sleeping bag and holding it out for Nikita.
Nikita stands tall in shorts and t-shirt and declines with a wave of the hand, "I am warm enough." Demonstrating this by cupping Dani's cheek, with a warm hand. "I am naturally very warm."
"Fair enough, you want to show some skin, because you are hot." Dani chuckles to herself and dons the sleeping bag poncho. "Drop any gear that you aren't going to need here." She says softly as she shrugs off her backpack and stuffs her jacket pockets with spare ammunition and straps a stilleto to her right calf. She checks the pistols in the shoulder holsters under her arms and strapped to her thighs.
Sasha checks the stilletos strapped to her upper arms and calves and pockets a pistol and some ammunition and a couple of coils of parachute line.
Nikita checks the large blade strapped to her leg and slips a coil of paracord into a pocket on her cargo shorts, then empties her backpack into her sleeping bag and folds the bag up placing it into another pocket. Then dons the leather coat, she stole during her escape from police custody, checking that she has her multitool and remaining cigarettes and lighter, she nods to herself.
Sasha leads the way, through the freshly fallen and loosely packed snow. they sink to their knees in the snow as they plough on. "I didn't plan on this. There must have been heavy snow fall over night." Dani shouts over the wind.
"Is this a problem?" Sasha calls out, reaching the summit of the mountain.
Dani smiles, coming to a stop next to her. "Shouldn't be an issue, will just need to change the plan a little."
Nikita joins them at the summit and is humbled by the view. The mountain range is laid out before her, cloud over the range, cast a sinister air to the scene. But the sun to the east makes the peaks shine against the dark cloud, giving them an almost unnatural air. Snow still swirls in the breeze, that tousles her hair, but doesn't fall from the sky as she guesses, it must have done all night. All thought of what lies ahead is lost as her mind is consumed by the majestic vision of the range, stretched out before her like the gems of a tiara on the brown of the world.
The first they see of the crash site is the thin ribbon of smoke trailing above the ridge as they approach. The wind has dropped and the early morning sky is beginning to clear. Dani pants hard, fighting for breath in the thin air. Sasha breathes slow and steady, almost unfazed by the altitude, while Nikita feels her body become increasingly more sluggish, as her enhanced metabolism burns through the air in her lungs almost as fast as she breathes it.
They lay down at the crest of the ridge to allow them to survey the crash site. The plan struck the mountainside hard and whilst the fuselage is largely in tact at the end of a large gouge in the rocks, the tail and nose lay some way from the body of the craft. The left wing is in flames near where the craft first touched down. The right wing is limply propped against a cliff edge. Rocky outcrops jut from the ice covered mountain walls leaving the areas under them,thick with shadow.
"So far so good, we made it." Sasha says, surveying the scene.
"Ready to go." Dani confirms, nodding to herself.
Nikita pants and slumps face down in the snow. "Give me a minute." She says panting, "Just need a sec."
Dani turns to her concerned, "Are you alright , babe?"
"Can't breathe fast enough." Nikita says, with her lungs burning like fire, as she rapidly breathes, fighting for air.
Sasha takes her hand and places her hand on Nikita's left shoulder, "Don't try to breath faster, breathe slower and longer." As Nikita slows her breathing, Sasha softly whispers words of encouragement, "Easy.......That's it........Take is slow.......Just relax."
Nikita rolls languidly onto her side and begins to cough, purging black tar and tissue from her lungs with each retch. Sasha rubs Nikita's back and shoots a worried glance at Dani.
Nikita rolls onto her back breathing slightly easier, "It feels like I am drowning." She shudders bodily and clenches the fist of her free hand, weakly crying in pain. "Up until a couple of days ago, I had been breathing from an oxygen tank. Now my body craves oxygen in a thin atmosphere and my lungs are changing to adapt."
Sasha holds Nikita close, kissing the top of her forehead, thinking, "For everything that she can do. She is still afraid inside. Confused and hurt by a world that has done nothing but hurt her."
"I am so scared Sasha. This is not the first time my body has done something like this." Nikita says, pulling Sasha close and mumbling in pain. "Soon after they took me to the lab and started finding new and inventive ways to hurt me, my skin and muscles toughened. But it didnt stop them, from hurting me." She finishes dissolving into body convulsing sobs. Her fears play out in her mind, "This is never going to end. I am going to keep changing until I stop being human."
Sasha rocks her sister back and forth in her arms, softly whispering, "Shhhhhh, it's ok Niki. I am here. Everything will be alright."
In between waves of pain, Nikita grabs the lapel of Sasha's jacket and pulls her close, in a moment of lucidity, to say, "Don't let them take me. If they do, you have to kill me."
"Not going to happen." Sasha says, shaking her head, unable to look Nikita in the eye.
"If they take me, they can make others like me." Nikita pleads, twisting in pain, "No matter what you must promise me."
Sasha swallows her own bile and nods, "I can't." She mumbles, hating herself for even thinking about it.
"I need you to be strong for me, when I can't be strong for myself." Nikita says softly.
"I'm not even sure you can be killed, with your healing." Sasha whispers.
"Metzger knew that if my heart was destroyed, blood wouldn't carry PCS and if my head was destroyed, it would stop sending signals to nerves to produce PCS. To kill me, take off my head and destroy my heart. It is the only way. One without the other and I can come back. Or incinerate me completely." Nikita says weakly, as her breathing starts to return to normal.
"If anything happens to you. I will be there Niki." Sasha whispers, "No one will take you, if they do, we will destroy them and bring you home safe."
Dani gives a sympathetic glance at her stricken sister in Sasha's arms, unaware of the conversation that they are having. She turns to the task at hand, "Damn. I was thinking of using Niki as a decoy, to give the search team a reason to land and once they were in close Sasha and I strike." She thinks, recalculating the odds. "This is a bad idea, we shouldn't have come. We need to get out of here." She decides.
Dani squints hearing a soft whumping noise in the distance, "Here come the search party." She whispers, to herself in a concerned tone, "Heavy rotor blades, slower rhythm than a normal helicopter. Sounds big, possibly military."
She begins frantically searching for a sign of the helicopter, unable to pinpoint the source of the rotor noise, due to the acoustics of the mountain range. "That doesnt sound like any helicopter I have ever heard before."
A movement catches her eye from the valley below the crash site and with a sense of dread, she spots the craft. The large helicopter has two bubbles at the front one behind the other, just like an Apache gunship, but is much larger. Stubby wings, bristling with weapons that glint in the early morning light, hang low on the helicopters fuselage. The craft is a dowdy brown colour, mottled with age but still as lethal, as the day it was built. It streaks up the valley towards the crash site, like the worlds largest and deadliest dragonfly.
"We are too late to run." Tears form in Dani's eyes, as she knows they are sunk before they start. A single word escapes her ls, announcing it's inexorable progress, "Hind."
She clicks her tongue twice and holds up a fist. Nikita and Sasha both stop and crouch, as discussed before they set out into the jungle on the way to the crash site.
Dani looks up at the stars, and using the North Star as a reference, orients them on course. She gives a thumbs up and points to one side of the clearing and the trio silently set off again.
"With the moon shining through the trees, we have enough light to do this." Dani thinks, watching Nikita hiss a warning and Sasha catch a snake as it lunges for her. "For the first time, I really believe, that we can do this."
Sasha keeps a brisk pace, beginning to feel the air cooling, while they climb, as she leads her sisters through the jungle.
"Nikita is so capable, she just doesn't see it. I wish we had more time to help her believe in herself." She thinks, gliding through the jungle, pointing out hazards as she goes.
Dani and Nikita struggle to keep pace, as Sasha picks her way through the jungle, with the grace of a dancer on stage for the thousandth time. They place their feet in her tracks trailing in her wake, following her effortless path, as she cuts through the dense brush, always finding a path. Sasha crouches and holds up her fist, indicating a stop.
Dani and Nikita flank her and follow her gaze to see the problem. Dani curses under her breath at the site of the gorge carved through the jungle, before turning to her sisters, "Any bright ideas?"
The gorge has been carve over thousands of years in the solid rock, easily twenty metres across, with sheer rock walls going all the way down to a raging torrent below. Overhead the trees part, allowing the scene to be bathed in moonlight, casting an eerie glow over the gorge.
Sasha takes out the coiled lines from her pack and ties one end around her waist. Checking the knots are secure, she looks out over the edge and passes the end of the rope to Nikita. "Keep hold of this." She says, preparing to jump.
"What are you doing?" Dani asks, looking down into the gorge.
"I will jump from here and hit the wall the other side, just above the water line then climb up the other side and once you secure the line this end, you can climb across." Sasha explains.
"Hell no that is far too risky." Dani says, tossing the line back to Sasha, "You hit too hard, land badly or hit the water and this goes bad, in an awful hurry."
"I know it is risky, but we are against the clock. We have no time for anything else and you know it." Sasha pleads gently.
Nikita leans back against a tree and leans her head back on the truck. She looks up towards the canopy and puts her hands behind her and unsheathes the claws of her right hand. She digs them into the truck and rips a chunk of wood free. "This could work." She thinks, with a nod.
"Er, guys. If we could bring a tree down, could we use it as a bridge?" Nikita asks, awkwardly.
Dani and Sasha turn to look at her, thoughtfully. "That could do it. Trouble is we have nothing to bring a tree down." Dani says, running her fingers through her hair.
"Ok, cool. Erm, give me a minute." Nikita says, turning to face the try and unsheathing the claws on her hands and digging them into the tree and tearing out chunks of wood.
Dani and Sasha, silently look at each other and mouth the words, "What the fuck?"
Wooden shards and splinters fly freely as Nikita attacks the tree. She is breathing hard by the time, the tree starts creaking and raises her hands for another strike, before Dani places a hand on her shoulder. "Hold up. Go around the other side of the trunk and take a chunk out there and then we will all push."
Nikita nods, sheepishly and walks around to the other side of the tree and pulls her hand back, then relaxes for a second, "Dani? What is the best spot to hit it?"
Dani smiles and relaxes her shoulders, "Hit it where you feel is right, you have done a great job so far."
Nikita bites her lips and studies the trunk and nods to her self, before slamming the claws of her right hand into the trunk and dragging them through the wood. She places her hands on the trunk and as Dani and Sasha flank her, they heave hard. The tree creaks and cracks as they take the strain, but does not yield.
Nikita's shoulder slump and she mumbles, "Sorry, I guess that didn't work so well."
"I have an idea." Sasha says, untying the rope from around her waist and climbing an adjacent tree. She edges along one of the branches until she is almost touching the tree that they are trying to fell. She loops the rope around it then climbs back down. "If Dani and I keep this under tension and you keep stripping the tree like that, it will get to a point where we can pull it down."
Dani nods, taking the rope, bracing with Sasha, "That is good with me. Niki are you game?"
"Let's do it." She says, rearing back for a right handed strike.
"Hit it, count to three and hit it again." Dani instructs.
They stand shoulder to shoulder admiring the felled tree, spanning the gorge. "This is what we can do when we work together." Dani says putting her arms around the shoulders of her sisters.
"We are pretty unstoppable." Sasha says with a grin.
Nikita puts her claws away and stares across the gorge, "I actually had an idea and did it and nothing bad happened." She thinks to herself, before saying, "Thanks guys."
"For what?" Sasha says, re-attaching a line around her waist.
"For not rubbing my nose in it when my idea didn't work at first and you had to help me out." Nikita says, with a grateful smile. "I am not skilled like you Dani, or effortlessly coordinated like you Sasha. I am a blunt instrument with no skill, I appreciate you not treating me like the dumb sister."
"Behave yourself. You took out a boat full of human traffickers, impersonated one of them to throw suspicion off of yourself and escaped from custody. Then after we got loose on the plane, you led us out of the room, and flew the plane here." Dani assures Nikita, "And don't forget the fish, wine and coffee. You have skills, just different skills to Sasha and I. Don't underestimate that."
"I guess I hadn't thought of it that way." Nikita says, thoughtfully pausing.
Sasha climbs onto the felled tree. "Shall we get moving and talk more on the way. Can you grab the rope?"
Nikita gives a gentle nod and then she and Dani take the end of the rope attached to Sasha's waist. "I will run across and make sure it is stable, let the line play out and catch me if I fall off."
Sasha begins her crossing as soon as Dani and Nikita give the go signal. With sure footed steps, she briskly walks along the trunk, hopping onto the bank on the other side and giving the thumbs up. Dani climbs onto the log and walks tentatively along it, much slower that Sasha but with the same result.
Nikita takes a deep breath and climbs up and begins edging along the trunk. She hears the roar of the water below her and breathes deeply, looking up at the stars in the slowly brightening sky. "It really is beautiful around here." She snaps back to herself and continues across the log.
At the edge of the jungle, under a gunmetal grey sky, they pause and Dani and Sasha change out of their shorts into the jeans and jackets that they wore when they were captured. Snow swirls around them, whipped up by a biting wind.
Nikita keeps a silent vigil until Dani asks, "What really happened last night? How come you have claws now?"
Nikita lights a cigarette and hangs her head. "Short version. I traded with a lioness. I gave her a big fish and she gave me the claws and a new set of fangs." She turns to her sisters showing her claws and cat like fangs.
"When this is all over, I would love to hear the long version of that." Dani says, with raise eyebrows.
Sasha looks up to the snow covered vista before her. "I think we need more wine, before that story and the one about how you were able to fly the jet."
Nikita shudders at the memory and tries to change the subject, "How far are we from the plane?"
"Not sure exactly, maybe an hour, if it crashed where it was supposed to." Dani says, calculating the odds.
"Do you have a plan for the cold?" Sasha says feeling the cold.
Dani chews her lip thinking and then pulls out her sleeping bag and opens it out fully. She cuts it in half lengthwise and slashes a hole in the centre of one of the halves, before helping Sasha put it on like a poncho. "Not ideal, but will do." Dani says slashing a hole in the other half of the sleeping bag and holding it out for Nikita.
Nikita stands tall in shorts and t-shirt and declines with a wave of the hand, "I am warm enough." Demonstrating this by cupping Dani's cheek, with a warm hand. "I am naturally very warm."
"Fair enough, you want to show some skin, because you are hot." Dani chuckles to herself and dons the sleeping bag poncho. "Drop any gear that you aren't going to need here." She says softly as she shrugs off her backpack and stuffs her jacket pockets with spare ammunition and straps a stilleto to her right calf. She checks the pistols in the shoulder holsters under her arms and strapped to her thighs.
Sasha checks the stilletos strapped to her upper arms and calves and pockets a pistol and some ammunition and a couple of coils of parachute line.
Nikita checks the large blade strapped to her leg and slips a coil of paracord into a pocket on her cargo shorts, then empties her backpack into her sleeping bag and folds the bag up placing it into another pocket. Then dons the leather coat, she stole during her escape from police custody, checking that she has her multitool and remaining cigarettes and lighter, she nods to herself.
Sasha leads the way, through the freshly fallen and loosely packed snow. they sink to their knees in the snow as they plough on. "I didn't plan on this. There must have been heavy snow fall over night." Dani shouts over the wind.
"Is this a problem?" Sasha calls out, reaching the summit of the mountain.
Dani smiles, coming to a stop next to her. "Shouldn't be an issue, will just need to change the plan a little."
Nikita joins them at the summit and is humbled by the view. The mountain range is laid out before her, cloud over the range, cast a sinister air to the scene. But the sun to the east makes the peaks shine against the dark cloud, giving them an almost unnatural air. Snow still swirls in the breeze, that tousles her hair, but doesn't fall from the sky as she guesses, it must have done all night. All thought of what lies ahead is lost as her mind is consumed by the majestic vision of the range, stretched out before her like the gems of a tiara on the brown of the world.
The first they see of the crash site is the thin ribbon of smoke trailing above the ridge as they approach. The wind has dropped and the early morning sky is beginning to clear. Dani pants hard, fighting for breath in the thin air. Sasha breathes slow and steady, almost unfazed by the altitude, while Nikita feels her body become increasingly more sluggish, as her enhanced metabolism burns through the air in her lungs almost as fast as she breathes it.
They lay down at the crest of the ridge to allow them to survey the crash site. The plan struck the mountainside hard and whilst the fuselage is largely in tact at the end of a large gouge in the rocks, the tail and nose lay some way from the body of the craft. The left wing is in flames near where the craft first touched down. The right wing is limply propped against a cliff edge. Rocky outcrops jut from the ice covered mountain walls leaving the areas under them,thick with shadow.
"So far so good, we made it." Sasha says, surveying the scene.
"Ready to go." Dani confirms, nodding to herself.
Nikita pants and slumps face down in the snow. "Give me a minute." She says panting, "Just need a sec."
Dani turns to her concerned, "Are you alright , babe?"
"Can't breathe fast enough." Nikita says, with her lungs burning like fire, as she rapidly breathes, fighting for air.
Sasha takes her hand and places her hand on Nikita's left shoulder, "Don't try to breath faster, breathe slower and longer." As Nikita slows her breathing, Sasha softly whispers words of encouragement, "Easy.......That's it........Take is slow.......Just relax."
Nikita rolls languidly onto her side and begins to cough, purging black tar and tissue from her lungs with each retch. Sasha rubs Nikita's back and shoots a worried glance at Dani.
Nikita rolls onto her back breathing slightly easier, "It feels like I am drowning." She shudders bodily and clenches the fist of her free hand, weakly crying in pain. "Up until a couple of days ago, I had been breathing from an oxygen tank. Now my body craves oxygen in a thin atmosphere and my lungs are changing to adapt."
Sasha holds Nikita close, kissing the top of her forehead, thinking, "For everything that she can do. She is still afraid inside. Confused and hurt by a world that has done nothing but hurt her."
"I am so scared Sasha. This is not the first time my body has done something like this." Nikita says, pulling Sasha close and mumbling in pain. "Soon after they took me to the lab and started finding new and inventive ways to hurt me, my skin and muscles toughened. But it didnt stop them, from hurting me." She finishes dissolving into body convulsing sobs. Her fears play out in her mind, "This is never going to end. I am going to keep changing until I stop being human."
Sasha rocks her sister back and forth in her arms, softly whispering, "Shhhhhh, it's ok Niki. I am here. Everything will be alright."
In between waves of pain, Nikita grabs the lapel of Sasha's jacket and pulls her close, in a moment of lucidity, to say, "Don't let them take me. If they do, you have to kill me."
"Not going to happen." Sasha says, shaking her head, unable to look Nikita in the eye.
"If they take me, they can make others like me." Nikita pleads, twisting in pain, "No matter what you must promise me."
Sasha swallows her own bile and nods, "I can't." She mumbles, hating herself for even thinking about it.
"I need you to be strong for me, when I can't be strong for myself." Nikita says softly.
"I'm not even sure you can be killed, with your healing." Sasha whispers.
"Metzger knew that if my heart was destroyed, blood wouldn't carry PCS and if my head was destroyed, it would stop sending signals to nerves to produce PCS. To kill me, take off my head and destroy my heart. It is the only way. One without the other and I can come back. Or incinerate me completely." Nikita says weakly, as her breathing starts to return to normal.
"If anything happens to you. I will be there Niki." Sasha whispers, "No one will take you, if they do, we will destroy them and bring you home safe."
Dani gives a sympathetic glance at her stricken sister in Sasha's arms, unaware of the conversation that they are having. She turns to the task at hand, "Damn. I was thinking of using Niki as a decoy, to give the search team a reason to land and once they were in close Sasha and I strike." She thinks, recalculating the odds. "This is a bad idea, we shouldn't have come. We need to get out of here." She decides.
Dani squints hearing a soft whumping noise in the distance, "Here come the search party." She whispers, to herself in a concerned tone, "Heavy rotor blades, slower rhythm than a normal helicopter. Sounds big, possibly military."
She begins frantically searching for a sign of the helicopter, unable to pinpoint the source of the rotor noise, due to the acoustics of the mountain range. "That doesnt sound like any helicopter I have ever heard before."
A movement catches her eye from the valley below the crash site and with a sense of dread, she spots the craft. The large helicopter has two bubbles at the front one behind the other, just like an Apache gunship, but is much larger. Stubby wings, bristling with weapons that glint in the early morning light, hang low on the helicopters fuselage. The craft is a dowdy brown colour, mottled with age but still as lethal, as the day it was built. It streaks up the valley towards the crash site, like the worlds largest and deadliest dragonfly.
"We are too late to run." Tears form in Dani's eyes, as she knows they are sunk before they start. A single word escapes her ls, announcing it's inexorable progress, "Hind."
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
The dislogues between the sisters are great. Incredible sensible. And the Cliffhanger at the end? The Girls seem once again to be in a tight spot. Steve, where are you?
Everyone ducks involuntarily, as the former Russian Hind gunship, thunders overhead. Steve looks up at the helicopter, as it sweeps up the valley towards the crash site. "Damn, should have known when the flight and parachute drop passed without incident, it was too good to be true."
Louise crouches next to him, watching the Hind, "What the hell is that thing?"
"Hind gunship, one of the most heavily armed helicopters in the world. More firepower than an Apache and can carry up to eight soldiers. This changes the game." Steve says, bitterly. He turns to the men and women with him, seeing the determination on all of their faces. "This will be a blood bath, if we try to take it head on." He thinks, knowing that they would all lay their lives down for him and his family.
Louise tenderly touches his arm and gently places a hand on his cheek to turn him to face her, "We are here for you Steve. If anyone can work out a way to get through this, it is you."
"We are not kitted out to face this thing in the air. We approach from concealment and try to take it on the ground when it lands." Steve says, thoughtfully, "If it stays airbourne and only sends troops down, we maintain concealment and regroup once it has left the area."
Everyone nods grimly, knowing the price of failure if the lives of Steve's daughters and possibly their own. No one speaks, when Steve resumes course and begins to head up the valley once more.
Dani crouches with her back to a rocky outcrop, with a pistol each hand. Her heart is racing but she is calm and focused. The thunderous rotors of the Hind gunship hovering the other side of the rocks, make the air pulse around her almost squeezing her body. "Niki reckons she will be ok, Sasha is in place for her part, I just have to kick things off."
The Hind makes slow passes over the crash site, unaware that Dani is hiding behind one of the rocky ourcrops to its left. It hovers just under a hundred metres over the wreckage, it's crew and troops compliment looking for any signs of life.
She steps from behind the outcropping and unloads both of her pistols at side of the front bubble canopy on the aircraft. The rounds bounce off the toughened glass harmlessly. Dani holsters her spent pistols and breaks into a sprint, as the pilot slowly turns the aircraft, trailing Dani with a stream of heavy machine gun fire from the deadly .50 calibre chain gun in the Hinds nose.
Bullets kick up fountains of snow around her, as she runs, zig zagging and trying to keep ahead of the stream of deadly lead and leaps a chasm to stay one step ahead. She crouches and brushes a stray lock of hair from her face, before breaking cover again and sprinting towards the jet's fuselage.
The co-pilot's eyes narrow seeing Dani break cover and sprint towards the plane. He adjusts his aim to compensate for the pilot easing the aircraft backwards and looses a brace of S-5 rockets from the UB-32 rocket pod on the craft's left wing.
Dani hears the tell tale 'Fsssshhhh' hiss of the rocket in flight and dives, as the rockets detonate behind her. The blasts throws her forward, slamming her into the ground, motionless on her side.
The Hind glides to a halt and hovers overhead. The pilot and co-pilot watch Dani and spin the helicopter in a slow circle confirming that there are no other hostiles in the area. The side doors of the Hind slide open and the troops, in desert camoflage gear, inside kick out spools of rope and clip on to the lines.
All but one of the troops abseil down the lines on by one, rapidly forming a five strong circle under the aircraft weapons raised scanning for targets. The last two men drop into the centre of the circle and crouch as the men around them sound off, each calling out "Clear." In turn.
The two men in the centre of the circle, shoulder their weapons and cautiously advance on Dani's prone body. The Hind glides backwards thirty metres, taking up position to bring it's chain gun to bear, if anything appears amiss.
At the first sound of gunfire, Steve calls out, "Double time, spread out by twos. Take up positions and sound off." He and Louise sprint directly towards the crash site. "Half a mile, maybe less." He calls out to Louise.
She keeps pace with him and checks her weapon, on the move. "Gunfire means nothing. They might just be crash survivors, signalling the helicopter.", Her words fall upon deaf ears, as Steve ploughs on sticking close to the edge of the valley, his own thoughts and fears echoing in his mind.
Kate and Amy take the right flank, scrambling up along the ridge of the valley, taking cover behind a high rock formation giving them a view of the crash site, four hundred metres away, "In position, have eyes on target." Kate calls over comms. She settles position monitoring the crash site through the scope on her rifle. Amy lays down beside her with a pair of binoculars, to act as Kate's spotter.
On the left flank, Collins and Garvey, keep low moving from cover to cover in a more cautious fashion than Steve and Louise. They take cover inside the lip of a cave formation and take aim with the grenade launchers, mounted under their rifles. "We are two hundred metres out and ready to lay down smoke and frag on your signal."
Mike stalks alone making a wide circle to the left, out and back, away from the team. Dropping to a prone position in the nook of a rocky outcrop, where he has a view of all operators and can provide covering fire for all. "In position, I have eyes on all players."
Steve and Louise slide to a halt behind the cover of a large snowbank of drift snow. He turns to his wife and smiles sadly, "Whatever happens, I need you to know two things." He pauses, kissing her on the cheek, "One, I am so pleased to have you by my side." He pauses, to take in her smile, "Two, I love you more than ever."
"Are you ready?" Louise asks, readying her weapon.
"Steady on, we are having a peak, before we storm in." Steve says, climbing the snowbank and taking up position close enough to it's crest to see the crash site, but far enough down that a casual observer would miss him. Louise crawls to his side and calls in, "Advance party in position. Standby."
Steve surveys the scene unfolding below with a mixture of surprise and shock.
The two man team approaching Dani, hold position momentarily, before one of the men lowers his AKS74-U and allows the sling to hold it loosely at his side, cautiously he advances on Dani's prone form, reaching a hand down to turn her onto her back, while his partner covers him.
Sasha begins her run, sprinting hard along the crest of a rocky outcropping, sure footed despite the ice and loose rocks.
Dani rolls, springing to her feet, before either of the men near her can react and siezes the man who was checking her. She spins him around, slipping her left arm under his, pulling his back to her chest and holding a knife to his throat.
The man covering him and the five man team, keeping watch all turn their weapons on Dani shouting orders in Afrikaans.
Sasha launches herself on a strong right foot, spreading her arms wide. Ignoring the rapidly spinning rotor bade of the craft, as it passes inches above her head, while she flies through the air towards the crafts open side door and the wide eyed soldier staring at her from within.
Nikita rises from the snow, her white skin and pale shorts and t-shirt perfectly camoflaged against the pristene drift. She strides, unseen, towards the back of the nearest man of the five man team. She lacks the elegance of Sasha and the practiced grace of Dani, but, her legs carry her forward with the power of a force of nature that will not be stopped. She smiles to herself, thinking, "Dad and Louise are here."'
Sasha grabs the handrail at the top of the open doorway to the helicopter and pivots her hips. Her feet slam like jackhammers into the lone soldiers chest, stopping his scramble for a weapon, launching him out of the door on the other side of the air craft.
Dani smoothly, flicks the knife in her hand, at the partner of her hostage. Her left arm snakes tightly around her hostages neck, while her right snatches up his submachine gun from it's sling. She is already drawing a bead on her next target as her knife, buries itself in the neck of her hostage's partner.
Striding forward, Nikita casually slams a back fist into his cheek, as she passes him. He lands twenty feet away, softly moaning, clutching his ruined face, all thoughts of fighting ripped from his mind. She keeps moving, barely breaking her stride, to ram her fist into the sternum of the next closest man, with a crack of bone.
