Fanfiction
Guardian 9
"Eyes up!"
A shockwave of pain shot through every muscle, bone and tendon.
It lasted for a brief millisecond, though it spun the entire body and mind into full alert.
A narrow ray of light stabbed the eyes viciously, and thus with great hesitation they still had a major force of will to open themselves.
Confused and terrified she stared into a big blue eye, that curiously observed her. Yet all of the sudden, the tiny metal creature turned its attention elsewhere.
"There is no time to explain, you are not safe here. We need to get shelter, inside!" It ordered her in a cautious tone.
She glanced down to her hands. They were cold and stiff, as she tried to manipulate her fingers to move.
A sharp, metallic sound pierced her ears when a bullet hit, and ricocheted off an old corroded vehicle behind her back.
Her robotic friend vanished instantly into thin air.
"Do not panic, I'm still with you! You need to move, get inside the building!" The voice was loud and clear inside her head and caused her to moan and fall to her weak knees. Another bullet hit the ground in front of her. In the distance, she could hear a creature give of an eerie roar, of satisfaction.
Struck by fear, her legs and arms forced her body onward. Her movements were awkward and twitchy. Her hands clutched onto the objects in front of her as she pushed herself towards the partially demolished building.
A whistling noise soared above her head and a small thump was heard a few metres behind her.
In horror of this unknown object she managed to get to her feet and find her balance. She ran, receiving strength and confidence with every step.
One Second, two seconds, three… Gaining ground in every second. The grenade beeped and exploded on the spot, where she had been positioned just moments ago. She panted and screamed, her ears rang as dirt and debris rained down on her. Grasping the rusted metal door, she pulled herself inside to the unknown and ghostly darkness of the building.
She fumbled up a staircase, touching and listening carefully in order to navigate through the unfamiliar environment.
"I'm a ghost, your ghost actually. I need to get you to the city." The mechanical device said, and revealed itself in front of her once again.
"The Fallen will thrive in this darkness, but we won't. Be careful while I try to turn on some lights." It gave her a look of concern and floated up towards the ceiling.
She kept track of the tiny little light, that the ghost navigated itself with, before it disappeared out of sight. Deep within the building, strange howls echoed. It seemed like something was crawling around inside the structure itself.
Suddenly the door, that she had just closed behind her, was barely withstanding a forced entry and a few flickering lights lit up at the end of the stairs simultaneously.
She had experienced full panic mode, since her abrupt awakening, and she was hopelessly confused about her situation. Every noise sent shockwaves through her system, that triggered her to jump up the set of steps like a startled rabbit. She was hyperventilating and thumped hard against the cold concrete walls as she mobilised deeper within the structure.
When she approached a narrow corridor she noticed several suspicious lasers, pointed and crossed over within the slender walls.
Surprisingly, her ghost found, she did not reflect any second thoughts about rushing straight through the uncanny red beams.
Once she intersected the buzzing laser it gave off a cautionary beep before an explosion set off. An overwhelming pain blasted through her, as the impact of the shell tore and burnt her mercilessly across her shoulder.
She howled out a blood chilling scream that seemed to bounce and echo off the walls like a stray bullet. Followed by a desperate cry, since she was forced to summersault through the second ray and tumble away from yet another following detonation.
Her ears rang. Her body trembled and she yelled her lungs out on the cold, wet floor. Disorientated and shocked, she was completely vulnerable and exposed.
In this frantic moment her ghost spoke to her.
"You have been awakened from the dead. You were once a great warrior. You are an ancient energy, with unbelievable strength. A Guardian of the Travelers light. Do not fear these creatures that hunt you, for you are exceptionally more powerful than them. The only thing that could kill you right now is yourself, Guardian. Discover your mind!"
Her expression shifted from a blank look of terror, to an intensive stare. Focusing on the ghost, her eyes became fixated on it. Her breath stabilised and after a moment of composure, the Guardian raised herself from the floor.
Whatever hunted them was undoubtedly getting closer, as the footsteps and growls became louder and louder.
