“Lieutenant!” the marine to her left shouted over the gunfire of their rifles, “There is no way out for the three of us.”
She looked at him curiously as the Zerg rampaged toward them.
“But there might be a chance for you,” he stated.
He flicked a switch upon his combat suit and dug into a compartment on the outer portion of his armor. He handed her two syringes.
“Take one now!” he said, “Stim Packs. The only way you'll have the guts or the speed to get the hell out of here!”
He watched her with cold gray eyes. She longed to thank him somehow for this selfless act. Both of them knew that he was going to die, right along with his comrade. They were willing to sacrifice themselves so that she might live.
“Do it now!” he commanded.
She obeyed, her trembling hands quickly jamming one of the vials into a compartment for safekeeping. Without any delay, she uncapped the needle from the remaining syringe and thrust it into her arm, pushing the yellowish liquid into her bloodstream. Her senses immediately sharpened to a painful caliber. Her body began to feel lighter.
“There!” the marine said, his voice sounding piercing and uneven in her head, “A hole!”
He gestured to an area behind them with his weapon, a few scattered Zerglings being the only barricade between her and escape. To freedom.
Both marines turned and fired at the weakened flank, the smallish beasts collapsing in pools of blood. Kerrigan seized the desperate opportunity. She sprinted for the makeshift exit in the wall of enemies, before they could take notice. Just as she had reached the opening, a Hydralisk sprang up in front of her. Its orange tinted eyes bored into her while a saliva-coated maw of a mouth bore rows of sharp teeth. She quickly dragged her foot backward and kicked the beast hard in its middle. It fell backward in a frenzied, thrashing movement, Kerrigan stomping upon it in her path of escape. She cried out as she suddenly felt strong forces latch a hold of both of her arms and back. She fought against the force, the drugs circulating through her body combined with raw adrenaline granting her an unprecedented strength. She felt claws rip and tear at her armor and clothing underneath. She grit her teeth together as acid burned her skin.
With one final muster of force, she tore free of the grip upon her and ran as fast as her tired muscles would allow. She heard throaty growls and the rickety sounds of pursuit behind her, it spurring on her flee. She felt herself move at unparalleled speeds, the ground feeling numb underneath her.
At last, she thought, she was out of the watchful sight of those Overlords. The ones that could easily detect her with their piercing eyes each time she had activated her cloaking mechanism. She immediately threw her wrist out in front of her and punched at one of the buttons. Once she felt it commence, she took a hard right down a steel path that led to a larger platform. She felt bits and hunks of her armor slide from her body and fall clattering to the floor, running the risk of giving away her position. She prayed to an unknown god that the hardware controlling her cloaking device remain in tact.
She took another right and ducked behind the corner of a large, man-made wall. She pressed her back to the cold steel; rising and falling chest and pounding heartbeat her only company as she tentatively peeked around the side. They were gone. She had won.
Sarah would have experienced a silent celebration in her chest had she not felt two things at that time. First, she hurt. She peeled her back away from the wall to see her own blood streaked across it; likely claw wounds from the relentless Zerg. Second, she was cold. She clicked off the cloaking device to notice most of her armor had either broken off of her, or was too torn to offer heat or protection. With some effort and painful frustration of moving her injured body, she removed all the broken armor. Her two combat boots, a functional, steel belt and her right arm segment were the only pieces of her suit that weren't clawed, broken or burned by acid. Her clothing underneath didn't fare too much better. Although most of her thick, woolen leggings had survived the attack, the standard issue insulating tunic she wore for warmth was mostly shredded. She removed the tunic and tore off what she could use and covered herself, being sure to wrap her injuries tightly. As she finished, Sarah leaned against the steel wall once again, her breath starting to slow.
She huddled there, trying to gain as much warmth upon the chilly platform as possible. Bruised, cold, burned and half naked, but still alive, Kerrigan sat and waited. For a sign, perhaps. For help.
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