The booms were deafening. The gunshots rang out, searching for their prey, thirsting for a body to penetrate and organs to mutite. Chaos was everywhere. It was a perfect storm for me to escape. It was now or never.

  Captain Luca’s fat, porky body was spttered across the small pteau, hit by a hail of Gelly bullets. They must have really hated that pig.

  Teksan dove behind his grav lift, hiding behind the crate as it was slowly being bsted away by the Gellys. He held his gun out and blind fired, ughing nervously the whole time.

  Brutus held his massive goril arm up to block as many of the bullets as he could. Blodd erupted from his forearm, he screamed out in pain, trying to escape the firefight. Ha, the little bitch.

  Maelstro dove for cover, firing at the Gelyls around me. I closed my eyes, waiting for a bullet to catch my head. Two of the Gellys around me went down in screams and curses. The Gelyls holding my hair was hip firing his way, peppering Maelstro and Frag with gunfire.

  This was the payday they all deserved.

  Frag yelped as a bullet caught her shoulder. She fell down next to Maelstro, swinging her bandolier full of grenades over her shoulder and pulling a pin. “Fuck this!” She tossed the bandolier high into the air at the Gelly’s line.

  I looked back as the Gelly holding my hair loosened his grip, looking for a pce to hide. I turned and kicked up at his balls, putting all my force into crushing his holy jewels. Her keeled over with a high-pitched ‘oof’ allowing me to grab my gun from his belt.

  I aimed at the st Gelly next to me. He had no clue what was going on. He was making his way around to kill Maelstro and Frag. I aimed my pistol at him, my hands shaking, and I pulled the trigger, closing my eyes.

  Boom.

  The barrel of my gun smoked as I opened my eyes, looking down the little metal death machine. The Gelly slowly turned to look at me. Blood was seeping from his arm. He slowly rose his gun with his good arm, aiming this rifle at me. I squeezed the trigger again, pure adrenaline coursing through my veins. I squeezed it again and again and again, watching blood mist out of the Gelly’s body over and over again.

  As he fell, I gasped at what I did. I killed someone. I finally did it.

  Air concussed me in a shockwave, coursing around me as I flew forward, tumbling down the slope and into the byrinth of gorges. Everything swilred around me in a blur. I could pick out the ground getting closer, as well as a rge fme swirling around where I was just was.

  I smmed into the ground hard, gasping for air, I looked around. I had no clue where I was, but I needed to head away from this pce.

  I stumbled to my feet, my head spinning, by blood pumping to free itself from my body. I panted like a dog as I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. My ears rang with a killer buzz.

  I stumbled into the area I was ambushed in. This was good, I could get back to where I was lost, maybe. I just had to keep moving.

  I was sweating from head to toe now. Gun shots rang out here and there far from where I was. Great, at least now I just had to worry about getting lost, again. I chuckled as I leaned up against the nearby wall, catching my breath. My pn didn’t go quite as I thought it would, but hey, I’m back to where I was before. That’s something positive.

  Thunder boomed overhead again. Thick bck clouds were rolling over us. I felt a trickle of water smattering down around me. I held my hand out and looked up into the sky. I hadn’t felt rain like this in years. It reminded me of Earth, in the forests on the coast. Massive redwood trees around me, rain falling like a gift from the pnet herself.

  I started to ugh with joy. This had to be a good omen.

  I looked down and my heart almost stopped. Down the gorge from me stumbled in a person I hoped to never see again. Brutus was limping about, his arm ripped to shreds, dripping blood as he started to tie off a tourniquet with his good arm and mouth.

  He pulled it tight with a grunt and looked my direction.

  My reflexes kicked in. I pointed my gun at him and fired, but the gun clicked dry. “Shit.”

  Brutus roared and started to charge me, “Little bitch, I’ll kill you!”

  I ran as fast as I could, feeling the ground shake behind me as the killer ape kept cursing and yelling at me.