Sasha gains her footing and draws a stilleto from it's sheath on her left upper arm and steps towards the back of the pilots seat. The pilots eyes bulge hearing the scream's of the soldier who is now arcing towards the ground out of the air craft. On instinct, he reaches for his sidearm and pops the retainer on his harness, but finds himself instantly stilled by the touch of cold steel against his throat. "Weapons! Now!"
Dani unleaashes a burst into the nearest man to her, holding the weapon out in front of her in a one handed grip. She twists the neck of the man in her arms, without thinking, placing him in the path of an incoming burst of fire from a man on her left. She grabs his right shoulder and straightens her arm sharply, to spin him towards the shooter. Dani dives to her right, firing a short burst towards the shooter in mid air and rolls into a shooting stance.
The pilot nods fearfully and passes his weapon and the weapon of the co-pilot back to Sasha. She tucks the pistols into the waistband on her jeans, and hisses into the pilots ear, "Land!"
Dani switches her aim and targets the soldier that just shot at her, as Nikita leaps at the other trooper on the ground, body slamming him to the ground and winding him. The soldier Dani is targetting drops his weapon and puts his hands in the air.
Nikita recovers from the slam and pins her victim to the ground with her left hand, wrapped around his throat. She pulls her right hand back for a strike. He drops his weapon and holds his hand in front of his face to protect himself, pleading in a heavy South African accent, "No, please, I am done."
She exchanges a grin with Dani, who lowers her weapon and winks back at her.
The silence over comms is broken by Ryan, "Did that really just happen? Over."
"I think so. Over" Garvey pipes up.
"I must say, they certainly don't appear to need a rescue. Over." Kate says, with a smile in her voice.
Steve lays quietly watching the Hind gunship land and Dani and Nikita round up the surviving enemy combatants. He replays the skirmish in his mind and nods to himself, thinking, "That couldn't have played out any other way."
"Ladies and gentlemen, I think that we can safely say, that is how it is done." Louise says, with a hint of admiration, "Hind gunship, crew and troop compliment subdued, with minimal casualties, in under ten seconds. Over."
"How do we say hello, without them doing that to us? Over." Ryan asks, watching the scene through the sight of his sniper rifle.
"Stand down, I will say hi. See if we can get a pot of coffee on. Over." Steve says, before turning to Louise, "Shall we?"
Dani stands by a pile of collected weapons, with an AKS74-U in each hand covering the surviving soldiers and air crew, while Sasha and Nikita pulls the man ejected from the helicopter from a snow drift.
"Why didn't you go, er, you know, full Nikita?" Sasha asks, quietly.
Nikita stands and considers her answer for a moment, eventually saying, "I wanted to know, if I had a choice, or if the only way is all the way." She smiles gently, "Now I know. The breathing problems, scared me. I was worried that I would not be in control, but now I know I am in the driving seat."
"I'm so proud of you Niki." Sasha says, beaming at her sister, "Look. We have all had our wobbles and there are times I have thought about running. But, I have seen how strong I can be, thanks to Dad, Dani, Kate and everyone. Give us a chance and see how strong you can be."
"I'm worried about what happens, if they get hold of me. But, I want to live and find out why I am the way I am. See if there is some greater purpose." Nikita says, beaming back, "We can find out along the way about you and Dani too."
Sasha looks confused at her sister. "What do you mean?"
"When you were on the helicopter, did you get a vague sense of what we were doing on the ground?" Nikita asks, biting her lip.
Sasha drops to her knees and begins digging the man out of the snow, with her bare hands. She stops and looks up at Nikita, with a disbelieving look in her eyes, "You felt it too?"
Nikita nods, pensively, "Yes. I could feel you both. I think I felt it on the plane too. I am starting to wonder if my abilities have anything to do with PCS at all. We need to have a talk with Dani and dad, once all this is done." Nikita says, in a conspiratorial tone.
"I know Dani reckons he will come here, but I am not sure. What do you think?" Sasha asks, nervously.
"He has been watching since Dani grabbed the guy and everything kicked off. He and Lou are walking up to join us and will be here in a couple of minutes." Nikita says, in an almost conversational tone. "They have brought company."
Steve and Lou approach, as Sasha and Niki finish securing the last of their prisoners with zip ties, pinning their hands behind them. All the men kneel in the snow, facing away from the helicopter, with Dani pacing back and forth behind them, making sure none of them try to run or escape.
Sasha and Nikita turn as one and smile, calling out "Hi dad. Hi Lou"
"Morning ladies, been busy I see." Steve says, with more than a hint of admiration and pride.
"We decided to get up early for a bit of a run and a work out." Dani says, with a smile.
"Did you bring any coffee?" Sasha asks, with a grin.
He smiles with a tear in his eye, "I think we can oblige."
He jogs forward, taking Sasha and Nikita in his arms and softly cries, "I thought I had lost you." Louise takes up position behind the prisoners and Dani joins the hug with her father and sisters.
"I made you a promise dad." Dani says trying not to cry.
"I am so proud of you." He says, warmly, "All of you."
Sasha pulls back slightly and asks, "So, what do we do now?"
Steve opens his mouth to speak and pauses, gazing down at his daughters. "Dani, you promised to bring Niki back. Until she is home, this is still your mission. What is our next move?"
Louise crouches next to him, watching the Hind, "What the hell is that thing?"
"Hind gunship, one of the most heavily armed helicopters in the world. More firepower than an Apache and can carry up to eight soldiers. This changes the game." Steve says, bitterly. He turns to the men and women with him, seeing the determination on all of their faces. "This will be a blood bath, if we try to take it head on." He thinks, knowing that they would all lay their lives down for him and his family.
Louise tenderly touches his arm and gently places a hand on his cheek to turn him to face her, "We are here for you Steve. If anyone can work out a way to get through this, it is you."
"We are not kitted out to face this thing in the air. We approach from concealment and try to take it on the ground when it lands." Steve says, thoughtfully, "If it stays airbourne and only sends troops down, we maintain concealment and regroup once it has left the area."
Everyone nods grimly, knowing the price of failure if the lives of Steve's daughters and possibly their own. No one speaks, when Steve resumes course and begins to head up the valley once more.
Dani crouches with her back to a rocky outcrop, with a pistol each hand. Her heart is racing but she is calm and focused. The thunderous rotors of the Hind gunship hovering the other side of the rocks, make the air pulse around her almost squeezing her body. "Niki reckons she will be ok, Sasha is in place for her part, I just have to kick things off."
The Hind makes slow passes over the crash site, unaware that Dani is hiding behind one of the rocky ourcrops to its left. It hovers just under a hundred metres over the wreckage, it's crew and troops compliment looking for any signs of life.
She steps from behind the outcropping and unloads both of her pistols at side of the front bubble canopy on the aircraft. The rounds bounce off the toughened glass harmlessly. Dani holsters her spent pistols and breaks into a sprint, as the pilot slowly turns the aircraft, trailing Dani with a stream of heavy machine gun fire from the deadly .50 calibre chain gun in the Hinds nose.
Bullets kick up fountains of snow around her, as she runs, zig zagging and trying to keep ahead of the stream of deadly lead and leaps a chasm to stay one step ahead. She crouches and brushes a stray lock of hair from her face, before breaking cover again and sprinting towards the jet's fuselage.
The co-pilot's eyes narrow seeing Dani break cover and sprint towards the plane. He adjusts his aim to compensate for the pilot easing the aircraft backwards and looses a brace of S-5 rockets from the UB-32 rocket pod on the craft's left wing.
Dani hears the tell tale 'Fsssshhhh' hiss of the rocket in flight and dives, as the rockets detonate behind her. The blasts throws her forward, slamming her into the ground, motionless on her side.
The Hind glides to a halt and hovers overhead. The pilot and co-pilot watch Dani and spin the helicopter in a slow circle confirming that there are no other hostiles in the area. The side doors of the Hind slide open and the troops, in desert camoflage gear, inside kick out spools of rope and clip on to the lines.
All but one of the troops abseil down the lines on by one, rapidly forming a five strong circle under the aircraft weapons raised scanning for targets. The last two men drop into the centre of the circle and crouch as the men around them sound off, each calling out "Clear." In turn.
The two men in the centre of the circle, shoulder their weapons and cautiously advance on Dani's prone body. The Hind glides backwards thirty metres, taking up position to bring it's chain gun to bear, if anything appears amiss.
At the first sound of gunfire, Steve calls out, "Double time, spread out by twos. Take up positions and sound off." He and Louise sprint directly towards the crash site. "Half a mile, maybe less." He calls out to Louise.
She keeps pace with him and checks her weapon, on the move. "Gunfire means nothing. They might just be crash survivors, signalling the helicopter.", Her words fall upon deaf ears, as Steve ploughs on sticking close to the edge of the valley, his own thoughts and fears echoing in his mind.
Kate and Amy take the right flank, scrambling up along the ridge of the valley, taking cover behind a high rock formation giving them a view of the crash site, four hundred metres away, "In position, have eyes on target." Kate calls over comms. She settles position monitoring the crash site through the scope on her rifle. Amy lays down beside her with a pair of binoculars, to act as Kate's spotter.
On the left flank, Collins and Garvey, keep low moving from cover to cover in a more cautious fashion than Steve and Louise. They take cover inside the lip of a cave formation and take aim with the grenade launchers, mounted under their rifles. "We are two hundred metres out and ready to lay down smoke and frag on your signal."
Mike stalks alone making a wide circle to the left, out and back, away from the team. Dropping to a prone position in the nook of a rocky outcrop, where he has a view of all operators and can provide covering fire for all. "In position, I have eyes on all players."
Steve and Louise slide to a halt behind the cover of a large snowbank of drift snow. He turns to his wife and smiles sadly, "Whatever happens, I need you to know two things." He pauses, kissing her on the cheek, "One, I am so pleased to have you by my side." He pauses, to take in her smile, "Two, I love you more than ever."
"Are you ready?" Louise asks, readying her weapon.
"Steady on, we are having a peak, before we storm in." Steve says, climbing the snowbank and taking up position close enough to it's crest to see the crash site, but far enough down that a casual observer would miss him. Louise crawls to his side and calls in, "Advance party in position. Standby."
Steve surveys the scene unfolding below with a mixture of surprise and shock.
The two man team approaching Dani, hold position momentarily, before one of the men lowers his AKS74-U and allows the sling to hold it loosely at his side, cautiously he advances on Dani's prone form, reaching a hand down to turn her onto her back, while his partner covers him.
Sasha begins her run, sprinting hard along the crest of a rocky outcropping, sure footed despite the ice and loose rocks.
Dani rolls, springing to her feet, before either of the men near her can react and siezes the man who was checking her. She spins him around, slipping her left arm under his, pulling his back to her chest and holding a knife to his throat.
The man covering him and the five man team, keeping watch all turn their weapons on Dani shouting orders in Afrikaans.
Sasha launches herself on a strong right foot, spreading her arms wide. Ignoring the rapidly spinning rotor bade of the craft, as it passes inches above her head, while she flies through the air towards the crafts open side door and the wide eyed soldier staring at her from within.
Nikita rises from the snow, her white skin and pale shorts and t-shirt perfectly camoflaged against the pristene drift. She strides, unseen, towards the back of the nearest man of the five man team. She lacks the elegance of Sasha and the practiced grace of Dani, but, her legs carry her forward with the power of a force of nature that will not be stopped. She smiles to herself, thinking, "Dad and Louise are here."'
Sasha grabs the handrail at the top of the open doorway to the helicopter and pivots her hips. Her feet slam like jackhammers into the lone soldiers chest, stopping his scramble for a weapon, launching him out of the door on the other side of the air craft.
Dani smoothly, flicks the knife in her hand, at the partner of her hostage. Her left arm snakes tightly around her hostages neck, while her right snatches up his submachine gun from it's sling. She is already drawing a bead on her next target as her knife, buries itself in the neck of her hostage's partner.
Striding forward, Nikita casually slams a back fist into his cheek, as she passes him. He lands twenty feet away, softly moaning, clutching his ruined face, all thoughts of fighting ripped from his mind. She keeps moving, barely breaking her stride, to ram her fist into the sternum of the next closest man, with a crack of bone.
Sasha gains her footing and draws a stilleto from it's sheath on her left upper arm and steps towards the back of the pilots seat. The pilots eyes bulge hearing the scream's of the soldier who is now arcing towards the ground out of the air craft. On instinct, he reaches for his sidearm and pops the retainer on his harness, but finds himself instantly stilled by the touch of cold steel against his throat. "Weapons! Now!"
Dani unleaashes a burst into the nearest man to her, holding the weapon out in front of her in a one handed grip. She twists the neck of the man in her arms, without thinking, placing him in the path of an incoming burst of fire from a man on her left. She grabs his right shoulder and straightens her arm sharply, to spin him towards the shooter. Dani dives to her right, firing a short burst towards the shooter in mid air and rolls into a shooting stance.
The pilot nods fearfully and passes his weapon and the weapon of the co-pilot back to Sasha. She tucks the pistols into the waistband on her jeans, and hisses into the pilots ear, "Land!"
Dani switches her aim and targets the soldier that just shot at her, as Nikita leaps at the other trooper on the ground, body slamming him to the ground and winding him. The soldier Dani is targetting drops his weapon and puts his hands in the air.
Nikita recovers from the slam and pins her victim to the ground with her left hand, wrapped around his throat. She pulls her right hand back for a strike. He drops his weapon and holds his hand in front of his face to protect himself, pleading in a heavy South African accent, "No, please, I am done."
She exchanges a grin with Dani, who lowers her weapon and winks back at her.
The silence over comms is broken by Ryan, "Did that really just happen? Over."
"I think so. Over" Garvey pipes up.
"I must say, they certainly don't appear to need a rescue. Over." Kate says, with a smile in her voice.
Steve lays quietly watching the Hind gunship land and Dani and Nikita round up the surviving enemy combatants. He replays the skirmish in his mind and nods to himself, thinking, "That couldn't have played out any other way."
"Ladies and gentlemen, I think that we can safely say, that is how it is done." Louise says, with a hint of admiration, "Hind gunship, crew and troop compliment subdued, with minimal casualties, in under ten seconds. Over."
"How do we say hello, without them doing that to us? Over." Ryan asks, watching the scene through the sight of his sniper rifle.
"Stand down, I will say hi. See if we can get a pot of coffee on. Over." Steve says, before turning to Louise, "Shall we?"
Dani stands by a pile of collected weapons, with an AKS74-U in each hand covering the surviving soldiers and air crew, while Sasha and Nikita pulls the man ejected from the helicopter from a snow drift.
"Why didn't you go, er, you know, full Nikita?" Sasha asks, quietly.
Nikita stands and considers her answer for a moment, eventually saying, "I wanted to know, if I had a choice, or if the only way is all the way." She smiles gently, "Now I know. The breathing problems, scared me. I was worried that I would not be in control, but now I know I am in the driving seat."
"I'm so proud of you Niki." Sasha says, beaming at her sister, "Look. We have all had our wobbles and there are times I have thought about running. But, I have seen how strong I can be, thanks to Dad, Dani, Kate and everyone. Give us a chance and see how strong you can be."
"I'm worried about what happens, if they get hold of me. But, I want to live and find out why I am the way I am. See if there is some greater purpose." Nikita says, beaming back, "We can find out along the way about you and Dani too."
Sasha looks confused at her sister. "What do you mean?"
"When you were on the helicopter, did you get a vague sense of what we were doing on the ground?" Nikita asks, biting her lip.
Sasha drops to her knees and begins digging the man out of the snow, with her bare hands. She stops and looks up at Nikita, with a disbelieving look in her eyes, "You felt it too?"
Nikita nods, pensively, "Yes. I could feel you both. I think I felt it on the plane too. I am starting to wonder if my abilities have anything to do with PCS at all. We need to have a talk with Dani and dad, once all this is done." Nikita says, in a conspiratorial tone.
"I know Dani reckons he will come here, but I am not sure. What do you think?" Sasha asks, nervously.
"He has been watching since Dani grabbed the guy and everything kicked off. He and Lou are walking up to join us and will be here in a couple of minutes." Nikita says, in an almost conversational tone. "They have brought company."
Steve and Lou approach, as Sasha and Niki finish securing the last of their prisoners with zip ties, pinning their hands behind them. All the men kneel in the snow, facing away from the helicopter, with Dani pacing back and forth behind them, making sure none of them try to run or escape.
Sasha and Nikita turn as one and smile, calling out "Hi dad. Hi Lou"
"Morning ladies, been busy I see." Steve says, with more than a hint of admiration and pride.
"We decided to get up early for a bit of a run and a work out." Dani says, with a smile.
"Did you bring any coffee?" Sasha asks, with a grin.
He smiles with a tear in his eye, "I think we can oblige."
He jogs forward, taking Sasha and Nikita in his arms and softly cries, "I thought I had lost you." Louise takes up position behind the prisoners and Dani joins the hug with her father and sisters.
"I made you a promise dad." Dani says trying not to cry.
"I am so proud of you." He says, warmly, "All of you."
Sasha pulls back slightly and asks, "So, what do we do now?"
Steve opens his mouth to speak and pauses, gazing down at his daughters. "Dani, you promised to bring Niki back. Until she is home, this is still your mission. What is our next move?"
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
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https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
De Veres knew he was in trouble. "Two men dead, the rest injured and restrained. We are in the middle of nowhere with a numerically superior force of highly trained operatives." He thinks, ruefully testing his bonds for the umpteenth time in the last two minutes, "Not that number matter, three of them dropped the team and took the Hind in less time than it takes me to scratch my balls and with less effort."
He surveys the broken expressions of his men as then kneel bound beside him, awaiting their fate. "Twenty years in the Pretoria Highlanders, ten in private service and we never lost a man. Today we have lost two, with the rest of us hanging in the balance." He gazes across at the three women that took out the team, talking to their commander, "They are just kids. Is this the state of the world now, where men send their daughters to war?"
He rolls his shoulders, trying to get comfortable, "This is a sign that I should have got out a long time ago. That bastard Max said that this would be a six month op, security, search, rescue and suppression. Nothing major. Just showing enough force to keep the locals in line. Nothing like this."
He wrestles with his conscience and nods to himself, thinking, "I didn't expect to be flying one minute and have a knife to my throat the next. This is over our pay grade. My boys don't deserve to end their days here. I have to stop this madness before it goes any further."
The sixty year old pilot struggles to his feet and feels a hand on his shoulder. He looks up at the beautiful red head and with resignation in his voice, he says, "Please, these are my men. I will tell you what you want, just spare them."
De Veres sits on a rock facing Steve and Dani, with his hands still secured behind him. His face is a mask of fatigue and defeat, accentuating the wrinkles and lines gained by a lifetime in the field and making him look older than his years in this moment.
Dani fixes him with her gaze and assesses him, "This is a man with a long life in the firing line. War is all he knows and it wears on him. He knows his glory days are gone and wants to bow out gracefully. He has faced a foe the likes of which he has never faced before and knows this is the end of his time. The looks of concern he gives his men, tells me he cares for them. They are our leverage over this man, if we need it."
She leans forward and asks her prisoner, "Ok Mr De Veres, why don't you start by telling us about the facility?"
He nods to himself, "The facility in not just one building. It is a self sustaining compound located on a mountian plateau. There is a large central building where most of the medical facilities are housed, Lund's office is on the top floor. To the east of the central building, is a barracks and staff accomodation block, with canteen. There is and airstrip, hangar and heliports on the northern side of the plateau and a hotel on the southwest corner with spa and leisure facilities. There is a cable car from the hotel to a secondary area at the base of the mountain, there is a small barracks and motor pool there for supplies and safari's."
Steve nods and scratches out a rough layout in the snow with further direction from De Veres. "What kind of security can we expect?"
"Aside from the Hind, there are no heavy vehicles. At any one time there can be up to sixty soldiers on duty, day to day, they will be lightly armed, but there are heavy weapons stored at the barracks for deployment when needed. The Plateau is dotted with motion sensors, which are monitored from a control room in the central building. There are also a number of thermal sensors covering the cliff sides, to spot climbers." De Veres slumps his shoulders, "Most of the staff are from local villages, looking to make an honest buck. They have no idea about the production facilities, under the central building."
Dani and Steve exchange a glance and Steve turns to De Veres and asks, "What do you know of the production facilities?"
"There are three underground levels to the facility, they can be accessed by a lift in a security room in the south west corner of the central facility. The upper two sub levels are for production and research labs, once in those levels there is minimal security, mostly medical technicians. I don't know anything about the bottom level, only Lund and Max know what is down there." He confirms.
Nikita sits on a rocky outcrop overlooking the crash site, she stares out over the valley watching the birds take flight. "I could have torn those men limb from limb, but I didn't, though I really wanted to." She smiles gently to herself, "I don't have to be a killer."
She looks down at the site, surveying the faces of all assembled, "I really am the odd one out. Everyone here is a trained killer. What am I doing here? I am a trained hair and beauty therapist, with experience as a supermarket checkout operator. I will never have a normal life." She leans back against a rock and closes her eyes, imagining what kind of life she can have and drifting to sleep.
Nikita is so soundly asleep, she fails to notice when Kate takes a seat next to her. "Hey you. How are you holding up?" Kate asks, softly.
A startled Nikita, turns sharply and lashes out with her right arm blindly. Kate flies back with a deep claw gouge in her left upper arm. Nikita raises her hand to her mouth in horror at what she had just done. "Oh my God, I am so sorry Kate." She says tearfully rushing to Kate's side.
Kate places her right hand on Nikita's arm and through a mask of pain speaks softly, "Shhhhh. My bad, I shouldn't have made you jump. Can you give Amy a shout and ask her to bring a medical kit to patch me up?"
Nikita looks around fearfully, mumbling, "What have I done?"
Kate grits her teeth in pain and whispers, "It was an accident. Don't worry. Can you please get me some help?"
Nikita sits thinking for a moment and cannot help staring at the wound on her aunts shoulder. "Can I trust you?"
Kate gives a nervous, weak smile and nods, "Of course you can, Nikita.", whilst thinking, "I'm not entirely sure, she is going to get Amy, I might have to pull a gun a signal for help."
"Please don't tell anyone about this." Nikita begs and closes her eyes. Focusing on Kate's pulse, she sweeps the blockages from it's flow and, clenches her left fist in agony , as she takes Kate's injury into herself.
Kate feels something is happening when her body is filled with warmth and she stops feeling pain from her shoulder. Her eyes widen, as she watches vicious cuts spontaneously appear on Nikita's left upper arm. She gazes down at her own arm and watches her wounds close up before her eyes. "How the hell?" She asks herself under her breath. She coughs hard and spits a large gob of black tar onto the snow. Kate rinses her mouth from her canteen in a daze.
Nikita's whole body shakes with pain, as she tries to control her breathing. She barely feels Kate pull her onto her lap and cradle her.
Kate sees Nikita's breathing slow down and watches as the young womans arm begins to heal. "More slowly than she healed mine, but still fast. Poor love." Kate brushes hair our of Nikita's face and cradles her gently. Time seems to stand still for Kate, watching her niece, gently squirm in pain.
Nikita's eyes drift open and she looks at her arm, to see the wounds slowly finish closing. She licks her dry lips and shifts her gaze to Kate's healed arm and smiles to herself. Kate cradles her gently and softly strokes her hair. "There, there." She says gently stroking her hair, "Everything is ok."
Nikita's head lolls back and she gazes up at Kate. Her eyes widen in horror, as soon as she sees Kate's face, "No, no, no, no. This can't be happening. What have I done?"
With a mixture of fear and curiousity, Kate raises her hand to her face and explores her skin with her fingers. Confused, she thinks, "There's nothing wrong. What does she see?"
Nikita cannot tear her eyes away from Kate, mumbling "I healed all damage."
"Nikita? What's wrong?" Kate asks gently.
Nikita sits up sharply and removes her T-shirt. Kate stares at her confused, "Niki, what are you-"
Kate's question is abruptly cut off, when Nikita rams her t-shirt into Kate's mouth. Nikita pushes her aunt to the ground, casually brushing aside Kate's attempts to fight her off. With tears in her eyes, she rolls Kate onto her stomach and pulls her arms behind her back. She takes a zip tie from Kate's belt and secures it tightly around her struggling aunt's wrists.
Nikita weeps, as she takes two more zip ties from Kate's belt and two fragmentation grenades from her chest. "I am so sorry Kate. I would have loved to get to know you. Everyone thinks you are awesome." She gently cups Kate's cheek and whispers, "I am so sorry, but I can't risk you stopping me."
Kate struggle furiously and shakes her head rapidly, trying to dislodge the cloth in her mouth, as she watches Nikita sprint away from her and the crash site, faster than any human should be able to run.
Kate lays back on the rock and slides her hands past her rump, then pulls her legs between her wrists. "Thought my bum was too big for me to do that." She thinks, reaching up and pulling the t-shirt from her mouth.
She tightens the tie and slams her arms down against her sides, as Steve once showed her and snaps her bonds. She looks in the direction that Nikita ran and thinks better of chasing after her alone. "She has had some kind of break. I need the others."
Shakily, she rises to her feet and staggers light-headed back towards the others.
"Kate!" Louise cries out, seeing her sister approaching with a heavily blooded arm, breaking into a run and drawing glances from everyone in camp.
"I am ok Lou." Kate assures Louise, as she checks her arm. "We have to find Niki."
"What's wrong wi-" Louise stops, in her tracks as soon as she looks away from Kate's arm and into her face, "What the hell happened?" She asks softly.
Kate strokes her cheek again, feeling nothing wrong, "What do you mean?"
"You look twenty." Louise says, in disbelief. "How is that possible?"
"Nikita said, she healed all damage to me. She must have healed the damage caused by aging too." Kate says, stunned before coming back to her senses. "We have to find her, she took two of my grenades and ran like hell."
"You are going no where." Steve barks, before turning to Amy, "Check her over, make sure she is ok."
Amy nods eagerly, seeing that her lovers already muscular and shapely body, appears tighter and firmer. "Of course. Kate do you want to get into the back of the helicopter and strip off. I will be there in a moment."
"Can I help?" Garvey and Collins offer in unison, to a disapproving raised eyebrow from Amy.
Dani and Sasha exchange a glance and nod to each other, "Everyone stay here, we will go." Sasha says, firmly.
"Not without me." Steve says, snatching up his helmet.
"Dad, she is in a bad place right now. The more of us that go, the worse she may react." Dani confirms.
Steve weighs up the options and relents, tossing Dani and Sasha a couple of ear pieces. "Stay safe. Keep in touch."
The sisters nod and turn and run, feeling more than knowing where Nikita is.
Nikita sobs heartily as she tries to catch her breath at the foot of a cliff. Between her sobs, she takes one of the long zip ties and secures it loosely around her chest, before threading the neck of a grenade between the tie andher chest and tightening the tie. Then she takes the other tie and uses it to secure the other grenade to her neck, under her chin.
"No." She says with dismay, sensing the approach of her sisters. She looks about her and soon realises that she is trapped and there is no escape for her. With a feeling of sadness, she sinks to her knees and wails with sorrow.
Sasha rounds the corner first and smile with relief at the first sight of her sister, "Dani, she's here." She cries, beginning to run towards Nikita.
"Don't come any closer." Nikita tearfully screams, threading a thumb into each of the pins of the grenades.
Sasha stops sharply and raises her hands in a calming gesture, "Easy, what's going on Niki?" She speaks softly, with a nervous edge to her voice.
Dani joins Sasha and sees Nikita, "Oh Niki." She says softly, "Don't do this, we can help you. But, you need to talk to us."
"Stay back." Nikita yells, "I swear, I am going to do this."
"Wait." Dani shouts, "We are both in the blast radius. If you pull the pins on those, you will get us too."
Nikita sinks to her knees and begs, "Please, just go."
