Antumbra - A Lost Cause

Cruel Reality - Chapter Forty Three

The area where Antumbra had been kept was in chaos. The fires were out of control, which fit Boomer's guess that the fuel depot had been hit, though Arva couldn't imagine what Antumbra could've done to cause so much destruction by itself. Soldiers ran along the perimeter, while Argonauts carried massive fire suppression devices that sprayed white foam into the blaze. Nobody had caught on that Arva's unit wasn't friendly, and she kept it that way, flying above the flames. Once above the inferno she could see the interior of the hangar clearly as the roof had been blown completely off. Antumbra was pinned against a wall by two units, while Rottweiler and Malamute were knocked over on the other wall, though they appeared undamaged at a glance. Árnyék was nowhere to be seen, which relieved Arva, and she began her descent.

"This is a mistake," Kyodai said, "we'll never get out of here in one piece."

"I have a plan," Arva said, nodding towards their suits, "that wall leads to the edge of the compound. Once you guys are in your Argonauts you can smash through it to get onto the mountain."

"And promptly get torn to pieces once we're out in the open," Boomer said, coughing up blood. Arva knew his injuries were getting worse, and being crammed into the cockpit wasn't helping. She knew his suit would help support his body, as it had before, and he could move easier with it. She also knew it wasn't him or Kyodai that the IRT wanted. There was only one way they would be getting out of this.

"I'll buy you some time," Arva said with a quiver to her voice.

"No, Goddammit!" Boomer said, catching on to her meaning, "you can't do that!"

"Arva, listen to me," Kyodai said, "you're not responsible for this. If you try to fight them alone you will die." Arva hadn't even considered the fact that it was her fault they were here when concocting the plan. Her guilt was overshadowed by the burden of her importance. The IRT wouldn't waste manpower on two random suits if Arva fought back. She was terrified, and wanted to cry, but she knew she had to do this.

"I'll be fine," she said, "they won't kill me or damage my suit. We're too valuable."

"Arva, these people are not someone you can rationalize," Kyodai grabbed her shoulder, "no matter what they told you, they are fanatics. If they can't have you, they'll eliminate you."

She didn't respond. Arva felt closer to these two men than ever, and not just because of their proximity. She owed them a lot, more than she could ever express or repay, and it broke her heart to see what they had already gone through because of her. She had to make things right. Arva landed by their suits and opened the cockpit, mentally disabling the hatch failsafe so she could still use her suit. The fires hadn't quite reached their Argonauts, but she huddled over them to act as a wall between them and the flames.

"We're not leaving you!" Boomer grabbed her arm.

"We're out of time!" Arva said. She cupped her hands in front of her and lurched forward, dumping the two men out of the cockpit and into the Argonaut's palms.

"Arva!" Boomer shouted, but she had already placed them by their respective cockpits, and turned. The two IRT units still held Antumbra, unaware that it no longer posed a threat, and she tried to sneak up on them. Something outside the Hangar exploded, and sent debris clattering across her stolen suit. One of the enemy machines turned, and upon seeing her, it immediately began asking questions over the suit's loudspeaker she didn't understand. Arva rushed him, tackling him into his comrade, and diving back as the hangar wall collapsed, burying them. It wouldn't keep them down for long, and so she turned to Antumbra. Despite the fire and carnage, it looked pristine, and so she opened her hatch. As if it were waiting for her, so did Antumbra. She uncoupled herself from the IRT machine and hopped into her own, the harness wrapping around her as Antumbra activated. In the blink of an eye she grabbed the suit in front of her and tossed it into the two enemies as they rose from the rubble, felling them once more. She looked back to see Malamute and Rottweiler rising, however slowly, and sighed in relief that they were following her orders. She felt an arm around her neck and lurched back as another grunt tried to take her down. Arva had the weight advantage now, and pushed back, sending them both careening through the hangar's wall and into the landing pad. The fires still raged, twenty stories tall at minimum, and Arva could feel the heat, but it didn't frighten her. In fact ever since she got into Antumbra she felt oddly peaceful, focused, and it wasn't the suit making her feel this way.