  I turned the corner, slipping on mud, crashing to the floor. Brutus slid as well, crashing into the wall with his mangled arm. He yelled in pain as I scrambled to my feet, taking off down the ravine as best I could.

  I grabbed some bullets from my pocket and tried to load them as I ran, dropping most of them.

  A streak of light struck a tree up ahead. Boom. Thunder roared out again, this time accompanied by a vicious downpour. I was drenched in seconds as my feet spped down in puddles, racing anywhere that there wasn’t Brutus trying to rip me in half.

  I turned to see him still chasing me. Bloodlust was in his eyes. Water started to rise; my feet were covered now. I looked up to the small gorge we were in. This wasn’t good. I’ve seen things like this at the river near home.

  A tree was felled, ying partially in the gorge, its roots up above the ravines edge. I grabbed ahold and began to climb, hearing a rushing sound echoing around me. I grabbed onto the trunk of the tree, wrapping my arms around some branches. I looked back to see Brutus.

  He leapt high into the air, screaming as he came down just inches from me. His one good arm grabbing onto the tree. Water came rushing down the gorge, crashing into us with a wave of force, dirty water, and debris washed down from uphill.

  I buried my face in the tree, holding tight for my life. The tree croaked and groaned as it shifted from the force of the fsh flood. I could hear Brutus behind me.

  “Come here, fucking cunt.”

  I turned to face him. He snarled at me, unable to move as all his strength was used holding onto the tree. I smirked. He was powerless now. A little pest that needed to go. I aimed my pistol at his face, smiling.

  “You’ve raped me, abused me, broken my bones, bruised my face without an ounce of care or empathy. You’ve done whatever you want with little regard to others. Now, I bring your punishment. Little bitch has the power now, you fucking monkey.”

  Brutus snarled, but it was short lived. I pulled the trigger, bsting right into his face. Brutus howled in pain, his arm slipping from the log as he was swept away down the river, thrashing about, drowning, dying from infection, or his brains getting blown out. I didn’t care. He was gone now, and the universe was a better pce.

  I tucked the gun into my waist and climbed up the tree, looking about the rainy shrubnd. I covered my eyes, shielding them from the rain. I smiled as I could see our ship up ahead. I gnced over to where Munis would be with Gabriel in the crate.

  It was almost over. We were almost free. We could live our lives now. Get rid of this disgusting past and be our own people.

  I trudged over the gorges, avoiding the pitfalls and slips that would send me plunging into the water like Brutus. Searching for Muns. Up ahead I saw what looked like a man sitting next to a crate on some high ground.

  I couldn’t tell who it was. Munis, Gabriel? I had to be careful. I couldn’t throw all this away now because I was too excited.

  The rain never ceased as I came closer to the high ground. It covered my approach. I could hear someone over the rain.

  “Please, let me live. I’ve got nothing to do with them. I swear. I’m innocent, just like the boy. I was trapped here.”

  Munis was pleading for his life like the trash he was. I peeked over the edge. Gabriel was standing over the haggard, old man, gun pointed at the pirate’s face.

  I climbed up to meet them, “It’s all lies. He’s a disgusting as the rest of them.”

  Munis turned to me, almost jumping in fright as he saw me standing next to Gabriel, “You’re alive, but how, what…”

  Gabriel never took his eyes off the man, “You want me to kill him?”

  “Yes.”

  Munis gasped, “You gave him the gun…”

  “And now you get your punishment. Fuck bag.”

  Boom. Munis Muns was just a pile of bones and guts; his brains were spttered on a hill now. I smiled as I looked at his body. With each moment, I was making the universe a better pce. First with the Gelly, then Brutus, and now Muns. There was only Rolfo on the ship now.

  Engines roared to life ahead of us as we gazed on the Arc Star coming to life. Rolfo must have realized things had gone to shit.

  “Hurry, we have to get out of here.” I grabbed Gabriel’s hand and tugged him towards the ship, “Rolfo’s gonna leave us stranded.”

  “But you’re hurt.”

  “So are you, there’s no time for that now.” I pushed him forward now, “We got a ship to catch.”

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