Deathstalker 02 - Deathstalker Rebellion

friends. There but for the grace of God and the underground… And then they rounded a corner, and Finlay jerked them both to a halt. A full company of guards was blocking the way ahead. They raised their guns to fire, and Finlay dragged Skye back around the corner just in time.
    A few energy bolts flashed past them, but most of the guards had enough sense not to fire blindly. Using a disrupter in a confined space was always risky. You never knew when the beam might ricochet right back at you. Finlay pulled the mindbomb out of his pocket, but Skye put a restraining hand on his arm.
    "Not a good idea. Use the mindbomb, and there's no telling what it might do to
    the monsters. It might snap them out of the confusion I put them in and bring them down on us again. And even if it doesn't, do you really want to send that many armed men insane at such close quarters?"
    "You have a point," Finlay said reluctantly. "Monsters behind, guards ahead.
    Damned if we do, damned if we don't." He put the mindbomb away. "Looks like we'll have to do it the old-fashioned way. Don't worry. I'm the best there ever was with a sword, and this is where I get to prove it."
    Skye looked at him. "There are too many of them, and they've all got guns.
    Disrupters don't care how good a swordsman you are."
    "If I can get into the middle of them fast enough, they won't dare use their guns for fear of shooting each other. Sure the odds aren't good, but when have they ever been? The important thing is to fight, and if need be, go down fighting. As long as there's still a chance, however slim, we fight on. That's what the underground is all about. Who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky."
    "You could surrender," said Skye. "They really only want me."
    "That is not an option," said Finlay. "I said I'd get you out or die trying, and I will. Now, be quiet and let me concentrate. There's a way out of this, if only I can see it. There's always a way out."
    "No," said Skye. "Sometimes there isn't. We've armed guards ahead and monsters behind, and nowhere else to go. It was a nice try, Finlay, but it's over."
    "Then, we take as many of them with us as we can," said Finlay. "Because as long as we're still fighting, they haven't really beaten us."
    Skye smiled suddenly. "Thanks for coming after me. I never really expected anyone like you. At least this way I get to die on my feet."
    "Don't give up yet," said Finlay. "We could still get lucky."
    And that was when the roof fell in. The floor buckled and rose up under their
    feet, and the walls split apart with screams of rending steel. The guards were yelling in confusion, and alarm sirens blared deafeningly from all directions.
    Skye and Finlay clung to each other for support, Finlay trying to shield the fragile esper with his own body. There was a constant rumbling roar of shifting metal and concrete as the building rocked slowly around them. The lights snapped out, and for a long moment there was only darkness before the dull red glow of emergency lighting returned. In the distance there were sudden, sharp explosions, and from everywhere came the sound of screaming. Some of it didn't sound human. The floor bulged upward slowly and then settled, and the rumbling died away. Everything was still. People were shouting orders or screaming for help. It all sounded a long way off. Finlay straightened up, still supporting the esper with one arm. Blood was flowing down his face from a long gash on his temple, but he ignored it. He could hear the crackling of fires and smell the beginnings of smoke in the air.
    "What the hell was that?" said Skye, staring blearily about him into the crimson light. "Could it have been an earthquake?"
    "That was a miracle," said Finlay. "And since they tend to be few and far between, I suggest we get the hell out of here before the authorities get their act together, and we need another miracle."
    He led the way over the uneven floor, with Skye sticking close behind him.
    Around the comer, the guards were all dead. The ceiling had caved in on them.
    Finlay stepped carefully over and around the great slabs of concrete, avoiding the occasional sharp edges of ruptured steel. A guard stirred as he passed, and Finlay paused just long enough to cut the man's throat before moving on.
    "Was that really necessary?" said Skye.

    "Yes," said Finlay, not looking back. "Now he can't tell anyone which way we went. Never allow the enemy anything they can use against you."
    Skye shook his head admiringly.