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Click hereBodies were torn to shreds by shrapnel or burned by the incredible energy. Alex stood in the middle of a smoking crater, as he had when he'd first landed on this strange planet. He took a deep breath and looked around. Anna was gone from the mountain top, blocked from his sensors by sheer weight of rock intervening. He briefly thought about following her, but put the notion aside; it would be hours before he could reach her even if she was just sat on the far side of the peak, and he had no idea where she was heading.
Alex turned back the way he had come with a heavy heart. It hurt to have been so close, but at least he knew she was okay. He didn't make it far before Elizabeth found him, riding down from an adjacent hillock.
"What happened?" She called out as Alex opened the cockpit.
"They were ready for me."
Alex examined the manacles up close, taking in the design of the clasp and working out the thinnest point. His left wrist blade sparked and pulsed against the metal, but began to melt through it. The manacle fell to the floor with a clatter, he repeated the process with the other wrist.
"They sure weren't ready for Anna," he mused.
"Your lieutenant was there? Where is she now?" Elizabeth trotted closer, around the fallen shackles.
"Gone, I don't know where," he gave a genuine, beaming smile, "She's alive though."
"That's great news," Elizabeth smiled back, "And you'll be pleased to know the town is fine, if a little scared."
"That's a relief," he sighed.
An awkward silence reigned for a minute, then Elizabeth turned her horse about and pointed it back to where they had left the army.
"Let's head back," she suggested gently.
The two soldiers made slower progress on the return journey, winding through the valleys for the sake of the horse rather than forging a straight path. They turned a final bend alongside a small stream that ran through the hills and were confronted by the hubbub of the camp setting up for the night.
There was no fanfare to herald their arrival, though Alex caught a few appreciative looks from those who had been present for the meeting. The general and his staff seemed content to ignore them, which suited Alex just fine.
They went their separate ways once more at Elizabeth's campsite. Alex trudged onwards, his head heavy with thoughts. As he arrived at the Irregulars' camp he dismounted in a daze, only to be shocked out of it as Talia slammed into him with a hug.
"I'm glad you're okay," she whispered in his ear, drawing back to take in his contemplative expression, "What happened?"
"I saw Anna," he couldn't keep the smile off his face, as he met her eyes.
"She's okay?" Talia's eyebrows went up.
Alex nodded.
"You have to tell me all about it," she ordered as she led him into the ramshackle tent.
They talked about the events of the afternoon until the sun had set. Alex sharing stories of his lieutenant around the campfire. Eventually, they all began yawning and stretching, and decided to call it a night.
- COMMENTS
Snigelsmedover 6 years agoCaptivating story so far, here's some thoughts I've had reading this chapter.
Why was Talia limited in how much magic protection she could slap on the mech?
Is all Alex' claims to be "the best of the best" simply him relying on his mechs overwhelming power, and not skill. As he was thoroughly defeated by those giants and their lackeys. "They are coming right towards me, lets stand still and engage in melee, taking away my biggest advantage! (ranged killing potential). Oh no, they put something on my wrist, disabling my weapons on that arm (DANGER DANGER). Let's give them the opportunity to do the same with my other hand!".
So far he has proven to be lucky. Comparable to a Elephant vs Lions. Sure if there are enough lions that are willing to take injury they can take down a elephant but 1 on 1 the bigger one wins. Is the elephant the more skilled one? No.
Good point about spreading out the sex scenes throughout the chapter. They are still good scenes.
I realise that a medieval command structure is rigid and unfair, but all this incompetence that goes unpunished is taxing to read. The time for reckoning will probably come sometime soon, but so far all interaction with the army has been dreadfully one sided. Also. the incentive for Alex to stay and fight for them is not explained very well. He volunteer to the risk of his own life, being MUCH better at killing than anyone in the army so far (big value). And what happens, a lowly guard tries to shag the girl of an officer (Alex), and he throws a childish punch, not even a killing blow, but he is somehow in the wrong, so he by proxy is punished severely. If all you have know throughout your life is this system then it's not so outlandish what happened, but for Alex, coming from a hopefully better future, this should have been the final drop. If not that then the using a village for bait should really make him think about leaving. He would probably be much better off without them. (If he can get his team, Elisabeth included, to follow him).
The good sides outweigh the bad ones, but listing all you do right here would be mostly asskissing and not so productive, if you were not in need of a confidence booster.
Thanks for sharing!
Anonymousabout 7 years agoI have to kind of agree with the other anonymous poster that said it's going to take a very long time for the stories to finally be resolved. But my main comment was going to be regarding the sex scenes. If you're writing a story that has them, they should be spread out more, especially in a story such as this. Having a threesome before sleeping, then quasi-sex in the dream, then waking up to a blowjob and yet another sex scene... quite frankly I find myself just skipping them, because they feel like "more of the same", as well as filler material.
As for the plot itself, it's becoming too easy for the protagonist to defeat the enemy, and it feels as if there's little to no danger to him. In the earlier fight, when he was against the giant with the purple sword, I was hoping it would be magical and would cause damage to the mech, rather than hearing his thought, "this is how he was used to fighting, being invincible". Then suddenly you upped the ante to fighting 12 giants at once, and still he barely breaks a sweat. Since Talia can do repairs to the mech, I'm a bit disappointed that the fight with the 12 giants didn't severely mess up his mech, and become at least a "very close call" that might have ended his life.
Still, I've given this chapter a 5-star rating, along with all the previous ones. Keep up the good work!
Anonymousover 7 years agoAt this rate it'll be years before the secrets of Anna and 1-2 are organically revealed