"Sasha." Dani says, not taking her eyes off of Nikita. "Can you go back to the helicopter and grab a Carbon Dioxide fire extinguisher? It will prevent the detonation of the grenades."
"Really?" Sasha asks, confused.
"Really." Dani asserts firmly.
Nikita watches, as Sasha runs from the cliff base, back towards the helicopter, then turns to Dani, "Why did you lie to her?"
He surveys the broken expressions of his men as then kneel bound beside him, awaiting their fate. "Twenty years in the Pretoria Highlanders, ten in private service and we never lost a man. Today we have lost two, with the rest of us hanging in the balance." He gazes across at the three women that took out the team, talking to their commander, "They are just kids. Is this the state of the world now, where men send their daughters to war?"
He rolls his shoulders, trying to get comfortable, "This is a sign that I should have got out a long time ago. That bastard Max said that this would be a six month op, security, search, rescue and suppression. Nothing major. Just showing enough force to keep the locals in line. Nothing like this."
He wrestles with his conscience and nods to himself, thinking, "I didn't expect to be flying one minute and have a knife to my throat the next. This is over our pay grade. My boys don't deserve to end their days here. I have to stop this madness before it goes any further."
The sixty year old pilot struggles to his feet and feels a hand on his shoulder. He looks up at the beautiful red head and with resignation in his voice, he says, "Please, these are my men. I will tell you what you want, just spare them."
De Veres sits on a rock facing Steve and Dani, with his hands still secured behind him. His face is a mask of fatigue and defeat, accentuating the wrinkles and lines gained by a lifetime in the field and making him look older than his years in this moment.
Dani fixes him with her gaze and assesses him, "This is a man with a long life in the firing line. War is all he knows and it wears on him. He knows his glory days are gone and wants to bow out gracefully. He has faced a foe the likes of which he has never faced before and knows this is the end of his time. The looks of concern he gives his men, tells me he cares for them. They are our leverage over this man, if we need it."
She leans forward and asks her prisoner, "Ok Mr De Veres, why don't you start by telling us about the facility?"
He nods to himself, "The facility in not just one building. It is a self sustaining compound located on a mountian plateau. There is a large central building where most of the medical facilities are housed, Lund's office is on the top floor. To the east of the central building, is a barracks and staff accomodation block, with canteen. There is and airstrip, hangar and heliports on the northern side of the plateau and a hotel on the southwest corner with spa and leisure facilities. There is a cable car from the hotel to a secondary area at the base of the mountain, there is a small barracks and motor pool there for supplies and safari's."
Steve nods and scratches out a rough layout in the snow with further direction from De Veres. "What kind of security can we expect?"
"Aside from the Hind, there are no heavy vehicles. At any one time there can be up to sixty soldiers on duty, day to day, they will be lightly armed, but there are heavy weapons stored at the barracks for deployment when needed. The Plateau is dotted with motion sensors, which are monitored from a control room in the central building. There are also a number of thermal sensors covering the cliff sides, to spot climbers." De Veres slumps his shoulders, "Most of the staff are from local villages, looking to make an honest buck. They have no idea about the production facilities, under the central building."
Dani and Steve exchange a glance and Steve turns to De Veres and asks, "What do you know of the production facilities?"
"There are three underground levels to the facility, they can be accessed by a lift in a security room in the south west corner of the central facility. The upper two sub levels are for production and research labs, once in those levels there is minimal security, mostly medical technicians. I don't know anything about the bottom level, only Lund and Max know what is down there." He confirms.
Nikita sits on a rocky outcrop overlooking the crash site, she stares out over the valley watching the birds take flight. "I could have torn those men limb from limb, but I didn't, though I really wanted to." She smiles gently to herself, "I don't have to be a killer."
She looks down at the site, surveying the faces of all assembled, "I really am the odd one out. Everyone here is a trained killer. What am I doing here? I am a trained hair and beauty therapist, with experience as a supermarket checkout operator. I will never have a normal life." She leans back against a rock and closes her eyes, imagining what kind of life she can have and drifting to sleep.
Nikita is so soundly asleep, she fails to notice when Kate takes a seat next to her. "Hey you. How are you holding up?" Kate asks, softly.
A startled Nikita, turns sharply and lashes out with her right arm blindly. Kate flies back with a deep claw gouge in her left upper arm. Nikita raises her hand to her mouth in horror at what she had just done. "Oh my God, I am so sorry Kate." She says tearfully rushing to Kate's side.
Kate places her right hand on Nikita's arm and through a mask of pain speaks softly, "Shhhhh. My bad, I shouldn't have made you jump. Can you give Amy a shout and ask her to bring a medical kit to patch me up?"
Nikita looks around fearfully, mumbling, "What have I done?"
Kate grits her teeth in pain and whispers, "It was an accident. Don't worry. Can you please get me some help?"
Nikita sits thinking for a moment and cannot help staring at the wound on her aunts shoulder. "Can I trust you?"
Kate gives a nervous, weak smile and nods, "Of course you can, Nikita.", whilst thinking, "I'm not entirely sure, she is going to get Amy, I might have to pull a gun a signal for help."
"Please don't tell anyone about this." Nikita begs and closes her eyes. Focusing on Kate's pulse, she sweeps the blockages from it's flow and, clenches her left fist in agony , as she takes Kate's injury into herself.
Kate feels something is happening when her body is filled with warmth and she stops feeling pain from her shoulder. Her eyes widen, as she watches vicious cuts spontaneously appear on Nikita's left upper arm. She gazes down at her own arm and watches her wounds close up before her eyes. "How the hell?" She asks herself under her breath. She coughs hard and spits a large gob of black tar onto the snow. Kate rinses her mouth from her canteen in a daze.
Nikita's whole body shakes with pain, as she tries to control her breathing. She barely feels Kate pull her onto her lap and cradle her.
Kate sees Nikita's breathing slow down and watches as the young womans arm begins to heal. "More slowly than she healed mine, but still fast. Poor love." Kate brushes hair our of Nikita's face and cradles her gently. Time seems to stand still for Kate, watching her niece, gently squirm in pain.
Nikita's eyes drift open and she looks at her arm, to see the wounds slowly finish closing. She licks her dry lips and shifts her gaze to Kate's healed arm and smiles to herself. Kate cradles her gently and softly strokes her hair. "There, there." She says gently stroking her hair, "Everything is ok."
Nikita's head lolls back and she gazes up at Kate. Her eyes widen in horror, as soon as she sees Kate's face, "No, no, no, no. This can't be happening. What have I done?"
With a mixture of fear and curiousity, Kate raises her hand to her face and explores her skin with her fingers. Confused, she thinks, "There's nothing wrong. What does she see?"
Nikita cannot tear her eyes away from Kate, mumbling "I healed all damage."
"Nikita? What's wrong?" Kate asks gently.
Nikita sits up sharply and removes her T-shirt. Kate stares at her confused, "Niki, what are you-"
Kate's question is abruptly cut off, when Nikita rams her t-shirt into Kate's mouth. Nikita pushes her aunt to the ground, casually brushing aside Kate's attempts to fight her off. With tears in her eyes, she rolls Kate onto her stomach and pulls her arms behind her back. She takes a zip tie from Kate's belt and secures it tightly around her struggling aunt's wrists.
Nikita weeps, as she takes two more zip ties from Kate's belt and two fragmentation grenades from her chest. "I am so sorry Kate. I would have loved to get to know you. Everyone thinks you are awesome." She gently cups Kate's cheek and whispers, "I am so sorry, but I can't risk you stopping me."
Kate struggle furiously and shakes her head rapidly, trying to dislodge the cloth in her mouth, as she watches Nikita sprint away from her and the crash site, faster than any human should be able to run.
Kate lays back on the rock and slides her hands past her rump, then pulls her legs between her wrists. "Thought my bum was too big for me to do that." She thinks, reaching up and pulling the t-shirt from her mouth.
She tightens the tie and slams her arms down against her sides, as Steve once showed her and snaps her bonds. She looks in the direction that Nikita ran and thinks better of chasing after her alone. "She has had some kind of break. I need the others."
Shakily, she rises to her feet and staggers light-headed back towards the others.
"Kate!" Louise cries out, seeing her sister approaching with a heavily blooded arm, breaking into a run and drawing glances from everyone in camp.
"I am ok Lou." Kate assures Louise, as she checks her arm. "We have to find Niki."
"What's wrong wi-" Louise stops, in her tracks as soon as she looks away from Kate's arm and into her face, "What the hell happened?" She asks softly.
Kate strokes her cheek again, feeling nothing wrong, "What do you mean?"
"You look twenty." Louise says, in disbelief. "How is that possible?"
"Nikita said, she healed all damage to me. She must have healed the damage caused by aging too." Kate says, stunned before coming back to her senses. "We have to find her, she took two of my grenades and ran like hell."
"You are going no where." Steve barks, before turning to Amy, "Check her over, make sure she is ok."
Amy nods eagerly, seeing that her lovers already muscular and shapely body, appears tighter and firmer. "Of course. Kate do you want to get into the back of the helicopter and strip off. I will be there in a moment."
"Can I help?" Garvey and Collins offer in unison, to a disapproving raised eyebrow from Amy.
Dani and Sasha exchange a glance and nod to each other, "Everyone stay here, we will go." Sasha says, firmly.
"Not without me." Steve says, snatching up his helmet.
"Dad, she is in a bad place right now. The more of us that go, the worse she may react." Dani confirms.
Steve weighs up the options and relents, tossing Dani and Sasha a couple of ear pieces. "Stay safe. Keep in touch."
The sisters nod and turn and run, feeling more than knowing where Nikita is.
Nikita sobs heartily as she tries to catch her breath at the foot of a cliff. Between her sobs, she takes one of the long zip ties and secures it loosely around her chest, before threading the neck of a grenade between the tie andher chest and tightening the tie. Then she takes the other tie and uses it to secure the other grenade to her neck, under her chin.
"No." She says with dismay, sensing the approach of her sisters. She looks about her and soon realises that she is trapped and there is no escape for her. With a feeling of sadness, she sinks to her knees and wails with sorrow.
Sasha rounds the corner first and smile with relief at the first sight of her sister, "Dani, she's here." She cries, beginning to run towards Nikita.
"Don't come any closer." Nikita tearfully screams, threading a thumb into each of the pins of the grenades.
Sasha stops sharply and raises her hands in a calming gesture, "Easy, what's going on Niki?" She speaks softly, with a nervous edge to her voice.
Dani joins Sasha and sees Nikita, "Oh Niki." She says softly, "Don't do this, we can help you. But, you need to talk to us."
"Stay back." Nikita yells, "I swear, I am going to do this."
"Wait." Dani shouts, "We are both in the blast radius. If you pull the pins on those, you will get us too."
Nikita sinks to her knees and begs, "Please, just go."
"Sasha." Dani says, not taking her eyes off of Nikita. "Can you go back to the helicopter and grab a Carbon Dioxide fire extinguisher? It will prevent the detonation of the grenades."
"Really?" Sasha asks, confused.
"Really." Dani asserts firmly.
Nikita watches, as Sasha runs from the cliff base, back towards the helicopter, then turns to Dani, "Why did you lie to her?"
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
Dani begins to walk slowly towards Nikita. "Now I am inside the blast radius." She announces, continuing her advance, "I can see how serious you are. I wanted to spare Sasha the pain of seeing you die, if I can't talk you down."
"Dani, I am begging you please get back. I swear I will do it." Nikita says, in desperation. Dani sees her sisters thumbs start to strain against the pins of the grenades.
"You don't want to kill me." Dani says sympathetically, watching as her sisters resolve, starts to crumble.
"I don't want to be a danger to anyone else." Nikita mumbles.
Dani crouches next to Nikita and slowly reaches out for her, "No." Dani says gently, touching her sisters shoulder. "I am here for you. I know you are closer to Sasha than you are to me, but you mean the world to me and I can't stand by and see you in pain. Let me in. Let me help."
"Kate took me by surprise and made me jump, I lashed out and nearly took her arm off. I healed her and made her young again." Nikita releases the pin of the grenade at her neck and wipes her eyes. "Don't you see? If it gets out I can make people younger, I will never be left alone. I will be hounded for the rest of my days. I will never find peace and will put everyone around me in danger."
"In high doses, PCS can reverse the effects of aging. We saw that with Price when he came back from the dead and Sasha fought him." Dani explains in a gentle tone. "Worst comes to worst, we can blame Kate's transformation on that." She eases Nikita's thumb out of the pin for the grenade on her chest and gently holds her hands, "I would take a lifetime of danger at your side over a single moment where you feel you have to be alone. You are my sister. I am always here for you."
"It's not just that, I can't see what kind of a life I would have anyway. I will be constantly looking over my shoulder. I wont ever be able to fall in love. Every time we kiss or have sex, I will know what he is thinking and if I fall asleep in his arms, I could kill him in my sleep if I have a bad dream, that's if i don't get overcome with emotion during a hug and snap him in two. I had a hope of at least being part of a family, but I have screwed up. I have made such a mess of everything." Nikita says, sadly. "I'm sorry Dani."
"It isn't about the mess you make, it is about how you clear it up." Dani says softly, "Nothing has been broken that can't be fixed. You never have to face anything alone again, Sasha and I will always be here for you."
"Thanks Dani. That means a lot. Especially considering I have been nothing but trouble for you and Sasha since the moment we met." Nikita says, awkwardly.
"When we have taken the field together we have always prevailed. We stole an actual ton of gold, escaped capture and took over a jet, survived a night in the desert and took out a Hind gunship and crew. We rock." Dani says, with a crooked grin. "Speaking of which, are you up to heading back? We are planning what to do about Lund, we need you involved."
Nikita stands unresisting, as Dani gently uses a knife to cut off the zip ties and removes the grenades from her body. Dani smiles gently at Nikita and takes of her jacket and wraps it round her sister shoulders. "Thanks Dani." Nikita says, shrugging her arms into the jacket and zipping it closed.
"Stop punishing yourself. You are an awesome sister, when you don't hold back you are awesome. Let your pain go, babe." Dani says, playfully punching Nikita's arm. "I believe in you. So does Sasha, The only one of us that doesn't is you."
Nikita wordlessly hugs Dani and holds her close, staring into the distance, lost in her thoughts.
"Sasha is coming back and she seems upset." Nikita says, softly.
"What do you mean?" Dani asks, confused.
"Her pulse seems agitated." Nikita shrugs.
"How can her heart rate show she is agitated?" Dani asks, in a doubtful tone.
"I was wrong when I said I could sense heartbeats, I actually sense life pulses, the heart beat is just a part of it." Nikita confesses, sheepishly. "I have worked out a fair bit about my abilities."'
"What the hell Dani?" Sasha yells sprinting around the corner. "The fire extinguisher was bull."
Dani turns bright red and she turns sorrowfully to face her accuser, "I am so sorry Sasha. I didn't want to risk you getting hurt."
Sasha sees the upset on Dani's face and realises that Nikita is no longer wearing grenades, strapped to her body."You should have just told me to bugger off."
"Like you would have listened." Nikita says, with a smile.
Sasha opens her mouth to protest, but then nods, "That's fair."
Dani frowns for a moment, then looks to Nikita, "How does her pulse look now?"
Without thinking Nikita says, "At peace."
"Did I miss something?" Sasha asks, confused.
"I sense a persons life pulse, not just their heartbeat. I can sense when a person is agitated. If I sweep blockages from a persons life pulse, I take their injuries into myself where my body heals them." Nikita explains, as best she can.
Dani stares at her sister with a frown, "Did you do that to me last night? The cut on my head is healed."
Nikita turns red and weakly mumbles, "Yes." She bites her lip and closes her eyes, before speaking again, "There was a lioness, she was charging at the camp. I stopped her and hurt her badly. When I healed her, I was left with an imprint, which, well." She holds up her hands and extends her claws and fangs. "Gave me these."
They begin to walk back to camp and Nikita senses a feeling of unhappiness from Dani. "Is everything ok Dani?"
"It has just struck me that, you have all these powers, Sasha can flawlessly do anything physical without any effort because of the PCS and I am just a mere human." Dani says bitterly.
"That is not true, Dani." Sasha protests.
"The PCS has changed you Sasha. Your life pulse is like a beacon." Nikita scrutinises her closely, "It is like you are bursting with life and perfectly attuned to your body."
"As I said, mere human." Dani says, bitterly.
"It took me getting killed, hundreds of times and Sasha taking a massive overdose of PCS, to realise our potential. You had just under two years in the Royal Navy Police and you are on a par with dad. You can assess a situation and decide on a plan that works in a moment. We might have enhancements, but, you can do so much stuff we can't." Nikita says, nudging Sasha.
"I am not on a par with dad."' Dani says, defensively.
"His words. He respects your abilities a hell of a lot. Same with Sasha." Nikita says, supportively. "When I tasted his blood, I got a strong sense of pride and admiration from him for both of you."
"He never said." Dani says, distantly.
"He trusted you to go after Nikita with me when you found the file and he trusted you to go solo after Nikita after she ran off. Even now, he is happy for you to take charge. He respects you. So do I." Sasha says, warmly.
"Me too." Nikita adds, nudging Dani.
Dani puts her arms around Nikita and Sasha, while they walk. "Thanks guys."
"Have you got a plan for dealing with Lund?" Sasha asks, with a smile.
"Still working on it. There are a lot of variables and not a lot of us, compared to what we face." Dani says grimly, "I am having trouble finding a strategy which doesn't get one of us killed."
"What does dad think?" Sasha asks, taking a sip of water from a canteen and passing it to Dani.
Dani takes the canteen and takes a slow sip, before passing it to Nikita, "We need to hit them hard, neutralise the security detail, take the hotel, secondary site and main building. We can't bomb the barracks as there are regular employees living there."
"Do we?" Nikita asks, "I thought we just want to deal with Lund and shut the place down."
Dani stops walking for a moment and stares into the distance, deep in thought. She nods, whispering, "That could work."
"Have you got something?" Sasha asks, brightly.
"I have been thinking about the site as a whole. But, we only really need to take the main building and suppress the surrounding area." Dani says, thoughtfully.
Nikita follows Sasha and Dani nervously back to the crash site. Steve sprints over as soon as he spots her, she flinches fearfully, watching his approach. He wraps his arms around her and holds her tightly, "Don't ever run off like that again."
"I am so sorry dad. I didn't mean to hurt her." She says, pleadingly.
"It was an accident. She is ok, Amy has checked her over and no harm done." Steve says gently. "Are you alright?"
She nods, with a nervous smile, "Yeah. Just feeling a bit foolish."
"Don't worry. Why don't you go and see Kate, while I have a word with Dani and Sasha." Steve says, warmly, "When this is all done, I would like to have more time with you." He glances fondly at Dani and Sasha, "All of you."
Nikita buries her head in her fathers shoulder and whispers , "I am sorry for all the trouble I have caused. I love you dad."
Nikita takes a deep breath and knocks on the side door to the passenger compartment to the Hind and waits nervously. The door slides open revealing the interior of the craft, showing Kate with her back turned, just putting her t-shirt back on.
Amy gives Nikita a bright smile, as she hops out. Amy throws her arms around her and gives her a hug, "Hi Nikita, I am Amy, nice to meet you."
"Errr, nice to meet you too." Nikita responds, unsure, "Is Kate alright?"
"She is better than alright. I have to run to get ready for the off, but she would like to see you." Amy says, letting Nikita go.
Nikita watches Amy head over to Garvey and Collins, almost afraid to turn and face Kate, after the last time they met. Slowly she turns to see Kate watching her. She doesn't realise that she is holding her breath until Kate speaks warmly, "Hello again. Hop in and shut the door, it is cold out there."
Nikita breathes out slowly, relieved. She climbs into the passenger cabin and closes the door, claiming her place on a bench seat opposite her aunt. "Hi." She says, unable to make eye contact.
Kate gets up and takes a seat next to Nikita, putting her arm around her. "I am sorry, Kate. I didn't mean to hurt you." Nikita says, sheepishly, "Sorry I left you tied up."
"No harm done. In fact, I feel better than I have in years and I was free in less than a minute." Kate confesses.
Nikita smiles up at her aunt, "Sorry."
"Stop apologising, all is well. Amy has checked me out and by the look of it I have the body of a twenty year old. I feel amazing." She says, pulling out a pack of cigarettes, and offering them to Nikita, "Would you like one?"
"Please, I've run out." Nikita says taking one and lighting it.
Kate takes one out and lights it, taking a deep drag and slowly exhaling. She checks the pack seeing it is nearly full and offers them to her niece, "Keep them. I have more."
"Thanks Kate." Nikita says, accepting the pack and slipping it into her pocket.
"It's cool." Kate says pausing and gazing at Nikita. "Can I see them?" She asks with a nervous smile.
An expression of confusion plays across Nikita's features, until she realises what Kate means. She nervously stands and then extends her claws and fangs. Holding out her hands to kate, so she can take a closer look.
Kate leans in closely, to examine her claws. "Wow, they are scary looking, I didn't get a chance to look at them before." She gently pinches the pad of her right index finger, "Can you retract them?"
Nikita shrugs and slowly retracts her claws and fangs, watching as Kate raises her eyebrows. When the claws are away, she leans back and takes a thoughtful draw on her cigarette, "Interesting. When you pulled them in, I didn't feel them enter your finger. Almost like they spontaneously manifest from thin air."
Nikita sits next to Kate and bites her lip, "Um, can I tell you something?"
Kate smiles, gently and nods , "'Of course. You can always tell me anything."
"Every day my abilities grow and change. I am frightened of what I am becoming. I hurt you badly just because you made me jump, but, I could just as easily have killed you. That really scares me. What if I lose my rag and go on a rampage? What if I kill an innocent person?" Nikita asks, in a sad tone.
Kate looks at Nikita sympathetically, "Let me give you some advise. 'What if?' Will take care of itself if it ever comes to pass. Focus on 'What is'. Work out what you can do to minimise risk. Sleep in claw proof mittens, learn meditation. Make a decision and say to yourself, for the next 5 minutes, I will be in control."
"Is it that easy?" Nikita asks, wide eyed.
"You wont know, until you try. We all have your back, you are part of the family." Kate says warmly, "Besides, thanks to you, I have another twenty years to be there for you."
Nikita looks at her aunt, with fresh eyes, "I must say, you look good on it. It is like looking at Dani."
"Why, thank you. Dani has a smaller bum than me and I have a slightly larger mouth, though." Kate says, finishing her cigarette.
"How does Amy feel about dating a younger woman?" Nikita asks, with a cheeky smile.
Kate laughs out loud, "She says it will be a bit odd to till she gets used to it, but is looking forward to putting me through my paces."
Nikita stares into the distance for a moment, deep in thought, before she turns to Kate, "If she wants, I can do it to her too. So you can be young together."
Kate sits open mouthed and leans forward, "You would do that?"
Nikita gives a gentle smile and nods, leaving Kate speechless.
"That is bold." Steve says, thoughtfully, considering Dani's plan.
Mike rubs his scalp, slowly exhaling, "So I infiltrate the secondary location and use the cable car to get up to the plateau, they get into the main building and take control of the security office and lock the building down."
Dani nods, quietly, "We need to have the door open for us and close it for them."
Collins speaks up, "Once the building is locked down, we come in hot and drop everyone on the roof, then circle back and circle back around and suppress the barracks in the Hind."
"Steve and I take up position on the roof with the Dragunov's with Amy and Lou acting as spotters, covering the wider site. Also we are in place to support the strike team." Kate says, cleaning her rifle.
"Sasha, Nikita and I enter the building, via the roof access door, we storm Lund's office and deal with him first, then we sweep the building." Dani says, calmly.
"Will hold position in security office and guide you around the building and control the sites automated defences." Mike confirms.
"Then we evac to the roof and Collins and Garvey get us out of there." Dani concludes, "Not the greatest plan, but, workable at least."
"What could possibly go wrong?" Nikita says with a smile.
"Dani, I am begging you please get back. I swear I will do it." Nikita says, in desperation. Dani sees her sisters thumbs start to strain against the pins of the grenades.
"You don't want to kill me." Dani says sympathetically, watching as her sisters resolve, starts to crumble.
"I don't want to be a danger to anyone else." Nikita mumbles.
Dani crouches next to Nikita and slowly reaches out for her, "No." Dani says gently, touching her sisters shoulder. "I am here for you. I know you are closer to Sasha than you are to me, but you mean the world to me and I can't stand by and see you in pain. Let me in. Let me help."
"Kate took me by surprise and made me jump, I lashed out and nearly took her arm off. I healed her and made her young again." Nikita releases the pin of the grenade at her neck and wipes her eyes. "Don't you see? If it gets out I can make people younger, I will never be left alone. I will be hounded for the rest of my days. I will never find peace and will put everyone around me in danger."
"In high doses, PCS can reverse the effects of aging. We saw that with Price when he came back from the dead and Sasha fought him." Dani explains in a gentle tone. "Worst comes to worst, we can blame Kate's transformation on that." She eases Nikita's thumb out of the pin for the grenade on her chest and gently holds her hands, "I would take a lifetime of danger at your side over a single moment where you feel you have to be alone. You are my sister. I am always here for you."
"It's not just that, I can't see what kind of a life I would have anyway. I will be constantly looking over my shoulder. I wont ever be able to fall in love. Every time we kiss or have sex, I will know what he is thinking and if I fall asleep in his arms, I could kill him in my sleep if I have a bad dream, that's if i don't get overcome with emotion during a hug and snap him in two. I had a hope of at least being part of a family, but I have screwed up. I have made such a mess of everything." Nikita says, sadly. "I'm sorry Dani."
"It isn't about the mess you make, it is about how you clear it up." Dani says softly, "Nothing has been broken that can't be fixed. You never have to face anything alone again, Sasha and I will always be here for you."
"Thanks Dani. That means a lot. Especially considering I have been nothing but trouble for you and Sasha since the moment we met." Nikita says, awkwardly.
"When we have taken the field together we have always prevailed. We stole an actual ton of gold, escaped capture and took over a jet, survived a night in the desert and took out a Hind gunship and crew. We rock." Dani says, with a crooked grin. "Speaking of which, are you up to heading back? We are planning what to do about Lund, we need you involved."
Nikita stands unresisting, as Dani gently uses a knife to cut off the zip ties and removes the grenades from her body. Dani smiles gently at Nikita and takes of her jacket and wraps it round her sister shoulders. "Thanks Dani." Nikita says, shrugging her arms into the jacket and zipping it closed.
"Stop punishing yourself. You are an awesome sister, when you don't hold back you are awesome. Let your pain go, babe." Dani says, playfully punching Nikita's arm. "I believe in you. So does Sasha, The only one of us that doesn't is you."
Nikita wordlessly hugs Dani and holds her close, staring into the distance, lost in her thoughts.
"Sasha is coming back and she seems upset." Nikita says, softly.
"What do you mean?" Dani asks, confused.
"Her pulse seems agitated." Nikita shrugs.
"How can her heart rate show she is agitated?" Dani asks, in a doubtful tone.
"I was wrong when I said I could sense heartbeats, I actually sense life pulses, the heart beat is just a part of it." Nikita confesses, sheepishly. "I have worked out a fair bit about my abilities."'
"What the hell Dani?" Sasha yells sprinting around the corner. "The fire extinguisher was bull."
Dani turns bright red and she turns sorrowfully to face her accuser, "I am so sorry Sasha. I didn't want to risk you getting hurt."
Sasha sees the upset on Dani's face and realises that Nikita is no longer wearing grenades, strapped to her body."You should have just told me to bugger off."
"Like you would have listened." Nikita says, with a smile.
Sasha opens her mouth to protest, but then nods, "That's fair."
Dani frowns for a moment, then looks to Nikita, "How does her pulse look now?"
