Aftertime- Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Chappen sprinted through the narrow alleyways of Kolohn, clutching his prize. It was just a small computer drive, but even from the outermost segment of the Government base, it could reach a hefty price on the blackware market. His luck was just starting to turn around.

Suddenly, just a few feet from the exit, a door slid open, revealing a tall, uniformed figure. Its eyes watched Chappen from behind the thick gasmask as he darted past. Chappen cursed under his breath—there was no doubt that the hunter had seen him, and no way he could outrun it. Ducking into an alcove in the perimeter wall, he tried to hide among some boxes, aware that it would probably do little good. If a hunter could spot a trained rebel sniper through half a mile of fog, they could spot a petty thief through half an inch of cardboard. Sure enough, light, muffled footsteps approached as the hunter appeared around the corner.

“Hey, stop! What are you doing?” Louder, running footsteps followed. There was a sudden whine as a large capacitor charged, then a sharp click. The hunter stumbled, but didn’t stop moving forwards. Chappen chanced a peek through a crack between the boxes—the hunter was closer than he’d thought, followed by a standard government soldier.

“I told you to stop!” The shockstick was charged again, though this time the soldier didn’t have a chance to use it. The hunter wheeled round with lightning speed, locking him in an elaborate chokehold.

Struggling, the soldier attempted to reach something at his belt. Noticing this, the hunter shifted its grip and hurled the soldier into the ground. There was a shriek and an audible snap as bones broke. Moving with cold precision, the hunter picked up the shockstick, wielding it like a club, and advanced on the soldier.

Recovering faster than expected, the soldier reached the object on its belt and pressed a small, red button. There was a loud buzzing, and the hunter dropped to the ground, pawing feebly at the thick collar fastened around its neck. Slowly, the soldier stood, gingerly clutching a broken arm. After a moment or two, he pressed a button on his headset and spoke, presumably speaking to someone deeper inside the Government complex. “Fifty-Five’s tried to escape again. Permission to use lethal force?” There was a pause. The soldier was standing right outside the alcove, and Chappen could hear the voice of the other person through the earpiece of the soldier, though couldn’t make any words. Finally, the soldier spoke again. “Ha! I had a feeling you would say that.” Unceremoniously, the soldier grabbed one of the hunter’s legs with his good arm and began to drag it away.

At first, Chappen had been terrified at the sight of the hunter. Now it seemed pitiful. Why would the Government treat their own, let alone their best soldiers so badly? As if recognising sympathy, the hunter stretched a trembling arm out towards Chappen, and for an instant, as reflection flickered across the thick lenses of the hunter’s gasmask, their eyes met. Chappen barely managed to avoid jumping backwards in shock—the eyes inside the gasmask were a brilliant, golden yellow, each divided in two by a narrow, black slit of a pupil.