Page 18 of Akur

No.

The yellow eyes of the Hedgerud almost seemed to pulse with pleasure as the rod connected with his chest.

Sparks flew. The whole world lit up, his cells being fried even as they fought to rebuild. With a grunt, he gripped the charged end, watching his skin turn black as his life essence depleted. But he wasn’t ready to die. Not yet.

He had a human to save.

But not much of him was left. He could feel it in the way his vision was tunneling. In how he couldn’t push the rod back from where it was being pressed into him.

“Female,” he grunted. Even the lifeblood in his mouth seemed to fry and dry up. “Run.Hide.”

“Fat chance.” The female giggled. He was seeing black. Darkness was encroaching, but he still saw the flash of her brown hair as she rose, firing the blaster with zero accuracy but still managing to hit some of the scum. It was wild fire. Blaster shots wove through the air, heating it. Scorching it. One Hedgerud went down, clutching his throat.

The female was fighting. The least he could do was survive long enough to get her through this first test.

Gritting his teeth, his muscles bunched and trembled as he swung his blade. Sparks flew as it connected with the shock rod, the wielder releasing a growl of rage as he managed to dislodge the weapon from his skin. Electricity ran up his arm, and his muscles spasmed some more, but he pushed through it.

Can’t die now.

Can’t fail now.

“He’s cornered!” One of the Hedgeruds shouted. More of them were pouring in from all sides. He would have laughed if his throat didn’t feel like it’d been fried. They didn’t care about the human firing crazily at them. They only cared about him, and as soon as he was taken care of, they’d converge on her.

He wasn’t going to let that happen.

Kon-stahns’ back pressed against his as they faced outward, surrounded. “Any bright ideas, big guy?”

“Working on it.” His voice sounded like gravel, and he couldn’t see. Shadows. They were all shadows now. The converging Hedgeruds were wisps coming to take him to oblivion.

It was practice and skill. Revolutions of battle that took over. His blade sang through the air, taking down two more Hedgeruds, but for every one that fell, three more appeared. Their window of escape was shrinking fast.

And that’s when he saw it—or, at least, he thought he saw something. High in the towering building before them. White robes blowing in the wind. Anger swelled deep inside him, and he growled, swinging his blade once again.

It was one of them. The scourge that descended on his planet and so many others. The ones who took the females. Who raped. Killed. Destroyed entire civilizations. They were the reason so many were fleeing, seeking safety. They were the reason the Restitution began.

Above, way up in that building above them, was a High Tasqal.

He would live only to spite the qeffer and make him bleed, too.

But fate and desire were two separate things.

He saw the shadow in his vision move before he felt the pain in his side. A Hedgerud had made it past his swinging blade, his lack of focus…his weakness.

This wasn’t the grand battle he’d imagined. This wasn’t retribution. And the human… Qrak. He was failing her again.

Another blow, and this time, lifeblood spurted from his lips the same moment it gushed from his side.

“Mint Man!” Darkness fell, his vision blew, only the words of the human as she gripped his arm coming through. “Come on, dude. Don’t—You can’t—” He could feel her gripping his arm, trying to keep him on his feet. His knees buckled anyway, and they both went down.

“I have failed, female.” Gravel and coal. His voice was barely recognizable. “Forgive me!”

He could feel the soft palms of her human hand. Felt the way she gripped him. He could almost hear the anxiety in her voice.

“No!” Her hands trembled. “I don’t know why this was all like a comedy before, but this shit isn’t funny anymore.”

Ah. So whatever they’d injected her with was finally wearing off. Bliss inducer, perhaps.

He almost wished that wasn’t the case. Wished she wasn’t aware of everything. She would see him fall. Would remember how he failed her. And what’s worse, unlike when he’d failed her before, that resignation that had swallowed her was gone.

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