Without thinking Nikita says, "At peace."
"Did I miss something?" Sasha asks, confused.
"I sense a persons life pulse, not just their heartbeat. I can sense when a person is agitated. If I sweep blockages from a persons life pulse, I take their injuries into myself where my body heals them." Nikita explains, as best she can.
Dani stares at her sister with a frown, "Did you do that to me last night? The cut on my head is healed."
Nikita turns red and weakly mumbles, "Yes." She bites her lip and closes her eyes, before speaking again, "There was a lioness, she was charging at the camp. I stopped her and hurt her badly. When I healed her, I was left with an imprint, which, well." She holds up her hands and extends her claws and fangs. "Gave me these."
They begin to walk back to camp and Nikita senses a feeling of unhappiness from Dani. "Is everything ok Dani?"
"It has just struck me that, you have all these powers, Sasha can flawlessly do anything physical without any effort because of the PCS and I am just a mere human." Dani says bitterly.
"That is not true, Dani." Sasha protests.
"The PCS has changed you Sasha. Your life pulse is like a beacon." Nikita scrutinises her closely, "It is like you are bursting with life and perfectly attuned to your body."
"As I said, mere human." Dani says, bitterly.
"It took me getting killed, hundreds of times and Sasha taking a massive overdose of PCS, to realise our potential. You had just under two years in the Royal Navy Police and you are on a par with dad. You can assess a situation and decide on a plan that works in a moment. We might have enhancements, but, you can do so much stuff we can't." Nikita says, nudging Sasha.
"I am not on a par with dad."' Dani says, defensively.
"His words. He respects your abilities a hell of a lot. Same with Sasha." Nikita says, supportively. "When I tasted his blood, I got a strong sense of pride and admiration from him for both of you."
"He never said." Dani says, distantly.
"He trusted you to go after Nikita with me when you found the file and he trusted you to go solo after Nikita after she ran off. Even now, he is happy for you to take charge. He respects you. So do I." Sasha says, warmly.
"Me too." Nikita adds, nudging Dani.
Dani puts her arms around Nikita and Sasha, while they walk. "Thanks guys."
"Have you got a plan for dealing with Lund?" Sasha asks, with a smile.
"Still working on it. There are a lot of variables and not a lot of us, compared to what we face." Dani says grimly, "I am having trouble finding a strategy which doesn't get one of us killed."
"What does dad think?" Sasha asks, taking a sip of water from a canteen and passing it to Dani.
Dani takes the canteen and takes a slow sip, before passing it to Nikita, "We need to hit them hard, neutralise the security detail, take the hotel, secondary site and main building. We can't bomb the barracks as there are regular employees living there."
"Do we?" Nikita asks, "I thought we just want to deal with Lund and shut the place down."
Dani stops walking for a moment and stares into the distance, deep in thought. She nods, whispering, "That could work."
"Have you got something?" Sasha asks, brightly.
"I have been thinking about the site as a whole. But, we only really need to take the main building and suppress the surrounding area." Dani says, thoughtfully.
Nikita follows Sasha and Dani nervously back to the crash site. Steve sprints over as soon as he spots her, she flinches fearfully, watching his approach. He wraps his arms around her and holds her tightly, "Don't ever run off like that again."
"I am so sorry dad. I didn't mean to hurt her." She says, pleadingly.
"It was an accident. She is ok, Amy has checked her over and no harm done." Steve says gently. "Are you alright?"
She nods, with a nervous smile, "Yeah. Just feeling a bit foolish."
"Don't worry. Why don't you go and see Kate, while I have a word with Dani and Sasha." Steve says, warmly, "When this is all done, I would like to have more time with you." He glances fondly at Dani and Sasha, "All of you."
Nikita buries her head in her fathers shoulder and whispers , "I am sorry for all the trouble I have caused. I love you dad."
Nikita takes a deep breath and knocks on the side door to the passenger compartment to the Hind and waits nervously. The door slides open revealing the interior of the craft, showing Kate with her back turned, just putting her t-shirt back on.
Amy gives Nikita a bright smile, as she hops out. Amy throws her arms around her and gives her a hug, "Hi Nikita, I am Amy, nice to meet you."
"Errr, nice to meet you too." Nikita responds, unsure, "Is Kate alright?"
"She is better than alright. I have to run to get ready for the off, but she would like to see you." Amy says, letting Nikita go.
Nikita watches Amy head over to Garvey and Collins, almost afraid to turn and face Kate, after the last time they met. Slowly she turns to see Kate watching her. She doesn't realise that she is holding her breath until Kate speaks warmly, "Hello again. Hop in and shut the door, it is cold out there."
Nikita breathes out slowly, relieved. She climbs into the passenger cabin and closes the door, claiming her place on a bench seat opposite her aunt. "Hi." She says, unable to make eye contact.
Kate gets up and takes a seat next to Nikita, putting her arm around her. "I am sorry, Kate. I didn't mean to hurt you." Nikita says, sheepishly, "Sorry I left you tied up."
"No harm done. In fact, I feel better than I have in years and I was free in less than a minute." Kate confesses.
Nikita smiles up at her aunt, "Sorry."
"Stop apologising, all is well. Amy has checked me out and by the look of it I have the body of a twenty year old. I feel amazing." She says, pulling out a pack of cigarettes, and offering them to Nikita, "Would you like one?"
"Please, I've run out." Nikita says taking one and lighting it.
Kate takes one out and lights it, taking a deep drag and slowly exhaling. She checks the pack seeing it is nearly full and offers them to her niece, "Keep them. I have more."
"Thanks Kate." Nikita says, accepting the pack and slipping it into her pocket.
"It's cool." Kate says pausing and gazing at Nikita. "Can I see them?" She asks with a nervous smile.
An expression of confusion plays across Nikita's features, until she realises what Kate means. She nervously stands and then extends her claws and fangs. Holding out her hands to kate, so she can take a closer look.
Kate leans in closely, to examine her claws. "Wow, they are scary looking, I didn't get a chance to look at them before." She gently pinches the pad of her right index finger, "Can you retract them?"
Nikita shrugs and slowly retracts her claws and fangs, watching as Kate raises her eyebrows. When the claws are away, she leans back and takes a thoughtful draw on her cigarette, "Interesting. When you pulled them in, I didn't feel them enter your finger. Almost like they spontaneously manifest from thin air."
Nikita sits next to Kate and bites her lip, "Um, can I tell you something?"
Kate smiles, gently and nods , "'Of course. You can always tell me anything."
"Every day my abilities grow and change. I am frightened of what I am becoming. I hurt you badly just because you made me jump, but, I could just as easily have killed you. That really scares me. What if I lose my rag and go on a rampage? What if I kill an innocent person?" Nikita asks, in a sad tone.
Kate looks at Nikita sympathetically, "Let me give you some advise. 'What if?' Will take care of itself if it ever comes to pass. Focus on 'What is'. Work out what you can do to minimise risk. Sleep in claw proof mittens, learn meditation. Make a decision and say to yourself, for the next 5 minutes, I will be in control."
"Is it that easy?" Nikita asks, wide eyed.
"You wont know, until you try. We all have your back, you are part of the family." Kate says warmly, "Besides, thanks to you, I have another twenty years to be there for you."
Nikita looks at her aunt, with fresh eyes, "I must say, you look good on it. It is like looking at Dani."
"Why, thank you. Dani has a smaller bum than me and I have a slightly larger mouth, though." Kate says, finishing her cigarette.
"How does Amy feel about dating a younger woman?" Nikita asks, with a cheeky smile.
Kate laughs out loud, "She says it will be a bit odd to till she gets used to it, but is looking forward to putting me through my paces."
Nikita stares into the distance for a moment, deep in thought, before she turns to Kate, "If she wants, I can do it to her too. So you can be young together."
Kate sits open mouthed and leans forward, "You would do that?"
Nikita gives a gentle smile and nods, leaving Kate speechless.
"That is bold." Steve says, thoughtfully, considering Dani's plan.
Mike rubs his scalp, slowly exhaling, "So I infiltrate the secondary location and use the cable car to get up to the plateau, they get into the main building and take control of the security office and lock the building down."
Dani nods, quietly, "We need to have the door open for us and close it for them."
Collins speaks up, "Once the building is locked down, we come in hot and drop everyone on the roof, then circle back and circle back around and suppress the barracks in the Hind."
"Steve and I take up position on the roof with the Dragunov's with Amy and Lou acting as spotters, covering the wider site. Also we are in place to support the strike team." Kate says, cleaning her rifle.
"Sasha, Nikita and I enter the building, via the roof access door, we storm Lund's office and deal with him first, then we sweep the building." Dani says, calmly.
"Will hold position in security office and guide you around the building and control the sites automated defences." Mike confirms.
"Then we evac to the roof and Collins and Garvey get us out of there." Dani concludes, "Not the greatest plan, but, workable at least."
"What could possibly go wrong?" Nikita says with a smile.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
Something stirs in the hot dry air of the savannah. The clatter of an old diesel engine, more rust than metal but stilll running fifty years after it was built, cuts through the still air. The dusty bodywork and filthy windows of the only bus for sixty miles, has a matt glow as it rattles towards the building at the base of the plateau.
The overloaded bus from the local villages pulls up in a cloud of dust at the foot of the plateau. The passengers climb down one by one from the exits, dreesed in business suits and bright robes by turns. The security guards busy themselves checking papers of the other arrivals, unaware that one passenger has already slipped into the building, behind them.
The attendent for the cable car notices a slight breeze, when he loads the mail onto the car. He rides the car up in silence, staring out of the window. "Despite all the terrible things that have been doneby these people, it cannot distract from the beauty of this place." He thinks to himself, marvelling at the brushland laying itself out before him.
He brings the cable car to a halt at the station in the hotel and presses the button for the door. He feels a slight breeze, when he bends to pick up one of the bags and stands turning to face the empty doorway, he kisses his teeth and bitterly speaks to himself, "Lazy bastards, I am tired of doing this all by myself every day, while they drink coffee in the lobby."
Adewale finishes loading the last trailer with a selection of sandwiches and pots of coffee and closes the lid on the cargo compartment. "Not a bad life, take food from here, take it over there and come back for more until your shift is done. I don't like these people, but I will take their money." He thinks getting behind the wheel of the over-sized golf cart and sticking it into drive.
The vehicle sluggishly pulls away and he slaps the steering wheel, cursing, "'Piece of shit, I loaded one extra tray and you are crawling like we are hauling an extra trailer of food." He mutters profanities under his breath must faster than the vehicle moves. He pulls into the loading area for the main facility with a sigh, "At last."
He swings his legs off of the cart and disembarks, looking with dismay at one of the trainer hatches which appears to have popped open on the way over. His face is flushed with relief when he sees that the trailer was empty and no food has been damaged.
Ojong slaps the side of his neck, dispatching the thirteenth mosquito of the day, and looks up to see Adewale unloading the lunch carts. He smiles, and walks over to greet his friend resting his hand on the gun at his hip, like a western gunslinger. As they shake hands, he fails to hear the sound of the door he was guarding, click closed.
The monitors in the security office line the north wall in an impressive array, every corridor, every room, every entrance, shown in glorious detail. Andrew nods to himself from behind the command desk that controls the autonomous elements of their security operation. "Nothing out of the ordinary, given this mornings annoucement, I was expecting trouble, but all seems well." He thinks, rubbing his chin.
A soft knock at the door disturbs him from his reverie. He checks his watch, "Five minutes early, for a change." He remarks rising from his seat and crossing the room. The door monitor confirms the identity of the knocker, inviting a smile from Andrew as he straightens his hair and opens the door. "Hello Angelica." He says, undressing the young black woman with his eyes.
"Y-your coffee sir." She says nervously, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"Come now, my dear, surely we are on first name terms, by now. Wont you come in?" He says stepping into the corridor slightly and gesturing for her to enter.
"I am not allowed to do that, I have duties." The young woman says, fearfully, under no illusions, as to the fate of the last girl to enter the security office, with this white bastard.
"One day, I will ask you and you wont have an excuse, dear." Andrew says, with a voice dripping with oil, "Then we shall see." He places a hand on her shoulder, and leans in close to kiss her.
She twists from under his hand and runs back towards the elevator, not looking back when he shouts, "See you tomorrow, dear." She presses the button in the lift frantically watching him stand in the doorway, praying he does not follow.
He closes the door to the office and sips his coffee, satisfied. "That body and she makes coffee this good, I am going to have her." He settles in his chair and takes a long gulp of fresh coffee, "This is delicious, I will have to ask for her to use almond essence again."
Angelica leaves the elevator at a sprint and decides that she will not stop running until she gets home.
Once Andrew finishes choking and falls still and silent, Mike steps out from behind him and crosses the room to lock and bolt the door. He dumps Andrew onto the floor and takes his seat. He clicks his neck to one side and smiles to himself, "Almost like the old days, with me flying a desk and Steve in the field."
His fingers dance across the controls for the security system and he smiles to himself, before pressing execute. Across the plateau, every door and window closes and locks, trapping the employees wherever they are at that moment. He accesses the sites records and erases everyone's log on details and ID records.
Mike keys his headset and speaks softly, "Security chief neutralised and systems co-opted. Site is now on lock down. Be advised, sub basement three has no cameras or security systems controlled from this office. Over"
"Roger that. Over." Steve responds, from the back of the Hind.
He reaches through to the pilot's cockpit and taps Collins on the shoulder. Collins smiles and throttles up the large bird and dips it's nose, sending it surging forward. "Can we get one of these?" He asks, chuckling to himself over comms. The Hind swoops low over the savannah no more than twenty feet off of the ground at over two hundred miles an hour, weapons glinting through the dust cloud surrounding it, like an armoured locust in a shroud of sepia toned lace.
"Yeah sure, wont look dodgy landing at the Chateau at all." Louise calls back.
"Hell it wouldn't be the strangest thing that has ever been seen there." Sasha chips in, prompting a giggle from all those seated in the back.
Nikita looks around her at the professional soldiers sat around her, dressed in body armour and desert fatigues, each wearing the face of a family member or new friend and looks down at herself. "This is mad. I am not a soldier. Why am I doing this?" She thinks, trying not to panic, before a soft voice to her left whispers, "It's ok, this will be over soon." She turns to Dani and smiles, subtly holding her hand, as if to gain her strength.
Dani keys her headset, nervously and speaks, trying to keep her voice even, "Ok everyone, we are approaching target and we will be coming in hot. Once we are on the rook, lets have a clean decamp. As soon as the last boots are on the ground, this bird will be wheels up and providing aerial overwatch. We have nominal control of the site and aerial superiority of this area, however, the local army has a base less than a hundred miles away, they have assault choppers and are not afraid to use them. We can to be in, out and on our way, before they realise that we were ever here."
The Hind swoops low and fast over the plain. Collins pulls up smoothly on the approach to the Plateau. He observes that the glass and steel buildings on its summit, shimmer in the sun, giving the plateau the appearance of a weather faded copper crown adorned with unevens spaced and sized diamonds.
He brings the helicopter to a dead stop over the main building and gently plants its, wheels on the gravel covered roof. The down draft from the rotors, sending stones spraying in all directions. The doors slide open sharply and Steve and Kate drop out of the left and right sides of the craft respoectively. Closely followed by Louise and Amy. There is no pomp and ceremony as they decamp. They move, in silent unison as if they have rehearsed a thousand times. Steve and Louise take the corner and Kate and Amy take the east and settle in position, as Dani, Sasha and Nikita spring from the craft.
With a surge from the rotors, the Hind soars skywards and begind orbitting the plateau, weapons constantly oriented towards the barracks and out buildings.
Dani nods to Sasha and Nikita and leads the way towards the roof access door. She takes her position at the left of the door with her sub-machine gun at the ready, courtesy of the Hind's original crew. Sasha takes position to the right of the door, tranq gun in hand, whilst an unarmed Nikita stands, ready before the door.
Nikita takes a nervous breath and glances at Dani hoping for reassurance. Dani nods and winks to her sister, whispering, "You have got this." Nikita nods back and slams a foot into the door.
The frame splinters on the leading edge and the door flies inwards. Dani sweeps in low, AKS74-U raised and ready, eyes constantly sweeping the walls floor and ceiling. With cautious vigilance, she descends the stairs, alert and ready for anything. Sasha follows six paces behind her, watching the floor and her sisters legs closely, for signs of trip wires or pressure plates. Nikita brings up the rear, looking ahead, unsure of what she should be doing. She closes her eyes for a moment, feeling the pulses of all those around her and breathing nervously, thinking to herself, "There has to be at least three hundred people on this plateau."
Dani pauses at the bottom of the first flight of stairs, by the door to the top floor. Sasha takes the handle to the door and waits Dani's signal.
"Strike team I have eyes on you. You are free and clear to proceed." Mike says, over comms.
Dani nods and Sasha opens the door silently. Dani leads the way, stepping through the doorway and pausing for a moment. She hears the low burble of indistinct conversation, from the occupants of the floor. She silently, proceeds and rounds the corner. Sasha and Nikita follow, with equal silence, both focused. Dani emerges into a corridor of glass walled offices. She braces herself and begins to glide along the left side of the corridor, sweeping past locked offices with workers trapped inside. The flourescent lights overhead, lending a sharp cast to the sparsely furnished corridor, in contrast to the busy offices vieweed through smoky glass. She is alert for signs of any weapons, among the workers, but is pleasantly surprised when none are drawn.
"Strike team, be advised, Lund's office is the last office on your left, on your current course. Over" Mike confirms, over comms. "I do not have control over the lock for that door, over."
"Roger that. over" Dani says, maintaining her cautious approach, closing fast on the office door.
Dani stalks along the glass wall of Lund's office, glancing inside to see the smug doctor, slowly rise from his seat. She tries the door to the office to confirm that it is locked. She signals Dani and Sasha to hold back for a moment and raises her sub-machine gun.
The burst from her weapon cuts through the low level noise from those trapped in their offices, drawing cries of panic from some and shouts of dismay from others. Dani stares at the glass wall with disdain, cursing the cloudy marks her weapon left on the wall, without cracking it. She signals for Nikita to open the door and holds her weapon ready, as her sister approaches.
Dani locks eyes with Lund, watching him, press the button for the private elevator in his office. Nikita braces herself and charges at the door, striking it with a thump and recoiling back.
Lund steps into the lift and waves, as the door closes. Nikita thumps hard into the door without success and grunts in frustration. She extends her claws and scrapes them along one of the glass walls before punching through the glass, into his now unoccupied office.
Dani, Sasha and Nikita enter, through the shattered wall and silently glower at the doors to the elevator. Dani thinks to herself, "I knew it was too easy.''
The overloaded bus from the local villages pulls up in a cloud of dust at the foot of the plateau. The passengers climb down one by one from the exits, dreesed in business suits and bright robes by turns. The security guards busy themselves checking papers of the other arrivals, unaware that one passenger has already slipped into the building, behind them.
The attendent for the cable car notices a slight breeze, when he loads the mail onto the car. He rides the car up in silence, staring out of the window. "Despite all the terrible things that have been doneby these people, it cannot distract from the beauty of this place." He thinks to himself, marvelling at the brushland laying itself out before him.
He brings the cable car to a halt at the station in the hotel and presses the button for the door. He feels a slight breeze, when he bends to pick up one of the bags and stands turning to face the empty doorway, he kisses his teeth and bitterly speaks to himself, "Lazy bastards, I am tired of doing this all by myself every day, while they drink coffee in the lobby."
Adewale finishes loading the last trailer with a selection of sandwiches and pots of coffee and closes the lid on the cargo compartment. "Not a bad life, take food from here, take it over there and come back for more until your shift is done. I don't like these people, but I will take their money." He thinks getting behind the wheel of the over-sized golf cart and sticking it into drive.
The vehicle sluggishly pulls away and he slaps the steering wheel, cursing, "'Piece of shit, I loaded one extra tray and you are crawling like we are hauling an extra trailer of food." He mutters profanities under his breath must faster than the vehicle moves. He pulls into the loading area for the main facility with a sigh, "At last."
He swings his legs off of the cart and disembarks, looking with dismay at one of the trainer hatches which appears to have popped open on the way over. His face is flushed with relief when he sees that the trailer was empty and no food has been damaged.
Ojong slaps the side of his neck, dispatching the thirteenth mosquito of the day, and looks up to see Adewale unloading the lunch carts. He smiles, and walks over to greet his friend resting his hand on the gun at his hip, like a western gunslinger. As they shake hands, he fails to hear the sound of the door he was guarding, click closed.
The monitors in the security office line the north wall in an impressive array, every corridor, every room, every entrance, shown in glorious detail. Andrew nods to himself from behind the command desk that controls the autonomous elements of their security operation. "Nothing out of the ordinary, given this mornings annoucement, I was expecting trouble, but all seems well." He thinks, rubbing his chin.
A soft knock at the door disturbs him from his reverie. He checks his watch, "Five minutes early, for a change." He remarks rising from his seat and crossing the room. The door monitor confirms the identity of the knocker, inviting a smile from Andrew as he straightens his hair and opens the door. "Hello Angelica." He says, undressing the young black woman with his eyes.
"Y-your coffee sir." She says nervously, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"Come now, my dear, surely we are on first name terms, by now. Wont you come in?" He says stepping into the corridor slightly and gesturing for her to enter.
"I am not allowed to do that, I have duties." The young woman says, fearfully, under no illusions, as to the fate of the last girl to enter the security office, with this white bastard.
"One day, I will ask you and you wont have an excuse, dear." Andrew says, with a voice dripping with oil, "Then we shall see." He places a hand on her shoulder, and leans in close to kiss her.
She twists from under his hand and runs back towards the elevator, not looking back when he shouts, "See you tomorrow, dear." She presses the button in the lift frantically watching him stand in the doorway, praying he does not follow.
He closes the door to the office and sips his coffee, satisfied. "That body and she makes coffee this good, I am going to have her." He settles in his chair and takes a long gulp of fresh coffee, "This is delicious, I will have to ask for her to use almond essence again."
Angelica leaves the elevator at a sprint and decides that she will not stop running until she gets home.
Once Andrew finishes choking and falls still and silent, Mike steps out from behind him and crosses the room to lock and bolt the door. He dumps Andrew onto the floor and takes his seat. He clicks his neck to one side and smiles to himself, "Almost like the old days, with me flying a desk and Steve in the field."
His fingers dance across the controls for the security system and he smiles to himself, before pressing execute. Across the plateau, every door and window closes and locks, trapping the employees wherever they are at that moment. He accesses the sites records and erases everyone's log on details and ID records.
Mike keys his headset and speaks softly, "Security chief neutralised and systems co-opted. Site is now on lock down. Be advised, sub basement three has no cameras or security systems controlled from this office. Over"
"Roger that. Over." Steve responds, from the back of the Hind.
He reaches through to the pilot's cockpit and taps Collins on the shoulder. Collins smiles and throttles up the large bird and dips it's nose, sending it surging forward. "Can we get one of these?" He asks, chuckling to himself over comms. The Hind swoops low over the savannah no more than twenty feet off of the ground at over two hundred miles an hour, weapons glinting through the dust cloud surrounding it, like an armoured locust in a shroud of sepia toned lace.
"Yeah sure, wont look dodgy landing at the Chateau at all." Louise calls back.
"Hell it wouldn't be the strangest thing that has ever been seen there." Sasha chips in, prompting a giggle from all those seated in the back.
Nikita looks around her at the professional soldiers sat around her, dressed in body armour and desert fatigues, each wearing the face of a family member or new friend and looks down at herself. "This is mad. I am not a soldier. Why am I doing this?" She thinks, trying not to panic, before a soft voice to her left whispers, "It's ok, this will be over soon." She turns to Dani and smiles, subtly holding her hand, as if to gain her strength.
Dani keys her headset, nervously and speaks, trying to keep her voice even, "Ok everyone, we are approaching target and we will be coming in hot. Once we are on the rook, lets have a clean decamp. As soon as the last boots are on the ground, this bird will be wheels up and providing aerial overwatch. We have nominal control of the site and aerial superiority of this area, however, the local army has a base less than a hundred miles away, they have assault choppers and are not afraid to use them. We can to be in, out and on our way, before they realise that we were ever here."
The Hind swoops low and fast over the plain. Collins pulls up smoothly on the approach to the Plateau. He observes that the glass and steel buildings on its summit, shimmer in the sun, giving the plateau the appearance of a weather faded copper crown adorned with unevens spaced and sized diamonds.
He brings the helicopter to a dead stop over the main building and gently plants its, wheels on the gravel covered roof. The down draft from the rotors, sending stones spraying in all directions. The doors slide open sharply and Steve and Kate drop out of the left and right sides of the craft respoectively. Closely followed by Louise and Amy. There is no pomp and ceremony as they decamp. They move, in silent unison as if they have rehearsed a thousand times. Steve and Louise take the corner and Kate and Amy take the east and settle in position, as Dani, Sasha and Nikita spring from the craft.
With a surge from the rotors, the Hind soars skywards and begind orbitting the plateau, weapons constantly oriented towards the barracks and out buildings.
Dani nods to Sasha and Nikita and leads the way towards the roof access door. She takes her position at the left of the door with her sub-machine gun at the ready, courtesy of the Hind's original crew. Sasha takes position to the right of the door, tranq gun in hand, whilst an unarmed Nikita stands, ready before the door.
Nikita takes a nervous breath and glances at Dani hoping for reassurance. Dani nods and winks to her sister, whispering, "You have got this." Nikita nods back and slams a foot into the door.
The frame splinters on the leading edge and the door flies inwards. Dani sweeps in low, AKS74-U raised and ready, eyes constantly sweeping the walls floor and ceiling. With cautious vigilance, she descends the stairs, alert and ready for anything. Sasha follows six paces behind her, watching the floor and her sisters legs closely, for signs of trip wires or pressure plates. Nikita brings up the rear, looking ahead, unsure of what she should be doing. She closes her eyes for a moment, feeling the pulses of all those around her and breathing nervously, thinking to herself, "There has to be at least three hundred people on this plateau."
Dani pauses at the bottom of the first flight of stairs, by the door to the top floor. Sasha takes the handle to the door and waits Dani's signal.
"Strike team I have eyes on you. You are free and clear to proceed." Mike says, over comms.
Dani nods and Sasha opens the door silently. Dani leads the way, stepping through the doorway and pausing for a moment. She hears the low burble of indistinct conversation, from the occupants of the floor. She silently, proceeds and rounds the corner. Sasha and Nikita follow, with equal silence, both focused. Dani emerges into a corridor of glass walled offices. She braces herself and begins to glide along the left side of the corridor, sweeping past locked offices with workers trapped inside. The flourescent lights overhead, lending a sharp cast to the sparsely furnished corridor, in contrast to the busy offices vieweed through smoky glass. She is alert for signs of any weapons, among the workers, but is pleasantly surprised when none are drawn.
"Strike team, be advised, Lund's office is the last office on your left, on your current course. Over" Mike confirms, over comms. "I do not have control over the lock for that door, over."
"Roger that. over" Dani says, maintaining her cautious approach, closing fast on the office door.
Dani stalks along the glass wall of Lund's office, glancing inside to see the smug doctor, slowly rise from his seat. She tries the door to the office to confirm that it is locked. She signals Dani and Sasha to hold back for a moment and raises her sub-machine gun.
The burst from her weapon cuts through the low level noise from those trapped in their offices, drawing cries of panic from some and shouts of dismay from others. Dani stares at the glass wall with disdain, cursing the cloudy marks her weapon left on the wall, without cracking it. She signals for Nikita to open the door and holds her weapon ready, as her sister approaches.
Dani locks eyes with Lund, watching him, press the button for the private elevator in his office. Nikita braces herself and charges at the door, striking it with a thump and recoiling back.
