BEGINNING OF STORY

PREVIOUS (PART 19)

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"You're creepy." Lulu fired a three-round burst from her pistol at Vera.

Vera didn't react at all; she didn't even flinch.

Charlene fired at the woman, and again nothing. Charlene looked more than a little concerned.

Vera laughed. "You people really have no idea what you've gotten yourselves into."

"She's one of the Fallen!" Doug pointed his knife at her while looking to Bryce. "Regular weapons can't harm her."

Bryce just appeared confused. "You've got to be kidding me."

For the first time, Vera looked a bit concerned as she now focused on Doug. "The Fallen? Where did you hear that term?"

"What’s the Fallen?" asked a dumbfounded Charlene.

Doug wasn't sure what to do. He didn't feel like running up and stabbing the woman as that just seemed too awkward... plus the KaBar knife just didn't feel as sacred anymore now that he saw one of the Fallen not be harmed in the slightest by bullets.

"Bryce, did we have a backup plan in case we were confronted with a bulletproof woman," Lulu asked, staring at Vera with fearful eyes.

"I'm devising one." Bryce dug through his pockets. "I had explosive cufflinks, but I wore a shirt that doesn't use cufflinks..." He pulled out a pen. "That's the flash grenade... and... ah-ha!" Bryce took out a cufflink and threw it against the wall where it stuck. "You have this." He then tossed the pen at Vera. "Everyone else: duck."

Simultaneously, the pen exploded in a flash while the wall to their side blew apart, peppering them all with debris. "Come on!" Bryce called as he disappeared through the exit.

Doug wasn't sure whether he was supposed to stand and fight, but Charlene pushed him through the hole in the wall before he could decide. The four of them ran through the room to the hallway exit, all glancing behind them for Vera who was no where to be seen.

"What the hell is going on?" Charlene yelled.

They reached the stairway and quickly made their way up. "Don't know," Bryce said. "This one actually lands on Doug to explain, but why don't we just get out of here and leave it all a moot point."

"They’re like aliens that need to be sent back to a prison dimension that I was told about in a dream by..."

Bryce kicked the door open leading to the roof. "Save it for the ride home, Doug!" On the roof was a large landing pad upon which sat one military vehicle. They wasted no time getting inside. Bryce sat at the controls.

Charlene closed the side hatch. "You know how to fly this?"

"I took a few classes on VTOL vehicles." Bryce fumbled at the controls in a way that didn't look to Doug like he new what he was doing. Still, the vehicle finally lurched into the air and Bryce let out a victory shout. "Invulnerable aliens or not, we're getting out of here with the hard drive!" He patted the case he that was hanging at his side by a shoulder sling. "Time for a paycheck, people!"

Lulu pumped her fist in the air. "Go Hellbender!"

Charlene turned to Doug. "Now, what are the Fallen?"

"Well... uh..." Doug looked out the window as he tried to put his thoughts together. He watched as the research building below them faded into the distance and exploded. "Did the building just explode?"

Bryce tried to look behind him while piloting the craft. "What? What exploded?"

Lulu stared out of the window. "The whole building."

"Charlene! What did you do?" Bryce yelled.

Charlene looked towards the fire below them. "I didn't do it! I still have my explosives."

"Doug! What did you do?"

Doug scratched his head. "I've accidentally blown up lots of stuff before, but never a whole building... once a tool shed, though."

"The entire building is gone," Charlene said. "That was a professional demolition; are we being set up?"

"I don't know why anyone would make such an effort." Bryce looked at the console. "Well, look at all the pretty dots on the radar converging on us; that must be about the entire Asmod military. Everyone sit down and fasten your seat belts; we're going to see how fast this thing goes."

Doug finally put his knife away and got a seat next to Charlene. He was then pressed against the chair by a huge force as the craft rocketed forward.

"I'm taking us over the wastelands," Bryce said with some effort against the pressure. "I figure we land a ways out of Proserpine territory and hoof it in. Then we deliver the merchandise, get our credits, and lie low for a bit. Sound like a plan?"

"Aren't the wastelands full of flesh-eating mutants?" Lulu asked.

Bryce sighed. "Why does everyone have an irrational fear of flesh-eating mutants? We'll just..." An alarm went off. "Crap."

"What now?" Charlene demanded.

"Just a... um... hardware malfunction." The craft suddenly slowed. Then it sped up in a new, more earthbound direction. Bryce now hit buttons on the console like a madman. "Everyone... um... how does that go... um... 'Brace for impact.'"

NEXT

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Hellbender
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