The Decoy

Mags fired several rounds from the handgun, her katana by her side on the ground, shattered into three pieces. Seven shots. Six down, about another two dozen more to go. She had missed one and it made her frown, and then she ducked down behind the barrier. She ejected the clip to see how many rounds she had left and swore to herself.

Suki was sitting beside her, the Godhammer in her lap, ready to fire. She was on the verge of panicking since Mags seemed to be at the end of her rope. They had been caught off-guard when a wave of gunmen had fired down upon them in a hail of lead-jacketed rain.

"You okay?" Mags asked her. "We just need to hold on for a few minutes then the gang will be here."

"I'm having the time of my life," Suki replied with a wry smile.

"I'm nearly out of ammo," Mags replied. "It seems that if one goes down for the count, two more take his place."

Suki chuckled; it reminded her of that game she played where the monster generator kept spitting out monsters until it was destroyed. She was trying to think of the name of that particular game, because it seemed so fitting a title right now.

There was the sound of gunfire and then the rounds stopped. And then a familiar voice rang out.

"It's clear," said Max, but Mags tilted her head off to one side and had a perplexed look on her face. There was something the matter with the timbre.

"It's about time!" said Suki as a huge smile grew on her face. She jumped up and before Mags could pull her back down three shots rang out and each bullet found their mark: one in the temple, two in the chest. 

She dropped to the ground in front of a stunned Mags.

Cold is the Night

It had been three days without sunlight and it had rearranged Max's internal clock. He was having a relatively easy time adjusting to the permanent night, as the arctic air whipped at him like an old lover. He glanced at his watch and it read 11:05am. Morning. Lunch in another 55 minutes.

"How you doing, sweetie?" Mags called from behind him, breaking him free of his thoughts. She was a few paces behind him, attached to a life line.

"Just getting my bearings," Max replied. He unzipped a pocket and he pulled out a glow stick and broke it. He hoped that this wasn't a wild goose chase, or even a sick pathetic joke, but he knew Control wasn't like that.

"We getting close?" Mags inquired. She touched his arm and he could feel her warmth.

"I think so," Max replied. He bitterly cursed himself for doing something like this.

The arctic wind howled like a banshee, a sense of foreboding which Max shook off. He heard the crackle of his ear jack.

"Cube?" The voice came in crystal clear.

"That I am," he answered the call. "Are we at least close?"

"You're right on top of it now," the voice acknowledged. 

Max stopped and he looked down at the snow. He began to clear away the drift to reveal the ice below and his eyes widened at what he saw. He muttered, "Control, you bastard!"