Lund steps into the lift and waves, as the door closes. Nikita thumps hard into the door without success and grunts in frustration. She extends her claws and scrapes them along one of the glass walls before punching through the glass, into his now unoccupied office.
Dani, Sasha and Nikita enter, through the shattered wall and silently glower at the doors to the elevator. Dani thinks to herself, "I knew it was too easy.''
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
"Angel, be advised that elevator does not go to any of the floors or sub basements, that I can see. Over." Mike confirms, double checking all the monitor feeds.
"Roger that. Over." Dani says, pressing the call button for the elevator for the fifth time.
"He must have locked the lift, or jammed the doors open, so we can't call it." Dani says, looking at Nikita, "Do you think you could open these doors?" She asks, hopefully.
Nikita bites her lip and extends her claws, "I can try." She says stepping forward. She jams her claws into each of the doors and flexes. Slowly, the doors begin to move apart, until she overcomes the resistance of the door mechanism and they slide easily open. Dani takes two stilettos and jams them into the channels that the door travel along, pinning the doors open.
Sasha shrugs off her small backpack and pulls out a coil of climbing line, she lashes one end to one of the sturdy looking stone support beams, carved with images of a strand of DNA. She passes the coil to Dani who tosses it into the lift shaft.
Nikita looks nervously at the line and glances at Dani, Sasha places a hand on her arm and softly assures her, "Don't worry Niki. We will get you down and up safely."
Neither of them notice Dani staring down the lift shaft. She thinks to herself, "This doesn't feel right. My gut is telling me to pull everyone back and get out of here. Lund was too calm, too relaxed, given that armed intruders have entered the building and locked it down."
Sasha wraps a rope around Nikita's waist and each upper thigh, with an added loop at her waist. Sasha tests the rig and nods to herself. "How does it feel?" Sasha asks, double checking the knots, vaguely recalling that her climbing instructor called this a gunslinger harness, due to the way it wraps the waist and hips, like a cowboys gun belt.
"Feels good, not too tight." Nikita says with a nervous smile.
"Cool, we need to get moving. Nikita can you go first and once you get to the bottom, turn on a torch? Then I will follow. If there are any problems, you got the rescue duty Sasha." Dani says, calmly. Nikita and Sasha exchange a nervous glance and nod, stepping aside allowing Dani to secure the rope for Nikita's descent. "Once we get down there, we probably wont be able to contact every one else. It will be just us."
"Damn this is dark, seems to be getting colder, the deeper it goes." Nikita thinks, before looking up at the postage stamp sized patch of light above her, "Can't be much farther now."
Dani and Sasha, take the strain, slowly lowering their sister into the shaft, both women are swaeting from the effort and the veins on their arms bulge from lowering someone who weighs almost twice their combined weight, over a hundred metres.
Nikita feels a sense of disquiet growing within her, the deeper she descends, "He is alone down there, but something feels off."
Nikita tugs twice on the rope when she is at the bottom and disconnects the line from her rope harness. She plces a hand on the wall, feeling dizzy "Something's wrong. Something bad is here."
Dani threads the line through her harness and steps into darkness, rapidly feeding the rope as she rappells down the shaft. She looks below her and frowns, "Nikita, should have put a light on by now." She pauses her descent, using one hand to hold the rope and the other to take an LED from her belt and drop it into the shaft. The small beacon drops twenty metres before coming to rest on the roof of the elevator, illuminating the form of her sister, sat hugging her knees and rocking back and forth.
Dani drops quickly, descending as quickly as possible to land by her sister, she pulls the line from her harness and tugs it twice, before sitting next to Nikita and putting an arm around her shoulder.
Nikita looks fearfully at her sister and is breathing rapidly, sending plumes of her steaming breath into the cold air.
"Hey, it's ok. I am here. What's wrong babe?" Dani asks her trembling sister.
"Something bad is here, don't you feel it?" Nikita says, barely above a whisper.
"What do you feel?" Dani asks, knowing what her sister means, thinking, "She is right, something is not right here."
"Lund is here and he is alone, but there are traces of something else." Nikita says, with trembling lips. She looks into Dani's eyes and tries not to cry, mumbling, "I'm scared."
"Niki, listen to me." Dani says gently, "You are one of the strongest most capable people, I know. The things you have faced and overcome in the past would have broken most people." Dani pauses, hugging her sister, "I get scared whenever I think of the prospect of anything happening to you or Sasha. "But being brave isn't about not being afraid. It is about feeling fear and acting in spite of it."
"I don't know if I can do this." Nikita says, breathlessly.
Dani considers sending Nikita back up to the office, before whispering, "There is no shame in walking away from this. We need you, but if you need to hang back, I understand and so will Sasha."
Nikita sniffs back her tears and takes a deep breath, "No. We have come this far, it is time to end it." She says, firmly, before lighting a cigarette.
Dani hugs her sister and whispers, "I am so proud of you.", whilst thinking, "I hate using emotional blackmail, but she needs this as much as we need her. I just hope she can hold it together."
Sasha touches down lightly next to Dani and quickly releases herself from the line and gazes down at Dani and Nikita with concern. "Is everything ok?"
Dani looks up and nods, "Lund is alone, but Nikita feels something bad is here, but can't confirm what it is. We need to be careful."
Sasha draws her tranq pistol and nods, "Whats the plan?"
"We sweep in fast, find Lund neutralise him and get out. When we are on our way, signal Mike and he will blow the server room." Dani says, nodding to herself.
Dani drops into the elevator car and steps through the open doors, with her weapon raised. The football field sized expanse is laid before her, harsh overhead lighting the unnumerable large glass containers filled with cloudy red liquid, mounted on two feet tall wooden plinths, that fill the room in marble covered aisles. At the far end of the room, she sees Lund enter a thick glass walled office.
Dani raises her submachine gun and keeps low as she sweeps out of the elevator car and into the large cold room. Nikita and Sasha follow behind at a distance of ten feet, "Watch where I walk, keep to the edges of the aisle and stay alert." Dan rasps over her shoulder.
Nikita stays low and tries to stay focused, but feels dizzy again. She cannot help but feel a sense of dread building with each cloudy red container she passes. She looks up ahead and sees Lund sitting behind his desk watching their progress, she thinks to herself, "Look at that smug bastard, he is just watching us like we are here for his amusement." In that moment, any unease she feels melts, before the white hot hatred filling her heart.
Sasha glances at the glass cabinets either side of them, warily, trying to make out the indistinct shapes within the tanks. "Ok, so from glass and steel office building upstairs, to the set of a horror movie, in one easy climb down a lift shaft. For once, I am glad, Dani convinced me to bring a sub-machine gun."
Dani crouches and holds up a fist at the intersection of two aisles. Sasha and Nikita stop where they are and crouch, eyes scanning for hazards. Dani peeks around the intersection, leading with her weapon. "Right section, clear. Left side, storage trolleys and maintenance cupboards."
She crosses the aisle and glances carefully scanning the glass cabinets, floors and ceiling around her, "Nikita is right, something feels wrong about this place." She thinks, with dark thoughts clawing at the edge of her mind, like an itch, she cannot scratch.
"Good morning ladies. I hope you had a pleasant journey." Lund says, crisply, is voice booming over speakers set in the walls of the large room.
"Not the worst journey in the world, to be fair." Nikita spits back, "I hope you have had a good morning, because, when we get hold of you, your day will get a lot worse."
Lund chuckles to himself, "How amusing. Do you really think you will, 'Get hold of me', as you so eloquently put it? There is no way I would depend on a sub par panic room, to ensure my safety. I have every confidence that you will not be able to join me."
"That is fine by us, we have this whole site locked down and we can wait as long as it takes for you to emerge from under your rock." Nikita says, coldly.
"How long are you prepared to keep everyone here in lock down? As soon as you begin letting my people go, they will come to my aid." Lund says, with a smile.
"And just how many of them will be willing to come to your aid, once they know how many people you have hurt to get PCS?" Sasha asks coldly.
"Ha, everyone who works here, does so with full disclosure, from the administrators to the cleaners and security teams." Lund chuckles, still able to speak in a crisp tone. "The truth is that if you throw enough money at someone, they tend to forget everything else. Like morals, or ethics, or the suffering of others."
"You expect us to believe that you have told everyone here what you did to Nikita, Sasha and all of our brothers and sisters and everyone is fine with it?" Dani asks, coldly.
"Everyone had a choice between a paycheck and a conscience. They chose the money." Lund snidely, retorts, "In all important medical research, the greatest breakthoughs come at a cost of a few lab rats."
The overhead lighting cuts out plunging the room into errie darkness for a moment, with the only illumination coming from the lights of Lund's office. Slowly, the each of the glass cabinets is lit from underneath, casting a red hue to the room and showing the contents of each container. Nikita glances fervidly from cabinet to cabinet, seeing her severed limbs displayed all around her. "You bastard, We were not lab rats, we were human beings. We did nothing wrong." She belows, flooded with memories of her deaths and the deaths of her siblings.
"It was never about you, or what you did. It was about your DNA. You were just unlucky." He says off handedly.
"UNLUCKY?" Nikita screams, unsheathing her claws and fangs, "Unlucky is getting hit by a bus, or stubbing your toe. You targetted us. You knew exactly what you were doing and you came for us. The things you did." She pauses, her lip quivering with anger, "You are a monster."
"Look at yourself Nikita. You are the one with a predator's teeth and claws, that makes you the monster here." Lund says, coldly. "I on the other hand, am a man of science, with a singular vision. You are a freak, a beast, a chimera at best. When you fall, I will be there to pick up the pieces and understand how you can do, what you do and once I do, I will make the world a better place, for your passing."
"Fuck you, Lund. You will fall long before I do." Nikita says, full of rage.
"I doubt that, you see the local militia have been notified of this assault and have been promised a large payment for every man that participates in the retaking of this site. At this time, a small army is on it's way." He says coolly. "When this day is done, you will all be dead or getting accustomed to our labs."
"Never." Nikita screams, "We will never surrender. I will kill everyone you send and then come for you."
Dani sees the anger and vitriol filling her sisters heart and moves to her side touching her shoulder, "Niki, calm down. He is winding us up."
"You really don't get it do you. You are a bump in the road, a set of variables, an experiment that yielded results. Nothing more. I dont care who you are, or what we did to her, or you for that matter, all I and indeed everyone in this facility care about, is the data and results we obtained." Lund says, nonchalantly.
Sasha pleads with her sister, "Please Niki, calm down, he wants you to lose your cool."
Nikita ignores Dani's plea, retracting her claws, as the rage in her is washed away, replaced by something colder and darker. She stares at Lund, "You don't care?"
Lund shakes his head in smug silence, causing Nikita's features to harden and her eyes narrow, woth barely contained anguish, she says "I will make you care." She rises to her feet, closes her eyes and throws back her head, issuing forth a deafening leonine roar, giving voice to every ounce of pain she and her siblings felt at the hands of this man and his people.
Nikita ignores the sounds of the glass cabinets around her, slowly cracking, from the force of her roar and focuses on the life pulses of Lund and everyone unfamiliar on the plateau. In her mind, the world fades away and it is just her under a sea of life pulses.
People across the plateau shudder and feel dizzy. Pockets of individuals, exchange worried and confused glances and garbled conversation as they try to fathom what is happening. Each of them feels a deafening voice in their mind, a voice of futile rage, pain, hopelessness and despair. The voice has only one word to say and everyone who senses it, knows the dread of the word, "Feel."
Nikita reaches into her soul and shifts the blockages and pain from her pulse into each of theirs. Dani watches in horror, as Lund and Nikita scream in unison and he convulses behind the glass of the office, before falling silent and unmoving to the floor. Nikita staggers over to Dani and Sasha's side with pain in her eyes and collapses in a heap.
Distantly she mumbles, "I wanted to show them, what we went through to make them care. What have I done?", before breaking down in tears.
"Roger that. Over." Dani says, pressing the call button for the elevator for the fifth time.
"He must have locked the lift, or jammed the doors open, so we can't call it." Dani says, looking at Nikita, "Do you think you could open these doors?" She asks, hopefully.
Nikita bites her lip and extends her claws, "I can try." She says stepping forward. She jams her claws into each of the doors and flexes. Slowly, the doors begin to move apart, until she overcomes the resistance of the door mechanism and they slide easily open. Dani takes two stilettos and jams them into the channels that the door travel along, pinning the doors open.
Sasha shrugs off her small backpack and pulls out a coil of climbing line, she lashes one end to one of the sturdy looking stone support beams, carved with images of a strand of DNA. She passes the coil to Dani who tosses it into the lift shaft.
Nikita looks nervously at the line and glances at Dani, Sasha places a hand on her arm and softly assures her, "Don't worry Niki. We will get you down and up safely."
Neither of them notice Dani staring down the lift shaft. She thinks to herself, "This doesn't feel right. My gut is telling me to pull everyone back and get out of here. Lund was too calm, too relaxed, given that armed intruders have entered the building and locked it down."
Sasha wraps a rope around Nikita's waist and each upper thigh, with an added loop at her waist. Sasha tests the rig and nods to herself. "How does it feel?" Sasha asks, double checking the knots, vaguely recalling that her climbing instructor called this a gunslinger harness, due to the way it wraps the waist and hips, like a cowboys gun belt.
"Feels good, not too tight." Nikita says with a nervous smile.
"Cool, we need to get moving. Nikita can you go first and once you get to the bottom, turn on a torch? Then I will follow. If there are any problems, you got the rescue duty Sasha." Dani says, calmly. Nikita and Sasha exchange a nervous glance and nod, stepping aside allowing Dani to secure the rope for Nikita's descent. "Once we get down there, we probably wont be able to contact every one else. It will be just us."
"Damn this is dark, seems to be getting colder, the deeper it goes." Nikita thinks, before looking up at the postage stamp sized patch of light above her, "Can't be much farther now."
Dani and Sasha, take the strain, slowly lowering their sister into the shaft, both women are swaeting from the effort and the veins on their arms bulge from lowering someone who weighs almost twice their combined weight, over a hundred metres.
Nikita feels a sense of disquiet growing within her, the deeper she descends, "He is alone down there, but something feels off."
Nikita tugs twice on the rope when she is at the bottom and disconnects the line from her rope harness. She plces a hand on the wall, feeling dizzy "Something's wrong. Something bad is here."
Dani threads the line through her harness and steps into darkness, rapidly feeding the rope as she rappells down the shaft. She looks below her and frowns, "Nikita, should have put a light on by now." She pauses her descent, using one hand to hold the rope and the other to take an LED from her belt and drop it into the shaft. The small beacon drops twenty metres before coming to rest on the roof of the elevator, illuminating the form of her sister, sat hugging her knees and rocking back and forth.
Dani drops quickly, descending as quickly as possible to land by her sister, she pulls the line from her harness and tugs it twice, before sitting next to Nikita and putting an arm around her shoulder.
Nikita looks fearfully at her sister and is breathing rapidly, sending plumes of her steaming breath into the cold air.
"Hey, it's ok. I am here. What's wrong babe?" Dani asks her trembling sister.
"Something bad is here, don't you feel it?" Nikita says, barely above a whisper.
"What do you feel?" Dani asks, knowing what her sister means, thinking, "She is right, something is not right here."
"Lund is here and he is alone, but there are traces of something else." Nikita says, with trembling lips. She looks into Dani's eyes and tries not to cry, mumbling, "I'm scared."
"Niki, listen to me." Dani says gently, "You are one of the strongest most capable people, I know. The things you have faced and overcome in the past would have broken most people." Dani pauses, hugging her sister, "I get scared whenever I think of the prospect of anything happening to you or Sasha. "But being brave isn't about not being afraid. It is about feeling fear and acting in spite of it."
"I don't know if I can do this." Nikita says, breathlessly.
Dani considers sending Nikita back up to the office, before whispering, "There is no shame in walking away from this. We need you, but if you need to hang back, I understand and so will Sasha."
Nikita sniffs back her tears and takes a deep breath, "No. We have come this far, it is time to end it." She says, firmly, before lighting a cigarette.
Dani hugs her sister and whispers, "I am so proud of you.", whilst thinking, "I hate using emotional blackmail, but she needs this as much as we need her. I just hope she can hold it together."
Sasha touches down lightly next to Dani and quickly releases herself from the line and gazes down at Dani and Nikita with concern. "Is everything ok?"
Dani looks up and nods, "Lund is alone, but Nikita feels something bad is here, but can't confirm what it is. We need to be careful."
Sasha draws her tranq pistol and nods, "Whats the plan?"
"We sweep in fast, find Lund neutralise him and get out. When we are on our way, signal Mike and he will blow the server room." Dani says, nodding to herself.
Dani drops into the elevator car and steps through the open doors, with her weapon raised. The football field sized expanse is laid before her, harsh overhead lighting the unnumerable large glass containers filled with cloudy red liquid, mounted on two feet tall wooden plinths, that fill the room in marble covered aisles. At the far end of the room, she sees Lund enter a thick glass walled office.
Dani raises her submachine gun and keeps low as she sweeps out of the elevator car and into the large cold room. Nikita and Sasha follow behind at a distance of ten feet, "Watch where I walk, keep to the edges of the aisle and stay alert." Dan rasps over her shoulder.
Nikita stays low and tries to stay focused, but feels dizzy again. She cannot help but feel a sense of dread building with each cloudy red container she passes. She looks up ahead and sees Lund sitting behind his desk watching their progress, she thinks to herself, "Look at that smug bastard, he is just watching us like we are here for his amusement." In that moment, any unease she feels melts, before the white hot hatred filling her heart.
Sasha glances at the glass cabinets either side of them, warily, trying to make out the indistinct shapes within the tanks. "Ok, so from glass and steel office building upstairs, to the set of a horror movie, in one easy climb down a lift shaft. For once, I am glad, Dani convinced me to bring a sub-machine gun."
Dani crouches and holds up a fist at the intersection of two aisles. Sasha and Nikita stop where they are and crouch, eyes scanning for hazards. Dani peeks around the intersection, leading with her weapon. "Right section, clear. Left side, storage trolleys and maintenance cupboards."
She crosses the aisle and glances carefully scanning the glass cabinets, floors and ceiling around her, "Nikita is right, something feels wrong about this place." She thinks, with dark thoughts clawing at the edge of her mind, like an itch, she cannot scratch.
"Good morning ladies. I hope you had a pleasant journey." Lund says, crisply, is voice booming over speakers set in the walls of the large room.
"Not the worst journey in the world, to be fair." Nikita spits back, "I hope you have had a good morning, because, when we get hold of you, your day will get a lot worse."
Lund chuckles to himself, "How amusing. Do you really think you will, 'Get hold of me', as you so eloquently put it? There is no way I would depend on a sub par panic room, to ensure my safety. I have every confidence that you will not be able to join me."
"That is fine by us, we have this whole site locked down and we can wait as long as it takes for you to emerge from under your rock." Nikita says, coldly.
"How long are you prepared to keep everyone here in lock down? As soon as you begin letting my people go, they will come to my aid." Lund says, with a smile.
"And just how many of them will be willing to come to your aid, once they know how many people you have hurt to get PCS?" Sasha asks coldly.
"Ha, everyone who works here, does so with full disclosure, from the administrators to the cleaners and security teams." Lund chuckles, still able to speak in a crisp tone. "The truth is that if you throw enough money at someone, they tend to forget everything else. Like morals, or ethics, or the suffering of others."
"You expect us to believe that you have told everyone here what you did to Nikita, Sasha and all of our brothers and sisters and everyone is fine with it?" Dani asks, coldly.
"Everyone had a choice between a paycheck and a conscience. They chose the money." Lund snidely, retorts, "In all important medical research, the greatest breakthoughs come at a cost of a few lab rats."
The overhead lighting cuts out plunging the room into errie darkness for a moment, with the only illumination coming from the lights of Lund's office. Slowly, the each of the glass cabinets is lit from underneath, casting a red hue to the room and showing the contents of each container. Nikita glances fervidly from cabinet to cabinet, seeing her severed limbs displayed all around her. "You bastard, We were not lab rats, we were human beings. We did nothing wrong." She belows, flooded with memories of her deaths and the deaths of her siblings.
"It was never about you, or what you did. It was about your DNA. You were just unlucky." He says off handedly.
"UNLUCKY?" Nikita screams, unsheathing her claws and fangs, "Unlucky is getting hit by a bus, or stubbing your toe. You targetted us. You knew exactly what you were doing and you came for us. The things you did." She pauses, her lip quivering with anger, "You are a monster."
"Look at yourself Nikita. You are the one with a predator's teeth and claws, that makes you the monster here." Lund says, coldly. "I on the other hand, am a man of science, with a singular vision. You are a freak, a beast, a chimera at best. When you fall, I will be there to pick up the pieces and understand how you can do, what you do and once I do, I will make the world a better place, for your passing."
"Fuck you, Lund. You will fall long before I do." Nikita says, full of rage.
"I doubt that, you see the local militia have been notified of this assault and have been promised a large payment for every man that participates in the retaking of this site. At this time, a small army is on it's way." He says coolly. "When this day is done, you will all be dead or getting accustomed to our labs."
"Never." Nikita screams, "We will never surrender. I will kill everyone you send and then come for you."
Dani sees the anger and vitriol filling her sisters heart and moves to her side touching her shoulder, "Niki, calm down. He is winding us up."
"You really don't get it do you. You are a bump in the road, a set of variables, an experiment that yielded results. Nothing more. I dont care who you are, or what we did to her, or you for that matter, all I and indeed everyone in this facility care about, is the data and results we obtained." Lund says, nonchalantly.
Sasha pleads with her sister, "Please Niki, calm down, he wants you to lose your cool."
Nikita ignores Dani's plea, retracting her claws, as the rage in her is washed away, replaced by something colder and darker. She stares at Lund, "You don't care?"
Lund shakes his head in smug silence, causing Nikita's features to harden and her eyes narrow, woth barely contained anguish, she says "I will make you care." She rises to her feet, closes her eyes and throws back her head, issuing forth a deafening leonine roar, giving voice to every ounce of pain she and her siblings felt at the hands of this man and his people.
Nikita ignores the sounds of the glass cabinets around her, slowly cracking, from the force of her roar and focuses on the life pulses of Lund and everyone unfamiliar on the plateau. In her mind, the world fades away and it is just her under a sea of life pulses.
People across the plateau shudder and feel dizzy. Pockets of individuals, exchange worried and confused glances and garbled conversation as they try to fathom what is happening. Each of them feels a deafening voice in their mind, a voice of futile rage, pain, hopelessness and despair. The voice has only one word to say and everyone who senses it, knows the dread of the word, "Feel."
Nikita reaches into her soul and shifts the blockages and pain from her pulse into each of theirs. Dani watches in horror, as Lund and Nikita scream in unison and he convulses behind the glass of the office, before falling silent and unmoving to the floor. Nikita staggers over to Dani and Sasha's side with pain in her eyes and collapses in a heap.
Distantly she mumbles, "I wanted to show them, what we went through to make them care. What have I done?", before breaking down in tears.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
-
slackywacky
- Millennial Club
- Posts: 2616
- Joined: 5 years ago
- Location: Canada
I actually started re-reading this story, lost track somewhere on page 3. Too much glancing, not enough reading. Fixing that now by 'reading' and not glancing. It makes the story so much better when you actually read with is being written... 
It also made me aware that I prefer to read stories written in past tense. Not something that makes this story any less good, just a personal observation.
It also made me aware that I prefer to read stories written in past tense. Not something that makes this story any less good, just a personal observation.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.
Slackywacky, also @DeviantArt
My active stories:
Slackywacky, also @DeviantArt
My active stories:
- All in the family - Updated 21/03
- Bondage model by choice - Updated 10/04
- Hitchhiker - Updated 29/03
It was a tough choice to write in present tense, but I felt that due to the action based nature of the story, it added a level of immediacy to the tale. I can appreciate how past tense is better in some ways though.slackywacky wrote: ↑3 years ago I actually started re-reading this story, lost track somewhere on page 3. Too much glancing, not enough reading. Fixing that now by 'reading' and not glancing. It makes the story so much better when you actually read with is being written...
It also made me aware that I prefer to read stories written in past tense. Not something that makes this story any less good, just a personal observation.
Thank you for your comments, I am glad you are enjoying the re-read. I was beginning to wonder if anyone was reading this still.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
Rest assured, we are!
Links to all of my stories can be found here in the Story Catalog: https://www.tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=6023
-
slackywacky
- Millennial Club
- Posts: 2616
- Joined: 5 years ago
- Location: Canada
Just like me (and a few others), you have a group of dedicated followers, Wolfman, on the board that read your stories and (sometimes) comment. As always there are lurkers, which is fine, although it would be nicer if they join the board and comment, but we know 'bondage' is still a touchy subject occasionally for some.
I read, I (try to) comment, but also think that a comment just for comment sake has no real value. For me commenting on a story means I have something to say about it (whether good or bad).
Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.
Slackywacky, also @DeviantArt
My active stories:
Slackywacky, also @DeviantArt
My active stories:
- All in the family - Updated 21/03
- Bondage model by choice - Updated 10/04
- Hitchhiker - Updated 29/03
I agree, the Number of Hits your Stories get, suggest, that your Stories are well recieved - and rightly so. Personally I like it to see how writers develop their skills and get better with each Stories. At first I admired especially your ability to create incrediblly well written Action Sequences. I admire that chapters still. But even more I'm fascinated by the characters you created. In the last chapter one of my personal Highlights is Nikita making their adversaries feel, what she fehlt. A brillant Idea and beautifully executed.
[mention]slackywacky[/mention]
[mention]OldTUGger[/mention]
[mention]Caesar73[/mention]
Thank you for the support gentleman. Just worked out how to see the views for this and I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to follow this tale so far.
I am throwing everything against the wall on this and just going for it. I was getting concerned that I had lost a few people as the tie ups had dropped off a little.
With Nikita's powers growing and changing, I wanted to show the dark side of her powers and how someone who is at their core a normal person would react. She is vulnerable and scared and despite appearances filled with self doubt. Until she is faced with a choice only she can make. Then we will see how important family and loved ones are to her growth.
Oh and there are a lot more twists and turns to come.
Thank you for your support.
[mention]OldTUGger[/mention]
[mention]Caesar73[/mention]
Thank you for the support gentleman. Just worked out how to see the views for this and I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to follow this tale so far.
I am throwing everything against the wall on this and just going for it. I was getting concerned that I had lost a few people as the tie ups had dropped off a little.
With Nikita's powers growing and changing, I wanted to show the dark side of her powers and how someone who is at their core a normal person would react. She is vulnerable and scared and despite appearances filled with self doubt. Until she is faced with a choice only she can make. Then we will see how important family and loved ones are to her growth.
Oh and there are a lot more twists and turns to come.
Thank you for your support.
Last edited by wolfman 3 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
"Steve, drop everything, get your girls. Over" Mike says, watching the monitors in open mouthed horror.
"Say again Sentinel. Over" Steve asks, concerned that Mike has dropped call signs, during an operation.
"Don't piss about mate, drop everything and get the girls." Mike reaffirms, unable to comprehend what he sees.
"Mike? What's going on?" Steve asks, exchanging glances with Louise.
"Everyone on site is dead apart from us. I am unable to raise the girls on comms." Mike speaks softly, unable to believe the words he hears coming from his mouth, even though he knows he said them.
"What the? Are we looking at a neurotoxin or gas?" Steve asks, setting down his weapon and signalling Louise for her to pass her AKS74-U.
"Negative, I am breathing the same air as everyone else. One minute they were fine, the next they were on the floor convulsing and screaming, then one by one they clutched their chests and stopped moving. I am seeing no signs of life." Mike confirms, keeping his voice steady.
"I am on my way. Thanks for the heads up, Blow the servers and head to the roof. Over" Steve instructs, rising to his feet and heading towards the exit from the roof.
