The air was so cold that it felt like his face might actually be cut and bleeding. In his rush to get ready, after refusing to leave his bed for fifteen minutes, Connor had forgotten his insulated facemask. He was hungry, tired, and getting bored even though the sun had just appeared over the horizon less than two hours ago.

  "Stop moving around son, the deer will spot you before we even know they're watching."

  "Nuh uh, they don't even run away when they see the car."

  His father chuckled. "Woods deer and yard deer are two very different animals."

  "Well why don't we just shoot the yard deer then, I'm cold." Connor whispered.

  "It might come to that if you don't stop fidgeting. Here, I brought a blanket. We'll kill two birds with one stone, you can move around under there."

  Connor smiled and pulled the blanket over his head before rummaging through his dad's backpack for something to snack on.

  "Hey, stop. Look." His father whispered and tapped his leg.

  Connor poked his head out and flashes of brown forms moving like liquid through the brush and then finally breaking the tree line. It was two deer and they were close enough that he could see the steam coming from their noses.

  His heart pounded as adrenaline surged through his veins. He wasn't cold, hungry, or bored anymore, he was ready. He lifted his rifle slowly onto the small shooting stick that his dad had purchased for him because the gun was too heavy to hold up to his shoulder.

  "Wait, that's a mother and a fawn. Let's watch them, see what they do." Connor's dad whispered.

  The small deer walked straight to the pile of corn that was always in the same place but the mother walked around the edge of the trees with her nose to the sky. Her tail flapped back and forth as she paced the same area that they had walked through before the sun came up.

  "She knows something is wrong."

  Connor flicked the safety off and it made a metallic click that sounded like a grenade in the silence of the woods. The doe's eyes snapped to him and the fawn retreated from it's breakfast to join her.

  "She's still being a mom, let them go. There's a time and a place for killing. This isn't it. Sorry son."

  Connor's eyes snapped open and he heard someone screaming, Lieutenant Zhao. Only moment's had passed but he felt like he'd slept for hours. He was holding the Sharlah trooper's arms and shrinking away from it's gnashing teeth. The thing hadn't even taken it's helmet all the way off, it was still sitting halfway down it's face but it's mouth was free and searching for a target.

  Connor gripped his searing blade, his only weapon, and looked around him. The Sharlah had left him for dead, again, and again they would pay for that mistake.

  "Zhao! Here!" Connor called to the officer and slid the knife forcefully across the metal deck plates where it left a trail of smoke straight to Zhao.

  He let go of the Sharlah's right arm to catch the knife and suffered a hammer fist to his exposed face as well as a burn to his palm but he ignored the pain and thrust the searing point through the bottom of it's mouth and into it's skull, pinning it's mouth closed and sending it into a flailing, screeching panic to remove the fire from it's face.

  Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  Zhao climbed to his feet but took another blow to the back and landed face down on the blood soaked deck with a Sharlah soldier on top of him as Connor was lifted into the air again and slammed against the wall with the force of a car accident. He coughed and looked to his left as his faceplate was pressed against the the various electrical boxes in front of him.

  Liz was there on the floor with her hands restrained in front of her. Connor bucked wildly but he couldn't push himself away from the wall.

  "Finally we meet." A deep growling voice said directly into his helmet microphone.

  "What?" Connor gasped. "Who are you?"

  "Fleet Lord Skald." The voice said slowly before a wicked punch hit him in the ribs that were forever sore from his first car accident with Laura.

  Connor screamed and his legs went limp but Skald wouldn't let him fall.

  "Connor!" Liz yelled and tried to stand but a Sharlah shoved her down next to Zhao and Ruo who were also being restrained on the deck. Zhao's face was bloody and his nose was broken but Ruo looked unharmed.

  "C-o-n-n-o-r." Skald purred. "Connor the pest. Connor the murderer. Do you remember Vigas, Connor?"

  "Yeah, I remember that particular lizard. I remember blowing his brains out of his ugly head. Did any of it land on you?"

  "Let him go you sick fuck!" Hamilton yelled out before a violent coughing fit racked his body.

  "Bring that one to me." Skald ordered.

  "NO!" Liz cried and was hit with some sort of stun baton that sent her body into convulsions.

  Connor closed his eyes and sobbed from a place of pure hatred and despair. "Why are you doing this? We didn't even know you existed, we don't deserve this! You're animals!"

  "NO you are the animals. You were put here to sustain beings far greater than yourselves. This is your purpose, you see?" Skald said switched places with the Sharlah soldier that delivered Hamilton to him.

  He reached down and stuck his gloved finger into a jagged tear in Hamilton's armored collar bone area. He screamed and kicked his legs as Skalds finger worked the inside of the wound. Connor bucked again but it was no use, the Sharlah simply lifted him until his feet were off of the deck.

  Skald pulled off Hamilton's helmet, revealing his sweat soaked face and hair. The pain was written all over his body and Connor could now see that he was wounded in several places and there were claw marks all over his armored suit. Skald began ripping at the armor which jerked Hamilton this way and that and sent waves of pain up his body. Connor turned away but his head was forced back to the front until he gave in.

  "I'm sorry Hamilton. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

  "Don't worry kid, they were never going to go easy on us. It's not your fault. Don't stop fighting." Hamilton said weakly.

  Connor.. Laughed.

  All eyes turned to him but he didn't care. That was the best thing that they could do. He laughed hard until he was gasping for air.

  "You stupid lizards. Oh man, this is great. Hamilton you're not gonna believe this."

  "I don't see the humor here kid." Hamilton said, he didn't try to move but Skald had stopped trying to dig through his armor plates.

  "You remember the skinny ones? The ones that didn't help us?"

  "Yeah, now that I think about it.."

  "SHUT UP HUMANS!" Skald roared and ripped off a shoulder plate before sinking his teeth into Hamilton's wound.

  He screamed again but Connor laughed. "Well they're back, and this time they brought more friends."

  Hamilton's eyes went wide as a bolt of light seared the air over his head and decapitated the Sharlah that was holding Connor. He fell to the deck on bent knees, and in one fluid motion, he pushed back upward into the Fleet Lord who somehow turned the tackle into a throw of his own.

  Connor hit the metal table with a grunt and left a human sized dent in the surface along with several shattered pieces of electronics. He picked up a glass shard and squeezed tightly as Skald sprinted toward him.

  A mass of naked human and Sharlah bodies flooded through the doorway to the stairwell as more beams lanced into the remaining guards who were largely unarmed and caught by surprise. Connor gripped his shiv as Skald came down onto him and guided it under his knee plate where it found flesh and ripped muscle and tendons.

  Skald roared as the wave of emaciated Sharlah pulled him to the ground. He bared his teeth and ripped into one of them as he tried to stand but his knee sprayed blue blood onto the deck and gave out under the weight.

  The Sharlah rebels and feral humans ripped at joints of his hands and arms and Connor nearly vomited at the snapping sounds and cries of pain. They dismantled him piece by piece before tearing into his exposed flesh as they tore the armor from his body in the same way that he had done to Hamilton.

  The Lord of the Sharlah fleet died in the same way that Dottir was dying. Piece by agonizing piece.