Chapter 100: Hunter and Prey
I didn't bother masking my footsteps as I ran at him. My leg braces kept my steps even, supporting my weight.
As expected, Titan noticed. His ship finally touched down as he turned with a surprised growl.
"Did you truly leave him to - what?"
He clearly thought he'd see Brutus bearing down on him, but instead it was me. Well, for him it would be nothing because I was invisible.
Training for both the police academy and the FBI had both beaten one thing into me: aim for center mass. For the most part, I'd been operating under that this whole time.
Now, though, my goal wasn't to kill.
I took aim and fired at his legs, instead. I took four shots and hit three and a half: one through the left thigh, one grazed his right knee cap, and the other seared through his left shin. His left leg buckled, making him fall to his knee with a snarl, and I continued my charge.
Two more shots, this time point-blank in both his shoulders. He let out a roar and launched himself into me, body-checking me to the ground.
"The human?" Titan said.
"The human!" I spat.
I got up before he could. His body check had knocked me down but severely unbalanced him. The alien field morphine I'd been given was doing its job beautifully and I had barely felt more than a sting. Together with the adrenaline and unadulterated fury, I felt invincible.
My double-bladed wrist blades sang free of their spring-loaded gauntlet and I used the dull sides to backhand Titan across his head. It was like hitting a wall, jarring my arm and making it ache, only to have the meds quickly numb it. Titan still jerked from the blow, snarling and swinging punches at me even with the holes blown out of his shoulders.
Because of course he would be able to do that.
I dodged easily enough: he still had use of his arms but he struggled with his crippled leg. My balance wasn't perfect, either, since my arm was pinned, but it was better than his. I took another couple of shots with my handheld plasma caster, taking another bite out of his other thigh and searing a burn across his hip.
He stumbled and fell to both knees, his chest heaving. I hadn't noticed before, but he had a cannon mounted on his shoulder and it hummed to life. I spat out a curse before charging.
One shot. I strafed to the left; heat singed the side of my neck. Another. I ducked, almost collapsing but catching myself. I pushed forward on my hand and feet like an animal before jumping back up. He took another shot, almost point-blank. I spun around and swung my firearm.
One quick glance. I pulled the trigger and his cannon shattered, pelting both of us with shrapnel. My skin stung for only a second before the meds kicked in.
Titan snarled and grabbed me by the good arm. I gnashed my teeth together and kicked him in the chest with all the power I could muster. He reeled, his claws tearing ribbons of flesh off my arm like a tattered glove.
I stumbled back, barely regaining my stance and breathing heavily. I had maybe one move left in me. Titan was unable to stand: every time he tried, he only fell back down. I knew just what to do.
Teeth bared beneath my respirator, I hopped up and down twice, checking my balance and finding my footwork, then I ran at him. He was only a few steps away, but that was all I needed.
The gears and mechanisms in my braces buzzed. I pulled out my last hail mary and jumped at Titan, drop-kicking him square in the chest and jaw. The force of the blow sent him sprawling backward and I landed hard on my side, leaving me wheezing and gasping.
Quick as I could, I heaved myself up into an unsteady stance. Titan was still on his back so I picked up my dropped caster and limped over; my braces were too tight from all the exertion and were putting too much pressure on my legs. I couldn't fix them yet.
I stood over Titan and he growled at me. Drops of vibrant green blood coated all four of his extremities. Some dribbled out from beneath his mask.
"How are you still alive?" he coughed, each breath rattling in his chest. I had definitely felt at least one of his ribs snap when I'd kicked him that last time.
"I do not have time to die."
"You would never have been able to beat me in a fair fight," he sneered. "You humans are such cowards."
I barked out a hollow laugh. "Me? You are three times my size and ten times stronger than I could ever hope to be, and yet you would prefer to fight me unarmed and on your terms. You are the coward. This was a fair fight. You lost."
He simmered there in his defeat, then scoffed. More blood ran down his neck. "Then, end it. Finish me."
Eyes narrowed, I raised my caster and said; "No."
Before he could retort, I used all of my weapon's remaining energy to completely cripple him. I felt his pained snarls in my gut as I blasted hole after hole into his lower limbs, leaving his legs almost entirely obliterated. Only after it powered down, the trigger clicking uselessly, did I toss it aside.
"You will be arrested and sentenced. You will live the rest of your insignificant life with the knowledge that you were defeated by a half-dead, one-armed human girl."
I turned and walked away, leaving him to howl in rage. My knees buckled but I didn't fall. Everything was fading in and out, blurring out of focus and turning hazy. Ahead, a large shape loomed and I tensed, struggling to raise my torn arm and brandish my wrist blades. I had used all my energy, I was spent. If it was Jackal coming to finish me off, then I would have nothing left to fight with.
"It is I," Brutus snorted, smacking my hand down. "Where is the hish?"
It was then I realized I was no longer invisible. At some point, my gear must have been damaged. It had to have been when Titan slammed into me. I had never noticed.
Relieved, I sagged. He had to have been able to hear him still bellowing back there, but I gestured vaguely behind me all the same. "|I got him all wrapped up for you in a nice little bow|," I said in English. My words were slurred, my head giddy from exhaustion.
Brutus huffed in surprise, staring first at Titan and then at me.
"|How's Wolf?|" I asked.
"Stable. Resting." There was a strange warble in his voice hinting at just how shocked he was.
"|Good|," I muttered, forcing my legs to carry me forward. Carry me to Wolf. "|Good. I'm so glad|."
I made it to the entrance of the canyon before my legs gave out. I stumbled and paused, unable to move forward but refusing to fall. My still-bleeding arm was up, reaching toward the dark crevasse. If I could make it there, I could use the rocky walls to hold myself up. Then I could go to him.
But I could barely see. My chest was tight and it felt like I was floating in a vat of water. I took a shallow breath that whined in my throat and I forced out one more step.
The ground became the sky and I toppled over, limp and no longer in control of my body. There was no impact, just a sweeping sensation and a sudden stop. Someone was holding me by the back of my cuirass.
Then, the last thing I heard was Brutus's condescending voice: "Foolish girl . . . Look what you have done to yourself now."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Imagine_Kayla
Imagine_Kayla Hello, readers!
This chapter has been living in my head rent-free for like a year so I'm glad I finally got to write it haha. It's not the longest chapter in the world, but it's not really supposed to be. So, I hope you enjoy this :)
~ Kayla
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