Steve nods to Kate, seeing her on her feet and moving to intercept him at the door way. He waits by the door and signals that he will lead the way when she joins him. Silently, she falls into step behind him, as he descends.
Sasha places a wary hand on Nikita's shoulder and glances nervously at Dani, "Niki? What's going on?"
Nikita shrugs away from Sasha's hand and hugs herself, struggling to speak. "I killed them."
Dani tears her eyes away from the lifeless body of Dr. Lund, "What to you mean?", she asks, dreading the answer.
"Everyone who works here. I wanted them to see what they had done to us. Make them understand." Nikita mumbles, "I didn't know it would kill them."
"What did you do?" Sasha asks, in a stunned whisper.
"I took all of the pain from our suffering and transferred it to them. I think the shock killed them." Nikita says, shakily lighting a cigarette.
They all stand in silence, lost in their own thoughts about what Nikita had done. Dani breaks the silence, gently asking, "Can you bring them back?"
Nikita chokes back tears and simply shakes her head. "I felt them die. Their life pulses are gone, there is nothing left to bring back."
Sasha touches Nikita's arm again and moves to hug her, but she pulls away once more. "Don't. I am not worthy of your compassion.", she breathes an emotion filled plume of smoke at the ceiling, "So many killed at the stroke of a hand. I am a monster, just like he said."
"No you aren't. You made a terrible mistake." Sasha softly assures her, not believing the words she speaks.
"If we get out of here and erase all trace of our passing there will be nothing to tie this to us." Dani says, in a quick and clipped tone, "We can make a fresh start and you could make amends, by healing others."
"But it will never change what I did." Nikita says, with a sorrowful sigh.
"You can't change it, you can only move forward." Sasha whisper, hugging her sister.
"No." Nikita says, wearily, "There will always be a chance that this will happen again." With tears in her eyes, she turns to Dani, "It's time."
"Time for what?" Sasha asks, confused.
"I once asked Dani to kill me, if I ever became violent or dangerous. Today I killed over three hundred people with a thought." She fixes Dani with a sorrowful stare, "Please Dani, I can't live like this. I will be constantly afraid of doing it again, I will never be able to forget."
"I can't." Dani says tearfully shaking her head.
"You must. You promised." Nikita pleads, "I can't face this. I am a hairdresser and a checkout operator in a supermarket. I am not ready for this type of power."
"I can't do it. I love you Niki." Dani says, weakly.
"I love you too Dani." she says seizing Sasha in an iron grip, "And I love Sasha, but if you don't do this, I will kill her."
Sasha struggles hopelessly against the sister massive strength as her arms are pinned behind her and a hand is clamped across her mouth. She thinks to herself, "Niki doesn't want to kill me, she just want to make Dani think she does."
Dani draws her sidearm and points it at Nikita, commanding, "Let her go."
"No." Nikita says miserably, through a veil of tears. "I don't want to do this, but this is the only way to make you believe how serious I am."
Sasha grunts, trying to bite Nikita's hand. Dani holds her weapon at her side and begs, "Niki please, I can't. Don't make me do this." Dani feels her heart sink knowing that Nikita would do anything to be free of what she has done. She carefully aims unable to squeeze the trigger, before letting the firearm drop to her side.
"You are the only person that I know could do it. Sasha is too soft, dad wouldn't be able to live with himself, but you are a killer." Nikita pleads, "If I walk away, there is no telling how many more will fall."
"We can help you. You don't have to do this." Sasha says breathlessly, as Nikita's grip falters for a moment.
"You didn't stop me today, you won't be able to stop me in the future. What if someone forces me to do this again or something worse?" Nikita says, adjusting her grip on Sasha, covering her mouth and nose with one hand and pinning her sisters arms behind her with the other. With her heart breaking, Nikita speaks tearfully, "Her or me."
The gun raises in a slow shaky arc, as if it is the heaviest thing Dani has ever lifted. "Please." she begs, barely above a whisper.
Time seems to stand still. Sasha's eye wide and pleading, the first signs of reticial heamoraging colouring their whites. Her heart sinking, with the feeling of her life ebbing away. "I can feel Nikita's pain. I wish I could speak to I could comfort her. This will destroy Dani if she is forced to do this." She bites Nikita'shand as hard as she can, hoping to free her mouth.
Nikita grips her sister with arms of iron, self loathing filling her heart, hating herself for hurting Sasha to force Dani to end her own nightmare. "I wish there was another way to ensure I am no longer a danger to people."
Dani shakily holds the gun, her eyes flicking between Sasha and Nikita. "I kill Niki, or she kills Sasha. Either way, I lose someone I love.", she thinks.
Sasha starts to see dark spots before her eyes and with her remaining strength she tries to pull her mouth and arms free.
Nikita feels Sasha's life pulse fading and fluctuating and begins to cry. She releases Sasha and drops to her knees sobbing, "I am so sorry." She sweeps the blockages from Sasha's pulse, taking them into herself.
Sasha collapses, coughing hard and gasping for breath.
Dani holsters her weapon and rushes to Sasha's aid, putting her in the recovery position and rubbing her back, while her breathing returns to normal.
Nikita, looks to her left, staring at an unseen point in space. Slowly she gets to her feet and quietly walks towards the elevator, unable to face her sisters.
Steve lowers himself as quickly as his harness will allow him, he looks up to confirm Kate is still keeping watch. He is slammed against the wall as a blur races up the lift shaft past him, "What the hell?" He thinks before keying his comms, "Kate, heads up, incoming fast mover."
Kate steps back from the lift shaft and braces weapon ready. Nikita explodes from the shaft and lands on all fours, clicking her claws on the tiled floor, before leaping through the main window of the office to plunge to the ground.
Steve unclips his makeshift harness and drops into the elevator car to see Sasha and Dani look around confused. "Dad!" Dani shouts, "Have you seen Niki."
"I think she just tore past me in the lift shaft. We have to get moving." He says, firmly.
"But-" Sasha begins, before Steve cuts her off, "Now."
Mike runs through silent corridors, giving up any need for pretense thinking, "Cameras shut down and everyone is dead. No point sneaking around anymore."
He looks in each office and looks into the eyes off all he sees on the way, "Shit, everyone really is dead."
Mike takes the door to the server room off of it's hinges with a shoulder barge and sets to work, planting thermite charges atop each of the server banks and copying their database.
"This is fucked. I can't believe that I am data capturing and wrecking in a ghost filled building. I thought Southampton was bad enough." He thinks, watching the progress bar.
As soon as the database has been copied, he checks the files on the portable drive and notices a large folder marked 'Lost patient."
He opens the folder quickly and scrolls down the list of files, seeing a large video file. He clicks the file and watches the scene it displays in rapt fascination, thinking, "This is inhuman."
"Say again Sentinel. Over" Steve asks, concerned that Mike has dropped call signs, during an operation.
"Don't piss about mate, drop everything and get the girls." Mike reaffirms, unable to comprehend what he sees.
"Mike? What's going on?" Steve asks, exchanging glances with Louise.
"Everyone on site is dead apart from us. I am unable to raise the girls on comms." Mike speaks softly, unable to believe the words he hears coming from his mouth, even though he knows he said them.
"What the? Are we looking at a neurotoxin or gas?" Steve asks, setting down his weapon and signalling Louise for her to pass her AKS74-U.
"Negative, I am breathing the same air as everyone else. One minute they were fine, the next they were on the floor convulsing and screaming, then one by one they clutched their chests and stopped moving. I am seeing no signs of life." Mike confirms, keeping his voice steady.
"I am on my way. Thanks for the heads up, Blow the servers and head to the roof. Over" Steve instructs, rising to his feet and heading towards the exit from the roof.
Steve nods to Kate, seeing her on her feet and moving to intercept him at the door way. He waits by the door and signals that he will lead the way when she joins him. Silently, she falls into step behind him, as he descends.
Sasha places a wary hand on Nikita's shoulder and glances nervously at Dani, "Niki? What's going on?"
Nikita shrugs away from Sasha's hand and hugs herself, struggling to speak. "I killed them."
Dani tears her eyes away from the lifeless body of Dr. Lund, "What to you mean?", she asks, dreading the answer.
"Everyone who works here. I wanted them to see what they had done to us. Make them understand." Nikita mumbles, "I didn't know it would kill them."
"What did you do?" Sasha asks, in a stunned whisper.
"I took all of the pain from our suffering and transferred it to them. I think the shock killed them." Nikita says, shakily lighting a cigarette.
They all stand in silence, lost in their own thoughts about what Nikita had done. Dani breaks the silence, gently asking, "Can you bring them back?"
Nikita chokes back tears and simply shakes her head. "I felt them die. Their life pulses are gone, there is nothing left to bring back."
Sasha touches Nikita's arm again and moves to hug her, but she pulls away once more. "Don't. I am not worthy of your compassion.", she breathes an emotion filled plume of smoke at the ceiling, "So many killed at the stroke of a hand. I am a monster, just like he said."
"No you aren't. You made a terrible mistake." Sasha softly assures her, not believing the words she speaks.
"If we get out of here and erase all trace of our passing there will be nothing to tie this to us." Dani says, in a quick and clipped tone, "We can make a fresh start and you could make amends, by healing others."
"But it will never change what I did." Nikita says, with a sorrowful sigh.
"You can't change it, you can only move forward." Sasha whisper, hugging her sister.
"No." Nikita says, wearily, "There will always be a chance that this will happen again." With tears in her eyes, she turns to Dani, "It's time."
"Time for what?" Sasha asks, confused.
"I once asked Dani to kill me, if I ever became violent or dangerous. Today I killed over three hundred people with a thought." She fixes Dani with a sorrowful stare, "Please Dani, I can't live like this. I will be constantly afraid of doing it again, I will never be able to forget."
"I can't." Dani says tearfully shaking her head.
"You must. You promised." Nikita pleads, "I can't face this. I am a hairdresser and a checkout operator in a supermarket. I am not ready for this type of power."
"I can't do it. I love you Niki." Dani says, weakly.
"I love you too Dani." she says seizing Sasha in an iron grip, "And I love Sasha, but if you don't do this, I will kill her."
Sasha struggles hopelessly against the sister massive strength as her arms are pinned behind her and a hand is clamped across her mouth. She thinks to herself, "Niki doesn't want to kill me, she just want to make Dani think she does."
Dani draws her sidearm and points it at Nikita, commanding, "Let her go."
"No." Nikita says miserably, through a veil of tears. "I don't want to do this, but this is the only way to make you believe how serious I am."
Sasha grunts, trying to bite Nikita's hand. Dani holds her weapon at her side and begs, "Niki please, I can't. Don't make me do this." Dani feels her heart sink knowing that Nikita would do anything to be free of what she has done. She carefully aims unable to squeeze the trigger, before letting the firearm drop to her side.
"You are the only person that I know could do it. Sasha is too soft, dad wouldn't be able to live with himself, but you are a killer." Nikita pleads, "If I walk away, there is no telling how many more will fall."
"We can help you. You don't have to do this." Sasha says breathlessly, as Nikita's grip falters for a moment.
"You didn't stop me today, you won't be able to stop me in the future. What if someone forces me to do this again or something worse?" Nikita says, adjusting her grip on Sasha, covering her mouth and nose with one hand and pinning her sisters arms behind her with the other. With her heart breaking, Nikita speaks tearfully, "Her or me."
The gun raises in a slow shaky arc, as if it is the heaviest thing Dani has ever lifted. "Please." she begs, barely above a whisper.
Time seems to stand still. Sasha's eye wide and pleading, the first signs of reticial heamoraging colouring their whites. Her heart sinking, with the feeling of her life ebbing away. "I can feel Nikita's pain. I wish I could speak to I could comfort her. This will destroy Dani if she is forced to do this." She bites Nikita'shand as hard as she can, hoping to free her mouth.
Nikita grips her sister with arms of iron, self loathing filling her heart, hating herself for hurting Sasha to force Dani to end her own nightmare. "I wish there was another way to ensure I am no longer a danger to people."
Dani shakily holds the gun, her eyes flicking between Sasha and Nikita. "I kill Niki, or she kills Sasha. Either way, I lose someone I love.", she thinks.
Sasha starts to see dark spots before her eyes and with her remaining strength she tries to pull her mouth and arms free.
Nikita feels Sasha's life pulse fading and fluctuating and begins to cry. She releases Sasha and drops to her knees sobbing, "I am so sorry." She sweeps the blockages from Sasha's pulse, taking them into herself.
Sasha collapses, coughing hard and gasping for breath.
Dani holsters her weapon and rushes to Sasha's aid, putting her in the recovery position and rubbing her back, while her breathing returns to normal.
Nikita, looks to her left, staring at an unseen point in space. Slowly she gets to her feet and quietly walks towards the elevator, unable to face her sisters.
Steve lowers himself as quickly as his harness will allow him, he looks up to confirm Kate is still keeping watch. He is slammed against the wall as a blur races up the lift shaft past him, "What the hell?" He thinks before keying his comms, "Kate, heads up, incoming fast mover."
Kate steps back from the lift shaft and braces weapon ready. Nikita explodes from the shaft and lands on all fours, clicking her claws on the tiled floor, before leaping through the main window of the office to plunge to the ground.
Steve unclips his makeshift harness and drops into the elevator car to see Sasha and Dani look around confused. "Dad!" Dani shouts, "Have you seen Niki."
"I think she just tore past me in the lift shaft. We have to get moving." He says, firmly.
"But-" Sasha begins, before Steve cuts her off, "Now."
Mike runs through silent corridors, giving up any need for pretense thinking, "Cameras shut down and everyone is dead. No point sneaking around anymore."
He looks in each office and looks into the eyes off all he sees on the way, "Shit, everyone really is dead."
Mike takes the door to the server room off of it's hinges with a shoulder barge and sets to work, planting thermite charges atop each of the server banks and copying their database.
"This is fucked. I can't believe that I am data capturing and wrecking in a ghost filled building. I thought Southampton was bad enough." He thinks, watching the progress bar.
As soon as the database has been copied, he checks the files on the portable drive and notices a large folder marked 'Lost patient."
He opens the folder quickly and scrolls down the list of files, seeing a large video file. He clicks the file and watches the scene it displays in rapt fascination, thinking, "This is inhuman."
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
-
slackywacky
- Millennial Club
- Posts: 2616
- Joined: 5 years ago
- Location: Canada
Good news. You are welcome. Following this tale of intrigue and mystery is fun and exciting. Not every page needs to have ropes and gags, although nobody would complain, especially with the ropes and gags on their own body.
I sometimes wonder if a long(er) story has 'readers fatigue', not for the ones that follow the story, but the newbies on the site that suddenly have to go through 14 pages of chapters before they catch up. Would it stop them from reading the full story...
Anyway, 20,000 views and counting, well done. Still along way to go to beat the sleeping bag story with 400K views (or mine
).Keep writing and we'll keep reading.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.
Slackywacky, also @DeviantArt
My active stories:
Slackywacky, also @DeviantArt
My active stories:
- All in the family - Updated 21/03
- Bondage model by choice - Updated 10/04
- Hitchhiker - Updated 29/03
There will be more bondage on the cards for our heroines. That is a safe bet.slackywacky wrote: ↑3 years agoGood news. You are welcome. Following this tale of intrigue and mystery is fun and exciting. Not every page needs to have ropes and gags, although nobody would complain, especially with the ropes and gags on their own body.
I sometimes wonder if a long(er) story has 'readers fatigue', not for the ones that follow the story, but the newbies on the site that suddenly have to go through 14 pages of chapters before they catch up. Would it stop them from reading the full story...
Anyway, 20,000 views and counting, well done. Still along way to go to beat the sleeping bag story with 400K views (or mine
Keep writing and we'll keep reading.
I get what you mean about reader fatigue. For some that may be the case, faced with a long tale it may be daunting for new readers. However, for others it may be like a long running show, they see the latest one or two and decide to start from the beginning.
I am still surprised about the number of views this and my other tales have accrued. I doubt I will ever catch some of the big hitters on this site, but will be happy as long as people keep reading.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
The image is blurry and out of focus to start with, but resolves into pixel perfect clarity after around a minute. A young man is on a metal table, his chest has been cut open and his ribs splayed, but his eyes are wide in terror and agony, darting back and forth.
"As you can see this man is in terrible pain from his current condition. However, with a balanced dose of PCS in his system, he is unable to die. We were hired to keep this gentleman in this state until such time as he revealed the pass codes for the a weapon silo in Chechnya. He lasted for four days, before he shared all his secrets." The crisp voice over from Lund explains, he pauses as if taking a sip of water, before continuing, "This opens up a new revenue stream for our enterprises here at Nyambe. As a result, we will be conducting freelance interrogation operations here onsite."
Lund has be heard chuckling, "Rather elegantly, the blood from those we interrogate is saturated with PCS and makes a fanstatic preservation medium, for the limbs and other parts we excise from the patient."
The footage shifts to show sub basement three, with line upon line of tanks, being loaded with first blood and then severed body parts. "Once per day, we pass a mild electrical current through the solution which is enough to bring a semblance of life to the limbs for a short few moments. At some point, we may try to attach the limbs to new hosts, however, due to the patients' small stature, the options for implantation are limited. We have however, had more success with organ donation. The recipients heal within a day from the surgery and there are no issues with tissue rejection."
"Nikita is such a treasure trove of material. The eggs we have harvested are infused with her DNA and PCS and will be worth a fortune at auction. For security, I have stored them at an unaffiliated location in East London, without the knowledge of Metzger or Medteqniq." He says, off handedly.
The screen shifts to Lund's face looking puffy and tired, "That witch." He says, the words angrily spitting from his mouth, "She has ordered the destruction of the patient. So much potential, wasted by her fear of getting caught. At least I have agents in place to retrieve her and all she can give me. I have the best team money can buy to bring her and our gold reserves to me." He seems to visibly calm down. "All will be well."
The screen shifts again to Lund sat behind his desk, with the desert sunset behind him, "McCord, has the three remaining daughters in chains and is on his way. The profit margins from this are unimaginable. I will have three patients and despite the loss of my gold, this could be a good day." Lund lights a cigar, "All three will be excellent donors and surrogates. Ah, the revenue streams that will be realised."
The final shot from the video, shows Lund sat at his desk in darkness, sipping a clear liquid from a shot glass. His bloodshot eyes and tired features, in contrast to the crisp, sharpness of his suit. A dull orange glow can be seen over his left shoulder, in the distant mountains. He breathes out slowly, before downing the rest of his drink. Slowly he leans forward and turns off the camera.
Mike rubs his hand over his scalp and takes a pensive deep breath, thinking "Steve will do his nut when he sees this."
He tucks the hard drive into his pack and curses to himself, "Oh the joy of being the bearer of bad news all the time."
Mike pulls the tabs on the thermite and steps out of the room slamming the door. He sprints to the stairs and Stands at the bottom catching his breath. "Glad it is only three floors up."
He emerges panting from the entrance to the roof into bright sunshine and the sound of distant missile and machine gun fire. "What the hell is going on?" He shouts over to Amy and Louise.
Louise takes careful aim and squeezes a single shot, sending a round into the engine block of a beaten up ex Russian half track, racing towards the base of the plateau, "Local army have arrived and we are out of time."
Amy tags a radio operator, crouched by a pair of parked off-road vehicles, "Collins and Garvey are engaging with harassment and interdiction fire, by it is like trying to stop an incoming tide. We have eyeball on a dozen vehicles, plus two helicopters on air support."
"Where is Steve? I need a face to face with him." Mike asks, looking at the incoming vehicles.
"Getting the girls." Louise calls out, loosing a brace of shots, striking the rotor of one of the army helicopters.
"Right." Mike calls out heading back inside, as the army helicopter bgeins to lose altitude.
Steve hugs Dani and Sasha as the lift ascends, "We will get her back." he says softly.
"I was sure that she was going kill Sasha, to force me to kill her." Dani says, looking into the middle distance.
"It felt like it when she was crushing me, but the moment I started blacking out, she took her hand away from my face." Sasha says, recalling the moment.
"Another couple of seconds and I was going to pull the trigger." Dani confesses, tearfully.
"I know you were, I could feel it and I think Niki must have felt it too." Sasha says softly. "She let go at the last minute, knowing she was about to get what she wanted. She wanted to spare us both."
The lift doors open and they see Mike standing before them, with a stern look gracing his stubbled face.
"Trouble?" Steve asks, recognising the look on Mike's face.
"Armed forces inbound, definitely looks like everyone onsite is dead, the eggs I picked up in London might be Nikita's, Lund was a prick." Mike says, keeping his voice even.
Nikita hits the ground hard at the base of the main building. She curls up into a ball both with the pain of her injuries and the greater pain from the last few moments.
She vomits and gags, struggling to sit as her bones snap into place. Deep lungfuls of air, do nothing to cleanse her of a sickly feeling. Slowly she calms herself and lights a cigarette.
"I cannot believe I did that. They will hate me and never want to see me again.", she thinks sadly, "That basement, it was like there was a darkness there, that was poisoning me. All I wanted was to lash out."
She sits up and hugs her knees, "I wanted to destroy myself. It was like I wanted to end my suffering. I could feel Sasha's anguish and Dani's turmoil and it took all I had to let Sasha go and get out of there." She takes a deep lungful of smoke and pauses before breathing out slowly, "I still feel dirty from that basement, but at least my head is clearing a little."
Nikita looks up at the sound of gunshots from above. She closes her eyes and feels the pulses around her. "That looks like a lot of trouble." she whispers aloud, counting the incoming men, she frowns noticing several blank spots in the area, "It looks like everyone I killed has a blank spot. That is something I can focus on. If I can spark those, I might be able to bring them back."
Nikita takes a deep lungful of tobacco smoke and closes her eyes. "To spark their lives, I will have to give a part of myself. To bring everyone back might take all I have in me."
She stretches her back letting her spine click back into place. She stares at her tearful reflection in one of the office windows and asks herself, "Do you want to be the girl who lived, after she murdered hundreds, or the one who died trying to fix it."
Across the plateau and secondary facility, men and women open their eyes screaming. People ask "What happened?", but only silence answers them.
Panicked workers and security personnel run from their posts towards the cable car, with only one thought on their minds, "Flee this Evil place."
Dozens get trampled in the rush to flee, but soon the plateau is almost empty, the only sounds, distant gunfire and helicopter rotors.
No one fleeing, pays any heed to the approaching troops, as they get into whatever vehicles they can and drive for all they are worth to get away.
No one fleeing, cares about their contracts, share options, or bonuses. All they care for is the safety of their souls.
No one fleeing, thinks of the girl they stepped over to escape. The girl with black hair who lays still next to the words, "I am sorry." scrawled in the dust. She lays still, her unseeing eyes following the path of everyones escape, while a gentle breeze teases her hair and blows the last smoke of her cigarette away, as it burns itself out.
"As you can see this man is in terrible pain from his current condition. However, with a balanced dose of PCS in his system, he is unable to die. We were hired to keep this gentleman in this state until such time as he revealed the pass codes for the a weapon silo in Chechnya. He lasted for four days, before he shared all his secrets." The crisp voice over from Lund explains, he pauses as if taking a sip of water, before continuing, "This opens up a new revenue stream for our enterprises here at Nyambe. As a result, we will be conducting freelance interrogation operations here onsite."
Lund has be heard chuckling, "Rather elegantly, the blood from those we interrogate is saturated with PCS and makes a fanstatic preservation medium, for the limbs and other parts we excise from the patient."
The footage shifts to show sub basement three, with line upon line of tanks, being loaded with first blood and then severed body parts. "Once per day, we pass a mild electrical current through the solution which is enough to bring a semblance of life to the limbs for a short few moments. At some point, we may try to attach the limbs to new hosts, however, due to the patients' small stature, the options for implantation are limited. We have however, had more success with organ donation. The recipients heal within a day from the surgery and there are no issues with tissue rejection."
"Nikita is such a treasure trove of material. The eggs we have harvested are infused with her DNA and PCS and will be worth a fortune at auction. For security, I have stored them at an unaffiliated location in East London, without the knowledge of Metzger or Medteqniq." He says, off handedly.
The screen shifts to Lund's face looking puffy and tired, "That witch." He says, the words angrily spitting from his mouth, "She has ordered the destruction of the patient. So much potential, wasted by her fear of getting caught. At least I have agents in place to retrieve her and all she can give me. I have the best team money can buy to bring her and our gold reserves to me." He seems to visibly calm down. "All will be well."
The screen shifts again to Lund sat behind his desk, with the desert sunset behind him, "McCord, has the three remaining daughters in chains and is on his way. The profit margins from this are unimaginable. I will have three patients and despite the loss of my gold, this could be a good day." Lund lights a cigar, "All three will be excellent donors and surrogates. Ah, the revenue streams that will be realised."
The final shot from the video, shows Lund sat at his desk in darkness, sipping a clear liquid from a shot glass. His bloodshot eyes and tired features, in contrast to the crisp, sharpness of his suit. A dull orange glow can be seen over his left shoulder, in the distant mountains. He breathes out slowly, before downing the rest of his drink. Slowly he leans forward and turns off the camera.
Mike rubs his hand over his scalp and takes a pensive deep breath, thinking "Steve will do his nut when he sees this."
He tucks the hard drive into his pack and curses to himself, "Oh the joy of being the bearer of bad news all the time."
Mike pulls the tabs on the thermite and steps out of the room slamming the door. He sprints to the stairs and Stands at the bottom catching his breath. "Glad it is only three floors up."
He emerges panting from the entrance to the roof into bright sunshine and the sound of distant missile and machine gun fire. "What the hell is going on?" He shouts over to Amy and Louise.
Louise takes careful aim and squeezes a single shot, sending a round into the engine block of a beaten up ex Russian half track, racing towards the base of the plateau, "Local army have arrived and we are out of time."
Amy tags a radio operator, crouched by a pair of parked off-road vehicles, "Collins and Garvey are engaging with harassment and interdiction fire, by it is like trying to stop an incoming tide. We have eyeball on a dozen vehicles, plus two helicopters on air support."
"Where is Steve? I need a face to face with him." Mike asks, looking at the incoming vehicles.
"Getting the girls." Louise calls out, loosing a brace of shots, striking the rotor of one of the army helicopters.
"Right." Mike calls out heading back inside, as the army helicopter bgeins to lose altitude.
Steve hugs Dani and Sasha as the lift ascends, "We will get her back." he says softly.
"I was sure that she was going kill Sasha, to force me to kill her." Dani says, looking into the middle distance.
"It felt like it when she was crushing me, but the moment I started blacking out, she took her hand away from my face." Sasha says, recalling the moment.
"Another couple of seconds and I was going to pull the trigger." Dani confesses, tearfully.
"I know you were, I could feel it and I think Niki must have felt it too." Sasha says softly. "She let go at the last minute, knowing she was about to get what she wanted. She wanted to spare us both."
The lift doors open and they see Mike standing before them, with a stern look gracing his stubbled face.
"Trouble?" Steve asks, recognising the look on Mike's face.
"Armed forces inbound, definitely looks like everyone onsite is dead, the eggs I picked up in London might be Nikita's, Lund was a prick." Mike says, keeping his voice even.
Nikita hits the ground hard at the base of the main building. She curls up into a ball both with the pain of her injuries and the greater pain from the last few moments.
She vomits and gags, struggling to sit as her bones snap into place. Deep lungfuls of air, do nothing to cleanse her of a sickly feeling. Slowly she calms herself and lights a cigarette.
"I cannot believe I did that. They will hate me and never want to see me again.", she thinks sadly, "That basement, it was like there was a darkness there, that was poisoning me. All I wanted was to lash out."
