The Life & Times of Qindeo Greybeck

Chapter 7

Cass led Qin out of the city, heading south towards the Voltaire Forest.  The two landed on a cliff that overlooked the forest towards the vast expanse of Lake Michigan.

The two talked for hours, telling each other what had happened since they had been split up.  Qin told her about how he and Zuton had settled down in Cedar Rapids, before having to run again, ending up in Des Plaines.  Cass told Qin that shortly after she had been captured, the helicopter was forced to land due to a lack of fuel.  She had regained consciousness then, and managed to escape.

“I tried to follow you guys, but I couldn’t figure out where you had gone.”  She said.  “I ended up hiding in Nebraska for like six months, until I decided to keep moving.  I arrived here last month.” She told Qin.

Qin nodded and was just about to reply when he froze.  The faint sound of choppers in the distance reached his ears.  He pulled his sniper rifle off his back “You hear that?” he asked Cass.

Cass nodded, leaping to her feet and drawing her dagger. “I’m done running, let’s give it to em’ once and for all.”  She said.

“I agree.” Qin said. He got into a kneeling position and zoomed in on the first chopper.  He fired, the round separating the rotors from the chopper.  He got a second chopper before Cass yelled “Qin!  They’re coming from behind!”

“Shit!” Qin swore, slinging the sniper and turning his attention to the rear, right as some sort of mutant dropped from a chopper and onto Cass.

Cass let out a feral-sounding snarl, and whipped around.  It was a mutant of some sorts, and it looked powerful.  She flew at it, slashing furiously.

Qin flipped his switchblade out and leapt into the air, hurling his knife at another one of those things, hitting it in the head and killing it.  He was slammed from behind by a third one and went tumbling to the ground. He retrieved his knife and threw it at it just in time, sending the thing over the edge.

Cass thrust her dagger through the mutant's heart, sending it plummeting over the cliff.  She whirled around, and caught one in the face with a roundhouse kick.  Despite their fighting skills combined, there were just too many of the creatures.  She shot into the air, twenty feet above the fight. "Qindeo!" she yelled, desperate to be heard.  Suddenly, she heard a sharp crack and felt something fast and burning fly past her, missing her left wing by a hair.  These things had guns. "Qin!" she called again.

“What?” Qin yelled back, snapping one of the thing’s neck.

“There’s too many!”  Cass replied, dodging another bullet.

"Yeah, I think your right." Qin said, blasting one in the face with his Deagle.  Then another helicopter arrived and opened up with a machine gun. "Take cover!" Qindeo yelled, diving behind a rock.

Cass flew into the crevice in the cliff behind them, diving into a crack that was in the wall.

“Fuck!” Qin exclaimed as .50 caliber bullets tore into the rock. “Cass!” he yelled.

Cass heard Qin’s yell, and shot back for him, dodging the chopper’s fire.

She grabbed his arm and the two shot from behind the rock and into the narrow crevice.

Rocks and dirt exploded all around them as the chopper followed, but it was soon forced to turn back as the crevice became narrower.

“I think we outflew it.” Cass said, glancing back at Qin.

“Yeah, I think we did.” Qin replied.  He was clutching his side, his shirt red.  “I’ll be fine.” He said, and started plummeting towards the ground.

Cass's eyes opened wide. "Qin!" Without even thinking, she shot towards earth as he was falling.  She snatched his arm, and slipped her hands under his armpits, managing to support him. She was strong, stronger than a human man was, but Qin outweighed her by quite a bit.  Cass's heart was racing as she took in the scene. Her hands were already soaked in his warm, sticky blood.  She flew to the top of a tall fir tree, and draped him across two branches. Swinging a small backpack off her back, she flipped it open and began rummaging inside, pulling out a ragged towel, a bottle of water, and a small tube of antiseptic.

Her knuckles were white, and she wasted no time. Slowly peeling his shirt back, she swallowed when she saw the gaping hole stretched across his flesh from the .50 caliber round.  Cass twisted open the cap of the water bottle, and poured it over him, doing her best to cleanse his wound.  Snatching up the towel, Cass began mopping as much blood up as she could.  Within seconds, the towel was soaked, but he looked a little less bloody.  She rubbed the antiseptic cream into her hands, and then very, very gingerly, rubbed it into Qin's wound.  She tried to be gentle, but she felt his sweaty skin shaking under her trembling fingers.

"Okay, okay, hang on," she muttered. Ripping her sweatshirt off her waist, where it had been tied.  She used the sleeves to tie it tightly around Qindeo's middle.  Cass leaned close to his face, and said loudly, "Qin? Qin? You need to stay conscious, okay?  Do not fall asleep or anything.  I'm doing my best to help you." She slapped his cheek lightly. "Do you hear me?"