Thrown on top of an old chest, the Guardian spotted a gun. She picked it up and positioned herself in the centre of the hallway, aiming at the dark backwall.
The first Dreg that revealed itself was shot with at least 9 bullets, and shortly after, the following Dreg met a similar faith. She turned around and crawled underneath two lasers, careful not to disturb their rays.
She was silent and managed to stay rather agile, as she moved swiftly through the tunnels of the building. Her gun targeted anything that exposed itself in the dancing lights ahead. Several cunning enemies were slayed with a rain of bullets. It was as if she made herself completely certain that they would not rise again but, obediently, remain dead.
"Aren't you being a bit harsh and well… brutal, Guardian? There's no need for an overkill" The ghost asked. Nevertheless, she observed it and made no efforts to give a respond.
Suddenly and without warning, something grabbed her armour and wheezed viciously in her ear. The Guardian yelped and struck her hand in sheer impulse towards the threat. A purple sphere of light blasted from her hand and pierced the Fallen Vandal which caused it to disintegrate into thin air.
This action caught her completely off guard and she looked down at her hands, in utter disbelief. She felt repulsed, and her emotions inside swirled intensively.
"Not much further! It seems like the Fallen have a tighter hold on this place than I thought…" The ghost urged her.
She took a big breath and started running through the outer tunnels of the building. When they reached outside they found themselves in an open area, surrounded by Fallen ships that hovered above them in the sky.
Before them, enemies poured down from the skiffs. She could glimpse yet another structure ahead of them, but that meant cutting through the vast, Fallen-infested area.
"That's where we're heading. I'm picking up signs that suggest we have an old jumpship inside that hangar."
The Guardian seemed concerned for a minute, but managed to surprise her ghost yet again. She held a tight grip around her wounded shoulder, and took off running.
"Wait...!" The ghost pleaded, but to no use. This Guardian seemed to have a strong will of her own.
She glided towards the rocks on the field for cover, and managed to stay out of the firing lines. Once she reached the entrance of the hangar, there seemed to be a swarm of enemies hunting them right on their heels.
As she fled through the partially demolished passages, she came across a few Dregs blocking her escape route. She struck them quietly and efficiently before they even had time to react.
An open area within the building appeared ahead. Inside, there was an old ship that was secured by wires.
"Let me see if I can get us out of here" The ghost said and immediately transferred itself into the vehicle.
The Guardian turned around and prepared to face the horde of Fallen, navigating towards them. The doorway flooded with numerous Dregs, Vandals and Shanks.
She raised her gun and waited nervously for her enemies to make a move.
A large figure presented itself from the core of the flock. Behind the hissing and wailing minions, it observed her silently and scented the air. It gave off a low growl and fixated its eyes on her, it seemed like everyone was awaiting his signal.
"You have enough energy to produce a vortex grenade! I have noticed that you've discovered how your palm is projecting void. Now, imagine you keep that orb off energy and use it like a grenade!" She heard her ghost command inside her head.
The Captain howled out and the mass sprang into action, coming right at her. She clenched her fist and felt a scorching sphere form inside her hand. Though she was extremely tempted to unleash it already, she kept expanding it until it started burning her skin. At that instance, she threw the purple ball of violent, pulsating void towards the horde.
As it landed it imploded, and shattered out shards of void. Which struck and killed a large amount of Fallen, surrounding the impact zone. The following shockwaves slung the surviving enemies in various directions around the room.
"This ship has been here a while… hasn't made a jump in centuries." The ghost confirmed to itself.
"Will it fly?" His guardian asked in a trembling tone, as the enemies began to get back on their feet and surround her.
"I can make it work." It answered assuredly, as the old machine lit up and the propellers started winding up.
"Transporting you in!" Just as she was about to push down on the trigger, the ghost teleported her to the inside of the ship. The aircraft unleashed itself from its cradle of wires and soared towards the sky, leaving behind a vast area of aggravated Fallen.