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I taste blood. I must have bitten my tongue while frantically trying to get up. I hope I didn’t bite it off completely. Then again, perhaps then I’d finally keep my mouth shut and wouldn’t endanger anyone with my poorly constructed plans.
The pain stops.
I groan, dazed. What’s happening?
Someone screams. Not Astra, so I don’t care.
Astra. I have to help her.
My head’s ringing, but I ignore it and pull myself up. I scent blood but it’s not my own. Not Astra’s either, I think. Still, blood is not a good thing. I have to move.
I cling to the bars and focus on finding the keycard reader. There’s a scuffle going on nearby, but I can’t look. My body isn’t functioning properly yet and if I lose focus, I’ll drop the stupid card and all will be lost.
The machine gives a beep and the door opens. I stumble out using the door for balance, my legs not willing to carry me.
Stupid legs.
Bracing myself against the bars, I advance on the two Genixarians. One of them is my old buddy Gamma. His colleague Omicron lies on the floor in a pool of blood. Pity. I wanted to kill him myself.
I’m unarmed. Weakened by the collar torture they just put me through. I’m alone against two of them.
I don’t give the tiniest shit.
I wouldn’t be a member of the most elite squad in the entire galaxy if I couldn’t take out two people on my own. Genixarians at that. They aren’t fighters, none of them. They hide behind their gadgets and bodysuits, but they can’t even dodge a fist to the face.
Gamma’s neck snaps with a satisfying crack. I drop his body on the floor, jumping on the last remaining guard even as he raises the collar remote. His hand is shaking, but he manages to press the button at the same time as I lunge at him.
Pain shoots through me briefly, but then I land on top of him and knock the remote out of his hand. My head is spinning, darkness lurking in the corners of my vision, but I do not give in to it. I need to stay awake. For Astra.
I furiously claw at the guard’s throat until he draws one last gurgling breath and stops moving. I’m covered in blood. The floor is covered in blood. Everything is covered in blood.
“Tareq?” Astra calls to me, her voice gentle as if talking to a crazed animal. Perhaps I’m nothing more than a crazed beast at this point. It’s not like me to lose control in a fight but I also don’t get shocked by collars on a daily basis. That shit can’t be good for the brain.
I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths, collecting my thoughts. The plan went sideways, that’s for sure, but it seems to have worked out in the end. Somehow.
Someone grunts and I jump to my feet, ready to fight. Has one of the guards survived? But it’s not a guard that grunts and groans as he tries to get up. It’s the lizard creature. He’s covered in blood, too. Not his, though.
As I fight off the vertigo from getting up too quickly, I realize what happened. Instead of lunging himself at Astra, the lizard assaulted the guards. Crazy and desperate move, but it worked. He distracted them for long enough to allow me to get out of the cell and take care of the others.
That doesn’t mean I trust him, though. He’s somewhat intelligent, but still a primitive creature I can’t communicate with. I rush closer and unlock the cell to get Astra out of there.
She doesn’t run outside, but cautiously approaches the lizard instead. “Thank you for your help,” she says, as if the creature could understand her. “Are you alright?”
The lizard lets out a ferocious growl, making me rush to Astra’s side, ready to protect her in case he tries to attack. He doesn’t attack, though, merely tugs on the collar around his neck, letting out another exasperated growl.
“Yeah, you and me both, brother,” I smirk, repeating his motion. It’s impossible not to hate this device.
“Can we take them off now?” Astra asks, her fingers tracing her own collar. “Or do we have to run before more guards show up?”
Since my vision has finally cleared and stopped spinning, I take stock of the situation. The Genixarians had comms, but they haven’t used them to alert anyone. There’s no alarm yet. “We have time,” I say as I lean to pick up one of the remotes. It’s slick with blood, but it should still work. “I’ll show you how to remove the collar.”
“Great. I guess I stole this for nothing then?” Astra asks with an uncertain smile, raising her own remote.
“We might not need more than one,” I admit, “but you completed your part of the plan. I’m impressed.” I mean it. I admire how brave and clever she is. “Maybe we can use yours since it’s not covered in blood,” I suggest.
She throws a disgusted glance at the mess all around us. “That’s probably a good idea. Can you show me how to remove the collar? On him, maybe?” she asks, pointing at the lizardman. He flinches when he sees the remote in her hand but doesn’t attack, looking at us expectantly instead.
I hesitate. “Are you sure this is a good idea? We can’t communicate with him, can’t fill him in on our plan.” Not that we have much of a plan. “He could be…unpredictable.”