She sits up and hugs her knees, "I wanted to destroy myself. It was like I wanted to end my suffering. I could feel Sasha's anguish and Dani's turmoil and it took all I had to let Sasha go and get out of there." She takes a deep lungful of smoke and pauses before breathing out slowly, "I still feel dirty from that basement, but at least my head is clearing a little."
Nikita looks up at the sound of gunshots from above. She closes her eyes and feels the pulses around her. "That looks like a lot of trouble." she whispers aloud, counting the incoming men, she frowns noticing several blank spots in the area, "It looks like everyone I killed has a blank spot. That is something I can focus on. If I can spark those, I might be able to bring them back."
Nikita takes a deep lungful of tobacco smoke and closes her eyes. "To spark their lives, I will have to give a part of myself. To bring everyone back might take all I have in me."
She stretches her back letting her spine click back into place. She stares at her tearful reflection in one of the office windows and asks herself, "Do you want to be the girl who lived, after she murdered hundreds, or the one who died trying to fix it."
Across the plateau and secondary facility, men and women open their eyes screaming. People ask "What happened?", but only silence answers them.
Panicked workers and security personnel run from their posts towards the cable car, with only one thought on their minds, "Flee this Evil place."
Dozens get trampled in the rush to flee, but soon the plateau is almost empty, the only sounds, distant gunfire and helicopter rotors.
No one fleeing, pays any heed to the approaching troops, as they get into whatever vehicles they can and drive for all they are worth to get away.
No one fleeing, cares about their contracts, share options, or bonuses. All they care for is the safety of their souls.
No one fleeing, thinks of the girl they stepped over to escape. The girl with black hair who lays still next to the words, "I am sorry." scrawled in the dust. She lays still, her unseeing eyes following the path of everyones escape, while a gentle breeze teases her hair and blows the last smoke of her cigarette away, as it burns itself out.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
Nikita rolls onto her side and looks at her alarm clock, seeing that it is half eleven, "Not got to be at work until five. Might just have a few more minutes. That was some fucked up dream." She thinks, dozing off again, relishing in the warmth of the bed, on this cold February morning. The posters on the wall and the soft toys around her bed watch her doze in silence
She sees flashes from the dream of her fighting a lion, jumping from a plane and stealing bags of gold. "Stuff it. I am getting up." She thinks, swinging her legs out from under the covers, before reluctantly, climbing out of bed. She crosses the room, still dressed in her red onesie from her nights sleep and picks up her phone.
All thoughts of the dream, is dispelled upon seeing the message waiting for her from Karen, her manager at work. "Niki, need you in early, get your fat ass in here for twelve."
"Bitch." She thinks tearfully, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She goes into the bathroom and peels off her onesie, before turning on the shower. Quickly, she grabs a sponge and begins lathering her body absent mindedly thinking, "Why does he have to be such a cow about my weight?" She rinses the soap off her body and towel dries and wraps her hair. She sits in her bed, picking up her hair dryer, flicking it on with a click. The silence of the dryer, makes her shake her head in dismay.
"Some hair stylist you are Nikita. You don't even have a working hair dryer." She quickly crossed the landing and uses her mum's hair dryer and quickly sets to work, "Shit, I am going to be late." She leaves her hair slightly damp and pulls on her size eighteen work uniform, checking herself in the mirror, "I look awful."
The cut of the uniform for her store is unflattering one anyone who wears it, but she hates hers, with a passion. "Awful colour and not a natural fibre in sight.", She sighs, to herself walking downstairs.
Nikita pops her head around the door to the living room, "Hi mum. Hi Dad. Have been called in early, so gotta run."
"Hey slow down there." Her mum says, springing from her chair. Nikita enters the room with an eye on the time, to be rewarded with a warm embrace from her mum, "I know you hate that place. I am so proud of you for sticking with it."
"The place is not so bad, it is just her." Nikita says, bitterly. "Besides, I need the money, to pay for my part of the holiday." She smiles, thinking of the Swiss holiday that they had planned.
"Well. Your dad and I have been talking and we have decided to pay for your part of the holiday." Mrs Green says, with a smile.
Nikita stands open mouthed, "Are you serious?"
"Yes darling. You deserve it." Her mum says, "You could use the money you have saved, to start up as a mobile stylist."
"That is amazing." Nikita says, jumping with excitement.
"We will talk about it later, if you need to get moving." Her father says, smiling over his news paper.
After a short good bye, she steps out into the cold Febraury air and gets into her old beaten up Renault, she lights a cigarette, savouring the smoke. "This might be a good day after all."
It is a busy day at the store, perched at the edge of town, like a hiding tortoise at the edge of miniature village. Nikita barely manages to find a space and rushes towards the doors of the store, just after half twelve and hurries inside, hoping in vain that she is not caught.
A pit of dread opens in her stomach, when she notices Karen Hellion heading straight for her, perfectly styled platinum blond hair glinting in the little winter sun that shines through the stores front windows. Her dark green trouser suit, and pink blouse, so much more flatteringly cut than the standard uniform, accentuating her size ten frame and C cup breasts. "Thank you for deigning to join us Nikita." Karen says, pointedly. "We will need to have a word about your punctuality."
Nikita glares at Karen, "Yeah well, maybe you need to give more notice to shift changes."
Karen approaches, almost touching Nikita and whispers in Nikita's ear, "So sorry Niki-toffee-pudding, forgot it takes you a while to drag your fat ass away from the fridge." She steps back and continues in a normal volume, "Checkout seven, when you are ready."
"Fine." Nikita says, walking towards the checkout, thinking, "Great right under the heater, will sweat like a pig for eight hours.", oblivious to the blonde and brunette girls watching her.
Nikita gets up from her checkout three hours later for her break. Despite the cold outside, she is sweltering from being under the heater for hours. Her hair, slightly damp upon arrival is frizzy and puffed out. She puts on her coat and steps outside for a smoke, knowing she has enough time for a ciggie and a pee before getting back to it.
She ignores the statuesque blonde and brunette girls and slips past the tall, muscular and scary looking guy with the beautiful redhead on his arm, as she lights a cigarette.
"Funny, I thought smoking made you thinner." Karen says, sharply from behind her.
"What is your problem?" Nikita asks, wearily.
"My problem is that I have to look at your obscene ass, all day. Do you even know what a salad is?" Karen snipes, exhaling the berry and mint from her vape.
"Just leave me alone." Nikita says weakly, almost begging.
"Trouble is you are a big, slow moving target so easy to aim for." Karen whispers, coldly, "Finish your smoke, then give me a hand, bringing more checkout rolls up from the warehouse. You could use the exercise."
"Sure."' Nikita says, trying to hide the hurt inside, she looks up to see the blonde, brunette, red head and scary looking guy, watching her sadly from across the car park.
"Took your time." Karen spits at Nikita, "Was hoping you might be able to waddle a little faster to get here." She stands inspecting a pile of boxes, in the corner of the storage room. The room is damp and dimly lit by a single bulb. It lays in a far corner of the stores warehouse, far from the shop floor and loading bay. Boxes line the walls and to suppurt beams lance up from the floor to lance the ceiling.
Nikita leans against a support post in the freezing cold, small storage room, attached to the warehouse and sadly mumbles, "Sorry, Karen."
"So you should be." Karen says walking behind the post Nikita leans against.
Suddenly Nikita feels her arms being pulled behind the post. She tries to pull away, but she is out of shape and Karen trains every night resulting in her being faster and stronger than her prey "What are you doing?" Nikita asks fearfully.
"Dealing with your lateness." Karen says, using a roll of yellow tape with the words 'Do not use' in black letters, to wrap Nikita's wrists, tying them securely together.
"What do you mean?" Nikita says, confused and tearfully.
"If we go to HR you will get the sack, this way you learn a lesson and keep your job." Karen says, wrapping tape around her waist, pinning Nikita's body to the post. "I am doing you a favour. You should thank me for this."
"Come on. Let me go." Nikita says struggling to free her hands.
"Not until you have learned your lesson." Karen says, wrapping the rest of the roll around Nikita's waist and stomach pinning her arms behind her and her body to the post further. "Say thank you for letting me keep my job Karen." She whispers, taking a second rolle of the tape and wrapping it around Nikita's legs, with a painful tightness.
Nikita tries to twist and struggle against the tape, but there is too much of it. "Fuck you, Karen." She says, trying not to cry.
Karen stands in front of Nikita and slaps her hard across the face, Nikita opens her mouth to protest, but it cut short by the whole lime that Karen shoves into her mouth. "That language will not be tolerated." She whispers, in a sinister tone, as she uses the last of the second roll of tape, to secure the lime in her mouth, "You should probably have a bit more fruit in your diet."
Nikita weakly mumbles and struggles, unable to get free. Karen laughs at her, "You are pathetic, weak and a mess. You are nothing but a joke." She steps back and gives a twirl, "This is what gorgeous looks like, thought I would show you. As you will never know what it feels like to be attractive."
Nikita begins to cry and manages to mumble the words "Fuck you." Past the lime in her mouth.
"Fuck me?" Karen asks with a raised eyebrow. She steps forward and roughly pulls down Nikita's trousers and underwear, exposing her privates and rear, before unbuttoning Nikita's shirt and popping her large breasts from the cups of her bra. "How about fuck you?" Karen, whispers menacingly in Nikita's ear. She turns sharply, and walks to the door snapping off the nlight on her way. "See you at the end of the shift." She says over her shoulder before closing and locking the door.
"It is so cold in here." Nikita thinks, shivering in the pitch dark, freezing cold room. She begins to cry, feeling the cold right down to her bones. She grunts in discomfort, thinking, "I can't feel my hands. For once I hope to see Karen soon."
"Hello?" she grunts, "Is someone there?" Her eyes strain to make out shapes in the room, "I don't think I am alone in here."
A few minutes later, she hears the key in the lock, feels a wave of relief as Karen, steps into the room and closes the door behind her. Karen flicks the light switch, then locks the door from the inside. "Still here then fatty." She says with disgust looking at the tears and snot, covering Nikita's face.
Karen puts a carrier bag on the table and takes a washcloth from it. She roughly wipes Nikita's face clean and tosses the cloth in the bin. She seizes Nikita by the chin and pushes her head back onto the pole. "Listen up, porky. I am being nice, I brought you something for lunch. I will take the tape off, but if you make a sound, you will regret it. Do you understand?"
Nikita, nods as best she can, her eyes pleading with Karen. "Good." Karen says, taking a roll of tape from the bag, she makes a show of finding the end of the tape and when she does, she pushes Nikita's head back against the pole and wraps it around her head and the pole holding her in place and covering her eyes.
Slowly she peels the tape from Nikita's mouth, allowing Nikita to spit out the lime, the moment her mouth is free. "Wow, surprised you didn't eat that tubby."
"Fuck you. Bitch." Nikita says weakly.
Nikita hears a rustle from the bag and the top of a bottle being unscrewed and frowns, wondering, "What is she up to?"
"Do you remember what i said would happen if you made a sound?" Karen whispers, in Nikita's ear.
Nikita opens her mouth to respond, but finds herself cut off by a washcloth being roughly stuffed into her mouth, she tries to force it out of her mouth, but hears the burr of the tape and feels it being wrapped around her head and open mouth, trapping the cloth and forcing it deeper. Karen ignores her cries and continues to wrap the tape around her face and the pole, covering her face from just under her nose to her chin.
Nikita tastes something sweet and smoky, before screaming in pain. "The cloth in your mouth is soaked in Habanero sauce. I was going to feed you but, you decided to speak."
Nikita bites down on the cloth, forcing more of the liquid down her throat and growls at Karen.
Karen pulls out her phone and begins filming, unable to stop laughing. "Oh my God, you are turning so red. I can't believe you asked me to to this too you."
Nikita gags and coughs more heavily with each drop of the hot sauce that trickles down her throat. She mumbles incoherently, muffled by the cloth in her mouth, "You fucking bitch, let me go." Her bloodshot eyes turn red and the muscles on her neck pull taut, as she tries to free herself from the tape and the fire within.
"Sorry Niki Toffee Pudding, didn't catch that." Karen says mockingly.
Nikita cannot stop coughing and begins to choke, struggling for breath. "Oh shit it burns so much. I can't breath." she thinks, beginning to cry. Her nose begins to stream and she feels light headed, fighting for breath, as she starts to inhale the mucus pouring down the back of her throat.
A look of concern crosses Karens face, as she watches Nikita buck and writhe helplessly, before going limp.
Karen shakes her head giggling and stops recording. She places her hands on Nikita's shoulders and shakes her, "Come on bitch, wake up."
Karen slaps Nikita hard across the face, "Get up you lazy fat cow."
Nikita hangs against the pole motionless, her chest still. "Shit, what have I done." Karen thinks, pacing the room.
She buttons up Nikita's shirt and pulls up her underwear and trousers. Then she takes out a box cutter and cuts the tape around her head and mouth.
When she pulls the cloth out of her victims mouth, Nikita's head slumps forward, lifeless. "Shit." Karen uses the box cutter, to cut the tape binding Nikita, letting her slump to the floor.
Karen takes a wash cloth out of her bag and wipes down every surface and puts the used tape and washcloths in her bag, before taking a last look at Nikita and leaving the room, making sure the door is unlocked. "Need to establish an alibi and send someone else to find her."
Nikita's tries to swallow but the burning in her throat makes it so painful. She feels a cool cloth dabbing her forehead.
Her eyes slowly drift open and she looks up to see the scary looking guy, that has been watching her. The warmth of his arms feel comforting and she relaxes her body.
"Take it easy, don't try to talk." The blonde says, with a voice filled with concern.
The brunette squeezes her left hand and speaks softly. "Sorry we were not able to help you."
"Why have you been watching me?" Nikita asks, feeling strangely at ease.
"Do you know who we are?" The guy asks, in a tender and gentle tone.
Nikita thinks for a moment before her eyes widen in recognition, "You were in my dream last night. You are my father." she shifts her gaze to the red head, "You are Louise." she bites her lip and looks at the blonde and brunette, "You are my deadly sisters."
"It wasn't a dream." Louise says, softly.
She closes her eyes and sighs to herself, "This isn't real is it? I am dreaming this."
"This is part of your life flashing before your eyes. You died again." Dani says, unable to find the words to be more diplomatic.
"Why here?" Nikita asks, looking around the room, "Why this part of my life?"
"This is the first time you died and came back." Sasha says gently.
"You have always thought that you just passed out, but this is the first time you came back. This room is where you found your power, not in the labs of Medteqniq." Louise says, warmly.
"You have always been special. With Sasha, it took a big dose of PCS for her to manifest her powers, but you always had yours." Dani says, beaming a smile.
"It is more than just being able to form instant muscle memory for her isn't it." Nikita says, thoughtfully.
"Yes. My mind and body are in perfect harmony and I can translate thought into action instantly. Plus I have full control over my body, ignoring the need to sleep, enhancing my ability to heal." Sasha says, rising from sitting cross-legged, back flipping and landing perfectly, in one fluid movement.
"What is my power?" Nikita says, "Rising from the dead?"
"No. You have an unbreakable connection to life. You are driven by an instinct to live and it allows you to heal faster, feel life of those around you and manipulate it. Your muscles and bones are stronger and denser to deal with the amount of life in your body." Dani explains, cheerily.
Nikita thinks for a moment, before asking, "So I can't die?"
"You can die, but unless your body is incinerated or your brain and heart destroyed, you will come back. Speaking of which, you need to open your eyes." Steve says, warmly.
She turns to Dani and hurriedly asks, "What is your power?"
Dani smiles and opens her mouth to speak, but Nikita doesn't hear what she says, as a rush of sensation fills her body.
She sees flashes from the dream of her fighting a lion, jumping from a plane and stealing bags of gold. "Stuff it. I am getting up." She thinks, swinging her legs out from under the covers, before reluctantly, climbing out of bed. She crosses the room, still dressed in her red onesie from her nights sleep and picks up her phone.
All thoughts of the dream, is dispelled upon seeing the message waiting for her from Karen, her manager at work. "Niki, need you in early, get your fat ass in here for twelve."
"Bitch." She thinks tearfully, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She goes into the bathroom and peels off her onesie, before turning on the shower. Quickly, she grabs a sponge and begins lathering her body absent mindedly thinking, "Why does he have to be such a cow about my weight?" She rinses the soap off her body and towel dries and wraps her hair. She sits in her bed, picking up her hair dryer, flicking it on with a click. The silence of the dryer, makes her shake her head in dismay.
"Some hair stylist you are Nikita. You don't even have a working hair dryer." She quickly crossed the landing and uses her mum's hair dryer and quickly sets to work, "Shit, I am going to be late." She leaves her hair slightly damp and pulls on her size eighteen work uniform, checking herself in the mirror, "I look awful."
The cut of the uniform for her store is unflattering one anyone who wears it, but she hates hers, with a passion. "Awful colour and not a natural fibre in sight.", She sighs, to herself walking downstairs.
Nikita pops her head around the door to the living room, "Hi mum. Hi Dad. Have been called in early, so gotta run."
"Hey slow down there." Her mum says, springing from her chair. Nikita enters the room with an eye on the time, to be rewarded with a warm embrace from her mum, "I know you hate that place. I am so proud of you for sticking with it."
"The place is not so bad, it is just her." Nikita says, bitterly. "Besides, I need the money, to pay for my part of the holiday." She smiles, thinking of the Swiss holiday that they had planned.
"Well. Your dad and I have been talking and we have decided to pay for your part of the holiday." Mrs Green says, with a smile.
Nikita stands open mouthed, "Are you serious?"
"Yes darling. You deserve it." Her mum says, "You could use the money you have saved, to start up as a mobile stylist."
"That is amazing." Nikita says, jumping with excitement.
"We will talk about it later, if you need to get moving." Her father says, smiling over his news paper.
After a short good bye, she steps out into the cold Febraury air and gets into her old beaten up Renault, she lights a cigarette, savouring the smoke. "This might be a good day after all."
It is a busy day at the store, perched at the edge of town, like a hiding tortoise at the edge of miniature village. Nikita barely manages to find a space and rushes towards the doors of the store, just after half twelve and hurries inside, hoping in vain that she is not caught.
A pit of dread opens in her stomach, when she notices Karen Hellion heading straight for her, perfectly styled platinum blond hair glinting in the little winter sun that shines through the stores front windows. Her dark green trouser suit, and pink blouse, so much more flatteringly cut than the standard uniform, accentuating her size ten frame and C cup breasts. "Thank you for deigning to join us Nikita." Karen says, pointedly. "We will need to have a word about your punctuality."
Nikita glares at Karen, "Yeah well, maybe you need to give more notice to shift changes."
Karen approaches, almost touching Nikita and whispers in Nikita's ear, "So sorry Niki-toffee-pudding, forgot it takes you a while to drag your fat ass away from the fridge." She steps back and continues in a normal volume, "Checkout seven, when you are ready."
"Fine." Nikita says, walking towards the checkout, thinking, "Great right under the heater, will sweat like a pig for eight hours.", oblivious to the blonde and brunette girls watching her.
Nikita gets up from her checkout three hours later for her break. Despite the cold outside, she is sweltering from being under the heater for hours. Her hair, slightly damp upon arrival is frizzy and puffed out. She puts on her coat and steps outside for a smoke, knowing she has enough time for a ciggie and a pee before getting back to it.
She ignores the statuesque blonde and brunette girls and slips past the tall, muscular and scary looking guy with the beautiful redhead on his arm, as she lights a cigarette.
"Funny, I thought smoking made you thinner." Karen says, sharply from behind her.
"What is your problem?" Nikita asks, wearily.
"My problem is that I have to look at your obscene ass, all day. Do you even know what a salad is?" Karen snipes, exhaling the berry and mint from her vape.
"Just leave me alone." Nikita says weakly, almost begging.
"Trouble is you are a big, slow moving target so easy to aim for." Karen whispers, coldly, "Finish your smoke, then give me a hand, bringing more checkout rolls up from the warehouse. You could use the exercise."
"Sure."' Nikita says, trying to hide the hurt inside, she looks up to see the blonde, brunette, red head and scary looking guy, watching her sadly from across the car park.
"Took your time." Karen spits at Nikita, "Was hoping you might be able to waddle a little faster to get here." She stands inspecting a pile of boxes, in the corner of the storage room. The room is damp and dimly lit by a single bulb. It lays in a far corner of the stores warehouse, far from the shop floor and loading bay. Boxes line the walls and to suppurt beams lance up from the floor to lance the ceiling.
Nikita leans against a support post in the freezing cold, small storage room, attached to the warehouse and sadly mumbles, "Sorry, Karen."
"So you should be." Karen says walking behind the post Nikita leans against.
Suddenly Nikita feels her arms being pulled behind the post. She tries to pull away, but she is out of shape and Karen trains every night resulting in her being faster and stronger than her prey "What are you doing?" Nikita asks fearfully.
"Dealing with your lateness." Karen says, using a roll of yellow tape with the words 'Do not use' in black letters, to wrap Nikita's wrists, tying them securely together.
"What do you mean?" Nikita says, confused and tearfully.
"If we go to HR you will get the sack, this way you learn a lesson and keep your job." Karen says, wrapping tape around her waist, pinning Nikita's body to the post. "I am doing you a favour. You should thank me for this."
"Come on. Let me go." Nikita says struggling to free her hands.
"Not until you have learned your lesson." Karen says, wrapping the rest of the roll around Nikita's waist and stomach pinning her arms behind her and her body to the post further. "Say thank you for letting me keep my job Karen." She whispers, taking a second rolle of the tape and wrapping it around Nikita's legs, with a painful tightness.
Nikita tries to twist and struggle against the tape, but there is too much of it. "Fuck you, Karen." She says, trying not to cry.
Karen stands in front of Nikita and slaps her hard across the face, Nikita opens her mouth to protest, but it cut short by the whole lime that Karen shoves into her mouth. "That language will not be tolerated." She whispers, in a sinister tone, as she uses the last of the second roll of tape, to secure the lime in her mouth, "You should probably have a bit more fruit in your diet."
Nikita weakly mumbles and struggles, unable to get free. Karen laughs at her, "You are pathetic, weak and a mess. You are nothing but a joke." She steps back and gives a twirl, "This is what gorgeous looks like, thought I would show you. As you will never know what it feels like to be attractive."
Nikita begins to cry and manages to mumble the words "Fuck you." Past the lime in her mouth.
"Fuck me?" Karen asks with a raised eyebrow. She steps forward and roughly pulls down Nikita's trousers and underwear, exposing her privates and rear, before unbuttoning Nikita's shirt and popping her large breasts from the cups of her bra. "How about fuck you?" Karen, whispers menacingly in Nikita's ear. She turns sharply, and walks to the door snapping off the nlight on her way. "See you at the end of the shift." She says over her shoulder before closing and locking the door.
"It is so cold in here." Nikita thinks, shivering in the pitch dark, freezing cold room. She begins to cry, feeling the cold right down to her bones. She grunts in discomfort, thinking, "I can't feel my hands. For once I hope to see Karen soon."
"Hello?" she grunts, "Is someone there?" Her eyes strain to make out shapes in the room, "I don't think I am alone in here."
A few minutes later, she hears the key in the lock, feels a wave of relief as Karen, steps into the room and closes the door behind her. Karen flicks the light switch, then locks the door from the inside. "Still here then fatty." She says with disgust looking at the tears and snot, covering Nikita's face.
Karen puts a carrier bag on the table and takes a washcloth from it. She roughly wipes Nikita's face clean and tosses the cloth in the bin. She seizes Nikita by the chin and pushes her head back onto the pole. "Listen up, porky. I am being nice, I brought you something for lunch. I will take the tape off, but if you make a sound, you will regret it. Do you understand?"
Nikita, nods as best she can, her eyes pleading with Karen. "Good." Karen says, taking a roll of tape from the bag, she makes a show of finding the end of the tape and when she does, she pushes Nikita's head back against the pole and wraps it around her head and the pole holding her in place and covering her eyes.
Slowly she peels the tape from Nikita's mouth, allowing Nikita to spit out the lime, the moment her mouth is free. "Wow, surprised you didn't eat that tubby."
"Fuck you. Bitch." Nikita says weakly.
Nikita hears a rustle from the bag and the top of a bottle being unscrewed and frowns, wondering, "What is she up to?"
"Do you remember what i said would happen if you made a sound?" Karen whispers, in Nikita's ear.
Nikita opens her mouth to respond, but finds herself cut off by a washcloth being roughly stuffed into her mouth, she tries to force it out of her mouth, but hears the burr of the tape and feels it being wrapped around her head and open mouth, trapping the cloth and forcing it deeper. Karen ignores her cries and continues to wrap the tape around her face and the pole, covering her face from just under her nose to her chin.
Nikita tastes something sweet and smoky, before screaming in pain. "The cloth in your mouth is soaked in Habanero sauce. I was going to feed you but, you decided to speak."
Nikita bites down on the cloth, forcing more of the liquid down her throat and growls at Karen.
Karen pulls out her phone and begins filming, unable to stop laughing. "Oh my God, you are turning so red. I can't believe you asked me to to this too you."
Nikita gags and coughs more heavily with each drop of the hot sauce that trickles down her throat. She mumbles incoherently, muffled by the cloth in her mouth, "You fucking bitch, let me go." Her bloodshot eyes turn red and the muscles on her neck pull taut, as she tries to free herself from the tape and the fire within.
"Sorry Niki Toffee Pudding, didn't catch that." Karen says mockingly.
Nikita cannot stop coughing and begins to choke, struggling for breath. "Oh shit it burns so much. I can't breath." she thinks, beginning to cry. Her nose begins to stream and she feels light headed, fighting for breath, as she starts to inhale the mucus pouring down the back of her throat.
A look of concern crosses Karens face, as she watches Nikita buck and writhe helplessly, before going limp.
Karen shakes her head giggling and stops recording. She places her hands on Nikita's shoulders and shakes her, "Come on bitch, wake up."
Karen slaps Nikita hard across the face, "Get up you lazy fat cow."
Nikita hangs against the pole motionless, her chest still. "Shit, what have I done." Karen thinks, pacing the room.
She buttons up Nikita's shirt and pulls up her underwear and trousers. Then she takes out a box cutter and cuts the tape around her head and mouth.
When she pulls the cloth out of her victims mouth, Nikita's head slumps forward, lifeless. "Shit." Karen uses the box cutter, to cut the tape binding Nikita, letting her slump to the floor.
Karen takes a wash cloth out of her bag and wipes down every surface and puts the used tape and washcloths in her bag, before taking a last look at Nikita and leaving the room, making sure the door is unlocked. "Need to establish an alibi and send someone else to find her."
Nikita's tries to swallow but the burning in her throat makes it so painful. She feels a cool cloth dabbing her forehead.
Her eyes slowly drift open and she looks up to see the scary looking guy, that has been watching her. The warmth of his arms feel comforting and she relaxes her body.
"Take it easy, don't try to talk." The blonde says, with a voice filled with concern.
The brunette squeezes her left hand and speaks softly. "Sorry we were not able to help you."
"Why have you been watching me?" Nikita asks, feeling strangely at ease.
"Do you know who we are?" The guy asks, in a tender and gentle tone.
Nikita thinks for a moment before her eyes widen in recognition, "You were in my dream last night. You are my father." she shifts her gaze to the red head, "You are Louise." she bites her lip and looks at the blonde and brunette, "You are my deadly sisters."
"It wasn't a dream." Louise says, softly.
She closes her eyes and sighs to herself, "This isn't real is it? I am dreaming this."
"This is part of your life flashing before your eyes. You died again." Dani says, unable to find the words to be more diplomatic.
"Why here?" Nikita asks, looking around the room, "Why this part of my life?"
"This is the first time you died and came back." Sasha says gently.
"You have always thought that you just passed out, but this is the first time you came back. This room is where you found your power, not in the labs of Medteqniq." Louise says, warmly.
"You have always been special. With Sasha, it took a big dose of PCS for her to manifest her powers, but you always had yours." Dani says, beaming a smile.
"It is more than just being able to form instant muscle memory for her isn't it." Nikita says, thoughtfully.
"Yes. My mind and body are in perfect harmony and I can translate thought into action instantly. Plus I have full control over my body, ignoring the need to sleep, enhancing my ability to heal." Sasha says, rising from sitting cross-legged, back flipping and landing perfectly, in one fluid movement.
"What is my power?" Nikita says, "Rising from the dead?"
"No. You have an unbreakable connection to life. You are driven by an instinct to live and it allows you to heal faster, feel life of those around you and manipulate it. Your muscles and bones are stronger and denser to deal with the amount of life in your body." Dani explains, cheerily.
Nikita thinks for a moment, before asking, "So I can't die?"
"You can die, but unless your body is incinerated or your brain and heart destroyed, you will come back. Speaking of which, you need to open your eyes." Steve says, warmly.
She turns to Dani and hurriedly asks, "What is your power?"
Dani smiles and opens her mouth to speak, but Nikita doesn't hear what she says, as a rush of sensation fills her body.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
-
slackywacky
- Millennial Club
- Posts: 2616
- Joined: 5 years ago
- Location: Canada
I am still catching up, currently on page 6, dividing my time between life, work, writing my own stories and reading this, I need a few more hours in a day.
Thank you for writing this story, it is a pleasure to read and, at least for me, a nice change from my 'lighthearted' stories.
Thank you for writing this story, it is a pleasure to read and, at least for me, a nice change from my 'lighthearted' stories.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.
Slackywacky, also @DeviantArt
My active stories:
Slackywacky, also @DeviantArt
My active stories:
- All in the family - Updated 21/03
- Bondage model by choice - Updated 10/04
- Hitchhiker - Updated 29/03
The first part of this chapter is clear to me: Nikita revisting her past. The second part not so much. Part of a dream - or reality ... dificult to tell. But learning about Nikitas Past was very interessting. A Nikita so different from the Nikita we know. I´m really intrigued by this chapter, [mention]wolfman[/mention] !
Thank you very much for sticking with it and I am glad you are enjoying it. There are a few more twists to come and I hope you continue to enjoy this.slackywacky wrote: ↑3 years ago I am still catching up, currently on page 6, dividing my time between life, work, writing my own stories and reading this, I need a few more hours in a day.
Thank you for writing this story, it is a pleasure to read and, at least for me, a nice change from my 'lighthearted' stories.
I tried to round her out a bit and confront her past self, to show herself how far she has come. I won't say for definite what the second part was or where it was a memory, dream or something else, but I will say that Nikita views it as real.Caesar73 wrote: ↑3 years ago The first part of this chapter is clear to me: Nikita revisting her past. The second part not so much. Part of a dream - or reality ... dificult to tell. But learning about Nikitas Past was very interessting. A Nikita so different from the Nikita we know. I´m really intrigued by this chapter, [mention]wolfman[/mention] !
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
Sasha wails, mournfully cradling Nikita in her arms. Dani puts her arms around Sasha hugging her from behind. "Shhhhh. It's ok babe, I am with you, we will get through this together."
"She can't be gone." Sasha says with a keening sigh.
"I know what you mean, it doesn't seem real." Dani says hiding her tears.
"She was so great. I hope where ever she is, she knows we forgive her." Sasha cries.
"I am sure she knows." Dani squeezes Sasha's shoulders, "We have to get moving. The armed forces, have pulled back and dad reckons that they are going to bomb this place."
"We can't leave her." Sasha says hugging Nikita.
"We can take her together." Dani says warmly.
Continuing our sweep to the north. Over." Steve's voice crackles over the radio.
"Negative. Head for the Hind. We have found her." Dani says, hanging her head.
"Angel. Report your location we are on our way." Steve says, hopefully.
"Negative. We will bring her to the helicopter." Dani says, not wanting to say the words, that would break her and her father's heart.
"Amy, Lou and Kate are with me, we will come to you." he says, acknowledging the nods of the ladies with him.
"It's ok we can manage." Dani says, her eyes watering.
"How is she sweetie?" Louise asks, gently over comms.
"She is at peace." Sasha says, sparing her sister.
Steve closes his eyes and puts his head in his hands. "Understood Guardian. Come on back to the Hind, we need to evac before the locals bomb this place. How are you two holding up?"
"See you soon dad." Dani says evading the question.
Dani slips her arm under Nikita's left arm and Sasha takes her right. Between them the struggle to stand with her on their shoulders. "She is a" Dani pauses before she calls Nikita a dead weight, "heavy so and so."
"I can't believe she brought everyone except Lund back." Sasha says, mournfully, "She would have changed the world."
"She certainly changed mine." Dani says, sadly. "I miss her." She sniffs back tears. "It's daft, I only knew her for three days and it was like I had always known her."
"I know what you mean." Sasha says, smiling gently, "I will miss her too."
"I made a promise to bring her home safely." Dani says, looking at the side of Nikita's face. "I failed her."
"Hey, come on. There was no way you could have known what would happen." Sasha says gently.
"Maybe. But I should have." Dani says, solemnly, "If she was going to come back, I think she would have done so by now."
"Dani, come on babe. This is not your fault." Sasha grunts under the weight of her fallen sister. "She gave her life, to save everyone whose life she took. That was her choice, you couldn't have known."
"My gut told me to pull everyone back and get out of there, before we went down the lift shaft. I should have sent her back when I saw her hugging her knees and rocking back and forth, but, I didn't. I used emotional blackmail to get her to come with us. I put her in that position. It is my fault." Dani says, in a low solemn tone.
Steve cradles Nikita's head, while Dani and Sasha lay her on one of the benches in the Hind. Mike, Kate and Amy sit on the other bench, whilst Louise sits next to Steve with her arm around him. Steve strokes her hair and leaves his feelings unspoken, but the grief and strain in his eyes, speaks volumes.
The Hind sweeps low over the Central African savannah, hugging the contours of the ground like a dragonfly, skimming a lake. "Inbound tangoes. Over." Garvey calls out over comms.
"Roger that, I have visual, three Hughes civilian helos, with weapon pods in bound." Collins confirms.
"Engaging with chain gun. Over." Garvey calls out.
The everyone on board feels the craft's air-speed slow, when the gun fires. The cabin judders and shakes with the vibration of the weapon.
"Miss, over." Garvey anounces, before unleashing another burst.
Dani moves to one of the left windows and sees a flash from one of helicopters. "Missile inbound. Taking evasive action." Collins advises sharply banking left towards the mountains.
The missile tracks their course change and slams into a hillside in a burst of flame and debris. "Too close. Over." Collins says, with a furrowed brow, "Will try to lose them in the valleys. Over."
Dani clips onto a safety line and snatches up Kate's sniper rifle, before pulling open the left hand side door. "Adjust orientation ninety degrees to port, maintain trajectory and velocity. Over."
Collins raises his eyebrows and spins the aircraft to fly sideways with the open doorway facing the pursuing helicopters. "Affirmative. Over."
Dani takes a knee and raises the weapon to her eye. She gently sways the tip of the rifle matching the movements of the aircraft chasing them. The world falls away and it is just them, her and the rifle. Bound together in a slow dance. She holds her breath and squeezes the trigger twice.
The lead helicopter veers to the left with a shattered windscreen. The other two craft bank sharply and evade above it, as it spins out of control into a cliff side.
"Did you just shoot the pilot?" Steve asks, thinking to himself, "Shooting a pilot, from a moving and evading aircraft, at that range. I couldn't make that shot."
"Yes." she says, without emotion, raising the weapon to her eye again. "I have lost one loved one today, I will not lose any more." She squeezes off four more shots.
The second craft peels away with a smoking tail rotor. Dani frowns, "The third one is evading more erratically, I wont be able to draw a bead on them." She says, thoughtfully.
Steve takes up position at her side clipping his belt to a safety line and levels his Kalashnikov, laying down bursts leading the pursuing helicopter. "He knows what he is doing, barely breaking cover for more than a second."
"Works in our favour, they can't shoot us if they can't see us." Dani responds, before laying on her stomach and crawling to the edge of the cabin. She looks down from the edge at the river below as it rushes by.
Dani spots a bush shapes like a sheep and begins counting slowly. "One.... two.... three....four." She stops the count as the other helicopter passes over it.
"Collins, what is our air speed?" Dani asks, with a distant tone to her voice.
"Readout says, ground effect speed one eighty three. Over." Collins calls out.
She thinks to herself, "About three hundred and twenty metres behind us." before turning to Sasha, "You're up, babe."
Sasha reluctantly releases Nikita's hand and steps toward Dani, "What do you need?"
Dani tosses her a grenade, "When I give the word, pull the pin, release the spoon and count one thousand, two thousand and throw it as hard as you can straight out of the aircraft. Try to aim for a spot, about thirty metres above the river."
"Is that safe?" Sasha asks fearfully.
"Not really, but should work." Dani says, with a grin.
"Good enough for me." Sasha says, nervously.
"Might be an idea to clip yourself to a line, just in case. " Dani instructs, holding up one of the lines attached to the roof of the helicopter.
Sasha smiles at Dani and clips the line to her belt, before testing it. "Always looking out for me, eh?"
Dani smiles with sadness in her eyes, thinking, "I killed one sister today, that is enough."
Dani spots the helicopter and shouts, "Now."
Sasha pulls the pin on the grenade and releases the spoon, "One thousand, two thousand." she says, bracing before she throws.
As the grenade flies past her, Dani light two flares and Steve continues to lay down suppressive fire. Dani continues to count in her head.
"Three." Dani counts, watching the grenade flies from the cabin, as the pursuing helicopter hoves into view.
"Four." Dani says softly, as the helicopter's right weapon pod flashes. She nods to herself and tosses the flares out of the open cabin door.
"Five." Dani says, crossing her fingers. The grenade detonates a few feet from the pursuing helicopter, showering the craft with shrapnel, turning the windscreen into a spiders web of cracks and riddling the crew with hot metal. The heat seeking missiles, lock onto the flares and dive beneath the Hind to detonate near the raging surface of the river below.
The pursuing helicopter, plunges into the river, breaking up on impact. The Hind rocks violently from the detonation shockwaves underneath it. Nikita's unsecured body, flies towards the open cabin door, drawing a scream of "No!" from Sasha, who leaps after her.
Dani feels a pit of dread growing in her stomach and leaps after Sasha, noticing only now that her sisters line is frayed. "Got you." Sasha cries wrapping her arms around Nikita's waist, "Shit." she thinks, panicking as the combination of Nikita's weight and their momentum, send them speeding towards the door.
Sasha grips Nikita, as if her life depends on it feeling Dani land on her back, at the moment she an Nikita leave the aircraft. Dani grunts with exertion, holding onto the belt around her sisters waist, as they tumble from the craft.
Dani screams as the line attached to her goes taut and Sasha belt digs into her palm. "I have got you." she cries, "I won't lose another sister today."
Sasha shouts over the noise of the rotors and the rushing wind, "We are too heavy, I will have to let Nikita go." her voice cracks at the moment her heart breaks, knowing she will have to abandon Nikita to the river.
Dani heaves with all her strength pulling Sasha up a few inches and then braces herself. She let's go of Sasha's belt with her left hand, letting her right take all of the weight and screams will effort, as she clips her own line onto, her sister's belt.
Steve, Louise and Mike edge toward the open door of the cabin and pick up the line. Slowly, the begin to pull the girls in. Beads of sweat form of Steve's forehead, as he says a silent prayer. "Please God, let these lines hold long enough to get them in."
Dani looks up at Sasha's line and her heart sinks as it begins to split. She closes her eyes and removes three heavy duty zip tie from the leg pocket of her trousers.
"What are you doing?" Sasha shouts, as Dani uses one of the ties to secure her hands around Nikita. "Stop. Please Dani." she cries out, feeling Dani thread her arms between her and Nikita. She feels her sister lace the ties through her belt and the back of Nikita's belt and secure them together.
"It's ok Sasha, the ties will hold Niki. You can let let the ties on your belts take her weight." Dani says, with a touch of sadness, watching threads peel away from the rope above her.
Sasha tentatively relaxes her arms letting the ties take her sister weight. She leans her head back in short lived relief, before she feels her line snap. "Dani, the rope."
Dani reaches around Sasha and places her hands over her sisters to still them. "It's ok babe, you are on my line. But, it wont hold all of us."
"What are we going to do?" Sasha asks, trying to free her hands.
Dani closes her eyes, hoping to hold back a river of tears she feels welling up inside her. "I pray you have a long life and live well. I love you Sasha."
"W-what do you mean?" Sasha asks, fearful and confused.
"Take Niki home and be happy. I failed her in life, I can't fail her in death, as well." the words catch in Dani's throat and she composes herself befor continuing. "I am sorry for everything. I messed up and I won't let anyone else fall today. Tell everyone I love them. Thank you for showing me, what it means to have an amazing sister." Dani says, weeping. "You are incredible."
"Dani. I don't like the way you are talking. You're scaring me." Sasha says, desperately trying to free her hands.
"I'm sorry Sasha. I wish we had more time." Dani says, reaching down and releasing her belt.
Steve, Louise and Mike feel the weight on the line reduce significantly and Steve heart sinks, not having to see the end of the line to know why the girls have become lighter. They redouble their efforts pulling faster. Kate and Amy wait by the door, ready to help the girls in.
Sasha sobs heavily, hugging Nikita tightly, when Louise and Kate haul them in. Everyone in the cabin stands in numb silence, watching solemnly, as Steve wraps his arms around his daughters.
Louise removes the ties from Sasha's wrists, trembling, then sits on the floor holding her step daughter's hands. No words are needed, Sasha looks into Louise's eyes and knows that her step mother feels the same pain she has in her own heart.
"I can't believe she's gone." Sasha says, numb, unable to let Nikita go.
Steve offers her a flask of brandy, and kisses the top of her head. "I know darling. It doesn't seem real."
"Why?" Sasha asks, in a hurt and confused tone, drinking deeply.
"Looking at the rope, it would have sheared just like your line did, before we got you in. She gave her life to save yours." Steve says, trying to ignore the ache in his heart.
"Why give her life instead of letting Nikita go?" Kate asks.
"She felt like she failed Niki in life and didn't want to do so in death." Sasha offers, swallowing her tears. "Dani blamed herself for Niki's death." Sasha let's go of Louise's left hand and gently holds Nikita's hand.
"We have fast movers circling the mountains, we are out of time. We need to head for the border. Over."Collins says, over comms, breaking the silence.
Steve hugs Sasha and Nikita and try as he might, the words won't come. Louise places a gentle hand on his shoulder and with regret says, "Do it."
Collins swings the Hind around to point in the direction of travel and drops the crafts nose, accelerating hard, in his heart wanting to get away from this place.
Nikita lays on her back, on the floor of the aircraft. Sasha and Steve work in silence as the other look on. Tenderly they lay a blanket from one of the lockers on the helicopter over her, leaving her face uncovered.
"She looks so peaceful." Sasha says, sadly.
"She looks like an angel." Steve says, regretting the words, the moment they leave her mouth.
"That was Dani's...." Sasha says, trailing off, her words drowned by tears.
Steve puts his arms around her, whispering, "I am so sorry, I didn't think." he is so focused on Sasha, he doesn't notice, her tears falling onto Nikita's face and into her mouth.
"She can't be gone." Sasha says with a keening sigh.
"I know what you mean, it doesn't seem real." Dani says hiding her tears.
"She was so great. I hope where ever she is, she knows we forgive her." Sasha cries.
"I am sure she knows." Dani squeezes Sasha's shoulders, "We have to get moving. The armed forces, have pulled back and dad reckons that they are going to bomb this place."
"We can't leave her." Sasha says hugging Nikita.
"We can take her together." Dani says warmly.
Continuing our sweep to the north. Over." Steve's voice crackles over the radio.
"Negative. Head for the Hind. We have found her." Dani says, hanging her head.
"Angel. Report your location we are on our way." Steve says, hopefully.
"Negative. We will bring her to the helicopter." Dani says, not wanting to say the words, that would break her and her father's heart.
"Amy, Lou and Kate are with me, we will come to you." he says, acknowledging the nods of the ladies with him.
"It's ok we can manage." Dani says, her eyes watering.
"How is she sweetie?" Louise asks, gently over comms.
"She is at peace." Sasha says, sparing her sister.
Steve closes his eyes and puts his head in his hands. "Understood Guardian. Come on back to the Hind, we need to evac before the locals bomb this place. How are you two holding up?"
"See you soon dad." Dani says evading the question.
Dani slips her arm under Nikita's left arm and Sasha takes her right. Between them the struggle to stand with her on their shoulders. "She is a" Dani pauses before she calls Nikita a dead weight, "heavy so and so."
"I can't believe she brought everyone except Lund back." Sasha says, mournfully, "She would have changed the world."
"She certainly changed mine." Dani says, sadly. "I miss her." She sniffs back tears. "It's daft, I only knew her for three days and it was like I had always known her."
"I know what you mean." Sasha says, smiling gently, "I will miss her too."
"I made a promise to bring her home safely." Dani says, looking at the side of Nikita's face. "I failed her."
"Hey, come on. There was no way you could have known what would happen." Sasha says gently.
"Maybe. But I should have." Dani says, solemnly, "If she was going to come back, I think she would have done so by now."
"Dani, come on babe. This is not your fault." Sasha grunts under the weight of her fallen sister. "She gave her life, to save everyone whose life she took. That was her choice, you couldn't have known."
"My gut told me to pull everyone back and get out of there, before we went down the lift shaft. I should have sent her back when I saw her hugging her knees and rocking back and forth, but, I didn't. I used emotional blackmail to get her to come with us. I put her in that position. It is my fault." Dani says, in a low solemn tone.
Steve cradles Nikita's head, while Dani and Sasha lay her on one of the benches in the Hind. Mike, Kate and Amy sit on the other bench, whilst Louise sits next to Steve with her arm around him. Steve strokes her hair and leaves his feelings unspoken, but the grief and strain in his eyes, speaks volumes.
The Hind sweeps low over the Central African savannah, hugging the contours of the ground like a dragonfly, skimming a lake. "Inbound tangoes. Over." Garvey calls out over comms.
"Roger that, I have visual, three Hughes civilian helos, with weapon pods in bound." Collins confirms.
"Engaging with chain gun. Over." Garvey calls out.
The everyone on board feels the craft's air-speed slow, when the gun fires. The cabin judders and shakes with the vibration of the weapon.
"Miss, over." Garvey anounces, before unleashing another burst.
Dani moves to one of the left windows and sees a flash from one of helicopters. "Missile inbound. Taking evasive action." Collins advises sharply banking left towards the mountains.
The missile tracks their course change and slams into a hillside in a burst of flame and debris. "Too close. Over." Collins says, with a furrowed brow, "Will try to lose them in the valleys. Over."
Dani clips onto a safety line and snatches up Kate's sniper rifle, before pulling open the left hand side door. "Adjust orientation ninety degrees to port, maintain trajectory and velocity. Over."
Collins raises his eyebrows and spins the aircraft to fly sideways with the open doorway facing the pursuing helicopters. "Affirmative. Over."
Dani takes a knee and raises the weapon to her eye. She gently sways the tip of the rifle matching the movements of the aircraft chasing them. The world falls away and it is just them, her and the rifle. Bound together in a slow dance. She holds her breath and squeezes the trigger twice.
The lead helicopter veers to the left with a shattered windscreen. The other two craft bank sharply and evade above it, as it spins out of control into a cliff side.
"Did you just shoot the pilot?" Steve asks, thinking to himself, "Shooting a pilot, from a moving and evading aircraft, at that range. I couldn't make that shot."
"Yes." she says, without emotion, raising the weapon to her eye again. "I have lost one loved one today, I will not lose any more." She squeezes off four more shots.
The second craft peels away with a smoking tail rotor. Dani frowns, "The third one is evading more erratically, I wont be able to draw a bead on them." She says, thoughtfully.
Steve takes up position at her side clipping his belt to a safety line and levels his Kalashnikov, laying down bursts leading the pursuing helicopter. "He knows what he is doing, barely breaking cover for more than a second."
"Works in our favour, they can't shoot us if they can't see us." Dani responds, before laying on her stomach and crawling to the edge of the cabin. She looks down from the edge at the river below as it rushes by.
Dani spots a bush shapes like a sheep and begins counting slowly. "One.... two.... three....four." She stops the count as the other helicopter passes over it.
"Collins, what is our air speed?" Dani asks, with a distant tone to her voice.
"Readout says, ground effect speed one eighty three. Over." Collins calls out.
She thinks to herself, "About three hundred and twenty metres behind us." before turning to Sasha, "You're up, babe."
Sasha reluctantly releases Nikita's hand and steps toward Dani, "What do you need?"
Dani tosses her a grenade, "When I give the word, pull the pin, release the spoon and count one thousand, two thousand and throw it as hard as you can straight out of the aircraft. Try to aim for a spot, about thirty metres above the river."
"Is that safe?" Sasha asks fearfully.
"Not really, but should work." Dani says, with a grin.
"Good enough for me." Sasha says, nervously.
"Might be an idea to clip yourself to a line, just in case. " Dani instructs, holding up one of the lines attached to the roof of the helicopter.
Sasha smiles at Dani and clips the line to her belt, before testing it. "Always looking out for me, eh?"
Dani smiles with sadness in her eyes, thinking, "I killed one sister today, that is enough."
Dani spots the helicopter and shouts, "Now."
Sasha pulls the pin on the grenade and releases the spoon, "One thousand, two thousand." she says, bracing before she throws.
As the grenade flies past her, Dani light two flares and Steve continues to lay down suppressive fire. Dani continues to count in her head.
"Three." Dani counts, watching the grenade flies from the cabin, as the pursuing helicopter hoves into view.
"Four." Dani says softly, as the helicopter's right weapon pod flashes. She nods to herself and tosses the flares out of the open cabin door.
"Five." Dani says, crossing her fingers. The grenade detonates a few feet from the pursuing helicopter, showering the craft with shrapnel, turning the windscreen into a spiders web of cracks and riddling the crew with hot metal. The heat seeking missiles, lock onto the flares and dive beneath the Hind to detonate near the raging surface of the river below.
The pursuing helicopter, plunges into the river, breaking up on impact. The Hind rocks violently from the detonation shockwaves underneath it. Nikita's unsecured body, flies towards the open cabin door, drawing a scream of "No!" from Sasha, who leaps after her.
Dani feels a pit of dread growing in her stomach and leaps after Sasha, noticing only now that her sisters line is frayed. "Got you." Sasha cries wrapping her arms around Nikita's waist, "Shit." she thinks, panicking as the combination of Nikita's weight and their momentum, send them speeding towards the door.
Sasha grips Nikita, as if her life depends on it feeling Dani land on her back, at the moment she an Nikita leave the aircraft. Dani grunts with exertion, holding onto the belt around her sisters waist, as they tumble from the craft.
Dani screams as the line attached to her goes taut and Sasha belt digs into her palm. "I have got you." she cries, "I won't lose another sister today."
Sasha shouts over the noise of the rotors and the rushing wind, "We are too heavy, I will have to let Nikita go." her voice cracks at the moment her heart breaks, knowing she will have to abandon Nikita to the river.
Dani heaves with all her strength pulling Sasha up a few inches and then braces herself. She let's go of Sasha's belt with her left hand, letting her right take all of the weight and screams will effort, as she clips her own line onto, her sister's belt.
Steve, Louise and Mike edge toward the open door of the cabin and pick up the line. Slowly, the begin to pull the girls in. Beads of sweat form of Steve's forehead, as he says a silent prayer. "Please God, let these lines hold long enough to get them in."
Dani looks up at Sasha's line and her heart sinks as it begins to split. She closes her eyes and removes three heavy duty zip tie from the leg pocket of her trousers.
"What are you doing?" Sasha shouts, as Dani uses one of the ties to secure her hands around Nikita. "Stop. Please Dani." she cries out, feeling Dani thread her arms between her and Nikita. She feels her sister lace the ties through her belt and the back of Nikita's belt and secure them together.
"It's ok Sasha, the ties will hold Niki. You can let let the ties on your belts take her weight." Dani says, with a touch of sadness, watching threads peel away from the rope above her.
Sasha tentatively relaxes her arms letting the ties take her sister weight. She leans her head back in short lived relief, before she feels her line snap. "Dani, the rope."
Dani reaches around Sasha and places her hands over her sisters to still them. "It's ok babe, you are on my line. But, it wont hold all of us."
"What are we going to do?" Sasha asks, trying to free her hands.
Dani closes her eyes, hoping to hold back a river of tears she feels welling up inside her. "I pray you have a long life and live well. I love you Sasha."
"W-what do you mean?" Sasha asks, fearful and confused.
"Take Niki home and be happy. I failed her in life, I can't fail her in death, as well." the words catch in Dani's throat and she composes herself befor continuing. "I am sorry for everything. I messed up and I won't let anyone else fall today. Tell everyone I love them. Thank you for showing me, what it means to have an amazing sister." Dani says, weeping. "You are incredible."
"Dani. I don't like the way you are talking. You're scaring me." Sasha says, desperately trying to free her hands.
"I'm sorry Sasha. I wish we had more time." Dani says, reaching down and releasing her belt.
Steve, Louise and Mike feel the weight on the line reduce significantly and Steve heart sinks, not having to see the end of the line to know why the girls have become lighter. They redouble their efforts pulling faster. Kate and Amy wait by the door, ready to help the girls in.
Sasha sobs heavily, hugging Nikita tightly, when Louise and Kate haul them in. Everyone in the cabin stands in numb silence, watching solemnly, as Steve wraps his arms around his daughters.
Louise removes the ties from Sasha's wrists, trembling, then sits on the floor holding her step daughter's hands. No words are needed, Sasha looks into Louise's eyes and knows that her step mother feels the same pain she has in her own heart.
"I can't believe she's gone." Sasha says, numb, unable to let Nikita go.
Steve offers her a flask of brandy, and kisses the top of her head. "I know darling. It doesn't seem real."
"Why?" Sasha asks, in a hurt and confused tone, drinking deeply.
"Looking at the rope, it would have sheared just like your line did, before we got you in. She gave her life to save yours." Steve says, trying to ignore the ache in his heart.
"Why give her life instead of letting Nikita go?" Kate asks.
"She felt like she failed Niki in life and didn't want to do so in death." Sasha offers, swallowing her tears. "Dani blamed herself for Niki's death." Sasha let's go of Louise's left hand and gently holds Nikita's hand.
"We have fast movers circling the mountains, we are out of time. We need to head for the border. Over."Collins says, over comms, breaking the silence.
Steve hugs Sasha and Nikita and try as he might, the words won't come. Louise places a gentle hand on his shoulder and with regret says, "Do it."
Collins swings the Hind around to point in the direction of travel and drops the crafts nose, accelerating hard, in his heart wanting to get away from this place.
Nikita lays on her back, on the floor of the aircraft. Sasha and Steve work in silence as the other look on. Tenderly they lay a blanket from one of the lockers on the helicopter over her, leaving her face uncovered.
"She looks so peaceful." Sasha says, sadly.
"She looks like an angel." Steve says, regretting the words, the moment they leave her mouth.
"That was Dani's...." Sasha says, trailing off, her words drowned by tears.
Steve puts his arms around her, whispering, "I am so sorry, I didn't think." he is so focused on Sasha, he doesn't notice, her tears falling onto Nikita's face and into her mouth.
View my latest story, Revelation, here;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8719
To view it's prequel Devastation, please click below;
https://tugstories.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7458
What a hell of a ride ... emotionally and regarding the action. The way how Dani sacrifices herself ... incredibly sad. But there is still hope.